Football

Although not a great football fan, it is good to see Plymouth Argyle (my old local team) second and Cambridge United and Exeter close to the playoff positions in League Division 2. This could be a good end of season.

Football

My old "local" team, Plymouth Argyle, had a dreadful start to the football season, but have now won the last 3 games and are currently in the play-off places. Mind you, it is very early days.

My current "local" team, Cambridge United, is currently at the very bottom of the league. Unless they buck up they could lose their league place at the end of the season.

England Football Supporters

Yet again, I am ashamed of the England supporters abroad. Now, I am sure it is a small minority who cause all the unrest and violence, but these tarnish the game. Also, sometimes others start the violence knowing that England fans will be blamed.

Personally, I think a lot of this is due to drinking to excesses. Maybe there should be a blanket ban on alcohol within a certain radius of games? This seems unfair on "normal" fans who just go to follow the teams.

I am not a great football fan. Some games are watched on TV but I would never follow my teams abroad. It must be 30 years (at least) since I last went to a football match!

Plymouth Argyle in Playoff Final

Plymouth Argyle are playing AFC Wimbledon at Wembley tomorrow (3pm kickoff) in the League Two playoff final. I hope they win. If they win, they will gain promotion to League One.

UPDATE 2144z: They lost 2:0.

UK Football

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/tables .

The English Premier League seems more to do with money these days with many players and managers from outside the UK. I can understand this but feel sure we have untapped talent. The lower leagues are less glamorous and get far less TV coverage.

When it comes to football I admit to being a "fireside fusilier" in that I'm gunner do this or that, but rarely go to a match. I follow the fortunes of Plymouth Argyle and my local team Cambridge United and check where they are in their League (League 2). At the moment Plymouth are doing quite well and have a chance of automatic promotion at the end of the season. Cambridge are also doing pretty well too.

UPDATE 1557z:  71 minutes in Argyle were 1:0 up. In the end they lost 2:1. Had they won, they would have had a very good chance of automatic promotion, but they threw it away.

Football - Plymouth Argyle

A few years ago this would be the stuff of dreams but this evening Plymouth Argyle are TOP of League Division 2. Keep this up and they could even be promoted at the end of the season. Lots of games to go and a lot can happen, but how fortunes are transformed! It is years since I last saw them play live, but at one time they were my local club. I wish them well.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/plymouth-argyle .

Football playoffs

If Norwich win against Middlesborough in the Championship playoff final they could be back in the Premier League next season. Quite a few hoops to jump through though but a win against local rivals Ipswich must give them hope.

No such luck for League 2 team Plymouth Argyle who were beaten by Wycombe Wanderers for a place in the League 2 playoff final. Still, they did well this season and I wish them well in the next.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32670810 .

Cambridge United v Manchester United in the FA Cup 4th round

This match was on BBC TV this evening.

Humble little Cambridge United (non-league until this season) held mighty Manchester United to a 0:0 draw and win a replay, worth an estimated £1.5M to Cambridge, at Old Trafford. It was a great game and Cambridge outclassed the Premier League team for quite a lot of the time. Well done Cambridge!

Nice football story

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30725883 .

A Bristol City fan has been able to watch his favorite team for free all season from the roof of his shed.

Convicted rapist - training with Sheffield United?

If I was Sheffield United I would NOT allow a convicted rapist, now out from jail on licence, to train with the squad. In effect he has served only half his sentence so far and is only out of prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. Any misbehavior and he is back inside. He committed a very serious offence and so should be made to pay for this. He should not have committed rape. Come back later, maybe?

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30022080 .

Van Gall exit?

See http://www.givemesport.com/louis-van-gaal .

Somehow I cannot see Mr Van Gaal lasting too much longer as manager of Manchester United Football Club.   He has not had a great season so far. The question is who will replace him?

Italian UFOs?

The BBC recalls a day an Italian football match had to be stopped as a result of mysterious things in the air.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29342407 .

Analysis suggests this was migrating spiders.

Plymouth Argyle and Cambridge United football clubs

Although not an avid football fan - I very very rarely go to matches -  I do look to see how these 2 teams are doing in the Football League Division 2. So far, both have got off to a "not too bad" season. It would be great if both were promoted to the next league up next season, but there is a long way to go first.

See Plymouth Argyle FC.
See Cambridge United FC.

Cambridge United and Plymouth Argyle football teams

Although not a great football (soccer) fan, I  watch the League Division 2 tables avidly to see how these two teams are doing.  Plymouth Argyle had a decent season last year and Cambridge United have just been promoted back into the league after being out for several years. One is a Devon team and Cambridge is our local team.

World Cup football

Germany has just scored in extra time, and unless Argentina produces a miracle goal now, Germany will win the World Cup. They certainly deserve to win after their trouncing of Brazil the other night. Should the Argentinians level and then win on penalties it would be a cruel end.

Germany have won. Thankfully there was not a need for a penalty shoot-out.

Football World Cup and England

Yet again England have been knocked out of the Football World Cup. This is the first time since 1958 they have been eliminated in the early stages.

One of the reasons may be because the number of foreigners in Premier League clubs is now so high. We lost the Uruguay match partly because the goal scorer plays for Liverpool!

We need far more ENGLISH players in English teams. Of course, football is now big business and there would be a reluctance to move in this direction. There must be a huge untapped talent pool of ENGLISH players in schools and youth clubs. These should be far less expensive than the silly wages and fees payed to foreign players.

Perhaps there should be a (low) upper limit on wages and transfer fees? That might encourage big clubs to go scouting for local talent instead?