A Sticker's Worth 500 Words

This week it’s a request post for César who some of you may know as the mastermind behind Walthamstow’s premier Thursday five-a-side kickabouts. If I didn’t just have that to be grateful for I would have been more than happy to write up today’s subject’s “escape from West Ham” but this is a big thank you for the time César helped carry me off a soggy five-a-side pitch in Tottenham after my ankle had reminded me why jumping to head the ball is a bad idea. Hope this does the trick mate! During Harry Redknapp’s seven year spell as manager of West Ham United the infamous wheeler dealer/”f***ing football manager” signed a total of 76 players with an average outlay of £1.6m per player. His first, local boy Adrian Whitbread, made a grand total of fourteen appearances across two seasons before departing for a lengthy spell at Portsmouth. Along the way there were unquestionable successes such as John Hartson and Paul Kitson who kept the Hammers in the Premier League in the 1996/97 campaign, th...

The latest incarnation of the Ashes is upon us and it’s the first opportunity for cricket fans to see if Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s super aggressive brand of ‘Bazball’ will stand up in the heat of the most hyped series on the planet. As soon as England started being vaguely good again last summer the verbal sparring between players from both nations had begun. The ever diplomatic Stuart Broad channelled his inner David Brent to declare that England’s shellacking at the hands of the Aussies last time round didn’t count because of Covid bubbles and that England would be triumphant in the real quiz. Whether or not he chooses to lob a kettle over the roof of the Trent Bridge pavilion later this summer will no doubt be another talking point. The enmity between England and Australia’s cricketers dates back to the very first ‘Ashes’ Test in 1882 where the Aussies’ ‘Demon Bowler’ Frederick Spofforth used the perceived gamesmanship of the home side to fire himself up for a spell of 7-44 ...

The dust is settling on what has felt like a very long 2022/23 football season and most of the major issues of titles, promotions and relegations have been secured. For the three of us behind this collaborative post it has been an intriguing campaign. (Manny) At Crystal Palace ‘Super’ Pat Vieira was denied the chance to build on a promising first campaign by a hideous run of results at the start of 2023 which saw the Eagles languishing in (checks) 12th position in the Premier League. His sacking and replacement with beloved septuagenarian Roy Hodgson saw the side’s exciting attacking talent given a new lease of life to guarantee South London’s finest another season of top-flight table and reach the dizzying heights of (checks) 11th place.  (Rich) Grimsby Town’s season? Well, we got to an FA Cup quarter final. An FA Cup quarter final, for the first time in 84 years. This sort of thing never happens to us, we normally draw someone annoyingly difficult but uninspiring away in the f...