A Sticker's Worth 500 Words

Open wide for some soccer! Next year the FIFA World Cup will be held across sixteen venues in the USA, Canada and Mexico and, for no apparent reason, will feature a whopping 48 countries. Like several previous editions of the tournament there will be a huge opportunity for a narcissistic world leader to try and steal the limelight and, based on his performance at the risible Club World Cup earlier this year, potentially steal the actual trophy to add to his collection of gold shiny things. In keeping with the last two editions of the World Cup there will also be ample airtime for FIFA’s questionable president , Gianni Infantino, to do his bit for the host nations’ marginalised people by telling us that today he feels like a recently dismissed government worker who didn’t praise Elon Musk enough or Melania Trump. A, frankly terrifying, fifteen years ago the World Cup was held on African soil for the first time with South Africa chosen ahead of Egypt and Morocco by FIFA officials it lat...

This post is for my colleague and friend Jonny Patrick and takes a look at a forward he describes as “a good player from the golden age of Hatters” who endured a turbulent life following his retirement. Jonny’s had a couple of tough years as his beloved Luton Town suffered back-to-back relegations although things have certainly been worse at Kenilworth Road in the recent past. I can’t promise any references to niche political extremists in this one mate but I think the footballer in question brings us plenty to unpack. Enjoy! During his lengthy career Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a preposterous 573 goals for some of the world’s biggest football clubs and his country. As well as his martial artist’s balance and flexibility, to go along with his exceptional talent, the forward is blessed with an unshakeable self-confidence to the extent he often refers to himself mononymously and in the third person. Until recently Zlatan could direct any critics to one of his (many) tattoo...