A Sticker's Worth 500 Words

Rich Allinson explores some interesting inking among some of South America’s footballing talent while also allowing all England fans a bit of schadenfreude at the expense of a recent World Cup finalist. I am in no position to question anyone’s tattoo choices but have no shame in sticking the boot in on today’s subject who, had he not won an impressive 139 international caps, would be on the receiving end of a “let it go Nick, you’re never going to meet him” based on his tribute to his tax evading team mate. Over to Rich. I feel obliged to write this post after recently seeing a photo Nicolás Otamendi with tattoos of Lionel Messi all over his torso. This isn’t a post World Cup loss ‘bitter Englishman’ sentiment, more just a reflection of the fact that Otamendi’s ink is a rather strange thing to do. Let’s just imagine this move playing out in an office environment on a Monday morning… Leo: “Morning Nick, get up to much at the weekend?” Nick: “Yeah, I got a new tattoo as it happens.” Leo...

A new domestic season is upon us following the traditional curtain raiser of a Friday evening kick off in the Championship. With four weeks having passed since the end of the World Cup it’s probably a good thing that things are back up and running as Harry Kane and Declan Rice definitely looked a bit bored towards the end of proceedings and have no doubt really enjoyed their respective pre-season trips to China and Italy. The latter may get to get a few more miles on the clock in the more traditional season opener, the Community Shield, where Premier League champions Arsenal will take on FA Cup winners Manchester City. The game will take place at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to really hammer home the early-2000s nostalgia of the Gunners winning the league and will provide a first opportunity for Enzo Maresca to prove he didn’t just get the City job because he looks a bit like Pep Guardiola.  The first major trophy ( as of 2025 ) up for grabs in the English season has been ...