please log in to view this image Chelsea v Stoke City 1963. An 18-year old Ron Harris attempts to tackle the 48-year old Stanley Matthews with Terry Venables looking on.
I met Stanley Matthews at a sports club event in the late 80s, he was a very humble and quietly spoken man. I truly think he just wouldn't have been comfortable with the game today where absolute no-names behave as if they're Gods. A true legend of the game...
This arse nal sending off that had been rescinded, I think he should have been sent off for a premeditated, cynical and anti football foul. After explaining why it was given to then to annul sets a bad precedent
Pub free pint offer backfires after Forest's 7-0 win please log in to view this image Image source,Gedling Inn Image caption, Plenty of free drinks were handed out after Nottingham Forest went goal crazy Isaac Ashe BBC News, East Midlands Published 17 minutes ago A pub scored an own goal with a promotion offering a free pint every time Nottingham Forest scored - only for the Reds to win 7-0. The Gedling Inn, in Nottinghamshire, came up with the promotion to spread the word after it started to televise local Premier League games at the venue. But the incentive backfired after Forest scored seven without reply against Brighton on Saturday - and almost 300 free beers were handed over the bar. Landlady Beccy Webster said: "When the final whistle went, I just said 'phew!'" The Main Street venue had only decided on the offer on the day of the game.
bloody nazis everywhere Spain's former football boss on trial over World Cup kiss 58 minutes ago Share Save Guy Hedgecoe BBC News Reporting fromMadrid please log in to view this image PA Media Prosecutors are calling for Rubiales to be jailed for sexual assault The former president of Spain's football federation, Luis Rubiales, goes on trial on Monday, accused of sexual assault for kissing the player Jenni Hermoso, in a case which has fed into wider discussions about sexism and consent. Hermoso is scheduled to appear as a witness on the opening day having travelled from Mexico, where she plays club football. The trial runs until 19 February. As Spain's players received their medals after defeating England in Sydney to win the 2023 World Cup, Rubiales grabbed Hermoso by the head and kissed her on the lips. Afterwards, Hermoso said the kiss had not been consensual, while Rubiales insisted it had been. Advertisement please log in to view this image EPA Jenni Hermoso testified at a hearing in Madrid in January 2024 The incident triggered protests and calls for Rubiales's resignation, and it also entered the political arena. Prime minister Pedro Sánchez, whose left-wing government has approved reforms seeking to boost gender equality and ensure consent in sexual relations, said that Rubiales's kiss had shown that "there is still a long way to go when it comes to equality and respect between women and men". After initially remaining defiant and denouncing a witch-hunt driven by "fake feminism", the federation president eventually resigned, before legal charges were brought against him. Prosecutors are calling for Rubiales to receive a one-year prison sentence for sexual assault for the kiss. They are also calling for him to be given a sentence of a year-and-a-half for coercion, for allegedly trying to pressure Hermoso into saying publicly that the kiss was consensual. Rubiales denies the charges. Three colleagues of Rubiales are also on trial, accused of colluding in the alleged coercion: Jorge Vilda, coach of the World Cup-winning side, Rubén Rivera, the federation's former head of marketing, and former sporting director, Albert Luque. They all deny the charges. Isabel Fuentes has watched the female national team closely ever since she was among the first women to represent Spain at football, from 1971 onwards. She describes the furore caused by the Rubiales kiss as "very sad", because of how it overshadowed the World Cup victory, which, when mentioned, brings her to the verge of tears. "It was something we would have liked to experience, but we weren't allowed to," she says. "These players won it for us. They have lived out our dreams." Fuentes played when the dictatorship of Francisco Franco was still in place and the women's team were not even allowed to wear the Spanish flag on their shirts. "The regime said: 'We don't want you to play football, but we'll just ignore you,'" she says. "And the federation put all manner of obstacles in our way." Like many fans, she was concerned by how the Rubiales controversy affected the international image of Spanish football and she was also shocked by footage showing the former federation president celebrating the World Cup win by grabbing his crotch as he stood just a few feet away from Spain's Queen Letizia. Advertisement please log in to view this image Footballer Andrea Rodríguez (right) thinks people are more open-minded now But younger players, like Belén Peralta, prefer to emphasise how far women's football has come, rather than dwell on the Rubiales case. Playing for third-division side Olimpia Las Rozas, Peralta says that even in the last few years she has noticed a shift in terms of the attention and support that women's football receives. "When I was younger, girls playing football was kind of strange, you were told, 'Oh, that's for boys,' or 'That's not a girl's thing,'" she says. "And nowadays, you go to some places and you say, 'I'm a footballer,' and that's so cool and attractive." Her teammate, Andrea Rodríguez, agrees. Although she says that occasionally she might hear sexist comments about women's football, social attitudes are overwhelmingly positive. "People are more open-minded now," she says.
Striker called PC 'stupid and white', court hears 3 hours ago Share Save please log in to view this image PA Media Samantha Kerr is a Chelsea striker and Australian international player Chelsea striker Samantha Kerr called a Met Police officer "stupid and white" during an incident at a police station in south-west London, a jury has been told. The Australian footballer is on trial charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to PC Stephen Lovell, in the early hours of 30 January 2023. It is alleged that Ms Kerr and her partner, fellow footballer Kristie Mewis, had been out drinking when they were driven to Twickenham police station by a taxi driver who complained the passengers refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them was sick, and that one of them smashed the vehicle's rear window. Ms Kerr, 31, denies any wrongdoing. Advertisement 'Heated moment' At the police station, Ms Kerr is alleged to have become "abusive and insulting" towards PC Stephen Lovell. Footage from the officer's body worn camera was played to a jury sitting at Kingston Crown Court on Monday, in which Ms Kerr uses an expletive and tells the officer he was "stupid and white". Prosecution barrister Bill Emlyn Jones KC told the jury the comments left PC Lovell "shocked, upset, and humiliated". Ms Kerr described the entire situation as distressing and "a heated moment". Grace Forbes, defending, said: "Nobody disputes the words that were said. "But simple words, even words like these, do not make you guilty of a criminal offence." She added: "The words were a comment, however poorly expressed, about positions of power, about privilege, and how those things might colour perception." please log in to view this image PA Media Sam Kerr signed for Chelsea in 2019 Advertisement According to the prosecution, Ms Kerr and Ms Mewis had been drinking on the night of 29 January 2023, before deciding to take a taxi home. The driver later called the police to complain that a woman inside his taxi was trying to smash the rear window. The operator advised the taxi driver to pull up outside Twickenham police station and to seek the assistance of police officers there, the court heard. PC Lovell and a fellow PC were in a marked police vehicle driving towards the station, and arrived at the same time as the taxi at about 02:20 GMT. Mr Emlyn Jones said: "The officers saw Ms Kerr crawling out of the broken rear window of the taxi." The court heard that both Ms Kerr and Ms Mewis approached the police car in a "distressed state". please log in to view this image PA Media Sam Kerr is the all-time leading Australian international scorer Advertisement The prosecution continued: "Inside the police station Ms Kerr said the taxi driver had collected them but had then refused to take them to Ms Kerr's address. "They felt that the taxi driver was kidnapping them, and so they broke the rear window in order to escape and raise the alarm. "PC Lovell went back outside to inspect the damage to the taxi. "The taxi driver explained one of his passengers had been sick and he had asked them to pay for the cost of cleaning it up, and they refused. "It was at that point that he had called the police." Jurors were told PC Lovell tried to explain what the taxi driver had said, but they kept interrupting him. Ms Kerr can be heard on body camera footage claiming she had herself tried to call the police when she was in the taxi, but that they had hung up on her. When PC Lovell replied "They wouldn't do that", Ms Kerr swore at the officers and twice called them "stupid and white". The trial continues.
It's in the Chelsh*t contract that you have to be slightly deranged to sign for them! They should cancel her UK visa and send her back to Aus for criminal damage.
Fair play to him for taking it on. They'll be paying him buttons and he'lI have no money to spend. I hope he does well for them. I'd like to see how Guardiola would get on with a lower league outfit with no money.
Interesting how you see this, I guess similar to me. I started reading it thinking ha, how the mighty have fallen, guess he still thinks Chelsea will be calling soon. By the end I actually thought fair play to him, surely can't be for the money. He must still have the desire to work the long hard hours for the love of the job. (Or huge ego and gambling debts).
Derby sack head coach (manager) just a week before we play them...... lost last 7 games and play Blades tomorrow.....
John Eustace looks to be making the rather insane switch from Blackburn to Derby. Nowt as strange as folk.
