”On the First day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 12 trolls that were funny”
Fun Fact x Trivia
Mark Hughes. Good Ol’ Sparky has lost his spark for a while now despite the best efforts of various Premier League clubs reaching out to him with their job offers in recent years. He eventually got fired by Southampton who panicked at the thought of heading further south to the bottom of the table. Mark is now marked with the unenviable record of being the first Premier League manager to be sacked twice within one calendar year.
As the saying goes, two kinds of football managers exist; those who have been sacked and those who are going to be sacked.
Which springs the question: When was the last season that all the clubs in the English top division finished the season with the same manager they had at the start?
It just seems it is inevitable that at least one manager leaves his position every season (either by consenting ”mutually” or not consenting but leaving with lots of cash to wipe away any tears).
The answer to our question is season 1965/66. Fifty-Two Years ago. 52 and counting. It must have been a truly care-free campaign because even the relegated (and relegation-threatened teams) couldn’t be bothered with typing a sack letter at any point during the season.
Blackburn and Northampton went down. Fulham, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest all struggled at the lower end of the table (in fact, the nine teams who finished above relegated Blackburn were separated by only four points). Despite this, all the managers who started the season finished it in situ.
It is highly likely that we will never see it happen again, due to the fact that the stakes are much higher nowadays and clubs get so twitchy because of the vast amount of millions involved.
So let’s stay tuned and observe the ”sack race” for season 2018/19.
Oladimeji Sapoloso
Trolls of the Week – The misEducation Edition
No, we don’t have Lauryn Hill as a guest writer. We do have some trolls as memorable as some of her hit songs from the classic album ”The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”. So grab a pen and notebook and prepare to be educated. Welcome to Footie Fantasy Troll Academy. Our motto is ”You might win some but you just lost one”.
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Trolls of the Week – 75% Discount Edition
You all think you have had the best of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Think again. Nothing can compare to the offers we have for you here today.. Dive in.
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Fantasy Football Update
Season 2018/19 of the Fantasy Premier League has been bubbling away nicely. Bubbles have been burst, swear-words have been uttered at under-performing players (both in English and Portuguese), bandwagons have been boarded and jumped off (Hi Salah, Bye Salah) and wildcards have been wasted wildly.
Fun Fact x Trivia
It runs in the family. Through out the history of the game, there has been numerous examples of football talent and ability flowing through generations of families and siblings. From the Charltons, to the Maldinis, the Nevilles to the Schmeichels, football has witnessed family members having varying levels of success and displaying of different grades of skills.
The Miscon-troll Edition
Oladimeji Sapoloso
Fun Fact x Trivia
A Recent History of Ronaldos.
Followers of football in the past couple decades definitely know there was a prominent Ronaldo long before Cristiano CR7 came on the scene. Many would think that O Fenômeno was the original holder of the rights to that name. However, the Brazilian Ronaldo did not even originally bear the name Ronaldo on his shirt. Join us as we explore the phenomenon behind the ”Ronaldo” name.
When Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima first emerged at Cruzeiro and PSV Eindhoven there was already another Ronaldo in the Brazil squad named Ronaldo Rodrigues de Jesus. In typical Brazilian fashion of aggregating multiple names into one, a solution had to be found.
The older player in the squad became known as Ronaldão (Big Ronaldo) and the younger Ronaldo – the one who went to achieve greatness – became known as Ronaldinho. He kept that name for the 1996 Olympics, when he was in the squad alongside a third Ronaldo, the defender Ronaldo Guiaro. Ronaldinho at the 1996 Olympics inspired Brazil to the semis and with a 3-2 lead against Nigeria in place 5 minutes to the end, he was subbed off by his manager, Mario Zagallo That act proved to be an error as Nigeria came from behind to end Brazil’s quest for an Olympic gold medal.
That did not stop Ronald(inh)o’s star from rising rapidly and he went on to become arguably the greatest Number Nine the football world has ever known. However, he only became known as Ronaldo when Ronaldão and Ronaldo Guiaro stopped playing international football.
Just in time for a fourth Ronaldo to emerge: Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, or Ronaldinho Gaúcho as we came to know him at PSG, Barcelona and Milan. He also went on to achieve fame and greatness while bringing a charming sense of fun to the beautiful game.
Thankfully, we have only one prominent Ronaldo currently playing nowadays. No further confusion involved, it is black and white. Fittingly so too, as he now plays in black and white.
Oladimeji Sapoloso.
Fantasy Football 2018/19 Season – The Essential Info
It is no boast to say our Fantasy Leagues are among the most brutally competitive leagues in the FPL world. For example, 2100pts might get you top spot in many other leagues but would barely get you 10th place in our classic leagues.
So, if you think you are as Special as Jose, give hugs better than Klopp, pep up players better than Guardiola, smoke better than Sarri, erm.. er.. Anyway, if you feel you can handle stiff competition better than most Fantasy Football managers, then come over. We waiting ..
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Russia 2018. The Afterglow (Part 1)
It was a tournament high on action, drama, laughs and meme-able incidents. A world cup with only one goalless draw surely has to be considered a fun-filled world cup. And it truly was.
Fun is not a word many people would have associated with the host country. The inhabitants of Putin’s territory were often portrayed in austere light. However, football came there and it was bright and bubbly for most of the tournament.
No extreme cases of hooliganism and no racist chants. Just warm and fuzzy feelings and a truly worthy champion at the very end. France, who were involved in the only goalless draw, seemed to win this competition without having to hit top gear.
The final match was a perfect encapsulation of the French team and this world cup. Out-played for large sections by the ballsy Croatians, France managed to go into half-time with a 2-1 lead. Then, they burst into life and showed their quality. The 6 goals eventually scored in the final summed up the tournament itself.
(1-0) Goal from a set-piece? Check.
(1-0) Own goal? Double Check
(1-1) Lovely goal for equaliser, originating from set piece? Check
(2-1) VAR decision for a penalty? Check
(3-1) Counter attack goal? Check
(4-1) Brilliant shot? Check
(4-2) Very bad goalkeeping error? Check
It seemed like all the good and bad bits of the tournament had to be on display on that final day, even during the presentation of the medals. With rain pouring down on the adorably delighted French and Croatian presidents for minutes, their Russian counterpart kept a straight face while performing his duties under an umbrella. Another suitably meme-worthy incident to end the 2018 tournament.
Watch this space for more articles. We shall be talking about Football Not Coming Home, the GOATs debacle, the Supreme Super Jersey and much more.
See you next time.
Oladimeji Sapoloso