Blethering about football, from Scotland and across the world
As the relentlessness of Covid and the various lockdowns and restrictions continue, one is often reminded or left dreaming of the simple pleasures of attending a football match. The clack of the turnstyles, aroma of Bovril, tongue scalding meatyness of a pie - Ah the joys. However we are left with the slightly less sensual... Continue Reading →
During a recent Footballblether trip, sitting over a few birre in a Milanese bar, we discussed our current "Fantasy XI" based on the players who we feel would or could make up the best team in current world football. This discussion got me thinking about the best players I have ever seen (in the flesh)... Continue Reading →
As we move into February, the 2018/19 Serie A season and league table is beginning to take shape. As always, there are a few surprises, a few big sides underperforming, smaller sides impressing and as has usually been the case in recent years, the Bianconeri leading the way. Speaking of Juve, back in the summer they... Continue Reading →
A number 9. If nothing else, that otherwise simple number is personified by generations of goalscorers, strikers, poachers. There have been quite a few articles, recent discussions and opinions offered concerning the modern day absence of this type of player within top level football. There are examples around, Lewandowski of Bayern and Poland for example or... Continue Reading →
On August 30th 2018 the Champions League group stage draw took place. This followed a seemingly lengthy playoff and qualification period which began way back in July. This year, the qualification stages involved even more teams than usual who had actually qualified as champions of their own domestic leagues - albeit domestic leagues without a... Continue Reading →
Scotland 0-4 Belgium. A bit of a doing for our boys in blue. There will be much written about Scotland's heaviest home defeat since the 1970's. Some will label and describe an "embarrassing" or "shambolic" performance where an incoherent Scotland side gave away possession and goals needlessly and were rightly punished by a top ranked... Continue Reading →
There have been a number of articles and publications over the past few years outlining the success and progression of British football coaches working in far flung corners of the globe, out of the spotlight of the UK Media but still managing to make some progression in the coaching world. Higher profile cases include Graham... Continue Reading →
With World Cup fever firmly gripping all football fans, alongside the plethora of football stats, predictions, squad updates, opinions and the like being on hand 24/7, I felt it appropriate to offer some light relief in the form of some good old Footballblether.com nostalgia. France 1998 The first World Cup which I really remember was... Continue Reading →
While Scotland may not be heading to the World Cup in Russia this summer, they are playing their part in the preparations of both Peru and Mexico with a post season jaunt over to play in a couple of warm up games for both these successful qualifiers. In the early hours (GMT) of Wednesday morning... Continue Reading →
Friday, 18 May 2018 was the date when Parma Calcio 1913 sealed their return to the top level of Italian Football, Serie A. After some turbulent and troubled times, Parma have built back up from the ashes and secured 3 promotions in 3 years as they climb back up from the abyss, from a time... Continue Reading →
As regular readers will appreciate, trips away to watch football are a real passion. In no particular order, I've watched club and international football in Scotland, England, Wales, France, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Italy, Iceland and Norway. Games in these countries have been viewed in a whole spectrum of venues from... Continue Reading →
As the Scottish 2017/18 season draws to a crescendo, with Celtic looking for a second consecutive treble winning season, most fans with no allegiance to the Champions are beginning to focus on the race for second, European spots or to avoid relegation. Both "alternative" aspects are tightly contested, with at least 2, if not 3... Continue Reading →
Over the past year, I have travelled and paid to watch football at a variety of different levels. These include Scottish Championship, Scottish Premiership, Scotland International (and England International), English Premiership, Czech First league and the Second Tier of Czech Football. I have previously written about my Dilemma in terms of swapping regular attendance at... Continue Reading →
Amid yet more horrible weather conditions for this time of year, I travelled to Huddersfield for another football weekend involving catching up with friends but also taking in a game involving the local side. Huddersfield itself is a large scale town, home to approximately 160,000 inhabitants. Located roughly equidistant from the larger centres of Manchester... Continue Reading →
Escaping the "Beast from the East" weather front which had hit the UK hard at the beginning of March was touch and go for most of the week. Strong winds and high volumes of snow had bombarded the country for a few days, leading to substantial travel disruption. It was a great relief therefore to... Continue Reading →
Sparta Prague are one of the most successful sides in the Czech Republic. With 33 domestic league titles to their name, 14 Czech Cups, 2 Czech Supercups and a Mitropia (Central Europe) Cup from the 1960's. A success record only rivalled by their city neighbours Slavia Prague. Based to the north of the River Vltava,... Continue Reading →
Thursday 8 March marks the first round of ties in the last 16 of the Europa League. One tie which stood out immediately for thefootballblether was Viktoria Plzen (who we have written about before: The Tribute of the Plzen Juggernaut ; Bohemian Armchair Football ; Czech First League – Mid Season Review ) being drawn... Continue Reading →
Sunday morning in Prague, walking through the trendy Vršovice neighbourhood with it's nice coffee shops, filled with fashionable well dressed couples and families who are all enjoying a bit of brunch on this sunny but cold morning. While a nice warm coffee accompanied by a tasty wee croissant is extremely tempting, we have a different... Continue Reading →
Since roughly 2001, as a fresh/acne faced teenager I have been making the trip to Hampden Park for Scotland home games. Initially with a large group of friends, taking the train through, blagging our way into Vicky Wine for a few cheeky pre-match cans and revelling in being part of the "Tartan Army" with all... Continue Reading →
Downstairs in the impressive, vast, modern transport hub that is Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Hbf), the 09.17 Euro City train rolls onto the platform on its way through to Budapest. The train is, uncharacteristically for European transport, a few minutes late but that doesn't seem to bother any of the passengers waiting to board, ahead of trips... Continue Reading →
April 23rd 2017 will forever be remembered as a tragic day for Czech and indeed Turkish Football. The events of this day shook the Turkish city of Gaziantep and reverberated back to the Czech cities of Plzen and Příbram. The Turkish Football Club, Gaziantepspor, were training when players noticed that their Czech international teammate František... Continue Reading →
As with much of Europe, the Czech First League is in the middle of it's winter break and on recess until February. The top level of Czech Football, consisting of 16 teams competing in a 30 game season, is a highly competitive and entertaining league made up of a mix of larger and smaller scale... Continue Reading →
The Scottish Football Association have recently announced their plans to review their current lease on Hampden Park, due to expire in 2020. The review has come amidst outcry from owners Queens Park FC, fan opinion and of course the background of a “business” decision with regard to what is best, financially, for the organisation. At... Continue Reading →
The Scottish Premiership is not a league without its detractors. Whether this be due to the one sided (two sided before Rangers' implosion) nature leading to an overly predictable end result; or the number of meaningless games for clubs safe from relegation at an early stage but without the staying power and/or stamina to challenge... Continue Reading →
