Beautiful Game - my arse

Let's have it right, football is not as good as it was. It is in a constant state of decline since the day it began. With the plethora of live football available to view on telly it becomes more apparent that if you want a guarantee of quality you may better going to see the new Coen brothers film.

Against this backdrop of falling standards and unmet expectations I would like to speak up on behalf of the African Cup of Nations. Far from the turgid moments of recent Euro and World Cup finals I am yet to see a game that didn't excite and raise the pulse rate. Last night Angola showed abandon, joy and a little homage to the stalwart role of the traditional English No.9. Blood and thunder, passion and desire. No balloons in site.

Kevin Cummins the revered Rock photographer is currently in Ghana and posting regular albums of photos on his facebook depicting the sights and flavour of what must be a joy to behold - check them out

"A sign of our elitist supremacy"

When your web browser brings you the words in the headline above, you would be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled into the world of neo-fascism or religious fundamentalism. But as you know this is a site dedicated to the beautiful game and that sort of thing doesn't happen in football any more, well not in the UK.



I have taken this quote from a fabulous site I was directed to by The Guardian. Calm down, calm down this isn't an excursion into the realms of woolly student political liberalism.



Reclaim the Kop is a pressure group charging itself with the task of reintroducing the traditional values of that esteemed standing area behind the goal at Anfield

Have a look at their manifesto, it is a really genuine attempt recreate the spirit of a bygone age, recover the Liverpool Way. It was set up in response to some unsporting chanting at a European fixture by Liverpool Fans. It's a fascinating read.

The question raised in my mind was what is this "Liverpool Way" they talk about. It's enshrined in a 10-point charter [very biblical] and eloquently lays down a code of conduct for the modern day fan. As someone who stood many times on the Kop and on some of those occasions even wanted Liverpool to win I remember the past in a slightly different way, I guess Bobby Hazel may do too. I'm also guessing that the bygone toilet habits, possibly point 11 that didn't make the cut, were dropped for reasons of hygiene

That said, good luck to RTK, their values are admirable and anything that improves the atmosphere should be encouraged, which gladly Rick Parry and his merry men are. In time The RTK may even want to reassess their sense of elitism when they realise that in the land of the fans there is no hierarchy, if you love your club and you love the game, we are all brothers (and sisters too) unless of course you support Manchester United that is.

Never Go Back

What a delightful notion that Kevin Keegan can become the Newcastle United manager in January 2008 with his track record and having been out of the mainstream of football so long.

It gives hope to those people who send in letters of application for random Manager's jobs that become available.- Both my brothers have unsuccessfully applied for the England job in the past. The FA's rebuttal polite, swift and negative. My only vicarious link to the England managership has been horrendous trouble with the inland revenue.

That said. Keegan like Capello is a stroke of genius, watch Newcastle mount a serious revival, Keegan is pure magic and his effect on the Toon originally, Fulham and Man City subsequently is unique and has never been equalled by any other manager in my recollection.

I once bumped into Keegan and his trusty sidekick Arthur Cox at Hartshead Moor Services on the M62 one late Wednesday evening back in August 2003. The two football men were returning from a reserve game in Sunderland. Kev was sheepish, I'm a lot taller than he is and I guess you never truly get over a Baseball batting incident. I congratulated him on his ability to transform City from a Club of intense self pity to a genuine big club with European Football coming up [OK it was a while ago]. He took it in good faith and went on his way with enough confectionery for an entire team bus - which was actually returning separately from the senior management team.

Good Luck to Kev and a plague on the nay sayers. Here's to Football and the true spirit of our game, lost long since.