The Guardian Will Guide You

Posted on August 7, 2009   |   Filed under: News  |  Tags: footie  |  Add a Comment »  

As you may have noticed I don’t have any adverts on here. I will add a link to a site on the Links page but apart from that no ads. I have a: “If they come knocking at your door trying to sell you something you don’t want it” policy. Another reason being is that every other site you visit is full of them and I wanted this place to be, as much as possible, commercial free.

(Of course this will change if F&M ever becomes too popular for me to support it financially, I’ll then shill for anybody who will give me a shiny penny.)

Occasionally though I will break my own rule if is for something that I would be purchasing myself (such as Kasabian’s new album) and another instance has come up in the form of my regular (online) read The Grauniad.

Yes that’s right I open admit it, I am a Guardian reader. Deal with it.

They contacted me the other day to let me know about The Season which is a free guide that you’ll find with Monday’s (August 10th, 2009) paper:

The Season is the Guardian’s ultimate guide to the new football season and is free with the paper on Monday 10 August. As well as providing you with essential team-by-team information, the Season, also offers readers some off-the-wall and interesting critiques on the football league’s top teams. This all comes in a handy guide size, small enough to take to the terraces, but large enough to satisfy your appetite for endless stats and rumours.

Highlights include:

Manchester United without Ronaldo
• Manchester City’s prospects after spending almost £100m in the summer
• Rafael Benitez, Liverpool’s history and their need for the title
• Foreign players’ experiences in England focusing on Wigan’s Roberto Martinez
• World Cup qualifying clips and great World Cup clichés
• Newcastle’s chances of getting out of a tough Championship
• Carlo Ancelotti’s Twitter page
• The Michael Owen-style brochures you might have missed
• The possible shift in power from the Premier League to La Liga
• ESPN and the BBC’s involvement in showing live football
• A funny look at the new and very complicated Europa League
• Uefa’s experiment with five referees per match

Also, Featured:

Premier League team-by-team guide and previews of the Championship/League One/League Two and the Scottish Premier League

So as the Fiver sez, form an orderly queue there on Monday morning.

If I wasn’t a British Expat now living in the USA, I would be joining you in that queue.
So I asked if I could be sent a sample and they were good enough to email something over – Which I’m letting you have a sneak peek. I know there are many other expatriated fitba fans who visit F&M and I’m sure that they would want to have a look as well:

» Download the PDF file here   (2.4MB)

Additionally…

AC Jimbo and chums are back in the studio and have done their first warm up match podcast in which they discuss the upcoming season.

I’ve mirrored it here – for a limited time (the file is 45megs !) and you can listen or download below:

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» Guardian Football Weekly Podcast – Season Preview

Prediction League 2009-10

Posted on August 1, 2009   |   Filed under: Music, News, Predicts  |  Tags: Predicts, Spurs  |  Add a Comment »  

[UPDATE] The Saint & Greavsie Prediction League: 2009-2010 Season

is now CLOSED for new signups. This is here for info only.

No endorsement is implied by the above individuals

The new footie season is fast approaching but like the rest of you I’m not quite ready yet. It’s still sunny outside (well…at least where I am..) and it’s still the time for holidays.

This is why unlike other fantasy football or prediction leagues we start later. Plus there are some of you out there who realise that the season has begun and found that it’s too late to sign up for other compo’s.

But the biggest reason is that (if you’ve done this before) it is a very long season. It goes on for 8 months y’know. So we here at Football and Music ease you into it and give you time to watch some matches and to warm up for the marathon ahead.

Those of you who have been around know what it is, but for those of you new to the place – The prediction league is exactly that. You try to guess what the final result will be.

This new season will begin on SATURDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER 2009 at 3pm and will end at final whistle of the FA Cup Final in May 2010.   Signups are open from now and will CLOSE before kick off of the international matches on Sept 5th.

» The Prediction League is a DONATE TO PLAY one. BUT you don’t have to donate if you don’t want.

ANOTHER BUT: In order to be eligible for the Prize Pot you have to chip something in. Suggested donation is $10 or £10 or 10€ [depending on where you are] but you can donate as much or as little as you like. The amount will be converted into U.S. Dollars. - Why ?

Don’t forget that even with us starting late, the season is still 8 months long. It means that you have to make sure that you’ve logged in and do your numbers EVERY WEEK. (We try to enter in the fixtures up to 4 weeks in advance, but sometimes it is not possible.

» There’s more guff after the jump, but for now here’s a quick musical break…

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» Jimmy Greaves & the 1967 Spurs Squad – Strollin’

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» S&G Theme (also the 1986 ITV World Cup Theme)

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» Johnny Pearson – Heavy Action (Theme from Superstars)

…before you continue reading:
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In Memory Of The 96

Posted on April 14, 2009   |   Filed under: Music, News  |  Tags: Liverpool  |  Add a Comment »  

There’s no need for me to write anything…

I’ll post quotes from a related news article which is the footie&music link to this sad anniversary:

Stars launch Hillsborough single

Thursday, 26 March 2009

Former Liverpool FC footballers and musicians from the city have launched a single to mark the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.

The Fields of Anfield Road features Cast’s John Power, James Walsh of Starsailor, ex-manager Kenny Dalglish and former player Bruce Grobbelaar.

A new verse has been added to the terrace anthem by Peter Hooton, previously of the band The Farm.

He said it was a “commemoration to the 96 who lost their lives”. …

… The idea for a commemorative CD came from Liverpool’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Steve Rotheram.

“It’s important that 20 years on we try and do something,” he said.

“So after talking to some of the people in the industry, they thought this was an appropriate way they can do that.”

The CD’s lead track, performed by the Liverpool Collective featuring the Kop Choir, features contributions from Nick Kilroe from Echo and the Bunnymen and Rob Taylor of the Troubadours and was recorded by Coldplay producer Ken Nelson. …

… The track includes vocals from Grobbelaar, who was Liverpool’s goalkeeper when the tragedy occurred.

“You can’t forget what happened at Hillsborough,” he said. “We’ll always remember it.”

Former player John Aldridge, who was also on the pitch at Hillsborough on the day of the disaster, said he wanted to keep memories of the day fresh.

“This hopefully will keep them alive and make people realise we’re still there for them,” he added.

John Power, who found fame with The La’s, said everyone involved with the song had been brought together by the tragedy of April 1989.

“You’ve got people who lost dearly loved ones, you had people who just went to the game and ended up dead, and you ended up also with the injustice of being blamed for that event,” he said.

The single, which will be released on 6 April, has been backed by the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

» Full article with audio interviews and video clips

- The Official Video:

- The original version :

Fields of Anfield Road:

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(Stream only – go and buy the new version from ITunes)

Links/further reading:
- Hillsborough Memorial Website – www.fieldsofanfieldroad.co.uk
- BBC Football [Video] – Anfield remembers Hillsborough
(plus interviews with Stevie Gerrard, John Aldridge & Des Lynam)
- Liverpool Echo – Hillsborough remembered
- Guardian Football – Hillsborough disaster

Update: I’ll update this post with some more tunes. Come back in a few days.

Another Update - More music:

- This track can also be found on the Fields of Anfield Road CD.
Again this is stream only because;
1) It is still on sale with proceeds go to the Hillsborough Family Support Group.
2) I don’t want Wylie to come round and kick me ‘ead in.

The Mighty Wah! - Heart As Big A Liverpool:

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- This one you can have though. It’s a follow-up song done a few years later by that shouty Welsh band:

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» Manic Street Preachers – S.Y.M.M (South Yorkshire Mass Murderers)

Ich Roque !

Posted on February 2, 2009   |   Filed under: Music, News  |  Tags: BayernMunich, Blackburn  |  1 Comment »  

(or.. "er Felsen !"... if Google Translate did it's job.)

Posted one last week because I expect the subject to be in the headlines very soon and this fortuitously timed entry is about another back page attention getter who’s transfer speculations has been going on as long as Arshavin’s.

Note for future self - This one is posted on transfer deadline day and one of both of these may or may not have moved before the window closed.

So today’s attempt to attract some google searches is with the very handsome Roque Santa Cruz.
Oh if only the transfer deadline was Dec 25th, the amount of puns to be had from that…

Yes I said handsome because he is. I’m not afraid to admit it.

Although I’m not the first one to openly admit a mancrush on a player, Danny Baker has already err…come out…(?…is that the right phrase for this…?) with his admiration of Berba’s good looks.

Before his Blackburn move Santa Cruz spent a good few years in the Bundesligia with Bayern and it was because of a nagging injury which put him down the pecking order at Munich which put him onto Mark Hughes’ radar when he was also googling for a bargain striker.

The Independent has an excellent article (from September 2008) in which the headline tells us of Roque’s own soft spot for Sparky…

Roque Santa Cruz: ‘Four or five clubs were interested in me, but it was Mark Hughes who made the difference’

Take a glance the CV of Roque Santa Cruz, the golden boy of Paraguayan football and Blackburn’s new No 9, and he is apparently a man who has it all, on and off the pitch. One of four sons, he grew up in a close-knit family in a hillside town outside Asuncion, made his debut for his local club, Olimpia, at 16, and by 18, in 1999, had fired his team to back-to-back titles and bagged himself his nation’s Footballer of the Year award.

Inevitably, Europe’s giants came calling for this athletic 6ft 2in striker – pop-star handsome with technical abilities every bit as easy on the eye – and he signed for Bayern Munich later that year. Between 2000 and 2005, Bayern won four Bundesliga titles, five domestic cups and, with Santa Cruz in their number, the Champions League of 2001.

Lest that were not enough, he was a cult hero with the Bayern faithful and popular throughout Germany. In 2004, he even sang on a pop record, “Ich, Roque” – a pun on the phrase “I rock” – with an upcoming band, Sportfreunde Stiller. It made the top 40 in Germany and Austria….

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. » Sportfreunde Stiller – Ich Roque (Audio taken from the video)

I put the lyrics through Google Translate. » Click to read.

The last bit of the song (in case anyone didn’t listen to it/read the lyrics or watch the video) has the pretty boy himself saying in Spanish (again translated):

Anyway.. to continue with the article it also says…

Until now, Santa Cruz has limited his explanation for why he left Bayern to saying he was not getting enough games. Yesterday he revealed that he had been desperate to leave for two years, and, now that he has finally done so, he believes both he and Blackburn are going places.

Ah great line…great line… *wipes tear from eye*

Later on it gives the reasons as to who it was who convinced him that the Prem was in his future, as well as the parseltongued then-Blackburn manager:

Owen Hargreaves, Santa Cruz’s long-time team-mate and good friend at Bayern, who taught him English, also advised that the Premier League was the place to be. The pair now live 10 minutes away from each other in Manchester. But Hughes’ vision really swung it.

“He told me his ideas. It was a simple decision after that,” Santa Cruz says. “He said I would get the opportunity to play. And to learn. He said this team is competitive, but that I will only help to make it more competitive. I had a good feeling. I feel fit and strong. I feel like I can do everything now.”

Santa Cruz will not divulge which other clubs he spurned to join Rovers. He knows Manchester City, who visit Blackburn tomorrow, were interested in signing him, but as he never got as far as talking to them, they were not among the rejected.

So there was a passing chance, but in the end he was attracted by the bright lights of East Lancs.

UPDATE: The transfer window is shut and he will not be moving back in with his former boss man. (Asharvin deal might or might not be done either).

As sweetSubsea on 606 so accurately put it:

1646: “Not long to go and no centre-back arriving at City. That is all we need, but Mr Hughes is so clever, he managed to sign a striker we don’t like, a midfielder we don’t need and a goalkeeper to ensure we keep killing every young talent we have at City. Well done Mr Hughes.”

This is the first post of a thread that will wander into songs by (cover your ears) and about German players...yeah I know I started with a Paraguayan, but he was in the Bundesligia... followed by some about German teams - including the national team, before finally returning to the original thread.

The Saint & Greavsie Footie Prediction League : 2008-2009

Posted on August 13, 2008   |   Filed under: News, Predicts  |  Tags: Predicts  |  Add a Comment »  

THE SAINT & GREAVSIE FOOTIE PREDICTION LEAGUE: 2008-2009 Season

Go on, put yourself in the mood by clicking below:

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—

Here we go again then.

The new SAINT & GREAVSIE FOOTIE PREDICTION LEAGUE season is now open for signups.

Those of you who have been around know what it is, but for those of you new to the place – The prediction league is exactly that. Works a bit like the old football pools but unlike them with this one you don’t try to guess which matches will be a draw. You take a guess on predicting the final result of every match.

The new season will begin on SATURDAY 30th AUGUST 2008 at 3pm and will end at final whistle of the FA Cup Final in May 2009.

Signups are open from now and will CLOSE before kick off of the international matches on SATURDAY 6th SEPTEMBER 2008.

This Prediction League is a DONATE TO PLAY one.
If you want to play we ask that you bung something into the pot. That pot will go to the eventual champion (1st place) of the prediction league next May.

The donations are voluntary, you don’t have to donate if you don’t want to, but if you don’t YOU WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PRIZES.
(More about the prizes below)

Suggested donation is $5 (about £2.50) but you can donate as much or as little as you like.
- Why is it in U.S.Dollars ?

Remember that the prediction season is 8 months long.
It means that you have to make sure you’ve done your predictions for EVERY WEEKEND.
(We do try to enter in the fixtures up to 4 weeks in advance, sometimes it isn’t possible and you have to keep an eye on your email and predictions to make sure you are up to date. There is a mid-season winters break and an occasional break when I am busy or can’t be arsed.)

-> If you are serious about playing and will stick with it from August 30th until the FA Cup Final next May then SIGN UP NOW.

Once you’ve signed up click on the Paypal “DONATE” button on the League page to chip in something. Don’t forget to let us know what your prediction league username is so we can match you up.

More details about the predicts, the scoring and the other prizes are below the fold:
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[Video] Sir Bobby Is On Borrowed Time

Posted on August 7, 2008   |   Filed under: Music, News, Video  |  Tags: Barcelona, England, Fulham, Ipswich, Newcastle, WestBrom  |  Add a Comment »  

I was saddened to read the following article via Soccernet this morning. Sir Bobby is a battler and I thought he would have won this one too.

Sir Bobby admits defeat in battle against cancer

Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson has admitted he will lose his battle with lung cancer ’sooner rather than later’.

Robson has been battling a fifth bout of the illness and has accepted doctors’ prognosis that he is unlikely to beat it.

Speaking to The Sun, he said: ‘I have accepted what they have told me and I am determined to make the most of what time I have left.

‘I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go some time, and I have enjoyed every minute.

‘I have been fortunate to survive this long. It is thanks to the doctors and their dedication.’

Sir Bobby, who took England to the brink of a World Cup final in Italy in 1990, has enjoyed a football career spanning six decades – from playing days with Fulham and England, to managerial triumphs first with Ipswich and then as national coach at two World Cups, to continental coaching appointments.

He later returned to his native north-east to take over at Newcastle and most recently spent a short time as consultant for the Republic of Ireland.

» Full article

- Here is the legend accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year last December:

Update: Video removed from YouTube. Can still be watched via the BBC

- TWTD : An independent website for news and views about Ipswich Town has set up a poll and somebody has started a campaign to get the North Stand named after Sir Bobby.

- You can vote in the poll and sign the petition but what would be a more fitting act right now is to donate to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation via the Justgiving page