Babe of the Month - Sexy WAG Sarah Brandner

Sarah Brandner was born on 12th December 1988 in Munich, Germany. Sarah is not by any means the first WAG who has worked as a model. She became a model like many when she was discovered on the streets by an agent who spotted her and asked her if she would be interested in modelling. At first she wasn't so sure, especially because she was only fifteen years old at the time.

At 5'11" tall and with a perfect figure (84-60-90) Sarah eventually decided to venture into modelling and was soon on the books of Place Models in Hamburg, Germany.
She is perhaps best known for featuring in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Body Painting Issue, along with Abbey Clancy, Bethany Dempsey, and Melissa Satta. She has also done notable work for German magazine Bild, and GQ Germany.

It was during her time at school where at a social event she first met footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger, but it wasn't until they met again in Ibiza in 2007 that they started dating, and the couple now live together in Munich.

Her modelling career has taken Sarah to change her residence address several times from Milan to New York and from New York to Munich, where she is currently living with her famous beau.

Unlikely Superhero – Crystal Palace’s very own Rambo!

When Peter Iain Ramage signed for Crystal Palace on a one-year contract in August 2012, even as a Crystal Palace fan I have to say I was left feeling somewhat uninspired!


I had witnessed the Whitley Bay born defender in action for ‘The Eagles’ during his five month loan spell with us during the 2011/12 season. To be fair to Ramage  during that time (which included 17 league appearances) he tended to be used by the then manager Dougie Freedman as a ‘utility’ player, and he flitted between the full-back and centre-half positions.

Ramage - In the form of his life!

As a result the 29 year-old had little opportunity to put a marker down, and establish himself in an ever changing back-four. In the first-half of the 2011/12 season Palace were in a defensive mess as they juggled numerous players in an attempt to find a settled back-four. By the time Ramage’s loan period had come to an end on the 15th January 2012, he had played with 11 different defensive partners in McCarthy, Davies, Tunchev, McGivern, Gardner, Clyne, Keinan, Eagan, Parsons, Moxey and Parr.

However Freedman had no hesitation in re-signing the Geordie lad for the start of the 2012/13 campaign. The signing of Ramage may have been initially as cover following the loss of Club captain Paddy McCarthy. McCarthy sustained a groin injury in the summer, and as I write is still sidelined and has yet to feature in a first-team game this season.
However it has proved to be an inspired signing as the player affectionately known as ‘Rambo’ has played a pivitol role in a wonderful season so far for the boys from SE25.

Rambo has established a solid, no nonsense central defensive partnership with Irishman Damien Delaney (right) this season, and his passion and desire is written all over his face during the heat of battle! Ramage has started 31 of 33 league games this season, come on as a substitute in another and since our opening day defeat to Watford at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace are unbeaten at home this season, a run of 16 games at ‘Fortress Selhurst.’

It must be said that several of the reasons for the success on the pitch this season can be attributed to confidence, attitude, belief and fitness. But unlike last season stability in defence in terms of personnel has been crucial.

Before Palace signed Delaney from Ipswich on the 31st August, Ramage was paired at the heart of the defence with Aaron Martin a loanee from Southampton, but Palace lost their opening three league games of the season conceding nine goals in the process. Upon his arrival Delaney was immediately paired with Ramage and the two have been inseparable ever since, other than a three game suspension handed to the Irishman for seeing red at Huddersfield just before Christmas.

Despite the upheaval with the departure of the rather flaccid Dougie (the grass is not always greener on the other side) Freedman and the backroom staff to Bolton in late October, and the subsequent arrival of the flamboyant Ian Holloway as his replacement in the managerial hot seat, Rambo has rolled with it all, without flinching or suffering any long term heartbreak! In fact Holloway’s arrival has probably seen Ramage develop as a player due to the Bristolian’s style of play, which allows players to express themselves a lot more by playing a fluid passing game with the emphasis on getting forward more often, rather than strangling the life out of a 1-0 lead!

    Ramage (wearing 28) shows what it means to him after scoring against Watford this month!

Ramage has even contributed with some rare but vital goals this season. He has in fact scored twice as many goals for Crystal Palace this season than he has over his entire professional career, having made his first-team debut for Newcastle United as a substitute in a UEFA Cup tie on the 16th March 2005.

His first goal in the red and blue of Palace came at The Walkers Stadium in October, as the Londoner's turned over the then league leaders Leicester City 2-1. Ramage then bagged a consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat at Leeds in November, before netting a vital goal at Watford this month, followed by a second goal in consecutive games as Palace thrashed Middlesbrough at Selhurst Park last week. His smart turn and shot against Boro’ was a goal that any striker would have been proud of, and it was also his first goal for the club at Selhurst Park.

On the pitch Rambo is the consummate professional, whilst off the pitch he comes across as a great lad, a family man who will always takes time out to chat to the fans and someone who loves a bit of banter with his team-mates. I imagine he is an inspirational, yet calming figure in the dressing room and someone that all the lads, particularly the youngster’s look up to!

He is also becoming somewhat of an unlikely favourite among the fans. You cannot as a football fan fail to revere a man who gives everything, a player who wears his heart on his sleeve and plays for the badge on his chest.......and who always goes to, and applauds the fans at the end of every match!


Rambo you are a credit to yourself and Crystal Palace Football Club and you won’t be far off winning this season’s Palace ‘Player of the Year’ award as voted for by us, the fans!

You can follow Peter Ramage on twitter or find him after training at most good coffee outlets, with Damien Delaney and Andre Moritz!


Pictures courtesy of: FiveYearPlanFanzine.co.uk and RednBlueArmy.co.uk

Going Going Vonn! Crash injuries end Lindsey Vonn’s season, but not her hopes!

One year and two days before the women's downhill at the Sochi Olympics in Russia, American Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn, whose record breaking ski-racing career has frequently mixed stirring triumph with frightening spills, suffered debilitating injuries to her right leg in a violent crash during a race at the World Championships in Schladming, Austria yesterday  —  putting her out for the rest of this World Cup season and potentially complicating the defence of her Olympic title.

Lindsay Vonn is hospitalized after this fall in a super-G race in Schladming, Austria on Tuesday

The United States Ski and Snowboard Association announced on Tuesday that Vonn suffered two torn ligaments in her right knee — the medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments — as well as a fractured lateral tibial plateau in the same knee after crashing in the super-G in Schladming.

Vonn, the Minnesota-born skier took a month off this season after being hospitalised for an intestinal illness in November, and had just regained her form with two wins last month.

Tuesday's race, the first of the World Championships, was delayed nearly four hours because of fog. There were more than ten separate delays as officials struggled to get the race in with daylight fading. Vonn led Slovenia's Tina Maze, the best female skier during this World Cup season after the first stage of the race.

Vonn who was the 19th racer out of the starting gate for the second stage, skied well at the top of the course. She led Maze by 0.04 seconds at the first checkpoint, and was just 0.12 seconds back at the second interval, and seemingly on her way to a medal, if not victory!

About 42 seconds into her run, as Vonn made a right-footed turn and arced her skis to the left, she navigated a jump at the same time. Vonn soared above the snow a little off balance with her hands behind her torso rather than in front of her chest, which usually ensures a more stable landing.

Returning to the snow, her right leg splayed briefly to the right and her knee hyper-extended inward and toward the left. She pitched forward at the same time and began to flip forward. Her right ski came off, cartwheeling down the slope after her. Vonn came to a stop a few hundred feet down the slope without making contact with the protective fencing, though she did plough through a gate. She was attended by medical personnel for 12 minutes on the side of the trail and airlifted to a hospital.

Christian Kaulfersch, the assistant medical director at the worlds, said Vonn left the Schladming hospital on Tuesday afternoon and will have surgery in another hospital. "She first wanted to go back to the team hotel to mentally deal with all what has happened."

The Olympic downhill champion will have surgery next week in Vail, Colorado. Due to intense media attention, neither she nor the U.S Ski Team would say when she's leaving Austria.

"She'll be heading back to Vail (Colorado) and I will be doing surgery on her knee early next week," team physician William Sterett told The Associated Press today.

Maze won the race, with Switzerland’s Lara Gut taking silver and American Julia Mancuso, Vonn’s longtime rival, winning bronze.

Vonn has enjoyed a significant amount of media attention for an alpine skier, making her the face of her sport. She has appeared on The Today Show, Access Hollywood, and The Late Show with David Letterman and has picked up endorsements from notable companies such as Head, Oakley, Red Bull, Rolex, and Under Armour.

Vonn appeared in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition that featured Winter Olympians in 2010. Her assets were estimated to be worth over 2.5 million dollars back in 2010.

Olympic skier Lindsay Vonn on the set of her Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot back in 2010 

Vonn's list of injuries at major championships is long:

Two years ago, she pulled out midway through the last worlds in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, because of a mild concussion.

At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Vonn skied despite a severely bruised shin to win the downhill and take bronze in the super-G.

At the 2009 worlds in Val d'Isere, she sliced her thumb on a champagne bottle after sweeping gold in the downhill and super-G, forcing her out of the giant slalom.

At the 2007 worlds in Are, Sweden, Vonn injured her knee in training and missed her final two events.

At the 2006 Turin Olympics, she had a horrific crash in downhill training and went directly from her hospital room to the mountain to compete in four of her five events.

Lindsey Vonn faces yet another enforced break from her sport, but this one occurs with only a year to go before the Sochi Olympics.

Lindsey Vonn is on pace to become the most accomplished female skier ever. Her career resume is as follows:

• 1984: Born: St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
• 2000: World Cup debut aged 16 in Park City, Utah
• 2002: Competes at Winter Olympics in Utah aged 17 in downhill and combined
• 2004: Claims first World Cup race win at Lake Louise in Canada
• 2008: Wins first World Cup title to become only the second American woman to lift the trophy
• 2009: Wins World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, and becomes first American to win women's world super-G title
• 2010: Wins gold in the downhill and bronze in super-G at the Vancouver Olympics
• 2012: Regains World Cup overall title

                      4 Overall World Cup titles

                    16 World Cup discipline titles, tied 1st all-time 

                    59 World Cup victories, the 2nd most all-time (3 shy of record).

Babes of the Month - Absolutely Booty-Full

An Alternative List of Football Club Fines

This week Arsène Wenger found himself commenting on the Gunners’ disciplinary policy after a document printed on Arsenal headed paper, detailing a list of rules for players and the cash penalties if they were broken appeared on the internet after a fan, reported to be a friend of club doctor Gary O’Driscoll, took a photo of the fines sheet during a tour of the training ground.

Arsène Wenger's strict disciplinary regime was exposed this week!

The supporter then posted it on a file-sharing website, believing it would be seen only by himself and his close friends, only for the document to go ‘viral’ across the net.
It then emerged as to why Arsenal manager why defender Per Mertesacker had become the club's debt collector.

The German international is responsible for rounding up fines from fellow players who fell foul of the club's internal disciplinary rules,with fines doubled if they are not settled in seven days. Wenger joked: "The Germans do well economically and we respect that. They are the only ones that make money in Europe. That's why we've chosen a German," the Frenchman added of the 85-times capped Mertesacker.

The fines included are £1,000 for players not turning up for matches they are not involved in, £500 for arriving late for travel or training, £250 for not turning up on time to a team meeting or meal and £100 for taking a newspaper, laptop or phone into the medical area or dressing room.
The Gunners boss even lays down the law over the clothing worn by his players, with £100 docked for items deemed inappropriate.

List of Arsenal FC 2012/13 Player Fines

Here is an alternative and light-hearted list of football club fines for players' whose behaviour may be considered not becoming of their club, amateur or professional:


50p fine:

• Dirty boots (Cleaning your boots in the changing room on match day does not constitute having clean boots’ and you will therefore still receive the fine).
  
• Not running the line.
• Putting your kit on back to front.
• Air kick.
• Foul throw.
• Putting the ball over the fence and not retrieving it.

£1 fine:

• Not showering post-match.
• Not doing the nets (Before and after home games).
• Claiming goals that were really crosses.
• Wearing shit casual clothes. 
• Taking kit home (£1 per garment).
• Arguing with team mates during game.
• Hitting the woodwork (this ain't the cross-bar challenge!).
  
  
  

£2 fine:

• Backchat to manager.
• Penalty miss.
• 'Chump of the Match' (Voted by the players individually in the changing rooms after the match. The person with most votes gets fined - they can be nominated for anything for e.g. a f*ck up during the match, an all-round piss poor individual performance etc).
• Talking during gaffers pre-match / half-time team talk (even if he is speaking boll*x).
• Participating in a training or match day bust up with a teammate.
• Not staying for a post-match beer (Home or away).
• Milking injuries.
• Smoking during a game (£2 per fag).

£5 fine:

• Own goal.
• Excessive showboating (e.g Back healing the ball when you could just pass it normally).
• Pleasuring a dog - Four legged variety.
• Wearing make-up on match day.
• Leaving a game before it has finished.
• Pulling out of a match due to charity work. 

£10 fine:

• Not wearing ladies underwear for a cup game.
• Throwing up at an official club function.
• Bringing along a 'minger' to a match (if in doubt the Club Committee will decide).
• Arguing against fines.

£150 fine:

• Any form of misbehaving with a players' missus!

All fines are listed as a guideline and the 'fines master' and committee have the right to change or add to them at any point without any notice.

All the money that gets collected will pay for the Christmas do and go towards trophies for the end of season do.

Bizarre Global Football Stadium Names - Past and Present

Here is a list of some of the weirdest, wackiest, off the wall and most amusing football venue names around the globe, both past and present!


The Dripping Pan: 

Lewes Football Club is an English football team based in Lewes, East Sussex. The club are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division, and play at The Dripping Pan (often just called The Pan). Although one of the more obscure stadium names you’ll ever come across it’s a ground steeped in history. Local Lewes legend suggests it was part of the salt making industry run by monks from the Cluniac Lewes Priory.



This also accounted for the pitch being sunk below ground level and being surrounded by grass banks on all sides, allowing spectators to sit at the top and watch the game.

It has been the home of 'The Rooks' since their beginnings in 1885 and has a capacity of 3,000 although only 300 of those are seated. The Dripping Pan was chosen as one of the Top 5 Non-League away days by the football blog 'The Ball is Round' in September 2010.


Wankdorf Stadium:

A headline-writer’s dream became a reality with the birth of the outrageously comical stadium name given to the Swiss club team BSC Young Boys. As a result arguably one the was inspired by the move of Young Boys from the old Wankdorf to their new Stade de Suisse Wankdorf in 2005. ESPN cooked up a storm with the story by using the simple but effective line: ‘Young Boys Wankdorf erection relief’.

The old Wankdorf Stadium (German: Wankdorfstadion) was a football stadium in the Wankdorf quarter of Bern, Switzerland, and the former home of Swiss club BSC Young Boys. It was built in 1925, and as well as serving as a club stadium, it hosted several important matches, including the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final, the 1961 European Cup final, and the 1989 Cup Winners' Cup final. The Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf has been built in its place.

The band Muse credits Wankdorf stadium as inspiring the aptly named 'Wankdorf Jam'


Hunky Dorys Park: 

Drogheda United Football Club (Irish: Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is an Irish football club currently playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The Boynesiders were once dubbed the 'Chelsea of the Irish league' due to their big-spending ways which landed them the FAI Cup in 2005 and their first ever league title two years later. Things went downhill rapidly shortly afterwards, with the club enduring financial problems. Step forward Ireland’s leading crinkle-cut crisp brand to bail them out and save the day in 2010. They now play in a stadium named after the number one crinkle cut crisp brand in Ireland - Hunky Dorys.

Dubbed ‘the Chelsea of Ireland’ the clubs relaxed mentality when it came to spending landed them in serious financial peril. Everything appears to be hunky dory (forgive me) at Drogahead now as they continue to fight at the top of the League of Ireland Premier Division.


Giant Axe:

Lancaster City F.C. is an English football club based in Lancaster, Lancashire. The club are currently members of Northern Premier League Division One North and play at Giant Axe, located close to Lancaster railway station and both Lancaster Castle and Lancaster Priory Church. It has been their home ground since the formation of the original club 1905.

The reason for the idiosyncratic name is that when the ground was first built it was the centrepiece of a sports club, the exterior wall of which was, when viewed from above, the same shape as an axe head!


Cashpoint Arena:

The Cashpoint Arena is an Austrian football stadium in Vorarlberg Altach. It is the home of  SC Rheindorf Altach, a football club playing in the Austrian First League, which is the second tier in Austrian football. The stadium was built 1989-90 and was opened on 1st June 1990 under the name Schnabelholz, and has a capacity of 8,500 spectators. It's sponsors are Cashpoint, one of the largest bookmakers in Europe.

The stadium offers a unique atmosphere because the visitors are near to the playing field. But the stadium is not only used for football, but also for open air concerts and other events.


Pizza Hut Park: 

FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer (MLS)
The FC Dallas Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium with a 20,500-seat capacity, built and owned by the city of Frisco, Texas. Aside from the main field inside it has 17 grass and artificial football pitches outside.

In 2005, the naming rights to the facility were acquired by the large pizza chain Pizza Hut whose corporate headquarters are in Plano, Texas (a northern Dallas suburb). On 7th January 2012, the naming rights sponsorship ended and the facility is now known as FC Dallas Stadium.


Bargain Booze Stadium:

Wincham Park, home of Witton Albion F.C. is a football stadium in Wincham, a parish on the edge of Northwich, England. The Club was founded in 1887 and currently play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division (seventh tier of the English football league system).

The stadium has had a number of names due to sponsorship deals; these include the Bargain Booze Stadium, Brittania Carpets Stadium and its current name, The Help For Heroes Stadium.


KitKat Crescent:  

The last place you would expect a Swiss sweets manufacturer (Nestlé) to set up a factory would be in the picturesque City of York. But thank goodness they did as in 2005 they bailed out the towns football club, renaming Bootham Crescent after one of their popular chocolate bars.

KitKat Crescent remained for five-years before the naming rights deal expired. The ground returned to being known as Bootham Crescent after this arrangement expired in January 2010. The league two sides ground currently has a capacity of 7,872.


Mitsubishi Forklift Stadion:

Mitsubishi Forklift Stadion is a multi-use stadium in Almere, Netherlands. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Almere City Football Club, a Dutch football club founded in 2001. Almere City play in the Jupiler League, the second tier of Dutch football.

They can trace its history back to 1972, with the merger of DWS, Volewijckers and Blauw-Wit into FC Amsterdam. Disgruntled DWS supporters founded their own club, called De Zwarte Schapen, named after their nickname, which translates as Black Sheep.

In March 2010 the club was renamed AFC Almere City, before being changed again a few weeks later to Almere City F.C. as the AFC prefix was deemed to be too reminiscent of the club's partners AFC Ajax. The stadium is able to hold 3,000 people (500 seated) and was built in 2005.


Gay Meadow:

The Gay Meadow is the former home ground of Shrewsbury Town F.C. The ground closed in June 2007, at the end of the 2006-07 Football League season, as the club moved to a new stadium, the New Meadow, also known as the Greenhous Meadow for sponsorship purposes.

The Gay Meadow's location on the banks of the River Severn meant the club suffered with flooding. Severe floods in 1998, 2000 and frequently since had affected the club, with several matches postponed, a flooded pitch and flooded offices and changing rooms.
Supporters of the move claimed that the risk of flooding along with the Gay Meadow's cramped location, meant that a move to a new ground was essential in order for the club to remain as a Football League club.

Shrewsbury Town went 34 games unbeaten at the Greenhous Meadow between March 2011 and September 2012, a record stretching over three different seasons.

The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations - Preview

The 2013 African Nations Cup will be the 29th Africa Cup of Nations (ACON), the football championship of Africa, organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

It takes place in South Africa in nine days time. South Africa and Zambia both qualify automatically as hosts and holders respectively. The opening match will be played in Johannesburg on the 19th January between South Africa and Cape Verde, with the Islanders making their finals debut. The winner of the ACON tournament will automatically qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil as the representative from CAF and will line up in group B alongside Spain, Uruguay and Tahiti.

On 29 January 2011, Libya won the right to host the 2013 tournament and Morocco won the bid to host the 2015 edition. However due to the 2011 Libyan civil war, Libya and South Africa traded years with South Africa hosting in 2013 and Libya hosting in 2017.

The Africa Cup of Nations, also referred to as the African Cup of Nations or African Nations Cup, officially CAN (French for Coupe d'Afrique des Nations), is the main international association football competition in Africa. It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been held every two years.

In 1957 there were only three participating nations: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. South Africa were originally scheduled to compete, but were disqualified due to the apartheid policies of the government then in power. Since then, the tournament has grown greatly, making it necessary to hold a qualifying tournament.

Egypt is the most successful nation in the cup's history, winning the tournament a record seven times (including when Egypt was known as the United Arab Republic between 1958 and 1971). Ghana and Cameroon have won four titles each.

In May 2010, it was announced that the tournament would be moved to odd-numbered years from 2013. This will mean the tournament will now not take place in the same year as the FIFA World Cup. The 2010 tournament was unfortunately shrouded in controversy after the Togo team bus was set upon by gunfire leading to the tragic death of three officials. Togo left the competition as a result. Egypt eventually won the tournament, defeating Ghana in the final.

In 2012 the tournament was co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The 2012 surprise winners were Zambia who defeated Ivory Coast in a penalty shoot-out in the final held in the Stade d'Angondjé, Libreville.

Zambia's players celebrate their ACON success after defeating Ivory Coast in the 2012 Final

The win was dedicated to the 18 players who perished in April 1993, after a plane carrying the Zambia squad crashed just miles from the site of the 2012 final in Gabon. Malia beat Ghana in the 3rd place match. Christopher Katongo of Zambia, who plays professionally for Chinese Super League club Henan Construction F.C. as a striker was voted most valuable player. Frenchman Hervé Renard was the Zambian coach.

All-time ACON top scorers:

Samuel Eto'o - Cameroon 18 goals
Laurent Pokou - Ivory Coast - 14
Rashidi Yekini - Nigeria - 13
Hassan El-Shazly - Egypt - 12
Patrick Mboma - Cameroon and Hossam Hassan - Egypt - both 11.

23 English-based players have been named in provisional squads ahead of the tournament, and they are as follows:

South Africa: Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace, right), Dean Furman (Oldham).

Morocco: Oussama Assaidi (Liverpool).

Ghana: Albert Adomah (Bristol City).

Mali: Samba Diakite (QPR), Mahamadou Diarra (Fulham), Tongo Doumbia (Wolves), Modibo Maiga (West Ham).

Congo DR: Gabriel Zakuani (Peterborough), Youssouf Mulumbu (West Bromwich Albion).

Zambia: Emmanuel Mayuka (Southampton).

Nigeria: John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses (both Chelsea), Shola Ameobi (Newcastle), Danny Shittu (Millwall).

Ivory Coast: Kolo Toure, Yaya Toure, Abdul Razak (all Manchester City), Cheick Tiote (Newcastle), Arouna Kone (Wigan, front right), Gervinho (Arsenal) .

Algeria: Adlene Guedioura (Nottingham Forest).

Togo: Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham).

Stadium Venues:
The venues were announced on 4 May 2012. The National Stadium (Johannesburg) will host the opening match and the final. Other the venues selected for matches are Mbombela Stadium (Nelspruit), Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (port Elizabeth), Royal Bafokeng Stadium (Rustenburg) and Moses Mabhida Stadium(Durban)

Teams:

Group A: South Africa, Angola, Morocco, Cape Verde

Group B: Ghana, Mali, Niger, Congo DR

Group C: Zambia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia

Group D: Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Algeria, Togo

The top two teams from each group qualify for the the knockout stages beginning on the 2nd February.
The semi-finals take place on the 6th February and the final is on the 10th February.

Africa Cup Of Nations: The betting and the players to watch out for!
Ivory Coast at 7/4 are favourites to win the 2013 tournament, followed by Ghana 7/1, hosts South Africa 9/1 then Nigeria 10/1 and holders Zambia at shades of 12/1. Togo and Ethopia are the rank outsiders. However I believe there are better value betting options to consider than the Ivory Coast.

Ivory Coast, last years beaten finalists are on paper at least the stand-out side. They boast a wealth of internationally recognised talent in the form of Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure, Didier Drogba, Arouna Kone, Salomon Kalou and a host of other familiar faces are all there, and having come so close last time they and their fans will be in expectant mood.However not only have they been put in Group D with former champions Algeria and Tunisia and a Togo team with all to gain and nothing to lose, but tradition suggests potential trouble for the title favourites, and at 7/4 they look far too short a price.
Ghana will be missing their best player, Andre Ayew, who has a hamstring injury. One of Africa's finest players, Ayew the Marseille winger/striker will be sorely missed. His absence deals a potentially fatal blow to the Black Stars' hopes of becoming champions.

I like the look of Morocco at 18/1 - France-based players Zakaria Bergdich (Lens), Abdelhamid El Kaoutari (Montpellier), Younes Belhanda (Montpellier) and Chahir Belghazouani (AC Ajaccio) arrive in fine form, and they have a good striker in Youssef El Arabi of La Liga side Granada CF.

Mali's squad is packed with power and talent - Samba Sow (Lens), Cheick Fantamady Diarra (Rennes) and Sambou Yatabare (Lens) are names to look out for. Mali and Algeria are both 16/1 outsiders to win the tournament but both look capable of causing an upset in this years competition. Mali came third at the 2012 finals and are the obvious choice to progress from Group B along with Ghana, but DR Congo pose a threat if only because they are coached by wily Frenchman Claude le Roy. A small wager on either Mali and Algeria making the final could be a shrewd bet.

Algeria have in Ryad Boudebouz (FC Sochaux) and Foued Kadir (Marseille) two of the most technically gifted players in the tournament. Boudebouz and Kadir are both attacking midfielder players and are sure to excel in South Africa.

Other players to look out for in the tournament. I can see debutant's Cape Verde causing an upset or two, because they have one of the tournament's finest young footballers in Lille's Ryan Mendes, an explosive attacker with flair and good finishing ability. Also look out for flying winger Odair Fortes (Stade Reims) and striker Julio Tavares (Dijon).

Burkino Faso have two outstanding attacking players in Lorient's Alain Traore and Rennes' Jonathan Pitroipa. Burkin Faso have been drawn in one of the two more winnable groups, alongside Zambia, Nigeria and Ethiopia and their odds of 6/1 to win their group, look overpriced!

My Best Bet:
Morocco to Win the Tournament at 14/1
Outside Bets:
One of Mali or Algeria to Reach The Final both at 5/2
Longshot:
Burkina Faso to Win Group C at 6/1

# Odds courtesy of Betfair and correct at time of writing.

Go to oddschecker for all your ACON betting.

Live coverage of the 2013 African Cup of Nations on TV will be shown on ITV4 and British Eurosport in the UK. ITV4 will broadcast 20 live African Cup of Nations games including 12 group matches, 4 Quarter Finals, both Semi Finals, the third-place play off and the African Cup of Nations Final.

British Eurosport will broadcast all 32 games live from the tournament including the African Cup of Nations Final On TV. See here for the full TV schedule of matches and kick-off times.

All the Latest Transfer Gossip across Europe!

The January 2013 transfer window only opened four days ago, but it is safe to say that the media is rife with transfer rumours across Britain and Europe!

Clubs have 27 more days to reshape and strengthen their squads with players that they feel can help them achieve 'comparative' success, whether they are chasing trophies, eyeing up promotion or bidding to avoid relegation.

With purse strings being pulled ever increasingly tighter by the owners of many clubs, perhaps the loan market will play a more significant role than ever in this winter window!

Here is a round up of all of today’s latest transfer gossip:

Is your club involved?

Chelsea, Newcastle, Lille, West Ham, Liverpool, QPR, Inter Milan, New York Red Bulls, Los Angeles Galaxy, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, Fulham, FC Twente, Tottenham, Toulouse, Monaco, Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Arsenal, PSV, Aston Villa, Wigan, Sporting Kansas City, Liverpool, Sunderland, Hull, Hannover, Ipswich, Nottingham Forest, Swansea, Reading, Sporting Lisbon, AC Milan, Corinthians, Bayern Munich, Mainz 05, West Brom, Zenit, Dianamo Kiev, Genoa, Southampton, Birmingham, Bolton, Blackburn, Brighton, Bristol City, Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers, Fleetwood, Lazio, Willem II, Bournemouth and Northampton........are all caught up in the latest transfer news/rumours across Europe, as we speak.

Chelsea have completed the signing of striker Demba Ba from Newcastle on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee - skysports.com and caughtoffside.com

Newcastle United have completed the signing of Mathieu Debuchy (right) from Lille - soccernet.espn.go.com and skysports.com

Joe Cole has completed his transfer to West Ham United from Liverpool, with the 31 year-old signing an 18-month contract at Upton Park - soccernet.espn.go.com

QPR manager Harry Redknapp has been offered Inter Milan forward Wesley Sneijder, 28, to boost his side's relegation scrap - The Sun and transfermarketweb.com

QPR boss harry Redknapp was also happy to confirm that loan moves for Los Angeles Galaxy's Robbie Keane and New York Red Bulls' Tim Cahill are under consideration - skysports.com

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has been quoted by Spanish newspaper AS as describing reports linking striker Radamel Falcao, 26, with Real Madrid as "totally false" - skysports.com

Borussia Dortmund CEO Aki Watzke has rubbished recent reports linking centre-back Mats Hummels, 24, with a January move to Manchester City - soccernet.espn.go.com

Manchester United may wait until the summer before bidding for Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha (right), but his arrival could mean the end of Nani’s time at the Manchester club - footballgossip.org.uk and soccernet.espn.go.com

Fulham have confirmed the signing of teenage forward Chris David from FC Twente after having missed out on him during the summer after a problem with his medical - skysports.com

Tottenham are leading the race to sign France midfielder Moussa Sissoko, 23, on a pre-contract agreement from Toulouse, but face competition from Monaco - The Times and footballgossip.org.uk

Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh has signed a six-month loan deal with West Ham United, at least according to Jack Sullivan, the son of Hammers co-chairman David Sullivan. Arsenal are expected to make a significant contribution to Chamakh’s £60,000-a-week wages during his time at Upton Park - footballgossip.org.uk

Arsenal are looking at a move for PSV Eindhoven midfielder Kevin Strootman (right), 22. Arsene Wenger has earmarked a move for the young Dutch international, and will offer Russian winger Andrei Arshavin as part of an offer that the Arsenal boss hopes will tempt the Eredivisie side into selling the Dutch international - caughtoffside.com

Aston Villa are considering a move for Manchester City's out-of-favour 30-year-old defender Joleon Lescott - Daily Mirror and footballgossip.org.uk

Tottenham will listen to offers for England international midfielder Jake Livermore, 23, this month, with West London rivals QPR and Fulham monitoring the situation - Daily Mail

Wigan Athletic have completed the signing of Honduran midfielder Roger Espinoza (right) from Sporting Kansas City. The 26 year-old has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at the DW Stadium - sportsmole.co.uk and skysports.com

Sunderland striker Fraizer Campbell is keen on a £7million move to Hull City - The Sun, The Mirror and Daily Mail

Hannover have confirmed that they are hopeful of sealing a deal for Arsenal defender Johan Djourou. Hannover are keen to take Djourou, who has two years left on his current deal, on a loan deal with a view to that becoming permanent in the summer - sktsports.com

Ipswich Town have raided Championship rivals Nottingham Forest to sign 25 year-old striker David McGoldrick on loan - skysports.com

Swansea City striker Danny Graham, 27, is Reading manager Brian McDermott's next target following the capture of  Daniel Caricco (right), 24, from Sporting Lisbon - The Times and Daily Express

Fabio Coentrao's future at Real Madrid is in danger after the 24-year-old full-back failed to show up for the first training session of the year - Marca (in Spanish) and caughtoffside.com

Brazil striker Alexandre Pato, 23 - a previous target of Manchester City and Chelsea - has left AC Milan for Corinthians for around £12m - Tottusport (in Italian) and caughtoffside.com

Bayern Munich have confirmed a deal that will see them sign Mainz 05 defender Jan Kirchhoff at the end of the season. The 22-year-old will join Bayern on a three-year deal in the summer, once his current contract has expired - sportsmole.co.uk

Arsenal are reportedly among the clubs who are considering a January bid for Jonas Olsson, but West Bromwich Albion insist the defender is going nowhere. Last summer WBA took steps to ensure Olsson would not leave, and gave the Swede a new four-year contract, but the terms are rumoured to include a £3million release clause - skysports.com

Joel Obi's agent says the player is unlikely to leave Inter Milan, but confirmed Sunderland's interest in the Nigerian ace. The Black Cats have been linked with a January move for the 21-year-old, but his agent insists that a deal is unlikely -skysports.com

Inter have confirmed the arrival of former Italian international striker Tommaso Rocchi from Lazio. Inter have secured the services of the experienced striker on a permanent deal with reports suggesting the 35-year-old will be there till June - goal.com and insidefutbol.com

Yann M’Vila (right) is ready to leave Rennes during the current transfer window if a fee can be agreed with the French club. The news is likely to be listened to carefully by a number of clubs who have been keen on M’Vila in the past. Interested parties include Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Zenit St.Petersburg and most recently QPR - insidefutbol.com

Genoa's Andreas Granqvist will not be returning to England after links with Liverpool and Sunderland, as he is set for talks with Zenit and Dynamo Kiev - La Gazzetta dello Sport

Southampton manager Nigel Adkins has insisted he is not interested in signing Birmingham City's 19 year-old goalkeeper Jack Butland - soccernet.espn.go.com

Brighton's 21-year-old defender Lewis Dunk is a target for both Bristol City and Blackburn - skysports.com

QPR have signed defender Tal Ben Haim on a short-term deal until he end of the season. The Israel was a free agent since leaving Portsmouth in August - skysports.com and footballgossip.org.uk

Bolton manager Dougie Freedman is set to sign Barnsley striker Craig Davies, 26, in a £300,000 deal. Freedman wants the powerful frontman to bolster his struggling side - Daily Mail

Martin Olsson's agent has claimed that West Ham are one of a number of clubs looking to land the 24 year-old Blackburn defender- skysports.com

Willem II have confirmed that they are hoping to agree a deal with Bournemouth for Lorenzo Davids (right) - skysports.com

Swindon have completed the permanent signing of defender Darren Ward, 34, following his release by Millwall - skysports.com

Doncaster Rovers have announced the signing of 29 year-old midfielder Lee Fowler from Fleetwood for an undisclosed fee - skysports.com

Northampton have completed the signing of defender Clarke Carlisle on an 18-month contract - skysports.com

Babe Of The Month - Happy New Year/Prosit Neujahr/Bonne Année/Feliz Año Nuevo/Felice Anno Nuovo/Feliz Ano Novo/Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku/S Novim Godom.

Festive Footballer's Names - A Christmas Club!

Yes, it's that time of year again!

Here are a list of well known footballer's with names that evoke the seasonal Christmas spirit!

Starting XI:

Pepe Reindeer - Liverpool

Silent Zat Night - Bolton Wanderers
Ledley Good King Wenceslas - Tottenham Hotspur
Alex Wynter Wonderland - Crystal Palace
Evander Sno - NEC Nijmegen

Emmanuel Frimpong Merrily On Highbury - Arsenal
Jesús Navas González - Sevilla FC (right)
Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Kieron Dyer - QPR

Away in a Nile Ranger - Newcsatle United
Gabriel Agbonla One Horse Open Sleigh - Aston Villa
Demba Bah Humbug - Newcastle United

Substitutes:

Sleigh Given - Aston Villa
Gylfi Sing Us A Song - Tottenham Hotspur
Juan Pablo Ángel Gabriel - Chivas USA
Thomas Mince Pies - Blackpool
Stefan Elfenberg - Former German International
Andy Christmas Carroll - Liverpool
Santa Klass Jan Huntelaar - Schalke 04

Manager:

Alan Pardew And A Pear Tree - Newcastle United

Other Squad Members: 

Edwin Van Der Star - Former Dutch International
Matthias Rudolph - SV Babelsberg 03
John Sherry - Chelsea
Roque Santa Clause - Málaga CF
Àngel Rangel Zaragoza - Swansea City (right)
Theo Walnut - Arsenal
Noel Hunt - Reading
Chrismas Hat Jarvis - West Ham United
Santa Clause Cazorla - Arsenal
Jason Euell - AFC Wimbledon
Cracker - Real Madrid


Credit: Nick Potts/PA Archive/Press Association Images and Tony Marshall/EMPICS Sport

The History of the Football Magazine - The Later Years!

In my last article 'The Early Years of the Football Magazine,' I outlined the birth of the football magazine from its inception up to the 1960's, where we saw the rise of publications such as "The Football Favourite," "Football Weekly," "FA Bulletin," "Voice of the Football Association," "Charles Buchan's Football Monthly" and "Soccer Star."

This week I am going to be concentrating on 'The Later Years of the Football Magazine,' from the mid 1960's to the present day.

We left 'The Early Years' following the merger of the "Soccer Star" magazine into "World Soccer" in the late 1960's.

"World Soccer" (right) remains the periodical authority on world football. It is part of the IPC media group, and a member of an umbrella group of similar titles published in other countries, such as 'Kicker' (Germany), 'A Bola' (Spain), and 'La Gazzetta dello Sport' (Italy).

"World Soccer" has always featured authoritative articles on the world football scene by writers such as Brian Glanville and John Ballard.

"World Soccer" is still going strong today and is in fact the worlds longest running football magazine, with a monthly circulation of around 52,000.

One of the next British magazines to show it's face was the "Soccer Review", ultimately to become the Football League Review (The Official Journal of the Football League) which started in August 1965. If you went to football matches from the late sixties and through to the mid seventies you will remember the insert from the Football League that came inside your clubs match day programme. However it did not appear in every football clubs programme. It was printed by Sport and Screen Productions in Leicester and was edited by Harry Brown. It qualifies as a magazine in its own right as it was always available either by post or from your newsagent right from launch. The Football League Review went through various name changes from "Soccer Review," to the "Football League Review," and finally the "League Football."

In 1967 we saw the launch of "Jimmy Hill's Football Weekly," (right) the first weekly football magazine in the world, if you consider the term 'magazine' as to incorporate a full colour glossy photographic front cover, even if the inside was black and white. Other weekly newspapers such as "Soccer Star" had been running before this time, but only with spot colour on the front page.

The JHFW magazine folded in 1970 when a large publishing group bought it as part of a portfolio - they went in for glossy, expensive publications but they soon decided that JHFW didn't fit their image and so it was ditched.

A former member of staff, Carol Davis, who worked on the JHFW magazine said "We never heard sight nor sound of Jimmy Hill during all the time I worked there - he simply lent his name to the mag and had no involvement; just another business venture for him I suppose." In 1968 Jimmy Hill became Head of Sport at London Weekend Television and rose to Deputy Controller of Programmes, before joining the BBC as presenter of "Match of the Day."

"Goal" magazine (right) joined the competition and was launched on 16 August 1968 with a "bash" at the Savoy, featuring Goal Girls and the assembled media, with Bobby Charlton signed up to do a weekly diary. It went on to became a successful magazine in the early 1970’s.

By 1971 "Goal" had weekly sales of 220,000, which gradually declined from that high point before the International Publishing Corporation (IPC) decided to incorporate it into IPC stablemate "Shoot!" magazine on 15 June 1974.

"Shoot!" magazines circulation had hit a high of 120,000 copies per week in 1996. It changed to a monthly magazine in 2001, selling in excess of 33,000 copies a month. It was relaunched as a weekly magazine in late February 2008 before publishers IPC sold off the brand in August 2008, a year short of it's 40th birthday.

"Shoot!" (right) was noted throughout the 1970's and 1980's for the quality of its news stories and articles on all aspects of football in England and Scotland. The magazine was also known for its 'Star Writer' features. Each season a selection of big-name First Division players were signed up to write columns, including Kevin Keegan, Bryan Robson and Charlie Nicholas. The magazine also featured the very popular Paul Trevillion's 'You Are The Ref' piece, which has since been afforded cult status and now appears in 'The Observer' newspaper sports supplement.

In 1974 "Charles Buchan's Football Monthly" closed and became "Football" and was maintained by IPC until 1995 when it was sold to Ken Bates at Chelsea.

"Match" magazine was launched on 6 September 1979, at a cover price of 25p. The original editor was Mel Bagnall. Kevin Keegan was the first cover star of  "Match" and supported the magazine with his column, 'Learn To Play The Keegan Way.' The first issue came with an 80-page sticker album and included columns by Tottenham star Ossie Ardiles, Manchester United's Steve Coppell and Nottingham Forest manager, Brian Clough.

On its launch in 1979, the magazine initially failed to catch the dominant circulation of its main weekly football rival, "Shoot!" In the mid 1990's the magazine was successfully revitalized and relaunched by Chris Hunt. Under his editorship "Match" was transformed, finally overtaking "Shoot" to become the biggest selling football title in Britain, with its weekly sales peaking at 242,000 during this period. "Match" continues to this date, but is more a comic than a magazine for grown ups.

No one really provided "World Soccer" with any monthly competition from 1974 until the launch of "When Saturday Comes" (WSC) in 1986. This magazine (right) started life as a 12-page photocopied fanzine in March 1986 on sale for 20p, and is still running today with a circulation of 21,000 at a price of £2.95.

There was an explosion of football fanzines in the mid 1980's. In January 1988 there were 22 fanzines in the "WSC" listing of like titles. A year later it was 121 and in January 1992 there were over 600. Many titles did not reach the list, but in 1995 it was estimated that in excess of 2,150 titles were available but only "WSC" survived as a mainstream football magazine.

"When Saturday Comes" aims to provide a voice for intelligent football supporters, offering both a serious and humorous view of the sport, covering all the topics that fans are likely to talk about, whether serious or trivial.

In the early-1990s the magazine began to take on advertising, and increased to 48 pages. WSC is still edited by Andy Lyons, who originally founded the magazine along with Mike Ticher.

"The Footballer" started in July 1989 and was sub titled the "Journal of Soccer History and Statistics". There were 36 editions of the magazine produced before it disappeared in June 1996.


"90 minutes" (right) arrived in October 1990 and stopped again on the 17 May 1997. It was started by Crystal Palace fan Dan Goldstein and remained independent until IPC took it over. It was launched at £1 an issue but was reduced to 65p quite quickly.

359 issues later when "90 minutes" ceased the editor in chief was Paul Hawksbee, now a presenter on TalkSPORT radio.
Dan Goldstein went on to write the "Rough Guide to Football" in 2000, which could be described as the only football book of its kind, in that it goes beyond the usual back page material to uncover the most amazing stories and unlikeliest personalities on planet football!

"Goalmouth" This monthly national football magazine was launched in May 1992 and lasted just one season. It was published by EPG Publishing and was edited by John Jackson. The price was £1.50 on launch and quickly went up to £1.75. This was reflected in the high quality paper used and the photographic reproduction work. It was a superior publication and it is a shame it failed after the one season.

"Four Four Two" magazine (right) was launched in September 1994 and targets an adult sports audience. It has now become the biggest-selling football magazine in the UK, with monthly sales figures in excess of 100,000. The magazine features a mixture of authoritative and serious-minded articles together with irreverent humour and nostalgia pieces. Another reason for its success is its ability to connect to the needs and feelings of the typical football fan.

Popular features include: 'Magic Moment,' 'Upfront,' 'They Said What?' 'Insider,' and 'My Perfect XI.'

"Four Four Two" is published by 'The Haymarket Media Group' and it launched its 200th edition back in February 2011.

The magazine has had an array of high-profile people amongst its regular contributors. The likes of James Richardson, who presented TV's Football Italia, Jonathan Wilson, football journalist and author of Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics and Michel Salgado, footballer formerly of Real Madrid and currently playing for Blackburn Rovers are all currently involved. Previous contributors include: Henry Winter, Bobby Robson, Arsène Wenger, David Platt, the late Brian Clough and Robbie Savage.


For the grown up magazine readers we have still the big three: "World Soccer", "When Saturday Comes" and "Four Four Two" still slogging it out for world domination!

The History of the Football Magazine - The Early Years!

Prior to the saturation coverage of football by television and radio and the growth of the internet, other than results and match reports in newspapers, football magazines and annuals were the prime source of information for supporters. Many have long since disappeared, but a few still continue to enjoy success.

Here is a look back at the birth of the football magazine and those magazines that are still in existence!

The first black and white printed football specific newspaper in Britain was "Football" which ran from 4 October 18 until 11 April 1883.

From the late 1890's football clubs started producing their own programmes and newspapers started to produce football based editions.

Early Club specific publications included:

"The Official Programme: The Official Organ of Manchester City, Newton Heath, Broughton Rangers and Salford Club" from 3 September 1898 until 28 April 1900

"The Official Programme: The Only Official Organ of the Everton, L'pool, New B'ton, R'k Ferry and Tranmere Clubs" from 1 September 1898 until 29 April 1899

In the 20th Century we saw the arrival of the "Football Chronicle" which ran from 16 September 1911 to 25 April 1914 and continued after the war from 30 August 1919 to 19 December 1936.

"The Football Favourite" ran from 4 September 1920 to 30 April 1921, and continued as "The Football and Sports Favourite" (right) between 7 May 1921 and 30 March 1929.

In the 1930's the "Football Weekly" marketed as 'the great paper for the great game -every Wednesday 2d' was probably the best seller.

The question to address is what is the difference between newspaper and a magazine?

East Germany produced the earliest periodical that resembled a football magazine, "Die Fussball-Woche" (pictured right) meaning "Football Week" which was first published on 24 September 1923 in dessen Verlag. This is the earliest publication that resembles what we would now recognise as a magazine format.

All these pre-war periodicals were still missing the crucial element of colour photography.

The "FA Bulletin" the "Voice of the Football Association" commenced on the 20 September 1946 and would run monthly for the period of the football season. It changed to the "FA News" in August 1951 until 1956. It changed again to "FA Today" and finally ceased production in October 1979. It is hard to call this a generally available magazine, as it was sold on a subscription only basis.

If you want to add to the definition of a magazine in terms of using better quality paper and colour then the first football magazine in the UK was "Charles Buchan's Football Monthly."

This iconic magazine (pictured right) was launched in September 1951 and the world had its first modern style football magazine. It featured on its first cover, Blackpool's Sir Stanley Matthews. In its first year of existence the magazine sold 60,000 copies per month, peaking at around 150,000 in 1961-62.

The first original colour photographs appeared in the November 1957 edition. For many readers the pictures of players in CBFM were the only way supporters could see what an opposition player looked like, unless you had seen them appear at your own home ground.

A popular feature of CBFM was that unlike newspapers it carried news of every player transfer under the heading 'Transfer Market Moves.' Due to a lengthy 'lead time' in those days - the time between submission of a copy and actual publication some of the information provided could be anything up to three months old! However, this information detailed transfers of players between lower division and non-league clubs, for many readers it was 'news.' Such information was not available from any other source.

Other 'in vogue' CBFM features included: interviews with players, readers' letters and 'swap your programmes.' A page was also devoted to a feature on an amateur club, invariably a London-based or Home Counties club as the writer of this piece Norman Ackland was himself London-based, and was working on very limited expenses.

In the days before Sunday football became an established and integral part of many people's weekends, CBFM also had a feature called 'Fixtures Wanted' which was a double-page spread of small ads from teams all over the country asking for friendly games within a certain radius. Many of these teams boasted elaborate names such as Internazionale Celtic or Real Bexhill.

In the 1970's, as coverage of football on television increased and newspapers devoted more column inches to our National game, circulation of CBFM decreased rapidly until it folded in January 1974.

Charles Buchan's Football Monthly (CBFM) was without doubt the most recognised name of its genre. However it was not the only football magazine available during its 23 year tenure.

"Raich Carter's Soccer Star" (right) was launched a year after CBFM, on the 20th September 1952. Unlike CBFM, Raich Carter's Soccer Star was a weekly publication. Its unique selling point was that it featured different team photographs every week, on the front and back cover. Though the cover was glossy, the pages inside were matt and did not carry colour photographs until the late 1960's.

The Raich Carter logo was dropped in the summer of 1955 and the the name was shortened to "Soccer Star."

A regular contributor to Soccer Star was the football writer and historian Jack Rollin, who later launched and edited "The Rothmans Football Yearbook."

Every week Soccer Star carried results, teams and attendances for every game in England and Scotland. Despite the fact that this information was two or three weeks old, it still suggested immediacy as at the time no other newspaper or magazine conveyed such detailed statistics.

Soccer Star had a policy of heavily featuring lower division and non-league football in its publication, something that is almost alien to modern day newspapers and
magazines, that tend to focus primarily on top-flight football. Refreshing as this was, it also contributed in part to its downfall, when the requirement of the majority of readers was exactly that - top-flight and international football!
Like CBFM, Soccer Star suffered from poor sales in the late 1960's and as a result it merged into "World Soccer" magazine on 19 June 1970.

"World Soccer" (pictured right) was the world's second oldest monthly football magazine when it started in October 1960 and is today the worlds longest running football magazine as it is still being published by IPC, with a monthly circulation today of around 52,000.



Next week I will continue with this article as I write  features on some other football magazines from varying generations, that you may also recognise including: "Shoot," "Match," "Soccer Review," "FourFourTwo," and "When Saturday Comes."

Babe Of The Month - Merry Christmas/Fröhe Weihnachten/Joyeux Noël/Feliz Navidad/Buon Natale/Feliz Natal/Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia

 Kate dressed in a sexy festive Christmas outfit        ....and wearing a South London and Proud t-shirt
      

Kate Fletcher has literally flown the nest!

Originally Kate was a cheerleader for 'The Gully Girls' the cheerleading team of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club. However a month ago she defected to join 'The Crystals,' the cheerleaders of bitter rivals Crystal Palace Football Club.

And in a ironic twist of fate the singer/songwriter/actress and dancer joins her sister Kim, already a member of 'The Crystals' in her first performance of the season today (Saturday 1st December), in front of the Albion fans she used to wow, as Crystal Palace take on Brighton at Selhurst Park.

It echoes former Albion player Glenn Murray who made the trip up the A23 last year to join Palace, and then scored on his return a few months later, as 'The Eagles' became the first team to beat 'The Seagulls' at home in the league since they moved to their new £100m stadium in Falmer.

The 20 year-old's switch has propelled her into the spotlight much like a new star signing might expect! The move has created much discussion on Club messageboards and she has been interviewed by local newspapers in both Croydon and Sussex, who have been following the story in some detail.

'The Crystals' have added some much-needed vibrancy, glamour and pizazz to the Selhurst Park match day experience since they made their debut in December 2010. They help promote the Club through their media work, and last July they created their own dance routine to Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen's monster hit 'Call Me Maybe.' Their second video released in October sees the cheerleaders dancing to PSY’s number one hit 'Gangnam Style' in and around Crystal Palace’s stadium, and are joined in some scenes by the club’s mascot. Both videos proved to be smash hits on YouTube and made 'The Crystals' overnight internet sensations .

It will be no surprise if I tell you that the girls have shot a Christmas video, a cover of Marie Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You,' which you can watch exclusively here!

Find out more about the 'The Crystals' on Facebook and Twitter

* For Information/bookings contact Sharon.Lacey@cpfc.co.uk.

Wilfried Zaha - 'The Boy Wonder'

Dazet Wilfried Armel Zaha, better known as Wilf Zaha is currently the hottest young star in British football. As a Crystal Palace supporter I am running out of superlatives to describe England's most recently capped international player.

Today the Crystal Palace forward/winger won the ‘Football League Young Player of the Month’ award for October. Zaha scored his first two goals of the season against Wolves on the 2nd October 2012. He then scored a further two goals in his next game, four days later, in a 4–3 win over Burnley. Palace remained unbeaten in October and this included a victory at then table-toppers Leicester who had won all five of their home games before Palace spoiled the party, winning 2-1 at The Walkers Stadium. Palace are in fact unbeaten in the league since 25th August. Zaha’s form has been a major factor in the Club’s successful start to the season, and many opposition managers have complemented the recently turned 20 year-old on some magical displays. 

Crystal Palace boss Ian Holloway presents Wilf Zaha with his award.

His pace, footwork, balance and tricks are breathtaking, but this season he has stepped up his game to another level. His ability to beat players has never been in doubt and he regularly leaves opposition full-backs on their back sides. But this season he has worked on his all-round game and as a result his fitness, work rate, defensive duties, and his ability to pick a pass or take on a player have improved ten-fold. Added to the fact that he is scoring goals as well - this all contributes to making him one of the most exciting player to watch in British football. The way Palace are set-up to play this season, using two wingers to attack at pace, often drawing defenders out of position and creating time and space for team-mates has made Crystal Palace an exciting team to watch this season, something the Selhurst Park faithful have not witnessed for many years!

Zaha and team-mate Yannick Bolasie are the protagonists in this football feast with all the trimmings now being served up at ‘The Palace.’ Their direct attacking style of play is electric and although outstanding in their own individual ways, it is as a partnership that they seem to have flourished, often swapping wings in a game or both attacking down the same flank, causing chaos as the opposition are left chasing shadows or hauling them to the ground in a foolhardy attempt to stop them!
Wilf’s form during the October also contributed to him becoming the first Championship outfield player to be called up by England since Jay Bothroyd in 2010.

Speaking ten days ago BBC Sport pundit Mark Bright, who played for Palace and now helps out as a coach at the club said of Wilfried Zaha: "He is the biggest talent to emerge from Crystal Palace since Arsenal legend Ian Wright. In my opinion, Wilfried is the most exciting player outside the Premier League," Bright went on: "He played in the League Cup last season at Manchester United. Palace won with a Darren Ambrose screamer and Wilfried gave Rafael such a torrid time that they took him off."

Leon Osman, who made his England debut in the same match as Wilf against Sweden this month said of Zaha: "We have all been hearing about him for a year or so now. He came and trained on Monday morning and looked the real deal. He was direct, skilful and committing people."

His rise has not been an overnight one, but a gradual nurturing of a player with undoubted talent. However many players show talent at an early age but their careers often stagnate or go backwards. Some players are greedy, some are badly advised and as a result they leave at the wrong time or join the wrong club, but Wilf is an classic example of how to nurture talent correctly.

Zaha was born in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast and moved to South London with his family aged four, but has been at Crystal Palace FC since the age of 12.

Zaha was given his professional debut aged 17, making a substitute appearance at home to Cardiff City on 27th March 2010 by then caretaker manager Paul Hart.
Two years later, in March 2012, Zaha was voted 'The Football League's Young Player of the Year.'

Wilf follows in a long line of young players to roll off the CPFC academy production line. There are currently four players plying their trade in the Premier League who graduated through the Palace academy. No doubt Zaha wants to join the likes of Victor Moses at Chelsea, Ben Watson at Wigan, Nathaniel Clyne at Southampton and Wayne Routledge at Swansea in the top flight, but it is more a question of when rather than if, and with whom?

The vultures are circling, but Palace are currently top of the Championship and they find themselves in with a real opportunity of securing top flight football next season. Taking into account the odd dip in form most teams suffer at some stage of a season, along with a bit of luck such as keeping the squad fit and injury free, Palace are in a great position to dictate the future of their ‘wing wizard.’ Keeping hold of Zaha in January is the first step in maintaining a steady platform in the Club’s effort to reach English football’s top tier for the first time since the 2004/05 season.

EPL football would generate the club over £60m, even if they came straight back down, and the sale of Zaha in the region of £15-20m. But Palace, even with £15m burning a hole in their pocket could not buy a replacement for Zaha, as there is no player more gifted in the country to play his role in the team. Take £15m+ in January and risk missing out on a £60m+ windfall, or keep Wilf untill the summer thus improving the chance of that windfall becoming a reality and then sell the ‘boy wonder,’ assuming he chooses to leave.......is simply a no brainer!

Even if Palace do not make it to the Premier League, nobody at the Club or any Palace fan would begrudge the youngster the opportunity to grace the stage of  Europe’s top domestic league. But Wilf is a local lad who has even admitted he misses ‘home’ when on international duty. His home being the structure in place at Palace to advise him, educate him, coach him and help him keep his feet firmly on the ground. By doing this Wilf can focus on achieving his personal and professional goals under the watchful guidance of the owners, management and his team-mates, who all play their part in contributing to his love affair with ‘The Eagles.’

Players of the calibre of Wilfried Zaha don’t come around very often, and it is important that the Club use him as a stepping stone to a brighter future and Wilf does likewise. It is imperative that Wilf continues to learn his trade while at Palace, so that when he does fly ‘The Eagle’s Nest’ he is ready both mentally and physically for what lies ahead.

We are witnessing the development of a player that may one day reach the heights of........well let’s just wait and see, and enjoy the moment!

Wilfried Zaha, remember the name!

International Caps and Historical Facts!

In Britain 'caps' are awarded to players making international appearances for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is a tradition dating back to the origins of the Football League in the Victorian age, when during games players routinely wore caps denoting club colours. The concept of each team wearing a set of matching shirts had not been universally adopted.
When the first international match took place in 1872 players wore caps, as was the norm. When outfield players ceased to wear caps some years later, representing one's country at football continued to be marked by the symbolic presentation of a cap.
The first caps were awarded to the players who participated in the Scotland v England international on 31st March 1886 in Glasgow.

Peter Shilton is the most capped England player of all time. The goalkeeper holds the record after playing 125 games for his country, including fifteen as captain. His last appearance was at the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy.

Six England players are centurions with 100 caps or more. As well as Shilton they are Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton, Billy Wright, David Beckham and most recently Steven Gerrard (right).

Of Billy Wright's 105 appearances for England, he captained the side on 91 occasions.

Ahmed Hassan (born 2 May 1975 in Maghagha, Egypt) is the most capped international male footballer in history with 184 appearances for Egypt.

On 30th May 2006, Theo Walcott became the youngest player to make his England debut, when he came on as a substitute against Hungary at the age of 17 years and 75 days.

The youngest player to be awarded a cap for Wales is Gareth Bale, (then of Southampton), who on 27th May 2006, aged 16 years and 315 days appeared as a substitute against Trinidad & Tobago.

The youngest British player ever to be awarded a full cap is Norman Whiteside who was 17 years and 41 days old when he made his debut for Northern Ireland against Yugoslavia on 17th June 1982 at the World Cup finals. He still holds the record as the youngest player to take part in a World Cup final tournament.

The oldest player to participate in a World Cup finals tournament was Cameroon's Roger Milla, who was 42 years and 39 days at the 1994 finals held in the USA. Cameroon were knocked out in the group stages, however Milla (right) scored a goal against Russia, setting a record as the oldest goalscorer in a World Cup finals match.

The oldest player to receive his first England cap is Alexander Morten, a goalkeeper with Crystal Palace, who was 41 years and 113 days old when he kept goal against Scotland on 6th March 1873.

The oldest player to have been capped by England is Sir Stanley Matthews, who was 42 years and 103 days old when he played against Denmark on 15th May 1957.

Jack Cock (Huddersfield Town) was the first Cornishman to be capped for England in 1920. Cock went on to become a popular variety star and also appeared in a number of British films.

The first Fourth Division player to win an international cap was Vic Rouse (Crystal Palace) for Wales against N.Ireland in 1959.

Johnny Byrne (right) won his first cap for England in 1962, while paying for Crystal Palace in the Third Division. Tommy Lawton (Notts County), Reg Matthews (Coventry), Peter Taylor (Crystal Palace) and Steve Bull (Wolves) also gained England caps while playing their football in the Third Division.

Cecil Moore (Sheffield Utd) was capped for Norther Ireland in 1949, emigrated to America, and appeared for the USA against England in 1953.

Johnny Carey (Manchester United, 1938-53) won 29 caps for the Republic of Ireland and seven for Northern Ireland.

Kevin Keegan was awarded his first England cap against Wales on 15th November 1972. His second cap was also against Wales (24th January 1973), as was his third (11th May 1974). He remains the only player to have played his first three games for England against the same opposition.

Gary Howlett (Brighton) travelled to the other side of the world to earn his first international cap and played for only 19 minutes. On the 3rd June 1984, Howlett was named as a substitute for the Republic of Ireland against China which was taking place in Sapporo, Japan,. Nineteen minutes from time he came on, but was never chosen to play for the Republic again.

James Milner (right) with 46 appearances and nine goals is the most capped England Under-21 International of all-time.

The only player to win both semi-professional and full caps for England is Steve Guppy. Guppy was chosen for the England semi-professional team while playing for Wycombe Wanderers in the Conference in 1989/90 and in 1999, when at Leicester City, he won his first and only cap for England against Belguim at the Stadium of Light.