December 2010
9 posts
Top Ten Football Blogs of 2010
As we near the end of the year there’s a veritable profusion of posts in the footballing blogosphere giving out awards and naming the best blogs. So in the spirit of the season here’s our very own ‘awards’ because frankly it’d be rude not to. Without further ado these are the ten blogs that I’ve been checking out on a regular basis this year and who I feel are deserving of a mention & a congratulatory pat on the back. Ladies & gentlemen I give you, in reverse alphabetical order, the footysphere top ten football blogs of 2010.
Wigan Athletic and The Herefordshire Senior Cup Final of 1972
Yes you read the title right that proud Lancastrian club Wigan Athletic once took part in the Herefordshire Senior Cup. It’s only 140 miles down the M6 from Wigan to Hereford so something of a local derby? Clearly it is for here’s the proof that Wigan did indeed compete for the Herefordshire FA’s premier cup competition.
What was: The Debenhams Cup
The Debenhams Cup was a minor English cup competition played for during the late seventies. It took place two seasons only in 1977 and 1978 and was contested by the two teams who progressed the furthest from the first round proper of the FA Cup. Therefore only third and fourth division clubs and non-league survivors of the earlier qualifying rounds were eligible.
How did the competition come about? Debenhams, a large British retailer, were wanting to get involved with football through some sort of sponsorship deal and they put their idea of a sponsored competition for the smaller less glamorous clubs involved in the FA Cup to FA secretary Ted Croker. He liked the idea and the fact it only added two games to the fixture list and so added an item to a FA Council meeting agenda. This was approved pending agreement from the Football League which was promptly given and so the competition got the green light just prior to the FA Cup first round games of the 76/77 season. This was the first time a sponsor had been associated with the FA Cup.
Footysphere Interview - Soccerlens Awards 2010
The 2010 Soccerlens Awards are currently up and running and you can vote for your favourite football websites and writers by visiting their site. They are also featuring interviews with nominees for their various awards.
Footysphere hasn’t been nominated for any awards. They didn’t asked us to talk about their awards, how 2010 had turned out for us, our future plans or who we would vote for in the awards. Here’s the interview we didn’t give:
Soccer Six #3
Soccer Six - An occasional roundup of six football articles that have caught my attention & imagination.
In 1868 one hundred Welsh miners & steelworkers set sail for the Ukraine. [ffwtbol.co.uk]
If the players are united they will never be divided. A look at unity from professional footballers. [inbedwithmaradona.com]
With the National Socialists controlling of all spheres of German society, even football was not immune from the sinister manipulations of Nazi bureaucracy. [equaliserfootball.com]
Did England bid chief Andy Anson know that FIFA were corrupt & open to bribes? [dailymail.co.uk]
The ‘bastard in black’ bites back [sabotagetimes.com]
What really happened [europeanfootballweekends.blogspot.com]
England Wartime & Victory Internationals
I’ve previously written a few words about Sheffield United football legend Jimmy Hagan here on footysphere. More recently he’s been the subject of an excellent article on Les Rosbifs. Notwithstanding his amazing managerial record the one thing that stands out about his career for me is his fabulous scoring record for England in the wartime & victory Internationals held between 1939 and 1946. He managed to bag 13 goals in 16 appearances and wondering whether this was the best strike rate achieved by any England player during this period I began to have a look into these unofficial international matches & the players who represented their country.
Soccer Six #2
Six football articles that have recently caught my attention & imagination.
Dehistoricization. Dilution of cultural influence. Football genocide. [inbedwithmaradona.com]
Year Zero: the past has to be destroyed [onefootinthegame.wordpress.com]
Football’s biggest underdogs have something to cheer. [lesrosbifs.net]
Footballer’s fashion crimes immortalised by Panini. [betfairfootball.com]
Jack Greenwell from County Durham is arguably the most successful English football coach to have ever plied his trade overseas. [globalfootballtoday.com]
The first black footballer in Scotland. [furd.org]
