The Final Whistle

Way before EA Sports, EIDOS, and their respective multi-million dollar, ultra-realistic, super-star endorsed football video games franchises FIFA 09 and Championship Manager (respectively) became popular, there was Subbuteo.

Subbu…who?

Well, if you don’t know what Subbuteo is, you probably are too young. Not that I am that old…but I remember wanting to own a set ever since I was a kid, and create epic games with ‘Roy of the Rovers’ type storylines (Roy of the what?) with 22 miniature plastic footballers and a green mat. Kids these days have it easy…they just flip on a couple of switches, pop in a disc, wait for the game to load, and select the scenario they want to play (Liverpool vs AC Milan at half-time, in Istanbul? Man Utd vs Bayern Munich in the final two minutes at the Camp Nou?). Where’s the imagination??

Anyhow, I never got a set when I was a kid. I finally got my first set when I was around 20-years-old, thanks to my then girlfriend who knew I had always wanted one. It was really sweet of her…she managed to get a second hand set online, cos the shops no longer had them…*sigh*…and, in lieu of a Subbuteo set when I was younger, I did what any kid at my age would do. Improvise.

I somehow got hold of a large piece of green flannel, used cardboard to cut out 22 miniature footballers, made goals out of more cardboard…and voila! Well, it wasn’t as polished as the real thing, but hey…it worked, and I had hours of fun making up epic on-pitch battles (off-pitch battles didn’t really exist then…it was a simpler time, you see).

Anyway, you can see that I am really bored in the off-season…and so, while waiting for the new season to start (and because I don’t have one of those Xbox thingamajigs with the latest installment of the FIFA series), I dug out my good old Subbuteo set and once again let my imagination do its thing.

And, while YOU wait for the new season to start, check out the rest of the pics below…of the players “modeling” their new kits, and taking part in an exhibition game.

"George Best" lining up to take a free-kick just outside the opponent’s penalty area…

18 million pound wingback?!?!

Liverpool have been rather inactive in the transfer market, compared to their domestic and European rivals. However, when news finally broke that they were looking to buy 24-year-old former Chelsea player Glen Johnson from Portsmouth, it made fans sit up and go “Huh?”

Just when you thought they were going to augment the forward line with more firepower to support Torres, they go and seek to splash out a cool 18 million pounds on a wingback. Granted, Johnson had a good season with Portsmouth, but is he really worth 18 million? Ok…so Pompey still owe Liverpool 7 million for Crouchie, but that still makes it 11 million…is it worth paying that much for someone whom Portsmouth bought for 4 million, and who was on the Chelsea bench most of the time…?

I am of the opinion that while the defence needs to be shored up (with the possible departure of Dossena), the limited transfer budget could be better spent on someone to support Torres…someone in the mould of Sergio Aguero…or David Silva…

Come on Rafa!! You got what you asked for, when you said you wanted more control over transfers…now show us what you got!!

After all the pain of last year’s “will-he-won’t-he” saga, Manchester United and Christiano Ronaldo spared the football world a repeat ordeal by finally succumbing to Real Madrid’s overtures. Real Madrid, led by Florentino Perez, had been courting the Portuguese winger and added him to their pay-roll the same week they signed Kaka from AC Milan.

Fans of English football will no longer be able to see his tantrums, dives, pouts and other such antics anymore (interspersed with moments of footballing brilliance). Oh well, there’s no loss…

As a ‘Pool fan, I must say I have mixed feelings watching the guy leave. On one hand, I am pleased that United have lost an icon and a skillful player. On the other hand, they now have 80 million pounds to spend on other skillful players. That’s 80 million more than what Liverpool have got…

It will be interesting to see how Alex Ferguson rebuilds his squad, especially since Tevez might not be staying, and a number of senior players are already waiting to collect their pension after this next couple of seasons.

But Liverpool aren’t any better off. After seeing Gareth Barry snatched away by Man City from right under their noses, Liverpool have yet to make any headway in the transfer market. Only a couple of rumours seem to be floating around, and there has not been anything concrete yet, but i’ll tell you who i’d like to see in the red of Liverpool next year…Sergio Aguero, David Silva, and David Villa.

Now THAT would be a proposition to whet any Liverpool fans dream, or…errr… give them wet dreams…?

I thought i’d seen it all…and then, i came across this article on Soccernet which said that a Singapore-based group is one of those linked with a takeover of Newcastle United Football Club…

Just when you thought Newcastle could not sink any lower…they go and release news like that, which would shake the very heart of every Newcastle fan in Singapore (if there are any left).

It’s not that I have no confidence in the Profitable Group’s ability to run Newcastle properly, but if you saw their ads on cable TV so far….well, let’s just say it would look weird to have Alan Shearer and his team (whoever is left) plug for land and property investments, especially when they would have to wear plastic smiles and mouth cheesy slogans (“Buy PP Land, we did!”)

Then again, just for kicks (no pun intended), and to see how far Newcastle can actually sink (then the rest of us can gloat in glee!), maybe…just maybe…it would be fun to see the Profitable Group takeover the Toon…afterall, they are Profitable, and that is something Newcastle will probably hope to achieve soon…

Wonder what the Toon Army will have to say about this piece of news…