Pele Vs Plymouth

The other day I was talking to my girlfriends dad about the best footballers we'd ever seen live. I thought I was impressing him by bringing up my trip to Milan to watch an Inter team containing Christian Vieri, Adriano and Francesco Toldo, but I wasn't ready for the name's he was about to drop.

In 1973 he found himself crammed into Home Park in Plymouth eagerly waiting to see some of the best Brazilian footballers of all time.  The great Pele and the magnificent Carlos Alberto were part of a Santos team considered the best in the world and they were about to play a Plymouth side in the Third Division.

Santos had been playing games away from their native Brazil since the late fifty's, and with a squad containing World Cup winners and the world famous Pele the clubs directors saw money making potential that other teams could only dream of.

The game was not without its controversy. Before the Plymouth game Santos had played Fulham at Craven Cottage in front of 11,000 fans agreeing to half of the gate receipts as a fee. They were left wishing they had sorted the same deal with Plymouth as 37,639 turned up and having already agreed to a fee of £2,500 the Santos top brass refused to let the game go ahead unless Argyle doubled the original agreed fee.

Pele made an agreement with his marker John Hore to go easy on him with the tackles as Argyle were matching the silky skilled Brazilians with good old fashioned hard tackling.

The biggest shock of all was that Plymouth ran out eventual winners 3-2! They even found themselves leading 3-0 at one point before a spirited come back from Santos which included a Pele penalty.

Its very unlikely that Plymouth would be able to attract some of the worlds biggest teams to appear in a friendly in this day and age. But one magical evening in March 1973 the city of Plymouth was graced with some of the finest footballers the world has ever seen.

Liverpool Frustrated By Southampton In Bore Draw

After Man City's destruction of Crystal Palace yesterday, Liverpool went into the game today knowing that a win would be massively important.Unfortunately it was another low tempo performance at Anfield by the reds and two points dropped that could cost them dearly in the race for a top four finish.

Southampton never looked like they wanted to attack. They set up in a way that has become very familiar to Liverpool, (everyone behind the ball and hope for the counter) but its a way that they still have so much trouble breaking down. Southampton's midfield three of Romeu, Ward-Prowse and Davis held firm, never breaking from their positions and frustrating Liverpool's attacking creativity and forcing them to knock the ball round in hope of a break through. Coutinho had a long range effort that curled into the arms of Fraser Forster and Roberto Firmino capitalized on a rare lapse in concentration from Romeu but his shot was easily blocked, these were the only two chances of note in a dull first half. 

Anybody hoping that a rousing speech from Jurgen Klopp at half time would bring the game to life were about to be very disappointed. It started in the same vein with Liverpool bossing possession but going nowhere with it. Emre Can still dizzy after his goal of the season contender against Watford smashed an effort over just before the hour for the half's first attempt at goal.Then the chance came, a cross was put into the Southampton box that saw Jack Stephens and Divock Orgi grappling for the header but Stephens ended up elbowing the ball back to his keeper. Spotted by the ref and penalty awarded. Up stepped the ever dependable James Milner, seven goals this season all from the penalty spot. Fraser Forster was immediately out playing mind games with the Liverpool captain which obviously worked as Forster used all of his six foot seven frame to save the penalty and keep the scores level.

With just over twenty minutes to go Klopp threw on Lallana and Strridge to try and find a way through Southampton's stubborn back line and Shane Long entered the fray for The Saints hoping to cause an issue for Liverpool with his endless ball chasing. The next real chance game for Southampton as Nathan Redmond blazed over after a nod down in the box. Then down the other end Daniel Sturridge showed a touch of class, skinning a defender but failing to put any power behind his shot. Finally the game came to life as Dusan Tadic found himself with a chance to feed Shane Long on the counter but his ball was over hit and cleared by Liverpool. Then in the dying embers of the game Grujic had a header tipped over the bar by Fraser Forster.

It was a poor performance from Liverpool, lacking any real danger in their attacks. Claude Puels tactics were carried out perfectly by his team, forcing Liverpool into long range efforts and aimlessly passing the ball for side to side. Klopp and Liverpool will have been glad to see Man United go down to Arsenal but they need better performances in the last games of the season if they want to secure the promised land of Champions League football.

New Tune Tuesday

Maybe I'm just getting old and I'm stuck in my heyday of indie from the mid to late 00's but sometimes I find it hard to get on board with new bands but thanks to The NME of all people (who knew they still cared!) I've been pointed in the direction of something very special.

London based band Vestiges and their track Woman has got my interest. Its effortlessly cool and chilled out and for me has a slight Last shadow Puppets/Alex Turner solo feel. Its got a nice relaxed vibe to it and it would go perfect with a cold corona whilst the sun is going down.

Is a nice simple tune and that's what makes it great, and when the trumpet pops its head in after 2:31 I nearly shouted with delight, its such a boss touch on an already top song.

Its a lovely bit of dream Indie that's worth checking out here https://soundcloud.com/vestigesband/woman-master

Keep your eyes peeled for future gigs as I can feel big things ahead for the trio, here is their twitter  https://twitter.com/vestiges_band

Back To Back Relegation Nightmare For York City

Relegation is painful, back to back relegation hurts a lot more. Add to that a 90th minute goal that sends you down and it's hard to stop the tears.

I went through a range of emotions on saturday as I hid in the back office at work watching York on BT sport. Disbelief that we conceded so early, elation as Jon Parkin put us back on level terms and then I was deflated by Forest Greens instant response. As Parkin grabbed another goal just after half time to add to his impressive tally since rejoining York in January things looked promising, Guiseley were a goal down and York were in the safety zone on goal difference.

We were on the verge of a great escape, at one point in the season we had looked hopeless until Gary Mills returned to steer the ship towards safety. But then the tragic moment happened, an update flashed on the screen, Guiseley equalized in the 90th minute, putting us back in the relegation zone. We had two last chances, a Muggleton long throw which was headed out and then a corner which again was dealt with. The final whistle blew and that was it, York City would be playing in the sixth tier of English football for the first time.

The fingers are firmly pointed at chairman Jason McGill and former manager now chief executive Jackie McNamara. Firstly McGill deserves thanks for saving the club during our time of need but as the years have gone by the lack of any direction in driving the club forward has became increasingly frustrating. McNamara's reign was a joke from start to finish. Poor signings and poor tactics led to a quick return to the National League. Somehow he was allowed to keep his job as if McGill felt like he needed to do him a favour. Poor results continued and McNamara was gone, or so we thought. For some ridiculous reason he was kept on at the club under a chief executive role, this decision was even mocked on the ever brilliant Football weekly podcast from The Guardian.

McGill has released a statement today saying he stands by his decision to keep McNamara at the club and this is the final straw in my opinion. He needs to do the decent thing and put the club up for sale. I know people say be careful what you wish for but we need somebody that can drive the club forward and find better investments to hep grow the club and return us back to the football league.

We have been through a lot more thing then thick moments supporting York city and i have no doubt we will be back, we will keep the faith and carry on supporting The Minstermen until the end.

FC Football Cases - The easy way to carry nostaglia around at all times

If there is one thing I'm good at, its breaking phones. The modern day smart phone just isn't up to being chucked about and despite numerous people telling me to get a case for my iPhone I've always resisted, convincing myself that this time it'll be different, this time I'm a changed man.

Now I have a reason to change! Whilst lazily flicking though social media I stumbled across something magical. FC Football cases, where Iconic football kits are re-imagined into mobile phone cases! Some of these are unbelievable and the depth they go to is fantastic. They have over fifty English clubs ranging From the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool down to Kettering and Scarborough. They also have Scottish clubs, rest of the world and international teams with a nice little Escape to victory design thrown in (if you have not seen Escape To Victory go and watch it now, Pele is scores a beautiful bicycle kick).

Liverpool 1990

The design is almost flawless and it really brings to life a boring old phone case. They also take requests which is amazing as I asked for a York City home shirt from 1974 and they knocked together the design very quickly.

York City 1974

The team at FC Football Cases are super approachable and they are always open to requests to help them design one iconic case every day for a year and as there are so many from the UK and around the world I feel like they will have no problem succeeding at this.

Its a great idea and they look super smart so checkout their website (link below) and if they don't have one of your favorite shirts send them a request and they will strive to put it together for you. It'll make a decent present for a mate or will be nice to jazz up the old smart phone whilst protecting it from modern life.

Have a look at their website https://fcfootballcases.com/

Two Band Tuesday

Its Tuesday so here are two bands that will provide your ears with a lovely little treat.

Peaness
The three piece indie pop band from Chester have got some absolutely blinding tunes. There's nothing overly complicated about the music but that's what makes it great in my opinion and its got a little bit of edge which is always welcome. Same Place and Seafoam Islands, two of their newer songs, both contain some beautiful harmonies and the riffs that are just effortlessly cool and keep alive my faith in the indie scene. Peaness are playing up and down the country over the next month and are well worth checking out.

Have a listen here : https://soundcloud.com/peaness-band


We're No Heroes
You best be ready to get dancing if you're going to put on We're No Heroes. Disco and funk infused indie sounds like a potentially terrible mix but the Cardiff based trio have absolutely nailed it. They are something different from the 'dance' anthems that get churned out in the charts and make me hark back to the days of the quality indie nights of the mid to late 00's. Their tunes are a new breed of indie dance floor fillers and need to be heard to be appreciated.

Check them out here : https://werenoheroes.bandcamp.com/

Fred Perry Caban Mac

'You need a winter coat' is what my girlfriend kept telling me. All I had was a Ben Sherman Harrington, which is super cool don't get me wrong, but doesn't do much of a job of keeping the cold out. I'd looked at wool peacoats which was a route I'd gone down previously but the Yorkshireness in me kept saying 'There's no need to spend, summers nearly here'. But then on the morning of my birthday I opened one of the presents from my girlfriend and there it was, a Fred Perry Caban Mac.

Now a quick backstory, I would almost wear anything Fred Perry. When the Mrs asks me what I want for birthday/Christmas i always answer the same 'You don't have to get me anything but I wouldn't complain if I had some more Fred Perry stuff.'

The Caban Mac is something special because I can literally wear it anywhere. Its smart enough to wear with my suit at work and it does not look out of place on the football terraces.Its thick enough to keep the cold off but not so thick that I start sweating out and need to take it off. Its got the option of fastening the collar down or popping it which is the way I prefer to wear it.

I'm also a big fan of the brown buttons as it just provides it with an extra bit of detail and when i glance down and see the Laurel Wreath it makes me feel absolutely boss.

I like to think of myself as a bit of a mod and having a top quality coat that makes me stand out is pretty important, and this is the coat for that. Its just something that is that little bit different from everything else out there and add the fact that its Fred Perry I'd honestly say its my favorite coat ever.

The Premier Leagues Worst Haircuts

Former Sunderland man Asamoah Gyan has been cautioned whilst playing in the UAE because apparently he has an unethical haircut! So I've decided to have a look at some of the more hair raising (sorry) styles to have graced the Premier League.

1.Taribo West
A lovely pigtail number from the former Nigerian international during his spell at Derby County. Wherever he played he always had the green colors of the Super Eagles, and apparently was actually twelve years older then his stated age.

2.Jason Lee
Affectionate know as pineapple head for obvious reasons. Was a constant source of jokes for Baddiel and Skinner on their Fantasy Football League program.

3.Marouane Chamakh
I mean what can you say about this style? Is it even a style or just an unfortunate hairline? It's a tough call but its one of the worst to appear in the Premier League.

4.Javier Margas
Little known West Ham player Javier Margas was so proud about being Chilean that he dyed his hair the colors of the flag. Whilst at West Ham he disappeared for weeks and eventually was found back in Chile.

5.David James
There are so many choices with David 'Calamity' James but I decided to go for his odd decision to style his hair like cinema popcorn.

Can Yakubu Be A Tiny Ray Of Light For Coventry?

Its been a long time since Coventry City fans have had much to cheer about. After thirty four consecutive seasons in the top flight including being an inaugural member of the Premier League they were relegated in two thousand and one and its got worse and worse ever since.

Currently the Sky Blues sit bottom of League One, ten points off safety with sixteen games to go and things are not looking good. They have taken just two points from the last ten games and fan based anger towards the Sisu ownership keeps boiling over into pitch invasions and protests before games.

Yesterday Russell Slade confirmed the singing of former Premier League and Nigerian international Yakubu on a free transfer in a bid to save the club from relegation to League Two. Slade was quoted saying "We're pleased to have secured the signing of Yakubu, who brings vast experience and a terrific goal record,"

With Coventry being his fifteenth club, Yakubu will be hoping to draw on all his experience of playing around the world to make himself a fan favorite during his short term deal at the Ricoh.

At thirty four its going to be interesting to see how much he has left in the tank for what is going to be an intense relegation battle. His last permanent club was Kayserispor in Turkey where he failed to score a single league goal and was last seen training with Boreham Wood who play in the National league.

Yakubu has got a pretty good goal scoring record in England and hopefully he can find his form to guide Coventry to safety as a club with such history as the sky blues should not be floundering at the bottom of League One.

Three Hammer Tunes To Get You Through Monday

CRF has previously been a Football focused blog, that changes right now! Music, Fashion and Film and some other odd little things will now be brought in to really keep my brain working.

My aim on the music side is to hopefully introduce some bands that you may have never heard of but there will always be room for the more established bands as well.

Today's list is Three belting tunes to help you through the hysteria that is Monday.

1.Hinds - San Diego
San Diego by Spanish indie garage heroes Hinds is so good I'd easily say its in my top ten songs of all time. Its upbeat and punchy and the rhythm just makes you want to get up and throw shapes. Add to that the chorus that you cant help but sing along to you have an all round quality song. Its superb anyway but once you see it live there's no escaping the charms of the band.

Have a listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P2l0zAr3t8

 2.WISEASS - Melon Boost
Its hard to put WISEASS into a category but this tune is pretty special. Its an instrumental masterpiece with elements of garage and math rock all chucked into the mix just to keep you on your toes. Its something different to whats been banded around these days and despite containing elements of a bygone era its still fresh and exciting. Its got just the right amount of edge to push you though Monday.

Check out the tune Melon Boost from their E.P Old Lungface here https://wiseass.bandcamp.com/

 3. Little Triggers - When the lights are going out
The Liverpudlian four piece have nailed it for me. Its fast, its upbeat and it reminds me of trying not to spill my pint as I jumped up and down at Indie Discos the mid 00's. Has elements of New Wave from the eighties and the Indie band revolution of the 00's its one that can be played over and over again and it gets better with each listen.

Check it out here - https://soundcloud.com/littletriggers/when-the-lights-are-going-out-radio-edit

G'Day Mate! Seven Australians That Lit Up The Premier League

Happy Australia day! The country that has given us Shane Warne, Shaddap Your Face and Neighbours has also provided us with some pretty decent Premier League players over the years. We've picked out seven very good ones in no particular order.

Mark Bosnich - Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea

The first of the goalkeeping Marks on the list. Bosnich became known for his superb penalty saving ability and for his $5,000 a week cocaine habit. Dubbed a terrible professional by Alex Ferguson he went on to play over one hundred games for Villa but was never spectacular. Won seventeen caps for Australia.

Tim Cahill - Everton

Now here is a player that is worthy of a mention. Spent eight seasons on Merseyside and will forever be remembered by the Everton faithful for always putting in one hundred percent effort and never giving up. Also remembered for his boxing celebration which i'm sure many premier league corner flags will be glad those days are over. Before going on to win ninety four caps for Australia Cahill played for Samoa under 20's at the age of just fourteen. He's also still playing, currently turning out for one of Man City's sister teams Melbourne City.

Brett Emerton - Blackburn

Emerton spent eight seasons at Blackburn Rovers, even bagging a goal on his debut against Wolves. Unfortunately picked up a cruciate injury in 2009 leaving him sidelined for months. Played over two hundred times for Rovers and 94 times for Australia.

Harry Kewell - Leeds United, Liverpool

Kewell was part of a very promising era for Leeds, making his debut aged 17. Went on to win the PFA young player of the year in the 99-00 season.Also married somebody from Yorkshire soap Emmerdale. He became the first Australian born player to win the Champions League after limping off during the legendary 2005 champions league final for Liverpool. He is currently the under 21 coach at Watford.

Lucas Neill - Blackburn, West Ham, Everton

Neill made over 250 appearances during his time in England and for a while was considered a Blackburn hero for his never say die attitude in games. This soon changed after he rejected a new contract as he fancied a change of scene. The Rovers fans were convinced he had left the club for financial reasons and let his know their true feelings on his return to Ewood Park by booing him every time he touched the ball.

Mark Schwarzer - Middlesbrough, Fulham, Chelsea, Leicester City

Genuine Premier league legend, Schwarzer is currently the only player form outside the United Kingdom to make over five hundred appearances in the Premier League. But despite his lengthy sty in England he has only won one domestic trophy which was the league cup with Middlesbrough in 2004. He has been part of two title winning teams (Chelsea and Leicester) but both times he hadn't made enough league appearances to claim a league winners medal.  Currently holds the record for the most capped player for Australia (106) and the oldest player to play in the Premier League for both Chelsea and Leicester.

Mark Viduka - Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle United

Mark Viduka or 'Big Dukes' as he is affectionately known back home was a powerful striker, best known for his time at Leeds United where he went on to form a strong strike partnership with Alan Smith. Played in the Premier League for nine seasons. Won forty three caps and scored eleven goals for Australia. Currently holds the record for the most goals from an Australian player in the champions league with four.

The York Report - York Citys Great Escape Begins

York City claimed their first home win since September with a 2-1 win over Barrow.

The National League's bottom club have shown a resurgence in form recently but have been unable to secure the three points that they desperately need.

Amari Morgan-Smith grabbed his second goal in two games for the Minstermen after twenty two minutes, collecting the ball from a big Jon Parkin flick on.

York had more chances, including an effort from Jon 'The Beast' Parkin and despite Barrow coming  into the game York's goalkeeper Kyle Letheren had very little to do. That was until the seventy second minute when Barrow striker Jordan Williams nipped in before Letheren and slotted home and equalizer.

It seemed like it was going to be same old York. Its happened a fair few times this season, York take the lead and play superbly but let it slip near the end. But today was different, York had the fight in them and with the game in its dying embers Sean Newton popped up to drive home a winner. Newtons dramatic goal sent the fans wild.

Frustratingly both North Ferriby and Guiseley also picked up three points today, but York's win leaves them just four points from safety with plenty of games to keep themselves in the league.

Next up for the Minstermen is a trip to Aldershot who currently sit 7th in the league, but after beating 6th placed Barrow confidence will hopefully be high in the York camp.

Five Things We Learnt From Englands Draw With Slovenia

Gareth Southgate took charge of the second of his four match spell as England manager. After a their two nil win against Malta, England were hoping to kick on and add another three points to their qualifying total. Unfortunately it was a lackluster performance so The CRF looks at 5 things we learnt.

1.Joe Hart is top quality on his day.
It seems that people have forgotten that Joe Hart can be a great goalkeeper. After his numerous mistakes at euro 2016 people right called for him to be dropped from the England starting line up. Following this new man on the block Pep Guardiola deemed Hart surplus to requirements and sent him out on loan to Torino, but last night he was at his very best. In the first half he was quick off his line after a shambolic back pass by Eric Dier and in the second half he was on hand to make three saves in quick succession, one was an unbelievable stop from a corner, and called into action again from another shocking back pass this time from captain for the night Jordan Henderson. With England's back line all over the place last night it was Joe Harts fantastic performance that got England a very lucky point.

2.England need to sort their defence out quickly
So many times i was left with my hands over my eyes as Englands defence tried to be far to casual on the ball. Gary Cahill has not been at the top of his game for too long and his inclusion in the starting line up still confuses many. John Stones showed great confidence with the ball at times but then had moments where he decided tried to be too clever and was caught out. The full backs Rose and Walker looked positive at times but again showed defensive frailty. Perhaps its time to give players like Michael Keane a chance, he's a no nonsense centre back and would hopefully remind the rest of his defense that you don't need to be fancy in front of your own goal. England were lucky not to be punished by Slovenia's strikers but against better opposition it could be a catastrophe.

3.Wayne Rooney isn't the only problem but leaving him out is still the right choice.
Everybody knows that Wayne Rooney is not at his best and hasn't been for some time for club and country. Everybody was quite surprised that Gareth Southgate was the man the be ruthless and leave the England captain on the bench. He must have been watching from his seat rubbing his hands thinking that the media might give him a break as the players on the pitch struggled but his introduction did nothing the lessen the criticism. One nice lay off to Jesse Lingard and curling a shot wide were not enough to stake a claim to be reinstalled to the starting line him. He didn't inspire any change when he came off the bench and looked sluggish on the ball and was unable to get the Three Lions going. Maybe its time his spot in the squad was given over to somebody else so he can concentrate on getting back to his top level domestically.

4.Andros Townsend still has what it takes
Townsend has been in slight international wilderness over the last few years. Having scored on his debut things looked like they were going from strength to strength, but injuries combined with a lack of form domestically slowed his England career down. But after coming off the bench last night he looked lively, causing the Slovenian defenders problems by constantly running at them. He nearly scored with his first involvement and put in some good crosses. Not everything paid off for him but he was a positive introduction to the game and really showed Walcott what is expected on the wing for England.

5.England seem nervous to try anything adventurous
After the shocking performances at the Euros in the summer, England seem petrified of making any mistakes. Looking at the Malta game, they should be winning games like that by 6 goals but instead they bagged the two goals and stopped being overly attacking just in case they were caught out. Last night there seemed to be another lack of adventure with the players on the pitch, and this caused them so many issues. They just seemed to lack positivity and instead of trying to beat players just passed the ball right back to Joe Hart. It seemed that they were so nervous of getting stick from the media and the fans they started to make silly mistakes like the poor back passes of Henderson and Dier. Perhaps we need to lower our expectations of them or perhaps they need to up their game and at least play with the passion the fans deserve to see.

Montpellier-The Last Champions before The PSG Domination

What do Eric Cantona, Roger Miller and Laurent Blanc all have in common? Thats right i'm sure you guessed that they have all played for Montpellier. Why am I talking about Montpellier I hear you ask? Well they were the last team to lift the Ligue 1 trophy before the current dominance of the Qatari backed PSG so lets take a look at what happened to some of the stars of La Paillade's title winning season.



Oliver Giroud
The French striker finished top of the goal charts in Ligue 1 in their title winning season with 21 goals. Despite being linked with a big move away during January (Montpelliers chairman priced Giroud at 50 to 60 million euros) he managed to keep his head and keep firing Montpellier to the top of the table by March and on to the clubs first top flight title in their history. Having been priced so high Giroud ended up joining Arsenal for 12.4 million euros in the summer following the triumph and has gone on to score over 50 club goals and picked up two FA Cup winners medals.
 

Hilton 
Vitorino Hilton da Silva or just Hilton for short joined the French club at the start of their successful campaign in 2011. Signing after leaving Marseille and stating his unhappiness in France Hilton went on to be a solid addition to the clubs defence and was named in the team of the year 2012. The 39 year old still plys his trade for the club and is currently the club captain.
 

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa
A product of the youth academy Mbiwa went on to play over 180 games for Montpellier. He appeared 34 times in their title winning campaign putting in top performance after top performance at the heart of the defence. He stayed at the club for the first half of their title defense before an £8.5 million  move to Premier league Newcastle beckoned. After Struggling to make an impact he joined Roma on a season long loan before moving back to France permanently with Lyon. He currently has four senior caps for the French national side.
 

Benjamin Stambouli
After bouncing around various youth teams including Marseille, Satmbouli signed his first professional deal with Montpellier. The defensive midfielder made 26 appearances whilst helping them win their first ever top flight title. Resisting the temptation of a big move straight after success Stambouli stayed until 2014 and was made vice captain for the 2013/14 season. It was Tottenham Hotspur that coaxed him away from France for a fee of £4.7 Million. After an unimpressive spell at Spurs Stambouli moved back to France with PSG. He currently plays for Schalke in Germany.
 

Remy Cabella
Another academy graduate Cabella had spent the season before on loan at Arles-Avignon trying to get back to top standard after suffering a cruciate ligament injury previously. During the title winning season he chipped in with 3 goals in 24 appearances. It wasn't until 2014 that he made the move from France to the North East of England, signing for Newcastle on a six year deal for a reported £8 million, but was unable to really make a name for himself and moved back to France with Marseille.
 

Rene Girard - Manager
Girard had been around the block a few times before joining Montpellier, leaving his post as France under 21 manager to take the job. After guiding them to the title he was said 'I Think our triuph is a real shot in the arm for French football, It just goes to show that everyone can beat everyone and money isn't the be all and end all. Were a club of mates, a club that brings through young players and gives them a chance.' After doing a Leicester before Leicester he went on to manage Lille and is currently in charge of Nantes.