Remember the Carlos Tevez saga? You know, the one that has recieved at least one or two daily mentions on one or two big-time football websites or media outlets over what feels like the last twenty-five years? Yes, that Tevez saga. Well, no it isn’t over but it’s taken another twist, for Mr. I did nothing wrong Tevez has clearly reached the desperation stage to play some football and has therefore apologised to Manchester City “sincerely and unreservedly” and zzzzzzzzzzz…
How convenient. Fabio Capello resigns as England manager on the day the prime candidate to succeed him — Harry Redknapp — is cleared of tax evasion. You think Capello would have resigned today had a guilty verdict come down on Redknapp? The cynics amongst us would say no. But here we are, four months before another tournament and England are without a manager, without a captain and without a chance. Though the later we always knew about.
Balotelli’s latest moment of madness (the ref definitely didn’t see it!)
Another weekend of big matches in the English football calendar and another Monday morning where the football doesn’t make the headlines. Or so it would seem if you picked up a paper or flicked open an English based website to see the face of Manchester City’s bad boy striker, Mario Balotelli staring back at you thanks to his latest run-in with indiscipline. But in this case the incident did have a big impact on the game itself, and it was certainly a relief for it to be something other than the brandishing of fake cards by players, or indeed managers. Balotelli’s stamp on the face of Spurs midfielder Scott Parker — “Scott has a lovely cut on his head,” said his manager, Harry Redknapp — should have seen the City player sent off. As it turned out the referee missed it, Balotelli stayed on, won a penalty and stepped up to convert it and win the game for City. Cue the outrage from Redknapp.
Did anyone watch the latest ‘El Classico’ yesterday between the two sides in two-team-Spanish-football that win anything? The tikki-takki-tappy-toe provayors of poessions football and the two yard pass, Barcelona, and their jealous bad-guy rivals lead by Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid? If I’m honest I’ll admit I didn’t even know it was on until I read someone talking about an incident during the game on Twitter and later in the evening I glanced up from my iPad to see the goals when the highlights came on TV, but otherwise I just couldn’t find myself being drawn to it because, as was proven against last night, the football is secondary to the nonsense.
Mancini tries to inform the referee as to the decision to be made
Is it just me or does it seem that by the year… no wait, scratch that . . . by the week, yes does it seem that by the week footballers are getting more petty and more hyocritical? If it isn’t players like Wayne Rooney demanding a transfer one season in order to get a pay rise only to score a goal last week and celebrate by kissing the badge, or Arsene Wenger complaining that a Swansea player dived to win a penalty against his club, considering what his club have done in the past, then it’s Roberto Mancini and his waving of imaginary red cards and other players having the cheak to complain about it, or the same man moaning about two-footed tackles on opponents…
Cheer up Brucy; the payoff money will pay for a nice holiday to somewhere sunny
With two wins in 13 games Sunderland find themselves just two spots above the relegation zone and that was enough for chairman, Ellis Short, to announce that “Sadly results this season have simply not been good enough and I feel the time is right to make a change,” and with that Steve Bruce was confirmed as the winner of the 2011/12 Premier League sack race – the longest race (I think) in modern day Premier League football history. Normally the first managerial casualty comes sometime around late August, but somehow all 20 managers had survived right up until the last day of November.
Blatter proves he isn’t a racist by hugging a black man
Most right minded football fans have long since come to the understanding that Sepp Blatter is generally bad for the general good of the game. He has long since sold football’s sole for outright financial gain and corruption within the top end of the Fifa organization he heads up, has been rife for a number of years now. But then again, what would we do with ourselves if he was gone and we had nobody left to leave us in a state of disbelief following yet another foolish comment? We need people like that to know we ourselves are sane.
Proper Shaped Balls is a site that aims to give a fans perspective on Toronto FC and the sport as a whole from a mainly lighthearted and at times humorous angle, though don’t rule out the odd rant. Articles, stories, blogs and match reports will appear at random with no set frequency though expect match reports to often arrive late. Read More»
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All the goals of 2011
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My TFC Record
W 17 | D 11 | L 4
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I really miss the football
EDITORIAL
With everything gone a little quiet in the western front, with the western front being the TFC training camp, I thought I'd take a minute to go off on a little rant about everything I am beginning to dislike about football at the other side of the pond -- the football I grew up watching, supporting, following and loving. Maybe more than ever the way it is being covered -- scandal, gossip and rumour upon scandal, gossip and rumour -- has left me longing for the return of the MLS and in particular, TFC, to get my football fix and to watch games without the circus and sideshow that has become part and partial of following the Premier League. Maybe for a while the indepth, hyper-analysis, gossip loaded coverage was interesting, amusing and entertaining, but the way it is going and the depths to which it is sinking, has been losing patience altogether.
Unless you seen the Manchester United, Liverpool game on Saturday you would never have known a game took place. There was little to no mention of the result afterwards or any talk of the performance by either team. Not even the referee got a look-in this week. No, unless you seen the game take place you would have assumed that both teams turned up at Old Trafford, lined up for a handshake and then went home again.
The nutmeg is delivered two, three, and if you're lucky, four times a week at random and is a non-to-serious look at the beautiful game beyond the boundaries of BMO Field and across the pond. Read More»
Proper Shaped Balls is a site that aims to give a fans perspective on Toronto FC and the sport as a whole from a mainly lighthearted and at times humorous angle, though don’t rule out the odd rant. Articles, stories, blogs and match reports will appear at random with no set frequency though expect match reports to often arrive late. 
