All Posts on Off The Record

Off The Record

If there’s something that must be said, but cannot be said within blogging / journalistic confines, this is the place to say it. We’ve used this column to poke fun, to provoke and to just say our minds.

Footballers and Cars

Footballers and Cars

“No other man-made device since the shields and lances of the ancient knights fulfills a man’s ego like an automobile.” – Sir William

Overcoming adversity: Three Extraordinary achievements by the modern football players

Overcoming adversity: Three Extraordinary achievements by the modern football players

Sports Illustrated and Gillette Odor Shield Sweat for Greatness contest is celebrating extraordinary achievements of ordinary men and here on Soccerlens, we are going to look at extraordinary achievements of modern day footballers. For all the bad traits in the game of football, sometimes the sport can inspire you, can give you hope. Forget the…

Should Footballers Be Allowed To Chew Gum On The Pitch?

Should Footballers Be Allowed To Chew Gum On The Pitch?

At first glance it seems it could not possibly be true. A repeat viewing of the BBC’s Match of the Day programme, however, confirms the initial suspicion that Tottenham Hotspur’s Benoit Assou Ekotto took to the field against Wigan last month chewing gum. Not only was he chewing gum, but the Cameroonian saw fit to…

Football on Mars

Football on Mars

How would you play football on Mars? A trio of University of Leicester undergraduates have studied just that, looking at how the reduced Martian gravity and light conditions would alter the dynamics of a football game. In what is effectively a very limited (2-page) study, the authors primarily look at how the reduced Martian gravity…

Ryan Giggs, Imogen Thomas, the super-injunction and Twitter (Video & Opinion)

In the Ryan-Giggs-Imogen-Thomas-super-injunction comedy (the 3D version comes out this summer, but you can see a trailer below), public outrage (generated by the press) at the enforced censorship has muddled the actual issue. Ryan Giggs is a footballing legend – 12 league titles and his longevity outweigh whatever Wales could not accomplish at the international…

QPR promotion party still on hold as FA investigate illegal payments to third party caterer

QPR promotion party still on hold as FA investigate illegal payments to third party caterer

Newly-promoted Queens Park Rangers are still no closer to holding their end of season promotion party, after it emerged that the FA are investigating reports that the R’s have hired a questionable third-party caterer for their Harlington bash. According to paperwork, chairman Bernie Ecclestone employed relatively unknown Argentinean caterers Alejandro’s almost two years in advance;…

Chelsea Need A New Owner, Not A New Manager

Chelsea Need A New Owner, Not A New Manager

We’ve seen it before – an owner can only take the club so far. There comes a time when his decisions become repetitive, his style stale, his actions predictable. Roman Abramovich has done admirably well in taking Chelsea from a 4th place finish (the summer he took over) to …. another 4th place finish by…

What do salad cream, a pen knife and TV remote have in common? Answer: an injured footballer

What do salad cream, a pen knife and TV remote have in common? Answer: an injured footballer

Most football injuries occur as a result of an untimely connection between boot and bone. But Mario Balotelli’s grass allergy served as a reminder of bizarre setbacks suffered by other players – with no meaty challenge in sight… It turns out Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is allergic to certain types of grass – kind…

Chelsea vs Manchester United, What Might Just Happen in the Champions’ League First Leg

Chelsea vs Manchester United, What Might Just Happen in the Champions’ League First Leg

‘United are top of the table, but I tell you what, ‘ang on, Marcel, I tell you what, if they can get bodies in that United box and whip some balls into Drogba, Chelsea will fancy it tonight.’

One hundred words: an Italian’s guide to managing a foreign nation

One hundred words: an Italian’s guide to managing a foreign nation

In what can only be described as a pamphlet rather than a book, eloquent and multilingual manager Fabio Capello has outlined how the average trophy-laden foreign coach can transfer their success to the English continent in just one hundred easy-to-master words. The pamphlet, entitled How To Coach In Place You No Speak Good, was ghostwritten…


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