Shot Down

Read this week that legendary footie magazine Shoot! is stopping production. I used to get it every week (Nathan would always get 'Match', but I thought that was a bit rubbish) and was a bit sad when I heard this news. I recall the player interviews and the league ladders most fondly; although when i used to read it, Arsenal were nowhere near the top of the table (you obviously had the option to cheat and place them at the summit of the Canon League Div One). The player interviews were also quality, I once 'did one' on Kristian, his 'Player for the Future' was Rafael Meade, who looked mint as a youngster then just seemed to disappear. I nicked this from an article in the Guardian, but here are some highlights from genuine player interviews:

Mark Lawrenson (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Favourite food and drink?
Lasagne and Lambrusco.

Gerry Francis (Queens Park Rangers)
Favourite players?
Myself followed by team-mate Stan Bowles and West Germany's Uli Hoeness.
Favourite Singer?
Captain Beefheart.
Which person in the world would you most like to meet?
Patrick McGoohan.

Diego Maradona (Argentina)
Favourite food?
Oven-roasted meat.
Miscellaneous dislikes?
Injustice.

Alan Birchenall (Leicester City)
Which person in the world would you most like to meet?
Hitler (if still alive) – or Neil Diamond. (Christ!)

Alan Ball (Arsenal)
Likes?
All foods, lager.
Dislikes?
Women cigarette smokers.

Gary Lineker (Leicester City)
Favourite newspaper?
Daily Star.
Nickname?
Link.
Career after playing?
Hopefully a bookmaker.

Craig Johnston (Liverpool)
Favourite food and drink?
Big steaks and, of course, a tube of Foster's. (What the hell's a tube of Foster's? is it like a tube of smarties? - MD)

Dave Hodgson (Middlesbrough)
After-match routine?
Out to the pub and then on to a nightclub.
Miscellaneous dislikes?
People who misjudge you before meeting you.

Quarter Finals of the Euros start tonight; difficult to call who's going to win at the moment. Germany v Portugal is on later, altho I have no love for either team really. Think Mertesacker would be a good signing for Arsenal tho, he's tall, good in the air and strong for such a foppish looking character.

Played 5 a side last night for the first time in ages, bit of a trek as I now work in Brizzle and the game took place out in Clifton (which for those of you who know the area, is frickin miles away from home), pitches were great tho, Bristol City used to train there and i marked my debut with 2 goals in an 8-5 victory. i obviously need to keep my scoring feet on as competition for places in the team for Amsterdam is fierce, as you can see here.

Finally, there are rumours of a mini festival happening in the teeny tiny village of Orwell, nr Cambridge. Promoter Jamie Fewster is currently unavailable for comment, however, I'll get some soundbites from him as the gig nears. Headlining will be , er, Mark Linggood's band (for the record, its not Mark's band as such, but i don't know what they're called), it has been suggested (by me) that I should do a funk/reggae/Latino set too, but nothing to report on that yet...