Memories and memorabilia, that’s all we have at the moment. Although I’m sure you’ll be heartened to know that the various Leagues around the world are discussing how they can get games underway again. Of course it’s different in each country, and in some cases depends on where they are in relation to the fight against Covid-19.
Author Archive | Mark Brigden
Best of the Best
There’s no doubt that Ronaldo and Messi reign supreme in the list of top footballing talent. Messi has unbelievable dribbling skills, an exquisite passing range and is composed in front of goal. Ronaldo is quicker, more direct and probably a better finisher in pressure situations. Both are leaders, the focal points driving their teams towards success. Continue Reading →
The Battle Resumes
New season, new hopes as contender’s line-up in the various leagues around Europe.
Signed Jerseys by Individuals Proving Popular
We’ve had a number of enquiries where we’ve been asked to source jerseys signed by individual players. As you know we specialise in team jerseys, although we also stock the major players such as Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar, generally recognised as the current three best players, plus some past greats like Pele, Zidane and Maradona. However the range of players requested has amazed us. It has varied from World Cup legends like Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer to club heroes like Stan Bowles (QPR) and Matt le Tissier (Southhampton). Another one in demand has been the hat trick hero from the 1966 World Cup, England’s Geoff Hurst. Continue Reading →
EPL Odds, Statistics and Predictions
If you believe the bookies, this season is a done deal. Manchester City are odds-on favourites to win with every bookmaker. That’s a very short price at this early stage of the season. The only other team under 10:1 is Liverpool, so it’s very much seen as a two horse race already.
Chelsea and Spurs are in the next range, under 20:1, whilst you can already get 40:1 about Manchester United winning the league, or 50:1 about Arsenal’s chances. Watford, who won their first four games before losing to Manchester United, are at 250:1. Continue Reading →
Beware the Sleeping Giants
The group stages of this years Champions League have commenced and the focus seems firmly on Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Real Madrid have of course won 4 out of the last 5 tournaments, and reached the semi-final the other year. That’s dominance. That’s outstanding form. This year they are without Ronaldo, but the rest of the Galacticos remain, so Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema now have the chance to lead the attack and fire them to glory.
While France Won the Cup, Croatia Won Our Hearts.
The dust has settled on the 2018 World Cup and it’s time for reflection. With the emotion taken away, an objective look reveals some interesting thoughts.
France, the World Cup winners, showed mental fortitude and a disciplined approach to sacrifice individual skills for the benefit of the team. Deschamps must be given huge credit for bringing together a group of talented individuals and turning them into a hard-working team. Along the way they had to overcome two South American heavyweights, Argentina and Uruguay, as well as the promising young Belgium team. France too, have a young squad, more than capable of repeating in four years time. Continue Reading →
Ronaldo & Messi – GOAT or GOOT?

A New Era at Arsenal and Arsene Wenger Memories.
Arsene Wenger, the man with the record of managing the most Premier League matches in history during his long stint at Arsenal, has gone.
Other teams, most recently Manchester United, have suffered a downturn after a long-serving Manager departed. No doubt the Arsenal FC Board have taken this into account and have already supported player purchases for incoming Manager Unai Emery, although this young Spaniard does have a pedigree of winning. He has already accumulated an impressive eight trophies in his thirteen year coaching career. Certainly, he had a wealth of talent at his disposal when he won the French Ligue with PSG, and prior to that his three Europa League wins with Sevilla, so his building a team to suit his style could see several changes at the London based club.
What are the most famous jersey numbers?
With the focus on the World Cup and most of the best players in the world, I realised there are some iconic football numbers, both at international and club level. Numbers with a history and tradition that mean something. The most obvious one of course is the Brazil number 10 shirt.
World Cup 2018 – who will make the final?
Like most competitions there are some teams that are there for the experience, but they’re unlikely to make the final. There’s probably three brackets – the serious contenders, the ones with a possibility of surprising and those that would be major shocks.