Football on the Wire

The Professor of Philosophy III

2012-01-08T15:24:00.003Z

Which Premier manager, "I think in England you eat too much sugar and meat and not enough vegetables"?

The Don of Elland Road

2012-01-05T13:21:00.001Z

I enjoyed researching the statistics for my Don Revie print. It shows every player to represent Leeds United while he was the manager from 1961 to 1974. Information on appearances and goals is included for every player. In 13 years, he picked only 75 players. If you are interested in buying a print, visit my On A Six Pence website.

Each image is a high quality giclée print, on a luxurious heavy weight Hahnemühle fine art paper. The print size of the image is 30*40cm.

The Professor of Philosophy - Part II

2012-01-03T12:32:00.000Z

Which Premier manager said, "I'm like somebody who flies a plane for 30 years and I have to accept that somebody can come into the cockpit and thinks he can fly the plane better than I do."?

The Wire Returns

2012-01-02T15:27:00.000Z

Good news for the New Year - The Wire is returning this Friday at 10.15pm on Sky Atlantic. Enjoy.

Cypriot Wire Riddle

2012-01-01T00:07:00.001Z

What links the beautiful island of Cyprus to the Wire?

Happy New Year - Have a wonderful 2012.

The Chemical Answer

2011-12-31T06:44:00.006Z

Just in case, you could not guess yesterday's riddle, below is a large clue! The image is my visual tribute to Arsene Wenger showing every player to represent Arsenal in his 15 full seasons at the club. Appearance and goal information is included for each player. Each image is a high quality giclée print, on a luxurious heavy weight Hahnemühle fine art paper. I am printing a Limited Edition of 60 standard prints of Wenger 15.

One of my prints is displayed at the Arsenal’s Media and Education Centre! The prints are available at www.onasixpence.bigcartel.com

The Professor of Philosophy - Part I

2011-12-30T09:09:00.001Z

This is a lovely story told by a top Premier manager. Guess the manager.

A promising piano player attends a performance of a great virtuoso. Afterwards the novice approaches the concert pianist and says "I would give my life to play like you." To which the pianist replies, "That's what I have done."

Super Tramp

2011-12-29T10:41:00.003Z

Excellent article on John Robertson by Jon Culley. The winger has written his autobiography, 'Super Tramp'. Great title for one of my Top Five - Scruffy Players of all-time.

Afros and Pumas

2011-12-28T12:14:00.000Z

George Pelecanos features in the Observer's 'Once Upon a Life' section. In the article, he describes how he ran his father's diner, the 'Jefferson Coffee Shop', in Washington DC. In my review of 'The Way Home', I felt Pelecanos was very harsh about the young character, Chris Flynn, maybe, because he followed a path that the writer had experienced. Pelecanos' description of himself as a young man in the Observer feature, seems to confirm this view.

But only George knows.

The Science of Dreams

2011-12-27T16:19:00.000Z

Over the last few months, I have been busy designing new work for my On A Six Pence website. Below is my Manchester United print. It is a visual tribute to some of the great characters of the club using the iconic periodic table as the framework. Information on appearances and goals is included for every player.

A Limited Edition of 60 standard prints will be made of the Science of Dreams. Prints can be personalised to include the name of your choice. Each image is a high quality giclée print, on a luxurious heavy weight Hahnemühle fine art paper.

Nandos in the Kings Road

2011-12-27T15:37:00.000Z

Fair and interesting article about Fernando Torres by Richard Williams. Includes some great statistics about Jimmy Greaves goalscoring exploits - between the ages of 17 and 21, he scored 124 goals in 157 games for Chelsea. In contrast between the ages of 17 and 23, Torres scored 82 goals in 214 games. Torres has always been an all-round striker rather than a goal-machine. His purple period at Liverpool changed how fans perceived the player. His time will come again.

Four Jobs better the One

2011-12-23T13:10:00.002Z

Whose nickname in 'The Wire' was Four Jobs?

The Magnificent Seven

2011-12-22T13:07:00.002Z

Who said, "The reason I think The Wire was so great is that there was a lone genius backed up by seven great novelists".

Moore Strong?

2011-12-21T12:47:00.001Z

Bill Shankly thought Geoff Strong was a better player than Bobby Moore. I compared Fabian Delph to the brilliant Jean Tigana. Somehow, it makes me feel better that even a great can make mistakes (Shankly not me).

A Surprise after All These Years

2011-12-21T12:28:00.002Z

I learnt something about the great Chelsea goalkeeper, Peter Bonetti, that I probably should have known. The 'Cat' could have played international football for Switzerland. Boring, but interesting.

No thanks, I'm a Fruitarian.

2011-12-20T14:51:00.001Z

What links the Notting Hill film and the Wire? And it's not Julia Roberts. Unless she worked on one of the corners. No, that was Pretty Woman.

Changing Empires

2011-12-19T12:51:00.001Z

Interesting article by Glenn Moore about what happens when great managers leave their clubs.

Unofficial Euro 2012 Draw

2011-11-25T11:55:00.001Z

I cannot wait until the the Euro Draw on the 2nd December. Therefore, in the best of Blue Peter traditions, here is one I have prepared earlier:-

There will be some great games in my Unofficial draw . Its one of five countries to win the trophy. And the winner will be.........

Golf Balls and the Mini

2011-09-09T14:28:00.003+01:00

Duncan McKenzie was interviewed by talkSport about his career. In the interview, he explains why he jumped a mini and threw a golf ball. He sounds 22 years old.

House of the Falling Sum

2011-09-07T14:12:00.002+01:00

The Baltimore Sun reports that 10% of homes sold in Baltimore during the first 6 months of this year cost less than $10, 000.

Love and Affection

2011-09-06T18:01:00.003+01:00

What links the Joan Armatrading's classic, "Love and Affection" with The Wire?

Have a listen to the song below for a clue. Someone from The Wire is singing "Oh Give me Love", just before the two minute mark.

On Your Bike

2011-08-26T15:12:00.001+01:00

Wonderful bicycle kick by Edinson Cavani in a friendly against Barcelona. Pity it was disallowed. For other great disallowed goals check this Guardian page.

The Finest Cut

2011-08-24T14:39:00.002+01:00

George Pelecanos's new book 'The Cut' is available in the UK on the 25th August. The book introduces a new character called Spero Lucas. I am sure we can expect another classic from one of The Wire's top writers. Pelecanos's last book, The Way Home, was brilliant. In the video below, Pelecanos reads from his latest book. When will one of his books be made into a film?

Soccer Sequence No.31

2011-08-21T11:33:00.001+01:00

Your goal is to work out the link between these numbers. The figures are correct as the 1 July 2011.

148, 137, 123, 122, 116, 109, 105, 102, 100, 96.

The link to 102 is a clue. But I'm sure you don't need the help.

Forever 21

2011-08-21T09:25:00.003+01:00

Great to read Will Dean's article in the Independent about the healthy state of table tennis. However, could we please return to the old scoring system of winning with 21 points rather than 11?