THE WEIRD, WACKY AND WONDERFUL WORLD WIDE WEB
By Julius Ross
In search of alternative footballing websites, Goal! Weekly explores the top 10 most interesting, bizarre, useful and entertaining websites out there in cyberspace.
10. FOOTBALL 365
Website: www.football365.com
As the name implies, Football 365 is dedicated to football 365 days of the year.
On first inspection, the website appears to be an average run-of-the-mill English football site, with focus on fixtures, results, statistics, transfer speculation and all the latest news in England and abroad. However, on second glance, Football 365 takes a much more satirical angle on the everyday footballing issues, referring to teams such as Manchester United as Man Yoo, Chelsea as Chelski and Arsenal as the Gooners to lighten the mood.
On a more serious note, Football 365 does have some credibility, with the ‘Opinion’ section home to ‘Britain’s Best Football Pundit’ Andy Gray.
Overall, Football 365 functions as a bright and colourful website which keeps you up to date with the latest news and gossip in the footballing world, whilst providing you with light entertainment
9. FAMOUS FOOTBALL FANS
Website: http://www.the-football-club.com/famous-football-fans.html
What do The Queen, Prince Harry, Dido and Nick Hornby have in common? They all support Arsenal FC of course! Which football team do Lennox Lewis, Kiera Knightly, John Cleese support? West Ham United! Famous Football Fans is a link off TheFootballClub.com and provides readers with an intriguing insight into which English teams A-List celebrities barrack for. Although most people would find this information relatively useless, for those celebrity obsessed people, Famous Football Fans can provide you with a little extra gossip for the next time you’re catching up with friends over a chai latte at Starbucks.
8. FAN CHANTS
Website: http://www.fanchants.com/
Ever wondered what a particular team was chanting to their opponents? Fan Chants has over 3,000 different footballing chants available for purchase or download or even use as mobile phone ringtones. You’ll never have to wonder again what your team really thinks of their rivals. WARNING! Coarse language within! (Most of them are English, you see).
7. ASK THE REF
Website: www.asktheref.com
Every match day, players and fans alike get stuck into the men and women in black, and more often than not have a query for the match officials. But whilst most of what is said is unprintable here, AskTheRef.com allows those who would like to take up an issue with the referee, to do so in a more humble manner than is seen from the terraces. AskTheRef allows you to enquire about specific refereeing decisions, or provides a great base for expanding your knowledge of the rules of the game, without the risk of seeing Red.
6. FOOTBALL QUOTES
Website: http://www.footballquotes.info/
Football Quotes is one of the many various sites floating around the World Wide Web that capture the hilarious quotes of footballing personalities. Football Quotes have some of the weirdest and wackiest quotes from the likes of David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Steven Gerrard, as well as English managers Bobby Robson and Terry Venables and commentators such as John Motson. Here just a few to inspire you to visit Football Quotes:
"If you can't stand the heat in the dressing-room, get out of the kitchen!" Terry Venables.
"Sometimes in football you have to score goals," Thierry Henry.
"My parents have been there for me, ever since I was about 7," David Beckham.
"I think this could be [England’s] best victory over Germany since the war," John Motson.
5. KIKETTE
Website: http://kickette.com/
Quoted from the website: “Written by a small but perfectly formed crack team of female journalists, fashionistas and debauchery-chasing champagne swillers, Kickette is the number one authority on the web for all things fun, fluffy and footie-related. Multi-millionaire football star shenanigans, exclusive WAG gossip and snarky fashion analysis are the reason we exist. For those that love football, but also love the WAG lifestyle, culture, designer labels, gossip and debauchery just as much, Kickette is the site for you.”
Fun. Fluffy. Footie-related? Whilst most of you will take several minutes to take in contents of the last paragraph, I’ll confirm that, yes, this is a football site designed for the females. When I stumbled across this page with its light pink background and paparazzi shots of a topless Christiano Ronaldo poolside, I was slightly disturbed. However, it is fantastic to discover a rare footballing website dedicated to females supporters of the world game despite the gossip stories having less credibility than Woman’s Weekly or New Idea.
Featuring a ‘Finest Five’ list of the ‘hottest footballers’ and ‘Thursday Thigh Off’ – where readers can assess the ‘quality’ of footballer’s thighs; “may the best quads win!” - the designers of this website have certainly aimed it at their fellow female soccer fans. However, I encourage men to check out this website too, it’s quite interesting to find out able the players’ off-field shenanigans!
4. VIRGIN FOOTBALL
Website: http://www.virginmedia.com/sport/football/pictures.php?npar=nav-football
Despite the incomprehensible web address and the fact that it is funded by multi billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, this site is well worth a visit. Featuring sections on the Most Hated Footballers, Euro 2008 Lookalikes, the Daftest Quotes from the Beautiful Game and the Season’s Best Football Chants, it is guaranteed to provide you with hours of entertainment. And a chuckle or two.
3. TOP HOOLIGAN
Website: http://www.tophooligan.com/
No one likes a football hooligan, or hooliganism in general, but Top Hooligan gives you a bizarre insight into football violence. The site has links to the type of clothes that hooligans wear to escape recognition from authorities, the various different Firms which exist, along with pictures and videos. The website does not encourage hooliganism or violent behaviour, and provides articles on how football’s Governing bodies are attempting to curb violence on and off the pitch. Still, not for the faint hearted!
2. SEXY GOALS
Website: http://www.sexygoals.com/
The name says it all – some of the sexiest goals ever scored in World football….in convenient video format.
1. MIDFIELD DYNAMO
Website: http://www.midfielddynamo.com/
Midfield Dynamo is the ‘home of cult football.’ Designed to differentiate itself from the mainstream of ‘normal’ football sites, Midfield Dynamo features everything but the latest football news and gossip. It features sections on ‘The World’s most Bizarre Transfers’, ’10 surprising facts bout Johan Cruff’, ’10 Decent Tea Cup Throwers’, ‘20 Things you will always see at a non-league game’ and ‘Top 10 Notorious Club Owners’ – the peculiar list goes on. If that isn’t enough to satisfy your taste for bizarre football facts, then you can always find out ‘What’s Your Brazilian Football Name?’
Mine is Juliildo, if you’re wondering.
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