How Does The Goal Line Technology Work?

By Matthew

30 December 2020 • 0:15GMT

 Since its introduction in the Premier League's 2013/14 season, Hawk-Eye's Goal Line Technology system has failed just once in over 9000 matches that it has been in operation. Of no doubt, the Goal Line Technology (GLT) has refined football, and so, how does it work?

GLT is basically a cluster of technologies that together monitors the path and movement of the ball and spots when it crosses the goal line. There are 4 major systems of the GLT approved by FIFA and the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which operate mainly by either camera tracking or magnetic field sensors.

•GoalControl

At the 2014 FIFA world cup, Brazil, GoalControl was the GLT system used. The German Company gained approval and certification just before the Hawk-Eye system. Before it was used at the world cup, it was successfully tested at the Confederations Cup and at the FIFA club world cup, 2013.

GoalControl uses camera tracking. 14 high speed cameras are mounted on the stadium roof (7 cameras per goal mouth) to capture the position of the ball in the air and on the ground. The referee receives a notification via his watch when the ball crosses the line.

•Hawk-Eye

Just like GoalControl, Hawk-Eye uses camera tracking. 7 cameras are installed at each goal, usually at the roof of the stadium. A software gathers the information from all cameras and then, tracks the ball in relation to the goal line. A signal is sent to the referee's watch within a second when the ball crosses the line. Ten seconds after, a graphical display of the ball's location is ready to be broadcasted.

Hawk-Eye is the present GLT system of the English Premier League and has been around since 2013.

Seven High Speed Cameras per goal mouth

•GoalRef

German Company, Fraunhofer IIS is the creator of GoalRef, a company that specialises in wireless communications. This GLT system uses magnetic field sensors built into the goal frames to detect the passing of the ball.

•Cairos GLT system

Cairos technologies and Adidas are the producers of this GLT system which also uses magnetic field sensors. In this system, a magnetic sensor is put into the ball. This sensor detects the magnetic field produced by thin wires underneath the penalty box. A computer then tracks the position of the ball using the sensor.

Another GLT system is GoalMinder which uses cameras built into goalposts and crossbars.

The Sheffield United Incident

A foul is being committed. It's a free kick to Sheffield on their left flank. Oliver Norwood is standing over the dead ball, ready to take the free kick and Aston Villa's defence is getting organised. Norwood sends a beautiful ball in, but Villa's goalie, Ørjan Nyland claims the ball in the air. As Nyland reaches for the ground, teammate, Keinan Davis bumps into him and then he is pushed together with the ball beyond the goal line. Nyland quickly presses the ball unto the goal frame, Sheffield United players are celebrating, the ball clearly crossed the line already.

Nyland is seen to have crossed the line with the ball. Photo Credit: Sheffield United TV

To their surprising disappointment, Referee, Michael Oliver doesn't award the goal, his wrist watch hasn't indicated, by vibration, that the ball crossed the line. Inevitably, this decision sparks a lot of controversies.

Hawk-Eye, the company that runs the league's goal line technology, after the match said that the view of the seven cameras were obstructed by the combination of the goalkeeper, defender and the post. Its statement read:

"During the first half of Aston Villa v Sheffield United match at Villa Park, there was a goal line incident where the ball was carried over the line by Aston Villa goalkeeper, No. 25 Nyland.

"The match officials did not receive a signal to the watch nor earpiece as per the Goal Decision System (GDS) protocol. The seven cameras located in the stands around the goal area were significantly occluded by the goalkeeper, defender, and goalpost. This level of occlusion has never been seen before in over 9,000 matches that the Hawk-Eye Goal Line Technology system has been in operation.

"The system was tested and proved functional prior to the start of the match in accordance with the IFAB Laws of The Game and confirmed as working by the match officials. The system has remained functional throughout. Hawk-Eye unreservedly apologises to the Premier League, Sheffield United, and everyone affected by this incident."

In 2013, when it was introduced to the Premier League, it was said that Hawk-Eye's high speed cameras had the ability to remove any player's picture obscuring the ball. It is still not understood why it didn't in this match.

After the match, Sheffield United's coach, Chris Wilder said he didn't know if he had to laugh or cry as he was deeply hurt by the decision. It cost them two points.

Sometimes, there are errors with all the technologies around but Goal Line Technology has been a huge success since its inception.

Park Chu Young, Arsenal's Biggest Flop?

 By Matthew

25 December 2020 • 1.08GMT

What if the Lille officials got to the hotel room just before the phone call? Or what if the second part of the medicals weren't needed to finalise the transfer deal? Probably, the nadir of his career wouldn't have started at that time.    

Relegated Monaco had to sell some of their fine players in order to cope with the financial implications the club would face. It turned out to be that Park Chu Young was one of their finest players. Lille were interested in signing him and having agreed a fee of £2.7 million euros with Monaco, they were pretty sure Park was a new player of theirs. Everything went smoothly and Park had completed the first part of his medicals - medicals are a essential part of transfers, if a player fails his medicals, the transfer would breakdown.

He was waiting in his hotel room, Lille officials were on their way, they had a second part of the medicals to finish. Then Park's phone rang while he was waiting, who was on the line? Well, it wasn't his girlfriend wanting to congratulate him on his potential move to Lille, it was Arsene Wenger, yes Wenger, the manager of Arsenal as at that time. Why would Wenger give him a call? He wanted Park to sign for Arsenal. I can imagine Park wondering if he was in a dream or something. He walked out of his hotel room and headed to the Eurostar Terminal. Of course, he was going to the Emirates, London. Lille officials got to his hotel room, but Park was gone. Somehow they tracked him down and found him at the terminal where Park told them he was going to London to sign for Arsenal.

As a 26 year old South Korean, Park had to return to his country for millitary service before the end of 2013 - every able-bodied Korean man must undergo two years in the country's armed services before the age of 28. So Park had to deliver for Arsenal as quickly as he could.

When Park finally arrived at the North London club just before the close of the transfer window in 2011, he was given the legendary No 9 shirt. In a league cup game against Bolton Wanderers, Park scored the winner for Arsenal. But later on, Park would reveal himself as one of Arsenal's biggest ever flops. November 2011, a Champions League match against Marseille was Park's Champions League debut in which he was replaced after 60 minutes due to him being very terrible, his pace was nothing close to a manageable one, it was terribly bad." He did very well last week. Tonight you could see that he lacked the pace of the game a little bit because he has not played enough games" - words of Arsene Wenger on Park after the match. Due to his poor form, he played only six times in the 2011/12 season, one of those were in the Premier League and that single Premier League appearance would go on to be the only English League appearance in his career.

In January 2012, Arsenal re-signed Theirry Henry - a club legend. Phenomenal winger, Robin Van Persie was converted to a striker - Park's original position - and Lukas Podolski was already on his way to Arsenal. Podolski arrived in the summer of that year and the No 9 shirt that Park wore was given to Podolski. Park's new shirt number was 30. With all these, there was no way Park would play since his position was already occupied by better players - based on statistics. What next for Park? He was loaned out to Celta Vigo where he scored four times in 26 outings.

The loan spell at Celta ended and Park was back at Arsenal for the 2013/14 season. October 2013, Arsenal faced Chelsea in the League Cup and of course, Park didn't make the starting XI but luckily he made it to the bench. 81 minutes gone already, Park was subbed on in the game they went on to lose 2-0 and those few minutes he played were the only first team action he was part of for the whole season. His Arsenal career was over and he never played for the Reds again. 

Arsenal released him at the end of the season and he signed up as a free agent for Al-Shabab, a Saudi Arabian club. Presently, he is 35 and plays for FC Seoul in South Korea, his country.

I wonder what part of all these he regrets the most, the part that he signed for Arsenal or the part that he delayed his millitary service for 10 years by obtaining a 10 year Monaco residency visa just to play for a club that he wouldn't make anything out of, well except for the fact that he got richer even though he didn't play, I mean he was on more than £40,000 euros a week. Park's Arsenal career wasn't just a walk in the park afterall.

NOTICE!!!

By Matthew

23 DECEMBER 2020 • 00:17GMT

Hello there, I'm Matthew. Welcome to the Football Correspondent blog. A sports blog dedicated to providing in-depth analysis into European Football.

This blog used to be SM10 Sport, but in order to fully articulate the purpose and contents of the blog and to clearly express the game, Football Correspondent is the new name.

This is an overview of the blog

•Blog Title: Football Correspondent

•Blog site: footballcrest.blogspot.com

•Blog Description: An In-depth analysis into European Football

Being a potential correspondent, I admire and learn from the works of leading figures like:

•Jason Burt (Chief Football Correspondent)

•Michael Cox (Data Analytics Expert)

•Jonathan Wilson (Football Historian)

•Seb Stafford Bloor (Football Writer's Association Member)

•JJ Bull (Tactical Analyst).

As a result, you can expect to read world-class contents on the Football Correspondent blog.

Contents released on the blog are sourced by me and are reliable and authentic.

The Football Correspondent blog majors on:

•what happens behind the scenes in many European clubs and leagues, how the game is being run by its administrators and many more.

•tactical analysis.

•football and data analytics (soccermatics)

So be sure to visit this blog site regularly to get the best of football journalism.

LEEDS UNITED TALE

We lived the dream

- Peter Ritsdale, former Leeds Chairman.

From 1961-1975, Leeds United were a powerhouse in football. A brilliant side firing on all cylinders. A side that was seen as one of the strongest in Europe. In 1969, they won the football league championship and the FA cup in 1972. They won the league again in 1974 and got to the final of the European Championship in 1975. In the 1980s, Leeds declined but would go on to win the football league in 1992 just before the Premier League was formed. In 2001, Leeds were a present day "Chelsea" in the sense that they had a very good "young" squad and this young brilliant side reached the semi finals of the Uefa Champions League in that same year. 

In 2003, Leeds suffered what would go on to become one of football's biggest "financial collapse". Leeds had borrowed too much money to buy the biggest players. "Of the drive for success, we lived the dream" was what former Chairman, Peter Ridsdale said. Leeds had to offload the star players they had borrowed money to buy.

Rio Ferdinand (signed Nov 2000, £18m; sold for £30m to Manchester United)

Robbie Keane (signed May 2001, £12m; sold for £7m)

Lee Bowyer (signed July 1996, £2.8m; sold for £100,000 to West Ham).

Robbie Fowler (signed Nov 2002, £11m; sold for £6m to Manchester City). 

Jonathan Woodgate (sold for  £9m to Newcastle United). 

Woodgate was a part of the Leeds double winning youth side in 1996-97

Leeds were eventually relegated in 2004 with debt of over £100,000,000. A consurtium of local business men took charge of the club, settled many debts, sold more players and even sold assets of the club including their stadium, Elland Road. The stadium was in turn, rented back to Leeds. These business men couldn't handle Leeds anymore and sold the club to Ken Bates and some "anonymous investors" in January 2005. Ken Bates was the owner of Chelsea until 2003 when he sold it to Roman Abramovich. Ken Bates could also not put the club back on track as the club struggled with its wage bills.

2007, Leeds were further relegated to the League One. In the same year, Bates reduced the club's debts by placing the club into administration.

•What's Administration? It's a common term used in the UK for clubs that chose to enter it. This situation arises when they are unable to pay off outstanding debts, so it puts an exterior entity (accountants) to manage the club and its assets to ensure that all creditors are paid (other clubs, suppliers, players, staff etc.)

Leeds played in the League One for three years before gaining promotion to the Championship in 2010. In 2012, Bates sold the club to the Gulf Finance House and in 2014, the Finance House sold the club to an Italian American Investor, Massimo Cellino who was convicted of Tax Fraud. In 2 years of ownership, Massimo sacked 6 managers at the club.

In January 2017, Cellino's compatriot Andrea Radrizzani bought a majority stake in the club for £45,000,000. Then in May, Radrizzani announced the 100% buyout of Leeds United, buying the remaining 50% shares from previous co-owner Massimo Cellino , with Radrizzani taking full ownership of the club.

                     Andrea Radrizzani

About a month later, Radrizzani appointed Thomas Christiansen as the new head coach of the club saying " he wanted to bring back the winning culture at Leeds". Thomas would later be be dismissed after a poor run of form.

On 28 June 2017, Radrizzani completed the purchase of Elland Road, making the stadium property of Leeds United for the first time since 2004.

The turning point for Leeds was probably in June 2015 when the manager that would eventually lead them back to the Premier League was given the job. Marcelo Bielsla will forever be remembered in the hearts of many Leeds' fans, a coach with a deviant tactical approach to the game.

In the summer of 2020, Leeds were back in the Premier League, a competition they used to to belong to until the great financial depression.

From the local business men to Ken Bates to the Gulf Finance House, then to  Massimo Cellino, none could revive Leeds United.

Andrea Radrizzani has indeed proven to be the saviour.

               Leeds celebrate promotion to the             Premier League, 2020

Stakeholders And Premier League Clubs Pt 1

It's Amazing how the FSG has turned Liverpool into world beaters in just 10 years of club ownership.

 - Matthew.

     Today, we take a look into Premier League clubs and their respective stakeholders. 

Arsenal Football Club is owned by Stan Kroenke. The American Billionaire has 100% stake in the club's Ownership. Kroenke's wealth is estimated to be around $10 Billion. Anti-generous(if this word exists) will best describe Kroenke in light of his stingy approach towards the club's finances.

              Stan Kroenke

Nassef Sawiris and Wesley Edens are the major stakeholders of Aston Villa FC, the club that narrowly escaped relegation last season. They seem to be supportive given the way they have invested in the club.

Brighton's Tony Bloom has 75.6℅ interest in the club. He is also acting as the club's chairman. He deserves credit for bringing the seagulls back to the top-flight as he has spent over $250 million of his personal wealth on the club's facilities.

Burnley has two major stakeholders, Mike Garlick(49.3℅) and John Banaszkiewicz(27.5℅). Anyway from a fan's perspective, the major figure of the club is their manager, Sean Dyche. His tactical acumen has kept the club going in the League.

          Burnley's Sean Dyche

Russian Oligarch and obviously a close associate of Russia's President, Vladimir Putin owns Chelsea football club since he purchased it in 2003. His name is Roman Abramovic, a very controversial but engrossing figure. He has invested very well in the club but probably derives pleasure in sacking Managers.(Don't tell Frank Lampard).

      Russian Oligarch, Abramovich

Crystal Palace is owned majorly by Steve Parrish, Joshua Harris and David Blitzer who have a combined fortune of $4 Billion. Crystal Palace most valuable asset is probably Wilfred Zaha, the team's best player. Of course, he wants to leave the club.

British Billionaire Farhad Moshiri owns 77.2℅ stake in Everton FC. He is a committed person to the club as he contributes steadily in moving the club forward. Everton just added James Rodriguez, Allan and Doucoure to the squad and that has added positively to the squad dynamics.

Newly promoted Fulham belongs to Shahid Khan. Khan is worth over $7 Billion. A story Khan wouldn't want to remember again is probably when the club spent over £100 million and still got Relegated in 2018. They are back in the top division and guess what,  they have said NO to big money signings.

Leeds United as a club has a very scintillating story and hopefully I write a piece on Leeds soon. Italian Andrea Radrrizani owns 90℅ of the club's interest and yes, the club has a very distinguished manager, Marcelo Bielsa who lives in a single Bedroom flat above a sweet shop and doesn't forget to bring his bucket along with him to the touchline. Where will Leeds finish on the table this season?

Let's take a trip down the memory lane. 2010, a club is in desperate need for a change with so many frailties leaving it in the mud. The fans are sad, the manager is confused and the owners are willing to sell as they run into debt. George Gillette and Tom Hicks are ready to handover the club to whoever would come forth with £300 million. 

American Sports Company, Fenway Sports Group(FSG) indeed came forth with the sum of money and acquired the club struggling in a bizarre situation. Henry is FSG's principal owner with 40℅ shares and Michael Gordon owns 12℅. 

They try to handle the situation with all commitment and determination and as the result would be, they succeeded. Their success would come from making shrewd signings and hiring a manager who fits right into the tactical philosophy of the team.

Let's fast forward to 2018. They make it to the champions league final. They are Champions of Europe in 2019 and would go on to win the English Premier League in 2020.

It's Amazing how the FSG has turned Liverpool into world beaters in just 10 years of club ownership.

Visit sm10s.blogspot.com to get more of fabulous football writings.

Drop your comments if you would love to.

Gracias, Adíos.

Chelsea and Kai Havertz

As a football lover, diving into football journalism is immensely fascinating. Do well to enjoy Matthew's piece on Kai Havertz and Chelsea. 

 Kai Havertz joined Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen in the 2020 summer transfer window. Many believed the window would be greatly affected by the effects of the covid-19 pandemic, but that doesn't seem to be the case as transactions In Europe's top 5 leagues is over £2Billion (as at the time of writing) coupled with big money transfers including that of Kai Havertz to Chelsea. 

Chelsea's Kai Havertz chase started a year ago while they were banned from making transfers by FIFA. Havertz at the beginning of his transfer saga didn't have Chelsea in mind as much bigger clubs like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich showed signs of interest in him. Obviously, Madrid is a club many players long to play for. Bayern had even tried to give Havertz a sneak peek into where he would fit in the squad, but Bayern's interest began to die out as they publicly announced interest in fellow countryman, Leroy Sane. How then did Chelsea beat other clubs in bringing the 21 year old to West London?

The Covid-19 pandemic might not have hit the transfer market as a whole, but it has hit some clubs real bad. Some clubs dim it unwise to pay a couple of million pounds in this period as shown by the Liverpool Board when they were tipped to sign Timo Werner. Conversely, Chelsea had sold Hazard to Real Madrid for over a £100 million last summer and were unable to sign any player within that time frame. The FIFA ban was a blessing in disguise after all as Chelsea unknowingly saved for the rainy days. This alone had put Chelsea way ahead of other teams who had interest in Havertz who was desperate to leave this summer after Leverkusen failed to qualify for Champions League football. A young lad desperate to leave this summer, the big teams unable to meet his transfer fee and Chelsea, the underdog amongst others knew this was the right time to strike. 

Chelsea signed Timo Werner, a young German Footballer with loads of potentials(just like Havertz) and that sent a message to Havertz. Frank Lampard had a conversation with him telling him he was going to be a huge part of his project at Chelsea.A project full of ambition, attacking football and young talents. Havertz knew he has all it takes to be a part of this project and at the end of the tete à tete, Havertz was convinced Chelsea was the missing piece of his puzzle.

There was one more hurdle for Chelsea, convincing Leverkusen to let go of Havertz at a reasonable price. This was clearly a job for Chelsea's chief Negotiator, Marina Granovskia who is dubbed the "Iron Lady". She met with officials of Leverkusen in the South of France. Granovskia is a very engrossing person and Leverkusen had to develop a thick skin in order not to get carried away by her  fascinating attitude. Leverkusen's asking price was £100 million but we are made to believe Chelsea will pay  less than that. Chelsea have paid an initial fee of close to £70 million and Leverkusen believe they will receive the reminder of the fee later on.

             Marina Granovskia

At the end, Chelsea weren't just pragmatic in their approach for Havertz, they were indeed lucky.

Quick Fact: Timo Werner(Havertz teammate) is pronounced "Timo Verner". I know it's off topic but pardon me. As a football lover, it pisses me off to hear football names pronounced wrongly😂. Visit sm10s.blogspot.com to read more on insidefootball'sdeepest. 

Au revoir😂

QATAR 2022: THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL WORLD CUP TO BE

Hi, I am Matthew and I own this blog.This blog was created using the Google blogger app.

So, today we are looking at what would be the most controversial world cup ever, "QATAR 2022".

 

The 2022 world cup is going to be held for the first time in the Middle East. Way back in 2010 with arguably the most corrupt FIFA president in charge, Sepp Blatter, Qatar won the rights to host the 2022  world cup. This for sure sparked tonnes of controversies and ultimately led to the resignation of Blatter in 2015 after being charged with "corruption". Even, several members of FIFA have come out to say the decision to award the rights to Qatar was a mistake.

Let's go through these controversies.

• HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES

     The final of the World cup would be held in the Khalifa Stadium, Qatar. This is supposed to be a joyous occasion but would definitely be marred by the knowledge that the supporters are standing in a stadium built by the "systematic abuse of migrant workers" and in most cases, forced labour. Reports have it that about 1200 migrant workers might have died since 2010 in Qatar and that about 180 Nepalese workers have died in 2018 building the infrastructures to be used to hold the world's biggest stage. Some have estimated that about 4000 migrant workers would have died by 2022.

These workers are forced to live in unfavorable conditions, unpaid for months and some have had their passports confiscated. In defence, FIFA said" it wasn't their job to be involved in the internal and political affairs of host countries" which is true to an extent. The long list of human rights violations continues in Qatar.

•LGBT FANS

       LGBT is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender.

In Qatar, homosexuality is a crime, domestic violence is not a crime and freedom of speech is questionable. This definitely exposes the high level of hypocrisy of the Qatari Government.

Since homosexuality is a crime in Qatar and football is open to all( including the LGBT fans) this definitely means LGBT fans would boycott the World cup, thus denting the image of FIFA.

   In defence, Blatter said" I would just advise them to restrain from sexual activities".

•WINTER WORLD CUP

      Due to the hostile summer climate in Qatar, the world cup had to move to November/December period where the climate would be cooler. This is yet the biggest controversy. Imagine the world cup interfering with almost all local football leagues of the world. Imagine having a winter world cup,so degrading. Former Chief Executive of the English Premier League promised to sue FIFA if the world cup interferes with the League's popular Christmas and New year fixtures. In defence, Former UEFA president promised to re-arrange all European fixtures to facilitate the world cup.

•COST

      By some estimates, the event would cost Qatar approx. $220 BILLION which is about 60 times the $3.5 BILLION South Africa used in staging theirs in 2010

    Lastly, as Alcohol is banned in stadia,( Part of football rules) Hassan Abdullah Al Thawadi, Chief Executive of the 2022 world cup bid said that the competition would allow Alchol consumption as it is a Muslim State.

      FIFA compromised just too many things as the event faces threats of boycott. Sepp Blatter after years of resigning said the event could be changed and could still take place in USA.

   What could have caused a sudden change from Blatter?

     Visit sm10s.blogspot.com for more of "insidefootball'sdeepest.

BREXIT AND ENGLISH FOOTBALL

Hi, I am Matthew and I own this blog. This blog was created using the Google blogger app. 

             You are about to read on Brexit and the effects of Brexit on the English Premier League.

        • WHAT IS BREXIT?

"Brexit" is the combination of the words "British" and "exit". To make it simple, Brexit is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. It means any political ties between the UK and other European countries would be cut off. 

      • MORE ON BREXIT

The withdrawal is a process and has entered into a transition period that started on the 1st of February, 2020 and will end on the 31st of December, 2020. Negotiations are still ongoing to determine if it's going to be a HARD Brexit or a SOFT one. The HARD Brexit makes connection between the UK and EU stricter while SOFT Brexit makes the connection less strict.

        •HOW WILL BREXIT           AFFECT THE ENGLISH PREMIER   LEAGUE

     No one really knows how this Brexit would affect the EPL but there are foreseeable consequences of this deal.

• MIGRATION: All countries in the European Union have a deal on migration which allows the free movement of people into any EU country. International movement within the EU doesn't require a special form of VISA as movement is free. But now that the United Kingdom has withdrawn from the EU, restrictions would be surely placed on the migration of people and goods between the UK and other European countries. To make this simple, UK citizens would need the same VISA requirements as African Migrants that want to migrate to any EU country.

       Hence, Matthew( footballer for Tottenham, UK) and Matthew ( footballer for MFM Utd, Nigeria) would need the same VISA to join Fc Barcelona, Spain.

• THE FA THEORY: The Football Association of England ( The FA) have seen this Brexit as a nice idea. Why? In the 1992/93 premier league season, 70% of the players that started for their respective teams were English players (UK citizens). But in the 2018/19, just 33% of the players that started for their respective teams were UK citizens. That's something any National FA wouldn't want to have in their leagues.

         So, the Brexit deal would by far increase the percentage of UK footballers in the EPL.

• POUND DE-VALUATION: The Brexit will also cause a sharp reduction of the value of the pound £ against the Euro € in the foreign exchange. This devalue would inflate the transfer fees an EPL club would pay in getting a player from any other European Football League. This means the EPL would have to pay more than they should while bargaining for players from the EU.

        i.e Matthew (Arsenal FC Director) would pay 70 million pounds for a player in La Liga (Spain) rather than 40 million pounds. NB:This example is nothing but an illustration.

• WORK PERMIT: Football players around the world are not immune to work permits. A Work Permit is an authorisation given by the Government of a country to enable an individual work legally in that country. So if an EPL player wants to join the Bundesliga, he is now subject to tighter regulations surrounding the issuing of the work permit.

          When too much regulations are on the work permit issuing, premier league players would shy off joining other leagues in Europe.

• IMAGE DAMAGE: If the Brexit deal eventually ends up being a HARD BREXIT, the Image of the British Government would be greatly damaged hence passing it on to several sectors of the economy. Forget not that the EPL( sports industry) is part of the British Economy. From ban on free flow of players, to tighter regulations on work permit, to the financial implications, to the discrimination from other European Leagues.

• CONCLUSION: The Brexit deal has happened. All that remains is to know if it's going to be a HARD Brexit or a SOFT Brexit.

   A HARD Brexit will have more implications than the SOFT Brexit, so let's keep our Hope high and believe it's going to be a soft one.

You just read a 700 word article from sm10s.blogspot.com. Hope you liked it and visit the above link regularly to know more about football's deepest. Thanks.

                       ~ Matthew

           

FOOTBALL QUIZ

Hi, I am Matthew and I own this blog. This blog was created using the Google Blogger app.

      From the premier league to the champions league, to the players too, we have series of Questions to ask and the answers would be at the end of the post.

Remember, be sincere while taking the quiz, score yourself and you could tell us in the comment section.

   So, it's quiz time.

         QUESTIONS

1.) What year did the premier league start (since it was rebranded)?

2.) In what year did Abramovich take over Chelsea?

3.) Who was the first sponsor of the Premier league

4.) Which manager was in charge when Manchester City won their first Premier league title?

5.) Who scored the first Premier League goal?

6.) Name the player that scored the Premier League fastest hat trick?

7.) "La Liga" is the name of which country's professional football association?

8.) Who owns the San siro stadium?

9.) Who owns the Signal Iduna Park??

10.) Who owns the Bramall Lane stadium?

11.) Who sponsors Tottenham team shirt?

12.) Who won the Golden Boot at the FIFA 2018 world cup?

13.) Who won the Golden Ball at the FIFA 2014 world cup?

14.) What's the name of the official Balls used at the FIFA 2014 &2018 World Cup?

15.) Who owns the hosting right of 2026 world cup??

16.) Who is a skipper?

17.) What is called a "screamer"?

18.) Who has the majority stake at Arsenal FC?

19.) Shangai Shenhua Fc belongs to the Major League Soccer??

20.) The Major League Soccer (MLS) belongs to which country Professional football association?

Thats all. Now, let's find out the answers!

     ANSWERS

1. 1992

2. 2003

3. Carling

4. Roberto Mancini

5. Brian Deane

6. Sadio Mane

7. Spain

8. Inter Milan and AC Milan

9. Borussia Dortmund

10. Sheffield United

11. AIA group limited

12. Harry Kane

13. Lionel Messi

14. Brazuca & adidad Telstar

15. USA, Cananda &Mexico

16. A skipper is the Captain of a            football team

17. A Long range goal

18. Stan Kroenke

19. False/No/ Not even close

20. United States of America

PRONUNCIATION OF FOOTBALLERS' NAMES

Hi, I am Matthew and I own this blog. This blog was created using the Google blogger app.

     So today we are taking a look at some football players and the proper pronunciation of their names. Pronunciation of names differ as footballers are from different countries, hence having different languages.

  • David De Gea

Pronunciation: David Da HIGHER

Country: Spain

De Gea Quintana currently plays for the red side of Manchester and also the Spanish National team as a Goalkeeper.

 • Manuel Neuer

Pronunciation: ManWELL NOHyah

Country: Germany

Considered as one of the best goalies of his generation, Neuer has been exceptional for the German National team and his current club Bayern Munich.

• Erling Haåland

Pronunciation: Erlin HOlland

Country: Norway

A 19 year old sensation, Haåland has been absolutely spot on for former club, Salzburg and current club, B.Dortmund

• Gabriel Jesus

Pronunciation: Gabriel JAYZOOSS

Country: Brazil

The Manchester City forward surely has a controversial name (to some people though), but the correct pronunciation is quite different.

• Georgino Wijnaldum

Pronunciation: WHYnaldum

Country: Netherlands

At some point, I had issues pronouncing this name but thank Goodness it's all over now.

Other names include:

Marco Reus: Marco ROYCE

Lewandoski: LeVandoVski

Clement Lenglet: Clement LONGlay

João Felix: JOOWOW FAYLISH

Lorenzo Insigne: inSEENYAY

Thibaut Courtois: teeBO corTWA

Toby Alderweireld: OLDERVAYRELD

Daniel Parejo: Daniel PARAYHO

Correct Pronunciation of some clubs are:

Ajax: Eye-axe

Atletico: At-lay-tee-co

Club Brugge: Cloob Brooger

RB Leipzig: Lie-pzig

Salzburg: Salts-berg

Valencia: Balen-see-a

That's all on this post, hope you had a good time reading it.

And if you have ever felt awful about pronouncing some of these names wrongly don't feel bad cause even commentators pronounce them wrongly at times.

FOOTBALL PUNS

Today, we are going to play upon words with football terms, that gives us FOOTBALL PUNS.😏

To get the jokes, you have to be familiar with football terms else they wouldn't sound as cool.

Let's get started.

• What tea do footballers like to take?  Penal-tea

• What lights up a football stadium?  A football match😄

• Why do footballers get As in Maths?  Cause they use their heads

• I am heading to the top

• You Petr cech yourself 😂

• What ship has never arrived the ports of Liverpool?? The premiership

Now that's funny 😂

• Why are swimmers good at football? Cause they dive a lot

• What do Chelsea and the Navy have in common? They spent 50 million on a sub

• What do referees send during the holidays?  Yellow cards

• What is the difference between Manchester United and a tea bag?

The tea bag stays in the cup longer.

• The best place to shop for football jerseys is New Jersey (USA)

• Grasshoppers aren't really into football cause they like Cricket 🏏

• What is similarity between Messi and a Magician? They both do hat tricks

•  Fan: When will Man City stop buying refs?

   Analyst: In the next ten years

   Fan: But I would be dead by then

   Fan 2: When will Man Utd stop buying refs ?

   Analyst: I would be dead by then.

   

Hope you had a good time reading these puns😅😅😅

That's all for now on footionary

BALLON D'OR (FEMALE EDITION)

The BALLON D'OR is an award that every football player cherish. It symbolises the Best Player to play the beautiful game for that particular year it is given.

The Female Ballon d'or came into existence in 2016 to recognize the absolute spot on performance of female players. Let's take a look at winners.

2016

WINNER: Carli Lloyd 

TEAM: Houston Dash

VOTES(%): 20.68

2017

WINNER: Lieke Martens

TEAM: Fc Barcelona

VOTES: 21.72%

2018

WINNER: Marta

TEAM: Orlando Pride

VOTES: 14.73%

2019 

WINNER: Megan Rapinoe

TEAM: Reign Fc

VOTES: 46%

To have earned this prize, they must have really played their skins out.

The 2019/20 BALLON D'OR goes to ????

THE TOP GOAL SCORERS OF THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

This post is about the top goal scorers of the English League since it was rebranded to the ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE in 1992.

They must have been really good players, huh!!

1. Alan Shearer- 260 Goals

Clubs: Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United

Status: Retired

Appearances: 441

2. Wayne Rooney- 208 Goals

Clubs: Everton and Man UTD

Status: Active 

Appearances: 491

3. Andrew Cole- 187 Goals

Clubs: Newcastle United, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth and Sunderland.

Status: Retired

Appearances: 414

4. Sergio Kün Aguero- 180 Goals

Clubs: Manchester City

Status: Active

Appearances: 261

5. Frank Lampard- 177 Goals

Clubs: West Ham, Chelsea and Manchester City

Status: Retired

Appearances: 609

6. Thierry Henry- 175 Goals

Clubs: Arsenal

Status: Retired

Appearances: 258

These are the top highest netters of the English Premier League 👏👏👏🙇🙇

NB: Players with the 'active' status have the tendency to score more goals.

FOOTBALL'S MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS

As the Coronavirus has really hit football hard, there has been a 20% drop in most players' value.

European Football has lost a whooping 9 Billion Pounds due to this drop.

So, we take a look at the most valuable players and their monetary value.

1. Kylian Mbappe-€180 million

Mbappe (21 years) plays for the French National team and Paris Saint German as a remarkable Forward.

2. Raheem Sterling-€128 million

The highly rated Winger plays for the English National team and the blue side of Manchester.

3. Neymar-€128 million

Neymar Da Silva Jr. is number three on the list having the same value as Sterling. The Brazil Forward is worth the cash.

4. Sadio Mane-€120 million

Sadio Mane hails from Senegal. He appears to be most valued African player. Sadio is a player you would love to watch as he has been spot on for Meyerside Red (Liverpool).

5. Mohammed Salah-€120 million

Alongside his team mate Mane, Salah is worth a staggering €120 million. Hard work surely pays off.

6. Harry Kane-€120 million

The English Centre Forward who plays for Tottenham Hotspur has been a really prolific player. His goals earned him the golden boot at the Russia 2018 world cup.

7. Kevin De Bruyne-€120 million

KVB as he is fondly called, is a complete package player. The Belgian currently plays for Manchester City as an attacking Midfielder.

8. Jadon Sancho-€117 million

The youngest player to appear on the list (20 years). He currently plays for Borussia Dortmund and has been heavily linked to a move at Old Trafford.

9. Lionel Messi- €112 million

Arguably the best player to have graced the beautiful game, Messi has been exceptional for about more than a decade now. No wonder he is on the list, despite being 32 years old.

10. Trent Alexander-Arnold- €99 million

Trent has been a revelation for Liverpool. The 21 year old is a great deal of a player even at right back position.

So, these are the most valuable players in the world of football right now. Some great players didn't make the cut but that doesn't make them less good anyway.