The Farce is With You

Taken from today's Diario Ole. Argentina's new coach, with his mentor and new Technical Director.

Never met a nice South African

We'll be balancing this video out with positive images of South Africans the summer after next. So, in the meantime enjoy this song from Spitting Image, recorded about twenty years ago. The guy with his hands in the cash register is Mark Thatcher, son of then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Brown Ale and Mars Bars

Great 1988 interview with Paul Gascoigne. Look how different St. James Park was back then. The facilities were terrible but the atmosphere was a hundred times better. Those were the days when 20,000 was a good crowd at St.James Park. To think Gazza was just 21 years old in this interview and the media were already joking around about his drinking and eating habits.

Peter Beardsley - Comedian

OK, so he's not Peter Kay, but Peter Beardsley doesn't do too bad on the mic. Peter is only one of two players to score for both Liverpool and Everton in the Merseyside derby. Peter also played for the following clubs during his career: Carlisle United, Vancouver Whitecaps, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Bolton Wanderers, Manchester City, Fulham, Hartlepool United, Melbourne Knights and Doncaster Rovers, as well as representing England on 59 occasions.

Carlisle United 3rd Kit Launch

Carlisle United launched their new third choice kit last night at a fashion show in memory of nurse Kelly Gourlay, as players Scott Dobie, Chris Lumsdon, David Raven, Josh Gowling, Michael Bridges and Simon Hackney – all team-mates of Kelly’s boyfriend Peter Murphy – showed off their footwork on the runway at the Glamour & Glitz event at Carlisle Racecourse.

They were joined by friends and nursing colleagues of Kelly, who was tragically killed aged 24 after a collision on the A69 near Corby Hill in June.

All proceeds will go to Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland and the children’s unit at the Cumberland Infirmary – causes close to Kelly’s heart.

Amongst the 350-strong crowd at the sell-out show were Kelly’s parents Stenya and Bob and brother, Mark. Peter Murphy said seeing his team-mates strut their stuff was “making his night”. He added: “There’s a couple of them look a bit more comfortable on the catwalk than on the pitch!

The new Carlisle United third choice jersey is made by Le Coq Sportif.

Coach Maradona, What You Need To Know

Still trying to get my head around the decision today by the Asociacion del Futbol Argentino to appoint Diego Maradona as the new head coach of the Argentine national team. Diego will be the manager, '86 World Champion team mate Pedro Troglio will be assistant, and '86 World Champion manager Carlos Bilardo will be the technical director. '86 World Champion team mates Julio Olarticoechea and Hector Enrique will also be part of the staff. Terry Butcher and Felix Magath declined to participate.

So here's what you need to know.

1. Maradona can not enter the USA or Australia on account of his past drug conviction. Argentina had a friendly in the works for this year in the United States and has announced that game will be put on hold while they try to sort out a visa that was rejected a few years ago.

2. 80% of Argentines polled today by Infobae news agency are against the appointment. An overwhelming majority wanted former Boca manager Carlos Bianchi who has been unemployed since his less than successful stint at Atletico Madrid in '06. The majority of the poll respondents believe Maradona is not prepared to be manager. Oddly enough, Bilardo is getting positive reception to his return to the national team staff.

3. The team has talent at every position. There is no doubt of that. The one thing this team does lack is motivation, a leader on the field who thrives on adversity. Instead, we have Riquelme and Messi clashing over who is in charge instead of living up to the leadership obligated by their talent. Maradona may, or may not, be able to contribute that dose of national aspiration.

4. Maradona's daughter's baby daddy is Sergio Aguero.

5. Maradona has had a rocky relationsihp with AFA president Julio Grondona, who sees Maradona as a troubled son. The type of relationship that seems capable of snapping at any moment. Yet at AFA they feel confident Diego is as ready as ever (ie: sober as ever) to take on this challenge, and while not a popular decision today, Maradona is still wildly popular.

6. Maradona had two stints as manager, first at struggling Mandiyu in 1994. While serving a world-wide ban for drugs, Diego was brought on to help Mandiyu avoid relegation. He wasn't able to change their fortunes and quit a few months before their eventual drop. Mandiyu defender Guido Alvarenga: "I can't say for sure we trained under Maradona, but we had some spectacular bar-b-que's!" One win, 5 draws and 6 defeats and he was gone. Months later he would try his hand at managing one of the big teams in Buenos Aires, Racing Club. Here he would only win two matches, draw 6 and lose 5. Again he didn't see out the season and was gone before Racing finished 6th overall.

7. Maradona had to do community service after firing an air rifle at reporters from his home. Let's hope results go his way as head coach and those post-game press conferences don't turn into a shooting gallery with the local media.

8. Maradona recently hosted his own variety show which ended up being one of the highest rated TV programs ever in Argentina.

9. Maradona has said the most important player on the national team right now is Javier Mascherano. That's old school thinking, and I like it. He may hand Masche the captain's armband. Who's in? He'll probably add some of the domestic league talents like Bergessio and maybe a return of Veron(we may be in for more trouble than I thought!). Who's out? Zanetti & Heinze. Both have had poor showings for Argentina, and while Zanetti is an icon, his time is probably up.

10. Maradona is the 10. He is a symbol who has been reborn in the past few years after his gastric bypass and relative sobriety. Only time will tell if this crazy circus will work.

My verdict: There is too much talent to chose from for Argentina not to qualify for the World Cup, regardless of the manager. If there is no improvement over the Basile games, look for a frustrated Maradona to find a reason to quit and Bianchi will take over.

Change I Can't Believe In

Breaking news... Diego Maradona has been named head coach of Argentina.



With Argentina in third place in WC2010 qualifying, this hardly seems like the right move. This is like USA Basketball putting Dennis Rodman in charge. Sort of. The man who coached Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, Carlos Bilardo (now a pundit on TV), will be one of his sidekicks in charge. More to follow...

What's up?

Election fever is running rampant over pop culture. First it was the return of Terry Tate. Then Ron Howard, Henry Winkler and Andy Griffith went old school. Now it's the old Budweiser dudes letting everyone know what's up... for Barack Obama.

Zidane, A 21st Century Portrait

Now playing at BAM in Brooklyn and Anthology Film Archives, Oct. 24 to Oct. 30. Seems like an interesting premise:

Presenting a radically new approach to the sports film, artists Gordon and Parreno have created a real-time portrait focusing on one of the greatest soccer players of the century, Zinédine Zidane. Their remarkable film – shot before the World Cup head-butt heard around the world – places viewers right in the action, as no less than 17 cameras (both 35mm Scope and High Definition video, all supervised by cinematographer Darius Khondji) track Zidane’s every move and glance one day in April 2005, when Zidane’s Real Madrid club battled Spanish La Liga opponent Villareal. Comprising something in between an art installation and a sports documentary, Gordon and Parreno thrust the viewer into all facets of the experience, the psychology, and the body of an athlete in action – an incomparable and breathtaking experience.

But wait, there's more....

“Glorious in its simplicity…magnificently edited…accompanied by a majestic score…this is not only the greatest football movie ever made, but one of the finest studies of man in the workplace.” –EDINBURGH INTERNA-TIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

OK ok.. I'll go see it, quit badgering me.

All Aboard The Pain Train

This just made my day. Forget Colonel Sanders, Bo Jackson, Michael Jordan, the Trix Rabbit, or any other spokesperson. The Greatest of all time has returned to our lives, and we'll all be better off for it.





Thank you Triple T.

River Plate Derby Day

This has to be one of my favorite videos on YouTube. It has almost 140,000 views and I probably account for at least a couple hundred of them. This Sunday is the Argentine Super Clasico, and this video highlights River's history of success in one of the world's biggest matches.

There are a few classic goals in the video, starting with Beto Alonso's header of the infamous orange ball that gave River the title and let to a victory lap at the Bombonera. Ricardo Rojas, to whom the opposing half must have been as foreign a place as China, chips Abbondanzieri to the delight of the away supporters. There's Cuevas racing to the ball that gets by Abbondanzieri who inexplicably ends up in his own goal. Ortega getting one past Navarro Montoya and dancing in front of the River faithful. Futbol is a funny game though, and there is one goal in particular on there that didn't win River a title, or even the game, yet is one of the most fondly remembered goals River has scored in the Super Clasico.

In 1997 River was a trophy machine winning the Copa Libertadores the year before, the Super Copa (predecessor to the Copa Sudamericana) in 1997, and three national titles in a row. In a game where River was the favorite, visiting Boca took a 3-0 lead only a half hour into the match. A goal just before half-time by Sergio Berti put the score 1-3 at the break, even though the visitors had incredibly wasted another 3 golden scoring opportunities. The second half was an onslaught, but heading in the other direction. First Villalba made it 2-3, and then with minutes left Celso Ayala equalized in an emotional comeback. River had one more corner before Castrilli ended the game, and somehow Gancedo's volley just missed. Snatching a point from a humiliating trouncing might not be much, but the mood was that of a win as the away fans couldn't believe what they had just witnessed.

And Then We're Going To Washington DC

My friends (© John McCain), surely this image will be the "Howard Dean Scream" of this election right?

Weird Bird Commercials

This new ad starring Ji Sung Park is, uh.. interesting, to say the least. An epic tale about how football boots can defeat evil, or something along those lines. Personally, it reminds me of the early 90's commercial starring Claudio Caniggia for Topper where a talking turtle at the end asks him what his headband is made of. 12 years later and we're still asking, "what the fu...?"

The Four Star Diner

Most thursday nights we have executive board meetings at a local pub, then head over to the Four Star Diner in Union City, NJ. The food is top notch, offering the usual wide variety of cuisine from burgers to Italian to the odd Asian dish. Feel like having a night cap? Who doesn't! They have a full bar to whip up any late night drink.

Now before you start thinking we have some kind of business agreement with them regarding cross-branding and the like, let me get to the real reason I bring this place up. Every time we've been there we get a chuckle from the placemats.

The placemat provides a nice history of the diner business, as well as some great economic stats so you can compare the price of a car or a gallon of gas going all the way back to 1910. Additionally, the life expectancy is also marked decade to decade. What better information to ponder while enjoying a grilled chicken sandwich than the fact that I can't really afford gas these days and whether or not this sandwich getting in the way of living up to that pesky life expectancy.

The fun doesn't end there. The central paragraph, which is surrounded on all corners by a photographic history of the american diner, is what really always grabs our attention.

I respectfully quote:

The Multigenerational diner owners have an instant success, but GREEKS had built an "EMPIRE" in Restaurant and Diner Business, by being owners of the most new-Great-Looking Dining Places and the most significant in the United States.

Greek individuals all around, represent the hard work and have become an icon for the changeover in atmosphere of the diner and the delicious "EAT", by putting their own imprints on the food.

And here's the kicker....

Basically it's accepted that they are incredibly successful, and admired.

Click the picture to see the full image.



It's pretty obvious that they used some kind of Google translator, or Babelfish. Nonetheless, at 2am and a few beers into the night, this always amuses us.

Speaking of Greece, we just got in the new Greece Home and Away shirts as well as Olympiakos and AEK Athens.





Click here to see the full range of shirts.

Pay The Bill On Tour

Here's an exclusive interview with El Guillermo in Mexico City professing his love for South America (!) and Central America (!). For those that don't know 'The Bill' (El Guillermo), he's featured in just about all Onion Bag Soccer Shop ads and propaganda and also as an avid teetotaller El Guillermo acts as our official security / physical threat / terminator during all Onion Bag business meetings and prolonged drinking sessions. During this particular trip to Mexico City 'The Bill' tasted over twenty five different varieties of Mexican soda .....



which was not enough keep him from making his own bed at Benito Juarez airport on the way home.

Football My Arse

Here's a few funny clips with Ricky Tomlinson.

What's The Onion Bag ?

It's a question that pops up regularly, especially in our store where we don't go by the 'Onion Bag' moniker as much as just plain old 'Soccer Shop' ... in fact I'd go as far as to say that only about 5% of our walk in customers know us as The Onion Bag.

When we opened up on Bergenline Avenue in North Bergen, which is a heavy urban latino neighbourhood, it just made more sense to put a big sign up that just called it like it is - Soccer Shop. No daily explanations required as to why we're selling soccer gear as opposed to the fruit and vegetables that a name like Onion Bag implies.

The term "Onion Bag" is a reference to the British slang for a goal net (onions are sold in netted bags in the UK). It's a fact not lost on ESPN's long time color commentator Tommy Smyth, who has turned the words into his catchphrase ... as he frequently references bulges in the ol' onion bag after some Champions League goalscoring exploits.

Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club

Forget the Buena Vista Social Club, and even the Cammell Laird Social Club (HMHB fans I see you !)the first ever social club I was exposed too was the Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club, a fictional club in northern England. A tribute to the working mens club circuit of northern England the Wheeltappers shows ran from 1974 through to about 1976.

On the whole the shows weren't that entertaining to a young lad of eight, but I do remember being bewildered by the microphone control of Kingston-Upon-Hull's MC Norman Collier. Fast forward to .35 seconds of this clip to see the legendary mic master in action. He's on for about two minutes, skip the rest of the clip, unless you really want to see Frank Ifield (not recommended).