what is going on over there?! it’s been completely lunacy in europe the last week, and i’m having trouble processing everything. first hughton was stupidly (though predictably) sacked by the fat idiot running newcastle. then carloz tevez puts in a transfer request because he’s “homesick,” only to have it promptly rejected. and then big sam is cut loose (unexpectedly, yet possibly intelligently) by blackburn’s new indian owners, i presume making him happy that he is finally able to chase his dream of managing real madrid or chelsea… or something like that.

i haven’t even touched on the craziness in the club world cup (the other inter losing) or liverpool slipping back into misery (more on that below).

and since i can’t decide what topic i want to spend a lot of time writing about, i’ll write a little about some other stuff in another round up

lech cup final: lech poznań vs. tottenham hotspur – thespoiler.co.uk
i love me some fans that support their clubs, regardless of the competition. it brings a tear to my eye when i see a quarter full reebok stadium for a 2nd round carling cup match. how dare those bolton fans not support their players like the ultras of polish side lech poznań, who don’t care what competition it is. to remind those fair-weather fans who don’t show enough love for their clubs, watch as hundreds (thousands?) of their supporters sing passionately and wave flags and light flares in this clip from the lech cup final… a u12 tournament.

passion comes in many forms… the most intense of which involve yelling at the top of your lungs at a bunch 11 and 12 year olds .

dedicated followers of fashion – soccernet.com
not that this would be all that surprising if you knew me, but if you did, you would know that i’ve been a sucker for trends nearly my whole life. if not just to look unique or different from the masses, i also often made switches to keep from being harassed by friends for not being like them (my switch from tighty-whities to boxers my freshman year of high school is the result of such ridicule). and that’s what i loved about this article, mostly because it called me out on at least three different footballing trends that i fell victim to during my playing career. i’ll let you guess which ones. honestly though, i’m just really glad that my beloved capri pants somehow missed the cut.

ghana given 72 hour fifa deadline – bbc.co.uk
refusing to do anything about consistently poor refereeing decisions, corrupt committee members, and questionable winning world cup bids have caused the world to raise a collective eyebrow at fifa in recent months. while the english media have been busy ruining their own bid prospects by uncovering bits of said shadiness, it’s also caused some of the world’s governing bodies to question the corruption they see in their own football infrastructure.

this week the government in ghana raided their FA building, taking phones and computers. obviously, those sitting at the head of fifa’s table are not in favor of such bean spilling, giving a thinly veiled warning that they prefer an end to “government intervention” in the GFA’s affairs. 72 isn’t exactly enough time for a government to come to a conclusion as to whether their footballing officials are in someone’s (ahem, fifa’s) back pocket, now is it?

roy hodgson rubs his face – youtube.com
what, two videos in one post? yes, but this one is worth observing.

this concerns me and i’m not even a scouser. if you’re a supporter of the reds and this doesn’t concern you, i’m also concerned about you. this video clearly illustrates why i am concerned, as roy appears to be starting to crumble under the pressure of expectation for his an uninspired side.

fifa president says gays should refrain from homosexuality during qatar world cup – pinknews.co.uk
i’ll admit, i’m not normally patrolling the boards of pinknews for footballing news, so many thanks to technohub88 at reddit for digging this out of the interwebs. like i needed any more reason to be angry at sepp blatter and the decision to award qatar the 2022 world cup, but this is really starting to get ridiculous. who are fifa to tell people how to act outside of the world cup stadiums and in the privacy of their lodging? how smart is it to be awarding a country with such blatant disregard for human rights an event of this magnitude?