Daily Archives: November 16, 2022

Just like the hat, football’s grip could suddenly go out of fashion after Qatar – Jonathan Wilson


Hardly a bare head to be seen as Billy the white police horse helps hold back the crowd spilling on to the pitch at the 1923 FA Cup final.
“Look at a photograph of the crowd at the 1923 FA Cup final and pretty much everybody is wearing a hat. Fast-forward a quarter of a century and a rough estimate would be that a little under half the crowd at the 1948 final are similarly clad. Go forward another 25 years to 1973 and although Bob Stokoe, the Sunderland manager, topped off his tracksuit-and-mac look with a trilby, almost nobody in the stands at Wembley has their head covered. …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

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Jurgen Klopp, faith and navigating the moral maze of a Liverpool takeover

“A few words of reassurance in a week of uncertainty. Two days after The Athletic broke the story that Fenway Sports Group were willing to sell either part or all of their shares in Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp suggested that no matter what happens from here, he is ‘committed to the club.’ Listening to his answer in full while reading between the lines, it is clear that he thinks it is more likely that Liverpool will be subject to new investment rather than a takeover, a move which according to him, would ‘actually… make sense’. …”
The Athletic

Qatar World Cup Faces New Edict: Hide the Beer

“The message came from the highest levels of the Qatari state: The beer tents must be moved, and there would be no discussion about it. With the opening game of the World Cup only days away, Qatari organizers have been working hurriedly in recent days to relocate Budweiser-branded beer stations at eight stadiums after a sudden demand that three people with knowledge of the belated change said had come from inside the country’s royal family. …”
NY Times (Video)