Manager and players from Bolton pay tribute to the courage of Muamba

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Owen Coyle, manager of Bolton, believes that the strength and courage displayed by Fabrice Muamba in his young life will give him a good base for he moves on from football. Fabrice suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during an FA Cup tie at White Hart Lane on March 17.

Following this he had 15 electric shocks while still on the pitch during the time that paramedics were trying to revive him. Doctors revealed later that the ex-England under-21 midfielder’s heart stopped for 78 minutes.

As Fabrice made a remarkable recovery in hospital he received messages of support from all walks of life. Coyle feels that the 24-year-old will have gained strength through this battle as well as his young life when he had to flee war-torn Zaire, where he was born and is now renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo. Coyle believes he was born to be successful in whatever he does.

Striker and captain of Bolton, Kevin Davies, also paid tribute to Muamba saying that he holds him in the highest regard, both professionally and personally. He said that he is sure that Fabrice will be disappointed that he will not be able to play; the team was hoping he would somehow get back. Davies went on to say that he is a great guy to spend time with.

Davies sent him a text of support when he heard the news, advising him to take positive steps towards his future. He said that the club and his team mates will support him in his next journey when he decides what he wants to do. Davies said that he is very bright and sensible.

 

Hodgson contradicts himself over John Terry

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Roy Hodgson, the manager of England’s national football team, seemed to contradict himself recently in his views that football fans and players should be more Olympian in their outlook, then following that by saying that John Terry should be let off lightly after his abuse of Anton Ferdinand.

Hodgson was impressed with the way in which the Team GB athletes conducted themselves and said that the atmosphere they performed in gave mainstream sports, including football, food for thought. He saw London 2012 as a wake-up call that the hatred and abuse suffered by footballers is not necessary.

There was little abuse suffered by the Olympic athletes. It was reported that Hodgson believes the Olympic athletes set a new benchmark which should be adopted in football and other major team sports which expect to be under the spotlight.

He went on to reflect on the tribalism which is often on show during football matches and said that the public who watched the Community Day were very different to that which were in Olympic Stadium. Following his statements about how players and fans should be more Olympian he said that he hoped John Terry would be cleared of his racial abuse charge by the FA so that he would be able to play for England, thus trampling over his noble sentiments.

During July’s court case Terry was found not guilty of the charge that he racially abused Anton Ferdinand from QPR. He now faces a charge from the Football Association after he was caught on camera launching expletives and insults at Ferdinand during the game. This is something that the likes of Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah have never been accused of

The next generation of football games comes to apple devices

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The next generation of football games comes to apple devices

The next generation of football games comes to apple devices

The next evolution of tactical football games is here, courtesy of Gray Cooper Media and AppyNation. The pair have announced the launch of Fluid Football, with is now available from the App Store for the iPod touch, iPad and iPhone.

The game was developed by Chromativity, who worked in collaboration alongside professional commentators Richard Keys and Andy Gray.

The arrival on the market of fluid football heralds the arrival of a whole new kind of football games which offers players an unparalleled, complete freedom when working their way through a series of challenging scenarios. They can use any combination of real tactics that they deem to be suitable and will ultimately allow them to score and win the game.

Designed to appeal to any football fan’s inner strategist, Fluid Football puts real-time tactical decision making right at the player’s fingertips. Faced with a variety of real-world scenarios, players plan their strategy in real time via an overhead view of the pitch, stringing together passes, out-pacing defenders, setting up pinpoint crosses and any one of hundreds of possible strategies.

Players can devise complex sequences and strategies via simple finger swipes to direct their team’s actions to line up a shot on goal. The camera then switches to a 3D ‘player’s eye’ view in which the player must successfully direct their shot on target against the goalkeeper and defenders.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing such a unique tactical football title to the App Store,” said Andy Gray, Director, Gray Cooper Media. “We’ve been very closely involved with the game’s development from day one and we’ve invested a lot of our personal experience into the game to ensure it has as much authenticity as possible. If you can do it on the field you can do it in Fluid Football.”

Fluid Football is now available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch at http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/id524972269

 

Survey reveals the most travelled supporters in football are Plymouth Argyle’s

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Survey reveals the most travelled supporters in football are Plymouth Argyle's

Survey reveals the most travelled supporters in football are Plymouth Argyle’s

The latest research from Capital One, the credit card company who are now the sponsors of the Capital One Cup, reveals that the team whose supporters will cover the most mules this season is Plymouth Argyle.

The league 2 side will take their fans on a journey that will total 11,068 miles, meaning that they will travel for approximately 200 miles and spend over £2000 on fuel.

At the other end of the scale in Aston Villa, whose fans will do the least amount of travelling. Villa fans will travel a mere 4397.4 miles, with supporters spending around 79 hours on the road and spending £822.94 on fuel.

Across all the divisions that make up the football league, the average fan will travel 6540 miles, spend 120 hours travelling and spend £1230 on fuel, if they go to all of their teams away matches.

The Capital One Cup Football Travel Index reveals fans in League 2 journeying to all away league games will travel on average 25% further during the season than fans of Premier League clubs.  Fans of League 2 sides will drive 7,238 miles this season supporting their clubs at away games, travelling 131 hours to watch their side in action and spending £1,360 on fuel.  Premier League fans on average will cover 5,806 miles of road to away matches, clocking up 106 hours and spending £1,084.

Michael Woodburn, Chief Marketing Officer, Capital One said:  “The passion and dedication of football fans never ceases to inspire.  Be it the Toon Army, Gooners or Pirates, supporters travel the length and breadth of the country and spend thousands of pounds on travel and tickets journeying to away matches.  Clubs can count on the rousing support of their own fans whether they are playing league or Capital One Cup matches in the most northerly league ground at Carlisle United’s Brunton Park, or the most easterly at Norwich City’s Carrow Road.

Dedicated fans will clock up the miles in cars and coaches this season to support their team in the Capital One Cup as their club strives to secure a vital spot in the UEFA Europa League.”

Fans of the Pilgrims (Plymouth), the Cumbrians (Carlisle) and the Gulls (Torquay United) will travel the furthest this season to away games.

More comparisons made between the Olympics and professional football

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Critics say that football, with its millionaire players and age restrictions, does not sit well with the ideals of the Olympic Games. Also being criticised is the fact that the World Cup was so much bigger than the Olympic tournament.

However FIFA, the governing body of world football, have issued positive figures claiming that after the men’s quarter finals had been played, 1,230,818 spectators would have watched the 28 matches.

The average attendance at the matches has been 43,958, which is higher than at Beijing’s Olympics and only slightly behind Los Angeles’ average of 44,488. Huge crowds are expected at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Old Trafford in Manchester and Wembley Stadium in London which will increase the average – also the funds which go to the organisers of the London Games

The women’s tournament has so far attracted an attendance of 480,206, with four more matches (Coventry, Old Trafford and two at Wembley) to go. Tuesday’s Wembley match between Team GB and Brazil enjoyed an attendance of 70,584 – a new high for a women’s match in Britain.

Sepp Blatter, FIFA president and member of the IOC is said to be delighted Britain’s response to football’s relationship with the Games. He added that the stadiums are wonderful and he feels privileged to be here.

Brazil’s 1994 manager, Carlos Alberto Parreira, (manager when Brazil won the 1994 World Cup final) who is on FIFA’S Technical Delegation for the Olympics, concurs with the view. He says that there has been a fantastic spirit of fair play and fabulous stadiums. He went on to say that all the facilities have been tremendous; with players enjoying them they will never forget their visit.

Mr Parreira says that football should definitely remain an Olympic sport, when 81,000 spectators watched Mexico v Senegal.