Andy Gray hooks up with new crowd powered social network SharetheMatch

by
  • · Dedicated, global social media app & website for football fans
  • · Crowd sourced content & match updates for every club in every major league worldwide
  • · Upload pictures & videos, follow friends, comment live on the game

Andy Gray hooks up with new crowd powered social network SharetheMatch

Andy Gray hooks up with new crowd powered social network SharetheMatch

The new social network app dedicated to football, Sharethematch, are delighted to announce that the latest name they have on board is Andy Gray, the Scottish footballing legend. Gray has said of the app that he loved it from the outset and immediately realised its potential. He added that is was a kind of Facebook for football fans and that he was able to interact with fans across the globe via photos, videos and words.

The aim of Sharethematch is to give football supporters around  the world their very own network on which they can share their news, gossip and passion for the beautiful game. Through their website and FREE to download app Sharethematch is harnessing the power of crowd sourcing by allowing fans to freely share their images, video and opinions as well as letting them comment on managers, officials, referees and players.

Those who use Sharethematch will be able to check into any football ground, meet up with their friends and then interact with other fans from anywhere in the world to comment on the game, all while the match is being played.

Sharethematch lets the most important people in football – the fans – speak. With a constant feed of up to the minute gossip and opinion from fan powered news and professional journalists, Sharethematch is bang up to date throughout the week; giving footy fans instant access to the latest news and views wherever they are – globally.

Sharethematch gives fans an opinionated and irreverent spin on all the week’s news from all the clubs with National sports press agency Sportsbeat/News Associates. With more reporters than any other UK-based media outlet around grounds Europe-wide each weekend, from the parks to the Premier League, its news team brings expertise and debate to Sharethematch’s lively mix.

Rob Sloman, Editorial Director for Sharethematch said: “We are taking football into the next phase of the social media revolution. We can give fans the opportunity to follow football from the 90 minutes of the game to the day to day lifestyle of a fan.”

Visit www.sharethematch.com to register for free or download the app from the iTunes appstore.

 

 

Gary Speed tributes across the country

by

Gary Speed tributes across the country The Welsh manager, Gary Speed, died recently and the nation are still trying to come to grips with the death of this footballing legend. Across the UK last weekend hundreds of thousands of people paid tribute to the player and there were many emotional scenes. He was recently found dead aged only 42.

At the Leeds United football ground a tribute was held to the player on Saturday afternoon and tens of thousands of fans came to pay tribute. They were joined by Louise Speed, his widow and their two sons.

At the football ground a huge number of tributes to Speed have been placed around the statue of Leeds legend Billy Bremner. During halftime, Louise speed came out onto the pitch to inspect the tributes made to her husband.

A montage was also shown which highlighted some of the finest moments that Speed had while playing for Leeds, the club where his first professional contract which he signed in 1988.

In Newcastle, at St James’s Park, there were also scenes of remembrance and there was a great deal of celebration and clapping before the match kicked off to remember the player. The memorial was actually delayed because Mrs Speed said that she wanted to come to the ground to thank all the fans before the match began.

David Moyes is the manager of Everton and he has recently commented about Speed’s death, “He was a true gentleman of the game and his death is truly a sad loss for football.” Gareth Dale, a Welsh player for Tottenham Hotspur has paid tribute to Speed by stitching, ‘RIP Gary Speed’ onto the side of his boot. All across the UK flowers, scarves and football shirts have been left at stadiums to remember the player.

Socrates Brazilian football legend dies

by

Socrates Brazilian football legend dies Socrates, the Brazilian football player recently died aged 57 and the whole of Brazil are mourning his death. He died on Sunday night due to an intestinal infection which led to septic shock. In his later life he also became a political activist. His agent has announced that he had recently been suffering from complications associated with him having cirrhosis of the liver.

It is well-known that the player was suffering with an addiction to cigarettes and alcohol. His agent has said, “He was in hospital three times before he eventually confronted his addictions and saw his recovery as a chance to fight them however, ultimately, he was unable to.”

During the military dictatorship which gripped Brazil he was known as a fighter for democracy and had a strong intellect. As well as being a football player he was also a qualified doctor and is still regarded by FIFA is one of the hundred greatest players to have ever played the game.

He has played in two World Cup finals in his career, which did not start until he was 24, which is an unusually late age to join professional football. Over his career, he scored over 300 goals which made him an international football legend.

Recently a tribute to the player took the form of  a minute’s silence being held at a football match in Brazil. Members of the audience raised their fists up to the sky, in a way that the player used to when he was victorious on the field.

In an interview earlier  in the year, which he conducted from hospital, he admitted how he was struggling with an addiction to alcohol and said that he was finding it impossible to quit. He also commented how his tolerance to alcohol was massive and this led to him drinking much more.

Developing football stars of the future

by

Developing football stars of the future The performance that England put on at Euro 2012 is going to influence the amount of money the FA can spend when developing football stars of the future. The continuing recession is said to be damaging the grassroots football. This week the football Association is set to release its national game strategy which is going to deal with how the sport is run until 2015.

The report is going to outline how football is being affected by the state of the economy. It is not all bad news in the report though as it is expected to show that the amount of racism being seen at football games has fallen significantly. It is also expected that the event which is taking place in the Ukraine and Poland next summer is going to bring in a great deal of revenue for the FA. They have stated that many people are going to be spending money on tickets as well as merchandising.

The head of the FA is Kelly Simmons who has commented, “We are going to see more money brought in if England do well and this will be reinvested back into the game. The FA is a non-profit organisation and we generate money from events such as Euro 2012. We also very much hope that the event is going to bring more attention to football in the UK and bring in economic boost to the sport.”

The FA have also said they are concerned about facilities in the UK falling into disrepair because money is being spent in other areas and sports are often one of the first parts of the budget to be cut. They’ve also said that sports facilities in the UK could learn something from their European counterparts. Other countries in Europe are generally better at creating sports facilities that cater to many sports, this offers great cost savings and allows for higher quality facilities, although less of them.

About the government the FA have commented, “They could definitely do more for the sport and offer greater protection for sports facilities. We understand that there is a lot of pressure on them right now and playing fields don’t seem so important, but sport, and particularly football, is an important part of our culture, and many cities lack adequate facilities.” Research by the FA has shown that the number one issue in the sport is dissent and a near 60% improvement has been seen in this area.

 

God Speed – A Tribute to Gary Speed

by

Roy Stannard has written this poetical tribute to Gary Speed.  He says “I thought it would be good to compose something that deals with the Celtic and Welsh heritage of the man. Ideally it should be read in the wonderful rich tones of a Richard Burton as in his reading of Under Milk Wood‘ .

 

God Speed

God Speed you. Black and white Emperor.

Pure breath of granite hewed from the ground of Flintshire

where dragons fly and the hills sigh for the business of dreaming.

You were already formed as a warrior

As the Merlin alchemists mixed your being together

In the days before the men of Harlech began to sing your name

when your promise whirled and eddied from the valleys,

tendrils of smoke from the miners’ fires gathered

and formed on the terraces of Leeds, Everton, Newcastle and Bolton

where working men admired the chiselled stare, the rapier pass and the Aquila dribble

A club man that darted, never clubbed.

You served in the football trenches with McAllister, Batty and Strachan,

going over the top with them,

comrades in no man’s land, where even the enemy ceased firing to admire you.

You were the midfield General, the Captain and Sergeant of armbands

You played them at your own game

You did not go gently into the night

You were the black on the white, the raven hair and pithead eyes burning coals on the turf.

You saw the whites of their eyes and flayed them with black and white stripes.

And yet, the gentle cleft of your jaw, the downhill saunter of your nose,

were a softer frame for the imperial neck, a pedestal, a clenched life raised in victory,

the full motion slide on grass, cutting your legend into the soil,

a fighter blooding his territory with over 500 battle cries.

Many were victories, but you couldn’t win them all.

Your legend will grow in your passing.

When your foe faced you, you vanquished him.

But when he came to live within, you vanished.

God Speed you. The Emperor who did not fade to grey.

 

(c) Roy Stannard. 30th November 2011 (for Gary Speed 8.9.69 – 27.11.11)

 

 

Roy’s website: www.roystannard.wordpress.com