In the media

One view, if not a popular one. on the John Terry case.

Daniel Taylor in the Guardian. "His (Terry's) reputation has suffered potentially irreparable damage with this judgment. Chelsea's captain used to be nicknamed "Teflon Terry" because of the way nothing ever stuck and every accusation of potentially dodgy behaviour."

Read more here.

Kings of the week

Week 6 - MoW

Sarah Sheron topped the lot in week 6 and puts claim to the £5 prize. Sarah smacked 55 points, 3 more than her nearest rival, Andrew Shepherd.

Mark Simmons hit a half century and his biggest score of the season, Brett bounced back from a rough week with a timely 48 and Barry Paull, Neil Wallis, James Down and Richard Richards all notched a 47.

Jason Syrett scored 43, Lee Baughan 40, Muddy 39, Kirsty 37, Neville 36 and James Stiff 31 all of which were season bests.

Lows were had by Woody 22, Rutts 17, Doyley 21, Graham Ward 17 and Martin Singleton 11 amongst others.

Transfer record

Last year there were a total of 495 transfers done in the full season and out 74 of those came in first 6 weeks.

This year in first 6 weeks we have has 126, already a quarter of last year's total. Heck, even Alan Waters has made subs.

22 managers have yet to make any subs and one manager has made 9 (NINE)!

Barry hot on Neil's heels

N&R Division 1 - Week 6

Another week at the top for Gooner win league, two points in front of Paris Eagles, who moved up from 5th. Bingo and Guinness & eggs are neck and neck in 3rd with We are the Darts dropping to 5th.

To Elland Back return to the top 8 and Woody's Round Up and Boys on tour complete the prized places.

 

Full Metal Jackett is a big climber up to 12th and so is The Magnificent Eleven in 15th. 2Infinity & beyond are fallers, from 11th to 17th.

 

Dalton Worblers, last season's Div 2 title winners move out of the relegation spots as does Too Big to Fail, Loads of Roubles and UnAthletico Madrid. 24 points separate relegation from promotion.   The Jager Squad slip into danger as do Brighton Blues with The Billion and a Half Dollar Man bottom.

The Duke and the Pole move into contention

N&R Division 2 - Week 6

Leaders since week 2 are Moral Hazard but their margin has been cut to 2 points with Aniseed Twists turning the screws. Mark Hughes is @@@@ are up in 3rd and Anfield Second XI drop to 4th.

The Sloan Rangers were upwardly mobile in 5th, Jager Bombers 6th and Arsene Knows 7th. New entrants The Archdukes of Hazard and Bardzo lubię nie musieć nic share 8th just ahead of Monster Smash, Socceroos and Fulham Roadsters.

Out of the promotion race in week 6 were Goonersmoan (the good news is that Rutts' nose bleeding has stopped) and FC Song Roi who drop out of the top 12 for the first time this season.

Dan's Dribblers were a good climber as was Kings of Leon Osman, with the lovely Sarah up to 22nd. The equally gorgeous Alan Waters and his Mavericks also made a little dash, jumping from 32nd to 28th.

Stiffsters are off the bottom and can now make plans for a run up the table. Preston Pie Muncher is showing his rustiness and falls to the bottom.

Photograph of the week

Alan Pardew has had more pay off pay days than anyone else I know, even including Richard Nathan. Now he has managed to wangle a 8-year contract out of Newcastle United.

Coaches John Carver, Steve Stone and Andy Woodman have also been given new eight-year contracts.

In June, chief scout Graham Carr was given a contract to keep him at the club until 2020, when he will be 75.

Pardew walked out on Reading to double his salary at West Ham, got paid off by West Ham after they sacked him, moved to Charlton 2 weeks later and got a £1,000,000 pay off after completely dismantling our club. Southampton came calling but also sacked him, when he walked away with a £2,000,000 cheque.

Look at him. Don't ever trust that smile.

Week 6 overview

A first win for Southampton, but they have had a very tough start. The media focus then turned on Villa, who are a shadow of the club they once were. Lambert may have gone to a bigger club but may have a bigger relegation battle at Villa Park than Carrow Road this season.

All the focus was at Anfield and Liverpool played well but a late dodgy penalty gave United all 3 points.

Sunday 23 Sep 2012

Liverpool 1 - 2 Man Utd
Newcastle 1 - 0 Norwich
Man City 1 - 1 Arsenal
Tottenham 2 - 1 QPR

Saturday 22 Sep 2012 Swansea 0 - 3 Everton
Chelsea 1 - 0 Stoke
Southampton 4 - 1 Aston Villa
West Brom 1 - 0 Reading
West Ham 1 - 1 Sunderland

Stat of the week

We love to watch Swansea play of course and under Michael Laudrup the Swans have started well, even though people such as me thought they would need an adjustment after Brendan Rodgers. But Laudrup's charges have if anything played a more expansive game allied with some pace.

Stat of the week:

All 10 of Swansea City's Premier League goals this season have come from open play. Not one set piece.

Div 2 League Cup Replay

We finally had a winner from the 1st Round match between Andi and Paul, with Andi winning out and progressing through to the next round.

N&R League Cup Div 2 1st Rd Replay Result 
Limited to £50m 21 v 31 Leave Myarsealona

2nd Round draws will be made shortly.

Welcome to the world - the first N&R baby!

A little belatedly but on July 19th Soozie and Ryan Saveall brought into this world the first ever Nobby & Ready baby. The baby might not look like Keith and I fortunately but it has a hell of a lot to do with us and it was us who introduced the two fantasy football managers at an end of season drink-up a few years ago.

Ryan and Soozie got married in 2010 after meeting outside the New Moon a couple of years before. We have since offered a dating service which we named nob.com but it hasn't met with much success unless you can count Keith being carried home once by Kirsty Baillie.

In a wonderfully perfect way baby Olly Jack Nobby Ready Saveall was born on the morning of this summer's N&R FL end of season prize evening and he weighed in at 9lb, 2oz.

Confusingly Olly has a Spurs supporting Dad and a Gunners supporting Mum, but I am sure Uncle Ready will make sure that Olly ends up in a white baby grow and not a red one, although judging by the photo Mum will make sure she has a big say in matters.

I am sure you will all join Keith and I in congratulating Soozie & Ryan and we wait for Olly to sign up for a future N&R FL.

Also if you are single and are looking for love, then please visit nob.com and send a £100 cheque to N&R Towers. Good luck.

Ceefax RIP

Ceefax shut down last night forever.

For those who are too young ceefax/Teletext was the internet before the internet existed.

For football fans, Ceefax has an almost mythological status. Many of its epitaphs relate to the football service, with ‘page 302’ assuming Old Testament proportions of deity. For years, Ceefax was the de facto method of keeping up to date with how your team was doing, unless you were part of the world’s financial elite who could afford to dial up Clubcall on a regular basis. The premise, particularly on match days, was simple. Fixtures would be laid out on a screen, and load across several pages. This would usually amount to three per division, though real aficionados could always tell when a glut of goals went in as the pages would extend to four, five or even six to accommodate the goal scorer’s details. The rotating nature of the pages added to the tension. At times, their cycle would be infuriating slow, as if the technician in charge of content had a conspiracy against your team.

Ceefax’s demise was inevitable in the face of instant news delivered to mobile devices, tablets and PCs. Like the The Pink or The Green ‘Un results newspapers, it is another part of our football heritage consigned to history. Whilst it would be easy to become maudlin, modern technology offers a wealth of services that simply didn’t exist a decade ago. Yet, in many ways, this transition can be seen as a microcosm of wider football culture: everything seems less personal and more functional now. Sitting in Starbucks with your iPad checking the football scores is an undoubted luxury, but it can’t match the camaraderie of a cold November night stood outside Tandy in a fog of breath and shared anticipation.

Goodbye old friend.

League Cup 1st Round Results

These were the 1st Round N&R League Cup results in week 5.

Div 1 League Cup 1st Round Results
Brighton Blues 26-16 The No Hopers
We are the Darts 30-22  Full Metal Jackett

Paul Long and Geoff McCormick move into the next round of the Div 1 League Cup.

Div 2 League Cup 2nd Round Results
Leave Myarsealona 33-33 Limited to £50m
(Replay in week 6)
Cobra 24-33 The Sloan Rangers
Anfield Second XI 34-42 Jager Bombers

Andi and Paul will have to try again next week, whilst Luke and high scoring Mitesh qualify for the 2nd Rd of the Div 2 League Cup.

Photograph of the week

Prior to the match on emotional match between great rivals Liverpool and Man Utd on Sunday, United great Sir Bobby Charlton presented former Reds striker Ian Rush with flowers, later to be laid at the Hillsborough memorial, and captains Steven Gerrard and Ryan Giggs released 96 red balloons.

Ooh to be a Gooner

N&R Division 1 - Week 5
Another new leader in Div 1, our 4th. Gooner win league top the pile 12 points ahead of We are the Darts.

Bingo is up to 3rd with Guinness & eggs in 4th. Paris Eagles and Woody's Round Up tie for 5th with Brox Banditos in 7th and Boys on tour 7th.

OJ's Red & White Army were big movers and are 12th and Back in the Big Time are 14th. Blue Euro Champs drop to 15th, two weeks ago Brett was top.

At the bottom, The Billion and a Half Dollar Man trail Penultimate Placers The No Hopers by 6 with Loads of Roubles and This Game Should be Played on Paper joining the relegation fray.

Mitesh slammers into top 6

N&R Division 2 - Week 5

Moral Hazard stayed top for the 3rd week and stretched his lead at the top. Aniseed Twists are 2nd with Anfield Second XI 3rd.

Up to 4th is Arsene Knows, enjoying much better fortune than last season. 5th is Mark Hughes is @@@@ with Jager Bombers enjoying their first ever N&R campaign in 6th.

Fulham Roadsters and The Sloan Rangers are jointly sat in 7th with Monster Smash, Socceroos, FC Song Roi and new entrants Goonersmoan all occupying the other promotion places.

Fear not fellow managers, it is early days....

Upwardly mobile is the Polish mouthful Bardzo lubię nie musieć nic, Limited to £50m and Forest Green Gingers.

Dropping is Back in Business, Dan's Dribblers and Roger Melly is my hero.

Bottom of the pile is Stiffsters with the Preston Pie Muncher just a couple of points ahead.

Rosie Lee

Week 5 - MoW

Danny Rose who spent most of last season struggling at the foot of Div 2 has been revitalised so far this season, and added a MoW to his impressive totals in the last 5 weeks.

Danny hit a 56 and moved nicely into 4th place in the table. Both Barry Paull and Neil Reynolds were one shy of Danny with Mitesh hitting a career best 42.

Ken and Mark Simmons also had very fruitful weeks with 41's and Woody came home with a 40.

30 was the average number with Geoff McCormick, Razor Nathan and Muzza all in the zone. The week 5 lowest score was owned by Mark Sterry, who up until week 5 was playing well.

Stat of the week

Roberto Mancini has not been impressed with his side's start to the season, especially his expensively assembled defence.

Stat of the week:

Man City have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their opening five Premier League games for the first time since 2000-01.

Week 5 overview

The week that many of us felt bad to the bottom of our stomachs knowing that for 23 years I know I felt the Scousers were mostly to blame for 96 fans dying at a football match. We now know that is not true, and I don't expect I was alone in thinking how many times in the 70's and 80's I stood on a crushed terrace behind a goal with people falling, swaying and slipping around me and it could easily have been one of us.

It is all too late now for the victims and their families but the police, the FA and Hillsborough all need to offer some form of sincere apology and I hope that cnut Kelvin McKenzie chokes on his cornflakes every morning for the rest of his life.

Week 5 looked like this:

Monday 17th September 2012
Everton 2-2 Newcastle

Sunday 16th September 2012
Reading 1-3 Tottenham

Saturday 15th September 2012
Sunderland 1-1 Liverpool
Arsenal 6-1 Southampton
Aston Villa 2-0 Swansea
Fulham 3-0 West Brom
Man Utd 4-0 Wigan
QPR 0-0 Chelsea
Stoke 1-1 Man City
Norwich 0-0 West Ham

N&R Weekly Predictions

We have a winner at last. Keith picked 3 homes in week 5 and cashed in. Nobby is yet to get off the mark.

Nobby

Man City v Arsenal DRAW Yes
West Brom v Reading HOME Yes
Southampton v Aston V AWAY No

Stake £2
Potential Winnings £38.50
Balance £-10

Ready
Chelsea v Stoke HOME Yes
Newcastle v Norwich HOME Yes
Spurs v QPR HOME Yes
Stake £2
Potential Winnings £6.41
Balance £-1.59

Road to Wembley - Berko Cop Out

Our run (one round) with Berkhamsted ended on Saturday in front of over 200 fans at a sunny Broadwater.

The Berko side did well to stay level with the Metropolitan Police, who play two divisions higher in the first half, but in the end class told. Teenage striker Jonte Smith, who is on loan from Football League club Crawley hit two second half goals to put the Police in the draw for the next round, despite having only 10 men for the last hour.

The game started well for the Met placing Berkhamsted on the back foot from the off.

After only 40 seconds of the game a ball disected Berko’s defence leaving Jonte Smith through being denied by a great save from Carl Tasker. Steve Sutherland was unmarked from a corner and headed wide.

Berkhamsted’s impressive teenage forward Connor Calcutt broke free down the right and delivered a dangerous ball across the 6 yard box but nobody reached it. Howard Newton crossed similarly at the canal end but again nobody got on the end of the cross.

Berko began to get in the game with Lewis Pritchard winning a few balls in the air.

In the 15th minute a penalty was awarded following a push from Jay Lovett who was booked. Goalkeeper, Jamie Butler received a dead leg in the incident and there was a five minute injury break to make Josh Chamberlain nervous before the spot kick could be taken. With Lawrence Bunker injured, it fell to the Berko teenager to take the penalty, but his low shot in the corner was not hard enough to prevent Butler saving. He was soon replaced in goal by Dave Smalley, a proper substitute goalkeeper as the FA allow 7 subs to be named in this competition.

In the 31st minute it looked as if Berko might go on to do some giant killing when they got a man advantage. Steve Sutherland brought down Calcutt just outside the penalty box, and being the last man, got a red card.However, teh second half turned out to be different.

In the 52nd minute a great delivery from Ty Smith found Jay Lovett at the far post who headed across goal for substitute James Tyrrell to tap in. Craig Brown delivered a pin point cross for Jonte Smith to volley home from 8 yards to complete a two goal in two minutes burst that knocked the stuffing out of Berko. Mick Vipond tried three substitutes but with the bit between their teeth the Police took control in midfield.

In the 75th minute, Jonte Smith beat Berkhamsted’s captain Dale Sears on the left byline and was about to cross when Sears brought him down for a penalty. Jonte stepped up himself and sent Tasker the wrong way to win the game for the Met, who face Dereham Town in the 3rd Q round. Dereham currently play in the Thurlow Nunn Premier League
Berko: Tasker, Power (Dimitrov), Rodrigoe, Culaj, Sears, Frederick, Jowle (Toomey), Griggs, Calcutt, Pritchard, Chamberlain (Sedgley),
Subs not used: Gavin, Creasy, & Boad.
Attendance: 200

It is all shame that we say farewell to Berkhamsted because N&R manager Dan Weeks knows a number of the players well. However I remember in my very first job there was a guy who used to go and watch the Met Police team play, so that is good enough for me and I'll write more on the strange existance of the police side another day.

N&R Weekly Predictions

Please feel free to ask Keith and I for any tips! Week 4:

Nobby

Norwich v West Ham DRAW CORRECT

Man Utd v Wigan HOME HOME

QPR v Chelsea AWAY WRONG

Stake £2

Potential Winnings £15.50

Balance £-8

Ready

Arsenal v Southampton HOME CORRECT

Man Utd v Wigan HOME CORRECT

QPR v Chelsea AWAY WRONG

Stake £2

Potential Winnings £6.22

Balance £-8

Photograph of the week

David Cameron said he was "profoundly sorry" for the failures that caused the Hillsborough disaster and the subsequent attempts to shift blame for the tragedy on to supporters after the publication of a damning report on the events 23 years ago that left 96 dead. Speaking in the Commons, the prime minister said the findings in the report were "deeply distressing", adding: "With the weight of the new evidence in the report it's right for me today as prime minister to make a proper apology to the families of the 96 … On behalf of the government, and indeed of our country, I am profoundly sorry that this double injustice has been left uncorrected for so long"

The report by the Hillsborough Independent Panel, established three years ago and chaired by the Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, found that there was a failure of authorities to protect people and an attempt to blame fans. The panel concluded that the main cause of the Hillsborough disaster was a "failure in police control" but also revealed "multiple failures" within other organisations that compromised crowd safety. It underlined the "clear operational failure" that led to the disaster and the attempts by South Yorkshire police (SYP) and the ambulance service to cover up their shortcomings. The fact that the ambulance service also altered statements from staff is revealed for the first time. The evidence shows "conclusively" that Liverpool fans "neither caused nor contributed to the deaths" and shows the extent to which attempts, endorsed by the South Yorkshire chief constable Peter Wright, were made to smear them.

Documents released to the panel show how high-ranking police sources, the South Yorkshire Police Federation and the Tory MP Irvine Patnick were responsible for feeding the stories to Whites News Agency in Yorkshire. They led to the infamous Sun headline "The Truth" that led to a longstanding boycott of the paper in Liverpool.



A summer of champions

Today is a rather sombre day in New York City but late last night the Arthur Ashe Stadium was anything but sombre as another titanic Grand Slam tennis final between two gladiators came to close almost 5 hours after it started.

It was a breathtaking match to watch. The first set was gruelling with the tie break lasting longer than many women’s sets. Murray sensationally won the next set, but then the impending doom started to set in as Djokovic roared himself back into the game.

Both players were hitting some brutish returns as games often went 30 and 40 shots and as Djokovic powered himself back into contention on his favourite surface, Murray started to cut a familiar disconsolate figure and at the end of the 4th set many may have gone to bed fearing another ‘if only’ Murray tear-jerker.

However, Murray with his coach Ivan Lendl looking down on him unmoved by the drama all around him, found from somewhere the will to win his first ever Grand Slam and Britain’s first since Fred Perry in 1936.

Look out for the Andy Murray polo shirts in a store near you soon!

Even my Murray-hating-other-half looked relieved that he finally lifted one of the big four trophies and with Lendl alongside him, who also lost his first four Grand Slams, Murray can now go on and compete with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic on a more equal footing.

Individual sportsmen don’t always have the same nationalistic appeal to fans like team sports do. People follow of prefer to lend their support to Formula 1 racing drivers or golfers or tennis players because of their abilities or personalities and Andy Murray in particular, a bit like Nick Faldo, has always struggled against this, sometimes, in fact often, not helping himself.

I love watching Novak Djokovic play, who successfully combines cockiness with humility but last night I was cheering Murray on. It was torturous to watch but one just got the impression that the Scot was aware of the groundswell of support for him in the stadium and at home.

Murray is not easy to love, but a new maturity and the way in which he conceded this year’s Wimbledon gracefully and emotionally to Roger Federer gained him some converts. Then of course he was one of the key sportsman this stupendous summer as GB turned from plucky losers to winners.

What a wonderful way to bring the curtain down on a beautiful summer of British sport. Let’s hope the autumn and the winter brings more successes. Well done Andy Murray, another champion.

Week 3 reminder

Transfer deadline week when QPR bought a whole team, Man City added about a billion pounds to their wageroll and Arsene Wenger lost his wallet.

Liverpool gave that useless lanky bloke to West Ham but forgot to bring in a replacement, Chris Dempsey swapped mid table mediocrity for a relegation battle and Southampton after giving the local businesses 10p in the £ two years ago spent £12m on some bloke I'd never heard off.

Here were the week 3 results:

Sunday 2nd September 2012

Liverpool 0-2 Arsenal
Newcastle 1-1 Aston Villa
Southampton 2-3 Man Utd

Saturday 1st September 2012
West Ham 3-0 Fulham
Tottenham 1-1 Norwich
West Brom 2-0 Everton
Wigan 2-2 Stoke
Man City 3-1 QPR

The Wright Stuff

Week 3 - MoW
Chris Wright topped the charts in week 3 and picked up a fiver for his efforts (are we even now Chris?). 55 points took Chris into the top 3 of Div 1. Next best was Greg Foulger with 53, then yours truly. Nobby with 52.

Steve Black, Danny Rose, Rutts, Jason S and Geoff all had impressive weekly results.

Neil Reynolds hit 44 and is the current Mr Consistent (40, 46, 44 pts), although the same could be said of Dewbs (18, 8, 12 pts).

Ryan Saveall wasn't alone in hitting a season best but Kirsty, Michael Stout and Brett Davey all had weeks to forget. Brett collecting the season's lowest 7-day score so far, 6.

Photograph of the week

Liverpool's 17-year-old winger Raheem Sterling has been called into the England squad for Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.

Jamaica-born Sterling has been offered the chance to play for the country of his birth, but has represented England at Under-19, Under-17 and Under-16 level.

Midfielders Jake Livermore, 22, of Tottenham, and Southampton's Adam Lallana, 24, have also been brought in by manager Roy Hodgson.

Road to Wembley - Ux beaten

Our Road to Wembley boys Uxbridge let in two late goals as they were beaten by the odd goal in seven by Berkhamsted in the FA Cup on a late summers day on Saturday. 

Chamberlain put Berkhamstead ahead on 11 minutes by sending a cross over John Peacock and into the far corner of the net. Kev Warner's teasing cross found Kevin Marsh wanting in the Comrades goal, and NICKE KABAMBA rose to head in soon after.

The next goal arrived on 35 minutes, as Berkhamstead's Chris Moore shot low past Marsh following good work by their skipper Wayne Carter.

In the 2nd half a deep cross by Daniel Griggs on the right for allowed Chamberlain to net his second and bring his side all square in the 78th minute.

Uxbridge got their noses back in front once more through substitute SHAUN LUCIEN, when he drove home into the bottom corner, following Marsh's block from Matty Woods.

Ux's Woods tested Marsh with a goal bound cross, and Mark Dennison was unlucky to see his header hacked off the line by Bekim Culaj.

This proved to be decisive for Berkhamsted as they hit our boys with two quick goals at the death!

A minute before time Griggs was once again the architect for Calcutt to side-foot home from close-in and then just into time added on Jordan Frederick picked the ball up from about 25 yards out, before unleashing an unstoppable drive past Peacock to nick it right at the end to mark wild celebrations amongst the away side (photo).

A sad end to our very short run with Uxbridge and now Berkhamstead become our next N&R Road to Wembley team to follow.

Monday’s lunchtime draw brought a tough tie, but at least Berko will be at home on Saturday 22nd Spetember when they entertain Metropolitan Police who are from the Ryman League Premier division. That is two divisions above Berko so it will be a big challenge for Micky Vipond’s young side

Team: Peacock, Lema, Warner, Fitzgerald, Dennison, Carter(c), Julienne, Farrell, Woods, Moore, Kabamba.

Subs: Kanek, Lucien (for Kabamba 75 mins), Smith (for Farrell 69 mins).
Attendance: 190

No week 4

Week 4 is blank due to the first round of European World Cup Qualifiers. Sadly the only Brazilian the Welsh and Scots will need to know much about will not be featured on the FIFA 2014 website.

Week 5 scores and the 1st Round of the N&R FL League Cup results will be out next week.

Double top

N&R Division 1 - Week 3

We are the Darts are top of the N&R Div 1, our third leader in 3 weeks. Geoff is 3 points ahead of colleague Gooner win league with Brox Banditos in 3rd.

Guinness & eggs, one of the pre-season title favourites but a notorious slow starter is 4th. Bingo 5th and current champion Woody's Round Up 6th alongside Boys on tour, both of them at low odds before the season kicked off.

Another ex-N&R champion To Elland back is in 8th with perennial challengers Paris Eagles in 9th.

Three other ex-champions Blue Euro Champions, 2 Infinity & beyond and RVP's Red Army are in the top 15. Whoever wins this season's N&R title will have to pull out all the stops.

Somewhat surprisingly only 3 of the promoted teams find themselves early stragglers - Dalton's Worblers, the No Hopers and Glasgow Kiss.

The Billion and a Half Dollar Man is bottom, 12 adrift of the No Hopers.

Twist & shout

N&R Division 2 - Week 3

Moral Hazard still top the 2nd tier ahead of Aniseed Twists, who climb from 7th. Anfield Second XI are 3rd and Socceroos 4th.

Mark Hughes is @@@@ are 5th, Monster Smash 6th and in joint 7th are The Sloan Rangers and FC Song Roi.

Fulham Roadsters, James Down, "stwike him centuwion vewy woughly", Jager Bombers and Arsene Knows are vying for a very early promotion challenge.

Hammer Nation, Goonersmoan and Dan's Dribblers have all started well, although the same can't be said of Preston Pie Muncher and Stiffsters.

Limited to £50m were the week's biggest fallers and dropped from 7th to 22nd.

Stat of the week

We have all watched the demise of Portsmouth, the most mismanaged club for a generation except for when Avram Grant was manager of West Ham.

Pompey's entire team is made up of trialists and short-term contracted players, each not getting paid and with just an IOU from a potential buyer to show for their efforts.

Yesterday they won their first game of the season, comfortably beating 9-man Crawley 3-0.

Stat of the week:

On this day three years ago, Portsmouth were 85 league places above Crawley Town.

The Paralympics

The final day then of London 2012, an end to an historic and extraordinary 6 weeks. If in a year or two's time the Olympic Stadium is hosting football, it will be such a shame.

During my very swift weekend visit back to the UK I found myself in Gatwick, Nottingham, Eastbourne and Chislehurst but what I couldn't be drawn away from was the London Paralympics.

The gripes about the adverts aside, although trust me after watching US telly for 10 years, the UK's commercial stations are a lot less disruptive, from what I saw Channel 4 were doing a sterling job of showcasing the most watched Paralympics ever.

American TV has not shown the Paralympics in any form, which I find incredible for such a sport loving nation. Mind you the networks are advertising revenue loving as well. Cynical I know, but whilst every major country in the world is showing daily coverage, all NBC have is a 90-minute roundup show a week after the Paralympics close, and during the afternoon!

Obviously there is not a dickie bird on the Bermudian channels, although the island's solitary athlete Jessica Cooper Lewis has had a decent amount of publicity unlike the 227 US Paralympians, many war heroes, who have been disowned by their countries media.

NBC showed over 5,000 hours of coverage during the two-week Olympics attracting a record audience of 220m people but in the US there has been a lot of criticism of not just them but other networks as the Paralympics has hardly warranted a mention on any of the major TV channels these past two weeks.

I am cynical by nature but my son was already well into it and together we watched some inspirational performances, and it was the swimmers that awed me the most. The competition amongst the best athletes was ferocious and the courage of those there to represent their countries and to be good enough to be Olympians was compelling. Heroes all of them.

It is probably wrong in these politically correct times to say I was humbled but watching the coverage and since Monday following it online on the trusty BBC has been truly inspirational. I was born in a generation that would point at kids in callipers or laugh about Joey Deacon in the playground but here were remarkable human beings challenging preconceptions and winning hands down.

It has a been a phenomenal Games, and if I think back to how cynical and grumpy most people seemed to be the week before the Opening Ceremony, when I spent a few days in town, London pulled off a remarkable experience to cherish and remember forever. Proud to be a Londoner.

2012/13 N&R Team Challenge Trophy

11 teams will contest the 2012/13 N&R Team Trophy Challenge as follows:

Bluefin
Duboux, Saveall, Turner, Bixby, Weeks

HDI Gerling
Waters, Stiff, Ward (S)

Tokio
Sterry, Davey, Addington, White

RSA
Foulger, Harris

QBE
Cobbett, Wright, Hardiman

Chartis
Guarino, Patel, Barden, Chillman, Paull, Keaveney, Dalton, Bigg, France, Flynn, Dewberry

Aon Benfield
Reynolds, Merchant, McGowan, McCormack, Wenman, Rutter

Aon Global
Thomas, Newport, Murray

Gravity
Gregory, Wood

Miles Smith
Sloan, Baughan

JRP
Rose, Godfrey

Last year's champions were RSA.

Rules:
1) Two or more managers from same company required
2) New managers who join a company already represented will be added mid-season
3) If a team drops to just one manager then they will be expelled from the competition
4) The scores are worked out as an average
5) A regular table will appear.

Football Rivarly Census 2012

The latest list of football rivarly. The survey was carried out in August 2012 and was answered by over 1,200 football fans.

The top 5 most hated teams:
1.Manchester United

2.Liverpool
3.Leeds United
4.Chelsea
5.West Ham United

Click here for full list.

In the media

One of my favourite correspondents is Gabriele Marcotti, and in this ESPN article he helps us all understand the rather dubious UEFA Financial Fair Play rules.

"I think that's the direction we're headed, mainly because it suits everyone. I could see it working a bit like the luxury tax they have in the NBA or Major League Baseball."

Click link here to read article.

League Cup draws

The 1st Round of the N&R League Cups was made over the weekend. Because of odd numbers we will start of with a smaller 1st Rd made up of the final 4 promotion places (Div 1 League Cup) and the 6 of the newest teams will form the 1st Round of the Div 2 League Cup. Got it?

Div 1 League Cup 1st Round Draw
Brighton Blues v The No Hopers
We are the Darts v Full Metal Jackett

Div 2 League Cup 2nd Round Draw
Leave Myarsealona v Limited to £50m
Cobra v The Sloan Rangers
Anfield Second XI v Jager Bombers

All ties will take place over week 5.

Photograph of the week

Lil' Michael Owen. Remember him? 4,000 goals before he was 21, and 5 since. Well he has signed to sit on Stoke City's bench for the rest of the season.

Top 10 weekly wage earners

Ronaldo has declared himself "sad" at the moment. Sad???? Fit birds, fast cars, 200k a week, more hair gel than John Travolta. Sad.

Why is he sad? Because apparently he is no longer the world's biggest football earner. Calls for an improved Real Madrid contract were not listened to by Madrid's owners in the summer and he has the hump. Poor soul.

So, who are the world's best paid footballers. Here you go:

S Eto'o (Anzhi) £330,000
W Rooney (Man Utd) £250,000
Z Ibrahimovic (PSG) £240,000
C Ronaldo (Real Madrid)£215,000
Y Touré (Man City) £200,000
D Drogba (Shanghai Shenhua) £200,000
R van Persie (Man Utd) £200,000
S Aguero (Man City)£200,000
L Messi (Barcelona)£180,000
F Torres (Chelsea) £175,000

N&R Weekly Prediction

Please feel free to ask Keith and I for any tips. Week 3:

Nobby

WBA v Everton AWAY No
Wigan v Stoke HOME No
Man C v QPR HOME Yes

Stake £2
Potential Winnings £8.00
Balance £-6

Ready
Tottenham v Norwich HOME No
Newcastle v Aston Villa HOME No
Southampton v Man U AWAY Yes

Stake £2
Potential Winnings £5.40
Balance £-6

Hodges Podges

Week 2 - MoW
Unlike Brendan Rodgers Paul Hodges spent his transfer kitty wisely and in week 2 of the new N&R FL he collected the weekly MoW fiver award.

78 points for Paul and the early best weekly score to boot. Ben Guarino was next up with 72, Brett Davey scored 69, Neil Wallis 65 and James Down 64.

Jason Syrett and Oakers both made a 63, Munden was 58 and Plumms 57.

We also have an early candidate for the worst weekly score. Dewbs after just 18 in week 1 scored 8 in week 2. AVB is in good company.

Davey rocket

N&R Division 1 - Week 2

Blue Euro Champs top the lot in Div 1. Brett is 11 whole points ahead of fellow previous champions To Elland back and 2Infinity & beyond.

We are the Darts are snug in 4th alongside fantasy veteran Paris Eagles. Gooner Win League are 6th. Bingo 7th and Woody's Round Up make it 5 previous champs in the top 8. This is the quality you have to beat everyone!

Ollympic Games and John Terry loves a choc ice leap over The Billion and a Half Man, who are bottom. I hate Mark Hughes was the biggest faller. From 2nd to 24th in 7 days. Brett was the biggest climber incidentially. From 13th to 1st.

Has Ben's time come?

N&R Division 2 - Week 2
Ben's Moral Hazard sit top of Div 2 after 2 weeks of action. Ben came into Nobby & Ready's life as Ian France's executive assistant. A role that encompassed picking up Francey's laundry, making him tea (milk, one sugar) and getting him on the last train to Brighton of an evening. Francey also allowed Ben to run his N&R FL team, apparentely because Ian was too important, but realistically because Francey was rubbish. Ben did a good job and now is grown up enough to have his own team.

We had high hopes for Ben, and he has yet to justify them. Is this the year we ask ourselves?

New boy's Anfield Second XI (not bad for a squad of just 14 players) are 2nd and Socceroos 3rd. James Down's as yet unamed team (although he is getting periously close to me naming it) are joint 4th with Fulham Roadsters.

Mark Hughes is a @@@@ are 6th and Aniseed Twists 7th. Paul Keaveney seemed like a nice young man when I met him in the summer but he has surprised us with his start. Limited to £50m are 8th alongside FC Song Roi.

Already 39 points separate top 12 from bottom, where we find the relegated Norfolk 'n' Chance, the Preston Pie Muncher, who we welcome back and Chillers Champions, who has started this season like she did the last one.

Stat of the week

Theo Walcott turned his childlike nose up at £75,000 a week and Arsenal fans, who were booing his sorry arse last season, all whept. But it looks as if he is going to stay and Arsenal fans should be happy.

Stat of the week:

Theo Walcott has supplied 15 PL assists since August 2010. Only 4 players (Nani, Silva, Young and RVP) have provided more in the same period.

Week 2 reminder

In week 2 the rain lashed it down so much so that Sunderland's game versus Reading was called off.... in August!

QPR bought another 9 players and eeked out a point at Carrow Road. Swansea playing a faster tempo under Michael Laudrup gave Big Sam and 'The Academy' a footballing lesson and Eden Hazard looked a bloody good player as Chelsea went top of the premature Premier League.

Arsenal sold another player, this time Alex Song (made in Charlton by the way) and Gooners all over the world and led by their revered leader Piers Morgan cling to the edge of a cliff. In Arsene we trust, as he signs another 11 year old.

Sunday 26th August 2012
Stoke 0-0 Arsenal
Liverpool 2-2 Man City

Saturday 25th August 2012
Swansea 3-0 West Ham
Aston Villa 1-3 Everton
Man Utd 3-2 Fulham
Norwich 1-1 QPR
Southampton 0-2 Wigan
Sunderland P-P Reading
Tottenham 1-1 West Brom
Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle

Wednesday 22nd August 2012
Chelsea 4-2 Reading