Merci Eric; Barcelona pay tribute to the departing Abidal

 

Barcelona defender Eric Abidal made his final, highly emotional, appearance for the Catalan giants tonight in a 4-1 win over Malaga at the Nou Camp, after it was revealed his contract was not to be renewed for the forthcoming season.

 

For those who do not know his incredible story, he had been diagnosed with a tumour in his liver in 2011, but had further complications meaning he had to undergo a transplant in 2012. Both times however, the Frenchman battled through, and made a return to the pitch, amid a flood of well wishes from around the world of football. He played the full 90 minutes of Barcelona's 2011 Wembley triumph over Manchester United, and in a touching show of unity club captain Carles Puyol lifted the European Cup with Abidal.

 

His cousin, Gerard, was the donor when Abidal required a transplant in 2012. Support came from both his biological family, and his football family, with tributes again flooding in, and Barca dedicating their win on that day to Abidal. Again, the dedicated defender recovered, and returned to play a few games for Barcelona B. Two months ago he made his return to first team action, replacing Gerard Pique, he then went on to play a few full 90 minutes.

 

Thank you, my cousin. Abidal pays tribute to his cousin Gerard, who was the donor in his successful liver transplant.

It has been announced that Barcelona will not be renewing Abidal's contract, and the two would part company after tonights fixture. His name was chanted for most of the game, the decibels rising as the game cointinued, reaching its peak when the Frenchman made his appearance as a substitute.

 

No doubt, there will be a fair few clubs clambering for Abidal's signature, after the 33 year old declared he would love to play on after this season. Barcelona have insisted that there is always an opportunity open for him to return as a coach when he finally decides to hang up his boots. After 6 trophy laden years at the Nou Camp, Barcelona released this emotional tribute to Abidal on their Youtube channel on the 30th May -

 

 

For now, it is not known where he will be playing next season, but we can say for sure wherever it is Abidal will play to the best of his abilities, and with all his heart. The words 'legend' and 'respect' are thrown around far too often on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook nowadays, but Eric Abidal is one who truly deserves it.

 

From Goalmouth Scramble, thank you Eric, you've been an inspiration for many, and earned the respect and adoration of the world. All the best for the coming seasons.

The new Cardiff City kit causes a stir

Nothing can really compare to the outrage we saw last season from Cardiff faithful, protesting the Bluebird's controversial home kit, changing from the traditional blue to a 'lucky' red. In the end the move paid off, with the club being promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history and completing a Welsh quadruple with Swansea, Wrexham and Newport County all tasting success.

 

But you'd think the Cardiff bigwigs would have learnt their lessons from last years complications, shall we say. The kit designs must be given the green light from them before release after all. 

 

Evidently not, as the world saw with the release of this from manafacturers Puma.

 

 

The shirt itself looks acceptable, although it would arguably be better if it was blue, even though it is a widely used Puma template. But that isn't the problem for the Cardiff fans. This season  they turn their attentions to the shorts, and for good reason.

 

Lets be honest, it looks like the shorts have been recycled from another kit and then had the Cardiff crest sewn on to them. One would think they would have kept the black colour scheme that they wore in the Championship winning season, but instead opted to go with a deep red colour. The powers that be at the football club have assured fans that its purely to make the club stand out from the others in the Premier League, with other teams in red; Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United wearing white, red and black shorts respectively.

 

All it has successfully done has brought the proud Welsh club ridicule among the footballing community and outrage from their fans. In a quick turn around, the club has turned to the season ticket holders to select new shorts from four choices. Among them is the original claret/maroon shorts, along with matching red, white and black. It is thought that the decision will be made in the next week.

New England kit by Nike

Well... Where do we start with the new England jersey unveiled yesterday?

 

Let's be brutally honest, it looks like Germany's 1966 kit, complete with the dark coloured round neck collar. It doesn't seem the best of moves from the FA, who are of course celebrating their 125th anniversary, to choose a colour scheme so closely linked with their biggest footballing rivals.

 

The dark colour in question has been revealed as being a very dark navy, as opposed to the black it was originally thought to be. I bet that makes everyone feel so much better about their national team wearing a glorified copy of a retro Germany jersey!

 

Germany legend, Franz Beckenbauer modelling the classic Germany kit of the 1960s.

 

The new England jersey, unveiled by Nike yesterday.

The MLS odd couple, Manchester City join forces with the New York Yankees

On one hand we have Manchester City, proud football team from the north of England, full of star names like David Silva, Yaya Toure and England goalkeeper Joe Hart, to name but a few. Club favourites include Colin Bell, Mike Doyle, Niall Quinn, and after 'that goal', Sergio Agueroooooooo!

 

On the other, we have the New York Yankees, the most successful team in Major League Baseball with a team of stars like Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano. Discussing famous players is like reading from the Cooperstown hall of fame; Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gherig, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford.. The list goes on.

 

But what's the connection between the two you may ask?

 

The two sporting giants are set to team up to bring an MLS franchise to New York City. The franchise has been debated for some time, with the stadium planned for construction in Flushing Meadows, Queens. This is much to the annoyance of the New York Mets, the cities other MLB franchise, who play their games at Citi Field, near to the planned site of the new stadium.

 

The deal is thought to be worth upwards of $100,000,000 dollars (about £66m) and the franchise will commence playing in 2015, but it looks like they won't have a stadium for opening day. It is thought that the team will have a temporary home until the issue is resolved.

 

The New York metropolitan area is already a legendary sporting hub. The Jets and the Giants carry the New York name in the NFL, while the Rangers and the Islanders carry the city's name on the ice. The New York Knicks, who British readers will be familiar with after their game at the O2 Arena, join the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA. The Yankees, situated in the Bronx, and the Mets from Queens hold 29 World Series titles between them (27 of which belong to the Bronx Bombers). The New York Red Bulls, although based in New Jersey, carry the name of the city. In the past the city has been home to the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers, relocated to California in the westward expansion of the 1960s to San Francisco and Los Angeles respectively.

 

New York City Football Club will be the 20th franchise in the MLS and New York's 11th team in the big five sports of baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer, if we are to count the recently reformed New York Cosmos in the second tier of American soccer.

 

Keep an eye out for the club's official kit, colours and badge, which will be announced soon, and no doubt brought to you here.



Match Report: League Two Play-Off Final, Bradford City 3-0 Northampton Town

Bradford City returned to Wembley this afternoon twelve weeks after their first visit this year; a heart-breaking defeat to Swansea in the League Cup Final. This time they took on Aidy Boothroyd's Northampton Town in the showpiece of this season's Football League Two.

Both teams had overcome strong tests in the semi-finals in the shape of Burton Albion and Cheltenham Town respectively, surely setting up a thriller at Wembley. For Bradford City after their fairy-tale run all the way to the League Cup Final, it was just another game, arriving at the national stadium dressed in their game day tracksuits. For Northampton Town however, this was their cup final, walking around on the Wembley pitch pre-match in smart black suits.

After the usual formalities of a footballing showpiece including the presentation of the teams to dignitaries and singing of the national anthem, all eyes turned to what they came for; the game of football ahead of them.

After end to end football in the first ten minutes, both teams settled into the flow of the game. While Northampton seemed to sit back, they successfully repelled the first wave of Bradford's counter attacking style.

Bradford get the breakthrough

The breakthrough came on the 15 minute mark, a combination of poor defending and great build up play from Bradford set up a great opportunity for James Howson. The striker duly obliged, converting the cross from the right with a sublime looping header over Northampton's hero from the semi-finals Lee Nicholls.

The lead was doubled barely four minutes later when Rory McArdle popped up in the box, sending a powerful header in the bottom corner of the Northampton goal. The assist again came from a cross from the right hand side, the Cobblers had seemingly not learned their lesson from the first goal.

Northampton's situation went from bad to worse just before the half hour mark. Gary Thompson's cushioned header across the face of the goal was slammed home by the onrushing Nakhi Wells, scoring his eighth goal in as many games for Bradford. It seemed that even with the vast experience of Clarke Carlisle in their ranks, the Cobblers defences crumbled when the ball fell in their box. Lee Nicholls, picking the ball out of the back of the net for the third time in less than thirty minutes, would have undoubtedly seen the stunned and dejected Northampton fans seated behind his goal.

 

Nakhi Wells fires home on 28 minutes

As Bradford went in to half time cruising with a three goal advantage, the biggest lead in any play-off final at any level, Northampton had it all to overcome. Where the club will be playing next season rested on Boothroyd's team talk, in which he must have referenced a certain eastern European city, on a certain night in 2005, arguably the greatest comeback in football, also from 3-0 down. Phil Parkinson's job one can imagine was a lot easier, and probably encouraged his players to build on the strong foundations they had built in the first half.

 

Second half

Northampton come out of the blocks strong at the second time of asking, but were yet to register a shot on target on Jon McLaughlin's goal. The first ten minutes of the second half were much like the first, end to end football and a few opportunities for both sides. A huge roar erupted from the claret clad end of Wembley on 55 minutes, however it wasn't a goal celebration, but the introduction of the Cobblers' leading scorer this season, the powerful fan favourite Abebayo Akinfenwa.

A minute later, Bradford fans paid a touching and emotional tribute to the 56 football fans, 54 from Bradford and 2 from Lincoln City, that tragically lost their lives in the Valley Parade fire of 11th May 1985.

The second half could have spelled disaster for Northampton, with Bradford squandering a good opportunity, and a wicked deflection from a being plucked out of the air by Nicholls. But the Cobblers somehow kept the deficit to a manageable 3 goals, although the clock was becoming their enemy.

A man of the match winning performance from Bradford's Nakhi Wells was recognised by the Yorkshire club's travelling faithful with a standing ovation when he was substituted with the job almost complete on 84 minutes.

As four minutes were added on at the end of the second half, Northampton fans started trickling from the ground, readying themselves for the trip home in heart-breaking silence. Those who stayed were dejected; even the most wildly optimistic of fans would not have thought three goals in four minutes was possible. As time slipped slowly away, the other end began to take on a party atmosphere, erupting in joy at the final whistle.

 

Staggering attendence

47,127 fans were present at the national stadium, with both ends packed with supporters of both clubs, but there is a strong possibility there were quite a few neutrals also attending. It is worth noting that the Europa League Final between Benfica and Chelsea at the Amsterdam Arena only drew 46,163 supporters. The game was a great advert for the Football League, seeing as this was the showpiece of the fourth tier of English football.

Congratulations go to the winners Bradford City, and commiserations go to the runner up Northampton Town. And praise go to both sides for creating such a great advert for the Football League. Bradford's promotion is their first since their promotion to the Premiership in 1999, and comes almost 12 years to the day that they bowed out of the top flight of English football. The season has almost been a fairy-tale for the fans who have stuck with their team after relegation and the brink of administration and relegation to non-league, being rewarded with two trips to Wembley, the arguably more important game returning them to the third tier. For the players, however, the game today was the final push after a 64 game marathon, only Chelsea has played more games. For now, they can relax before returning to training to take on League One next season. The achievements of Northampton cannot be overlooked; a Wembley appearance for a club on the brink of relegation to the Conference for the last few seasons is a huge success, and hopefully a foundation for more success next season.

 

Bradford celebrate promotion to League One

 

Atletico triumph in bad tempered Madrid derby to win first Copa del Rey since 1996

Atletico Madrid secured their first win over their bitter cross city rivals Real Madrid last night with a 2-1 win in extra time. It was the first time in FOURTEEN years that Atletico had managed the feat, but this victory will live long in the memory of the Atletico fans.

Real Madrid had home advantage, the Copa del Rey was their last chance of securing silverware this season, and most importantly, the last 8 derbies had gone in favour of Mourinho's men. It was clear to see Atletico were the underdogs going in to the game, although their ranks boasted a wealth of big names, including the Colombian hitman Radamel Falcao.

Before the game an echo of boos spread round the Bernebeu aimed at Real boss Jose Mourinho, in what could possibly be one of his last games at the helm. Most of these boos erupted from the end that housed the sea of red and white clad Atletico fans, but many came from his own, once adoring, fans. It was no surprise the Special One was reluctant to leave the dugout, often caught on camera sporting an emotionless facial expression which will no doubt enrage Real fans even further.

Few could believe Mourinho had opted to start without the returning Iker Casillas in goal, and the normally solid albeit hot-headed Pepe in defence. Despite the setbacks Real took a big step in the right direction as Mesut Ozil's whipped corner was met by Cristiano Ronaldo, sending a powerful header beyond the reach of Thibaut Courtois.

Atletico equalised in the 35th minute after Falcao's fancy footwork proved too much for Raul Albiol, who couldn't stop the Colombian playing a perfectly weighted through ball to strike partner Diego Costa. Costa's low drive beat the outstretched arm of Diego Lopez in the Real goal. So, the blame for the equaliser laid at the controversial replacements for Casillas and Pepe, who maybe could have averted it, if they were playing.

Tempers flare

Jose Mourinho made a rare appearance in the technical area after a decision went against him, and after a war of words, soon left again after being dismissed. Real Madrid's night of shame continued with a straight red for goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo, who seem to fling his boot at the face of Gabi, whose amateur dramatics were second to none on the night. In the wake of the red card both benches erupted, resulting in some unsavoury scenes on the touchline, with clear punches being thrown. At the other end, Atletico keeper Courtois was pelted with lighters and coins by the Real fans, with one striking the Belgian in the back of the head.


Cristiano Ronaldo is dismissed for an intentional high boot.

As the match went into extra time, Atletico held the advantage. Manager Diego Simeone was able to talk to his team, but Jose Mourinho was somewhere in the depths of the Bernabeu, unable to pass anything on to his players. Atletico took a well deserved lead in the eighth minute of extra time, Miranda reaching the ball before the stranded Diego Lopez.

Real could not find a way back into the game, even after Atletico lost their one man advantage after Gabi received his marching orders.

It has been a crazy 18 months for the red side of Madrid which has seen the club win the 2012 Europa League, the European Supercup which saw them demolish Champions League winners Chelsea. To top it all off, the club has won the Copa del Rey, its first since 1996, against their bitter rivals on their own turf.

Mourinho's worst season

A dejected Jose Mourinho has branded this season, which has seen him finish trophyless for the first time in management, as the worst of his distinguished career. Real have finished second best to Catalan giants Barcelona in La Liga, missed out on a Champions League final with a defeat to Borrussia Dortmund, and have now finished runners up to Madrid rivals Atletico in the Copa del Rey.


Atletico Madrid players and coaching staff celebrate victory.

Goalmouth Scramble are now on Twitter!

 

 

Acting on the plan of action from yesterday I am pleased to announce that Goalmouth Scramble is now on Twitter. After playing around with some usernames, and finding out @GoalmouthScramble was unfortunately too long to be accepted, I settled on @6YardScramble. However, if anyone thinks of another username we can use, don't hesitate to get in touch.

 

I'll be tweeting everything you might expect to find on the blog, albeit in 140 characters or less. At present we have one follower, so get following!

 

If there's any changes to the Twitter name, or anything else else on our new found social media platform, it'll be posted on our dedicated Twitter page that can be found on the left of the screen.

The scramble continues...

Dear readers,

 

Sorry for the severe lack of posts lately. Well, I say lately.. 2 years is a long time, especially in the ever changing world of football. My blogging has had to take a back seat for the time being, with my time more wisely devoted to studying for my degree.

 

But... I'm pleased to announce Goalmouth Scramble is back in business at long last!

 

Over the summer, the main aim is to get the blog back on track, bringing you news and views from the tail end of the 2012/2013 season, summer transfers and pre-season friendlies and tournaments.

 

In addition, I hope to make a few changes to the blog and its running.

 

If anyone has any ideas, suggestions or improvements please don't hesitate to contact me.

 

But for now, here's a general outline of initial ideas...

 

- An official Goalmouth Scramble twitter account

- Another writer contributing to the blog

- A weekly round up of the world football news

 

We're just in time to start discussing the Football League Play-Offs, Chelsea's recent European triumph and the recent announcement from David Beckham regarding his retirement from football.

 

Watch this space!

 

 

P.S - You didn't really think we'd forget to mention Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement did you? We'll be paying tribute to the outgoing Manchester United boss in our own special way in the very first post since our return!

 

Iain Turner scores first goal for Preston!

A player scoring his first goal for his new club is not really front page headlines. But when that player is in fact a goalkeeper scoring from his own penalty area, its a different story..

Take a look at this video:

Turner collected the ball and immediately kicked it up field, expecting it to be picked up by another Preston player. However it was not picked up by anyone; the ball bounced straight over the on rushing Stuart Nelson in the County goal and trickled into the net.

And if his hands are as good as his goalscoring prowess, he'll become a Preston favourite!



They scored how many....?!

After Manchester United's 8-2 defeat of Arsenal yesterday, I think it is well worth a look back at some of the biggest winning margins in the history of the Premier League.

Manchester United 9-0 Ipswich Town 1995

Ipswich had avoided slumping into the 1st Division by the narrowest margin the previous season, while Manchester United were defending champions. The first meeting between the two teams that season had shockingly ended in a 3-2 win for the Tractor Boys at Portman Road. But the meeting on the 4th of March was to be a one sided affair.

Andy Cole scored five goals, a Premier League record since equalled, a brace from Mark Hughes and single goals from Paul Ince and Roy Keane secured the record Premier League win for Manchester United, and an unwanted record that remains with Ipswich Town, now plying their trade in the Championship.

Ipswich keeper Craig Forrest was tormented by United on another occasion; a 7-1 defeat dealt to his new club West Ham United 6 years later.

Tottenham 9-1 Wigan 2009

Most of the readers of this blog will remember this Wigan annihilation at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. Jermaine Defoe bagged 5 goals in the game that saw Tottenham's biggest win in the top flight and the biggest since 1977's defeat of Bristol Rovers.

Goals from Peter Crouch, Aaron Lennon, David Bentley and Niko Kranjcar sealed the win.

Chelsea 8-0 Wigan 2010

Already Wigan had conceded 9 at Tottenham in the 2009/2010 season (above). But this time they were away at soon to be champions Chelsea who needed a win to stop the title making its way to Old Trafford for the fourth consecutive season.

The title decider, not for the first time, came down to the last game of the season with the challengers needing a victory at home. Nicolas Anelka opened the scoring on just 6 minutes, with goals from Frank Lampard and Salomon Kalou arguably sealing the win. Anelka scored again before Didier Drogba stole the show with a second half hatrick. Ashley Cole scored in the final seconds to make sure the title was definitely coming back to Stamford Bridge. 

It remains the biggest win in Chelsea's history.

Newcastle United 8-0 Sheffield Wednesday 1999

This was legendary manager Sir Bobby Robson's first game in charge of Newcastle United who were lying in 19th position in the Premier League after a poor start, a place where the Toon Army didn't want to remain for much longer.

They took on 20th place Sheffield Wednesday at St James' Park, in what was thought to produce a close game, obviously Newcastle hadn't read the script.

Aaron Hughes put the ball in Wednesday's net after just 11 minutes, and then it quickly became the Alan Shearer show, with the Magpies legend and all time Premier League leading goalscorer firing in a hatrick just before half time. Kieron Dyer added to Newcastle's lead before Gary Speed fired in the 6th. But Alan Shearer was far from finished, scoring his 4th and 5th goals in the last ten minutes.

Sheffield Wednesday were relegated to the First Division at the end of the season along with Wimbledon and Watford. They had a goal difference of unsurprisingly -32 the second worst behind rock bottom Watford with -42.

Nottingham Forest 1-8 Manchester United 1999

The biggest defeat for a home side in the countdown.

Rock bottom Nottingham Forest hosted Manchester United at the City Ground on 6 February 1999. They were 31 points behind United going into the match, soon to be 34 when the 90 minutes were up.

Two braces from strike duo Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole had put United into a 4-1 lead. Yorke was replaced on 72 minutes to make way for Ole Gunnar Solskjær who fired in four more goals coming on 80', 88', 90' and 2 minutes into second half injury time.

The game produced two Premier League Records:

Most goals by a substitute: 4 - Ole Gunnar Solskjær

Highest goals to shots on target ratio: 90% - 9 goals from 10 shots

Chelsea 7-0 Stoke 2010

Salomon Kalou bagged a hatrick in this 7-0 defeat of Stoke at Stamford Bridge, with the other goals coming from Frank Lampard (2), Sturridge and Malouda.

5 goals came after Stoke's first choice goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen was taken off with a dislocated elbow, which may have been a huge factor in the number of goals his team conceded.

"They were far the better team, we were lucky to get nil. We had our pants pulled down and our backsides slapped"

- Stoke manager Tony Pulis in post match interviews

Arsenal 7-0 Everton 2005

Arsenal scored a magnificent Seven against Everton in this May 2005 clash at the old Highbury Stadium. Goals came courtesy of Robin Van Persie, Robert Pires (2), Patrick Viera, Edu, Dennis Bergkamp and Mathieu Flamini.

The win was the biggest so far in the reign of boss Arsene Wenger, and was the biggest Premiership defeat dealt to the Toffees who had already qualified for Europe.

Blackburn Rovers 7-0 Nottingham Forest 1995

Alan Shearer helped himself to a hatrick in defending champions Blackburn's thrashing of Nottingham Forest in this November 1995 clash at Ewood Park. A Lars Bohinen brace and goals from Graeme Le Saux and Mike Newell gave Blackburn the win.

Middlesbrough 8-1 Manchester City 2008

Sven's men slumped to an 8-1 defeat at the hands of Boro on the last day of the season. City were reduced to ten men after Richard Dunne hauled down TuncayAlves blasted home, then Downing added his second of the game.

Alves scored again to make it 4-0 to Boro, before goals from Adam Johnson, Fabio Rochemback and Jeremie Aliadiere. Elano hit a consolation for the visitors before Alves completed his hatrick, and the rout.

It proved to be former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson's last game in charge at Manchester City. He is currently managing Leicester City.

Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley 1997

A hatrick from Andy Cole, a brace from Ryan Giggs and goals from Paul Scholes and Karel Poborsky gave Manchester United the emphatic win over Barnsley.

Unsurprisingly; Barnsley's first season in the Premier League ended in relegation to the First Division. They have never achieved promotion to the top flight since.

Arsenal 7-0 Middlesbrough 2006

Thierry Henry equalled Arsenal legend Cliff Bastin's league goalscoring record of 150 in sublime style; scoring a hatrick in this demolition of Boro.

Other goals came courtesy of Phillipe Senderos, Robert Pires, Gilberto Silva and Alexander Hleb.

The win saw the Gunners equal their biggest Premier League victory.

This is by no means a complete list of the biggest winning margins; but the countdown includes the biggest wins by 9, 8 and 7 goal margins.

If the scoring continues through this season as it has this weekend, we might have to add to the countdown pretty soon!

Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal

After the blue half of Manchester had secured a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at White Hart Lane, it seemed that they had at last secured the back page headlines in Mondays papers. But, yet again Manchester United were out to surpass the achievement of their city rivals.

The scoreline of 8-2 usually crops up FA Cup games, where big spenders are pitted against the non league minnows, or in the extra preliminary rounds of European club competition. But not on this occasion; it was in fact Manchester United taking on Arsenal at Old Trafford.

Many in the footballing world would say that Arsenal are not the strong team they once were after losing club captain Cesc Fabregas and playmaker Samir Nasri to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively. However, the players Arsenal have in their ranks are world beaters on their day. This demolition at the hands of the current champions was totally unexpected, even to the most optimistic Manchester United fan.

Ashley Young's first half curler and either one of Wayne Rooney's free kick goals could easily receive a nomination for Goal of Month or perhaps Goal of the Season. Although the England striker has got a lot of work to do if he is to better his amazing acrobatics in last years Manchester derby.

All in all, a great day for all those associated with the red half of Manchester. But for Arsenal especially, it is a nightmare weekend they would want to forget quickly. Not only did Wojciech Szczesny concede 8 goals between the sticks, Arsenal finished a third game this season with 10 men.

"Of course you feel humiliated when you concede eight goals. It was a terrible day, I feel terribly painful about it"

- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger talking to the media at full time

As a neutral however, this was one of the most thrilling games you could watch; 10 goals, a  hatrick, a penalty save, a penalty converted and two free kicks David Beckham would have been proud of. The one group of people we must feel sorry for is those who opted to watch the Edinburgh derby between Hearts and Hibernian on another sports channel, a game of football is a game of football, but they missed out on an absolute corker!

If the rest of the season turns out as well as this, football fans are in for a treat!

Welcome

Welcome to Goalmouth Scramble, a place to discuss all the latest news in the footballing universe. Transfer news, great players, shocking kits, stunning goals and dodgy decisions.

You may notice the blog is very bare at the moment; I apologise for this as Goalmouth Scramble is currently just getting started here on Blogger and I haven't got used to all the features just yet!
There is so much more to come as the season continues, so please feel free to suggest anything.

You can contact me as editor at goalmouthscramble@gmail.com

Thanks for visiting, come back soon!