Sport
Deadline Day – Worth the Hype?
In the end, transfer deadline day actually proved quite busy this year with Adam Johnson signing for Manchester City, Robbie Keane joining another of his boyhood clubs and my own team, West Ham, signing three strikers in a day. But for much of the time the day was looking like yet another damp squib with TV hosts and bloggers everywhere searching for even the smallest of deals to report on. It was during one of these quiet moments while running a deadline day “online chat” on my own website that I began to realise how silly it has all become.
What Makes a Sporting Event Memorable?
It was revealed by a Harris Interactive poll that the UK’s most memorable sporting moment was when Torvill and Dean skated their way to Winter Olympics gold in 1984. Bolero-tastic, it may have been, but the nation’s most memorable sporting moment?
Who Coaches the Coaches ?
Following my recent post on the National Football Centre, a serious issue is raised regarding the future development of English coaches. I would suggest that we have decent coaches and many young , enthusiastic coaches. I have observed them in Academies and club community schemes. I have also seen many cases of good practice at the grass roots level. Player centred coaches who crave further development but find the current system cumbersome and expensive.
Liverpool FC and Social Media
As Head of Content for Liverpool Football Club I obviously take a very keen interest in this subject and we’re obviously very proud of our success so far in the world of social media. We have put a lot of thought and invested a lot of time and effort into making the experience for our fans an enjoyable AND interactive one on both Facebook and Twitter and this is why we believe we are the most popular Premier League Club on BOTH sites.
The National Football Centre, St Georges Park – White Elephant?
The F.A. is of course bidding for a world cup and appears to have done a ‘U’ turn when they have had little interest since 2005. David Sheepshanks, has always been a supporter and the centre played a big part in his manifesto to become Chairman of the F.A. Time has seen Sir Trevor’s view change from skeptic to champion, he was not in favour when the project was mothballed. Having been one of the originators of the project and member of the National Football Centre Ltd Board and succeeding Howard Wilkinson as project leader I am of course delighted at this turnaround
The Return of a Champion
There are few people in Formula 1 who can command an audience quite like Michael Schumacher. The ‘launch’ of the Mercedes Grand Prix team in Stuttgart on Monday was proof that the seven-time former world champion can still create a stir amongst the international press corps, not least the British press for whom memories of Damon Hill’s mugging at Adelaide in 1994 still resonate strongly. But the return of Schumi to the F1 fold after a failed three-year attempt at retirement is a much needed boost for the sport after a year dogged by controversy.
The Facebook and Twitter Premier League
Premier League football fans are amongst some of the most dedicated in the sporting world, these fans are discussing their teams across the web on various message boards, blogs and social media platforms every day, but, how involved are our clubs in these discussions? Which teams have the largest following? And most importantly, which team is making the most of their presence?
The Name Game
If most football fans were asked if they’d like a multi-national company to pump £100m into their club they’d jump at the chance. Tell them that in return their historic ground, which has been home to their club for over 100 years, would have its name changed to reflect their new backers and suddenly the atmosphere would change….
