Never Mind The Bollocks

"Yes, I WILL be doing this every week."

Close season transfer speculation/gossip/bullshit, for me, reached its zenith in the (probably balmy) summer of 1996. When my peers and I were young enough not to know better and had yet to be infected by pessimism, especially as England had come desperately close to their first final of my lifetime until that ultimate of bastards Andreas Moller snatched away the dream in a way only a bastard of German heritage can.

Hold Honda Your Hats

Japan are in danger of becoming the World Cup’s surprise package. A sterner test than those that preceded their progress to the last 16 awaits in the form of Paraguay this afternoon, but after a team performance against Denmark that had all and sundry salivating, Japan are right to feel fearless.

Japan have become fixtures at FIFA’s four-yearly showpiece since they first qualified for the competition in 1998, before which the team’s only achievements of note were an Asian Cup triumph in 1992 and an Olympic bronze medal in 1968.