Stuff for you to Read. Maybe some football Stuff.

So into the deep end at Euro 2012 we go. Not a goal-less game to speak of, despite the vain attempts of Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland (I get the feeling three 0-0s would’ve suited him just grand). Greece have provided the shock of the tournament so far. Now where and when did we hear that before? Any hopes of a reprisal will surely come to nothing against a far superior Germany side. The Germans will be well aware of the potential for upset, given the Euro 2004 miracle. There will be absolutely no complacency I can assure you of that.

On a similar note, Roy Hodgson will be ensuring there will be no slouching and patting on the back going on in the England camp. His side have done pretty well so far, although I don’t buy into this myth that England have over-achieved to get this far. The side is ranked sixth in the world, and is the fourth highest ranked European team. By that logic, the semi-finals are about par. The England football team is either amazing or awful it seems. Realistically, with sensible management and an ability to shut out the media’s over-expectant nature, they can compete with the best in the world. They cannot expect to win tournaments. But with a bit of luck it is possible.

The Italians will be no easy pickings. Time and time again, they have ground their way to the latter stages of tournaments. The 2006 World Cup victory is proof of that. Andrea Pirlo will be drawing on all his experience to drag this comparatively limited Italy side that one step closer to glory. My money will be on a penalty shoot-out, before England’s legendary generous nature kicks in and they end up flying themselves home. I would love to see Balotelli slot home the winning penalty. He will turn from the darling of the English press to an assassin overnight.

In other news, I’m starting to miss the Premier League. It’s startlingly not long to go!

Rounding Up Some Choice Recent Events.

A second home defeat in three days for Manchester City has given the rest of the Premier League, particularly Tottenham, some hope. Are the Eastlands rabble in crisis? Compared to their flying start to the season, you could say yes. But using a shred of good sense and perspective the answer would have to be a resounding no.

In the post-match inquest, Mancini looked rather flustered and animated when faced with the glare of BBC cameras. Perhaps he is trying to live up to higher boardroom expectations than my own expectations of his side. I am not sure any club that is three points clear of the pack in January, having not won a title since 1968, should be under too much pressure.

'But they spent all that money' the naysayers will cry. Well the last time I checked, money didn't guarantee success, it doesn't guarantee luck, and it certainly doesn't guarantee a tight-knit squad of players willing to walk on coals for each other. If anything, Mancini should have had the guts to make a few less big-money marquee signings and more high-energy players that could punch above their weight. I'm thinking along the lines of Scott Parker. Of course, having learnt from his bench-warming experiences at Chelsea that would be a terrible career move for him and he would always have been back-up to the immovable Yaya Toure, but a couple more back-up characters of his ilk, particularly in defence would have seen Man City turn in a more competitive display than they did against Liverpool. Instead, the loss of Silva, Kompany and the Toures turned them into a soulless husk of a side.

The lack of atmosphere at Eastlands can hardly have helped. I know its only the Carling Cup but if you've spent the money to take your place in the stands then a few upbeat chants to try and get the team moving surely can't be too much to ask. In turn, Liverpool had a game plan that worked to perfection. With Andy Carroll the lone striker upfront they were never going to outscore City in an open free-flowing game. So they kept things tight, correctly guessed that City's slow buildup would play into their hands, and they take a crucial advantage back to Anfield.

In a week of Cup comebacks, Thierry Henry and Paul Scholes made winning (but not entirely successful in Scholes' case) returns to their once adoring fanbases. Henry rolled back the years to send Arsenal through to round four with a splendid finish.

Paul Scholes was a strange one. Having not seen the match live, or its build-up, I was stunned to hear a work colleague later talking about the ginger maestro being at fault for the second City goal. 'That's a bit harsh', I thought. 'He's only a coach.' As it turns out, until the end of the season he is not only a coach. As a money-saving favour to Fergie and the Glazers, this should somewhat abate the calls for Wesley Sneijder to be brought to Old Trafford dead or alive, at least until the summer.

Speaking of rumoured transfers that will probably wait until the summer, Newcastle's Demba Ba is a busy man. Not only is he trying to fire Senegal to African Nations glory, he is the current subject of a frenzied auction, with the asking price being whatever figure Harry Redknapp dreams up next. Honestly, does the Spurs manager have nothing better to do? As his outspoken approaches for the likes of Cahill and Samba have since proven, no he does not.

As for Ba himself, well he seems happy enough until the summer, despite his professed interest in a potential move to PSG. Mike Ashley (I won't pretend Pardew has anything to do with contracts or transfers) will have to get his skates on to get a new contract tied up. Even if this only delays a transfer by six months, the asking price would at least be ramped up to one more reflecting of his ability.

And that my friends, is that.

Is There Such A Thing As Too Much Football?

There are times in a football supporter’s life where he (or she, you won’t catch me in a Gray/Key-esque scenario) when you think, is there simply too much of it?

Don’t jump down my throat just yet. Let me lay my cards on the table.

Fast forward to August 2012. The new season is about to start. We have just seen England and Ireland both eliminated in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals. An Irish nation consoles. An English nation weeps and the FA vows to never employ another Italian/Swede.

Redknapp/Pearce/Allardyce is appointed, and the general public is told to “watch this space” for 2014.

Meanwhile, the GB Olympic team has also fallen valiantly short of a medal, with a penalty shoot-out defeat against Germany. The creativity-shy and passion-filled performances are viewed with great encouragement for the future.

One or two of the Olympic team’s better players enjoy a mountain of pressure ahead of the new season. The whole country waits with baited breath for the new season to burst out of the blocks, and cheer their tortured souls.

But hang on a minute. All the Europeans are knackered. Only Fernando Torres looks on the ball, as he didn’t get a kick for Spain in the Euros. David Silva fails to reproduce his Premier League and Euro-winning form, and he is proclaimed “finished” and “past his peak” by our glorious experts.

I’m sure we can all envisage such a scenario. Such saturation of football will undoubtedly fill our summers with joy, but part of the game’s beauty, like that of life itself, is the moments of calm, of taking stock, or simply speculating on which aged star your lower league team is looking to take on board.

Instead, expect little-to-no transfer activity until late July, as every scout crowds the stadiums of Poland and Ukraine, not to mention the Olympics. Rest assured, every spend-thrift chairman (so that’s all of them then) will be hoping to snap up an up-and-coming sensation.

I anticipate a lot of disappointed fans at several clubs, as they hear the old “we tried to get players in, but with all the scouts present it was impossible to get a look in” line trotted out around the different boardrooms. Most chairmen don’t need any help looking for excuses not to spend money.

So to answer my question – is there too much football? After such a cynical few paragraphs you might expect the answer to be a resounding yes, but let’s face it, the amusement at watching all this chaos unfold is just another one of those tiny things that make football great.

A Brief Summary Of Recent Footballing Events

So with exams out of the way at last, I am happy to be back in the blogging saddle. You will be happy to know that I am not about to try and sum up everything sporty that has happened in the last month. Hell, it would take me at least one page to explain Blackburn’s situation.

With the table beginning to take shape, the strugglers preparing their life-boats, and the chairman fondling their triggers, it is not going to be a happy Christmas for everyone in football.

Most surprisingly of all we find Owen Coyle on the wrong end of some criticism. I’m not going to defend his record this season. 13 defeats in 16 games is not good enough by anyone’s standards, and his Bolton side lie five points adrift of safety. Sadly, it looks like he may be nearly out of time.

Since that thrashing at the hands of Stoke in last season’s cup semi-final, the Trotters have been displaying relegation form. The same form that Burnley were stuck in prior to Coyle’s departure for Bolton.

I look at the team and don’t see any real quality. The best players from last season – Jack Wilshere and Johan Elmander, have either gone back to their parent club, or been let go altogether. Some have not stepped up to the plate to fill the gap.

Before the weekend’s fixtures I got the welcome news that Blackburn supporters were finally ceasing their series of protests against their team’s manager Steve Kean.

While I am not exactly his strongest advocate, it surely goes without saying that endless demonstrations against how the team is being run cannot help performances on the pitch. At the time of writing, a 2-1 home defeat to West Brom had just been confirmed, so maybe the protesters will rear their ugly heads again over Christmas.

With the two Manchester clubs dropping into the Europa League, continental competition will take on a strange feel – not to mention Stoke’s absurd tie against Valencia. I’d say this draw alone is Tony Pulis’s proudest moment in management.

With Stoke moving up to eighth in the Premier League table this weekend you could hardly argue for an adverse effect on their performances. I for one cannot wait to see Valencia’s centre backs trying to cope with a Rory Delap special.

London clubs are also finally enjoying the upper hand briefly, at least in European terms. However, do not be surprised to see AC Milan and Napoli eliminate English interest before the last eight. Milan will surely have too much for Arsenal, while Chelsea will hope their new found defensive solidity carries forward to February, as Napoli have some deadly weapons up front.

Consider this a dipping the toes back into the ocean, and some more substantial musings will be winging their way to you shortly.

Northern Ireland 3-1 Norway (Women's Euro 2013 Group Three Qualifier)

By Gerry Walton

Northern Ireland women pulled off a massive upset, beating Norway 3-1 in a hard-fought Group Three encounter at Mourneview Park, Lurgan.

The hosts were outplayed from the start by their Norwegian opponents, but went in at the break 2-0 up, with Kirsty McGuiness scoring after 17 minutes, and Ashley Hutton doubling the lead after 44 minutes.

Norway got back into the game with a 60^th minute goal by Isabell Herlovsen, before Northern Ireland wrapped up the three points in the 74^th minute through Rachel Furness.

Catherine O’Hagan was sent off late on for Northern Ireland after a high challenge, but they held out for a valuable three points in their quest for Euro 2013 qualification.

Around 300 fans were in attendance to see the Northern Irish, ranked 64^th in the world, take on the former European champions, who are ranked 12^th, and the side were fired up from the start with some fiery challenges.

Norway were dominant in possession, but not creating much, when Northern Ireland took the lead on the counter attack in the 17^th minute.

Left-winger Kirsty McGuiness struck a heavily-deflected left foot shot which wrong-footed Ingrid Hjelmseth in the Norwegian goal.

In response, Norway upped the tempo and intensity, forcing several corners and one fantastic point-blank save from goalkeeper Emma Higgins after an Ingvild Isaksen shot.

Despite this, Northern Ireland made it 2-0 a minute before the break with their only attack since the first goal.

Centre-back Ashley Hutton headed in at the back post from a Kirsty McGuiness corner, leaving Northern Ireland manager Alfie Wylie with an undoubtedly easy team talk.

In the second half, Norway resumed their assault on the Northern Irish goal, with some good passing and movement.

However, Norway lacked a cutting edge, with some wayward finishing on show. Marita Lund shot wide from close range.

The corners began to mount up for Norway, with Northern Ireland happy to sit back.

On the hour mark, Norway halved the deficit, with Isabell Herlovsen finishing low into the right-hand corner.

Norway’s passing got increasingly more loose as they tried to chase the game, with keeper Hjelmseth’s clearances giving Northern Ireland an occasional platform to attack.

Despite Norway’s attempts to level the scores, forward Rachel Furness made the game safe for Northern Ireland in the 74^th minute with a close-range effort after her first shot was blocked.

In the 88^th minute, Catherine O’Hagan was sent off for a second bookable offence after a high challenge, leaving Northern Ireland down to 10 men.

However, it was too late for Norway to take advantage, as Northern Ireland leapfrogged them into third place, ahead of their trip to Hungary on Wednesday.

Ashley's Last Chance Blown

Somewhere a rather overweight man is rubbing his hands in delight at the international break. Not only will Mike Ashley be ardently cheering on his beloved England tonight as they take on Spain, but watching his controversial Newcastle stadium name-changing scheme slowly slip from the headlines.

He is a very smart man. Newcastle do not play again at the so-called ‘Sports Direct Arena’ until December against Chelsea. He is banking on the fact that any anger will have long burnt out by then. I for one am not so sure this will happen.

There is every chance that the unbridled optimism of Newcastle’s start to the season will be snuffed out by a couple of sound beatings at the hands of the two Manchester clubs. This would lead to a touch of negativity returning, and what better excuse to protest at Mike Ashley than this latest fiasco.

His henchman, Derek Llambias, claims that the Magpies stand to earn up to £10m a year through selling their stadium naming rights. He claims that because the fans wanted a new striker the club are forced into this situation of a stadium name change.

This would fly in the face of the recent financial figures. The club announced a £4.7m loss for the 2010-11 season, with a profit expected for the current year. This is better than many clubs, yet why do Newcastle, operating in a one-club city, with 52 thousand seats in their stadium, need to resort to changing this stadium’s name for the relatively meagre sum of £10m?

Or could it perhaps be possible that Mike Ashley has no intention of actually selling the naming rights to St James’ Park, and that we will see the Sports Direct name become a more permanent fixture. After all, his chain of sports shops are now benefiting from some free advertising. He has already demonstrated his lack of understanding of the rich heritage and local feeling that the club represents, so could he just be taking the loyal support for a ride?

Don’t get me wrong, this has nothing to do with the club’s performance on the pitch. I am actually in favour of his current transfer policy, as Alan Pardew seems to be able to work wonders on such a tight budget, and as long as Graham Carr remains chief scout, there is absolutely nothing to worry about on the playing side.

I only regret the fact that Mike Ashley seems to have an unrivalled ability to shoot down any budding optimism in the region. He did it with Keegan, turning what could have been a glorious second coming into the damp squib of reality. He did it with Shearer, totally ignoring the club legend who wished to rescue Newcastle from Championship oblivion. He did it probably most inexplicably with Hughton, who was stabilising the club in its first year back in the big time.

Through sheer luck more than anything else, Ashley has landed on his feet with Pardew, yet by plastering his own brand over the St James’ name, he risks losing the 12^th man that has carried Newcastle over the line on so many occasions already this season. The Toon Army will always sing for the team. They are even beginning to sing for Pardew. But this latest stunt has ensured that Mike Ashley will never ever hear his own name sung in the Gallowgate. At least, not in the way he would prefer.