Lateral Thinking...

With Quiz Night V on the horizon (Thursday, 21st June at 8:00pm in the Mossley AFC Social Club), now is as good a time as any to bone up on your general knowledge in preparation for whatever questions may come your way.

On the other hand you could get into mental shape by trying your hand at the following link instead:

The Impossible Quiz?

Please bear in mind though that I take no responsibility for the frustration it will undoubtedly cause and the valuable minutes of your free time that will be eaten up as you have " just one more go."

O Canada!

To the ordinary football supporter the summer in a year that ends with an odd number is the stuff that nightmares are made of – a full month and a bit without seeing anybody kick a ball around in an organised game. Nearly three if it’s a meaningful match that you crave.

Whilst some fans slowly count the days till the whole thing kicks off in earnest once again, others look elsewhere in the world for a fix and Mossley80 is no exception as we're keeping a close eye on FC Toronto's first season in the MLS.

Your respose of "Why?" is an extremely good question so let me answer it this way:
  1. It's football.
  2. Canadian relatives.
  3. Any side that has Danny Dichio leading their attack needs all the support it can get.
  4. They haven't adopted a ludicrous name like the LA Galaxy, the New York Red Bulls or the laughable, on so many levels, Real Salt Lake.
  5. They actually sell chip butties at the ground on match day. Something that many clubs in this country can't even muster.
Apart from the fact they play in red I can't see any downside to lending them my support other than the fact that I won't be attending many games. Still, that's the norm for teams that play in that particular primary colour isn't it...

So far they haven't been ripping up trees in their inaugral campaign and currently lie sixth out of seven in the Eastern division. A situation that wasn't helped by them scoring a whopping total of 0 goals in their first four games. Fortunately for the team and supporters, Dichio managed to break that duck in their fifth game at home to Chicago Fire. Unfortunately for the stewards and anyone hoping for the match to finish on time, it coincided with 'free cushion' day...

More news of Toronto's progress (or lack of it) in a future update.

"In The Summertime..."

Whilst pondering the question as to whether or not last seasons on field exploits could have been any worse, the end of the 2006/07 campaign also threw up another conundrum - what to do with a blog about a football team who won’t be playing for the best part of three months?

After initially toying with the idea of doing a season review (and quickly coming to the conclusion that living it once was bad enough) I've decided to keep the blog ticking over for the summer by bringing you a few things from elsewhere on the world wide web; clips and links that may help pass the odd minute or two until Mossley v2007.08 take to the sun baked earth of Seel Park and once again do battle with our highly regarded peers. And Woodley and Curzon too.

Not all of the stuff that’s posted will be football related but it will hopefully amuse or at the very least be a pleasant diversion whilst the clocks slowly tick towards the new season. I will give advance warning though if any of the videos or links offered up for your perusal should only be viewed by people with strong constitutions and not those who are very easily offended or at work!

With all that preamble out of the way it’s on to the inaugural selection: two and a bit minutes of footballers hilariously being hit in the groin...

At this point I'd like to say that no-one featured in any of these clips was severely injured. Probably.

On a related note you might want to check out this clip from the Curzon Ashton - Squires Gate game in March. Whilst Wayne Cahill 'hitting the post' is undoubtedly the reason why the M.E.N. posted the video on the web, the real highlight is the refusal of Curzon's PA announcer to show the slightest bit of sympathy. As Cahill lies there having his testicles retracted from his body with the aid of a torch and an ice cream scoop, Mr Announcer presses on with the clubs official goal celebrations, no matter how inappropriate it may be...

Till next time. Complaints not withstanding...