Soccer Equipment Guide

In the last two decades, reaching the quarter-finals was seen as something of a failure for the England national team. The World Cup 2014, however, has shown that those teams fared much better than people gave them credit for. After all, it was largely a disallowed goal that prevented England from reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup 2010. This time, though, there is no such controversy.

The players and Roy Hodgson will need to take a hard look at themselves after England suffered a second consecutive group stage defeat. The 2-1 defeat against Uruguay has not put them out of the tournament just yet, but England now need a miracle in order to reach the last 16 stage. Unsurprisingly, the latest World Cup betting odds suggest that England are 50/2 to be the top European team in this World Cup.

The situation faced by England is quite a contrast to that faced by Spain. The world champions have been knocked out of the competition in the group stages after suffering two heavy defeats against Netherlands and Chile. This should not come as a major surprise despite having seen Spain dominate for the last six years.

Spain failed to reinvigorate the team at just the right stage. The warning signs were there during qualification and in the Confederations Cup. Yet, Vicente del Bosque largely stuck with the same group of players and this includes strikers like Fernando Torres and David Villa. Of course, he did bring in Diego Costa, but the 25-year-old is a physical player not suited to the passing style of the Spanish team.

Rather than bring in the new blood, Spain stuck with the likes of Xavi and Xabi Alonso to get them towards success as they have done in the past. Iker Casillas was also named as the first choice goalkeeper despite his failure to feature regularly for Real Madrid.

In contrast, England decided to go in for youth. Roy Hodgson named a squad that contained just six players over the age of 30. The likes of Ashley Cole and Michael Carrick were surprise omissions, as the former Liverpool manager decided to go in for the youth of Luke Shaw and Ross Barkley respectively. This could have been one of the reasons for England’s failure at the World Cup 2014.

The major reason, though, comes from Roy Hodgson’s stubbornness to not even consider John Terry as a possible option. Terry retired from international football after falling out with the English FA. However, there were slight indications – despite Terry’s public statements – that the 33-year-old could have been persuaded to return. Terry is a player who wears the national team colours with intense pride.

In his absence, Cahill and Jagielka never looked comfortable with each other. Their indecisiveness eventually spread to the rest of the team, as they chased an equaliser against Uruguay. Despite getting the equaliser through Wayne Rooney, England remained nervous at the back. Suarez’ goal confirmed where the squad was left wanting – experience and leadership.

Hodgson made a grave mistake in not taking Terry and this has ultimately proven disastrous for England.

English Premier League is the most competitive league in Europe as well as in the whole world. All the matches are unpredictable here. There are several derby matches are scheduled in every season in the Premier League fixture. Beside the derby matches, there are many high profile matches are scheduled.

In Premier League, Manchester United will play against Liverpool; Tottenham will play against Arsenal; Chelsea will play against Arsenal; Manchester United will play against Manchester City; Arsenal will play against Manchester City; Liverpool will play against Manchester city. These are the remaining big matches of this season.

Southampton will host Liverpool in upcoming game week, is a big match for sure. In game week 29, Chelsea will host Tottenham. If anybody wants to get the tickets of these big matches, should collect the tickets at least one week before the match. Otherwise ticket might be sold out. Southampton vs Liverpool match tickets are already sold out. Chelsea’s most of the tickets are sold out. Only a few tickets against Tottenham are remains. If you want to buy Chelsea tickets, follow this http://hospitality.chelseafc.com/fixtures/

Chelsea’s match against Tottenham will be very exciting because it is a derby match. Chelsea is now the League leader and Tottenham is now in fifth position. Chelsea will fight to keep their first position. On the other hand, Tottenham will fight to get in top four so that they can play in UEFA Champions League in next season. In White Hart Lane, Chelsea vs Tottenham match was drawn by 1-1. This time the match is in Stamford Bridge where Chelsea is unbeaten under Jose Mourinho.

The Grand National is the most important and the priceless National Hunt Horse Race in the whole world. It is not only the most popular and well known to a lot of people who usually do not see or bet on the horse races but it is also one of the most controversial horse race which causes maximum injuries to the horses taking part in these races. It is similarly unsafe for the jockey who can also loose their life because of rigorous injuries they get during races.

The Grand National restricts the participation of the horses that are lesser than six years of age. This restriction is as it is a Grade 3 handicap chase (horses are made to run with loads carried on their backs). The race is for a distance of 7,242 m at Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool and is held in the month of April on Saturdays.

The very first Grand National was held in the year 1839 at Aintree and the horse which won the race was Lottery, as the name itself implies. Manifesto, the horse that ran the most as compared to other horses, also took part in eight renewals races, the event that was held in 1895-1904. The Grand National has formed a history after Lottery won this Racing event held back in 1839, at Aintree which was the initial race ever held. The Grand National has become one of the main sporting events of the UK with Grand National odds being widely available.

Aintree Racetrack is the worlds most famous, most popular and quite renowned and often spoken about, the John Smith’s Grand National. It is run over two trails covering 16 fences. They need to jump every fence excluding the two, that are The Chair and The Water jump. Aintree Grand National is one of the most scheduled days for gambling and risking on the horses taking part in the Grand National. The atmosphere and the enthusiasm of the people coming from the entire world is just unparalleled. For some it might be the first bet of their lives. Aintree racetrack is one of the toughest tracks with 16 steeplechase fences comprising The Chair, Canal Turn, Becher’s Book. The name itself creates shivers to the professional jockeys of the world. The Aintree Racecourse includesa Mildmay course which is comparatively smaller and contains hurdles and fences. There is one common fence called The Water Jump, which is a common fence in between the two courses, The National course and The Mildmay Course.

The first legal race is still a mystery that remains unsolved. People usually believe that the first race was held in 1836 and the Duke succeeded this race. Then during the First World War, Aintree racecourse remained closed for quite sometime and due to this Gatwick Racecourse was chosen to compete for the races. The race at the Aintree racecourse is the most thrilling incident for both, the millions of audience who come to watch the race and the experts that are the jockeys. You come to know wonderful stories of the horses and their jockeys’ who with all the brave attempts try to compete the races by jumping over every Aintree hedges. Foinavon, in 1967, was the only horse amongst other horses that could sensibly cross over the smallest hedge during the astonishing race.

Abd-El-Kader, was the very first duel winner for two successive years in 1850 and 1851, who won the race. In the year 1869, The Lamp grabbed the title of the winner and further managed to win after 3 years again. The father-son duo presented remarkably well, in 1999, and won the Grand National. Paul Carberry, the jockeyand Tommy Carberry who was a trainer helped Bobbyjo to victory. Before winning the National, it is compulsory for almost sixteen horses to pass the Grade1. The Grand National Horse Race is one of the most difficult races where several expert horse riders have failed to succeed the title. The Grand National Horse Race is the most awaited event where millions of people from all over the world wait in anticipation for the race where all well skilled horses with their professional jockeys take pride to take part in.

There’s a start of the year sale on UKSoccerShop, in which they offer up to 50% off some merchandise, including 12-13 jerseys for some major teams such as AC Milan, Inter Milan, Liverpool or Manchester United.

As soccer appeals to people of all ages the list of soccer memorabilia and merchandise is endless and grows daily. Some of the hot-selling soccer merchandise includes – Soccer Part Packs, Soccer Plates, Soccer Sling Bags, Soccer Necklaces, Soccer Magnets, Soccer Player Posters, Soccer Blankets, Soccer Napkins, Soccer Tablecloths, Soccer Flags, Soccer Whistles, Soccer Memo Pads, Soccer Metallic Bounce Balls, Soccer Stickers, Soccer Key Chains, Soccer Dog Tags, Soccer Visors, Soccer Caps, Soccer Mouse Pads, Soccer Stress Balls, Soccer Earrings, Soccer Paperweights and the biggest of World Cup 2010 Soccer Vuvuzelas.

Soccer fans are more vocal than those of any other game because so much happens so fast in such short moments of time. The game is constantly changing and fans love to comment and get loud while watching the game. This is probably the reason why the Vuvuzela was such a hit of World Cup 2010. Soccer is called the beautiful game and is undoubtedly the most widespread and popular sport across the world. Soccer fans are known to be almost fanatical and extreme buyers of soccer merchandise. The game and everything attached to it has a very strong pull for these fans.

The biggest soccer merchandise item is undoubtedly the jerseys. Every club has unique jersey designs and every world cup has the jersey designs for the countries changing, though the basic colors and elements stay the same. Fans always want the latest versions unless an older design has nostalgic value in the form of their country of favorite club having been winners at the time.

Soccer Merchandise is available at both official and unofficial sellers. For example if you want the exact same Vuvuzela that was used by the crowds in the World Cup you will of course have to source it from the official Vuvuzela company’s website. Other merchandise too is either sold from the official FIFA authorized outlets. The difference between the official merchandise sellers and the general sellers is most often the logos and the official emblems. True soccer lovers really only care about the game and most of the time it doesn’t matter to them if the FIFA logo or other official logos are present on the items they purchase. They just want soccer.

No other sport probably has so many themed items available as merchandise as soccer. It is proof that soccer is the most popular sport in the world. No matter what the colors are on the latest official soccer ball, the black and white soccer ball is forever the most recognizable symbol of soccer.

The best thing about soccer merchandise is that it is in demand at all times and all-round the year. The demand for soccer merchandise peaks phenomenally around the world cup and other major soccer events but show a soccer fan some soccer merchandise and see how tough it is for them to resist buying at least one item.

Even those who are not hard-core soccer fans find cannot resist the charms of the black and white ball. Any soccer merchandise item is sporty, young, energetic and youthful and makes a good gift almost at every occasion.

We all know that globally, soccer is the most favorite athletic activity. This is one of the sport events where people from a foreign nation cheer for another country to win. Soccer is so popular that it has become a trend in most countries to teach it to children who are in their early years of schooling. Another game that shares its popularity with soccer, though vastly different, is poker. Poker is even coined as the universal card game. These two have more things in common than you can possibly imagine.

First, there are worldwide competitions that cater to both. Soccer has a World Cup which happens every four years, and poker has the World Series of Poker where different nationalities compete to win a coveted championship title. These events have always been closely monitored by fans all over the world. Both forayed into virtual gaming; for soccer, video games like Football Manager, FIFA World Cup South Africa, Nintendo World Cup, Kick Off, Sega Soccer Slam, Sensible World of Soccer and World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International went live for audiences who want to take soccer into their living room. For poker, there’s always partycasino.com for your online gaming needs. One of the advantages of playing poker at partycasino.com is you’re not limited to traditional Texas Hold’em since there are nine video poker games for you to choose from. You can have your choice of Flamingo Poker, Jacks or Better, Joker Poker Deuces Wild, Jungle Rumble Draw Poker, Kooka Keno Poker, Mega Deuces Wild Poker, Mega Joker Poker, Multi Hand Jacks or Better and Tens or Better. You’ll never get bored with this variety of poker games; you may even try a different one for each day of the week.

Both soccer and poker involve strategy. In soccer and poker, you have to study your opponent and scrutinize every move they make so that you can act accordingly. Soccer players go from one position to another quickly on the field so that their opponent cannot predict what they’re up to, just like in poker where you have to maintain a nonchalant attitude so other players won’t know if you have a good or bad hand.

Victory depends on your tactics for both of these competitions. Soccer and poker players both must have great endurance. According to the sports website Balldigg.com, “Soccer players must have very good endurance in order to run short stretches at short intervals for 90 minutes or more in a game. Poker players on the other hand complain about the hardship of sitting at a poker table for 12 to 14 hours every day for a week during big poker tournaments, while at any time a tiny mistake can mean the end.” Soccer players and poker players, therefore, share the same disciplined way of living.

We’re all fans of both soccer and poker, and the good thing about admiring these two competitive games is we won’t have to sacrifice one for the other. There’s no one stopping us from playing both, so let’s enjoy the two of them for as long as we can.

Kitbag’s back with a bang in 2013 as they now offer up to 70% off their on-sale items! Not a bad offer at all!

Store: SportsShoes.com (click on it to use it)
Coupon: JFAPP1 (click on it to use it)
What It Does: Free standard UK delivery for new customers only (not to be used in conjunction with any other promotion).
(click on it to use it)
Valid Until: January 31st 2013

Store: UKSoccerShop (click on it to use it)
Coupon: FREEJAN13 (click on it to use it)
What It Does: Free shipping on all orders. Applies to both UK and international customers. Excludes football boots, baselayer products and football accessories. (click on it to use it)
Valid Until: Midnight Sunday, January 6th 2013 UK time

A bit sale just started on JD Sports in which prices go up to 50% down. It lasts while stocks last, so who knows?!

Happy new year!