Photo: Thomas Hautmann / FOX Soccer

By Thomas Hautmann

The trip to London couldn’t have started any better. I succeeded in getting about two and a half hours of sleep on the flight, which is pretty much a minor miracle when you consider I sat only three seats away from an ominously wide-eyed baby girl who seemed ready to burst into tears at any second. Next there was no wait at the border patrol, and then I was startled to find my suitcase already waiting for me at baggage claim, which never ever happens.

A colleague of mine arrived on the next flight, so we cabbed it together to our hotel in Trafalgar Square. Besides finding constant amusement in the fact we were driving on the other side of the road, we were thoroughly entertained by our cabbie, Warren. While he gave us a “free” tour of all the famous London spots on the way, he also tells us, upon my asking, that he is a huge Millwall supporter and used to get into fights pretty much after every game. No really, straight out of Green Street Hooligans.

Newcastle treats new signings to some home cooking

After seemingly signing an entire French outfit during the transfer window, Newcastle United now has an incredible 14 French-speaking players on their squad. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the club has undergone some changes, starting with la cuisine. The club decided to welcome its new patrons with a full French menu in a cafeteria decked out in French flags.

Not sure how the rest of the players feel about this, but they’re in the minority now so…c’est la vie!

Picture courtesy of NU player @Sammy_Ameobi (non French)

11

Sep

“Goals are like ketchup.”

An unusually philosophical Keisuke Honda commented on his recent goal drought after Japan edged Iraq in a World Cup qualifier today. He told reporters, “goals are like ketchup. Sometimes it doesn’t come out of the bottle and sometimes it squirts all over the place.”

Who knew?