Two decades have passed since Arsenal Football Club earned acclaim as ‘The Invincibles’ by completing a Premier League season without defeat. Many would envisage an avalanche of items for sale to commemorate this landmark. However, as reported by the Daily Mail last week, a hurdle emerged if they had indeed desired to capitalise on this anniversary. An individual purchased ‘The Invincibles’ brand rights for £30,000.
The purchaser? None other than Jens Lehmann, their goalkeeper during that undefeated season. The German is now the lawful holder of the brand, granting him the authority to limit its use, even by Arsenal. Currently engaging with three film companies regarding the creation of a documentary named ‘The Invincibles’, in addition to an anticipated international tour featuring past team members, Lehmann’s strategic move proves his sharp judgement.
QUOTATION
“If one has the competency, one has the deserving age.”
A singular persona, Clinton Morrison.
STATISTICS: 33
The tally of goals achieved by Sammie Szmodics for Blackburn this footballing year. Kudos is owed to his late Longford-based grandmother.
The Petit Revenge of Ryan Burge
Emerging as potentially the most trivially spiteful football tale of the season, here’s the summary: Ryan Burge served at numerous clubs throughout his professional stint. His duration at each typically brief, his two-year tenure with Port Vale was among the longest. Following a disagreement with the club, he left by mutual consent, and the passage of the subsequent decade appears not to have lessened his irritation.
Just a week following Port Vale’s demotion from League One, their major rivals, Stoke City’s fans were quite pleased. During a match against Cambridge United at their home ground Vale Park, an airplane bearing a banner poking fun at their plight flew overhead. The message read, “She stood there laughing – N40,” an allusion to Stoke’s rallying tune Delilah and a boisterous Stoke fan group, N40.
And the individual supposedly behind the aerial jibe? Burge, who posted on Facebook, “Just landed: Thank you to the Stoke City fans who compensated me for something I would have joyfully done at no cost. This is a memory I’ll treasure forever. The view from above only highlights the decrepitude of Fail Park even more. #inbreds”.
With theories circulating that Burge acquired his pilot’s license purely for the purpose of flying a contentious banner over Vale Park, one Port Vale enthusiast debunked this rumour. This supporter pointed out that the aircraft took flight from Blackpool, not Redhill as Burge had stated, and was a completely different hue from the one in Burge’s own photograph. So, it wasn’t quite believable, and had an air of ‘Baby Reindeer’ about it as the Vale fan stated.
In the world of football, Robbie Fowler revealed that he was in the dark about Arne Slot when Slot’s name appeared as a possible choice as the successor to Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. This pushed Fowler, like many others, to research Slot on Google.
Dutch Football critic, Suleyman Ozturk, criticised the England’s insular view and ignorance about Slot. He accepted that Liverpool fans may not know him, but he criticised football analysts for the same lack of knowledge and suggested they should be taken off-air.
Jurgen Klopp was vocally displeased with his team’s playing schedule, deeming the arrangement of Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday 12.30 as unacceptable. He humorously remarked that he was waiting for Amnesty International to intervene. However, Amnesty International gave a jovial response, saying they were a bit swamped at the moment and asked for a donation instead.
In a lighter vein, Antony has a personal photographer, confirmed by The Sun, who he hires to capture his best moments for his social media feeds, advertisements, and endorsements. This became evident when Antony scored against Burnley recently and was handed a plush Sonic The Hedgehog toy – his son’s favourite character – by the photographer before capturing a photo of Antony’s celebration.
The author wrote with a somewhat impolite tone, “No one knows if the photographer has even used a single film roll this season,” thereby revealing their age. Today, who still uses film rolls? “Through the entire football season, ‘The Hedgehog’ appeared to be hibernating,” they continued, emphasising that Antony hasn’t scored a goal in the league since April 2023. It’s possible that his son has outgrown Sonic by now.