League of Blogs 2013 Update + Prize + Sticker Books

There's only days left to book your place in the League of Blogs 2013!

This year's entries have so far been outstanding and the response has been great, with some familiar faces from 2012 alongside a whole host of new entries.

Don't forget there's also a fantastic prize on offer for the design we choose as our favourite. Worcester Subbuteo (@WRP7) have kindly offered to create the winning entry in a hand painted Subbuteo figure!

The Greatest England Home Kit Ever 1965-2013

So now we know. The new England home kit by Nike has been launched and whether we like it or not, we're stuck with it for a whole year. It can now take it's place alongside all the other England home kits from recent history where it can be judged on its merits and flaws...

...and that's why we're here - to determine the Greatest England Home Kit Since 1965. You'll have seen our recent posts reflecting on the high and low points of England home kit design, but now it's time for all of you to rate the very best outfit of the last 48 years.

What's the Worst Thing about Modern Football? - Round 2

Wow! What can we say other than WOW! The response to this has been absolutely fantastic!!!

The work continues however...we may have shed the likes of 'Modern Day MOTD' and 'The Second Commentator', but still in contention are the likes of 'Half and Half Scarves' and 'Ticket Prices'.

Round 2 has been split into 8 groups of 3 and this time, you can only choose 1 thing...that will leave us nicely with 8 things left for the 1/4 final straight knockout...wait a minute, this whole thing has turned into the same format as the Champions League!!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!

How to Vote:

You can vote for only 1 choice in each group.
At the end of the round, the winner from each group will go through to the 1/4 Finals.

Voting for Round 2 closes at 23:59 on Sunday 26th May 2013

Go Go Go!

Lion comic t-shirt ad, 1972

It's the gift that every football-loving child of the early 1970's wanted - a t-shirt featuring the face of Kevin Keegan with a black eye. And yours for only 92p!

Panini: Euro Football 79

My failing memory doesn't recall Panini's Euro Football 79 being on sale in the UK when I was a kid. If that's the case, it's an almighty shame because this, for me, was one of the best Panini sticker collections ever made.

It's not just the variety and quality of the stickers inside the album that elevate it to such a celebrated plain, but the simplicity and logic of its structure. In basic terms, the album was split into three parts, one for each of the European club competitions that existed back then. Within each of those parts were five sub-sections containing a Roll of Honour, pictures from the previous season's Final, the fixtures for the upcoming season (1978/79), the teams involved in them and the players to look out for. Nothing more, nothing less... and it was all the better for it.

Retro Round-Up - 17 May 2013

After the relentless parade of FA Cup articles we brought you last week on The Football Attic, this week's been a little quieter for us post-wise, but fortunately there are lots of other like-minded folk on the interweb that have been doing their bit for the football nostalgia cause. Here's a selection of the best we could find for your viewing pleasure.

Hull City's tumultuous promotion campaign this season prompts The Two Unfortunates to remember a similarly successful time for The Tigers back in 1965/66 - read about it here...

Double Diamond works wonders - even for under-age kids! (Well it does if the double diamond in question belongs to Umbro, according to Got, Not Got...)

The Worst of Modern Football Vote - Round 1

What's the Worst Thing about Modern Football?

A while ago we asked for your thoughts on the worst aspects of modern football...and you responded with full on vitriol!

We've ended up with 48 excellent suggestions and as with the Greatest Shirt Sponsor Ever, we're gonna run it as a knockout tournament...only this time, the first round will be a World Cup like Group Stage.

How to Vote:

You can vote for 2 choices in each group.
At the end of the round, the Top 2 from each group will go through to Round 2.

Voting for Round 1 closes at 23:59 on Sunday 19th May 2013

Get in!

The FA Cup Winner's Parade - Coventry 87

We're not quite done here in the Attic with FA Cup Week. Although the final may be over and the victors handed the cup, there's still one piece of FA Cup folklore to be examined...the winner's open top bus parade!

To this end, rather than blather on about buses and all things topless (you wouldn't believe what google throws up for that!), I thought I'd just share with you my own pictures from the day after that glorious day back in 1987, when the mighty Sky Blues showed off their well deserved silverware on a slightly overcast and rainy Sunday...

So...here they are...apologies for the ropey pics, but they were taken by the 12 year old me on a 110 camera (look it up) in a rather large crowd.

Spurs fans, look away now ;-)

The Unofficial FA Cup Championship

If any of you are aware of the Unofficial World Football Championships, you'll know about the simple unadulterated joy of considering a 'World Cup' where the reigning champions are decided on a match-to-match basis. You'll also be aware of the fact that seemingly any team can snatch the unofficial world title at any time, so long as they overcome the current holders at exactly their most vulnerable point. (If you're not sure what we're on about, visit the UFWC website and find out how the project works - it'll be time well spent.)

Anyway, it was with that working model in mind that we decided to do something similar. We wanted to find out who the Unofficial FA Cup Champions have been since the FA Cup first started in 1871, and who's won it most often.

Clive - The 'Other' 1923 FA Cup Final Horse

The 1923 FA Cup Final is remembered for many things; it was the first final at the all new Empire Stadium at Wembley, 900 people were injured due to the over-capacity crowd, Bolton's second goal was given as, in the opinion of the ref, the ball had crossed the line and rebounded off a spectator (yeah, suck that one up, Hawkeye!). Finally, there was a Horse named Billie.

Crowd estimates for the day ranged between 150-300,000, despite the official figure being just over 126,000. Due to the large number of people, mounted police had to step in and at that point, Billie the grey horse (yes, he wasn't white afterall) took centre stage, herding the masses in a manner which would now be referred to as 'bossing it'.

Due to the prominent role he played, the final became known as the White Horse Final and in 2005, the footbridge near the new Wembley would be named after him after a public vote.

It could all have been so different, however!