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Arsenal, fans, football, Legends, Premier league, preview

The London Football Awards 2018

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The London Football Awards are back for 2018, and they’re bigger than ever.

In its fourth year, the London Football Awards showcase the finest that the London-based clubs have to offer, in both men’s and ladies football. The likes of Ainslie Maitland-Niles, Wilfried Zaha and Mauricio Pochettino have been nominated from the men’s game, while Lionesses Jordan Nobbs, Fran Kirby and Danielle Carter are in the running for the prestigious Women’s Player of the Year award.

Last year’s London Football Awards were dominated by Champions Chelsea, with Kante and Conte bringing home the silver-ware and Chelsea legend Frank Lampard, awarded the Outstanding Contribution trophy. This year sees the dominance of the Blues and Tottenham Hotspur on the pitch, translate into a hatful of nominations.

The Premier League Player of the Year Award has three Spurs players vying for the honour, with Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha also in contention. Chelsea Ladies manager Emma Hayes is up for the Manager of the Year Award, after winning the Women’s Super League last season. Hayes has tough competition, with Mauricio Pochettino and Roy Hodgson also in line for the prize.

Legends from the present and past of the sport will be in attendance, and previous winners include Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Aaron Ramsey, Arsene Wenger and John Terry. There will be eight awards during the glitzy ceremony, hosted by BBC sports presenter Mark Chapman, and the spectacle promises to be a special night full of London’s footballing elite.

The London Football Awards raise funds for Willow, the only national charity providing fulfilling and unforgettable Special Days for seriously ill 16-40 year olds. Former Arsenal goalkeeper, Bob Wilson and his wife, Megs, founded Willow in memory of their daughter. So far, Willow has provided more than 14,500 special days for those that need it most. The organisation receives no government or Lottery funding, relying on the generosity from donations and amazing nights like this award ceremony.

The 2018 London Football Awards recognise the brilliance from the 13 London clubs; AFC Wimbledon, Arsenal, Barnet, Brentford, Charlton, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Millwall, QPR, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford and West Ham United. The awards range from PL Player, EFL Player and Young Player of the Year, through to Community Project of the Year.

Arsenal, Crystal Palace and England icon Ian Wright will be receiving the Outstanding Contribution to London Football award (Sponsored by Weston Homes) and will be in attendance to receive the trophy on the night.

Willow President and Arsenal legend Bob Wilson said, “Once again this season, football in London – in the Premier League, the Football League and the Women’s game – has been dramatic and exciting. The London Football Awards is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the skills of our nominees, which we have seen on the pitches of the capital over the last few months, as well as the amazing community work achieved by the clubs. I’m looking forward to catching up with lots of friends and colleagues at this year’s Awards on 1st March.”

Bob Wilson himself is on the judging panel, which is responsible for deciding the nominees and winners. The panel include luminaries such as former England strikers Tony Cottee and Martin Chivers, TV presenters Max Rushden and Jane Dougall, as well as journalists Sam Wallace and James Olley, and a host of other assorted people associated with the sport.

The London Football Awards 2018 guarantees a real spectacle for London’s footballing excellence, and they will be gathering on 1st March in the capital to find out who takes the honours.

Find out more at www.londonfootballawards.org

PL Player of the Year

(Sponsored by ToscaFund)

Cesar Azpilicueta – Chelsea

Christian Eriksen – Spurs

Harry Kane – Spurs

Heung-Min-Son – Spurs

Wilfried Zaha – Crystal Palace

Manager of the Year

(Sponsored by Football Manager)

Emma Hayes – Chelsea Ladies

Roy Hodgson – Crystal Palace

Slavisa Jokanovic – Fulham

Neil Harris – Millwall

Mauricio Pochettino – Spurs

EFL Player of the Yeat

Josh Clarke – Brentford

George Savile – Millwall

Romaine Sawyers – Brentford

Ryan Sessegnon – Fulham

Alex Smithies – Queens Park Rangers

Goalkeeper of the Year

Adrian – West Ham Utd

Daniel Bentley – Brentford

Thibaut Courtois – Chelsea

Heurelho Gomes – Watford

Hugo Lloris – Spurs

Womens Player of the Year

(Sponsored by Coutts)

Millie Bright – Chelsea Ladies

Danielle Carter – Arsenal

Katie Chapman – Chelsea

Fran Kirby – Chelsea

Jordan Nobbs – Arsenal

Young Player of the Year (Under-23)

(Sponsored by Zeus)

Andreas Christensen – Chelsea

Ainslie Maitland-Niles – Arsenal

Davinson Sanchez – Spurs

Ryan Sessegnon – Fulham

Harry Winks – Spurs

Community Project of the Year

(Sponsored by the FA)

AFC Wimbledon Foundation – AFC Wimbledon Women and Girls

Brentford Community Sports Trust – The Fearless Foundation’s Journalism Project

QPR in the Community Trust – #A Game4grenfell

All images credited to Action Images.

Written for The London Economic.

Arsenal, fans, football, Goonersphere, Legends, novella

The Museum of the Beautiful Game

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Originally posted on Goonersphere

The inauspicious entrance offers no clue as to the treasures that await inside. 

The unremarkable automatic double doors silently allow you passage, and then, as if the buidling itself is taking a deep breath, the atrium yawns open ahead of you. The huge open space gives all who enter a plethora of choices as to where they begin their path to footballing enlightenment, but in the centre is a statue of one player. 

Perhaps the beacon, the standard bearer from where all technical brilliance begins – Johan Cruyff.

As you marvel at the icon before you, a tour guide offers you and your party a tablet and a set of headphones, which give each person extra information on each spectacle they are about to enjoy.

Then, the member of staff tells you to make your choice for where to begin your journey.

From left to right, all hallways which branch off from this wide open space are clearly labelled:

Ajax

Johan  Cruyff

French national teams of the ’80’s and ’90’s.

AC Milan

Real Madrid European Cup winning teams

Manchester United of 1999

George Best

Lionel Messi

Barcelona 2006-2016

’70’s and ’80’s Liverpool

Brazil 1970

Pele and Maradona

Zinedine Zidane

Arsenal 

Dennis Bergkamp

There were more, and the pole which signposted all choices looked like a confused person attempting to point in the right direction.

You walk toward your choice, and the plain white doors open, and your eyes widen.

In each room, when you enter, all that greets you is the darkest black your eyes could comprehend. As the doors close behind you, a slight panic tingles its way up your spine, but the noise that breaks the silence sweeps any negativity away.

A cacophony of cheering fills the room, and then, you are instantly put into the stands as a football match unfolds around you. Thanks to hologram technology, the fans that have popped up to envelop you make you feel as if you were there, as some of the most iconic and memorable moments of football occur right in front of you.

This museum gives all fans the opportunity to witness first hand – or as close as possible – football that refreshes the child-like wonder that all supporters have. Moments in time that have lived on thanks to the passing of stories between fans of all generations.

Some things aren’t meant to be forgotten. Some things are meant to be held up on the highest pedestal, as propaganda of sorts – to ensure that the root of football lives on.

The sport has changed immeasurably since it began, and it is now dominated by currency, but every now and then, something happens on the pitch which transports all who witness it back to their happiest memories.

Whichever choice you make in this museum, all the moments you care to choose are the finest, unblemished slices of the sport. Michel Platini bringing glory back to France. Jairzinho, Tostao and Pele in 1970 destroying their opposition with ingenuity. Ruud Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkaard reinventing not only AC Milan, but Dutch football. Dennis Bergkamp scoring his hat-trick Vs Leicester, and his World Cup goal Vs Argentina. 

So many instances where your breath gets caught in transit, as you first look on in wonder, and then query how it happened.

The control of the ball as it falls from the heavens, only for it to be put on an invisible leash by men that took the sport to the higher echelons.

Whilst the museum is built as an opportunity for all fans to enjoy what are pure, undiluted examples of the sport we all adore – it is also a tribute to the men who keep football alive. Modern day footballers who aspire to entertain like their heroes who they idolise.

So, take your seat in the holographic stand, as the hairs stand to attention on your arms, like they too want to catch a glimpse of what is about to unfold.

Thierry Henry and Robert Pires are about to kick off…..