Sound Of Football Extra! Football Disaster Movie: An Onion Bag Christmas Podcast.

The Sound Of Football is delighted to present to you Football Disaster Movie: An Onion Bag Christmas Podcast.

Burt "Two Phones" Anderson is a top transfer newshound for Sky Sports. On the night before Christmas he discovers that his only reliable source of insider information (the mysterious crackpot scientist Dr Julius Limbani) has dried up and is predicting the end of the World... of Football that is.

Determined to find out the truth, Burt seeks out Limbani and uncovers a terrifying (and hopefully very funny) chain of events that could lead to catastrophe...

The podcast is written by the Sound Of Football's very own Terry Duffelen & Graham Sibley from The Onion Bag and features their own vocal "talents". The narrator is Chris Oakley our resident anchor from Some People Are On The Pitch. The podcast also features some very special guests.

The music and sound effects were obtained from the good people of Partners In Rhyme and PacDV Free Sound Effects.

You can listen or download the podcast here. Alternatively, if you subscribe to the Sound Of Football, then it will be appearing in your reader of choice 'ere long.

We hope you enjoy the production and would be grateful for any feedback you can give in the comments section below. Please be aware that this podcast does contain the odd naughty word or three.

The Sound Of Football Podcast will return on Monday.

Premier League Preview Podcast

Ladies and gentlemen, these are exciting times.

At this very moment, the Olympic football tournament is enthralling a worldwide audience in Beijing, China. Throughout Europe, qualification games for the Champions League and UEFA Cup are already sorting the men from the boys as the quest for continental domination starts its long and arduous journey. And across Britain, domestic football is exploding back into life with the start of the new Championship, League 1, League 2, Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League campaigns.

Yet for all that, one football competition par excellence remains dormant, waiting for this Saturday to arrive. Then, and only then, at the stroke of 12.45 pm BST will the referee blow his whistle to herald the start of the match between Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion and, more importantly, the 2008/09 Premier League season as a whole.

The wait is almost over. Millions of fans around the world will finally put an end to their wonderings over who will thrive, who will score, who will be relegated and who will earn the right to become the next big footballing superstar.

Yet you, yes YOU, currently find yourself unprepared, uninformed and uninspired with only hours to go before the big kick-off.

Go on - admit it… you do, don't you?

Well worry no more. Help is at hand in the form of a wonderful podcast that's been lovingly crafted by Duffman and Sp3ktor, two members of the SPAOTP writing team who, by way of a proper day job, run our excellent sister site, The Onion Bag.

Together, they've researched all the close-season news stories, studied the form books and generally ignored The Sun to collate the ultimate preview to the new Premier League season, just for you, our valued and rather well turned-out guests.

So download their brilliant new podcast, listen attentively and enjoy. We defy you to be disappointed.

The SPAOTP shop - Open for business!

Just a quick word in your shell-likes to let you know that from today Some People Are On The Pitch has its very own online shop selling all manner of football-related merchandise!

SPAOTP Stuff is your new place to go to for t-shirts, mugs, umbrellas... you name it, we've got it. Actually, let's correct that slightly - if we haven't got it, we soon will have because as the weeks go by, we'll be adding more and more items to our store so make sure you visit often to see what's new in our shop window.

And here's the good bit - if there's something you'd like us to sell which we haven't got, like a wooly hat with the words 'Ronaldo Is God' emblazoned on the front, just let us know and we'll get that sorted out for you. Just email us at info [at] spaotp [dot] com and we'll do the rest.

Finally, a quick plug for an equivalent service being provided by our sister site, The Onion Bag. They're veritable veterans at this 'online shop' malarkey, so feel free to take a look at what they've got too. You won't be disappointed.

Euro 2008: 17 days to go...

As part of our attempt to bring you a veritable smorgasbord of stuff to prepare you for the Euro 2008 Finals next month, today we bring you a selection of super sites to get you in the mood quicker than Lewis Hamilton riding a rocket-powered cheetah.

Firstly, we bring you a website which could have been the older sibling of SPAOTP that was separated from us at birth but which we've now been reunited with in a teary and emotional manner. That site is called 'The Onion Bag' and I make no apologies for giving it star billing here as two of the men behind it, Duffman and Sp3ktor, have recently joined the SPAOTP writing pool which until recently consisted of... well, just me, actually.

Now is a very good time to go and visit The Onion Bag as only yesterday they celebrated their fifth birthday - a tremendous achievement in blogging terms and all the more remarkable given the high standard of frankly silly but nonetheless amusing material they produce. If you like football stripped of all its self-consciousness and left to gawp embarassed at its own naked reflection in the mirror, The Onion Bag will give you what you want by the shed-load.

Oh and by the way - they've got heaps of Euro 2008 stuff too, including a handy facility to help you decide who to support this summer if you're English and a special edition of their Fantasy Football Agent game. Go pay them a visit - they'll love you for it and you'll love them back in return.

Elsewhere, if you want to read lots of great stuff about the history of the European Championships along with some incisive guides to this year's tournament, you need Twohundredpercent. As ever, it's the place to go for a regularly updated supply of writing on all aspects of the game, but with Euro 2008 looming menacingly on the horizon you won't be surprised to hear that it's being covered comprehensively too. Check it out...

Finally a special mention to my good friend, The Gaffer, who's back back back after a long spell of illness to continue the excellent work over at EPLTalk.com. He and his merry band of writers do a sterling job covering the full nine yards of world football on a daily basis - not just the Premier League as their URL suggests - and they also have a bulletin board, regular podcasts and a shop from which to buy lots of wonderful merchandise too. Their build-up to Euro 2008 is already underway, so why not drop by and see what's happening there?

Don't forget - other blogsites are available, so if we've left you out, please don't take it personally. If you'd like a mention though, drop us a line to info[at]spaotp[dot]com telling us what your site is doing in the lead up to the European Championships and all being well, we'll point people in your direction.

And that's it for now. More Euro 2008 news coming soon - in the meantime, mark your calendars: there's only 17 days to go 'til the action gets underway...

Midweek TV Preview: April 28th - May 1st

Explanatory note: As a service to Tactics Truck readers, we put a quick preview of the televised senior matches available in the UK, one for the weekend and another for the midweek games. This is something we shall continue until the end of the season.

Readers from outside Blighty may find this piece of curiosity value only as some of these games will not be available overseas (legally).

(All times - UK)

Monday 19:45 - West Brom v Southampton, Championship, Sky Sports 1
If West Brom win, they are promoted to the Premier League with a game to spare. If Southampton win, they will move out of the bottom three at Leicester's expense. Sky will probably be hoping for an away win to maximise the hoopla for next Sunday.

Monday 20:00 - Derby County v Arsenal, Premier League, Setanta Sports 1
Nothing to play for and nothing to see really. Setanta will have paid big money for this strand of EPL fixtures but Sky's strategy of putting Championship games up against them has paid off this week. Away win.

Tuesday 19:45 - Manchester Utd v Barcelona, UEFA Champions League Semi-final 2nd Leg, ITV4 & ITV1
The first of two mouth-watering ties. United are favorites but must be rattled following the shenanigans of the weekend. Time for their big players to pull big performances out of the bag. Could be a classic.

Wednesday 19:45 - Chelsea v Liverpool, UEFA Champions League Semi-final 2nd Leg, Sky Sports 2 & Sky Sports HD2
As James Richardson might say "woof!" It's impossible to predict the outcome this game. However, Chelsea have their mojo working and have the home advantage. Also, you can't help but feel that Avram Grant is due a seriously large dose of Karma from the cosmos given the grief he's put up with over the last few weeks and months. Go on then, home win.

Thursday 17:30 - Zenit v Bayern Munich, UEFA Cup Semi-final 2nd Leg, ITV4
Finally some hot German action on terrestrial TV. This should be a cracking game. Bayern may well have had the Bundesliga title confirmed by kick-off at St Petersburg and will be desperate to restate their European credentials by earning a place in the final. However, the Russian champions have been really good throughout this arduous UEFA Cup campaign (much of which has taken place in their close season) and will be determined opponents. I still fancy Bayern to make it to Manchester.

Thursday 19:45 - Exeter v Torquay, Blue Square Premier Play-off, Semi-final 1st Leg,Setanta Sports 1
This Devon derby is a big game in the English west-country at any stage of the season. With a return to the Football League at stake, the atmosphere should be cracking at St James Park.

Thursday 19:45 - Fiorentina v Rangers, UEFA Cup Semi-final 2nd Leg, ITV4 (19:30-22:00) ITV1 (19:30-22:00 STV region only)
Rangers have developed an effective counter-attacking style that suits them in European competition. Fiorentina are in the box seat for that Champions League spot in Serie A but are being badgered by Milan and Samp. It is possible that their domestic excursions will cost them. This is another tie that's too close to call. Either way, Rangers fans will not need their passports for the rest of the tournament after this game.

SPAOTP Status Report

Friends, nomads, people who have strayed onto this site after typing the words 'Kenneth Wolstenholme' into Google...

I have something painfully honest to tell you. As your genial host of Some People Are On The Pitch for some time now, I've felt fulfilled, happy and useful all the while I've been serving you, my fine audience.

For a long time it's been a great source of pride for me that I (along with my former co-blogger, Smart) have produced such a regular supply of articles for you to read, despite the fact that their quality or relevance has probably been called into question on more than one occasion.

Sadly, however, the regularity with which those self same articles have been published recently has fallen, and for that reason I feel I owe you an apology. I'd also like to briefly tell you why SPAOTP hasn't been so bountiful in its reading content lately.

Firstly, my life as the father of a 21-month-old daughter has grown increasingly busier as she's grown older, and the result of this has been a reduction in the time I've had to research, write and put together new articles. Not good when you originally started out giving your visitors a new item to read every day, or at worst every other day.

Then there was the undoubted impact that Smart's recent departure had on SPAOTP. It was always reassuring to know that if there were days when I couldn't think of anything to write about or didn't have the time, Smart would chip in to fill the gap and ensure you had something decent to read in my absence.

I also spared you my presence not so long ago when I endured a brief spell of illness and took a hastily-arranged holiday to recharge my proverbial batteries. Unavoidable, perhaps, but as sole proprietor of this humble blog site, it was always going to leave you tapping your watch and wondering when the next article was going to come along.

All of which led me to arrive at a difficult decision in the last couple of weeks - that it would be best to bring Some People Are On The Pitch to an end while I've still got some credibility left.

The thing is, I'm not actually here to announce the end of Some People Are On The Pitch. With an unerring sense of fortuity, I had the great good fortune to run into a couple of people a couple of nights ago who I'm sure will prove to be this blogsite's saviours.

A few week's back, Terry and Graham, better known as Duffman and Sp3ktor (you may have seen their comments on some of my posts) got in touch and asked if I'd like to meet up with them for a drink as a way of saying hello and doing that rarest of things - meeting someone else who runs a blog site in person.

Duffman and Sp3ktor are two of the men behind the incredibly successful website The Onion Bag. When I met them, they were charming, incredibly complimentary of SPAOTP and seemingly shocked at my decision to shut it down within the next few weeks. What ensued was a discussion which led them to make the kindest of offers - to produce articles for Some People Are On The Pitch which, prior to now, have been a part of their two similarly excellent blog sites - Bundesbag and The Tactics Truck.

In so doing, they said I'd be relieved of the pressure to produce regular posts on my own and would in turn ensure the popularity of SPAOTP would continue for a little while longer.

Knowing what a tremendous job they've done of putting together their fantastic collection of websites, I could hardly refuse. It therefore gives me great pleasure to inform you that thanks to the amazing decency and kindness of Duffman and Spkctor, Some People Are On The Pitch remains very much open for business. I've absolutely no doubt that you'll enjoy their writing and be thoroughly amused by their contributions to our site, so please welcome them on board and thank them for giving SPAOTP a lifeline just when it was needed most.

With thanks to them and all of you,
Chris O.