The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #108

The Last 'Team GB'
The 11 Players That Made Up The Last Great Britain Team Ever To Take To A Field

1. John Swannell (Hendon)
2. Paul Fuschillo (Wycombe)
3. Bill Currie (Albion)
4. Ted Powell (Wycombe) (captain)
5. Derek Gamblin (Leatherhead)
6. John Payne (Enfield)
7. Roger Day (Slough)
8. Rod Haider (Hendon)
9. Peter Hardcastle (Skelmersdale)
10. Ken Gray (Enfield)
11. Joe Adams (Slough)

The above team played and were beaten by Bulgaria in an Olympic qualifying match in 1971, hoping to reach the final tournament in Munich a year later.

Premier League Trivia

Some nuggets of interesting and not-so-interesting trivia relating to Premier League teams so far this season...

Arsenal are yet to lose this season in the 19 games they've played in the Premier League, League Cup and Champions League.

Aston Villa, though ninth in the Premier League table, are yet to win away from home this season.

Birmingham City have failed to score in five of their twelve Premier League games so far.

Blackburn Rovers have lost only one game all season and are still unbeaten away from home.

Bolton Wanderers have won just one of their twelve Premier League games so far, at home to Reading in August.

Chelsea remain unbeaten at home in the league after five matches and have conceded just two goals - both against Birmingham City in their first game of the season.

Derby have won just one game all season and are yet to win or score away from home. Their only win in the Premier League came at home to Newcastle in September.

Everton have drawn only one Premier League game all season - against Blackburn in August.

Fulham are yet to win a league game away from home all season, scoring only four goals in five games.

Liverpool have conceded only six Premier League goals all season - the joint best defence along with Manchester United's.

Manchester City have won all seven of their home games in the league this season - five them by a 1-0 scoreline.

Manchester United remain unbeaten at home in the Premier League and have conceded only one goal there all season.

Middlesbrough have won just two games out of twelve in the Premier League thus far and have lost five out of six away from home.

Newcastle United are yet to play an away game in London in the Premier League this season.

Portsmouth are on a run of seven consecutive unbeaten games in the Premier League and are second only to Arsenal in terms of goals scored.

Starting with their loss to Sunderland on September 15th, Reading are currently alternating between winning and losing games in the Premier League.

Sunderland's last Premier League win was that same 2-1 win over Reading on September 15th.

Tottenham Hotspur have won just one game all season (at home to Derby in August) and have conceded on average two goals in all Premier League matches.

West Ham United have managed to score more than one goal only once in their last six Premier League games.

Wigan Athletic have won just two games all season - both within the first three games of the Premier League campaign.

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #28

Barmy Armies:
14 Weird and Wonderfully-Named Fantasy Premier League Teams

1. Dyslexia Untied
2. They Stole My Peas
3. Sheffield Thursday
4. Who R Ya! Who R Ya!
5. The Jackson Pollocks
6. Sporting Lesbian
7. Borussia Hairbach
8. Borussia Teeth
9. Rod Hull Roofing Ltd
10. Debbie Does Gallas
11. L.A Dairy Milk
12. Mike Hunt's Itching
13. Dynamo Chicken Kiev
14. Winnie the Pooh FC

Seen any funny Fantasy League team names yourself? Tell us what they are by leaving a comment!

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #16

New football federations on the block
15 Most Recent Countries To Form a Football Association / Federation

1. Georgia (1990)
2. Anguillla (1990)
3. Moldova (1990)
4. South Africa (1991)
5. Ukraine (1991)
6. Armenia (1992)
7. Azerbaijan (1992)
8. Turkmenistan (1992)
9. Kyrgyzstan (1992)
10. US Virgin Islands (1992)
11. Slovakia (1993)
12. Andorra (1994)
13. Montserrat (1994)
14. Turks and Caicos Islands (1996)
15. Timor-Leste (2002)

* Source: FIFA.com

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #9

Better known as...
17 Nicknames of Football Teams From Around the World

1. Kartoffelkäfer (Potato beetles) - Alemania Aachen, Germany
2. La Dea (The Goddess) - Atalanta, Italy
3. Los Colchoneros (The Mattress Makers) - Atletico Madrid, Spain
4. Galo (The Rooster) - Atlético Mineiro, Brazil
5. Mussi Volanti (Flying Donkeys) - Chievo, Italy
6. Estrela Solitária (The Lonely Star) - Botafogo, Brazil
7. Die Alte Dame (The Old Lady) - Hertha Berlin, Germany
8. Il Biscione (The Big Grass Snake) - Inter, Italy
9. The Brazilians - Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa
10. Rayados (The Striped Gang) - Monterrey, Mexico
11. Los Leprosos (The Lepers) - Newell's Old Boys, Argentina
12. Crociati (Cross bearers) - Parma, Italy
13. Canallas (Scoundrels) - Rosario Central, Argentina
14. Myaso (The Meat) - Spartak Moscow, Russia
15. Matsatsantsa (The Swanky Boys) - Supersport United, South Africa
16. Los Ches (The Bats) - Valencia, Spain
17. El Submarino Amarillo (The Yellow Submarine) - Villareal, Spain

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #7

Bottom at the top
20 Teams Who Are Currently Bottom of the Top League in Different Countries Around the World

1. Ittihad Tanger (Morocco)
2. Factor (Slovenia)
3. Vlazrimi (Macedonia)
4. Zamtel (Zambia)
5. Slovacko (Czech Republic)
6. Universidad (Honduras)
7. Shahdag Samur (Azerbaijan)
8. Cwmbran Town (Wales)
9. Vikingur Reykjavik (Iceland)
10. Tanta (Egypt)
11. Al-Khaleej (Saudi Arabia)
12. Beira Mar (Portugal)
13. Eden Stars (Barbados)
14. FC 32 Mamer (Luxembourg)
15. Cayon (St. Kitts and Nevis)
16. Liaoning Guangyuan (Singapore)
17. Ascoli (Italy)
18. Portuguesa (Venezuela)
19. Tot (Thailand)
20. Schaffhausen (Switzerland)

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #4

Mauving on up...
12 Football Teams From Around the World That Wear Purple, Mauve or Violet Shirts When Playing At Home

1. Arges Pitesti (Romania)
2. Defensor Sporting (Uruguay)
3. Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica)
4. Fiorentina (Italy)
5. Fovu Baham (Cameroon)
6. Germinal Beerschot (Belgium)
7. Hakoah Ramat Gan (Israel)
8. NK Pula (Croatia)
9. Perth Glory (Australia)
10. Provincial Electricity (Thailand)
11. Real Potosi (Bolivia)
12. Sanfrecce Hiroshima (Japan)

The Basque Country: A Short History Lesson

The Basque Country is a paradox whichever way you look at it. It's landscape so plain yet somehow beautifully inspiring, it's people so warm and friendly yet fiercely determined in their struggle for independence. A country that doesn't exist in the eyes of the international community yet populated by people from two countries that do.

The Basque Country is indeed an enigma, but not by choice. Covering an area of approximately 42,000 square kilometres of southern France and northern Spain, its identity and culture have been suppressed by years of ignorance on the part of the French and Spanish governments. Their refusal to grant the Basques full independence shows a lack of understanding of who they are and where they've come from.



The history books show that Basque tribes came to prominence long before Roman times and as their settlements converged, they formed a community which today numbers over three million people.

But any ambitions they may have held to fly the red, white and green flag over their land were soon extinguished. The marauding armies of the French Revolution in the north and a series of civil wars in the south left the Basque Country in disarray.


The Ikurriña (Basque flag)

It meant that towns like Biarritz and Bayonne were swallowed up into the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region of France and Bilbao and San Sebastian were consumed by the Biscay region of Spain.

The identity, language and spirit of the Basque people were stifled into a shadow of their former selves. Their future, you might think, looked bleak. Their history and development may have appeared to be all but over, yet the Basque Country is still very much alive and kicking to this day.

The Basques are more determined than ever to hold onto their heritage and their place in modern society is certainly assured thanks to their people who have excelled in art, culture and sports - none more so than in the game of football.

So many recognisable names from today's game come from the Basque Country. Xabi Alonso (Liverpool), Ivan Campo (Bolton), Asier del Horno (Valencia) and Mikel Arteta (Everton) are all Basques. Look further into the past and more great names come to light: Luis Arconada, Joseba Etxeberría, Bixente Lizarazu, Gaizka Mendieta, Andoni Zubizarreta... the list goes on.

Some of the world's best-known clubs are also from the Basque Country. Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Alavés are all regular participants in La Liga with Atheletic Bilbao employing a Basque-only player selection process out of choice.

And the Basque Country isn't without its own national team either. The Euskadi XI has played matches since 1915 and even played in the Mexican League (which they won in 1939) but it's only been since 1979 that they've had more regular outings against opposition from around the world. In their last game back in May 2006, the Basques played hosts to John Toshack's Wales team, losing in the end to a solitary Ryan Giggs goal despite being technically the superior side.

It's therefore such a shame that we fail to see the Basque Country playing in the European Championships or the World Cup alongside the other great teams we've come to admire. They deserve the chance to show us who they are as one people, not as a nation split forcibly into two. By being strong and staying true to their cause, the Basques have shown they have the character needed to thrive in the game of football and beyond.

Sven for a day...

by Smart

Quite simple (this topic, not Sven) - click here to visit the BBC website and select your England team.

For the purpose of this exercise we will assume everyone listed will be fit. You know who I'm talking about...

Also, you can select any formation you like. Sven, however, loves his 4-4-2.

Heres my team :

Robinson

G.Neville ---------Terry (c)-------- Carragher ----------A.Cole

Carrick

Beckham ------------J.Cole

Lamppost

Rooney ------------------------Owen