So it’s a good time to give you a heads up about a new website that is about to launch which will bring you a scores and results service covering all of the major British and European leagues and tournaments, including the Premier League, English Football League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and the Champions League.

As well as following favourite domestic clubs in the Premier League and Championship, I also follow the trials and tribulations of my non-league hometown team, formerly Gravesend & Northfleet now known as Ebbsfleet, as well as favourite European teams of which I have personal favourites in each of the top European leagues.

These passive allegiances stem from my childhood when the only European football to be shown on British television was on Wednesday nights on the sadly missed Sportsnight programme.  My memories are full of exciting  European football matches when I was allowed to stay up way past my bedtime to watch great teams with world class players and cool looking football kits to match.

Johan Cruyff and Ajax, Franz Beckenbauer and Bayern Munich and wonderful sounding teams like Dukla Prague, Panathinaikos and Borussia Monchengladbach!

I recall Leeds United losing 1-0 in a ill-tempered game to AC Milan in the 1973 Cup Winners Cup final just four days after losing 1-0 to Sunderland in the FA Cup final; Nottm Forest beating the Swedish part-timeers Malmo in 1979 with a Trevor Francis header and retaining the European Cup by beating Hamburg in 1980; and West Ham losing to Anderlecht of Belgium in the 1976 Cup Winners Cup.

I remember the glory days of Saint Etienne in the French League and how Real Madrid played in a similar all-white kit to Leeds United (only to recently read that Don Revie changed the home kit to mimic the Spanish giants on becoming manager of Leeds United in 1961!).

I also have a passive favouritism for teams with cool kits, choosing Celtic over Rangers not for any political or religious reasons but because I thought green and whites hoops looked cooler than a regular blue shirt.  I also preferred the black & blue stripes of Inter Milan to the red & black stripes of AC Milan.
So even before European football was made available on satellite tv, my interest in football spread further than the English leagues.  The English Premier League is often cited by critics and players alike to currently be the best league in the world.  But I still lookout for scores and results from the Spanish La Liga and Italy’s Serie A.

The Football Scores website will be a great source for all this information and will also include international tournaments, such as the European Championships, international friendly matches, international qualifiers and the World Cup. The website is called FootballScores.com and it launches this month.

Hodgson left out the entire starting eleven players from the previous encounter against Manchester United; and when Liverpool went  ahead after only nine minutes, it looked like a good decision.  But when Northampton drew level in the second-half, and even more shocking, went ahead 2-1 in extra-time Roy Hodgson was probably wondering what was going on.

David Ngog appeared to save the day with an equaliser four minutes from the end of extra time to take the cup tie to penalties. Beforehand, both teams had chances cleared off the goal line to win the game.  But it was Northampton who went on to win on penalties 4-2.

Listening to football phone-ins after the match several callers suggested the Liverpool job was too big for Hodgson, a step too far and that he couldn’t cope with the pressure of expectation.  Maybe those fans don’t know the level of success Roy Hodgson has had in football management, and why he was targeted as a replacement for Rafa Benitez this summer.

As a player Roy Hodgson was on the books with Crystal Palace in the 1965-66 season but only ever played at non-league level, most notably for Gravesend & Northfleet (now Ebbsfleet United) between 1969-71.  But as a manager he has had success at club level in Sweden with Malmo, in Italy with Udinese and Inter Milan and in England with Fulham; though his time at Blackburn was less successful. Possibly his greatest managerial achievement was taking Switzerland to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup & qualifying for the Euro 96 finals.  Before then Switzerland hadn’t qualified for a major tournament since the 1960s.

There’s no denying the poor start Hodgson has made at Liverpool, who are currently 16th in the Premier League with five points from a possible 15, but things need to be considered here.  Firstly, Roy Hodgson has by and large inherited a squad from Rafa Benitez; and the squad is not that good.  Steven Gerrard, Pepe Reyna, Fernando Torres, Glen Johnson and possibly Martin Skrtel & Dirk Kuyt on their day aside, Liverpool are not a team with strength all over the pitch, let alone in depth.

The addition of Joe Cole is a step in the right direction but there is no way that Liverpool can continue to be considered one of the best sides in the Premiership, let alone a member of the so-called ‘Big Four’.  Past glories need to be forgotten and money needs to be made available to rebuild a depleted squad left in a worse state by Rafa Benitez than he inherited from Gerard Houllier.

Whether Roy Hodgson is the right man for the job or not, I believe Liverpool have got to be satisfied with a mid-table finish at best this season, and hope that new owners are put in place by next summer and money made available, not simply to buy new players but to reinvest in their academy to bring on a new generation of young players like Steven Gerrard & Jamie Carragher.

It’s the first time a website has taken over a football team and therefore courted much press. Well, now the Ebbsfleet United groundsman Peter Norton is getting some publicity of his own.

Beat the Weather, a song featuring Ebbsfleet United’s groundsman Peter Norton, reached number 21 yesterday on the iTunes dance chart yesterday.

Beat the Weather was released ahead of FA Trophy Final where Ebbsfleet United play Torquay on Saturday 10th May.

Beat the Weather is available to download on iTunes for 79p.

Ebbsfleet United reached the FA Trophy final after a second leg semi-final 1-1 draw with against Aldershot, winning 2-4 on aggregate.

Ebbsfleet United are on their way to Wembley for the first time in their history and will meet Torquay United in the final at Wembley Stadium on 10th May.

The MyFootballClub website has announced tickets will be priced at £25 with concessions at £12.50 (for under 16s and over 65’s).

A limited number of hospitality tickets are also available, which include a meal, drinks, a programme and a seat on the halfway line beneath the Royal Box. These tickets can be sold individually and to corporate guests who can buy tables that seat ten.

Hospitality tickets will be available on Monday 31st March at 9am. For more details email greg@eufc.co.uk.

The completion of the deal is the world’s first website-community takeover of a football club, and the first website-community takeover of any business.

Formerly known as Gravesend and Northfleet, over 28,250 MyFootballClub members have purchased a 75% stake in the Blue Square Premier (former Conference) non-league football club, based in Kent.

Ebbsfleet United are currently ninth in the Blue Square Premier League table, twelve points off the play-offs.

The vote will close in seven day’s time at 12.00pm on January 23rd, and the result of the vote will be published thereafter. If the majority of members approve of the deal then MyFootballClub Limited will become the 75 per cent majority owner of Ebbsfleet United Football Club subject only to a shareholder’s vote.

Ebbsfleet United are currently in eigth position in the Blue Square Premier League (Conference) three points off the play-off places.

Earlier in the season, I was happy to see Setanta advertising coverage of Non-League matches. They’d taken out adverts in the Non-League Paper and I think some reports appeared in local media around the more actively-followed clubs, like Cambridge.

It seems that they advertised games such as Altrincham vs Cambridge, Aldershot vs Exeter and Woking v Farsley, then chose to show Champions League or UEFA Cup matches instead at those times. The adverts said “fixtures correct at time of going to print” and gave no suggestion that Setanta might simply choose to show Euro matches instead. The full ruling is on the ASA web site.

Did you pay for Setanta to watch Blue Square Premier matches and then get only Eurofootball? Are Setanta any better than Sky? Does the cut-throat TV market mean that channels have to do this sort of thing to fans?

The team were using an assortment of old footballs and fixed goals which meant the pitch goal-mouths at the training ground were being worn out. Neither were ideal for a team pushing for professional league football status.

The two aluminum portable goals are the same make used by Chelsea, and the 20 footballs were brand new Unbro match balls.

The whole MyFootballClub.co.uk takeover has driven a real divide between those who believe its a good way of footballs fans taking control, a form of direct action, opposed to many critics who see it as a great idea in principle but something that cannot work in reality.

Well, if raising extra money in the form of voluntary donations from the website members to pay for much needed equipment in a staggering six hours is anything to go by, I think this is proof that the idea works in reality. Maybe the website should consider asking its members to make donations to buy Ronaldinho – I hear he’s ready for a move to England!

Ebbsfleet United changed their name before the start of this season from Gravesend & Northfleet, something that really annoyed me – see Who the **** are Ebbsfleet! I wonder if this new style of fan-base management would have allowed that to happen!

The deal is unique and has had many people wondering how it will work in reality. There are already over 20,000 paid-up website members that among other responsiblities will decide on team selection, who to buy and sell in the transfer market, staff and players wages, and ultimately if the manager gets the sack or not. Manager Liam Daish is a fan of the scheme, even though his new title will be head coach as a weekly poll on the website.

Furthermore, Ebbsfleet United’s chairman, Jason Botley told the BBC he was delighted.

“We are united in believing this is a great opportunity. This extra finance and support will enable our club to progress.”

Ebbsfleet are currently ninth in the Blue Square Premier, just six points off the play-offs, and a chance to play in the Football League for the first time in thier history.

MyFootballClub creator Will Brooks stated: “We hope that MyFootballClub members and Ebbsfleet supporters will join forces and make the football club more sustainable and successful.”

We have been following the MyFootballClub story for some time now, become members, and only too pleased members have decided to buy an English club, one I grew up supporting.

But who the **** thought it would be a good idea to change the name of my local football team?

Gravesend & Northfleet are a good conference league team with a colourful history. For the past few seasons they have been moving in the right direction and last year finished just outside the play-offs. This year they started the season as Ebbsfleet United, named after a train station NOT a place. How rubbish is that?

Ok, so Wimbledon changed their name to MK Dons when they moved to Milton Keynes; and who could argue if Manchester United were to change their name to Stretford United – that is where they are from! But a train station!?

Fans can still sing the slow chorus of “Come on you Fleeeeet!” but no longer the more upbeat “Come on Gravesend!”

As I am from Gravesend, I now feel this isn’t my local team anymore.

I wonder why the chairman, a young local businessman has allowed this to happen. Here’s a clue. This year the Ebbsfleet shirt sponsor is Eurostar!