Simon Lloyd

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  • FootballJOE’s European Geography Quiz 2021

    FootballJOE’s European Geography Quiz 2021

    Geography nerds, your time has come If, like us, you’ve got a frankly ludicrous amount of largely meaningless football knowledge floating around inside your brains, you’ll welcome this – another opportunity to put it to good use. Alongside this week’s edition of the FootballJOE Pub Quiz, we’re testing you on geography as well as football. […]

    4 years ago

  • No, Ronaldo’s return is not justification to end English football’s 3pm blackout

    No, Ronaldo’s return is not justification to end English football’s 3pm blackout

    Ronaldo’s return not being televised has sparked calls for English football’s 3pm broadcast blackout rule to be revised, with some claiming it is dated and unfit for the modern game. This, though, ignores the most crucial point… On Saturday, the eyes of the football world – or a lot of it, at least – will […]

    4 years ago

  • Lionel Messi breaks down in tears after Argentina win

    Lionel Messi breaks down in tears after Argentina win

    Messi couldn’t hold back the tears on a special night in Buenos Aires We’ve seen an awful lot of pictures of Lionel Messi crying just lately. On Thursday night, a month after bidding a tearful farewell at the Camp Nou, he was at it again. The Barcelo Paris Saint-Germain forward had quite the night while on […]

    4 years ago

  • Jerome Boateng found guilty of assaulting ex-girlfriend

    Jerome Boateng found guilty of assaulting ex-girlfriend

    Boateng could have faced a prison sentence Former Bayern Munich and Germany defender Jerome Boateng has been found guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend. The 33-year-old had denied claims made by the mother of his twin daughters, known as Sherin S, that he had punched her in the face during an argument while the pair were […]

    4 years ago

  • UEFA threatens European and South American boycott of biennial World Cup

    UEFA threatens European and South American boycott of biennial World Cup

    Wenger’s proposal appears to have hit a major stumbling block FIFA’s hopes of pushing through plans for holding a World Cup every two years appear to have been dealt a significant blow, with UEFA president warning European and South American countries could choose to boycott the biennial tournament. Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, now FIFA’s […]

    4 years ago

  • Brazil FA urge FIFA to block national team stars playing in Premier League

    Brazil FA urge FIFA to block national team stars playing in Premier League

    As many as eight Brazilians could be missing for their Premier League clubs this weekend The Brazilian Football Association (CBF) have urged FIFA to enforce a five-day selection ban on the Premier League clubs that chose not to release Brazilian players for the current international break. If enforced, as many as eight Brazilian players would […]

    4 years ago

  • Marcus Rashford responds to claim Gavin Williamson confused him with Maro Itoje

    Marcus Rashford responds to claim Gavin Williamson confused him with Maro Itoje

    Williamson looks to have mistaken Rashford for a completely different person Marcus Rashford appears to have laughed off the suggestion Education Secretary Gavin Williamson mistook him for England rugby player Maro Itoje – a man who looks *absolutely nothing like him*. In a recent interview given to the Evening Standard‘s Susannah Butler, Williamson was asked […]

    4 years ago

  • Barcelona president Joan Laporta claims Super League is still alive

    Barcelona president Joan Laporta claims Super League is still alive

    Barca are refusing to give up on the Super League Deep down, if we’re really honest here, none of us really thought talk of a European Super League would disappear forever, did we? Nearly six months have passed since it emerged the owners of 12 of European football’s leading clubs* were plotting a lucrative breakaway […]

    4 years ago

  • FootballJOE’s Career Path Quiz: #5

    FootballJOE’s Career Path Quiz: #5

    You know the drill by now We give you five players’ careers represented by pictures of the clubs they played for. You type your answers in the table below and try and beat the five-minute limit we give you. We shouldn’t have to tell you now that only need the player’s surname to get the […]

    4 years ago

  • PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi delivers scathing attack on Super League clubs

    PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi delivers scathing attack on Super League clubs

    Al-Khelaifi was speaking for the first time in his new position as president of the European Club Association Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi has used his first appearance as president of the European Club Association to take aim at the 12 clubs behind the doomed European Super League. Premier League sides Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester […]

    4 years ago

  • Bruno Fernandes hints he played a part in Ronaldo’s Man Utd return

    Bruno Fernandes hints he played a part in Ronaldo’s Man Utd return

    Agent Bruno Well. It’s been quite the 24 hours, hasn’t it? After appearing to be perilously close to joining Manchester City, Cristiano Ronaldo is all but confirmed as a Manchester United player once again. The club he left in 2009 confirmed on Friday afternoon that they had reached an agreement with Juventus, and that a […]

    5 years ago

  • Man Utd make official Cristiano Ronaldo bid to Juventus

    Man Utd make official Cristiano Ronaldo bid to Juventus

    Ronaldo’s return is inching closer All of a sudden – and from absolutely nowhere – Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United return appears imminent. Despite appearing near-certain to join forces with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City on Thursday, things have taken a dramatic U-turn. After an intervention from Sir Alex Ferguson, the 36-year-old is now on course […]

    5 years ago

  • Man Utd moved for Cristiano Ronaldo after his conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson

    Man Utd moved for Cristiano Ronaldo after his conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson

    Ronaldo is coming back to Manchester We can scarcely believe we’re writing this but here goes: Cristiano Ronaldo looks set to imminently join Manchester United – not Manchester City. No, really. Despite appearing certain to seal a move to the Etihad on Thursday night, a drastic turn of events has now seen City pull out […]

    5 years ago

  • Rio Ferdinand’s cryptic tweet has Man Utd fans clinging to Ronaldo hope

    Rio Ferdinand’s cryptic tweet has Man Utd fans clinging to Ronaldo hope

    We can’t keep up Seriously, Rio. If this *isn’t* a tweet about Cristiano Ronaldo, now really is not the time. It’s been a brutal 48 hours or so for many a Manchester United fan. Cristiano Ronaldo, it seems, stands on the cusp of the unthinkable: a move to Manchester City. Their former number seven, after […]

    5 years ago

  • Paris Saint-Germain and FFP: How PSG can afford Messi, Neymar and more

    Paris Saint-Germain and FFP: How PSG can afford Messi, Neymar and more

    PSG have had a complicated history with FFP. Now, having added Messi to their payroll, more questions are being asked of the Qatar-owned club As Lionel Messi bid a tearful farewell to Barcelona, a desperate final attempt to sabotage his imminent arrival at Paris Saint-Germain was underway. Barca’s shambolic financial mismanagement had led to this […]

    5 years ago

  • Edinson Cavani could miss several Man Utd games if he goes on Uruguay duty

    Edinson Cavani could miss several Man Utd games if he goes on Uruguay duty

    Uruguay are expecting to have Cavani available, despite the recent Premier League restrictions In a week where, to put it lightly, quite a lot is going on in the world of football, the news that Edinson Cavani is the subject of a good old-fashioned club-versus-country tug of war might easily have been missed. The 34-year-old […]

    5 years ago

  • Champions League draw: Man City face PSG, Liverpool take on Atletico Madrid

    Champions League draw: Man City face PSG, Liverpool take on Atletico Madrid

    The draw for the 2021/22 Champions League groups stages is complete The four Premier League competing in this season’s Champions League have learned their opponents for the group stage following the draw in Istanbul. Manchester City were the first name out in the draw in Group A and were dealt the toughest draw of the […]

    5 years ago

  • FootballJOE’s Career Path Quiz: #4

    FootballJOE’s Career Path Quiz: #4

    Back by popular demand It’s been a hectic couple of weeks. Though we gave you a little taste of it in the second edition of the FootballJOE Pub Quiz, we’ve not – as many of you have pointed out – provided you with any new versions of our Career Path Quiz. For that, we apologise. […]

    5 years ago

  • UEFA confirm Lionel Messi no longer plays in a top five league

    UEFA confirm Lionel Messi no longer plays in a top five league

    Messi, in case you missed it, recently moved to a new club It’s official: Lionel Messi no longer plays in one of European football’s top five domestic leagues. Having bid a tearful farewell to Barcelona earlier this month, Messi is expected to make his debut for Paris Saint-Germain this weekend, when Mauricio Pochettino’s side take […]

    5 years ago

  • New report says thousands of migrant worker deaths in Qatar remain unexplained

    New report says thousands of migrant worker deaths in Qatar remain unexplained

    The FA have been urged to put pressure on FIFA to push for new reforms ahead of the Qatar World Cup A new report has highlighted how authorities in Qatar have failed to thoroughly investigate the deaths of thousands of migrant workers in the country over the past decade. In the Prime of their Lives, […]

    5 years ago

  • Michail Antonio reveals inspiration behind his cardboard cutout celebration

    Michail Antonio reveals inspiration behind his cardboard cutout celebration

    We think he might have the wrong film, but we won’t judge him As far as starts to the season go, things couldn’t have gone much better for Michail Antonio. Three goals to his name, his team sitting top of the Premier League and even a new record to his name for good measure. Antonio […]

    5 years ago

  • Mikel Arteta has until October to turn things around at Arsenal

    Mikel Arteta has until October to turn things around at Arsenal

    Two games. Two. Games. Okay, okay. We know it’s far too early in the season to be jumping to conclusions, but given all that’s gone on at Arsenal in recent years, you can completely understand why, after just two games, people are already tipping Mikel Arteta to be the first managerial casualty of the new […]

    5 years ago

  • The FootballJOE Pub Quiz: Week 2

    The FootballJOE Pub Quiz: Week 2

    Week 2 Football, you might have noticed, is very much back. I mean, technically, it never really went away, but isn’t it nice to bask in the warm glow of optimism that a new season brings? Perhaps not if you’re a Nottingham Forest fan, but still… Anyway, after our all-new FootballJOE Pub Quiz debuted last week, […]

    5 years ago

  • Solskjaer claims Fernandes was “definitely” fouled before Southampton goal

    Solskjaer claims Fernandes was “definitely” fouled before Southampton goal

    United were held on the south coast after falling behind in the first half After their emphatic start to the new season against Leeds last weekend, Manchester United had to settle for a point away to Southampton on Sunday afternoon after being held to a 1-1 draw. Mason Greenwood levelled for United early in the […]

    5 years ago

  • Steve Bruce admits lots of Newcastle United players have not been vaccinated

    Steve Bruce admits lots of Newcastle United players have not been vaccinated

    Despite Karl Darlow being hospitalised earlier in the summer, Newcastle players appear reluctant to be vaccinated Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has revealed “a lot” of his squad have yet to be vaccinated against Covid. Speaking ahead of his side’s first away game of the Premier League season, Bruce appeared to suggest “conspiracy theories” were […]

    5 years ago

  • ‘Alarm bells’ ringing over new football sponsorship pricing fans out of the game

    ‘Alarm bells’ ringing over new football sponsorship pricing fans out of the game

    Fan groups have been fiercely opposed to Socios, fearing the platform exploits supporters’ relationships with their teams When Inter Milan ended their iconic 26-year sponsorship with tyre manufacturer Pirelli and replaced them with a fan engagement platform called Socios, the decision was met with a mix of confusion and suspicion. An unknown entity to many, […]

    5 years ago

  • The FootballJOE Pub Quiz: Week 1

    The FootballJOE Pub Quiz: Week 1

    Hello By now, you’ve almost certainly stumbled across the now-legendary JOE Friday Pub Quiz. Well, consider this its slightly smaller, football-specific little brother. To mark the kick-off of a new season, we’re launching the FootballJOE Pub Quiz – to run every Monday from now on. We’ll give you five rounds of four questions. The first will […]

    5 years ago

  • FootballJOE Photoshop Challenge #6: Nuno Espirito Santo celebrates

    FootballJOE Photoshop Challenge #6: Nuno Espirito Santo celebrates

    History is made A momentous occasion, this. For the first time ever, we give you a FootballJOE Photoshop Challenge from the Greatest League In The World™. The Euros and Lionel Messi’s move to Paris Saint-Germain have already given us plenty of ammunition these past few weeks, but with a new domestic season up and running, […]

    5 years ago

  • Graeme Souness aims subtle dig at Paul Pogba after four assists

    Graeme Souness aims subtle dig at Paul Pogba after four assists

    Nature is healing Not taken long, has it? The first weekend of a new Premier League season is here, and *already* we have Graeme Souness making thinly veiled digs at Paul Pogba. Pogba was outstanding on Saturday, assisting four of Manchester United’s five goals as they hammered Leeds at Old Trafford. While the midfielder’s display […]

    5 years ago

  • Germany and Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller dies, aged 75

    Germany and Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller dies, aged 75

    RIP Der Bomber Legendary Bayern Munich and Germany striker Gerd Muller has passed away at the age of 75, the Bundesliga champions have confirmed. “Today the world of FC Bayern stands still,” a statement posted to Bayern’s website reads. “The German record champions and its entire fan base mourn Gerd Müller who died early Sunday […]

    5 years ago

  • Liverpool condemn supporters’ offensive chant directed at Billy Gilmour

    Liverpool condemn supporters’ offensive chant directed at Billy Gilmour

    Liverpool called on fans to remember the club’s inclusive values Liverpool have released a short statement urging supporters to remember the club’s inclusive values after Billy Gilmour was targeted with ‘offensive and inappropriate’ chants during the Premier League win at Norwich. Gilmour has joined Norwich on loan from Chelsea for the duration of the season […]

    5 years ago

  • Bukayo Saka given standing ovation by Brentford fans

    Bukayo Saka given standing ovation by Brentford fans

    Saka was brought on as a substitute in the second-half Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka was given a standing ovation from Brentford supporters on Friday night – weeks after receiving racist abuse after his penalty miss in the final of Euro 2020. Saka was one of three England players to miss in the penalty shootout against Italy […]

    5 years ago

  • FootballJOE Photoshop Challenge #5: Lionel Messi’s PSG t-shirt

    FootballJOE Photoshop Challenge #5: Lionel Messi’s PSG t-shirt

    Done deal So there you have it. Lionel Messi is a Paris Saint-Germain player. Feels weird, doesn’t it? Not so much the sight of him in a PSG kit; more the fact they felt the need for that motion sickness-inducing video to announce that the deal was done. Now that we’ve mopped up the last […]

    5 years ago

  • Lionel Messi completes move to Paris Saint-Germain

    Lionel Messi completes move to Paris Saint-Germain

    Done deal Look at him in that kit. This is going to take some getting used to, isn’t it? By now, this hardly comes as a surprise, but Lionel Messi is now officially a Paris Saint-Germain player. Having flown to the French capital earlier in the day, a lengthy announcement video posted to PSG’s social […]

    5 years ago

  • Back from the brink: Swindon Town fans savour the moment as new chapter begins

    Back from the brink: Swindon Town fans savour the moment as new chapter begins

    After a turbulent summer, Swindon Town started their season with a victory few would’ve predicted  just weeks ago Amidst the wild celebrations that followed Harry McKirdy’s late, victory-clinching goal last Saturday afternoon, any Swindon Town fans found pinching themselves could have been forgiven. The 3-1 win away at Scunthorpe not only saw Swindon start a […]

    5 years ago

  • Manchester United to be given a new name on Football Manager

    Manchester United to be given a new name on Football Manager

    Football Manager have confirmed the change after a trademark dispute Manchester United will be known by a new name on Football Manager after it was confirmed the Premier League club have reached an agreement with Sega over a trademark dispute. It was reported last year that United had opened legal action against Sega and Sports […]

    5 years ago

  • Juventus issue apology for tweet with offensive eye gesture

    Juventus issue apology for tweet with offensive eye gesture

    The tweet was only deleted after 25 minutes Juventus have issued an apology after a tweet posted to their official women’s team’s Twitter account showed one of their players making an offensive eye gesture. Juve’s women are reigning Italian champions and are currently in Barcelona as part of their preseason preparations. The tweet, posted on […]

    5 years ago

  • Romelu Lukaku will move to Chelsea if fee is agreed with Inter Milan

    Romelu Lukaku will move to Chelsea if fee is agreed with Inter Milan

    Just nice to have a transfer story not about Manchester City With a new Premier League season just around the corner, transfer news is coming thick and fast. While 99.9999% of it seems to be about Manchester City, Jack Grealish and Harry Kane, it also appears Chelsea aren’t giving up hope of splurging a very […]

    5 years ago

  • Jack Grealish “on the brink” of Manchester City move

    Jack Grealish “on the brink” of Manchester City move

    We go again It’s been quite a week for Manchester City transfer news, hasn’t it? While most of the focus has been on the implications of Harry Kane not bothering to turn in for training at Tottenham, it now seems Jack Grealish – at the heart of the other City-related transfer saga this summer – […]

    5 years ago

  • FootballJOE’s Career Path Quiz: #3

    FootballJOE’s Career Path Quiz: #3

    Third time lucky Edition three of the FootballJOE Career Path Quiz. Well done for sticking with it this far. Much appreciated. If you missed the first couple, don’t worry. You can find them by clicking here. It’s all really simple. We give you five players’ careers represented by pictures of the clubs they played for. […]

    5 years ago

  • Harry Kane’s attempt to leave Spurs takes entirely predictable fresh twist

    Harry Kane’s attempt to leave Spurs takes entirely predictable fresh twist

    Perhaps Harry’s not that much of a rebel after all? Forget what you heard. Harry Kane might not be leaving Tottenham after all. For a good 24 hours or so, it seemed inevitable, didn’t it? Kane, fed up of Spurs Spursing their way from one trophyless season to the next, was being very, very strongly […]

    5 years ago

  • Brain injury charity question new FA heading guidelines in light of new research

    Brain injury charity question new FA heading guidelines in light of new research

    “This has to be just the start of the conversation” Brain injury charity Headway has warned that newly introduced Football Association guidelines on heading must be “just the start” as football’s authorities learn more about the long-term implications of heading footballs. The FA confirmed last week that new guidance limiting professional players to 10 “higher […]

    5 years ago

  • Defenders are at increased risk from heading, research finds

    Defenders are at increased risk from heading, research finds

    “I think footballs should be sold with a health warning” A new study has found that footballers who play as defenders are more likely to develop dementia as they grow older when compared to players in other positions. It found that defenders were five times more likely to have dementia than those who do not […]

    5 years ago

  • A ranking of 9 of the best new football shirts for the 2021/22 season

    A ranking of 9 of the best new football shirts for the 2021/22 season

    Shut up and take our money A new football season is just around the corner, meaning we are knee-deep in new kit releases. Keeping up with every single kit launch can be exhausting, so we’ve made things slightly easier for you by selecting and ranking the nine most easy-on-the-eye new shirts from around the world. […]

    5 years ago

  • Jamaica teammates produce hilariously frosty reaction to Thompson-Herah’s 100m win

    Jamaica teammates produce hilariously frosty reaction to Thompson-Herah’s 100m win

    Jamaica claimed a 1-2-3 in women’s 100m Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah is a Double Olympic champion, defending the title she won in Rio five years ago with another gold in the women’s 100m final in Tokyo. Thompson-Herah, whose time of 10.61 seconds also clinched a new Olympic record, was also followed by two of her compatriots, […]

    5 years ago

  • Heartbroken Dina Asher-Smith gives emotional interview as her 2020 Olympic dream ends

    Heartbroken Dina Asher-Smith gives emotional interview as her 2020 Olympic dream ends

    Asher-Smith failed to reach the final of the 100m and quickly withdrew from the 200m Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith has announced she has pulled out of the Olympic 200m, revealing she suffered a hamstring tear earlier in the month. The 25-year-old world 200m champion had failed to make the 100m final earlier on Saturday after […]

    5 years ago

  • Ajax announce the death of youth player Noah Gesser, aged 16

    Ajax announce the death of youth player Noah Gesser, aged 16

    The terrible news has been confirmed by the Dutch club Ajax have announced that youth player Noah Gesser has died following a car crash on Friday evening. The 16-year-old had been with the Amsterdam club for three years and was due to feature in their Under-17s side in the season ahead. A statement posted to […]

    5 years ago