Hold The Back Page - Skinheads in Skirts - Man City / Tottenham 4-0 Liverpool / BRFC 4-3 Arsenal / Shamrock Rovers / The Rooney Rule / Gasperini

Hold the BackPage - Skinheads and Skirts by bpfootball

Hold the BackPage returns for another edition with Neil Sherwin again taking the lead and he is joined by Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon to sift through the latest Premier League action. 

The lads discuss Manchester City losing their 100 percent record, Tottenham hammering Liverpool 4-0 and Blackburn beating Arsenal 4-3 as well as a number of other hot topics including Shamrock Rovers in Europe, the Rooney Rule, Gasperini being sacked at Inter Milan and Turkey’s innovative new measures to combat hooliganism...

Robbie Keane Biography: 14 Years of a Legend Being Taken for Granted

To say that Robbie Keane is much maligned would be something of an understatement. The ex-Leeds, ex-Inter Milan, ex-Liverpool and quite possibly the soon to be ex-Spurs striker has had to suffer more than his fair share of "slings and arrows" during his 14 year career.

It is, however, more than worth noting though that Keane is his country's top scorer of all time with 51 goals in 108 games for Ireland.

He is also the ninth highest goal scorer in Tottenham Hotspur history with 121 goals from 291 matches and the 10th highest scorer of all time in the English Premier League with 123 strikes.

Keane is the 10th highest scoring European international footballer of all time, the 27th highest scoring international footballer of all time, and, probably, most importantly he is the most prolific international striker of all time from the British Isles.

Which isn’t bad for someone who many feel isn't exactly a great player.

World Football: Heroes of 2010

The highs and lows of 2010 have been extreme to put it mildly. From gun toting separatists in Africa last January to an Octopus called Paul in June and possibly the greatest team of all time in November, 2010 has been a year to remember, or forget depending upon which team you follow.


Here, we look at some of the heroes of the last 12 months. Some stories have been covered by every media outlet under the sun and some have just slipped past their mighty radars.

However, each and every one is just as important as each other as they thread a careful weave through the labyrinthine tapestry that is the footballing year of 2010.

Italian football is at a crossroads. Every direction is fraught with with danger.

However, one man can bring the glory days back and steer Italian society towards a new era. That man is probably the most important Italian footballer of all time—Mario Balotelli.

Rafael Benitez Goes Eric Cantona Crazy As Inter Beat Gareth Bale and Spurs 4-3

On the eve of Liverpool’s, sorry Inter Milan’s, 4-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, Rafael Benitez delivered one of the most bizarre press conferences of all time. It will be a moment that will go down in football folklore and leaves Rafa looking like a very bitter man indeed.

Think back to the mid-90s and Eric Cantona’s famous press conference  "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much." Or maybe even Sam Allardyce saying that he was more suited to managing the likes of Inter Milan or Real Madrid—you get the picture.

Well, Rafa outdid them all.

Werder Bremen 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur: Pretenders Better Than Champions Inter Milan?

Tottenham Hotspur's debut in the Champions League was tinged with bittersweet what ifs as Harry Redknapp's team claimed a deserved point with a 2-2 draw at the Weserstadion against Werder Bremen.

Spurs raced into an early two-goal lead after Finnish international Petri Pasenan diverted Gareth Bale's driven cross into his own net as Peter Crouch was poised to pounce. The England striker then added the second following a sublime cross from Rafael van der Vaart.

Inter Milan 2-0 Bayern Munich: The Depressing Champions League Final Analyzed

With both Inter Milan and Bayern Munich going for trebles, one might have hoped for a classic finale to the greatest football club competition on Earth. Instead we were subjected to an ordinary match between two ordinary teams with decidedly ordinary tactics.

Make no mistake about it, coaches all over the world will wake this morning with the Champions League Final firmly in their mind and not one will be thinking about the lack of ideas on Bayern Munich's part. No, they will be looking to emulate the suffocating display deployed by Jose Mourinho's men on the night.

Can Bayern Munich Emulate Celtic In '67 To Beat Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan?

Bayern Munich take on Inter Milan in the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final on Saturday as complete outsiders to win the much coveted trophy.

However, one match will have been playing on Louis van Gaal's mind all week as he prepares his troops for battle: the European Cup Final in 1967, when rank outsiders Celtic beat Inter Milan 2-1 in the Stadium of Light in Lisbon.

There are many parallels between the Le Grande Inter of the '60s managed by Helenio Herrara with that of the Inter Milan of today under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho.

Jose Mourinho Guides Inter Milan Past Barcelona On A Bad Night For Football

Jose Mourinho, the man so laughably dismissed as little more than "an interpreter" by Barcelona has guided Inter Milan through to the Final of the UEFA Champions League after they beat La Blaugrana 3-2 on aggregate.

Following Inter Milan's superb performance last week when they beat Barca 3-1, Mourinho brought his troops to battle in the cauldron that is the Camp Nou. In front of 100,000 baying fans, Inter produced one of the best defensive performances seen in years to deny Barca a place in the final.


The manner of their display is made all the more memorable because they had to do it with just ten men after referee Franck De Bleeckere controversially sent off Thiago Motta after just 28 minutes. Inter then went on to not only deny Barca an appearance at the Santiago Bernabeau, but to also deny them of virtually any sight of goal all night long.