Quirky Football

PEC Zwolle UK - Meet The Members : Scott Warrington Next in our Meet The Members is Scott Warrington from Great Harwood, England. Scott has been over on Two of our trips to the Netherlands. Why you love PEC Zwolle? "Their fans are second to none". Scott loves that the fans get behind their team in all scenarios. "Whether 4-0 up or 4-0 down, they're still singing and setting off Pyro's". What do you like about the City of Zwolle? "I think the City of Zwolle is one of the nicest and friendliest cities I've ever visited, The nightlife is unreal. During the day there is plenty of chilled out bars in the centre and then at night the small strip of clubs come alive" First Memory of Dutch Football? "I remember Euro 96 when England beat Holland 4-1, goals from Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham and the Netherlands losing to France on penalties" ... (Sorry). Your Favourite Dutch Player of All-Time? "It has to be Edga...

PEC Zwolle UK: Meet The Members - Matt Murphy Next Up in our Meet The Members series is PEC Zwolle UK Co-Founder and Chairman, Matt Murphy from Preston, England. Why do you love PEC Zwolle? "I love that the club doesn't give up, through different reincarnations and hardship the club has carried on. It has fighting spirit. The Fans are so passionate yet warm and inviting. It has a great history and captivates the people of Zwolle. A club the City can be proud of". What do you love about the City of Zwolle? "I love the friendly people, I have made good friends who are fellow Zwollenaars. The City is very charming and I can speak for the group by saying the nightlife is great. You cant beat getting merry in the bars of Zwolle with good people and finishing the night in Febo!" (You see you can't get a Febo over here in England). First Memory of Dutch Football? "Apart from the great Ajax sides in the 90s, I remember going to watc...

PEC Zwolle UK: Meet The Members - Rob Danson The First member of the group to be introduced is co-founder of the Group, Rob Danson from Kirkham, England. Rob has attended Three of the Four trips the group have made to The Netherlands. Why do you love PEC Zwolle? "It's a long story going back to the summer of 2017, but basically ever since that weekend we adopted PEC as our second team. Then ever since our first trip to Zwolle I've considered myself to be a Blauwvinger" What do you think about the City of Zwolle? "Amazing! The City captures the culture of everything we associate with Holland and we completely fell in love with it on our first visit in January 2018. Rob comments that PEC Zwolle UK member Tony Yates wants to move to Zwolle and "we'll be holidaying there all the time" if that becomes a reality. First Memory of Dutch Football? "We best not mention Euro 96 had we..." (England 4-1 Holland) Rob then reminisces abou...

'The Fall of the Spireites’ Less than 4 Years ago, Chesterfield were on the cusp of promotion to the Championship. After a very strong season finishing 6th in League One, they set up a two legged Playoff Semi-Final with Preston North End in May 2015. Unfortunately the club had hit their peak. After losing 4-0 against the Lancashire side on aggregate, the Derbyshire side have become a sinking ship with a managerial revolving door. Fast forward to Boxing Day 2018. Chesterfield now sit perilously in the National League relegation zone after a 4-0 home defeat to Solihull Moors. After back-to-back relegations a triple demotion looking increasingly possible. Martin ‘Mad Dog’ Allen, with a great managerial reputation was called in over the summer. After winning his first 3 games of the season, only One win in Twenty-Two followed. Shortly after their 4-0 home defeat to Solihull Moors, Allen was relieved of his post. Chesterfield are now looking for their Sixth manager sinc...

Edinburgh City FC - The Rise of Edinburgh's Forgotten Club When football in Edinburgh springs to mind, you cant help think about Hibernian and Hearts. They share a cracker of a derby and are very distinguished sides steeped in history. Hibernian based at Easter Road, dramatically beat Rangers 3-2 in the 2016 Scottish Cup final thanks to a David Gray injury time winner. The last major trophy triumph by a team in the capital. When thinking about Hibs, several scenes in Trainspotting and the late George Best spring to mind. Their rivals Hearts based at Tynecastle, nearly won the Uefa Cup in 1989. They were narrowly defeated 2-1 against  European giants, Bayern Munich. Between 2004 and 2014 they were owned by and took into administration by Russian-Lithuanian Valdimir Romanov. The Club survived their financial woes and are now back on an even footing. On the rise is their little neighbour Edinburgh City, who mean business. They are on the rise. A few weeks ago, I watched ...

Most Underrated Derbies in World Football (5-1 – Part Two) In the second half of this list, we highlight our top Five most underrated rivalries on the planet. 5 – Genoa v Sampdoria (The Lighthouse Derby) The Derby ‘della Lanterna’ is a deep and historic rivalry. The East and the west of the region have been at loggerheads, believe it or not for over two millennia. Genoa Football Club was founded in 1893 by Elite English ex-pats and is Italy’s oldest football team. Their rivals Sampdoria were formed much later in 1946, through two local clubs merging. This new club immediately moved into the ‘Stadio Luigi Ferraris’ and the clubs have ground-shared ever since. The rivalry between those who class themselves as ‘Genoeise’ and those aligned to ‘Samp’ dates back to before Christ. The Second Punic War between 218-201 BC was the catalyst for this divide. Those in the western reaches of the region sided and fought for Rome (Sampdoria heartland), while those in the East (Tr...