Arcticterntalk.org

The blog of a travelling psychiatrist and football lover. Who happens to be a halfway decent photographer. Takes a cynical view of the world

Archive for the tag “football”

footballers with ICD DEVICES


A HORRIBLE number of footballers have collapsed with cardiac arrests on the pitch in recent years , however many now survive and indeed do or may return to high level football , christian eriksen returned to premier league football with brentford and TOM lockyer the luton town captain is waiting for his medical options , both players are fortunate as mortality rates from cardiac arrests outside hospital are relatively high although rates in hospital are thankfully lower , both players have been fitted with implantable cardioverter defibrillators

lots of raised arms in football at risk of conceeding unneccessary fouls and penalties


these are photos from a random premier league game in 2023 brentford v west ham and are photos captured randomly during the game with no specific attempt to focus on raised arms , although in some cases it can be argued that arms are used for balance, in many of these it is clearly not the case and risk conceeding freekicks and penalties

How football ought to be viewed


Ljubljana – the most beautiful city in Europe


Ljubljana is the capital city of Slovenia and is a city with the river Ljubljanica running through the city centre giving an intense backdrop to the many restaurants and cafes that line the river banks.IMG_0176

The city has a population of around 300,oo and that excludes the many dragons lining bridges and other areas. The dragon is the symbol of Slovenia.

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It is an attractive lattice of cobbled streets, arched alleys and fine cultural monuments, many of which were bequeathed to the city by Jože Plečnik (1872–1957), Slovenia’s most celebrated urban planner including the  brilliantly conceived Triple bridge.

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There are plentiful museums as one might expect from a capital city but the real enjoyment comes from simply walking the streets and seeing this city first-hand. Oddly the castle which gives an almost fairy tale backdrop to the city is about the only average feature of the city . 

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Many of the streets are cobblestone and lined with street art. Small bakers and other artisans sell their wares.

IMG_0188The bars and restaurants are plentiful and provide ample choice, although maybe pizza is the commonest type of cuisine.

IMG_0331Never also forget the amazing street art that is everywhere.

FullSizeRender-3You can sit literally in the river and eat and drink in various bars and restaurants

FullSizeRenderWhen nighttime comes there is often entertainment in Pleseren Square.

Patrick Ohman. Carshalton Keeper and Penalty Save


Am often getting told off for not photographing more defenders . But sometimes you get lucky . Patrick Ohman is the current goalkeeper at Carshalton playing in the BetVictor Premier league. So a mere three promotions would see Carshalton as a league club.

In the league game yesterday he had a superb game , saved a penalty that won the three points against Corinthian Casuals and ended up with a dislocated shoulder .

Here are a few shots of the saved penalty

Football Goal Celebrations. This is one of the best


In this era of sometimes silly goal celebrations it was genuinely humbling to witness a far more relevant and genuine one today in a nonleague game. The goal was an incredible free kick from a player who had come on shortly before as a second half substitute . This was enjoyable and humbling .

Barnet v Brentford. For anyone not here tonight. The ground looks like this….


Brentford 3 Stoke 1 . Learnings for both sides


This was not the result most fans of either side predicted. Many Bees fans, maybe half , would have taken a point before the game. The reality was that a resurgent Brentford side played their best football this season and possibly for a few seasons and dominated the game from every angle.

  1. Stoke expected to get something out of the game . Nathan Jones came with a good track record but expecting anything to change in a few days is dreaming. He had no time to change anything of note other than motivate his players.
  2. Commenting as a Brentford fan there were several Stoke players who seemingly are not at the standards they used to be. Berahino was an exciting prospect and looked sensational years ago on loan at Brentford. Yesterday he was not part of the game. Shawcross was unlucky with the own goal but looked an aged and slow defender. His time has surely gone. Afobe looked superb yet got little service of note . Hard working and a simply brilliant goal. The defence looked poor, and trust me Bees fans know how to spot a poor defence. Jack Butland was anything other than commanding.
  3. Brentford made Stoke look average. Their tempo and work rate was the best this season. Mokojoto and Sawyers were simply brilliant. 10/10 performances maintained all 95 minutes. This was a bad day for any club to come to Griffin Park and the performance was echelons higher than the win that got a scrappy 1-0 win over a dismal dispirited Bolton side before Xmas.
  4. Brentford were set up superbly . The midfield had the engine of a Rolls Royce and not of a lawnmower. None of the dismal midfield displays of negative passing were seen and although not wanting to be critical, the lack of Yennaris, MCLeod and Josh was a positive one
  5. The debate over Bentley and Daniels was not even addressed as cannot recall a single save Bentley had to make.
  6. Henrik Dalsgaard had a good game, not a great one, but maybe his confidence is back. The set up of three central defenders , all actually wonderful footballers in their own rights, allowed Henrik to play in the more right midfield area where he does actually play even when a traditional full back
  7. Thomas Frank and Brian Riemer we’re visible in the technical area, shouting, cajoling but never critical. This is good to see for the fans and maybe the team too.
  8. Maupay has his usual superb game as did Said Benrahma.

Overall Brentford were brilliant more than Stoke were poor. Brentford need to carry on with this tempo and maybe Stoke need to jettison a few players simply past their prime .

Lastly I loved seeing the great reception Ryan Woods received . Nice Brentford fan behaviour for players we respect . And a privilege to see not only a few minutes of Peter Crouch but also him posing with young fans after the game and again the nice Ealing road reception he got when warming up.

Neither side will go up nor down this season and it will be interesting to see where they finally end up .

The Full Hogburger might be the best football food item around


Football food is far from idyllic. In general nonleague clubs serve better and cheaper football fare. One of the best food items is served at Met Police football club. They play in Esher at Imber Court and participate in Evostik Southern League Premier South and are well worth watching .

They have recently started serving The Full Hogburger. For £5 you can have a superb burger cooked properly in a toasted bun. But on top there is a large sausage cut in half , cheese, onions and a thick slice of back bacon. Tasted delicious. They do not serve chips but there again you hardly need them. If there is a criticism it is that the burger is huge and not so easy to eat. This is a real meal! Football league clubs might learn here

Distracted By The Moon Over The Ealing Road End During Brentford v Bolton


During the second half of the recent game versus Bolton, the view over the Ealing Road stand was as good as any I have seen in years watching Brentford. So instead of photographing Neal Maupay rampaging through the Bolton defence , I spent 5 minutes capturing this beautiful moon.

When we move to Lionel road I will miss hugely Griffin Park and moments like this will forever be remembered.

These three photos were taken only a few minutes apart and using different exposures. Don’t let anyone ever say it’s easy to photograph the moon. Sometimes you get lucky and some of the trees behind the Ealing Road stand can be seen in front of the over exposed moon making an interesting image.

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