QWK KCKS is our way of helping you get your day started with a refreshing blast of football culture right in your face.
PHOTO: SAD FLAG FACE.
USWNT fans wait for the start of an Algarve Cup match against Japan. In the first rematch since the World Cup final, Japan beat the US Women 1-0. (AP PHOTO)
LIKE A GLASS OF ICED TEA? (OR IS IT ‘ICE TEA’? I WAS NEVER CLEAR ON THAT)
The refreshing pay structure of MLS could appeal to fans who miss English soccer’s working class past. // Forbes
HEY! LOOK AT THIS SHOCKING PHOTO THAT HAS MORE THAN ONE THING TO BE AGHAST OVER!
Look, it’s Jack Wilshere in a Liverpool shirt for some strange reason, as photographed by Emmanuel Frimpong. Not that Kickette cares. // Kickette
SING ALONG WITH THE ALARM: ‘SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP…’
Martin Keown gets interrupted by a fire alarm on Football Focus. I don’t think “Don’t worry, it’s just the alarm” is a Fire Marshall-approved message. Shame on you, Dan Walker. // Off the Post
PHOTO: IN LIEU OF A TIE, BOCA’S PRESIDENT CHOSE TO SHOW CHEST HAIR.
Boca Juniors and Barcelona have reached an agreement on player development that gives Barca first right of refusal on pretty much every young player Boca has. (REUTERS)
NO MANAGER, NO STRIKERS, NO HOPE.
England have a striker crisis on their hands. Meaning there aren’t any. // The Stiles Council
HISTORY VERY RARELY TURNS ON ONE EVENT. NOT EVEN GAVRILO PRINCEP AND HIS GUN.
We have this insatiable need to boil down large shifts in culture (or World Wars) to one contributing event. That’s not actually how things work. So don’t blame Nick Hornby and Fever Pitch for the way football is today. // twohundredpercent, with a followup at The Footy Blog
I’M GOING TO PRINT THIS PIECE OUT AND CARRY IT AROUND WITH ME TO SHOW TO MY NON-SOCCER FRIENDS.
Soccer’s bad rap in America when it comes to scoring is fundamentally flawed. This piece on Pele’s greatest ever miss is exactly why. // Run of Play in Exile
PHOTO: ‘HELP ME ROBIN VAN PERSIE. YOU’RE MY ONLY HOPE.’
So we’ll see how that goes… (REUTERS)
PAR FOR THE COURSE.
It wouldn’t be Spain without some claims of conspiracy. There’s a video out there that makes the case Barcelona has been denied 12 legitimate penalties this year, resulting in dropped points, which is why Real Madrid has a 10 point lead in La Liga. // 101GG
THE ONE THEY CAN’T GET OVER.
Chelsea’s problems, I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn, mostly come down to pining for The Special One. // Bleacher Report
AND NOW I CAN’T GET THE MENTAL PICTURE OF ARSENE WENGER WITH PRINCESS LEIA BUNS OUT OF MY HEAD. SHUDDER.
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