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Join us for our weekly Proper Football Live Show on Sundays at 6:00 pm! We have a cracking show lined up with Gary Harris, Greg Douglas and resident ex-pro footballer Nigel ‘Cally’ Callaghan along with Geoff Thompson a big fan of nonleague side Darlington. We'll be discussing the week's big stories along with our special features including “The Good Old Days” and “It's a Funny Old Game" and much much more so don’t miss the show! ⚽⚽⚽👊🏼 Make sure to tune in and get involved with your comments and views. 👊🏻⚽ Watch on our Facebook page here; 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼 https://fb.me/e/40IjLrtT6 Or our YouTube channel here; 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 https://youtube.com/channel/UCtr7oTe3DH-Ymo4uxM6xULA Or Twitter here; 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 https://twitter.com/ProperFootball8?t=voFqeo4B83kwlQKtJAx5gA&s=09 Email us @ getinvolved@properfootball.co.uk

Six leading figures from the Premier League, FA and EFL have met in person for the very first time today (Friday) to thrash out several proposals from top-flight clubs; which include scrapping FA Cup replays, restricting teams in European competitions to only fielding junior sides in the Carabao Cup and moving the Community Shield from its regular slot as the season's curtain-raiser. The Premier League has put forward the proposals as part of what is being dubbed 'A New Deal For Football', which could bring about the most significant changes since its inception in 1992. Its aim is to reduce fixture congestion from 2024 onwards. It is also in return for the Premier League sharing more of its money with the lower divisions, with the EFL calling for an extra £ 300 million in funding. However, so far top-flight teams have only agreed to just over half of that figure. If the three bodies fail to reach an agreement, a statutory independent regulator proposed by the government - who are expected to publish a white paper outlining its plans in the next few weeks - would be able to intervene on a financial settlement. The EFL is understood to be open to tweaking the Carabao Cup, though only for what they deem is an acceptable financial settlement. The options on the table are for clubs competing in European competitions to either not take part in the domestic cup competition at all or field sides containing Under-21 players. As for the FA Cup, the Premier League is keen for replays to be scrapped from the third onwards, which is when top-flight teams join the competition. Replays are currently carried out up until the fourth round. Jurgen Klopps thoughts. The Community Shield is also on the table, with the timing of the traditional curtain-raiser match between the Premier League champions and FA Cup winners set to be discussed. Bigger clubs believe the game, which is usually held on the Sunday before the first Premier League weekend, disrupts their pre-season build-up as well as lucrative overseas tours. Potential alternatives include playing it either on the opening weekend or mid-season, moving it to an international market such as the United States, or, as one club are hoping, making it an 'All Stars' game which sees Premier League teams providing two players each to face stars from other European leagues.

Hull City's owner Acun Ilıcalı has announced that coach travel to away fixtures will be free of charge for all travelling supporters for the remainder of the 2022/23 Championship season. The offer of free travel from the MKM Stadium will start from the visit to the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday 11th February when the Tigers take on Stoke City. The fantastic gesture follows on from the free Tiger Travel offer for both of their away festive fixtures against Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic, the latter being their largest away following of the season so far. The decision by the Tigers’ chairman is in recognition of the difficult times fans have faced in recent months, both with the rising cost of living and the prolonged train strikes affecting supporters’ ability to attend matches. The Turkish owner of the Tigers said; “The support from our fans has been fantastic, and we wanted to show them the same kind of support. We know it’s quite a tough time for people at the moment, and Christmas is always an expensive time, so if we can help them, it’s only right that we do it. "When we say ‘One Family. One Dream.’ we really mean it. “A lot of fans were getting in touch, telling us they are struggling to get to away matches because of the lack of trains." "I want to support our fans whenever I can and encourage as many people as possible to attend matches to support Liam and the boys. The atmosphere in the away end at Birmingham and Wigan was amazing and motivated the team to get the wins in both matches. "I had so many nice messages from fans who said how much they appreciated the support in getting to the matches, so I made the decision to extend it for the rest of the season." "I want to support our fans now, because I know in the future when times are better, they will support the club off the field as well as on it.” Hats off to Hull for this, but in reality, every top-level club should be doing this as standard practice! We must give a big shoutout to Stoke City who have been doing this for the last 8 seasons. 👌🏻

Vialli had been suffering from pancreatic cancer and left his role with Italy’s national team in December. A statement from the Italian Football Association [FIGC] read: ‘That photo on the Wembley lawn, that hug with Coach Roberto Mancini after Federico Chiesa’s goal against Austria in the round of 16 of the 2021 European Championship, will be one of the images of Gianluca Vialli that we will carry in our hearts forever. ‘Gianluca didn’t make it, he passed away today at the age of 58 after a long illness, always fought head-on, with dignity and with the whole blue family to give him strength in a moment of silent but enormous suffering. Vialli played 59 times for Italy and won the Champions League with Juventus before joining Chelsea in 1996 and becoming player-manager in 1998. He had joined Juventus in 1992 for a then world record £12m after winning the Serie A title and the European Cup Winners' Cup during eight seasons with Sampdoria. Vialli was the first Italian to manage a Premier League side, taking over from the sacked Ruud Gullit late in the season, and went on to lead the Blues to victory in the League Cup, Uefa Cup Winners' Cup and Uefa Super Cup. He also guided Chelsea to victory in the 2000 FA Cup final and Charity Shield. RIP Gianluca. 💙

West Ham have announced the death of their joint-chairman David Gold at the age of 86. Stepney-born Gold played for West Ham's boy's team between the ages of 13 and 16 and, after a successful career in business, became joint-chairman of the Premier League club in 2010. A West Ham statement read: "It is with deep sadness that West Ham United FC confirm that our beloved Joint-Chairman David Gold passed away on Wednesday morning following a short illness. "David Gold, 86, died peacefully with his devoted daughters, Jacqueline and Vanessa, and his fiancée Lesley, by his side. "A lifelong and ardent West Ham United fan, David Gold was born in Stepney in September 1936 and grew up at 442 Green Street, directly opposite the Boleyn Ground. As a promising young schoolboy player, he represented the Club’s boys’ team between the ages of 13 and 16 and later appeared in the youth team. "After forging a career as a hugely successful businessman, his life came full circle in January 2010 when he became Joint-Chairman of West Ham United following the successful takeover that helped to steady the ship and protect the Club’s future during a period of great financial uncertainty. " West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan told the club's official website: "On behalf of everyone at the football club, it is with profound sorrow and a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of our colleague and friend, David Gold. "Of all our joint ventures, none gave us more pride and happiness than the day we took ownership of West Ham United, our Club, in January 2010. David had a long-standing connection with the Hammers, having grown up opposite the Boleyn Ground in Green Street, and represented the Club at junior level. He always wanted what was best for West Ham United, and his passing is a great loss for all of us." Manager David Moyes added: "I am extremely sad to hear this news and, on behalf of all of the players and my staff at the training ground, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to David Gold’s family at this very difficult time.

Proper Football decided to take in a bit of culture over the festive period and luckily the art gallery we chose to visit (Walker Art Gallery -Liverpool) had the 'Art Of Terraces' exhibition on.  Through the medium of art, the exhibition highlights the clothing brands and sports footwear, music and encounters between rival groups of football supporters which defined an era and generation.  Football Casuals in our language. The exhibition features the work of a generation of contemporary artists and designers who have been influenced by this movement over the last 40 years. The story of the movement, its wider significance in British and European popular culture and its artistic legacy will be told through more than 100 paintings, graphic designs and fashion items, as well as installations, videos and installation art. Pauline Rushton, Head of Decorative Arts at National Museums Liverpool, said: “It’s been our ambition for a long time to hold an exhibition of this kind at the Walker. Terrace culture originated among football fans here in the North West in the 1970s, and it’s difficult to overemphasise quite how far-reaching its influence has become. “We’ll consider the highs and lows of going to the match, and the sense of identity and belonging that could be discovered and signalled to others through wearing a certain pair of trainers or branded sports top.” Dave Hewitson, exhibition partner and creator of the 80sCasuals website and clothing brand, said: “This wasn’t just a group of kids following fashion and wearing the latest trends, these kids were creating their own trends and style. The clothes, the attitude and ultimately the match defined the culture.” The exhibition does focus on Merseyside but there are a few acceptions which was nice to see. The age-old debate of where the casual movement started has been answered by one of the dialogue exhibits whether you agree or not lol. The Art of the Terraces certainly isn't just for us of a casual persuasion. Lovers of football & art will certainly enjoy the many exhibits on show. There are of course some classic clothes and trainers on show for the obsessives among us and a book on 80's Casuals is available to buy at the museum shop for £25. There are also a couple of video installations to watch including 'Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore' by Mark Leckey. The work is a compilation of found footage from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s underground music and dance scene in the UK. Music is tightly knitted within the terraces as we all know and there are a couple of pieces covering this including the David Bowie painting depicting Bowie's 'Low' album sleeve where he is seen sporting the iconic wedge haircut. The painting by Ross Muir has re-purposed the well-known image of Bowie by adding the three stripes seen on Adidas sportswear. Another piece with a nod to music is the 'Forest Hills' painting by Jens Wagner which includes a line from The Jam's 1978 single 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight '. Also by Jens Wagner is this Ska City painting originally made for Coventry's 2-Tone village. The painting also depicts Coventry City's old Highfield Road ground. There is so much more to see at the exhibition we highly recommend a visit. Entry is free but there is an option to make a cash or card donation as you exit the exhibition. Also near the exit, there is a wall where you can leave a post-it note with a little message. Unfortunately on our visit, there weren't any. The Walker Art Gallery can be found just a few minutes walk from Liverpool Lime Street station and is open till 4.00 PM every day except Mondays and run's until the 12th of March.

It was great to see the fans flock in to watch their clubs over the holiday period in the lower leagues of the football pyramid, one big factor is the fixtures are planned so that doubleheader matches are scheduled for the Boxing day and New years day fixtures between local sides, something that has sadly been lost on the Premier League and EFL! Some of the stand-out attendances were in step 6 in the National League North and South. Darlington had a record attendance at Blackwell Meadows of 3,059 against Scarborough Athletic who brought 875 fans on Boxing Day and the return fixture today (Jan 2) will see a record-breaking crowd at their Flamingo Land Stadium of 3,205 including 820 travelling Darlo supporters. Chester FC had 3,007 at their game with Telford on New Year's Day following on from the reverse fixture on boxing day when 2,500 packed out Telford's New Bucks Head stadium. Also in the same league, Hereford's Edgar Street saw a 3,221 turnout for their boxing day fixture with Kidderminster Harriers and the return match on New years day saw 545 Hereford fans travel to Kiddy making up the attendance of 3,421! In the National League South Dartford began the new year in style with an emphatic victory over Ebbsfleet United, as they completed the league double over their local rivals and title contenders with 3,386 in attendance at Princes Park, the boxing day fixture saw an impressive 2,905 at Ebbsfleet. Also in the same division at the St Albans City v Hemel Hempstead Town 3,107 packed into the Saints Clarence Park! It's great to see Non-League attendances thriving and the fact they have big derby games over the Christmas period is sadly only something supporters of Premier League and Championship teams can only reminisce about as the days of CPFC v Brighton, Luton v Watford, London derbies and all the other big local rivalries are a thing of the past for one reason or another and the old song of “because of boxing day" is completely redundant.

Join us this Sunday 1st of January for the Proper Football Live Show at its new time of 6 pm. Proper Football's Gary Harris, Dan Slawson, Greg Douglas and resident ex-player for Watford and Derby County Nigel ‘Cally’ Callaghan will be discussing the week's big topics in football with lively debate and the usual rants along with our special features, ‘It's A Funny Old Game and The Good Old Days' We'll be joined by special guests on upcoming shows but we would love to have proper football fans get involved as well so you can have your say, so feel free to drop us a message and we'll get you on. Proper Football is a platform for proper fans to have a say and our Live show is an opportunity for you to get involved no matter what level of football you follow you're more than welcome! You can watch the show live on our Facebook, Twitter or YouTube channel or listen on PF Radio. https://fb.me/e/26Vv88XHR See you all Sunday at 6 pm and we wish you a happy and prosperous new year!

We caught up with Paddington Steve for a chat about Terrace Culture, Music and of course the Football. Thanks for joining us at Proper Football. Let's start with you telling us a bit about yourself. I’m in my 50’s now and a dad to 6 kids, other than my family my biggest passions in life are football, Clobber and music. Who's your team and how did you first start supporting them? I support QPR Because I’m born n bred in West London, so it’s the law hahaha. and most of my family support them, Also my Dad and my Uncle Dave basically told me I’m QPR and that’s it. When and why did you first get in to Casual culture? I was originally a Skinhead, I loved a Fred Perry and a Cheesecutter Cap, I then progressed into a Casual in the early 80’s. I think my first bits of Clothing was an Ellesse polo shirt and Maroon Lois cords with a pair of Adidas or Diadora. In your opinion who/where did casual start? I know there’s a big North/South dispute about this, I honestly don’t know where it started and at the end of the day we are all Casual/Dressers so who cares. But I think we wore it better down south hahaha, Alright let’s shake hands and call it a draw. Favourite piece of terrace attire? There are loads but for me personally I’d say a diamond Pringle or a Fila BJ track top, Lois jeans or cords and THE trainers EITHER Adidas Trimm TrabS or Forest Hill. But for me, the king of the casual trainer is the Diadora Borg Elite (Gold ones) topped off with a Dearstalker HAT. Least favourite trend you've witnessed on the terraces? It’s got to be the Bay City Rollers look, Flares, a tank top that looks like a wallpaper pattern and the scarf round the wrist. Saying that, I’m from the 70’s so I wore flares and looked like an extra from The Sweeney! Who in your opinion were the best-turned-out mobs in the 80s casual era? Straight away the first mob that springs to mind is Arsenal, I always thought they looked the part in the 80’s bowling up the road in Long Macs, Deerstalkers and carrying golf umbrellas, well some of them did. Also my lot QPR were good dressers, well, we did have the legendary shop Stuarts on our doorstep, plus Sharp Sports in Kensington and I had a shop called Temples in Church Street in Paddington where I got my first Sergio Tacchini tracksuit from. Britain has seen many subcultures come and go, in your opinion what is it about the Casual movement that keeps it still going? The Casual scene is still going strong now because the youngsters latched on to it after the Nick Love films and Cass Pennants Casuals documentary. And people like Neil Primett make it easy for us to buy now, so us old lot you know the XXXXL lot can relive our youth. I love seeing people in the old gear, you always get that little nod of appreciation from each other. Don’t worry about age, if you like it wear it. In our opinion the music has always been an important part of Terrace Culture. What would be your favourite tunes for a match day? Match day tunes for me is usually a bit of late 80’s early 90’s house music, and a proper bit of Acid House and Rave/Breakbeat. Do you have a favourite album/single of all time? My favourite album of all time is without doubt Quadrophenia by The Who, and my favourite single would be 'Won’t get fooled again' by The Who. Favourite band/artist? The Who, Madness and Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Any bands/artist that you feel are part of Terrace Culture? Well, in the 80’s it was Accent, they was linked to Chelsea, these days for me it’s The Goldborns, out of West London. They are a great band linked to QPR, they’ve even done a video for a song on an away coach trip with some of the chaps. You were involved in the early Acid House scene, how did you first get in to it? I’ve always been linked to the music scene one way or another, from the late 80’s I was going to events all over London AND around the UK and at Amnesia in Ibiza the best club I’ve ever been in. I’ve got mates that used to and still do put on big events, they are some of the biggest DJ’s, MC’s and producers out there. I’m still good friends with them today and now take my kids when they do daytime Raves. My oldest mate is Nicky Blackmarket and he had the best record shop going in Soho London, when raves went legal you used to be able to get tickets from there for Raves like the legendary Raindance and others. Any stories from those days? If you can remember lol A good memory was having Keith Flint (R.I.P) and the Prodigy boys raving with us, then going on stage to do a live pa of ‘Your Love’ and ‘Charly at Raindance Jenkins lane. A funny memory was me driving a removal van all the way over from Paddington to Plumstead, for a rave called Utopia or Desire? at Tasco Warehouse with 15 mates in the back and the pills starting to kick in half way there. On to a bit about the football, sum up your teams season so far. I can only describe QPR’s season so far as like an episode of Some Mothers Do ‘Av ‘Em or a Carry On filM, Proper carnage. Do you still attend games regularly? I don’t really go much anymore but I do take my kids every now and then, it’s always nice to see the old faces. My kids do say how comes you know so many people Dad, and I say well it’s because we are a family over here. We’ve always been a small club so you have to look out for each other, and that includes away from footbalL, I’ve always said for me that I met strangers that became friends, who then became family. Which club traditionally are your biggest rivals? For me personally, Chelsea back in the day before they got rich, we also had a little thing with Arsenal in the 80’s that included a few incidents around London. But really the biggest rivalry has to be Luton. A lot of fans have been drawn towards lower/non league football recently. Any one else you follow? I used to pop to a few Dover games many years ago, so I still look out for the results. Any views on this year's World Cup in Qatar? To be honest it was actually a good World Cup, don’t like where it was held and the timing, it should be a summer tournament. Sum up Modern football in one sentence. It drives me mad, From people filming every bit of the game on phones to this Ultra stuff, and even the food they sell now, it’s a football match not a Gordon Ramsey restaurant. Whatever happened to a Wagon Wheel and Bovril.

Maxi Jazz, the lead singer of the dance group Faithless, has died aged 65. In a Facebook post on Saturday, the group wrote: “We are heartbroken to say Maxi Jazz died last night. He was a man who changed our lives in so many ways. “He gave proper meaning and message to our music. “He was a lovely human being with time for everyone and a wisdom that was both profound and accessible. It was an honour and, of course, a true pleasure to work with him.” Faithless, which formed in 1995, comprised core members Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. Their first album, Reverence, was released in 1996 and the singles Insomnia and Salva Mea each sold more than a million copies. Their second studio album, Sunday 8PM, released in 1998, featured the global hit God Is A DJ and cemented the group’s standing as a major musical force. Jazz was a huge fan of Crystal Palace FC, becoming an associate director of the football club in 2012. The premier league club said the "legendary musician" was a regular at Selhurst Park, and the team would walk out to Faithless on Boxing Day in tribute to the late singer. RIP Maxi ❤️💙

England World Cup winner George Cohen has died, aged 83. The right-back played every minute of the six matches in the 1966 tournament and was vice-captain for the 4-2 win over West Germany in the Wembley final. Cohen, who spent his entire club career with Fulham, won 37 caps for England. "Very sad to hear my friend and England team-mate has died," said Sir Geoff Hurst, who is one of the two surviving members of that 1966 side, along with Sir Bobby Charlton. "Everyone, without exception, always said that George was such a lovely man. He will be sadly missed, my heartfelt thoughts are with George's wife Daphne and his family," George joined Fulham professionally in 1956 and remained there until retirement through injury 13 years later in March 1969. Fulham had been relegated to the Second Division the season before he retired as a player and did not return to the top flight for 33 years. He ended his career with 459 appearances for the club, a figure surpassed by only five other players in Fulham's history. As a full-back, he also managed to score six League goals for Fulham. RIP George.

Join Gary Harris on Wednesday 21st December from 7 pm on PF Radio paying tribute to the frontman of The Specials Terry Hall who sadly passed away this week aged 63. The lead singer of the Coventry-based Two Tone, Ska Revival band was also behind Fun Boy Free, The Colourfield, Terry Blair, Anouchka and Vegas. He also released two solo studio albums and also collaborated with many artists including David Stewart, Bananarama, The Lightening Seeds, Sinéad O‘Conner, Stephen Duffy, Dub Pistols, Gorrilaz, Damon Albarn, D12, Tricky, Lily Allen and Shakespeare Sister. Details of how to listen to the show can be found here; https://www.properfootball.co.uk/how-to-listen