Heading to South Africa for the World Cup in the summer? Want to wear your country’s colours but are scared of being attacked? Then fear no more, because there’s a company who’ve combined patriotism with safety in the shape of stab vests decorated with the national flag of your choice. Genius or stupid? You decide…

Right on cue the perennial debate about should there or shouldn’t there be a mid-winter break in England and Scotland has re-surfaced, largely because of the adverse weather currently crippling the UK’s footballing calendar. Our blogger Phil Viles looks at why we’re unlikely to see it become reality though.

Whilst watching the FA Cup draw unfurl at the weekend I was waiting for the interesting ties to be pulled out; the plum draws, the ‘potential banana skins’. But they never came. Instead, we simply got a mind-numbingly dull draw. Is it the worst Third Round ever?

Half-times are usually pretty dull, with tedious prize draws, formulaic cheer-leading and dodgy burgers. However, mine was a little different at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough.

Stan Collymore wrote a hugely controversial column for the Mirror last week, in which he suggests that the top flight should consist of the top 20 or 25 clubs who have been the biggest and most successful sides in modern history, ridding the league of the ‘smaller clubs’, and stamping out promotion and relegation entirely. Blogger Phil Viles picks holes in his idea.

With crowd trouble marring the Barnsley v Man Utd tie last night, it’s just another addition to the ever-growing list of crowd-related incidents we’re beginning to see more and more this season. This is Football blogger Phil Viles asks ‘Are the bad old days returning?’

Forest midfielder Guy Moussi was sent off for celebrating his 92nd minute winner against Barnsley a little too zealously, resulting in him being sent off thanks to FIFA’s stupid rules which punish players for showing emotion. Our blogger Phil Viles looks more closely at the directive.

This is Football blogger Phil Viles looks at the inconsideration shown by The FA to England supporters and the clubs under its administration by arranging a meaningless friendly in the Middle East in mid-November, and suggests that only fiscal gains could possibly be behind the perplexing decision.

Roy Keane’s Ipswich are going through a horrid time at present. Stuck at the bottom of the Championship table and with media attention enraging Keane, they’ve seen better days. But better days are around the corner, according to clairvoyant Sue Knock, who has an interesting proposition for Ipswich fans…

In a bizarre story which I’m calling Humbergate, Phil Brown is said to have talked a suicidal woman out of throwing herself in the Humber whilst his team were on a clarity-finding mission on the Humber Bridge. Seriously, you couldn’t make it up.