Best 3811 quotes in «football quotes» category

It hurts because I can't go out there and play football, but it hurts more because I have to be a father and explain what happened to my daughter.

It is a certainty that Keegan would not have agreed to return unless Mike Ashley had committed to sanctioning a mammoth spending spree. The downside, which Keegan will soon discover, is the law of diminishing returns in a league that is now the richest in the world. The type of multi-million-pound investment that bankrolled the first Newcastle revival under Keegan is now two-a-penny. Buying success just isn't as easy as it used to be. The Premiership's paradox is that the more money there is, the more the art of management gains in value.

It is a game before a product, a sport before a market, a show before a business.

It is annoying. The work we do is not getting the credit it deserves because we are not winning silverware. It is unfair because I think we have more merit as a club than those who have built their teams with millions of pounds whereas Arsenal have brought in young footballers, who have come here to play a certain kind of football and who have developed.

It is an indication of Chelski's warped finances that even successive titles can be regarded as failure. Spend unprecedented sums and only unprecedented success can be commensurate. Chelski won't get the credit they think they deserve because of the money they've spent. There's £300m worth of difference between a victory and an achievement.

It is a testament to the fundamental honesty of football that Israel, with nothing to play for, overcame Russia in Tel Aviv on Saturday. The sport has its faults, but this basic trust is the reason Wembley holds 80,000 and could take more and the track and field venue for the London Olympics will be reduced after the event to the same capacity as the home of Wigan Athletic.

It is better to give a lick than receive one. If anybody got in my way, I tried to run right through them.

It is customary for columnists to complain about the excesses of Premiership footballers, whenever - as happens regularly - there is an incident involving some combination of sex, drugs, drink, violence and the constabulary. But modern footballers have a lot of both money and disposable time, a combination that has proved a recipe for personal disaster throughout history. And these incidents take place generally round night clubs rather than football clubs. The average Premiership player who turned up for work drunk would have a career-expectancy measurable in minutes.

It is difficult to single out one sport over another, but if I have to name one in my separation suit, it will undoubtedly be football.

It is helpful to think of people as having two fundamental motivations: the desire to see ourselves as honest, good people, and the desire to gain the benefits that come from cheating - on our taxes or on the football field.

It is like when you go to war: we have to know how our enemies attack and defend.

It is like football with coaches, like, 'We're only going to think about the next game.' It is really true, all you think is, 'Okay, we have to make a good next episode.'

It is like having a blanket that is too small for the bed, you pull the blanket up to keep your chest warm, and your feet stick out. I cannot buy a bigger blanket because the supermarket is closed. But the blanket I have is made of cashmere. So it's good.

It is not coincidence that at Barcelona we have low-key lifestyles and we have been successful. We know we are football players and not movie stars.

It is not heroin or cocaine that makes one an addict, it is the need to escape from a harsh reality. There are more television addicts, more baseball and football addicts, more movie addicts, and certainly more alcohol addicts in this country than there are narcotics addicts.

It is odd that we never question the feasibility of a football team practicing long hours for one game; yet in writing we rarely give ourselves the space for practice.

It is one of my biggest regrets that Niall Quinn was not here during my time... I felt he was an intelligent player. It would have been a good combination with Thierry Henry. What I like with Quinn is if you look at the player who played next to him, he always scored 40 goals because he had a hand for his head and he just put the ball where you were. He was a team player. A top-class player makes other players look good and he had that player.

It is painful to watch children trying to show off for parents who are engrossed in their cell phones. Children are nostalgic for the 'good old days' when parents used to read to them without the cell phone by their side or watch football games or Disney movies without having the BlackBerry handy.

It is steady, reliable, tough. It never yields to panic. It is never defeated one-sidedly. It achieves everything attainable by character and tenacity.

It is very important that football can see beyond religion but FIFA does not just ignore its impact.

It is well documented that I am a lifelong football fan. My love of the British game started with the 1966 World Cup.

It looks tough for Palace when you see some of the results they've got coming up.

It'll be nice to know that every gallon of petrol a Manchester United fan buys is going into our kitty.

It is wonderful... Steve and Dan took professional football to a whole different level with the way they played the game. The fact that Steve is going in with Dan is very special.

I tried football and got my ass beat. I tried baseball, and the ball knocked out one of my teeth.

I told you I was sick.

I told you the one change we would make in the initial start level of the football pressure, but that's really about it.

I took a whack on my left ankle, but something told me it was my right.

I tried to push him away with my head. I apologise to everyone. I should not have got involved in it.

I tried to talk to the ref but it is easier to get to see the Pope. If I'm in London again and I get mugged I hope the same number of people turn up to protect me. There were six police, four stewards and even a UN peace observer out there.

I tried to nutmeg him. It never came off and he gave me a slap on the back of the head and told me to start behaving

I tried it 100 or a million times it couldn't happen again. If I could, I would have carried on playing.

I try not to tune in to politics until it's two or three months before the election. Till then, it's like watching preseason football.

I try to learn from every experience, good or bad.

I try to take what's given to me and then mold it to be a better football player.

It's a better view if you're standing up than if you're laying down.

It's a bit disappointing when board members who don't know a thing about football are making decisions on your career. When you look at it you've got coaches, senior players and CEO's who wanted me but then it gets to a board meeting and you've got fat businessmen who are making the decision on your career. It was frustrating and it made me a bit angry.

It's a conflict of parallels.

It's all about putting the best team together - not just in the front office but the players on the field.

It's all about the climate. I had a long discussion about it when I went to Scotland to see Andy Roxburgh. I worked with a Scottish youth side and had them do the same drills I would do in Italy. I realised that, between the wind, the rain and the cold, there was no way they could do it. How can you possibly teach anybody anything in those conditions? To me, it's pretty obvious and it explains why Brazilians are more technical than Europeans and, in Italy, the further south you go the more technical they are.

It's a great honour to be asked to be the next manager of Manchester United. I am delighted that Sir Alex saw fit to recommend me for the job. I have great respect for everything he has done and for the football club.

It's all very well having a great pianist playing but it's no good if you haven't got anyone to get the piano on the stage in the first place, otherwise the pianist would be standing there with no bloody piano to play.

It's a group of guys that put their mind to going out and playing great football. Everybody that needed to step up, stepped up. Everybody that needed to make a play, made a play and that's what it's all about.

It's all very simple: if you score one more than your opponent, you win.

It's an awesome responsibility, not only to maintain the level of success the NFL has, but to build on that.

It's a huge honour to wear No 7 at Liverpool. I think about the legends: Dalglish, Keegan and that Australian guy.

It's certainly a loss for us here at the University of Washington, because Jeff Compher has been a wonderful friend and administrator. Jeff is a football man first, but he has the compassion and desire to make all of Northern Illinois' programs successful. He's one heck of a guy.

It's a strange atmosphere always over there, it is darker and less glamorous, and you don't feel as high. It is a different kind of test - can you raise your level in a less exciting environment and perhaps still a very difficult one?

It's best being a striker. If you miss five then score the winner, you're a hero. The goalkeeper can play a blinder, then let one in… and he's a villain.

It's Brazil 2 Scotland 1, so Scotland are back where they were at the start of the match