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Celtic lost at home to Juventus.  They lost 3-0.  They deserved to.

Unfortunately, fitba (I somehow typed "football" as "fiitl" so it must be what my subconscious was going for) doesn't work based on how loudly fans sing, how exciting the attacking play is, how far and fast a defender travels after playing in an international tournament abroad and, most pertinently, how many penalties you should have been awarded.  It works based on how many times you put the ball in the back of the net and how many times your opponents do.

Celtic largely did ok with Andrea Pirlo.  He was the dangerman and Scott Brown gave him grief, though the Italian made him look a mug on a couple of occasions.  But Juve, as the best side in Italy, have several excellent players and their clinicalness in front of goal bore this out.

Originally published on DesignFootball.com on 22nd January 2012

About a year ago I wrote an article congratulating the football kit design industry.  They had, in my mind, reached a point where we no longer needed to scream at them what we wanted in a kit, no longer needed to plead with them that they treat our club or country's colours with respect.  They had listened and learnt.

That was, as history will clearly show, a sweeping generalisation.  I stand by the sentiment - I believe the last 18 months or so's higher profile kits to be, on average, the best ever - but the professionals still occasionally fall short.  Most importantly, I never wanted to give the impression that DesignFootball.com's members were p*ssing in the wind by having a go themselves.  I might claim to be abandoning "the desire to see football fans involved in the design process, either by way of consultation, kit votes or simply allowing the fans to design the kits themselves in competitions" but in this I refer to everyday schlubs which have an opinion on everything and an answer to nothing.  They have had their say and it's been duly noted.  DF's members are a class apart.

Originally published on DesignFootball.com on 1st January 2013

So that's that.  An eclectic year in the world of football design packed full of ample good, bad and ugly.  A year when football design intertwined with some of the biggest news stories to ensure 2012 would leave thousands of brightly-attired images indelibly printed on our memories.  Let's take a look back...

The London 2012 Olympics

As cliché'd as it is to bring it up, London 2012 nailed it in oh so many ways, not least with Stella McCartney's football kit (well, the shirt - the shorts and socks were stripelessly lame).  Both the men's and women's Team GBs went out of their competitions with a whimper after encouraging starts but their shirts, in keeping with the stylish adidas outfits of the other athletes, were a breath of fresh air that will be looked back on with fondness.  If only McCartney had been tasked with designing the England kit.

Originally published on DesignFootball.com on 2nd December 2012

And so it's that foreboding time again, when we knock years off our life expectancy traipsing around shops and jumping from website to website desperately attempting to locate gifts for our nearest and dearest that will satisfy them, avoid us losing face whilst also maintaining whatever degree of solvency we hold in this current financial gloom.

I realise not everyone celebrates Christmas, and not everyone will be buying gifts during this period, but I will, and this is my blog, so please indulge me.  Besides, for those who are in a similar position to me, it's tricky, and I'm here to help...