Kick Off Merchants Blog

Everyone having a good weekend? Well I hope you are enjoying it because we are working. Kick Off Merchant Towers is a busy place today after some successful new product launches yesterday. The first of which was these cracking Rangers 55 mugs: Since they won the league last weekend, Rangers fans seem to be buying everything in celebration of their 55th title. We have seen our Rangers Flags, Union Jack Beer Mats and Rangers Union 55 T-Shirts flying out. And then yesterday we launched those mugs and it quickly became clear. We are going to have to work Saturday! Friday...

*Data correct as per April 2021

Yesterday Manchester City won the first major trophy of the season. Not a huge surprise that they lifted the EFL Cup for the 4th time in a row and 5th time in 6 years. Their dominance of the competition is reminiscent to that of Liverpool in the 1980s who also won it 4 times in a row. The EFL competition is turning into an odd competition. Every team, regardless of whether they are fighting for the title, top 4, relegation, promotion or in mid-table seems to use it as an opportunity to rest and rotate their squad. And this is...

I love the FA Cup. For me it will always be the greatest cup competition on earth. I grew up in the 90s (was born mid-80s) in a working class family in North-East London. We did not have the money for Sky TV. That meant the only football I got to watch was the FA Cup. It was actually the FA Cup that made me fall in love with The Arsenal. Watching the FA Cup semi-final between Arsenal and Tottenham in 1991 as a 6-year-old, I had decided to support whoever loses (I grew up in a family with little...

Ben White is the man called up by Gareth Southgate to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold. This means both James Ward Prowse and Jesse Lingard miss out again, despite both performing well in England’s friendlies. White’s inclusion means England now have 5 central defenders, alongside the 3 right backs in the squad. The feeling is Ward Prowse or Lingard would have given Southgate and extra option in the middle of the park. Something a bit different to those already in the squad. So why did Southgate go for White? It has to be due to concerns over Harry Maguire’s fitness. The Manchester...