Really well written piece Nick, if you're interested in getting your work published (External to your WP blog) let me know and I'll give you a few email addresses of sites that publish pieces and you could probably get a writing slot with them.
I mean it's not going to be ESPN but there's a lot of good quality sites out there. I'll give you the contact info for the editor of the Daisy Cutter if you're interested and you can show him some work and see if he wants to pick you up. Or if that has too much football satire for you, a different league is usually recruiting correspondents. I believe ADL are recruiting a European Football Writer and a few English sub editors so if it sounds like your type of thing let me know and I'll give you the email addresses.
Thanks for the praise, it means a lot. I'm improving all the time, so it's nice when people say stuff like that. Especially when this piece was done in about half an hour, halfway through which I realised the time and started panicking due to possible lateness at a place I needed to go.
Those sound very interesting: if you've got the time, a PM with the contact details of that the likes of Daisy Cutter would be fantastically appreciated. Thanks!
Also, so this isn't too off-topic: Mike. secretly loves Jonny Evans and wants his manbabies