On Saturday, Hartlepool United fans travelled south to London to watch their team to take on League One Champions Charlton Athletic. Football FanCast blogger Chrissy Bell was part of a contingent of 170 smurfs who made global headlines. Here he tells the story of a day the Poolies will never forget:

It’s not every day you dress up as a smurf.

It’s not every day you cake your face in blue (or in my case, cake your face in blue until your constant rubbing wears it off after a couple of hours).

It’s not every day you become London’s main tourist attraction.

It’s not every day you create a worldwide Twitter sensation, by that meaning you trend worldwide.

And it’s certainly not every day you manage to upstage the FA Cup final.

And above all it’s not every day you become famous.

Enough of the everyday’s. But all of the above apply to the 171 fantastically dressed blue and white smurfs who took London by storm and enjoyed a truly memorable weekend.

From an early start of 5:30pm, the look of astonishment coupled with amazement of the taxi driver was just the first of thousands of similar looks throughout the day.

The local press, the Hartlepool Mail, were waiting at the smurfs’ first port call, Hartlepool Train Station. Five hours later and the Mail weren’t the only media outlet following the fancy dress nuts around, however.

Snaking around Eaglescliffe’s train station bridge was the sight of scores of endless white hats and strap-on beards. Next stop: King’s Cross.

And boy oh boy was that the start of the internet phenomenon. Raiding their song book, the smurfs chanted from stepping off the train, through the station, down the escalators, on the tubes, through the streets, in a shocked hotel lobby, in the pubs and in Covent Garden. And that was before the actual football match against Charlton and the night’s journey through London.

Amidst that, news was filtering through that media outlets were broadcasting images, talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham refused to talk about anything other than the smurfs, and onlookers all stopped from their sightseeing, dug deep to find their cameras and clicked the capture button relentlessly.

Covent Garden’s street performers were forced to take an untraditional step back in terms of camera snapping for a change, the Nags Head packed with the joyous and soon-to-be intoxicated smurfs.

The match itself was a good spectacle (Charlton narrowly won 3-2, by the way). But, again, just like so many things on this craziest of days, it played second fiddle to the smurfs. It was reminiscent of a play-off final, the atmosphere.

Following the match the smurfs divided, but the estimated 80+ who remained in the Capital continued soaking up the fame. Some pubs, however, didn’t see the funny side and refused to serve the happy smurfs. Yes, The Round House, I am talking about you!

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Nevertheless, that didn’t deter the fun and they continued to march onwards. Fans from all clubs were coming up to individuals, buying them a drink for their efforts and departing. There was even one occasion when a roughly-spoken Cockney barged into a pub and starting singing ‘Hartlepool, Hartlepool, Hartlepool’.

The word had spread. As Oasis sing: All around the world, you’ve got to spread the word, tell them what you’ve heard. People were certainly adhering to Noel Gallagher’s lyrics.

Big Ben, London Eye, Downing Street, Buckingham Palace: eat your heart out. As on Saturday London had a new tourist attraction that its customers will cherish forever. Not to mention the attraction’s party.

You can find me on Twitter @cmbell310 for more smurf and football chat.

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Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira has stressed the importance of keeping Robin van Persie at the Emirates Stadium.

The Netherlands international is in the last year of his contract at the north London club, and is thought to be stalling on signing a new contract.

With Vieira’s new side Manchester City waiting in the wings and eager to bring the prolific forward to the Etihad Stadium, the Frenchman has admitted that losing their captain would be a sickening blow for Arsenal.

“I think losing Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas last year was a big shock for Arsenal – and if they lose Robin this year, it will be a trauma,” he told Mirror Football.

“When Samir and Cesc left, you could say, ‘OK, but we still have Van Persie and Jack Wilshere at the club.’

“But if Robin leaves, that means next year it may be Theo Walcott, next year it’s Wilshere, and it’s going to be difficult for Arsenal to keep their top players.

“I’m quite surprised they have waited until he has only a year left on his contract to talk to him. It’s difficult to find players of Robin’s quality anywhere in the world with only a year left – especially strikers who can score 34 goals in a season. It’s difficult to understand.

“Robin wants to win trophies – and Arsenal have to prove he can do it with them.

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“We know that Robin loves Arsenal. That is not the question – the real question is how Arsene Wenger will convince Robin they can win trophies,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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Barcelona are thought to have turned their transfer attention to Arsenal’s Thomas Vermaelen, and will make a move for him this summer according to The Daily Mail.

The Catalan giants are keen to bolster their backline, and had initially targeted AC Milan and Brazil centre half Thiago Silva.

However, with the Rossoneri asking for more than £30 million for the South American defender, Tito Vilanova’s men are considering other options.

Belgium international Vermaelen has emerged a surprise option for the Camp Nou giants, with his versatility of being able to play on the left or centre of defence and in a holding midfield role if necessary of appeal to the Spanish side.

Arsene Wenger will be keen to hold onto his vice-captain, and it is thought that the north London side would turn down any approach from Barcelona.

Spurs target Jan Vertonghen is also mentioned in the Spanish press as a possible target for Barcelona as they look for a long-term replacement for Carles Puyol, and as such Tottenham would do well to wrap up a deal for the Ajax man.

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By Gareth McKnight

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The debate of scrapping or keeping the transfer windows has rumbled on for an extended period of time. Certain club managers are less than happy with aspects of it, while others can see the sensationalism and hype it creates. The money being spent in the winter and summer months is inflated due to the need to “panic buy,” while scrapping the transfer window might work well with Uefa’s approaching Financial Fair Play policy.

That’s not to say that it’s an entirely great idea to completely scrap the transfer windows and leave the market open all year. Yes there are advantages to it: Perhaps clubs will see a decent level of sense and logic in holding onto the majority of a quoted transfer fee. It would definitely bring an end to that deadline day circus that continues to be supported by Sky Sports. However, scrapping the transfer window and allowing clubs to rethink their need to spend heavily may only be beneficial to the bigger clubs who do have that sort of spending power.

The smaller clubs, or even clubs such as Arsenal and Tottenham who have had wealthier clubs trying to lure their stars away, would suffer greatly. That manner of poaching—because lets be honest, that’s exactly what it is—would continue throughout the season and seriously derail any ambitions and targets those clubs have. Where’s the sense in standing firm over Luka Modric’s transfer saga and insisting the player is going nowhere if Chelsea, for example, can indeed continue to court the player all season? The big worry here is that clubs can really start to lose a sense of identity on the field. The focus would be on the shadow cast over the club, rather than the importance of having a good season.

Equally, whose to say that the circus would completely end if the transfer window were scrapped? Those clubs who dig their heels in and demand hugely inflated fees for their most valuable players could continue to do the same throughout the year. Indeed, there would be less need to panic and rush into any sort of deal from the buying club, but would it really decrease the value of a player if the selling club do not want to do business?

At the same time, other clubs, specifically those who have found new seats of power in the football world, will continue to flex their muscle in the transfer market. Leaving the window open throughout the season will only give them an incentive to rubbish Uefa’s FFP and carry on in a manner that could be detrimental in the long term. And where does the madness of an open transfer window end? Does a long term injury to a player suddenly force the club to splash out and replace like-for-like? What happens when the issue of a 25-man squad comes into play?

With an open transfer window, or indeed the notion of scrapping the hysteria rather than the actual necessity to buy, there is very little security for the investments smaller clubs have made. Players with a little bit of mercenary about them will naturally jump ship as soon as the increased wage offer is flashed. And clubs who are fighting relegation may genuinely have no hope if transfers are allowed to take place during the business end of the season.

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Scrapping the transfer window is an idea that is only brought forward to help reduce the big spending and the continued circus atmosphere that surrounds football at various points in the year. Even as flicking through a transfer gossip section every now and then might be considered a guilty pleasure to some—and it really can be interesting and greatly entertaining—what happens then to the genuine journalism and interesting stories in football? Does the history and setup of Ajax’s famous youth academy take a back seat to the transfer gossip that is sure to fill the pages all season? If that’s the case then it’s just another reason not to advocate the scrapping of the transfer window.

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As the news broke that Brendan Rodgers was the man chosen to succeed Kenny Dalglish in the Anfield hot seat scores of supporters on Merseyside licked their lips in anticipation. Following the disastrous second coming of their supposed ‘king’ that saw the club widely ridiculed for blowing over £100 million on a cluster of below-average players the arrival of Rodgers was supposed to herald a significant change. Having operated on a shoestring budget throughout his career the expectation was that Northern Irishman would shrewdly navigate the transfer market picking up a few bargain signings on the way. But just two months into his reign and he’s already been stung by Dalglish’s reckless splurges after being quoted £15m for Wales midfielder Joe Allen – a player with just one seasons worth of Premier League experience. His predecessor set a ludicrously high benchmark for spending that clubs will now use as a strong bargaining chip to force the Red’s into paying over-the-odds once again. Whether Rodgers can stand firm and resist temptation is another question entirely.

This week on FFC can the Reds still lure the world’s elite names to Anfield and which Uruguayan is Rodgers hoping to bring to Anfield this summer?

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Best of FFC

Liverpool in danger of being one-dimensional?

Can Liverpool still attract the very best?

An unwanted distraction for Liverpool FC?

Why Liverpool must retain him at all costs

Fast becoming a dying trait in football

Liverpool Targeting Uruguayan Sensation

A transfer conundrum for Liverpool

Liverpool plotting £750k swoop for stopper

Liverpool turn down £17m bid

Liverpool look to up the transfer ante to land midfielder

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Best of WEB

Liverpool Shouldn’t ‘Take The Hit’ On Alive Again Misfit – Live 4 Liverpool

Noooo! The Steven Gerrard ‘Kiss of Death’ strikes again. Game over…? – Liverpool Kop

Liverpool FC: Incapable of Driving a Bargain? Not Quite… – This is Anfield

Are Liverpool at ‘Year Zero’? – Liverpool Kop

LFC fans tell FSG: Dump Hendo + sign this £15m maestro instead. Agree? – The Tomkins Times

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Do Liverpool Really Need Joe Allen? – Live 4 Liverpool

Will he stay or will he go? The Alberto Aquilani Dilemma – This is Anfield

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Quote of the Week

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“I do think we will get in the top four. I think we will get it. I am confident we will get it. I am not being unrealistic. If we can play like we did in a lot of games last season, be clinical and take our chances, I think we will be high up in the table. I do.” Steven Gerrard believes Liverpool can finish in the top four next season

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Featured Video

A more dramatic title victory would be hard to find, and the last day of the season for Manchester City provided thrills and spills not seen before. Mancini and his men were crowned Champions after just piping United to the post, and will be looking to retain their crown in slightly less dramatic fashion this time out, not to mention a better show in Europe being a must.

City will look ahead to this season to show that they are not just a rich flash in the pan, but are here to stay and the only way to do that is by adding more trophies to the already growing loot. So is that what lies in store for the formerly noisy neighbours?

Signing of the Summer –

Something that has caused somewhat of a stir at the Ethiad, City have been very quiet in the transfer market this summer with even a lack of silly season rumours. Of course they were players in the RVP love square but did not really need the player and for whatever reason have decided that the Dutchman is not for them. It is a slim pickings award, but the title goes to promising former Everton player Jack Rodwell who cost City £15 million – mostly because he is English and thus price becomes seriously inflated. Will the boy break through? It remains to be seen, but Rodwell is highly rated and given the chance could make an impact at the club.

One To Watch –

Without a doubt City’s most unpredictable player has to take this honour. Love him or loath him, Mario Balotelli is a fantastic player who is only growing in stature after a brilliant Euros. If the player finally manages to curb his eccentricity slightly – not all the way, after all we love him for it most of the time – and the Italian would be my bet for not only top scorer, but for player of the season too.

Breakthrough of the Season –

Jack Rodwell could again feature here, as despite his move to City he is by no means a starter and will have a huge fight on his hands to land a regular first team place at the Ethiad. Whilst many feel that going across the North West may have been career suicide, Rodwell himself must believe he can make an impact in not just the City squad but potentially the England one too – this will be a huge season for the young player – make or break.

Prospects In Europe –

A difficult group last year was the undoing of City and they will be in a similar situation this time around with the seeding, so it will be hard from the offset. Mancini never won the trophy with Inter and looked out of his depth at times tactically, yet with a much better squad than when he was in Italy and indeed great pressure for a better showing from the owners, City will simply have to improve on last season – but to win the trophy? Unlikely at best.

And Retaining the Title –

Whilst there has not been a flurry of transfer activity at City this summer, there was not really much need for one, and their champions will be a year older and wiser. United have promised big spending but thus far failed to really deliver and Mancini will fancy City’s chances again. They will have to make sure not to take their eye off the ball should they progress in the Champions League, but barring a mass disaster, City look odds on to retain their crown.

What Will They End Up With?

Carling Cup – Not  one that City will really have their eye on, so expect to see the reserves and fringe players making appearances in this competition. A last 4 showing with a subsequent defeat will be their lot in this one.

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FA Cup – Although it is not seen as a huge trophy, a domestic double is what City could well be looking at this season, and an appearance in the final of the FA Cup with a probable victory – depending on if they have made the final cut in Europe.

Champions League – After the poor showing last time out, City have the benefit of experience behind them and will be looking to make it out of the groups as a minimum requirement. The Champions League is very dependent on the draws, and should City get a decent one, a last 8 appearance is what they should be working towards here.

Premier League – It is always harder to retain a trophy than to win it in the first place, and City will make that their top priority this season. With yet another ACON coming up they will have to do better than last year without Toure and will be praying Kompany stays fit and avoids suspensions – again something that cost them dearly last term. It will be hard going, but City will become Champions once again.

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West Ham United co-owner, David Sullivan, admits the club are still carrying the financial burden of the Carlos Tevez saga which relegated Sheffield United back in 2007, according to Daily Mail reports.

Sullivan admitted West Ham still owe the Blades £10 million in compensation, as Tevez’s winner against Manchester United saved the club from relegation and effectively sent the Yorkshiremen back to the Championship, despite the Argentine being  ineligible to play.

He said: “We have an eight-figure sum still outstanding over the Tevez affair, even though we have been playing it down over the past two years.” (Daily Mail)

Manager, Sam Allardyce has been shrewd in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Jussi Jaaskelainen and George McCartney in the summer transfer window, while Kevin Nolan proved to be an inspirational signing last year and scored the winner in Saturday’s opening day victory over Aston Villa, but Sullivan admits the debt has hindered the Hammers’ spending.

He claimed: “We’ve done some good business and brought in some real quality despite our still-limited resources.

“That amount has to be paid off over the next 12 months, which does take its toll on our transfer activity.”

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Joey Barton has confessed that he let himself down by being sent off on the final day of last season.

The QPR midfielder was dismissed for violent conduct in the Loftus Road club’s clash with Manchester City, and was subsequently handed down a 12-match ban from the FA.

Barton has since secured a season-long loan to French club Marseille, and has explained his actions at the Etihad Stadium.

“I completely let myself down but it’s not a rational situation. I knew we could be relegated, they could win the league and I’m captain,” he revealed to The Sun.

“There’s a bit of a media spotlight on me so if we go down, I’m going to take a lot of s***.

“I was already getting it on Twitter so pressure started building and I didn’t handle it well.

“My inner chimp doesn’t work well with injustice, it reacts too quickly. Tevez has done what he’s done, I have reacted and the aftermath is…

“I look at it now and it’s almost like it’s not me. I’m like ‘What the f*** were you thinking?’

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“At the time in some weird way I thought it was the correct way but, looking at it now, I know it wasn’t.

“I’ve got to learn a lesson from that. The thing it reiterated to me was just how far I am from the person I want to be,” he concluded.

Twitter is essentially a glorified Facebook status update, allowing you to share each and every thought that pops into your head with a global audience. In the right hands this can be a very powerful tool but in the wrong hands, it’s just straight up dangerous. Most of us have the foresight to consider our ‘tweets’ before we set them in virtual stone but footballers appear incapable of such logic, instead using the site to offload a few ‘brain dumps’.

The advent of social media has bestowed us with unprecedented access into the lives of our favourite superstars. We’re now all too readily exposed to an unfiltered stream of mundane and trivial information, which serves only to quash our once idolised view of our sporting icons. I’m sure most players don’t set out to infuriate, annoy or ‘wind-up’, some actually share interesting content, but that doesn’t stop them from further enforcing all the negative stereotypes associated with the modern day footballer.

Click on Pele below to reveal my Top 15 most annoying footballers on Twitter

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Matthew Etherington says he is puzzled by Stoke players being continually overlooked for England recognition.

The Potters winger has urged Three Lions

boss Roy Hodgson to visit the Britannia Stadium and cast his eye over striker Peter Crouch

and defender Ryan Shawcross.

Crouch, 31, scored both goals as Stoke won 2-0 against weekend visitors Swansea, taking his tally to five goals in seven games this season. However, he has not played for his country since scoring in the 2-1 home defeat by France in a November 2010 friendly.

Potters captain Shawcross is still to make his senior international bow after representing England Under-21s and recently turned down an invitation from Wales boss Chris Coleman to switch allegiance. Etherington told Sky Sports:

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“Perhaps the England manager needs a map. You would think so because there’s no doubt Crouchie should be in the squad. His international record is second to none and since he’s came here he’s been scoring regularly. He’s priceless for us. Ryan should be in the frame as well, but you play for Stoke and there seems to be a certain stigma.”