Take a look at a couple of free football games that will make the weekend's matches more exciting

I like to take a look at the different aspects of football in my blog. I believe that football is more than just the things that happen on the pitch, and about more than the things that happen in the Premier League. I've taken the time to look at the following in recent weeks-

The best food to eat while watching football - http://inofftheblogpost.blogspot.com/2015/09/whats-best-food-to-go-with-football.html

Perfect football Christmas gifts - http://inofftheblogpost.blogspot.com/2015/09/so-your-child-wants-to-be-footballer.html

This ultimate football quiz site - http://inofftheblogpost.blogspot.com/2015/10/take-look-at-fun-footie-quiz-website.html

And it's by looking at the periphery sometimes that opens up my eyes to the wonderful world of football.

A couple of things have been reignited in my eyes this week - both testing your skill (and luck) and both free of charge.

Super 6

This is a free app provided by Sky Sports and tests your football knowledge for a potential £250,000 prize. Each week they state 6 fixtures, all Saturday 3pm, and ask you to guess the correct scores. Be the only person to get all 6 completely correct and win the top prize. If more than one person gets them all current then the closest guess to the first goal time is the winner. With 5 points for a correct score and 2 points for a correct result, if there's no £250k winner then the top point scorer gets £20,000. The idea is a good one and gets people watching Gillette Soccer Saturday, gets downloads of their app and gives Sky a chance to market Sky Bet to an audience that already has expressed an interest in predicting football scores. And it's a worthwhile bit of weekly fun for you football fans out there.

Fantasty football

This is a development borrowed from American Football and allows the manager in you to compete against friends, family and the world. It's been here for 20+ years but is still going strongly, with the newspapers in particular pushing sign-ups. I prefer the official game on the Barclays site, as it allows you to build a squad, make substitutions and transfers. It does, however, take up a bit if time every week as you plot substitutions, transfers and captains. But once you are in a league against your friends or work colleagues it's all worthwhile and adds to the enjoyment of the football fixtures as well as provoking some friendly rivalry. If you're not yet part of a game I suggest you give it a try - most are free to join and will provide a little fun and the chance to win a prize.

I'll keep looking at different ways to enjoy football and I'll post all the angles on here!

Does the game need "characters" or are we fine without them?

I've always seen quotes, usually in the tabloid press, that the game of football needs characters. That the likes of Mario Balotelli are "good for the game" as they keep up the interest level, create headlines and make the game more interesting. They say that the negative antics of Jose Mourinho where he attacks referees, other players, other managers and the authorities adds to the game because he is a character.

I completely disagree. I think that the phrase "bringing the game into disrepute" is wholly appropriate and I think that the lawmakers need to stamp down hard on all of these things.

I've been reading in my local newspaper this morning about Adam Johnson being arrested on suspicion of sex with a 15 year old girl. This man is a role model. With the outrageous riches he is paid, he owes the fans, his teammates, the club and the city a debt of representing them. I dread the conversation with my 8 and 6 year old boys when they ask why one of their favourite players is missing. When they ask why he's on Sky News instead of Sky Sports News.

I think that as a whole, football owes it's supporters. I don't expect all players to be angels all of the time but I don't think that it's too much to ask that they keep their heads down and work hard for the 15 to 20 years of the career, when they're paid huge sums of money to represent their club and fans.