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!

Fantasy FC...Merse meets Gazza

I'm just watching the above programme on Sky Sports 3 and I must say it's an absolute pleasure to watch. I used to go to Spurs home games in my youth as the nearest top flight team to my home in Essex. It started with Glenn Hoddle, Chris Waddle, Gary Lineker and Gazza. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these iconic players and feel privileged to have seen Gazza play before his injuries and other problems.

The programme has got me wondering about which players from the current Premier League I will look back at with similar fondness in 10 or 15 years time. Over the last few seasons at the Stadium of Light I've seen the following players-

• Sergio Aguero
• Vincent Kompany
• Yaya Toure
• Eden Hazard
• Cesc Fabregas
• Didier Drogba
• Fernando Torres
• Wayne Rooney
• Robin van Persie
• Gareth Bale

Of these, I think that Eden Hazard and Sergio Aguero are the two that I came away from the stadium and raved about. in both the games I saw them play they were electric. I think I watched the individual players more than I watched the match.

Eden Hazard took the game by the scruff of the neck as his teammates didn't step up to the plate. The final score was Sunderland 3 - Chelsea 4 and every time Sunderland threatened to get back into the match, he was there providing another assist by going on a solo run and destroying the entire Sunderland back line.

The match where I saw Aguero play was another occasion Sunderland concede four, but with only a single Connor Whickam goal in reply. Aguero looked absolutely bored with the game. He looked around the stands, eyed the bench, watched others play and run until he saw an opportunity to score. Then he came alive. He scored two great goals and inspired an insipid City to walk over Sunderland.

Who am I looking forward to seeing?

I can't think of too many players in the current Premier League season that I'm desperate to see, with the obvious exception of Aguero and Hazard again. I think that I'm excited about seeing Memphis Depay for the player he could eventually become. The one player that I've missed and really want to be able to see is Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal. I think he is a phenomenal player and works so hard at his game.

I think that the Premier League is missing the top, top stars of other leagues. For me, the biggest draws in world football are playing in Spain and for Bayern Munich or PSG. The lifestyle in Spain and the obvious attraction of playing for one of the El Clasico teams or the money from PSG make it difficult for the English clubs to compete, as their showing in the last couple of Champions League seasons shows.