ALL IN THE GAME:A football miscellany

A:Anything In Between? " Nothing's black or white in our country – you're either brilliant or you're hopeless." Alan Shearer. Legend.

B:Between Jobs. Since leaving Middlesbrough in October Gordon Strachan has had time on his hands, and what better way of filling it than by taking up pilates? How's he getting on? " All this 'breathe in and stabilise' stuff – the instructor never told us to breathe out again, so for two minutes I was holding my breath. Nearly killed myself."

C:Crush. " I am not a gay, but if I was, or if I was a woman, which is similar, I would do David Beckham. But that's just my individual opinion."Peruvian striker Roberto Silva hoping for a friendly against LA Galaxy some time soon.

D:Devotion. " If Pep told me to throw myself off the third tier of Camp Nou, Id think: 'there must be something good down there'." Barcelona's Dani Alves – in Guardiola he trusts. Even with his life.

E:Expertise. " That would have been a goal if it had gone in." Dion Dublin out-Jamie Redknapping Jamie Redknapp on Sky Sports.

F:Faint Praise. " Gerrard's first touch was perfect. His second was even better."Andy Townsend almost waxing lyrical over Stevie G on ITV.

G:Gee, Thanks. " Nani did pretty well but Ryan (Giggs) gives you something else, he's the intelligence to take up good positions." Alex Ferguson on how the Portuguese lad isn't the brightest light in the harbour.

H:History In The Making. One in 20 of 2,000 British children surveyed, between the ages of nine and eleven, believed Adolf Hitler was the German football coach. Mind you, the same number thought the Holocaust was an end-of-war celebration.

I:In All Modesty. " There is no other Sam Allardyce, there is just the one. There never has been and never will be another Sam Allardyce. Sam Allardyce doesn't manage like anyone else." Eh, Sam "currently clubless" Allardyce.

J:Jose. " This has been the best year in my career, I would give myself an 11 out of 10." Mr Mourinho with a surprisingly modest assessment of his year's work.

K:Knowledge Is Power. Alan Green: " He's just gone off there, Vidic, for treatment to a cut across his nose." Robbie Earle: " That's the same nose that got banged midweek against Milan."

L:Long-Term Loyalty. " I am a player for AEK for the next four years." AEK Athens' Sotiris Kyrgiakos . . . 10 days before he left for Liverpool.

M:Mon Dieu. " A stink bomb that keeps on exploding." L'Equipe'stribute to the French team's World Cup campaign.

N:Number-Crunching: "That's three world- class saves – two from Cech, one from Green and one from Myhill." The BBC's Garth Crooks.

O:Oooooooh . "There are some of the best players in the world in the Premier League and certainly some of the best managers, and don't forget there is also the Wolves and Mick McCarthy."West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo.

P:Playing Away. " Terry has no moral code for what he did to Bridge," said Carlos Tevez when the Chelsea captain's dalliance was revealed. " In my neighbourhood if you do that, you lose your legs, or more – you don't survive."

Q:Quite Bizarre. Jon Champion (ESPN): "Luka Modric has the frame of Norman Wisdom but he tackles like Norman Hunter." David Pleat: " And I know his dentist – he says he's a super, super guy." Champion: " You can tell a lot from dental records." Pleat: " Absolutely."

R:Rather Disappointed. " My farewell was shit. We must look ahead. Four years ago we were heroes. Today, we are b****cks. We are shamed. We failed. It is a debacle." Midfielder Gennaro Gattuso with a somewhat downbeat assessment of Italy's World Cup exit.

S:Social Networking. Reporter: " Gordon, do you Twitter?" Gordon Strachan: " Do I ****! Twitter is for ****ing cowards who cannae speak to people. Keyboard cowboys."

T:There Are No Words: " That shows the focus and concentration of the Spanish players, no one sang the anthem." ITV's Clive Tyldesley before Spain's World Cup game against Chile. But there are, literally, no words.

U: Uh Oh: " They must be clever and forget their egos and realise that the only thing that matters is the team, not them. If they don't understand that, I will need a gun." French coach Raymond Domenech calling for a bit of unity from his players before the World Cup. So, how did that go then?

V:Very, Very High Praise. Reporter: " What would be the best way for England to use Peter Crouch?" Arsene Wenger: " Perhaps we should ask Air Traffic Control."

W:Worth Repeating: "Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! Not brilliant, brilliant, brilliant – it's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, BRILLIANT! Four saves out of four, Ciarán Kelly!" George Hamilton on the Sligo Rovers goalkeeper after his penalty shoot-out exploits in the FAI Cup final.

X:X Factor: " It's like going onX Factor . . . you're either good or you're not good. You don't go back, meet up with the judges, have a chat and say, 'You should be voting for me, I'm a sexy bird, I'll get my gear off for you'. What's it all about?" Harry Redknapp explaining the World Cup bidding process.

Y:Yep, True Enough. " Pele said an African team would win the World Cup by the year 2000 but I think it's going to take a bit longer." Alan Shearer on a lost decade.

Z:Zero Control. " He can't take charge of his own children – I don't know how he'd manage it on a football pitch." The wife of English referee Howard Webb revealing he has as much success controlling his kids as he did handling the Dutch in the World Cup final.