Filling this year's Panini World Cup sticker book will cost seven hundred and thirty three smackers, twice the cost for Euro 2016, according to 'maths expert' Professor Paul Harper. Who, presumably, didn't have anything more important to turn his maths expertise towards this week. The pages contain thirty two squads of players, plus managers, stadiums and World Cup legends, totalling six hundred and eighty two stickers. The cost of a pack of five stickers has risen from fifty pence to eighty pence - a sixty per cent increase. If one were to buy one hundred and thirty seven packets and never get the same sticker twice, it would cost £109.60, but this is 'extremely unlikely,' according to the professor. No shit? Harper, from Cardiff University's School of Mathematics, worked out 'a formula' to include 'the least probable number of duplicate stickers.' In the end, he demonstrated that, on average, one would need to buy four thousand eight hundred and thirty two stickers - nine hundred and sixty seven packets - to complete the book. One cost-saving measure is swapping stickers with friends, but even using that tactic, filling the album would still be jolly expensive. With ten friends swapping, it could still cost them an average of two hundred and forty seven knicker each to complete the album, according to the professor's calculations. And, that is always supposing that those completing the albums have ten friends. In 2016, Harper made the same calculations for the six hundred and eighty-space Euro sticker book. It was three hundred and seventy four quid, meaning the cost has more than doubled. While the Euro competition only had twenty four squads there were only two fewer stickers in the book printed two years ago. 'I can still recall the joy of finally completing my first Panini album as a young boy for the 1982 World Cup in Spain,' said Harper. 'Filling an album has become progressively more expensive over the years since then, not just because there are typically more teams competing now, but because Panini have become more creative about allocating spaces.' For what it's worth, this blogger's Panini collection goes all the way back to the 1970 World Cup, when he was six. And, stopped after 1978. Because, by 1982, he was eighteen. And, a grown up.
Ayoze Perez's late goal gave yer actual Keith Telly Topping's beloved (though unsellable) Newcastle United a victory which moved them a big step closer towards Premier League safety and left Huddersfield Town in danger of dropping back into the Championship. The hosts had looked like being frustrated as they missed a number of decent chances to take the lead early on against the cautious Terriers. Matt Ritchie was denied one-on-one by Huddersfield keeper Jonas Lossl before Dwight Gayle saw his lob drop just wide of the post. Only Malaga have failed to score in more games than Huddersfield this season in any of Europe's top five leagues and they rarely threatened in this encounter. Huddersfield, that is, not Malaga. They weren't playing. It appeared as if Huddersfield would hold on for an important point until Perez turned in Kenedy's smart cross ten minutes from time to secure a vital win which lifts The Bonny Magpies to twelfth in the Premier League table with thirty five points, seven points above the relegation zone. Huddersfield, meanwhile, remain three points above eighteenth-placed Southampton, who lost at three-nil at West Hamsters United and are now without a win in their last four Premier League games. Elsewhere, Mohamed Salah's late goal snatched a victory for Liverpool Alabama Yee-Haws at Crystal Palace and left Palace two points above the relegation zone, Leicester scored twice and had Wilfred Ndidi sent off in the last few minutes to claim a dramatic win at Brighton & Hove Albinos, Romelu Lukaku scored his one hundredth Premier League goal as The Scum strengthened their grip on second place and dented Swansea City's survival hopes, Jermain Defoe scored a ninety second-minute equaliser as Bournemouth denied Watford victory at Vicarage Road and Ashley Barnes' spectacular volley kept Burnley's European hopes alive and condemned basement club West Bromwich Albinos to a Premier League record eighth successive defeat.
