Surprised? Don't be. He's a winner

The selection of a Maccabiah football manager is always a contentious issue, and it would be fair to say that the appointment of David Pollock has come as a surprise to some.

The reality is that whoever was named as successor to Lord Kestenbaum would have big boots to fill, especially after he came so close to gold in 2009.

But the facts speak for themselves.

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Rivals see red over Montana

Montana's departure from the MSFL has sparked a furious reaction from some of their rivals. Several teams believe that a common sense approach should have been adopted in dealing with the aftermath.

Chigwell boss Richard Slater commented: "Why couldn't Montana have forfeited this Sunday, and then pulled out the following Monday?

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The magic of the Morrison

The first national round of the Peter Morrison Trophy has thrown up some intriguing north versus south battles with teams from the provinces looking to make their mark in the capital on what will undoubtedly be a super Sunday.

Cup holders Manchester Maccabi 1st face a testing afternoon in the lunchtime kick-off against JC MSFL Premier Division new boys North London Raiders B in Hatfield.

Mac

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Hendon feel heat of Bern return

You should have seen the look on the face of Hendon United manager David Garbacz when he heard that Daran Bern had returned to action in the JC MSFL.

Bern was one of the main reasons why the Hammers finished last season empty-handed after taking Redbridge Jewish Care the distance in the League Cup and Premier Division title race last season.

It has certainly been a big couple of weeks for co

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Time for reflection at LFC

It's been a tough few weeks for supporters of Liverpool Football Club. The unsavoury scenes witnessed last Friday made a bad situation even worse and it has been hard watching the club's proud name being dragged through the mud.

Over the years, I've spoken to Oldham captain Dean Furman about antisemitic abuse in football.

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Oscar time for top star

2011 was a busy, and dare I say, successful year for professional and amateur Jewish sportsmen and women across the globe.

For many, the European Maccabi Games in Vienna was the highlight, while there were also some great performances in the world of Sunday morning football.

Jockey Sam Waley-Cohen takes the top prize after a stellar year.

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Predictions in good shape for the business end of the season

With the exception of one, all my pre-season MSFL predictions are well-placed to challenge for honours in 2012. I currently have one team in first place, one in second, two in third and one in fourth. Remember, it's a marathon not a sprint.

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Pile on the pounds for Chanucah

Most Jewish footballers up and down the land are taking a well-deserved break over the festive period.

No doubt, their managers hope that they do not over-indulge on doughnuts, latkes and Chanukah gelt or go binge-drinking during end-of-year club celebrations. After all, no-one wants to go into 2012 struggling to squeeze into their kits or under armour.

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Olympic prize is the real deal

The London Olympics will be with us before you can say Usain Bolt, and it's no surprise to see that Maccabi GB have come up trumps again.

The UK's leading Jewish sports charity has been given exclusive access to offer the community the chance to be among the first 'athletes' worldwide to test out the new Olympic running track.

The 2012 Gold Challenge will be the first licensed event in the s

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From dirty nappies to the dug-out, it's been a manic week

It has been a hectic few days in the Caro household, to say the least. It started with a mad dash out of the office when my wife, Donna, gave birth to our third child, Ruby, 10 days early.

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Down but certainly not out

If you'd have said there were no Jewish athletes on the shortlist for the top honours at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year a couple of years ago, you may have got a raised eyebrow at best.

But now, the response is a little closer to 'are you serious'?

It's good to see so many punching their weight on the world stage.

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Take it from me, Neasden's new signing is different gravy

Every once in a while, you see a player who has a certain wow factor about him. At North London Raiders, there are Alex Olcot and Jamie Wolfson, while in recent times, striker Richard Salmon has taken FC Team to another level.

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Good refs and good sports. You get it all in Jewish football

I've received several glowing reports about referees and teams in the MSFL and Maccabi Masters League over the past few days.

Richard Jaye took the morning off reporting to officiate at the Peter Morrison Trophy tie between Temple Fortune A and Camden Park. Fortune assistant-manager Jack Morris said: "Richard was superb. He handled the game incredibly well.

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Hendon ticked all the boxes

'It's not that we under-estimated them.

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Kick 'Jew goal' into touch now

Just when you think you've heard every expression in football, a new one pops up. Well, it was certainly new to me.

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It’s time to get back to basics

There comes a point every season when someone needs to step up and say – hey lads, cool it.

The number of red cards and acts of indiscipline are slowly mounting up, both north and south, and it appears that the early season feel-good-factor is starting to evaporate. I’ve noticed a particular lapse in player behaviour since Yom Kippur, so the message from me is ‘calm down’.

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Cup still half full for Lions

The rachmanus spirit is regularly talked about in Jewish sport. There was first-hand evidence of it last weekend when London Maccabi Lions took part in the prestigious Sunday FA Cup.

With joint-managers Josh and Malcolm Newman unavailable, it was left to the wise, old heads of David Kyte and Jon Green to lead the team.

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Who said management was a walk in the park?

After two seasons of great success, I find myself in the midst of my first managerial crisis.

It was Adam Fegan who got me into MSFL management after injuries cut short my playing career.

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The Bernstein-factor would go down a treat

FA chairman David Bernstein told me earlier this week that he's planning to visit Rowley Lane.

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Melikson could be Israel's saviour

The phrase 'one-man team' is over-used and over-hyped. However, in the case of Maor Melikson, he faces a big decision over the next few days that could shape the future of Israel football.

Last week Melikson said that he would turn his back on the Israel national team after he was snubbed for two important Euro 2012 qualifiers against Greece and Croatia.

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