Football Talk

Rangers fans' historic coffin fit
A fresh tale from the footballing crypt emerges in the wake of Talk's revelation about Queens Park Rangers fans marching on Stamford Bridge carrying a coffin daubed with the slogan 'Chelsea RIP' ahead of their FA Cup tie. It appears the supporters, who bought their full-size box on ebay and collected it from Gloucestershire, were reviving a stunt first used by Rangers folk 41 years ago. Reader Peter Wall writes: "In 1967, QPR played West Brom in the League Cup Final and I made a wooden coffin and my friends, dressed in mourning suits, marched 3,000 fans from Loftus Road to Wembley. On arrival we were allowed to leave the coffin in the inner space in the stadium and after winning the match 3-2 we marched home. The idea came from a friend, Barry Harrington, who was also a great QPR fan. In 1952, he was waiting at Paddington station when a train arrived from Wales and, to his amazement, a group of Cardiff City supporters came off the train carrying a coffin with a sign saying 'RIP Arsenal'."

Smokers kicking up a stink
One serious flaw in football's campaign to ban smoking inside grounds has emerged. Fans at West Ham and Millwall have both reported incidents of fellow supporters congregating in lavatories for secret cigarettes away from the eyes of stewards. One Lions fan compared the half-time scene in the gents' to "an unbearable smoke den", adding: "Since the ban came in fans smoking in the loos have made it worse than it was before." West Ham say they are aware of the problem and are trying to identify offenders through CCTV. The club have threatened to ban fans caught breaking the rule.

Arousing reception for Postma
Stefan Postma's impending move from Den Haag to QPR is big news in Holland. The 31-year-old former Aston Villa goalkeeper is a celebrity in his homeland following his appearance in an X-rated video, which his ex-girlfriend posted on the internet. Loftus Road stewards will be hoping there is no repeat of scenes at several Dutch grounds last season when opposition fans bombarded Postma's penalty box with sex aids.

Not so pleased, Mr Robinson
Not a great start to 2008 if you are called Paul Robinson. Tottenham's version has been dropped and the West Brom defender of the same name was sent off at Hull on Saturday. Elsewhere, Paul Robinson, the captain of struggling Millwall, has just completed a suspension for five yellow cards. But the footballing trio should count themselves lucky compared to Paul Robinson, of Aussie soap Neighbours, who finds out this week that his girlfriend's son, Declan, has been kidnapped.

Band in tune with Fulham fans
Fulham may be struggling to strike the right note on the pitch, but things are looking up for a rock band with strong links to Craven Cottage. Van Tramp have released an album recorded in one of the club's executive boxes and featuring an electric guitar owned by former manager Chris Coleman. The band's line-up includes Fulham's former programme editor Patrick Mascall and they cite defender Moritz Volz and ex-Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann as fans. Guitar-playing former midfielder Claus Jensen has even jammed with them.