BBC SPORT | Funny Old Game | You'll never talk alone

BBC Sport Online picks out some of the quirky, offbeat or plain daft stories doing the rounds.

You'll never talk alone

York City could be getting crowds of up to 100,000 before the season is out - without having to move to another ground.

The Third Division club are experimenting with taped chants to back up their own support.

Bootham Crescent, York
Everyone's talking the talk at York

Bootham Crescent first experienced the artificial noise during last week's win over Darlington - although nobody seemed to realise.

Chairman John Batchelor said: "No-one noticed, even though it sounded as if the ground was full."

He added that it was possible to put 96,000 on York's average gate of 4,000 using the rent-a-crowd.

Presumably visiting supporters have given up with the "You're not singing any more" refrain.

Norway's that a woman!

A women's football team in Norway could be disbanded after they played a man in goal.

Askim Rodenes FC fielded male coach Ragnar Johansen between the sticks for their clash with Yven, which they lost 6-2.

Yven, perhaps unsurprisingly, chose not to lodge a complaint, but the referee said it was technically against the rules and would be mentioning it in his report.

Johansen did not seem to think there would be a problem, telling a journalist he had played under "another name" and the referee was a "nice bloke".

Referee? Nice bloke?! You've got a lot to learn, Ragnar.

Turf luck, lads

Two Australian cricket fans have been banned from bringing a piece of Lord's into the country.

Australia walk out at Lord's in 2001
The Aussies normally leave Lord's with something

The enthusiasts snapped up two strips of turf from the home of Test cricket and planned to plant them in their gardens back home.

But the turf is a banned item under Australian quarantine laws and officials refused to let it through.

Craig Hall of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service said the turf pieces measured around a foot square and he claimed his staff were "knocked for six" when they saw them.

Which is not something the Australian bowlers are likely to expereince this winter.


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