Back Of The Net: football themed workplace distractions we've found this week by Aaron› 18 Jan 2013

There's chaos on the roads, games are being postponed left, right and centre, but we're still bringing a collection of stuff for you to peruse before the working week is over - a bit of weather isn't going to put us off! Here in the UK, a little bit of snow brings us to a standstill, but they're made of sterner stuff in Russia - it's just another day of the week for them. Our regular favourites In Bed With Maradona have published a great article this week about Russian football, or more precisely football in the USSR, as it's all about the game on the other side of the Iron Curtain. It's a side of the game that we don't get to hear about too often, and this piece brings it to life brilliantly.

Also bringing the past to life in an interesting way is a Tumblr page with a seemingly bland premise - Classic Football Programmes. Using the commemmorative programmes from certain games, the site shines a light on famous and obscure games, such as the 100th anniversary fixture between the two teams involved in the biggest ever FA Cup score pictured at the top of the page. It's not only a great football archive, but an insight into the great (and not so great) graphic styles that have featured over the years.

From one type of publication to another - books written by footballers. A lot of these are the boring, ghost-written autobiographies that are of better use as a door stopper, but Who Ate All The Pies have managed to dig up 10 books that have a little bit more value, even if it's just for comedy value. From Theo Walcott's children's books to El Tel's literary ambitions, they're all included here.

Continuing a tenuous link, but sometimes there's results in football that you couldn't write. One team handing out a drubbing to another is heaven for one team, and hell for another, and the Football League blog in aid of Prostate Cancer UK have brought together a great list of some of the finest drubbings ever here. For anyone on the right side of these results, it's great to relive them. For anyone on the other side, I suppose it's a form of catharsis to go through it all again.....

Finally this week, after all that reading its nice to browse some eye-catching visuals, and these pictures from Belgian photographer Jessica Hilltout are really something. All part of a project entitled Amen, the pictures capture the passion for football in some of the poorest parts of South and West Africa. Capturing the simplicity of the game and its appeal across all types of communities, her pictures have a simple, affecting quality that you can see here .

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Football Stories