Football statue in Cambridge

Last year, Cambridge revived its plans to erect a statue to football in the town that  invented football (Australian readers:  this is soccer).  The council revealed the 4 sculptors under consideration.

Mark Titchner.  Above left is his version of the Channel Four logo.  And below is his proposal for Cambridge.

Neville Gabie.  Above: a work entitled 'South Africa'.

Below, Gabie's design for Cambridge.

Nayan Kulkarni.  Above: a commission in Medway.
Below: Kulkarni's design for Cambridge.

Finally:  Kenny Hunter

Above is his sculpture in front of the Travelodge in Orchard Park, Arbury, Cambridge.  Read my blog post about Arbury.

And below, Hunter's proposal for Cambridge (entitled Black Apollo).  I am not understanding this title.

Read more about the proposals at the Cambridge city council website.

My verdict?  We need more statues in Cambridge!  We need a statue to football!  (I am a football fan; I am a sculpture fan; so I am totally into this statue on principle.)  But we need FANTASTIC statues.  Not crap ones.

Other statues elsewhere:

Outside Emirates stadium, for Arsenal. Designed by 'MDM'.

Weird statue in Qatar of Zidane's headbutt.  (Why?)  By Algerian sculptor Adel Abdessemed

Sculpture of Alex Ferguson by Philip Jackson

Gigantic statue of Colombian player Valderrama outside his home football stadium in Santa Marta.

Footballer statue in Reykjavik (I don't know the sculptor).

Don't know where this sculpture is nor who made it (possibly the German sculptor Alf Lechner who makes very similar things).  Not even sure it's meant to be about football.  'Das Runde muss ins Eckige.' ('The round thing has to go into the angular thing.')

My favourite would be a sculpture that looks like Barry Flanagan's cricketer in Jesus College.  But about football.  Because it captures the dynamic motion of football.  Read my blog post about it.  Read my blog post about it.

Or a group sculpture like the one of a music band in front of the Perlan building in Reykjavik (I don't know the sculptor). Because it captures the team spirit of football.  And above all:  because it's interactive.  Which is the best thing about good public sculpture.  People can walk among these, imitate the poses, climb on them, get their pictures taken.

What would your preference be?