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Nathaniel John
Flop Laws is next for the chop - The Sun Brian Laws is facing the sack as Burnley manager after just 10 league games. The Clarets board regret appointing Laws, who has only won once since taking charge, losing eight games and plunging the club into the Premier League relegation zone.
West Ham in talks over £100m stadium switch - The Daily Telegraph
Karren Brady, the West Ham vice-chairman, is set to meet Ed Warner, the
UK Athletics chairman, today to discuss how the Olympic Stadium could
be turned into a Premier League ground while retaining a permanent
running track.
Cole top of Real shopping list - Daily Mirror Ashley Cole is the top summer target for Real Madrid. The Spanish
giants want to bolster their defence and are planning a £15million bid
for the England left-back, with Manchester United's Patrice Evra as
another option.
Fab returns as big Guns lead charge - Daily Mirror Casc Fabregas is ready to give Arsenal's title charge a major boost. The Gunners captain returned to full training yesterday after a hamstring injury and is set to face West Ham at the Emirates on Saturday.
United fans turn ire on Gill's son - The Guardian Oliver Gill, the teenage son of David Gill, the Manchester United chairman, is the latest player to be booed by the opponents of the Glazer regime. The 19-year-old centre-half was on the bench on Sunday but his name was booed when it was read out before the kick-off.
Diouf mystery - Daily Express Blackburn Rovers seem relaxed about the prospect of El-Hadji Diouf being threatened with two years in an African prison. The striker is accused of assaulting a woman in a casino in his native Senegal.
Hernia operation a new blow for Bridge - The Guardian Wayne Bridge had an operation on his hernia yesterday which will rule
him out for a month. The Manchester City defender only returned to
action last month from a shin injury.
“And now half-time is here, and so we face humiliation.” So begins Rafael Benítez’s team-talk in 15 Minutes That Shook the World, a new film that reveals the “truth” of how Liverpool were inspired to overturn a 3-0 deficit in the 2005 Champions League final. It’s an actor who delivers Benítez’s stirring speech to the cadence of My Way — “I planned for many weeks, I didn’t think Milan could spoil it. But now my effing plans are down the toilet” — but it is Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher whom he addresses in the comedy that will be released on DVD soon. Watch out for Djimi Traore in the coffin.
Stars of the classic comedy-drama Auf Wiedersehen Pet have recorded a song as part of a charity DVD called A Knight To Remember, with the proceeds going to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. Jimmy Nail, Kevin Whately and Tim Healy's rendition of The Blaydon Races includes a new verse about the former Newcastle and England manager. Click here to visit the Foundation's website and make a donation.
The wee man with the big "wit" is back. Out goes the mild-mannered Gareth Southgate as Middlesbrough manager and, barring any last-minute hitches, in will come 5ft 6in of fiery Scottish stereotype, Gordon Strachan. The hacks of the North East - still shaking after Joe Kinnear’s X-rated cameo - will be on guard. Here’s a man who, when questioned by a female reporter about a defeat, replied: “Trying to explain it to you would be impossible. It would be like you trying to explain childbirth to me.” So, is he the king of the put-down or the clown?
Continue reading "Back of the net: Gordon Strachan's put-downs" »
John Barnes joined the long list of great players who have failed to make the transition into management when he was sacked by Tranmere Rovers, following unsuccessful spells at Celtic and as coach of the Jamaican national team. His magic touch may have deserted him in the dugout, but he will forever be remembered for the silky skills that made him one of the best wingers in the world. His defining moment came 25 years ago in Rio, when he waltzed around half the Brazil team, hips swaying in skin-tight shorts, candyfloss Afro holding still in the breeze, before rounding the goalkeeper to slot home.
Liverpool had their problems in the Champions League in midweek, slipping to a 2-0 defeat away to Fiorentina, but fans should not lose heart. The club’s European success down the years is legendary and, as they proved in the final four years ago, fortunes can change in an instant. In 2005 Liverpool were 3-0 down to AC Milan in Istanbul and staring at an ignominious defeat, but five second-half minutes turned the match on its head. How did it happen? What did Rafael Benítez say in his half-time team talk? The answer is here, in this brilliant spoof set to Frank Sinatra’s My Way that includes Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard playing themselves.
The film, which features Phoenix Nights actor Neil Fitzmaurice as Benitez, was backed by Carragher and produced in aid of his young people’s charity, The 23 Foundation, by Miracle Productions, a Liverpool-based company.
Where’s Craig Bellamy when you need him? FC Saturn probably wished they had Manchester City’s vigilante striker when they were facing a penalty against Spartak Moscow last week. As Alex, Spartak’s spot-kick king, prepared to pick his spot, a rotund supporter ghosted into the box, took aim and left the bemused goalkeeper flat-footed with a perfect strike before taking off on a lap of honour.
If you have ever pretended to be your footballing hero while smashing volleys over the fence in the back garden then have a go at this brilliant game. Earn a contract at a professional club by hitting the back of the net, then raise your profile in the media by getting snapped with your girlfriend in a nightclub or being involved in a fracas at the pub. Eventually, the offers will roll in, the flash cars and big houses will follow and ultimately you will get the chance to win the World Cup final. Play Jumpers for goalposts here.
What would be a footballer’s worst nightmare? Scoring an own goal during the FA Cup final? Missing the decisive penalty in the Champions League? Getting sent off in the World Cup final? How about lining up for your arch rivals, wearing their shirt and belting out their national anthem in a stadium full of baying fans? Far-fetched? Not in a brilliant new advert for a soft drink in which Maradona stars. The Argentina legend is seen in a Brazil top alongside Ronaldo and Kaka, preparing to play for the Samba Kings. The film then cuts to a bedroom where Maradona shoots bolt upright in bed, wearing his true country’s shirt, soaked in a cold sweat and obviously perplexed by the nightmare he has just suffered.
Robbie Fowler has been kicking up a storm with North Queensland Fury, his new club, in Australia. The Liverpool legend has never shied away from controversy, but somehow he escaped censure for his latest misdemeanour: a ninja-style kick at an opponent’s chest during a 5-0 drubbing in the A-League. He might be 34, but the agility is obviously still there as he falls backwards to the ground, springs up into a handstand and kicks out in one smooth, kung-fu action.
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