23 May, 2008

Feud for Thought

It’s a pretty well known fact that a lot of football managers refuse to speak to certain television stations because of ongoing beefs. By that I mean: lots of people hate the BBC because they broadcast lies all the time and use our money to fund it. A couple of years ago now, a Panorama special looked into the perceived world of bungs and dodgy-dealings that underpin the modern game, with footage allegedly showing Pompey boss Harry Redknapp illegally tapping up Andy Todd, and Bolton boss Sam Allerdyce receiving kickbacks from two agents. Obviously both men denied all the accusations, but until recently have refused to appear on BBC radio or TV, even snubbing Match of the Day at every opportunity.

The most famous case is of course Alex Ferguson, who has not spoken to the BBC since May 2004 after a documentary suggestively probed transfer deals at Manchester United involving his son Jason, then a football agent. Following an investigation at the club into transfers and agent payments that revealed nothing underhand, Ferguson demanded an apology from the Beeb, which has been unsurprisingly not exactly forthcoming. He has therefore refused all requests for interviews since, and a source said: “he (only) agreed to present the (2007 Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Acheivement Award) because he is a great friend and has enormous respect for Sir Bobby Charlton. It does not signal an end to hostilities.” Battle lines are quite clearly drawn then.

Now if ever there was a gauge to measure the differences between the top four divisions, it’s this. Stockport boss Jim Gannon has today added his name to the illustrious list of feuding managers, but this time taking aim at Sky. He has reportedly refused to co-operate with the company before his club’s play-off final with Rochdale, but what you may ask is the reason? Unfounded suggestions of paedophilia? Brazen accusations of consorting with prostitutes? No, much better than that. He shall not be appearing on Sky this weekend to protest against an on-going nine-month customer relations dispute over his defective Sky box, which they apparently refuse to replace. Seriously. It’s pretty glamorous in League Two kids!

22 May, 2008

The Sniffers


Phew, it’s been a looong nine months. Starting this self-facilitating media node all the way back in August, expectations were high but realistic. Obviously we knew we were good, but short of distracting our friends during their daily slice of accountancy/bespoke solutions/eco-war, the fear was that it would be difficult to break into the mass market. But after many weeks of spam posts on message boards and nuisance law suits, the tide started to turn, and with the help of some like-minded individuals, we seem to have done rather well in our freshman (people in America read this and everything, don’t you know) year. I’d just like to take this opportunity then to thank Ryan and all the guys over at The Spoiler, Jeremy and the Albion Road team, Tom at soccerpro.com (provider of a quite sharp Portugal shirt might I add), Ahmed and the Soccerlens folks, plus finally, Andy and all the other sites that are currently spanking us in the Liquid Football Pro Evo tournament!

Right, self-congratulatory circle-jerk out of the way. Since August we’ve enjoyed 38 weeks of Premier League action, plus an exciting Carling Cup, perhaps the most entertaining FA Cup in recent memory, and also the most dominant English monopoly of the Champions League to date. There have been heroes and zeroes, goals and gaffes, nutmegs and elbows, and as we reach the end of our first year in the blogosphere, we’d like to invite you to join us for the first Annual STT Sniffers. This is a celebration of the best and worst this fine season has had to offer, highlighting the match-winners and the flops of a season that has gone right down to the wire for the first time in years. Manchester United were undoubtedly worthy of their second successive crown, and based on their form throughout the year, who could begrudge them a Champions League victory too? Our focus has always been Premier League, but outside of the top flight we’ve also seen some of the most dramatic twists and turns, with virtually all promotions and relegations being decided on the final day. So congratulations as well to West Bromich Albion, Stoke City, Swansea, Nottingham Forest, the MK Dons, Peterborough, Hereford, and last but not least, Aldershot.

Team of the Season

I’m sure by now enough dust has settled for everyone and his dog to have come up with their own team of the season, but here for completeness’ sake is ours. We’ve tried to capture the whole spectrum of the season, so while certain players impressed in spells, consistency and number of appearances also had to come into consideration. With honourable mentions we’ve tried to pay tribute to others that we’ve enjoyed watching, so while there is inevitably still some big-4 weighting, hopefully most clubs are represented in some capacity.

Keeper:

David James

Like a fine wine, or an inexperienced prostitute, DJ continues to get better with age. He is more confident now than ever before, commanding in the air, and worth at least a couple of goals per game with his natural shot-stopping ability. Producing several contenders for save of the season, on the back of this year’s showing, DJ should surely be considered for a recall to the national team.

Honorable mentions: Brad Friedel, Chris Kirkland, Craig Gordon, Ali Al-Habsi, Roy Carroll

Left Back:

Patrice Evra

The loss of Gabriel Heinze in the summer was expected to be a huge blow to Manchester United’s title-defending aspirations but in Patrice Evra Alex Ferguson uncovered one of the most impressive wing-backs in Premier League history. Defensively, Evra has the pace and intelligence to read any striker (even Lionel Messi), while going forward he has almost as much guile and trickery as Cristiano Ronaldo. As first full seasons go, this was up there with the very best.

Honorable mentions: George McCartney, Gael Clichy, Charles N’Zogbia

Central Defence:

Nemanja Vidic

While many have plumped for Vidic’s central-defensive partner Rio Ferdinand, for our money, this hard-as-coffin-nails Serbian has been the stand-out, with Ferdinand looking a lesser player alongside a replacement such as Wes Brown. Physically imposing but softly spoken, Vidic has never looked in danger this season, handling everyone from Kevin Davies to Fernando Torres with aplomb. Extra kudos for almost always having blood pouring from some part of his anatomy without him realising/caring.

Honorable mentions: Joleon Lescott, Martin Laursen, Rio Ferdinand, Martin Skyrtl, Jonathon Woodgate

Central Defence:

Micah Richards

One of the real revelations of the season, this young Englishman was fast-tracked along with local lad Michael Johnson into an almost entirely continental City team compiled by Sven in the off-season. Built like a boxer and as fast as any striker, Richards has it all at just 19 years of age, reading the game superbly and clearly learning admirably from his rock of a defensive partner Richard Dunne. With interest from many major European superpowers, the world is his oyster as they say.

Honorable mentions: Ricardo Carvalho, Richard Dunne, Paul Scharner, Phil Jagielka, Steven Taylor

Right Back:

Bacary Sagna

Defensive consistency has been the downfall of Arsenal this year in many ways, but down both flanks they have been impressive, with pace and movement key. Sagna has slotted effortlessly into Wenger’s style of play and intent, with his marauding runs and crossing ability providing Adebayor with a good portion of his goals this year.

Honorable mentions: Glen Johnson, Alvaro Arbeloa, Vedran Corluka

Winger/Attacking Midfield:

Cristiano Ronaldo

A no-brainer obviously, you don’t need me to tell you he’s been a bit tasty this year. As individual seasons go, this has to be considered one of the greatest the Premier League has ever seen, and check back later this week when we will be attempting to gauge its place in history.

Honorable mentions: Ashley Young, Niko Krancjar, Stuart Downing, Ryan Babel, Elano

Central Midfield:

Michael Ballack

As if there was every any doubt that the German captain would come good in the Premier League, Ballack has been the dynamo that propelled Chelsea to within touching distance of a third league title in four years. Despite early season injuries, Ballack makes the cut for a revelationary last six months, scoring vital goals and running the midfield single-handedly for much of the time.

Honorable mentions: Javier Mascherano, Gareth Barry, Sulley Muntari, Michael Essien

Central Midfield:

Cesc Fabregas

While his incredible early season form has dissipated somewhat in recent months, this teenage Spaniard has still been one of the players of the season. In combination with the now-departed Flamini, Cesc has had the freedom to show off his incredible passing and long-range shooting ability. In many ways, Arsenal in general have failed to live up to Cesc’s standards this year, but with a talent like this to rebuild around, the Gunners should be back on track next season.

Honorable mentions: Mathieu Flamini, Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves, Mark Noble, Jimmy Bullard

Winger/Attacking Midfield:

David Bentley

Over the last three seasons, the ex-Arsenal man has completed a transformation into a young David Beckham, but on paper he actually has more to offer than the LA playboy. With delightful footwork and running ability, Bentley’s passing and shooting have been second to none this year, rightfully earning him a spot in the national side. A measure of his season is that the only bad thing I can think to say about him is that he normally has quite a shit haircut.

Honorable mentions: Mikel Arteta, Sebastien Larsson, James Harper, Wilson Palacios, Martin Petrov

Striker:

Fernando Torres

A personal favourite for a couple of years now while playing at Athletico Madrid, it’s been great to see el nino mature into one of the very best strikers in the world. Blessed with electric pace and able to score with either foot or head, it’s been his work ethic and determination that has impressed the most. Constantly subject to treatment from bruising centre-halfs, Torres has rarely complained or theatrically gone to ground, instead always dusting himself off to get the last laugh. In conclusion, if I had to be with a man, it would probably be him.

Honorable mentions: Emmanuel Adebayor, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Brian McBride, Yakubu, Jermain Defoe, Benjani

Striker:

Roque Santa-Cruz

One of the league’s coolest players without doubt, Roque has had an exceptionable debut season, scoring goals for fun against all opposition. It’s testament to his deft feet that the big Paraguayan has never has he been considered a traditional target man, but rather a old-fashioned centre forward that has evoked the ghost of Alan Shearer at Ewood Park.

Honorable mentions: John Carew, Carlos Tevez, Robbie Keane, Kevin Davies Tuncay Sanli, Dirk Kuyt

Disappointments of the Season

It’s a short list sure, but that’s because most players who’ve been shite this season were always expected to be. Big price-tags coupled with big reputations contributed to the inclusion of these players, which is why perhaps there is a slight Chelsea bias, but overall Chelsea have been generally quite impressive under Avram Grant. They gave Man U a run for their money carrying so much dead weight so just imagine their success had the below five played anything like as well.

Florent Malouda:

Came with a great reputation from Lyon where, in a fantastic attacking team playing regularly, Malouda was a stand-out alongside Brazilian maestro Juninho. However with sporadic appearances at Chelsea, who are very much from the go-back-to-go-forward school of thought, he has looked slow and uninterested, rarely contributing more than a miss-hit pass.

Claudio Pizarro:

Playing up-front with Roque Santa Cruz, Pizarro was a pretty big hit at Bayern Munich. In terms of physicality, he had everything needed to succeed in the Premier League too, but all year he’s just been behind the pace and as blunt as a balloon in front of goal.

Alex:

Chelsea’s player last season but on loan to PSV for work-permit reasons, big things were expected of Alex this year considering how well he was thought of in Holland. Given the perfect opportunity to impose himself with John Terry injured for parts of the season, Alex failed to pick up the game in this country, consistently struggling for pace, positioning and in all honesty, anything approaching competence really.

Tal Ben Haim:

Such a bizarre signing in the first place, this ex-Bolton man has rarely featured for Chelsea after a few early season mishaps, and one wonders exactly what his future will hold. As is, I’m sure he’s happy to soak up a huge wage for doing nothing, but guaranteed at most other clubs he’d be able to play often enough to get his metaphorical mojo back.

Andriy Shevchenko:

Another year and another pale imitation of the once-great man we knew at AC Milan. Shevchenko has almost been more frustrating this season after a couple of promising showings, but his woeful lack of pace is quite sad to watch. Word on the street predicts a return to the San Siro in the summer but one wonders if he’ll be able to produce any kind of form even back in his spiritual home.

David Rozehnal:

As a Czech Republic international who was Paris Saint-German’s Player of the Year in 06-07, the signs were definitely good, but alas it turned out that he joined the long line of abysmal Newcastle defensive acquisitions over the years. Having stayed at the Magpies just five months, Rozehnal went out on loan to Lazio at the end of January where he only played seven times. Neither team wants him and with good reason; even at Newcastle this year he stood out for being rubbish.

David Nugent:

Apparently more intent on sending naked snaps of himself to teenage girls these days, Nugent was doomed to failure from very early on, when reports reached the press that Redknapp wanted to sell him just two months after buying. Rarely used even in the Cups, it’s hard to believe that this is the same man who bagged an England call-up last year after a great season for Preston almost carried them into the Championship play-offs. Having scored zero Premier League goals this season (that’s one less than Titus Bramble) Nugent will undoubtedly be on his bike in the summer, with Redknapp keen to add another decent forward to his promising squad.

Darren Bent:

So much money gambled on a big fish from a very small pond, the pressure was always going to be on Bent from the start. With Berbatov and Keane main-stays should fitness allow, it was difficult for Bent to establish himself initially at Spurs, and with the arrival of Juande Ramos, it looked like his days were numbered. Sure he bagged a few goals coming off the bench, and actually looked sharp in places, but unless regular football follows elsewhere next year, it could be game over for this English prospect.

Dirk Kuyt:

Yes that’s right, the Dutchman manages to make both lists in some capacity. Perhaps calling him a disappointment is harsh, but with such a woeful Premier League scoring record, it’s hard to call this striker anything else. His work-rate is second to none, and you could argue the running he does off the ball perhaps allows Torres the space and time to score as many as he does, but still, three goals in a 38-game season is poor to say the least.

Emmanuel Eboue:

I think he was pretty good a few years ago but Christ, Eboue has been appalling this season. He has looked so uninterested, yet bizarrely self-important, while going through the motions in a variety of positions,. Furthermore his aggressive manner make him surely one of the league’s most objectionable chaps, even by Arsenal’s high standards. Normally I try not to get personal, but I just can’t stand him and wish he’d leave.

Freddie Ljunberg:


West Ham have been pretty flat last couple of years generally but a swan-song was certainly expected from Ljunberg as he finally bid goodbye to Arsenal. What followed this year was anonymous at best, failing to do anything really of significance as his glory days ebbed slowly further into the past. It was always a risky signing, but Ljundberg really undermined Curbishley’s confidence in him by rarely even trying to contribute in a team where his class should have stood out, even if he legs wouldn’t. Go back to modelling pants is our sage advice.

Goals of the Season

Ok, this started life as a Top 10, but research revealed an enormous cannon of great goals this season, so here instead then is just a Top 15, compiled in no particular order other than when they came into my head. Click on each chap’s name for a handy youtube video link because at the end of the day, this feature is pointless without. For a nice bit of audience participation, please send us your personal top 3 picks to the usual address.; if it matches our own editorial choice, I’ll buy you a pint. Maybe.

Elano - Manchester City vs Newcastle

About as true a hit from a stationary ball as you’ll ever see.

Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United vs Portsmouth


Out of several contenders, the best free-kick Ronaldo hit this year.

Stylian Petrov - Aston Villa vs Derby


http://youtube.com/watch?v=-Ow2YcGY0ak

Long-range accuracy from the ace Bulgarian.

Nani - Manchester United vs Middlesbrough (he did something almost as good against Spurs too)


Nani at his thrilling best; once his maturity and consistency improves, he could be as good as Ronaldo.

Dean Ashton - (35 secs in) West Ham United vs Manchester United


In a season where we actually saw a disproportionally large amount of overhead kicks (Andre Bikey anyone??), this was by far the stand-out; superb timing and co-ordination.

Cristiano Ronaldo - (50 secs in) Manchester United vs Newcastle


He scored a hat-trick in this game, but the second was such a peach. Effortless control and a world-class finish to cap off a typical United passing move.

Fernando Torres - Liverpool vs Middlesbrough


In a season where most of his 24 league goals were crackers, this long-range hammer was the pick.

Carlos Tevez - Manchester United vs Middlesbrough


Looking for a goal to sum up both United’s slickness and also Tevez’s telepathic interplay with Wayne Rooney, this was the obvious choice. How do you defend against soemthing this good?

Emmanuel Adebayor - Arsenal vs Tottenham


Despite scoring as many goals as Torres this year, I’m still just not convinced Adebayor is actually any good. This however, is absolutely sublime.

Fabio Rochemback - (2 mins in) Middlesbrough vs Manchester City


Anything Ronaldo can do, Rochamback can do too! The Brazilian playmaker was outstanding this year, and this final-day goal capped off his last season in this country.

Kenny Miller - Derby vs Newcastle


Back in the days when Derby were optimistic about their time in the sun, Miller announced himself in the Premier League with this absolute screamer.

Tuncay Sanli - Middlesbrough vs Derby


The Turk has banged in quite a few this year but none better than this technically superb near-post volley.

Daryl Murphy - Sunderland vs Wigan


Sunderland can hold their heads high this year, despite having a pretty mish-mash team at times. Not sure Murphy did much else over the season, but this goal was pretty damn good.

Sebastian Larsson - (2:20 in) Birmingham vs Tottenham


Perhaps made all the sweeter due to his ex-Arsenal pedigree, this screamer came deep into injury time and cemented his promise as one to watch over the next couple of years.

Andriy Shevchenko – Chelsea vs Aston Villa

The highlight of a mediocre season, Sheva seemed like his old self in this game; thoroughly involved and alert, this fine strike was undoubtedly the old Milan days shining through.

Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United vs Aston Villa


Can you honestly say that anyone else in the league would even have attempted to do this?

Game of the Season

Portsmouth 7 – 4 Reading

Even though it took place early on in the year, this stood out instantly as a match that wasn’t gonna get topped quickly. Thrilling end-to-end action, and one of those rare occasions where virtually every shot went in, leading to much Chris Kamara-based hilarity for those Jeff Stelling fans amongst you. Funniest thing about it was that, even though it set a new Premier League record for goals in a game, the score should’ve really been 8 – 4 as Pompey missed a penalty.

Honourable mentions: Tottenham 4 – 4 Chelsea, Tottenham 6 – 4 Reading, Aston Villa 4 – 4 Chelsea

Team Performance of the Season:

Manchester United 6 – 0 Newcastle

Honestly this should’ve finished like a cricket score, with all of United’s goals coming second half after they toyed with Newcastle from the first whistle like a lion with a paraplegic (sorry). A quite perfect Ronaldo hat-trick was the highlight, but every single phase of their play oozed class. If this wasn’t enough, in the return fixture a month later, United beat the Magpies 5 – 1. Baby steps eh King Kev?

Honorable mentions: Chelsea 6 – 0 Derby, Middlesbrough 8 – 1 Manchester City

Final Thoughts…

So quite a year then. Hopefully this rather lengthy run-through has helped jog a few memories and made you reflect on what has actually been a pretty great season of top flight football. Manchester United and Chelsea continued their dominance, and the gap between the big-4 and the rest widened even still, so the question has to be: next season can any of the nearly men finally cross the boundary and break into the top 4? Aston Villa, Blackburn, Everton, Manchester City and Portsmouth have all impressed over the last 9 months, but still lack the cash and consistency to really threaten even Liverpool.

Finally, can West Brom, Stoke City and Bristol City or Hull handle it in this league next season then? Short answer, yes with an ‘if;’ long answer, no with a ‘but.’ Teams will perhaps relish the chance to play West Brom because of their open attacking style, whereas Stoke present quite a different proposition. Big and strong throughout the whole team, they are reminiscent of Bolton under Sam Allerdyce, and with a couple of cultured additions to the squad could well surprise some people. Bristol and Hull meanwhile also aspire to play the right kind of football, but one just wonders where the goals are gonna come from against rock-solid defences. For two of them though, it’s their first experience of the Premier League, so whatever the outcome this time next year, it’ll be a hell of a ride.

21 May, 2008

Winston and Lose Some

These days it is not uncommon for a player to sell his potential, along with any personal ambition, for a huge wage and a spot on the bench. Look at Steve Sidwell; outstanding last season at Reading, but after a year of doing literally nothing at Chelsea for twice the money, his career’s basically over already. However, many people might not know that the man who laid the blueprint for this goes by the name of Winston Bogarde, who played just 11 times for Chelsea between 2000 and 2004, but earned more than £5million by recent estimations. Thing is, he was coming to the end of a stalling career, and following a quite farcical spell in this country, was able to bask in ridicule while sticking a couple of middle fingers up at everyone’s favourites Blues.

Going back a bit, he had a fantastic pedigree in the 90s. After a formative few years at Sparta Rotterdam, Bogarde moved to Ajax in 1994, where in one of the greatest club squads ever assembled (Marc Overmars, the de Boer twins, Clarence Seedorf, Kanu, Jari Litmanen, and Patrick Kluivert, to name just a few), he won the Champions League in 1995. A spot in the Dutch national team followed, but at the 1998 World Cup he was seen as a dissident to the team morale, filmed forcibly pushing two white teammates aside as they were trying to celebrate Davids' winning goal in the second round match against Yugoslavia. The year of the World Cup he was at AC Milan, but played just thrice before being somehow offloaded to Barcelona, where he sat for the next three years, playing just nine times in total in the second two years. His highlight at Barce was undoubtedly in a 1999 Champions League group match against AIK where he was humiliatingly substituted after just 20 minutes, prompted by nearly getting sent off for a horror challenge on an opposing striker.

Here’s where it gets good though. He signed for Chelsea in 2000 season, but literally weeks after signing his contract with the club, the newly-appointed manager Claudio Ranieri wanted him to leave. According to Bogarde’s biography (which has possibly the greatest title I have ever heard – This Negro Bows for No One) it would have been impossible to find a contract comparable to the one he had at Chelsea, so he decided to stay and honour the full term of the agreement. In the end, he appeared just 11 times during his four-year contract, reportedly earning more than £40,000 a week. Quite why Chelsea agreed to such a salary in the first place, given his lack of first-team play at Milan and Barce, is ridiculous, but kudos to Bogarde for sticking with it. Chelsea also won a domestic trophy during this period which hilariously actually triggered a bonus payment in his contract, despite the fact that Bogarde did not feature at all for Chelsea that season.

During his time at Chelsea, they repeated tried to offload him because of his inflated wages. When no-one was interested, Chelsea demoted him to their reserves and then even their youth team in an effort to force Bogarde to leave, however he just kept turning up every day and attending whatever training he was assigned to. Bogarde then claims to have been set-up in a strangely contrived drugs scandal (similar to other Chelsea players Mark Bosnich and Adrian Mutu), but still he refused to leave or sign a new contract for a reduced wage. Bogarde continued to work every day with the Chelsea reserves until he left in 2004 and retired to a life of luxury all paid by the West London club’s weeping coffers. He took a lot of stick in the press for being greedy and selfish, but whatever, if Chelsea were dumb enough to lock him into a four-year contract for such inflated wages, then how can you blame him for keeping them to their word? I reckon at about £750,000 a game he was pretty good value!

Justice is Served

Something strange is happening in the English justice system. Within the last two months we have seen first Pete Doherty, and now Joey Barton, finally sent to jail for a succession of crimes that any average joe off the street would’ve gone down for years ago. Now don’t get me wrong, I like Doherty; he’s a bit of an idiot sure, but a harmless rogue at heart. Barton however, is just a vicious piece of shit, showing his true colours time and time again without a hint of remorse. Today he was sentenced to six months in jail, for what the learned Judge Henry Globe QC called a “violent and cowardly act.” Sounds about right folks doesn’t it?

The court heard how Barton had been out on a Boxing Day bender with his brother, cousin, and assorted other ragmuffins in Liverpool city centre. Barton's cousin, the undoubtedly gorgeous Nadine Wilson, and his brother Andrew also pleaded guilty to their part in the assaults. Reportedly Barton had drunk more than ten pints of lager before understandably stopping into a McDonald's on Church Street. There the motley crew got into a heated exchange with some hooded youths inside the fine establishment, before leaving and walking away further up Church Street. Our Joey was then caught on CCTV knocking an unidentified man to the ground, before straddling him and cracking him four or five times as his cousin menacingly threw food at the victim. The Premier League star then punched the unconscious man many more times, before moving on to someone closer to his own mental age; the Newcastle midfielder randomly attacked a 16-year-old, punching him too and leaving him with a mouthful of broken teeth.

Judge Globe told presided: “Without doubt, the most serious of the three offenders is you. You were restrained by others but ignored them and acted in an extremely violent and aggressive manner.” He added: “You have a high profile as a footballer and you know that draws attention to you. Yet you drank to excess and behaved in an aggressive, disgraceful manner.” Barton was also ordered to pay a pathetic £2,500 to the youth whose teeth he broken, but let’s hope he pays more with his pretty little mouth in jail. This heinous human really should never play professional football again, but undoubtedly he’ll be given a pay rise or something after spending (realistically) about a fortnight in the nick. His club said in a statement to the BBC this afternoon: “Newcastle United notes the sentence passed to Joey Barton at Liverpool Crown Court today. The club is considering the verdict and will be making no further comment at this moment.”

Ascend it With Beckham

Bono just doesn’t give up does he. Not content with recycling his shoes to protect the rainforest, the U2 frontman has now asked David Beckham to join him on an expedition up Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro. If only somehow we could just trap Bono and that other twat Geldof in a Superman-esque Phantom Zone then maybe we’d all get some peace and quiet. If you care about stopping AIDS so much, why don’t you donate some of your hundreds of millions of pounds instead of just organizing circle-jerk concerts for all your wanky friends to promote new albums at?

Anyway, despite a punishing media schedule, already inconveniently interrupted by having to play football, Beck-hizzle is “absolutely set” on completing the climb in order to help raise funds for children’s charity Unicef, with whom Beckham has already journeyed to Sierra Leone this year. No date has been set as yet, and there is still the insurance situation to iron out, but reportedly nothing will stand between Beckham and almost certain death. Crusader Bono helpfully took some time to jump down off his cross to tell us exclusively that U2’s newest Greatest Hits album will be stores the week before the expedition leaves.

The trek up Kilimanjaro, a 19,340ft snow-capped behemoth in northeast Tanzania, will take roughly six days. At 48, Bono might be struggling, as mountaineering experts have claimed that the ascent might even be a bit much for ultra-fit 32-year-old D. Beck. He is however determined to do it, even threatening to bizarrely drag along West Ham keeper Rob Green too, after the ex-Norwich man presumably lost a bet. A source told us: “(Beckham) was a bit uncertain at first but he found out, like many celebrities before him, that Bono can be very persuasive.” Rumours that Bono had two of Beckham’s children captured and held for ransom have yet to be confirmed or denied.

19 May, 2008

Monsters, Inc

Now normally we malign footballers for hooking up with rough birds, but in Sulley Muntari’s case we accept that he has to take pretty much anything he can get. As great a player as he is, Mr Muntari was clearly cellotaped to lamp-post when God was handing out looks, and has unfortunately been cursed with a face that makes him look like an old X-Files monster. The fact that he managed to hook up with a former Miss Ghana, Menaye Donkor, then is as inexplicable as Rhys Ifans somehow coupling with four-finger stunner Sienna Miller. However, in a mistake only a footballer could make, Sulley apparently went out of his way to trash the relationship by cheating on Menaye with Amanda Jones, a classy blond-haired lap dancer from the south coast.

The pair romantically met in a Bournemouth strip-club, where the Ghanian-born star splashed out on a £300 bottle of Cristal champagne and took her mobile number. Presumably they bonded over the misery felt by constantly having to wear paper bags over their heads during sex, but in smitten Amanda’s eyes, there was more to it than that. She therefore felt the lifeblood ooze out of her heart when she saw the Portsmouth midfielder house-hunting with 2004 Miss Universe contestant Menaye on a prime-time ITV show. Hosted by professional disease Piers Morgan, the show charted the lives of the mega-rich residents of the Sandbanks estate in Dorset, home to many footballers and reclusive criminals. She cried to The Sun: “He promised me the world and even hinted that marriage could be on the cards. I feel such a fool.” Surely for not the first time in your life though love?

Amanda was a regular visitor to his swanky pad before having the rug pulled away from underneath her, but didn’t know he was a Premier League star until her dad told her. Describing the wild lifestyle they shared, she said: “we’d snuggle on the sofa with a Chinese takeaway. I’d watch a movie and he’d play football games on his PlayStation.” Sounds like a match made in heaven to me. Drawing together everyone’s favourite gossip points, sex and religion, Amanda continued: “He’s a proud Muslim and doesn’t drink or smoke, but when it came to sex with me he was like a kid in a candy store.” Presumably she means just blindly dribbling and indiscriminantly grabbing at stuff before you get thrown out? Sounds pretty standard to me. She added helpfully though: “He kept his prayer mat and beads on a banister outside the bedroom.” I’m not quite sure if they’re suggesting that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but suffice to say, no-one wants to get bollock yoghurt on a prayer mat.

15 May, 2008

Destroy and Rebuild

Things are not right at Barcelona or AC Milan. For clubs used to national domination and European success, this season has been nothing short of a catastrophe for both super-powers. Milan have basically the same team that won the Champions League last year, bolstered mainly just by the Brazilian prodigy Pato, but for one reason or another things really have not come together over the last 12 months. Age is a factor certainly, but more so is complacency; too many of their guys have been there together too long, and thus a mass injection of youth and hunger is on the cards this summer. At Barce, the usual footballing demons of money and ego have gotten the better of them apparently, and after somehow stitching together a team for the last few years, Frank Rikjaard seems to have finally lost control this season. Injuries to key players have not helped, sure, but the lack of cutting edge up front and a half-hearted approach from some of the established stars has been their undoing, despite sterling efforts from new prospects Bojan and Giovanni Dos Santos.

After protests before, during and after their defeat to Mallorca only hours before, just 8 first-team Barce players showed up for training earlier this week, with manager Rikjaard and 16 well-known stars all A.W.O.L. Deco, who was comprehensively booed before being substituted against Mallorca, was given a few days off to lick his wounds, while Samuel Eto'o, Gianluca Zambrotta and Rafa Márquez were all nursing injuries. Conspicuously all four of these men are prevalent on a supposed register of transfer-listed players, with a mass clear-out also expected this summer. Gaby Milito, Sylvinho and Albert Jorquera were all absent with long-term injury problems; Yaya Touré, Lilian Thuram, Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Edmílson were all reportedly training in private, whatever that means; Andrés Iniesta and Eidur Gudjohnsen just did laps of the pitch in the Nou Camp; Xavi was away with a fever; and finally Ronaldinho was doing, well, whatever he’s been doing since his last appearance for the club at the beginning of March. Frequenters to our good friends over at The Spoiler might have noticed a couple of interesting pieces recently investigating exactly what’s going on with the former World Player of the Year, but as major clubs back away from buying him, one has to feel that something’s not right. He’s always had the reputation as a party animal, but until two years ago, his performances were still nothing short of stellar. Now though, he looks like damaged goods, lacking the appetite to play and perhaps even the physicality to carry him through another season at the top level.

Top of the list to help steady the Barce ship is reigning World Player of the Year Kaka’, with an audacious swap deal including Gianluca Zambrotta, Deco and Ronaldinho reportedly tabled to tempt Milan to part with their crowning jewel. In addition to Kaka’, latest reports from Spain indicate some more seriously heavyweight targets for the Catalans as they desperately attempt to recover both pride and a support base, with back-to-back Real Madrid La Liga titles upsetting plenty of the Nou Camp faithful. Cesc Fabregas would be the other real coup for Barcelona, but as he seems unlikely to leave to Arsenal in reality, Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano has been touted as a suitable second-best having impressed so much this season. Other rumoured targets include Chelsea’s Frank Lampard, Bayern Munich’s Philip Lahm, plus the fantastic Brazilian duo from Sevilla, Dani Alves and Luis Fabiano. The three aforementioned Barce gentleman join a considerably long shopping list for AC this summer then, which currently also includes Chelsea’s Petr Cech, Bayern Munich’s Willy Sagnol, Valencia’s Joaquin, Chelsea’s Didier Drogba, Spurs’ Dimitar Berbatov and Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor, with Andriy Shevchenko also expected to return to his pals at the San Siro after a couple of troubled years in West London.

Assuming at best that half of the above moves do actually take place, we could see the resurgence of perhaps the two most glamorous European sides in history. Not forgetting too that new managers are expected to take the reigns at both clubs before kick-off next season, a change of regime, personal and attitude will undoubtedly shake some of the cobwebs from these two great dynasties. Exciting Milan and Barcelona teams are part of the fabric of European football, and anyone who calls themselves a football fan should be hoping for an end to this current blip, lest we face the infinite boredom of all-English Champions League semi-finals for the remainder of time itself.

You Can Take the Boys out of Scotland.........

Let’s get the fundamentals out of the way now: Zenit St Peterburg are the new UEFA Cup Champions after defeating Rangers 2 – 0 in a game where unfortunately the Scottish side rarely threatened. Having dumped ‘certain winners’ Bayern Munich out of the competition in the previous round 5 – 1 on aggregate, you can’t help but feel that the Russian outfit probably deserved the title, but after a thrilling series of matches to reach the final, I think everyone in the STT editorial office was kinda hoping Walter Smith’s men had just enough left in the tank to do the business, and then press on for a historic treble.

Unfortunately the game has already been forgotten, with focus instead on a whirlwind of violence in host-city Manchester that lasted pretty much all day yesterday, culminating in more than 40 arrests and a stabbing. Manchester Police chiefs were quoted today as being “sickened and disappointed” after Rangers fans ran amock through the city centre, with more than 100,000 supporters reportedly making the journey down from Glasgow. In a display of unforgivable naivety, beer was made available on tap from off-licences, with supporters also carrying crates of cheap lager around from as early as 7 am when the supermarkets opened. With fans spending hundreds of pounds on travel and accommodation to just be in the city to watch the game in designated ‘fan zones,’ spirits were understandably high all day, but when a “technical hitch” killed a big-screen TV set up in Piccadilly Gardens area, thousands of drunk fans started kicking off with rival supporters, each other, and then ultimately the Filth. The screen was pelted with bottles, as were riot police when they moved in to try to squash the beef.

One Russian fan was then knifed in the back outside the City of Manchester stadium just before kick-off, while rucks with the police continued throughout the night. Bloodied yobs were snapped throwing chairs and tables at police in full riot gear: “Hundreds of fans rushed at the police who charged back at them,” an on-looker described. “It was a war zone. There were bottles flying everywhere and guys getting dragged to the floor.” Witnesses said the situation descended quickly after a Rangers fan was hit by a passing minicab, sparking anarchy as angry and wasted fans shattered the motor’s windows in a frenzy. Yobs continued to smash the front of a Boots chemist as things exponentially worsened; cars were wrecked in the streets and there were widespread reports of looting. Calm was restored after five hours of battle lines between fans and riot police, but the city streets are still covered in cans of beer, broken glass, blood and urine.

There is No Story Here

Cheryl’s very upset blah, blah, blah…

Her weight’s plummeted blah, blah, blah…

Men are all such bastards blah, blah, blah…

I would literally kill a co-worker for an hour alone with her in a Travel Inn blah, blah, blah…

A new WAG on the Horizon

For those of you unfamiliar with this chap Sergio Ramos, he’s a young Spanish defender who plays for Real Madrid, and is really rather good. So good in fact that reportedly Chelsea are swimming around him, with an extortionate bid of £50million currently on the table if rumours in Spain are to be believed. Aside from actual footballing ability, he brings much more to the table though: he has plenty of tattoos, including one just above his joystick, and one depicting the dates of the terrorist attacks in Madrid and New York; he has a little dog named Odi; and his Madrid team-mates affectionately nickname him ‘gyspy’ because of his understandable love for flamenco music. On a more personal level, I’ve always thought that Sergio Ramos would make a very convincing woman, with his thin hips, long beautiful blonde hair and delectably high cheek-bones. In a dress he would be quite the confusing proposition because on paper he has everything I normally look for in a lady-friend.

Anyway, that’s neither here nor there because apparently very hot girls also value those attributes in him, as evidenced here by 2006’s Miss Spain, Elizabeth Reyes. The hot couple were recently snapped in lager-lout paradise the Algarve, and Ramos looks like he was trying to fit in with so-called British fashion by dressing like a complete muscle-beach homo. She’s clearly feeling it though so I guess he probably doesn’t give a shit what anyone else thinks. Why don’t normal girls like these kind of looks, only insanely fit European models who I’ll never get to meet? Let’s hope he moves to Chelsea and then she’ll at least be in the same city limits as me…