David Beckham - "The Great British Swindle"

There surely couldn't be a more illuminating example of the way in which standards have have become distorted than seeing David Beckham pick up a lifetime achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show!

The 'Great British Swindle' has pulled off yet another high-profile coup - or, to be more precise, his handpicked, blue-chip, management team have!

Hell, one of Beckham's closest 'advisors' - entertainment mogul Simon Fuller - almost (though not quite) helped David's heinously-voiced wife gain a number one hit single. With that in mind, is it any real surprise that viewer-hungry BBC executives have been duped into deeming the man branded as "Golden Balls" as a deserving recipient of such an award?

'Team Beckham's' latest ruse is actually trying to convince 'middle Englanders' that the gas-fitter's son from Leytonstone - a man with a lower IQ than his shirt number - is actually some kind of serious 'political fixer'! By arming him with a hand-written speech or two, we are actually meant to believe that 'Becks' is apparently well-versed in the salient points of delivering successful Olympic Games and World Cups!  Really?

We are also meant to believe that "the branded one" - a man who is fighting allegations of a seedy 'tryst' with a £10,000-a-night Bosnian prostitute as we speak - is a 'paragon of marital bliss', even though he has famously never chosen to sue two other women who have alleged infidelity against him - namely Malaysian-born escort Sarah Marbeck and his bisexual former PA Rebecca Loos!

So how has Beckham - a "poundland Glenn Hoddle" given his limited skill-set - allowed to become a global phenomenon? Well, it started from the very moment Rupert Murdoch transformed the Premier League into a cynically globalized 'cash harvester', held to account only by marketeers and corporate bureaucrats. Beckham - the archetypal 'right man at the right time' - had an intelligent career path laid out in front of him.

With his blond hair, popstar wife, Man Utd shirt on his back and - to be fair - handy right foot, Beckham was the icon the Premier League needed as it underwent its Sky TV-induced process of 'Americanisation' of "Super Sunday's", "Soccer AM's" etc. His exalted 'brand value' was augmented by the fact that he was a natural fit with the 'metrosexuality', 'modern man' culture sweeping the nation at the time.

The subsequent aura around him has swept him into places where players of similarly moderate ability would never get to go. It's not so much Beckham the footballer that has opened doors, it's Beckham the brand. It's the fact he's part of the world elite, an icon who people want to be seen with, whether its giddy teenage girls in South East Asia or fat-cat American executives!

When it is all said and done - behind all the bluster and bullshit - how good a footballer was David Beckham?

To paraphrase the late George Best, "He (Beckham) cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle, he is slow, and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that he's all right." Harsh maybe, but not as inaccurate as some people may think.

Yes, he enjoyed some outstanding moments in his trophy-laden Manchester United halcyon days but it's worth remembering that his side were already two-time defending Premier League champions by the time he had made his debut in the 1994-95 season, nor has there been any letting-up in their success since his departure either! Never did Beckham warrant the kind of publicity that came his way, as evidenced by the fact that never won a major Player of The Year trophy in England!

But it's at international level, where the Beckham myth really takes hold in its strongest form!

Most damning of all is the fact that in 115 appearances for his country, Beckham has scored FIVE goals from open play! I will say that again, in 115 caps, the man who jostles with Pele and Maradonna for the title of 'most famous footballer of all time' has scored a paltry, piddling, pathetic FIVE goals from open play! And this despite sycophantic managers like Erikkson and McClaren giving him a free roving commission against nations of the stature of Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan.

Yes there have been seven goals from free-kicks in that period but - to put that into perspective - when Beckham finally nailed his last minute 'nadir goal' in the 2-2 draw with Greece in 2001, it was famously his SEVENTH dead ball 'pot-shot' at goal that afternoon alone. If we assume each free-kick that day represents one of his seven successful free-kicks for his country, we have to assume that there have been an estimated 150 which didn't find their target - an utterly derisory return for someone afforded the luxury of using the easily 'bendable' modern lightweight footballs for the duration of his career!

There was also the famous tale (which was spelled out in Tony Adams' biography) of how Beckham was left humiliated by his childhood hero - the then England coach Glenn Hoddle - during a training ground, free-kick exercise. A frustrated Hoddle, eventually concluded that Beckham 'lacked the appropriate skill' to perform such technical move, even though the long-retired England coach was able to perfect the volleyed free-kick with ease himself!

 

Beckham's international goal tally is completed by five successful penalties, but it shouldn't be forgotten that he also missed three, including one in the failed Quarter-Final shoot-out with Portugal at the 2004 European Championships; (Oh how Chris Waddle, Stuart Pearce, Gareth Southgate et al must wish for a management team so adept at airbrushing such misses from the English consciousness). Lets not forget too that Beckham's most famous penalty - the one which helped his side beat Argentina in the 2002 World Cup - was nothing more than a glorified 'hit and hope' which was eminently 'saveable'!

Beckham's many critics can also point to the fact that he has never raised much of a gallop in any of the major championships he has played in for his country.

He got sent off against Argentina in 1998 and was largely peripheral in the forgettable 2000 'Euros'; His 2002 World Cup campaign was hindered by a metatarsal injury, while his noteworthy contribution at Euro 2004 basically amounted to two penalty misses (also against France). At the World Cup of 2006, he was a virtual passenger.

Beckham helped sell plenty of shirts in a few years at Real Madrid which were glamorous but largely hollow. He was a 'galactico' in name only as he played a bit-part role in a side dominated by the far superior talents in Zidane and Raul. Ironically, the only La Liga title Real won during Beckham's tenure came on the back of a dramatic final-day win over RDC Mallorca. With Real down 0–1, a subdued Beckham was replaced by former Arsenal man Jose Antonio Reyes who promptly fired two late goals to help his misfiring side to an unlikely victory!

Beckham was mentioned in the same breath as the words such as 'pioneer' and 'saviour' when cajoled into accepting a mult-million dollar contract with LA Galaxy and America soccer. However - even in a country were almost half of the nation is hoodwinked into believing the world is less than 6,000 years old - his actual ability has been called into question during a three-year sojourn which has been palpably underwhelming on the field, but has helped promote himself off it!

Beckham: A "poundland" Glenn Hoddle

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So, how will he be ultimately remembered on the field?

Laughably, he is a serious rival to both Pele and Maradonna in footballing's 'fame stakes', but that is where the comparison ends - it's akin to Peter Andre sharing a stage with The Beatles and Elvis.

Nor does Beckham belong anywhere near the 'pantheon of greatness' inhabited by 21st century stars such as Zidane, Ronaldo,Christiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Ronaldhino.

Lets not forget that Beckham is from the first generation of players to have had the whole of their career captured on celluloid - that is an awful lot of material for his army of marketeers to work with.

His footballing epitaph should read 'Beckham: good player, at times very good'. 

Instead, in the hands of his cheerleaders, it will inevitably be built up into something greater than it was. It was ever thus with 'Goldenballs.

Failure Robson taking Thai football to 'the abyss'

Robson: Not justifying lucrative salary

Bryan Robson is shocking everyone with the job he is doing with the Thailand national team - he is doing even worse than expected!

The man formerly known as "captain marvel" may be enduring a torrid time at the helm of 'The War Elephants' but he has already pulled off one, spellbinding achievement which many thought was previously impossible. He's actually made his predecessor Peter Reid look competent!

The haste in which Robson is singlehandedly dismantling the reputation of this proud footballing nation is quickly making him the least popular British export to the country since one Paul Francis Gadd!

In just over a year since becoming the highest paid manager in Thailand's history, Robson has transformed the side formerly known as 'the Brazil of South East Asia' into a laughing stock.

Not only did Robson suffer the indignity of being the first Thai manager to fail to qualify for the Asian Cup, but he endured a dismal Asian Games campaign before this week watching his side crash out in the qualifying stage of the recent Suzuki Cup - a biennial competition contested by Asia's weaker South East division of which Thailand are normally red-hot favourites and routine winners!

The latest embarrassment even had the normally conservative Bangkok Post screaming: "Thai football sinks into the abyss" and it seems Robson's 'king Midas in reverse' propensity has even afflicted the country's traditionally dominant Under 23 side who have recently suffered a heavy fall from grace too!

Robson hasn't exactly endeared himself to the Thai media or soccer-crazy public either with his penchant for uttering the same monosyllabic excuses, the most recent ones being that his side are "tired" and were "not very good!"

But should any of this really come as a surprise?

Any self-respecting football fan in the UK knows that Robson's managerial CV can be summed up in two words. "Abject failure".

Even the mighty chequebook of chemical haulage magnate Steve Gibson couldn't prevent Robbo eventually relegating a star-laden Middlesbrough side before he went on the accelerate Bradford City's free fall...presiding over 21 losses in only 27 games!

Despite overseeing a £15 million spending spree, Robson then took his former club, West Brom, from the Premiership to the lower reaches of the Championship in little over 18 months and then won just nine games with Sheffield Utd where the chorus of "Robson out" chants could be heard long before his miserable 32-game tenure came to an end!

 

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Money talks for Qatar and '$15 million man' Zidane

Zidane: Paid an eye-watering $15 million

Nice work if you can get it!

It has been claimed that former France captain, Zinedine Zidane was paid an obscene fee of £9.5 million for being the 'face' of Qatar's successful bid for the 2022 World Cup!

The Australian newspaper Herald Tribune made the eye-watering claims only days after it's country lost out to the oil-rich Gulf state in a move which has prompted further criticism of the sport's beleaguered governing body FIFA which is already weighed down by widespread bribery allegations!

Football Federation Australia’s Jack Reilly said its 2022 bid had fallen victim to FIFA politics and Qatar’s deep pockets.
“The Qatar delegation have been pushing money around for a long period of time,” he said.

Zidane featured in an advert which was run extensively on Swiss television networks in a direct attempt to target the Zurich-based FIFA ExCo members and it is widely believed that this tipped the balance in Qatar's favour, even though FIFA's technical report was critical of the bid, citing sizzling summer temperatures of almost 50C and its tiny size as two major pitfalls.

Qatar has a total population of just 1.3 million - similar to Devon - of which about 75 per cent are expatriates! Logistically, no stadium is going to be more than an hour from any other and critics have also been quick to point out that Qatar has never previously qualified for a World Cup

But, it's on the question of culture and human rights where Qatar's successful bid really does have people scratching their heads!

A devoutly muslim country, Qatar it isn't a democracy - it doesn't allow any political parties - and, in it it's deeply conservative society, women have few rights while homosexuality is illegal, as is drinking alcohol in public.

Qatar also gives refuge to the controversial Egyptian-born scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Islamic radical who is banned from numerous western states, including Britain and the US.

"Idiotic" Cantona told to stop meddling in economics

Cantona: Banks must be "destroyed"

In another crazy example of a footballer suffering from a 'delusion of grandeur', Eric Cantona has called for a 'run' on French banks!

Yes, the former Manchester United star-turned-actor, an occasional philosopher, and convicted 'fan attacker' is now a wannabe economist!

Cantona has called on millions of his compatriots to withdraw their money from French banks in an interview that has since become a Youtube hit and spawned a facebook page - claiming that banks had caused "misery" around the world and must be "destroyed"!

But Cantona's idea was branded "stupid in every sense" and a charter for thieves by the French Banking Federation.

Spokeswoman Valerie Ohannesian said: "It is totally idiotic. If Mr Cantona wants to take his money out of the bank, I imagine that he'll need quite a few suitcases."

Even France's most radical left-wingers found Cantona's bank run a little too revolutionary. Jean-Luc Melenchon, the firebrand leader of The Party of the Left said: "I don't know if we would gain much by a general and instant collapse of the system. I approach things differently, with elections, with programmes."

Whether Cantona, a multi-millionaire, fully understands the anti-bank movement to which he has attached himself is certainly open to question.

A 'run' might have worked 20 years ago but money today is largely electronic, with cash playing a very small part of banking operations. And, of course, in France and other European countries there are daily limits on the amount of cash customers can withdraw.
He has called for the 'run' on December 7th - given that reality, there are going to be several thousands of people rushing from one empty ATM to another that day!

No 'age of austerity' for agents as fees top £67 million

Agents: Fees topped £67 million

With more and more football fans finding themselves 'priced out of the game' in these crippling financial times, they will be incensed to learn that new figures show that Premier League clubs paid out an eye-watering £67.1 million to agents between October 2009 and September 2010!

Yes that's right, those blubbery, cigar-chomping, good-for-nothing middle-men were allowed to take over £67 million out of the game in less than a year - again!

The results actually show a slight decrease from the £70.69 million total that was officially posted last year, although less transactions took place within ’09/’10.
Chelsea and Liverpool top the individual 'hall of shame' having shelled out a scandalous £9.2 million and £9 million respectively, and both clubs sit a considerable distance ahead of third-place Man City – who ONLY paid out £5.6 million in fees, despite a Sheikh Mansour-induced annual wage-bill of over £133 million.
The absurdity of the situation is perhaps best exemplified in the case of Hull City who is has emerged spent upwards over £3 million on agent fees in an ultimately futile bid to stave off relegation from Premiership.

"Brand Beckham" hit by new wave of sex allegations

Beckham: Yet more sex claims

Just months after he filed a multi-million pound lawsuit against American magazine In Touch Weekly over allegations that he had enjoyed a tryst with a £10,000-a-night Bosnian prostitute, David's "brand Beckham" has been hit by a more scandalous claims.

The latest allegations - made by the same celebrity magazine - are thought to have come out in court, as father-of-three Beckham takes legal action against the magazine's German publishers Bauer.

In Touch alleged in September that Beckham, 35, cheated on wife Victoria by having sex with former "high-class call girl", Irma Nici, on at least two occasions, once with another woman joining them - allegations which prompted the former England captain to issue a writ against the publishers, reportedly claiming £16 million in damages for printing the ‘completely untrue’ story.

Now it's thought the publishers have used the privilege of court rule to make new claims, reportedly revealing that they were poised to run a story about a second fling - this time with an unnamed LA-based lingerie saleswoman.

The ongoing headaches for 'brand Beckham' come after a few relatively scandal-free years, following a turbulent year in 2004 when David was accused of having a 'one-night stand' with Malaysian-born escort Sarah Marbeck and - more famously - a full-blown affair with his bisexual former PA Rebecca Loos.

At the time, Beckham dismissed the allegations as "ludicrous" in the case of Ms Loos and "absurd and unsubstantiated" in the case of Ms Marbeck but, perhaps tellingly in the eyes of many, never sued either girl!

Tevez: "Football is all about money and I don't like it"

Tevez: Disillusioned with money in football

Manchester City talisman Carlos Tevez has become the latest big name to put the boot into his money-obsessed sport!

The Argentinian striker - who himself earns a colossal £145,000 per week - claims to be so disenchanted with the state of the game he has vowed to quit within "three or four years." 

“I don’t want to play any more. I’m tired of football but also tired of people who work in football,” said Tevez. “I’m talking seriously. Football is only about money and I don’t like it."

Tevez didn't hold back with his opinions on some of the game's younger players either, saying he would rather punch some of his colleagues than listen to their advice!

"There are so many agents with really young footballers, it's awful as these young players are not interested in winning titles. They only want money.

"Today the young players have no education at all and I don't want to listen to them," said the 26-year-old.

"When I played at Boca (Juniors), when Martin Palermo or Juan Roman Riquelme talked, I listened to them.

"So I don't want a young player to ask me, 'Why did you do that?' in the changing room. I would punch them as I have won 13 titles in my career."

Tevez is not the first Manchester City player to raise the issue of player wages recently, with teammate Kolo Toure - who is believed to be earning closer to £200,000 per week - claiming that many of his team-mates were not training hard enough to justify their salaries and that the club should reserve the right to withhold their wages if the hard yards weren’t being done.

Bent blames Newcastle fans for car attack

Bent: Blames Newcastle fans

Another footballer...another unprovoked attack from rival 'fans'...no doubt a huge insurance bill...and now an unseemly row between cross city supporters on Twitter!

Welcome to the world of Darren Bent!

The £40,000-a-week Sunderland striker claimed that Newcastle-supporting thugs pelted his luxury Land Rover with glass bottles during a shopping trip with friends in the city last week and now war of words has erupted between rival Tyne-Wear fans on the internet.

Bent told his Twitter followers: "So Newcastle Utd fans attack my car with glass bottles today while I'm in a shop. Then proceed to attack it while best friend's girl's in there. Come on now. Bit too far noo?"

He was challenged about why he believed the assailants were supporters of Sunderland's bitter rivals and later tweeted: "Because they were singing 'Newcastle Newcastle' that's how I know."

Northumbria Police confirmed they were investigating a complaint that a glass had been thrown at a parked car.

Bent is one of football's most prolific tweeters, but his habit has landed him in trouble in the past.

He was disciplined by his former club Tottenham Hotspur in 2009 after using Twitter to tell Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to 'stop f****** around' and complete his sale to Sunderland.

And, last year he tweeted that his mother suffered racial abuse in a pub after a Sunderland game.

Bent subsequently closed his db10thetruth account, but later returned to the microblogging service using the name DB11TT.

'Failure' Robbo enjoying the Thail life

Robson: Lucrative salary in Thailand

Former England captain Bryan Robson - a man whose managerial CV contains nothing other than abject failure - is making a good fist of his Thailand 'jolly'!

Signed up on a lucrative four-year-deal by the Thai FA last year, Robson was heavily criticised after Thailand missed out on qualification for the Asian Cup for the first time ever but he has at least seen his side stutter into the quarter-finals of the rather less prestigious Aian Games.

Despite beating a hapless Pakistan outfit, Robson refused to talk to the media after his side could only draw with renowned minnows Oman and the Maldives...before needing extra time to scramble past...wait for it...Turkmenistan!
What an achievement for Thailand - a football-crazy nation with the world's 20th largest population (over 67 million) - to draw with the Sultans and 'oil men' of Oman (population less than 3 million)...before holding the Tuna fishermen and boat-builders of the Maldives to a goalless stalemate - a nation with a population similar to Hull, and where a curious game called 'Bai Bala' (described as 'wrestling tag') is actually more popular than football!

Then to top it all, Robbo's boys managed to squeeze past the impoverished cotton farmers and gas labourers of Turkmenistan (population under 5 million) where falconry and Akhal-Teke horse-riding outshine soccer!
Not that Robbo would need an excuse... but we reckon it's time for him crack open yet another Singha Beer!

Forget wars, Obama and the economy - all hail Phil Neville

Phil Neville: More tweets than President Obama

The World may be paralysed by an unprecedented economic slowdown...wars continue to rage in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond, while all the time Iran and North Korea steadfastly refuse to curtail their nuclear ambitions.

But what subject dominated Twitter yesterday? ...you've guessed it - Phil Neville!

Yes, the nondescript Everton full-back has gone positively viral, with Tweets concerning Neville outnumbered those about Barack Obama and the midterm elections in America.

Neville became an unlikely internet phenomenon on the back of Gareth Bale's man of the match performance for Tottenham against Inter Milan.
As Spurs fans took to the social networking site to praise their star's display, Everton supporters retorted that Neville had managed to outplay Bale when the two went head to head last week.
And from there, the Neville effect snowballed, leaving many users around the world bemused.
The tweets paid tongue-in-cheek homage to the footballer - whose only noteworthy contribution in 59 England caps was conceding a crucial penalty to Romania at Euro 2000 - with one saying, "The Queen sings God Save Phil Neville" while another tweeted said: "Some people say magicians could walk on water, but Phil Neville could swim through land!"
Despite his moderate ability, Neville has amassed a considerable fortune in the game and recently hit the headlines by appointing upmarket property agents Gascoigne Halman to help try and sell his 4,950 sq ft, three-floor, Hilton Tower apartment in Manchester...dubbed as the "very best apartment outside of London."

Car-crazy Gerrard opts for another Range Rover upgrade

Gerrard: Has bought yet another Range Rover Sport

Only a year after paying a cool £80,000 for a custom-built Range Rover Sport, Steven Gerrard is trading it in for a newer one!

The £100,000-a-week midfielder was one of a host of England players who bought bespoke Range Rovers modified by prestigious British tuning company Overfinch last year, opting to have his shirt number, 8, festooned on various parts of the car’s interior as well as paying a high premium to own set number one of special edition alloy wheels!

Now, the 30-year-old has instructed a Cheshire dealer sell the jet black motor for a car valuation £68,000 - representing a net loss of over £12,000, or in other words less than a days wages for the car-crazy Liverpool skipper!

Gerrard buys a new Range Rover every year and it is believed his new model will come with even more custom-built touches to go with its V8 diesel engine which has 472lb of torque – more than a Ferrari 458 Italia.

Gerrard will be hoping his new vehicle will bring him a change of luck following a wretched last 12 months which has seen him perform dismally in the World Cup, labour in the Premiership with his struggling club Liverpool and fight off salacious rumours about his private life!

The best place to sell a car. 

Savage quits Twitter after wages comments backlash

Robbie Savage: "Footballers worth every penny"

Outspoken former Wales international Robbie Savage has quit Twitter following the backlash to his apparent defence of extortionate wages in football.

Multi-millionaire Savage had enraged fans by claiming all players deserve their mind-boggling salaries.

The Derby County skipper, who resides in a £2.5million mansion in Prestbury, said: “The most common complaint is footballers earn too much.

“It is not our fault that we were good enough to play football and get handsomely paid for it.

“Why is it always footballers who get criticised for the money they earn?

“A top darts player can earn £1m a year. A cricketer £1m for two months, a golfer £7.4m for one tournament, a rubbish boxer £3m for one fight, a sprinter £400,000 for an appearance, a tennis player £800,000 for one week.

“But it’s always footballers who get criticised.”

Savage, who presents 606 on BBC Radio 5 Live, also boasted he did not get Halloween trick or treaters at his door because his driveway was so long no-one would dare walk up it.

Savage's comments sparked a bitter Twitter row with angry fans, who told him soldiers and emergency services staff should be paid more than him. It's this reaction which has forced him to quit the social networking site.

Assou-Ekotto rips into "dirty prositute shagger" Rooney

Assou-Ekotto: Rooney is a "prostitute shagger"

Spurs' Cameroon defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto has launched an astonishing attack on his Premiership peers by basically saying what an ever-increasing number of people are thinking...that many of today's players are "greedy, arrogant, two-faced and take themselves too seriously."

And, in his interview with French soccer magazine So Foot, Assou-Ekotto had some forthright views on Wayne Rooney: “The tendency in football at the moment is that as long as you’re not a prostitute shagger then it’s OK, it’s no big deal," he said. "Wayne’s not very well and it’s a dirty thing for his wife to know he had relations with a prostitute. He was seeing the same bird for seven months.”

Assou-Ekotto, 26, a £3million buy from Lens four years ago, has a history of speaking his mind and was in no mood to hold back when it came to his fellow professionals, saying: "The whole problem with football players is that they really take themselves seriously.

“We kick a ball around and we earn 100,000, 200,000 or even 300,000 euros a week. We don't improve the world. It's not like we invented hot water. We just kick a ball. 

“But sometimes when these guys go out, you'd think they were rock stars. 

“I could understand that you wear dark glasses at night time when you do open-heart surgery and save lives, but not if you're a footballer.

“I'm not in the same world as most of the people in football. I really don't like this world.” Despite his criticisms, Assou-Ekotto concedes that he is only in the game for the money himself: “I understood from a very early age that it didn't interest me to work in an office for 1,000 euros a month, see the same faces every day and work 45 years to buy a house. That's a rather sad life.”
He added: “I was gifted at sports and quickly tried to find a cushy number. And today I have a great job. I work a maximum of two hours a day and I do it to make money, like anybody else in the world.”

Rooney's spend £100,000 on Kai's birthday bash

Rooney Mansion: Hosted £100k birthday bash.

A day after jetting in from their £30,000 'jolly' in the sun in Dubai...Wayne and Coleen Rooney were splashing the cash again over the weekend, this time on hosting a no-expense-spared birthday bash for son Kai on his first birthday.

The Rooneys are believed to have forked out almost £100,000 on the Disney-themed birthday party which took place in a heavily-guarded giant marquee on the grounds of their £4.5m Cheshire mansion.

Wayne and Coleen hired world-renowned jugglers and magicians to compliment a clown and giant bouncy castle at the bash which was attended by a dozens of friends and family who were able to feast on a gourmet buffet washed down with champagne.
Security staff at the Cheshire mansion searched bar staff and waiters who had to hand over mobile phones and cameras.
In September, it was alleged Wayne, 25, had sex with two escort girls, Jenny Thompson and Helen Woods, in a hotel while she was pregnant with Kai.

United veterans eye mega-lucrative Dubai deal

Giggs and Neville: In the money

As the government's austerity cuts start to bite, I am sure it will be a great comfort for the great British public to discover that Ryan Giggs - who is already worth an estimated £27 million - has reportedly been offered a mind-boggling £200,000 a week deal to wind down his career in the Middle East!And that's not all. Apparently, Giggs' fellow Manchester United veterans Paul Scholes and Gary Neville can also expect to receive can also expect mega offers from Dubai clubs teaming with cash!

The Sun reports that top ‘top outfits’ in the UAE league are putting together deals for Giggs and fellow O.A.P.s Scholes and Neville, including Al-Ahli, who are managed by former Leeds and Aston Villa boss David O'Leary and who can also boast Italian 2006 World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro on their gravy train!

Al-Ahli - who often play in front of sub 1000 crowds - managed to entice O'Leary in the summer but, despite talk of a highly lucrative package, O'Leary is adamant that what attracted him to Dubai was solely "the different culture.

With Giggs, Scholes and particularly Neville all becoming increasingly peripheral figures at United, a place on the UAE gravy train is likely to make plenty of appeal to all three.

Neville even has a property in Dubai and Giggs regularly holidays there.

 

Allardyce hits out at 'astronomical' wage demands

Big Sam: Has slammed 'astronomical wage demands'

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce claims that players wage demands have soared so high that he can barely even afford to sign players available on free transfers. Even though Blackburn on on the verge of a takeover by Indian poultry conglomerate, Venky's, Allardyce doesn't expect to have any more than £5 million to spend on players.
And he admits that even players who are available for nothing are becoming a struggle to afford!
"I think that there's a big factor that's sneaked in that's made it that much more difficult - and it's not transfer fees it's wages.
"They are astronomically high and have now made it very difficult to even take a very talented free transfer today which is what the norm would be for Blackburn in the past, or a small fee with good wages.
"Now astronomical wages are making it very difficult to take somebody who might not even have a transfer fee attached to them, because of the net value that they want and the net value that they're worth.
"And they know if you don't give it to them somebody else will."

Bolton star Klasnic accused of teen rape

Klasnic: Arrested on suspicion of rape

Bolton Wanderers' Croatian striker Ivan Klasnic has been arrested and bailed on suspicion of raping a 17-year-old girl.
The 30-year-old - who is married with one daughter - was held was questioned by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) before being released on bail.
Police were called by the alleged victim at 5am on Monday. She claimed she had been attacked at the star’s flat in Deansgate, Manchester city centre.
Klasnic signed a two-year contract with Whites in August of this year after becoming a free agent after leaving French side Nantes.
The German-born Croatia international scored his first Premier League goal of this season in the 2-1 victory over Stoke at the Reebok Stadium two weeks ago but was then sent off.
Klasnic fell under the media spotlight when he became the first international footballer to have received a kidney transplant.
In December 2006, he suffered renal failure and was forced into hospital.
His mother stepped forward to donate one of her kidneys but, just a month later, the star was back in hospital again after his body started to reject it.
He underwent a second successful operation in March 2007, this time with one of his father’s kidneys.

Ferdinand handed six month driving ban

Ferdinand: Banned from driving

Sunderland defender Anton Ferdinand has been issued with a six month driving ban and a fine of £1000 by Newcastle magistrates.

The 25-year-old -- brother of England captain Rio Ferdinand -- spoke only to confirm his name and address during a brief hearing which saw him convicted of using a mobile phone while at the wheel of his Range Rover in July.

Ferdinand was banned because he has already accumulated 12 points on his licence from previous motoring offences.

"As the officer drew up alongside, he realised he was a police officer and immediately put the phone down from his ear."

Ferdinand had told the officer that he was making an important call to his mother as he was on the way to the airport.

The ban brings about the end of a case where Ferdinand failed to appear for a court hearing and then handed himself in to Newcastle police station following the threat of arrest.

It's not the first time Ferdinand has been in trouble with the law. Three years ago he was charged with assault and affray following a fracas outside a nightclub in Ilford, for which he was later acquitted. Ferdinand had claimed he was defending himself from someone who he thought wanted to steal his £64,000 diamond-encrusted watch!The Sunderland defender was spotted using his mobile by a police officer who had followed him over a course of two miles.
The prosecutor Kerry Gate said: "He was leaning towards the centre of the car as if leaning on an arm rest and had his mobile telephone in his left hand against his left ear.

Barca's lavish expenses called before the courts

Laporta: Lavish expenses

Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta and his management team are to be called before the courts to explain why they approved accounts last year that saw a staggering annual loss of over £70 million for the club.

Among those pushing that action be taken is Laporta's former right-hand man Sandro Rosell, who was elected club president in July, and has become one of his predecessor's most outspoken critics.

Laporta and his team will be asked to explain certain payments, notably the £7 million paid to the agent of Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Barcelona's record signing at around £61 million, who signed for AC Milan during the summer...at a loss of around £32 million!

But, it is the lavish personal expenses and director's allowances which have irked Mr Laporta's critics most. They include:

• £4.9 million on private jets
• £2.32 million spying on directors, fans and journalists
• £504,000 a year on vol-au-vents
• £229,000 on restaurants
• £46,000 on the chauffeurs' credit card – for drinks, cigars and perfume

Barcelona is owned by more than 170,000 members who pay annual fees of £137, or about 15 percent of the club’s revenue. The president and club directors are elected by the members every four years and don’t receive a salary.

World Cup medal sells for what Rooney earns in five days!

Less than a week after Wayne Rooney signed a staggering £1 million-a-month contract with Manchester Utd, former legend Nobby Stiles was yesterday forced to part with his prized 1966 World Cup winners' medal, along with the medal he received for winning the European Cup with the club.

Stiles' decision to sell his medals came about after a period of ill health made him consider how he could provide for his family when he is gone. Announcing the decision to auction some of his memorabilia in September, Stiles said:
"I have had a bit of bad time and I want to leave something for my family,” Stiles told reporters.

The fee for World Cup medal, bought at an auction for football memorabillia in Edinburgh, is thought to be £188,200, eclipsing the previous record paid for a winners' medal — that of the late Alan Ball's World Cup winners' medal that fetched £165,000 five years ago.

To put that in perspective, Stiles' prized posession has fetched what Rooney would earn in just over five days work!

Manchester United - who bought the medals - will now display the medals at Old Trafford as a mark of respect to their former loyal servant Stiles.





Rooneys splash the cash in Dubai

The Rooneys: Enjoying life in Dubai

Wayne Rooney and wife Coleen have reportedly embarked on an orgy of spending that will disgust even the most fervent of football fans.

Fresh from signing a record £200,000-a-week Manchester United deal, the Rooneys are said to have splashed more cash in four hours than most fans would earn in a month.

Lapping up all the luxuries money can buy at the £2,000-a-night suite at the seven star Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, the pair were spotted knocking back £50 glasses of pink champagne before tucking into a four-hour lunch by the pool which set them back a cool £400.

The Rooneys suite boasts a 10ft square mirror on the ceiling above their king-sized bed and a hot tub complete with champagne and caviar. Even a one-night stay at the hotel cost nearly twice the average monthly wage in the UK.

Rooney had cancelled a pre-planned 25th birthday party at the last minute to go to Dubai with Coleen. The 'champagne' party cost £90,000 and was to be held in a specially erected marquee at his mansion.

Last month the football star was accused of having a threesome with a prostitute while his wife was pregnant. It has been speculated that Rooney is taking this time to away to work on his marriage after the recent allegations of his affair.

Gazza back in rehab after drugs arrest

Gascoigne: Back in rehab...again

Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne is back in rehab following his arrest for drugs offences.
Gascoigne had spent a night in police custody last week on suspicion of possessing a class A substance.
According to a national newspaper, the 43-year-old was brought to Providence Projects clinic in Boscombe by friends in a bid to stop him from drinking.
"Gazza's not in a good way. He keeps giving in to the same temptations and he needs help once again," the tabloid quoted a source, as saying.This is happening time and time again and it's difficult to see how he will ever break out of this destructive pattern of behaviour," the source added.
Gazza was earlier warned that he faces being jailed after admitting charges of drunk driving at a short hearing at the Newcastle Magistrates' Court
District Judge Stephen Earl was told that Gascoigne had 142mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath when he was stopped in Jesmond, Newcastle, on October 8 at 2:45pm. The legal limit is 35mg.
Gazza, a former star of Spurs and Newcastle, has been in and out of rehab since he stopped playing football in 2004. He estimates that he has blown up to £20 million on a booze and drug-fuelled lifestyle which included a high-profile divorce from former wife Sheryl, who he admitted to beating on a regular basis for two years.
He first visited the £600-a-week Providence Project days after he tried to take chicken and beer to gunman Raoul Moat during his stand-off with police in Rothbury, Northumberland earlier this year.