A round-up of other soccer news
Hold your Champion horses, Sean
THIS snippet of news might be of interest to Arsenal/Barcelona/ Chelsea fans: preparations are already under way for Manchester United's victory parade in the city after the Champions League final.
It is, of course, perfectly sensible to plan these things well ahead of time – not least because last year's parade was called off by the authorities due to safety concerns – but still, the egg-on-face potential here is considerable.
"It's a fantastic achievement for any club to win the Champions League," said Sean Bones, vice-chairman of the Manchester United Supporters' Trust, "and really it's only right and fitting that the players, manager and training staff are able to be honoured in this way."
Sean? Hold your horses.
Robinho shines in the sun
IT is, of course, terrific to see Robinho finally find a bit of form at Manchester City after his €86.4 trillion, or whatever it was, transfer.
Still, considering that part of the world's reputation for unending rainfall, his explanation for his good form might be a touch worrying for the club's supporters: "Now we've got the weather, it is just like being in Brazil. I don't miss much when the sun shines."
Uh oh. Dark days ahead.
Oxford's Wilder less than convincing
THE award for the “less than convincing apology of the week” goes to Oxford United manager Chris Wilder, who paid tribute to the quality of the English (non-League) Conference by declaring: “Boy, do I want to get out of this poxy league! I think everyone at this club wants to get out and never come back.”
The next day? “I didn’t mean any disrespect to anyone,” he said.
Of course not.
Quotes of the week
“To be honest, I am happy Milan, one of the legendary clubs in the world, were looking at me. For me that must be something special. It is like a boy being told Beyonce is looking for them.”
- Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor, in need of a cold shower.
“If it all goes well it is worth it, if not . . . well, it’s better one day a lion,than 30 years a pussycat.”
- And if Sunderland avoid relegation Niall Quinn, you’d imagine, will be like the cat that got the cream.
“The pitch was terrible. The ball was like a rabbit, and it’s difficult to catch a rabbit.”
- Rafa Bright Eyes Benitez reflecting on Hull City’s pitch, after Liverpool’s 3-1 win.
“To avoid contracting swine flu, the World Health Organisation recommends staying away from areas where large numbers of people gather. So, your safety is guaranteed at Falkirk.”
- Tam Cowan, of the Scottish Daily Record. Aw.
“They say their fans are ghosts: you don’t see or hear them.”
- Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia says a big hello to Chelsea’s fans who, most probably, will haunt him next time the teams meet.
“We have lost a lot of the hope we had about winning the league.”
- Real Madrid coach Juande Ramos, after losing 6-2 to Barcelona, with perhaps the most enormous understatement in the entire history of understatements.
More quotes of the week
“If you leave United there is nowhere any better for you to go. United are not just any club, they are legendary.”
- Mikael Silvestre with a comment that no doubt went down well with his current employers, Arsenal.
“If it came to a choice between England winning the World Cup with a Spanish ’keeper or not winning it, I’d rather not win.”
- Harry Redknapp hints at a lack of enthusiasm for Manuel Almunia being picked up by England.
“I remember hearing about Brian Clough trying to get Archie Gemmill to sign, he slept on his sofa. That’s what I’d do with Stephen (Ireland) . . . well, I wouldn’t sleep on his sofa, I would sleep outside his house to try and get him back.”
- Roy Keane advising Giovanni Trapattoni to invest in a sleeping bag.
“I look at one or two of the Irish players and I think they’re playing on past reputations . . . it’s well and good being loyal to players, but there’s a fine line between loyalty and stupidity.”
- Keane again. Who could he mean?
Dennis is no menace to Gunners
UNKIND allegations are often made against football agents, among them suggestions that they’re keen to unsettle their players so that yet another (lucrative) transfer is inevitable.
Andrey Arshavin’s agent, Dennis Lachter, is certainly not that kind of man, and you can be sure that when he was quoted recently saying that Barcelona and “several teams” are interested in signing his client, just three months after he moved to London, he meant no harm.
Nor, undoubtedly, was Lachter trying to speed up such a transfer with his alleged comments to a St Petersburg newspaper. “To put it mildly, he doesn’t like playing on the left,” he was quoted as saying, before suggesting that some of his client’s team-mates were resentful of his success.
“To tell the truth the players of Arsenal are not easy to deal with. The squad consists almost entirely of foreigners. The French diaspora rules there.”
“All this stuff is made up,” insisted Lachter when asked about the comments later in the week, “he is really happy at Arsenal.”
And that, need it be said, is how Lachter wants his client to remain. Ish.
