Morning all, and greetings from one of the South West's nicest towns ... Dunsborough.
This and Busselton, used to be FP's old stomping ground when he used to be a foot-in-the-door journo for one of the local papers.
Not much has changed to be honest, which is something that doesn't surprise FP one bit. Click to continue reading...

Gerrard actually misses Xabi Alonso. Which is kinda cute.
Don't forget to re-acquaint yourself with this beauty.
But Liverpool still sucks.
Now some links:

• More Bulgarian craziness. [Unprofessional Foul]
  
• Police use water cannon at German riot. [SI]
  
• Carlo loves him some Didier Drogba.

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Chivers with Bill Nicholson/From BBC Sport

Spurs and Southampton legend Martin Chivers joins us on the podcast. Among the topics discussed are:

• His new autobiography
• His current hospitality work with Spurs
• His thoughts on Spurs potential new stadium
• What it took get noticed by Southampton
• Did the move to White Hart Lane help his prospects for making Alf � Ramsey's England squad?

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Andy Goram came to Manchester United on loan during the 2000-2001 to help us out during a time when our other goalies, Fabien Barthez and Raimond Van der Gouw, were unavailable Barthez on duty with the French side and Van der Gouw struggling with injury.

His first game was our 4-2 win over Coventry in the league although was subbed off with an hour played with the scoreline at 2-2.

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New football book titles out this month include We Are The Damned United, another take on Brian Clough's ill-fated stay at Leeds in the 70s, written as a response to David Peace's classic The Damned Utd and an autobiography of BBC football commentator John Motson Motty: Forty Years in the Commentary Box. Click to continue reading...

"I'm god, I'm always right about everything", this speech was hold by Louis van Gaal in the dressing room in front of his players. The reality of course is a bit different; Bayern Munich must grapple with one of its biggest crisis in its club history.

At the beginning of the new season the Bayern officials praised their new coach Louis van Gaal as the most distinguished man in European football.

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Some Lovely Links Just For You!

Portsmouth Vs Liverpool Tickets Still Available!

Portsmouth Vs Manchester United Tickets Still Available!

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Join Us on Twitter!

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With a plethora of football books about to hit the shops ahead of the Christmas season, Scotty Kingsley reviews the offerings of the man they called 'Houdini'.

****

Many years ago Lennie Lawrence threatened to write a book about his time a Charlton. There was certainly enough packed into his nine year spell at the club, including winding up orders, high court visits, numerous Chairmen, promotion, play-offs, relegation and of course ground sharing and the Valley Party to warrant one if not more volumes.

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Roy Keane has been under siege after a slow start this season at Ipswich, but as
Matt Dickinson of the Times Online reports, a distanced manager has apparently separated himself from his locker room.
One of the most troubling stories about Roy Keane's management did not involve him screaming, shouting or karate-kicking the tactics board in the dressing room, as Dwight Yorke has described so vividly in his forthcoming autobiography. Click to continue reading...

Seven goals, seven minutes of added time, seven players from the Big Four in the team of the week. Yes, the big boys claimed back their rightful place at the top of the Premier League table last week, the pretenders of Manchester City & Tottenham slotted firmly into their place. Wins for Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool & Arsenal meant it was a good week for the star names, as well as a few lesser ones too.

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New football book titles out this month include an autobiography of former Saints' icon Matt Le Tissier Taking The Tiss: My Autobiography, a biography of Eric Cantona Cantona: The Rebel Who Would Be King and a book on African football Feet Of The Chameleon.
Other new books published in September are Celtic's Lost Legend an autobiography from George Connelly and No Smoke, No Fire by David Jones, an account of the false accusations of child abuse brought against the former Stockport County, Southampton, Wolves and now Cardiff manager. Click to continue reading...

Not since the days when footballs were made of head-me-if-you-dare heavy leather has something in the game caused so many defenders migraines. But even Superman has kryptonite. Fernando Torres can be neutralised — how to do so is the surprise.
You make him face a certain Premier League side and they are not Manchester United, not Chelsea and not Arsenal. Click to continue reading...

An extract from a Fernando Torres' new autobiography, 'El Nino', reveals just how strange and mundane the life of a foreign Premier League player can be...
Quote: "One of the biggest problems I faced when I first moved to Liverpool was the language barrier. My English was limited to the classes I had taken at school in Fuenlabrada. Click to continue reading...

As it seems is now legally required of footballers, Fernando Torres has an autobiography coming out titled "El Nino: My Story". The Mirror was able to get an early look at the book, which details his transition from Madrid to Liverpool, and they share some choice passages.

On learning a new language:

"Two people were vital during my first few days in the city: Rob and Alan, the English teachers Liverpool laid on for me.

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Southampton police have contacted the FA regarding the Matt Le Tissier betting scandal.
The former Southampton captain and England international admitted gambling on a Premier League game in which he was playing.
Le Tissier admitted in his autobiography, Taking Le Tiss, that he gambled on the time of the first throw in the Saints' 2-0 win at Wimbledon in April 1995. Click to continue reading...

Old Bill talk to FA about failed spread betting rip-off Police have been in contact with the FA over Matt Le Tissier's admission in his autobiography that he took part in a failed betting scam. OTP thought that giving the book the criminal title Taking Le Tiss was a more heinous offence, but what do we [. Click to continue reading...

The ol' Southampton forward has admitted to some reprehensible behavior.
Matt Le Tissier, now a television pundit, revealed in his autobiography that he tried to influence a game for betting purposes (the wager was on which club would get the first throw-in, weird but true).
For shame. Click to continue reading...

Given he's got an autobiography to sell, I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing for former England and Southampton star Matthew Le Tissier that the revelation he placed a spread bet on a game he played in hit the press today, well-buried under the Chelsea news. Le Tissier explained what he says was the only time he ever did this, betting on the time the first throw-in would come:

We were safe from the threat of relegation when we went to Wimbledon on April 17 and, as it was a televised match, there was a wide range of bets available.

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Chelsea forward Nicolas Anelka has the football world on tenter hooks with the imminent release of his audacious autobiography ‘It's not me. It's everyone else.' Which critics are are already labelling 'shocking' and ‘compelling.' Click to continue reading...

Ian Rush's comments about his struggle to adapt to Italian life whilst playing for Juventus entered into Liverpool FC folklore long ago, but did he really say that living in Italy ‘was like living in a foreign country'?
According to Liverpool's goal-scoring Legend, he made no such comment:
"I was set up! Click to continue reading...

Darren Fletcher's other half, Hayley, brings their gorgeous twin boys to Old Trafford for the season opener.

Marketing expert says Cristiano Ronaldo needs a wife. Nereida, don't even think about it, luv.
This footy search/aggregator/whoseywhatsits is brilliant.
Dasha's going to have a baby!

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Darren Fletcher's other half, Hayley, brings their gorgeous twin boys to Old Trafford for the season opener.

Marketing expert says Cristiano Ronaldo needs a wife. Nereida, don't even think about it, luv.
This footy search/aggregator/whoseywhatsits is brilliant.
Dasha's going to have a baby!

Click to continue reading...

I recently had the opportunity to speak to Ian Cheeseman, who commentates on City for Radio Manchester ahead of the launch of his new book 'Best Job in The World: From Football Specials To The Press Box'.
For anyone who has caught his commentary, it is evident how much of a huge City fan he is (describing himself as a City 'idiot'), but it was only after interviewing him did I get a feel for how deep his passion and commitment for the club is. Click to continue reading...

It is a little known fact that Paul ‘Gazza' Gascoigne had the chance of trials with the Boro back in 1980 and he came down to the club with his friend Keith Spraggon, Paul left without taking the trial and Boro offered his friend youth terms.

The rest they say is history.

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Emlyn 'Crazy Horse' spent 12 fantastic years at Liverpool FC and captained the club to consecutive European Cup victories in the 1970s. Here, in his own words, Bob Paisley provides an insight into how Hughes - never the most popular player at the club - fitted in at Anfield.
The following is taken from 'Bob Paisley - My 50 Golden Reds (1990)'. Click to continue reading...

Morning, I was expecting to have a bit more news about pre-season starting but so far there's been nothing. Oh well.

Not much going on to be honest but Manuel Almunia is already setting the bar for the season ahead. He wants us to start well and play more like we did in the second half of last season, saying:

That is what we need to do from July this year, from the minute we get back for pre-season.

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It's fairly safe to assume that John Terry has been operating under the assumption that his place at Chelsea was a job for life. There has been talk of him requesting a managing role at the club when he retires and his recent behaviour with regard to telling the club which players he thinks they should sign has been another indicator of a footballer that doesn't particularly see his role as being, well, a footballer.

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King Kenny is back! After a 18 year hiatus, the man many hail as Liverpool's greatest ever player, Kenny Dalglish, will rejoin Liverpool Football Club.

From the club's official site:

"Dalglish will assume a senior role at the Liverpool Academy and will also act as a Club ambassador working with the commercial side of the business around the world.

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Much of Robbie Fowler's autobiography is boring. The story of this talented mischief-maker (such as the infamous "snorting" the touchline incident) doesn't grab me. I normally love reading anything football-related - tell-alls, player biographies, histories, theories, economic manifestos, coaching manuals – whatever.

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Much of Robbie Fowler's autobiography is boring. The story of this talented mischief-maker (most famous for "snorting" the touchline) doesn't grab me. I normally love reading anything football-related - tell-alls, player biographies, histories, theories, economic manifestos, coaching manuals – whatever. Click to continue reading...

There's not much� real news at all about Newcastle United in the Sunday papers this morning. Joe Kinnear spills beans on Newcastle in new book what new book? Here's a sprinkling of some of the less than exciting news today. There's a story in the Sunday Sun that says an update to Joe Kinnear's autobiography [. Click to continue reading...

Dirk Kuyt is in awe of how much Jamie Carragher knows about football and says that his obsession with the game borders on a sickness.
Many feel the Reds' defensive stalwart has future football manager written all over him and recent comments made by his Dutch team-mate only reinforce that notion. Click to continue reading...

Carlo Ancelotti in his tell all autobiography "Preferisco La Coppa" or "I prefer trophies" reveals that Abramovich, in an extraordinary moment of candour confessed:

"My Chelsea team don't have a personality. My ambition is to win every competition but at the moment I don't even recognise my team.

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I don't have much to say about Ancelotti-to-Chelsea, not because it's uninteresting but because the possibilities it opens are so vast. There's something genuinely dark about it no one involved really wanted it to happen, except maybe Abramovich, who seems to think that Milan's aristocratic cast-offs can help him cleanse his club of its arriviste taint but open your mouth against it and you risk being sheared by lightning.

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