By Chris Wright
Those in the know (i.e BBC Sport) are suggesting that West Ham have handed their manager
Avram Grant a 'one-game' ultimatum to save his job, meaning that if the Israeli
doesn't manage to garner a single victory from his next three games (Blackburn, Fulham and Everton)
he will be jettisoned back into the managerial wilderness from whence he came.
By Chris Wright
To put it in technical economic terms, Ireland is in a bit of a hole at the moment and the Irish
FA (FAI) are far from immune being, as they are, in the red to the tune of somewhere around €50
million.
In a bid to ease the FAI's monetary woes, Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has
agreed to take a recession busting pay-cut of 'in excess of 5%', which is due to come into effect
immediately.
With a day to go before England discovers whether or not it will be hosting a major tournament in
2018, my fellow Unfortunate Stanley and myself took time out to consider the pros and cons of the
World Cup bid over the transatlantic airwaves. Here is the result of our ruminations in the style
of a less than Socratic dialogue:Lanterne Rouge: So Stanley, tomorrow sees the occasion of the big
It's about 24 hours since we were dumped out of the voting for the 2018 World Cup and
although I've calmed down a bit, guest blogger Richard Smith has actually managed
to turn his disappointment into a coherent post...
Despite the huge influences of future Kings, the Prime Minister, Lords, Ladies, Knights of the
Realm and future Knights of the Realm, the England bid to host the 2018 World Cup failed
(embarrassingly) in the very first round of FIFA voting.
Alan Pardew became a TV celebrity when he characterized Michael Essien's tackle on Ched Evans
during a Chelsea vs Man City match admiringly as "he absolutely rapes him". Hopefully his arrival
at St James Park or whatever it is called nowadays does not give license to Joey Barton to go all
mental.
