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The Page That Could've Done Without That Information Before Lunch
Some red hot sources over at Soccernet, the spin on a few photos and a load of meat...
The Page That Should Be Here In Long Term
Is the 66-year-old Fabio Capello 'a young coach who can remain in the job long-term'? Oh and Spurs fans should be relieved...
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A New Low
Reports The Daily Mirror: 'Bewildered Gunners slide out of Euro spots as season hits new low.'
In a season when Arsenal have been as low in the table as 17th place, and have lost 8-2 to Manchester United and Blackburn 4-3, we suspect they've been lower.
Rio Ferdinand: Spurs Chief Scout
"I spoke to Rio Ferdinand the other day and he said himself and Vidic thought Adebayor was the most difficult opponent they had played against...I said I might be taking Adebayor and he said he was always their toughest opponent, caused them more problems than anyone else" - Harry Redknapp after signing Emmanuel Adebayor, August 24.
"I can remember speaking to Rio Ferdinand and he said he was the best forward he'd played against" - Harry Redknapp after signing Louis Saha, January 31.
Read Stuff. Specifically...
Theo Walcott is in The Daily Mirror this morning publicising the paper's 'We Love Reading' campaign, as well as the 'Premier League Reading Stars', designed to get the youngsters off the mean streets with the riots and the happy slapping, and into a library, innit.
Theo said: 'Sometimes I missed school because of training, but wherever I was I always made sure I did my homework and went on to get four GCSEs.
'But when it came to reading for pleasure, I was a late starter. It wasn't until I was 10 that I really got into books and discovered the joy - and the power - of reading.'
All very commendable, but one series of books gets quite a few nods - a series about a young footballer named TJ, which is mentioned four times, including a picture of Theo holding one of said books proudly to the camera.
The author of the TJ series? Theo Walcott.
Toxic
Round of applause to Martin Lipton of The Daily Mirror, who brings us a big EXCLUSIVE! this morning.
''TOXIC' TERRY IN EURO THREAT' blarts the headline.
Lipton writes: 'FA chiefs could order Fabio Capello not to select John Terry for Euro 2012 after his alleged racist abuse trial was set for the week following the tournament.'
So what EXCLUSIVE! content does he have? Words from interested/relevant parties? Insider information that no other paper has?
Erm. Not exactly.
Lipton speculates that the FA might indeed prevent Terry from going to Polkraine, as does The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Daily Star. However, none of them have the big brass balls to claim an EXCLUSIVE!
Lipton also brings us quotes from Jason Roberts, who said Terry could potentially be 'toxic' to the England dressing room, as does The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Daily Star. However, none of them have the big brass balls to claim an EXCLUSIVE!
Or, for that matter, anyone with access to a computer, because Roberts' words came from his Twitter account.
Shrewd
The Daily Mirror's transfer head honcho Darren Lewis offered his thoughts on the January transfer business of the Premier League's 20 clubs this morning.
On Everton, he sagely notes:
'Also recruited Rangers marksman Nikica Jelavic and Darron Gibson, matchwinner against Manchester City. Not many people also noticed the signing of keeper Marcus Hahnemann from Wolves. Shrewd.'
Shrewd indeed. We would imagine that not many people noticed the signing of Marcus Hahnemann because the American keeper arrived at Goodison last summer.
No Fault
Cuddly old Uncle Ken 'Papa Smurf' Bates was up to his usual tricks on Wednesday - sacking a manager then utterly denying he had anything to do with the situation that saw that manager dismissed.
Speaking to his own personal loud-hailer Yorkshire Radio, Bates said of Simon Grayson: "We have to acknowledge the previous three seasons Simon got us to the League One play-offs then promotion and then we finished seventh (in the Championship) and we have backed him all the way."
He went on to say: "All the money we have received has gone back into the squad. The manager decides who he wants to buy, we as the board just pay for it. I only said no once."
Ah. So not quite all the way.
Bates also complained that Leeds were "over 30% over budget on players wages. What I don't understand is why we are where we are with what we have spent," wielding his metaphorical stick and giving Grayson a sound thrashing around the bonce.
Erm, Kenneth, that's something you're in charge of, yes? Surely one cannot whine that you're spending loads on wages, when you could quite easily, you know, say no?
Rumour Of The Day
'Alan Green is the latest big name at BBC Sport having to take a significant pay cut - following lead TV football pundit Alan Hansen. Freelance Green, whose Radio 5 Live commentary contract expires in July, was hoping to negotiate a deal for him to work on 100 games a season over the next two years' - The Daily Mail.
Misleading Non-Football Headline Of The Day
'Blue balls mystery close to being solved' - The Guardian. Turns out it was something about blue ball things falling out the sky over some village. Bah.
Worst Headline Of The Day
'Nice 'n Cisse does it...' - The Sun.
Non-Football Story Of The Day
'A firm of private investigators in Australia has been advertising for a £50,000-a-year 'brothel inspector'. The post involves "partaking of sexual services" undercover on behalf of local councils in New South Wales. The Lyonswood Investigations and Forensic Group in Sydney placed the ad for a 'Brothel Buster Investigator' in My Career magazine. Applicants were required to be unmarried and preferably single, willing to have protected sex with prostitutes and to provide sworn evidence in court.
'Lyonswood operations manager Lachlan Jarvis said the job involved visiting suspected illegal brothels and gathering evidence to prove they were offering sexual services. "Some jobs require the offering of sexual services, some actually require the partaking of sexual services... because it is considered the most convincing evidence," he said. Mr Jarvis said the ad had proved popular with Sydney job seekers. "We had dozens if not more than that apply, it was certainly a popular job," he said, "the perfect job for a male" - Orange.
Thanks to today's Mediawatch spotters Vijay Balakrishnan, Mark Robinson and Peter Wallbank. If you spot anything that belongs on this page, mail us at theeditor@football365.com, putting 'Mediawatch' in the subject field.
