Ex-WAG tells of life in the fast lane

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The life of WAG is not always about glamour and glitz while buying the latest fashion items, and Lorraine Fletcher unfortunately knows this very well as she has lived in the fast lane for a decade whilst married to Arsenal and England star Paul Merson, who is known as a real party animal.

Throughout their ten year marriage Lorraine had to deal with his drinking habits, adultery, drug use, and gambling addiction until she finally tossed in the towel and filed for divorce. Even at this point she still had to battle hard to get through the divorce and the new 43 year old Lorraine admits that she suffered as well, turning to alcohol to help her get through her depression.

In an interview she gave this past Sunday for the Mirror the former WAG stated that the turning point in her life was when she left Paul because she had become accustomed to being a WAG and everything that stood for, but when she left him her identity changed. She said that suddenly her life had changed and she was not able to handle it all at once and before she knew what had happened she had a drink addiction.

Her drink problem is ironic given the fact that she was almost completely sober throughout her marriage to Paul who was her childhood sweetheart. The pair was married when she was 21 and then she went on to have three boys over the course of the next ten years.

As he became more popular however she became more miserable as she grew isolated and lonely. Their relationship was tested however when news of his gambling addiction became public and then again when news of his affair hit the newspaper stands.

Manager and players from Bolton pay tribute to the courage of Muamba

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Owen Coyle, manager of Bolton, believes that the strength and courage displayed by Fabrice Muamba in his young life will give him a good base for he moves on from football. Fabrice suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during an FA Cup tie at White Hart Lane on March 17.

Following this he had 15 electric shocks while still on the pitch during the time that paramedics were trying to revive him. Doctors revealed later that the ex-England under-21 midfielder’s heart stopped for 78 minutes.

As Fabrice made a remarkable recovery in hospital he received messages of support from all walks of life. Coyle feels that the 24-year-old will have gained strength through this battle as well as his young life when he had to flee war-torn Zaire, where he was born and is now renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo. Coyle believes he was born to be successful in whatever he does.

Striker and captain of Bolton, Kevin Davies, also paid tribute to Muamba saying that he holds him in the highest regard, both professionally and personally. He said that he is sure that Fabrice will be disappointed that he will not be able to play; the team was hoping he would somehow get back. Davies went on to say that he is a great guy to spend time with.

Davies sent him a text of support when he heard the news, advising him to take positive steps towards his future. He said that the club and his team mates will support him in his next journey when he decides what he wants to do. Davies said that he is very bright and sensible.

 

Hodgson contradicts himself over John Terry

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Roy Hodgson, the manager of England’s national football team, seemed to contradict himself recently in his views that football fans and players should be more Olympian in their outlook, then following that by saying that John Terry should be let off lightly after his abuse of Anton Ferdinand.

Hodgson was impressed with the way in which the Team GB athletes conducted themselves and said that the atmosphere they performed in gave mainstream sports, including football, food for thought. He saw London 2012 as a wake-up call that the hatred and abuse suffered by footballers is not necessary.

There was little abuse suffered by the Olympic athletes. It was reported that Hodgson believes the Olympic athletes set a new benchmark which should be adopted in football and other major team sports which expect to be under the spotlight.

He went on to reflect on the tribalism which is often on show during football matches and said that the public who watched the Community Day were very different to that which were in Olympic Stadium. Following his statements about how players and fans should be more Olympian he said that he hoped John Terry would be cleared of his racial abuse charge by the FA so that he would be able to play for England, thus trampling over his noble sentiments.

During July’s court case Terry was found not guilty of the charge that he racially abused Anton Ferdinand from QPR. He now faces a charge from the Football Association after he was caught on camera launching expletives and insults at Ferdinand during the game. This is something that the likes of Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah have never been accused of

Rio Ferdinand the latest star in trouble over comments on Twitter

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There have been quite a few instances of footballers getting into trouble because of comments that they have made on the social networking site, Twitter. The latest is Rio Ferdinand, the Manchester United and England defender. He has been charged by the FA after he allegedly endorsed the term ‘choc-ice’ on the site.

This comes at the same time as former England captain, John Terry, is defending a charge of racism after allegedly abusing Anton Ferdinand, Rio’s brother. Now FA chairman, David Bernstein, has spoken at a meeting of guests from FIFA and ‘Kick it Out’, the anti-racism group within football.

At the meeting, at Wembley, Mr. Bernstein said that there will be ‘tough’ consequences for anyone found guilty of discriminatory abuse. He said that the regulatory bodies must continue to take a hard stance on this and that it also included sites such as Twitter as well as on the pitch and in the stands.

Beckham speaks of expectations of his sons where football is concerned

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If you are a top footballer of the class and calibre of David Beckham and your children have aspirations of following in your footsteps, then it is obvious that you are going to worry. David Beckham has been talking about this to Esquire magazine. David and his wife, Victoria, have three sons and a daughter together and he says that sometimes expectations are high when it comes to the boys playing football.

Thirty-seven-year old David thinks that there is a lot of pressure on the boys, thirteen-year-old Brooklyn, Romeo, nine, and Cruz, seven. He says that if they go for a trial, then people think that they should be able to play just like their dad. He adds, however, that he doesn’t think that they feel the pressure and are confident enough to take it in their stride.

David was also talking about stripping off for advertising campaigns. He says that it is not as difficult for him now as it once was and that it has become easier for him over the years. He remembers that it was quite daunting, at first, seeing big posters of himself on the sides of buildings in places like New York.