Fabio Capello impresses the Russians as he takes over the national side

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One of the first things that Fabio Capello did when he took over as the England manager was to ban tomato ketchup. He obviously felt this was a winning move as he has done exactly the same since he stepped in as the manager of Russia, except it is not ketchup he has banned, but shisha pipes. The decision has proved popular with Russian fans who blame the smoking of shisha pipes on their team failing to reach the World Cup in 2010.

Capello could be surprised to find himself once more within a footballing culture that is driven by trivia. His new job starts in earnest this week with a match in Moscow against Northern Ireland, and it seems to have some stark similarities to his last one.

Following on from failure, making the transition from old guard to new, responding to pressure over his captain and being called an overpaid import, the only difference is that it’s in a different language. Never one to back away from criticism, Capello has started his tenure in Russia with the same vigorous imposition of rules as he did in England, and Samedov, the winger from Lokomotiv Moscow has said he is very big on discipline.

While the Russian players may not be very impressed with the new regime, the public certainly do. There is a nationwide frustration bubbling over from the Russian teams failure to qualify for Euro 2012 from what only can be described as gift group, and they are embracing Capello with his tough, hardline approach, and already consider him as the man to restore pride to Russian football.

The old guard, who did so well in Euro 2008 but looked tired and jaded this year, and demands have been made from the top that changes are made, and soon. Capello doesn’t select on reputation, as Beckham knows only too well, and with his huge pay packet come even bigger expectations, and how this pans out only time will tell.

The changing face of the so-called beautiful game

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The changing face of the so-called beautiful game Whilst the English Premier League has gone on to become a top class global brand it has, despite its huge television revenue, managed to create an underclass in football. The current model for footballers in Britain seems to be that they are getting rich at the expense of their fans.

Clubs such as Rangers, who have fallen from grace, will now have an increased struggle to keep pace with those clubs that are funded by cash from overseas, and there are truly turbulent times ahead.

Mihir Bose, Britain’s foremost football correspondent has followed every fascinating and gripping step in the Premier League roller coaster rise to international stardom. This mesmerizing journey involves high stakes, multi-million pounds deals, bungs, backhanders and the very future of the beautiful game.

Mihir specialises in the business of sport and was previously sports editor at BBC. He is a lead writer for, amongst others, The Daily Telegraph, insideworldsoccer.com and Evening Standard. The book, at times highly controversial, looks at how the Premier League needs to evolve to prosper in the face of the demands of top players, Euro crisis, recession, conflict with other governing bodies, racism and revolt from the terraces.

 

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.

Fleetwood Town FC reintroduce retro contest with modern twist

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Fleetwood Town FC reintroduce retro contest with modern twist

The 1948-9 Fleetwood Town programme entry relating to Face in the Crowd

BSE, the sponsors of Fleetwood Town FC are speculating over whether their new initiative that has recently been introduced on match days has also encourage the BBC sports programme ‘Match of the Day’ to include a somewhat similar retro aspect to their opening sequence.

In July, the commercial gas and energy supplier announced that they were launching a new, season long competition called ‘Face in the Crowd’. Every Fleetwood fan is photographed when they arrive at the ground, and all the pictures are then flashed across a 25 metre screen, and the 60 plasma TV’s linked to it, at some point during the match.

The screen freezes and the persons face displayed at time is the winner, who receives a signed football. Inspiration for the contest was taken from a programme dating from the 1948/9 season that was found in the archives of the club, and shows that a similar contest was run at the club is the post war period.

BES is actually reintroducing a retro contest and bringing it up-to-date through the use of modern technology and audio-visual equipment. The new opening title sequence of Match of the Day has also gone a little retro and features a similar face in the crowd contest from another match programme from yesteryear.

BES’s director, Michelle Davidson, says: “We had the idea of running the BES Face in the Crowd contest before we discovered the old match programme and prior to seeing the new Match of the Day titles.  We are delighted that our new contest is so ‘in vogue’, but also has reference to the past and the traditions of Fleetwood Town”.

The Fleetwood Town winners back in 1948 were a Mrs Roskell of Warren Street, a Mr F Robinson of Devon Avenue and a Mr H Mellor of Lower Lune Street. Top prize was £2 and 2 shillings, second prize £1 1shilling and third prize 10s 6d.

Whether any of their descendants are now Fleetwood Town supporters is not known, but BES would like any relatives of these winners from the 1940s to get in touch, if they are also  Fleetwood Town supporters, by calling Jane Hunt on 01253 891114.

“It would be great if we could get relatives of these three winners down to the club one day”, says Michelle Davidson. That way, we can really unite the past with the present”.

BES Commercial Gas is the main club sponsor for the 2012-13 season at Fleetwood Town FC, with BES Commercial Electricity being the Associate Club Sponsor.  Both energy suppliers are able to offer commercial customers substantial savings on their energy bills, of up to 40% on commercial gas and up to 50% on commercial electricity.

 

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.