Finances not improving at Liverpool

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Liverpool Football Club has revealed that its financial troubles are not getting any better. In fact, the challenge is getting much worse as the European elite team has reached an unprecedented £87 million of debt, an impressive increase from £22 million in 2011, a sobering result from the economically harsh landscape in Anfield.

The current owners of the team, Fenway Sports Group, tried to offer various explanations as to why this situation has come about. The arguments surround the Champions League but concerns raised by some observers point to the figures covering the period between August 2011 to early 2012 where Ian Ayre, the managing director of the team, oversaw the biggest debt increase thanks to payment transfers. Former employees were paid over £30 million a year such as former manager Kenny Dalglish, leading to the impact we can now see.

In a recent press event, the team has tried to reassure fans and supporters that this is just a temporary setback and that the next European season including the Champions League would help bring the finances back under control. But many are still unsure where the enormous amount of necessary funds will be coming from.

Some of the reveals in these figures include a £120 million package that was used to refinance the team from the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Bank of America. These types of financial moves do not help to bring more confidence in the management of the Liverpool club, and could make it hard for the manager to gain back the fans’ respect.

 

David Beckham takes up his role as global ambassador for China

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Football is gaining ground in China and now David Beckham has become the global ambassador for China in order to help manage the country’s image and reputation at the big game. The Chinese Super League is the name of the national team and it has recently been under a lot of scrutiny as players have left the team to join other brands instead. Didier Drogba is one high profile player who left, plus the group has suffered from a scandal about match fixing recently which certainly does not help its case.

At 37 years old, Beckham will help the team while still maintaining his day job playing for St-Germain in Paris. In a recent press event, he said that this was an important role for him, and that this was time for the country to help shape Chinese football in history. In this new role, he will help China set matches up and promote the team to children and others. He also says that there are a lot of potential football fans in China which need to discovery the sport with proper marketing efforts.

The Chinese team has had a hard time getting into matches recently, with Ivory Coast recently removing the China position in their matches for Turkish teams instead, a controversial move that China contested.

The recent player departures also did not help the team which may now be struggling to be able to participate in 2013 matches starting this month. Corruption has also been alleged in the Chinese Super League with many officials being banned by Fifa. Needless to say, Beckham may have his work cut out for him

Is the new Kate Moss as self destructive as the old one?

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The fashion industry has been looking for the next Kate Moss for the past decade or so, and it seems that they may have found it in Cara Delevingne who is stunning on the catwalk with her sleek and slim figure paired with blonde hair, bushy eyebrows, and pouty lips.

Ever since Delevingne was crowned Model of the Year this past November at the British Fashion Awards she has been seen on 13 of the top designers in New York and an additional seven during London Fashion Week. Earlier in the year she also was easily the star of the Burberry show.

This month Delevingne will grace the cover of British Vogue and she is already the face of Zara the high street chain. In addition, she is one of the Victoria’s Secret bodies and a face of Chanel. Privately educated, well connected, and well bred Delvingne has really made a name for herself with her pixieish looks that are surprising given her reckless energy and very outspoken manner in real life.

Sadly, it seems that Delevingne may already have some of Moss’s bad habits as well, as she was photographed stumbling down the steps to enter a private home at 5am in the morning after visiting four venues in a row while out partying. This was not a one-off for Delvingne who brags that she only needs about two to four hours of sleep every night and is regularly seen as a party animal on the British club scene.

She even managed to outdo and outlast Rihanna last week before leaving The Box in London only to be caught dancing on top of a limo outside. She also teases her fans that she is bisexual and has managed to date quite a few stars for only being twenty putting her on a path of self-destruction that disturbingly reads a bit like Moss’s as well.

Victoria Beckham to meet her Parisian alter ego

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If Victoria Beckham plans to fit in while she is in Paris she is going to have to fit in with the WAG that runs everything in Paris; which is a rather tough task given the fact that Queen Bee Helena Seger is known as an icy cold businesswoman. Posh is scheduled to meet the blonde Swedish woman at Paris Saint-Germain, David Beckham’s new club, when he plays against Marseille on Sunday.

PSG sources are warning that Seger is hard to impress, but given the fact that Seger is basically like the Posh of France, she is not someone that Posh will want to get on the wrong side of either if she hopes to fit in with a new group of WAGs.

A source close to Seger states that she is known as the Beckham of Paris, and as such she is not going to be happy at all that the real Beckham is encroaching on her grounds and stealing the spotlight away. She is the partner of Zlatan Ibrahimovic the striker who also admits that she can be an intimidating presence, but if Beckham is going to fit in she will need to attempt to befriend her in some way.

Seger is said to be a very shrewd woman that is elegant, classy, and comes from a well known and reputable family. However, despite this fact she carved her own way in the world and made her own riches based on her ambition.

In France Seger is known for her fashion sense which also might pit her against Beckham who of course is becoming a household name across the world for her fashion house. Chances are high that these two will either bond over their similarities or end up embattled in a huge rivalry throughout David’s time with the club.

New football programme for kids from Lee Hendrie

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New football programme for kids from Lee Hendrie

New football programme for kids from Lee Hendrie

Lee Hendrie, Aston Villa’s former star, is launching a national inspirational network of football sessions aimed at kids, whose goal is to help show children the ups and downs of football.

These sessions will greatly help build the children’s self-esteem, develop their confidence and boost friendship with other kids, and more importantly, harness opportunities for those who will show real talent at a tender age.

Lee, a 35 year-old father of 2 children, plays for Tamworth and has been leading the development of an activity programme called FootieBugs (can be found at www.footiebugs.com), which is a pilot scheme rolled out in selected Southern, Midlands and Northern areas.

FootieBugs is a professional football activity session programme for children aged three to nine, offering fun classes teaching fundamental football skills. One of the most important and exciting aspects for Lee, is that sessions can be enjoyed by girls and boys as well as encouraging friendship and respect among children from different ethnic backgrounds.

It’s also hoped that youngsters’ involvement in football can have a positive effect on their communities and parents are also encouraged to get involved.

But Lee also says that learning you can win or lose a game of football from the age of three will be a boost for those youngsters with their sights set on a future in the sport – and that if he’d been able to have such experience, he would have approached the game differently.

“With all my experience playing at the top flight of football, I’ve a lot to give,” he says.

“As a professional footballer and a dad, I was confident I could put an excellent football programme for children together, but I wanted it to be more than just teaching children core football skills.

“I wanted to make a difference and help educate children and their families into the importance of a living healthily and how it can affect their child’s sporting potential. I wanted to help prepare children physically and emotionally for the life ahead of them and so by utilising the expertise of early year’s educators, physiotherapists and other professional footballers, I have developed an all round professional football programme that has as much emphasis on fun as it does on fundamental football skills.”

“I’ve spent over 12-months developing the programme by researching how football could address a number of issues currently affecting young children.

“I’ve spent time talking to physiotherapists from clubs that I have played for, I contacted my children’s head teacher as an early year’s specialist and I researched the opinions of parents as to what was important to them for their child’s development and their expectations from a children activity.

“I also sought advice from Gareth Barry and Joe Hart of Man city, Ashley Young of Man Utd and Gary Cahill of Chelsea with regards to the core skills of football, teamwork and the mental strength of teamwork, social skills and interaction with others to ensure I was on the right track.

“I want to pass on the best skills I can, including passing the ball, heading and shooting, all the things that make a complete footballer.”

Lee has worked with expert physios and childcare professionals to painstakingly prepare a structured activity programme, as part of The Bugs Group, which also includes YogaBugs, the largest and most successful children’s yoga specialist with operations throughout the UK, Australia, China and Singapore.

“I want to help kids who want to be footballers reach their goal, I wanted to be a footballer from a young age, I worked through similar stuff myself and got rewards from it.

“Who knows, we may find the next Wayne Rooney and I’m really excited about the chance to help them but it’s also about having fun and children developing vital social skills through football.

“It’s important that this is a mix of boys and girls. Girls’ football is brilliant now in the UK and I want to help both boys and girls become the best players they can be.

“If we see someone who stands out, we want to encourage them as much as possible. We want to speak to Premiership and Championship clubs about the talent we find.”

Along with Bugs Group managing director Mark Goode, Lee is now spearheading a search for franchisees to pioneer the FootieBugs programme in the chosen regions.

Lee says: “Although football is my passion and I have been lucky enough to make it my career, not everyone has had the same opportunities. I am so excited to be able to offer others with the same passion a chance to make a real difference to the future footballers of this country.

“We want to work with people who are highly passionate about football. FootieBugs isn’t just about giving children improved football skills, it’s about giving children better life skills, teaching them how to interact with others, building their social skills, while all the time improving their confidence and self-esteem.”

The wealth of experience and passion that Lee and other professional players have been able to bring to the FootieBugs programme is what he believes will set it apart from established competitors.

The team’s contacts within professional football are also a key factor behind FootieBugs’ appeal. When talent is spotted in a young footballer, this can be nurtured and helped in a way that someone outside of professional football couldn’t.

But Lee adds: “Although FootieBugs attracts a large number of leading premiership and championship players, most of whom I have had the pleasure to play with or against; it’s the franchise owners and their team of coaches that will ensure FootieBugs remains top of the league.”

* Anyone wanting to find out more about becoming a FootieBugs franchisee should contact Kim at The Bugs Group on  0121 777 7792 or via kim@thebugsgroup.com.