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.

Alex Gerrard demonstrates how towering heels should be worn

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Alex Gerrard is used to being in high heels given the fact that she is one of the leading WAG’s in England, but as a mother of three she deserves extra praise for the pair of high heels that she was able to carry out the other day when she hit the streets for Gay Pride Liverpool.

Alex showed up for the event on very high platforms that only had thin shoelace heels supporting them. It looked as if the shoes could break at any moment, but Alex was light on her feet and looked quite comfortable in the footwear.

Of course, her modeling history most likely prepared her for this type of feat as she celebrated the LGBT event with a male pal in the city. Married to footballer Steven Gerrard, she has three young daughters.

You wouldn’t know it from the rest of the outfit as the slim model choose to pair the tiny heels with skinny PVC leggings that were paired with a black blazer and a grey t-shirt. Her blonde hair was pulled back casually but her eyes were painted up drawing attention to them right away.

The event is notable because the Liverpool FC who Steven plays for was the first Premier League club to be represented at a ‘Pride’ event in the UK. The club offered Liverpool Pride a banner and representatives from the LFC Foundation and the LFC Ladies club marched alongside the group.

In addition the club also had a stall set up at the Pier Head site and offered signed items for purchase as a way to raise money for future events. Ian Ayre the managing director for Liverpool FC stated that they are committed to making sure that equality and inclusion are supported by the club for years to come.

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.

 

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