Gallas “infuriated” by Arsenal “beautiful” style

Arsenal captain, Willaim Gallas has hit out at the style of football the club play.  Smoky Joe Gallas chose his offical website to post:

“It is really infuriating.

“And to think we were in the final moments of the game, when we know full well that we can never relax — especially in the Premier League.”

“We lacked clear-sightedness and we made mistakes that we paid for in full. Maybe we give too great importance on playing beautiful football.

“I agree with Gael Clichy who said you need to boot the ball into touch on occasions to preserve your lead.

“But I think our main failing is that we are not always clear in our minds.

“I scored in the game (against Tottenham) but the pleasure has been spoiled by the result. It felt like a defeat.

“There is great disappointment, especially as we let ourselves get pegged back in the final moments.”

Rooney gambles away £65,000 hours after England game

Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney blew £65,000 in a two hour gambling spree just hours after scoring two goals in England World Cup qualifier in Belarus.

The Sunday Mirror reports that after the England squad jetted home, Rooney made his way straight to the members-only 235 Casino in Manchester and began playing  blackjack and roulette at £500 a go.A source from 235 Casino, said:

“The game against Belarus had been on the club’s big screens just a few hours earlier and yet here he was back in Manchester.

“When Wayne walked in a few people congratulated him on how well he had played. He went straight to a blackjack table and started to play hands at the maximum £500 a time. He was happy to chat to people and he had a permanent smile on his face.

“It looked like he was thinking, ‘My luck’s in tonight – I’ll keep it going and make a mint.’

“But he was quickly into a serious losing streak. At first he was joking with the dealer that he must have stepped in some dog dirt on his way in.

“But when he kept losing, the mood at the table changed. Normally, dealers are totally detached from punters but this was Wayne Rooney and he was losing tens of thousands.

“He switched to roulette and put hundreds of pounds on each spin of the wheel to try and recoup some of his losses. But his luck didn’t change.”

 “The club closed at 6am and he was £65,000 down. The dealer was mortified, but everyone who gambles knows the risks and Wayne Rooney is no different.

“When he left, he had a face like thunder. But at least he can afford to lose that sort of money.”

Hull go top

Premierleague newcomers, Hull have moved to joint top of the Premierleague following a 3-0 away win at West Brom today. 

Before The Tigers beat Bristol City to in last seasons play-off final the city of Hull was the biggest city in Europe not to have hosted a top-division team.  However since gaining their place among the big boys they haven’t looked back.  This season they have already gained wins Newcastle’s St James’ Park, Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and Tottenham’s White Heart Lane.

To be completely honest at the start of the season I thought that they’d finish bottom and there was a chance that they’d get less points than Derby did last season but I’m glad that I’ve been prove wrong.  I hope they can keep this good start going but I feel once they lose a couple of games on the trot it would be hard for them to get the winning momentum back.

It’s almost a certainty that they’ve secured their place in the Premierleague for next season but remember what happened to Reading finished just off European spots then got relegated the following season.  I think the key to long-term success would be to keep Phil Brown as manager, he’s really the manager any team fighting relegation could hope for, he knows his way around football and can get the whole team pumped up no matter who they’re playing.

Realistic I can only see them coming 6th-11th come May but as I’ve already said I’d like them to continue with their good form, for that too happen they’ll have to be on very top form starting next week when they host Chelsea at the KC Stadium.

Gallas Smoking

Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger has warned William Gallas about his future behaviour after the Gunners skipper was pictured with a cigarette in his mouth outside a London nightclub.

Thanks goes to The Gooner Forum’s Blog for the photo

Ancient and modern touch for 2009 logo

UEFA has unveiled its new visual identity for the 2009 UEFA Champions League final in Rome, a design that combines today’s competition trophy with the ancient Roman symbol of victory, a laurel wreath.

Wreaths were worn by victorious emperors as they rode through the streets of Ancient Rome in carriages drawn by white horses, and have a special place in the city’s history. Framing the main elements of the design is a stylised portrait of Rome’s famous landmark, the Colosseum. Taken together, the different parts of the new identity reflect the city’s history, architectural heritage and passion for football

David Beckham to join AC Milan on loan

David Beckham has agreed to move to AC Milan on a short-term loan in January.  He will be with AC until April when he is expected to rejoin LA Galaxy for the start of the 2009 MLS season.  Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti commented, “For me, it will be a pleasure. Beckham is a serious athlete, a great professional. If he’ll be available for us, we’ll be very happy.”

True fan, even after death

Hamburg have become the first football club in Europe to open their very own cemetery where fans can be buried next to the club’s stadium.  Supporters can get buried in the cemetery for £1900 or can have their ashes buried in an official club urn for only £315.  Boca Juniors of Argintina are the only other club in the world who cater for lifelong fans in such a way.

Andy Cole – Outstanding

Andy Cole’s remake of The Gap Band’s Outstanding in 1999.  A group called Lets Get Andy Cole Into The Top 40 has now been formed on Facebook.

More at Offthepost.info

Ballon d’Or Nominees

Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Edwin van der Sar (all Manchester United), Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack (all Chelsea), Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres (both Liverpool), Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor (both Arsenal), Iker Casillas, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rafael van der Vaart, Sergio Ramos, Pepe (all Real Madrid), Lionel Messi, Xavi, Samuel Eto’o (all Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Valencia), Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Kaka (AC Milan), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Franck Ribery, Luca Toni (both Bayern Munich), Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg), Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow). Karim Benzema (Lyon)

Free The Fixtures!

 On Thursday 14th June the fixtures for the 2007/08 football season were published. However most fan run websites will not be displaying them….

Football DataCo Ltd is a British company that grants licenses to third parties allowing them to reproduce certain intellectual property such as fixture lists and statistics. Football DataCo is wholly owned by FA Premier League and The Football League.

Fans have 3 options…..

1) Become the clubs nominated fanzine and get a licence for the fixtures for £1 + VAT and a delivery charge to your site £104 + VAT, delivery via email!
A total of £123

2) Get authorisation from the club to use their fixtures in isolation. This would be £266+VAT plus delivery charge
A total of £435

3) Without authorisation from the club you must buy fixtures for all clubs – this is £4244+VAT for the licence and £5200+VAT for delivery
A total of nearly £12,000

The fees are charged to all 3rd parties including independently owned football fan sites and fanzines. Numerous fan sites have been closed as a result of legal action initiated by Football DataCo Ltd.

We the fans should be free to publish our teams fixtures on our sites. 

To support this campaign please visit http://www.freethefixtures.com/