Big sporting questions: Why does Edgar Davids wear tinted glasses?
September 4, 2008
It’s one of the major questions on every football fans lips right now, why does Edgar Davids wear orange tinted glasses while he’s playing football?
OK, so it’s not such a big question anymore, but it did make us wonder a few times. We thought at one stage it was just because he was a bit pretentious and wanted to make himself stand out from other players. It was also suggested that he just wanted a marketing ploy, because let’s face it, he looks quite cool in them and it has helped his off-field career quite a bit with sponsorships and merchandise.
You can even buy replica Edgar Davids glasses on eBay, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Sadly though the truth behind his glasses is far more mundane, he wears them for a medical reason. Edgar Davids suffers from glaucoma, and had eye surgery a few years ago, for which he now has to wear the protective goggles, or glasses, to protect his eyes when he plays.
It certainly hasn’t hindered his game in any way, though it does make him easy to spot and pick up on the pitch for anyone marking him.
Alan Curbishley leaves the Hammers
September 3, 2008
While it looked at the way that Keegan would be the first departure of the Premiership season, Alan Curbishley just nipped in there and beat him to it. Curbishley resigned as West Ham manager amid speculation over the last few weeks that he would be sacked.
Poor results for West Ham, including a scare against Macclesfield Town in the cup, led to Hammers fans calling for Curbishley’s head, but a thumping home win on the weekend against Blackburn won the fans back onside.
However just days later and Curbs quit as manager over the board selling players without his consent. Both Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney were sold by West Ham, when Curbishley wanted to keep them in his squad.
Curbishley, a lifelong Hammers fan and former player, stated:
The selection of players is critical to the job of manager and I had an agreement with the club that I alone would determine the composition of the squad.
I started my West Ham career when I left school in 1974 and have remained a lifelong fan.
I have been incredibly proud to manage such a great club and my decision to resign has been very tough.
Nevertheless, I wish the club and the players every success in the future.
West Ham will now be looking for a successor to Curbishley, but they’ll struggle to find anyone as accomplished as him.
What is going on with Kevin Keegan?
September 3, 2008
It’s become the ‘Farce on the Tyne’ and no one seems to know what has happened between Newcastle United and Kevin Keegan. At one stage it looked like he’d left, then it looked like he’d been sacked, and now we just don’t know what is going on behind the scenes at St James’.
According to Newcastle, they’re in talks with Kevin now about his staying at the club. Kevin returned to Newcastle the hero last season when he replaced Sam Allardyce, as Kevin’s last tenure as boss of Newcastle represented their most successful period in decades. They ran Manchester United close to the Premiership title on more than one occasion with King Kev at the helm.
However, as it appeared the board had been making decisions without Kevin’s knowledge, his position at the club had become untenable. They sold James Milner to Aston Villa last week, and according to reports tried to sell Joey Barton and Michael Owen on transfer deadline day, again without Keegan’s knowledge.
A statement on the club’s website stated:
Both the club and Kevin would like to reiterate that Kevin remains as manager. He has not resigned nor has he been sacked.
Newcastle United Football Club can confirm that discussions are ongoing between the board and Kevin Keegan.
The football world waits with baited breath over what will happen next in the Newcastle/Keegan saga.
Torres out for three weeks
September 1, 2008
The question of whether Liverpool could win without Gerrard or Torres was answered yesterday, as they played out an uneventful 0-0 draw with Aston Villa. Neither side really looked like taking the points, and Fernando Torres limped out after in the first half.
Torres has suffered a torn hamstring, and looks like being out for two to three weeks, which means he could miss Liverpool’s game with Manchester United on September 13th. He is expected to return for their opening Champions League game against Marseille on the 16th.
Torres has pulled out of Spain’s World Cup qualifiers.
A spokesman for the club stated:
A scan this afternoon has confirmed a hamstring tear in Fernando’s right leg.
He is expected to be out for between two and three weeks.
It’s bad news for Liverpool with Gerrard also out, but both players should be back in a few weeks after missing as few games as possible.
Torres scored 26 goals for Liverpool last season, and after losing Peter Crouch in the summer to Portsmouth his value to the team is unquestionable.
Manchester City try to steal Berbatov for £30 million
September 1, 2008
In an audacious last gasp effort, Man City are trying to hijack rivals Manchester United’s bid for Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov. City has had a £30 million bid for the player accepted by Tottenham, but the player is still keen on joining the Reds and wants to play in the Champions League.
Berbatov is in talks with United, even though Spurs have yet to accept a bid from the champions for their player. The Abu Dhabi United Group, who own Manchester City, have tabled the bid in an attempt to steal the player from bitter rivals Man UTD. City manager Mark Hughes hopes to meet the player today to discuss the transfer, but he’ll have to be quick because the transfer deadline closes tonight.
Thaksin Shinawatra only agreed to sell the club to the Abu Dhabi United Group today, and already they’re weighing in with what would be the transfer coup of the season. If only they had more time before the transfer window closes.
Mark Hughes is delighted with the speed that things have happened at City today:
It’s happened quite quickly today.
We are going to try and bring good players to the club and it is a notice of our intent and we’ll try and get him.
There is a real buzz and expectation and hopefully this time it won’t be a false dawn and we can establish ourselves as a top six club.
They [the new owners] have the means to do that.
I wanted the resources to compete at the top table and it looks like that’s what I have got.
Whether Berbatov agrees to join City is another matter, but he only has a few hours to make his mind up.
