Tonight:
5°c
Football talk
Raoul Simons, Evening Standard27 Sep 2007
Avram's press conferences to be more than just hot air
Seven days into the job and Avram Grant is already ringing the changes. Not only is Jamie Redknapp being vigorously pursued as new firstteam coach, but the Israeli is also anxious to implement a design alteration to Chelsea's new £20million training ground. The tiny press room at Cobham has little ventilation and can make for a hot, sweaty environment when full of journalists and equipment. Overcome by the whiff of anticipation ahead of Tuesday's press conference, Grant turned to an aide and demanded to know why the room was not equipped with air conditioning. Meanwhile, video footage of Grant's celebrity wife, Tzofit, drinking her own urine on Israeli TV has mysteriously been made unavailable on YouTube.
Andy is becoming a Blue
Anyone for Chelsea? The dismal Stamford Bridge crowd for Rosenborg was swelled by the presence of Andy and Jamie Murray and their Davis Cup captain John Lloyd in the corporate seats. Hibs fan Andy revealed he has watched Chelsea more often than any other English club and also claimed bragging rights over Jamie on the football field, having once had a spell in Glasgow Rangers' youth ranks.
Juv got a new fan at QPR
Disgraced football official Antonio Giraudo was spotted alongside Queens Park Rangers chairman Gianni Paladini in the directors' box during the 1-1 draw with Watford. The former Juventus chief executive has been a regular visitor to Loftus Road this season and was at one stage linked with Flavio Briatore's takeover consortium. He was not, however, named on Briatore's list of new directors due to take control after his £14million deal is finalised. Giraudo is serving a five-year ban from football in Italy following the Serie A match-fixing scandal. Last year, he told prosecutors: "All kinds of things go on in football. People give Rolexes to referees, people fix the accounts. What I'm saying is that this is an environment in which you have to protect yourself."
Bywater's red-letter display
If only every footballer had the presence of mind of Derby's Stephen Bywater. During a studio appearance on Sky Sports' Goals on Sunday, the former West Ham keeper was discussing the influence of the late Les Sealey on his career. Bywater recalled: "The most important piece of advice Les ever gave me was 'Never make a c*** of yourself '". Midway through the sentence, however, Bywater realised his anecdote may not be suitable for family viewing. But instead of replacing the offending c-word with an alternative, he chose to spell it out letter by letter - in the manner of a parent trying outwit a child. Those viewers who can't read or write must have been grateful for the intervention.
Sweet dreams for Ashton
Imagine how excited Dean Ashton must have been when Eggert Magnusson, the former manufacturer of Iceland's favourite cookies, became chairman of West Ham. Discussing his superstitions, the striker revealed: "I've got to eat biscuits the night before a game. I don't know why. I don't have to eat any particular type or a certain amount. As long as I eat some sort of biscuit the night before a game then I'm fine."
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