The Page Which Wants To Be In Augusta. But Will Settle For Upchurch At 12.15 On Saturday Instead
Friday April 08 2005
Mental image Of The Day
"He's very gifted and if I can help his passage I'll feel some satisfaction"- David Pleat greets new Pompey boss Perrin in his own inimitable fashion.
Enquiry Of The Day
"Who will the 1-0 to Newcastle score line favour going into the second leg of the tie?" ITV2's Clive Tyldesley puts Jim Beglin on the spot.
And in fairness to Jim, he passed that tricky poser with flying colours.
U-Turn Of The Day
Presumably because there hasnt been a story about his future for almost 48 hours, Michael Owen has put the rumour-mill in full swing again by announcing that he wouldn't mind returning to Liverpool.
"Would I return to Liverpool?" he mused before launching what is inevitably being termed as a come-and-get-me plea. "I would have nothing against it if I had to move for one reason or another. I left Liverpool on good terms, they are still the first result I look out for and I have a lot of friends there. I have no bitterness at all to Liverpool and they are still a club very close to my heart."
"It is well documented I don't like sitting on the bench so let's hope things improve."
'Well documented' would also suffice for a description of the interview held less than a week ago in which Owen announced: "Obviously if you're not playing every week, people put two and two together and start linking players to other clubs. But, as I've said many times before, I'm very happy at Madrid."
"I'm not pretending that I'm delighted at sitting on the bench. But let's not make a mountain out of a molehill. I will play more than 50 games in total this season and, in anyone's book, that's not too bad."
Read My Lips Moment Of The Day
"If we get relegated, I will just pull my boots back on and concentrate on scoring the goals to get us back up. Ive signed a five-year contract and intend to see it through" Andy Johnson, 2nd October.
"If we go down I am obviously going to want to play in the Premier League" Andy Johnson, 4th March.
"If we go down, Im not going to walk out on all the boys Ive been friends with all these years" Andy Johnson, April 10.
Pertinent Symbol Of The Day
Newcastle United midfielder Kieron Dyer started Thursday's game against Sporting Lisbon wearing an anti-bullying wristband.
Silence Of The Day
Declares Alan Shearer after the Toon's win over Sporting Libson about you-know-what: "Too much has been said about all this. Lee has apologised, Kieron has apologised and it's time we put all this to bed and just get on with the football."
So this couldn't be the same Alan Shearer who conducted an exclusive interview with The Sun on Monday in which he raged: 'Once again the good name of Newcastle United is being dragged through the dirt. What happened was a disgrace, there is no defence for it and I made my feelings known in the dressing room. I'm very angry still and very frustrated by it all.'
Inevitability Of The Day
As the world pays tribute to the Pope at his funeral, one former-footballer-turned-hack has published his memories of meeting the Pope as a member of the Republic of Ireland squad at Italia 90. 'I WAS used to being surrounded by vast crowds, but not like this...'
Follow Up Of The Day
As more than one of you has noted in reference to our bafflement at the Independent's 'working-class hero' headline, Frank Lampard was in fact educated at the prestigious public school of Brentwood.
Other old boys apparently include Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and the equally distinguished Noel Edmonds.
As one correspondent notes, thats hardly the equivalent of 'roughing it', is it?
Question Of The Day
'Speculation that Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho had been vindicated over his version of the Nou Camp tunnel row appears wide of the mark', reports The Daily Telegraph.
Has Philip Cornwall been moonlighting?
Football365 Forum Link Of The Day
Cat - astrophe strikes Newcastle defender!
Headline Of The Day
'Mourinho likely to escape as Uefa keeps suspicions under its hat' - The Times.
Rumour Of The Day
'Bolton manager Sam Allardyce has said he is interested in singing Alan Stubbs and Neil Lennon.' From the BBC. Not exactly the most catchy song to sing at Bolton's end-of-season Karoke jamboree, but each to their own.
Runner-Up
'The late Pope John Paul regretted not praying for his native Poland during the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain, according to former Poland and Juventus playmaker Zbigniew Boniek' Reuters.
Thanks to today's Mediawatch spotters: Tom Murray, Ruairi Guckian, Andy Cook.
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