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The Page That Is Glad The Nuts Came Out Of The Drawer
Lawro beats the bookies (as long as you ignore what the bookies do), Tony Pulis makes history and more from the papers...
The Page That Would Really Just Like To Put Him Out Of Our Misery
When Bale is good, it's down to the manager. Apart from when it's Villas-Boas...
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International Bright Young Things
Shrewd analysis of the Bradford v Arsenal game from Mark Lawrenson on The BBC Website:
'Arsenal's internationals came on...'
We'll stop you there Lawro and note that Arsenal had ten internationals on the pitch from the start (only Francis Coquelin hasn't won a cap), with 399 caps between them. But yes, bringing the internationals on was the game-changer.
He continues:
'...and eventually got the equaliser, but this was such a fantastic effort from City.'
Players brought on: Marouane Chamakh, Tomas Rosicky, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain.
Players involved in the equaliser: Santi Cazorla (cross) and Thomas Vermaelen (goal).
Johnny Alien And Piers Morgan
When a big team plays a small team and the game doesn't go exactly to the form book, a common line trotted out by commentators is 'If an alien arrived to watch this game, they wouldn't know who was the Premier League team'.
Leaving aside the notion of said alien probably having other things on their mind than a Carling Cup quarter-final (colonisation of the planet, consumption of our natural resources, wondering why we spend much of our time getting animals to predict sporting events), we had a similar thought when we looked at Piers Morgan's Twitter timeline during Arsenal's defeat.
If you ever had to explain to Johnny Alien who or what Piers Morgan was, or to sum up his personality and what he's really like, this tweet will just about do it:
'Congratulations to Bradford, magnificent win. I'm off (genuinely..) to party at the White House with President Obama. Night all.'
'Only In The Mail' Sentence Of The Day
Writes Charles Sale:
'Even in a sport whose diverse factions seldom agree on most football issues, there is a universal desire to stamp out discrimination.'
Presumably it is news to the readers of The Daily Mail that some people might not be awfully keen on racism and stuff.
A Thing Happens Then Another Thing Happens
Ah, the story arc. A thing happens to a person, everyone makes a fuss, then another thing happens to the same person and the second thing is linked to the first thing, even if it has little/nothing to do with it.
And so it is with Mark Clattenburg. Slightly surprisingly, The Times leads the way with this one, reporting:
'Mark Clattenburg was thrust back into the spotlight yesterday when Gareth Barry was charged with verbally abusing the official during Sunday's tempestuous Manchester derby as the fallout from the match continued.'
They aren't alone though, with The Daily Mail saying Clattenburg was 'at the centre of yet another controversy', and that the incident 'came just days after John Mikel Obi was banned for three games...for a similar offence against Clattenburg', while The Sun splurts all over their back page that 'Mark Clattenburg is at the centre of a new storm after Gareth Barry was charged with abusing an official'.
So, man is sworn at, and because he was accused but not found guilty of racist abuse, this story is about him all of a sudden? When standing still and someone else shouting at you is enough to get you on the back pages of the papers, then we could all be in trouble.
Pressies
Reports The Sun:
'Michael Owen is ready to hand Stoke an early Christmas present - by returning at the weekend.'
Tony Pulis would probably have preferred a Kindle. Or socks. Or a new cap.
Jeff Powell Tribute Of The Day
Writes James Lawton in The Independent:
'It just happened that the former chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality decided to make war on football in a week when it was already bracing itself against another torrent of evidence that the game which in another age celebrated national heroes like Sir Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore and Sir Geoff Hurst has never slipped so low in public regard.'
Erm, What? Non-Football Story Of The Day
'Paul McCartney will fill the role of Kurt Cobain when he plays with the surviving members of Nirvana at the 12.12.12 concert for victims of Superstorm Sandy on Wednesday night' - The Guardian.
Finger On The Pulse Non-Football Quote Of The Day
"I didn't really know who they were. They are saying how good it is to be back together. I said: 'Whoa? You guys haven't played together for all that time?' And somebody whispered to me: 'That's Nirvana. You're Kurt.' I couldn't believe it" - Macca gives two thumbs up.
Worst Headline Of The Day
'Farce n' Wenger' - The Sun.
Non-Football Story Of The Day
'A Wauwatosa homeowner received an unexpected request at 6:24 p.m. Dec. 3. A man asked him if he could look through the backyard for marijuana he was hiding from police, according to a Wauwatosa police report. The homeowner saw an SUV and a squad car sitting outside his house in the 2500 block of North 65th Street and, thinking nothing of it, he ignored it and sat down. His doorbell rang. He went to investigate and, seeing no one outside, sat down again. About five minutes later, the bell rang again. Thinking something was up, the man went to his backyard to find a man looking through his window. He walked out and confronted the man, asking what he was doing in his backyard.
'The doorbell-ringer said he was looking for his wallet and started walking toward the street. He got about halfway to the street when he turned around and admitted the truth: He was looking for the weed he had hidden from police. Now concerned, the homeowner said he'd help the man find his marijuana so he can get it off his property. He gave the man a flashlight and told him to find the weed and leave. While the man was looking for the marijuana, the SUV he had seen earlier showed up. The weed-searcher said he'd pay the homeowner $1,000 to tell the SUV driver to leave or he'd call the police.
'Fed up with the stranger's antics, the man went into his home and called the police. The SUV and the weed-searcher's vehicle circled the block a few times, the homeowner's doorbell was rung a few more times, and then the people left. Police did not find the marijuana or any suspects' - WauwatosaNow.com.
Thanks to today's Mediawatch spotter Terry Hall and Nate Hyle. If you see anything that belongs on this page, mail us at theeditor@football365.com, putting 'Mediawatch' in the subject field.
