When I first heard about the proposed merger of music promoter and venue-owner Live Nation and ticket broker Ticketmaster, I predicted
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EPL Weekly News Roundup: Spurs Grab Champions League Spot
The final battle for Champions League football was won on Wednesday, as Spurs beat Manchester City at Eastlands to book their place in Europe’s premier cup competition next season.
Peter Crouch headed home the winner late on in the match, and the result mathematically guaranteed Spurs at least fourth place. Arsenal’s loss against Blackburn last weekend means that if Tottenham win their last Premier League match against Burnley and the Gunners lose to Fulham, it will be Spurs who get the automatic spot in the main draw.
Third place would be sweet enough, but to beat your most bitter rivals to it? Spurs fans must be licking their chops at that prospect. For now, though, the thought of playing alongside the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, and Lyon is plenty to cheer about.
“It’s fantastic. It’s been a terrific season for us, and we’ve played some great football on the way, and we deserved it,” Spurs manager Harry Redknapp told Sky Sports. The interview was cut short, however, when a group of Spurs players, including one David Bentley running around in his underpants, ambushed their manager with a good old-fashioned ice bath.
Meanwhile, speculation had been rife over whether City manager Roberto Mancini would stay on at Eastlands after failing to lead the club to a fourth place finish, but the Italian swiftly brushed aside any exit rumors after the match.
“I think I stay here. Why not?” he said.
“I work here four or five months and I think when you build a house you don’t start from the roof but the basement. We work very well but we are near the roof.”
City representatives also told the BBC that they would not be firing Mancini despite the loss.
Foster Ponders United Exit
Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has admitted that he may be leaving Old Trafford this summer in search of first-team football.
The England international had the chance to take the number one shirt this season after injuries and family issues put Edwin van der Sar out of the team. However, when Foster was given the opportunity to step up, he failed to make a solid impression and found himself quickly out of the spotlight. Foster was most notably fragile during the thrilling Manchester derby early in the season, which United won in the dying seconds thanks to a Michael Owen goal.
And after being out of the first-team picture since the middle of the season, Foster has admitted he may have to leave United to further his development.
“The season started off well but since I came out of the team it has just been low-lights really. I have had nothing to cheer about,” he told the Manchester Evening News.
“If things don’t work out for me at United I will go somewhere else and, hopefully, I will play first-team football and be happy and that is the most important thing for me. You never want to leave Man United. If you leave this club you are only ever going to go down. But I want to be playing football. I am not interested in just hanging about.”
“I would go if the club wanted to sell me. If they are happy to accept a bid then you have to read between the lines and realize you are not really needed and move on. It would not be the end of the world for me.”
Birmingham are being rumored as a possible destination for Foster, either as a loan move or a permanent deal. Sir Alex Ferguson has hinted that he may let some players go over the summer, and Foster is thought to be one of them.
In terms of United’s goalkeeping situation, veteran keeper Edwin van der Sar signed a year-long extension in February which will keep him at the club until the end of next season, and Tomasz Kuszczack occupies the number two spot.
Hull’s Relegation Confirmed
Hull’s brief two-year stint in the Premier League will come to an end this weekend. Monday’s draw against Wigan confirmed that they will be playing in the Championship next season.
Hull were up 2-1 against Wigan until Steve Gohouri scored an equalizer in injury-time to send the Tigers down. Stand-in boss Ian Dowie, who was appointed after the club fired Phil Brown, hopes to stay on at the KC Stadium on a long-term basis. His contract currently runs out at the end of this season.
“My record in the Championship is decent and I feel you can always build something but my future is something for the powers that be to discuss,” he said.
Unfortunately, relegation will be a big hit not only for Hull supporters but also for the financial state of the club. Hull have amassed a reported £35 million in debt, and without the high stream of revenue that comes with playing in the Premier League, administration is a stark but very real possibility.
Hull joined Burnley and Portsmouth as the three teams heading down next season.
Assou-Ekotto Admits His Drive Is Money, Not Football
Tottenham defender Benoît Assou-Ekotto sparked a lot of discussion among football fans this week after admitting that he considers the game more his job than his passsion.
In an era where players constantly talk about playing for the shirt, but all too often abandon that shirt for a new one with a better contract (see: Carlos Tevez, Figo), Assou-Ekotto’s remarks are not all too surprising, and his honesty is at least refreshing.
“If I play football with my friends back in France, I can love football,” he told The Guardian.
“But if I come to England, where I knew nobody and I didn’t speak English … why did I come here? For a job. A career is only 10, 15 years. It’s only a job. Yes, it’s a good, good job and I don’t say that I hate football but it’s not my passion. When I am at work, I do my job 100%. But after, I am like a tourist in London. I have my Oyster card and I take the tube. I eat.”
Of course, one could always argue that the best players in the world have that fire to constantly work overtime to reach the plateau of the sport, but it is no secret that not every player has that motivation. Football, at the end of the day, is a career like any other. Well, maybe not exactly like any other, but it’s still a career. And in the business world, when people see a bigger paycheck somewhere else, they usually take it. Football fans too often assume that the players on the pitch care as much about the club as they do, and unfortunately that is usually not the case.
“[Lens president] Martel said I go to England for the money but why do players come to his club? Because they look nice? All people, everyone, when they go to a job, it’s for the money. So I don’t understand why, when I said I play for the money, people were shocked. Oh, he’s a mercenary. Every player is like that.”
Assou-Ekotto’s comments have gotten a whole spectrum of responses, some like his honesty, some brandish his attitude as greedy. What do you think?
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How to Relieve Daily Stress: 7 Easy Steps
There are so many suggestions on how to relieve stress out there and with good reason. There is so much stress in the world today. We are so busy being busy we have little time for anything else.
We are victims of a world gone mad. Think about it. We chase around hour after hour every day and we end up without any time. Money, success, careers and family are what drives us to keep going day in and day out and as a result we have become ’stressed out’; ticking time bombs ready to blow at any minute.
The symptoms of stress can be fatal leading to disease, chronic illness, hypertension and even heart attack. Many people don’t realize the stress they put themselves under on a daily basis. We have built in mechanisms in our bodies that help us when we are confronted with stressful situations. We were not however supposed deal with stress all the time.
So, what do you do to relieve stress and the effect it can have on your body? Before we get to the 5 tips for effective stress relief there are two things you should be doing, if you are not already, on a daily basis to free yourself from stress.
The first thing is to get off adrenaline. One of the best tips on how to relieve stress is to plan better. Life is always going to throw you a curve ball you don’t expect but this should not be happening to you all of the time. A little planning can be the best thing you can do to keep your stress levels down. Your health and well-being could be at stake.
The second thing is to drink less caffeine and if you are a smoker to cut back, or better yet, quit smoking. Caffeine and Nicotine put a lot of stress on your body. Do your best to cut back on these.
Now we can work through the 5 tips to avoid stress on your mind and body.
1. Exercise regularly
It doesn’t really matter what you consider exercise. You could go out for a jog or a brisk walk in the park or go to the gym and exercise there. Relaxing while you exercise is what is important as well as exercising on a regular basis. There really no point to an exercise if you are not enjoying it.
2. Relaxation and meditation
I know it sounds easy to say just relax or chill out but most people don’t know how to. There is no need to know how to meditate or anything like that, you should just be able to get some time by yourself without being disturbed.
3. Spoil yourself
This isn’t an invitation to go out and shop. It does mean doing something for yourself. What you could do is go to a spa and enjoy a relaxing massage or you could sit down to a good book and a little alone time.
4. Video and board games
Games can be a great way to relieve stress. Just be sure to avoid playing with competitive people as your game could end up being very tense and not enjoyable at all. There are some great free software games you can download off the internet that are great to help relieve stress
5. Sleep it off
Rest properly. Disruptions to your sleeping patterns can cause tremendous stress on your body. To rest properly your mind needs to be at rest. It may sound impossible but you can stop yourself from reacting to the thoughts that cause you to stress.
The best thing to do is to get started on just one of these ideas and then move on to the next when you feel you are ready. Remember that whatever you choose to do should help you to relax. There is no reason to wait any longer.