David Ginola was a fantastic footballer as well as a fantastic advert for Pantene, shame the same can’t be said for Ian Wright, I mean he was a good footballer but the advert he did for Chicken Tonight, was car crash television. Trawling through the internet I found some absolute gems and it’s a shame I can’t do the Top 50 Football related ads, I mean who can ever forget the Paddy Power “You’re in the bath with Carlton Palmer advert”?

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The Good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUSpjZEhNU8

We have all experienced this moment down the park with our mates. Classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a6B95wP3fQ

Footballing Legends, an enclosed environment and one ball. This advert was never going to fail.

Arguably one of the greatest football advert ever made- no “cool” music, no flashy camera shots – just a great narrative from start to finish and some above average acting from a bunch of footballers. What I would have done to grow up in an era with these legends of the beautiful game.

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Continued on Page TWO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEGrbLFgj2g

Pure world class talent or pure world class editing? Either way, what an advert.

A fantastic tribute to grassroots football; Hackney Marshes and David Seaman, a combination I’d never though I’d see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy-3QHK7i-Y

Living the dream.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEIcJ9ugr7c

Lineker is still winning the Walkers battles nearly twenty years on (only this time against Lionel Ritchie)

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Continued on Page Three

The Bad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ-NwZQAwt4

This advert has all the ingredients of the perfect aftershave advert, a footballing icon and gorgeous girls but why does it just make me cringe.

This Sharpie permanent marker pens advert featuring David Beckham single handedly destroys the reputation the former Manchester United star has worked so hard achieved, some might say it leaves a permanent black mark on his record.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf-4Gbqyni4

Ignoring the fact that Kevin Keegan looks like something out of ‘Fame’, this homoerotic advert is just terrible.

“After 90 minutes of pure hell, you’re gonna be thirsty” Right, cheers for that John; this ill advised Lucozade advert from the 1990s was shocking back then and it is safe to say it hasn’t become vintage TV over a decade later.

Good on Kev doing his part for road safety, however Keegan made a huge mistake and forgot about the publics ‘eye safety’ with the most horrendous choice of outfit…ever.

Continued on Page Four

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z23jLO1Yk0

Really Jamie? Are you sure?

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Nothing says oil filters like Pat Jennings making some impressive saves.

Gareth Southgate Pizza Hut Advert

Sadly for those who haven’t seen this ‘advert’ you will have to use your imagination as Southgate’s agent has scoured the net and removed all traces of evidence that this advert ever took place.

Just picture this, Chris Waddle, Stuart Pearce and Southgate eating pizza, bags over their heads and the worst line ever from Pearce “this time he’s hit the post!.” Priceless.

The Ugly

So this is what £50 million buys you.

FootballFanCast.com WORLD Exclusive, Robbie Savage Face in a a baby Scan

[ffcvideo file=’robbie_savage’]

A Justin Braun hat-trick helped Chivas USA to a surprise 3-2 win at New York Red Bulls in the MLS on Sunday.New York, who top the Eastern Conference, had a three-match winning streak broken in their last hit-out – a 1-1 draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy on May 7.

A power blackout at Red Bull Arena delayed kick-off by 31 minutes, and New York seemed to be more affected when they conceded after just six minutes as Braun began his match in style.

Former Arsenal legend Thierry Henry scored his fifth goal in his last four matches as a 21st-minute response for the Red Bulls.

But Braun had a reply, netting again just after the half-hour mark.

The fans at the Red Bull Arena continued to be entertained as Canadian Dwayne De Rosario netted the fourth goal of the first half, courtesy of a 35th-minute penalty after English forward Luke Rodgers was bundled over in the area.

But the visitors could not be stopped and Justin Braun sealed his treble 11 minutes into the second half.

It was a remarkable showing for Braun, given they were his first goals since September 2010.

Chivas USA continued to push for a fourth goal to put match beyond doubt. They could not find it, but were well-deserved winners in New York.

FIFA has made CONCACAF acting president Lisle Austin’s ban worldwide, the governing body said on Thursday.Austin, who was deputising for the suspended former president Jack Warner, had been provisionally banned from the federation on Saturday for allegedly violating rules.

But FIFA said that ban had been extended to global.

“We can confirm that FIFA has today notified CONCACAF that the FIFA disciplinary committee has extended the provisional suspension of Lisle Austin at a worldwide level,” the body said in an email to Reuters.

Warner, along with Asian Football Confederation chairman Mohamed Bin Hammam, were both suspended after allegations of bribery.

CONCACAF are yet to explain the decision to suspend Austin, citing ‘apparent infringement’.

FIFA will not explain their decision either, only pointing to CONCACAF as the body who made the initial ban.

But Austin’s spokesman Ryan Toohey said he knew nothing of FIFA’s latest decision.

“Mr Austin has not been notified of any action by FIFA regarding any suspension. There is no existing suspension so there is nothing to extend,” he said.

“Lisle Austin remains acting president of CONCACAF and has urged FIFA to intervene and resolve these so-called leadership questions.”

Before FIFA’s statement, Austin said he was the victim and he planned to continue in his role as acting president.

“These actions and additional statements questioning my leadership are being engineered by a faction of CONCACAF attempting to unlawfully seize control,” he said.

“The actions and statements of these persons are beyond their authority and are neither the actions of, nor binding upon, CONCACAF. As acting president I will take all appropriate steps to remedy these actions.”

“The organisation is under attack from within by those who refuse to respect the statutes of CONCACAF and have no regard for the rights and interests of the members at large.”

“I will not stand idly by while this happens and hope, through FIFA intervention or other means, to restore order to CONCACAF as soon as possible.”

Prior to being suspended, Austin attempted to fire general secretary Chuck Blazer and was planning an audit of the organisation’s bank accounts.

Honduran Alfredo Hawit has been put in charge of the confederation for the time being.

Newcastle will be boosted ahead of the 2011/12 season by the news that French international winger Hatem Ben Arfa has returned to full fitness.

The 24-year-old had a promising start to his career at St James’ Park, scoring the winner against Everton on his full debut, but broke his leg in a challenge with Manchester City’s Nigel de Jong back in October. The bulk of the player’s rehabilitation has occurred in Clairefontaine in his homeland, but the ex-Marseille midfielder has revealed he is fit and available for selection.

“It was a very serious injury, of course, and took a long time to recover from, but I’m 100% fit now,” he told the club’s official website.

“A lot of my recovery was done at Clairefontaine, the French football centre, where I was under the control of the doctor who did the operation back in October. I also came back to Newcastle for various updates with the club’s medical staff here, then back to Clairefontaine to continue the recovery, and I managed to get a couple of breaks in as well because you need that to keep the morale going.

“And now I’m no longer under the doctor, so all the hard work has paid off. It was a very, very difficult few months and I’m really happy that now it’s all over and I can get cracking. I’m really eager to get back,” he continued.

The Tyneside club have had a busy summer in the transfer market thus far, and have signed two French players in the form of Yohan Cabaye and Sylvain Marveaux, which is great news for Ben Arfa.

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“It’s good for my morale that we have signed such good players from France, players that I know and that I have played against. It’s going to be really good. I spoke to Sylvain Marveaux before he came here and it was a very good conversation. I told him it was the right place for Sylvain to come and I’m very glad he took my advice,” the Clamart born man concluded.

Newcastle open their 2011/12 Premier League campaign with a home game against Arsenal on August 13.

Juventus have signed Chile international Arturo Vidal from Bayer Leverkusen, allowing Felipe Melo to join Galatasaray on loan.Turin-based side Juventus, who finished seventh in Serie A last season, will reportedly pay an initial fee of 10.5 million euros for Vidal, rising to 12.5m with additional clauses.

Vidal, capped 34 times by Chile, joined Leverkusen from Colo-Colo in 2007, going on to score 15 times in 117 league appearances.

He helped Leverkusen to second place in the last Bundesliga campaign and will join Stephan Lichtsteiner, Reto Ziegler, Andrea Pirlo and Michele Pazienza as the fifth player to sign for Juventus in the off-season.

Vidal’s arrival coincided with the departure from Juventus of Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo, who joined Galatasary on a one-year loan deal.

The Turkish club have an option to sign Melo for 13 million euros at the end of the next season.

In other transfer news, former Manchester United and Real Madrid defender Gabriel Heinze has joined Roma from Marseille.

Argentine Heinze remained under contract at the Stade Velodrome until 2012, but is believed to have fallen out with Marseille officials last season.

No details of the transfer have been made public, but the 33-year-old has reportedly signed a one-year contract with the Serie A club.

Finally, Diego Capel has completed a switch from Spanish club Sevilla to Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon for 3.5 million euros.

Capel, 23, passed a medical on Friday and has signed a five-year contract with the Liga Sagres team.

He is the 12th player to join Sporting in the close-season as the squad undergoes a major overhaul.

Carlos Tevez’s hopes of signing for Corinthians appears to have fallen through after the Brazilians pulled out of a £40m move for the Manchester City striker. Rumours are suggesting that they are simply looking to play hard ball with City in order to drive down the asking price, given the transfer window in Brazil is set to shut within the next 48hrs.

Elsewhere Blackburn pulls out of their Indian tour; Luis Suarez hailed by Tabarez, while David Beckham is relishing the challenge against Manchester City – plus much more…

*

Breaking FFC News

Corinthians fail to sign Tevez

Blackburn back out of Indian tour

Tabarez hails Suarez masterclass

Beckham relishing City challenge

Modric all class, says Terry

Arsenal conduct their transfer business in private

Sir Alex Ferguson conceding defeat in transfer pursuit

Oxlade-Chamberlain seeks Premier League move

Harry wants Ade on the cheap

Elsewhere in the Press

Ferguson: Berbatov may want to leave United – Daily Telegraph

Villas-Boas fuels Terry’s coaching dream – Guardian

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Scudamore says Premier League could have goal-line technology next year – Daily Mail

McLeish: I’m big enough and ugly enough to handle stick from Villa fans – Mirror

Balotelli: Utd so right to fear City – Sun

Guardiola joins Barcelona’s public chorus over Fabregas – Independent

[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’right’]

Last weeks disappointing draw away at Stoke wasn’t the start new Chelsea boss was hoping for and will be looking for a better performance in his first match at Stamford Bridge. His side lacked any sort of creativity from midfield although Fernando Torres looked like he was getting back to his best. Opponents West Brom travel to North London on the back of an opening day defeat to champions Manchester United.

It’s a tough start for Baggies boss Roy Hodgson having to play last seasons top two but his life will be made much easier with Peter Odemwingie set to return along with winger Jerome Thomas. Record signing Shane Long made a goal-scoring debut last weekend and Hodgson will be looking for him to do the same.

Chelsea on the other hand don’t have any major injury concerns with Michael Essien the only long-term absentee. David Luiz could be in contention after recovering from a knee injury. All eyes will be on Torres though after his encouraging display against Stoke and whether he can open his account for the season.

Key Players

[player_profile slug=”frank-lampard” align=”left”]

Frank Lampard: With creativity lacking in last week’s game Lampard will have to step up his game and form the link between midfield and attack to get Chelsea firing once again.

[divider]

[player_profile slug=”Youssouf-Mulumbu” align=”left”]

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Youssouf Mulumbu: He is the heart of Albions engine room and he’ll need to be ready to put in a massive shift to thwart Chelsea’s attacking threat.

[divider]

Match Verdict: 2-0

Joe Cole to Lille? Owen Hargreaves to City? Madness, and it’s not even transfer deadline day yet.

If there was a sentence I didn’t expect to hear was: ‘Owen Hargreaves in line for City move.’

And it’s news like this that sum up everything I hate about City.

Don’t get me wrong, they play some sensational football and have a squad of players that, I fully predict, will push Premier League champions Manchester United all the way in this season’s title race. But their never ending campaign to buy players like they’re playing a game of Football Manager simply ruins everything I love about the sport.

Despite being strongly linked with a move to West Bromwich Albion, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa – sensible career opportunities – the former Manchester United midfielder has moved to City; how did that happen?

Why do clubs buy players they simply do not need?  Mancini will have to work out how to fit Hargreaves into a team that already boasts a wealth of midfielders.

Gareth Barry, Adam Johnson, Nigel de Jong, James Milner, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Shaun Wright-Phillips – that’s not to mention City’s £25 million summer signing, Samir Nasri.

The only logic I can find in acquiring Hargreaves is the inevitable call up of Yaya Toure to the African Cup of Nations, but let’s not forget we’re talking about a player who made just 26 starts following his £20.2m move from Bayern Munich in July 2007. Do City not have any youth they can call upon?

Hargreaves, a pretty sound bench-warmer to say the least – but City have a few of those already.

So many players have made the ‘dream move’ to City only to fall by the wayside, failing to make an impact and a hand-full of appearances.

Craig Bellamy, Roque Santa Cruz, Emmanuel Adebayor, even Carlos Tevez, all fantastic players, but players that can’t get a game at City and are either frustrated or have moved on.

I appreciate the need for strength in depth and fully admire Manchester City’s ability to attract such big name players, but I fail to see the desire to need or want a player that has had an injury mired career, a player that has not played in two years, a player they simply do not need.

Doubts over Hargreaves fitness have been rife ever since his move to Manchester United. But any recent doubts appear to have been quashed with a series of YouTube videos aimed at proving the midfielders fitness.

City can afford Hargreaves to get injured and not play; if he’s fit I guess that is a bonus to them and it’s perhaps this that annoys me most.

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Manchester United fans may feel a little let down by a player they held such admiration for and a player they stood by for so many years while he recovered from a number of injuries. For them a move across to the blue side of Manchester is the ultimate insult. But, we are talking about a player that offered to play for free this season – United turned down his offer.

City can’t seem to stop buying players. In August 2010 they spent in excess of £130 million strengthening their midfield and have spent £70 million this summer bolstering their side.

The ‘can’t beat them, join them’ mentality lives strong at City and Hargreaves is just the latest addition.

Follow me on twitter: @iamdanmorris

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Manchester United defender Patrice Evra feels that despite his side’s 3-1 win over Chelsea on Sunday and unbeaten start to the season, they can and must improve.

The France international was not happy with the manner of the Old Trafford team’s victory over Andre Villas Boas’ men at the weekend, and believes they can play better.

“Maybe I am being hard on myself but it is the first time we didn’t control the game,” he told Sky Sports.

“We have five wins. Yes, it is a good start but I always want more. I hope we control the next game against Stoke.

“We shouldn’t rush things. That is why we gave the ball away too easily. That is why I am not so happy. We won a big game. We have scored three times against Chelsea. There are a lot of positive things.

“But when they scored the early goal in the second half I thought ‘we have to be strong to make sure Chelsea don’t come back and maybe even win 4-3’. If we want to win the league we will have to perform better than this,” he concluded.

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Sitting top of the standings, United take on Stoke at the Britannia on Saturday and will look to continue their perfect record so far.

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A massive weight was lifted off Owen Coyle’s shoulders after Bolton won for the first time since the opening day of the season beating Wigan 3-1 at the DW Stadium.

The Trotters have lost six on the trot and started the game at the foot of the table with chairman Phil Gartside telling Coyle he has four games to save his job. However Gartside has been sympathetic to man residing in the Reebok dugout having seen his side play both Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal in their opening seven games. The 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea a fortnight ago caused some grumbles in the stands and a win against the Latics was imperative. Coyle’s men responded superbly with summer signings Nigel Reo-Coker, David N’Gog and Chris Eagles all opening their account for the club. Mohammed Diame had brought the home side level in the first period before another collapse saw them succumb to a fifth defeat on the spin.

Roberto Martinez’s side have failed to build on a positive opening to the season and find themselves in familiar surrounds stuck in the bottom three. Individual mistakes cost them dear despite dominating for long periods of the game with the return of Hugo Rodallega providing a boost despite his inability to find the net. It was the visitors who started the better of the two sides and took the lead with only four minutes on the clock through Reo Coker. The former Aston Villa midfielder darted in front of Gary Caldwell and flung himself at Eagles’ whipped cross to turn the ball home. That sparked Martinez’s men into life and the dominated the game until Diame brought the contest level five minutes before half time. A patient build up saw the midfielder pick up possession just outside the penalty area before striking a wonderful effort into the top corner past Jussi Jaaskelainen.

They undid all their good work though as Bolton regained their lead two minutes into first half stoppage time with David N’Gog scoring for the first time since his move from Liverpool. Kevin Davies punished some sloppy play by Steve Gohouri nicking the ball off the defender before finding N’Gog in the box with the Frenchman shifting the ball onto his left and cooly finishing past Ali Al Habsi. Martinez made an instant change at half time bringing Rodallega on at half time and Colombian gave Wigan a much needed presence up front. His link up play with Franco Di Santo was threatening whilst Victor Moses’ pace down the flanks caused Bolton numerous problems down the flank. Despite that they just couldn’t find the elusive second equaliser and had Al Habsi to thank for giving them a fighting chance of claiming a point as he saved Davies late penalty. Dedryck Boyata, who had earlier missed a glorious headed chance, was pushed by Caldwell in the area causing referee Mike Dean to point to the spot.

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Fortunately Al Habsi was able to keep Davies casual penalty out and give the hosts hope of snatching a point. But it wasn’t to be as Eagles struck Bolton’s third in injury time to give his side a much needed lift and move them out of the relegation zone and into 17th with Wigan remaining rooted two places below.