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MARY HANNIGAN rounds up the week in soccer

Mon Nov 02 2009 - 00:00

MARY HANNIGANrounds up the week in soccer

McShane just outside 1,000 list

PAUL McSHANE wasn’t a happy camper when he was taken off by Hull City manager Phil Brown on Saturday, the defender responding by aiming a lusty kick at a tray of water bottles. “He’s an excitable lad,” said Brown, a disappointed one too. But if it’s any consolation McShane finds himself not too far outside the top 1,000 best players in the world, according to the new Castrol Football rankings (www.castrolfootball.com).

The appearance of Claudio Pizarro in the top 10 has led one or two sceptics to doubt the usefulness of these rankings, not least the Chelsea fans who saw the striker score twice in 21 appearances for the club (before they sold him to Werder Bremen, where he’s been doing nicely).

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Thierry Henry tops the list but there are only two Irish players in the top 100 – Shay Given (54) and John O’Shea (95).

Quotes of the week:

"I think I wish I could not have done that, but we are all human beings and Obama will make a lot of mistakes where he is now." – Manchester City Commander-in-Chief Emmanuel Adebayor, currently trying to decide whether he should send more troops to Afghanistan, regretting the moment his studs made contact with Robin van Persie's face.

"If you want a boring crowd of Holy Willies, go to the other side of the city." – Celtic chairman John Reid to Jeanette Findlay (Celtic Trust chief) after she accused him of "patronising" her. Rangers have been called many things in their time – except, perhaps, Holy Willies.

"I was very satisfied with my sensations. After five months without playing, I had appetite. I wanted to eat the pitch, to touch the ball." – Samir Nasri hungry for action on his comeback for Arsenal.

"I know very well what I have to do if I have the flu. It's not a medical prescription. It's my grandmother's prescription – hot milk. Alcohol – red wine. Fantastic" – Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti.

More quotes of the week:

"I haven't asked him. It's not my baby." – Alex Ferguson denies ownership of Wayne Rooney's first child when asked when it was due.

"Whether in England, France or Senegal I sell papers . . . I get booed wherever I go, but I have never let my fans down. I am the leader. El Hadji Diouf is a star whether you like it or not – everybody knows me. I have written the history of Senegalese football. I am the best player the country has ever had. When it comes to ability, I don't envy anyone." – If El Hadji Diouf could just believe in himself he'd be a hell of a player.

“I started a game against Bolton and was pretty pleased and thought I played pretty well. Then I looked at the papers and was given a three or four.

"But in this game I played pretty average and scored a goal and I'll probably get seven out of 10. I think I deserved a five in this game and seven or eight from the Bolton game." – Michael Owen, way too worried about the numbers' game.

Destination unknown for Ferguson:

ALEX FERGUSON, you might have heard, is less than pleased about England playing Brazil in Qatar on November 14th, describing the game as a “coach’s nightmare – especially if you are in the middle of a European campaign and going for cups and titles. You have all these fixtures and you have the intrusion of a friendly international game in some unknown country,” he added.

Is three years a very long time? It was September 2006 that Ferguson attended the launch in Dubai of The Manchester United Opus, an 800-page limited edition book on the history of the club. The whole affair was sponsored by Unknown Airways – sorry, Qatar Airways. So, if Ferguson heads for Doha any time soon is it a case of destination unknown?

Wags get whiff of big time

  • "L4Women is a fragrance that encapsulates the style, beauty and elegance that comes with being a footballer's wife." – Marketing manager Alice Frost on Liverpool's newly-launched perfume. Behave, the lot of you.
  • "No, I do not have a girlfriend now. I have suffered like everyone who has loved. I am a sensitive person and I cry for love." –Cristiano "lonely heart" Ronaldo.

Rio caught out in plug for Rosso

YOU COULDN'T but chuckle at this yarn in yesterday's Observer. Rio Ferdinand did an interview with BMI's in-flight magazine and talked about his favourite restaurant in Manchester. "Rosso," he said. "It serves unbelievable food. I love the steak if I'm having a big main.

“The vibe is nice, too, with a casual dress code which I like. Plenty of footballers pop in for quality food after matches.”

As the paper pointed out, there were two not insignificant issues worth mentioning here: One is that Rosso won’t actually open until mid-November and two it happens to be co-owned by, eh, Rio Ferdinand.