Monday, September 24, 2012

David Beckham’s Harper heaven Harper Heaven ... David Beckham kisses daughter


David Beckham kisses daughter Harper

Harper Heaven ... David Beckham kisses daughter

DOTING dad David Beckham plants a kiss on baby Harper Seven — while she giggles with delight.

Becks, 37, closed his eyes during the tender moment as he took his 14-month-old girl to see her brother Brooklyn, 13, play football.
Harper — in jeans and a smock, with her hair in a topknot — beamed as the LA Galaxy star lifted her high, then playfully rested her on his baseball cap.
Their outing in Los Angeles on Saturday was the second time this month that dad-of-four Becks has demonstrated his parenting skills while in charge of little Harper.
He was snapped with her in the front row as mum Victoria, 38, unveiled her latest collection at New York Fashion Week.
David Beckham and Harper
Holding up play ... Becks lifts Harper in the air

David Beckham lifts Harper
On me head ... she goes on baseball cap

Defence the best form of attack


Steve Bould's promotion to the Arsenal assistant manager's job over the summer has been credited with a tightening up of their defending. There is still room for improvement on that score, but perhaps his know-how at attacking set-pieces is starting to show reward too.
Laurent Koscielny Arsenal celeb v Man City
PA PhotosLaurent Koscielny snatched a deserved draw for Arsenal at Eastlands
When he wasn't helping marshal Arsenal's offside trap during the late 1980s and 1990s, Bould's speciality was the near-post flick for Tony Adams to nod in. It didn't quite happen for them that way this time. But Bould, watching on from the bench these days, saw the visitors earn a thoroughly deserved point in a tale of two corners involving two centre-backs.
Joleon Lescott's first-half opener, against the run of play, came with a free header from a David Silva delivery as Arsenal's attempts at zonal marking went to pot. But Laurent Koscielny, the centre-back closest to Lescott as he headed in, had his revenge in the final eight minutes, firing in from close range after the England defender had failed to clear a corner. The goal meant a happy end to the afternoon for Koscielny, only selected because Thomas Vermaelen had been forced to stay at home with flu.
"I believe Laurent had a great game," declared Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who must now decide whether to retain Koscielny for next Saturday's Premier League meeting with Chelsea.
The equaliser left Manchester City chasing not only their first clean sheet of the season after a third draw in five league games, but also a sense of conviction. All is not well with last season's champions. That much was suggested by a minor confrontation at full-time, which saw Roberto Mancini appear to push substitute Mario Balotelli down the tunnel.
"I don't remember this," Mancini said initially after the game, before conceding: "It's possible. I don't know if he asked me something, maybe. Perhaps Mario thought it was something important. Tomorrow, I will ask him." Balotelli was perhaps frustrated at getting only five minutes as a substitute at the end, having missed out on the squad altogether for Tuesday night's 3-2 Champions League defeat against Real Madrid.
Mancini may be keen to foster competition for places, but he has developed a habit of tinkering with his line-up. In trying to keep players fresh for a push at domestic and European success, Manchester City's manager has left himself open to the dangers of a lack of continuity. The Italian has yet to field the same defence in two consecutive matches this season, while there has been consistent rotation in midfield and attack too. If his exclusion of Balotelli on Tuesday caused a surprise, the manager caused arguably a bigger one by dropping his top scorer Carlos Tevez to the bench on Sunday.
Sergio Aguero
PA PhotosSergio Aguero made his comeback from injury against Arsenal
Against an Arsenal side whose ambitions this season may lie a little higher than simply finishing in the top four, Mancini's decision showed a huge faith in Sergio Aguero on his return after a month out with a knee injury and, to a degree, that faith was justified. Aguero was lively, forcing an early save from Vito Mannone after a positive run in from the left, and seeing a penalty appeal and two good late openings come to nothing, missing in the closing minutes after Vincent Kompany's overhead kick had been kept out by Arsenal's goalkeeper.
But for Mancini, problems lay elsewhere. He admitted that his side were overrun in midfield during the first half, with Yaya Toure and Javi Garcia unable to stop the pinpoint passes and clever runs of Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey that threatened to pull his defence to pieces - "In the first half, Arsenal had one more player in the middle, and it was easy for them to play," Mancini said.
Arsenal certainly had their chances in that first half. Had Kieran Gibbs not over-hit a volleyed pass across goal from Mikel Arteta's astute chip, Lukas Podolski would surely have scored for the fourth successive game. And had Gervinho not made a complete mess of his first touch when sprinting in behind Gael Clichy to collect Cazorla's through pass, Joe Hart would not have found it so easy to whip the ball from his feet. It was not a good day for Arsenal's Ivorian striker, whose finishing grew more wretched as the afternoon went on. A first-half shot into the side netting was followed by a slice into the stand after the break and a wild, wasteful finish in the closing stages.
City, though, had their moments, and caught out Arsenal to take a 40th-minute lead as Mannone flapped at Silva's corner and Lescott headed in as Koscielny and Podolski watched. Mancini took off Scott Sinclair and half-time and brought on Jack Rodwell, allowing Yaya Toure to move further forward. For around half-an-hour, it worked, as City created the better chances and Aguero came close to marking his return with a goal. However, Rodwell and Javi Garcia were gradually sucked into defending more deeply, and only a wonderful Hart save kept out Cazorla's long-range drive with eight minutes to go.
It was a brief reprieve. Koscielny scored from the resulting corner, and Wenger had a point. There is a sense, though, that his side still lack a killer instinct when it really matters. "I believe we had the ability to do more in this game," Wenger acknowledged afterwards. "We had early chances and late chances, but we reassured ourselves about our potential in this league."
Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta Arsenal
GettyImagesSanti Cazorla continues to consistently impress in an Arsenak shirt
MAN OF THE MATCH: Santi Cazorla. The Spanish midfielder has proved an astute signing for Arsene Wenger since arriving from Malaga. He ran the game for spells in the first half, and finished strongly as Manchester City invited pressure in the closing stages. MANCHESTER CITY VERDICT: Roberto Mancini's side have not found the fluency they showed when at their best last season, and have developed a worrying tendency to concede from set pieces. That they should let a lead slip late on here, five days after doing so in Madrid, suggests a lack of discipline in closing out games that will prove very costly if not checked. ARSENAL VERDICT:Despite the loss of Robin van Persie, Arsenal's attacking threat appears, if anything, even stronger. The craft and guile of Arteta, Cazorla and Ramsey looks capable of opening the strongest Premier League defences. An inability to take chances will do them few favours, though. Gervinho has certainly had better days.

Zlat's The Way You Do It - Ibrahimovic Leads PSG To Another Victory

A Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired display meant Paris Saint-Germain continued their hot streak of form with an impressive 4-0 thumping of Bastia in Corsica. Unbeaten in 42 home matches prior to their defeat to Saint-Etienne at the Stade Armand Cesari in week 4, the Islanders were blown away by another impressive attacking performance from the capital club, just days after comprehensively dismantling Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League. 



Opting to make a number of changes to his starting lineup, Carlo Ancelotti gave Gregory Van der Wiel his debut at right-back whilst pairing Thiago Silva with the returning Mamadou Sakho who was captain for the day and giving Sylvain Armand a rare start at left-back. Nene was also given an opportunity to impress as Javier Pastore was given some rest after some superb recent showings. 

The Italian's changes paid dividends but it was another superlative performance from Ibrahimovic that inspired the side to victory, ably assisted by standout performances from the ever-impressive Marco Verratti and Jeremy Menez. The result sees PSG maintain their grip on third spot following Lorient's late draw at home to Nice and after a slow start, les Parisiens are getting back into the reckoning for top spot. 

After taking a sixth-minute lead through Menez, Ancelotti's men doubled their lead five minutes before the break through 'Ibra'. The Swede, who had set up Menez's opener, had a hand in the move that lead to Blaise Matuidi making it 3-0 before the towering striker applied gloss to the scoreline with a fourth, his seventh of the season, in the dying moments. 

After back-to-back wins at the start of the season, Bastia's problem has been keeping opposing teams at bay. Coming into the game with Ligue 1's worst defence, the hosts' frailties were soon exposed again as Menez opened the scoring. The French international was left unmarked by the Bastia defence, and so when Ibrahimovic turned Nene's free-kick back across goal, Menez had time and space to tuck away his first goal of the season. 

While another intelligent piece of play from 'Ibra' set up Matuidi for a shot that he wasted, Wahbi Khazri set about trying to get Bastia back into the match. A long-range drive was palmed behind by Salvatore Sirigu before the Italian goalkeeper produced a magnificent diving stop to deny Khazri's goal-bound free-kick to safety. 

Sambou Yatabare should have equalised but instead blazed well over the bar after rolling smartly round Thiago Silva, who was making his eague debut in PSG colours, and the midfielder was made to rue his mistake when Ibrahimovic exchanged passes with the sublime Marco Verratti before deftly touching the ball beyond goalkeeper Novaes. 

Jeremy Choplin should have reduced the visitors' lead but instead miscued his header across the face of Sirigu's goal early in the second half, and substitute Florian Thauvin then tested the Italian goalkeeper once again - Sirigu diving full-length to turn the Bastia man's low shot behind. 

Once again though, a Sirigu save preceded his side scoring, and after being given the ball by Ibrahimovic, Nene slipped a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Blaise Matuidi, who claimed his second league goal in PSG colours with a sliding finish. 

With the points already assured, Sirigu produced another world-class save to deny Toifilou Maoulida a consolation strike before Ibrahimovic sprung the hosts' poorly-executed offside trap, latching onto Nene's lofted pass to complete a convincing performance. 

Making no fewer than four changes to a strong previous lineup, the victory is an illustration of the depth that Ancelotti now has available to him. An impressive showing, not only did the capital club once again show a rapidly-developing understanding and team spirit but they also kept a fourth clean sheet of the season. The backline was something of an achilles heel for the side last season but that seems to have been addressed already and the movement away from being a team brimming with talent but playing as a set of individuals to functioning as a coherent unit is extremely encouraging. 

Next up: strugglers Sochaux reinvigorated by their two recent surprise wins visit the Parc des Princes.

Terry retires from international football


Former England captain John Terry has announced his retirement from internatonal football, less than 24 hours before a Football Association hearing into his alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand.
John Terry has walked away from England after 78 caps and four major tournaments
GettyImagesJohn Terry has walked away from England after 78 caps and four major tournaments
Terry, 31, has endured a tumultuous career with the Three Lions in recent years, having twice been stripped of the captaincy by the FA.
He first lost the armband in 2010 in the wake of allegations that he had an affair with the girlfriend of former Chelsea and England eam-mate Wayne Bridge, before being deposed again this February after it was revealed he would stand trial for alleged abuse of QPR defender Ferdinand during a Premier League game.
Terry was cleared of any wrongdoing with regards to Ferdinand at Westminster Magistrates' Court in July but with the FA continuing to pursue the matter, and a hearing set to begin on Monday, the Chelsea skipper has chosen to quit international football.
"I am today announcing my retirement from international football," Terry said. "I would like to thank the England managers who have selected me for my 78 caps. I have had great pleasure in sharing that honour with all the players that I've played with.
"I would like to thank them, the fans and my family for their support and encouragement during my international career. Representing and captaining my country is what I dreamed of as a boy and it has been a truly great honour.
"I have always given my all and it breaks my heart to make this decision. I want to wish Roy [Hodgson] and the team every success for the future.
"I am making this statement today in advance of the hearing of the FA disciplinary charge because I feel the FA, in pursuing charges against me where I have already been cleared in a court of law, have made my position with the national team untenable.
"I now look forward to playing for Chelsea FC, and challenging for domestic and European honours, and I want to thank the fans and the club for their continued support.''
A statement from Chelsea, for whom Terry has spent his entire professional career, said: "This was a personal and difficult decision for John to take as playing for and captaining his country was a boyhood dream."

BBC News - World News Today


X Factor judge Spears has wobbly Brits on shopping trip If anyone could afford to fork out for a new bra it should be Britney

BRITNEY Spears could land a part in Shameless nipping to the shops like this.

The US X Factor judge headed off to buy bargain clothes for her boys Jayden and Sean at America’s Old Navy store – the Yank equivalent of TK Maxx.
She looked like she was heading off to give someone a hiding as she walked into the place – and wasn’t much happier when she came out lugging plastic bags stuffed with threads.
Some of her £9.4million cheque for appearing on Simon Cowell’s talent show should go on a decent bra.
Britney is set to rake in even more cash as Cheryl’s manager Will.I.Am is in discussions about her duetting with the Brit singer because they’re his “two favourite girls”.
Her mug here is enough to put even him off the idea.



Britney Spears
Bra-tney ... Spears steps out without support

Jim Carrey Kicks Ass with Aaron Johnson in Toronto



Jim Carey and Aaron Johnson on set of Kick-Ass 2 in Toronto
Army dreamer ... Jim Carrey on set of Kick-Ass 2

JIM Carrey dons army fatigues as he joins the Kick-Ass cast for the sequel.

The Dumb And Dumber comic plays Colonel Stars, who teams up with Aaron Johnson’s amateur superhero in the new movie.
A khaki eye-mask provides his flimsy disguise as he and Aaron film action scenes in Toronto, Canada.
And he carries a star and stripes baseball bat as his crime-fighting weapon.
Jim Carrey and Aaron Johnson on set of Kick-Ass 2