All posts by h79snht.top

We mere mortals will never fully understand the feeling of being a professional sportsman/woman and dealing with day to day life in the spotlight. Football players seem to deal with the pressure well and don’t let performing in front of thousands of people each week effect them. However in the past few weeks and months, retired players have shown that life after football is anything but easy. If you were to quit your job, you may react differently to others, but what comes with being a professional footballer is hard to replace.

Anybody; like myself; who has not suffered with any mental issues such as depression will always find it difficult to fully understand exactly what it involves to be in that state of mind but it is becoming more in vogue than ever now and the seriousness of the situations are being explained.

There is no confirmation that any type of depression was involved in the tragic and shocking death of Wales manager Gary Speed towards the end of last year but since then more and more ex players have broken their silence regarding mental problems. Plenty of people are still confused about the Speed situation and a lot has yet to be cleared up to allow his supporters to understand exactly what brought him to end his own life.

Over the weekend, another footballing legend Dean Windass discussed how he attempted to kill himself due to pressures of life after football.

“I have cried every day for the last two years since retiring,” Windass told The People. “People outside football think we have it all. But I was in a hole that I honestly didn’t know how to get out of.

“Just over a week ago I hit rock-bottom and decided to end it all. I first took an overdose and when that didn’t work tried to hang myself. I felt so alone and believed I had nothing to live for.

“I need to sort myself out which is why I’m speaking out now.”

He added: “People have this image of me as this big strong man who can take anything life throws at him. But I’m not ashamed to say I wanted to end it after a string of setbacks. I knew I’d been a fool but I couldn’t shake off the depression at feeling what a failure I’d become.”

So, since Windass retired he has been unable to cope with life, something that may be becoming more common in the English football. It seems that football fans struggle to understand how hard it is to cope with a lifestyle that changes dramatically so quickly. For anyone to admit that they are suffering from this type of problem is always sad, but when it is one of your sporting heroes it is tough to watch.

The part-time Soccer Saturday pundit enjoyed a long career, that included a promotion winning goal for his boyhood club Hull City that sent them to the Premier League for the first time and it seems the highs have been hard to replicate since then.

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Freddie Flintoff: Hidden Side Of Sport was on BBC1 last week and gave a heartfelt insight into how he and his fellow sportsman went through a similar situation as Windass while he was the England cricket captain. The stories that he spoke about and the way he was talking about them was so intriguing to watch and brought the situation home to a level where everyone could understand.

Since Speed’s tragic death the subject of depression in sport has finally been promoted and it is now a hot topic that will hopefully give the fans a chance to understand exactly why their idols may be dragged into doing some terrible things. If you get the chance, make sure you watch Freddie Flintoff’s show on BBCiplayer and always seek help when needed.

Do you really understand about depression in sport? What does it mean to you? Let me know on Twitter: @Brad_Pinard

Meet Annika Doppler (Bayern Munich), Kristina Gessat (FSV Gutersloh), Ivana Rudelic (Bayern), Julia Simic (Bayern) and Selina Wagner (Wolfsburg)!

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New Newcastle signing Papiss Cisse had a dream debut against Aston Villa on Sunday, popping up with the winning goal in a 2-1 victory for the Tyneside club.

Alan Pardew’s men were boosted by the return of Cisse and countryman Demba Ba from the African Cup of Nations, with the latter opening the scoring for the hosts in the first half, taking his Premier League goal count to 16 for the season.

Robbie Keane equalised in first half injury time to square things up at the break, before debutant Cisse stole the show and guaranteed three points for the Sports Direct Arena outfit.

Pardew is happy to keep the good run of form up, and knows that his Senegalese strike partnership will cause defences problems for the remainder of the season.

“It was a good win because Villa came here and looked lively. They looked lively first half,” he admitted to Sky Sports.

“Although they scored just before half-time, they deserved to be level. They deserved to be in the lead at half-time. We accepted that and second half we knew we had to be better and more controlled, and we were. We limited their breakaways on us and we got a bit of pressure building.

“Of course we got a dream goal for us, because he’s a new signing and he wanted to do well. It was a fantastic goal.

“We mustn’t get carried from the team ethic we have got here because the guys did brilliantly to get a result at Blackburn in the week and again we have put in a display here that has been strong.

“(James) Perch in midfield was brilliant. We had no Cheick (Tiote) today, no (Yohan) Cabaye, but we keep winning. That’s a great thing.

“Having said that, you still need great players because they change games. Papiss did that today and Demba has done it for us before. It was a real bonus that he got a goal on his debut.

“They are a dangerous pair. We have got dangerous strikers all over the place here because Shola (Ameobi) and Besty have done well, (Peter) Lovenkrands is there as well and (Hatem) Ben Arfa, so we have got firepower. We just need to tighten up a little bit more,” he concluded.

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The Geordies are in fifth place, and in battle for a top four finish as they are only a point behind Chelsea in fourth.

By Gareth McKnight

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Arsenal captain Robin van Persie has admitted that he is relishing the role of being the main forward at the club, after being bought to play as a second striker.

The Netherlands international is the top goalscorer in the Premier League and has been in scintillating form in the Gunners’ revival during the second half of the season.

However, Van Persie admits that he only got the opportunity to play as an out-and-out frontman after the departure of Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City.

“I was hoping to play as a second striker. I never thought I would end up as a main striker,” he confessed to The Sun.

“We only tried it when Adebayor went. The boss didn’t buy anyone else. He was convinced I could do it but I wasn’t.

“In my first five or six games I was making assists but I didn’t score and I thought, ‘I am a main striker now, I need to score’.

“When I scored my first goal I then scored seven in seven, with seven assists,” he stated.

There has still not been any news regarding Van Persie’s contract situation, with the marksman’s current deal at the Emirates Stadium expiring in the summer of 2013.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Former Inter Milan boss Leonardo has been unveiled as Paris Saint-Germain’s new general manager.The Brazilian had been linked with the post since leaving Serie A club Inter earlier this month, and has finally reached an agreement with the PSG board.

Leonardo’s arrival comes as president Robin Leproux departs the club, having been removed from his position to allow the new general manager full control over PSG’s transfer policy.

The 41-year-old spent one season in the French capital as a player, and said he was excited to return.

“I’m really happy to be there. I have strong memories in Paris,” Leonardo said.

“I always thought I could come back but I did not know this would be like that.”

“It was not easy for me to leave Italy. In Paris, there is much to know and to do. This club is 41 years old, a tradition. It’s a big club coming out of a good season.”

Leonardo spent just six months in charge of Inter after the dismissal of Rafa Benitez in December, but helped the club win the Coppa Italia last season.

State-run Qatar Sports Investments bought a 70 per cent stake in PSG last month and have resolved to return the club to the upper echelons of European football.

But Leonardo said the club would not rush into success by spending big in the transfer market.

“The owners want to work in the long term,” he said.

“We do not want to buy 10 Messis, that’s not how you build a team. You need a base. It exists and must be improved.”

“We want to play in the Champions League and be good in France. I think the first thing is to talk with the coach (Antoine Kombouare) and see who will stay or leave.”

“The transfer window ends on August 31. It is not a project to win the first game but in the long term. I have to study and, slowly, build a project. “

PSG begin their Ligue 1 campaign at home against Lorient on August 6.

Bayern Munich are looking to hijack any forthcoming advances from Chelsea or Manchester City for highly rated Ajax defender Gregory van der Wiel, according to Talksport.

The Dutchman is a product of Ajax’s esteemed academy and at 23 years old he is a player who would suit a number of top European clubs. Talksport has claimed Bayern have put the wheels in motion to launch a bid for Van der Wiel, who has been in Chelsea and Bayern’s sights since last summer’s World Cup.

Van der Wiel’s agent Hakim Slimani responded to the interest shown by Chelsea in his player earlier this month on the website sport.co.uk when he was quoted as saying, “If (Jose) Bosingwa leaves Chelsea there will be an opening for Gregory, but it depends what happens with a number of players.

However Talksport’s latest speculation implies Bayern are looking to pip the West Londoners to any potential bid for the Dutch International. The highly rated youngster is rumoured to have a valuation of £15 million, which is unlikely to discourage the European heavy weights vying for his signature.

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Despite the thrills and excitement that modern football provides us with, from the ever improving Premier League to the glamorous Champions League battles which are shown on our televisions, talked about on our radios and written about in our newspapers (and on the world wide web), football today is not all it’s cracked up to be. Today in modern football, there are all-seated stadiums, a variety of football boots and of course the celebrity footballers who are treated like movie and rock stars, but what about the football of ‘yesteryear’, the football that I am sure most of us grow up with and still like to remember.

Of course football today has improved in terms of fitness levels and professionalism which has coincided with the big money involved in the sport. It paints a very different picture from the football from the early 1990s to the start of the 1980s and an even different picture looking back further to the seventies and sixties eras – but as football fans, we do love to look back with a sense of joy and loss for football as we knew it.

I am sure most of us would like to see a few changes made in football today, with the cost of ticket prices or a cap on player wages, but the following Top Ten is on Football Nostalgia – what we used to love from the beautiful game that got lost in its own decade but still provides us with great memories. Join me for my Top Ten of Football Nostalgia….

Click on the League Ladder below to see the Top TEN

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There is no denying the talent of David Beckham. The former Manchester United midfielder was and is a great player and dead ball specialists don’t come much better. Beckham trained with Tottenham earlier this season and it would have been great to see Becks back in the Premier League, but sadly it wasn’t to be.

Beckham hasn’t been sitting around twidling his thumbs, though. Becks has been shooting an advert for Pepsi and showing off his skills in between takes. Watch the video below as David Beckham performs three incredible trick shots on Santa Monica Beach whilst shooting his ad with Sofia Vergara. Is it for real or simply a computer trick?

David Beckham is good, but surely he’s not this good?

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Can Fergie complete a double this weekend? His horse What a Friend is 11/1 to win the Grand National. Make sure you don’t miss out on the biggest betting event of the year!

David Bentley will be sidelined for up to six months after undergoing a knee operation, in a further setback in the Tottenham man’s career.

The midfielder found opportunities at White Hart Lane hard to come by last season, and has not lived up to the £15 million price tag that Spurs paid for him back in July 2008.

Bentley was farmed out to West Ham on a season-long loan in the summer, but he will now be out until April after only making five appearances for the Championship team.

Upton Park boss Sam Allardyce has stated his disappointment at the news, and has wished Bentley good luck in his rehabilitation.

“It is a great shame for David as he had settled in well to the squad. We wish him well and hope he has a speedy recovery,” he told West Ham’s official website.

The injury will be a blow for West Ham’s promotion bid; the Hammers currently sit in fourth place, four points behind leaders Southampton.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Eden Hazard: the name that is duelling with Mario Gotze to be top of every club’s wish list and one of the two brightest and most well documented prospects in European football at the moment. At the age of 21 he has already won the cup double in France, taking position on the left of Lille’s impressive attacking trident. He’s already on course to outdo the numbers he put up for Lille last season in the league and continues his impressive development in spite of a number of key figures that left the club over the past six months. But with much talk over where the Belgian star will end up in the summer, should club’s be cautious over a player who has spoken so openly about his admiration and desire to play for other clubs?

On the part of a neutral who looks from a distance at what Lille have done to aid Eden Hazard’s development over the past three seasons, one would be hugely impressed by a player who has seen his stock rise so greatly at such a young age. But should there be reason for club’s to tread lightly when it comes to the matter of signing the wonder kid? Hazard has made no secret of his desire to leave Lille and continue his career away from France. Certainly it creates a great deal of excitement for any prospective buyers—and there are many—but surely Lille will feel a little disrespected, especially now midway through a title defence and the target of qualifying for the Champions League again.

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Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid’s Sporting Director, has tried in the past to use his influence in France to persuade Hazard that his future lies at the Bernabeu. Madrid have created an impressive young squad and Hazard would only do good things for their already hugely impressive attack. But then there has been the continued links with Arsenal and the reports that Arsene Wenger has met and agreed terms with the player last year. I’ve been nothing but impressed by Hazard’s performances and ability on the pitch, but where does the talk of a move abroad end?

It’s got to be a concern for any future manager and club of Hazard that if he’s willing to do it now who says he won’t become restless in the future and raise similar questions over his future. A move away from France and Lille into one of the leading leagues in the world—and so far only England and Spain have been mooted destinations—is a completely different set of circumstances than leaving one of the top club’s in England should Barcelona, for example, come knocking. But would a quieter, more respectful approach have been a better choice than to constantly send clubs and the media into a frenzy?

I’d love nothing more than to see Eden Hazard arrive in the Premier League. If England wants to maintain it’s grip as the leading football league in the world then it needs to attract and keep it’s best players. But an air of caution may be needed when signing Eden Hazard and his continued talk of a move away. Something that will be nowhere to be seen as his future club’s fans are sent into raptures at the capture of one of Europe’s finest.

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