Peter Crouch

London, Dec 22: Peter Crouch and his wife Abbey have been left “distraught” after burglars broke into their new house in Prestbury, Cheshire.

The Stoke City striker and the British lingerie model discovered the break-in at their 4.5-million-pound mansion, on Tuesday evening after returning from a day out.

According to police, the house had been given “a pretty untidy going-over”.

Christmas presents, a watch and a number of rings belonging bad credit loans to the footballer’s wife, were reportedly stolen.
The couple’s nine-month-old daughter, Sophia, was staying with Abbey’s mother at the time.

“Abbey and Peter must have disturbed the burglars when they heard their car coming up the drive,” the Daily Mail quoted a close friend as saying.

“They believe there were several men in the house.
”
The couple bought the six-bedroom home, which has a gym, cinema and swimming pool from ex-England cricketer Andrew Flintoff three months ago.

“The couple discovered the break-in after they unsecured loans returned to the house at around 7.20pm on Tuesday night,” a police source said.

“The house had not been ransacked but had been given a pretty untidy going over and there were several items missing.

“We have no value on the missing items as yet but it was obviously an unpleasant thing to come home to and police have launched an investigation,” the source added.

It is not the first time Peter Crouch has been targeted by burglars, as he was raided at his previous home in Alderley Edge in 2006. (ANI)          

Mervyn Davies has died

Welsh Legend Mervyn Davies has died aged 65 following a battle with cancer.

The Swansea born rugby legend won a total of 38 caps for Wales and went on two victorious British and Irish Lions tours in 1971 and 1974.
Known universally as 'Merv the Swerve' the number eight captained Wales to the 1976 Five Nations Grand Slam.
Davies impressive career was cut short unsecured loans in 1976 after he suffered a brain haemorrhage playing for Swansea in a Welsh Cup semi-final against Pontypool.
In a poll of Welsh rugby fans in 2002, Davies was voted both greatest Welsh captain and greatest Welsh number eight.
In 2001 he was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.
Flags at the Millennium Stadium are flying at half mast in honour of Davies and a minute’s silence will be held in tribute to Davies at all Wales international games across the weekend. bad credit loans
Welsh Rugby Union Chairman, David Pickering, said: "Mervyn Davies was a man who epitomised the values of Welsh rugby and will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him and all who knew of him.
"He was a giant of the game both on and off the field for London Welsh, Swansea, Wales, the Barbarians and the British and Irish Lions.
"He bore his illness with courage and his memory will undoubtedly live on within our game for all time.”
Former Welsh international Rupert Moon says he was a true icon.

Cricinfo Article

Bottom line, up front: I love Cricinfo. I have for 13 years. But they have incredible power and are increasingly wielding it in a worrying fashion. Here is a call for better, clearer editorial standards.
Editorial Clarity
One of my fundamental issues with Cricinfo deals with editorial clarity. Most respected news outlets have a clear separation between News and Opinion. Cricinfo blurs the lines in multiple ways.
Part of the problem is one of design and signals. The way content is presented on Cricinfo, you are never certain if the article you are reading is News or Opinion.

News or Opinion?

This is a subtle example. There are links to three stories interspersed here. One is Opinion, two are News. Maybe it will be clear if we click through to read the stories.

Aha, this is Opinion. Perhaps. It says “Features” on top, which probably means it’s not news, and surely Daniel Brettig wouldn’t take such a strident tone against Hilditch in a news article? Who knows for sure.
Which brings me to my next issue– Associate Editor for Cricinfo, Daniel Brettig just called Hilditch a disaster. The same Daniel Brettig also pens multiple News articles on Australian cricket. News articles that are supposed to be objective, free from biases. This may be acceptable (but contentious) if we could tell News and Opinion apart. unsecured loans
It’s basically the same format of article as the Hilditch story. A lot of quotes from Sutherland, interspersed with Brettig’s commentary on the coach selection process. But this one is categorized as News. Who made the call? Based on what?
It’s a subtle example, but that is why it’s important. It is the subtle cases that matter. If we can’t trust Cricinfo to separate News from Opinion, over time those lines get blurred and it’s all just Daniel Brettig. Sometimes he lets his opinions show, sometimes he doesn’t.
The blurry line shows up too often on Cricinfo. News articles that slip in an opinion about a player, administrator or institution.
Why This Matters


The reason traditional news organizations provide a clear separation between News and Opinion is that different journalistic standards apply to each.
News must be accurate, must attribute reliable sources, and multiple sources must agree for anything to be reported as fact. When reporting controversial opinions, news stories attribute this to a third-party.
These standards do not apply to Opinion pieces. Daniel Brettig can write his own opinion.
If we, as readers, don’t know which one we are reading, how do we know which standards apply? Over time, if the lines remain blurry, we expect (and receive) lower standards from Cricinfo.
In short, if we’re never sure that it’s News, it is never News. It is always Opinion.
Written by Somebody
All of this is made further problematic by the rash of articles without bylines. Let me provide a little bit of background:
Many news organizations make a choice– either they byline everything or byline nothing.
For example, the New York Times bylines everything they write. You will see the name of the journalist who wrote the article at the top and sometimes additional contributors will be listed at the end.
The Economist, however, bylines nothing. Every article is by the Economist. The effect is that the entire magazine stands behind every word. There is no journalist to throw under the bus if something goes wrong– the masthead is accountable.
Cricinfo swings both ways. Usually, as with the Daniel Brettig articles above, they byline their articles. Occasionally, but not infrequently, they put out articles written by “ESPNCricinfo Staff”. Written by everybody and nobody.
Which is fine. Except that once in a while, a little opinion sneaks in to these “ESPNCricinfo Staff” News pieces. Which makes it all the more egregious– not only is this opinion disguising as fact, but the entire ESPNCricinfo organization is backing it up. It is, effectively, the masthead’s opinion.
Want an egregious example?
The last four paragraphs are opinion. Lines like “You can feel the gravitas”, and “He flows like a becalmed river,” and “Perhaps in his mind there bad credit loans was no choice at that moment. He simply had to play it.”
Yet, there is no indication at all on this page whether this is a News article or Opinion. Worst of all, it’s attributed to “ESPNCricinfo Staff”. So all of Cricinfo can “feel” Laxman’s “gravitas”.
Independence


Most respectable news organizations structurally separate the News part of the company from the Editorial part of the company. The purpose is to reduce the influence of the editorial side of the house– the Opinions– on what is reported as news. The New York Times editorial board may prefer Barack Obama, and write Op-ed pieces in his support, but they have no influence over what news stories get reported. At Cricinfo, the same writers wear both hats, thereby reducing the trustworthiness of their own reporting.
Finally, there is the issue of conflict of interest. Kartikeya Date has done a tremendous job on this recently, so I won’t reiterate his points here. But the crux of my argument is that when you have opinion writers, you must detail their financial interests in the game.
Monopoly Opinion-maker Status


The reason all of this matters is that ESPN Cricinfo is slowly ascending in to monopoly opinion-maker status. What gets reported there, how it is reported, and how it is presented has the power to change perceptions. To change opinions. And thus change reality.
This is a great power. And as Spiderman said, when you run a monopoly news organization, you should pay strict attention to journalistic standards*.

* Peter Parker worked for Daily Bugle. Editor J. Jonah Jameson’s journalistic standards at Daily Bugle were appalling. What Spiderman really said was with great power comes great responsibility. Actually, his uncle said that. So scratch that last paragraph and replace with: “This is a great power. As Uncle Ben said, with great power yada yada yada.”

Era of the Formula 1

The 32-year old Button came second in the title race last year [Reuters]

Britain’s Jenson Button ignored an incident-packed race behind him and calmly steered his McLaren to victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix ahead of world champion Sebastian Vettel.
It was Button’s third victory in four years at Melbourne's Albert Park and the 13th win of his career.
Button also became the first driver other than Vettel to lead the championship since the German won the first of his two titles for Red Bull at the end of 2010.
Button's compatriot and teammate Lewis Hamilton, who started on pole, finished third to round out the podium while Vettel's teammate Mark Webber was fourth, his best ever finish in his 11th attempt to win his home race.
"Oh fantastic, what a great way to start the year, guys! Seriously, fantastic!" former world champion Button said on the team radio. "The car is beautiful and she's quick. Thanks guys."
Fernando Alonso drove a spirited race to finish fifth for Ferrari ahead of the Sauber of Japan's Kamui Kobayashi after Williams driver Pastor Maldonado crashed out spectacularly on the final lap while running sixth.
Finland's Kimi Raikkonen, one of six former world champions in the field, impressed on his return from two years out of the sport to finish seventh for Lotus.
Mexican Sergio Perez had started right from the back after changing his gearbox overnight but finished eighth - the same place he claimed on his Formula One debut here last year before he and Kobayashi were disqualified for technical infringements.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished ninth on his home race debut for Toro Rosso despite an accident at the start, while the last point was won by Force India's Paul Di Resta in 10th.
Button, who was second in the title race last year and on the grid on Sunday, eased in front of Hamilton from the start but both will have been happy to avoid the usual crush behind them at the first corner.
Webber and Ricciardo were not so fortunate, the former sandwiched between two rivals as he dropped from fifth to ninth and the latter's car spinning 360 degrees and taking out the Williams of Bruno Senna in the process.
Schumacher off the track
Vettel, who started sixth on the grid, made the most of unsecured loans Webber's misfortune and by the end of lap two had passed Nico Rosberg with a superb move into fourth place behind the other Mercedes of Michael Schumacher.
When seven-times champion Schumacher went off the track onto the grass on lap 10 to effectively end his race, Vettel swept through into third place and started trying to eat into the 10-second gap to the McLarens.
An opportune safety car when Vitaly Petrov's Caterham ground to a halt on the start-finish straight 20 laps from the end allowed the German to leap-frog Hamilton.
But when the track was finally cleared at the end of lap 41, Button simply eased away from the world champion and took the chequered flag after one hour 34.09 minutes, 2.1 seconds in front of the German.
"I think Jenson was unbeatable today," bad credit loans said Vettel. "I'm very happy with second, it's a lot of points. They are the ones to beat at the moment and we'll see what happens next week."
Raikkonen carved his way through the field from 17th on the grid and made up in part for his Lotus team mate Romain Grosjean's early exit.
The Frenchman had lined up third on the grid and was sixth when Maldonado overtook and in the process smashed his front right wheel.

Athletic Bilbao vs Manchester United

In the past couple of weeks we have seen English sides making combacks in the Europe's Elite tournament with Arsenal hammering AC Milan in the 2nd Leg by 3-0 but unfortunately still missed out on the chance ot go through and last night it was Chelsea who came back from a 3-1 away defeat to win on the aggregate of 5-4 in extra time and they got through the Quarterfinals of the Champions League now its the turn of Premier League Champions manchester United to show some steel and make it to the Europa League Quarterfinal as they are trailing by 3-2 in the first leg and have to win the game away from home by scoring more than 2 goals.

Manchester United will have Valencia in the team back while like Sir Alex said they will have Evans and Rio Ferdinend in the heart of the defence which make them stronger and they will have to put together a great performence to get to the next round of the Europea League.  unsecured loans You can tune in here to get the live updates of bad credit loans the match as well as the goals video and match highlight which will be available shortly after the match is over.

Athletic Bilbao vs man u

As expected, Real Madrid and Barcelona are dominating La Liga once again this season, and that naturally dominates the headlines, for better or worse.

But when you look at the best of the rest, Athletic Bilbao are solidly perched near the top of those ranks and head into the last few months of the season with a chance to lock up their first Champions League berth since 1998, and they’ll be a confident bunch as they pay a Europa League visit to Old Trafford tonight.

They opened the season with a five-match winless run, but they’ve put that poor start well behind them. Currently, they’re fifth in La Liga with 37 points from 25 matches, one point behind surprise package Levante and only six points behind Valencia. Athletic have been in solid form thus far in 2012, as they’re 10-3-2 in 15 matches in all competitions, and along with moving within reach of the Champions League places and advancing to the final 16 in the Europa League, they’ve also booked a Copa del Rey showdown against Barcelona.

Draws have been an issue for Athletic this season. To be more specific, draws from winning positions have been an issue. They have ten draws in the league, a total that’s bested by only Osasuna (11) and Racing Santander (12), and eight of those draws have come from winning positions. Overall, holding leads and surrendering late second-half goals seems to be an issue, really. They’ve scored a few key second-half goals themselves, but that’s overshadowed by how many they’ve surrendered. Of the 45 goals they’ve allowed in 42 competitive games this season, 24 have been allowed in the second half. That’s something that could be a tipping point in this tie, considering that more than half of United’s goals in all competitions this season have come in the second half, with Ashley Young‘s second-half double on Sunday at Spurs adding to that tally.

But this is a talented team led by a top, experienced manager in Marcelo Bielsa, and United can’t take it easy in either leg. Fernando Llorente has been one of La Liga’s top strikers for the last several seasons, and he’s in fine form this season, with 13 league goals in 22 appearances and 20 in all competitions. Llorente, at 27, is one of Atheltic’s older starters, as there are a number of younger players already in key roles. A couple of them have attracted the interest of United, in 23-year-old midfielder Javi Martinez and 19-year-old attacker Iker Muniain, both of whom will have a chance to showcase their vast ability and potential tonight.

So, United won’t have an easy task on their hands tonight or next Thursday, but they’re still solid favorites to progress. Back-to-back away wins over Norwich City and Tottenham have kept the deficit in the Premier League to bad credit loans only two points heading into a favorable stretch, and they’ve also erased some of the stink from United’s last home appearance, a 2-1 defeat to Ajax that saw United just scrape through to the round of 16 after having what appeared to be a commanding advantage.

Thanks to how things played out in that match after United had taken an early lead and how important it is to take a solid advantage to Bilbao, you can expect a positive approach and a strong starting XI tonight. It’s too early to have Tom Cleverley and Antonio Valencia back in the mix, but it looks likely that we’ll see Chris unsecured loans Smalling tonight, just eight days after a frightening (and painful) clash of heads with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in England’s friendly with the Netherlands.

It would be ideal to have the second leg at home, as it’s the most favorable scenario and it’s also what United are accustomed to, as this is the first time they’re playing the first leg of a European knockout round tie at home since the Champions League semis against Arsenal in 2009. But that worked out quite well, and with United rounding into winning form at the right time, this time should work well also. Besides, after multiple frustrations at home in Europe this season, United are due tonight, right?

Smolarek Footballer dies!

Former Poland striker Wlodzimierz Smolarek has died at home at the age of 54.

Smolarek won 60 caps for his country as a striker between 1980 and 1992, scoring 13 goals. He also captained Poland on nine occasions and was part of the squad that finished third at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

At club level he was twice league champion with Widzew Lodz in his homeland and later played for Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany as well unsecured loans as Feyenoord and FC Utrecht in the Netherlands.

He had recently worked with the Polish FA in youth development and Polish football federation president Grzegorz Lato said on the federation's official website: "I find it hard to believe. Wlodek was my friend and an on-field bad credit loans colleague. He was always a good spirit within the team.

"Recently, he was searching for new football talents with Polish roots - he had a really good nose for that. In fact, the news of his death still has not sunk in. It's a big shock for us."

Smolarek was the father of 31-year-old former Poland striker Ebi Smolarek, whose club side ADO Den Haag cancelled training on Wednesday morning on hearing the news. 

Portsmouth's results expunged

 Portsmouth's finances are so dire that the former Premier League club may go out of business before the current season ends in May - and that could have major repercussions for clubs at both ends of the Championship table.

Clear and present danger: Portsmouth at risk of failing to finish season Photo

The south coast club are already in the relegation zone, after having 10 points deducted for entering bankruptcy protection last month - the second time in two years.

Club administrator Trevor Birch has revealed unsecured loans that former owner Sacha Gaydamak is receiving payments that would ordinarily go directly to the club and that there is "a real possibility that we may not be able to fulfill the season's fixtures."

If they are unable to find funds to bankroll the remainder of the season, Pompey's name will cease to appear in the Championship bad credit loans standings and therefore points taken from them by opponents during the season will be expunged.

This could see previously safe clubs dropping down the table as points won against Portsmouth are wiped out, while teams challenging for the title and play-offs will also be affected.

Reading would jump to second into the automatic promotion spots, above West Ham, but Cardiff would drop out of the play-off positions.  

Chelsea Vs Stoke

It was interesting to see Roberto Di Matteo's first team selection as the interim Chelsea Manager against Birmingham the bad credit loans other night. He reverted to a 4-2-3-1 formation and brought into the side the likes of Ryan Bertrand, Mikel and Salomon Kalou. 

This weekend against Stoke will be the first real indication from RDM of his intentions from now until the end of the season. I really hope he sticks with the same formation as it presents us with better attacking options that with the 4-3-3. 

Stoke are a big and physical side who will pose us a huge threat and Di Matteo will be well aware of the threat they will pose us at the Bridge. 

So does he go with what HE believes to unsecured loans be our strongest eleven, or does he pick a side to deal with the opposition first and foremost? 

Who do you think should start the game against Stoke?

European Cup Arsenal vs Milan

G ervinho was not far from truth, when he prophesied that "anything could happen in football." Despite a four-goal deficit to make up a face AC Milan in Serie A at the zenith, Arsenal was given the right to believe, taking all possible risks on his lawn to create a real achievement. And 65 000 spectators at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night failed to attend a great moment in the history of the Champions League.

 

Arsenal gives itself the right to believe in Arsene Wenger decided to play his last card in titularisant Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gervinho, all backed by Tomas Rosicky. For its part, Massimiliano Allegri was not to be pitied rather than with a duo Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Stephan El Shaarawy, Robinho playing the position of "tetraquista". If the composition of ultra offensive Arsene Wenger attracted skepticism, his players gave him reason from the start of the match with an early goal signed Laurent Koscielny. On a corner kick by Van Persie, the French people was forgiven for his CSC in Liverpool, propelling the ball into the goal of Abbiati beaten (1-0, 6th). The fury was launched and the Gunners Van Persie forced Abbiati to a new stop (9th). The Dutch, at the entrance to the surface, shone again the porter rossonero (18th).

 

 And strength to pressure, Arsenal doubled the lead through a ghost, Tomas Rosicky. Tumbled on a Theo Walcott, Czech followed and sent a vicious hit into the side netting (2-0, 26th). As unbelievable as it seems, the North London club literally reversed the trend. Dr. Jekyll in San Siro, the Gunners face étrennaient Mr. Hyde at the Emirates and even allowed to return to a goal, through the inevitable Robin van Persie. Following a superb tumbled to Oxlade-Chamberlain, Algerian Mesbah committed the irreparable by mowing the English. The Dutch did not tremble and restored a little hope to a people (43rd, 3-0). At the break, Arsenal had done the hard face of disappointing many Milanese, miles away from what they had been shown the way out. The second act set off again on a similar basis, although with a Milan playing earlier and being more dangerous offensively, like an Ibrahimovic was on the verge of misleading Szczesny, but it came out in his feet (51st ). 

 

 Massimiliano Allegri's men became more pressing but could not score that goal so important that virtually ensure their qualification. By contrast, Arsenal had the opportunity to enter the fourth goal synonymous with extensions but Abbiati, trance, out all the stops and intervened, unsecured loans first on the minting of Gervinho countered by Mexes and then dive on the ball Van Persie (58th). The match was again crazy and Szczesny, a release completely missed, offered the opportunity to bend the case of Ibrahimovic, but the Swede missed the boat (62nd). The match was hanging by a thread and the two teams were to rupture.

 

 Arsene Wenger launched its latest weapon in the battle with Yoann Gourcuff in place of the young Chamberlain. But flip side, the Gunners took the attacks against the full force and Milan was close to score, but saw his deviation Nocerino land fortunately for English fans, in feet Szczesny (76th). bad credit loans More minutes ticked by and saw Arsenal's chances of hanging a hypothetical extension to shrink. But AC Milan, he is also disappointing in the first period, held to the end, strong experience in this kind of situation. Arsenal will have at least fought to the end, refusing to surrender. And just for that, this meeting will be fulfilled its office, for football fans.

England vs Holland

England's re-arranged fixture with Holland is fast approaching with the two teams meeting at Wembley on Wednesday 29th February 2012. The countries last met in a friendly back in 2009, with England fighting back from two goals down to draw 2-2 in an entertaining game in Amsterdam.

Holland went on to finish as World Cup runners-up the following year, while England again failed to impress in a major tournament, despite a decent qualification process. Both teams will now be looking to put in a decent performance ahead of the European Championships this summer.

With England on the hunt for a new manager following Fabio Capello's shock resignation, England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce has been unsecured loans placed in temporary charge. His new-look squad will have to be right on top of their game in order to beat the Dutch, who are third in the FIFA World Rankings.

Money-Back Special
If Van Persie scores the first goal, Paddy bad credit loans Power will refund all losing first/last goalscorer, correct score & scorecast singles on the match.

England Squad

The England Squad for the match against Holland:

Goalkeepers: Scott Carson (Bursaspor), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Robert Green (West Ham United)

Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton), Joleon Lescott (Man City), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Chris Smalling (Manchester United)

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), James Milner (Manchester City), Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur), Ashley Young (Manchester United), Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

Forwards: Fraizer Campbell (Sunderland), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United)

Fast Arjen Robben

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The former Chelsea winger says that it was good to win against England as it was a nice result for the Dutch national team...

Arjen Robben has come out and praised his team mates for their win over England in their latest friendly encounter at the Wembley stadium. Robben was instrumental in the Dutch win over England in London as he netted to goals and fired his team to a 3-2 win over England. It was the Bayern Munich winger who opened the scoring with a fine shot which gave Joe Hart no chance as it rested in the bottom right hand corner of the net within a flash.

Robben was threatening throughout the night as English defenders especially Micah Richards had a hard time dealing with his pace and trickery on the wing. Klaas Jan Huntelaar also scored for Holland against England and assisted them on their way to comprehensive win. England did show signs of a comeback in the second half but Robben’s second goal killed those hopes off and secured Holland’s win.

Robben said in his interview, "This victory tastes very good. Of course it's very nice to take away a victory that late in the game, even tough it was a friendly. For the team this is a very good result and we can build on this towards Euro 2012. My first goal was created by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. He took away two defenders and gave me the space to dribble and shoot.”

He added, "The second goal was a bit lucky unsecured loans because the ball was touched by an England defender. Nevertheless, it was a great result and it's nice to be important again. I just want to do my thing for Bayern and Holland from now on."

Holland will hope that they can build on their win against England and put on an impressive show at the European Championships in the summer as they are drawn in a tough group with Germany, Portugal and Denmark. It will be a bad credit loans tough task for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finalists to progress past the group stages in EURO 2012 but that remains to be seen.