Going For Silver

‘GOLD is for fools and shady Greek sprinters. What we Brits really want is silver and bronze. And the news in the Times is that we’ve got some.

‘The runner-up takes it all…’

All hail Leslie Law, who won a “gloriously unexpected” silver medal in the individual three-day event.

Not that he was on his own, of course, having received some help from Shear L’Leau…a horse.

And let’s not stop there, because the Times has the full list of those who came second and third in Athens.

So stand up and say “Gold is for losers” to Helen Reeves (kayak), Alison Williams (archery) and Pippa Funnell, Jeanette Brakewell, Mary King, and Leslie Law (team three-day event).

And we will be tuning in today to watch Nathan Roberts and Gail Emms contest the final of the badminton mixed doubles.

But enough of all this Olympic success and turn to the Sun where the back page belongs to David Beckham, who has led England to a 3-0 win over Ukraine in a meaningless match in front of a half-empty stadium in Newcastle.

However, in the Sun, the game is given a different slant.

“David Beckham bounced back from his Euro 2004 nightmare last night to revive his love affair with the English public,” gushes the paper.

Now, call us prudes, but these days we’re none too certain where our Day-vid’s been and we at Anorak are not convinced we want to love him as we once did.

The Sun clearly has no qualms about such things and just lavishes praise on the man who failed to deliver in Portugal -when it really mattered.

But the oddest football story must be that of Real Madrid’s interest in Jonathan Woodgate.

The Newcastle defender is a good player, but those of us who have laboured under the impression that Real only sign superstars are puzzled.

Would Woodgate – famous for brawling in the street, being Lee Bowyer’s mate, dating a Big Brother contestant and recently smashing a glass into his own forehead for a laugh – fit in with the sublime talents at the Bernabeu?

The story says that he will, but only if Real’s deal for Inter Milan’s Fabio Cannavaro falls through.

And since we have been reading for the better part of the summer how the Madrilenos always get their man (see Patrick Vieira), it seems that Woodgate is not going anywhere.

Only he might be, because the Mirror says that the Cannavaro deal has gone awry and Woodgate is now on the verge of a £14m move to Spain

And since Real always get their man, that means he’ll go. Until he doesn’t…’

Posted: 19th, August 2004 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink