The Caravan Club

WOULD you believe it if we told you that Freddy Eastwood, scorer of that goal that knocked mighty Manchester United out of the less-than-mighty Carling Cup has a daughter called Chardonnay?

You should believe us. It is true. The Telegraph says so.

And having peaked with that name – Chardonnay is aged two and was therefore conceived when the show Footballers’ Wives was introducing the world to the vinous name – Freddy called his son Freddy.

Such is the life of the 23-year old Southend United footballer.

And here is the player in the Telegraph. Freddy earns £2,000 a week. He lives with his partner Debbie. His worst trait is chewing gum. He lives in a mobile home.

“Rooney’s conqueror returns to his mobile home,” says the Telegraph’s headline, making mention of Wayne Rooney, a non-scoring presence on the pitch that fateful night.

The Sun distils the Rooney element into a Rooney Versus Romany battle. It turns out that Eastwood is a gypsy. His pre-match warm-up involves driving his horse and cart along the A127.

But all is not well in the life of the “giant-killing gypsy”. His home sits on an illegal gypsy site in Essex.

The static caravan is perched on a brick base. It has fixed steps. It is “neatly kept”. There are plant pots outside the front door. These pots are filled with plants.

But Basildon council says Freddy never applied for planning permission for his house. There is a chance that house will be bulldozed.

And sentimentality will not get in the way. Malcolm Buckley, leader of Basildon council and a keen Southend fan, says: “Irrespective of who is involved, everybody must comply with planning policy. The council will enforce it without fear of favour to anybody.”

So Freddy might have to move. Perhaps he should put in for a transfer. The Telegraph’s overhead shot of Wayne Rooney’s Cheshire pad suggests ample room for Freddy’s a horse, cart and caravan…

Posted: 9th, November 2006 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink