Losing The Game

Just a few random quotes today. The Daily Star kicks us off with these Michael Owen quotes which everyone else covered a few days ago:

“I’m still the same player as four or five years ago but I’m a different one to 10 years ago. I’m not as fast as I was when I was 18 but I’m better at holding the ball up, I understand the game more and I have more experience.

“I’m more cute and clever with how I time my runs. When I was younger, I was much quicker so you play without fear. You just want to score a goal.

“When you get older and wiser you think about things more.

“At Newcastle I was playing a bit deeper because Kevin wanted me to be a link player as well as get into the box.

“I scored a lot of goals in that period but I prefer playing up front. I might have a few more strings to my bow now but my strengths are as a goalscorer.”

The Mirror have quotes from Rio Ferdinand:

"I hate losing," he said. "When I lose a game, my parents can't get hold of me for days - I won't speak to them.

"They text me and say they know I'm upset but just want to say hello. And I won't have it - I'm a bad loser. Ask the groundsman or anyone.

"If I walk in from training and I've lost, I know people look at me and think, 'Yep, he lost today'. I can't help it."

And elsewhere there's Giggs on the secret of eternal youth:

“After I turned 30 I decided to change my lifestyle a lot,” he said. “Stop drinking and watch the food I ate.

“There wasn’t a specific moment. I just wanted to keep playing to the highest standard for as long as I could.

“I knew that would require certain sacrifices.

“During my 20s my favourite meal was steak and chips or chicken and chips. I didn’t even like fish when I was younger, but now if I go out I almost always have it.”

And on training ground arguments:

"The best way to deal with fatigue is to get angry," said the Welshman. "The same goes for the rare occasions when training is a bit flat.

"You'll see someone start an argument and that will get the session going again.

"It's ridiculous when people go on about training ground bust-ups, because it's been like that every Friday for nearly 19 years I've played professional football.

"Training is so competitive the day before a game that there are always arguments."

Just one more story- taking a Swedish teenager on trial:

Manchester United have taken Linus Sjoberg, a 15-year-old Swedish midfield player, on trial as Sir Alex Ferguson continues to scour the world for the stars of tomorrow.

Sjoberg plays for Vasteras and is expected to join United later in the summer.

I also thought that as from today, to spruce up the look of the place, I'd start choosing a picture everyday to illustrate the round-up, using the same principle as I choose the post titles (but instead of searching song titles on my computer, I'll be searching images on Google... obviously)