Its not just Manchester United who score late, by Danny Harris

Republic of Ireland were robbed of a credible draw at the weekend, after scoring late only to see their opponents Italy equalise with stunning impertinence.

After the jump, we choose our six favourite similarly chaotic upside-down closing stages:

Premier League stars go Gaelic for Adidas

One of the most popular sports in Ireland, Gaelic Football is as complicated as filling in a tax return in Swahili while underwater. Dublin GAA’s Alan Brogan took time out of his busy schedule of remembering the rules to teach Jermain Defoe, Ashley Young and Roman Pavlyuchenko about his nation’s pastime, with mixed results.

[101GG]

The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies

Diego Maradona to Portsmouth
Not-a-real-doctor Sulaiman al-Fahim made his love of the Argentinean gaffer clear back in March, and the Daily Star believe the new Pompey owner will try to persuade him to quit his job to become ‘Global Ambassador’ of the club.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Incredibly, Maradona’s lawyer Angel Oscar Moyano has spoken out in support of the move:

“He has got top players ready and he is even ready to leave the Argentine ­national team.

“He wants to build a strong team for which he offers his mediation for signing players of top level, who with the support of Diego will be willing to come to ­Portsmouth.”

John Terry to Manchester City
The Citizens’ pursuit of the England captain is getting ri-god-damn-diculous now. The Daily Mail are now saying the club are prepared to pay him £1m a month (!) and will offer £50m, or “whatever it takes ” to get their man.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: You have to admire their persistence,

The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies

Ashley Young not going to Tottenham
The Guardian say Martin O’Neill will definitely not sell his prized asset, particularly to a club “on a similar level”. He utterly refuses and will not be persuaded. Unless they stump up £30m, that is.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: As much as ‘Arry admires the left-sided forward, £30m is a little steep.

Barry Ferguson to Birmingham
Despite his infamous naughty drinking problems, Alex McLeish is keen to reacquaint himself with the former Scotland captain. The 31-year-old midfielder would cost around £1.5m.

The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies

Stewart Downing to Aston Villa
The Spoiler assumed that replacing Martin Laursen and Gareth Barry would be Aston Villa’s priority right now but apparently not. The Daily Mail claim that Martin O’Neill is looking to thwart Spurs (and they sure will be heartbroken!) by signing Downing on a loan deal with an option to make the move permanent.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: This has to be nonsense. Villa have a lot of work to do this summer and bringing in someone who plays in the same position as their star player Ashley Young is surely not top of the agenda.

Joleon Lescott staying with Everton
The Daily Star report that Manchester City have been priced out of a move for

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The latest transfer news, gossip and damned lies



Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal
Yesterday reports were circulating that Professor Wenger had splashed £10m on the Ajax defender, something The Daily Mail confirm this morning. Now it’s reportedly just a case of agreeing personal terms.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Scout Tony Adams has said he is ‘not ready to be an Arsenal player’ and is not a transfer target, so on that basis, we can almost certainly say that Vermaelen has become a Gunner.

Ashley Young to Tottenham
David Bentley has never held much influence in the court of Harry Redknapp, and as such will be offered to Aston Villa for Ashley Young, with £8m thrown in

Sadly there’s no room for player of the year Ryan Giggs here…

It’s another end of season list, but with a twist. To stop a roundup of the 08/09 Premier League team of the season descending into a top 4 love-in, we’ve tried to limit ourselves to only one player from each club. Sticklers for punishment that we are, we’re also rigidly sticking to a classic 4-4-2. It all ended up being a lot harder than we gave it credit for:

GK - Manuel Almunia (Arsenal)
Pulled off some super saves, stopped an inordinate amount of penalties, and has been good enough to have this ridiculous nonsense about him playing for England rise to the surface again. The Spanish keeper has come a long way from Jens Lehmann’s assessment he was to rubbish to play for Arsenal.

DR - Rory Delap (Stoke)
Rory Delap made a healthy contribution to securing Stoke’s top flight status, earning priceless league (and mental) victories against the big boys at a time when Stoke were looking the unfashionable new kids while Hull cakewalked it. He spent most of the season in midfield but his position is almost irrelevent for what he brings to the team.

DL - Luke Young (Aston Villa)
Playing completely out of position, covering for a crocked Wilfred Bouma and an absolutely dreadful Nicky Shorey, isn’t an ideal way to start your first season a new club, but Young has done the job manfully, without complaint and more often than not, impressively.

DC - Phil Jagielka (Everton)
One of the most reliable performers of the season until that heartbreaking injury, Jags has had a superb campaign, reaping benefits in the form of England