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A Chelsea dressing room tour (thanks to Spoiler reader, John Swaine)! 

The Real Madrid replacement managers REVEALED

[Daily Mail]

P.Diddy wants to buy Crystal Palace!

[Pies]

Footballers on crutches

[Kickette]

Vidic questions Rooney’s intelligence

[Dirty Tackle]

Drogba gets the cartoon treatment

[Studs Up]

New outfits for Arsenal

[Caught Offside]

That’s the “goal bonus” sticking out… perhaps

Of course, Premier League players take it all for granted. Just look at Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips - both recently reported to be kicking up a fuss because they only get about £80,000/week for occasionally playing a bit of footie.

But, over in America, recent salary reports make for slightly less glamourous reading. At the last count, 26 MLS players were earning just $20,100/year for their services - converted into Her Royal Highness’s chosen currency, that’s around £13,243.72/year. To the nearest pence.

Beckham shirt - still in stock

He’s had a rubbish few days has David Beckham. One minute he’s trotting around, daydreaming about the World Cup, the next he’s in a changing room, weeping in emotional agony because his Achilles Tendon isn’t what it used to be.

It’s not all bad though. According to today’s Daily Star, the AC Milan vice president, Adriano Galliani, is still keen to see Beckham back at AC Milan for another stint. He said this:

“I gave him a hug in the changing rooms and I told him that if he wants, next year he will be with us.”

Here’s what else we know, thanks to today’s papers (The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Guardian etc…):

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Funny stuff from the Tottenham Blog!

The crazy career of Jens Lehmann under the microscope

[Bild]

Things get worse for Wayne Bridge

[Daily Mail]

An ode to David Beckham

[Dirty Tackle]

The Arsenal-Man United-Chelsea Best XI

[Pies]

Iain Dowie takes over at Hull

[The Telegraph]

Basketball cock punch!

[Deadspin]

Is one of these men “the new Gary Lineker”?

Romance fans will be bitterly disappointed today, with news that Kate Winslet has managed to make a pig’s ear of another marriage - she’s divorcing Sam Mendes, the man who directed the slow moving Jamie Redknapp hairstyle biopic, Jarhead. As expected, showbiz desks are completely furious about this.

One group who couldn’t give a monkeys, however, are the hard working sports writers. Not big Winslet fans, these office heroes have avoided the furore entirely, and have been instead been writing about football. Here’s what we know today, thanks to the likes of The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Guardian etc…:

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The moment it all went wrong for Becksie (via Dirty Tackle)

David Beckham - the highs and lows

[Daily Mail]

The Phil Brown Marmite Test

[Pies]

Get the Guardiola haircut

[Kickette]

Lady footballers show their feminine side

[Dirty Tackle]

Will Beckham and Owen be missed?

[The Telegraph]

Benitez gets the cartoon treatment

[Studs Up]

They think it’s all over…

Unfortunately, when it comes down to it, Lady Luck is a spiteful little cow who will never quite allow a footballer to bow out gracefully. Maradona left the international game under a big drugs-shaped cloud, Zidane nutted someone in the chest, Gazza marked his end by smashing up a hotel room.

And now Becksie has reportedly been weeping in a dressing room, having torn his Achilles tendon whilst casually waiting to kick a football against Chievo. Realistically, this is the end of the road, England-wise - the World Cup, presumably, would have been his swansong.

Jean-Pierre Meerseman, the AC Milan medic, said this:

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An Italian man’s reaction to the Old Trafford drubbing (via Pies)

WIN A LOAD OF FOOTBALL BOOKS

[The Spoiler]

Big Brother winner with important Cristiano Ronaldo information

[Dirty Tackle]

David Beckham’s football love affairs

[Kickette]

Rooney’s really good at football, decides Capello

[The Sun]

Becksie gets all political about it

[Caught Offside]

Benitez worried about Liverpool body language

[Mirror Football]