Real Zaragoza reserve-team starlet makes history…

Real Zaragoza’s 3-1 defeat to Valencia on Sunday was relatively uneventful, largely because Jermaine Pennant was injured and therefore unable to stink up the pitch with his special brand of ‘football’. However, history was made on the 85th minute, when Zaragoza coach Marcelino brought on 20-year-old Alex Sanchez - La Liga’s (and, as far as we know, all of European football’s) first one-handed footballer.

Born without a right mitt, Alex was was handed a first team debut after bagging 12 goals in 10 games for Zaragoza’s reserve squad. There was no fairytale ending to his first senior appearance though - in the 15 minutes he was on the pitch, he flubbed a rubbish attempt to win a penalty and was booked for diving.

Just what we need - another opinion on Rafa

Remember Jermaine Pennant? We here at thespoiler certainly do, mainly for classily proposing to his girlfriend in a graveyard. On the off chance you care, Jermaine now strolls around the touchline for Real Zaragoza in the lower echelons of la Liga.

Pennant turns 27 in January, and it may be fair to say that he hasn’t quite fulfilled the potential of his teenage years, when aged just 15, that fine dissector of young talent Arsene Wenger, splashed out £2m on the Notts County lad. But whose fault? Being a footballer, the answer is inevitably, not his own. These are his thoughts on Rafa:

“Liverpool have had some great strikers come and go - Robbie Keane is scoring goals at Tottenham, Peter Crouch is scoring now. It didn’t happen at Liverpool: it must be about how the manager relates to players, how the tactics are and how he restricts players. The coach plays a big part when you arrive at a new team. If he restricts you, it’s going to make you play differently.

When I was there, sometimes I would like to get the ball and not even beat the man, just put it straight in. And he would be shouting: ‘Go to the byline.’ He’d say it before the game and, if I had put a ball in early, as I was jogging back he’d be there gesturing for me to get to the byline. You think, ‘Give it a rest. Can I just play like this? Can’t I just express myself?’”

With his PR team suddenly awake and jolted upright, Pennant later clarified:

“I have no qualms or bad feelings about Rafa and I still love the club. He’s a great manager and there are times when he is a genius but sometimes his approach can take the best out of you.

The quotes seem fairly typical of a footballer with an axe to grind, exploiting the current sports news agenda. Let’s just hope for his fellow travellers, that Pennant isn’t at the wheel of this particular bandwagon.

Is this Hollyoaks beauty an official Pompey supporting lady?

Portsmouth’s David James caused a WAG-based kerfuffle in 2003 when he left his wife Tanya for a lady named Amanda Salmon. Jamo’s home life looks to be in a tempestuous condition once again - Amanda has moved out of James’ house and our friends at Kickette have alerted us to the fact that the former England keeper has been spotted out and about with Hollyoaks star Claire Cooper.

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Manchester Utd star lives it up in the City of Sin

Here’s Wes Brown rockin’ the classic sunglasses inside and at night look at the Palms Casino, home of the rather good Playboy Club and the equally excellent Rain.

The Manchester Utd star chose Vegas for his Stag Weekend, and Danny Simpson, Jermaine Pennant, Charlton’s Jonathan Fortune, Plymouth’s Graham Stack and Southampton’s Adam Lallana helped him fend off the Bunnies.

Having just returned from a Vegas Stag Do ourselves, The Spoiler can only imagine what kind of debauchery and indulgence can be had out there with the budget of a professional footballer…

[Vegas News via 101GG]

The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies…

Gareth Barry could leave Aston Villa for free
Aston Villa are planning to offer their long-serving midfielder a lucrative new contract in a final effort to persuade him to stay but if he declines, Martin O’Neill is willing to lose him for nothing in exchange for one more season.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: The logic behind such a move would be that they can’t afford to lose another leader following captain Martin Laursen’s retirement and it would give them more time to find a perfect replacement. It’s estimated that keeping Barry last summer cost Villa £8.5 million this season so they may be willing to take another loss.

Glen Johnson to Liverpool
The Daily Mail claim that Rafael Benitez is willing to spend £15 million to bring Portsmouth full-back Glen Johnson to Anfield. The logic behind the hefty

Topless model fails to cash in on Premiership star

BAD NETIQUETTE UPDATE: Well look who stole completely coincidentally discovered our story just a few hours after we posted.

With infidelities on CCTV cameras, proposals in graveyards and affairs with Hollyoaks stars, the relationship between Portsmouth’s Jermaine Pennant and Page Three girl Amii Grove had all the hallmarks of a classic love story.

The fairytale romance, however, reached its conclusion for the third and final time on New Years Eve. Subsequently, Amii decided to profit from her pain by putting her £38k engagement ring on eBay.

Unfortunately, things haven’t turned out as planned.

The Spoiler checked back on the eBay listing to see how much was paid for the unlucky ring, and found that it had reached the princely sum of £20,502 from 13 bids. The winner’s ID was kept private, but a look at her feedback profile reveals

Spurs striker joins Harry Redknapp in singing winger’s praises

Aaron Lennon has been one of Spurs’ better players this season but that has more to do with the fact his fellow midfielders have either been passing sideways or are called David Bentley than because the winger has excelled.

However, the 21-year-old’s recent run of four goals in six games (having scored just one in the previous 51) has prompted Robbie Keane to join Harry Redknapp in talking up his teammate’s England prospects.

“I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t get back in the England squad. He’s a big player for us and is getting better with age. Since I got back to the club I see a more mature player.”

Lennon’s recent form has been reasonably impressive but The Spoiler feels that