Republic of Ireland star finally explains the sexy pink 4×4

In order to publicise his “journey from ridicule to respect,” The Daily Mail have published a feature on allegedly respectable Manchester City star Stephen Ireland.

Lead by a picture of the midfielder leaning against a stained glass window while looking all thoughtful, the puffy piece sets out to distance the player from the world of fictional deceased grandmothers, ‘Daddy Dick’ and the rest of the tomfoolery that has defined his career.

Within the interview feature, Ireland answered a question that has plagued Spoiler readers since February 26th 2008 - why the heck did he think a Range Rover with pink wheels and trim was a good idea?

‘The car was [Ireland’s girlfriend] Jessica’s,’ he said with a huge grin. ‘I only drove it once. Just my luck it was photographed and ended up in the News of the World. We sold it soon after as someone scraped a key down it.

Realistically, Ireland and his WAG had no choice but to sell the car after someone vandalised it. After all, it would have looked completely ridiculous with a key scrape down the side.

Arsenal keeper humiliates his butch dog

He may have kept a clean sheet against Roma on Tuesday night, but Arsenal shot stopper Manuel Almunia is clearly in a bad mood. Yesterday, he decided to take his frustration out on his dog (one of those little yappy Terriers), which he paraded around north London on a pink lead and with a pink neon jacket. Only Paris Hilton’s dog has been subjected to humiliation worse than this.

We would have provided a picture of this flagrant animal cruelty, but stealing pictures from tabloid newspapers seems to make their lawyers unhappy for some reason. To see Almunia’s fierce mutt for yourself, click here.

UPDATE: Mad props to our girls at Kickette, who have provided a picture of Almunia’s canine artrocity