What The Papers Say

The 4thegame.com regular feature that brings you the best of the coverage from the UK press. It's not a mere news round-up, but instead gives you all the top headlines, outrageous puns and crazy stories...

Headline of the day...

THEOW
The Daily Mirror report on the latest reason for Fabio Capello to wish he hadn't bothered turning up to work this week, with Theo Walcott's dislocated shoulder leaving England without nine of their first choice XI. Ouch.

Hold the back page...

WALCROCK
The Sun are equally dismayed by the news, pointing out that he's only just recovered from an injury to the same shoulder that he suffered against Stoke recently.

BERLIN WAL FALLS DOWN
The Daily Express get all political as they compare a football injury to one of the most significant events of the last 20 years.

THEO AGONY
The Daily Mail sum it up a little better, with Walcott's agony both physical and mental. Arsene Wenger will be feeling the pain too, particularly as he's already asked what the point is of these international games.

FAB GETS TOUGH
However, Fabio Capello isn't letting that stop him laying down the law to club managers, with the Daily Star saying that Steven Gerrard's trip to be checked out by England medics is the way it's going to be from now on.

RESPECT US NOW! FA BANS FOR SIR ALEX AND DROGBA
The Daily Mail say that the FA are getting tough too, banning Sir Alex Ferguson and Didier Drogba for their recent wrongdoings, with the Man United manager the first high profile victim of the Respect agenda.

DIEGO FINGERS ENGLAND
Meanwhile, Diego Maradona's press conference up in Scotland was eventful, with the little Argentine responding to questions about his Hand of God goal by saying: "England won the World Cup with a goal which never crossed the line so I don't think anyone should judge me," reports the Daily Express.

LIVERPOOL RUFFLE COUNCIL FEATHERS WITH ATTEMPT TO TRADEMARK CITY SYMBOL
The Guardian have equally controversial news, with Liverpool FC attempting to trademark the Liver bird in a bid to see off counterfeit merchandise, but the council aren't too happy about the idea.

Other top stories...

SCHOOL MASTER CAPELLO ROLLING BACK THE YEARS TO RAMSEY DYNASTY
The Daily Mail's Paul Hayward discusses Il Capo: "Sir Bobby Charlton has been adamant in recent days that 'Fabio Capello is just like Alf Ramsey', in which case we have limped full circle to a point where the boss speaks stilted English and waves an iron rod."

2001: AN ENGLISH ODYSSEY
The Independent look back to England's famous trip to Germany seven years ago, with the best memory coming from a newsagent: "All the newspapers were wiped out by about 11 the next morning, everything was taken, it doesn't happen often. The only other time that happened was with Obama the other week and with Diana dying, althought on that day all the papers were gone by eight in the morning."

TERRY GOES IN TO BAT FOR FALLEN COMRADES
The Daily Telegraph report on the reaction in Germany to England's injury woes: "Berliners wore the befuddled look of crossword addicts flummoxed by cryptic clues. Gerrard has a pulled adductor? Was ist das? Lampard has hurt his rib? Gott in himmel."

YOUNGSTERS MUST EMBRACE THE OLYMPICS
The Daily Express focus on the history surrounding the Olympic Stadium in Berlin: "This is where Jesse Owens rebuffed Adolf Hitler's racial madness during the 1936 Olympics. It is where the England team lined up on Foreign Office instructions and gave a Nazi salute before an international in 1938, the Fuhrer understanding that no friendlies between these two are without meaning."

SIR BOB IS RIGHT.. GERMANY VERSUS ENGLAND MATTERS
Oliver Holt is inspired by Sir Bobby Charlton in the Daily Mirror, and says that: "It's the history of it. It's the chance to write a new chapter in a compelling story, or at least in the case of a match like tonight's, add a few notes in the margin."

WE ALWAYS WIN WHEN IT MATTERS
In case you needed any more convincing, here's Germany's assistant coach Oliver Bierhoff, who says in the Daily Star that England need to stop obsessing over that 5-1 win: "Is that the only video they have? I was sitting on the bench that night and it was a pretty bad experience for everyone. But, of course, we have a lot of other matches to remember - especially ones that ended in penalty kicks."

BRAVE HAND
The Sun are in fine 'patriotic' form as they paint Diego Maradona as William Wallace in Braveheart and using sentences like: "In a city still divided by bitter religious bigotry, nothing unites Glaswegians like a mutual hatred of the English." Good work.

BURLEY THE OPTIMIST CHOOSES TO SEE HALF-EMPTY STADIUM AS HALF-FULL
The Guardian report on a slight sense of anti-climax north of the border: "George Burley last night issued a firm defence of Scotland's football-supporting public despite little over half the tickets for tonight's visit of Argentina being sold, a potential source of embarrassment for the country's Football Association."