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...

CIVIL WAR
It's all kicking off at Arsenal, and there's no surprise that inspirational leader William Gallas is at the centre of the chaos. The Daily Mail report on his astonishing rant at his team-mates and revelations about the dressing-room tensions at the Emirates.

Hold the back page...

GALLAS GOES TO WAR
The Daily Mirror say that Gallas must surely be stripped of his captaincy after claiming that the club is being torn apart by in-fighting.

ARSENAL AT WAR!
Gallas also says that there is player "six years younger than me", who insults his team-mates during games and is universally unpopular, and papers like The Sun reckon he means Robin van Persie, who had a bust-up with Theo Walcott at half-time in the 4-4 draw with Spurs.

GUNNERS BUST-UP TEARING US APART
In the Daily Star Gallas also says: "We are not brave enough in battle. I think we need to be soldiers - we have to be warriors."

TWO MORE CITY REBELS ROCK HUGHES
The Daily Mail say that Wenger isn't the only manager having trouble with the staff. Apparently, Didi Hamann and Michael Ball both refused to warm up during Man City's draw with Hull last weekend and were sent to the reserves as a punishment.

DON'T WRECK OUR CHANCE
Meanwhile, the Daily Express report on a growing battle between the FA and the Premier League over plans to adapt the 2009/10 season to give England plenty of time to prepare for next summer's World Cup (assuming they get there).

CAPELLO WARNS CLUBS: I WANT STARS 6 WEEKS BEFORE THE WORLD CUP
Fabio Capello's demands for a six-week training camp before the tournament means that the Premier League season would have to start on 8th August, cutting down on time for clubs to fill their pockets on lucrative pre-season tours, reports the Daily Mirror.

WHAT A FAB FIRST YEAR - BUT IT'S COST HIM £1M
Mind you, even Capello has to be careful with his money at the moment, with the credit crunch and fall in value of the pound meaning that, after his wages have been converted into Euros to be paid into his Swiss and Italian bank accounts, he's ended up getting £1m less. So that's only around £4.4m he's earned this year! The Daily Star offer their sympathies, and so do we.

Other top stories...

CAPELLO PREACHING TO THE NEWLY CONVERTED
In The Times, Simon Barnes finds something to criticise about Fabio Capello: "There is a strange void in our national life: we have no England manager to tear apart. After devouring two in the space of little more than a year, Fabio Capello is untouchable, halfway between Sir Alf Ramsey and God."

RESTLESS CAPELLO LOOKS BEYOND YEAR OF PROGRESS
In The Guardian, Richard Williams says: "Fabio Capello has the restlessness of all great managers. Though the final match of his first year in charge of England brought a 2-1 win over Germany in Berlin, he was more inclined to dwell on progress yet to be made."

CAPELLO AURA LIFTS ENGLAND STANDARD
In the Daily Telegraph, Henry Winter points out the simple ways that he has improved England: "Capello's aura, CV and attention to detail command respect. The players are clearly lifted by feeling that their destiny is in such experienced hands. He has kept tactics simple, focusing on a 4-4-2 formation, and quierly reminded players of their strengths."

HOW FABIO'S STEELY GLARES AND STRAIGHT TALKING HAVE SHAKEN THIS ENGLAND SIDE INTO SHAPE
The Daily Mail's Neil Ashton says: "Sometimes he has plenty to say, sometimes he just fixes his players with an icy glare. Either way, England's players are responding to Fabio Capello's methods."

HE WILL SCARE US TO GLORY
David James backs that up in the Daily Mirror: "He sees it, he says it and he tells you no matter who you are. He's not a shouter or a quiet one. It's a steely glare and you take it as read that you need to change it."

A YEAR ON, THE DIFFERENCE THAT A CAPELLO MAKES...
The Independent pick out the changes that have been made in the last 11 months, with one being: "The Capello house rules have got stricter and stricter. The team's Westin hotel in Berlin was out of bounds even to friends and family who needed to pick up tickets. They had to get them from a Football Association official."

WE DON'T NEED THE DROP-OUTS... NOT WITH THIS LOT PLAYING SO WELL!
In The Sun, John Terry warns his fellow England first-teamers that they may be struggling to get their places back after the performances of their understudies: "I'm sure the manager will have looked at a few of them and take them into the next game and possibly the World Cup qualifiers."

IT WAS JUST A MIX-UP SAYS COOL CARSON
One understudy who didn't do himself many favours was Scott Carson, but in the Daily Express he's staying upbeat: "I was delighted to see the winner go in. Their goal was just a mix-up in communication. JT thought the ball was coming a bit faster towards me and I thought he was going to knock it back towards me."