Thursday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Weiss promised he will get his Reebok chance
VLADIMIR Weiss is upset at his lack of match action in a Wanderers shirt but Owen Coyle has promised the silky-skilled winger that his time will come soon.
The on-loan Slovakian has not started a game at the Reebok since arriving from Manchester City, due in the main to Chung-Yong Lee’s electric form on the right.
And while Coyle admits he has often had to disappoint Weiss since pipping local rivals Wigan to his signature in January, he has vowed to give him more game time before he returns to Eastlands – via the World Cup – in the summer.
“Vlad has been frustrated and I have been frustrated for him,” he said.
“He is such a lovely kid and we brought him to the club to play. And he will play.
“I speak to him every day and know he has got big goals in front of him. He wants to show everyone he’s a Premier League player, and he is. That’s why we brought him here.
“Between now and the end of the season you will see more of Vladimir, which is great, because he’s champing at the bit to come on.”
Weiss arrived at Wanderers hoping for a chance to cement his place in Slovakia’s World Cup squad in the summer.
Despite the fact his national team is coached by his father, the 20-year-old’s inclusion is by no means cut and dry, leading the slightly-built midfielder to pursue a move away from City after Mark Hughes was sacked in December.
“I came to England five years ago when I was just turning 16,” he said. “City always gave young players a chance.
“Then when I was just getting in the first team, someone else came to the club. So, I was a bit unlucky with that but it gives you something positive to aim for.
“I probably didn’t get as many games as I wanted. But training with the players was unbelievable.
“When I first came to England, I could never have dreamed about playing with the likes of Robinho and (Carlos) Tevez.
“Sometimes when you go out on loan people say it is good because you need to play games.
“Others say you should stay and maybe it’s a bit early. I wanted to go on loan last year but when Mark Hughes was there I knew I wouldn't be able to leave City.
“Then it changed and a new manager came in. Everything was different. I spoke to him and told him what the situation was like.”
Coyle moved quickly to sign Weiss in January, seeing that Chung-Yong had played virtually non-stop since the end of March.
By the manager’s own admission, the Korean’s performances in the interim have rendered him virtually undroppable.
But Weiss is holding out hope that he will get enough game time between now and mid-May to book his seat on the plane to South Africa, and underline his top-flight credentials.
“Competition for places is everywhere in the Premier League,” he said. “It was hard at City and I knew even if I came to Bolton it would be hard too.
“I am just trying my best, like everyone. If I get a chance I have got to do well. It’s not easy but hopefully I will be getting the chances to help the team.”
Weiss has also thanked Wanderers’ fans, who have backed him and the Whites’ other loan star Jack Wilshere wholeheartedly since they arrived at the start of the year.
"You get confidence from the fans and they took to me well like they did with Jack Wilshere,” he said. “So, it’s good for us for young players when the fans support you.” The Bolton News

Academy Falls 2-1 to Manchester City bollox
Manchester, England
The LA Galaxy Academy narrowly missed out on the first positive result of their England tour this afternoon with a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at Platt Lane.

With just one game scheduled, coaches Trevor James, Matt Mennell and Kenny Arena used a combination of the U-16 and U-18 squads against a City side that featured a host of Youth Internationals from across Europe, including Frederic Veseli, the captain of the Swiss team that won the 2009 U-17 World Cup in Nigeria in November and England U-17 midfielder Ahmed Benali.
Despite not playing together as a group prior to Wednesday morning's warmup, the Galaxy nearly took an early lead over their hosts with forward Christian Alvarado having a goal called back for offside and midfielder Riley Wolfe blazing a freekick high over the bar inside the opening 10 minutes.
At the other end of the field, defender Joe Kearney was forced to clear off his line after City had beaten goalkeeper Vince Paldino, who later came up with a reflex save of his own to keep the game scoreless at the break.
Shortly after the restart, U-16 forward Neil Ignacio, who scored his team's first goal on Monday at Blackburn, entered the game and had an immediate impact. He raced onto a long ball down the right flank from Wolfe, managing to keep the ball in play before in crossed over the end line. Ignacio then spun past a City defender and crossed to Alvarado at the near post where the Galaxy forward was able to smash a header home and put LA up 1-0.
However that lead would last just two minutes before City equalized, slotting home the rebound of another diving stop by Paladino.
City scored the winner with just more than 20 minutes left when they caught the Galaxy on a quick counterattack and beat Paladino to make the score 2-1.
Ignacio and fellow substitute midfielder Ritchie Gonzalez each had chances to equalize late on but could not find a way past the City goalkeeper and the game finished 2-1 in favor of the hosts.
Galaxy Lineup: Vince Paladino; Joe Kearney (John Atkinson 85'), Mike Mardesich, Juan Perez, Gabriel Rivera; Nathaniel Schnitman, Eric Verso (Juan Mendoza 80'), Spencer Johnson (Ritchie Gonzalez 70'), Riley Wolfe; Christian Alvarado (Trent Clifton 65'/Dyllan Stevens 89'), Ruben Valencia (Neil Ignacio 49').

Injury-plagued Manchester City midfielder Michael Johnson expects to be back for the start of pre-season training this summer.
Big things were expected of Johnson when he broke into the City first team under Stuart Pearce in 2006, but the 22-year-old's progress has been badly affected by injury, starting with an abdominal problem that kept him on the sidelines for most of last season.
Johnson told http://www.mcfc.co.uk: "If everything goes to plan I am looking at the start of next season to be hopefully joining in with training sessions again."
Without rediscovering top form, Johnson did at least force his way back into the first-team picture this term, only to suffer a major knee injury in training just before Christmas that ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign.
Johnson could be forgiven for allowing his fitness worries to get him down.
Instead, the former England Under-21 star is buoyant again after receiving the green light to step up his recovery.
And he is eager to be available again when City begin preparations for a campaign that could yet include Champions League combat for the first time when Roberto Mancini's men return to training after their summer break.
"No player wants to have to go through such a long recovery and it has just been bad luck that I have had two in a row early in my career," Johnson added.
"Having recovered from a serious injury before means that this time I am a little more experienced and can deal with the frustrations much better.
"It is just a matter of time, patience and hard work now."

TRANSFER BOLLOX
Wolfsburg coach Lorenz Gunther Kostner is desperate for striker Edin Dzeko to reject a summer move to Chelsea or Manchester City. The Sun

Spartak Moscow manager Valery Karpin has hit out at Liverpool winger Albert Riera over his wage demands and ruled out signing the Spaniard before the transfer window closes on Thursday. Daily Mail

Blackburn midfielder Moten Gamst Pedersen has been offered £25,000 a week to join Olympiakos this summer, while Fenebahce, Palermo and Fiorentina are also interested. The Sun

Sunderland have launched a bid to sign highly sought after Udinese winger Simone Pepe, with Black Cats boss Steve Bruce keen to make a statement of intent with a £15m bid.Daily Mail

Wolves are trailing Southampton's £2m-rated England Under-21 midfielder Adam Lallana, who has scored 18 goals this season and is also being watched by Tottenham and Fulham. Daily Mail

Leeds manager Simon Grayson is preparing a summer move for Swindon striker Billy Paynter. (The Sun)

WAG OF THE DAY
http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/index.php/2 ... #more-9172

OTHER BOLLOX
Burnley manager Brian Laws is on the brink of being sacked, barely three months after he was appointed at Turf Moor, following a run of only one win in 14 games.Daily Mail

Arsenal will make significant changes on and off the pitch this summer, with boss Arsene Wenger ready to make central defence a transfer priority and Stan Kroenke poised to make a pivotal decision in the long-term battle for control of the club. Daily Telegraph

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has hinted he may quit Anfield unless the club invests in new players this summer. The Sun

Bentiez has admitted for the first time that he feels he has taken Liverpool as far as he can after six years of "wheeling and dealing", insisting the club will not be able to compete for the Premier League or Champions League without the cash injection provided by fresh investment. Daily Telegraph

Reds captain Steven Gerrard sees goalkeeper Pepe Reina one day becoming the club's skipper. The Sun

Aaron Lennon is set to give Tottenham and England a huge boost by featuring in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Portsmouth after recovering from a groin injury that has kept the winger out for over three months. Daily Mirror

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has warned that keeper Joe Hart's career could suffer if he is forced to return to Manchester City when his loan deal expires at the end of the season. The Sun

Argentina legend and current national team manager Diego Maradona says Lionel Messi is "the best in the world", adding that Barcelona's Argentine forward "is playing kick-about with Jesus". The Sun

Tottenham and England striker Peter Crouch will bring back his robot dance goal celebration - if he scores in the World Cup final. "I'd definitely pull out the robot in the World Cup final. I might even have to work on some new moves just in case that happens. But I doubt I'd have time to think about how to react if I scored." The Sun

Arsenal forward Carlos Vela could face disciplinary action from the club after he lost his passport and was unable to take his place in the Gunners squad for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg in Barcelona. Daily Mirror

England midfielder Steven Gerrard has bought a share in his favourite restaurant in Southport, Merseyside. The Liverpool captain now plans to reopen it with a New York theme in time for the World Cup. Daily Mail

[Mase]

I think Weiss definitely needs to spend time in the gym this summer and bulk up a bit. It did Tranny no harm at all. Hopefully he's go to the World Cup and have a good tournament and push for a place in our starting line up.

[Beefymcfc]

Reds captain Steven Gerrard sees goalkeeper Pepe Reina one day becoming the club's skipper. The Sun

Why's that, are you going somewhere Stevie G?

[Crossie]

My Bolton fan mate says whenever Weiss makes it onto the pitch, he just goes for his usual dribble round 3 players, usually get tackled or fall over the 4th player, if not, shot or delivery of final ball are shockingly poor.

I'm just saying why he hasnt started more games, i realise if he did start more games, his form would probably improve, because we've seen what he is capable of

[Mase]

My Bolton fan mate says whenever Weiss makes it onto the pitch, he just goes for his usual dribble round 3 players, usually get tackled or fall over the 4th player, if not, shot or delivery of final ball are shockingly poor.

I'm just saying why he hasnt started more games, i realise if he did start more games, his form would probably improve, because we've seen what he is capable of

To be fair though mate, Bolton fans talk a load of shit most of the time :p
One at work was saying how Bolton might get in to Europe a few weeks ago.

[MaineRoadMemories]

Many football hooligans have switched from the grounds to the internet
Anonymous cyber bullies are seeking to trash the reputations of players, managers and others in the sport

The Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill whose future became the centre of of a whirlwind of internet rumours. Photograph: Andrew Fox

As a small child I lived in Lebanon for a while. At my strict Beirut school, talking, uninvited, during lessons invariably led to a strip of Sellotape being stuck across your mouth.

Punishments can rarely have been more effective; quite apart from instantly silencing miscreants, the pain of the tape's eventual removal – it hurts – proved a disincentive to reoffending.

The deployment of such a brutally old-fashioned classroom calming device would cost teachers their careers today but you sometimes wonder if the general concept might not be ripe for adaptation elsewhere.

If only certain football fans' fingers could be tightly gaffer-taped together whenever the urge to begin blogging or tweeting about their latest bête noire overtook them, the world might become a nicer – and saner – place.

While the internet remains a wonderful invention, football supporters and the web are an increasingly noxious mix. With stewards and police no longer turning persistently deaf ears to racist or homophobic abuse inside grounds, a warped, and militantly vociferous, minority have moved from shouting venom to typing toxic thoughts before pressing Send.

Others, meanwhile, simply prefer making hi-tech mischief. There have been two notable recent examples of such trends. At Newcastle United the alleged altercation between Andy Carroll and Steven Taylor, which left Taylor nursing a doubly broken jaw and feeding through a straw, prompted a surfeit of septic, completely unfounded, rumours on some Newcastle supporters' sites.

If Newcastle's enduring, ill-advised, silence on the Taylor-Carroll affair is a pollutant at the heart of an otherwise renascent club, Aston Villa were dumbfounded last week when fans' forums began buzzing with chatter concerning Martin O'Neill's supposedly imminent departure in the wake of Villa's 7-1 thrashing by Chelsea.

All it took was a post beginning: "I don't know if this is true but ..." on VillaTalk for the rumour to develop "legs" long enough to ensure its replication on national radio stations and newspaper websites.

When the furore subsided and the manager was discovered to be still wearing a Villa tracksuit, O'Neill asked a pertinent question. "Really, is this how the media works?"

His subsequent self-proclaimed ignorance about the blogosphere's existence and a laptop's basic functions may appear disingenuous but it is not entirely implausible that O'Neill has better things to do than fritter time online.

Other managers are simply too obsessed with downloading their beloved Prozone stats first-hand to remain computer illiterate. Once logged on, few can resist a little surfing and often find monitoring fan opinion becomes an uncomfortably compulsive reading habit.

Frequently, it is also a recipe for understandable depression. There is an unfairness inherent in seeing people ridiculed and their reputations trashed by anonymous, factually challenged, half-wits who would probably never dare say "boo" to the object of their vitriol's face. Even worse, the suspicion is that witch-hunts are sometimes manufactured by the same numbskull submitting multiple comments via different usernames.

Constructive criticism is healthily democratic but a cross-section of football fan sites contain far too many posts which seem not merely worryingly childish but cruel and, often, cringe-inducingly crude.

With contributors shielding their true identities by hiding behind silly names such as BeansOnToast or BigCheese and many forums unmoderated or slackly policed, they are also cowardly. A modern equivalent of poison pen letters. How many bloggers would be happy for their wives or employers to know precisely what they have been writing?

The time has come for the game's ruling bodies to initiate a national "Online Respect" campaign designed to modify an uncomfortably harsh climate of web ranting.

Richard Bevan, the impressive chief executive of the League Managers Association, could be the right man to coordinate a project which might involve David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Fabio Capello reminding everyone that cyber bullying is sad. Steven Taylor may even be persuaded to explain what being a victim feels like.

Naive idealism? Well, things change. When I lived in Beirut, Lebanon was on the brink of civil war. Today it's peaceful, welcoming and most travel writers' "hot" new destination for 2010.

Article about internet forums, the Guardian have deciced we are all hooligans :-)

[john@staustell]

Many football hooligans have switched from the grounds to the internet
Anonymous cyber bullies are seeking to trash the reputations of players, managers and others in the sport

The Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill whose future became the centre of of a whirlwind of internet rumours. Photograph: Andrew Fox

As a small child I lived in Lebanon for a while. At my strict Beirut school, talking, uninvited, during lessons invariably led to a strip of Sellotape being stuck across your mouth.

Punishments can rarely have been more effective; quite apart from instantly silencing miscreants, the pain of the tape's eventual removal – it hurts – proved a disincentive to reoffending.

The deployment of such a brutally old-fashioned classroom calming device would cost teachers their careers today but you sometimes wonder if the general concept might not be ripe for adaptation elsewhere.

If only certain football fans' fingers could be tightly gaffer-taped together whenever the urge to begin blogging or tweeting about their latest bête noire overtook them, the world might become a nicer – and saner – place.

While the internet remains a wonderful invention, football supporters and the web are an increasingly noxious mix. With stewards and police no longer turning persistently deaf ears to racist or homophobic abuse inside grounds, a warped, and militantly vociferous, minority have moved from shouting venom to typing toxic thoughts before pressing Send.

Others, meanwhile, simply prefer making hi-tech mischief. There have been two notable recent examples of such trends. At Newcastle U***d the alleged altercation between Andy Carroll and Steven Taylor, which left Taylor nursing a doubly broken jaw and feeding through a straw, prompted a surfeit of septic, completely unfounded, rumours on some Newcastle supporters' sites.

If Newcastle's enduring, ill-advised, silence on the Taylor-Carroll affair is a pollutant at the heart of an otherwise renascent club, Aston Villa were dumbfounded last week when fans' forums began buzzing with chatter concerning Martin O'Neill's supposedly imminent departure in the wake of Villa's 7-1 thrashing by Chelsea.

All it took was a post beginning: "I don't know if this is true but ..." on VillaTalk for the rumour to develop "legs" long enough to ensure its replication on national radio stations and newspaper websites.

When the furore subsided and the manager was discovered to be still wearing a Villa tracksuit, O'Neill asked a pertinent question. "Really, is this how the media works?"

His subsequent self-proclaimed ignorance about the blogosphere's existence and a laptop's basic functions may appear disingenuous but it is not entirely implausible that O'Neill has better things to do than fritter time online.

Other managers are simply too obsessed with downloading their beloved Prozone stats first-hand to remain computer illiterate. Once logged on, few can resist a little surfing and often find monitoring fan opinion becomes an uncomfortably compulsive reading habit.

Frequently, it is also a recipe for understandable depression. There is an unfairness inherent in seeing people ridiculed and their reputations trashed by anonymous, factually challenged, half-wits who would probably never dare say "boo" to the object of their vitriol's face. Even worse, the suspicion is that witch-hunts are sometimes manufactured by the same numbskull submitting multiple comments via different usernames.

Constructive criticism is healthily democratic but a cross-section of football fan sites contain far too many posts which seem not merely worryingly childish but cruel and, often, cringe-inducingly crude.

With contributors shielding their true identities by hiding behind silly names such as BeansOnToast or BigCheese and many forums unmoderated or slackly policed, they are also cowardly. A modern equivalent of poison pen letters. How many bloggers would be happy for their wives or employers to know precisely what they have been writing?

The time has come for the game's ruling bodies to initiate a national "Online Respect" campaign designed to modify an uncomfortably harsh climate of web ranting.

Richard Bevan, the impressive chief executive of the League Managers Association, could be the right man to coordinate a project which might involve David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Fabio Capello reminding everyone that cyber bullying is sad. Steven Taylor may even be persuaded to explain what being a victim feels like.

Naive idealism? Well, things change. When I lived in Beirut, Lebanon was on the brink of civil war. Today it's peaceful, welcoming and most travel writers' "hot" new destination for 2010.

Article about internet forums, the Guardian have deciced we are all hooligans :-)

Hell, I´d better change my user-name or the Guardian´s liberal, fluffy-bunny, everybody-is-nice thought police will track me down!

[Chinners]

Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez charged over ‘lying’ comments
Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez charged over ‘lying’ comments Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez has been charged by the Football Association with improper conduct following his comments about referee Stuart Attwell after his side’s clash with Manchester City.
The Latics boss was furious with Attwell’s decision to send off defender Gary Caldwell for a challenge on Carlos Tevez.
The match was delicately-balanced at 0-0 at the time of the dismissal, after which City went on to win 3-0.
The Latics manager argued that Attwell made a decision on an incident he did not see and accused the official of ‘lying’.
Martinez said: "Gary said he went in really strong and got the ball. Carlos Tevez saw it and jumped off the ground, he is the one who left both feet.
"We are all human beings and we all make mistakes but to give a decision after something you don't see, that is lying. You are making it up. That is hard to take.
"He (the referee) said he saw Gary Caldwell with both feet off the ground. That's why he gave the red card. But Gary Caldwell only went with one foot. That is a real injustice."
The Football Association gave Martinez until 6 April to give his side of the story.
Martinez subsequently said he would not appeal against the decision or Caldwell's three-match ban because Attwell's interpretation of the incident had changed.

TIP TOP KEEPER BOLLOX
Gianluigi Buffon edges closer to Manchester City move as Juventus look to pip Manchester United to Hugo Lloris
Manchester City are being tempted with a move for Gianluigi Buffon that could have the added bonus of shattering Manchester United's hopes of signing Hugo Lloris.
Despite public denials, it is believed that Juve are prepared to sell ageing Buffon to City to fund a move for 23-year-old France international Lloris.
Lyon No 1 Lloris has impressed Sir Alex Ferguson as the Manchester United boss looks for a long-term successor to Edwin van der Sar, who has signed on for another season at Old Trafford.
Schalke's Manuel Neuer, CSKA Moscow's Igor Akinfeev and Atletico Madrid's David de Gea have also caught Ferguson's eye, but Lloris has emerged as the one of the most consistent performers in Europe over the last 18 months.
United considered offering wayward Brazil midfielder Anderson in part exchange for Lloris in January.
However, Juve could scupper United if they go to Lyon armed with cash from off-loading Buffon, who has come in for criticism during a a disappointing season for the Serie A giants.
City boss Roberto Mancini is an admirer of Buffon, considered by many to have been the best goalkeeper of his generation.
But the Italian boss must decide whether it is worth splashing out on the 32-year-old when he already has a consistent performer in Shay Given.
In any case, it is unlikely Juve would raise anywhere near the £32million they want for their former Parma star.
The Turin side could compromise, however, as they seek to raise funds to re-model their side.
They are also keen on Arsenal striker Robin van Persie, among others, and are prepared to offer Brazil midfielder Felipe Melo in part exchange. Mail

Roberto Mancini plans talks with Joe Hart over Manchester City future
The Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, admits he faces a dilemma regarding Joe Hart.
The Italian plans to hold talks with the 22-year-old goalkeeper at the end of the season once his successful loan spell with Birmingham ends. Hart, who has been ruled out of the match at Eastlands on Sunday as it is against his parent club, is enjoying an impressive campaign. However, keeping both City's current No1, Shay Given, and Hart happy at the club may prove difficult.
"We have a very good goalkeeper at the club in Shay Given. Shay and Joe Hart are two of the best in the Premier League, and it is important to have two good goalkeepers," said Mancini. "The Premier League season is long, and if you are playing in the Champions League, as well as the FA Cup and the League Cup, then you need the players – you need two top goalkeepers.
"It is important that I speak with Joe in the weeks after the Premier League finishes, then we will see about next season. He has worked very well at Birmingham and he has developed."
Such has been Hart's good form at Birmingham he has been tipped to win a place in England's World Cup squad. Mancini added: "Joe could be at the World Cup – he is a good, young, strong goalkeeper. Capello knows him very well now, and if he decides on Joe, then that is a good choice. I'm happy for Joe that he's doing so well but I'm also pleased that he cannot play against us on Sunday." Guardian

[lets all have a disco]

Har har.


The Buffon stuff is cows massive hairy bollox.
NO WAY,more than likely we'd go for the Lyon keeper.


Then again we already have two TOP goalies,keep the wallet shut.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Many football hooligans have switched from the grounds to the internet
Anonymous cyber bullies are seeking to trash the reputations of players, managers and others in the sport

The Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill whose future became the centre of of a whirlwind of internet rumours. Photograph: Andrew Fox

As a small child I lived in Lebanon for a while. At my strict Beirut school, talking, uninvited, during lessons invariably led to a strip of Sellotape being stuck across your mouth.

Punishments can rarely have been more effective; quite apart from instantly silencing miscreants, the pain of the tape's eventual removal – it hurts – proved a disincentive to reoffending.

The deployment of such a brutally old-fashioned classroom calming device would cost teachers their careers today but you sometimes wonder if the general concept might not be ripe for adaptation elsewhere.

If only certain football fans' fingers could be tightly gaffer-taped together whenever the urge to begin blogging or tweeting about their latest bête noire overtook them, the world might become a nicer – and saner – place.

While the internet remains a wonderful invention, football supporters and the web are an increasingly noxious mix. With stewards and police no longer turning persistently deaf ears to racist or homophobic abuse inside grounds, a warped, and militantly vociferous, minority have moved from shouting venom to typing toxic thoughts before pressing Send.

Others, meanwhile, simply prefer making hi-tech mischief. There have been two notable recent examples of such trends. At Newcastle U***d the alleged altercation between Andy Carroll and Steven Taylor, which left Taylor nursing a doubly broken jaw and feeding through a straw, prompted a surfeit of septic, completely unfounded, rumours on some Newcastle supporters' sites.

If Newcastle's enduring, ill-advised, silence on the Taylor-Carroll affair is a pollutant at the heart of an otherwise renascent club, Aston Villa were dumbfounded last week when fans' forums began buzzing with chatter concerning Martin O'Neill's supposedly imminent departure in the wake of Villa's 7-1 thrashing by Chelsea.

All it took was a post beginning: "I don't know if this is true but ..." on VillaTalk for the rumour to develop "legs" long enough to ensure its replication on national radio stations and newspaper websites.

When the furore subsided and the manager was discovered to be still wearing a Villa tracksuit, O'Neill asked a pertinent question. "Really, is this how the media works?"

His subsequent self-proclaimed ignorance about the blogosphere's existence and a laptop's basic functions may appear disingenuous but it is not entirely implausible that O'Neill has better things to do than fritter time online.

Other managers are simply too obsessed with downloading their beloved Prozone stats first-hand to remain computer illiterate. Once logged on, few can resist a little surfing and often find monitoring fan opinion becomes an uncomfortably compulsive reading habit.

Frequently, it is also a recipe for understandable depression. There is an unfairness inherent in seeing people ridiculed and their reputations trashed by anonymous, factually challenged, half-wits who would probably never dare say "boo" to the object of their vitriol's face. Even worse, the suspicion is that witch-hunts are sometimes manufactured by the same numbskull submitting multiple comments via different usernames.

Constructive criticism is healthily democratic but a cross-section of football fan sites contain far too many posts which seem not merely worryingly childish but cruel and, often, cringe-inducingly crude.

With contributors shielding their true identities by hiding behind silly names such as BeansOnToast or BigCheese and many forums unmoderated or slackly policed, they are also cowardly. A modern equivalent of poison pen letters. How many bloggers would be happy for their wives or employers to know precisely what they have been writing?

The time has come for the game's ruling bodies to initiate a national "Online Respect" campaign designed to modify an uncomfortably harsh climate of web ranting.

Richard Bevan, the impressive chief executive of the League Managers Association, could be the right man to coordinate a project which might involve David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Fabio Capello reminding everyone that cyber bullying is sad. Steven Taylor may even be persuaded to explain what being a victim feels like.

Naive idealism? Well, things change. When I lived in Beirut, Lebanon was on the brink of civil war. Today it's peaceful, welcoming and most travel writers' "hot" new destination for 2010.

Article about internet forums, the Guardian have deciced we are all hooligans :-)

How's rumours on Internet "hooliganism"??

And I could say "Boo" to Beckham, no worries. I reckon I could handle myself against him. Not sure about Rooney though.

Credit for bringing Beirut into discussion about football Internet forums. That takes real journalistic skill.