EPL Gossip Friday February 26th
Portsmouth are officially broke as they enter into administration and in other news.
Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge quit England because of ex-Chelsea team-mate John Terry’s failure to apologise over his alleged affair with his former partner, Vanessa Perroncel.
Full story: Daily Mail
England coach Fabio Capello will try to persuade left-back Bridge to change his mind and join the Italian’s World Cup squad for South Africa this summer. (Various)
Everton left-back Leighton Baines is likely to benefit from Bridge’s decision to quit the national squad by being given a call-up to face Egypt in a friendly on Wednesday 3 March. First-choice left-back Ashley Cole is out after undergoing surgery on a broken foot.
Full story: Daily Star
Alternatively, Capello could turn to Aston Villa left-back Stephen Warnock, who has recovered early from a shin injury that threatened to end his season.
Full story: Daily Express
“Friends” of Terry claim Bridge has long been considered a “bottler” in the dressing room as the bad feeling between the pair shows no sign of abating. Full story: The Guardian
Another reason why I always liked Ricardo Carvalho over John Terry. Carvalho wouldn’t sleep with Paulo Ferreira’s ex.
Arsenal forward Theo Walcott is set to deputise for Tottenham’s Aaron Lennon on the right wing for England’s friendly against Egypt in five days time. Daily Mail
Will Theo Walcott end up only being know for his hat trick against Croatia? It’s been four years since he was tagged as the next big thing. You’d expect something more by now.
Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has returned from compassionate leave in Argentina following the premature birth of his second daughter, and is in contention to face Chelsea on Saturday. Daily Mail
Hope all the best for Carlos Tevez. Can’t imagine how stressful and tiring it is to fly from Manchester to Argentina and back while having the health of your daughter weighting on you.
Roberto Mancini’s tenure at Manchester City is coming under intense boardroom scrutiny for the first time after a run of two wins in eight matches. The Italian was only appointed to the City job in December last year. Daily Mail
Mancini didn’t help himself any with losing to Stoke in the FA Cup. With some of the big clubs out previously, Manchester City lost a great chance to finally pick up some silverware.