Football Notebook

David Beckham, doncha just love him.

Sky showed the reactions of their commentary panel to Beckham's equaliser against Greece. Richard Keys clenched his fists, Alan Shearer clapped and Trevor Francis leapt on to a cheering Michael Owen's back.
It would have been good to see Gerard Houllier's expression at that moment as he contemplated the benefits of having a middle-aged manager put strain on those delicate Owen hamstrings.

Modest chap Peter Withe says he has been so successful as Thailand coach that he can't walk about without being stopped all the time for autographs.
Withe - you know, the lumbering old Aston Villa striker with the dodgy beard - says he is feted for introducing his own sophisticated brand of football. He explained: "Thais are not naturally aggressive but I tell my players the ball is there to be won and if the man is in the way then that's tough but that's life."
Sadly, things have hit a snag. The team have no official backer anymore and Withe adds: "They are waiting to find a sponsor specifically for me."
It was Withe, of course, whose own brand of disciplinarianism went down so badly as manager of Wimbledon in the early 1990s.
Yes, but who would have guessed that the Crazy Gang somehow might object to be being told that they should not wear jeans but should turn up for training in blazers and ties?
If only Man at C&A were still going, they might sponsor the hero of Thailand.

Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman are becoming the Abbott and Costello of England squads. Pop singer Elvis Costello has his own take on their relationship: "I was out for Sunday lunch with my mum once and we bumped into Robbie and Steve. Robbie was kind of sullen.
"He was just coming back from injury and my ma got on to him, saying: 'Are you all right, are you looking after yourself ?' He was all shy and taking it. It was like a double act, with Macca having the lip.
"I am sure it was McManaman's idea to have the T-shirts supporting the dockers under their shirts. He was the one with the lip who can talk his way out of it and always gets the quiet one in trouble."
Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson had a private word with the England players to tell them that the Steven Gerrard story would be breaking, saying that he understood people liked a drink but if they had to do it, then they should stay at home away from prying eyes.
Fowler and McManaman must have misinterpreted the message. Where were they drinking last Tuesday? A bar called The Living Room.

Good to see the Martin Chivers Tottenham Hotspur XI braving the wind and rain at Ilford Football Club on Sunday in a charity game against Valence United for the Tracey O'Hagan fund.
The Tottenham boys won 3-1 with John Pratt, Ralph Coates, Jimmy Neighbour, Jimmy Naylor, Marc Falco and Gary "Buddha" Brooke in the side.
Drunken footballers are always in the news but even some of the new crop of England bad boys did not manage John Pratt's feat of falling over on the way into the Cauliflower pub after the game.
After putting in an exemplary performance on the pitch, Pratt blamed the slippery conditions outside the pub for his ungainly tumble.

Only a few pages into Rodney Marsh's autobiography Priceless (Headline, £17.99) and there's a sentence to make you groan.
"Both my parents were products of the East End school of hard knocks," says Marsh. Cue the Monty Python 'Being born in a cardboard box is luxury' routine.
After some strange name-dropping from Marsh (the obligatory references to being pals with Phil Collins) there follows a rambling Chapter 14 - 'Plan? You Must Be Joking' - in which Marsh rants against Football Association chief executive Adam Crozier.
The former Fulham and Queens Park Rangers star, now a pundit on Sky's Soccer Saturday, says: "The Football Association believes that Sven-Goran Eriksson will be its saviour.
"But I think his appointment as England coach means the senior members of the FA should be sacked."
How not to capture the mood of the nation.

Brentford will be full to the rafters this Saturday afternoon with fans who have not paid to get in.
Brentford's Division Two match against Peterborough makes history as the first totally free League game and the home allocation for the 12,400 capacity has all been taken up.
There should be a great atmosphere as soon as the Griffin Park gates open from 1pm.
Stories about clubs ripping off their supporters turn up with depressing regularity in newspapers so well done to Brentford - who already sell Young Bees season tickets for under-17s for only £20 - for setting such a brilliant example.

West Ham are advertising in this month's edition of Museums Journal for a curator (salary circa £30,000) for their museum.
The museum is located under the new Dr Martens West Stand at Upton Park and the successful applicant must be educated to degree level and, presumably, have sufficient elbow power to shine up some very old medals.