Football Notebook

Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison has found a few different ways to grab the limelight in the past week.

Palace manager Alan Smith showed a nice touch when his side were preparing for the Liverpool clash at their Beckenham training ground. The Palace groundsman approached several frozen photographers with a pot of tea. "The manager thought you all looked a bit cold and could do with a nice cuppa," he said.

Eriksson's musical tastes are quite diverse. He likes choral music, classical and also - it's obligatory in Sweden - owns Abba's greatest hits CD. To make him feel at home on Saturday, West Ham played Abba on the loudspeaker. But perhaps it wasn't all that wise to select The Winner Takes It All as the first song to follow a disappointing 2-0 home defeat.

The FA's new HQ in Soho Square have brilliant press facilities and are ideal for the younger members of staff for socialising after work, but the older members have been heard muttering about "bloody parking problems" and the security system at the door. But Sven will be all right. The chauffeur has to park his Volvo.

Will English referees copy the Spanish and wear advertising on their shirts? In a four-year deal approved by FIFA, Spain's men in black will carry the name of broadcasting network Quiero. The English sponsors would be queuing up - Boots Opticians, Dollond & Aitchison, VisionCare . . .

Carl Cort of Newcastle made the news after being exposed for having sex with a topless model seven days before his wedding.
Still, it's a relief to know that Rachel Rollins - "her 34D bust heaving with sobs" said the News of the World - did not target Cort just because he was a £7 million star. "I'd no idea he was a footballer, I thought he looked like a drug dealer," she heaved and sobbed.