Football Notebook

Before getting too carried away about how football fans can now get over withdrawal symptoms following the summer break, consider this fact: In the 72 days from Wolves' win over Sheffield United in the First Division play-offs final on 25 May, to last night's round of friendlies, there were only five days in the summer without the beautiful game.
Football haters around the world were spared action only on 2, 4, 9, 24 and 25 June. Otherwise there were internationals, the Champions League final, Spanish League, the Toulon Tournament, South Pacific Games, Confederations Cup, InterToto Cup, Gold Cup, Asia Cup and an Orient v Tottenham XI friendly at Brisbane Road.
Ronaldinho and Veron have been tedious but the mother off all dull sagas has been Vieira's contract delays. Here are our summer highlights . . .

DOCTOR, DOCTOR . . . Lorenzo Amoruso told the Daily Record about an odd moment in his move from Rangers to Blackburn. The Italian said: "The only problem was in the medical when the doctor asked me, 'Are you a homosexual?' I told him he could look at my personal phone book and check it out for himself."

IN DENIAL . . . Millwall chairman Theo Paphitis had a great putdown about speculation linking Gazza with a move to The Den. Paphitis said: "We're not making any decisions on Paul Gascoigne until Bobby Charlton has definitely said whether he is coming here or not."

LOOK ON BRIGHT SIDE . . . Paul Merson talked up the delights of his new Division One team when he said: "I'm looking forward to meeting up with Walsall - they play total football here."

HEX IN THE CITY . . . Poor old Manchester City had an auction in July of Maine Road memorabilia. The tactics board went for a massive £5. Unused, you can bet.

NAAN YOU BELIEVE IT . . . Carlton Palmer, Notebook's favourite disaster-prone manager, is still out of luck. The curry restaurant he took his Stockport players to after games - which sold Palmer's Poppadams - was fined £9,000 by magistrates after pleading guilty to 13 food safety offences.

DREAM ON . . . Who would have guessed that, as Helder Postiga grew up in Povoa de Varzim, he wanted to play for boyhood heroes Tottenham. When they signed Bobby Zamora, his agent gushed on TV about Zamora the Spurs fan. It must have been another B. Zamora who said a year ago: "I might get the chance to play for West Ham again one day. I'd love to go back and score goals for them because that's my team."