http://www.sportwithoutspin.com Rumour-busting, chat-spotting, plain-talking sport Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:49:02 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en John Cross is up to his usual trick of forgetting things that he has put his name to in the Mirror this morning. Today his subject matter is Cesc Fabregas. Droning on about Cesc Fabregas needing now to show some loyalty to Arsenal after the summer saga with Barcelona, there's ... http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/07/29/living-in-a-pre-contract-wonderland/ Royston Drenthe, the 23 year-old Dutch left-back on the fringes of the Real Madrid squad, is ripe for a transfer rumour. And the rumour is a fair sight easier to muster when he does all the hard work for you. According to his Facebook page, it appeared that a deal ... http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/07/28/royston-drenthe-and-fact-checking-his-liverpool-move/ He won the World Cup on Sunday. He went out on a big celebration in Madrid on Monday. And on Tuesday, apparently, he stopped to talk to The Sun and give them juicy quotes for their article on Wednesday. Wait, that doesn't sound right. And neither do the words in ... http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/07/14/the-ashley-cole-summer-transfer-rumours-seem-to-have-their-origin-in-the-uk/ It appears that the World Cup is a good place to bury bad rumours. And to fill the column inches with inane 'if x happens and y happens then z will happen assuming a-w has already happened which it probably won't have' speculation, enter Simon Jones at the Daily Mail: Manchester ... http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/06/14/risible-rumour-of-the-day-raul-to-manchester-united/ Jose Mourinho's going to Madrid, apparently. It's something we're all going to have to face up to. And that's good, because he'll have an even bigger platform to say stuff, which he is as good at doing as he is at winning trophies. Stuff like, for instance, this about Cristiano ... http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/05/27/mourinho-and-ronaldo-what-might-possibly-have-changed/ Mourinho: Still Inter winning things As seemed inevitable, what looks increasingly like Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan swansong was a hit, winning their first European Cup since 1965 and enhancing his credentials further as arguably the most gifted, some (he) might say special, one of all the managers in the modern game.  ... http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/05/25/sports-thoughts-from-the-weekend-32/ Thanks for this, John Cross. Thanks so much. This is what the Mirror brings you that no other newspapers in the world have bothered with: Real Madrid planning record-breaking £120m bid for Lionel Messi - World Exclusive We've often wondered if Leo Messi is the only player in world football who's completely ... http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/05/11/weak-world-exclusives-messi-to-real-madrid/ Be afraid, fans of all things English (and, um, Italian) - the Real Madrid bogeyman is coming in the night and he's going to take everything you hold dear away from you. The Sun knows, you see, and two of their brightest minds have brought you a world exclusive to ... http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/04/16/the-suns-rooney-and-capello-world-exclusive-that-weve-heard-before/ What started as an article in our Portuguese newspaper of the day, A Bola, gave an interesting insight into the revenue generated by Ronaldo's sale to Real Madrid. Sure, he cost £80m, but he was raking it back through shirt sales (Google Translate help us interpret the piece): Nobody pays as ... http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/04/15/ronaldo-shirt-sales-add-up-to-a-misleading-story/ [caption id="attachment_3546" align="alignright" width="262" caption="Manuel Pellegrini - Photo Universidad Catolica de Chile CCA"][/caption] It's been a few months since Real Madrid had a change of manager, so despite a league season to date which has seen just 2 draws and 3 defeats (and a goal difference of +52) it's open season ... http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/03/23/chaos-theory-explains-monsoon-of-real-fiction/