Have you heard that Thursday is the new Friday! Apparently the tide is turning for the recognition of the nation’s new favourite day – and we like to think that this is in no small part down to ‘Euro 2008 Random Round Up Thursday’! The only place where you can pick up the most irreverent, (some might say) irrelevant Euro 2008 news – from us benevolent types at www.euro2008statistics.com, all in handy bite-sized chunks. 

Firstly; and ideal for all those budding Zicos out there - the enigmatic Wesley Sneijder has shared his free kick secrets with the world over on Netherlands.worldcupblog.org, ensuring that soon the world will be full of kids bending ‘em in from all over the pitch. “In pro football, the trick is to force free-kicks around the box” he states, confusingly – and follows up, offering the words of his mentor Ronald Koeman… “Aim between the second and third man in the wall. [I tried it and] the result was amazing! Nine out of ten went in.” So try that…

Meanwhile, over on eatsleepsport.com comes the news that after a season on and off the substitutes bench, Andreas Iskasson is looking to move on to find first team football. Obviously annoyed after failing to dislodge number one Joe Hart, will Sweden’s number one be able to pick himself for up the tournament?

And talking of goalkeepers, we’re not entirely sure that Jens Lehmann is in the best frame of mind for the Euro 2008 tournament, even though he’s riding high on the statistical charts. Current Arsenal No.1 (and responsible for keeping the furious German on the bench) Manuel Almunia was heard to quote this of the curly-haired keeper “To have someone here who hates me is just amazing. I know he hates me. Every morning I wake up I know it is going to be the same. I’ve had to put up with it every day since he was out of the team and even before then. I wake up and I know what it is going to be like”

Finally – would you believe that our pals at soccerlens.com have received a letter from the erstwhile Steve McLaren in response to some of their less favourable comments about him over the year. A little bird tells us it may not be entirely genuine, but it’s certainly worth a read! One stand out line proceeds thusly: “I then discovered a player who was plying his trade in the USA who had the same name as the superstar I left out when I had first taken over. He was a similar player, probably not quite so good and a little bit older, but it was a masterstroke to select him as we went on to win four of our next six games with him playing.”

See you next Thursday!