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Is being a top four Premier League manager that difficult? We´re talking about Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool here.

Could it be the most overpaid job of all time? Do the top managers get too much respect for their achievements?

Roman Abramovich is paying new Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari an incredible GBP 5.5 million a year in the pursuit of a Champions League title and will back him with a war chest not witnessed since William IV sent the Duke of Wellington off to Waterloo.

Sure, the dead ringer for French Connection NYPD detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle´s got a decent CV, having landed the World Cup in 2002 with Brazil. But with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo in your side surely …

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Take note women of England! We have just been informed by a reputable news agency that the female population can indeed do their bit to support their men during Euro 2008. But English women may indeed breathe sighs of relief that England didn’t qualify. Why because they too may have felt the pressure to engage in a spot of naked footy action like the Austrian and German women who took it upon themselves to get ‘kitted out’ for the sake of their boys.

OK so it’s not quite Ethel and Mildred from Acacia Avenue, but a bunch of erotic actresses who lined up for Austria’s and Germany’s national anthems before a five-a-side beach footy match on the Danube in Vienna.

And …

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What is Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone up to we ask ourselves? One day we receive reports that he’s trying to deny a break away happening in the F1, the next he’s saying indeed it’s a possibility. So what is it to be then Bern? Or should the real question be: is Bernie Ecclestone the keeper of the knowledge? Is he drip feeding us in some kind of sadistic rite akin to something that Max Mosley president of F1’s governing body the FIA, would allegedly pay a bunch of prozzies for?

Perhaps, but we think not. Little Bernie maybe right to have a bee in his bonnet over the son of British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley carrying on in alleged …

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Another event in the hugely popular Amateur Poker Association and Tour concluded at the Fitzwilliam Casino and Club in Dublin on Sunday night. Regular readers may recall that the APAT offers an affordable introduction to the world of bricks ‘n mortar tournaments, with a buy in of £75 and no fee deducted by the casino.

The format obviously suits Welshman Darren Shallis. By winning Sunday’s Irish Amateur Championship and accepting £3k slice of lolly, he registers his third final table finish on the tour. Although it is his first gold medal award, his belt is also stuffed with a 10th place at the Welsh Amateur Tournament and a 4th on the English Amateur event.

However, for every ray of sunshine there can …

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Oh my word there’s no stopping Rafael Nadal, he’s on a mission to dominate at Wimbledon after wiping the floor with Novak Djokovich, 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 in the Artois Final at Queen’s . And all this clean on the back of his French Open win a week ago.

Nadal is keen to rectify his clay-only image with some class grass action. The next match practice he’ll get will be courtesy of Marat Safin on Friday at the Fortis Tennis Classic at the Hurlingham Club. He said:

"I’m a little bit tired but I think with a few days rest I’m going to be ready for Wimbledon. And if not, it does not matter, because Wimbledon is very important and the motivation …

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We finally admit it; Euro 2008 is sticking in our throats like the fish bone that nearly sent our beloved Queen Mum on a one way ticket to the Big G. Aye we love football but there’s only so much we can take, maybe some of the names that we know and love in the Premier League have donned their national colours and we have that to console us, but it’s not the same.

So we sit here sulking and waiting, for that holy Saturday in August when it all begins again. Yes the start of the Premier League is what we hearken to, and as if by magic we have the fixtures here too.

All eyes will be on Big Phil …

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Has Sam Allardyce become a darts professional or what? Alongside Steve Ryder on ITV´s Euro 2008 coverage big Sam looks like he´d fit in a treat on the oche with that gold chain and shirt undone to the belly button. My sister´s best mate´s brother´s milkman reckons Sam has already signed a contract to become the new Blackburn manager.

And from his television studio portakabin in Austria and Switzerland there´s no doubt that he´s well placed to eye up a few summer signings for his new club.

The likes of David Villa, Ricardo Quaresma and Karim Benzema are all being quoted at silly prices but the Beat´s footy gurus have lined up three tournament crackers that would surely interest the likes …

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Or sittings!

We know no one likes looking at a list but we were so excited and also distracted by the lovely Bodog Girls at the Bodog Waterford Open 2008 that we totally forgot to give you the final standings. It’s no secret that Sean Prenderville took home the €18,000 top whack in the main event and bagged himself a nice little trophy into the bargain.

Nay we refer not to the two gorgeous girls like the ones who did the 3-day event proud, we mean the most hallowed of all things, the Waterford Crystal trophy, when in Rome and all that!

Enjoy…

€ 500 Main Event final standings

1: Sean Prenderville - €18,000
2: Willie Fitzpatrick - €14,000
3: Paul Quinn - €7000

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They say all good things must come to an end and it is with a tear in our eye (be that from sleep deprivation or staring at the Bodog Girls for far too long) that we bid adieu to the phenomenon that was the Bodog Waterford Open 2008.

Aye the proceedings are over, like a fine meal of shepherds pie and apple crumble with custard, the final plates have been licked! It’s over and this is what happened at the first (of many) Bodog sponsored events in Europe! The final day saw three events being tracked by our trusty poker news hounds: the 3 day €500 main event, the 2 day €250 side event and the one day €100 event which …

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