It is the spy sensation of the century, or of the last couple of weeks anyway, in football at least. Just who paid for a cameraman to fly over Manchester United FC's Carrington training ground and film it? Uncivil aviation United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was understandably furious when he heard of the flights, which were taken by a number of different agencies. David Goddard of the respected British Geographical aerial picture firm was one of those, but told the Daily Mirror: "At no stage was I told by the client that this was the training ground of Manchester United. I checked the site on Ordnance Survey and Civil Aviation Authority charts for its status and any contentious issues. I checked with Manchester air traffic control to confirm there were no problems filming the site at Carrington. They were fully aware we were filming it." But a source close to Sir Alex admitted: "He was concerned about where the film was heading." However, Portsmouth FC manager Harry Redknapp, whose side were preparing for an FA Cup showdown with United, insisted he was not to blame. "If we want to check out Manchester United, we have a very scientific way of doing it," he said. "We go and watch them play." Computer love More skullduggery in Spain where a laptop belonging to Primera Divisi?n contenders Valencia CF has gone missing. The computer, which contains vital information on the team's daily work, has seemingly been stolen from the club offices, possibly by someone with flying goggles and a DVD labelled 'Carrington secrets'. Goalkeeping coach Emilio ?lvarez went as far as going to the Valencia TV station, Canal 9, to appeal for the return of the device. "Whoever turns the computer in will be rewarded because I'm willing to pay to get the files back," he pleaded. Summers holiday Well that is enough gloomy news about the state of the continent, here is a tale from Cyprus to warm the heart of even the hardest laptop-stealing spy cameraman. As it seems that not only does tourism fuel the economy of the island, it appears that it is also benefiting local football. A Scottish teenager by the name of Iain Summers was on holiday in the resort of Larnaca with his mum Diane, and was invited to a kickabout with some local boys. But the 16-year-old from Fraserburgh was unaware that his new chums were in fact the youth squad of local champions Apollon Limassol FC. So much did he impress the coach that Summers was invited for a four-month trial. Summers admitted: "I got a big shock when they told me who they were. It's like a dream come true." An Apollon spokesman added: "If we think that a certain individual has potential we will invite them for a trial and this is exactly what has happened in this case." Table manners Middlesbrough FC have also looked abroad for a new signing, Korean striker Lee Dong-Gook, but his special talents seem to be putting an end to a squad tradition. On his arrival for a ten-day trial, Lee impressed not only with his footballing skills, but his ability on the table tennis, er, table. New team-mate Andrew Davies said: "The first day Lee came into the training ground the manager brought him into the dressing room and explained it was where the lads are - he pointed straight at the tennis table and said 'ping-pong!'. They were his first words. It was funny. It was like he wasn't bothered about what else was going on, it was the table tennis he wanted. Then we saw why. He started playing with his agent and it was unbelievable; we think we're good but he just ripped it up. It was like a machine. He looks like he has a lot of talent - his table tennis is awesome. I haven't played against him, I think I'll give that one a miss. We always have little competitions, we have done for a couple of years, but I think that's gone now, nobody wants to play him after watching that. He is that good. Source:uefa.com
