Week in, week out

LUDICROUS? YOU BETFor most commuters, hopping on the bus can be a cheaper option than taking the train. Not so for Stoke player Matthew Etherington who has revealed that on the road card schools involving himself and his old West Ham colleagues ended up costing some players as much £20,000.

The winger has admitted to running up gambling debts of around 800,000 and reckons he has lost somewhere in the region of 1.5 million as a dangerous addiction took hold.

"I managed to pay off some debt but there was still some outstanding, about 800,000," Etherington told the Mail on Sunday. "But I lost more than that in all. About 1.5million. Definitely.

"There were card schools at West Ham and it did get a little bit out of hand. People were taking three, four, five grand on the bus with them.

You could win 20 grand or lose 20 grand on a single journey, which is ludicrous."

Etherington, 28, revealed he was asked by family members to seek help for his addiction and he has attended Gambling Anonymous meetings.

NOT SO EASY JET

Tartan Army fans may have their fingers hovering over budget airline websites next week as the dates for the forthcoming glamour ties against Spain in the Euro 2012 qualifiers are decided – but they may find they have their work cut out guessing the venue.

Unlike Scotland, the Spanish national team spread their home fixtures out across the country and have used a remarkable 17 different stadia during their last five qualifying campaigns. The list of venues reads: 2010: Murcia, Albacete, Madrid (Real), La Coruna, Merida. 2008: Badajoz, Madrid (Real), Mallorca, Oviedo, Madrid (Real), Las Palmas. 2006: Santander, Almeria, Valencia, Valencia, Madrid (Atletico). 2004: Albacete, Leon, Zaragoza, Elche. 2002: Madrid, Alicante, Oviedo, Valencia.

The Spanish FA are under no obligation to name which stadium they plan to use until nearer the date of the tie.

WILLIE MILLER RETURNS

Handing in misleading team-lines appears to be the order of the day at the moment with Motherwell's Craig Brown and Aberdeen's Mark McGhee opting to recreate past memories.

Brown listed the likes of Joe Wark and Willie Pettigrew in his mock line-up against Rangers last Wednesday with McGhee hitting back against claims that he would be playing a weakened side against Celtic by listing the club's record goalscorer Joe Harper and Director of Football Willie Miller on theirs. Given Celtic's defending on Saturday perhaps it was they who should've listed legendary centre-back Miller on their team-sheet.

GRID IRON GUMPTION

Despite never having played professional 'soccer', Cincinatti Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco is confident he can take his talent to Spain's La Liga if the NFL experiences a work stoppage following the 2010 season.

"this isnt a joke either, i am sad that it might come to this but excited to play futbol in SPAIN until we resume NFL play," he boasted on his Twitter website.