All bets are off

It's been quite a week for ex-Toon striker Michael Chopra, currently with Ipswich, who's come clean about the considerable extent of his gambling addiction. Chops admitted his penchant for a flutter had already landed him in debt before he left Tyneside for his first spell at Cardiff, where he was soon a well-known regular at the bookies down at Cardiff Bay, and it doesn't sound as though the issue's ever gone away. Here's hoping a spell at the Sporting Chance clinic will sort him out - it's the least we can wish for, for a Geordie lad who took just 15 seconds to score his only Newcastle league goal in a famous victory back in 2006.