That’s one of the reasons I really liked these pics of Nina; all sun and summery.

Check out Nina’s page here.

Inside the East Room, President Obama sent a flurry of jokes the midfielder’s way.

After calling the Galaxy, who won the MLS Cup last November, “the Miami Heat of soccer” and acknowledging Irishman Robbie Keane, Obama turned his attention toward Beckham, 37.

“We also have a young up-and-comer on the team, a guy named David Beckham,” Obama said. “I have to say I gave David a hard time — I said half his teammates could be his kids.”

He then turned to the midfielder.

“We’re getting old, David.”

Obama did take the time to praise Beckham, who came back from a spinal fracture midway through the season and a hamstring injury the week before the MLS Cup final.

“He is tough,” Obama said. “In fact, it is a rare man who can be that tough on the field and also have his own line of underwear.”

See the interchange here.

That doesn’t mean we’re a heartless bunch and we know that many crowd (and Sports Illustrated staffers) favourites don’t make the final cut. You only have to look at how beautiful some of the entrants that narrowly missed out – like today’s Babe Of The Day Elena Pappas – are to see exactly what I’m talking about.

To fill the days until we start introducing our Top 15 to you properly and rolling out some professionally shot images of them we’ve got images like these to get you through. You can thank us anytime you please.

Click here to view Elena’s Page.

Two rugby fans can each win five tickets!

To stand a chance to win, answer this question:
Which sports drink has SA Rugby chosen to hydrate Vodacom Super Rugby players?

To enter, answer the question correctly and include your details below.
Winners will be notified for ticket collection.

Terms and Conditions
The judges’ decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into. Prizes are not transferable and may not be converted into cash. Entry into this competition constitutes acceptance of the rules. Employees of Media24, sponsors, media partners and their immediate families and advertising agencies may not enter. Winners will be notified by telephone. The competition closes on 20 February 2012. No late entries will be accepted. By entering this competition, the winner indemnifies the organisers and all parties involved in this competition against all claims that may arise from the utilisation of the prize.

Competition Rules

1. This promotional competition is organised by Coca-Cola South Africa, a division of Coca-Cola Africa (Proprietary) Limited, and Media24 Limited (collectively “Promoters”).

2. The promotional competition is open to permanent residents and citizens of South Africa over the age of 18 years, except any employee, director, member, partner, agent or consultant or any person directly or indirectly who controls or is controlled by the Promoters and/or immediate family members of any employee, director, member, partner, agent or consultant of or person indirectly or directly in control or controlled by the Promoters, their advertising agencies, advisers, dealers, suppliers and bottlers of beverages identified by the trademarks owned by or licensed to The Coca-Cola Company, its affiliates and/or associated companies (“Disqualified Persons”).

3. By entering the promotional competition, all participants and winners agree to be bound by these rules which will be interpreted by the Promoters, whose decision regarding any dispute will be final and binding. The Promoters reserve the right to amend, modify, change, postpone, suspend or cancel this competition and any prizes (which have not yet been subject to a draw), or any aspect thereof, without notice at any time, for any reason which the Promoters reasonably deem necessary.

4. The promotional competition commences and ends on each of the respective dates, both days inclusive, for the following Vodacom Super Rugby matches;

4.1. Bulls vs. Blues at Loftus in Pretoria on 10 March 2012. The promotional competition commences on 6 March 2012 ends on 8 March 2012 at midday.

4.2. Sharks vs. Lions at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 10 March 2012. The promotional competition commences on 6 March 2012 and ends on 8 March 2012 at midday.

4.3. Stormers vs. Blues at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on 16 March 2012. The promotional competition commences on 12 March 2012 and ends on 15 March 2012 at midday.

4.4. Sharks vs. Reds at Mr Price Kings Park in Durban on 17 March 2012. The promotional competition commences on 12 March 2012 and ends on 15 March 2012 at midday.

4.5. Lions vs. Stormers at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on 24 March 2012. The promotional competition commences on 19 March 2012 and ends on 22 March 2012 at midday.

4.6. Bulls vs. Reds at Loftus in Pretoria on 24 March 2012. The promotional competition commences on 19 March 2012 and ends on 22 March 2012 at midday.

4.7. Stormers vs. Bulls at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on 31 March 2012. The promotional competition commences on 26 March 2012 and ends on 29 March 2012 at midday.

4.8. Lions vs. Crusaders at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on 31 March 2012. The promotional competition commences on 26 March 2012 and ends on 29 March 2012 at midday.

4.9. Bulls vs. Crusaders at Loftus in Pretoria on 7 April 2012. The promotional competition commences on 2 April 2012 and ends on 5 April 2012 at midday.

4.10. Cheetahs vs. Lions at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 7 April 2012. The promotional competition commences on 2 April 2012 and ends on 5 April 2012 at midday.

4.11. Cheetahs vs. Chiefs at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 14 April 2012. The promotional competition commences on 9 April 2012 and ends on 12 April 2012 at midday.

4.12. Lions vs. Bulls at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on 14 April 2012. The promotional competition commences on 9 April 2012 and ends on 12 April 2012 at midday.

4.13. Bulls vs. Brumbies at Loftus in Pretoria on 21 April 2012. The promotional competition commences on 16 April 2012 and ends on 19 April 2012 at midday.

4.14. Sharks vs. Chiefs at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 21 April 2012. The promotional competition commences on 16 April 2012 and ends on 19 April 2012 at midday.

4.15. Lions vs. Brumbies at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on 27 April 2012. The promotional competition commences on 23 April 2012 and ends on 26 April 2012 at midday.

4.16. Cheetahs vs. Highlanders at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 28 April 2012. The promotional competition commences on 23 April 2012 and ends on 26 April 2012 at midday.

4.17. Cheetahs vs. Western Force at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 5 May 2012. The promotional competition commences on 30 April 2012 and ends on 3 May 2012 at midday.

4.18. Sharks vs. Highlanders at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 5 May 2012. The promotional competition commences on 30 April 2012 and ends on 3 May 2012 at midday.

4.19. Sharks vs. Western Force at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 12 May 2012. The promotional competition commences on 7 May 2012 and ends on 10 May 2012 at midday.

4.20. Stormers vs. Cheetahs at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on 12 May 2012. The promotional competition commences on 7 May 2012 and ends on 10 May 2012 at midday.

4.21. Stormers vs. Waratahs at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on 19 May 2012. The promotional competition commences on 14 May 2012 and ends on 17 May 2012 at midday.

4.22. Cheetahs vs. Sharks at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 19 May 2012. The promotional competition commences on 14 May 2012 and ends on 17 May 2012 at midday.

4.23. Cheetahs vs. Waratahs at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 26 May 2012. The promotional competition commences on 21 May 2012 and ends on 24 May 2012 at midday.

4.24. Sharks vs. Stormers at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 26 May 2012. The promotional competition commences on 21 May 2012 and ends on 24 May 2012 at midday.

4.25. Bulls vs. Stormers at Loftus in Pretoria on 2 June 2012. The promotional competition commences on 28 May 2012 and ends on 31 May 2012 at midday.

4.26. Lions vs. Sharks at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on 2 June 2012. The promotional competition commences on 28 May 2012 and ends on 31 May 2012 at midday.

4.27. Stormers vs. Lions at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on 30 June 2012. The promotional competition commences on 25 June 2012 and ends on 28 June 2012 at midday.

4.28. Bulls vs. Cheetahs at Loftus in Pretoria on 30 June 2012. The promotional competition commences on 25 June 2012 and ends on 28 June 2012 at midday.

4.29. Cheetahs vs. Stormers at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 7 July 2012. The promotional competition commences on 2 July 2012 and ends on 5 July 2012 at midday.

4.30. Lions vs. Rebels at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on 7 July 2012. The promotional competition commences on 2 July 2012 and ends on 5 July 2012 at midday.

4.31. Sharks vs. Bulls at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 7 July 2012. The promotional competition commences on 2 July 2012 and ends on 5 July 2012 at midday

4.32. Sharks vs. Cheetahs at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 14 July 2012. The promotional competition commences on 9 July 2012 and ends on 12 July 2012 at midday

4.33. Bulls vs. Lions at Loftus in Pretoria on 14 July 2012. The promotional competition commences on 9 July 2012 and ends on 12 July 2012 at midday

4.34. Stormers vs. Rebels at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on 14 July 2012. The promotional competition commences on 9 July 2012 and ends on 12 July 2012 at midday.

5. There are 2 (two) prizes of 5 (five) grandstand tickets (“the Prizes”) to be won by each respective winner for each of the following Vodacom Super Rugby matches;

5.1. Bulls vs. Blues at Loftus in Pretoria on 10 March 2012.

5.2. Sharks vs. Lions at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 10 March 2012.

5.3. Stormers vs. Blues at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on 16 March 2012.

5.4. Sharks vs. Reds at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 17 March 2012.

5.5. Lions vs. Stormers at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on 24 March 2012.

5.6. Bulls vs. Reds at Loftus in Pretoria on 24 March 2012.

5.7. Stormers vs. Bulls at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on 31 March 2012.

5.8. Lions vs. Crusaders at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on 31 March 2012.

5.9. Bulls vs. Crusaders at Loftus in Pretoria on 7 April 2012.

5.10. Cheetahs vs. Lions at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 7 April 2012.

5.11. Cheetahs vs. Chiefs at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 14 April 2012.

5.12. Lions vs. Bulls at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on 14 April 2012.

5.13. Bulls vs. Brumbies at Loftus in Pretoria on 21 April 2012.

5.14. Sharks vs. Chiefs at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 21 April 2012.

5.15. Lions vs. Brumbies at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on 27 April 2012.

5.16. Cheetahs vs. Highlanders at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 28 April 2012.

5.17. Cheetahs vs. Western Force at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 5 May 2012.

5.18. Sharks vs. Highlanders at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 5 May 2012.

5.19. Sharks vs. Western Force at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 12 May 2012.

5.20. Stormers vs. Cheetahs at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on 12 May 2012.

5.21. Stormers vs. Waratahs at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on 19 May 2012.

5.22. Cheetahs vs. Sharks at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 19 May 2012.

5.23. Cheetahs vs. Waratahs at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 26 May 2012.

5.24. Sharks vs. Stormers at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 26 May 2012.

5.25. Bulls vs. Stormers at Loftus in Pretoria on 2 June 2012.

5.26. Lions vs. Sharks at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on 2 June 2012.

5.27. Stormers vs. Lions at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on 30 June 2012.

5.28. Bulls vs. Cheetahs at Loftus in Pretoria on 30 June 2012.

5.29. Cheetahs vs. Stormers at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 7 July 2012.

5.30. Lions vs. Rebels at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on 7 July 2012.

5.31. Sharks vs. Bulls at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 7 July 2012.

5.32. Sharks vs. Cheetahs at ABSA Stadium in Durban on 14 July 2012.

5.33. Bulls vs. Lions at Loftus in Pretoria on 14 July 2012.

5.34. Stormers vs. Rebels at DHL Newlands in Cape Town on 14 July 2012.

6. To stand a chance of winning one of the Prizes, participants must:

6.1. enter the competition via the website www.sportsillustrated.co.za the participant must answer the question “WHICH SPORTS DRINK HAS SA RUGBY CHOSEN TO HYDRATE VODACOM SUPOER RUGBY PLAYERS?, enter his/her contact details and submit the entry on the template provided.

7. The winners and their partners must be in respective city on the dates of the Vodacom Super Rugby matches, as the Prize does not include travel costs.
8. The Promoters will conduct a random draw from all the entries received to determine possible winners. Participants whose entrees have been drawn will be notified telephonically the day after the competition closes for each respective match.

9. Participants must be able to produce their original Identity Document in order to qualify to be declared a winner, failing which the Promoters shall randomly draw another entry.

10. Participants may enter the promotional competition as many times as they wish, however, participants are only eligible for one Prize under this promotional competition.

11. Winners must give the Promoters a date and time when the Prize will be collected and the Prizes will be handed over personally by a representative of The Citizen Newspaper after the winner has been verified. Winners may collect the Prizes from the nearest Citizen Newspaper and participants must produce their original Identity Document before the Prize will be handed over.

12. Entries which are unclear, illegible or contain errors or from Disqualified Persons will be declared invalid.

13. If the Promoters are unable to reach any person after drawing his/her entry for whatsoever reason, such person will be disqualified and the draw of a replacement entry shall take place in the same manner as the first draw.

14. The Prizes are neither transferable nor redeemable for cash and the Promoters are not liable for any defect in the Prizes. The Promoters reserve the right to substitute Prizes with any other prize of comparable commercial value.

15. Should any dispute arise in relation to the interpretation of these competition rules, the Promoters’ decision shall be final and no correspondence shall be entered into.

16. All participants and the winners, as the case may be, indemnify the Promoters, their advertising agencies, advisers, nominated agents, suppliers and bottlers of beverages identified by the trademarks owned by or licensed to The Coca-Cola Company, its affiliates and/or associated companies against any and all claims of any nature whatsoever arising out of and/or from their participation in any way howsoever in this promotional competition (including, as a result of any act or omission, whether as a result of gross negligence, misrepresentation, misconduct or otherwise on the part of the Promoters and/or use of the Prizes).

17. The Promoters will require the winners to complete and submit an information disclosure agreement and indemnification to enable the Promoters to ensure compliance with these rules and the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008. Should any winner refuse or be unable to comply with this rule for any reason, such winner will be deemed to have rejected the Prizes and it shall revert back to the Promoters.

18. The Promoters may require the winners be identified, photographed and published in printed media, or to appear on radio and television, when accepting their Prizes and/or after having received their Prizes. The winners will be given the opportunity to decline to the publication of their images and to participate in the Promoters’ marketing material in so far as it relates to the Promotional Competition.

PATRICK VIEIRA IS planning for the future, but he thinks, just for a second, of the past. “Did you see the last Champions League final?” he asks, eyes gleaming. “Barcelona won it with eight players who had come from their academy. Eight! For me, that is the perfect way to do things. They are the team to follow.”

Vieira wouldn’t be the first person to be enchanted by Barcelona’s success. They are loved by supporters from all over the world, who are attracted not just by their trophies, but by their style of play and footballing philosophy. But for the club for which Vieira now works – Manchester City – Barcelona’s model is not something to be envious of. It’s a blueprint to be improved upon.
Vieira’s brief these days is to bring a little of his World-Cup-winning experience to a club aspiring to its own slice of Champions League glory.

Since retiring last summer, he has taken on the role of football development executive at Manchester City. It’s perhaps a surprise move for those who more readily identified him with his long career in Arsenal’s midfield, but it’s a natural progression for Vieira himself.

“I was only here 18 months as a player, but I really felt at home,” he says. “There was a great atmosphere, a belief that we could be up there with the best. I wanted to be in a place where I could bring my experience to a club that is doing the right things, that feels it has a duty to the community. It’s about giving kids at our academy the right environment, not just to play for the first team, but to win the biggest honours in the game.

“The thing is,” he smiles, “Barcelona have been working this way for 30 years. We’ve only just started at City.”

He has a point. Since Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bought the club in September 2008, City have been completely transformed. The financial fears are over, and relegation a thing of the past – it has been replaced by genuine aspirations, not just for the Premier League title but for the Champions League as well.
Could Manchester City be the English Barcelona? The early phases of the takeover didn’t suggest it could be. Indeed, the first year didn’t appear to be appreciably different to the situation at many football clubs purchased by flamboyantly ambitious foreign owners. There were the hugely expensive, statement-of-intent purchases of star players who didn’t quite work and have since left – Robinho for £32.5m, Craig Bellamy for £14m, Wayne Bridge for £12m. The club only managed a modest 10th position on the 2008/09 English Premier League log, while the incumbent manager, Mark Hughes, lasted until December 2009 before being replaced by the more high-profile Italian, Roberto Mancini (who, incidentally, made Vieira his first signing). So far, so Chelsea.

And yet, spend a day behind the scenes at Manchester City, and it’s quite clear that what animates everyone, from the owners down to the community workers (and one in six staff work in the community in some way), isn’t whether Manchester City win the Premier League this year, but how the club develops over time. And most importantly, how it becomes one of the top clubs in the world while maintaining a close sense of identity and kinship with its fan base. At its old home at Maine Road, the season ticket holders, players and celebrity fans all mingled together, and while of necessity things have moved on, the ethos of the fans being close to the club is carefully maintained.

“You hear football owners talk about long-term aims, but it’s very rarely acted upon,” says Jon Stemp, the chief infrastructure officer. This is the man presiding over the construction of The Etihad Campus, which will become arguably one of the finest sporting facilities for the development of talent in the world, from kids to first-team level. “We’re very lucky that we have owners whose day jobs are all about figuring out how to make the UAE a solvent, self-sustaining place when the oil runs out in 50, 60 years’ time. They are thinking about the long term in everything they do.”

It’s not surprising, then, that it irritates chief football operations Officer Brian Marwood when events such as Manchester City’s recent exit from the Champions League at the group stage are cast as some sort of disaster. “People forget where we were,” he laughs. “We were playing Bayern Munich, Napoli, Villarreal, all teams with significant CL experience. And not so long ago our fans were standing on the terraces at Gillingham, Macclesfield and Lincoln in League 1. So we have come a long way in a short space of time. I do accept that expectations are a lot higher, but it’s unusual to finish with 10 points and not qualify. It was a disappointment rather than a disaster.”

Of course, it was during a Champions League game that Carlos Tevez had his much-publicised fall-out with Mancini – their frosty relationship is now in the process of thawing. Mancini’s reign has been intriguing: there are big personalities in his dressing room, yet rather than let them all have free reign on the pitch, in his first two seasons he focused on making City difficult to beat rather than particularly exciting. “I like 1-0 wins,” he smiled at a pre-match press conference in January 2011. Perhaps that wasn’t surprising from a man who won the Italian Scudetti three times in a row with Inter, where defensive solidity is prized above all other attributes.

The regime has sometimes been tough. Mancini has often talked of needing “good men” rather than simply good players. But such strong, unwavering management – which not every player has agreed with – has brought respect. Which is why the FA Cup win last year was so crucial. It wasn’t just a return on the owner’s investment – it was a reminder that Mancini’s methods work. As Tevez, Bellamy and Emmanuel Adebayor learned to their cost, you cross Mancini at your peril.
And once Mancini’s authority was established with the FA Cup win and Champions League qualification, City became much more expansive and enjoyable to watch.

Sergio Aguero, at £38m, was certainly a lavish acquisition last July, but the Argentinian immediately changed the perception of City as a conservative side. He may have arrived in Manchester laden with the tabloid baggage of having Maradona as his father-in-law, but Aguero’s electric start to the season meant he was soon rather more famous for his striking talents than his domestic arrangements. It also helped that, far from being a flash footballer constantly pictured with his famous wife on his arm, he admitted that he was a family man who loved his work – a state of affairs City tend to insist on these days.

In the early phases of the season, it was Aguero’s link-up play with Spanish midfielder David Silva which fired City to their breathtaking start of nine wins and a draw from their first 10 games, scoring a staggering 36 goals in the process. But Aguero’s delicate touch in front of goal also benefited Edin Dzeko, who had endured a miserable opening season in English football, but suddenly began finding the net again. Mario Balotelli, too, began at last to make headlines for his footballing prowess. All, noticeably, players that Mancini has backed publicly.

True, since the turn of 2012 there have been hints that City have begun to revert to type, and 1-0 wins have become rather more prevalent as the pressure has ratcheted up. But it’s clear that Mancini has built a fearsome squad. A squad that, as Yaya Toure said before the season began, is a bit more like Barcelona. And he should know. He played for them.

“There are cycles in football,” says Vieira, “and for us I believe it started by winning the FA Cup. It gave us belief. And if you look at Nasri, Aguero, Dzeko… they are all between 24 and 26. So they are really young, which is really exciting.”

They also cost vast sums of money. To a certain extent such expensive acquisitions have lumbered Manchester City with the image of being United’s flash-with-the-cash, upstart neighbours – even though nobody could argue with the sheer beauty of their football when they thrashed United 6-1 at Old Trafford earlier this season. Any accusations of ‘buying success’, however, don’t wash with Marwood.

“I do laugh when people accuse us of that,” he says. “It’s not as if Manchester United have never spent any money. Berbatov and Ferdinand cost £30m each, Rooney was £26m. I do accept that we have spent a lot of money very quickly to get this club competitive. But actually, Joe Hart cost less than £1m, Micah Richards came through the youth system, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta and Adam Johnson were all pretty sound acquisitions at the price we paid for them.”

In fact, four of those five were already at the club before the change in ownership, but the argument still stands in the sense that they are all first-team regulars. And while the fans can be excused a little brashness after years without trophies, yo-yoing between divisions and watching city rivals Manchester United become one of the most successful teams of all time, it’s not really how the club itself operates.

Instead, the owners insist on respectful understatement in every area of the business. Stemp makes a point of explaining that, although the Etihad Campus looks fantastic, they don’t want to make a big deal of it. “Manchester used to export cotton to the world, and now it exports football,” he smiles. “But we try not to be too flash. Every sporting institution that works has a philosophy, and ours is about our community – the owners realised that you couldn’t homogenise and turn into something inauthentic. We have to remember our more humble roots.”

All of which might sound a little irrelevant to the armchair fan sitting in South Africa, waiting to be thrilled by the majesty of a mazy Silva run. But the thinking is, if you get the local community on your side, the matchday atmosphere is more intense and the stadium more colourful. It’s the Barcelona effect again: because they cast themselves as the club of the Catalan people, melding that to successful, attractive football, it created a brand that people wanted to be a part of, and shout about.

“The question you’re asking is: what do we want the world to feel about this football club?” says Stemp. “And the answer is to be found back in our local community. We were founded 130 years ago to stop local men drinking and fighting. So we believe it’s a peculiarly human club that hopefully people can connect to because they can see that we’re trying to be successful, but in an accessible and open way.”

And yet, such are the vagaries of football ownership that such lofty aims would mean very little if City finished halfway up the Premier League. They can insure against such a scenario by purchasing some of the world’s greatest players, but just as there’s always been the sense that Chelsea won’t be a truly global team until they win the Champions League, so the fortunes of Manchester City will always be at the mercy of another team of 11 men, kicking a football around.

“Everyone gets emotional about match day, understandably,” says Marwood. “But if you get drawn into continually reacting instantly after a game that hasn’t gone your way, you lose track of what you’re trying to do long term. I’m not saying for one moment that results and success aren’t important. But we’re very fortunate to have owners with a broader vision than getting carried away by one specific result.”

Ironically, one of their long-term aims could actually be realised in the next few months. Their first Premier League title is tantalisingly close, and with Yaya Toure back in the side after the African Cup Of Nations, it’s probably only Manchester United’s previous experience of winning titles that can prevent City’s upstarts from success. There will be nervy moments along the way, as there always are when the prize is within touching distance.

It’s a battle, essentially, between two clubs; one seeking to preserve their history, and one seeking to make it. Come the end of the season, the difference will probably be down to whether some of Manchester City’s incredibly highly-paid players are willing to go that extra mile for the cause that means so much to their fans.

“We had to pay a lot for these players because we were asking them to buy into a dream, rather than a trophy cabinet,” says Marwood. “In a young footballer’s career, three or four years is a really long time. But I would say to anyone who doubts their desire, spend half an hour with Vincent Kompany, James Milner, David Silva, Joe Hart, Micah Richards. They would very quickly see how passionate they are. There’s a fierce determination, shared by all of us, to create something special at this club.”

Come May, they might well have done just that.
By Ben East

So please forgive me if I’m fairly brief with you.  This is Julie Jonker who unfortunately didn’t make the Top 15 or feature on the site during the first phase of the competition, but who certainly is deserving of appearing here today as NMS Babe Of The Day #7.

View Julie’s Page here.