Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers, born 26 January 1973 is a Northern Irish former footballer turned manager.
Rodgers began his career as a footballer at Ballymena United before moving to Reading, where an injury forced him to retire at the age of 20. He stayed at Reading as a youth team coach before José Mourinho invited him to join Chelsea as the manager of their youth team in 2004. He was promoted to reserve team manager in 2006. In November 2008, he was appointed manager of Watford, before moving back to Reading as manager following the resignation of Steve Coppell in June 2009. He left the club by mutual consent in December 2009, and returned to management with Swansea City in July 2010. The following year, he led Swansea City to become the first Welsh team to win promotion to the Premier League, and guided them to 11th in their debut season.

As a player, Rodgers began his career in Northern Ireland as a defender for Ballymena United. He made twelve league appearances in three years before being signed by Reading at the age of 18, where he played in the reserves. His playing career was cut short at the age of 20 due to a genetic knee condition.
Managerial career

Watford
On 24 November 2008, Rodgers was appointed manager of Championship side Watford. It was his first managerial position, following on from spells in charge of the Reading youth team and Chelsea reserves. Watford won only two of their first ten league games, and were in the relegation zone by January. However, Watford's form dramatically improved, and Rodgers was able to guide them to finish 13th.
Reading
After Steve Coppell resigned as Reading manager, Rodgers quickly became the favourite to replace him. He later distanced himself from leaving Watford, stating his "concentration is fully on Watford". and that those linking him with other clubs were questioning his integrity. Rodgers agreed a deal to become the manager of Reading on 5 June 2009, after a compensation package of an initial £500,000 had been agreed, which rose to £1 million. The Watford Supporters' Trust stated that Rodgers' reputation was "severely damaged" in the eyes of the supporters, but the Trust did "thank Brendan for his efforts last season and wish him well for the future". On 11 August 2009, Rodgers got his first win as Reading manager with a 5–1 win over League Two team Burton Albion in the League Cup first round. Despite a good start, a very disappointing string of results followed, leading to Rodgers leaving Reading by mutual consent on 16 December 2009.

Swansea City
Rodgers was appointed as the manager of Championship side Swansea City on 16 July 2010. He got off to a winning start, and results were very positive, leading to Rodgers being awarded the Championship Manager of the Month Award for February 2011, after Swansea winning five out of the six league games they played that month, whilst keeping four clean sheets. By 25 April 2011, Rogers had managed to secure Swansea City's place in the Championship Play-Offs for promotion into the Premier League with a convincing 4-1 victory over Ipswich Town at the Liberty Stadium. On 16 May 2011, Rodgers led Swansea to the Play-Off Final after overcoming Nottingham Forest. He faced his old club Reading at Wembley on 30 May 2011, in a game which Swansea won 4-2 thanks to a hat-trick from Scott Sinclair, meaning Swansea became the first Welsh team to gain promotion to the Premier League.
Rodgers' first win as a Premier League manager came on 17 September 2011, when Swansea beat West Bromwich Albion 3–0 at the Liberty Stadium. Despite many predicting before the season began that Swansea were favourites to be relegated, their impressive season continued, as they picked up points against Liverpool, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, keeping them well above the relegation zone. In January 2012, Swansea claimed their first away win of the season at Aston Villa, a month which saw them beat Arsenal 3–2 at home and hold Chelsea to a 1–1 away draw, which earned Rodgers his first Premier League Manager of the Month Award.In February 2012, Rodgers signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract to keep him at the club until July 2015. Swansea eventually finished 11th in their debut season in the Premier League.

Personal life

Rodgers is married and has two children – a daughter and a son. His son Anton, who was born on his father's 20th birthday in 1993, is also a professional footballer with Brighton & Hove Albion. Anton played for Reading academy before moving in 2004 to the Chelsea academy where he signed scholarship forms in summer 2009, but was released in 2011. Brendan also has a daughter Mischa. He speaks Spanish and is learning Italian. In June 2011, in honour of his mother, who died in 2010, and his father, who died of cancer on 10 September 2011, Rodgers joined a team representing the Football League to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. Among the team was the man Rodgers succeeded as Watford manager, Aidy Boothroyd. His nickname is "Buck Rodgers", after the Buck Rogers character with a similar name.

Brendan Rodgers must keep Liverpool's congregation on side or risk drowning in whirlpool of fan discontent

Liverpool's two-week search for a new manager is likely to be concluded later today once owners Fenway Sports Group come up with acceptable compensation to take Brendan Rodgers from Swansea.

The Carnlough man was offered the job yesterday and his south Wales club have reluctantly allowed him to leave even though he only signed a new three-and-a-half-year deal in February.

However, the safety net of that contract means Swansea are likely to receive a pay-off of between £4million-£5million once terms are agreed in the next few hours.

Rodgers (39) is expected to sign a three-year contract and be presented as the successor to Kenny Dalglish on Friday.

Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins admitted he could not stand in the Northern Irishman's way, although he will insist on driving a hard financial bargain with the Reds.

"Following on from discussions with Liverpool's owners, Brendan has informed us that he would like to take up their offer to manage Liverpool," said Jenkins in a statement.

Most of this is just unfair. Can we be sure Martinez would have guided Swansea to 11th place in the Premier League table?
Would he have produced such dramatic improvement in players whose métier seemed to be the second and even third tiers? Maybe, but Rodgers should not have to surrender any credit for the inspiring nature of Swansea’s Barcelona-based system.
If this is how Liverpool end up playing, with the ball always passed from defence and great fluidity and enterprise in midfield, then they will have taken an evolutionary leap. But stylistic reinvention is never instant.
Fenway have returned to their founding principles of faith in youth and long-term thinking. For that to work they will have to resist the disaffection of fans who have lost touch with the reality of Liverpool’s league position.
The emperor Dalglish will no longer be gazing down from the stands. Or not as saviour-in-waiting, anyway. However much he wanted the job when Hodgson was appointed, he will respect Rodgers’ position and will not imagine himself riding to the rescue for a third time.
The job has changed entirely. Liverpool overpaid for Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing: a problem Rodgers has inherited.
At Swansea he relied on technique and aspiration to transform Championship players into Premier League artistes. This time he will either have to purge expensive acquisitions from Dalglish’s time or persuade them to buy into his Spanish methodology.
Carroll is not a Swansea kind of player. Unless he abandons his religion Rodgers will not want Liverpool to play through a target man. In South Wales, Danny Graham was more of a David Villa type.
There is also the familiar need for Rodgers to bring Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher onside. These elder statesmen remain the bridge to the future as well as the past. They can help Rodgers push through his changes just as Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes support Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
The brightest vision is of Rodgers lending Liverpool a new identity and purpose. But for him to have any chance the club’s following must avoid the 12-game premature grumbling syndrome that brings so many managers down. Once this starts it becomes self-fulfilling.

French Open 2012: Andy Murray battles back from a set down and a back injury to defeat Jarkko Nieminen

Andy Murray defied chronic back pain that from day one has threatened to derail not only his French Open campaign but may yet undermine his entire summer and advanced to the third round with an heroic, almost perverse, victory over Jarkko Nieminen.

He beat the 48th-ranked Finn 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 in two hours and 27 minutes on Thursday and, providing he is fit, plays the Colombian Santiago Giraldo on Saturday. On paper it is a straightforward match for the world No 4, although he might not know until shortly beforehand if he is fit enough to carry on in the tournament.

Indeed, it might be sensible to stop now. His chances of winning the title, never strong, are diminished, and he risks doing damage ahead of Wimbledon and the Olympic Games.

"I don't know how I won, to be honest," he said. "I had a bit of spasm, it hurt when I got up this morning and it was really bad 20 minutes after practice. I couldn't put any weight on my left leg.

"The guys were telling me to stop after the first set, and we spoke about it before the match [the possibility of retiring during play]. I just decided to play on. I felt a bit bitter, probably end of the second set. I thought, let's give it a go, chasing a few balls down. It's still fairly sore."

Murray might yet wonder if punishing his body in the early rounds is the best way to manage what is clearly a long-term injury that requires extended rest.

That said, this was one of his finest victories, where his mind dragged his body from the edge of defeat after only 10 minutes to a triumph which left his opponent utterly spent and confused.

Something similar happened here a year ago, when Murray turned his ankle against Michael Berrer, and Berrer later admitted that the situation "was making me so tight I couldn't really focus or think clearly".
Once Murray's legs began to move, he actually found himself striking the ball very well, even if it was difficult to change direction on the slippery clay. He won the last four games of the second set, then raced through the third in just 30 minutes. For all the early drama of the match, it turned into something of a towelling for Nieminen, and the final duration of 2hrs 27 minutes makes it sound almost routine.
It was a fine recovery from Murray, and it showed great reserves of courage, but the ITV commentator Jim Courier questioned whether it was the right decision to carry on.
"He's going to face a challenge in 45 minutes when the adrenaline wears off," said Courier at the end of the match. "I still believe he should have walked off the court, given the big picture.
"Winning this match doesn't do anything for his long-term chances to win this tournament. Physically he needs to be at 100 per cent health for what's ahead of him, not only this tournament but Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open.
"Coming into this tournament with a core problem, you get respect for keeping going, but in the long term you need rest. I've had a lower back problem and it doesn't help when you're turning and twisting and torquing your body.
"It needs solving and I don't know how he's going to solve it by doing this.

BAE Systems plans to cut 600 jobs at Glascoed, Monmouthshire

Defence giant BAE Systems is planning to axe more than 600 jobs and close a historic factory which made tanks for the First World War.

The firm said 330 jobs will be lost through the closure of the site at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, which is currently making Terrier vehicles for the Army.

The factory has been a defence manufacturing site since 1847, building a number of ships and employing tens of thousands of workers in its heyday.

Up to 280 jobs will also be lost at three BAE sites in Radway Green, near Crewe, Washington in the North East and Glascoed in South Wales under the proposals, as well as the prospect of 10 job cuts at the firm's head office in Farnborough, Hampshire.

BAE said the proposal to close the Newcastle site at the end of 2013 followed a business review which concluded that there was no prospect of new UK armoured vehicle manufacturing work once production of the Terrier ends next year.

The firm said the proposals now under consultation followed major efficiency improvements and reductions in the amount of ammunitions required by the Ministry of Defence.

Managing director Charlie Blakemore said: "We need to adapt to very challenging market conditions and further reduce our overheads to drive better value for our customers and increase our competitiveness in the export market.

The 1,000-acre site, near Usk, produces a range of munitions.

It started production in 1940 during World War II and the operation has around 700 buildings.

BAE has also proposed the closure of its Newcastle armoured vehicle site with the loss of 600 jobs.

Rehana Azam, national officer of the GMB union said: "BAE Systems have a highly experienced and skilled workforce and these job cuts are yet another blow to manufacturing.

"Representations are being made to MPs to see what can be done to retain skills within BAE Systems and in traditional industrial areas of the UK."

In 2008, the company signed a 15-year deal with the MoD to supply the UK armed forces with small arms and medium-calibre ammunition.

It also included mortar bombs, tank, artillery and naval gun shells, but not weapons such as guided missiles.

The contract safeguarded 1,700 jobs at three factories, including Glascoed.

The deal was initially worth about £2bn and the MoD hoped the contract would rise to a £3bn, depending on how much ammunition was ordered.

Frankie Dettori insists he has no plans to retire from racing

Frankie Dettori is no longer Godolphin's principal jockey. It has taken the racing world some time to digest this but the message has finally got home with the booking of Mickaël Barzalona to ride the team's sole runner in this weekend's Epsom Classics and it was confirmed on Wednesday by Godolphin's spokesman, Simon Crisford.


"Rides will be split across the board," he said in reference to the team's three jockeys, Dettori, Barzalona and Silvestre de Sousa. "They will all get equal opportunities. Frankie has to share the cake and he understands that."


Crisford discussed the signing of Barzalona and De Sousa in Dubai in March, when he said: "It's not like there's going to be a pecking order." He was understood to mean that the others would compete for second-string rides behind the Italian but his true meaning now becomes clear.


"We brought in two new, young jockeys and it is obviously important to give them opportunities," he said on Wednesday. "For years Frankie was our only retained jockey. We had other people who would regularly ride for us but it was an informal arrangement. These two jockeys are formally retained.


"I thought we made it reasonably clear at the time that, if any one of them struck up a winning combination with a certain horse, the chances are they are going to stay on that horse. Certainly that's Frankie's understanding of the situation.


It is the first time in 20 years Dettori does not have a ride in the Derby apart from in 2000 when he was recovering after being involved in a plane crash.
Goldolphin are not fielding a runner in the race and Dettori also lost out to Mickael Barzalona for the seat on Godolphin's only entry in tomorrow's Epsom Oaks, the unbeaten filly Kailani.
Barzalona and Silvestre de Sousa now rival Dettori for rides at Goldolphin.
He added: "I'm a soldier in a team. I do what I'm told. The boss has the power to decide who rides and I've been a good soldier for the past 18 years.
"Mickael got the ride in the Oaks on the word of the boss (Sheikh Mohammed) and Mahmood Al Zarooni.
"Nevertheless, I then got a call from Coolmore asking if I could ride in the Oaks. The boss said I could if I wanted to. As it happened nothing came of it but it shows I'm in demand."
Dettori has produced 13 winners in his 92 rides this season.

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Frankie Dettori

Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori, MBE, born 15 December 1970 in Milan is an Italian horse racing jockey and celebrity. Dettori has been Champion Jockey on three occasions and has ridden the winners of more than 500 Group races. He has had many successes in his role of stable jockey to Godolphin Racing. Dettori's most celebrated achievement was his riding of all seven winners on Champion's Day at Ascot in 1996. He is the son of Sardinian jockey Gianfranco Dettori, who was a prolific winner in Italy. He has been described by Lester Piggott as the best jockey currently riding,  and is considered by many experts as the best jockey of all time.

In 1990 Dettori became the first teenager since Lester Piggott to ride 100 winners in one season. His first win came at the age of 16 in Turin in November 1986, while his first victory in Britain was the following June. Further success followed, with numerous winners in Group 1 races. On 28 September 1996 he achieved the feat of winning all seven races on a single day at Ascot Racecourse.
In an interview with the BBC's Newsnight, he admitted that he used to take diuretic drugs to keep his weight down. Dettori said he had used a wide range of substances before the Jockey Club banned them in June 1998 after a spate of positive drug tests revealed how prevalent their use was becoming: "I took Lasix, pee pills, diuretics, laxatives; all sorts.
On 29 December 2000 he received an honorary MBE.
Dettori is the retained jockey for the Godolphin racing stables, and is well known for his distinctive "flying dismounts".
He quit his position as a team captain on the BBC quiz A Question of Sport in 2003, when he was apparently stung by a question from a participant as to when he retired from riding. Since that time he has completely rededicated himself to riding. He was rewarded for his new found dedication by becoming the British Champion Jockey in 2004.
The Epsom Derby was the only British Classic Race Dettori had not won in his career, until his fifteenth attempt on 2 June 2007 on the Peter Chapple-Hyam trained Authorized. The following day he won the Prix du Jockey Club on Lawman, notching up a derby double.
In 2007 Dettori became the face of "Jockey" yoghurt, sold across Europe, but especially popular in France. Controversial at first for its sweet flavour, Dettori's advertising campaign: "Frankie know whatta you alike!" – has seen sales rise slightly.

Personal life

Dettori has stated "I am 5 ft 4 inches and weigh 9 st 9 lb but I have to sometimes go down to 8 st 6 lb." 
Like many other jockeys and trainers Dettori lives near the Home of Racing in Stetchworth near to Newmarket, Suffolk with his wife Catherine and their five children Leo, Ella, Mia, Tallulah and Rocco.
An ardent Anglophile, he thrives on English culture: Dettori is an avid Arsenal supporter. He has a line of frozen Italian food. In 2004, he opened a restaurant, Frankie's Bar and Grill in Putney, London with renowned chef Marco Pierre White.
In 2000, Dettori and Ray Cochrane were aboard a Piper Seneca plane which crashed on take off at Newmarket on its way to Goodwood in Sussex, killing the pilot. Dettori escaped with a fractured right ankle and an injured thumb,and spent some weeks in Addenbrooke's Hospital.
Thieves stole many of his medals from his home on the evening of 25 August 2006. Items missing include three Gold Cups awarded in Japan, and his MBE.

Euro 2012: Frank Lampard faces crucial scan on injured thigh to determine whether he can travel with England

Tuesday lunchtime that Frank Lampard sat down at the England team hotel to discuss the possibility of a fourth international tournament and finally putting behind him the disappointments that have followed his career with the national team since his first big impact at Euro 2004.

There were the usual questions, as relevant now as they were at the 2006 and 2010 World Cup finals, such as whether he could play with Steven Gerrard in a central midfield pairing; whether he could adapt his game to be a more defensive midfielder in the twilight of his career; and whether, as he approaches his 34th birthday next month, he could add a medal with England to one of the most impressive collections in modern English football.

Today, Lampard goes for a scan on a thigh injury picked up in training yesterday morning that is all but certain to rule him out of Euro 2012. He may never get a chance to lay to rest the disappointments of the last two World Cup finals or win the 10 caps that would take him to a century for England. For a player who has won everything in the club game, it is a sad way to end a remarkable season.

At Stamford Bridge, he is adored as the man who epitomises the good times under Roman Abramovich more than any other player. Not least because he was picked up from West Ham 11 years ago for what now seems like a bargain £11m – although at the time it was a considerable investment – and became one of the most influential players of his generation.

England? Well, that aspect of his career is a bit different. There, the love affair has waned at times since his impact at Euro 2004 and the relationship with the more fickle elements of the support has not always been as strong. When he was left out of the team by Fabio Capello for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Bulgaria last September, despite the absence of Gerrard and Jack Wilshere, it looked like a pivotal moment.

Lampard, who turns 34 next month, said: "I did wonder if I was going to make it (the Euros) earlier in the season. I'm not silly. I wondered if I'd be out.
"I took nothing for granted at that stage and it just shows you how football can turn, not just for myself.
"A few in the squad might have been out of the picture a few months ago and now they are in the picture.
"I can only be thankful that I just kept going through those times."
Speaking this week, prior to his injury, he added: "Is it the last chance with England? Possibly. One day it might be taken out of my hands, so it's not an easy one to answer.
"I don't see myself retiring or taking myself out of it in the near future, so I wouldn't want to call it the last one necessarily.
"But I'm no fool and I know that age is a factor and, when you're at the top international level, you don't go on forever. Nobody does. I will take this as potentially one of my last chances.
"This year in the Champions League I had that same mindset. I didn't think it was my last year, but you know that it won't go on forever and it makes you appreciate it even more."
England face Belgium at Wembley on Saturday, which means a sight of Eden Hazard ahead of an anticipated move by the young Lille midfielder to Chelsea.
Lampard is expecting ''great things" of Hazard at Chelsea after receiving the seal of approval from Didier Drogba and Joe Cole.
Lampard said: "It's a very exciting time for the club and I'm looking forward to seeing what he's about.
"Everyone I speak to says he is a very top player, a very top young player.

Frank Lampard

Frank James Lampard, born 20 June 1978 is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side.He is considered to be one of the best English footballers of his time, and is widely regarded to be one of the best midfield players of his generation. Lampard is best described as a box-to-box midfielder known for "his work-rate, range of passing and goalscoring ability.
Lampard began his career at West Ham United, for whom his father Frank Lampard, Sr. had also played. He had secured a place in the first team by the 1997–98 season, and the following year helped the team finish 5th in the Premier League, their highest-ever Premier League placing. In 2001, he moved to rival London club Chelsea for £11 million.
From his debut onwards he was ever-present in the Chelsea first team, setting a record 164 consecutive Premier League appearances. He established himself as a prolific scorer at the West London club and was a key part of the sides which won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2004–05 and 2005–06 and a domestic cup double in 2007. He signed a new contract in 2008, becoming the highest paid Premier League footballer at that time, and scored in his first Champions League Final that same year. He won the FA Cup for the second time in 2009, scoring the winning goal in the final. In the 2009–10 season, Lampard won the Premier League title and FA Cup (domestic cup double) and also had his most prolific season with Chelsea, scoring 22 league goals and 17 league assists. In the 2011-12 season, Lampard captained Chelsea to their first UEFA Champions League title.
A three-time Chelsea Player of the Year, Lampard is the club's third highest all-time goalscorer with 186 goals in all competitions. Lampard is also one of five players, and the only midfielder, to have scored 150 or more goals in the Premier League. He is second in the Premier League's all-time assists table with 91 assists. He has had over 1400 successful passes and 10 or more assists every season. In 2005, Lampard was runner-up in both the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year and the 2005 Ballon d'Or. On 23 December 2009, he was named the Premier League's Player of the decade by official statistics.
Internationally, Lampard has been capped 90 times by England since making his debut in October 1999, and has scored 23 goals. He was voted England Player of the Year for two consecutive years in 2004 and 2005. He played in Euro 2004, where he was named in the team of the tournament after scoring three goals in four games. He was top scorer for England in their successful 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign with five goals, and played in the 2006 World Cup. He is England's most prolific penalty taker ever with 7 goals, surpassing the previous record holders, Ron Flowers and Alan Shearer.
He was named the 49th highest earning athlete in the world in June 2011.

In Chelsea's third Premier League match of the season, Lampard scored his first goal of the season and also provided an assist for José Bosingwa's opening goal, as Chelsea beat Norwich City 3–1.
After not featuring in Chelsea's 4–1 win against Swansea City on 24 September, Lampard returned to the starting lineup for their Champions League group stage game against Valencia netting an important opening goal in their 1–1 draw. Lampard continued his fine form by netting his fifth Chelsea hat-trick on 2 October, in a 5–1 thrashing of Bolton. In the eleventh round of the Premier League, Lampard scored the only goal of the match against Blackburn, with a diving header, giving Chelsea a win after two consecutive defeats. After starting the game against Manchester City on the bench, Lampard came on in the second half to score the winning goal from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute. Lampard again proved to be the match-winner again as he scored in the 89th minute against Wolves, with the match finishing 2-1 to Chelsea.
On 25 February 2012, Lampard scored his tenth league goal of the season in Chelsea's 3-0 win against Bolton, becoming the only player to score at least 10 goals in nine consecutive seasons in the Premier League and his 149th all time league goal.
Eleven days after the sacking of manager Andre Villas-Boas, Chelsea hosted Napoli in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second leg, trailing the Naples side 3-1 from the first leg. Lampard helped Chelsea make a remarkable comeback, assisting John Terry from a corner for the second goal and then equalizing the aggregate score from the penalty spot with a powerful shot to the left of the goal. Branislav Ivanović sealed Chelsea's victory in extra-time. In the second leg of the quarter-finals of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League against Benfica, Lampard converted a crucial penalty to give Chelsea a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge, and helping them advance with an aggregate score of 3-1.
He scored the 150th Premier League goal of his career against Fulham in a 1-1 draw on 9 April 2012.
In the semifinal of the FA Cup Chelsea defeated Tottenham 5-1. Lampard assisted Drogba for the first goal, and also scored the fourth goal for the Blues from a free kick 35 yards from goal.


Lampard was pivotal in the semi-finals of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League against heavily favored Barcelona. In the first leg at Stamford Bridge, Lampard stripped Lionel Messi off the ball then played a cross-field pass to Ramires who setup Drogba for the only goal of the game giving Chelsea a 1-0 advantage. In the second leg at Camp Nou, Lampard assumed the captaincy after Terry was sent off early in the game. Down 0-2 to Barca just before half-time, Lampard assisted Ramires' goal with a through-pass which leveled the aggregate score at 2-2 while putting Chelsea ahead on away goals. Chelsea teammate Fernando Torres added another goal in stoppage time to give Chelsea a 3-2 victory overall. This set up Chelsea's match with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena for the Champions League final.
In the 2012 FA Cup Final, Lampard assisted Didier Drogba's winning goal in 2-1 win over Liverpool FC, the seventh FA Cup in Chelsea's history as well as the fourth of his career
Lampard captained Chelsea in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich, due to Terry's suspension. It was match where Chelsea were considered to be the underdogs. After finishing 1-1 in normal time, the game went to a penalty shootout with Lampard successfully converting his team's fourth spot-kick, helping Chelsea win 4-3 on penalties. As Chelsea's skipper for the match, Lampard lifted the trophy jointly with club captain John Terry.
Lampard ended the 2011-12 season as Chelsea's topscorer with 16 goals in all competitions, along with 10 assists.


International career

Lampard was first spotted by England U-21 manager Peter Taylor, and his under-21 debut came on 13 November 1997 in a match against Greece. He played for the under-21 side from November 1997 to June 2000, and scored nine goals, a mark bettered only by Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers.
Lampard earned his first cap for England on 10 October 1999 in a 2–1 friendly win over Belgium, and scored his first goal on 20 August 2003 in a 3–1 win over Croatia.
Euro 2004
He was bypassed for Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup, and had to wait until Euro 2004 to participate in his first international competition. England reached the quarter-finals with Lampard netting three goals in four matches. He scored against France and Croatia in the group stages, and in the quarter-final he equalised for England in the 112th minute against Portugal, bringing the scoreline to 2–2 but England lost on penalties. He was named in the team of the tournament by UEFA.

Post Euro 2004
He became a regular in the squad following the retirement of Paul Scholes, and was voted England Player of the Year by fans in 2004 and 2005. He was England's top-scorer in their 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign with 5 goals. He scored two crucial goals in the qualifiers, the first against Austria in a 1-0 win, and the second, the winning goal against Poland.



2006 World Cup
In England's first game of the tournament vs Paraguay, Lampard was named Man of the Match as England won 1-0. Though Lampard played every minute of England's 2006 World Cup matches, he went scoreless as England were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Portugal on penalties, and he was one of the three England players who missed their penalties, alongside Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
2010 World Cup and disallowed goal
In the round-of-16 match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup against Germany in the first half, Lampard had a shot at goal that bounced off the crossbar and from TV replays was clearly seen to cross the goal line. If counted, it would have tied the game 2–2. However, neither the referee nor the linesman saw it as a goal, and play was continued. In the second-half, Lampard hit the cross-bar again, with a 30 yard free-kick. The final score was a 4–1 win for Germany, eliminating England from the tournament.
As England exited the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Lampard had already achieved the record of having made 37 shots on goal without scoring in a World Cup tournament, more than any other player since 1966.

2007–2011
He scored in a 2–1 loss to Germany in a friendly at the new Wembley in 2007. He was booed by England supporters while coming on as a second-half substitute during England's Euro 2008 qualifying match against Estonia on 13 October 2007, and finished with one goal (in a 3–2 loss to Croatia on 21 November) as England failed to qualify for the tournament. He scored his first international goal in two years in a 4–0 win over Slovakia in March 2009, and also created another for Wayne Rooney. Lampard's goal was the 500th England goal scored at Wembley. On 9 September 2009, Lampard struck twice in England's 5–1 win against Croatia which secured their place at 2010 World Cup. On 8 February 2011, it was announced that Lampard would captain the national team against Denmark in a friendly played the next day after both Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard were absent through injury. In the Euro 2012 qualifiers, Lampard netted two goals for England, both penalties. The first against Wales in a 2-0 win, and the latter vs Switzerland in a 2-2 draw, making Lampard England's most prolific penalty taker ever. In November 2011, Lampard captained England to a 1-0 friendly victory over current World Champions Spain, a game in which he scored the only goal.

Personal life

Lampard attended Brentwood School between 1989 and 1994, finishing with eleven GCSEs, including an A* in Latin.
His father is Frank Lampard senior, the former West Ham United player and assistant manager who was still associated with the club when Lampard junior was playing for them. His mother Pat died in April 2008 aged 58 as a result of pneumonia. Lampard's uncle is Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp and his cousin is Redknapp's son Jamie Redknapp.
In 2000, Lampard, Ferdinand and Kieron Dyer appeared on a sex video that was filmed at the holiday resort of Ayia Napa in Cyprus. Channel 4 aired a brief clip as part of their 2004 documentary Sex, Footballers and Videotape, claiming it was used to "remind the viewer that this is based on real life. On 23 September 2001, Lampard, along with three other Chelsea players was fined two weeks wages by the club for his behaviour whilst on a drinking binge on 12 September. Lampard and the others had abused grieving American tourists at a Heathrow hotel, just 24 hours after the September 11 attacks. A hotel manager stated "they were utterly disgusting. They just didn't seem to care about what had happened".
It was reported that Lampard showed an unusually high IQ score during neurological research carried out by the Chelsea doctor, Bryan English. English stated that "Frank Lampard scored one of the highest set of marks ever recorded by the company doing the tests".
Lampard has stated in 2007 that he is a supporter of the Conservative Party.
He was selected by EA Sports as one of the three football stars on the cover of the FIFA 10 football game pack globally, along with Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney.

Relationships
Lampard lives in Surrey and London. He has two daughters with his former fiancee, Spanish model Elen Rivas, Luna (born 22 August 2005) and Isla (born 20 May 2007).His autobiography, Totally Frank, was published in August 2006. In mid-February 2009, it was reported that Lampard and Rivas had split in November 2008 after seven years together, with Rivas taking between £1 million to £12.5 million in settlement fees from Lampard's estimated £32 million net worth.
Since October 2009, Lampard has been in a relationship with Christine Bleakley. On 15 June 2011, Lampard's engagement to Christine Bleakley was announced by his agent.
On 24 April 2009, Lampard was involved in a radio confrontation with James O'Brien on the London radio station LBC 97.3. Newspapers had reported that following Lampard's split from Rivas their children were living with her in a small flat while Lampard had converted their family home into a bachelor pad. Lampard phoned-in, objecting to criticism, and asserting that he had fought "tooth and nail" to keep his family together.

Kevin Pietersen retires from ODIs to clear the path for 'new generation'

 England batsman Kevin Pietersen has announced his shock retirement from one-day and Twenty20 internationals.

The 31-year-old has played 127 ODIs and 36 T20Is and was a first-choice player in both formats.

But he will now continue his England career as a Test specialist only following discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board earlier this month.

Pietersen said: "After a great deal of thought and deliberation, I am today announcing my retirement from international one-day cricket.

"With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, approaching 32, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the ICC World Cup in 2015."

Pietersen, who was man of the tournament when England won the World Twenty20 in the West Indies in 2010, was willing to help defend the trophy in Sri Lanka this autumn but the ECB have decided that centrally-contracted players must be available for both limited-overs formats or neither.

"I am immensely proud of my achievements in the one-day game, and still wish to be considered for selection for England in Test cricket," he added.

"For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20."

Pietersen's absence for the World Twenty20 is particularly relevant given he was the only England batsman to be selected in the recently concluded Indian Premier League.

As a result of his decision, Pietersen's current England contract will be downgraded for the rest of its duration and he will only be available in the future for a lower-tier deal.

‘For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20.’ 

Hugh Morris, managing director England cricket, added: ‘ECB is disappointed by the timing of Kevin’s decision less than four months before we defend our ICC World Twenty20 title. 

‘Kevin is a world class player and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his efforts and we look forward to his continued contributions to the Test match side. 

‘As the programming and planning for ODI and T20 format cricket are very closely linked we have a selection policy that means that any player making himself unavailable for either of the one day formats, rules himself out of consideration for both formats. 

‘The selectors will now replace Kevin in both the ODI and the T20 squads.’ 

Sport Andy Murray French Open 2012: Andy Murray told to pull out over back injury

Having locked up completely in the first set, to the point where he was virtually walking around the court, he gradually began to loosen up until his opponent, Jarkko Nieminen, was the one feeling the pain.
Murray came into this tournament with chronic back trouble, which had forced him to pull out of the Madrid Masters and restricted his movement during the following event in Rome. But his latest attack was far more acute. The problem peaked in the fourth game, when he was unable even to bend in his service action, and could only pat the ball over the net like a pensioner.
"My back went into spasm, basically," Murray said after the match. "It was sore when I got up, sore when I practiced. I couldn't put any weight on my left leg, it's something that happens sometimes."
Asked whether he had considered pulling out of the tournament, he replied: "The guys were telling me to stop. We thought about it, when we were warming up we considered it. But at the end of the second set he was obviously getting a bit nervous. I thought, 'Let's give it a go, let's chase a few more balls'."
When the trainer came on the court, with the score at 5-0 to Nieminen, it appeared that a retirement was inevitable. But Murray has an enviable record of completing his matches on the ATP Tour. He has only once pulled out of a match, when he snapped a wrist tendon against Filippo Volandri in Hamburg. He carried on stubbornly, limping around the court and aiming for clean winners in an attempt to shorten the points. And then, miraculously, his condition started to improve.

Within moments of the opening match on Court Philippe Chatrier, Murray was two games down and clutching his back in agony. Ivan Lendl looked down from the stands, chin on palm, convinced his man was about to quit. He did not. Three courtside treatments got him through the set that Nieminen took 6-1 but few gave Murray a prayer of carrying on.

He was forced to power down his serve to 114kph (70mph) until the muscles settled but rarely got above 170kph (105mph) in the second set. A grunt and a grimace accompanied every twist of his service action as the ball dollied over the net.

Within an hour Murray, loosened but still not able to crank up his serve into a threatening weapon, was stroking the ball to all parts as Nieminen disintegrated in the face of Murray's extraordinary will.

He might not have pulled off this escape without Nieminen's spectacular collapse – he hit 51 unforced errors and five double faults – but at the end his own tennis was unrecognisable from the hobbling effort of the first set.

His dilemma is the nature of his injury. It lurks in his lower back, where every swivel in the service action applies enormous pressure. It has been with him since before the Australian Open, perhaps longer.

He bridled earlier this week when it was suggested he was disguising the seriousness of the injury, declaring he would not play in this match unless he was fully fit. He is still struggling and his pledge to rest completely when the season is over suggests he is prepared to play through the pain. If he does that he risks collapse at any moment in any match.

As for Nieminen, he will have felt even worse at the end than Murray did at the start, having caved in mentally when a routine win over a wounded and highly rated foe was his for the taking.

"He got a bit nervous in the second set," Murray said of his bewildered opponent. "It's not easy playing someone that's struggling. It was tough for him.

Kylie Minogue

Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE, born 28 May 1968 — often known simply as Kylie — is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, showgirl, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing her career as a recording artist in 1987. Her first single, "Locomotion", spent seven weeks at number one on the Australian singles chart and became the highest selling single of the decade. This led to a contract with songwriters and producers Stock, Aitken & Waterman. Her debut album, Kylie (1988), and the single "I Should Be So Lucky", each reached number one in the United Kingdom, and over the next two years, her first 13 singles reached the British top ten. Her debut film, The Delinquents (1989) was a box-office hit in Australia and the UK, and received generally positive reviews.
Initially presented as a "girl next door", Minogue attempted to convey a more mature style in her music and public image. Her singles were well received, but after four albums her record sales were declining, and she left Stock, Aitken & Waterman in 1992 to establish herself as an independent performer. Her next single, "Confide in Me", reached number one in Australia and was a hit in several European countries in 1994, and a duet with Nick Cave, "Where the Wild Roses Grow", brought Minogue a greater degree of artistic credibility. Drawing inspiration from a range of musical styles and artists, Minogue took creative control over the songwriting for her next album, Impossible Princess (1997). It failed to attract strong reviews or sales in the UK, but was successful in Australia.
Minogue returned to prominence in 2000 with the single "Spinning Around" and the dance-oriented album Light Years, and she performed during the closing ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Her music videos showed a more sexually provocative and flirtatious personality and several hit singles followed. "Can't Get You Out of My Head" reached number one in more than 40 countries, and the album Fever (2001) was a hit in many countries, including the United States, a market in which Minogue had previously received little recognition. Minogue embarked on a concert tour but cancelled it when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2005. After surgery and chemotherapy treatment, she resumed her career in 2006 with Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour. Her tenth studio album X was released in 2007 and was followed by the KylieX2008 tour. In 2009, she embarked upon her For You, For Me Tour, her first concert tour of the United States and Canada, and the following year released her eleventh studio album, Aphrodite.
Minogue has achieved worldwide record sales of more than 68 million, and has received notable music awards, including multiple ARIA and Brit Awards and a Grammy Award. She has mounted several successful and critically acclaimed concert world tours and received a Mo Award for "Australian Entertainer of the Year" for her live performances. Bestowed from the Queen of Australia Queen Elizabeth II, she was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) at Buckingham Palace in 2008 "for services to music". In the same year she was awarded France's highest cultural honour, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government for her contribution to the enrichment of French culture. In 2011, "I Should Be So Lucky" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's Sounds of Australia registry. While also in 2011, Minogue was awarded an honorary Doctor of Health Science (D.H.Sc.) degree by Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom of for her work in raising awareness for breast cancer. On 27 November 2011, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the ARIA Music Awards, Kylie Minogue was inducted by the Australian Recording Industry Association into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

2010–present: Aphrodite and K25 anniversary

Minogue performing on her Aphrodite Tour, in France, March 2011
Minogue's eleventh studio album, Aphrodite, was released in Japan on 30 June 2010 and worldwide in July 2010. The lead single, "All the Lovers", premiered on radio in May 2010 and was made available for purchase in June 2010. The album debuted at number one in the UK charts, exactly twenty two years after her first UK number one hit. On 3 June 2010, she hosted the inaugural AmfAR "Inspiration Gala" at the New York Public Library honouring Jean Paul Gaultier for his lifelong contribution to men's fashion and the fight against AIDS. Minogue appeared on BBC1's Friday Night With Jonathan Ross on 25 June 2010, during which she confirmed she is a UK resident, and announced that she will tour in 2011.
In July 2010, Minogue filmed a cameo performance as a rock star in the American independent film Jack and Diane. The movie stars Juno Temple, Riley Keough and Jena Malone She also recorded a duet titled "Devotion" with British synthpop duo Hurts for their debut album Happiness, released on 6 September 2010. The second single from Aphrodite, titled "Get Outta My Way" was released on 27 September 2010. In October 2010, Minogue performed in front of the Sphinx and the Pyramids at Giza, Egypt to celebrate the anniversary of "Enigma" magazine, with profits going to the We Owe It To Egypt Foundation. A third single, "Better Than Today", was released on 6 December 2010.
Minogue's singles, "All the Lovers" and "Get Outta My Way", were popular in U.S. clubs, each reaching number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. On 5 March 2011 "Better Than Today" was at number one on the chart, and her collaboration with Taio Cruz, "Higher", was at number three, making her the first artist in the chart's history to have two singles simultaneously in the top three. On 1 December 2010, Minogue and Parlophone records released the EP A Kylie Christmas on iTunes, which included a cover of the 1945 song "Let It Snow" as well as "Santa Baby" which was previously available as a b-side to her 2000 single "Please Stay". Kylie performed the song "Santa Baby" at the 2010 rockefeller tree lighing in New York on 30 November 2010.
In August 2011, "Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)", also reached number one on the Billboard dance chart, where Minogue has now achieved five consecutive number one spots on the chart for her last five releases — including her collaboration with Taio Cruz on the track, "Higher".
In 2011, Minogue embarked on the Aphrodite World Tour, travelling to Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and Africa. A DVD/Blu-ray of the concert, filmed in London, was released at the end of November 2011.Minogue is currently working on a new compilation album featuring re-worked versions of hits that will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of her debut single "Locomotion".
To celebrate her 25 years in the music industry, Minogue began a year-long celebration in 2012. Known as "K25", the singer plans to release a greatest hits collection containing acoustic and orchestral versions of her biggest hits. On her YouTube channel, Minogue has released a video on 25 January and February showcasing two recordings at the historic Abbey Road Studios.In addition, the singer has performed at various music festivals including the Sydney Mardi Gras. On 5 March 2012 Minogue announced the first dates of the K25 Anti Tour. The intimate show will feature b-sides, demos and rarities from her music catalogue. On 20 April 2012, Minogue's film Jack and Diane premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. In May 2012, Minogue premiered in another film, Holy Motors, at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. The film received an overwhelmingly positive reception with the audience cheering and loudly applauding.
On May 4, 2012, Billboard announced that Minogue would release a brand new greatest hits album entitled The Best of Kylie Minogue.
Minogue also released a new single, "Timebomb", on May 25, 2012 as part of her K25 celebrations.



Bronze statue of Kylie Minogue at Waterfront City, Melbourne Docklands
Minogue's efforts to be taken seriously as a recording artist were initially hindered by the perception that she had not "paid her dues" and was no more than a manufactured pop star exploiting the image she had created during her stint on Neighbours. Minogue acknowledged this viewpoint, saying, "if you're part of a record company, I think to a degree it's fair to say that you're a manufactured product. You're a product and you're selling a product. It doesn't mean that you're not talented and that you don't make creative and business decisions about what you will and won't do and where you want to go."[89] In 1993, Baz Luhrmann introduced Minogue to the photographer Bert Stern, notable for his work with Marilyn Monroe. Stern photographed her in Los Angeles and, comparing her to Monroe, commented that Minogue had a similar mix of vulnerability and eroticism. During her career Minogue has chosen photographers who attempt to create a new "look" for her, and the resulting photographs have appeared in a variety of magazines, from the cutting edge The Face to the more traditionally sophisticated Vogue and Vanity Fair, making the Minogue face and name known to a broad group of people. Stylist William Baker has suggested that this is part of the reason she has entered in the mainstream pop culture of Europe more successfully than many other pop singers who concentrate solely on selling records.
By 2000, when Minogue returned to prominence, she was considered to be have achieved a degree of musical credibility for having maintained her career longer than her critics had expected. That same year, Birmingham Post noted "[o]nce upon a time, long before anybody had even heard of Britney, Christina, Jessica or Mandy, Australian singer Kylie Minogue ruled the charts as princess of pop. Back in 1988 her first single, I Should Be So Lucky, spent five weeks at number one, making her the most successful female artist in the UK charts with 13 successive Top 10 entries. Her progression from the wholesome "girl next door" to a more sophisticated performer with a flirtatious and playful persona attracted new fans to her. Her "Spinning Around" video led to some media outlets referring to her as "SexKylie", and sex became a stronger element in her subsequent videos. William Baker described her status as a sex symbol as a "double edged sword" observing that "we always attempted to use her sex appeal as an enhancement of her music and to sell a record. But now it has become in danger of eclipsing what she actually is: a pop singer.After 20 years as a performer, Minogue was described as a fashion "trend-setter" and a "style icon who constantly reinvents herself". She has been acknowledged for mounting successful tours, and for worldwide record sales of more than 68 million.
Minogue is regarded as a gay icon, which she encourages with comments such as "I am not a traditional gay icon. There's been no tragedy in my life, only tragic outfits ..." and "My gay audience has been with me from the beginning ... they kind of adopted me."[89] Minogue has explained that she first became aware of her gay audience in 1988, when several drag queens performed to her music at a Sydney pub and she later saw a similar show in Melbourne. She said that she felt "very touched" to have such an "appreciative crowd" and this had encouraged her to perform at gay venues throughout the world, as well as headlining the 1994 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
"Madonna subverts everything for her own gain. I went to see her London show and it was all so dour and humourless. She surpasses even Joan Crawford in terms of megalomania. Which in itself makes her a kind of dark, gay icon ... I love Kylie, she's the anti-Madonna. Self-knowledge is a truly beautiful thing and Kylie knows herself inside out. She is what she is and there is no attempt to make quasi-intellectual statements to substantiate it. She is the gay shorthand for joy."
Rufus Wainwright,
Observer Music Monthly, 2006
Minogue has been inspired by and compared to Madonna throughout her career.[10] Her producer, Pete Waterman recalled Minogue during the early years of her success, with the observation, "She was setting her sights on becoming the new Prince or Madonna ... What I found amazing was that she was outselling Madonna four to one, but still wanted to be her. Minogue received negative comments that her Rhythm of Love tour in 1991 was too similar visually to Madonna's Blond Ambition World Tour of the previous year for which the critics labelled her a Madonna wannabe. Kathy McCabe for The Telegraph notes that Minogue and Madonna follow similar styles in music and fashion,[167] and concludes, "Where they truly diverge on the pop-culture scale is in shock value. Minogue's clips might draw a gasp from some but Madonna's ignite religious and political debate unlike any other artist on the planet ... Simply, Madonna is the dark force; Kylie is the light force."Rolling Stone comments that, with the exception of the U.S., Minogue is regarded throughout the world as "an icon to rival Madonna", and says, "Like Madonna, Minogue was not a virtuosic singer but a canny trend spotter." Minogue has said of Madonna, "Her huge influence on the world, in pop and fashion, meant that I wasn't immune to the trends she created. I admire Madonna greatly but in the beginning she made it difficult for artists like me, she had done everything there was to be done ...", and "Madonna's the Queen of Pop, I'm the princess. I'm quite happy with that.
In January 2007 Madame Tussauds in London unveiled its fourth waxwork of Minogue; only Queen Elizabeth II has had more models created. During the same week a bronze cast of her hands was added to Wembley Arena's "Square of Fame". On 23 November 2007, a bronze statue of Minogue was unveiled at Melbourne Docklands for permanent display.
In March 2010, Minogue was declared by researchers as the "most powerful celebrity in Britain". The study examined how marketers identify celebrity and brand partnerships. Mark Husak, head of Millward Brown's UK media practice, said: "Kylie is widely accepted as an adopted Brit. People know her, like her and she is surrounded by positive buzz". She was named one of the "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" by Men's Health.

Personal life

Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 36 on 17 May 2005,leading to the postponement of the remainder of her Showgirl — The Greatest Hits Tour and her withdrawal from the Glastonbury Festival. Her hospitalisation and treatment in Melbourne resulted in a brief but intense period of media coverage, particularly in Australia, where Prime Minister John Howard issued a statement supporting Minogue. As media and fans began to congregate outside the Minogue residence in Melbourne, the Victorian Premier Steve Bracks warned the international media that any disruption of the Minogue family's rights under Australian privacy laws would not be tolerated. His comments became part of a wider criticism of the media's overall reaction, with particular criticism directed towards paparazzi. Minogue underwent surgery on 21 May 2005 at Cabrini Hospital in Malvern, and commenced chemotherapy treatment soon after.
On 8 July 2005, she made her first public appearance after surgery, when she visited a children's cancer ward at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital. She returned to France where she completed her chemotherapy treatment at the Institut Gustave-Roussy in Villejuif, near Paris. In December 2005, Minogue released a digital-only single, "Over the Rainbow", a live recording from her Showgirl tour. Her children's book, The Showgirl Princess, written during her period of convalescence, was published in October 2006, and her perfume, "Darling", was launched in November. This range was later augmented by eau de toilettes such as Pink Sparkle, Couture and Inverse. On her return to Australia for her concert tour, she discussed her illness, and said that her chemotherapy treatment had been like "experiencing a nuclear bomb".While appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2008, Minogue said that her cancer had originally been misdiagnosed. She commented, "Because someone is in a white coat and using big medical instruments doesn't necessarily mean they're right", but later spoke of her respect for the medical profession.

Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic is a company within Richard Branson's Virgin Group which plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to space tourists, suborbital launches for space science missions and orbital launches of small satellites. Further in the future Virgin Galactic hopes to offer orbital human spaceflights as well. Virgin Galactic's spacecraft are launched from a large aeroplane, giving the spacecraft more initial speed and altitude than if it were launched from the ground.

Overview of the spacecraft flights
It is planned that the spacecraft will be robust and affordable enough to take paying passengers ($200,000 per person with a $20,000 deposit). As of May 2012, there are around 550 ticket-holders in line to fly with Virgin Galactic. Notable passengers that have already submitted their deposit include Stephen Hawking, Tom Hanks, Ashton Kutcher, Katy Perry, Prince Zulf Ali, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie. The craft is projected to be a six passenger, two pilot craft. Its planned trajectory will overlap the Earth’s atmosphere at 70,000 feet (21,000 m), which will make it a sub-orbital journey with a short period of weightlessness. The spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, will be carried to about 16 kilometers or 52000 ft by a carrier aircraft, White Knight II. At that point, when the carrier aircraft reaches its maximum height, the SpaceShipTwo vehicle will separate and continue to over 100 km (the Kármán line, a common definition of where "space" begins). The time from liftoff of the White Knight booster carrying SpaceShipTwo until the touchdown of SpaceShipTwo after the sub-orbital flight will be about 2.5 hours. The sub-orbital flight itself will only be a small fraction of that time. The weightlessness will last approximately 6 minutes. Passengers will be able to release themselves from their seats during these 6 minutes and float around the cabin
In addition to the sub-orbital passenger business, Virgin Galactic will market SpaceShipTwo for sub-orbital space science missions and market WhiteKnightTwo for "small satellite" launch services. They had planned to initiate RFPs for the satellite business in early 2010, however flights had not materialized as of 2012.
[edit]SpaceShipTwo's performance
SpaceShipTwo flies to a height of 110 km, going beyond the defined boundary of space (100 km) and lengthening the experience of weightlessness [for its passengers]. The spacecraft reaches a top speed of 4000 km/h, faster than current fighter jets. It has double the crew (2) and can carry triple the passengers (6) of its predecessor. In honour of the science fiction series Star Trek, the first two ships are named after the fictional starships Enterprise and Voyager. To re-enter the atmosphere SpaceShipTwo folds its wings up, and then returns them to their original position for an unpowered descent flight back onto the runway. The craft has a very limited cross-range capability and until other planned spaceports are built worldwide, it has to land in the area where it started. Further "Spaceports" are planned in Dubai and elsewhere, with the intention that the spaceline will have a world-wide availability and commodity in the future.

Sir Richard Branson unveiled the rocket plane on Monday 7 December 2009. SpaceShipTwo was presented to the world in the Mojave desert, in California. The vehicle underwent testing during the following 18 months before being allowed to take ticketed individuals on short-hop trips just above the atmosphere. Sir Richard Branson, who heads the Virgin Group, intends to run the first flights out of New Mexico before extending operations around the globe. Built from lightweight carbon composite materials and powered by a hybrid rocket motor, SS2 is based on the Ansari X PRIZE-winning SpaceShipOne concept - a rocket plane that is lifted initially by a carrier vehicle before blasting skywards. SS1 became the world's first private spaceship with a series of high-altitude flights in 2004.
Its successor, however, is twice as large, measuring 18 m (60 ft) in length. And whereas SpaceShipOne only had a single pilot (and the ballast equivalent of two passengers), SS2 will have a crew of two and room for six passengers. More than 400 individuals are reported to have signed up for a flight as of early 2011. Each is paying $200,000 (£121,000) for the privilege of experiencing approximately six minutes of weightlessness during what will be a two-hour end-to-end flight. Many of those future "astronauts" have attended the VIP unveiling at the Mojave Air and Spaceport. Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson christened the spaceliner Virgin SpaceShip (VSS) Enterprise.
The New Mexico authorities are investing almost $200m (£121m) in a purpose-built facility in Sierra County, New Mexico, Spaceport America. It will have a 3,000m (10,000 ft) runway and a suitably space-age terminal and hangar building designed by Foster and Partners. Sir Richard's Virgin Galactic enterprise will have competitors but he is almost certain to be the first to market, barring any problems arising in the test campaign. SpaceShipTwo's carrier plane is called WhiteKnightTwo. It was finished last year and has already begun its own trials.

The Spaceship Company

The Spaceship Company (TSC) is a new aerospace production company, founded by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Scaled Composites, which is building a fleet of commercial spaceships and launch aircraft with the intention of making widespread space travel a reality. TSC’s initial launch customer is Virgin Galactic, which has contracted to purchase five SpaceShipTwos and two WhiteKnightTwos.To meet Virgin Galactic’s requirements, TSC has contracted Scaled Composites to develop and build prototypes of WK2 and SS2, of which TSC started full-scale production in 2008.