MATTHEWS 'HAS NO FUTURE' AT LOUGHBOROUGH

Pete Matthews' contract at Loughborough will not be renewed when it expires at the end of next season. Speaking at a Press Conference somewhere in the Mediterranean, Loughborough's infamous Director of Athletics, George Gandy said that his patience with the disgraced AAAs fraudster had run out. "Pete arrived at Loughborough ready to take on the world," said the guru, "but injury after injury and scandal after scandal have led us to conclude that he has no future with us. He will be free to go at the end of his contract."

Matthews came to Loughborough in 2008 and immediately raised eyebrows by wandering around campus in full International kit and spending a significant amount of time in the ice baths with Matt Sullivan. His apparent difficulty with running quickly became clear and he reverted to a role as timekeeper/ videographer for much of his first year. He shot to fame in 2009 when winning the final 6.5 mile Club Tempo Run, before being criticised by George Gandy for "tapering" for the event. Since then, his career has struggled to reach the dizzy heights of his AAAs U17 Indoor 1500m Bronze medal in 2006, but this has not stopped him becoming an established name on the athletics circuit.

Gandy's decision will come as a major blow to the former GB International (Mountain Running) who was pictured on a beach last week under the headline 'BEACHED CAMEL'. However, a recent interview with a Sunday newspaper indicates why Mr Gandy has lost faith in the Blackburn man. In the interview, Matthews told of how the coming year would be "very different" to his previous experiences at Loughborough. "I know that I have not been as dedicated as I could have been" said the most famous athlete never to have broken 4 minutes for 1500m, "but I was limited by some personal constraints and I let running get in the way a bit. I vow to pull as many girls as possible in Freshers Week and that will hopefully set the tone for the coming year. I'm a different man now when I'm out - my standards have been significantly lowered."

News of Matthews' imminent departure has been greeted with indifference from many. Ranging from one source who claimed never to have had any time for him, to another who said that it was a "sad loss" for the African Violets. "Who's going to mess up the kit order now?" asked one distance runner, "this is very bad news indeed. At least we won't have to endure that bloody horn again".

The Lufbra Echo contacted the Matthews camp, but nobody was available to comment.

COMING UP IN THE ECHO - FULL COVERAGE OF THE MATTHEWS DEPARTURE INCLUDING:

- Pete Matthews: A History of the Dreamer

- Is it really "very easy" to break 15 minutes for 5,000m?

- How fat is too fat?

- Are Gingers naturally disadvantaged in life?

- Is it ever right to lie to get yourself onto a AAAs Start List?

- Loughborough Kit Scandal: What REALLY Happened

BUCS DAY ONE....

All the action from Bedford, rounded up by our dedicated team.....

BUCS TO LAUNCH HORN PROBE

Meeting officials in Bedford have promised a swift investigation into the “ridiculous nuisance” that is a perennial horn blower. One insider told the Echo, “we have a fair idea of who it is and let me tell you the full weight of the law will be brought upon them....it’s all very childish and athletes are getting really quite upset about it.” All bags will be searched upon entry tomorrow with athletes and spectators to be subject to “random searches”. Our source went on, “we can’t go around making blind accusations and so hopefully the threat of action will deter the miscreant.” This news comes hours after Stephen Emery blamed the blower for running “too fast” in his 5,000m heat. “How can I be expected to win on Monday [in the final] now?” thundered the LSAC star from the team hotel, “I was 8 seconds quicker than I needed to be and frankly, I’m knackered....that god awful horn just kept blowing and I mistook it for a signal to speed up. It’s very poor.”

Emery was not the only athlete to be upset by the horn blowing. Matt Sullivan has said that it “almost certainly” cost him a place in the 1500m semi-final. “The horn put me off at the crucial moment,” harrumphed the 3:55 man from his post race press conference, “going into the final lap, I was ready to go. Then that f*****g horn blew and I jumped. I am really gutted.” Meanwhile, others have been quick to pour cold water on what is fast becoming known as ‘horn-gate’. Gary Bradbury said that he had “no issue” with the noise and that those who complained were “just being precious”. The 3:43 man went on, “I really can’t see the problem. Just because some guys aren’t good enough they look for excuses. That’s annoying. I found my heat extraordinarily easy.”

PARER CUT LEAVES STREET “50/50” FOR FINAL

Medics will this evening assess the damage to Peter Street’s right hand after the 5k star suffered a “horrendous” paper cut when removing his vest this afternoon. The Preston man had just qualified with ease for Monday’s final, but caught his finger on his bib number just before starting his cool down. A spokesman for LSAC said that it was “deeply troubling” but that Street would “receive only the very best care”. Our source continued, “it’s nasty, really nasty. But no one here feels like telling Ian Anholm [LSAC Administration chief] we may have a withdrawal. He reacts badly to things like that and it might kick off.” Street’s injury is currently being looked at by Loughborough’s team doctor and insiders have refused to rule out flying in a “paper cut specialist” from the States. “The good news is that we have tomorrow to get it sorted,” said a spokesman, “if the medics think that a specialist is required then that is what we will do. No expense will be spared.” The spokesman, who was speaking before boarding LSAC’s team coach, went on to lambast a “shoddy” day’s officiating from BUCS. “We’ve had paper cuts and power cuts,” he said, “it’s just not on. I only hope they can buck [geddit?!] their ideas up for tomorrow.”

WOODS IN GANDY SLUR

Mick Woods took time out today to tell the Echo that George Gandy was being “unprofessional” by failing to turn up to support Loughborough at the Championships. “Hopeless,” sighed the St. Mary’s man, “you don’t see me swanking off to Front Romeu now do you? That is because I am professional and I value my athlete’s progress.” Woods was speaking just after Mitch Goose, one of his charges, crashed out in the heat of the 800m. “That was disappointing, but Mitch is experimenting with a new haircut and it seems that his latest short look isn’t the way to go....he’ll be growing it now.” Woods went on to point out that Goose had “forgotten” his compression socks and that that gaffe was likely to have cost him “at least 3 seconds.” The Aldershot coach explained, “when you look at it like that, he made the semi. It’s all learning and he will be keeping a co-ordinated pair of socks on him at all times from now on.” Woods would not elaborate on rumours in this morning’s newspapers that another athlete of his, Stephanie Twell, was ruled out of BUCS after mistakenly eating two bananas in a day. “I won’t comment on such media nonsense,” stormed the former UKA coach before accidently walking into a wall.

PORTUGAL LATEST......

SULLIVAN FURY AT ‘WEAK’ OFFICIATING

Matt Sullivan has hit out at what he called “the most ridiculous refereeing performance of all time” after losing in a dramatic press-up competition late last night. The contest came at the end of another ill-tempered encounter between various top LSAC stars and their Preston AC counterparts. The night of challenges was always set to be close and given the fierce rivalry between these two clubs had the potential to get out of hand. One observer slammed the whole set-up stating that the ‘questions round’ was “ambiguous at best”. The source continued, “everything looked as if it was very last minute. When the stakes are as high as this it’s just not on.” Sullivan was upset when he was beaten by his LSAC colleague, Seb Foy by 77 press ups to 66. “The fact is that I have a lot more to carry than him,” fumed the 3:55 man, “how can a dwarf take part in this? They should have their own events or at least be made to carry extra weight.” The Shaftsbury Barnet star did concede that he was “below par” on the day but maintained that had the scoring been ordered correctly it would have been enough to win. “Foy was barely bending his arms. I don’t want to go on about it, but it is true. I feel let down by the officials today- the fact is that the contest was just too big for them.”

The evening ended with Preston and LSAC chiefs having to call for calm when Peter Street and Tom Gayle squared up to each other over a “drink spill”. Gayle was fuming when Street accidently knocked his Orange Fanta on to the floor drenching his designer flip-flops. The 3:48 man then attacked the Preston athlete with said flip-flop demanding a replacement drink. Alasdair Donaldson leapt to the defence of Gayle and it was only after David Howe intervened that the situation was pacified. The tension around Vilamoura has certainly reached an all time high as this is the latest in a long line of spats between the two camps. After Sunday’s sun-bed debacle (which resulted in a Preston coach being pushed into the pool) and Loughborough’s humiliation at beach rounders, many will be relieved when Preston head home on Thursday.

DAVID HOWE: A CLARIFICATION

In Sunday’s article, the Lufbra Echo alleged that Dr. David Howe spiked his athlete’s drink with a double shot of vodka in a bid to help his charge “relax”. This was not the case and it was in fact a single shot of the spirit. We think you will agree this changes the situation a good deal and we are happy to set the record straight.

FOSTER ‘SURPRISES HIMSELF’ WITH COACHING BRILLIANCE

In a revealing interview with the Lufbra Echo, LSAC Women’s Coach Bill Foster has revealed that he can’t quite believe how well he has taken to coaching. “I sometimes catch myself giving advice” said the World Masters 3,000m Champion, “and think ‘wow- that is just incredible’....I am not sure how I do it- I guess I am a natural.” When asked what he felt his greatest achievement was, the coach said that there were “just too many to count.” “The thing is,” he went on, “I never seem to fail. My programme would work for anyone.” On his personal regrets he said, “there are a lot that other coaches could learn from me, but they don’t ask. George [Gandy] could come to me and say, ‘Bill- you are best of the best, how do I do it?’ But he doesn’t and that frustrates me.”

Foster went on to hint at a potential big money move away from Loughborough in the near future. “I have heard that St. Mary’s are unhappy with Mick [Woods], but they haven’t come to me yet. I am not ruling anything out. Who knows what the future holds?” This revelation comes just months after Foster rebuffed a move from Durham University to take over the entire set-up in the North East. “There was a lot of money on offer,” explained the Yorkshire man, “but there was also a lot of pressure. A rich owner often wants things done his way and I don’t work like that. It’s my way or nothing.”

GANDY CONTEMPLATES PORTUGAL RETURN AFTER NIGHT OF SCANDAL

David Howe will have a meeting with George Gandy and other LSAC Chiefs upon his return to Loughborough after he was accused of spiking an unnamed athlete’s drink yesterday evening. The athlete required minor medical treatment after reacting badly to a Double Vodka and Red Bull despite asking his hapless coach for a straight energy drink. When interviewed by the Lufbra Echo this morning, Howe was unrepentant and cited a need for his charge to “relax”. The Canadian explained, “when I was running I had some of my best sessions the morning after drinking heavily....how was I to know that he was allergic to alcohol?” The incident was one of several that has left Gandy and the rest of his team reeling with some insiders indicating that the guru is contemplating travelling back to LSAC’s warm weather camp.

“Stephen Emery is a genuine concern,” said our source, “he has really gone off the rails since winning the session earlier in the week- he was really quite inflammatory towards Chris [Warburton].” Emery was seen leaving a casino in the early hours of the morning and was later spotted completing his long run just before 8am. Earlier in the evening, the Coventry Godiva man could be heard shouting at Warburton “where were you on Tuesday night?” in reference to his annihilation of the Notts AC man over 1200m- Warburton comfortably beat Emery at yesterday afternoon’s session. Gandy confirmed that Emery was now likely to be fined and could face exlusion from the BUCS Outdoors early next month.

Elsewhere, UK Athletics apprentice coach Alasdair Donaldson was released from a Vilamoura police cell without charge after he was accused of “boring police officers to tears” with stories about “the good old days”. A police spokesman condemned the Scot for “dangerous behaviour” after the incident. “If there had been a genuine emergency, our officers would not have been able to respond,” said Mr. Pedro “they became seriously fatigued after hearing yet another story about the size of ice creams and the whiteness of the walls in the late 1990s”.

Gandy is also said to be “distressed” to hear of an attempt by Gary Bradbury to steal a yacht. The 1500m man bungled the theft when he drunkenly slipped on the gangway plunging into the cold water. “Gary saw Pete Matthews out by the lighthouse and wanted to pay him a visit,” sighed Gandy, “it’s just lucky that Matt Sullivan was on hand to dive in and save him”. Gandy also conceded that he was starting to have doubts over his blundering deputies’ ability to control the group of unruly athletes. “I have fielded calls from the Prime Minister today asking me to explain why Charlotte Best was seen on the roof of a bar at 4:30am,” harrumphed LSAC’s director, “Dave and Alasdair really need to get their act together.”

SPINELESS LOUGHBOROUGH MADE TO PAY BY RUTHLESS PRESTON

Loughborough Athletics Club has suffered its second Beach Rounders defeat to ‘The Preston Lot’ in as many weeks after a quite woeful display today. Pressure on LSAC’s management will now be at an all time high after fans booed the players from the beach this afternoon. In truth, Loughborough never really looked interested in windy conditions and quickly found themselves well behind in the first innings. Andrew Mariani and James Griffiths both dropped relatively simple catches as Stephen Emery looked jaded from his Tuesday night training session. The only high point for Loughborough was the successful completion of the game by injury-ridden Pete Matthews. However, his very involvement was contentious after having a three match ban overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport this very morning. Matthews had been slapped with the ban- as well as a £50,000 fine- after he was accused of miscounting and general unsporting conduct last week. As it was there was little the red head could do to prop up his turgid team mates. Loughborough clearly had their eyes on tomorrow afternoon’s track session as the Preston middle order ran riot in the latter stages of the match. The bowling performance of Sebastian Foy was branded “a joke” by one season ticket holder as he tossed his match-book into the sea. “I won’t be coming to watch anymore,” he continued, “I have followed this team since I was a boy, but they [the players] are clearly only in it for financial reasons now....I am going to watch a sport not yet tarnished by money so I am going to buy a Chelsea FC season ticket next year.”

The latest set-back comes amid reports of a growing unrest in the Loughborough dressing room. Rumours have been circling that Matt Sullivan is looking for a big money move to Birmingham and that Ben Green has fallen out with the coaching team. Their non-inclusion in today’s match only served to underline both their tenuous position and LSAC’s frailty in depth. Whilst exciting new signings were made in September- Robbie Schofield among them- the near £30m spent by the committee has not been in evidence at all this season mainly owing to injury and “other commitments”. LSAC Chair, Rob Hodges bemoaned their absence as well as “strange” officiating decisions after the match. “Obviously it is very worrying,” said Hodges, who could not attend the game but watched it on Sky Sports, “we are just three points above the drop zone now and have not won in a while.....however, I can take heart from a performance of character in difficult circumstances- the ball clearly went into the sea on two occasions and was not replaced. That is very poor.”

Speaking from the East Midlands, a spokesman for LSAC head honchos said that the jobs of Hodges and the rest of the coaching team were safe. “We do not make swift decisions and knew that the controversial introduction of the likes of Alasdair Donaldson would unsettle things briefly," said a senior aide to the Vice Chancellor, "what this club needs is stability and we are confident that Rob and the rest of the team will provide that in the long term.”

DONALDSON SET TO EXPLAIN SESSION FOUL-UP

Alasdair Donaldson will meet with the arriving George Gandy and David Howe in Portugal this evening to explain why yesterday’s evening session was branded “a fiasco” by several of Loughborough’s top athletes. Matt Sullivan is said to be fuming after a “lesser athlete” got in his way forcing him to step out into oncoming traffic during a hill repetition. Chris Warburton is also upset with Donaldson after he claimed a bias in the way the UKA man was encouraging the athletes, “he was clearly cheering for Ricky [Soos] a lot more than people like me, that’s just not on.” It is also said that Gary Bradbury threatened to fly home when members of the 5k group “blocked off” the Woking star during his final 600m effort. Speaking via Skype to the Lufbra Echo, Bradbury told of having to “grimace” when going round the hapless endurance athletes. “Everyone knows that in order to maintain my relaxed attitude I have to never look in any pain. Yesterday night I had to and it is all his [Donaldson’s] fault.”

Gandy is unlikely to be impressed with his deputy, who also upset Danni Christmas earlier this month, and there is much debate over whether the Scot will be allowed to remain at the camp after yet another blunder. Gandy was quick to dispel rumours of “negligence” on the part of Donaldson as he left Gatwick this morning. Claims surfaced in this morning’s Portuguese papers that he had “gone to bed” instead of waiting up for a group of late-arriving athletes. The Espinho carried pictures of an enraged Stephen Emery, complete with trendy new highlights, banging on various villa doors in a quest to locate the illusive Scot. “That was a misunderstanding,” explained Gandy to a pack of journalists at Gatwick airport, “I will be having a discussion with Alasdair later to get his take on how things are going.” Loughborough’s director would not be drawn on whether he had to have last ditch talks with Bradbury late last night to prevent him (and therefore presumably Matt Sullivan) from ordering a third ice cream. “I always maintain a dialogue with my athletes and nothing will change that,” said the guru before being led to a waiting UKA-chartered jet, “everything will get sorted when I arrive- it’ll be great.”

Sullivan, meanwhile, was less eager to play down the incidents at last night’s session. Speaking exclusively to our man in Portugal, the 3:55 athlete fumed about how his training was being “utterly ruined by a bunch of nobodies.” The Shaftsbury Barnet star also questioned the selection policy for the training camp, “I look around here and I don’t recognise half the group. Why are they here? Why are they bothering to run?” His comments are unlikely to sit well with the Loughborough and UKA hierarchy who are all keen to maintain a “unified approach” to endurance performance. Speaking from his personal yacht in the Maldives, Ian Stewart enthused about the “largest group of endurance athletes ever” to be gathered in one place. “This is what we need. Everyone training together and everyone getting on.” The Endurance chief added that he was “certainly not” being frozen out by UKA and that it was “entirely [his] choice” not to attend the camp.