* The Italian Job

From the Guardian's gallery... For those who don't know he's the Irish national football team's new Italian manager and for those who don't care, well you've already started reading the post below...


* Mr. Moneybags
We were inundated with emails at Pittstop HQ a few weeks ago when we suggested a Vietnamese consortium had plans to buy into Arsenal Football Club and replace meat pies with banh mi pate. As if, some of you scoffed Poppycock, said others. Yeah right, snapped the cynics amongst you. Most of you were probably right to think it will never happen, but just for the record, we can confirm that the main man behind the would-be investment into England’s premier League, a Mr. Duc from Hoang Anh company, was said to be worth up to $1 billion last month thanks to owning over 65 million shares in his own company which hit the big time thanks to Vietnam’s property boom. The bad news for “Boss Duc”, who is also the chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Football Team, is now that the property market has slipped into a frosty spell his pile of shares have lost value and he’s said to be worth a mere $875 million – oh woe is him – but, perhaps, we could still interest him in the slightly less fashionable but still accessible by London’s Underground, West Ham or Charlton football clubs instead?

* Who shall be ... the one?
Despite the high tariffs and special consumption tax rates upwardly mobile Vietnamese millionaires have been buying Hummers, Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces and Bentleys, but who shall be the first dong-zillionaire to step up to the plate at the Canadian aircraft maker Bombadier’s showroom and fork out $14.5 million for a LearJet 60 XR? The deluxe business aircraft, which was officially unveiled at Noi Bai International Airport North of Hanoi this month, can fly for over five hours, which is enough time to get you from Hanoi to Australia should you feel the need for an impromptu barbie on the Gold Coast.