#footballdirect

Bloggers from Footballer Direct couldn't help feeling for Norwich Boss Chris Hughton on Saturday when the team were defeated by Luton Town and dropped out of the FA Cup.

"It is probably right up there as one of my worst moments," said Hughton of the match.

"The game is full of highs and lows. If you look at our form it's very much taken a dip. We're in a difficult place at the moment and possibly the scoreline is a reflection of that.

"What's more important is that we come out of it as quick as possible. But at this moment it's not a particularly nice feeling and you want to get over it as quickly as possible."

But what felt like total devastation for Norwich was described by Luton Town boss Paul Buckle as the result of great fans and an "incredible performance" from his team.

"I'm absolutely delighted for the players," he said. "The fans were out of this world, we probably couldn't have done it without 4,000 supporters here."

But, just 10 minutes from time they did do it - with a strike from Scott Rendell that stunned players, staff and supporters.

"I don't normally get that excited on the sidelines," said Buckle. "But the faces of the substitutes and staff was a real picture. It was amazing.

"I watched the players celebrate the goal. I was a little concerned they celebrated too long and would be washed out by the time they got back to the halfway line.

"We knew there would be a response from Norwich and we had to brace ourselves and trust the work we did."

So how did they do it? Luton striker Stuart Fleetwood told BBC Radio 5 live his theory on the performance of the team: "We were playing away in front of 26,000 fans but the pressure wasn't on us. When we're at home in the league it is and it was nice to be the underdogs for a change. I think it showed in the way we played.

This year's most shocking football incident - which involved a player appearing to kick a ballboy at the Liberty Stadium last week - has provoked angry reactions from various sources. But in an unexpected twist, many of those reactions are in favour of the footballer as opposed to the ballboy involved!

Footballer Direct has been finding out more about why professionals and fans alike are insisting that the Swansea ballboy Charlie Morgan was at fault, and that midfielder Eden Hazard - who got a red card for losing his patience with Morgan on the pitch - was treated unfairly.

Hazard apparently kicked the ball from under Morgan after the 17-year-old smothered it during the match. However, Morgan's reaction was to roll around on the ground in what looked like agony, implying that he had been caught by the kick himself. Despite the dramatic scene, several celebrities have come out in support of Hazard's action. Some of this support may have been inspired by the fact that soon after the game it was revealed that Morgan had previously stated an intention to deliberately ‘time-waste' on the pitch in an attempt to give his team the advantage. In an unwise tweet he had stated: "The king of all ball boys is back making his final appearance #needed #for #timewasting."

Morgan is the son of hotel tycoon Martin Morgan and has been described as ‘spoiled' by several people over the last few days, including old school friend Ben Watkins, who was quoted in the Evening Standard as saying: "He must be the richest ball boy in football. He's mad about Swansea City. What he did was a bit foolish especially after he boasted he was going to time-waste. But I guess he's been a bit spoiled because his dad has got pots of money."

Former Chelsea player Pat Nevin accused the boy of "over-reacting" on BBC Breakfast saying: "It's disgraceful, it's unacceptable brattish behaviour. He ain't injured, he's acting there. He [Eden Hazard] hasn't hurt the ballboy. The ballboy has behaved disgracefully. That young lad's actually ruined the game for everyone." Joey Barton took things a step further, expressing the controversial view that "Hazard's only crime is he hasn't kicked him hard enough."

Even QPR manager Redknapp has taken Hazard's side, holding Morgan responsible for the incident: "Hazard toe-poked the ball under the boy's body. Why is the kid lying on the ball in the first place?" he said.

"You can imagine the frustration – you're a player trying to reach a cup final but there's this kid behaving like an idiot who won't give you the ball back. Hazard didn't kick the kid, he kicked the ball underneath him, but the whole thing got blown out of all proportion.

"I can think of a lot of players who would have kicked a bit harder than he did. He just toe-poked the ball away. The boy was tweeting before the game that he's a super time waster. The way he behaved was disgusting."

Chelsea are said to be hoping that video evidence, together with Hazard's public apology immediately after the game and his previous record of good behaviour, will prevent too much bad feeling towards them. Meanwhile , Morgan's first tweet since the incident on Thursday night read: "Crazy 24 hours. Spoke to Hazard and I will not be pressing charges. Be in touch."

In the build up to the Barclays Premier League, Footballer Direct is pleased to hear that Queens Park Rangers Manager Harry Redknapp has been quoted as saying he has "no problem" with Andre Villas-Boas.

Villas-Boas took over after Redknapp's shock sacking last year but the 65-year-old has insisted that rumours about tension between the two of them are completely unfounded.

"I don't have a relationship with Villas-Boas but then I don't have a relationship with any other manager in the Premier League," he is quoted as saying on the Eurosport.com website.

"I don't socialise with him, he's gone to Tottenham and done a great job. What's the problem? I've got no problem with him at all. Good luck to him, he's doing a fantastic job there. Long may it continue for him."

When footballer Anthony Cook got snapped up for a two-year contract in 2007 by Dagenham and Redbridge manager John Still, he couldn't have imagined where it was going to take him. Back then he was a talented teenage footballer hoping to get signed. Five years on the 23-year-old winger has transferred to Chelmsford - and when he's not playing football you can find him modelling or standing in as professional footballer Robinho's body double!

In a recent interview Cook told journalist Daniel Cutts:

"Modelling has been good to me. I have done bits with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at Arsenal and Danny Welbeck of Manchester United and that was a lot of fun. I was also a body double for Robinho, which was amazing. He is one of the most skilful players I have ever seen, so it was awesome. He was doing a few photo shoots and I came in as his body double, doing a few skills. It was probably the highlight of my modelling career so far.

But Anthony isn't the only member of his family with footballing skills, his younger brother plays for the Arsenal youth team - alongside the son of footballer, actor and 'Unbelievable Tekkers' fashion label owner Andy Ansah. Ansah helped Anthony make it as a male model after recognising his off-pitch appeal some years ago:

"My family has known Andy a long time and he asked me to do a bit of modelling. I started doing it when I was a teenager. My little brother plays with Andy's son in the Arsenal youth team, so we see and speak to each other quite a bit," said Cook.

"If you go into a sports shop and see the big cardboard cut-outs, I am usually the person you will see modelling for Unbelievable Tekkers."

Unbelievable Tekkers was inspired after Ansah came up with the term as a way to acknowledge amazing technique while working as an assistant on Wayne Rooney's Street Striker. The label sells a range of clothing and accessories from hoodies to bags in cool vintage styles, but footballer Cook's priority is his love of the game not his love of fashion:

"It would be nice to get drawn away at one of the clubs whose players I have done some modelling with. I would love to play at Old Trafford or the Emirates. Playing Arsenal or United at their ground would be a great experience."

And what about the future for Anthony Cook?