Footballers Direct has noted that rivals Arsenal and Spurs have both revealed their brand new next-season kits this week. Arsenal returned to yellow for the first time in 4 years and Spurs has gone white and blue.

Theo Walcott was the kit model of choice for Arsenal. The official clothing is reminiscent of the kit worn by 2004’s ‘invincibles’ side. They won the league title 10 years ago without losing a single match. Walcott said of the kit: “Arsenal is synonymous with yellow and blue and I think this new design fuses that tradition with a modern twist. 

”I can’t wait to get out on the pitch and wear it!”. 

It goes on sale Thursday, August 1st, from £40 (juniors).

Spurs went for four kit models to show off their new range: Michael Dawson, Brad Friedel, Jermain Defoe and – notably – Gareth Bale. Some are speculating that in choosing Bale to model the new home kit, Tottenham were hinting that he will be remaining at White Hart Lane, despite recent interest from Madrid. Footballer Direct feel confident in saying that he is bound to be staying with Spurs – since the club is also selling 2013/14 shirts with his name printed on back.

The player did not speak to the press about the new kit promotion, though interviews were recorded for later broadcast. However, his ‘footballer-model’ counterparts did appear to confirm that Bale would be joining them for the season ahead.

“This year, we want a great season and we to get into the Champions League and to do that you’ve got to keep your best players’” said Defoe.

“What Gareth did here last year was unbelievable. The amount of goals he scored, at times playing out of position up top off the forward and show the composure he did in certain games when he was one-on-one with the keeper and produced some unbelievable finishes. He’s a special player. You want to keep your top players.”

These comments were echoed by Dawson: “He’s here to do well, like all of us. Like the manager, like the staff at the football club, we’re striving to be successful for this club.

“I remember him coming in as a 17-year-old. He’s not changed, he’s a top guy, he’s got a great family around him. He’s one of the boys, the lads love having him around. It hasn’t always been easy since he signed, he was out of the team like myself but the boy is world class.

“Someone as good as him you certainly want to keep him. I’m very lucky to play with him. Last year, some of the goals he scored to help win us football matches were unbelievable.”

Sounds like good news for Spurs fans then…

Footballers Direct staff are going to tune in to Football’s Suicide Secret tonight. In it, former professional player and TV presenter Clarke Carlisle looks at the ways in which depression can impact on famous footballers and takes his findings to the FA.

Carlisle represented nine clubs during his footballing career before retiring this May. In 2002 he won ITV’s Britain’s Brainiest Footballer and he was the first footballer to appear on Question Time. You might say he has a fair bit going for him – looks, brains and talent! Yet in his prime as a professional player for QPR, and a player for the England Under-21s team, Carlisle attempted suicide. In tonight’s programme he tells of the way that the pressures of being in the public eye almost resulted in his senseless, early death.

“I went to a park near my home in Acton armed with lots of painkillers and thought ‘I’m going to take all these pills and kill myself, because I’m no use to anyone’”, he says.

In a report on the BBC website he explained: “I’d just suffered a severe knee injury and had convinced myself that without football people would see me for what I really was – which was nothing.

“My irrational mind had made me think suicide was a rational action…So I sat on a bench in the park, washed the pills down with a can of beer, and waited for it to happen. In the end I was incredibly lucky, because my girlfriend found me and I was rushed to hospital in time to have my stomach pumped.”

As a young man, Carlisle was not alone in believing that in taking his own life he may find the only solution to the problems that he was facing. Suicide is the biggest killer of men between the ages of 18 and 35 and it can affect anyone, even the most unexpected of people.

Suicide attempts are often triggered by depression and fear of failure and it is not always obvious that a person is having thoughts that can lead to such a shocking and tragic conclusion. As discussed in tonight’s programme, for footballers like Gary Speed and Robert Enke it is too late to get the help needed. But by raising awareness that even those people who appear most healthy, confident and successful can be secretly finding the pressures of life, or the fear of failure too much to bear, it is hoped that more deaths will be avoided.

You can watch Football’s Suicide Secret on BBC Three at 21:00 BST tonight – Tuesday, 9 July.

The Tahitian team is currently ranked 138th by FIFA and has just one professional player in the form of Marama Vahirua. They qualified for the tournament by winning the Oceania Nations Cup, since then, however, they have scored just two goals as a team, losing five out of six games. Nigeria remain unbeaten in their last 17 games with their last defeat being over a year ago – in May 2012.

Nigeria and Tahiti have never played on a senior level before, but the two did meet at for the Under-20 World Cup in 2009 where Tahiti was defeated 5-0. With all this in mind, what do you think of Tahiti’s chances today?

Footballers Direct writers do love an underdog story but some are going as far as to suggest that the appearance of Tahiti is damaging the credibility of the tournament.

It may seem that the result of this match is a foregone conclusion but you only need to think back to 1950 and the United States’ shock 1- 0 victory over England at Belo Horizonte to know that nothing is certain in football.

Vahirua told the press yesterday: “They don’t want to be ridiculed, they want to show …we are up to the task. The players are all aware there is a chasm between the professional and amateur world.

“I think tomorrow we will not be on a par with Nigeria … they have been professional for years, but mentally we are ready. We will fight like lions and we will do anything to represent our country.”

We would love to hear your opinions ahead of the game! Who is your money on?

Footballers Direct heard yesterday that David Beckham is to retire from football after 20 years of being considered one of the world’s best players.

Recent rumours had suggested that Beckham would be continuing in the game after an offer from Paris Saint-Germain but it has come to light this week that he has decided against the move.

“I’m thankful to PSG for giving me the opportunity to continue but I feel now is the right time to finish my career, playing at the highest level,” he is reported to have said.

We’re sure it is with some sadness that Beckham leaves the game behind him but not many players can look back on the kind of career that he has enjoyed. With his first team Manchester United he won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice and the UEFA Champions league. During his career he also spent four seasons with Real Madrid, two loan spells with AC Milan and was England captain for six years. As he says goodbye to professional football the 38-year-old still holds England’s record for making the most appearances for the national team as an outfield player – 115 in total.

“If you had told me as a young boy I would have played for and won trophies with my boyhood club Manchester United, proudly captained and played for my country over one hundred times and lined up for some of the biggest clubs in the world, I would have told you it was a fantasy. I’m fortunate to have realised those dreams,” he is quoted in The Guardian.

“To this day, one of my proudest achievements is captaining my country. I knew every time I wore the Three Lions shirt, I was not only following in a long line of great players, I was also representing every fan that cared passionately about their country. I’m honoured to represent England both on and off the pitch.”

But now is time for family and Beckham is looking forward to some quality time with his wife and four children:

“I owe everything to Victoria and the kids,” he said, “who have given me the inspiration and support to play at the highest level for such a long period. I also want to thank all my team-mates, the great managers that I had the pleasure of learning from and the fans who have all supported me and given me the strength to succeed.”

So, what should we expect to hear from Beckham in future?

“Nothing will ever completely replace playing the game I love. However, I feel like I’m starting a new adventure and I’m genuinely excited about what lies ahead. I’m fortunate to have been given many opportunities throughout my career and now I feel it’s my time to give back.”