Cover It Like Kelly Dalglish
Sky Sports News still hasn't issued a profile for Hayley McQueen, but they have for Kelly Dalglish:
Kelly Dalglish joined the Sky Sports News team at the channel's launch in August 1998 after making her television debut in an advert for British Telecom with her father Kenny Dalglish.
Kelly was studying maths at Glasgow University when the opportunity arose to join Sky. She siezed the chance and is now established as a presenter on Sky Sports News as well as fronting the Golden League Athletics and Women's League Cup Final coverage.
Born in Glasgow in 1976, she soon moved south to the Merseyside area when her father Kenny joined Liverpool from Celtic.
Kelly is a football fanatic, who has been a regular at matches since the age of 11.
In the build-up to the Euro 2000 play-off clash between Scotland and England in November 1999 Kelly left viewers with no doubt who she supported when she wore a Scotland shirt on-air and she is also a passionate supporter of Liverpool.
To date, the highpoint of Kelly's career was being on air when the story of David Beckham's transfer to Real Madrid broke and she is at her happiest when hard news stories are breaking.
The Beckham story, which had been simmering, broke in June 2003:
Wednesday, 18th June 2003
England captain bound for Madrid in package worth up to £25m
It could go down as the most sumptuously choreographed move in the history of the beautiful game: the world's most glamorous player joining the game's most successful club while on a visit to its most sought-after merchandising market.
David Beckham last night flew out of Heathrow a Manchester United player and today will land in Tokyo on the books of Real Madrid.
The seemingly endless cycle of speculation, gossip and empty denial over the deal finally came to an end when it was announced that Beckham was joining the Spanish champions on a four-year contract initially worth 25m euros (£17.6m) to Manchester United with a further £7m going to the club depending on appearances. Reports last night suggested Beckham would be earning £4.2m a year.
The transfer package is much less than the £40m mentioned in feverish speculation, reflecting both Beckham's determination to sign for Real and Manchester United's determination to get him out of Old Trafford before their summer tour of the US.
By far the most significant British football export for more than 10 years, the England captain will be officially unveiled as a Real Madrid player on July 2 in a ceremony at the Bernabeu stadium.
But it is the timing of the announcement while he is on a promotional tour for his sponsors in Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam that may prove far more symbolic for the club and its new star. In a classic piece of understatement, he told fans via his website: "With such great fans all across Asia, I'm sure it's going to be a memorable trip."
The Spanish giants covet Beckham's signature as much, if not more, for his iconic status among the far east's football merchandise-hungry fans as for his famous right foot.
In Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane, the club not only have the world's finest footballers but a marketing trio that all but sews up the European and South American markets. Now they have taken the first step to dominating the far east too.
The region has become a crucial target for any club seeking global marketing appeal. Beckham Manchester United shirts accounted for more sales there than those for the rest of the team put together.
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