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On Soccer AM...

Former Arsenal star Ray Parlour, comedian Jason Manford and The Automatic are on this week's show!

If it's goals, laughs and lots and lots of fun you're after this Saturday morning than look no further than Soccer AM! As ever our first guest is a professional footballer, and this week it's the turn of Ray Parlour! Known as the 'Romford Pele', the former Arsenal star once asked faith-healer Eileen Drury for a 'short back and sides' when he was sent to see her by former England boss Glenn Hoddle! But it's not just his great sense of humour that we love. As a player he was everything you would want as a fan, a tough-tackling midfielder who worked his socks off and gave everything for the cause. He was an ever-present in George Graham's side during the early '90s, while Arsene Wenger's arrival brought an added dimension to his game, as well as three league titles and three FA Cup medals. Never short of a story, when he last dropped by the studio he told us about the time things got a little bit weird as Tony Adams played the piano for him! We'll be finding out if his former Gunners team-mate has ever forgiven him if he has anymore tales to tell!

Accolades

Next down the tunnel will be comedian Jason Manford! One of the rising stars on the comedy circuit, Manford has already amassed a growing number of celebrity fans including Johnny Vaughan and Peter Kay. Described as a 'master of observational comedy', the Manchester City fan has already picked up a number of accolades including the prestigious North West Comedian of the Year Award and looks set to entertain us for years and years. His debut DVD, which was filmed at Manchester Apollo, is out now and he will be telling us all about it.
Rockers
Completing this week's line-up will be Welsh rockers The Automatic! Influenced by the likes of Blur, Muse and The Blood Brothers, the Automatic formed in 2005. While most students spend their gap year in a pub or on a beach 'finding themselves', The Automatic were signing a five-album record deal with B-Unique Records on the back of a successful demo. The demo included tracks 'Monster' and 'Rats', both of which featured on their debut 'Not Accepted Anywhere'. 'Monster' was also one of three tracks to be released as a single. The bands original line-up, consisting of school friends James Frost, Robin Hawkins and Iwan Griffiths, took on a new look when Alex Pennie left shortly before the release of their follow up effort 'This Is a Fix'. He has since been replaced by Paul Mullen. The band are currently preparing to release their third album "Tear The Signs Down" and we'll be asking them all about it. That completes this week's guests in the studio, but there's more because Andy Burton will be joining us live from Fratton Park ahead of Portsmouth's clash with Liverpool. Plus, we've got all your favourites too, including, Skill Skool with Macclesfield, Rushden Roulette, Itso Facto, Crossbar Challenge with Leeds, MP3 with John Barnes, and Edgar Davids tell us why he loves football! And that's not all, because a member of the armed forces will attempt to beat Helmet in Tug Of War, Marcus Hahnemann guides us through his Top 3 Saves, Tubes meets Avatar star Sam Worthington and our Xmas Table is back! So tune in to watch all the gang, plus our Leeds fans of the week and another stunning Soccerette, 9am, Saturday on Sky Sports 1 and Sky1.