The US President, said to be a keen follower of the club (he went to the Boleyn for a game five years ago with family members who live in east London) was given a shirt which reads "Obama 1" on the back; Robert Green, consider your place between the posts under threat. Obama was also given an invitation to come and visit the borough again during the 2012 Olympics. He'll probably be a little busy that summer fighting a tough presidential campaign against a resurgent Republican challenger in the form of Sarah Palin, but at least they tried.
You'll not be surprised to learn that the invite was another brainchild of Newham mayor Sir Robin Wales, who earlier in the year slipped a 2012 invitation to Arnold Schwarzanegger; a less spurious move than it sounds, as the California governer once lived and trained at a Forest Gate gym.
