Big-time Irish gamblers such as Istabraq's owner JP McManus and Barney Curley, have taken hundreds of thousands of English pounds out of the betting ring.

BBC: The Irish invasion

Topham, an English fireplug who was five feet ten and weighed two hundred pounds, could bend iron pokers with his bare hands, roll pewter dishes into cannoli, and win a tug-of-war with a horse.

NEWYORKER: The Strongest Man in the World

Manchester City is the latest rags to riches story, where billionaire Sheikh Mansour bought the team in 2008 and has since spent over 300 million pounds on players to get the club its first ever English Premier League title in 2012.

FORBES: Trophies Or Cash? The Ongoing Dichotomy Of European Soccer