Football Corner

Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell may be set for an early exit from Stamford Bridge with West Ham and Aston Villa both supposedly interested in the player. Sidwell joined the Blues during the summer on a bosman after he had rejected contracts from his then employers Reading but the large majority of Reading fans and football fans in general thought it was the wrong decision and so it has proved to be.

The only starts he is getting at the club are Carling Cup games and Sidwell is much better than that. Last season at Reading he was one of the Premier League's top performers and I would of loved if he had of stayed with the Royals for at least another season and developed his game further.

He was signed by former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and he said that he will come in as good cover for when Chelsea African players go away for the African Cup of Nations in January but Sidwell shoudln't just be used as back up, he's a quality player and loads of Premier League sides would love to have him in their teams.

Villa and West Ham were both interested in him before he joined Chelsea and it has been widely rumoured that they may come back in for the player come the January transfer window. I would love for Sidwell to leave the Bridge in January and start playing first team football again because it's such a shame to see such a talent being wasted as he has been at Chelsea.

Tonight saw seven Carling Cup matches being played with seven Premier League clubs prevailing but not without any Halloween scares. The game of the night was definitely the tie between Chelsea and manager less Leicester. Chelsea got off to a shocker conceding a goal after just six minutes when Gareth McAuley headed past Cudicini in the Chelsea goal.

Frank Lampard got Chelsea back level after 20 mins with a fine strike and did the same soon after giving Chelsea a 2-1 lead. Mid-way through the second half Leicester grabbed a surprise equaliser when DJ Campbell finished well past Cudicini and Leicester were in the lead soon after when Carl Cort scored his first goal for the club.

Andriy Shevchenko got his side level with minutes to spare and Chelsea completed the comeback when Lampard netted his hat-trick. Juande Ramos got off to a flyer as new Spurs boss when his side defeated Blackpool 2-0 at White Hart Lane, the goals coming from in form Robbie Keane and Pascal Chimbonda to send the Spurs fans home happy.

Robbie Fowler's comeback to Anfield didn't end in victory for his Cardiff side. Liverpool ran out 2-1 winners but had to battle to see off the Championship side. Goals from Steven Gerrard and Nabil El Zhar secured the victory for Liverpool with Darren Purse popping up for Cardiff. Liverpool 2-1 Cardiff Sven Goran Eriksson's Man City left it late when seeing off Bolton at the Reebok. An 86 minute penalty from in form Elano sent City into the quaters. Bolton 0-1 Man City.

Elsewhere it finished: Luton 0-1 Everton (aet), Portsmouth 1-2 Blackburn, Sheffield United 0-3 Arsenal.

Noriwch City are apparently lining up a January transfer window move for out of favour Celtic striker Derek Riordan. Riordan has today said that he wants to leave the Glasgow side in January due to the lack of first team football. The player has had limited first team chances at Celtic Park since joining the club from Hibernian two years ago.

"I would rather go away and just concentrate on another club now," he said. "I don't want to go out on loan because then I'd come back and not play again. "I would rather get my head down somewhere else and get my career going again." Riordan was a terrific player at Hibernian and it has been a real shame to not of witnessed his ability at Celtic.

New Norwich boss Glen Roder is apparently lining up a £1 million bid and in my view that is a good price for a player that easily get Norwich 20 goals a season. I really hope Riordan moves because I think he will be a great asset to the Championship and I think he will be the man to fill the void that Rob Earnshaw has left at Norwich when he left to go to Derby in the summer.

It has been reported today that Chelsea are set to make a bid for Bolton Wanderers striker Nicolas Anelka. The player who has said on numerous occasions that he wanted to join a bigger club is set to be subject of a £12 million bid from the Londoners. Anelka has been linked with several clubs in recent months and it appears as though Chelsea are now leading the race for his signature.

Anelka's departure has become more likely since the arrival of new Bolton boss Gary Megson after it was said that Megson would struggle to hold onto his star players. Anelka has had an impressive scoring record this season in a side that has struggled in the league and that has attracted the attention of Chelsea boss Avram Grant.

Chelsea boss Grant is likely to be without striker Didier Drogba for the African Nations Cup in January and I think Anelka will fit into Drogba's role perfectly. I wouldn't be surprised if any of the other sides who were interested in him earlier in the season comeback in for him in January. This move would also fulfill Anelka's ambition to play again in the Champions League.

It has been rumoured today that Manchester City manager Sven Goran Eriksson is set to bid for Heerenveen striker Alfonso Alves. The player has been attracting the interest of several Premier League sides but Eriksson is looking to snap up the striker for a £9 million deal. City's strikers have struggled thus far this season, with Emile Mpenza the only one showing any signs of form.

Liverpool and Chelsea are also said to be interested in the player who scored an unbelievable seven goals in one game earlier this season. The Brazillian striker was signed by Heerenveen for a fee of 4.5 million euros from Malmo FF and last season he netted a club record 35 goals in 31 games.

I would really like to see Alves join the Premier League because what I have seen of him he has been terrific and would be a great asset to any Premier League side. City are in real need of a striker and Alves would fit the bill because at the moment their strikers have failed to score consistently enough. It will be very interesting to see who will secure the players signature come the opening of the January window.

Todays bet of the day comes from the Carling Cup tie between Portsmouth and Blackburn. After yesterday's near miss with my prediction of a score draw in the Coventry V. West Ham match I'm confident this bet will recouperate the loss. The bet is that the match finishes as a draw in 90 mins of play therefore going to extra-time. The odds are @ 9/4 @ Paddy Power and I think those odds are to good to miss.

Oscar Cardozo has today been linked with a January transfer window move to Newcastle after the players agent says he is not surprised of the interest from the Premier League club. It has been widely rumoured that Newcastle have watched Cardozo twice in the past month and are seemly very keen on lining up a bid for the 24 year old.

Cardozo, who scored the all important goal against Celtic in the Champions League last week, is rated at £6 million and it would come as no surprise to me if Benfica were to cash in on him. "This is not a surprise," the agent told The Sun. "Benfica know they have a big player on their hands and could make money."

Newcastle currently have a lot of strikers on their books in Martins, Owen, Ameobi and Viduka but this speculation that the Magpies are to bid for the Paraguayan leads me to believe that they may be offloading a striker in January. Martins, Owen and Ameobi have all been linked with exits from St. James' Park but will anything materialise from those rumours come January.

Chelsea are set to make an approach for three new players in the January transfer window including Ronaldinho and Lokomotiv Moscow midfielders Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Branislav Ivanovic.

Ronaldinho has been the subject of much controversy in the Barca camp over the past few months with accusations of the Brazil star being unfit and too involved in the money matters of football. The former European Footballer of the year has started to fall out of favour recently with the success of South American youngsters Giovanni Dos Santos and Lionel Messi.

However, Chelsea will not get the Barca star cheap, it is said that the La Liga runners-up will expect a bid of at least £70 million, a world record transfer fee. AC Milan will also challenge Chelsea for the signature of the 27 year old. The arrival of the Brazilian in London may also see the exit of winger, Shaun Wright-Phillips which would arouse the interest of his former club Man City and Liverpool.


The Londoners are also chasing Lokomotiv Moscow pair Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Branislav Ivanovic. Branislav Ivanovic is a Serbian defender whose versatility allows him to play midfield as well, he appeared in last Summer's U 21 European Championships for Serbia and Motenegro. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov is a Russian international who plays in midfield and it is rumoured that Chelsea will pay £20 million for the pair.

Aston Villa are set to make a January transfer window move for out of favour Liverpool striker Peter Crouch according to the mirror. Crouch, who has struggled to get a place in the starting eleven at Anfield, used to play for the Midlands club under David O'Leary. But he was sold in 2004 to Southampton after a forgettable stint at the club.

Crouch has been linked with numerous amounts of clubs during the past couple of months as speculation mounts that Liverpool are looking for a new striker and that would almost guarantee the departure of Crouch. Newcastle, Man City and Portsmouth are all said to be keen on signing the 26 year old, but Reds boss Rafa Benitez has insisted he's not for sale.

I think it's time for Crouch to leave Anfield because he has only had one Premier League start this season and that in turn has led to his omission from the England squad. I have seen figures like £10 million for Crouch but I don't think he is worth that. I feel £7 million would be a fair fee for the 6 foot 7 inch tall striker. It will be very interesting to see who he may join, that's if Rafa decides to let him go.

It has today been reported that Tottenham and Liverpool are going to make a move for Real Madrid centre-half Segio Ramos in the upcoming January transfer window.

The Spaniard has performed consistently well for the La Liga side and played a huge roll in last years league title success as well as featuring regularly for his national side, but it has been rumoured recently that the young galactico is unhappy at his current club.

It is quite clear that with Spurs' poor defensive record in their games this season new personnel are required in the back line at White Hart Lane. However with the Spanish connection at Liverpool with both players and manager, it is felt that the versatile defender would be more at home on Mersyside.

Because of the 21 year olds great talent it is said that Madrid will not let him go for anything less than €18 million. The possible arrival of the Spaniard at Anfield in January would almost certainly see the way out for Liverpool veteran Sami Hyypia.

Former Tottenham manager Martin Jol has been told that he will have to wait until the end of the season to take over as Ajax boss. Ajax have not yet named a permanent successor to new Chelsea assistant manager Henk Ten Cate and Jol has said in the past that he would be interested in the job. Jol said: "If I get a feeling about Ajax, I'll absolutely think about it."

However, a club spokesperson told BBC Sport: "I can imagine he is interested but nothing is going on. I think we will stay as we are until the summer." Jol has also mentioned though that he wouldn't mind staying in England to manage after calling it "a fantastic country". Jol has also been linked with the Holland national team but that is unlikely to happen.

I personally would like to see Jol manage at Ajax because I really won't to see how he would cope with a Champions League side. Ajax are a huge club and I think Jol has the capabilities to manager them although I wouldn't mind him staying in England and getting a job in the Premier League, whenever one becomes available. Wherever Jol ends up, I certainly wish him the best of luck.

West Ham are apparently lining up a January move for Juventus midfielder Tiago. The player who used to play for Chelsea has this season, failed to produce any kind of form for the Italian giants and it is reported in the Mirror that Hammers boss Alan Curbishley is very keen and is supposedly lining up a £8 million bid for the 26 year old.

During his time at Chelsea, he really impressed me and I think it would be a great move for West Ham to sign the Portuguese midfielder. I think he is the kind of player West Ham are looking for because he is a centre midfielder and also has an eye for goal and I think the £8 million fee would be fair.

Tiago was sold by Chelsea in 2005 after the arrival of Michael Essien at the Bridge and joined French side Lyon for a 10 million euro fee. Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho would go on to say that selling Tiago was a mistake and I agree with him. He then joined Juventus for 13 million euro and I think if the Hammers were to sign him now it would be a real coup.

According to Sky Sports, Real Zaragoza playmaker Andres D'Alessandro is set for a return to the Premier League with more half a dozen sides lined up to buy the player. D'Alessandro, who used to play for Premier League side Portsmouth on loan has falling out with Zaragoza manager Victor Fernandez and team mate Pablo Aimar.

The player made a public apology and was welcomed back into the team but it is widely rumoured that the club are looking to sell the player come the opening of the January transfer window. Portsmouth are said to be among the sides looking to secure his signature after he impressed whilst on loan.

So who else may be interested in the 26 year old. Well I would guess that none of the big 4 would be interested but sides like Aston Villa, Newcastle, Man City and Everton would all fit the bill. D'Alessandro is obviously a quality player and I for one hope he rejoins the Premier League because I was largely impressed by the Argentine during his spell at Pompey.

Today's bet of the day comes from the League Cup game between Coventry and West Ham. Coventry obviously go into the game as under dogs but after beating Man United in the last round I certainly wouldn't be betting against them in tonights game. As you may of seen I've been in fine form on the betting seen in recent days so trust me with today's bet. The bet is a score draw (in 90 mins) @ 3/1 @ Paddy Power.

Just to let you all know that the game is on Sky Sports tonight at 7:45.

Arsenal and Liverpool are both keeping tabs on Manchester City star Micah Richards after it was reported that the players contract talks with the club stalled. He was apparently offered a club record £60,000 a week at the Manchester club but it has been rumoured that he has rejected the deal. Richards has been instrumental in City's terrific start to the season and it comes as no surprise that both clubs are interested in him.

It was reported a while ago that Richards said he would love to join Arsenal one day as he always admired them as a kid. Liverpool would be very keen on signing the player and he has been touted as a long term replacement to Sami Hyypia at Anfield. Arsenal boss Wenger has supposedly said in the past that he was a keen admirer of the player and that leads me to believe that he will join Arsenal if he leaves Eastlands.

I hope for City's sake and the players sake that he doesn't leave the club because Micah only has to look at Shaun Wright Phillips who left City for Chelsea and has since then failed to secure a first team place. In my opinion the player is worth as much as £20 million because he has performed consistently at City and has been one of England's top performers over the past few months.

It has today been reported that Arsenal and Real Madrid are going to battle it out for the signature of Newcastle centre-half Steven Taylor in the upcoming January transfer window.

The Greenwich-born defender has performed well for Newcastle in recent months and also as England U21 skipper. His heroic performances in last Summer's European U21 Championships in Holland have also attracted European attention to his talents, especially that of of Real Madrid manager Bernd Schuster and Arsene Wenger.

The hugely talented young centre-back is currently out of sorts at St James' Park and Toon boss Sam Allardyce has been very critical of the his recent form. Taylor has been linked with many clubs down south and would be a very useful player to have in any squad, even Real Madrids. It is thought that either club will have to pay between £6 million and £8 million for Taylor.

The departure of Taylor may also see a new face in Newcastle and it has been rumoured that the Geordies may make a move for Toffees defender, Joseph Yobo if a new defender is necessary.

West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand has today been linked with a move to Everton. The out of favour centre back is said to be increasingly frustrated at the lack of first team football and a move to Everton could be on the cards come the January transfer window. It has also been rumoured that the 22 year old could be used as bait for West Ham to sign Everton striker Andy Johnson.

Ferdinand who joined West Ham in December of 2002 as a trainee was handed his debut in August 2003 in West Ham first game of the 03-04 Championship season. Ferdinand's career hasn't been short of conterversal moments most notably back in Octbober 2006 when he was arrested on assault charges following a fracas outside a night club in Illford.

I really would like to see Ferdinand join the Merseyside club because I think he just needs a fresh start. He has played a few games this season but unfortunately he hasn't really shown everyone his best form. I would guess that if he were to join Everton in a money only fee then it would be for around about £5 million or so.

After the arrival of new Spurs manager Juande Ramos from Sevilla in the last week it has been reported that the London club are to make an approach for Ramos' former club stars Dani Alves, Fredi Kanoute and Andres Palop in the January transfer window.

The 23 million rated Dani Alves is highly regarded in Spain and has also been linked with Chelsea and Liverpool, but it is believed that the young Brazilian's decision may be influenced by his former gaffer, Ramos. Alves would be a great addition to the Spurs squad but you have to wonder if £23 million is slightly beyond the White Hart Lane budget.

Andres Palop played a big part in Sevilla's UEFA Cup success last season and with the recent poor form of England number 1 Paul Robinson, the services of Palop would be greatly availed of at Spurs. It is reckoned, though, that the UEFA Cup Champions will not accept any offers less than £8 million.

Former Tottenham striker Fredi Kanoute may also be on his way back White Hart Lane as his new found form has also benefited the La Liga side hugely. However after selling the 30 year old to Sevilla for a fee of €6.5 million the club will be at a great financial loss as they are expected to pay up to €25 million.

Liverpool are reportedly after Lazio striker Goran Pandev but the Merseyside club face stiff competition from German giants Bayern Munich. The 24 year old has impressed this season in the Champions League for Lazio and this apparently has caught the eye of Reds boss Rafa Benitez. The Macedonian was supposedly subject of a massive £17 million bid from Portsmouth last summer.

Pandev is contracted to Lazio until 2009 and there’s fears he could invoke FIFA’s Article 17 law next summer to buy himself out of his current deal. Liverpool signed Andriy Voronin and Fernando Torres this summer but Benitez is still said to be keen on bringing another striker to Anfield with Pandev his first choice.

It will be very interesting to see who out of Bayern and Liverpool sign the player. He is a quality player and I personally would love to see him join the Premier League. It is quite clear to see that the player wants to leave because of the suggestion that he may try and buy out his contract so Lazio should try and work out a deal to try and get some money from the player.

Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes is set to be out of action for at least three months after picking up a knee injury. The 32 year old injured his knee in the build to the Champions League group game against Dynamo Kiev and is set to undergo an operation on Thursday. Scholes has been an integral part of the United team in recent years and will be missed although I feel they have good cover in Hargeaves and Anderson.

Fellow United midfielder Michael Carrick is also sidelined at the moment but is expected to return to training early this week and may even feature in Saturday's game against Arsenal. This injury means that Scholes will be out until February which isn't good news at all considering he is in his last few years of playing for the Reds.

United played Hargreaves and Anderson for the weekends game against Middlesbrough and I thought both were excellent. Hargreaves plays the holding role in midfield terrific and I think he will probably keep Carrick out of the side. Hopefully all goes well with the operation for Scholes and hes back sooner than expected.

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp has today signed a new 4 year deal at the club. Redknapp has been one of the main reasons behind the club's sudden emergence as one of the top teams in England. He has brought in players like Muntari, Utaka and Campbell all of which have been superb this season.

Redknapp returned to the club in 2005 after leaving to manage arch rivals Southampton but the Pompey fans welcomed him back with open arms. "Since returning to Fratton Park I have had nothing but the utmost support from the owner Sacha Gaydamak and chief executive Peter Storrie," he said. "The club is moving in the right direction. It's a great place to be and I can only see that getting better."

Storrie added: "Obviously it's a great coup for us to have one of the best managers in the business pledging his long-term future to the club. "Harry has done a great job, first rescuing the club from the jaws of relegation and then building a team now strong enough to challenge for a European place."

Portsmouth have had a terrific start to the season and few would bet against them finishing in a UEFA Cup place come the end of the season and that is largely down to Harry. When Harry left Portsmouth, the club appointed Alain Perrin and under him they were awful and I thought they were going to go down but thankfully for the club, he was sacked and Harry was brought in.

Liverpool have today been rocked by the news that Spanish stars Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso are set for spells on the sidelines. Torres has been ruled out for at least three weeks with an abductor injury which he picked up in Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Arsenal. He was substituted at half-time and was replaced by Peter Crouch. The player had only returned to action after he was sidelined with a similar injury.

Alonso could be out for a bit longer after he fractured the fourth metatarsal in his left foot. He was also injured during Sunday's game in which he limped off after 70 minutes. Reds boss Rafael Benitez said: "Alonso has suffered the same injury again, the metatarsal, he felt something go in his foot. "Torres also has a similar injury, a problem with an abductor muscle. He could not work as hard as we wanted, we wanted his pace and it was not available.

"He just was not fit. We talked beforehand and he said he was fine. Now we must wait again, he had been out for some time and we have been pushing to get him back, but he has not been right and he still is not right. "I will need to check with the doctor to see how the players are in the next two days."

Obviously this isn't great news for Liverpool because both are key players for the side. It is especially bad news for Torres because since arriving at the club he hasn't really got a decent run in the side and I'm sure a lot of Liverpool fans were hoping the next few weeks would of seen him do so. Due to the injury to Alonso, I'm hoping out of favour Momo Sissoko gets a chance in the team because he needs some games to prove himself to Benitez.

Arsenal are apparently lining up a bid for Wolves attacking midfielder Karl Henry. The player who only joined Wolves a year ago from Stoke for £100,000 is attracting the interest of several Premier League clubs but it is thought that Arsenal have the edge because of Wolves boss Mick McCarthy supposed interest in swapping the player with Nicklas Bendtner of Arsenal.

The People report that a deal could be done involving Bendtner going to Wolves on loan and Arsenal a sum of cash for the permanent signing of the 24 year old. Bendtner has failed to grab a first team place in the Arsenal team after spending last season on loan at then Championship side Birmingham.

Liverpool are also said to be interested in the player and it will be interesting to see who he might join in January. He has scored once in ten appearances for Wolves this season but his overall contribution has been impressive. Henry has only signed a new contract at the club which will keep him at Molineux until 2011.

England have today been given the go ahead by FIFA to bid to host the 2018 World Cup. England had expressed an interest in hosting the competition back in 2005 but the World Cup usually takes turns in every continent and it wasn't meant to be Europe's turn again until 2022 after Germany hosted it in 2006 but according to the world governing body's vice-president Chung Mong-Joon that rule has been abolished.

Other countries including the USA, China, Russia and Australia have all expressed an interest in hosting the event whilst the Netherlands and Belgium are also interest, but with a joint bid. I would guess England might be favourites because senior FIFA officials like Franz Beckenbaur have said that it would be great to host the competition in the homeland of football.

One other factor that I think may help the England bid is that it has so many large stadia in the country like Old Trafford, The Emirates and Wembley and with the proposed plans of new stadia for several clubs in the English league I think England may just get the nod and wouldn't that be terrific to see.

Now this is a title that is going to go right to the wire. For years it's been Arsenal fighting United for the title, then it wen to United fighting Chelsea for the title but after this weeks action, I can see it turning into a four horse race. Arsenal and Liverpool played out a terrific 1-1 draw at Anfield, whilst Chelsea hammered in form Manchester City 6-0 at Stamford Bridge and Man United beat Middlesbrough 4-1 at Old Trafford.

Arsenal have surprised many people this season so far, including me, by the manner in which they have been winning games. They are still unbeaten and look a shadow of the team that finished 21 points behind Champions Man United last season. Cesc Fabregas in midfield for Arsenal has undoubtedly been the Premier League's best performer this season and I feel if he stays fit for the season then Arsenal will have a huge chance.

Liverpool are unbeaten so far this season but have drawn too many games. They are on 20 points with five wins and five draws. They looked superb against Derby earlier in the season beating them 6-0 but since then they have drawn against sides like Birmingham and Tottenham games that really should be winning to have a real chance but having said that they put up a good display against Arsenal on Sunday and if they can put in that kind of performance every week then they have a great chance.

Many people questioned Chelsea chances of winning this seasons title after they parted company with Jose Mourinho back in September. They appoint Avram Grant, who many people taught was the wrong choice for the job. Since then though they have looked good. Beating Man City on Saturday 6-0 has been the highlight but they went away to Middlebrough last week and performed really well in winning 2-0. I think if Chelsea are to keep all their key players in January and maybe sign a player or two there is no doubt they will be big contenders.

Current Champions, Man United have looked terrific after getting off to a miserable start. They collected only two points from a possible nine at the start of the season but since then they have won every game and have only conceded four goals all season. The pick of Uniteds performances has been there 4-1 victory over Aston Villa last weekend. The patnership of Tevez and Rooney upfront for United has been sensational and if they keep performing like this together then there is no stopping United.

So who do you think will end up winning the league... just leave a comment!

Former Leeds United assistant manager, Gus Poyet has today been announced as one of new Tottenham boss Juande Ramos' first team coaches. The news comes after intense speculation as to the future of Poyet at Leeds after it was confirmed by Spurs that they had made an approach for the Uruguayan.

Poyet was told to stay away from Leeds Uniteds 4-2 victory over Millwall on Saturday after it was feared that too much of the media attention would be on him rather than the game itself and current Leeds boss Dennis Wise didn't want his players being distracted.

The 39-year-old joins the club as one of two first-team coaches, alongside Marcos Alvarez, who worked with Ramos at former club Sevilla. Poyet played at White Hart Lane for three seasons between 2001 and 2004. A statement on the Leeds website on Monday said: "A compensation package has been agreed, the terms of which will remain confidential."

Leeds have been doing terrific under Wise and Poyet and I just hope for their sake that this doesn't affect the teams form. During his time at Spurs as a player, Poyet sustained many injuries but he still managed to score 23 goals in 98 games. I'm just wondering whats the reaction to the arrival of Poyet from all you Spurs fans?

Saturday it was @ evens, Sunday it was @ 3/1. Yes you may of noticed that I pulled off another bet of the day on Sunday when I correctly said that the Liverpool v. Arsenal match would end in a score draw and the odds were 3/1. The match ended 1-1 and I was left smiling. Thats two out of two now for me from the new "Bet Of The Day" feature so make sure next time to get the money on because I may just make you rich!

Aston Villa are interested in making the loan move of keeper Scott Carson permanent according to the News Of The World. The player who is on loan from fellow Premier League side Liverpool has impressed since joining the Midlands club and Martin O'Neill is said to be very keen on signing Carson full time. It is believed that Liverpool will want as much as £10 million for the player and I think that is good value for such a talent.

The player who joined Liverpool back in January of 2005 from Leeds United for a fee of £1 million but since then he has struggled to get his place in the Liverpool first team ahead of Jose Pepe Reina and has been forced to go out on loan to get some first team football.

The 22 year old has been tipped to break into the England starting eleven after impressing in the opening games of the Premier League season but last week he was sent off against champions Man United.

Carson has really impressed during the last two season whilst playing for Villa and last season in a poor Charlton side who went on to be relegated. I'm not too sure Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez will be too keen to sell such an emerging keeper because there is no doubt that if he keeps up this kind of form in recent years he will be England's number one.

Carlton Cole and Andrew Johnson of West Ham and Everton respectively may be the subjects of a part exchange deal between the two clubs in the coming January transfer window.

Carlton Cole has recently found some good form similar to that of which he showed at Chelsea some years ago as a promising youngster and has also managed to avoid injuries so far this season for the Hammers. Andrew Johnson however has struggled slightly, with the presence of Yakubu and Anichebe he has found it hard to spark in the Everton front line.

If the deal was to go through and Andy Johnson was to find some form, the partnership of himself and Dean Aston with a combination of speed, strength and superb finishing, it could be a strike force to be reckoned with in the Premier League.

As for Carlton Cole, it would be a tough fight between Anichebe and the former Chelsea man to see who would partner Nigerian striker Yakubu up front. It is expected that West Ham will offer Cole and £3 million for the former Crystal Palace striker.

The highlight of today's games in the Premier League was Liverpool against Arsenal in Anfield with both sides going into the game unbeaten, elsewhere Spurs new manager Juande Ramos watched from the stands as his side entertained Blackburn at White Hart Lane. Bolton began life with Gary Megson as manager when they took on Aston Villa at the Reebok and Everton travelled to Pride Park where they took on the league stragglers, Derby.

Tottenham went into their game against Blackburn third from bottom and in serious need of a win. Spurs went ahead after 49 minutes when Aaron Lennon was taken down in the box, the duty was left to Robbie Keane who coolly fired past Friedel. However, Blackburn's pressure paid off and Benni McCarthy pulled back an equaliser for Mark Hughes' men with a deflected shot creeping agonisingly over Spurs no.2 keeper Radek Cerny. Little did the White Hart Lane faithful know the worst was yet to come when in the dying seconds of the game Blackburn centre-half Chris Samba drilled home from the edge of the box. That 2-1 victory means 4 wins on the trot for Blackburn and that they move up into the UEFA cup places. What has Juande Ramos gotten himself into?

Bolton started today bottom of the league and in charge of them was Gary Megson. It was however a vibrant start from Bolton who earned their goal 22 minutes in when Nicolas Anelka curled a superb free kick into the top corner giving Thomas Sorensen no chance. But Luke Moore was to deny the former West Brom boss a debut victory as on 57 minutes the striker converted from close range after a controversial overrule from the referee over his linesman wrongfully giving Villa a throw. With a low attendance of just a little over 18,000, a league lowthis season, it's worrying times for Bolton.

At Pride Park Derby took on Everton, a game in which The Rams desperately needed something out of. But Mikel Arteta put a huge dent in the hopes of Derby putting the Toffees in front after 26 minutes. Yakubu doubled that lead after latching onto a Stephen Pienaar pass and striking home from close range. The game finished 2-0, and Derby posed little threat throughout the whole match.

Liverpool against Arsenal (match report below)

To view the Premier League table click on the link below http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/table/default.stm

Liverpool and Arsenal shared the spoils in this weekends big Premier League clash at Anfield in what was a thrilling encounter between two of the league's unbeaten teams.

Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso both returned to the Liverpool starting line-up after injuries and for Arsenal Tomas Rosicky got his place ahead of Theo Walcott despite the England internationals outstanding performances in midweek.

The game started brightly with quick free-flowing football and several half chances at either end, and it was the home side who took the lead after only seven minutes. Xabi Alonso was fouled on the edge of the area after nice build up play by the Merseysiders and from the resulting free, Riise laid it off to Steven Gerrard who buried it to the right of Almunia.

Arsenal's best chance of the half came through Adebayor when the Togo international got through one on one with Pepe Reina, but the Spaniard stood tall and managed to get his body behind the oncoming shot.

A half time substitution from Rafa Benitez saw Peter Crouch replace the clearly unfit Fernando Torres and the 6' 7" striker had a point to prove to his gaffer. Arsenal started the second period much better, with much more possession but failing to break the stubborn Liverpool defence. That was until the 80th minute when Hleb's run on the left wing with a delayed pass from the Belarussian created space for Fabregas to squeeze home the equaliser.

The two best chances of the second half besides the goal both fell to the Londoners and they were both carbon copys of one another. The first came after Emmanuel Eboue's shot rebounded off the post into Cesc Fabregas' path, but the on-form midfielder blazed it high wide and certainly not handsome. The second was for Niclas Bendtner after Fabregas almost broke the post with his stunning 25 yard effort, the ball came to the young Dane who fired over an open goal from the edge of the box.

That said Liverpool did look dangerous on the counter attack and it took a last gasp challenge from William Gallas to stop Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard from getting his second of the game.1-1 it finished and both sides will probably be pleased with the result, a fair reflection on the game and keeping both sides unbeaten record.

There were several candidates for man of the match with outstanding performances from Xabi Alonso, Fabregas and Crouch when he came on. However one player stood out in my mind who I felt went unrecognised, Javier Mascherano for Liverpool. The Argentinian made a few match saving tackles and used the ball well when received.

Who was your man of the match? Leave us a comment with your choice.

This weeks premier league player of the week goes to Wayne Rooney of Man United for his terrific performance in his sides 4-1 win over Middlesbrough. Rooney scored once and set up another, but his alround contribution was brilliant. It was a very tricky decision this week between Rooney, Tevez and Drogba but eventually I came to the decision. Do you agree / disagree? leave a comment !

It has been reported this morning in The People that Chelsea are supposedly lining up a £15 million bid for Aston Villa and England star Gareth Barry. The player who has impressed in recent months for both Villa and the national team has coincidentally replaced Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard in the England team.

Lampard's future has been brought into question in recent weeks after it was reported that the player was subject to a bid from Italian giants Juventus. Another rumour is that Chelsea may offer either Steve Sidwell or Shaun Wright Phillips (both of whom have been linked with the midlands club in the past) as a part exchange for the 26 year old.

It would be very interesting to see how Barry would cope with playing for such a big club because the way in which he played for England in the recent Euro qualifiers was top drawer. Villa are a young team and no doubt in a few years time the will have a team that can challenge for Champions League places but will Barry still be with them?

Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen is set to leave Barca in January to sign for either Portsmouth or Manchester City. The player who signed for the Spanish giants last season has struggled to nail down a place in Barca boss Frank Rjkaard's first team and the news of the world say he is finally willing to call it a day at the Camp Nou.

Barca signed Gudjohnsen from Chelsea for a fee of around £8 million but I predict he may go for a shade lower than that, probably around the £6 million mark.

It hasn't been nice to see a player like Gudjohnsen sitting on the bench over the last year and I think he would be much better off coming back to England.The 29 year old still has three years left to run on his deal at Barca but few predict he will see out that amount of time.

Gudjohnsen would be a terrific signing and I think he will end up at Sven Goran Eriksson's Man City because Sven is desperate to bring in a quality striker in the January window and I feel Gudjohsen would fit the bill. He is the kind of player who can get you twenty goals a season and he works hard around the field in general.

Today's bet of the day comes in the clash between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield. Arsenal go into the tie on the back of a terrific 7-0 win over Slavia Prague in the Champions League in midweek, whilst Liverpool lost to Turkish side Besiktas 2-1. Although Arsenal go into to game in much better form, my bet is a score draw @ 3/1 @ Paddy Power.

By the way if you were logged on yesterday, you may or may not of seen my best bet for Saturday's action. Well if you didn't, it was Man United to score 3 or more goals against Middlesbrough @ evens, and what do you know, United won 4-1. So, now that I have your trust, believe in me on today's bet.

When Carlos Tevez was signed by Manchester United during the summer from West Ham, many people talked about how he would fit into the side. People said that Tevez and Rooney are too similar players and they couldn't play in the same team and boy have they proved the doubters wrong.

Sir Alex Ferguson has played the players alongside each other in the United attack and thus far they have really impressed. Both are players that love to play in a free role, ideally behind the strikers. One thing that really proves my point is that whenever Rooney and Tevez have played together this season United have won every game.

Tevez has now scored four goals this season (league), coincidentally all of which have come at the Stretford End at Old Trafford. Rooney on the other hand has also scored four goals in the league but the link play of both players has been exquisite, especially the assist by Rooney today (V. Middlesbrough) for Tevez to finish.

Ferguson has also been speaking about the pair : "They [Tevez and Rooney] are both good players. On an individual basis they are not going to let you down. "What we wanted to decide was where Wayne should play and where Carlos should play. "I think we have got that right. Wayne is terrific up front, he is marvellous.

He has power, he has got two great feet, he is brave, you will not intimidate him, he is good in the air and he has got pace. "He is the perfect foil for Carlos, who has the brain to drop in good areas, set the attacks going and turn defenders."

I just wonder, when the pair get to learn each others game even more in the upcoming months how good they will be. They will definitely become one of the greatest partnerships in Premier League history if they keep this kind of form up and I have no doubt they will.

Tottenham have tonight announced what many people have known for sometime, the appointment of Juande Ramos. Former Spurs boss Martin Jol resigned from the club on Thursday night but Spurs have wasted no time in appointing the former Sevilla manager Juande Ramos. Ramos left Sevilla on Friday night after is was widely speculated that he already had been approached by the Londoners about the vacancy.

The 53-year-old Ramos said: "I greatly appreciate the opportunity to work as head coach at Tottenham Hotspur." Newspaper reports suggest he will be paid up to £6m a year by Spurs. Ramos led Sevilla to the Uefa Cup title in each of the last two seasons and into the Champions League for the first time after they finished a close third behind Real Madrid and Barcelona last year.

"This has been the hardest decision of my life," he said after leaving the Spanish club. "My time at Sevilla has been the most important period of my life personally and professionally. I will be eternally grateful."

Back in August it was widely speculated that Spurs officials had meet up with Ramos in Spain about the job and ever since then former boss Jol had been tipped for the sack. It has also been rumoured that Tottenham have approached Leeds United about the availability of assistant boss Gus Poyet.

So now that the appointment has been confirmed, how much will he get now to spend in the January transfer window because Ramos will want to stamp his own mark on the team. There have been reports that he will receive as much as £40 million to try and lift Spurs from the relegation zone.

I would guess he may want to bring some of the players he managed at Sevilla and players like Kanoute and Dani Alves spring to mind. I feel he may want to invest in a new goalkeeper because the form of Paul Robinson isn't great at the moment and a keeper like Livorno keeper Marco Amelia. So who else might Tottenham buy in January?

It has been reported in The Sun, that European high fliers Real Madrid and Man Utd are going to battle it out to secure the signature of Partizan Belgrade's whizz kid Stevan Jovetic, once the Summer transfer window reopens.

Montenegrin FA president Dejan Savicevic has encouraged Manchester United to sign the 17 year-old striker after netting six times already for his club this year. Savicevic said, "Stevan could play in any of the biggest clubs in Europe" to The Sun newspaper.

It has been suggested that the destination club of Jovetic will have to pay Serbian Superliga club £7 million for his services. However Partizan president, Tomislav Karadzic says they will hold onto the player until the end of the season, "But Partizan won't rush. Our fans and coach Miroslav Djukic can rest at ease until next June".

Chelsea striker Scott Sinclair may be on his way out of the club come January, with a loan move the probable outcome. The player has failed to break into the Chelsea first team after impressing many people last season whilst on loan at Championship side Plymouth Argyle. He has been linked with no fewer than seven clubs, two of which are in the Premier League and the rest are in the Championship.

Sunderland, Sheffield United, Birmingham City, Wolves, West Brom, Cardiff and Crystal Palace are the clubs who are all said to be very keen on the 19 year old. I feel that it would be better for Sinclair to go to any of the Championship sides rather than a Premier League side because I think he would be guaranteed a place at any of them.

Sinclair is a very talented young player and it is no surprise as to the amount of clubs who are interested in him. Sinclair was recently sent home by the England under 19 management after breaking a curfew. I feel, wherever he ends up after the January transfer window, he will do well because when I saw him play at Plymouth he was outstanding.

Today's Premier League results saw Chelsea reignite their championship winning form with a rampant defeat over in-form Man City. Man Utd kept up their winning streak easing past Middlesbrough at Old Trafford. Birmingham scraped a win in a 5 goal thriller at home to Wigan, but only just. Reading got a much needed 3 points against Newcastle. A late Kenwyn Jones goal earned a point for Roy Keane's Sunderland at home to Fulham. West Ham saw out a nil-nil draw in Fratton Park.

After a 3rd minute wonder strike from Utd new boy Nani, a Jeremie Aliader equaliser gave the Teeside fans false hope as 3 more goals from Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez(2) sealed a 4-1 victory for the Red Devils.

Despite Marcus Bent putting Wigan in front twice at St. Andrews, two goals from Olivier Kapo including a penalty and a third from Liam Ridgewell gave the home side all three points in a thrilling game.

Reading overcame Newcastle at the Madejski, with Dave Kitson's 53rd minute strike giving the Royals the lead before Michael Duberry turned the ball into his own net to level things up. A super sub by Steve Coppell, saw Irish international Shane Long scoring within a minute of coming on to give Reading the win.

Simon Davies put Fulham in front at the Stadium of Light and Sunderland were up against it and an early bath for Black Cats defender Greg Halford didn't make matters easier for the home side. But a late header from Kenwyn Jones left the Londoners hanging on in the closing stages.

Premier League topscorer Benjani saw his late penalty saved by West Ham keeper, Rob Green to share the spoils at Fratton Park in an otherwise event less game.

Chelsea match report below.

To view the the premier league table click on the link below http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/table/default.stm

Here are some of the funniest football quote ever. If you have any other funny ones which I have missed please just leave us a comment and tell me them.

'The groin's been a little sore but after the semi-final I put it to the back of my head.' - MICHAEL HUGHES

'I've had 14 bookings this season - 8 of which were my fault, but 7 of which were disputable' - Paul Gascoigne

'The World Cup is a truly international event.' - John Motson

'I couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country.' - IAN RUSH

'It took a lot of bottle for Tony (Adams) to own up' - IAN WRIGHT on his team mate's admission of alcoholism

'If Glenn Hoddle said one word to his team at half time, it was concentration and focus.' - Ron Atkinson

'Their football was exceptionally good - and they played some good football.' - BOBBY ROBSON

'They (Rosenborg) have won 66 games, and they've scored in all of them.' - Brian Moore

'Liverpool's best chance ended when Beardsley shot himself.' - Daily Express match report

'...and France and Romania drew 1-0.' - MOIRA STEWART

'... and so they have not been able to improve their 100% record.' - reporter

'Hodge scored for Forest after 22 seconds - totally against the run of play.' - PETER LORENZO

'Gomes had scored four goals for Portugal against Andorra, including a hat-trick.' - BILL O'HERLIHY

'Ian Pearce has limped off with what looks like a shoulder injury.' - TONY COTTEE


'Wayne Rooney became the longest player to score in the Premier League' - BBCi

Chelsea have today beaten in form Manchester City 6-0 at Stamford Bridge. City went into the game on the back of three impressive home wins in the Premier League but looked a shadow of that side today at the Bridge. Chelsea took the lead early on in the game when Michael Essien finished after been slid in by Frank Lampard. Lampard did the same soon after, this time setting up Drogba to give Chelsea a 2-0 lead at the break.

City goalkeeper Joe Hart was unlucky to concede a third after superbly denying Lampard but Drogba was there to fire home his second of the match. Joe Cole got in on the act soon after when he strolled through the City defence to slot home and pile further misery on the travelling City faithful.

Soloman Kalou grabbed a fifth for the Londoners after he was slotted in by one of Chelsea's star performers on the day, Michael Essien and he shot the ball thorugh the legs of Joe Hart in the City goal. Once again Essien was the provider for Chelsea's sixth goal which came in the shape of, out of sorts, Andriy Shevchenko.

This result has come totally out of the blue. City have looked incredible this season, but today they just weren't at the races. They will want to get this result out of their systems quick so they can concentrate on getting back on track this season.

Obviously it's a terrific result for Chelsea because many people in recent months have questioned wheter or not they will be as good post Mourinho, but today they certainly proved they are. I'm sure Chelsea fans will be happy to see Drogba bagging a couple after the comments he made in the French magazine last week about wanting to leave the club.

Today's Premier League bet of the day comes from the Manchester United V. Middlesbrough match. The bet is United to score 3 or more goals @ evens @ Paddy Power. United have been in fine form lately and I can see them scoring at least three goals in this afternoons game against a poor Middlesbrough side.

Brazilian and AC Milan star Kaka has failed to rule out a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid. The 25 year old has been long linked with a move to Real but during the summer AC ruled out a possible deal for the play maker. Real are thought to be lining up a fresh bid for Kaka when the January transfer window opens as the La Liga champions bid to defend their title. Milan club president Silvio Berlusconi, however, has said that the Italian giants would do their up most to keep their prized asset at the club.

Kaka, though, has not ruled out a move to Spain after it emerged that former Real president Florentino Perez could be in line for talks with Milan. "I have a contract with Milan until 2011, I am not in a hurry to renew it and neither are Milan," Kaka told Italian media. "Florentino Perez must talk with Berlusconi. If they find an agreement okay, otherwise I stay here."

So if Kaka were to leave Milan, who might be brought in to try and fill the void. Well Kaka has hinted that fellow countryman Ronaldinho could be interested in joining AC, but would Barca sell? "Every time we meet up with the national team, Ronaldinho asks me about Milan, the team and the club," added Kaka."I don't know if he can come. Certainly he has feelings for us."

It would be amazing to see how AC would cope without Kaka and it would also be interesting to see how the player adapts to La Liga. There is no doubt, at this moment in time he is the best player in the world and arguably his best years are still ahead of him. I have a funny feeling that he feels he may of achieved everything he can at AC by winning the Champions League and so he may well join Real, but it would cost a humongous sum of money to lure him to the Bernabaeu.

Sheffield United have once again expressed an interest in signing Bolton veteran Gary Speed. It had been widely rumoured last week that Speed wanted out of the Reebok after he abandoned his coaching roles after he was left out of Bolton's games against Chelsea and Fk Rabotnicki. Speed's move underlined the growing hostility of senior players towards Sammy Lee's management style, but now Lee has gone.

It had also been rumoured that Speed may be on his way to Newcastle were former Bolton boss Sam Allardyce would offer him a coaching role at the club, but thus far nothing has materialised in the rumour. So you would of taught that after the arrival of Gary Megson at the club the speculation as to his future would of gone away, but that isn't the case. Sheffield United boss Bryan Robson is said to be very keen on offering Speed a three month loan deal at Bramill Lane.

Speed has been a great servant to the Premier League over the last 15 years or so, but could his time in the top division be over. I think if Robson was to sign him it would be a great move because although Speed is now 38, he hasn't lost any of his ability. He is still as fit as ever and knowing him he could go til he is 40. Wherever Speed ends up, wheter it be at Sheff Utd, Newcastle or even still at Bolton, I'm sure he'll do a great job whatever he's doing.

Manchester United are apparently interested in bringing Bayern Munich right back, Willy Sagnol to the club in January, according to the sun newspaper. United haven't had usual right back Gary Neville playing for the club all season due to injury and rumour has it that Fergie is interested in bringing the player to the club for a fee of around £4.5 million.

Another interesting fact is that because Sagnol has only just returned from a lengthy lay off himself, he could still possibly play for the Manchester club in Champions League matches this season if he were to join. The 30 year old Frenchman joined Muncih back in 2000 after leaving French side AS Monaco.

Sagnol has been one of the best right backs in European football in recent years and it doesn't surprise me that Ferguson has been linked with him because with club captain Neville now 32 years old, United will need cover for him in two or three years time. I feel the fee of £4.5 million sounds a fair one for a player that has won no fewer than ten domestic titles in Germany and a Champions League to boot and he may of had a World Cup to go with that if France hadn't of lost that epic Penalty shootout with Italy back in 2006.

Man Utd are set to make an approach for Atletico Bilbao midfielders Javi Martinez and Markel Susaeta, in the coming January transfer window.

Susaeta made his debut for Bilbao in September of this year against Barcelona in the Camp Nou, impressing the crowds and scoring their only goal in a 3-1 defeat by the La Liga runners up. Despite being registered for Bilbao B team at the start of the campaign the Spanish midfielder has now been handed the first team squad number of 27 and has appeared regularly in the Bilbao 16 man panel.

Javi Martinez was signed by Atletico Bilbao in 2006 at the age of 17 , for the large sum of €6 million, obviously proving what faith the Spanish club had in his ability. Although he hadn't played first team football at Osasuna, he has stood out frequently in the Bilbao colours.

It is expected though that Utd will have to splash out around £10 million pounds each on the two players to persuade the La Liga side to release the pair.

Liverpool midfielder Jermaine Pennat is likely to be out for at least two months after injuring his right shin. He came off in Liverpool's defeat to Besiktas on Wednesday night after 59 minutes and he is likely to face an operation on a stress fracture of the right shin. Club spokesman Ian Cotton said: "For the last eight weeks Jermaine has undergone intensive treatment. "But it has now been decided he requires surgery."

Pennant hasn't really done much since signing for Liverpool back in 2006. He was signed for a fee of £6.7 million from Birmingham but few feel he has lived up to that price tag. Due to the injury he is likely to miss out on Liverpool's upcoming games including Arsenal on Sunday.

Pennant has took part in everyone of Liverpool's Premier League games this season so who will replace him now on the right wing. Well I predict Rafa will probably start Yossi Benayoun a bit more and I think that will do the player the world of good because he just needs games and then Liverpool fans will see the best of the Israeli.

Sevilla striker Fredric Kanoute has today been linked with a surprise return to his former club Tottenham after is was reported that his current boss, Juande Ramos, is set to take the White Hart Lane hot seat. Kanoute left Spurs almost three years ago and has been a revalation in La Liga, scoring 30 goals last season for the UEFA Cup winners.

It has been rumoured today that the Mali striker, if the deal was to go through it would be for as much as £18 million, a club record fee for the Londoners. After signing for Spurs from London rivals West Ham, Kanoute soon became a fan favourite, but unfortunately for him he lost his place and was sold prior to the 2005-2006 for a fee of £4.4 million.

If Sevilla were to sell for the rumoured amount of £18 million they would make a huge profit from the fee they paid two seasons ago. I personally feel this would be a great signing for Spurs although I do think the £18 million price tag is a bit much for a 30 year old.

This would almost certainly spell the end of Jermain Defoe's career at Tottenham, with Man City and Portsmouth the most likely destinations for the England international. The 25 year old is reportedly unhappy at the lack of first team football at the club and it has been widely rumoured that an exit from the club is quite possible in the upcoming January transfer window.

This week sees two title challengers clash at Anfield. Liverpool take on Arsenal on the back of a poor Champions League result against Besiktas while Arsenal go into the game in fine form after steam rolling Slavia Prague in midweek. The pick of Saturday's games comes at Stamford Bridge were Chelsea take on in form Man City. After 5 games unbeaten many people are tipping Eriksson's City to break into the top 6 and few would bet against them getting a result.

Tottenham face Blackburn on Sunday hoping to start on a good note after the recent departure of Martin Jol from White Hart Lane. They have thus far failed to show anything like the kind of form they did last season, which saw them finish just outside the top 4. Man United face Middlesbrough this weekend hoping to carry on the form of the previous month or so, which has seen them climb to second from a start which only produced 2 points out of a possible nine in the opening games.

• Birmingham -V- Wigan : Cathal - 2-1. Niall - 1-1.
  
• Chelsea -V- Man City : Cathal - 2-1. Niall - 2-2.
  
• Man United -V- Middlesbrough: Cathal - 3-0. Niall - 4-0.
  
• Reading -V- Newcastle: Cathal - 1-1. Niall - 1-3.
  
• Sunderland -V- Fulham: Cathal - 3-0. Niall - 1-0.
  
• Portsmouth -V- West Ham: Cathal - 2-0. Niall - 3-2.
  
• Bolton -V- Aston Villa: Cathal - 1-2. Niall - 2-1.
  
• Derby -V- Everton: Cathal - 1-3. Niall - 1-2.
  
• Tottenham -V- Blackburn: Cathal - 2-2. Niall - 3-2.
  
• Liverpool -V- Arsenal: Cathal - 1-2. Niall - 1-1.

Have your say on our predictions, do you agree or disagree?

Several English topflight clubs including; Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton and Spurs are set to make an approach for Monaco whizz kid Yohan Mollo come the January transfer window according to The People newspaper.

With all respect to Mollo and your footballing knowledge, here is a brief background to the player. Born in July 1989 in France, Yohan Mollo is an attack minded midfielder that can play with equal ability on either wing. He has been referred to in the French media as a left-footed Cristiano Ronaldo.

Mollo, 18, has impressed with his performances in the French youth team and the above clubs feel that he is a great prospect for the future. Although yet to make a senior appearance in the Monaco senior team, the youngster has made it clear that he is determined to move to an English club in the near future and it is reported that Liverpool and Arsenal are favourites to answer the Frenchman's get-out plea.

Spurs and Everton have also been linked to the winger, but it is expected that the Gunners and the Reds' from Merseyside will dominate the bidding war with more funds available to these Premier League high-fliers. Whoever manages to secure the signature, it is expected that it will be for a fee of around £10 million.

England and Chelsea winger Shaun Wright Phillips is set for a January move to former club Manchester City. The player was said to of been unhappy at been dropped for the Champions League game against Schalke 04 on Wednesday and he said that he was considering his future. The player who left City two seasons ago for a 21 million pounds fee has struggled to gain a first team place since the move.

Although in recent games he has been starting for both Chelsea and England it appears as though now he is finally willing to call it a day. City boss Sven Goran Eriksson said today "I'd personally open the gates for him tomorrow if he wishes to return here," he told The Sun. "I won't pay his salary personally but I'll certainly open the gate. "Shaun has pace, good technique and is very direct. He's a good player, one I admire."

I feel this would be a terrific move for both Wright Phillips and Man City because City have been lacking an out and out right winger this season and I'm sure the player would love to play week in week out. Wright Phillips obviously has a lot of ability and it is has been a real shame to not see him produce the kind of form he did at City, at Chelsea. I believe the fee would be around about 15 million pounds or so.

Tottenham boss Martin Jol has tonight finally received, what many people taught was on the cards, the sack. Tottenham have got off to an absolute shocker of a start this season picking up only seven points from a possible thirty up for grabs and there have been calls for Jol's head ever since the second game this season. His final game in charge was tonight's game against Getafe in which they were defeated 2-1 despite taking the lead through Jermain Defoe.

Many people had said before tonights game that anything less than a victory would result in Jol getting the chop and that has proved to be the case. He took over three years ago after the brief spell of Jacques Santini at the Londoners. He led the club to two top 5 finishes in two seasons and had become a very popular figure with the Spurs faithful.

Speculation as to Jol's successor has been mounting for sometime now with names like Klinsman and Ramos repeatedly popping up. Ramos was rumoured to of talked to Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy at the beginning of the season and few would rule out a move for him now that Jol has gone. Mark Hughes is another name being mentioned although he is currently doing very well at Blackburn. So who do you think will take over now Jol has gone?

Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov is set to leave White Hart Lane after falling out with boss Martin Jol. Berbatov was said to of been unhappy at only being a substitute for the Newcastle game on Monday and he was even reluctant to come on. It is not taught that the Bulgarian will leave in January but is set to leave the club come next summer.

The clubs being linked with him at the moment are both of the Milan clubs and Real Madrid although I suspect by the time next summer arrives many other clubs will also be after the striker. I think that one reason why this move may not happen is if Spurs boss Martin Jol gets the chop the new manager may want to keep him at the club.

There is no doubt that Berbatov is a quality striker and he has just not produced the same form that he did last season. I'm not sure wheter or not Spurs fans would be too happy to see him go because there is no question that on his day he is one of the best strikers in the Premier League.Tottenham signed the player from Bayern Leverkusen last season and he immediatly impressed, but could he be set for an early exit?

Well, who in your mind has been player of the season, thus far? Well the obvious names that spring to mind are the likes of Elano at Manchester City. The player who was signed by Sven Goran Eriksson in the summer for 8 million pounds from Shaktar Donestk. He has got off to a wonderful start in the Premier League and is a definite candidate. Liverpool fans may argue that Fernando Torres has been the best, chipping in with four goals in a limited amount of games due to Rafa Benitez's rotation policy.

Cesc Fabregas. Who would deny that he has been the best player this season. The player has scored a load of goals already this season from midfield and has had numerous amount of assists for the Gunners. Gaby Agbonlahor at Aston Villa has got off to a splendid start this season as well as Villa team mate Ashley Young.

There are loads more players that have impressed this season and I'm sure you could argue the case for dozens more, but my player of the season so far is Benjani at Portsmouth. The player is top of the scoring charts in the league and has put in a string of spectacular performances already this season. Last season Benjani struggled to find the net and some people even questioned if he would keep his place over new signing David Nugent at the club and my word has he kept his place.

So, have your say, who do you think has been player of the season in the Premier League so far?

Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson has said today that he has been given permission by City owner Thaksin Shinawatra to go out and spend some cash on a new striker in the January transfer window.

Although City have got off to a fantastic start to this Premier League season they have in Shinawatra's view and in my view lack that firepower up front. They signed Valeri Bojinov and Rolando Bianchi in the Summer for a combined fee of 14.5 million but unfortunately neither has made an impact largely down to injuries.

He said: "All the fans know we need strikers, so Sven is looking to add some players, not many - just a few." City have scored goals in abundance this season but most of them have come from midfield, in the shape of Elano and Martin Petrov and I think if they were to get a top quality striker in January they can challenge for that elusive top 4.

There have been rumours of Michael Owen coming from Newcastle and Nicolas Anelka coming from Bolton but who else has been attracting attention from Sven. Well Peter Crouch has been frozen out at Liverpool and Sven is supposedly very keen on bringing him to Eastlands.

Jermain Defoe's name has also popped up and I have no doubt he would be interested in a move because at the moment he isn't getting near enough game time to stake a claim for the England team.

Manchester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is set to leave the high flying Premier League club and move to Championship side Cardiff City on a one month loan deal after losing his first team place. The son of former United legend Peter Schmeichel had started all of City's opening seven games this season but City boss Sven Goran Eriksson decided that Joe Hart deserved his place in goals and he has kept his place ever since.

Schmeichel was set for a loan move to Coventry City but that deal fell through due to financial difficulties at the club. Schmeichel is set to go straight into the Cardiff side to face Scunthorpe on Saturday. Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson was quick to stress that Schmeichel was still a part of his plans at Eastlands. He said: "This does not mean Kasper has no future here, he just needs to get some games."

I think this is the right thing for Schmeichel to do. He has had such a terrific start to his City carrer and unfortunately for some reason or another Sven has decided to play Joe Hart who hasn't put a foot wrong since stepping into the fold. He should go to Cardiff and play their for a month or possibly even longer and get some more vital first team football under his belt.

Bolton Wanderers have today appointed Gary Megson as their new manager after sacking Sammy Lee a week ago. Megson, who left Leicster City on Wednesday after club owner Milan Mandraic said Megson had made his feelings known that he wanted to join the Trotters, has been given a two and a half year deal at the Reebok Stadium.

Bolton have got off to an abysmal start this season and Bolton chairman Phil Gartside had this to say about Megson. "Gary has demonstrated he has the right temperament for a battle, which this season is undoubtedly going to be." Many people had speculated as to who would take over the job before this appointment with many Bolton fans wanting former Wigan boss Paul Jewell in charge.

So is this appointment good or bad news for the club. Well whilst Megson was in charge at West Brom when they were in the Premier League his win percentage was just 15 % not good reading for Bolton fans. Megson surely faces a tough task in keeping his star players at the club come January, with the likes of Nicolas Anelka already expressing an interest to leave the club.

I personally feel Megson won't quite cut it at Bolton. I feel he should of stayed at Leicester because I can personally see Bolton going down under him. I do appreciate that he is a manager that has ambition to manage at the highest level and who wouldn't take a job at a big club like Bolton but unfortunately I feel Gartside's decision to appoint Megson may yet backfire on him.

Juventus are seemingly lining up bids for Chelsea's Frank Lampard, Arsenal's Gilberto and Liverpool's Momo Sissoko in a bid to strengthen their midfield. Arsenal's Gilberto has been frozen out of the starting eleven, due to the splendid form of Matthieu Flamini at Arsenal and is said to be looking for a move away from the Gunners come January.

Liverpool's Momo Sissoko has also been frozen out at Anfield due to the terrific form of Javier Mascherano. Sissoko says now he regrets turning down a chance to join Juve in the Summer and that is why I feel this transfer is the most likely out of the three. I think Liverpool should probably let Sissoko leave in January because it's not fair keeping a quality midfielder on the bench week in, week out.

Chelsea's Frank Lampard has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge ever since the departure of Jose Mourinho last month. It was widely speculated yesterday that a Juventus official was flying into London to try and sort out a deal for the England international, but my view is that out of the three possible deals this is the least likely to actually happen.

Steve Staunton has today had his contract terminated by the FAI after a miserable Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. This news comes after a week of intense speculation as to the future of the former Walsall assistant coach. "Stan" as he is more commonly known had previously said he would like to stay on in the job and lead Ireland into the World Cup 2010 campaign.

Staunton had been in charge since January 2006 after the departure of Brian Kerr and many people questioned the decision by the FAI to appoint the Louthman. Ireland under 21 boss Don Givens will take temporary charge of the team until the FAI appoint a new man to fill the vacancy

Speculation has already been mounting as to the successor of Staunton, with former Leeds boss Dave O'Leary as the shortest price of the bookies. Other names being mentioned are the likes of John Aldridge, Graeme Souness and former Arsenal favourite Liam Brady. Out of those four I would personally prefer O'Leary.

Although he hasn't managed in a some time, I feel he did a terrific job at Leeds in getting them to the Champions League semi-finals and in my view, it was the wrong decision to sack him in the first place. I feel it should definitely be an Irishman to take the job and hopefully they can get the best out of Ireland emerging talents.

Theo Walcott is now showing signs of maturity in his game after last season he struggled to show much when he got the chance. There was no doubt that Theo would start scoring goals as soon as he started playing and tonight he got his first goals at the Emirates stadium in a memorable 7-0 win against Slavia Prague.

Walcott, who was signed by Arsenal nearly two years ago from Southampton for a staggering fee of 12 million pounds for a 16 year old at the time. Many people were touting him as the next Henry at Arsenal when he first signed and he got a surprise call up to the England squad for the 2006 World Cup, something which many people felt he could of done without.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has used Walcott mostly in Carling Cup matches over the previous two years but in these games he struggled to show what everyone was expecting of him, but in the last three or four games for Arsenal, Walcott has shown me something that has made me think he can become an Arsenal great.

Walcott gave a smashing performance against Bolton at the weekend when he came on, setting up one of Arsenal's two goals. Tonight I saw the highlights of the game and in some clips he looked unstoppable. He was very close to grabbing a hat-trick but it wasn't to be, but nevertheless he still bagged two.

Seeing Walcott playing tonight, it was amazing to think that this kid is only 18 years old. Just think how good he could be in three or four years time. I am really glad Arsene is starting to give him more of a chance at Arsenal and I think with time he can only get better. It will be very interesting to see his progress over the coming months and years.

It was an exhibition of football as Arsenal brushed past their latest Champions league opponents after putting seven past Slavia Prague tonight at the Emirates Stadium, with goals from Fabregas (2), Walcott (2), Hleb, Bendtner and an own goal from Hubacek.

The Gunner's inspiration so far this year, Cesc Fabregas put the home side ahead with a stunning strike after only 5 minutes, before Slavia defender Hubacek turned the ball into his own net to double their lead. It was 3-0 before the break when England U 21 striker Theo Walcott capitalized after Prague keeper, Vaniak, misplaced his clearance, Walcott easily rounded the keeper before slotting the ball coolly past the retreating defenders.

Alexander Hleb, who was my man of the match, had his best performance yet in the Arsenal colours and got in on the goals as well, with a deft finish after Fabregas' beautiful assist. Walcott got his second on 55 minutes before setting up Fabregas to add number 6 with a well-worked, team goal.

The icing was on the cake and now for the cherry, Niclas Bendtner put the Premier League leaders 7-0 up after a cute, back heeled one-two with Emmanuel Eboue, leaving the Dane to walk the ball over the line.

Twelve wins on the trot for Arsenal, who will be the ones to stop this rampage..........

Manchester United have tonight defeated Dynamo Kiev in a very convincing manner. United won 4-2 but quite frankly they could of scored a hell of a lot more. United took the lead after just 9 minutes when centre back Rio Ferdinand heading home from a lovely Ryan Giggs free-kick. The lead was doubled when Wes Brown slid in Wayne Rooney after some neat play from Ronaldo, and Rooney calmly slotted home.

Dynamo grabbed one back soon after when Diogo Rincon powerfully headed home from a corner, but the United marking was at major fault. United got their two goal advantage back when Cristiano Ronaldo finished with a delightful header after another sumptuous ball by Giggs.

United made sure of the win when they were awarded a penalty after a hand ball on the edge of the box and Ronaldo stepped up to slot home. Dynamo grabbed a consolation soon after to keep United on their toes when Ismeal Bangoura scored an absolute corker into Van Der Sar's net.

United dominated the game from start to finish and I never felt the three points were in any doubt although in fairness to Dynamo they had a few decent spells of pressure. United were forced to make two changes to their team before the game, due to injuries to both Paul Scholes and Patrice Evra and Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea deserve a lot of credit for the way they filled in.

Spanish keeper Iker Casillas has today been linked with a move to either Manchester United or Arsenal. The Real Madrid keeper has arguably been one of the best keepers in Europe, if not the world in recent years has supposedly been attracting interest from the two clubs. United obviously have Edwin Van Der Sar at the moment be his is getting on a bit and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is said to be very keen on bringing the 26 year old.

Arsenal have Manuel Almunia and Jens Lehman but Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is definitely on the look out for another according to the papers. He has also been linked with Robert Green in recent days which leads me to believe he is most definitely in the market for a new keeper. Although Real are unlikely to sell you never know in football.

I personally would love to see Casillas move to the Premier League because from watching La Liga he clearly has a lot of talent. I am sure United and Arsenal fans will be very excited by this rumour because we are talking about a player that has won almost every European honour available to him. Although unlikely, Casillas may think he has achieved everything he can at Madrid and he may go in search of a new challenge.

Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard could be set for a summer switch to Italian giants Juventus according to Gazzetta dello Sport. The paper reports that Juventus Sports Chief Executive, Alissio Secco, was to fly into London today to meet with Chelsea officials to try and muster up a deal for Lampard.

Lampard who, in my view hasn't really played as well as he did last season, has had a rough time in recent weeks and months being booed by his own international supporters in the games against Germany and Estonia, but could he really be set for a move away from Stamford Bridge. It would be a real shame in my view if he were to leave England for Italy.

Lampard has been one of the best, if not the best midfielders in recent years in the Premier League and it would be a real shame to see him leave. Secco, says he is confident he can sign the player for a fee of around 7 million pounds, a fee that I think totally under values such a talented player.

Secco did admit that Lampard would have to take a pay cut to join Juve, but he was confident he could convince him to join. Lampard was said to be disappointed at the recent departure of former boss Jose Mourinho and that may lead to him deciding to take this offer and join the Italians. Another factor that may lead to his departure is the fact his contract is set to expire in 2009.

Tottenham boss Martin Jol is is skating on very thin ice after yet another Premier League defeat last night to Newcastle. Tottenham have got off to a miserable start this season after spending big in the summer and Jol has been under pressure since the second game of the season but is he set for the chop anytime soon?

Well, the Tottenham board have said on more than one occasion that they are backing Jol but when will they finally crack. Well last night Tottenham lost their fifth match in only ten games, far from the form that helped Spurs to two top 5 finishes in a row and one suspects that Tottenham chairman Dabiel Levy has to act sooner rather than later.

From the aftermath of the game last night there was talk of unrest between Jol and striker Dimitar Berbatov, something that leads me to think he is beginning to lose his players trust. I understand that there had been talk of a dispute between the pair before but this news of a rift can't be good for Spurs.

So will Spurs get rid of him soon? To be quite honest I'm not sure but if their form doesn't pick up considerably in the coming weeks then how could he stay. If Jol was to be sent packing, who might replace him at White Hart Lane? Well the obvious candidate would be Juande Ramos at Sevilla.

Ramos has already been linked with the job, half way through August but that rumour never materialised. Former Spurs favourite Jurgen Klinsman is another name been mentioned, and I would personally love to see how the German would do. He performed miracles with the German national team during last years World Cup getting them to Semi's and I would love to see his managing style in the Premier League.

Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger is likely to splash the cash come January if you believe the papers. The Frenchman has been linked with a whole host of players in recent weeks including West Ham keeper, Robert Green. Wenger has dropped 37 year old German Jens Lehman in favour of Manuel Almunia but some feel he is still looking to try and buy the Englishman.

Green, who joined West Ham from Norwich last season has put in a string of impressive performances already this season and some people are even asking the question as to why he isn't in the England team. I have heard a figure of around 6 million for Green and I think that represents good value for money. Arsenal have also been linked with Sporting Lisbon midfielder Miguel Veloso.

The player, who is also said to be attracting the attentions of both Liverpool and Man United is said to be in favour of a move to the Premier League. Arsenal have also been linked with Lyon duo Karmin Benzema and Hatim Ben Arfa. The pair, who are both strikers are likely to cost as much as 40 million pounds, a lot of money for two very young players in my opinion.

Here are some other players Arsenal have been linked with : Yohan Mollo, who is also said to be wanted by Mersey side pair Liverpool and Everton. Samir Nasri, who has been touted by some as the "New Zidane". Luka Modric, who is also attracting the attention of German giants Bayern Munich.

Barcelona are to consider a move for Bayern Munich full-back, Philip Lahm, come the end of the season. The young German impressed greatly in last years world cup, helping his country to third place in the competition and scoring an absolute corker in the tournament opener.

After losing Juliano Belletti to Chelsea at the end of the Summer and disappointing performances from Italian world cup winner, Gianluca Zambrotta, Barca are on the look out for an alternative full-back. However, it is expected that they will have to cough up around £9 million to persuade the German club to let him go.

If the Catalonia club were to get the 24 year-old, they would have a near world-class dream team; Lahm (possibility) Milito, Abidal, Yaya Toure, Deco, Lionel Messi, Henry, Ronaldinho, Xavi, Giovani Dos Santos and in my opinion, the one weak point, Victor Valdes.

So where does this leave Zambrotta, there is a possibility that he will stay and fight for his place against the likes of Lahm, but other sources suggest Spurs and both of the Milan clubs may make an approach for the 30 year-old.

Liverpool will make an approach for SC Herenveen striker, Afonso Alves, in the upcoming January transfer window, but they will have to shrug off Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd to secure the Brazilian's signature.

Alves has an outstanding goal-scoring record, netting 34 last season alone. He also set new records in the Eredivise in the last few weeks, scoring 7, yes 7 goals in 77 minutes against Heracles. It is quite clear from these records that the 26 year-old has a natural eye for goal and why he is in such great demand from these clubs.

However after handing in a transfer request last season, Herenveen have now jacked up the striker's price to what is thought to be around £12 million, a steep sum for a player of whom the international world has seen very little of.

Favourites to sign the Brazilian are Liverpool and the introduction of Alves may open the door for Portsmouth to sign out of favour Reds striker, Peter Crouch.

Both Manchester City and West Ham are likely to be involved in a major bidding war come January after is was reported in The People today that both sides were interested in signing the left back. The player who has been out of favour with Chelsea this season is supposedly unhappy and wants to call it a day at the London club. He is currently behind Ashley Cole in the pecking order for left back and few suspect he will be getting his place anytime soon.

The player joined Chelsea from Southampton a couple of years ago and it looked promising at the start, he was playing games and putting in solid performances but since the arrival of Cole from Arsenal last season he has rarely been seen playing for the Blues. West Ham currently have George McCartney in left back and City have Javier Garrido both of whom have performed well this season.

If Bridge was to leave Chelsea it would probably be for at least five million pounds. I really wished he had of joined a side like West Ham or City earlier in his career because arguably he has wasted his best days on the bench at Chelsea. I knew personally that it wasn't going to work out for him as soon as Chelsea signed Cole and I think now he should just move on in his career.

Liverpool midfielder Momo Sissoko says he wants out of the club after holding talks with Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez last week. Rafa challenged Sissoko to stake a claim to get into the team but it looks as though the Malian player has had enough of sitting on the bench. He has struggled to get in to the team ahead of club captain Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano and I feel he would be better off leaving Anfield.

Sissoko clearly has got quality and there is no doubt that he would get into the starting eleven at a lot of sides around Europe. The midfielder has been quoted as saying he regrets turning down the chance to move to Juventus is the summer. I have heard the player has had an 8 million price tag on him by Bentiez and I think that would be a fair price for a quality player.

So who might he join in January if Liverpool decide to let him go. Well I suppose Juventus may come back in for the player and he may well end up their but I have also heard a rumour that Tottenham may try and buy him. They already have Didier Zokora in Sissoko's preferred position but Zokora has slightly let me down this season and Martin Jol may well go for Momo.

Manchester City claimed their third successive victory in the Premier League today after defeating Birmingham 1-0 in a cagey affair, but in my view they still lack a striker. They signed both Rolando Bianchi (From Reggina for 8.8 million) and Valeri Bojinov (from Fiorentina for 5.7 million) but neither has managed to break into the first team largely through injury.

Bianchi has had problems settling in, in Manchester and Bojinov is out of action until the New Year with a serious knee injury. Bianchi has said that if he is not in City boss Sven Goran Eriksson's first team plans by Christmas, then he may look for a move in January.

City have a prolific goalscorer in Elano at the moment but he is an attacking midfielder, what they need is an out and out striker who scores goals week in, week out. They have played mainly with Emile Mpenza this season but in my view he just isn't good enough for a side that are hoping to challenge for a Top 4 place this season.

They brought Georgious Samaras on today and for the time he had on the field it looked very promising but unfortunately for me, he never puts in a consistent run of performances for the Blues. Last season he had two quality games against Everton and West Ham were he scored two in both games, but it's not good enough to have two quality performances a season.

So if City were to go out and sign a new striker who might that be. Well the papers seem to suggest that either England striker Michael Owen or former City player Nicolas Anelka could be on their way to the City of Manchester Stadium. I would personally prefer Owen to come because the last time Anelka played for City he was always to lazy in my view.

The Premiership saw 16 teams in action today, in which Arsenal retained top spot, Derby snatched their first away points of the season and Liverpool came out on top of a fiery Merseyside derby.
Archie Knox took charge of his first game as Bolton caretaker manager at the Emirates Stadium, but I'm afraid it was the same old story for Bolton as Arsenal although being wasteful, picked up all three points. A 68th minute freekick from Kolo Toure put the league leaders in front and the game was killed off when substitute Tomas Rosicky finished cooly from Theo Walcott's cross.

At Craven Cottage, it finished goalless where Fulham took on Derby, giving Billy Davis' men their first points on the road this season.

After Didier Drogba's negative comments about his relationship with Chelsea during the week, he got back down to business straight away, putting his side in front after only 8 minutes. Alex doubled their lead with a long-range free kick after 57 minutes.

Elsewhere it finished; Blackburn 4-2 Reading, Wigan 0-2 Portsmouth, Aston Villa 1-4 Man Utd, Man City 1-0 Birmingham, Everton 1-2 Liverpool..(Match report below)

It was a big day in the Premier League today as Everton entertained Liverpool in the Mersyside derby. An early kick-off in Goodison Park, saw some surprises in both line-ups, noticeably in Rafa Benitez' team where Dirk Kuyt began on the right wing, giving skipper Steven Gerrard a free role in the Liverpool team. Although expected back Tim Cahill failed a late fitness test for Everton.

Liverpool began brightly dominating the possession but failing to create any clear cut chances. Everton crept their way back into the game as it progressed and were rewarded when Liverpool veteran, Sami Hyypia turned the ball into his own goal after 37 minutes from a Jolean Lescott header.

1-0 to the Toffees starting the second half, with no changes in either side,Everton began brighter, but after 54minutes Liverpool were handed a life line when Steven Gerrard was tugged down by Tony Hibbert, Clattenburg had no choice but to show red. Dirk Kuyt coolly slotted home for his first in the league this season.

The game was turned on it's head and all the momentum in Liverpool's favour, but a shock substitution from Rafa Benitez 20 minutes from time saw Steven Gerrard making way for derby debutant Lucas Leiva. Liverpool's winner came through Leiva when his shot was blatantly and purposely handled off the line by Phil Neville. Dirk Kuyt doubled his tally for the season and for the game and Everton were now down to nine men with Neville gone. A late, very giveable penalty claim was dismissed for Everton, giving Liverpool all three points.

Had it not have been for Kuyt's late penalty, Rafa Benitez would undoubtedly be the key figure in numerous Sunday paper headlines.

According to two top British papers, Liverpool will make an approach for the Newcastle centre-half, Steven Taylor and the out of favour, Real Madrid full-back Gabriel Heinze.

Liverpool's failed attempt, during the Summer transfer window, of signing the Argentinian from Man Utd, has not stopped the Merseysider's hope of securing his signature. It is expected the new American owners will have to write a cheque for about €6.5 million to persuade the La Liga champions to let Heinze go.

It is also reported that England U-21 captain Steven Taylor, could also be on his way to Anfield this January after rejecting a contract from current club Newcastle. This is thought to be for a fee of around about €8.25 million, but Liverpool will face competition from Tottenham and West Ham to snap-up the Geordie.

The possible introduction of these players could also make way for the departure of the experienced Red's favourite Sami Hyypia, who Wigan could target in the upcoming transfer window

Manchester City manager Sven Goran Eriksson is set to sign Argentinian star Juan Roman Riquelme from Spanish side Villareal. The 29 year old is supposedly going to sign for City for a six million pound deal according to the sun. Riquelme has been linked with several Premier League sides in recent months including Tottenham and Everton but Eriksson may decide to splash the cash on the World Cup star.

Riquelme had a public falling out with the Villareal coach Manuel Pellegreni and he insists that they will not bring him back into the first team plans despite the player putting in two terrific displays for the Argentinian team recently. He was set to join Atletico Madrid during the Summer but unfortunately for him the deal fell through.

There is no doubt Riquelme is one of the best players in the world on his day and there is no doubt he shouldn't be sitting on a bench week in week out so that is why I feel this move may well happen. City have shown great form this season and I think Riquelme would be tempted by Sven's side. Although I have no doubt many other top European sides will come during the transfer window, but I feel City's new found wealth will fend opponents off.

This rumour just doesn't go away! Valencia and Spain star David Villa is said to be attracting the attention of top Premier League sides after it was rumoured that he wanted to leave the Mestalla to increase his wages although the player denies wanting out. Villa has long been a target of Premier League giants Chelsea but if he does decide he wants to leave Valencia and go to the Premier League then I feel Chelsea may not be the only suitors lining up.

There has also been a rumour that fellow La Liga side Real Madrid will step in with a massive 60 million euro bid come the end of this season. The player who has struck up a mouth watering partnership with Liverpool striker Fernando Torres at national level,was also tipped to join him at club level this summer (now wouldn't that of been something to behold!).

Villa admits that he doesn't earn as much as other top players ; "Every year I lose money because I know that there are clubs wanting me that would pay me more, but that does not interest me as money is not my priority.

So may Villa still move come the end of the season. I would personally like to see Villa play with a better team and better players (with all due respect to Valencia). Valencia are ,in my view only the third best team in Spain and I think Villa is better than that.

I would love to see him go to the Premier League and score vast amounts of goals because he is certainly capable of doing so. In fairness you do have to admire the players loyalty but I would just love to see him move on to bigger and better things at club level.

Real Madrid striker Robinho may be set for a shock January move to London side Tottenham. Spurs announced record profits earlier in the week and it has been widely rumoured that Robinho is high on Spurs boss Martin Jol's wish list.

Robinho may be on his way out of the Bernabeau after Madrid hinted at getting rid of the ex- Santos player, saying they needed to offload players first before they can sign new ones.

Spurs have struggled thus far this season so would Robinho be willing to swap Madrid for London. Well Spurs would face tough competition from top clubs all around Europe for such a young and gifted player like Robinho.

So if Jol could convince Robinho to join the club, how much would it be for. Well my guess would be between 13 and 16 million pounds.

So if Spurs could manage to sign him would that spell the end for Jermaine Defoe? Well the striker has been sitting on the bench for most of this season and I would guess he is getting pretty annoyed. Jol has always said he wants to keep the former West Ham player at the club but with the possible arrival of Robinho how could he stay?

Bolton have now failed in three attempts to get a new manager at the Reebok after it was reported today that Leicster City Chairman Milan Mandric did not allow Bolton to speak to manager Gary Megson. This news comes after Bolton failed in their bids to try and speak to both Chris Coleman of Real Sociedad and Steve Bruce of Birmingham.

They got rid of Sammy Lee on Wednesday after a poor start to the season and speculation has been mounting ever since as to his successor. Bolton tried first to sign Steve Bruce but they failed to get the permission of the Birmingham board, but I feel he still may take over at the Reebok, because Birmingham are in the middle of take over talks and Bruce previously said he wasn't to sure as to wheter or not he would still be in the St. Andrews hot seat.

They failed to get permission to speak to former Fulham boss Chris Coleman after they had asked Real Sociedad for permission to speak to the Welshman. Coleman who left Fulham last season after a poor run of results was put in as one of the bookies favourites straight after Lee was sacked and I felt he was going to be the man to take the job but the Spanish outfit are ruling that out entirely.

Megson, who was only appointed by Leicster quite recently and Leicster owner Milan Mandric said: "I'm a great believer in loyalty, trust and integrity. "Gary made a commitment to this club, the supporters and myself and I fully expect him to honour that commitment." I would personally rule out the possibility of Megson taking over at the Reebok but I wouldn't be surprised if former Wigan boss Paul Jewell's name doesn't come into the reckoning.

After 17 matches 21 months Steve Staunton may be in his final weeks or even days as Ireland boss. This comes after chief executive of the FAI, John Delaney failed to give public backing to the Ireland manager in a recent interview with RTE.

Doubts over Staunton's future arose at several stages during the campaign after disgraceful performances in Nicosia, San Marino and Prague. But after a woeful draw to Cyprus at Croke Park in midweek and chants for Stan's departure, we may have seen the last of him in charge for the Republic of Ireland.

Delaney in the interview repeatedly avoided the questions about supporting Stan, saying that, "it is unfortunate that I have been linked to the appointment of Staunton personally", indicating the beginning of a blame game in the FAI.

It is well known in the Irish public, that the already much disliked, John Delaney was at fault for the induction of Staunton and this horrendous period in Irish football. In my view, Stan was a toddler plunged into the deep end with the deflated armbands of Bobby Robson and the encouragement of a lackluster FAI.

If (more like when) Staunton goes who's next in line for Ireland, John Aldridge, David O'Leary, Martin O'Neill or will the FAI throw up another shocker of a manager.

Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner has said today that he feels his side can in the future break into the top 4 in the Premier League. Villa have got off to a very good start this season and many people feel they may yet challenge for a UEFA Cup spot. Martin O'Neill has proved a big success since taking over as manager of the club some 14 months ago and many people are even tipping him to become the next England manager, high praise for the Northern Ireland man.

"It is our ambition to compete with them (the top four) although there is still a lot of work to be put in to build up Villa to that sort of level," said Lerner. "It will be the multi-growth of our business which we hope will eventually enable Villa to compete with the likes of these clubs. "Attendances and other sales are up but at the present time they do not balance the books. It was not expected they would.

There is no doubt that Villa have the potential to break into the Top 4 but can they do it within the next three seasons or so, who knows but they certainly are a side on the up. They have a lot of emerging talent at the club in Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young and Craig Gardener and with Lerner saying that he is willing to dip into his pocket, I certainly wouldn't be betting against them finishing in the top 6.

So if Villa were to spend in January, who might they sign. Well I personally feel if they were to sign on loan keeper Scott Carson a permanent deal that would be some terrific business because in my view he has been one of the best in the Premier League over the last two seasons. There has been a rumour that Liverpool's John Arne Riise and Porto's Jose Bosingwa could be on their way to Villa Park and in my view both of them would be good bits of business.

Arsenal have been rocked by news today that Robin Van Persie is likely to be up for month after twisting his knee in a European qualifier last night. The injury happened last night when Van Persie took a shot during his sides game against Slovenia and fell awkwardly on his knee. He has scored four goals so far this season for the Gunners and has played a vital part in Arsenal's terrific start to the season.

"We will know later how bad it is but the early signs are he will not be able to perform for us the next four weeks. "It is a big blow. I hope he will be back soon and we'll do the maximum to get him back," manager Arsene Wenger told the club's official website.

Arsenal have also found out today that their Swiss defender Phillipe Senderos is likely to be out for two weeks after picking up a back injury during his sides friendly match against USA last night. Obviously both injuries are terrible news for Arsenal because both players have played very well this season and they will be missed.

Both players are likely to miss their sides games against Bolton, Liverpool and Manchester United, all of which are very tricky ties. I can see Eduardo maybe getting a run in the first team now and it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the Premier League because as of yet he has failed to make a lasting impression in the brief spells he has had.

Didier Drogba has today said the he wants to leave Chelsea. The comments were made when Drogba talked to a highly regarded French magazine about his situation at Chelsea. Drogba was said to be very sad and angry at the Chelsea board for parting company with former boss Jose Mourinho and it appears as though now he is set for a move away from Stamford Bridge.

"I want to leave Chelsea. Something is broken with Chelsea," Drogba said. "The damage has been big in the dressing room because we know who caused Mourinho's departure. Nothing can stop me from leaving now." Drogba who won the Golden Boot last year with 20 goals has been a fan favourite at the Bridge and there is no doubt this news will come to the annoyance of several Chelsea fans.

So who will the 29 year old join. Well he said in the interview Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan or AC Milan would be his preferred destination but I have a feeling it will be either of the latter two. At Barca at the moment they have numerous amounts of attacking players in Ronaldinho, Messi, Eto'o and Henry and at Real Madrid they have the same situation with Robinho, Raul, Van Nistelrooy and Saviola but that's not really the case at either of the Milan clubs.

AC have the likes of Inzaghi, who is getting on in my view, Alberto Gilardino who has failed in my view at the biggest stage ie, the Champions League, and they have Ronaldo, who still has failed to prove his fitness. At Inter Milan you have the likes of Adriano, who was linked with a move away from the club during the summer, Ibrahimovic, who has got bags of goals in him and Hernan Crespo, who is also knocking on a bit. So that is why I feel he will be on his way to Italy in January and I expect him to do really well in the country.

Last night Ireland only managed to draw with Cyprus 1-1 at Croke Park, leading to intense speculation that Ireland boss Steve Staunton will definitely get the sack. Ireland have look atrocious in their last few qualifiers picking up two points in four games and that in my view has to spell the end for Stan. Though Ireland equalised late on against the Cypriots, that couldn't be enough to save the Louthmans job.

He took over at the begining of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign and has since then failed miserably. Along the road Ireland nearly only drew with minnows San Marino, lost to Cyprus 5-2 in Nicosia and failed to show anything like the form that got us to the World Cup knock-out stages back in 2002.

I am personally sick of the way Staunton says after the matches that he is proud of the players and saying were only developing, that's bullshit and he knows it. I was personally against him getting the job in the first place because I was afraid he would employ defensive tactics and not make us possess any kind of attacking flare and that has proved to be the case.

All right not all of the blame has to fall on Stan's shoulders, but the majority of it should. Quite simply the players haven't performed and that all comes down to one person... the manager. I feel the FAI are for some absolutely stupid reason stand by their man. It is clear that Stan won't do the decent thing and resign because he said after last nights game that he wants to lead this team forward into the qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup.

Ireland have now failed to qualify for the last three major tournaments and that's not right. We have had Brian Kerr and Steve Staunton in charge and that's not right either. After Brian Kerr's exit, FAI chief executive John Delaney promised Irish fans a "world-class management team" but that boast rings hollow two years on. Ireland should have a top class manager in charge because we have the players, but they need to be guided in the right direction.

So if Stan was to go, who would take over. Well at the moment the names being mentioned are the likes of David O'Leary and John Aldridge but quite frankly that would be worse. I would love someone like Martin O'Neill. Now he is a man with passion and I would have no doubt he would certainly turn Ireland into a good outfit.

Sammy Lee has today left Bolton Wanderers football club by mutual consent. He only took over the side at the back end of last season but has only managed to achieve five points from a possible twenty seven on offer so far this season. It had been highly speculated in the media that he wouldn't last til Christmas and that has proved to be the case.

Football Corner is delighted to announce the signing of Niall Skelton as one of our new writers. He has been quoted as saying he is "over the moon" with joining the team. He will contribute to the blog in a large role and will hopefully become an integral part of the Football Corner cog!

Barcelona's Eidur Gudjohnsen may be on his way back to England after a terrible last 15 months or so. He moved to Barcelona from Chelsea last season but since then has failed to impress and has not been used at all this season, which makes him almost set for a return to the country he made his name in.

During the summer he was linked with moves to Manchester United, West Ham and Newcastle but I have a funny feeling he may end up at Manchester City. Rolando Bianchi has failed to make any impact at the Manchester club, and he has been linked with an immediate move away from the club he only joined in the summer.

I feel Sven would jump at the chance to sign the Icelandic captain because he is the kind of player who would get you 20 goals a season and in my view that's exactly what City have been lacking in recent years. The player obviously has a lot of ability and it is shame to see him sitting on the bench week in, week out and I just hope he returns to the Premier League.

The debate has been thrown into full swing lately after German keeper Jens Lehman claimed he should get the nod to start in goal on Saturday when Arsenal face Bolton. Lehman has been forced to sit out the last few games due to the good form of Manuel Almunia, although he claims he has been injured.

Lehman made two errors at the beginning of the season and coincidentally was dropped. Almunia has been terrific between the posts for the Gunners and many experts believe he will keep his place for the foreseeable future. Lehman kept a clean sheet for Germany against Ireland on Saturday night and after the game he claimed he would be the man starting in goals for Arsenal on Saturday, but I feel he is being a little optimistic.

I've personally never liked Lehman. He is such a dramatist when it comes to contact between him and an attacker. Strangely enough this season he has looked dodgier than ever. He used to be a much solider keeper, but in the games against Fulham and Blackburn and that in turn led to him losing his place in the Arsenal goal.

So who is better Almunia or Lehman? Well from this years form Almunia definitely deserves to carry on in goal for the time being and in my view Lehman should probably look for a move in January because he is 37 now and he only has a year or two left in his carrer and I don't see him getting back ahead of Almunia in the pecking order.

Arsenal midfielder Gilberto has been attracting the attention of both Valencia and Juventus in recent days. The speculation has come due to the fact the Brazilian is supposedly unhappy at not getting regular first team football at the Emirates. Gilberto had long been a first team regular at the Gunners but the good form of the midfield without has made it extremely hard to regain his place.

Both Juventus and Valencia are likely to be involved in a major bidding war come the opening of the transfer window. Juventus are said to lining up a 5 million pound bid for the player who has only 4 starts to his name this season. The Brazilian press suggest that La Liga giants Valencia are very keen to buy for a fee of up to 7 million pounds.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has assured Gilberto of his future at the club but the player still wants to leave. He was in my view, one of Arsenal's top performers last year and it has been to my surprise the lack of first team football he has gotten. I feel it would be the right thing for him to do and move to a top side like Valencia or Juventus.

Norwegian striker John Carew has said today that he would love to see Liverpool left back John Arne Riise join the Midlands side. Carew told Dagbladet - ""It seems like John Arne wants to go, so I can't see why not? "There is a possibility. "He would fit in very well at Villa, so that would be a positive." Riise has been forced to sit on the bench for much of the season thus far due to the terrific form of Reds defender Alvaro Arbeloa.

I think it would be a great move for the Norwegian because Villa are an emerging side and Riise would probably be guaranteed first team football week in, week out. The 27 year old has two years left to run on his contract but one suspects he won't be at Anfield come 2009.

He joined Liverpool from French side Monaco back in 2001 for a fee of 4 million pounds and since then has turned into a crowd favourite, mostly for the rocket goals he tends to score. But, if Liverpool were to sell him, how much would it be for? Well I would say about the five or six million mark, but would the Liverpool faithful agree?

Spanish sides Real Madrid and Valencia are likely to be involved in a major bidding war come the opening of the transfer window after Rafeal Van Der Vaart of Hamburg told the club that he still wants to move to Spain. Van Der Vaart was said to be very angry at the German side for rejecting a bid for him in the Summer. Van Der Vaart was disciplined by the Bundesliga side in the Summer after he had been seen wearing a Valencia jersey.

"I want to go to Spain, and that is the end of it," Van der Vaart told the Bild am Sonntag. "In May, (Hamburg president Bernd) Hoffmann came to me and asked how they could make me happier. I said that I wanted to move to Spain and that I would always like to consider any such offers, and he agreed. "Then a team came in, and suddenly I am not for sale at any price.

Hamburg bought the player from Ajax two seasons ago for a fee of 5 million euro but if they were to sell the Dutch 24 year old now they could be in line for as much as 25 million euro. I personally would love to see the player play in a better league (with all due respect to the Bundesliga). When he first signed for Hamburg, I was extremely surprised because I was sure he was going to join someone like Real or Manchester United.

Speculation has been mounting over the last few days as to the futures of Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano at Anfield and Cesc Fabregas at Arsenal. Mascherano, who only joined the Reds in January last year after leaving West Ham, hasn't been played as frequently as taught and many people seem to think he may be on his way to Spain, Barcelona being the exact destination.

Marca says Walter Tamer was in Spain last week and met with Barca directors to discuss his client's situation at Liverpool. Barca made it clear to Tamer they will move for Mascherano should Arsenal resist their approach for Cesc Fabregas at the end of this season. Mascherano joined West Ham last summer when he and fellow compatriot Carlos Tevez were at the centre of one of England's most bizarre transfer deals.

Mascherano is a quality player and I don't know what club wouldn't love to have him on their books. I have been a bit upset as to the amount of football he is getting this year because he is so talented and in my view really deserves a place in the starting eleven at the mersey side club. Wheter or not he would be fully guaranteed a starting place at Barca is a difficult one, but I sure wanna see more of the little Argentine, wheter it's at Barca or Liverpool.

So would Cecs Fabregas be interested in a return to the side he left when he was a kid. Well he has made no secret of the fact that he would in the future love to return to his native Spain and play but might he be going back sooner than he taught. Barca are said to be very keen admires of the Spaniard and who knows he may return to the club in the Summer but I would rule out a move in January.

Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta is attracting interest from Chelsea, Liverpool and West Ham after a string of fantastic displays for Everton. The Spaniard only joined the Mersey side club in January 2005 but his recent performances have attracted attention from the Premier League sides. There has been a rumour that Liverpool may offer money and Harry Kewell for the services of the 25 year old.

West Ham have supposedly approached Everton as to the possibility of signing Andy Johnson and Mikel Arteta for a fee as high as 25 million pounds. Johnson has not performed as well this season as he did last season but West Ham still want to acquire the services of the England international.

Chelsea have been linked with making a 12 million pound bid and I think that would be a good deal for Everton to get that kind of money for a player they only paid 2 million pounds for from Real Sociedad. I think Arteta definitely has the ability to play at a top side like Chelsea or Liverpool and I would love to see him playing in the Champions League. I do feel a move to West Ham would be a step down in his carrer (with all due respect to West Ham).

I have heard a lot of people in the press in recent weeks talking about the fact that England must go and play their European Qualifier against Russia on an artificial surface. Many people are saying that it will affect the England players but in my view that a load of b*llocks. I have trained and played matches on astro-turf before and frankly there is no difference. Obviously the surface should probably not be used in this day and age but thats the way it is.

Obviously players are forced to change their footwear and such but they are bloody professionals and I'm sure they have trained on this kind of surface before. My view, is that the English media and other people who are raising this debate are looking for excuses before the game even begins. They are raising the issue in case England lose.

If England are to win on Wednesday, nothing will be said about the surface, but if they were to lose all the papers in England and the team representatives will be using the pitch as an excuse. I'm sure the English players are fine playing on the surface and I'm also sure they will come away with a decent result, but I would just love the people who are making this excuse to shut up.

It has come to my attention that whenever Frank Lampard has played for England in the new Wembley stadium he is getting booed, but why is this so? Well I understand he put in a few substandard performances for England in last few months but why are they still booing. I could probably understand if he had of been booed during the Germany game, but that should of been the case closed yet England fans continue to boo their own player.

Lampard, who has arguably been one of England's most consistent performers of the last few years has been unfairly targeted in former England star John Barnes, who feels the booing is wrong and should come to an immediate end:"It is just wrong. "This is not a healthy situation either for Frank or for the team. It doesn't help him or the other players."

He added: "Frank is an England player and we all want England to do well, the problem is this sort of thing does transmit to the rest of the side."As much as the other players will be happy they are not the ones being booed, it is not a positive situation for any of them. Lampard had been playing alongside Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard in the centre of midfield up until the last few qualifiers and some feel they never play well together, but why isn't Gerrard getting booed?

Well my answer is I'm not sure. I think it is very harsh on the former West Ham player and it is only making him play and feel worse. Everyone knows that Lampard has great talent and is one of Europe's best midfielders on his day, but just because he is going through a difficult spell for the national side, doesn't mean you boo the player.

Now with Avram Grant at the helm at Chelsea, what can Blues supporters expect when the January transfer window comes around? Well I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were a flurry of transfer activity because when a new manager comes to a club they usually like to stamp their own mark on the team and the only way to do that is to buy new players, he will also have to get rid of some to accommodate the possible new arrivals.

Lets start first with departures. The players that I feel may be on the way out of Chelsea are the likes of Ricardo Carvalho and Didier Drogba, both of whom were said to be deeply disappointed with the departure of former boss Jose Mourinho last month. But what of new arrivals at Stamford Bridge. Well Dani Alves from Sevilla has been a long term target of Chelsea's and I certainly wouldn't rule out the signing of the 24 year old.

During the summer Chelsea bid as high as 24 million pounds for him after he said he was flattered by the interest from the Londoners. The right back position at Chelsea has never really been taking by anyone and I believe Alves would fit in their perfectly. Another name that has been mentioned is Kaka from AC Milan. The player who has won numerous awards over the past month or so has said he wouldn't mind a move to England.

It would be one of the transfers of the century if Chelsea were to pull it off and it would take a humongous amount of money but with Mr. Abramovich in charge I wouldn't rule it out (although I'm not sure it would happen in January). Other names that have been mentioned are Fernando Amorebieta from Athletico Bilbao, Klass Jan Huntelaar from Ajax and even Mikel Arteta from Everton. I know one things for certain, there will definitely be activity in the market by Grant in Januray.

Peter Crouch is set to leave Anfield in January in order to get some first team football which he hopes will help him grab a place in England's Euro 2008 side. The 6 foot 7 inch tall striker is said to be frustrated with the lack of first team football being given to him by Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez and it appears now as though he has finally decided to call it a day.

Over the past few weeks and months, Crouch has remained adamant that he would not leave the Reds but speculation has been mounted over the last while as to who will sign him in January. Newcastle has been name that has come up time and time again and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he were to go to St.James' Park.

Magpies boss Sam Allardyce looks as though he may yet lose one of his prized assets in attack in Michael Owen and maybe Crouch would be the man to replace him. Another name that has been mentioned is Portsmouth. Pompey boss Harry Redknapp is said to be a keen admirer of 26 year old. Crouch had a brief spell at the club before joining Liverpool and one would not rule out a return.

I feel it would be in the best interest of both Crouch and Liverpool to part company because there is no use in having a potential England striker sitting on your bench week in week out. With the summer arrivals of Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin, Crouch has fallen further down the Anfield pecking order. I would say if he were to leave it would be for around about 7 or 8 million pounds, but who will he go to?

Sven Goran Eriksson is ready to use more of Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra'a millions in the January transfer window, with a striker his main priority. Today he has been linked with both Newcastle striker Michael Owen and Bolton goal machine, formerly of City, Nicolas Anelka. So who would be a better buy for Sven?

Well there is no doubt that on their days both strikers have the capabilities of being one of the best strikers in Europe, but overall who is better? Well Michael is smaller than Anelka but in my view has a better temperament to the game. Anelka has a sulkiness about him whilst playing in matches, something that was very evident during the end of his days at City.

It is clear for all to see that Owen is far more injury prone and that maybe a concern for Sven. I have heard that he may be able to buy Owen for 6 million pounds which I feel is steal for an proven goalscorer at the highest level. I have heard figures of 10 million for Anelka which I feel is maybe not as good value for money as Owen.

Anelka said recently that he still wants to move to a bigger club, but are City big enough for him. Well they have got off to a flyer this season and are looking like a side that can possibly break into the top 4 in years to come but would Anelka be interested in a move in the present time? My guess is yes because if he were to move to City he would be working with a top manager in Sven Goran Eriksson but at Bolton at the moment he is playing under, in my view an average manager in Sammy Lee.

So would Owen be interested in a move to Eastlands? Well he has worked under Sven whilst he was England manager and if I remember correctly they had a good relationship so that might sway him towards City. I have no doubt that Sven will sign a new striker in January because I feel they are a little light in that department, but will it be Owen or Anelka?

I have just arrived home from the Croke Park were I think I have seen one of the poorest and dullest International qualifier in my life. The game was Ireland against Germany and Ireland needed to win to keep alive their slim hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 with the visitors only needing a point to book their place in next summers tournament. It was like watching paint dry, only more depressing!

I honestly don't remember one clear cut chance. OK there was a chance for Ireland captain Robbie Keane early in the second half which he made a balls of and there was one header by Metzelder that was cleared off the line but other than that it was pathetic stuff from both sides. I heard the Germany coach Joachim Lowe saying he was thrilled with his sides professional approach to the game but quite frankly they played terrible at times.

The Irish crowd tried very hard to get something out of the players but it was to no avail. The game was so boring most people were concentrating more on getting the Mexican wave right than watching the game. After seeing the game I was asked by my mate who I taught was man of the match but quite frankly no one deserved it.

Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are expected to battle it out in January for the signature of Sporting Club midfielder Miguel Veloso. Veloso has caught the eye of many clubs in England after saying he would love a move to the Premier League. United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was said to be impressed with the 21 year old in a recent Champions League group game between the two sides.

United are reported to have a first option on the player and that obviously gives them a head start on Liverpool and Arsenal. Veloso is said to be good friends with both Nani and Ronaldo who used to play for the Portuguese club and that may lead him to join them. Arsenal are said to be interested in the player although the Lisbon side have failed to confirm Arsenals interest.

Paulo Barbosa, Velsoso’s agent, confirmed that “There have been a number of proposals from England, not just one in particular”, although he declined to add Arsenal’s name to the list of potential suitors. The player who plays in centre midfield can also play in centre back or left back.

So if the player was to leave Lisbon, how much will it be for? Well I have heard figures like 6 million pounds but I feel it may rise as high as 9 million pounds. I think whoever signs him in the end will have one of the hottest prospects in European football on their hands. He has a wicked left foot and possess a terrific free-kick.

Is it just me or does anyone else hate international breaks? I have heard several managers including Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez labelling international breaks "nightmares". Maybe it's because I'm and Ireland fan and were not very good but I feel a lot of other people don't like the breaks. The league started back in August and already there has been two international breaks which in my view is a shame for the league.

Although there is no getting away from the fact that the breaks are necessary, I feel they disrupt the flow of the European leagues and I don't like it. I might also be saying this because I am a Man City fan and we are going through a really good run at the moment but I feel this break has come at the wrong time for Sven's men.

Rafa Benitez has been quoted as saying: "Is it a nightmare? Yes it is a bit. In the last international break we were top of the league, now we are saying maybe the break is good for us. "But we cannot train with the players, we cannot control what they are doing, we just have to cross our fingers and wait.

"It's difficult when you have a lot of players away. You cannot control them, then you have important games and maybe you will have problems. "We cannot do much. The players left behind trained with the reserves and they played head-tennis."

I agree with the views of Bentiez that the breaks are a nightmare but can anything be done to lessen the effects of the breaks. Of course some times the breaks come at the right times for clubs. Just look at Middlesbrough who have been on a rotting run and this break may give them the time to regroup and get back on track for the season, but the previous international break came at the wrong time for them because they were in a rich vain of form and then it was totally disrupted.

A lot of people have been speculating during the week as to who will partner Steven Gerrard in the middle of the park for Englands upcoming European 2008 qualifiers. Gareth Barry has been in splendid form lately for Aston Villa and in England's last two qualifying games Barry stepped into the centre midfield role with considerable ease. He was in Steven Gerrard's opinion the man of the match for both games against Russia and Israel.

Gerrard personally thinks it would be very harsh on the Villa captain if he weren't to maintain his place alongside him in the upcoming matches. I have no doubt Gerrard would prefer more to play alongside Barry because when he plays alongside Lampard they look like to strangers playing together. Lampard had been out of action for both of the last two qualifiers but is fit for these games.

There is no doubt Lampard has the ability to be one of Europe's best midfielders but he has never really produced when it comes to the international stage. If he weren't to start it would be one of the first games in a long long while that he hasn't started when being fully fit. He has come in for some recent criticism from England fans when he played against Germany in the recent friendly game in Wembley.

So who will get the nod from McClaren? Well I feel that he should definetly start with Barry because England looked a far better unit when he was in the starting eleven. England looked much more efficient in their play and were much more clinical in front of goal. Barry and Gerrard really complemented each other very well when playing in the matches against Russia and Israel and I for one would love to see the Villa man get the nod.

Didier Drogba's agent has today said that many of Europe's top clubs have made known their interest in the Ivorian striker. Drogba's future has come under a lot of speculation in the past few weeks after the departure of Mourinho in September and it now appears as though he may leave Stamford Bridge. Drogba made no secret of his disapproval of the Mourinho departure and one would feel he may fancy a move.

"Drogba is a player who is very desirable and I have received calls from some European clubs about the situation," Etienne Mendy (Drogba's agent) told the Daily Mirror. "The key question now is for Didi to work for Chelsea after the blow."But he and the team must score many goals to recuperate their confidence."

So if the striker is to leave the Bridge who may he join. Well Real Madrid have always said to of been keen admires of the 29 year old and they were one of the first names mentioned when Mourinho left. I personally would love to see Drogba play in Spain because it would be very interesting to see how he would adapt to Spanish football, I would predict very well.

Another name that has also been mentioned is German giants Bayern Munich. The reason why I might rule out Bayern is because they already have a lot of attacking options at the moment in Luca Toni, Lucas Podolski, Miraslav Klose and Frank Ribery. AC Milan also spring to mind and I fancy he might like to play with the European champions. So who will Drogba join if he leaves the Blues?

Tottenham keeper Paul Robinson has had another weekend to forget after his side drew with Liverpool but Robinson caused one of the goals but should he get the chop from McClaren from the England squad. We all know that Paul Robinson can be one of Europe's top keepers on his day but unfortunately for him and his club he has rarely had one of those days in a long time. Last week Tottenham played Aston Villa, Robinson made several major errors, most of which led to goals, but why hasn't he been dropped by Martin Jol?

Well quite simply they have no one much better than him. They have got Radek Cerny, but he has failed to show any stand out ability on the rare occasions he has been given a go. They played him against Famagusta in the UEFA Cup but he failed to keep a clean sheet though. I think Jol is scared that if he drops Robinson for one match then he may lose his confidence even further and end up never coming back to what he is capable of.

So if Jol isn't going to drop him, will McClaren? Well I think he should. He has David James from Pompey who has been in fine form but is also prone to a cock-up. They have a terrific shot stopper in Robert Green at West Ham but he seldom gets picked. But the one who I feel deserves a chance and has done noting wrong so far this season is Scott Carson.

He is on loan at Aston Villa this season after spending last season at Charlton were he put in a string of fantastic displays in what was quite simply, a poor side. He is on loan from Liverpool were he has never really been given a full chance. Since he has joined Villa he has in my view been the best keeper in the Premier League this season.

I personally don't think that McClaren has the balls to drop Robinson because he is too cautious in every thing he does. He is afraid to try new things. He failed to give Carson or any other England keeper a chance in the friendlies England have played over the last couple of months. I think England risk being beaten by Russia if they play Robinson because he is so low on confidence he's bound to make a mistake.

Peter Taylor has today been sacked as Crystal Palace manager. Palace have got off to a poor start to this Championship season only collecting 10 points from their opening 10 games. Taylor only took over at the Eagles a year ago after leaving Hull City.

Before and during (for a brief time) this job he was also in charge of the England under 21's and had a very successful time with them. He also had a very brief spell as England manager, for a friendly against Italy which incidentally was David Beckham's first game as captain of the England side.

So now that Taylor has gone who is next to take the Crystal Palace hot seat? Well the obvious candidate would be former Sheffield United manager Neill Warnock. He has been out of football since his United side were relegated at the end of last season. He has been linked with numerous jobs in the mean time but will he take over at the Londoners. He may well do.

But if he's not the man who will be. Well I have a feeling former Wigan boss Paul Jewell would love the chance to manage at such a big side. He has also been out of football since the end of last season after he miraculously kept up his Wigan side when they beat Warnock's United side 2-1 in the decider. So may it come down to another battle between Jewell and Warnock?

Sven Goran Eriksson has quite possibly pulled of one of the biggest steals in Premier League transfer history by signing Blumer Elano from Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer. He cost the Swede 8 million pounds which is looking like it has turned out to be great value for money. The Brazilian put in another stupendous display today when City defeated Middlesbrough 3-1 at the City of Manchester.

The 26 year old bagged two goals today to earn the man of the match award today and he put in an equally good display last week at home to Newcastle were he scored an exquisite free-kick from 30 yards. Many people questioned Eriksson's desicion to spend 8 million on a player that not everyone had heard of but Sven has been richly rewarded for this risk.

He has been playing as an attacking midfielder at City which is the perfect place to have him because the way in which he links up with the midfield and strikers in sensational. As you may of noticed I have been running a pole as to who is the best summer signing and it is no surprise at all to see that Elano is certainly proven to be a popular vote. I feel if Elano stays fit throughout the season City will have no trouble in finishing in the top 6.

Today for the first time in many a year, if not ever, there was only one Premier League game that kicked-off at three o'clock. One other game kicked-off at 12:45, but what ever happened to eight or nine games being played on Saturday at 3 o'clock. I remember sitting down on Saturday afternoons watching Gillette Soccer Saturday and having at least seven Premier League games being played but that has all changed in recent years.

Obviously, a lot of money has gone into television in football and many games are now been shown at 5:15 or 12:45 but I feel that's not good for football. Attendances have been, and will continue to drop if this continues. In my view to many games are now shown on tele and it is hurting the slightly lesser sides in the Premier League. Many average fans don't bother going to see their team play on a Saturday lunch time or a Saturday evening because the game is on tele.

It's OK for the likes of Man United and Arsenal but what about the likes of Man City and Middlesbrough, who's attendances have steadily decreased since the new television deals have come into place. For some reason, I used to always think as Saturday being football day, but now it seems as though more and more games are being played on Sundays to accommodate TV schedules.

I didn't even bother to watch Soccer Saturday today because of the lack of Premier League games on. I understand that a couple of the games tomorrow had to be moved because of teams involvements in Europe but it's like this every week even if there aren't any UEFA Cup games on on Thursday. So, in conclusion, bring back Saturday afternoon games!

Barcelona ace Giovanni Dos Santos is set to turn down bids from Europeans biggest clubs and sign on at the club he has progressed so impressively through the ranks. He was handed his first team debut earlier this season by Barca boss Frank Rijkaard and the 18 year old Mexican looks as though he is more than happy to sign a new deal at Barca.

He was full of full of praise for his manager ; "I am thankful to the coach who trusts me," he said. "I also thank him for giving me the chance of playing some minutes this season. "I work and train hard everyday and show the coach that I am ready for when he thinks it's necessary."

The reason why the majority of the interest in the ace came from England was because he recently received Spanish citizenship which meant he could eligibly play in England. He has come up through the same academy as the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique both of whom opted to go to England and join Arsenal and Man United respectively.

I'll admit I have only seen the player play from videos on you tube, but from them he has looked amazing. He seems to posses so much skill and flare that any manager would like in their teams. He has been labelled the "New Ronaldinho" which is high praise for such a young man.

I just can't wait to see how he develops at Barcelona over the next few years. I am very happy he has decided to stay loyal to Barca because to many young players today are just following the money from abroad but he has decided to stay were he has and try and make big in Barca.

After signing a new deal in the summer with Bolton, Nicolas Anelka has said today that he still wants to play for a bigger club. Anelka has already played with Real Madrid, Arsenal and Liverpool in his career so far but says he still wants to join another major European side before he retires. "Of course I still have ambition," he said in the Guardian."It's a long time that I have been waiting for a big club. I'm not about to hide it; it's the truth.

I know my game and I know my qualities. "I know all the players who are at Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Barcelona and I know I'm at their level. "I've played with them and I know I don't have anything less than them. It's just the fact that I have to play and wait, I have to have a lot of patience. I've been waiting so there it is."

There is no doubt that on his day he has the ability to be one of the best strikers in Europe but he, in my doesn't have enough of those days. He has been in top form for Bolton so far this season scoring five goals but Bolton haven't had such a good start which had led to speculation over his future, but he signed a new deal in August which led people to believe he was settled their but that doesn't appear to be the case.

He did this exact same thing when he was at Man City and he ended up in Turkey. That obviously wasn't good enough for him so he moved to Bolton. Anelka has always been known to be very lackadaisical whilst playing in matches, thus that is why he has been labeled "Le Sulk". I wouldn't rule out a move to Chelsea come January because with the horrific form of Andriy Shevchenko recently and with a club as big as Chelsea how could Anelka refuse?

David Beckham shouldn't of gone to the US to sign for LA Galaxy. I personally feel he should of stayed at Real Madrid or moved to an English side instead of going to LA so soon. I feel the move has dampened what was an amazing carrer, winning titles in England and Spain and achieving nearly 100 caps for England. He is a terrific player that should still be playing at the top level instead of walking down the red carpets in LA every other night.

There is not one footballer in the world who has a better right foot. The way in which he whipped magnificent balls into the box with minimal ease was breathtaking. He should of waited a year or so before making such a big decision to go to the US. He is getting paid what is insanely high wages per week that some average players would take months or even years to earn.

He has hardly played for LA Galaxy since joining them back in July due to an ongoing ankle problem and some Galaxy fans are getting annoyed with the time taking for his ankle to heal. There was even a rumour a couple of months ago that Beckham may be employed as a player manager which would be stupid. They might as well call the team David Beckham FC.

When Beckham signed for the LA Galaxy they sold-out nearly every match that he was involved in, which was amazing because before that they struggled to even half-fill the stadium. The American soccer fans went absolutely crazy when he signed, but since then, it has dramatically fizzled out. Beckham's aim when he went over their was to improve the popularity of soccer in America but so far it has failed to work and so in my view he should of stayed in Europe a season longer and then maybe move to the US.

Since Manchester United signed English midfielder Michael Carrick from Spurs last summer he has ,in my view failed to live up to his 18 million pound price tag. I think Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes that as well because he went out and bought Owen Hargreaves, who plays in the exact same role as him, for 17 million pounds from Bayern Munich this summer.

He was signed as a replacement to former United legend Roy Keane and also wears the coveted number 16 shirt at the club. He has looked amazingly average in every single game I've seen him play in for United. I feel Hargreaves has stepped into the role nicely since joining the Red Devils, although he has been injured a lot so far for them.

When he was at Spurs, he was simply a good player in a decent side, but now he's at United he's simply an average player at a big club. I understand that he does play in a highly understated role in defensive midfield, but I for one don't ever remember him putting in a performance to talk about.

My personal view is that he possibly should of stayed at Spurs a while longer and then develop into a great player by playing week in, week out and then maybe make the switch to a big side like United. He is only twenty six and has his best years ahead of him, but at the moment for me, he has been a flop at the Champions.

Leeds have got of to a magnificent start to the season but can they keep it up and challenge for automatic promotion to the Championship. They started the season on -15 points and have managed to overhaul that deficit and are now on 10 points which is nothing short of incredible. I remember thinking at the start of the season that Leeds may even struggle to stay in League 1 but the way they have started this season has really changed my mind.

Dennis Wise has also been awarded with the League 1 manager of the month for August and September, just reward for lifting his side from bottom to 14th. At the back end of last season they were deducted 10 points for going into administration and they also received, what many people thought was a harsh decision, a 15 point deduction.

They have now won eight out of their nine games this season but some people think it should of been nine if it hadn't of been for Leeds getting two players sent off in a recent game against Gillingham. Their star men so far this season have been Jermaine Beckford and Tresor Kandol, incidentally both of whom were sent off in the game against Gillingham.

They have scored a total of eleven goals between them already this season. They have largely contributed to their +14 goal difference so far this season and one would feel they will need to be on top form all season for Leeds to have a chance of gaining automatic promotion. They now find themselves only nine points of top spot and only four points away from a play-off place.

Some called for Wise and Pouyget to be sacked at the end of last season but thankfully the Leeds faithful didn't get their wish. Wise has instilled the belief in Leeds players that many managers before failed to do. He has this never say die attitude about him that has driven his side forward since he was playing at Chelsea way back when.

I saw today that Wise has been charged with using foul and abusive language to match officials during the Gillingham game last week, but that's exactly the type of guy he is, if you take that away from him he is nothing. Kind of like Roy Keane. So can Leeds keep this fabulous run going and get back to somewhere near were they belong? Who knows, I wouldn't bet against it though!

Billy Davies has said today that he believes Derby will stay up, thats despite the club coming bottom after only eight games. This is the team that lost, 6-0 to Liverpool, 5-0 to Arsenal and 4-0 to Tottenham, and he thinks they can stay up! "I'm confident that over time we will get better," Davies told BBC Sport. "We will become more familiar with our surroundings and achieve what we have to achieve - which is consolidation."

He also said that his first target for his team was to not become detached from their first ten games, talk about setting your standards high! Although they beat Newcastle 1-0 at home last month, they look to me and a lot of other people I know one of the worst teams to play in the Premiership, and Davies believes they will stay up.

I saw recently on the Paddy Power website that they are already paying out on Derby to be relegated and quite frankly their right to. Their star men include, Steve Howard, Steven Pearson and Matt Oakley. Now, In my view, three players that don't even come close to their current relegation rivals of Bolton, Tottenham, Reading and Fulham.

Whenever I watch Derby, either home or away, I always get the impression they are going out to draw. Theirs just something about their play I don't like. I'll be honest I personally dislike Billy Davies, although I do admire him for the job he did in getting Derby premoted last season.

I feel if Derby were to have a realistic chance of staying up, they should of splashed more money out in the transfer market. They signed players like Claude Davis from Sheffield United and Rob Earnshaw from Norwich, players who I think are only good Championship players. Let's just put it this way, if Derby do stay up I'll eat my hat!

Is West Ham striker Dean Ashton ready to be called up for the England team for their two upcoming Euro qualifiers? Well, England certainly need a striker at the moment, because with doubts about Owen and Heskey been ruled out they could do with calling Ashton up. My question is, has Ashton done enough so far this season to earn a starting place in the England side? I would be pretty certain that Ashton will be called up when McClaren's squad is announced on Friday but wheter or not he plays is a tricky one.

"He has forced his way in," said McClaren. "He certainly comes into consideration." McClaren is set to have both Crouch and Rooney at his disposal for the games against Estonia and Russia after they returned from suspension and injury respectively. There is no doubt that Ashton has looked very good for West Ham so far this season, scoring three in his last four games, but will McClaren start him or Crouch alongside Rooney. It was when Ashton got his first call-up for the England side, that he injured his ankle and missed the whole of last season, so he deserves a bit of luck this time.

Well I have a funny feeling he will start Crouch in the first game although he seldom plays for Liverpool, but that's just the type of thing McClaren would do. There is no doubt Ashton is better than Crouch overall and I think he thoroughly deserved the call-up (that's if it happens) and I for one thinks he deserves a starting role in both games. I mean how many matches has Crouch played this season? I do have to say one bad thing about Ashton... that ridiculous hair!

Martin Jol's job still hangs in the balance despite Tottenham's epic comeback at home to Aston Villa tonight. The match ended 4-4 after Spurs looked dead and buried at 4-1 down but they heroically came back on what was Spurs' 125th anniversary. Spurs got off to a great start when Dimitar Berbatov put his side in front when heading home from a Huddlestone corner. Villa quickly replied when Martin Laursen scored after a terrible mistake by England keeper Paul Robinson. Villa took the lead when Laursen scored again, after some terrible defending by the Spurs defence.

Villa furthered their lead soon after when Gabby Agbonlahor scored a quality goal past Robinson. The Spurs side left the field to a chorus of boos from the home faithful. It got worse for Spurs soon after the break when Craig Gardener scored a wonderful free-kick from the edge of the box. Pascal Chimbonda finished well soon after to start a unlikely comeback for Spurs, but the Spurs fans began to believe that their side might pull off an heroic comeback when Marlon Harewood foolishly brought down second-half substitute Darren Bent.

Captain Robbie Keane stepped up and cooley slotted home to set up a tense final few minutes. Younnes Kaboul grabbed the leveller with one minute to spare when he hammered home into the roof of the net to send the Spurs fans into raptures. He took his top off and ran straight for the Tottenham bench to celebrate with Jol.

Now, it is all well and good that Spurs got the draw and some may feel it has saved Jol's job, but let me put it this way, if Tottenham had only drawn by any other means do you think Jol may of got sacked. I certainly do and I still think he may be on his way in the very near future because Spurs' chairman David Levy would of certainly wanted a win tonight from Jol's men.

Joey Barton has once again been forced to delay his debut for Newcastle after aggravating an injury in his foot. The 25 year old has yet to a competitive game for the Magpies after inuring himself in a pre season game against Carlisle. He broke a bone in his foot, but was set to make a comeback on Sunday when they face Everton but the healing process has taken longer than expected.

He was seen done some fitness work at Newcastle's away game at Manchester City last week which made people think it was only a matter of days before he would be back but that has not turned out to be the case. Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce said: "It will be four or five weeks or at least three or four reserve games."The midfielder only joined Newcastle in the summer for a fee of 5.8 million pounds from Manchester City after he was involved in a brawl with former teammate Ousmane Dabo.

He was tipped to break into the England team this season, if he controled his fiery temperment, after tasting international football for the first time last year. Obviously it is bad news for both Barton and the club because everyone was expecting big things from Barton this season and unfortunately he has missed a large chunk due to the injury.