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Manchester United failed to follow in the footsteps of the three other Premier League teams in the Champions League last night, but Sir Alex Ferguson’s men did earn an away draw and will be heavy favourites heading into the second leg at Old Trafford next month. Elsewhere Arsenal scraped past Stoke in the Premiership, but it came at a cost as both Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott suffered injuries, with the latter certain to miss the Carling Cup final against Birmingham at the weekend.

In the newspapers this morning it is being reported that Arsenal are lining up a £15 million bid for Lorient striker Kevin Gameiro, Kenny Dalglish is set to hand a chance to Joe Cole in the Europa League tonight and West Ham are preparing to start legal action against the FA in regards to compensation for the injury to Dean Ashton.

Walcott out, Fabregas in race against time – Guardian

Cole to be given chance to kick-start Liverpool career – Telegraph

Arsenal prepare £15 million bid – Daily Mail

Chelsea outcast set to leave Stamford Bridge – The Sun

West Ham ready to take legal action against the FA – Guardian

Dawson: Tottenham now Premier League’s most wanted – Telegraph

Scholes set to extend United career – The Sun

Villa target West Ham ‘keeper – Mirror

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New takeover bid for Manchester United – Daily Mail

Premier League target not for sale – Mirror

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Manchester City bounced back from the disappointment of forfeiting a two goal lead against Fulham to beat Everton 2-0 in the Premier League last weekend. Goals from Mario Balotelli and James Milner ensured victory for Roberto Mancini’s men in a hard fought game at the Etihad Stadium.

Here are the captains, Vincent Kompany of Man City and Phil Neville of Everton, before the match, with referee Howard Webb tossing the coin. But what are the trio all so in awe of?

Leave your suggestions below…

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This week you can win a copy of The Smell of Football!

The Smell of Football is the brutally honest and utterly unputdownable story of how ‘Baz’ conquered his personal demons to build a life in the game.

From the terrified teenager who purposely tried to get injured in training rather than get picked for the first team, to the experienced pro who became Head of Medicine at Premier League Everton FC in charge of the treatment of the likes of Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha and Tim Cahill.

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Last week’s winner: Oliver Campbell – click here to see all entries

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The agent of Benfica midfielder Javi Garcia has stated that two anonymous Premier League clubs have stated an interest in his client, but that no official offers for the Spaniard have been made as yet.

Manchester United have in the past expressed an interest in Garcia, while both Arsenal and Liverpool have been credited with an interest in the midfielder.

Garcia has been a key man for the Estadio da Luz outfit this season, and played a part in leading the Portuguese club into the Champions League knock out rounds.

He could well be on his way out of the club in the summer, and Manuel Garcia Quilon has stated that Garcia has suitors all over Europe.

“There are not and there have never been any concrete offers,” the representative told O JOGO, translated into English by Sky Sports.

“But I can tell you that there are several clubs following him very carefully, especially two Premier League clubs. Then there is also one Bundesliga and one Serie club.

“But the player is calm and is now only focused on his work with Benfica and to win titles.

“Nothing has been discussed with [Benfica] president Luis Filipe Vieira, but if a good offer for the club and Javi arrives at the end of the season, we will analyse it and then we will see,” he concluded.

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The midfielder is thought to have a buyout clause in his contract set at the amount of €30 million (£25.1m).

By Gareth McKnight

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The old chestnut is that football is a gentleman’s game played by thugs, while rugby union is a thug’s game played by gentlemen. Some have ventured to suggest that rugby league is a thug’s game played by thugs… but I couldn’t possibly comment as I’m due to travel north at some point in the future. But as a former footballer and a keen fan of the egg-chasing, I’ve always been willing to accept that while rugby union players might not always be more intelligent or better-bred than us, they’re generally a hell of a lot more dignified. That was, of course, until these last six weeks and what must surely rank as England’s most disgraceful World Cup campaign in ANY sport.

After the dwarf-throwing, carousing and leaping off ferries, as well as several pretty disreputable on-field performances, I have to say that I feel sorry for Martin Johnson. When England’s footballers flopped so badly at the World Cup in South Africa last year, I firmly believed Fabio Capello was wrong to lock up his players and leave them in isolation. So I can hardly say now that I disagree with Johnson’s approach of treating his players as adults and allowing them to go out for a drink. If Johnson keeps his job – and I can’t see many coaches banging on the RFU’s door demanding to replace him – then he will be left with a major dilemma on future tours because he has been let down badly.

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For the 1966 World Cup, we were away together as a squad for – as my missus always remembers – a total of 14 weeks. And I can honestly say that, while we enjoyed the occasional lively night out on the beer, nobody ever over-stepped the mark. There was always the feeling that we were there to do a job, that we had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something really special and win the World Cup. It was a sense of duty and a pride in our country that I believed our rugby players possessed. Sadly not.

I always thought Mike Tindall was a bright lad. When you’re the England rugby captain, in the most rugby-mad nation on Earth and you’ve just married into what is New Zealand’s Royal Family as well as our own, you really ought to know better. Tindall is worthy of that harshest of condemnations: he acted like a footballer. Footballers have realised for a long while that camera phones and CCTV have changed the game. Every drinker in every pub is now a potential photo-journalist. Our rugby players are learning this the hard way.

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Nightmares

I’ve always admired the hell out of rugby players. They put themselves through the sort of physical punishment that footballers could not imagine in their worst nightmares. When you compare it to footballers diving around as if they’ve been shot in the head, when they’ve actually just stubbed their toe, it really is laughable. Yet everything about rugby union seemed far more civilised than in my own sport. I went to Twickenham last year to see England play the All Blacks and enjoyed the lack of segregation and the mutual respect between rival fans.

On the pitch, self-discipline and respect towards referees are things that rugby players have long been rightly proud of. Yet dissent is gradually creeping its way into the sport and you fear rugby will end up going the same way as football in the long run. Rugby players used to enjoy the moral high ground over footballers – but that has now been lost. And this thug can tell rugby’s gentlemen that the high ground will not be easy to regain.

Everton manager David Moyes has admitted that his side are in a tricky position after a run of five games without a win left them just two points outside the relegation places.

The Toffees had previously strung together three consecutive league victories to rise up the table, but have since struggled for form, being thrashed 4-1 at home by West Brom at the weekend.

Moyes told the Daily Post:"The fact is we have not performed well enough over the piece so far.

"We have put in some good performances, but not consistently enough and our form has suffered badly in recent weeks.

"We are in a bad position and we have got some tough games coming up against Chelsea and Manchester City.

"But we have to keep going, keep trying and go out there and do it again and hope we start converting some of those chances.

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"I don't know if things will change, but as things stand at the moment there is no money to buy any strikers in January, so we will have to look to players to step up and take more responsibility."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

There are few shirts in British football that are as prestigious as that of the number nine at Newcastle. From Hughie Gallacher, to Jackie Milburn, Malcolm Macdonald and of course Alan Shearer, the list of Newcastle number nines is a fearsome one. Newcastle manager Chris Hughton has now given the exalted shirt to local lad Andy Carroll for the 2010/11 Premier League season, a decision that will make Carroll nervous, proud and excited all at the same time. The 21-year-old now has the opportunity to put his name in the history books, and Carroll has all the credentials needed to do just that.

Andy Carroll is a traditional British centre forward, something that there’s a dire shortage of at the moment. The 6ft 3in striker has a physical presence and boy does he use it! He’s not afraid to throw his weight around (just ask Steven Taylor), but it’s on the pitch that matters and this is where Carroll is making a name for himself. He gave Championship defences a torrid time last season, as they attempted to play Carroll at his own game, coming off second best, with a duel with Sheffield United’s Chris Morgan a particular highlight. This season is a new test though, as Premier League defences will be cleverer and play with more intelligence on the whole, forcing Carroll to draw on his other assets.

While physicality is Carroll’s major weapon, ultimately it will be his goal scoring record on which he’s judged. Last season he netted 17 goals in 39 Championship appearances – not bad when you add in his assists as well. This season anything above ten league goals will probably be regarded as a success, given his all round contribution to the team. It’s unlikely that Carroll will ever bang in the amount of goals previous illustrious Newcastle number nines have done and it would be wrong to expect him to. Although every striker has to be a goal scorer, Carroll is more than that and football is not just about numbers.

Carroll himself has had this to say on being handed the number nine shirt: “It’s every young Geordie lads’ dream to be a Newcastle United number nine and I’m so lucky to be given that chance. It’s an opportunity I relish and intend doing my upmost to do the shirt proud.” (Official Website). The importance of being a local lad and buying into the meaning of the shirt should not be underestimated. Just wearing the shirt should give him all the motivation required every time he walks onto the pitch, but more significantly being given the shirt should give him all the confidence he needs.

Andy Carroll is just at the beginning of what could prove to be a long and illustrious career at Newcastle. This campaign will be the first full Premier League season in which Carroll will be a first-choice striker at St James’ Park and thus the local lad will have to deal with the pressure and expectation that comes with that. One thing’s for sure, he can count on the support of the Toon Army and every goal he scores this season will be cheered to the rafters. Let’s just hope there’s plenty of them and that Andy Carroll shows why he’s up to what many see as a daunting task.

Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer

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Chelsea host Newcastle for the second time at Stamford Bridge this term, after the boys from the North took the spoils at their last visit.United won 4-3 in a thrilling Carling Cup encounter in West London last year, with Shola Ameobi netting twice in the upset result over Carlo Ancelotti’s men.

A lot has changed at St James’ Park since, with notable differences to the first-team squad being striker Andy Carroll and manager Chris Hughton – both being moved on respectively.

Both sides fielded second-string outfits in United’s entertaining win in September, and both Ancelotti and Alan Pardew could look to do the same, with Chelsea’s title hopes all but gone after their 2-1 loss to Manchester United last start.

Should Sir Alex Ferguson’s men earn a point or more at Blackburn on Saturday, this match will be rendered a ‘dead rubber’ for both sides, and a chance for some youth to be injected with an eye to the future.

Striker Fernando Torres should have the chance to add to his lone goal for Chelsea, should Ancelotti start with the Spanish World Cup winner.

The Italian boss opted to start proven front man Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou in their most recent English Premier League clash, against Manchester United.

Chelsea have no fresh injury concerns going into Sunday’s affair, while United will be minus long-term absentees Hatem Ben Arfa, Stephen Ireland, Alan Smith, Dan Gosling, Leon Best and Mike Williamson.

PSV Eindhoven’s sporting director Marcel Brands, has come out this week, stating that Tottenham Hotspur’s Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes wants a return to the Dutch outfit, that he spent four years with before joining the Lilywhites. Gomes has had a mixed season for the North London side, mainly turning in solid performances but in the run in to the climax of this Premier League season the keeper has shown signs of returning to his error prone ways. Despite the clangers and the reports, Harry Redknapp is adamant that he is not looking to offload the shot stopper, but if these rumours were to become true, would Spurs really care absolute losing their current number one?

It would be easy for me to go “No, thanks for reading.” but obviously, there is more to any debate in football. A good goalkeeper earns you 6-8 points a season, yeah I know that’s only two wins but that would have meant this season that Newcastle would have finished eighth instead of twelfth and Wigan would have finished tenth as opposed to sixteenth, they are just some examples. Off the top of my head I’ll admit I’m struggling to see where Gomes has earnt Spurs points this season but when you consider that Tottenham have earnt 24 points this season from losing position, surely Gomes had a say in the keeping his side in those games?

Shall I list all the mistakes the keeper has made? We all know the cock ups,Chelsea, Real Madrid and most notably Blackpool. I say most notably Blackpool because that two penalties scenario, exemplified Gomes perfectly. An impressive penalty save, followed almost instantly with the bizarre decision to bring down Gary Taylor-Fletcher, for another penalty which Blackpool scored to take the lead; the do’s and dont’s of goalkeeping in one movement.

I think the real issue Spurs fans and ‘Arry face, is in their heart of hearts they know Spurs need to move Gomes on to pastures new, but who do they replace him with? Cudicini was always only ever going to be back up, and the best goalkeepers from Europe are all linked with Manchester United’s vacant goalkeeping spot. Ben Foster provides a option that, with all due respect to the Birmingham keeper, a Spurs of about five years ago would have happily signed, not this team, one chasing Champions League football. There is also Brad Friedel to consider and should Redknapp persuade the former Liverpool keeper to move to White Hart Lane, he would merely only be a short term option. Outside of those two options, who do Tottenham realistically sign to benefit their European aspirations?

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Spurs fans at the moment have a case of, ‘the best of a bad bunch’. Until Manchester United take their ‘pick’. Gomes will remain at Tottenham, with Spurs fans crossing their fingers that United don’t take up until two minutes before the transfer window closes to sign Edwin Van Der Sar’s replacement.

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Imogen Thomas Joins Paddy Power For a Champion Offer! They will refund losing Champions League Final bets if Man United lose the match Make your bets now!

An eclectic and eccentric view of football, business and management by media entrepreneur Chris Ingram.

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A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how vitally important the FA Cup is to smaller football clubs.

And blow me down, Crawley get drawn away to Man United in the 5th Round!

Just look at the economics:

Man United’s matchday revenue is £3.4m per game

In the FA Cup the home team has to share the revenue 50% = 1.7m

Crawley’s estimated annual turnover = 850k

So, this is going to deliver Crawley FC two year’s revenue from just one game at Old Trafford!

Rival clubs in the Conference Premier will see this as ironic: the new owners of Crawley have been accused of `splashing the cash’ in a dash for promotion. The cost of the assembled squad is at a level that most other clubs at this level can only dream of. However, such is the ability of football to scramble our brains, that most owners of clubs talk about the importance of balancing their books and running a club like a conventional business but if given a chance, would spend big money chasing the dream. Wage bill limits may be far from perfect but they are certainly a help in encouraging chairmen and directors to act sensibly (and I speak as one of the guilty parties!).

Even supposing my figures are not exactly right (and tell me if you know better), they’re broadly right and they need to be seen in the context of what’s happening at this level of football. One club handily-placed for promotion into our League may go out of business because they lost 3 games (and therefore all their revenue for a month) because of the snow. Windsor and Eton, 118 years old, went into administration last week. Kidderminster in the Conference Premier, are one point off the play-off places, but haven’t paid their players this year and the Inland Revenue are threatening to pull the plug on them because of money owed to them. Football clubs tend to be incredibly fragile businesses at this level.

Meantime, the biggest clubs are rumoured to be asking the FA to ban replays in the FA Cup, with everything decided on the one game. This is due to their worries about the wear and tear on their squad. With players at my club’s level earning up to £600 a week while Premier players earn up to £200,000 a week, the sympathy at grass roots level only goes so far.

There is a vital, symbiotic relationship between big clubs and small ones in this country.

We need help from the big clubs BUT each level of football relies on much of its talent being developed by the divisions below them. Eliminating replays in the FA Cup will without doubt, result in even more clubs folding at the grass roots level. The FA would be well advised to remind the top clubs of this.

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Chris Ingram is as passionate about football as he is about business. Owner of Woking Football Club, and a majority shareholder in the fast growing sports media business Sports Revolution, Chris is one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs.

Recently celebrating 50 years in the media industry and still actively involved with Woking, Chris is ideally placed to comment on the business side of football.

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READ more of Chris Ingram’s work at our Football Business Section

Liverpool's Spain striker Fernando Torres believes he is approaching the World Cup in fresh condition following a recent injury lay-off.

Torres missed the closing two months of the domestic season following knee surgery.

The 26-year-old made his first competitive appearance since April 8 as a second-half substitute during Spain's 6-0 rout of Poland in Murcia on Tuesday evening.

Torres was a 66th minute replacement for David Villa and found the net late on before confirming at full-time that he feels fit and ready to make an impact in South Africa.

"I am very happy because now it is nearly two months after the surgery and I haven't noticed any problems," he declared.

"This was a very important day to me because to play in the World Cup is most important.

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"The minutes I played were useful to gain rhythm and to confirm that my knee is good.

"It was perfect and to get a goal as well, I'm very happy."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email