Rob Styles has been a joke for quite a while and Ian Wright reckons that enough is enough and I agree with him.

It is time for the FA to make a move and axe Rob Styles from the Select Group list.

Spurs boss, Juande Ramos, has recently described the current situation at the North London club as “delicate” and “complicated”. Tottenham fans, however, have been slightly less tentative in their opinions. After all, the club have just made their worst start to a season for over 50 years.

They remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, with a woeful 2 points won from a possible 18. More worryingly still, the Carling Cup holders have scored just 4 goals and have conceded a total of 9. For all Ramos’ calming words, Spurs fans just need to take one glance at the Premier League table and the alarming reality really does hit home.

This weekend’s 2-0 away defeat at Portsmouth was all the more disastrous given the identity of the goal scorers. Jermain Defoe claimed the opening goal and rubbed salt in the wounds of the beleaguered Spurs fans by putting in a scintillating performance.

The former White Hart Lane favourite played like his life depended on it and displayed touches of class sorely absent from recent Tottenham performances. Ex-Spurs striker, Peter Crouch, scored Portsmouth’s second goal, condemning the North London side to defeat and increasing speculation over the future of Juande Ramos.

The boss personally believes that he will live to fight another day, expressing his desire to “recover from this very quickly”. However, he also admitted that “whether I survive is for the chairman and the board to decide”.

So where has it all gone wrong for a Spurs side that defeated a typically strong Chelsea team in last season’s Carling Cup final? One primary factor lying behind the team’s disappointing start to the season is the immense squad upheaval seen over the summer.

Ten established members of the Tottenham squad left the club to make way for nine new signings. New players such as Roman Pavlyuchennko, who scored his first goal for the club during last week’s Carling Cup victory over Newcastle, have failed to make a real impression so far. Furthermore, the club was left hugely disappointed at their failure to capture the Zenit St. Petersburg star, Andrei Arshavin.

Spurs also desperately need more cover in central defence and have failed to find a suitable replacement for Jermain Defoe. This lack of balance and depth has blighted Tottenham’s season so far and the club will need to rectify the situation when the January transfer window opens.

However, fans of the club simply cannot wait until January for their team to improve. Improvements need to be made now and the team must start picking up points as well as putting in solid performances.

Ramos needs to improve the manner in which he motivates the club’s current players, many of whom are performing with a distinct lack of drive and energy. He needs to find a way to get the best out of previously erratic players, such as former Blackburn star, David Bentley, and, finally, he needs the continued support of the fans.

This support was not evident at the Portsmouth match, with certain members of the crowd chanting derogatory comments. This attitude, whilst understandable given the unusual position the club is finding itself in, will only bring harm to the manager and to the players.

Written by Charlotte Cook

Another exciting weekend in the Premiership dominated by awful refereeing and the realisation just how Newcastle and Tottenham are. These ten things are things that I now know that I didn't when I left my desk on Friday afternoon.

I know that Rob Styles has yet again showed that he is not a good enough referee to be making big decisions in the top flight. According to the Daily Mail he is to send an apology via e-mail to Bolton Wanderers but that isn't good enough. Man up and call Gary Megson and tell him you screwed up – that is the least you owe him.

I know that Rob Styles wasn't the only referee to have a bad day at the office either. Mike Riley's handling of the Merseyside derby was poor in the extreme and the sending off of Tim Cahill was a joke. Mike Dean missed a great penalty shout for Spurs at Fratton Park and Steve Bennett's award for a hopefully outrageous double pike and flip possibly cost Manchester City a chance of a point or three. I am a big defender of referees but they did in general have a pretty horrific weekend all in all.

I know that Hull's win at Arsenal was the biggest surprise that the Premiership will see this season. A terrific second half performance from The Tigers saw them home and in all honesty they didn't look like conceding after they had taken the lead. Congratulations to Phil Brown and his side – a really tremendous result.

I know that Newcastle are well and truly stuck in the brown stuff. A lacklustre display at home to Blackburn will not of impressed anyone and star player Michael Owen has come out and said that there is no confidence in the camp. I think Newcastle are genuinely in a relegation battle despite it only being six games into the season but they aren't the only other big club down there.

I know that Tottenham Hotspur are just awful. I saw the game yesterday and with Pompey being woefully short of confidence and seeing their defence look ill at ease, it was a chance for Spurs to really get going. Instead we saw Spurs come out and play some of the worst football that I have seen in the top flight. Why the captain chose to superman the ball in the area I'll never know but that was just stupid. Two points from six games is just not good enough and it is not a false position by any stretch of imagination.

I know that Manchester City are going to have their good days but they will also have their bad ones. Yesterday they looked distinctly average at Wigan and I have a feeling they'll very much be a Jekyll and Hyde team until the January TW.

I know that the Merseyside Derby was rather disappointing. The game just never got going for me and I just didn't enjoy it half as much as I thought I would. Last years game was immense and I missed it due to being on a coach travelling up to see Wigan Athletic v Portsmouth. This year I saw it and I really could've done something better with a rare sunny Saturday.

I know that Aston Villa impress me more week on week. An early goal against at home is disappointing but they came back and did just enough to win. That is the sign of a good side who can win even when they aren't firing on all cylinders.

I know that my fantasy team despite looking fine to me on paper really hasn't kicked on. Why didn't I know about how good Zaki was going to be and just how poor Luka Modric would be in the Premiership?

And finally...

I know that Spurs fans will never forgive Sol Campbell. It has been what six or seven years since he left the Lane and yet they still screamed profanities at him all afternoon. Give it up guys, I think he's got the message that aren't overly fond of him.

Last week saw Uefa introduce a crackdown on racism. Michael Platini, president of Uefa, sent out a letter to referees and match officials, which detailed a zero-tolerance policy towards those guilty of racist behaviour.

The letter urges officials to “demonstrate no leniency whatsoever in the face of violent, racist or discriminatory behaviour” and expresses Platini’s desire to improve the tainted image of football. The zero-tolerance policy will see stewards searching stadiums prior to kick-off and during the match, looking for offensive banners or behaviour. As well as the letter from Platini, match referees and officials were presented with a handbook that explicitly depicts the symbols and phrases used by extremist groups.

The policy is the latest move from Uefa to combat racism. Since becoming president of the organisation, Platini has made it clear that fighting discriminatory behaviour is top of his agenda, stating that “we have an obligation to combat this phenomenon through demonstrations and development programmes”.

During the summer, Uefa introduced a new set of regulations governing discipline, which all teams at national and club level must obey. If clubs break these rules, they face a minimum fine of nearly £16,000. Fans of the club may also be prevented from watching the matches. This is not only annoying for the fans but can also have a detrimental impact upon the performance of the team, since most players are motivated, to some extent, by the crowd.

Furthermore, if a club repeatedly offends, they may be docked points and, in extreme cases, may be disqualified from the competition. Prior to the start of Euro 2008, Platini also encouraged referees to stop matches in the event of an incident of racism or discriminatory behaviour.

The latest steps from Uefa were timed to coincide with the return of the Champions League and are especially relevant given the recent abuse of Emile Heskey at the hands of racist Croatian football fans. The FA lodged an official complaint with Fifa following the behaviour of sections of the crowd at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb. Heskey, who had to endure monkey chants throughout the World Cup qualifying match, has been the victim of racist behaviour before whilst playing for his country.

Perhaps the most shocking examples of such behaviour came during the England friendly against Spain in 2004. Every time England’s black players, including Heskey, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Ashley Cole, touched the ball, they were taunted with horrendous racist chants. The Spanish Football Federation was fined £44,750 by Fifa and the organisation warned that repeat abuse would be dealt with seriously.

This punishment was seen as far too lenient by many, including Kick It Out, the anti-racism campaign group. Piara Powar, the director of Kick It Out, was quoted at the time as saying “this is no worse than a slap on the wrist...The Spanish FA have been given a yellow card, not the red that many would have expected”.

Given the criticism levelled at Fifa in the past, as well as the new approach from Uefa, it will be interesting to see how they respond to this latest incident.

Written by Charlotte Cook

Terry Venables has the option to make a stunning return to top flight management with the glamorous role as manager of Newcastle United.

The North East club who are pretty much dying a death need to do something to alleviate the fears of the fans who saw the club drift to a fourth straight defeat last night. Things haven't been right on the Toon for quite a while and the departure of their King has not helped. In the weeks since Keegan and the club parted company the waters have been stormy to say the least.

Mike Ashley is ready and willing to sell up and is actively looking for an escape from the club. However as a businessman of some repute he knows that he can't leave the ship rudderless for too long otherwise his investment will go down in value. He needs a new manager to steady the club and steer it through these rocky times.

The man who has been chosen is Terry Venables. The former Spurs, England, Australia and Leeds manager has been sounded out about the position and has promised to give the club a response today.

Personally I don't think the Toon fans will be openly receptive to the move but on the other hand they know something has to be done. In an ideal world they would want Keegan back or at the very least Shearer installed but neither of them are coming back whilst Mike Ashley is in charge so they have to look elsewhere for a manager to save their season.

It may just be five games in but things are already looking pretty bad for the Toon. The team looks poor and as traditional for the team, the defence looks shambolic. Whether El Tel is the man to save them is unknown but something has to be done otherwise Newcastle might go back to where they were before Keegan came in first time around.

The Carling Cup saw the big boys enter last night and whilst there were some upsets (Rotherham beating Southampton, West Ham getting knocked off by Watford) and there was the Welsh derby last night as Swansea beat Cardiff thanks to a deflected free-kick in a game that was marred by trouble afterwards but it was the horror tackle by Middlesbrough's Emanuel Pogatetz on Manchester United youngster Rodrigo Possebon.

I watched the incident this morning on Sky Sports News and have to admit it wasn't pretty – not by any stretch of the imagination. There can be no defence for the player who looked absolutely stunned when the referee flashed a straight red in his direction. It was two footed, off the ground and studs showing. It was just how you'd draw my a leg breaking tackle in a diagram.

"It was an absolutely terrible tackle," enraged a less than happy Sir Alex Ferguson.

"What gets me about challenges like that is that the opponent always claims he has done nothing wrong."

He has a point as well. There can be no doubt whatsoever that Pogatetz knew it was a bad one and that he deserved to go – yet he acted like it was the biggest injustice that had ever befallen a footballer. It really rankles with me that he acted that way.

I'll give Gareth Southgate a lot of credit for not arguing it at all and having no complaints. I wonder if Pogatetz will apologise today after he's seen the replays of the incident. I hope so and he elects to make a giant slice of humble pie and speaks to the player he hurt himself.

On Saturday we witnessed one of the most bizarre incidents of this fledgling season or any season for that matter. We saw a goal awarded when the ball went nowhere near the goal – what exactly happened?

Whilst laying on my bed watching Gillette Soccer Saturday on Saturday strangely enough – Kammy went mental at the goings on in his game. He claimed that Reading had 'scored a goal that was never a goal but was a goal' – you have to love that man. However not until you actually see what happened does all become clear.

Sadly Youtube have already pulled all the videos with the Football League having claimed copyright infringement. For those who haven't yet had the opportunity to see it, basically it was a corner to Reading, the ball swung in and came off a Watford defender. A Reading player tried to keep the ball in as it bounced about three yards wide of the post – at this point the assistant flagged for a goal and as the players jogged back expecting a goal kick – they were stunned when after a bit of a chin-wag – the youngest ever top flight referee gave the goal.

There are those that lay the blame solely at the feet of Nigel Bannister the assistant who flagged but I'm not one of them. However it looks like the head of the Professional Game Match Officials board does and plans to let Stuart Attwell escape sanction.

The referee has to be accountable for his actions when all is said and done. He would've known that it wasn't a goal and yet despite this he went with the word of his assistant. I know they are there to help the referee out but sometimes the man in the middle has to take charge. I look forward to the referee lists this week to see where he ends up.

After another weekend with a 'big four' clash – we look at some more things that I know now that I didn't when I left my desk late on Friday afternoon.

I know that Chelsea let the chance slip to really put the hammer down and put Manchester United in a big hole. The home side were without Deco who got injured in the warm-up but still looked by far the better side despite going behind early. An equaliser was always coming and when it did they looked like they could kick on and take the three points, however it wasn't to be.

I know that Sir Alex Ferguson will be very happy to come away from Stamford Bridge with a point. He made a lot of noise about going there and recording victory, which he would've liked but when all was said and done – leaving London with the same deficit as they arrived isn't a bad result.

I know that Chelsea fans still don't get Nicolas Anelka and that Nicolas Anelka just doesn't get Chelsea. He has never looked like he has truly found his feet at the club and yet again missed a great chance on Sunday. Joe Cole laid a goal on the plate of the sulky Frenchman only to see the striker let the ball go between his legs with the goal gaping.

I know that whilst 6-0 is a pretty immense scoreline, that it flattered Manchester City somewhat. Sometimes you just have one of those games and boy did Portsmouth have one of those on Sunday afternoon. I sat through the whole thing like the masochist that I am as I saw Robinho and Shaun Wright-Phillips run riot and tear my beloved Pompey apart. That is twice this season Pompey haven't been at the races which must be a worry for the manager, however as a fan you just shrug and move on.

I know that Liverpool won't win the Premiership title. Well in all fairness I knew this well before they failed to breakdown Stoke City at home but I thought it was a biggie so I have thrown it in. They may have had a whopping 27 efforts on goal but apart from the free kick that went in directly that was correctly chalked off for offside – they never looked like actually putting the ball into the net.

I know that Robbie Keane is the next Peter Crouch at Anfield. When Liverpool signed Crouch he took an age to score but quickly became a fans favourite for his effort. When he did finally break his deadlock against Wigan the home crowd breathed a giant sigh of relief. When Keane does it'll be a similar scenario. The £20.3million signing from Spurs has played well and got into the right positions but the ball just hasn't fallen for him. It'll come Robbie, it'll come.

I know that Arsenal's ten minute spell after Bolton took the lead in their encounter on Saturday evening was one of the best spells of football I have ever had the joy to witness. They tore Bolton apart with crisp free-flowing attacking football and hit the post twice before they got the equaliser. They took the lead not 90 seconds later with a quite sublime move that ended up with Nicklas Bendtner slotting home. Those ten minutes would've easily been worth the journey and cost for the travelling supporters.

I know that Spurs have serious problems. I was one of those that thought they would end up safely in mid-table but seriously they aren't a very good side. I know we are only five games into the season but still no league wins is a worry and they travel down to Fratton Park next Sunday. This is quite quickly moving from a concern to a worry for Juande Ramos and his staff.

I know that the Toon are in a similar boat to Spurs on the pitch. Whilst Spurs have money and stability, Toon's chairman is desperate to sell up and the home fans are hounding him out of town. However despite these differences behind the scenes, they both look like relegation candidates that need to start becoming gritty and have the ability to nick results.

And finally...

I know that it was wonderful to hear Ian Darke commentate on a big match. The Midlands derby between West Brom and Aston Villa was a thoroughly entertaining game which Darke gave full justice too. He was paired with Dion Dublin for what was as far as I know his co-commentating debut. After a wobbly start, Dublin grew into the role and was guided through the game by the consummate professional Darke. I wonder if the powers that be at Sky are planning on giving them more games?

In the turbulent, exciting and frenetic world of professional football, it often seems that the only true things to cling to are the statistics. Who’s scored more goals, who has a better pass-completion rate, who’s sitting at the top of the table. Here are some such statistics: in 2006 a survey found that 57% of footballers think that football is homophobic (Pink News).

In 2007 a campaign was launched by The F.A and the Gay Footballers Supporters Network which brought in new regulations to all 92 Football League clubs banning homophobic abuse on the pitch and in the terraces. This year, over 50 teams from 6 continents are expected to make the journey to London for the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association World Championship in London (IGLFA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP).

This year it is also 10 years since Justin Fashanu took his own life after becoming the first ever openly gay footballer; the event went all but unmarked by the footballing establishment whilst 2 fans have been banned from both Preston North End and Blackpool football grounds after being guilty of chanting homophobic slogans in March. With such a mixed picture, and with no openly gay managers or players in the Football League, the question of whether football is still locked in the closet needs to be addressed.

Let us be clear from the get-go, I am not wishing to start a witch-hunt which serves to ‘out’ players who wish to keep their private lives private. Rather, I am advocating a tolerant environment in which professional football players or managers would feel comfortable coming out, without fear of abuse, ridicule or, at the other end of the scale, martyrdom by the gay community itself. We don’t want a martyr, nor do we want to start outing players who don’t wish for it. What is needed, however, is a greater understanding and a greater acceptance of the LGBT community within football; only through integration will homophobia in football ever really be tackled.

There are, sadly, the famous incidents which stick in the mind. Robbie Fowler’s infamous bending-over in front of Grahame Le Saux, after directing homophobic abuse towards the player earlier in the same game. Allegations of the straight Le Saux’s sexuality began to emerge because he would read The Guardian, was well-spoken and had a higher level of intellectual accomplishment than was stereotypically assigned to Premiership footballers.

Then came the controversial incident in 2006 which saw a Manchester United player seeming to call a referee a “f*cking poof” during a European game after a booking was given. At the time, the decision of the F.A not to investigate the incident drew widespread criticism from the LGBT community, not least from Peter Tatchell who wrote a blog in reply on the excellent ‘Comment is Free’ section of the Guardian website. In it, Tatchell comments that “It is time anti-gay attitudes were also given the red card”, he called for a “public condemnation of homophobia by leading football stars” and also suggested that the “whole Manchester United team” should “visit Manchester’s Gay Centre and Lesbian and Gay Foundation” in order to gain a “positive learning experience”. Here, Tatchell may well have hit the real winning point - the last-minute injury time scrambling of the ball across the line - education: education which could lead to tolerance and football finally being able to come out of the closet.

Whilst Tatchell’s specific suggestions have not been adopted, it would be unfair to say that no progress has been made. The previous football season saw the start of a nationwide ban on homophobic abuse in every football league club, a move which lead to the prior mentioned prosecution of two Preston North End fans as well as other enforcements of the new law. Charlton Athletic held a workshop for “interested volunteers” to “eradicate homophobic abuse from grounds” (Pinknews.co.uk), whilst Manchester City and AFC Bournemouth led the way in attempting to reach out to their local LGBT communities.

Such steps are to be applauded, and yet, as a new season begins, it seems a lot more is necessary. Justin is a new campaign which is aiming to “vindicate the memory of Justin Fashanu”, whose death, which happened a decade ago, has failed to be recognised this year by the footballing community. The aim of the Justin Campaign is to get the FA to observe Saturday 2nd May 2009 as Justin Fashanu Day (Pinknews.co.uk).

Such a cause is noble, just and correct. Yet it does seem some way off: Corny Litman, the President of FC St. Pauli commented in 2004 that the “social pressure would be unbearable” for any “professional player to come out”. He may well be correct, and a recent report from Europe has attempted to get to the root of the problem.

The report, written by Tanja Walther, quotes Almut Sulze, a European intellectual on this very issue, in commenting that “Football is a sphere of male culture...a game in which any display of “female” qualities will be considered a weakness”. It also comments that “the maleness of football is established by excluding women and gays... which results in sexism and homophobia”. Such comments appeared in 2005, and the progress that has since been made has already been documented.

Yet it cannot be denied that sexism and certainly homophobia still exist within the beautiful game. Women’s football continues to be a distant second in terms of prestige and money to men’s football whilst the World Cup being hosted in London this year on behalf of the Gay and Lesbian Football Association highlights ghettoisation rather than integration. Such inability to accept homosexuality is strange, comments Walther, coming from a sport which is so intensely homoerotic.

Male players and fans are regularly seen “kissing, embracing and comforting each other”. For a sport which is so intrinsically connected to the power, fragility and emotion of the male body, football and homophobia would seem to be an oxy-moronic concept. Sadly, 10 years on, the constant ghost of Justin Fashanu reminds us that it is not.

Written by Andrew McMillan

One of our men up in the North East is taking in the Liverpool reserve games this season. Keep up to date with the games with our match reports.

Liverpool Reserves suffered their first league defeat in almost a year during a difficult night in Sunderland on Wednesday.

Reds winger, Nabil El Zhar, impressed throughout the 2-1 defeat, scoring the equaliser in a very tight and frustrating encounter in the hometown of the late, great Bob Paisley. Michael Chopra proved to be a nuisance all evening, scoring the opener for the hosts and crossing for Nathan Luscombe’s deserved late winner.

Liverpool outcast, Jermaine Pennant, started his first ‘competitive’ match of the season after failing to agree a move to Stoke last month. Similarly, Sunderland fielded strikers Michael Chopra and Anthony Stokes, two players who have fallen down the pecking order since the influx of new strikers in the summer.

Sunderland were on top for long periods of the match and took advantage of sloppy and lacklustre play from the Reds, taking the lead on the hour. Michael Chopra scored after Graham Kavanagh hit the post, but Liverpool levelled through a crisp El Zhar finish with just 15 minutes to go.

With just 7 minutes remaining, the Reds contributed to their own downfall once again. Some poor defending allowed Chopra to deliver a cross to the far post, where Luscombe was waiting to head the ball home.

Player Review

With several of the reserve team ‘stars’ returning after their pre-season exploits with the first team, how many are likely to feature in the League Cup match against Crewe Alexandra at Anfield on Tuesday?

Dean Bouzanis (GK): Made some good saves and looks a far better prospect than other reserve goalkeepers, including Peter Gulacsi and Martin Hansen. Not at fault for either of Sunderland’s goals.

Stephen Darby (RB): Unfussy, steady performance from the reserve captain as usual and either he or Phillip Degen should play at right back in the Crewe game next week.

Mikel San Jose Dominguez (CB): Restored to his preferred position following an indifferent performance at Middlesbrough. He was slightly rash in the tackle at times and has an outside chance of a squad place for the Carling Cup game.

Ronald Huth (CB): Not the best of games for the Paraguayan. Played far too many long balls and struggled, like most of the other Liverpool players, with the physical strength of Sunderland.

Emiliano Insua (LB): Usually one of the star performers in the reserves, Insua had a difficult night and his forward runs left the Reds wide open at the back, with both goals coming from his side. However, he remains a serious contender for an appearance in the League Cup.

Jermaine Pennant (RM): Pennant was largely ineffective and frustrating, traits he has unfortunately shown in first team games for the Reds over the past two seasons. Not the kind of performance that will make Benitez consider reinstating him in the first team. Sarcastic post-match comments belittled the reserves and this attitude certainly will not endear him to the fans.

Damien Plessis (CM): Dominated and outfought by Sunderland’s players. He may be a contender for the Crewe match.

Jay Spearing (CM): Sloppy performance from Liverpool’s all-action midfielder. Also in with a chance for the Crewe game.

SUB Ryan Flynn (CM): No involvement of any note. No real chance of making the squad for the Crewe game.

Nabil El Zhar (LM): After featuring three times in the first team already this season, the Moroccan international was in fine form, with an array of deft touches causing the hosts all kinds of problems. Completely outshone Pennant on the opposite flank and took his goal well. Every chance he will get a start in the League Cup next week.

David Ngog (ST): Lively, but far too often outnumbered. Far more impressive than his performance at Villa Park with the first team and was unlucky not to have converted a far-post volley. Should play against Crewe in some form.

Daniel Pacheco (ST): The young Spaniard found it difficult in a congested area of the pitch and was marked out of the game. Replaced by Flynn on the hour but could make League Cup squad.

SUB Jordy Brouwer (ST): Had a half-chance comfortably saved but will find it difficult to get a sustained run in the reserves, with competition from the likes of N’Gog, Pacheco and Nemeth.

Their next match is at Manchester City on October 7.

Written by Michael McGuinness

Last night European Football came to the pride of the South Coast for the first time as Portsmouth stepped into the UEFA Cup for the first time with the visit of Vitoria Guimaraes. A near capacity crowd was seen despite the unusual 6PM kick-off time as the club and the city embraced the occasion.

Pompey were unchanged from the team that finished the game with Middlesbrough on Saturday. Newcomer Belhadj got his first start at left-back and had a lot to love up to following an impressive 45 minutes at the weekend. The rest of the side was pretty much as expected as Portsmouth started their UEFA Cup campaign with cautious optimism.

The home side dominated possession and looked at ease in Europe. Despite the club having never played in the competition before, every single player on the pitch for Pompey had played in Europe before for other clubs.

The visitors' goalkeeper Nilson twice kept his team level in the first half with fine saves from Jermain Defoe. The England striker was played in by Crouch and saw his effort acrobatically tipped over. The keeper needed attention to his fingers which looked like they may well of been bent back following the shot.

Portsmouth looked on top and finally made their possession count after 39 minutes when the world-class Diarra beat two men on the left flank before playing a neat one-two with Defoe and firing in on the half-volley. It was no less than the home side deserved and the crowd roared with their approval. The atmosphere was particularly impressive and should Portsmouth advance in this competition then there won't be many team that'll fancy a trip to Fratton Park under the lights.

After the euphoria of the goal the home side gifted the visitors a golden opportunity to level it up. Sol Campbell was adjudged to of brought Felix Roberto down in the box. It looked extremely harsh at the time and the attacker didn't even appeal but the referee blew and spot kick was given. Joao Paulo Fajardo stepped up and fired his effort off the top of the bar to give the home crowd a chance to release a huge sigh of relief.

Those same fans were happy early in the second half when they cheered a soft penalty for the home side. However yet again the net failed to bulge as the impressive Nilson saved low to his left from Defoe's effort and within a minute the away side should've been level. A quick free kick saw Roberto go through only for the front man to drag his shot wide when he only had David James to beat.

Portsmouth doubled their lead soon afterwards when an absolute gem of a cross from the very impressive Belhadj found Defoe at the far post and this time the keeper had no chance. It was another high quality goal for the home side who looked very much at home in European competition.

Vitoria Guimaraes decided that it was time to really go for it and they gave the Pompey defence something to think about in the last thirty minutes. A free kick hit David James and somehow drifted just wide of the far post. However it was Portsmouth who nearly got the third when yet again Nilson made a top class save – this time from Belhadj.

It finished 2-0 to Portsmouth but it could've been more. Still a 2-0 win is a terrific result and with no away goal conceded they'll be confident going into the second leg knowing that if they score in Portugal, then their opposition will have to score four times and that doesn't happen very often against a very stingy back line.

A couple of weeks ago it could have seemed as though Chelsea were slipping back into their 'go a goal up and stop' mentality after two dire performances against Wigan and then Tottenham. The latter of these two games highlighted that something needed to be done in order to improve the Blues prospects of regaining the league title.

Last season Chelsea finished just two points behind champions Manchester United but a string of late equalisers cost the Londoners dearly in the end of season run-in, the prime example coming against Wigan at home when Emile Heskey pounced, Chelsea dropping two points in a game they really should have won.

Since their game against Spurs though, Chelsea have looked a far better team going forward with comfortable victories against Manchester City at Eastlands and Bordeaux at home in the Champions League.

The game against City saw the Blues bounce back from an early Robinho free-kick, surging  forward, taking the game to hosts and scoring three goals of their own to return to the top of the pile following Liverpool' earlier victory over Man Utd. This win saw many betting on Chelsea - to go on and reclaim the Premiership crown.

Their encounter on Wednesday against the French side was won even more convincingly, the hosts putting four past Laurent Blanc's men and never really looked as though they were to be beaten at the back.

Despite this manager Luiz Felipe Scolari was unhappy with his sides' performance stating that,

"We made many mistakes in the second half. We did not control the game enough, we let them have too much of the ball. We did not play very well.

"We tried to attack without the ball and with no good connections", Scolari made a point and he wants his team to play under his tactics and was very unhappy that, despite killing off the game eight minutes from time, the players did not control the ball well after the break.

His views will contrast of those of many Chelsea fans who were happy with the Blues performance and it will be interesting to see whether the West Londoners will resort to their former reserved style of football in the future.

Written by John Ford - A Freelance Sports Journalist

Day two of the Champions League saw the reigning Champions of Europe enter into the competition. They had the best player in the World ready to return from the bench but when all was said and done – they were lucky to come away with a point.

Villarreal came to Old Trafford with a reserve team. Most of their stars were sitting on the bench as the manager essentially gave up the tie, however Manchester United failed to take advantage of this as they bossed a game and not for the first time this season failed to reap the rewards.

It could've nay should've been worse for the home side. The best move of the match by the proverbial country mile came from the away side who worked it down the right with some neat interplay, the ball found its way into the inside right channel and the by-line, the squared ball found Guillermo Franco who tried a cheeky back heel only to see the ball rebound off the far upright when surely the only thing he could do was put the ball into the net.

Sir Alex Ferguson decided it was time to bring on Cristiano Ronaldo and the fans rose to applaud their hero who spent the whole summer trying desperately to claw his way out of Manchester. So the crowd still love him and he looked decent enough and set up a golden opportunity for youngster Jonny Evans, but the Irishman could only fire a header against the post with half the goal to aim at.

It was a lacklustre start to their defence just like it has been in the Premiership. They'll come good but they need to start going through the gears sooner rather than later.

In Kiev a late William Gallas goal rescued Arsenal from a defeat. Dynamo Kiev were the only side in last years Champions League group stage to go pointless but they won't suffer the same fate this time around.

At Celtic Park we finished up the hat-trick of draws as the home side saw a first half penalty saved from Barry Robson and they were unable to breakdown the AaB Allborg defence. A very disappointing night for the home side who could've down top following the draw at Old Trafford.

So all in all a poor night for the British clubs – the only team who'll be at least content will be Arsenal but otherwise a sluggish start for the Wednesday night Brits.

So Day One of the Champions League proper has been and gone. We've seen two English sides play and they both recorded victory to two decisively different ways.

Chelsea gave Bordeaux the expected whooping putting four past the French outfit. Goals from Frank Lampard and Joe Cole in the first half put them firmly in control before Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka finished off the job with goals in the second 45 minutes.

Coach Scolari though was not impressed with the performance, “We tried to attack without the ball and with no good connections,” stated the amiable Brazilian. However he did concede that it was vital to open up with a victory. Next up for Chelsea is a trip to Romania to face the relatively unknown CFR 1907 Cluj who stunned the footballing world last night with a defeat of AS Roma in the Italian capital.

The other game is the game I watched - Olympique de Marseille v Liverpool. The French side away from home was always going to be a tricky opener for the five time Champions. Both sides looked lively early on but it was the home side that took the lead mid-way through the first half. Lorik Cana broke the offside trip as Jamie Carragher played him on and was clean through before sliding the ball past Pepe Reina.

However the lead didn't last long as within three minutes Steven Gerrard had produced something even I with my cynical nature of all things Liverpool can only describe was simply sublime. A 22-yard first-time curling effort that went into the top corner and gave the goalkeeper no chance doesn't even do it justice. It was quite simply that good.

They took the lead not long after as Ryan Babel was tripped in the box and Gerrard fired up not once, but twice to put Liverpool ahead – the first having been disallowed due to encroachment into the penalty area. Liverpool had the lead that they wouldn't give up for the rest of the game.

The home side had chances – boy did they have chances – as they piled on the pressure late in the second half. Bad misses, fine tackles, great covering and top goalkeeping all came to Liverpool's rescue as they held on. The result was still in doubt well into the four minutes of added time as Marseilles came forward in waves.

It was a good and much needed result for Liverpool who notably left out £20.3million man Robbie Keane. The Irishman hasn't settled at the club and has yet to look like scoring. Peter Crouch went through a similar phase when he joined the club and Liverpool fans must be hoping that Keane will come good just like Crouch did.

So a good night for Liverpool and Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Celtic all get their Champions League campaigns going later today against Villarreal, Dynamo Kiev and AabB Aalborg respectively.

You can keep your premier league or even your football league, for sheer excitement on a football pitch and possible for more passion and feeling from those involved, I have to say my Sunday League teams recent match had everything you want from a football game.

My team were getting well and truly battered, to coin a phrase, at half time, when they found themselves 4-0 down, and not having a real chance of note in the first half, when all of a sudden, a couple of changes at the break brought about the most unlikely of turnarounds.

Five second half goals, brought about much excitement and joy, something which I don't have to pay x amount of pounds for either.

Can Sunday League football be as exciting as other professional football? It might not have the skill, but it makes it no less entertaining. Nine goals in a game, two bookings, dodgy decisions galore, a few heated exchanges on the touchline, it was what Sunday Football was invented for, wasn't it?

A lot of people who claim to follow the beautiful game, could do worse than head down to their local park on a Sunday morning, and take an interest in their local sides, it beats staying in bed and paying the inflated Sky/Setanta monthly bills, that is for sure.

An FA regulatory commission has thrown referee Mark Halsey to the wolves and has protected the England captain from a three-match ban after overturning the players red card against Manchester City.

John Terry was sent off for serious foul play when he brought down Manchester City front man Jo with around 15 minutes to go on Saturday evening. It looked a yellow in real time but Halsey jogged up and flashed the red card to Terry, who was sent off and was facing a ban that would keep him out of the Manchester United game at the weekend.

Due to the fact that he was sent off for serious foul play and not for a professional foul, the appeal looked doomed to failure. It is impossible to argue that it wasn't serious foul play and the referee in those instances has every right to send a player from the field of play.

For me it is one that looks worse every time you see it, so cynical and to be blunt it was a rugby style tackle that hauled down the Brazilian front man. The more I see it, the more I back referee Halsey in his judgement. However the powers that be have decided not to back him and have deemed him wrong in his actions.

As his reward Mark Halsey gets to referee Chester City v Shrewsbury Town this weekend. The FA have decided to protect their precious England captain instead of trying to stamp out cynical rugby style tackles.

Clearly Mark Halsey is expendable and not making John Terry out to be a bad guy is vastly more important. The FA sometimes are very self-serving and don't realise that by making this statement that kids up and down the country know that they can get away with rugby style tackles if someone is going clean past them.

You've got to love the FA's short-sightedness.

Respect?

How about respecting the men in black (or yellow as it was in this case) yourselves?

Danny Guthrie needs to get out after his horrible and petulant hack at Craig Fagan has led to the Hull City player being out after suffering a broken leg.

I don't think anyone could argue that he doesn't deserve a extra ban on top of the automatic three games that he got for the incident. How long is the only question and some might say that he shouldn't play until Fagan is fit to play again and do you know what?

I agree with them.

The following ten statements are things that I know are true following the Premiership action I've seen over the weekend.

I know that money can buy you happiness – but it might take a while. The clash of the cash at the weekend between Manchester City and Chelsea had been mouthwatering since the blue half of Manchester got flushed with Oil money. A fine start with a Robinho goal but Chelsea looked like a team full of stars who had been playing together for a while. This Chelsea team is scary good and Manchester City will be aspiring to be one their level on the pitch for a couple of years at yet at the very least.

I know that Manchester United playing three strikers away from home at Anfield was a huge gamble that didn't pay off. Yes I know both Liverpool goals were down to individual mistakes by United players (Van der Sar and Giggs) but in the second half Liverpool did look the more likely to grab three points.

I know that Manchester United have missed Ronaldo even more that I thought they would. I knew all about him scoring a zillion goals last season but just his presence on the pitch is important. The opposition have always got to be wary of him and have one eye on him, even if he's not doing anything. United welcome him back in the week and boy do they need him.

I know that referee Alan Wiley is one of the best but even the best can have absolute shockers. He took charge of the Stoke City v Everton game yesterday, which after a lacklustre first half turned into an absolute stormer. He wrongly disallowed a perfectly good Ricardo Fuller goal before awarding a penalty to Everton for a clear handball in the box only to listen to his assistant and give a free kick.

I know that Danny Guthrie's red card was one of the stupidest most petulant things that I have ever seen. I know things are goings tits up at Newcastle and that they were losing at home to Hull City but that doesn't excuse just kicking someone in that manner. I hope he looks himself in the mirror and realises that he has to grow up before he can kick on as a footballer.

I know that Mark Halsey had every right to send John Terry off – but that he didn't have to. It was one of those where a yellow would've sufficed but it could be argued that it was a red card offense. John Terry rugby tackled Jo down with only one covering defender. Had Jo got past Terry then he had Robinho with him so it would've been two on two (including the goalkeeper) with a running start and half the pitch to run into. That is a clear goal scoring opportunity and the rule book says nothing about the last man – just the clear goal scoring opportunity part. I would've given a yellow but if Halsey saw it as a red then I have no issue with that either.

I know that Nemanja Vidic could've been sent off twice for straight red card offenses on Saturday. Following my previous paragraph he could've seen straight red for the Robbie Keane challenge when he was clean through the middle, he only got a yellow. Latterly he got a second yellow for the elbow against Alonso which as we saw in the week in Zagreb could've been a straight red. Howard Webb seemed to forget he had booked Vidic before he was reminded by a Liverpool player – that would've have gone down well with the powers that be.

I know that if Jermain Defoe stays fit all season that he'll challenge for the top scorer in the division honours. He was made for a club like Portsmouth and a manager like Harry Redknapp. He has Peter Crouch alongside him who he'll feed off and he has immense skill himself. With Pompey looking like they are willing to let the shackles off a bit and play more attacking football in recent weeks – expect to see Defoe high in the goal scoring charts all season long and for him to appear in a vast percentage of fantasy teams.

I know that Amr Zaki is someone I'd never heard of but really is someone I should take more notice of. Anyone whose scored five goals in as many games for Wigan is someone worth taking a closer look at.

And finally...

I know that the Premier League is the greatest league in the world. With cracking games and some superb teams it is rare to go through a weekend without many talking points. Even tonight we have a match-up that was 4-4 last season so let's hope for more of the same!

So Mike Ashley has (unsurprisingly) put the Toon up for sale. He released the following statement over the weekend to explain his reasons. Have a read and let us know what you think:

I have enjoyed sport since I was a boy. I love football. I have followed England in every tournament since Mexico '86. I was there to see Maradona and his hand of God. I know what it means to love football and to love a club. I know how important it is to other people because football is so important to me.

My life has been tied up with sport. It was the passion that I felt for sport that helped me to be successful with my business. That success allowed me to mix my passion and my business.

I bought Newcastle United in May 2007. Newcastle attracted me because everyone in England knows that it has the best fans in football. When the fans are behind the club at St James' Park it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It is magic. Newcastle's best asset has been, is and always will be the fans.

But like any business with assets the club has debts. I paid £134 million out of my own pocket for the club. I then poured another £110 million into the club not to pay off the debt but just to reduce it. The club is still in debt. Even worse than that, the club still owes millions of pounds in transfer fees. I shall be paying out many more millions over the coming
year to pay for players bought by the club before I arrived.

But there was a double whammy. Commercial deals such as sponsorships and advertising had been front loaded. The money had been paid upfront and spent. I was left with a club that owed millions and part of whose future had been mortgaged. Unless I had come into the club then it might not have survived. It could have shared the fate of other clubs who have borrowed too heavily against their future. Before I had spent a penny on wages or buying players Newcastle United had cost me more than a quarter of a billion pounds.

Don't get me wrong. I did not buy Newcastle to make money. I bought Newcastle because I love football. Newcastle does not generate the income of a Manchester United or a Real Madrid. I am Mike Ashley, not Mike Ashley a multi-billionaire with unlimited resources. Newcastle United and I can't do what other clubs can. We can't afford it.

I knew that the club would cost me money every year after I had bought it. I have backed the club with money. You can see that from the fact that Newcastle has the fifth highest wage bill in the Premier League. I was always prepared to bank roll Newcastle up to the tune of £20 million per year but no more. That was my bargain. I would make the club solvent. I would make it a going concern. I would pour up to £20 million a year into the club and not expect anything back. It has to be realised that if I put £100 million into the club year in year out then it would not be too long before I was cleaned out and a debt ridden Newcastle United would find itself in the position that faced Leeds United.

That is the nightmare for every fan. To love a club that overextends itself, that tries to spend what it can't afford.

That will never happen to Newcastle when I am in charge. The truth is that Newcastle could not sustain buying the Shevchenko's, Robinho's or the Berbatov's. These are recognised European footballers. They have played in the European leagues and everyone knows about them. They can be brilliant signings. But everybody knows that they are brilliant and so they, and players like them, cost more than £30 million to buy before you even take into account agent commissions and the multi-million pound wage deals.

My plan and my strategy for Newcastle is different. It has to be. Arsenal is the shining example in England of a sustainable business model. It takes time. It can't be done overnight. Newcastle has therefore set up an extensive scouting system. We look for young players, for players in foreign leagues who everyone does not know about. We try and stay ahead of the competition. We search high and low looking for value, for potential that we can bring on and for players who will allow Newcastle to compete at the very highest level but who don't cost the earth.

I am prepared to back large signings for millions of pounds but for a player who is young and has their career in front of them and not for established players at the other end of their careers. There is no other workable way forward for Newcastle. It is in this regard that Dennis and his team have done a first class job in scouting for talent to secure the future of the club.

You only need to look at some of our signings to see that it is working, slowly working. Look at Jonas Guttierrez and Fabricio Collocini. These are world class players. The plan is showing dividends with the signing of exceptional young talent such as Sebastien Bassong, Danny Guthrie and Xisco.

My investment in the club has extended to time, effort and yet again, money being poured into the Academy. I want Newcastle to be able to create its own legends of the future to rival those of the past. This is a long term plan. A long term plan for the future of the club so that it can flourish.

One person alone can't manage a Premiership football club and scout the world looking for world class players and stars of the future. It needs a structure and it needs people who are dedicated to that task. It needs all members of the management team to share that vision for it to work.

Also one of the reasons that the club was so in debt when I took over was due to transfer dealings caused by managers moving in and out of the club. Every time there was a change in manager millions would be spent on new players and millions would be lost as players were sold. It can't keep on working like that. It is just madness.

I have put Newcastle on a sound financial footing. It is reducing its debt. It is spending within itself. It is recruiting exciting new players and bringing in players for the future.

The fans want this process to happen more quickly and they want huge amounts spent in the transfer market so that the club can compete at the top table of European football now. I am not stupid and have listened to the fans. I have really loved taking my kids to the games, being next to them and all the fans. But I am now a dad who can't take his kids to a football game on a Saturday because I am advised that we would be assaulted. Therefore, I am no longer prepared to subsidise Newcastle United.

I am putting the club up for sale. I hope that the fans get what they want and that the next owner is someone who can lavish the amount of money on the club that the fans want.

This will not be a fire sale. Newcastle is now in a much stronger position than it was in 2007. It is planning for the future and it is sustainable.

I am still a fan of Newcastle United. We, my kids and I, have loved standing on the terraces with the fans, we have loved travelling with the away fans and we have met so many fans whose company we have enjoyed. We have absolutely loved it but it is not safe anymore for us as a family.

I am very conscious of the responsibility that I bear in owning Newcastle United. Tough decisions have to be made in business and I will not shy away from doing what I consider to be in the best interests of the club. This is not fantasy football.

I don't want anyone to read my words and think that any of this is an attack on Kevin Keegan. It is not. Kevin and I always got on. Everyone at the club, and I mean everyone, thinks that he has few equals in getting the best out of the players. He is a legend at the club and rightly so. Clearly there are disagreements between Kevin and the Board and we have both put that in the hands of our lawyers.

I hope that all the fans get to read this statement so that they understand what I am about. I would not expect all of the fans to agree with me. But I have set out, clearly, my plan. If I can't sell the club to someone who will give the fans what they want then I shall continue to ensure that Newcastle is run on a business and football model that is sustainable. I care too much about the club merely to abandon it.

I have the interests of Newcastle United at heart. I have listened to you. You want me out. That is what I am now trying to do but it won't happen overnight and it may not happen at all if a buyer does not come in.

You don't need to demonstrate against me again because I have got the message. Any further action will only have an adverse effect on the team. As fans of Newcastle United you need to spend your energy getting behind, not me, but the players who need your support.

I am determined that Newcastle United is not only here today, but that it is also there tomorrow for your children who stand beside you at St James' Park.

Mike Ashley.

Roy Keane has escalated his war of words with Jack Warner and I think its fantastic. The Sunderland manager has branded Warner "a clown" and a "disgrace" and he is right on the money.

Finally even journalists are starting to stop sipping the Steven Gerrard kool-aid. Frank Lampard is a tremendous midfielder and is a much more important player for England than Gerrard.

So glad Gerrard never came to Stamford Bridge and Lamps could just do his thing.

West Ham United got the man they wanted by why have they gone after someone with so little management experience?

A Premiership club is a lot different to Italian kids in the under-21s so it seems that they've gone for the name and not the man.

West Ham - a shambles!

Openly slagging off your bosses never goes down well but when you are a Premiership football on a wage that most folk wouldn't earn in a year - then you have a bit more freedom to say your piece.

I agree with Jamie that things aren't all that at Anfield and the Hicks/Gillett hasn't worked but to have the audacity to say so as publicly as he has done certainly shocked me.

Hicks & Gillett out!

What is just me who got increasingly wound up at Chris Waddle's antics last night? One of my favourite players from my youth and I had heard top things about his co-commentary work but then I listened to him last night and boy did I cringe...

When all was said and done Waddle thought England should've had a penalty and an extra penalty. He thought Croatia should've had one less goal and two less men than they had on the field. It was one of the most blinkered performances of a co-commentator that I have ever had to listen to.

We've go through the incidents chronologically:

The Penalty – Not Given. It was one of those that could easily of been given but wasn't one of those that should've been. Simunic did have his arm around Emile Heskey but it was actually Heskey who tugged on the arm to make it look like more than it was. Waddle spent the next three minutes saying that the referee needed to be strong and not intimidated despite the fact that Lubos Michel is widely regarded as the top referee in the world at the moment.

Josip Simunic – Red Card – Not Given. He got a yellow for a blatant obstruction of Theo Walcott and then early in the second half there was a similar incident but just not as blatant and Walcott in this instance wasn't at full pace. A second yellow and a red here would've been harsh as sometimes defenders just can't get out of the way, it was a free kick but not a second yellow.

Robert Kovac – Red Card – Given. Kovac saw red for a deliberate elbow on Joe Cole. The referee seemed to be quite relaxed about the incident until he saw the pool of blood that the Chelsea player was lying in. About thirty seconds later the red card was flashed and Croatia were down to ten men. I thought it was harsh as personally as I thought Kovac had his eyes firmly on the ball and you use your arms your leverage. However Waddle disagreed as did Michel and that was that.

Darijo Srna – Red Card – Not Given. Srna got a yellow and then Waddle wanted him to get a second yellow for a bit of a nothing foul. Waddle used this opportunity to claim that a strong referee would've had Croatia down to eight men by now.

Frank Lampard – Goal – Disallowed. The goal was chalked off due to an off the ball incident involving Emile Heskey where he deliberately blocked off a defender. Waddle thought it was a terrible decision, harsh maybe but there was a foul.

Mario Mandzukic – Goal – Allowed. This one I do agree with Waddle over. A high boot nearly took out Terry's eye-balls before Srna carried on through to square and set-up Mandzukic's consolation goal. Michel had given fouls for similar incidents earlier in the game so I'm not sure why it wasn't given this time. No matter when all is said and done.

So six major incidents that Waddle thought showed the referee was bullied and intimidated. A couple of times he may have been right but Lubos Michel is a vastly experienced referee who seemed to handle the game pretty well. I certainly would like to see the referee who sends off three players in this game because if you showed me that referee then I could show you a referee who won't get to officiate a top game ever again.

Well I have lambasted Fabio left, right and centre for not taking Michael Owen. I doubt he give two hoots what I think but if he did then he'd just reply 'six points'.

This morning England fans are waking up to the best result since that night in Munich seven years ago as England tore Croatia apart on their own patch for the first time in a competitive international. Croatia had been undefeated in their previous 35 games in Zagreb when something mattered on the result, taking them back on the way to when they gained their independence from Yugoslavia.

Most England fans were pretty downbeat about the team's chances and I must admit that I was one of them. When I saw Theo Walcott's name on the team-sheet however I perked up a bit as that was a positive move. It looked like we weren't just going to sit back and see if they could tear us apart.

The start was cagey but England looked decent enough before Croatia started to get into their stride. However in the 26th minute Fabio saw his gamble pay-off as Walcott drilled a shot low and hard past Stipe Pletikosa to give England a shock lead. Moments before Heskey had done down in the box under the challenge of Josip Simunic but Lubos Michel waved away his protests.

Half-Time and it was England who led but that had nothing on what would happen in the second half.

Robert Kovac saw red after an elbow on Joe Cole. The Chelsea midfielder went off after leaving the pitch in a pool of blood before Michel stunned the home crowd by brandishing the red card to the giant centre back. It was a harsh red card in all honesty as he clearly had eyes on the ball but contact was certainly made. Chris Waddle screamed that it was deliberate but he has been the most biased co-commentator ever after his display alongside the cool Jon Champion on the game last night.

With the extra man England started to ooze confidence and it was Walcott who grabbed the second. Yet again he was in the inside right channel and fired low and hard across and the past the Croatia keeper before seeing the ball nestle in the corner of the net. England were on their way and Rooney grabbed a third moments later.

Lampard thought he'd scored a fourth before it was disallowed and then the home side scored one on the break. However man of the moment Theo Walcott made sure that the night would be all about him as he steered home his third and England's fourth after being put through by Wayne Rooney.

It was a huge result for England and it puts them firmly in the driving seat to win Group 6. Fabio Capello will feel that most of the media owe him an apology and to be fair, most of the media have given him one. I'm not there just yet, Croatia were down to ten men early in the second half when the game was very much in the balance.

Still though credit where its due and England have shown they can win big games – now it is just a question of whether the media will build us up so high that when we fail it'll hurt that much more.

So for such an early game in the qualification group it is sure a biggie. England travel to Zagreb to take on a Croatian team that did the double over the country last time around and haven't lost at home in 35 games. Should be fun then...

England tuned up for this huge match with a trip to Barcelona to face the might of Andorra. Another lacklustre display saw England win but only after going in at the interval level and needing a double salvo from substitute Joe Cole.

They are without Steven Gerrard due to injury and Michael Owen due being inexplicitly left at home kicking his heels. Rio Ferdinand is expected to return to the centre of defence to partner John Terry with Wes Brown also returning to the side in place of Glen Johnson at right back. Ashley Cole will play on the left and David James will be in goal.

Joe Cole will surely start replacing the woeful and ineffective Stewart Downing. Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry will play in the middle of the park but then we come to one of the big question marks in the run-up to kick-off – who exactly will man the right flank?

There are three possibilities:

David Bentley – The man who should be playing is the biggest outsider of the trio. The Spurs' midfielder had a terrific season last time around for Blackburn. He looked like he was really kicking on and delivering some excellent crosses and was the right winger of the future. Somehow though David Beckham kept being picked ahead of him even though his legs have gone and the myth that Becks' can still deliver a mean cross still persists.

David Beckham – Probably the man who'll wear the #7 shirt tonight. Becks' should at best be a squad player these days but he still seems to be a starter in the eyes of our £6million a year manager. Playing in an extremely weak league week in and week out, he isn't being tested at the top level. You could very easily make the case that his performances for LA Galaxy haven't exactly been setting the Earth on fire either. Big plus points go in the experience box for him but that is the only place where he'd be above Bentley or Walcott for me.

Theo Walcott – The raw Arsenal youngster is a talent and his naivety might just be something we can exploit. Fabio keeps saying that England are playing with fear well we all know that youngsters play with no fear, they just play. That might be just what England need, someone to go out there and just play. He is still raw and his crossing and decision making isn't up there just yet but he might just scare the Croatians and give them something to think about because at the moment they are probably feeling extremely confident.

Take your pick Fabio (Beckham) and we'll see how it turns out. Up top Rooney will start even though he hasn't had a good game in an eon but will Defoe or Heskey partner him? They both have very different skill sets and Heskey might just get the nod.

Heskey without Owen for England – I still can't get my head around that but Fabio knows his stuff.

It all kicks-off at 8PM on Setanta Sports 1 – Yes I can hear you booing at the back. At least they don't have Craig Burley on England games so thank heavens for small mercies.

My Prediction – Croatia 2-1 England

Fabio Capello now reckons that England's poor form at home is now our fault. Well for a man with £6million coming into his bank account each year thanks to us loyal fans he really should know when to shut the (expletive) up.

Our fault that England aren't great at football anymore - yeah that's right Fabio...

I've just read that Setanta Sports want £1million from any of the terrestrial networks for rights to show highlights of the Croatia v England game. That is beyond disgraceful.

This company is taking the michael out of us and deserve to go bust sooner rather than later!

When Joe Cole first arrived at Chelsea in the Summer of 2003 he was little more than a flair player who on occasion could light up a game with his silky skills and extraordinary ability to beat his man.

At first he struggled at Chelsea to hold down a regular first-team place, especially under Claudio Ranieri who preferred to play a diamond formation with Damien Duff and Jesper Gronkjaer making up the wider corners of said diamond.

Today though Cole is an integral part of the Chelsea team yet like his early days at the Blues, England manager Fabio Capello appears to favour others over the matured 26-year-old.

Even following his brace against European minnow's Andorra in England's opening World Cup qualifier Capello reserved criticism for the winger.

The Italian was unhappy with Cole dropping too deep into midfield after his and England's second of the evening - In my opinion checking out the Premiership goal betting for Joe Cole's odds of a 10-plus season wouldn't go a miss.

Capello told a press conference,

"I was not happy with Joe and Wayne Rooney.

"I was asking them to go forward again because Emile Heskey was all on his own. I tried to transmit something to them but I was too far from the pitch."

Cole's desire to drop back and help out the rest of his team may have been criticised by the former Madrid coach but ironically it has been this development in his game which not only earned him a first-team place at Chelsea but also a permanent place in the England set-up.

It was under Jose Mourinho where Cole began to improve as a player after being publicly criticised by his manager following another winner, this time against Liverpool.

Mourinho was not happy with is one-dimensional approach to the game, working with Cole to understand that as well as in attack, he was also needed further back when his team were under pressure.

At the time Mourinho was himself criticised for these statements but the former West Ham trainee's game has undeniably improved since this time and under Luiz Felipe Scolari the Islington-born midfielder is quickly becoming a stalwart of the Chelsea team.

Even before this season though Cole was a vital part of the Blues side – even if former coach Avram Grant seemingly disagreed.

His chances were limited once more under the Israeli with many Chelsea fans pointing at the Carling Cup Final defeat to Tottenham as one of Grant's biggest tactical errors.

Cole only entered the fray in injury time and began to turn the game and despite almost grabbing a late equaliser many will agree that a starting place in the final should have been guaranteed for the boyhood-blue.

The Chelsea fans acknowledged his contribution to the sides campaign, handing him their Player of the year award at the end of the 2007-08 season.

On Saturday, it was only Cole's introduction which sparked any life into England's performance and in my view it is high time that his contribution to the squad is realised before his talent is wasted.

Written by John Ford - A Freelance Sports Writer

So an England player reckons that a draw will do. Well let me tell you this Joe Cole - a draw in an England shirt is never good enough and we should never play for a point!

We all want to watch live football but quite often we don't know which games are live and where. This is where the good old world wide interwebs come in and one website that can help is LiveFootballOnTV.com.

This website has a comprehensive ledger of live games for the tellybox. For instance I wasn't sure who had coverage of my beloved Portsmouth in the UEFA Cup, but a click search on the website tells me that the game will be live on Five at 6PM. Not bad.

All the TV companies in the UK are accounted for so if you are going to watch live football then this is website to check out. Sky Sports, Eurosport, Setanta, BBC, ITV, C4, Five, LFC TV, MUTV – they are all there so this is one site that really should be bookmarked and looked at repeatedly.

Week four and it is the five pronged Premiership edition of everyone's (least) favourite column – Yes it's these ten, no wait, these five things I know are true.

I know that there is no bigger laughing stock in English football than Newcastle United. It kills me to say it as I love the Geordie Nation. What Mike Ashley is doing up there is just unbelievable backing Dennis Wise over King Kev. I've wrote about it more than once previously in this blog so I'll stop there but really – it's madness personified.

I know that the Robinho transfer to Manchester City caught every single person in this country who isn't a member of the Manchester City staff by surprise. Robinho is a talented player and an excellent acquisition on Football Manager 2005 but what has he really done at Real Madrid? I'm not exactly sure that he'll be worth the hype but it was all about the splash that the story made and not the player himself.

I know that at a reported £160k per week that Robinho's wages are ridiculous. Anyone being paid that much to kick a ball around a field is just crazy. Let alone for it to be a player like Robinho who hasn't played in this country before. I wish I had some resemblance of football skill and then I'd have quite a sweet life.

I know that Spurs handled the whole Berbatov saga terribly. They may of got a few extra million when all is said and done but for all the upheaval and problems it entailed you have to ask whether or not it was worth all the hassle. They haven't really replaced Keane and Berbatov and when you throw in Defoe leaving in January then Spurs look very lightweight up top.

And finally...

I know that Manchester United's disgusting behaviour on Monday has been washed away thanks to the extra money that they threw in Spurs' direction. This only goes to show that morals only go so far and can be bought out by those with the money. It makes me sad.

Week four of this weekly column but there were no Premiership games this weekend so we are having two editions. Here is five things I know about the England team after Saturday's 2-0 win against Andorra in Barcelona.

I know that England coach Fabio Capello cannot of been impressed with what he saw on Saturday. I know Andorra aren't as bad as they were 20 or 30 years ago but going into the interval level and scoring less than a Steve McClaren team is pretty disappointing to be blunt. Joe Cole saved his butt with two goals off the bench but this team look distinctly incapable of breaking down a resolute defence and even less likely to put on a show for the paying fans.

I know that it was extremely funny how the England fans were chanting 'We Hate Setanta' and that Jon Champion didn't directly comment on. Top stuff...

I know that England will not win in Croatia even if they play twice as well as they did on Saturday. Croatia are without a couple of star names in Eduardo and Krancjar but they are still a talented bunch of players. England are good enough to get a result but the decision to leave Michael Owen at home has really forced the coach into a corner. If he wins then he is a genius but defeat and you can bet the headlines won't be pretty and that Michael Owen's names will be written more often than any other in the pieces in Thursday's newspapers.

I know that Wayne Rooney hasn't done it for England in a long long long time. For a player with so much quality, his performances for England haven't been good enough since Euro 2004. In all honesty he shouldn't be sure of his place in the XI.

And finally...

I know that if Stuart Downing can't do a thing against Andorra then surely no-one can put a sane argument together saying that he is an international calibre footballer.

Liverpool Reserves kicked off their defence of the Premier Reserve League with a largely comfortable 1-0 win at Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.

A first half header from Jordy Brouwer gave the Champions a winning start in an uneventful encounter at the Riverside.

Manager Gary Ablett gave new signing Vincent Weijl a start, while Peter Gulacsi was untroubled in goal the day after signing a permanent deal at the club. Philipp Degen also played 45 minutes in his comeback from injury.

After their involvement in the Liverpool first team pre-season games, Stephen Darby, Jay Spearing and Dani Pacheco found themselves in more familiar surroundings in the reserve line-up, while Ablett was without Krisztian Nemeth, Damien Plessis, Nabil El Zhar and Emiliano Insua due to first and national team commitments.

After a slow start, Liverpool stepped up a gear. Pacheco was given too much space on the Liverpool right on 17 minutes; his dinked cross met the head of Jordy Brouwer, who after heading against the crossbar, made no mistake, nodding in at the second attempt.

Pacheco was not so fortunate as little as a minute later, after waltzing through the Boro defence only to strike the foot of the post. Captain Stephen Darby also had a goal chalked off for offside at the end of the first half.

A second half downpour saw Liverpool’s flair players fade, and despite some slack play the away side were always in control.

Player Review:

So while the result may have been comfortable for the Champions, are any of the side anywhere near getting into Rafa Benitez’s first team plans?

Peter Gulacsi (GK): Largely untroubled against Middlesbrough, the Hungarian did show last season that he is prone to the odd mistake or two. Signed permanently this summer by Benitez, but after also signing Diego Cavalieri as back-up to Pepe Reina, the occasional selection on the bench should an injury strike those above him in the pecking order, is the best he can hope for this season.

Stephen Darby (LB): Captain of the reserve team, Darby showed in pre-season that Benitez should have no worries in playing him should Degen’s injury problems continue and Arbeloa get injured. He is a solid performer who had a goal chalked off for offside against Middlesbrough Reserves despite not playing in his usual position of right back.

SUB: Philipp Degen (RB): Okay, this guy was bought as a first teamer, but his only ‘competitive’ appearance so far in a Liverpool shirt gave little away from what we already know. Average defensively but has pace going forward, the right back may have an easier time getting into the Liverpool team now that Steve ‘Mr Consistency’ Finnan has moved on.

Daniel Ayala (CB): Booked against Boro for some rash tackling he was replaced at half time by Philipp Degen.

Martin Kelly (CB): Similar player to Darby, although Kelly is not always a regular in Gary Ablett’s side. Not ready for first team stint this year.

Ronald Huth (CB): Largely solid. Regular starter for reserves but will not see any first team action any time soon.

Gerardo Bruna (RM): Faded as the game went on, the left-footed attacker had Liverpool’s first shot in anger at the Riverside. No chance of breaking through to the first team this campaign as he still settles in.

SUB Steve Irwin (RM): Right-sided youth team player has greatly impressed at the Academy and will be looking to play more for Ablett’s side this campaign.

Jay Spearing (CM): One of the Scouser’s quieter games. With the abundance of talent ahead of him in the first team, and his lack of height for such an important position, being one of the stars of the reserve team may be all he has to settle for this season, with the odd place on Rafa’s bench.

Mikel San Jose (CM): Normally deployed as a central defender, the Spaniard struggled at times in an unfamiliar role. One of the better players in the reserve squad though, and appearances on the first team bench last season make him a solid and reliable 5th choice there for Benitez.

Vincent Weijl (LM): One of Benitez’s less high-profile transfers this summer, the left-sided, left-footed Dutchman showed some nice touches and a willingness to take on his marker. His apparently casual style deceived the Boro defence on occasions, as he would come to life sparking a neat move or put in a dangerous cross. The first team’s lack of width has stuck out like a sore thumb so far this campaign, so surprise appearances on Rafa’s sub bench may not be too far away. The deadline day signing of Albert Riera may delay this, but if Sebastian Leto could get a start in last season’s Champions League, anything can happen.

Dani Pacheco (ST): By far the most promising of Liverpool’s youngsters who played against Boro. Showed classy touches and was unlucky not to score in the first half. Surely set to get some form of chance, if not this season then surely next.

Jordy Brouwer (ST): Despite a flurry of goals at the back end of last season and another against Boro, fans of Football Manager will know that the young Dutchman is far from the complete article and is more likely to lose his place in the reserve side than making any inroads into Benitez’s plans. A loan move back to his homeland failed to materialise, and his chances even in the reserve side are set to be limited with Krisztian Nemeth to return and the signings of David N’Gog and Vitor Flora.

SUB Andras Simon (ST): Missed a great chance in the second half against Boro, and is still being used sparingly in the reserves as he has failed to adapt as well as compatriot Krisztian Nemeth.

Their next game is at Sunderland on September 17.

Written by Michael McGuinness

You have around £1.4bn in the bank so you clearly are doing something right. There was a day in your life that your bank account went up by nearly a billion pounds in one single 24 hour period. You aren't a stupid man clearly but then you get to the first week of September in 2008 and you've invented and swallowed a vast amount of moron pills.

You are Mike Ashley. You own Newcastle United Football Club. You brought back the man they call 'The Messiah' and straight away your paying public are slurping at your feet. You are one of them. You wear a replica top with 'King Kev' on the back of it. You sit amongst the fans. You are the man that they believe will take you back to the top with Keegan at the helm.

Then you make some changes.

You bring in Dennis Wise seemingly over Keegan's head. You alienate the faithful. You then take Wise down to London and have him run the club from down there. You give Dennis Wise total control over players both incoming and outgoing. You don't list to Keegan when he says who he wants in and who he wants out. You basically make every attempt possible just plain and simply piss off your fanbase.

Monday was a stunning day in the world of football but it just couldn't compare with the goings on from Tuesday through Thursday ending in Keegan announcing his departure via a statement through the League Managers Association:

“I’ve been working desperately hard to find a way forward with the directors, but sadly that has not proved possible. It’s my opinion that a manager must have the right to manage and that clubs should not impose upon any manager any player that he does not want. It remains my fervent wish to see Newcastle United do well in the future and I feel incredibly sorry for the players, staff and most importantly the supporters. I have been left with no choice other than to leave.”

It means that owner Mike Ashley has chosen a guy with little background in football management or coaching over the man the public would walk through a brick wall for. Dennis Wise wasn't liked as a player and now he is being vilified after the owner chose to back him instead of following Keegan to the promised land.

Quite simply you do not appoint Keegan and then not back him to the hilt. To do what he's done is lunacy of the highest order. You might get some hacks like Steve Curry saying that Keegan has thrown his toys out of the pram, but if you are promised something in your job and then it turns out to be nothing like that then you have every right be annoyed. Keegan tried to get it to work but Ashley wouldn't budge on his plan and Keegan walked.

Keegan is not a quitter. He was promised things that didn't come to fruition and felt his position was untenable. Quite right too. If Newcastle do pursue Keegan for compensation for breaking his contract then they would be committing commercial suicide. The Toon Army would follow Keegan into the fire whereas I doubt at this very moment whether they would even piss on Wise or Ashley if they were on fire.

Harry Redknapp was the second favourite to take over at Upton Park but the Portsmouth manager has quickly moved to distance himself from the job.

He states he is extremely happy at Portsmouth and although West Ham is a great club, it isn't the time to go back.

King Kev says kick Dennis Wise out of his job and he'll stay at the Toon and I say bravo. Keegan has realised that he holds all the aces and has all the power.

If Mike Ashley decides he wants to keep Newcastle then he has to fully back Keegan, the man he should've always backed to the hilt from day one.

Whilst this has been an ugly few days for the Toon Army - if it ends up with Keegan wielding all the power then maybe it'll of all been worth it.

There are very few occasions, events or sets of circumstances that can induce me to sit in front of the TV with the laptop on, hitting the F5 button every 45 seconds to refresh any updates on a text page on the internet. However, ticking towards midnight last night, this is exactly what I, and I dare say a fair few football fans, were doing, as we anxiously awaited the last Machiavellian moves of the transfer window.

My main concern on waking was, as a Red, to see if a tall, dark and, well, slightly sleazy looking Bulgarian with feet presumably clad in silk such as his touch, would move to Manchester United. As it turned out, the day had enough intrigue and conspiracy, claim and counter claim, obfuscation and rumour to be the basis of a new Thomas Pynchon novel.

The day started sedately enough, with Tottenham tying up deals for Pavlyuchenko (you won’t believe me but I managed to spell that first time without looking) and Corluka, two fine signings that you might sensibly have thought would start the merry-go-round for the day. In comes the Russian, Berbatov signs for United, and on to Hull goes young Fraizer Campbell. The circle of life in football transfer terms, you might comment. But then in comes news of the Arab takeover of Manchester City, complete with City fans’ well meaning but probably offensive tribute to traditional Arab headgear. You can just see Man City fans charging into their kitchens and whipping the nearest tea towel off the draining board, tea stained and damp, and gaffer taping it to their heads. Bless ‘em…

And off they went, throwing money around the globe in true cheating-at-Football-Manager style. First Berbatov, though the bid for him was most likely an attempt at pointless brinksmanship and trying to drive the price out of United’s reach. This transfer was the most entertaining of the day mind, with rumours that Ferguson himself had shot out to Manchester Airport and picked the striker up himself, a wonderful image if you’ve got a ridiculous imagination like mine. Then came the television pictures of him shaking hands with Ferguson and having a medical, acts that at the time were, due to the fact we hadn’t agreed a fee, about as legal as setting fire to the Queen in parliament whilst liberally dusting the area with heroin. In any case, as the midnight oil being burned warmed up, Berbatov was posing in a red shirt, and I could breathe a sigh of relief.

But this was only a cue for further madness. Roman Abramovich, he of the pockets as deep as the Mariana Trench, was flustering around looking for a spare couple of million down the back of his sofa as Manchester City then outbid Chelsea for diminutive, Carlton Banks lookalike Robson de Souza, better known to you or me as Robinho. The speedy, tricky winger-cum-striker is an exciting player, and had spent the best part of last week with a flamethrower, comprehensively burning every bridge he had with Real Madrid. In a sense, he hamstrung himself into moving to Man City by doing this, and when his hero Scolari looked to Roman and the Russian shrugged with his pockets turned out, he had no choice but to pack his bags for Middle Eastlands (how cringeworthy is that going to become do you think?).

Now, it remains to be seen if Robinho is the first step on a glorious path for Manchester City, though it would seem revolution will be a long time in coming. For instance, Berbatov yesterday showed that Manchester City do not have the pull of other clubs, regardless of how much lucre is waved in their direction. This is just one transfer too, and January will see the kind of player City will be endeavouring to pursue locked up in European competition, and therefore this new revolution at City might be a non starter until next summer at the very least.

Other rumours swirled like an eddying current and never came to fruition. I froze a little when I read that Portsmouth, a team I have a sneaking respect for, were going to sell Diarra on to finance the purchase of uber-moron Joey Barton, he who comically suffered the French trip on Saturday night. Why they would ever consider this what boo-yah stockbroker types call “good business” is so beyond my comprehension I rang some great minds, but unfortunately Stephen Hawkins was busy and Noam Chomsky wouldn’t answer my text. Luckily, this rumour, like many others, proved to be unfounded and I could breathe easy. The only place that should consider an offer for Barton is, in my opinion, a leper colony.

To be fair, there were some other good signings that came out of yesterday’s action. The young Belgian Fellaini was snapped up by Everton for the rather inflated sum of around £15m, though it has to be said that on every occasion I’ve seen him play he has seemed assured, a smart passer of the ball and good in the tackle. Also purchased by Everton was Louis Saha, he who is made of biscuits. When fit, and that is an enormous caveat to this sentence, Saha is an extremely effective forward, with pace and power, and could do a good job for them.

In other news on Merseyside, the sale of steady and efficient Steve Finnan gave more evidence to the world of Rafa Benitez’s seeming hatred of good players. For further evidence, see his almost criminal ignorance of the excellent Ryan Babel. I don’t know why I’m moaning, I loathe Liverpool FC…

Now though, we must accept the fact that the madcap zaniness of the transfer window has ended with that window being slammed shut. In fact, did it slam shut, as every media outlet seems to have it? This of course gives the image of all those unscrupulous agents and managers getting their grubby mitts trapped in the window. For me, I rather naively think the transfer window was gracefully closed, with everyone backing away slowly, knowing their time is up.

In any case, the window has once again gifted us with an almost unprecedented day of footballing drama, and all without a ball being kicked. My team got the striker they so desperately needed, and now we can all settle down and enjoy the football itself, and not the aimless gossip that lingers like an eerie mist over the opening stages of the season.

Of course, in reality this just means that the gossip now switches to the January window, and I’d like to get us off to a start; Robinho to Chelsea for £10m. Away we go...

Written by Paul Madill

The media circus surrounding this year’s summer transfer window has had a deleterious effect on a number of teams, managers and players alike, and countless transfers have fallen through or evaporated into thin air having never existed in the first place.

The rash of media attention associated with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo has become a staple of Premier League business but, after the current transfer window saw only a handful of high-profile signings completed, the implications of involving the media in negotiations has become all too apparent.

Written media is as integral to the operation of the Premier League as Bovril is to thousands of frozen fans on a Sunday afternoon, but while beef extract soothes the soul and keeps the cold at bay, professional football teams have long utilised the media as an underhanded tactic to unsettle players under contract.

Perhaps the most publicised move of the summer was Gareth Barry’s purported move to Liverpool which collapsed on Saturday despite the fact that The Reds had already been offered (and turned down) an £18million deal by Aston Villa. A frustrated Benítez made it abundantly clear that talks with Villa’s chief executive, Rick Parry, had ended amid a furore of media speculation: “some newspapers and journalists blame me for everything: global warming, rises in petrol prices, everything”. The Spaniard has since said that the ‘Barry saga’ had brought him close to leaving Liverpool stating that his lack of involvement in the transfer proceedings undermined his position at the club.

Garry Barry sensationally jeopardised his chances of moving to Liverpool after ruling himself out of the Champions League group stages by playing in Villa’s 4-1 UEFA Cup victory over FH Hafnarfjordur last Thursday. The decision undoubtedly won him a few brownie points with the Villa faithful but the publicity surrounding his involvement with one of his club’s main rivals will not be soon forgotten.

Many smaller clubs are forced to shy away from unwelcome media attention for fear of losing their key players or disrupting their team-building activities. The words ‘hands off!’ have graced the back pages of many a newspaper since the transfer window was implemented during the 2002-03 season and while refusing to sell players maintains the integrity of the club in question, young starlets may find future transfer avenues closed off to them as a consequence.

It is worth noting that the players the media dubbed the most likely to move clubs this summer – Christiano Ronaldo’s move to Real Madrid and Emmanuel Adebayor’s brief fling with Milan to name but a few – have all failed to agree terms with their respective clubs. It begs the question why clubs choose to conduct their transfer business in the full media spotlight?

Written by Chris Illingworth

So as it stands...Kevin Keegan is the manager of Newcastle United. However his position is about as untenable as it can be and it is surely only a matter of time before he walks out of Newcastle, out of Newcastle United for good.

Yesterday was a quite surreal day. With no Sky Sports News in my office it was a day listening to two radio stations simultaneously (BBC Radio Five Live and TalkSPORT) not an easy task I assure you. They say that men can't multi-task so going for two radio stations sounds like a real toughie but I seem to manage it ok – anyway I digress.

The day was even more bizarre and full of more twists and turns than transfer deadline day, which in itself looked to of had the most surprising day of the season sewn up pretty early. The early rumblings started turning into full blown rumour at around 11AM as it looked like Keegan and the club had parted company.

Then as lunchtime dragged on the news evolved to Keegan had been sacked and the natives were not happy bunnies. 'Sack the board' came the cry from the hundreds of fans congregated outside St. James Park as they lamented the seeming departure of the man they worship. The afternoon dragged on and Newcastle were saying nothing.

Then at around 7PM the club made a statement that said he had not been sacked:

Newcastle United can confirm that meetings between members of the Board and manager Kevin Keegan were held both yesterday and today.

Kevin has raised a number of issues and those have been discussed with him.

The Club wants to keep progressing with its long-term strategy and would like to stress that Kevin is extremely important, both now and in the future.

Newcastle United values the effort and commitment shown by Kevin since his return to St. James' Park and wants him to continue to play an instrumental role as manager of the Club.

For the avoidance of doubt the Club has not sacked Kevin Keegan as manager.

I'm not sure how you read that but it sounds like rubbish to me. They only want Keegan to be a puppet figurehead and Keegan has decided enough is enough. Now it is all posturing about the compensation, if they really wanted Keegan then they would get rid of Dennis Wise and let him get on with the job. The fans back Keegan, they don't back Ashley or Wise so to anger Keegan is to anger the fans, who are the paying public.

Mike Ashley didn't make a lot of money by being stupid so he needs to live n die by Keegan and just back him. He doesn't and therefore the relationship is untenable and the Geordie Nation is not going to be happy, not by a long shot.

TalkSport are reporting that King Kev has walked out on the Toon and walked away from around £14million left on his contract.

When Keegan returned in January it was hailed as the messiah coming home. Just nine months later there are now increasing reports that he has gone. BBC Newcastle are now reporting that he is in a meeting with the powers that be at St. James Park and betting has been suspended by all the major bookmakers.

If it is the case then I am firmly disgusted at the club and in Mike Ashley in particular. Ashley has not backed King Kev in the transfer market despite what he said when Keegan walked back into the club and this only goes to prove that Ashley has no intention to take the club on. I wouldn't be surprised to see him sell up in the near future.

Keegan has always been a man who is ruled by the heart and if he believes that Ashley doesn't match his ambition then he'll walk – and it looks like that is exactly what he has done.

So the window has shut. All deals between clubs are over until January but it was a Deadline Day like any other. The big move was Robinho which I'll talk about later but this blog post is about the Dimitar Berbatov saga that finally ended at around half past midnight this morning.

The Bulgarian International had spent the whole summer seemingly angling for a move to Old Trafford. Manchester United never seemed to waver that they were going to get their man. They didn't seem to have a backup ready and it was Berbatov that manager Sir Alex Ferguson wanted.

Then at around midday came something they would never have seen coming came. Manchester City blew them out of the water with a stunning £32million bid, which was subsequently accepted by Spurs.

Suddenly their city rivals had permission to speak to the player that they had coveted throughout the off-season. So Berbatov headed off to Manchester to speak to City but wait, he never spoke to them. He was met by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson at the airport and was whisked away to their training ground complex. He even undertook a medical at the club with Spurs still stressing that they hadn't given permission for the player to even speak to the club.

Now if this was the case then United were in serious trouble, the type of trouble that could've even led to a transfer embargo. Speaking to a player without permission is frowned upon but doing it in such a brazen way and having that player undertaking a medical at your club is something else.

The deal finally went through in the early hours for a fee of £30.75million with Frazier Campbell spending a year on-loan at White Hart Lane. This was far in excess of the original offer but that isn't even the important bit. As part of the deal Spurs have agreed to withdraw their complaint regarding the actions of Manchester United throughout this transfer saga.

It was in essence blood money for acting unscrupulously in their pursuit of Berbatov. They paid far more than they originally wanted to so Spurs would shut up and not carry on with their complaint. All it goes to prove is that if you have enough money you can do whatever you like and the big fish can trample all over the smaller fish in the Premier League.

I'd of loved Spurs to dig their heels in and not deal with United but they were over a barrel. Berbatov only wanted to go to one club and was not going to sign for Manchester City. This meant that Spurs could either let him go for a then British Transfer Record fee or they could keep a very unhappy player who showed no sign of wanting to play for the club anyone.

I hope Berbatov flops at Old Trafford I really do – it would really be quite funny and it would serve United right for acting disgracefully throughout this whole process.

The ever popular 'These ten things I know are true' column is back for a third week. Will I be getting more stick from Manchester United and Liverpool fans...?

I know that Fabio Capello has made an epic failure in not including Michael Owen in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers at Andorra and more importantly at Croatia. A lot of people around here still think I'm crazy for stating that a fit Owen is the most important cog in our team, but I am adamant that it is the case. Why get rid of your best striker and keep Emile Heskey in the squad without Owen, it smacks of a guy who is actually a £6million moron instead of being the football genius he was hailed as when he came in.

I know that Jimmy Bullard deserves his England chance. I might not be chuffed with his ditching of Michael Owen (well that is an understatement – I am positively disgusted) but Bullard has always looked like a player who at least deserved his chance. I'm not sure if he can step up but there is only one way to find out. However he should've been called up for a friendly first because surely isn't that one of the main reasons for friendly internationals?

I know that today might be the most important day of the season. The transfer window shuts in about 15 hours from now and clubs are scrambling to see what business they can do. Will Berbatov go to United? If not will they make the stunning move for Michael Owen? Will Robinho end up at Chelsea and will Arsenal get the final piece of the puzzle to turn them into genuine contenders? A lot will happen today and it might well shape the season for more than one or two clubs.

I know Roman Pavlyuchenko at £14million is a lot of money. He didn't impress me at Euro 2008 where I saw him as a similar player to Andy Cole as in has all the instincts of a good striker just without the finishing. If Spurs sell Berbatov and fail to bring in anyone else then it will be Pavlyuchenko and Bent up top and that is as deep as the squad goes. If that is the case then they aren't breaking into the top four this season.

I know that Hull City were brought back to Earth with an almighty bump. 5-0 at home to Wigan is not a result that you'd expect of a Premiership calibre club. No disrespect to Wigan but they should not be going to a club in the same division as them and doing them five. Hull need to strengthen today and this might just of been good timing for an eye-opening result.

I know that Everton are not as bad as Saturday suggested. Portsmouth may of done a job and them and 3-0 away from home at Goodison sounds pretty impressive but Pompey were just clinical in front of goal. The away side had pretty much three clear-cut opportunities and took them all. Everton are still a top eight club but a bit of strengthening today wouldn't exactly hurt.

I know that Shaun Wright-Phillips is one of the bargains of the season. You might think that I've been blinded by the two goals on his second début but I thought he was quality anyway. Give that kid a run in a side and let him get his confidence up and he'll terrorise most left-backs in this division. SWP always had the quality but is one of the most confidence reliant players around.

I know that Joey Barton was not in the wrong on Saturday but I also know that he shouldn't of been on the field in the first place. The reception he got from the home was to be expected but when a guy who probably knew little of him in Samuel Nasri took offense in him turning up on the pitch, you know that things probably won't be easy for the former jailbird.

I know that it was great to see some fire in the belly of Kevin Keegan. Last year he seemed passive on the sidelines and it wasn't the Keegan we all knew and loved. Keegan's best asset is his passion and heart so having a soulless Keegan just seemed pointless. Let's hope that he keeps it up.

And finally...

I know that Vedran Corluka is a Spurs player. He is the first of several big names I expect to move today...