what a difference a day makes

Arsenal are now 2nd favourites to clinch the league, anyone with a modicum of nous will realise they beat man utd with a bunch of part timers, crocks and no marks, just imagine what they'll be lke when terry henry returns. wenger rolls back the years and defies SAF claim that Arsenal are a team in transition

"A loss could have been decisive but this win reinforces the belief that we are a very strong side," said Wenger. "I would never have thought that our challenge would have been over if we had lost but psychologically it might have been difficult for the players."

Wenger added: "We controlled the game and created chances. We always looked good technically. Everyone in the team played well, gave everything and showed quality and it has to besaid that manchester were pooe or as we say in france, puanteurs de merde.

rooney is crap, overhyped, SAF cannot pick the right team anymore

demands for SAF to retire immediately have been met with scant regard by the scotsman, who despite his team being embarrased by Arsenal, halting an impressive opening to the season

Sir Alex Ferguson has said he will stay as manager of Manchester United for at least another two seasons. "Retirement? You must be joking, especially when you consider the other option is to stay at home with the wife," he said."I am definitely committed to another two years - this season and the next." The 64-year-old added: "The owners have had a chat with me but you cannot put a time limit on it. The most important thing is that you have your health." Ferguson was set to step down in 2002, but made a U-turn on his decision. "Saying I was leaving was the biggest mistake I made," he said. "I am 65 at the end of this year and I would like to think I have another two years in me."

Liverpools season is over, benitez doesn't know his best side tinkering away while the side struggles to find form.

"It's a long race and the most important thing is that the team is improving " - Rafael Benitez "I think that we deserved more because we created clear chances," said the Spaniard. "But at the end you need to score to win and we couldn't, while they scored their goal."

jose mourhino is a warm hearted gentleman deep down and deserves to lift the premiership trophy for his humanitarian, gregarious and philanthropic endeavours alone, his opening friendly exchange for rafael benitez has been photographed and sent to Mossad for verification..

Mourinho and Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez shook hands before and after the game - after failing to do so following recent matches. "I respect him," said Mourinho. "He is one of the best and I also feel he respects me. "At the end of the day, when we didn't shake hands I think the respect was there but I am happy we are over that stupid period."

Mourinho had doubts about some of referee Mike Riley's other decisions but refused to criticise the official

"If we go from the first to the last minute and analyse Mr Riley's performance I think we kill him and it's better to give him a little bit of protection and forget the mistakes. "For a referee of his level - he is a good one - it was not his day." Mourinho was keener to focus on the way his side held on for the victory - in a win he believes will have a galvanising effect on his team.

Spurs are f***ed, mido needs to gain at least 2 stone before he will return to anything like his former self. Defoe continues to display why Sven was willing to gamble on a child in the summer WC before adding the profligate striker to his squad. Tottenham manager Martin Jol: "A draw is always frustrating at home because we need a win. It is a concern. "We have strikers who can score goals and we have quality midfield players but we need them to gel together as soon as possible. The strikers need better service. "I still think we worked hard and defended well and we could easily have lost the game. Credit to Fulham - we couldn't break them down."

Newcastle? who are they?

just a mention for everton, to paraphrase - "andy johnson has scored 5 in 5 and looks to be the signing of the summer" Isn't that right roo? ;-)

You don't know what you're doing....

Paul Wilson Sunday September 17, 2006 The Observer

Manchester United started the season better than most people expected, Arsenal and Liverpool have disappointed and, although Chelsea are capable of blowing everyone else away, they have not clicked into their most formidable mode. What last season's top four have in common, apart from featuring in the two biggest games of the day, is an overabundance of personnel. Liam Brady has just made the point that Arjen Robben might not get back into the Chelsea team and is unlikely to be happy about it. Andriy Shevchenko has said that he is still trying to work out what his role is.

Arsenal lost two players on the last day of the transfer window and gained two, William Gallas and Julio Baptista, who have had scarcely any time to settle into the team. One effect of last-minute deals is to disrupt a club's pre-season preparation and it may be significant that United have made such a slick start because they brought in fewer players than anyone else and brought them in early.

'The fact we signed our new players so late is a factor,' said Arsene Wenger. 'I have very good players, but we need to find the right balance in the team.' How long will that take? 'We don't have much time because it needs to be right today.'

The only switching around at Old Trafford this season has been occasioned by suspensions and injuries. Sir Alex Ferguson is adamant that he knows his best team, even if other managers cannot say the same.

If Rafael Benitez knows his best team, he has been going to extraordinary lengths to conceal it. The Liverpool manager's reasoning that Wednesday's Champions League match was more important than the Merseyside derby, even before Liverpool took the field in Eindhoven with Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso on the bench, raised plenty of eyebrows.

'I know some people go on about the need to have a settled team, but it's not easy sometimes,' said Benitez. 'If we can find the right balance we will be more consistent. You have to analyse your team. There are 60 to 65 games a season and it is not possible to play the same players all the time. You need to rotate players and change players when you have two games a week.'

Rotation is one thing, but what is going on at the moment seems closer to hesitation. Benitez appears unsure which central midfielder to leave out and which set of strikers to use.

'I have an idea of what my best XI is, but you have to see players in training and decide who is fit and who is not fit,' he said. 'You need to use all the players and the key players need to be fit for the big games.

'If you look at our last game of last season and the season before you will see that we won the Champions League and the FA Cup. That's because I was able to field key players because we had not overused them during the course of the season.

'The question is, what is my top XI? Do I play Xabi, Mohamed Sissoko and Gerrard together? Or do I player Sissoko and Xabi or Sissoko and Gerrard? I made six changes for PSV and the team was really good and well organised.'

Chelsea are in danger of turning into wingless wonders. The dilemma for the club last season was which two to choose from Robben, Damien Duff, Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips. This season the question is whether any wide players will get a look-in. To accommodate one, Jose Mourinho would have to go with a single striker or drop one or more of Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Claude Makelele. Essien might appear to be the obvious choice, but he has been the best of the lot so far.

'It's clear that Chelsea have better players now,' said Benitez. 'They have spent a lot of money, but we have options in attack and we can create a lot of chances. We need to improve defensively, though. Last season we were really good in that area, but we need to make sure we find the right balance. We had 33 clean sheets last season and the club record is 34. But now we are far away from being a good team. Why that is I don't know. We've had injuries and some players have been away on international duty.

'We have talked to the players and pointed out the mistakes. In defence you must be aggressive. If you don't tackle then it's too easy for the strikers. 'We need to improve against the top sides and we need to improve the team.'

Not all of these problems will be resolved today, but with any luck we should at least see what the managers are thinking. 'I don't think it's possible to lose the league in September,' said Benitez. 'We need to keep calm and wait two or three months. I don't like to see the table every week. My idea is to keep going to the end and see where we are.'

Ferguson believes that the title will be decided by the outcome of the case everyone should play their strongest side. Should be interesting...

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