Right so I have to get this off my chest after watching Arsenal stumble, stutter and fall across the finish line at Craven Cottage and I’m as angry as I’ve been in a very long time. So I decided to wait until after holding my team’s training session before posting this. And those poor kids [...]

As Beetface’s lot saunters towards the league title without playing particularly well, there’s a truly scary proposition for the rest of English football to gnaw upon after the club announced record profits in Q4 2012.  Without the Glazers sucking out the profits from the club like anaemic vampires, how much further ahead might the quieter side [...]

It’s always nice to have midweek games in the Premier League. It’s sort of like putting on a coat you’ve not worn for a while and reaching into the pocket and pulling out $20, an unexpected and pleasant break in the normal mundane routine during the week. And it also allows us to watch football [...]

With pretty tepid fare on the midweek schedule — save for perhaps the lesser lights electric start against Brendan Rodgers’ tika-taka merchants — I thought I’ve give my readers some insights into the glamourous world of public relations and the beautiful people whose only agenda is the truth and serving the public’s interest. No, I [...]

It’s international week *long yawn* and it always makes me just a little sleep zzzzz.  Sorry dozed off there for a second. It’s actually sort of amusing watching Fleet Streeters trying to find some fresh angles to hype for Friday’s qualifier between the Three Lions and San Marino, which should be about as competitive as the average [...]

Today is a milestone as I’m officially closer to 50 than 40. And I think it’s fair to say that short of Arsene Wenger squaring up to Bombardier Allardyce and kicking him square in the swingers during the pre-match handshake at Upton Park on Saturday and saying “Blow on those bubbles, fat man”, I couldn’t [...]

It’s been about one month since the transfer window closed and Zenit St. Petersburg’s notoriously open-minded and tolerant supporters alleged planted a fake bomb with Hulk’s picture on it near the club’s training ground. Which is certainly one way to welcome one of your record signings to your club. I hate to say I told [...]

European dreaming
Chelsea
Ins: Marko Marin (Werder Bremen, 7m) Eden Hazard (Lille, 35.2m) Thorgan Hazard (Lens, 880k) Oscar (Internacional, 28.1m)
Outs: Jose Bosingwa Salomon Kalou Didier Drogba (all released) Kevin de Bruyne (Werder Bremen, loan) Romelu Lukaku (West Brom, loan)
Why they’ll make Champions League
Roman Abramovich spent 70m pounds this summer – more than Manchester City, Manchester United and [...]

A bleary day in my part of the world so let’s look at news and rumours from around the world of football.
Let’s start in the noisier part of greater Salford, where Paul Wilson suggests the Middleastlanders spending sprees of the past are inhibiting their pursuit of Robin van Iscariot.
Nick Miller doesn’t understand why some supporters [...]

So 24 hours after RvP announces he wants to leave Holloway Road Properties because he disagrees with the club’s direction, minority shareholder and convicted racketeer – Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov — sent a letter to Stan Kroenke. But rather than use the post office, courier, e-mail or fax, he decided to use the medium of Associated Press [...]