Another unorthodox land deal involving County Cork VEC has emerged and is being scrutinised by the Department of Education.

By the dawn of spring, Mario would either be long gone or be breaking his back foraging for ball out around wing-forward

For Petr Cech, it was a case of when in Germany do what the Germans do.

CARLO ANCELOTTI yesterday insisted his job as Chelsea manager did not depend on turning around the club’s Champions League quarter-final against Manchester United.

Jose Mourinho may not have the power to make wholesale changes to his new Internazionale side after president Massimo Moratti revealed he hoped to leave the squad largely untouched.

RAFAEL BENITEZ admits that he finds it easier to influence European games than he does Premier League matches.

Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Jose Reina all returned to Liverpool’s starting line-up for tonight’s Champions League clash against Inter Milan – one of the most important matches of manager Rafael Benitez’s reign.

Inter Milan captain Javier Zanetti insists Liverpool’s FA Cup disaster means “nothing” in terms of the clubs’ Champions League showdown.

Argentinian striker Franco Di Santo is confident he can soon break into the first team at Chelsea.

The return of Cesc Fabregas was one of a host of changes made by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for tonight’s Champions League Group H match with Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.

Michael Johnson’s burgeoning reputation has led to the 19-year-old being compared with some of the greats from Manchester City’s past – but the midfielder insists it is too soon for him to be put in that category.

Argentina coach Alfio Basile has included Juan Roman Riquelme but omitted Hernan Crespo from his list of 20 foreign-based players in his squad for World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Venezuela.

Hernan Crespo will stay with Inter Milan on loan for another season.

Hernan Crespo believes there is a “99% chance” he will remain with Internazionale for the 2007-08 campaign instead of returning to Chelsea.

We’re almost in the dog days of the soccer season but our contributors are still enjoying a good snarl.

Hernan Crespo expects to make a permanent move to Inter Milan at the end of his loan spell from Chelsea.

Internazionale 2 Valencia 2

INTER MILAN qualified for the last 16 in the Champions League after ex-Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo struck to give them a 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in Group B, eliminating the Portuguese side.

ARGENTINA coach Alfio Basile has decided to rest Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze and former Inter Milan striker Hernan Crespo for next week’s friendly against Spain.

Obafemi Martins is attracting interest from Premiership clubs, according to the Internazionale striker’s agent.

Hernan Crespo has left Barclays Premiership champions Chelsea on a free transfer to join Inter Milan in a two-year deal.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is willing to work with William Gallas again and revealed that no club has yet tabled a bid for the defender.

HERNAN CRESPO is desperate to return to Italy but Chelsea insist they will only sell the unsettled Argentina striker at the right price.

World Cup referees chiefs will decide tomorrow which match officials are to be kept on for the quarter-finals - and Graham Poll is set to be among those told their services are no longer required.

HERNAN CRESPO insists Argentina are proud to be regarded as World Cup favourites and that they can now allow themselves to dream of glory.

Hernan Crespo believes it will be difficult for Argentina to emulate their mesmeric performance against Serbia and Montenegro when they take on Holland tomorrow.

HERE’S a scary thought: Despite Argentina’s 6-0 romp over Serbia-Montenegro, midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme figures the two-time champions need to get better.

ALEX FERGUSON’S motives over Wayne Rooney’s World Cup participation may have been questioned but Gabriel Heinze has no doubt he will owe the Manchester United manager a big debt when he runs out at the AOL Arena in Hamburg tonight.

Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo admits he would welcome a move back to AC Milan from Stamford Bridge.

Uncapped Independiente goalkeeper Oscar Ustari has beaten River Plate’s German Lux to the third goalkeeping berth in Argentina’s World Cup squad but the omission of Internazionale defender Javier Zanetti and Bayern Munich midfielder Martin Demichelis is the biggest talking point.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho admits he is looking for a new forward – and can see why Andriy Shevchenko and Samuel Eto’o are being linked with a big-money to Stamford Bridge.

England midfielder Frank Lampard will be rested for Chelsea’s clash with Newcastle after making his last club appearance of the season against Blackburn on Tuesday.

Blackburn 1 Chelsea 0

John Terry will miss his first Barclays Premiership game of the season at Blackburn tomorrow.

Jose Mourinho expects to have a fully-fit squad as Chelsea seek the point which would seal the Premiership title against Manchester United.

Eidur Gudjohnsen is ill and will not play for Chelsea in tomorrow’s FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool.

The followng are the teams for today's Premiership matches with a kick-off time of 3pm.

Maniche may have to be content with a place on the bench as he returns to the Chelsea squad for what could be the decisive title encounter with Everton at Stamford Bridge.

Joe Cole was recalled by Jose Mourinho as Chelsea looked for the win over Bolton which would leave them just four points away from retaining their title.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has no fresh injury concerns ahead of their trip to Bolton.