IT has been more of a restive than a festive season in the Premier League and, unless you’re a devotee of one of the big four or five, all the more welcome for that.

THAT Gulf cruise Kenny Dalglish interrupted to answer an Anfield SOS must seem an awful long time ago even though the Liverpool manager was able to mark his first anniversary with a comprehensive win.

ROBERTO Di Matteo cannot see Frank Lampard leaving Chelsea, describing the England midfielder as part of the fabric of the club.

ROBERTO MANCINI claims it will take years for Manchester City to match Manchester United’s famous mental strength.

ARSENE WENGER believes Thierry Henry could deepen his legendary status at Arsenal after returning on a short-term loan deal from New York Red Bulls.

ALEX FERGUSON wants to sign Frank Lampard, Chelsea’s disaffected midfield star.

MEGAN FRAZER looks set to answer Ireland’s call once more after being named as America’s best university field hockey player.

A WRETCHED 24 hours for Manchester United appears to have got even worse after Nemanja Vidic’s agent claimed the defender ruptured cruciate knee ligaments in Basel on Wednesday night.

WAYNE ROONEY will have to control his suspect temperament in the coming months after he was cleared to play in England’s final group match of Euro 2012 following a UEFA appeals panel’s decision to reduce his ban to two games.

LIVERPOOL manager Kenny Dalglish has called for consistency from the Football Association in dealing with alleged misdemeanours by players.

MANCHESTER UNITED may be squirming at the thought of spending Thursday nights in the Europa League but they will probably have to wait until next week before finding out whether they will suffer the even greater indignity of being shunted into a Tuesday afternoon slot.

JUAN MATA refused to contemplate anything other than victory in Chelsea’s crunch Barclays Premier League showdown with Manchester City after helping keep their Champions League dream alive.

MANCHESTER UNITED crashed out of the Champions League following defeat in Basle last night.

ALEX FERGUSON has rejected fears that Wayne Rooney may be distracted from Manchester United’s Champions League mission by UEFA’s disciplinary hearing into his three-match international suspension later this week.

ASTON VILLA goalkeeper Shay Given will be sidelined for a month after suffering a hamstring injury against Manchester United on Saturday.

MANCHESTER CITY have given AC Milan permission to speak to Carlos Tevez’s representative, the Italian club’s vice-president Adriano Galliani has declared.

FORMER Manchester United midfielder Ronnie Wallwork has been jailed for 15 months for selling on parts from stolen high-performance cars.

IF CHELSEA fans, just a week ago, sat down to compile the arguments for and against their team winning the Premier League title in 2012, they would have found it a very lopsided list as they weighed up their chances.

DARREN FLETCHER put his own health at risk in order to help the Manchester United cause before finally admitting defeat yesterday.

MANCHESTER CITY manager Roberto Mancini has urged his players to “stay strong” following their first Premier League defeat of the season.