CHELSEA will delve into their youth academy tonight in order to bolster a Champions League squad that has been ravaged by injury and suspensions.

AMID the bedlam that greeted Jermain Defoe’s magnificently acrobatic opening goal after just 52 seconds, only one man with connections to Tottenham Hotspur remained impassive.

THAT is the end of this section of questioning then, as Chelsea’s late show at the Britannia Stadium surely proves they have enough character in this squad to battle through their Fifa transfer ban and sustain a challenge for the championship this term.

HIBERNIAN have agreed a two-year contract with ex-Celtic and Manchester United midfielder Liam Miller.

ALEX FERGUSON admits Darren Fletcher’s success as a ball winner can get up the noses of rival managers but has backed his midfielder as one of the fairest players in football.

TOTTENHAM boss Harry Redknapp expects his players to genuinely believe they can reach the Champions League if they can get results against Manchester United and Chelsea in their next two games.

TOM COUGHLAN is having morning coffee and a scone in an almost empty pub by the Lee when the bread man comes in with the daily delivery.

MANCHESTER CITY boss Mark Hughes has warned Arsene Wenger he will win nothing with pretty football.

FURIOUS Alex Ferguson insists Manchester United will force Le Havre to retract their claims that the Premier League champions paid off the parents of a French teenager and said it would be “crazy” to even contemplate such action.

MANCHESTER UNITED boss Alex Ferguson has confirmed England centre-half Rio Ferdinand is in contention for their Barclays Premier League clash with unbeaten Tottenham at White Hart Lane tomorrow evening.

ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has backed Eduardo to beat the boo-boys, but accepted the striker faced more injustice from referees in the penalty area.

CAPTAIN Darren Fletcher admitted Scotland should have had a World Cup play-off spot wrapped up long before last night’s defeat to Holland ended any hope of reaching next summer’s finals.

ITALY made their reservations for the World Cup finals in South Africa last night after a dramatically improved performance against Bulgaria in Turin.

ENGLAND boss Fabio Capello has thanked Slaven Bilic for providing the team-talk ahead of their World Cup qualifier tonight (8pm) and will simply tell his players to remember what the Croatia manager has branded them.

LEEDS have called for possible points deductions for “predator clubs” who poach promising teenagers – on a day when Manchester City became the latest Premier League power to be embroiled in a row over the signing of a French teenager.

DON GIVENS believes James McCarthy avoided the same frustrating fate of Liam Miller by opting to join Wigan ahead of more glamorous Premier League names.

DAMIEN DUFF will this morning unpack a suitcase in his London pad after leaving the Ireland camp, on the back of a 10-day stint away from home, to rejoin his new team-mates at Fulham.

PAUL McGRATH is still treated like a god by Aston Villa fans and the former Ireland defender believes Richard Dunne will soon be the fans’ new hero and Mark Hughes will regret the day he sold him.

“AN OWN-GOAL would be fine,” joked Marcello Lippi yesterday, but behind the smiles, there is some anxiety ahead of their biggest match so far in World Cup Group 8.

MANCHESTER UNITED tackle Wigan at Old Trafford tonight with Alex Ferguson admitting he would have gladly accepted being two points adrift of Chelsea in the depth of his defensive injury crisis.