THOUGH I fully appreciate there are others ways to be successful in football, I rather regret that Arsenal are playing Barcelona on Wednesday night.

ALEX FERGUSON yesterday taunted title rivals Arsenal, claiming the Gunners favourable run-in will count for nothing come the end of the season.

CARLO ANCELOTTI insists Chelsea are ready to plunder Premier League glory from under the noses of Arsenal and Manchester United after shaking off the disappointment of their European exit.

WEALTHY supporters attempting to mount a takeover of Manchester United have ruled out making a bid during the current football season.

MANCHESTER UNITED midfielder Owen Hargreaves has been handed a boost by manager Alex Ferguson after he pulled him out of the reserves to train with the first team.

Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 5

VETERAN defender Sol Campbell has called on his young Arsenal team-mates to make sure they are not just remembered for their attractive football – and to deliver a first league title since the ‘Invincibles’ of 2003/2004.

WAYNE ROONEY’S brilliant form this season could lead England all the way to victory in the World Cup final in July, according to Franz Beckenbauer.

CHELSEA coach Carlo Ancelotti has set his team a target of 86 points to win the Barclays Premier League.

MANCHESTER UNITED are only “taking baby steps” with their new commercial strategy, despite managing to unveil three major deals in a week.

WORLD CUP-winning coach Marcello Lippi has not ruled out Roma’s chances of progressing to the Champions League semi-finals but believes the Giallorossi are up against the world’s best team in Manchester United and the world’s best player in Cristiano Ronaldo.

ALEX FERGUSON has infuriated Roma by already looking ahead to the semis, but Mirko Vucinic has other plans.

CHELSEA boss Avram Grant was dealt another goalkeeping blow when Carlo Cudicini was forced off in the first half against Fenerbahce.

MANCHESTER United manager Alex Ferguson is still hopeful of getting Rio Ferdinand fit in time for tonight’s Champions League clash with Roma, although he believes he has plenty of experienced cover should the England defender fail to make it.

The Examiner’s football correspondent Liam Mackey likes a good argument when he hears it, and he’s got strong views of his own.

THIS TIME last year Bolton Wanderers were coasting towards a UEFA Cup place and cocking a snook at the aristocrats. Now they are heading inexorably for the Championship without even a whimper.

PETER CROUCH will consider his future at Liverpool in the summer after admitting that he is finding his lack of opportunities at Anfield “disheartening”.

HARRY REDKNAPP already has the title for his autobiography — ‘Never A Dull Moment’, for the record — and now he has sketched out a suitably happy ending.

ALEX FERGUSON was left to contemplate a mounting defensive injury crisis after Rio Ferdinand became the latest addition to Manchester United’s growing casualty list.

VIOLINS, hankies and onions at the ready, please, as we pity poor David Pizarro.