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THE FINANCIAL impact of Manchester United’s failure to reach the last 16 of the Champions League has been “overstated”, according to an independent football analyst.

GEORGE BEST had to be put back on a ventilator after a disturbed night but remains “alert”, his doctor said yesterday.

A PHOTOGRAPH of the blackened remains of the Manchester United shirts worn by murdered schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman was shown yesterday to the jury trying their alleged killer.

UEFA officials made Chelsea coach Rui Faria remove his woolly hat to prove he was not in communication with banned boss Jose Mourinho during the Champions League quarter-final second leg in Munich on Tuesday night.

NEWCASTLE chairman Freddy Shepherd will summon Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer to his office this morning to deliver a final warning.

DESPITE the blanket coverage in the Irish media, and the prospect of the French being over-turned when the World Cup qualifiers start in September, not everyone is sure if Roy Keane has made the right decision in coming back to international football.

IN THE hope of creating a wall of sound that echoes down the years, every Rangers fan who funnels through the turnstile tonight will be issued with a card, on the back of which are printed the lyrics to an old song.

CHELSEA were last night poised to complete their fifth major summer signing after agreeing a £6.6million fee for Joe Cole with owner Roman Abramovich promising two more imminent high-profile transfers.

CHAMPIONS Manchester United will not be at their Premiership best until after Christmas, according to Alex Ferguson.

CHELSEA boss Claudio Ranieri’s position appeared seriously undermined yesterday after it was claimed that Alex Ferguson was approached during the summer to take over his job.

JOHN O’SHEA jokes that his woeful attempts to stop Cristiano Ronaldo in a pre-season friendly helped secure the brilliant Portuguese winger his £12million move to Manchester United.

ARSENAL, Chelsea and Manchester United each earned more than stg£53 million from television and prize money last season – at least stg£20m more than any of their rivals in the Barclaycard Premiership — and heralding the rise of a new breed of super-rich club.

WORLD CUP winner, Youri Djorkaeff, and Nigeria’s star midfielder, Jay-Jay Okocha, will, barring injury, be included in the Bolton Wanderers team to play a Cork selection on Wednesday of next week at Turner’s Cross.

CHELSEA have set their sights on “turning the world blue” by replacing Manchester United as the richest club on the planet after signing a record £50 million club sponsorship deal.

ASHLEY Cole declared he would stay at Arsenal for at least another three years as he admitted he still has to win back the fans after his controversial talks with Chelsea.

IF Alex Ferguson was able to offer a Christmas toast to five goals and three points at Old Trafford, then news that Ruud van Nistelrooy will be out for up to six weeks must have left the Scot nursing a very nasty hangover.