ANDY DAWSON handed Sir Alex Ferguson a belated Christmas present with a second half own goal at the KC Stadium to help gift Manchester United what could prove to be a crucial victory in the race for the Premier League title.

LESS than a month after ruthlessly dismantling Arsenal in their own backyard, Chelsea will now head into the New Year with alarm bells ringing, while even Carlo Ancelotti’s confidence is certain to be tested to the limit.

A NEW era for Manchester City began, at the City of Manchester Stadium, in much the same way as the old one had ended with uncertainty and frustration surrounding the future of the club’s mercurial Brazilian Robinho.

DAVID MOYES believes Everton have rediscovered their fighting spirit as they head into their clash with Burnley today.

T’WAS the dawn of Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring – except for children sneaking round the house,

IF A picture paints a thousand words, replace this column with a shot of Kenny Dalglish at the Europa Cup draw.

THE public must not turn its back on hundreds of families who are still facing a “personal crisis” in the aftermath of the floods disaster, the President of Ireland has said.

AS FAR as Pool Six is concerned, all roads lead to Reading.

THERE have been many famous Munster moments in France, but few to rival this.

AS Rafael Benitez sits down this morning to digest reports of Mark Hughes’s demise at Manchester City, he must surely, in a private moment, consider how perilously close he is to suffering a similar fate.

MICK MCCARTHY insisted he did not need this victory as “vindication” for his roll-over at Manchester United, but his actions told a rather different story.

JOHN TERRY’S week of misery showed no signs of improving as his Chelsea side dropped two vital points at struggling Hull City to blow the race for the Barclays Premier League title wide open last night.

EMMANUEL Adebayor acknowledged the heavens in remembrance after scoring for the first time since the gun attack in Angola that left him fearing for his life.

LAST week I was in England, visiting friends in a rural part of Devon.

THE scoreline points to an emphatic win for UCC, but it was a tough struggle before they progressed past Dublin IT in yesterday’s Ulster Bank Sigerson Cup first round clash at the Mardyke.

WALES star Lee Byrne and the Ospreys have been hit with misconduct complaints following last Saturday’s ‘16th player’ saga.

LIVERPOOL will play a waiting game with the fitness of a string of top stars, including Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, as they prepare for Monday’s home clash with Birmingham.

MICK ‘HAULIE’ O’NEILL has a simple approach to coaching the Cork SFC champions, Clonakilty.

AS Tommy Walsh departs for the life of a professional athlete with Aussie Rules outfit St Kilda, Brendan Murphy’s re-integration into the GAA is continuing apace with Rathvilly taking on Clara in the AIB Leinster club championship tomorrow.

UNDER-FIRE Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has admitted star duo Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard might need surgery to solve the injury problems which have plagued their season.