Here.

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake is one of the best strikers in the Championship, his recent goal against Charlton is legendary, all of his goals for Wolves this past campaign can be seen here.

Comment and analysis round up

Quote of the day: “Alexander [Hleb] is preparing to make one of the most important moves of his life [to Inter Milan]. He is leaving Arsenal even though they want to offer him a new long-term contract and better conditions. Only time will tell if leaving is the right decision, but there’s no way back now. Everything will be cleared up in the next two weeks.” - Nikolai Shpilevski.

Runner-up: “If we can’t beat Derby, it will be hard to take.” - Reading coach Kevin Dillon.

Verbal fight of the day: “For [Dillon] to say something like that, I think he must have been caught off guard. It is something I would never do - make a comment about someone else’s team unless it’s positive. I think Kevin Dillon might have been quite right to think it. But to say it was quite wrong. I think the comments lacked tact. You would think Reading had been playing Champions League all these seasons instead of down in the Championship and the Second Division. Will I pin it up in the dressing room? Yeah - I’ve tried everything else.” - Paul Jewell.

Today’s overview: The end of season atmosphere continues to be present in the sports pages, with no particular headline taking focus. Today’s articles cover QPR’s courtship of Zindane Zidane, articles on both the Premier League title race and relegation dogfight and tabloid transfer news surrounding Adebayor and Gerrard.

The bizarre story of the day appears in The Times, Gary Jacobs claiming Zizou could be about to join QPR. “Queens Park Rangers parted company with Luigi De Canio yesterday but could not put to bed rumours that they have lined up Zinédine Zidane as a replacement. The former France captain has been discussed as a successor with the knowledge of Flavio Briatore, the co-owner of the Coca-Cola Championship club, but it is unclear whether the Italian is willing to match his ambition with a significant outlay to try to secure a deal.”

Oliver Brown (Telegraph) is quick to pour water on the Zizou fire. “The appointment of Zidane remains highly improbable and recent reports to this effect have already been discredited.”

Ahead of Birmingham’s win-or-bust match against Blackburn on Sunday, Maik Taylor speaks to Stuart James (Guardian). Money quote: “We have to believe that if we win we will stay up. That’s why it’s essential we throw everything at this last 90 minutes and then pray that the other results go for us.”

Steve Wilson (Telegraph) looks at Reading, Fulham and Birmingham and finds reasons why each of them should go down. On Reading: “Reading are not alone in having adopted the soulless out of town shopping centre approach to building a home. But they excel in making life difficult for travelling supporters who don’t have a car. Motorway access good; shuttle busses back in to town less so. And cabs won’t even go out to pick you up either.”

Tim Nichols (Daily Mail) recalls “the agony and the ecstasy of those last day escape acts.”

Professor Cary Cooper in The Times, who is himself a Man City fan, believes Manchester United will win the Champions League regardless of Sunday’s outcome. “The personality of Ferguson is spewed across the whole side. If they do not win the title, they will still beat Chelsea in Moscow. I would stake £100 on it. United are like a family; they feel like a family and they deal with hardship like a family. If anything goes wrong on Sunday, which I doubt it will, they will do the business in Moscow.”

Speaking to Owen Hargreaves, Mark Ogden (Telegraph) recalls United’s history of final day showdowns. “The United manager has been here before. He has faced three previous final-day title deciders; a draw at West Ham in 1995 handing Blackburn the title before victories at Middlesbrough (1996) and at home to Spurs (1999) denied Newcastle and Arsenal respectively.”

The Telegraph’s Alan Smith and Clive Tyldesley debate whether Avram Grant will keep his job at Chelsea.

Wallowing in self-pity, the Guardian’s Matt Bolton analyses Leicester City’s relegation to League One. “We all saw it coming. The tears shed by the fans caught by Sky’s traditional end-of-season sweep of the ground were not borne of disbelief; they stemmed from hollow resignation. Years of financial mismanagement, kicked off by Peter Taylor’s catastrophic transfer dealings during the post-O’Neill comedown - famously, £5.5m for Ade Akinbiyi, £1m for Trevor Benjamin - finally took their toll.”

In some of the more interesting transfer talk, Wayne Veysey (Telegraph) claims that “Arsenal are preparing to enter the race to sign Gareth Barry and are also considering a bid for £12 million rated Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani,” while James Ducker (The Times) notes that Everton are chasing “Steve Sidwell, the £3million-rated Chelsea midfield player, and Michael Bradley, the Heerenveen midfield player who would cost about £4.5million.”

The Sun’s Antony Kastrinakis reports on Inter’s failed bid for Gerrard. “A top Inter official confirmed: ‘We need to make a big signing for next season and Gerrard was at the centre of our thoughts. Liverpool gave us the most emphatic response he was not for sale. We have drawn up a list of alternatives. But if Liverpool decide to sell, Gerrard is our top priority.’”

The scare story of the day appears in the Daily Mail, Neil Ashton EXCLUSIVELY reporting that “Adebayor demands an £80,000-a-week deal from Arsenal and threatens to quit if he doesn’t get it.” (Actual quotes from Adebayor’s agent: “Now is not the time to talk about his contract. We’ll wait until next week.”)

Staying on Merseyside, the Independent’s Brian Viner catches up with David Moyes. Money quote: “I think in a lot of ways he’s [Kevin Keegan] right, but I don’t want to believe it and I’m not going to accept it. I can’t turn up at the start of next season believing we can’t be up there [in the top four]. Even this season, until the beginning of March, we had a realistic chance. And if we could have got there it could have changed Everton for a long, long time. We’re probably more ready now than we were three years ago, and if we’d got in I think we could have made the group stages.”

The Sun’s Steven Howard reports on Newcastle’s spending policy. “Kevin Keegan says Newcastle are a million miles away from the Big Four. Well, here’s some news for him — they’re in it! Going back 10 years to the start of the season Arsene Wenger took over at Arsenal, we have some revealing financial statistics. In that time, the biggest spenders in the transfer market, naturally enough, have been Chelsea with an outlay of £475million. Next come Manchester United with £298m, followed by Liverpool on £264m. In fourth place, hang on a minute, that name’s a bit familiar, yes, it’s Newcastle United!”

Jonah Freedman (SI) credits Real Madrid’s lack of superstars for their La Liga championship. “The squad that won Real the title this season contains virtually no world superstars (save for perhaps captain Raúl and brilliant goalkeeper Iker Casillas). Sure, guys like Robinho, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Italian World Cup hero and ‘06 FIFA World Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro are universally recognized as studs of the game, but they don’t captivate the world with human highlight films the way the Galácticos did.”

Werder Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese was guilty of a shocking challenge on Hamburg’s Ivica Olic in the Bundesliga yesterday. The Kung Fu attack can be seen here, for which Wiese received only a yellow card.

(For more on “Calamity Wiese,” who was linked with Manchester United in recent weeks, see here.)

YouTuber “unknowngenius3″ is not a Cristiano Ronaldo fan. To prove his point that “Sky Sports overrate and hype Cristiano Ronaldo up with bullsh*t videos that are fake and not true,” unknowngenius3 has compiled a video which he believes displays his point.

According to the YouTuber, “It’s all faked up hype. They are using commentary from goals scored by: Didier Drogba Vs Everton, Wayne Rooney Vs Newcastle, Thierry Henry Vs Manchester United. They are using commentary from those matches to hype up this overrated diving disgrace!”

See the video evidence here.

Ahead of both the Champions League final in Moscow and the Uefa Cup final in Manchester these videos capture how Chelsea, Rangers and Zenit St. Petersburg took their places in their respective finals.

See Chelsea’s road to Moscow here. (A previous post on this website featured all the goals scored by Manchester United in their Champions League run.)

See Rangers’ road to Manchester here, and Zenit St. Petersburg’s road to Manchester here and here.

Comment and analysis round up

Quote of the day: “Coral should have notified the FA and UEFA if they had as much as a hint, or suspicion, that a match had been fixed. They are making up ridiculous excuses not to pay. To suggest these matches were fixed in order not to pay is a disgrace. The company should not be allowed to continue to take money from people. Their licence to trade should be taken away right now. The German investigation found that Mr Sapina has made a fortune from totally legal and unfixed gambling before his conviction and we stress that the bets with Coral were part of this. Coral have grabbed the opportunity not to pay out because he has been convicted of match-fixing.” - lawyer, Stefan Conen.

Runner up: “There are no words to describe the mistreatment Avram is receiving. They are sucking his blood on a daily basis regardless of his victories and what he achieves. You know what, maybe if he hadn’t been Israeli or Jewish, it might have been different. Obviously there is some sort of anti-Semitism here, especially if one remembers who appointed him. Abramovich is not only Jewish but also Russian and Jewish. So the Chelsea fans love him, but the rest of the fans in England certainly don’t.” - Pini Zahavi.

Today’s overview: The headline stories in the papers all cover potential transfers. The Guardian splash with the news that Chelsea have “claimed a deal worth in excess of £50m” for Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos. The same story is picked up by the Daily Express. Henry Winter (Telegraph) reports that in fact the Blues are eying “Franck Ribery not Lionel Messi.” While not so secret meetings between Sven Goran Eriksson and Benfica are publicised in the The Times and Telegraph.

Arguably, the most interesting story in today’s papers is Brian Radford’s piece in the Daily Express announcing that “a sensational match-fixing probe has been launched into five crucial games in Europe’s biggest tournaments, including the most prestigious of all – the Champions League… Bookmakers Coral prompted the international inquiry after they refused to pay out a huge sum on winning bets – £435,905 – placed by a convicted match-fixer. Coral are also refusing to return his £180,000 stake.”

The Sun, who appear to have decided to back Chelsea manager Avram Grant in recent weeks, allowing Ian McGarry to EXCLUSIVELY quote super-agent and fellow Israeli Pini Zahavi, who argues that Grant’s Judaism is a root cause of his unpopularity.

Jason Burt (Independent) reports on Arsenal’s transfer news. After announcing that the Gunners are after a centre half, Burt revealed that “it will not help the mood of Arsenal supporters that it has now emerged that Wenger did indeed attempt to sign Jonathan Woodgate from Middlesbrough in the January transfer window – only to find that the England central defender was already in advanced negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur.”

Going one step further, Glenn Moore (Independent) begins to question Wenger’s management. “The departure of Mathieu Flamini, the possibility that Alexander Hleb will follow him and the refusal to countenance serious spending on a par with the rest of the ‘Big Four’ has left Arsenal fans feeling like heretics. What if ‘Le Professeur’ has got his calculations wrong?”

Looking at Arsenal’s transfer policy from the other side, Richard Godden (Football Italia) lauds AC Milan’s capture of Mathieu Flamini. “Although it’s a tad harsh on Massimo Ambrosini, a midfield trio of Flamini, Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo is as good as any in Serie A. With the hustle and bustle of the former duo allowing Milan’s quarter-back to conduct the play from deep, it looks as though Carlo Ancelotti has found the perfect formula.”

Chris Wheeler (Daily Mail) wonders what the future holds for Dimitar Berbatov. “Berbatov’s departure from White Hart Lane promises to be one of the most significant deals of the transfer window. Rumours were rife yesterday that Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra was lining up a British record £32million offer. However, he is more likely to end up on the other side of Manchester. A year after turning down the opportunity to sign Berbatov for £10.9m, United are prepared to pay twice that after his agent confided he would only consider Old Trafford if he stays in England.”

40 years ago, when the title went down to the wire, Matt Busby’s team failed the test, and Daniel Taylor (Guardian) relives the tale of the “last-day catastrophe that cost United the title.”

On the relegation front, David Hytner (Guardian) speaks with Fulham’s Simon Davies. Money quote: “Portsmouth will be the biggest game of my career, no doubt about it. It means so much being in the Premier League, to the club, the staff, the players, everyone. I’ve played in big matches at club level and for Wales. I played in the League Cup final for Tottenham [in 2002], when it means so much, but in a prolonged relegation battle the pressure is so intense.”

Sachin Nakrani (Guardian) reports of Ebbsfleet United, “online phenomenon to Wembley finalists.” “Then the idea of people spread across 73 countries coming together via the internet to own a club was merely a concept, in November it moved towards reality when Ebbsfleet agreed to be taken over and the purchase was signed off in February, securing MyFootballClub and its 20,000 members a 75% share in the Kent club at a cost of £600,000. Those involved will be able to celebrate on Saturday when Ebbsfleet take on Torquay United in the FA Trophy final at Wembley, their first appearance at the stadium.”

Tom de Castella (Telegraph) also writes on Ebbsfleet United. “The optimist in me likes to see Ebbsfleet as a corrective to the oligarchs taking over British football, a small club that can rise up the leagues through the collective will of its supporters. But the pessimist wonders whether membership will lapse and this experiment will become just another non-league club struggling to survive. But these are philosophical questions for another day.”

As if issuing a rallying cry for the youth of today, Brian Alexander (The Times) interviews Warren Aspinall as an illustration of how footballers can go off the rails. Money quote: “I’ve worked it out that I’ve done at least £1 million gambling over my career. It makes me sick to think about it. I don’t have a house or savings, but I’m working hard to earn a decent wage. But most important of all I have my life back and I have the love of my family and Karen. I haven’t had a drink or a bet for ten or twelve weeks now. I feel very powerful.”

The Brazilian state tournaments which mark the beginning of the Brazilian season have just been completed.

The top 10 goals scored in the Carioca (Rio de Janeiro) Championship can be seen here.

And the top 10 “golacos” from the Paulista (Sao Paolo) Championship can be viewed on this video.

Former West Ham trouble-maker Tomas Repka has once again found himself in trouble, being sent-off after only two minutes in Sparta Prague’s recent league match against Brno earlier this week.

Repka, who is no stranger to seeing red after famously being sent-off twice in his opening three games for West Ham back in 2001, was ejected from the field of play after chucking the ball in the face of an opposition player after the referee overruled the direction of a throw-on. In fairness to the Czech hardman, the Brno player produced an Oscar-winning performance after seeing the ball smack him full in the kisser.

See the incident here.

Comment and analysis round up

Quote of the day: “I was really disappointed and surprised that Patrik [Berger], with all his experience of dealing with the press, would make such an inappropriate comment [advising Gareth Barry to join Liverpool]. The sad aspect of it is that we are paying Patrik’s wages for him to recommend one of our players to another football club. It’s ludicrous. I think Pat realises that now and he’s apologised. He said he didn’t mean a great deal of harm but the harm’s been done and he won’t be playing any part in proceedings from here on in.” - Martin O’Neill.

Runner-up: “It is very sad what has happened to Gazza, he was a genius and it must be so hard for him. I wish someone could have got hold of him, he needed someone around him who wouldn’t take advantage of him. He is a lovely bloke. I can’t give him specific advice, other than to come round my house, put your feet up and have a cup of tea.” - Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Today’s overview: There is no single story thats dominates this morning’s headlines, rather a hotchpotch of random football shorts. These include the introduction of an English language test for foreigners, semi-final or bust for Capello, analysis of Keegan’s Premier League assessment, and the announcement that Craig Bellamy is setting up a £650,000 academy in Sierra Leone.

According to Alan Travis of the Guardian, “South American, African and other non-European footballers who cannot speak English will be barred from joining Premier League clubs from the autumn under the new points-based immigration system detailed by ministers yesterday. The introduction of an English language test, covering everyday phrases and simple conversation, forms part of a package of tougher rules for skilled migrants from outside Europe applying to work in Britain and for temporary workers and students.” (Does this mean Fabio Capello and Juande Ramos will have to leave England?)

Sam Wallace (Independent) applauds the FA’s decision to demand that England reach the semi-finals of major competitions. “There will be a few Germans and Italians sniggering at the English acceptance of failure just as long as they gave it a good shot. But what was [Lord] Triesman supposed to say? If he had said that nothing short of winning the World Cup was acceptable, Capello would have been justified in raising an objection. If he had said that the quarter-finals was a benchmark of respectability we might as well have brought back Sven Goran Eriksson.”

Reacting to Kevin Keegan’s admission of the problems getting Newcastle in the top four, Martin Samuel (The Times) backs up the Toon manager’s assessment. “Newcastle are walking a thin line because contained in Keegan’s realistic assessment of his position was a subtext that suggested that a more damaging explosion of frustration was not far away… The unpleasant reality is that £50 million, which appears to be the standard fee for having a go these days, will not touch it at Newcastle, not even come close.”

Tim Rich (Telegraph) also responds to Keegan’s outburst, claiming “If English football is ‘boring’ as Keegan described it on Monday, it was never that competitive”. But he also quotes Harry Redknapp, who believes “it will change. In years to come you’ll have 20 foreign billionaires owning 20 Premier League clubs.”

The Daily Mail’s Matt Lawton sensationalises the Keegan story by claiming “Keegan’s relationship with his employers at Newcastle is at breaking point amid private concerns that Dennis Wise is being lined up to succeed him.” And the proof? ” Friction over the recent departure of video technician and ProZone expert Dave Fallows, whom Keegan inherited from previous manager Sam Allardyce, could be an early indication of the battles ahead.” (Note, there were no quotes used in this article.)

And the Daily Mail continue to use their powers of deduction (rather than opt for facts) to determine that “Berbatov is on the way out of Tottenham as he is absent when new kit is launched.”

Kevin McCarra (Guardian) takes a trip down memory lane to recall the emergence of Chelsea as a modern force. “There was a conscious endeavour to accentuate a cosmopolitan glamour in the latter part of Ken Bates’ time. Ruud Gullitt and Gianluca Vialli would both play for and manage the club while the crowd also doted on Gianfranco Zola. There were trophies as well, such as the 1998 Cup Winners’ Cup and the 2000 FA Cup.” (Interestingly, McCarra fails to mention Avram Grant’s name once in his article and you cannot help feeling that this undercurrent of this article is to prove how Chelsea’s success is due to long term planning, rather than anything associated with the Israeli.)

The Sun’s Ian McGarry leads with the claim that Avram Grant has told Richard Hughes (apparently a “close friend”) that “He’d [Grant] be happy to revert to the role where he acts as a link between the coaching staff and the board.”

David Anderson (Daily Mirror) has an exclusive interview (in two parts here and here) with Peter Crouch. Money quote: “What I must do is speak to the manager. When all is said and done, I don’t think I can have another season like this year where I’ve started nine Premier League games.”

Reflecting on the FA’s rejection to overturn Leeds’ 15 point deduction for entering administration, David Conn (Guardian) stresses that “The real scandal of this whole affair is not that Leeds lost 15 points, but that our beloved professional football clubs still overspend, collapse and leave trails of creditors unpaid in the wreckage.”

Dominic Fifield (Guardian) questions Arsene Wenger’s transfer policy. “His team had carried all before them at times, the combination of the scintillating and the exhilarating threatening to yield a Premier League title and the European Cup. A lack of depth to his squad undermined those aspirations at the last. Now the fear nags that this set-up is to be stripped when it needs to be strengthened in the weeks to come.”

Gavin Hamilton (SI) investigates Manchester United’s financial position. “This week it was revealed that the club suffered a £58 million loss last year and now owe a total of £764 million to their various creditors… Most worrying for the Glazers is the news that they still owe £152 million to hedge funds at a rate of interest of 14.25 percent. With a recession threatening to engulf the world’s financial markets, the Glazers cannot find anyone willing to take on the debt at a more reasonable interest rate.”

In a slightly off-topic article about football’s relationship with the environment, Jim White (Telegraph) explains why “Football’s green claim is really a red herring.” “Here was an organisation who, by the very nature of the electricity-generation business in which they are engaged, pump more carbon into the atmosphere than the entire length of the M1, encouraging us to share a car to the game in order to stop the earth frying. Short of McDonald’s launching an anti-obesity drive or Thaksin Shinawatra fronting a series of commercials for Ikea, it is hard to think of a less appropriate match-up.”

The Independent splash with the story of “Football’s charitable status: Philanthropists in the Premier League,” Glenn Moore praising bad-boy Craig Bellamy’s announcement to “invest £650,000 of his own money into creating an entire football structure in the benighted west African nation… Bellamy’s altruism is part of a slowly growing trend. Robert Green, one of Bellamy’s team-mates at Upton Park, is going to Uganda this summer to work with the African Medical Research Foundation. It is a long way from the cheesy visits to hospitals at Christmas time (which, incidentally, still go on and are much welcomed by the children involved) and reflects the growing financial power of footballers and their greater worldliness, a by-product of the globalisation of the Premier League.”

Rob Hughes (IHT) reviews “Johnny Haynes - The Maestro,” and wonders whether modern Fulham fans respect Haynes’ legacy. “Without Haynes’s 658 league games and 158 goals, the club might not have survived his near 20-year span to 1970. Without his perfectionism, his ability to hit a pass as true as a laser beam, and his leadership of the English national side, the famous old club would be less famous today.”

With seasons across Europe drawing to a close the compilation videos are beginning to surface, capturing the highlights of the past nine months of domestic football. In this regard, the following video compiles the top 20 goals scored in Greece throughout last season.

See the video here.

In MOTD’s satirical look on the Premier League, Adrian Chiles looks back on an array of incidents during the season including Danny Murphy caught kissing Jimmy Bullard, Harry Bassett caught picking his nose, Graham Murty gives the linesman a wet-willy, and a string of grandmothers who should behave better.

See the season’s review of 2 Good, 2 Bad here.

***

MOTD’s Goal of the Month competition for April can be seen here.

Comment & analysis round-up

Quote of the day: “I thought, ‘What can I do next year to get near them [Chelsea]‘ and the truth is there’s nothing I can do at all, maybe the owner thinks we can bridge that gap - but we can’t. This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world.” – Kevin Keegan.

Runner-up: “We achieved our aim of getting to the Champions League final and we have also improved our play on the pitch. Now we must beat Bolton and see what United do. The pressure is on them… The advantage is with them but it will not be easy at Wigan.” – Avram Grant.

Today’s overview: As two sets of winners’ medals are printed and the football world prepares for an enthralling final day of the season the papers are wetting themselves in excitement at the prospect of the closest ever Premier League title race and probably the tightest since 1968. In a final twist that sums up this season’s topsy turvy nature the main focus of the media is now being switched to Alex Ferguson’s former captain Steve Bruce and how Wigan approach their game with Manchester United on Sunday.

Matt Lawton (Daily Mail) puts Chelsea’s second-half performance at St James’ down to a “hairdryer” from Avram Grant. “As well as having a team that continues to match Sir Alex Ferguson’s men stride for stride, Avram Grant appears to possess a hairdryer as well. He said he gave Chelsea’s players something of a rollicking during the half-time interval here yesterday and, my, how well it worked. Two goals, the extra two points they needed and the chance to really pile the pressure on to Manchester United.”

Martin Samuel also credits Avram Grant for the win in The Times. “Newcastle were outplayed in the second half once Chelsea’s players had life breathed into them by Avram Grant, the first-team coach, during the interval.”

Sam Wallace (Independent) looks forward to Sunday. “The JJB Stadium is not exactly regarded as one of English football’s most passionate crucibles of history and pride, but come Sunday it will be the stage for a cliffhanger of a game of such significance that Ferguson’s old end-of-season ’squeaky bum’ description does not do it justice.”

Henry Winter (Daily Telegraph) also writes of Wigan and Steve Bruce. “In the run-up to Sunday’s date with destiny, the conspiracy theorists will have a field day with the Wigan-United game coming under the microscope. Anyone who knows Wigan’s manager, Steve Bruce, will realise that it is not in his mentality to tell his players to ease up, simply to help out his old United manager.”

Reminiscent of the famous interview with Tim Flowers, Steven Howard in The Sun writes that the title race is all about “bottle.” “Yes, Alex Ferguson’s team have a vastly superior goal difference. But, at this stage, it is all about bottle and who blinks first… And so to Sunday. The last time two teams were level on points with one game left was  in 1968 — the year United were pipped to the title by rivals Manchester City. Nothing, surely, can ever be as bad as that.” 

Louise Taylor (Guardian) praises Michael Ballack. “Ballack is high-calibre proof that modern midfielders do not always have to be uber-athletes.”

Tim Rich (Daily Telegraph) compares Keegan’s first spell as manager at Newcastle with the current one. “Newcastle have accomplished something that could never have happened when Keegan was last on Tyneside - they are now irrelevant to the great events of English football. Although, given the chaos that reigned only months before, this is something of a relief.”

Des Kelly (Daily Mail) adds to Kevin Keegan’s thoughts above on the “boring” nature of the Premier League and splits up the division into three “classes.” “Go back a decade-and-a-half to when Manchester United collected their first Premier League title and you discover they edged out Villa, Norwich City, Blackburn and QPR at the top of the table. That’s not going to happen again in a hurry.”

Following the departure of Flamini, many commentators are suggesting Wenger may flash the cash this summer. David Hytner in the Guardian: “A penny for Cesc Fábregas’s thoughts at present could be worth the investment. Ruled out because of a groin injury against Everton, he larked about on the bench with Flamini and Hleb. The trio are close but Serie A has now intervened. Wenger has reorganisation ahead.”

According to Jason Burt (Independent) “Hleb wants to follow Flamini out of Arsenal.” Sam Wallace also in the Independent reports that “Liverpool are winning the battle to sign Gareth Barry with the player himself having made the decision to sign for Rafael Benitez’s club this summer rather than agree a new contract at Aston Villa.”

Charles Sale (Daily Mail) claims that “Serious questions are being asked about the real circumstances behind last week’s shock departure of Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman. Edelman’s exit was totally unexpected and he even had important meetings arranged for last Thursday when he was unceremoniously hurried out of the Emirates Stadium just a fortnight before the end of the season.”

Neil Ashton exclusively reveals in the Daily Mail that “Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is on the verge of confirming plans for a 50,000-capacity stadium to be built next to White Hart Lane. The £300million project, which has more than a passing resemblance to Arsenal’s Emirates home, will be built adjacent to the existing site, with work to start before the end of the year.”

Glenn Moore (Independent) picks “the signings who have proved a shrewd investment and those who broke the bank and their club’s heart.” In The Sun, Ian Wright hands out his awards for the season.

After Gazza was admitted to hospital, Richard Williams (Guardian) asks “Is it too late to save Paul Gascoigne?” According to The Sun “Broken Paul Gascoigne was seen begging in the street hours before his desperate hotel suicide bid.”

Kevin McCarra in the Guardian believes Wigan are the template promoted clubs should follow. “Such eminence may not beckon for the centre-half Titus Bramble, but mockers may take note of a defensive record at Wigan that is better than those of, say, Newcastle or Tottenham.

Also in the Guardian, Stuart James questions whether Stoke can stay up playing the “long-bal game.” “Never mind wondering whether Stoke City are ready for the Premier League, there will be plenty of Championship supporters asking if the Premier League is ready for Stoke City.”

Tim Stannard (Football365) chews over Real Madrid’s La Liga win. “Against Osasuna, Madrid showed that they were made to fight for their right to party - something Barcelona consistently failed to do - and at the same time they won something more important to them than another league title - and that’s respect.”

The Guardian produce their weekly European round-up, Sid Lowe salutes champions Real Madrid, Paolo Bandini analyses Milan’s bid for fourth and Raphael Honigstein features Nurnberg’s Jan Koller.

In an article title “Champagne in Madrid and beer in Munich,” Rob Hughes (IHT) writes of the Bundesliga and La Liga Champions.

Many media outlets feature quotes from Ronaldo (the Brazilian) on his “altercation with transvestites,” the injured AC Milan striker has spoken of the “biggest mistake of his life.”

An in-depth look at the performance of Cristiano Ronaldo against West Ham can be seen here.

On Sunday Supplement this week were Shaun Custis, Matt Lawton and Henry Winter. Their first topic was Sven and Manchester City, with Winter in particular putting up a spirited defence for the Swede:

“He gave them dignity, his press conferences were fantastic, he didn’t moan at referees, when they played badly he accepted it, and I just feel he has been a real force for Manchester City.  And then you’ve got this guy, it’s irrelevant if he’s from Thailand or Timbuktoo or Telford, the fact is that he has come in and disrupted this good work and feel good factor that Sven has brought in.”

The video can be seen here.

(Where was all this media support for Sven when he was England manager?)

Comment & analysis round-up

Quote of the day: “I have a feeling that shouting more is somehow more respectable in England, not just from managers but players as well… Sometimes I think in England you admire power more than good thinking… The history of every big club starts with doubts – Arsenal when Wenger came, United at the start under Ferguson.” – Avram Grant.

Runner-up: “Flamini will arrive in Milan and will sign a four-year contract.” - AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani.

Today’s overview: With Chelsea’s visit to Newcastle this afternoon potentially decisive in the title race, the Blues continue to dominate the backpages. The whereabouts of Roman Abramovich and the new found love for Avram Grant are the main threads.

Steven Howard in The Sun analyses the possible reasons for Roman Abramovich’s disappearing act from Chelsea. “Roman, Roman, wherefore art thou, Roman? Enjoying life with his own Juliet home in Russia, no doubt… no one should underestimate the effect of the beautiful Daria ‘Dasha’ Zhukova on Abramovich following his divorce from Irina, the mother of his five children… when will Blues fans next see Abramovich? … Or could it be that Daria has now replaced Chelsea as the love of his life?”

Jeff Powell waxes lyrical over Avram Grant in the Daily Mail. “The average Grant, as he has been lampooned so sneeringly, will still make history of his own. Whether or not Chelsea surrender the Premier League title at Newcastle today — and no mattter what happens when he takes on Sir Alex in the Champions Leage Final — Avram Grant is destined to leave his unexpected footprint on the game.”

Kevin Garside (Daily Telegraph) adds to the chorus of approval for the Israeli manager. “Technically, Grant is not a coach at all, having yet to acquire a Uefa badge. His success in taking Chelsea to the point of Champions League success and possibly the Premier League title is perhaps the argument for the non-coach. What value to a Ballack or a Drogba can a man be who could not have got a game on Hackney Marshes as a kid?”

Martin Samuel continues to laud Frank Lampard in The Game. “Perhaps our Big Brother culture has created a need for pantomime villains and Lampard does the job for football. I do know, though, that after Wednesday I am more convinced than ever that if you hate Lampard, you don’t know what you’re watching.”

James Lawton (Independent) writes of the irony that it is Newcastle and Kevin Keegan who could be the ones to hand Manchester United and Alex Ferguson the title today. “All Ferguson is asking for today is 90 minutes of similar application from the victims of one of his first and most lasting examples of how to work away at both the brain lining and heart-strings of a vulnerable rival.”

Neil Custis in The Sun reveals that “Manchester United’s players will EACH earn a £250,000 bonus if they do the Double. The jackpot for winning the Premier League and Champions League was agreed with the club’s owners, the Glazers, last summer.”

Alan Smith (Daily Telegraph) praises Carlos Tevez. “Irrespective of what United go on to achieve, this has been a highly successful debut season for the man known as ‘El Apache’. Nineteen goals on its own is a highly respectable return but, as mentioned above, it doesn’t tell the whole story of his influence.”

Alan Hansen (Daily Telegraph) analyses the “turmoil” at Manchester City. “When you invite people like Thaksin in, you have to accept that they own the club, it is their money and they can run things as they see fit. And if that means ignoring the obvious signs of progress under Eriksson, then so be it.”

Rob Hughes in the International Herald Tribune writes of Fulham’s battle against the drop.

After a dramatic day in the Championship yesterday, Don Howe (Daily Telegraph) ”considers how the promoted Championship clubs will fare in the Premier League next season.”

Owen Gibson, the media correspondent in the Guardian, predicts ITV and BBC are “braced for complaints from viewers” as Euro 2008 will dominate the tv schedules despite no home nation having qualified for the tournament. (Surely the BBC’s decision to use Steve McClaren as a pundit is a more heinous crime.)

Martin Kelner (Guardian blog) is impressed with Setanta Sports and in particular their coverage of the Blue Square Premier League. “At this level of football, Setanta has undoubtedly carved itself a niche, taking full advantage of the smaller clubs’ desire for just a whiff of the oxygen of publicity. It is Access All Areas football in a way that the Premier League or Champions League will never be.”

Charles Sale (Daily Mail) reports that “There is a strong desire within Soho Square to ensure the high-profile job of FA performance director goes to an Englishman, following Italian Fabio Capello becoming the national team boss and surrounding himself with his compatriots.”

In his match report on Real Madrid’s win at Osasuna, Sid Lowe (Guardian) describes Real Madrid as “prosaic but persistent.” “Last night, Schuster’s side mathematically wrapped up the league, but it was over at Christmas. Madrid may not have been superlative but they have been strikingly superior from start to finish.”

Gabriele Marcotti in The Game looks at possible reasons behind a number of clubs in Europe retaining their domestic titles this season.

One of the big stories on the final day of the Championship season was Southampton beating the drop by beating Sheffield United 3-2 in a ding-dong battle which left nerves dangling on edge. This was displayed most publicly through Sky Sports News pundit and former Saints legend Matt Le Tisser, who lived every moment of the fight for survival while commentating on the game live on air.

See Le Tisser’s roller-coaster of emotions here.

As Nike continue to push “The Cesc Fabregas show,” their adverts are becoming ever more outlandish and as a result are very entertaining.

The latest sees the Arsenal schemer set alight as he juggles a football, for obvious health and safety reasons the stunt is done in a controlled environment.

The video for the new ad can be seen here. (Hat-tip: EPL Talk.)

Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday this week featured Brad Friedel and Kasey Keller. The two custodians talked of the difficulty Americans have in breaking into top-class football and Keller talked of Fulham’s battle against the drop.

It is refreshing to hear such well-spoken Premier League footballers.

Here.