The Wigan - Bolton match being frozen off at the end of gameweek 18 brings home a reminder of the importance of having a bench with players who are capable of contributing points if they become needed. With some notable injuries to a few marque players (ala Fabregas) having a solid line up of quality substitute players becomes even more pressing.

Israelis advance in Europe, Scots do not...
A bit of what's bouncing around Butt's Brain in the past few days:

• How a soccer game survived a hijacking attempt. Big respect to most Celtic supporters for their actions during last week's Europa League match with (John Pantsil's former club) Hapoel Tel Aviv [Jerusalem Post]

• Avram Grant plans to raid Chelsea's bench for two players in January.

Hey, look out now, it's a must-win for Chelsea. Avram Grant returns to Stamford Bridge with his ragged Portsmouth outfit to open the holiday frenzy. The match may represent the club's first real must-win of the season. Sure, matches against the likes of Arsenal away, and Manchester City were vital in my view but, following this wretched run of four matches winless, I think the consensus view will be we must grab three points against the bottom feeders.

Redknapp looks to bring in yet another of his former Pompey charges.

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David James wants to rejoin Harry Redknapp at Tottenham to boost England chances
David James has indicated that he wants to leave Portsmouth for Harry Redknapp's Tottenham to cement his place as England's No 1 goalkeeper.

November was a thrilling month in the world of football. And in a first for Footy Factor, we've summarized all the news worth knowing about during the previous month in one easily digestible guide. Disagree with any of the items we've included, or where we've located them? Not a problem: send us your feedback!

Avram Grant's stint with Portsmouth had the second loss in two matches as Aston Villa got the better of the former in the Carling Cup quarter finals on December 1, 2009 at the Fratton Park. Martin O'Neill made his seventh appearance at the Carling Cup in which he has a record winning it two times [..

Two games, two defeats for new Pompey boss Avram Grant. Man Utd and Villa at home are tough fixtures though, so we'll let him off, even if we miss Paul Hart's sad Pingu face.

This game was all about the return of Stewart Downing, who scored at Fratton Park last night on his first start for Villa and looked remarkably rust-free.

Some thoughts on today's action on a lazy Saturday morning. It's half time across the country...

• In the early game, Portsmouth won 2-0 at home to Burnley. Avram Grant got his first win and it came courtesy of a game-changing substitution in the 60th minute. Pompey looked 2nd best throughout the first half, but Grant introduced the classy and composed Kanu in the second half - and that made the difference.

Don't you just LOVE double weeks?The Guardian reports:Chelsea could be without 18-goal striker Didier Drogba against Portsmouth after the Ivory Coast international hurt his back in a training ground incident earlier today.Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti revealed that Drogba had to leave their training session after sustaining the injury which now threatens his participation against Avram Grant's

Chelsea struggled to overcome a resilient Pompey side with a penalty from Frank Lampard being the decisive moment at Stamford Bridge. Avram Grant returned to his former club and his Portsmouth side gave it their all with Piquionne leveling Chelsea Striker Anelka's opening strike.

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Betfair, Manchester United's official betting partner, has offered Red Rants readers a free £25 bet when you register with Betfair through us and place a bet on a United game or any other game. Bet with Betfair and claim your free £25 bet.

Injury problems continue to dog United and this Saturday's trip to Fulham could be trickier than Betfair layers predict – the champions trade at 1.

Betfair, Manchester United's official betting partner, has offered Republik of Mancunia readers a free £25 bet when you register with Betfair through us and place a bet on a United game or any other game. Bet with Betfair and claim your free £25 bet.

Injury problems continue to dog United and this Saturday's trip to Fulham could be trickier than Betfair layers predict – the champions trade at 1.

The Christmas (Number) One! - The Chelsea Football FanCast #99
Has the boys Christmas cheer been dampened as Chelsea take the penalty, again and again to salvage a point against a battling West Ham up for the London Derby?
On the Chelsea FanCast Christmas special, whilst all around them panic at only one win in six games, the FanCast team look at the 1-1 draw against the ‘Appy ‘Ammers as a hard and well earned point which extends our lead at the top of the table to four points.

Tal Ben Haim has accused Fernando Torres of leading with his elbow when challenging him in Portsmouth's win over Liverpool on Saturday.
The Israeli centre-half enjoyed a fine game in helping his side keep a clean sheet but was in the wars, as first Javier Mascherano was red carded for a crunching tackle on him, before Torres appeared to catch him with an elbow.

Two thousand Liverpool fans who left home in the early hours and braved icy roads or frozen rails to follow their team delivered a damning silent verdict.
Followers of almost any other club would have booed and chanted for the manager's head. But they are slow to turn on their own on Merseyside.

According to ESPN Soccernet, Portsmouth are confident they will be able to pay off their current debts to Chelsea and Rennes. The club is currently under a transfer embargo until they pay off these debts.

It is also reported that Portsmouth boss Avram Grant has been promised funds to sign two players.

Arsene Wenger, Arsenal Manager - Unhappy about CAF in January

The African Nations Cup happens every second year in January and every time the English Premier League Managers pretend that they never saw it coming and start complaining about losing their best players.

Arsene Wenger, Arsenal Manager

Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager will see midfield duo Alex Song and Emmanuel Eboue depart for Angola in January for duty with Cameroon and Ivory Coast, respectively.

"That's my name"

"No ****"

A holiday classic to be combined with another holiday classic - Boxing Day!

The next five days have football everyday.

Is there a better gift than that?

Saturday, December 26, 2009
Dec 26 07:45 ET Birmingham v Chelsea
Can the hottest team in England hold off what might be the best team?

According to Jordan Cross at The News, Portsmouth boss Avram Grant has talked to the board about not selling their stars during the transfer window. Grant said,

" ... the board know we need to make the squad stronger because of what we face ... We don't want to be thinking about selling players.

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Portsmouth have been issued with a winding-up petition by HM Revenue & Customs.

The cash-strapped club have endured a miserable season on and off the field this term with Pompey sitting rock bottom of the table and having a transfer embargo placed on them due to their financial problems.