Three weeks ago I wrote, Inter do to Chelsea, what the Blues do to us! I could easily repeat the headline for this game as well. That would be pointless though, what's the use of repeating the obvious.

I do have a few other observations and it's better to run through them. Before I do that, let me preface this article with the fact that I'm truly delighted Chelsea have been dumped out of the Champions League and this article is not an attempt to defend a Russian billionaire's plaything.

Ask any New Englander and you'll find that there's only one football to be found in the region. Sure, the local MLS side, the New England Revolution, may play in the same stadium as the NFL's New England Patriots (both owned by billionaire Robert Kraft), but the general public consciousness and amount of media coverage among the two organizations is not even comparable.

The BBC is reporting that NESV's proposed takeover for Liverpool is now in doubt after a new bidder has emerged. Peter Lim, a billionaire from Singapore, is now understood to be approaching the Liverpool board in an effort to place an improved bid. The Asian billionaire made a previous offer for the Reds, but confusion surrounds why the board chose NESV's offer over Lim's.

Just as Liverpool fans imagined the situation their club find themselves in could not become worse the unlikely scenario happens. The whole saga takes a turn for the worse. A couple of days ago Martin Broughton, the club chairman appointed to the role by Tom Hicks and George Gillett, announced the club was to be bought by New England Sports Ventures (NESV).

CHELSEA sources have revealed Ray Wilkins may have been fired as assistant manager following a boardroom snub to owner Roman Abramovich.

Wilkins, linked with Chelsea for 37 years before the club announced last week he would be leaving with immediate effect, is understood to have sailed close to the wind in a recent management meeting with a swipe at the Russian billionaire's non-football background.

Someone has to stop this. Chelsea are two points clear at the top of the Premier League and in the final of the FA Cup. If we're not careful this tinpot club could add their name to the illustrious list of proper clubs that have won the Double.

I'm sorry Pompey, but there's only one team capable of beating them in the final and it aint you.

Sunil Gulati, President of the U.S. Soccer Federation, U.S. defender Carlos Bocanegra and FIFA President Joseph Blatter pose with the U.S. bid book. (AP Photos).

ZURICH (AP) - Nine candidates to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022 brought big hitters including David Beckham, the crown prince of Qatar and billionaire benefactors to hand over their bid books to FIFA on Friday.

On the day Roy Hodgson was appointed new Liverpool manager, Chairman Martin Broughton revealed that there has been no formal bids have been made for the club as yet.
He revealed that;"The sale process is going pretty well according to plan. Just to remind you, I'm overseeing the sale process and Barclays Capital are running the sale process.

Mancini ready to use Brazilian as bait to bring Kolo's brother to Eastlands.

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Robinho not interested in returning to Manchester City
• Robinho thinks Roberto Mancini has 'a lack of ability'
• Manchester City's Brazilian keen on Barcelona

Robinho's representatives are to fly into England next week to inform Manchester City that the Brazil forward has no intention of returning to the Premier League next season.

The main defence for the arrival of billionaire owners like Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour is that their deep pockets are good for the Premier League. A cursory glance at this summer's transfer activity underscores that point. With Mario Balotelli, David Silva and Jerome Boateng touching down at the Eastlands, Manchester City have pretty much been alone in bringing the world's top players to England.

Michel Platini Aims To Revolutionize The Transfer Market.

UEFA President Michel Platini has today announced that UEFA, the European football governing body, will pass a law that states that clubs cannot spend more money than they make, and that the ‘sugar daddy' owners who have become so infamous in football, cannot inject massive amounts of cash into their clubs to provide for excessive transfer market spending.

As the teams take to the pitch in Eastlands on Saturday two teams will meet who have a very similar ownership structure and transfer policy. Whilst Chelsea have stopped their mega-spending they did attempt to assemble a squad of the best players at any cost after their initial take over, Manchester City have had to continue to try to ‘buy' success.

Week 5 offered up some tasty results, others fairly mundane and some quite boring, while the midweek League Cup matches left some supporters surprised, some downtrodden and others maybe even suicidal. Week 6 promises to at least get the weekend's fixtures started off right as Manchester City welcome Chelsea to The City of Manchester Stadium.

By Ollie Irish

John W Henry (pictured) appears to be one step closer to completing his takeover of Liverpool FC after arriving at the London offices of legal firm Slaughter and May, where the club's board are currently meeting to discuss the sale, in the wake of today's High Court decision against Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

He wins and he's slated. He loses and he's feted. I don't get Avram Grant.

It all began when his buddy decided to give him a job. Fortunately for Avram, that buddy was a billionaire Russian oligarch with a football club to spare. The media were not amused:

"Make one thing clear: there is nothing in Grant's professional CV that qualifies him for a job as intricate and demanding as this.

Has football finally jumped off the cliff?

In a week where we were treated to an utterly enthralling Champions League game at the San Siro and the emotional scoring return to the Emirates of Eduardo, the biggest stories were one player's greed and the near collapse of a team that won the FA Cup three seasons ago.

In English football, we've never had it so good.

Gone are the days of falling attendances; of a sport rife with hooliganism; of dilapidated and sometimes deadly stadia. Instead, football has become a family-friendly affair, is played in theatres of dreams, in front of sell-out crowds. The English Premier League is the most watched league on the planet, the place where every youngster wants to ply his trade.

Chelsea and Man City are both stuttering and that's far from where the parallels end. Both sets of fans are unhappy after the weekend. Both clubs have billionaire foreign investors who have poured millions into the club. Both are nouveau-riche neither has previously been a the forefront of the English game.

BY ADAM SERRANO

Manchester City may be level with Arsenal on points at the top of the Premier league table, but the club is far from over the moon after a recent request from their star striker. The Guardian is reporting that Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has handed in a transfer request to leave Manchester City.

Arsene Wenger has aimed another dig at Chelsea, United and City by stating that he would never buy world superstars while he is in charge at Arsenal, lives within his means and has accused us of financial fair play again!.
He said:

"You look at clubs who lose £100million or £150m, and if we do that we go bust.

BLACKBURN, England Steve Kean is on his way back from India having had a summit with Blackburn's new owners to confirm his position as the club's manager and he will be handed a transfer budget to bring in four new players in January. Kean is to be installed until the end of the season [...]

The Glazers could finally have an offer they can't refuse. The Sun is reporting that Qatar Holdings, the business arm of the Qatari royal family headed by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, could be preparing a £1.5 billion take-over bid for Manchester United

"They have made tentative moves before with little success, but this time it looks like they could be going for it," said an expert in Middle East football, who is convinced that the time is right for the Qatari purchase.

Every Manchester United fan I've spoken to in the last week has said one of two things:

• United are in deep, deep trouble. No money, players leaving, etc etc.
• The press have an agenda against United and have found a golden opportunity to stick their boot in.

Like the sensationalist propaganda that's passed for journalism in the English press this week, there's some truth to the two points of view, but mostly it's hyperbole, a lot of IFs and an acute failure to see both sides of the story.

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Mirror - Oliver Holt - Flavio Briatore interview exclusive: I have only sacked one manager - without me QPR would be bankrupt
17/01/10 - Interview by Oliver Holt
- The tell-tale signs of an owner with the itchiest trigger finger in football are absent from Flavio Briatore's Knightsbridge office.

West Ham United's co-owner David Sullivan has reignited the debate over a salary cap in the Premier League, saying it may be the only solution to the "madness" of current top-flight wages. Sullivan, who along with David Gold bought 50% of West Ham last month for £52.5m, said the salaries were "bad for football" and hit out at the imbalance created by the spending power of the ­billionaire owners of Manchester City and Chelsea.

Big Story
West Ham owner David Sullivan sees the light according to the Guardian, calling for a salary cap to be introduced to the Premier League:

West Ham United's co-owner David Sullivan has reignited the debate over a salary cap in the Premier League, saying it may be the only solution to the "madness" of current top-flight wages.

Two Indian business tycoons were reported last night to be lining up attempts to take control of Liverpool. Mukesh Ambani and Subrata Roy were said to be willing to pay off the club's £237m debt in return for a 51% stake in the club, according to The Times.
Ambani is India's wealthiest person with a fortune valued at about $20bn.

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- The Bhatia Q&A: Part I & II
Paul Warburton/Fulham Chronicle - Feb 25 2010
Mick Harford will remain as QPR boss, says Amit Bhatia
- THE Mittal family last night vetoed any move for a new manager at QPR and insisted Mick Harford remain until the end of the season.

Liverpool's co-owner Tom Hicks has lost his billionaire status, according to Forbes magazine's latest rich list. However, the Texan businessman was still ranked the 701st richest man in the world, with an estimated fortune of around $950m (£620m).
The American, who also owns the Dallas Stars ice hockey franchise, has already agreed a deal to sell the Texas Rangers baseball team for £310m.

Liverpool have been subject to a takeover bid from the Rhone Group to dilute Tom Hicks and George Gillett's ownership at Anfield, according to the News of the World.
The New York-based private equity firm has reportedly set the ball rolling by lodging a £100 million bid in exchange for a 40 per cent stake in the club steeped in history.

When Chelsea fans booed Wayne Bridge a couple of months ago I slated them. I said they were a bunch of wankers who were a poor excuse for football fans. I talked about how our feelings for Ryan Giggs would change if it emerged that he had been shagging the mother of Nicky Butt or Phil Neville's kid.

The intrigue on the Arsenal board continues to occupy the news, as the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has spent £10,500 each on yet another 37 shares. This has come on top of the news from America that "Silent Stan" Kroenke has revealed that he is going to buy out full control of the St [...]

Die Yeung! Betting Baron Continues With Porn Barons' Little Funeral Earner
Cremated remains of the deceased interred at St Andrew's Stadium in the presence of family and friends: £60
Hire of the club flag to drape over the coffin: £10
Inscribed memorial brick placed at St Andrew's Stadium: £50
Four-line entry in the Book of Remembrance at St Andrew's Stadium: £60
And, who would want anything more before being laid to rest than the final option -
Funeral cortege pause at the club grounds at St Andrew's Stadium: no charge
Yep!

Another accolade in Didier Drogba's cap as he makes the Times 100 most influential persons of 2010.

The African Footballer of the year inspires universal awe as a player but as a person, Drogba is beloved in his native Cote D'Ivoire as the man who furthered the cause of peace in a war torn country.

The bookies make the Portugeezer a pretty safe bet to manage the Spanish giants next season.

City are 4/1 to be managed by him, Liverpool 7/2.

Real Madrid, consisting of the all the current Galacticos, and more to be signed this Summer, must surely be a very attractive proposition for Mourinho.

Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has criticized his own club for the small time poster they put up around the City after they secured his signature.

The poster featured a picture of Tevez (ironically celebrating a goal for Manchester United against Wigan) with the caption, 'Welcome to Manchester'.

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- Flashback Three Years: Re the Proposed "Blitz Loan"
- After 139 Years Chesterfield's Stadium Closes
-Premier League's Richard Scudmore Defends Premiership Ways
News of The World/Neil Ahston - WARNOCK: Big changes planned
NEIL WARNOCK has fired his backroom staff as part of a massive internal shake-up at QPR.

Manchester United supporters launched a very loud and visible protest against the club's owners, the Glazers, Sunday during their last match of the season against Stoke City.

At half-time and at full-time, the sound of Man United supporters whistling their disapproval against the Glazer family was deafening.

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Arabian Business - Flavio of the month
by Joanne Bladd
Friday, 14 May 2010
"Banished from Formula 1, exiting football; what's next for sport's most flamboyant figure?

Aston Villa chairman Randy Lerner has warned Liverpool that his manager Martin O'Neill will not be leaving Villa Park this summer.
Recent reports have suggested that the talented Ulsterman had been viewed as the ideal replacement at Anfield should Rafael Benitez choose to leave.
However, the American billionaire has been quick to quash such rumours and is adamant his much admired manager will still be in charge of the west Midlands outfit come the start of next season.