In that special, unique way that only they can, the FA managed to set a dozen hungry cats amongst the pigeons of the John Terry case this morning. Their announcement, that Terry had been stripped of the England captaincy for this summer's European Championships but that he would still be available for selection by Fabio Capello sends out a message so mixed that it would require an FA-branded centrifuge to be able to properly decipher.

The result last night has really put the cat amongst the pigeons with Chelsea now sitting eight points behind Tottenham in the Premier League. The remit for Saturday's game now is simple, we have to win and get the three points and the performance doesn't matter. We have to get on a run of results and keep picking up three points week in, week out and anything else will be a disaster!

By Alan Duffy

Steve Bruce will have more free time now to feed the pigeons

To be fair to Sunderland, the club had given Steve Bruce a decent amount of money to strengthen his squad over the years. But despite that financial backing, the former Manchester United defender's best showing with the Black Cats was a tenth-place finish last season.

By Alan Duffy

Liverpool big cheese Ian Ayre has set the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons by stating that the bigger Premier League clubs should be able to negotiate their own overseas TV deals.

Currently, all 20 top tier clubs share the overseas revenues, but according to Ayre, the bigger clubs deserve a larger slice of the pie.

Online.

Sometimes, an internet leave of absence is just what the doctor ordered. I rolled up my trouser legs, knotted my hanky and set off south for ten days, and being too stingy to pay for 3G abroad, I made do without the interwebs entirely.

Well, not entirely. When I encountered unlocked wifi (as I did, rather excitedly, in a Co-op car park) I inhaled it and I inhaled it deep.

So, we heard from Arsene for the first time this summer and it has set some cats amongst some pigeons.

Speaking to Arsenal Player ahead of the Asian tour, it all started quite well. He spoke about how he would fight to keep Nasri and Cesc, which is good. Obviously we know the subtle differences between the two situations and I saw a report yesterday saying we're now offering Nasri £110,000 per week.

A slumbering summer appears to be slowly stirring from its sleep; stretching, yawning and having a good old scratch of its knackers before assessing the carnage ahead. Though there have been no confirmed incomings or "don't let the door hit you on the arse on the way outgoings", the cogs appear to be creaking into action.

By so many the football that Arsenal play is considered to be beautiful and when the team is at full strength and in form there is nothing wrong with that statement. However when we are not at full strength or out of form which is, lets face it, the majority of the time the football we play is not only hugely frustrating but also incredibly predictable.

Eight wins in their last nine games, including a home double over Acehenese promotion challengers Persiraja and PSAP, have quietly put PSMS, one of the proudest clubs in Indonesia, on the outside of a gripping promotion race in the second tier Divisi Utama.
Their last two games are on the road, away to Persitara and Persikabo and you can bet the migrant PSMS fans will be flocking to both games in big numbers as the side that finished runners up in the old format Liga Indonesia in just 2007 try to regain top flight football.

This was a match so bad not even a mother could love it.
Semarang United came into the game third in the table and if they are the third best team in the breakaway league then we're all in trouble. Both sides were abject. The ball spent so much time in the air you could imagine people like Harry Basset and Egil Olsen replaying the game non stop.

Liverpool's captain Steven Gerrard looks on course to return to captain his side this weekend against West Brom. The midfielder has been out of action for since the beginning of March after undergoing ankle surgery, but could return to training this week. Gerrard was absent from England's 2-0 victory over Wales at the weekend but Liverpool will be boosted by their captain's early return should it happen.

Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona

As Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons once said: Oh what a night.

I can't remember anything like it at the Grove. The best match in the five years of ground? Definitely, indubitably, unarguably. It was unforgettable. I shouted myself hoarse and the Epic Bundle Counter went off the scale.