Excerpts from the Ference Puskas biography published in 1999.

As an aside, many of the obituaries that ran after the great man’s death contained an error or two. A number referenced his part in winning five consecutive European Cups with Real Madrid when in fact he did not sign for Madrid until the 1958/59 season. He was suspended for almost two years by UEFA after failing to return to Hungary after the 1956 Uprising. The other often misreported item was the reference to Hungary as the first foreign team to beat England at home. Hungary was the first foreign team to beat England at Wembley but the Republic of Ireland beat England in 1949 in an international game held in Liverpool at Goodison Park.

It is true Scottish ball-boys are just too slow.

Alan Campbell on the debacle that is Heart of Midlothian and the de####able treatment of Captain Steven Pressley.

Gabriele Marcotti suggests a major revamp of domestic leagues outside of the present big 5.

David Bond says that a new owner for West Ham will be confirmed very soon.

Steven Morris writes about the smallest league in the world.

This is going to some week what with round 5 of the Champions League on Tuesday and Wednesday followed by a weekend that includes top-of-the-table action in Italy and England. Palermo plays Inter Milan and Chelsea will go to Old Trafford next Sunday for the biggest game of the Premiership season so far. More on Manchester United and Chelsea later this week.

Here are a few stories that I read over the weekend that might spark some debate.

David Bond has a story in which he details CONCACAF’s President Jack Warner response to the growing ticket scandal. It seems to me that Warner’s reaction is a strong indication that he no longer feels protected and has been flushed out.

Jack Warner is now suing. In the words of the late great Mr. Roy Orbison it seems that we have a severe case of “Running Scared”. This is from the CONCACAF website. (Surprisingly I could not find a way to order tickets).

I stand to be corrected on this but if my memory does serve me correctly then the red herring in this move is the filing of the lawsuit in Switzerland. There was a simllar suit against Andrew Jennings after his expose of the Olympic movement and in particular the old Fascist Juan Antonio Samaranch. In Swiss law you can be found guilty of defamation if you look sideways at someone - ok an exagerration but you get my drift. However, Swiss court decisions are about as intimidating as their navy. If Warner was serious he would have filed someplace else. And I don't believe he has to file in Switzerland just because FIFA is based there.

The English press is working overtime ahead of a BBC Panorama broadcast into kickbacks and bungs in the English game. This article focuses on a payment made during Harry Rednapp’s time at Southampton.

Nick Harris has some more background on the player at the centre of the Southampton investigation.

Nick Szczepanik describes Portsmouth central defender Linvoy Primus’ journey from the bottom to the top. Primus is one of these players that you would mark down as making the absolute most of the talent he has been given. Any other players in the Premiership that you think might fit the bill?

Natasha Woods writes about Queen’s Park, a team that remains dedicated to playing for the enjoyment of the game without consideration of money.

 And finally a few random thoughts on the Manchester United and Arsenal game.

 Adebayor’s goal – and Ronaldo’s grotesque error – may have won the game for the Gunners, but Jens Lehmann’s save from Solksjaer just seconds later, certainly saved the full points for Arsenal.

 John Djourou and Kolo Toure were outstanding at the heart of the Arsenal defense.

 Wenger opted to play Adebayor as a lone striker – a role I thought he filled very well – and packed the midfield with five players. It freed Fabregas to push further forward and United never found a way to shut him down.

The 4-5-1formation allowed Arsenal to dominate possession for large parts of the game but I never sensed that SAF made any changes to counteract the extra Arsenal player in midfield. United seemed quite happy to allow Arsenal the ball perhaps believing that the Gunners would continue their poor performances in front of goal.

By the time Arsenal scored, it was too late to make any telling change. There just seemed to be too many United players who put in average-at-best performances. Despite his mistake, Ronaldo was the only United player to pose a consistent threat over the 90 minutes.

Why would you spend over $30M on Michael Carrick and leave him on the bench for a game that, if won, could have put a stake through the heart of your fiercest challenger over the last decade?

Tomas Rosicky is slowly but surely adapting to the Premiership and Arsenal’s style. He is going to be a Premiership star before the end of this season.

It must have warmed the hearts of Arsenal fans to see patista running at the united defense with power and conviction when he came on late in the game.

This is the place to post your questions or thoughts and I will do my best to respond later in the week. Here are a few subjects that you mind want to comment on.

The Tevez and Mascherano transfer continues to be a source of discussion and controversy. It seems that the “big” clubs were offered the Argentine pair but baulked at the contract conditions. It is also interesting that of the “big” clubs who were offered the players, the only team commenting on the situation is Manchester United.

As mysterious as the transfer of Tevez and Mascherano to West Ham United is, why would United supposedly be willing to pay $35M for Owen Hargreaves (a player available on a Bosman transfer for part of last season) and pass on Mascherano who is already three times the player Hargreaves is – and four years younger.

Here is an article by Alex Bellos on Kia Joorabchian who is now attracting publicity like Paris Hilton attracts photographers.

With talk of a West Ham takeover David Bond looks at the how the latest move to buy a Premiership team is raising the level of concern of many. It seems small potatoes given the goings on over the last few days but tucked away in today’s headlines is something that will have far wider repercussions. Andy Webster has successfully invoked a previously unused clause in FIFA’s transfer regulations that allows a player to move to another club by giving adequate notice at the end of the third year of a longer contract by giving his notice within 15 days of the last match of the season. FIFA adopted the new regulation 17 in 2005 to stay onside of the EU’s concerns. By the way he has joined Wigan from Hearts.

Fernando Torres has reportedly signed a one year contract extension that will keep him at Atletico Madrid until 2009. More importantly for Atletico it means that they have reestablished some value in the player and can sell him next summer for a substantial fee.

Former Inter Milan and Italian great Giacinto Facchetti has died at the age of 64 after a short but serious illness. Facchetti was at the time of his death the President of Inter.  Facchetti was the “contradiction” of the great Inter team of the mid-sixties. While Coach Helenio Herrera may have perfected – not as extensively reported invented – the catenaccio system Facchetti became the poster-boy for overlapping full backs. During his career at Inter he averaged around a goal every six game. He also captained Italy 70 times in 94 appearances. Coming up in the next few days we have Jamaica playing Canada in Montreal today in a CONCACAF friendly, Euro 2008 qualifying continues with Italy traveling to Paris to play France in Group B.