Howard Bloom’s blog – “Sports Business News” – looks at the latest developments in the FIFA, MasterCard and Visa sponsorship dispute.

Dennis Campbell updates the progress of the Stevens’ Inquiry.

Richard Winton describes Steven Pressley's exit from Tynecastle.The latest rumours have Pressley heading south - Southampton perhaps?

Brian Cooney attempts to solve one of the great mysteries of Scottish football.  Why did such a rare talent as George Connolly, walkout on Celtic in the 70s?

Amy Lawrence comments on the situation at Milan. Milan looked poor and quite stale against Torino on Sunday.

After giving Friday's announcement by U.S.S.F. President Sunil Gulati of Bob Bradley's appointment more thought, I am more convinced than before that this has been badly mishandled.

Gulati had the chance to simply announce that Bob Bradley would be taking over responsibility for the USA Olympic team. Further, negotiations with Jurgen Klinsmann had broken down after being at an advanced stage and that in the meantime, until a permanent coach was appointed, Bob Bradley will also be in charge of the full national team. Nothing more. 

Unfortunately, when Gulati started to talk about Bradley being a potential candidate to stay on long-term, he started to dig himself a very big hole. What possible criteria, could you apply to Bradley's performance over the next six months - over three years before the next World Cup - that could possibly tell you more than is known now?

Finally, some comments on the Chelsea - Arsenal game.

1. Chelsea did hit the woodwork three times, and had one shot cleared off the line. 

2. I thought Gilberto Silva and Michael Essien were absolutely outstanding. Just like at Old Trafford a few weeks ago, Essien turned the game for Chelsea.

3. Are Shevchenko's critics the same people who wrote off Drogba and Essien? 

4. If referee Alan Wiley yellow carded Jens Lehmann for this push on Didier Drogba, then booked Drogba for retaliation, why did the referee not award Chelsea a penalty?

Flashman - A lot of Toronto FC fans, many still waiting to commit their first dollar, are hoping the club can attract big-name Canadian players and bring in quality opponents for international friendlies. But the club plan to play on plastic turf - they and FIFA claim it's very special stuff - but many reactions to that have been negative. I thought the Spartak-Inter CL game, played on this turf, was a very sterile affair. Paul Stalteri and Dwayne De Rosario have trashed it, as has Charmaine Hooper. Since we're still golfing in mid-November on pretty decent grass an hour north of Toronto, it makes the club's claim that grass won't work sound like the accountants are running Mo's show. This is a team that isn't likely to see a home playoff game for many years. And its playing style is likely to be more shillelagh than stiletto, so wouldn't grass suit the sort of game they'll need to play in the early going, attract quality clubs for friendlies, and keep fans interested? Also, the playing surface is not likely to see, in the short term, heavy multi-purpose usage, such as the CFL, though rugby would be a nice event to add. This seems like a penny-wise, pound-foolish approach in their early going. A warming climate is hardly hurting the southern Ontario sod industry. What's your take on it?

Bobby – Up to now MLSE have shown that they are good business people but they are not in the trophy winning business – the Maple Leafs a prime example. However, I would not be blaming MLSE for choosing the artificial surface – that was a CSA decision that was made from the outset. The CSA has been a proponent – despite players’ objections – for a long time now. Over eight years ago a member of the Canadian Soccer Association told me that FIFA would approve artificial surfaces within a month and that Winnipeg should spend over a million dollars installing the to-be-approved artificial surface in Winnipeg Stadium for the Pan American Games soccer tournament. The same person also told me that the Pan Am soccer tournament would attract crowds of 40,000. The approval did not come until many years later, the surface wasn’t installed and the average crowd for the soccer tournament was 2,500. I mention it as an illustration that major assumptions –international friendlies is a good one – sometimes are flawed and just don’t pan out.

Henry 14 - Bobby what do you make of Pompey and lastly how do you rate Hleb amongst Wenger's best midfielders at Arsenal?

What do you make of Spurs striking combinations, Martin Jol just spend $20m on a 20 goal a season striker, he has Keane who averages 16 goals a season and l do not see why he does not make them his first choice pairing, what do you make of the basic Martin Jol team selection?

Bobby – I think Portsmouth will settle into an upper mid table position with a reasonably good chance of grabbing a UEFA Cup spot. But I think a Champions League spot might be beyond their reach. Hleb is improving every game and based on what I saw while he was at Stuttgart we have still not seen the best of him.

Obviously Jol believes that rotation is the best policy and I think it is too early to say that he is wrong. He has to keep all four happy at some level because he will need all four during the rest of the season. Spurs are facing a much heavier load than last season – only 40 games – with an extended and deep UEFA Cup run a strong possibility plus the FA Cup starting in January. Managers need to look at the larger picture and cannot just pick the best team for every game. Whether Jol is right or wrong will be judged at seasons end rather that after a 1-1 draw with Blackburn.

Neophyte - Pressley is getting such a raw deal. Watching the happenings at Hearts is the equivalent of a manly soap opera. Where do you see him going?
What did you think of Giggs' service into the box? He looked rushed and completely off target---to much confidence? Poor form? Lack of patience? What do you think?

Bobby – There has been talk of Pressley going back to Dundee United where he spent some time after moving back to Scotland from Coventry. With Craig Levein now in charge at Tannadice it is a move that makes some sense given that Pressley is now 33 and apparently interested in a coaching career. However, what might be a good move for Pressley and Dundee United might not be a good move for Hearts and the supporters. As for Giggs, I didn’t think he had a particularly poor game against Sheffield United.

Bmax14 - I had a question and comment on the article from Marcotti on formation of new leagues. I know his article is not about any "super league" but over the years I've heard speculation on the "Super league" and Uefa's ongoing fight against such a proposal. Do you think something of this nature (Euro league with 20 biggest clubs) will ever come to fruition and if so, do you think it's good or bad for the game? From a fans perspective, it seems the most anticipated games of the year are the occasional great matches in the Champions league so I would expect a weekly slate of games between the likes of Man U v. Barca or Chelsea v. AC Milan would be great. All of the top leagues are dominated by 2-3 teams anyways so I see this Euro league as natural progression of the game. Ideally, I'd like to see the domestic leagues more competitive but under the current system I don't see this happening. I also don't mind Marcotti's proposal to try and get the smaller leagues up to par with the Big 5. It is a bit ironic though that as Europe becomes more integrated politically and economically that Uefa seems to want to stick with the domestic approach.

Bobby – A full European league will come – but it will not be anytime soon as long as things stay pretty much the same. UEFA has acted very astutely in how they have managed the G14 and the money on offer from the Champions League. As it is the G 14t eams in the big 5 leagues have the best of both worlds with big domestic TV deals (Bundesliga might be considered an exception to that) and a very good prospect of big Champions League pay days each season. The one thing that is on the horizon that might set off a rebellion and that is if Platini wins the UEFA Presidential race and cuts representation for the top three countries from four to three teams.

I came around to seeing the Atlantic League proposal as a positive one when it was suggested a few years ago and I think the idea of a series of super leagues is even better. As it is England, Italy, France, Spain and Germany have big enough domestic markets to generate significant television and ancillary revenue so these leagues can take care of themselves. It is the “big” teams in the small markets that need to be taken care of and it would seem to me that if larger league markets can be created then there is a better chance that the “second-tier” teams can compete on a more equal basis in the Champions League and that would make it an even better competition. The Champions League needs to remain as the “cherry-on-top” and not become a replacement for regional or national leagues. 

Davard - With the talk of super leagues and the EU and political integration, why not a Great Britain Premier League?

I was thinking about this the other day, considering a baseball team like the Seattle Mariners traveling 3,000 miles to play The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, for example. Celtic traveling to London is about 1/10th that. (give or take, for all you exacting readers)

Keep the cups in place (FA, Scottish, Irish [if there is one, I am ignorant of Irish football]) but unite the leagues into one super British Isles league! You can even keep the individual continental leagues for those who do not qualify. I'm sure there's been talk of this in the past - More Champions league places for the one league, less boring fixtures, No more Watford, Sheffield United, etc, unless they are truly a great team. AND it makes domestic football (for GB) even stronger, and more unified. I'm all about the political unity, we're all brothers on this planet - let's let football lead the way!

I want to know where you stand on an idea like this and why it would or would not work.

Bobby – Davard you are making some large assumptions here. More Champions League places? – do you really think that the rest of Europe would sit back and allow a GB league to just add the existing SPL and Premiership CL places together? Do you think the likes of Watford and Sheffield United are going to vote themselves into the Championship? How many turkeys think Christmas is a great idea?

USAenglandfan – I was speaking with a family friend and former editor-in-chief of a kid’s soccer magazine here in the US, and he had an interesting take on the potential for success here and in other parts of the world. A lot of what he said had to do with economics. He said that in many cases the more wealthy your country is, the harder it is going to be to compete in the world's sport. The discussion was much more detailed, but this was the general idea. There are obvious exceptions (Pirlo, who was raised upper class, comes to mind), but I think it makes sense. You have your Brazils of the world where kids cope with the harsh reality of the favelas and soccer is not only woven into the culture, but is also seen as a 'way out'. I'm sure some of you have heard/thought about this, but I'd like to know what you all think.

And finally, cast your votes: Rooney with beard or without beard? I vote 'with'

Bobby – I’m not sure that I would agree with entire notion that wealthy countries have a harder time competing in the world’s sport – I assume you are limiting this to soccer rather than world sport. Certainly the wealthier the economy then the more choices that kids are likely to have within a broader range of sports and that means – I would think – that more kids would be lost to other sports. However, if you flip the notion – poorer nations find it easier to compete in the world’s sport – few would agree.

As for Rooney - it is one thing to lick up to the owner, it is another thing to try and look like him.

Blueblades - Do you think Everton has any chance of finishing in the top four this season? It seems to me that the fourth spot is up for grabs especially with Liverpool be so inconsistent.

Bobby – A number of teams – Everton included – have a shot at fourth place. Despite their inconsistency I think Arsenal will slot in at number 3. Andy Johnson needs to get going again though – I think this is his driest spell in the Premiership. Cahill will be a big loss and if Arteta was to go down then all bets would be off.

Henry 14 - Did you see the Arsenal Champions League game, l have to say Hleb is a genius, a highly creative player. You were laughing at Gallas the other night l hope you would laugh at the Hamburg defense, because the guy went on a one man dribbling expedition that if he had score surely it would have been goal of the year for the last 3 years+

Bobby – I didn’t see the Arsenal game. I was laughing at Gallas – why would I be laughing at Gallas?

Hawkman14 - Do you see any current EPL players as top-flight future managers? If so, who?

Bobby – I did an article last season and suggested that Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher might be prime managerial candidates. Given the number of managers who have at one time or another come under the influence of SAF then existing United players would seem to be a potential pool of future recruits. Carragher is supposed to be a real student of the game and given the position that he plays it makes him another player who may choose the dug out after his playing days are over. Look for defenders and hard working midfield players to make the move.

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.