The organisers of the 2012 London Olympics face the toughest economic circumstances outside of a state of war to put on the games, an influential member of the International Olympic Committee has said.

Kevan Gosper, an Australian who is the head of the IOC’s press commission, gave the warning to Sebastian Coe, the chairman of the 2012 organising committee, at a question-and-answer function in the capital yesterday.

Gosper, a vice-president of the Sydney Olympics organising committee, said: “I think you and your team face the toughest time – short of wartime – to get the project to 2012.”

Lord Coe responded by saying that the games could help London and Britain cope with a recession.

Coe’s comments echoed those of the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who said earlier this month that the capital was “extremely fortunate” to be hosting the games in the current economic climate.

Coe said last night that Britain ought to be on the “front foot” because the games were a “very good project” to have at the moment.

He said: “More than 3,500 people are on the [games] building site currently, of which 10% had been permanently unemployed. The work safeguards these jobs in an economic downturn.

“Billions of pounds of contracts are available, so this is a very good project to be having at the moment.

“No one would have chosen this [downturn], but the games could account for 6-7% of economic activity in this city over the next five years, not to mention the impact it could have on other parts of the country.

“That’s why we should be on the front foot; in good times or in bad this is a project that really has an extraordinary impact.”

Jacques Rogge, the president of the IOC, said that, although the financial crisis posed a challenge for organisers, he was confident the games would survive the test.

Tessa Jowell, the Olympics minister, raised eyebrows earlier this month when she admitted that the government would probably not have bid for the games if it could have foreseen the recession.

Rogge said that the games had survived global economic slumps in the past and pointed out that London would be less dependent on huge building projects than this year’s Beijing games.

In his speech to the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, he said: “I am conscious that we come out of the enormous success of Beijing into difficult economic times.

“Well, the games have survived difficult times before. They have survived and thrived because of what they mean to people all over the world. The games remind us that the transient difficulties of life can be overcome through hard work and determination.”

International Olympic chiefs are in London this week for four days of talks on the lessons that can be learned from the Beijing games.

Officials from Beijing are sharing their experiences with organisers from London, Vancouver (host of the 2010 winter games), Sochi (the Russian city hosting the winter Olympics in 2014) and the 2016 candidate cities.

Rogge said that the IOC’s decision to slim down the games following the Olympic games study commission report of 2003 would help London to cope with economic difficulties.

The report had made a series of recommendations to limit the size, cost and complexity of future games, he said.

“London has learned from this, and it will build its games around legacy and sustainability.”

He added: “Each games are unique. It is not the amount of money spent that determines how good a games is, it is also the unique and inspiring atmosphere created within the city. I’m sure London will do very well there.”

Rogge used his speech to praise the record-breaking medal haul of the British Olympic team in Beijing and said that the challenge now was to inspire a generation of couch potatoes to take up sport.

guardian.co.uk

The Barnsley striker Iain Hume was last night readmitted to hospital two weeks after fracturing his skull in the derby game against Sheffield United. The 25-year-old Canada international was released from hospital seven days ago and has since been recovering at home, but spent last night at Salford Royal as a precaution after complaining of feeling unwell.

“He went back in last night because he was feeling sick,” a Barnsley spokesman said. “He began feeling unwell after spending time at home and we hope it’s a case of better safe than sorry.” A later statement from the club revealed that Hume had contracted an infection but had been prescribed a course of antibiotics. “He will mostly likely spend tonight in hospital purely as a precaution and should be back home on Wednesday.”

Hume was struck in the head by Sheffield United defender Chris Morgan’s elbow during Barnsley’s 2-1 home defeat to the Blades on November 8. The former Leicester forward, signed by Barnsley for £1.2m in June, suffered internal bleeding and had emergency surgery after his condition deteriorated.

Morgan, who left his hometown club Barnsley for the Blades in July 2003, received a caution from the referee Andy D’Urso following the incident. But Barnsley sought legal advice and have submitted video footage of the incident to the Football Association, which has confirmed it is considering whether to take further action.

guardian.co.uk

Rather than tackling pertinent problems such as video-replays for referees on offside goals, football’s executives think it best to distract us by solving non-issues on the periphery of the sport instead. National B-squads for example. Once a fixture of international football, they’ve fallen largely into disrepair, and for good reason. They are useless.

You can’t really test a player in B-matches because the pressure isn’t on and no one takes them seriously. They will leave national team managers none the wiser about what a player is really made of. It also sends a bad message to the players. A veteran will be made acutely aware of his B-status, also known as a backup, or scrap. A youngster will discover that the national team manager lacks the belief in him to put him into the proper national squad. Furthermore, on the heels of the Court of Arbitration for Sport decision to leave up to clubs’ discretion whether or not they allow their employees into the Olympics, tension between clubs and countries is higher than ever. So what better time then for the Dutch football association to reinvent Holland B and tax the overtaxed players and clubs further?

Wednesday’s regrettable return of the B-side, which had laid peacefully in its grave since a 1989 1-0 loss to France, saw Sweden’s seasoned U-21s run out to a simple 3-0 rout. The pressure wasn’t on, nobody took it seriously and the national team manager is none the wiser.

What was achieved, however, was the further damaging of an already brittle relationship with Holland’s football managers. Feyenoord’s season was dismantled before it had even begun by injury. Yet three of their players were called up for Holland B. Two of them, prodigies Georginio Wijnaldum and Leroy Fer, pulled out with “injuries”. PSV striker Danny Koevermans couldn’t be bothered and claimed not to be “in the right state of mind”. Paul Verhaegh of Vitesse and Gregory van der Wiel of Ajax called in sick too. All but one of the aforementioned managed to play for their clubs on the weekend.

“I think it’s nonsense,” Feyenoord manager Gertjan Verbeek had declared about the new team, reflecting the opinion of most of his peers. “If we don’t have to release our players … we won’t. We’re not cooperating with anything anymore.”

“I think the [FA] is operating wisely, it’s as if I’m still working there,” AZ manager Louis van Gaal kidded (probably). Yet he too confessed that national team duty is taking a heavy toll on his squad.

Big Holland beat Big Sweden 3-1. No one cared about that either. Except that the feuding Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder appeared to have made up. How their reconciliation happened is unknown.

FC Twente, who supplied the most B players, were the best they’ve been in light years on Saturday when they blew Heerenveen’s defence to pieces. When good teams are tormented by poor form for a few consecutive games they tend to break out in a big way. Heerenveen, otherwise a paradigm of solidity, looked pathetic as a blitzkrieg of shrewd through-balls from Steve McClaren’s team led them to a 6-0 score. “Together with the suddenly prolific again Blaise N’Kufo (three goals) Kenneth Perez slaughtered the shockingly weak Friezen who were lucky to get away with this slanderous result,” Rob Hartog wrote in Algemeen Dagblad. “Twente should have at least reached double digits.”

Watching AZ and Ajax ply their trade on Sunday it was very easy to confuse which of them was the most decorated Dutch side ever and which a traditional mid-table team. AZ charged through the thick snowflakes while Ajax laboured, in vain, to contain them. AZ outran Ajax and won 2-0. AZ manager Louis van Gaal, mastermind of Ajax’s 90s triumphs, easily outmanoeuvred Ajax counterpart Marco van Basten, mastermind of Ajax’s 80s triumphs. Van Basten isn’t a proper manager yet: his achievements come off the back of the strength of his squads. Not the other way round, as it ought to be. Evidence of his ability is currently inconclusive. “I don’t think we’ve ever played so dominantly against Ajax and won so sovereignly,” van Gaal said. “I’m very proud.”

“AZ, a team without weaknesses, attacked like a convoy with a compass,” Willem Vissers said in De Volkskrant. “Whereas Ajax needs to plug its squad with players that have already been written off, vagabonds who almost feel lost.” In a Tilburg winter wonderland, Willem II’s Frank Demouge, a Dirk Kuyt-esque striker (except with scoring prowess) scored twice against a surprisingly lacklustre FC Groningen – playing with a battery of Swedes who one might assume understand snow. After the 3-0 romp, Willem II showed their appreciation by pelting their trusted fans, who could have been sitting at home, sipping from a hot cup of Cadbury’s, with snowballs. “I wonder why in god’s name we came all this way out here,” Groningen manager Ron Jans said, referring to the 157 miles they’d travelled – which in tiny Holland is really, really far. “We dealt with [the snow] better than they did,” elucidated Demouge, whose blond locks were brought out by the redness of his nose, swollen lips and generous helping of spots.

Feyenoord’s Kevin Hofland, their other Holland B-ite, came up with the lamest excuse since somebody mentioned a hungry pet and his maths homework. He blamed his twisted ankle on a dog-walking accident. His feeble replacement Timothy Derijck didn’t prevent Feyenoord from winning 3-1 against ADO Den Haag though.

And PSV capped a tumultuous week with an emphatic but mandatory 4-0 win over Heracles. It’s best never to count PSV out. No matter how tempting it is.

Twelve rounds in the books now, most of them belonging to AZ.

Results

AZ 2-0 Ajax; Willem II 3-0 FC Groningen; Feyenoord 3-1 ADO Den Haag; FC Utrecht 4-0 Vitesse; NAC 1-1 NEC; FC Twente 6-0 Heerenveen; PSV 4-0 Heracles; De Graafschap 3-3 Sparta; FC Volendam 3-1 Roda JC

guardian.co.uk

What wasn’t to like about the weekend? Australia’s rugby league players were thrashed by the Kiwis in the World Cup final, temperatures across the country soared to a balmy –37C and Oasis finally broke America by standing behind Ricky Hatton after he won in Las Vegas on Sunday morning.

Despite all that, cheer was in short supply at what should have been a zinger of a match at Glanford Park, where Leicester City and Scunthorpe United battled for bragging rights at the top of League One. Leicester won 2-1, but their manager, Nigel Pearson, didn’t sound too happy. “It was an important win for us but it is just a win and I don’t want to talk it up any more than that.” Pearson may well be justified in his caution: his team were booed off the pitch a few weeks ago, after all.

His opposite number Nigel Adkins, meanwhile, was the target of ire on phone-ins after the game, with some fans calling for his head. Some of the hostility may be down to rumours linking him to the Huddersfield Town job, but it’s still a bemusing state of affairs for a man who has led the Iron to one of the best periods in their history.

• Malky Mackay must have thought he’d done enough to secure the manager’s post at Watford after Aidy Boothroyd’s departure. His team played some pretty football as they saw off QPR 3-0, and he seemed to have the backing of the majority of fans and players. The board have instead decided to go with Chelsea’s former reserve-team coach, Brendan Rodgers. Let us know below whether you think Mackay was hard done by or if the appointment of Rodgers, who at 35 is one of the best young coaches in Britain, is a canny move for the future.

• When the end finally came for Alan Pardew at Charlton Athletic it was a brutal one. His side were sliced, diced and then sliced a little bit more by Sheffield United, as the Blades ran out 5-2 winners (it would have been 6-2 if Greg Halford had scored one of the goals of the season with a 40-yard lob that hit the bar). Many Charlton fans want to fall back into the comforting arms of the former boss Llewellyn “Alan” Curbishley but he confirmed yesterday he’s got bigger fish to fry. “I am sure I will be linked with the job but we will have to wait and see what happens,” Curbishley said this weekend. “If I did look to come back, I think it would be in the Premier League.”

• It’s a little-known fact that 71% of managers in the Championship have banned their players from going to the library, such is their fear of, sorry, Reading and I thought Southampton’s team of defending-lite youngsters would be mauled by the Royals on Saturday. I was wrong. Saints danced their way past Reading as they won 2-1, with Adam Lallana, Jack Cork and Morgan Schneiderlin all excellent.

The result lifts Southampton three points clear of relegation, an achievement tempered by the fact that they’ve often followed the sublime with the ridiculous this season. Bigger clubs have also started sniffing around Saints’ more talented players, with Chelsea and Arsenal said to be interested in Schneiderlin.

• Reading’s defeat means that they are now four points off Birmingham City – 3-2 winners at Swansea on Friday night - in the second automatic promotion spot and 10 points off Wolves at the top. Blues, who continue to stutter to victory, are a far more realistic target to hunt down than Wolves. Mick McCarthy’s men beat Blackpool 2-0 on Saturday and have a terrifying momentum behind them.

• Down at the less salubrious end of the table, Doncaster drew 0-0 with Burnley. It’s a recovery-of-sorts – they now have five points from four games – but it’s a very dull one, with the team scoring only one goal during that period. Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, are bottom after they managed to lose to Norwich City, who played with 10-men for 70 minutes. In Forest’s defence, they came across a keeper in fine form in David Marshall and the Chris Cohen own-goal that lost the game was unlucky.

• Quote of the week: “I didn’t think I’d be able to do that again.” Dario Gradi feels every one of his 67 years after the long climb to the press box at Crewe Alexandra. Gradi has taken over as caretaker manager with his team eight points from safety in League One after Saturday’s defeat to Stockport County.

• The Premier League might have the Big Four but League One hasthe Sexy Six – if Peterborough can ever be considered sexy – with only three points separating the top half-dozen teams. Perhaps the most impressive of them at the weekend was Leeds, who beat Hartlepool 4-1. “It could have been 10-4, there were so many chances,” said the Leeds manager, Gary McAllister, modestly. Jermaine Beckford scored twice and with 18 goals this season is surely one of the best players outside the Premier League.

• When Dagenham & Redbridge bother to rouse themselves, they’re an unstoppable force in League Two. They beat Notts County 6-1 at the weekend, to go alongside a 6-0, a 4-0 and a smattering of 3-0 and 3-1 victories this season. The problem is a maddening inconsistency – they’re yet to win more than two in a row this season – but if they could solve that they’d be far higher than their current ninth place.

• They could learn a thing or seven from Wycombe, who are the only unbeaten side in England’s top four divisions. They beat Port Vale at the weekend and are now two points clear at the top with a game in hand. That’s no mean feat in a terribly tight League Two, where just three points separate third and 10th.

guardian.co.uk

Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang bounced back from a final-hole blunder to edge a thrilling play-off and win the Hong Kong Open — his first victory on the European Tour. The Asian Tour regular missed a birdie putt from six feet on the 72nd hole of regulation play and was forced into a three-way play-off with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Francesco Molinari of Italy, who all finished 15 under par.

Molinari could only par the first play-off hole on the par-four 18th while Lin and McIlroy both birdied, forcing them into another face-off. McIlroy, 19, then sent his tee shot into a crowd of spectators to the left of the fairway but recovered to send his approach shot on to the edge of the green. Lin, meanwhile, hit the fairway from the tee before hitting a superb second shot to within a foot of the pin. After McIlroy missed his birdie putt, the 34-year-old applied the easy finish to become the first Asian in a decade to win the tournament.

“To hit two tees in a play-off, you can’t beat that,” said McIlroy, who failed to make the cut in Hong Kong last year at the start of his first full season on the European Tour. “It was not meant to be but it still has been a great week for me. I couldn’t have done much more.”

The Englishman Oliver Wilson, who had led the field for much of the tournament, could only manage a final-round 71 to finish in the pack three shots behind Lin, while Wilson’s countryman and namesake Oliver Fisher saw his chances evaporate during a third-round 73. His final-round 64 was in vain.

Jason Hak, the 14-year-old who became the youngest player to make the cut on a European Tour event, finished with his best round of the tournament, a three-under-par 68, to finish with a four-round total of 281, 16 shots behind the leaders.

guardian.co.uk

Ricky Hatton was rightly pleased with an improved performance in beating Paulie Malignaggi and restoring much of his reputation.

But it’s way too early to get carried away. Victory at the MGM Grand Arena this morning over an opponent whose tricks evaporated under sustained pressure keeps Hatton in line for a huge payday in the UK next summer, against the winner of the Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao fight in the same ring on 6 December.

And there was much to admire about his better head movement and his patience. He still gets caught too easily when coming in, especially early in a contest when the adrenalin is pumping. Once he had settled down though, behind a jab that he has ignored for far too long, he was able to set his man up for some heavy hooks to head and body.

He took Malignaggi’s boxing away from him. After a few anxious moments in the early rounds, Hatton was confident of blasting his way past what has to be one of the weakest jabs in the light-welterweight division.

When the end came, 28 seconds into the 11th round, there was a sense of relief around the Arena, although Malignaggi was hardly out on his feet. His trainer, Buddy McGirt, said he threw the towel in because his fighter was losing and did not have a punch with which to pull it out of the fire.

He was right. But Malignaggi, a proud man, looked willing and capable of taking it a bit further.

Hatton’s long camp with Floyd Mayweather Snr has obviously improved his sharpness and technique. He sat down on his punches and, after missing early, did not panic.

Can he beat De La Hoya or Pacquiao? I don’t know. Neither does he. But he has put himself into that frame with a much better chance than he might have had a year ago.

Billy Graham, the trainer from whom he parted after his last fight, a poor points win over Juan Lazcano six months ago, was in Las Vegas but not at the fight. That was puzzling and sad at the same time, as he will have wanted his friend to do well - and yet not want to be seen as the trainer who oversaw the deterioration of his boxing.

guardian.co.uk

3pm: Peeps ring out across the country and We. Are. Go.

2.50pm: It’s a shambles. Again. We just had a power failure here on two computers and a telly, which means Paolo Bandini is having to muddle through a rugby minute-by-minute without television pictures OR any idea about rugby.

2.45pm: Oh, and in Scotland, Celtic left it late before trouncing St Mirren. It was 0-0 with a hour gone, but Samaras, Nakamura and Sheridan piled in for Celtic before a late consolation from Hamilton. Where am I getting this from? Why, our brilliant live scoreboard of course.

2.40pm:Plymouth beat Cardiff in the lunchtime Championship match. Final score 2-1, with both Argyle goals coming within 60 seconds of each other in the second half.

2.40pm: Liverpool v Fulham
Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Aurelio, Kuyt, Leiva Lucas, Mascherano, Riera, Keane, Torres. Subs: Cavalieri, Dossena, Hyypia, Alonso, Benayoun, Babel, El Zhar.
Fulham: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Dempsey, Bullard, Murphy, Davies, Johnson, Zamora. Subs: Zuberbuhler, Nevland, Gera, Gray, Stoor, Kallio, Baird.
Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire)

Stelling Countdown reference count: 1 (something about dictionary corner).

2.35pm: Chelsea v Newcastle
Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Ashley Cole, Mikel, Joe Cole, Deco, Lampard, Malouda, Anelka. Subs: Cudicini, Ballack, Sinclair, Bridge, Ferreira, Kalou, Mineiro.
Newcastle: Given, Beye, Coloccini, Bassong, Jose Enrique, Gutierrez, Guthrie, Butt, Duff, Martins, Owen. Subs: Harper, Cacapa, N’Zogbia, Ameobi, Edgar, LuaLua, Carroll.
Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)

I don’t know anything about Ivanovic, who is starting for Chelsea. And it seems Little Micky Owen is back for Newcastle. You can’t fancy the visitors’ chances much though, and Newcastle could be back in the bottom three if West Brom beat Stoke. (And could even be bottom by tomorrow night if Spurs and Blackburn drew tomorrow.)

2.30pm: “Re: my kids gambling - it’s too late,” confesses Gary Naylor. “You never want them to have position on you playing Texas Hold’em. They are ultra-aggressive and do not believe in limping in under any circumstances and then bet big on the flop. I have thrown away top pair against a straight/flush draw more times than I care to remember.” My dad sometimes got me to answer the front door to the pools man, but that was about it. Anyone else’s kids into gambling?

2.30pm: Stoke v West Brom
Stoke: Sorensen, Griffin, Abdoulaye Faye, Shawcross, Higginbotham, Soares, Amdy Faye, Diao, Delap, Kitson, Sidibe. Subs: Simonsen, Olofinjana, Cort, Whelan, Cresswell, Tonge, Wilkinson.

West Brom: Carson, Zuiverloon, Meite, Olsson, Robinson, Greening, Borja Valero, Kim, Brunt, Koren, Miller. Subs: Kiely, Cech, Barnett, Bednar, Moore, Filipe Teixeira, Donk.

Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)

2.30pm: Middlesbrough v Bolton
Middlesbrough: Turnbull, Hoyte, Wheater, Pogatetz, Taylor, Aliadiere, O’Neil, Digard, Downing, Alves, Sanli. Subs: Jones, Emnes, Arca, Adam Johnson, Hines, Grounds, Walker.

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Andrew O’Brien, Samuel, Taylor, McCann, Muamba, Nolan, Elmander, Davies. Subs: Al Habsi, Smolarek, Gardner, Riga, Shittu, Basham, Obadeyi.

Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)

2.25pm: Portsmouth v Hull
Portsmouth: James, Johnson, Kaboul, Distin, Pamarot, Diop,
Davis, Hughes, Belhadj, Crouch, Utaka. Subs: Ashdown, Hreidarsson, Nugent, Mvuemba, Little, Kanu, Armand Traore.
Hull: Myhill, McShane, Turner, Zayatte, Ricketts, Marney, Ashbee, Boateng, Geovanni, King, Cousin. Subs: Duke, Doyle, Barmby, Windass, Garcia, Halmosi, Giannakopoulos.
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)

Yep, that’s Stuart “phantom goal” Attwell.

2.20pm: The line-ups are trickling onto the wires.
Man City v Arsenal: Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Richards, Dunne, Garrido, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Kompany, Vassell, Robinho, Mwaruwari. Subs: Schmeichel, Onuoha, Elano, Hamann, Evans, Ben-Haim, Sturridge.
Arsenal: Almunia, Hoyte, Djourou, Silvestre, Clichy, Nasri, Denilson, Song Billong, Diaby, Van Persie, Bendtner. Subs:
Fabianski, Vela, Ramsey, Wilshere, Gibbs, Lansbury, Simpson.
Referee: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire)

Almunia has got the captain’s armband for Arsenal, although it would surely be Fabregas if he was fit. Aaron Ramsey isn’t starting for Arsenal, but for Manchester City, Joe Hart is. We all thought he was properly knacked, but clearly not.

2.15pm: Chris Kamara has taken his Alan Johnson out of Peep Show moustache to Fratton Park for Portsmouth v Hull. Matthew Le Tissier is in the studio, alongside Paul Merson and Charlie Nicholas, and Countdown’s Jeff Stelling. Rachel Riley is at Kingfield for Woking v Torquay.

And now Gary Naylor on the monarchy: “Such was the extent of the coverage afforded to William Gallas’ relinquishing of the armband that a change in monarch will be hard to top it. Since when did captaincy of a football club count for much? Who is captain of say Stoke or Middlesbrough? Remind me again - where do most of the media live? Oh yes - North London.”

2.10pm: Gary Naylor knows how to spend a Saturday afternoon: “I like the look of the seven home teams today so much that I have invested a credit crunch breaking £4.95 in an accumulator to that end,” he boasts. “Seeing as both my 11-year-old and 8-year-old sons are well ahead of me in the guardian.co.uk’s exciting “Pick the Score” table, I suspect the pre-budget speech on Monday will go ahead unamended.”

Interestingly enough, we were just having a discussion here about the only bloke I have ever seen drinking Special Brew in a pub. He used to take his six-year-old daughter with him, hold her hand with one of his and the tin in another, and also play the fruit machine. I’m not saying that there’s any similarity between Gary Naylor’s approach to getting his kids involved in gambling and credit-crunch busting is similar to this other guy’s, but, oh, I am saying that.

Afternoon all. I think this is the most absurd of all minute-by-minute articles we do here*. Cynics have previously described the Sky Super Saturday (sponsored by razors and shaving cream) experience as an afternoon of watching men watching football on TV. And yet if you’re reading this, you’re essentially reading the writings of a man who is watching men watch football on TV. I’m not judging, I’m just making sure you know.

Anyway, it could be a thrilling afternoon of writing about watching men watching football on TV as we’ve actually got six Premier League ties to discuss, all kicking off at 3pm, as well as full programs across the other divisions and up there in Scotland. All this is as an appetiser to Rob Smyth on Aston Villa v Manchester United, which kicks off at 5.30pm.

The pick of this afternoon’s matches is probably north London’s second-most self-destructive Premier League outfit Arsenal travelling to the soft-touch billionaires at Middle Eastlands. The Gunners in the office have been wallowing in self-pity today while looking at a predicted Arsenal line-up featuring no Fabregas, no Walcott, no Sagna and no Eboue, before you even consider what no Gallas is going to do. Or not do. Manuel Almunia is going to take the arm-band which, as my colleague Paulo Bandini pointed out today, actually looks more like a chocolate bar in the picture accompanying Kevin McCarra’s blog on the subject today.

But are the Gooners worrying about nothing? It’s not like City have been pulling up any trees recently, and Spurs even managed to go up there and pick up three points. And it’s not as if Arsenal are still in the title race anyway.

We’ll have team news from that and all the other games when we know it. You can always email. Please.

*OK, some of the entertainment desk’s efforts are kind of absurd too.

Clockwatch will start at around 2pm, featuring these matches. And others.

Middlesbrough v Bolton Wanderers
Chelsea v Newcastle United
Manchester City v Arsenal
Stoke City v West Brom
Portsmouth v Hull City
Liverpool v Fulham
Aston Villa v Manchester United

While you drum your fingers, why not read about the greatest upset in sporting history (that no one knows or really cares about). Or how about William Gallas’s transformation into Zach de la Rocha as the former Arsenal captain raged against the Arsenal machine. Or there’s Russell Brand on Germany v England, or Scott Murray’s Joy of Six on great footballing injustices

guardian.co.uk

Some links

• Some footage the two Serbian wunderfoetii apparently set to join Manchester United

• Highlights of a classic encounter between these sides in 1994, infused with genuine poignancy by the identity of Manchester United’s keeper.

• Scott Murray and Rowan Walker’s

guardian.co.uk

Thanks for all your submissions for the third round of Big Blogger 2008. We had nearly 100 entries this week, but - surprisingly - the standard was the lowest so far. We were hoping for ballsy comment, originality and flair; we largely ended up with one-paced match reports that rarely deviated from the obvious. The difficult question is why: the standard of most blog responses to normal articles is usually decent, after all.
It wasn’t your finest hour, but the top three all deserve a crack at reaching the final; now all you have to do is pick your favourite blogger, who will go into the final and have the chance of winning a paid commission on guardian.co.uk/sport. You can vote by using our poll; we’ll announce the winner on Monday afternoon. By the way, next week’s topic is up to you - 700 words on a subject, person or issue of your choice.

Blogger A

As Munster squared up to the All Blacks in Limerick on Tuesday night, the sense of occasion was great. The official opening of the new Thomand Park, it had been 30 years and 18 days since the mighty Munster men had famously beaten their All Black opponents. As so often with Munster rugby, history and emotion threatened to overshadow proceedings.

The build up was dominated by grainy pictures of that famous day, a blotch on an otherwise perfect tour at a time when the All Blacks reputation justifiably preceded them. This was a tour in the true sense of the word, when you knew you wouldn’t be seeing your opponents again for years, if ever, in a short sporting career. Far from the overexposed and somewhat questionable ritual that the Haka has become, back then it served its purpose as an exotic war cry to strike fear into the hearts of opponents. The game had yet to be globalised, never mind becoming professional, and the thought that Munster would have their own Haka performed by their expensively assembled quartet of Kiwis hardly seemed possible on a day when Munster’s try scorer was uncapped student Christy Cantillon.

Such is the significance of that day in Munster rugby that they haven’t stopped talking about it since. Come 7.30 on Tuesday night there was one question on everyone’s mind: they couldn’t do it again, could they?

The answer was ‘very nearly’, but it soon became clear that, even if Munster had won, this night was unlikely to inspire a best-selling book or successful stage play like the events of 30 years previously. What’s more, something was telling me that a victory here would diminish the meaning of 1978. This came from the gut rather than the head and brought with it all the warning signs that such a feeling should bring. Surely I wanted Munster to win here, right? I wasn’t even born at the time, yet beating the All Blacks seems a significant event in my life. Was I over sentimentalising something I hadn’t even experienced first hand?

I’d like to think that I can justify my sacrilege here with sporting logic, primarily the belief that great sporting occasions require a heady cocktail of timing and significance, with both sides at the peak of their powers. As both teams fielded weakened line-ups after the weekend international it made it difficult to make an argument for the encounter as anything more than a spectacle, a tribute to the original rather than the chance to add another chapter. In many ways a near miss here was the best possible outcome. The what ifs can and will be talked about ad nauseum in the pubs of Limerick without having to get into the sticky issue of where a victory here stands in relation to the original and what it means for it. Bittersweet it may be but Munster fans can still proudly say that “Alone it Stands”.

Blogger B

It might not surprise some of the more cynical Liverpool fans to discover that Andrea Dossena’s birthday is September 11th. The second Italian to play for Liverpool turned 20 years old on that infamous day in 2001, the very same day, coincidentally, when the club that he joined in July made their Champions League debut. Liverpool paid Udinese around £7m for the left-back with five Italian caps and a girl’s name, but, so far, he has failed to impress not only the Anfield faithful but also, apparently, himself, despite a promising start in pre-season.

Dossena’s over-riding dilemma, aside from an apparent lack of confidence, stamina, positional awareness, and the ability to cross a ball without conceding a goal kick, would seem to be that although several Italian players have successfully established themselves in English football, none of them, apart from Alessandro Pistone, have been defenders. (Although, to be pedantic, some Everton fans of my acquaintance are probably questioning their right to contest the complete veracity of that last statement.)

Contrary to a popular misconception, the former QPR, Arsenal and Orient centre-half, Terry Mancini, was neither Italian nor even related to either Inter’s former manager, Roberto, or, indeed, to the co-composer of Moon River, Henry. All of which, it must be said, is talking loud and saying nothing in the birthplace of football on behalf of the masters of catenaccio.

Gianfranco Zola, Paolo Di Canio, Roberto Di Matteo, Gianluca Vialli, and Attilio Lombardo, to name but five, have all enjoyed success in England in the past; particularly the gifted little genius, Fonz look-a-like and current West Ham manager, Zola. The aforementioned Roberto Mancini’s vaguely surreal four-game spell with Leicester City in 2001 turned out to be the last four games that he ever played before he became an extremely successful, but clearly not successful enough, manager in Serie A.

The best-known Italian defender to flop in England to date was Marco Materazzi. He arrived on Merseyside unknown ten years ago, but somehow the Cavaliere Ufficiale managed to get himself sent off an incredible four times during his sum total of 27 appearances for Everton. Disillusioned and unwanted, he returned, anonymity relatively intact, to Italy, where he embarked upon a series of excellent adventures which brought him both international fame and notoriety: getting Le Butt-ed, winning the World Cup, playing for Roberto Mancini’s triple-scudetti-winning Inter side and acquiring a sobriquet inspired by an entirely different Keanu Reeves film altogether. Yet, upon his competitive return to Merseyside earlier this year, he quickly found himself on familiar territory.

If Andrea Dossena is to succeed in Europe’s present Capital of Culture then he must help to push the envelope for Italian defenders. Similarly, if Liverpool FC and their fans wish to capitalise upon a long established culture of defensive excellence, they must give Dossena time to find his feet in a foreign country before he will be able use either of them, particularly his left one, to everyone’s mutual benefit.

Blogger C

It was Aristotle who said that there was ‘no great genius without some tincture of madness’. Unlike Socrates, he never played against Diego Armando Maradona, but his words fit the little maestro as snugly as any of the figure-hugging tops he’s worn in his later years. A Machiavellian mischief maker with a weakness for drugs, guns and prostitutes on one hand, a footballer of incomparable artistry on the other, Maradona’s life has had more twists and turns than any of his famously corkscrewing dribbles. From almost signing for Sheffield United via an almost fatal cocaine addiction and life as a Mafia consort, the madness has often overshadowed the incredible natural ability that has made him a god in his home country.

The circus comes to Scotland on Wednesday night for El Diego’s first match in charge of the Argentinian national team. A fitting venue for him to take his bow, as it was at Hampden in 1979 that the magical kid with the balance of a prima ballerina and strength of a bull announced his arrival on the world stage, scoring his debut International goal and generally running a Scotland team, including the current manager George Burley, ragged.

It’s difficult to think of another venue where he would be more assured of a hero’s welcome, Terry Butcher aside. His two goals in Mexico City against England were not only the purest example of the dichotomy of his character but have elevated him to a status in Scotland on a par with William Wallace, Oor Wullie and the inventor of the deep-fat fryer. They were the two goals every Scots schoolboy had always dreamt of scoring. The second the most perfect display of ball control and dribbling to ever grace the World Cup, the first the cravenly plunged dagger through the hearts of the English, its only slight imperfection from a Caledonian point of view being that he wasn’t offside when he handled it.

Diego being who he is, his coaching duties have not even begun before there is anarchy on the agenda. Already he has threatened to walk out of the job after a clash over his choice of assistant and it would be a brave person indeed who would bet on him lasting any length of time as coach. His appalling track record in coaching so far should have automatically ruled him out of the chance to tahe charge of arguably the most gifted collection of players in the world. To write him off, though, would be premature, if only because of the unique love that the Argentine players have for this smallest of footballing giants.

He’s disappointed us all before of course, but a team who play in his image, share his love for the game, thrill us in the manner in which only he could is one that those with football in their soul have been waiting for. A generation of new Maradonas, playing for the approval of the footballing legend they love, is an intoxicating prospect.

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guardian.co.uk

Australia led by 189 runs at the end of the second day of the first Test against New Zealand at the Gabba, but again struggled with the bat on a day when 16 wickets fell. The hosts were reduced to 131 for six at stumps having dismissed New Zealand for 156, and the tourists maintain a foothold in the opening match of the two-Test series.

The Australian bowler Mitchell Johnson took four for 30 to help skittle New Zealand early on but the tourists’ bowlers also dominated, cheaply removing Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey before Simon Katich (67 not out) notched a gutsy half-century to partly repair the damage. Chris Martin (three for 52) was the pick of the Kiwi bowlers, grabbing the late wickets of Andrew Symonds (20) and Shane Watson (five) to ensure that New Zealand finished the day on a high.

Australia started their second innings in woeful fashion when Hayden fell for a golden duck, edging a short, swinging ball from Martin to the wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum. Ponting (17) showed glimpses of his best but after surviving an lbw shout from Tim Southee, the skipper mistimed a pull shot straight down the throat of Aaron Redmond, earning Iain O’Brien his first wicket.

O’Brien had Hussey back in the stands for a duck four balls later, when the umpire Rudi Koertzen adjudged that the batsman had edged behind even though television replays indicated the ball missed the bat by some margin and instead shaved Hussey’s pads. Michael Clarke’s time at the crease was cut short by a direct hit from Redmond at square leg that found him short of his ground.

Symonds initially steadied the ship in a determined 56-run partnership with Katich, before an ill-fated hook shot to a shorter ball gave the visitors a late boost before the end of play.

New Zealand were equally inept with the bat, lasting only 50 overs, with Jesse Ryder (30), Ross Taylor (40) and Daniel Flynn (39 not out) the only batsmen to show any of the stubborn resistance required against an accurate Australian pace-attack. Johnson cleaned up the visitors’ bottom order and was on a hat-trick at one stage, with No11 Martin on strike.

Martin, who has a Test match average of 2.38 and 23 ducks to his name, managed to deny Johnson the personal honour, but the 28-year-old was still the pick of the Australian bowlers. Brett Lee (2-38), Stuart Clark (2-46) and Shane Watson (2-35) all provided able support.

New Zealand started this morning on seven without loss but got off to the worst start possible when Redmond was dismissed by Clark with the first ball of the day. Clark made a moving delivery jump at Redmond and the New Zealand opener failed to deal with it, awkwardly edging to Ponting who completed a diving catch at second slip.

Ryder slammed five boundaries in his knock but came unstuck when he attempted a loose cut shot off Watson, edging behind to Brad Haddin. Australian then struck an important blow in the next over when Johnson brought about the end of Brendon McCullum (eight), who gave Ponting his second catch, this time of Johnson.

Taylor assumed the mantle of aggressor from Ryder and stroked seven boundaries in his knock of 40 from 51 balls. Lee made the vital breakthrough in the first over after lunch, trapping Taylor lbw with a ball that kept low. Lee failed in his bid for an elusive 300th Test wicket as Flynn denied the Australian attack in his four-hour long stay at the crease, even as the wickets continued to tumble around him.

The captain Daniel Vettori (two) went limply when he popped a short ball from Johnson straight to Symonds at point. Southee (0) and O’Brien (one) also fell cheaply to Johnson before Clark wrapped up the New Zealand innings when he yorked Martin (one).

There has been some criticism of the pitch, with storms and rainfall hampering the Gabba curator Kevin Mitchell’s pre-match preparations, but Johnson said that the low scores were more a consequence of iffy batting and excellent bowling than a dodgy track.

“Some of the guys commented on the wicket on day one and said it was definitely better than a Sheffield Shield wicket,” he said. “I just think there’s been some good bowling and some bad shots; it’s been Test cricket. I think they bowled pretty well today and we bowled pretty well also. There is enough for the bowlers if they get it in the right spots.”

Johnson was unsure what to make of a “busy” day, but felt the advantage was well and truly with the Australians. “I think we’re ahead, so we’re in a good position,” he said. “Obviously we’d want to get somewhere around 250, or even more.

We stuck together as a bowling unit and we’re sticking together as a batting team. We still have a lot of batting to go in our order.”

Predictably, the New Zealand camp had a different view, with Flynn saying they had put themselves in a “great position” to gain an extraordinary victory. “We were disappointed with the way that we performed with the bat,” Flynn said, “but I thought the way the guys came out and turned it around with the ball shows this team has got something about us and we’re obviously very happy.

“We haven’t really set any targets as of yet. There’s a lot of time left in the game, the priority is to take those four wickets and then see where we’re at from there. We know they’re a quality side. They’re not going to give their wickets to us.”

guardian.co.uk