des kelly- going drownits admiral david sullivan and his sinking ship at west ham

... henry is no longer a key player for barcelona, having scored just three goals in 21 games

messi fabregas piqueall forged in barcelonas hothouse of champions

... it is the reason barcelona are the european champions ... 'it's something that only comes from having competed in a barcelona shirt from childhood ... ' 'you feel the colours, the club and its badge,' says pique, who returned to barcelona after a spell with manchester united ... jeff powell: maestro messi is the nearest thing i've seen to maradona diego maradona will always be better than me, says modest lionel messibecks toppled by messi as barcelona star tops earners on £570k a week!arsenal offered balotelli as inter milan eye £36m move for fabregas

yaya backs barca to beat arsenal

... speaking to reporters, he said: "who will be favourites? barcelona, because we are the champions of europe

the worst english champions ever (sort of)?

losing the battles, winning the war "arsenal have been beaten home and away by manchester united and chelsea," notes paul brazier. "has any side become champions of england despite losing all four games against the teams in second and third place?"in short, no. if arsenal win the title, they will be the first side in the 121-year history of the english top flight to win the title despite losing home and away to their closest rivals.

drogba: tough to go out at home

... it'll be the third season in a row this has happened following a red card in the moscow final and further disciplinary action after our final game of the competition against barcelona last year

chelsea target fernando torres as they plan squad rebuild

chelsea are drawing up plans to reshape their squad after being knocked out of the champions league and despite the current squad pleading for one more chance to win europe's top prize.the 1–0 defeat by josé mourinho's internazionale on tuesday exposed weaknesses in carlo ancelotti's squad. the club will aim to retain the spine of the team but a number of fringe players are expected to be moved on in the summer.

craig gardner digs deep to keep birmingham in with a shout for europe

once, birmingham city and aston villa could have joined forces to conquer europe. that was what city officials proposed in 1955, when their club were invited to become the first english participants in european competition, but villa rejected the idea. so birmingham contested the inter-cities fairs cup by themselves, and over the next few seasons enjoyed successful campaigns on the continent – 50 years ago this month they became the first english club to play in a european final, losing in the fairs cup decider to barcelona.

real madrid's gonzalo higuaín hits hat-trick to overwhelm valladolid

... cristiano ronaldo was also on target as they swept past real valladolid 4-1 to stay level on points with barcelona at the top of la liga

wounded real madrid aim for la liga win

... real, stunned by lyon in the champions league last 16 stage, are only ahead of barcelona on goal difference, and pellegrini knows that his expensive collection of stars could end up empty-handed for the second successive season ... "without a doubt barcelona are the favourites for the title and if real want to be champions they have to show it ... "valencia are well-positioned in third which is their realistic goal as they are a substantial 15 points behind barcelona and real ... fixturessaturdaygetafe v real mallorca (1700 gmt), sporting gijon v athletic bilbao (1900 gmt), sevilla v deportivo la coruna (2100 gmt),sunday - all 1600 gmt unless statedvillarreal v xerez, tenerife v espanyol, racing santander v real zaragoza, almeria v malaga, barcelona v valencia (1800 gmt), valladolid v real madrid (2000 gmt)mondayatletico madrid v osasuna (2000 gmt) read all about the world cup 2010 at worldcup

real madrid´s failure leaves pellegrini exposed

... "the league, where real are level on points with barcelona at the summit, is the only hope of silverware for real and even winning that may not save the job of pellegrini, who arrived from villarreal in the summer, with the early kings cup and champions league exits bitter pills to swallow ... real must somehow pick themselves up for the next league game at valladolid on sunday as they bid to wrestle the title from barcelona and avoid a second consecutive season without silverware