Ahead of TheGame: Scolari escapes FA action

News in 60 seconds

SCOLARI ESCAPES FA ACTION
The ruling body will not reprimand the Chelsea manager after he accused Mike Dean, the referee, of “killing” Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and hinted at a conspiracy to keep Arsenal in the title race. "We have studied the remarks and will not be taking any further action," an FA statement read. 

ADEBAYOR: WE CAN WIN TITLE
The Arsenal forward insisted that yesterday's victory over Chelsea showed that Arsene Wenger's side are good enough to win the Premier League. "This is a message that we have sent out," Adebayor said. "We believe in ourselves, we can do something."

VIDEO PREVIEW: KEANE GETS HIS CHANCE
The Liverpool forward will be recalled to the starting XI for the match against West Ham tonight as Fernando Torres is injured. Gianfranco Zola, the West Ham manager, has named a full squad after Scott Parker recovered from an illness that forced him to miss two days' training.

LIVE COMMENTARY: LIVERPOOL V WEST HAM
Follow all the action in tonight's game with our rolling coverage. Our stats and score service will keep you updated on Reading v Coventry. 

DYER TARGETS CHRISTMAS RETURN
The West Ham midfielder will play his first friendly this week since suffering a career-threatening leg-break in August 2007. He hopes to rejoin the first-team squad over the festive period. "Every day I feel sharper and I need to make up for lost time," he said. And 36,000 Hammers' fans agreed.

WATFORD CHAIRMAN RESIGNS
Graham Simpson has quit his post less than a month after the Championship club parted company with Adrian Boothroyd, their manager. Andrew Wilson, a non-executive director, will fill Simpson's role on an interim basis.

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If you've got another couple of minutes

Russell Brand vents spleen at Times Online
Our list of the 50 worst famous football fans has truly irked the controversial comedian. Angered that he ranked a lofty second behind Adolf Hitler in the chart, Brand spent most of his weekly football column in The Guardian attacking the validity of the list and questioning the personal habits of its author, Kaveh Solkehol.

We're not sure what evidence he has to back up the claim that the politics of this parish fall in line with Herr Fuhrer and suspect the criticism that Solhekol is a "solo journalist" says more about the manpower needed to make Brand's column sing than it does about the literary techniques of our writer.

We were also taken aback by the description of The Times as a "sleazy rag" but we were frankly confused by the suggestion that Solhekol combines his writing with a certain solitary sexual activity. Our man isn't that talented.

Shame Brand didn't take the list in the spirit of Tim Lovejoy, the television presenter who ranked 26 and urged viewers of his Sunday morning show to vote in our poll so that he would climb the chart. Click on the first link to read the list and, if you wish, vote for Lovejoy. Click on the second for more on Brand's rant.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article5232268.ece
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2008/12/russell-brand-v.html

Can Scolari cut it against the Big Four?
Here's a statistic that might concern the Chelsea manager. Chelsea have not beaten a rival member of the Big Four on his watch.

As you will see in the table shown via the link below, the London club have drawn one and lost two of their matches against their fellow title contenders this season. By contrast, Arsenal and Liverpool triumphed in both their equivalent games. United have an identical record to Chelsea's but, unlike Scolari, Sir Alex Ferguson is hardly a manager who has yet to prove himself in English club football.

As Martin Samuel wrote, Scolari has yet to enjoy a defining victory, one that confirms he can match the best tacticians in the land and win the games that are the most influential in deciding the champions.

Is it not significant, then, that he has failed his three auditions to date? If continued, could such a record cost Chelsea the title? Let us know your thoughts.

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>>>>>THE TABLOID TALE<<<<<
FA Cup ace nude on TV - The Sun
What you need to know: 1) ITV had to apologise after filming a naked Histon player celebrating their FA Cup win over Leeds. 2) Millions saw the non-League hero in all his glory in the dressing-room after the match. 3) One viewer said it was the ugliest tackle he'd witnessed all afternoon.

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In TheGame

The Martin Samuel Debate: Should Chelsea ditch Drogba?
Scolari's side are missing their best forward but does he deserve the club's loyalty? As our Chief Football Correspondent writes, Drogba's meeting with Inter Milan is not his first display of selfishness. In getting sent off in the final moments of the Champions League final and in throwing a coin into the crowd against Burnley in the FA Cup, he "disregarded his importance to the team and placed his feelings of anger ahead of all".   Should the club, then, get shot of him? 

Are Arsenal back in the title race?
Trailing 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, Wenger's side were facing the prospect of a 13-point gap to the league leaders. Then Robin van Persie scored twice and now they trail by seven. Could they still be the champions?

Did Ronaldo deserve to get sent off?
OK, it resembled a mistimed slam dunk, but did the United winger's bizarre aborted header yesterday warrant a yellow card? 

Phill Jupitus: Keane can stay, but what about the beard?
The comedian and Times columnist finds that Sunderland fans think it's too early to talk about sacking their manager but are less happy with his facial hair. "Yes, it makes him look like an anorexic Brian Blessed," Jupitus writes, "but it’s just a beard." 

Bill Edgar's daily trivia question
Today's teaser: "In which Anglo-Scottish tie in a European club competition did a Scottish member of the English team score in the first minute of the first leg in Scotland, before an English member of the Scottish team scored in the second minute of the second leg in England?" Click on the second link for the answers to Edgar's Friday Quiz.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2008/11/bill-edgars-m-3.html
http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2008/11/bill-edgars-f-2.html

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12
Home points lost by Chelsea this season. Only nine of their league rivals have thrown away more.

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Joe Bloggs' Soapbox

The Scolari backlash starts here, with credit due to Len Calo:
"When are you going to start taking Big Phil to pieces like you did Avram Grant, who, at the same stage of proceedings had a better record with Chelsea? The fans and press ran Grant ragged. Win or lose, he could do nothing right. The time is not far off when the name "Big Phil" will be replaced with "Little Luiz". At least Grant was runner-up in three tournaments."

Danny thinks Chelsea should sell Drobga:
"He's a great player but the sooner he gets out of the EPL the better. His diving antics and injury pretence is nothing short of pathetic. For a big bloke he epitomises the characteristics of a prima donna, behaving like a big girl at the slightest touch. He's one of the game's biggest cheats."

Sophie quotes a sitcom writer:
"The thing about Arsenal is, they always try to walk it in (copyright: Graham Linehan)."

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And expect...

AOTG to keep both hands on the keyboard as it compiles another top teatime email.