John Terry could meet Carlos Tevez and his mates down a dark alley; David James could lose all his strength, Samson-like, after an altercation with his barber; Owen Hargreaves could discover a new pair of knees.

But one thing can be certain: would the tournament kick off next week it would do so without two players who, a year ago, seemed nailed-on certainties for inclusion. ...

A year ago Liverpool were facing Real Madrid in the first round knock out stage of the Champions League. Last night they were boring the pants off Channel 5's half dozen regular viewers in a stuttering, nervy, utterly unappealing victory over Unirea Urziceni.

True, the Romanians have to take some responsibility for the lack of entertainment: they parked the bus, the tram, the train and any other public utility vehicle they could lay their hands on in front of goal. ...

Scoring their first goals away against Milan in more than 40 years of trying, Manchester United secured a monumental victory in the San Siro last night. Or was it?

Rather than a stonking, glorious, ruthless exhibition, the consensus in the newspapers and online this morning is that Alex Ferguson's men enjoyed the luck of the - presumably red - devil. And even the most fervent green-and-gold-eyed fan would have to concede they did have a fair share of fortune. ...

And so it happens again. The curse has struck. After Beckham in 2002 and Rooney in 2006, once more one of England's few world class performers has been compromised by injury ahead of the World Cup. That clash with Landon Donovan at Goodison on Wednesday night could have repercussions all the way to Rustenburg. If Ashley Cole is not around when the World Cup gets underway, England will be shorn of their second most potent performer.

It is not easy to make a case to praise Cole. ...

Arsene Wenger has finally admitted it: his Arsenal team do not operate on the same level as Chelsea. He is not talking about tackling, finishing, or even the ability to defend against a breakaway. He is talking finance.

Arsenal, he says, cannot afford the top players in the world because they are unable to offer them the kind of money available at Chelsea, Milan, Madrid or even Manchester. ...

Arsene Wenger doesn't do gracious. Unlike most modern managers, when things don't go according to plan, the Frenchman does not confine himself to railing against referees. There is no conspiracy of silence for Wenger, no honour amongst thieves. He is always happy to lay the blame for dropped points at the tactical shortcomings of his rivals.

He was at it again on Wednesday night. ...

Those involved in the arts might deride it, but football remains the country's most reliable source of drama.  It has more tensions, more confrontations, more personal spats than a month-long festival of Shakespeare. A sport that is, at its basics, all about conflict has within its scope all sorts of intrigue.

It is not simply about team A against team B, it is manager X against manager Y, striker Q against fullback R, old money against new money, chairman Z against the fans. ...

Despite the noise he made, this was not Carlos Tevez's week. That accolade belongs elsewhere.

Sure, if nothing else, the Argentine's latest observation about Gary Neville should have ensured golf ball sales go up in Manchester. That the United stalwart is "a moron and a shoe licker" is perhaps not the most original thing that has been said about him, nor, given the Kop's extensive repertoire of fruity Nev-related insults, the wittiest. ...

I have an unusual and increasingly rare distinction: I have seen Manchester City win a major trophy in the flesh. There can't be many of us left. Certainly there will be no-one under early middle age. After all, as the banner hanging in the Stretford End tauntingly reminds the world, it was 34 years ago that a man in sky blue last lifted any decent silverware.

It was the League Cup final and I went because my schoolmate Roger offered me a spare ticket. ...