STEVEN GERRARD - MY STORY: I had an unofficial role at the club, trying to persuade some great players to join Liverpool. It was the same ritual every summer.

DOMINIC KING: Jose Mourinho and Roberto Martinez were involved in a furious bust-up as the under-pressure Chelsea manager's frustrations boiled over.

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini hopes to have David Silva and Raheem Sterling available against Juventus - but Sergio Aguero is a major doubt for the Champions League clash on Tuesday.

GRAHAM POLL: While Nathan Dyer and Ryan Mason's bravery was rewarded after being battered by opposition goalkeepers, I wonder if their assailants should have been punished.

MARCUS TOWNEND: Michael Owen lost his best racehorse when Brown Panther had to be put down after suffering a fatal injury in Sunday's Irish St Leger at the Curragh.

DOMINIC KING: Branislav Ivanovic carefully considered the question. After five games, three defeats and 12 goals conceded, what is wrong with Chelsea's defence?

Emmanuel Adebayor will decide his future whilst on holiday in France after he finally departed Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. The Togolese hasn't started a senior game for Spurs since January.

Manchester United have been sweeping their team hotel for bugs in a bid to stop Louis van Gaal's team talks being listened in on. Security staff checked over the Lowry Hotel before the 3-1 win over Liverpool.

CHRIS WHEELER: Anthony Martial's goal can't mask United's problems and some of them were evident in a turgid first half against Liverpool.

Liverpool winger Jordon Ibe has decided to shun interest from Nigeria's national team as he is keen on representing England, according to Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh.

CHRIS FOY: Sam Burgess is poised to be named among England's replacements for the World Cup opener against Fiji, as Bath are fending off speculation linking him with a rugby league return.

The tattoo on Anthony Joshua's huge right shoulder says 'Wisdom', but he must wonder how much he can learn when he keeps making his lessons so brief.

JEFF POWELL: The world championship future for George Groves now seems to depend upon his arch London rival James DeGale still wanting to avenge that narrow defeat by him four years ago.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter sold off television rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups to disgraced former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner at a knockdown price, Swiss media claim.

MATT BARLOW: Eight years have passed since Theo Walcott's hat-trick in Zagreb and it remains no clearer if he is a prolific centre forward or a flying winger with a decent goal return.

Newcastle will revive their interest in Charlie Austin after being put off by Queens Park Rangers' £15million asking price. The Magpies have been short of goals after failing to land the striker.

JACK GAUGHAN: Saido Berahino's behaviour on deadline day had Darren Fletcher scratching his head, but the West Brom captain revealed dressing-room ribbing has smoothed the situation over.

SUNDERLAND 0-1 SPURS - MATT LAWTON: With the standard of debuts already rather high over the weekend, a sense of excitement accompanied the appearance of some fresh new faces.

LAURIE WHITWELL AT THE KING POWER STADIUM: Tim Sherwood claimed last-minute defeat at Leicester plunged him to depths never before experienced in his career.

CRAIG HOPE AT THE STADIUM OF LIGHT: Spurs could lose Heung-Min Son to national service in the coming years and his debut was more foot soldier than penalty-box sniper.

RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Troy Deeney has so far failed to do this season what he does best and has taken a vow of silence until he finally breaks his duck but Quique Sanchez Flores is not worried.

SAM CUNNINGHAM: Matt Jarvis is hoping to use his loan move to Norwich to propel himself back into the England reckoning. The winger scored on his debut in a convincing win over Bournemouth.

West Ham are less than a year away from moving to the 54,000-seat Olympic Stadium, but Michail Antonio can still remember playing in front of 25 fans. And even they had left by the end.

Kevin Nolan says he was 'very miserable' in his final days at West Ham as the free agent considers his next move after quitting Upton Park last month. Nolan is weighing up his next career move.

RORY KEANE: New Zealand have the sensational Fiji-born winger Waisake Naholo in their squad, while France have their very own Fijian flyer with Noa Nakaitaci.

STEVEN GERRARD - MY STORY: There are moments behind the public face of English football, when players are not always handled in the best way. Stuart Pearce taught me that in 2012.

STEVEN GERRARD - MY STORY: I avoided all the bitching among England players. As captain for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, I couldn't quite believe it when I heard some of the complaints.

STEVEN GERRARD - MY STORY: In Day One of his explosive new book Steven Gerrard reveals the long list of clubs that approached him when it became clear that he was to leave Liverpool.

Former All Blacks star Ali Williams has hit out at England in a bizarre attack before the start of the Rugby World Cup, branding the team a relic of the British Empire.

The 2015 Rugby World Cup will be the most expensive sporting event in history, with the average price of a normal ticket more than £104.

The 2015 Rugby World Cup is on the horizon and to get you in the mood, you can download this brilliant fixture wallchart from this weekend's Mail on Sunday.

This looks the most physically demanding of the four pools, and New Zealand's rivals will hope the toll taken in qualifying catches up with the favourites as the tournament wears on.

Ireland's poor form in the warm-up games is cause for concern, but they should still qualify from a pool containing weak links Canada and Romania. Italy will provide their usual physical test.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers came under attack from two club legends after his side's disastrous defeat to Manchester United.

England's 1966 World Cup-winning goalkeeper Ron Springett has died aged 80, former club Sheffield Wednesday have said. Springett was England No 1 at the 1962 World Cup in Chile.

ROB DRAPER: Manchester United's return to the Champions League this week represents something of a conundrum for Rio Ferdinand.

JAMES RESTALL - ON THE ROAD: If Gillingham are still chasing promotion to the Championship come May, manager Justin Edinburgh will surely point to a week in Le Touquet as the key to their success.

West Brom head coach Tony Pulis has criticised Callum McManaman for diving to try to win a penalty against Southampton during their Premier League match on Saturday.

Rangers haven't been further than the semi-finals of the two main cup competitions since beating Celtic in the 2011 League Cup Final - but Nicky Law thinks that's about to change.

England captain Eoin Morgan retired hurt in the deciding one-day international against Australia after suffering a nasty blow to the helmet.

Britain and Ireland claimed the Walker Cup in record-breaking fashion on Sunday, as the oldest team trophy of all joined the Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup on this side of the Atlantic.

The Norwegian MTN-Qhubeka rider Edvald Boasson Hagen maintained his 13-second lead over Team Sky's Wouter Poels to taste victory.