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Education needs a new gaffer ??? call Lord Fergie | Harry Pearson

Society is increasingly footballised and a Sir Alex Ferguson in government could really get Britain moving up the league tableBack in 1977 when Manchester United sacked Tommy Docherty for having an affair with the wife of the club physiotherapist, Clive James commented, "They say Docherty is not...

Young checks in and aims to help United win 20th title

??? Forward signs five-year contract after ??15m transfer??? Young's signing raises questions over Nani's United futureAshley Young immediately set his sights on helping Manchester United to a record 20th league title after becoming Sir Alex Ferguson's second major recruit of the summer, joining...

Daniel Taylor on Man Utd's latest deal

Midfielder must prove to Sir Alex Ferguson he can outperform Nani, Giggs and Park on the flanks at Manchester UnitedGary Neville tells a story about the time Manchester United signed Jesper Blomqvist in 1998 and the senior players saw it as an opportunity to wind up Ryan Giggs, telling him the...

Rampant Chelsea a long way off satisfying financial fair play agenda | Owen Gibson

A new manager and talk of players being bought for huge fees does not suggest a tightening of purse strings in west LondonWhen Michel Platini unveiled his financial fair play agenda he held up the Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, as its unlikely standard bearer. The Uefa president claimed club...

Football quiz: Transfers

Today's questions have made more dodgy moves than John Travolta

United complete Young signing but miss out on Varane to Real

Manchester United have lost out on signing the French prodigy Raphaël Varane, whose club Lens announced yesterday that he will be joining Real Madrid this summer in a deal worth around £10m.

Kelly Smith: 'I would drink every day, on my own, until I passed out'

Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Pele, Zinedine Zidane and Kelly Smith are all marvellous footballers who have brought distinction to the No 10 shirt, but Smith rolls her eyes at the comparison, not because she feels unworthy in such exalted company, for after all she has scored 43 times in 104 games...

Neymar helps Santos to reprise glory days of Pele

Santos hope that Neymar, the Brazilian teenager with the Mohican and the quicksilver feet, will resist the lure of Europe for one more season after the club won the Copa Libertadores – the South America equivalent of the Champions League – for the first time since Pele's heyday in 1963.