England captain David Beckham has stoked the recent speculation surrounding his international pal Michael Owen's future by admitting he would like to see the Liverpool striker join him at Real Madrid next year.
English loner Beckham has said: "It would be nice too have another England player here. He's a great friend and can play anywhere in the world but we'll have to wait and see what happens.
"Obviously it is only speculation at the moment but Michael's a great player. Everyone knows that. I am sure he is happy at Liverpool and it isn't really fair for me to comment on what he will do."
In the Premiership it seems that the ramifications of the recent 'Battle of Old Trafford' just won't go away. The Football Association has asked Sir Alex Ferguson to explain his comments that there had been a deal between the FA and Arsenal for reduced punishment.
The FA says that the comments raised 'issues about integrity' and they have given the United manager until November 11th to reply. The Football Association has also written to Manchester United to ask if the remarks reflected the club's view.
Meanwhile in Scotland, Celtic gave one of their best European performances for many years to beat Anderlecht 3-1 thanks to a stunning first half performance that saw the Scottish outfit 3-1 up inside 29 minutes.
Goals from Henrik Larsson, Liam Miller and Chris Sutton blew away the Belgians and was described by Larsson as 'a brilliant performance'. "I think we were a little disappointed when we played them away from home," added Larsson. "It was just a question of not letting them back in the game. We showed we are a good side."
And youngster Liam Miller showed what a good player he is with his fifth goal of the season and a commanding, all-round performance which had Larsson purring: "Liam had a tremendous game, I can't think of another word to describe him. He can go as far as he wants to in his career."
Manager Martin O'Neill was full of praise for his players, saying: "They knew what they had to do and I thought they did it magnificently. It was really, really exciting. In the second half we knew we couldn't keep that sort of energy level up. We were magnificent, absolutely magnificent."
In the Nationwide First Division, Coventry and Bradford City drew 0-0 at Highfield Road but it was a point that brought some comfort for the under-fire Bradford boss Nicky Law. The Bantams have gone two months without a win but Laws said: "We have taken a step in the right direction.
"We came here and worked extremely hard. The first half was extremely even and I felt we could have gone 1-0 up but it wasn't to be. We have got to be pleased with a point and it is definitely a step in the right direction."
After Kevin Keegan emphatically denied that Robbie Fowler had been fined for celebrating in a London nightclub after the game against QPR the Manchester City manager has demanded professional behaviour from players ahead of the UEFA cup game against Groclin.
Keegan said: "Players have got to be responsible and professional and let their talking be done on the football field. That's what we will do here."
As for last week's night club incident, Keegan insisted: "The players didn't break any club rules by the way,' so there is not really a case to answer. You have got to handle it properly. I think we have done that. We have done it internally.
"It is very difficult for professional footballers to go out and even half enjoy themselves. They have got to try and find where the balance is. I am sure what happened last week just underlines that not just for this football club but everyone in country.
"There is a vendetta against professional footballers at the moment. A lot of things are not quite right. I am a football manager and we just get on with playing."
