Fenerbache 2 Arsenal 5

Fenerbache crumbled in the first half at home against Arsenal with their visitors taking a 3-1 lead. Adebayor opened the goal tally with a cool side footed finish in a one on one situation. Walcott added the second showng great pace and a cool head in finishing. In the second half Arsenal continued fantastic attacking football against the Turkish side and despite a late second goal, Ramsey made it 5 to conclude a great away vitory for the Gunners.

Champions League action with Arsenal and Manchester United

Arsenal will have to face the hositlity of Turkish supporters as they face Fenerbache in Group G of the Champions League. It is expected that they will play a 4-1-4-1 formation with Adebayor as the sole striker. It is expected that The Walcott will play. Manchester United play Celtic in the classic Bristish tie at Old Trafford. Celtic will be looking to repeat their 1-0 victory at Parkhead 1 year ago.

Newcastle get a point against Manchester City

Newcastle Utd 2 Manchester City 2
A 4 goal thriller at St James Park saw Newcastle getting a point against Manchester City. Newcastle had a man sent off for fouling Robinho who showed flashes of brilliance, played with spirit and determination but couldn't keep it tight enough at the back to stay at 2-1. Ireland got the equaliser quite late though (86 minutes) after a superb through ball from Robinho. A fair result and a lifeline for the Geordies.

Milano 3 Sampdoria 0

San Siro - 'The place where dreams come true' - well, this ground did have a lasting impression on me. The Meazza lies in a beautiful suburban area in South Milan and has a carnival like atmosphere with memorabilia stalls everywhere and lovely little bars and restaurants. On Sunday 19th October it was a sunny day and on entering the ground I was in awe of this fortress of football. we were in the upper tier of the North Stand which seemed very very high - the views were amazing as on a clear day you can see the famous Duomo Catherdral from this seat position.

And the football? Sampdoria I thought had the better of the first half and put 2 men on Ronaldinho. In the second half both teams started brightly but it was AC that broke the deadlock with a penalty. The defender who was judged to have handled a drive from Clarence Seedorf was sent off which from a neutral's perspective is always a shame. Ronaldinho drove the pen home into the roof of the net.

After this the home team dominated the game completely with Ronaldinho and Seedorf running the show. It was not long until Ronaldinho netted a second with a flowing football move leaving the Brazillian in a great position and he clinically finished.

Inzaghe finished off a hard afternoon for Sampdoria to make it 3-0.

A memorable day for me - superb stadium and seeing Milan's hero in great form made it all a fantastic experience. Thanks Lucy!!!

18th October 2008 Carling Premiership football review and fixtures

After winning 5 out of the first 7 fixtures, Chelsea are away at the Riverside playing Gareth Southgate's men. Liverpool have also won 5 out of 7 in this Premiership campaign.

Man United won their last 2 matches with Wayne Rooney on fire.

Stoke Spurs 18th October 2008 Carling Premiership football fixtures Middlesbrough v Chelsea Arsenal v Everton Aston Villa v Portsmouth Bolton v Blackburn Fulham v Sunderland Liverpool v Wigan Manchester United v West Brom Sunday Hull City v West Ham Stoke v Tottenham

Michael Owen injury

Michael Owen has picked up a groin injury in training just days before their clash with Manchester City (21st Oct, Monday). Owen will have a scan but Joe Kinnear is concerned that a torn muscle could keep him out for 1 month. This comes at a bad time for Owen from both club and country angles as England's 4th highest scorer of all time has struggled to impress Fabio Capello.

He joined Newcastle United after a brief spell in Real Madrid in 2005 and has suffered from injury problems over this 3 year period.

England score World Cup Qualifier: Belarus 1 England 3

England have played 4 and won 4 in Group six now after a professional 3-1 victory in Minsk against Belarus. England started steadily and played good containing football. Steven Gerrard opened the game up quite early however with a wonderfully crafted 20 yard shot. However Belarus managed to string together some good passing sequences and managed to equalise wth Sitko (28). In the second half England then took the lead again with a counter attack from Emile Heskey setting up Wayne Rooney to score from close range in the 50th minute. Rooney then added a superb second strike with a wonderful passing move with Gerrard involved in the build up (74). Gerrard said after match: "Playing for England you've always got a point to prove. As long as I've got a place in this team then I'm happy. There have been lots of times that I have felt that I haven't hit the heights that I can do but I always keep going."

Rio Ferdinand added: "The key was to make sure we were a tight unit firstly and we did that. I'm delighted for Gerrard, he's been over critical of his play but we've seen him do it for Liverpool and we've seen him do it for England so I was really pleased for him."

Editor's note 15/10/2008 SAN SIRO SIZZLER!

As I am a very fortunate man, my partner has arranged for a weekend away in Milan for my birthday. I was delighted to find out on my birthday that we will be going to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, or better known as the San Siro. AC Milan take on the mighty Sampdoria (lying in 17th after the first six games) and I cannot wait to go to one of the great football grounds in the world. Boasting an 82,000 capacity, the San Siro has a carnival atmosphere with history going back over 80 years. I feel fortunate that on this trip our timing co-insides with a game; when I was in Madrid a few years ago there was no game at the Bernabeu but I went on the tour anyway. This was a fantastic experience in it own right and you can do the same with the san siro stadium and these tours are hourly on match days with regular coaches to take advantage of.

If its good enough for Ronaldinho its good enough for me...

O'Neill working on keeping Young

At the end of the current 2007/2008 premiership season Ashley Young will have 2 seasons left but already Martin O'Neill is putting in place a plan and some type of remuneration package to retain the player.

When questioned by the Birmingham Mail O'Neill: "We are making progress. There's nothing untoward about it.

"I would have liked by now to have been able to report something and maybe by the end of the week I might be able to.

"With a bit of luck the contract should reflect the progress that he has made and where he is positioned.

"He has just won the Player of the Month again, which is great."

2008 African players award contenders

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced that 4 premiership players - Amr Zaki, Emmanuel Adebayor, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba have been shortlisted for the 2008 African Player of the Year award.

THE CONTENDERS...

Zaki
What a year 2008 has been for Zaki. The striker scored 4 goals in the African Nations Cup in Ghana this February for Egypt in their successful defence of this trophy.

Didier Drogba
The Ivory Coast striker is a big face in the Premiership. Drogba has already won the award in 2006 and has been in the top 3 over the last 5 years. Drogba has a distinct achievement in that he is the only professional footballer to have scored in 3 League Cup finals, in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

Michael Essien
Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien finished second last year to Sevilla striker Fredi Kanoute and has made the top three for the last three years. The Ghanian midfielder is nicknamed 'the Bison' and has played for Chelsea for 3 years having moved from Lyon in 2005 for £24m.

Emmanuel Adebayor
Togo striker Adebayor is in his second season at the Emirates and made a big impression in te 2007/2008 season by coming joint second with Fernando Torres for the Premiership golden boot.

The results of the African players award will be announced in December after 53 managers of the international associations have voted.