Arab Investment Group Buy Man City

Manchester City have been bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited claimed to have taken over City. The previous owner Thaksin Shinawatra is thought to have retained an interest in the club. The sale has not been officially confirmed by Manchester city.

Weekend Match Reports:

Chelsea Stumble As Spurs Share Points

Tottenham left Stamford Bridge with a well deserved point after their 1-1 draw with Chelsea. Brazillian Juliano Belletti scored from Decos corner to give the blues an early lead. Darren Bent struck back for Spurs on the stroke of half time after capatalising on a Chelsea error.

Neither team managed to carve out any clear cut chances in the second half. If anyone should have won it was the north Londoners with some good posession. Juande Ramos will leave the happier of the two managers, and hopefully it will give his team the confidence to kickstart this season. Many thought Chelsea had the league sown up with their great start, but Scolari will feel there's work to do after this poor display. Chris Howe

Liverpool Pay Price For Lack Lustre Play 

Liverpool may have won this game had it not been for negative tactical decisions made by Rafael Benitez. Liverpool suffered without the services of Captain marvel Steven Gerrard. They experienced a further blow when Fernando Torres was withdrawn in the first half due to a hamstring injury. Aston Villa created the best opportunity of the match when  Norwegian striker John Carew was denied by reds keeper Pepe Reina. Benitez left Ryan Babel on the bench for the entirety of the game. This was despite Liverpools lack of attacking options. Liverpool showed defensive quality as usual, without penetrating a suspect Villa defence. The game was fairly dire on the whole. 0-0 was probably a fair result for both teams. CH

Vantastic Gunners Sink Poor Newcastle Side

A Robin Van Persie brace secured an impressive 3-0 Arsenal victory. Wengers team dominated an under strength Newcastle outfit from the first whistle to the last. Captain William Gallas was guilty of missing a sitter early on. The Frenchman fired over the bar from point blank range from a Bacary Sagna flick on. After having a penalty appeal turned down, the Reds were then gifted with an equaliser when Habib Beye handled an Adebayor cross. Dutchman Robin Van Persie stepped up with a great penalty to give the home side a 1-0 lead.  Van Persie made it 2-0 when he powered home from  Emanuelle Eboues cheeky back heel on 41 minutes.

Brazillian youngster Denilson capped off a strong performance with a deflected goal to seal the magpies fate. The return of the influential Cesc Fabregas made a huge difference for the North London giants. They played the free flowing football we've come to expect from them. From Newcastles point of view they were missing several key players. Had the likes of Mark Viduka, Obafemi Martins and Damien Duff been available they may have proved a sterner test for Arsenal. The Gunners will certainly face tougher challenges than this, but it will do their confidence the world of good. Chris Howe

A Boy From Brazil Chelsea' s New Manager

Luiz Fellipe Scolari comes to Chelsea with a big reputation. He is one of the few coaches alive to have led a side to world cup glory. The outstanding Brazil team of 2002 made Scolari a Brazillian hero. Here are some key facts about Chelseas latest acquisition.
 
Luiz Fellipe Scolari was born in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande Brazil November 9th 1948.  He has an illustrious managerial career, having coached in Kuwait, Japan and his native Brazil. He guided Brazillian side Palmerias to five consecutive championships. Scolari was voted South American coach of the year for 1999. During his playing days he was a hard hitting defender who played in the middle east and Juventude in Brazil. He retired from playing in 1982 and went directly into management. His nickname is 'Big Phil' which represents his hard, strong personality. He managed Brazil for just one year between 2001 and 2002. Big Phil took over as Portugal boss in 2003 and quit after Euro 2008.

During his reign Portugal got to the Euro 2004 final and finished fourth in World Cup 2006. He was an England target for some time. Englands mistake was pursuing him so close to the World cup in Germany. England missed out on his services and had to settle for the incompetent gingernut Steve Mclaren. Scolari is a different prospect to the quieter Avram Grant. Like Jose Mourinho he is outspoken. Scolari may not be as arrogant as the 'Special One' but he's even tougher. He is just months from his 60th birthday but seems just as charistmatic and hungry as he ever was.

He's the kind of character Chelsea were after to replace Grant. The demands are simple, win a big trophy or you're gone. Grant came so close to winning Chelsea their first ever Champions league. Had it not been for a John Terry slip they would have won. It's a harsh fine line, but I'm sure the Brazillian bulldog is aware of the Blues expectations. Hes seems undaunted by the skeptical English press, and no doubt there will be many intriguing tussels to come. Interesting confrontations with Mr. Ferguson and Wenger await us. I believe that Roman Abramovich has made the right decision and Luiz Fellipe Scolari may well be the man to take Chelsea back to the domestic dominance of 2,3 years ago. One things for sure though Scolari like his predecessor cannot afford to finish the season empty handed. Chris Howe

Man United are bigger than anyone

Ronaldo established himself as the best player in the world last season. Though I personally believe that if Ronaldinho was at his best he would be the best in the world. Forget potential or ability he was definitely the most productive player in the universe last year. Now that Euro 2008 is finished Man United fans across the globe are desperate to hear Ronaldo utter those sweet words'I'm staying'. It is unlike Sir Alex Ferguson to hold on to a player who wants to leave. The Portugeese winger has been quoted as saying that the move to Real Madrid would be a dream. If they were to relinquish Mr Ronaldo , one would think they would need to replace the 41 goals he scored last term. Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez both notched up a good tally of goals, but neither were as prolific as their 23 year old team mate.

United have recovered from losing big names in the past. Just two seasons ago Dutch goalscoring machine Ruud Van Nistlerooy left. A year after him leaving United claimed their first league title for four years. Last season they did the double winning both the Champions league and premiership titles. When King Eric left in 1997 , they went on to complete a historic domestic treble just two years later. Manchester United are a great club and are bigger than just one player.

There's no doubt he'll need to be replaced if he does exit old Trafford. There was talk of Hollands Wesley Sneijder going the other way. Sneijder is maybe second in the world to Ronaldo in that position and would be a great replacement. Despite all the debate, Ronaldo has yet to leave. Maybe he will remain at United.

If Ronaldo does pledge his loyalty there is no doubt he can leave a legacy the likes of Sir Bobby Charlton, George Bests and Eric Cantonas. Why would you wanna leave the club which won the biggest tournament in club football a weeks ago. However this fascinating saga unfolds, Manchester United will go on with or without Cristiano Ronaldo. Chris Howe