Watch the Champions League Live Online

Chelsea fullback Ashley Cole is being watched by Barcelona.

Sport says while new contract talks rumble on with Eric Abidal, Barca have drawn up plans in the event they need to replace the Frenchman – and Cole is high on their agenda.

Barca had scouts check on Cole in action against Liverpool on Sunday.

Barca coach Pep Guardiola gets along well with Chelsea counterpart Andre Villas-Boas and knows he has plans to overhaul an ageing Blues squad, which could include listening to offers for Cole.

SOURCE: Tribalfootball

If there is a weak area in Barcelona’s first team, and that’s a huge IF, then it may well be at left back. Pep Guardiola currently has the likes of veteran Eric Abidal, Brazilian Adriano and bit part player Maxwell to select from and it seems plausible that a move for Ashley Cole would make sense.

Though clearly the 30 year old is no spring chicken the England man is arguably experiencing the best form of his career over the past 18 months. Given that Chelsea are struggling for form the former Arsenal man may well be tempted by a new challenge and it would be very hard to turn down the advances of the all conquering Catalan side.

Andre Villas-Boas will be loathed to lose perhaps his most consistent performer but will at least be able to fill the loss of Cole with the up and coming youngster Ryan Bertrand who at 22 may well be ready to get a taste of regular first team football after five years of being sent out on loan to learn his trade.

Join the Best Football Manager game now, Its Free!

Stoke v Manchester United Live Streaming

Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez will resume training tomorrow after tests revealed the horror tackle from Ashley Cole caused no serious damage.

The 23-year-old was forced to withdraw from the 3-1 victory over Chelsea following the foul by the Blues defender.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson’s immediate reaction was to rule Hernandez out for two weeks but there were fears the striker could be sidelined for much longer.

But the Mexico international underwent scans yesterday and his agent, Eduardo Hernandez, revealed he only has a bruise.

“Nothing, it’s just a bump, nothing more,” said the representative

“It looked like (his absence) was longer, they were looking for a fracture, that’s why they ran those tests on him.

“I expect him to be training without incident on Wednesday.”

In his absence, Dimitar Berbatov is expected to make his first start of the season in tonight’s Carling Cup tie against Leeds United.

The Bulgarian shared the Premier League’s Golden Boot with Carlos Tevez last term but so far has been restricted to just two substitute appearances.

Join the FREE CaughtOffside Fantasy Football League and Win Big Prizes!

Join the Best Football Manager game now, Its Free!

Chelsea v Swansea City Live Streaming

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole will not be punished by the Football Association for his tackle on Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez.

The England international was booked for the foul during the 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford, causing the Mexican to be substituted.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson claimed Cole should have been sent off, labelling the tackle as ‘shocking’ and ‘reckless’.

Under Fifa rules, Cole cannot be punished retrospectively because the officials took action to deal with the incident at the time.

Referee Phil Dowd elected to consult with his assistant yesterday before deeming a yellow card to be a sufficient sanction.

It was uncertain today how clear a view Dowd himself had of the offence, with The FA yet to receive his report from the game.

Meanwhile goalkeeper Petr Cech refuses to make excuses for his side’s defeat, despite the first two goals, from Chris Smalling and Nani, both having more than hint of offside to them.

“It is true that Smalling’s goal should not have counted because there was a clear offside which TV replays confirmed afterwards,” he said.

“But we cannot take that as an excuse as they managed to add more goals. Nani’s goal was beautiful, he hit it superbly.

“As for the third goal – the ball bounced to the feet of Rooney who had an empty net at his mercy and he does not fail in such positions.”

Join the FREE CaughtOffside Fantasy Football League and Win Big Prizes!

Join the Best Football Manager game now, Its Free!

Stoke v Manchester United Live Streaming

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has declared his disgust at Chelsea defender Ashley Cole’s horror tackle on striker Javier Hernandez.

The Red Devils moved two points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after beating Chelsea 3-1 in an incident-packed encounter at Old Trafford.

It is the first time for 26 years United have won their opening five league matches of the season and leaves them boasting the division’s only 100 per cent record.

Ferguson was left bewildered by Phil Dowd’s decision not to send off Cole for a studs-up lunge on Hernandez’s right shin in the second half and accused the England star of going “over the edge”.

Cole was booked but Ferguson said he would seek out Dowd to ask the official to explain why he did not brandish a red card and award United a penalty.

“It was a shocking challenge,” Ferguson said. “He [Cole] is very reckless at times.

“He is committed, of course, but he sometimes can go over the edge a bit and that was an example of that.

“The referee has booked him, but he hasn’t given a penalty kick. I don’t understand that, so I must ask him [Dowd].

“We will have to see what the damage is (to Hernandez) in the morning. His leg is very numb. He could be out for a couple of weeks.”

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas admitted Cole was fortunate not to be sent off, but argued the incident might not have happened had his players not been affected by decisions that went against Chelsea.

United’s first two goals, from Chris Smalling and Nani, were both offside.

“Maybe he wouldn’t have been sent off if the linesman does his work,” AVB said.

“He would have been less emotionally drained and maybe if it was 0-0, Ashley would have been in more control of the situation and not done that red-card foul.

“I’m not looking for excuses. It’s the reality because it’s 2-0 rather than 0-0. It was a good game for Phil [Dowd], but I’m pretty unhappy with the linesman.”

Join the FREE CaughtOffside Fantasy Football League and Win Big Prizes!

Join the Best Football Manager game now, Its Free!

Join the FREE CaughtOffside Fantasy Football League and Win Big Prizes!

Chelsea are facing a battle with big-spending Paris Saint-Germain over Porto wing back Alvaro Pereira.

Manager Andre Villas-Boas is keen to bring in a replacement for Yuri Zhirkov, who joined Anzhi Makhachkala last week for £13million and wants Uruguay international Pereira.

The 25-year-old was a regular under Villas-Boas at Porto, where he is a firm favourite, but that is reflected in the asking price with the player having a £25million buy-out clause.

Liverpool enquired about Pereira after his impressive displays at the Copa America, but were put off by the £15million asking price.

Chelsea would be willing to do business at that figure but PSG’s interest allows Porto to auction the player to the highest bidder.

Pereira, with more than 30 international caps, has an eye for goal, scoring twice during the Copa America, but is equally adept at playing  left back as he is as a left-sided midfielder.

Source: Daily Mail

Sorry to break the hearts of any Chelsea fans and the editors of the Mail but this rumour will not be coming true.

According to our sources at Stamford Bridge, Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas is not interested in signing his former wing-back Alvaro Pereira.

The young manager is happy with his resources at left-back with arguably the best player in the world, Ashley Cole, along with Ryan Bertrand and Patrick Van Aanholt.

Villas-Boas wants to give youth a chance this season and expects the two youngsters to play an important role in the upcoming season.

Yuri Zhirkov was sold to Anzhi Makhachkala because he was unhappy at not playing regular first-team football.

The Chelsea manager was happy to cash in on the 27-year-old in order to finance moves for either Tottenham star Luka Modric or Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder.

Money may not be tight in west London, but Villas-Boas has a reputation for not being silly with his employee’s cash and has focused his thoughts on other targets.

Stoke v Chelsea Live Streaming

Join the FREE CaughtOffside Fantasy Football League and Win Big Prizes!

Join the Best Football Manager game now, Its Free!

Join the FREE CaughtOffside Fantasy Football League and Win Big Prizes!

Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck has been named in England’s provisional 30-man squad for the friendly with Netherlands next Wednesday.

Welbeck made his international debut against Ghana in March after impressing on loan at Sunderland.

Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere is also included despite an ankle injury.

The 27-year-old was the top-scoring Englishman in the Premier League last season with 17 goals for Sunderland and Aston Villa, but was part of the England side that struggled to a 2-2 draw at home to Switzerland in June.

Arsene Wenger, Wilshere’s club manager at the Emirates, had warned that if the midfielder failed to play against Benfica on Saturday he would “certainly” not play against the Dutch.

After having a scan on his injured ankle, Wilshere did not feature in the pre-season friendly, but has been selected by Capello regardless.

Manchester United’s Phil Jones did not make the squad despite reports he had been included on Friday.

Tottenham’s Kyle Walker and Manchester City’s Micah Richards may deputise in his absence, while centre-back Phil Jagielka has been deployed in the position on the last two occasions Johnson has been missing.

Richards only won his first cap under Capello in November and claimed a fortnight ago that he may have to wait for the manager’s departure in the wake of Euro 2012 to resume his international career.

England squad to play Netherlands on 10 August:

Robert Green, Joe Hart, David Stockdale, Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Phil Jagielka, Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards, John Terry, Kyle Walker, Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Stewart Downing, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Scott Parker, Jack Wilshere, Ashley Young, Andy Carroll, Peter Crouch, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck (BBC Sport)

A few surprises in this selection and perhaps most surprisingly Darren Bent overlooked for a call up given his good form last term with both Sunderland and Aston Villa, netting 20 goals. Danny Welbeck’s inclusion comes after good form shown during the European Under 21 Championships this summer, surprisingly therefore Chelsea youngster Daniel Sturridge misses out.

This friendly will be Fabio Capello’s chance to look at his charges ahead of the two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales in early September.

Join the Best Football Manager game now, Its Free!

The 2003/04 season will be remembered by Arsenal fans with great affection.

Not only was it the last time the Gunners won the Premier League but they managed it by going the whole season unbeaten.

The run lasted 49 games and started following a loss to Leeds United in May 2003 and was ended by Manchester United at Old Trafford 15 months later.

Gael Clichy’s sale to Manchester City in a £7million deal signals the end of that squad’s time at Arsenal.

The Frenchman played a part in that season and became the youngest player ever to win the title.

But whatever happened to the rest of that record breaking team? Caughtoffside takes a look.

Jens Lehmann

He started every match of the campaign in his first year at the club following his move from Borussia Dortmund. Left for Stuttgart in 2008 but, after retiring last summer, made a brief return to the Gunners squad last season to aid their goalkeeping injury crisis and put in a characteristically mad performance in April’s 3-1 win at Blackpool.

Chelsea and England defender Ashley Cole says people should judge him on his football, not reports about his private life.

Cole, who has attracted a number of negative headlines, told BBC Sport: “I’ve made mistakes and have just got to live with it.”

But he added: “Judge me on how I play football or on when you meet me.”

His remarks come after new Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas said he wanted his players to be role models.

Cole’s conduct was questioned this year when he shot a work experience student with an air rifle at the club’s training ground.

The England international, 30, also went through a very public divorce from pop star wife Cheryl last year.

Earlier in his career, he was fined £100,000 by the Premier League for holding secret talks with Chelsea while still under contract to former club Arsenal.

In an exclusive interview in New York, which will be aired on BBC’s Football Focus in the coming weeks, the left-back said his mother found it difficult to read some of the stories written about him.

“What parent wouldn’t?” he said. “But at the end of the day I just want to play football, I’m here to play football.

“I just wish people would judge me more on football and speak about football more than a life that people don’t really know.” (BBC Sport)

Ashley then went on to talk about the infamous shooting incident at Chelsea’s training ground last season and admitted that whilst it was clearly an incident he regrets it was nonetheless an accident. However it is a bit rich for the England international to attempt to sway discussions about his checkered private life with calls for football fans to only judge him on his footballing life when he has made it ever so easy for the public to be distracted by off field antics.

Clearly if Mr. Cole had no allegedly ‘cheated’ on his wife Cheryl, or indeed did not ‘find himself’ in a hotel with Chelsea bigwigs ahead of his controversial move from Arsenal. The 30 year old left back has built a rod for his own back and should really just look to correct opinions by proving them wrong.

There is no doubting that the Chelsea man is one of the best in his position across Europe but even in playing terms most non Blues fans will vividly remember the defender’s appalling behaviour when he was booked, and not sent off, for a horrible challenge on Tottenham’s Alan Hutton which he then compounded by childishly refusing to listen to Mike Riley.

Of course Cole apologised for that offence but then neatly pointed out that he was getting terrible abuse from the Tottenham fans. Once again an occasion when Ashley has refused to understand, and take responsibility for, his own actions.

Ashley, stop telling us how much you have changed and instead get on with your business, which is playing football, and in time maybe the press will stop following and bothering you.

Once again let me repeat, Ashley Cole is perhaps one of the best left backs in Premier League history so these opinions are not in any way based on his very obvious ability, just his own personal inability to understand why he is to many, a hate figure.

Join the Best Football Manager game now, Its Free!

25. Danielle Lloyd (Jamie O’Hara)

Watching Haye v Klitschko?  at Fanatix.com

1. Lack of silverware

It will be seven years now since Arsenal last won a trophy. The 2005 FA Cup final victory over Manchester United seems nothing but a distant memory and this is not good enough for a club with the size and ambition of the Gunners. There is no point playing attractive football if it does not win you trophies. No-one will be more hurt by the lack of success than Wenger but he would be the first to admit it is not good enough.

Click here to read 10 reasons why Arsenal should keep him