FERGIE WARNING FOR SUPER-RICH CITY

Sir Alex Ferguson has launched his first major broadside at Manchester City - and scoffed at Mark Hughes' suggestion the Blues are now the hottest ticket in town.

Like everyone else, Ferguson has been taken aback by events at City in the last fortnight as a club on the verge of financial meltdown has suddenly been transformed into the richest on the planet.

Such is the whirlwind sweeping through Eastlands, which has seen a British record £32.5million spent on Brazilian superstar Robinho, Hughes has even suggested City's 'clash of the cash' with Chelsea at Eastlands is a bigger game than United's encounter with Liverpool.

"I had better check what Mark has had for his breakfast because something must be upsetting him," said Ferguson.

"How many games did he play for United against Liverpool? Our game is the biggest. It is a great game."

The main thrust of Ferguson's argument concerns the respective histories of United and City, or more pointedly the fact his own side have an illustrious one, while their neighbours have lived in their shadow for many years.

Ferguson has heard all the comments coming out of the Middle East, and is aware of all the players City seemingly want to buy - including Cristiano Ronaldo - but he will wait for the reality to emerge before he makes an assessment.

"There has been a lot of talk but it is a different matter when it actually comes to getting those players," he said.

"To think they could get Cristiano Ronaldo for instance is absolutely absurd.

"Negotiations are not easy nowadays, as we found with Dimitar.

"Yes, we have bought big players, but Manchester United is not a cash cow, as people are talking about other clubs at the moment.

"At the moment it is all talk. We have seen it before and it will happen again."

Even if the sums of money being spoken of materialise, there is no guarantee of success.

Ferguson spent big at the start of his United reign but it took him four years to win anything and seven before the league title was finally won.

And the Scot's memory goes back long enough to recall the Sunderland side of 1958 that was christened the Bank of England club for the riches lavished on a side including Len Shackleton that promptly got itself relegated.

"It depends how much money they want to throw at it but even then it doesn't always work," he said.

"You can buy 11 individuals and not have a team as Sunderland proved.

"When Chelsea did it we worried because we saw the quality they were bringing in. They got Michael Essien for £27million, which was a level we could not reach.

"You could tell they would be a handful.

"It is very difficult to say what will happen with City but we should not concern ourselves with what people are planning to do because it does not always work."

What Ferguson can guarantee is that United have no intention of relinquishing their position at the head of the Premier League.

If the Glaswegian can face down Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, then City should be no problem either.

"There is always a challenge at this club," he said.

"Four years ago when Jose Mourinho went to Chelsea it represented a different challenge from Arsenal.

"They were the new kids on the block and we had to reassess our approach. We accepted the challenge.

"What you see here today has not been created overnight.

"This club has been built up over many years and will be here for a long time."

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MONTHLY GONGS FOR DECO AND SOUTHGATE

Chelsea playmaker Deco has been named Barclays Player of the Month for August with Middlesbrough's Gareth Southgate picking up the managerial award.

Following his £8million summer transfer from Barcelona, Deco has made a seamless transition to life in the Premier League with two goals - both brilliant long-range efforts - and two assists in three matches.

Southgate has been named manager of the month for the first time in his career - in the process becoming only the second man, after Stuart Pearce, to win the player and manager awards.

Boro have won six points out of nine so far, beating Tottenham and Stoke at home and only losing at Liverpool due to a Steven Gerrard strike deep into injury-time.

Southgate said: "I feel it's a great honour, not just for me, but for everybody at the football club.

"It's an honour I very much accept on behalf of myself and my staff because everything that we have achieved so far has been a team effort.

"I think the award is reward for the hard work everybody here put in during July to prepare for the new season.

"We have a really united club here and everybody has pulled together, and in that I include the players as well.

"There's a great atmosphere around the club at the moment and around the town, and long may it continue."

Southgate is starting his third year in charge at Boro and has guided the club to their best start to a campaign for nine years.

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KEEN LOOKS FORWARD TO LIFE UNDER ZOLA

West Ham's caretaker manager Kevin Keen has welcomed the appointment of Gianfranco Zola as a "fresh start".

Zola was unveiled as the Hammers' new manager yesterday and officially starts work on Monday, leaving Keen in charge for tomorrow's trip to West Brom.

Three wins in four games have given the club a promising start to the season, but it was not enough to prevent the resignation of Alan Curbishley.

Hammers fans had grown disillusioned with the no-thrills approach under Curbishley, who was locked in conflict with the board over transfer policy.

Keen believes the arrival of former Chelsea and Italy favourite Zola will change the atmosphere around Upton Park.

"West Ham are fifth in the Barclays Premier League, even if it's only three games in," he said.

"Curbs did a great job in keeping us up with his organisation and I have a lot of respect and time for what he did at the club.

"But for me this is a new, fresh start and supporters can be excited by Zola's appointment.

"The Chelsea connection has been mentioned but I don't think that comes into it really.

"The majority of West Ham fans will see him as someone as who was a bright, exciting and inventive footballer.

"They'll be hoping he can bring that as a manager to West Ham. It's a new start."

The decision to opt for Zola over more established candidates such as Roberto Donadoni and Roberto Mancini is viewed by some as a gamble.

The 42-year-old's only managerial experience has been limited to Italy Under-21s but Keen, who meets his new boss for the first time today, believes his pedigree will shine through.

"Gianfranco has done his coaching with the Italian Under-21s and I'm sure he's learned a lot there," he said.

"Even when you're playing, you are still contributing, especially when you're in your 30s and thinking about being a coach.

"So I'm sure he's talked to managers and things like that.

"I've been doing it six years as well so I'll have my ideas that I'll put to him too."

Financial uncertainty has a cast shadow over Upton Park during the summer with the club eager to trim the wage bill and live within its means.

Curbishley's exit capped a difficult spell but Keen, who spent a decade at West Ham as a player before returning as reserve and first team coach, insists there has been little disruption.

"Footballers and football staff are very resilient. It's an occupational hazard getting sacked and transferred," he said.

"Staff and players are used to people moving on and after 24 hours are usually back in the swing of things.

"The reaction of the players to me and training has been brilliant. They are very hungry to do well tomorrow."

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KEEGAN-ASHLEY TALKS BREAK DOWN

A sensational return to Newcastle United for Kevin Keegan appeared unlikely on Friday night depsite the former boss meeting with club owner Mike Ashley.

The League Managers' Association confirmed talks were held between the pair but revealed "the discussion failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion''.

An LMA statement read: "The League Managers Association can confirm that talks to resolve several issues were held today between Kevin Keegan and Mike Ashley of Newcastle United Football Club.

"However, the discussion failed to reach a satisfactory conclusion."

It is not clear whether or not the two men will hold further talks after the news of the unexpected meeting sparked hopes of a reconciliation on Tyneside. It is possible the pair may have been meeting to discuss a compromise over the terms of Keegan's departure.

The duo met in London just eight days after Keegan handed in his resignation in a row over transfer policy.

The news had prompted the bookmakers to slash their prices or even suspend their markets.

Keegan quit after a row over the management structure at St James' Park where Dennis Wise holds the role of executive director (football).

The former England boss was not happy that he did not have the final say over the comings and goings of players - something the club later denied.

Keegan said after quitting: "It's my opinion that a manager must have the right to manage and that clubs should not impose upon any manager any player that he does not want."

The manager was furious with the way the club had addressed the process of

strengthening his squad when, after selling midfielder James Milner to Aston

Villa for £12million with just days of the summer transfer window remaining,

they recruited only Spain Under-21 striker Xisco and loan signing Ignacio

Gonzalez.

Fans have been left furious at Ashley with the vast majority still wanting Keegan in charge of their team.

Numerous supporters' groups have planned protests at and before Saturday's home Premier League game with Hull.

Spurs' assistant manager Gustavo Poyet, who has worked with Wise in the past at Leeds, had been the previous favourite, while Blackburn boss Paul Ince had also been linked with the post.

Keegan made a celebrated return to Newcastle in January when he replaced Sam Allardyce, whose reign at the club had been short and unsuccessful.

Although his team struggled in his opening games, Keegan had Newcastle playing attractive football towards the end of the season and an impressive run of results saw them pull well clear of relegation danger.

Hopes for this season were high, and the signings of players including Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez appeared to strengthen Keegan's squad.

However, the dealings in the final week of the transfer window left Keegan dispirited and led to his departure.

Keegan's assistant Terry McDermott and reserve team coach Adam Sadler have also left the club this week.

McDermott had been taking first-team coaching since Keegan's position at the club were first cast into doubt on September 2.

McDermott had a long coaching association with the club dating back to Keegan's first stint in charge in 1992.

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Can Darren Bent Be New Heskey?

A New F Plan
Although I was very impressed with England performance the other night I was a bit shocked to see Fabio attributing it to having a full ten days in which to impress his ideas on the players. It is not the first time an England coach has bemoaned the little time they get to interact with the squad but I can't for the life of me understand why this happens.

To the best of my knowledge a standard Premiership footballer's 'working day' is finished by about 1pm. For the kind of money the FA are paying Fabio, surely he could arrange to see some of the squad in the afternoons during the months between internationals!

Put it this way; The players of Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Everton to name a few of the North West clubs live a maximum of 40 minutes from each other (less if you drive like Barton). I can imagine it is not dissimilar for many London clubs. Why can the England manager arrange for established England players and promising talent from a particular region to meet up once a week for a few hours and talk about the team and his ideas? No one is asking them to do extra training (perish the thought!) but some time showing how he plans to play against future opponents, formations he will employ and the conduct and commitment he expects of the team leading up to selection seems to me like the perfect solution. José Mourinho is well known for spending as much time running through power point presentations with his staff and players as on the training pitch.

The benefit of this of course is that you will be educating potential future managers and coaches in the mindset of a proven winner and highly successful manager. The players will know well in advance what they will be doing if they are selected and have the way they are going to play in the back of their minds months in advance. If we are all honest there are only maybe two genuine world-class players in the England squad but we saw how effective they can be when playing in a balanced team who had a clear idea of their roles.

I really think we are missing out on a huge opportunity to improve the national team and the tactical education of our best players.
Dave F (Sky >>>> Setanta), Manchester

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What Exactly Has Mike Ashley Done Wrong?

A Mail Entitled 'Newcastle Fans Are Pussies
This time last week I was one of a number of correspondents commenting on the 'uprising' amongst Newcastle fans in response to Mike Ashley and the rather comical situation at the club after King Kev's departure. I discussed the possibility of a serious revolt by the Toon Army that could see thousands of empty seats in St James'. I dreamed of the potential repercussions that could spread through the game as the anger of football fans up and down the country swells in response to the ever increasing dominance of money and commercial interests.

The Geordies had (still have, I guess) a real chance to stand up for the modern day fan.

Oh, but we can't miss a home game, can we?! Not when we might get a few goals in against Hull City! Those multi-millionaire professionals, who blow OUR money on fleets of ridiculously powerful cars, top-class whores, outlandish parties (OK...the jealousy is there for all to see) need our support as well. They couldn't possible try their best without us singing behind them.

Why don't we go to the game, but have a little walk around town beforehand...and afterwards as well...yeah, that will show Ashley what we're about!! Ha, I know what will really hit him in the pocket: Let's not buy any food or drink! Ha! Genius.

A real chance to demonstrate fan power - to show the smug owners of OUR football clubs who is really paying for all this. But the Geordies, if they attend the game, are just reinforcing what all these billionaires knew as they got involved in the game; the fans are stupid and are addicted to the game. And the will keep coming through the gates no matter what.
Chris Kelly, West London

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SETANTA TO AGREE BELARUS PACKAGE?

Setanta are reportedly considering letting highlights of England's World Cup qualifier in Belarus next month be broadcast free of charge by either the BBC or ITV after their disastrous handling of the rights of the ties with Andorra and Croatia proved to be a costly own goal.

The company has been widely criticised - and subject to "We hate Setanta" chants from the England fans who travelled to Barcelona for the defeat of Andorra - after it failed to reach a deal with either broadcaster to show highlights of either game after reportedly demanding £1m in payment.

In a goodwill gesture, Setanta eventually decided to show highlights on a free-to-air basis using one of its own channels. However, with the decision only taken two hours before the game kicked off, the highlights package drew a paltry audience of just 220,000.

To compound the impression of panic, Setanta yesterday reached a belated agreement with ITV for the company to also broadcast its own highlights package late last night. However, it's reported that ITV paid just £100,000 - a tenth of the sum that Setanta are thought to have originally demanded.

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