David Beckham was on the verge of a unique transfer last month. No fee was involved and he would only have moved a few hundred yards, but there has never been a scheme like it in the history of the England team.

Who says no one remembers the losers? It looks as if the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) members had them in mind when picking their team of the year.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s initial allegations of a rigged draw for the Champions League quarterfinals have become far easier to interpret. He was not so much lambasting the administrators as raging against the heavens.