It is a pity Lee Bowyer is keeping his thoughts to himself at the moment because his views on the English justice system could only be interesting. It should be remembered he was found not guilty in the court case that has become central to his reputation. One wonders if the English police haven’t got better things to do than to target footballers.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been on a secret mission to persuade the Nigerian teenager John Obi Mikel not to dump Manchester United in favour of Chelsea. Mikel is already the subject of a Fifa inquiry because of the tug-of-war between England’s two most powerful clubs.

Rafael Benítez’s attempts to reshape his Liverpool squad are increasingly being frustrated by rival clubs’ inflated valuations of their players, effectively casting yet more doubt on the future of Steven Gerrard at Anfield. Benítez is adamant that the Liverpool star is not for sale.

Arsenal footballer Robin van Persie was arrested and held in the Netherlands on Monday on suspicion of rape, Dutch prosecutors said this week. Van Persie (21) was held in Rotterdam following an incident at the weekend, according to a prosecution spokesperson, Jei Chen de Graaf.

It was anti-climactic in the end. For a couple of weeks we were urged to get behind England’s women, who were hosting the European Championships. And we did. But just when people began caring whether a bunch of women playing football won or not, they were eliminated. But everyone — even Germany — should watch out for England at World Cup 2007.