Barclays Premier League clubs have submitted their squads for the remainder of the campaign.

A club's squad can contain no more than 17 players who do not fulfil the Home Grown Player criteria and the remainder of the squad, up to a total of 25 players, must be Home Grown.

The Premier League say: "A Home Grown Player means a player who, irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday (or the end of the Season during which he turns 21)."

Under-21 players, who were born on or after January 1 in 1990, are eligible over the 25-player limit which explains why the likes of David de Gea, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Kyle Walker aren't named.

PREMIER LEAGUE SQUADS

Arsenal: Andre Santos, Andrey Arshavin, Mikel Arteta, Yossi Benayoun, Maroune Chamakh, Abou Diaby, Johan Djourou, Lukasz Fabianski, Gervinho, Kieran Gibbs, Laurent Koscielny, Vito Mannone, Per Mertesacker, Park Chu‑young, Tomas Rosicky, Bacary Sagna, Thierry Henry, Alex Song, Sebastien Squillaci, Robin van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen, Theo Walcott

Aston Villa: Gabriel Agbonlahor, Marc Albrighton, Barry Bannan, Darren Bent, Ciaran Clark, James Collins, Carlos Cuellar, Fabian Delph, Richard Dunne, Shay Given, Brad Guzan, Christopher Herd, Emile Heskey, Stephen Ireland, Eric Lichaj, Andrew Marshall, Stiliyian Petrov, Stephen Warnock, Charles N'Zogbia, Jermaine Jenas, Alan Hutton, Robbie Keane

Blackburn: Christopher Samba, Michel Salgado, Herold Goulon, Bradley Orr, Bruno Ribeiro, David Dunn, Paul Robinson, Mark Bunn, Nick Blackman, Martin Olsson, Mauro Formica, Radosav Petrovic, Gael Givet, Morten Gamst Pedersen, Steven Nzonzi, David Goodwillie, Vince Grella, Simon Vukcevic, Ayegbeni Yakubu, Scott Dann, Amine Linganzi, Anthony Modeste, Marcus Olsson

Bolton: Robbie Blake, Adam Bogdan, Tim Ream, Kevin Davies, Mark Davies, Chris Eagles, Sean Davis, Stuart Holden, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Ivan Klasnic, Zat Knight, Robert Lainton, Tyrone Mears, Fabrice Muamba, Temitope Obadeyi, Martin Petrov, Darren Pratley, Nigel Reo-Coker, Sam Ricketts, Paul Robinson, Tuncay Sanli, Gretar Rafn Steinsson, David Wheater, David Ngog, Chung-Yong Lee

Chelsea: Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, David Luiz, Michael Essien, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, Didier Drogba, John Mikel Obi, Florent Malouda, Raul Meireles, Jose Bosingwa, Paulo Ferreira, Salomon Kalou, Ross Turnbull, Daniel Sturridge, John Terry, Ryan Bertrand, Gary Cahill, Hilario, Sam Hutchinson

Everton: Victor Anichebe, Leighton Baines, Tim Cahill, Tony Hibbert, Phil Jagielka, Phil Neville, Leon Osman, Darron Gibson, Nikica Jelavic, Seamus Coleman, Sylvain Distin, Marouane Fellaini, John Heitinga, Tim Howard, Jan Mucha, Steven Pienaar, Landon Donovan, Royston Drenthe, Denis Stracqualursi, Marcus Hahnemann, James McFadden

Fulham: Chris Baird, Simon Davies, Mousa Dembele, Clint Dempsey, Damien Duff, Dickson Etuhu, Marcel Gecov, Zdenek Grygera, Orlando Sa, Brede Hangeland, Aaron Hughes, Andrew Johnson, Stephen Kelly, Danny Murphy, Bjorn Helge Riise, John Arnse Riise, Bryan Ruiz, Mark Schwarzer, Philippe Senderos, Steven Sidwell, Csaba Somogyi, Pavel Pogrebnyak, David Stockdale, Rafik Halliche

Liverpool: Brad Jones, Glen Johnson, Jose Enrique, Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio, Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard, Andy Carroll, Maxi Rodriguez, Dirk Kuyt, Stewart Downing, Jay Spearing, Jamie Carragher, Jose Reina, Charlie Adam, Alexander Doni, Martin Skrtel, Lucas Leiva, Craig Bellamy

Manchester City: Micah Richards, Joe Hart, Stuart Taylor, Joleon Lescott, Gareth Barry, James Milner, Adam Johnson, Gael Clichy, Costel Pantilimon, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent KompanyKolo Toure, Aleksandar Kolarov, Nigel de Jong, Yaya Toure, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, David Pizarro, Gunnar Nielsen, Owen Hargreaves

Manchester United: Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Jonathan Evans, Michael Owen, Anderson, Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Chris Smalling, Park Ji-Sung, Javier Hernandez, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick, Nani, Ashley Young, Tom Cleverley, Darren Fletcher, Antonio Valencia, Tomasz Kuszczak, Anders Lindegaard, Paul Scholes, Ritchie De Laet

Newcastle: Shola Ameobi, Demba Ba, Hatem Ben Arfa, Leon Best, Yohan Cabaye, Fabricio Coloccini, Robert Elliot, Danny Guthrie, Jonas Gutierrez, Steve Harper, Tim Krul, Peter Lovenkrands, Sylvain Marveaux, Gabriel Obertan, James Perch, Danny Simpson, Alan Smith, Steven Taylor, Ryan Taylor, Cheik Tiote, Mike Williamson, Papiss Demba Cisse

Norwich: John Ruddy, Russell Martin, Adam Drury, Bradley Johnson, Steve Morison, Zak Whitbread, Andrew Crofts, James Vaughan, Grant Holt, Simeon Jackson, Andrew Surman, Anthony Pilkington, Wes Hoolahan, David Fox, Elliott Bennett, Simon Lappin, Leon Barnett, Elliott Ward, Marc Tierney, Jonathan Howson, Kyle Naughton, Aaron Wilbraham

QPR: Paddy Kenny, Armand Traore, Clint Hill, Shaun Derry, Fitz Hall, Adel Taarabt, Bobby Zamora, Rob Hulse, DJ Campbell, Jay Bothroyd, Samba Diakite, Jamie Mackie, Danny Gabbidon, Akos Buzsaky, Taye Taiwo, Nedum Onuoha, Joey Barton, Luke Young, Thomas Smith, Heidar Helguson, Radek Cerny, Brian Murphy, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Anton Ferdinand, Dijbril Cisse

Stoke: Diego Arismendi, Asmir Begovic, Peter Crouch, Rory Delap, Salif Diao, Matthew Etherington, Ricardo Fuller, Danny Collins, Robert Huth, Kenwyne Jones, Carlo Nash, Wilson Palacios, Jermaine Pennant, Ryan Shawcross, Ryan Shotton, Mamady Sidibe, Thomas Sorensen, Matthew Upson, Jon Walters, Glenn Whelan, Dean Whitehead, Andy Wilkinson, Marc Wilson, Jonathan Woodgate, Cameron Jerome

Sunderland: Phil Bardsley, Titus Bramble, Wes Brown, Fraizer Campbell, Trevor Carson, Lee Cattermole, Jack Colback, Nicklas Bendtner, Craig Gardner, Sebastian Larsson, Kieran Richardson, Michael Turner, John O'Shea, David Vaughan, Kieren Westwood, Ahmed Elmohamady, Sotiris Kyrgiakos, Simon Mignolet, Stephane Sessegnon, James McClean, David Meyler, Marcos Angeleri, Craig Gordon, Matthew Kilgallon, Wayne Bridge

Swansea: Michel Vorm, Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor, Alan Tate, Ferrie Bodde, Leon Britton, Andrea Orlandi, Curtis Obeng, Danny Graham, Scott Sinclair, Nathan Dyer, Stephen Dobbie, Wayne Routledge, Garry Monk, Leroy Lita, Luke Moore, Jose Moreira, Angel Rangel, Kemy Agustien, Mark Gower, Gerhard Tremmel, Fede Bessone, Gylfi Sigurdsson

Tottenham: Brad Friedel, Heurelho Gomes, Carlo Cudicini, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Michael Dawson, William Gallas, Ledley King, Younes Kaboul, Bongani Khumalo, Ryan Nelsen, Aaron Lennon, Jake Livermore, Tom Huddlestone, Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar, Gareth Bale, Louis Saha, Jermain Defoe, Rafael van der Vaart, Sandro, Emmanuel Adebayor, David Bentley, Giovanni Dos Santos, Simon Dawkins, Scott Parker

West Brom: Keith Andrews, Chris Brunt, Simon Cox, Luke Daniels, Graham Dorrans, Marc-Antoine Fortune, Ben Foster, Marton Fulop, Zoltan Gera, Billy Jones, Shane Long, Gareth McAuley, James Morrison, Youssouf Mulumbu, Peter Odemwingie, Jonas Olsson, Steven Reid, Liam Ridgewell, Paul Scharner, Nicky Shorey, Gabriel Tamas, Jerome Thomas, Someon Tchoyi

Wigan: Chris Kirkland, Mike Pollitt, Ben Watson, Emmerson Boyce, Gary Caldwell, David Jones, Hendry Thomas, James McArthur, Jordi Gomez, Hugo Rodalleha, Mohamed Diame, Maynor Figueroa, Steve Gohouri, Antolin Alcaraz, Franco Di Santo, Ali Al-Habsi, Ronnie Stam, Adrian Lopez, Conor Sammon, Shaun Maloney, Albert Crusat, Jean Beausejour

Wolves: Wayne Hennessey, George Elokobi, David Edwards, Richard Stearman, Jody Craddock, Michael Kightly, Karl Henry, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Steven Fletcher, Stephen Hunt, Carl Ikeme, Roger Johnson, Christophe Berra, Matt Jarvis, Adam Hammill, Nenad Milijas, Sebastian Bassong, Eggert Jonsson, Ronald Zubar, Jamie O'Hara, Kevin Doyle, Dorus De Vries, Kevin Foley

English Premier League winter 2012 transfers:

ARSENAL

IN Thomas Eisfeld (B Dortmund, £420,000), Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls, L)

OUT Luke Freeman (Stevenage, £200,000), Daniel Boateng (Swindon, L), Emmanuel Frimpong (Wolves, L), Sead Hajrovic (Barnet, L), Vito Mannone (Hull, L), Rhys Murphy (Preston, L), Sanchez Watt (Crawley, L), Wellington (Alcoyana, L).

ASTON VILLA

IN Enda Stevens (Shamrock Rovers, £250,000), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy, L).

OUT Elliot Parish (Cardiff, U), Shane Lowry (Millwall, L), Nathan Delfouneso (Leicester, L), Fabian Delph (Leeds, L).

BLACKBURN ROVERS

IN Tim Payne (Waitakere U, U), Marcus Olsson (Halmstads, F), Anthony Modeste (Bordeaux, L).

OUT Jason Roberts (Reading, £500,000), Ryan Nelsen (Tottenham - pending), Keith Andrews (WBA)

BOLTON WANDERERS

IN Marvin Sordell (Watford, £4m), Tim Ream (New York Red £2.5m), Ryo Miyachi (Arsenal, L).

OUT Gary Cahill (Chelsea, £7m), Jack Simpson (Southend, L).

CHELSEA

IN Kevin De Bruyne (Genk, £7m), Gary Cahill (Bolton, £7m), Lucas Piazon (Sao Paulo, £5m), Patrick Bamford (Nottm F, £1.5m).

OUT Alex (Paris St-Germain, £4.5m), Nicolas Anelka (Shanghai Shenhua, £4m), Philipp Prosinek (AC Milan, U), Patrick van Aanholt (Vitesse Arnhem, L), Kevin De Bruyne (Genk, L), Ben Gordon (Kilmarnock, L), Gael Kakuta (Dijon, L), Josh McEachran (Swansea, L), Sam Walker (Yeovil, L).

EVERTON

IN Nikica Jelavic (Rangers, £5.5m), Darron Gibson (Manchester United, £1m), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy, L). Nikica Jelavic (Rangers £5.5).

OUT Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Spartak Moscow, £5m), Aristote Nsiala (Accrington Stanley, L), James Wallace (Stevenage, L), Louis Saha (Tottenham)

FULHAM

IN Ryan Williams (Portsmouth, £400,000), Jack Grimmer (Aberdeen, £200,000), Lasse Vigen Christensen (FC Midtjyalland, U), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Stuttgart, U).

OUT Bobby Zamora (QPR, £4m), Keanu Marsh-Brown (Oldham, F), Alex Kacaniklic (Watford, L).

LIVERPOOL

IN Jordan Ibe (Wycombe, £500,000), Danny Ward (Wrexham, £100,000).

OUT Danny Wilson (Blackpool, L).

MANCHESTER CITY

IN David Pizarro (Roma, L).

OUT Nedhum Onuoha (QPR, £2.5m), Kieran Tripper (Burnley, £400,000), Wayne Bridge (Sunderland, L), Harry Bunn (Preston, L), Chris Chantler (Carlisle, U), Ben Mee (Burnley, U), David Gonzalez (Brighton, L), Alex Tchuimeni-Nimely (Coventry, L).

MANCHESTER UNITED

IN Frederic Veseli (Man C, U), Paul Scholes, Unattached).

OUT Mame Biram Diouf (Hannover 96, £1.5m), Darron Gibson (Everton, £1m), Ravel Morrison (West Ham, £650,000, to £1m), John Cofie (Antwerp, L), Danny Drinkwater (Leicester, U), Joshua King (Hull, L), Federico Macheda (QPR, L), Scott Wootton (Nottm Fst, L).

NEWCASTLE UNITED

IN Papiss Demba Cisse (Frieburg, £10m).

OUT Alan Smith (MK Dons, L), James Tavernier (MK Dons, L).

NORWICH CITY

IN Jonny Howson (Leeds, £2m).

OUT Oli Johnson (Oxford, F), George Francomb (Hibernian, L), Korey Smith (Barnsley, L).

QUEENS PARK RANGERS

IN Bobby Zamora (Fulham, £4m), Djibril Cisse (Lazio, £4m), Nedum Onuoha (Manchester City, £2.5m), Samba Diakite (Nancy, L), Federico Macheda (Manchester U, L), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Stuttgart, L), Taye Taiwo (AC Milan, L).

OUT Matthew Connolly (Reading, L), Martin Rowlands (released).

STOKE CITY

IN None.

OUT: Ben Marshall (Leicester, £1m), Danny Pugh (Leeds, U), Ryan Brunt (Tranmere, L), Florent Cuvelier (Walsall, L), Tom Soares (Hibernian, L), Matthew Lund (Bristol R, L), Michael Tonge (Barnsley, L).

SUNDERLAND

IN Wayne Bridge (Manchester C, L), Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Wolfsburg, L).

OUT: Nyron Nosworthy (Watford, U), Liam Noble (Carlisle, F), Blair Adams (Northampton, L), Trevor Carson (Hull, L), Jordan Cook (Carlisle, L), John Egan (Crystal Palace, L), Louis Laing (Wycombe, L), Ryan Noble (Derby, L).

SWANSEA CITY

IN Darnel Situ (Lens, £250,000), Rory Donnelly (Cliftonville, £200,000), Josh McEachran (Chelsea, L), Gylfi Sigurdsson (Hoffenheim, L).

OUT Nyron Nosworthy (Watford, U), Liam Noble (Carlisle, F), Blair Adams (Northampton, L), Trevor Carson (Hull, L), Jordan Cook (Carlisle, L), John Egan (Crystal Palace, L), Louis Laing (Wycombe, L), Ryan Noble (Derby, L).

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

IN Yago Falque (Juventus, U), Louis Saha (Everton, L), Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn - pending).

OUT: Steven Pienaar (Everton, L), Sebastien Bassong (Wolves, L), John Bostock (Sheffield Wednesday, L), David Button (Doncaster, L), Tom Carroll (Derby, L), Vedran Corluka (Bayer Leverkusen, L), Yago Falque (Southampton, L), Ryan Mason (Millwall, L), Dean Parrett (Yeovil Town, L), Adam Smith (Leeds United, L), Andros Townsend (Leeds United, L), Roman Pavluychenko (Lokomotive Moscow)

WEST BROMWICH ALBION

IN Liam Ridgewell (Birmingham, £2m), Scott Allan (Dundee U, £300,000), Keith Andrews (Blackburn)

OUT Roman Bednar (Blackpool, F), Lateef Elford-Alliyn (Tranmere, L), Joe Mattock (Portsmouth, L), Romaine Sawyers (Shrewsbury, L), Chris Wood (Bristol C, L).

WIGAN ATHLETIC

IN Jean Beausejour (Birmingham City, £4m).

OUT Liam Wills (Accrington Stanley, F), Nouha Dicko (Blackpool, L), Jordan Mustoe (Barnet, L).

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

IN Eggart Jonsson (Heart of Midlothian, £200,000), Emmanuel Frimpong (Arsenal, L), Sebastien Bassong (Tottenham, L).

OUT Andy Keogh (Millwall, U), David Davis (Chesterfield, L), Adlene Guedioura (Nottingham Forest, L), Jamie Reckford (Scunthorpe United, L), Sam Vokes (Brighton & Hove Albion, L), Sam Winnall (Inverness, L).

Transfer deadline day deals so far (full list to follow):

Keith Andrews (Blackburn – West Brom) Free
Sebastien Bassong (Tottenham – Wolves) Loan
Patrick Bamford (Nottingham Forest – Chelsea) £1.5m
Wayne Bridge (Man City – Sunderland) Loan
Kevin de Bruyne (Genk – Chelsea) £9m
Kevin de Bruyne (Chelsea – Genk) Loan
Clarke Carlisle (Burnley – Northampton) Loan
Djibril Cissé (Lazio – QPR) £4m
Vedran Corluka (Tottenham – Bayer Leverkusen) Loan
Thomas Eisfeld (Borussia Dortmund – Arsenal) £400k
Martin Hansen (Liverpool – Viborg FF) Undisclosed
Nikica Jelavic (Rangers – Everton) £5.5m
Andy Keogh (Wolves – Millwall) Undisclosed
Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Wolfsburg – Sunderland) Loan
Ryo Miyaichi (Arsenal – Bolton) Loan
Ravel Morrison (Man United – West Ham) Undisclosed
Luke O’Brien (Bradford – Exeter) Undisclosed
Marcus Olsson (Halmstads – Blackburn) Free
Bradley Orr (QPR – Blackburn) Undisclosed
David Pizarro (Roma – Man City) Loan
Pavel Pogrebnyak (Stuttgart – Fulham) Undisclosed
Liam Ridgewell (Birmingham – West Brom) Undisclosed
Louis Saha (Everton – Tottenham) Loan
Adam Smith (Tottenham – Leeds) Loan
Frederic Veseli (Man City – Man United) Undisclosed
Bobby Zamora (Fulham – QPR) £5m

Three quarters of a year on from last year’s Champion’s League final and Manchester United are a side that have regressed significantly.

United were on the receiving end of a football lesson at the hands of Barcelona in that final and it seemed obvious to most that manager Sir Alex Ferguson would be determined to bridge the gap that so obviously existed between the two sides at Wembley.

Instead, United fans have seen their side drop out of the Champions League, slip down the Premier League table, receive a hammering at the hands of rivals Manchester City at home and leak goals like never before.

Player departures have had a significant impact. 

Paul Scholes’ ability to influence a match had diminished significantly well before retirement.  Even so, despite an apparently large transfer kitty, Scholes has not been replaced.

Up front, Dimitar Berbatov has faded, Javier Hernandez has not found form and Danny Welbeck struggles to make an impact on games.  While Barcelona strengthened off season by adding Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez to their attack, United were busy reassuring Michael Owen that he had a future at the club.

David de Gea looks like a youth team goalkeeper struggling to fill the boots of the retired Edwin van der Sar.  Van der Sar was a very good Premier League goalkeeper and a significant presence, but he was never a keeper that was considered one of the best in the world.  Surely Ferguson should have pushed harder to sign a better young keeper such as Germany’s Manuel Neuer.  Around the Premier League, other  young keepers such as Blackburn’s Mark Bunn have done a much better job of making an impact than de Gea.

Other player arrivals have also been subpar.

Phil Jones is a very talented player.  But it should be remembered that he was only a semi-active player in a poor Blackburn Rovers side last season and that he would not make the starting XI in a central defensive role ahead of the preferred pairing of Christopher Samba and Ryan Nelsen.  Jones’ could never be considered the type of squad addition that would propel United’s defensive resources towards the standard of Barcelona’s.

Ashley Young has been a good signing, but the fringe England international is nowhere near the quality of Barcelona’s Sanchez, who was Serie A’s outstanding individual performer last season.

United’s established players have deteriorated in quality.

Still a useful playmaker, Ryan Giggs’ appearances have become so rare that he surely would have been forced into retirement at a club with a smaller payroll budget.

Rio Ferdinand’s appearances have also been rare and his habit of using up one of the three available substitutions with a niggling injury is starting to become infuriating for United’s management.  Ferdinand’s defensive qualities have never been world class, but his pace and technical ability has.  However, age and injuries have stifled the former, meaning that he can only be regarded as an average Premier League defender when fit.

Despite the obvious need to strengthen, United are now a weaker team now than the side which was on the receiving end of the Barcelona mauling. 

Sir Alex Ferguson needs to address his side’s many issues with significant transfer market activity this January.   Otherwise Manchester United’s performances will continue to suffer.

Your Comments:

Elite footballers are seemingly engaging in a never-ending for the World’s best goal celebration.

Over the years, we have seen celebrations ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. 

Personally, I’ve always preferred passion-swilling celebrations like Brazil’s Josimar who ran back about with his arms aloft and palms facing skyward after hammering home a long-distance drive against Northern Ireland at the 1986 World Cup; or West Germany’s Lothar Mathaeus who ran towards the sideline shaking his fist before stumbling over in a heap after scoring a stunner against Yugoslavia in 1990.

Have a look at these goal celebrations; you can feel the passion, the delight and the uncontrollable elation.

Lately, celebrations seem to be all rather contrived and self-indulgent.  This perhaps is just symbiotic of your typical modern day footballer.

The dancing, posturing, boxing and posing of many modern day footballers is just nonsensical rubbish.  This alone is barely tolerable, but it actually also betrays a lack of passion and a heavy dose of arrogance.

These players don’t seem to realise that fans love passion.  And they don’t like twats.

And what of the players who have t-shirts printed for the occasion?  Quite pompous of them to think that fans give a rats don’t you think?  And to engage in the long process of heading down to the screen printers on Monday, picking up the t-shirt on the Friday, donning it for several weeks before the goal arrives and then finally revealing it in front of the nearest television camera after scoring a tap in set up by a hard working full back sounds all a bit too desperate for me.

The goal-barren weeks in between the printing of the t-shirt and the celebration of the goal must seem like agony to someone so egotistical as to have had the t-shirt printed in the first place.

In Brazil, it has become the norm brutally kick any player deemed to have showboated.  Displays of arrogance such as excessive ball juggling in general play have been met with violence from opposition players, which has in turn been meet with tolerance on behalf of referees and league organisers.

 Can you imagine Neil Ruddock being let loose on the current crop of Premier League show-offs?

Personally, I’d like to see a top level footballer celebrate a goal with a smile, before turning to run back to half way to resume play. 

Your Comments:

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish’s ongoing support for the poorly-behaved Luis Suarez is undermining his progress at Liverpool.

Furthermore, the stance of the Liverpool team, who showed unilateral support for their team mate by donning warm up t-shirts in support of him this week, risks making Liverpool the enemy of the neutral. 

This is all in stark contrast to the progress made by manager Kenny Dalglish since he took over the reins of this malfunctioning team part way into last season.

Before joining the club from Ajax, Suarez was known in the Dutch Eredivisie as a diver.  He also cheated Uruguay past Ghana and into the semi finals of the 2010 World Cup with a blatant goal-line hand ball.  Not only did he cheat, he had the temerity to boast about it afterwards.

Dalglish willingly signed a player of flawed character. 

And now the Liverpool boss expects us to believe that Suarez is nothing but a lovely chap despite frequent displays of bad behaviour and cheating.

A person’s character is defined by his actions.  So how can Suarez’s frequent poor behaviour not provide us with an accurate portrayal of his true behaviour?

Even if he is only like this on Saturdays, it offers him no excuse.

If someone annoys you, and your first response is to utter a racist remark, then you are a racist.

If you want to upset someone for competitive gain, or whatever reason, and you decide that the best means of doing so is to utter a racist remark, then you are a racist.

The Football Association has found evidence that Suarez racially abused Manchester United’s Patrice Evra.  Therefore, Luis Suarez is nothing but a racist.

The argument that things said in the heat of battle should be set aside after the game is pathetic.

If your boss is putting the heat on at work, is it ok to racially abuse him or her?

Nowhere in society is racism tolerated.  So why do some think that it should acceptable on the football pitch?

Liverpool FC need to clean up their act, withdraw their appeal against Suarez’s eight-week ban and concentrate on instilling some discipline into their star player.

Your Comments:

The spat between former Manchester United midfield star Roy Keane and the club continues.

Keane left United under unpleasant circumstances as a player, having been frozen out by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2005.

Keane provided his opinion on United's premature Champion's League exit last week, saying: "I think (going out) reflects what United have done in truth, they haven't scored enough goals and they haven't beaten Basel or Benfica.

"People have talked about the young players - you've had Jones, (Chris) Smalling, (Ashley) Young coming in, everybody building them up but they've got a lot to do, it's a reality check for some.

"I'd be getting hold of some of those lads, saying 'you'd better buck up your ideas'."

Keane's comments seemed reasonable, and not too far from the truth, however Ferguson did not take too kindly to such blunt comments from his former charge and in a dig at Keane's poor managerial record, said: "He had an opportunity to prove himself as a manager too. It is a difficult job."

Now Keane has hit back in an interview with the Sunday Times.

"You could question every pundit's managerial skill in relation to his and come up short," riposted the Irishman. 

"But I would also say that without players like myself, maybe he wouldn't have such a good managerial record because it's soon forgotten that we put bodies on the line for him."

The former midfielder also revealed that he had refused to attend Ferguson's 25th anniversary dinner earlier this year after United had threatened to sue him back in 2008 for criticising the way his exit from the club was handled.

"I couldn't have gone and sat there like everything was great," he remarked. " He [Ferguson] would come and we all stand up and clap, I couldn't have done that."

Keane is currently out of management, having been sacked by Ipswich Town earlier this year.

Keane played 326 games for United and scored 33 goals in a stellar career with a  team that revolved around him.  

It's a pity that this great player and this great club can't put differences and past bitterness aside and move on.  On achievement alone, Keane would surely warrant a statue outside of Old Trafford much in the manner of Thierry Henry at Arsenal.

Mario Balotelli's love for the ridiculous has landed him in yet another training ground incident, this time with muscle-clad right back Micah Richards with whom he had a training-ground confrontation today.

The two players clashed towards the end of a practice match when Richards accused Balotelli, who was on the same team, of not running hard enough.

Witnesses reported that words were exchanged before the two players squared up. Richards, in particular, seemed aggrieved by what had been said and the defender had to be restrained by James Milner and Yaya Touré as he sought to prolong the argument.

City's manager, Roberto Mancini, also got involved to keep them apart.

The incident has been described as minor behind the scenes, where it has been stressed that it was quickly forgotten once the players had returned to the dressing room. They are understood to have shaken hands and Richards responded by posting a message on his Twitter site describing them as "all good".

Richards added: "These things happen in training & we shook hands after. It shows passion!"

It will, however, be added to the increasingly lengthy list of misdemeanours involving Balotelli at a time when Mancini openly admits being exasperated about the striker's apparent inability to conform.

Among other issues, Balotelli also had to explain to Mancini why he had broken a curfew and was seen at 1am in Manchester's city centre on Sunday. Although the latest incident is unlikely to lead to any form of disciplinary action, the frequency with which Balotelli finds himself in trouble demonstrates why this is a player who can infuriate his manager.

There is also an unwanted sense of deja vu for the Premier League leaders, with a number of similar incidents breaking out at City's training ground over the last year. This is the fourth time he has been involved, after previous flashpoints with Jérôme Boateng, Aleksandar Kolarov and Vincent Kompany.

Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Touré were photographed rolling around the floor during another fight – not involving Balotelli – and the various issues have fuelled a perception that Mancini has assembled one of the more combustible squads in the top division. City say this is not the case and that these kinds of incidents happen at other clubs, the difference being that photographers can get easier access to their Carrington base because of a public footpath that runs beside the pitches.

Whereas Manchester United pride themselves on "Fort Knox-style" secrecy at their training ground a few hundred yards away, even cutting down a tree that photographers used, City are far more exposed.

The club are putting up fences in an attempt to keep out the cameras and their plans for a new training ground, beside the Etihad Stadium, are designed so that what happens inside the camp does not leak out.

Your Comments:

Your Comments:

Liverpool's resident diver, hand ball cheat, accused racist and all-round evil-doer striker Luis Suarez has been charged with improper conduct following an "alleged" gesture he made towards Fulham fans on Monday.

The 'alleged' incident is depicted in an actual photograph (above).  Doesn't look particularly 'alleged' to me...

It will be interesting to see how the quite significantly one-eyed Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish defends Suarez from his latest accusation.  Kenny has, afterall, never seen Suarez dive.  Nor has he ever heard him utter a racist word.  He presumably also did not see him hand ball so blatantly on the goal line in Uruguay's infamous World Cup quarter final against Ghana either.  Nor did he hear him boasting about it to the press later.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have been charged by the FA with failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion following the controversial sending-off of Jay Spearing in the second half.

Liverpool's players reacted angrily after Spearing was shown a straight red card by referee Kevin Friend for a tackle on Moussa Dembele in the 72nd minute.

The club have opted not to appeal against the decision.

A breakdown of all the matches that will take place at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ulraine next summer.

All match kick-off times are BST.

GROUP STAGES

Group A

Friday, June 8

Warsaw, Group A: Poland v Greece (1700)

Wroclaw, Group A: Russia v Czech Republic (1945)

Tuesday, June 12

Wroclaw, Group A: Greece v Czech Republic (1700)

Warsaw, Group A: Poland v Russia (1945)

Saturday, June 16

Wroclaw, Group A: Czech Republic v Poland (1945)

Warsaw, Group A: Greece v Russia (1945)

Group B

Saturday, June 9

Kharkiv, Group B: Holland v Denmark (1700)

Lviv, Group B: Germany v Portugal (1945)

Wednesday, June 13

Lviv, Group B: Denmark v Portugal (1700)

Kharkiv, Group B: Holland v Germany (1945)

Sunday, June 17

Kharkiv, Group B: Portugal v Holland (1945)

Lviv, Group B: Denmark v Germany (1945)

Group C

Sunday, June 10

Gdansk, Group C: Spain v Italy (1700)

Poznan, Group C: Republic of Ireland v Croatia (1945)

Thursday, June 14

Poznan, Group C: Italy v Croatia (1700)

Gdansk, Group C: Spain v Republic of Ireland (1945)

Monday, June 18

Gdansk, Group C: Croatia v Spain (1945)

Poznan, Group C: Italy v Republic of Ireland (1945)

Group D

Monday, June 11

Donetsk, Group D: France v England (1700)

Kiev, Group D: Ukraine v Sweden (1945)

Friday, June 15

Kiev, Group D: Sweden v England (1700)

Donetsk, Group D: Ukraine v France (1945)

Tuesday, June 19

Donetsk, Group D: England v Ukraine (1945)

Kiev, Group D: Sweden v France (1945)

QUARTER-FINALS

Thursday, June 21

QF1: Warsaw: Winner A v Runner-up B (1945)

Friday, June 22

QF2: Gdansk: Winner B v Runner-up A (1945)

Saturday, June 23

QF3: Donetsk: Winner C v Runner-up D (1945)

Sunday, June 24

QF4: Kiev: Winner D v Runner-up C (1945)

SEMI-FINALS

Wednesday, June 27

SF1: Donetsk: Winner QF1 v Winner QF3 (1945)

Thursday, June 28

SF2: Warsaw: Winner QF2 v Winner QF4 (1945)

FINAL

Sunday, July 1

Kiev: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 (1945)

We select Sir Alex Ferguson's best all time XI.

Goalkeeper: Peter Schmeichel

Boils down to a choice between Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar, with hardly anything between them. Schmeichel (five titles, one European Cup) gets the nod, but only because he came before Van der Sar (four titles, one European Cup) and broke the mould.

Rightback: Gary Neville

Paul Parker was an essential component of Ferguson's first title-winning team but Neville is the stand-out candidate. Loyal, brave - a bit of a pain sometimes. But committed and pretty good too. First-team career lasted 19 years and 602 appearances.

Centreback: Jaap Stam

Ferguson has admitted to making one of his few mistakes in allowing Stam to leave in 2001. Only at United for three seasons but won the title in every one, in addition to the Champions League. Strong in the tackle and an excellent reader of the game. Few come close - but some do. Rio Ferdinand for a start.

Centreback: Nemanja Vidic

The Serbian holds the rare distinction of being confirmed a United player on Christmas Day. Struggled at first but has gone on to become one of the world's best defenders. And he has ended that nightmare run against Fernando Torres as well. Has the strength to match any opponent and is proving an outstanding captain.

Left-back: Denis Irwin

Patrice Evra is slightly better in an attacking sense, but Denis Irwin could do it all and play off two feet.

Right-wing: Cristiano Ronaldo

Now the arguments begin. David Beckham is an obvious choice here and his efforts deserve due mention. But someone who was crowned the world's best player during his time at United - and is still rated in the top two - has to have a place. Ronaldo's trickery was not to everyone's taste. Forty-two goals in a single season certainly was.

Central Midfield: Roy Keane

The Irish colossus patrolled the United midfield as though it was his own personal fiefdom. His duels with Patrick Vieira were the stuff of legend and performance in the 1999 Champions League semi-final against Juventus in Turin, when he was already booked and out of the final, will stand comparison with any.

Central Midfield: Paul Scholes

Sometimes decisions are so tough, it is best to let others make them. Bryan Robson, Paul Ince, Michael Carrick even. But when great players such as Xavi and Edgar Davids are asked to name the man who made United tick, Scholes is the name they always come up with. That will do for me.

Left-wing: Ryan Giggs

Ferguson likened Giggs to "a piece of paper blowing in the wind" when he first saw him as a schoolboy. Nearly 900 appearances later, the Welshman is still going strong. Barring the first FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup triumph in 1991, Giggs has played a part in all Ferguson's successes.

Centre-forward: Wayne Rooney

Arrived a teenage sensation, then condemned to live in Ronaldo's shadow, Rooney is now starting to blossom. Carried United into their post-Ronaldo season, scoring 32 goals before injury intervened and personal problems came to light. Now back to his best and ready to assume the mantle of greatness for which he was destined.

Centre-forward: Eric Cantona.

More than any single player, Cantona transformed United from nearly men to champions. Arrived with the swagger of a man destined to usurp Denis Law as the new king. Fifteen years after his departure, he is still adored, that infamous night at Crystal Palace merely enhancing his legend.