The "Sol" walks again.

Sol Campbell is well remembered during his days at Arsenal and also for his contribution to England. However, Sol's recent antics have landed him 2nd place on the top 10 shortest transfers. Sol Campbell walked out of Notts County after 1 game for the club which ended in a 2-1 defeat at Morecambe.

It's not the first time Sol Campbell has done something like this for he has walked out of Arsenal in 2006 after a horrendous first half against West Ham. Reports say it is due to a reality check that he decided to leave Notts County. For me, I see it as a simple act of irresponsibility and a display of terrible character and professionalism.

He may be a good defender and may be snapped up in January by some struggling clubs in the Premier League when the transfer window opens. But my advice to these clubs is that they be ready for the signing of a non-committed player and a player who doesn't seem to put the club above himself. All in all, a selfish player who is fickle and probably makes uninformed choices.

Manchester Derby Classic

Best derby I have ever witnessed, period.

Pulsating action, end to end stuff, two teams playing at the best yet prone to defensive errors that added to the great excitement of a Barclays Premier League derby.

First goal, Man Utd was pure Rooney, grit, determination and immense strength to finish past Shay Given

Second goal Man City, poor poor mistake by Ben Foster, giving Carlos Tevez the chance to poke the ball to Barry to slot home easily.

Third goal Man Utd, Fletcher arrives in the box to head into bottom corner of goal. Excellent cross from Giggs.

Fourth goal, Man City, nothing you can do about this one. Bellamy cuts in and rifles home a stupendous drive into the top corner.

Fifth goal, Man Utd, Fletcher again... arrives in the box to head Giggs's free-kick past Shay Given. Prior to this, Given was excellent to stop three clear goal attempts.

Sixth goal, Man City, boo boo by Rio Ferdinand, outpaced by Bellamy, finished off cooly by the Welshman. 3-3... looks like a draw.

SEVENTH goal, Man Utd, Michael Owen at the death of the game, controls Giggs through ball and slots it past Given for an emphatic last minute winner. Old Trafford erupts in euphoria.

Why do I watch soccer you ask? For moments like these...

Dwight Yorke finally retires.

Dwight Yorke has decided to hang up his boots at the age of 37 and take on the role of the assistant manager for Trinidad and Tobago. He was one of what I called the "Oreo Team" at Manchester United, partnering Andy Cole. They were the attacking pair when I started watching Manchester United play and I shall never forget the way they demolished Liverpool in the Charity Shield and other tournaments.

He has offered quite a lot of entertainment during his days as a player and was fondly referred to as the smiling assasin due to his ability to score goals and his ever existent smile! It'll be exciting to see him follow the footsteps of his other teammates such as Roy Keane and take up a managerial role with a English club in the near future. If that happens, it would then seem that Alex Ferguson is sowing his seeds in the game, especially the English game.

There goes the "Oreo Team" and the beginning of a new attacking partnerships at Manchester United.

Child Trafficking, what?

The focus these days while football is on international week is the recent ruling by FIFA to ban Chelsea for 2 years for allegedly signing a minor, Gael Kakuta (above) from Lens without going through the proper procedures.

Similarly, a hundred over clubs have jumped on the chance to get some resolution to similar cases, against the who's who of English football, such as Man Utd, Man City and Everton for signing youth players with great potential from their ranks.

The saga is truly an interesting and debatable one, with both sides of the argument engaged in fiery exchanges. On one side, you have the major clubs of world football, the Man Utds and the Chelseas who can and are able to attract younger players based on their namesake alone. On the other side, you have the minnows as you would have it from the lower leagues in Europe, the Lens, Le Harves, Lazios and Fiorentinas who are unhappy about losing their best homegrown talent to the bright lights of the bigger clubs.

To be bluntly honest, I think the whole saga is a load of crap, invented by the people who do not know and have no idea whatsoever, of the reality in a real world. Arsenal's manager, one of the few men who should deserve praise if not accolades for grooming talent such as Henry, Anelka, Fabregas and lately Jack Wilshere voiced out quite rightly that the people who made these policies are clearly not thinking right. Well, he didn't exactly said that, but he meant that.

Obviously, every young player wants to play for the biggest clubs in football. Not only does he get a better footballing program at a bigger club, his wages are much better to which allows him to assist in supporting his family which in most cases are not well off. His academic education is taken care of. He gets a chance to play with the best in the world which will inevitably improve his skills and mental capacity as a footballer. Most of all, in a footballer's short career of fifteen years the most, he will not get many golden oppportunities from the likes of Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal knocking at his door... For goodness sake, give the kids their break to chase the dream.

It is sad to know that footballing authorities are so disconnected with the real world. If they are parents who have a child that has a chance to study at Harvard or Oxford with a full scholarship provided, what are the chances that they choose to restrict their kid to a less renowned university locally?

The modern world is built on a system of merit, people move on to greener pastures on their own accord, consequences and rewards of their decision borne by oneself. In all corporate bodies, established companies poach talent from the smaller firms, oh yes... the reality for smaller companies is very ugly, but the individual should be given their decision to make, not the regulating body or the Ministry of Manpower for instance. Why should football be any different? Is there an over-enthusiastic intention here to level the playing ground? At what costs will FIFA be willing to take? At the cost of denying a kid his dream? Will it even work in the first place, when often times smaller clubs are not making the grade not because they have lost their best players but simply because they do not have the right structure for a competitive advantage in the first place?

Truth of the matter is, the best players want to play in the best team. Cristiano Ronaldo was deemed by the same authorities; to be a slave to his contract last season because his rightful employers Manchester Utd refused to let him go to Real Madrid, the club of the Portugese star's dream. Now they are calling on new policies to deny hundreds of young and promising footballers the chance to play for the clubs of their dreams. Isn't that just lame hypocrisy? Where is the consistency in all of these?

Clubs pay a tribunal fee to the smaller clubs for young talent they bring on board to the club. it is not as if the smaller clubs receive nothing for the player being groomed at their grounds. But because there is no professional contract signed for players below 18 years of age, the fee has to be decided in a fair and netural system for both parties. At the end of the day, the player's career and his choice of progress should be given the priority of thought. The bigger club can then decide if they want to pay the fee stipulated by the deciding authority for compensation of sorts to the smaller club for discovering and training the player.

Reputable clubs with strong and established youth academies like Man Utd and Arsenal provide a wholesome education for their players. They have the capacity to take care of the financial issues for the young player and his family so that he can concentrate on developing his footballing talent, and thus the chance at a brighter future in football. It is a scholarship based on merit to which the young player must earn his place among the club's elite while learning and refining his trade at the academy. The young player can only benefit from this experience. It makes him stronger as a person and his prestigious footballing education ups his value almost immediately (liken it to a degree program at Harvard or Oxford), setting him up for life as a professional footballer. Denying talent the space to grow by fixating him to a smaller club befuddles me.

I think FIFA must draw a line on what they deem as child trafficking. Is it child trafficking at all? Even if the minor cannot make the choice, can the parent not make the best choice for the child? Bribing the parent with money and luxury houses is obviously wrong by any ethical standard, but offering the parent a chance to provide his/her child with a world class footballing education and an opportunity to improve their standards of living is surely not morally or professionally flawed.

If the issue is about levelling the competitive field for football clubs, at what cost will FIFA force it through, will they even restrict the individual discretion to make personal career choices? Eventually, the talented player will still move on to a bigger club if he has outgrown in stature and ability to the rest at the club. It is only a matter of when. Anyway, the whole idea of levelling the playing field in football is nonsensical to me, but this shall be discussed in a different column at a more appropriate date.

Emergence of a new Super League?

UEFA and FIFA have been stamping their authority all over the place before all the major clubs have even started their official season properly.

First, the diving ban on Arsenal's Eduardo, then a curb on club spending which will affect perennial big spenders like Manchester City and Real Madrid, and now a rule on exploiting young talent which could force bans on most clubs with a youth policy like Chelsea and Manchester United.

In what is the third event outside of the game that could affect the top footballing clubs, FIFA has decided to ban Chelsea from purchasing any new player for two years or two transfer window periods for allegedly tapping on the youth system of a smaller French club to recruit the promising youngster Gael Kakuta.

Two transfer windows with no new players is a big problem for a club like Chelsea. With no new blood to compete at Chelsea, it will be harder for them to challenge for top honors in the next two seasons. And with the team ageing and new coach Ancelotti eager to acquire new talent like his young protege Alexandre Pato from AC Milan to inject youthfulness at the club, the ban is set to derail Russian owner Abramovich's plans of winning a European Champions League trophy.

Which brings me to my point, how long will it take before the dawn of a new European Super League? With Michel Platini at the helm of UEFA, the top clubs are increasingly unhappy at the policies that have been introduced by the Frenchman. In truth, Platini has consistently upset the super-rich clubs by trying to bring some equilibrium to club football. These series of events and new changes could potentially trigger off a new super league albeit a private league set up by the superpowers of football, with the likes of Real Madrid and Man Utd clashing on a weekly basis, rather than the occasional European match.

Though I am no big fan of a super league, since the smaller clubs are likely to be ostracized, imagine what it would be like if UEFA keeps pushing the limits. No matter how authoritative the governing body is, the big clubs and their players are what fans and broadcasters look out for. They, the superpowers of club football hold the true power. I liken this scenrio to the recent Formula 1 saga, when the major racing teams (Renault and Ferrari) with the backing of their billionaire funders and legions of fans managed to overturn a ruling made by the top man at FIA, Max Mosely and force what will eventually be his resignation.

So I say UEFA must thread their grounds carefully. They do not want a potential showdown with the major clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea or Real Madrid to decide the future of European football, because the outcome is the very likelihood that a super league can be formed and do just as well if not better than the current leagues in Europe. With the powers gone, a league comprising of Hull City, Burnley and Wigan just do not seem enticing or market-worthy to TV fans at all when compared to the elite of world football competing on a regular basis. If that outcome happens, UEFA will disappear into anoymity in no time. UEFA can only lose in a such a scenario.

Honestly, Platini needs to learn control over his French temper and be more cautious and strategic in his approach to implementing changes. Too many at a time and you risk a potential backlash, a serious one that could happen if pushed hard enough.

Review: World Cup Qualifiers

Brazil has ensured a place in the World Cup Finals while Spain is on the brink of qualification after a sensational 5-0 win over Belgium. Portugal on the other hand seems to be in trouble as they only managed a 1-1 draw with Denmark. It seems that Ronaldo Cristiano alone may not be sufficient to make a difference enough for Portugal to secure an early qualification into the World Cup Finals.

The next few matches will be interesting as fate of most countries shall be decided within the next 2 games. It would be a pity if Portugal fail to qualify as it would mean that we will not be able to see Cristiano perform his magic for us on screen and it will definitely be disappointing for Ronaldo Cristiano as we know him as a player who loves to entertain during big games as he feeds his ego from the crowds' cheers.

The next match will be taking place within the next week and I wouldn't be surprised if some of these "great" footballing nations might not qualify for the World Cup Finals.

Mad Rush on Transfer Deadline

A flurry of transfer activity marked the end of the transfer window for the summer as English clubs scramble to buy players available on the market, sometimes at ridiculous prices.

Sunderland's acquisition of Michael Turner costs 12 million pounds. Whether the Hull defender who came on the scene last year with Hull City can live up to his billing remains to be seen. Valued by Liverpool at a considerably lower price, Turner might be a solid defender with a knack for scoring from set-pieces, but he is still some way from becoming a full fledged England international.

Everton did a bit of smart buying by adding Johnny Heitinga (above) from Athletico Madrid. Replacing Lescott who left for Man City, Heitinga adds some poise and class at the back, and with a proven player like Slyvain Distin also joining from Portsmouth, the central defence is well covered by David Moyes. Moyes also managed to add Russian winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov whom if he manages to settle in quickly into English football could add some much needed creativity for the Toffees.

Niko Krancjar marks another astute signing by Harry Redknapp. Portsmouth's most creative player was signed by Harry for next to nothing really. He provides excellent cover for Modric who is out with a broken leg and his ability to run at defenders and smooth playmaking abilities resemble that of Spurs hero David Ginola who could also play across the midfield or just behind the front two.

Richard Dunne, a loyal servant of Man City for close to ten years now deserved better from his club for his loyalty and stellar performances for a team who had not went through the best of times during his playing days. It seems ill fitting that the club captain has been sent to Aston Villa as he was deemed surplus to requirements with Toure and Lescott preferred at the back. Dunne is a classic English defender, hard to play against and no-nonsense. Most importantly, he understood Man City and what it stood for. The transfer of Dunne to Villa signifies the change-of-guard at Man City, when a new era of highly paid "superstars" will now officially take over from the old boys of Man City.

The other clubs did their best to secure services of bit part players to push their bid for survival and a mid-table finish. Stoke City signed defender Danny Collins from Sunderland, Aston Villa secured another defender James Collins from West Ham, Portsmouth got centre-back Ben Haim from Man City, forward Nugent swapped Portsmouth for Burnley, Hull got Ibrahim Sonko from Stoke to replace Michael Turner who left for Sunderland. Bolton secured Croatian veteran striker Ivan Klasnic as they desperately look for goals upfront.

No big signings from outside the Premier League this season as all the clubs look to consolidate from within the league where the seasoned players understand the guile and doggedness of the Premier League game in game out.