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Manchester City boss, Mark Hughes, has launched a scathing attack following his side’s defeat at the hands of rivals, Manchester United. Hughes was not happy at the amount of time that was added on in the Manchester derby as Michael Owen scored the winning goal in the 96^th minute.

Hughes launched the attack after the game in a match that City did not really deserve to get any thing out of. Two of their three goals only came because of bad errors in the United defence and Craig Bellamy, who scored two of the, should not have been on the pitch after a stamp on Anderson in the first half.

Hughes said: “The guy shouldn’t have been on the pitch. That’s not acceptable. I remember Brian Clough (the former Nottingham Forest manager) clipping someone round the earhole because he was being daft and maybe that’s what Craig’s done.”

“We feel robbed. The fourth official tried to give me an explanation because I was questioning the amount of time that was being added on even before the game finished, but his explanation didn’t sit comfortably with me.”

“He tried to say he had added a minute plus because of our celebration [for the third goal]. We actually scored right on 90 minutes and the board was already up for four minutes. We timed the amount of time from when we scored to when they kicked off and it was 45 seconds, so they got that wrong. They actually scored after 95 minutes and 28 seconds, so he has obviously played too much time and he went on to play 97 minutes.”

“When I played here I thought we had a bad time by referees, but since I left I have changed my view. I’m not going to question the referee’s integrity. I just want an explanation. I just can’t see where he got that time.”

Despite Hughes’c comments very few fans around the country will sympathise with him because of the consistently bad way that his club and himself continue to behave. What Hughes forgot when he was making his speech is that the fourth official also has to add time on because of substitutions and three were made during injury time, adding another 90 seconds to the game. This took the match time to 95 and a half minutes, within which Owen scored.

It is unknown whether the FA will ask Hughes to explain his attack but had the shoe been on the other foot then he probably would have been a lot quieter.

Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba, has said that the club will not be affected by the transfer ban this season and will canter to glory in both the Premier League and Champions League. Chelsea have looked the most complete team in England so far this season and Drogba has played a large part in this early season form.

He is the sort of player that everyone loves to criticise but so far in the games Chelsea have played, he has looked very hard working and seems determined to help his side get a great deal of success this year.

He said: “I don’t mind which, but we have to win one. Why can’t we win both [the Premier League and Champions League]? People are always talking about the day I said I wanted to go from here, but I’ve said I’m happy here many times and I am.”

“I have my plan and I’ll stick to it, which is the most important thing – I know what I want to achieve with Chelsea. I’m here to stay and I want more success. Dropping in and connecting midfield and attack like I do when I play with a strike partner is how I played with Marseille before I came to England.”

“And the way I played with Damien Duff and Arjen Robben in my first two seasons here – meeting crosses and attacking balls – is how I had played with Guingamp before I moved to Marseille. It’s true that I love to receive the ball into feet to be given the chance to try and create something, and to pass to my team-mates. I think it makes me more unpredictable than in the other way because I can use my balance and my strength to help.”

It would take a very brave betting man to actually place money against Chelsea this season. So far Manchester United have been way off the pace and the only team that has kept up with Chelsea, Manchester City, will fall away at some point as sides will eevntually find a way to beat them.

However, Chelsea are a different story, Carlo Ancelotti seems to have a very good tactical brain and the ability to grind out wins from bad performances. Chelsea have also picked up the habit of scoring in the last minute of a game which also helps out from time to time.

Chelsea manager, Carlo Ancelotti, has told his players in no uncertain terms that nothing less than winning the Champions League this season will be acceptable. This is an interesting move, which is rarely seen from managers in England as the Italian has now put the pressure right on top of his side who will need to perform throughout the entire competition.

The Champions League is a trophy that has eluded Chelsea in recent years, even though they have come so close to lifting it on a variety of occasions. So much will depend on their arrival to the later stages of the competition and it could be a naïve by the Chelsea boss to make such statements at this early stage.

He said: “The first objective is to arrive at the final, not to win it. That’s what we want to do. It’s not easy, but we have the possibility to do this. I don’t think there is a psychological problem. Chelsea went very close to winning it, they didn’t win, but there is a real possibility we can do very well this season. You have to believe to be the best in this competition.”

Defender, Ricardo Carvalho, added: “To win the Champions League with Chelsea would be great, but you need luck. We have reached the final once before and we want to do it again. It still hurts a lot. I was once in the final and we missed a great opportunity, we were a bit unlucky. But more important is to get there more times and have more chances to win it.”

Chelsea have been dealt a good draw in the group stages and will be looking to become the first side to qualify for the knock out rounds. How they will do this is quite simple, they just have to win every match and play as well as they can do all of the time. This may seem like the most logical way to approach the Champions League but so often in the past teams have missed out because they have not taken the initial group stages seriously.

Skipper, John Terry, said: “We’ve come so close and after so many years of doing so well in this competition and not winning it, this is the chance to finally do it. We’ve got players of the right age and experience and also the right quality to push on this year and make it ours. That’s what we’re looking to do.”

Marietta, nestled to the south of the Georgian mountains and 15 kilo meters north west of Atlanta, founded in the year 1834, and 175 years old, is home to ‘Russian Slayer’ and new American tennis heartthrob Melanie Oudin. Though all of just 17 years and 5’ 6” tall, and with a boyfriend who is 15, this superb athlete exhibited a rare sense of grace even in defeat showing far more maturity than her age or height could foretell. 2009 US Open showcased wonderful expositions of attitudes in winning and losing.

Melanie started her tennis about when she was in her 7th grade with the blessings of her grandmother, who gifted her first racquet . She was a former world junior no.2 who turned professional in February 2008 and rose quickly in her Women’s Tennis Association rankings to reach her current ranking of No.70 this year.

Melanie’s stint at Wimbledon this year was in itself a prelude of things to come. Ranked no.124 then, she demolished the likes of 29th seed Sybilla Banner, 55th seed Yaroslava Shvedova and 6th seed Jelena Jankovic to rise to No.70 in the women’s rankings.

In September this year she got her second consecutive chance to play at the U.S. open. She was dauntless and displayed a strong mindset, not the least bit worried about her height or the reputation of her prospective opponents. She showed true resolve to put the anguish of her first round defeat at the last U.S. open and went about steadfastly regrouping her confidence for this year’s showdown. She drew solid inspiration from her idol in tennis, Justin Henin who was a former world no.1 and just 5’ 5” tall

Her Coach and mentor, Brian De Villiers, instills humility and strength of purpose in her, never allows her to forget her roots and guides her on never being awed by the opposition’s physical or celebrity status.

The U.S. open at Flushing Meadows showcases the Arthur Ashe Tennis Stadium and this is where Melanie arrived for her tryst with destiny. Her giant killer reputation preceded her after her heroic exploits at the Wimbledon and many held forth the prophecy that her experiences of the recent past would propel her to inch her way to the top.

All of America prayed for her and cherished the hope that here was a worthy successor to Venus and Serena Williams who were slowly eclipsing to the status of heroines of the past. Melanie was nicknamed ‘little red runner’ by John McEnroe and ‘Cinderella’ by the public at large. When the tournament started, she quickly got through her first round. In the second round, she defeated 6th seed Elena Dementieva, in the third, she vanquished Maria Sharapova in the fourth round she sent 13th seed Nadia Petrova packing.

This earned her the nickname ‘Russian Slayer.’ It was in the next and quarter final round that she met her Waterloo at the hands of Caroline Wozniacki, 9th seed and a 19 years old compact Danish player who never allowed Melanie to recoup her game, in spite of her last ditch attempts to rally her game towards the end of the first set and beginning or the second. The crowd cheered for every point she earned and sighed with each one she lost.

However, it was what happened after the game that focused world attention on this teenager who came from a lusterless past to electrify the nation and the world. The press adopted her as their darling. When Melanie warmly congratulated her opponent after the match, the crowd roared their appreciation. In a rare interview thereafter with ESPN, she wished Caroline the best for her next match. The press went overboard and declared that politicians would do well to emulate her grace in defeat. She was a true exponent of a saying I read somewhere that ‘a man is not known for what he achieved, but for the way he lived his life.’ Does this not sound a fitting tribute to Melanie Oudin?