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Today’s hooey knows who rules if you listen to fools

First Gianfranco Zola is sacked, then Ronnie James Dio gets summoned by the unholy sorcerer in the sky – truly, this has been a foul few weeks for giant men with little bodies. Shaun Wright-Phillips may not fit into that category but he does fall into this one: Manchester City wingers who are not thought to have much of a future at Eastlands and may find themselves sitting down soon to discuss a move to Newcastle. It’s quite a lonely category, in fairness.

Still, it’s better to be alone than in bad company, as the Mill’s mum says whenever she catches us consorting with spivs and floozies and journalists and all the other loquacious lowlife who keep us supplied with the guff you read here and doubt on a daily basis. Sir Alex Ferguson wants to improve the calibre of person, or at least of player, that he hangs out with and aims to do so by adding a £38m debit to Manchester United’s balance sheet in order to sign Argentinian trickster Angel di Maria from Benfica. The Daily Mirror tells us that the Scot also intends splurging £35m on Ajax’s Luis Suarez. That may sound like an unfeasibly large spending spree for a club whose debts are so heavy the dear-departed Dio could have appeared on their soundtrack, but a lucrative exodus will help fund the swoops: out will go Ben Foster (Birmingham), Dimitar Berbatov (Bayern Munich, Hamburg, Milan, Sevilla, take your pick), Nani (Marseille, Benfica, Sunderland, Villarreal), Anderson (Benfica) and Darren Fletcher (Sunderland, Aston Villa, Newcastle).

That all sounds quite neat, eh? Ah, but that’s only if everything goes to United’s plan or, to be precise, only if United are not outbid for Di Maria by Manchester City, who will turn their attention to the Argentinian if they fail to nab Franck Ribery.

Liverpool are confident that City see no further use for Stephen Ireland but are growing increasingly concerned that Arsenal might, especially if Cesc Fabregas goes back to Barcelona. Arsene Wenger also plans to prise Jack Rodwell from Everton and Scott Parker from West Ham – and the latest goalkeeper to be linked with a move to the

Emirates is Mark Schwarzer. Every time you hear Gareth Southgate sounding reasonable from ITV’s gantry, balance that by remembering he is the man who let Schwarzer leave Middlesbrough for free.

Fulham are favourites to sign Carlton Cole from West Ham, who will replace him with Everton striker Yakubu. Meanwhile at Stoke, Tony Pulis will offload James Beattie on Coventry City and Dave Kitson on Wolves, then celebrate by recruiting England’s Emile Heskey.

Manchester CityManchester UnitedArsenalFulhamLiverpoolStoke CityWolverhampton WanderersWest Ham UnitedPaul Doyleguardian.co.uk

Liverpool lost ground in their pursuit of the fourth Champions League place this afternoon after being held to a goalless draw at home to Fulham. Rafael Benítez’s team dominated from start to finish against opponents who parked the proverbial bus at Anfield, but the thought that this could be a dress rehearsal for the Europa League final is chilling.

Progress to the semi-finals on Thursday night took a toll on both clubs with Fernando Torres, described as exhausted and troubled by a slight knee injury by Benítez after the Benfica victory, the most notable absentee. The omission of a striker with two goals on each of his last four appearances at Anfield inevitably lessened the menace and quality of Liverpool’s attack, but not the side’s commitment to it, and the first half flowed exclusively in the direction of Mark Schwarzer’s goal.

Fulham did not create a single opening before the interval as their supremely well-drilled banks of four in midfield and defence invited Liverpool to go forward. A risky policy no doubt, particularly with Steven Gerrard appearing left, right and centre in his free role and Alberto Aquilani anxious to impress on only his ninth start for the club, but also an indication of Fulham’s justifiable self-confidence.

Unsurprisingly, Liverpool monopolised opportunity. Ryan Babel fluffed his lines from close range as early as the third minute while David Ngog, Torres’s willing replacement, and Aquilani, with an over-head kick, also threatened. Schwarzer made a key save from Maxi Rodriguez when the Argentinian ghosted unmarked into the Fulham area and another impressive stop from Javier Mascherano’s powerful drive from 25 yards.

Irritation at the stalemate for Liverpool, however, was secondary to their incredulity when Jonathan Greening failed to collect a second yellow card for a blatant body-check on Glen Johnson. The Fulham midfielder had been harshly booked for a foul on the same player when he committed a clearer offence in front of the assistant referee. Andre Marriner, the match official, opted only for a word.

The pattern of play did not alter in the second half. Aquilani and Babel forced fine reaction saves from the Fulham goalkeeper, Sotirios Kyrgiakos squandered a free header and the visitors’ central midfield of Danny Murphy and Dickson Etuhu continued to lead a stubborn resistance. Liverpool’s dominance, however, gradually petered out. Their Champions League prospects may well have followed suit.

Premier LeagueLiverpoolFulhamAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk

• Referee was influenced, says Liverpool manager
• United deny Valencia cheated to win spot-kick

Rafael Benítez’s dislike of Sir Alex Ferguson manifested itself tonight in the Liverpool manager responding to another damaging setback to his side’s aspirations of qualifying for the Champions League by demonstrating more bitterness towards the man who has become his nemesis in English football.

Benítez was aggrieved by the penalty that set Manchester United on the way to a 2-1 win, accusing Antonio Valencia of diving, and he referred to his previous accusations that Ferguson placed referees under pressure. “We know about the influence of Sir Alex in everything,” he said. “I’ve seen three replays [from different angles] and the last one was suspicious. See the replay for yourself and how he fell to the ground.” Asked whether he was saying it was a dive, he replied: “Yes, I think so. There is contact but the way he fell down – it was strange.”

Television pictures showed the initial contact from Javier Mascherano had been outside the penalty area and Benítez was asked whether Ferguson had been trying to get into the mind of the referee, Howard Webb, when he talked on Friday of the Anfield club getting preferential treatment. “Just on Friday he said something?” he interrupted, his tone heavy with sarcasm. “Which Friday? This Friday or every Friday? Or every Friday of every year?”

Ferguson had written in his programme notes that he felt “a twinge of sympathy” for Benítez’s current predicament, but the bad feeling between the two managers led to a confrontation on the touchline shortly after Wayne Rooney had scored his 33rd goal of the season, turning in the rebound after Pepe Reina had saved his penalty.

Rooney, recently troubled by a knee injury, left Old Trafford with a pronounced limp. His goal cancelled out Fernando Torres’s fifth-minute header for Liverpool, with Park Ji-sung scoring the winner in the second half. “When you have different opinions you have to express those different opinions,” Benítez said of that argument. “As you know, he [Ferguson] has his own opinion about everything.”

Ferguson’s argument was that Mascherano should have been sent off. “I thought the penalty kick was a red card,” he said. “There was no way [Jamie] Carragher could have got across to stop Valencia from shooting, absolutely no way. He [Valencia] is too quick for Carragher to get across. It was a penalty but the law of the game is that if you stop a player from a goalscoring opportunity it’s a red card, but not today it wasn’t.”

The United manager was unaware at that point that Benítez had spoken of Valencia being creative in his fall. “He [Mascherano] tugged him, and obviously I think the referee is right,” Ferguson said. “He has got to play the advantage [after the first contact] because he was right through on goal and it wasn’t until he was inside the box that he brought him down. So I think that was correct.”

Benítez, however, was angered by what he perceived as several crucial decisions going in United’s favour and said he was sufficiently concerned at half-time to tell Torres to keep his focus on the game. It was “not easy” for Torres, the manager reflected, and there was more heavy irony when he noted how Gary Neville’s studs had connected with Maxi Rodríguez, leaving the Argentinian with a bloodied head. “I think it must have been a bird from the sky,” he said.

Park needed a stitch for a facial gash, inflicted by Glen Johnson’s boot. “A game like that, it’s always been feisty,” Ferguson said. “Both teams, with their pride and history, are going to compete. I don’t think it got to a serious point at any stage.”

While Liverpool are languishing in sixth, 18 points behind United at the top of the table, Ferguson’s men have their sights on a fourth successive title, two points clear of Arsenal and four ahead of Chelsea, and have the added motivation of overtaking their Merseyside rivals with a 19th championship in total.

“We have been very consistent in the last two or three months,” Ferguson said. “For periods of the game we played very well and in other periods we had to dig in and concentrate. It’s always difficult to lose a goal and come back and win, it’s a great quality that Manchester United have and it was that quality that won us the game again today.”

Premier LeagueManchester UnitedSir Alex FergusonLiverpoolRafael BenítezDaniel Taylorguardian.co.uk