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Fevered uncertainty is not restricted to Westminster’s corridors of political power. Set against grim backdrops, filled with terrifying debt, all the talk by the Humber and the Mersey revolves around uneasy boardroom coalitions and potential leadership successions.

Fans of both persuasions here remained very much in the dark as to whether Iain Dowie and Rafael Benítez will be in charge of Hull City and Liverpool next season.

Despite being already relegated Hull fully deserved this point against a dispirited, disjointed Europa League bound Liverpool who, nonetheless, finish seventh.

Dowie’s teamsheet was surely intended as a manifesto. By including three youngsters in Mark Cullen, Will Atkinson and Tom Cairney, Hull’s temporary football management consultant seemed to be dropping a not so subtle hint that he is the right man to remodel Hull along vibrantly youthful lines next season.

Glossing over the alarming early moment in which Cairney very nearly scored a spectacular own goal, Dowie’s side – minus the, depending who you believed, dropped, or “slightly injured” Jimmy Bullard – could not be faulted for effort.

Hull are expected to sever ties with Phil Brown, currently on lucrative managerial gardening leave, this week when Dowie should also decide whether he will be staying or going.

Reservations surrounding the one time British aerospace engineer tend to centre on his somewhat workaholic approach to training which can leave players exhausted before they reach the pitch but many people within the KC believe Dowie should be given a longer term chance.

Players seemed strangely shy about seizing opportunities today. While Cullen failed to make the most of a couple of first half openings, Liverpool’s Nabil El Zhar saw a rising shot palmed away for a corner by Matt Duke.

Later El Zhar’s adroit pass provided Alberto Aquilani with an inviting opening but the Italian’s shot struck the crossbar.

At least Atkinson, up against Daniel Agger, Benítez’s left-back for a day in a remodelled Liverpool defence featuring Javier Mascherano at right-back, was supplying some neat touches on the wing.

Much to the relief of the mooted England returnee Jamie Carragher, one of Hull’s better crosses from the right eluded the visiting rearguard only for both Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and then Cullen to make hashes of polishing it off.

In front of Carragher, Steven Gerrard had reverted to a fairly deep lying central midfield role alongside Lucas Leiva. Although Liverpool have said they do not need to sell either Gerrard or their other prize asset, the currently injured Fernando Torres, Real Madrid are reported to be preparing a £30m bid for the England midfielder.

Gerrard can only hope no Spanish scouts were at the KC as this was one of those infuriating days when, bar the odd hallmark dynamic cameo, he proved strangely peripheral and largely ineffectual.

Despite displaying some pleasing touches Aquilana was withdrawn in the second half to choruses of “what a waste of money”.

Sadly far too much of the folding stuff has been squandered in both Hull and Liverpool for either club to be able to bodyswerve an impending age of austerity

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James Richardson and the Football Weekly crew return to analyse Portsmouth’s triumph in the FA Cup. Administrators permiting, they’ll meet Chelsea in the final, but what now for beaten semi-finalists Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa? Meanwhile, Barry Glendenning points green fingers as he explains why Wembley stadium – which didn’t leave much change from a billion quid, remember – has such a terrible pitch.

Turning our attention to the Premier League, Owen Gibson gives his thoughts on the title race, the relegation battle between Hull City and Burnley, and that potential dry run of the European final between Liverpool and Fulham.

Finally, Paolo Bandini muses on a momentus weekend in Serie A, with Roma knocking Internazionale off the top, while Sid Lowe reflects on a super Clásico that was neither super nor classic, but saw Barcelona humiliate Real Madrid all the same. For entertainment, he urges you to look at this goal instead.

Have a listen and give us your thoughts on the blog below. Remember to find us on Twitter and Facebook, and get your daily dose of the Fiver too

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Today’s piffle loves the smell of Dulux in the morning

Woo-woo. Dum-chum de-de de-de de. Woo-woo. Please allow The Mill to, er … Dum-chum de-de de-de de. Woo-woo. Something about driving a tank when the bodies stank. Dum-chum de-de de. Woo-woo.

For reasons that aren’t immediately clear, this morning the Mill feels a little different about the biggest story in the history of not-that-big stories painfully overinflated by righteous and self-serving gusts of hot air heated solely by the heart from hot air generated by pure hot air.

Whereas yesterday The Mill felt itself ranged squarely shoulder-to-shoulder, cheek-to-cheek alongside Cheryl, handsome dancer Derek, the dirty-looking blonde one from Girls Aloud and the perfumed-handkerchief-dabbing moral arbiters of the filthy red-tops. Today it has started to feel a slight dilution of its frothing indignation towards the world’s most evil left-back.

The Mill suspects it has something to do with this morning’s Sun. One of these people going about their business in a French medical clinic is behaving really quite strangely. But which one?

“ASHLEY Cole refused to say sorry for betraying Cheryl yesterday after the Sun tracked him down to a swish sports clinic in south-west France. We asked him the question the whole nation wants to ask: “How could you?” But the shaken Chelsea star could only reply: “I just can’t talk about that.”

“Cole, having treatment on his broken ankle at the clinic in Capbreton, a seaside town near Biarritz, tried to hide behind an exercise machine when challenged by our reporter. And wearing a supportive sandal on his injured foot, he hobbled away on crutches after refusing to comment further.”

The Mill asks you. You get the bleeding Eurostar. You blag your way in through the gates. You then accost a weeping man on crutches and distract him from flexing his toes repeatedly while listening to sad power ballads on his chrome-plated iPod. And all you get in return is a polite refusal to discuss the most traumatic few days of his life.

Also, there’s this:

“LOVE rat Ashley Cole has blamed his mother-in-law over his marriage break-up. He told pals that life with Cheryl went downhill when her mum Joan, 50, moved in to keep an eye on her.

“A source close to Ashley was last night reported to have said their sex life dwindled to virtually nothing.
They added: ‘It’s a bit of a passion killer to have your mum in the house.’”

The Mill was rather surprised to read these words and would like to extend a personal invitation to Joan Tweedy to infiltrate The Mill’s own dank and cobwebbed crawl space in the eaves of fashionable .Co.Uk Integrated Towers in London’s horrible Kings Cross any time she fancies it. Blurry mobile phone photographs of The Mill’s ancient, sodden, mildewed sewn-in smalls are available on request.

Meanwhile in the world of almost non-existent actual concrete flimsy football tittle-tattle the Mirror says Arsène Wenger is “keeping tabs on” the 18 year-old Ajax starlet Christian Eriksen, who has been recommended by Dennis Bergkamp.

Arsenal have also given a trial to the 17 year-old Icelandic whiz-kid Ingolfur Sigurdsson, who plays, sadly, not in goal for, but in midfield for Knattspyrnufelag Reykjavikur. Robin van Persie is going to be fit for the last six games of Arsenal’s “title push” according to Bert van Marwijk, who says: “I spoke to Robin on the phone last week and he is improving all the time and feeling better. You can hear it in his voice that he feels he is improving.” Hopefully this involved him saying at some point “I feel I am improving”.

Wayne Bridge is “in turmoil” over his expected England call-up this weekend. He’s still too cross to kick a ball around next to John Terry, because Terry had sex with his ex-girlfriend, who had previously split up with Wayne Bridge, reportedly in part because of his own “philandering ways”.

Next week: fur singlet-clad Wayne Bridge drags woman through village by her hair because that shirt’s not going to iron itself. Roberto Mancini says his job is completely safe. “I don’t feel under pressure at all,” he said, speaking from beneath a small nest of antique stain occasional tables.

Neil Warnock is being “coy” over whether he’s about to leave Crystal Palace. “Can I deny speculation about going to QPR? No,” he said, before taking to the stage to sing “Happy Birthday Mr President” in a strapless ball gown while making a range of creepily child-like cooing kissy kissy noises.

In the Daily Mail Hull’s Kamil Zayatte says he’s going to leave in the summer. “I see myself at a bigger club than Hull. If I could land a move to Manchester United, Arsenal or Chelsea it would make all Guineans proud of me,” he said, making all Guineans feel at first amused and slightly protective and then perhaps even a little worried. In an EXCLUSIVE it turns out Bridge will refuse to shake hands with Terry when Man City play Chelsea this weekend.

The Mirror also reports that Rafael Benítez was asked why he’s so fat by Romanian journalists yesterday. One cheeky scamp asked: “Mr Benítez, the last time I saw you was at the 2005 Champions League final, and your, erm, silhouette seems to have changed since then. Why is that?”

Benítez replied: “It is the stress of having to answer so many questions from the press. Thank you and goodnight,” before clearing the soup bowls away, and going into the kitchen to flob in the beef Wellingtons. Jermaine Pennant has been sent home from training by Real Zaragoza after arriving late for the third time in two weeks. And the Portsmouth defender Dusko Tosic is going to leave on a free transfer having never played in a league game, which is probably all for the best.

In the Sun Ryan Babel has “vowed to knuckle down after a heart-to-heart with boss Rafael Benítez”. Babel said: “I have had a good talk with the manager and I know what I have to do.

“That is what I am going to concentrate on. I just have to try to be patient, keep working hard and doing my best.”

Landon Donovan has “hinted” he might like to make a permanent move to Everton. “I think it’s been an incredible experience and away from football, the people have been extremely nice,” he said, implying that English football might contain people who are something other than “incredibly nice”.

And according to Goal.com Kansas City Wizards wizard Luis Gil has been signed by Real Salt Lake.

“Real Salt Lake provides a prime environment for the development of young players,” says the excitable, blazered wise-cracking, golf-playing, sample-carrying, Cadillac-driving, wife-flirting, squirtie-water-flower-wearing overly friendly American man in a suit Garth Lagerwey.

“The dream of venturing on to the Rio Tinto Stadium turf will surely inspire Luis to work hard every day in training. We have a talented, veteran team and we have no expectation that any young player will easily crack our championship line-up, though our hope is that Luis is eventually able to earn minutes in the years ahead,” he added, sounding like a demented alien.

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