Football talk

Sir Alex Ferguson has stoked up old rivalries with Liverpool ahead of a possible Champions League Final clash in Athens. During his speech to the PFA awards dinner, he referred to Liverpool's "four" European Cup victories, provoking anger among Reds fans who delight in their club's five triumphs. Sources close to the Scot suspect the slip was intentional though he was not the only United figure to jumble his facts on the night. After scooping the two main awards, Cristiano Ronaldo spoke of his desire to follow in the footsteps of the club's great No7s like Bryan Robson and Sir Bobby Charlton. The latter famously wore No9.

Fans left feeling flushed

The beautiful game is the butt of humour in a bizarre new book by Watford fan Andy McBean. "A Year on the Bog" charts the 41-year-old civil servant's experiences at 273 different lavatories around the globe. His football visits included Loftus Road and the "bloody awful" portables at Brighton's ground. McBean also left his mark on three separate lavatories at Vicarage Road and even used a Q & A event with chairman Graham Simpson to test the club's executive water closets. "The posh ones were much better than those open to ordinary fans - they had carpet!" McBean told Talk. Describing Watford's Premiership season, he added: "There is a toilet analogy. We waited a long time to go and when we finally got there it was a satisfying experience - until we got flushed away."

Bowyer looks in good spirits

Marathon drinking session, so to speak, for West Ham's Lee Bowyer who was spotted alongside Muzzy Izzet and half the Colchester first team watching Sunday's big race from Booty's Wine Bar in Limehouse. The Colchester boys, who included Muzzy's brother Kem, Richard Garcia, Wayne Brown and Dean Gerken, were in jovial mood after beating Sunderland and still hopeful of swapping places with their mate's club next season.

Neill covers all the options

Former manager Terry Neill has emerged as a pivotal figure in easing the discomfort of Arsenal players with Emirates Stadium. As revealed here last month, members of Arsene Wenger's pampered stars had complained their dressing-room benches were too hard and were given cushions to combat the problem. It has since transpired these were custom-made medical cushions designed to increase blood flow and used in aircraft to reduce the threat of DVT. Neill, who works as consultant to suppliers SDD, introduced the idea to Wenger. He said: "Arsene is the type of guy who is always looking for that extra one or two per cent advantage. We are now talking to other clubs, including Manchester United. Alex Ferguson told me he sneaked into the home dressing room to take a look during United's game there in January."

Cech makes musical gaffe

Blunder of the week came in Chelsea's magazine in an interview with Petr Cech. Asked about his musical tastes, the goalkeeper revealed: "Well, there is a Czech band who I really like and that I also know personally. They are called 'Support Lesbians'. A look at the rock combo's website, however, reveals their correct title as 'Support Lesbiens' which isn't quite so political.

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