[GocartMozart]

football365.com:

Who said what mattered over the past seven days...


* "I will never throw in the towel. My family are all in the marines, and a commander never leaves his troops" - Martin Jol doesn't realise how ridiculous he sounds.


* "The only comfort I can take from this game is that it's finished" - Rafa Benitez reflects on Liverpool's surprise defeat to Marseille.


* "It's not a problem. In four or five days I will be beautiful once again" - Cristiano Ronaldo refuses to be bothered by a cut above his eye following an unequal clash with an Italian elbow.


* "Were it not for myself, Micah Richards and Richard Dunne the club wouldn't have had Shinawatra, the Premier League and Sven" - Joey Barton doesn't do modesty as he claims credit for Man Citeh's excellent start to the season. And you thought he had moved to Newcastle!


* "There's only Newcastle in Newcastle" - More wisdom from Joey.


* "I have no smoke. It is beyond my dignity to respond to the allegations. My father worked hard in the Uzbek judicial system and my mother was a wonderful human being" - Prospective Arsenal owner Alisher Usmanov tugs on the heartstrings.


* "Finish the way of football Chelsea have been playing and try to do another way of football, which I think will be very good for the club" - Avram Grant's mission.


* "There's nothing worse than seeing a footballer who thinks he's something special, who thinks he is more than he is" - Steven Gerrard explains why he keeps on trying out those 'Hollywood' passes.


* "I think it is harder to win the Premier League than the Champions League because you do not have to win as many games to be crowned champions of Europe. It is overrated. It is a cup, it is not a championship - how many games do you need to win?" - Arsene Wenger offers a reminder of the only gap in his managerial CV.


* "When their supporters sang that ['Happy birthday, dear Tottenham'] it was the only time I had a smile on my face. That was a great bit of British humour" - Jol after the 4-4 draw with Aston Villa which the visitors led 4-1 at one stage.


* "This is James Bond stuff. I certainly didn't employ anyone in 007 activities at St James' Park" - Freddy Shepherd responds to allegations that the Newcastle board bugged, among others, Alan Shearer and Sir Bobby Robson.


* "The Special One threw in the towel. When the going gets tough the tough get going and. Mourinho has disappointed me enormously. Jose was very brave in front of the cameras when he had the best goalkeeper in the world between the posts and a backbone made up of Terry, Lampard and Drogba, the best in Europe. But without them he wasn't so brave when it came to preparing for games and getting decent results. Chelsea's problems have not started now without Mourinho but a month ago - with him" - John Toshack sticks the boot in.


* "Why should all my dreams and aspirations be shattered for the sake of his career? It would have meant that I'd have had to give up my career, which I wasn't prepared to do" - Cashley Cole's wife, Cheryl, confirms he rejected a move to Real Madrid from Arsenal in favour of keeping his missus happy by joining Chelski instead.


* "He has always told me never to talk about this, but I think people should know" - Another ill-advised revelation from Mrs Cole.


* "I take pride in the fact that people go home having felt that for 1½ hours today life is beautiful - and that's it, basically, that's why professional football exists" - Arsene Wenger.


* "It was a good time to play them and the only disappointment for me was that we didn't take all three points" - Fulham boss Lawrie Sanchez indicates just how far Chelski have fallen after the 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.


* "Sanchez told us to hit long balls and pick up the rebounds. He wanted us to play like Neanderthals" - Birmingham left-back Franck Queudrue remembers Fulham fondly.


* "I'm fed up with the f***ing thing. Shove it. I've had 17 million questions about second-season syndrome. It's just f***ing hard whether it's the first season, second season or third season. Ferraris and McLarens win races and the others just compete" - Yup, the pressure is beginning to tell on Steve Coppell. 7-1 defeats probably don't help much either.

[mrsirjojo]

* "It's not a problem. In four or five days I will be beautiful once again" - Cristiano Ronaldo refuses to be bothered by a cut above his eye following an unequal clash with an Italian elbow.

I give him credit. He's a lot tougher than the pretty boy he's made out to be.