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/li> 0 shares 82 comments Arsene Wenger's reputation will stand the test of time and he has produced some of the finest teams in Premier League history. But, as he heads in to Sunday's FA Cup tie with Swansea, Wenger is approaching the juncture where he needs a 'Bill Shankly moment' to define his Arsenal career. Let me explain: when Shankly was Liverpool manager, it often gets forgotten that, for all the fantastic work he did building the club up, he went seven years without winning a major trophy. After winning the League in 1966, Shankly had to wait until 1973 for the trophy cabinet to be re-opened after he masterminded a First Division-UEFA Cup double; 12 months later he won the FA Cup again and promptly retired. In certain aspects, there are parallels with Wenger. He has revolutionised Arsenal since he became manager in 1996 and there is little doubt he will be remembered as one of the greats. When the time comes for him to leave, thou

/li> 0 shares 45 comments So Pep Guardiola has taken the ‘easy’ decision. By agreeing to join Bayern Munich and rebuffing advances from the Premier League, it is being suggested he is pursuing an uncomplicated life. Nothing could be further from the truth. It has often been said that Chelsea are obsessed with the Champions League but so, too, are Bayern Munich. Guardiola has been appointed to secure the trophy they so desire within the next three years. I attended the Champions League final last season and saw how deeply losing to Chelsea affected Bayern. For a club with such a proud history, it is staggering that they have only been crowned Europe’s best once in the last 37 years and there will be an expectation on Guardiola to change that. Kings of Europe: Pep Guardiola will have to replicate this kind of success at Bayern Munich       Mor

/li> 0 shares 44 comments They are the best players in the world but they will never be best friends. When Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi go head-to-head on Tuesday night, there will be a brief acknowledgement but nothing else. Really, though, they should go out of their way to thank each other. Every time Ronaldo sparkles for Real Madrid, Messi inevitably tries to go one better for Barcelona. The results have been spectacular and it means Spanish football is now essential viewing. But watch them in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey semi-final – and again on Saturday in la Liga – and you will see nothing more than a cursory handshake. You don’t need to be a body language expert to appreciate there is no love lost between these two. Head to head: This era's greatest two football players, Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi (right) Competition: Would Messi be quite as good without Ronaldo to spur him on? The question both men should be asking

/li> 0 shares 89 comments In terms of making a first impression, Michael Owen could not have done anything more. Pitched into an FA Youth Cup quarter-final against Manchester United at Anfield, he scored a hat-trick. We had heard his name mentioned around the club as being someone to keep an eye on but it was in that game, in the spring of 1996, I thought Michael was going to be something special. His finishing was deadly, delivered in a calmness you would not expect a 16-year-old to possess. What really sticks in my mind from that night, though, was Michael’s tackling. I was known as being someone who was not afraid to put his foot in but Michael made me wince with some of the challenges he made. He was desperate to win and had an incredible mental strength. Glory night: Michael Owen celebrates the 2001 UEFA Cup triumph with Robbie Fowler, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard Deadly: Owen celebrates an England goal Within 12 months, we were both in Liverp

/li> 0 shares 363 comments Before you carry on reading, it is important to make this point: this is not me trying to defend the indefensible. This is an attempt to put some perspective on the Luis Suarez saga. It was said in the aftermath of Sunday’s game against Chelsea, firstly by Graeme Souness as he began his analysis on Sky, that nobody is bigger than the club. Others said that Liverpool should make Luis pay the heaviest penalty by getting rid of him. Now I am not for one moment trying to sugar-coat the incident in which Luis bit Branislav Ivanovic. It was wrong on all levels. You simply don’t expect to see a grown man bite another grown man — that is behaviour you would associate with nursery school. Scroll down for video I'm back: Luis Suarez returned to training today while the FA deliberated over his punishment for biting But the way things are now being pitched is that Liverpool have got to do something about the rotten apple in their

/li> 0 comments Good old beach volleyball. If we learned nothing else from London 2012, it’s that a skimpy outfit, a very shouty MC and loud pop music can breathe new life into even the most straightforward of games. That, at least, seems to be the sum of Britain’s Olympic legacy so far if Saturday night television is anything to go by. This week we had two of the Games’ broadcasting stars, Gabby Logan and Clare Balding, going head-to-head on primetime TV, while the world’s best squash players pitted their wits at the Queen’s Club in a Perspex box with pink branding over on Sky. Even in the most traditional of competitions, the FA Cup, there was some chap called Lethal Bizzle entertaining us before kick-off at Upton Park. Quite what Sir Trevor Brooking made of it, I’m not sure. Splash: Daley part of ITV's reality diving show on Saturday night    

/li> 8 comments A 23-year-old England international said publicly this week the team were not being paid enough money to play football. This may not seem unusual in the current climate but I’m not talking about Theo Walcott and his apparently never-ending contract saga at Arsenal. The player in question was Sophie Bradley, the Lincoln Ladies, Great Britain and England defender. Yes, a woman. Vocal: Bradley (centre) has publicly said that England's top women are not being paid enough       More from Laura Williamson...   LAURA WILLIAMSON: Dingley won her battle but the war on bigotry is not over 02/06/13   LAURA WILLIAMSON: How Miss Moneylegs is battling back from adversity after missing London 2012 through injury 26/05/13   Last 12 months have been