Mark Hughes had the last laugh as his Rovers side knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup. He had clashed with Gunners midfielder Cesc Fabregas in the game in London when he was taunted by the Spaniard for Blackburn’s negative style of play.

Arsenal suffered their third defeat in three different competitions having been beaten by PSV in the Champions league and by Chelsea in the Carling Cup final. Defeat in the league against Reading at the weekend would set a record of four defeats in four competitions.

It took a late wonder goal from South African striker Benni McCarthy to give Rovers the lead, in a game that Arsenal should have won had they taken their chances. After being given a torrid time by Drogba at the weekend Philippe Senderos’ week got worse when McCarthy turned him inside out and then whipped the ball into the top corner of Almunia’s goal.

Having held United to a draw at Old Trafford, some pundits had thought that this encounter would be in the tradition of cup ties, hard to call. However within two minutes Gabriel Heinze put United in front when his shot managed to find a path past Reading keeper Adam Federici.

Reading were instantly on the back foot and while they tried to string a few passes together United took possession and a long ball from Rio Ferdinand found French striker Louis Saha as he was being watched by Royals defender Andre Bikey. Saha coolly stroked the ball past Federici and within four minutes United were two up.

Another two minutes passed and Reading found themselves another goal down this time it was baby faced assassin Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He sprinted clear of the Reading off-side trap to further torment the Reading keeper.

Reading managed to gather some composure and on twenty three minutes Dave Kitson threw his side a life line when he headed the ball home from a yard. The goal seemed to settle the Royals, and they began to fight their way back into the game.

In the second half Reading looked more like the side that had impressed at Old Trafford. Their pressure paid off when Leroy Lita scored their second however there was not enough time left in the game to score the goal that would have taken the fixture to extra time and penalties.

Chelsea captain John Terry was in the starting eleven three days after spending the day on crutches following an injury sustained in the Champions  League against Porto.

Arsenal took an early lead when Theo Wallcott broke through the Chelsea defence to score his first goal for the club. However the Arsenal youngsters could only hold their lead for a short time before Didier Drogba brought the blues level on twenty minutes.

For the second time in less than a week Chelsea had to substitute their captain through injury. This time the injury was much more severe, Terry was kicked full in the face as Abu Diaby tried to clear his ranks. Terry was out cold before he hit the deck, the players immediately summoned the physios of both clubs, who promptly despatched the Chelsea and England captain to get checked out in hospital.

After the huge delay it took Chelsea and Drogba another twenty minutes to put the league Champions ahead. As Chelsea tried to play out the remainder of the additional injury time added for the delay when Terry got hurt, tempers began to fray and a brawl involving all the players ensued. Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger entered the field of play to try and calm their players.

Red cards were awarded to Mikel, Toure and Adebayor for their parts in the fracas. However there were a number of other culprits who could face punishment from the FA after they have reviewed the referees report.

Blades manager Neil Warnock was not as upset as he had been on the first day of the season at Brammall Lane, when a penalty was awarded against his side for intent to foul Steven Gerrard.

In the return fixture at Anfield Gerrard ‘won’ not one but two penalties in five minutes. The first was awarded as Gerrard complained to referee Steve Bennett about being held and then fell into Robert Kozluk. The second was given for a slight tug on the Liverpool captains shirt, both penalties were coolly finished by crowd favourite Robbie Fowler.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez made seven changes from the team that beat Barcelona mid-week in the Champions League. Jerzy Dudek appeared to have a force field around his goal as the blades saw all their efforts result in nothing. Peter Crouch was substituted after twenty minutes after he was struck in the face by the ball and a Sheffield United boot, breaking his nose and leaving him needing stitches to a gash on his face.

Liverpool increased the lead when Sami Hyypia scored his first goal for more than a year. Gerrard compounded the win scoring the fourth and final goal on seventy-three minutes.

Alan Curbishley has received the same dreaded vote of confidence that his predecessor Alan Pardew was given by the new West Ham board. Pardew has since been installed in Curbishley’s old club Charlton Athletic.

Curbishley has spent a considerable sum of the Icelandic consortium’s investment money in an attempt to keep the Hammers in the top flight. So far it seems that this has been in vain as the introduction of the new players has not had the desired effect on results.

On his return to the Valley Curbishley would have wanted a better score line. His side finished three nil down at half time, to goals from Ambrose, Thomas and Darren Bent. Bent returning to Pardew’s squad after a lengthy period on the treatment table.

The second half was no better for West Ham as Jerome Thomas scored his second and his teams fourth, to seal Charlton’s Emphatic win over fellow relegation strugglers to close the gap on Wigan.

Having agreed a three–year deal last summer with Mohammed Al Fayed and Fulham, French sportswear brand Airness had a platform to introduce their wares to the British public and global television audiences.

However with deliveries not arriving after the season had started two months Fulham had lost a lot of revenue from merchandise sales. Could this poor performance by Airness have triggered a get out clause for Fulham? Manager Chris Coleman was wearing a Nike training top with club crest and main sponsors Pipex’s logo emblazoned across key areas during the 2-1 defeat against Manchester United for the whole world to see. As were his whole backroom staff on the Fulham bench.

Fulham have no stock of the Airness home kit on their website or in the club megastore and away kit stock is running low. The site also says that the Airness kit will “meet the needs of the players and supporters”. They have already disappointed the supporters by not having the strip before the season started and again by running out of stock. All signs point to a change of kit manufacturer at the end of the current season and with the backroom staff wearing Nike already it looks like a done deal.

Could Nike be looking to capitalise on the American influence in SW6, by sponsoring the club and selling shirts both in the UK and in the States.

With the Premiership clubs expecting bumper television revenues from both domestic and overseas right deals and with the ever increasing merchandising opportunities. There has never been a better time to invest in or take over an English Premiership Club.

Manchester City appear to be next in line, following the lead of Liverpool, West Ham United and Aston Villa who have all succumbed to the lure of foreign funds this season. The City board have have announced to the London Stock Exchange that there are ‘third parties’ interested in investing in the club.

Manager Stuart Pearce will welcome any investment, especially if it allows him to invest in new talent during the summer transfer window.

Chelsea captain John Terry sustained ankle ligament damage from an innocuous challenge in the Champions League match against Porto. Which means he is out of Sunday’s Carling Cup Final against Arsenal, where he would have had to contend with the pace of Arsene Wenger’s ‘kids’ and the power of the player they call the ‘Beast’ loan signing from Real Madrid Julio Baptista.

The injury could see England manager Steve McClaren without his captain for two crucial Euro 2008 qualifying games against Israel and Andorra. Although these games appear on paper to be a formality, recent performances and results tell us that they may be more difficult than they seem. McClaren needs results and will not be able to use players availability as an excuse, as he has the whole of England to select a squad from and in his position he should be able to motivate the players to perform and get the results the country craves; even though pulling on an England shirt should be motivation enough.

Perhaps the recall of former captain David Beckham could be the remedy that cures the recent lacklustre performances that McClaren’s England have given.

The Former Czech Republic winger will be out of contract this summer and has no intention of retiring just yet. His Villa career has been bighted by a bust up with manager Martin O’Neill, when Berger was asked to prove himself in the reserves.

Berger could find a home in America like David Beckham and ply his trade in the MLS. He could be offered another deal at Villa, but would probably only be a squad player as Martin O’Neill looks to further strengthen his squad with Randy Lerner’s war chest. He already has stiff competition for a place with talented youngsters like Gabriel Agbonlahor and January signing Ashley Young.

Berger will take till the end of the season to consider what is best for him and his family before making a decision about where his career will take him in the future.

Rangers new manager Walter Smith could only praise the virtuoso performance of the man the fans call ‘Mr Rangers’. Barry Ferguson was instrumental in Rangers emphatic victory over the bewildered Israeli side, scoring in both halves.

Ferguson was joined on the score sheet by Kris Boyd and Charlie Adam, Boyd’s goal was a little controversial as he appeared to handle the ball on his way to scoring. The four nil score line on the night mean that Rangers progress with an aggregate score of 5-2, which will see them take on Spain’s Osasuna in the last 16.