Today's Papers / Top Dog / 29 February 2008 / Leave a comment " class="free-bet-btn" rel="external" onclick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/G4/inline-freebet');" target="_blank">Free Bet

Betfair's Top Dog sniffs around the truth behind the latest tabloid tales

Top Dog

Betfair's top dog sniffs around the truth behind the latest tabloid tales.

• Cruft's champion - Top stories that can dominate the news agenda
• Pedigree chum - Insights that tell you something you don't know
• Dog's dinner - Speculation, guesswork, or ideas that just don't come off.

Top Dog says:

Maybe it's not the best day for Alan Curbishley to be grumbling about the abuse which managers get - as the Mail's Charlie Sale reveals that the League Managers Union was involved in plans to get the 39th game plan off the ground long before it became public. The managers were planning to make the money from the idea before the Premier League hi-jacked it instead. All very grubby.

Cruft's:

Daily Mirror - Gerrard backlash - Mersey man Dave Maddock gets into the nitty gritty of what's going wrong at Liverpool in the wake of Steven Gerrard's explosive interview with the club magazine. And former Red El Hadji Diouf warns there could be more trouble for Rafa Benitez when they face Bolton on Sunday. The Trotters are a generous [5.3] to win.

The Sun - Revealed - Chief Football Writer Shaun Custis claims that Frank Arnesen is the man behind the internal conflict at Chelsea. He wants to get his Dutch mate Frank Rijkaard in and Roman Abramovich is listening to him. Avram Grant is now [9.4] in the managerial change market

Pedigree Chum:

The Sun - Obafemi Martins exclusive - Newcastle's Nigerian striker reveals he's about to pen to paper on a five-year contract worth £26million. 'I want to stay here because I love the fans and they love me' he says. Top Dog can't help thinking they'd love him more if he'd scored more than seven goals this season

The Sun - We're sinking fast - Steve Coppell says he might drop his entire first team and play the reserves against Middlesbrough tomorrow. 'Something has got to change. There is not a great deal of difference between 20 odd players in our squad'. Top Dog remembers the last time Coppell played his reserves was at Tottenham in the Cup and they drew 2-2. Could make [4.7] the away win a value bet, or just lay Boro at [1.93]

Daily Express - Misery mounting for McLeish - Here's some good news for Coppell. Relegation rivals Birmingham not only have Martin Taylor suspended but four other key injuries before they play Spurs, including captain Liam Ridgewell. Maybe [2.06] for an away win is not such a bad bet after all!

Daily Mail - That's rich as Robbie goes over the top - Robbie Savage turned up to Derby training in a brand new £160,000 Mercedes causing rumblings among players about his alleged show-off ways at a time when he's playing like a drain. Paul Jewell has clearly got problems that will keep Derby buried at the bottom. They are as long as [3.4] to win a home game with Sunderland on Saturday

Daily Star - Fergie: I fear Blues - Interesting twist from Sir Alex the king of psychological warfare. Just as Chelsea are having their worst weak of the season he starts talking them up as a genuine title threat. Betfair punters aren't so convinced. They remain [8] for the title and [3.2] just to finish in the top two

Daily Star - Keano: I'll KO slack cats - Roy Keane has got tough and transfer listed Liam Miller as a punishment for being late for training consistently. Will his hard lline work? They are [2.36] to win at bottom club Derby tomorrow

Dog' s dinner:

Daily Mirror - Ashley's gagging for it - The Mirror's picture selection is often among the best in Fleet Street but not today. Quite who thought a picture of Ashley Cole throwing up during training would look good on your breakfast table Top Dog can't imagine.

Daily Star - We'll pay Ron £8m a year - Danny Fullbrook's back page so-called exclusive makes a good headline, but the story of Real Madrid trying to sign Cristiano Ronaldo is one of those sagas that drags on and comes to nothing. If he couldn't be lured away from United after the World Cup fiasco with Wayne Rooney, he can't be now

Daily Star - Rom goes overboard - Not a good day for the Star. They quote an unnamed Chelsea source claiming that Roman Abramovich has withdrawn his invite to senior Chelsea players to board his new luxury yacht as a punishment for failing to win the Carling Cup. If they believed the story it would be front page news, never mind back - so why is it tucked away on page 76?

Daily Express - I will Hammer you - Top Dog knows he should take this seriously as Kia Joorabchian is suing West Ham and Harry Harris has done well to break the story. But really we'd all just rather move on and forget about the whole sorry third party ownership fiasco.

Today's other headlines:

The Sun - Rafa backs Gerro blast - Liverpool close to settling £17m deal to keep Mascherano - Theo Walcott interview - Hutton says Eduardo needs two years - Nobby Solano interview - Savage: I face axe and I deserve it

Daily Express - Hicks to fight Gillett and go solo - Sven: Spend it like Roman - Carlos played on after 'deal' - Curbishley on fans' abuse - Fergie wary of Chelsea threat - Redknapp on coaching standards - O'Neill says Eduardo can beat his injury just as Henrik Larsson did at Celtic

Daily Star - Give boot to boss abuse says Curbs - I made it back from Eduardo horror injury and he can too says Spurs' Alan Hutton - Show me the money and I'll make us huge says Sven - I',m gutted when I look at table says Gerrard - Mido gives Paddy pain - Keano says time up for tardy Miller - I'd glove to be the world's number one

Daily Mirror - Rafa backs Gerrard's verdict - Fergie: it's a three-way race - Hutton on Eduardo injury - Theo: I can be Top Gun - Liam Miller the crash pest dummy - Sven says he needs cash to deliver cups - Nobby Solano interview

Daily Mail - Roy's chiller hurts Miller - Falling stars not flash cars drive Jewell mad - Curbishley: abuse is awful - Long ball will drive us into wilderness warns Redknapp - Hutton sympathy for Eduardo - Roman's patience with Chelsea snaps - special focus on Mansfield and Wrexham's fight for League survival

Tags: Frank Arnesen, Obafemi Martins contract, Roman Abramovich, Steven Gerrard