"Having horses is a good discipline. They depend on you. You can't say 'let's go to a nightclub'."

- Niall Quinn . . . on his chat-up technique with horses? "There isn't another phenomenon around who's more phenomenal than Gabriel."

- Fiorentina coach Giovanni Trapattoni goes superlative-mad when talking about his phenomenal striker, Gabriel Phenomenal Batistuta.

"Anyone who uses `quintessentially' in a speech is talking crap."

- The quintessential Mick McCarthy, speaking at the Irish Voice annual awards in New York.

"When I was young, about 17, we shared our stadium with a rugby team. In training we often played rugby too. Our coach was also an extreme guy. He would talk to us in a rugby-style with rude speech. Y'know, it would be like, `C'mon, you bastards!' "

- David Ginola on rude rugby types.

"What a draw for us - we are going to be up against the Spice Girls."

- Inter Milan defender Fabio Galante fails to quake in his boots, on hearing Inter have been drawn against Manchester United in the European Cup quarter-finals.

"I wouldn't buy the magazine because I think Vampeta is very ugly."

- Wanderley Luxemburgo, coach of Brazilian club Corinthians, on hearing his midfielder Vampeta had modelled for a gay magazine.

"Football's not a woman's world. They've got their place and we've got ours, it's all pretty simple really."

- West Ham manager Harry Redknapp, still rattling on about women and their place. Harry? Shut up, would ya. "May I say to Andy, Richard and everyone at Sky I think over the year you've done marvellously well . . . you're all fair, it's a pleasure working with you and the coverage you give us and the help is fantastic, so I'd like to wish you all the best and thanks for all your help."

- David O'Leary, talking to Sky after yesterday's game against Arsenal. Does he have plans to become a telly pundit after he gives up on Leeds, d'you think?