"For me this is the greatest club in the world . . . but there have been a lot of mistakes. I remember the day when they sold Brian Deane and Jan Aage Fjortoft. It was like when President Kennedy got shot - that's how deeply I felt."

- Neil Warnock getting a little carried away on his appointment as the new manager of Sheffield United.

"The stakes for this game are high, just like the war in Chechnya. It is vital that the team match the people's mood in Moscow and beat Leeds....this is a match we dare not lose."

- Former deputy Russian prime minister Alexander Shokhin speaking on Russian television before Spartak Moscow's UEFA Cup game against Leeds. Spartak won. Just as well really.

"I would have left Alex Ferguson there and prayed that he lived for ever."

- Rupert Murdoch on how he would have dealt with Ferguson if BskyB's bid for Manchester United had been successful. Wonder if Ferguson regrets his opposition to the deal now?