Real Madrid and Manchester City - two football monsters with a difference

They are the hottest teams in football when it comes to big spending. But do they really have anything in common? Last summer, some unknown owners with enormous amounts of money took over Manchester City. This summer, Florentino Perez, who lost control of Real Madrid, returned to the top of the club. What the two clubs did after this vital change was very similar. Manchester City had their 'start' by purchasing the promising Brazilian star Robinho from Real Madrid, which Ramon Calderon still had control of. In the winter market, City continued their hunt by getting players like Nigel de Jong. This summer, they even lifted their pace and attacked Arsenal; stealing two of their stars - Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor. Roque Santa Cruz had already joined earlier along with Gareth Barry, and the unhappy Carlos Tevez also joined his former club's rivals.

Why Wolves, Birmingham and Burnley are fighting a losing battle in the Premier League

The three promoted clubs all face a battle for survival against the big boys. Let's hope they don't go the same way as Leeds, Norwich, Charlton and, heaven forbid, Bradford City.

Why Chelsea and Manchester City are on a collision course with UEFA

The governing body are pushing for financial restraint - but there's bound to be opposition from Europe's elite clubs.

Schumacher agony for Ferrari - but is Badoer the right alternative?

Piquet or Bourdais would have been more effective as stand-in for the injured Felipe Massa in Valencia. Michael Schumacher’s much-anticipated return to Formula One with Ferrari this month has been sidelined after he was defeated by an aggravated neck injury. It was always going to be a battle for the German to come back to F1 after three years away. He remains super fit, but an injury from the result of a motorbike crash back in February was always going to be the most difficult factor for him to overcome. Ferrari, and indeed F1, will be worse off with both drivers and spectators looking forward to his return. Ferrari ‘s options to replace injured Felipe Massa have been limited, and while initially overlooked in favour of a return by Schumacher, the Scuderia will now turn to long-time test driver Luca Badoer to pilot the F60 in Valencia. Despite his extensive testing for Ferrari, Badoer has not been able to test the F60 on track during the season, has not driven a competitive F1 race for 10 years, and failed to win a single point from his previous 48 race starts. At 38, Badoer’s selection comes from having no alternative at short notice with Ferrari once again repaying loyalty for years of service.

FOUR Manchester United nearly men with so much to prove

Sir Alex Ferguson's faith in his squad is unflinching, but is he asking too much of of his second strng? John O'Shea, Darren Fletcher, Ji-Sung Park and Nani. Four players who have, at various times, caused groans to echo around Old Trafford. Not so long ago, when Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs were still in their pomp, these were the players Sir Alex Ferguson had filed under 'Carling Cup, dead European ties and home league fixtures only'. Not any more. As the years have advanced and the last remaining 'fledglings' have grown old, so those who were once merely understudies to the United glitterati are now themselves trusted in leading roles. The question they have yet to answer convincingly is whether they are up to the job - especially in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo. Truth be told, United struggled in their league fixtures against the other established members of the Top Four last season, winning only once, against a dispirited and disjointed Chelsea at Old Trafford. The foundation of their title success was in not dropping points against teams in the bottom half. No side bullies weak opposition quite as efficiently as United.

Britain's World Cup baseball stunners face funding crisis

Team GB counts the cost as overseas-based stars face KO from September showdown with world champions Japan.

Women boxing brings SHAME to the Olympics

London 2012 will see women in the ring for the first time. But for this Sportingo writer it's a non-starter. Watching women boxing is rather like eating chips without fish, spaghetti without bolognese or - if you'll pardon the pun - watching Judy without Punch!