All the latest action from the English top-flight, including Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea

Goodison Park, 3pm, Sunday 5 April

Daniel Greenwood, Observer reader When Everton were knocked out of the Uefa cup in September, the prospects for the season were grim. Though I never felt we had the financial clout to uproot any of the Sky-four, a battle for European football is now familiar to us Blues. But, as ever, Moyes has pulled it off. Playing a group of fixtures including Liverpool three times and Arsenal and United in close proximity gave Everton the thirst for the challenge. And now we face a Wigan side looking to steal our spot. The task for any team beneath the top four is to keep an eye over your shoulder, but Moyes also knows that a one-game-at-a-time philosophy breeds success, and believe me, if anyone else knows how to get Champions’ League football, it’s the Stoic Scot. And so we look to beat Wigan and achieve what in September looked so unlikely – a return to the top six.

Due a big game Jô – The Brazilian has impressed with his positive forward play, but his sour time at City has put his progress back by several months.

Paul Farrington, Wiganer.net We had a fortunate 1-0 win over the Toffees at our place earlier in the season and we’d certainly take the same result this time around. We’re still struggling to find form since the January transfer merry-go-round and Amr Zaki isn’t the same player who started the season. Thankfully our defence is strong and there is every chance that if we nick a goal, we can come away with three points. As for Everton, it is an inspiriation to clubs like ourselves that we could one day emulate them and go on to become perennial European candidates. David Moyes has done a very good job and it shows what a little bit of continuity can do for a club. We have certainly learned a great deal from our forray up the table so far this season. It will be nice to see former Latic, Leighton Baines who recently earned a call up to the England squad.

Due a big game Zaki & Mido – Time to let the football do the talking

To take part in the Verdict, email fans@observer.co.uk

The Brazilian striker Jo tells Daniel Taylor how he has found love and affection at Goodison Park

The scene is Manchester City’s training ground. It is late January, the height of the transfer window, and Mark Hughes is coming to the end of a press conference when a reporter asks, with a knowing smile, whether there has been a stampede of clubs wanting to sign Jo. The Brazilian has become a £19m white elephant, a symbol of Thaksin Shinawatra’s extravagance, and there is cruel laughter. Hughes is not renowned for his humour. But he is in on this joke. “We don’t want to sell Jo,” he deadpans. “We want to keep Joe . . . Hart.”

Boom, boom.

The anecdote is an accurate reflection of how quickly a multi-million-pound footballer can be reduced to a subject of ridicule. This is a furiously impatient business and Jo has found out the hard way what can happen when a price tag starts to feel like a ball and chain. It is probably fortunate for him that he does not speak good English given some of the things that have been written about him and some of the insults that were shouted his way before Hughes began the process that has led the Brazilian to Everton’s door, on loan for the rest of what has become a difficult first season in English football.

David Moyes, Everton’s shrewd manager, has subsequently spoken of Jo just needing some “affection”. The players at Goodison were told to go out of their way to make him feel welcome. Phil Neville, the captain, introduced him to all the staff and passed on his phone number. Jo has responded. He scored twice on his debut against Bolton Wanderers, the second a pearl of a goal, and has three in six games going into Everton’s match against Wigan Athletic tomorrow.

“The people here have given me so much more support,” he says. “I felt it from the first moment I came to the club and every footballer needs that kind of care. Phil Neville is never too far away, always asking if I am OK, if I need anything. But it’s all of the players, not just Phil. They have all looked out for me. It feels like Everton is my home now.”

But there are glimpses of hurt, too. He is using his interpreter, Pedro, but you can see from his body language that it is a difficult subject for him to tackle. Jo was City’s record signing when he arrived from CSKA Moscow in July but the experience, he is willing to admit, left him frustrated, isolated and unloved. “It has been really hard, especially being in a foreign country. I have felt lonely at times. I had people visit me from Brazil and I had support from [City's other Brazilian players] Robinho, Elano and Glauber [Berti], but they all have their own families whereas I was on my own. I didn’t have any relatives living nearby. I didn’t have a friend next door who I could turn to. I didn’t have my mother and father just down the street. I have had a lot of time by myself to think about things and it hasn’t been easy.”

His conclusion? “I think it’s a little unfair. I was there only six months and I would call that an adaptation period. In my opinion, you should have at least one season to adapt before everyone judges you. Unfortunately no one really thinks like that.”

He sounds exasperated. “Look at my background. I started off in Brazilian football, which is slightly easier than playing in Europe. Then I jumped to playing in Russia, which was a quick style of football but not much physical contact. Then, suddenly, I jump to the best league in the world and there is no time to adapt. It’s difficult. You need everything to play in this league. You need to be fit. You need to be physically strong. You need to have a lot of technique. It’s so fast. When you get the ball you don’t have a lot of time to think.”

But Jo has a history of scoring goals. He accumulated 44 in 77 games for CSKA, including 14 in his first 18 games, and scored home and away against Internazionale in the Champions League last season. His 13 goals in 85 appearances for Corinthians is less impressive, but the taxi driver’s son from Sao Paulo – João Alves de Assis Silva, to give him his full name – was barely out of school. He had become the club’s youngest ever player when he made his debut, aged 16. This is no ordinary Jo.

So what went wrong at City? “I find it strange because I had quite a good start and then for some reason – something that has never been explained to me – I was suddenly no longer playing. I was training well, like I normally do, but I didn’t have happiness.”

He scored only three times in his 14 starts and five substitute appearances for the club – twice against AC Omonia in the Uefa Cup and once in the 6–0 thrashing of Portsmouth – and it did not help when Hughes fined him for having a night out when he was supposed to be recuperating from tonsillitis. “It’s true, that did happen,” he says, “but I don’t think that can be used as a reason why I was always left out. It’s a mystery to me.”

The truth, the horrible truth, is that Hughes never wanted him in the first place. Jo had been signed by Thaksin, then City’s owner, on the recommendation of agents rather than scouts. The deal was originally put in place when Sven-Goran Eriksson was manager and the middle men received around £5m for their troubles. Jo was, in short, imposed on Hughes.

“I have heard that,” says Jo, “but there were other players who were already here before he joined the club and they still played. The honest answer is I don’t know what his reasons are. I’ve never been told and the manager has never spoken to me about it.”

He thinks back to his last game under Hughes, as an unused substitute in a 1-0 defeat at Stoke City on 31 January. “We lost and I didn’t play. I picked up my belongings, went home and by the Monday the deal had been done [with Everton]. Since then I have heard from many people at City, because I have a lot of friends at the club. But I haven’t heard from the manager once.”

The following Wednesday, Jo was in the crowd at Goodison Park when Dan Gosling’s extra-time winner knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup. When he walked into the dressing room it was bedlam: a scrum of players hugging and dancing, swigging champagne and singing songs. “The friendship and togetherness here is much better,” he says. “Most of the players have been together for two or three seasons. They might change one or two players every year but generally it’s the same group, whereas at Manchester City there have always been players coming in and out. It takes time to gel, to form that togetherness. It wasn’t there at City.”

Moyes had been clever enough to recognise that Jo would not have won three caps for the Brazil national team if he is as bad as the reports from City suggested. “It’s been like a new start,” says Jo. “I can see that people believe in me here and, because of that, I have started to believe in myself again. You could see all the frustration released when I scored my first goal.”

His future, however, is uncertain. “If I had to choose, I will choose to stay at Everton. But if I have to go back to City I will go back. I believe in myself and if I go back I will try to show what I can do.” He would never be tactless enough to say it outright, but it has clearly crossed his mind that it would not be a bad thing for him if Hughes were to lose his job. “If a new manager comes in, you don’t know … I just have to show what I can do, whoever is the manager. Whoever it is, I am confident I can show I am a good player.”

• Drogba and Bosingwa to miss Newcastle trip
• Fábregas and Walcott back for Arsenal

Arsenal v Manchester City (Saturday, 3pm)

Arsenal welcome back Cesc Fábregas after three months out with medial knee ligament injury, but the Gunners will have to make do without leading scorer Robin van Persie, who injured his groin while playing for Holland against Scotland last Saturday, and Eduardo who suffered a similar problem while playing for Croatia.

Midfielder Abou Diaby (thigh) is out while Samir Nasri (virus) and Carlos Vela, who has had to make a long journey back from Mexico duty, are also doubtful.

However, Theo Walcott and Emmanuel Adebayor return as does Nicklas Bendtner (knee).

Arsenal (from): Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Walcott, Denilson, Fábregas, Arshavin, Bendtner, Adebayor, Fabianski, Djourou, Gibbs, Vela, Eboue, Silvestre, Song, Nasri.

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes could be without striker Craig Bellamy but expects top-scorer Robinho to be fit for selection against Arsenal.

Bellamy is a major doubt with the knee injury that flared up again on international duty with Wales and forced him to miss his country’s midweek defeat to Germany.

Robinho also limped off during Brazil’s 3-0 win over Peru on Wednesday, but Hughes is hopeful the 24-year-old will be available as City try and claim a first away league win since August.

Wayne Bridge could return from a hamstring strain, while Michael Johnson, Martin Petrov, Daniel Sturridge, Benjani and Didi Hamann are all nearing return from injury.

Manchester City (from): Given, Richards, Onuoha, Dunne, Zabaleta, Wright-Phillips, Elano, De Jong, Kompany, Robinho, Bojinov, Bridge, Garrido, Fernandes, Evans, Etuhu, Berti, Vassell, McGivern, Hart.

Blackburn v Tottenham (Saturday, 12.45pm)

Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz is to see a specialist next week if he fails to show signs of a recovery from a knee tendon injury.

The Paraguay international has been out for a month and misses a fifth successive game tomorrow when Tottenham visit Ewood Park for an early afternoon clash in the Premier League.

It is the same situation with midfielder David Dunn, who has been out of action for three weeks with an achilles problem.

Midfielder Vince Grella has returned to training following a groin injury and, although in the squad, tomorrow’s game probably comes too soon for him to figure.

Allardyce’s injury list stretches to four key players, with Brett Emerton and Steven Reid on the long-term casualty list.

Blackburn (from): Robinson, Bunn, Ooijer, Khizanishvili, Nelsen, Samba, Simpson, Warnock, Givet, Olsson, Villanueva, Tugay, Andrews, Diouf, Treacy, Mokoena, McCarthy, Roberts, Pedersen, Grella.

Tottenham club captain Ledley King should be fit for the trip to Ewood Park after resting his suspect knee during the international break.

Alan Hutton returned for Scotland from his foot injury last week but Jermain Defoe is still out, also with a foot complaint, although he is running again.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp will make late checks on players who have been on international duty such as Wilson Palacios, Luka Modric and Darren Bent – who hobbled out of England training this week.

Tottenham (from): Gomes, Cudicini, Corluka, Hutton, Chimbonda, Bale, Assou-Ekotto, King, Woodgate, Dawson, Modric, Jenas, Zokora, Lennon, Huddlestone, Palacios, O’Hara, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko, Campbell, Keane, Bent.

Everton v Wigan (Sunday, 3pm)

Everton manager David Moyes will make a late decision on the fitness of Tim Cahill for Sunday’s visit of Wigan as the midfielder has not yet returned from international duty.

The Australian has spent the last week in Sydney recovering from a calf injury but did not play any part in the Socceroos’ 2-0 win over Uzbekistan on Wednesday.

Moyes is also waiting for the return of American goalkeeper Tim Howard, the only other player yet to make it back after the internationals.

Right-back Tony Hibbert has resumed training after a thigh problem but may not be ready to play against the Latics.

Everton (from): Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Lescott, Baines, Pienaar, Osman, Cahill, Fellaini, Saha, Jo, Rodwell, Baxter, Nash, Castillo, Jacobsen, Gosling, Wallace, Van der Meyde.

Wigan will be without Amr Zaki after the Egyptian striker again failed to return from international duty on time. It is the fourth time this season Zaki has gone walkabout after an Egypt game and looks set to be heavily fined by Steve Bruce as a result.

Jason Koumas has a hip problem which needs to be assessed, otherwise the Latics squad is at full strength.

Wigan (from): Kirkland, Melchiot, Bramble, Boyce, Figueroa, Watson, Brown, Scharner, Kapo, N’Zogbia, De Ridder, Rodallega, Mido, Kingson, Pollitt, Edman, Cho.

Bolton v Middlesbrough (Saturday, 3pm)

Bolton’s players all returned unscathed from international duty leaving midfielders Mark Davies and Joey O’Brien (both knee) the only absentees. Defender Andy O’Brien could feature after being rested in their last game.

Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Andy O’Brien, Samuel, Riga, Taylor, McCann, Muamba, Gardner, Kevin Davies, Elmander, Al Habsi, Hunt, Puygrenier, Makukula, Shittu.

Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson faces a fitness test after picking up two knocks playing for England’s Under-21s. Meanwhile, Chris Riggott returns from injury, midfielder Matthew Bates is back from suspension, but Robert Huth is a doubt with a sore knee.

Middlesbrough (from): Jones, Turnbull, Hoyte, McMahon, Taylor, Grounds, Huth, Pogatetz, Wheater, Riggott, Aliadiere, O’Neil, Johnson, Bates, Walker, Shawky, Downing, Emnes, Alves, Tuncay, King.

Fulham v Liverpool (Saturday, 5.15pm)

Mark Schwarzer and Clint Dempsey will play for Fulham in tomorrow’s clash with Liverpool. Australia goalkeeper Schwarzer and USA winger Dempsey only returned from international duty this morning but have already been involved in training.

Fulham (from): Schwarzer, Pantsil, Stoor, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Baird, Davies, Etuhu, Dacourt, Murphy, Gera, Dempsey, Johnson, Zamora, Zuberbuhler, Kallio, Nevland, Kamara, Gray, Barnes.

Liverpool are likely to be without defender Sami Hyypia and midfielder Yossi Benayoun for the trip to Fulham.

Hyypia returned from international duty with a knee injury, and manager Rafael Benítez doubts that the centre-back will be fit for the evening kick-off at Craven Cottage. He could be fit for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Chelsea, however.

Benayoun went on World Cup qualifying duty with Israel already with a hamstring injury and now also has a calf problem.

Liverpool (from): Reina, Arbeloa, Agger, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Dossena, Babel, Mascherano, Gerrard, Alonso, Lucas, Torres, Kuyt, Ngog, Insua, Cavalieri, Riera.

Hull v Portsmouth (Saturday, 3pm)

Striker Daniel Cousin is Hull’s only doubt for tomorrow’s visit of Portsmouth. Cousin has missed the last two games with a back complaint and, having not reported for international duty with Gabon, must still prove his fitness.

The club’s other injury concerns, Michael Turner (thigh), Kamil Zayatte (knee), Andy Dawson (thigh) and captain Ian Ashbee (hamstring), are all fit.

George Boateng (knee) is set to return to full training next week but Anthony Gardner (back) and Jimmy Bullard (knee) are out for the season.

Hull (from): Duke, Ricketts, Turner, Zayatte, Dawson, Mendy, Ashbee, Marney, Kilbane, Geovanni, Manucho, Garcia, Barmby, Fagan, Halmosi, Folan, Doyle, Hughes, France, Cousin, Myhill.

Peter Crouch, David James and Glen Johnson have all returned unscathed from England duty for Portsmouth’s clash at Hull and Niko Kranjcar has reported no ill-effects after his efforts for Croatia.

On-loan Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant has recovered from a thigh injury and should return to the attack, enabling Johnson to revert to his more familiar full-back role but Armand Traore’s hopes of a first-team recall have been hit by a damaged ankle playing for France Under-21s.

Reserve goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown is back after three months out with an ankle ligament injury and could return as cover for James on the substitutes’ bench but Jerome Thomas and Marc Wilson picked up further knocks in their midweek comeback attempts for the reserves.

Portsmouth (from): James, Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson, Pennant, Mullins, Davis, Nugent, Kranjcar, Crouch, Kanu, Kaboul, Pamarot, Utaka, Hughes, Belhadj, Basinas, Ashdown, Begovic.

Manchester United v Aston Villa (Sunday, 4pm)

Gary Neville is expected to return for the first time since January as Manchester United look to halt a two-game losing sequence against Aston Villa at Old Trafford.

Neville has been struggling to overcome a groin injury but came through a reserve team outing on Monday without a problem and is set to figure for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.

Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Nemanja Vidic are all suspended, Dimitar Berbatov (ankle) is out for a fortnight and Anderson is not likely to play after picking up a knee injury on World Cup duty with Brazil.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Foster, Kuszczak, Neville, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Fabio, Ronaldo, Nani, Fletcher, Gibson, Possebon, Carrick, Park, Giggs, Tevez, Welbeck.

Gabriel Agbonlahor could be restored to the Aston Villa line-up as they look to end a run of eight games without a win in all competitions against Manchester United.

Agbonlahor was left out of the starting XI for the 5-0 mauling by Liverpool at Anfield before the international break with John Carew and Emile Heskey preferred in attack. But Heskey is ruled out with a hamstring injury he suffered after scoring the opening goal in England’s 4-0 win over Slovakia at Wembley last weekend.

O’Neill has to decide whether left-back Wilfred Bouma is ready to play any part after eight months out with a dislocated ankle. He came through a third reserve game in mid-week with no ill effects.

Aston Villa (from): Friedel, Guzan, Reo-Coker, L. Young, Knight, Cuellar, Davies, Shorey, Bouma, Milner, Gardner, Petrov, Barry, Sidwell, Salifou, A. Young, Agbonlahor, Carew, Delfouneso, Heskey.

Newcastle v Chelsea (Saturday, 3pm)

Newcastle manager Alan Shearer hopes to have three key players available for his first game in charge against Chelsea tomorrow.

Steven Taylor (ankle) and Sebastien Bassong (groin) are improving and have not yet been ruled out, while Damien Duff (hamstring) was expected to train today. Danny Guthrie is back in contention after an eight-match lay-off with a torn hamstring and strikers Andy Carroll (ankle) and Xisco (fractured toe) have returned to training.

But Shola Ameobi is out with an ankle problem and Joey Barton (fractured metatarsal), Mark Viduka and Ignacio Gonzalez (both achilles) remain on the sidelines.

Newcastle (from): Kirkland, Melchiot, Bramble, Boyce, Figueroa, Watson, Brown, Scharner, Kapo, N’Zogbia, De Ridder, Rodallega, Mido, Kingson, Pollitt, Edman, Cho.: Harper, Forster, Krul, S Taylor, Beye, Bassong, Coloccini, Enrique, Edgar, Cacapa, Butt, Duff, R Taylor, Gutierrez, Nolan, Guthrie, Lovenkrands, Geremi, Smith, Martins, Owen, Carroll, Xisco.

Chelsea are without striker Didier Drogba and right-back Jose Bosingwa for the trip to Newcastle. Drogba jarred his ankle in a training ground accident while Bosingwa returned from international duty with Portugal suffering from a hamstring strain.

Chelsea are boosted by the return of fit-again Nicolas Anelka. The France international has shaken off his toe problem to be included in the squad.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Hilario, Taylor, Belletti, Alex, Ivanovic, Terry, Mancienne, A Cole, Lampard, Ballack, Deco, Obi, Kalou, Essien, Malouda, Di Santo, Anelka, Quaresma, Stoch.

West Brom v Stoke (Saturday, 3pm)

West Brom defender Abdoulaye Meite returns to the squad for tomorrow’s clash against Stoke.

Meite has recovered from a hamstring problem and illness, although he may have to be content with a place on the bench as manager Tony Mowbray is set to continue with Jonas Olsson and Shelton Martis at the centre of defence. Albion have only conceded one goal in the two games they have played together.

Mowbray looks set to retain the side that started West Brom’s last match – the 1-1 draw against Bolton.

West Brom (from): Carson, Kiely, Zuiverloon, Hoefkens, Olsson, Martis, Donk, Pele, Meite, Robinson, Cech, Koren, Teixeira, Do-Heon, Valero, Brunt, Simpson, Fortune, Bednar, Moore, Menseguez.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis will assess the fitness of his international quartet ahead of tomorrow’s visit to West Brom.

Republic of Ireland duo Glenn Whelan and Stephen Kelly, Senegal star Abdoulaye Faye and Denmark goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen were all due to return to training this morning.

Kelly is likely to be on standby for full-back Andy Wilkinson (back), while Pulis has jet-lag fears over Faye who played in a friendly fixture in Iran.

Amdy Faye will be recalled in central midfield if Salif Diao (groin) fails a fitness test, but striker Mamady Sidibe will play no further part this season after a damaged cruciate ligament was confirmed.

Stoke (from): Sorensen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham, Lawrence, Diao, Whelan, Delap, Beattie, Fuller, Simonsen, Etherington, Amdy Faye, Camara, Sonko, Cresswell, Cort, Pugh, Tonge, Griffin, Olofinjana.

West Ham v Sunderland (Saturday, 3pm)

West Ham striker Carlton Cole has a groin injury and may be out for the rest of the season. Scott Parker is carrying a groin problem but may still play, while Radoslav Kovac (thigh) has also picked up a knock.

Central defenders Matthew Upson and James Collins are both fit for selection after missing the last two matches, Savio Nsereko has recovered from a minor knee injury, but Valon Behrami, Jack Collison (both knee) and Danny Gabbidon (back/stomach) are out.

West Ham (from): Green, Neill, Tomkins, Spector, Ilunga, Noble, Parker, Kovac, Boa Morte, López, Tristán, Payne, Di Michele, Dyer, Lastuvka, Sears, N’Gala, Stanislas, Upson, Collins, Savio.

Kieran Richardson returns from suspension for Sunderland’s game against West Ham. But George McCartney is a doubt after sustaining a calf injury in Northern Ireland’s win over Slovenia on Wednesday and Calum Davenport is ineligible because he is on loan from the Hammers.

Ricky Sbragia will give late fitness checks to Kenwyne Jones and Carlos Edwards, who did not get back from international duty in the USA until Friday.

Craig Gordon is pushing for a return after playing for Scotland in midweek and Nyron Nosworthy returns to the squad after coming through a reserve game on Thursday.

Sunderland (from): Fulop, Gordon, Bardsley, Ferdinand, Ben-Haim, Collins, Nosworthy, McCartney, McShane, Edwards, Malbranque, Whitehead, Leadbitter, Richardson, Reid, Murphy, Jones, Healy, Cisse.

• Midfielder sits out Socceroos’ win over Uzbekistan
• Verbeek intends to field best side in remaining games

Australia’s coach Pim Verbeek has taken a swipe at the Everton manager David Moyes, saying he should be thankful to the Socceroos medical staff for getting Tim Cahill back to fitness.

Cahill has spent the past week in Sydney recovering from a calf injury and did not play any part in the Socceroos’ 2-0 win over Uzbekistan on Wednesday.

Moyes has often been scathing of Australia’s use of the 29-year-old, especially in regard to him suffering injuries while on national duty.

But Verbeek hit back at Moyes, suggesting the Premier League club should be grateful for the medical rehabilitation Cahill has undergone in Australia.

“Timmy is 100%. If he can play 90 minutes, that’s up to my colleague at Everton,” Verbeek said. “We bring him back fit, and I think they can be very grateful to our medical staff that they did that job. When he came in, he could not walk. So they will be happy with us this time. Normally they are not.”

Verbeek plans to play his strongest side in the final three World Cup qualifiers regardless of whether Australia have already qualified.

They need just one point from those games to book a place at the finals in South Africa, but Verbeek will persist with his best side in the matches against Qatar away and Bahrain and Japan at home.

“I don’t have the feeling that I will bring a second team on the field when we play here,” he said. “The boys deserve to play and the fans deserve to see the players so if they are ready, if they are fit, they will come, they will play and they will have a celebration. That’s the plan.”

Today’s Mill was the only one left in the shop

Expense accounts, eh? On the face of things, such a straightforward concept – go do some work for your employer, tot up all the personal costs incurred in the process and submit your bill to the accounts department. But then you get into the nitty-gritty and it becomes a little more complicated. Is it fair to charge for a beer you would have had anyway? Should you include the personal phone calls that would have cost exactly the same if you’d been at home? And what about those two bongo films your partner had to watch because you left them at home on their own?

It’s not just home secretaries who face this sort of dilemma either. After taking advantage of the international weekend to make a quick business trip to Madrid, Harry Redknapp is pondering how Tottenham’s bean counters would react if he submitted a receipt for £4m marked “Gabriel Heinze“. Failing that, would they at least be willing to foot the bill for the soon-to-be free agent Fabio Cannavaro’s wages next season?

His chances of success may depend on whether the club are still paying Ledley King’s wages next season. Apparently Ledley was none too pleased with Redknapp’s reaction to his England call-up last week, so you can imagine how he feels about Tottenham offering him a new pay-as-you-play contract with added compensation if he retires from international football. Expect Everton manager David Moyes to ride to King’s rescue should relations deteriorate any further.

Of course, Moyes should probably be paying closer attention to goings-on in his own back yard, where Arsène Wenger has engaged Joleon Lescott in a discussion covering such topics as the economy, G20 protests and whether the defender would like to move to Arsenal. Once he’s done there, Wenger’s next stop will be Birmingham, for a similar chat with Aston Villa’s Ashley Young. Unless Chelsea get there first, anyway.

Feel free to leave your own tittle-tattle below …

From France’s Magic Square to Everton’s title-winning quartet of 1984-85, here are half a dozen groups that bossed the middle

1) Brazil 1958-62 (Zagallo-Didi-Zito-Garrincha)

The only midfield to play in consecutive World Cup finals, never mind win them both. Next!

2) Manchester United 1998-2001 (Giggs-Scholes-Keane-Beckham)

No side has meshed the genres of midfield play so successfully: irrepressible, sinuous dribbler; granite-willed captain and metronomic passer; technically outstanding creator and goalscorer; and the greatest crosser of a ball in history. Together they were responsible for some of the most exhilarating, quick-quick-quicker football imaginable, and between them have played a mind-boggling 2,264 games for United.

They are palpably without peer domestically, having won three titles in their only full seasons together before Sir Alex Ferguson killed the golden goose and bought Juan Sebastián Verón in pursuit of another European Cup. (Perversely, of course, United had won the European Cup two years earlier with none of the four playing in their proper positions.) After that moments were few and far between, although there was a touching last hurrah at White Hart Lane in April 2003, when Beckham, Scholes, Giggs and Scholes again combined for the decisive goal in United’s gloriously improbable championship victory.

For the partisan, much of their appeal lay in the fact that they got it: they were proper pros, free of bullshit (let’s not get revisionist about Beckham here – he only fully embraced Brand Beckham when he knew he was past his peak) at a time when football was starting to disappear up its own hole. At club level they were the last great British and Irish midfield. And they were surely the best.

3) France 1984-86 (Giresse-Platini-Tigana-Fernandez)

It’s never too late to find your soulmate. (Actually it is - if you’re in your thirties you’ve had it - but allow us some artistic licence here.) When France’s Carré Magique (Magic Square) first played together, in a friendly against England on 29 February 1984, Michel Platini and Jean Tigana were 28 and Alain Giresse was 31. The newbie, Luis Fernandez, was 24 and would complete a Bleu square that everybody wanted to bet on, and which would inspire France to famously win Euro 84 and reach the semi-finals of Mexico 86, their final act together.

They moved the ball around with the lazy serenity of collegiate dudes sharing a spliff. There was Giresse, the sort of squeaky-clean footballer you’d be proud to take home to your mother; Tigana with his outrageous, irresistible surges; Platini, the complete playmaker who also happened to score more than a goal every two games; and Fernandez, whose unforgettable penalty against Brazil unfairly dominates our thoughts to the exclusion of all his almost infinitesimal contributions.

Collectively, their greatest achievement of all might have been to make France the neutral’s favourites. Let’s be honest: the proverbial Gallic swagger rubs the masses up the wrong way these days, but this lot refreshed the parts other peers could not reach with their humility and their intuitive, highbrow passing. Never mind conventional foursomes: in football, they proved, the brain is certainly the most erogenous zone of all.

4) Liverpool 1978-80 (Kennedy-McDermott-Souness-Case)

Liverpool have had more lustrous midfield talents – despite the warped genius of Graeme Souness, this lot wouldn’t compile 100 caps between them – but never a more devastating collective. Most notably in their first full season together, 1978-79, when Liverpool won the title at an absolute canter and their lowest midfield scorer in the league was Jimmy Case with seven.

In an age when football was seriously dirty, the erroneous temptation is first to look at their physical qualities. Ray Kennedy could handle himself, and then there were the Three Taches, who appropriately knew all about the rough stuff. But this mob gave opponents the chance to do this two ways: the hard way, or the even harder way. You could be kicked off the pitch, and with relish, yet in many ways it was more painful to be passed off it.

Kennedy was an outstanding footballer - who Bob Paisley said brought more enquiries than any other player in his time at Anfield - and will always be remembered for that velcro touch against Derby; Souness was simply majestic but Case gave jacks of all trades a good name and McDermott, who hoovered up the individual awards in 1979-80, was a goalscoring midfielder with proper ability, as shown by his steady stream of simply outrageous goals. As players, Souness and arguably Kennedy excepted, they were very good. As a group they were truly great.

5) Barcelona/Spain 2006-09 (Xavi-Iniesta-AN Other)

It’s a peculiar thing, given the obvious and embarrassing difference in ability between you, me and even John O’Shea, that, when we watch football, we can for much of the time think that, with a fair wind and Dame Fortune having had a few liveners, we could do what he just did. But the rat-a-tat passing of Xavi, Iniesta and Barcelona’s front three, adopted Catalans toying with a helpless mouse, is on a completely different technical and intellectual plane.

There have been more dynamic midfields in Spanish football (in 1989-90, Michel, Martin Vazquez and Bernd Schuster inspired Real Madrid to score a simply preposterous 78 goals in 19 home league games – seriously though, 78 in 19 games) but none as cerebral. Their exquisite through-passing makes the eye of the needle seem big enough to get a bus through, and their ball-retention is almost unprecedented. Watching them keep possession with almost absent-minded ease in the final minutes of the Euro 2008 final, as Germany hared around like neanderthals, was joyous. They are so good, it’s terrifying.

What Sir Alex Ferguson described as their “passing carousel” is moving faster than ever this season, which has brought about some of the sort of aesthetically appealing football that has previously been beyond the mind’s eye, never mind two eyes. It all forces defenders into a Tetrisian resistance. And, as we know, there is only one way that can end.

6) Everton 1984-85 (Sheedy-Bracewell-Reid-Steven)

The biggest regret about Everton’s finest side is that they were not allowed to play in the European Cup. As a consequence, an arguably bigger regret is overshadowed: that their remarkable title-winning quartet of 1984-85 – who are probably just one last injury-time surge ahead of the Holy Trinity of Kendall, Harvey and Ball – hardly played together again at any level. We know of Paul Bracewell’s injuries, which would rule him out of the 1986-87 title-winning campaign entirely, but it is often forgotten that Peter Reid, the furiously beating heart of the side, started only 15 league games out of 42 in both 1985-86 and 1986-87.

As a consequence, the season of 1984-85 has the wistful qualities of a glorious winter romance. Everton were simply unstoppable, and their midfield showed a desire that verged on the rabid. The erudite passing of Bracewell and the ceaseless energy of Reid - often patronised but the PFA Player of the Year that season - gave them control of central midfield, and on the wings Steven, all direct dribbles and pinpoint crosses, and Sheedy, with a left foot so educated it could have been to Harvard, scored an absurd 33 goals between them. Yet after that, the four of them would barely play 33 games together.

The best images from Wednesday night’s action in the top flight

• Leighton Baines is rewarded for impressive Everton form
• ‘I’m feeling a lot more confident now,’ says left-back

Leighton Baines has described his first call-up to the England senior squad as “the proudest moment” of his career while Paul Jewell, who developed the full-back’s game at Wigan Athletic to establish him at Under-21 level, believes the defender can yet displace Ashley Cole in the first-team.

The left-back reported to England’s Hertfordshire hotel last night with his club-mates Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka to complete a remarkable turn-around in his personal fortunes this season. Baines had been a bit-part player at Goodison Park over the first half of the campaign, starting only seven times before Joseph Yobo sustained a hamstring injury against Chelsea on 22 December. The Nigerian’s subsequent absence saw Lescott restored to central defence, with Baines featuring in all 17 games since on the left.

“To get recognition at that level is something everyone aspires to,” said Baines, who might even have left the club in January to seek first-team football elsewhere had a route into the side not opened up. “I’m delighted and honoured to have been called up. It’s the proudest moment of my career. Everything has happened so quickly. I was only thinking the other day that at Christmas I felt I’d be lucky to get a run of two or three games in our team when Joe [Yobo] was injured.

“But I’m feeling a lot more confident now. Things had been stop-start since I had come here but I always felt that, if I could get a run of 12 or 15 games, I’d be much better. Thankfully that has happened and I’m so pleased with the way things have gone recently. When I knew I was in the 30-man squad, I would have been happy enough with that. I never really expected to get the call but I can’t wait to go down and see what it’s all about. It’s a terrific opportunity and I’ll give it my best shot.”

The 24-year-old, who scored his first Everton goal in the weekend defeat at Portsmouth, was released by the Merseyside club as a schoolboy and cost some £6m when he moved back to Goodison Park from Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2007 having come up through the youth ranks to play a significant part in securing the Latics’ top-flight status under Jewell that season. His manager at the JJB Stadium found the full-back shy and modest but never doubted he was capable of stepping up from under-21 level – where he has been capped 16 times – to the full England set-up.

“When I was at Wigan and we’d just come into the Premier League and were up near the top, he wasn’t even in the Under-21s’ squad,” Jewell said. “I phoned [the then under-21s coach] Peter Taylor and said he should have a look at him – I think he was playing Anton Ferdinand at left-back at the time. Leighton got in and he was different class, but he’s not your typical Scouser. He’s a quietly spoken lad and I don’t think he felt he quite belonged there at the beginning. There were lads from Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, and he thought he didn’t deserve to be there.

“It took him a long time to feel comfortable and it has probably been the same for him at Everton. He took a step up to go there and he has had to wait for his chance. He’s someone who likes to feel wanted. But he has matured a lot now and he won’t be meeting up with England with his autograph book in his hand. The coaches there will be pleasantly surprised when they see him out on the training pitch.

“He can push Ashley Cole. Cole is a top-class player but in my opinion Leighton Baines will fight him for that spot. They are both the same size, both got a good left foot. Leighton may look boyish but he has a great determination about him. People say he is better going forward but he’s a good defender, too. I’m absolutely thrilled for him and I think [Fabio] Capello will like the type of person he is.”

There are still those who suspect that Peter Crouch might be better employed as a lighthouse at Portsmouth Harbour than inside a No9 shirt. But, playing on his own up front, the England forward was comfortably the best player on view, impressing not only with his finishing for his two goals but also with his vision, control and hold-up play.

Paul Hart, Portsmouth’s ­caretaker manager, though, reckons he knew just how good Crouch was going to be a dozen years ago. After this key victory Hart said: “He is totally honest but – you probably don’t know this – I’ve seen him since he was 16 years of age, and what he does doesn’t surprise me. He’s a smashing player. He’s got more to offer than just smacking balls into the box to him. He brings people into the play, he gets hold of it, he plays at the sharp end where it’s not all that pleasant.”

Hart added: “I’ve got nothing but admiration for him. I was academy manager at Nottingham Forest when he was coming through and we used to play against him, so I used to see him from a very young age. The academy manager there [at Spurs] was Peter Suddaby, a great friend of mine from Blackpool, and he used to say, ‘You’re going to see something from this fella’.

“He was like he is now, gangly, and it takes a bit of time, but once you see through that initial view … Even at a young age he was more than just a big 6ft 5in boy who headed it. He got hold of it. Now his goalscoring record stands against anybody’s. I’ve only had him for five games but he’s been brilliant.”

In recent weeks the clubs on the south coast all looked likely to slip into the English channel without making so much as a ripple, although Bournemouth’s magnificent efforts in League Two have now confounded this notion. Even if Hart saves Portsmouth from relegation this term, he will face major problems if he keeps his job, for he must strengthen the squad while slashing the wage bill. But as Crouch showed on Saturday, the team are playing for him, and a break in Dubai may have sharpened appetites.

Crouch said: “For the first five or 10 minutes we weren’t very good at all but for the rest of the 80 I thought we were fantastic. We dug in and deserved to win the game. The next few games are crucial. The home games are going to be extremely important for us. Nine more games left, and if we continue to play like that we’ll have no trouble.

“I always love to see the ball floated in there. You can just go and attack it. Your eyes light up and you want to go and head it. I always felt confident that when the chance came I was going to take them. Those two goals are very important to the football club.”

Everton were awful, though this was their first defeat in nine matches. It is a little worrying when a side that looks as ordinary as this can establish a nest among the Premier League’s higher branches. But they are a different proposition when Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta are in the team.

They must have expected to get something from the match once they had taken the lead with a smart free-kick from Leighton Baines in the fourth minute. Portsmouth, however, equalised midway through the first half after a corner had been only half-cleared; Glen Johnson, who played on the right of midfield, nodded back for Crouch to head firmly home. Crouch scored his second with another lunging header 15 minutes before time.

Man of the match Peter Crouch (Portsmouth)

During the dark days of Tony Adams’ reign, Peter Crouch had to spend most of his time grafting in midfield. Now he uses his energies more carefully up front. The difference? A victory instead of a 4-1 defeat - and two goals for him