As Obafemi Martins arrives on Tyneside one question still remains – how old is the Nigerian? Filippo Ricci reports

Before Newcastle’s UEFA Cup tie against Ventspils in August, Obafemi Martins was paraded in front of the crowd. Glenn Roeder was delighted with his £10 million signing from Internazionale – though he did face some slightly unwelcome questions regarding just how old the new man was. “We at Newcastle have never questioned his age. It is disrespectful to question his age, around the world we have a good reputation. He is 21, we know he is 21, we always have done, we have a talented young player.”

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Cameron Carter observes how Mark Lawrenson is slowly veering away from what he's put there to be – a pundit

John Helm must have done something quite bad, but not dreadful, in a previous life. Perhaps he murdered a cow or was a slum landlord with only one slum. Whatever it was, in his current incarnation he has been forced to eternally comment on the UEFA Cup on Five. Because of his lack of options, Helm can’t make like Alan Green if the action’s a bit slow and tell everyone how bored he is; instead he must remain upbeat at his vigil and keep his and everyone else’s spirits up. As Newcastle toiled away against Ventspils of Latvia, many of us were reaching for the off switch and resignedly contemplating housework. Helm sensed this. “It’s an interesting game,” he pleaded, “without goals.” A slight pause. “Eleven minutes to the break,” he went on, in the preoccupied tone of a man who was calculating that in seconds.

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Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano end up at Upton Park of all places – courtesy of Kia Joorabchian. But what will it mean for the Hammers and the rest of the Premier League?

Whatever the facts that emerge surrounding the arrival of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mas­ch­erano at West Ham, there’s no point in becoming overly exercised by this latest move, whatever the baggage proves to be. In moral terms, top-level football plummeted down the abyss a while ago. With the creation of the Premiership and the Champions League, greed became the dominant principle. The only question these days is whether greed is the reason for an investment or what provided the funds to make a bid possible.

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Tuesday 1 Steve McClaren begins his first day as England manager by saying: “It will be totally different from Sven and the past five years. I’m going to do it my way.” Liverpool’s Champions League opponents Maccabi Haifa are contesting UEFA’s plan to switch the Israel leg of their tie to a neutral venue. That man Ken Bates is to report Chelsea to the Premier League, the FA, FIFA and the World Council of Churches after claiming they recruited two Leeds youth-team players through an illegal approach. José Antonio Reyes is hoping to tie up a move to Madrid: “Real are like a candy that is difficult to turn down.” Ghana full-back John Pantsil joins West Ham.

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Damien Blake looks back on the last season when a win meant two points and the FA Cup holders played outside the top flight

The long-term significance
This was the final season played under two points for a win. The addition of an extra point was one of the recommendations made in a document called Soccer – The Fight For Survival. Put together by a group of club officials and managers, including Terry Venables and Graham Taylor, the report had been triggered by concern over a variety of issues, notably falling attendances. This was also the last time to date that the FA Cup holders played outside the top flight. West Ham had won the trophy in May 1980, beating Arsenal 1-0 (with a rare Trevor Brooking header that was still a source of mirth to his Match of the Day colleagues 20 years later) but they had only finished seventh in Division Two, six points off a promotion place.

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