Owen: not crocked

It really is telling when the fact that Michael Owen ISN'T injured is worth reporting as news.

Responding to speculation over Owen's premature departure on Monday night and the possibility that he might miss England's vital European Championship qualifiers next month (never mind a few games for the club that pays his wages, eh?), Fat Sam insisted: "He does not need a hernia operation. I fully expect him to be fit to face West Ham on Sunday". Of course, Owen could be fit and in the form of his life and still endure a miserable afternoon if the service to him is as pathetic as it was at Pride Park.

Meanwhile, Allardyce has raised Scouse hackles (including those of John Aldridge) by claiming in an interview with Zoo magazine that "Rafa [Benitez] would be very lucky to be in a job if he hadn't got to two Champions League finals, because they have had some very, very poor finishes in the Premier League", and that "Being a foreigner, Rafa doesn't understand it's supposed to be Premier League first and Champions League second". Forget the latent xenophobia there, and consider the comment of one reader of the Guardian's Fiver: "Wise words from a manager for whom this particular conundrum will never be an issue"...

Still, the good news for Fat Sam is that he can probably take verbal pot-shots at his fellow Premier League managers without fear of them ever inviting him outside, Jose Mourinho having admitted that Allardyce is the opposing boss he'd least like to fight...