"We are an English team."

- - Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli after fielding a team made up of a Dutchman, a Romanian, a Brazilian, two Frenchmen, a Nigerian, a Spaniard, a Uruguayan, two Italians and a Norwegian against Southampton yesterday.

"Whenever you walk into a room in which he is present, and it is not just because of his personal stature in terms of size, he has the kind of aura which makes people naturally gravitate towards him."

- - Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale loses the run of himself while talking about David O'Leary, the new Don Revie/Bill Shankly/Alex Ferguson, as he calls him.

"This is Boxing Day and this reminds me of a boxing match because it's, em, end to end."

- - Sky Sports' pundit Steve McMahon eloquently sums up yesterday's riveting match between Newcastle and Liverpool.

"Paolo was so talented that, had he not been a footballer, he would have been a musician, an artist or a Third World dictator."

- - An former (unnamed) team-mate of Paolo Di Canio tells the Daily Mail of his hidden talents.