* Ruud scored twice for Madrid last night in a compelling 3-3 draw against Barca,
* Steve Bates in the People reports that United are targeting Reading's Leroy Lita and Ajax striker Jan Huntelaar.
* The Telegraph:
So why have Tom Hicks and George Gillett been accepted in English football and the Glazers haven't? Their intentions are similar, after all: American gold-diggers wishing to mine the television Klondike that is Richard Scudamore's Premiership. The difference is simple: Hicks and Gillett have handled their takeover of a famous football institution far more astutely than the Glazers.
Hicks and Gillett have turned up at Anfield, shown their faces, enthused about the Kop and the club's history. They have listened to the brains of the Liverpool operation, Rafa Benitez, and the heart and soul of the team, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard, and come across as businessmen who care. Hicks and Gillett are at Liverpool for the money, but they are also there for the trips and trophies. They seem keen on a shared adventure with Kopites.
The contrast with the Glazers could not be more marked. United have playing compelling football, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes laying on fabulous entertainment, yet the Glazers seem disinterested. It's a business deal for them. Show me the money, not the step-overs. At least Hicks and Gillett are enjoying their commercial venture.