The item ran as follows, and brought forth a blistering reply from a Mirror insider [pasted second, below]
Times:
NO DOUBT what the big football story was on Wednesday. After losing the first leg to unknown Hungarians, Manchester United stormed into the first round proper of the Champions League with a 5-0 victory. It made back-page leads in all the papers - except the Daily Mirror, which splashed on Arsenal's predictable defeat of lowly West Bromwich Albion. Piers Morgan's undying support for the Gunners seems to be impairing his news judgment. Either that or the sports editor knows how to keep in favour.
Mirror Dep Ed Des Kelly scorched back:
What the bespectacled saddos at The Times media diary section don't realise is that;
a) We produce different editions of the paper for different parts of the country. United was the back page splash across all the country except our London edition. So, that Times Media pillock needs to get out beyond the M25 sometime.
b) United SHOULD be beating unknown Hungarians 5-0
c) Piers Morgan's off - so I'm editing. And, as you know, I am a United fan who HATES Arsenal. So the Sports Editor's certainly not bloody well sucking up to me. He's just doing a good job.
d) This kind of understanding from The Times of what football fans want from their sports pages explains why the Times' chief sports writer, Oliver Holt, quit the Murdoch empire to join The Mirror a few months ago.