Every day is a 'School Day'

What we have learnt this week at SPAOTP.

A Nation on your side.

The usually laid-back Darren Bent commented on the former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson.

"I saw him when we played Manchester City recently but I wouldn't even look at him".

Don't worry Darren, all England fans can sympathise with you there.

Nutmegs roasting on an open fire

Terry Butcher claims Capello's England problem is

"The old Nutmeg of Lampard and Gerrard playing together"

Even Terry should know its Chestnut, not Nutmeg. Come on Terry - after all it is Christmas!

Meanwhile, in 'Wenger World' ...

After drawing AC Milan in the Champions League, Arsenal Arsene Wenger claims

"As we play the world and European champions, if we win we can call ourselves world champions"

Yes Arsene, thats how football works. Honest.

So Congratulations go to Bolton, who beat reigning Champions Manchester United 1-0 in November. Since then, Liverpool held the crown after beating Bolton, who then handed it to current holders Reading.

Who would have thought there would be so much riding on today's Reading v Sunderland game?

"I'm telling my Mum"

Whilst counting his wealth of £20m, Portsmouth Defender Sol Campbell says crowd abuse is getting out of hand.

"I am an international player who has given his whole career to club and country. I think I deserve more than this."

Said Sol, whilst searching for another rattle to chuck.

What happened to the days of the working man paying his 'hard-earned' every Saturday (or Sunday as it seems to be nowadays) to go to a game and barrack the players to let of steam after a bad week in the office\factory\pit? Has Football changed that much and if so, for the worse? Is it all down to the 'Prawn Sandwiches' brigade, a term once used by former Manchester United star Roy Keane?

Talking of which, Roy himself has said that Sol is right - player abuse is too much, saying

"I wanted to do an Eric Cantona loads of times. I wanted to do it everywhere."

Keane is obviously referring to the infamous Kung-Fu kick at Selhurst Park in 1995.

Another Keane, Robbie this time, seems to have a more level-headed approach.

"The fans are not giving abuse to ridicule you, they are saying it out of frustration. It's the same for a player on the pitch. If a bad decision goes against you, you say something out of frustration in those few seconds. We all do it. We are not doing it to upset anyone."

Verbal abuse, as with all things, can go too far sometimes, we aren't denying that. Best of luck in trying to stop it, however.

Instead of informing every supporter about to attend your future matches that the 'name calling' is affecting you, surely the best answer is by playing out of your skin, ensuring you are on the winning side and perhaps the 'cherry on the cake' of scoring the winning goal?

Or is that a dying tradition too?