UR TV CAST

In the last 15 minutes he gave all the decisions our way, as if he was making up.”Wenger, unsurprisingly, disagreed “I am not convinced it was a red Vialli is very experienced. The free-kick was wasted and Chelsea’s equilibrium went with it.Ruud Gullit, whose displeasure was clear, said: “Vialli was going straight for goal He has to be sent off, there is no other option It changed the whole game You are sent off anywhere in the world for a foul like that But the referee wanted to make his own game. With Vialli poised, on the edge of the area, to advance unchallenged on Alex Manninger, Steve Bould hauled him down by his neck and collar.It was a clear sending-off, but Dermot Gallacher ignored Chelsea’s urgent supplication to show red and waved yellow. One foul, and subsequent error, was particularly significant. It came after a dozen minutes when Gianluca Vialli ran on to Emmanuel Petit’s inadvertent back-header from a Chelsea clearance. Having previously suggested he may move to further his career, he yesterday said he was ready to sign a new contract to replace the one which expires this summer.Yet, despite all these encouraging signs, Arsenal do not yet look title material.

Yesterday’s match was often poor, passing moves were rare with basic errors and petty, sometimes nasty, fouls the game’s staple. Hughes was their match-winner, scoring two well-taken goals after four and 42 minutes.The 21-year-old’s celebrations were matched by the club’s. Marc Overmars is running into form – not that he had much opportunity to show it yesterday – and Stephen Hughes is developing nicely. Unbeaten in 11 matches since Christmas they have taken 14 Premiership points from the last 18 to go fifth in the League, six points behind United with a match in hand.They won without David Seaman, Patrick Vieira, Martin Keown and, until the last 22 minutes, Lee Dixon and Ian Wright. Chelsea, who could have moved within two points, were brushed aside in a bruising Highbury game by a resurgent Arsenal.
After a grim late ‘97 Arsene Wenger’s side are re-emerging as the most credible pretender to the champions’ crown. It is one thing to watch Manchester United stumble, it is another entirely to be able to walk tall enough to take advantage. Chelsea yesterday completed a trio of beaten contenders this curious weekend, leaving United to emerge with their lead enhanced to five points despite Saturday’s home draw with Bolton.

It was very painful but being the man he is, Stewart did not consider leaving the field.The quality of his innings was later underlined by the clatter of England wickets on the fourth morning.. Stewart came forward, the ball rose sharply and hit him a horrid blow on the point of the elbow. When he had made 42, he received probably the nastiest ball of the day, from Walsh. Stewart’s close play was decisive and his defence impeccable.It was not only an innings of high technical skill, it was also one of considerable bravery. Lara did not make life as difficult for England as he should have.Having said that, nothing can detract from the quality of Stewart’s innings. The basis of his batting was his excellent footwork, which enabled him to cope with the uncertainties of the pitch.

Not many captains would have allowed Carl Hooper eight overs of relatively innocuous off-breaks immediately after lunch either. That, too, will not have done much for their relationship.It was also curious that after tea Lara did not use Ambrose, who had bowled only 12 overs earlier in the innings. Late in the day, when Walsh was bowling his heart out in a fierce final spell, he clearly wanted a man close to the bat square on the off side, which Lara refused to give him. It made no sense to turn to his two less experienced fast bowlers, especially as the English batsmen would have been mindful of Ambrose’s part in their second innings here four years ago when they were bowled out for 46 and he took 6 for 24.Lara’s decision was an important psychological boost for England and will hardly have pleased Ambrose or his predecessor as captain, Walsh, who has never been a bosom pal of his. He gives the impression he is making decisions like this one to show he is his own man. It was his unfathomable decision to open bowling with Kenny Benjamin and McLean when England began their second innings, instead of Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, which gave Stewart his chance.There is almost a naive arrogance about Lara’s captaincy. From the moment, in the second over, when he pulled and cover drove Nixon McLean for fours, Stewart dominated the bowling on an awkward and at times unpleasant pitch.
The other contribution came from Brian Lara’s captaincy, which was to say the least inexperienced.

Alec Stewart set the tone for England’s second innings with batting of the highest possible class. They called back the next day to say it was acceptable, but we haven’t given them permission to speak to him yet We need to sit down and talk to him.”. There were two most significant contributions to England’s excellent progress on Saturday apart from Angus Fraser’s exceptional bowling. The European Cup winners are supposedly prepared to part with pounds 500,000, but while Andy Robinson, Bath’s head coach, would neither confirm or deny the club’s interest in the 27-year-old Lions scrum-half, he did say: “There’s no way we will pay that sort of money for one player.”

Bath, whose current scrum-half is the club captain, Andy Nicol, have been linked with Howley, who captained his country for the first time against Italy on Saturday, Bristol’s former Lions scrum-half Robert Jones and South Africa’s scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen.
The West Country club are also confident of signing the Pontypridd and Lions goalkicker, Neil Jenkins, who could link up with Howley in a new half-back partnership.”I had a telephone call from Bath inquiring about Rob,” Gareth Davies, the Cardiff chief executive, said “They asked about his value and I threw them a steep figure.