Suarez ready to torment United again

Luis Suarez's performance against Manchester United in March marked him out as a special player

When Liverpool and Manchester United last met in March, it was the performance of Dirk Kuyt which was most talked about.

Liverpool won the game 3-1 and Kuyt scored a hat-trick, but it was the display of another Reds star which had allowed the Dutchman to grab the headlines.

Luis Suarez played a key role in each of Kuyt's goals - scored from a combined total of about five yards - and it was his trickery throughout the game which gave Liverpool the edge.

The two sides come up against each other again tomorrow in what is sure to be another titanic tussle between two great rivals, and it could just be that Suarez holds the key again.

When the Uruguayan is on form, he has very few contemporaries and judging by his display in this fixture last season, he seems to relish the big occasion.

He tormented Sir Alex Ferguson's side with his mazy dribbling, tremendous work-rate and elusive movement.

Suarez is the jewel in Liverpool's team and his performance in the March victory over United will certainly have worried Ferguson.

Ferguson has probably devised a plan to nullify the threat of the Uruguayan but if he can play near the level he did in March, it will be an extremely difficult game for the Red Devils.

It will certainly be their biggest test yet in this campaign, with Liverpool looking genuine contenders for the title after their win over city rivals Everton in their last game.

The jury is still out on some of Kenny Dalglish's signings, with particularly Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson struggling to live up to their enormous transfer fees, but a win over United tomorrow will leave the Reds just three points behind their rivals and looking in great shape.

Carroll and Henderson cost a combined total of around £55million

United have been tremendous going forward this season but occasionally they have looked fragile at the back.

Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have slotted seamlessly into the side but as a whole they look like a team which will concede goals.

With Liverpool's attacking talents, United will be tested to the limit on Saturday.

Steven Gerrard should make his first start of the season after injury and it looks like the ideal time for him to step back in.

It will give Jordan Henderson the chance to take a step back and out of the firing line and also give the rest of the side a confidence boost to have their talisman back.

Gerrard's passion and knowledge of this fixture could prove crucial with many of the players on both sides having little or no experience of this derby.

Whatever their experience though, it seems to be ingrained into Liverpool players to raise their game against Manchester United.

Dalglish, along with local heroes Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, will have left the new players in no doubt as to what this fixture means to the fans so you should expect to see a fired-up Liverpool team tomorrow lunchtime.

Nothing makes them happier than putting one over on United, whatever personnel they have on the field.

It will also be interesting to see how Wayne Rooney reacts to his red card shame with England in Montenegro.

Rooney will be eager to bounce back after his England red card

He is always in for a hot reception at Anfield as a boyhood Evertonian but this time that atmosphere is sure to be even more poisonous towards him.

It would be just like Rooney to bounce back from a terrible week with a match-winning performance, but you can be sure the likes of Carragher will be winding him up for 90 minutes in the hope he blows a fuse again.

Whatever happens with Rooney though, this is sure to be a high-tempo ferocious clash, with attack probably coming out on top of defence.

Both sides should score, with the likes of Suarez and Gerrard key for Liverpool and Nani, Ashley Young, Rooney and Javier Hernandez crucial for United.

Young, Rooney and Nani have been in devastating form so far this season

It is time for Liverpool to prove their title credentials and the only way they can do that is by ending United's unbeaten record so far this season.

It is time for Carroll, Charlie Adam and Henderson to prove they are Liverpool players and ease the burden on Suarez and Gerrard.

Old adversaries Dalglish and Ferguson have overseen their fair share of games between these sides over the years, and both will know the outcome of this game will give a fair indication of how this season is going to pan out.

United have been the more blistering of the two teams so far this season, with Nani, Young and Rooney in scintillating form, but they know this will be their biggest test yet.

They now have to come up against Liverpool again, up against Dalglish, up against Gerrard and, of course, up against Suarez.

Suarez holds the key to this game and if he can torment Ferguson's side as he did in March, United's unbeaten start to the season may be about to come to a shuddering halt.

Last chance for Steve Kean at Blackburn

Blackburn's beleaguered manager Steve Kean may be entering the last chance saloon

Put simply, Steve Kean is a dead man walking at Blackburn Rovers.

In fact, the only thing keeping him in a job at the moment - indeed the only thing which landed him the job in the first place - is the incompetence of the club's owners.

To sack Sam Allardyce midway through last season was nonsensical, and to replace him with a coach with no experience of management was crazy in the dog-eat-dog world of the Premier League.

Young coaches like Kean deserve their shot at management, but not on the basis that they are a "positive man", as Indian owners Venky's put it when he was appointed.

Rovers would have been a comfortable mid-table side under Allardyce, but under Kean they have become nothing more than relegation fodder. Relegation this season seems inevitable unless a change is made.

Fans are revolting against Kean and the owners, with the last two losses - heavy defeats to Newcastle and Manchester City - doing nothing to appease them.

The fans cannot be blamed for speaking out given Kean's record - six wins in 28 league games - but the risk is the poisonous atmosphere they are creating may have a detrimental impact on the team.

They can see their club's Premier League life slowly slipping away, with recent statements from Venky's doing nothing to reassure fans.

It seems they don't have the first idea about how to run a football club and which decisions need to be made.

Kean will be unable to win over the doubters for some time yet as they have become sick of his constant public positivity in the face of criticism. He needs to tell it like it is.

Some Blackburn fans have made their feelings towards Kean clear

In the summer, he proclaimed Blackburn would be a Champions League outfit by 2015, a foolish statement which will continually come back to haunt him for the rest of his reign at Ewood Park.

There is no evidence Venky's have the funds required to launch anything like a top four bid, no evidence to suggest Kean is good enough to get anywhere near that level and certainly not the required level of talent on the playing staff.

Their 4-3 win over Arsenal earlier this season was a rare highlight of Kean's reign but even that highlighted the deficiencies of the team.

Rovers are so soft at the back it is farcical.

With top defenders like Scott Dann, Christopher Samba and Ryan Nelsen, they shouldn't concede anything like the number of goals they do.

There is clearly something fundamentally wrong, in the tactics or the mindset, that Kean simply cannot turn around.

As if his position was not weakened enough by fan protests, the recent sacking of his assistant John Jensen over his head has made his position almost untenable.

Blackburn have a crucial game this weekend away at Queens Park Rangers and the fear for Kean must be that he cannot afford a defeat.

He has just took his side to India to spread the name of Blackburn Rovers on the sub-continent and to meet the club's owners, who surely must have told him recent performances and results are not good enough.

Kean always tries to put a positive spin on everything, but even he must realise the situation at Ewood Park is perilous.

QPR away represents a real chance of picking up some points but also poses a real danger.

Neil Warnock's QPR are sure to cause Blackburn problems

Rangers have been decent since Tony Fernandes bought the club - despite their recent pummelling at Fulham - but haven't been scoring enough goals.

However, all that is likely to change soon when the likes of Adel Taarabt, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joey Barton click into gear, and it could just be that Blackburn are the first team to bear the brunt of that.

They are sitting second from bottom with just four points from seven games and if they pick up nothing from Loftus Road, they run the risk of propping up the division.

Even if they do pick up one or three points this weekend, it will not be enough to convince most Rovers fans that Kean is the right man for the job.

Fresh protests are planned for upcoming games and that is a tad unfair on Kean, thrown in at the managerial deep end.

It should be the owners who get most of the stick for appointing the Scot in the first place.

Former Rovers boss Hughes may be the ideal man to turn things around

They are clearly clueless about football as an experienced manager - Martin O'Neill, Alan Curbishley or Mark Hughes, for instance - is desperately needed to turn things around.

All clubs need stability and so in that respect it may be prudent of them to stick with Kean, but most would agree that if something is not done fast there will only be one outcome for Blackburn this season: relegation.

Kean will never be able to fulfil his promise of Champions League football and so he will always be fighting a losing battle.

There is an argument that his hands have been tied since taking over from Allardyce, with the marquee signings which were promised and large transfer budget not materialising, while he had to watch as star defender Phil Jones left for Manchester United in the summer.

Kean has got the best out of young talent Junior Hoilett and has introduced exciting prospects Ruben Rochina and Mauro Formica to the team, but even this cannot save him with the supporters.

Fans care about results and performances, and as a collective, Rovers have simply not been good enough under Kean.

Blackburn is a great, family club and their fans deserve better than they are getting at the moment, both in the boardroom and the dugout.

Their supporters experienced the ultimate high when they won the Premier League under Kenny Dalglish but they may be about to reach the ultimate low under another Scot.

Relegation to the Championship is a real prospect the way Kean's team have started this season so despite Venky's loyalty towards him, they cannot afford to let their team slip into the second tier.

Lose at QPR and the board may be forced to act.

Let's have a Euro 2012 to remember

Euro 2012 needs to succeed where other recent international tournaments have failed and produce exciting football

International football needs boosting.

For too long now it has been no more than a distraction to many football fans, particularly in England.

The all-conquering Premier League has played its part in that, of course, but many are just no longer interested in tepid qualifiers against minnows like Andorra, Azerbaijan and Albania.

They are no longer interested in watching England fumble their way through an easy group, with dour displays and no realistic hope of success in a major tournament.

It could be said this extends beyond the borders of England, too.

Scotland have the most vociferous crowd of the Home Nations yet they haven't reached a major tournament since 1998, Wales have only qualified for one major tournament - the 1958 World Cup - and attracted just over 12,000 spectators for last week's win over Switzerland, Northern Ireland last reached a major tournament in 1986 and the Republic of Ireland's last qualification was for the 2002 World Cup.

Negativity towards international football is growing around the globe, too.

The recent FIFA scandals have not helped, but the borathon World Cup of 2010 also acted as a nail in the coffin.

International football still has great benefits, like its potential to bring a nation together as it did with Spain in 2010.

However, the only real time anyone gets excited about it is in the major competitions.

Qualifying groups are often tedious, with the big nations almost always breezing through, meaning there are rarely exciting matches on home soil to raise excitement about the international game.

Tournaments are the only part of international football which excite, and that is why it is crucial the Home Nations qualify and do well at Euro 2012 to ensure fans don't turn their backs on their national team for good.

Northern Ireland and Wales cannot qualify, of course, but England have already booked their place in Poland and Ukraine while Scotland and the Republic of Ireland both currently hold play-off places.

It would be great to see England, Scotland and Ireland at Euro 2012 as it would create a great deal of interest and bring back a feelgood factor around the respective national teams.

England are almost always there at the major tournaments, of course, and it nearly always ends in extreme disappointment.

It is crucial Euro 2012 does not turn out like that.

If Fabio Capello is to still be manager for the tournament, he must lead the side to at least the semi-finals if he is to fully rebuild his reputation in this country.

Wayne Rooney's petulant red card in the final qualifier against Montenegro will rob Capello of his best player for one to three games of the tournament, but England should have more than enough to reach the knockout stages provided they can avoid the likes of Spain, Germany and Holland early on.

It is extremely unlikely England could win the tournament, as the youngsters are too inexperienced and the older players are past their best, but a semi-final place would be enough to lift the optimism around the team for future tournaments.

As for Scotland, they have the unenviable task of possibly needing a result in Spain to reach the play-offs, but if they were to do that and subsequently win their two-legged tie, it would really make Euro 2012 one of the most anticipated international tournaments in this country in recent times.

If Ireland make it to Poland and Ukraine too it would be an intriguing tournament for the Home Nations and could put international football back on the agenda for football fans here.

Are our teams good enough to win these tournaments? No, but it is crucial they win back their fans by competing to the best of their abilities.

Scotland and Ireland would struggle to reach the knockout stages but their mere involvement in a major competition would be enough to reignite their fans and provide hope for the future.

The club game will remain more popular than international qualifiers and friendlies, whatever happens, but the international game needs to fight back and win back some of the doubters.

Hopefully, Euro 2012 will be a goal-fest with exciting football from all teams and the Home Nations finally restoring some national pride.

There cannot be another borathon of a tournament; there cannot be any more debacles. International football needs saving and hopefully Euro 2012 will provide the lasting memories to get everyone talking again.

If it is another disappointment, some will turn their backs on internationals for good.

Sebastian Vettel can achieve anything he wants

Sebastian Vettel is the youngest man to win two Formula One world titles

Sebastian Vettel is just 24.

Yet already he is a double Formula One world champion and there really are no limits to his potential.

He is in a great car, no doubt, and his Red Bull has been largely untouchable all season, but what has been made clear time and time again is that Vettel is in that car for a reason.

He has mastered the car and couldn't have done much more with it.

His car is the best on the grid but there have been many times this season where it was more than beatable.

Mark Webber is fourth in the drivers' standings in the sister car and that shows the Red Bull may not have been as domineering as some think. Perhaps it was the extra five or ten per cent Vettel can drag out of it which has made all the difference.

The German has dominated the season - proved by the fact he has clinched the drivers' title with four races still to go - and deserves all the praise.

Vettel's Red Bull has led the way all season

He is well on the way to legendary status and is on course to break all manner of records.

Vettel just seems to have a thirst for winning that some others don't have.

He wants the records. He wants to go down in history.

He revels in getting pole positions, winning races, setting fastest laps and just generally getting his name all over the record books.

It's all a far cry from the Sebastian Vettel of 2010, who was quite erratic and only clinched the title in dramatic circumstances in the last race of the season.

He was nicknamed the 'Crash Kid' and his potential was written off by some, but perhaps the signs of his greatness have always been there.

He made his Formula One debut in 2007 at just 19 for BMW as a replacement driver, becoming the youngest driver ever to score a point in the sport at the United States Grand Prix.

Vettel then moved to Toro Rosso, minnows of Formula One, and scored many points in the latter part of the 2007 season before becoming the youngest ever F1 race winner in 2008 with victory at the Italian Grand Prix. That team have not even come close to replicating that since he left to join sister team Red Bull in 2009.

Vettel produced one of Formula One's great shocks to win a race with Toro Rosso

A few dodgy moves and non-finishes in the middle part of last season were all it took for some to forget all that, but this kid was always destined for the top and is now fulfilling his potential in a car which matches his ability.

It's impossible to tell if he is truly the best driver though, as all cars are of course not equal, but he is certainly one of them.

Could he go on and break Michael Schumacher's record of seven world titles? It's a real possibility.

At just 24, time is on his side and with his fellow German Schumacher still competing in his 40s, that suggests Vettel may have the best part of 20 more years to get the five more world titles that would bring him level with Schumacher. That is a scary prospect for his rivals.

Vettel may have dominated the season, but in truth Formula One is much more competitive than it was when Schumacher was at his best.

This season is likely to be a one-off in terms of one man dominating but it would be a major surprise if Vettel was not in serious contention to win a third straight crown next year.

Vettel may have won the championship at a canter but this season has not all been about him.

Jenson Button has had a superb year at McLaren - so much so that he looks like beating teammate Lewis Hamilton in the standings - while Fernando Alonso again got the best out of his Ferrari.

Button has been steady all season and looks good for second, but most observers would still say Alonso is the best driver in Formula One, perhaps just pipping Vettel.

Both are now on two world titles so it promises to be a titanic tussle next season and one all F1 fans will look forward to.

Button has outperformed teammate Hamilton this season

As for Hamilton, he has had a wretched year and surely cannot wait for it to end.

He has got into a rut and can't get out of it so it will be interesting to see how he fares in the remainder of this season.

Hamilton's aggressiveness is what makes him so great so he shouldn't change his style too much, but he needs to strike a better balance between attacking and being sensible if he is to ever add to his one world title.

Vettel is already on two titles and it is frightening to think of how many he could win.

Winning seems to breed contempt and many have never warmed to Vettel because of this, but slowly people are starting to admire him for the superb driver that he is.

His appearance on Top Gear earlier this year was a masterstroke as it showed British fans that he was in fact a likeable, down-to-earth guy, and his performances on the track will have endeared him to many race fans.

Vettel is a phenomenon and is in a dream car, so he really could go on to achieve anything over the next 10, 15, maybe 20 years.

For the rest, the message is simple: catch him if you can.

Fairytale stuff for Brendan Dolan

Brendan Dolan defied all the odds to hit a nine-darter and reach the World Grand Prix final

In darts, there can be no better feeling than hitting a nine-dart finish.

It represents perfection and the culmination of years, perhaps decades, of hard work.

In recent years, it has become the norm for a nine-darter to be hit in most televised tournaments, but it remained the holy grail at the World Grand Prix in Dublin. Until yesterday.

The tournament is unique due to its double start format, making it even harder to reach perfection as the double would have to be hit with the first dart, followed by seven big trebles and a bullseye.

This is the 14th staging of the Grand Prix, and up until now a nine-darter had not been hit.

As the standard of darts increased over the last few years, it seemed inevitable that duck would be broken sometime.

The most likely candidate of course was Phil Taylor, who has had a number of near misses for the elusive nine-darter, while others in contention would be greats of the game like Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade and John Part.

Darts legends Taylor and van Barneveld have never hit a nine-darter with a double start

However, nobody could have predicted how the run without a nine-darter was going to end.

Brendan Dolan had already had a fairytale story to reach the semi-final.

As the world's number 36, nobody could have expected him to get so far.

He has been a decent player for a number of years, but up until this week it had been an achievement for him to simply reach major tournaments with no major successes to his name and his best televised performance being when he reached the last 16 of the UK Open three years ago.

Remarkably, he hit the nine-darter in the eighth leg of his semi-final against James Wade to send the Irish crowd potty.

What makes it even more remarkable is that Dolan is an Irishman - albeit Northern - himself.

Of all the people to hit the first nine-darter in Dublin, it was incredible it turned out to be by an Irishman.

Ireland hasn't even come close to producing a winner of the Grand Prix, so it is a magnificent achievement by Dolan.

It would have been easy for him to lose concentration after the euphoria of the nine-darter, but he kept his cool and somehow kept up his unbelievably high standard.

Not many gave him a prayer of defeating Wade, the defending champion, but Dolan produced the darts of his life to thrash him 5-2 and set up an unthinkable final with Phil Taylor.

Wade cut a frustrated figure as he was outplayed by Dolan

He started the legs brilliantly, regularly hitting the double 20 with his first dart, and that was perhaps the key to his victory.

Dolan also regularly found the treble 20 with the first dart in his hand and often followed that up with two more, while his checkout conversion at the end of legs was decent despite some slip-ups.

Wade didn't play badly - although he should have made it 4-3 in sets only to unprofessionally go for two double tops on 80 with three darts in his hand, with Dolan then mopping up his finish to take the match after Wade missed - and he can go away thinking he was simply beaten by a player who could do very little wrong on the night.

It is hard to determine which was Dolan's biggest achievement, winning the semi-final or hitting the nine-darter, but it was a remarkable double and a double which will go down in darting history.

Everyone will now remember the name of Brendan Dolan, the plucky underdog who defeated all the odds to reach greatness despite having a poor year.

It will be an even bigger task of course to beat Taylor, the best player who has ever lived, and the likelihood is Dolan will simply have too much to do to defeat 'The Power'.

Taylor has been in supreme form and may have too much for Dolan in the final

Whatever happens though, this will go down as by far the best week of Dolan's career and to do it in front of his adoring fans will have made it all the more special.

Dolan reaching the final of the World Grand Prix will be talked about for years to come, as will his historic nine-darter.

He admitted after the match he had only ever hit three or four perfect legs in practice throughout his entire career, and they were under normal rules with no double start.

So to produce that leg under those circumstances in front of his home crowd and in his first major semi-final is almost a miracle.

The way Dolan reacted to the perfect leg was very cool, calm and collected. It was as though he had just done something routine, something he does every week, but inside he must have been filled with joy and excitement.

Taylor hit his highest-ever average in this tournament with 103 in his semi-final win over Richie Burnett, and will start as the huge favourite to win his 10th Grand Prix crown.

However, nobody will ever be able to take this away from Brendan Dolan and his story of this tournament will go down as one of the most remarkable in darts.

There may yet be another chapter to write with the final against Taylor tonight, but whatever happens, his story is sure to be a best-seller.

Capello should go after qualifying campaign

Fabio Capello is under intense pressure and should go after tonight's Montenegro game

If England are to have any chance of succeeding at next summer's European Championships, they must sack Fabio Capello as soon as qualification is secured.

The Italian arrived with a terrific reputation but will leave as a man battered and bewildered by his experiences on these shores.

It was all going well for him until the 2010 World Cup, but that calamitous campaign and several high-profile embarrassments since have left him an unwanted man.

Capello still hasn't fully grasped the language and does not seem to have anyone - players, fans or the media - on his side anymore. That is not a recipe for success at next year's tournament.

Every man and his dog knows he will leave after Euro 2012 and that is another reason he should be discarded beforehand.

England's squad of 1990 knew Bobby Robson would be leaving after that year's World Cup but Robson was such a popular man it galvanised the squad into reaching the semi-finals.

You get the sense there isn't the same strength of feeling towards Capello.

England need just a point tonight against Montenegro to book their flight to Poland and Ukraine, something which should be a shoo-in.

However, England's qualification should not mask an underwhelming campaign.

Capello will say the end justifies the means and that all that matters is England have qualified, but some of the performances against relatively lowly nations have been inept and proved he was not the right man for the job.

The likes of Wayne Rooney have impressed in qualifying but the team has failed to convince everyone

There have been signs of what this team can do with impressively comfortable wins in Switzerland, Bulgaria and Wales, but the dour displays which saw Switzerland and Montenegro leave Wembley with a point, as well as the Wales home fixture where Gary Speed's men should have snatched a draw, have been unacceptable.

This England team ought to be vibrant and free-flowing - like they were in the game in Bulgaria - but too often, particularly at Wembley, they are found lacking in ideas.

Whether that is to do with Capello's poor grasp of English or down to the players, there is one man who will pay for it and it will be the Italian.

There have been many rumours linking Capello with other jobs around the world since he became England manager, the latest of which linking him with mega-rich Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala.

The FA must be praying someone comes in for him in the near future, as that would solve any problem with compensation and allow the side to move on in a new era.

The stench of the 2010 World Cup campaign is still lingering

The World Cup debacle of 2010 cannot be allowed to be repeated in the 2012 European Championships and that is why Capello mustn't be allowed to take charge for the tournament.

It is unlikely England will be able to win in Poland and Ukraine with the likes of Spain and Germany so impressive, but progression to the semi-finals would represent a real step forward and something to build on for the future.

There was a horrific rumour this week - which was denied by the FA - that Capello may stay in charge until 2014, and that really would have been a disaster.

The negativity and pessimism which surrounds the England team at the moment is a legacy of the 2010 embarrassment so appointing a new manager may be the only way to turn that around.

The trouble is, there are not too many candidates to take over.

Roy Hodgson was in the frame before his failed spell at Liverpool and is still rebuilding his reputation at West Brom.

Stuart Pearce's failure to succeed in the recent European Under-21 Championships has put an end to his chances.

Overseas managers like Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger could be very successful, but it seems highly unlikely the FA will go for a foreign coach after the disaster of Capello.

It may be the ideal time for Redknapp to take over

That leaves just one other obvious candidate: Harry Redknapp.

Whether he would be willing to take charge of England for the 2012 Championships remains to be seen as he has a big job on his hands at Tottenham, but he is seen by many as the ideal man to galvanise the nation.

Many would quickly get behind Redknapp but I'm not convinced he's suitable for the role.

Many have simply assumed he will be the next England manager without explaining why.

He has won just one major trophy in his managerial career and still has a lot to prove tactically, so appointing him would be a major risk.

Whoever was to take over, they would be under no real pressure to do well in 2012 as the main target would surely be the 2014 World Cup after they have had time to implement his ideas.

Wilshere (centre) and Jones (right) appear to be the future of England

With the players England have at their disposal - Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, John Terry, Steven Gerrard and the like - and the excellent crop of youngsters - Jack Wilshere, Joe Hart, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley, Kyle Walker, Micah Richards, Andy Carroll and so on - success should be just around the corner.

As perennial underachievers, any talk of England winning a major tournament in the near future will be scoffed at but with the players coming through, they ought to be contending soon.

Euro 2012 may come too soon - with or without Capello - but it would be a major benefit if the new manager was appointed now to encourage optimism for that tournament and beyond.

Capello has no future and no support so it seems pointless for him to take charge in Poland and Ukraine as it will only end in one way: disappointment.

If he is not picked up by a club side, England should sack him anyway regardless of the compensation they will have to pay as it is clear Capello is not the right man for the job.

He should have been sacked after the South Africa debacle but it is not too late to right a few wrongs and get rid of him now.

Capello will go down as a legendary football manager but not a legendary England manager.

He may not be as stern as he was in 2010 but under tournament strain next summer, the same problems could arise again.

A new manager would bring a freshness and would be unstained by the failure of 2010, so it's time for England to cut their losses, admit defeat with Capello now and appoint the Englishman.

A new era should start now.

North London power shift

Kyle Walker's superb strike inflicted another defeat on sorry Arsenal

Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal

For 16 years, Tottenham have lived in the shadow of their fierce North London rivals Arsenal.

They have not finished above the Gunners in all that time and have seen their neighbours sweep up league titles and cups, but now it seems they have leaped above them as the premier team of the area.

Spurs' 2-1 win over Arsenal yesterday may have been slightly fortuitous, but it is hard to argue the team from White Hart Lane are not the better side.

Kyle Walker's ferocious winner 17 minutes from time capped a thrilling game which neither side truly deserved to lose, but the visitors will have been left ruing defensive errors yet again.

Arsenal have had a disastrous start to the season and the defence is the root of all their problems.

Wojciech Szczesny has been superb and made some great saves at White Hart Lane, but he will have been disappointed with his role in Tottenham's winner.

Walker's 25-yard piledriver had plenty of pace on it and swerved all over the place, but it shouldn't have beaten the Polish goalkeeper who had seemingly been caught unaware.

Walker's goal was struck with huge power and swerve

Other than that, the problems lay mainly with central defensive duo Per Mertesacker and Alex Song.

Mertesacker often seemed off the pace and indecisive while Song looked exactly what he is: a midfielder trying to fill a defender's role.

Szczesny will rightly get the majority of the blame for Walker's winner but the role of Mikel Arteta should also be criticised.

Tottenham had a throw-in deep in Arsenal's half and Arteta was marking Sandro, but the Spaniard completely lost his man who was allowed to start the chain of events which led to the goal.

It is that lack of concentration, lack of awareness, lack of know-how, which has cost Arsenal dear all too often in the early stages of this season.

Arteta is looking like a poor signing from manager Arsene Wenger.

He was a great player in his first few years at Everton but has never returned to those levels since a horror knee injury in 2009.

Even in those successful times at Goodison Park, he was a poor man's Cesc Fabregas.

Wenger was never going to find a player of Fabregas' quality in the closing stages of the transfer window but surely he could have done better than an over-the-hill 29-year-old.

He was pretty much non-existent at White Hart Lane when his skill and precision was needed.

Arteta was overshadowed by Spurs midfield duo Modric and Parker

Arsenal played some very good football but when it really mattered they fell short.

Their defence was anything but solid and looked shaky every time Tottenham went forward, they struggled to create clear-cut chances and when they did create, their forwards were simply not potent enough.

Gervinho was a real bright spark for them but his lack of final product will be worrying.

He had a gilt-edged chance about 10 yards out with the score at 0-0 but inexplicably put Robin van Persie's ball wide after wrong-footing goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

Spurs' opener had a touch of controversy and was against the run of play, but in truth it was only a matter of time before Arsenal's defence was breached.

Emmanuel Adebayor was given far too much time to pick out Rafael van der Vaart and the Dutchman finished superbly after being left free on the far side.

van der Vaart has an impressive scoring record against Arsenal

It seems he used his arm to control the ball and the goal should not really have stood, but it was one of those decisions which can go either way, with even TV replays proving inconclusive.

van der Vaart had already been booked and deliberate handball would have seen him receive a second yellow, while he then went into the crowd to celebrate - another bookable offence - so perhaps Arsenal do have a right to feel aggrieved about the whole incident.

The Gunners equalised - deservedly - after some early second half pressure through Aaron Ramsey, who finished Alex Song's cross brilliantly.

Overall, though, the Welshman had a torrid afternoon.

He was taught a lesson in ball retention by Scott Parker and Luka Modric, with Ramsey giving the ball away more often than he seemingly ever has.

Despite all the negativity, there were some positives to take away for Wenger and his side.

In Francis Coquelin they have a young player not overawed by the big occasions and he was arguably Arsenal's standout outfield player here.

He has had a baptism of fire, playing in the 8-2 humbling at Manchester United and now the derby defeat, but comes out of those experiences with a lot of credit having proved he is good enough.

Coquelin again impressed on the big stage

As for the overall Arsenal performance, it was much improved.

They were not the gibbering wreck they were at Old Trafford or Ewood Park and they were on top for large periods, certainly in the possession stakes.

Silly errors are still blighting them and they are not getting in enough shots on goal, but their play in between the two boxes is still impressive.

In and around the two penalty areas, however, is a different story and an issue Wenger simply has to sort out.

They had a lot of the ball but never really threatened, they looked shaky at the back and struggled to create a lot going forward.

They were better than they have been but the problems are all too plain to see. They could have been embarrassed if Spurs had been on the top of their game.

Wenger's excuses will still be there: they are missing Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy, they are missing injured stars like Jack Wilshere and Thomas Vermaelen. However, the squad's lack of quality depth is his fault and his fault only and it will be examined again in the coming weeks.

Bacary Sagna is a superb right-back but picked up a broken leg at White Hart Lane, meaning inexperienced Carl Jenkinson will presumably become first-choice right-back.

Jenkinson struggled to cope with Bale's quality

He is only a young kid with eight Football League appearances (before this season) for Charlton, so it is simply unfair he is in the heat of the Premier League at this stage of his career.

This experience could break him and shatter his confidence as he is being destroyed defensively.

Gareth Bale was kept relatively subdued until Jenkinson came on but then ran the Finnish defender ragged and jumped on his inexperience.

It is unfair to focus solely on Arsenal, though.

Tottenham were not at their very best but they showed enough to demonstrate they are superior to Arsenal.

Scott Parker ran the show in midfield and showed Arsenal exactly what they are missing.

Parker handed Ramsey a lesson at White Hart Lane

It could turn out to be one of Wenger's biggest blunders not to sign him in the summer, as he taught Arsenal's midfielders a lesson with a typically all-action display.

Parker seemingly covered every blade of grass and is exactly the type of player Arsenal have needed for years now.

Luka Modric appears back to his best after the summer transfer saga while the defence is solid.

Ledley King is playing week-in, week-out for the first time in years and his calming presence ensures Spurs will not concede the type of stupid goals Arsenal are at the moment.

Right-back Walker looks a real talent and deserved his place in the England squad which was named last night.

It was more than just his goal which was impressive, but the sheer audacity he showed to go for it showed the supreme self-confidence he has.

Walker offers a real attacking outlet and could be England's top right-back in the absence of Glen Johnson. In fact, he might just be England's top right-back even when Johnson is fit.

Adebayor is still respected by Wenger

The front two of Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe were bright and lively, the complete opposite of Arsenal's attacking threat at the other end.

Adebayor - the subject of vile taunts by Gunners fans - was not at his very best against his former club and was denied by Szczesny when one-on-one, but he was always threatening and will score goals this season.

Arsenal were perhaps summed up in the tunnel before the game by their captain Robin van Persie.

He was seen laughing, joking with and hugging some Spurs players while counterpart Ledley King stared with a steely determination.

Would Patrick Vieira have been engaging in this way with the opposition? Tony Adams? Roy Keane? John Terry? Of course not.

The infamous tunnel incident between Vieira and Keane shows the passion Arsenal are lacking

Arsenal still have a lot of individual talents but no leader to bang heads together and urge the troops on.

Until they discover another figure like Vieira and Adams, they will always struggle on the big occasion because players need someone to lead by example when the going gets tough and show their opposition no mercy.

As for the game, this fixture never disappoints. It is always frenetic and always provides talking points, but this was not a happy occasion for Arsenal fans.

Disgraced off the pitch by vile chanting and humbled on it by individual errors, poor defending and a lack of cutting edge.

For so long they have been North London's top dogs but seven games into this season they find themselves in 15th position and behind the three newly-promoted clubs, while being five points behind their neighbours, who have a game in hand.

They have relinquished their position as the premier team of North London and we don't have to wait for the season's final league table to say that.

Arsenal are well behind Tottenham for the first time in a very long time and it will take a lot of time and effort to wrestle that position back.

The way Harry Redknapp's vibrant Spurs are playing, they may soon be marching back into the Champions League, but if Arsenal aren't careful, they could be battling to stay out of the bottom three rather than for a place in the top four.

The balance of power in North London has shifted and it may now be time for Arsenal to live in Tottenham's shadow.