One person cannot lose at Upton Park: Mrs Redknapp, Harry’s wife and Jamie’s mum.. Neither, surely, could have happened if Graham were still at Highbury.Liverpool’s failure to qualify for Europe, a source of great anguish at the time, may actually be working in their favour. Whereas their hosts today, West Ham, were already jaded by the autumn as a result of their Intertoto and Uefa Cup exertions, Gerard Houllier has been steadily integrating his summer signings. At St James’ Park tomorrow they will seek to exploit any leg-weariness on Newcastle’s part following their rearguard action in Rome.Intriguingly, the Premiership statistical service reveals that Spurs have made more tackles than any other team, while Arsenal have had the most shots. Spurs’ response to their shattering last-gasp exit from the Uefa Cup in Germany – wins over Arsenal and Southampton – demonstrated their growing resilience under George Graham. Leeds were back among Russia’s frozen waste this week and, although they did not play, tiredness could again be a factor.

The match marks the start of a gruelling sequence of seven games in four competitions in just 21 days which should determine whether or not David O’Leary’s “babies” burn out as Villa did last season.Third-placed Arsenal, who won at Derby in the Worthington Cup with a makeshift side, should have enough in the tank after Thursday’s defeat of Nantes to step up their challenge. However, they will miss Emmanuel Petit, who aggravated a knee injury against his countrymen.Tottenham and Liverpool have moved in stealthily behind the leading pack. Their only defeat since August, at Wimbledon three weeks ago, came on the back of an arduous haul from Moscow. Paul Jewell’s side may not be the soft touch Barnsley were, though neither is one of the division’s older and slower line-ups likely to live with the section’s best passing side.Leeds, who would displace the Tokyo-bound Manchester United as leaders by beating Southampton tomorrow, have also discovered that Europe is a double-edged sword. Defeats at Derby and Watford, not to mention surrendering a two-goal lead at home to Arsenal, highlighted the problem, although their best result, the 5-0 mauling of Manchester United, also came after a European diversion.A visit from Bradford would seem to offer Chelsea the ideal opportunity for their first League win in the two months since then. Yet participation in Europe’s most lucrative tournament can be a mixed blessing, with only Manchester United having evidently mastered the art of maintaining performance levels when returning to domestic action.Chelsea have looked conspicuously laboured in most of their Premiership matches following Champions’ League games, prompting complaints that Gianluca Vialli has his priorities wrong. Ellis was reputedly aggrieved that the Champions’ League place which appeared Villa’s for the taking last winter did not materialise.

But, in the words of one such cliche, Gregory needs his team to do his talking for him today.The touchline ban he received yesterday must have embarrassed Ellis, who moves in the highest Football Association circles, but Gregory is thought to be safe at least until Wednesday, when Villa receive Southampton in the Worthington Cup. His thinly veiled criticism of Ugo Ehiogu’s desire for the fray showed that his refreshing refusal to hide behind platitudes perseveres. Given that Ellis is more at home with a balance sheet than a team sheet, he will be as unhappy that several of Gregory’s major signings are not first choices as he is with the current run of two points from seven matches.It takes a curious kind of courage to make strenuous efforts to sign Benito Carbone and then leave him on the bench, as Gregory did at Coventry on Monday. For a while he got it, but since the start of the year Villa have lost 17 and won just nine of their 33 Premiership games.That is relegation form, and the man they call “Deadly” is not renowned for his tolerance. Villa go to Goodison Park today urgently needing to take Everton’s unbeaten home record, not only to stop themselves free-falling down the table but also, perhaps, to convince the chairman, Doug Ellis, that he should keep faith with Gregory.
Twelve months ago this weekend, the Villa manager was hoping for a positive reaction to his team’s first League defeat after the best start in the club’s history.

FOR ASTON Villa and John Gregory, who rang in the new year last January with the claret and blue flag fluttering hopefully at the Premiership summit, 1999 has become the year of slipping dangerously. Klusener 50: 81min, 60 balls, 8 fours.Umpires: D L Orchard (SA) and S Venkataraghavan (Ind).. That this disparity was achieved on the toss of a coin is unworthy of something that calls itself Test cricket. Statistics can be untrustworthy vehicles but they can also be revealing, none more than the over in which each side lost their fourth wicket. For England that came in the third over; for South Africa the 103rd.When that much ground separates the sides after two days it is not a contest and only rain, or a two-day vigil by Michael Atherton, can prevent England going to Port Elizabeth 1-0 down.Henry Blofeld, page 25WANDERERS SCOREBOARDSecond day; South Africa won tossENGLAND – First Innings 122 (A A Donald 6-53, S M Pollock 4-16).SOUTH AFRICA – First Innings(Overnight: 64 for 1)H H Gibbs b Mullally 85295 min, 222 balls, 11 foursJ H Kallis c Stewart b Gough 12107 min, 83 balls, 1 fourD J Cullinan b Caddick 108257 min, 170 balls, 17 fours*W J Cronje b Gough 46160 min, 121 balls, 8 foursJ N Rhodes lbw b Mullally 26115 min, 81 balls, 1 fourL Klusener not out 61100 min, 73 balls, 9 foursS M Pollock not out 09 min, 1 ballExtras (b7, lb16, w2, nb10) 35Total (for 6, 131 overs) 386Fall: 2-79 (Kallis), 3-175 (Gibbs), 4-284 (Cullinan), 5-299 (Cronje), 6-378 (Rhodes).To bat: M V Boucher, A A Donald, P R Adams.Bowling: Gough 26-6-63-2 (nb7) (5-1-14-0 5-1-9-0 7-4-8-1 4-0-12-0 5-0- 20-1), Caddick 34-12-81-1 (nb2) (9-4-19-0 6-3-5-0 4-2-15-0 7-2-13-0 5- 1-22-1 3-0-7-0), Mullally 31-7-72-3 (nb1,w1) (8-2-10-1 8-2-15-0 5-2-8- 1 2-0-11-0 4-0-17-0 4-1-11-1), Flintoff 14-5-45-0 (1-1-0-0 7-3-17-0 1- 0-2-0 5-1-26-0), Hamilton 15-1-63-0 (w1) (5-0-26-0 4-1-18-0 6-0-19-0), Vaughan 11-1-39-0 (5-1-17-0 6-0-22-0).Progress: 100: 219min, 52overs 150: 266, 63.1 Lunch: 155-2 (Gibbs 78, Cullinan 30) 67 overs (New ball taken after 80 overs at 196-3) 200: 330, 80.1 Tea: 249-3 (Cullinan 94, Cronje 17) 95 overs 250: 403, 95.1 300: 459, 107.1 350: 517, 121.3.Gibbs 50: 226min, 164 balls, 6 fours Cullinan 50: 138min, 103 balls, 8 fours 100: 229min, 159 balls, 16 fours. It was a belated triumph and although Cronje followed when he chopped on for 46 the damage already done was irreversible, a position reflected by the cheery buzz of the 11,000 strong crowd.So far this has been a match of two days, the second far more batsman- friendly than the first.

Hussain did not and there was a period of 110 minutes either side of lunch when neither Gough nor Caddick were called upon. He was not helped when Gough limped off in mid-afternoon to pack a sore left knee in ice. His absence allowed Hansie Cronje, who began shakily, to settle. Indeed, by the time Gough returned to the field, after tea, Cronje and Cullinan had added a hundred.Soon after that Caddick, whose line had been too wide for a side urgently needing wickets, hustled one through Cullinan to clip leg-stump. If he did not flunk it, he certainly made a few errors in judgement. The most obvious of these was the way he allowed Andy Flintoff, Gavin Hamilton and Michael Vaughan (all of them essentially back-up bowlers) to bowl together, rather than rotate them.When wickets are not forthcoming you need to have one of your front-line bowlers on at all times.