Bit of an understatement there, Gary.

Premier League champs overtake Real Madrid…

Manchester United and Arsenal are the only English clubs to make the top 10 of a list of Europe’s 50 best supported clubs. The rankings, based on last season’s average attendance, are still dominated by German clubs - nine made the top 20.

See the full list after the jump…

Newbie managers hold English sides in Europe…

CSKA Moscow 3/ Manchester United 3

Leonid Slutsky’s (no laughing at the back) side took a surprise lead through Alan’s 25th minute strike, but were soon pegged back by a typically poached goal from Michael Owen. After going 3-1 down to a pair of all-too-easy goals from Milos Krasic and Vasili Berezutski, United staged a late rally - 84th minute late - with a Paul Scholes header and Antonio Valencia’s deflected equaliser.

Atletico Madrid 2/ Chelsea 2

Chelsea started the match ready to hammer an Atletico Madrid side, laughably shambolic on and off the pitch, who had nothing to play for. However, Atleti put in an admirable first-half performance, before Kun Aguero came on and smashed a 66th minute volley which stuck a massive middle finger up at any idea of a Blues rout.

Didier Drogba grabbed a late brace, but Aguero popped up again in injury time (with a free-kick that’ll add a few €m to his price tag in January) to grab a point.

Man Utd’s squad, on the other hand, get a gold star…

Over the years it’s become apparent footballers have a hard time travelling in cars without crashing, vomiting, or embarrassing themselves. But what about other methods of transport? Sunday’s feature in The Times on cabin crew secrets revealed flying habits of some of the Premier League’s finest:

“We often get football teams flying to European games, and it’s always interesting to see how they behave. Without doubt the rudest was Spurs. They were going to Prague a couple of years ago, and they were all very impolite. None of them said thank you for anything. One player in particular, a striker, sat with his headphones on and refused to take them off, and none of them would lift their window blinds for takeoff and landing.

Ex-ref lives out rage-filled retirement 

Jeff Winter, retired ref, professional media whore and the only man with facial hair bad enough to rival Craig David, happily waded into the argument between Sir Alex Ferguson and Alan Wiley last month, calling the United manager a ‘bully and a coward’ for deeming Wiley to be out of shape after his side’s 2-2 draw against Sunderland.

However, it’s since been brought to The Spoiler’s attention Winter may not be in the best position to be taking the moral high ground on being magnanimous. Jeff’s official website “Jeff Winter Entertainment & Media” (no, really) is an amazing shrine to egotism, the highlight of which has to be the ‘Reader’s Letters‘ section.

A selection of Winter’s finest correspondence after the jump …

Our attempt to turn a £10 note into ten £10 notes

The Spoiler has a bit of a soft spot for Chris Hughton but he let us down badly last night by leaving the Hare well and truly malnourished at Bramall Lane - using him in only the last six minutes to render yesterday’s bet null and void.

Today, we’re taking no chances, pursuing an accumulator so that nothing besides the weather and floodlight failure can rule the bet pointless. We’re looking to turn £10 into £104.70 by backing Juventus, Porto, Wolfsburg and Manchester United to win tonight. Here’s why:

Maccabi Haifa v Juventus - The Israelis have lost all three of their matches so far without scoring.

APOEL v Porto - Porto won their first group meeting and over the past three seasons, whenever they do that they go on to complete a double.

Besiktas v Wolfsburg - A big ask, although Besiktas have lost four of their last ten home games and have scored just once this season in Europe.

Manchester United v CSKA Moscow - United are unbeaten in 23 Champions League matches at Old Trafford, of which they have won 18.

Combine these four together using the Betfair Coupon and you stand to win over ten times your initial stake!

Click here to claim a free £25 bet when opening a Betfair account 

Also appearing on a computer near you…

Spectacular triple save from the crossbar

Roman Abramovich uses Chelsea’s unspent transfer kitty to run up an outrageous lunch bill
[News of the World]

Carlos Tevez forks out £2,000 for a copy of the infamous ‘Welcome to Manchester’ poster
[FourFourTwo]

Wayne Rooney names his new son … Kai Wayne
[Kickette]

The Sun couldn’t have made it more obvious they didn’t watch Arsenal/Spurs
[The Sun]

Perma-crock Stephen Appiah finally finds a club stupid enough
[The Offiside]

The FA are planning to steal Aaron Hunt from the Germans
[Daily Mail]

Utd mogul and part-time defender turns shameless self-promoter

He might be starting to wane at his day job, but Rio Ferdinand is still a true Renaissance Man. Having just attended the film premiere of Dead Man Running, on which he was executive producer alongside Ashley Cole, he’s also three issues into his own magazine and co-owns a record label. Obvious, then, that budget airline BMI should choose such a worldly man to offer tips on the best places to eat out in Manchester, in the latest issue of their in-flight magazine:

“Rosso. It serves unbelievable food. I love the steak if I’m having a big main … The vibe is nice, too, with a casual dress code which I like. Plenty of footballers pop in for quality food after matches.

The chef is as hot as mustard! I love the flattened steak if I’m having a big main or the penne pasta, which is so good it’s ridiculous.”

But don’t bother trying to seek out Rio’s favorite eatery - it’s not even open yet. Although we’re sure he’ll make an appearance on the opening night … being that he’s actually co-owner of the place.