With all due respect to Joey Harrington, there’s been no bigger revenge/fuck you performance on Planet Earth this week than Nick Anelka’s evisercation of the Arsenal defence today. The enigmatic, much-traveled Bolton striker had a pair of goals in Bolton’s 3-1 home win, the first of which — and absolute laser into the top left corner that Jens Lehmann had zero chance of seeing, let alone stopping — is a likely goal of the year candidate. Anelka’s off the schneid in the Premeirship, and Bolton have leapfrogged Liverpool to claim 8th place.

Former QPR manager / current Plymouth boss / soundbite king Ian Holloway, a loser to Leeds United earlier today, finds the charms of the current Ashes series somewhat elusive.

I think it’s an old man’s game. I hated it when I was a kid and I don’t like it now. I don’t dislike any cricketers, it’s just a game I find absolutely earth-shatteringly boring! I can understand the last Ashes were brilliant and I’m sure it’s a wonderful game if you like it – but it’s not my bag. I like a bit of action.

As I see it, when the bowler bowls the ball, he walks back and the rest of the team, who are standing around not doing much, throw the ball around to each other. Then he gets it back and rubs it on his groin.

I’ve always been a bit worried about a game that lets its players do that in public. Why you’d want to ruin a lovely pair of white trousers by putting a red crease down the middle on your crotch I’ll never know.