That said, I think i’d be right in saying they still have Alves (not one I have seen much but who seems to be great at marauding down the right), Kerzhakov and Luis Fabiano. That said, I see recently Ramos may be interested in Jarque from Espanyol defensively, and Kanoute said he wouldn’t mind coming back to England. Perhaps a link there if Ramos decides he wants a striker as well as a defender after saying to Defoe and Chimbonda that they can leave.

I haven’t seen Espanyol at all since the UEFA cup final last season, Kameni sounds very good and they seem to be quite solid defensively, so I guess that might affect results. Think they are always likely to scrape a draw or grind a win with the likes or Riera and Tamudo.

You can see why Schuster is fuming at that particular injustice, because Eto’o is such an integral part of Barcelona’s team. Still fancy Real Madrid to pip them though, that was such a vital win at the Nou Camp before Christmas.

As for the racism elements, it offers a good explanation as to why there aren’t so many Africans playing there. I don’t know how Eto’o has put up with it for so long, certainly messrs Wright-Phillips and Cole certainly wouldn’t. You are quite right, the Aragones comment was disgusting. But like the Italian game has been plagued by things like this, match-fixing and all sorts of unrest, I can’t see it ever being fully eradicated. It’s their loss, because the Africans bring so much to the game.

Espanyol have to be careful not to lose their momentum, but at the moment it seems like Sevilla will lose the most – although the pressure *could* inspire them to play better (hah!)