Sports Ladder (23rd-29th September)

UP - Oracle Team USA - This week Sir Ben Ainslie's Oracle Team completed one of the greatest ever sporting comebacks, beating New Zealand 9-8 after recovering from an 8-1 deficit. Ainslie was drafted in when America was 4-1 down and turned it around to complete an outstanding victory. The next task for Ainslie is to get a British team in the next America's Cup.

UP - Wilson Kipsang - Kipsang ran away with a new world record this week after winning the Berlin Marathon in a new record time of 2:03:38, beating the last record by 15 seconds. This was his first marathon victory this year but his seventh in his three year marathon career. His next aim will probably be to win the Olympics but he'll have to beat our own Mo Farah amongst others.

UP - Aaron Ramsey - The butt of football jokes for the last few years, Ramsey has had an outstanding start to this season. Over the last few years he scored so infrequently that the 'Ramsey Curse' came into effect, meaning that whenever he scored a celebrity died. However, with eight goals in nine games this season, the showbiz world must be quaking in their boots.

UP - Women's Football - Women's football has had only good press this week. With Liverpool Ladies winning the League, stopping Arsenal Ladies from claiming their eight successful title and England thrashing Turkey 8-0 in a World Cup qualifier, perhaps it's time for the men to stop and take a leaf out of their female counterparts book; it seems to be working.

UP - Dominic Sibley - I don't know a lot about cricket but I can always appreciate a successful sportsman, especially one younger than myself. Dominic Sibley this week became the youngest double century scorer in the County Championship. An impressive performance from someone who had to skip school just to play. The next England opener?

DOWN - Jan Vertonghen - Vertonghen's reputation has suffered a bit of a knock this week despite his unquestionable ability. Labelled a disgrace by Mourinho after some weekend antics, he had a pretty pants start to the week when he rather bizarely 'cegged' Aston Villa's Andreas Helenius. Step it up Jan!

DOWN - Devis Licciardi - One of the strangest serious stories in sport I have ever heard. Licciardi got caught this week trying to pass a drugs test by using a fake penis filled with uncontaminated liquid but was found out when it was revealed a doctor had to watch him take the test. Doping in sport is a serious issue but at least Licciardi made us laugh whilst partaking.

DOWN - British Golfers - This doesn't apply to all, only the six golfers who pulled out of the Seve Trophy next week, the European equivalent to the President's Cup. The Cup was created by the late Seve Ballesteros and I completely agree with Paul Lawrie who said "I don't quite understand it and its extremely disappointing', when talking about their decision not to take part.

DOWN - Manchester - It's been an uninspiring start to the season for both Manchester clubs and that continued this weekend as both teams lost in the Premier League. Manchester United in particular have struggled, suffering their worst ever start to a Premier League campaign. Could the title be on it's way back to London for the first time in four years?

DOWN - Stephen Lee - A sad week for snooker as Stephan Lee is found to have committed seven counts of match fixing and has been given a 12 year ban from professional circuit, leaving the 39 year old's career in pieces. Despite continuing to plead his innocent, the reaction of the players suggests he is guilty. A tough day for Lee and his family but it's good to know the WPBSA have taken the offence seriously.

Sports Ladder (16th-22nd September)

UP - Sir Bradley Wiggins - Sir Bradley Wiggins fell a bit under the radar this year. Forced to pull of of the Giro d'Italia half-way through and with Chris Froome's victory in the Tour de France, Wiggins became a largely forgotten man. But he returned with a bang this week on our own shores, winning the Tour of Britain in style to send a warning to Froome.

UP - Manchester City - After a sketchy start to Pellegrini's reign he ignited City's title challenge, orchestrating a 4-1 victory over local rivals Manchester United. After a disappointing start this was exactly the sort of victory that the Sky Blues needed and the return of Vincent Kompany was clearly a huge boost. Is the Blue Moon rising once again?

UP - Henrik Stenson - Awkward one here as Henrik Stenson has not yet one the Tour Championship but his imperious form in recent months and lead from day one suggests that he probably will. Victory here will win him the Fed-Ex Cup and grant him an astonishing $10 million bonus. Not a bad prize fund for this years in-form golfer.

UP - Aaron Cook - It's been a rocky couple of years for poor Aaron Cook; Overlooked for the GB taekwondo team despite being World number one and a disappointing showing at the World Championships in July highlighted his rough patch. But Cook has brushed himself down and, this week, walked away with Gold in the Pan-America Open.

UP - Sebastiaan Bowier - Bowier pedaled himself into the record books this week when he broke the World Human Powered Speed record in Nevada. The Flying Dutchman recorded a speed of 133.78 kilometres an hour to claim the record by only 0.6 k/h. A pretty super-human effort from Bowier.

DOWN - Barcelona - Even the great Barcelona can have a bad day at the office, even if it does include a 4-0 victory. What was incredible about this victory was that for the first time in 317 matches that they did not win the battle for possession, having only 45% during the match. This was the first time they haven't had over 50% possession since the days of Riikjaard in 2008. Amateurs.

DOWN - Mark Webber - Poor Mark Webber really doesn't get much luck does he. Webber has been handed a 10 place grid penalty for hitching a lift with his good friend Fernando Alonso after his car broke down on the final lap. Sadly though it is illegal to go onto the race track out of a car so he was handed the penalty. Seems harsh as it was a long walk back otherwise.

DOWN - Kohei Jinno - How unlucky can you get? As Japan prepares for its second Olympics, Kohei Jinno prepares for his second Olympic eviction. Not only was Jinno unlucky enough to get evicted from his home during the 1964 Olympics, the same has happened again as he is told he has to leave in preparation for the 2020 Olympics. Something is telling me you should leave Tokyo Kohei.

DOWN - Mamadou Sakho - What is the best way to make a good impression at a new job? Probably not to break the equipment in your first few weeks. That doesn't bother Mamadou Sakho, the huge defender proving too strong for the gym equipment, ultimately breaking a machine during one of his strength tests. Nothing like laying down a marker for your teammates.

DOWN - David Haye - Boxers are known for their brutal strength and masculinity. David Haye challenged that stereotype this week by pulling out of his organised fight with Tyson Fury because of a cut on his eyebrow. Perhaps Haye should keep to verbal sparring as this is the second fight in a row he has been forced to abandon due to an injury.

Sports Ladder (2nd-8th August)

UP - Wrestling - A good week for wrestling as it re-enters the Olympics. As one of the original events in the 1896 inaugural games it was important for it to regain a spot, even if it did mean that Squash sadly missed out. All we need now is to get rid of non-Olympic-spirit sports such as football, golf, tennis etc and it will be restored to its former glory.

UP - Sebastian Vettel - After yet another commanding victory, Vettel has now gained himself a 53 point lead with only 175 points remaining and looks dead set to win his fourth consecutive Formula 1 crown. As much as it pains me to say it, it might actually be skill rather than luck which has driven Vettel to success and I might finally have to bite the bullet and say congratulations.

UP - Arsene Wenger - How do you appease the fans questioning your ability? Beat your closest rivals and then sign one of the best playmakers on the planet. After a summer of discontent amongst Arsenal fans they will feel that the future is much brighter following Wenger smashing their transfer record by about £27 million. Perhaps they will eclipse their regular fourth spot this year.

UP - Jordan Spieth - Spieth has had an outstanding debut year on the PGA Tour, currently 10th in the Fed-Ex Standings and 28th in the World Rankings, the 20 year old's year got even better as he was handed a spot on the American Presidents Cup team courtesy of Fred Couples. After Charley Hull recently highlighted the success a youngster can have, Spieth will be looking to emulate that success.

UP - Ben Maher - It's always nice to highlight a small success story and few will have heard of Ben Maher. However, an Olympic gold medalist at London last year, Maher has just become the world's top-ranked showjumper after successfully winning team gold and individual silver at last months European Championships.

DOWN - Chris Coleman - Oh Chris, we've all been there. Actually, well, I haven't. There is a lot of pressure being a National team manager, but one thing that is usually required for away trips is a passport. A disappointing week for Coleman who after missing his flight with the team, then lost 2-1 to Macedonia.

DOWN - Gabriel Agbonlahor - It's a good thing Gabby is fast, because he'll have around 13 million of Louis Tomlinson's fans chasing him after causing the One Direction singer to leave the field during Stiliyan Petrov's Charity Match with a late tackle. The footballing world enjoyed it thoroughly although I'm pretty sure Agbonlahor will be getting plenty of hate mail over the coming days.

DOWN - Lewis Hamilton - Probably not the debut season that Lewis Hamilton had in mind when he left McLaren for Mercedes last year. Plenty of poles but poor race pace has meant only one victory and this weekend pushed himself completely out of the title race. Will we ever see him win a Championship again? Sadly I think not.

DOWN - Greg Dyke - Same old, same old as Greg Dyke, the new Football Association Chairman announces that England should aim to win the 2022 World Cup. You know that World Cup which we might boycott. Incredible that Dyke was under the impression that to date we have not been aiming to win the major tournaments. Sort it out at grassroots level first and perhaps we'll aim for 2038!

DOWN - Roger Federer - Form is temporary, class is permanent. Federer will have to take solace from this saying as he suffers his first year since 2003 where he has not made a Grand Slam final. Coming into the twilight of his career, Federer now has to make the bold decision whether to bow out as a hero or risk threatening his great legacy by continuing to play.

Sports Ladder (26th August - 1st September)

UP - Dan Evans - It finally looks like Evans might be maturing into a top 100 tennis player. After a third round run at the US Open which included knocking out Kei Nishikori and Bernard Tomic, both established top 100 players, Evans will be looking to push on. After his controversial past he will have gained a lot of fans this week.

UP - Women's Ashes Team - Following on from the success of the men's team a few weeks ago, the women stepped up and matched them, with a 12-4 points victory over Australia. With English Cricket on a high at the moment we all look forward to the third Ashes event of the year during Christmas as the men take on the Aussies down under.

UP - Men's Eight (Rowing) - For the first time in the history of the World Rowing Championships, England walked away with gold in the Men's Eight category to top off a great week for British Rowing. This victory took us to third in the overall medal table with three golds and five bronze medals.

UP - Chris Mitchell - A record breaking week for Chris Mitchell who became the first one-armed man to complete a race around the TT track on the Isle of Man. It is an extraordinary story for the man who lost the use of his arm during a motorcycle accident in 2001, as he finished in 11th place in the 20-strong field.

UP - Papiss Cisse - After his bizarre summer sponsorship incident, Cisse has certainly boosted support amongst Toon supporters after hosting a BBQ for young fans. The youngsters were treated to a tour of his house, some home-cooked food, FIFA Tournaments and games of pool. That is certainly one way to win back your fans.

DOWN - Romelu Lukaku - Poor Romelu Lukaku. After a fantastic season last year he has to suffer with being behind Fernando Torres in Chelsea's pecking order. As if to further his misery, this week he missed the vital penalty in the European Super Cup meaning that meant Chelsea missed out on their first potential silverware of the season.

DOWN - Venus Williams - For so long it was the 'Williams Sisters', now it looks more likely to be Serena and 'the other one'. Venus has not won a Grand Slam in 5 years whilst Serena has won seven in that time and will certainly be a contender for a fair few to come. After her third consecutive US Open second round exit, Venus' time could soon be up.

DOWN - US Open - Once again the US Open has come under scheduling criticism, this year from our very own Andy Murray, who had to wait until the night session on the third day of the tournament to play his first match. It seems to happen every year and something really should be done as some women had played two rounds of tennis before Murray had played one. Blushing Meadows!

DOWN - Gareth Bale - So as I write this, history's most inevitable event has finally occurred as Bale leaves for Madrid but it has not been a good week for the Welshman. His unprofessional approach to this transfer led to him nearly getting fined for failing to show up to training. What's the best way to get transferred away from a club? Annoy the people stopping you from leaving obviously. At least the saga is finally over.

DOWN - David Moyes - Oh dear David. Still no summer signings of note (sorry Varela), a 1-0 defeat to rivals Liverpool and #MoyesOut sprawled all over twitter. Moyes needs an expensive day of shopping tomorrow to ease the mindset of many United supporters. Look on the bright side though, at least he doesn't have the World's fastest man out to get him...

Liverpool Leap to League Lead

Liverpool battled to a 1-0 victory against Manchester United on the eve of Bill Shankly's 100th Birthday to move top of the Premier League.

In a feisty game at Anfield Daniel Sturridge continued his outstanding form with a poachers header after four minutes as Liverpool put in a strong defensive shift, sending a message of intent to their rivals.

The game underwent a lively start with United sending two dangerous crosses in within twenty seconds, but it was Liverpool who struck first. After careless play from Ashley Young, a Gerrard corner was headed towards goal by Agger with Sturridge getting the final touch.

United almost hit back instantly with a Van Persie overhead kick clearing the cross bar. Their pressure continued, with a low Welbeck shot well saved before a corner flashed across the face of goal, missed by everyone.

Liverpool regained a foothold in the game with Daniel Sturridge skipping away from Ferdinand, a strong tackle required by Vidic to bring him to a halt. Shortly after a Gerrard free-kick was well held by De Gea.

As the pace began to drop, tensions rose as Jones fell to the floor injured and United were furious when Liverpool played on, a nasty tackle from Tom Cleverley ending this period of play and earning him a booking. This was followed by bookings for Aspas, Van Persie and Carrick.

The half continued on a knife edge and ended on a sour note as a coming together between Van Persie and Skrtel led to verbal exchanges between a number of players and could perhaps have ended with a red card for Van Persie.

United started brightly after the break but lacked any sort of cutting edge whilst Liverpool looked extremely solid defensively. Glen Johnson in particular seemed to be making a number of important blocks.

The game went into a lull as Liverpool successfully held out against a far from penetrating United attack but a weak Vidic pass-back nearly let Sturridge in as Liverpool looked to put the game out of sight.

Mignolet was called into action by Nani when a vicious shot was palmed away and Hernandez had
a shot easily saved but the best chance of the game came with two minutes of normal time remaining, when Hernandez played in Van Persie who shot well wide.

Sterling nearly killed off the game in stoppage time but his shot was well saved by De Gea. However, it did not matter, as Brendan Rogers side ended David Moyes' competitive unbeaten run as United manager, moving Liverpool to the top of the table.

Liverpool Player Ratings:

Simon Mignolet: 7 - Had little to do but performed well when called upon.

Glen Johnson: 8 - My Man of the Match with a brilliant defensive performance. Made Ashley Young look very average.

Martin Srktel: 7 - A solid display on what could be his last Liverpool game.

Daniel Agger: 7 - Got the assist for the goal and player well throughout.

Jose Enrique: 7 - Quiet but competent when he needed to be.

Lucas Leiva: 7 - The unsung hero had a fine game in midfield.

Steven Gerrard: 7 - A typically assured performance from the captain.

Jordan Henderson: 6 - Drifted in and out of the game but did little wrong.

Iago Aspas: 3 - A very poor game. Terrible passing accuracy and weak on the ball.

Philipe Coutinho: 6 - Didn't fully show what he was capable of.

Daniel Sturridge: 7 - Scored the winner but faded in the second half as United pressed on.

Substitutes:

Raheem Sterling: 6 - Wasn't on the ball much but had one shot saved in stoppage time.

Andre Wisdom: N/A - Came on too late.

Luis Alberto: N/A - Came on too late.


Manchester United Player Ratings:

David De Gea: 7 - Looked sharp to prevent a second goal. Could do nothing about the first.

Phil Jones: 6 - Looked solid until his early injury.

Rio Ferdinand: 5 - Struggled at times to deal with the creativity of Liverpool.

Nemanja Vidic: 6  - A weary backpass but otherwise okay.

Patrice Evra: 7 - One of United's few bright sparks. Linked well with Welbeck on the left.

Ryan Giggs: 5 - Looked his age in a rare poor performance from the veteran.

Tom Cleverley: 5 - Never got into the game and failed to make an impact.

Michael Carrick: 6 - Typically solid game from United's central midfielder.

Ashley Young: 4 - A disappointing return to the United team, his error led to the first goal.

Danny Welbeck: 7  - Constantly worked hard and caused Liverpool some problems.

Robin Van Persie. 5 - A quiet afternoon but missed a good chance at the end.

Subsitutes:

Antonio Valencia: 6 - Continues to look better than last season but still a long way to go.

Nani: 5 - Shows no signs of returning to form.

Javier Hernandez: 6 - Played a nice ball through to Van Persie and looked busy.