The handshake that never wasSo apparently sorry doesn't seem to be the hardest word after all. Following months of abject and damaging obstinacy over the Luis Suarez affair, Liverpool Football Club finally expressed genuine contrition on Sunday. They finally released a series of club statements to take the sting out of the controversy, rather than inflame it further.

In the depressing parade of racism that this season has seemingly become, no one club has been damaged as much as Liverpool, its tradition and reputation sullied by a misguided campaign to support Suarez. The whole club has been degraded for the sake of

Stuart PearceBetween September 3 and 13 1752, nothing happened in England. Not one thing.

That is because the switch from the old Julian calendar - named after Julius Caesar - to the new Gregorian calendar - dubbed in honour of Pope Gregory XIII - was made in order to more accurately measure the change from one year to the next.

This change led to a period of 11 days simply going missing, forever consigned to be nothing more than a historical anomaly.

Following the FA's announcement that Stuart Pearce will take charge of England's friendly with the Netherlands at the end of the month, it looks like

Capello: Heading out of the exit doorThe convoluted and frequently controversial history of the England manager's job has witnessed plenty of remarkable episodes since Walter Winterbottom first assumed the role in 1946, but none, absolutely none, can surely compare to the swirling torrent of drama, intrigue and pure unadulterated shock that enveloped the Football Association and English football on Wednesday.

Where to start with a day that saw Harry Redknapp cleared of two counts of tax evasion at Southwark Crown Court to leave him favourite to replace Fabio Capello in the summer, only for the Italian to later hand in his

Fabio Capello: Under scrutiny once againLike Joey Barton, Early Doors likes to validate any argument by leaning heavily on borrowed quotes from noted authorities. That is why this morning, in reaction to suggestions that Fabio Capello could be ousted as England manager, it leans heavily on the seminal tract of Australian philosopher Kylie Minogue, and confidently declares: better the devil you know.

Because, according to widespread and frankly rather alarming reports on Wednesday, there appears to be a very real possibility that Capello could lose his job if what have inevitably been dubbed 'clear-the-air' talks with chairman David

Gareth Bale indulged in a dive on MondayBritish football's self-constructed veneer of moral superiority has taken a brutal battering this season: multiple racism investigations, and abuse directed at those who have spoken out about the issue, have seen to that fairly comprehensively.

No longer can unwavering Premier League advocates look snootily upon the Spanish league or Eastern European countries and claim that "it would never happen here". But that issue has been covered ad nauseam and Early Doors won't subject you to another depressing diatribe about racism in a season that has been irreparably stained by it, however many

Fabio Capello speaks to Steven Gerrard with John Terry in the backgroundIf Fabio Capello's public criticism of the FA's decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy and statement that he still considers him team leader is an attempt to motivate his team ahead of the do-or-die European Championships, it is a very odd one.

Either he's trying to pressurise the FA into reinstating Terry (no chance), seeking to wind his other senior players up, or trying to get sacked so he can have the summer off before his contract expires.

ED actually expected Capello to support Terry through his latest sideshow distraction. Well, privately at least.

First up, Capello is

Roberto Mancini (PA Photos)The freezing weather in Britain and much of Europe at the moment may make it feel as though it is just too cold to embark on anything of true significance right now, but this weekend could be a pivotal one in the Premier League title race.

For only the third time in the past two decades there are two clubs level at the top of the table at the start of February. Manchester City and Manchester United both have 54 points going into this weekend's games. Both clubs have won, drawn and lost the same number of matches, though City are nominal leaders by virtue of their superior goal difference.

Had

Martin O'Neill

It's a good time to be a football fan in the North East at the moment.

Newcastle's win at Blackburn last night lifted them up to fifth in the table, above Liverpool and Arsenal and just three points off a Champions League place.

Middlesbrough may have drawn at Leicester, but they are looking better at the moment than at any time since their relegation from the Premier League three years ago.

But right now the club on the most remarkable rise in the region is Sunderland. Last night's 3-0 win over Norwich summed up the feel-good factor that is currently engulfing the Stadium of Light since