Preamble:

Hello and good morning and welcome and, just to summarise because it's early and you may still be hoping you're in bed and not really reading this, hello and good morning and welcome. This is our weekly pre-weekend blog, in which we preview the football weekend and provide you with regular breaking news, dispatches from managers' press conferences around the country and discuss football matters both weighty and light-hearted. Being that the transfer window is now open, we may even hear tell of moves more extraordinary than the last time Rob Smyth hit the dance floor (this morning circa 3am, is my guess): for instance, this muttering about Frank Lampard to Manchester United can't be true, can it? Not simply because all parties have denied it, but more because he's hardly the answer to United's problems, is he? They msut surely have other targets. How much money they to pursue those other targets is unclear ...

But, of course, this weekend is all about the FA Cup, the third round of which kicks off tonight with Oldham's trip to Anfield. Intriguing ties this round include Swindon-Wigan, Fleetwood Town v Blackpool, Everton v Tamworth, MK Dons v QPR, Spurs v Cheltenham and Arsenal v Leeds. Oh, and there's that Manchester meeting at the Ettihad Stadium, which has perhaps been given added significance by the fact that United go into it on the back not merely of two defeats, but two anaemic displays.

Manchester United's barely beating hopes of being reinstated into the Champions League have been definitively quashed this morning, as Fifa has withdrawn its threat to ban all Swiss teams from football because of FC Sion's agitation over their expulsion from the Europa League. The world governing body has decided that the Swiss FA have done enough to bring Sion back into the line and Swiss teams, notably FC Basel, are free to continue their seasons in accordance with their performances on the pitch. Sorry Alex, sorry Wayne!

News from France, courtesy of L'Equipe, that the proposed deal between cash-strapped Lille and Fenerbahce for Moussa Sow probably won't go through: the clubs have agreed a fee of 12m euro but the player isn't keen on the switch and would prefer to go to the Premier League: problem is, though there are plenty of English teams who want a surefire finisher, they're not terribly enthusiastic about forking out for a player who's off to the Africa Cup of Nations. So Sow may stick around Lille until the summer.

"Hi Paul, thought you might be interested in the statement put out by a group of the major Blackburn Rovers forums representing approx 12,000 fans," emails Rob Parker. "While any statement put together by committee can't actually represent those 12k people, it probably represents the majority view. It's nothing new in terms of the messages (and is really very waffle filled indeed) but fact that it's an attempt to be constructive and co-operative is a change for the better. I hope it signals a change in approach of fans at Ewood Park."

Thanks for that, Rob. I'm not clear as to what this new approach entails: does it mean agitating through the media rather than bawling abuse at the ground? Or will it be both? As for the statement, allow me to react to some of it:

The vast majority of fans are desperately disappointed by the direction that has been shown by the club since the change in ownership a little over twelve months ago when Venky's bought the club from the Walker Trust, who provided stability and modest success for a club of our stature. On the field, we believe Steve Kean has had sufficient time to prove himself capable of managing a Premier League club. During his tenure as manager of Blackburn Rovers, Kean has been in charge of 42 Premier League fixtures and has presided over a record of 8 wins, 13 draws and 21 losses. Over the course of a season, this equates to a dismal 33.5 points ... ...As the first steps in the restitution of our football club, we, as concerned fans of Blackburn Rovers, seek the appointment of a respected manager who has the requisite experience to preside over our proud club and who can rebuild the bonds between club and fans, and we further seek the establishment of an administrative structure that is becoming of a modern institution such as a Premier League football club.

As an addendum to that Blackburn Rovers talk I must add that I was at West Ham on Monday and, although West Ham eventually beat Coventry 1-0, it was a horrendous spectacle and I, for one, would much rather watch a team managed by Steve Kean, who strives to win with skill and cleverness rather than boot and barge, than a side run by Allardyce regardless of results.

Here's an excerpt from a piece just published on the Manchester United websites in which Sir Alex Ferguson (or the boss, as his lackeys call him) officially poohpoohs the Lampard-to-United story (and does a mean Arsene Wenger impression at the end):

"Do you really think Chelsea would sell to United in January?" he asked. "There's no foundation in that. Chelsea want to do something in the second half of the season so they want to keep their best players." There is no reaching for the panic button during the window despite the consecutive defeats to Blackburn and Newcastle. "What can you get in January?" maintained the boss. "The players we'd like, we can't get. If the alternative is to sign a second-rate player, we don't want to do that. "Our injuries have led to fans wanting us to sign someone but I don't want to sign a player who won't get a game when everyone's fit because he's not good enough."

Swansea fans will get their first look at Gylfi Sigurdsson, the Icelandic loanee from Hoffenheim who will make his debut against Barnsley tomorrow. Expect numerous ferocious long-shots and a new Swansea threat from set-pieces. Goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel could also be handed a debut, four months after joining the club, with Michel Vorm set for a rest after excelling so far this term.

Provisional squad: Vorm, Williams, Taylor, Caulker, Britton, Orlandi, Graham, Sinclair, Dyer, Dobbie, Routledge, Monk, Lita, Moore, Bessone, Rangel, Allen, Tremmel, Agustien, Gower, Richards, Alfei, Sigurdsson.

Blackburn fan Rob Parker's got back in touch to elaborate on the new approach to be taken by dismayed Rovers' fans ... or rather to explain that he'd "much rather see [agitation through the media] than [bawling abuse]". He add "Blackburn fans clearly feel they have to do something about the state of the club. Personally, I feel that is best achieved away from the football games themselves ... I don't think many Blackburn fans would agree that the style of football at the club has changed significantly since Steve Kean took over. He is certainly trying and I believe it was right to make the change. However, if you saw Rovers' game against Stoke, you'd have recognised the style. I don't think any football fan would be happy to watch nice football if it mean the inexorable slide of your team down the leagues. We'd all say 'nah, go on, play it ugly just once and get a win to keep us here'. We Blackburn fans all want to see our club perform to the best of its abilities and that isn't happening at the moment. There are only so many places you can put the blame for that."

There have been suggestions in some media outlets this morning that Liverpool and Manchester United will hold peace talks ahead of the next Premier League meeting - for which Luis Suarez will be available - in a bid to defuse the increased tension between the two. Sir Alex Ferguson appeared to dismiss that possibility ratehr disdaindully at his press conference, saying:

It is nice of them to do it through the press. You would have thought they would come to Manchester United first. I do not see why there is any need for it. But I have nothing to say about it.

My colleague Jon Brodkin has just pointed me in the direction of the twitter feed of QPR chairman Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes), who has been making statements this morning that seem perfectly reasonable and not altogether reassuring for Neil Warnock, although, on the other hand, he does suggest there is moneyu available, perhaps to buy the one or more strikers that QPR badly need:

Guys at qpr. There is no freeze of cash. Don't listen to ambiguous press reports. We are disappointed where we are in the league. This is a journey not s sprint. Along the way we learn. But we continue to develop and along the way hard decisions need to be made. But we never stop moving. Never ... Its important to note no one job is safe. Results are key. If I don't deliver I would be the first to step down as chairman. We owe it to all the fans. Good money is paid and results are key.

James Dart feels old today. Why? Because he's jsut seen footage of a goal scored by Romarinho, son of Romario.

Unconfirmed word that the Gary Cahill to Chelsea move will be completed today ...

The departure today of Blackburn Rovers assistant manager Paul Clement is being interpreted by some as further evidence of disenchantment with Steve Kean. Fact is Clement is off to Paris Saint-Germain to hook up again with Carlo Ancelotti, with whom he worked at Chelsea. Hardly Kean's fault that sauch an attractive offer came along.

Spurs woe as Harry Redknapp confirms that both Sandro and William Gallas tore hamstrings agaisnt WBA on Tuesday. "It's difficult to know how long they will be out for," blubbed Redknapp, who may just be open persuasion to go into the transfer market for cover if the chairman absolutely insists on it.

Further bad news for Steve Kean: QPR have just bid £5m for Christoper Samba. And that could flush out bigger bids, notably from Spurs. Good luck trying to convince Venky's not to accept ...

Owen Coyle has confirmed that Gary Cahill could be a Chelsea player by Sunday. He will not play for Bolton against Macclesfield tomorrow.

"My own opinion is I think there's a chance the deal can be concluded by the end of the week. That's where we're at but I'm not a party to any continued dialogue between Chelsea and Gary's representative. They were respectful of the other night, the fact we had a big game against Everton and that kept Gary focused and he showed his quality by doing that in the game."

Coyle, meanwhile, again denied any other club have come in for Cahill after speculation Manchester United were interested. "When there's continued conjecture and everything that goes with it people are always going to throw up names. There hasn't been any dialogue between ourselves and Manchester United or anything like that. We as a football club agreed a deal with Chelsea Football Club and for me that's binding. The only way that will fall down is if the relevant parties don't agree. But my own feeling is I'm pretty sure they can get to a place that they're all happy."

@MattLawExpress is tweeting that Arseanal have finalised the loan signing of Theirry Henry. The striker will, then, be available to play against Leeds on Monday.

Paul Lambert and Neil Warnock up a tree, K-I-C-K-I-N-G. Here's what the Norwich boss makes of QPR's whining following Joery Barton's red card earlier this week (and by the way, when Warnock said that Barton wouldn't have gone down as easily as Johnson did, he clearly forgot that Barton himself justified going down easily after he helped get Gervinho get sent off when playing for Newcatle agasint Arsenal). Here's wahte Lambvert said, as reported by The Pink 'Un.

I think some of the comments labelled towards Bradley Johnson have been ludicrous. He is my player and he is certainly not a cheat. If you are going to label someone that then have a bit of substance to it. If you go face-to-face with someone then there is a chance that things can happen. I certainly don't think it is a full-blooded headbutt. That is not the issue I have a gripe with - its the comments after. I know in the heat of the game things can happen. One; Bradley Johnson never went down so for somebody to say he did is totally wrong. Neil did his talking on the television. I am just responding, but my player is not a cheat. He played with great discipline before and after the incident. But those aftermatch comments were wrong. Maybe when you get beat you start to look for excuses and end up blaming everybody else. My lads were excellent on Monday. They played with an enthusiasm and discipline in their game. If you are going to criticise them make sure there is some substance. I have no issue with Joey Barton whatsover. He scored a really good goal, a really good player. Don't have a problem with him or the incident, but I have a problem with other people speaking about my players.

So there's Roberto Mancini complaining about not having enough strikers, when Carlos Tevez is still in the employ of City ... but seemingly on the verge of a move to Milan. But which club in Milan? Paolo Bandini provides some clues here.

Stoke are likely to rest Matthew Etherington, Glenn Whelan, Peter Crouch and Ryan Shawcross for this weekend's FA Cup clash with Gillingham, whose chairman, Paul Scally, was taken to court by Tony Pulis over a disagreement relating to off-the-field matters. Pulis had guided the previously relegation-threatened side to promotion (and a memorable play-off defeat by Manchestyer City).

Arsenal have finally confirmed that Thierry Henry has joined on loan for "a period of fixtures in January and February." Word is his last game could be the north London derby. Here's pictorial proof of how happy he is about the whole thing.

Over Aston Villa, Alex McLeish finds himself in the strange position of bigging up a player who couldn't be bothered playing at Euro 2012 and one who is desperate to to do s. "HE has set the benchmark now and he has to continue to do so," said the Villa manager of Stephen Ireland's recent displays for his club. "If Stevie can deliver those sort of performances, he can open doors at the back. He is a good footballer. But it also helps if he puts himself around. The Villa fans applauded him when he got stuck in against Arsenal." MCLeish also explained why he felt it necessary to take Ireland off against Swansea, a move that brought boos from the crowd. "I can understand the fans doing that (booing). Stevie was tired and came out of nowhere to play half a game against Arsenal, a full one against Chelsea and then 70 minutes in the Swansea game. The one thing I don't want to do, especially with a small squad experience-wise, is to lose someone like Ireland to injury especially when he is playing well."

McLeish hopes to complete a loan signing of LA Galaxy's Robbie Keane by Monday. ""He has certainly got the experience, the character. He is a guy who is going to be playing in a huge tournament (Euro 2012) at the end of the season. I'm sure Robbie Keane will not want to let his standards drop at this stage of his career. If anything, we should have a massively motivated boy."

Finally, the manager said he will pick a full-strength squad for Villa's FA Cup game against Bristol Rovers tomorrow. "I know it was a long time ago when the club last won the cup (1957) but we certainly are aware of all the giant-killing feats. We don't want to have any room for complacency at the weekend. It's a potential banana skin ... We are live on TV as well and I'm sure there will be some people loving to see some cup upsets this season but we've got to make sure we are not one of them. We need a professional job, no room for complacency, and we will play as strong a team as possible."

Hello world! Simon Burnton here, taking over from Paul for a couple of hours while he grabs lunch and writes a Fiver. Please divert all correspondence to me, address above. Ta.

"Paul, euphoric as we Gooners are to see Henry return, one has to wonder what is in it for him," ponders Damian Durrant. "It's impossible to live up to the ever growing 'legend' and so it's almost bound to disappoint or tarnish the memory. Good for merchandise sales however." I'd be with you, Damian, if he had bigger shoes to fill than Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh. Time will tell, I suppose, but assuming expectations are at least reasonably realistic I think he'll be fine.

Ryan Dunne is perplexed about Paul Doyle's two-hour break. "Assuming (which seems fair) that the Guardian gives its hacks an hour for lunch, does that mean that Fivers are generally knocked off in an hour too!?" he asks. "Surely I can't be the only one (indeed, I suspect there are 1,056 others) disappointed at this letting of daylight in on magic. I thought The Fiver jokes alone were the result of James Joyce cum Stanley Kubrick style levels of aesthetic dedication." Don't worry, Ryan, they're normally knocked off in half an hour Paul has been working on his for the last fortnight.

Has anyone else tried to buy Olympic tickets today? I must say I'm finding it quite addictive: search for event you want, click the available tickets only box, see reasonably-priced tickets for something great, add to basket, checkout immediately, input password etc etc, get told they don't exist. I've been at it for about two hours and am yet to actually buy a ticket.

See, we do care about Scotland update: Celtic midfielder Beram Kayal will need surgery on an ankle injury and could be out for four months, manager Neil Lennon said today.

Further adventures in leg-knack: Everton defender Phil Jagielka faces up to six weeks out with medial ligament damage sustained in the midweek defeat to Bolton, manager David Moyes said today.

Steve McClaren has been re-introduced to the Twente press. "People ask me why I came back. Well, for me it was an easy decision, I think for three main reasons. "The first is the chairman and the vision of the club he has ... The second reason is the team, I like it. It's a good one with good balance and a good core, but with good young players ... The third reason is the fans." And the fourth is that they asked.

Sky Sports News are promising "a development concerning the resale of Olympic tickets", after the break. It could be that I just tried and failed to buy an apparently available pair for the women's beach volleyball final.

The Olympic resale site has been taken down due to computer problems. They're rebooting. Nobody can buy or sell anything. This information is not available to website users, unless they're watching Sky Sports News.

Pictoral proof that Carlos Tevez is moving to Milan! Or, at the very least, not going hungry!

Latest Olympic ticket news: I just unsuccessfully tried to buy an apparently available £1,500 ticket for the closing ceremony. Obviously I wouldn't have actually bought it. Indeed, I think a single £1,500 ticket for the Olympic closing ceremony has to be, in terms of value for money, the worst ticket in the entire history of tickets. Unless someone can suggest a worse one?

Transfer news! Bristol City have agreed a fee with Aberdeen for the Scottish club's captain, Richard Foster!

Olympic ticket news! Sky are interviewing, live from her home in Manchester, a woman who successfully bought tickets for the fencing team foil! That's right, the team foil!

Olympic ticket update: I just could have actually bought some athletics tickets! But they cost £450 each, so I didn't.

Matt Stratford writes: "Am I alone in thinking Thierry Henry back at Arsenal might actually work? The big criticism of Gervinho (and Chamakh, Walcott, Arshavin ... well, the whole team except Van Persie) has been that he doesn't get any goals. Frankly, if Henry does nothing else than goal-hang and prod the ball in the net a few times then it'll have worked out well." No, you're not alone. That's basically what I said.

Now this is magic. Absolutely super. The least likely event to be covered by two major photographic agencies since ... well ... um ... nope, I'm stumped.

Thierry Henry is in Arsenal's squad for Monday's FA Cup visit of Leeds! No surprise, mind, given that they're without Gervinho (international duty), Johan Djourou (suspension), Kieran Gibbs (groin), Thomas Vermaelen (calf), Bacary Sagna (ankle), Carl Jenkinson (back), Andre Santos (ankle), Abou Diaby (hamstring) and Jack Wilshere (ankle).

"That's not a crib," quips Jon Matthews of the Lviv nativity scene (2.37pm), "that's the dressing room. It'll be ready for June, though." Having successfully organised this in January, one can only imagine how good the opening ceremony is going to be. Here's another picture, just for those readers who believed the first was too good to be true. It includes a donkey, and a football-themed bale of hay which has been balanced on a stool.

"I'd imagine tickets for the Titanic would have been fairly pricey back in them days, taking into account inflation," suggests David Morgan. "Pretty bad value for money considering how that ended." Yes, but according to a hurried Google search, a basic berth in first class cost the equivalent of £1,118.59 in modern money. This is a lot better value than £1,500 for the Olympic closing ceremony, I think (though on the downside it did lead to your near-certain doom).

"I think the worst value ticket has to be the £17 I paid to watching my dear Plymouth Argyle at Aldershot on New Year's Eve," proposes Jonathan Harris. "£17 to stand in a shed which you can't see out of properly to watch the most abysmal game of football OF ALL TIME is pretty steep." But you saw a game! Some form of sporting action was included! This is not in my opinion comparible with paying £1,500 to watch some disappointed people walk about and Little Mix sing a disappointing cover version of The Winner Takes It All. Or whatever.

Olympic ticket update: If you're finding yourself stuck in an interminable queueing system, it's probably my fault. I've tried to buy pretty much everything that exists, without success. Sorry.

"Back in 1994 I bought two tickets for my then girlfriend and a friend of hers to go and see Michael Bolton at Wembley," remembers Sean Kinnear. "Cost me 100 quid. In between the buying and the show she split with me so I didn't even get a proper 'Thank you' out of it." Yes, but you could buy 30 Michael Bolton tickets for the price of a single £1500 seat at the Olympic closing ceremony. If you offered me the chance to pay £50 for a Michael Bolton concert that I wouldn't actually be allowed to go to, or £1,500 for a closing ceremony that I could, I wouldn't hesitate to go Bolton. And I know what you mean by "a proper thank you", you filthy old tart.

Ed Miliband has tweeted about the death of Bob Holness. "A generation will remember him fondly from Blackbusters," he wrote. He really did.

Real FA Cup news: Gillingham v Stoke might have to be called off because the local council are demanding police presence inside the ground, and the home club don't want to have them.

And to those demaning more pictures of the football-themed nativity scene in Lviv, I'm afraid I've only got the two. But there's also this!

Jamie Jackson has an important update from Cobham: "Roberto di Matteo was asked about 'sockgate' today, yes he really was. Harry Redknapp is apparently cheesed off at players cutting off the bottom bits of their socks so that they can wear more comfortable attire on their plates. 'Is that a serious question,' RDM asked the Sky chappie. 'Well its a question,' he said. 'Maybe not the most serious one I've ever asked...'"

And with that, I'm handing back to the venerable Paul Doyle. Enjoy your weekends, everybody!

It's the tournament Wlat Disney wished he invented, oh yes, and Scott Murray has word of some of the most magical FA Cup moments right here in this week's Joy of Six.

Gillingham's FA Cup third-round match with Stoke tomorrow will go ahead after the npower League Two club reached an agreement with Kent Police.

The game had been under threat of postponement after Medway Council revealed police had advised it would be unsafe for it to go ahead without a police presence at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium.

A council statement said they understood there was "a dispute between the football club and Kent Police about the costs of policing the stadium", which could leave the sell-out match without any police officers attending.

Amer Zaki - remember him, Wigan fans? - has falled out with another club and loks says he is determined to leave Zamalek for an unspecified team in Turkey. he claims Zamalek owe him 3m Egyptian pounds (around 320,000 of your British ones) and, after protracted negotiations, are offering to pay only a fraction of that amount. "I have kids and football is my only means for a living. If any club approached, I will accept their offer and sign. I will get a passport issued in the next few days and I intend to fly to Turkey," he stormed, as reported on filgoal.com.

QPR's search for a decent striker goes on, as Fulham have rejected their bid Andrew Johnson.

Darlington are in danger of dying but supporters are banding together to offer life support. "Any space on your blog to mention the groundswell of unrest amongst the nation's true fans outside the Premier League, as personified by this plea from a dying club, which prompted £7650 in donations in 48 hours?" wonders Richard Carter.

Manchester United evidently have personnel problems this season but still Sir Alex Ferguson won't place his trust in the much-trumpeted youngsters such as Paul Pogba and Ravel Morrison, probably, in the case of the latter, because of concerns over discipline. According to rumblings in the French capital, however, the freshly-flush Paris Saint-Germain are thinking about taking the gifted 18-year-old off United's hands. Note maxifoot.fr's description of Morrison as "le Messi anglais" ...