The title can mean only one thing: Anderson has finally scored. It took him two-plus years of his Manchester United career to find the net and the lad came up golden in a pivotal win over then-unbeaten Spurs at White Hart Lane. Meanwhile, back in Manchester, the club from Stockport, erm, that other club from Manchester hosted Arsenal in a heated affair where Emmanuel Adebayor's nagging obsession with all things Arsenal reared its ugly head.

To prove I haven't gone the way of Special 1 TV being canned due to Setanta Sports going belly up, I'm back from my rather long vacation to resurrect Diving in the Box (shut up, administration!). What a week to make a return on, just as the Premier League resumes from the international break with three big matches: Manchester United going to unbeaten Tottenham, Manchester City also on a 100% record hosting Arsenal, and the first Birmingham Derby of the season. Meanwhile, let me just say it's surreal to see Argentina and Portugal on the brink of not qualifying for next Summer's World Cup.

I regret to announce that there will be no Diving in the Box this week and next. I don't like putting personal news here, but I'd have to, because my mother passed away last Tuesday. This was the family emergency I referred to a couple of weeks back, as she was sick for the last four-plus months. She had many complications, caused by an aggressive intestinal T-cell lymphoma which spread into her bone marrow and made things worse. It has been a very emotional Summer for me, for many different reasons, but I'm relieved that she passed away in peace and with no suffering to the end.

Well, it's go time folks. Another Premier League season is set to kick off this weekend and Diving in the Box is back to be your personal advisor for all things related to your fantasy football/soccer/futbol team, ranging from buy and sell decisions to helping you spot the next Amr Zaki, so that you can brag to your fellow mates in your Monday watercooler chat about how you hopped aboard the (insert once-obscure overnight sensation's name here) bandwagon before anyone else knew that lad's name.

As promised, here's a lengthy, detailed team-by-team preview of the Premier League 2009-10 season. Not only is it yours truly's take on how the league table will pan out, this is the ultimate fantasy preseason guide and cheat sheet for your fantasy Premiership squad. Who will be crowned champions? Will Manchester City crack the top four? Can Burnley actually escape the drop? Is Andrei Arshavin the real deal? Can Wayne Rooney be a fantasy beast? Can Michael Owen enjoy a 20-goal comeback season? Well, one can dream, but at any rate, find out and read on...

Arsenal

I've been idle for too long to blog, but I've been busy and I've also been caught up with family emergencies recently (a few of you know what's going on, I know). Here's the latest on where we are with our little Fantasy Premier League:

Great news, gang. You can now create a private H2H league in the Fantasy Premier League game! It was bound to happen with the new introduction of public H2H leagues last year, but nonetheless I'm pretty stoked when I signed up my team just now. The cool thing is, I also have the option to renew last year's RDB league. So, this got me thinking...

I promised that once the Fourth of July passed, I'll transition from offseason form to preseason form and will now accept sign-ups for this coming season's Fantasy Premier League game. Lo and behold, you can now register for the new season, which starts on August 15, which as of this writing is 41 days. Registration for the league ends August 5 and so, I'll give you a month to do the deed. Read on for league details...

Rotodatabase's official fantasy football league (of a different sort) is back, the RDB Fantasy Premier League. Registration is open and once again, the game will be hosted on the Premier League's official site.

• Sign up your team for the 2009-10 RDB Fantasy Premier League here
 read more »

Please tell me the world has tilted off its axis. As ridiculous as it would be to mob Darius Vassell at the airport with open arms, I'd say I'd rather rally around Vassell than witnessing Michael Owen head to Old Trafford. He's not only the exact footballing equivalent of Mark Prior, but United fans will remember him first and foremost as no filthier a Scouser as Robbie Fowler and the metrosexual poster child of Real Madrid's campaign to have the prettiest benchwarmers across from Playboy's powderpuff lingerie team.

OK, the title is a bit misleading because surely if someone gifted me 80 million pounds, I would save the 70 million quid and spend wild on the remaining 10 million. Oddly enough, that's what Manchester United are doing, but not exactly by their own volition. Flash back nearly a month ago and here's what I said about just how hard it is to recoup 80 or even 100 million pounds in quality from the Ronaldo sale:

Hope you guys across the pond have ESPN as all Premier League games that would have otherwise gone to Setanta, will be shown on ESPN, as soon as the upcoming 2009-10 season. I believe this only pertains to you guys abroad and not here in the US, as from my understanding, Setanta will continue to air Premier League games in the States.

So, I've just come home to the Laker rally down at the Coliseum and it was phenomenal, which makes me a bit late to the party in saying the new schedule is out today. Season starts a little under two months from now, August 15. I'm still stuck in offseason mode, but I'm sure past the Fourth of July, I'll be in preseason mode. At any rate, if you didn't know...

While some of you are highly awaiting the Transformers sequel, there's a Summer blockbuster that makes yours truly, to quote another box office success, throw up in his mouth a bit. Of course, we're talking about an extravagant sale of Kaka from Milan to Real Madrid for a "tepid" 59 million pounds (that's $97 million US) and then today (in fact, late Wednesday evening here in the States), a year's worth of transfer drama culminated in rather anticlimactic fashion with Manchester United finally sending away Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for a whopping 80 million pounds, which

All Northeast relegation combatants can rest assured Manchester United fielded a team that indeed had the strength of beating Hull with nothing more than a mixture of kids and reserves. What will keep Newcastle and Middlesbrough supporters up at night is a dreadful campaign, resulting in all four relegation contenders losing on the season's final day in rather drab fashion. Oh wait, there's more!