Vidic is a winner in any language

Updated: 15:08 EST, 24 January 2009

Shocking new evidence of how Britons are held back by their lack of foreign language skills has emerged from close study of Manchester United's victory over Chelsea earlier this month.

If only John Terry could speak Serbo-Croat, he would have known exactly what Nemanja Vidic was saying to Dimitar Berbatov shortly before the Bulgaria striker met Cristiano Ronaldo's free kick to score United's third and final goal.

Scroll down for more

Words of wisdom: Vidic

Cunning lip-readers among United's fanbase claim Vidic's words in Berbatov's shell-like were: 'Napravi laznjak i idi na prvu stativu. Ova dvojica sy moji.' Which - obviously - means: 'Make a feint and run to the near post. These two are mine.'

Sure enough, as Berbatov dummied to the far post then ran to the near, Vidic blocked off Terry and Franco di Santo. United's excellent run is the form of champions in anyone's language.

Have the bung-busters found their smoking gun at last?

A Premier League club are awash with gossip about a mysterious £1million found in the bank account of a company connected with a transfer dating back to 2006.

The player involved has denied that the £1m is his and the hunt is on for whoever did receive the money and for what reason.

It is understood that the agent who had been leading negotiations to bring the player to England from an overseas club was suddenly sidelined just before the deal was completed, the kind of switch which always rings alarm bells with investigators.

The Football Association and the City of London Police declined to comment on whether it was they who had uncovered the suspicious-looking bank account.

The Premier League confirmed they were not involved. A source revealed: 'There is definitely an investigation going on. It is the talk of the club.'

Woodward's £15m scheme under fire

Sports leaders will this week demand to be told how the cash-strapped British Olympic Association intend to fund the elite performance unit of Sir Clive Woodward.

At a meeting of the National Olympic Committee on Friday, performance directors and chief executives from a range of sports are expected to question how the BOA can raise enough money to send athletes to events up to and including London 2012, let alone fund the £15 million-a-year Woodward scheme.

British Equestrian Federation chief executive Andrew Findings is one of those who has expressed concern about the elite coaching programme, and he met new BOA chief executive Andy Hunt on Friday.

A final decision on Woodward's scheme will be made on March 11, when the BOA's new executive team unveil their strategic review and reveal their budget proposals.