There are many transitions in a young footballers career with none more important than fulfilling ones potential but unfortunately not all young players can follow that road.

Many instead go from promising hard working kids into a stage that can only be described as "spoiled brats" and for me, two young Barclays Premier League players proved this week, they are on the wrong road.

Charles N'Zogbia was once described by Sir Bobby Charlton as "gifted" and you'd be hard pushed to disagree but as we all know, being gifted just isn't enough.

His reported refusal to pull on a Newcastle United shirt is a slap in the face to loyal Newcastle United fans (apology or no apology) who have kept coming to watch their, in all honesty, poor side, for prices most families could never afford. He has a contract that those fans help pay for that states he is a Newcastle player. What makes Charles N'Zogbia think he is above that?

The Frenchman has only ever showed glimpses of his true potential in the black and white of Newcastle and has hardly spilt enough blood for the club (like Shay Given) to be honoured in a way that would see the Magpies stand aside to let him choose his own future.

Welcome back to the second Barclay's Premier League Hot or Not inside a week, with the dust having barely settled from the midweek action, Manchester United had the chance to extend not only their lead at the top of the table this weekend as Chelsea visited Liverpool but also a chance to stretch their new clean sheet record.

HOT

And that is exactly what happened, another 1-0 win (United's seventh in their last ten games), this time at home to Everton, extending the Premier League clean sheet record to twelve straight shut outs. Remember boring, boring Arsenal? Why not boring, boring Man United?

Edwin Van Der Saar clocked up quite an achievement himself this weekend after he broke the all time English football record for minutes played, without conceding. Not hard behind Nemanja Vidic however, Van Der Saar has actually been on holiday with Sir Alex Ferguson trusting Edwin's Madame Tussauds wax work between the sticks.

We heard a rumour the Dutchman didn't actually make a save in three or four of the games. The 38 year old must have an electric dog tag on, otherwise how does he stay awake?

Football is not blighted by all the money or by the 24 hour coverage it receives today. In truth, football is probably better now than it has ever been thanks to technology and better training methods, players are all fit and have to be able to kick the ball and not just the opposition in order to get a game.

That said, it is the lack of kicking the opposition that this article is all about.

Diving is the real "achilles heal" for modern football and it personally, makes me sick. Maybe it is because I was never able to dive, in truth, it never ever came into my mind but that is probably why I'm writing here and not being written about.

My old coach Clive Hands inspired me to write this after he gave me the headline, "look at me and I'll fall over" during a recent conversation. Diving is an embarrassment to the beautiful game and it is so annoying to hear our game called a "soft" sport because of the diving epidemic.

Sadly, the only reason that diving has become acceptable is the amount of top players in top leagues that would rather spend 90 minutes on their arse than put themselves about like the game was intended to be played.

Let's be honest, do Manchester United fans enjoy talking about who will replace Alex Ferguson?

Just as with Ferguson, someday Arsene Wenger will leave the club he has served so well.

I have my own feeling when Wenger may leave and what he may do next, but this is mere speculation on my behalf. It's not based on solid fact and would need certain wheels to be put in motion to ever come about.

I for one fully expect him to fulfil his contract that does not expire until 2011.

Not alone that, were he ever to break his Arsenal contract to manage Real Madrid he may as well spit in the faces of every Arsenal fan. Should he do what Perez seems to think he can get him to do, Wenger would remain in Arsenal's history but remove himself from our hearts.