Steve Bould's hugely promising Arsenal youth side have knocked out current Youth FA Cup holders and equally talented youngsters of Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium and now progress to the final which will be played over two legs.

With a name like Ireland you would be led to believe that Manchester City's midfield maestro was born to play for his country.

To a degree you would be right.

In a squad that boasts Shay Given, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Craig Bellamy, Nigel De Jong, Vincent Kompany and Robinho to name but a few, it has been Stephen Ireland — the young man who came up through Manchester City's acclaimed youth academy — who has been the club's best and most consistent performer this season.

Ireland has arguably been one of the top ten players in the English Premier League this season while also performing well for Manchester City as they go in search of UEFA Cup glory.

In life, as in the work place, one has to stand up for oneself and avoid situations which could see you being "walked all over" by companies, bosses or colleagues, if you are to make a success of your career.

Daniel Sturridge is a bright young prospect who graduated to Manchester City's main office in 2006 and has since proven to be one of England's brightest young stars. His performances have been made even more impressive considering the form of players such as Stephen Ireland and Robinho.

For the 19 year old forward to be upstaging such famous names is surely a sign of what is to come.

There is no doubt in my mind, if Manchester City hadn't been bought over this summer, Sturridge would be a first team regular, probably in place of Brazilian superstar Robinho.

Unfortunately, as with any business, new owners means restructuring, new goals and new ideas.

Football is a funny old game isn't it?

This weekend in the English Premier League referees were once again under the spotlight, most noticeable Mike Riley who ruled over the clash between Chelsea and Liverpool.

Riley was widely condemned for sending off Chelsea's Frank Lampard for what seemed a run-of-the-mill tackle on Liverpool's Xavi Alonso. While the sending off was a bad call, everyone makes mistakes and Lampard was exceptional in how he handled the situation, walking off the pitch without causing a fuss.

As expected, Chelsea challenged the red card and it was rightly rescinded. Lampard is now free to play in Chelsea's next game.

While all this is very fair, it is what has happened over the last two days that is most baffling.

Referee Mike Riley and Chelsea's Frank Lampard may have kissed and made up after Sunday's red card incident that cost Chelsea any chance of a point at Anfield but that controversy is just the tip of the iceberg.

Underneath lies an inconsistent Football Association incident review system that has apparently just looked favourably on Chelsea.

No one has any issue with the fact Frank Lampard's red card has been rescinded as most would agree it wasn't a red card, but my point lies with a certain Jose Bosingwa and his late Kung Fu kick that went unpunished as Chelsea lost 2-0 to title rivals Liverpool.

The incident took place at the corner flag, right in front of the assistant referee who has more than enough authority to get the Portuguese player sent off.

Amazingly, after an apparent review of the incident, it was decided that no further action would be taken. This would have been all well and good and we might even have forgotten about the incident had the FA not charged Shaun Wright-Philips with violent conduct just a day later.

As the Kaká saga keeps unfolding it is getting more and more likened to the death of football.

A bid so great it's hard to grasp the numbers. Football equals money and have done so for longer than I can remember and it's incredibly sad to see a player who has remained loyal to his team for the past five years to almost be forced to part ways with his beloved club.

After AC Milan reportedly rejecting Manchester City's initial bid of €100m for Brazilian playmaker Ricardo Kaká the club has decided to start negotiations-that according to the latest reports looks to be coming to a close. The club would get a staggering €112 million while the player himself is set to land €15 million per season after taxes.

Although Kaká hardly seems to be interested in the move to Eastlands where Manchester City currently are fighting dangerously close to the relegation zone - despite the amount of money on the table-the player whom this concerns may very well be forced to leave simply due to the enormousness of the bid