Steven Fletcher celebrates scoring the opening goal

A look ahead to this weekend's Premier League fixture at the Stadium of Light

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Independent Crossword

Football: A club in turmoil - Gullit 'astounded' by Chelsea sacking

All change at the Bridge: Dutchman ditched as breakdown in pay talks opens player-manager's door for Italian striker Vialli

Football: The reaction - 'You don't mess with Bates'

Most Chelsea supporters who gathered at Stamford Bridge yesterday were bewildered by Ruud Gullit's departure. However, Gianluca Vialli's appointment was generally well received.

Leading Article: A spelling lesson for undergraduates: our words are our bond

Number 14 down in yesterday's crossword was "prophesy for heretic with ecstasy" (13). Solve it, and then try to say correct spelling does not matter. It's not "ecstasy" that is the test. Getting its three tricky consonants right is not ultimately a matter of life and death. Ecstasy is only the current settled spelling of a word that has historically bounced around. If all those who ingest the fashionable drug were to decide to spell it once again with an "x", doubtless in time the convention would change and nobody would be the worse for it. One of the delights of English is its malleability. "Prophesy" however is different matter. For a start, the crossword clue does not work unless you know that prophesy is a verb - "prophecy" (the noun) would have given a different solution. Here is a prime instance where conservatism is the friend of precision, where linguistic laxity leads to loss of meaning. And to those who failed to complete the crossword, the answer is the verb "prognosticate".

THIS WEEK

On 17 January 1996, Newcastle United, playing at home, were knocked out of the FA Cup by Chelsea.

Football: Higher form of football gives Gullit no earthly chance

Ruud Gullit learned the hard way yesterday that Manchester United are on a different planet. So different, says Ken Jones that winning the FA Cup, European Cup and Premiership this season is well within their sphere.

Simply The Best

Our top 20 Premiership players of 1997

Books: Booking in advance

Boyd Tonkin looks for the publishing highlights of early 1998, with a glimpse of six new novels to watch

Alan Clark's Secret Court Diary: I parry his questions with haughty disdain

...as imagined by the Evening Standard's Peter Bradshaw who is, in turn, parodied by our own Kathy Marks

Football: Rivals in dogfight for the right to chase United

Four of the Premiership's top five meet today in a programme that will help define who are best suited to challenge Manchester United. Guy Hodgson looks at the weekend ahead, while Nick Harris (below) analyses the programme match by match.

Gorbachev is latest star in Pizza Hut TV ad

Politics is an unforgiving game. One day you are changing history, overseeing the end of the Cold War, bringing down the Berlin Wall and getting to keep the nuclear button by your bed. Next thing you know you're lining up with the likes of Pamela Anderson and Gareth Southgate to appear in a fast-food commercial.

Football: Gross is the choice as Tottenham join the Continental club

Tottenham Hotspur have found a replacement for their underachieving manager, Gerry Francis.

Football: Wise's fear of the law proves to be the beginning of wisdom

When he was a member of the Crazy Gang Dennis Wise revelled in his image as a cheeky Cockney chappy who was always in the thick of the action. And he continued to live up to his wild reputation when he left Wimbledon for Chelsea.
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National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again
Dylan Hartley: Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong

Dylan Hartley talks tough

Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong
Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

A meeting of global power brokers in a Hertfordshire hotel is exciting conspiracy theorists, but what are they really about?
'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system': Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console

'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system'

Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console
Plenty of Fish dating site founder pulls 'Intimate Encounters' option to ward off sleazy men

Plenty of sleaze

Dating website pulls intimate 'hook-up' section to curb harassment
Inferno author Dan Brown 'honoured' to be invited to join the Freemasons

The Freemasons’ Code

Dan Brown reveals the message that told him door to the lodge is open
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Nick Buckles survived the Olympics débâcle and a £5bn bid fiasco but a profit warning finally triggered his downfall
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’: Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar

How to say ‘I’m a sellout’

Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar
Why clubs are keen to take a stand

Why clubs are keen to take a stand

There's a real desire around the grounds for safe standing. But will the authorities listen?
In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

Disillusion with a siege mentality and negative playing style made change inevitable
James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

British driver was fascinating man whose epic duel with Niki Lauda in 1976 was typical of an era of glamour and glory – but also the ever-present threat of death