Fowler's Liverpool future in doubt

Fowler was involved in a dressing-room bust-up with Houllier over selection policy in the final week of the 1999-2000 season and was in trouble again after being attacked outside a Liverpool nightclub.

Houllier sympathised with Fowler after that unprovoked assault, but expressed dismay that the player had been out in the early hours of the morning. Fowler's latest indiscretion is sure to place a question-mark over his future, with Chelsea, Aston Villa and Leeds all monitoring the £15million-rated marksman's fraught relationship with Houllier.

Another unsettled England striker was assured of his position, though, when Sir Alex Ferguson reacted to Andy Cole's grievances over falling behind Ruud van Nistelrooy and Paul Scholes in the battle for places at Old Trafford by saying: 'He doesn't need to come looking for me to talk about his future here because it is solid. 'I have a good squad of players and they all have to be patient, just like Ole Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham have been in recent years. You can't win the League without having a squad like ours.

'Everyone has remarked on that, from rival managers to people in the media, and there's no reason I'm going to change it now.' Referee Andy D'Urso, surrounded by furious United players after awarding a controversial penalty for Middlesbrough at Old Trafford two seasons ago, came under fire again after denying two spot-kick appeals for handball against Stephane Henchoz.

The second looked a blatant penalty and might have put United back on terms, but Ferguson at least couched his criticism in diplomatic terms. 'I actually felt sorry for the ref. You can give people all the schooling in the world but it can't always stop an occasion being too much for them,' he said.

'Sometimes they don't have the temperament required and he was too nervous for that stage. It's a shame because he is a decent ref and a decent person.'