I have a warning for the many Manchester United fans here in Bermuda ahead of their big clash with Premier League leaders Arsenal tomorrow . . . if the Gunners can go to Dortmund and get a result, then they can go to Old Trafford and get a result.

It is too early to say that this match could have a bearing on the title race, same thing for the teams trying to avoid relegation. But a victory for Arsenal would open an 11-point gap between themselves and the Reds.

Arsenal had a good result in midweek when they travelled to Borussia Dortmund and got a 1-0 win in the Champions League.

Manchester will be another tough trip, no doubt, but some strange results have been produced this season, with United not having the best of starts though they have gone unbeaten since that home loss to West Brom.

I see that Ashley Young is being slammed in the papers over his alleged diving incident against Real Sociedad which earned United a penalty which they missed anyhow.

Young is earning himself a bad reputation for diving and he shouldn’t be doing that because strikers get so much protection from the referees anyway. I don’t have any time for any players who do that sort of stuff.

I had an incident at Newcastle one day when Trevor Brooking and I played a one-two and I hit a screamer that went in. The referee, Gordon Hill, blew for offside but he did admit to me during the game that he made a mistake. He and I ended up good friends after he came to work in Canada after I had moved to the States. Already the pundits are tipping Crystal Palace and Sunderland to take the plunge but as I’ve said before it is still early days yet, we’re aren’t even at the halfway of the season, and I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on that right now because you can go four games undefeated and you are out of the relegation zone.

I had a good talk with a friend of mine in England today and he told me ‘West Ham are safe, don’t worry about it’.

Carlton Cole played for an hour in the Capital League Cup win over Burnley in midweek and I hope he can bring some goals to the team this time. Rumours in the papers are that Jermaine Defoe could move back to West Ham from Tottenham in the January transfer window.

If I had anything to do with it I would take him back tomorrow, I wouldn’t hesitate. I’ve always been an admirer of his and plus he scores goals.

I received a call the other day from SportsMax in the Caribbean who wanted to do a phone interview with me, which aired last week. People there are understanding of what’s been going on over the years and in the islands they really pay attention to that sort of stuff and are appreciative of what one has done in sports.

We could do with taking a page out of their book because there are a lot of great athletes in Bermuda who never really got the credit for what they have achieved. I’m an avid fan of the station and watch it every day. They asked me how I was able to achieve what I did with all that hostility towards black players in those days.

I said to them that I had a dad who taught me not to be selfish and always think about other people, people who work in the train stations, clean the toilets or just do what they have to do to live and yet still come out to watch football.

What I was really surprised at was what Bobby Charlton had to say, about me being at that time one of the best strikers in England. He was someone I always looked up to because before I left Bermuda I was a Manchester United fan and Bobby Charlton was my idol, he, Davie Herd, George Best and Dennis Law and to get a chance to play against them within a few years was real nice.