That he failed to get a satisfactory answer is not surprising

That he failed to get a satisfactory answer is not surprising. I'd rather talk about how well my players played."It did not get any easier for him when the inquisition finished As he left the press room Bassett was doorstepped... by a five-year-old."It's his first match," the proud father said as Bassett obliged with an autograph."Did you enjoy it?" Bassett asked. "Will you come next week?""Will you be here if he does?" responded the father."You're worse than the press," Bassett said, only half in jest.Having spent approaching pounds 100 on tickets and replica kit the father justifiably felt he had a right to ask.

Was he coming to talk about Crystal Palace's 3-1 win, or about Manchester City's 3-1 defeat? Would he do separate press conferences, one as manager of Palace, then, after a brief announcement, another as manager of City? Reality proved less exciting. He arrived and left as manager of Palace, a point he underlined by wearing a Palace tie and a Palace blazer, but he had spent most of the time deflecting questions about City. The gist of the answers was "It is nice for people to say you are wanted, but I have not been approached and I can't say what I would do if I was It is a hypothetical question. Wolverhampton: Stowell.Man of the match: Roberts.Attendance: 20,711.. There was an air of expectancy as Dave Bassett approached the Selhurst Park press room on Saturday night. Substitutes not used: Ferguson, Wright, Segers (gk).Referee: M Pierce (Portsmouth).Bookings: West Brom: Sneekes. Black Country cousins Wolves and Albion they may be; kissing cousins they certainly are not.

True, there were only two bookings, but the tackling was as ferocious as the current interpretation of the law allows, the tempo rarely dropped below a frenzy, and tempers in the stands were constantly in danger of boiling over. To underline the point, fighting even broke out within the supposedly genteel confines of the family stand, as West Brom supporters, frustrated at seeing their heroes three down inside half an hour, made a determined advance on the visitors' end.If only their players had shown similar urgency and aggression early on they might have avoided defeat.As it was, their centre-back partnership of Paul Raven and Daryl Burgess showed about as much togetherness as Liam and Noel, allowing Iwan Roberts to become the first Wolves player to score a hat-trick at The Hawthorns in the history of this fixture.By the time Albion rediscovered their tribal pride, they were already all but beaten, although that didn't prevent them staging a gun-slinging second half assault on the Wolves goal which left their honour satisfied, if not their supporters.In the opening stages, it seemed as though every set piece was worth a goal to Wolves as Stephen Froggatt flummoxed the flat-footed home defence with inswinging corners and long throws to the goal-scoring delight of Roberts and Steve Bull.Having decided that in their case, attack is certainly the best form of defence, Albion threw on Bob Taylor as a half-time substitute, and committed the previously subdued Richard Sneekes to a forward-running role.The Wolverhampton Wanderers manager, Mark McGhee, cheerfully conceded that had Taylor's 83rd-minute goal not been disallowed for offside, from a position of 4-3 down, West Brom might even have gone on to win.Goals: Roberts (5) 0-1, Bull (15) 0-2, Roberts (28) 0-3, Hamilton (42) 1-3, Roberts (53) 1-4, Taylor (56) 2-4.West Bromwich Albion (4-4-2): Crichton; Holmes, Mardon (Donovan, 79), Burgess, Nicholson; Hamilton, Sneekes, Groves, D Smith (Gilbert, h-t); Peschisolido (Taylor, h-t), Hunt.Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-5-2): Stowell; Richards, Atkins, Venus; J Smith, Corica, Osborn, Thompson, Froggatt; Roberts, Bull. As domestic squabbles go, this century-old feud makes the current rift between the Gallagher brothers seem positively amiable. But there are dangers and, if Adams' example, encourages others to take care his torment will not be in vain.Arsenal: problems with the bottleTony Adams - jailed in 1990 after crashing into a wall when three times over the drink-driving limitPaul Merson - admitted addiction to alcohol and gamblingSteve Bould - criticised for going on a binge during a sex show at ClactonNigel Winterburn - sent home from a tour of Singapore and fined pounds 2,000Ray Parlour - fined in Hong Kong for assaulting a taxi driver. And the one thing you do not fill it with is alcohol."More recently, Bobby Robson, when asked why Portuguese teams were doing better in Europe than English ones, said: "The players don't drink for a start There are no 12 pints a night men here [in Portugal]. They go straight home to their families and behave like responsible athletes."Despite the influence of foreign players and dieticians, alcohol remains at the core of British sport. Drink companies sponsor the main leagues in both rugby codes as well as football, the national cricket team is backed by a brewery, and a host of other sports, from golf and horse racing to basketball, take the fermented pound.This is not entirely a bad thing, many people enjoy alcohol in moderation. You drain that machine so you have got to put back into your system what is good for that machine.

The club, like the Football Association, have supported Merson and are likely to do the same for Adams It is, however, something Arsenal could have done without. Having lost an important match and a manager in midweek the glare of the spotlight is unwelcome. Tonight they face a Sheffield Wednesday side keen to return to the top of the Premiership.What will Arsene Wenger make of it if he is ever prised away from Japan? The glowing references from his ex-players indicate a decent man but for all his experience English football's drinking culture will come as a shock.Graeme Souness, on his return from Italy, noted: "Alcohol is not part of the lifestyle They work on the principle that your body is a machine. He knows what I'm going through, he has been there for me."While Adams' confession adds to the turmoil at Highbury he may be at the right place. He has since been going to AA meetings and this week went public."I'm not living a lie any more and I feel better for it," Adams said.