Posturing and positioning: Clash of the Titans 2

As the saga of Chelsea's transfer embargo gets into full swing, speculation grows about what will happen next. One theory is that Chelsea will delay an appeal to the Court for Arbitration in Sport. The reason for this is that, if the timing is correct, CAS will suspend the ban pending a judgement, thus ensuring that Chelsea would be able to sign players in the January 2010 transfer window. What will Chelsea do, and if they do delay should we expect the club to engage in a whirlwind of transfer activity in their anticipation of a summer ban being reimposed following CAS's ultimate ruling? And what of FIFA's threat to increase the penalty if Chelsea appeal to CAS and fail? Reasonable action, justifiable threat or bellicose reaction? Otherwise, are Manchester United next in the line of fire with FIFA for their signing of Paul Pogba from Le Havre? Plus, where do Arsenal fit it, currently tipping-toeing quietly around in the background of the furore? Perhaps, after years of watching the Premier League slowly begin to dominate European (and world?) football, is this finally the chance that FIFA has been waiting for to strike back? But still, where and how does the EU fit into all of this?

In a second case of posturing positioning, prospective FIA President, Ari Vatanen, has spoken out against the slow drift of Formula 1 away from traditional venues such as Silverstone. While people such as Bernie Ecclestone have supported, indeed promoted, the shift of F1 races to new venues and new countries, Vatanen is keen to preserve the heritage of motorsport, believing that traditional fans and customers are being alienated from the sport. Are we heading for a showdown in F1 that will run alongside or possibly replace current conflicts? Will Vatanen's stance effectively mean the governing body is at odds with Ecclestone? And where would the teams fit in: do they support Ecclestone the monopolist (with whom they seem to have issues) or Vatanen the traditionalist (which could well deny teams the lucrative commercial opportunities that new and emerging motor-sport markets appear to offer)? Could it be therefore that we are actually heading for an even more fractious period in F1 than we have been experiencing recently?