Making the back pages this morning, Wednesday July 23, 2008:

THE SUN: Alex Ferguson has sparked a war of words with Chelsea by claiming their outfit is packed with old men... Also: Arsenal were last night reeling from yet another blow - with the news that central defender Kolo Toure has contracted malaria.

DAILY MIRROR: Sir Alex Ferguson has taunted new Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari - by telling him he has no chance of matching Jose Mourinho... Also: Robinho and Didier Drogba are poised for a £40million Spanish swap between La Liga and the Premier League.

DAILY STAR: Sir Alex Ferguson has told Phil Scolari: Your Chelsea team is old and past its best... Also: Fulham last night swooped with a £10million bid for Everton striker Andy Johnson.

DAILY EXPRESS: Frank Lampard has been offered a record-breaking £39million, five-year-deal by Chelsea which will make him Britain's highest-paid footballer... Also: Sir Alex Ferguson has fired the first salvo of the Premier League war of words by telling Luiz Felipe Scolari: "You can't better Jose Mourinho at Chelsea."

DAILY MAIL: England's cricket selectors were called to an emergency meeting yesterday to explain the most controversial, shambolic choice of a national team in years... Also: Michael Essien has rejected Sir Alex Ferguson's claim that Chelsea will struggle to progress this season because of the age of some players in their squad.

THE TIMES: Sir Alex Ferguson has lit the blue touchpaper four weeks before the new season by claiming that Chelsea's squad may have already peaked and that Luiz Felipe Scolari will struggle to exorcise the ghost of Jose Mourinho... Also: Crushing defeat was merely one frustration in a pig of a week for Michael Vaughan.

DAILY TELEGRAPH: National selector Geoff Miller has held clear-the-air talks with Michael Vaughan in the wake of the England captain's claim that late team changes were confused and had unsettled players prior to the second Test at Headingley... Also: The Manchester United manager, on tour with the club in South Africa, said that he had been guilty of sacrificing Rooney's goalscoring edge by asking him to play for the greater good of the team.

THE GUARDIAN: Sir Alex Ferguson has cast doubt on Chelsea's ability to kick on next season under Luiz Felipe Scolari, suggesting that the Brazilian World Cup winner has inherited an ageing team and will struggle to surpass the achievements of Jose Mourinho... Also: Michael Vaughan will attempt to reassert his authority as England captain before the Edgbaston Test by pressing the selectors to avoid the type of left-field choice that saw Darren Pattinson called up for the Headingley Test and to restate their faith in known and established players.

THE INDEPENDENT: They have pedalled 1,730 miles and spent 16 days in the saddle and still the tension remains at boiling point in the Tour de France after yesterday's gruelling mountain stage saw the five race favourites expend a lot of effort to little long-term effect... Also: Super League will come to south Wales for the first time and return to the rather more familiar surroundings of Salford under the new blueprint for the competition.