Premier League news - The Warm-Up: Brendan Rodgers might just be an exceptional manager

Jamie Vardy, it is reported, loved a party - though of course he didn't. It was a metaphor for Leicester City's success - for the former Stocksbridge Park Steel's forward embodied the Foxes' surprise Premier League title during the 2015-16 season. When Vardy played well, Leicester generally played well. The forward was the talismanic figure amongst Claudio Ranieri's bunch of misfits, hitting 24 goals as Leicester lifted the title.

However, since then - despite scoring 13, 18 and 20 goals in the league seasons that followed - Vardy has seemed a little less open to the party, until now.

Under Brendan Rodgers, the forward has been reinvigorated, scoring 14 goals in his last 17 Premier League outings after his double against a woeful Newcastle United outfit on Sunday.

The win moves the Foxes back up to third and the 5-0 win underlines Leicester as a force to be reckoned with under the much-maligned Rodgers. Sacked by Liverpool in 2015, he has a been a bit of a revelation since his appointment at the King Power Stadium, simultaneously improving results and performances to the point that Leicester are a decent shout to finish in the top four.

The Northern Irishman might just be the exceptional coach that Liverpool's 2013-14 Luis Suarez-inspired title challenge suggested.

Depending on the day of the week, Real Madrid are in crisis. For example, on Wednesday September 18 they were an utter shambles against PSG. However, Monday September 30 sees them sit top of Liga, after a 0-0 draw with Atleti in the Derbi on Saturday.

And therein lies the Zinedine Zidane conundrum - despite winning three Champions League titles, the 47-year-old Frenchman has never truly convinced as a manager.

However, his record speaks for itself and he has somehow driven a laboured, tired-looking Real Madrid side top of the league among the backdrop of near-constant speculation about his position as manager.

The Warm-Up must therefore conclude that Zinedine Zidane is thus very good at this management lark. Will it see him as Real Madrid manager come season's end? No idea, pal.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made a fair point about Manchester United Football Club.

It is a fair point but one sort of undermined by Chris Smalling, erm, to absolutely ruin the expression, building Roma in a day on his debut.

Decent performance that.

Put his performance against the spike in performances of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez since they have left the club and a pattern is emerging: that Manchester United is not an environment conducive to success.

Yes, it is obviously early to call a concerted upturn in performances for the aforementioned players but when was the last time a player had a sustained period of success at Old Trafford? The innards of the club appear rotten and are not just in need of a rebuild but a complete gutting that includes the hierarchy from the Glazers down.

Won't happen though.

Well, this is just pretty cool.

Who knew the 7-aside World Cup was a thing, and who knew it was taken so seriously...

...seriously enough for these levels of s***housery.

The game is, when viewed through the prism of Neil Custis, well and truly gone when Isaac Hayden can't absolutely go through Dennis Praet's soul without getting red carded for dangerous play, see below:

The defence of getting the ball only works if Hayden didn't literally get every other part of Praet's body on the follow through.

Andriy Shevchenko just hitting a glorious hat-trick at the Nou Camp on November 5 1997 when the Champions League was in its heyday.

It is Arsenal against Manchester United tonight, so here is one of the all-time great fixtures between these former all-time greats.

Nick Miller, whose rivalry with Ben Snowball has hit Arsenal-Manchester United early noughties level, brings you Tuesday's Warm-Up.