Wednesday's sporting photos

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's one-man game of fantasy football has been a godsend for papers throughout the summer, so it is no surprise to find his latest shopping spree given the full treatment.

Abramovich signings numbers five and six are Joe Cole from West Ham and Juan Sebastian Veron from Manchester United.

The fact that neither of them have actually signed for the club The Sun first dubbed Chelski, and now Chelspree, has not stopped almost every newspaper writing more stories about "Roman's army" and "Chelsea's revolution".

Amid all the gags, some papers do attempt to find an interesting angle to all this consumption.

The Daily Mirror asks the pertinent question "Why Cole when you can afford anybody on earth?"

THE HEADLINES Daily Telegraph: Cole joins Chelsea, Veron will follow The Times: Roman army recruits Cole The Sun: Chelspree The Guardian: Big spenders hit �60m mark Daily Express: Meltdown Daily Star: Joe Swoop Daily Mirror: Cole is the Juan Daily Mail: Don't leave me out The Independent: Chelsea sign up Cole and Veron in �24m spree

While the Daily Express takes the opposite line by wondering what is happening at a club so ready to take a "paltry �6.6m for one of the brightest home-grown prospects to have graced the Premiership".

The debate over Veron's worth is more complicated - even United fans who have watched him for two seasons can't decide if he is good or not - and The Guardian asks if he is "a mistake who may come back to haunt United".

As exciting as all this spending is, it still cannot completely keep David Beckham out of the news.

The Real Madrid midfielder has found the time to play some football on his latest promotional tour to the Far East, displaying "the other reason Real recruited him", as The Daily Telegraph puts it.

His first goal for his new club, albeit in a friendly/photo opportunity against FC Tokyo, was, surprise, surprise, a free kick.

Cue lots of nonsense about "my greatest free kick" - the Daily Mail - and "making new friends in free style" - the Mirror.

Away from the comings and comings at Stamford Bridge, and the latest updates on Beckham's Spanish sojourn, Darren Gough's decision to quit Test cricket is the day's other big story.

The Daily Mail's sports desk appears to take the attitude that because it broke the story yesterday it can have the day off today - and looks very light-weight as a result.

The Guardian, however, weighs in with a whole page of tributes to Dazzler, and says "let's hang out the bunting on 21 August for the first day of the Headingley Test and declare it Darren Gough day and fete him to the rafters".

Angus Fraser, writing in The Independent, would probably agree, but he points out a little more clearly than anybody else that Gough's decision to go was "the right one".

The Times is another to rightfully pay tribute to Gough, but it loses points for wasting so much space on a dull exclusive with Abramovich - an exclusive you will also find in the Mail and Telegraph - and a strange "dateline" gimmick that it uses twice on its back page.