However, although Kewell will be a hot favourite for the young player award, Manchester United skipper Roy Keane and Sunderland sharp-shooter Kevin Phillips seem set to battle it out for the senior award which was won last year by David Ginola.

BBC: Kewell bidding for double honour

Up in Napa Valley the wine industry is worried by a troublesome insect, the glassy-winged sharp shooter, and the water on which the Central Valley's farmers depend looks likely to be in short supply for the next few years.

ECONOMIST: California on the couch