But with new boss Paul Jewell watching from the stands before taking charge of the team on Thursday, the home side belied a run of form that had seen them lose eight of their last 11 fixtures with a performance of tremendous desire and determination.

BBC: Ipswich 1-0 Arsenal

Villa responded to losing 7-1 to the Premier League leaders a fortnight earlier with a performance of industry and desire and their manager Martin O'Neill will also believe his side should have had a first-half penalty when Jon Mikel Obi clumsily felled Gabriel Agbonlahor inside the area.

BBC: Aston Villa 0-3 Chelsea

As with reproduction itself, for people to become less fruitful, desire must precede performance.

ECONOMIST: Population control

The Lions looked tame in beating the Royal XV 37-25 on Saturday, and Gatland said there was a desire to set that performance right and prove they can be a test for the Springboks.

CNN: Rampant Lions fire rugby Test warning

According to a series of studies by AutoPacific, a market-research firm, American motorists are reluctant to trade size and performance for the better fuel-economy they seem to desire.

ECONOMIST: Fuel economy

Forest had seen their 19-game unbeaten run end at Derby last weekend but they have not dropped points at home since 7 November - and they showed the character and desire to grind out victory against the Owls even if the performance was below their recent standards.

BBC: Sport - Football - Nottm Forest 2-1 Sheff Wed

The Southeastern position, in effect, is that Michael Dell is acting out of simple economic self-interest and not out of his stated desire to hasten the transformation of the company without worrying about quarterly financial performance. (But, you are thinking, Gordon Gekko taught us that greed is good, right?) In short, Southeastern is saying that Michael Dell is seizing the day, buying back the company he founded on the cheap.

FORBES: Is Michael Dell Really Trying To Pull A Fast One On Investors?