European Team of the Decade

Following an interesting read on the BBC Website and the nudge of one of my fellow bloggers I thought I'd give the European Team of the Decade a punt.

Buffon - Still only 31 and now 100 caps for Italy, you can expect the big man to go on for sometime. An outstanding goalkeeper who has won the World Cup, UEFA Cup, several Scudetto and was on the losing side in a Champions League final for his beloved Juventus. Casillas was a close second but given his extra years of youth he will be a shoe-in for the next decade's team.

Thuram - Difficult one this, the big Frenchman was more late 90's/early 00's than massive during the latter stages of this decade, but his performances in the Euro 2000 and for Juventus and Barca (can't be bad playing for the two of them) made him one of the most consistent and committed performers.

Cannavaro - The only defender to win the Ballon D'or and for good reason, captained his country to World Cup glory and has been superb with Parma, Inter, Juve, Madrid and Juve again. Giving his countryman Maldini a run for his money at 36, Fabio was sadly injured just before last year's Euros, and Italy could really have done with one of the best defenders of the decade.

Maldini - Cannavaro is probably just edged out by this man, Champions League after Champions League, Scudetto after Scudetto, the only regret this bloke will have when he looks back is his decision to retire from international football, and miss his country winning the World Cup in 2006. He won't look at it that way though, he'll look at it as being able to preserve his club football until an astonishing 40 years of age, and being regarded in Milan as an absolute god.

Beckham - I love Becks but was a little surprised when both my buddy and the BBC's Phil Minshull had included Becks, but it soon dawned on me why. Forget all the haircuts, the missus, the nonsense that surrounds the man, he is an exceptional footballer, and a born winner. His determination and consistency over the years is unrivalled, and he's proved Capello, McClaren and Ferguson wrong on more than one occasion. Plus, he's English, we've gotta get one of them in there.

Zidane - Quite simply the best player I have ever seen. The old man talks about the likes of Pele, Maradona and Cruyff, but with the lack, and lack of quality of footage of these footballing giants it's hard to compare. A lot of things have been said and written about Zizou, not to mention THAT goal, and THAT headbutt, but I haven't been able to put it in to words any better than this: When you look at the likes of Beckham going to LA Galaxy, Cannavaro going back to an easy life at Juve, and English players like Sheringham falling down the British football scale, look at Zidane. The last match he ever played, was a World Cup Final against Italy where he was captain. There was no fall from grace or relaxing from him, his last ever game was the biggest game of all which shows how much quality and class he had right until the end. We all know what happened in extra time, it was a stupid stupid thing to do, but he set that World Cup on fire. My favourite moment was when in the quaters I think it was against Brazil, he flicked the ball over Ronaldinho's head, did a little swivel turn and layed the ball off. That was the lion telling the cub who was boss, utter class.

Viera - Helped Arsenal to 2 doubles in his time, the famous Invincibles season of 2004, Euro 2000 and numerous honours in Italy. A shame that his last kick for the Gunners was a winning penalty in the 2005 FA Cup final, and that he couldn't have stuck it out for a little while longer. Struggling with injuries and form of late, I still hold out hope that we'll see the big Paddy that graced Highbury brilliantly so often, one more time.

Seedorf - A slightly left field choice, but he remains the only man to win the Champions League with 3 different clubs, albeit the one with Ajax was in the 90's. Still only 31 Seedorf feels like he's been around forever, and all that time he's been performing superbly in Madrd and for both Milan clubs. He fell out with Van Basten as Dutch coach but now that he's gone it would be awesome to see him back in the mixer for the World Cup next year.

Raul - Outstanding goal scoring records for club and country, Raul is another who has been shunned from the international stage of late, but Del Bosque should reconsider. The captain of Real Madrid and one of the most natural goalscorers the game has ever seen, underrated as a just a goal poacher, he often drops deeper to link play up and is the only man from the old Galacticos to still be involved with the current side.

Henry - For me the best striker in world and probably the best player to have played in the Premier League. Pace, goals and assists, he's still doing it in Spain who won a ridiculous 6 trophies this year, he'll be hoping to bow out in South Africa in style.

Notable mentions - Nesta, Del Piero, Inzaghi, Totti, Ballack, Figo, Gallas, Bergkamp

Class of 2010? - Ronaldo, Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, Torres, Drogba, Ibrahimovic, Gerrard, Rooney.

A fantastic team I hope you'll all agree, I had to toss and turn with several decisions but this is what I came up with. Sad to see just the one Englishman in there, hopefully that'll be very different next decade. Take her easy.

Premier League, Liverpool, Man City, Champions League

No blog all weekend so a lot to catch up on, let's get into it. Another truly wonderful weekend in the Premier League (particularly for an Arsenal fan I suppose) and anyone who STILL can't see how much quality and now excitement we are blessed with has no eyes. Utd went to Craven Cottage and proceeded to get battered by a continually impressive Fulham side, and Bobby Zamora got yet another goal. As I've said before I think it's going to take an almighty effort and injury plague for Zamora to get to the World Cup, mainly because Capello doesn't have many games to try him out in, but all he can do is keep scoring and keep his fingers crossed. Utd were playing Carrick, Fletcher and De Laet in a back 3 with 2 wing backs - that is just mental. Fergie is going to have to take a serious look at things in January as to the long term fitness on some of his most trusted players; Brown, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Neville etc. While Giggs seems to be improving with age the same can't be said about Paul Scholes for me, his sloppiness on the ball cost Utd the first goal. No-one can deny what he's done in the game and sometimes his range and accuracy of passing is phenomenal but you can't deny that Fergie might need to bring in a few new faces to fill that Ronaldo sized hole that has been left. Chelsea slipped to a draw yesterday at West Ham, I've haven't seen any of the action but by all accounts West Ham deserved at least a draw and the penalty that Chelsea got was harsh to say the least. The Goons ran out comfortable (in the end) winners against Hull who, in the spirit of dodgy penalties, got a real gift from the ref but fucked it up thanks in part to a decent stop from Almunia. The keeper has been a little shaky of late and there is a lot of external pressure from pundits and papers that say he's not good enough and we need a real world class keeper. For a long time I dismissed it as nonsense but it's no coincidence that Almunia's best form was the year he de-throned the mighty mad Jens, he doesn't have that kind of pressure behind him at the moment. Given is a great keeper who would love to play Champions League football, and I'm starting to think we should have gone for him when he was leaving N'assle.

Wins for Spurs, City (more on them shortly) and Villa kept the heat on the 3 remaining big boys, to cap a miserable weekend for Liverpool. While what happened at Eastlands on the weekend was rightfully top of the agenda, it overshadowed another poor Liverpool display and Rafa got off a bit lightly. They were beaten well by the team bottom of the league and the players look completely lost right now. They are 14 points off the pace that Chelsea have set, but while the title went a long time ago, they're now a massive 8 points away from 4th place. The manager has made some shocking transfer decisions but they have been his decisions, excuses now about this player or that player being out are useless, he built this squad so it's down to him. We can all feel a degree of sympathy for him with what happened with his terrible owners and Jurgen Klinsman, but the credit he banked with that fantastic Champions League win is fast running out. It's highly unlikely he'll be sacked of course, Liverpool fans are well known for their support and dedication to all their managers, but the sticking point is that he signed a new 5-year contract in the spring and so it will cost a bomb to dismiss him. A bomb that the yanks in charge can't afford to buy. Benitez's post match interview reminded me why so many neutrals dislike him and the press hate him - some snide comment responding to a question about the red card, he says 'the referee was perfect.' Not something lost in translation methinks, something lost in common sense. I know Wenger gets a lot of stick from people for saying this and that and you might be thinking what I'm writing is nonsense, but he would never show the lack of respect and contempt that Rafa often treats his players with, and our British game in general. He infamously fell out with Alonso big time when the Spaniard stayed home from a Champs League game to see the birth of his first child, something their relationship never came back from. I expect Liverpool to finish 5th or 6th and then he'll probably move on to a Madrid in the summer, and the Scousers can finally get a fresh manager they so badly need.

One minute I'm calling for Rafa's head, the next I'm sticking up for Mark Hughes who was sacked following their 4-3 win over Sunderland. The first thing I'll say is that I've never liked Hughes, the player or the manager. A few years back his Blackburn team came to the Grove in an FA Cup game and played the MOST negative and defensive game I have ever seen. I'm used to seeing teams go 10 behind the ball at our place, but this was just shocking. Cesc got in a bit of trouble when he walked off the pitch at the end of the game and said to Hughes, 'You played for Barcelona? That wasn't Barca football,' or something. Haha, go on Cesc my boy! Then there's this season, fair play to City in the league game, we might have got a draw there but no more, but it was the more recent Carling Cup game that got my blood boiling again. Hughes was prowling around his tech area like a complete cunt, baiting Arsene, shouting and swearing at him, running over to our tech area to show off his tight wanker suit and mediocre ball skills. As far as I'm concerned, Hughes, fuck off. Having said all that, I feel very sorry that he's shamefully lost his job at Man City. If you believe what you read in certain papers, there was an agreed target of a top 6 finish for Hughes that would be regarded as a good season, something to build on next term. Where are City? 6th, with a game in hand. Also, if their stupid owners and the large fucking tool that is Garry Cook had any sense at all (which they clearly don't), this is the most unpredictable season the league has ever seen - go on a 3/4 match winning run and City will be in the fucking title race! It was the same a couple years ago with Sven, under different owners it should be noted. He had the most points City had ever got in the Premier League, and done the double over Utd, then got sacked. Hughes also got his team to the Carling Cup semis where they'll face their great rivals for a chance to win some long awaited silverware. If there is anything to learn from the likes of Utd, Arsenal, Everton and Villa, is that the only way you can build something successful and tangible is if you give a manager time, and it's hardly as if City were doing badly. Ok, they went on a poor run of draws and if a few of those had been wins, they might be 3rd/4th right now, and yes I have been critical in the past of some of his transfers, but these Middle Eastern cowboys clearly don't know what they're doing. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are clear examples that if you throw enough money at something then it will work/get built, but it just doesn't work like that in football. I'm really not sure about this Garry Cook either, some hot shot exec brought in from Nike, every time I see him on the telly or read about him, he's jetting off meeting the Barca chairman, or having dinner with the Milan boss etc. Maybe you should try doing your job better mate. The way the dismissal was dealt with was utterly classless from City, it was all over the papers on Saturday morning, stories of Cook meeting Hiddink's agent in the week, and worst of all inviting the new man Mancini to the game on Saturday. Disgusting behaviour really. On Mancini, relatively young manager who won the Italian Cup in his first season at Fiorentina, did the same at Lazio and of course won 3 Scudetto's at Inter - one of which was given to Inter after the match fixing scandal. Looks like a decent manager but you would think if City were prepared to put their club through this massive upheaval that they would bring in a real heavyweight like a Hiddink or a Mourihno. Mancini is a gamble, a gamble that is going to want his own players, his own way of doing things, and a gamble who has never managed in this country, only a short spell at Leicester as a player is his British experience. Good luck with that one, well done for setting your club back another 18 months.

Finally, the Champions League last 16 draw has been made and there are 2 tasty ties for Chelsea and Utd against the Milan clubs. Jose back to the Bridge, Beckham back to Old Trafford, 2 wonderful ties and 2 of the big hitters guaranteed to be out by the quarters. Arsenal got a relatively kind draw against Porto, a team we've beaten in the group stage several times in recent years, and we'll be hoping that the Itais prevail against the English boys - we've been knocked out by Liverpool and Utd in the last 2 years. New World Club Champions Barca got a bye (Stuttgart) and Madrid have a tricky trip to Lyon, surely one of the aforementioned teams will lift the trophy. For an outsider, Bordeaux continue to impress and then there's the always dangerous Bayern. Take her easy.

Premier League, Watford, Scotland, England

Arsenal take on Hull tomorrow late afternoon in a fixture that went badly wrong for the Gunners last season. I remember the day well, it was late September but unusually warm and sunny, and I was actually moving into a flat not far from Highbury and the area began to buzz approaching kick off. The plan was to watch at least some of the game in the pub but my flatmate and I were horrified by what we found at this flat and so decided to hang there and do a nuke-clean before we settled. We had the first half on the radio, 0-0 and shortly into the second we decided to go so that we wouldn't get shafted by the masses of fans trying to get on the tube at full time. As we walked down the old Gillespie Road we heard a roaring cheer, Arsenal had finally broke through and things were looking rosy. We arrive at Paddington to get the train home and I get a phone call from a smug mate who let me know the good news which I could barely believe until I checked the old phone scores. We've butted heads with Hull a few times since, we beat them at the KC in the league and then they came back to north London for a heated FA Cup tie, on and off the pitch. We got an offside goal and didn't play great that night, but it was an injured Cesc Fabregas that took the headlines. The captain came onto the pitch in casual dress to celebrate with his teammates and then was accused of spitting at Hull assistant, Brian Horton - a man who makes Phil Brown look like a nice bloke. I suppose we'll never really know what did happen because there was no evidence to back up Hull's claims, and the fact they complained that our captain went onto the pitch to celebrate with his team is ridiculous - the game was at home wasn't it? We can do what the fuck we like at home Browny, now fuck off. All this adds up to a tasty looking game, Hull might not be the best team in the world but as we had with Bolton a few years back, there are always these teams that come around that want to shit you up and have a decent record in doing it. The team we put out will have to be strong and not get caught up in any pantomime nonsense that Brown and Hull will put on, and win the fucking game.

Elsewhere Utd go to Fulham which hasn't been their happiest of stomping grounds of late. One of last years defeated side Rio Ferdinand has been flapping his considerable gums about how he's going to be fit for the World Cup in the summer. He needs to stop talking and start playing if he wants to make this a possibility, Capello won't fuck around and take a one-legged Rio to SA just because of the name on his shirt. There seems to be no comeback date or any progress on his injury which can't be a good thing. One man who will be keen to impress against Utd will be a free scoring Bobby Zamora. He got another couple in Europe in the week, and his managers claims that he should be given a shot for England might not seem as far away as we all think. Personally I can't see him getting near the current squad but we're England, there are bound to be a few broken metatarsals and knee ligament ruptures in the coming months, and all big Bob can do is keep scoring and keep his fingers crossed. I'm not sure how many friendlies we get before the squad is announced (it's not many, 1 or 2 I think) but it might be worth taking a punt on him if we get the chance, just to see what he can do. Spurs won in the week so they're due a defeat travelling to Blackburn, Liverpool continue their struggle on the south coast at Pompey, and Man City v Sunderland should be a decent game aswell.

Watford are on the brink of administration after former chairman Jimmy Russo refused to defer the repayment on the club's loan, £5million. I must confess that I don't know a whole lot about the Watford financial situation, but Russo and the board of directors all resigned this week are refusing to plow anymore cash into the club. Administration brings with it a 10 point deduction but that will be the least of their worries. Watford are one of the oldest clubs in the football league and have a rich history that is vulnerable to financial collapse. They were of course in the Premier League a few years ago under the stewardship of Aidy Boothroyd but haven't looked the same since their relegation and Aidy's departure.

Finally, Craig Levein has confirmed he will talk to the SFA about the possibility of taking the reins at Scotland, the job that officially no-one wants. All the big jock boys have ruled themselves out over the last few months and so the SFA are forced to go to an average Scottish League manager, it's like Southgate or Dowie getting the England job. Take her easy.

Premier League, Rodgers, 2018, Europe

Last night it was Tottenham who emerged as the current (and I say current because every week it seems to be a different team) team to stick their hat in the ring for that elusive 4th Champions League place. It has to be said that Arsenal have an air of vulnerability as always so it's not inconceivable that both Spurs and Villa could make it, but thinking about that for too long would make me cry. Spurs played great and have some of the best British talent in the league and some of the most talented non-British talent in the league - take a bow Nico Krancjar who continues to make the Spurs fans forget they're missing Modric. Man City continue to look very shaky defensively, and even if 3-0 was a little harsh on Hughes there was no question that they deserved to get beat, and now hopefully people will start to look at that elusive points column on the table, and forget about the losses. It makes you wonder though why Hughes was so keen to get rid of Richard Dunne in the summer, who is excelling at Aston Villa. Even if you buy Toure (who for me is a good player but probably past his best now) and Lescott (waaaaay overpriced) every big club needs 4 good centre backs, and Onouha didn't cover himself in glory last night. Why sell Dunne? He was the captain of the team and I'm sure that at his age and suspect lack of pace he couldn't have grumbled too much at being 'rotated,' but now with Lescott out for 2 months City are vulnerable. Arsenal drew 1-1 at Burnley and were probably lucky to get away with a point in all honesty. We took the lead but then proceeded to chuck it away which isn't an unfamiliar story, but I'm going to focus on the positives today; Utd got beat there we didn't, a game like this last year we would have probably lost, we've played up north twice in 3 days and taken 4 points, and we've played pretty badly doing it. The worst news was seeing Cesc limp off injured with a hamstring problem, no news yet on how bad it is but the boss says he won't play Saturday. Next two games are a week apart at home to Hull and Villa, and it would put things back on track if we could win them - put those demons from last season to rest, and quieten the Villa a bit. Chelsea struggled to a win over Pompey and Liverpool just about beat Wigan in the other games.

Reading 'mutually parted company' with Brendan Rodgers yesterday, in other words he was pushed before he jumped. You won't see any managers ringing their chairman and saying, 'Hi Sir John, fancy a chat about my position because things are going pretty shit right now,' therefore giving up their entitlement to compensation. No-one likes to see a manager get sacked but I can't help thinking this is the right call. Rodgers was an inexperienced manager whose apparently most redeeming qualities were that he 'still lived in the town' because he was here as a youth player and as a youth team coach. He tried to play his continental Chelsea style 4-3-3 with players who quite frankly aren't capable of doing so - the Championship is about grinding out wins and trying to make yourself difficult to beat, neither of which Reading have done very successfully this term. It was always going to be a tough season, Coppell left, Doyle, Lita, Kitson, Bikey, Rosenior, Harper and more have all gone, but I don't think anyone expected a relegation scrap. Apparently Alan Curbishley is an early favourite, a move I'd like to see, and others like Pardew, Boothroyd, Sanchez, Adams, Dowie and the even more recently dismissed Jim Magilton have all been named as potential successors.

The list of potential venues for our 2018 World Cup bid were announced yesterday, and the main winners were Milton Keynes, Plymouth, Nottingham and Bristol, with Leicester, Hull and Derby missing out. All the other usual suspects are there, and from the smaller grounds, the south and south-east midlands-ish areas have got the nod ahead of the northern places. I know it'll be here before we know it but 2018 seems so far away it's almost impossible for me to care really, surely we'll be in flying cars and eating meals in a single pill by then anyway.

Finally, congratulations are in order to Fulham who successfully navigated that tough trip to Basel to qualify for the last 32 of the Europa League. They join Everton and Liverpool in the draw which takes place tomorrow, preceded by the main event the Champions League draw. The English boys will be keen to avoid the Milans and Bayern, and as I said last week I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that the Arsenal will come out with Inter. Take her easy.

Premier League, Rooney, Europa League

Man Utd 3-0 Wolves. Didn't bat an eyelid did you. As expected a comfortable home win and return to winning ways for the champions, but a lot of the talk surrounding the game is on the Wolves team selection. They made 10 changes from the team who beat Spurs on Saturday, only the goalkeeper kept his place - it'll be no surprise to learn that Wolves' next game is a crunch home fixture with Burnley. You have to feel some sympathy for the Wolves fans that travelled to Old Trafford on a Tuesday night, shelling out a whopping £42 (thanks, Utd) for a ticket, to see what effectively was a reserve side get beat handsomely. But if any of the aggrieved fans want to make trips to Old Trafford a regular occurrence then they better get used to this and get behind their manager and their team. As I wrote yesterday, 2 away trips to Spurs and Utd in the space of 3 days is just about as tough as it can get in the Premier League, not to mention going to Man City and Liverpool in the next few games. McCarthy would have probably been happy with a point from those 6, and delighted with 2. So to have 3 is a massive bonus and he deserves credit for the way his team played on Saturday, and credit for being brave with what he did last night. All promoted teams will tell you that the games against the big boys are bonuses, you're not expected to get anything (especially away) so you need to target the games against the teams in and around you (Burnley) because those are the ones that will decide your season. For the record it's worth mentioning that Wolves picked up a couple of knocks on Saturday, they've recently lost the likes of Kightly for extended periods of time, and they're hardly used to playing 2 away games in the space of 3 days. We take for granted maybe our European sides who fly to a Turkey on Wednesday night, get back early on Thursday and have to travel to a Sunderland on Friday for a game on Saturday - Wolves just aren't build for this type of treatment. In the other games, Villa moved back up to third after going to a tough Sunderland side and beating them 2-0. James Milner continues to impress and it's surely unthinkable now that he'll go to the World Cup? His flexibility to play in many positions in no longer the best thing you can say about him, it's the way he performs in each of those positions that is now the talking point - centre midfield is the latest. West Ham lost 3-1 at Bolton and for the first time I feel very concerned about them. I'm not sure what else they can do right now but just hang in there until January, get the likes of Cole and Upson back and then battle on until May keeping everything crossed. Finally, Birmingham move up to a frankly ridiculous 6th place thanks to a 2-1 win over Blackburn. McLeish has done a superb job, but if you honestly ask yourself why they're doing so well, it's near impossible to quantify. Bowyer playing well in his twilight years? Jerome finally finding out how to score? And 'Chucho' being one of those great Zaki/Geovanni type gambles that is paying off? Tough to say, but they'll try to keep on doing it.

Another 4 games tonight and probably the biggest clash is at Spurs who host Man City. Villa are setting the pace right now for that 4th Champions League spot so both these teams will be desperate to win tonight to keep up with them. Spurs are plenty inconsistent at the moment, beating Wigan 9-1 one week and then getting beat at home to Wolves the next. We know they have the players, the strength in depth and are USUALLY very strong at home, but this will be a big test for them. As for City, despite the good win over Chelsea, they are plenty consistent drawing 8 out of their last 9 league matches. I'm sick of hearing about the fact they've only lost 1 game all season, when are they going to realise that it's the points column in the table that matters, not the fucking losses. Of those 9 games they've taken 11 points from a possible 27 which is equal to 3 wins, 2 draws and 4 defeats - very average form. Hopefully a draw then. Liverpool take on Wigan at Anfield, once again this is the 'start of the season' as the manager likes to put it. How many false dawns are the Scousers going to give him? While their form pre-Utd game was a surprise, no-one could have predicted how far they would have fallen post-Utd game. It was expected that that great result would turn their season around but it looks like it was a blip in what has been miserable for the Reds. Chelsea will get a proper Italian shafting if they fail to beat Pompey at Stamford Bridge, and the Arsenal go to Burnley, the scene of a few scalps already this season. If Arsenal have any hopes of winning the league then we have to follow up great results like Sunday's, with another win tonight. Burnley tend to raise it for the big boys so it'll be a tough test but I expect our quality and our Arshavin to come through with the 3 points.

A lot of talk about the Wayne Rooney dive on Saturday and how he has previously spoken out about how he would never go down without a challenge, and that he's a very honest player. It's all bullshit really because the truth is that he like probably most players in this league would do anything it takes to get a win. He's got previous too, at least one shocking one against Arsenal, off the top of my head one against Spurs, and perhaps the most blatant was one against Villareal in the Champions League. Following that game, Fergie even came out to apologise to the Spaniards for Wayne's behaviour, you don't remember that? That's because twats like Danny Murphy (his Eurosport column) and Adrian Durham (Talksport) only see a national flag so ignore the English divers (Gerrard much?), and don't focus on what the individual has done - so that makes N'Gog and Eduardo fair game. Diving isn't contingent upon what national anthem a person sings, all diving is wrong and cheating and so all diving should be treated the same way. The only reason, Mr. Talksport, that Rooney didn't complain to the ref was because he got completely caught out and his actions were all over the telly. Are you telling me that if he'd have won a pen he wouldn't have picked the ball up and stuck it away? Shut it you prick.

Finally, good luck to Fulham tonight who travel to Basel knowing that they have to beat the Swiss to progress to the last 32 of the Europa League. You hear that UEFA? The last 32? It should follow the structure of the Champions League and be the last 16, and forget about the nonsense that allows the 3rd place teams in the CL to drop into another competition - for me when you're out, you're out. Take her easy.

Premier League, West Ham, World Club Cup

Is there anything better than a midweek round of league fixtures, and a MOTD to boot? Didn't think so. 4 games tonight then, and a strong at home Sunderland play a strong away from home Villa in probably the tightest game of the evening. Sunderland have just wobbled a bit of late, they followed up an impressive result and performance against Arsenal with a defeat at Wigan and a draw at home with Pompey. They seem to raise their game when the big boys are on the cards though, and right now you have to consider Villa up there on the fringes of Champions League football. They were excellent at Old Trafford on Saturday and will be desperate to quell the doubters tonight at the Stadium of Light. I think it'll probably end up being a draw. If Utd ever wanted a fixture to get themselves back on the horse so to speak, then at home to Wolves is probably it. Mick McCarthy's side did superb to beat Spurs at the Lane but will have practically been budgeting for a 1 or zero point haul from these two games, they've already got 3 so I expect the home side to stroll through this one. Bolton take on West Ham at the Reebok in what is already looking to be a pretty crucial relegation clash. For the first time on Saturday I started hearing rumblings of discontent from Hammers fans, some of them at least think it's time for Zola to move on - more on that later. Bolton will be buoyed by the fact they got a 3-3 draw with Man City but have to build on that with 3 points tonight to give them a bit of breathing room. My feeling towards them are well covered, lets just say I'm hoping for an east-London win tonight. Finally, Birmingham are at home to Blackburn and have another chance to pick up 3 points to improve their league position further still. McLeish seems to know how to play this league and has really impressed me so far, I just have a funny feeling about tonight that Allardyce will get the win.

Ex-Birmingham City owners David Sullivan and David Gold have made an offer to spend some of that luvorlay Brummy silver dollar on West Ham Utd. The fee is apparently £50million, some of that will go to the current owners and some to servicing the Hammers' debts. I wonder about this one, you feel that the club needs (as most of them probably do) an owner with real massive financial clout to not only buy the club and ease the debts, but to invest on the football team to help them survive this relegation scrap. It'll be interesting to know what the David's plan to do because if it is just a change in hands without any real investment, then what's the point? Zola will be hoping he can hold onto his job until January and then work his balls off to try and bring a few new faces in with whatever cash he has. There's been talk of them maybe cashing in on Carlton Cole (Arsenal? Yes please!) but it's imperative they hold onto their best players, particularly ones who score all your goals. We can all see that on paper West Ham have a much better side than their lowly league position dictates, but we also know that football is played on the green thing, not paper.

Finally, the FIFA World Club Cup starts in earnest today - there have already been a couple of matches to decide who makes it into the all important semi-finals. Today we see the Asian Champions League winners, the Pohang Steelers (not an American football team) play second favourites for the trophy Club Estudiantes de La Plata, the winners of the Copa Libertadores or South American Champions League if you will. I can't pretend to know much about either side (I do know that Veron plays for Estud) but as expected and as always the European champions will be favourites to lift the trophy. Barca have had a solid if not unspectacular start to the season, shading top spot in La Liga and bumbling their way through their Champions League campaign. Normally what this tournament brings us is a European/South American final in which the South Americans seem to give much more of a toss about than we do. Quite frankly, whoever wins the Champions League is the best club team in the world, we don't need this FIFA circle jerk to tell us any different. For the European sides it's a bit of a distraction, and although Utd and Milan have won the last 2 years, the South Americans tend to dominate it. This year it has been moved from it's terrible home in Japan to the Abu Dhabi in the UAE, where Barca reserves will hope to be crowned the best in the world. Again. Take her easy.

Premier League, International Friendlies, Giggs

As you can imagine, this very Monday morning feels very good for an Arsenal fan following our 2-1 at Anfield last night. Liverpool came out of the blocks very well and took a deserved 1-0 lead in at half time, but as Wenger commented after the game, it could have been worse. There were a few half chances but the first real opening came after some good interplay between Torres and Gerrard, and the ball being squared to 'El Nino' for a one on one with Almunia, but his tame finish ended up proving costly. The Scousers also deserved a penalty, a poor tackle from Gallas on Gerrard was inexplicably waved away by Howard Webb, most the experts guessing the referee thought that because it looked like Gerrard had lost control of the ball, he didn't have to give it. As always with these situations, reverse it and imagine if it was your team in that situation, well I would have spent this opening paragraph writing about how Arsenal had been robbed. Stone waller. A lot is this morning being made of what happened at half time in the Arsenal dressing room. Cesc said something like 'I've never seen him (Wenger) like that,' and another quote coming out that Wenger said 'you're not fit to wear the shirt.' Clearly when things are going wrong, Wenger will get stuck into his players like any other manager, I've read a few biographies with players happy to testify to that - and they needed it, Arsenal were very poor first half. But for me it was the dramatic drop in Liverpool that allowed us to get back in the game and ultimately win it. They had been very good first half but then all of a sudden, started letting us play the ball about a bit more (we deserve some credit for this of course) and before you know it, Glen Johnson is getting himself caught in a horrible position and pokes the ball into his own net. The second goal was a mark of real quality and class, a dinked ball in from Cesc eventually fell to Arshavin, who's first touch got him the yard he needed in front of Johnson, and then unleashed a Soviet missile of a strike into the top corner off the post. These are the moments of elation that every football fan lives for. The rest of the game went a bit scrappy, I expected a bit of a Liverpool onslaught which they would probably score from but it never came. 2-1 and back in the title race.

As we showed when playing Fulham earlier this season, we do have the capability to win a game ugly, we just need to do it a bit more often. The Arsenal are traditionally very strong at home and even a so-so performance like last week against Stoke, will normally be enough to get the three points. But we have to be better than that on the road, stronger, more resilient, not chuck leads away, and sometimes tell the centre backs, 'hey boys, great job so far, how about just defending for the rest of the game?'. Not our 'style' I know, but that style clearly hasn't worked bringing us trophies in the last 4 years. We have a little run of games now with no huge matches to worry about, Burnley (away, we got beat there in the cup last year and they have been solid at home so far), Hull (put those demons from last year to bed), Villa (the toughest game but we're at home), Pompey, Bolton, Everton, Bolton again, Villa again. The way the league is going it would be a miracle to pick up maximum points there but if we could remain unbeaten with a couple of draws, it'll all be to play for in the title race. Arshavin has done very well up front (2 in 2 games) but I'll be glad when Bendtner and Eduardo are back fit, despite his goals we miss the little man's creativity in the build up. As for Liverpool, they've got a real fight on their hands now to get that 4th spot in the league, another defeat yesterday means that they're doing as well as Birmingham and are 5 points away from 4th place - with 3 very good sides in between. Arsenal were in a similar position last year and clawed things back, but the fact that there are 3 other teams in that fight, not just 1, means that Liverpool are going to have to dig very deep to do it.

Arsene Wenger is looking for a revamp of international football from FIFA, in particular friendlies during the season and the issue of player compensation. This all comes in the wake of RvP injury for Holland in a meaningless friendly which has put him out for most of the season. It's true that at the moment things are slightly imbalanced between club and country, the country seem able to call a player up even if they are injured and the clubs get no say in things. Compensation isn't an unreasonable request, if Van Persie is injured on Dutch duty, they should be liable to pay at least a portion of his wages to compensate Arsenal. However, I don't think a ban on all international friendlies is fair on the national teams. There have been suggestions that a meet up training camp is a better way to go, but as we can all see with the Dean Ashton case, injuries can happen in training aswell. On top of that nothing beats a match style build up and preparation, and although a lot of the club managers don't like it, international football is just part of the game.

Finally, I suppose congratulations are in order for Ryan Giggs this morning after he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. How many Utd fans must have voted?! Giggs was probably bottom of my 10 to be honest. What he's done in the game can't be argued with, he's the most decorated Premier League player of all time, broken countless records for this and that, and is above all a model professional for any aspiring sports person. Here come the but, BUT, how can he win Sports Personality of the Year? Given that Utd (and Giggs if you look at the stats) had a better year last season, and he wasn't even in the shortlist, how does he deserve this award? He played 28 times for Utd last season, scoring 4 goals, the previous year 31 and 4, then 30 and 6, then 32 and 8 etc etc. Last night wasn't an award for a career retrospective, it is about what that individual achieved in the last 12 months. Button is the best driver in the world, Haye one of the best heavyweight boxers, Ennis the best all round female athlete, Cavendish the best sprint cyclist, Daley the best diver (at 15), Tweddle the best floor gymnast etc etc. How can a bloke playing left wing, half of Utd's games that season, be the best Britain has to offer? In reality, I just can't let THAT goal go, the one at Villa Park in the FA Cup Semis. Take her easy.

Premier League, Liverpool v Arsenal, Ashton

A combination of natural laziness and a horrific hangover prevented me from blogging yesterday, but I'm glad I saved it all for this wonderful morning. Wonderful in the sense that it's one of those crisp winter mornings with the sun peaking through the clouds, some golf is on the cards, my team are in action later in a massive game, and we had a truly brilliant day in the Premier League yesterday. If anyone says it's still boring and predictable, give 'em a tape of last night's MOTD and a slap round the face. Utd were beaten by an excellent Villa side who as I mentioned Friday, are just built to play away from home and defend early leads. A good goal from Agbonlahor came from defensive errors; Fletcher is a good player but not a right back, he did the typical uneasy midfielder thing of giving Ashley Young plenty of space to whip a cross in - he was terrified that if he got too tight he'd get skinned, and Wes Brown looked a man lost when the aforementioned ball plonked onto Gabby's head. 1-0. Utd could have been further behind after some shocking defending from Fletcher and Kuszchak (where's Ben Foster gone?) and almost equalised themselves from a great piece of play from Rooney where he crashed the ball at the underside of the bar. We saw the best and worst of Rooney in the game though, he was rightfully booked for a shocking piece of diving to try and cheat his way to a point in the game. Exactly what has happened was predicted by probably every Arsenal fan I know, that Eduardo was vilified, attacked and abused in the press, and when Rooney and (to a lesser extent) N'Gog dive it's brushed under the carpet. I don't want to revisit all this too much but because of Rooney's nationality and the popularity of his team these incidents just seem to get erased from public memory - MOTD sofa didn't pick up on it, nobody is questioning Rooney or Fergie, it's mental. Villa went on to have a couple more half chances but 2nd half was mainly a backs to the wall defensive job, but with the exception of one good save from Berbatov and a standard 'on the post' clearance from Downing, I can't remember Utd creating too much. Great result for Villa and a great result for the title race!

Utd were trying to take advantage of another Chelsea slip up, they were held 3-3 at home by Everton. As I said on Friday, we know that Everton have these sort of games in them despite not really showing it recently, and although 2 of the goals were a bit jammy they looked good value for the win. Drogba looked awesome again but if you actually look at Chelsea's results in detail, we shouldn't be too surprised to see them slip up. The didn't deserve to beat Utd, they got a lucky late deflected goal at Stoke, and on the opening day they were about to be held by Hull, until Drogba's bad cross looped in the net. When these kind of things don't happen for you, you can easily drop points to Everton and get beat by City. Speaking of City, they were on the end of another 3-3 draw against a gutsy Bolton side. Thrice being behind, Hughes will be happy with his teams' fighting spirit, but he won't be happy with the officials (and has publicly displayed his displeasure). Bellamy was given a second booking for being fouled (not diving) and Bolton's first goal was a mile offside, Hughes was ney happy. Most surprising result of the day had to be at Shite Hart Lane where Spurs were turned over 1-0 by a struggling Wolves side. Doyle claimed the goal which must have brushed a couple of his spiky hairs, and from then on I wasn't that impressed with Spurs. They suffered a similar fate at home to Stoke a few weeks back but peppered the goal with shots in a game they deserved something from, yesterday wasn't the same. And here lies the problem that Spurs, Villa and City will face this season, it's no good getting one or 2 good results under your belt, it's gotta be 3,4 and 5 - something that the big 4 have mastered over the last few years. Villa have has some good results of late but if they don't follow that up at Sunderland and Stoke in the next week, all progress will probably be lost. Spurs, they were flying up until a couple of weeks ago, now they've taken 2 points from a possible 9 and been humbled by Utd in the cup. City's drawing record is well documented, they travel to Spurs in midweek in what promises to be a very exciting game indeed. Finally, arise Sir Maynor of Figueroa who scored what will be one of the goals of the season in Wigan's 2-2 draw at Stoke yesterday. A niggly foul just inside Wigan's half resulted in a free kick, and without breaking stride Figs hit the ball absolutely sweet and launched it over the keeper. Just because he's not David Beckham he probably won't get the attention he deserves, but Maynor, nice hit son.

Only one game worth talking about today and that is Liverpool v Arsenal. Liverpool's hopes of a title tilt would have been boosted by yesterday's result but realistically they will be concentrating on getting Champions League football secured for next season. Aquilani started his first game in the week and will be in the frame to start again, and the sight of Torres coming off the bench won't have made any Arsenal fans happy. He's not quite got the Drogba fear factor yet for the Gooners, but has already amassed a decent amount of goals against us. Off the top of my head he got 2 in last year's 4-4, I think another 2 in the Champions League game, and maybe another somewhere along the line. This fixture tends to be the most open of the big 4 games - probably because of the 2 shittest defences - but a lot of the recent games have ended up draws. I think the Arsenal will go something like Almunia - Sagna Gallas Vermaelan Traore - Song Cesc Denilson - Nasri Arshavin Walcott and once again employ Arshavin as the main up the middle. We know that he likes playing Liverpool and so he might be in for some treatment from the home crowd and home defenders, but I fancy him to do something special again. I'd take 4 goals from him now, to tell you the truth.

Finally, some sad news that Dean Ashton has had to retire from football, fearing for his long term health should he have carried on. There have been rumours about this for a while but it's such a shame that he's finally had to confirm this. Only 26, Ashton has a good goalscoring record, a great touch and could have probably made the Heskey role for England, the Ashton role. He's a big man who doesn't mind being targeted with the long ball but has a much better record in front of goal than Emile. He sadly only made 1 cap for us, his international career being cut cruelly early by an injury actually obtained during England training. He's made some brief cameos since then (a wonderful overhead kick at Old Trafford which a lot of Utd fans got up to applaud) but surgeries and rehab programmes failed to solve his problems. Very sad news for West Ham, and for England. Take her easy.

Premier League, Notts County, North Korea

The Premier League returns tomorrow with a packed schedule of 9 games, the only one on Sunday is the clash between Liverpool and Arsenal, more on that tomorrow. There's nothing worse than when you get a Saturday with like 4 matches because of Europe and FA Cup replays etc, where they might aswell cancel Match of the Day, thankfully tomorrow will be a nice long one. Man Utd v Villa is the late game and there's a chance we might see an upset here, or at least a draw for me. Utd will field a real makeshift defence of Fletcher, Carrick, Vidic and Evra - don't get me wrong the 2 midfielders are good players but when you don't play that position regularly, it's possible you'll get caught out. I fancy the dirty Fletcher to bring down Ashley Young for a penalty at some stage, and with the likes of him, Milner and Agbonlahor they pace and nous, Carew and Heskey provide the strength and physical presence. Villa are doing pretty well at the moment so I expect them to be right up for this one. No-one expects to go to go Old Trafford and get a point, let alone three, but we can all see that Villa are setup to counter attack and are good away side for that.

Chelsea will be looking to bounce back from last week's defeat to Man City, and in fact 3 games now without a win in all comps. Everton have been brushed aside by Arsenal, Utd and Liverpool so far (as well as a few shitter teams to boot) and I don't expect that this will be anything but a home win. But we've seen in the past that the Toffees can do some damage and defend quite solid - first goal tomorrow will be massive. I really like the look of Bilyaletdinov and if they can get Arteta, Jagielka, Osman and Neville back around the turn of the year, we should see an improvement in form. Stoke Wigan is the early game, where a lot of attention will be drawn by a spat between Pulis and Beattie last weekend. Allegedly Beattie had arranged something for the boys which required the Monday off training (whether that was a steam up on Sunday or paintballing on Monday I don't know) and Pulis decided to cancel that by ordering them in to train. Since then Beattie has apparently not apologised and wants a move, something that the boss was keen to play down at his press conference. Man City travel to Bolton in what is being described as a bigger game for City than last week's against Chelsea, this is something stupid the papers make up because the Chelsea game has already happened. It'll be the same three points their playing for this week as it was last week, but they're right in saying that it's imperative they follow up such a good result with another. Bolton will treat them like they treat every other team that goes there, they'll be sharperning up Kevin Davies head and elbows and then tossing the ball in the mixer.

The great revolution at Notts County is falling apart quicker than a Sol Campbell get out clause. All these great things were being promised about Premier League football in 5 years, Europe in 8 to 10, great players getting brought in, Sven Goran Erikson, and now the owners have put the club up for sale. Maybe they realised that Sol was absolutely right and that League 1 football isn't all that it's cracked up to be. There's plenty of good Championship clubs (Reading?) and probably a few Premier League sides that are available for investment or for sale. Why would you bother with a club that is frankly never going to bring you much glory or money? Rumours have it that Sven is keen to buy it, I wouldn't bother mate, you might aswell fuck off back to Italy.

Finally, a funny story emerged yesterday regarding North Korea and their dictator leader Kim Jong-Il. Anyone who has seen Team America will be familiar with the little chap, he's a reery reery nasty piece of work. According to the piece I read (and I must stress that it was in The Sun and might be completely fabricated because as of yet I haven't seen it picked up by a reliable source) there will be no World Cup matches shown live in North Korea, and only short highlight packages will be put together IF North Korea win a game. If they don't then all football stories and coverage will be ignored and they'll pretend that the World Cup just isn't happening. Yes you did read all that right. They're like a modern day fucking Nazi Germany. Given that N.Korea are in a rape of a group with Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast, the N.Korean people and fans will most likely have to make that trip south across the border, if they want to know what the fuck is going on. Take her easy.

Champions League, Magilton, West Ham, Transfers

The Champions League group stage was finally completed last night, and thankfully from the neutral point of view, all the big boys will be there. Of course that doesn't count Liverpool who rounded off a truly miserable European campaign by getting beat by Fiorentina 2-1 at Anfield. There were a couple reserve players involved but generally it was a pretty strong team that featured Gerrard, Aquilani (at last!) and from the bench Torres. Fior's win gave them top spot over Lyon. Barca and Inter both overcame slightly sticky situations to win their games, including a most ridiculous of goals from Mario Balotelli for Inter. If you thought Ronaldo hit a nice one for Real on Tuesday, find a clip of Balotelli's. He doesn't do the Ronaldo position the ball perfectly, then toe punt the valve to give it all that movement, he just smashes it like we all do when we have a kick about, but while ours go horribly wrong, his just flew in from at least 35 yards. Stuttgart followed the model their German cousins Bayern created, and won comfortably away from home in the last group game to secure qualification. They join an underrated Sevilla who beat Rangers again last night. And finally in group H, Olympiakos beat Arsenal (C) 1-0 in what was probably a very boring game for the neutral. As a non-neutral it was a fascinating watch, and I'm not alone in thinking that the young boys did outstanding, just that little bit of quality up front and naivety at the back was the difference. Ramsey was the best player on the park, Merida did super aswell, and what a player Alex Song is turning into. Obviously it's never nice to lose but this game had nothing on it for the Gunners so it was good to see the likes of Theo get a game and see what the future could hold for this club. I must add that yesterday I reported that Athletico Madrid had finished bottom of their group and out of Europe all together, well today I hang my head in shame. I misspoke guv, I swear. Because of their head-to-head record with Nicosia, the Spaniards go through - a head-to-head that saw Athletico draw 1-1 in Cyprus, that goal is the reason they are there, thanks then go to Simao.

The draw for the last 16 (we've been blessed by exciting draws recently, no?) will take place next Friday, and the 3 teams the English sides will be looking to get will be CSKA, Olympiakos and Stuttgart. I'm sure you're well aware that teams who played in the same group can't play each other so the dream draw for the Arsenal would be Stuttgart. A nightmare draw would involve either going to Bayern, or a tough task at either Milan club. Jose and Wenger never really got on in England and I have a funny feeling that with all the kind draws we are used to, karma will come back to bite us this time. Inter are a talented side and are due a run to a semi final, let's hope they get Chelsea then. Lyon and Porto would be the 2 middle ground teams, sides that you should beat but you never know with, I'd fancy a game against Lyon, Wenger going back to France, would be nice for him.

QPR have suspended their manager Jim Magilton following some kind of incident after their game with Watford the other day. It seems like the 'difference in opinion' with Akos Buzsaky has got the boss in some kind of trouble. In a bizarre turn of events, Buzsaky was seen by journalists walking around the pitch long after the final whistle, and then again in a toilet near the media room at Loftus Road, where he was apparently very distressed. Magilton probably gave him a good old fashioned Northern Irish shafting and now he's apparently handed in a transfer request. Very strange indeed.

Former Birmingham City owners David's Gold and Sullivan are interested in getting involved at West Ham. From what I understand, they want to buy the club (or a portion of it at least) for a 'nominal' fee and then promise to invest heavily in January and the summer. In the current climate of dodgy owners and Portsmouth, that does sound a bit of a wing it job doesn't it? The two of them bought B'ham for £1 and ended up selling it for £82million but I don't think West Ham are looking for a lesson in business, they need to get their best players tied down and buy so good ones to strengthen their squad. Watch this space.

Finally, some interesting transfer news surrounding Sol Campbell, who is offering his services to Man Utd. They are decimated at the back right now but surely this is a gamble too far for Fergie? Following the Wolfsburg game, no-one can deny that the free Michael Owen gamble is paying off (a few important cup goals, plus the winner in the derby) but Campbell has a track record for losing his fucking mind and isn't the 29 years that Owen is. The other piece of news is that it looks like Landon Donovan is coming to England. Long regarded as the best the Yanks have to offer, Everton are trying to bring him in on a 3-month loan deal during the MLS off season, he did the same at Bayern last year. I was very impressed with him in the Confed Cup and with us drawing the US in South Africa, it would be at least a useful scouting opportunity for Don Fabio. Take her easy.

Reading, Moses, Champions League

I was at the Mad Stad last night to see Reading lose 4-2 to Crystal Palace, and I'm afraid it's back to the drawing board for the Royals. Following their win over Blackpool to end the shocking home run, and the good win at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, last night was a real chance to grab some momentum and possibly turn their season around. This chance was thrown away on minutes 46 and 47 of the first half. It was 1-1 approaching half time which was probably a fair result, maybe Palace had edged it but I don't think Warnock could have complained going in at the break at 1 each. Then from not much of anything a sloppy pass turns up at Ambrose's toes and he shanks one from about the corner of the box and it goes straight through the keeper. Literally straight through him, I'm told there is a football shaped piece of Adam Federici somewhere in the north stand. If that wasn't bad enough (and it was for quite a few fans who fancied getting their Bovril in early before the rush), a minute later Victor Moses picked the ball up, and knowing that Federici was 'unconvincing' with the long strikes, he curls the ball in from 30 yards to score a really great goal. Reading rallied early second half and finally with 10 to go they got a deserved goal back from the spot, but a very impressive Moses capped his performance with another great goal. The Royals stay clear of the relegation zone for now but it's going to be a long tough season where you need to pick up a point in games like yesterdays'. Any hopes of a late playoff surge are almost certainly pie in the sky.

One man who did himself no harm at the game was one Victor Moses. He scored 2 really exceptional goals, he'll be giving Jay Tabb nightmares for a week with the way he turned him inside out all night, and now it's really a question of when not if he'll leave Selhurst Park. I've heard good things about him before but this was the first time I'd seen him in the flesh and there's no doubt that he will go to a Premiership team. Palace will be hoping to hold onto him until the summer and be able to really cash in then - Warnock has been quoted as saying that clubs play £17million for players of his quality. That might be a little more than I expect him to go for but if all the big boys get interested then that'll hike the price no end. I've heard that Arsenal for one are sniffing around, I'm not sure he's exactly what we need at the moment (I'd prefer the money spent of someone tall and strong up front) but if he's still available in the summer then why not? He's represented England at U16, 17, 18 and 19 levels and surely it's a matter of time before he gets the U21 call up, and then who knows? 2014 or even 2018 (which will hopefully be our very own World Cup) could be set alight by this kid. Watch this space.

Champions League then, and Juventus were hammered 4-1 at home by Bayern, thus sending the Germans through and the Itai's into the dreaded Europa League. Juve even took the lead in the game but threw it away, partly thanks to a penalty scored by the Bayern keeper! Not since (and excuse the spelling guesswork) Paraguay's Chilvaret have we seen a keeper so prolific from set pieces! In group B a rare Michael Owen goal turned into an even rarer Michael Owen hatrick to put Utd through as winners, and because CSKA won their game, the unlucky Wolfsburg are out. I have to say that Owen took his goals nicely, especially a really classy 3rd which will no doubt have caught the eye of Fabio Capello. If the lad has ANY chance of getting to the World Cup (and I just don't see that he does) then we're going to need to see performances like this on a regular basis. I'm not saying every time he plays he got to score a hatrick, but in a way he has to perform above and beyond any of the other strikers because he's already a fair way behind them. He also needs to try and destabilise the lazy Berbatov as a first choice, and try and start the big games - he may well get that chance against Villa this weekend, a game that Capello will surely be attending. Madrid win group C and are joined by a less than convincing Milan side who only won 2 of their 6 games. We already knew about group D but the story there is that Athletico's 3-0 home embarrassment by Porto means that they go out of Europe all together, in what is a shocking season for the talented side. A late equaliser for Nicosia against Chelsea have given the Cypriots Europa League football, somewhere where they'll feel a lot more at home.

Tonight's action then, and it must all be about group F with Barca, Inter, Rubin and Kyiv all still able to go through. This is what we want isn't it? As neutrals I think we'd all like to see the big boys go through, and the thought of Barca in particular not making it would be crazy, but as Arsenal/Chelsea/Utd fans we'd be delighted if one or both of them got it tonight. Kazan go to the San Siro knowing a win would put them through and a freezing Kyiv know they have to beat Barca and see what happens. In group E all we need to find out is whether Lyon or Fiorentina will finish top (Anfield should be ROCKING tonight!) and in group G Unirea and Stuttgart face a straight shootout to decide who joins Sevilla in the last 16. Finally group H, where Olympiakos are in pole position to come through with Arsenal, but Standard Liege still have a chance if they can win and the Greeks lose. Liege won't be too happy then to see the squadlist that Arsenal released yesterday which featured some real household names like Ayling, Sunu, Cruise, Bartley, Emmanuel-Thomas and Gilbert. This squad is actually weaker than the one who went to Man City last week, and although the likes of Walcott, Vela, Ramsey and Silvestre will all play, this is very much a squad built from reserve team players. It'll be a great experience for all of them, even the ones who don't get on, the plane, the hotel, the hostile atmosphere, these are things you don't get playing Fulham away in reserve league south. Take her easy.

Reading, Injuries, Champions League, World Player of the Year

I'll have the pleasure this evening of going to the Reading v Crystal Palace game at the Madejski. I last went to see Reading when they drew 1-1 at home to Ipswich, and since then have finally broken their home hoodoo with a 2-1 win over Blackpool. Before that game they hadn't won a home game in the league since January, and it was looking possible that they might go that entire 365 days without a win, a record which would not have been welcome. Tonight then is their 1st home game since that much needed Blackpool result, and you feel that Reading will want to win again, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. The Royals sit 19th at the moment, thanks to an impressive 2-0 win at Hillsborough on Saturday, and the way this league is they're only 10 points from the playoffs. I don't personally hold out much hope for a charge up the table, I expect this to be a relatively tough year for them which will end with a 12th-17th position, but there is always one team who makes that late surge and who knows, it could be Reading. Tonight's opponents Palace are 6 points and 6 places (told you it was tight) better off, under the stewardship of Neil Warnock. He's good copy is Warnock and I'm hoping for some good banter tonight - come to think of it I think I went to this fixture last year which off the top of my head was a 3-2 home win. Palace are technically operating as a non-professional team right now because for whatever ridiculous Simon Jordan based reason, they can't pay their players. Of those skint players, Darren Ambrose is the big danger man tonight. He just scooped the Championship player of the month after scoring in every game from midfield, taking his tally to 12 for the season. I'll go for a 1-1 draw.

Man Utd confirmed yesterday that O'Shea and Evans will both be out until the New Year, and they join the likes of Vidic, Ferdinand, Brown, Neville and the Brazillian Jedward twins on the treatment table. Fergie has a bit of a crisis going on now, and it looks like tonight's Champs Leage game against Wolfsburg (who can still de-throne Utd as group winners) will see a back 4 of Fletcher, Carrick, Gill and Evra. Gill? Yes, Oliver Gill, who sounds like he's a chef or a celebrity hairdresser. He's actually the son of chief exec David Gill, and the 19 year old will receive a quick baptism of fire tonight in Germany. It's gotta be a long term worry for the boss, I wouldn't be too concerned about buying Ribery/Villa/Dzeko, I'd be getting my defensive scouts on the case. You can have Silvestre back if you like? The other bit of injury news is that Jimmy Bullard will 'only' be out for 6 to 8 weeks after scans revealed he's got no bad ligament damage. I think we all want to see the cheeky chappy on his feet playing football and doing silly celebrations, to a speedy recovery sir.

Champions League matchday 6 part 1 is on tonight with a few places left up for grabs in the last 16. Chelsea's group (D) is all sorted and Utd (A) are through with either CSKA or Wolfsburg in tow. If my maths serves me correctly the Germans need to equal or better the CSKA result to ensure they make it, the Russians face a tricky trip to Besiktas. Utd will probably play a 'rotated' team, some of that injury enforced (above) and some of that just to give some players a rest ahead of Villa on Saturday. The big game of the night is in group A where Juventus take on Bayern in Turin. A draw will be enough for the Italians so Bayern will be going all out for the win, whatever happens we're sure to lose one of the European giants already. Finally in group C it would take the mother of all fuck ups for Madrid not to qualify, I think they have to lose 4-0 in Marseille, but the French side will be gunning for a win regardless in case Milan slip up to Zurich - who already beat them at the San Siro.

Finally, the 5 nominees for World Player of the Year were released yesterday, and they are; Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Kaka and Ronaldo. Messi will deservedly win but the 2 other Barca players deserve a great amount of credit for they way their team played last year. They are 2 mind boggling passers of the ball and can chip in with a goal or 2 themselves - just ask Chelsea fans. It was Iniesta who threw a dagger into west London hearts last April/May, where his late late goal sent Chelsea out of the semis. And I might be wrong, but I THINK Xavi got both assists in the final against Utd. Barca don't half have some talent. Take her easy.

Premier League, Europe, Flamengo

Yesterday's late game in the Premier League involved 2 good sides who have had very different season so far, Spurs and Everton. Everton's form has been bizarre at best and awful at worst, and they went into the game just 2 points clear of the relegation zone. We all know that they have had some seriously bad luck with injuries and you can bet that David Moyes was looking with admiration at the Tottenham bench yesterday. 'I wish my squad was strong enough to leave Keane and Bentley on the bench,' in a Scottish accent, obviously. The first half was a bit of nothing but it'll kicked off shortly after the break after a great ball from Lennon (that England place getting closer and closer) and a tidy finish from Defoe (that England place getting more and more secure). They added a second through a good old fashioned diving header from Dawson, and Crouch and Defoe might have made the game safe. Their failure to put Everton away came back to bite them though, Super Saha coming off the bench to score and look very good, and then a strange goal from Tim Cahill brought the Toffees level with 5 to go. As Moyes said post-match Everton were looking the only team to go and win the game but all of a sudden Spurs get a pen thanks to a clumsy foul from Tony Hibbert on Palacios. The big man was down for several minutes getting stretchered off (broken rib I'm hearing) which obviously felt like a long time to Defoe who proceeded to scuff the ball down the middle straight at Tim Howard. All in all then a great game and finale in particular, a good result for Arsenal and a decent one for Everton. 'Arry will be disappointed that his team chucked away 2 points but despite their lowly league position Everton are always a tough side to beat, especially at home.

In the game's marginally earlier kick off Fulham beat Sunderland 1-0 thanks to an angry Bobby Zamora header. From the highlights it looked like Sunderland were still coming down the M6 during the first half and that Fulham were on their way down the Kings Road in the second, so a draw might have been a fair result but fair play to Fulham who continue to impress at home. Hodgson has been calling for Zamora to get a chance in the England team, but with only 4 goals this season and some memorable misses to boot, he'd need an almighty injury crisis to get near that plane. Right now I'd be taking Rooney, Heskey, Crouch and Defoe. There's been talk of maybe 5 strikers should go, but with the rest of my squad you would have options like Gerrard, Walcott and Joe Cole to play in supporting positions or wide berths.

You thought I might have left my French hat in yesterday's blog but oh no, there was a cracking game last night in France where Lille beat Lyon 4-3. Lyon were 2-0 and 3-1 up and chucked both leads away, a stoppage time penalty from Gervihno given the Nord side the win. Lyon have struggled the last couple of years in the league, they had won 7 in a row mind but have this season lost Benzema and Junihno which has hit them bad. It'll be interesting to see who gets them in the Champions League where they have done pretty well, taking 4 points from Liverpool in the process. Roma won the Roman derby against Lazio 1-0 last night, I managed to catch a bit of the game thanks to ESPN HD and it was a typical 'kick the opponents in air' kind of game, settled by a late goal from Cassetti.

Finally, congratulations go to Flamengo who won the 'Brasileirao' (title) last night with a 2-1 win, which won them the league by 2 points. I'm not going to pretend to know a shit load about Brazillian league football, but I do know that Adriano plays for these lot and finished as top scorer with 19 goals. The bull of a frontman seems a lot happier over there than he did in Europe and has possibly put himself back in the frame for a World Cup place. Take her easy.

Premier League round-up, Europe

Some interesting results in the Premier League yesterday, most notably coming at Eastlands where Man City beat Chelsea 2-1. Chelsea took the lead through a bizarre own goal from Adebayor but the Togon restored parity before half time with a goal at the right end. Some claims of a hand ball in the build up but I didn't think it was so Terry can shut his mouth. Second half and Tevez scores from a free kick after Cech just decided to not save his shot and from that moment on Chelsea pretty much panicked and imploded. They were kicking people up in the air (6 bookings), relentlessly going on at the ref, and despite the fact I don't hold much love for City, Hughes or Adebayor, it was fantastic to watch following what happened last weekend. Drogba was fouled but then did that pathetic back spasm arch thing he does like he's been shot and got the penalty, which Lampard missed. Another golden chance for Drogba near the end went the wrong side of the post and there we have it, Chelsea drop 3 points and it brings everyone closer in. As for Man City they definitely have the players to make top 4, they just need to work a bit better defensively to become a bit more consistent. Chelsea's slip up was compounded by the news that came out of east London where Man Utd hammered the hammers 4-0, with it has to be said a real makeshift back 4.

I was in north London yesterday to see the Arsenal take on Stoke, and the home side ran out relatively comfortable 2-0 winners. Eduardo was missing following an all too familiar small muscular injury, so Andrey Arshavin was the man stuck up top on his own. The start of the game didn't bode great for the little Russian, a great chance was lost after a rare bad touch, and his little flicks and dinks just weren't coming off. Then, like a secret Soviet spy plane, 'Shava picked the ball up and jinked his way over one challenge, then another and finally he is brought down in the box, pen. Yes, we're thinking, 1-0 to the Arsenal. But with no RvP in sight the honour goes to El Capitano who's not great pen is turned away - is it going to be just one of those days? Thankfully not because shortly after, Cesc plays Arshavin in and with wonderful touch, strength and control he practically flicks the ball in from what an infinitely more difficult chance than his previous one. Before half time there is just time for what will be another clip in the Emmanuel Eboue video horror moments. Good play from Arshavin and Traore down the left, the Frenchman whips in a cross which causes their keeper to flatten 2 of their defenders, and after a deflection the ball hits the post, comes back to Cesc for a tap in but his shot is inexplicably blocked on the line by Eboue! The poor lad, he's trying to get out of the way but ends up getting in the way, chin up Manu. Second half and after a good start where an increasingly impressive and involved Arshavin hit the bar, Stoke were gradually starting to ask some questions. I don't remember Almunia having to make a save but there were one or 2 hairy moments, one of which was only rescued by some great defending from Gallas. Finally the break through came at the other end to seal the points, the boy Ramsey picked the ball up and caressed it with the outside of his boot for his 2nd of the season. Job done, back to winning ways and rebuilding the confidence of the team. The Arshavin experiment worked pretty well, he's such a clever player that he comes short, goes wide and generally causes a nuisance of himself which the Stoke defenders couldn't handle. It's Anfield next weekend, Arshavin returns to the scene of the crime, and if Bendtner and Eduardo are not back I wouldn't be surprised to see the boss trying the magician up there again.

Big wins for Pompey, Wolves and Birmingham (they're 8th now! how good are they doing?) yesterday mean that Bolton were the real losers. My feelings for them are pretty well known, I hate them, I hate Megson and I hope they lose every match the ever play. A dull 0-0 draw for Liverpool at Blackburn keeps the pressure on Benitez, and with so many teams this year involved at the top they're really going to need a change in form, and fast - just not next weekend, thanks Rafa. Last year it was really only Villa who looked like they might break the big 4 monopoly, but this year there's Villa, City and Spurs so the likely hood that at least one of them will get in there is certainly increased. An impressive 3-0 win for Villa over Hull was sadly over shadowed by the injury for Jimmy Bullard. His knee injury has plagued his career in recent years, he has dislocated the kneecap twice and had serious ligament damage to boot. To see him being helped off the pitch in tears yesterday really was a terrible sight, the only minor consolation is that this injury was on his right leg, not his previously troublesome left leg. All the best Jim.

Good results in Italy yesterday where Milan beat Sampdoria 3-0 and Juve beat Inter 2-1, nicely tightening everything up in Serie A. Barca and Real both won in Spain, Ronaldo scoring their last goal but then getting himself sent off haha. Bordeaux continue to impress in France following a 1-0 win over ParisSG, and 2 rather unfancied teams Montpellier and Valenciennes continued their climb up the table with wins. I happen to have a vested interest in both, Valenciennes being the closest club to my French family and Montpellier being the closest club to where I spend my summer holidays every year. They currently lie 2nd and 3rd and the English equivalent would be someone like Wigan and Pompey being 2nd and 3rd - mad right? Take her easy.

World Cup draw

Only one story on the agenda this beautiful morning and that is the World Cup draw that took place yesterday. The footballing gods gave England a very nice draw (as they've done in the past) of the USA, Algeria and Slovenia. If we don't get out of that then there will be something seriously seriously wrong and Capello and Terry should literally be killed by a stoning. That's how easy that group is. The Yanks, well it's true that they did very well in the Confed cup last year, they have some useful players like Donovan and Dempsey who will get you a goal, and let's face it, they don't like to lose ANYTHING, but for them to be our biggest worry says it all. We've beat them the last 3 times we've played them I think and I fully expect us to do the same again. Slovenia came through the playoffs with an away goals win against Russia, of which I saw some of the first game where the Russians battered them really. Only a late lapse in concentration gave Slovenia the crucial away goal and they did the rest of the job at home. We've already beat them this season at Wembley and although like all of the east Europeans they have some tidy footballers, this could have been Portugal or France. Nuff said guv. Algeria also came through a playoff (what does it say that 2 of our opponents almost weren't good enough to get in the thing, and the other always gets in because they play Barbados and Costa Rica every week?) after beating Egypt, who would have probably posed a tougher task if you ask me. I don't really know a lot about the north Africans except that Pompey's Belhadj and Yebda are 'Gerians and that Zidane was born there. Should be a walkover really though. And that about does her for group C, we'll all be very happy with that and pretty pleased that it's Germany/Ghana/Australia/Serbia in the next round, could have been much worse.

Group A - Despite how they got there I'm glad that France got in the South Africa group, partly as a half Frenchman, and also because they would have been the seed for that group if it wasn't for the stupid FIFA rule that the host is seeded. Obviously it keeps the excitement levels up the longer the host nation is in the tournament, but look at the facts; they didn't have to qualify, they get the honour of hosting the thing AND they're shit! Why should they get anymore advantages? I expect France to go through in what is a tough group (group of death bronze medal). The hosts will have the crowd with them, Uruguay have some talented players and the Mexicans always do decently at the big tournaments.

Group B - The Argies got a decent draw with Nigeria, Greece and South Korea making up the numbers. They are all teams on a similar sort of level really, Nigeria have done ok at World Cups before, Greece won the Euros but no-one really knows how, and S.Korea made the semis in 2002 with the help of (not so) super Hiddink and some kind refereeing. If Maradona's team somehow got off to a poor start then the man with the hand of God might impode, all over his poor team. They may not be the brilliant team of the past but still have some super players including of course a certain Messi, it's unthinkable that they won't make the knock out stages, is it?

Group D - The second most important group for England fans sees seeds Germany take on Australia, Serbia and Ghana (group of death silver medal). Similarly to group B it's difficult to imagine a knock out round with the Germans because they're so good in big tournaments but again this is far from the best German side we've ever seen. Essie..I mean Ghana are one of the more fancied African teams and will be a tough prospect, the Aussies are the southern hemispheres USA - they don't like losing things and have a couple of decent outlets, and there is some real talent in the Serbians who remember won the France qualification group with ease. This one really is a difficult one to call and it's plausible that Germany stutter, finish second and we end up having to play them in the last 16.

Group E - The Dutch will be pretty happy with Denmark, Cameroon and Japan, but likewise they will all be happy that they got the Dutch. We know Holland can play some great stuff at times but have a tendency to crumble when the going gets tough. Van Persie will be key for them and of course he'll be back from his bad injury to lead the line with the likes of Huntelaar, Robben and Kuyt supporting. The other place is really up for grabs here, you could make a case for all these sides but I have a feeling for Denmark.

Group F - Who did Lippi blow to get that group? Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia make up a weak looking group. Whatever concerns I may have about Italy in the long term, they'll have had plenty of match practice by the time the knock out games come around, to go into stealth 1-0 mode. South American flair will probably be enough to see Paraguay make it through, but in a group of 3 average to poor teams, Slovakia and New Zealand will never have a better chance of being the story of the World Cup.

Group G - I think we were all pretty happy in this part of the world to see Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast drawn together (group of death gold medal). The North Korea (who make up the number) manager must be wondering what he's done to deserve this. Despite the draw Brazil will still be the team to beat for me, they're a more athletic and tactical team that previous ones (for the better) and still have players in there to add the skill and swagger that we have come accustomed to seeing. My feelings on Portugal are pretty clear, despite having one of the best players in the world on their team, I think they have no good strikers, they're filled with shitty 'flair' players and are generally a weak side. I really hope I don't come to regret those words but I expect Cote d'Ivoire to progress with Brazil.

Group H - If Lippi is blowing Sepp Blatter then Del Bosque is giving him the full cock because Spain got Honduras, Chile and Switzerland. Spain will win at a canter (although I don't think they'll win the tournament) and the fact that one of Honduras, Chile or Switzerland will be in the last 16 is just mental. I suppose that will be the reward for the winners of the group of death, but maybe Ireland should ask if they can get that spot?

So all in all a tasty draw, there's 4 tough or a least tricky groups that will be difficult to predict, and 4 very easy ones. There'll be surprises and upsets along the way because this is the World Cup, the greatest show on earth. Can we win it? Yes no doubt I think we can, lets keep everything crossed for the inevitable penalty shootout. Bring on the 11th of June. Take her easy.

Premier Legaue preview, Pompey, Italy, World Cup draw

I am lucky enough to be going to see my beloved Arsenal tomorrow in a home game against Stoke. Any team with aspirations of a top 4 finish LET ALONE winning the title has to beat Stoke at home, no offence Stoke. When they're at home they're a tough prospect (just ask Arsenal last season) but away without that loud crowd behind them they're just another Blackburn or Bolton for me. We beat them 4-1 in this fixture last season and you would hope for similarly entertaining scoreline, but considering the Arsenal's recent form I'll take a win any way it comes. No Theo Walcott again tomorrow who has picked up a 'minor' hamstring problem. We're now in December and Theo has started just 1 single game in all competitions all season. Arsene wasn't happy that in the summer he had to play for both the England senior side and U21 team, which I think he's perfectly right to complain about. The U21 team should be the stepping stone from club football into international football, and Theo has represented England plenty enough now to be past U21 level - he certainly shouldn't be playing for both teams, he's either good enough or he aint. So all that football meant he started pre season late, and then picked up injuries blah blah blah, so now we're left with one of our forwards having missed over a third of the season already. I'm sure he's aware of a little kickabout in South Africa next summer so he's got to get his shit together, right now Lennon, Wright Phillips, Young and Milner are probably all ahead of him.

Liverpool and Utd have tricky away games at Blackburn and West Ham respectively. Blackburn will be flying after their midweek cup exploits over the champions elect, and West Ham have started to pick things up and Upton Park is never an easy game. Game of the day though has to be the late one at Eastlands where City host Chelsea. The home side's league form has left much to be desired but will be confident after dispatching Arsenal B in the week. I don't think Chelsea penalty heartache will matter here, they will bring back a lot of players into the team and we could have a really good game. Unfortunately I'll probably have to root for City although a draw wouldn't be the end of the world I suppose.

Portsmouth host Burley tomorrow lunchtime and it emerged yesterday that for the second time (that we know about) this season the Pompey players haven't been paid. Isn't this the second time this season that they have been bought by some rich Arab bloke with loads of cash? And that cash turned out to be not there at all? I might be over simplifying the ins and outs of a takeover and the ability to release funds etc, but surely if you have the money, you can use it?! Seems pretty straight forward to me. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel too sympathetic to a player who has to dip into his £10,000 from last week or the week before, but the situation down there is a bit of a joke. I've said it before but the amount of money Pompey have got from transfers over the last 2 years is mental, and now they can't even afford to pay their players. Crikey.

Couple of big games on the continent tomorrow, both in Serie A. Juve host Inter and Milan take on Sampdoria so all of the top 4 teams are in action against eachother. Sky Sports would call this a 'grand slam Saturday,' but since they're such a rights channel, they'll pretend it doesn't exist and just talk to fucking Andrew Strauss all day, about a cricket match that no-one gives a fuck about. Inter are already 7 points clear of the chasing pack so it would really be nice if they lost to tighten everything up. They have won the Scudetto 3 or 4 times in a row now in a country where winning the league is pretty bog standard, it's all (as Ancelotti admitted recently) about winning the Champions League. Jose was obviously brought in to do this because domestic success wasn't enough to keep Mancini in a job, but I can't see Inter winning Europe this year either. They might be good enough to make a semi but it's gotta be an English or Spanish side again for me. Seria A has been in decline in recent years where as the Premier League and La Liga have just continued to soar. You still see names like Del Piero, Trezeguet, Nesta, Gattuso, Ambrosini, Cassano, Totti, Inzaghi etc and until recently Maldini and Nedved, players who were about on like Fifa 98. The only team really to take that European style step forward is Inter, who have a plethora of Brazilians, Argentinians and east Europeans to mix in with the odd Italian. Serie A seems to be where most players go to die.

Finally, World Cup draw day today and I cannie wait for 5pm, or 5.45pm by the time all the back slapping and video montages finish. Apparently in both yesterday's practice runs we got Australia which thinking about it now would be a great fucking game that. I'd like the Aussies, Cameroon and Serbia. Have fun watching and take her easy.

Carling Cup, World Cup Draw

Another day, another terribly disappointing performance from Arsenal, another 3-0 defeat, another trophy gone. Man City's experience and quality all over the pitch was the difference last night, they didn't ever look close to conceding a goal (Merida's late cross bar effort accepted), they were much better in the midfield and 3 really good goals put the young guns to the sword. However good these goals were, they were surround by defensive incompetence that us Arsenal fans just have to become used to these days. The first, a good performance from Rosicky was chucked away when he, one of the most experienced members of the team, was robbed of the ball and Tevez proceeded to drive into the box doing that little fake shimmy thing he does, that clearly bamboozled the Arsenal defence some of whom literally dropped like flies. Bang, goal. The second, under no real pressure the worst player on the pitch Silvestre played a hospital pass forward to Merida who proceeded to get robbed again, Wright-Philips brought it forward and the frankly shit Silvestre just backed off and off and off and let Shaun smash the ball in. Great hit but terrible defending. While we're on him, Silvestre's performance was genuinely awful. He failed to deal with long balls (one he turned his back on and it hit him on the head then the back), cynically brought down their forwards on at least one occasion (because he'd got himself in a terrible position) and in the first half let 4ft6 SWPhilips nudge him over in the build up to a guilt edge chance for Bellamy. I actually don't think he played as badly as a lot of Gooners think he did last season and he got a lot of unfair stick for being a Utd player - not something I hold against him at all, footballers careers are short and they have to play somewhere - but last night was a shocker from our 'captain.' The third goal came from Weiss but was made by a persistent Bellamy, who decided to defy the laws of science and sneak through a gap of 2 of our players to make them look almighty stupid. The bottom line is that despite their recent draws Man City are a good side with really good individuals and so with the team we put out we've got no right to go up there and beat them. We all admire the boss' persistence with these young players and he's sticking to his guns but as I said earlier in the week, we're desperate to lose that tag of 'haven't won a trophy in 4,5,6,7...years,' and we won't until we start to treat these games with respect. It's fine when you're playing a Championship side at home but to not even have 1 first team name on the bench away to Man City is just asking for a 3-0 pasting. Finally, there were some constant niggles between Wenger and Hughes throughout the game and it ended with Arsene walking down the tunnel and not shaking Sparky's hand. Ok, we know it's not a mandatory thing, we know you can 'shake hands with whom ever I want,' but Arsene, just shake the bloke's hand for christ sake. Bad losers, ungracious and rude are all things that have been said about him/us and then it reflects badly on the whole club and even the fans. Petty mate.

Chelsea were the victims of a Blackburn penalty shootout win in the other game last night. From what I saw Blackburn played pretty well and should have won the game in normal time but Kalou missed a few good chances as well. Ancelotti decided to make 3 changes at half time which might have cost him in the end as Chelsea were forced to play extra time and the last 15 of normal time without Kalou who was injured. Anyway, Villa got Blackburn and the authorities will be delighted to have 2 evening Manchester derbies to deal with.

As I reported yesterday England were named in the top seed pot for tomorrow's World Cup draw. Good news for us but we're still in for a nervous wait with the likes of France, Portugal, Ivory Coast, Mexico and USA all possibilities. It's hard to speculate any further on the combinations because there are a million of them but this is the big time, the World Cup, *cliche alert* there's no easy games here. I'm not really worried about who we get because I think we're strong enough to get through to the last 16 whatever the outcome. Last time we got Paraguay, Trinidad and Sweden which is pretty kind you have to admit, so maybe we're due someone like Portugal. Take her easy.

Agents, Carling Cup, Palace, Wenger, Ireland

A lot of talk going about regarding the Premier League releasing figures that recorded how much each club have spent on agents in the last year. The total came out at a massive £70million for around 80 transfers, so just under 1 million per transfer. Unsurprisingly big spenders Man City were top of that list having spent £14million on their raft of new players. The debate is really about whether these kind of figures are justified? Agents have long been painted as shady dodgy characters who will bung a manager a few quid on the hush, or buy the chairman an expensive bottle of wine etc. But as in general life I'm sure there are good apples and bad apples. When Anelka was at Arsenal for example, bought for £500,000, he had included in his entourage his now infamous 2 brothers. The Anelka brothers, motivated by greed and money encouraged their younger brother to pine for a move, and in the summer of 1999 Real Madrid stumped up £25 million for him. I'm sure the handlers would have been delighted with that one and Anelka has gone on to have a pretty successful career (best yet to come maybe), but it doesn't always work that way. There are agents who have no concern for the player's well being and future, and are just interested in that bottom line. Unfortunately I think that the agent system is a necessary evil in the football world, we can be grateful though that we do not follow the South American model of agents actually owning players. We all saw sticky a situation Carlos Tevez/Kia Jorfuckshin put everyone in.

Comfortable wins for Utd and Villa last night send them through to the semi finals of the Carling Cup. 2 of Arsenal, Man City, Blackburn and Chelsea will join them in what will be a tasty looking couple of semis, 2 legged of course. Chelsea flying high right now would be expected to go through and I obviously hope that Arsenal will join them and get Villa - the draw will take place on Sky straight after the game at Eastlands. I expect City will play a strong side, maybe their strongest, as Hughes is coming under a bit of pressure so will be going all out for the win. The Arsenal team will be pretty young but with one or 2 more regular faces in there to steady the ship. The squadlist is yet to be announced but I can see it being something like; Fabianski, Eboue Senderos Silvestre Traore, Eastmond Ramsey Merida (if he's not suspended, he got a red in the last reserve game, not sure if this counts), Wilshere Vela Walcott. On Arsene Wenger, some interesting quotes turned up on the website last night - 'I didn't feel we were in the need to buy anybody but we will be out in the market THAT IS FOR SURE NOW,' following a question regarding Van Persie's injury. Interesting stuff, as Wenger is always cautious even if he has something up his sleeve, he rarely lets on so for him to be so bold is quite a U-turn. Watch this space.

Neil Warnock reveled yesterday that the Crystal Palace staff and players weren't going to get paid for the next 10 days/2 weeks, because the owner has some 'cash flow problems.' Yeh, the orange faced twat Simon Jordan probably realised he was wasting too much money wiping his arse with it.

Finally, FIFA have finally put Ireland out of their misery but stating that they can't possibly be the 33rd team at the World Cup. Simple enough. Oh, and while writing this the reliable 5 Live has told me that England are included in the top seed pot for Friday's World Cup draw. This is as expected, but the commentator beforehand was basically saying that it would probably be between England and Holland who got that last spot, because England lost their last game in the qualification so it knocked them down a peg or two. So imagine my eyes widening when the names came out; South Africa, Brazil, Italy, THE NETHERLANDS - SHIIIIIT, Argentina, Spain, Germany, England. Pheeeew! That means that the commentator bloke got things a bit wrong, and now FRANCE have to battle it out in pot 4 instead of us or the Dutch. More on that tomorrow. Take her easy.

Ireland, Messi, Yaya Toure, Throwing, Simpson

We start with the news that Prat Blatter announced in his press conference yesterday, which was that Ireland have requested the chance to be the 33rd team at next summer's World Cup. Ridiculous. As I've already said on this blog what happened to Ireland was very very harsh, I don't think that there's a football fan out there who didn't feel some sympathy for them, but it's now getting very silly indeed and the FAI are turning themselves and their country into an embarrassment. One thing I must say is that it seems this request was made a while ago when the complaints and such were lodged, it just happens to be now that it is being revealed. But injustices happen left right and centre in football and in sports in general, that is frankly the way it is. Get over it. Moreover, had that now infamous goal not been given, Ireland weren't through anyway, so how do they deserve a place in the World Cup? The tie would have been 1-1 on aggregate, there would have been another 20 mins for both teams to score, and then possibly penalties. Ireland can't claim that they were in a winning position and it was cruelly taken away from them, they were in a DRAWING position and it was cruelly taken away from them. Not to mention the logistical implications that a 33rd team would bring to a World Cup, you wouldn't want to be in the group with 5 teams would you? Never the less Blatter says he and his army of shitfucks will 'discuss' it at some high powered meeting just in time for the World Cup draw on Friday.

Lionel Messi has been crowned European Footballer of the Year, or the Ballon D'or for short. This isn't any surprise, Messi was the favourite by a mile and if anyone else had won it, they would have been wrong. Not only did we see all the lovely Messi magic last season, his fantastic control, plenty of goals and more assists, but we saw that translated into winning and trophies - which is what France Football really love (Ronaldo with Utd, Kaka with Milan, Cannavaro with Italy etc). Barcelona's remarkable treble season was lead by the impressive Pep Guardiola in his maiden season, and Messi deserves the award and will also win World Footballer of the Year too.

Another Barcelonen in the press is the wonderfully named Yaya Toure, Kolo's kid brother. He's very upset at constantly being benched and is now 'considering' a move away from the Camp Nou. One of the teams allegedly interested is the Arsenal, and I'd bloody love to see us pinch him. He's big he's strong, can play the holding role well and has even done a job at the back, exactly what we're looking for. I fear he'll probably too expensive but maybe following Sunday's events it might just be worth a punt.

One of the more unsavoury moments from the big game on Sunday was seeing what turned out to be a camera (or a fake camera, depending on who you believe) being launched at Frank Lampard as he went to take a corner for Chelsea. Now, I hate Lamps as much as the next sane person but that is so out of order. If you saw the person do it, just tell someone because it's unacceptable and they should be banned from football for life. Do we really want our fans to get the reputation of being a bunch of thugs? Do we want to be penned in away grounds for hours before and after the match? Do we want to have to pick up our tickets at service stations on the way to away games? No we fucking don't so stop being a twat.

A man we might have done with on Sunday is young Jay Simpson who's loan spell at QPR seems to be doing the kid the world of good. Too often Championship clubs will bring someone in on loan and then there's almost an automatic prejudice against him because he's not really one of your own players, so the manager will tend to play the players he knows and leave the talented kids on the bench. Not Jay though, he's flying in west London and has said yesterday that he'd be happy to get recalled and come back to north London. While I don't think Wenger will go down this road just yet, it's one he really should consider. I said yesterday how similar Vela and Eduardo are, and with Bendtner still 2 weeks away it couldn't hurt to bring Simpson back as a bit of cover. Take her easy.