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.