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.