Phew!! Well what can I say? If it hadn’t been for the antics of Nani and the reliable consistency of Charlie Adam, last week’s effort would have been disastrous. This could end up being a cryptic tips column where doing the exact opposite will prove the most rewarding! I have always been taught to hold your hands up and admit when you are wrong, well my arms are aching having been raised apologetically all week.

My quest for redemption begins at the back where there is a definite bargain to be had. Jose Bosingwa is fit again and available for 5.6 million. He may not have forced his way back into the Chelsea starting eleven yet, but he will, and if you have space to add to your squad I recommend you snap him up before his value increases.

There are more defensive bargains available. Liverpool’s Sotirios Kyrgiakos may play havoc with most spellcheckers but is a snip at 5.1 million. The Greek is proving to be a rock at the back for the Reds and a threat going forward at set pieces.

White Hart Lane’s current hot topic is marauding down the left wing, but if you cast your eye to the opposite flank you will see that Alan Hutton has slotted in very well at right back. He is a rampaging attack minded full back and is excellent value at 4.8 million.

Now that I’ve mentioned it I can’t ignore it. Gareth Bale has the World at his feet after having had Maicon on toast, and remarkably the Welsh wonder is currently available for 6.7 million. How the likes of Man Utd, Barcelona, Inter Milan et al must wish that Fantasy League transfer fees translated directly into the real world.

If you don’t feel like hopping on board the Bale bandwagon then for the same price you can pick up Fulham’s goal getting midfielder Clint Dempsey, or for an extra million you can opt for Arsenal’s Samir Nasri. Both are locked on 47 points and are both are bang in form.

Last week’s big tip Emile Heskey won’t be kicking any balls for a while, no, he hasn’t rediscovered his World Cup form, the big striker has picked up a knee injury. I’d look to Blackpool’s front line to fill the gap, Luke Varney and Gary Taylor-Fletcher, 4.6 and 4.5 million respectively, are performing well and confidence will be high after picking up their first home win of the Season.

I can’t leave without mentioning Newcastle, after a barnstorming derby win against Sunderland Messrs. Nolan, Barton, Carroll and Ameobi will be looking to capitalise on Arsenals disappointing showing in the Champions League. The exciting thing about Newcastle this season is their total unpredictability, Sunday’s lunchtime clash at the Emirates could be a high scoring classic.

If you feel like joining in the fun then join the EPL League by visiting: http://fantasy.premierleague.com/  the code you need to join is 13413-5300

How do you stop the best player in the world, Lionel Messi will probably be keeping Guus Hiddink awake tonight as he prepares for his stiffest test yet as Chelsea’s interim manager. Whilst I appreciate the bravado that Hiddink is giving in regards to his own players, he is right to dampen down the furore over just concentrating on the supreme Argentine magician. He knows that Barcelona are the best side in Europe right now, by a country mile and to focus all their energies on Messi will see Chelsea fall straight in to Guardiola’s trap. The loss of Ashley Cole is a major problem, without another left back in the squad means the balance of the Blues will be off kilter. Dealing with that lack of balance will be Hiddink’s major concern.

Sometimes, I’m not sure people actually watch European football before commenting on it, if anyone thinks that Barcelona are a one man team, then they need their eyes testing. Of course, Messi is in phenomenal form this season, continuing on the excellent season he had for club and country in 2007-2008 and proving finally that Argentina can produce a player to cope with the tag of being “The Next Maradona”. 34 goals in 45 games for Barcelona plus 5 for Argentina is a phenomenal record, simply mind blowing.

Yet, this is a Barcelona side rescued from the indignity of underachievement through Frank Rijkaard’s last two seasons and their are several factors for this. Firstly, Daniel Alves’ signing was a masterstroke, in another season he’d be favourite for the World Player Of The Year and Chelsea and Liverpool must be kicking themselves after watching his performances this year. Thierry Henry’s second season has shown him return to form after a season of transition, with 24 goals so far and now forms part of Europe’s most famous attacking trio with Eto’o and Messi. Eto’o has also been reborn this season, with 32 goals this season.

Yet, Barca’s side oozes quality throughout but it’s the back line where perhaps Chelsea may profit, with Puyol still struggling, Marquez and Pique join Alves and Abidal in front of Victor Valdes. Now Valdes perhaps gets a little more stick than he deserves, of course he’s not one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, but he’s probably the most underated. The midfield of Xavi, Iniesta and Toure shouldn’t be underestimated at all. Toure adds the steel to the silk that Xavi and Iniesta provide and the ammunition they create has seen the strikers at Barca score 90 goals between them so far in all competitions. A staggering amount under any circumstances.

The British media seem to feel that if you stop Messi, you stop Barcelona, but that simply smacks of jingoism of the highest order. This is a side that could rule Europe for the the next 3 or 4 seasons if they strengthen the back line and tonight is the beginning of a three game period that could define Barca’s season. Hiddink knows that Chelsea are about to face their sternest test in any competition this season and if they can achieve any positive result tonight, it will be his biggest achievement so far in his short tenure at Stamford Bridge.

The general feeling from the British pundits is that Chelsea will have too much for Barcelona, but Hiddink will be instilling in his players in the dressing room that to believe their own hype is the basis for them to come away from the Camp Nou with a kicking. Even a 1-0 defeat will be viewed as a great result so for the Blues to get anything else will be an astounding result. Let’s hope it lives up to the build up and Chelsea fans will be hoping that Hiddink has their team switched on to concentrate on Barcelona and not just Lionel Messi.

How would you like to have been a Manchester City or Blackburn Rovers fan heading from the north of England to the south, only to do a turnabout and head home after finding out your upcoming fixture was canceled? I know if it was me, a few words of the four letter variety would have came forth from my mouth. (If you were traveling to one of those two games, or any other game this weekend that was called off, what was your reaction to finding out that it was indeed canceled?)

While yes the cold snap in England last weekend took out a huge chunk of the English footballing schedule, there is no excuse in my mind for a club to have to call a match off because of a frozen pitch. If you are a top flight club, making sure your pitch can withstand a freeze should be something that is easily taken care of. Using heaters on the pitch (as was reported on the BBC Text Commentary on Saturday morning) should never happen.  As for Fulham, if Sam Allardyce is to be believed, they don’t even have underground heating.

With only the threat of fines being thrown about over this, to me this isn’t enough. The only two things a Premier League match should be called for is fog and the fact it’s raining harder than the field can drain (which with today’s technology would have to be one hell of a downpour). If it was up to me, both Portsmouth and Fulham would be losing the three points via forfeit. A strong message has to be sent out that unnecessary postponements will not be tolerated, and the only way for that to happen is if teams start losing the points they could possibly gain.

I would have thought that after Rafa Benitez went off on Fergie, saw his Liverpool side draw with Stoke, and then saw Manchester United defeat Chelsea this past Sunday, he would have kept his mouth shut. I guess I was wrong. Instead, Rafa has now turned his attention towards David Gill and his position within the FA. Look Rafa, after being humiliated in the manner in which you were last weekend, now isn’t the time to be turning the screws on a rival club. In fact, dare I say you’ve actually allowed this to turn into a major distraction to the club you manage?

Rafa is not the person to decide what is normal or not within the FA. Bringing David Gill up after your humiliating weekend only cries of sour grapes and desperation. Being top of the league and desperate is something you never want to show.

Other Stories
This story is just funny after the fact. What was Jose Bosingwa thinking when he said ‘we know what to do to stop him’ (him being Cristiano Ronaldo).

Is Manchester City fixing to buy up Andrei Arshavin away from Arsenal? Just remember the source of this story.

Phil Brown states the obvious when he says there are 14 teams in a relegation fight. That’s only for now, it’ll slowly start to clear up…eventually.

Stoke City welcome back James Beattie to the Premier League. How much help Beattie gives Stoke up front remains to be seen.

This is an interesting set of stories from Chelsea. While Nicolas Anelka is saying the Blues chances of winning the title are alive, one of the red top specials tonight speaks of a bust up between Luiz Felipe Scolari and Nicolas Anelka. While I wonder how much of that second story is actual fact.