The Premiership, probably at the moment, is the most open league for anyone to win since its introduction in 1992. The emergence of teams like Bolton and Sunderland is making them competitors worthy of testing the best in the league. The league in my mind has stretched across a different range altogether, watching a resurgent Newcastle United side under Chris Hughton and a spirited Blackpool side under Ian Holloway, who in their own way have silenced critics that wrote them off even before the season kicked off. However, the question lies, is the league getting any stronger or in contradiction, getting weaker to such an extent that even an average side on any day can take points off so-called “The Big Four”?

Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have clearly dominated the Premiership; with Manchester United winning the league remarkably eleven times off the eighteen that the league has been contested. However, this season appears to be a bit different.

Let’s examine the Big Four and the other teams more closely:

Manchester United

United, though unbeaten, have looked ragged at the back and have already drawn seven games out of the fifteen that have been played. Johnny Evans, most notably, ever so brilliant looks completely out of sorts this season and has been criticized for United throwing away games at Everton and Fulham.

United though have played smart in the transfer window getting in the likes of Javier Hernandez, Bebe, Chris Smalling and Gabriel Obertan. Sir Alex has been a magician over the years in getting the best out of the youth by playing them with the experienced players, one can’t stop thinking that these players have been brought for the future and still have a lot to learn. Although, United were brilliant against Blackburn last weekend,  they still lack that touch of class that has been a feature of United’s play for years. United for sure have weakened since the departure of Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo. Though United might be stronger than what they were last season but they are definitely not the Manchester United we know.

Arsenal

Arsenal, though they look stronger than the last couple of seasons, are still extremely vulnerable at the back and are horribly inconsistent to be even regarded as a serious title threat. Holding on to leads or finishing the game has simply gone out of the window since the Henry-Vieira-Pires era. Even though they play the best football in Europe alongside Barcelona but how many times have Arsenal been regarded as “bottlers who never reach their potential” and a side lacking mental toughness to challenge for top honors? The lack of experience and Arsene Wenger’s fear of handling egos has lead to Arsenal fans not seeing silverware for five years. Arsenal, though stronger than the last season, continue to have their problems and are definitely not the once called “Invincibles.”

Chelsea

Chelsea, though they played well at the start of the season, can’t seem to get over the   loss of four influential players in Ricardo Carvalho, Joe Cole, Deco and Michael Ballack. It is so evident seeing their recent form and vindicates the fact that it is a side that lacks depth. Chelsea also have an aging core to their side in Lampard, Drogba and John Terry with the likes of Essien, who is either injury prone or not the player he once was. They might have Malouda and have brought in Ramires but they lack a flair player like Robben, Joe Cole or a Damien Duff back in the day. Except Josh McEachran and Bruma, who are a couple of the best young players in England, they lack players who can walk in to the first team, unlike United and Arsenal.

Liverpool

As for Liverpool, I think even the Liverpool supporters wouldn’t deny that this is the weakest Liverpool team to have played in the Premiership.

Gerrard and Jaime Carragher aren’t getting any younger for the Reds. They also lack replacements for Alonso and Mascherano. Poulsen and Raul Merieles are decent players but are they Liverpool quality? It’s a puzzle in its own as to how Lucas Leiva is playing at Liverpool.

Liverpool have simply failed to replace quality with quality. Aquilani was a quality signing who failed to make an impact. He is performing exceptionally well at Juventus during his loan spell and so, there is a strong chance that Juventus, who have an option of buying Aquilani will make his loan move permanent. Kelly and Shevley are good players but you have to think that they are too young and inexperienced to make an impact at the Premiership level. I mean, just have a look at the recent transfers: Riise out, Konchesky in; Mascherano out, Poulsen in; Alonso out, Lucas in; Crouch out, N’Gog in; Bellamy out, Jovanovic in; Benayoun out, no one in. Signing average players like Konschesky and Poulsen, and a manager in Roy Hodgson seems to be turning Liverpool into Fulham than into the Liverpool of old.

Spurs and Man City

Manchester City and Spurs are the only clubs who are getting stronger every day but still don’t look to impose a serious title threat. City with the owner Sheikh Mansour making multi-million pound signings doesn’t seem to be getting the desired results and it only underlines the fact that money can’t buy trophies.

Their title aspirations were questioned when City played for a draw at home to Manchester United.

Having a manager in Harry Redknapp, Tottenham seem to be heading in the right direction. Spurs have a balanced side, with pace, experience, zeal combined with a team that plays some of the best football. But again, they majorly lack consistency. On one day, they teach the Champions of Europe a lesson; four days later, they get outclassed by Bolton 4-2 and the following week, they beat Arsenal at the Emirates 3-2. That’s Spurs’ story.

The Rest of the League

For the rest of the Premiership, Steve Bruce’s Sunderland and Owen Coyle’s Bolton have surprised a lot of people.

Though they have won only four games this season, Sunderland have their tails up and their 3-0 victory against Chelsea has set a benchmark for anyone who wants to go to the home of the champions and literally insult the champs by playing better football for periods in the game. Sunderland have bolstered their squad by making four loan signings in Nadeem Onuoha, Menshah, Elmohamady and Danny Welbeck, along with spending 13 million GBP on Asamoah Gyan. These are great signings who have performed well this season but you really have to wonder, what would have happened if these players would have performed the same way had they been playing in the league five years ago.

Same thing applies for Bolton, Fulham, Aston Villa, etc. and rest of the teams battling relegation; though saying that some of the managers like Chris Hughton and Ian Holloway have done a commendable job.

The fact of the matter is that the gap between the Big Four, or now the top six, has been reduced remarkably and it’s not because the entire league has gotten stronger. This is because, the top teams have weakened to such an extent that they are becoming challenged by the teams that would normally not stand a chance to even compete and would finish mid table. These top teams are often finding it hard to get results even against the teams that might eventually end up getting relegated. For example, Arsenal lost to West Brom 2-3 at the Emirates and United played a 2-2 draw against West Brom at Old Trafford. Chelsea recently have only picked up five points out of a possible eighteen.

The English Premier League has turned into a weird league but one that has turned into probably the most entertaining league in the world. The reason of the overall competiveness and weakening of the league is not due to the teams outside of the top four getting ever so strong, which admittedly is a slight factor, but because “The Big Four” have not been replacing “older” players and creating a new fresh cycle with the same level of quality.

For every Ronaldo, there’s a Shevchenko. Sometimes, great reputations come at a great cost yet fail to deliver. Shevchenko is a great player to start with. Feared throughout Europe, his performances for Dynamo Kiev and A.C. Milan saw him become one of the most lethal strikers in the world. Once he arrived at Stamford Bridge, his reputation began to fall apart.

Yet these things happen. Sometimes, for a variety of reasons, some players cannot settle. Yet others flourish when they were expected to fail. Now we look at some of the worst signings in the last ten years and ask ourselves, did Juan Sebastian Veron really cost £43 million for English clubs alone!!

Well over the years, especially as the Premiership’s international appeal has grown, we now find ourselves in a situation were probably as case can be made for a large chunk of the best players in the world currently ply their trade in England. From Rooney to Torres, Essien to Mascherano, every team offers us a plethora of international flavour. Now let’s cast our eyes over some of my selections for the worst signings this decade in no particular order.

1. Juan Sebastian Veron £43.6 million

Now Veron’s failure to cope with the Premiership is something I still can’t get to grips with. His international pedigree was assured, he’d pulled the strings for Lazio and Parma during a 5 year spell in Italy, he was a top player. The failure of the Little Witch to adapt to the Premiership still astounds me. Manchester United paid £28.1 million for him, but off loaded him 2 years later to Chelsea, were he continued to under-perform. A return to Italy at Inter Milan never saw him recapture his form and he has now returned to Argentinian football.

2. Andrey Shevchenko £30.8 million

As I’ve mentioned earlier, a striker with one of the most feared reputations in Europe caused Chelsea to change their system and lose their way a little under Jose Mourinho. Rumours abound that the Special One never wanted him at Stamford Bridge but since he joined Chelsea, his career has taken a nose dive. Even a return to A.C. Milan couldn’t recapture his glory days and he has now returned to Kiev. It was like watching a different player when he was at Chelsea, he just couldn’t cope with the game.

3. Sergei Rebrov £11 million

Oddly, Shevchenko’s strike partner failed to adapt to the English game also, but his refusal to accept black players as team mates meant that he was always going to struggle. Perhaps a little more digging in to his personal life would have avoided an £11 million mistake for Tottenham Hotspur in 2000.  Made a return to publicity when Spurs signed Roman Pavlychenko, warning him about the amount of “Non-whites” in the Tottenham area. A thoroughly horrible man, the Premiership is better for his absence.

4. Fernando Morientes £6.5 million

Another striker with a fearsome reputation who looked as if he’d been kidnapped and replaced by a stand in when he joined Liverpool in January 2005. It was especially strange as the season before, he’d had a marvelous campaign in the Champions League with Monaco and a solid reputation forged for Real Madrid and Spain. He just never got going at Anfield and returned to Spain after just 18 months.

5. David Bentley £15 million

Bentley had forged an excellent reputation under Mark Hughes at Blackburn Rovers but his spell at Tottenham has seen him under perform constantly. That goal against Arsenal was expected to be the catalyst but Aaron Lennon’s continued excellent form has seen him become a peripheral player at his beloved Tottenham. It’s simply not worked for him and the problem is no one can work out why.

6. Jean Alain Boumsong £8.2 million

This transfer still makes me laugh, as it was a ludicrous amount of money for a centre half who struggled to cope with Scottish football during his spell at Rangers. Yet, if you want someone to pay over the odds, who better than Graeme Souness to come to your rescue. Never coped while he was at St James’ Park, he was moved on to Juventus and struggled in Serie B before joining Lyon.

7. Albert Luque £9.5 million

Another one of Souness’ signings during his awful spell as Newcastle manager, Luque came highly rated but never saw his career take off at all in the North East. He’d had three excellent seasons at Deportivo but since his two year hell at Newcastle his career has collapsed. Another dreadful Souness signing that never recovered to show his early potential.

8. Bosko Balaban £6 million

Was highly rated when John Gregory signed him for Aston Villa but in his 30 month spell he never started a game or scored a goal. The long running joke amongst Villa fans was that they’d actually signed the wrong player but he was signed as a goal getting striker. On leaving Villa he continued to score goals but will always be remembered for the goalless spell at Villa Park.

9. Steve Marlet £11.5 million

The signing that brought the end to Jean Tigana’s reign as Fulham manager and caused a legal battle with the chairman of Fulham, Marlet was an unmitigated disaster. 11 goals in 4 years says it all and he is currently without a club. Though how he was ever valued at £11.5 million after scoring just 13 goals in 2 seasons at Lyon still mystifies me.

10. Robbie Keane £20 million

Poor old Robbie Keane thought he’d gone to heaven when Spurs grudgingly accepted a hefty bid for the Liverpool supporting Irishman. Yet, unbeknown to Keane, Benitez didn’t want him and he became a pawn in an internal battle between Rick Parry and Rafa Benitez. 6 months later he was on his way back to White Hart Lane for the remainder of the fee that Liverpool owed Spurs, so effectively the Reds paid £8 million for a 6 month loan deal. Has never looked the same player since he returned either.

11. Francis Jeffers £8 million

Arsene Wengers most expensive mistake, Jeffers was supposedly the fox in the box the Gunners needed as the long term replacement for Ian Wright. Yet Jeffers’ attitude had caused him to be gladly sold by Everton and his career has seen him fall down the leagues, failing to score or stay fit for than a month a time. A shining example of wasted potential, he scored on his England debut in 2001 and it was all down hill from there. Is frighteningly still 28, currently injured at Sheffield Wednesday.

So, any thoughts on who you feel was the worst Premiership signing of the last 10 years? Please leave your comments below.

This decade has seen the Premiership continue to grow and attract some of the worlds greatest players throughout the last ten years. By continuing to attract some of the biggest stars in the world, only La Liga can truly consider itself a rival for the quality of the players on show throughout the league. Yet who would make the best Premiership team of the decade?

Which players have consistently delivered year in, year out, or given years of sterling service throughout the decade? Well I present you with my best 11 of the last ten years, from goalkeeper to striker and I think you may be surprised with some of my choices. Once you’ve glanced through the team, let me know who you think should have been in or your best 11 of the decade.

1. Shay Given

The most consistent goalkeeper of the last ten years, with only the criminally underrated Jussi Jaaskelainen coming close for me. Seemingly trying to keep Newcastle up on his own, he served under 9 managers at St James Park this decade until he finally ran out of patience with the chaos in the boardroom and accepted a move to Manchester City. Since joining City in January, along with Craig Bellamy, he’s easily been head and shoulders above the other high profile signings at Eastlands.

2. Gary Neville

England’s most underrated player of the last 15 years and one of the best fullbacks this country has ever produced. Solid, dependable and wholly committed to Manchester United, Neville has often been in the shadow of higher profile players at United. For all the plaudits that Scholes, Giggs and Beckham received, without Gary Neville, it would have been a very different period without his consistent quality for club and country.Was clearly the best full back in Europe for a while along with Michel Salgado.

3. Ashley Cole

Yes, he’s got the personality that gets on your nerves and his autobiography was beyond deluded, but he’s been head and shoulders above most other left backs in the last ten years. Despite his issues, Cole is a fabulous full back and his duels with Ronaldo for both club and country have been more exciting than they should be. Only Patrice Evra can come close to him over the last few years. If only he could score more goals!

4. Roy Keane

Love him or hate him, Keane was the ultimate midfield enforcer over the first half of the decade in the Premiership. When Arsenal and Manchester United clashed, Keane vs Vieira was always worth the waiting for. Yet, he scored more than his fair share of important goals than Vieira and Makelele who were the other two key players in a similar position. Controversial until the end, Keane has always spoke his mind, but as a player, for me he was peerless.

5. John Terry

Mr Chelsea, 100% no nonsense defending, Terry epitomises everything that defenders represent. Tough, uncompromising and occasionally has too much to say on the pitch but as captain of club and country, Terry has given everything for the cause at domestic and international level. When he retires, Chelsea will have a major job on replacing him.

6. Rio Ferdinand

Another player who’s off field antics can sometimes grate with the followers of football, but there is no doubting the quality he has as a player. The silk to Terry’s steel for England and Vidic for Manchester United, Ferdinand is the best centre half of his generation. He’s had a ropey few months struggling with injuries and the scandal that the missed drug test caused unfairly tainted his reputation for a while but only Ledley King can come close as a footballing centre half over the last decade.

7. Christiano Ronaldo

Love him or hate him, Ronaldo’s 2007-2008 season was something magical. Quite how he kept scoring at the rate he did can’t really be explained and the following season was always going to disappoint but even though his head had been turned, he still kept scoring marvelous goals throughout the season. If he can replicate his domestic form internationally, then he will be remembered as one of the greats, but he has yet to deliver for Portugal. He needs a great World Cup to cement his reputation. Pace, trickery and explosive finishing that belies his size.

8. Frank Lampard

There is a hair’s breadth between Lampard and Steven Gerrard for me but Lampard gets my nod because he creates more chances for his team mates and doesn’t have the nasty streak that Gerrard can fall back in to on the pitch. A fabulous finisher and a master of the late run, Lampard has consistently delivered season after season for club and country. Has struggled a little this season with the new system that Ancelotti has implemented at Stamford Bridge this year, but I wouldn’t back against him to score another 20 goals this season.

9. Thierry Henry

Well, at least he didn’t have as bad a year as Tiger Woods, his fellow Gillette endorsed scandal buddy but that handball has certainly tainted his reputation almost as much as his whining after Arsenal lost the 2006 Champions League. That aside, Henry was immense for the majority of the decade, even suffering from sciatica for the last few years. His partnership with Bergkamp left defenders dizzy during the Gunners pomp. Failings aside, a damn fine player and terrifying sight in full flight.

10. Didier Drogba

When Jose Mourniho signed him for £24 million from Marseille back in 2004, eyebrows were raised all over England, but he has made the critics more than eat their words. On his day, he is simply unplayable and is once again banging the goals in for Chelsea. His form dipped under Scolari and he flirted with leaving the club, but he’s still at Stamford Bridge and the Blues are far more formidable for his continued presence.

11. Ryan Giggs

What is there to say about Ryan Giggs that hasn’t been said? How good would England have been if he’d stayed true to his schoolboy football roots instead of choosing to represent Wales. Clearly in the category of the greatest players never to have made it to a World Cup, he has scored and created more goals for Manchester United than you can think of. Even now, with Ferguson wrapping him in cotton wool he still delivers. A truly remarkable player.

Notable mentions must go to the following players: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Patrice Evra, Jamie Carragher, Ledley King, Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas,Michael Essien, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres and Dennis Bergkamp. I don’t think anyone would come up with a similar starting 11, so comments please!

Simon Kuper and Stefan Syzmanski titled the American version of their new book Soccernomics (review is here), but their title for the release in the UK is Why England Lose.  In the book, Kuper and Syzmanski identified the US as a rising power in soccer and England as a permanent disappointment to their rabid fans.  With all the caveats that their analysis is designed to look at trends over time and not the outcome of one game, the June 12 match-up between the US and England in South Africa will be a mini-test case for their theory.

Kuper and Syzmanski believe that national team greatness is based on three factors – wealth, size and experience.  For purposes of this argument, England and the US are equally as wealthy.  The soccer playing male population over the age of 12 is probably a little larger in England, but the US is catching up fast and will probably surpass them any moment now.  However, it is in experience where, according to Kuper and Syzmanski, the US is outgunning England.

Kuper and Syzmanski define experience as the collective different types of soccer under which a team and its coaches have played.  For example, one of the main reasons for Brazil’s success, according to Kuper and Syzmanski, is that their players have played in a large variety of leagues all over Europe.  The Brazilian team is full of players who play in the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, and other great leagues in Europe.  When he was considered the best player in the world, Ronaldo was a one man soccer travel guide.  He had done a stint in Holland (PSV), two tours of Spain (Barca and Real Madrid) and two tours of Italy (Inter and AC Milan).  By experiencing these different leagues, and learning how to master them, Ronaldo made himself unstoppable.

Conversely, Kuper and Syzmanski believe that England always disappoints because the English players only master how to succeed in England.  English players rarely travel across the channel to gain experience anywhere else.  They play for English clubs, usually under English managers, against English opponents, and learn only how to beat other English teams.  Unfortunately, when it comes time to go to the World Cup or the Euro tournament, the team that they are best suited to beat (England) is the one team they will never oppose.  It is for this reason that England has not reached the final of a major tournament in over 40 years, and during that time did not qualify for either a Euro or World Cup Finals seven times.

If you project out the most likely team to line up against the US in South Africa, you see this problem in spades.  My projection of the starters and reserves England will field next June is a team that not only plays all its club soccer in England – it does not have a single player who has ever played for a non-English club team.  The only country in the World Cup Finals that can match England’s insularity is North Korea.

English Starters (Club Team Country)

• David James – England
• Ashley Cole – England
• Rio Ferdinand – England
• John Terry – England
• Glen Johnson – England
• Aaron Lennon – England

• Frank Lampard – England
• Steven Gerrard – England
• Joe Cole – England
• Wayne Rooney – England
• Jermaine Defoe – England

English Reserves (Club Team Country)

• Paul Robinson – England
• Wayne Bridge – England
• Mathew Upson – England
• Theo Walcott – England
• Gareth Barry – England
• Michael Carrick – England
• Darren Bent – England

Conversely, the US team is a tribute to diversity.  In my projected starting XI, nine different nations are represented in the players’ club history.  Add in the reserves, and you are adding in another two countries.

US Starters (Club Team Country)

• Tim Howard – US/England
• Jonathan Spector – England
• Oguchi Onyewu – Belgium/Italy
• Jay DeMerit – England
• Carlos Bocanegra – US/England/France
• Landon Donovan – Germany/US
• Michael Bradley – US/Holland/Germany
• Benny Feilhaber – Germany/England/Denmark
• Stuart Holden – US
• Clint Dempsey – US/England
• Jozy Altidore – US/Spain/England

US Reserves (Club Team Country)

• Brad Guzon – US/England
• Steve Cherundelo – Germany
• Jermaine Jones – Germany
• Fernando Torres – Mexico
• Maurice Edu – US/Scotland
• Robbie Findley – US
• Conor Casey – Germany/US

With Holden and possibly Donovan set to go to Europe in the January transfer window, this diversity of experience will continue.  With the US learning under different systems, playing against different types of players, and refining different skill sets, they are more apt to absorb the challenges of international tournament like the World Cup.

Does this mean the US will win the game on June 12?  There is no crystal ball for that.  The only statistical theory that Kuper and Syzmanski could say about that game is that the team that scores the most goals will come out ahead.  However, according to Kuper and Syzmanski, the US is coming on fast and England is a stagnant, creaking soccer power.  Over time, if this trend continues, the US will certainly overtake England on the world stage.  The question is whether that Rubicon is crossed on June 12 in Rustenberg or sometime a little further down the road.

How long does he have left?

With Portugal on the verge of non-qualification for the World Cup in 2010, manager Carlos Queiroz is under extreme pressure and has the very real possibility of unemployment looming over him. Given this threat, and inevitability that this will occur, I ask you… How long before we see the Portuguese back in the Manchester United dugout alongside Sir Alex Ferguson?

With Portugal lying fourth in their World Cup qualifying group with only ten points from seven matches. Going into the qualification group as favourites, the current state of affairs comes as a real shock for the Euro 2008 quarter-finalists.

Denmark have more or less qualified for the World Cup with Hungary and Sweden in equally strong positions. It was imperative the Portuguese overcame Hungary in the last match, but even still, the jobcentre still looms large for Queiroz.

With Portugal lying third in Group A, level on points with fourth placed Hungary and two points behind Sweden who lie second. With two games remaining Portugal face Hungary and Malta, both in Portugal, nothing less than six points from these games will do. But Sweden do have a relatively straightforward fixture with Albania, before which, they play Denmark, a game that will decide the fate of Carlos.

Queiroz therefore may be looking for new employment sooner rather than later and the Old Trafford bench is a familiar environment, one where he has had success in the past as well.

During his first reign sat beside Ferguson for only one year but managed to help the Old Trafford side win the Premier League title on season 02/03, before being poached by Real Madrid. It was after an unsuccessful year in Madrid that he was brought back to Old Trafford by Ferguson to begin an extremely successful four-year reign as assistant manager.

As a number one, Queiroz is terrible, making mistake after mistake. He is also accountable for Portugal’s failure to qualify for Euro ’92 and after taking over a very talented Sporting Lisbon team, led them to three seasons of failure and was promptly dismissed. After his first stint at Old Trafford, Real Madrid offered him a dream job, one that he could not turn down, and one that was a veritable disaster.

Sir Alex Ferguson welcomed the failed coach back to Old Trafford as his number two in July 2004 and so began a fruitful relationship. A number of trophies became housed at Old Trafford, including the 2008 Champions League trophy. Queiroz was seen as instrumental in United’s success, introducing new training methods and tactical plans that underpinned the Manchester United side of a few years back.

He also has an eye for talent spotting; he famously discovered Portugal’s so-called ‘Golden Generation’ and also had a hand in bringing Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford. But these positives have not transpired into the managerial stage and who knows, he may be back sharing a glass or two of Chianti with Sir Alex before the year is out.

Liverpool winning 3-1 away at the KC stadium. Surely, no-one expected anything less if not anything more. The reigning champions level again for the umpteenth time, their leaky defence ensuring that the goal difference keeps them behind Liverpool in second place. Yes, they did have two games in hand but chasing points and championships is not the most comfortable proposition especially when you have key Champions League encounters looming on the horizon. Hence, the Red Devils didn’t exactly have a cakewalk waiting for them at the theater of dreams this weekend.

Spurs have rescued their season somewhat considering it was their worst ever start to a season. The Lilywhites didn’t have much to play for coming in to Old Trafford. Although winning the last 5 of their 6 games, a mostly fit squad, the fact that United had one eye on their Champions League semi-final, Spurs were looking to be a decent bet to pick up something from the game. But their record against the champions, with their last win at Old Trafford coming in 1989 didn’t inspire much confidence for the London outfit. The expected changes were made with the young Brazilian Rafael Da Silva taking his rightful place at right-back while Rio Ferdinand and Nani also returned to the mix. As for Spurs, injuries to Michael Dawson and Roman Pavlyuchenko meant that Ledley King started and Darren Bent retained his place up-top.

Both teams started brightly enough ensuring a good battle in prospect. Clearly, Tottenham had done their homework and reminiscent of their last encounter in the Carling Cup final, Aaron Lennon, once again, ran circles around Patrice Evra. United simply failed to curb the Spurs movement down the right flank. While around the same time, Wilson Palacios lunged viciously with both feet up at the tackle-magnet Cristiano Ronaldo prompting the latter to avoid it by jumping at the last moment. Howard Webb was oblivious to the whole incident. Back to the right flank, united were being driven out of their own territory. The French left-back looked clueless against Lennon, possibly his greatest nemesis in his Manchester United career uptil now. It took 28 minutes for the inevitable to happen when Vedran Corluka and Lennon combined down the right with the Croat crossing for Bent with the ball falling in between Vidic and Ferdinand and Bent on hand to smash it home.

Tottenham 1 – 0 Manchester United: Old Trafford – Silence.

Three minutes later, Lennon still terrorizing the united defence down the right but crossing himself this time for the poaching Bent. The Englishman flicked the ball to the far post where Rafael went AWOL leaving Luka Modric free to bang it in.

Tottenham 2 – 0 Manchester United: Old Trafford – In shock. (Merseyside – popping Champagne).

The goal bringing back bitter memories for the united fans as Porto scored a last minute equalizer the same way in the Champions League quarter finals. The ones looking on in the stadium or through different means through out the world were stunned more so by United’s play than by the scoreline. United, incensed, went all out but a couple of unsuccessful free kicks and corners was their only reward.

HALFTIME.

FlashBack :
Date: 29 September 2001
Place: White Hart Lane, London

United trailing 3-0 at half-time looking down and out after being thoroughly outplayed in the first. But changes at half-time, some hairdryer treatment by the fiery Scot had the red devils transformed in the second half. What transpired after that is highly placed now in the united folklore. United smashed in 5 goals ending up hammering the spurs 5-3. Surely, the United faithful were hoping for an encore.

Changes again at half-time with Carlos Tevez replacing Nani, Fergie looked to increase the tempo. United looked like a team possessed, urgent and hungry to reclaim their throne at the top of the table. Some vintage United-esque play between Berbatov and Ronaldo saw the Portuguese but a good save from Gomes ensured that the scoreline wasnt disturbed. Minutes later, Rooney found Carrick running in the box with a superb ball prompting Gomes to come out to save the former Tottenham man from scoring. Instead, he brought down Carrick albeit getting a touch on the ball in the process, but Mr. Webb generously awarding united a penalty. A more suitable scoreline you think would have prompted a different decision. The enigmatic Portuguese stepped up, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and slammed the ball straight down the middle sending Gomes the wrong way.

Manchester United 1 – 2 Tottenham: Old Trafford – Faith Renewed.

Adrenalin was pumping, united were smelling blood and Paul Scholes was brought on for Fletcher to extract more creativity. Within minutes, Berbatov held the ball up well to feed Tevez who found Rooney on the left and Wazza cut inside, found space and smashed it past the former PSV man at the near post.

Manchester United 2 – 2 Tottenham: Old Trafford – Electric.

The Red Devils were pumped up and even the spurs knew what was coming. In under a minute, Super Roon beat Lennon on the left before sending a delectable cross to a sprinting Ronaldo who obliged by heading past Gomes sending the red half of Manchester into raptures.

Manchester United 3 – 2 Tottenham. Old Trafford – Wild euphoria!!

Tottenham looked on in despair, trying to find some sense in all that was happening. United were far from done as Ronaldo sent in a ball from the right to a prowling Rooney in the box. The English hitman fired it past Gomes but a last ditch save from Woodgate wasnt enough to keep it from trickling over the line to give united some breathing space.

Manchester United 4 – 2 Tottenham: Old Trafford – Normal service resumed.

United a touch slower now, but rampant nonetheless. The red devils displaying exhibition football and spurs waiting for the misery to end. Rooney, master of creativity for the day, strolled past Lennon before chipping in a ball from the left for the lurking Berbatov who headed an effort only to be parried by Gomes but scrappily putting it in the back of the net ultimately.

Manchester United 5 – 2 Tottenham. Old Trafford – At their loudest best this season.

United climbing back to the summit

Twenty two minutes, 5 goals, and United making a statement about their verve and style, something they haven’t done a lot this season. But as a certain gentlemen calling this to be a ‘squeaky-bum’ time, the Red Devils couldn’t have found their rhythm at a better time. The hairdryer from the gaffer, a masterstroke substitution and United rediscovering their passion, a recipe which ended a potential upset into a rout. But expect more twists and turns as the BPL is at its topsy-turvy best. As for Arsenal and their makeshift defence, they should be worried.

The delicious mind-game between former Premier League rivals Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson didn’t disappoint yesterday afternoon.  Whether making sure each player wore the correct shirt to the organizing their players in a way to enhance the scoring of goals, these two towering geniuses of the modern game proved beyond a doubt they are football managers.

Of course to the layman, yesterday’s Champions League match between EPL’s United’s of Manchester and Serie A’s Internationals of Milan appeared to be a routine game of eleven-a-side football, but for those with expert tactical knowledge, every detail—from the way Maicon threw in the ball after it went out to touch, to the way Ronaldo fell over several times—was calculated from the start, pieces in an intricate chess match played by two grandmasters of the game.

You could tell by the way former Chelsea boss Mourinho leaned against the glass wall of his enclosure that he knew exactly what he was doing, like asking the men who were best able to kick the ball in the opposing net to try and do just that, or making the guys really good at defending their own net form a line of some sort at the back.  As for Ferguson, who sat and watched the whole game with his face reacting to the events taking place on the pitch, he made no mistakes at all, like making sure there were eleven men on the pitch instead of twelve, and not giving them hockey sticks or knives, which I believe UEFA no longer allows.

Yes, not since Kasparov met Karpov has the world seen such a pairing.  I mean, look at how Ferguson used non-regular starters to replace players unavailable due to injury, or how Mourinho used the best players at his disposal to play in their regular positions.  The intense extra-sensorial perspetival action was almost too hard to bear.  Indeed, when sometimes-fit-but-sometimes-not-fit striker Wayne Rooney came on in the latter stages of the game to replace tiring Ji Sung Park, it seemed to be checkmate times a billion, until Mourinho had it clear he had other plans.  Like having his defenders snuff out Manchester’s attempts on goal.

Now we can all look forward to the second leg in Manchester in two weeks time.  Will Ferguson attempt a slightly different formation so that the players will better interact with one another to facilitate the scoring of goals?  Will Mourinho give an inspiring team talk to try and improve or maintain his players’ performance in the second half?  You’ll have to tune in to find out!

Liverpool seem to have decided on a new transfer policy this summer which makes the same impact as Real Madrid’s lovelorn chase for Ronaldo. Liverpool seem to be using their local paper, The Echo, to release transfer target information into the public domain to unsettle players at other clubs. Gareth Barry became the first and now it seems that Liverpool are targeting Tottenham’s Robbie Keane in the same way. Whilst I know this kind of thing has gone on for years, Manchester United have been accused 19 times in the last 10 years of tapping up players, Liverpool seem determined to lose any face they have in British football by simply announcing which players they covet and seek to recruit them in this way. 

What makes this situation worse is that Liverpool seem to be a little hard up and this new policy seems designed to get their targets to request to leave rather than match clubs valuations of players they desire. Stories began to be circulated yesterday that Keane had requested a transfer, which Tottenham and the players agent quickly denied. 

Gareth Barry meanwhile has been fined and told to stay away from Villa Park  after criticising Martin O’Neill and Aston Villa in an unauthorised interview.Barry is desperate to join Liverpool but I’d understood it more two years ago, Villa are in the best shape they’ve been for ages. If anything, Villa have more chance of winning the Premiership than Liverpool do at this current time, financially they’re far more robust and have a chairman that cannot put a foot wrong for me coupled with an exciting squad that has bags of potential.

The Barry saga hasn’t done the player’s reputation any favours though and I think it’s a shame that a lad who has spent his entire career at a club and rose to club captain at an early age should treat the fans who adore him like this. I think it’s a real shame, Villa have certainly made him feel special and given him everything he wanted but it’s still not enough.

Barry was quoted as saying“There’s no going back, it’s time for me to move on, I’m desperate to play Champions League football and that’s why I have to leave Villa. Villa kept saying they wanted me to stay but I have not heard from the manager for weeks. It’s seven weeks now since the season finished but while the gaffer’s found time to be a pundit at Euro 2008, he hasn’t found the time to speak to me. Have Villa offered me anything to try to persuade me my future is at Villa Park, not Anfield? Not a thing.”

Do we believe that? Can you see Randy Lerner and Martin O’Neill being like that and ignoring this stituation. No-one believes that at all. Why can’t Barry be honest with the Villa fans who used to idolise him? Why not simply say “I want to play with my best mate Stevie G, earn more money and go out with a clothes horse”? because everyone knows Gerrard will have played a major role in negotiations to get Barry to jump ship, it’s a fact that they are best mates and have been for nearly 10 years. Honestly, do we think they’ve not talked about it at all? O’ Neill, to his credit, has said Barry can leave as long as Liverpool pay the price tage they’ve set and not a penny more.

Good luck to Villa though, I hope they hold out for every last penny of the £18 million they’ve set as his price, Liverpool need to realise it’s not 1988, they’re not the best club in England and haven’t been for 18 seasons, teams can’t be bullied by them anymore and it bothers me far more than the Madrid/Ronaldo/United love triangle that they seem determined to destroy any good will opposing fans have for them. As for Keane, I’ll take Torres or £25 million, other than Rafa, you’re wasting your breath.

So here we go, we’ve had 12 days of blood and thunder football, sublime skills, shock results, new stars and the retirement of legends. Tonight sees the first of the Quarter Finals and what a way to start this section of the competition. There is no doubting over the last 10 years, Portugal’s stock has risen immensly and this tournament sees the team probably have their best chance of winning a major tournament. Whilst I appreciate they were the host nation last time round, sometimes the weight of expectation from your countrymen can bow down on a side and the pressure can disrupt the best of players.

There will be no excuses for Scolari’s men tonight: They know this game is there for the taking and a potential and probably semi-final meeting with the crafty Croatians. On paper, Portugal should rip Germany to pieces, be far too canny, too sly and too much pace for Germany to cope with. Yet, I’ve this nagging feeling borne out of the fact that I’ve seen this type of situation too many times with Germany. They always survive somehow; always get the last minute winner, the last minute goal line clearance, always the deflection bounces their way. Perhaps that’s down to watching them beat England time after time until 2000. Even in the Croatia game, when they were outplayed for long periods of the match, I still expected them to snatch a late equaliser. Surely it can’t happen again? Honestly, Portugal will either win this game by 3 or 4 or lose 1-0. It’s that type of game for me.

We’ve 4 wonderful quarter finals to look forward to, the football purist would love to see Portugal, Croatia, Holland and Spain go through. How would we feel on Monday morning if we were looking at Turkey, Germany, Italy and Russia as semi-finalists? I wouldn’t mind Turkey and Russia, both sides have really impressed me but my first 4 would conjure up two of the best semi final line ups the Euro’s have ever seen. Italy and Germany have been fortunate, very fortunate but that’s their football history and the tenacity that they show in international football. You can never write them off.

Scolari will be picking a full strength side tonight, full of flair and ability. Germany have fitness doubts over Frings and Podolski and manager Joachim Low banished to the stands for this game. Is this the game that Portugal finally come of age and dismantle one of the old guard of European giants? I think they will, but I’m still going to have that nagging doubt right to the final whistle but then again I thought that during USA 94 when Hristo Stoichkov destroyed them in a wonderful win for Bulgaria. The nagging will persisit though, unless of course the Portuguese go 3 up before half time, then I’ll only be slightly concerned until the final whistle.  Portugal to win 3-1