I’ve been in Miami Beach the last few days on business attending another search engine marketing conference, so I haven’t had a chance to write many blog posts this week. Just my luck, too, because it’s been a hectic week in the football world.

For me, I’m in favor of Fabio Capello being appointed as the new England manager. I almost got my prediction correct of who would become the new England boss back on November 22nd except I picked the other Italian manager, Marcello Lippi.

However even with a world-class manager set to take the stage, I have concerns. First and foremost, the new manager will help England tactically but the game is rotten from the top down and I’m concerned that the current FA board don’t have the vision necessary to change the entire system from the kids level all the way up to the national level.

Second, it looks like Stuart Pearce is going to be picked as Capello’s number two for England. While Pearce has done well with the under-21’s, I would have much preferred a more tactically astute number two. Gianfranco Zola, for example, would have been perfect.

This weekend, meanwhile, is going to be a massive one for the Premier League with Man United against Liverpool and Arsenal versus Chelsea. My wish, though, is that both of these games end up being entertaining and without controversy. It’s been ages since a Man United against Liverpool match was exciting and a close encounter. Arsenal against Chelsea is usually more entertaining and it’ll be interesting to see how Avram Grant handles the pressure of a big match especially since his first one in charge resulted in a loss to Man United at Old Trafford.

I’ll return to regular blogging on Monday. In the meantime, behind the scenes, EPL Talk is gearing up for a complete redesign of the website and blog. More details to come next week but be prepared for big and exciting new changes.