Like it or loathe it, soccer teams are into the fashion of changing kits every season — even third shirts, which 75% of the teams in the Premier League currently wear and sell.

In today’s world of instant social media and commercialization it’s just as important to look good as being successful, so here is the top 20 in reverse order (an accumulation of all team shirts to determine the list).

In order from worst to best:  

20. Swansea City

Swansea’s home shirt is classic and traditional white kit made by Adidas via their Condivo 14 template. However, it loses it style by the oversizing and shaping of their sponsor GWFX (Goldenway). Just when you think it can’t get any worse, the away shirt is a half red and black, making it looks like it belongs more on a roulette table then a soccer team.

19. Stoke City

Although an effort has been made by clothing manufacturer Warrior to go back to the Stoke City 1970s style shirts with navy blue sash, the shirts still look and feel bland and ordinary. It could be worse. Stoke City fans will be happy that Warrior haven’t followed suit with Liverpool by designing shirts like last year’s atrocities.

Browse through the Stoke City shirts on World Soccer Shop.

18. Leicester City

Leicester’s home shirt is very classic with a collar style identical to Borussia Dortmund’s Champion League kit. What lets Leicester’s shirts down are their away and alternative strips. The away kit incorporates gold as a continuation from the 13/14 shirt and the alternative red is incorporated for the first time in over 20 years. It would have been better to see a classic white shirt as they did in the mid-late 90s.

17. Liverpool

Liverpool’s position is only this low by the fact of Warrior’s constant inability to get their away shirts right. Liverpool’s home kit is smart and stylish with a clean and curved white trim with the Hillsborough ’96 tribute on the back of the shirt. The yellow away kit is a throwback to the 1980s with the classic red badge but is let down by the red piping around the chest and even more so by the hideous black alternative shirt, which includes a grey and red sash across the front with red collar and cuffs. Someone at Anfield must tell Warrior to stop making these outrageous designs.

16. West Bromwich Albion

Soccer fans don’t embrace change especially when it comes to their traditional home colors and shirt designs. WBA’s new shirt uses the same template as Swansea and Sunderland (Condivo 14), but the difference is that they have moved away from the classic blue and white large stripes shirts to a pinstripes. The away kit is red with white trim on the collar, shoulders and cuffs.

15. Aston Villa

Aston Villa’s shirts have a strong element of classic styling from Italian manufacturer Macron. The home shirt consists of blue pinstripes and a stylish collar. The away shirt pays homage to their 1982 European Cup Final success. It’s a classic V-neck with four pinstripes and claret shorts and white socks. The problem with this shirt is that its rather bland and is ruined by the Macron logos on the top of the shoulders and shorts.

Browse through the Aston Villa shirts on World Soccer Shop.

14. Newcastle United

Over the last few seasons, Newcastle’s home strips have become blacker, featuring fewer black and white stripes. This season’s design from Puma introduces a new black triangle across the chest with gold trim. The letdown for Newcastle fans are the away and alternative kits. The away strip is silver and black with feint pinstripes — a throwback from their look in the mid to late 1980s. The third shirt is based on the same template design as the away kit. It’s a half and half design of green and blue with green applications, green shorts and blue socks.

Browse through the Newcastle United shirts on World Soccer Shop.

13. Burnley

The three shirts for Burnley are made by Puma. The home shirt is a classic claret and blue, which is accompanied by white shorts and claret socks.  The away shirt is black with silver trim, which is the first time Burnley have adopted these colors. The third shirt is silver with a black trim.

12. QPR

QPR’s home shirt is very traditional, based on Nike’s Hoop III teamwear template, featuring a white rounded collar and cuffs accompanied by the classic blue and white hoops. The away shirt features red and black stripes. The third shirt is all white and is based on 1967 League Cup triumph — simple, classy and understated.

11. Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace has gone back to their roots with their home shirt for the 14/15 season with the traditional red and blue stripes with blue shorts and socks.  The yellow shirt is a return to a mid 90s design with light blue shorts and socks. The only letdown is again the Macron logos on the shoulders, which make it look tacky.

Browse through the Crystal Palace shirts on World Soccer Shop.

10. Sunderland

Sunderland has kept a classic look for their new home kit.  The prominent red and white stripes are completed by the gold collar trim along with black shorts and socks. The away shirt uses the adidas Condivo 14 template, with a light blue shirt with dark blue pinstripes.

9. Tottenham Hotspur

The home shirt for Tottenham incorporates a horizontal blue line across the chest with yellow trim on the sleeves. The away shirt is a mixture of black and navy blue with yellow trim and 11 golden lines on the front of the shirt.  This is to commemorate the 11 trophies former Spurs manager Bill Nicholson won during the club’s most successful time in their history. The Nicholson theme is continued in the third shirt with 11 lines on the sleeves and socks. It a take on the classic lemon yellow of Tottenham. Generally, fans will be pleased with what Under Armour have produced.

Browse through the Tottenham Hotspur shirts on World Soccer Shop.

8. Arsenal

After switching from Nike to Puma, Arsenal fans will be pleased with the home and away shirts. The home jersey is a tighter fit than usual and still keeps the classic white sleeves as well as white shorts and hooped socks.  Arguably the best shirt would be the away yellow one, which again keeps the tradition of blue sleeves and red trim on the shirt, blue shorts and yes more hooped socks. The letdown is the so-called “Cup Kit,” which features light and navy blue diagonals stripes with small lime green lines.

Browse through the Arsenal shirts on World Soccer Shop.

7. Manchester United

These will be the final Nike shirts for Manchester United after the Red Devils signed a $1.2 billion deal with adidas that begins next summer. Nike’s red shirt is a simple design with matching white and black trims for the collar and cuffs. Nike has continued the classic theme with the white away shirt, black collar with solitary button (disguising the club emblem until un-buttoned) as well as black shorts with white socks. The shirt looks more like it belongs at the Wimbledon tennis tournament. The third shirt is a two-tone blue kit with a vibrant blue on the front of the shirt and shorts, and a rich, deeper blue at the back. It also has orange trim on the shirt and shorts, and looks more suitable for a Netherlands away kit. The disappointment of the obnoxious Chevrolet sponsorship. The gold logo doesn’t do the shirts any justice.

Browse through the Manchester United shirts on World Soccer Shop.

6. West Ham United

It’s back to the 1980s for West Ham United’s new home shirt, a throwback to the classic adidas strip from their successful 1985-86 season where they finished third in the First Division. The shirt features thin horizontal blue lines, blue and white collar and cuffs, as well as light blue three lines down the shoulders.  The change is the blue home shorts as opposed to white. The away shirt keeps to the classic blue with dark navy sash across the front of the shirt with navy shorts and light blue socks.  The third shirt is purple with gold adidas lines across the shoulders as well as a black collar and diagonal tonal stripes on the front of the shirt. It’s a great look for the fans on the streets of east London.

5. Southampton

The stripes have returned!! After years of Southampton not wearing their classic stripes, they’re back. The home shirt features a traditional V-neck collar, red and white stripes down the shirt (with each red stripe featuring small diagonal stripes within them) as well as black shorts and red socks.  The away shirt is a navy blue horizontal striped shirt with yellow trim, navy blue shorts and socks. Sponsors Veho remain but are promoting their sub-brand Muvi on the away shirt.

4. Hull City

Having signed a four-year deal with Umbro, this is the first of The Tigers’ new kits with them. The designs are simple but the colors work well. The home shirt is amber with four black stripes, and Umbro logo on the sleeves with black shorts and amber socks. The away shirt is all black with amber detailing around the collar, working well with the sponsorship on the shirt. The away shorts have a orange line on each side identical to the home shorts as well as black socks. The third shirt still incorporates the aspect of light blue as they did last season. Except only this time, it’s with the shorts and blue trim on the collars and socks. Overall, Hull City has three well-styled shirts.

Browse through the Hull City shirts on World Soccer Shop.

3. Chelsea

For once, Chelsea aren’t top of the league. Chelsea’s home shirt features a color gradient accompanied by traditional blue shorts and white socks. The away shirt pays homage to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with blue trim. Chelsea have continued with the dark blue/turquoise mix as an third shirt, featuring a sound wave design with the classic three stripes on the shorts and socks.

Browse through the Chelsea shirts on World Soccer Shop.

2. Everton

Having re-signed with Umbro for the next 5 years, Everton fans will look forward to having unique kits according to an Umbro exec. The home shirt is one of the best in the Premier League this season. It consists of thin horizontal hoops, black buttoned collar and classic Umbro logo on the right chest of the shirt. The away is all black with a modern crew neck collar, a classic monochromatic Everton badge and a logo from sponsors Chang beer.  The third shirt is white with purple V-neck collar and a feint yellow trim with purple shorts and socks.

Browse through the Everton shirts on World Soccer Shop.

1. Manchester City

Last year’s champions of England are champions of Premier League football shirts this season. Nike have produced three stunning shirts, and although not all of them are traditional, they clearly have spent a lot of time designing them. The home shirt is sky blue with a dark navy Johnny collar and cuffs. The main difference are that the shorts are sky blue with navy panelling and not white, a look that is more common when City travel away from home. The away shirt has a color gradient of dark to light blue from the top to the bottom of the shirt.  The third shirt is all about Nike utilizing bright and vibrant colors to electrify City’s look. It’s predominantly purple with flash green accents across the sleeves and sides of the shirt. As with Manchester United’s third shirt, one half features one color on the front (purple) and the other half features a different shade on the back (dark purple). The Etihad sponsor name and Nike Swoosh look bright and vibrant, and will be a must-have for most City supporters.

Browse through the Manchester City shirts on World Soccer Shop.

It’s every Englishman’s dream to be the person who leads their country to World Cup success from the pitfalls of despair to the tears of joy and open-top bus parade around Central London. If you aren’t one of the managers of the big boys this dream will also be an impossible reality. However for Mike Bassett, this becomes his reality.

Mike Bassett England Manager is a mockumentary of what it might be like to be England manager even if you not good enough to manage them. The 125-minute film also deals with hooliganism and the impression of English soccer fans aboard, and the ‘Psycho’ captain Gary Wackett who takes more pride in putting the fear in opponents then actually being able to lead a team. Then there’s David Dodds, the coach who simply agrees with everything Mike says (like Phil Neal with Graham Taylor from the infamous Do I Not Like That documentary). And then there’s the irate and often brash Fleet Street reporter played by Phill Jupitus.

Mike Bassett England Manager provides many ‘laugh out loud’ moments and truly illustrates the up and downs fans experience following their nation in a major tournament. It also provides moments of emotion and true pride, and shows that although it is most one of the lucrative jobs in football, it does take a very brave individual to do it.

Meanwhile, check out the Kickstarter project where filmmakers are trying to raise funds to launch a sequel to the film.

Mobile app users, watch the video here.

With nearly a quarter of the season played, the league is starting to take shape but what does the future hold for Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United over the coming weeks. Let’s look ahead to their next 6 Premier League match-ups and how rosy or wilted each team may appear after the six matches conclude:

Chelsea

Chelsea is the Premier League favorites and, without question, the most complete side in top-flight English football. Mourinho cleverly addressed his needs early in the transfer market with Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, who are both already paying dividends. The flair of Eden Hazard and steel and physical presence of Nemanja Matic means Chelsea will take some stopping. However before everyone starts giving them the trophy, they face acid tests against Manchester United and Liverpool away from home. Not to mention a return to Selhurst Park, the scene of one of their most startling performances last season. Also the Blues face a home matchup against a stubborn West Bromwich Albion and a trip to the Stadium of Light. Many would expect Chelsea to still be leading the way in the Premier League but the likelihood is that talk of an unbeaten season will quickly disappear like autumn sunshine.

Next league fixtures: Crystal Palace (away, Saturday, October 18, 10am ET, NBCSN), Manchester United (away, Sunday, October 26, Noon ET, NBC), QPR (home, Saturday, November 1, 11am ET, NBC Sports Live Extra), Liverpool (away, Saturday, November 8, 7:45am ET, NBCSN), West Brom (home, Saturday, November 22, 10am ET, NBC Sports Live Extra) and Sunderland (away, Saturday, November 29, 12:30pm ET, NBC).

Manchester City

A rather placid start to the season for the champions as they struggle to adjust to life of Champions League football and still haven’t hit the heights of the final third of last season. Yaya Toure, who is arguably their best player, has been off the boil since returning from the World Cup and Joe Hart’s inconsistent performances is a concern. London will be the main theme for the next month for the blue half of Manchester with Tottenham visiting the Etihad Stadium and trips to West Ham and QPR. Wins against Swansea and Newcastle will be expected from the City faithful, but the key fixture will be the visit of Manchester United on November 2.

Next league fixtures: Tottenham (home, Saturday, October 18, 7:45am ET), West Ham United (away, Saturday, October 25, 7:45am ET), Manchester United (home, Sunday, November 2, 8:30am ET, NBCSN), QPR (away, Saturday, November 8 12:30pm ET, NBC), Swansea (home, Saturday, November 22, 10am ET) and Southampton (away, Sunday, November 30, 8:30am ET, NBCSN).

Arsenal

After a strong finish to the end of last season and ending a nine-year trophy drought, much was expected of Arsenal who have so far struggled to find any level of consistency with only two league wins in seven games. Largely been hit with a gluttony of injuries to key players including Ramsey, Giroud, Walcott, Arteta, Debuchy and now Ozil, the list is going south and so are Arsenal’s credentials for a title challenging campaign. In fairness, they were handed a tough first seven games with Everton, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City. That is reflected with up-and-coming matches against mid-lower league teams, Hull, Sunderland, newly promoted Burnley, West Bromwich Albion and Swansea. Of course the clash everyone will be looking forward to is against Manchester United on November 22 at Emirates Stadium, which will provide a yard stick to both teams’ top 4 aspirations. Arsenal would expect to get their season going over this period but only time will tell how much their depleted squad will affect them.

Next league fixtures: Hull City (home, Saturday, October 18, 10am ET, NBC Sports Live Extra), Sunderland (away, Saturday, October 25, 10am ET, NBC Sports Live Extra), Burnley (home, Saturday, November 1, 11am ET, NBC Sports Live Extra), Swansea City (away, Sunday, November 9, 11am ET, NBCSN), Manchester United (home, Saturday, November 22, 12:30pm ET, NBC) and West Brom (away, Saturday, November 29, 7:45am ET, NBCSN).

Liverpool

As with Arsenal, it’s been a slow and rather frustrating start to the season for the Reds. Defensively, Liverpool still needs to improve and up front they lack the firepower and craft to hurt teams (especially since Sturridge has been injured as well as the inconsistency of Mario Balotelli). Liverpool will have to be patient and allow the new players to get used to playing together. They are still lackadaisical in defense but with future games against QPR, Swansea, Crystal Palace, Hull and bottom of the table Newcastle, improvements will be expected, but they could be short lived when Liverpool entertain Chelsea in early-November.

Next league fixtures: QPR (away, Sunday, October 19, 8:30am ET, NBCSN), Hull City (home, Saturday, October 25, 10am ET, NBC Sports Live Extra), Newcastle (away, Saturday, November 1, 8:45am ET, NBCSN), Chelsea (home, November 8, 7:45am ET, NBCSN), Crystal Palace (away, Sunday, November 23, 8:30am ET, NBCSN) and Stoke (home, Saturday, November 29, 10am ET, NBC Sports Live Extra).

Manchester United

Papering over the cracks or purchasing the right players to get into the top four? They certainly have invested in top quality with Di Maria and Falcao. The key question for United after a poor start to the season is what boat United will fit into after spending £160m+ in the summer. Yes, they are top four but only by goal difference and with a home game against Chelsea, and away trips to Arsenal and the “noisy neighbors” plus difficult challenges expected from West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace that position is unlikely to be in their grasp for too much longer. They are still on the fringes and are unlikely to mount a serious title challenge.

Next league fixtures: West Brom (away, Monday, October 20, 3pm ET, NBCSN), Chelsea (home, Sunday, October 26, Noon ET, NBC), Manchester City (away, Sunday, November 2, 8:30am ET, NBCSN), Crystal Palace (home, Saturday, November 9, 10am ET, NBC Sports Live Extra), Arsenal (away, Saturday, November 22, 12:30pm ET, NBC) and Hull (home, Saturday, November 29, 10am ET, NBC Sports Live Extra).

Out of all five clubs, Manchester United definitely have the toughest set of fixtures in their next six games compared to the other big clubs in the Premier League.

Football is always a game where being a young kid you dream of being the Roy of The Rovers superstar that grabs victory from the jaws of defeat. When I was 15 year’s old, I was discovering Oasis, sitting exams, playing PlayStation and failing amicably in my attempts to re-create the Gazza goal against Scotland in Euro ’96.

Norway have had a few stars that come to the mind of fans, who can forget Jan Arge Fjortoft of Swindon Town in the early-mid 90s, Tore Andre Flo and his success at Stamford Bridge and of the Baby-Faced Assassin Ole Gunnar Solskjær at Manchester United.

Now Norway has a new superstar, he name is Martin Odegaard, 15, and recently received a call up to the Norway Senior National Squad for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against Malta and Bulgaria.

So what of the new Norwegian super kid? Ødegaard made his debut for Stromsgodset in April 2014 against Alaesunds FK. Since then he has made 18 Tippeliga appearances for Stromsgodset, providing eight assists and scoring three goals. However, it was the game against Sandnes Ulf, in July where he caught the nation’s eye.

He was involved in all three goals, scoring one and assisting two others. Media calls where already made for him to be called up to the national team, especially due to the limited attacking options available. This was further enhanced in August where he grabbed the headlines again by assisting all three goals in a 3-2 win away to IK Start.

Odergaard made his full debut for Norway in a international friendly against United Arab Emirates in a goalless draw in August and became the youngest player to player for Norway at senior level at 15 years and 253 days. He is renowned for his superb tricky and creative dribbling skills, playing with a youthful exuberance of energy and a fearless attitude that terrorises defenders. Odergaard’s talents have attracted the attention of soccer heavyweights Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The question for Odegaard will be how he develops and matures as a footballer – can he have a long and fruitful career? Could he peak too early? Will he be able to develop into a truly all round world-class footballer? Adding goals to his unquestionable talent. Of course these are questions that will be answered over a lengthier period of time but there have been other teenage sensations who have sparkled on the biggest stage.

Lionei Messi – Burst onto the scene aged 16 in 2004 against Espanyol for Barcelona, still regarded as one of the best players in the world has won three Champions League titles, six La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey trophies and been named World Footballer of The Year on four occasions.

Cristiano Ronaldo – Signed for Manchester United aged 18 in 2003 for £12m, wearing the famous No. 7 shirt. Won the FA Cup in his first season, scoring in the final against Millwall. Since then he’s gone on to win two Champions Leagues titles, two League Cups, four League titles, 2 Copa del Rey trophies and engineered an £80m move to Real Madrid. Current FIFA World Footballer of the Year and has won the gong on two occasions.

Wayne Rooney – Made his debut for Everton aged 16, famously ended Arsenal’s 30-match unbeaten run in 2002 with a wonder strike. Then set alight Euro 2004 in Portugal scoring four goals in as many games which earned him a £27m move to Manchester United and subsequently scored a hat-trick on his debut. He is currently Manchester United and England captain scoring 41 international goals earning 97 caps.

Pele – Arguably the greatest player of all-time, Pele won three titles with Santos, three World Cups with Brazil and famously scored a hat-trick in the 1958 World Cup final victory over Sweden. Later went on to score over 1000 goals, winning 11 league scoring awards in the process.

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As the dawn of the new European soccer season draws closer, millions of people around the world are spending coffee mornings, lunch breaks and spare evenings deciding between Sanchez or Costa, Lewandowski or Immobile, Bale or Suarez, and other combinations. But with the constant transformation of real-time markets, the bug has finally caught fantasy soccer and with it a company named Light Speed Games has created fantasy leagues for the top four European Leagues (Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga) with the Serie A game being the most popular fantasy game for Serie A on the web.

All four of the fantasy games (Fantasy Premier League, Fantasy Bundesliga, Fantasy Serie A and Fantasy La Liga) offer the following features:

Classic mode – League-style play works on the simple principle of adding up points the teams score in each round to create a ranking based on their total points. Each manager is allowed one team, with a $120m budget, selecting 18 players (11 starters, 7 substitutes) with no more than 3 players from any team and a selection of 7 formations to choose from.

Head to Head mode – This feature is more like the professional leagues you’re accustomed to. Teams play each other every week, and the winner of each match is decided on the points scored in that particular round. The winner gets 3 points and the loser gets 0 – and it’s one point each for a draw. You can also challenge other players to 1-on-1 matches.

Duration – The length of the league can be a minimum of one gameweek to a complete full season. This provides flexibility to the league admin, and the possibility of creating monthly leagues.

Coins – Regarding the currency used in the game, these can be earned in several ways within the game, such as upgrading your account, winning medals or winning leagues. Using your coins wisely is essential for long-term success!

Medals – Achievements in the game are rewarded with medals. If your team scores the most goals in a round, or none of your players are carded, or any of 19 other accomplishments – you will be rewarded.

Experience Level – Every new entrant starts on a Rookie Manager level 0 and can earn points to grow their level performing actions within the game, to upgrade to the manager level. This stays with you throughout your career, season to season.

Trophies/Prizes – Trophies can be earned for winning leagues, one-on-one matches and supporters groups. Prizes range, depending on your level of membership, from $500 to a free Premium account for the following season.

The series of four fantasy games from Light Speed Games offer soccer fans plenty of choices to play against people around the world online. No matter what league you prefer (Fantasy Premier League, Fantasy Bundesliga, Fantasy Serie A and Fantasy La Liga), there’s plenty of fun in store.

In some fans’ and pundits’ opinion, Manchester City appears to be the team best equipped to challenge Chelsea for the Premier League title. But last Saturday 2-1 defeat at Wolves showed that despite all the talent there are evidently a few holes that need to be filled in.  First credit must be given to Wolves who were outstanding and fully deserved their victory – coming back from a goal down after a soft penalty decision against (Richard Sterman) on David Silva, slotted away coolly by Abebayor.  I am on the side of the fence that believes Wolves play very good football and have been mislabelled as a physical football team.

Manchester City has two major concerns, in midfield and upfront.

Case 1: midfield: for all the talent it possesses, the three-man midfield last Saturday of Barry, Milner and Ya-Ya Toare were simply leaving full-backs Micah Richards & Jerome Boateng exposed again.  Two direct and talented wingers in the in-form – Matt Jarvis and Stephen Hunt – led in wide areas to provide service to Edwards and Doyle. Proof of that were both of Wolves’ goals as first Jarvis and then Hunt had enough time and space to have tea and biscuits before providing the delivery.

Case 2: Attack: This is where City are still to find the right partnership. Without Tevez, City look lightweight upfront without a real striker with the predatory instincts that he possesses.  Abebayor will have his moments of brilliance but more often than not frustrates, as with Balotelli; he is finding his feet and fitness and requires time to establish himself in the Premier League after his Jekyll (first half) and Hyde (second half) performance. Abebayor and Balotelli were not on the same wavelength for the match, running into same areas and not appearing to show a partnership together, City’s can only hope that Tevez’s return is speedy as otherwise this minor dip in form could have disastrous concequences.

I would like to see City play with two natural wingers (in Milner and Johnson), with Silva playing in the ‘hole’ behind Tevez (or at present Adebayor) to provide them better balance in wide areas and protection for the exposed areas at full backs – especially on the left, a position where City have employed 8 different team members already this season.

With some fine-tuning in midfield and upfront – something that will surely be corrected in the January transfer window – City will prove to be a side to challenge for the title, but they still have plenty to learn.

The League Cup is now entering the stage of when the remaining big boys who are flying the flag in Europe enter the fray, and without question the tie of the round is Tottenham vs. Arsenal.  Three seasons ago The Gunners visited White Hart Lane and were left humiliated, as they missed out yet again on a cup final appearance by a 5-1 battering.  Wenger was publicly slated by the media and fans, including myself, having received more stick from friends and work colleagues than a dog in the park. The big question remains: will he have learned his lesson and play a stronger side? Or persist with the kids?

This is a competition that Arsenal desperately needs to win – a quality team that are without a trophy for 5 years.  Of course there are bigger fish to fry in the Premier League and Champions League but as yet Arsenal haven’t found a big enough net to make the catch! Since that semi-final night in 2008, Spurs have become a vastly improved team who now play Champions League football – it’s easy to see that they are better now than then. Tuesday night will be a huge test for Arsenal, in a game they need to win.

Playing down the importance of competitions such as the Carling Cup and FA Cup has proven highly expensive in recent years and has subsequently added unnecessary pressure in the League and Europe.  They have lacked a grit, toughness and backbone in the past to win the more illustrious trophies.  Wenger must see this competition as an excellent opportunity to win silverware, previously it may have been considered a good move to ‘blood’ youth, but not any more, these are times where results and silverware count for a club of Arsenal’s magnitude. They have been handed a tough draw but maybe this is the best way for Wenger to swallow his pride and play a stronger team with a core of his best 11. The talking has to stop; this trophy DOES mean something to the fans, and its worth remembering bragging rights are at stake too.

Here is a list of the other ties in the League Cup this week, including five all Premier League ties and a tricky away fixture for holders’ Manchester United at Glanford Park against Scunthorpe United.

Brentford v Everton
Portsmouth v Leicester City
Stoke City v Fulham
Chelsea v Newcastle United
Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers
Millwall v Ipswich Town
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Notts County
Burnley v Bolton Wanderers
Birmingham City v MK Dons
Liverpool v Northampton Town
Scunthorpe United v Manchester United
West Bromwich Albion v Manchester City
Sunderland v West Ham United
Peterborough United v Swansea City
Wigan Athletic v Preston North End

Liverpool's new boys sporting their three kits for the new season

A new Premier League season brings about many new arrivals and one of them which is always a money spinner for clubs are the release of football kits. But recently what is becoming more and more apparent is the alarming rate of more Premier League releasing home kits and third kits every season.

A guide-line initiative from the Premier League charter in 2000 stated that teams should only release home kits every two seasons. For 2010-11 all 20 teams have released new home kits, costing around £45 ($70). 18 of the teams released traditional colours for the 2009-10 season. The only two that didn’t from last season were Arsenal and Liverpool.

For a sixth consecutive season Tottenham have three separate kits, Chelsea are also following a similar suit as they have also introduced three new home strips in as many years.

Is this soon to become a trend of all Premier League sides? At which point will the fans say enough is enough, or will the Premier League intervene?

Below is the number of new strips teams have released for the new season.

2 kits – Home and Away

Arsenal

Aston Villa

Birmingham City (New kit manufacturer)

Blackburn Rovers

Blackpool

Bolton

Chelsea

Everton

Fulham (New kit manufacturer)

Manchester City

Manchester United – (expect a third kit to be released, likely black or blue)

Stoke City (New kit manufacturer)

Sunderland

West Bromwich Albion

West Ham United (New kit manufacturer)

Wigan Athletic (New kit manufacturer)

Wolverhampton Wanderers (New kit manufacturer)

3 kits – Home, Away and Third

Liverpool

Newcastle United (New kit manufacturer)

Tottenham

Got an opinion? Post your views and join the debate.

World Cup 2010 South Africa has now been and gone, a feast of football for a month in the rainbow nation. Here are a few memories of the good and bad for the first World Cup of the decade.

The Good

Paul the Octopus – the world stood still in amazement and in humour, (in particular Germany) held its breath on which mussel would Paul take, that ultimately decided the fate of the nation. Paul’s fame quickly grew as the alleged English born two year old Cephalopod gained a 100% throughout the tournament after fierce competition from Mani the physic Parakeet who predicted a Dutch win in the final. After their semi-final defeat to Spain, German fans called for him to end up on a dinner plate.  He is now arguably the no. 2 fan in Spain behind Andres Ineista.

Ghana – In Africa’s first World Cup expectations were high for the African nations if not to win the World Cup then to put on a display to make the continent feel proud. By the arrival of the knock-out stages Ghana were the only African nation left, after squeezing through a tricky group with Germany. The unity that spread throughout Africa was unimaginable and propelled the Ghanaians’ to the last eight after a deserved victory over the US and were a handball (and a miss penalty) from the semis.

Germany – Vorsprung Durch Technik: The new generation proved to be a big surprise at the World Cup especially in the manner they took Australia, England and Argentina to the sword.  German teams in the past have always been identifiable to how they build their cars: strong, powerful engines, reliable with the occasional touch of class and elegance.  This young team are quick, skilful, strong and direct and have been the best counter attacking team of the World Cup with the likes of Ozil and Mueller.  Watch out for them in 2012 European Championships, they will only get better between now and then.

Spain’s tiki-taka football: Now you could argue that Spain weren’t always at their best in this tournament and only scored more than one goal in a game against Honduras.  But the style, patience and self belief they posses to constantly play the tiki-taka style of football has to be commended. Even when games were very tight entering the last 15 minutes against Portugal, Paraguay and in particular Germany they preserved and persisted with the same formula that has served them exceptionally well in the past.

South Africa ‘dancing out’ against Mexico on the opening day – They have become the first host nation in World Cup history not to qualify to the knockout stages, but their entrance to their opening match against Mexico was simple, breath taking and unique and symbolised the spirit and the coming together of a nation through football.

The Bad

Vuvuzelas – the less said on these ‘swarm of bees’ instrument the better, they were quite simply annoying and have been banned from the Rugby Tri Nations and World Cup in New Zealand next year – such is the impact they have had over the tournament.

Suarez and the Hand of God II – With the quarter final level at 2-2 between Ghana and Uruguay and heading towards penalties, Ghana striker Dominic Adiyah’s goal bound header was handled on the line by Uruguayan centre forward Luis Suarez.  He was subsequently sent off, but with Ghana missing the penalty and then being beaten in the shoot-out 4-2 uproar was felt around the football world. With the Ghanaian Sports Minister Akua Sena Dansua requesting for a rule change for the basketball equivalent of ‘goal-tending’.  What made matters worse was the level of joy and celebration from Suarez after the shootout and his claim to be the new ‘Hand of God’

England, France and Italy choking – three of Europe’s more established nations showed how tactically inept they are with over the hill, out-of-position players and ultra egos to cause player-coach bust-ups.

England: a team who were over-hyped carrying a number of injured players (Ferdinand, Barry, Lennon and Rooney to name a few). Key players playing out of position (Gerrard) and dictator of a manager who was unwilling to change the formation or system to balance the team. Recipe equals winning one of your four games, drawing against Algeria and then getting a football lesson from the young and skilful Germans. And to cap it off Rooney mouthing off to England fans when being booed off the pitch.

Italy: The World Cup winners of 2006 looked a shadow of their former selves, and the problems were all too apparent to see. In previous World Cups I fondly remember the likes of Baggio, Del Piero and Totti all being the central point of an Italian team, giving them the spark, the moment of imagination to unlock a defence. This World Cup they lacked a ‘playmaker’ and that water-tight defence that prided itself on being tighter than the Hoover Dam started to looked wary and show that no anti-ageing cream can avoid their ageing: in-deficiencies particularly from set pieces and quick footed players such as Robert Vittek.

France – C”est sacre bleu, Irish men, women and children alike would have been enjoying this one after the deep injustice that was served to them during last year’s playoff defeat. France are a team glittered with huge stars and egos to match, underperforming and splitting their dummies out when they don’t get what they want.  Domenech decisions need to be looked at closer under a microscope. Why pick Henry? And play Ribery in the ‘hole’ out of position that is not suited to him? But these issues are chicken feed to the deeper problems in the team: first Nicolas Anelka being sent home for verbally abusing Domenech, then Patrice Evra and the fitness coach Robert Duverne having a ‘set-to’, players refusing to train, FFF Managing Director Louis Valentin resigning and finishing bottom of group A.

Goal-line technology – This is very simple, Mr Blatter. Please introduce it ASAP, this was a major embarrassment for FIFA and football when Frank Lampard’s goal that was wasn’t given – fait accompli.

Jubalani – Why is it in every major championship does the issue of the ball arise? Adidas claim it is lighter and faster than ever, with more serve and power.  Quite simple it reminds me of the ones I use to use when I was 10 years old paying £1 from your local shop keeper.  It has more bounce than a beach ball, and made a complete embarrassment of some of the world’s best players (excluding Forlan). For future tournaments Herr Adidas why no just create a simple football with 32 panels and leave it to the skill of the footballer.

Mark Van Bommel (closely followed by the large majority of his team mates) – A player who in this World Cup has been more interested in taking players out with poor tackling rather than using experience and craft to out-perform the opponent.  How on earth he went nearly the whole 90 minutes against Uruguay before getting booked, and was lucky to not be sent off for a horrific tackle on Iniesta’s standing leg in the final.  As for the Dutch tactics on that ill-fated night at Soccer City, it’s all well and good to want to get stuck into your opponents and not give them too much respect and pass you around the park like a game of ‘piggy in-the-middle’ but to truly expect a game-plan to hack and saw your way to winning a World Cup is only going to end in tears once you become restricted to 10-men (or fewer as the case should have been).

Kader Keita – Many people remember Rivaldo’s antics from 2002 against Turkey. This was on an equal par – Keita was elbowed (very slightly) in the chest from Kaka and went down holding his face as if Manny Pacquiao had knocked him out in a title fight. What did FIFA do about it? Nothing!!

Portsmouth

Relegation was the least of Portsmouth’s problems from the season, with the on going off-the-pitch saga of the sheer volumes of money owed to the tax man.  This highlights that Football is not an exception to the global financial crises we are currently in.  Back on the pitch the poor start to the season, (not winning their first league game until end of October against Wigan) continued throughout the campaign winning 7 games all season.  Yet by the unpredictability of the FA Cup reached the Final and had Kevin Prince-Boateng scored the 54^th minute penalty, things could have been very different.

Grade: F-

Teacher’s Pet:  Avram Grant for taking on the challenge and winning the hearts of the Pompey fans facing such adversity.  On the pitch, that distinction goes to Jamie O’Hara, who has showed real quality in his loan spell.

Detention: The board for the financial mess Portsmouth are in.

Stoke City

No second season syndrome for The Potters, top of the bottom half the Premier League, never in any real threat of regulation and have shown that they are a settled and well organised team to cope with the best of England has to throw at them.  Lack of goals up from Fuller, Kitson, Beattie and Tuncay suggested that if Stoke want to go to the next level they will need to find a goalscorer.

Grade: C-

Teacher’s pet: Matthew Etherington has rediscovered the form that he had for a few years with West Ham United, even got mentioned in the media of England honours, but realistically that was never on the horizon.

Detention: James Beattie for his spat with Tony Pulis in the middle of the season.

Sunderland

Despite a period of 11 league games without a win from mid November to early March – with the goal machine that is Darren Bent – Sunderland always had enough in the locker to survive.  On paper they have a productive strike force with Kenwin Jones and Frazier Campbell to boot, who scored key end of season goals for the Black Cats. Next term one would expect to see a better performing Sunderland team especially if Lee Cattermole stays fit and away from disciplinary problems.

Grade: D-

Teacher’s pet: Darren Bent – 24 league goals in a struggling side, fait accompli.

Detention: Kieran Richardson – a player with plenty of talent who has had a below par season.

Tottenham Hotspur

After going so close in 2005/06 Spurs finally make the potentially lucrative position of 4^th spot in the Champions League.  All-round they have a strong squad, with many attacking flair players including Modric, Lennon, Kranjcar and Bale; they still have some cracks to fill defensively, with King and Woodgate re their fitness and Bale requiring more experience to play at left-back.  Let’s put things into perspective: it’s still only a playoff and not qualification but fully deserved for a fantastic season.

Grade: B

Teacher’s pet: Tom Huddlestone – the ever-present in the centre of midfield and fully deserved his place in the England 30-man squad.

Detention: Jermaine Jenas – was at one stage a stand-in captain and England international who now struggles to make the first eleven.

West Ham

Survived in the Premier League by the skin of their teeth.  Another football team with financial difficulties but this time with very outspoken Chairmen David Gold and David Sullivan, Sullivan has stated that everyone is for sale except Scott Parker, clearly emphasising they need to sell before funds are available to spend on new players.  They are in the market for a new manager and current favourite appears to be Avram Grant, which would a good move for West Ham, a manager with good experience of managing in the Premier League something that despite all of his charisma and friendliness Zola didn’t posses.

Grade: F

Teacher’s pet: Scott Parker – the fans favourite: week in week out gives 100%, and fittingly scored the winner against Wigan to secure survival to round off an excellent end of the season for him.

Detention: Kieran Dyer – still struggling to get to fully fit, and has only played 4 league games this season.

Wigan

Closing the leaky pipe defence will be the No. 1 priority for Wigan, they conceded 79 league goals – only Burnley and Hull shipped more.  Key victories at home to Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal saved Wigan’s season.  On the plus note, they do have a couple of match winners in Hugo Rodallega and Charles N’Zogbia (when N’Zogbia feels in the mood that is!!).

Grade: E-

Teacher’s pet – Hugo Rodallega – Score goals in a struggling side, all in his first season in the Premier League.

Detention – the defence for conceding so many goals.

Wolves

There was only one priority for Mick McCarthy’s men and that was finishing 17^th or above.  He was heavily criticised for playing an under strength 11 at Old Trafford in December before a massive six pointer against Burnley.  It proved to be the correct decision – they won 2-0 and finished 8 points above the drop zone.

Grade: D

Teacher’s pet: Kevin Doyle – a work ethic and goal threat throughout the whole season where he often played up-front on his own. An excellent signing by Mick McCarthy

Detention – Sylvan Ebanks-Blake – hasn’t scored the goals in the Premier League and looks out of his depth at the highest level.

Fulham

An excellent season for the men from Craven Cottage, and a huge credit must go to Roy Hodgson who in two years has transformed his team from relegation fighters to Europa League finalists and fully deserves his Manager of the Year.  Has also revived the careers of Bobby Zamora and Damien Duff who have both had stellar seasons.

Grade: B+

Teacher’s Pet: There are quite few – including Zoltan Gera, Clint Dempsey and Mark Schwarzer.  But the honour goes to Bobby Zamora with his 17-goal season (including 6 in their Europa League campaign) that gave him an inkling of an England call-up.

Detention: Andrew Johnson – has rarely played this season due to injury.

Hull City

Relegation wasn’t so much of a surprise with Hull, the loss their midfield maestro Jimmy Bullard for the majority of the season meant the task was always going to be a difficult one.  Yet the craziest decision would have been to place Phil Brown on gardening leave and appoint Iain Dowie.  With so few games remaining in the season, if they didn’t want Brown why not do it in December or January, when a manager will have more time to potentially make a difference? Third highest conceders in the Premier League with 75.

Grade: F-

Teacher’s Pet: Jimmy Bullard – Didn’t play that many games but still their best player, is good enough to still play in the top-flight of English football.

Detention: Jozy Altidore – Has struggled to life in the Premier League and subsequently only scored one goal.

Liverpool

Cross this season off the list for The Reds, it’s been an absolute disaster for them both on and off the pitch. Finishing 7^th in the league, being knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages and constant injuries to Fernando Torres and the loss of form of Steven Gerrard.  Then there’s the “will he go or won’t he?” saga of Rafael Benitez, plus with the spiralling debts of the club, they are left in a position where they have to play catch-up quickly with the likes of Aston, Manchester City and Tottenham, and possibly the best route is to sell one of their prize assets.

Grade: E

Teacher’s Pet – Jose Reina has had another excellent season between the sticks and also Dirk Kuyt’s work ethic and performances earn him a special mention too.

Detention: Some may say Glen Johnson for an indifferent season, others will point the finger at new-boy Alberto Aquilani, but the winner is Ryan Babel, who Benitez prefers to use more as a sub and hasn’t settled in the three seasons he has been at Anfield, closely followed by Maxi Rodriguez.

Manchester City:

The purest of football fans would have been pleased that City finished outside of the Champions League places with the money they spent. This will only mean the cheque book will be at the ready again this summer.  Overall it should be still seen as a positive season for City finishing 5^th in Premier League, reaching a League Cup Semi-Final despite the making the wrongful dismissal of Mark Hughes.  Roberto Mancini has done a steady job without setting the world alight, other than find a puncheon for a 70’s style sky-blue and white scarf.

Grade: B-

Teacher’s pet: Carlos Tevez – 28 goals in his first season at Eastlands, showing that he is the man to lead the line ahead of Adebayor and Santa-Cruz.

Detention – Joleon Lescott – Everton must have been rubbing their hands at how much they sold him for: £20m+.  Has struggled with form and fitness since his move to City.

Manchester United

In United’s eyes to only win the Carling Cup will be seen as a disappointing season. And they are right, but many positives should also be taken from the season.  First the emergence of Wayne Rooney being in the true spotlight as the ‘main man’ at Old Trafford, since the departure of Ronaldo.  Positive first season from Antonio Valencia  – and a key this season were the limited matches that both Vidic and Ferdinand started together (10 league games) and an extra striker is still needed as without Rooney up-front United don’t have a true ‘fox in the box’, and matches without him last season proved that.

Grade: A-

Teacher’s Pet: Wayne Rooney, double PFA Players and Football Writers’ Player of the Year, 26 league goals in his most productive goal scoring season ever.

Detention: Dimitar Berbatov – The man who suffered the most from United’s 4-5-1 formation.  His lazy effortless style often frustrates United fans but Ferguson is reluctant to sell him, but for him to be successful at Old Trafford he needs to form a partnership with WR.

Next time, the remainder of the Premier League including Sunderland, Tottenham, West Ham and Wolves.

With the Premier League season now done and dusted, there is no better time to look at the winners and losers of one of the most open and un-predicable seasons in history.

Arsenal

Despite another trophy-less season there has been a considerable improvement with the Gunners, showing more fight and determination despite playing a majority of the season without any central strikers. However there are clear areas where key additions must be made, case 1: a goalkeeper, case 2: two central defenders, a central midfielder and a striker, which is more than likely to be Chamakh from Bordeaux.

Grade: B

Teacher’s Pet: Thomas Veremalen – without question the best buy of the season, at 8.5m from Ajax, has been solid in defence and knows where the back of the net is too.

Detention: Lucas Fabianski – in Arsene Wenger’s words, despite having talent lacks concentration.  Still will be there next season so Arsenal fans best get used to him.

Aston Villa

Without question one of the most improved teams in the Premier League yet another encouraging season after two Wembley visits and a solid 6th place finish. Have a strong nucleus of English players highlighted by the number of their internationals. Squad is still relatively small and could be bolstered by more firepower and extra protection in midfield.  They are very susceptible to the counter-attack because of the lack of protection given to Petrov due to their heavily attacking midfield of Downing, Milner and Young.

Grade: B

Teacher’s Pet: James Milner – fully deserved his Young Player of the Year award and is a definite for Fabio Capello’s squad if not starting 11.

Detention: Emile Heskey – Hasn’t started enough games or scored goals for Villa this season. In the World Cup squad largely due to his successful partnership with Wayne Rooney.

Birmingham City

Credit where credit is due, having been tipped to be one of the three teams to be relegated.  But with an unbeaten 15-game run and one of the most well organised defences in the country (with Scott Dann and Richard Johnson) The Blues more than deserve there highest finish in the Premier League. Cemented by picking up vital points at home against the original ‘big four’ of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Grade: A-

Teacher’s Pet: Joe Hart – fully deserves his call up to the England squad and if he had more full senior experience would be picked as the No. 1 keeper for the World Cup.

Detention: Christian Benitez – despite real effort and endeavour hasn’t set the Premier League alight and subsequently The Blues have decided not to purchase him.

Blackburn Rovers

Job done for Big Sam’s team, at the start of the season survival was very much the key for Blackburn.  They had a clear problem scoring goals but in the last few months of the season showed key wins against Arsenal and Aston Villa and draws against Man. United and Chelsea providing evidence that they have improved greatly.  Shopping List during the summer must be for a goal scoring striker.

Grade: C

Teacher’s pet: David Dunn – when he is fully fit, he is by far a class apart from any other at the club.  Special mention to Paul Robinson, who has proved his critics wrong with excellent performances this season. Should have been in the mix for a World Cup call-up.

Detention: The Blackburn Strike-force of Roberts, McCarthy (now at West Ham) and Di Santo has scored only 10 goals between them all season.

Bolton

I was one of the football public who originally questioned Owen Coyle’s decision to move from Burnley to Bolton. But it has clearly been the right decision finishing 14^th in the Premier League and never looking in any real relegation threat. Have tightened up defensively and next season expect Bolton to target a mid table place.

Grade: D

Teacher’s Pet: Gary Cahill, a huge cog in the defensive wheel who earned an England Call-up before getting injured.

Detention: Johan Elmander – no longer in the pecking order for playing up front alongside Davies, that honour goes to Ivan Klasnic.

Burnley

After a fantastic start to the season signs were starting to show that away form could be a problem if Burnley were to survive.   Losing Owen Coyle was undoubtedly a massive loss, but it’s defensively where Burnley has really struggled.  82 goals have been conceded by the Clarets and Blues this season, the most in the Premier League and the fewest away wins is a recipe that shows the trap door in any level of professional football.

Grade: F

Teacher’s Pet: Good individual season for Graham Alexander, who has been offered another one year contract extension at the age of 38.

Detention: Collectively the defence for conceding 82 goals.

Chelsea

Another season and more silverware in the cabinet! An historic double which wasn’t looking so likely after the defeat to Inter Milan in the Champions League: where Chelsea were out-thought and out-schooled.  From that point forward Chelsea were simply magnificent, scoring goals for fun, 7 past Stoke, 8 past Wigan, an easy victory against Liverpool at Anfield but the biggest result may have been the victory at Old Trafford.  Still concerns over the ‘age’ of the squad and whether they truly have the ability to be the best in the Champions League.

Grade: A+

Teacher’s Pet: Frank Lampard, 22 league goals from midfield is a fantastic achievement: if he has a good World Cup, England will have chance to cause a few upsets.  Other Chelsea personnel who have had excellent seasons include Didier Drogba (another 30+ goal season) and Florent Malouda who has provided Chelsea with more width and another attacking goal threat, 12 goals for him this season in the Premier League.

Detention: Jon Obi Mikel – I can’t see what he brings to the Chelsea team, when Essein is fit, he the man who makes room.

Everton

A quality side hit by key injuries to key players in the early part of the season including Arteta, Yakubu and Jagielka to name a few. Since the return of the core squad Everton form had improved greatly.  Just a little too much to do in order to secure a European spot.  With a full squad next season they will be in the fight again for an Europa League place.

Grade: D

Teacher’s Pet: Tim Howard – Established goal-keeper, another solid season, and rightfully USA’s number 1 choice, likes saving penalties from England players (take note!).

Detention: Marouane Fellaini – has taken up a more defensive role this season, but a player who really lit the blue touch paper in 08/09, but this season has been an enigma.

Stay tuned as the likes of Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United are still to come.

Tonight sees the PFA Awards take place in London – one of the most prestigious individual accolades to win in English football and unlike the Football Writers’ Footballer of The Year, this is voted by the professional footballers ‘trade union’ of members.  Shortlisted this year is Didier Drogba, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas.  Whilst for PFA Young Player of the Year Rooney and Fabregas are joined by England’s James Milner and Joe Hart.

Wayne Rooney

At the departure of both Ronaldo and Tevez in the summer of 2009 many questions were asked of Wayne Rooney and how he would handle the responsibility of becoming the ‘goal getter’ for United. In previous seasons many have seen Rooney as the link up man, working tirelessly and creating chances for others. This season the transformation has truly taken place. He is without question a true goalscorer – all of his 33 goals this season have been scored within the penalty box.  This is double the amount of goals he scored in 2008-09 season, providing a clear indication that this season Rooney has become a centre forward to lead the line. His performances against AC Milan in the Champions League and the quality of the two headed goals in Milan has showed that his all-round game has improved vastly.

Didier Drogba

As an Arsenal fan I can’t stand the sight of this guy, he a right pain in the Gregory Peck. With all his sliding, hand waving, chest pumping celebrations, ruining my Super Sunday’s by finishing more braces against my boys than an Orthodontist. But without question he is world class and a complete striker, strong in the air, good with both feet, creates many goals for his team mates and has managed another 30 goal season. If you were to ask the majority of the defenders in the Premier League who they would least like to play against, the majority would say DD.

Carlos Tevez

I was somewhat surprised when Carlos Tevez decided to swap the red shirt of Manchester for a sky blue one.  He was in a similar position to Rooney in that he does so much for the team in his work ethic that his goal tally suffers because of it.  With all the strike power City posses this season he has come out in flying colours – scoring 22 league goals and 6 in the Carling Cup run. The majority of his goals did come in the purple patch around Christmas and New Year, which include his hat-trick against Blackburn and doubles against Wolves, Bolton and arguably his best performance of the season in the League Cup Semi Final against Manchester United.

Cesc Fabregas

– How long can Arsenal keep their talismanic captain for? Another season? Or will the World Cup be the ‘shop window’ for him to wear the ‘come and get me Barcelona’ t-shirt?  Often criticised for his lack of goals Fabregas has delivered 15 leagues goals and 19 in all competitions. But his biggest asset is the creativity he possesses in the final third (that their last three games against, Tottenham, Wigan and Manchester City was clearly lacking). He won the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2008 and is in line for both gongs this year, but his biggest challenge will be to get fit for Spain’s World Cup campaign after suffering a broken leg against Barcelona. Then he has the easy task of getting ahead of Xavi and Iniesta, sounding familiar?

On the Young Player of The Year front I think this award will go to James Milner of Aston Villa, who since he came on as a substitute for England against Holland back in August has had a wonderful season for both Aston Villa playing a vital part in two Wembley visits and ensuring European football again at Villa Park for next season, and that could still be the Champions League – has shown why he is ahead of his team mates Ashley Young and Stewart Downing for a world cup berth.

As for the Players’ Player of The Year, for me Wayne Rooney would get my vote and will win the award for a season that has surpassed many people’s expectation, except probably his own and his manager. One only hopes that he can stay fit and lead England to World Cup glory.

Who can handle their nerve in the final weeks of the Premier League?

Last weekend the Premier League was full of drama, the story of ‘when 3 became 2’ as finally, Arsenal’s legs went in the final stretch, United gained a ‘leg up’ and Chelsea looked as if they were start to roast theirs.  It all seemed to be going well for Arsenal, 2-0 up, looking comfortable and in control with Wigan not posing any real threat, but lack of concentration, professionalism and just old fashioned ‘grit and determination’ give Wigan an inch and then for them to take a mile.

Arsenal’s problems are all to clear to see. In the summer, Wenger (who will still be in charge) must buy a top class goalkeeper. If you look back at history, teams who have been successful have always had top class goalkeepers. United had Schmeichel, Liverpool had Grobbelaar, Everton had Southall and Arsenal had Seaman. In a nutshell Almunia and Fabianski are not in their league. Two centre backs are needed as Gallas, Campbell and Silvestre are all out of contract and up front as good a job as Bendtner has done over the last few months, Arsenal need another top class goal-scorer – someone who can score 25+ a season and work alongside Robin Van Persie. Could it be Chamakh? Only time will tell.

Up the M1 motorway it is a very different matter – Manchester United are still in the hunt following another late, late show in the Manchester Derby (that’s twice this season). In an un-enthralling match Paul Scholes squeezed a superb placed header in the 4th minute of injury time for three precious points.

A result that galvanised Tottenham and took the wind out of Chelsea’s sails. Why? Tottenham realised that with a win they would be two points clear of City in the race for fourth place, and all the pressure had been put back on Chelsea as the gap was down to a single point.

It clearly showed as Chelsea, as in midweek against Bolton, looked nervous and edgy, as for the first 45 minutes they were completely outthought and outclassed by a more determined Spurs side.

Now as we reach the climax of the Premier League season, get used to seeing a little ‘cat and mouse’ between Chelsea and Manchester United due to our friends Sky Sports showing all games live – each will be fighting to apply pressure to the other. First it will be United vs. Tottenham in Saturday lunch-time kick-off 12:45 BST. If United win the spot light, pressure on Chelsea (who play Sunday 4pm BST) will be magnified to an exponential level having looked odds on favourites.

With three games remaining, the key weekend could be when Chelsea plays Liverpool and United go to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland – one thing for sure is that this Premier League goose hasn’t cooked just yet.

Its that time of the year again when major sporting events signify the season of spring. The Masters, The Grand National and FA Cup Semi Finals. Growing up as a kid this was one of my highlights of the football season (at a time where there wasn’t as many games on TV as there is now) – it was often the two games that offered the highest levels of excitement and controversy in a season.

But in recent years as with the demise of the famous cup competition so we have seen this day become just another fixture.  Now I know people can blame the ‘big four’ and the Champions and Premier League gravy trains and there are some truths there, but another possibility which has been overlooked is the venue of the semi finals: Wembley itself.

I am a huge fan of the new Wembley, but the beauty of the FA Cup is its tradition and romance and how unique it is from other countries domestic cup competitions in the world. Playing the semi finals at Wembley takes the gloss and magesty away from the show piece event of the final itself. Every kid’s childhood dream is to play and score a winning goal at Wembley, in a cup final not a semi.

 In England there are more than enough high quality stadia that could have staged this weekend’s semi finals including the more commonly used Old Trafford, Villa Park, Emirates Stadium, St. James Park and City of Manchester Stadium – the list is endless. A view that is shared by Harry Redknapp, Michael Ballack and David Moyes that Wembley should be kept for the final.

The FA mentioned it has been part of the business model to repay the cost of building the stadium, but what about the cost to the fans? Two trips to Wembley in a season for the same competition is expensive, I have heard of tickets at the face value of £150.  Classic semi finals have always been the matches away from Wembley, and in recent seasons they have been a dull, drab affair between teams playing on a heavily cut-up pitch and not expressing the true one-off special occasion atomsphere the semi final offers – the prize being a trip to Wembley, shouldn’t that be the greatest motivation? To Earn to the right to play in a Final of the greatest domestic cup competition in the world, in the most famous stadium, that magic is created by saving Wembley for the final only. The FA need to look at many ways to re-kindle the romance of the FA Cup with fans and the media, this would be a very good starting point.

 To end on a positive here are a few links to some classic FA Cup Semi Finals over the last 20 years (in no particular order).

 1. Crystal Palace 4 – 3 Liverpool, Villa Park, 1990

2. Arsenal 1 – 2 Manchester United, Villa Park, 1999

3. Manchester United 3 – 3 Oldham,  Maine Road, 1990

4. Chesterfield 3-3 Middlesbrough, Old Trafford, 1997

 5. Coventry City 3 – 2 Leeds United 2, Hillsborough, 1987

Arsenal, Manchester United, Fulham and Liverpool are all flying the flag for English clubs in Europe

This mid-week is European week, which means Arsenal, Manchester United, Fulham and Liverpool will be playing for semi final spots in The Champions and Europa Leagues.  Always an eternal optimist – no sooner when the draws were announced I was thinking of the possibility of two all English finals.  Now I am not betting man, not even when it comes to a lucky dip on the National Lottery I still decide to key my hard earned £1 coin and not risk it. But I was amazed at the odds on bookies websites over 125/1 I was almost temped to have a flutter and chuck a Lady Godiva on it!

At further assessment you can see what the task that is in hand for our English flag bearers;

Manchester United: A shaky performance against Bayern Munich and was owed to good goalkeeping from the Dutch Master Van De Saar.  Bayern are a very good side with the power and attacking wing flair of Ribery and Robben, the precision and determination of Van Bommel and up front with Olic, Muller and Klose. They will cause problems but even without Rooney and especially since losing momentum in the Premier League race a buoyant home crowd and with the European experience in the team I still expect United to turn it around, but they will need to score 3 goals as Bayern will hit the back of the net.

Arsenal: Without question the hardest task (and the longest odds) of all the EPL teams to have to go the Camp Nou and win will be one of Wenger’s greatest achievements.  Despite no Fabregas, Arshavin, Gallas and now Song there is still hope as Pique and Puyol (suspended) and Ibrahimovic (injured) all missing and Iniesta still a doubt. Barcelona will give you chances, especially without their 1st choice central defensive pairing, and Barcelona are not invincible in the Champions League, something that Russian side Rubin Kazan discovered after beating them 2-1 back in October. Both teams have their key players missing but the difference of who wins could be which central partnership (Marquez and Milito or Vermaelen and Campbell/Silvestre) communicates and works together better.

Liverpool: The most frustrating team of the 2009-10 season, this could be one of their most un-achieving season yet still win silverware.  As with their last tie against Lille The Reds and FT (Fernando Torres) came back well and need the same recipe. Benfica are a better side and have beaten Liverpool before in Champions League round of 16 in 2006 – and have quality stars including Argentines Pablo Aimar, Angel Di Maria and Javier Saviola. But with home advantage, a noisy Kop, G & T (Gerrard and Torres) and with them needing to score Liverpool should progress and hopefully get that magic tie against Valencia.  Just don’t expect them to do it the easy way!!!

Fulham: one the most improved sides in the Premier League and since their ‘Harry Houdini’ escape against The Old Lady of Juventus. In Zamora, Dempsey, Murphy and Duff they have attacking options and will fear no-one – more than enough quality to nick an away goal. Wolfsburg have had a difficult season as Champions and are in mid table of the Bundesliga and recently suffered a 5-1 home defeat to bottom side Herta Berlin, there only league defeat in their last 7 games. Still have quality upfront in Dzeko and Grafite but Fulham have enough to sneak a score draw that will see them through.

Yes people it is still possible, here’s to being one step closer to the all English European finals, or am I (being English) just that little bit too optimistic?

Still too early for United to start celebrating

Another weekend, another twist in the race for the coveted prize of the Premier League. This weekend saw two different league leaders and one team slip a little off the pace. Seeing the reaction of Liverpool’s no. 1 fan Gary Neville, you would have thought they had just won the title – especially when listening to the talk of the fans after the game who sounded confident – wait, actually cocky – in their views and opinions. In fairness that is partly understandable if you have won as 11 titles in 17 seasons – wouldn’t you be?

But there is still ‘legs’ in this title race. United have tricky ties against Bolton, Man City, Tottenham and of course a right old ding-dong against Chelsea on Easter Saturday. They are in the driving seat, but if Chelsea wins their game in hand at Portsmouth on Wednesday night the gap will only be one point. With so many games to go that is little ground to make up – hardly time to be making space in the trophy cabinet.

The key for Chelsea is getting some level of fluidity back, and fast.  They look very ragged, playing with no hunger or desire to win the title. Big game players (Lampard, Ballack and Anelka to name a few) have disappeared for them over the last few games and Ancelloti’s expression after Blackburn’s equaliser served to show that behind the scenes, the garden isn’t so rosy at The Bridge – combined with the constant complaining over decisions not going their way. The Champions League defeat to Inter was a bitter pill to swallow and wasn’t watered down with the result at Blackburn, but all is not lost even if they are on the ropes.

Meanwhile across The Thames, Arsenal are proving to mount a serious challenge and for the first time since their 2003-04 success, they look like a serious outfit. If they’re going to win the title it will need to be done in a ‘smash-n-grab’ style, staying in contention like an athlete before the final bend of an 800m race. Many of their players haven’t won titles and are relatively in-experienced (in comparison to their rivals) of leading from the front, with all the expectation and pressure from being the front runner it could potentially prove tough with many games left.

The more the title race consists of all three teams the better it will suit Arsenal, as they can concentrate on applying pressure to United in the hope they’ll be in a position with a 2-3 games to overtake them. Their biggest test will be how they handle juggling Champions League and Premier League matches in quick succession.

Now who has the biggest smile of all, not Messrs Wenger, Ferguson or Ancelotti but Mr. Scudamore and providing further evidence of the excitement of the Premier League after securing a £1.3bn overseas TV rights deal last week, Ker-ching!!

With a little under three months left to the World Cup, the excitement is building up in the air over England’s chances and who gets a plane ticket to South Africa. There are a few obvious ‘shoe-ins’ in the wide areas for the squad – barring fitness – including the likes of James Milner and Aaron Lennon. But the rest (especially since Beckham’s injury) it’s an open shop! Taking good form is just as important as the amount of caps they’ve won. England has competition in wide areas and the latest name who must be included in this list is Manchester City’s Adam Johnson.

Although Roberto Mancini has said he thinks he is not ready, I disagree. He is not the finished article – not by a long way – but he is actually someone that England rarely produces: a gifted, two-footed winger who can play right or left side of midfield and possess the ability to dribble past players with skill as well as pace.

He is young, unproven and unknown to many in the world of football, who showed against Sunderland how to positively change a game scoring a goal of the highest order. If his form continues he will have just a good a chance as the other contenders.

Stewart Downing: good, solid, left-sided midfielder – can cross the ball at ease, but is not a true goal threat or a creator of opportunities and doesn’t terrorise defenders with his ability. A safe bet, will offer balance and no more.

Shaun Wright-Phillips: if his performance against Sunderland was anything to go by he can flatter to deceive.  He is quick, very quick, but looks to come inside to play square when begging to just roast a few players.  Johnson showed in 15 minutes what Wright-Philips couldn’t do for the previous 75.

Joe Cole: the only question mark with Cole will be fitness, he has all the party tricks with the bells and whistles to boot with end product! And he is a proven at international level – he simply needs more game-time.

Ashley Young: another player with a bundle of talent who frustrates and goes missing for too long in big games (i.e. the Carling Cup Final) and his form has been inconsistent this season hence him dipping in and out of Capello’s squad.

Theo Walcott: has been hit with an Argos catalogue of injuries over the past 12-15 months which has subsequently affected his form and confidence. Still needs to improve his decision making at key moments.  An excellent performance against Burnley and cameos against Porto and Hull suggest that he coming into form at the right time, and is as fresh as a bottle of Lenor!!

If England are going to cause a major surprise and have a successful World Cup then Capello will need to have players who are ‘game-changers’ – who can come off the bench and make something happen.  Johnson has that in his locker, and to be a given a chance to showcase his ability would be a huge benefit to England.

At last a football performance to measure the fragrance of potential that has been sprayed in the North London air for many years.  Finally on a big European stage it could be smelled in from afar cities as Barcelona, Milan and Manchester.

Arsenal’s 5 star unleaded performance against Porto was arguably the best all season, in particular Nicklas Bendtner.  Now as an Arsenal fan, I find I am regularly trying ways (with work colleagues) to defend the inclusion of Bendtner who deserved his hat-trick, to be blunt he is frustrating, very frustrating.  But at the same time Arsenal fans best get used to it!! “Why?” I hear is the cry? Because ‘number 52’ is the only man in Wenger’s locker who hasn’t got twinkle ‘Fred Astaire’ toes and runs like a Road Runner!  He does however hold the ball up well, allows Arsenal to play a more direct approach and has a knack of getting in the right place to score (or miss as he did against Burnley) goals.

His first and second goals on Tuesday night were evidence of that, the first was a sheer desire to get there before the Porto defence – thanks to Arshavin’s tenacity – and the 2nd was knowing exactly what the Russian was going to do, right place, right time.

The real stars of the night were Alex Song and Samir Nasri who poly-filled the ‘Fabregas’ role with ease, and all night was getting beyond the Porto defence and with a wonderful goal that showcased his individual ability and poured cold water on Porto just as they were starting to create pressure.  This is exactly what Wenger and fans wanted to see, a player who can take the mantle without heavily relying on Fabregas to carry the team, Nasri has that.

As for Alex Song, he will have a massive part to play if Arsenal is going to be successful this season. Tuesday night’s role was to sit and protect the back four, break up loose play and get Arsenal going forward.  Again, full marks.  He is aggressive, strong with very good technical ability – Song and Diaby complement each other very well in midfield and were too much for Porto to handle.

Along all the celebrations and plaudits they still have defensive issues that will need to be addressed. For the first 15 minutes of the second half Arsenal looked nervous as Porto had dominated a passage of play and were threatening to score and change the game completely, albeit none of the chances were clear-cut.  Clichy is still not showing his best form since returning from injury and Campbell was clearly nervous making his home debut at the Emirates.  They will need to learn to ‘tough it out’ and ‘shut up shop’ because future opposition will prove to be a tougher test than the Portuguese champions.

Overall a great night for Arsenal and Nicklas Bendtner and a clear message of the quality they posses to win European football’s biggest prize.

http://www.marshallalwaysmatters.blogspot.com/

The game started quickly with Ronaldinho showing his flash and 10 dollar smile after scoring off a deflected clearance in the 3rd minute.  The Manchester back line looked quite shaky early with Nemanja Vidic out for Johnny Evans, and Rio Ferdinand playing his first game in nearly three weeks.  Milan kept the pressure on after scoring first, and could have easily led by two or three goals, but for Edwin Van Der Sar.  The Dutchman’s exemplary play early on served to settle Red Devil nerves.

To me, the first half had three major themes.  First, Nani wasting cross after cross, either sending them directly at Dida, or shockingly wide.  Second, Beckham was largely absent from the first half, never doing anything dangerous.  Third, if Beckham was “largely” absent, was Pirlo “utterly” absent?  “Completely” absent?  “Altogether” absent?  “Fully” absent?  I am not sure he had a touch in the first half.

Ronaldinho earned, but was not given, a foul just outside the Manchester box in the 18th minute.  Scholes’ bad giveaway led to Rio bringing Ronaldinho down and the referee somehow not awarding at least a foul, if not a yellow card.

After the Ronaldinho non-call, United seemed to take over.  Wayne Rooney began to show why he’s certainly a finalist for the Ballon d’Or.  His workrate is endless.

Huntelaar had a wonderful chance from the top of the penalty area, but directed it wide.  Shortly thereafter, Scholes scored on what is likely his flukiest goal.  Fletcher had a nice cross that Paul absolutely whiffed on, but the ball struck Scholes’ plant foot and eked just past Dida at the far post.

For all of the back and forth of the first half, the fans of the rossoneri were louder than I think I have ever heard Italian fans.  Forgive me if I’m incorrect on this, but every FSC Serie A telecast makes it seem like the teams have been forced to play behind closed doors because of fan misbehavior.

It took 52 minutes, but Pirlo finally got to touch the ball after a foul in the attacking half.  He didn’t waste his opportunity, sending a beautiful ball that Van Der Sar had to labor to save.  Pirlo soon sent a nice pass towards Pato just inside the box that the young Brazilian just missed.

Nani was mercifully substituted for Valencia in the 64th minute, and it only took 2 minutes for the Ecuadoran to make his mark.  He sent an excellent cross to Rooney who deftly headed it over Dida, and into the top corner for Manchester’s second goal.  It is hard to wonder how many more goals Manchester might have had by now if Valencia had been delivering crosses, and not Nani.

Darren Fletcher, again, with a nice pass, this time to Rooney, who heads it in just outside the 6 yard box.  Rooney was right between the two Milan Center backs.  Neither made a move to mark him.  Do the Rossoneri miss Gooch?

Clarence Seedorf, who came on for Beckham in the 72nd minute, has had a lot more of the ball than Beckham did during his mostly useless time on the pitch.  Pipo Inzaghi subbed in for Huntelaar in the 77th, and while Milan look old, they also are looking as dangerous as they have in this game.

Minutes after Ronaldinho attempted a bicycle kick in the box, he fed Seedorf for a cheeky back/side heel past Van Der Sar, to pull Milan within one.  The crowd is alive again, and so are are the players.  Ronaldinho had another dangerous cross, but Inzaghi could only hit it wide.

The 3-2 final score should set up an interesting second leg at Old Trafford, as Milan need to score at least two goals to advance.  They will have to take advantage of their opportunities better to hope to move on.

On Monday afternoon the Premier League announced that it’s in discussion with all 20 teams on the possibility of a 4-team play-off for the final Champions League spot. The Premier League see this as opportunity to make the league more competitive, as 5 of the last 6 seasons have seen the so called ‘big four’ finish in the Champions League places.

 In principle, teams such as Tottenham, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Everton have the opportunity to get the coveted prize in an identical system to the Football League. There are some good arguments to have this system, it keeps mid-table, end of season matches competitive and not just standard ‘dead-rubbers’ and will without doubt create fantastic drama that Sky and ESPN will love to their heart’s content. But this smells like another opportunity for the Premier League to generate income similar to the ‘39th game’ after the NFL success of their International Series. 

 Other potential problems will be that if a team outside of the ‘big four’ fails to qualify for the Champions League proper could affect England getting fewer berths for future seasons. And then there’s the challenge of cramming together space in the season’s calendar for the play-offs – especially in seasons where international tournaments are due to take place, thus starting the club vs. country debate again!! 

 The repercussions could also further undermine struggling cup competitions – especially the FA Cup, where teams may start resting players for semi finals and cup finals because they have a chance of finishing in a play-off spot and getting Champions League football.

 Most worrying of all would be again the cost of these games being trickled down to the hardened football fan that follow their team all season long. Its great to see that the Premier League are making efforts to further enhance the entertainment of the league but this is simply ridiculous idea and would serve to further increase the large revenue the Premier League already generates.

 If 14 of the 20 teams agree, this could be in place for three to four years time (after the end of the new TV deal), let’s hope sense prevails otherwise what would be next? A play-off for the league title? Or even relegation?

Many of you may have already seen this movie, or read the book on which it was based. I recently re-watched Fever Pitch again for the first time in a few years. It’s a movie that, at the heart of it, tells the story of the childlike enthusiasm the protagonist has for Arsenal. The movie is an adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel of the same name, intertwining the love life of the main character with the 88-89 season that culminated in Arsenal’s first championship in 28 years.

As a native Floridian with no childhood ties to British soccer, I can’t identify with a great deal of the specific English circumstances in the film. As a child raised to follow and love the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I can identify with a great deal of the movie’s sentiment. At this point, it is well documented that my Bucs lost their first 26 games in the NFL, and had very little success until Head Coach Tony Dungy’s arrival in 1996. Fever Pitch captures the feelings of despair that only long suffering fans of losing teams can understand. Much of the film is spent following Colin Firth’s prickly Paul Ashworth through his life as a teacher and youth soccer coach. The overblown importance of each loss, and the utter despair of supporting a team that cannot deliver a championship take a toll on his mental health and romantic relationship. At one point in the film, Paul misses out on a promotion at work, but is considerably more upset by Arsenal’s late season loss to Derby County. It’s only understandable that the American remake was based on the Boston Red Sox, who until 2004, had not won the World Series since 1918.

The film handles the Hillsborough disaster well, playing the manic ending of the Who’s “Baba O’Reilly” while going back and forth between crowd shots of Paul as a teen, and with his new girlfriend on the terraces at Highbury. The rush forward of the crowd, mixed with the fast paced song and quick directorial cuts impart the sense of danger that ultimately manifested itself at Hillsborough.

Fever Pitch reminds me a great deal of High Fidelity, also based on a Nick Hornby autobiographical novel. They each deal with a main character (based on Nick), whose emotional development is arrested, at best. Both protagonists ultimately mature just a little in the end. Enough to qualify each movie to be called a romantic comedy, but with subject matter interesting enough to keep red-blooded males interested.

The film ends on the final day of the season, with Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield. Paul and his girlfriend dance in the streets around Highbury while Van Morrison’s eternally upbeat, “Bright Side of the Road” plays in the background.

If you haven’t seen it and are a fan of the premier league, I highly recommend giving it a look.

Starting with a Wednesday night clash at Villa Park, Arsenal will play Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool all quicker you can shake a dog’s tail.

Now would Arsenal fans watch the next few weeks in fear or see it as an opportunity to prove their desire for a title? So far this season they have bounced back into the race having suffered the heavy 3-0 defeat to Chelsea at home so personally I am excited to see how Arsenal will handle this significant period.

Looking at the opposition let’s start with Villa – worthy Carling Cup finalists, a team full of talented English players in Agbonlahor, Young, Downing and the best of them all: Milner. They are arguably the best counter-attacking team in England with pace to expose teams who try and bite off more than they can chew.  But this style of football suits Villa when they’re away from home and the onus is on the opposition to take the game to them – this is why they have had difficulties with teams at home this season.

Man United, put simply, are weak in defence, mild in midfield and strong up front and that’s only due to the brilliance of Rooney.  Sunday will have the usual passion and intensity this fixture always provides but United are there for the taking and will offer just as many chances as they will create – there will not be a better time to get at their arch rivals.

Chelsea and Liverpool offer different propositions, the  ‘physical first play football later’ approach of Chelsea with all their boys back from ANC duty (minus Essien) against the ‘pick and mix’ of Liverpool week by week you are never quite sure what the Liverpool team will turn up.

Chelsea will naturally back themselves to get a result with their formidable home record. This possibly means the best Arsenal could hope for is a point, which in the big picture will be a job well done. As for the reds of Liverpool, a home win will be expected – especially if there is no Gerrard and Torres (G&T) available at the bar. However, in recent seasons Benitez has tactically got it spot on for Liverpool against Arsenal including a Champions League Quarter Final and their last two league visits – not a push-over despite their challenging season.

In a nutshell:

10+ points – The ‘Real Deal’ and could go all the way.

6-8 points – Good, but not good enough to be title contenders

5 points or less – Call up the youth squad, they can do better.

www.marshallalwaysmatters.blogspot.com

but in recent seasons Liverpool

Tonight sees Liverpool and Tottenham go head-to-head in the latest battle between the contenders for fourth spot. If week 22 matches were anything to go by then all teams are doing their best to give the priceless spot to someone else.

Liverpool’s average display against Stoke is a microcosm of their ‘pants on the ground’ season, with performances lacking sharpness, imagination and concentration (not bad luck) in dropping points in key Premier League and Champions League games.  Below par performances from their back four, a workman-like midfield showing as much flair as a Skoda Octavia – and a strike force that sends out an SOS to the half-crocked Torres.

But in their darkest hour there is a ray of light, the 4-point gap from that magical fourth spot.  Liverpool is on the ropes, losing the fight but somehow still can produce the ‘haymaker.’

Herein lies the beauty of Wednesday night’s clash. This is Tottenham’s acid test of their credentials as a ‘wannabe’ big four team. The quality and depth within their squad shows the potential is very much there but potential and actual are two very different things (I should know as an Arsenal fan).  Some days they show they’re the ‘real-deal’ with excellent wins against Wigan, West Ham, Blackburn and a good point at Fulham.  Then dropped points against so called ‘lesser’ teams such as Wolves, Sunderland, Stoke and now Hull (albeit by the brilliance of Maher) shows that at times they get above their station.

Spurs are showing signs that although they will be in the mix, the cake isn’t going to be baked on time. And with all the ability in their squad it may come down to handling the pressure of what is at stake, which is why they will fall short. This match provides Liverpool the perfect opportunity to play with intensity and passion as if this game were to decide their Champions League fate. With a victory a message would be sent to the other challengers Aston Villa and big bucks Manchester City that despite the cracks appearing throughout the club that they are on their tails and will not give up the fourth spot without a fight to the bitter end.

My prediction – a 2-1 home win and a little respite for Benitez…. for now.

I am really curious about the Livorno players’ high jersey numbers.  They started with only Nico Pulzetti sporting a single digit number.  It reminded me of a spring training baseball team loaded with minor leaguers trying to make the big squad.  The game featured lots of end to end action in this game, and the teams were relatively evenly matched, save for two players: Gianlugi Buffon and Mauro Camoranesi.  Without these two, this game surely ends in a draw or Livorno win.

Buffon’s value to Juventus cannot be understated.  A la Cech and Van der Sar, he has the stereotypical, tall, lanky keeper’s body.  His imposing frame is matched by his ability to always get into the right position, and his quickness to react.  My game notes show 6 different times where I made a point to write down that he made an excellent save.  The thing that kills me about him is he seems so cool about everything as well.  It really must drive opposition strikers mad.  Livorno played well throughout the match, but when their own finishing didn’t fail them, Buffon was always there to protect his goal.

The scoring began when Juve struck first in the 8^th minute when Vincenzo Iaquinta neatly headed home Camoranesi’s cross from outside the box.  The bianconeri added a second goal in the 30^th minute when Claudio Marchisio chipped a shot over Alfonso de Lucia.  Mauro Camoranesi assisted both goals and was all over the pitch all night.  He tracked back to strip Livorno players of the ball.  He pressed forward to feed his own strikers.  His work rate was excellent.  His positioning reminded me a bit of Andrea Pirlo, but with perhaps a little bit more ambition forward.   Last week I wrote that I thought that perhaps Mauro was a bit overconfident.  This week his play supported all of his self-assurance.

On a night when stars Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro del Piero were unavailable due to injury, both Buffon and Camoranesi imposed their will on the game to ensure a Juve win.

Fox Soccer’s coverage of the Champions League games is something to behold. No longer are we tied to ESPN’s choice of which game we are allowed to watch. 10 of this week’s 16 matches are available either live or on a delay. That is unbelievable, and a massive step forward.

It poured rain throughout the game in Marseille on Tuesday, and Milan’s white Champions League kits do not have a sponsor. It’s a good thing this isn’t the women’s champions league. Or maybe it isn’t. Pato, Pirlo and Flamini all play an attractive style of football and I was excited to see what they could do against Marseille. Early on, the cameras caught Ronaldinho chewing gum on the bench. That certainly won’t help him in his losing battle to appear less ugly.

The two man announcing booth did a good job calling the game. They were never overbearing, but they added comments and descriptions when needed. The Marseille crowd was consistently into the game, singing in full voice throughout the downpour. Milan is an excellent passing team. If they only had the youth to take advantage of such gilded opportunities, they could be a force in both the scudetto race and Europe. Clarence Seedorf had a nice dribble towards goal, then set up Pipo Inzaghi for his 67th European goal in the 28th minute. Marco Storari had a massive save in added time on a shot from Cheyrou.

Gabriel Heinze leveled the home side in the 49th minute with a nice header off a free kick that ultimately nutmegged the keeper. The crowd remained fully involved after the goal. Champions league group stage crowds are great. Manuel Flamini earned a yellow in the 61st minute for a two footed tackle that probably should have been a straight red. Marseille had more gas in the tank at this point in the gam, but their inability to advance offensively ultimately let them down. Seedorf fed Inzaghi again in the 74th minute for Milan’s second goal.

Even though the rain never let up, the pitch stayed in perfect condition. nice work groundskeepers. Milan has to be happy with the away win against a plucky Marseille side. Marseille’s problem after this game is that they’re one match down against their main rivals to finish second in Group C behind Real Madrid.

Looking at the Serie A table going into last weekend, the Lazio/Juventus matchup presented the most promise.  Each team had won its first two games.  Would this game produce beautiful, flowing football that might serve to entice a Serie A neophyte?  In a word, no.

The first half was almost completely forgettable.  Other than Aleksandar Kolarov’s exceptional run past two Juve defenders, which ultimately led to a fine save by Buffon, there was little to keep a mind from wandering until Lazio had a goal disallowed in stoppage time.  Referee Andrea Gervasoni made the correct call to disallow the goal as Julio Cruz clearly impeded a Juve man in the box to free up room for Sebastiani Siviglia’s shot.  Maybe the players were distracted by the magenta kits worn by the referees.  Words cannot describe their hideousness, and I cannot find a picture anywhere on the intertubes.  You’ll have to take my word for it.  Speaking of uniforms, Lazio appears to be following Man U and Everton in their attempt to be outfitted as ugly as possible this year.  When you have such a great blue as your color, why would you screw it up by adding a vee-neck stripe thingy?

Watching Serie A on FSC is perplexing.  The match announcer added almost nothing to my experience.  When watching sports, I don’t normally appreciate a color man in the booth.  However, in a game where I know very little about either team’s backstory, it would have been helpful.  As it was, the announcer was Captain Obvious, adding nothing helpful to any viewer with two working eyes.

The game started to finally pick up as each team began to get stuck in around the 64^th minute.  Juve had an excellent display of passing, and began to look threatening, only for David Trezeguet to meekly roll the ball towards Fernando Muslera.  Tiago replaced Mauro Camaronesi in the 69^th minute.  I can’t determine what I think of the Oriundi.  He certainly has talent, but I get the feeling he thinks he is better than he truly is.  That overconfidence leads to him wasting opportunities.

Juve new boy Martin Caceres opened the scoresheet in his first game for the bianconeri in the 72^nd minute, pouncing on a ball in the box and slotting his shot past the Lazio keeper.  As Lazio pressed for the tying goal, Juve got their second goal in the 4^th minute of added time as David Trezeguet scored his first goal of the campaign.

The teams were pretty evenly matched on the day, but Juventus finished where Lazio could not.  As it were, Juve completed the “away to Rome” double by week three.

Milan vs. Inter

Could the Derby della Madonnina, the first big derby of the 09-10 season in any European league, live up to the hype? Inter came into the game favorites to win the scudetto after mostly adding to the squad that has won the Serie A four years running. AC Milan did not add much in the offseason, and suffered the huge losses of Carlo Ancelotti, Paolo Maldini and Kaka.

Milan got off to an expected start last week, winning at mid-table Siena. Inter were held to a tie at home by newly promoted Bari. On Saturday, Milan was the better side throughout the first half hour, and Inter looked out of sorts for a large portion of the beginning of the game. That would not last. Early on, Pato and Flamini seemed to have possession for a great deal of time and play off each other well in Milan’s attack. Flamini even came in to protect his teammate shortly after Lucio’s hard, clean tackle took down Pato, and brought down the Inter captain, earning a yellow card in the process.

Things were looking up for the rossoneri until Gattuso picked up an injury to his ankle about 20 minutes into the game. The nerrazurri started to take control of possession and impose their will on the game, and had an almost “Argentina v Serbia in the ’06 World Cup”-like goal, stringing together eleven passes in a row before Thiago Motta placed a well taken shot past Storari for Inter’s first goal.

Whatever knock Gattuso picked up sapped him of some of his pace, and in the 34th minute he lost Eto’o down the wing and resorted to bringing him down in the box to give Inter a penalty which Milito promptly buried for Inter’s second goal.

Gattuso began to demand his way off the pitch in the 37th minute, and before Leonardo could make his move, Gattuso earned his second yellow with a harsh tackle on Wesley Sneijder. On his way off the pitch, Gattuso was yelling at someone on the sideline, and if it was Leonardo, it would be hard to blame him. It took entirely too long to get him off the pitch.

At the end of the first half Maicon and Milito had a nice give and go to set up Maicon for Inter’s 3rd goal.

The second half began with Milan taking off Boriello and Flamini for Seedorf and Ambrosini. They would not be enough to salvage the game for a team playing a man down. There is not much else to say about this game. Watching the second half was almost a complete waste of time. Sure, Inter scored another goal on Stankovic’s rocket shot, but could we really learn any more about these teams after a 3-0 first half where the losing team lost a vital cog to their midfield?

While Milan came out strong early in the game, they lost their legs early on giving way to the onslaught that is Inter. Overall, Maicon, Eto’o, Lucio, and especially Wesley Sneijder impressed for the black and blues.