Can Manchester United make it 4 in a row?

Having attempted to dissect and predict the outcome of the keenly fought relegation battle and the recent phenomenon that is the battle for fourth place, I shall begin this week’s piece by updating on each of these. The big winners in the relegation scrap being Bolton and Wigan whilst Burnley and Wolves remain entrenched. The big losers though appear to be West Ham who must have had a home game against Bolton marked as a clear opportunity for three points. Having lost this game though, the Hammers now face away games against Arsenal and Chelsea. It appears that the likable Gianfranco Zola is set for a few more weeks of sleepless nights yet. Of the teams involved in the fight to scrape into the final Champions League place, only Liverpool were in league action in this round of games due to the FA Cup. Their away game to Wigan looked like the perfect opportunity for Benitez’s men to leapfrog their rivals into fourth. However, as has often been the case this season Liverpool surrendered meekly to a 1-0 defeat which makes their chances look bleak to put it mildly. They have now played more games than their rivals and there appears no sign of their form turning for the better and it seems that they will continue to scrap for any points that they can get between now until the end of the season without looking remotely convincing.

Keen readers will note that having looked at the aforementioned battles in the Premier League, it is only left for this column to try and shed some light on the final prize on offer this season – the small matter of the title. As predicted at the start of the season this involves Chelsea and Manchester United who would appear in an article of similar ilk since the Premier League was created in 1992. More surprisingly, Arsenal are also in the thick of this battle and as it stands two points separate these three clubs meaning that as Brian Moore once said “it’s all up for grabs now”.
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An all too familiar sight at 3 grounds around May.

Having been brave/foolish enough to try and predict the outcome of the race for the final Champions League place in the Premier League this season, I am this week further putting my neck on the block by attempting to make sense of the muddy waters of the relegation battle.

As we stand all of the teams in the bottom tier of the Premier League have 11 games to try and save their season (and in many senses the financial future of their clubs as well). As in previous seasons this involves the majority of the teams promoted from the Championship last season and the usual more-established Premier League clubs.

I speak on this subject as someone who supports one of these more-established teams who begin every season with one aim – to get to 40 points ASAP. This is the case for all Premier League teams outside of the so called “Big Four” as well as Spurs, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Everton. From experience most of the rest are of a similar standard and success or failure comes down to who is able to gain the most points from home games against teams outside of those eight top clubs. It is for this reason that Fulham, Blackburn and Stoke are not in the mire this season, but I am sure messrs Hodgson, Pulis and Allardyce will have as their number one aim for next season as being to get to 40 points.
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Can Mancini deliver Champions League Football to Eastlands as promised.

Well the Premier League returned this weekend and whilst the title battle seemed to swing towards Chelsea and the relegation battle continued to look increasingly muddied, the most intriguing contest appears to be the race for the final Champions League place.

In recent years this has always been an intriguing battle and one that usually goes to the last game of the season. In the end though, it is always the self-titled “Big Four” of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United who always seem to make it in the end. The one year that Everton actually usurped their city neighbours, Liverpool went on to win the Chamions League itself so were allowed into it the following season in any event. Spurs also looked like they could crash this new world order until their final games of the season at West Ham which they lost meekly amid allegations of food poisoning centred on a dodgy lasagne.

This year the candidates for the 4th place are Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City and once again Spurs. The last weekend was seen as pivotal in deciding the outcome of this contest as the two favourites met at the City of Manchester Stadium. What transpired in actual fact was one of the most boring games of the season as these two simply decided not to attack the other and settle for a 0-0 draw. This therefore gave very little away in terms of who will triumph (if you can call finishing fourth a triumph). I will therefore endeavour to give an insight into who I think will claim the final coveted Chamions League place.
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Burnley win the 2009 Championship Playoff Final

Greetings all, welcome to the first of a weekly post on the topics of all things English football (and occassionally European football).

I am a follower of a team that is constantly invlolved in a relegation battle to stay in the Premiership. I therefore spend my life going through fixture lists to establish where the necessary 40 points can be gathered from so that I can do the same next season. However, the last weekend provided a break from the Premiership and this grim task and allowed the FA Cup to take centre stage. The FA Cup though failed to deliver if we’re honest and provided no talking points of note (other than the usual Neil Warnock rant at officials). I have therefore decided to direct this first post at all things Football League.

Sky and the BBC currently cover the Football League and in my experience, this coverage adopts a sort of patronising approach of – look at the funny little clubs playing “real” football. This is best highlighted in the BBC’s dreadful post Match of the Day Football League Show with its awful e-mail sections so that “real fans can contact the show”.
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Can Man Utd make it 3 in a row?

I was meant to write this article last weekend, before the premiership kicked off. But unfortunately I was down the coast in Sorrento in a friend’s beach house, recovering from a round of golf and an afternoon wine tasting. I’m sure you can now understand why I didn’t get round to it. Still, I’m here now, and super psyched that the football season has begun. Also, I think we could do with a break from cricket on this blog!

To business then. Regular readers will know that I’m a Manchester City fan. And as such, I’ve been looking forward to this season with salivating anticipation, if that makes sense. As I’ve just been reminded, 11 years ago, at the start of the 1998/1999 season, City were building up for their assault on the then Division 2 [League Two] title. My early childhood hero, Georgi Kinkladze had just departed for Ajax, and things didn’t look good. Still, we had Paul Dickov and Kevin Horlock, among others! Surely things could only get better?
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Gareth Barry has completed his £12 million move to Man City

So we come to the end of another football season (thats soccer to any Aussies reading this), and with no World Cup or European Championship, we must occupy ourselves with the merry-go-round that are transfer rumours. Being a Man City fan means that this short period (before the season starts up again in August) is now a little bit more interesting then it used to be. I still remember the days of rumours circulating around City of the arrival of Darius Vassell for a mere £1.2 million. The sad thing now, is that as City have more money then C. Montgomery Burns, rumours linking us with literally any player in the world is just not that exciting anymore.

£140 million for Messi? Sure, why not.

What interests me more, is speculating on which players City will actually manage to sign. Sure, we can afford to spend any amount on any player, but the fact of the matter is, none of them will want to come while City are not yet in Europe. Instead, we must concentrate on getting the players that can get us there, and the signing of Gareth Barry this week is an indication that that is exactly what Mark Hughes and the City board are planning. Barry is just the sort of experienced Premiership player we need, and will be a great addition to the City midfield. Barry also possesses a large amount of versatility (having played left back and centre back before), which is always a bonus when you have to change tactic mid game.
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Alan Shearer

So, after 740 games, 66600 frenetic minutes and 919 goals (not to mention 10 managerial changes) the Premiership will finally reach it’s thrilling conclusion on Sunday. Much has been made over the last few years of the apparent lack of excitement of the Premiership as the Big Four fight an exclusive battle for supremacy, but this season has shown why England can be proud of the Greatest League in the World.

While Liverpool ultimately failed, they pushed Manchester United all the way this season and will be confident of making that extra step next season.

But although the race for the title has been wonderfully entertaining, the final day is all about the bottom of the table in what has become a most extraordinary scrap.

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