David Villa for Spain (v England), 11 February 2009

Mumble, mumble, 2010 World Cup, quarter finals would be a fantastic achievement, Carlton Cole, really? lack of technical ability, Stuart Downing (giggle).....

FA Cup time this week. Anyone interested in watching Watford v Chelsea live on ITV on Saturday teatime? No, me neither.

Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Coventry City
Sheffield United 2-1 Hull
Swansea City 1-1 Fulham
Watford 0-2 Chelsea
West Ham 2-0 Middlesbrough
Derby County 0-2 Manchester United
Everton 1-0 Aston Villa
Arsenal 3-0 Cardiff

Wildcards this week from the Championnat:

PSG 2-0 St Etienne
Lyon 3-1 Le Havre
Monaco 1-2 Marseille

Fernando Torres for Liverpool (v Portsmouth), 7 February 2009

Two more casualties in the Premiership today with the expected sacking of Pompey boss Tony Adams and the unexpected departure of Luiz Felipe Scolari leaving Chelsea searching for their fourth manager in eighteen months.

Both sackings seem to be frankly ridiculous, for similar reasons.

Let's start with Adams. To be quite honest, I don't rate Adams' managerial skills. His reign at Portsmouth has lasted just over three months and he has presided over sixteen league games of which they have won just two. This is after an unimpressive earlier stint at Wycombe Wanderers.

Saying that, though, I really feel for him. The club's financial situation is precarious and the team have been playing resonably well, only losing to Liverpool on Saturday by conceding twice in the last few minutes. It's hardly like he has had the time or opportunity to stamp his mark on the side and if he was the right man for the job three months ago either it's a knee-jerk decision or the people who employed him got it totally wrong and should carry the can.

Scolari is in a similar boat. Expectations at Chelsea have been raised to an unattainable level under Abramovich - take the firing of limited but honourable man Avram Grant despite Chelsea being a whisker and penalty kick away from doing the Premiership/Champions League double last season. Chelsea are a mere seven points behind Manchester United and going well in the FA Cup and Champions League. Performances have dipped of late, but is seems pretty harsh to sack the manager with a team in that position (especially when they have no replacement in mind).

What's going on? The average tenure for a manager these days is, apparently, around 17 months. The financial pressures on promotion and relegation are so great that pretty much all management roles have become something of a poisoned chalice and only (and I mean only) instant and continued success seems to be good enough. Sacking managers with less then two dozen games under their belt seems completely ludicrous and undermines the whole essence of the role. Paul Ince got seventeen games as manager of Blackburn Rovers - Adams one less. Considering the long term success achieved by managers who get a fair crack of the whip (Ferguson and Wenger the two obvious examples, David Moyes a close third) I just wish club would pick a manager and stick with them through thick and thin. It took Sir Alex four years to win a trophy at Manchester United - in this day and age he would have been long gone by that point.

I appreciate that times have changed (financially) and that those pressures on chairmen are more severe than ever. I do think though that enough is enough though before we get to the stage where a manager gets a rolling contract for a game at a time which ends when they lose a match. Or why not get rid of the management role altogether and just let the players decide what to do?

Dan Gosling for Everton (v Liverpool), 4 February 2009

....Apparently. I didn't see it :-)

Ah, hello there. It's predictions time again, innit.

Manchester City 2-0 Middlesbrough
Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Aston Villa
Chelsea 2-0 Hull City
Everton 1-0 Bolton Wanderers
Portsmouth 0-2 Liverpool
Sunderland 2-1 Stoke City
West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Newcastle Utd
Wigan Athletic 2-1 Fulham
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Arsenal
West Ham United 0-1 Manchester United

Wildcards from League Two this week:

Accrington Stanley 2-1 Luton Town
Darlington 2-0 Wycombe
Gillingham 3-1 Bradford

Edwin van der Sar for Ajax (v de Graafschaap), 3 May 1998

Whether you like them or not, congratulations go to Manchester United and specifically their Dutch international goalkeeper who broke a longstanding English record on Saturday.

It has now been an astonishing 1,104 minutes since Edwin van der Sar picked the ball out of his net eclipsing the record set by the fantastically named Steve Death during the 1978-9 season.

It is a particular testament to the veteran keeper that he has done this behind a regularly changing defence, with the back four having variously included Nemanja Vidic, Gary Neville, Rafael da Silva, John O'Shea, Patrice Evra, Wes Brown and Jonny Evans during this run.

If van der Sar keeps West Ham at bay for 75 minutes at Upton Park on Sunday he will beat the current British record (held by Rangers' Chris Woods). A clean sheet against the Hammers will then mean that if the Dutchmen gets to the 65th minute against Fulham next Wednesday night without conceding he will beat the world record (currently held by Atletic Madrid's Abel Renso).

van der Sar has had a terrific career. He is Holland's most capped player and was the first non-Italian to keep goal for Juventus. He is also one of the few players to win the Champions League with two clubs, picking up winners medals with Ajax in 1995 and Manchester United in 2008. He has also won a UEFA Cup winners medal and six league titles with United and Ajax.

Many records have fallen during the Ferguson era, and for a team who have receive regular plaudits over the years for their fine attacking football it must be of great satisfaction to Ferguson that his side are also record-breakers for their defensive achievements. A model professional, I hope van der Sar makes it through the next couple of games with his luck intact as it would be a tremendous crowning achievement to a fantastic career.

Mido for Wigan Athletic (v Liverpool), 28 January 2009

Henry Winter today: "Manchester City failing to sign Kaka but getting Craig Bellamy is a bit like having a ticket for the Rio carnival but ending up at a karaoke night in Cardiff......"

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
Aston Villa 2-1 Wigan
Bolton 0-1 Tottenham
Fulham 2-1 Portsmouth
Hull 1-1 West Brom
Man Utd 1-0 Everton
Middlesbrough 1-2 Blackburn
Stoke 0-0 Man City
Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea
Newcastle 0-0 Sunderland

Wildcards from the Championship

Cardiff 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Preston 1-0 Sheff Utd
QPR 1-1 Reading

Giles Barnes for Derby County (v Manchester Utd), 20 January 2009

Hello all.

Some fascinating (honest) stuff about the "winter European leagues" here. An unprecedented four "first time league winners", you know......

It's the FA Cup again this weekend - watch in awe as all the big teams go through!!! (although United having no defenders to speak of is a bit of a worry....)

Chelsea 2-0 Ipswich
Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Aston Villa
Hartlepool 1-1 West Ham
Kettering 0-2 Fulham
Man Utd 2-1 Tottenham
Sunderland 1-1 Blackburn Rovers
Torquay 2-1 Coventry City
Wolves 2-0 Middlesbrough
Cardiff 0-2 Arsenal
Liverpool 1-0 Everton

Wildcards from the mighty Eredivisie this week:

PSV 3-1 NAC
Groningen 1-1 Ajax
Vitesse 2-1 NEC

Veigar Pall Gunnarsson for Stabaek (v Valerenga), 26 October 2008

Even though it's only the third week of the New Year there are European leagues whose titles and glory have already been decided, and it is fair to say that it has been the year of the underdog. Bearing in mind the relative uncompetitiveness of the major European leagues (in terms of who wins them) these four leagues had the most amazing seasons......

Sweden

After a nailbiting finish to the 2007 Allsvenskan league season, 2008 had another similarly tense denouement. Last season's champions Gothenburg could only manage a 3rd place finish (ten points off the pace) and so the title once again went down to the final day of the season.

2006 Champions Elfsborg ended up falling agonisingly short and the title went to last years runners-up Kalmar FF. Remarkably, it is Kalmar's first ever league title and they were only prevented from a historic double by a penalty shootout defeat to Gothenburg in the Svenska Cup final. Their success is even more astonishing considering that the club were in the second tier of Swedish football as recently as 2003.

With nine different winners since 1997, the Allsvenskan remains one of Europe's most interesting and competitive leagues.

Norway

It was pretty much a complete changing of the guard in Norway this season. After the joy last year of their first league title since 1963 Brann had a disappointing season finishing in a lowly eighth place, twenty-one points off the Championship pace. Rosenborg's relative decline continued also, as having won fifteen of the previous seventeen league titles they could only manage to match 2007's disappointing fifth place.

Third in 2007, Viking could only finish sixth, and the fourth place team in 2007, Lillestrom, finished a place above the relegation play-offs losing their management along the way (replacing them with ex Manchester United defender Henning Berg.)

It was therefore to be another Scandinavian fairytale as Stabaek clinched their first ever league title with their 6-2 victory over Valerenga in the penultimate match of the season. Unfashionable Frederikstad were second, Tromso third and newly promoted Bodo/Glimt finished an excellent fourth just two points off a Europa League spot.

2005 champions Valerenga were victorious in the Cup and claim the final Europa League place.

Russia

An unprecedented hat-trick of "first time league winners" was completed in the Russian Premier League. Unfancied FC Rubin Kazan from the Tatarstan Republic (only promoted to the top flight in 2003) won the Russian title on matchday 27. Wagner Love's 20 goals propelled CSKA Moscow into second place with Dinamo Moscow in third.

UEFA Cup and Super Cup winners Zenit St Petersburg could only finish in fifth place despite spending a cool €30 million on Danny, the most expensive player in Russian football history. This means they fail to qualify for the Champions League in 2009/10.

Interestingly (and somewhat bizarrely), Rubin's players were completely absent from the Russian Football Unions's "best league XI" announced at the end of the season. Zenit managed five players despite scraping into a European spot on goal difference and the team above them (Amkar Perm) also saw none of its players recognised....

Finland

To complete an amazing sequence in the "summer leagues" of European football, Finland also, incredibly, had a "first time" league winner in 2008.

Founded as recently as 1990, FC Inter are based in the Finnish city of Turku, the country's fifth largest. Having never achieved a league finish higher than fourth, the small team (ground capacity of 9,000) beat FF Jaro in their final game of the season to take the title by four points.

Inter were pushed to the line by the fantastically names FC Honka who will be joined in the Europa Leage by FC Lahti and HJK Helsinki.

Aleksander Kokko took the "top scorer" golden boot as well as "young player of the year" and "attacker of the year" awards.

It was a bad season for last years top teams - champions Tampere United could only finish eight with their main rivals FC Haka one place below them.

Sweden
Champions: Kalmar FF
Europa League: Elfsborg, IFK Gothenburg, Helsingborg

Norway
Champions: Stabaek
Europa League: Frederikstad, Tromso

Russia
Champions: FC Rubin Kazan
Champions League: CSKA Moscow
Europa League: Dinamo Moscow, Amkar Perm, Zenit St Petersburg

Finland
Champions: FC Inter
Europa League: FC Honka, FC Lahti, HJK

Nemanja Vidic (for Manchester Utd) v Chelsea, 11 January 2009

I'm willing to wager five of your fine English pounds that Kaka wins the "Championship Player Of The Year Award 2009/10"....

Blackburn 2-1 Newcastle
Bolton 0-1 Man Utd
Chelsea 2-0 Stoke
Hull 0-2 Arsenal
Man City 2-1 Wigan
Sunderland 1-1 Aston Villa
West Brom 2-1 Middlesbrough
Tottenham 3-0 Portsmouth
West Ham 1-1 Fulham
Liverpool 1-0 Everton

Wildcards from the Belge, this week:

Club Brugge 2-0 KV Mechelen
Mons 1-0 AA Gent
Charleroi 1-1 Westerlo

Nicklas Bendtner for Arsenal (v Bolton Wanderers), 10 January 2009

If there's one thing in football that is guaranteed to get my hackles up, it is people in the game bemoaning the tactics of opposition teams. It was Arsene Wenger and Robin van Persie's turn this weekend, the latter describing Bolton's tactics at the Emirates as "not realyl football".

Apoplogies to regular readers as I have made this rant before, last time aimed at jug-eared smugster Gary Lineker after he described Spain's victory over Italy at Euro 2008 as "a victory for football".

Football has some general rules and the idea of the game is that you play within them. Nowhere does it say that you have to ping the ball about like it's a practice game and nowhere does it prohibit eight giant lumping centre halves being placed behind the ball at all time.

I'm not saying that I'd pay to watch Bolton's, er, "direct" tactics week in, week out - I'd much rather watch Arsenal (generally speaking). What I object to, though, is this arrogant and patronising argument that "our tactics are better than yours". Arsenal won the game 1-0 so, obviously, their ethos, tactics and personnel won the day.

If teams are overly aggressive, thuggish and brutal then I guess there might be a point. But Bolton (points for Premiership survival a priority over everything else) are entitled to approach a tricky away fixture in whatever way they see fit, and if that involves them putting eleven men behind the ball for ninety minutes then the best of luck to them. It might not be pretty, but it is valid.

Cristiano Ronaldo for Manchester United (v Stoke City), 15 November 2008

Predictions are here.

Insert "Ronaldo" and "not taking corners" gag here..........

Whoops!

Kris Commons for Derby County (v Manchester Utd), 7 January 2009

After our well-deserved winter break it's time to get back into the swing of the Predictions League as we wind our way towards the end of the season...

Arsenal 2-0 Bolton
Aston Villa 3-1 West Brom
Everton 2-0 Hull
Fulham 2-1 Blackburn
Middlesbrough 1-1 Sunderland
Newcastle 1-0 West Ham
Portsmouth 1-1 Man City
Stoke 0-0 Liverpool
Manchester Utd 2-0 Chelsea
Wigan 2-2 Tottenham

Wildcards this week are based on Sunday's big game: (3 points for correct answers)

First booking in Man Utd v Chelsea: Ronaldo
First goalscorer in Man Utd v Chelsea: Wayne Rooney

Steven Gerrard for Liverpool (v Newcastle Utd), 28 December 2008

So, then, we're half way through the season and for everyone other than the top Four (and Arsenal, ha ha) it's basically turned into a relegation dogfight. Everton in 6th are safe-ish (you'd think) but from there downwards the next five months are fundamentally a scrap to stay in the division.

Six of the teams have changed their manager (some voluntarily, some with no option) and it remains to see whether the likes of Big Sam or (and how bizarre was this?) Joe Kinnear can save them.

At the start of the campaign, ST predicted the three promoted teams would go down. I thought Boro, Stoke and Bolton. Right now either of us could be correct, or we could both be completely wrong. My gut feeling is that Big Sam will save Rovers, new management at Spurs and Sunderland will propel them to mid-table and Hull's amazing start will be enough.

I fear for the teams about to lose important players. Tony Adams' Portsmouth seem to be in freefall and the imminent departure of Jermain Defoe can't help. Boro seem set to lose Stewart Downing (and possibly others) which will make a threadbare squad look even less competitive. My biggest fear though is for Newcastle who look weak as it is and the possible departure of Shay Given (notwithstanding the capable back-up of Steve Harper) and an injury to Michael Owen could see them really struggle. I'm not sure Barry Ferguson is the solution either, after his previous ignominious flirtation with the Premier League a few years back.

So, it should be an interesting few months. Three to go down? Newcastle, Portsmouth and West Brom. No. Stoke, Boro and Bolton. No. West Brom, Bolton and Boro. Oh, I don't know. Toss a coin, maybe.

Nathan Ellington for Derby (vs Charlton), 15th December 2008

Predictions time again.

Blackburn 1-1 Stoke (bub-bye to the guvnor)
Bolton 2-1 Portsmouth
Fulham 1-0 Middlesbrough
Hull 2-1 Sunderland
West Ham 2-2 Aston Villa
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Newcastle 1-1 Tottenham
West Brom 0-2 Man City
Everton 0-2 Chelsea

wildcards from the championship

Birmingham 1-1 Reading
Derby 2-0 Watford
Doncaster 0-2 Wolverhampton
Southampton 1-0 Nottingham Forest

Nemanja Vidic for Manchester United (v Sunderland), 6 December 2008

Hey. I have updated the league table and *everything*. Heh heh heh.

The Champions League group stage is a waste of time. Time for straight knockout again, methinks (snowballs chance in hell, of course). Anyway.

Aston Villa 2-0 Bolton
Liverpool 2-0 Hull
Man City 2-1 Everton
Middlesbrough 1-2 Arsenal
Stoke 1-1 Fulham
Sunderland 2-1 West Brom
Tottenham 0-1 Man Utd
Wigan 2-1 Blackburn
Chelsea 2-0 West Ham
Portsmouth 2-1 Newcastle

and it's that brilliant well-conceived FIFA World Club Championship thing again... (three teams from Asia, one from Europe and one from South America. Hmmmm.)

Adelaide United 0-2 Gamba Osaka (an interesting repeat of the Asian Champions League final, this)
Al Ahly Cairo 2-1 Pachuca Club de Futbol

Cassio for Adelaide United (v Wellington Phoenix), 5 December 2008

The Australian A-League was only created as recently as the 2005/6 season and so remains in its relative infancy. Set up along extremely American "franchise" guidelines, an initial eight team league was created around the main population centres of the country (plus a team from New Zealand).

Now in its fourth season, the A-League appears to have been a qualified success. Expansion for next season has already been confirmed (with the elaborately named North Queensland Fury (based in Townsville) and Gold Coast United set to join in 2009. 2010 is likely to see the addition of more teams including one from Canberra, a second Melbourne and/or a West Sydney side.

Whilst the profile of football in the country has been raised in recent years (the Socceroos qualification for the 2006 World Cup and the successes of some Aussie players in major European leagues have certainly helped) the quality remains questionable. Whilst it has certainly improved - Adelaide Utd reached the final of this season's Asian Champions League - what I have seen of the competition is broadly akin to the lower leagues of the UK. Queensland Roar's captain (for example) is ex Rangers and Crystal Palace clogger Craig Moore and their vice-captain is ex Manchester City lunatic Danny Tiatto. I note Kevin Muscat and John Aloisi amongst a list of more prominent players.....

Displacing the main national sports of the country was always a tall order - rugby league, cricket and AFL remain more popular - attendances remain reasonable. Just under 9,000 saw the Central Coast Mariners 1-1 draw with the Roar last weekend, whilst 6,621 were at Perth's Members Equity Stadium to see ex-Tranmere striker Eugene Dadi's brace help see off Melbourne Victory.

The attraction of the A-League as a retirement destination for has-been stars seemed initially to grab some publicity - Dwight Yorke was Sydney FC's initial "marquee" signing - but I think the rise of the American Major League might have put paid to this also. Several prominent Australian stars have expressed an interest in returning to their homeland to end their career and therein is the league in a nutshell - a collection of aged, over-the-hill ex-stars and an abundance of players that wouldn't cut it in League Two. Most Australian football fans passionately follow a European team - based on their ancestry, relatives or other reasons - and might look out for their "local" (ha, ha) teams A-League results also.

Still, the league continues to grow in size and the addition of further teams in areas of population concentration will only help attendances, I guess. That two of the current Australian international squad ply their trade in their home league, however (and both for the Newcastle Jets - the reigning Grand Final champions) tells you most of what you need to know.....

Carlos Tevez for Manchester United (v Blackburn Rovers), 3 December 2008

g'day all. I am going to write about the A-League, in due course. Ooh. I bet you can't wait.

Arriving in Brisbane at midnight on Tuesday, I slipped into a borderline coma before jetlag awoke me at 6am the following morning. I made a cup of tea and flicked the telly on to watch the local programing, and was faced with the spectre of Arsenal v Wigan in the Carling Cup. Live. At 6 in the morning.

Time differences are *weird*.

Arsenal 2-0 Wigan
Blackburn 0-1 Liverpool
Bolton 0-2 Chelsea
Fulham 2-1 Man City
Hull 2-0 Middlesbrough
Man Utd 3-0 Sunderland
Newcastle 1-0 Stoke
Everton 1-1 Aston Villa
West Brom 2-1 Portsmouth
West Ham 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

and some wildcards from the Hyundai A-League:

Central Coast Mariners 1-1 Queensland Roar
Perth Glory 1-2 Melbourne Victory
Newcastle Jets 0-1 Sydney FC

James Ogoo for Curzon Ashton (vs Exeter), 8 November 2008

Predictions time again..... I'm sure I'll think of something else to put up here at some point. Maybe. I would write about Wolves, but I'm not sure I want to jinx them......

Aston Villa 2-0 Fulham
Middlesbrough 1-1 Newcastle
Stoke 1-0 Hull
Sunderland 1-0 Bolton
Wigan 2-1 West Brom
Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal
Man City 1-2 Man Utd
Portsmouth 1-0 Blackburn
Tottenham 1-0 Everton

Wildcards from the 2nd round of the FA Cup

Bournemouth 2-0 Blyth Spartans
Fleetwood Town 0-2 Hartlepool
Kidderminster 2-0 Curzon Ashton
Scunthorpe 3-1 Alfreton Town

Diego Maradona for Argentina (vs England), 22 June 1986

Predictions time again then....

Not only have I actually remembered to put the predictions up, but I have also managed to put them up on a Wednesday too. How's that for organisation?

Average at best? I'll settle for that.

Aston Villa 0-1 Man Utd
Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle
Liverpool 2-0 Fulham
Man City 1-2 Arsenal
Middlesbrough 1-0 Bolton
Portsmouth 1-1 Hull
Stoke 2-1 West Brom
Sunderland 1-0 West Ham
Tottenham 2-0 Blackburn

Wildcards from Serie A this week, I think.

Inter 1-0 Juventus
Lecce 0-1 Roma
Torino 0-1 Milan

catenaccio and "thrilling" one-nil wins all round!

(which Maradona goal? I leave that up to you....)

Ade Akinbiyi for Burnley (vs Chelsea), 12 November 2008

Better had do some predictions then, eh?

Arsenal 2-0 Aston Villa
Blackburn 1-1 Sunderland
Bolton 0-1 Liverpool
Fulham 0-1 Tottenham
Man Utd 2-0 Stoke
Newcastle 1-1 Wigan
West Brom 0-3 Chelsea
West Ham 1-0 Portsmouth
Everton 2-1 Middlesbrough
Hull 1-0 Man City

wildcards from Spain

Getafe 1-1 Sevilla
Atlético 2-1 Deportivo
Betis 1-0 Racing

Someone remind me to do it early next week, eh? I'm off to NY on Thursday afternoon.... hard life and all that.

Roman Pavlyuchenko for Tottenham Hotspur (v Liverpool), 1 November 2008

Hello all. Sorry it's a bit late - I was in Oceana at 1am with the boss last night and a heady cocktail of nasty overpriced drinks....

Arsenal 1-2 Man Utd
Hull 2-1 Bolton
Liverpool 2-0 West Brom
Sunderland 1-0 Portsmouth
West Ham 1-1 Everton
Wigan 2-0 Stoke
Aston Villa 3-1 Middlesbrough
Blackburn 0-2 Chelsea
Fulham 2-1 Newcastle
Man City 1-1 Tottenham

and some wildcards from the first round of the FA Cup:

Blyth Spartans 1-2 Shrewsbury
Sutton United 1-1 Notts County
Havant and Waterlooville 0-2 Brentford

I'm off to Australia for three weeks (I do get to see the Rugby League World Cup semi final - hopefully it'll be England v New Zealand barring freak results) and so I will leave you in ST's capable hands until I get back. Innit.