Michael Ballack spoke the truth.

Whether the folks at Arsenal, both in the boardroom and on the terraces (to say nothing of the manager) listen to the German is another matter.

The title race in the EPL is down to two teams -- as we have said right along -- and the odds still favor Chelsea.

As long as Didier Drogba is healthy, the team at Stamford Bridge is the favorite in our eyes, but things can change in the next two months based upon the demands of the FA Cup and Europe.

Remember, the London Blues are still in three competitions and figure top stay in the FA Cup right to the finish in May. They host Cardiff City in the fifth round Saturday and the rest of the last 16 have been reduced to sides that Chelsea shouldn't really worry too much about. They will want to defend the trophy they won last year under stand-in manager Guus Hiddink.

Their Champions League business does not start until Feb. 24, thanks to the new UEFA tactic of splitting their round of 16 into two groups playing a week apart. That's not only good for television ratings, it means that the Chelsea work load will be distributed.

Here's what the road ahead looks like for the Blues: at Everton (tomorrow), Cardiff (Saturday in the FA Cup), at Wolves on Feb. 20, then at Inter Milan on Feb. 24 and home to Manchester City the following Saturday. Their return leg against Inter is sandwiched between matches with West Ham and Blackburn, while the showdown at Old Trafford does not come until April 3.

On paper, at least, it may be harder for United, also still in three competitions. They go to unpredictable Aston Villa tomorrow, then to AC Milan next Tuesday in the Champions League. After that it's West Ham, Aston Villa (Carling Cup final), Wolves, the AC Milan second leg, then games against Fulham, Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers.

The heat will be turned up on both contenders at the end of March. That's because the Champions League quarterfinals are set for March 30-31 and April 6-7, bracketed around that April 3 Manchester United-Chelsea date at Old Trafford.

And remember, since teams from the same country are not protected from meeting each other at that Champions League stage, there is the possibility of three meetings between the teams in 10 days.

Now that would be fun, wouldn't it?

--

The MLS-Players Union talks need to produce something this week.

My guess is that they will and that the players will make only minimal gains.

However, according to today’s SportsBusiness Journal, those talks may be postponed due to the snowstorms hitting Washington, D.C. Stay tuned.

 

DAILY READS:

Is the Bundesliga a model?

 

Do transfers matter?

 

West Ham asks players to take wage cuts

 

Report: Two Indian tycoons “lining up bid to buy Liverpool.” Club denies contact

 

ON TV: (times ET, pix in bold)

TUESDAY

Fulham v Burnley 1445 FSC

Man City v Bolton 1445 Setanta

Cerro v Quito 1500 FSE

Catolica v Colon 1700 FSE

Wigan v Stoke 1700 SDD FSC

Lanus v Libertad 1930 FSE

 

WEDNESDAY

Bayern Munich v Gruether Furth 1300 ESPN360

Parma v Inter 1440 ESPN360/RAI

Aston Villa v Manchester United 1445 FSC

Arsenal v Liverpool 1445 Setanta

Getafe v Sevilla 1555 ESPND/360

Banfield v Morelia 1630 FSE

Everton v Chelsea 1645 SDD Setanta

Wolves v Spurs 1700 SDD FSC

Sao Paolo v Monterrey 1830 FSE

 

THURSDAY

Racing Santander v Atletico Madrid 1555 GolTV

Nacional v Cuenca 1600 FSE

Estudiantes v Juan Arich 1800 FSE

Blooming v Universitario 2030 FSE

THE READS:

New owner hoping to sell Portsmouth

 

Haiti tries to rebuild

 

American Torres hurt; will be sidelined for at least three weeks

 

3-D TV.

 

TV (All times ET, picks in bold)

TODAY

Werder v Hertha 1430 GolTV

Queretaro v Chivas 2130 Galavision

 

SATURDAY

Liverpool v Everton 0730 ESPN2

Wolfsburg v Munich 0930 ESPND/360

Frosionone v Lecce 0930 RAI

Man U v Pompey 0945 Setanta

Hull v Man City 1000 FSC/FSE

Valencia v Valladollid 1200 ESPN360/D

Palermo v Parma 1200 ESPN360/RAI

Doncaster v Reading 1215 Setanta

Nurnberg v Stuttgart 1230 GolTV

Spurs v Villa 1230 FSC/FSE

PSV v Den Haag 1245 ESPN360

Barca v Getafe 1400 ESPND/360

Livorno v Juventus 1440 FSC/FSE/RAI

Rennes v Bordeaux 1500 Setanta

Real Madrid v Espanyol 1600 GolTV

Cruz Azul v Santos 1800 Azteca

Cali v Millonarios 1800 GolTV

Pachuca v San Luis 2000 Telefutura

Tigres v Pumas 2000 Telemundo

Cucuta v Pereira 2000 GolTV

Atlas v America 2145 Telemundo

 

SUNDAY

Sydney v Perth 0200 FSC

UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying draw 0600 ESPN360

Birmingham v Wolves 0830 Setanta

Bologna v AC Milan 0900 FSC/FSE

Inter Milan v Cagliari 0900 RAI/ESPN360

Chelsea v Arsenal 1100 FSC/FSE

Almeria v Gijon 1100 DTV

Osasuna v Tenerife 1100 DTV

Bilbao v Xerez 1100 DTV

Malaga v Coruna 1100 ESPND/360

Toulouse v Lyon 1100 Setanta

Toluca v Monterrey 1255 Telemundo

Zaragoza v Sevilla 1300 GolTV

Fiorentina v Roma 1445 FSC/RAI

OM v Valenciennes 1500 Setanta

Indios v Morelia 1500 FSE

Racing v Atletico Madrid 1500 GolTV

Whatever Fabio Capello decides to do about the England captaincy will go down the wrong way for some observers.

The John Terry scandal has tossed a red-hot issue at the England manager for sure. Let Terry keep the armband and Capello will be seen as glossing over the "moral" issues involved in the matter. Sack him and appoint somebody else and the Italian will doubtless hear that the playing field and private life should be kept separate.

In these days of steroid revelations, Tiger Woods and, even, USA 1998 we are getting used to these kinds of issues taking center stage. But the challenge facing Capello over the England captain is real.

After all, this England team has the best chance of doing well in a World Cup since 1990 and the captain will be the face of the team.

The England manager is smart enough to know that he will have to deal with at least one key injury between now and the kickoff in June. As long as it isn't Wayne Rooney he will take his team to South Africa full of confidence.

What no one needs is a debate that works on that illusive "chemistry" which may not be easy to define, but most definitely has much to do with whether a collection of stars turns into a team. All teams are fragile and -- contrary to the cliche -- winning does not cure everything.

Good luck with this one, Fabio.

--

Nice to see Steve Ralston staying in the game even if it isn't in MLS.

Ralston's work ethic is unquestionable and the plain fact was this: it always seemed that his teams were better when Ralston was playing than whenever he was sidelined. He was always a willing worker, changing positions, accepting different roles, sublimating his ego to the need of every team he was on.

Now it's time for the next act: as a player-coach with St. Louis in the newly-reborn NASL, will Ralston be able to convince players to emulate his own commitment to the game?

 

 

READS:

Portland gets its soccer park, and MLS team

 

One season, four owners: Why Pompey is such a mess

 

FIFA “abandons” child trafficking campaign?

 

Ricardo Clark injured, delaying debut

 

TV

THURSDAY

Chcarita v River 1500 FSE

Roma v Udinese 1500 GolTV/ESPN360

Atl. Madrid- Santander 1555 ESPND/360

When John Harkes was not included on the American roster for the 1998 World Cup there were more than a few shock-waves rippling through the small USA soccer world.

Revelations this week from Eric Wynalda, then commented on by coach Steve Sampson and Harkes, will revive the controversy, at least for a while.

We'll stay clear of the subject under discussion, but it is very much worth thinking of 1998 when preparing for 2010.

Coach Bob Bradley must learn from the mistakes of that World Cup.

The parallels:

-- both the 1998 team and the 2010 team got into real difficulties in qualifying, not assuring their places among the finalists until late in the Hexagonal.

-- both head coaches came under heavy pressure when things did not go well.

Calls for the replacement of Sampson were front and center when the USA went to Mexico City with qualifying in jeopardy. The team got a 0-0 draw, the Americans later clinched their place and Sampson saved his job.

You know what happened last year. The wolves were circling in South Africa until the USA produced its performance of a lifetime to upset Spain. Bradley kept his job.

What happened next [in 1998] is what Bradley must avoid.

Sampson probably understood that the team that qualified wasn't good enough. He brought in new faces -- Chad Deering, Brian Maissoneuve and, famously, David Regis — and they were on the field against Germany in the opener while veterans like Jeff Agoos and Alexi Lalas, qualifying regulars, weren't.

It turned out that the changes came too late to right the ship. Instead of producing a miracle new look, Sampson wound up with the tournament's wooden spoon and his walking papers.

There will be some tempted to say that Bradley badly needs to change the heart of his current roster, too.

It's obvious that something is often missing against high level opponents, so the argument might be made that new blood will be better than staying the course.

There is talk about Jermaine Jones who wants to represent the USA. Is this an echo of importing Regis from France at the last minute?

Some might believe that bringing in untried talent will increase the pressure on "regulars" who know their jobs are safe. Unfortunately, that did not work in 1998 and isn't likely to work now.

Bradley's team is what it is.

Having stuck with the coach, who stuck with his players, history suggests that the Americans must work hard, and make the best of what they have.

 

READS

DaMarcus Beasley’s car blown up in Glasgow

 

The Wynalda-Harkes debacle

 

Terry says he will not resign

 

Second America player shot

 

City to USA? Why not?

 

Toronto FC gets immortalized in song by Toronto's best band... whose name is unprintable. (Link opens the Lala player so you can hear the song.)

 

Yet another reason to love Ray Hudson

 

WEDNESDAY

Leeds v Spurs 1430 FSC/FSE

Fulham v Portsmouth 1500 Setanta

Inter v Fiorentina 1500 GolTV/360

Uniao Leira v Benfica 1600 ESPN360

Sevilla v Getafe 1600 ESPND/360/GolTV

Cruziero v Potosi 1830 FSE

Estudiantes v Chiclayo 2120 FSE

 

THURSDAY

Chcarita v River 1500 FSE

Roma v Udinese 1500 GolTV/ESPN360

I'd thought FIFA had retired the Fair Play Trophy for this century when they turned a blind eye toward Thierry Henry's handball that qualified the French for World Cup 2010.

By completely failing to deal with the most blatant instance of cheating since that Maradona fella fisted a ball into the net in Mexico City you figured that the Lords of the Game had put an all-time lock on idiocy.

Not so.

 

 Just three months after the boys from Zurich drop-kicked the idea of fairness into Lake Geneva, along comes CAF to one-up them with their decision to ban Togo from the next two African Nations Cups.

Togo is being punished for withdrawing from the recent tournament at the last minute.

You might recall that rebels, terrorists or criminals -- depending upon who is doing the defining -- shot up the team bus on the eve of the event. Their government ordered home, both for safety reasons, and out of civility. Nine were seriously injured and three died in the ambush.

It seems that the CAF has rules for dealing with both withdrawal and government interference. What they don’t seem to have is a moral compass. And so, we aren't surprised that CAF won’t change its rules just because of a little ambush.

If this stuff didn't make you sick it would be hilarious.

 

 --

January has come and gone.

Robbie Keane is on loan to Celtic.

So that's what the FIFA transfer window was all about?

--

 

News that Steve Cherundolo is sidelined for a month with a shoulder injury suffered in training piles more pressure on what passes for depth on the US roster.

Coach Bob Bradley's team has one meaningful friendly, March 3 in Amsterdam. That's the only FIFA date in this jam-packed spring. But Bradley will go into the game against the Netherlands missing too many key people.

Everyone knows that the best eleven is never available, but without Oguchi Oneywu, Clint Dempsey, Charlie Davies and now Cherundolo the match against the Dutch could well turn into a serious exam for would-be replacements.

 

READS:

Keane to Celtic!

 

CAF decision on Togo stirs outrage

 

Record low spent in transfer window.

TV (Times ET)

TUESDAY

Hull City v Chelsea 1445 Setanta

Palace v Wolves 1645 SDD Setanta

 

WEDNESDAY

Leeds v Spurs 1430 FSC/FSE

Fulham v Portsmouth 1500 Setanta

Inter v Fiorentina 1500 GolTV/360

Uniao Leira v Benfica 1600 ESPN360

Sevilla v Getafe 1645 SDD GolTV

Cruziero v Potosi 1830 FSE

Estudiantes v Chiclayo 2120 FSE

 

THURSDAY

Chcarita v River 1500 FSE

Roma v Udinese 1500 GolTV/ESPN360

Atl. Madrid- Santander 1555 ESPND/360