A splendid article from Martin Samuel on the value of Premiership promises and how under the present structure the push for more money will never end.

The deal with a Chinese broadcaster seems to be a poor one for the Premiership.

And Sepp Blatter has made his views known. Don’t be surprised if the Premier League tries to turn these comments into a press release that talks of positive steps.

John Ley of the Daily Telegraph predicts how the top three in the Premiership will make out over the last 12 rounds.


The Independent takes a look at the changing face of football in Argentina.

And a reminder to Canadian fans that a group called the Canadian Soccer Federation has recently issued a plan that proposes to significantly change the way the game operates in Canada. Your input is not only accepted but encouraged which is more than can be said for the Canadian Soccer Association.

FA CUP
The last sixteen of the FA Cup would seem to be a good starting point for this weekend’s preview. I have read a couple of pieces this week from pundits writing that games such as Manchester United vs. Arsenal rarely life up to expectations.

With the exception of the 2005 FA Cup snore-fest I can think of very few United – Arsenal games that have not been entertaining and in many cases outstanding. Although both teams no doubt have the Premiership as a greater priority both clubs have a great cup tradition that pre-dates the arrival of Wenger and Ferguson and I can’t see either team rolling over – although the loser may claim otherwise.

The sidebar to this match is the impact it may have on the race for the league title. A United win will boost confidence and five points to make up with twelve games left will suddenly look not so daunting.

Vice versa for the Gunners – a win at Old Trafford and the rest of the season will hold no fears.

If the visits of Barnsley and Huddersfield to Anfield and Stamford Bridge result in anything but conclusive home wins it will constitute a major surprise. Former Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair is on Huddersfield’s books along with former Everton player Danny Cadamarteri.

If things had gone according to planned Wayne Rooney would have been the next Danny Cadamarteri but it all went pear shaped. The FA Cup has already proven to be special for a Huddersfield club that is celebrating a centenary this year.

Birmingham City were victims in the third round and Oldham were dispatched last round. Huddersfield may now be a mid-table League One side but there was a time when they dominated English football to an extent rarely seen.

They won the FA Cup win in 1922 and were runners up in 1920, 1928, 1930 and 1938. They also won three straight English First Division Championships (1924, 25 and 26) and runners up in 1927, 28 and 34.

One of England’s legendary managers Herbert Chapman was in charge from 1921-25 before leaving to take the Arsenal job. And as part of their 100th year celebrations Huddersfield is set to play Arsenal sometime in the summer.

Fifteen months ago Barnsley looked set to drop back to League One after securing a surprise promotion by way of the play-offs the season before. Out went manager Andy Ritchie (to surface a short while later at Huddersfield) and he was replaced by Coach Simon Davey.

Davey rallied the troops and secured one more year in the second tier of English football. In the process Barnsley extended their record as the team that has spent more time in English football’s second tier than any other.

Recognizable names on the Barnsley roster - Rohan Ricketts (former Spurs), Tony Warner (former Liverpool back up and on loan from Fulham) and Jon Mackem who had spells with both Manchester clubs. Mackem however is cup tied and not available.

Players to watch out for are apparently the midfield duo of Brian Howard and Anderson Da Silva on loan from Everton.

Quick free kicks
Both Sheffield United (home to Boro) and Coventry (home to West Brom) fired managers Bryan Robson and Ian Dowie this week. Under Robson Bolton and Manchester City were beaten in the FA Cup and Dowie’s Coventry side knocked Manchester United out of the Carling Cup and Blackburn from the FA Cup.

Preston have made it to the 5th round for the third straight year but are still struggling to gain traction in the Championship under former Everton assistant Alan Irvine. Preston sits one point above the last relegation spot but the two clubs below both have a game in hand.

Serie A
The Juventus vs. Roma match this weekend may decide whether or not Roma will retain a passing interest at least in top spot (Inter leads by eight points) or become involved in a fight for second with Juventus and possibly Fiorentina and Milan.

Inter continues to charge with only one Serie A loss in their last sixty-two matches and faces Livorno on Saturday. Juventus and Roma appear to be very evenly matched with Juventus unbeaten in their last 13 (seven draws) while Roma’s only loss in their last sixteen games was a shock 3-0 loss to Siena a fortnight ago.

While Juve can look to only one home loss this season Roma’s loss to Siena was their single set back away from the Olympico. The first game between these two this season finished with them sharing four goals – a draw is on the cards again.

The Genoa derby finds both clubs enjoying a good run of form with only two losses in their last ten combine games. Recent form however masks Sampdoria’s exceptionally poor performances away from home. T

heir seven points is by far the worst of teams currently in the top ten and a push for a European spot is going to require an improvement over the last eight away matches. Mario Borriello was called up to the full Italy squad for the game against Portugal on account of his goal scoring for Genoa this season.

The hard grafting Borriello has scored 12 of Genoa’s 23 goals this season and without his goals Genoa would not be sitting comfortably in ninth spot. Ten of his 12 goals have come in the second half this season and in total his goals have been worth 15 points to Genoa.

A few things to chew over after another weekend of interesting performances and results around Europe. 

This week Arsene Wenger will complete ten years in charge at Arsenal. Considering Wenger arrived to headlines of “Arsene who” and scurrilous gossip you would have to say he has not done to badly. As far as Arsenal fans are concerned, I would have to reckon that only the great Herbert Chapman would be considered along side Wenger. Chapman died prematurely while in charge at Highbury and never lived to see the full fruits of his labour.

However, what about the great managers who have been in charge of English clubs over the last 40 years or so?  How will history rate Arsene Wenger against the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Brian Clough, Bob Paisley, Sir Matt Busby, Bill Shankly, Don Revie, Ron Greenwood and Bill Nicholson?

Taking trophies into consideration is one way to look at it but the transformation that Wenger brought to Arsenal in terms of the quality of the football has also to be considered I would think. Has their been a more entertaining side than Arsenal in recent memory?

Ronaldo turned 30 (he is younger than Ruud van Nistelrooy) last Friday  and he should have at least another two or three seasons of goal scoring left in him. Should he just retire or should Fabio Capello find a place for him in the Real Madrid starting line-up? Alternatively, come January should he be looking for a change of scenery and if so where should that be?

Hernan Crespo seems to be settling in at Inter Milan. With three goals in two games over 5 days, Crespo seems to be one of the few consistent things about Inter. They sit top of Serie A but they do seem to enjoy making things difficult. Three goals down to Roma in the Italian Super Cup they then scored four to win in extra time. In the first Serie A game of the season, they led Fiorentina 3-0 before holding on for a 3-2 win then this past weekend they went one-step better. This time Inter led struggling Chievo by four before allowing the Verona side to score three times in the last 13 minutes to set up a storming finish.

It is early days in Spain but La Liga does appear to have to makings o####reat title race this season. Real Madrid took advantage of Barcelona and Valencia drawing at the Nou Camp while Atletico Madrid brought Sevilla’s great start to a grinding halt. Two goals in the last five minutes turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win for Madrid’s other side. Of course Sevilla will point out that they played a quarter of the game after having both Escude (46th minute) and Navarro (66th minute) sent off.

Next weekend Atletico travel to the Bernabeu for the Madrid derby. Atletico and Fernando Torres have horrible records against Real since Atletico returned to the top flight in the 2002/03 season.

Up in Scotland Celtic drew first blood as they increased their lead to seven points over Rangers. It looks as if a quick turnaround in fortune under Paul LeGuen is not going to happen. Do Rangers have any other option other than being patient and staying the course with LeGuen?

Finally, is there any club that has undergone a crazier September than Gretna? Gretna started the month at the top of the Scottish First Division but were soudly spanked 4-0 by Dundee at home before losing 3-2 to Ross County in the Scottish League Challenge Cup.

A mid-month top of the table clash with Livingstone ended in a 1-1 draw while last Wednesday Hibernian thrashed Gretna 6-0 in the CIS Cup. Saturday brought about a turn in fortune when they beat Partick Thistle by the same score and Gretna returned to the top of the Scottish League.