We will start off this week with a plug for the Canadian International Player of the Year as selected by Canadian fans at the Voyageurs website.  To quote from the press release – “This award recognizes the Canadian international who, through both their club exploits and international play, made the greatest impact in 2007. Last year, Atiba Hutchinson won this award on the strength of several strong UEFA Champions League performances for his club, FC Copenhagen, as well as for his professionalism, and dedication to Canadian soccer.”

You can participate by linking to the Voyageurs site.

You need to register on the Voyageurs message board, in order to cast a vote but the process I am told is fast, easy and free. And for our American friends, remember even if you are a registered Republican, in Canada, we are only allowed to vote once. 

The Times looks back at a game that was played fifty years ago and one that we are unlikely to see the likes of again. Bill Shankly speechless?

Athletic Bilbao remains “Basque-only.”

Rob Hughes says that Barcelona are a microcosm of the what is in store for the game in 2008.

Fans in England pick their team’s best ever player.

For those of you who have not come across The Fiver (an occassionally factual daily e mail from the Guardian Unlimited) you can follow the link and discover the winners of their annual year end awards. Any awards that you would like to add?

Last weekend saw Bundesliga teams play their last league games until February 3. Spain (returning January 6), France and Italy (both returning January 12) sign-off this weekend with some great games in prospect.

Lyon might have been a bit slow out the gate this season but a win over second place AS Nancy would give them a very comfortable seven point lead at the half-way mark.  And a seventh consecutive league title would be in prospect come the New Year.

Nancy are winless in the last four games but with third place Bordeaux already eight points behind Lyon they look to be the last team with any hope of challenging the perennial champions.

Not surprisingly the attention in Spain will be on the Barcelona vs. Real Madrid match. However, the other Madrid vs. Barcelona weekend match-up between Atletico Madrid and Espanyol doesn’t look bad either.

Atletico has only lost once in their last nine Liga games while Espanyol are undefeated in the last twelve. When you consider that no Spanish side has scored more goals at home than Atletico and likewise Espanyol away  then we could be in for another belter o####ame at the Vicente Calderon.

Like Lyon, a win for Real Madrid at the Nou Camp would provide the reigning champs with a seven point cushion at the top. However, there is a great deal more competition in the Spanish league and only the most foolhardy Real Madrid fan would be expecting a stroll to a second straight title come the New Year.

There was an interesting article a couple of weeks ago from Gabriele Marcotti on how Real's summer signing spree that cost around $160M has largely  failed to produce any direct results. However, it seems to have reinvigorated some other players.

Raul is a prime example having already scored eight league goals, his best return in the last three seasons with less than half the season gone. Raul’s scoring stats over the last few seasons have mirrored his decreasing effectiveness. Starting with the 1998/99 season and moving forward to 06/07 Raul’s league goals have been 25, 17, 25, 14, 16, 11, 9, 5, and 7.

Any hope that Milan may have had at the start of this season of stopping Inter’s drive for a historic three consecutive Serie A titles seems to have evaporated over the first four months of this season.

Milan – FIFA Club World Champions and UEFA Champions League winners – are a massive twenty-two points behind Inter and even if you give them nine points from their three games in hand the gap is still monstrous. As it presently sits a finish in the top four is a more realistic goal.

Inter have seen injury worries mount in the last few weeks but it has made little difference to what has become a well oiled machine. Second place Roma have rattled off six wins and four draws (22 points from a possible 30) but have seen the gap with Inter grow from three points to seven over that time span.

Argentine forward Julio Cruz has been putting the ball into the net on a consistent basis with nine goals in 12 Serie A appearances and he has scored in his last three appearances. What makes it surprising is that Cruz is doing it at the age of 33 – an age at which most players are seeing production tailing off.

One thing going for Cruz is his lack of “mileage” – less than 400 games in 15 seasons means that the Argentine striker has averaged less than 25 games a season with a high of 33 games for Bologna in the early part of this decade.

Quick free kicks
Super subs? Spurs’ Jermaine Defoe has come off the Premiership bench twelve times this season but has only scored once (against Manchester City two weeks ago). But with 14 goals as a substitute Defoe is second in Premiership history to Manchester United’s Solskjaer with 17.

Defoe’s best season as a scoring sub was in 01/02 when he scored six goals after coming on for West Ham. This is Defoe’s 9th season in the Premiership but he has failed to complete ninety minutes in more than half the 207 games that he has played in.

Andy Johnson of Everton has scored all of his three Premiership goals after coming on as a substitute this season – he is without a goal in 8 Premiership starts.

It is a hard sell to Liverpool fans but things are getting better as far as the Premiership is concerned. Going into this weekend Liverpool are 10 points behind the leaders and have a game in hand. Last season the gap was 15 points with an equal number of games played, in 05/06 it was 15 points and Liverpool had two games in hand.

The 04/05 season saw Liverpool 15 points in arrears (same games played) and a year before that, 16 points worse off than the top of the table Arsenal. In 2002/03 on this date Liverpool sat 5th and were only 5 points behind leaders Arsenal. However, by season end Manchester United were on top while Liverpool maintained the same league position albeit finishing 19 points behind the Champions.

If Villa starts a back four of Mellberg, Knight, Laursen and Bouma against Manchester City this weekend it will be for the 15th straight time in the Premiership. City has an outstanding record against Villa – 3 wins and a draw in their last 4 Premiership visits – in the last ten Premiership meetings against Villa City have 8 wins, a loss and a draw.

Another side that is hoping that history means something are Middlesbrough. Boro have a great home record vs. West Ham – 8 wins, 1 draw and no losses, they’ve scored 20 and conceded only six.

Steve Bruce will hoping for a better holiday period than last season.  Twelve months ago Wigan were the only side to lose all four games. The best holiday performers were Manchester United with ten points out of a possible dozen. Next best were Arsenal, Liverpool, Blackburn, Bolton and City each with a point fewer.

GunnersFan1   - Re: Jack Warner. I feel this is an absolute disgrace that a top FIFA official would do this. I think this hurts FIFA and CONCACAF so many ways. Jack Warner needs to go and I don't care if he's fired or resigns but FIFA needs to deal with him immediately. What do you think should happen? And your thoughts about this travesty? Will this hurt Blatter/CONCACAF?

Bobby – What should happen and what will happen are probably two different things. The Botswana official was taken care off during the World Cup within a matter of hours but look for Warner to escape again. He’s a Blatter ally – and is supported by the Canadian Soccer Association as well as the USSF I believe – so he probably knows where other bodies are buried so Sepp will find a way to get him off the hook.

Tremelo3 - I think Peter Crouch fits perfectly into England's system of play. Pretty much all of the goals he has scored for England have been created by someone else from the midfield or the wings. Crouch puts himself in the right position to get the goals. The whole name of the game is scoring goals, no matter how it is done and I think Crouch will continue to score goals for England as long as their midfield stays strong.My question is do you think that his performance for England lately is actually raising expectations of him? Some people just seem to think it is a fluke.

kirbym - First time I saw Crouch, I said something like "This guy's no Jan Koller." Then, "Don't dwell on his awkwardness, look at the results." So far my main complaint is the number of "soft" goals he has scored, against poor competition or poor marking. Yet lately he's had a couple in traffic that showed deft footwork, and that bicycle kick...a new record for "radius"? Too early to render judgment, but for now, the man is living a charmed life. Mothers, get your tall gangly sons off the basketball court and onto a football pitch!

Bobby – I am not convinced that Peter Crouch is a world class striker and don’t believe the rubbish that he will go on to beat Bobby Charlton’s English record. His English statistics just don’t fit with his club statistics. I have seen plenty of players who have done well at club level only to dry up when they move into the national team. But I cannot recall of someone achieving the opposite like Crouch. His Premiership record of less than a goal every three matches does not come close to that of players commonly regarded as top level strikers.  I think he compares with the likes of Duncan Ferguson and John Hartson – big, awkward and a handful  for defenders but never likely to come close to an average o####oal every second game or so.  He is riding the crest at the moment for England but he will never come close to that kind of form in the Premiership. For those who are ready to point out that he disrupts defenses and creates chances for his teammates – well the statistics don’t show that either. His assist rate in the Premiership is around 1 every 4 games and none of the Premiership sides he has played for seem to have had a blip in scoring when he has been playing.

USAenglandfan - I have a question for you guys about Man U's game against Tottenham. I thought Man U stunk up the field for the most part, largely due to Louis Saha. What is with this guy?? I was convinced he was going to light the Prem on fire this season after the first 3 games, then against Spurs he reminds everyone why he should never be considered Ruud's replacement. He is twice the athlete that Ruud is and a trickier dribbler, but wow what a hot and cold player. 1 on 1 with Robinson, and he fluffs it like a down pillow. Beautiful chance to cross to Ronaldo, and he shoots it into planetary orbit... Does this team need a new striker to win anything this year? Also, is there any chance Jermaine Defoe will ever be able to couple his tremendous athletic ability and killer ball control with consistent finishing? I love this guy, but it absolutely kills me to see him proving Martin Jol right to leave him on the bench.

Bobby – Many strikers are hot and cold and Saha is a prime example. I guess SAF believes his movement makes up for his inconsistency. A player like Saha might struggle from time to time to score but he has excellent movement so others are still liable to get chances on account of his work off the ball. As for Jermaine Defoe it looks like he may have topped out at Spurs and he might need to find a new home.

LosAngelesChelseaFan - As I understand it, tomorrow, the FA/FPL will decide whether Chelsea have a case to answer against Bates claim that Chelsea illegally got their hands on some young Leeds players. Sounds like it’s pretty muddied, by Bates press meeting slurs, and the result will no doubt depend on internal FA politics etc. As many will know, Chelsea are sitting on a 3 point suspended penalty. If Chelsea are eventually found guilty (probably with additional point deductions), is there a precedent for when the penalty would be applied (i.e. this season or next)? Do you think that the FA will bury the whole thing?

Bobby – I think you are getting a bit ahead of yourself on this one.  First is there a case, then is Chelsea guilty and to what degree are they guilty? As for applying a 3 point penalty – that would be up to the FA to decide either way.

djmima - I was watching the Villa vs. West Ham match and I must say I was pleased with the performance put in by Stilian Petrov. He was totally robbed off what would have been a cheeky finish. How much success do you think Villa will have this season? In particular, how well do you think Petrov will do?

Bobby – The biggest problem for Martin O’Neill is trying to manage everyone's expectations given the start that Villa has made. They are simply unrecognizable from last season. I think Petrov will do very well in the Premiership – he is coming into his peak years and is very experienced. He will cause problems for Premiership defenses and the midfielders who are supposed to pick up his runs.

LosAngelesChelseaFan - I just heard you commenting on Lampard's poor play on FSWR. Here's what I've noticed and I'd be interested on your thoughts.Watching Frank Lampard this year something jumps out for me about his ball striking. Last season he hit through the ball fluently, with great confidence. This year he seems to be steering the ball most of the time. This works well for one-touch play and long ball delivery which looks as good as ever. It doesn't work for shooting, where the power of his shots seems reduced and telegraphed. I saw this twice on Saturday. Does this make any sense to you? Is this something deliberate in his coaching?

Bobby – Could it simply be that he is tired and that is having an impact on his play and technique? I am absolutely amazed at the number of games he has played over the last three or four seasons.

davard - I figured I'd throw you a slight curve here, expand the consciousness and scope of the discussion. A bit more philosophical, perhaps metaphysical, definitely mathematical aspect of futbol analysis. My question to you is this: What is the average score of a soccer game?If you went and totaled EVERY game EVER played, in home and away sides, and divided by the # of games, what would the overall average score be? Sure, International championships and Cup finals are neutral siters, so factor your own formula to include or exclude those games, as they do not constitute the majority of competition.
My guess is Home Team 1.9, Visiting Team 1.8. The sheer magnitude of games must eventually balance out both sides. Surely they are almost equal, but I would give advantage to All Time Home Team by .1 .I obviously don't expect exact figures, but an educated guess would intrigue me.

Bobby  - My initial reaction is that you have underestimated the net difference in goals between the home and away sides. My second thought was that I hope you enjoy adding all the goals up and I look forward to hearing the answer sometime next decade.

henry14 - As the week nearly comes up to the most important game in any Barclays English season, Man U vs. Arsenal , do you think who ever wins will take pride from this reguard s to arsenal's position and will it live to the hype given that the two teams are at different ends of the spectrum. One last thing bobby comment on Arsene Wenger's French policy in the midst of Ashley Cole accusing him of giving to much power to the French guys. Bobby the sun says Cesc is going to earn $85000 a week, and as much as l hate Ashley l think Wenger has a certain favoritism, they paid him $110000 a week when he was the best left back in the world, and can you imagine what Cesc will be earning in two let alone five years time, l think Wenger treats other players better than others. I think if you read the sun you will see that Cashely was saying some sensible things, also about team spirit. What your thoughts

Bobby – Is it still the most important game of the English season? It was when it was down to just these two but I am not so sure you can say the same thing now.
I think Ashley Cole's main interest is selling his book so I would not put too much credence on his remarks.  

buffytvs - my understanding is that the rules on penalty kicks require the kicker to take an uninterrupted run at the ball, yet we see stutter steps, stops and starts, etc. routinely (Figo used to be one of the worst). If I'm right, why don't you ever see a ref call it? They're making the goalies stay on the line now, why not make the kicker do it properly too?

Bobby – The rule about an uninterrupted run was changed a few years ago.

realmadridcffan Two quick questions. - 1. Out of the 32 teams in the UEFA Champions League, which of the teams will be the most disappointing and not make it to the knockout stage? 2. What do you think of the rumour about the 2007 Copa America expanding to 16 teams. The rumor that I have read was that if it does come to pass, it could be the usual ten South American teams; Plus the top 4 teams from the CONCACAF world cup qualifying (U.S.A, Mexico, Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago) and possibly Portugal and Spain, thus making it 16 teams.

Bobby – Question number 1, I can’t see any of the big dogs missing out. Mourinho says any one of ten teams could win the competition and he’s spot-on. Question 2 – I wrote a piece in 2002 for “When Saturday Comes” advocating a true Copa America with full qualification rounds involving CONCACAF and CONMEBOL. However the “rumour” just seems to be a rehash of the present system of invited guest teams but with four more countries involved.

AlexMorph - About a week ago I was looking at some old stuff and Denilson's name came up. After a short search I couldn't find anywhere that he was playing--until today when the FS gossip column claims 'Arry could be in for him. I also remember back in 1998 all these magazines were including him in their 'world best 11' seemingly out of nowhere. Do you know what his shortcomings were, why his time in the spotlight was so brief, and in your opinion does he still have something to offer?

Bobby - I must admit I have not seen too much of him but what I have seen he plays with his head down and his first instinct is to dribble. However, he was once the most expensive player in the world so he might be worth a gamble by Portsmouth. I think he was on-loan at Bordeaux last season from Real Betis but I am not certain of that.