Here are a few stories that I read over the weekend that might spark some debate.

David Bond has a story in which he details CONCACAF’s President Jack Warner response to the growing ticket scandal. It seems to me that Warner’s reaction is a strong indication that he no longer feels protected and has been flushed out.

Jack Warner is now suing. In the words of the late great Mr. Roy Orbison it seems that we have a severe case of “Running Scared”. This is from the CONCACAF website. (Surprisingly I could not find a way to order tickets).

I stand to be corrected on this but if my memory does serve me correctly then the red herring in this move is the filing of the lawsuit in Switzerland. There was a simllar suit against Andrew Jennings after his expose of the Olympic movement and in particular the old Fascist Juan Antonio Samaranch. In Swiss law you can be found guilty of defamation if you look sideways at someone - ok an exagerration but you get my drift. However, Swiss court decisions are about as intimidating as their navy. If Warner was serious he would have filed someplace else. And I don't believe he has to file in Switzerland just because FIFA is based there.

The English press is working overtime ahead of a BBC Panorama broadcast into kickbacks and bungs in the English game. This article focuses on a payment made during Harry Rednapp’s time at Southampton.

Nick Harris has some more background on the player at the centre of the Southampton investigation.

Nick Szczepanik describes Portsmouth central defender Linvoy Primus’ journey from the bottom to the top. Primus is one of these players that you would mark down as making the absolute most of the talent he has been given. Any other players in the Premiership that you think might fit the bill?

Natasha Woods writes about Queen’s Park, a team that remains dedicated to playing for the enjoyment of the game without consideration of money.

 And finally a few random thoughts on the Manchester United and Arsenal game.

 Adebayor’s goal – and Ronaldo’s grotesque error – may have won the game for the Gunners, but Jens Lehmann’s save from Solksjaer just seconds later, certainly saved the full points for Arsenal.

 John Djourou and Kolo Toure were outstanding at the heart of the Arsenal defense.

 Wenger opted to play Adebayor as a lone striker – a role I thought he filled very well – and packed the midfield with five players. It freed Fabregas to push further forward and United never found a way to shut him down.

The 4-5-1formation allowed Arsenal to dominate possession for large parts of the game but I never sensed that SAF made any changes to counteract the extra Arsenal player in midfield. United seemed quite happy to allow Arsenal the ball perhaps believing that the Gunners would continue their poor performances in front of goal.

By the time Arsenal scored, it was too late to make any telling change. There just seemed to be too many United players who put in average-at-best performances. Despite his mistake, Ronaldo was the only United player to pose a consistent threat over the 90 minutes.

Why would you spend over $30M on Michael Carrick and leave him on the bench for a game that, if won, could have put a stake through the heart of your fiercest challenger over the last decade?

Tomas Rosicky is slowly but surely adapting to the Premiership and Arsenal’s style. He is going to be a Premiership star before the end of this season.

It must have warmed the hearts of Arsenal fans to see patista running at the united defense with power and conviction when he came on late in the game.

This week we look at the clubs that finished six through ten in last season's Premiership.  It is understandable that fans of Blackburn, Newcastle, Bolton, West Ham and Wigan are looking to improve on last season’s showing. However, history shows that it is more difficult to consolidate the improvement than it was to leap up the table in the first place.

Let us go back three seasons to the final league table of 2003/04. Aston Villa, Charlton, Bolton, Fulham, and Birmingham City filled positions six through ten respectively. The best performance over the last three seasons has been by Bolton. They have managed to finish in the top ten in the two seasons since; the worst is by Birmingham City – they are now in the Championship. Of the others, Villa slipped to 10th the next season and then 16th last season.  Charlton, 11^th and then 13th and Fulham 13th followed by a late rally last season that took them to 12th. 

If we look at the 2004/05 league table, only Tottenham Hotspur (9th) improved their position the following year (5th). The others – Bolton, Middlesbrough, Manchester City, and Aston Villa – all garnered less points and dropped in the standings.

In fact over a four year spell finishing in the top ten has shown to be down right dangerous to a teams Premiership health. Consider this; Ipswich 00/01 (5^th) - 01/02 (relegated), Leeds 01/02 (5^th) – 03/04 (relegated), West Ham 01/02 (7^th) – 02/03 (relegated), Southampton 02/03 (8^th) - 04/05 (relegated), Birmingham City 03/04 (10^th) – 05/06 (relegated).

So for Blackburn, Newcastle, Bolton, West Ham and Wigan will be it be up or will it be down this season?

Blackburn has brought in Jason Roberts from Wigan while Craig Bellamy – a big loss – and Paul Dickov have both departed. Mark Hughes is reported to be interested in signing Mr. Loyalty aka Nicolas Anelka while acquiring Francis Jeffers would seem to be an inexpensive gamble, albeit one that it unlikely to succeed.

Glenn Roeder faces the start of the season without his two main strikers from last season and a replacement for either, yet to be secured. With Michael Owen’s injury showing complications, his time on the treatment table may extend into 2007. Shola Ameobi is the only specialist striker available at the moment and although he can mature into a 12 to 15 Premiership goal scorer he cannot be expected to carry the full load.

The addition of Damien Duff should prove to be a great investment and he adds strength to a midfield that could be one of the best in the Premiership. Defensively Newcastle showed a massive improvement in cutting the goals against from 57 down to 42 and Shay Given was a big part of the reason. If the defensive can tighten up a little more and with a midfield that can score goals, Newcastle fans might just find that a few goals may generate many points.
After all the speculation at the end of last season it looks like Sam Allardyce will still the man in charge at the Reebok come the Premiership kick off. Bolton has seen eight players leave already – seven if you exclude the strange case of Didi Hamann. Arrivals Abdoulaye Meite and Idan Tal are far from household names but big Sam has shown in the past a good eye for talent so we should not be surprised if they fit in smoothly. Further signings are promised and with the transfer window open until the end of August that gives Allardyce opportunity to shop around.

It was a great return to the big time for West Ham fans. A solid finish in the league and a trip to the FA Cup Final was more than almost everyone expected. Alan Pardew has already spent some money and is adamant that the likes of Dean Ashton will not be leaving Upton Park.

Paul Jewell is another manager who has given been given a freer role with the club’s chequebook this summer. Five players have arrived while eight have left. The loss of Jimmy Bullard will probably hurt the most along with the departure of Jason Roberts who improved as last season progressed. Other solid veteran players to leave such as Damien Francis, Alan Mahon, Stéphane Henchoz, David Thompson, and Matt Jackson might leave the depth of the squad paper-thin.

While Emile Heskey and Fitz Hall for a combined fee of around $14M raised a few eyebrows, Denny Landzaat from AZ Alkmaar might an inspired signing. Andy Webster may also be on his way from Hearts of the SPL.