But midway through the 2011/12 season and it isn’t too clear who will be the eventual winners.  Although Tottenham are having a great season, and by winning their game in-hand will only be four points off the lead, I can’t see the title going anywhere else than Manchester.  The problem is whether to choose Manchester United who have a habit of being stronger in the second half of the season, or Manchester City who remained unstoppable and unbeaten until they a late penalty against Chelsea earlier this month.

The Championship is almost as tight with Southampton three points clear of West Ham & a rejuvenated Middlesbrough.

League One has been dominated by Charlton who are currently seven points clear of the chasing pack after almost completely changing their squad last summer.  Sheffield United & Sheffield Wednesday are both showing good form with MK Dons & Huddersfield Town a further two points adrift.

Finally, Crawley Town are leading the way in League Two in their first season and look likely to continue their ascension from non-League football, though they are only three points clear of Cheltenham and four ahead of Southend, who have a game in hand.

So last weekend, unsure of the outcome of all four leagues I decided on Manchester City, Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday & Crawley only to see Man City held by West Brom to a 0-0 draw while Man Utd thumped five passed Wigan, and Crawley Town lose at home to Gillingham.

My initial choice, and one I would have stuck to if it wasn’t offering such a poor return was Manchester United, West Ham, Charlton & Crawley.  Here’s hoping my bet is still alive come next May.

I know it’s never going to happen but wouldn’t it be a more exciting start if all matches kicked off simultaneously, like the last games of the season.

Before the weekend I had my customary accumulator bet on outright winners for the Premiership, Championship, League One & League Two.  I’m with the popular opinion that Manchester United was crowned champions last season more for the lack of consistent competition rather than sheer brilliance and this summer they have strengthened enough for me to believe they will notch up another Premier League title.

In the Championship I believe Leicester City’s spending and Sven Goran Eriksson’s man-management skills, combined with the experience he gained last season will see them promoted back to the Premiership, while new managers Danny Wilson & Paolo Di Canio at Sheffield United & Swindon Town respectively will give them enough momentum to win League One and League Two.

As for the winner of the Premier League Golden Boot I had already earmarked Luis Suarez (Liverpool) & Sergio Aguerro (Manchester City) as being the main contenders but wouldn’t rule out Fernando Torres returning to his best, if he can stay fit and Chelsea can play a 4-3-3 formation that best suits the Spanish strikers’ skills.

Suarez scored an early goal before missing a penalty in Liverpool’s disappointing 1-1 home draw with a new look Sunderland; while Sergio Aguerro set the second half alight when he came off the bench yesterday to help Manchester City thrash new kids on the block Swansea 4-0 by scoring twice.  Torres failed to score in Chelsea’s 0-0 draw at Stoke on Sunday but looked fitter and sharper than he has done since his £50 million transfer from Liverpool last January.

So it’s a good time to give you a heads up about a new website that is about to launch which will bring you a scores and results service covering all of the major British and European leagues and tournaments, including the Premier League, English Football League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and the Champions League.

As well as following favourite domestic clubs in the Premier League and Championship, I also follow the trials and tribulations of my non-league hometown team, formerly Gravesend & Northfleet now known as Ebbsfleet, as well as favourite European teams of which I have personal favourites in each of the top European leagues.

These passive allegiances stem from my childhood when the only European football to be shown on British television was on Wednesday nights on the sadly missed Sportsnight programme.  My memories are full of exciting  European football matches when I was allowed to stay up way past my bedtime to watch great teams with world class players and cool looking football kits to match.

Johan Cruyff and Ajax, Franz Beckenbauer and Bayern Munich and wonderful sounding teams like Dukla Prague, Panathinaikos and Borussia Monchengladbach!

I recall Leeds United losing 1-0 in a ill-tempered game to AC Milan in the 1973 Cup Winners Cup final just four days after losing 1-0 to Sunderland in the FA Cup final; Nottm Forest beating the Swedish part-timeers Malmo in 1979 with a Trevor Francis header and retaining the European Cup by beating Hamburg in 1980; and West Ham losing to Anderlecht of Belgium in the 1976 Cup Winners Cup.

I remember the glory days of Saint Etienne in the French League and how Real Madrid played in a similar all-white kit to Leeds United (only to recently read that Don Revie changed the home kit to mimic the Spanish giants on becoming manager of Leeds United in 1961!).

I also have a passive favouritism for teams with cool kits, choosing Celtic over Rangers not for any political or religious reasons but because I thought green and whites hoops looked cooler than a regular blue shirt.  I also preferred the black & blue stripes of Inter Milan to the red & black stripes of AC Milan.
So even before European football was made available on satellite tv, my interest in football spread further than the English leagues.  The English Premier League is often cited by critics and players alike to currently be the best league in the world.  But I still lookout for scores and results from the Spanish La Liga and Italy’s Serie A.

The Football Scores website will be a great source for all this information and will also include international tournaments, such as the European Championships, international friendly matches, international qualifiers and the World Cup. The website is called FootballScores.com and it launches this month.

There was a devout Geordie fan with his twin 10 year old nephews, one in a Newcastle top the other in a Sunderland top! We agreed there was a lot of deadwood at Newcastle, and it wasn’t only the owner who had to go before they made a return to the Premiership but overpaid prima donnas who don’t appear to care whether they win or lose as long as they get the cash.

There was a lovely fanatical Galatasaray fan who was convinced they were going to win the first Europa Cup (formerly the UEFA Cup) and another Turkish guy, a staunch Fenerbahce fan who didn’t mind any team, as long as it wasn’t Galatasaray!

I sat at a pool side bar discussing Peterborough’s chances of a third straight promotion under the leadership of Darren Ferguson and the plausibility of a third straight Premier League title for Alex Ferguson and Manchester United with a couple of fans.  We all agreed mid-table for Posh and odds-on for the Red Devils.

Waking up at the crack of dawn to place towels on sun beds was made all the easier by morning chats with Gary, a Wigan season ticket holder, who is looking forward to the new season, watching the ‘beautiful game’ according to Roberto Martinez.  Steve Bruce done a gallant job at Wigan last season, pulling them away from the relegation battle.

We agreed the most likely candidates for Premier League relegation this season would be from Portsmouth, Hull City, Burnley & Wolves.

I also think Michael Owen will not only claw his way back into the England team in time for World Cup 2010, but a fit Michael Owen will also claim the Premiership Golden Boot.

As always I like to place a pre-season accumulator bet on winners of all 4 English football leagues and the Conference.  So here are my predictions for the 2009/10 season.

I think Manchester United will win the Premier League for a third successive season through lack of competition.  I think the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea is even more proof that Roman Abramovich is more concerned with winning the Champions League than the Premier League; and without Xabi Alonso Liverpool will not be the same force they were last season.

I really can’t predict the Championship with any conviction.  Of the teams that went down I can only see West Brom having any chance of bouncing straight back into the Premier League.  There’s a few teams that I feel confident to say will be top six – Preston, Sheffield United and Cardiff City.  But I also have a feeling Leicester City is going to do well.

Last season I thought Leeds United and Millwall would be favourites for promotion from League One.  Both were beaten in the play-offs; and I can see them doing well again this season.

I don’t profess to have much knowledge about League Two, though last season chose Gillingham and Shrewsbury.  They both made the play-off final, with the Gills winning at Wembley for the first time in their history.  I think Shrewsbury Town will go up this year but cannot ignore the influence Sven Gotran Eriksson will have at Notts County.

As for the Conference League, I am confident Luton Town will win the title by about 10 points  So, here’s my accumulator bet:

Premier League Champions – Manchester United
Championship Champions – Leicester City
League One Champions – Leeds United
League Two Champions – Notts County
Conference League Champions – Luton Town

What do you think?

Will this change how you watch football? It will for me – less watching English matches via Asian and African satellite stations!

Whilst not overly being a fan of Gillingham especially after witnessing a dismal performance away on a cold boxing day back in 2001 under the guise of Rix, I’d not wish either Rix or the newly available Gregory on them. A recently liberated Mad Dog could quite possibly see Gillingham prosper. Allen with both experience of lower league football and over ego’d chairman should find himself well at home at Priestfield.

Bad omen. Those words “vote of confidence” have become synonymous with “You’re Fired”

Given the new Italian connection, those in the frame for the vacancy are rumoured to be Alessandro Costacurta and Gianluca Vialli  along with Martin Allen.