I don’t think anyone could have expected Liverpool to be so poor.  They never got off the bus, as one cliché goes; and Spurs took full advantage by playing fast, fluid football, the best I’ve seen them play since last season’s Champions League matches against Inter Milan.

Liverpool finished the match with nine players after two yellow cards were shown to Charlie Adam and Lucas respectively.  But the way they were playing, Liverpool wouldn’t have won if they had finished with their whole squad on the pitch!

In between the first and last matches of the day, Manchester City threw away a two goal lead at Fulham, and even more surprising was Sunderland thrashing Stoke 4-0 at the Stadium Of Light.

So confident were the bookmakers Paddy Power of a Manchester United victory, they were offering money back on all losing bets, if Chelsea won.

So many times matches like this one are hyped to ridiculous levels and fall short on entertainment value but this was a corker.  Chelsea performed well with an attacking formation.  Andre Villas-Boas continued with the young strike force of Fernando Torres, Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge.

The weakest link was Frank Lampard who looked off the pace and lacking confidence. Lampard was substituted at half term as Man Utd were amazing leading 3-0 even though the end-to-end game was anything but one sided, with Chelsea having their fare share of possession and more shots on goal.

Minutes into the second half and Fernando Torres was put through one on one against former Athletico Madrid team-mate David de Gea.

Torres showed his growing confidence with a deft chip.  He was put through again and once more showed great skill to beat de Gea, only to shoot wide in front of an open goal.  It was this which courted the headlines, rather than Torres playing well and Wayne Rooney missing a penalty as he slid and landed on his bottom, reminiscent of John Terry’s penalty miss in the Champions League Final against Manchester United in Moscow.

As for Arsenal, they through away a lead to lose 4-3 to Blackburn Rovers.  Pressure continues to grow on Arsene Wenger as the main question appears to be not whether he should keep his position but who Arsenal could possibly replace him with.

Manchester Utd were awesome and deserved the win though Andre Villas-Boas tactic to attack United rather than sit back almost paid off.

They are now two points clear at the top of the Premier League and the only team in the division with maximum points.  In past seasons they have been slow out of the blocks and finish strongly.  This season it could be all over by Christmas!

Less than one full season into his contract, Aston Villa has parted company with Gerard Houllier who was hospitalised before the end of last season. That said, I felt Houllier was about to get the sack anyway and expected Rafa Benitez, who has been loitering around since returning to his family home in England in January, to become the next Aston Villa manager.

But Fulham boss Mark Hughes is the bookies favourite for the job. This follows rumours that Hughes has recently fallen out with Fulham owner Mohammed Al- Fayed and that he has a get-out clause in his contract. But yesterday I heard that ex-Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has stated that he would like to stay in England rather than return to Italy. I am sure both parties would be interested in Ancelotti becoming the next manager of Aston Villa.

The other manager-less Premier League team, Chelsea look like they are closing in on their first choice to replace Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge, as Guus Hiddink has apparently stated he is ready to leave his current position coaching the Turkey national team, to return to club management. If there is any truth in this statement then I would expect Hiddink to be the next Chelsea manager by next week.

Guus Hiddink to Chelsea & Carlo Ancelotti to Aston Villa is my bet.

The appointments of a Chelsea and Aston Villa manager will be followed by what I believe will be a busy summer for transfers in the English Premier League. Chelsea desperately need to buy some younger players and begin to build a team around striker Fernando Torres. While Manchester City will be throwing a lot of money around again, only in this transfer window they will be able to attract the very best players in the world with Champions League football next season.

Champions League qualification officially states that Manchester City have a seat on European football’s head table; and whereas before Kaka turned down a move in favour of Real Madrid, we should now expect even more serious money attracting some of the very best players in the world.  Strange then, that Carlos Tevez should now want to make public his desire to move to Italy in the summer. A great player yes, but in my opinion, not world class.

So Roberto Mancini has achieved the goal of Abu Dhabi club owners who expected nothing less than a top four finish.  But even though Manchester City may also win the FA Cup this Saturday, I believe if Jose Mourinho showed any interest in a move to the sky blue side of Manchester, Mancini would be sacked.

Following Real Madrid’s public disapproval of Mourinho’s behaviour in recent matches with Barcelona, it has made it more likely that Jose Mourinho may return to the Premier League sooner rather than later.  He has already stated his next job will be in England.  Such a statement would sound bold coming from anyone else, but with Jose Mourinho’s reputation and past record there will always be interest for those willing to pay his price.

Manchester City’s victory last night means FA Cup finalists Stoke City will automatically play in the Europa League next season.  While Spurs may miss out on European football altogether as they drop to sixth position, two points behind Liverpool who they play on Sunday at Anfield.

Harry Redknapp has already said he will be selling a few on before buying better quality players this summer and said that might not be enough to finish in the top four next season.  I agree that Spurs are going to need to strengthen their squad if they are going to mount a serious challenge next season.  And if Kenny Dalglish continues to make Liverpool tick and is given money to spend in the summer, who’s to count them out actually winning the Premiership next season.

Liverpool have made a dramatic recovery since King Kenny took over from Roy Hodgson; and on Monday night thrashed an in-form Fulham team 5-2 at Craven Cottage to move above Spurs for the first time this season.

With two games remaining, the Premier League title race may be all but over, but Liverpool v Tottenham on Sunday promises to be another cracking match in what is by far the most exciting Premier League season I can remember.

Kenwyne Jones opened the scoring with another headed goal from a Jermaine Pennant cross. Ryan Shawcross tapped in a second from inside six yards, and Jermaine Pennant made it 3-0 with a deflected shot from about eight yards.

Wolves were very poor while Stoke continue to impress, playing to their strengths under the excellent management of Tony Pulis.

Wolves (34 points) stay in the bottom three, along with Wigan (33 points) and West Ham (32 points) but there is still time for all three to avoid relegation with four games still to play.
Blackpool climb out of the relegation places on goal difference after a 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Saturday.  Blackburn are currently 16th (35 points) and Birmingham (38 points) are far from safe following a run of bad results.  Fulham are in 14th position with 39 points and a game in-hand on the six teams below them, which I believe will be enough to see them play Premier League football next season.

I personally think the relegation battle will go to the final day and is now between the bottom six: Birmingham, Blackburn, Blackpool, Wigan, Wolves and West Ham.

At the top of the Premiership Arsenal and Tottenham both dropped more points at the weekend.  Spurs were held to a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane by West Brom, while Arsenal lost away to Bolton. Tottenham appear to have blown a chance of a top four finish and Champions League football next season with two from a possible six points last week; while Manchester City overcame Blackburn on Monday with Edin Dzecko’s first Premier League goal.

Man City are now 5 points clear of Spurs with five games to play; and with Arsenal winning only one point from their last two games, Arsene Wenger will be looking over his shoulder at Roberto Mancini’s sky blues who are now just 5 points behind them with a game in hand.

Chelsea continued their recent good run as the most inform team in the Premier League with a 3-0 thrashing of West Ham on Sunday, including a first goal for Fernando Torres, and Manchester United continued to grind out results beating Everton at Old Trafford 1-0 on Saturday.

Both Chelsea (67 points) & Manchester United (73 points) have four games left.  This weekend Chelsea are at home to Spurs while Man Utd are away to Arsenal; two massive games for all four clubs.  But the Premier League title could be decided when Chelsea play Manchester Utd at Old Trafford on Sunday 8th May.

Roy Hodgson joins Liverpool

Roy Hodgson has taken over as manager of Liverpool, the former Fulham boss emerged as favourite for the position soon after Rafael Benitez left the hot seat by mutual consent at the beginning of June.

It is reported that Liverpool felt that they needed to act quickly to secure the services of Hodgson following the failure of the England team in the World Cup, believing that the FA would consider him as a replacement for Fabio Capello for the national team.

Hodgson’s pedigree is nothing if not impressive, including two spells with Italian giants Inter Milan, either side of a spell with Blackburn Rovers at club level as well as working with clubs across Europe.

He has of course experienced coaching at national level Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and Finland, but it is his most recent time with Fulham that is freshest in the mind, leading the club to the Europa League final last season following a best ever seventh place finish in the Premier League in his first season in charge.

Not one for the mind games of some top EPL managers, Hodgson’s choice of words on announcing his appontment will certainly rile some clubs and their supporters ahead of the new season;

“This is the biggest job in club football and I’m honoured to be taking on Britain’s most successful football club.”

While wishing Hodgson the best of luck, Fulham will be very disappointed at losing the man who has turned Fulham into a competitive hard working unit, playing attractive football and of course achieving the impossible by bringing out the best in Bobby Zamora, who this season was on the brink of representing England in South Africa.

Can he do the same with the Liverpool underachievers this season?

With Harry Redknapp recently named Premiership Manager of the Year there is a clear recognition of his work in creating an attacking, attractive footballing team and of the pivotal role he has played in guiding Tottenham into the Champions League for the first time. The significance of Harry Redknapp in this achievement is considerable and highlighted by the fact that he is only the second manager to take this accolade without winning the Premier League, the first being George Burley for masterminding Ipswich’s rise to 5th place in their first season.

Immediately after his inheritance of Juande Ramos’ team there was a marked improvement in their performance and with no new influx of players until the January transfer window this can only really be attributed to Harry Redknapp. As with many successful managers, his ability to get the best out of the players at his disposal is his underlying quality.

Looking at the performances of Ledley King, Gareth Bale, Michael Dawson, Aaron Lennon and Heurelho Gomes there is a confidence and consistency that has previously been lacking in their game. On top of this, the intelligent rotation of players has been central to Tottenham’s success. With what is arguably the strongest strike force in the league in terms of depth, Redknapp has used Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko in particular to great effect. All three have had regular spells in the first team and the competition between them has undeniably helped the team’s cause.

Moving across the capital to Craven Cottage and Fulham’s spectacular path to the Europa League Final has been the story of the season for many neutrals. Roy Hodgson has had a long and successful managerial career, most of which has been spent abroad, and it is good to see him getting the recognition he deserves back in England. The team he has created at Fulham has been well organised, spirited and incredibly focussed and determined. As with Redknapp, Roy Hodgson has everybody playing for him and for the team and there is nothing but praise for him from the players.

Danny Murphy has described captaining Fulham to the brink of European glory as his greatest achievement in football. Considering he was an instrumental figure in Liverpool’s treble cup winning team of 2001 that is a great indication of the way Hodgson has instilled unity and passion into this Fulham side. Even though Fulham were defeated by a late Diego Forlan goal in the final, this season’s Europa League has been a wonderful achievement for such a small club and the 4-1 defeat of Juventus at Craven Cottage will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the great European performances from an English team.

Finally there is the rather different situation at Fratton Park where a terrible season for fans of Portsmouth has ended in a completely unexpected trip to Wembley and FA Cup runners-up medals. With all the financial turmoil, the lack of wages and the deduction of 9 points it is a surprise that Portsmouth didn’t completely capitulate. It is once again to the great credit of their manager, Avram Grant, that this has not happened. He has, in a way, had the easiest of the three jobs in terms of expectations.

After the points deduction it was virtually impossible for Portsmouth to stay up and along with the very public financial problems the players and staff at the club would have found it hard to stay completely focussed on football. Yet at the same time he has done incredibly well to keep the players motivated and seems to have instilled a sense of togetherness in the team.

This is a credit to Avram Grant and you could see how much it meant to his players after the FA Cup semi-final and there was a definite desire in many of them to celebrate with their manager. Grant must also be applauded for the way he has handled himself in the media this season. He has never complained and has been nothing but sympathetic towards the backroom staff who have been most affected by the delay in wages and redundancies.

This is exactly what the players needed to hear and has been reflected by the lack of dissent coming from within the squad. Instead we have seen a group of players determined to prove people wrong and give their fans a silver lining on this blackest of clouds that hangs over Fratton Park.

This single-minded determination is something that is present in all successful teams and always emanates from the manager.

From Brian Clough to Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, the best managers have always had this respect within their squads and this season we have seen the quality emerge in rather more unfamiliar settings.

What this has done is prove once again that for all the star players and astronomical wages the man holding the key to success continues to be the man in the dugout and that a good manager will bring more long term success than any player ever could.

Manchester United face a tough proposition way at Fulham, in a rematch of the FA Cup game a few weeks back. It will certainly take a lot of character for the Red Devils and Sir Alex Ferguson to bounce back from their 4-1 trouncing at home last weekend if they are to be victorious at Craven Cottage.

The other fixture which stands out his week is that of Stoke Vs Middlesbrough. With both teams struggling in the relegation zone this is very much a six-pointer for both clubs, which could well prove vital come May. Stoke will be relying on their strong home form to see them take all three points.

However, the pick of the bunch must surely be Liverpool Vs. Aston Villa on Sunday. This fixture presents us with two clubs striving for a huge end-of-season push. Liverpool will be buzzing on the back of two fantastic results against Man U and Real Madrid in the past 10 days, whereas Martin O’Neill will be looking to turn around the Villans fortunes and snatch the fourth champions’ league spot back from Arsenal with a good result at Anfield.

Here is a full list of the weekend’s clashes:

Saturday 21 March

Blackburn v West Ham, 15:00
Fulham v Man Utd, 15:00
Newcastle v Arsenal, 17:30
Portsmouth v Everton, 12:45
Stoke v Middlesbrough, 15:00
Tottenham v Chelsea, 15:00
West Brom v Bolton, 15:00

Sunday 22 March

Liverpool v Aston Villa, 16:00
Man City v Sunderland, 15:00
Wigan v Hull, 13:30

Great news for Hull City boss Phil Brown, who has also confirmed that on loan player Kamil Zayatte has signed a three year deal with the club, while left back Andy Dawson has also signed a new contract.

Aston Villa have agreed a deal to sign England football veteran Emile Heskey from Wigan for a fee of around £3.5million. If the deal goes through Heskey will be reunited with Martin O’Neill who nurtured the striker as a teenager while they were at Leicester City in the late nineties.

O’Neill said of the striker: “It would be very difficult not to support someone who was brilliant for you. He was a young kid at Leicester and was fantastic. We were desperately disappointed when he moved but he said he wanted to go and play with Michael Owen at Liverpool, but he did his part for Leicester.”

Wigan have also lost striker Marlon King who has agreed a loan deal to join Middlesbrough, in a move that seems likely to see Egyptian player Mido going in the opposite direction  on a similar  six month deal. Steve Bruce had intimated earlier in the week that Wilson Palacios would be the only player leaving the Latics during the January transfer window,  but  he has  now lost two more  forwards in as many days.

Mido has enjoyed an up and down career since first coming to the Premier League  but has yet to show any real consistency  to accompany his obvious skills, maybe Steve Bruce can get more out of him than previous managers have been able to.

Didier Drogba is rumoured to have been offered double his current salary to join Manchester City, but for now the moody striker will remain at Chelsea, who along with Liverpool are apparently being lined up for takeover by  two very different groups of billionaires, both carrying huge suitcases stuffed with cash.

And finally the former England football manager best known for his catch phrase ‘Do I not like that?’, Graham Taylor has been welcomed back to former club Watford as a non executive director, where he will link up once again with Elton John.

The 35 year old Australian international has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich as well as attracting interest from Italy in recent weeks. He is currently on international duty with the Australian team in Sydney ahead of Fridays friendly with Ghana.

Fulham have agreed a two year deal with the veteran keeper, where he will join fellow Aussie Adrian Leijer.

Manchester City who were the top club in the Fair Play League that hadn’t qualified for Europe, lost their place to Fulham at the weekend when Richard Dunne was sent off at Middlesbrough on Sunday.

Nothing has been confirmed yet but Fulham are confident that are in a good position to qualify. The decision is made not only by on-field behaviour, but also includes administration efficiency. The club expects to hear from the Premier League bosses early next week.

It will be a double celebration for Roy Hodgson and his players if they are to be included in the UEFA Cup, after avoiding relegation from the Premier League at the eleventh hour.

The decision is bound to court controversy and will bring  the whole European qualification process into question.

Is it fair? Have your say.