England provide an unenviable task for Hodgson

Last week, the FA made the long overdue appointment of Fabio Capello's successor as England manager. To the surpise of many, it was West Brom's Roy Hodgson who got the nod, against the popular demand of Harry Redknapp. Arguably the key factor in Hodgson's favour is the vast amount of international experience he already has having previously managed Switzerland, Finland and the United Arab Emirates to varying degrees of success. Those three international jobs have been spread across a vast career at club level which has seen success in Sweden and Denmark as well as two stints at Internazionale and most recently impressive spells at Fulham and West Brom, either side of the debacle at Liverpool. What happened at Anfield shouldn't be forgotten but it is a minor blip on a largely successful career and the many factors which played a part in Hodgson's failure there must be taken into consideration. It certainly wasn't all his fault that it didn't work out.

Despite the incredible levels of experience which Hodgson has, the task of leading the Three Lions is certain to be the most difficult he has faced. The pressure from fans, media and even the incredible amount of big-name players is incomparable to most other jobs in football and Hodgson will be keen to get off to a winning start on the field with the forthcoming Norway and Belgium friendlies, and of course the Euro 2012 group stage. However, before then he has the incredibly difficult task of naming a squad for a tournament despite having previously worked with very few of the players available. The biggest issue to settle does seem to be the possibility of including Rio Ferdinand and John Terry in the squad together. Both have apparently stated they are happy to play together but with the much-discussed racism court case hanging over the Chelsea captain, his mental state may be subject to questioning. Having already been stripped of the England captaincy twice, is Terry really of any further use to England? Certainly he is a great defender, but England are not lacking in the department with Ferdinand, Joleon Lescott, Gary Cahill, Micah Richards, Phil Jagielka and Phil Jones all available. In the past few weeks Terry has not been on sparkling form, with his unbelievably idiotic red card in the Nou Camp followed by a genuinely disastrous performance at Anfield this week. When Hodgson thinks about whether his inclusion is really worth it, he is likely to conclude that it isn't.

Even with that settled, there is much more to be decided upon. Not least the captaincy, which Stuart Pearce temporarily handed to Scott Parker in February's friendly defeat to Holland. A major stumbling block here is who is actually guaranteed to start every match? Previous captains Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard both have injury issues. Wayne Rooney has his two-match ban at the start of the group stage and his international disciplinary record is hardly one which makes him captaincy material. As good as Parker has been this season, it is not even certain that he will start every game. Ashley Cole has the most caps out of everyone in the squad and is certain to start but his off-field track record is comparable to Terry's and on the field he isn't exactly leadership material. Joe Hart is young, at 24, but arguably the right man for the job. Playing in goal hasn't been an issue for Iker Casillas captaining Spain to success and Hart is focused, exemplary, level-headed and comes with no baggage. As well as Cole and (after suspension) Rooney, he is also guaranteed to play every game. Also, unlike most of the outfield players, he has no history of niggling injuries. With Hodgson having managed Ben Foster this season, he may manage to convince the on-loan Birmingham 'keeper to change his mind about not playing for his country and provide back-up in a position where England are dangerously thin on the ground.

There are problem positions all over the pitch for England with Richards, Glen Johnson, Kyle Walker and Jones all options at right-back (Chris Smalling's injury could be a blessing in disguise as it narrows Hodgson's options). The central midfielders in the frame seem to be Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Parker and Michael Carrick - all of whom are on the wrong side of 30. With Jack Wilshere missing the entire season through injury and Jack Rodwell and Tom Cleverley suffering from their own injuries it would appear the next generation will have to wait for the next tournament. Parker, Barry, Lampard and Carrick have all performed admirably this season, the latter two particularly in the second half of the campaign but the Liverpool captain is still viewed as a world class performer by many and it would be hard not to select him. Carrick would have almost certainly missed out under Capello but with a new man at the helm, he could find himself back in favour.

On the wings, Ashley Young seems a dead cert following his form for England in recent matches and his growing role at Manchester United. Theo Walcott is currently recovering from injury, Aaron Lennon has missed larged spells this season and Adam Johnson has failed to force himself into Roberto Mancini's first choice team at the Etihad Stadium. James Milner will fancy his chances of a starting role but again Hodgson has a decision to make over how many players he can take. The much-vaunted Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be a shock call-up but it would be hard for Hodgson to justify after so little game time for Arsenal. Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck have both had impressive, if not quite world-beating seasons in the Premier League, and both can play on the flanks as well as at centre-forward. Rooney's suspension would appear to put Welbeck in pole position to lead the line but the much-maligned Peter Crouch, also-maligned Andy Carroll, similarly-maligned Bobby Zamora and uncapped yet still-maligned Norwich City striker Grant Holt (the second highest English scorer in the Premier League this season) will all be looking for a call up if Hodgson wants a target man. Evidently, none of these options will please all of the fans. Darren Bent's injury looks certain to rule him out of the tournament but Jermain Defoe will still be hopeful of a place in the squad, if not the starting line-up.

So, it can be seen, that Roy Hodgson has a mountain to climb. But he has succeeded in the past with major challenges - turning West Brom from relegation fodder to a stable mid-table outfit should not be underestimated, and leading Fulham to the Europa League Final was a modern-day football miracle. It has been said that Hodgson has only truly excelled in 'making average teams look a bit better', but judging on the past few years of England performances, that is exactly what the man needs to do to this current outfit. He'll do well to get out of the group stage. If he reaches the semi-finals, a feat which England haven't done since 1996, he will become a demi-god.

Same old story?

On Saturday May 19th the UEFA Champions League Final will get underway at Munich's Allianz Arena and the eyes of the football world will be focused upon it. Yet few would have predicted that Chelsea and Bayern Munich would have been the two teams walking out to contest football's greatest club match, particularly when the quarter and semi-final draw was made back in March. The path seemed to be laid out for Barcelona and Real Madrid to meet in what would have been the first ever El Clasico European Cup Final. The Blaugranas had crushed Bayer Leverkusen 10-2 on aggregate in the last sixteen and los Merengues had cruised past CSKA Moscow winning 4-1 in the second leg at the Bernabeu. Lionel Messi had netted five against Bayer, the first man to do so in the Champions League era (Soren Lerby last did it in the old European Cup for Ajax back in 1979) and in Cristiano Ronaldo, Madrid are in possession of the one player on earth who can keep even remotely close to the Argentine's goal-scoring exploits. Both teams were managed by men who have two Champions League winner's medals already.  Domestically, both teams were also miles ahead of the likes of Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid and Valencia who have all been making waves in the Europa League this season. Who could possibly stop the two Spanish giants from reaching the final? The quarter-finals came and went and things looked even more strongly in the favour of Guardiola and Mourinho's men. The former swept aside a toothless AC Milan outfit while the latter put eight past Cypriot surprise package APOEL. With both clubs playing the semi-final second leg at home, what could possibly go wrong?

The simple answer is that you can never, ever predict football with absolute certainty. Yes Barcelona and Real Madrid are, on paper, the two best squads in Europe. But, football doesn't work like that. In Chelsea and Bayern Munich, the Spaniards came up against two teams who are by no means the most impressive in the world, but hit form and performed at the crucial moments. Whereas Barcelona hit the woodwork four times over the two legs, Didier Drogba, Ramires and Fernando Torres all kept cool heads to put their rare chances away. Whereas £136m-worth of former World Players of the Year in the shape of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka couldn't find the back of the net from 12 yards, David Alaba, Mario Gomez and Bastian Schweinsteiger all buried their spot-kicks. Guardiola was crushed and has since announced his departure from the Nou Camp. Mourinho can take consolation from an impending La Liga crown, but whether his tumultuous relationship with the Real hierarchy continues beyond the summer remains to be seen. The inevitable, it is clear, was never truly inevitable.

This is nothing new. People have spoken about the Champions League as a closed shop, but that is not true at all. Since it was rebranded in 1992 there have been 20 tournaments, yet no team has claimed the trophy more than three times. Not a single team has defended it successfully and this is no coincidence. The pressure and skill levels at this very highest level should not be underestimated. Look at how the two Manchester clubs, who have dominated the Premier League all season, both fell at the first hurdle. To claim victory, you require more than a skilful squad of players, a savvy manager and some good luck. You need to be able to cope with the high pressure situations which are unlike those found anywhere else in the club game. Mourinho and Guardiola have both proven themselves at this level already, but the fact it is Roberto Di Matteo and Jupp Heynckes leading their teams to the Final shows that you can never rest on your laurels at this level.

Where does this leave the La Liga duo? Are they the greatest two squads in the world? Quite probably. But there is much work to be done. Barca face a possible rebuilding job with Guardiola on his way out, although the new boss Tito Vilanova will be looking to stabilise things having been part of the coaching staff throughout the club's recent years of success. Madrid will probably go out and spend big again this summer, as they do every year. Never satisfied until his club are European champions President Florentino Perez will have his eyes on the likes of Robin Van Persie to bolster his already galactical squad. The Champions League has become an obsession, as Cristiano Ronaldo puts it, at Madrid 'everyone talks about the Champions League, in the dressing room and outside. Nothing else.' It is also an obsession of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness, the big cheeses of the clubs who will actually be at this year's closing event. If the Blues win, it will be the club's first ever European Cup, for Die Roten, it will end an eleven-year wait. Both have recently lost finals. Will whoever wins genuinely be the best team in Europe? As neither will be national champions of their respective leagues, probably not. But that's what keeps it interesting. Whoever labels football boring and predictable is a fool and the Champions League is the greatest example of this. For Madrid and Barca, there's always next year...

Follow James on Twitter @jfaphillips

Sexism, like racism, is a scourge that must be banished.

This week, a BBC One documentary entitled Sexism in Football? brought to the public attention the on-going struggle for equality of women who are involved with the beautiful game. It initially focused on the event which first brought sexism in football to the public eye, the departure from Sky Sports of Andy Gray and Richard Keys in January 2011. However, the documentary soon made clear that that was only the tip of the iceberg. Females involved in football, from journalists to administrative staff, have faced some serious obstacles - from being barred from certain areas and events at stadiums (including press briefings and the tunnel) to out-and-out sexual harassment.

As highlighted by the BBC's Mark Chapman on the documentary, a differentiation has to be made between 'women involved in football' and 'women's football'. The latter is gradually evolving and becoming more high profile, with the Women's Super League launching in England last year and the continuation of the UEFA Women's Champions League (which Lyon won at Craven Cottage last year) and other tournaments which are becoming more prominent. While it is still a long long way behind the men's game in terms of finance and heritage, it will undoubtedly continue to improve and it is possible that one day in the future a generation of women's players will be as talented as their male counterparts. However, the focus of the documentary was on the struggles of the women who are involved alongside the men's game.

For obvious physical reasons, men and women can't compete professionally at football in the same matches and tournaments. This is understandable, and probably does mean that there will always be more men involved in the running of men's football than women. However, that does not mean there is not room for more women to be involved in football. 25% of crowds at football matches are now female, and in my three years spent at university I have personally met females who know and care more about football than many of the males who call themselves football fans. There are plenty of non-playing roles out there, from journalists and match officials to medical staff and even board members of both clubs and the organisational bodies.

I do not believe that any woman should be appointed just for the sake of appointing a woman, but I do believe that everybody should be treated equally. If women apply for a position working within the game, they should be given as fair a chance as any men they are running against. Just as importantly, if they are appointed, they should not be subjected to abuse or discrimination from their colleagues or people around the football club. Many people have used the parallel of racism, which has gone from the dark days of the '70s and '80s where it was rife, to the outrage now caused by the (relatively) isolated cases which have arisen in recent months. Clearly both racism and sexism are problems in society, but the intelligent majority of human beings know that both are fundamentally and morally wrong. Women such as Gabby Logan, the presenter of the BBC One documentary, and assistant referee Sian Massey (of Keys-and-Gray-gate fame) have shown that they can do a perfectly good job working within football. The door should be held wide open for many others to join them. Football fans should eventually reach a stage where they do not bat an eyelid at the gender of a match official, commentator or club owner. Perhaps society can't lead the way towards an end to discrimination. But maybe football, as the most popular sport in the world, has the power to lead society towards a discrimination-free world.

Follow James on Twitter @jfaphillips

From four points to...how many?

Three years ago Liverpool finished the 2008/09 season in second position, a mere four points behind champions Manchester United who with that triumph equalled the Anfield club's record of 18 league titles. It was a bitter defeat for the club then managed by Rafael Benitez, as they had scored more goals and lost fewer games than United, as well as emphatically beating them 4-1 in their own backyard. Yet things still looked up for the Reds, with players like Pepe Reina, Javier Mascherano, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres forming a formidable spine to the team and hopes were high of eclipsing their Mancunian rivals in the near future. Since then Liverpool have finished 7th and 6th in the league, not appeared in the Champions League since a meek group stage exit in winter of 2009, sacked both Benitez and his successor Roy Hodgson and currently languish in 8th, 34 points behind their rivals from up the M62.

In the interim, United have lost Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez to transfers and Gary Neville and Edwin Van der Sar to retirement. Liverpool have sold Mascherano, Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa and Torres among some other less integral players. Yet the Red Devils have captured another Premier League crown and are looking good for a 20th, while the Reds, now under Kenny Dalglish, aren't even close to competing for a Champions League spot and are enduring their worst run of league form since 1953/54 - six defeats from seven matches.

How could the plight of the two clubs have varied so much over the past three years? Under Dalglish, Liverpool have spent lavishly on the likes of Andy Carroll (£35m), Luis Suarez (£23m), Jordan Henderson (£20m), Stewart Downing (£20m) and Charlie Adam (£9m). Yet of these only Suarez has truly performed, despite the controversy caused by incurring an eight-match ban for racially abusing United skipper Patrice Evra and the damage this has done to the club's reputation. The question is, why did the club believe it was worth spending so much money on those players in the first place? It didn't take a genius to work out that £35m was far too much for Carroll, and while he has flopped more spectacularly than the biggest of pessimists would have predicted, it was never going to be the wisest of investments. Similarly, Downing and Henderson were hardly being talked about as world beaters in the football community. The truth is, Liverpool paid over the odds for some bona fide average Premier League players.

Undoubtedly, the managerial upheaval hasn't helped the club's fortunes either. It was clear that Benitez had to leave after taking the club from 2nd down to 7th in just one season. However, where exactly he went wrong is hard to pin-point. Upsetting and selling Xabi Alonso is often mooted as a key factor which led towards his departure, yet the Spanish midfielder's departure could not have been solely responsible for the rapid decline in form of the 2009/10 season. His man management skills appeared to have left a lot to be desired, and this could have been a major failure. Roy Hodgson can also be partially blamed for making some spectacularly dud signings such as Milan Jovanovic, Paul Konchesky and Joe Cole. But at least they weren't at the astronomical prices which Dalglish has seen the club pay.

To give him his due, the club legend has brought silverware to Merseyside for the first time since 2006 with February's Carling Cup victory, and may well win the FA Cup too, although Everton and one of Chelsea or Tottenham (both of whom are well ahead of Liverpool in the league table) will have something to say about that. Yet the club's league form is indefensibly bad and perhaps reflects the decline in managerial skills of a man who hadn't occupied a hotseat for eleven years before his return to Anfield last January. His spiky handling of the media may have worked back in the late '80s and early '90s when Liverpool were still top dogs in England, but with his current below-par outfit, Dalglish is becoming somewhat of a laughing stock for the 'angry little man' attitude he displays almost every time he is interviewed.

In contrast at Old Trafford, Dalglish's old foe Sir Alex Ferguson has shown the benefits of managerial consistency and a keen eye for good value transfers. Aside from the strange and inexplicable case of Bebe, Ferguson has shown incredible know-how in the transfer market since Liverpool came so close to pipping him to the title in 2009. The outlays on Antonio Valencia (£16m), Javier Hernandez (£7m), Chris Smalling (£10m) and Phil Jones (£16m) have been indisputably justified. After some questionable performances Ashley Young (£15m) and David de Gea (£17m) also seem to be on their way to justifying their price tags. The squad which Ferguson has assembled has shown incredible strength in depth over the past three seasons; something which Liverpool's squad has failed to do despite clearly being home to exceptional talents like Reina, Suarez and Gerrard. Dalglish has an unbelievably difficult challenge ahead of him if he is to take his club back to within that 4-point distance of United once again. If he is to go further and join them back on his old perch, he will have to improve his squad tenfold. If he fails, he may be gone before his old Glaswegian nemesis, a decade his senior, decides to finally retire.

Five reasons why the Europa League can't be taken seriously

With the Premier League's current top two clubs, Manchester City and Manchester United, commencing their involvement in UEFA's secondary competition this week, here are five reasons why the Europa League cannot be fully accepted as an important competition by serious fans of football:

The presence of teams who haven't really achieved anything

Arguably the biggest problem with the competition is the number of teams taking part who have achieved little to justify being able to take part in what is supposedly a prestigious UEFA tournament. The team that finishes sixth in Serie A qualifies, the team that finishes fifth in the Portuguese Liga qualifies. Hell, the teams that finish third in the leagues of Andorra, Luxembourg and the Faroe Islands qualify. You can be runner-up in a domestic cup competition, which could mean achieving as little as a five-match unbeaten spell followed by a defeat in the final, and still qualify. Are these teams worthy of representing their countries in a continental showcase competition? No. What galls me the most is the presence of three teams due to 'fair play'. OK, it is great to promote 'Respect' and all that within the game, but the system is flawed. When Fulham qualified by this route it was because England's league had been allocated a place due to the country's fair play performance in European competition. But Fulham hadn't finished top of the Fair Play league, they were merely the highest placed club not to have already qualified for Europe. Is that an achievement worthy of a European place? Not in any way.

Comparatively slim financial gains

The Europa League simply doesn't have the financial benefits which make the Champions League so appealing and important to the top clubs. For example in 2009-10 AS Roma reached the last 32 of the Europa League, having failed to qualify for the Champions League. This meant they lost £21.3m in broadcasting revenue alone, compared to the previous season where they had reached the Champions League's last 16. Not to mention the further revenue lost by smaller attendances on match days and lesser sales of merchandise. UEFA's distribution to Europa League participants is less than 20% of what is paid to the Champions League teams, despite there being considerably more teams in the secondary competition. This lack of financial incentive means teams are often better off chasing domestic glory and Champions League qualification for the following season to earn cash, instead of putting their efforts into winning the Europa League.

Overblown number of teams and games

Another problem with the Europa League is the sheer number of teams that take enter the competition, and therefore the number of games the teams have to play. 48 teams take part in the group stage alone, and before this there is a play-off round which consists of 76 teams (another ten drop out of the Champions League play-off round to take part). There are also three qualifying rounds and by the time the knockout phase starts in February there are still 32 teams in the tournament, the same amount that start the Champions League group stage in September! If a team entered through Fair Play, in the first qualifying round, and reached the final, they would play a whopping 23 games - that's only seven less than the entire Portuguese domestic league schedule. Too many games, many of which feature less-than-interesting teams, means lack of interest.

Champions League dropouts entering the competition

The simple fact that teams drop into the competition after being knocked out of another competition midway through the season completely undermines the Europa League's validity. It is explicitly stating that it is an inferior competition to the Champions League, suitable for that competition's failures. The teams that drop in, as often as not, have little interest in being in the competition and while it may bring some bigger names into the fold, it is unfair on the teams that have been competing in it from the start. As Harry Redknapp recently put it 'you don't get knocked out of the third round of the FA Cup and find yourselves in the Carling Cup semi-finals' and while this analogy doesn't quite work perfectly, he has a point. If the tournament is to gain more respect, this is one element which certainly needs to change.

'Thursday nights, Channel Five'

Finally, this phrase has been chanted at Manchester City and Manchester United voraciously by mocking fans of rival teams since the league-leading duo's group stage failure in December. But there is indeed a genuine stigma attached to both parts of the chant. Firstly, playing on Thursday nights is bad news for everybody. League fixtures are shifted to Sunday which is never ideal for fans, if for no other reason than habit. In weeks with big Champions League games on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Premier League fixtures on weekends, Thursday is a night when fewer paying spectators are likely to turn up and fewer viewers are likely to turn on the box. Which is why Channel Five, a considerably smaller and financially weaker broadcaster than the likes of Sky Sports and BBC, take up the first choice rights ahead of ITV4 and ESPN. It is a vicious circle, as association with the smaller broadcaster makes the competition seem less important (and attract less viewers), and the less importance attached to the competition the more likely the smaller broadcaster is to carry on showing it (and attract still less viewers).

My proposed solution

This competition clearly needs serious rethinking. I say bring back something resembling the Cup Winner's Cup of old. It will be teams that have achieved something in a straight knockout ( so not too many games) with more financial incentive and no Champions League dropouts. And where possible, play it on non-Champions League weeks. If only UEFA had any sense...

Ten things I would like to see in the world of football in 2012

A new year beckons and the following ten things are top of my football wishlist for 2012. Here's hoping:

1, England showing up for a major tournament

After an unmitigatedly diabolical performance at the 2010 World Cup and failure to qualify for Euro 2008, it has been some time since the England national team gave a respectable account of themselves at a major tournament. After qualifying unimpressively for Euro 2012 with a 2-2 draw away to Montenegro and with Wayne Rooney suspended for the first two group games expectations aren't exactly sky high this time around, but with a group containing Sweden, Ukraine and France, the Three Lions are certainly in with a chance. If Fabio Capello's men approach their games with confidence and tactical awareness, winning the group could be a launch pad to something far more memorable.

2, Barcelona retaining the Champions League title

Since the UEFA Champions League was rebranded from the European Cup in 1992, not a single team has successfully retained the title. In 2010, Barca were foiled by Jose Mourinho's Internazionale side in the semi-finals, but this time around the blaugrana could well prove unstoppable. Playing fast-paced precision passing football, Pep Guardiola's team are approaching universal popularity and if they can keep their magical number ten, Lionel Messi, fit then even Mourinho's expensively assembled Real Madrid outfit will struggle to stop them. The best team I've seen in my life time, if anyone deserves to retain the 'cup with big ears' it is them.

3, Tottenham qualifying for the Champions League at the expense of one of the old 'Big Four'

The old myth of the 'Big Four' (Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool if you really need to ask) being impossible to break into is all but dead now as first Tottenham Hotspur and then Manchester City clinched Champions League qualification, both times at the expense of Liverpool. In reality it was only for four seasons between 2005/06 and 2008/9 that the 'Big Four' dominated the Champions League positions (Everton finished in 4th back in 04/05) but many fans and pundits insisted that the 'Big Four' was a closed shop. Not so. This season, with City almost certain to finish in the top two, Spurs have a real chance to put the 'Big Four' to bed. With the squad they have at their disposal they really should do, and leave one of Arsenal or Chelsea joining Liverpool outside the promised land of the Champions League.

4, Wayne Rooney playing consistently

Wayne Rooney has been on the scene for nearly a decade now and while he remains undoubtedly one of the most talented players of his generation, he has never found the consistency that would see him rival Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the World Player of the Year stakes. Take this season for example, Rooney sits joint third in the top scorers list, behind only Robin Van Persie and Demba Ba. Yet before his brace at home to Wolves earlier this month, he hadn't scored for eight league games. The reason Messi and Ronaldo are hailed as by far the world's greatest is that in the past few seasons, they haven't even come close to that sort of goalless run. I even saw an article earlier this year referring to a Messi 'goal drought' of three games. If Rooney wants to be considered for the world award this time next year he needs to maintain his form for longer periods than he has ever done before.

5, A universally popular manager replacing Fabio Capello

Don Capello is due to bid farewell to the England camp after Euro 2012 and regardless of how the tournament goes, it will be time to bring in a new face. After the debacle of Steve McClaren's reign, and the opinion-splitting era of Sven-Goran Eriksson, it would be ideal to see a manager behind whom a nation of football fans could unite. Easier said than done of course. Harry Redknapp is odds on favourite with the bookies and while he would represent a popular choice, he may not want to leave his position at Spurs when things are going so well and there remains a possibility of him claiming a Premier League title in the next few years. Beyond Redknapp, names such as Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho have been touted, but despite their great track records, neither would be universally popular choices. Perhaps the FA face an impossible task to make a popular decision, and beyond Redknapp they may struggle.

6, Club owners to stop raising ticket prices

Ticket prices have been rocketing at clubs for years now and many fans have been priced out of the game. This season Chelsea raised their Champions League group stage ticket prices by £10 and while their attendance tumbled, they still made more money than last year. This attitude from club owners is frankly disgraceful and is happening all across the Premier League, with Arsenal recently becoming the first club to sell a normal (i.e non-executive box) ticket for more than £100. To take advantage of fans who have more money, and to disadvantage those who can't afford to come to matches anymore is not in the true spirit of football, which has built its worldwide empire on the foundations of inclusivity. With the likes of the Glazers at Manchester United and Abramovich at Chelsea hiking up prices every year, it is time somebody put a stop to this trend before football becomes a game for the rich only.

7, Manchester City to fail for at least one more year

Roberto Mancini has done a fantastic job at City since his appointment two years ago and has assembled an impressive team of superstars with the funds given to him by Sheikh Mansour. Yet while Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Edin Dzeko, Yaya Toure and co have played some exceptional football this season it would be nice to see, if only for one more year, that money can't quite buy you success that quickly. Admittedly it is already three and a half years since Mansour's takeover and City have built from a strong foundation of a large fan base and modern stadium. But after £550m of new signings their Champions League group stage failure this year shows there is still work to do. Still favourites in the title race, Mancini's men wouldn't be undeserving of the title, but if they were to miss out on the title for just one more season it may restore a bit of faith that money can't quite buy everything in football.

8, No more stories of racism in football

In the last few weeks the headlines have been dominated by the two-headed monster of the Luis Suarez and John Terry racism cases. Regardless of whether either of them really are guilty, the much bigger problem is that racism is even an issue at all in this day and age. The whole concept of abusing somebody because of their skin colour is dated, incredibly unintelligent and totally unacceptable. Racism should not be tolerated to any extent, not just in football, but in society in general, and once the Suarez and Terry cases have been put to bed it should never be allowed to rear its ugly head again. Racism is wrong, and needs stopping right now.

9, Sepp Blatter to be ousted from FIFA

Following on from my last point, Sepp Blatter's outrageous recent comments that racism can be settled with a simple handshake illustrate the idiocy of the man who is the biggest of big cheeses in football's hierarchy. The Swiss FIFA President's list of offences is lengthy and varied, ranging from false promises to sexist comments. After 13 years in the position he was farcically re-elected earlier this year after Mohamed Bin Hamman withdrew following his scandalous attempted bribing of CONCACAF officials. But Blatter has continued to offend and has failed to bring credibility to the governing body. He is due to serve until 2015, but if the rest of FIFA wants to really take the game forward, the figurehead needs changing much sooner.

10, Wigan Athletic to be relegated and replaced by a club that can fill their stadium

I have a lot of time for Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez, their owner Dave Whelan and several of their players such as Ali Al-Habsi and Victor Moses. However, one thing I do not have time for is seeing thousands of empty seats at Premier League stadiums. For this reason alone I think it is for the good of football that the Latics seven-year stint in the top flight finally comes to an end this season. The Premier League is a fantastically entertaining division of high quality football, and the more live spectators at stadiums the better. Wigan's constantly low attendances, even for the biggest matches, is a real shame. When there are teams like Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Leeds United toiling in the lower levels despite massive fan bases it seems a real waste that a club with so few supporters is mixing it in the top flight. Sorry Wigan, but it is time to go.

Villas-Boas takes on Ferguson in early season showdown

This weekend will see Andre Villas-Boas bring his Chelsea side to Old Trafford for arguably the most important game of the Premier League season so far. With the Blues trailing both Manchester United and Manchester City by two points already, a defeat would certainly put them at a huge disadvantage so early in the campaign. While United and City have got their campaigns off to flying starts, Chelsea have been a bit more subdued with not particularly convincing wins over West Brom, Norwich and Sunderland following on from a goalless draw at Stoke. However, Villas-Boas will see the showdown with Sir Alex Ferguson, a man 36 years his senior, as an ideal catalyst for his club's season.

It has been an odd quirk of the fixture list that many previous Chelsea managers have begun their reigns with games against the Red Devils. Claudio Ranieri began with a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford back in September 2000, Jose Mourinho won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in August 2004, Avram Grant lost 2-0 just over three years later and Carlo Ancelotti won on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the 2009 Community Shield. Unlike his predecessors, Villas-Boas has had the advantage of a summer of preparation as well as four league fixtures and one Champions League game before taking his men to Manchester.

What we have seen in that time is a Chelsea team undergoing transition. Finally the likes of Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and John Terry don't quite seem guaranteed their place in the team. A new regime is in the making at Stamford Bridge and Juan Mata, Danny Sturridge and David Luiz look to be at the heart of it. Fernando Torres is still a far cry from the confident, free-scoring forward seen in his early Liverpool days but his two assists against Bayer Leverkusen this week offered promise that he may soon be finding the back of the net himself. While results so far are yet to be spectacular, Villas-Boas would appear to have the Pensioners on the right track.

As for their opposition, the Red Devils have gone goal-crazy with what is very much a new-look team. With Paul Scholes, Edwin Van der Sar, Gary Neville, John O'Shea and Wes Brown all gone, and the likes of Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov, Park Ji-Sung and Ryan Giggs so far playing peripheral roles, a new era seems to have dawned at Old Trafford. With Wayne Rooney, Nani and Anderson cast in the new role of 'senior players' and Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, David de Gea and the now injured duo of Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck adding much youthful zest to the team, it is a far cry from the squad that some people foolishly labelled too old at the start of last season.

United fans would be foolish themselves to get over-confident though, as is exemplified by the end result of Chelsea's similar flying start to last season. Ferguson will be determined not to let the same thing happen to his team and will realise the importance of this Sunday's game, even though it is so early in the season. A draw would not be disastrous for either team, but a win for United could really increase their already substantial momentum, and a win for the away team could mark an early twist in a title race which many are identifying as the 'battle of Manchester'.

Key battles across the pitch will include the duo of Rooney and Javier Hernandez taking on Chelsea's centre-backs, presumably Terry and Luiz, although Branislav Ivanovic and Alex are also in contention. Hernandez's pace and Rooney's guile punished Chelsea in the three defeats they suffered at the hands of United late on last season. Mata will be looking to continue his early strong form and might fancy his chances against United full-backs Patrice Evra and Smalling. The experience of Evra could be vital in shackling the Spaniard and Sturridge, who may well be played wide as well. In the centre of the park Anderson and Carrick (although Fletcher is also vying for a place) will look to Rooney to help them combat Chelsea's midfield trio, likely to be Ramires, Lampard and Raul Meireles. This is a big game for Lampard who has been doubted, perhaps unfairly, by many pundits this season.

But the most important factor could well be the plight of Torres against United's centre-backs. With old foe Nemanja Vidic out injured, the ex-Atletico Madrid man is likely to face Rio Ferdinand (rested in mid-week) and either Jonny Evans or Jones. The forward has shone in front of the Old Trafford crowd before in his Liverpool days, and if he can capitalise on Ferdinand's slight loss of pace, Evans occasional rash decision-making or Jones' inexperience, he could well put his career back on track and make himself a Chelsea hero. If Ferdinand's experience combined with his youthful defensive partner successfully contain the Spain international, then United would have a great opportunity to show the Premier League that this season they really mean business.

Where's the belief?

I was at Wembley Stadium last night to witness what, on paper, was a home victory which puts Fabio Capello's England squad to within touching distance of Euro 2012. However, the conclusion I drew was that England are as far away as ever from reaching the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time since 1996, let alone winning one for the first time since 1966.

In truth, the Three Lions were lucky to escape with all three points as Wales striker Robert Earnshaw missed a golden opportunity to equalise with 14 minutes of the game remaining and for large spells of the game Gary Speed's men were equal to the hosts. While Ashley Young's first half strike proved enough to win the game, that was the only shot on target from a team who looked nowhere near as confident as a home team, top of the qualification group and facing a team ranked 117th in the world, should do.

Individual performances were, on the whole, acceptable. There wasn't a single player who you could point out as having had a particularly awful game. The problem was that the team seemed to be stricken by an epidemic of indifference. Not one of the eleven players on the pitch seemed intent on making the difference that would have killed off the game long before Earnshaw could make the 75,000+ England fans in the crowd exhale a sigh of extreme relief.

In terms of personnel, Capello seems to have at his disposal a highly competent, competitive squad - Wayne Rooney is certainly the man to lead the line (although he could excel in a deeper role) and Stewart Downing, Ashley Young, Theo Walcott and James Milner have all the attributes to support him in the attack. Scott Parker and Gareth Barry, despite the latter's detractors, make a very good screening duo in midfield and the emergence of Chris Smalling at right-back, as well as Gary Cahill and Phil Jones as central options seem to complement an already efficient defence. The formation issues of the World Cup, where Capello stuck to a 4-4-2 system despite popular demand seem to be over. A successful 4-2-3-1 has been deployed (as in Bulgaria) , as well as a 4-3-3, and the afore-mentioned midfielders along with Frank Lampard (still an important squad member, though much more efficient in a midfield three), Jack Wilshere and Steven Gerrard seem to understand what is required of both systems.

Yet England still are nowhere near reaching the calibre of Spain, Holland or Germany. Or even France, Italy and Portugal for that matter. The missing ingredient seems to be belief. Especially at Wembley. The booing of the team, or individual players such as Lampard and Ashley Cole has been well documented in the past and this could well have nurtured an element of fear when the Three Lions turn up at home. Before Young's goal against Wales, Capello's men appeared to be very uncertain of how to push on and impose themselves on their opposition. When they failed to increase their lead early in the second half, they reverted to this unsure attitude. Barry, in the deepest midfield role seemed the only assured presence on the ball, and that was largely because the Welsh were content to sit off him and defend deep. When the visitors did launch attacks, England dealt with them, but not with complete certainty. Some more accurate finishing from Speed's team could have seen a very different result. It was the first home win at Wembley in a year, and the four intervening fixtures had all displayed this uncertainty from England.

Elsewhere last night, world champions Spain beat Liechtenstein 6-0 at home. That is to be expected, but Liechtenstein are only two places lower than the Welsh in the world rankings and England should really be racking up that kind of scoreline, and an accompanying assured performance against this sort of team if they have any aspirations of success next summer. England's players are more talented than that of many countries, as exemplified by their many successes at club level, but if they are to push on and do the country pride in Poland and Ukraine next year, they are going to have to play with the confidence to attack teams and score goals. Anaemic performances like this win over Wales, last year's draw with Montenegro, and the first half of the Switzerland draw in June will result in an early farewell from Eastern Europe and the start of a long daunting road to Brazil 2014.

Arsene's Gunners finally call the cavalry

Following on from my article on Arsenal's situation back on the 12th August, I thought it was only right to give my opinion on Arsene Wenger's eventual business in the transfer window and the games that have taken place since.

Firstly, it has to be said that the club came through what was their most important challenge, defeating Udinese to qualify for the Champions League, impressively. Udinese showed themselves to be a very good team across the two legs, but when it mattered most, in the second half of the second leg, Wojciech Szczesny, Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott all proved that the Gunners still have some big characters in their team.

However, it was the league matches that meant the alarm bells were constantly ringing for the Emirates faithful. A dire 0-0 draw with Newcastle followed by an even worse 0-2 home defeat to Liverpool were bad enough, but the panic button was finally hit with an unbelievable 8-2 drubbing at the hands of Manchester United.

Arsenal's biggest defeat in 115 years really did force Wenger into action in the transfer market, and in my opinion he has bought wisely. Three weeks ago I wrote that he needed to add a goalkeeper, two defenders, one midfielder and another forward to the squad, all of which need to be experienced and not youth players.

Apart from the goalkeeper (and to be fair Szczesny looks like he could make the grade), Wenger had done all this and more, bringing in not one, but two midfielders. Per Mertesacker at 26, Andre Santos at 28, Mikel Arteta at 29, Yossi Benayoun at 31 and Park Chu-Young at 26 are all experienced professionals, and just what Wenger's squad was in desperate need of.

Chu-Young is captain of a successful South Korea team and has taken the number 9 shirt at Arsenal, while he is no prolific goalscorer he has the potential to be a great foil for van Persie. Arteta and Benayoun have both performed in the Premier League well for years. The concerns would be that Arteta has been injury prone during his time at Everton and Benayoun has just come off the back of an injury-hindered season at Chelsea. However, if both can stay fit then the young Arsenal midfield of Alex Song, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey will have some experienced midfield team-mates to look up to and learn from. At the back, arguably where Arsenal needed strengthening the most, Santos and Mertesacker look to be just what was required. The former has won trophies with Flamengo, Corinthians and Fenerbahce as well as caps for Brazil, while the latter has amassed an impressive 75 caps for the ever-consistent German national team.

While the Arsenal squad is still by no means capable of winning the Premier League title, it now looks competitive enough to challenge Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur for 4th place, and I would in fact reinstate them as my favourites for the position. In the immediate aftermath of the massacre at Old Trafford, I believed without serious strengthening, they would struggle to even make 6th place. However, while Wenger certainly left it very late, he has strengthened the squad sufficiently, with not just talent, but experience. The club certainly still have a number of issues to overcome, including the indiscipline which has seen three red cards in as many league games this season, and a steelier style of play may be required to get the team through certain away fixtures. Mertesacker, for one, should be able to help in that department.

Elsewhere in the transfer market, Chelsea's late move for Raul Meireles, in addition to the signing of Juan Mata may well see them challenge the Manchester duo for the title after all, although their squad still appears to be one very much in transition. It may well be the 2012-13 season when we see Andre Villas-Boas really show off his ability as a manager.

At the other end of the table, some shrewd signings from QPR certainly make them a much stronger team and the additions of Shaun Wright-Phillips, Anton Ferdinand, Joey Barton amongst others would certainly give them a better chance of survival than had previously been expected.

Fulham were also active on deadline day with the additions of Bryan Ruiz and Zdenek Grygera which should see them pushing for a top-half finish.

It will be interesting to see how Nicklas Bendtner settles in at Sunderland after a spell in North London which has never matched the size of his ego. Stoke City will also be hoping their additions of Peter Crouch, Wilson Palacios and Cameron Jerome see them finish comfortably in the top half, all three players would appear to fit Tony Pulis' style of play.

Tottenham did well to sign Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor, but their biggest victory was in keeping Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart, all of whom had been linked with moves away last season and throughout the summer. Whether they can hold on to Modric, in particular, longer than January may well depend on their league form between now and then. A repeat of the 5-1 home defeat to Manchester City will definitely not be on Harry Redknapp's agenda.

Is it nearly game over for Arsene Wenger?

Could the impending departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri symbolise the end for Arsene Wenger? The Arsenal manager went on record last month stating that if the Gunners did sell the want-away duo then they could not be classified as a 'big club' as 'big clubs' usually hold on to their star players. So with both players apparently on their way on the eve of the new Premier League season, should Wenger concede defeat in terms of his position as Arsenal manager?

The fans, while still admiring his past achievements, are seriously questioning his ongoing reluctance to spend in the transfer market. Six seasons without any trophies, or even second-place league finishes, do not make good reading for a club that wowed the country by going a season unbeaten as recently as 2003-04.

What is perhaps most worrying for the club is the repetition of the past few seasons. Each year Wenger promises improvement, claiming his players are maturing, yet each year the club get knocked out of all the cup competitions and trail off in their league campaigns, resulting in a succession of third and fourth placed finishes. Wenger has stated that he is happy as long as the club finishes in a Champions League position, but for the first time this season, that no longer looks a certainty. With the rise of Manchester City to third place last season, and the greater experience within the squads of both champions Manchester United and Chelsea, Arsenal would appear to be embroiled in a scrap for fourth with Merseyside giants Liverpool and local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

It appears to many that Wenger's players have lost faith in him. The preference of Gael Clichy and Nasri to join City in a bid to win trophies is telling, and the impending loss of captain Fabregas to Barcelona will certainly have a large effect. While all three of those players are young in football terms, they were three of the most experienced heads in Wenger's increasingly fragile looking squad. While Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey are all in place to fill the boots of the departing trio, the major effect will be to make an already too-young team even younger. Wenger's biggest failure in recent years has been failing to bring in experienced players in key positions. The majority of Arsenal's players are under 25, and the older ones, such as Andrey Arshavin, Tomas Rosicky and Sebastien Squillaci have not been central to the team over the past couple of seasons. Robin van Persie is set to step into the role of captain, and while he certainly has the quality and experience, his injury problems will always be a worry.

There is admittedly more than two weeks of the transfer window left to go, but Wenger has yet to bring in the defenders and goalkeeper that the club so desperately need. After seeing Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianski and the young Wojciech Szczesny all make mistakes over the last couple of years, it is remarkable that he has not addressed the situation with the signing of a proven number one. The return from injury of Thomas Vermaelen should be a boost, but should his fitness fail him, the likes of Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou do not look like Premier League winning standard. Elsewhere in the team, Theo Walcott still needs to prove both his fitness and his talent in what is now his sixth season at the Emirates Stadium. Jack Wilshere's debut season was incredible, but it is surely too much to expect the 19-year-old to carry the midfield to success so soon. Gervinho (a rare signing over £10m) should be an exciting option for the attack but he is unproven at the highest level and could well go down the route of Marouane Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtner, becoming a bit-party player.

If Wenger has any intention of finishing in the top four this season, let alone being involved in the title race, he needs to make some major moves in the final days of this summer transfer window. At least one goalkeeper, two defenders, a midfielder and another forward are surely needed for the club to compete with United, City and Chelsea. And not 17-year-olds plucked from Gabon or Switzerland but established, trophy-winning professionals. Anything less than that and I fear that Stan Kroenke and the Arsenal board may have to finally bring the curtain down on Wenger's 16 year reign in North London.