Armchair Sport: Weekends Premier League Preview

Armchair Sport: Weekends Premier League Preview: Blackburn vs West Brom Somehow Blackburn manager Steve Kean continues to stand against the tide against him. What the Ewood Park faithful h...

Weekends Premier League Preview

Blackburn vs West Brom
Somehow Blackburn manager Steve Kean continues to stand against the tide against him. What the Ewood Park faithful have to endure until their fortunes change is beyond me. West Brom will want to bounce back from an unlucky defeat last time out and both teams will know how vital this match could be. I'm not holding my breath for goals in this one. I think as neither team will want to lose a draw is a likely outcome.


Everton vs Norwich
Before I get to the home side I'm going to say how impressed with Norwich I have been this season. They have't looked out of place in the league and have given a few teams a scare. Maybe fortunate to face a injury hit Newcastle last weekend they did show they have plenty of goals in their side. Goals is something Everton have been lacking. An average season to date could have been so much better if some of their chances had been converted. This is a match Everton should win though and I think they will deliver 3 points in a tight game.


Fulham vs Bolton
How will Fulham react to their Europa League capitulation in mid week. Well the form that Bolton have shown will give Martin Jol confidence that he can get his Fulham team to bounce straight back. Who knows what has gone wrong at Bolton this season. Owen Coyle sets such high expectations of himself and his team. How much have they missed Elmander. You can't see anything other than a Fulham home win I'm afraid.


Newcastle vs Swansea
With last weeks match against Norwich in mind I think that this match could be a bit special. Strange you think. The two goalkeepers have arguably been the best in the league this year and in Demba Ba and Scott Sinclair each have an attacking player who has threatened every time they have played this season. I expect an entertaining game with plenty of action, a few goals and I think both teams would settle for a draw all things considered.


Wolves vs Stoke
Despite losing in mid week European action, Stoke will have rested key members of their team and will want to get back on track in the league. Wolves will be a tough test for the Potters and you get the feeling that Mick McCarthy's men will do enough to be safe. I think this one will end a draw though.


Wigan vs Chelsea
This has to be a Chelsea win right. Well Wigan are on a mini decent run themselves and I have a sneaky feeling this won't be an easy game. But that said Andre Villas-Boas seems to have settled on a core of 12 or 13 players and those players have repaid his faith with some impressive performances and confidence is returning to the Stamford Bridge side. The scoreline may not reflect the difficulty of the encounter but I think Chelsea will win and win by a clear margin.


QPR vs Manchester United
All the factors point to this being a difficult encounter for Manchester United. The early kick off plus the Neil Warnock factor will see QPR really go at United. United's injury nightmare surely cannot survive further stretching and Fergie will be quite happy to escape with a point and no injuries. I think the incentive of topping the table will motivate a United performance and although it won't be an easy match, United to win just.


Aston Villa vs Liverpool
Despite everything that has gone on in the press I do think we will see the very best of Luis Suarez this weekend. It's his chance to show us that unquestionable talent he has. It will take a super human effort from Villa to keep the Uruguayan and I expect a decent Liverpool win.


Tottenham vs Sunderland
There are many factors to take in to account for this match. Tottenham rested many of their star names in mid week and the fact they are at home will spur them on. Obviously Sunderland have the Martin O'Neill factor and will be buoyed by last weekends dramatic late winner. I think this will be a tight game and a draw could be on the cards.


Manchester City vs Arsenal
The undoubted match of the weekend and I expect a pulsating occasion. It should be end to end and could conceivably by any scoreline. City will want to bounce back from defeat against Chelsea but Arsenal have the threat of Robin van Persie who is chasing Alan Shearer's goals in a calendar league record. I think this will be a decent draw with goals and both teams ultimately satisfied.

Armchair Sport: Europa League last 32 and last 16 draws

Armchair Sport: Europa League last 32 and last 16 draws: Last 32 Porto vs Manchester City Ajax vs Manchester United Lokomtiv Moscow vs Athletic Bilbao Salzburg vs FC Metalist Kharkiv Sto...

Europa League last 32 and last 16 draws

Last 32


Porto vs Manchester City

Ajax vs Manchester United

Lokomtiv Moscow vs Athletic Bilbao

Salzburg vs FC Metalist Kharkiv

Stoke City vs Valencia

Rubin Kazan vs Olympiakos

AZ Alkmaar vs Anderlecht

Lazio vs Atletico Madrid

Steaua Bucharest vs FC Twente

Victoria Plzen vs Schalke

Wisla Krakow vs Standard Liege

Braga vs Besiktas

Udinese vs PAOK

Trabzonspor vs PSV Eindhoven

Hannover 96 vs Club Brugge

Legia Warsaw vs Sporting


Last 16 draw


Salzburg/FC Metalist Kharkiv vs Rubin Kazan/Olmpiakos

Legia Warsaw/Sporting vs Porto/Manchester City

Steaua Bucharest/FC Twente vs Plzen/Schalke

Wisla Krakow/Standard Liege vs Hannover 96/Club Brugge

Stoke/Valencia vs Trabzonspor/PSV Eindhoven

AZ Alkmaar/Anderlecht vs Udinese/PAOK

Lazio/Atletico Madrid vs Braga/Besiktas

Ajax/Manchester United vs Lokomotiv Moscow/Athletic Bilbao

Armchair Sport: Champions League last 16 draw

Armchair Sport: Champions League last 16 draw: Lyon vs Apoel Nicosia Napoli vs Chelsea AC Milan vs Arsenal Basle vs Bayern Munich Bayer Leverkusen vs Barcelona CSKA Moscow vs Re...

Champions League last 16 draw

Lyon vs Apoel Nicosia

Napoli vs Chelsea

AC Milan vs Arsenal

Basle vs Bayern Munich

Bayer Leverkusen vs Barcelona

CSKA Moscow vs Real Madrid

Zenit St.Petersburg vs Benfica

Marsielle vs Inter Milan

Armchair Sport: How low will Liverpool FC go.

Armchair Sport: How low will Liverpool FC go.: There is already a sick campaign out on some Liverpool websites that has attempted to change the outcome of the Luis Suarez racist case. T...

How low will Liverpool FC go.

There is already a sick campaign out on some Liverpool websites that has attempted to change the outcome of the Luis Suarez racist case.

The distasteful campaign centres around the independent panal selected by the FA for the hearing of the various evidence. The three men on the panel are Paul Goulding QC, part of the FA’s judicial panel since 2008, Brian Jones – chairman of the Sheffield and Hallamshire FA and the former Sunderland and Wrexham manager Denis Smith now on Stoke's coaching staff.

It is the appointment of Denis Smith that the Anfield faithful are getting worried about. They claim the following 3 points are reasons why Smith should not only not be on the panel but that any decision made should be appealed and overturned immediately.


Smith's Autobiography which claims he saved Sir Alex Ferguson's career.
Smith managed Darren Ferguson whilst manager of Wrexham
Smith named Darren Ferguson as captain.


Firstly the book reference. It is a vague obscure reference to a match between the sides during United's Cup Winners Cup campaign back in 1991/92 season. United won the two legged tie and went on to win that years trophy by beating Barcelona in the final. Ferguson had been in more danger the previous season of losing his job until a certain FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest. This reference in Smith's book was an exaggeration to boost book sales and bears no evidence to direct links to Alex Ferguson or Manchester United apart from an FA Cup tie in 1994/95.


Denis Smith indeed did manage Darren Ferguson whilst at Wrexham. It is also true that he made him captain. As manager Smith indeed did on occasions praise his captain to the press something that many managers do. It is also true that when Darren Ferguson started his managerial steps, smith again gave a glowing recommendation.

According to Liverpool FC, this is sufficient evidence to warrant slurring Denis Smith for his potential impartiality. It is a clear design to attempt an overnight reaction. Should news of this reach Denis Smith then he is sure to question his decision. Will he move in favour that Suarez is guilty because he is or will he move that he is innocent to avoid a public witch hunt over Manchester United favourtism.

I grant that the FA could have investigated a little deeper into the backgrounds but eventually if you dig deep enough on an individual they are sure to contain links to United, Liverpool, Ferguson and Dalgleish. Denis Smith does not have direct links with either.

Should Suarez be found guilty then Liverpool have a right to appeal and raise the issue. Doing so the day before the decision is a little like releasing a character reference of a dubious murder suspect to the jury just before they are sentencing him.

I understand Liverpools desperation in trying to keep Suarez playing as much as they can. He alone is keeping them in European contention. Without him Dalgleish's best laid plans are in tatters. But his minor offences are totting up now. I'm not anti Suarez before the mob lynch me for my opinion. He is a brilliant footballer but he knew what he was doing with Evra. A player of Suarez intelligence cannot claim to be that naive. His time in Holland would have taught him the European reaction to the word he has used.

That is why the panel should reach a guilty verdict regardless of Liverpool's obvious protests about a Manchester United fix. No more than a two month ban with a fine would just about act as a deterrent to anyone thinking about racially insulting someone by trying to be smart and using foreign language.

This campaign to mar the image of Denis Smith, an innocent man has shocked me today. I hope this doesn't stop justice being found. Because whatever the verdict, as football fans that is what should be the real issue.

Europa League last 32

This week has seen the final 32 teams that will contest the knock out phase of the Europa league decided. There were plenty of tears and and some near misses from the British clubs.

Birmingham City and Tottenham Hotspurs both gained the win to keep their hopes alive but both finished a point shy of qualification. They will now be able to concentrate on winning their respective leagues.

Fulham threw away a two goal lead to draw and go out while Celtic also only managed a draw when a win was needed.

So onto the 32 teams who will be in the draw.

There were 12 groups in the Europa League stage and the winners and runners up all qualified.

Group Winners Group Runners Up
Sporting (Por) Lazio (Ita)
Besiktas (Tur) Stoke (Eng)
Athletic Bilbao (Spa) SV Salzburg (Aus)
Schalke (Ger) Steaua Bucharest (Rom)
FC Twente (Hol) Wisla Krakow (Pol)
Anderlecht (Bel) Lokomotiv Moscow (Rus)
FC Metalist Kharkiv (Ukr) AZ Alkmaar (Hol)
PSV Eindhoven (Hol) Legia Warsaw (Pol)
Standard Liege (Bel) Hannover 96 (Ger)
PAOK Solinka (Gre) Rubin Kazan (Rus)
Atletico Madrid (Spa) Udinese (Ita)
Club Brugge (Bel) Braga (Por)


The 4 best Champions League third placed teams go into the pot of Europa League group winners.

This will see the above group winners join Manchester City, Manchester United, Olympiakos and Valencia to make up the 16 teams in pot 1.

The above group runners up will join Porto, Ajax, Plen and Trabzonspor to make up the 16 teams in pot 2.

Teams from the same Europa League group stage can not draw each other. i.e Besiktas and Stoke cannot be drawn.

Teams from the same association cannot play in the round of 32. i.e Manchester United or City cannot be drawn with Stoke.

The draw for the last 16 will take place at the same time as the last 32 draw and in the last 16 there are no restrictions as to which teams you can be drawn with.

With the inclusion of some big European fish in the Europa League knock out pool, this seasons trophy will definitely be worth winning.

Armchair Sport: Assistant Referee's. Your having a laugh.

Armchair Sport: Assistant Referee's. Your having a laugh.: I wrote an article on 4th December which you can find in footy-bible's opinion section. Is was a brief recap of decisions that referee's had...

Assistant Referee's. Your having a laugh.

I wrote an article on 4th December which you can find in footy-bible's opinion section. Is was a brief recap of decisions that referee's had allegedly missed during that weekends Premier League action.

For those who missed it, the general theme was that we have become increasingly over critical of referees and it was starting to become unjustified. There were a group of individuals who warranted our criticism much more. That is our new pet hate the referee's assistant. Or linesman as I shall call them because the actual assistance they provide the referees is getting less and less.

Over the last few weekends we have seen the decision not to send off Chelsea's David Luiz and the since rescinded red card that Gary Cahill received against Tottenham. In both cases the wrong decision was reached and in both cases the referee wasn't assisted properly by his assistant. Then there was the decision taken by the linesman to award Newcastle a penalty against Manchester United. Replays showed Rio Ferdinand clearly made good contact with the ball and the referee had initially awarded a corner. Until his assistant decided to assist him. An excellent tackle became a penalty.

Well over the last few weekends, I have made sure I have looked at the referee's assistants part in the key decisions that have been debated in the media. I have come to the conclusion that the linesman frankly just are not doing a good enough job. In some cases they aren't even up to the job.

OK you can bang on about the courses, diets and fitness levels that the referees are subjected to but ultimately they do the job because of a love for the game. This is why when the decision to make referees full time was taken, nobody objected as it was the right thing to do. Nobody thought about the linesman though. Now they are left away from the action with nothing to show for a days work except for white paint on their boots and everyone forgets them till next weekend. What do they care after all most have other jobs to go home to.

So on to this weekends action and on Saturday we had the linesman who awarded a dubious corner for Norwich against Newcastle which led to the opening goal. Fair enough the final score wasn't affected but this was at a stage when it was 0-0. And then we get on to events at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday. Where shall we start? How about the hand ball that wasn't given against Ryan Shawcross when the score was 2-1 to Stoke. Or what about the disallowed Adebayor goal which was wrongly ruled offside. That one wasn't even close. Two whole yards onside. Those two incidents are surely what the linesman are there to to spot. There was also the Younès Kaboul being hauled to the ground which wasn't spotted.

You have to ask where the linesman were looking as these are all incidents that they should be looking at solely on the position they are standing in. And the one thing about the whole Stoke v Tottenham match which is the most hilarious is the fourth officials reaction to Kaboul. OK I accept the way Kaboul voiced his protest by mocking spectacles is an insult to the referee but it's a tongue in cheek "you missed one there ref". What was so amazing was that the fourth official actually spotted what Kaboul had done and alerted the linesman who on this occasion was aware of it. Had the pair been doing their jobs properly then they might have actually spotted the hand ball in the first place.

Instead of that Kaboul gets a red card for a second yellow, Tottenham get nothing from a game they warranted a point from and the referee takes all the after match abuse. It would be a help if the linesman came out and explained their shockers like the referees do. But I think it boils down to them not caring as much as their full time colleagues. Whether or not a football official should be schooled to referee and be a linesman isn't for me to answer but we need to get all officials on a full time basis just so they have a little bit of love for the job they are doing. As I have previously said, it is a difficult job which many wouldn't do. Don't be so quick to blame the referee. He can only give what he sees and act on what he is told.

I have also been watching Dermot Gallagher on a Monday morning on SkySports News. They go through the contentious decisions and ask him what the referee was doing and evaluate performance. Now Gallagher doesn't spare no punches and admits mistakes and on occasions has even spoken to officials before he has gone into the studio. So one wonders why a weekly performance table kind of like the "Capello Index" isn't bought out so that the referees that make the less mistakes get rewarded for and the referees that don't achieve an average weekly mark get league 1 or 2 matches to official for a week.

Whatever the answers I certainly don't have them but something needs to be done to drag the referee's assistant's level up to that what the referees are aspiring to.

Armchair Sport: Ladbrokes World Darts Championships.

Armchair Sport: Ladbrokes World Darts Championships.: Forget the chatter about so many shopping days to Christmas. We are not even religious about an exact day that our Christmas decorations go ...

Ladbrokes World Darts Championships.

Forget the chatter about so many shopping days to Christmas. We are not even religious about an exact day that our Christmas decorations go up. Yes the kids have their toys and enough chocolate to gauge themselves with but for the adults of the Hillier household, Christmas is here when one event kicks off.

That's right folks the Darts World Championships starts next thursday night and provides much entertainment over the festive period. Made all the more fitting last year when all around us was covered in snow. An outstanding 2011 tournament saw Phil Taylor not win a 16th World title but saw his apprentice Adrian Lewis win his first World title in an amazing exhibition of scoring to beat Gary Anderson.

The first round draw has thrown up some interesting match ups. There is a battle of Welshman seeing Mark Webster take on Richie Burnett, Steve Beaton meets Magnus Caris, the worlds quickest player Vincent van der Voort faces Mark Hilton, Raymond van Barneveld has debutant James Richardson, Kevin Painter faces the youngster Aaron Monk, Colin Lloyd will take on USA's Darin Young, Colin Osborne against Michael van Gerwen is arguably the tie of the round and Mark Dudbridge will face Dave Chisnall. The seeded players in those games will want to avoid a pre Christmas exit. But that won't be easy.


So beyond those matches who are the favourites and who can they face.


Phil Taylor

Taylor starts with the winner of a qualifying match between Muramatsu and Nilsson. He should win that. He then moves on to Dudbridge or Chisnall where the level will step up. Over this format he should still have enough. Potential opponents after that could be Vincent van der Voort, Mark Hilton or Andy Hamilton.


Adrian Lewis

Starts with a potential banana skin in Nigel Heydon. He is one of the tougher guys to get out of his zone when he is flowing and Lewis will have to concentrate to the end. He should win though. Then Lewis could meet Robert Thornton or Iain White. Their match will be a slog but again I think Lewis will get through that encounter. Realistically his next opponent would most likely be Wayne Jones, Jamie Caven or Roland Scholten.


James Wade

Will start against the winner of a qualifier between Laursen and Korte. Wade's next opponent would be Peter Wright or Jelle Klaasen. Both good players but not in Wade's class if he is at his best. Next opponent potentially could be Ronnie Baxter or Steve Palmer, or Dennis Ovens.


Gary Anderson

Anderson starts with Jyhan Artut and although he has some good results, Anderson should win that. Andersons second match will see him face the winner of the Steve Brown v Petersen/de Sousa conundrum. Colin Lloyd, Darin Young or Andy Smith are trickier tests awaiting Anderson in the next round. He will need to perform to get past whoever.


Those four are all expected to reach the quarter final stage and all of them should make it.


As the quarter finals are to be decided at this point it is pointless me forecasting but as soon as the draw takes shape I will fill in from the quarter finals onwards.


My tip for the tournament. Other than sit back, grab a beer and relax. Phil Taylor to win of course.

Armchair Sport: Snooker UK Championships

Armchair Sport: Snooker UK Championships: We have reached the semi final stage in the UK Championship. Amidst a week of controversy, 4 players have fought adversity and amazingly con...

Snooker UK Championships

We have reached the semi final stage in the UK Championship. Amidst a week of controversy, 4 players have fought adversity and amazingly considering who is left, whoever wins will claim their first UK Championship.

The first semi final sees Judd Trump take on Neil Robertson. A match good enough for the final. Trump has been at his spectacular best and his long potting has left his opponents with the impossible task of needing to almost snooker him on every safety shot otherwise he is just getting down and knocking them in. To be fair to Robertson, he hasn't been on the screens as much but he has beaten Graeme Dott and Ding Junhui to get this far. I feel a lot of pressure was placed on his shoulders after winning the World Championship but he looks to be finding a balance to his game now. Of the 4 semi finalists, Robertson will fancy his experience as making the difference in a tight match. I think Trump will have enough but I'm expecting a classic in this one.

The other semi final sees the outspoken Mark Allen play Ricky Walden. You might not know to much about Walden but when I tell you he has beaten Stephen Lee, Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy to reach the semi finals and the fact that he has won a ranking title then he is not an opponent to be taken lightly. Mark Allen is the only player in the semi finals who hasn't won a ranking title yet and will be desperate to change that. He is not the most popular player in the snooker fraternity at the moment but I'll get to that. If Allen can get going quickly then Walden has a tendency of getting to hard on himself. I think Allen will probably win this one.

Why are we slightly anti-Allen at the moment. Well it certainly isn't for his use of language during a post match interview. Go back two years and snooker was in danger of disappearing. There was only 6 or 7 tournaments and the players beyond the top 32 had no chance of making a living from the game. In came Barry Hearne. Straight away using his expertise he had created tournaments in Australia, China, Brazil and PTC events in Europe. The prize money available practically doubled as new sponsors came rolling in. Viewing figures are back up for the big tournaments as admittedly the PTC's need tweaking as snooker moves forward. There are now enough tournaments for players right down the rankings to make a living again.

So this is why Mark Allen's outburst has left us a bit baffled. I can see his point of view that it is expensive if you play in every PTC event and travel for the long haul tournaments. Unfortunately that is where the markets are at the moment. With tournaments scheduled for India, the increased interest in China and Europe then soon only two or three tournaments will be in England. Mark Allen's claims that Barry Hearne was only interested in lining his own pockets are also wildly inaccurate. For these points and the way he highlighted his concerns then he has to show some remorse.

However there is one point that I agree whole heartedly with him on. Amidst everything this point has been swept under the carpet. Barry Hearne promised not to change the formats for the ranking tournaments. He has shortened the early stages of the UK Championship. I must admit I wouldn't of noticed had Mark Allen not highlighted the issue. We would like Barry Hearne to come out and promise not to change the format for The Masters or the World Championships. Power play and one frame shoot outs are one thing but he World Championships and The Masters are both exciting enough tournaments.

I think that is what Mark Allen was trying to get at. Yes he is obviously happier with the game now Hearne has shaken things up. Yes the PTC events can be worked out. Maybe dropping one or two and increasing prize money on the rest. OK you promised not to change the format for the ranking events and even though you did for the UK and it didn't notice, can you promise not to change the others.

Hearne is a wise man I think he knows where Mark Allen's comments are coming from. It is more how Allen voiced his concerns which has caused offence. Freedom of speech is one thing if it is used correctly. Move over it now and get back to the snooker.

I fitting final would be Judd Trump vs Mark Allen. That's who I'd prefer. That usually means Robertson and Walden will win.

Armchair Sport: Champions League Shocks

Armchair Sport: Champions League Shocks: Despite dominating the first half of the season domestically, both Manchester clubs crashed out of the UEFA Champions league in spectacular ...

Champions League Shocks

Despite dominating the first half of the season domestically, both Manchester clubs crashed out of the UEFA Champions league in spectacular fashion. City beat Bayern Munich but could do nothing to prevent Napoli winning away to qualify with the Germans.

United dominated possession and another referee may have stopped play for the first goal and a late smash and grab in the last ten minutes saw Basle win 2-1 and send United with their collective tais between their legs.

So who did manage to qualify on a dramatic match day 6. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Arsenal, Benfica, Inter Milan and Apoel Nicosia all qualified as group winners.
Napoli, CSKA Moscow, Basle, Lyon, AC Milan, Bayer Leverkusen, Marseille and Zenit St.Petersburg are the qualifiers through finishing second.

Obviously I think the English teams would rather not draw AC Milan and could also do without a trip to Russia mid season. Lyon scored 7 goals on match day 6 and on their day can beat anyone.
I still don't think Barcelona are quite at their level from the last two seasons and although Real Madrid are the only team left unbeaten I am going to have to stick to my pre tournament prediction.

Through virtue of both the same nationality, Bayern Munich will avoid Bayer Leverkusen. They would be unlucky to draw AC Milan but would still fancy their chances. The only team that has the ability to beat Bayern Munich from the second place qualifiers so if Bayern can avoid them then they will have potentially tip toed quietly into the quarter finals. With the final at their stadium and the young German team they are building there, it's going to take a good team to knock them out.

Getting back to the amount of English clubs left in this seasons knock out stage, it doesn't automatically mean that there has been a drop in the English game. No country has more than two teams in the competition. There has been some crazzy matches and Man City, Man United, Porto, Valencia, Ajax, Olympiakos, Plzen and Trabzonspor will all play in the Europa League round of 32.

Things could be worse. Joe Cole's Lille, Villarreal, Borussia Dortmund and Shakhtar Donestk all go out of european football for this season all together.

5 for fun

1. Which country will host the 2016 European Championships?

2. Which player was top goalscorer at the 1966 World Cup?

3. What do Terry Butcher, John Barnes and Owen Hargreaves all have in common?

4. Who is the only English footballer to be sent off at the Old Wembley?

5. Maine Road is a former league ground. The league record for an attendance was 83,260 in 1948. Who played at home in that match?

England Euro 2012 squad.

Between now and next June when the Euro's finally kick off many experts will select 30 players or so as a rough guide to who Fabio Capello will end up picking.

Just for fun, no prizes I'm afraid but send in your 23 man squad from the list below

Goalkeepers
Joe Hart, Scott Carson, David Stockdale, Robert Green, Frank Felding

Defenders
Ashley Cole, John Terry, Glenn Johnson, Joleon Lescott, Phil Jagielka, Chris Smalling, Kyle Walker, Micah Richards, Gary Cahill, Phil Jones, Leighton Baines, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Dawson

Midfielders
Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves, Joey Barton, Jack Wilshire, Jack Rodwell, Scott Parker, James Milner, Aaron Lennon, Adam Johnson, Stuart Downing, Gareth Barry, Theo Walcott, Tom Cleverley, Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard, Jordan Henderson, Matt Jarvis

Forwards
Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck, Darren Bent, Gabby Agbonlahor, Jermaine Defoe, Peter Crouch, Bobby Zamora, Andy Carroll, Carlton Cole

Rules.
Your squad must contain 23 players. No more no less
You must choose 3 goalkeepers as that is what England will do.
You may choose any player not listed provided they are eligible to play for England.
You must choose a minimum of 7 defenders and a minimum of 8 midfielders.
You may not select more than 5 forwards.

It's only fun so please have a go. All responses welcome at footy-bible.co.uk

footy-bible.co.uk fun teasers

Can you name the 5 countries beginning with B that England have played an international football match against?

Footy-Bible Fun Teaser

Since the inception of the Champions League in the 1992/93 season, 9 English clubs have featured. Can you name them?

Armchair Sport: Chelsea's potential great manager.

Armchair Sport: Chelsea's potential great manager.: So it appears Andre Villas-Boas actually does know what he is doing. I for one am not surprised. Despite what many of the disgruntled player...

AVB fights back.

So it appears Andre Villas-Boas actually does know what he is doing. I for one am not surprised. Despite what many of the disgruntled players would tell you, I have been impressed with his background and his feats in Portugal.

Things have not been easy fo the relatively young Chelsea manager. He has inherited an ageing squad with players within touching distance of becoming over the hill. Many seem unwilling to conform to his ideas. Yet last night saw a demolition job of Spanish side Valencia which saw Chelsea qualify from their Champions League group as winners. I was delighted for AVB.

It takes a brave man to come in and implement the changes he has. Before AVB, people would whisper that Frank Lampard had become to cut a confused player in an England shirt yet he would get selected based on his wage packet. Since AVB has started not playing him suddenly everyone has realised that neither England or Chelsea are as reliant on him as they first thought. In fact we will be more surprised now if Capello even selects Lampard. Regardless what John Terry's influence over the England manager.

Sure AVB plays a dangerous game with his defensive line pushing up the pitch but the only reason this tactic has been flawed is because at the moment Chelsea do not have a centre back either quick enough or rational enough to make it work. For years I have been saying John Terry lacks a yard of pace needed at the highest level. Although he is undoubtedly a decent centre back, when he hasn't had a partner with some pace it has highlighted the issue. Alongside Rio Ferdinand and Terry was fine but we all remember how exposed England were when Terry played with Matthew Upsom. Another decent player is David Luiz but he needs to know when and when not to try to win the ball. He gives away to many freekicks in key areas.

Even the way in which AVB has handled the Drogba/Torres situation has to be applauded. Two world class strikers individually yet together it's a case of to many chiefs and not enough Indians. We shouldn't be surprised. How many great forwards thrown together just haven't clicked. Even some of Chelsea's recent players have fallen into that bracket. Shevchenko was a Roman Abramovich signing that didn't work out. Yet for the money they paid him you can't help but think Luis Suarez or Carlos Tevez would have represented greater value for money.

Some of the untouchables are not getting enough game time. From AVB's point of view so what. He has a 3 year contract and I believe he will see that contract out. Which players from the ones he inherited can say they will be at Chelsea as long as that. None of them. The player power has been fimly snatched back and handed to it's rightful place. With the management. Even Mr Chelsea has had to fall in line.

The exit door does beckon for the transfer requests of Anelka and Alex whilst reports also link Kalou and Bosingwa with January moves away from Stamford Bridge. Villas-Boas knows who fits his plans and who is surplus. He is trying to reduce the average age of the club and the form of Sturridge, Romeu, Ramires, Meireles and Mata show that AVB is on the right lines. He has the team going forward to his liking. One or two reinforcements in January will help tighten things up at the back.

The calls for AVB to have his stay as Chelsea manager cut short were ludicrous and the owner has finally learnt that by constantly changing management isn' the way to build success. Given a chance AVB could create a dynasty similar to Sir Alex Ferguson's. Certainly he has time on his side. A word of warning to Chelsea fans though. Stick behind your manager because you will only realise his worth once he has gone. A look at how Porto finished in their Champions League group is testiment to that. For those of you that don't know they finished 3rd behind Zenit St.Petersburg and Apoel Nicosia. That's right the team that won everything before them last season under AVB, didn't even make the Champions League knock out stage.

As their season stands Chelsea will not be to disappointed. They are in a Champions League place which gives them a platform to push as high as possible and in winning their group they have avoided Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Apoel Nicosia and will only worry about getting AC Milan in the draw. They have also got a favourable draw in the FA Cup as well. For a team in transition that is not a bad season. OK it's not where they want to be but I don't think we can properly judge AVB's performance until next season. He will have lost more of the fringe players by then and built his team. He might even have helped England finally retire Terry and Lampard.

Armchair Sport: Luis Suarez reaping what he sows

Armchair Sport: Luis Suarez reaping what he sows: Now I'm sorry Kenny Dalgleish but you are on your own on this one. I would go as far as to say that Dalgleish's prickly attitude towards the...

Luis Suarez reaping what he sows

Now I'm sorry Kenny Dalgleish but you are on your own on this one. I would go as far as to say that Dalgleish's prickly attitude towards the media hasn't helped the situation.

Luis Suarez is undoubtedly an extremely talented and intelligent footballer. The problem with him is that he appeals every marginal decision as if he had been subjected to an assault. Our first real taste of Suarez wasn't nice. I won't ever forget the disgraceful scenes in the tunnel as Gyan missed the penalty conceded by Suarez in the Ghana v Uruguay match in the world cup. It was a picture that disagreed with everything I love about sport.

Then Liverpool signed him and I thought maybe I had misjudged him. He certainly can play but with him he brought his cheating side. He was the main reason Jack Rodwell got sent off for a perfectly decent tackle in the Merseyside derby. There was no surprise to see Suarez act like he had been shot. Then their is the ugly incident where he is accused of racially assaulting Patrice Evra. Just because Suarez was "clever" enough to do so in a foreign language does not make things acceptable.

Because of the way in which he protests so furiously about anything, officials have seen the matches afterwards and have seen his exaggerations for themselves. So now their first thought is "is Suarez trying to con us again". Away from home the crowd will make this harder for the poor referees to determine. All that has happened is Suarez has become a victim of his own reputation.

Against Fulham he showed his true colours when in defeat he reacted by gesturing to the crowd. Now if that was Joey Barton or Wayne Rooney we would be critical but I heard one expert say he hoped Suarez got away with no punishment. I'm sorry but how else is he supposed to learn. You can't go around flexing the rules and technical cheating and not receive any repercussions or expect opposing fans to like it. Plenty of players get abuse from fans but that doesn't give them the right to aim hand gestures at them.

If anything it is referees that need protection from Suarez's antics rather than him needing protection from other players. When you watch a match the commentary struggle to bit their tongues afraid of calling him a cheat. That is how bad he has got though. If Dalgleish can't see that then either the blood shot eye is causing his sight to fail or he has just become so deluded that he is choosing to live in ignorance. Tell your star player to play how he can play but stop all the simulation and cheating. Simples.

Armchair Sport: Who is Liz Jones

Armchair Sport: Who is Liz Jones: What I surprise I awoke to this morning. My attention was drawn to the most ridiculous article in the Daily Mail. For those of you that have...

Who is Liz Jones

What I surprise I awoke to this morning. My attention was drawn to the most ridiculous article in the Daily Mail. For those of you that haven't seen it, Liz Jones slams sport in general and how it drives wedges into school kids.

Now on the face of it Liz Jones doesn't look like she knows what excercise is. To much reality TV and believing writing about the faceless "celebrities" is an important thing, has made this jumped up woman semi famous herself. With out other people to berate, her own life smacks on the pathetic.

My eldest child has Autism and goes to a special school. In the summer they have sports day. There is no races and no emphasis on winning , its the taking part. Their are chilren in wheelchairs whose faces light up with joy at achieiving even minor feats. My son wouldn't do they Christmas play but was happy to participate in sports day.

At the end of the day those that can teach will teach. Those with singing ability will sing. If a young girl takes an interest in throwing then who are we or who is Liz Jones to knock them down before they have even had ago.

The argument that there is no women in this years Sports Personality of the Year isn't a popularity contest. Simply no woman in main viewed sport has had a good year. Swimming and Triathlon just don't get the viewing that womans Golf, Tennis or even Football. At the World Athletic Championships the women were largelt disappointing but this is being used as an incentive for the women to push harder for next year. An Olympic year in our home country will see more than usual coverage of the lesser sports and there lies the problem.

If some people were to watch these women in their sports instead of eating packets of Dairy Milk, they may see we have a host of female athletes (all sports) to be very proud of. While Liz Jones is attempting to rid the world of sport maybe she hasn't considered all the benefits around the world that our male and female sportsmen give to so many people.

I'm not going to name names but hospital visits, football schools set up in war ton countries, relentless activities for charity. Previously I had cringed at the paraolympics but maybe Liz Jones should view some of the individuals in that. Some have bodies and conditions not condusive to sport yet inspire millions.

Liz Jones goes on to say that all women athletes appear masculine and vulgar yet would you put the young Tennis, Athletics and Gymnastics stars in that bracket. No we are not being perverted but Jessica Ennis is one of the best female athletes yet she is as small and petite as they come. All Liz Jones has done is admit to the world that she isn't a sports women because she was lazy at school and couldn't be bothered to take part. Yet that is the point. All we want to see is men and women trying their best. Winning is a bonus.

Just because Im a celebrity has come to an end it doesn't give Liz Jones the right to publish such a stupid article just so someone in the public eye might actually remember her for something.

All the swimmers, athletes, footballers in fact anyone thinking of taking up a sport remember one thing. While you are at school have fun and try the variety of sports they offer. If you find you are good at one by all means take it a little seriously. Thankfully these days with the amount of testing that is done, you shouldn't need to bulk up as much as Fatima Whitbread had to. Don't forget she competed against a drug filled East German contingent as well as the traditional throwing countries.

It saddens me that one woman can be allowed to publish something so wrong. If we had more youngsters interested in sport then scenes like those seen across the country during the riots can be avoided. That's what the top sportstars are. They are the people who challenge disappointment and failure into positives, into determination to be bigger, faster, stronger and faster. Those words would make a good motto for some organisation.

It is fair to say 2011 wasn't the best year for British sport in general. The omission of any women on the SPOTY list highlights this. But into 2012 and the whole country is looking forward to a lot of sporting events. Why doesn't Liz Jones educate herself and write about some of the female achievements rather than her own flawed physique.

What annoys me the most is if a man had written that article he would be accused of sexism and so on yet this woman who to my mind nobody has never heard of has just wrote some gibberish sentances together in the vain hope somebody will remember her. We won't. Unlike all the famous women and men it has to be said whose actions do the talking and inspire us all. Except you Liz Jones. Homer Simpson and Jim Royal are your heroes.

Armchair Sport: Man United and England fingers crossed this week.

Armchair Sport: Man United and England fingers crossed this week.: It is a huge week in the life of Manchester United and England. There can be no denying that since Wayne Rooney's red card against Montenegr...

Man United and England fingers crossed this week.

It is a huge week in the life of Manchester United and England. There can be no denying that since Wayne Rooney's red card against Montenegro, the striker has suffered a loss of form. Even before the Montenegro match the media had leaked the story about Roney's dad and the alleged match fixing. I predicted a reaction duing that match but not the one that we got. I tongue in cheek suggested he might get 3 goals not 3 game ban for a silly sending off.

Thursday sees the appeal from the FA to UEFA to get Rooney's 3 match suspension reduced to what could be only 2 matches. Should his suspension be reduced then he has to go to the Euro's. His availability for what is shaping up as a crucial final group game will undoubtedly give his international team mates a boost. Or will it.

Holding a sceptic view of the draw, plus the fact that France's post World Cup form has been amazing, unbeaten in 16 matches and with Sweden not ever losing a competitive fixture against England and a realistic state of play could see England on just 2 points from the first 2 games. With a partizan crowd and a gruelling journey before the final match against Ukraine and suddenly England are not so guaranteed to even qualify from the group. Has Rooney shown he can handle that kind of situation? You would have to say no.

What if Capello selects a youthful squad as expected and they go on to beat the French and Swedes. OK you can play fringe players in a final griup game if nothing rests on the outcome but who would Capello drop if England do get to the knock out phase. I appreciate that Rooney has contributed to the qualifying campaign and when on song he is England's greatest player by some way. He also is the man opposing managers want to send centre backs out to wind up. Let's be fair. It isn't always just defenders that wind Rooney up. Remember a winker from Portugal?

Strangely while Rooney faces the prospect of missing out on the Euro's though suspension, since then you could argue that the English strikers stepping up for consideration has not been coming. Aston Villa pair Darren Bent and Gabby Agbonlahor seemed definates in the England squad leading up to the Spain and Sweden friendlies. Now club form has dipped mixed with an injury here and there and the pair don't look the same players. What was the statistic on Bent at the weekend. He touched the ball about 20 times in 90 minutes of football. Stats can lie but that tells me he did not do good enough holding the ball up or finding space for team mates to find him. But Bent will score goals with the supply from the England team.

Fulham's Bobby Zamora is playing pretty well and links well with the team yet as we assume Capello is going with a flexible 4-3-3/4-5-1 then Zamora does not score enough for a lone front man. Danny Welbeck may get a run in the Manchester United side due to injuries but not only is he on an injury comeback of his own but he is also not a prolific striker, but one who can hold a ball upfront. Then we have to consider Jermaine Defoe who has taken avantage of Rafael van der Vaart's injury and shown Harry Redknapp and Fabio Capello why he should be in the frame even just as an impact sustitute.

The one English striker who has performed consistently this season for club is Daniel Sturridge. His international opportunities have been limited however but Sturridge will surely go even if he is only cover for Ashley Young. The advantage Rooney has above all of his rivals is that he can do everything they can do yet he also has an x-factor about him. He can do the unthinkable, the sublime and leave us all awestruck.

How does all this affect Manchester United I hear you ask. Well like I said it has been obvious that Rooney hasn't been his brilliant best recently. I have no idea what the situation with his father is, and the pending appeal may be affecting him. On Wednesday night his club will need him to provide the cutting edge in ensuring United gain the point they need for Chamions League knock out qualification. Should Rooney not be up for the match or allow another hostile atmosphere and stern defenders kicking him, then United could unbelievably suffer the humiliation of the Europa League. They then travel back to Manchester to prepare for a home match against a buoyant Wolves team which will not be an easy game.

A perfect week for United will see an away win at Basle to progress in the top European competition, Wayne Rooney successfully appeal his 3 game suspension, and close the gap to Manchester City to just 2 points. City themselves may be out of the Champions League so on a slight down mood and play a tough match away to Chelsea who themselves have just found a little form. What odds on Daniel Sturridge scoring against his old club?

The time has come to get off Rooney's back a bit. He carries the expectation of a whole nation on his shoulders and the hopes of the biggest club in club football. His life has been scrutinised since he broke into the Everton team and scored his wonder goal against Arsenal. He has had to deal with his family letting him down and a wife who is detemined not to be outshone by her talented husband. Already at a young age he has provided so many moments of skill and entertainment that we watch over and over again. Now I am praying that UEFA do the right thing and reduce his ban so the world can enjoy a few more. Luckily Sepp Blatter has no control in this decision which is a relief to us bitter English. UEFA are a sensible organisation and common sense should prevail. We all hope.

Armchair Sport: Assistant Referees - Help or hinderance

Armchair Sport: Assistant Referees - Help or hinderance: During the heat of the moment, I'm sure we have all shouted at the TV screen at some bizarre referee decision. Yet somehow the linesman or r...

Assistant Referees - Help or hinderance

During the heat of the moment, I'm sure we have all shouted at the TV screen at some bizarre referee decision. Yet somehow the linesman or referee assistant's avoid the wrath of us the fans.

Yet increasingly those men employed to assist the referee are actually making things harder for the referees. The Manchester United v Newcastle match first really highlighted this when the assistant awarded a penalty after the referee had first awarded a corner. Then yesterday another incident invovling Newcastle saw the linesman not signal for what was a clear red card for David Luiz. There was also a second goal for QPR which was wrongly ruled out for offside.

For to long the referee has become an easy scapegoat but since Sir Alex Ferguson's rant regarding referees fitness levels, everything that can be done has been tried and tested to try to get consistency. OK we still get Gary Cahill being sent off in one match and David Luiz only receiving a yellow for the same offence. Nowadays referees are full time professionals and they see pyschologists and dietitions, everything to help the referees keep up with play and make correct decisions.

At the moment they are being let down by their part-time counterparts and there are some experts calling for all officials to be made full time professional. Certainly that will improve standards but it's not going to stop human error or linesmen wanting to make names for themselves. I'm not saying that their job is easy aand they have a split second to make the judgement but decisions are being given that nobody else on the pitch are appealing for.

Where was the referees assistant during the Blackburn Rovers game where they scored from the corner that never was? I know they are supposed to help but being away from the action the way they are they don't get the same feel for the match as the referee does.

All we are asking for is basic decisions being correctly given or not. I'm a sure their performance would improve if there was some bonus system awarded on how they have assisted correctly or not. Something has to change because at the moment the referee's assistants are not doing what is expected of them and seemingly quite happy for the referee to handle all the flak.

I feel we have beome to hard on our officials. I remember seeing a clip of the bad idea when some bright spark thought attaching the referees with a microphne would be a good idea. That particular match was against Arsenal and nobody told the Aresenal players about the experiment. In one heated exchange Tony Adams was seen calling then referee David Elleray a cheat. Elleray's response. "We may be useless but we are not cheats". They are just trying to do a difficult job none of us would do. The linesman (referees assistants isn't a worthy title) need to do better.

Armchair Sport: England must make Ukraine their 2012 base

Armchair Sport: England must make Ukraine their 2012 base: This may come as a disappointment to some fans, but to others it won't be a shock. England will not win the 2012 European Championships. The...

England must make Ukraine their 2012 base

This may come as a disappointment to some fans, but to others it won't be a shock. England will not win the 2012 European Championships. There I said it. May Fabio strike down upon me with furious anger blah blah blah.

Now my new found sense of pessimism isn't because England drew a difficult group. Previous opening games against France have not always gone our way and Sweden just don't do competitive defeats to England. All things considered and England will face a must win game against Ukraine to finish off the group. Don't get me wrong there are groups I am glad to avoid (B for instance) and if England can get a positive result against France, then the test of the group matches should stand England in good stead for the knock out phase.

My concerns come once again with the England management. Yes I know I have banged on about Capello's lack of English and coheirency and I have slated him for the way he handles some of the senior players and key situations. The Wayne Bridge story springs to mind and the subsequent fiasco surrounding the England captaincy. Now Capello's stubbornness has seen him book England into a training base in Poland and after the Euro 2012 draw, England will play all their matches in Ukraine.

So what I hear the uneducated cry. Before we tackle logistics lets just rewind to South Africa 2010. Remember the error in choosing a training base way in advance. Facilities were not complete and in hindsight another venue would have been a better choice. England play two of their matches in Donetsk which is 930 miles away from the training camp. That is a 1860 mile round trip. The trip from Krakow to Kiev for England's second match is only 540 miles one way. That's still 1080 miles of travelling which you don't need before and after what will be a tough test against Sweden. Finally England will have another 1860 mile trip to take on Ukrraine which is shaping as a must win game. Three group games and a total of 4800 miles travelling time.

That is sure to have an effect especially on the back of a long Premier League season plus players who have had European committments. When asked if he would consider changing the training base Capello said "absolutely not". Now I would question what facilities he feels are that necessary to risk all the needless travelling his hasty planning has caused. Most players will be fit and as long as there is a place to eat, sleep and train what else really matters. What would UEFA do? Actually I can tell you. They booked accomodation in Ukraine months ago. The travelling to Poland to watch matches won't be as much of an issue because they are not playing.

Now at this point you would think Sir Trevor Brooking or someone from the FA would tell Capello to see sense. Don't they pay his wages? Doesn't that make them his boss? They should be telling him to change. Somehow you don't see that happening. You can bet your life that Germany, Holland and Spain won't face travel like that for their group matches. That is why those three are serious contenders (provided Holland and Germany escape group B). With the tavelling involved, comb ned with a poor competitive record against Sweden and a French team with a point to prove and a partizan home Ukrainian crowd, will England even qualify.

Armchair Sport: Euro 2012 draw

Armchair Sport: Euro 2012 draw: What a fiasco just to draw 14 balls out of a bag. From a waffling Ukrainian Prime Minister who nobody bothered to translate , to the Poland'...

Euro 2012 draw

What a fiasco just to draw 14 balls out of a bag. From a waffling Ukrainian Prime Minister who nobody bothered to translate , to the Poland's Got Talent rejected singing and dancing team, and the parading former stars with no video clips to introduce them, the Euro 2012 draw nearly made us fall asleep. Until it eventually got started.

In group A Poland will start against Greece whilst Russia take on Czech Republic. Both fixtures could be tight affairs. The key matches will be each teams second match. If Poland can get a positive result against Greece it gives them something to play for in their next match against Russia. The Czech Republic will need to start scoring goals as only Greece themselves can win tournaments that way. I don't think Poland will get out of the group but I don't think they will be disgraced. The final matches may be to settle who finishes bottom as Poland take on Czech Republic whilst a who finishes top match pits Greece against Russia. Either way Russia and Greece to qualify.

When Holland and Denmark were drawn in group B I text my mate to tell him Germany would get them to. It has happened before and their is no love lost between the three countries. Holland and Denmark start off against each other while Germany face Portugal. Before the draw the Germans were my tip for the tournament and I think they will beat Portugal. I also think Holland will see off Denmark. The next match sees Holland take on Germany and that would make a fitting final. Portugal will fancy beating Denmark. This group could easily end up with the winner having only 5 points but I think Holland and Germany will progress. Germany will take on Denmark in their final match while Holland will be hoping their clash with Portugal isn't important to qualification. Holland and Germany to qualify.

Spain take on Italy in their first match in group C while Ireland will need to get something from their Croatia fixture. Ireland's second match is against Spain and will need to be at their brilliant tournament best to get anything from this match. Italy and Croatia will both know that their game could prove crucial for either qualifying because I think Ireland will beat Italy in their final match. With Spain seemingly destined to qualify that may give Croatia a chance in their last match. Italy could end up bottom of the group and Ireland could go on one of those runs and qualify. Ireland and Spain to qualify

Maybe not quite the draw the English hoped for and with our first match against France, we will quickly know how good Capello's team is. Ukraine start out against Sweden and then play France while England's second game is against the old European Championship foe Sweden. France finish off with Sweden while England will face Ukraine. In reality this is a really tight group and all 4 teams will currently fancy qualifying. I think France and England will qualify (with no conviction). Now the big press build up can begin.

Armchair Sport: Europa League - Things get interesting

Armchair Sport: Europa League - Things get interesting: I think it's fitting this morning to say well done Stoke. The first British team to qualify for this season's Europa League last 32. As plen...

Europa League - Things get interesting

I think it's fitting this morning to say well done Stoke. The first British team to qualify for this season's Europa League last 32. As plenty of Premier league sides will testify, they have made themselves tough to beat on this European adventure and have made the knock out round without losing a game and with a match to spare. Were they Arsenal we would be raving about that level of performance.

OK their league form hasn't been what we have come to expect from them but neither are they involved in a relegation dog fight. Captain Ryan Shawcross has had a spell on the sidelines which surely saw him miss the England squads to face Spain and Sweden recently.

Elsewhere Tottenham's European hopes now hang in the balance. They travel to Shamrock Rovers needing to win. Any other result will see them eliminated. Should Tottenham win, they are then relying on PAOK Salonika beating Rubin Kazan while Rubin Kazan just need to draw to qualify. Although Harry Redknapp may not mind going out of this competition if he intends to mount a serious challenge fo the league title, a trophy is still a tophy in my eyes.

Martin Jol has shown his European experience to take Fulham to the brink of qualification. The equation is simple for Fulham. Should they beat Odense at home then they will qualify. Any other result for Fulham leaves the door open for Wisla Krakow who host group winners FC Twente. Fulham will be without Andy Johnson for this match but should still have enough to reach the knock out phase.

Poor Birmingham. I mean that sincerely. For a Championship side they have acquitted themselves admirably in Europe this season, yet it seems they may finish agonisingly short. Assuming that they win their home tie against NK Maribor, that would give them a total of 10 points. With both the top teams currently already tied on 10 points, they face each other to decide the group and could play out a draw with Braga and Club Brugge qualifying. However should Braga win away at Club Brugge and Birmingham win then Birmingham's better head to head record against Club Brugge will see them qualify. All to play for for Chris Hughton's side.

Celtic's task in their final game is simple. They have to beat Udinese away in a winner will qualify match. A further sign of how low Scottish football has fallen?

Armchair Sport: Premier League 3rd-5th December predictions

Armchair Sport: Premier League 3rd-5th December predictions: There are some interesting fixtures to watch out for this weekend. Many questions remain. Who will be the next Sunderland boss? How long can...

Premier League 3rd-5th December predictions

There are some interesting fixtures to watch out for this weekend. Many questions remain. Who will be the next Sunderland boss? How long can Villas-Boas survive with bad results? How further into relegation can Steve Kean talk Blackburn into? Anyway this is what I think for the following fixtures.

Saturday's early kick-off see's Newcastle take on Chelsea at St. James's SportsDirect.com Arena. A fortunate draw away at Man United last weekend will give Alan Pardew something to motivate his team with. Chelsea are clearly struggling with the ageing stars finding the change of system to much and I don't see Newcastle losing this one. A draw will be the likely outcome.

Moving on to the 3 o'clock kick-offs and Blackburn face their first cup final at home to Swansea. Makes you wonder why managers don't treat all 38 games as cup finals. Anyway confidence could not be any lower at Ewood Park and Swansea have proved a decent Premier League addition. With Vorm producing virtuoso performances on a weekly basis and Sinclair providing the attacking spark, an away win or at worst a draw is what I think will happen. Not good enough for Kean.

Manchester City have a nice easy home match against Norwich. Despite Norwich looking very organised and a match for anyone on their day, I'm not going to say Man City should be in any danger. Barring human error, devine interference or a stomach bug epidemic sweeping through the Ethiad, Man City will win this easily.

QPR take on West Brom at Loftus Road and I can't see beyond QPR here. West Brom will defend well and make things difficult but the home side should have just enough fire power. Apologies but not much more I can say on that match.

Tottenham face Bolton at White Hart Lane. This is the kind of fixture Tottenham have to win if their title challenge is to be taken seriously. For whatever reason Bolton haven't performed this season and I just hope a Tottenham win doesn't cost Owen Coyle to dearly. Tottenham to win.

Wigan have the unenviable task of taking on Robin van I mean Arsenal. The only crumb of comfort for Wigan will be that confidence may have had a slight dip at the Emirates after the league cup exit to Man City on Tuesday. That plus a long away trip for Arsenal may give Wigan a chance early doors. The longer Arsenal are level though and you make them favourites to create something. I think Arsenal will have enough to bounce back from a disappointing week.

The late match on ESPN pits Aston Villa against Manchester United. If Villa can get off to a good start then Crystal Palace have shown what is possible if you put the effort in. I expect an inspired Shay Given to have a decent game and McLeish to install defence and work rate but despite all those factors Sir Alex Ferguson won't be happy with the draw at home to Newcastle and will want a response after defeat to Palace. United should win. Just.

On Sunday Everton take on Stoke at Goodison Park. With Stoke in mid week Europa League action, it is a good time for David Moyes's men to take them on. Much will depend on whether Everton can take their chances. I expect a tough game with plenty of tackles and a keenly fought contest which sees a narrow Everton victory.

Sky Sports Super Sunday sees Wolves take on managerless Sunderland. Probably the least attractive of the weekends fixtures, yet everyone will be watching to see how Sunderland respond to their new manager who is bound to be in the stands watching. A draw would suit Sunderland and the senior players need to stand up and be counted.

The final act to the weekends Premier League action takes place on Monday night at Craven Cottage. Fulham take on a Liverpool team high on confidence after decent results against Chelsea in the league and cup and from their last league match against Man City. However if Fulham are to avoid being sucked into the relegation mire, this is the kind of fixture they have to get something from. Although it may be a long shot I think Fulham could cause an upset here. This is the hardest one to call so maybe a draw is the sensible choice but something is saying a Fulham home win.

Armchair Sport: Hughes is right at Stadium of Light

Armchair Sport: Hughes is right at Stadium of Light: It seems the writing was on the wall for Steve Bruce even before the final whistle last Saturday. The Gary Speed news story just delayed the...

Hughes is right at Stadium of Light

It seems the writing was on the wall for Steve Bruce even before the final whistle last Saturday. The Gary Speed news story just delayed the announcement for a few days. Despite the bookmakers making Martin O'Neill the favourite to succeed at the Stadium of Light does not mean much if the Sunderland owner has already sounded out a replacement.

It seems Ellis Short favours Mark Hughes for the post. If todays stories about Hughes travelling for an interview are to be believed then it seems a foregone conclusion. Hughes may have left previous club Fulham on bad terms but that has been his only "failure" in management.

He revitalised an ailing Wales side almost making Euro 2004 during the process. Only defeat in a playoff with Russia stopped an great achievement. Then he moved to Blackburn. Some would say the club hasn't been the same since he left. In his first season he avoided relegation and reached the semi finals of the FA Cup. In his second season Blackburn finished 6th and again made a cup semi final in the League Cup. He also spent well during his time here. David Bentley (£500,000), Stephen Warnock (£1.5m), Ryan Nelsen (free), Christopher Samba (£400,000) and Roque Santa Cruz (£3.5m). The third season saw them finish 10th in the league, go out in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup and lose another FA Cup semi final. He finished his last season in 7th place.

In 2008 he became manager of Manchester City. Although they only finished 10th in his first season they did also reach the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup. More shrewd signings in with the likes of Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta joining the returning from a miserable Chelsea spell Shaun Wright-Phillips. Then came the money men and Robinho, Bellamy, Given and de Jong all signed during that first season. Over the summer he added Santa Cruz, Barry, Tevez, Adebayhor, Kolo Toure and Lescott to his squad. They finished the season in 5th out of the Champions League places and lost in the semi final of the League Cup.

Next came a call from Fulham. Although the split seems on bad terms, Hughes left Fulham in 8th place and qualified them for the Europa League. Ok there are critics who will say he draws to many matches but his formula works and his record speaks for itself. He will know a few of the Sunderland players from his Man United days.

As a player Hughes won honours with 3 different clubs and played for Barcelona and Bayern Munich back in the 80's. He is a man who will get the defence working as a unit, install some guts to the midfield and allow the creativity to flow.

It is a possibility considering Blackburn's plight that Pederson and Samba could be persuaded to rejoin their former boss at Sunderland. From the players available at City maybe Wayne Bridge would welcome a switch. Also there are many U21 stars desperate for first team games leading towards the Euro's. Darron Gibson and Danny Welbeck from Manchester United spring to mind while Ryan Bertrand is another from Chelsea.

There is a decent squad to work with should Hughes inherit the managers job. Gordon, Westwood and Mignolet are all decent keepers and Brown and Richardson are good defenders. O'Shea needs to find some consistent form and fitness. Bardsley and Bramble when they play exceed their levels of potential.

Their midfeild isn't bad with Cattermole, Sessegnon, Larsson and Gardner but needs something extra. Above all else Sunderland need to replace Darren Bent's goals. A guaranteed 20 goal a season man. Rodallega is another who may be a consideration. Bendtner just isn't going to make it in English football but if Hughes can get Wickham firing on all cylinders then things could be on the up.

Were Roque Santa Cruz not on a season loan and had Craig Bellamy not signed for Liverpool on a free in the summer then I'd say they were both Hughes players. Bellamy excelled for Wales under Hughes and again performed for him at Man City and Santa Cruz's Blackburn form prompted Hughes to take him to City where an unlucky run of injuries have seen him now playing on loan in Spain.

If Hughes can get 4 or 5 signings in during the transfer window combined with giving the rest of the club a much needed confidence boost then Sunderland should be safe and can look to plan for a future. As for Hughes once he was touted as a possible successor to Sir Alex Ferguson. If that is to be the case then this is his chance to show his managerial credentials.