The Ballon d'Or Shortlist

The nominations for the FIFA awards for the best player and manager in the world of football were announced on Tuesday. These awards are voted for by the managers and captains of each FIFA national team along with a selection of respected journalists. Wonder if Noel King got a vote? Did Robbie Keane pick someone from one of his fourteen boyhood clubs? Probably. Anyway the list containing the top 23 players and 10 managers were announced and there were more than a few surprises, particularly on the managerial side.

The Ballon d'Or

There used to be two awards to denote the best player on the planet, nearly always won by the same player. From 2010 onwards the FIFA World Player of the Year was merged with the Ballon d'Or to create the singular FIFA Ballon d'Or. The race for this has been a bit of a non-event recently. Lionel Messi has been the undisputed candidate in many of the recent awards, winning the previous four. This year though, Barcelona have been replaced as the best team in the world and Messi may not be crowned as 2013's star performer.

FIFA released a list of 23 players who are in contention for the now undisputed title of best player on the planet. There were a few surprise omissions.

David Alaba for a start. He's played consistently well in a Bayern Munich side where some of the more attacking players get the credit and matured into one of the best left backs in the world. Aside for winning a couple of trophies with them, he's also carried a poor Austria side almost to the World Cup Playoffs. Anyone who saw them when they played Ireland over the qualifiers will know that he carried that team.

Staying in Germany, the duo of Marco Reus and Mario Goetze have also a fair claim to have been included. Both played key roles in helping Dortmund to the Champions League final before Goetze left for their conquerors Bayern. With them he's enjoyed a decent start while Reus has really stepped up to ensure Dortmund remain a force.

Arturo Vidal who's had another good year at Juventus and for Chile could arguably have had a case for inclusion but probably doesn't get enough media attention to warrant inclusion. I'm not entirely sure why Eden Hazard made the list ahead of his Chelsea team mate Juan Mata. The Spaniard had the better season last year and will have every right to feel aggrieved at being overlooked. It seems everyone is overlooking the diminutive Spaniard later.

Now to the actual list. Done in order of rough odds to win the prize rather than my personal opinion.

The also-rans (23 - 21)

23. Yaya Toure - Manchester City, Ivory Coast
I think Toure's a fantastic midfielder. Probably the best in England, but he hasn't had the best 2013. It started well, he impress in the African Cup of Nations in January but at club level he failed to perform consistently for City as their quest for a second league title in a row fell dismally short. Toure has a tendency to go missing from time to time. When he does show up he dominates games and is fits the age-old cliche of being 'unplayable' on his day. To be a serious contender for awards like this, he needs to cut out these anonymous days he has become prone to.


22. Eden Hazard - Chelsea, Belgium
Possibly the most surprising inclusion on the list. His debut season at Chelsea was solid, but not exactly one to set the world alight. His form with a brilliant Belgian side has been good though. Hasn't lived up to his massive potential yet but there's still time.


21. Thiago Silva - PSG, Brazil
He's a good defender. Arguably the best in France, and a mainstay in the heart of the Brazil defence that will attempt to win the World Cup on home soil next summer. I've no real problem with his inclusion on this list but he's only there because there's 23 names on it. Were it cut to 20 he'd find himself out of it.

Worthy of  a place on the list (20 - 11)

20. Luis Suarez - Liverpool, Uruguay
Definitely worthy. His very long odds are not a reflection of his footballing ability but more a reflection of the general contempt fell for him throughout the footballing world. His tendency to go down rather theatrically in the penalty area has been noted throughout the world along with his absolute disrespect for his club during the summer. Not to mention all the other things. On the pitch, he's been brilliant. One of the most naturally gifted footballers in the world right now but my does he carry a lot of baggage.


19. Manuel Neur - Bayern Munich, Germany
He's not had a  busy year. Playing in a Bayern team which just doesn't have to do a lot of defending must get boring from time to time. But unlike Joe Hart, who may suffer from similar levels of boredom, Neur rarely seems to be caught out when called upon. Being realistic, the award is never going to be given to a goalkeeper. Unfair perhaps but that's the way it is.


18. Andrea Pirlo - Juventus, Italy
The only member of a fine Juventus team on the list which is a surprise. They won a second consecutive Scudetto last season and made the last 8 of the Champions League. Pirlo is 34 now and looks as good as he did when he won the World Cup with Italy in 2006, followed by a Champions League with Milan ten months later, being instrumental to both sides. He's still 'the' midfielder for both club and country.


17. Xavi - Barcelona, Spain
Its a measure of the ridiculously high standards he's set over the past five years that Xavi's inclusion on this list is a bit of a surprise. This was the first year since 2007 that he's ended without a Champions League or a major international tournament victory. He's had a quiet year by his standards but still a better one than most of those around him.


16. Edinson Cavani - Napoli/PSG, Uruguay
Eternally linked with both Real Madrid and Chelsea over the summer, Cavani decided to follow up another excellent season in Seirie A with Napoli by moving to PSG where he obviously feels his best chance of Champions League glory lays.


15. Mesut Ozil - Real Madrid/Arsenal, Germany
A fantastic footballer. Will no doubt be higher on the 2014 version of this list but suffered the indignity of having to live in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid for the most part of this year. His move to Arsenal, where he is the main man, combined with his form at international level and Germany's prospects in the World Cup should make him a more legitimate Ballon d'Or contender in 2014.


14. Robin van Persie - Manchester United, Holland
Manchester United's only representative on this list. He had an excellent 2012/13 season and won his coveted first Premier League title. Recently he has also become Holland's record goalscorer, securing another World Cup finals appearance where his side could be dark horses. At club level, things don't seem to be going as smoothly under David Moyes as they did under Alex Ferguson. Still he's had a great year. A second consecutive Golden Boot in England was just rewards for this.


13. Radamel Falcao - Atletico Madrid/Monaco, Colombia
Brilliant for Atletico as they finally topped their local rivals to win the Copa del Rey at the Bernabeau last May. Falcao, like Cavani, decided the financial clout carried by one of the French superpowers would represent the best chance of progressing his career further. A decision I feel he may come to regret in time. For fans it's a shame to see a player of his quality not in the Champions League this season. Last year he was the only player from outside Barcelona and Real Madrid to earn a place in FIFA's best XI. This won't be the case this year as Bayern players should feature quite heavily.

12. Phillip Lahm - Bayern Munich, Germany
The Bayern and Germany captain, he's had an excellent year. Moved from right back to centre midfield by Pep Guardiola at the beginning of the season, Lahm has not looked at all out of place in his new role. A fine player, in his prime at the moment and fully warranting a place on this list. Fabio Cannavaro is the only defensive player to have won a Ballon d'Or since 1996 which makes the prospects of Lahm being recognised very slim indeed.


11. Thomas Muller - Bayern Munich, Germany
One of the many Bayern Munich Germans who have had just amazing years in 2013, winning seemingly everything they want. Muller contributed 22 goals to Bayern's treble winning cause last season, he finished as their top scorer in all competitions. A bit of an unsung hero for them.

The minor contenders (10 - 6)

10. Bastian Schweinsteiger - Bayern Munich, Germany
Another Bayern/Germany star who's had the season of his life in terms of accolades. He's not the Bayern player likely to win the biggest individual award available however. That lies with a Frenchman who plays slightly further up the pitch. The tendency is to give the award to more attack-minded players so Schweinsteiger will have to be contempt with the truck load of medals he's picking up.


9. Gareth Bale - Tottenham/Real Madrid, Wales
In a year where he's broken the world transfer record and the €100 million barrier, you might expect Bale to be higher up on this list. His cause probably hasn't been helped by the fact that he virtually hasn't kicked a ball since Tottenham missed out on the Champions League at the tail end of last season. Like Suarez, I don't think his lack of respect for his club has particularly endeared him to anyone within the football community. The British media still seem to think he's among the top three in the world, this list however gives a more reasonable estimation of his standing within the world game in 2013.


8. Robert Lewandowski - Broussia Dortmund, Poland
Had he got his way, he'd be the 7th Bayern player on this list. For now he's the only Dortmund player on the list following an impressive year in which he scored an amazing four goals to knock Real Madrid out of Europe. His failings/disinterest at international level aside,  Lewandowski had a stellar year. He broke the 30 goal barrier for the second time in a row, contributing 10 to Dortmund's Champions League campaign.


7. Andres Iniesta - Barcelona, Spain
The other half of Xaviesta had one of his worst seasons in terms of goals but his best ever in terms of assists, creating a staggering 22 goals for Messi and his other team mates. Barcelona have conceded the European limelight to Bayern this season and Spain to Germany but Iniesta has still impressed. Like his other half, he has set some very high standards over the past five years of Catalan dominance. They haven't really grabbed the headlines this year as Barcelona's star has dwindled but his name alone seems to earn him a place on this list. And surprisingly short odds too.


6. Arjen Robben - Bayern Munich, Holland
Scored the winner in his man of the match performance in the Champions League final, laying some awful ghosts to rest in the process, helped Bayern to an unprecedented treble and has scored four times in nine international games for Holland, helping them become the first European nation to secure a spot in Brazil. All-round pretty good year for the Dutchman. His one problem is his injury proneness. Robben played only sixteen Bundesliga games last season due to a variety of injuries and this is what prevents him from being spoken of in the same breath as the guy who plays on the opposite wing to him.

The Actual Contenders (5 - 1)

5. Neymar - Santos/Barcelona, Brazil

Player of the tournament in the Confederations Cup during the summer, Neymar completed his move to Barcelona earlier on in the year and had settled in well at the Camp Nou. He'll probably win one of these awards someday, he's only 21, but I'd be surprised if it's this year. Outside bet for the top three though.

Practice for the real thing next summer?

Like I said, I would expect Neymar, given his career progress so far, to win at least one Ballon d'Or before he retires.  He'll have about ten years now in which to do so. He was amazing at the Confederations Cup last summer. The pressure of playing in front of 75,000 expectant Brazilians didn't seem to affect him in the slightest as he stole the show. The World Cup on home soil will provide a true test of his nerves. Expect him to be a regular feature among the contenders for years to come.

4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - PSG, Sweden

Probably the most universally popular among the best players in the world, Zlatan's attitude has earned him cult hero status among football fans but shouldn't be enough to earn him a first Ballon d'Or at the age of 32.

We can always pretend..

 He's a wonderful player who has produced some utterly magical moments in the past twelve months. Still not quite at the level that Ronaldo and Messi are operating, due to the fact that he's an entirely different type of player and playing in a sub-standard league to his rivals. Its a shame that we probably won't be graced with his presence at the World Cup next summer. His Sweden side are average at best and will struggle to overcome Ronaldo's Portugal in November.


3. Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid, Portugal

How annoyed must Cristiano Ronaldo be right now. Since his sole Ballon d'Or victory in 2008, Messi has won the last four. Now this season, Barcelona's dominance of Europe has seemingly ended, paving the way for Ronaldo to wrest the individual spotlight back, but once again he seems set to miss out on the coveted title of 'Best in the World'.

Cristiano may have to wait to get his hands on another Ballon d'Or

Himself and Kaka are the only footballers still active in Europe to have won the Ballon d'Or. Ronaldo is the only one of these two with a legitimate chance of adding to his collection. I think his best chance may have come last year when he carried Madrid to a La Liga title victory over Messi's Barcelona. This year he hasn't won a thing at club level and now has been cast out of the spotlight by the signing of Gareth Bale. The award is rarely won by players who go the year without a trophy at club or international level and this year is unlikely to be an exception. Ronny's best chance to 'officially' be the best in the world may have come and gone.


2. Lionel Messi - Barcelona, Argentina

Yep. Four times winner Lionel Messi is NOT the bookies favourite for the 2013 Ballon d'Or. This is probably a reflection on the season Barcelona had rather than him personally. A mere 75 goals for club and country, no Champions League title, no Copa del Rey, just a paltry La Liga crown, Pichichi trophy and European Golden Boot. Ladies and gentlemen, the Lionel Messi era is officially over.

Oh these old things??

Except it isn't. In fact I think he still has every chance to make it five in a row in January. It's just not as clear cut as it has been the past few years. He's still the best player in the world and quite probably the best player of all time. We can look forward to him hopefully putting his World Cup hoodoo to bed next summer by which time he may well be on his way to a sixth consecutive Ballon d'Or.


1. Franck Ribery - Bayern Munich, France

The Bayern Munich left winger is currently the bookies favourite to break the Messi stranglehold on the title and be crowned the best in the world in 2013. Ribery has enjoyed the best season of his career for both club and country and won the Champions League best player award for his efforts in Bayern's victory despite not scoring in the tournamen which is unusual for an attacking player. Its this recognition of his achievements this season combined with the consensus that its time to give it to someone other than Messi that leads me to believe that Ribery will probably take the award this year.

Ribery may have another accolade to add to his 2013 haul

Individually, Ribery proved to be more of a creator than a goal scorer last season. He provided 21 assists in all competitions, chipping in with 10 Bundesliga goals in 25 games. He's not a talismanic superstar in the same way that the previous three names are but much more of a team player. Bayern are a well oiled machine, they don't rely too heavily on any one player. Ribery is marginally the best among a very good group of players rather than the outstanding player in a team built around him. One thing that can stop him winning is the share of votes his team-mates are sure to earn. Messi will have minimal trouble from his Barcelona pals, but there are six Bayern players on this list and all sure to earn some portion of the worldwide vote. Similar to 2010 when Messi took it ahead of Inter and Spain sides who lacked an outstanding star.

Manager of the Year

The managers list in full: Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez, Antonio Conte, Vicente del Bosque, Sir Alex Ferguson, Jupp Heynckes, Jurgen Klopp, Jose Mourinho, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Arsene Wenger.

Quite a few questionable names here. We'll start with the national managers, Scolari and del Bosque managers of Spain and Brazil respectively, neither deserve to be on the list. Scolari has had five competitive games as a manager this year. Del Bosque has had a very average year with Spain, especially considering the resources he has at his disposal. They made heavy weather of qualifying for the World Cup and sank to a 3-0 capitulation in the Confederations Cup final in July. If an international manager must be on the list then why not Lars Largerback, the man who has led Iceland, a country with a population of 350,000 people, to the brink of World Cup qualification.

Simeone being overlooked for Mourinho is criminal

Of the club managers, Mourinho is there purely on name alone. He's done nothing in 2013 but lead a star-laden Madrid team to a trophy-less season, falling out with several players in the process. Arsene Wenger is another case of a name going before actual managerial accomplishments. His 2013 was average although I suspect his 2014 may be slightly better. Diego Simeone being overlooked is a joke. He's turned Atletico Madrid from a laughing stock to a side which is genuinely threatening La Liga's Classico duopoly. Ferguson and Heynckes only managed for half the calendar year in 2013 but are the two favourites for the gong with treble winning Heynckes being the clear frontrunner with the bookies. Deservedly so.

Classico Match Report

El Classico, one of the highlights of the footballing calendar is only guaranteed to come around twice a year. Recently though, it has tended to happen more often than that. The 2010/11 season saw an incredible four clashes between Barcelona and Real Madrid, in three competitions, in the space of seventeen days. The following season threw up six Classico matches in total. Last season disappointed football fans, Spain's two grandeur sides clashing a mere four times, the final league meeting being a dull non-event, both sides focusing on impending European clashes with the title virtually done and dusted.

Saturday presented us with the first meaningful clash of the Spanish giants in over a year. At the Nou Camp that night, Messi and Ronaldo both scored a brace as the sides battled to a 2-2 draw. This time however, the spotlight was very much on the two marquee signings in either side: Neymar who arrived at the Camp Nou from Santos for €57 million during the summer and of course Gareth Bale on the Madrid side.

The battle of the support actors. Neymar vs Bale

Rumours in the 24 hours prior to kick off suggested Carlo Ancelotti would be giving Bale only his second start for Madrid in the Classico. These proved correct as Bale formed a three man attack with Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria. Barcelona brought back Mascherano at centre half, Pique proved fit enough to start and Cesc Fabregas started alongside Messi and Neymar in attack. Both sides formations were pretty similar, false nine seems to be the preferred choice for these type of games right now.

Formations: Barcelona vs Real Madrid

Under Mourinho for the past three seasons, Real had developed a habbit of playing a totally reactive game against Barcelona and this proved no different here. Ancelotti brought in Varane at centre half which allowed Ramos to push forward slightly into an anchoring midfield role. Similar to what Mourinho often used Pepe for in this game. Barcelona just played their normal game as they often do. Messi was playing on the right wing with Cesc as a false nine in the centre. The crowding in there prevented him from having a real impact on the game.

Ancelotti obviously instructed Di Maria to play a similar role but his tendency to drift out to his regular right side was obvious. He, like Fabregas, seemed to get forgotten as Madrid's big two of Ronaldo and Bale were looked to for attacking drive. Albeit with very limited success in a Barca dominated first half.

As someone who is sick to death of the Gareth Bale hype, I was personally delighted when Neymar opened the scoring. It followed some great work from Iniesta who had a really good game. Madrid didn't really create anything in the first half and were overwhelmed in midfield. Modric and Khedira, brilliant as they both are, were no match for the two headed passing monster that is Xaviesta. Messi missed a golden chance to put the game to bed before half time. By his standards he had a very quiet evening.

Real looked considerably more dangerous after the break, thanks in no small part to two substitutions. Illarramendi replaced Ramos in the middle and Karim Benzema came on for Bale. Benzema going up front gave a whole lot more balance to the Madrid attack. Di Maria moved over to his preferred right side. Benzema nearly scored when his thundering shot bounced back of the crossbar, Ronaldo was denied a very strong claim for a penalty with the score still at 1-0.

Alexis got the clincher in breathtaking fashion

Madrid's period of superiority came to nothing and the Catalans clinched the win with a beautifully executed chip from Alexis Sachez, sent on for Cesc Fabregas moments before, to send the Camp Nou crowd into raptures. Right on ninety minutes Madrid got the goal that their second half efforts probably deserved, Ronaldo broke away from Dani Alves at speed and played an inch perfect pass to substitute Jese Rodriguez who's shot was straight at Valdes but wormed its way under the keeper for 2-1.


Takeaway from El Classico

Barcelona are the superior team in Spain. We knew that before kick-off. Only two points dropped all season leaves them six clear of Real after only 10 games. In a league where so few points are dropped by the leading sides, this is a massive margin. Barcelona will be more worried about the challenge of the 'other' team in Madrid now as Atletico are their nearest challengers in terms of points. I think Madrid can take some positives from this. The gap between the sides is not as big as I suspected it might be before kick-off. However I also got the impression that Barca have a couple of extra gears in hand over their rivals. For now, the momentum, the bragging rights, the balance of power and the points are all very much in Catalonia.


Here's a visualisation of the impact both Neymar and Bale had on their Classico debuts. The Brazilian quite clearly having the more enjoyable evening of the two. Courtesy of StatsZone.

This Weekend In The Premier League

Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal

Flamini is very important and Gnabry is very good.

Last week against Norwich Mathieu Flamini was taken off injured and Arsenal lost control of the midfield. This prompted the realisation that Flamini, and none of the stars further up the pitch may just be their most important player. This theory gained further credibility over the weekend. The Frenchman suffered rotten luck again and limped off after just 9 minutes. Aaron Ramsey took up his role in the centre of Arsenal's midfield alongside Arteta. Ramsey is a fantastic footballer, one who has come a long way in the past twelve months but in terms of defensive work rate and tenacity he does not bring to the team what Flamini does. Ramsey is a box to box midfielder. Flamini, a pure defensive workhorse.

Arsenal v Palace

Serge Gnabry was Flamini's replacement, he played very well on the right wing. He's unique among the galaxy of attacking midfielders at Wenger's disposal is that he's a pacy winger as opposed to a number ten. Walcott aside, the rest of them are rather similar. Advanced playmakers. A very good plan B to have if they are ever struggling to break a team down.

Palace played a pure containment game with a very narrow defensive line, and Bannon and Thomas doubling up as wing backs. I don't even know why Marouane Chamakh was allowed play but he was involved in probably the harshest red card of the season for Arteta. Palace had the man advantage for most of the second half but were so far adrift in terms of ability, it was really not that significant. They are one of the worst Premier League teams I've seen in a good few years. Perhaps since Wolves in 2011/12 or Burnley in 2009/10.

Man United 3-2 Stoke

Backs against forwards.United still have no midfield

United finally got the bit of luck they were due. The way things have been going recently it would not have been a surprise to see Stoke hold out for the win or even a draw but like many teams who came to Old Trafford during the Ferguson days, their resistance was broken late on.

United lined-up with Kagawa on the left again. I still think he's wasted out there although he was heavily involved in the game, his link-ups with Patrice Evra in particular have been important for United recently. On the opposite flank, Nani contributed very little. United have always used wingers, have always been a crossing team and this shows no signs of changing under Moyes.

United vs Stoke

Ironically, given the massive height advantage the Stoke defenders have, it was three crosses and three headers that led to the United goals. Nani's sole significant contribution was a perfect ball onto the head of Rooney who's attempt rebounded to van Persie. The second equaliser came from a corner and the third a cross from Evra.

This was essentially an attack versus defence exercise. Stoke were leading for virtually the whole game up until the 80th minute and were content to sit back on this. United's biggest weakness was in midfield. Jones and Evans were suspect again and they need to do a lot better but they are being exposed all too often by a lack of any real substance in midfield. Fellaini hasn't done it so far. Cleverley was given a golden chance on Saturday to put his name back on the first choice team-sheet but let the game pass him by for the most part. He didn't win a single challenge for the whole game. At the big teams, centre midfielders need to take games by the scruff of the neck and dominate them. Yaya Toure does this. Aaron Ramsey too. United need this.

Southampton 2-0 Fulham

Southampton are the Barcelona of the Premier League.

Southampton have become the best team to watch in the Premier League right now and their excellent form continued on Saturday as they brushed Fulham aside with ease. Going forward they play with such pace and fluidity it's incredible to watch at times. They completed nearly three times as many passes as Fulham. The way they like to play out from the back was emphasised by the sixty passes shared between the triangle of Boruc, Fonte and Lovren.

They play a 4-2-3-1 formation. Wanyama and Schneiderlin are the two holding midfielders in the middle of the park. These two play a supporting game for those further up the pitch and rarely look to get forward into the box. Their lack of presence is made up for by two dynamic young full backs in Nathaniel Clyne and Luke Shaw. Both love to attack down the flanks and join pretty much every Southampton attack. Adam Lallana was brilliant as he has been quite often lately. And Lambert started in place of Osvaldo, doing his chances no harm with a goal and an assist.

"Ricky Lambert.. He's going to Brazil!" Is what fans at St Marys were singing on Saturday. He should do. And he shouldn't be Southampton's only representative in the England squad in my opinion.

Chelsea 2-1 Man City

A tactical victory for Mourinho

I predicted before the game that both managers would adopt a cautious approach going into this game in the hope of avoid defeating and I wasn't totally wrong although I can't say I expected the game to be as it was.

Jose was a bit more adventurous than I had anticipated. He played a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation with Schurrle and Hazard as his two wingers, joining Fernando Torres in attack. The aim was to sit back and utilize the pace of these to catch City on the counter attack when they pressed men forward. Juan Mata was left out again. The harsh reality is that despite being an excellent footballer, he just doesn't fit into Mourinho's system at all and his days at Stamford Bridge may be numbered, especially if he continues to miss out on games like these. Samuel Eto'o and his lack of place were are also not desirable when playing counter attack football. They executed their game-plan very well. Hazard had a fine game. Torres will get the plaudits however, he gave a very energetic performance and finished with a goal and an assist.

Pellegrini left Negredo out of the side in favour of another defensive midfielder. Javi Garcia was brought in to play the holding role. Fernandinho retained his place but was given a bit more freedom to get forward at times. Yaya played his usual role. Pellegrini also went for Nasri and Silva as his wide players. He selected  a side that would control possession in midfield. Unfortunately this played right into Chelsea's hands. The home side were content to let City have the ball in front of them and hit them on the break whenever they got the chance.

Chelsea vs City

It was a big risk giving Demichelis his debut on an occasion like this. He did look rusty at times. It's always very obvious when a centre half pairing hasn't played together before. There was a clear lack of positional understanding between him and Nastasic in the opening half of the game. It is worrying for them how reliant they are on Vincent Kompany in defence.

In the end, the result was decided by a disastrous mix-up between Hart and Nastasic which led to Torres grabbing a winner that his efforts deserved. Joe Hart seems to make so much more mistakes than any other top rung keeper. It will be interesting to see how long Pellegrini can justify picking him for. His mistake on Sunday has led to a three point swing between these two title chasers which could prove crucial come the end of the season.

Preview of The Weekend's Two Table Top Clashes

Its a key weekend in both the Premier League and La Liga as the probable top two in both divisions come the end of the season clash in both leagues. Arsenal and Atletico fans may disagree, but the fact is Chelsea and Man City are the bookies favourites for the Premier League title right now. Barcelona and Real Madrid will always carry that tag in Spain.

Barcelona vs Real Madrid

Saturday, 5pm, Camp Nou.

The biggest club game in the world. Absolutely no one can dispute that, Barcelona and Real Madrid. The Mourinho/Guardiola sub-plot is history but Ronaldo/Messi is alive and well, joined now potentially by Martino/Ancelotti, Pique/Arbeloa who had a very public spat on Twitter recently, and possibly Neymar/Bale in the battle of the summers big signings. 

The game the world stops to watch.

A week ago Barcelona would have been looking at this game as the chance to knock Madrid out of title contention and put the league to bed very early on. They had a 100% record going into last week's away tie with Osasuna. However they slipped up, failing to score for the first time in 64 league games, leaving frustrated with a 0-0 draw. Still a win would put them six points clear of Real and, considering how rare it is for either of these sides to drop points, that is a huge margin.

Gerardo Martino faces one selection dilemma at centre back. Gerard Pique has picked up a knock on Tuesday against AC Milan and is now doubtful. With Javier Mascherano still absent, Carlos Puyol may be called on again at centre back. Puyol is approaching his 36th birthday and his appearance in the match at Osasuna last week was his first for seven months. Regardless, Martino is unlikely to have a fully fit centre back to partner Marc Bartra. 

In midfield, I think Xavi Hernandez, who's played two games already this week, will sit this one out and Cesc Fabregas will drop back into the midfield. Fabregas had been occupying Messi's role in his absence but the Argentine started against Milan on Tuesday and will do so again on Saturday evening, looking for the goal that will take him above Alfredo di Stefano in the all-time Classico goal charts. It will be a first Classico appearance for Neymar on the left wing too.

Carlo Ancelotti left Isco out of the side for the home game against Juventus this week. Up until now his formation had been a fairly regular 4-2-3-1 formation. On Wednesday he opted for Illarramendi instead of Isco. Illarramendi is a much more defensive minded player and he formed a three man centre midfield along with Modric and the criminally under-rated Khedira. I think he'll go with this option again in an attempt to counter Barcleona's dominant midfield and strangle the life out of the game.

Elsewhere, Madrid only have Xabi Alonso as a long term absentee. There is unlikely to be a place among the starters for Gareth Bale, unless Ancelotti is forced to bow to pressure from upstairs to field the world-record signing in such a big game (may well be the case). With Di Maria playing so well, such a scenario would be very harsh on him. Iker Casillas, who sadly is only selected for Champions League games now, will likely make way for Diego Lopez in goal.

Likely line-ups: Barca (4-3-3) vs Madrid (4-3-2-1)

Expect Busquets to stay deep and do a defensive job on Ronaldo. Dani Alves likes to venture forward and Barca won't want to risk being caught out on their right side. Similarly, Illarramendi may have the job of following Messi for the evening, particularly when Barcelona are in possession.

It's one team in reasonably good form against another in fairly bad form by their standards. Madrid have already lost to Atletico at home this season and another defeat here will leave them with a huge mountain to climb in the title race. And that is more than likely what they will have to face.

Verdict: Barcelona win, fairly comfortable. 3-1.

Chelsea vs Man City

Sunday, 4pm, Stamford Bridge.

Far more difficult to predict than El Classico, 'El Cashico' pits two teams, who've both had very up and down seasons so far, also against each other for the first time under their new managers. Interestingly both of them managed in Spain last year and the pair have a bit of history, most notably Mourinho calling Pellegrini a 'loser' for failing to achieve anything during his sole season in charge at Real Madrid and claiming Malaga, where Pellegrini most recently managed was a step down that he would never take himself.

Rivalry renewed on Super Sunday

These two are currently 2nd and 4th in the league table having both had very up and down starts to the season. Chelsea haven't been playing well but still winning. City have been playing very well recently, but managed to lose two games already and only recently got their first away win. It isn't really a crucial game in terms of the title race just yet as a lot more points will be dropped in the Premier League than La Liga, but neither manager will want to lose and this could contribute to a bit of a non-event.

Ashley Cole's return means Mourinho will effectively have a full strength squad to pick from. Up front and on the right wing are the only two positions up for serious debate. Samuel Eto'o got off the mark for Chelsea last week against Cardiff but Fernando Torres went one better and scored two in Gelsenkirchen in midweek as Chelsea notched up an impressive 3-0 win away to Schalke. I think he played Torres on Tuesday with Eto'o already chosen as a started for Sunday.

On the right Mourinho has a choice between Mata, Willian and Schurrle as an attacking right winger. Alternatively he could bring Mikel into the side and move Ramires to the right side in what would be a very defensive move but one that can't be ruled out. Most likely option is Willian who sat out the mid-week game and has impressed in his last two league games.

Equally, City have two spots in particular up for grabs. The two full-back spots. Pellegrini basically has two options. Richards and Clichy or Zabaleta and Kolarov. The first being the safe defensive option. The later being the attacking option. As a neutral, personally, I hope its Zabaleta and Kolarov marauding down the flanks on Sunday afternoon. However given the absence of captain Vincent Kompany, Pellegrini might feel his side will require more defensive minded full backs in what is a must-not-lose game rather than a must-win. I hope he goes with the attacking pair.

I think the rest of the team basically picks itself at this stage. Yaya and Fernandinho in the centre with the Brazilian sitting deep while his partner rampages forward. Jesus Navas on the right wing and David Silva in a left sided attacking midfielder role. Aguero playing just off Negredo up front.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1) vs City (4-2-2-2)

Last week against West Ham, City played a very narrow game Aguero and Silva were key in them getting the win This week they will need extra fire-power to beat a side like Chelsea and they should look to exploit them down the wings with their full backs the same way they did to United in the derby. Chelsea will be glad Ashley Cole is back and their biggest chance of keeping City out will be the aerial ability of Terry and Cahill at the back. Negredo and Aguero will prove a handful. Chelsea will look to use the counter attack and for that reason I don't expect Mata to start.

As I said before, it's must-not-lose for both sides and games like these often fizzle out into boring affairs. 

Verdict: Depends a lot on what the managers want from the game, 0-0 draw is probably the most likely result.

Premier League Power Rankings: October 22nd

What's happened lately Premier League land? Lots and lots of really good goals have been scored, flares all of a sudden have become very popular at English football grounds, an 18 year old Belgian/Albania/Kosovan/non-Englishman has become the most important player at Man United, Arsenal are basically Barcelona and every singe official is of course out to get Jose as usual. The poor guy.

Fun times. Now Power Rankings.

20th Crystal Palace

Not a lot of good things to say right now. They are destined to go down and probably the best they can hope for is to beat Derby's all time low score of eleven points in 2007/08 and go down with some dignity. They will need a drastic improvement to accomplish even that. 1-4 at home to fellow strugglers doesn't bode well. And it looks like Ian Holloway will be gone sooner rather than later.

19th Sunderland

Pretty dismal stuff from Sunderland on Saturday. The progress they appeared to have made under Kevin Ball has seemingly been undone as new manager Gus Poyet looks to build his survival project from scratch. Sunderland had looked decent in their recent home defeats to Liverpool and Man United, boosted by the return of talisman Steven Fletcher and the undeniable 'new manager effect' that clubs often benefit from, I really thought they could a get a result at Swansea but they looked worse than ever and collapsed in the second half to a 4-0 loss. They're in real trouble.

18th Cardiff

More interesting things  are happening off the pitch in South Wales at the moment. Conflict between manager and owner, with his position being undermined is never a good thing for morale at a football club and Vincent Tan would do well to keep his nose out of the managers business if he wants his club to remain a Premier League one beyond this season. Rumours he has been offering 'suggestions' to Mackay regarding his team selection are very worrying for Cardiff fans. Jose Mourinho once said that if he ran the board, the club would be bankrupt and if Roman Abramovich took training they'd be relegated. Stick to what you know.

Mackay is under pressure now

On the pitch, they looked for a while like they might get a result at Stamford Bridge on Saturday before Chelsea put some extra gloss on the scoreline late on. Not a whole lot to worry about, they were 2nd best as expected but will have to do better in the more winnable games. Away to struggling Norwich next is a start.

17th: Norwich

Some positive signs to take despite the fact they got beaten 4-1 in a game that will be remembered by football of breathtaking quality from their opponents. The scoreline, like that in the Chelsea-Cardiff game, was a little bit harsh on the losing side. They gave Arsenal a good game at times. The strong and powerful midfield trio of Tettey, Howson and Fer looks good but is being let down by a weak frontline. Neither Gary Hooper or Ricky VW are setting the world alight right now. Fortunately for Norwich they won't be playing against teams as jam packed with flair as Arsenal every week. Not time to press the panic buttons just yet.

16th: West Ham

Big Sam Allardyce shocked us all with his 'revolutionary' tactic of playing no-striker against Spurs last week and then gave himself credit in his post match interview as if he was the first manager ever to do this. It was the first piece of tactical versatility he has ever shown in his career and actually had very little effect as West Ham benefited from two lucky goals and some slack Spurs defending to claim a famous win over their wasteful London rivals.

Sam tried this creative idea again at home to Man City on Saturday but, as is the case with many genius tactical ideas, the opponents found a way to play against them. In the case of City it was just to be much, much better than what is a poor West Ham side at the moment.

15th: Fulham

Two wins in a row and suddenly it does not look so bad for Fulham. Not only did they do a good job in getting an away win at Palace, they went out and hammered the bottom side in a performance that will only serve to boost morale amongst the players. That goal by Kasami was a bit decent too. Incredible technique and to do that at such speed was so very impressive. It was followed up with another impressive strike from Steve Sidwell. Pressure on Jol should be eased for now but they haven't got the nicest run of fixtures coming up so the recent improvement will need to continue if they are to avoid sliding back down into danger.

14th: Stoke

I saw Stoke play some nice counter-attack football against West Brom on Saturday. It was refreshing. They're passing the ball a lot too. Hughes is making them a lot more likeable than Pulis had them. Very very lucky to escape with a point from the weekend. However these points will all add up and Stoke will be sticking around for some time yet.

13th: Aston Villa

Pretty poor and unimaginative against Spurs, I expected them to at least make them work for a victory. That said it was a lot better than the way they basically bent over for Gareth Bale FC last year and lost 4-0 in the middle of a horror run of form. Best thing that happened them this week was Benteke's return from injury. The sooner he rediscovers his form of last year the sooner Villa will be able to push into the top half of the league table. Good side with lots of potential but need to start living up to it soon.

12th: Newcastle

Eleven on eleven they had the measure of Liverpool and could well have gone on to win the game but the unrelaible Yanga-Mbiwa went and dragged down Luis Suarez in front of goal, earning himself a red card and Liverpool a game-changing equaliser. From there on they did absolutely brilliantly to re-take the lead and eventually resist a lot of late pressure to cling on for a valuable point. Pardew deserves credit for his tactics aimed at exploiting the Liverpool back three. He used Ben Arfa in the middle with Remy and Gouffran on the flanks. Remy in particular got in behind Glen Johnson quite often and could have punished Liverpool. Yohan Cabaye was excellent. Cheick Tiote was just as effective alongside him.

The brilliant Yohan Cabaye, back in love with the Toon army.

Read more of me drooling over Cabaye in the match report. Newcastle looked good on Saturday. They've been a little inconsistent this season and are huge underachievers in my opinion. Like Cardiff, they atmosphere at the club isn't great at the moment owing to the fans discontent with the owner and this could really stifle progress in the immediate future.

11th: Hull

Poor Danny Graham can't get a break. He's now dangerously close to going a whole calendar year without a goal and his cause won't have been helped by what looked like  a painful injury at Goodison Park on Saturday. Not only that but his replacement, Yannick Sagbo, scored within 15 minutes of coming off the bench. Hull are easily the best of the three promoted sides this season. They have a real Premier League quality spine to the side and are destined for the promised land of all newcomers to this league: mid-table mediocrity.

10th: Manchester United

The term 'on another day' is used a lot when teams suffer a disappointing result and it seems to be more popular at Old Trafford than anywhere else this season. On another day United would have killed West Brom off in the first half and won that game. On another day United would have got the equaliser against Liverpool. On another day United would have put away one of the many golden chances they created against Southampton or at least held out for another two minutes. Okay they created a decent amount of chances but they allowed Southampton to create more, failed to kill off the game and paid the price.

The first good thing the Moyes-Woodward axis has done.

You can't pick one single thing Moyes did wrong on Saturday, his team selection was faultless, sticking with the prodigious Adnan Januzaj in the side, whom the club have done well to tie down to a new contract. However Moyes has essentially turned a side that won the league at a canter last season to one that looks like it will struggle to finish in the top 4 this year and things like that do not reflect well on him. Rafa Benitez took over Jose's treble winning Inter side in 2010 and was sacked five months later with the side struggling in 7th place. Moyes will be given more time than this but his reputation may take a serious battering. The managers chair at the most-supported club in the world will be hotter than any other.

9th: West Brom

Following on from some good results against much more well-funded sides than their own, Steve Clarke's men will be disappointed, and a little aggreived not to have taken all three points from the Brittania on Saturday. The Baggies were denied a very clear penalty in the first half when Charlie Adam tripped Youssouf Mulumbu in the area. To be fair to Howard Webb, once he saw the incident again he came out and apologised for his mistake. Look at that, 3 seconds of video footage was able to show a referee what the correct decision should be. Imagine a world where it was possible to perhaps utilise this lavish technology to make the game better!

Back to West Brom, they played slightly better than the home side overall and probably deserved a win. Things look much better for them now than they did a month ago. Credit to Steve Clarke.

8th: Swansea

I think they're the biggest movers in these rankings this week. Destroyed Sunderland in the second half on Sunday without really being at their fluid best and finally got their first Premier League penalty since the days of Brendan Rodgers. A very surprising statistic given that they are quite an attack minded team. It was Wilfred Bony who scored from the spot on Saturday, his first league goal since the opening day. He's a good player and hopefully has found his scoring boots now. Swansea look to be taking the Europa League pretty seriously this year. A double header with Kuban Krasnodar is next on the agenda for them on that front, surrounded by some very winnable games in the league along with the Premier League's first ever Welsh derby.

7th: Southampton

Never mind the state of affairs at United right now, it's a mark of how far Southampton have come that they came to Old Trafford on Saturday, faced a United side that weren't that bad, played their own game, had more possession, more passes and more shots than their hosts and came away with a deserved draw. It wasn't an inspiring underdog performance, Southampton came for a win but had to settle for a point.

Came, Saw, (sort of) Conquered: Lovren's grin says it all.

Pochettino is awesome. His side play some really lovely football and have a solid defensive spine with Lovren, Fonte Wanyama and Schneiderlin in front of Boruc in goal who've all been outstanding. Add to that Adam Lallana who can't be overlooked for England for much longer, ditto for Jay Rodriguez, and Dani Osvaldo who's showing signs of coming good at last and I'm really excited to see what this team can accomplish this season

6th: Spurs

Part of being a title-contending team is clocking up these routine away victories throughout the season. Spurs weren't at their best against Villa, I don't think they've been at their best all season in fact, but still came away with three points from what looked a potentially tricky away game, particularly following the international break. On the subject of the international break Andros Townsend is hardly going to escape a mention here. He showed now signs of the dreaded international hangover that seemed to have struck Danny Sturridge this weekend and opened his Tottenham account for the season on Sunday.

All is right on planet Andros right now

Townsend was given the opportunity by AVB at the start of the season and my hasn't he taken it, confining record signing Erik Lamela to the warmth of the bench so far, he'll be a candidate for Young Player of the Year come the end of the season and will have a World Cup with England to look forward to. He's still only 22. Plus he can sing.

5th: Everton

Like Spurs, more of a routine win this week than an eye-catching blood and thunder performance, Everton saw off Hull at Goodison aided by a brilliant goal from the returning Steven Pienaar with his first touch of the ball. Gareth Barry was the centre of attention on Saturday following two rather nasty challenges he was lucky to escape dismissal for. On the subject of Barry, it's worth pointing out how instrumental he's been at Everton. He's had an effect of similar level to that he was able to produce at Aston Villa, more noticeable than when he's in a team loaded with superstars like he was at Man City.

James McCarthy was the star of the show this week however. He ran the show from midfield with an excellent performance. Its important to have midfield players who compliment each other well and him and Barry do just that. Ross Barkley, playing slightly further forward had a bit of a quiet afternoon. As did Romelu Lukaku, showing the first signs that he may actually be human.

4th: Liverpool

After Southampton and obviously Arsenal, Liverpool are worth a mention when it comes to the Premier League's 'most improved team' category. Infinitely better than the mess Rodgers inherited from Dalglish at the start of last season, he's put his own mark on the team and they are much better off for it.

 I think their lofty league position, two points off the top, does flatter them slightly. The only other team from last season's top 8 they've faced is Man United at home and they didn't get much of a challenge from them. Over the next two months they will face the other six and a lot more will be known about how good this side actually is. With Suarez leading the line, Daniel Sturridge who will score for fun even when  he's playing poorly and Coutinho returning, I reckon they'll be just fine.

Gerrard reached a century of Premier League goals

Steven Gerrard also deserves some appreciation for notching up 100 Premier League goals, becoming only the fifth midfielder to do so (Giggs, Scholes, Lampard, Le Tissier). It capped off what has been an amazing week for the England captain. A true legend.

Rodgers, for the first time on Saturday against Newcastle used two 'proper' full backs in his 3-5-2 formation. Glen Johnson and Aly Cissokho rather than Jordan Henderson who moved to centre midfield. Newcastle, Loic Remy in particular, did get some joy in behind the wing backs and I suspect a better team (or one with eleven men) will be able to exploit this system to greater effect.

3rd: Chelsea

Eight games into the season and finally one of Chelsea's strikers managed a goal, a nice little finish from Samuel Eto'o helping them to a 4-1 home victory over Cardiff on Saturday. Eden Hazard chipped in with two also and Oscar scored a screamer to contribute to a scoreline that flattered them slightly. The first goal shouldn't have stood but the Cardiff keeper should probably have been sent off a few moments before so no real issues of injustice there.  Jose threw a strop when the referee warned Ivanovic over the time-wasting and not any of the Cardiff players - he had a point, but now he'll also have a ban for the huge game with Man City next week. Chelsea are not at their best yet but still winning games and will be very much in the title hunt.

Eto'o broke his Chelsea duck at the weekend

Eden Hazard scored twice on Saturday but isn't really becoming the player that I thought he was when they fought off the Manchester clubs for his signature. He hasn't exactly set the world alight yet but is still only 22 so not exactly in his prime. Perhaps he's been overshadowed slightly by the brilliance of Mata and Oscar and not enjoying the role of the man like he did at Lille two seasons ago. He's a very talented player though and should reach his potential.

2nd: Manchester City

Approaching something like their best following a very stop/start beginning to the campaign. City took West Ham apart with relative ease, went asleep slightly and let the Hammers back into the game but killed off the game towards the end securing what was surprisingly a first away league win of the season.

CIty are hitting their stride in the league 

The versatility of the squad was particularly evident on Saturday. In their previous two victories against United and Everton, along with the defeat to Villa, the majority of their attacks came down the flanks. On Saturday it seemed everything went through the middle. This wasn't really a surprise. Kolarov, Zabaleta and Navas were missing with Richards, Clichy and Nasri all starting. Most of the attacks when through the trio of Yaya Toure, Silva and Aguero with just as much success. They really can get you from anywhere.

For the record, the gap between them and the leaders, in terms of this list, is smaller than it has been at any point since the Wenger Boys took top spot all those weeks ago.

1st: Arsenal

Some fan took the liberty of uploading the videos of the Arsenal goals from Saturday to PornHub. Witty, although they weren't totally out of place. Wilshire's goal in particular was essentially footballing porn. Ozil got two (one a rare header) and Ramsey got his ninth of the season. Two less than the rest of his entire Arsenal career combined. A man in form. Form that earned him comparison to the great Zinedine Zidane from some observers over the weekend.

Ozil and Ramsey are dominating the Premier League

Flair is the buzzword here and this squad is absolutely loaded with it, especially now that Santi Cazorla has returned to a side already boasting Ozil, Ramsey, Wilshire and Arteta. It will be impossible for Wenger to fit them all in every week so he will have to manage his resources wisely. Shouldn't be a problem for a manager like him. Amazing to think there were very loud calls for his head only a few months ago. The turnaround at this club has been monumental.

It's not all roses for the Gunners however, there are a few kinks in the armour to address. Arsenal did not look the same side when Mathieu Flamini came off in the first half on Sunday. Norwich came into the game a lot more and overpowered Arsenal in midfield. For all the flair of the home side they lacked a bit of steel. Their defensive record is also not as good as it should be. At the moment it doesn't matter because they're scoring freely and so can out-score pretty much anyone, but that may not always be the case.

Match Report: Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool

Newcastle 2
- Cabaye 23
- Dummett 56
Yanga Mbiwa sent off 40

Liverpool 2
- Gerrard 42(pen)
- Sturridge 72

Barclays Premier League, St. James' Park, Newcastle, 19/10/2013

Newcastle-Liverpool is a Premier League fixture steeped in history. Two huge, well-supported clubs, both were considerable forces in the pursuit of Manchester United during the division's early years. They played out a classic 4-3 at Anfield in March 1996 which seriously dented Newcastle's title hopes. Remarkably the same scoreline was repeated when the two clubs met again the following season, once again defeat consigning Newcastle to the runners-up spot in the table. Those days of chasing glory seem a far cry now however. Last year Liverpool won 6-0 at Newcastle as the Toon slid towards a very real relegation scare.

Aly Cissokho made his first Premier League start for Liverpool, playing as a left wing-back in the now regular Liverpool 3-5-2 formation. Glen Johnson returned to take up his position on the opposite flank while Henderson moved inside. Coutinho's continued absence meant Victor Moses was once again played out of position as a no.10. Newcastle started with Ben Arfa as a 'sort of' false nine with Remy and Gouffran on the wings. 

Liverpool began by controlling possession, Gerrard and Henderson sitting in front of the back four playing a short and quick passing game, forcing Newcastle to chase them. They attempted to hit Newcaste on the break but their best chances came from set pieces where Newcastle's defence looked totally at sea. Suarez, Skrtel and Sakho all winning free headers in the box. Danny Sturridge started very poorly and didn't really improve as the game went on, despite changing his boots. Some days strikers just have days like these when absolutely nothing comes off and it was Sturridge's turn for a stinker today.

Newcastle dug in early on, Tiote and Cabaye in particular doing a great job in midfield of nullifying the Liverpool attack. Cabaye himself broke the deadlock on 23 minutes with a slow, bouncing shot from 30 yards. Mignolet wasn't helped by the bounce right in front of him and the slippery surface but will still probably feel he should have kept it out. Cabaye looks to be back in favour with the Toon army recently with his sins of August apparently forgotten. He's a quality player.

They really took control of the game after this. Cabaye was excellent in midfield, everything went through him. He and Cheick Tiote compliment each other perfectly. Cabaye has amazing vision and range of passing. Plus he can shoot. Tiote doesn't have this talent but makes up for it with an amazing level of tenacity and work-rate.

A long ball over the top of the Newcastle defence found Suarez goal-side of Yanga-Mbiwa. The striker felt a hand on his shoulder and hit the deck. Not a dive. Penalty to Liverpool and a straight red for the French defender as the last man. Steven Gerrard placed the penalty in the bottom corner for his 100th Premier League goal. An achievement that deserves considerable recognition in what has been a great week personally for the Liverpool captain.

Playing against ten men and a defensive 4-4-1 formation, Liverpool came out for the second half looking to kill the game off early. They pressed forward but looked vulnerable on the break. Loic Remy in particular was able to find space in behind Glen Johnson. Cabaye was able to find Remy or any of his other targets at will. Newcastle re-took the lead from a set-piece. Paul Dummett, brought on to cover for Yanga-Mbiwa's red card, took advantage of Liverpool's defence going to sleep from a Cabaye free kick and snuck round the back post to tap in and become the first non-Frenchman to score a goal for Newcastle this season.

Liverpool looked a bit shocked and it took them until about the 70 minute mark to start really turning the screw. Suarez found space and was denied by Krul. Two minutes later he found space in behind Debuchy and squared brilliantly for Daniel Sturridge, who despite having one of the worst games of his career, could hardly miss with an open goal.

Liverpool continued to pepper the Newcastle goal with attempts right up until the final whistle, mostly from Suarez who also hit the crossbar with a wonderful volley. Newcastle had only one real opportunity to potentially nick a winner, Remy broke and probably should have squared to Anita who had made a lung-busting run to get forward. The striker went himself however and was boxed out by a pack of Liverpool defenders.

Fans were treated to a climactic ending. Luis Suarez won a cheap free kick on the edge of the box and it was well into the 97th minute before he got round to taking it. Tim Krul was equal to it, denying him the winner and earning a very very valuable point for Newcastle given the circumstances. Two dropped for Liverpool.

Player Ratings

Newcastle
Krul - 6.9
Debuchy - 7.4
Yanga-Mbiwa - 5.0
Williamson - 6.5
Santon - 6.7
Cabaye - 8.1
Tiote - 7.9
Sissoko - 6.2
Gouffran - 6.4
Ben Arfa - 6.8
Remy - 6.8

Subs:
Demmutt (Sissoko 45) - 6.8
S Ameobi (Ben Arfa 78) - n/a
Anita (Cabaye 78) - n/a

Liverpool
Mignolet - 6.2
Johnson - 6.8
Toure - 6.4
Skrtel - 7.4
Sakho - 6.0
Cissokho - 6.8
Henderson - 7.0
Gerrard - 7.9
Moses - 7.1
Suarez - 8.2
Sturridge - 4.8

Subs:
Alberto (Sakho 63) -
Sterling (Johnson 83) - n/a


Man of the Match: Luis Suarez - Liverpool

Where Do We Go From Here? - The Future of Irish Football

I thought Irish football had hit rock bottom in late 2007. The team were booed off the pitch at Croke Park after leaving it late to salvage a point at home to Cyprus. Qualification for Euro 2008 had long since slipped beyond our grasp and manager Steve Staunton was sacked within a couple of days.

To me the current state we find ourselves in seems less hopeful than that of six years ago. We have no manager. No real quality players.  We're currently ranked 59th in the world behind the Cape Verde Islands, Wales, Finland and Uzbekistan. We've just finished finished a massive 14 points off the pace in our qualifying group and now face another eleven months before the next competitive game comes around, missing out on the World Cup in every football purist's dream location of Brazil next summer.

A dreadful campaign ends in as many defeats as wins

John Delaney has promised a new manager before Christmas but based on this man's shocking incompetence at his job, we shouldn't really read too much into that comment. It was eight months last time between Stan's sacking and Trapattoni taking the reigns in May 2008. If the FAI haven't already signed a manager by now, expect it to be the new year before one is appointed. The situation really hasn't been helped by players like McGeady coming out and saying the job is a "poisoned chalice" which is quite frankly ridiculous. The new manager will likely be paid €1m plus per year, for eight games and need only qualify for a major tournament and avoid falling out with players in order to be lamented as a national hero. I'll have some of that poison if it's going. Aiden should probably spend more time worrying about how to beat the first man when he takes a corner. A skill he has yet to master despite his 61 Irish appearances.

I would have liked Noel King to put on a strong show in these two games to put his name into consideration but I think he can be effectively ruled out of the equation now. Some of his comments in interviews, particularly after the Kazakhstan game, highlight how un-trained he is in terms of media friendliness. His tactical naivety has also been painfully obvious. Yes Kevin Doyle has played on the wing before but he is a striker. So is Anthony Stokes for whom King's fondness I cannot comprehend. He must be a Celtic fan. Aiden McGeady and James McClean are wingers and logic would dictate it is better to use wingers on the wing rather than strikers. And Andy Reid is not a number ten, although it was good to see him given a chance.

With regards to players though, the main issue at hand, Ireland have a real problem. Trapattoni for all his flaws did have quite a valid point when he pointed out he didn't have a national league to pick players from. Whilst technically this is untrue and more than a bit disrespectful to the local game, there simply aren't any League of Ireland players worthy of a place in the national squad. If they were they'd be playing professionally in England by now. Almost every other nation in Europe has a pool of domestic talent that can be relied upon to bolster the national side.

The current squad is probably the weakest I've ever seen in terms of star quality. Pick out our best four players (my opinion):

• James McCarthy - Regular at Everton. Signed from Wigan on deadline day.
• Anthony Pilkington - Fighting for a place at struggling Norwich. Injury prone.
• Seamus Coleman - Regular at Everton. Class player.
• Robbie Brady - Regular at Hull. Huge potential if he keeps his feet on the ground.

The Everton boys aside, none of our squad is represented in the top half of the English league. Back in 2000/01 we had Roy Keane in his pomp at United, Robbie Keane and Ian Harte firing Leeds into the Champions League semi-finals with Gary Kelly a mainstay in their defence, Shay Given was competing in Europe with Newcastle under Sir Bobby and Steve Finnan and Damien Duff showing great potential that would earn them moves to Liverpool and Chelsea respectively. Even Mark Kinsella and Matt Holland were established Premier League midfielders, akin to McCarthy and Gibson now.

The best of our current crop: James McCarthy, playing at Wigan until six weeks ago

Sweden have Zlatan. They beat us. Austria have David Alaba. They beat us too. Is our go-to guy still Robbie Keane? He's 33 now and whilst his passion for his country and goal scoring record cannot be question by anyone, he's not a very good footballer, totally devoid of any sort of flair, not the kind of player who'll win you a game on his own and not the man we should be still relying on if we hope to make it to France in 2016.

Unfortunately there aren't any obvious gems waiting patiently in the under-21s so the immediate future does not look any brighter than the present. Irish football is in need of a drastic overhaul from grass roots level and to be fair the FAI have recognised this and taken some positive steps, assigning the task to Ruud Dokter, a Dutch under-age coach. He has a serious job on his hands.

Insert 'Dokter' pun here

Germany went to Euro 2000 and were embarrassed. Failing to win a game and going out at the group stage. Since then the German government has invested €20m annually in grass-roots football throughout the country. 400 training centres have been set up nationwide. Here, 15,000 kids aged 11-14 receive two hours extra training per week by qualified coaches. Money has also been invested in improving club academies where these youngsters will further hone their skills. Germany started to see the benefits of this in 2009 when they won the under-21 European Championships. The same youngsters took the World Cup by storm the following year and reached the semi-finals, destroying Messi's Argentina 4-0 on the way. Two German clubs contested the Champions League final this year and we saw first hand just how brilliant the national side was on Friday night.

Ireland only has a population of 4.5 million people, 5% that of Germany so the investment needed to boost the game in this country would be minimal by comparison. Training centres for the more skilled players from each schoolboy team could be set up around the country and the kids sent to train at these one night a week. Playing with equally talented boys would give them a chance and an incentive to improve their skills to the required level. Serious investment would also be needed it the League of Ireland clubs to improve their credentials and as a result the quality of the league. The best schoolboys produced in this country are being shipped over to England at 15 where they are just one of millions of talented boys and their abilities quite often go to waste. The country needs the resources to nurture its own talent. Given the current state of the economy, any notable investment in what is essentially a past-time seems unlikely any time soon.

Ozil: One of the many prodigies nurtured in Germany in the 2000s

Perhaps the biggest hindrance to the growth of football in Ireland is the GAA. Ask a selection ten 11-14 year old's growing up in rural Ireland what is their sporting dream and nine times out of then the answer would be to represent their beloved county in an all-Ireland final. They don't care in the slightest for "that foreign sport". Throw a ball to them and they'd more than likely catch it. Throw a ball to a kid on the street in Stuttgart and you can bet he'll bring it down with an impressive well-developed technique. While the GAA exists, "soccer" in Ireland will always play a secondary role in most of the country.

In the short to medium term, don't expect the new manager to come in and change everything. Despite the Euros being expanded to 24 teams, Ireland will still face an uphill battle to qualify and the very low FIFA ranking we're going to carry into the draw will not be of any help in the slightest. People like Eamon Dunphy are living in dreamland if they expect us to be a match for Germany. We are almost always going to lose those games. For the foreseeable future anyway.

Were there to be significant changes at grass-roots level it would likely be a decade before the senior side reaped the benefits. These changes aren't going to happen overnight and fans need to be patient and understand this. If the required changes are made, the long-term future can be bright but for the next few years we may see more nights like last Friday in Cologne which emphasise just how far we are behind Europe's elite.

For the next two campaigns (France 2016 and Russia 2018) however our qualification hopes (and we can really only hope to qualify at most) rest on the shoulders of Robbie Brady, James McCarthy and Co. along with the new man in charge. Whenever the FAI get around to appointing him. Grinding out results away from home will once again be the order of business in terms of putting ourselves in the qualification picture but hopefully the new man can do it with considerably more class than his predecessor. The road ahead looks bleak but keep the faith.

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