Pep 'snubs' the Premier League for Germany

Less than 24 hours after the Football Association delivered their remarkable coup (getting Pep to say something nice about English football) Josep Guardiola was named as the permanent manager of Bayern Munich from this summer, on a three year contract.

Cue outrage from the more easily agitated red-tops in Britain, who deemed this a snub towards the English game and bewilderment from The Sun, who had reported the week before that Pep was “100%” set to take over at Manchester City. Why the games most desirable manager would choose to work for City or Chelsea, hardly an example of sporting stability, is scarcely discussed. The thought that there could be a more attractive league or club in world football is not in the lexicon of the English tabloid media, although the FifPro World XI and later UEFA XI teams of 2012, without a single representative from the Premier League, should have been an indicator of the leagues standing outside of the UK.

PEP GUARDIOLA (as the FA were keen to label him on their 150^th anniversary gala) instead decided to ply his trade in the most financially secure leagues in football, signing a three year deal, a more significant deal then he ever signed at Barcelona, where 12 month contracts were the norm. Bayern Munich may be the most financially affluent club in the Bundesliga, but their unrivalled position as the largest club in Germany and subsequent turnover means they can afford the yearly extravagance.

With Financial Fair-Play coming into effect from 2013-14, Germany’s position as an economic powerhouse, with clubs which are majority fan-owned (Wolfsburg, Leverkusen and Hoffenheim aside), will become even more advantageous.

Bayern may have a team of expensively assembled stars: Arjen Robben, Mario Gomez, Manuel Neuer, Franck Ribery and Javi Martinez all cost €30 million plus, but the club has unearthed several youth team stars in club-captains Phillip Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Thomas Muller is an academy of the reserve side and Toni Kroos has been the Bavarian’s best midfielder this season, playing in a number 10 role that is fast becoming his in the national set-up.

Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boateng and David Alaba complete a back four which has an average age of just 24. Swiss pocket dynamo, Xherdan Shaqiri, was an excellent acquisition last summer and at just 21 is the long-term successor to Ribery or Robben, while further evidence of a flourishing academy is the progress of Emre Can, already billed as "the midfielder of the future and a jewel for Bayern Munich" by chairman Uli Hoeness.

Compared to Chelsea, whose last academy graduate to establish himself at Stamford Bridge was John Terry, you can see why the fiercely proud Catalan has opted for the Bundesliga runner-up. Guardiola is likely to want to implement the Barcelona badge of football in Germany, which could be problematic for several of the existing players. Kroos has been Bayern’s best player this season, but his position at number 10 would become obsolete in a Barcelona style 4-3-3. Mario Gomez and Mario Mandžukić likewise are not suited to a possession heavy approach and would struggle to play as a ‘false 9’ like Messi.

Manuel Neuer has fantastic football technique for a goalkeeper, so should be under little pressure and the young defence is comfortable playing out from the back, though someone of Matt Hummels passing ability would enhance the unit. Convincing Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery to track and hunt possession like a La Masia graduate could be Gurdiola’s biggest challenge. Both are characters in the dressing room, and I would not be surprised to see one of the pair leave in the summer of 2013.

Guardiola already has Javi Martinez at his disposal (a player Barcelona tried to sign last summer) who lacks the soft feet of Xavi or Iniesta, but is a player who has been part of the Spain national squad for the past four years. Sergio Busquets has been inspirational for Barcelona this campaign, and you wonder whether Guardiola will attempt to convince the player he coached with the B team with him to Germany.

On a personal level I would have enjoyed seeing Guardiola take on the challenge of re-building Milan. After a heavy exodus in the last 18 months, Milan are putting faith in several youngsters: Stephan El Shaarawy, who has been excellent, left-back Mattia De Sciglio and Kevin Prince Boateng.

The three year deal in Germany seemingly coincides with Ferguson’s likely exit, and despite expressing surprise at Pep’s move to Germany, Ferguson is good friends with the 42-year-old and is likely to express support, should Guardiola wish to test himself at Old Trafford and finally indulge the FA and British media in further hyperbole.

Premier League window shopping

Daniel Sturridge looks set to be the first high-profile of the January transfer window, so here is my look at where and how clubs might strengthen in January.

Manchester United

Who they need: a defensive midfielder/enforcer type.

Who I would sign: Arturo Vidal would be the dream signing. Cheick Tiote or Gokhan Inler good alternatives.

Who they will actually sign: No one.

Manchester City

Who they need: defenders who can play a 3-5-2, wingers other than Scott Sinclair

Who I would sign: Giorgio Chiellini, Stefan de Vrij, David Villa, Pato could be available.

Who they will actually sign: Daniele De Rossi.

Arsenal

Who they need: two full-backs and a striker.

Who I would sign: Robert Lewandowski, Mario Gotze, David Alaba, Davide Santon.

Who they will actually sign: Fernando Llorente and Wilfried Zaha.

Everton

Who they need: an extra defender to cover at centre-back.

Who I would sign: Douglas from FC Twente.

Who they will actually sign: Rhys Williams

Tottenham

Who they need: a number 10

Who I would sign: Wesley Sneijder might be wishful thinking. Willian, Mezut Ozil, Ikay Gundagan.

Who they will actually sign: Willian or Joao Moutinho.

West Brom

Who they need: cover at full-back.

Who I would sign: Jetro Willems.

Who they will actually sign: Alan Hutton.

Chelsea

Who they need: a striker if Sturridge goes. A better sitting midfielder.

Who I would sign: Radamel Falcao, Vidal.

Who they will actually sign: Falcao, Pato, Robinho.

Liverpool

Who they need: a striker and goal-scoring midfielder

Who I would sign: Daniel Sturridge, Jonathan De Guzman.

Who they will actually sign: Sturridge.

Stoke

Who they need: set-piece maestro.

Who I would sign: Juan Arango.

Who they will actually sign: David Beckham.

Norwich

Who they need: at 31, Grant Holt will need replacing soon.

Who I would sign: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Who they will actually sign: Adam Le Fondre.

Swansea

Who they need: Wayne Routledge's hot streak will end soon.

Who I would sign: David Villa, Tobias Sana.

Who they will actually sign: Derk Boerrigter

West Ham

Who they need: a right-winger.

Who I would sign: Stefan Aigner, Alan. Diego Capel.

Who they will actually sign: Gareth McCleary, David Beckham.

Fulham

Who they need: central midfielders aged less than 30.

Who I would sign: James McCarthy, Fernando Gago.

Who they will actually sign: Douglas, Momo Sissoko.

Newcastle

Who they need: a centre-back.

Who I would sign: Douglas, Toby Alderweireld.

Who they will actually sign: Adam Lallana, Michael Dawson.

Sunderland

Who they need: two full-backs and defenders who aren't free transfers.

Who I would sign: Joleon Lescott, Martin Kelly, Matthieu Debuchy.

Who they will actually sign: Nicholas Anelka, John Heitinga.

Aston Villa

Who they need: a left wing-back.

Who I would sign: Sime Vrsaljiko, Juan Zuniga.

Who they will actually sign: William Kvist.

Wigan

Who they need: a more clinical striker.

Who I would sign: Joel Campbell, Dirk Kuyt.

Who they will actually sign: Marouane Chamakh.

QPR

Who they need: younger players with a point to prove.

Who I would sign: Demba Ba, Michael Dawson, Dries Mertens.

Who they will actually sign: Nicholas Anelka, Lucio.

Reading

Who they need: Premiership quality players.

Who I would sign: Stoppila Sunzu, Alan Hutton, Darren Bent.

Who they will actually sign: Nigel Quashie.

Abramovich or Berlusconi - footballs worst sugar daddy

Rafa Benitez endured a less than hospitable welcome to Stamford Bridge at the weekend and the decision by hierarchy to explicitly call him out as the "interim first team coach" won't endure him to Chelsea fans any time soon. 

Trizia Fiorellino, chair of Chelsea Supporters' Group, has bizarrely maintained that the crowd will continue to boo Benitez for the rest of the season, obviously a psychic and a spokeswoman. After the 0-0 draw on Sunday, Fiorellino added that: “The fans don't expect to pick and choose the managers but it was pretty evident there were only two people that were not acceptable in this case - Benitez and Avram Grant.”

It is ironic that Chelsea fans are unable to look past a throwaway comment made in 2007 about fans waving flags, when their fans are quite happy to boo one man for daring to report racial abuse and maintaining unwavering support for the man found guilty of such an offence by the Football Association.

To borrow a phrase from the 52-year-old: Rafa Benitez is a better tactician than Roberto Di Matteo. Fact.

Chelsea fans who are unable to appreciate the two league titles won by Valencia, an extraordinary Champions League win and a dramatic FA Cup in 2006 are blinkered. Di Matteo transformed AVB’s squad into the side that defended their way to glory in Munich and lucked out against a poor Liverpool side at Wembley, but this is a man who was sacked by West Brom the previous season.

Getting a team to park the bus, as Chelsea effectively did in their run to the Champions League final, requires very little tactical nous. Chelsea failed to even defend effectively; Napoli squandered several chances before being eliminated and penalties were conceded to both Bayern and Barcelona that would have swung the ties in their favour if converted.

Di Matteo being moved on after barely a handful of disappointing results should be no surprise to Chelsea fans. That Abramovich did so after a result that effectively eliminated the defending Champions League holders at the group stages, was a more surprising decision. Surely it would have made sense to bring a new man in when their progression was still in their hands?

Chelsea fans might protest at the predisposition to chop and change managers, but Abramovich has bought success to the club, winning their first league title for 40 years.

Those who criticize the Russian should take note of another billionaire sugar daddy, who owns an equally elite football club, Silvio Berlusconi at AC Milan.

Despite a one year jail sentence hanging over the retired Italian Prime Minister, his involvement with Milan has increased over the last two weeks, and accordingly results have picked up for the 2011 scudetto winners.

His helicopter visits to Milanello, Milan's training ground, have increased in frequency following the Rossoneri’s alarming slump towards the bottom of Serie A and some indifferent performances in Europe. An intervention last week included recommending that top scorer and Italian sensation Stephan El Shaarawy have a haircut, prior to a crucial game against Anderlecht, which was subsequently won 3-1 (El Shaarawy scoring the opener).

Keen to improve the clubs domestic form the 76-year-old media tycoon then paid a visit to the players last week with a number of suggestions. Most noticeably was the claim that he wanted to replace Massimo Allegri with Pep Guardiola, should the opportunity arise, and that this possibility had even been mooted to the current manager.

"Guardiola? Who wouldn't want him? We have even spoken about it with Allegri," Berlusconi said. "If [appointing Guardiola] was possible we would look into it. Anyone would try to do so if they were presented with such an opportunity … For now we have Allegri. [But] for the future we are having a look."

Abramovich is clearly infatuated with the idea of ‘Barcelona in blue shirts’ and Guardiola taking charge at Stamford Bridge, but even the oil oligarch has stopped short of discussing the idea with a existing manager.

Berlusconi is keen to take a hands on approach at Milan and was insistent that Kevin-Prince Boateng be deployed as a false nine against Juventus at the weekend. Under such pressure Allegri was in no position to resist and the Ghanaian was positioned at the front of a 4-3-3, interchanging with Robinho during the scrappy 1-0 victory, some rebellion from the manager at least.

Further form includes advising Milan forward Alexandre Pato that unless he stops getting injured he'll be sold and also requesting that Allegri combed his hair before media duties. 

Both Berlusconi and Abramovich have enjoyed morally dubious careers outside of football. Abramovich started by smuggling contraband goods, before purchasing Sibneft for $100 million. The Russian clearly bought the oil company at below its market value, as the company was sold to Gazprom for $13 billion in 2005 and has dined out on this capital since.

Berlusconi has courted controversy for decade: whispers of Mafia links refuse to stick, being sentenced to four years in jail for tax fraud, monopolising press freedom in Italy and allegations of sex with a minor in the ‘bunga bunga’ scandal.

Both men have lavished millions on their football clubs and bought varying levels of success with them. Chelsea fans who are unhappy with Roman Abramovich should take note of the crisis unfolding in the red half of Milan. They might be better off with their Russian billionaire. 

Glory for Chelsea, defeat for purists

Chelsea finally proved that money can buy you everything as they claimed their first ever Champions League after beating Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties.

Roman Abramovich's dream of a European triumph was realised after a 9 year quest, and one of the Russian's first signings , Didier Drogba, made the difference.

At a time when Andy Carroll fetched £35 million, the £24 million to Marseille looks a snip considering his eight years of service. Say what you like about the Ivorian's theatrics, he has decimated the continent this season and has been the best striker in the PL for the last five years.

Chelsea needed their striker to be in superb form as they were on the backseat for the majority of yesterdays final. Their win was also down to no small portion of luck; the Germans created enough chances to win, as did Barcelona and Napoli in the previous rounds.

After some woeful performances under AVB, the foursome of Ashley Cole, Petr Cech, David Luiz and Gary Cahill were all magnificent in Bavaria, as they have been since the exit of the Portuguese manager.

That it took the exit of one of Europes finest young coaches to kickstart their season is troubling, but under Bobby Matteo Chelsea have gone back to basics, and in Europe this proved to be the difference.

Abramovich reportedly has a grand vision of Chelsea playing as 'Barcelona in blue shirts' but yesterdays win was more reminiscent of Stoke in blue shirts, as Chelsea defended for the whole match before scoring with their first corner.

Of course a team of Bayern's stature should be able to defend a set-piece, but Chelsea played to their strengths and it proved effective. AVB tried to change Chelsea's reliance on the direct ball to Drogba and ultimately lost out.

Chelsea clearly rode their luck in Europe. If Barcelona or even Napoli had been less profligate they would have eliminated the blues and Chelsea didn't exactly read the textbook on defending your way to victory.

Mourinho's Inter Milan showed several defensive masterclasses en route to their 2010 win, and with a midfielder of Wesley Sneijder's guile were always a threat, a 3-1 over Barca indicative if their abilities. By contrast, Chelsea showed vulnerability. They gave away two needless penalties (both saved) and it really did seem as if fate would fall their way.

Worse squads have won the Champions League, but the plucky fight of this Chelsea this campaign is remarkable. Despite being outplayed in several games, Di Matteo's side simply took their chances and after eight years practise they finally held their nerve.

Two hands on the title?

Sir Alex Ferguson conceded that Manchester City had two hands on their first Premier League title yesterday after the Citizens overcame a battling Newcastle side 2-0 on Sunday.

Barring a slip-up against lowly QPR, or a ridiculous goal-swing, Roberto Mancini looks to be on his way to his fourth league title, and his first in England. City deserved the win over Newcastle, but it was their manager who deserves most of the credit for his game-changing substitution in the 61st minute.

Replacing the, again ineffective Samir Nasri, for the on-paper more defensive midfield bruiser, Nigel de Jong, Mancini relieved some of the defensive duties on Yaya Toure and within 10 minutes the Ivorian went on to score the all important first goal.

At the time of Mancini's substitution I imagine City fans up and down the country were cursing their Italian and obviously defensive manager in a game that they needed to win, but the tactical switch proved to be telling and looks to have wrapped up the title for City.

Mancini was heavily criticised in his first year and a half in Manchester for being too cautious and was superbly vindicated by his substitutions and tactics today. A dangerous Newcastle side were well contained and Manchester City's cosmopolitan squad showed no sign of choking in this match.

With a five point lead over Mancini and his team, Ferguson had United in prime position a month ago. The defensive mistakes that have blighted the last few United performances can be accused, but the anaemic side that Ferguson put out in last weeks derby was a real turning point and a huge tactical error from the Scot.

Ferguson has had success hitting teams on the counter in the past, notably against Arsenal with Ronaldo running riot, however in the 'unmissable' game last week the United midfield were almost embarrassed by Man City's midfield engine.

A midfield of Scholes, Giggs, Carrick, Park and to a lesser extent Nani, has no dynamism to it and Manchester City were able to press incredibly high-up the pitch, much like Barcelona. Sir Alex got his tactics spectacularly wrong that night, in trying to match City up on the pitch and in effect try to take the draw, he played straight onto the hands of Mancini.

Player-to-player you would argue that City are by far stronger than the individuals in the United team. Aguero and Tevez are much better than Rooney and Welbeck, Hart beats De Gea, Kompany and Lescott are the best defensive pairing in the league, whilst Silva and Toure have carried City through several games this year. What has cost City at stages this season is their inability to always perform to their maximum potential, whereas United tend to over perform in more matches.

Rather than stick to their attacking flair, provided by the outstanding Valencia and Young, Ferguson tried to shut up shop and contain the most potent attacking side in the league. It went badly wrong and the tactical gamble looks like costing United the league.

Meanwhile, in the Budweiser Cup there was a rather predictable result as Chelsea just about did enough to beat a poor Liverpool side. Chelsea bossed the game for 60 minutes and it took the introduction of Andy Carroll to stir Liverpool into some response.

Carroll looked as if he had entered a time-warp and was reminiscent of the player that terrorised defences during his time at Newcastle. He gave John Terry a torrid time and somehow managed to dance round the former Engalnd skipper to score for Liverpool.

He was unlucky not to equalise, after Petr Cech pulled off a superb save to deny him his second, though you could argue the striker ought to have scored, heading it into the ground would have given Cech no chance. I would take Carroll to the Euro's and his third goal in four Wembley appearances may just have done enough for the Geordie.

Peter Crouch was propelled to the top of the England strikers queue after scoring a worldie and then doing little else, but for me Carroll can alter a game more dramatically and is most definitely one for the future.

Deplorable as he is, Ashley Cole was magnificent on Saturday and the left-back now has seven FA Cup winners medals. His form this season has been patchy, but since seeing Leighton Baines take his traditional place in the PFA team of the year, Cole has turned in superb performances both domestically and in Europe.

As for King Kenny, he is in for an arduous summer. Liverpool needed the FA Cup to avoid their season being branded a failure and are still £100 million worth of investment away from challenging the top four.

The Liverpool midfield is woefully ill equipped and Steven Gerrard was culpable on Saturday evening. Spearing and Henderson were the sitting midfielders, but after proving inefficient, Gerrard kept dropping back to just in front of his defence to pick up the ball and as a result the Liverpool midfield has well out of shape.

Liverpool have not replaced Mascherano and Alonso and with Gerrard on the wane for the last two seasons, they may be looking at three new midfielders before they can start competing again.

Where next for Messi and Barca?

The 'greatest club team on the planet' were dumped out of the Champions League this week with Guardiola also stepping down leaving his tika-taka disciples in the hands of his assistant Tito Vilanova. 

Guardiola revealed in an emotional press conference that he had been having doubts about his role at Barcelona since October and that the la Masia graduate was applauded off the stage by his employers and current players reveals the level of admiration the man will forever enjoy at Barca.

Despite the clubs success over the last four years the head coach role at Barcelona is one of the most pressurised roles in club football. We think football is king in England, but the fervour Barcelona and Real Madrid inspire in Spain surpasses it, the dual club dominance only rackets up the pressure at these two great institutions.

Sadly for football purists Guardiola decided to leave the club, indicating that he found it difficult to keep motivating the players and that he himself had burnt out. The timing of the announcement is puzzling as Barcelona still have the Copa del Rey final to compete for in May, and may have been influenced by the raw exit they suffered mid-week and the Real defeat at the weekend.

They may have suffered disappointment in Europe and in the race for La Liga but that should not prompt a wholesale change of approach. Vilanova's appointment will presumably see as little transition as possible; two defeats in the space of a week do not make this Barcelona squad a bad side and the Spaniard will be hoping he can build on Pep Guardiola's incredible legacy.

Arsene Wenger was one of the first coaches to express his sadness that Guardiola had stepped down, and I find myself agreeing with his own desire to have seen the youngest ever Champions League winner return next year with full trust in his philosophy and fight back.

Wenger posited : "The philosophy of Barcelona has to be bigger than winning or losing a championship. Guardiola is one of the representatives of this philosophy and made this philosophy triumph so I would have loved him, even going through a disappointing year, to stay and come back and insist with his philosophy. That would be interesting."

Guardiola knows the club inside out and would have been one of the best man to helm Barcelona towards further success without radically altering their ideology. The appointment of Vilanova is the next best thing and he has the greatest chance of replicating Guardiola's success. Both graduated at the same time from Barcelona's famed la Masia academy and the assistant has been working with Guardiola for over five years.

However, while Guardiola went on to play for and captain his beloved Barcelona side for almost a decade, Vilanova didn't quite make the grade at the Nou Camp and his playing career reached a nadir at Celta and Mallorca. Guardiola's playing experience on the biggest of stages must have shaped him as a manager and it will be interesting to see how Vilanova interprets the Barcelona ideology with his, by contrast, inferior playing career.

For a club of Barcelona's recent success and domination in Spain and continentally, to finish the season with only one major trophy, looking likely to be the Copa del Rey, is simply a disappointment when compared to their previous three seasons.

Barcelona may have already claimed the the European Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup and the World Club Championship but these competitions are not the pinnacle of a footballers career, winning these trophies will hardly go down in history.

In the space of three games Barcelona have gone from playing the best football in Europe to a season in disintegration. This is partly bound up in media hyperbole, but the Barcelona of Tuesday night looked an entirely different proposition to the swaggering unit that put seven past Bayern Leverkusen.

Tiredness can affect players mentally and physically and it looked as if the creativity that we associate with the current Barcelona side had dried up. Barcelona started Tuesday night brightly, Messi should have scored when one-on-one with Cech, before the Catalans stepped up a gear and hit a goal either side of John Terry's ridiculous red card.

However, after Messi's penalty miss the 2011 Champions League holders started to wane in confidence. Passes were sprayed wide to no great success and the Barcelona midfield did not have the confidence or mentality to play through the middle of Chelsea's back nine. Gone were the one-twos that dissected the very best of defences as Guardiola's men grew in insecurity and desperation as the match wore on. There was a real crisis of confidence and Barcelona looked as if they didn't have faith in their own system of play.

Messi seemed determined to make amends for his penalty mistake and although he forced a brilliant save from Petr Cech he failed to play in two well-placed Barcelona players in the second half.

Guardiola took objection to comments before the match that alleged that Messi was on a goal drought, of two whole games, and the 24-year-old drew another blank against Chelsea on Tuesday. Messi is clearly the focal point in the current Barca side and there have been accusations that they are overly reliant on his magic to overcome teams.

His re-positioning to a false number 10 position since Guardiola took the hot seat has coincided with the Argentinian winning three successive Ballon D'Or's and Barcelona's recent trophy surge. He hit a phenomenal 38 goals the season before Pep came in, but since becoming the orchestrator and finisher off the Barcelona brush-strokes he has finished the last three campaigns with 47, 53 and so far this year 63 goals.

Messi is still the best player in the world. His nearest competitor choked in the Champions League again on Wednesday and Messi hasn't become a worse player after three low-key performances. Barcelona simply came up against three defences that put in better performances then the Catalan offensive line and failed to break them down.

The loss of Guardiola will become more quantifiable next season, but to promote from within, from their own academy in effect, is a shrewd move and given time Vilanova may be able to forge his own Barcelona legacy. Barcelona have become more than a club, more an idealistic interpretation of football, and to make any wholesale changes on the back of two defensive master classes and two disappointing performances would be a gross mistake.

Battle for fourth place heats up

With ten games to go until the end of the season the all important race for a place in the top-four is reaching a critical phase. Excluding the Manchester clubs, there are five other teams battling it out for the next five places and only two of those teams will reach the holy-grail of Champions League football.

Four of these teams will be in action this Wednesday evening, with the showpiece game being a resurgent Chelsea versus Manchester City, looking to bounce back from successive defeats. Here's my take each of the teams in the running and where they can expect to and will want to finish the season.

Tottenham Hotspurs

Up until moral-sapping defeats against the two Manchester sides, Spurs looked like they might have been able to mount a serious title challenge. However, these two setbacks were compounded with a heavy 5-2 defeat against Arsenal and their season is in danger of imploding with three defeats in a row in the league. Harry Redknapp’s position as favourite for the England job seems to be affecting the team and even getting to him on a personal level; appearing frustrated and irritated in his last few games. Now the stated aim is to secure a place in the top four and they face a tricky game tomorrow evening, with Stoke coming to visit. Redknapp’s side face Chelsea straight after Stoke and the all-London affair may go some way as to deciding whether Spurs get a second crack at the Champions League. A top four berth seems vital if they are to succeed in signing the big movers this summer, notably Eden Hazard and Jan Vertonghen. 

Arsenal

After an appalling start to the season, including an 8-2 defeat against United and a 4-3 defeat against an even more floundering Blackburn side, Arsenal have steadily rebuilt their season. Their injury ravaged defence have finally all returned and with Robin Van Persie up-front, Arsenal will always remain a serious goal threat. After coming from behind to win in their last four league games, a League record, Arsene Wenger’s boys are one of the form teams in the league and there will be hope that they can pinch the automatic Champions League spot from their North London rivals. Whilst summer investment appears essential, Arsenal have a youthful and attacking squad, with young Oxlade-Chamberlain impressing and staking a serious claim for EURO 2012. They face a tricky away visit to Everton on Wednesday but if their recent, almost United like performances (insofar as snatching late wins) is an indicator, then they could find themselves edging Spurs to third place. 

Chelsea

Interim boss Roberto Di Matteo’s 100% record since replacing Villas Boas faces another stern test against City on Wednesday evening. After overturning the two goal deficit against Naploi last week, Di Matteo even succeeded in getting Fernando Torres to score, as he hit two to book a FA Cup semi final date. The ageing players who seemed below par for much of this season have stepped it up in the last four matches, knowing that they are playing for a place in the team and their future. Mourinho’s spine still runs through the side; with Cech, Cole, Terry, Essien, Lampard and Drogba all starting the last few matches and seeming to prove AVB wrong with some performances of yesteryear. In hosting a well organised Manchester City they will face their toughest test, knowing that they can’t afford to drop many points if they wish to be a Champions League side next season. The shoots of recovery are there for Chelsea and their old squad; to make the top four this year is going to be difficult and even if they do the squad still requires an overhaul. 

Newcastle

Alan Pardew’s side continue to ride high in sixth place in the Premier League, though you sense they would bite your hand off for a sixth place finish now, rather than targeting the top four. Having spent modestly, compared to the surrounding clubs, Newcastle are actually making money thanks to the diligent ownership of Mike Ashley. As well as competing financially Newcastle have found some form in the league, mainly thanks to the goals of Demba Ba and the impressive Tim Krul and Fabricio Coloccini in front of him. Newcastle have struggled for form since Steven Taylor’s injury but a vital win over Norwich means the dream of European football is still a possibility. Finishing in the top six might prevent Newcastle’s key players moving on in the summer, with suitors casting admiring glances at Krul, Tiote, Ba, Cabaye and Ben Arfa.

Liverpool

With an outlay of over £100 million Liverpool were expected to be seriously challenging for fourth place this season but have struggled domestically and are ten points behind Arsenal in fourth place. It will take a mammoth effort to finish in the top four this season, starting with their game at QPR, which was the publicly stated aim of the club. Liverpool’s main problem this campaign has been goals; with Luis Suarez needing, on average, 14 shots to score and a £35 million striker who can’t even get a look in. Dalglish may have appeased the fans with the Carling Cup but a number of question marks remain over their expensive signings and Liverpool may need even more investment in order to compete with the big boys again.  

Ancelotti dismissed hours after Everton defeat

The worst kept secret at Stamford Bridge was announced on the official Chelsea website less than two hours after Chelsea slipped to a final day defeat.

Carlo Ancelotti was sacked by the club yesterday with the official corporate statement declaring that "this seasons performances have fallen short of expectations".

Left to squirm in his last ever post-match interview, Ancelotti himself appeared unaware of the decision that was coming his way, stating that he expected the decision around his future to take place over the coming days.

As it was, the axe fell within a few hours of the final game of the season. Abramovich left the task to Ron Gourlay, the chief executive, to finally put Ancelotti out of his misery by relieving him of his duties in the corridors of Goodison Park with immediate effect.

The decision had been on the horizon ever since Chelsea made a tame exit from the UEFA Champions League to Manchester United, which appears to be Abramovich's trophy of choice. Even if Chelsea had hauled in the reds to claim the Italian's second Premier League title it remains unlikely that his job would have been watertight.

Abramovich's decision to dispense with Ancelotti is especially puzzling, as Chelsea's form this season has largely been taken out of the 51-year-old hands. Senior players Deco, Ballack, Belletti, Joe Cole and Carvalho were allowed to leave in the summer, with only Ramires and Yossi Benayoun being bought in to invigorate an ageing squad.

How much of a say Ancelotti had in these transfers is debatable; and he admitted that the acquisitions of David Luiz and Fernando Torres in January this year were decided upon by the Russian billionaire upstairs. At £25 and £50 million respectively these constitute lavish gifts; but their form has been indifferent and the misfiring Torres severely handicapped the teams ability and his innclusion in the team seemed only to be further pandering to the owner.

Chelsea started this Premier League campaign in blistering form, with successive 6-0 wins against West brom and Wigan but interference from above led to the departure of Ray Wilkins in November. Wilkin's exit saw Chelsea's run come to an abrupt end and they failed to recover their early form arguably for the remainder of the season.

Ancelotti may not have had a stellar season with negativity seeping into some of his tactical approaches, but Abramovich's actions this season effectively pulled the rug from under the Italians feet, leaving him brutally exposed, with a squad selected by the Russian oil tycoon and Ancelotti unfairly left to bite the bullet when the team fell just short.