By Michael Sinnerton

Sepp Blatter's latest attack on the Premier League comes at a very strange time given Real Madrid's spending power. Blatter has expressed concern over the huge amount of money being pumped into English clubs by rich foreign owners. He claims the amount of cash in the Premier League gives our clubs an advantage over their European rivals.

"In France, Germany and Spain there are by-laws that say owners must be from the same country. This does not exist in the Premier League and it is a problem we must address." said Blatter.

Why? Why is foreign ownership something we must address? I'm all for having a better ‘fit and proper persons' test but surely the nationality of the owner(s) is the least relevant question of all? Given that Blatter himself admits that nothing can be done, "we (FIFA) have no right to interfere in economic movement", this seems to be another attack on the Premier League for little or no reason.

Whilst Sepp may have a point that there is too much financial clout in the game, surely FIFA should be spending their time working towards aims they can achieve. Introducing accurate goal-line technology seems to be such a simple thing to do yet Blatter claims the current technology is not accurate enough - something, which if true, highlights the slow progress made by FIFA.

Finally, whilst Real Madrid can claim to be Spanish owned, surely the fact that in the current financial climate they can have credit of up to £800m is more of a concern than whether a consortium comes from England, France or Dubai.

By Michael Sinnerton

As the season nears its end traditionally several title races are all but wrapped up throughout Europe, we take a look at why this year offers something different.

Spain - Yes Barcelona are six points clear and yes they have the best team in Spain but with Champions League and Copa del Rey commitments and Real Madrid unbeaten in 13 with only the League to focus on only the most ardent of Catalans would be comptant els seus pollastres (counting their chickens). At the other end of the table Espanyol's 1-0 defeat to Osasuna leaves them 8 points from safety and all but relegated. Numancia, who have 3 points from 14 away games, should join them, leaving one from Osasuna in 18th (29 points) to Racing Santander in 10th (33points) to go.

Italy - This one is more or less done and dusted with Mourinho's Inter 7 points clear of Juventus (themselves 7 clear of Milan). The excitement at the top end comes with Genoa in 4^th leading Fiorentina by 2 points and a resurgent Roma by 5. At the bottom of the table Reggina have probably left themselves with too much to do, leaving two from Lecce, Torino and Bologna with Chievo and Siena looking nervously over their shoulders.

France - Somewhat surprisingly given Lyon's recent dominance the French domestic championship is perhaps the most exciting in Europe right now. Lyon are top on 56 points but have looked shaky all season, they lead Marseille by a single point with the Yoann Gourcuff inspired Bourdeaux a further 3 back. Toulouse, Lille and PSG all sit on 52 points within touching distance of the top. At the bottom Le Havre have just 18 points and will be joined by two from Caen, St Etienne (European qualifiers last year), Sochaux, Nantes and Nancy.

Germany - Arguing against Ligue 1's claim to have the most exciting title race is the Bundesliga. Wins for Bayern Munich, Hamburg and Wolfsburg moved them all to 48 points, just one behind leaders Hertha Berlin (somewhat strangely inspired by Andriy Voronin). Bayern are the favourites, but with a Champions League campaign to distract them and the UEFA cup to distract Hamburg don't discount steady Hertha or improving Wolfsburg. Surprise package Hoffenheim lie 5^th and could have hopes of making up the 4 point gap despite their recent poor form.  Karlsruhe are all but gone at the bottom and Cottbus seem likely to join them, but the league is almost as tight at the bottom with none of Borussia M'gladbach, A.Bielefield, Bochum, Hannover or Frankfurt yet totally safe (play-offs pending)

By Michael Sinnerton 

Valencia are in financial crisis, the players haven't been paid for seven weeks, the club hasn't won in seven weeks and David Villa is injured.

A new stadium has been promised and won't be delivered, Bancaja (the spanish bank) have taken over the club and are owed over £200m. As Sid Lowe put it "in short, administration without the administrators." The team, second in January has fallen to eight and is drifting closer to relegation than Europe.

The good news for you is most of the players are very talented and have had enough. Cutbacks and sales are guaranteed and payment for the players won't happen anytime soon.

The stars:

David Villa

Value: £30 million

Talent: World Class

Linked with: Liverpool, Man. City, Chelsea

Verdict: Wants to remain in Spain and probably will with both R.Madrid and Barcelona unsurprisingly keen. Liverpool fans would love to see Villa link up with Torres while Man City could out bid the rest. If Drogba finally leaves Chelsea a partnership of Villa and Anelka could take some beating

David Silva

Value: £20 - 25m

Talent: European/World Class

Linked with: Liverpool, Manchester United

Verdict: United could make a move if they still want him, but I fancy Chelsea to swoop if they allow Malouda to go. May well remain in Spain though.

Juan Mata

Value: £10 - 15m

Talent: Fringes of the Spain squad, Valencia's brightest young spark. Potentially as good as Silva.

Verdict: Is a very talented young player, was at Real Madrid from 15 to 18 and may be tempted back there. An early move by an English club and the promise of enough money to set him up for life may prove tempting for a 20 year old.

The rest:

Manuel Fernandez: Has had succesful loan spells with Everton but has failed to properly settle in Spain which could lead to a renewed move by the Merseyside club or any sensible manager attempting to copy Moyes.

Raul Albiol - Spain's next great central defender? Albiol has 11 caps to his name and is a dead cert for a bright international future. Would make an excellent signing for Arsenal, although at over 6 ft may be too tall for an Emirates centre back. Is also great on the ball.

Joaquin - At 27 still has enough time to completely fulfil his potential, whether he's too inconsistent for a top 4 side is debateable. I think so, but would fit into a top 6/7 side Everton, Aston Villa *laughs* Newcastle. 

 Actual things said by Jon Champion during Liverpool v Everton, 25/1/09

"Anfield is a cup crucible"

"History wrapped up in folklore"

"Gerrard is a leader of men, like Lord Nelson"

(As Gerrard steps up to take a corner) "Cometh the hour"

"It's been a Merseyside derby sandwich"

"It's time for Gerrard"

"There are several tales of heroism emerging here"

"Most of the seats in the Kop are now redundant"

"Everton, the pesky neighbours"

"107 years on, there will be another replay"

"For the Evertonians, a joyous, if short, journey home"

"Nobody can complain at the entertainment levels" 

"Steven Gerrard's 111th goal for Liverpool"

by Joel Abraham

Zenit - Shhhhh

Dick Advocaat said today that he's resigned to losing Andrei Arshavin. Zenit have declared that they are in negotiations with Arsenal over a possible transfer. By February, Arshavin won't be a Zenit player. He won't be an Arsenal player either.

Arsenal like doing deals on the quiet. It keeps them cheap and quick. The signing of Robin van Persie in 2004 was delayed from January until July because Feyenoord blabbed. Zenit have gone one better and have probably scuppered this deal completely.

What Zenit are up to is obvious. By revealing that Wenger is after Arshavin, they're trying get other clubs involved to spark a bidding war and get as much money as possible for their man. Fair enough, but don't expect Wenger to play ball. Arsenal are poor, and won't pay more than £12m for a 27-year-old.

Hopefully a club with more money than sense will cough up and put to bed one of the most tedious transfer stories of the season.

Joe Walton

After becoming Newcastle manager for the second time in January 2008, Kevin Keegan remarked that for the people of the North, going to the football is just “like the people down South going to a theatre.”

The implication is that the North East is the true hotbed of English football.

However, this view has been challenged by statistics which show the average percentage of seats sold at Premier League grounds.

Newcastle top the North East clubs with 90.8% of the capacity of St. James’ sold for an average home game, this though, is less than all of the London clubs. Sunderland and Middlesbrough both sell just over 80% of their seats on average.

Although Liverpool sell an impressive 95% of Anfield, this is the least out of the so-called ‘Big Four’ with Arsenal and Manchester UTD regularly filling the Emirates and Old Trafford to 99% of capacity.

It is no great surprise that Wigan and Blackburn sit bottom of the pile, struggling as they do with competition from the other successful clubs from the North West. Both clubs sell just over 70% of tickets despite them offering some of the lowest prices in the league.

Blackburn have struggled to fill Ewood Park

by Joel Abraham

It's Joel v Jack Round VII.

The score is currently Joel 5:1 Jack.

The new challenge is to name 10 players each who Arsenal might sign in January.

The prize, as always, is lunch at the prestigious Megabite Cafe.

Here are the shortlists:

Jack:

Mikel Arteta
Shay Given
Charles N'Zogbia
Edu
Gokhan Inler
Jimmy Bullard
Sylvain Distin
Michael Owen
Tuncay Sanli
Antonio Valencia

Joel:

Andrei Arshavin
Pape Diakhate
Steven Mouyokolo
Fabian Delph
Yohan Cabaye
Olivier Dacourt
Yaya Toure
Xabi Alonso
Steven Defour
Felipe Melo

The betting history is as follows:

Joel wins:

- Arsenal to face Fulham at the start of the 2007/8 season

- David Villa to score in the Emirates Cup

- Theo Walcott to score during the warm-up of Blackburn v Arsenal

- Stoke to score against Arsenal from a Rory Delap long throw

- Eduardo not to play a competitive game again in 2008

Jack wins:

- Will Smith is younger than 40 (the bet was made a couple of months before he turned 40)

by Joel Abraham 

Chelsea v Juventus

Chelsea have struggled at home recently, and may well profit from having the second leg in Turin. When Scolari's boys are on form they can rip the opposition to shreds, but Liverpool and Arsenal have shown that Deco, Lampard et al can be stifled by flooding the midfield. Ranieri knows Chelsea well and may have the upper hand here. Juve can play a direct game by utilising the height and power of Amauri and Iaquinta, and boast the constant goalscoring threat of Trezeguet, as well as the craft of Nedved and the evergreen Del Piero. They have strength and presence defensively in the shape of Chiellini and Mellberg, and the midfield bite of Poulsen and Sissoko. Don't expect this one to be pretty.

Prediction: Juve to nick an away goal and sit on it

Villarreal v Panathinaikos

The Yellow Submarine will need a good result in the first leg to ensure their passage into the last eight, as they are fragile away from the Madrigal. Pana seem to do better away from home, and their win at San Siro has shown them to be more than capable of causing an upset. They do not concede many, Gilberto, Karagounis and Ivanschitz are at the heart of a strong midfield, whilst Salpigidis is a danger up front. Rossi and Llorente will be looking for the goals for Villarreal, and Pires, Cazorla and Senna will create plenty of chances for them.

Prediction: Home form to see Villarreal through

Sporting v Bayern

Sporting saw off Shakhtar and Basel with ease, but were torn apart by Barcelona. They may find Bayern's firepower too much to handle. Moutinho and Veloso are a formidable midfield pairing, and Liedson is their top scorer in the competition. Bayern progressed serenly through their group, and boast the attacking prowess of Klose, Toni and Ribery. Sporting ought to be no match for the Germans.

Prediction: Easy victory for Bayern

Atletico v Porto

One of the more intruiging ties of the round. Atleti were untroubled by PSV and Marseille, and were unlucky not to beat Liverpool home and away. Kun, Forlan, Maxi and Simao are a constant threat, and can break down any defence.  Porto looked mediocre initially, but three consecutive victories has shown their ability to win when they need to. Argentine duo Lucho and Lisandro are their key players and will need to make the most of their chances to compensate for a shaky defence. Atleti are the favourites, but don't write off Porto.

Prediction: Atleti to win at home, lose away, and progress

Lyon v Barcelona

Lyon got the tie everyone else wanted to avoid, and it'll probably put paid to their European dreams for another year.  Barca are running away with La Liga, and have a frontline that is almost impossible to contain. The flipside is that they're vulnerable in defence too, so this could be a high-scoring affair. Lyon are no mugs and have an impressive scoring record of their own, and have the irrepressible Benzema on hand to fight their corner. Don't expect many clean sheets. Barca have the bigger guns, but if they get careless, Lyon could profit.

Prediction: Barca to score more than Lyon - just

Real Madrid v Liverpool

A fascinating tie. Benitez will try to strangle the life out of the game, but he'll have his work cut out. van Nistelrooy is a massive loss for Real, and in his absence, Higuain, Raul, Huntelaar and co. will have to step up. Liverpool may struggle to contain the dutch trio of Sneijder, Robben and van der Vaart, but the defence is not watertight. Expect Liverpool to swamp the middle of the park - Mascherano and Alonso will be key to their fortunes. If they can avoid defeat at the Bernabeu, then Real may become yet another victim to the cloying, mawkish sentimentality of Anfield and a dodgy late Gerrard winner.

Prediction: A mind-numbing stalemate in Spain followed by an undeserved Liverpool home win

Arsenal v Roma

Another interesting face-off between two teams who are struggling domestically. Arsenal's young side have an infuriating habit of slaying the big teams before surrendering meekly to poor opposition a week later. Depending on their January transfer activity and the injury situation, they may be a force to be reckoned with in the big games. van Persie and Nasri have shown themselves as capable matchwinners, but the defence is as porous as ever. Roma made a decent comeback in Group A, including an impressive home display against Chelsea. Put simply, they don't score enough and they concede too many. Vucinic will be a danger up front, and Baptista may yet have something nasty in store for his former employers. The second leg will be better than the first.

Prediction: Two draws, Arsenal to sneak through on away goals

Inter v Manchester United

Mourinho blah blah blah. Forget him, this ought to be a great footballing spectacle without the unnecessary soap opera sideshow. Inter are dominating domestically, but were somewhat fortunate to actually make it through their group. After much European disappointment in recent years, particularly at the hands of English opposition, Inter are better equipped this year around. If Ibrahimovic is on form, United will have a torrid time, but the midfield will decide the winners. Cambiasso, Zanetti and Muntari will have to isolate Rooney and neutralise the support play of Ronaldo, Tevez and/or Berbatov in order to frustrate United. At Old Trafford, Inter's attacking stars may begin to shine.

Prediction: Inter to topple the holders in their own back garden