It has been quite a 2008 for Manchester United. They won their second straight EPL title, won the UEFA Champions League, and just recently were crowned World Champs.  I think that they will contend for the title at the end of the season.  They definitely have enough talent to contend, the one thing that I think might hold them back is their schedule.  They just finished playing in the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, they have the Carling Cup Semi-Final match coming up and the F.A. Cup is coming up, not to mention the Champions League knockout stages. They have a lot on their plate but I still believe that Manchester United will still contend for their third straight title.

The other teams that I predict to be in the thick of the championship race is Chelsea and Liverpool.  Both sides are very hungry for the title.  Liverpool haven't won the Premiership since 1990, and you can bet that they and their supporters will be very hungry to end their drought in the Premiership. Chelsea will also be very hungry to take back the title which was stolen from them by the current champs Man United.

This might be the year that the "Big Four" is broken up. Aston Villa have been in great form this season, and I think that they will overtake Arsenal for the fourth spot and a Champions League spot next season. The main problem will Arsenal is that they are too young and inexperienced. With the youth comes the inconsistency, and if your team is inconsistent throughout the season then you stand almost no chance of bringing home the title.

I think in the end that Manchester United will pull off the three peat, with Liverpool finishing second, Chelsea finishing third, and Aston Villa finishing fourth.

The other North American Sports will never produce a team that loses all of their fixtures. Baseball, Hockey and Basketball all see their franchises play a minimum of 82 games, a figure so large that no team has found it possible to lose so often. The 1973 Philadelphia 76ers gave it a shot though. Their record was 9-73 for the season, meaning that they won just 6.57% of their games. They didn't reach the Bucs' 26 game streak, however 20 consecutive losses that season puts them up there with the poorest seasons in professional basketball history. The '96 Grizzlies and the '98 Nuggets both recorded sequences of 23 straight losses, but they managed to record better seasons than the woeful 76ers.

The 1899 Cleveland Spiders hold the honor of the worst baseball season of all time with a 20-134 record. They are rivaled by the Wilmington Quicksteps of 1884 who had a record of 2-16 and a percentage of .111 compared to Cleveland's  .130. The Phillies lost 23 games in a row in 1961, but so far the Bucs are looking unbeatable. Well...you know what I mean.

In the National Hockey League, the record for consecutive losses is 17 which is shared by San Jose and Washington, however the Winnipeg Jets failed to win for 30 games which is a NHL record. 

Of course, all of the aforementioned teams play at the top level, against the best athletes in their field. There are stories of hideous records in soccer's backwaters such as Union Niederkappel of the Austrian seventh tier. They played and lost 22 games in the 1981/82 season conceding 216 goals and scoring just 8. At a higher level Derby County are the poorest ever side to have played in the English Premier League since its inception in 1992. They won just one of their 38 games and conceded 89 goals. 

All of the clubs mentioned should rightly be dismayed by their achievements. Being the worst at anything is deplorable, but the squads and rule-makers in North America have the most to answer for. The four major sports believe in parity uber alles. The notion of "any given sunday" reigns supreme in the land of the free and the fact that a franchise can be so unsuccessful makes nonsense of this ideal. Derby County have less money than Manchester United and reside in a less desirable area than Chelsea, so it stands to reason that they would struggle. However the Detroit Lions operate under a salary cap system that only marginally favors the more successful franchises. 

The coaching staff and players cannot be excused. They should have been able to beat at least one side in a league of equality. The general manager and his scouts also have to be placed under scrutiny for hiring staff that have performed so embarrassingly. 

Green Bay have not had a great season, losing their last five games. However if they manage to muster one last win before the post season, the Detroit Lions will surely go down as one of the most inexcusably bad franchises in sports history.

Why were these payers not signed by English clubs? The list includes world footballers of the year, Balon d'Or winners, and prodigious young talent. One would imagine that these players were hoovered up by Europe's superpowers. PSG, PSV, Fiorentina, and Atetico Madrid are no minnows but they are also not the calibre of Manchester United or Liverpool in terms of global appeal. So why didn't the British clubs sign them and why do so many young South Americans still head to mainland Europe rather than the "best league in the world"?

Standard argument 1: Manchester isn't as nice as Buenos Aires. Fact. 

The weather is always blamed for the attraction of Italy and Spain over Blighty. It does seem entirely fatuous to forward this argument when one considers that Kaka and Pato exchanged Sao Paolo and Porto Alegre for Milan. Milan in the winter is cold. As cold as London. As cold as Liverpool and Manchester. 

Standard argument 2: Not many English people speak Spanish.

A similar proportion of Italians speak Portuguese yet Brazilian wonderkids have no issue with the language barrier in la bella Italia.

English football has to look at itself at an intrinsic, self deploring entity that constantly heaps praise and pours scorn on it's own people. South American players aren't purchased by English clubs because so many scouts believe that a lack of British steel means that they will be found out in the Premiership. Serie A and La Liga offer a slower tempo which allows the flair and trickery to be allowed to flourish. 

They are also scared of the risk involved. In more recent times, Sir Alex Ferguson spent a large amount of money on Anderson when he signed him from Porto. But wait he came from Porto. That isn't in South America. It seems that managers will only take the plunge after a player has played in Europe. Did Manchester United's scouts watch Anderson at Gremio and miss the fact that he would become such an exciting prospect? If they did, then shouldn't they be sacked?

Rafa Benitez has revealed that he was interested in both Ever Banega and Sergio Aguero before they moved to Europe but he couldn't bring them over because of the expectations of the British crowd. Aguero would have been a gamble and he may not have been allowed the time that he had in Madrid if he had moved to Liverpool. But look at what he has become. At just 20 years old he is already being labelled the best player in the world in some quarters. He cost twenty million euros when he was signed from Independiente as an 18 year old. Rafa Benitez signed Robbie Keane for twenty million pounds as a 27 year old. The English crowd it seems, can accept the signing of what they understand but don't want their clubs to wager large amounts of money on exotic gambles. 

Perhaps mid table teams could invest in youngsters such as Lulinha, Alex Teixeira, Keirrison, Neymar, or Thiago Silva. These players could all be acquired for similar fees that they currently spend on the mediocre talent that is drafted in from across Europe. But the fear is even stronger for teams that need results to secure their financial futures. With fear of relegation applying to a dozen Premier League teams, it is a gamble that they are not willing to take. 

For every Kaka there is a Denilson, which can add credibility to the fear which the English have. But Chelsea have spent obscene figures on Ukranian, French, Portuguese, and Russian flops so why not boost the Brazilian economy?

Perhaps if English clubs took a step away from what is seen as traditional, the domestic game could see the wealth of talent that Spain and Italy have embraced. However two English teams did contest the Champions League Final last season. Now even I'm confused.

Following on from ending Chelsea’s 86 game unbeaten home record on Sunday, Liverpool maintained the top spot position in the league as they secured 3 points against a stubborn Portsmouth team who were adjusting to life without Harry Redknapp. After his surprise move to take over the managers role at Tottenham Hotspur late over the weekend, it was his opposite number Rafael Benetiz who rung the changes from the team that won at Chelsea on Sunday. Despite dominating the lion’s share of possession, the team from the red half of Merseyside laboured until the 76^th minute when captain Steven Gerrard stepped up to slot home a penalty kick awarded after a moment of madness from the Portsmouth midfielder Papa Diop as he handled an incoming corner-kick. The best chance of scoring for the visitors had earlier fallen to the same player who managed to head the ball into the hands of Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal when directing the ball anywhere else would have seen the visitors go up by a goal.

For the teams who found themselves holding onto joint second spot before yesterday’s action, the match played out at Hull’s KC Stadium could have been a tricky encounter for a visiting Chelsea side smarting after Sunday’s loss to Liverpool. As it turned out an early inspired chip by Frank Lampard in the 3^rd minute put Hull on the back foot as they tried to maintain their fantastic start to their debut season in England’s top league. Although the visiting west Londoner’s racked up further goals from Nicholas Anelka and Flourent Malouda, the final 3-nil score-line flattered the visitors as the home said created good opportunity’s before the third and decisive goal. If a Geovanni free-kick or a Daniel Cousin long distance shot had gone in as opposed to hitting the base of the post, Hull could well have been rewarded for the attitude and commitment they poured into this game. As it was the Tigers walked away with nothing to show for their efforts apart from the knowledge that they almost gave as good as they got.

Christano Ronaldo playing for Manchester United against West Ham United put in another performance which helps explain why this week saw him pick up the FifPro World Player Of the Year award, in addition prior to kick-off the Golden Boot for netting 42 times last season in United’s double-winning campaign. Although the Portuguese winger came close to scoring a hat-rick for the second time in the Premiership, the game will be remembered for a piece of divine skill which helped set-up the player’s second goal. Dimitar Berbatov showed exactly what thirty and a half million pounds will buy you as the forward produced a touch and pirouette which had the West Ham United defender in front of him routed to the spot. Whilst Collins was left pondering about what exactly had just taken place Berbatov strode away and slid an inch-perfect ball for Ronaldo to slot home from six yards. Despite winning their first two games under new Italian manager Gainfranco Zola, West Ham’s form of late has seen them loose their last four encounters, and with only 12 points from 10 games a pick-up in form is sorely hoped for.

Back in north London, the 143^rd derby between Arsenal and Tottenham will remain long in the memory for the one-sidedness of delightful Arsenal play, and a 4-4 score-line which saw Tottenham rescue a point in the dying moments of an eventful game. Buoyed by Sunday’s victory under new manager Harry Redknapp, Spurs set about their historical enemy as if their poor early season form under Juande Ramos was already a long distant memory. David Bentley got proceedings under way with a sublime 13^th minute effort against his former club, which saw him cushion a chest down from Jermaine Jenas on the instep of his boot and in one fluid movement strike the volley from the edge of the centre circle and in to the Arsenal net via the fingertips of Almunia in goal. Stung by their opponents early promise, what was to follow was wave upon wave of Arsenal pressure as their goal tally racked up. At 4-2 and thinking a satisfactory night’s work was already done, Arsene Wenger brought off two of the Tottenham‘s main tormentors for a well-deserved rest. However, what came after could quite possibly haunt this gifted but ‘naïve’ Arsenal team when final league standings come about next May. First on 89^th minute Jenas, again captaining the team in Ledley King’s absence, produced a superb curling effort to set up the rip-roaring finish, which then saw Aaron Lennon score of a rebound in the games dying moments.

Elsewhere in the Premier League Andrew Johnson racked up his first goals since signing for Fulham as he passed the landmark of 100 league goals scored, as Wigan were consigned to their fourth successive league defeat, Steve Bruce’s worst run of results sign taking over as manager at the club. Everton’s record signing, Marouanne Fellani from Belgian side Standard Liege, scored his third goal in four games as the away side secured victory in a dour game at Bolton Wander’s Reebok Stadium. Short of goal mouth action, Bolton remain rooted in the bottom three after another display that exposed their lack of a cutting edge which has seen them score only eight goals from ten league games.

Aston Villa despite playing three games in six days, made it three wins out of three as they took on a determined Blackburn side at home to go into fourth spot in the Premier League. Although the away side opened and closed the scoring in this fixture first with a Stephen Warnock long-range strike and a marvellously taken free kick by Bret Emerton in the 90^th minute, it was the work produced by Ashley Young and James Milner on the wings which went a long way to addressing those scores. The later “worked a miracle” in the words of manager Martin O’Neil to create an opening for Gareth Barry which saw the England midfielder score his third goal in three games. Points were made safe as Gabriel Agbonlahor struck in the 87^th minute to keep alive those Villa aspirations of securing a Champions League place finish.

Manchester City, despite unofficially being crowned the ‘wealthiest club in world football’ are still not the finished article as they lost two nil away to Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium. Where talking points abound in this game, most notably goals from Alfonso Alves and Gary O’Neil, the two-fingered gesture of Shaun Wright-Phillips in the general direction of ‘Brough manager Gareth Manager as he left the field after being substituted could well lead to further consequences for the in-form England wide player.

In the final game of the night, Stoke City moved away from the bottom three as they took on at home a Sunderland team who continue to infuriate their fanatical support with their in-and-out form. After walking away from the North-East derby with Newcastle over the weekend with victory, the visiting team put in a performance which showed where they had left their heads. With an approach of play which sees Stoke try to make the most of dead ball situations, it was unsurprisingly a missile of a throw from Rory Delap which saw Ricardo Fuller head home from close range. This seemed however to spur the home team onto a passage of play which ranks amongst the best they have produced thus far this season.

Of course, one could refer to the point earned by CFR Cluj-Napoca after the visit of Chelsea and argue that there is not such a big gap in quality after all, but it would be foolish to overlook the fact that the London side simply had a bad day. Every club is prone to delivering a performance that lacks penetration, as Arsenal duly demonstrated against Hull City last weekend in the domestic league. However, a re-evaluation of the mentality required to win is all it takes to steady the ship when a team possesses that much quality, and the Gunners' slick passing punished Porto's inadequacies on Tuesday night.

The fact that Arsenal and Liverpool, the 3rd and 4th best teams in England respectively, defeated FC Porto and PSV Eindhoven, league champions in their own nations, shows the superiority of the English Premier League over other countries. Of course we are already aware of this gap in class; three of the last four teams in last season's Champions League hailed from England. The other was Barcelona, who offered nothing in their semi-final against Man Utd and are relying heavily on a combination of dodgy refereeing decisions and the mercurial talents of Lionel Messi to guide them through the opening stages of their league and European campaigns.

Both Mourinho's Inter Milan and Juventus, giants of the Italian game, could only muster draws in their games whilst Bayern Munich and Lyon played out a 1-1 draw, with both teams looking out of sorts in these opening stages of the competition.

So what does this mean for European football? An English club has graced the final of the Champions League in each of the last four seasons, most notably with the all-English affair between Chelsea and eventual winners Manchester Utd last season. It is seen as a disappointing failure in this country if any one of the "big four" does not make it to the quarter-finals at the very least. There has not been this sort of domination of Europe by a nation since the late 1970s when English clubs won the competition five years running from 1977-1982. Would another run like that make the competition stagnant and less enjoyable?

One of the chief beauties of a football game is that the best team does not always win (once again, I refer to Arsenal vs. Hull City). It is this unpredictability that draws people to the game. However, over the course of a season or a lengthy competition such as the Champions League, the best team (or at least one of the best teams) does invariably win. And rightly so: if a club is made up of the most talented players and they play to the best of their ability then no-one can hold that against them. Did anyone begrudge Roger Federer winning Wimbledon five times in a row? No, because he had put in the hard work to become a good player and then simply exercised his talents to achieve his goal. So in a purely footballing sense, I fully welcome English clubs having continued success in European competition.

The only frightening part of English clubs dominating Europe is the financial implications. None of the other nations would be able to keep up with the wealth of the Premier League, but the greater worry is closer to home: the money earned from European success would propel the "big four" even further away from all the other clubs in the football league in terms of both trophies and financial resources. If that were to happen - and it is a distinct possibility -then the only hope of breaking that monopoly would be for the billionaire investors to come and throw their oil money at clubs such as Manchester City or Aston Villa. Then we are left with an on-going transfer merry-go-round as the world's best players arrive with hugely inflated wage demands and quash any hopes of young local talent coming through. This in turn would basically ensure that the England national team would never compete for a championship ever again.

So with that in mind, let us all hope for a surprise package to cause some upsets in the Champions League this season. I am hopeful of further success for FC Cluj, the team from Romania. With four points from their opening two games against Roma and Chelsea, they have shown they have the bite to potentially be the final nail in the coffin for one of the title hopefuls.

Well, It Is No Big News For Chelsea FC Fans That They Have Been Very Unlucky Since The 2006/07 Season, Losing Petr Cech, A Key Player And A Key GoalKeeper. They Also Had A Lot More Key Players Out Injured, John Terry Being One Of Them. However, It Was Not All Doom And Gloom, Petr Cech Eventually Returned And John Terry Too. Things Were Going Uphill For A Change, With Didier Drogba, Their Talismatic Striker, On Brilliant Form, They Just About Managed To Salvage The FA Cup And The Carling Cup.

2007/08

This Season Was A Rollercoaster Ride For Chelsea FC. Their First Shock Came When Jose Mourinho, Their Manager Left Stamford Bridge By Mutual Consent. As There Was No Replacement, The Director Of Football At Chelsea FC, Avram Grant Stepped In. It Wasn't A Good Start To The Season At All. The Departure Of Jose Shocked Everyone, many Rumoures Circuled Around The Trusted Players Of Jose, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Frank Lampard And Didier Drogba Just Some Of Them, Saying They Were On The Verge Of Leaving Stamford Bridge. Together They Managed To Reach The Finals Of Stages Of The Barclays Premier League, The Carling Cup And The UEFA Champions League, Only To Loose Out On All The Competitions.

2008/09

This Season Probably Turned Chelsea FC To A Better, If Possible, Team. They Appointed Former Brazil Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. They Signed Jose Bosingwa, To Solve Their Right Back Problems, And Deco, To Boost Their Midfielding Capabillity. With The New Team, They At The Top Of The Barclays Premier League, Top Of Their Group In The UEFA Champions league, With A Promising Future. The Sky's The Limit.

Is This Going To Be Chelsea FC's Lucky Year?

Having sold 35 year old Makalele (who still performed solidly in the last Champions League final), Chelsea were left with a single option, namely the lone figure of Mikel Obi sided by German centre-forward Michael Ballack. Frank Lampard being deployed further up the pitch and increasingly playing closer to the opposition's goal, the lack of options has pushed Stamford Bridge's executives, and Abramovich to reconsider their options. Following Scolari's advice, Chelsea purchased Mineiro, a Brazilian free agent to cover the gap left by Essien's injury. A proven footballer with great man marking abilities, Mineiro might reveal to be Chelsea's saviour. But doubts remain over his ability and potential to fulfil the expectations and potential that the Ghanean offered.

Loosing any player once the transfer market has closed is bad enough news. But loosing Essien for six months, is as bad as news can get, and that's due to this player's versatility. More often than not, Essien has played as midfielder. But during is time at Chelsea, his talents have been used in the following roles: central defender, side-back, and even winger.

The Gunner's maestro dominated the experienced German midfield and showed exactly why there are too few superlatives in the English language to describe his ability. The fluidity and aesthetic appeal of the Spanish in this tournament was nothing short of extraordinary - movement and vision encapsulated the aforementioned midfield quartet was arguably the key to success. In a time when football fans seem to call for more value for money through the turnstiles from the so called entertainment business- it was Spain who delivered the goods in every game. Only the second team to win every game of the Euros made Spain undoubtedly worthy winners which of course this begs the question; "Just how will the new European champions fare in 2010 at the next world cup against the traditional superpowers of Brazil and Argentina?"

In my humble opinion, it is a joy to behold the architects of some of the most precise, exuberant and lethal football being played, what's more is that it's these teams who are winning more often than not. In 2008 Manchester United edged out Chelsea in both the Premiership and Champions League, much to the delight of many footballing neutrals who were much more endured to the style and finesse of United than the power and efficiency of Chelsea. The likes of Drogba, Ballack, Lampard and Essien all played vital roles within the 2008 campaign for Chelsea, however it was these powerhouses who were preferred in Mourinho's and then Grant's teams selections over the more technically minded Kalou, Malouda and Wright-Phillips.

The appointment of Luiz Filipe Scolari as new Chelsea coach this summer has sparked rumors of a new Chelsea style, comparable to that of Manchester United, Barcelona, and other such iconic teams associated with the beautiful game. The first signing of Scolari was fellow Brazilian (now Portuguese by nationality) playmaker Deco. In a sensational coup, Scolari may have just found the missing component to Chelsea's title ambitions. The flair, pzazz and audacity of Deco could similarly rake in millions through media interest in a more attractive looking Chelsea team, commercial sales through shirts, and indeed more neutral support - A winner on all fronts for Abramovic, Kenyon, Buck and the rest of the Chelsea hierarchy.

Football is a beautiful game, one remembered for exciting games and gifted players. If the changing face of football is one with this façade, and this looks increasingly likely, it makes for an exciting time to come in the world's most beloved game. Long live the beautiful game.

In my humble opinion, it is a joy to behold the architects of some of the most precise, exuberant and lethal football being played, what's more is that it's these teams who are winning more often than not. In 2008 Manchester United edged out Chelsea in both the Premiership and Champions League, much to the delight of many footballing neutrals who were much more endured to the style and finesse of United than the power and efficiency of Chelsea. The likes of Drogba, Ballack, Lampard and Essien all played vital roles within the 2008 campaign for Chelsea, however it was these powerhouses who were preferred in Mourinho's and then Grant's teams selections over the more technically minded Kalou, Malouda and Wright-Phillips. The appointment of Luiz Filipe Scolari as new Chelsea coach this summer has sparked rumors of a new Chelsea style, comparable to that of Manchester United, Barcelona, and other such iconic teams associated with the beautiful game. The first signing of Scolari was fellow Brazilian (now Portuguese by nationality) playmaker Deco. In a sensational coup, Scolari may have just found the missing component to Chelsea's title ambitions. The flair, pzazz and audacity of Deco could similarly rake in millions through media interest in a more attractive looking Chelsea team, commercial sales through shirts, and indeed more neutral support - A winner on all fronts for Abramovic, Kenyon and Buck.

Football is a beautiful game, one remembered for exciting games and gifted players. If the changing face of football is one with this façade, and this looks increasingly likely, it makes for an exciting time to come in the world's most beloved game. Long live the beautiful game.

However much Avram Grant overachieved at Chelsea he was only ever considered a short term fire-fighter (although the contract extension he was given is baffling to say the least). “Big Phil” will no doubt have the players respect both because of his sheer presence and his world cup winners medal. The appointment of Scolari, world cup winner or not, is still a huge gamble. This is a man whose record in tournaments speaks for itself but whose record in qualifying is dubious at best. In the run up to the 2002 world cup Brazil needed to win their last game against Venezuela to avoid a play off against Australia, even Ecuador finished above them. On paper it looks they achieved this easily enough through their footballing superiority. Anyone who watched that match (a 3-0 win for Brazil) will tell you a different story as Venezuela's effort was, at best, questionable. For Luizao's first goal there was what the commentator described as “a parting of the Venezuelan sea”. All this was forgotten when Brazil triumphed in Japan but with Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho all fit and on form surely the job of managing Brazil wasn't too difficult. It was a just a matter of keeping the ego's in check.

In qualifying for Euro 2008 Scolari struggled to take Portugal to the Alps, even though theirs was definitely the easiest group. Scolari's supporters will no doubt point to his many successes in club football but none of these were in Europe. Wanderley Luxembergo was South America's top manager before he went to Real Madrid but he struggled to make any impression in European football. Brazilian footballers are different to Europeans and the kind of system he played just couldn't work with a largely European squad. As if to prove my point he went back to Santos and guided them to the Brazilian title.

Who have they signed?

Most people will already know all about Deco. The Brazilian playmaker is one of a select group of players to have won the champions league with two different clubs. At Porto he was the clubs heartbeat, playing just off the front and dictating the play. At Barcelona he played in a deeper role but he was still very effective in his first two seasons. He played a key part in the two La liga titles that they won; as well as the 2006 champions league. There is a question mark over whether Chelsea need him this season as it looks as if Lampard will see out his contract. I certainly can't see Ballack, Lampard and Deco all playing in the same team and it will be interesting to see which one starts the first game on the bench.

Bosingwa is an attacking full back who has excelled at Porto over the last eighteen months. He will certainly add to Chelsea's attacking threat down the right hand side. If, as expected, Joe Cole plays on the right hand side then Bosingwa's presence could allow him to cut inside more. There are a couple of question marks though: the £18 million fee looks a little inflated for a player that has only proved himself in the Portuguese league and his defensive play is certainly questionable.

Who should they sign and why should they sign them?

Chelsea still lack a world class left winger. Leo Messi is the player that springs to mind although the fee would be astronomical. Mallorca's Venezuelan playmaker Juan Arrango deserves the chance to prove himself at a champion's league club and he would be suited to Scolari's South American style.

Where will they hope to finish?

First

What position will be seen as acceptable?

If they win the Champions league then second or third place will be tolerated.

Where will they actually finish?

There have been lots of changes at the Bridge and a few key players are unsettled. Scolari will also have to adapt to both English and European football. Although Chelsea fans will disagree; if they finish third this year it wouldn't be a complete disaster.