The Relegation Battle [Guest Article]

QPR seem to be cut adrift at the bottom of the table; whilst Saints’ fans will argue that they are safe already. But it truly is anyone’s guess as to who will survive as the battle to stay up reaches breaking point with 3 spots to be avoided.

West Ham

They looked like certain survivors at the end of November but since then they have really struggled. The highlight so far has been a 3-1 win against London rivals Chelsea however they suffered a devastating loss to Spurs on Monday, conceding the winner in the 90th minute via Gareth Bale. Although most say their squad is too good to go down, they aren't safe just yet. Their remaining fixtures are very difficult with Stoke (A), Chelsea (A), West Brom (H), Liverpool (A), Southampton (A), Wigan (H), Manchester City (A) being just a few of them, they've also got a re-arranged game at home to Manchester United to play too. Whilst their home form has been generally very good, their away form has been dreadful and is definitely a cause for concern. 

Key to survival: Fixing away form

Chances of survival: 85%

Is Money Ruining Football?

“What is a club in any case? Not the buildings or the directors or the people who are paid to represent it. It’s not the television contracts, get-out clauses, marketing departments or executive boxes.

It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city.

It’s a small boy clambering up stadium steps for the very first time, gripping his father’s hand, gawping at that hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love.” - Sir Bobby Robson

What a beautiful quote from one of football's greats. It sums up everything important about the beautiful game. A club is not about the players, it's about the people who are part of it, the fans. In an age where a family day out at a match can break the bank, we take a look at the effect of money on football.

The Race for the Champions League [Guest Article]

2/3 of the way into another gripping Premier League season and it’s all to play for to grab a Champions League place, with 5 teams going for 2 places to join Europe’s elite next season. Currently, Chelsea and Spurs sit in pole position to nab these places but Arsenal, Everton and arguably even Liverpool still remain in the running for a top 4 berth. Below is a team-by-team guide to the contenders, rating their chances and analysing what has to go right for them to stand a chance of top 4.

Chelsea

There’s no doubt that Chelsea are in the driving seat to yet again secure Champions League football; but it hasn’t been confirmed yet. They are a mere 5 points clear of Arsenal in 5^th, and still have to play the two Manchester clubs and Spurs. A lot will depend on the continued form of their attacking midfield trio, of Oscar, Hazard and Mata: if they perform well, then it is hard to look past Chelsea for one of the Champions League berths.

Key to success: The Midfield Trio                              

Chances of top 4: 85%

Why the ‘Race for the Title’ Is Still a Race [Guest Article]

Many pundits, fans and players seem to have it etched into their minds that Manchester United have already won the Premier League this season. But whilst it is mathematically possible, there is still the chance that they may slip up. A variety of factors could yet work against Manchester United to allow Manchester City to prevail in their place. 

Form

There’s a famous first half to a phrase that states “form is temporary”. And that is the exact reason why City could yet catch up with United. 12 points is ‘only’ 4 wins, and if United hit a dry spell and draw and lose a couple, then a rampant City could be ready to pounce. The 2 sides still have to meet at Old Trafford at the start of April, and if City win there and sit between 4 and 6 points behind United, then they will fancy their chances of spoiling the Reds’ party.

Jack Wilshere Vs Tom Cleverley

Many football fans have recently been making the comparison between Jack Wilshere and Tom Cleverley due to them both being young, up and coming central midfielders. Both look extremely promising and possess huge potential but we're going to take a look at who comes out on top when they're compared. 

Is Rio Ferdinand's Absence From The National Team Deserved?

Rio Ferdinand has not played for his country since June 2011 but even at the age of 34 many are still calling for his recall. Roy Hodgson has repeatedly played down the situation and claimed that the snubs have been down to 'footballing reasons'. As the once England captain has regained his place as one of the first names on the Manchester United, we ponder the question - Does he deserve to be left out the National team?


Recently Ferdinand stated that he would love a return to the England team, claiming that he loves playing for them. His most recent snub was the squad to face Brazil in a friendly at Wembley and it doesn't look like he'll be returning any time soon as Hodgson stated his irritation at the constant barrage of questions surrounding the United defender. Hodgson said

 "I am not prepared, every time we play, to keep revisiting something which I have revisited at every single press conference for the last 10 months."

The Story of the Transfer Window - Part 2

So the January transfer window of 2013 has come to an end and £127.8m has been spent. It wasn't so frantic, however, plenty happened over the course of the month and the final part will take a look at all that went on, including the infamous 'Deadline Day'.

There was a slight lull in events during mid-January as the window calmed down a bit. This was before Newcastle decided to raid France in order to turn around their season. They had been chasing Frenchman Loic Remy of Marseille and he looked destined for St. James', however QPR swooped and offered mega-bucks, luring him to West London. This seemed to spark some rage as they went on the offensive, signing a further 4 French players, on top of Debuchy in a foreign raid. First up was Montpellier's central defender, Mapou Yanga-M'Biwa for a fee believed to be around £6.7m. The big man was to be just the first player to cross the channel for football in the upcoming days. In between all this was the move of Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder. The midfield maestro had fallen out with Inter Milan months ago and hadn't really featured this season, leading to him wanting a move away from the club. The club he chose was Turkish giants, Galatasaray and they managed to pick him up for an incredible £8.4m! This was an absolute coup in my opinion for a world class player who was one of the only players who performed for the Netherland at EURO 2012. Many football fans were disappointed that he chose to go to Turkey as they wanted a chance to see him in the Premier League. For some time it had seemed like that might just happen after he was linked with Liverpool, however it just wasn't to be.

The Story of the Transfer Window - Part 1

So the January transfer window of 2013 has come to an end and £127.8m has been spent. It wasn't so frantic, however, plenty happened over the course of the month and part 1 of 2 will dissect all the events that went on in the early stages.

The window got off to a flyer with a big money £12m deal taking place on just the second day of January. The deal involved Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge moving to the North and Liverpool FC. It had been a deal talked about for a while as it had been publicly known that Sturridge was unhappy at Chelsea and Liverpool were desperate for a forward to support Suarez. Sturridge managed to get off to a flyer too, scoring on his league and cup debut. He's now bagged 3 in his first 5 games, now that's what you call hitting the ground running!

Transfers XI

Now that the January transfer window has reached it's climax, I thought I'd put together a team of players who have switched clubs in the window. Here's what I came up with! 

Obviously it was extremely difficult to narrow down the choices as there were so many options, especially in attack with just 2 free slots! 

Why Britain Needs More Footballers Like Alan Hutton

Alan Hutton recently signed for Spanish side RCD Mallorca so guest blogger 'The Game On Paper' decided to evaluate - Why Britain Needs More Footballers Like Alan Hutton.

Lineker, Beckham, Owen, Woodgate, Carson, Mancienne - and now Alan Hutton can join that list. If you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s a list of British players who have played abroad. Of course there are more than that, in fact at this moment in time there are 302 English players who are playing for foreign clubs (note that this includes people playing for Swansea and Cardiff as well due to them technically being Welsh). Out of those 302 English players, 130 of them play in the Welsh Premier League, the SPL, or the Scottish 1^st Division. Of the remaining pack, there is one player in the Bundesliga (Michael Mancienne), one in Ligue 1 (Joey Barton) and well, as for players in the major foreign leagues, that’s as far as it goes. Two players playing in a standard considered high enough to be in the running for the national team. 2.