Blackburn Rovers

It seems like ages since any team has troubled Manchester United in the Premier League, finally last night a team did. Blackburn Rovers came to Old Trafford to try and get something out of the match, and they could have done.

Before the match, Edwin Van Der Sar had kept 14 consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League, but that came to an end yesterday.

There were a few controversial decisions by the referee, they cancelled themselves out over the match, I will talk about them a bit later.

Sir Alex Ferguson made quite a few changes- Jonny Evans came in for Nemanja Vidic, that one was expected because Vidic is suspended for the Champion's League match on Tuesday.

Rafael da Silva, Luis Nani, Wayne Rooney and Tomasz Kuszczak all started, Van Der Sar was rested.

United started off well, Paul Scholes had a shot at goal but it went well wide. United had another chance when Cristiano Ronaldo's ball in just needed a touch and it would have been in the back of the net, the follow up shot by  Patrice Evra went just wide.

Wayne Rooney put Man United in front, Nani was the provider, his cross touched the outstretched leg of  Ryan Nelsen but Rooney was there and reacted sharply, he knocked the ball past Paul Robinson to make it 1-0 Man United.

When that goal went in you wouldn't have been surprised if United went on to thrash Rovers but to their credit they did attack and due to a few stupid mistakes by United players, Rovers became the first club in the Premier League to score against Man United since the 8th November 2008.

The first mistake was by Nani who let Andre Ooijer take the ball from him, Ooijer slid the ball through to Roque Santa Cruz, Rio Ferdinand was with Santa Cruz but Kuszczak came out instead of taking the ball, he slid into Ferdinand.

Santa Cruz took it past two United players and at a tight angle, knocked the ball into the back of the net.

United did score a goal before half time but it was ruled out for some unknown reason. Morten Gamst Pederson fouled Rafael close to the corner flag, it should have been a freekick but a corner was given, it shouldn't have been a corner.

Anyway, Nani's corner was met by the head of Jonny Evans, seconds later, the whistle was blown and the goal was ruled out. Howard Webb gave Rovers a freekick for some possible pushing by Ronaldo, if there was some pushing it was the slightest of touches. There wasn't much in it at all.

Second half and Ronaldo was trying to get some room on target to get a shot in on goal, he was caught by a Rovers player but stupidly kicked out at him. Ronaldo wasn't shown a yellow at that point but he should have reacted, it isn't the first time he has done that this season.

Not long after, Ronaldo was booked. He was booked for diving, trying to win United a penalty. The freekick was given to Rovers but it was a dive by Ronaldo, he was rightly shown a yellow card, he wasn't touched and I wish that he would stop diving, he is a world class player and doesn't need to cheat.

Rovers did have a few more chances, Pedersen had a shot, his shot took a slight deflection off Ferdinand, Kuszczak also touched it to give them a corner. The resulting corner was taken, Nani missed the ball, so it went back into the penalty area, once again it wasn't cleared and Nelsen's shot hit the post, rebounded back to El Hadj Diouf back Kuszczak blocked it.

Man United's second goalcame from a freekick, Evra was fouled just outside the penalty area by Keith Andrews. Ronaldo prepared himself and his magical freekick went over the wall, past the ball and into the back of the net.

It was a stunning goal, in the second half we saw the best and worst of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Whilst Ronaldo and the United players were celebrating the goal, Evan's was being brought off due to an injury, he is now doubtful for the match against Inter Milan on Tuesday, that means we are without Vidic and now possibly Evans.

Rovers should have been given a penalty in the second half when Rafael had his hands all over the back of Pedersen. It should have been a penalty or if Webb thinks it was a dive then it should have been a yellow card.

Berbatov should have settled the game, Rooney's ball in was perfect for Berbatov, Berbatov's header went over the bar.

Overall, I think United just deserved the victory because United did have a perfectly good goal ruled out and Rovers should have had a penalty. Over the past few matches Manchester United have been in fantastic form but they didn't play well today and if United want to get anything at the San Siro then they will have to play a lot better.

Manchester United are now eight points ahead of Liverpool who play Manchester City today. To read more go to Man United Devils blog.

Barney Corkhill's Unofficial World Club Championship (UWCC) saw another defence today as champions Manchester United took on Sam Allardyce's Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford.

Blackburn went into this match going through a spell of patchy form. They have been hard to beat lately, but had been recording too many draws, and remained in the relegation zone.

Manchester United, on the other hand, had recently gone five points clear at the top of the table and were unbeaten in 25. Perhaps even more impressively, they hadn't conceded a league goal since November 8.

That run ended, but the unbeaten record didn't as United moved eight points clear with a hard-fought 2-1 win.

It was a case of the good, the bad, and the ugly, but they came in reverse order.

"The ugly" came after just 23 minutes as Wayne Rooney (sorry Wayne, I had to make it work!) capitalised on a misunderstanding between Ryan Nelson and Paul Robinson. He finished from point-blank range with typical ease.

This came after Patrice Evra had come within a whisker of giving United an earlier lead with a shot that whistled narrowly wide of the post.

Blackburn kept battling, however, and Roque Santa Cruz became the first player to score past United in the league this year after rounding Thomas Kusczak and rolling it in to the empty net.

Then came "the bad" as we saw the type of behaviour that makes people doubt Cristiano Ronaldo is the world's best. First he kicked out at David Dunn, not the first time he has done so this season, and he swiftly followed that with a blatant dive which referee Howard Webb rightly showed him the yellow card for.

United's Jonny Evans then had a seemingly perfectly good goal disallowed for a supposed push.

As the second-half wore on, Blackburn started piling the pressure on the league leaders, and fired a warning shot when Ryan Nelson hit the post.

However, "the good" was the deciding factor this time as Ronaldo fired in a sublime free-kick, the type of which helped him be named the world's best. From an acute angle, the power and swerve on his free-kick beat Paul Robinson, and United held on, despite a strong penalty claim for Morten Gamst-Pedersen late on.

The result means that United still have a 100 percent record in the UWCC.

Of the 51 voters in the poll, 98 percent of people said that Blackburn wouldn't be able to beat United to claim the UWCC title so well done again to the vast majority of you!

Manchester United's run

West Ham 0-1 Manchester United (Manchester United become new champions)

Derby County 1-4 Manchester United

Manchester United 3-0 Fulham

Manchester United 2-1 Blackburn Rovers

(Click here to see the complete history of Barney Corkhill's Unofficial World Club Championship)

Manchester United's next title defence comes on Tuesday as they take on Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan in the Champions League. Could Inter Milan become the first non-English team to become the best in the world?!

Action

With their 2-0 win at Ewood Park against Blackburn Rovers, the team that looks very likely to claim a UEFA Champions League spot for next season have broken a club record.

Goals from James Milner and Gabriel Agbonlahor meant Aston Villa came away with all three points at Ewood Park, and also meant they have now won a club-record seven consecutive away games.

Throughout the match, Villa were rather impressive, and when Milner opened the scoring with a curling effort on 27 minutes, it seemed inevitable to be the first of many for the Villans.

However, Martin O'Neill's side wasted countless opportunities, most notably with new signing Emile Heskey missing the target on two occassions, both with close-range headers.

Blackburn Rovers themselves had numerous opportunities to capitalise on the wastefulness of their opponents, but they themselves were even more toothless in front of goal.

Villa though, had to show why they are capable of a top four finish, and finally put away an opportunity in the 90th minute, with Gabriel Agbonlahor sealing a club-record seventh consecutive away win to push his side above a lacklustre Chelsea side and up into third in the Premier League table.

 

Reaction

Martin O'Neill hailed his 'developing' Aston Villa side after they rose to third in the table with success at Blackburn Rovers.

O'Neill was full of praise for his side after the game, although he did admit to his concern before Agbonlahor finally wrapped up the match in injury-time.

He said: "It could have been more comfortable. We had a number of great chances to put the game beyond their reach, before we eventually did so.

"Those were worrying moments when you don't take the chances. We created a lot of chances today, especially considering we were away from home.

"But we have been playing strongly. There is good drive and determination among the team and I was absolutely delighted when we scored the late second goal.

"I was expecting a really difficult game. A lot of Blackburn Rovers' attacks started but then maybe failed about 15 to 20 yards from goal."

The victory secured a club-record seventh successive away league win, and O'Neill praised their impressive form on the road.

He added: "What the record tells me is an awful a lot about the team. I think the performances of the team have been fantastic. A lot of the players are playing very, very well at the moment.

"There is a lot of determination and energy. I am delighted with 51 points on the board, which is fantastic for us. We have got to try and keep the momentum going, which is going to be really difficult."

Blackburn Rovers boss Sam Allardyce conceded Aston Villa claimed a deserved success against his side at Ewood Park.

The Rovers boss said: "I don't really have any complaints. I don't think we can say that we really deserved anything out of the game. I thought Villa were the better side.

"In the first half we lost to a super, super strike from James Milner. You only have to switch off for a minute against Villa.

"The second half was a little more disappointing than the first. We lost our passing. We never put enough pressure on Villa's back four.

"And finally in the end they got the second goal. There was still four minutes to go and we were going to throw caution to the wind.

"But they popped up with that goal and that finally killed us off, unfortunately. I don't think too much went for us today. We are obviously disappointed.

"We put all the effort in that we can, but it wasn't good enough today. Villa, for the first time in my games since I have been there, were the much better side."

quotes: www.skysports.com

Last January Sam Allardyce “parted company by mutual consent” with Newcastle United after an apparently disastrous six months in charge. Mike Ashley made it clear in no uncertain terms that he did not see ‘Big Sam’ as the man to take the club forward. A year on and this weekend saw Sam’s new club Blackburn triumph 3-0 over his old employers and not many people would have begrudged the man a wry smile at the result.

Allardyce drew an awful lot of criticism for his tenure at Newcastle but was it really all that bad? A club that had finished thirteenth in the season before his arrival was positioned in eleventh at the time of his departure. 

Allardyce himself pointed out recently on Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday programme that he left the club in eleventh, an improvement on the previous season albeit a small one, and the club has never been as high in the table again in the twelve months since he left.

Clearly he felt hard done by at not being given a fair crack of the whip in the North-East and he had to bide his time waiting for an opportunity for his comeback. Somewhat ironically it came at the expense of another manager perhaps not given enough time at a Premiership club in the shape of Paul Ince. 

However, the comparison ends there as Ince had inherited a team which achieved a seventh place finish the previous season and under his control had only accumulated 13 points in 17 games in charge.

‘Big Sam’ took over and has already taken eight points from four games including three clean sheets from a team which up until his arrival had conceded more goals than anyone else in the entire Premier League. So far the opposition he has faced as been less than stellar but no-one can deny or question the positive impact that he has made.

Yet still the stigma remains with Allardyce concerning the style of football that his teams play, but not everyone can play free-flowing, attacking football – besides, outside of Arsenal and Manchester United and possibly Aston Villa who in the Premiership does play this easy-on-the-eye brand of football? 

Even the Champions’ table-topping recent run of form has only seen nine goals in their past nine games while their defence has remained unbreached. Allardyce’s Bolton got slaughtered for playing better football than that.  Why?

Yes his Bolton team were physical and uncompromising but they also achieved results that I feel have been somewhat swept under the carpet. An eighth place finish in 2003/2004—does Megson’s team look capable of this at present? Probably not. And what of the sixth place finish the very next year where they finished below Champions League winners Liverpool only on goal difference? Nowadays, absolutely no chance, yet it did happen only four years ago.

Allardyce left Bolton in April 2007. What was their position at the time? Fifth. 

English managers seem to be completely overlooked when it comes to handing out praise in the Premier League where it is easily lavished upon the likes of Ferguson, Mourinho, O’Neill, etc. Would any of them have got Bolton into the top six? Possibly, maybe probably, of course we’ll never know but it’s still a pretty good achievement no? Could anyone really have done much better with the resources at Bolton?

So why did he have to wait a year until he was offered another job? In my eyes this is madness and wouldn’t happen anywhere else. The press only seem capable of building up foreign managers and knocking down the English ones. Why is this? What is the problem with English managers in England and why can’t they get a break? 

Let me know your thoughts and perhaps we can get to the bottom of this mystery…

Big Sam Allardyce was at a Newcastle game again in the weekend, again watching them lose through some poor finishing and an apparent lack of desire.

Comfortingly for him though he was managing the opposition to the victory and up out of the relegation zone. This victory would have been a sweet salve to the wounds he picked up in his time at Newcastle, and the recent form of Blackburn since his arrival has gotten the monkey off his back for the time being.

He has demonstrated again that he does have an eye for a team and the improvements and changes he has made to the Blackburn starting line up and squad since his arrival seem to be already paying dividends for the Lancashire outfit.

A far cry from the meek exit he had to endure at Newcastle.

But the war is far from won and over the next few months Allardyce is again presented with an opportunity to show his management nous to the watching eyes of the football world.

The question for him is whether he can keep turning this team out week-to-week and obtaining the points needed to steady the ship. Hughes is a hard act to follow at this club, as Paul Ince found out to his detriment, even if Hughes is not exactly setting the oil field on fire at Newlands.

Blackburn have definitely held their own since returning to the top flight but for a club that have actually won the Premier League have shown none of the ambition that drove them under Jack Walker.

Perhaps Allardyce can turn them into a side that again challenge for European places again, as they definitely still possess a very strong group of players.

McCarthy has been in great form since being put back in the starting line up, with four goals in four matches and this has to be one of the best things that Allardyce has done so far.

If he can get the same hunger out of the rest of the side it may be that Blackburn are back among the European contenders, before the end of the season.

Barney Corkhill's Unofficial World Club Championship (UWCC) was due to see another defence today as champions Fulham were to take on Sam Allardyce's Blackburn at Craven Cottage.

Unfortunately for all involved, however, the match was abandoned due to a frozen pitch, with the referee deeming it unsafe just an hour before the scheduled kick-off.

The new year has brought with it a new wave of cold weather, and it has hit the football fixtures hard.

A whole host of lower league matches were postponed due to the frozen conditions, but it is rare that Premier League matches, with the facilities the clubs have, get called off for such reasons.

It happened twice today, though, as both Portsmouth's match against Manchester City and Fulham's UWCC title match with Blackburn were postponed.

The decision infuriated the travelling Blackburn fans, many of whom had endured five- or six-hour coach journeys to see their heroes play, only to be told the match won't take place with just an hour to go.

The decision, however, also means the Fulham hold on to their Unofficial World Club Championship title for a few days longer.

Of course, the match won't go down as another successful defence for Fulham, nor an unsuccessful challenge from Blackburn.

Instead, it will go down as the first ever postponed match in UWCC history.

95.2 percent of voters on the poll said that Fulham would hold on to their UWCC title, but I guess we'll never find out what would have happened!

Fulham's run

Fulham 2-1 Tottenham (Fulham become new champions)

Liverpool 0-0 Fulham

Aston Villa 0-0 Fulham

Fulham 1-1 Manchester City

Stoke 0-0 Fulham

Fulham 3-0 Middlesbrough

Tottenham 0-0 Fulham

Fulham 2-2 Chelsea

Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Fulham

Fulham P-P Blackburn

(Click here to see the complete history of Barney Corkhill's Unofficial World Club Championship.)

Fulham's next title defence comes next Sunday as they travel to Upton Park to take on West Ham. Could the Hammers beat Fulham and become the best club side in the world?!

When Abu Dhabi United took over Thaksin Shinawatra's reigns at Manchester City during the summer transfer window, speculation ravaged over who they would bring in.

Fortunately for the other 19 teams in the league, they didn't have a lot of team in which to deal, so they had to make do with just the one signing. This signing, however, sent a message out to everyone that City were willing to take on Abramovich's Chelsea in the transfer market, as they captured Robinho for a British record transfer fee.

For the remainder of the year, barely a week went by without a new target being touted in the media. It started off with the dream team they were looking to build, involving the likes of Kaka, Fabio Cannavaro, Gigi Buffon, Fernando Torres, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

One by one, these players, unsurprisingly, said they weren't interested. No amount of money could tempt them to the blue side of Manchester.

Yet, with a reported £550 billion in their pockets, Abu Dhabi United were still expected to spend big.

Things weren't going much better on the field either, as, instead of challenging for a European spot like many thought they would, they are now embroiled in a relegation battle, with manager Mark Hughes under increasing pressure.

Now, this will discourage the world's best players to come to Eastlands even more, but surely it would make Abu Dhabi want them even more.

To be honest, I doubt anyone expected them to get the very best players in the world. However, I also doubt many expected them to get the players they are now being linked with.

I never thought they would get Kaka, but I thought they would chase the likes of Yaya Toure. Not the best in the world but a very good player nonetheless.

Instead, they are aiming for Scott Parker—a better than average player who is in and out of the side at West Ham. Yes, they have to be realistic, but with that much money in the bank, the level of realism needed drops a considerable amount, like it or not.

Mark Hughes has also said that the club is after Craig Bellamy and Roque Santa Cruz. Now, Santa Cruz I can understand. He has proved himself to be a very good player, particularly under Mark Hughes.

But Craig Bellamy, who was sold by Mark Hughes at Blackburn, is another player who isn't at the standard I would expect City to be chasing. He is a good player, without a doubt, but the best they could get? Not a chance.

Which brings me to Wayne Bridge. Again, he is a good player, he wouldn't have 32 England caps to his name if he didn't, but is he the best they could get? Again, no.

Now, I know that City need a defender. None of their back four have been playing consistently well, with Richard Dunne and Micah Richards a long way off last season's form, and they are leaking goals all too easily.

I also know that their attack, when on form, is among the best in the league. Which, of course, means they need a defender. But there are other players I would rate higher than Wayne Bridge. Taye Taiwo would have been a perfect signing for City.

Kolo Toure and Michael Dawson are other choices who may have added a bit of steel to the central defence. After all, left-back is not the only position Manchester City need to rectify. Diego Lugano would be another great signing for them, in my opinion.

Still, Bridge must be doing something right—he has now signed for the two richest clubs in British football history. This may also give him a chance to overhaul Ashley Cole in the England set-up.

But first he will have to impress at City, something he is very capable of doing. £12 million though? And a reasonable target for a team with pockets as deep as Manchester City's?

To both, I answer no.

He may be a Premier League footballer, a rock star, and a pin-up for thousands of Paraguayan girls, but I would hate to be Roque Santa Cruz around this time of year!

With Christmas fast approaching, the inevitable puns on his name flood in. Yet they do not stop, and they crop up around whatever he does!

Should he score, the headlines in almost every paper the next day would be something like: "Santa gives Blackburn the perfect Christmas present!"

Should he miss, the headlines would be: "Santa missing at Christmas!"

If, for some reason, he was booed, and the fans gave him some harsh treatment then the headlines would inevitably be along the lines of "Santa sleighed!"

This year, with the speculation being all about his future at the club, the headlines have been mentioning Santa's shopping list and how all he wants for Christmas is to leave!

My personal favourite from this year, however, has to be when it was rumoured that Sam Allardyce would only get the Blackburn job if he could keep Santa Cruz at the club. The headline read: "Sam's Santa Clause!"

Genius!

But when they are on the back pages of every paper in every shop, then it gets quite tiresome! I mean, I'm fed up with it, so I wonder what Santa Cruz himself feels like!

So, for Christmas, I am asking for an end to all the Santa puns! Please! Start using things like Ryan Bauble, Pepe Reindeer, and Holly Gunnar Solskjear by all means, but no more Santa Cruz!

Sincerely,

Scrooge

Click here to see the Greatest Sporting Moments of 2008!

On Saturday Sam Allardyce enjoyed the perfect start to his Blackburn managerial career, enjoying a 3-0 win over fellow strugglers Stoke City. 

For many, the result itself was the story of the weekend—marking as it did the return to form of a side that had begun to look dead and buried under Paul Ince.

For others, however, it was Allardyce’s post-match actions that were the most intriguing. Ever since a 2006 Panorama documentary—one that suggested “Big Sam” and his son, Craig, had accepted bungs as part of transfer dealings while at Bolton Wanderers—Allardyce had resolutely refused to talk to the BBC.

On Saturday, however, Allardyce was more than happy to speak to the BBC’s John Murray at great length after his side’s “near perfect" win.

The Panorama documentary—which also incurred the wrath of Harry Redknapp—included recorded conversations with player agents who revealed that Allardyce had taken backhanders as part of the transfer of many Bolton players—with the signing of Omani goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi under particular scrutiny.

In another part of the documentary, Craig Allardyce was recorded boasting to an undercover reporter about the influence he held with his father, and how together they were in a position to profit financially from Bolton’s transfer activity.

Understandably, the fallout from the airing of the program was huge. Allardyce immediately refuted all the allegations, and threatened legal action. And, in a beautifully theatrical act, he refused to speak to the BBC again in his lifetime.

As a result, Bolton post-match Match of the Day interviews were taken by Allardyce's assistant Ricky Sbragia (now doing very well as Sunderland caretaker manager), while Allardyce happily kept giving good material to Sky and ITV.

This practice continued for the reminder of his Bolton career, and also his short-lived and unsuccessful stint at Newcastle United.

Even since then, Allardyce has been more than willing to offer his expert punditry to any media outlet that would have him—except the BBC—in a thinly-veiled attempt to keep his name in the running for any job opening.

He has been a regular on Sky Sports, and has appeared so frequently in the British tabloids offering his opinion on other Premiership clubs that Jose Mourinho could quite legitimately call him a voyeur—if he was still in the country.

When Ince was sacked at Ewood Park, Allardyce’s media-whoring seemed to have worked perfectly—he was immediately installed amongst the favourites for the job. He had kept himself in the media spotlight—and kept his BBC boycott going to boot.

As events transpired, within a week Allardyce would be at the helm at Ewood Park, and by Saturday evening he was enjoying his first success with his new club.

So what a surprise it was, then, to see new Rovers manager on our TV screens after the match, seemingly more than happy to speak to the BBC on Match of the Day. Did this signal the end of hostilities between the two sides?

Seemingly not.

Having never actually initiated libel proceedings against the BBC, Allardyce’s appearance can only lead to a limited number of conclusions—none of them reflecting particularly well on the former Notts County boss.

The first conclusion is arguably the most obvious. Perhaps Allardyce had just been away from football so long that he forget about his boycott—and was so used to speaking to every media organization within site that he did not look for the BBC logos.

The second is more in keeping with the recent conduct of the man. Perhaps the 54-year-old had an overwhelming desire to get his face back in front of a Saturday evening TV audience, a desire that went above and beyond his moral opposition to their documentary.

The third possibility is perhaps the most revealing—maybe his appearance was a tacit admission that the BBC might have been right all long. The lack of a libel case only adds weight to such a possibility—although undoubtedly the man would never publically make such an admission.

Unfortunately for Allardyce, none of the three potential reasons make him look good—indeed they actually make his past actions look petty, deceitful, attention-seeking, and downright misleading.

In fairness to Allardyce, as no FA sanctions were brought as a result of the Panorama investigation, perhaps he believes he has made his point. But why then claim in the first place that he would never speak to the BBC in his lifetime, and why choose the first successful game in charge of a new club to start talking again to the nation's biggest broadcaster?

Once considered a potential England manager, the Panorama show and his recent conduct arguably show beyond doubt that while Allardyce has a creditable managerial record, he does not have the class or integrity to ever be given the highest job in the land.

If he keeps Blackburn up this season, Rovers fans are not likely to care that much about their manager's integrity.

And if that keeps his name in the media—you imagine it might not bother Allardyce that much either.

A look at the winners and losers after Week 18 in the English Premier League.

Winners

Arsenal

Lost Fabregas and had Emmanuel Adebayor sent off early in the second half. The draw leaves them still eight points behind Liverpool, but that is better than being 11 points behind. Arsenal title hopes are still alive, At least for another week.

Ricky Sbragia

Two impressive wins as Sunderland’s caretaker manager could end up earning Sbragia the full-time job. In his two games in charge, Sunderland have scored eight goals while only conceding one. Six points in the last two games moves Sunderland three points above the relegation zone.

Aston Villa

It was not an impressive win against West Ham, but it was the type of win that top teams commonly grind out. Villa sit in third place with Arsenal coming to Villa Park next weekend and have a chance to put six points between themselves and Arsenal in that race for the fourth Champions League place.

Portsmouth

Pompey is reported to have sold Lassana Diarra to Real Madrid with a fee reported to be in the region of £20 million. That will be about a £15 million profit in a year on Diarra. That is the kind of profit that could save Portsmouth from having a mass sale in January.

Losers

Liverpool

When you have a chance to knock one of your biggest rivals out of the title race before Christmas you have to take it. After Adebayor was sent off, Liverpool failed to take advantage of the man advantage by pushing forward for the win. Champions have a killer ability and Liverpool seem to be lacking this.

Nemanja Vidic

A stupid red card in the World Club finals will see Vidic miss at least the first leg against Inter Milan in the Champions League and potentially United’s next three Champions League games. Vidic is the heart and soul of the United defence and his presence will be sorely missed in Italy.

Mark Hughes

Third bottom at Christmas is not the position that City’s Arab investors were expecting to see. City will be linked with a lot of big names during the January transfer window and you have to wonder how much longer Mark Hughes will have to turn City’s season around before his is replaced by a big name manager from overseas.

Tony Adams

The other manager on the hot seat is Adams. Under his leadership, Portsmouth has only one win in the last six Premier League and with West Ham and Arsenal on the schedule for the holiday season; Portsmouth could easily get dragged down into the relegation battle.