Top Four for Citeh this season?

Perhaps Roberto Mancini needs to double-up on his English lessons but did he say he’s targeting Citeh to finish in the top four this season? And did he mention that the Blues will be challenging for the Premiership next season? Has Mancini been watching the way City’s been playing all season?

Maybe the Italian’s expecting a large transfer kitty in January and make some major changes to the squad Sparky assembled (maybe he’ll start to get more defenders and fewer strikers). But would City’s billionaire owners agree to another spending spree in the transfer market after the exorbitant amount the club spent some six months ago?

And if they do succumb to some more spending, what guarantees are there that Mancini will adapt to the fast-pace of the Premier League in the remaining six months of the league to ensure City overtake Tottenham and Aston Villa into the fourth place. This is, by the way, on the assumption Rafa Benitez’ Liverpool continues their abysmal form into the new year.

Maybe Mancini was just saying what his new bosses wanted to hear. Unfortunately for him, its going to take a lot more than bold statements to keep his new employers at the Eastlands happy.

Sparky’s out, is Rafa next?

Very few people, except for Harry Redknapp, would've been surprised with City's decision to axe Sparky over the weekend. After spending more than the so-called "Big Four" over the summer, the odds were always stacked against Hughes making it into the new year. Especially when City's acquisitions over the summer, specifically their defensive ones, have proven to be flops.

In Hughes' defense, turning City into one of the Big Four within a season was never going to happen. But then again, Kuwaiti oil barons who offer a club like City a transfer budget in excess of GBP60 million in one summer can be expected to be a little unrealistic.

Still, would have Hughes produced the results had he been given more time? There was very little to suggest, based on City's performance this season, that Sparky had what it took to make the Blues a Big Four club. Harry Redknapp's assertion that Hughes was dealt with unfairly due to the fact that the Blues have only lost fewer games than any of the Big Four this season. But Redknapp failed to point out was the fact that City had drawn more games than they've won, a feat shared by the likes of Stoke City and Hull.
One can only imagine Sheikh Mansor's reaction when he was notified that his billion-dollar club had more in common with a bottom-feeder like Hull than Manchester United.

All the same, Hughes' has every right to feel short-changed when other managers who have performed far poorer than he has this season have not been accorded the same treatment. And I'm not referring to Phil Brown but Rafa Benitez. If City's owners were too quick to hit the panic button when the Blues began to draw a little to frequent, they could take a lesson in patience from Liverpool's American owners who seem to have shown next to no concern over the Reds abysmal form this season. Or maybe its indifference. Or fear of a pretty sizeable compensation package should they sack the Spaniard.

But whatever the reasons, and it could be a combination of all three factors mentioned above, Liverpool's want-away American owners should well realise that the value of their investments (ie: the English football club they own) will depreciate immensely should the Reds continue their mediocre performances this season and chalk up several more defeats and slip into mid-table territory. And should that be the case, Liverpool's two American owners will find it even harder to sell the club at a price that would settle their debts.

Should this be the case, transfer funds at the club would be become a luxury of sorts and we all know the sort of consequences that could have on Liverpool’s chances of ever winning that elusive league title number 19.

But apart from financial ruin, a bigger question that should be directed at Benitez is whether providing him more time at Anfield will generate the results. It’s unfortunate but when a club like Liverpool has lost as frequently as it has this season, there is very little to suggest that the manager has it in him to get the club out of the rot. If he did, they’d have ended their losing streak sometime ago. But when a team that comprises Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt, Glen Johnson are made to look like amateurs against a perennial bottom-feeder like Porthsmouth, there is a sense that maybe Benitez’ time at the club is up. Should the Reds defeat to Porthsmouth been a one-off thing, it would be easy to mistake the loss as just another off day. But when the club that nearly won the league last season has had as many off days as Stoke, you begin to wonder.

Make no mistake, the writing on the wall has never been clearer. Benitez had five years to make Liverpool a Premiership winning team and six months after guiding them to within six points of the title, the Reds seem extremely unlikely to repeat that feat this season or the next. Benitez often asks for patience and more time yet how many more years does he need before the league title comes back to Anfield? At Liverpool, winning the Premiership has always been a priority, more so now Man Utd is level with Reds on league titles. Are Liverpool fans willing to risk a few more years with Benitez only to see the Devils land title number 19?

Ali G interviews the Beckhams!

This is an old video clip of Ali G interviewing David and Victoria Beckham but it's absolutely hilarious. Do check it out!

Maybe Malaysia will finally get to beat Thailand now

Thailand unfortunately has been in the news the past few years for all the wrong reasons. Coup de tat's, frequent change of governments and the closure of its main airport due to the higher number of protesters there in comparison to passengers. But all of that pales in comparison when up against today's headlines that read: Bryan Robson appointed Thailand national team coach.

It's no secret that in Asia, specifically Southeast Asia, people who speak with English accents are held in high regard, more so when the subject they're talking about is football. You can call it post-colonial mental syndrome or something else but there's no doubt we sometimes feel as though these individuals who can speak with an English accent must know something about football. Perhaps it has to with the dumb logic that all Englishmen are experts on English football.

As such, we find yet again another Southeast Asian nation appointing an Englishman who knows nuts about coaching to the top coaching position of its national team. This time the country is Thailand and the Englishman is Bryan Robson.

To be fair, unlike some of the other English duds who've managed our teams, Robson comes with a very impressive playing career on his resume. His coaching CV however is almost as bad as Mick McCarthey. The fact that Robson hasn't coached a premiership side in years should have been enough for the Thais. Sure, former coach Peter Reid didn't have a brilliant CV either but that shouldn't have been justification in keeping the bar low and hiring Robson.

Worse yet is that the Thais, unlike Malaysia, actually have a pretty decent football team and if there's any Southeast Asian country that's going to be featuring in the World Cup sometime in the next decade, the odds are on Thailand.

Oh well, at least now we know for sure Malaysia will have a chance at beating Thailand the next time we play them.

What was Adebayor thinking?

Emanuel Adebayor could use a class in the art of lying. You don't classify running down the length of a football field just to celebrate your goal against thousands of fans whose misery you've just contributed to as an act in the heat of the moment.

The fact that Adebayor couldn't even come up with a decent answer as to why he would want to celebrate in front of the small section of Arsenal fans instead of the City fans that occupied the remaining 65% of the seating capacity in the stadium adds further proof that the City forward seems to have later on realised that his actions were perhaps not the brightest.

I mean, he could've said he wanted to stick it to the Gunners fans and left it at that. Sure, the hate mail would've instantly tripled and North London would be out of bounds for the Togolese international for at least two years. Three to be safe.

From the FA's point of view, Adebayor's actions threaded on the fine line between being an asshole and complete stupidity. It's one thing to take the piss at people you despise but another thing altogether when you've nearly incited a riot. Perhaps he needs to view footage of the chaos that ensued at the Millwall-West Ham match to refresh his memory on just what English football fans are still capable of.

As for his alleged stamp on Robin Van Persie's face, some replays online (especially ones edited by Arsenal fans) clearly show the Togolese international's boot making contact with the Dutch striker's face in a somewhat deliberate manner. I'm not too sure only because I don't think Adebayor would've been dumb enough to have done something that against his former club and expect to get away with it. Then again, people say I'm a little too optimistic at times. Check out the video below to judge for yourself.

Is there a witch hunt on BPL clubs?

When Chelsea was first slapped with a ban on new signings, I wondered if FIFA was taking itself a little too seriously by punishing the Blues for something that we know is being done by just every top flight club in Europe.

Well, it turns out, for some unknown reason, FIFA is extremely serious and has undertaken what can only be described as a witch hunt on the top teams in the BPL. After Chelsea, reports say Man Utd, Man City and now, Liverpool are said to be the subject of further probes by football's governing body on the "poaching" of underaged footballers by English clubs with huge financial muscle.

Still, I can't but feel that there's something akin to double standards being dealt here. Does FIFA really want us to believe that the Italians, Spanish, Germans, Dutch and French are just as guilty of stealing youngsters from small clubs?

If we remove the so-called ethics violations that FIFA has charged Chelsea with and intends to do so with the rest of the BPL's best clubs (by the way, why haven't Arsenal been charged yet? If anything, you'd think they would be guilty of this kind of activity), it is quite clear that the bigger picture behind FIFA's probes has to do with the financial disparity between big clubs and small clubs. The real argument is that small clubs can't do a thing to prevent big clubs from signing players they help develop and nurture.

But wait a second. Isn't that the same thing when a club like Real Madrid spend EURO80 million on a player like Cristiano Ronaldo? Let's face it. The Portuguese winger is certainly a gifted footballer but does anyone honestly think he would have blossomed into the player he is if it wasn't for Sir Alex Ferguson and Man Utd? And for that matter, there's this other player named Xabi Alonso who was but an unknown prior to joining Liverpool. He too became a world class player after Rafa Benitez and Liverpool spent years developing his talent. But then came Real Madrid knocking on the door.

In fact, both Ronaldo and Alonso's cases have a distinct similarity in that both players forced their respective clubs to sell them because of some supposed lifelong ambition to play for Real Madrid (and to to make a million euros a month).

So, when you consider the facts, both players, just like those young footballers, jumped the first chance the biggest club in the world showed an interest. Maybe both Alonso and Ronaldo have always wanted to play for Madrid or maybe they just want more money. Either way, neither one of them was satisfied where they were at.

And isn't that what's happening with those young footballers? Who in their right mind would reject an offer to play for Chelsea if the team you're currently attached with is targeting a qualification into Division Two of the Championship. And while the monetary amount of signing someone from Crewe and Man Utd are world's apart, it has to be noted that these transfers happen for the same reason. And there's nothing FIFA or Michel Platini can do anything about it.

Chelsea banned from signing new players until 2011!

Just as Chelsea have been enjoying a great start to the current campaign, the London club has been hit by possibly the worst thing any club challenging for honours could face: a ban on signing new players until January 2011. And the worst part is that the punishment was meted out on the Blues for an incident back in 2007 when they signed, get ready for this, some young French footballer named Gael Kakuta!

Yes, Chelsea, who were involved in all sorts of other illegal dealings like clandestine meetings with Ashley Cole when the latter was still an Arsenal player, is being punished over the signing of a footballer none of us have ever heard of. Karma's certainly got a weird sense of humour.

Of course, Chelsea have been given the right to appeal the verdict and like most high profile clubs, the Blues might just get away with a hefty fine. But seeing as to how this ban comes directly from FIFA, there's a possible chance the Blues are not going away that easily.

So, while we await the verdict of Chelsea's appeal, let's assume the worst happens and the ban stays. What's to become of the club?

For starters, despite the Blues being extremely quiet during the previous transfer window, the inability to sign new players for the remainder of this season and the first half of the next is a huge blow to any club, more so one that wants to win the Premiership, the Champions League and everything else in between. With the likes of Real Madrid and Man City buying pretty much anyone with an ounce of talent, clubs like Chelsea need to expand their squads with more quality footballers to remain competitive. Gone are the days when a club can win titles by just fielding the same squad year-in year-out.

Then there's the danger of injuries. Should too many key players end up in the sick bay, Chelsea will have to dig into their reserves for replacements instead of being able to scout the market for some adequate replacements. Besides injuries, let's not forget the age factor. With key stars like Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Ricardo Carvalho all above the age of 30, the Blues could end up in a real tight spot should any of these players succumb to lengthy injury spells..something common with players in that age category.

Still, all this is speculative at this point, and Chelsea's appeal may be successful and the ban will be lifted. Furthermore, as far as I can see, the ban doesn't say anything about loaning in new players so all may not be lost for the Blues.