I was eagerly looking forward to the Champions League matches this week. Even more than usual. Champions League is the best competition in the football world–that includes the World Cup and Ipswich/Norwich derbies.

Other than maybe the Celtic match this week, though, it was a pretty bland affair.

Liverpool continue to limp around completely unimpressively. Despite all the high hopes at the beginning of the year, if they don’t beat ManU this weekend they can start planning for next year–or start concentrating on the FA Cup, maybe. Their problems rest solely at the soles of Rafa Benitez. They have the the talent, but they remain a disjointed mess. Not as easy as Mourinho makes it all look, eh Rafa?

Speaking of the ever-whinging Jose, they are back to doing just enough to get by. The Barcelona match should have been interesting on a number of fronts, but turned out to be a routine 1-0 to the Chelski. Hilario, back-up to every back-up keeper on the squad, did well enough for his clean sheet. Barca looked like they were content to sleep through this group stage match and were already thinking about Real Madrid this weekend.

That ends the distractions for a couple weeks. No more Internationals. No Champions League. It’s time for the early questions to be answered in the domestic leagues. Will Aston Villa ever lose? Will Roeder or Pardew be the first sacked? Will Inter not choke this gift of a season away? Do Real finally have things together, or will the hot streak only last until the boredom sets in again?

No one in the world feels the least bit sorry for you, Chelski, so enough already. Yes, it was a bit unfortunate that both of your top keepers got injured. It happens, though. There was no conspiracy.

The whole world does hate you. No mistake there. But the entire world knows Roman will just plunk down yet more Russian wonga and supply you with the best keeper that money can buy. There’s no such thing as bad luck for you lot. You just drop more money and the problem is solved.

That’s why you’re hated.

Among several other reasons.

The only dispicable occurance in this situation was when the ref incomprehensibly made the dying Petr Cech crawl off the pitch to be treated. That was a poor sight even for the biggest Chelsea bashers. It must be said, it was bound to happen eventually. The players, with all the overly dramatic diving, make it impossible to discern between a serious injury and an attempt to win a card. Everything comes with a price in the end.

But don’t worry Chelsea frontrunners, Abramovich will pick-up the tab.

After a long trip back to the barren lifestyle of the 18th century, the blog is back. Sitting by candelight in the cave night after night without access to the modern necessities, save a bottle opener, offered the opportunity to think about life’s many problems without all the usual distractions getting in the way. Didn’t take that opportunity, though, as usual.

Instead, my thoughts turned to the MLS. Odd, because that almost never happens. Why should it? Is there a more useless league in the world?

It’s play-off time in American soccer. The teams have just played a whole season of virtual friendlies against one another. Not a single game the whole year meant a thing. Almost every team makes the play-offs anyway. Just avoid being Among the bottom four or so, and you’re in. The whole thing is completely backwards. An entire season is played, not to determine the best team, but just to determine the worst.

The rest get into the play-offs where any team can suddenly find some combination of luck or a hot streak for a couple of matches and be crowned Champions. Nothing that played out over the entire summer means a whit. It’s a system that almost guarantees a lesser team will take the title.

Why should anyone be remotely interested in this sham?

The pointless season means there’s not going to be any emotion in the matches then. The play-offs are a quick crap-shoot that any team can win. There is no way any for any fan fervor to build up for this inane product.

The rest of the world does football right. Leave it to the Americans to think they know best. They clearly don’t in this instance. The belief that Americans are ‘used to’ a play-off system in their sports and won’t accept anything else, is just ignorant. On top of that, the league feels it has to coddle the clubs until enough interest is raised in the league to support itself. How can this method possibly raise any interest? I should be their target audience and I couldn’t be less bothered about it. A completely meaningless season followed by a little tournament to name a more or less arbitrary champion. What a great idea. Makes you long for next season already, doesn’t it?

The MLS made fatally bad decisions and the long-term future of the league has to be considered shaky at best.

Luckily, the rest of the world is back in action after the international break, and I’m back with enough technology to follow them. At least now I can get my daily dose of The Fiver again. A little blog put out by The Guardian that now numbers among my addictions. It’s almost always the funniest thing I encounter all day, and they’ll fire it out to you in your email at noon everyday if you ask them. Go to The Fiver to read today’s and sign up.

The shocking news story of the week was the disclosure that some Premier League managers might actually be taking bungs–that is, taking money for themselves from agents to make transfer deals. This nothing story shouldn’t surprise anyone, except for the lack of any real bombshells. For me, they’re going after the wrong side anyway. It’s the agents that are the evil bastards and need to be stopped–the more painfully the better. They are right on the cusp of doing serious damage to the game. Especially with these new companies owning the rights to players. Agents already have entirely too much power in football and the weight needs to be shifted back. Quickly. It’s going to get very ugly very soon, and it’ll be too late to ever make it right again.

With that backdrop, the season rolls merrily along with a week of coming routs. Most of the big guns have easy matches and they’ll make quick work of their hapless opponents. Sheffield Utd, Fulham, Reading–better luck next week. The match to watch this weekend is Liverpool/Tottenham. Unfortunately, I can’t owing to my vow not to contribute to the Spurs demise by personally witnessing it. Although, it’s beginning to be apparent that they struggle whether I watch them or not. Defoe must play. They miss Carrick. Keane is overrated. But, that team is too good to be as spotty as they’ve been. Liverpool is only slightly less spotty due to Tinker Benitez constantly fiddling with the line-up. Should be an interesting match. Things will start to look very serious for the loser.

But, that’s the great thing about the Premier League. Every match means something. Even the Wigan/Watford match is worth a look.

Ipswich gets to take on Roy Keane’s Sunderland in the Championship. The novelty of that might be better than the match. A match I will be forced to miss due to uncontrollable convolutions of the universe. Good luck Town–I’ll be thinking about you.

There are the two huge matches the whole world has been waiting for this weekend. At least the whole world following Premiership football. Both are being played on Sunday, though. Arsenal/ManU and Chelski/Liverpool kick off a day late making Saturday a relatively uninteresting day for neutrals.

There’s the sense that Arsenal have to get things going right now if they’re going to hope to contend at all this season. Manchester has been slapping the weak teams, but with their soft, and getting softer, midfield, they seemed to be ripe for a wake-up call. Now, Arsenal look to be without van Persie and Thierry Henry. It’s often argued that Henry hardly shows up for any big games anyway, but for a team that has struggled mightily for goals, it can’t do much for their psyche heading in. Who will score now? Probably no one. United could well get by in a 1-0 bore, which will send their fair weather fans into delirious ecstasy.

Liverpool, with Rafa’s inane rotations, can’t find any rhythm. Chelsea will be pounding the drum Sunday. The coaches will probably end up being the main talking point of this match. Jose says he won’t even shake the hand of the nonsense talking Benitez. Or is it vice versa? Either way, that little soap opera threatens to overshadow what could turn out to be an otherwise quiet match.

I’m afraid both matches look better on paper than they’re going to look on the television screen.

Randy Lerner has apparently told Martin O’Neill he can have something like 20 million quid to spend when the transfer window opens back up. Aston Villa could suddenly be pressing for a European spot. What a difference a year makes. Or rather, a decent chairman with deep pockets, and a great coach. Just goes to show, it could happen to anyone–keep the chin up. Unless you’re Leeds–sorry, no hope there.

Glorious Ipswich, riding a 3 game winning streak, will be tested by the other Birmingham team (the one called Birmingham) Saturday. A draw would be nice. Another win is just too much to hope for. Nevermind. Just keep putting it out there. Eventually, Town must catch the eye of some other rich Russian or Yank looking to squander billions to knock Abramovich back in his place. My mother always said there was someone for everyone. Shouldn’t Bill Gates be bored by now and in search of his Cinderalla? Her initials are ITFC, Bill. Forget about solving all the world’s problems and just give her the shoe.

The schedule makers must have tabbed this weekend to be the first really big showcase to get the season well and truly started. I’ll be very surprised if the matches actually live up to the billing. Think I’ll plan on catching as many of the Saturday matches as possible and just catch z’s through the borefests slotted for Sunday.

I’m big enough to admit it. I have no idea what the hell is going on. Does Rafa Benitez have any idea what he’s doing at Liverpool? By almost everyone’s estimate, he came into the season with the second best team in the Premiership. They’ve struggled for their form to say the least so far. Everton just dusted them in the derby at the weekend 3-0. I can understand perfectly well that he may have been less than thrilled with some of the perfomances.

Tonight in the Champions League he sat most of the usual suspects and PSV Eindhoven held them to a 0-0 draw. They used to accuse sweet Claudio Ranieri of being too much of a ‘tinker’ when he was at Chelsea, but Benitez is taking it well beyond even that. Liverpool is much stronger this year, but still not Chelsea-like–being able to field an entire second team with enough talent to beat just about anyone. Liverpool has to field the likes of Gerrard, Alonso, Hyppia, and Crouch to have much of a chance against a quality team. He sat them all.

Maybe he had a point to prove, but it seems like lately every time a manager decides to drive home a point it costs them a big game. There must be better way.

No such slip-ups for Chelsea. They took care of Werder Bremen fairly easily, 2-0. That was the one team in the group good enough to surprise Chelski, especially this early, if they looked past them, but Mourinho had them awake and ready to play. Looks like they’ll get through along with Barcelona. Their chances look much better than they did when the draw first came out. It was wonderful to delude myself into thinking they could get knocked out in the group stage. It’s not going to happen, but I still don’t think they’ll win the thing either.

I also can’t begin to figure out Tottenham. I’ve kept up my end and have been avoiding watching them live. No matter. They still look shaky. Actually, they look fine, they just can’t seem to be able to score. Not playing Defoe is obviously not wise. He wants out, but play him while you have him. Of course, he only wants to leave because Jol, for some reason only he must know, doesn’t use him much.

Ipswich has always been beyond me. I’ve decided to just ride the wave and not get too bothered about where they’re going. They looked awful to start the season, but have managed to win three on the trot now. They are a mid-table team, through and through. They’ll be streaky all season, I’m afraid. Just when I start getting my hopes up that they may be good enough to contend, they’ll drop several points to teams they should easily beat. I blame Magilton for some of that, but the reality is they’re just a very average Chamionship side.

One manager that can easily be blamed for his team’s up and down performance is Gareth Southgate at Middlesborough. They look absolutely great one week, and absolute rubbish the next. Southgate is a great guy and I hope he eventually succeeds, but you can’t tell me ‘Boro wouldn’t be better off with practically anybody else at the helm. He should be learning the ropes somewhere in the lower leagues. Well, he may have ‘Boro down there where he belongs soon enough anyway.

One other thing that has become glaringly obvious is how great Martin O’Neill really is. He won’t be out-coached by anyone, and Aston Villa already look like a completely different team. Randy Lerner should be very pleased with his English football team, unlike the American one.

Is the US ever going to name a national coach? One should have been hired as soon as Arena left. I don’t think they’re cannily waiting to land the one they want. I’m convinced they have no idea what they’re doing at all. I think they want an American, but none strike me as being capable of taking the team beyond where Arena had them. They had a quick chance to do something dramatic and make a difference right after the World Cup. That moment looks to be gone.

The transfer window closed a week ago. I’ve waited until now to soak this mess in and see how I actually feel about this so-called ‘new way of doing business’. I think my initial reaction was right.

When I first started watching European football–especially the Premier League–I embraced every delicious aspect. My love was non-judgmental and unconditional. Many things seemed like a breath of fresh air after watching American sports for so long. The thing that took the most getting used to, was the whole transfer system. It is completely alien to anything I had seen before. I didn’t like it then, but I trusted it was all for the best. It has some merits and I made my peace with it eventually. But it is not perfect.

All the power lies with the players. It is as free-market as the free-market gets. Contracts aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.

Without going into all the rigamarole, the money teams buy whomever they damn well please. (This causes the ridiculous situations of big teams stocking up quality players that would excel anywhere else and let them mire on the bench–the Saha’s, the Parker’s… the list is endless). The poor teams that are suddenly hit with financial doom (ie. relegation) lose everything they have of any value, but get enough cash to scrape by when the stars leave for the greener pastures. Somehow, all this had been kept in some sort of tenuous balance.

Not anymore.

The players in the last year of their contracts have always commonly been asked what their intentions were. If the player had an inkling to move on, the teams would sell them as quick as they could knowing they’ll get nothing for them in a year. The Bozman ruling lets them leave the team (free agency, in effect) after the contract runs out. It rarely gets that far. The team just sells them a year early for millions and then they go out and try to buy a happier replacement with the new money.

More and more you see players basically threatening the teams to sell them. There’s always been the idea that if a player was unhappy, they’d be better off sending him away before the whole squad was infected. Lately, you have guys like ‘William the Gaulling’ Gallas, Cashly Cole, Andy Cole… again, the list is long. These guys aren’t content to just mope about dissatisfied until they’re sent away. They threaten to quit, or sit, or now–throw games, until they get their way.

All that was bad enough, and was already beginning to leave a bad taste in the mouth. But, that was nothing to what was coming next.

Now, an even more troubling development has occured. To the shock of the world, lowly West Ham United somehow landed two of the biggest and most expensive players available during the last transfer window. Tevez and Mascherano are two Argentinian stars that all the huge teams have been eyeing. They aren’t owned by their clubs, though. Some outfit called MIS has their rights, and they basically lease these guys out to the highest bidder whenever it suits them. Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich has murky ties to this shady outfit, although that’s being denied now and everybody seems to be buying the company line.

Chelsea didn’t need the pair this year, but they certainly wouldn’t have liked to see any of their close rivals pick them up. Low and behold, out of absolutely nowhere, a non-threatening team that couldn’t ordinarily begin to afford one of these guys, lands them both. Then, next year, these slaves take the tube over to Stamford Bridge to begin their Chelsea careers.

Even without the Chelsea conspiracy theory, this is a horrible tactic that has to be nipped in the bud. Dealings of this sort will completely destroy the bit of balance that there was in football. Admittedly, it wasn’t in balance to begin with. It’s not good that the same handful of monster teams buys everyone and wins year after year after year. It would have been nice to make some sort of correction to that.

This rubbish is going to rip the whole system to shreds. Not only are the West Ham’s of the world the big team’s whipping boys, they now become playthings of agents as well. Teams will have absolutely no say in where their players go or who they can sign themselves. Players will have no say, and will have to go off to wherever they’re told. It’s the conglomerate of agents that would be controlling the whole ball of wax. What could possibly be worse than that?

The lid on this Pandora’s Box needs firmly slammed shut now. The end of the world is upon us.

The season has been an odd one so far.

Chelsea finally looked like Chelsea in beating Blackburn. Of course most teams look like Chelsea whenever they’re fortunate enough to play Blackburn. Jose can claim it was the return of a few of the superstars finally recovering from injuries, but they are so deep that should never matter.

Arsenal have looked awful and find themselves on the wrong end of the table with their worst start in ages. Thierry Henry is doing nothing, and everyone else seems to be standing around waiting for him to get something done. They’ll eventually get it together, but they are in for a disappointing year by their standards. Seems like only yesterday they were ‘invincible’.

Martin O’Neill continues to have Aston Villa looking sharp. They got a win in front of the new chairman Randy Lerner this weekend. Suddenly, everything is roses in that part of Birmingham. Villa still needs a fair few parts, O’Neill can’t do it all on his own. It’ll be interesting what Lerner will let him buy while the transfer window is open. I doubt there will be any huge names coming in, but a few, moderately priced, well-thought out signings will cement their place in mid-table–and possibly even a bit beyond. It’s a good time to be a Villan, after many years of dispair.

It’s also a rare good time to be a tractor boy. Ipswich finally lodged win number one this season. First one in something like sixteen tries, going back to last year. I’m sure the pints at the Cock and Pye were tasting much better Friday night.

What a Wednesday. Great stories abound from the world of football–at least the part of the world that is England.

What soap opera writer is penning the Sunderland script? Whoever it is, a hearty thank you. Just when you think it can’t get any crazier, a completely novel twist comes flying out of nowhere. The latest installment is sure to supply interesting storylines for months. Or until the murder (probably set for Christmas to boost the ratings). Niall Quinn’s big-name coach has turned out to be none other than one Roy Keane. Put aside the fact that they reputedly hated one another while playing for Ireland, Keano is simply a lunatic. Hard as nails and about as clever. This is going to be brilliant.

If you’re unfamiliar with the profundity of Roy Keane, or just want a quick laugh, football365 has helpfully compiled a list of some of his deeper insights.

In apparent emulation of Mr. Keane, ManCiteh’s Ben Thatcher tried to remove the head of Pedro Mendes with a brutal elbow in the match against Pompey. It was as cheap of a shot as I can remember seeing, but somehow was only worth a yellow from the ref. It might have been some sort of cruel karmic fate, giving a Portuguese player an actual real reason to dive to the turf for all their disgusting play-acting in Germany. In any case, Thatcher needs to go. English football is rough, but that’s uncalled for.

Finally, a double shot of happy news from the Chelsea camp. First, the shocking loss to lowly Middlesbrough made the day for billions around the world. There was much laughing and partying in the streets–you probably missed all that revelry while you were at work. It’s not going to be so easy this time around for the Real of the North. I suspect Ashley Cole will now be bought for the ransom Arsenal is demanding. If I were them, the ransom would have just doubled. Chelsea will pay it–whatever it is. The millionaires are too good to bother playing defense, so something must be done. The only answer for that team is to throw more Roman money at the problems. I hope Abramovich is having a good time. I suspect he’ll be getting tired of this expensive toy soon, and Chelsea will revert back to their inocuous selves. What a day that’ll be.

Then, just as hoped, they managed to draw Barcelona in the group stage of the Champions League. They’re clearly not living right at Stamford Bridge.

I have to admit, it’s not been a great start of the season for me. Practically every result has been going the wrong way. So my thanks go out to Sunderland. They’ve managed to keep a smile on my face through this rough patch of matches.

The only team in the Championship fairing worse than my Ipswich (we won’t even mention being bounced from the Carling Cup last night on penalties) has been the Black Cats. Niall Quinn managed to rake a consortium together over the summer to buy his beloved team for him and they immediately named him Chairman and manager. It has all gone horribly wrong.

After a horrendous start, culminating in the loss last night to the worst team in the Carling Cup competition not named Ipswich, Quinn apparently called himself into his office and had words with himself. Something clearly had to be done. A vote of confidence wouldn’t do. He sacked himself.

He claims to have a ‘big name’ ready to step in by the weekend. Out of the frying pan and into the fire is leaping to mind. We wait with baited breath for the next chapter. This happy saga takes much of the sting out of some other disappointing results. Everyone can take heart–at least you’re not Sunderland.

It seems the whole world has gone against Chelsea. UEFA has hilariously stuck them with a good possibility of drawing the likes of Barcelona in the group stage of the Champions League. Jose is not happy. He, of all people, should never whine about anything, but it’s great to watch him do it. Actually, he has a good point. The Champions of England do get short shrift the way they draw up the groups. More focus is apparently put on past history for some odd reason. Still. It’s Chelsea, afterall. All that money gone and not a single piece of silverware at the end of the year? Could happen.

The Premiership season is only days old, but all of a sudden the world is wall to wall football. Finally. Thankfully.

Two matches featuring new sides are on tap for today. I will not watch Tottenham play Sheffield United tonight. Promise. Call the bookies now and throw the money at Spurs. They will win today. They really are much better than that first match. That was my fault.

I will watch West Ham and Watford instead. Watford are going to struggle for any points at all this season. An absolute sure bet for relegation. West Ham have managed to do things the right way. Despite the financial knock when they went down, and actually needing a bit of good fortune to win promotion when they did, they have built up a solid team again. On an aside worth mentioning concerning West Ham, I recently watched the movie ‘Green Street Hooligans’. It’s not much in the way of a football movie, but warrants a look if only to give the uninitiated a look at the firm culture that once abounded in England.

Lovely Ipswich will surely notch a win today. Unfortunately, it’s in the Carling Cup against lowly Peterborough instead of league competition, so it’s not going to move them out of the drop zone. Still, at this point, I’ll take anything.

Desperate Manchester United are just about to get slapped for topping-up with the whole Owen Hargreaves situation. Bayern Munich says he’s not for sale, and that’s that. Stirring that mess, trying to steal the newly popular Hargreaves isn’t going to be helpful. That, and a loss or two, could start the troubles at Old Trafford.

As an added treat, the second leg of some Champions League qualifiers take place today as well. The disreputable AC Milan will officially get back into the competition proper after tonight. Also, suddenly financially stretched, Liverpool are in Kiev to face Maccabi Haifa. The Ukraine deemed a much safer place to host the match than Israel, despite the cease-fire that has already been going on for many, many, many hours now. A loss by ‘Pool will bring about some worry for the one side that can challenge Chelsea back at home–and their form has been decidely hit or miss so far. No time for a slip.

While I’m grateful for the return of the league, it was one of those weeks where almost every result was a poke to the heart.

Man United barely looked bothered and showed absolutely no problems up front after sticking 5 (well 6, actually) into the net against a hapless Fulham. Good-bye Chris Coleman, it was nice knowing ye. Even Christiano and Wayne seemed delighted to be playing in the same sandbox. It was so bad, Rio Ferdinand felt obliged to knock one in for the visitors in an apparent attempt to keep the Cottagers hopes up enough to stay on the pitch until the final whistle.

Chelsea looked all-world against a struggling Man City, thrashing them 3-0. This is the sort of match Roman’s millionaires would have slept through and won 1-0 last year. I’m praying they get bored quickly and go back to that tactic. I won’t be able to stand seeing them playing up to their sizable abilities. It’ll make for a long season.

I was so over-confident that I broke my promise and watched the Tottenham match. As could be expected, they looked horrible and went down to Bolton 2-0. So the curse remains intact. They are incapable of winning any match I see. Big Sam looks to be just ticking off the days until he can find a decent way to exit a Bolton side he has strengthened into a solid Premierhip team, but they’re just not capapble of rising to the next level. Sooner or later, it all comes down to money. Allardyce has done the best with what he was given.

One of my other favorite teams, Charlton, looked absolutely awful. Their relegation battle began Saturday, and they’ll be in that battle all year.

Liverpool were given a very dodgy penalty late in the match to rescue a point from lowly Sheffield United. That was 2 points dropped. They can’t draw with minnows and have a prayer of challenging for the title. Week One or not. Those were important points left on the pitch.

Arsenal also dropped 2 as Randy Lerner’s (or soon to be) Aston Villa nearly stole the opening match in the Gunner’s sparkling new stadium. Martin O’Neill will be enough to keep Villa in the middle of the pack. If Lerner can add some quality, they’ll rise from the ashes and surprise many teams this season.

In the believe it or not catagory, new boys Reading came back after going down 2-0 to beat Boro 3-2. That match was just a pleasure to watch. Reading’s only mode is full forward and attack. They won’t be able to hold a lead and don’t bother trying. They just continue to try to add to one. That’ll result in some lopsided losses against the better teams, but more power to them. I’d be happy to watch them play every week.

In the Coca Cola Championship match that matterd, the glorious Ipswich Town finally earned point number one in four attempts after a snooze 0-0 match against Hull. Mid-table obscurity and safety look to be completely out of reach for now.

On a scale of 1 to 10, this week’s results have been off the scale for me, personally. Wouldn’t have been good to get my hopes up early anyway. I hate when I do that–at least I think I would.

After a dismal stretch after the World Cup, the Premier League finally kicks-off Saturday. Time for football to move back into its rightful place in the list of priorities. While I’m thinking of lists, it seems to be a good time to think about some hopes and expectations for the upcoming season.

Chelski will struggle to gel despite the roster of superstars and they’ll get pipped for the title, shocking the world, and sending Abramovich scurrying back to the bank for even more fodder to stuff an already overstuffed squad. They’ll be distracted running for the one bit of silverware they’re lacking, the Champions League. They won’t be having that either, and joy and happiness will reign throughout the land.

So, somebody has to win the title out of the rest of the usual suspects. It can really only be one club. Liverpool are coming together as a team and strengthened the side even further in the off season. They’re strong everywhere except for up front. They’ve just added Dirk Kuyt, but I can see him being a bust in England. Crouch remains more of a freak show than a big-time striker. All that said, I still think they’ll somehow find the net often enough to give the most storied team in England its first Premiership title.

Tottenham can sneak into the third spot, but the pack of 5 or 6 teams should be fairly tight in spots 3 through 8. I love Martin Jol. Of the quality teams near the top of the table, Spurs were one of the very few teams that actually improved their lot over the summer. They generally find ways to shoot themselves in the foot, but I think Tony Soprono, I mean Jol, will have them gunning at the others for a change.

Arsenal are bleeding quality players at the moment. Fortunately for them they can afford to bleed some. Other than managing to hold on to Thierry Henry, nothing positive has happened for the Gunners. The new stadium won’t be a help, at least not in the standings. They’ll be near the top all year, but won’t ever pose a serious threat.

I really don’t think Manchester United are going to be in as much trouble as many seem to fear. It’s just that for one of the first times in eons, they aren’t real threats for the title. A lot depends on their start. If they start poorly, it could be a disasterous year. The Glazers could be run out of town. Sir Alex could finally be sacked. Ronaldo and Roonaldo could kill each other. Well, Christiano will just pretend to be dying. It could all end in tears for the most famous club in the world. But probably not. They’ll be okay, but even that’s unacceptable in Manchester.

For the stragglers at the other end of the table, Watford is headed right back down. They haven’t a prayer. Wigan will find it much tougher going this year. Fulham have problems and Coleman could be the next coach looking for work. Randy Lerner has rescued an abyssmal Aston Villa and he and Martin O’Neill will keep them up somehow. ‘Arry Redknapp will find a way to keep Portsmouth going. Despite now having the most colorful manager in the league, Sheffield United will probably be back playing Ipswich next year. Reading shocked with the ease with which they won the Coca Cola Championship last year–it won’t be so easy now. They’ll stick for another year, though.

The rest will be mired in so-called mid-table obscurity. Good enough to draw against one another, beat the minnows, and get thrashed by the big clubs. I look for Newcastle to plummet. Charlton to struggle at the end as usual, and not start much better. Sam Allerdyce will want out of Bolton very soon. Going the other way, Psycho will have Manchester City continuing to improve.

I’m looking forward to a great year. Even if Chelsea does the expected and wins the title by September, the rest of the league seems to be tightening up. It’s still the best league going, and I can’t wait for it to start.

I’ve finally crawled from the deathbed and am easing myself back away from the light. I thought my pain wracked state was brought on by mighty Ipswich Town’s dismal start to the season (nary a point in 3 stabs). The medicos say that had nothing to do with it, but it wasn’t helping things. In my near death condition I couldn’t even discern between the two Milan’s. Luckily the miraculous recovery has occurred just in time for the Premiership to kick things off.

Browns owner Randy Lerner has finally sprung for Aston Villa after much wrangling (pending a quirky waiting period that’s required by British law). Most Villa supporters seem to be pleased, but some are concerned that the Browns have been so poor. They should have no worries about that–the Browns are poor mainly because that’s the American football team I support, of course. He won’t be handicapped by a salary cap in England, and he gives his football people free rein. They’ve already landed the most sought after unemployed coach in the country in Martin O’Neill. They’ve gone from a team that was looking at sure relegation this year to solid mid-table status, and even brighter things should be on the horizon.

I was also pleased to see that the next coach to be fired from England’s national team, showed who was running things for now by dropping a nearly useless David Beckham from the squad. ‘Second choice’ Steve, as the sooner than not to be sacked coach has been dubbed, has actually seemed to right most of the wrongs made by Sven as far as squad selection goes. The next coach should appreciate his efforts.

With the Premiership season getting under way at the end of the week, I’ll attempt to shake out the rest of cobwebs and sort out what I really think about the season ahead in a day or so. Even off the medication now, I still think Chelski will surprise the world and finish second best.

The Champions League gets things kicked off today. So the wait is coming to an end finally. These early qualifying matches aren’t anything very interesting and are very unlikely to produce any surprises. They’re never meant to. At least we can finally begin to watch matches that count for something again.

Arsenal faces Dinamo Zagreb today. Liverpool will get Maccabi Haifa tomorrow–this leg is in England, so there’s no danger of Hezbolla disrupting things yet. Both England sides should take comfortable leads into the second legs. That goes for AC Milan as well. The undisputed powerhouses of the disreputable Serie A shouldn’t need to break a sweat against Crvena Zvezda on Wednesday. They may even be able to give Chelsea reject, Hernan Crespo, a decent run-out.

Unless you have access to Setanta Sports Channel, though, you’ll have to follow the results on the internet. Satanta is usually only available on the Dish Network or in pubs. They also have snapped up many of the Premier League games for this season along with the Champions League, The Championship, and various other leagues and tournaments. They are the channel you need if you want to follow football live.

Unfortunately, Setanta remains a little difficult to get. No major cable outlets offer them. I’ve heard there is something called IPTV which is supposed to let you get it without a dish for about $14/month. I’ve been trying to look into that in time for the season, but there’s not a lot of information on it yet. The Fox Soccer Channel is slipping under this stiff competition, so an early (and lengthy) trip to the pub will practically be a necessity for most Americans wanting to follow European football.

I should mention Ipswich will also be going for loss number 2 against Wolves today. The good guys look even worse than I feared–even through cringing eyes.

The Community Shield match between Chelsea and Liverpool will give us a taste of the Premiership a week early on Sunday. A match that will be carried by the Soccer Channel. Liverpool is picked by many to be the main competition for Chelski this year. I may be alone in this, but I think Chelsea will get nipped at the post for the title this year–and that’s not just wishful thinking.