My 2014 in around 400 words.

2014 has been a truly spectacular year in the world of football, mostly down to the drama of the World Cup. Here’s few of the talking points of this calendar year.

Cristiano Ronaldo started the year by collecting the 2013 Ballon D'Or Award at the ceremony in Zurich on the 13th January. Not only did he win this, but he guided his team to a Champions League win against Atletico in Lisbon in late May.

Sticking with the Spanish trend, it was nice to see underdogs, Atletico Madrid topple the big spenders, Real Madrid and Barcelona and win the league title. During that victory, manager, Diego Simeone created a cohesive unit and a squad that was hard to score against. Having lost their star striker to Chelsea, Atleti haven't scored as many goals, but still lie in 3rd place behind Barca and their City rivals, Real.

In the Premier League, we have seen the resurgence of Liverpool as well as the demise at Old Trafford. Luis Suarez guided Liverpool to a second place finish in the league, netting 31 goals in 37 appearances. Arsenal once again pipped their North London rivals to 4^th spot while City were able to win the title following slip ups from Liverpool and Chelsea.

In Germany, Bayern achieved their 2^nd consecutive title at the end of March with a record of 7 games left before the end of the league. The Italian League was no more dramatic as Juventus won by 18 points. As for the Europa League, Benfica failed at the final hurdle for the second year running, leaving Sevilla to clinch it on penalties.

I can’t forget to mention the World Cup extravaganza that was staged in Brazil during the months of June and July. It displayed some spectacular pieces of skill, particularly, James Rodriguez’ goal against the Uruguayans in the last 16. We also had another blunder from Luis Suarez as he bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in the arm to earn himself another lengthy ban.

It was great to see minnows Costa Rica reach the quarter finals of the competition, but one of the biggest talking points was the annihilation of Brazil by future Champions Germany in their own back yard. We knew Brazil didn’t possess a capable defence, but I was shocked to see it implode in such a manner. Germany were deserved winners of the competition especially after close shaves the previous two times.

That’s 2014 in a nutshell, as always I would love to hear your thoughts on what has been a special footballing year. Here is to an equally great 2015!

The Curious Case of Arsene Wenger

Take yourselves back to the 2003/2004 season. Arsenal went one nil down to a Paul Dickov header half way through the first half, before a Ashley Cole earned his team a penalty after a majestic pass from the non-Flying Dutchman, Dennis Bergkamp. Theirry Henry found the net from 12 yards to become the first Gunner to net 30 league goals in a season since Ronny Rooke. Wenger flicked the switch and the style was turned on. Yet again, Bergkamp assisted Patrick Vieira who scored the winning goal and sent Arsenal into the history books as the only English team to have gone unbeaten in a single league season. Those were the days for Arsene Wenger.

Now, over a decade on, Arsene Wenger has a new dose of problems to contend with. His failures in the transfer market have worried the fans even though the victory in the FA Cup Final softened the blow. Even if we rewind a year, Wenger was sitting pretty at the top of the table 5 points ahead of Liverpool but the lack of a striker and a defensive midfielder allowed Arsenal to peter out of contention.

On Saturday 8th, Wenger faced something that he has never occurred to him in his years as Arsenal manager before, his own fans hurling abuse as he boards a train back from Stoke. Looking at the match, Arsenal were very poor. Defensively they were all over the place and could have easily been four down if Anthony Taylor had allowed Bojan Krckic's second goal to stand. Peter Crouch bossed Mertesacker off the park, and at set pieces, five Gooners were unable to prevent the former Spurs man from directing a header towards Jonathan Walters to make it 3 nil. Although it Arsenal were able to make the score look respectable, it was to no avail.

What followed after the match is what I am particularly interested in. I'm sure everyone reading this article will be aware that a small group of Arsenal fans gathered at the train station as they were preparing to head back down to North London. They waited and ambushed Wenger to a torrent of abuse, as well as telling Joel Campbell to 'escape' while he can. Was the abuse just the heat of the moment after a very disappointing abuse? Does Arsene need to leave for the benefit of his reputation and the club? I'll give you my opinions, but I would also like to hear yours.

My first reaction was that this was an abomination to Arsene Wenger and Arsenal Football Club, but as I'm sure you're all aware, if you delve deeper, then there is always another side to the story. I thought the actions showed a complete lack of respect to a man that has achieved plenty of trophies with side that went unbeaten an entire season that I have already pointed out. Because the man has led Arsenal to glory, then he should receive criticism in a more dignified manner.

Wenger led Arsenal to arguably their most successful era between his arrival and 2005, battling it out with Sir Alex Ferguson. In that time they netted no less than 11 trophies, before he added another 2 in the past year. Surely for all the good times that Wenger has given Arsenal fans he should be given respect? It must have been sole destroying for the Arsenal manager, who has dedicated over half of his managerial career at the club, to see fans hurl insults at him after all he has achieved at the club. During the time when the club was in the process of relocating to the Emirates from Highbury leaving Arsene to operate on a low budget, yet he still ensured that the North London club were consistent Champions League contenders.

On the other hand, Wenger has made so vital managerial errors over the past few years. The world and his granny knows that Arsenal need a defensive midfielder, yet Wenger seems to be blind to this fact. In addition of the midfield problems, Arsenal have a lack of depth in the centre of defence, so it was baffling to see him give up club captain Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona so easily. This season, Arsenal have looked vulnerable from set pieces, whether this is due to a lack of quality or a lack of height leaves me questioning and this was epitomised by the first half performance at the Brittania Stadium.

Rumour has it that Cesc Fabregas had a buy-back clause inserted in his contract when he left for Barcelona, so when he was deemed surplus to requirements at the Nou Camp in the summer, I was amazed that he seemed to pass up the opportunity to bring an Arsenal legend back to the club. While the capture of Alexis Sanchez can be considered a coup for Arsenal, Wenger has been less than impressive with his dealings in the transfer market over the last few years.

We are forgetting that a managerial career is a heated environment and I reiterate the things I said in the article about Brendan Rodgers. Managers always come under criticism and they have to respond in a way that silences their doubters and Wenger has done just that. I thought he made a very honest and clever reaction to the events by asking the Arsenal fans to "judge him in May, not at Christmas." This leads me to believe that if he is unable to turn Arsenal's fortunes around, he will step down as manager at the end of the season.

The fans have every right to be upset with Wenger's management, as he has broken countless promises to the fans as well as suffered embarrassing defeats to Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea in recent years. Some would say that the fans have every right to have a go at Wenger as would those humiliating defeats have caused 'harassment' for the Gooners on the receiving end of it? I think it would have. No matter what club it is, the fans always reserve the right to call the manager out on mistakes that have been made. The fans pay money to see their beloved club play so they should have a say in the club that they support. 

Talking about silencing his critics, Wenger's Arsenal have recorded to astounding victories over Galatasaray and an inform Newcastle side. The 4-1 result against Galatasaray would have pleased the fans particularly as Turkey can be a very difficult place to go and play. At the weekend, Olivier Giroud produced a solid performance as he aims to show Wenger that he is a proven goal scorer and that he has fully recovered from his injury that kept him out since August. The score finished 4-1 to Arsenal which included a deft panenka penalty from Santi Cazorla. I doubt that these results will have changed the thoughts of the fans that were at the train station, but they could go along way to restoring confidence in Wenger's abilities. Wenger takes his troops to Anfield on Sunday and will be hoping to banish thoughts about what happened in this fixture last year.

It is truly a curious case for Arsene Wenger. He wants to be judged in May, and I think he should be given the time to prove his worth, but this must start with a successful Christmas period and a spending spree in the transfer market to strengthen in defensive areas. In short I believe that Arsene Wenger should have left at the end of his FA Cup win with his pride intact as everyday longer he stays, he seems to be turning Arsenal fans against him.

Champions League Last 16 Draw 2015

After the conclusion to the group stage last Wednesday the draw has been made in Switzerland for the last 16.

PSG v Chelsea

It's a rematch of last year's quarter final where Mourinho's Chelsea meet Blanc's PSG. Chelsea will be quietly confident, particularly with rumours about an upset dressing room in Paris. Chelsea will aim to eradicate the mistakes made in the match last year and with Costa in fine form I expect him to find away past Luiz and Silva in the heart of the Parisian's defence. Facing his former side, Chelsea will certainly know the weaknesses of David know and will hope to exploit them. At John Terry at the heart of Chelsea's defence, I can't see Ibra getting the better of him. Edinson Cavani has talent but he has been far too inconsistent at PSG, but if he turns up, he could steal the show from Chelsea. PSG will be up for the match, they need to be. Having spent hundreds of millions on players over the past few years, they will be hoping for a better run than previous campaigns.

Man City v Barcelona

It's a crunch tie and one that City will be relishing and they'll want revenge for their exit last year. I believe two factors will decide the outcome of the game and that's Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero, if they're both fit, then they stand as good a chance as anyone to turn Barcelona over. Obviously, they will be focusing on how to prevent the Catalonian strike force from firing and it will take their defenders at the best to do so. When Kompany is out of the team, the defence looks vulnerable, particularly as Mangala can be quite eccentric at times and Demichelis is lacking in pace. Up front, Aguero can rip any defence to shreds on his day, and he will be backing his qualities to get joy from a Barca defence that are susceptible to mishaps at times. City will need to play smart football and be tactically astute, something which I've been critical of Manuel Pellegrini. They can proceed, but only if Kompany and Aguero are available to play.

Arsenal v Monaco

Arsene Wenger returns to his former club for the first time since he left 18 years ago. Monaco have been struggling in the league this year and are evidently feeling the consequences of selling James Rodriguez to Real Madrid and letting Radamel Falcao go on loan to Manchester United. Wenger will be looking to exploit the lack of pace in Monaco's defence, through Danny Welbeck, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alexis Sanchez. Arsenal will have to contend with the pace of exciting young attacker, Lucas Ocampos down the flanks and former Spurs player Dimitar Berbatov, who is capable of producing something out of nothing. Surging runs from Geoffrey Kondogbia will need to be tracked, and this may exploit Arsenal's lack of a defensive midfielder. Even with Arsenal's defensive frailties, I still expect them to have too much strength for the principality, providing they do not pick up many injuries between now and then.

Schalke v Real Madrid

Last year Cristiano Ronaldo scored 4 goals in the 2 legs against Schalke, contributing to a 6-1 romp in Gelsenkirchen. Admittedly, I don't know too much about Schalke, only that they have an exciting youth academy and that they produce talented youngsters such as Julian Draxler and Max Meyer. Currently sitting in sixth position, I don't forecast them troubling the Champions League holders. Madrid should have enough strength to brush off the challenge of the side from Gelsenkirchen. 

Shakhtar v Bayern.

Our final look is at Pep Guardiola's Bayern. Shakhtar possess some lively players such as the ably named Brazilian winger Bernard as well Alex Texeira, Fred, Douglas Costa and Taison, not to mention the veteran, Darijo Srna. On the other hand, Bayern have a solid but slow defence so they cannot play a high line up against some of Shakhtar's pacey players. Even for the German champions, Ukraine will be a tough place to go to but in true Guardiola fashion, Bayern will dominate the proceedings and comfortably win at home.

All the first leg ties will be played on either the 17th-18th or 24th-25th February while the return legs will be played  10th-11th or 17th-18th March.

Manchester United v Liverpool

With memories of that night in March fresh in the heads of the United players, they managed to reverse the scoreline and win 3-0 through goals from Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin Van Persie.

Pre-match, both clubs knew that this was a must win, for both confidence and the bragging rights. In terms of selection, it was surprising to see Brendan Rodgers drop Simon Mignolet in favour of Brad Jones even though he was in a bad rut of form. It was a bold decision, but in the end, I don't see it as a contributing factor to the final result. For the home side, Louis van Gaal favoured the youngster, James Wilson over the injury prone Radamel Falcao. This was nice to see, as a local lad, he would have grown up in the thick of the rivalry so the victory would have meant a bit more to him than a signing who joined in the summer. 

If we look at the game, Liverpool dominated the opening exchanges and Raheem Sterling had a perfect opening to give Liverpool the lead, but David de Gea remained on his feet to foil the attempt. No more than 25 seconds later, Antonio Valencia found himself one on one with Joe Allen, he pegged him before pulling the ball back to the edge of the area for captain Wayne Rooney to fire it past Jones in nets. This goal could have been prvented if a holding midfielder had tracked the run of Wayne Rooney, marking him outside the box and making it a lot more difficult to get the shot off.

The second goal was dubious to say the least. A cross on the left from Ashley Young met the head of Van Persie who flicked it too Juan Mata who nodded it into the back of the net. Juan Mata was at least a yard offside when Van Persie flicked the ball on, so I'm assuming that Mike Mallarky did not believe it touched the Dutchman. I firmly believe that if Martin Skrtel had got closer to Van Persie, then he could have headed the ball to safety.

Liverpool could have easily had at least 3 goals but for the efforts of man of the match David de Gea, Mario Balotelli could have had a hat trick when he came on at half time for Adam Lallana and Sterling squandered a glorious one on one opportunity against the United keeper. The score line was complete when a swift counter attack from United resulted in Rooney drilling a low cross into the box before a poor clearance from Dejan Lovren allowed Juan Mata to free Van Persie who applied the finish. While the move should never have materialised, if Lovren had cleared properly, a tracking holding midfielder may have halted it and sweeped up the poor clearance. 

As for individual performances, Sterling was getting into positions but couldn't handle the finish. He created more chances than anyone else and did cause problems for a uninspiring defence but was unable to beat De Gea who was in fine form. On another day, Sterling could have had a hat trick. With goals being a worry for Liverpool of late, Brendan is encouraged that Sterling is getting into scoring positions. He just needs to be composed, then the goals will eventually come. 

As for half time substitute, Mario Balotelli, he is in a similar pickle. I felt he didn't contribute as much as he could have in open play, but, like Sterling, was getting in goal scoring opportunities but was not able to beat inform de Gea. We saw a few bits of frustration from the Italian, and I get the sense that the fans are running out of patience with him. Philipe Coutinho tried to get the odd moves initiated but like most of the Liverpool midfield, he was restricted and well marshalled by Marouane Fellaini.

The midfield for Liverpool had plenty of the ball, but they were unable to beat Marouane Fellaini, who had a very good performance. He stifled they play and was used as a defensive ball winning midfielder, a role which he performed with aplomb. It was up in the air as to whether he was going to remain a United player in the summer as nobody saw where he fitted into LVG's technical strategy, but if his performances become more consistent then nobody will have any qualms about him remaining.

I thought that the wing-backs for United, particularly Valencia, operated and got joy down the flanks as so amply demonstrated in the build up to the first goal. Valencia got the better of his man on countless occasions and this possibly could have warranted more goals for his side. In defence, I also thought Michael Carrick was a standout performer. Playing out of position, he did have hairy situations, but with 94% passing, his distribution from the back was textbook. If United's injury tally remains at a critical level, then this positional change for Carrick may be employed more regularly. 

As Gary Neville pointed out in commentary, it's a rarity that a keeper gets the man of the match award when his team wins 3-0, but that's David de Gea for you. He pulled off several truly magnificent saves to keep Liverpool at bay. I was particularly impressed with his one on one save against Sterling when the Liverpool tried to take it around him. Plenty of keepers would have rushed out and gone to ground leaving an easy goal for the attacker. Without him today, United could have conceded at least 3 goals leaving a completely different outcome on the game. I am really not surprised that Real Madrid are in the market for him, as he would be the perfect heir to the Casillas throne.

Manchester United increase their winning run to 6 games while Liverpool aim to start a run having gone out of the Champions League midweek. Pressure must be building on Rodgers while Van Gaal must be quietly confident about a successful season.

Is Brendan's Time Nearly Up?

The month of November threw up many trials and tribulations for Liverpool Football Club and their manager Brendan Rodgers. Having lost four out of the six games played during the month and only collecting 4 points, there have been a few rumblings of discontent amongst the Liverpool faithful. Is the Northern Irishman's time up on Merseyside? Or can he turn it around?

First of all, this piece can not begin without mentioning the terrific season they had last year, and probably should have even won the league. Rodgers made a very shrewd investment in Sturridge and his partnership with one Luis Suarez merited 55 goals in all competitions. The infamous partnership of Sturridge and Suarez (SAS) contributed greatly to their 101 league goals in that campaign, over twice the amount they scored two seasons prior in the 2011/2012 league season and thirty more than the 2012/2013 campaign. Without Rodgers' guidance, Liverpool probably wouldn't have been in that position at the end of the last campaign.

The most notable negative about the last season for Liverpool was sheer amount of goals conceded at the back. Seven teams in the Premier League conceded less goals than Liverpool and the net of the Champions' Manchester City was only breached 37 times - a colossal difference compared to the 50 goals conceded by Mignolet and co. Sticking with the topic of Simon Mignolet, I find similarities between him and David de Gea who was like Bambi on ice, when he first arrived at their fierce rivals Manchester United. He appears quite indecisive and is prone to one or two mistakes from set pieces. Although two years older than de Gea, he is nowhere near his peak, he has plenty of time to grow, and develop into a solid keeper. With the attacking prowess of Suarez sold to Barcelona, and Daniel Sturridge battling repetitive injuries, the problem at the back has only been emphasised. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Liverpool struggle at the back, and it looks like Rodgers' signings in the summer has done nothing to aid this cause.

This leads on to his summer signings, which if I'm honest have largely failed to impose any confidence for the manager in their short times on Merseyside. I'll always remember thinking that Brendan must be desperate if he is sinking as low as to sign a problematic Mario Balotelli. Even though he isn't setting any fireworks alight in his bathroom, neither is he on the pitch either. Scoring a measly 2 goals in his 12 appearances on Merseyside, the Italian has to do a lot better if he is going to remain employed, nevermind replicate the accomplishments of one Luis Suarez. Rodgers signed Alberto Moreno and Javi Manquillo to improve Liverpool down the flanks. In fairness to their manager, he has given his new signings plenty of game time, but they too have been unable to prevent Liverpool conceding a large number of goals. Having been sent on loan from Atletico, Manquillo, will be looking to gain vital experience and challenge Glen Johnson for his position, something which he seems to be achieving.

Rodgers raided Southampton FC to acquire Dejan Lovren, Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana. Lovren was signed to plug a leaky defence, but he has found himself on the bench recently after a few questionable performances. At approximately £20m, it seems to be that Brendan overpaid on the Croatian. The signing of Rickie Lambert stems back to that fateful Sunday afternoon in April when Jose Mourinho's Chelsea parked at coach in front of the Kop at Anfield. Plan A wasn't working for Liverpool and Plan B was plan A revisited. In short, Lambert was signed to offer them a target man for them to pump balls into the box whenever their usual exciting football was not breaking the defence down. So far this season, he has made most of his appearances of the bench.

Similar to Lovren, Lallana has not imposed himself upon his new club, but his appearances in the Premier League have been sporadic to say the least. Now that he netted his second goal for Liverpool on Tuesday night, Brendan will be hoping that he can kick off and net a few more before the end of the season. We need to consider the 'wonderkid' that Brendan Rodgers brought from Portugal. Lazar Markovic is tipped to be the next best thing to come from a nation that contains all of youthful talent. Markovic epitomises Liverpool's season so far: hasn't started. A factor that could be hindering the Serbian's growth is his lack of playing time. He hasn't played in the Premier League since the Merseyside Derby at the end of September and has only come off the bench to accumulate 172 minutes out of the games played so far. Yes he has disappointed so far, but he hasn't been given enough game time to shine, on the other hand, he has age on his side. At 20 years of age, he has an abundance of time to turn into a future Liverpool star.

Brendan Rodgers needs time. He recruited the players that he wanted in the summer and he has to be given time to see if they can produce the goods. There is no point in sacking a manager and having to start the process all over again. I believe Rodgers himself said that it will take time to get this right and time is what he must be given. Having taken Liverpool to within a hair of the title, the board should reward him by sticking with him throughout the tough times, and this will make the highs taste ever so more sweeter. On the contrary, very football management is a cut throat business, and results are demanded imminently as the cliche goes; if you can't handle the heat, get out of the dugout... 

The Ballon D'Or 2014

The shortlist for the prestigious Ballon D'Or award has been announced, and with the award in the New Year looming, let's take a look at who I think are the main contenders and what they have to offer:

Thomas Muller

Everyone's favourite raumdeuter on the award winning Football Manager series, Thomas Muller has had an impressive year with both club and country. At the World Cup, the German was awarded the Silver Boot, finishing behind James Rodriguez in the goal scoring charts with 5 goals. Also at the event he collected the Silver Ball behind Lionel Messi who received the coveted Golden Ball. With Bayern he helped them to their 23rd Bundesliga title and in the process scoring 13 goals and assisting 10 times. Muller is a work horse and is surely got be in with a shout at the award ceremony in January.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo is always going to be in with an excellent shout of retaining the award. Although his Portugal did not have a good World Cup, he has been firing on all cylinders for Real Madrid in 2014. With less than half of the season gone, he has netted 20 goals in 12 league appearances and 26 goals in total. Ronaldo was instrumental in Real Madrid achieving La Decima last season, breaking the record for number of goals scored in a single campaign (17). This led him to being awarded UEFA's Best Player in Europe accolade. For the 6th season in a row, it is looking likely that the winner of the award is likely to come from the Portuguese captain or else Lionel Messi and the raging feud between the pair continues..

Philipp Lahm

For many years, Philipp Lahm was the heart of the defence for both club and country, without notable praise abroad. Now after a World Cup triumph, his expertise is finally being noticed and complimented. Having decided to hang up his international boots in order to further his club career at Bayern Munich, he capped it off with aplomb in Brazil in July. The Munich captain is definitely more of a team player rather than relying on himself, but he does galvanise his side, and gives them a lift to the next level when he is on the pitch. Lahm may not receive the ultimate prize, but I do believe he has to be a shoe-in for Team of the Year. 

Lionel Messi

Ever since the bitter disappointment of losing in the World Cup Final in July, Lionel Messi has been breaking more records. At the tender age of 27, the Argentine recently broke Raul's record goal tally in the Champions League with a hat trick midweek against APOEL Nicosia, and it seems like there are more European goals in the future. Out of his 74 European goals, he has scored in 23 different cities in 16 countries. In Argentina's route to the World Cup Final, he found the net 4 times and also won the Golden Ball for the best player - no consolation however for losing in the Final. He'll be up there, and the new record broken, might just swing it for the the Barcelona no.10.

Manuel Neuer

You won't find a goal keeper on the list of Ballon D'Or winners in the modern award, and in fact have to look back to 1963, for the last keeper to go home with the award. Manuel Neuer will be hoping to change this drought and be the first since the Soviet, Lev Yashin to do so. The 6ft 4in keeper has been a colossus in the goal, over the past 12 months and only conceded 4 goals in the World Cup. In comparison, he conceded 40 goals in 50 matches for Bayern, not bad, considering the quality of teams he played against. Numerous awards gained this year include the UEFA Champions League Team of the Season, the Golden Glove award at the World Cup, World Cup Dream Team, World Cup All Star Team and Footballer of the Year in Germany.

Other notable contenders include Diego Costa, Angel Di Maria, Arjen Robben and Toni Kroos. Costa led the Atletico line all the way to the Champions League Final last year and although he had a disappointing World Cup, he has been in red hot form for new club Chelsea. Di Maria and Robben have had excellent seasons both with club and country, sending eachother to trophies respectively. Similar to his former Bayern team mates, Kroos, was a key figure for club and country. His ability to dictate the play around the park and spread the ball, ensured a very successful season for Bayern Munich and Germany.

Even at an awards ceremony to commemorate the sublime talent we have in this era, UEFA have seemed to have grabbed the headlines once more, with needless ramblings that have caused controversy. With little over a month to wait, let's hope that UEFA can keep their opinions muted in order to not detract anything more from the spectacle that rewards some of the most gifted players in the planet for their individual brilliance.

Euro Qualifying Round 4 Preview

In this round of the European Qualifying, I'm only previewing four matches, but the quality will certainly make up for one less match.

There is not a better way to kick us off with a crunch tie where Scotland take on the Republic of Ireland. Even though Scotland defender Steven Whittaker has calmed the significance of winning on Friday night, a win would send them level on points with their opponents who lie behind Poland in the standings. BBC have reported that James McCarthy is doubtful which will be a big miss in the centre of the park for the Republic. While both teams will be after maximum points on Saturday, a draw is looking likely. We can expect a few rough challenges from each team who will want to leave their mark on each other as they push for qualification to France in 2016.  The Republic of Ireland will be looking to keep the pace with Poland at the top of the standings who face an away trip to Georgia and would be expected to record another 3 points.

My home country, Northern Ireland have enjoyed a splendid campaign to date, collecting a maximum of 9 points in our opening 3 matches, but the task facing us on Friday night will be bigger than any we have faced in the current campaign. The loss of captain, Steve Davis is a massive blow, particularly when it is coupled with the injury to Jamie Ward, who has been a breath of fresh air this time out. Manager, Michael O'Neill, has called up Manchester United youngster, Paddy McNair, and he could make a brief cameo, especially if the fitness of Aaron Hughes is lacking. Looking at the opposition, they seem to be going through a period of transition having removed their manager last month. The Romanians will be forced to play in front of an empty stadium with exception to the raucous created by the travelling Northern Irish support due to crowd trouble at their last match against Hungary. I'm sure the fans would settle for a draw, but knowing O'Neill, I'm convinced he will want to win this match and extend his lead at the top. 2-1 Norn Iron.

With Wayne Rooney playing down his talents earlier this week, it's unlikely that he will need to utilise his full capabilities against Slovenia in 2 days. Despite injuries to Andros Townsend and Michael Carrick, the English fans and media expect nothing short than a commanding victory against a team ranked 36th in the World. England U21 international, Saido Berahino has dazzled the Premier League this season and last with several sparkling performances and some have argued that he is long overdue a call-up to the senior squad. As for their opponents, Slovenia, they lie in second position behind England in Group F after shocking the Swiss at home and comfortably dispatching Lithuania in Vilnius. Striker, Milivoje Novaković has netted all 3 goals for the central European side, so no doubt Roy Hodgson has done his homework on the 35 year old. Slovenia possess Samir Handanovic who is a monster in nets and has saved 3 penalties this season already for Internazionale. It will be a victory for England, but somewhere someone will complain about something.

It's a massive night for Wales as they travel to take on a Belgium side who has been relatively disappointing in this campaign and find themselves 3 points of the Welsh pace-setters at the top of the group, albeit they have a game in hand. It's obvious that Wales would like to batten down the hatches and get out of Brussels with a point, but there may be a sense of optimism as if they get Gareth Bale running full tilt at a Belgian defence then they can cause all sorts of problems for a defence who has only conceded a goal in this campaign. Wales have been no means spectacular so far, narrowly edging out the Andorrans, drawing with the Bosnians before an unconvincing home victory over Cyprus. Belgium were disappointing by everyone's standards at the World Cup this year and will be hoping to capitalise on an excellent squad that they now possess in time for France 2016, providing they get there of course. As for the outcome, I’m going to say 2-1 Belgium.

Let's be hoping for positive score lines all round over the break. With teams only playing one match this time around, a victory each would set them up perfectly for over Christmas. The march to France continues.

Can Anyone Catch Chelsea?

Even though I'm not a Chelsea fan - quite the opposite in fact, it's great to see at least one of my many predictions looking possible. After a victory against Liverpool on Saturday and dropped points from both City and Arsenal, Jose Mourinho's men sail into an 8-point lead and I ask the question, can anyone catch them?

Last season, Chelsea had an incredible record against the top 4 last and only dropped 2 points against Arsenal, securing 5 wins in the process. Their Achilles' heel were the matches against lesser opposition, with no disrespect intended. Aston Villa, Stoke, Newcastle, Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Everton all recorded wins at home to the West London side. Last year, Chelsea's attacking options were limited, particularly as Fernando Torres never really hit form, much like his Chelsea career in a nutshell. Although Demba Ba popped up with some pivotal goals, his contribution was often hindered by his lack of playing minutes. 

Moving on to this season, the additions of Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa has seen a dramatic change in Chelsea's fortunes. Even on the opening weekend, the relationship between the former Barcelona player and the former Atleti player, appears psychic. Already this season, the adopted Spaniard has netted 10 times in only 9 appearances this time, a tally that will guide his side to an easy Premier League title if he keeps this form up. Similarly, Fabregas has no doubt aided his fellow countryman and emphasised his importance to the Chelsea set up with assists in 6 consecutive matches earlier in the season, something which has never been achieved before.

With Chelsea unbeaten and in red hot pursuit of their 5th English title and 4th in the Premier League era, let's take a look at their competition.

Despite a win over their city rivals, United a matter of weeks ago, a dishevelled European loss at the hands of CSKA Moscow has epitomised Manchester City's season to date. I’ve already said in previous article’s that I’m not Manuel Pellegrini’s biggest fan and it seems that he is coming under increasing pressure from the fans after another poor performance at the weekend. Ultimately, City’s downfall is that they aren't as cohesive as Mourinho’s well drilled  machine even though they have the same wealth of talent at their disposal.

Even as a devout Manchester United fan, I find it remarkably difficult to summon any displeasure upon fellow countryman, Brendan Rodgers. I've the greatest of respect for the Liverpool boss, but his actions during the transfer market leave much to be desired. With a minority of the Liverpool faithful demanding for the Northern Irishman to be sacked, his fortunes will need to change. The Reds have not been firing on all cylinders this year and I don't see them posing a major threat to the Blues. Their lack of a challenge can be put down to a poor defence as well as signings not gelling, similar to Spurs last year.

Moving on to Arsenal, while I don’t think they are playing at their optimum level, they do have more to offer. Wenger’s naivety in the transfer market will ensure that they will pose minimal threat to the league leaders. His failure to secure a defensive midfielder suitable for the midfield as well as cover for a defence that doesn;t have the depth of their rivals has disappointed Gooners and could be his unravelling at a dynasty he built. In fairness to Arsene, his capture of Alexis Sanchez is paying dividends and, in my humble opinion, Danny Welbeck is a protégé which could prove beneficial to himself and his new club, particularly after several nightmarish years at Manchester United.

Results still seem to be papering over the cracks for Louis Van Gaal's United. A questionable defence and already 13 points behind the table toppers will prove too much for the Dutchman to overturn. Even though the Manchester side have a lethal attacking threat, the summer signings of Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw won't be able to plug the leaky defence. Progress has certainly been made and there is no doubt that the fans will be pleased with the signings and games given to the youth that he has made.

It would be cruel of me to omit a mention to the overachievers, West Ham, Swansea and Southampton. Realistically I don't think anyone is expecting these teams to keep their form up, especially with the strength and depth of the squads behind them. West Ham possess an underrated squad and all suggestions of sacking 'Big' Sam Allardyce will almost be non-existant due to the impact that the signings of Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho and Alex Song have made. Swansea were impressive in the opening stages of last season, but their form tailed off due to Europa League commitments. Southampton have shocked everyone after a mass exodus from their club during the summer, but Koeman has rallied his side together and a mix of shrewd investments and opportunities for the youth has vaporised any thought of relegation for the Southern England side.

I don't see anyone catching Mourinho's men and the only way the West London side will fail to win the title will be down to their own fault. With it looking progressively more likely that they are going to win it with several games to spare, I wonder if Jose will predict the date that he will in title on this time around?