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Andy Penders

Many people raised an eyebrow when Real Madrid's Raul hung up his boots at the Bernabeu and headed to the German Bundesliga to play for Schalke. 

A slow start to the season saw many wondering why the Spanish star had made the move but Raul now seems settled at Schalke and is starting to get back to his best. Felix Magath, the 33 year old's new coach, heaped praise on his marquee signing hailing him as the most important player at the club. 

Indeed, Raul is now over the moon with his move and with his fitness where it needs to be, who is to say he cannot get even more goals after the winter break. Raul makes it into out team of the week and joins a potent looking four man attack.

4-2-4

Goalkeeper

Stefano Sorrentino - Chievo

Chievo managed to pull of a fine 1-1 draw against Juventus with goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino pulling off three fantastic saves and allowing his side to grab a dramatic 92nd minute leveller.

Defenders

Juan - Roma

If you are able to snub out the threat of one of the hottest strikers in the world at the moment then you have done a tremendous job. That is exactly what Juan did as Roma grabbed 3 wonderful away points against Milan. The Brazilian defender nullifying the threat of Zlatan Ibramhimovic.

Daan Bovenberg - Excelsior

Daan Bovenberg capped off a fine second half comeback from Excelsior as they managed to grab a late point against Groningen.

Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik - Rennes
Rennes joined Lille and PSG at the summit of Ligue Un thanks to the wonderfully named Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik grabbing a stoppage time winner against Valenciennes.

Midfielders

Angel Di Maria - Real Madrid

Real Madrid found themselves down to ten men and largely uninspired before Angel Di Maria provided them with a match winner 13 minutes from time. Real Madrid go into the winter break just two points behinds league leaders Barcelona.

Pedro - Barcelona

Pedro slightly outshone Lionel Messi in a side that ran out 5-1 away winners in the Catalan derby against Espanyol. Messi may have got two assists but Pedro bagged a brace in a hugely energetic display.

Tiago - Atletico Madrid
Tiago managed to grab two goals and an assist as he inspired Atletico Madrid to an easy 3-0 win against Malaga, leaving the visitors in dire relegation trouble.

Strikers

Raul - Schalke

Raul managed to grab his second hattrick of the season as Schalke ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over Cologne. After a slow start to the campaign, the Spanish star has finished on a high, bagging nine goals before the winter break.

Cristian Gonzalez - Indonesia

Cristian Gonzalez scored a memorable goal as he gave Indonesia a 1-0 win over the Philipines meaning the Indons meet Malaysia in the two legged final of the Suzuki Cup. What a strike!

Mario Gomez - Bayern Munich

Mario Gomez scored a hattrick for Bayern Munich as they ran out 5-3 away winners against Stuttgart. Gomez was sensational against his former club and even managed to set up Thomas Muller for his goal.

Edison Cavani - Napoli

Fresh from his match winner against Steaua Bucharest in the Europa League, Edison Cavani popped up in the 94th minute to steal a win for Napoli as they moved to second in the table, just 3 points behind leaders AC Milan.

AC Milan go into their final fixture of 2010 against Roma next weekend sitting in pole position and looking like champions.

Two sparks have paved the way for a successful campaign so far for AC, the new manager Massimiliano Allegri and striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The coach is showing wonderful nous when it comes to tactics while Ibrahimovic is taking the plaudits every week for his sensational displays. The Swede set one up and scored himself over the weekend and gives me every reason to purr about his displays of late.

The three best players in the world right now have to be Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan. The FIFA Ballon D'Or has to go to one of those players while AC need to make sure they are not too Ibra-dependent.

Apologies for the lack of defenders in the team of the week of late, there are so many exciting attacking players that it is impossible to leave them all out. I hope you enjoy the attacking nature of my team!

Goalkeeper
Rob van Dijk - PSV
In a lacklustre performance from the leading side in the Dutch Eredivisie, PSV had to rely on their goalkeeper Rob Van Dijk to pull off a great save to deny Excelsior an equaliser.

Defenders
Daniel Alves - Barcelona
Barcelona cruised to a 5-0 win over Real Sociedad with Danny Alves delivering one of his best performances for the Catalans, setting up a goal for Lionel Messi and proving a real menace down the flank all night.

Midfielders
Christian Clemens - Cologne
Scoring your first ever German Bundesliga goal is always a great landmark. That is exactly what Christian Clemens did for Cologne against Eintracht Frankfurt. A wonderful occasion for the 19 year old.

Lionel Messi - Barcelona
How many times has Lionel Messi been unplayable this season? It seems every matchday we are reporting another Messi brace. The Argentine scored two against Real Sociedad and once against wowed the crowd with his dribbling and passing.

Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid
Another wonderful free kick from Cristiano Ronaldo helped Real Madrid to a 3-1 away win against Zaragoza. Ronaldo was once again a real livewire and put in a performance that keeps pace with Messi's high standards, week in, week out.

Pablo Piatti - Almeria
Pablo Piatti scored two memorable goals as Almeria managed a 3-1 success away to Sevilla in the Andalucian derby. Piatti's first was an unstoppable drive while his tasty back heel at the near post allowed his side the chance to climb further away from the bottom of the table.

Milos Krasic - Juventus
Milos Krasic was the man of the match for Juventus as they beat Lazio 2-1 in a top of the table clash. Krasic controlled the play throughout and had a hand in the last gasp winner, his cross diverted off Lazio keeper Fernando Muslera.

Strikers

David Trezeguet - Hercules
Trailing 1-0 at half time, Hercules put in a tremendous second half performance to run out 4-1 winners with David Trezeguet spearheading the attack and getting the hosts on the goalscoring charts after 66 minutes.

Nene - Cagliari
Nene fired in a memorable hattrick as Cagliari saw off nine man Catania and in the process move up to 11th in the table.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - AC Milan
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is playing the best football of his career at the moment and deservedly got on the scoresheet as Milan brushed aside Bologna 3-0. The Swede was at the centre of every attacking threat AC could muster.

Oussama Assaidi - Herenveen
Oussama Assaidi was unstoppable for Heerenveen as they hammered six goals past Twente to record a shock win. Assaidi managed to grab a hattrick in some style for the home side.

Are you fed up of reading how good Lionel Messi is at the moment?

The Argentine was sizzling over the weekend, but another attacking the midfielder is taking his league by storm at the moment as well - Shinji Kagawa.

The Borussia Dortmund talisman arrived this season for a bargain busting three hundred and fifty thousand Euros and has turned out to be the shining star in his side who now sit top of the Bundesliga table. Kagawa has rapidly become a fans' favourite with his tricks, flicks and touches and was once again on the scoresheet last weekend.

The Japan international has turned out to be a real gem of a signing and has already put himself into contention for European Footballer of the Year. However, with Lionel Messi proving particularly unplayable at the moment, it is hard to see anyone overtaking the World Player of the Year. But congratulations to Kagawa who has given Asian football a real lift by making such an impact in European football.

Goalkeeper

Jelle ten Rouwelaar - NAC Breda

Ten Rouwelaar  was superb against one of his former clubs Twente as he kept his side in the game when 1-0 down, allowing them to launch a come from behind win.

Defenders

Ragnar Klavan - AZ Alkmaar

AZ Alkmaar produced a second half blitz to inflict Ajax's second defeat in a row and defender Klavan was impressive at the back, stopping the likes of Luis Suarez and Mounir El Hamdaoui.

Marcelo - PSV

PSV are top of the Dutch Eredivisie table thanks to coming out on top in a 6 goal thriller against Excelsior. Marcelo grabbed the deciding goal with a powerful shot and the former Brazilian Under 20 international is settling well into his new club.

Midfield

Javier Pastore - Palermo

Pastore wrote his named into Palermo folklore with a hat-trick in the Sicilian derby against Catania. The rising star was inspirational and this performance once against enhanced his reputation.

Sergio Pinto - Hannover

Hannover inflicted Mainz's third straight defeat with a 1-0 away win courtesy of a wonder strike from Pinto. The Portuguese midfielder was influential throughout the whole 90 minutes.

Shinji Kagawa - Borussia Dortmund

The Borussia bandwagon continues to roll at great pace with Kagawa very much the man in form. An outrageous display against Hamburg saw the Japanese international get on the scoresheet and dominate play throughout.

Lionel Messi - Barcelona

Messi is simply unplayable at the moment and. Two brilliant goals against Villarreal and another man of the match performance.

Diego Forlan - Atletico Madrid

Forlan put his 12 match scoring slump behind him with two well taken goals against Osasuna. Forlan also put the Rojiblanco's other goal on a plate for Sergio Aguero.

Strikers

Zlatan Ibrahimovic - AC Milan

Ibrahimovic tormented his former side in the Derby Della Madonnina. The Swede scored a penalty after 5 minutes and then led his side as they battled for half an hour with ten men.

Antonio di Natale - Udinese

A wonderful first half hattrick from Udinese captain di Natale helped his side run out 4-0 winners over Lecce.

Moussa Sow - Lille

Lille moved into second in the division thanks in part to a first half hat-trick from Sow that saw Les Dogues run out 5-2 winners away from home against Caen.

It is great to see that the leagues around Europe are already producing some standout players. In Germany, Schalke's Klaas Jan Huntelaar is proving to be a tremendous signing and stakes a claim for being the most consistent striker so far this season.

In Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo is back to his superb best while it is no surprise to see the Ajax's Luis Suarez picking up from where he did last season.

In Italy, Ronaldinho is pulling the strings for AC Milan but all the talk is of Javier Pastore. The 21-year-old Palermo midfielder is being tipped as the next big thing. Palermo have already slapped a US$100m price tag on him and once again over the weekend, the Argentine showed why he is destined for great things.

Certainly, he's a player to keep an eye on and a worthy captain of our Team of the Week.

Goalkeeper

Sebastian Frey - Fiorentina

Frey kept his side in their contest against Sampdoria with a string of fine saves that allowed them to build a platform for a come from behind win.

Defence

Carlos Puyol - Barcelona

Puyol was solid all afternoon for Barcelona and popped up with the winner in the second half.

Mapou Yangambiwa - Montpellier

A brilliant performance from the whole of the Montpellier backline sees Yangambiwa get the nod in our Team of the Week thanks to his goalscoring contribution.

Heiko Westermann - Hamburg

Hamburg handed Mainz their first defeat of the season with Westermann not putting a foot wrong all game.

Midfield

Javier Pastore - Palermo

Destined for great things, Pastore inspired Palermo to a 4-1 home win against Bologna. Pastore scored his side's first and went on to dominate the midfield for the rest of the game.

Ronaldinho - AC Milan

Ronaldinho was on a par with Alexandre Pato with his performance against Chievo. The Brazilian showed some sublime touches and set up Robinho for AC's third.

Cristian Ronaldo - Real Madrid

One of the performances of the weekend from Ronaldo who set up Real Madrid's first, scored the second and third goals before assisting with the fourth. Perfect.

Xavi - Barcelona

Xavi and Andres Iniesta were scintillating against Valancia. Xavi inspired Barcelona to a come from behind win with some wonderful passing and two assists.

Lisandro Lopez - Lyon

A key contribution from Lopez helped Lyon to a 3-1 victory against Lille. Lopez got on the scoresheet after just two minutes before doubling his tally from the penalty spot in the second half.

 Luis Suarez - Ajax

A wonderful performance from Ajax captain Suarez saw the Amsterdam outfit run out 3-0 winners over NAC Breda. Suarez was impressive all afternoon and added a third for his side in the second half.

Strikers

Fernando Llorente - Athletic Bilbao

It was another wonderful display from  Llorente off the back of his hat-trick for Spain during the week. The 25-year-old is now being linked with moves to Barcelona and Real Madrid, and was on the score sheet in Athletic's 2-1 against Real Zaragoza.

There were impressive performances from every one of our Team of the Week members.

Again, the name of Ricky van Wolfswinkel pops up after another impressive showing for Utrecht, and just like Angel di Maria last season, he is set for the a big money money move sooner rather than later.

Keep on eye on the Lewis Holtby situation as well. The young midfielder is on loan from Schalke to Mainz at the moment and has been instrumental in their rise to the top of the Bundesliga table. Holtby has an English father from Liverpool who supports Everton and it is quoted that the 20-year-old has said he would love to play for England at some point in his career.

The big question at the moment for Joachim Low and Fabio Capello is which one of them can get their hands on him first as he still has not pledged his allegiance to either country.

If you have not seen Andrea Pirlo's long range strike for AC Milan against Parma yet then make sure you watch Chang World of Football. It is sheer quality.

Goalkeeper

Marco Storari - Juventus

Marco Storari was solid in the Derby d'Italia and was asked to make an amazing save from Maicon in particular as his side battled to a goalless draw.

Defence

Ramis - Real Mallorca

You'll struggle to find a better performance from a central defender in Europe last weekend as Ramis kept the likes of Messi quiet as his side managed a 1-1 against Barcelona.

Andreas Wolf - Nurnburg

Wolf scored a late winner against Schalke and continued his great form at the start of this season with a series of well timed interventions.

Michael Ciani - Bordeaux

An amazing performance from Ciani as Bordeaux beat Lorient 1-0. Sure, Ciani got the winner but he dominated at the back with impressive physicality.

Midfield

Andrea Pirlo - AC Milan

A glorious goal from Pirlo that deserved to win any game allowed AC Milan to climb to the top of the table. A blistering left foot volley allowed Milan all three points against Parma.

Marek Hamsik - Napoli

Napoli gained a vital win over Roma with Hamsik on the scoresheet thanks to a powerful volley. The Slovakian may be young, but he possesses so much skill and is always in support for his teammates.

Angel Di Maria - Real Madrid

Di Maria often featured in this Team of the Week while playing for Benfica last year and it is great that his form has continued in Spain. The Argentine set up a goal for Higuain and also scored a brilliant effort himself as Real Madrid ran out comfortable winners against Deportivo.

Lewis Holtby - Mainz

Holtby is a midfielder who is on the top of his game at the moment and is eligible to play for both England and Germany. Holtby had a hand in all four of Mainz's goals against Hoffenheim as his side recorded an historic seventh win on the bounce at the start of a season.

Strikers

Ricky van Wolfswinkel - Utrecht

If you are able to upstage Eredivisie table toppers Ajax with a sparkling performance then you are one of the first names on this team sheet. Van Wolfswinkel bagged a brace of penalties early on and caused the Ajax backline all sort of problems in his side's 2-1 away win.

Bryan Ruiz - Twente

Bryan Ruiz has struggled for consistency this season but last weekend he showed why he was one of the players of the season in the Eredivisie during the last campaign. The Costa Rican scored two and set up one in his side's 4-2 win over Grongingen.

Giuliano - Internacional

Internacional kept their Serie A dream alive with a 3-0 win over Guarani. Brazilian Under-20 international Giuliano was on the scoresheet with a fine finish but was clearly man of the match with his admirers ever growing.

Should the Earth ever have to put forward a football team into the Inter-Galatic League (or the IGL) then I think we will be in safe hands.

Having done the Team of the Week article for most of the season, it amazes me how consistent the World's top performers are.

Frank Lampard, for example, isn't just a quality player, he is a quality player week in, week out. Barcelona's Lionel Messi ended his goal drought of five games over the weekend but delivers high quality performances routinely. Ronaldo is the same for Real Madrid, just pure quality all of the time.

Ajax's Luis Suarez can be trusted to perform on demand. And even when these top players put in a below-par performance, it is often a lot better than great games of their other professionals.
Eden Hazard of Lille is a regular in the Team of the Week, as is Twente's Bryan Ruiz. Ronaldinho has had a superb season for AC Milan and is a regular player on these pages.

Perhaps I am stating the obvious but it seems the best players in the World do it for their teams on an alarmingly consistent basis. And before I started writing these articles, I did not expect that to be the case.

Now, who shall we have managing our IGL team? Jose Mourinho? Or will the rest of the universe complain that he is not one of us earthlings?

Goalkeeper

Nicolas Penneteau - Valenciennes
Nicolas Penneteau was instrumental for Valenciennes in coming away with a goalless draw against in-form Lorient as the home side's push for a Europa League spot suffered a massive blow.

Defence

Reto Ziegler - Sampdoria
While Sampdoria were comfortable against Livorno, they needed Reto Ziegler's rocket of a shot to ensure the points and maintain their charge for a Champions League berth next season.

Nunes - Mallorca
Mallorca produced their finest away performance of the season with Nunes impressive at the back and getting n the scoresheet in the second half to help his side to a 3-1 win against Athletic Bilbao.

Michel Bastos - Lyon
Lyon moved up to fourth in the French Ligue Un thanks to a 1-0 win against Champions League chasing challengers Montpellier. Michel Bastos scored the only goal of the game.

Midfield

Fernando Belluschi - Porto
Fernando Belluschi scored for ten man Porto as they put Benfica's title celebrations on hold until the final day of the season. A heroic performance from all of the Porto team.

Ronaldinho - AC Milan
About time as our pint sized Brzailian has been missing for a while! An inspired performance from Ronaldinho saw ten man Milan pinch the points against Fiorentina with the former World Player of the Year on the scoresheet from the penalty spot.

Ronaldo - Real Madrid
Ronaldo scored a last gasp winner as Real Madrid finally got all three points in a dramatic 3-2 win over Osasuna. The Portuguese winger scored his second of the game in the 89th minute to keep Real's title bid alive.

Thomas Mueller - Bayern Munich
At his best over the weekend, Thomas Mueller's hattrick ensured a 22nd Bundesliga title is all-but theirs. The Bavarians are 3 points clear with one game to go.

Luis Suarez - Ajax
Luis Suarez started a finished the scoring for Ajax as they ran out comfortable winners against NEC. At one point in the day's play, Ajax did move top of the table but unfortunately for them, destiny was out of their hands.

Eden Hazard - Lille
Once again nominated as one of the best Ligue Un players, Eden Hazard helped Lille strengthen their grip on a Champions League qualification spot as he caused problems for Nancy throughout and set up his side's final goal in a 3-1 win.

Strikers

Bryan Ruiz - FC Twente
Getting on the scoresheet and helping your side to their first ever league championship is good enough for our Team of the Week. Twente's Bryan Ruiz bagged his 24th goal of the season to settle the nerves of the Tukkers in what turned out to be a 2-0 win at ten man NAC Breda.

Often my Team of the Week has a formation that would never really work in the real world. Although if you are keen on having 8 up front with a couple of defensive minded players in there to sturdy things up then we have something in common!

Perhaps I should sit down with Diego Maradona sometime and talk about his selection and tactical dilemmas ahead of the World Cup.

How would you fit the following strikers into your team: Kun Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Lissandro Lopez, Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez, Angel Di Maria and Martin Palermo.

Added to that, you also have to consider your attacking midfield flair as well, this comes in the shape of: Ever Banega, Pablo Aimar, Fernando Gago, Maxi Rodriguez, Lucho Gonzalez, Mario Bolatti and Jonas Gutierrez.

There are 14 players there who would arguably walk into any team and we haven't even included the defenders or goalkeeper and our biggest omission yet is World Player of the Year Lionel Messi!

It is such a tough decision for Argentina coach Maradona and you have to feel for him. It has, of course, the potential to go spectacularly wrong, as it almost did in qualifying. However, a recent away win in Germany shows that it can also go extremely right and it is still amazing to see that Argentina are behind Spain, Brazil and England in the betting for this year's World Cup.

Just the two defenders this week but we will be asking our midfielders to do some extra work in getting back! A 2-5-3 formation.

Goalkeeper

Federico Marchetti - Cagliari
A brilliant display by Ferderico Marchetti saw his 10 man Cagliari pull of a superb goalless away draw against Europa League hopefuls Napoli.

Defenders

Heiko Westermann - Schalke
When your team are heading out of the title race with 3 minutes to go, step forward a match winner! German international Heiko Westermann, playing slightly higher up the field this week, scored Schalke's winner over Hertha Berlin to keep his side level on points with Bayern Munich.

Olivier Barth - Freiburg
When you can keep the likes of Wolfsburg's Grafite and Eden Dzeko quiet and not put a foot wrong in your side's 1-0 win over the reigning champions then a place in the team of the week is all yours!

Midfield

Sergio Canales - Villarreal
Sergio Canales is all set for a move to Real Madrid in the summer and you can understand why the Spanish giants paid so much for him after the 19 year old struck a superb first half opener for Villarreal against Racing.

Ronaldo - Real Madrid
Ronaldo was a constant menace for Real Madrid against Real Zaragoza and managed to set up Raul's opener before allowing substitute Kaka to steal the limelight by scoring the winning goal.

Mathieu Valbuena - Marseille
Marseille continue to shine at the top of Ligue Un with midfielder Mathieu Valbuena getting stronger and stronger with each game. Scored the early goal against St. Etienne and created several further chances.

Siem De Jong - Ajax
Consistently on the scoresheet for Ajax, 21 year old Siem De Jong was the hero for his side in the 1st leg of the Cup Final against Feyenoord by scoring two goals.

Diego - Juventus
Just pipped teammate Vincenzo Iaquinta to our team of the week thanks to a scintillating performance against Bari that included an assist and the winning of a penalty.

Strikers

Giampaolo Pazzini - Sampdora
Giampaolo Pazzini scored twice to put a massive dent in Roma's title aspirations as Sampdoria put a further stranglehold on the last Champions League qualification spot.

Oscar Cardozo - Benfica
Benfica took another step towards being crowned Portuguese champions with a 5-0 win over Olhanense. Oscar Cardozo scored a hattrick and was the leading light alongside other goalscorers Angel Di Maria and Pablo Aimar.

Kevin Gameiro - Lorient
If anyone asks you who the leading scorer in France is, you can answer Lorient's Kevin Gameiro who scored the only goal in his side's win over Bordeaux.

It is always great to see raw celebrations on a football pitch and they did not come much better than Anderlecht's at the Jan Breydelstadion.

Playing at one of their fiercest rivals Clubbe Bruge, the Brussel's team managed a 2-1 win that clinched their 30th Belgian championship as they built up an unassailable lead at the top of the table with four games to go. Argentine Matias Suarez was at the heart of everything good for Anderlecht, setting one up and cooly converting another.

It has been a stellar season for the Belgian giants who recorded the best attack, with Team of the Week favourite Romelu Lukaku the top goalscorer, and the best defense.

We congratulate Anderlecht on their fine campaign which saw them clearly a cut above the rest of the opposition as they wrestled the grip away from Standard Liege who had won the championship in the previous two seasons. We are looking forward to seeing Anderlecht in the Champions League.

Star players are in abundance in our team of the week in a reliable 4-3-3- formation.

Goalkeeper

Jelle Ten Rouwelaar - NAC Breda
Jelle Ten Rouwelaar pulled off a stunning stop to save a penalty from Herenveen;s Gerald Sibon as his 10 man NAC kept alive their hopes for a Europa League play off place.

Defenders

Maicon - Inter Milan
A wonder goal always gets you into our Team of the Week but Maicon also put in a man of the match performance against a stubborn Juventus side.

Taye Taiwo - Marseille
Nigerian international Taye Taiwo blasted home an injury time penalty to give Marseille all three points against Boulogne as they continue to strengthen their position at the top of the table.

Sebastain Corchia - Le Mans
A last-gasp, super strike from Sebastian Corchia recorded a shock victory for Le Mans against Valenciennes and keeps open any faint hopes of avoiding relegation.

Oleg Kuzmin - Lokomotiv Moscow
Oleg Kusmin snatched a late equalizer in the Moscow derby as CSKA and Lokomotiv had to settled for a share of the spoils. A wonderful crafted goal from the defender with the outside of his boot.

Midfield

Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid
Man of the match against Valencia, Cristiano Ronaldo put in a real team performance which included a well taken goal in their win against 3rd place Valencia.

Arjen Robben - Bayern Munich
A hattrick for Arjen Robben in Bayern Munich's 7-0 thrashing of Hannover has put his side two points clear at the top of the table and significantly increases The Bavarians goal difference.

Tortsen Frings - Werder Bremen
Werder Bremen have now suffered just one loss in their last 11 and their 4-2 away win against Wolfsburg shows just what a force they are at the moment. Claudio Pizzaro and Hugo Almeida added to Tortsen Frings' brace to seal a great come from behind win.

Strikers

Mirko Vucinic - Roma
Mirko Vucinic's double helped Roma back to the top of the table. It was a brace that included a stinging 20 yard fee kick which left the Lazio keeper rooted to the spot.

Antonio Cassano - Sampdoria
Antonio Cassano was at the heart of everything good for Sampdoria in their super 2-1 win over AC Milan. Earned a penalty himself which he duly dispatched.

Nino - Tenerife
A wonderful hattrick from Nino against Getafe has helped Tenerife get closer to fighting off relegation.

The end of the season is coming up and having written our Team of the Week throughout the whole campaign, we are starting to get a idea of who our Team of the Season is.

Certainly the midfield on showing this week would have a strong case for inclusion into our most consistent performers. Lionel Messi and Xavi are the best the world has to offer while Lucho Gonzalez of Marseille and Toni Kroos of Bayer Leverkusen are two players who can carve any team open at any time.

The list of strong attacking flair in the middle of the park is a one to savour. Ronaldinho is still a delight to watch at AC Milan, Ronaldo inspires Real Madrid, Ribery and Robben do it for Bayern Munich.

Eden Hazard amazes all at Lille, Fabregas pulls the strings at Arsenal, Daniele De Rossi is still the best in the Serie A, Angel Di Maria is brilliant at Benfica, Wesley Sneijder is the heartbeat for Inter and Luis Suarez has scored 32 goals in 31 appearances for Ajax which needs no superlatives.

Ultimately the strong showing around the world for attacking flair from the midfield bodes well for the World Cup this year which promises to be one of the most entertaining football competition we have ever seen.

An extremely strong 4-4-2 formation this week which would fare brilliantly against any other team.

Goalkeeper

Hugo Lloris - Lyon
Is Hugo Lloris the best goalkeeper in the world at the moment? Possibly. A number of fine stops against Lille over the weekend.

Defenders

Giorgio Chielini - Juventus
Man of the match against Cagliari, Giorgio Chiellini ran the show as Juve maintained their push for a Champions League spot. Scored the winning goal and marshalled the defense superbly.

Per Kroldrup - Fiorentina
Former Everton flop Per Kroldrup helped blow the title race wide apart in the Serie A as he scored Fiorentina's equalizer against then league leaders Inter Milan.

Javier Pastore - Palermo
Palermo are on course for fourth spot after a 3-1 win over Chievo. Javier Pastore and striker Fabrizio Miccoli were the two main threats all afternoon, the former scoring the opening goal, the latter bagging a brace.

Diego Godin - Villarreal
Villarreal continued in their quest for Europa League action next season thanks to Diego Grodin's header in his side's 1-0 win over Sporting Gijon.

Midfielders

Lucho Gonzalez - Marseille
What a talisman for Marseille Lucho Gonzalez is turning out to be. Three assists over the weekend helped his side maintain their quest for the title.

Lionel Messi - Barcelona
Scoring your 40th goal of the season easily gets you into our Team of the Week! Lionel Messi bagged once again, this time in the El Classico to give Barcelona a huge advantage in La Liga.

Toni Kroos - Beyer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen held leaders Bayern Munich to a draw thanks to an inspirational display from Toni Kroos. The 20 year old is on loan from Bayern Munich and ironically carved them apart time after time. Kroos will be more than welcome back in the summer!

Xavi - Barcelona
Does anyone remember the last time Barca's Xavi gave the ball away? The 30 year old provided two assists for his teammates against Real Madrid and was nothing short of sensational.

Strikers

Luis Suarez - Ajax
Another hattrick from one of the golden men of World football. Luiz Suarez, along with Marko Pantelic, scored 3 goals as Ajax kept their faint title hopes alive with a 7-0 thrashing of VVV Venlo.

Mirko Vucinic - Roma
Roma are now at the top of the table thanks to the goals and consistency of Mirko Vicinic. Another goal over the weekend against Atalanta.

It is a shame that I cannot name any Benfica players in this week's team because at the time of going to press, the Portuguese champions elect had not played. However, I am sure that at least one of their side would have played well enough to warrant an inclusion.

And this serves me well in being able to warn Liverpool fans what might be around the corner in the second leg of their Europa League Quarter Final. You see, Benfica are one of the hottest sides in Europe at the moment, boasting a star studded line up that could be the start of a winning dynasty.

Thursday night's European encounter at Anfield promises to be one of the best with an array of brilliant players from both side son show. But it is Benfica's side that is getting me purring at the moment.

Here is hoping that Javier Saviola plays this week, chances are he won't through a recent injury but costing Benfica just 5m Euros from Real Madrid, he has to be one of the signings of the season. Saviola is usually supported by Oscar Cardozo who poses a real threat and could have had more than his brace of penalties to show from last week's leg at the Stadium of Light.

The front pairing are prompted by the excellent Pablo Aimer who is equally complemented with Ramires and Angel di Maria bombing down the flanks.

Javi Garcia or Carlos Martins usually anchor the midfield while at the back, the bushy haired David Luiz is a certain starter for Real Madrid next season should the Spanish side meet his asking price. Luisao is Luiz's partner at the back and Torres and Babel are all too aware of his intimidating stature.

Benfica are my team of the season so far, thanks mainly to their attacking flair and their ability to get me off my seat asking anyone who cares, "Did you see that!"

I expect Liverpool to be eliminated from this season's Europa League on Thursday.

A 3-4-3 formation this week boasting three defenders who scored crackers over the weekend:

Goalkeeper

Stephane Ruffier - Monaco
Stephane Ruffier has been in good form of late and helped Monaco to a goalless draw against title chasing Montpellier.

Defenders

Ryan Donk - Club Brugge
Former Premier League central defender Ryan Donk scored two unlikely goals as Club Brugge forced a draw after being 2-0 down against runaway leaders Anderlecht. Donk scored an own goal before redeeming himself on 81 minutes.

Maik Franz - Eintracht Frankfurt
Maik Franz struck a last gasp winner as Eintracht Frankfurt inflicted misery on title hopefuls Bayer Leverkusen. The goal came after 89 minutes and completed a brilliant turnaround for the home side who had found themselves 2-1 down at one stage.

Toby Alderweireld - Ajax
Toby Alderweireld kept Ajax's title hopes alive with a 93rd minute screamer past emergency goalkeeper Ricky van den Bergh in a narrow 1-0 win against ADO Den Haag.

Midfield

Mario Balotelli - Inter Milan
After being left out of Jose Moutinho's line up for six matches, Mario Balotelli returned in some style by getting on the scoresheet against Bologna and helping his side on course for a fifth successive title.

Michel Bastos - Lyon
Michel Bastos helped Lyon back to the top of the French Ligue Un with a come from behind win against Rennes. The Brazilian scored with a fierce drive to help a much changed Lyon side come out on top.

Ronaldo - Real Madrid
The El Classico comes next week and with Ronaldo in such fine form, it will be a tough game for Barcelona. The self proclaimed CR9 earned his side a penalty against Racing Santander and duly converted it.

Raffael - Hertha Berlin
Raffael helped Hertha Berlin in their fight against relegation with two goals in a crucial 3-0 away win against Cologne.

Strikers

Simone Pepe - Udinese
Along with Alexis Sanchez and Antonio Di Natale, Simone Pepe was in sizzling form against Juventus in Udinese's 3-0 win.

Radamel Falcao - Porto
Falco bagged a brace including a brilliant overhead kick as Porto continued in their quest for a Champions League spot after overcoming a goal inside 15 seconds from Maritmo.

Bojan Krkic - Barcelona
Bojan Krkic came in for the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic and made a great stake for a more regular place in the team by scoring two in Barca's 4-1 win against Atheltic Bilbao.

There are a few high profile names giving their managers pre-World Cup headaches at the moment.

Sampdoria's Antonio Cassano of Italy is asking Marcelo Lippi all sorts of questions with his performances this season and a recall from the international wilderness could be on the cards.

The same goes for Palermo's Fabrizio Miccoli and you could argue for Udinese's Antonio Di Natale. Staying in Italy and Ronaldinho continues to impress for AC Milan yet is being overlooked by Brazilian coach Dunga.

Will Juan Román Riquelme make up with Argentine coach Diego Maradona? How about Benfica's Javier Saviola being overlooked as well? Will PSG's Claude Makelele come out for retirement, again? Will Ruud Van Nistelrooy also hang up his retirement slippers?

Mikel Arteta may well qualify to be English by the time Vicente Del Bosque thinks he is good enough for Spain.

One of the biggest problems presents itself for German coach Joachim Low.  The leading goalscorer in the Bundesliga is Schalke's Brazilian born striker Kevin Kuranyi. The 28 year old made his debut for Germany (thanks to his German-Hungarian father) in 2003. Five years later Kuranyi found himself out of a 18 man squad that played Russia and was forced to watch the game with other unselected players from the stands.

At half time, the former Stuttgart man decided he would go home and not report to the German hotel after the game. Low was furious and said that he would never pick Kuranyi again.

The problem is, the 52 time capped player, is in the form of his life and with striking options running out for Low it remains to be seen whether the German coach can do himself, and his nation, a favour and by swallowing a bitter pill.

Anyway, while the national coaches consume copious amounts of Aspirin, here is the Team of the Week

Goalkeeper

Edwin Van Der Saar - Manchester United
The Flying Dutchman pulled off two memorable saves from Johan Elmander and Fabrice Muamba. He continues to play a vital role in United's push for the title.

Defence

Alvaro Arbeloa - Real Madrid
Real Madrid hit back from a half time deficit to beat local rivals Atletico thanks in part to a solid defensive display from Alvaro Arbeloa who also scored Real's 2nd like a natural finisher.

Carlos Diogo - Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza boosted their chances of La Liga survival by beating 3rd place Valencia. Carlos Diogo opened the scoring with a blazing effort.

Christian Trasch - Stuttgart
Christian Trasch helped Stuttgart take advantage of Bayern Munich's frailties and enhance their own Europa League dreams. Bayern may well have taken the lead at the Allianz Arena in Munich but Stuttgart ran out 2-1 winners.

Souleymane Diawara - Marseille
Marseille won their first piece of silverware since 1993 and captured the French League Cup for their first time in their history with a fine 3-1 win against Bordeaux. Souleymane Diawara thumped home his side's first just after the half an hour mark.

Midfield

Frank Lampard - Chelsea
It was a milestone day for the England midfielder who passed the 150 goal mark for Chelsea in a brutal display against Aston Villa.

Issiar Da - Nancy
Issiar Dia bagged a hattrick for Nancy in their 5-1 win over Lens.

Strikers

Luca Toni - Roma
Luca Toni scored the winner for Roma against league leaders Inter Milan and put in a dogged display against Walter Samuel and co.

Fabrizio Miccoli - Palermo
Palermo got their Champions League fight back on with an inspired hattrick from Fabrizio Miccoli. Italian coach Marcello Lippi may be forced to recall the striker after a 6 year absence from the squad.

Kevin Kuranyi - Schalke
Two goals from Kevin Kuranyi sent Schalke to the top of the Bundesliga as they beat title chasers Bayer Leverkusen. Next up, Schalke take on Bayern Munich!

Bryan Ruiz - Twente
Bran Ruiz scored a stunning hattrick inside five second half minutes to keep Twente on course for the Dutch Eredivisie title.

Following the weekend's action, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola asked journalists for some help in describing the talents of midfielder Lionel Messi. The problem for the Catalans' manager is that he is running out of superlatives for the World's best player.

And who can blame him? Lionel Messi is operating on a completely different level at the moment, ensuring Argentina are worth siding with (especially at decent odds) for this year's World Cup.

How can you stop a player who has scored 34 goals this season, 25 in the league and is the leading contributor of assists in the division?

To stop him, some say you could show him onto his right foot, which is pretty ordinary for a world class player. You could put an Argentina shirt on him; that seems to work sometimes. You could kick him around but for that you need a player who is agile enough to get close to him.

A decent left back is also required as Messi loves to cut in from the right to trigger his left foot. Or you could ensure that Messi simply does not get the ball and that means cutting out the supply.

At the moment, however, it is impossible to stop the 22 year old who scored 8 goals last week alone! As Messi continues his exploits, I offer Pep Guardiola a page from my thesaurus:

Astounding, stunning, staggering, startling, stupefying, breathtaking; awesome, awe-inspiring, sensational, remarkable, spectacular, stupendous, phenomenal, extraordinary, incredible, unbelievable, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping, wondrous.

Phew! That should see the coach through a couple of matches at least.

Team of the Week this time around is a more balanced 3-4-3 formation.

Goalkeeper

Raphael Schafer - Nurnberg
Nurnberg are in the thick of a relegation scrap but are now unbeaten in 3 thanks in part to Raphael Schafer who saved a number of fine chances for Hoffenheim in a game that ended goalless.

Defenders

Simon Kjaer - Palermo
Simon Kjaer proved once again why all the top clubs are interested in him as he managed to deal quite comfortably with Inter's star strikers.

Charles Kabore - Marseille
Marseille leapfrogged Lyon into 4th place thanks to a 2-1 win. Promising star Charles Kabore scored with a terrific long range strike to put his side on their way.

Felipe Mattioni - Mallorca
Mallorca's amazing home record continues as they moved into the top four while thrashing Atletico Madrid - with Felipe Mattioni putting the icing on the cake with an outstanding effort.

Midfield

Lionel Messi - Barcelona
Lionel Messi produced another remarkable display for Barcelona with a stunning hattrick taking his tally to 34 in all competitions and 11 in the last five matches. 25 leagues goals means he is trailing Wayne Rooney by a single goal for the European Golden Boot.

David Silva - Valencia
Valencia got themselves back on track after 5 matches without a win thanks to an inspired performance by Spanish international David Silva who set up the first for teammate Juan Mata before adding one himself.

Yoann Gourcuff - Bordeaux
Bordeaux ended the week top of the French Ligue Un thanks to Yoan Gourcuff pulling the strings in midfield and taking his goal against Lille extremely well.

Luis Suarez - Ajax
Ajax bagged their 8th successive win, securing 29 goals in the process and conceding only two, with captain Luis Suarez in fine form. The Uruguayan skipper scored twice as his side moved to second in the table, only four points off league leaders Twente.

Strikers

Antonio Cassano - Sampdoria
Sampdoria are level on points with 4th placed Palermo thanks to a spectacular strike from Antonio Cassano that proved to be the winning goal against Juventus.

Mirko Vucinic - Roma
Roma kept themselves in the title hunt thanks to a 4-2 win over Udinese with Team of the Week favourite Mirko Vucinic on hand to score a hattrick.

Theofanis Gekas - Hertha Berlin
If you score a hattrick then you are in the team of the week, it is a simple as that. Hertha Berlin are bottom of the Bundesliga yet somehow managed to beat Wolfsburg 5-1 away from home with Gekas in amazing form.

Last week in this column we gave our eleven players who will be sorely missed at this year's World Cup thanks to their countries not qualifying.

Our choice for number four was Lille's Eden Hazard which caused many people to raise an eyebrow. However, given the week, and indeed the season, that the Belgian international has had, we think his inclusion is fully justified. 

Hazard tormented Liverpool during the week in the Europa League and was again instrumental in a narrow win for Lille against Grenoble over the weekend to boost his side's title aspirations. 

Hazard has now been playing first team football for Lille for three years. Having made his debut when he was 16, the 19-year-old has become one of the most coveted players in the world.

This attacking midfielder joins the most wanted list of: Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht), Luis Suarez (Ajax), Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Neymar (Santos), Tommy Oar (Brisbane Roar), Marouane Chamakh (Bordeaux), Angel Di Maria (Benfica) and Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow)

If you wanted to buy every single player on that list, it would probably cost you about USD$200m. And what sort of club has that money floating around these days!? One thing is for sure, at least two or three of those players will be household names next season as they look certain to be plying their trade in the Barclays Premier League.

No need for defenders in our Team of the Week this week. A classic 0-5-5 onslaught!

Goalkeeper

Fabio Coltorti  - Racing Santander

Racing Santander continue to look for a first home win since January but were indebted to Fabio Coltorti for earning them a point against Real Zaragoza with a string of world class saves.

Midfielders

Lionel Messi - Barcelona

Lionel Messi took centre stage against Valencia for Barcelona as he bagged a  wonderful hattrick in a 3-0 win.

Ronaldo - Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo was everywhere in attack for Real Madrid in their 4-1 away win over Valladolid. The Portuguese international also scored with a trademark freekick.

Simone Perrotta - Roma

A brilliant display from 'box-to-box'er Simone Perotta who bagged Rom'a opener against Livorno before providing two more assists for his teammates.

Jorge Martinez - Catania

A brilliant solo goal from Jorge Martinez put the icing on the cake for Catania as they threw the title race open by beating 10 man Inter Milan 3-1. 

Arjen Robben - Bayern Munich

Once again Arjen Robben came to Bayern Munich's rescue for the second time in four days by bagging a brace to secure a come-from-behind win over Freiburg.

Strikers

Gonzalo Higuain - Real Madrid

Another hat-trick hero in our team of the week with Gonzalo Higuain showing his fine array of finishing.

Massimo Maccarone - Siena

Former Middlesbrough man, Massimo Maccarone, was brilliant in his side's rally to earn a 3-3 away draw against Juventus. Scored the first, had a hand in the second and won the penalty for the third.

Cristiano Lucarelli

Livorno's Cristiano Lucarelli waged a one-man war against Roma by scoring a hat-trick in their 3-3 stalemate. 

Edin Dzeko - Wolfsburg

The brilliant Edin Dzeko inspired Wolfsburg to yet another Bundesliga victory, this time against Borussia Monchengladbach. A brace from the highly rated striker secured Wolves' 4th straight league win. 

Chris Payne - Sydney FC

Sydney FC will take on Melbourne victory in the A-League Grand Final after two first half goals from substitute Chris Payne helped his side to a 4-2 win over Wellington Phoenix. The teenager may have scored a decisive goal with his hand but he is in our team of the week for the impact he made coming off the bench. 

The international friendlies during the week give us a perfect chance to take a look at the big leagues from around the world and work out who is performing the best on a regular basis, therefore ensuring that they will be a threat in this year's World Cup.

The English Premier League can boast the best striker in the world at the moment. No arguments that Wayne Rooney can make a huge impact on SA2010 given his current form.

Moving to Spain where the league can boast a riches of fine players in great form. 

Argentina are lucky that Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain continue to impress while Kaka is getting to his prime at the right time for Real Madrid and Brazil. Not to mention Portugal's Ronaldo who is back to his jaw dropping best for Real.

In Italy, Ronaldinho has been the pick of the consistent performers but is so far being overlooked by Brazil coach Dunga for some reason. Solid performers include Denmark's Simon Kjaer (Palermo), Italy's Daniele De Rossi while Montenigran Mirko Vucinic (Roma) has been on fire domestically but will not be at the World Cup. 

In France, the Africans nations are well represented with Gervinho (Lille) in scintillating form for Ivory Coast while Marseille's Mamadou Niang will be upset his Senegalese team did not qualify as he continues to be a force in the league.

In Germany, Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery (France) and Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) tear apart midfields at will while Joachim Low can boast young talents such as Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen) and Mesut Ozil although we will not being seeing the talents of Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg) as Bosnia did not qualify.

In Holland it is no surprise to see Uruguayan captain Luis Suarez (Ajax) as a player who can make a huge impact this year while Ibrahim Afellay has been a consistent performer for PSV in the midfield. It is a shame that Costa Rica did not qualify as we will not see FC Twente's Bryan Ruiz on show.

Next week we will take a look at the top players who will not be on show this summer!

In the meantime, enjoy what is arguably the best well balanced team of the week this season.

Goalkeeper

Salvatore Sirigu - Palermo

Palermo jumped ahead of Juventus in the Serie A thanks to a fine performance by Salvatore Sirigu. Recently called up to the Italian national squad and justifying his selection with a solid outing.

 Defenders

Maicon - Inter

Maicon was brilliant against Udinese for Inter Milan. Grabbed an assist plus a wonderful volley that put his team firmly in control.

Sami Hyypia - Bayer Leverkusen

Despite being frustrated by Cologne, Leverkusen have still set a new league record of 24 games unbeaten, albeit not being top of the table anymore. Sami Hyypia had his side's best chance to break the deadlock with a header that was clawed off the line. Hyypia was mightily impressive at the back too.

Gregory van der Wiel - Ajax

One of our favorites on Team of the Week and a player Arsenal continue to monitor, Gregory van deer Wiel was dangerous roaming from his full back berth for Ajax and it was no surprise when he got his name on the scoresheet.

Midfield

Ronaldinho - AC Milan

Making the team of the week for the umpteenth time, Ronadlinho may have missed a penalty but pulled the strings in the midfield and has pulled Milan back into the title race.

Ibrahim Afellay - PSV

PSV maintained their grip on the Dutch Eredivisie with a 5-1 win on Sunday and Ibrahim Afellay was clearly man of the match, scoring a brilliant goal that set his team on their way.

Benoit Cheyrou - Marseille

Benoit Cheyrou is another player recently called up by his national team and the Frenchman was the pulse of Marseille's Classico win over PSG, grabbing a brilliant strike in the process.

Franck Ribery - Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich are top of the Bundesliga for the first time since May 2008 and it was Franck Ribery's 78th minute winner against Hamburg that allowed them to reach the summit. 

Strikers

Fabrizio Miccoli - Palermo

Against his former side Juventus, Fabrizio Miccoli scored a brilliant goal and ran his socks off to secure a win.

Gonzalo Higuain - Real Madrid

Gonzalo Higuain was the star performer over the weekend as Real Marid bagged their sixth successive league win. Higuain scored two outstanding goals and set one up for Kaka.

Cacau - Stuttgart

Cacau has now scored 7 goals in his last 3 games having scored a double against Eintracht Frankfurt as his side came from behind to win. Watch out for him in the German national team.

Will we be seeing the top goal scorers from each of the top leagues in the world at this year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa?

In England, the top eleven goal scorers in the Premier League should all be there although Louis Saha's recent performances would need to be heeded by Raymond Domenech.

Wayne Rooney's 21 goals currently leads the way in England and will be a threat in this year's competition.

In France, Mamadou Niang's (Marseille) hat-trick over the weekend has given him 14 goals but his country Senegal has not made it to SA2010. The second highest scorer, Nene of Monaco, is unlikely to break into the Brazilian squad, while you have to look to third-placed Gervinho from the Ivory Coast to find a World Cup representative.

In Spain the usual candidates are there. Lionel Messi (Argentina) leads the way (16 goals), followed by David Villa (Spain), Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina) and Ronaldo (Portugal).

In Italy, Udinese's Antonio Di Natale should be included in the Italian squad after 17 goals so far this season while Inter's Diego Milto (14 goals) will be turning out for Argentina.

To Germany next where Joachim Low has to decide whether to reward leading scorer Stefan Kiesling for his good form (13 goals for Leverkusen). Low will not be calling up the 2nd highest scorer in Kevin Kuranyi because of a recent fall out, so he will look to the 6th highest scorer in Mario Gomez ( Bayern Munich) to see who will partner Miroslav Klose or Lukas Podolski.

Anyway, France's leading goal scorer, Niang, features in our team of the week, a side that picked itself this week in an adventurous 2-4-4 formation.

Goalkeeper

Diego Alves - Almeria
Struggling Almeria beat Atletico Madrid with goalkeeper Diego Alves in fine form, producing some world-class saves.

Defence

Rafael Marquez - Barcelona
Rafael Marquez scored his first goal of the season with a brilliant effort that helped Barcelona to an emphatic 4-0 win over Racing Santander.

Per Mertesacker - Werder Bremen
Ok so Per Mertesacker's side let in two goals but both were from outside the area and Werder were indebted to the central defender for his late headed equaliser against top of the table Bayer Leverkusen.

Midfield

Ronaldo - Real Madrid
In what was arguably his best display of the season, Ronaldo helped Real Madrid bounce back from their poor showing France to cut the gap at the top of La Liga.

Ronaldinho - AC Milan
A masterclass in how to play football from Ronaldinho, including all the tricks and an amazing range of passing that helped AC Milan bounce back from their midweek disappointment against Manchester United.

Michel Bastos - Lyon
A hat-trick inside half an hour from the Brazilian midfielder helped Lyon move up to third in the French Ligue Un.

Siem de Jong - Ajax
Ajax consolidated its third place in the Dutch Eredivisie with a 4-0 thumping of Vitesse Arnhem with Siem De Jong showing a lot of promise by bagging a brace.

Strikers

Mirko Vucinic - Roma
Roma have now bagged seven wins on the spin and have cut the gap on Inter to just 5 points with Montenegro star Mirko Vucinic once again on the scoresheet.

Grafite - Wolfsburg
Grafite led the scoring charts in Germany last season but this year has not been his best. However, 2 goals against Schalke, including the winner, capped off a fine week after his brace against Villarreal in the Europa League.

Cacau - Stuttgart
Cacau scored four goals against Cologne and gave himself a real boost especially as he has struggled to get into the starting lineup of late.

Mamadou Niang - Marseille
At the top of the French scoring charts now is Marseille's Mamadou Niang. The Senegelese international bagged a hat-trick over the weekend as Marseille continue to impress at the moment.

Fabio Cappello has been hit with the news that Tottenham star Aaron Lennon will face some time on the sidelines, a cruel blow for the England manager who prefers the lively winger in his starting eleven. Lennon could even miss out this summer thanks to a much needed hernia operation.

However, Cappello can be forgiven for not being too downhearted thanks to the recent form of AC Milan's David Beckham.

Becks has made an instant impact at the San Siro since his January arrival and is now almost certain to be included in England's 22 man squad for the World Cup Finals.

Ask anyone who has watched the 34-year-old this year and they will tell you that there is no better crosser of the ball in the world at the moment. That is great news for England and could be timely service for Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch and possibly Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Perhaps England should look to the old guard to provide some more inspiration for this summer?

Perhaps it is time to recall Sol Campell, Michael Owen and Lee Bowyer? Perhaps they all have something to offer as much as David Beckham has!

Team of the Week (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper

Francesco Benussi - Livorno

Francesco made a number of world class saves to help his side to a point against high flying AC Milan.

Defenders

John Arne Risse - Roma

John Arne Risse is in sizzling form for Roma at the moment. Has already become a crowd favourite with his new team and got on the scoresheet with a blazing effort.

Cristiano Gomez Cris - Lyon

Cris capped a fine come-from-behind performance by Lyon with a goal, as they beat PSG on Sunday. The Brazilian centreback helped his side move up to 4th place in the league.

Sami Hyypia - Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen surged back to the top of the German Bundesliga with Sami Hyypia again on the scoresheet. The Finn was superb in defence and you can see why Liverpool sorely misses him.

Daniel van Buyten - Bayern Munich

Brilliant at the back and exceptional going forward, Daniel Van Buyten ensured the race for the German Bundesliga title is fully alive, scoring the first in a hard fought 3-0 for the second placed side.

Midfielders

Anderson Luiz Nene - Monaco

Nene helped Monaco edge out their Cote d'Azur rivals Nice in a 5 goal thriller. The Brazilian bagged his 13th goal of the season and pulled the strings in the midfield all day long.

Juan Roman Riquelme - Boca Juniors

It is crazy times at Boca Juniors with a new manager hastily promoted since the pre-season exit of Alfio Basele. The opening round of the Clausura in Argentina saw Boca draw against Argentinos Juniors but Boca fans were treated to a fabulous strike from Riquelme.

Nani - Manchester United

Is Manchester United's Nani now a world-class winger? Seemingly on the point of leaving Old Trafford before the start of the New Year, Nani has completely turned his performances around and has shown what a genius he can be not he football pitch.

Strikers

Stefano Okaka - Roma

New Fulham signing Stefano Okaka bagged a brilliant effort that saw his side draw level on points with AC Milan.

Alvaro Negrado - Sevilla

Sevilla are up to fourth in La Liga following a fine 2-1 win over Valencia. Alvaro Nagrado scored twice for the hosts, the second of which was an exquisite 20 yard chip.

Raul Bobadilla - Borussia Monchengladbach

Not only did Raul Bobadilla set up two goals, he also scored two as Borussia M'gladbach beat Werder Bremen in a seven goal thriller.

What would you do if you were Toni Kroos?

Kroos is one of the leading lights in German football at the moment, helping to steer Leverkusen to the top of the table where they are being pushed all the way by Bayern Munich. Kroos is on loan from Bayern and very much looking forward to challenge for a place in the starting XI when he returns this summer.

Let's say it is the 8th May 2010, the final day of the season in the German Bundesliga when title chasers Bayer Leverkusen travel to Borussia Monchengladbach while Bayern Munich are away to Hertha Berlin. Imagine if Kroos has a last minute penalty to win the title for Bayer Leverkusen. What do you do? What does he do?

But where would his loyalties lie if it came down to the crunch and he had the chance to win or lose the title for either Leverkusen or Bayern. It would be interesting to see.

The teenage sensation is also being tipped for a World Cup spot with Germany, and he'll be one to watch this season.

Here's my team of the week - a classic 4-3-3 formation this time.

Goalkeeper

Julio Cesar - Inter Milan

A string of fine saves from the Brazilian Julio Cesar, including a penalty save from Ronaldinho, saw Inter Milan claim three points in a thrilling derby. Inter needed a man of the match display from the keeper and he duly delivered.

Defenders

Daniel Alves - Barcelona

Daniel Alves was flawless in Barcelona's 3-0 away win over Real Valladolid. The Brazilian scored a goal and was a constant menace throughout the game, earning the plaudits from his colleagues and fans alike.

John Arne Risse - Roma

An injury time winner against Juventus in Turin is always good enough for our team of the week. John Arne Risse scored what he called the most important strike of his career. It came late and saw Roma get their first away win against Juventus in nine years.

Sami Hyypia - Bayer Leverkusen

Sami Hyypia opened the scoring for Bayer Leverkusen away to Hoffeheim to ensure his side went back to the top of the table after Bayern Munich had edged past them earlier in the weekend.

Wayne Thomas - Southampton

A fabulous 20 yard half volley that flew into the top corner capped a great performance from Southampton defender Wayne Thomas who helped his side set up a tie against fierce rivals Portsmouth in the last 16 of the FA Cup.

Midfielders

Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals for Real Madrid as well as being sent off against Malaga. Simply put, the former Manchester United star won this game for his side all by himself.

Lionel Messi - Barcelona

Lionel Messi is on another planet. We try week in, week out not to put him in our team of the week for fear of repetition but the Argentine is simply awesome.

Toni Kroos - Bayer Leverkusen

The teenage sensation, on loan from Bayern Munich, is on song for Bayer Leverkusen at the moment. A goal and two assists from this prodigy capped a marvelous performance.

Forwards

Hameur Boazza - Algeria

So nice to get a Blackpool player in our team of the week! The Algerian substitute Hameur Boazza came off the bench and scored two minutes into injury time to dump pre-tournament favorites Ivory Coast out of the African Nations Cup.

Wayne Rooney - Man Utd

There is some talk that Wayne Rooney should be rested. Not when he is in this kind of form, four goals against Hull City in a man-of-the match display. He's now up to 19 league goals for the season, his highest ever.

Jermaine Beckford - Leeds United

Jermaine Beckford was a constant menace throughout Leeds' game against Spurs and deserved his two goals, the latter coming in the last minute of the game from the penalty spot to seal a replay.

Goalkeeper

Daouda Diakite - Burkina Faso

Daouda Diakite played well enough to ensure the stars of the Ivory Coast could not breach his goal. Bakary Kone, the Ivorians' main threat from midfield, thought he had scored but Diakite reacted well in what was another shock result from the African Cup of Nations.

Defenders

Alessandro Nesta - AC Milan

Scored the opening goal for AC Milan against Juventus and showed his usual composure at the back as David Beckham's side kept the pressure on Inter at the top of the table.

Walter Samuel - Inter Milan

A late, late winner from the Argentine Walter Samuel gave Inter plenty of joy in a 4-3 home win against Siena. It means Jose Mourinho and his side continued their long unbeaten home record.

Midfielders

Lionel Messi - Barcelona

Lionel Messi's contribution in Barcelona's 5-0 win over Tenerfie was a wonderful hat-trick - his 3rd goal in particular was outstanding. Barca ended the weekend as they started it, with a two point lead over Real Madrid.

Seydou Keita - Mali (Barcelona)

When your team are 4-0 down with eleven minutes to go, you don't expect to get anything from the game do you? Step up substitute Seydou Keita. Scored two goals and was nothing short of inspirational.

Ronaldinho - AC Milan

Once again on the scoresheet and once again in the team of the week. Ronaldinho scored twice as AC Milan heaped pressure on Juventus boss Ciro Ferrara. Ronaldinho has become one of the most consistent performers in Europe at the moment.

Wesley Sneijder - Inter Milan

Two super free-kicks and an assist for Inter means that Wesley Sneijder strolls into our Team of the Week as captain. It was an all action display from the midfielder as his side battled back against Siena.

Forwards

Denis - Napoli

Napoli continued their fine form of late and put themselves in contention for a Champions League spot with Denis' header being the difference between the hosts and Sampdoria. Denis had the ball in the back of the net inside a minute of coming on but it was ruled out for offside. A lively threat.

Gonzalo Higuain - Real Madrid

Still the Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain dominates our Team of The Week. In difficult conditions against Real Mallorca, the 22-year-old bagged a sublime 25-yard curling shot.

Mickaël Antoine-Curier - Hamilton

Hamilton found themselves 2-0 down at home to Rangers only to get to 3-2 before being pegged back. French striker Mickaël Antoine-Curier has had 14 different clubs in four different countries and he is only 26! Scored the third and deserves to be in the Team of the Week just for having played for so many clubs!

Carlos Tevez - Manchester City

Taking home the match ball is always a good sign for a striker. Carlos Tevez's three goal haul against Blackburn has pulled Manchester City right into the title race.

You cannot buy experience, so the saying goes, so imagine being 16 years of age and being an important element of your football team. How much experience will you garner by the time you are 30, or 25 or even 20!

There are not one but two 16-year-olds in our Team of the Week, one of whom you may have heard of, the other maybe not.

Athletic Bilbao's Iker Muniain is the youngest player ever to have played in Spain's La Liga, he is also the youngest scorer ever as well.

Muniain changed the game for his side at the weekend and is already being tipped as the next 'Best Player In The World.' He is a striker of small stature but already with a big reputation.

The other player to keep an eye on is Anderlecht's 16-year-old striker Romelu Lukaku. He has already been dubbed as the next Dider Drogba, AC Milan have apparently made their interest known in the new 'phenomenon'. He is 192cm and has scored goals for fun this season. Expect him to move to one of the big clubs soon. Both make it into the Team of The Week, a 3-3-4 formation.

Goalkeeper

Thomas Sorensen - Stoke City

You simply don't score penalties against Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen. A last minute penalty save meant his side claimed a point against Wigan. Sorensen has now saved five penalties out of the last six; two for Denmark and 3 out of the last 4 in the BPL.

Defenders

Mikel San Jose - Athletic Bilbao

On loan from Liverpool, Mikel San Jose has been crucial in Bilbao's surge up the table. A bullet header from the defender means his side have now won four of their last six.

Richard Dunne - Aston Villa

Richard Dunne helped to keep a clean sheet against Manchester United at Old Trafford and was superb throughout the 90 minutes. Managed to keep Wayne Rooney and co quiet and continued his sterling performances for his new club. So why did Manchester City sell him?

Benedikt Hoewedes - Schalke

Werder Bremen's 23-match unbeaten run came to a shunting stop as centreback Benedikt Hoewedes helped his side to a clean sheet while his teammates did the damage offensively in a 2-0 win. Hoewedes was brilliant in the tackle and did not put a foot wrong all game.

Midifeld

Sergio Almiron - Bari

Sergio Almiron scored the decisive 3rd goal against Juventus with a stellar drive. The midfielder clearly enjoyed his goal against his former club as Bari upset the odds with a 3-1 win.

Paulo Vinicius de Souza Nascimento - Uniao Leiria

In one of the shocks of the round in the Portuguese Liga, Paulo Vinicius scored the only goal against Sporting Lisbon. It was a deserved win for Uniao Leiria as Sporting continue to struggle somewhat under the guidance of new coach Carlos Carvalhal.

Noberto Solano - Universitario

Nolberto Solano helped his side to win the league championship with a 10th minute penalty. The former Newcastle United and Aston Villa midfielder bagged his goal against fierce rivals Alianza Lima for a 2-0 aggregate win.

Forwards

Fabrizio Miccoi - Palermo

Fabrizio Miccoi was the star of the show as Palermo stunned AC Milan at the San Siro. The former Benfica striker scored one and had a huge hand in the second as the home team's winning streak came to an abrupt end.

Gonzalo Higuain - Real Madrid

While Kaka, Ronaldo and Benzema are making the headlines, Gonzalo Higuain is just doing his job of scoring goals. A fine brace against Valencia meant the Argentine helped his side maintain the pressure on Barcelona as well as deliver a belated birthday present for himself.

Iker Muniain - Athletic Bilbao

Coming on as a second half substitute, Iker Muniain turned the game around for his side. The 16-year-old inspired his side to victory thanks to an inspired second half showing. Munian is becoming a regular in our Team of the Week. Not bad for someone so young.

Romelu Lukaku - Anderlecht

Anderlecht continued their superb form in the Belgian Jupiler League with a 2-0 away win against Westerlo. Romelu Lukaku is another 16-year-old who is playing out of his skin. The Antwerp born teenager has now scored nine goals in just fourteen appearances this season.

It is amazing how the best players in the world prove just what they are, week in week out, and it's this consistent excellence that makes my job incredibly tough when selecting my team of the week.

There are plenty of superstars having fantastic seasons so far.

In the Serie A there is the Milan trio of Ronaldinho, who is back to his best, Alessandro Nesta and Andrea Pirlo.

In the French Ligue Un, watch out for the likes of strikers Gervinho (Lille) and Lisandro Lopez (Lyon) and defender Adil Rami (Lille).

In the German Bundesliga, there is Manchester United target Edin Dzeko, Bayern's free-scoring centreback Daniel Van Buyten and Werder's brilliant young midfielder Mesut Ozil.

In the Dutch Eredivisie, there is Luis Suarez (Ajax), Balazs Dzsudzsak (PSV) and Bryan Ruiz (Twente). All of whom have been linked with the top clubs in Europe.

Elsewhere in the world keep an eye on Adriano of Flemengo, who ended up Brazil's top goalscorer alongside Atletico Mineiro's Diego Tardelli.

It is very difficult to keep players from Spain's La Liga out of the Team of the Week with Lionel Messi (Barcelona) a consistent performer, Kaka (Real Madrid) is always mightily impressive while Carlos Puyol (Barcelona) has been brilliant this season.

All of these top players performing so well around the world and we haven't even mentioned the likes of Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Fernando Torres (Liverpool) and Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) in what is arguably the best league in the world.

We hope you enjoy this week's Team of the Week, a 451 line up with the best performing players in the world.

Goalkeeper
Shay Given - Manchester City
Shay Given saved a late penalty to help Manchester City inflict a third defeat of the season to Chelsea and signal their intent that they are a match for the big four teams.

Defence
Holger Badstuber - Bayern Munich
A game winning free kick from Holger Badstuber meant that Bayern Munich moved up to 3rd in the table. A wonderful strike from the 20 year in his side's win over Borussia M'Gladbach.

Christian Fuchs - Bochum
Christian Fuchs' 89th minute equalizing free kick for his side who were down to ten men eventually saw the end of former Liverpool defender Marcus Babbel's reign at Stuttgart. Christian Gross takes over.

Jan Wuytens - Utrecht
Jan Wuytens kept the Ajax strike force quiet all game as his side ran out 2-0 winners. As well as snubbing out the threat of Marko Pantelic, Wuytens also got on the scoresheet.

Angelim - Flamengo
Defender Angelim headed the title-clinching winner for Flamengo against Gremio as his side came from behind to record a 2-1 win and clinch their first championship since 1992 in front of a packed Maracana.

Midfield
Marco Cassetti - Roma
A man of the match performance by Marco Cassetti against fierce local rivals Lazio included a goal. The Lupi are up to 6th with a win that had as much drama off the pitch as on it.

Claudio Marchisio - Juventus
A second half wonder goal from Claudio Marchisio was worthy of winning any game let alone the Derby d'Italia as Juve cut Inter's lead at the top of the table.

Ronaldinho - AC Milan
Ronaldinho was in inspired form for AC Milan as he set up two goals. First a wonder cross for Boriello and then a super one-two with Seedorf.

Ronaldo - Real Madrid
Can a man do any more in a game? Ronaldo scored one, set one up, missed a penalty and was sent off. Love it.

Jaroslav Plasil - Bordeaux
Bordeaux now lead Ligue Un by four points thanks to Jaroslav Plasil's towering hedaer. The Czech was all over the pitch against PSG and his energetic display meant he was man of the match.

Striker
Aritz Aduriz - Real Mallorca
Aritz Aduriz is a highly-rated striker in La Liga and his brace for Mallorca helped them keep up their superb 100% home record, this time at the expense of Real Zaragoza.

This week's Team of The Week is nothing short of scintillating.

We can proudly boast at having the best players in the world in the line up, including some rising stars in the shape of Werder Bremen's wonderkid Mesut Ozil and Santos' Neymar.

Viewers on Singtel's Football Frenzy will have seen myself presenting Werder Bremen a couple of times already this season and often, my guest and expert pundit, is Abbas Saad, who can never talk highly enough of the German wonderkid Ozil.

Of Turkish decent, this German international is a highly coveted player and at 21 years of age, he already has vast experience.

Another name in the making is Santos' Neymar who bagged a brace on the weekend. At 17 he is being talked about as the next Robinho. Indeed, 2 years ago Manchester United were said to be after him as a 15 year old and it was thought that Real Madrid had signed a pre-contract agreement for his services, a deal that never came through.

Elsewhere, there is an all French Ligue Un backline today with 2 Argentines and a Malian! Ronaldinho, Totti and Nilmar provide some experience and class while Jermaine Defoe can show the rest of them how to finish.

A 3-5-2 formation this week.

Goalkeeper
Rene Adler - Bayer Leverkusen

Produced a number of fine saves against struggling Bayern Munich as Van Gaal's side slipped to their fourth draw at the Allianz Arena and Leverkusen moved back to the top of the Bundesliga.

Defence
Gabriele Heize - Marseille

A 1-0 win for Marseille over fierce rivals PSG with Heinze, playing as a centreback, stealing in to head in the winner. Kept PSG striker Mevlut Erding quiet all night too.

Franco Sosa - Lorient

An Argentine playing in France in his first year, Sosa grabbed the winner and put in a fine performance from the right back spot to ensure Lorient are still there or thereabouts in the French Ligue Un. 

Adama Coulibaly - Auxerre

Auxerre made it seven wins out of 7 with Coulibaly, a Malian international, scoring on the stroke of half time to help his side take advantage of Bordeaux's slip up and put his side top of the league.

Midfield
Carlos Marchena - Valencia

Valencia remain on the coat-tails of the pacesetters in La Liga with Marchena instrumental in their 3-1 win. Set up David Villa as well as producing a magnificent strike of his own.

Ronaldinho

Back to his best in a thrilling 4-3 home win over Cagliari. Set up the third and scored the winner from the penatly spot. The tricks and the flicks are back!

Mesut Ozil - Werder Bremen

Watch out for this wonderkid, he is surely going to be the best player in the world in the next few years. Ozil set up four goals and scored one as Bremen thrashed Frieburg 6-0.

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior - Santos

Neymar will be a household name in 5 years. Confirmed. Brazilian U-17 and already Man Utd, Milan, Real Madridm Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea want him. Neymar scored two against Cortiba, he is only 17 and already a crowd favourite with Santos. 

Francesco Totti - Roma

Returning from injury and playing for the first time in over a month, Totti bagged a hattrick in his side's 3-1 win and his strikes were nothing short of world class.

Strikers
Jermaine Defoe - Tottenham

You can name the other two strikers who have scored 5 goals in a Premier League game? Defoe, hailed as the best finisher in England was 5 star against Wigan joing Alan Shearer and Andy Cole in the history books.

Nilmar - Villarreal

Villarreal look to be back to their best with record signing Nilmar on the scoresheet twice and continuing his good form after scoring against in England.

Can you name the most capped international player?

This weekend saw a record broken in terms of appearances. So, can you name the most internationally capped European player of all time? Can you name the most capped international of all time? Can you name the most capped player among the current internationals?

Ok, so Vitalijs Astafjevs played for Latvia against Honduras on the weekend and saw his side lose 2-1. But he did beat Martin Reim's record of 158 caps. Most capped of all time is Saudi Arabia's 6"3' goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Deayea with 181 appearances. The most capped of the current internationals is Ivan Hurtado of Ecuador. The former Barcelona defender has notched 161 caps although some would argue that he has recently been dropped (he played his last international game in July and Ecuador have not qualified for the World Cup) but for my books he may well make one last appearance! But if you assume he doesn't and that Astafjevs retires then Fabio Cannavaro would qualify as the most active, most capped player with 131 caps as he was the only one of the top 25 who played last weekend.

Team of the Week

Goalkeeper
Hugo Lloris - France
Lloris may have let in 5 goals for his club last weekend but was superb against the Republic of Ireland making two amazing saves in particular as the French hold the advantage against Geovanni Trappatoni's side.

Defenders
Kim Kintziger - Luxembourg
At 22 years of age, Kintziger has already got 33 caps and managed to get his first goal for his country that secured a surprising 1-1 home draw against Iceland.

Bruno Alves - Portugal
Alves showed the attackers how to do it against Bosnia-Herzigovinia. Portugal dominated against the visitors but had to settle for Alves' strike being the difference between the two sides.

Thomas Vermaelen - Belgium
Belgium battered Hungary with Vermaelen getting his first goal for his country and a clean sheet to boot. Belgium have not qualified for next year's World Cup but will be qualification contenders next time around with players of Vermaelen's quality playing.

Giorgio Chiellini - Italy
Provided Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro with the perfect central defensive teammate and finally showed some of his promise as he gave the Dutch forwards plenty to think about with his desire to hunt down the ball.

Midfield
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov - Russia
A brilliant brace for Russia from 'Billy' sees them hold a slight advantage over Slovenia. The Everton winger may have started slowly but exploded into life after his first and was unfortunate not to get his hattrick.

Xabi Alonso - Spain
The Spanish looked so much better than their Argentine counterparts over the weekend and Alonso managed to get himself on the scoresheet twice. The result means Spain have now won 38 of their 43 games since the start of 2007, losing just once.

Vitalijs Astafjevs - Latvia
Can you name the most capped European player of all time? His team may have lost to Honduras but Astafjevs notched his 158th appearance, surpassing Estonian Martin Reim's record. Remarkable record spanning 17 years.

Aaron Ramsey - Wales
Ramsey pulled the strings for his side as George Burley lost his job as Scotland manager following a 3-0 defeat. The Arsenal midfielder scored one and helped set up two more.

Forwards
Emad Moteab - Egypt
Just edging Amr Zaki into our top eleven, Moteab scored in the last minute of one of the games of the decade. Egypt managed to beat Algeria 2-0 which forces a play off between the two countries on neutral territory. What a hero.

Obafemi Martins - Nigeria
Another epic battle, this time between Kenya and Nigeria. The latter needed to win to stand a chance of going through and Martins popped up in the 83rd minute to score his second of the game and send his country to South Africa at the expense of Tunisia.

Looking at Liverpool's frailties at the moment, I can't help but wonder if they need a former player to help them out?

Having spent ten years at Anfield, Sami Hyypia looked to be winding down his career as he headed for a move to the German Bundesliga to team up with Bayer Leverkusen - one last pay day it seemed. But Hyypia's arrival has seen the 'Werkself' leap to the top of the table and create a defensive wall that many are finding difficult to breach.

Last weekend, Hyypia managed to keep Frankfurt from scoring while he protected a substitute goalkeeper from having to do any real work. Given Liverpool's lack of steel at the moment, perhaps, and only just perhaps, a player who is considered one of Liverpool's all time greatest defenders, was allowed to leave a little too hastily.

Still, having said that, I am not sure even the greatest defender in the world would have had any impact on preventing Cameron Jerome's stunning strike! Another faultless display from the Finn gives him an honorary mention in this week's article!

It's a 5-3-2 formation this week although I am going to have to ask Daniel Van Buyten to play in an unaccustomed right back position. He can play up front so putting in a shift on the right side of the defense should not be too hard!

Goalkeeper
Donovan Ricketts - LA Galaxy
Ricketts made some fine saves as Galaxy continued their good form against Chivas to reach the Playoffs against Houston this weekend. Donvan scored the winner from the penalty spot but it was all down to Ricketts who gave his side the base from which to build on.

Defenders
Dwight Tiendalli - Twente
Acclaimed by his manager Steve McLaren after the game, Tiendalli was superb at left back for league leaders Twente who managed to prevent an Ajax side, who had managed 40 goals in 12 games, from scoring.

John Terry - Chelsea
Simply outstanding against Manchester United and a winning header coupled with a clean sheet, not forgetting adding a five point cushion for his side at the top of the table, make Terry our captain this week.

Thiago Silva - AC Milan
Another goalscoring centreback as AC Milan cut the lead that Inter have at the top of the table. The 2-1 win over struggling Lazio means Milan are in the Champions League places. Silva actually scored twice but one was into his own net!

Fabio Cannavaro - Juventus
Juventus secured 2nd place in the Serie A with an impressive 5-2 away victory over Atalanta. Cannavaro made his 400th top flight appearance and did not have a remarkable game but his milestone, along with Juve's win, guarantee him a spot at the top table!

Daniel Van Buyten - Bayern Muich
For a central defender to be leading Bayern Munich's goalscoring charts, he either has to be brilliant or the forwards not performing at all. A little bit of both in all honesty. Despite Bayern just managing a draw against Schalke, they should have won and Van Buyten was impressive, and should have scored two were it not for an amazing goal line clearance.

Midfielders
Pablo Hernandez - Valencia
Valencia maintained their pursuit of title favorites Barcelona and Real Madrid thanks to three players shining against Real Zaragoza. David Villa, Juan Mata and winger Pablo Hernandez; all of whom were on the scoresheet with the later impressing the most.

Pedro - Barcelona
With Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi all on the bench there was a danger that Barcelona would look sluggish at times against Real Mallorca but a man-of-the-match performance and two goals from Pedro ensured the Blaugrana are still top of the table.

Yohan Cabaye - Lille
League leaders Bordeaux were beaten by Lille on the weekend with midfielder Cabaye on the scoresheet as well as being the main architect behind the downfall of the visitors. Was linked with a move to Bordeaux in the summer and showed exactly what they were missing as he pulled the strings in midfield.

Forwards
Kevin Gameiro - Lorient
Some newspapers, websites and forums are saying this 23-year-old is one of the best forwards in the French Ligue Un at the moment. Scored his 6th and 7th goals in the championship as Lorient strolled to a 5-0 success over Bologne. Gameiro can also set the up for his team mates as well. One to watch out for.

Fred - Fluminese
Another sparkling performance from relegation threatened Fluminese saw them beat yet another title challenger, Palmeiras, one week after doing the same to Cruzeiro. Fred is on fire at the moment and his solitary strike just before the hour capped a fine performance.

A hat-trick for your country in a World Cup Qualifier is usually enough to get you into these pages. However, the quality, or rather lack of it, of the opposition let down Fara Williams of Everton as England Ladies ran out 8-0 winners over Malta in the first game of their group.

Nevertheless, it was a scintillating performance from the Everton midfielder who grabbed the headlines with a hat-trick. The American bound 25 year old almost became the first woman in our Team of The Week but as Malta had just come off a 13-0 loss to Spain, the quality of opposition does not merit a place in one of the hardest teams in the world to get into.

Nevertheless, it does warrant a mention at the top of the page! Williams will be hoping to take her good form into November when England Ladies take on Turkey and we, as ever, will be open minded when picking our Team of The Week!

Team of The Week 4-3-3.

Goalkeeper

Lukasz Zaluska - Celtic

Celtic needed a big result against Hamilton on the weekend to put a week of shame behind them. Moving back to the top of the Scottish Premier League, they needed Zaluska's fine late save to preserve all three points.

Defenders

Daniel Van Buyten - Bayern Munich

The joys of versatility. Van Buyten is usually a centreback but Van Gaal pushed him up front 5 minutes from time and the former Hamburg man got the winner for his team. He is now one of Bayern's most prolific scorers this season, not bad for a defender!

Alessandro Nesta - AC Milan

Very much a regular in our Team of the Week, Nesta scored two important goals, including a stoppage time winner to move his side into 6th and mark another man of the match display. 

Reto Ziegler - Sampdoria

We always like to throw up names from the past in this column and calling up Reto Ziegler allows us to remember his days in the BPL. Ziegler scored a fine long range effort as Sampdoria maintained their challenge in the Sere A with a 3-1 win over Bologna.

Dwight Tiendalli - Twente

Twente turned on the style against Groningen to mark a 6th successive win and tighten their grip at the top of the table. Versatile defender Tiendalli scored a superb long range effort which is more than enough to get you into our side. 

Midfielders

Pablo Hernandez - Valencia

Valencia moved into fourth thanks to a brilliant display from the Spanish international. Hernandez set up David Villa for the first and then scored a superb long range lob to secure the points for Los Che.

Diego Buonaotte - River Plate

The attacking midfielder was in scintillating form in the Superclasico as River Plate and Boca Juniors shared the spoils. Buonaotte  won a penalty as well as a free kick that led to a goal and was unlucky not to lead his side to victory. That pesky Martin Palermo equalized!

Seydou Keita - Barcelona

Barcelona regained their three point lead at the top of La Liga thanks in part to a fine Keita hattrick. 'Seydoubilen', as he is know,  bagged his first three goal haul for Barca and the Malian was in fine form.

Strikers

Fernando Torres - Liverpool

Torres led the line brilliantly for Liverpool against Manchester United and used his pace and strength to find a moment of inspiration that could be such a catalyst for Liverpool and their season.

Loic Remy - Nice

Two assists and a goal from Remy saw his side cause one of the shocks in worldwide football as Nice beat recent Liverpool victors, Lyon 4-1. A recent call up to the French national side, Remy was nothing short of outstanding in this quite remarkable victory.

Luis Suarez - Ajax

Taking his tally to 15 goals already this season, Uruguayan skipper Suarez helped Ajax to a come-from-behind win to extend their unbeaten run to 14 matches in all competitions. Only two goals this time from a striker who is being linked with the top clubs in the world.

Each week, Andy Penders will take a look at the players that have been making the headlines and making it into our World Team Of The Week.

This week, the stars from the World Cup Qualifiers..

Team of The Week (3-4-3)

Goalkeeper

Mark Paston - New Zealand
The All Whites weathered the storm against Bahrain who dominated from start to finish. Paston made a couple of important saves late on and marshaled his defence superbly ensuring a clean sheet.

Defenders

Philippe Senderos - Switzerland
Two goals in as many minutes from the Arsenal centreback means that Switzerland's hopes of qualifying were given a massive boost.

Nadir Belhadj - Algeria
A goal from the Portsmouth man helped his side overcome a scare to beat Rwanda who took an early lead. The three points means the Desert Foxes and Egypt will fight it out on the final matchday to see who tops the group.

Sean St Ledger - Rep Ireland
A wonderful game from the Boro man who made a number of impressive blocks against the Italians and scored what looked to be the winner, 3 minutes from time. Cruel luck, his first goal for his country should have tasted so much sweeter but the Italians equalised deep into stoppage time.

Midfield

Jacob Poulson - Denmark
Denmark secured their place at the 2010 World Cup thanks to Poulson's 25 yrad strike. However fortunate the goal, it was good enough for a trip to the finals.

Simao Sabrosa
A man of the match display meant Portugal moved to second in their group. The winger scored Portugal's 3rd against Hungary and was a menace throughout.

Milan Jovanovic - Serbia
Serbia will finish top of Group Seven ahead of France thanks to a 5-0 thrashing of Romania with Standard Liege's Jovanovic scoring a brace.

Landon Donavan - USA
An assist and a goal against Honduras helped America to a 3-2 away win over Honduras and ensured qualification for the finals.

Strikers

Martin Palermo - Argentina
Palermo scored deep into stoppage time to rescue Argentina after Peru has equalised in the 90th minute. Not bad for a 35 year old who has been recalled to the national side after a 10 year absence.

Marcelo Martins Moreno - Bolivia
The Werder Bremen striker and his side may have been takling on an already qualified, under strength Brazil side but they won. And if you score the winner against Brazil you are team of the week worthy.

Issam Jomaa - Tunisia
In Rades, a seventh minute goal from Issam Jomaa was enough to give Tunisia a 1-0 win over bottom-placed Kenya.

The three points for the Cartage Eagles keeps them two points clear of their west African rivals at the top of the pool.

Special Mention

Diego Maradona - Argentina
Maradona's inclusion in out team of the week is thanks to the best manager celebration ever. Bettering Jose Mourinho's knee celeb, the former best player in the world swallow dived into a Klinsmann style celeb. Brilliant.

Wow. So this is it. All those days of just making up news and gossip is finally over. All those days of trying to think of centrebacks for Liverpool, attacking midfielders for Chelsea and strikers for Arsenal are well and truly over. Can we expect any drama on the last day of the transfer window? I hope so. At least one of my rumours has to come true. Just one!

Interesting to see Michael Turner go to Sunderland. They have made some great signings in this period. Bent, Cana, Cattermole, Mensah, Campbell and Turner. It is pretty solid from the Black Cats and their most recent acquisition makes you wonder for the future of Hull City in the top flight. Surely they will set out their stall and sign a centreback to replace Turner. Goodness knows who that would be. Perhaps Anton Ferdinand for the KC Stadium?

How desperate are Portsmouth! Their bid for Amr Zaki got rejected. I mean, how much of a panic buy is that. There is also talk that Pompey will be in for some loving with Vagner Love (see what I have done there) rumoured to be top of their targets.

Right, let's talk about Arsenal. Surely they will be busy today. Chamakh confirmed, RVDV is staying at Real Madrid so perhaps a cheeky bid for the boy who we mentioned before in this blog as having one of the best names for Scrabble (or Lexulous or whatever the facebook thingy is): Balazs Dzsudzak. Viera is still a possibility. Gattusso is also being talked about. There is one word for that. Audacious. Impudent. Ok, so there were two words.

Nice to see the WIFT coming up with the Ronbinho/Yaya Toure swap deal because both players were on the bench for their respective teams last weekend. Weak. Very weak link.

Interesting to see two independent sources on the WIFT coming up with David Silva's arrival at Liverpool's John Lennon airport. Now this would be a major signing if it happened. And given two people have spotted him at the airport being greeted by a Liverpool staff member, I got to say I am very excited by the news. So, Silva for Liverpool. Confirmed. Voronin to Hertha, The other interesting news surrounding Liverpool is just how skint they are. Apparently Manchester City have made a bid for Javier Mascherano (because they need a decent midfielder) and the Reds may be forced to accept it. The other news off the back of that is that Rafa Benitez has quit because of the funding problems he has to deal with. The guy that started this rumour said that he was the taxi driver for Rafa and was taking him to the airport tonight. Right.

Expect John Heitinga to join Everton along with David Bentley although Villa are also said to be interested in man who just got done for drink/driving.

Finally, expect a move for Michael Carrick. He has been linked with a move to a London club for sometime now and today may just be the day that Tottenham test SAF's resolve.

Ok, time to make some transfers up. You never know, they could happen.

Nicky Butt to Rangers. Confirmed. Julio Baptista for Liverpool. Confirmed. Scharner for Hull. Confirmed.

Right. Only four days to go! If every Premier League side made one big signing, then we would have 20 huge signings. That would be 5 great days of transfer activity. So come on, hop on the transfer train and puffer up. Chooo-chooo.

Whatever.

Interesting to see that Johnny Evans is off for an operation. I wonder how long that would see him sat on the sidelines (or sat in
wheelchair) for? Surely, surely, surely SAF needs central defensive cover. Watch this space. Shawcross maybe. Also, do you know who Eden Hazard is? Eden who? Hazard what? Belgian, young, attacking midfielder, 4 caps for his country. United are interested apparently.

The gossip-bloids are packing their column inches with bland stuff today. Birmingham to do this, blah, Tottenham to do that, blah, Wigan to resurrect that, blah and Bolton in for blah. Nothing concrete and nothing exciting for sure.

Which is where we come in and mix and match some stuff up for you.

The WIFT are saying Schevchenko for Liverpool today. Crazy right?
Moscow is his likely destination. Back to the Marriot Hotel in Liverpool city centre now where Ross McCormack checked in last night (according to one of the employes) and expect a move to Everton they say. McCormack is the Scottish winger cum striker who plays for Cardiff. The Bluebirds have already turned down bids from Portsmouth and Hull for him but now that the Toffees have the cash, this looks a live one.

With West Ham signing Alessandro Diamanti from Livorno, we can now safely assume that the race for Chamakh is a single horse one. And that horse is Arsenal. And expect a deadline day move.

Ok. Time for some really made up stuff. You love it . I know.
Ronaldinho (again) to Manchester United. Hangeland to Arsenal (I have said all these before right?). Viera for Arsenal. All confirmed. All true.

Hold on tight transfer lovers. Not long to go in the market and still plenty of big business to be done.

Some interesting news in the gossip-bloids (same as tabloids) today and right here, right now, we will react to that news.

Interesting to see Robert Huth set to sign for Stoke. That further enhances the prospects of Shawcross to Manchester United and the other million transfers that will happen off the back of that.

Richard Dunne's move to Aston Villa looks set to go through as well.

Everton looked to have signed Joe Ledley from Cardiff while Stephen Taylor is also arriving at Goodison Park. Interesting.

I see Real Madrid have let Wesley Snejder go to Inter Milan - not United as stated in this blog yesterday (what a rubbish blog, who writes this?). So this means that the clear-out at Real Madrid is on! RVDV is also moving, we know that, but where to? Arsenal don't need any more attackers, Liverpool can't afford him while Everton is too small a club for him to join. So the WIFT (Web Internet Forum Thingies) are saying that Germany and Brian Munich is his likely destination.

I see Arsenal are being linked with a move for Blaise Matuidi today and that seems fair enough as we have known for some time that Wenger is on the hunt for a defensive midfielder. Matuidi currently plays for Saint-Etienne and is French. It is well known that the Gunners are interested, even the player is aware, and you just feel that now is the time for Arsenal to make some sort of move in the transfer market.

How about this from the WIFT: "The Lescott deal ended up with an astonishing agreement that Everton won't take legal action if city do not bid for any Everton player in next 5 years unless invited to do so by David Moyes. Arteta was one possible target for Hughes when fit." Apologies for the cut and paste but I love it!

Right, not much in the way of transfer rumours in my transfer rumours column today!!

So here goes: Gareth Bale to Newcastle. Confirmed. Ruud Van Nistelrooy for Liverpool. Confirmed. Anmr Zaki for Liverpool. Confirmed.

Hey transfer lovers! It's your daily dose of utter garbage courtesy of yours truly. In the news today (or rather, what I have made up today) is the central defender that Liverpool will get once Everton have signed their man, Villa have got theirs, United have got theirs and Arsenal have got theirs....

Also in the news, Lescott completes his move, Anderson is frustrated at Manchester United and Sylvain Distin is being urged to stay at Portsmouth. Although I am not sure why you would want to stay there but then again I am biased. Distin is likely to head to Aston Villa.

Just a note on the sixth best central defender* in the Premier League.
Campbell joined League 2 side Notts County (that is the bottom tier of the lot). How amazing.
* Quote from Harry Redknapp, not me.

So, with Lescott gone to Manchester City, we said that it would start a merry-go-round of other transfers. Richard Dunne is being linked with a move to Aston Villa and the chances of that happening are very high.
Everton, meanwhile, are being now linked with Hangeland of Fulham although I think Senderos is a more likely target with Hangeland going to the Gunners. Everton are also being linked with Wes Brown and according to the WIFT (Web Internet Forum Thingies) David Moyes was seen with Brown in a hotel in Manchester. If Brown leaves United then they will in turn sign Ryan Shawcross. I think. Because Liverpool then miss out on the signing of Shawcross, they will then target Chiellini from Juventus. The former Fiorentina man is a close friend of recent Reds signing Aquilani and the move could be one that is made in heaven (or Merseyside).

In the papers today there are more rumours that Arjen Robben will be on his way to Manchester United although the 20m pound fee being mentioned is ridiculous. However, the Michael Carrick rumour is persisting, Sources not very close to the clubs say that Tottenham want him and it is not Modric that is going to OT but Wilson Palacios!
The former Wigan man is certainly one of the top players at WHT at the moment but not sure whether SAF would want him.

Love it.

Right, time to make up some transfer rumours of my own (as if I haven't been already):

Bale to leave Tottenham. Confirmed. David Bentley to leave Tottenham.
Confirmed. Ronaldinho to Tottenham. Confirmed. Confirmed. Confirmed.

Wow. Making the headlines today is Luca Modric distancing himself from a move to Manchester United!

I feel quite chuffed about that piece of news because we spoke about it yesterday. See, there is some substance in this transfer bloggy thing.

Although to quote the Sporting Life: If you want to get Luka Modric's full take on that bonkers link with Manchester United, here you go. Hahahaha. Too funny.

Sol Campbell joining Notts County eh? I said he would possibly move to Arsenal, Sunderland or Notts County! So I think I got one right! 

How about Diniyar Bilyaletdinov! What a name! Everton have just signed him. 

I see Anderson has had an apparent bust up with Sir Zlex Ferguson which says to me that he could be involved in a swap deal with Modric. Makes sense. Confirmed.

Having said that Wesley Snjeider is also linked with a move to Manchester United. But perhaps the live one here is Arjen Robben for United.

I think that the Dutchman will be leaving Real Madrid and I think he is heading for the Premier League. At least according to the internet web forum thingies.

Sylvain Distin looks set for a move to Everton. Makes sense. Confirmed. 

Thierry Henry continues to be linked with Liverpool while Albert Riera could make a move away from Anfield, given that he is 3rd choice.

I think that Lucas will be leaving Liverpool! 

One player who could be arriving at Merseyside is Niko Kranjcar. The midfielder is crucial to Portsmouth but so is the cash.

Everton is the likely destination given that they have some cash from the Lescott sale. Also, I have just just read that there is an 11th hour hitch with the Lescott move.

Now, I honestly do not believe that this is the case but if it is then I am very excited about it because it could mean that I am right about Manchester United!

Anyway, maybe not.

Right. Let's make up some news.

Robbie Keane to Celtic. Confirmed. Tuncay Sanli to Liverpool. Confirmed. David Bentley to Liverpool. Confirmed. Warnock to Villa. Confirmed.

Arrrrrggghhhhh. Lescott has gone to Manchester City! I have been saying one thing all transfer season long and that is Lescott will NOT be going to Manchester City. And don't I feel stupid. I mean, why would he go there? Why do they need him? Why haven't Manchester United stumped up the cash? Could they hijack the bid at the last minute? Why am I always running out of toilet paper? Why are the Saints rock bottom of League One, on minus 8 points without a win to their name? Why am I here?

So, kick starting a transfer gossip week off to the worst start possible start. Plus that really poorly constructed sentence to start this paragraph. Can things get any worse? Love it. At least we can start to speculate as to who Everton will buy. Moyes has been quoted as saying he will bring in four players and with the cash at his disposal he is sure to get some quality. They need it too on the basis of their first two performances of the season. At least they have signed Argentina midfielder Ever Banegra who I have seen before and looks quality. Will speculate more about them during the week.

Some good names in today's transfer gossip. How about this one for scoring some points in Scrabble (or Lexulous if you have no life and are rooted to Facebook): Balazs Dzsudzsak!!!! Because I am all knowing and have an internet connection to wikipedia, I can tell you he is a Hungarian footballer who is a left winger for PSV. The talk is that Arsenal have already agreed a fee for him. Just what Arsenal need, a tricky little 5 foot something player who has lots of skill. They don't have any of those do they! I blame Wenger for the death of the long ball with all these little players who could never get on the end of a decent centreback's 'hoof!'. How the game has changed from its most beautiful The agent is remaining tight lipped apparently. It maybe some wind he has or a deal is on the table. So let's confirm that right now, Balazs Dzsudzsak for Arsenal. Confirmed.

On the transfer internet web forum thingies there are some cracking rumours. The best of which is Ricardo Fuller to Arsenal! Loving that one. The Luca Modric to Manchester United rumour is not disappearing either and it could be that one Manchester United player could be used as a makeweight for the deal, somebody like Nani for example. Gonna keep an eye on that one before making a statement. The other exciting piece of transfer gossip is Raul joining Arsenal for 7m, raising to 12m depending on goals and appearances. Not gonna happen but would be great if it did.

And just one more thing, Aguero (who is superb in Championship Manager by the way) is coming to England. He has been linked with the top four sides in the country but I am gonna put my mortgage on him joining Chelsea. Confirmed.

Right, seeing as I have been utterly useless in guessing what transfers are coming your way, I am going to make some up so that I can cheer myself up before making a Sandwich Spread and cheese sandwich.

Jenas to Villa (they have said it in all the papers so it must be true), Adam Johnson to Spurs and Shevchenko to West Ham. All confirmed. 100% sure win.

OK transfer lovers, it's ya weekend bonanza of making up news, gossip and more news.

Hot off the press today:

Walcott, Young, VDV, Henry and lots of made up stuff! Young pacey Theo Walcott won't be playing this afternoon against Portsmouth because of a back problem. I know that Arsene Wenger loves him a lot but I still cannot rule out a move to Manchester City. I just think it makes lots of sense, especially if VDV gets a move to the Emirates. That move has to happen very soon. It just has to. Am still also hoping that Chamakh gets his move from Bordeaux. Can't bare a season of more speculation surrounding the Moroccan.

Right the rumours of Liverpool's number 7 shirt continue to dominate the internet web forum thingies. Apparently someone was in the LFC shop the other day and saw a huge pile of number 7s in the backroom. We know that a message from high up has ordered the LFC shop staff to order a bulk of the number 7. And this in turn means that a huge signing is about to take place.

The contenders are: Ashley Young, David Beckham, VDV, RVN and Thierry Henry. Or we could say: AY, DB, VDV, RVN and TH. Thierry Henry is the latest name to be linked with a move to Anfield - and this looks a live one. The Frenchman has always said that he would like to return to England (actually I am not sure if he has said that but it fits the story perfectly) and Liverpool would be a perfect destination. Van Nistelrooy is an interesting one too and another rumour sweeping the message boards but you know as well as I do that it won't happen! The other rumour is that SAF will quit soon because there is no money for transfers. Interesting.

Right, time to make up some more transfers. Go on, have a go. It is great fun!

Micah Ridhards to Arsenal. Yaya Toure to Manchester City. Wesley Sneijder to Manchester United. All confirmed.

Ok things are starting to pick up pace now. First up, a quick comment on Marouane Chamakh. After all the to-ing and fro-ing, it looks like he will make a move from Bordeaux after all, with West Ham the favourites to sign him. I still think Arsene Wenger will get his man.

So Chamakh to Arsenal. Confirmed. Although having said that Wenger is a shrewd businessman and would not commit to 7.5m pounds for a player who is available for nothing in the summer.

The only reason he would do it would be to fend of West Ham's interest. Hmmmm, an interesting one for all the Frenchmen involved in that one.

Ok, time for a statement, I think Walcott will go to Manchester City, Joe Cole to Arsenal and Chamakh to Chelsea. Why not? Makes sense to me.

Just a quick word on Lescott. And I mean a quick one. He is off.
Confirmed. But where to? I still think Manchester United is the likely destination, despite Manchester City being ready to stump up the cash.

We linked Everton with every single player in the world last time out. 

I am surprised to see that they are after Stephen Taylor of Newcastle.

I thought they might go for someone a little more high profile now that their star central defender looks certain to go. Must be nice training with the youth team earning 50k a week. Tough life.

Everton are also linked with Vladimir Bystrov who currently plays for Spartak Moscow. And he looks a quality player. Bystrov is one of the quickest players in Europe and extremely difficult to stop. Expect him to sign in the next few days for a fee of about 9m.

Did you know he was the most fouled player in the Russian Premier League last season because of his blistering pace? I love Wikipedia.

Why is Modric being linked with Manchester United? Surely SAF doesn't want to sign someone who has not set the Premier League alight as yet?

A rumour that is a little more sensible is Ashley Young possibly joining the club for 25m pounds. You just feel that United need a little more ammunition and Young could be the man. Find out next week if Villa get kicked out of Europe, then we could see a move.

As you can see, I have been very creative in the transfer rumours for today, making up a few deals that might get you thinking.

However, there is still time for some more! Van Der Vaart for Arsenal or Liverpool. Ronaldinho for Manchester United. Tuncay for Everton. David Bentley for Sunderland. All confirmed.

OK transfer lovers. A couple of weeks left before the windows slams shut, so let's get cracking!

And to start off with, some bad news on the guessing front. Just when we thought Arsenal or West Ham would be signing Maroune Chamakh, he only goes and commits his future to his current club Bordeaux. I mean, why would he do that? How can we fill the column inches (or 1080x780 pix) now. His contract expires next summer, so surely the French club will sell him before then? I am not having it. I think Bordeaux are just hoping for a lot more cash that what is being offered. I still reckon he will leave by the end of August. Confirmed.

Elsewhere, more bad news. Stoke boss Tony Pulis has hoisted the transfer fee of Ryan Shawcross up by saying he is not leaving the club, Yer right. So why is Pulis signing James Collins or Robert Huth then? Another transfer hoik if you ask me. Shawcross still to go. Don't believe these managers!

A lot of talk at the moment in the internet web forum thingies saying that Michael Carrick is surplus to requirements at Manchester United. Sources very close to the streets (the dustbin men) are saying that the midfielder will head back to Spurs with Luka Modric going the other way. Don't believe that at all.

The rumour that Lescott will join Manchester United does seem to be a live one however. There is no way that he will sign for Man City, as this blog has gone on about for days now. Everton do not want him anymore. Who would? United look a little soft in the centre of defence if either Ferdinand or Vidic cannot play. So, this does look a live one. Should Lescott join, do not rule out the possibility of Vidic joining Barcelona. Or at least, so some say. Here is my statement however, Lescott will join Manchester United.

Also, Liverpool look set to sign Rafael Van der Vaart. Certainly the Dutchman will be leaving Real Madrid before the window closes. So where is he going? We have said it is Arsenal or Liverpool at the moment but it could be set up for Everton to come in with an improved bid. Especially if they get some cash from the Lescott deal. So, Van Der vaart for Everton.

Ok, time to make some stuff up because we can. And it doesn't matter if we are right or wrong but would be nice if we were right so that we could say to our friends: "Yup, I said that."

Adam Johnson from Middlesbrough to Everton. Ever Banegra for Everton. In fact, any decent player for Everton, including David Bentley and Alan Hutton. Perfect. All true as well.

Tuesday 18th August

OK so I took a couple of days off this blog. Why? Because nothing was happening! I mean you can make up as much transfer stuff as you want but when nothing is happening then nothing is happening. So back to the grind and back to the speculation.

Great to see the opening day matches and not a draw in sight!! And so many away wins. My fantasy team did ok but I was impressed with two other teams on Saturday. Wigan and Sunderland. Great victories from both of them and I think they will go ok this season.

Liverpool continue to be linked with players I have never heard of. Fernando Amorebieta is the latest. 10m pounds apparently. He plays for Atletico Bilbao and is a central defender. You can see that Liverpool need one of those and given the fact that he is Spanish (well sort of), then the link with Rafa looks a lively one. Consider it done.

Robert Huth looks set for a move to Stoke. Which is interesting. Why would Tony Pulis be doing that? Well, perhaps because Ryan Shawcross is leaving. Shawcross did well scoring on the opening day and may well have added an extra million to his value. Apparently Manchester United have a first option on the central defender and should they want to annoy Liverpool, then this would be a perfect way to do it.

So here is our statement: Shawcross to leave Stoke. Not sure where yet. Adding weight to my argument that Shawcross is off is the news that James Collins of West Ham looks set to be arriving at the Britannia Stadium as well.

Now then, once James Collins leaves the Hammers, that will provide Zola with the funds to buy Eidur Gudjonson from Barcelona. Super.

How about Chelsea's involvement in the transfer market. The chase for Ribery has apparently cooled but what happens if they really go for it? What then for the future of Joe Cole? Surely a move to Manchester City would be on the cards. So keep an eye out for that. And of course, consider it as fact that it will happen. You know this blog by now!

Also Sol Campbell was at Goodison watching the Everton - Arsenal game. Apparently he will be joining the Gunners this week.

Right, time to make up some transfer gossip of my own:

Van Der Vaart to Arsenal. Lescott to Arsenal with Senderos going the other way. Ronaldinho to Liverpool or Manchester United. Super. All confirmed. 

Saturday 15th August

Lescott, Aguero and Campbell. That is what is selling the papers today. And no surprise at all. No smoke without fire I say.

But we have spoken about these three all this week and some transfer gossip can get a little boring.

However, update we must. Lescott, according to the web internet football forum thingies, was spotted in Manchester last night toasting to something. Don't be fooled by his location. Apparently he is joining Manchester United. I still stick by my statement and say that he is not joining Manchester City. And I feel pretty confident with that.

One of the statements I made yesterday was Sergio Aguero to join Manchester United. On the back of this news, Chelsea are said to be lining up a 42m pound bid. I still think he will join United - probably his agent putting something in the news to bolster the price of the Argentine!

Sol Campbell is said to be on the verge of joining Hull. And I like this one a lot. Just because it means that Michael Turner can make a move to either Liverpool or Aston Villa.

But why aren't these deals done before the start of the season? I don't get it? Perhaps these lesser teams want to hang on to their best players and get an extra two weeks of service from them and hopefully command a bigger price as the top clubs get a bit nervous over summer arrivals.

I like the story about Rafael Van Der Vaart. He is definitely not featuring for Real Madrid this season and is certainly not in the plans of new coach Manuel Pellegrini. So, who needs a striker? Well, several clubs do but the one team who are jumping up and down for a decent front man is West Ham. Zola can definitely pull the strings here and I reckon Van Der Vaart will sign for West Ham.

Time now to make up some rumours. Come on, have a go. It is really good fun.

Liverpool will now pursue James Milner after being priced out of a move for Ashley Young. Duff will sign for Fulham while Robbie Keane will join West Ham. All confirmed. All 100% true. Love it.

Friday 14th August

Ah Lescott. Don't you just love him. Don't you just love saying his name. Lescott. Lescott. Lescott.

In a nutshell this is what I understand about the transfer of the summer so far. Manchester City are determined to get the central defender. Everton are playing hard to get because they want 26m pounds. Everton fans don't care less about it now. I mean, who wants a player on their books who can't be bothered playing for them? And then, once Lescott moves, there will be loads of merry-go-round transfers off the back of it. At least according to some of the internet transfer web forum thingies, Lescott to Manchester City will mean Senderos goes to Everton which will mean Hangeland goes to Arsenal which will mean Djourou goes on loan to Fulham. Lovely.

I still don't think Lescott will move to Manchester City despite everything suggesting that it will happen. So, here is the statement:

Lescott will leave Everton but will not join Manchester City. Nasty stuff and I love it.

Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid ace Sergio Aguero has been linked with Manchester United. And how they need some signings. I thought they looked average against Chelsea and how the game ended in a draw is all down to Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney. Love those two. Aguero is an Argentine International who has scored 7 goals in 19 appearances for his country. He is the youngest player to make debut in the Argentine First division, breaking some bloke called Maradona's record. Anyway, he looks good and right up Fergie's street. I reckon it could happen you know!

Statement two: Aguero will join Manchester United.

Elsewhere, the internet chimpies have been saying that they know Liverpool's new number seven. Some say it is Luis Garcia while others are still reckoning on one of the two Davids from Valencia. The best one I have heard however is that David Beckham will be the new arrival. I love this one. Rafa would love this one. Anfield would love it - imagine how many crosses he could put in for Torres! And the fans would also lap up the number seven shirt. How many other players would sell that many number seven shirts? Think about it! I love it.

Beckham for Liverpool! Yay.

Right, time to make up some more transfer gossip (go on, everyone else is):

Liverpool will buy Ashley Young. Sunderland will get Sol Campbell on a free. And Shebby Singh will sign as defensive coach for Newcastle. You read it here first (or maybe second).

Thursday 13th August

A lovely kinda mixed bag of transfer gossip for you today, a sort of Transfer Allsorts if you like.

The good news is that Joleon Lescott has not got a mention in many of the papers. Bless him. Although Manchester City are asking for a copy of his medical records. Expect Lescott to personally deliver them to Eastlands.

Meanwhile, the news that Arsenal fans have been fearing has resurfaced. I said on Monday that Fabregas is a chance to leave and many of the papers have led with Arsenal facing a nail-biting time of it to see if the Cesc-man stays or goes.

We are talking about a lot of money too! Something like 40m pounds. Bargain.

Meanwhile, the Gunners have pulled put of the race to sign Marouane Chamakh according to The Sun. I don't believe that for a second.

Wenger needs this type of forward and it sounds to me that the PR Officer at the Emirates Stadium is trying to tell Bordeaux: 'Sell him to us for 9m - you won't get any more!" And a fair point too - the striker only has a year left on his contract.

Extra bonus double statement: Fabragas will go to Barcelona and Chamakh will arrive at Arsenal! Confirmed.

Also being linked with a move to Arsenal is Fulham's centreback Brede Hangeland. The player himself has played down suggestions that he is set to sign for Wenger's crew. Therefore, time for statement number two: Hangeland will sign for the Gunners for 12m pounds alongside free signing Sol Campbell.

Woo! A couple of double headers for you there - watch out if one of them comes true, you will not hear the end of it.

Manchester United have made the papers today as they step up their search for a decent goalkeeper after deciding Ben Foster looks decidedly dodgy and Thomas Couscous isn't so reliable.

Manuel Neuer is the goalkeeper in question and he is easily one of the best goalkeepers in Germany at the moment. He currently plays for Schalke 04 and has made one appearance for his country at senior level.

Thing is, Bayern Munich have already made a bid, so SAF will have to fight with the Germans again.

Gonna keep an eye on this one before I make any transfer statement!

The other nice bit of transfer gossip that I saw surrounded Mark Viduka. There was some talk earlier in the week that the Aussie would be joining Portsmouth. But in all honesty, who would want to go there?

So, today he is in talks with Fulham. I can see this happening. Dukes would be a good foil for Andy Johnson, or whoever the Hodge decides to play up front.

So, Viduka will sign for the Cottagers. Fact.

And time now to make up some transfer gossip. Go on, have a go.

Everyone is doing it.

Ashley Young for Liverpool. Confirmed. Lescott for Arsenal. Confirmed.

Wednesday 12th August

I think I may have got my first statement right of the transfer window and I am only three days into writing!

Guru. 'nuff said.

I went on and on yesterday, that Everton will not sell Joleon Lescott. And sure enough, I wake up to find that they have rejected a formal transfer request from the defender. I am sure, however, that it is not the end of the saga but I hope so. I mean he is a good player but he used to play for Wolves. And it is getting boring reading about it now. Does anyone care?

So what is happening today?

Well not as exciting as yesterday with follow-ups on the same old transfer news.

We spoke about Sol Campbell and said how he would not be joining Notts County. Splashed all over the papers today is Campbell for Arsenal! 

Makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Wenger needs some experience at the back and Sol can do a job!

Would Arsenal fans welcome him back? Of course they would. Did you know Campbell was in Guy Ritchie's Snatch as a bouncer at one of the underground boxing thingies? Well, that's according to the internet anyway.

So, here comes a statement. Campbell will move to Arsenal - there I have said it.

Another interesting snippet comes from the internet forum thingies. 

One of the guys who works in the Liverpool Store on Merseyside received an email asking if the shop had stocked enough of the number 7.

Currently no player at the club has the number seven shirt and the club may well be signing a marque player who will sell plenty of shirts. We spoke about the two Davids at Valencia yesterday. So, statement number two. Valencia's David will join Liverpool (not sure which one yet!).

Elsewhere, some talk of Ryan Shawcross going to Sunderland but I still believe he will go to Liverpool (surely not as number seven).

Martin Petrov looks set to leave Manchester City - no surprise there although he is a quality player - could he do a job elsewhere in the Premier League? Probably. What about throwing him in as a sweetener for the Lescott deal? Mark Hughes listen up.

Anyway, a quiet day all in all and that's no good for anyone. Time to make up some stuff then! Ribery for Chelsea confirmed. Shevchenko for West Ham. Lovely.

Tuesday 11th August

A reminder yesterday that I said Theo Walcott should go to Manchester City while Arsenal should listen to offers for Cesc Fabregas. I am also hoping that Ryan Shawcross of Stoke will join Liverpool. We will wait and see if I will be proven correct, which I have no doubt that I will be because I am good like that.

Lots to talk about in the transfer world today, so let's see if we can predict the future. Today's headlines are dominated by Arsenal, Manchester United, Everton and Notts County (naturally).

Who is Marouane Chamakh? He is constantly linked with a move to Arsenal. Well I can tell you that he is a Moroccan international who plays for Bordeaux, where he has scored 54 goals in 224 appearances. He is tall. And that's about all I know.

Arsenal keep offering very little money for him while Bordeaux are hoping for a super payday. He has got only one more year left on his contract and the French side could lose him for nothing at the end of the season. They would be very silly to do that so a move away from Ligue Un is a certainty.

Trouble is with Wenger, he hates paying big money - £10m max. Just stump it up will you Arsene and Chamakh will hope to make it two league titles in a row for himself. 

Chamakh will join Arsenal before the end of the season.

Elsewhere, David Silva is attracting interest from Manchester United and Liverpool. Don't get confused with David Villa. It is David Silva. I suppose I could confuse with by saying David from Valencia but that would just be silly.

So, Silva will join Manchester United although a lot of the papers reckon Rafa has already bagged the deal. But Rafa wants Silva and is seeing if he can tempt the other David to Anfield.

Apparently.

Anyway, I don't reckon either deal will happen. Neither Silva or Villa will move to the Premier League before the transfer window closes.

Can we please hear less of Joleon Lescott and his move to Manchester City?

One of the internet forum thingies reckons that Arsenal will make a late move for Lescott because Moyes does not want to sell the defender to those greedy Citizens.

I can see how that works.

But would Wenger pay that sort of money when he would probably reckon Djourou can do the job for him because he discovered him? 

Anyway, I don't reckon Lescott will move. Especially because of his price tag and especially because City are the only real serious bidders.

And David doesn't like Mark.

Finally, what about Notts County making an approach for Sol Campbell? Never going to happen. Ok, I know County (in League Two!) have signed some decent players and are punching above their weight but whether Campbell would go there is another thing altogether.

Perhaps it is just his agent drumming up the 'I hope everyone remembers that Sol left Portsmouth in the summer and is on a free' kind of thing. 

So, only one real transfer going through for me today and that is Chamakh to Arsenal - perfect. 

I love this transfer window. You can say anything you like and no one can disagree with you. Frank Ribery to Chelsea. Confirmed. See!

And that just might happen.

Ok so with 21 days left of the transfer window, let's play a game called Me vs You.

I will scour the internet everyday and come up with statements about transfers that may or may not happen. I will make a decision over a potential transfer and you have to tell me whether you agree or disagree. Winner gets a warm rub of the head and a cuddle from me (provided you look like Ana Ivanovic).

Monday 10th August:
OK, much of today sees the bleating papers and dynamic websites trying to weaken Arsenal by ripping out their very soul. Yes, Cesc 'I am really that good, even if I don't try too hard' Fabregas is off to Barcelona apparently, with the Spaniards offering a number of players in exchange as well as a wedge of cash.

I have also heard from one of those web forums thingies that Manchester City have offered over 20 million pounds for Theo Walcott. Two things here. Wenger should definitely have a ponder about selling Fabregas and should not think twice about selling Walcott to those nasty cash wielding Citizens.

Fab is fab but did that injury last season do something to him? Didn't quite look the same when he came back. And Walcott is as over rated as I am in golf. Everyone, including me, thinks I am good at golf but the truth is, I am not. And that is the same with Theo. I love the little whipper snapper but he can't pass and once his one-trick-pony-trick of 'poking the ball past the defender and running after it - fast' starts to wear a little thin then he has nothing.

If he did go to City I would laugh because if you watch any Arsenal game from last season you will realise that Adebayour never passed to him. And I mean never. And that's because he knew the ball would go to the opposition quick sharp.

So, statement number one: Arsenal WILL sell Walcott and WILL think about Fabregas going!!!! Ok, so I wasn't so insightful on the Fabregas bit but Wenger seems to be proving some football point at the moment.

The point being that he does not need these big name, big transfer tag players. He can do without Toure and Adebayour and won't held to a ransom for any players. If a team is stupid enough to pay big money for a player that cost Arsenal relatively little, then Wenger loves that, just to make a point to the footballing world.

Elsewhere, here is another statement that I would like you opinion on: It looks like Ryan Shawcross will go to Liverpool. Stoke played well against Liverpool last season and Rafa likes to buy players who performed well against his team. Just look at what happened with Peter Crouch. One good display for the Saints against Liverpool and eight weeks later he is a Liverpool player.

So how is your team doing?

I hope they are doing rubbish.

I hope you have just missed out on a play off spot or automatic promotion.

I hope you have just been relegated or beaten soundly by your nearest rivals.

There is far too much happiness in the world of football for so few.

And those that have that temporary happiness go on about it far too much. And besides, unless you have experienced the bad times, then you never know what the good times are, you never appreciate it. We need more misery in our lives.

I am facing the prospect of League One next season. I mean, League One! My team is a founding Premier League member and now we are in England's third tier. Have you got any idea how that feels? If you are a Leeds fan you will, maybe a Nottingham Forest fan too, perhaps Leciester and maybe Millwall. But have you really got any idea of the pain that causes you if you take a special interest in a football team? I have paid so much money to watch them, bought so many tops and dedicated a lot of my time to helping build an aspect of the community that is the football club. Only to see it fail. You really do feel part of that failure.

There is no promise we will come out the other side smiling. We start League One with minus ten points. Talk about punishing the poor!

This is what annoys me. So, we are skint, our finances are poor and we are struggling. I tell you what, why not slap some more measures on us.

It reminds me of my car tax. Because I am poor with my expenses, I generally have to wait until I get paid to pay stuff. The car tax says that if you do not pay your renewal by a certain date then they will add $50. If you fail to make that date, then it is another $100 and if you fail to meet that then it is more. So, as a person who has no money and missing the deadline to pay my car tax, I then have to pay more money. If you are rich or have money then, fine, we will not charge you. If you are poor and have no money, fine, we will charge you more. Where is the justice there?

League One. League One. Hartlepool and co. Not happy. And that is what makes me a football fan. Come on you Saints! Premier League football in 2 seasons. See how that makes you feel.

Southampton, my favourite team, look set to go out of existence unless they can find a buyer soon and I need to find someone to blame.

I could go with bad management at the top. I could question where the money has gone from the transfer fees that we received. I could question some of the transfers we concluded including players arriving and departing. I could question the style adopted this season and the introduction of a Dutch playing philosophy that saw attention focused on playing young kids. I could question the hiring and firing of so many managers, especially when we contracted inexperienced managers and allowed those with pedigree to go.

However, my finger of blame points mainly at the Premier League.

Our off field activities are strong, with a great tie in to the community. Our store offers a considerable range of clothing and gifts while our on-line offering is strong.

And so to the crux of the argument. The reason we are on the brink of going out of business is because we invested in a new stadium that we were obliged to offer the Premier League, obliged to offer the TV viewers and traveling support and obliged to offer our fans.

The club is 30million pounds in debt and the banks want their money thanks to the economic downturn.

Do we have a Sugar Daddy to bail us out like most of the clubs in the Premier League and some in the Championship? No. Which leads me to this question: Can running a football club represent good business?

It seems that to get the best players, whilst also preventing clubs from pinching your stars, you need to pay money in wages and transfer fees which goes against good business ethics. Southampton going out of business is just the tip of a large iceberg. There will be more to follow, because unless you cheat good business philosophy, you cannot afford to run a club in a commercial sense.

I believe that the Premier League should offer Southampton money.

We were one of the founding members and important in the development of the product. We produced quality players that the league could market both at home and overseas. We produced many legends of the game, including the Premier League's all-time top goalscorer in Alan Shearer. We provided a ground that would make the Premier League a better viewing experience for those watching both on TV and within the stands. Everything Southampton has done has been in the best interest of the leagues in which it has been plying its trade and it is time

for some payback from those who have benefitted, especially the Premier League.

Don't go showing me any more goals of Matt Le Tissier if we are no longer in existence, I am really not interested.

The Premier League needs to look at what Southampton has contributed to its world domination, realise what good work the club has done and pay us back so that we can compete again because it was their expectations of the product which ultimately led us to fail.

I generally try to watch as many midweek games as possible and I know how frustrating it can be for fans in Asia to get up in the middle of the night and catch the live action.

A trick I employ is to record the game and to get up early and watch it before going to work. Watching a game on x4 the viewing speed is a pleasant viewing experience!

However, my usual desire to hit the fast forward button receded as I sunk into my sofa with a coffee and Weetabix to watch the Liverpool versus Arsenal spectacle at Anfield.

Liverpool were superb. Their slick passing and invention going forward was wonderful to watch. Yossi Benayoun was at the heart of so many good things for Liverpool while Fernando Torres is the best striker in the world. The Spain international's ability to control and shoot on target is second to none and his performance was inspiring.

So how come Benitez's side could only manage a draw? The answer is in the defending as well as a huge slice of bad luck, but credit has to go to Arsenal.

Their energetic display meant Liverpool were under constant pressure while on the ball and Aurelio, Macherano and Carragher (to a lesser degree) all succumbed to the youthful spirit of Wenger's side.

Despite Arsenal being extremely fortuitous in being able to create opportunities, the way Arshavin took his goals is credit to his skill. However, the Gunners should have won and I believe it was Arsene Wenger's fault that they didn't. After seeing Walcott use his pace from a Liverpool corner and feed Arshavin for Arsenal's fourth, he then decided to take Niclas Bendtner off, replacing him with Diaby.

Wenger kept the same formation but inexplicably took Walcott from the right hand side of midfield and put him up front, with Diaby coming into a central midfield defensive role. What would happen next was easily foreseeable as I shouted at the TV screen complaining at what I saw as a bad tactical move. The ball gets lumped up to Walcott as Arsenal try to find some breathing space from defence. This high ball would have been a treat for Bendtner who could have headed the ball at worst, or could have chested it down and started a passage of play.

However, with no Bendtner, Carragher easily beat Walcott to the ball in the centre circle and Liverpool went on to snatch a deserved equaliser. I really hate it when managers go defensive late on to win matches as they look so stupid when it backfires.

Shame on you Arsene but well done on inspiring your team to take part in a marvelous spectacle.

It is very cold during the winter in England - freezing rain and snow in places. Playing football in this weather is not for the faint-hearted.

It is a mental and physical test that will push even the very best players beyond their limits.

To play winning football in this climate, you have to battle, you have to work harder than usual and you must be willing to put your body on the line.

And that mentality will win you championships.

Take a look at Man Utd's games since the start of December '08, for an example of why grit over guile may be the tonic for these conditions.

Newcastle 1-2 Man Utd - 'United managed to get 3 points in hard fought style. United's grit pleases Ferguson'

Man Utd 0-0 Tottenham (4-1 pens): 'Defence defiant as United win cup."

Man Utd 2-1 Blackburn: "Magic needed against tough Rovers."

West Ham 0-1 Man Utd: 'United huff and puff to win."

Bolton 0-1 Man Utd: 'Berba treats lackluster United with last gasp winner."

Man Utd 1-0 Wigan: 'Stubborn United just edge Wigan."

Man Utd 1-0 Middlesbrough: "United make hard work of dispatching Boro."

Stoke 0-1 Man Utd: 'Tevez rescues United after brave resistance from Stoke."

Man Utd 1-0 Sunderland: 'United need last gasp Vidic blow.'

To be fair, there have convincing wins over WBA, Derby, Everton, Tottenham, Southampton and Chelsea, while also claiming the Club World Cup during this period.

It just goes to show that to win the title you need the perfect balance of flair and stubbornness.

Now, a lot of other teams also have these qualities. What they don't have is Sir Alex Ferguson finding the right blend against differing opposition, week in, week out.

Robbie Keane's transfer to Tottenham from Liverpool may not have been entirely unexpected for some, but it still surprised me.

It became even more surprising when Steven Gerrard limped off against Everton in the FA Cup on Wednesday, and Fernando Torres looked knackered. The introduction of Robbie Keane off the bench would have been perfect for Liverpool. A strange bit of transfer business if you ask me.

On that topic, I thought I would have a look around at some other strange transfers. And this is what I got.

Andy Cole - Newcastle to Manchester United

Newcastle were challenging for honours, Andy Cole was scoring goals for fun and Manchester United looked like they had decent title challengers. Then poof! Cole was sold, Keegan had to deal with unhappy supporters and the wheels kinda came off for Newcastle.

Sol Campbell - Tottenham to Arsenal

Tottenham received nothing for a man they had brought up through the ranks as Campbell decided to join Spurs' fiercest rivals!

Kevin Keegan - Hamburg to Southampton

There were gasps from the journalists when Kevin Keegan was unveiled in a pub in Southampton. The former European Player of the Year, on top of his game, had come back to England and decided to join one hell of an average Southampton side. What a signing!

Jean-Marc Bosman - Liege to Dunkirk

Off course, this transfer was groundbreaking after Bosman took his club, and the Belgian FA, to court after they decided to increase his transfer fee when he was out of contract. He set the precedent for 'Bosman' moves which made history.

Juninho - to Middlesbrough

Amazing really. Boro were spending big and attracting names such as Fabrizio Ravanelli and Juninho. They were still relegated at the end of the season.

David Beckham - Real Madrid to LA Galaxy (to AC Milan?)

What was amazing here was the sheer amount of money involved, especially around the image rights.

Luis Figo - Barcelona to Real Madrid

Another transfer that involved big money and two massive rivals exchanging players.

It just goes to show how unexpected football can be. Can you think of any amazing transfers? I would love to hear from you.

Any thoughts I had of another FA Cup shock quickly disappeared last weekend.

Manchester United made Southampton look like a Sunday league team in the world's oldest football competition.

There was some feeling before the Saints' 3-0 demolition (and it should have been more like 10-0) that the youthful passing game philosophy of Jan Poortvliet (our unheard of manager) would test Manchester United.

And to be fair, in patches it did. Saints were also hindered by a dodgy sending off, an even dodgier penalty decision and a headed goal from Wellbeck which had dodgefulness written all over it.

But, young players against experienced Premier League players are no match.

Indeed, Wellbeck, handed his first ever FA Cup start, looked a star in the making. Pacey, athletic and having an eye for goal.

The Saints youngsters meanwhile often stood and watched as play unraveled around them. The gap between the midfield and the defence was enormous and Dimitar Berbatov looked liked he had just got out of bed yet still managed to put in a Man-of-the-Match performance.

Ok, so I am having a go at my side after we have just played the 'best side in the world' which hardly seems fair. But our season has faltered since the 3rd round of the FA Cup was drawn, with those youngsters, who come from a fine academy, having half an eye on the big game.

With no money to spend and the likes of Surman and Lallana sure to be leaving this month, the future looks bleak.

Gone are the days of Shearer, Wallace, Holmes, Ball, Golac, Keegan, Shilton, Watson, George, Channon, Mills, Le Tissier, Moran and Benali.

Perhaps this generation of kids will be able to save Southampton from relegation this season, maybe the experience that they gain will see them form a solid promotion campaign next year.

Chances are, we will go into administration and falter into Division One.

Ouch.

I am so looking forward to the New Year. Manchester United, the best team in the world, must make the 361km trip to the South Coast to take on a team destined for League One next season. It will be an extremely one-sided affair. And let me remind you, in what is supposed to be a happy season, just how desperate I am. Let me tell you why.

What would you do if the chairman of your favourite side said the following at the start of the season?

We have little money, despite receiving substantial sums for some of our best players. We are therefore going to sack a very promising English manager and bring in two Dutchmen who have had some experience in League Two in Holland and know the 'Dutch way'.

One of the Dutchman, who has played with Johan Cryuff in his time, promises that youngsters will be given the chance to shine and they will play with a pure passing game. The chairman then loans out your top proven goalscorers (all three of them) but you still feel optimistic because the rhetoric suggests that your academy has provided some of the best youngsters in the game and you should be alright.
Indeed, some of your better youngsters are already internationals or capped at U-21 level. Everything is rosey right?

Then, your team doesn't win much. I mean, it gets to Christmas and your side have won just once at home and find themselves on the brink of the relegation zone.
However, the team are apparently playing some nice football. I have randomly gone into sportinglife.com for some Saints match reports, remember it is just one win in the last seven matches, away to Reading. And it is not too bad reading:

0-2 vs Nottm Forest
The Saints, however, will feel they should have taken something from this fixture as they dominated possession for long periods and hit the post in the first half through Andrew Surman.

2-3 vs Burnley
Burnley withstood a stirring second-half fightback by Southampton.....a spell of sustained pressure in which Southampton threatened an equaliser.

1-1 vs Sheffield Weds
A late strike from Marcus Tudgay denied Southampton a second home victory of the season in the Coca-Cola Championship and gave Sheffield Wednesday a point they scarcely deserved.

0-0 vs Charlton
Charlton had goalkeeper Nicky Weaver to thank as they withstood a second-half barrage from Southampton but extended their winless run to 10 matches.

0-0 vs Plymouth
The Saints dominated the opening 45 minutes but were guilty of squandering several good opportunities with David McGoldrick and Jordan Robertson both off target. Plymouth rarely threatened.

However, if you read any of the supporters' forums you get a much clearer picture. They are suggesting that the youngsters are playing too much passing football. By the time we have taken 11 passes to get into the opponents' half, they have managed to get 10 men behind the ball.

Then, the other team will take four or five direct passes and finish with a strike that has left us wide open.
There is also the chance that Southampton go into administration for some reason. Apparently we have no money unless we sell our best players. That means goodbye to Andrew Surman and Adam Lallana who will probably command US$6m.

We can't afford to sack our manager, we may continue to boycott games unless the chairman goes and boy do we need a good cup run.

However, the cameras will be at St. Mary's to see us take on the best team in the world and everyone knows that we will be badly exposed, even though we may do it with a nice passing game.

Oh my goodness.

How good is the football at the moment? I mean really. Liverpool beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Manchester United getting out fought in the second half at Goodison Park and Harry Redknapp joining Tottenham.

I think the Portsmouth fans have got some right to feel slightly aggrieved.

Ok, Harry leaves them in a fairly solid state with possibly the best team that they have ever had. But you have to wonder if the spirit has just been taken out of the camp? All the players there are Harry's men. You can see they play for Harry. They all left bigger clubs to play for Harry. The support at Fratten Park is good but Portsmouth is hardly deemed a big club yet they have big name players who are only there for Harry and the big money they are earning.

Arry's success rate in his second spell at Portsmouth was fantastic, avoiding defeat in 99 of the 128 games he precided over. The new manager will certainly have to have a big ego and a massive amount of flair. Although he will have to be careful not to impart too much of himself on the team as change is the last thing Portsmouth need. They need someone to continue Redknapp's good work. You need someone with the knowledge of Avram Grant and the flair of Sam Allardyce.

Perhaps the best thing to do is to give Tony Adams a few games to see how he does.

But if I was a Portsmouth fan I would feel that Harry has sent out a clear message that the club has possibly come as far as it can. And that is not good for spirits or the growth of the club.

Hope you managed to watch NFC last Thursday. If you didn't then we should have a treat for you this week. We have a new set and new song title and just a new look overall. Hope you enjoy it. We also have a lot more creative talent working behind the scenes than ever before and this year should see a real change for the show. We hope you enjoy it.

What did you think of the football in the Barclays Premier League?

I had a few stand out moments. I really enjoyed watching Johan Elmander play. Ok, his Bolton side were up against a newly promoted team but Elmander is one of those players I always used to buy in Championship Manager! So for whatever reason I feel a certain amount of loyalty to him. 

And by the way, how good was Steinsson's goal? And yes he did mean it.

Did you see the way Deco played?

How can he deemed surplus to requirements at Barcelona?! I mean the guy was unreal. I guess we need to judge him over the course of a season given injuries and fatigue but given the way he paraded his stuff at The Bridge against Portsmouth, he looks a great buy.

Well done too to Hull, who managed to come back from a goal down to a Fulham side who many fancied to come away from the KC Stadium with all three points. What a signing Geovanni could be, especially if he continues to score goals like that! Don't forget, this midfielder once cost Barcelona eleven million pounds! 

I also enjoyed watching Fernando Torres. I love the way that for 90 minutes he may hardly get a sniff of goal. But should he get the slightest glimpse he is able to punish it. That really does make him top quality. World class. Universe class.

The bet of the weekend had to be Middlesbrough beating Tottenham. Not because they were always going to win but because the bookmakers had made Spurs the favourites. I just don't get it. I mean Spurs away? 

They just do not have it going on. Nice to see them spending a lot of money though. I am sure they will be a real force to be reckoned with at WHL but opening day of the season you had to back against them on their travels.

Did you see anything funny over the weekend? 

We saw Shay Given hit in the face with the ball along with Dean Ashton. Ok it is not that funny unless you put some music to it and edit it nicely. So, on NFC this week we are putting some music on it and editing it nicely and it is sure to be funny.

How good were Newcastle by the way? How good is Jonas Gutierrez, again by the way? 

I thought with that haircut that he must be a bit dodgy but I thought he was superb.

How did your NFC Manager team go? 

I was awful. Torres and Fuller got me points but I have got bleedin' Joe Hart in goal. Now why did I do that. I would suggest immediately transferring out all Manchester City players right now. They are playing like a bunch of strangers, unfit ones at that.

Good luck with ya team. Go the Saints and looking forward to seeing you on Thursday.

Right everyone, answer this question very seriously ok? Have you missed us? I mean really, have you missed us at all?

Actually, wandering the vibrant streets of Singapore I get loads of people coming up to me asking where has NFC gone. I tell them that the show is not coming back and that we have all been sacked. They often leave me very disappointed.

But just imagine how happy they will be when they see us back on the TV again! There is a massive new look this season, fresh with new titles and I think a new theme tune.

So, new look, new season and new erm, erm, new hopes for every team this year. I do love the close season, I love all the transfer talk. That is basically what I used to do for a living, make up transfer talk – all fully founded of course!

The biggest transfer saga has of course been that of Ronaldo – and I am so over it. He perpetuated the rumour himself and I think as he gets older he will learn to realise what quotes can get taken out of context. Sure, every footballer wants to play for Real Madrid and he is no exception. However, perhaps he should have stayed quiet. I mean he is contracted to Manchester United. Do you hear me coming out in the press saying that I fancy a move to Mediacorp or CNN? (Do they pay better?) No, I don't because my present employers will not be too happy.

Anyway, I am glad he is staying in the Premiership, the competition is so much better with him in it.

There are other players that I am looking forward to seeing play in the Premier League. The young Welsh boy Aaron Ramsey at Arsenal is quality while I wonder how Steve Sidwell will fare at Aston Villa – do you think he can shine there?

Johan Elmander is another one that I am looking forward to see play – he cost Bolton almost a club record fee I think, not bad when you consider that they have splashed the cash on Nicolas Anelka!

Deco is going to be super in the Premier League provided he does not get battered too much and maintains that fitness.  Fulham have made so many signings this close season and it is a chance to assess Roy Hodgson on his transfer market abilities. I like Zoltan Gera and am a little upset that he left West Brom but he is sure to provide lots of ammunition for Andrew Johnson (still can't work out why he left Everton).

Fair play to Hull and their summer coups. Geovanni and Boateng are great signings – remember this is a club with money and with a cracking stadium to boot.

I never know too much about Liverpool's signings. Degen looks solid with great pedigree albeit very young. While Robbie Keane is sure to fit in seamlessly.

Mark Hughes at Manchester City has been fairly quiet but made two big signings in Ban Haim and Jo – fairplay to the millions to Thaksin but I did expect to see lots more signings! It will also be interesting to see how Peter Crouch works with Defoe at Portsmouth. Goodness knows why Redknapp felt the urge to sign Chelsea striker Ben Sahar on loan – anyway, I am sure he has a plan.

Sunderland have made some solid signings and will be extremely difficult to beat next season while I am surprised more has not been made at the millions that Tottenham have splashed out this season. Is it time for them to break into the top four – it would certainly make the Premier League an interesting place.

However, the biggest surprise I guess is that Sir Alex Ferguson has not bought anyone in this summer – I mean he may do by the time the transfer window closes but I would have liked to have seen one superstar arriving. I guess Fergie's hands have been a little tied because he did not know whether Ronaldo was staying or going. Nevertheless I demand a big name player. The best rumour I saw all close season was that Thierry Henry was going to United. I think he would do wonders there.

Anyway – looking forward to you hopefully enjoying the new season of NFC. Many thanks again to our sponsors Nokia, without whom we wouldn't have jobs!

Lots of people writing in having a laugh at my team, Southampton, as they head straight into League One! Did you know that there are 4 other teams in League One who used to play in the Premier League. Can you name them?

There is also a team in League Two that used to be in the BPL. I am not counting MK Dons though - there is another one.

Also, here is another question I will ask and will give the answer at the bottom of this page. Can you work out how many teams have been in the Premier League?

Right, to some emails: This one is from Melvin in Singapore:

I am doing a short documentary project on the English Premier League with my group. We are a group of secondary school students studying in Singapore.

We were wondering if we could have the privilege of you and your fellow pundits taking some time off from your hectic schedule to allow us conduct a short interview.

We feel that your expertise in this area would come handy in our documentary. Your contribution will go a long way in helping us for our project. We hope to hear from you soon, as any help will be greatly appreciated.

Answer: Now I cannot speak for any of the other presenters because they are all busy. But I can make myself available anytime!

Next up, from Azid,

Hey Andy, I know exactly how you are feeling about Saints dropping from one division to the next. I used to live in Sheffield .. and .. and .. I lived in Hillsborough, 5 mins walk to the Owls nest. I still don't know whether it was me or the Carbone-Di Canio duo.

Nevertheless, supporting Wednesday was purely for the fact of staying there. I will still Never Walk Alone. Azid. p/s - by the way are you guys interested to find out about Flag Football?? Answer: What the hell is Flag Football - can we feature it on the show?

Next up from Achinthya JS

hi all u crazy ppl........u ppl are rockin d show specially Haikel n PJ......... This msg goes 2 all chelsea fans......they r d most borin team on earth.....take a look at arsenal n manu's match.....they are entertainin, played at a good pace n goals r always assured........i being a ManU's fan just love 2 watch their matches and also enjoy watchin arsenal matches but i would rather watch a sum other league or some other match then watch chelsea's match because they play 4 results not 4 fans entertainment.....but d weekend carling cup finals was good and entertainin because CHELSEA LOST.......

Answer: Now, first thing, who are PJ and Haikel and why do they rock so much? What's wrong with 'Hi Football Crazy - love the show, Andy Rox....'?

Anyway I have to agree on the entertainment factor with Chelsea. They are a dogged side who defend well and take their chances. I must admit I would rather watch Aston Villa play than Chelsea just because of the pace and excitment of Agbonlahor and Young...

Right, the answers to the questions at the start of the blog.

4 other teams in League One who used to play in the Premier League. Answer: Nottingham Forest, Leeds, Oldham and Swindon.

There is also a team in League Two that used to be in the BPL. I am not counting MK Dons though - there is another one. Answer: Bradford City.

Also, here is another question I will ask and will give the answer at the bottom of this page. Can you work out how many teams have been in the Premier League?

Answer: 40, including Wimbledon - go on then, impress your friends with that!

Kevin from Goa, India wrote in:

hey guys, this is kevin and i am a huge manchester united fan.listen guys i love ur show n i watch it on thursday and saturday.

From: Haseeb Jan

hi all you all are doin a gr8 job keep up the good work can you guys give me some info about phlip lahm the player who played for germany in the worldcup like which club is he playin for now.

Dear Crazy, watched the FA, you guys? (of course you did)

Well there you go for another season - I think it has been one of the best ever from a footballing point of view and in terms of Football Crazy.

I have loved watching Manchester United play their football this season - it is full of attacking flair with rigidness at the back. Accompanying that is solid tactics and significant strength in depth to cater for injuries and suspensions.

Fair play too to Chelsea who lost both the Barclays Premier League and the Champions League on the flip of a coin. I'll have to be honest, I am not the biggest Chelsea fan only because I am jealous of the spending power they have. I am glad they are working hard on their academies and grass roots football.

Chelsea are one of the scariest teams I have ever seen! It reminds me of playing for the under 10 team side and coming up against a team full of fifteen year olds. The Blues are strong, powerful and fierce and any side that can match them in this physical department is doing a wonderful job - that is why it is a big 'hats-off' to Manchester United for handling that.

As far as Football Crazy goes, I have loved this season. We launched a two hour live version on Saturday mornings which has allowed us to come up with more ideas. I have really enjoyed Jien getting out and about in Asia and reporting back on his findings. Jamie has been funny all season long with the girl power she brings to the show while PJ and Haikel are the best guests ever.

We will be continuing Football Crazy for another season and would love your input to how the show can move forward next season. Please give us your thoughts on what you would like to see on the show - email us at feedback@footballcrazy.tv

Have a great summer, cheer on England for the Euro championships!!!

A day when Southampton went into the final day of the Championship season in the relegation zone and took on a high-flying Sheffield United side who were entertaining play-off hopes.

I was sitting in the business centre of La Meriden in KL as I had a press conference for Celcom the next day. I was alone and with no one else in the business centre I ordered myself a couple of beers and watched the game via live text on the internet (they were not streaming the game live).

As the day started with everyone drawing, it meant that Southampton were going down. Eyes were also on the proceedings at the Britannia Stadium where Stoke were entertaining Leicester, the team immediately above Southampton. If we drew and Stoke beat Leicester then we would stay up.

Anyway, Sheffield United scored against the run of play to send the Blades into the play-off spots and Southampton down in the live table. I was gutted. Leicester fans were picking up the information on their radios and were going crazy!

Saints hit back with an equaliser through Saganowski and for a moment I let out an almighty cheer as we got ourselves back into the game. Nevertheless, we were still going down on goal difference as Leicester were still drawing at Stoke.

Saints then amazingly took the lead through Stern John who got booked for celebrating while taking his shirt off. It meant we were safe, even if Leicester beat Stoke, because Coventry were being well beaten by Charlton and the Sky Blues would then be relegated.

I was a nervous wreck. Hiding behind the computer screen, waiting for updates on the website and hoping that we would hold on. I kept all my superstitions of refreshing the page at the right point and looking at the different websites in the same order but to no avail as Sheffield United equalised through Jon Stead.

All of a sudden, the Saints were down and the Leicester fans were going crazy at the Britannia despite their team still drawing 0-0 with Stoke.

Then, amazing scenes as Stern John got his second goal of the afternoon. The business centre I was in received its first and loudest football cheer as I went crazy. All we had to do now was hold on to this improbable lead. Leicester fans were gutted and were cheering their side on to score as that would send Coventry down.

But Saints never do things the easy way. Oh no. With ten minutes to go Stern John got his second yellow card of the afternoon for a slack challenge and it meant the Blades were peppering the Southampton goal for the final ten minutes. It was agony. Really. Agony.

But we held on to secure a massive day in the club's history of staying in the Championship - ha ha, how funny does that sound?! Such drama and one of the reasons why I love England's second tier - it is so exciting!