The teams are in for Wolves v Liverpool today in the Premier League encounter at Molineux. Mick McCarthy’s men have the opportunity to secure the double over Liverpool in the Premiership this season after their surprise 1-0 win at Anfield earlier in the campaign in which Stephen Ward netted the winner. Wolves are in great goalscoring form, having hit the back of the net ten times in the last three matches, and will be encouraged by the fact that Kevin Doyle has rediscovered his scoring touch. However, undeniably most of the focus will be on Kenny Dalglish and his Liverpool team today, but of the below who will be the match winners?

Teams:

Wolves: Wayne Hennessey, Ronald Zubar, Richard Stearman, Christophe Berra, Stephen Ward, Stephen Hunt, Karl Henry, Nenad Milijas, Matt Jarvis, Kevin Doyle, Steven Fletcher.

Liverpool: Pepe Reina, Martin Kelly, Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel, Maxi Rodriguez, Lucas Leiva, Christian Poulsen, Dirk Kuyt, Raul Meireles, Fernando Torres.

So there are the teams, but of those players who are you going to select in your Picklive Trio? Now is the time for Fernando Torres to show followers of the Premier League exactly what he’s made of and having scored in Liverpool’s last away fixture at Blackpool, he now needs to find the back of the net regularly. So much pressure rests on the Spaniard’s shoulders, but he has to show why he’s world class and start winning some matches almost single-handedly.

Raul Meireles has been one of Liverpool’s better performers this season, but having signed for a fee in excess of £10 million from Porto in the summer, he should be. The Portuguese midfielder really needs to take control of matches in the middle of the park and this is something that a player of his quality should be able to do against Wolves today.

Finally there’s Dirk Kuyt. Rafa Benitez, Roy Hodgson and now Kenny Dalglish have all shown their faith in the Dutch forward and his work rate and determination has to be admired. Now he needs to accompany those attributes with a little bit more quality and find the back of the net himself, and not just from the penalty spot.

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So will the Liverpool revival start today? If it does then Torres, Meireles and Kuyt will be central to it, and these are THREE players that you should seriously consider selecting for Picklive: LIVE Fantasy Football today. Simply click on the link below and pick your players now!

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Love fantasy football? Love live footy? You’ll love live fantasy football! Take part in the Wolves v Liverpool match and play Picklive for FREE Go on, give it a go!

Alberto Aquilani – With Raul Meireles’s great recent run of form, much less has been said about the Italian midfielder. Although a quality midfield player who would add depth to the team, would Aqua’s return be a good thing considering he may not always get in the side? His return has become more likely in recent weeks though as Juve continue to be reluctant about paying the €12million that Liverpool are demanding for the player. According to the Italian press, Juventus want to pay less as they feel they have contributed a great deal of money already by paying the 26 year old’s wages in full from the start of the season. With the Reds now on a secure financial footing though, you can bet FSG will hold out for the €12million demanded or otherwise he could be back in the Red of Liverpool next season.

On the pitch, things are not going so well for his Juventus side. Since we last visited him, Aquilani has played in two 2-1 losses to Udinese and Palermo where he was substituted in both before the end of the match. The “Old Lady” returned to winning ways last weekend though as they beat Cagliari 3-1 with Luca Toni scoring the third (shown below). Juventus now lie 8th in the table, 11 points behind league leaders AC Milan.

David Amoo – Liverpool reserve winger has joined League One side MK Dons on a month’s loan. In the three games since his arrival, Amoo has only appeared as a substitute in the 2-2 draw with Leyton Orient. He came on to play as a striker for Lewis Guy in the second half. Stephen Gleeson and Sean O’Hanlon scored the goals for the Dons in the match. Last weekend, Amoo was an unused sub as MK Dons drew 2-2 with Sheffield Wednesday leaving the side 7th in the table, 9 points behind leaders Brighton. Let’s hope Amoo gets some more game time before the end of his loan spell.

Nathan Eccleston – The young striker is having an equally frustrating time as Amoo and has struggled to get a place in the Charlton side since his arrival on loan in January. Again he got off to a great start to his loan spell after scoring as a sub on his home debut against Plymouth Argyle in a 2-0 win. He has subsequently been used as an 88th and 80th minute substitute against Colchester and Yeovil respectively in 1-0 wins for the Addicks. New signing Bradley Wright-Phillips scored the only goal of the game against Yeovil last weekend and Charlton now lie 5th in the table with 44 points.

Emiliano Insua – After appearing in Galatasaray’s 1-0 home win against Sivasspor as a second half sub, the Argentine full back started the match against second placed Bursapor the following week. Goals from Kenny Miller and Wederson however, gave Bursaspor a 2-0 win. The 22 year old did not play in the 4-2 victory against Eskisehirspor on Sunday which left Galatasaray 7th in the table, a full 15 points behind the leaders.

Stephen Darby – After returning back to Notts County on loan in January, the right back continues to start regularly for the Nottingham club. He has started the last 3 matches for Paul Ince’s side with all three games ending in a 1-1 draw. Speculation has grown that the player will join County permanently at the end of the season. Notts County Assistant Manager Alex Rae has hinted that Darby may join the club in the Summer:

“He’s still got another year to go with Liverpool. In terms of where we go we’ll have to look at it in the summer. How he does between now and then will be a factor.”

County currently lie in 19th position in League One with 32 points.

Read more of David’s articles at the excellent ‘Live4Liverpool’

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A new study at the University of Portsmouth has revealed that there may be a link between the clothes managers wear and the performances of their teams on the pitch.

The results seemed to suggest that managers who wear suits on matchdays, and tracksuits on the training pitch, gain more respect from their players and subsequently they want to perform better.

This isn’t just a load of old nonsense, by the way! It’s been published in the International Journal of Sport Psychology. I did Psychology at A-Level, but we didn’t do anything this interesting. It was all about Freud and some bloke called Oedipus who wanted to have sex with his mother or something. But this is psychology that actually matters!

Dr. Richard Thelwell, the clever man behind it all, believes ‘a coach in a suit suggests strategic prowress which is obviously ideal for a match. In our study, coaches wearing a suit were preceived as being more strategically competent than those wearing sporting attire.’

The study took 97 men and women and asked them to observe and give reactions to photos of four different coaches; A thin coach dressed in a tracksuit, a fat coach dressed in a tracksuit, a thin coach dressed in a suit and a fat coach dressed in a suit. I’m not sure who they used in their photos but they could have gone with;

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Thin Tracksuit: Tony Pulis, Fat Tracksuit: Steve Bruce, Thin Suit: Arsene Wenger, Fat Suit: Martin Lawrence in Big Momma’s House. (Only joking!) Avram Grant.

The study found that the large coach in the suit, was considered to have the lowest ability to motivate, develop technique and strategy and build character. Which sounds about right for Avram! Reports coming from the West Ham camp suggest that when the team turned it around against West Brom last week, it was more to do with the motivating words of captain Scott Parker rather than Grant. Witness other large, suit-wearing managers like Carlo Ancelotti and Roy Hodgson failing spectacuarly to motivate their players.

The skinny manager in the tracksuit, was seen as being the best for technical and character building, and was equal best for motivating players. Again, Tony Pulis and David Moyes are both managers who regularly wear tracksuits and have built teams that (whilst not being strategically brilliant) have had a resiliant attitude and motivated players. Check out Phil Neville’s reaction to scoring the winning penalty against Chelsea on Staurday. If that wasn’t a well motivated player, I don’t know what is.

Finally, the lean manager wearing a suit was considered by the participants as having the best skills as a strategist. And this skill was the most respected. Think of it, as the cool chess-playing intellectual. Managers like Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger fall into this category, but strangely it doesn’t seem to have applied to Alan Shearer’s time in charge at Newcastle, where he was often seen sporting a snazzy grey number! (I wore one just like it to my University Leaver’s Ball as a tribute. Shame the ball came around one week after we got relegated!)

Clearly, there’s some truth in this study. If you look at the top 5 clubs in the league, all of them are managed by men in suits instead of tracksuits. But the harder-working, less-glamorous yet undeniably successful teams like Everton and Sunderland are led by what are known in the industry as ‘tracksuit gaffers.’ Naturally, there are exceptions to every rule. Iain Dowie anybody??

So what’s the science?? Well, Dr. Thelwell believes that athletes (like everyone else) make snap decisions about people on first sight. So before a manager has even opened his mouth to give the pre-match team talk, his players are judging him. The impression he gives in that moment, dictates the performance of the player on the pitch. For example, the tough little Scot in his Everton tracksuit gives an impression of stern resiliance, whilst fatty in the ill-fitting suit looks like a sweaty used car-salesman instead of a football manager.

I think the evidence speaks for itself, and Dr. Thelwell’s study gives us a terrific insight into the psychology of your average Premiership footballer. Manager’s take note! A sharp suit on matchday will make those players respect you more….but you might want to lose a few pounds first!

What do you think about how your club’s manager dresses? Could he turn up naked for all you care, or is his attire the reason you’re doing so crap in the league? That’s what the comment box is for! Debate is free…hell, it’s your right! So knock yourself out!

Now taking reservations for suit measurements @petermagpie.com on Twitter!

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Tottenham’s achievements in the Champions League this season have been a joy for me to see at every level. Not only am I delighted to see my old club dining at the top table with Europe’s elite, playing a fearless brand of attacking football, but also for my old boss Harry Redknapp to be picking his wits against some of the top managers in Europe. The transformation he has made at the football club is incredible and he fully deserves the plaudits that come his way.

Like I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, football has a habit of pigeonholing you. While many saw me as little more than a tough tackling defender, the perception of Harry prior to his arrival at White Hart Lane was that he was a small time manager unable to cut it at a big club. In the last three years he has proved all those doubters wrong with his exploits at Tottenham, so much so that he is odds on to be the new England manager when Fabio Capello departs. Everyone that has worked with him won’t be surprised at his success; it is just a shame it took the rest of the media a long time to work it out.

The secret to Harry Redknapp’s success is ultimately down to his man-management of individual players. It is clichéd term but he has the uncanny knack of making you feel 10ft tall and capable of beating anyone, which rubs off collectively and makes you feel motivated as one. He wasn’t afraid to tear a strip off you should you need it and he didn’t hold back with anyone. I remember I was having an absolute stinker against Manchester United and the more I tried to resolve things the worse I got and I remember Harry’s own special way of getting me back on track “Oi Razor, get warmed up, you are coming off in a minute” – needless to say it got the desired response from me. Redknapp just knew which buttons to press with players and that is why he is so successful in bringing the best out in them.

Harry’s other great strength is his ability to unite the whole football club. From the players right down to the tea lady, it is a fun place to go and work. Training can often be a chore at times but Harry always makes it an enjoyable experience. Even if you have had a bad result at the weekend, Harry would be even more upbeat to ensure that your heads didn’t drop and you wouldn’t dwell on it. I have played under managers, who would remain moody, or hold grudges against individuals following a bad result and their negativity would rub off on the rest of the team. Redknapp is the complete polar opposite as he understands that morale and confidence is just as significant in succeeding, as raw footballing ability. I bet those Tottenham players were as nervous as hell at half time against Milan, but you can guarantee that Harry will have defused that with a few choice words to ensure that the team went out and finished the job in hand. I have read journos in many papers this weekend claiming that Spurs beating Milan ranks as Harry’s finest hour as a football manager and while I’m not certain of that, it certainly proved to his doubters that Redknapp is a top class football manager who has what it takes to mix it with the best in Europe. Those who have played under him always knew that at the right club Harry could do it and it appears that the rest of the football fraternity is finally waking up to it as well.

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Former Tottenham, Liverpool and West Ham defender Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock is one of the great characters of English football. Razor has the same no-nonsense attitude off the pitch as he did on it.

Uncompromising, controversial and outspoken, read more of Razor’s thoughts in his weekly column

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The talk of referees in football has never been a positive one, especially this season with Sir Alex Ferguson facing a 5-match ban for comments he made about match officials. But the men in black (or whatever colour they’re wearing these days) have a history in the game, without them football games would not be able to function and the rules they are using are in place to make the game better. A pioneer in football rules and refereeing is former English referee Ken Aston.

He is probably best remembered for being the referee during the infamous World Cup game between Italy and Chile in 1962 which was dubbed ‘The Battle of Santiago’ because of the large degree of violence and brawls during the game and credit to Aston for keeping the game playable for 90 minutes.

But Aston was more than just a top referee at that time, he was the man who invented the red and yellow card system after some confusion during a game between England and Argentina at the 1966 World Cup. England’s Jack Charlton had called the press office after the game after reading he had been cautioned by the German referee, baring this in mind Aston came up with the idea of a yellow (steady) and red (stop) card system after stopping at traffic lights. His idea meant that the cards could be universally used in games and break down language barriers. It was first used in the 1970 World Cup.

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His involvement in the game did not stop there as he was the first referee to use the black with white trim as a uniform which became standard attire for match officials. Previously, in 1947 he introduced bright yellow flags for linesman to use having previously used the colours of the home team.

He also introduced the idea of a substitute referee in 1966 in case the match official couldn’t continue. Other inventions were the number boards to announce substitutions and he proposed that the pressure of the football to be written into the laws of the game.

Ken Aston, who was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Indian Army during World War II, was FIFA’s Head of World Cup Referees for the 1966, 1970 and 1974 tournaments. His legacy lives on today, where the red and yellow card system is still used as an important part of keeping order in the game whilst keeping everyone informed about key decisions.

But, for those who’ve not seen any footage of that infamous ‘Battle of Santiago’ game, then check it out on the video clip below for some astonishing scenes during a World Cup game. And if you’re watching it with other people, you can inform them of how important the referee Ken Aston was to football.

One quote from Aston which I love was what he admitted after this game : “I wasn’t reffing a football match, I was acting as an umpire in military maneuvers.”

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For more lessons of Football History, follow me on Twitter @verbal_football

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Arsene Wenger and Joe Jordan have both received a one-match ban from European Football for incidents in the respective games of  Barcelona v Arsenal, and Milan v Tottenham. The idea that the governing bodies of football dislike English teams will only be strengthened by these bans.

Gennaro Gattuso acted like a spoilt child all evening in Milan’s first leg encounter with Tottenham. At one point he punched the turf in anger and on numerous occasions he advanced on Peter Crouch, waving his finger and puffing out his chest. He was unjustified in his assault on Joe Jordan in which he grabbed him by the throat and then head-butted him. But to ban a coach who did nothing just shows favouritism towards the Italian side.

What will happen next, any player from an English team who gets fouled will be banned if they show frustration, or recieve a yellow card for showing pain?

Gattuso’s agent claimed that Jordan had called him a ‘f****** Italian b******’. It is no doubt because of these cliams of racism that Jordan has been banned. But Jordan denies making these racist remarks. Jordan has admitted to telling Gattuso to ‘f*** off’ when the Italian advanced at him, but he denies accusations of racism.

If Gattuso is stooping to lying in order to get himself out of trouble, it just shows how desperate he is. Accusations of racism will make Gattuso’s punishment lighter as UEFA clearly don’t want to get on the wrong side of a race row.

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But calling an Italian footballer an ‘Italian B******’ is surely more offensive than it is genuinely racist. If I called Jordan a fiery Scotsman, I doubt he would accuse me of racism (please note that I would never pick a fight with Joe Jordan, I am not that stupid). But why do UEFA take Gattuso’s word over Joe Jordan’s? If anything he has proved himself to be the more unreasonable of the two.

Furthermore, it has been reported that racism is common in Italian football, Samuel Eto’o said, just last week, that he would look to move clubs soon as he is embarrassed by the racist abuse he receives when he plays in Italy. Where are UEFA then? This is a case of double standards.

Secondly, even if Joe Jordan did tell Gattuso to f*** off, banning him is ridiculous. If swearing is now worthy of a ban, I doubt there will be enough players to compete in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Every player must swear and express their anger at an official at least once every game, but maybe it is only offensive when it said in English.

The other important question is, will Jordan’s absence affect Tottenham’s performance? Harry Redknapp said ‘Of course I will miss him (on the bench). It’s good to have someone else there.’ I think Jordan showed the value of having an experienced head at the San Siro. He had the guts not to back down to Gattuso, but he showed restraint and maturity. With the Tottenham squad being relatively inexperienced, any figure who has played in Europe before is going to help them.

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If you think this is another case of UEFA showing double standards when English teams are involved in confrontation you can contact Joe on twitter @joeasutin8.

Maybe Jordan and Gattuso should have a man hug to make up, here’s how it’s done…

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It is advantage Manchester United as their title rivals all fell away at the weekend throwing away valuable points. The only thing preventing Sir Alex Ferguson and a record breaking 19th title is themselves and you would be a brave man to bet against them.

In the papers this week there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Adebayor felt unloved at Manchester City; Bale admits to foreign lure, while Arsene Wenger bemoans the fixture list.

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Rooney set to escape ban for foul-mouthed goal celebration – Guardian

Wenger bemoans fixture list – Sky Sports

Chelsea are looking to the future – Daily Telegraph

There is a resolve at St James’ Park and Ameobi is finally walking the talk – Daily Mail

Adebayor: I felt unloved at City – Sun

Bale admits foreign lure – Sky Sports

How Downing became Villa’s right-hand man from an also-ran – Daily Mail

Drog caught in Blues fan row – Sun

Birmingham manager McLeish backs Super Kev to play until he’s 40 – Daily Mail

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Dalglish eyes wide boys Young and Jarvis to attend Carroll service – Mirror

City can finish second, insists Mancini – Guardian

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I’m sure I’m as honked off as most citizens of the Gooner Republic today. Talk about a roller coaster ride on Sunday evening. Let’s get a few things straight about yesterday:

Liverpool merited the point they got for effort.

Both penalties given in time added on were awarded correctly.

Arsène Wenger’s temper tantrum with Liverpool manager Kenny Daglish and referee Andre Mariner were embarrassing, at least to me.

The only way we can win the League now is for us to win at White Hart Lane on Wednesday night and at home to Manchester United. Even then we’ll still be relying on United dropping four points as they’re six points ahead, six better off on goal difference (38 to 32) and seven on goals scored (70 to 63). We now face a battle to maintain second place, never mind win the title.

Personally, I found Arsène Wenger’s dummy spitting bad grace at the belated final whistle embarrassing. His ever-increasing irascibility when things go wrong over recent seasons has been noticeable. You need to act your age, not your shoe size mate. About the only people he doesn’t seem prepared to blame are himself and his players.

No mate. That’s not our way. We’re the Arsenal. You need to show some class. I’ve blogged on a couple of occasions before on permitting off-field timekeepers controlled by signals from the referee with a stadium clock so everybody knows what’s going on with time remaining. It’s been done for decades in the elite level of rugby league, a sport with far less resources than football.

That said, the laws are as they are at the moment. Let’s be clear. We should have “frozen” the game after our penalty. Instead we panicked. Yet another Arsenal groundhog day. You can’t show that level of poor tactical discipline and expect to regularly challenge for trophies.

Personally, Arsène Wenger’s constant excuses and rejection – often ill-tempered – of any criticism are getting very, very old. I still treasure the trophies he’s won for us and the transformation of the club from what it was when he arrived. His isolation and insulation from the world in which the rest of us live is starting to really grate though. The man is starting to take on the appearance of a North African autocrat, totally out of touch with his people. We all know how that ended in Egypt and Tunisia, not to mention the current conflict in Libya.

Wenger is handsomely compensated for his work. I’ve heard estimates ranging from £5-7 million a year of the improved salary he received on signing his current contract extension which runs to the end of the 2013/14 season. He’s certainly not backward in coming forward to look after his own interest. You can’t blame him for that. A bit of gratitude and understanding would be nice however, rather than snarling and ill-tempered rejection of any criticism.

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Arsenal has already put up prices for Platinum Club level season ticket renewals. It appears that the club was all set to announce likewise for Gold general admission season tickets and match ticket prices for next season but deferred this after we lost the Carling Cup Final to Birmingham City. How cynical is that? Hoping we wouldn’t care in the warm glow of a trophy? Some things never change. The Club announced the Arsenal Bond in the aftermath of our 1990/91 League win.

I’m already alienated and skint enough through being an Arsenal supporter. The latest figures show that average disposable incomes in the United Kingdom will shrink by two percent this year as prices for essentials like rent, public transport, food, gas, electricity, water, etc soar and National Insurance Contribution rises kick in. I know the club faces many of these increased costs too but ticket prices are already ludicrously high, being amongst the most expensive in the world.

MEMO TO STAN KROENKE AND IVAN GAZIDIS:

NO FURTHER TICKET PRICE RISES. WE CAN’T AFFORD IT!

Last season the club faced a real struggle to sell the last few hundred Club season tickets. Around two thousand Gold season ticket holders didn’t renew. Demand appears to have topped out. We’re also in the middle of a horrible recession with “stagflation” (price rises in a stagnant economy) a real possibility.

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Meanwhile, we need to pick ourselves up for a crucial Derby game on Wednesday night. Never mind the Title. Pride should be at stake. I confess I don’t think many of our current crop of players “get it”, isolated and cosseted from the world most of us inhabit as they are.

For the second time in recent weeks I feel unable to finish this blog with my usual exhortation to keep the faith. Too many at Arsenal appear too out of touch with the club’s lifeblood – us, the supporters.

Stan Kroenke needs to understand that the manager must be held accountable. Not micro-managed, but challenged to get himself and the team out of the rut into which we’ve descended.

Written by Vic Crescit at the excellent Arsenal Insider

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Everton defender Phil Jagielka wants his club to lift their work rate for their final three matches of the season.The Toffees play FA Cup finalists Manchester City at Goodison Park on Saturday, relegation candidates West Brom away on cup final day (May 14) and finish with a home match against Chelsea on Sunday, May 22.

Jagielka said it was evident in the 1-1 draw with Wigan on Saturday that some of his team-mates lacked match fitness.

“It’s difficult. The boys are looking a little bit tired and some of them have been out for a while and not played much football,” Jagielka, 28, told the Liverpool Echo.

“The team itself was a bit up and down against Wigan so hopefully we can refresh the boys and get a bit of fitness back into the lads who need it before Manchester City come.”

“It wasn’t a great performance. We didn’t look like scoring.”

“I suppose you can say we didn’t lose and we got a point but that’s the only positives we can take from it.”

Mikel Arteta and Australian Tim Cahill returned to the starting line-up after injuries but both had to be substituted in the second half when they started to struggle.

But Jagielka insisted the poor showing was nothing to do with the return of the duo.

“They are special players and add a lot to our team,” he said.

“We’ve played a slightly different way in recent weeks and picked up some fantastic performances along the way.”

“Even at Man U it was a decent containing job for most of the game, but it was nothing to do with those two coming back why we didn’t play well.”

“At least that’s 60 minutes under their belt and it will only make them better come the weekend.”

Jagielka accepted Everton must improve if they hope to do the double over Manchester City.

“We’ll have to play a little bit better than we did at Wigan against City. They will have Champions League football on their minds and we want to stay at least in seventh.”

“If we finish seventh it will be good because we’ve spent most of the season in the bottom half.”

In true Premier League style, the winners were only decided on the penultimate fixture and we enter the final group of fixtures with only one team relegated. It is safe to say this has been an amazing Premier League this season, with all of the ‘big teams’ dropping points week in week out, other teams finding themselves close to relegation and then a week later on the verge of a top eight finish and, naturally, the odd controversial decision. This year’s campaign has given us many reasons to laugh, smile and sometimes cry, but this has only made our love for the beautiful game grow stronger. Here are my positives from yet another Premiership campaign.

Top Four Party Crashed yet again- Last season it was Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham who broke the top four ‘cartel’ at the expense of Liverpool and this season it is Manchester City’s turn to steal the limelight. Roberto Mancini said his main aim was a top four finish and his City side duly obliged in giving their manager just that. However, it wasn’t plan sailing; at one point it looked like neither Tottenham or Manchester City wanted to qualify for the Champions League, with both teams slipping up, Spurs especially struggling against the ‘lesser’ teams, so much so that it looked like Liverpool could be in with a shout for fourth spot, an achievement that seemed impossible after their start to the season. The constant ‘swings and roundabouts’ for the prestigious final Champions League berth has been a credit to the league and the improvement of the chasing pack.

Classic Games- Us football fans have been treated to some fantastic footballing spectacles this season. Who can forget Newcastle’s heroic comeback against Arsenal to earn a point after being 4-0 down at half time? Or Manchester United’s 7-1 demolition of Blackburn Rovers, in which Berbatov claimed five and even the recent game between Blackpool and Bolton, yet more fantastic entertainment.

Emergence of genuine English talent- Every season there is always a fresh batch of talent that is dubbed as the next set of stars to lead England to international glory.  Year after year us loyal fans are let down with the likes of Francis Jeffers, Seth Johnson and Michael Ricketts, but this year the Three Lions appear to be on to some real gems with Andy Carroll, Jack Rodwell and Jack Wilshere; no doubt all three will go on to be stars for club and country.

Blackpool- Regardless of what league the Tangerines will be plying their trade in next season, this one belongs to them. Ian Holloway has well and truly found a place in the hearts of all football fans this term with his honest, down-to-earth and, at times, downright hilarious attitude. Blackpool’s ‘attack at all costs because that’s the only way we know how to play’ style of football may very well be the cause of their downfall come next Saturday, but what entertainment they have served up doing it; Holloway’s team has scored 53 goals so far this season, more than most of the sides in the bottom half.

Roll on next season.

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