It’s that time of year when we allow ourselves to look ahead at the big games in prospect. And they don’t come much bigger for reigning Premier League champions Manchester City than their two-leg tie versus Barcelona on 24th February and 18th March.

But can City possibly progress against the team that has been the most successful overall in Europe since the turn of the century?

Well the odds suggest they can’t. As things stand, Barca are 4/11 favourites to qualify, with City generally around the 2/1 mark. These look like generous odds for the English champions who are just beginning to play like we all know they can.

Remember that last year, City beat German champions Bayern Munich 2-3 in their own backyard having come from two goals down to win. This season in the Champions League qualifying stages at home at the Etihad they also came from 2-1 down to win 3-2 against Bayern.

What’s more – the first leg of their two games against Barcelona will be played at home. And though this probably isn’t the way they would have wanted it, this could work to City’s advantage if they can carry a decent lead to the Camp Nou.

So it’s a good value bet. Yes, if you were staking your life on the team to progress, you’d place your bet on Lionel Messi and co. But City have demonstrated they’re capable of beating any team on their day and they’ll be desperately keen to truly prove themselves on the international stage.

Perhaps the shrewder punt then, is to back City to win the whole thing? Currently, they’re available at a generous 16/1 – but those odds will surely be slashed by over 50 per cent should they manage to progress against Barcelona.
Bayern remain warm favourites in the Champions League outright market at a best-priced 5/2 with Bet 365 and others at the time of writing. This may reflect their chances well, but doesn’t offer a huge amount of value for punters.

It’s the same story in the German domestic market. When it comes to Bundesliga betting, we have to be a little creative in our thinking because Bayern Munich will win it! They’re currently 11 points clear of closest rivals Wolfsburg and will surely win it at a canter.

But this may not do them any favours. Yes, it allows former Barca boss Pep Guardiola to rest key players. But the Spanish and English contenders are having to play superior opposition week in and week out – which helps keep the teams on their toes far more. So – barring injury – a highly competitive domestic league can actually have a beneficial overall effect.

Perhaps, then, we should look to Stamford Bridge for the best overall value. Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea are currently fourth favourites behind Bayern, holders Real Madrid, and Barca at around 7/1. But this is surely the trophy the “Special One” wants more than any other with Chelsea as it has eluded him so far (though of course he managed to win it with both Porto and Inter Milan).

The West Brom board’s decision to sack Alan Irvine after a run of three straight defeats is difficult to argue with.

With the Baggies sat in 16th place, just one point above the drop zone, following a 2-0 defeat to Stoke City, the situation at the Hawthorns had become critical and time was running out to act. The fact that Tony Pulis was looking for work made the decision to remove Irvine a real no-brainer.

Manager of the Season
Pulis’ stint as Crystal Palace manager ended acrimoniously just before the Eagles kicked off their 2014-15 campaign. After guiding Palace to 11th place last year and picking up the Premier League manager of the season award, it was only a matter of time before he was back managing in the top flight.

Under Pulis, Palace went from relegation favourites to mid-table safety in the space of just six months, recording famous wins over Chelsea, Everton and West Ham United in the process. Having agreed to take over at the Hawthorns, you can follow the odds of Pulis repeating the feat with West Brom and keep track of other betting news at bluesq.com.

When he took over at Palace, Pulis looked to implement an attractive brand of football, playing their way out of trouble and making Selhurst Park a difficult place to come. He will be looking to repeat the trick at West Brom but will first need to stabilise the Baggies’ defence. Having conceded 29 goals already this season, West Brom have struggled to make the most of any attacking supremacy that they have enjoyed.

With the likes of Saido Berahino impressing up front, Pulis has the attacking weapons needed to win games but he must ensure that his defence is stable enough to hold on to a lead. The recent 3-2 capitulation at QPR is a classic example of the kind of performance that Pulis must act to prevent.

Signing of the Season
There are few Premier League managers with Pulis’ survival credentials. If anyone can turn West Brom’s season around then he is the man. With the January transfer window now open, it is possible that the Baggies’ appointment of Pulis could be the best signing that any club makes this season.

‘This year has absolutely flown by.’ That’s something you’re likely to hear a lot of at this time of year and, for most of us, that’s not particularly positive. Spare a thought for Brendan Rodgers, then. Back in April, the world probably seemed a much rosier place than it does now for the Reds’ manager.

Going into the last game of the month, his side were sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table, three points clear of Manchester City in second and five ahead of Chelsea back in third. Three games were all that separated Liverpool from their first league title for 24 years. Then came the now infamous encounter with Chelsea at Anfield and that Steven Gerrard slip. It was a mistake Jose Mourinho later stated handed City the title.

Following the drama of that Sunday afternoon, Liverpool crumbled in their next encounter – throwing away a vital lead at Crystal Palace to draw 3-3 with the Eagles in yet another emotional rollercoaster of a match. That, in reality, was the final nail in the coffin for Rodgers and his side’s title ambitions.

Today, the former Chelsea reserve team manager finds his fortunes to have flipped almost 180°.

Liverpool are languishing in mid-table – behind Everton – and have recently been dumped out of the Champions League. This has left many questioning whether Rodgers will still be in the Anfield hot seat come the end of the season – with bookies such as betfair placing him as third favourite to be the next Premier League manager to leave his position. How unthinkable that would have been this time last year.

However, I for one still think he’s the right man for the job and, although I rarely agree with him, it seems Robbie Savage shares my view.

Yes, it’s true that Liverpool are falling well behind their pre-season expectation levels. But if you were to rewind the clock only as far as three or four years, the mere fact that they were in a position to be knocked out of the Champions League would’ve been a minor miracle.

Kopites must have been dreaming of a chance to play at Europe’s top level again during the tenures of Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish. That time has come again, the prestige of Champions League football was bestowed on Liverpool once more and the man who steered that particular ship to shore was Rodgers.

His crew might be facing choppier waters this time around but how often is that the case when a club has to learn – or relearn – how to balance the demands of domestic and European football? Frequently, that’s how often.

Just look at Manchester City. With all the money they have, they’re arguably still finding their feet in top-level competition. Yes, they’ve had decidedly difficult groups to negotiate since first arriving on the scene and just as tricky knockout-round draws. But it’s been far from plain sailing nonetheless.

Liverpool, on the other hand, didn’t have the sort of financial muscle to handpick the world’s greatest talent ahead of an assault on the competition and were without the talismanic Luis Suarez – the man predominantly responsible for getting them there in the first place.

If that wasn’t a strong enough argument for Rodgers to rest his hat on, his team were also dealt the massive blow of losing their second top scorer from last season, Daniel Sturridge, ahead of the Champions League campaign. And, just to rub salt into the wounds, it was an injury the striker picked up while away on England duty.

Take Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas out of Chelsea; take Sergio Aguero and David Silva out of the City squad. It’s hard to argue that without these key players those teams would be anywhere near as strong as they currently are. Just look at how Chelsea performed last season without that duo.

Well, that sort of situation is exactly what Rodgers has to deal with at Liverpool right now and he’ll be able to turn it around if he’s given time, support and a bit of help in the transfer market.

It’s true that the Reds are missing more than firepower this year. Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, so crucial to saving points for Liverpool during the 2013/14 season, has also been far from his best and has been dropped. And signings such as Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Mario Balotelli have struggled to settle into the side.

However, yet again, it’s time that the side need in order to gel. Those of us on the outside of football sometimes forget that it’s a far more complex game at elite level, with tactics playing such an important role – and no player can be expected to immediately slot into a new approach.
Finally, those calling for Rodgers to be sacked would do well to consider the situation at Chelsea, and perhaps pull back in their criticism a little.

Back in 2007, the news broke that Mourinho had left Stamford Bridge, supposedly by mutual consent, after winning back-to-back league titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup (for good measure). Why? Well, though it can’t be confirmed, a lack of Champions League triumph has been singled out as the primary factor (Mourinho left the club following a home draw against Norwegian outfit Rosenborg).

Season after season went by with manager after manager – appointed, then dismissed, by Roman Abramovich – promising, then failing to deliver the European title. Of course, they did succeed in reaching that particular summit in 2012 following an unforgettable night in Munich but the manager in place at the time, Roberto Di Matteo, was soon shown the door the very next season.

And where do the club now find themselves? Back with Mourinho in charge and looking set to enjoy their finest ever season. There’s a lesson on consistency and stability in there somewhere (and we’ve not even discussed the story of Alex Ferguson).

There’s no doubt that Liverpool are looking at a real slog through Christmas and beyond. But, despite how contrasting their current season might be when compared to last, Liverpool fans need to believe that Rodgers can wake them up from this nightmare. He was the man who made them dream, after all.

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney says that he felt that his team deserved at least a point from the recent Manchester derby. City managed to claim a fourth consecutive win in the derby after Sergio Aguero’s second-half goal was enough to give them a 1-0 win.

Rooney was making his comeback from suspension against City. He is one of the few players in this United squad who has excelled previously in Manchester derbies. Even though he had not played in the last few weeks, Rooney showed no signs of rustiness and was one of the better players over the 90 minutes.

Despite being reduced to 10 men after Chris Smalling was sent off in the first half, United showed a lot of confidence to create several chances. Rooney, in particular, went on a wonderful solo run that deserved a goal. As it is, United still remain without a victory away from home this season. They also lost the first match since the 5-3 defeat against Leicester City. Rooney was disappointed with the outcome of the encounter. However, he says that United can take heart from the performance that they showed despite going down to 10 men with more than an hour remaining. The result sees United at 10th place in the table with just 13 points.

“We responded well and defended well [after conceding]. I felt for long periods of the game we were the better team. We took control of the game with 10 men and created the better chances. We were unfortunate not to get anything out of the match and we’re disappointed to leave with no points after a great effort. Chris is disappointed. It’s tough when you get sent off, especially in a derby and with such a long time to go in the game it made it difficult for the rest of us to hold on. I’m sure Chris will learn from that,” said Rooney.

In the time lapse of 9 months, the squad of Wolverhampton Wanderers has been managed by 3 different coaches as Terry Connor was in charge of the team in February of 2012 but was sacked only 4 months later.

Stale Solbakken and Dean Saunders would later take control of the squad but it was only during a limited period of time until Kenny Jackett was elected as the man to restore balance to the managerial staff of the club.

Kenny Jackett managed to guide Wolverhampton back to the Championship as well as going on to set a new record for the club after reaching 103 points in the League One.

Now that Wolverhampton has made their return to the Championship League, new challenges and obstacles await not only Kenny Jackett but also his squad but according to the 52 years old English manager of Wolverhampton, he is excited about whats to come in the 2nd highest tier of England.

Kenny Jackett told reporters: “It is an exciting challenge and it is one we are looking forward to. It’s one really now that all of us are ready for. All of the clubs are going for promotion. That’s where Wolves want to be, in the Premier League. Is that going to be easy? Obviously not. How we set about that task, is a big one. We have to really concentrate on ourselves now and be as strong as we possibly can in the Championship.”

After suffering back to back relegation seasons, Kenny Jackett arrived to Wolverhampton as the savior for the club as he helped the team in earning their promotion to the Championship League by setting a new record and he is even aiming on making a return to the Premier League in the near future.

Nemanja Vidic’s transfer to Inter Milan has left Manchester United without a definitive captain but there are number players which are expected to be assigned with the assignment of turning into the leader on and off the pitch as the next captain of the squad.

Manchester United’s first match of the season is scheduled to be played on August 16 and all eyes are turning into Wayne Rooney as the front runner to be the captain at least during the start of the season as Robin van Persie has already been confirmed that he will be missing out from the opening stages of the Premier League and the Dutchman was one of the other favorites of taking up the captaincy role of the team.
Michael Carrick is another favorite of turning into the captain of Manchester United but the veteran midfielder is recovering from a surgery he sustained which will be leaving him out of the playing grounds for at least 10 weeks. At his 26 years of age Jonny Evans might be too young to delegate with the captain armband which means that Rooney is turning out to be a clear option as the next captain of Manchester United but he will have to prove himself and Louis van Gaal that he is indeed the right choice.
When asked about being the captain of Manchester United, Rooney responded: “Of course I would like the captaincy but it’s the managers’ decision that he chooses. I think he wants to work with the players and then choose a captain from there. I don’t think he was ever going to just walk in and choose a player from the off. I’m sure he will look at the players now and make his decision in a couple of weeks.”

The English fans are not happy with Wayne Rooney posting sponsor related tweets just a couple of days after England’s exit from the ongoing FIFA World Cup.

Rooney posted about a Samsung mobile game on his twitter account yesterday after which his followers reacted in an angry way and the footballer ended up getting a number of nasty replies.

Replying to that tweet of Rooney, Plain Sailing wrote, “Wayne, you would have been sitting in Brazil right now if you had focussed on your game more than the ads like these.”

While, the other one wrote, “Sorry to say this Wayne, but, you were just pathetic in Brazil. So, please try and think about football and forget these mobile games.”

Rooney was actually not as poor as some of the other England players in Brazil, but, he is receiving most of the criticism for England getting knocked out. It’s a bit weird, but, there is a reason behind it.

The England fans actually love Rooney a lot and they always have big expectations with him. Every time, he puts on the England jersey and turns up on the ground, they expect him to win it for the Three Lions, but, obviously, it doesn’t happen every time and whenever it doesn’t happen, the England fans get upset. Even if it’s because of the poor effort of the other players, it’s Rooney who takes the hammering most of the times.

However, this time around, the England fans have every right to get upset with Rooney. This was his third World Cup and he again couldn’t produce his best just like the previous two occasions in Germany and South Africa respectively. He was alright in Brazil, but, not at his peak. He did end up scoring his first World Cup goal though against Uruguay.

Wayne Rooney is of the opinion that England manager Roy Hodgson should continue despite the team failing to even progress past the group stages of the competition. There has been speculation that Hodgson will step down from his post after a disastrous World Cup campaign, but the English FA recently confirmed that they have no plans to sack the former Liverpool manager. Hodgson has a contract with the national team until Euro 2016. He is set to stay on until then. Rooney, who has been a major player for the national team in the last decade, says that Hodgson should continue.

Rooney came in for a lot of criticism for his failure to deliver at the international stage. Despite having scored 40 goals – including the equaliser against Uruguay, the Manchester United forward has not delivered in World Cup competitions. The goal against Uruguay provided him with some respite from the criticism, but even then his record of just one goal in nine matches is extremely poor. In his defence, Hodgson has largely employed Rooney on the left side of midfield. At Manchester United, he has played in a number of positions. However, the player has stated that he wants to play just behind the striker.

It remains to be seen if Rooney will be part of the next World Cup in Russia. The striker is set to be rested for the match against Croatia. “Make no doubt about it Roy is the man to take us forward. He has put a great enthusiasm in the team, a great set of young players, exciting players in place. He has, in my opinion, changed the way we have played over the last couple of years and I know the results have been disappointing in the last two games, but as a team we can feel we are getting better,” said Rooney.

The Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho might have said that Fernando Torres still has a future at Stamford Bridge, but, as thing are shaping up, it’s hard to imagine the Spanish striker playing in England next season.

Torres who had come to Chelsea with a big reputation has managed to do very little for the club so far. In this season particularly, he has been highly disappointing. Yes, he has scored a few goals in the Champions League matches, but, he, overall, has had an under par season till this point of time and the Chelsea management is reported to have made up the mind to offload him during the upcoming summer.

There are still some important matches to take place in the ongoing season. So, Torres has a chance to make a mark even after so many failures, but, considering his form in the recent past, it isn’t likely to happen. He has looked a pretty mediocre player in the last few matches to be perfectly honest.

There have been a lot of speculations about Torres’ possible future destination. Some reports say that he might be returning back to his former club Atletico Madrid at the end of this season; while, some say that it might be Italy where he would head to.

The Italian club which is believed to be interested in Torres is Inter Milan. One of the leading newspapers in Italy reported that yesterday.

Inter was earlier eager to secure the services of the City player Edin Dzeko, but, now, it’s Torres who has become their priority.

Apart from Torres, a couple of other experienced Chelsea players are also supposed to leave once the season finishes. Mourinho is keen to bring in some new faces into the Blues squad during the summer transfer window.

Barcelona’s transfer window ban will not allow the Spanish club on either signing or selling any players for the upcoming 14 months but according to the Vice-President, Manuel Arroyo he is confident that their appeal will change things around.

We’re working on an appeal that will give us an interim suspension of the transfer ban. We want to have a normal summer. We’re convinced that we will be able to sign new players,” Barca Vice-President Manel Arroyo told The Daily Mail.

“It’s a significant ban and our legal team is working so that we’ll be able to sign new players this summer.”
The Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarreta revealed details about the future of Jose Pinto as he will be leaving the club during the summer.

“Our conversations with Pinto have been clear and transparent. We are continuing to work knowing what situation we are in, but things change every week and we are ready for anything.”

“When one has a plan, one must remember that life has a way of taking many twists and turns. He knows our position and the lines of communication are very clear.” Zubizarreta told reporters.

It will be a huge accomplishment and is going to make an enormous deal if Barcelona can indeed appeal their recent sanctions as it will allow them on concluding their transfer involving Marc-Andre ter Stegen which is the main focus of the club at the moment.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen has already stated that even if his transfer with Barcelona comes crumbling down, he still wants to exit his current club Borussia Monchengladbach which means that this is the last chance that the Spanish club has on securing the services of the 21 years old shot-stopper.