Some Thoughts...

An entertaining weekend of FA Cup football combined with the opening of the transfer window has brought up a few talking points that I thought I'd comment on...

Firstly, Liverpool. I feel a bit sorry for Roy Hodgson as he's clearly a good manager, but the decision to let him go was probably the right one. The majority of fans lost faith in him, the crowds started to fall and once that happened the board had to move, although it really grates me that the manager takes all the blame when his players performed so poorly for the club week after week.

It'll be interesting to see how Dalglish copes with his first managerial stint for a decade. The fans have got their way, but while it's easy to draw comparisons with Newcastle & Keegan, Kenny has actually kept himself involved in football & still has a great knowledge of the ins and outs of the modern game. Managing the change in "player-power" since he was last in charge of a squad could prove a different obstacle altogether, so it'll be interesting to see how he does in his 5 months as caretaker, but in the short term it will certainly give the whole club a huge lift.

As for yesterday's game at Old Trafford, it was yet another instance of Howard Webb making controversial decisions in Manchester United's favour. As a Spurs fan I've seen us on the end of some Webb shockers over the years - and the penalty yesterday was about as soft as they come - but I don't think there can be any argument over Gerrard's red card; it was a silly, dangerous tackle and it ended any chance of a Liverpool come-back. He'll miss the next 3 league games including the 2nd half of the Week 22 double vs Blackpool...frustrating for those who have him (me included).

Moving on, and you'll all know that Edin Dzeko has moved to Manchester City for somewhere in the region of £30m and he should be added to YFF under £7m, which is very tempting. Is he the final piece of the City puzzle? I must admit I've only seen him a few times over the past couple of seasons but I've been impressed with what I have seen. I'm not convinced the signing will be enough for Mancini's men to overhaul Manchester United's two-points-with-two-games-in-hand lead this season as I don't think they have the mentality to beat any of their title rivals away from home, but it'll definitely be a Top 4 finish & I'll probably put a few pennies on them lifting the title next season.

What does this all mean for Balotelli? Is he now set for a bench role? Or will he play in a front 3 alongside Tevez & Dzeko? Or could it be that Tevez is still set to leave in the summer, and Dzeko is his replacement? We'll have to wait and see!

Next...David Beckham to Tottenham. Harry can't make his mind up, one minute the deal is on, the next it's off, then he might just be coming to train, but he could also play. Personally I'd rather it didn't happen - it's already a media-circus and he hasn't even joined yet.

I have huge respect for Beckham, he's a legend, but he's well past his best, the current squad and harmony is as good as I've seen in my 24 years supporting the club and anything that could upset that balance should be avoided in my opinion. I believe David Bentley's potential loan move to Birmingham is dependent on the Beckham deal. It's one to keep an eye on, as 7.73 for Bentley is an absolute steal.

If Bentley does move this week, I'm considering this team:

Carson, Caldwell, Kolarov, Bale, Adam, Bentley, Brunt, Lampard, Van Der Vaart, Van Persie, Tevez

I absolutely love it, but I'm sure team news/injury news/transfer news will mean I need to change it considerably before the deadline in 5 days time.

I'll leave it there for now, but I'll be back on Wednesday with my Week 23 Player Picks post. Until then, please let me know how your early team is shaping up! Any opinions on the subjects raised above?

Cheers,
AM