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Was last year just an anomaly, or was it the end of the cycle? No English teams contested the Champions League final. No English team even reached the semi-finals. After five years of having at least one team in the final, there was no reason to believe that the trend wouldn’t continue. Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso may have left for Real Madrid from Manchetser United and Liverpool respectively, but English teams still looked to have enough quality to compete with the best on the continent.

This time last season few would have predicted that Bayern Munich and Inter would have made it all the way to final. While both good teams, Barcelona’s master class the year before, Real Madrid’s spending as well as the incentive of a Bernabeu final, and Premier League teams’ consistent performances all contributed to the consensus that it would be an Anglo-Spanish contest all over again. You have to go back three years for the last Italian team to make the final – AC Milan’s win over Liverpool – while Bayer Leverkusen were the last German representative in 2002. Both Bayern and Inter will be taken a lot more seriously this season after impressively putting both Spanish and English clubs to the sword in last year’s competition.

In response, both Barcelona and Real Madrid have reacted quickly. Barca have added the lethal finishing of David Villa to an already frightening starting eleven, and Real have done what they do best – land the biggest names in the game, with Jose Mourinho aiming to win the Champions League with a third club. The perennial problem for Real Madrid has been trying to manage the egos, and accommodating such an array of players into a coherent team, and if anyone is capable of solving such a headache, it is Mourinho.

English teams, have not made the high-profile changes to match their Spanish rivals. It is difficult to imagine Tottenham going all the way in the competition, simply being there is an achievement in itself, and based on the seeding they will receive, progression from the group must be the first aim. For Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, winning is a realistic ambition. The fact that Arsene Wenger has managed to persuade Cesc Fabregas that at least another year at the Emirates, rather than a return home, is the best option for him is a massive coup over the Catalan club; as good as the Premier League is, losing another of its main attractions to La Liga would have been a big blow.

It is difficult to predict how the English teams will fare. Arsenal have arguabley a better chance in Europe than the league, based on their squad and the style of football they play. Man Utd and Chelsea both crave success in Europe, with Roman Abramovich still waiting for his main target, but with both placing so much emphasis on the league, will it come at the expense on European shortcomings?

Teams such as Bayern and Inter are tougher prospects than previous seasons; Bayern have the vastly experienced Louis Van Gaal still at the helm and although Inter no longer have Mourinho, they have replaced him with a man who has reached two CL final in the last five years in Rafa Benitez. Under Mourinho, Real will be much, much tougher to overcome; fact. Barcelona still play the best football on the planet. English teams will still compete, but it may be a few years until they produce the sheer number of semi-finalists (three consecutive seasons with 3/4 of the semi-finalists from 2007 to 2009), and finalists that they have done since 2005. That pattern of domination will happen again; it existed in the 60s and 70s and will exist again. The English teams are capable, but they will have to be at their very best to prove last season was simply an exception.

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With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery

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Bolton are ready to appeal Gary Cahill’s red card from their 3-0 defeat to Tottenham at the weekend, as the struggling side look to minimise the suspension the defender will have to face.

The England international was shown a straight red card by referee Stuart Attwell in the game at White Hart Lane, as he was adjudged to have fouled Scott Parker whilst being the last man.

Although Spurs were 1-0 up at the time, the dismissal effectively ended the game as a contest, and both managers agreed that Cahill’s punishment was harsh after the game.

With Bolton in relegation trouble and in dire need of points, Owen Coyle has admitted that they intend to challenge Attwell’s decision.

“I will be appealing the decision as soon as I can. It was baffling, bemusing,” the Scottish coach confirmed to Sky Sports.

Cahill is out of contract at the end of the season, and the side from the Reebok Arena are expecting January bids for the centre half, with Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea all interested.

Bolton meanwhile face Aston Villa this weekend, and find themselves in 19th place equal on points with bottom club Wigan.

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By Gareth McKnight

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If reports are to be believed and admittedly that’s a massive ‘if’ then Sir Alex Ferguson will be handed a transfer war chest large enough to buy Joleon Lescott, Emmanuel Adebayor, James Milner and Mario Balotelli.

However, while you’d arguably be better off torching £100 million than spending it on that quartet of overrated donkeys, there are a lot of players out there who could improve United’s squad.

Ashley Young, Jack Rodwell, Jordan Henderson and Luka Modric have all been touted as possible United targets and if Sir Alex were to decide to buy all four he’d probably end up forking out the same amount that City ‘invested’ in their glorious aforementioned foursome.

I’ve argued in previous articles that I, unlike many of my friends and fellow Reds, do not feel United need to spend any money in the Summer on new players- well certainly not to the degree that’s been suggested. For Ashley Young, see Ravel Morrison, for Jack Rodwell see Paul Pogba, for Jordan Henderson see Darron Gibson for Luka Modric see Tom Cleverley.

I genuinely believe United already have the players on our books to challenge for honours next season- and yes I did say Darron Gibson earlier, amazing at it may sound that someone who’s watched Gibson regularly could actually advocate a policy of keeping him, but believe me given a chance I think he may still have a future- or at least be as worthwhile as Henderson would be if he were signed.

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Yes I know that none of the players I’ve mentioned are anywhere near as experienced or proven as the ones touted to be signed, but then again David Beckham wasn’t as experienced as Darren Anderton- who Fergie considered signing in 1995, Nicky Butt was seen as a somewhat lesser replacement to Paul Ince, Paul Scholes wouldn’t be able to replicate the goals and influence of a Mark Hughes.

My faith in United’s youngsters may sound slightly deluded but I’ve watched United’s academy sides since the early nineties when you could go to Old Trafford for a quid as a youngster and see the likes of Ryan Giggs and Mark Bosnich learning their craft- to varying levels of success admittedly. I’ve not been as excited about a group of young players since we had the class of ’92 and I’m sure that if Fergie were to stick his neck out somewhat he could save the club a fortune it doesn’t need to spend, at least not on players.

The point I’m making is that if Sir Alex doesn’t need to spend the money on players, rather than give it back to those kind deserving benevolent chaps that go by the name of the Glazer brothers why not give it back to the fans in the best possible way. Increase Old Trafford’s capacity.

Before you start screaming a list of reasons Old Trafford cannot be expanded allow me to give you a counter argument for every one.

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£100 million. That’s the point I’m making, if United could invest £100 million in expanding the stadium then surely that would be enough to bump the capacity up by at least 8000. Would that be worth it? Well if each seat was worth say £800 a season then it would probably take around 15 years for the full £100 million to be paid back. That’s of course saying the club could get rid of all those tickets which is by no means a guarantee. However even if it took that long or longer, it could be worth it in the long run and that’s what United is all about sustaining our place at the top of the food chain, or even raising it slightly.

Even Sir Alex had advocated stadium expansion in the past, stating:

“I’m on to David all the time about expanding the stadium. I know what we could do with the main stand at both ends; we could build a structure up and across. We could do one corner at least and maybe get another 6,500 seats to take the total capacity to 83,000.”

The extra seats shouldn’t be sold as season tickets they should be used for one simple reason. Pay on the gate. This may sound like a recipe for disaster but I remember vividly in the early nineties when my Dad finally allowed me to got to games on my own- or more to the point just with my mates, saving up ticket stubbs, adding them to the token sheet then queuing for over an hour at the ticket office.

The fact is local youngsters who want to watch United the way I did from the age of 12 onwards just cannot either afford or obtain tickets. This may sound like an outdated, irrelevant point, after all we don’t need just local people to attend Old Trafford, but the way things are going I genuinely worry how many of Manchester’s kids will be United fans in the next few years. To ignore the importance of Mancunian support when it comes to United would be short-sighted and somewhat foolish yet allowing a ‘pay on the gate section’ could also help the atmosphere improve.

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‘Pay on the gate’ may also encourage a few more die hard fans to come back to Old Trafford as more than a few have simply grown disillusioned not just with the Glazers but also the lack of atmosphere and difficulty in obtaining tickets.

I know you wouldn’t need to expand the capacity at United to implement a ‘pay on the gate’ policy but it would make it a lot more feasible and a lot easier to put into practice. You wouldn’t be taking tickets away from anyone as they’d be coming from the additional seating.

The idea of having a ‘standing section’ seems to be less and less likely with the powers that be reluctant to risk letting football fans actually enjoy themselves at games nowadays so something else is surely needed.

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The more I sit lamenting the atmosphere, while listening to my mates tell me how they can’t afford to take their kids to Old Trafford, or can only get tickets for ‘lesser’ games, the more I see people leaving in droves with 20 minutes left to go and the more I see the club losing touch with the fans that made it what it is today, the more I believe drastic action is required.

Manchester United once went 26 years without winning the league, we once suffered the indignity of relegation a mere six years after we’d been kings of Europe, Liverpool were practically perennial champions while we had to settle for the occasional distant second place and I do mean occasional.

The idea that United could ever return to such dark times seems laughable, but with Sir Alex Ferguson one day retiring what better shape to leave the club in, than with the biggest stadium in the land and a crowd capable of raising the sort of atmosphere that used to be the envy of Europe.

£100 million on expanding the stadium may seem like a waste when you can buy at least four top class players, but it may turn out to be a bargain, if it keeps the club at the very top for many years to come.

Have I gone in off the deep end yet again with absurd flights of fancy masquerading as insightful suggestions or is there a modicum of truth to the rantings I’ve subjected you to? Feel free to comment abuse and discuss below.

Read more of Justin’s articles at Red Flag Flying High

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Wigan Athletic have dismissed reports linking assistant manager Graeme Jones with the vacancy at Championship side Swansea City.

Jones was part of current Latics boss Roberto Martinez's backroom staff at the Welsh club prior to taking the reins at the DW Stadium 12 months ago.

However, he will not be returning to the Liberty Stadium despite reports in Wales claiming he is in line to replace Paulo Sousa in the hot-seat.

Sousa stepped down last week to take over at Leicester City.

"Wigan Athletic would like to confirm that Graeme Jones is looking forward to the new season at the club and remains deeply committed to carrying on his work at the club alongside manager Roberto Martinez and the rest of the coaching staff," read a club statement.

"Media speculation over the weekend would suggest that Jones is a frontrunner for the vacant manager's position at his former club Swansea City, but the club can confirm that Jones is fully concentrated on taking the team through pre-season and into Latics' new Barclays Premier League campaign.

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"Jones is travelling with the team for this week's training camp in Sweden."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

In this weekend’s game between Norwich City and Blackburn Rovers there was another soft penalty awarded. But Norwich City won’t mind because it enabled them to grab a draw out of a game, they didn’t play particularly well in.

However, it does seem this season that referees are awarding an alarmingly high number of soft penalties. Norwich City themselves were victim of this early on in the season when they found themselves conceding a penalty in all of their opening five games. As a rule the bigger clubs tend to get the big decisions and when you’re struggling in this division you tend to have no luck at all.

But that all being said, sometimes players do not help themselves. At the start of the season Norwich City was unlucky, but they were also naive in the way they defended. The same can be said on Blackburn Rovers surrounding the events which resulted in the penalty kick on Saturday.

 According to Blackburn Rovers manager Steve Kean his player Stephen N’Zonzi was appealing for a foul which is why he had his arms out in the air. His defence seems to be that he wasn’t looking at the ball when it hit his arm and the handball was therefore unintentional.

Paul Merson claims it is the worst decision he has ever seen. If that is the case I would suggest Mr Merson needs to get out and watch more football. As Norwich City fans we have seen League One, Championship and Premier League referees in recent seasons. And we have certainly seen far worse decisions than the one we saw on Saturday.

A player diving in the box with no contact or someone accused of handball when they head the ball out are surely far worse decisions. As much as we are all frustrated by referees, please understand that we are seeing the elite in the Premier League. There is clearly a big, big difference between a League One referee and a Premier League referee. However, they are still human, and they still make mistakes.

Watching the game from the stands as a Norwich fan, we were all claiming for that decision. And had it happened down the other end then the Blackburn fans would all be claiming for a penalty to. To be fair to the referee in real time, it looks a penalty.

The real issue here, though, is what the hell is Stephen N’Zonzi doing? Play is ongoing and he is supposed to be defending for his team. Leave the decisions to the referee and his assistants. I’m sure though he feels the irony of the fact that by appealing for a free kick, he has inadvertently given away a penalty.

The bottom line is players need to wise up and play the game sensibly. Don’t lean into a striker when he is through on goal and be surprised when he dives for a penalty, and don’t throw your arms in the air and be surprised when a penalty is awarded. Referees have a hard job out there so players need to ensure that they don’t look guilty, even when they’re not.

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Follow James Kent on Twitter

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While Arsenal have had some wonderful players that have donned the Red and White of shirt over the years, there have equally been just as many who were anything but fit to wear it. For every Thierry Henry there is a Francis Jeffers; for every Tony Adams there was a Gus Caesar and for every Patrick Viera there was a Junichi Inamoto.

This article is a tribute to the worst Arsenal XI of all time and while I am sure there are many players that we all agree on, I am certain there are other players that many of you will believe should have been included on the list. Scan the gallery and my reasons for each player’s inclusion in the team; however please feel free to add any glaring omissions that I may have made in the comments below….

Click on the Famous Marble Halls to see Arsenal’s Worst XI of all time

Blackpool's home game against Wigan Athletic on the opening day of the new Premier League season has been switched to the DW Stadium.

The August 14 curtain-raiser has been moved to Wigan by the Premier League while the newly-promoted Seasiders continue upgrading their Bloomfield Road stadium.

Blackpool secured their place in the top-flight after a Championship play-off final victory over Cardiff City back in May.

They immediately started work on improving the East Stand at their ground and league officials anticipate no further schedule changes.

"The board felt it was important to take this decision as early as possible if there was any potential for Blackpool FC's stadium not being ready for the first match of the season," read a Premier League statement.

"This is the only Blackpool fixture that will be affected.

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"This decision will give both clubs and fans maximum time to plan accordingly."

Blackpool are hoping to increase the capacity of Bloomfield Road to 17,600, with the original schedule featuring a second home match against Fulham on August 28.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Loris Karius failed to get a look-in at Liverpool in the early stages of the season due to Simon Mignolet being ahead in the pecking order.

However, from the start of 2018, the goalkeeper’s fortunes changed as manager Jurgen Klopp handed him the number one role.

From that point on, Karius has been between the sticks, and he played a part in the Reds securing a top-four finish in the Premier League, as well as reaching the Champions League final.

The 24-year-old is expected to be in the first XI for what could be a very high-scoring showdown against Real Madrid in Kiev on May 26.

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In total, Karius has played in 32 games in all competitions this season for the Merseyside outfit and has kept 16 clean sheets.

On Tuesday, reigning world champions Germany announced their squad for the upcoming World Cup in Russia, and there was no place for the Liverpool shot-stopper.

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Instead, Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Kevin Trapp and Bernd Leno made the 27-man provision setup.

Liverpool fans were not impressed.

According to Sky Sports, Southampton are the favourites to sign Arsenal winger Theo Walcott, who is rated at £18m according to Transfermarkt, but his future is still yet to be decided by the north London outfit.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Sky Sports reports that Saints are leading the race to re-sign the 28-year-old if he leaves the Emirates Stadium this month, with his position likely to become clearer in the next week with talks between the club and his representatives due to take place.

Sky Sports says that the England international remains a popular figure at St Mary’s having left the south coast outfit to join Arsenal as a 16-year-old in 2006, and he would be welcomed back in order to help Mauricio Pellegrino’s side get out of the trouble they currently find themselves in towards the bottom of the Premier League table.

The report adds that Southampton may struggle to match Walcott’s £120,000-a-week wage demands, but he could be willing to take a pay cut in order to play regularly and boost his chances of going to the World Cup in the second-half of the campaign.

How has Walcott done this season?

Despite scoring 19 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners last season, the winger has found first-team opportunities hard to come by in the Premier League this term.

While the 28-year-old has started five Europa League matches and three EFL Cup games, he is yet to start in the top flight and has been restricted to five brief substitute outings – including the 2-2 draw against Chelsea on Wednesday night.

Will Southampton sign him this month?

It’s difficult to say.

While the report from Sky Sports suggests that Walcott is happy to rejoin Saints, there are a number of factors that could affect a deal.

With Olivier Giroud injured and Alexis Sanchez potentially leaving the Emirates this month, Arsene Wenger may choose to hold on to the attacker, while the south coast outfit’s struggles – they currently lie outside of the relegation zone on goal difference – could put the 28-year-old off.

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His wages could also be an issue, but it is clear that Southampton need new additions to boost their squad, and if they are serious about staying away from the bottom three then they need to invest money in bringing experienced players like Walcott to the club this month.

League One Stevenage came close to a Capital One Cup Round 2 upset at Goodison Park last night, but goals from on-loan Barcelona ace Gerard Deulofeu and Marouane Fellaini spared Everton’s blushes.

With Fellaini expected to link up with former Toffees boss David Moyes at Manchester United in the coming days, it was perhaps quite fitting that he came off the bench in extra-time to win this tie for the hosts. His class shone through when he was introduced to proceedings and, if it turns out to be his final game in a blue shirt, then it was a performance to remember.

But it was Stevenage who opened the scoring ten minutes from half-time. The Everton defence were all at sixes and sevens and failed to clear Oumare Tounkara’s cross, leaving Luke Freeman with the opportunity to send the travelling supporters wild with the visitor’s first shot of the game.

But the hugely impressive Deulofeu showed why he’s rated so highly by the Barcelona hierarchy by finishing off a mazy run with a curling effort on the stroke of half-time to level things up. And, after Stevenage battled courageously to keep Everton at bay, it was the big Belgian that eventually won it for the hosts with a close-range drive.

One player that didn’t impress the Everton faithful, however, was summer arrival Arouna Kone. Linking up with Roberto Martinez from Wigan once more, it was expected that he’d hit the ground running at Goodison Park. But @sidoyle summed up his performance in the best possible way: “Kone wouldn’t have finished a chip butty tonight.” Make of that what you will.

Stevenage fans were not too downbeat with the last minute heartbreak, though. The performance was something to be proud of and that was plain to see among their supporters. @BenBilling tweeted: “If Stevenage play like that every week we’ll be rocketing up the table!” With just three points from their opening four League One fixtures, they can be forgiven for wondering where last night’s performance came from.

Everton, who managed just eight shots on target from the 31 they had on goal, will no doubt be in the market for an out-and-out goalscorer. With Fellaini seemingly heading for the Goodison Park exit and defender Leighton Baines likely to follow him, Martinez appears to have a bit of a job on his hands before Monday’s transfer deadline slams shut.

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The Toffees will now travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham in Round 3.

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