The international break is here and the English Premiership is off for a week’s break. In all honestly though no one wanted that to happen, such has been the excitement we have enjoyed since the resumption of the world’s most popular league – especially this past weekend.

Here are a couple of points:

• The Mighty Gunners of North London

I am super excited about the Gunners, so much so that I’m ordering a brand new replica jersey… I will admit I was thrilled to see Song leave Arsenal. I have nothing against him, he’s a wonderful talent and I truly believe he will go on to reach great heights at Barcelona. But to me Song was one of the main reasons for Arsenal’s downs last season.

It’s still too early to go around claiming vindication but the early signs are encouraging.

Yes, the season is only three games old, but the midfield of Arteta, Diaby and Carzola is looking scrumptious. Their performance against Liverpool was simply outstanding. They nullified Liverpool’s midfield and were able to set a platform for one of Arsenal’s finest league wins in recent seasons. The Gunners did ride their luck a bit; there were a couple of penalty shouts that could have easily gone the other way on another day, but after 90 minutes there was no arguing who was the better team.

Diaby. Well, what can you say? He was amazing.

When he arrived at Arsenal seven years ago from Auxerre he was said to be the new Vieira. This, however, never really materialized because he was unable to consistently play in his favorite position – frequently being deployed on the wing or further forward – while injuries also hampered him greatly.

Although he showed glimpses of his immense talent he was never settled so was never a nailed down player.

Thankfully Diaby’s back to full fitness and, based on Sunday’s evidence, could be Arsenal’s most important player in their quest for silverware.

I really believe Arsenal can challenge for the league title this season.

That midfield trio of Arteta, Diaby and Carzola is comparable to any in the league and the defensively the team suddenly looks pretty solid.

I’m happy with Jenkinson. He’s not the most refined player, but he has won me over in the last two games – games which have not been easy tasks, and have posed different challenges.

In dealing with the physical threat of Stoke and then the pace and guile of Raheem Sterling against Liverpool, Jenkinson has shown he can be a resourceful option at rightback. He’s still nervous, yes, and this coupled with his relative lack of technique means he’s prone to mistakes in possession. Nevertheless, I would like to see him get an extended run in the team.

The Mertesacker-Vermaelen combination also deserves to continue at the heart of Arsenal’s defence. Despite shaky moments from each against Liverpool, both were generally outstanding. I felt they complimented each other well, and Vermaelen’s all-action style is well-matched by Mertesacker’s composed approach.

It’s often pointed out that the most effective centreback partnerships are ones which comprise of differing personalities; the cool guy and the crazy guy – for example Carvalho and Terry, Ferdinand and Vidic, Pique and Puyol.

You would hope this partnership is given a chance to flourish because so far it hasn’t let the team down.

Upfront there remains a slight worry in terms of where the goals will consistently come from. But, for me, the most important thing is to keep this group together. Fingers crossed then that Arsenal doesn’t suffer any injuries over this international break.

• The Paul Scholes Conundrum

There’s still no convincing explanation why Paul Scholes doesn’t start more often for Manchester United.

Scholes himself has frequently said he wants to play more. Ok, he is 37, so maybe he can’t play every game, but he should be used as much as possible.

There are perhaps games where Scholes won’t be suited; a Stoke perhaps, who are more physical and where his tackling would be called into question more often. Maybe a Newcastle away too on the evidence of their victory over United last season which was underpinned by a frenetic pace and direct approach.

Probably against such styles you would require more mobility, stamina and force in midfield.

But otherwise it’s clear that Scholes should play every game. He changed the game on Sunday against Southampton.

United looks like a much different team when Scholes is on the pitch. His passing range is remarkable, and what’s more, he always seems to pick the right pass. That’s what makes him special. Scholes also brings a sense of calm and direction to the team, and because he’s been a midfield guru from his youth, he knows all the tricks of the trade.

Scholes should be played in his favored role as the creative fulcrum, not as at Everton where he was the deepest of United’s midfielders.

Scholes in my book is key to whether United will compete this season.

• Swansea Splendour

Swansea are the story of the league so far. Continuing on from they left off under Brendan Rodgers, the Swans are third and flying after three games.

Apart from their lofty ranking Swansea are also an illustration of how English football has evolved in the last ten years – the passing and technique-based football, with a sprinkling of tactical discipline.

You could see it with Southampton (against United) as well while teams like Wigan and Fulham have an emphasis on quality possession at the core of their philosophies.

There’s a place for the other side as well as Carroll showed brilliantly with West Ham, as Stoke does so effectively and as the variation Newcastle and Everton have to their strategy.

It just makes the Premiership that more intriguing because there are so many different styles.

It also means this will be the toughest season yet. Year on year this league is getting tougher and tougher. There is no side you can say are obvious favorites for relegation, nor can you say playing a certain way will guarantee success as opposed another style.

Southampton may be pointless after three games, but they were five minutes from beating Man United and gave City a real fright on the opening day of the season.

• Liverpool…

While Rodgers’ old team is going great guns, his new team–Liverpool–has some problems.

First, I believe they’ve tried to change things a bit too quickly. Rodgers has attempted to revolutionize Liverpool’s style into a technique-based, meticulous one. It doesn’t completely suit all the players at his disposal, for example Gerrard. Stevie G is a world-class footballer, full-stop. However, Liverpool’s new style more often than not entails measured build-ups while Gerrard is an explosive player, always looking to add tempo. At times this means he’s not on the same wavelength with the system, as evidenced by a couple of personal errors so far on his part.

Most of Liverpool’s transfer activity also hasn’t made sense.

One thing that’s a blessing is Suarez is now the undisputed main man and there’s no distraction of Carroll (even if it’s still a bit of a blunder not to have had a replacement for Carroll in place). A three-man midfield with Gerrard supporting Suarez is Liverpool at their best, something akin to the deadly Torres-Gerrard combo of 2008-09.

The only problem, though, is that Suarez is not a prolific scorer. This puts pressure on Liverpool’s other attackers to find the net, and if you look at the team-sheet there are no other scorers except for Gerrard. At the moment I see Borini as a bit of a weak link. Both he and Sterling are not goalscorers, but Sterling offers sharp penetration, which Borini hasn’t done so far.

Liverpool needs someone out-wide who can score. This is where an Afellay might have been an option, and is what Kuyt used to do.

Signing Owen would have helped too. It might have meant changing the system a bit, but Liverpool would have had the goal threat they are missing.

Other parts, though not yet perfect, are fine. Without Lucas, Liverpool lacks a presence on the defensive side in midfield. Nevertheless, the midfield group as a whole has real quality, and with Shelvey lately making himself a good option, it is likely going to serve Liverpool well.

The defense and keeper are also proven Premiership quality.

However, it will take some time for Liverpool to be transformed into a winning team that also plays to the manager’s philosophy.

• AVB and Spurs…

Another man of change is Andre Villas-Boas; the man tries to change things too much whenever he lands. He looks to be repeating the same mistakes he made at Chelsea. The jettisoning of Dawson, for example, makes little sense. He has been one of Tottenham’s best defenders over recent seasons and he understands the club. Vertonghen, has been thrown in the deep end.

Although Tottenham endured a poor finish to last season under Harry Redknapp they did finish fourth. The previous three seasons the Spurs have finished 4th, 5th and 4th, a pretty incredible sequence. This is the standard that’s been set by Harry’s superb work and, sadly, I feel the Spurs have taken a step back so far.

That’s not to say AVB will not have success at White Hart Lane. He may well achieve it, but it’s unlikely to be this season.

Image Courtesy of  ATGImages / Shutterstock.com

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Racism in sports leaves an ugly trail through the competition –  Toonarians Alex Shaw and Brian Anderson look into this issue within soccer. With the recent allegations made against John Terry of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match between Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers, fresh worries have surfaced about the prevalence of racism in soccer.

Things were then made worse by the comments of FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, who denied there was any problem with racism on the pitch and that any incidents of racism could be solved simply by a handshake.

Regardless of the verdict, the Terry case has damaged the reputation of the English game, a league widely known to have very little problem with racism, especially in contrast to some of the other European leagues, who suffer from incidences of racism both on the pitch and from fans at the games.

The soccer scene in England has enjoyed a fairly good reputation since the late ’80s, with cases of racism few and far between – a key factor behind the fact that black, and more recently Asian, players are represented in the Premier League to a higher degree than in any other national league.

While the players will now come under a higher level of scrutiny for their behavior on the pitch, there has been little complaint about the conduct of the fans up and down the country in terms of their attitude towards players of different ethnicities. Furthermore, the appointments of black players Paul Ince, John Barnes, and Sol Campbell as England captains, have been widely well-received and praised by the majority of England fans.

Whilst the same cannot be said of some fans in Europe, with England players Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips both being subjected to racist chants during a game against Spain in Madrid, which even drew the ire of then British prime minister Tony Blair, the England national team, which is usually roughly made up of a 50/50 split of white and black players, has the full backing of their home fans.

Although much of the inclusive attitude in English soccer can be attributed to similar social attitudes in the United Kingdom as a whole, the influence of campaigns such as ‘Let’s Kick Racism Out Of Football’ combat this issue.  This initiative was started in 1993 and aimed to encourage inclusion and eradicate discrimination in both the soccer and educational sectors.

Funded by the Football Association, Premier League, and Players Association, the campaign is now in its eighteenth  year and has helped make the English league one of the most multicultural and desired places to play in world soccer.

Whilst cases such as Terry’s need to be treated with the utmost seriousness and should they be found guilty of any kind of discriminatory behavior, the harshest appropriate punishment should be handed out, to suggest that racism is a significant problem in English soccer would be to do a disservice to the players and fans, who on the majority, show no racially discriminatory behavior of any sort.

This has even led to soccer becoming a way to try to decrease racism outside of sports, through the ‘Football Unites, Racism Divides’ campaign. Started in 1995, the program looks to bring together communities, where racism still continues to be a problem, by appealing to them through their local clubs stars.

This helps integrate the communities, who see their soccer heroes, both black and white, interacting harmoniously and helps teach them to act similarly.

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/theredcard

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The Football Association of Wales revealed Sunday that football manager Gary Speed was found dead at 07:08 GMT on 27^th November at his home in Huntington, Chester.

Speed boasted an exemplary international career. Over a period of fifteen years, he won 85 caps for his country and also played for Leeds, Everton, Sheffield United, Newcastle and Bolton. After taking on his first managerial role with Sheffield United and accepting an MBE in the 2010 Birthday Honours for his services to football, he was appointed as Wales’ manager almost one year ago with the brief to prepare the senior squad for qualification to the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Cheshire police were called to Speed’s home in the morning of 27^th November after receiving information of a sudden death at an address in Huntington. A spokeswoman for Cheshire police announced that there were ‘no suspicious circumstances’ surrounding his death, and confirmed it to be an apparent suicide.

A minute’s silence was announced at the Premier League Swansea match against Aston Villa on Sunday, following which, supportive chants and rounds of applause resonated around the stadium.

Tributes to Speed began to pour in within minutes of hearing the news. Former team mate Ryan Giggs said: “I am totally devastated. Gary Speed was one of the nicest men in football and someone I am honoured to call a team-mate and friend. It goes without saying my thoughts are with his family at this tremendously sad time.”

Alan Shearer who played alongside Speed during his time at Newcastle said: “Gary was a magnificent person, bright, fun and a wonderful family man – he lit up every room he walked into.”

Comments however have not been restricted to those issued from former team mates. Labour leader Ed Miliband tweeted that Speed was a ‘[f]antastic servant of Leeds’ and will be ‘[m]ourned by football’, with Welsh politicians Cheryl Gillian, Kirsty Williams and Carywn Jones also expressing their condolences.

The FAW also publically extended their sympathies. Speed leaves a wife and two children, and the FAW called for everyone to respect the family’s privacy at such a difficult time. They further commented that ‘this tragedy [...] is a huge loss not only for his family and friends but for the nation as a whole.’

Cheshire police confirmed that a family tribute will be released at a later date.

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Premier League title holder Manchester United had a record revenue of €334.1 million ($462 million) this past year. After paying off debts — including the €50 million owed for the purchasing of De Gea, Ashley Young, and Phil Jones, the Red Devils will have made a €110.9 million profit.

Wayne Rooney’s new €180,000 per week deal also takes a chunk out of the newfound profit, along with 16% rise in staff costs. The record-breaking revenue has been the largest revenue the team has seen since the early 2000’s. According to Andy Green, who spoke to The Guardian about this topic, the club has been fighting a long battle with debt since 2005.

According to Green, €478 million has been spent in order to pay of this debt, with most of it coming from interest fees. Along with winning the Premier League title, Manchester United also made it to the finals of the UEFA Champions League.

Although losing the match to a strong side in FC Barcelona, the publicity that the Red Devils received got them more viewers and more companies willing to spend money to get in the spotlight as well.
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