TEVEZ TAKES THE NEVILLE

Carlos Tevez scored both the goals that give Manchester City the 2-1 first leg advantage over his old club and bitter rivals Manchester United. He then made a gesture to Neville to "shut it",  and Neville retorted with the one finger vertical sign! Tevez was angry that Neville supported his manager by stating that Tevez was not worth the fortune City paid.........I thought the golden rule was not to wind up the opponents like that BEFORE the match. Clearly it fired up Tevez. Gary Neville may be in serious trouble from the FA for his obscene gesture. It ain't worth it pal.....

VILLA AT WEMBLEY

Aston Villa are at Wembley for the Carling Cup final on Sunday February 28 - probably against Manchester United although not many will agree with me! Especially Carlos Tevez!
Villa beat plucky Blackburn 6-4 (7-4 when you include the first leg) in a roller-coaster thriller live on BBC 1. Villa are certainly on the up with manager Martin O'Neill (something of a League Cup specialist) and his quiet American club owner Randy Lerner.The club is making huge strides on and off the park. O'Neill twice won the League Cup as a player with Nottingham Forest and twice as a manager of Leicester City. As a Leicester supporter I will always be grateful to him!

ARSENAL CURRENTLY TOP

I have been warning people not to underestimate Arsenal and their manager Arsene Wenger. I will repeat it again. They may not have won a major trophy for five years but they will soon be there. Maybe not quite this season but next for sure. They are better than people will accept. Just as Liverpool are nowhere near as good as their manager Rafa Benitez makes out. Their home win over Spurs does not prove they will finish in the top four as he keeps claiming.

SULLIVAN/GOLD GOOD NEWS FOR WEST HAM

David Sullivan and his business partner David Gold will save West Ham.They have taken a controlling interest in the debt ridden club and will use their business acumen to save this famous East London club.
There will be doubters but they saved Birmingham City in the early 90's; know the game and how it all works.I know them well. I went to vice chairman Karren Brady's wedding and David Sullivan's memorable 60th--both at the Dorchester Hotel.Trust me they all know the game.....and Sullivan tells it like it is.Were you shocked that the Hammers are £100 million in debt?

GOODNIGHT RAFA

Rafa Benitez will survive as Liverpool manager until at least the summer unless the results continue to go pear shaped.. Liverpool do not have a reputation of changing managers very often - four in the 20 years since they last won the League title. But this is a different Liverpool with a different type of owners and debts. The supporters are great but Rafa has guaranteed fourth spot in the Premier League ( i.e. a European Champions League place) and without their best two players Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres they have a slim chance and right now slim is out of town! Benitez has bought well in their goalkeeper and Torres but his lesser buys have not worked out. They are a huge club and need a better manager.

 
 
 

Gary and The Pieman love Pukka Pies

WENGER WILL PROVE CRITICS WRONG

I have defended Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger many times on the Sky Sports phone-in show that I host...YOU'RE ON SKY SPORTS. He is one of our best. Some fans have been twitchy because he has not won a major trophy for a few years but despite being written off this year Arsenal are well in touch for the League title. They could even be joint top with Chelsea by Wednesday night. All this despite key injuries and the lack of signings. The Frenchman knows what he is doing with his youngsters and their brilliant football. The Arsenal should have the slogan: IN ARSENE WE TRUST.

MCLEISH AMAZING

Birmingham City have enjoyed an unexpected unbeaten run of 14 matches under the former Scotland manager Alex McLeish. He has produced a real tight defence, a brilliant loan deal with Manchester City for goalkeeper Joe Hart, a revitalised scoring midfielder in Lee Bowyer and the forwards have scored enough - just!
McLeish was the unanimous choice for Barclays Premiership manager of the Month for December.

His Chinese owners cannot believe their luck - unbeaten since the Arsenal away match shortly after the October take-over. It's a piece of Peking duck this Premier League! Mind you there have been some goalless draws and Birmingham's wins have all been by a single goal. But hey! Its results that count, not margins!

VILLA SET FOR WEMBLEY

I am sure Aston Villa will be in the Carling Cup final. They took a one nil lead in the semi-final first leg at Blackburn last Thursday. They will not lose in the return at Villa Park this Wednesday (January 20). Who will they play in the final? Manchester City or Manchester United. Depends if United's youngsters can overcome City's big money signings. United at full strength would win; but Sir Alex Ferguson's Carling Cup team has it all to do. But never write United off........

FA CUP SHOCKS?

Just when you think it never happens in the modern game, League One leaders win at Old Trafford in round three. Now it’s round 4 this coming weekend. These are the only likely upsets... and I would not put my house on them! Crystal Palace to win at Wolves and Scunthorpe to beat Manchester City...

OLD PLAYERS' COMEBACKS

Two former Arsenal greats are on the comeback trails in the Premier League last chance saloons. Patrick Viera signs for Manchester City. He had nine wonderful seasons at Arsenal before going to Italy. I don't think this move will work.
Sol Campbell has signed for the second time for Arsenal. I am not sure what he has got left. Not quite enough perhaps, but it is a bold move by Arsene Wenger.

FOOTBALL ON ICE? HEALTH AND SAFETY ON THE PITCH

Health and Safety is a whole new industry in the UK....and football postponements due to bad weather are not what they used to be! Top clubs invested in undersoil heating and pitch covering and somehow we got to the games and back without accident. Now that is nearly all changed. I say nearly because the clubs that REALLY want the game on make sure it happens, albeit often because of the lure of TV money! It is true of course that some clubs would welcome postponements because of injuries and/or the opposition being in excellent current form.

But often it is Health and Safety reasons. Arsenal (v Everton) was not a live TV match but after their late mid-week call off against Bolton at the Emirates Stadium they worked flat out to satisfy the necessary authorities.

The Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger feels the fear factor plays a big part in the matches being postponed when there is no real need for it. Wenger says he can understand why the police express concerns for the spectators but he said that it is the price we pay for living in a society where everybody wants 100 per cent security. Nobody accepts any risk any more and everyone is always guided by fear. He added that we have gone from individual initiative to collective responsibility.
I happen to agree with him. I drove from the West Midlandsto the East Midlands and back safely enough to watch Leicester City against Ipswich Town. I chose to make the journey. The club wanted the match on and had made a huge effort with outside help. What is certain...no one can ever stop you making a journey to the supermarkets which are all open...including the ones next to football grounds!

Of course there are perfectly sensible postponements, especially at smaller clubs who have no pitch protection and at big clubs that do. But I will not accept that ALL postponements are right........Do you agree with Arsene Wenger and myself?

THE TOGO ATTACK - WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS?

The terrorist attack on the Togo football team in Angola was mindblowing. The Togo Government was right to insist on flying home their team from the Africa Cup of Nations. Three dead and several players hurt from the terror of gunfire. Why did the tournament then go ahead ?

The response is always the same...do not give in to the terrorists.....but these terrorists couldn't care less whether the football is played or not. It's irrelevant to them. They will never change. I covered the Munich massacre in 1972, stuck between the police and the Black September members who killed innocent Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games and more after using them as hostages. I was sickened by it and the fact that the Games went on. It made no difference to what happened in the Middle East. I understand and support the belief of not giving in. But these are games not wars.

What are your views?

MAN UTD GETTING A BASHING

The Premier League Champions Manchester United are getting a bashing for their disappointing form recently...below par by their standards. They have not replaced Ronaldo and Tevez. We all know that. But they are only one point behind Chelsea (albeit having played an extra match) - they are the semi-finals of the Carling Cup and the knock-out stage of the European Champions League.

They have not been playing well and the home defeat to League One leaders Leeds was awful. But they do have injuries and problems with key players including their back four. The huge deficit incurred by the American owners is unhelpful to say the least.

No one is denying that United are below par. The manager’s regular attacks on match officials is wearing thin and losing their credibility.Sure they make mistakes but not as many as his players present. But you write the team and manager off at your peril. He is the best and they may still recover. Watch this space......let me know if you are short sighted on this or longsighted. For the record I wear glasses because I am short sighted in my right eye and long sighted in my left. But on United and Sir Alex Ferguson I try to stay longsighted in both!

IN THE NEWS

Patrick Vieira did a fantastic job as both mid-fielder and captain for Arsenal. He was with them through nine glorious years. Now approaching 34 years of age he is back in England to play for moneybags Manchester City. I will be surprised if he still has the stamina to play at the same pace and strength. He will always have the skill but we will see what is left...........

The usual spate of managerial sackings has just taken place. Bolton’s Gary Megson driven out by his own supporters; his replacement Owen Coyle dubbed a Judas by the Burnley fans. Supporters want it always....sack them if the results are bad....go potty if they leave of their own account and for more money.... I want to see sacking and transfer deadlines as they do with players. You should not be able to change a manager during the season. And that should be just for starters......Agreed?

As a member of the panel for the Barclays Premier League Manager and Player of the Month I was pleased to have a chance to vote Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish as the December winner. Alex has done a wonderful job at St.Andrew’s this season and the club are currently of a record run of 12 unbeaten League matches. Alex got everyone’s votes for the month. The Blues played 6 won 4 and drew 2..........