The week in review January 14 2008
It's been a busy old week football with ample dramatic irony and entertainment. Read all about it here.
Don't bet against Ronaldo
Should Manchester United successfully defend their Premier League title come May, Sir Alex Ferguson will owe a huge debt of gratitude to Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese ace has scored 22 goals in 24 appearances in all competitions.
Last season Fergie and Ronaldo entered a wager. In a bid to improve the winger's finishing prowess, the Red Devils manager bet £400 that Ronaldo would fail to hit the back of the net 20 times. Of course, Fergie lost the bet.
Before the new season kicked off Ferguson said: "I won't be having a bet with Ronaldo this season because he has refused my offer.
"I told him that I would be asking for 35 goals from him this year, but he said no, so there will be no betting this season."
On current form, Ronaldo should have taken the bet.
Blue in fashion again?
Chelsea played some lovely fluid football against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. Spurs were hardly at their best, but the Blues managed to play some vintage stuff, with Joe Cole as the stand out player.
The performance will ease Avram Grant's concerns over losing Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Jon Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou to African Cup of Nations duty.
Another notable absentee was the injured Frank Lampard, who sported a ridiculous Rafa-like goatee. It is no coincidence that the Blues played some great football sans the cumbersome and one-dimensional Lamps.
Also, Nicolas Anelka's arrival will give Grant another option up-front. The French striker insists that the Bridge is his last port-of-call, until a Qatari or MLS club comes knocking...
The relegation scrap
The current table offers a neat split between clubs that are safe from the drop and those that are not.
Tenth-placed West Ham are currently six points clear of Newcastle in 11th. The Magpies have accumulated 26 points all season which is a mere half-a-dozen more than Sunderland, Wigan, Birmingham and Bolton.
Spurs, Reading and Boro separate this lot with Derby and Fulham propping up the table eight and five points adrift of safety respectively. The Rams and Cottagers are all but doomed, which leaves eight clubs in danger of Championship football next season.
And with Newcastle in freefall and Bolton starting life without Anelka, a classic relegation battle is brewing.
Which brings us to Newcastle
Quite frankly, the Toon are a flying circus of a club. For all his limitations, Sam Allardyce was not given enough time to 'turn things around'.
But this deserves closer inspection. Sam left the Toon in midtable, which is reasonable considering it was his first season in charge at St James' Park.
The real issue is that Newcastle fans' expect too much from the club. With the resurgence of Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City, the Tynesiders are barely worthy of even having ambitions of European football. Packing out a stadium in a one-club city certainly does not make a club a 'big club'
It is time that Newcastle accept their lot as a mid-table side, aiming lower will also make life a lot easier for the new manager.
Come on 'Arry
All of Harry Redknapp's lamentations about losing players to the African Cup of Nations seems to have taken a toll. Pompey have picked up a pathetic three points in their last six league matches.
The Fratton Park club will be pleased with his commitment to the club after turning down Newcastle. But considering his affinity to the south coast and the joke that is Newcastle, it is no surprise that he turned down a move to the north east.
The Reds menace
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks cast more doubt over Rafa Benitez's future at Anfield after confirming the club lined up a move for Jurgen Klinsmann before the German moved to Bayern Munich.
The American told the Liverpool Echo: "We attempted to negotiate an option, as an insurance policy, to have him become manager if Rafa left for Real Madrid or other clubs that were rumoured in the UK press."
Sounds a lot like George Bush invading Iraq just in case Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in his possession.
And where did that get them?
Kaka and the church
The magazine Carta Capital has reported that Brazil's legal authorities have contacted World Player of the Year Kaka over his alleged links to the Reborn Christ Church.
The church's founder-members Estevam Hernandes Filho and Sonia Haddad Moraes Hernandes were sentenced to a jail term after pleading guilty to smuggling more than $56,000 (£28,500) into the United States
The Milan star makes an estimated $1m donation to the church every year, according to Carta Capital.
Filho and Hernandes reportedly used donated money to buy farms and mansions in Brazil and in the USA.
Kaka's spokesman denied that his client had received the questionnaire and added that the playmaker should not be judged on the basis of his religion.