James McManus @james-mcmanus-2-2-2-2 ?

Tottenham’s recent slump in form has more than opened the door for Arsenal to move back into a top four place in the top flight going into the home straight of the campaign, leaving room for suggestions that experience just as much as quality will be the defining factor between now and the end of the season. [...]

With the title race all but sown up this season and Sir Alex Ferguson’s side set to regain their Premier League crown from local rivals Manchester City, the game at Old Trafford looks set to be little more than a matter of bragging rights and professional pride, as City bid to close the somewhat embarrassing 15-point gap [...]

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has endured a difficult campaign fraught with criticism at every turn, but with the club seemingly timing their good run of form at precisely the right time, should they achieve a top-four finish and secure Champions League football for a 17th consecutive season, will it rank as one of his greatest managerial achievements [...]

Liverpool’s season so far has been one riddled by inconsistency, both in terms of their defensive discipline and their profligacy in front of goal at times, but for a campaign of undoubted transition, there have been plenty of positives to glean from a year of progress. Nevertheless, while a top four Premier League push is still on [...]

It’s an age old issue and one that always comes front and centre when the national team inevitably underperforms at a major international tournament, but the subject of youth development in the Premier League is an important topic of debate, and taking a look around the top flight, which clubs are the best at integrating younger players [...]

QPR manager Harry Redknapp has reignited the issue of his England snub last summer when Roy Hodgson was appointed in place of Fabio Capello before Euro 2012, despite the then Tottenham boss appearing the overwhelming favourite for the vacant post. However, as with anything Redknapp says, factoring in his customary re-writing of history, should he really be blaming [...]

One man will be absent from this weekend’s fixture between Liverpool and West Ham at Anfield, despite dominating the  news in the build-up to the clash – on-loan striker Andy Carroll – but the topic of where his future lies, with the end of the season in sight, is once again a source of much debate for Britain’s most [...]

Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon has quickly become part of a rare breed of performing wide-men in the top flight this season, but is the decline in effectiveness part of a wider European tactical trend that’s gripping the English game or simply a consequence of the poor individual form of plenty of the bigger names in the league [...]

Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has endured a stop-start campaign on his return to first-team action this season under Brendan Rodgers , struggling for both form and full fitness, which is why one of the club’s top transfer priorities in the summer should be a new holding midfielder. This is not a call for the Brazilian to be banished from [...]

Former Chelsea director of youth development Frank Arnesen has defended his time at the club, arguing that the overwhelming need for continual success has dictated the club’s policy which sees plenty of youngsters often overlooked in favour of more experienced players; a truly unsustainable state of affairs with all the hallmarks of the approach Real Madrid have adopted [...]

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has started for more Premier League games for the club this season than any every player bar Robin van Persie, further cementing his status as an absolutely essential part of manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s plan and his team’s style of play and while the question of legacy rests heavily on how they [...]

Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso’s reluctance to sign a new contract at the club has set reports in motion about a possible return to Liverpool in the summer, but what are the chances of such a transfer coup coming to fruition for a player who enjoyed five successful seasons on Merseyside? The 31-year-old Spain international currently has a [...]

The future of Everton manager David Moyes remains up in the air at least until the end of the season, with initial noises out of Goodison Park arguing that the 49-year-old could be interested in taking on a new challenge if the side don’t break their silverware duck this term, but where would the club even look if [...]

The rumours that West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is expected to sign a new three-year deal worth £9m in total, which is a considerable pay increase on his current two-year deal at £2m per-year, are refusing to go away, but with safety achieved, will the club be tempted to look for a bigger name capable of bringing more [...]

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres almost certainly looks like he’s in the last few months of what has transpired to be an at time torturous spell at Stamford Bridge, with owner Roman Abramovich even willing to admit that the expensive gamble has backfired, but could he help provide a happy ending for all concerned, not by what he [...]

Liverpool forward Luis Suarez has revealed that he would be open to a move to an ‘elite’ club in the summer, but in an industry that only asks loyalty of those possessing enough quality to be demanded of it, does he owe the club anything? Or to put it more pertinently, would he be doing them a [...]

Liverpool have been linked with both Ajax playmaker Christian Eriksen and Shakhtar Donestk forward Henrik Mkhitaryan over the last couple of days, but is this a sign that the club are planning to make a statement or two of ambition in the summer, or a signal that contingency plans are being prepared for the departure of Luis [...]

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini’s future continues to hog the headlines simply because it remains so up in the air, but is he already a lame duck or does he still have some authority in the corridors of power at the club, at least enough to guarantee him one more campaign at the Etihad? It’s getting to [...]