Transfer Talk - Manchester United and Chelsea

Manchester United

After an incredible season in which Manchester Unitedd completed the double of Premier League and Champions League, one wonders whether there is a need to strengthen the squad. But, there is.

Right Back

United need a right back in the mold of left back Patrice Evra - capable going forward and supplying the crosses. They were chasing Jose Bosingwa of Porto but Chelsea beat them to his signature.

Striker:

A striker is also a top priority since Saha will be sold to the highest bidder. Wanted - a tall striker with a good physical presence and excellent finishing capabilities!

Meanwhile, there is daily speculation about Ronaldo leaving and the latest rumor is that a bid for 64 million pounds along with Robinho would make Man Utd sell their most valuable asset and the likely European and World Player of the Year.

Possible Ins

In: Dani Alves (Sevilla), Micah Richards (Man City), Philip Lahm (Bayern Munich), Miguel Veloso (Sporting Lisbon), Miguel (Valencia), Huntelaar (Ajax), Benzema (Lyon), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Ashton (West Ham), Berbatov (Tottenham), Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff), Valencia and Palacios (Wigan)

Possible Outs: Pique (to Barca), Silvestre (to Bordeaux), Ronaldo (to Real), Fletcher, Kuszack, and Saha

Manchester United Utd have reportedly made bids for French teen sensations Jeremy Helan and Darnel Situ. It would be great to get Richards and Benzema, but the possiblity of getting Richards is extremely remote. Aaron Ramsey looks promising and could be one for the future. Ferguson must be looking at offloading two of Fletcher, Saha, and Silvestre. If Ronaldo were to leave, I would splash the cash and buy Ribery from Bayern.


Chelsea

For Chelsea, the season began and ended in disappointment. One expects Roman Abramovich to splash the cash and get some of the best but 500 million pounds in investment, it remains to be seen how much further he wants to go.

The manager:

Avram Grant is likely to be sacked and replaced by either ex-Barca manager Frank Rijkaard, Roberto Mancini (Inter Milan), or Guus Hiddink (Russia). I expect wholesale changes to the squad that failed to win a trophy this season, after losing out to Manchester United in the Premiership and the Champions League and to Tottenham in the Carling Cup.

Frank Lampard is being linked with Inter Milan but I am sure Lamps is just holding out for a huge bumper deal. Chelsea will give him that deal as it plans to build a team around Terry and Lampard.

Didier Drogba looks certain to leave after whining through the season about how much he misses Jose Mourinho. Milan should be his likely decision but whether its Inter or AC remains to be seen. Whats going to be the fate of Andrei Shevchenko? Will Shaun Wright Phillips finally leave? Its going to be an interesting summer at Stamford Bridge.

Possibe Ins

Ribery (Bayern), Ramos (Real Madrid), Ronaldinho (Barca), Van der Vaart (Hamburg), Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Dos Santos (Barca), Huntelaar (Ajax), Richards (Man City)

Possibe Outs

Drogba, Malouda, Bridge, SWPhillips, Belletti, Shevchenko, Kalou, Sidwell, Pizzaro, Ben Haim, Cudicini

The Spirits of Busby Babes Make United Euro Champs

The spirits of Busby Babes who were lost in the tragic Munich crash 50 years ago, certainly helped as Chelsea's John Terry missed from the penalty spot when he could have won his team the Cup. But it was left to Van der Saar to atone for Ronaldo's missed penalty as he saved Anelka's kick, bringing home the European Cup after 9 long years.

ManUtd 1 - Chelsea 1
Ronaldo '26 Lampard '45

The greatest night for Man Utd fans all over the world...Rejoice !

One Cup to Rule'em All!

Scholes Strike Sets up Moscow Date with Chelsea

Ginger Ninja takes ManUtd to the final

ManUtd overcame Barcelona 1-0 at Old Trafford to set up an intriguing all-English final against Chelsea at Moscow on 21st May. After a 0-0 first leg draw at the Nou Camp, where Ronaldo missed a penalty in the 2nd minute, ManUtd were resolute in their defending, and totally deserved their victory over the Catalans. Messi put up a one-man show for Barca but that wasn't enough. While Rio and Brown were terrific in defence, Tevez and Park were full of energy and covered as much ground as a marathon runner would.

ManUtd now have the chance to gain revenge over Chelsea, who beat them at Stamford Bridge last weekend after a controversial penalty. ManUtd and Chelsea have 81 points each with 2 games to go, but with ManUtd's superior goal difference, they just have to win the next 2 games (home to West Ham and away to Wigan) to retain the league title.

A Dream Match

Clash of the Titans

A long cherished dream has finally come true. Yes! ManUtd will play Barca in the semi-finals of the Champions League. As a fan of both clubs, I have been waiting for the day when I can get to watch the great players of these 2 great clubs play against each other. Now, the moment has finally arrived. ManUtd despatched Roma in the quarters after a 1-0 home win resulted in a 3-0 aggregate victory. Ronaldo and Rooney, the scorers in the away leg were relegated to the bench in the home leg to keep them fresh for this weekend home clash against Arsenal.

Barca, meanwhile struggled and were unconvincing in their 1-0 victories in the home and away legs over Schalke. Rijkaard is under tremendous pressure to quit after a particularly disappointing season, where they are placed 2nd in La Liga, about 7 points behind Real Madrid. Ronaldinho and Deco look to have played their last game for the Catalan club, and Henry seems to struggle on the left wing, and the supporters are voicing their displeasure at the way the team has labored to just 1 win in their last 7 La Liga games.

But the clash between the Red Devils and the mighty Catalans looks set to be an entertaining affair, with both teams intent on playing attacking football. Ronaldo and Messi will be the driving forces for their respective teams and it should be a great spectacle, watching them battle to get their team to the final in Moscow.

In the other semifinal, Chelsea meet Liverpool again for the 3rd time in 4 years. But this time, the 2nd leg will be played at Stamford Bridge and that should work out in Chelsea's favor. Grant will want to prove his worth to his doubters by achieving what Mourinho failed to do in his time at Chelsea - get Chelsea to the Champions League final.

Great Action Weekend

Ronaldo takes his season tally to 29

Ronaldo and Rooney scored a brace as ManUtd destroyed Newcastle 5-1 at St.James' Park. Wonder what the Geordies now think of their 'Messiah'? The Red Devils are now just 3 points behind Arsenal who were held to a 2-2 draw at Birmingham. Eduardo Silva suffered a horrific injury and is now out for the season and the Euro Championships. Arsene Wenger, who we all know has selective blindness, surprisingly saw the tackle from Birmingham's Martin Taylor that caused Eduardo's injury!

Meanwhile, Tottenham won their first trophy in nine years, beating Chelsea 2-1 in the Carling Cup. After dominating Chelsea in an exciting match, Tottenham needed to come back from a goal behind and win the match in extra time, Woodgate's header proving to be the winner. It's actually good to see a team outside the top four finally winning something!

Start of Ramos Revolution?

Liga Fight!

Barca too closed the gap on Real to just 2 points after they beat Levante 5-1 thanks to Eto's hat-trick and Real's home defeat against Getafe, in comic circumstances. Robben thought he had scored and as Real players gathered to celebrate, little did they know that it was actually ruled offside. Getafe took a quick free kick and scored from the counter-attack.

Goodbye, Special One!

Not an unexpected exit but it was certainly not expected right at the start of the new season. Bad run of results, lack of entertaining football and a shocking 24,000 supporters for the Rosenborg game (at a time when Peter Kenyon was talking about world domination!) were just some of reasons for the sudden departure of Jose Mourinho from Chelsea. Anyway, despite his lack of respect for referees and repeated squabbles with officials, EPL will be a tad poorer without him. The English media will certainly feel his loss more than players and fans will do!

Jose Leaves Chelsea

Man, is it U?

Week 6 of EPL and the usual suspects make the top 4 in the Premiership table. Arsenal has been in great form, Liverpool still has away blues, Chelsea seems to stutter and ManU has forgotten they are the reigning Champs. ManU's recent displays against Sunderland and Everton have been inept, to say the least. For a team that was playing great attacking football until a few months back, this is clearly unexpected.

Ever since Saha succumbed to injuries, ManU has looked terrible up front. With Rooney and Ronaldo out, Giggs was paired up front with Tevez and the latter, not being an out-and-out striker clearly struggled with his new role. Ronaldo is back now but was not at his best against Everton. And, can someone please tell Ron he sucks at free-kicks!

Champions League starts mid-week and ManU plays away at Sporting Lisbon. This is a tricky encounter, given the form ManU is in but then I expect Sporting's old boys Ron and Nani to play a huge role at their former stadium.

A few random thoughts...

1. What has happened to Giggs this season? He doesn't look good but then he has been playing up front, rather than in the wings.
2. Silvestre at LB and Evra at left wing? What is Fergie/Carlos thinking? But one consolation...looks like Egghead is out for a long time with an injury he suffered at Everton.
3. Tevez struggles up front but seems an entirely different (much better) player with Saha for company. Hope Saha, the Brittle' stays clear of any more injuries this season.
4. Too early to say this but with Hargreaves in CM, ManU look so different. They are much better at defending but far from the attacking force they were last season. Personally, I would prefer Owen only for games against top clubs and in Europe.
5. Martin Jol's days at Tottenham are numbered now. 40 million+ pounds later, they lose the London derby at home against Arsenal!? Wondering whether we will see Lippi, Koeman or Ramos?

Need a Striker, Please!

Two draws and a loss - hardly the start the champions would have envisaged, especially after spending a lot of money this summer. But the loss of Rooney against Reading and Ronaldo's red card against Portsmouth didn't help matters. Tevez is better off playing deep and the Red Devils clearly miss the presence of a striker up front. The derby loss against Man City was clearly a shock, especially having dominated the match. City had just one chance and they scored! ManU has to play 4-4-2 this weekend, and perhaps Fergie should give a chance to reserve-player Frazier Campbell who impressed in pre-season games. Btw, ManU are linked to Anelka, Martins, Berbatov, Huntelaar...the list just goes on!

The weekend match against Tottenham, another club in crisis, is a must-win for both teams. Martin Jol is in a precarious position after losing the first 2 matches of the season and pundits are already beginning to doubt if Spurs can achieve the elusive Champions League spot. Rumor has it Sevilla coach Ramos has declined Tottenham's offer and that he wants to wait for a possible position as the coach of Chelsea next season.

Btw, the penalty given to Chelsea against Liverpool was one of the worst ever refereeing decisions one would see in the EPL. ManU should be at least happy their main rivals Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal drew their matches. And, Fulham lost against Boro, thanks to the seemingly blind assistant referee and lack of goal-line technology. When technology such as Hawk-eye is being used in tennis and cricket, I don't understand why it is taking so much time to be implemented in football. The sooner it is implemented, the better it is for the game.

New Season and New Scorers

The new EPL season has started! An exciting weekend saw a number of players scoring on debut for their new clubs - Bianchi & Geovanni for Manchester City, Chopra for Sunderland, Pizzaro and Malouda for Chelsea, Cruz for Blackburn, Sibierski for Wigan, Healy for Fulham, Kapo for Birmingham, and Utaka for Portsmouth.

Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal scraped through to wins against lowly opponents Birmingham, Villa, and Fulham while Champions ManUtd could just manage a goalless draw against Reading. Tottenham show they are yet to make the step up, suffering a shock loss at Keane's Sunderland. The most surprising was ManCity's performance under Sven Goran Ericksson, whose signings show real quality and moreover, the flair which was never witnessed at City under Stuart Pearce was on full display as City beat West Ham away. The excitement and fun has just started and hope this season turns out into a memorable one.

Summer of Signings

The summer signing spree continues. Clubs armed with new billionaire owners and cash from the new TV deal are going all out to get their man. Money is pouring into EPL, which is by far the most attractive league in the world. Move over millionaires. It's now billionaires who seek to buy football clubs and turn them into money-making enterprises. Ex-Thai PM Shinowatra has bought ManCity and brought in Eriksson (ManU fans, rejoice!) as the new manager. Newcastle and Birmingham are other clubs who have new owners. Taking a look at some of the major signings this summer...

ManU
It has been ManU all the way, splashing the most cash to get Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson, and most probably Tevez too. That would take ManU's spending to about 70 million pounds. The Glazers might seem spendthrift but then they know they will have to invest to make money. Btw, ManU fans can forget big money signings for at least another 10 years.

Liverpool
It's a fight between the Kop and Spurs for the 2nd place in spending most money. Until now, the Reds have bought Torres (£20.2m), Babel (£12m), Benayoun (£4m), Voronin (free), and about a thousand youngsters. Liverpool have strengthened the squad and should provide stiff challenge to Chelsea and ManU.

Tottenham
G Bale (£10m), D Bent (£16.5m), A Taarabt, Y Berchiche, Y Kaboul. Expect Tottenham to make more signings. But I expect Tottenham to stutter again and finish fifth.

Chelsea
Malouda(£12m), free - Sidwell, Pizzaro, Alex, Ben Haim. Chelsea have a strong squad and good backup players too. Mourinho has intended to revert to his 4-3-3 formation and that should be a lot better than the snoozefest provided by their 4-5-1 formation of last season.

Arsenal
Eduardo Da Silva (D Zagreb, £8m), L Fabianski (Legia Warsaw, £2m), H Nordveit (FK Haugesund, £2m), B Sagna (Auxerre, £6m rising to £8m)
Henry moving to Barca might be a blessing in disguise. Youngsters will have to come to the forefront and I am sure Wenger will see to that. Arsenal might even challenge for the title if they can get one of their strikers to score more than 20 goals this season.

What's Hot and What's Not?

ManU sign Porto's Anderson and Sporting Lisbon's Nani. The duo are dubbed as the new 'Ronaldinho' and 'C.Ronaldo' respectively, in a deal over 40 million pounds. The Hargreaves saga looks like it's finally over with the player set to join ManU in a 17 million pound deal. Well, with the Glazers splashing so much cash, ManU fans can now look forward to no more signings for the next 5 years!

Anelka is linked with ManU in a 8 million pound transfer. I am sure by the time he retires, the total money spent on him by clubs would exceed $1 billion!

Looks like West Ham has won the battle with Newcastle in the race to sign Man City's bad-boy Joey Barton. That's right. Barton is set to sign for Newcastle, having rejected West Ham. Can I hear West Ham fans heaving a sigh of relief?

The most ridiculous transfer news item..."Barca will swap Eto'o with Henry and pay an additional 17 million pounds." That would be the most preposterous transfer ever since Chelsea paid 30 million pounds for striker Shevchenko.

Chelsea have spent just $1 in the transfer market, getting back their on-loan defender Alex back from PSV and have signed on out-of-contract players such as Steve Sidwell and Claudio Pizzaro. However, I can see another 30 million pound signing (definitely a striker) in the offing.

Believe it or not, Wigan has signed on defender Titus Bramble from Newcastle. Let's just say it's the end of Wigan's Premiership hopes and the beginning of Newcastle's!

Steve McClaren has brought back David Beckham into the England squad. Good way to admit to the English fans and the press his team can never score through open play.

Lampard was booed by English fans during friendly draw with Brazil. Yes, only Lamps! Mac finally got some respite.

Ever heard of the player who gave up his dream of being a celebrity chef because it was too stressful and then became one of the most successsful managers of all-time? That's Sir Alex Ferguson for you!

Best Moments of the EPL Season 2006/07

Best match - ManU's destruction of Bolton home and away.

Goals of the season - Drobga's winner over Howard against Everton at Goodison Park and Scholes' cracking volley at Newcastle.

Best team performance - Wigan's final day escapade.

Unsung hero - Everton defender Yobo

Funniest moment - Chelsea's guard of honour for Dong, Eagles, Lee, and co.

The season in 5 words - Exhilarating, Dubious, Ferguson, Tevez, Shocking.

What's On Their Mind?

Jose - I am ze special one. My players are ze special ones. Need 100 million pounds to get more special ones.

Roman - Ahh...Jose is demanding more funds. I think I may have to return to my money laundering days soon.

Obi Mikel - What have I done? I should ask for a new contract and more money to get over my mistake of leaving ManU.

Wenger - Need to get more players and strengthen my squad for next zeason. I heard there are a couple of promising 14-year olds in Ghana...must get them.

Owen - Newcastle is a big club and I should be loyal to them. Who am I kidding? Fergie, Jose, Rafa...someone please put me out of my misery.

Tevez - Qué el infierno que estoy haciendo en WestHam? Debo ir a Chelsea y ganar más efectivo y participar en las orgías de JohnT y de Lamps.

Southgate - How can I put the blame on Cristiano Ronaldo for Boro's disappointing season?

Ballack - Should I get another Maybach with my last week's wages?

Ronaldinho - Who says I am not hungry anymore? I never skip my lunch or dinner. I never say no to a free lunch. And in fact, I have regular snacks throughout the day.

Becks - Should I quit football and take a shot at Hollywood?

Ruud - The ball is Cristiano Ronaldo and the net is Fergie.

Essien - I should learn not to put my big foot inside my mouth. And, I should learn Math.

Big Sam - So many test messages from Fergie! Should change my number.

Fergie - Must find Big Sam.

ManU are EPL Champions!

Back Home Where It Truly Belongs

A truly deserving title win for Manchester United. What an exciting season this has been for ManU and Premiership fans in general! Sir Alex Ferguson has once again masterminded a great title win and knocked Jose Mourinho and his Chelsea side of their perch. A delightful day for ManU fans all around the world. It's time to uncork the champagne bottle. Here's to the world's best football club and the best team in Europe this season.

Source: manutd.com

InSane Siro

In one of the best displays in recent years of the Champions League, AC Milan destroyed a tired and jaded ManU. AC Milan put up a great show of possession football and made it look so easy against the top English team. Meanwhile Chelsea faltered at Anfield in a match that was devoid of much excitement, except for the penalties. Just proves teams with rested players play a lot better, and fatigue catches up for some teams after a certain point of time, as it happened for ManU and Chelsea.
Best Players in the Semis -> Kaka, Rooney, Gattuso, Gerrard
Worst Players in the Semis -> Lampard, Heinze, Ronaldo

I think Kaka has pipped Ronaldo for the European and probably even World Player of the Year awards. Kaka has been awesome this season, especially in Europe but then his team's performance in Serie A does not invoke much praise.

La Liga is very close this season. Just one point separates the top 3 - Barca, Real and Sevilla. With in-form Real playing Sevilla this season, things should hot up this weekend.

ManU's Comeback and Sourinho

If there was a weekend that determined the Premiership, it has to be this weekend. At one point, Chelsea were equal on points with ManU after going 2-1 up against Bolton and ManU deep in trouble 0-2 at Everton. However, ManU's resilience and fighting spirit came to the fore for the second time this week and with a little help from Everton's appalling mistakes, and Bolton's equalizer from Davies means ManU are 5 points ahead, with 3 more games to go.

Teams have always found it difficult in EPL games that follow an European game and especially after intense encounters against AC Milan and Liverpool respectively, ManU and Chelsea were always going to struggle. However, ManU has regained the momentum this weekend and it will hope the Gunners will do them a favor by beating Chelsea next week.

This week, Wenger has surprisingly hailed his old and eternal foe Fergie as the best EPL manager this season along with Reading's Steve Coppell. I am sure he has no regard for ManU winning the title this season but he would want to put one over Jose and prove money isn't everything.

Meanwhile, it looks like the relegation battle will go down the wire. Fulham, Wigan are getting sucked into the zone while West Ham are in the zone only by goal difference. Charlton looks doomed. Now that Watford is relegated, I am eager to see Ben Foster replace EVS in goal at ManU. Frankly, the latter doesn't inspire much confidence these days but then, he has a patched up defence in front of him.

Meanwhile, Birmingham and Sunderland top the Championship with just one more game to go, and they just have to win their games to make it to the EPL next week. Derby has to hope one of them lose next week and win their final 2 games, otherwise it goes to the playoffs. And yes, Leeds go down to division one!

Finally, we have to admit Mourinho has a problem. He just can't keep his mouth shut. First, he complains teams don't get penalties against ManU and then he fumes Chelsea did not get a penalty for a handball that clearly happens outside the box. Furthermore, he calls Liverpool a small club, with utter disregard for their history. He has exceeded the limit this time around and it's very surprising that the FA doesn't do anything about this.

In Seventh Heaven

What a response by ManU after two consecutive losses! A 7-1 thrashing of Roma in one of the most attacking displays ever in the knockout stages of the Champions League takes ManU to the semifinal meeting with AC Milan and gives them a chance to gain revenge after losing to them 2 years back in the 2nd round stage. Carrick played one of his best ever games in a ManU jersey and I will be surprised if Ronaldo does not win the player of the year honors this year.

A perfect year for English football with 3 teams in the semifinals. Chelsea have a chance to gain revenge over Liverpool and the chance of an all-England Final is pretty good. I have a feeling Chelsea will have their revenge mainly due to their resilience but then Rafa is a master at European games. Now then, who will have the last laugh?

Dream Theatre

ManU regained their 6-point lead after a comeback 4-1 win against Blackburn, while Chelsea scraped to a 1-0 win away at Watford. The Gunners were thrashed 4-1 by Liverpool at Anfield, while relegation candidates Charlton and West Ham managed crucial wins. The relegation battle is getting really interesting and there is a danger that Villa, Fulham might get sucked into it.

The next round of the Champions League starts today after a long break. Milan could only manage a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich at the San Siro while Liverpool scored three away at PSV. ManU plays Roma tomorrow while Chelsea take on Morientes-Valencia.

A few things I couldn't help notice...

Mascherano doing well at Liverpool proving yet again that he's a great midfielder - shows it's just that Alan Pardew and Alan Curbishley were incapable of handling such a top performer! But then, these are English managers, aren't they?

Real Madrid and Barca clashing yet again, this time off the field, for ManU's Cristiano Ronaldo. But apparently, Real is not willing to pay 50 million pounds, when they could splurge close to 50 million on a comparitively older Zidane in 2001.

Roma making too many noises about Ronaldo and diving! Italians talking about diving - now there's something you seldom come across!

Flamini is not happy being on the bench and wants to leave Arsenal and play in the first-team. Something to think about for Silvestre and Darren Fletcher!

Roy Keane-managed Sunderland's unbeaten run in the Championship this year sees them close to the automatic promotion place. 6 more good games and perhaps, we can see Sir Alex and his former protege clashing on the sidelines next year. Roy Keane at Old Trafford in the away bench...that's something no ManU fan would have dreamt of.

The Show Goes On...

ManUtd continued their fantastic run in the EPL with a superb 4-1 win over Bolton, while Chelsea kept pace with them with a win over Sheffield. The gap between the top two and the rest continues to widen as Arsenal (not suprisingly) lost at Everton and Liverpool could only manage a draw against Villa.

Ronaldo has been in inspired form this season and continues to either score goals or provide assists, when he is not winning penalties as he did against Boro in the FA Cup replay win. I do not understand the hue and cry raised by Boro after the penalty was given for a blatant and clumsy foul by Woodgate on Ronaldo. Looks like some teams just have a personal vendetta against Ron. Opposition fans and players are going on and on that it was yet another blatant dive while the perpetrator Woodgate remains quiet.

Meanwhile, things have been hotting up in La Liga too with Barca, Sevilla, and Real winning but Valencia losing ground. Messi's comeback has provided a stimulus to Barca's otherwise woeful season and his performance against Real Madrid in the El Clasico was one of the greatest in recent times. If only Messi and Eto'o had been fit, Barca would have had a much better season.

Jose Feels the Heat

Will Jose Mourinho be at Chelsea during the next season? That's the million dollar question right now. After a string of draws with some unfancied teams, there's a lot of speculation that things aren't well between Jose and Abromovich and his board. The loss at Anfield highlighted Chelsea's poor defence and with Terry still injured, the Chelsea board isn't willing to grant Jose's request for a defender and a striker.

Moreover, Shevchenko still appears to the bone of contention, with his close friendship with Abromovich viewed with jealousy by other players and his struggle to adapt to the pace of the Premiership not winning the confidence of his manager.

Jose has been the architect of his own downfall this season by not playing the formation he used in his 2 previous successful Premiership-winning seasons. Ballack looks woefully out of sorts in the Chelsea midfield and playing without the wingers, Chelsea has been looking out of shape for quite a while now.

Gallas was one of the most important players for Chelsea over the last 2 seasons, if not the most important. But his departure to Arsenal in the summer and the arrival of Cashley Cole has weakened the defence significantly. In fact, the Terry-Gallas partnership was much better than the present Terry-Carvalho partnership.

Apparently, Jose and Abromovich haven't been looking eye-to-eye for a few months now and this is bad news for Chelsea. If Jose leaves this summer, it would be a big loss for the club and whoever else comes in place of him, be it Hiddink or Ancelotti, would find it extremely difficult to fill the boots of Mourinho.

Meanwhile, ManUtd were unlucky not to claim a point at the Emirates. Liverpool did a favor for ManUtd by beating Chelsea but Arsenal has now made a favor for Chelsea by beating ManUtd. And it does make the title-run-in much more exciting this season.

Crazy Transfer Rumors

Cristiano Ronaldo to Real for 50 million...that's one among the many worthless rumors doing the rounds lately, thanks to the opening of the winter transfer window. Here are some of the other rumors...

ManU - Owen Hargreaves (yawn!) from Bayern for 17 million GBP, Gareth Bale from Southampton for >3 million, Barton from ManC and Bentley from Blackburn!

Chelsea - Micah Richards from ManC for 20 million, Upson from Birmingham, Sol from Portsmouth, Andrade from Deportivo, Ayala from Valencia.

Liverpool - D.Bent from Charlton, Mascherano from WHam, A.Young from Watford.

Arsenal - Ribery from Marseille, Gareth Bale from Southampton.

West Ham - Matthew Upson, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Mark Viduka.

Other crazy rumors include Crouch to Juventus!