Carling Cup

As a Liverpool fan, I am not only pleased with the win against an awkward Stoke side but with the excellent performance of the man of the moment, Luis Suarez.  I'm sorry Fernando who?  Luis bagged two goals to scrap a win at the death and quell all the talk about his racist abuse.  Onto that subject, if he has racially abused Evra in a malicious way then he should be punished but the FA have got to tread carefully because they don't want to make too much of an example out of him by giving him a lengthy ban.  He is a top player and when he is playing the Premier League is better to watch.  I recommend that the FA give him a fine, a 3 match ban and do something like force him to support a cause against racism in football to give him a chance to amend his wrongdoings.  In other matches, Manchester City once again impressed with almost a completely second string side showing class within the ranks; a sign of true champions.  Chelsea scraped through a tough tie which the tiredness will show in their next league match undoubtedly.  The best match of the night came from a surprising encounter between Blackburn and Newcastle with Blackburn edging it 4-3 after a exciting 120 minutes of topsy turvy action with Newcastle coming from 2-0 down to send it into extra time.  This match had it all: seven goals, penalties and comebacks.   The Carling Cup may be disregarded by the top teams but the open nature of the competition means there is always some exciting football.

Premier League Football

As the Premier League, my attention turns to the hot topic at the moment: which Manchester?  And my answer, as it was at the start of the season, is City.  I wasn't surprised when City demolished United because of how much more quality there is in that City squad.  If you put Carrick next to someone like Silva or even Milner, he'll be outpaced, passed out the park and they even show more enthusiasm in pressurizing the opposition.  In recent years, some United players have been made to look good by mediocre challengers, Chelsea being too defensive and Arsenal the opposite.  City have skillful players that are not only here for the money, they're here for success and look hungry for it too.  They have a manager who is used to handling stroppy players in Italy and, as we've seen in the Tevez escapade, doesn't take any crap.  Following on from this here is my league position for the end of the season:
1) Manchester City
2) Manchester United
3) Chelsea
4) Liverpool
5) Tottenham Hotspur
6) Arsenal
7) Stoke
8) Newcastle
9) Aston Villa
10) Everton
11) Sunderland
12) West Bromwich Albion
13) Fulham
14) Bolton Wanderers
15) Norwich City
16) Wolverhampton Wanderers
17) Swansea
18) Queens Park Rangers
19) Blackburn Rovers
20) Wigan Athletic

England ODI Cricket

Gotta say this England's ODI series in India has been a total failure!  The transition between test and the one day should be easy as it's pretty much the same bunch doing both.  Perhaps England lack a leader like Strauss but I think Cook seems composed and doesn't make many errors.  The main problem is in the batting with big names not coming up with big scores.  India aren't setting us mammoth targets and all we need is one century to anchor the inning yet this seems to elude us every match.  The blame can not be passed onto the bowlers who aren't setting the world alight but are doing their job sufficiently.  Looking down the England order we have some talented batsmen but none are playing to their potential.
1) A Cook- Captain, leader, constantly not playing to his test form
2) C Kieswetter- Explosive batsman, improving wicketkeeper
3) J Trott- Too slow scoring for ODI's
4) K Pietersen- Way past his best, needs to play more sensibly
5) R Bopara- Don't see the talent, never have seen the talent
6) J Bairstow- Looked good this tour, needs development though
7) S Patel- Can bat but doubts over his fitness still remain
8) T Bresnan- Always dependable down the order but too regularly our highest scorer
9) S Borthwick- Young spinner, selectors need to pick either him or Patel to make room for a batsmen
10) S Meaker- Looks edgy, but not as good as Dernbach or Anderson
11) S Finn- Tall, fast bowler needs to use his frame to better use

RWC 2015

Who would be in your home nations teams for the next World Cup?  If you're struggling here's mine...

England
15) Ben Foden- will be 30 by 2015 but has the pace and rugby brain to continue
14) Chris Ashton- is there a better wing in world rugby? Shame he wasn't used this year...
13) Manu Tuilagi- Showed everyone what he can do this year but can get even better
12) Jordan Turner-Hall- Not an obvious choice but is one of the big factors in the Quins success this season
11) Christian Wade- Explosive start to the season, deserves a chance in the national side
10) George Ford- Named IRB Young Player of the Year for a reason
9) Ben Youngs- Needs to improve his delivery but has tonnes of potential
8) Billy Vunipola- Plenty of flaws but at only 18 he has the physique to be a dynamic force at any level
7) Tom Wood- Who knows why Johnson didn't pick him this year, unsung hero of the 6 Nations
6) Callum Clark- Great first season in the spotlight with Saints, passionate; possible captain candidate?
5) James Gaskell- Massive presence in the Premiership and Sale's shining light last year
4) Courtney Lawes- Easiest pick of the whole team, massive talent
3) Dan Cole- Seems old but he is only 24 and has a few World Cups left in him
2) Dylan Hartley- Should have picked for this year's World Cup, Johnson needs to have faith
1) Alex Corbisiero- Another that impressed me this year but should have been picked ahead of Stevens

Wales
15) Leigh Halfpenny- Has the boot to play at full-back but is a natural winger
14) George North- Big strong winger had a fine world cup
13) Scott Williams- Another who impressed who impressed in New Zealand
12) Jonathan Davies- Has already developed a partnership with Williams which could span 10 years
11) Tom Prydie- Young winger blooded too early for Wales but could develop if given time
10) Rhys Priestland- I'm tempted to say Matthew Morgan but Priestland's World Cup nailed his place for a while
9) Jonathan Evans/ Mike Phillips- Problem position for the future of Welsh rugby- will Phillips be too old or will young Evans be too much of a risk?  Depends how Evans develops over the next 4 years.
8) Toby Faletau- Another to make a statement in New Zealand- big, strong powerful ball carrier
7) Sam Warburton- Will be captain for many years to come, the face of a bright rugby future for Wales
6) Dan Lydiate- Completes a strong, already accomplished, back row
5) Luke Charteris- Unsung hero in New Zealand and has the lineout skills to make Wales a force in the set piece
4) Bradley Davies- A bit mistake prone can develop leadership skills by 2015
3) Adam Jones- Never too old to be a prop, could be Wales' Leonard
2) Huw Bennett- Can improve on a decent World Cup and nail his place in this side
1) Simon Gardiner- Has the talent and physique of a certain Gethin Jenkins, no pressure then...

Ireland
15) Rob Kearney- Will be in his prime by 2015 just have to hope he remains injury free
14) Keith Earls- One of the few young exciting Irish prospects of the last few years
13) Luke Fitzgerald- Can see him making the switch inside at International level
12) Nevin Spence- Impressed in last years Heineken Cup, surprise inclusion
11) Andrew Conway- Usually a full-back but has the pace to play on the wing with Kearney better under the high ball
10) Jonathan Sexton- With O'Gara out of the picture he can only go from strength to strength
9) Connor Murray- An emerging talent after an impressive World Cup
8) Jamie Heaslip- Will be captain and a key influence on the side
7) Sean O'Brien- Finally a European openside to compete at the breakdown with the Southern Hemisphere giants
6) Stephen Ferris- If he stays away from injury he could be a key figure in Irelands team
5) Ian Nagle- Already being likened to the likes of Paul O'Connell
4) Devin Toner- The Leinster giant is clear to make an impact without O'Callaghan and O'Connell
3) Paddy McAllister- Young Ulster prop has a lot to work on but looks as if he has potential
2) Sean Cronin- Looks more impressive the more I see him, reminiscent of Keith Wood
1) Cian Healy- Proved on a world stage what everyone in Ireland knew he could do all along, destroy an Aussie front row

I know I said I'd do all the home nations but the lack of talent in Scotland left me completely baffled and I decided those Scots out there why don't you put up your own teams and prove me wrong because I don't see the point in wasting my time making a team that will do well to make the quarter finals