Team of the tournament (so far)

So, the group stages of the World Cup are over, with some shocks and surprises along the way. I look at the team of the tournament so far, playing the bog standard 4-4-2 formation.

GK - Guillermo Ochoa - Mexico

You only have to look at this man's performance against Brazil to see why he's been chosen as the goalkeeper in my team. Mexico only conceded one goal in the group stages, a consolation for Croatia in a 3-1 triumph for Mexico. He'll need to be at his best to keep out a rampant Holland side in the next round though, but if he performs like he did in the Brazil game, then Mexico may just sneak through.

RB - Fabian Johnson - USA

Another North American, Johnson has been the focal point of most of the US attacks, despite playing at right back. He has continuously bombed down the right, providing balls into the area and causing the opposition plenty of problems, especially in the Portugal game. With the US playing Belgium in the next round, Johnson will have to do well against Jan Vertonghen.

CB - Gary Medel - Chile

Whilst he may not have set the world alight at Cardiff last season, he has certainly performed well for Chile, albeit in a slightly different position to the one that he played at Cardiff. Malky Mackay and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deployed him as a defensive midfielder, whilst Jorge Sampaoli preferring him at centre back. He isn't the biggest in terms of stature, but his performance against Spain alone is enough to merit his inclusion in this squad.

CB - Mario Yepes - Colombia

Proving age is just a number, at 38 years of age, Mario Yepes has been hugely impressive for Colombia, with his performance against the Ivory Coast cited as one of the reasons why they've progressed into the next round. As Colombia's captain, he's also done a fantastic job of leading his side to the knockout rounds, especially considering they're without Falcao, arguably their best player. With this likely to be his last international outing, Yepes is keen to go out on a high.

LB - Daley Blind - Holland

Just look at his pass to Robin van Persie for the equaliser against Spain; it was pure brilliance, as was the finish. I had doubts about Holland's defense coming into the tournament, but they've arguably been the best part of their play, with Louis van Gaal organising them incredibly well; so well that 3 of his first choice back five have been linked with moves to Manchester United, Blind included. This spot was between him and Iran's Mehrdad Pooladi, but I've given it to Blind based on the fact that Holland qualified for the knockout stage.

RM - Arjen Robben - Holland

I know he's played further forward than right midfield this tournament, but I can't not include him after the 3 games that he has had. Two goals in the opener against Spain, a further goal vs Australia and an incredible assist against Chile means that he merits inclusion on the right hand side. He's worked hand in hand with van Persie in what is the deadliest partnership at these finals so far, and could well tear Mexico apart.

CM - James Rodriguez - Colombia

For me, he has been the player of the tournament. Maybe they didn't have the toughest of groups, but he has been the shining light, scoring in every match so far, with his goal against Japan being the pick of the bunch. He's also bagged himself 3 assists, and he's only 22. He's already commanded a £37.5m transfer fee, and Monaco must know that they've got a real player on their hands. The whole world now knows it too.

CM - Thomas Muller - Germany

He's listed as a midfielder in the German squad, so I'm going to include him as a midfielder too. A hat trick in the opening game against Portugal - seen by many as the hardest game of the group - and a well taken finish against the US today has only further enhanced his goalscoring reputation at World Cups - 9 goals in 9 games - and he's only 24 years of age, which is scary if nothing else. He's got a good chance of being top scorer again, with Germany playing Algeria in the next round, I wouldn't bet against it.

LM - Neymar - Brazil

It's his World Cup. He's the poster boy. He has to perform, and perform he is. Two goals in the curtain raiser against Croatia before two more against Cameroon in the final group game mean he is currently the joint top scorer, and with a second round game against Chile to come, could he add to his tally? Brazil have a dependence on him to perform well, in much the same way that Argentina do with Messi. Speaking of which...

ST - Lionel Messi - Argentina

He's hasn't had the greatest of World Cups in the past, but come 2014 in South America, Messi has set the world alight yet again, with stunning goals against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iran digging Argentina out of holes they really shouldn't be in, as well as a double against Nigeria which included a sublime free kick. Can Messi single handedly win the tournament for Argentina though? I doubt it, but if he keeps playing this well, they may well go far, especially with Swtizerland next.

ST - Robin van Persie - Holland

I've mentioned him twice before in this post, and now for a third time. Many of us were wondering what kind of van Persie will show up at this tournament and we soon got the answer, with an incredible header. Two goals and a suspension later, and van Persie has a wonderful chance to increase his goal tally with a game against Mexico. Manchester United fans must be loving the way that van Persie is playing under van Gaal, but they still came 7th last year so yeah.

5 players you've probably not heard of who could star at the World Cup

It's a long winded title, but it covers everything. Everyone focuses on Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar etc. so I thought I'd look at 5 players who have gone under the radar but still have the capacity to star at the World Cup.

Josip Drmic - Switzerland
Josip Drmic has the ability to lead Switzerland into the next round at least, after demonstrating his goalscoring ability in the Bundesliga last season for Nurnberg, who ended up being relegated. Drmic managed to earn himself a move to Bayer Leverkusen though, and he will show why in Brazil. He's almost certain to start for Switzerland, and with games against France, Honduras and Ecuador, he could grab a few goals and make a name for himself.

Izet Hajrovic - Bosnia & Herzegovina
Izet Hajrovic is a winger who currently plays for Galatasaray and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Whilst the attention will be focused on Edin Dzeko, Miralem Pjanic and Vedad Ibisevic, Hajrovic could well prove to be one of the heroes for Bosnia at this summer's World Cup. Their opening game against Argentina is the toughest they will face, with Nigeria and Iran the other two teams they have to negotiate in Group F. Hajrovic scored the winner in a recent friendly against Mexico, and can supply the ammunition for Dzeko and Ibisevic as part of the only team making their World Cup debut this year.

Jefferson Montero - Ecuador
Jefferson Montero is part of the Ecuador team, playing on the left side of midfield. He provided the cross for their opener against England recently, and has pace and tricks in his locker. He can even play on the right side of midfield, but his club and his nation prefer him on the left, where he is able to cut inside. His shirt name on FIFA is 'Baby Jeff'. How awesome is that? He'll be out to make a name for himself in Brazil for his football though, something he is more than capable of.

Eder Alvarez Balanta - Colombia
Eder Alvarez Balanta is one of the new kids on the block. A Colombian defender, he plays for River Plate in Argentina and has only picked up a couple of caps for his country so far. He's likely to play alongside Mario Yepes, who is 17 years his senior. Despite Falcao missing from the tournament, they still have a formidable attacking line up, with the likes of Jackson Martinez, Carlos Bacca and Adrian Ramos all still being present, as well as having a fairly decent midfield with the likes of Fredy Guarin, Juan Cuadrado and James Rodriguez, but the one area that they are perhaps lacking is defence, which is where Balanta has to step up and be solid. If Colombia are to make it far in the tournament, Balanta will have to be one of their key men.

Karim Ansarifard - Iran
Finally, a man with a plan from Iran hoping to do what he can. Yes, it's everyone's favourite, Karim Ansarifard. He is a 24 year old striker who is on the books of Persepolis, one of the biggest clubs in Iran, but he spent last season on loan at Tractor Sazi who came 6th in the top division in Iran and won the Hazfi Cup, the Iranian equivalent of the FA Cup, and was named the player of the tournament. Ansarifard hit 14 goals in 28 league appearances, as well as 2 in the cup run and 1 in the Asian Champions League against Al-Ittihad. He's hoping to use the World Cup to earn a move to Europe, and after being given the number 10 shirt by Iran coach Carlos Quieroz, it looks like he'll be Iran's main striker at the tournament. Whether they can progress is a different matter altogether though.

How England should line up in the group stages

With the World Cup starting on Thursday, and England kicking off their campaign in a week's time, I look at how they should line up for the group stage games against Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica.

Hart 

Johnson Jagielka Cahill Baines

Gerrard Henderson 

Barkley Rooney Lallana 

Sturridge

I would line up like this against Italy. We all know that they have a set piece master in Pirlo, so I say we should fight fire with fire and trust in the abilities of Leighton Baines. I'd go in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Gerrard and Henderson holding the midfield, with Lallana on the left, Barkley on the right and Rooney playing in the centre behind Sturridge. We have to expose each team's weakness, and if Italy have one, then it's at full back. They played Ignazio Abate and Mattia De Sciglio in the midweek friendly against Luxembourg (a game they drew by the way). Last time out against Italy, a friendly after Euro 2012 that England won 2-1, the Azzuri played Abate and Balzaretti at full back, the same combination that played against England in the Euros that same year. Prandelli seems to favour 4 at the back, as opposed to Juventus' 3 central defenders and 2 wing backs that won them Serie A so convincingly last season. I don't think pace is the best way of exposing the Italian backline, especially with the pace of Abate (FIFA players know what I'm on about), so I think our best hope is with Barkley and Lallana to out-fox them.

Hart 

Johnson Jagielka Cahill Shaw 

Gerrard Wilshere 

Lampard Barkley 

Sturridge Rooney

This would be my line up in the second game against Uruguay. Of course, they have a decent strike force with Cavani and Suarez, as well as Diego Forlan, who can still do a job. Their midfield is decent, nothing to shout about though, with their best player probably being Southampton's Gaston Ramirez. They've kept faith with the majority of their 2010 squad, with 15 of the 23 part of the team that reached the semi finals in controversial circumstances (but I had them in a sweepstake so I didn't care). This game will be won in midfield, where we are far superior. Cavani and Suarez will have to be kept quiet by Cahill and Jagielka, and I think the full backs can push forward this game, which is why I'd play Shaw over Baines here because I feel that he is better at going forward. Gerrard and Wilshere should line up together as they provide different things. Gerrard is able to pick a pass to absolutely anywhere, whereas Wilshere is a far more intricate player, which could serve well here against the Uruguayan midfield. Lampard and Barkley would be ahead of them centrally to enable Johnson and Shaw to fully use the wings, with Sturridge and Rooney partnering each other up front.

Hart 

Johnson Jagielka Cahill Baines 

Gerrard Henderson 

Sterling Rooney Chamberlain

Sturridge

Costa Rica is supposed to be the easy game in the group, but no game is easy if it's in the World Cup. This is where I'd go for pace, with Costa Rica preferring a more defensive approach and then launching the counter attack, relying on the craft of Bryan Ruiz and the pace of Joel Campbell. They played 5 at the back against Ireland in the early hours of the morning today, which wasn't too successful, achieving a 1-1 draw and having a man sent off, so the approach could differ, but it won't be too different since they've taken 9 defenders to Brazil as opposed to us taking just 7. Raheem Sterling should have a field day against these, as should Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain provided he's fit, otherwise I would start Adam Lallana on the left, with Rooney sitting in just behind Sturridge.

Some football happened

This weekend saw another twist in the title race as Tottenham beat Stoke 1-0 (lol jk). I'm obviously talking about Chelsea's win at Anfield against the current leaders, and with Manchester City beating Crystal Palace in the late kick off, it's still all to play for.

Personally, I think Liverpool are still favourites, but the bookmakers make City favourites because it's in their hands. Win their three remaining games and they win the title. Simple as that. But I think they'll drop points in one of those games, which are away at Everton, at home to Aston Villa and finally at home to West Ham. I'm completely discounting Chelsea because it's obvious that the Champions League is their priority, with Jose Mourinho repeatedly stating that his side are out of the title race, and his concentration is firmly on Europe judging by the team he selected today, even if it did manage to win. Tomas Kalas made his Premier League debut in arguably the biggest game of the season. Their front three was nowhere near their first choice, with Mohamed Salah, Demba "Forgotten Man" Ba and Andre Schurrle all playing. They even found a place on the bench for some kid called Baker. Who is that? It's Lewis Baker. You know, the midfielder. No? He played for three minutes in the FA Cup earlier in the season? Against Derby? Still don't know? Come on, everyone knows Lewis Baker, don't they?

The reason Chelsea have fallen short this season is not because of a lack of a goalscorer, which everyone seems to think it is (are you saying Fernando Torres is rubbish? He's world class), but it's actually because Mourinho only cares about the big games. He has a great track record of reaching Champions League semi finals because of the media intensity that surrounds the competition; he thrives in it. Liverpool vs Chelsea, a fight for the Premier League is a game that will attract copious amounts of interest from around the world. Chelsea vs Sunderland, not so much. He spends a lot longer hatching a game plan against the bigger teams because of the media attention it receives. Just look at his record against the other teams in the top four this season. Played 6, won 5, drawn 1 (which was away at Arsenal). Yet they lose to teams like Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Stoke and Newcastle. Priorities Jose, priorities. 

In the battle to stay up, Fulham threw away a two goal lead to draw 2-2 with Hull, one of the games that they really should have won, especially as the game grew. But an unfortunate intervention from Sascha (isn't that a girl's name?) Riether that hit the bar before falling for Nikica (I'm question the masculinity of his name too) Jelavic to nod home, and some slack defending from Fulham goalscorer Fernando Amorebieta allowed Shane Long to steal in at the back post to equalize late on. Felix Magath and his silent h were left fuming by this, as were the Fulham faithful. Meanwhile, in the Midlands, West Brom enjoyed their first home victory under Pepe Mel by beating West Ham thanks to a solitary goal from Northampton legend Saido Berahino. Sunderland thrashed Norway/Cardiff 4-0, with in form striker Connor Wickham netting two more, with goals from Italian pair Fabio Borini and Emanuele Giaccherini sandwiched in between, as well as a sending off for Cardiff's Juan Cala. Norwich were also beaten 4-0 by Manchester United with two goals apiece for Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata, which probably made David Moyes cry. But what does this mean in terms of the relegation battle? Well it means Manchester United are safe for another season, but it also means that Sunderland are out of the relegation zone at the expense of Norwich. Cardiff slip to the bottom, two points from safety on 30, while Fulham sit 19th on 31, and Norwich in 18th on 32. Then come Sunderland also on 32, but with a better goal difference and a game in hand, which is against West Brom, who sit in 15th after their win on Saturday. One place below them is Aston Villa, who sit just three points above the drop zone after Swansea crushed them 4-1, with Wilfried Bony grabbing a double, and Jonjo Shelvey scoring a world class goal. But that was nothing on Gabriel Agbonlahor's finish, an absolute stunner from 2 yards. Top quality stuff. 

Everton's chances of finishing fourth took a huge blow as Southampton didn't score yet won 2-0 thanks to Everton defenders Antolin Alcaraz and Seamus Coleman thinking it was Christmas, gifting the Saints the win. They now have two games remaining, one of which is against Manchester City, while Arsenal, who sit a point above them, have three to go. Stoke lost 1-0 to Tottenham but no one cares about that. I have Harry Kane in my fantasy football team and he did nothing so I will talk no more about that game. I also have Geoff Cameron and he too did absolutely nothing. Not even a clean sheet. Seriously though, who concedes a header to Danny Rose? I thought Stoke were renowned for having tall players with the long throw ins and what not. Yet Danny Rose scores a header against them? He's like 4ft 5'. It's Mark Hughes' fault; he's got them playing football on the floor. Stick to rugby, that way you might not concede to Danny Rose. Well done Mark Hughes, you made me angry.

We're in for a grandstand finish. But the final word goes to the lower league ups and downs, with Barnsley, Yeovil, Shrewsbury and Torquay all being relegated from their leagues, and Rochdale, Scunthorpe and Chesterfield all being promoted from League Two this weekend. I'm off to Scunthorpe next weekend for their final game against York for no apparent reason, and I look forward to seeing if they can win the League Two title. Thank you for reading. And thank you to Reading for beating Doncaster at the weekend and setting up a fascinating race for the final two play-off spots in the Championship (one of which Reading currently occupy), as well as a scramble to avoid the final relegation spot (which Doncaster sit one point and one place outside of). As I previously said, it'll be a grandstand finish. And I'm in for a long drive to Scunthorpe on Saturday.

It's a good time to be a Liverpool fan

It's looking like we could have something that we haven't seen in a while. Liverpool may actually win the league. We might have to come to terms with the Premier League spectrum changing once again, with actual coaching prevailing over throwing money at things.

Having said that, we have this season learnt the value of Sir Alex Ferguson's coaching talent, as if we didn't already know it. United are currently languishing in 7th, with Liverpool leading the way at the top. Have the tides shifted? Well, evidently they have. Brendan Rodgers deserves an enormous amount of credit for this season, and at the moment, his side look like the most likely title winners, with Chelsea being so inconsistent with results such as losing 1-0 at Crystal Palace being coupled with a 6-0 win over Arsenal, and Arsenal themselves having faded away and now face a battle just to finish in the top four. Liverpool's closest rivals look like being Manchester City, with their games in hand, as well as getting considerably more consistent results than Chelsea. It's obvious that the title decider will be at Anfield, when City face Liverpool. If someone had said to me at the start of the season "Liverpool are going to win the league this season" I would have spat my drink out, permitting I was drinking something at the time. But now, I'd have to revise that opinion, and for me, Liverpool are the favourites to win the Premier League title for the first time and become the fifth name on the trophy.

I initially backed Chelsea at the start of the season, but it seems to me that Mourinho, being the genius that he is, was right that Chelsea are just a 'little horse that needs milk' (milk = striker). He knows his team, and if I were a betting man, I'd bet on them to win the title next season. Unless Stoke suddenly become really good. As I've previously mentioned, Chelsea have been too inconsistent this season, which for me has cost them the title. On a positive note, Eden Hazard has been exceptional, and if it weren't for him, Chelsea would be in a much worse position, simply because their strikers haven't been firing at the same rate as strikers in the other top teams.

Liverpool's charge to the top of the league has been spearheaded by the best player in the Premier League, Luis Suarez, not to mention his strike partner, Iago Aspa...Daniel Sturridge. 'SAS' as they have become known in the media have become one of the most formidable strike partnerships in recent times and has seen a return to the two up front, something lacking in the modern game. If you think about previous title winners, the majority of them have had two up front. Shearer and Sutton for Blackburn, Cole/Yorke/Sheringham/Solskjaer at United and Henry and Bergkamp at Arsenal. I think a lot of credit has to go to Brendan Rodgers for that. Firstly, sticking with Luis Suarez after his misdemeanors and then getting him to sign a new contract, and for bringing in Daniel Sturridge last January to partner the Uruguayan. They now seem to be reaping the rewards from this, and giving a new lease of life to players like Jordan Henderson and Glen Johnson who seem to be enjoying their football again. Liverpool - Premier League champions?

Poor punditry

So I was in bed watching Match of the Day yesterday after spending all day in Huddersfield. The showing of the first game's highlights had just finished, with the Alan Pardew incident obviously first on the agenda, which I completely understand. The second game, Fulham vs Chelsea, is then shown, with Chelsea running out 3-1 winners. But what annoyed me was the analysis after the game by Alan Hansen and Robbie Savage. 

André Schürrle's first hat trick for Chelsea was 'overshadowed' by Eden Hazard according to Robbie Savage. I'm sorry, but how can anyone who hits a hat trick in a derby be overshadowed? Eden Hazard is an exceptional player, there's no doubt about that, but yesterday belonged to Schürrle. Hazard did assist two of his goals, but Schürrle had to be clinical to finish them; he could have hit all of his shots straight at the keeper or put them wide. For someone to score their first hat trick in English football, especially someone that has to have been patient to take his chance, I feel he was neglected by MOTD rather unfairly.

Chelsea have an abundance of attacking talent that has been constantly praised this season (Hazard, Oscar etc) but I'm going to name two instances that make the André Schürrle situation odd. Firstly, there was Eto'o's hat trick against Manchester United, with everything focused on Eto'o because he scored all three of the goals, so stole the show in many respects. Maybe that was due to the magnitude of the game, Chelsea vs Man Utd has always been a massive fixture, and it was played on a Sunday, so that is understandable. The second is when Chelsea beat Norwich 2-0 earlier in the season, where Willian received a lot of praise for his goal, and I will admit that it was a great hit. But that got a whole analysis from the pundits as to why it flied into the top corner; André Schürrle got a sentence of recognition from Gary Lineker - "a great hat trick from Schürrle but".

Even the interview snippets after the game in which Schürrle was interviewed, the only question that he was asked which was broadcast was "what did Jose Mourinho say to you at half time?", not "how did it feel to score your first hat trick in English football?" or even "how big is that win to your season?". What's even worse is that they asked the exact same question to Mourinho himself. Why does the same question need to be asked to two different people, especially when the person whom the question concerned was one of the two people asked? It's very poor from MOTD in my opinion.

Here's a stupid idea that might just work

Mauricio Pochettino should be appointed England manager if Roy Hodgson decided to step down for whatever reason. “That’s silly” I hear you cry, but give me a minute to explain why it just might work.

The reason why it seems stupid is because he’s foreign, and despite being in charge of Southampton for over a year now, can’t speak a word of English (to the media anyway). When we had Fabio Capello in charge, he stated how hard it was to communicate with the players in particular because of the language barrier; he had to learn English in order to take them forward according to the FA. But it shouldn’t matter if they can speak English or not, as long as they get the team playing well and getting results. However, it’s more than that now.

There is intensifying pressure on the English clubs to produce English talent and play that talent in the first team because the FA feels it will benefit the English national side. Big money acquisitions from abroad such as Mesut Ozil and Willian at the start of the season hasn’t really helped that cause, no matter how good they may be. One manager has so far defied the rest by playing English players, young English players that need games at the top level. That man is Mauricio Pochettino.

Southampton has a famed academy which is responsible for producing the likes of Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Leon ‘Simply The’ Best. The academy long proceeded Pochettino, and the way the club nurtures its youngsters also long proceeded Pochettino. What Pochettino has done differently to the other managers however is two things. Firstly, he’s managed to tie the majority of them down to new contracts, with Adam Lallana signing a new five year contract last season, Luke Shaw signing a five year deal at the start of this season, as well as convincing Calum Chambers and Rickie Lambert to commit their future to the club under his tenure. The second thing is he is able to give them Premier League experience, something only Nigel Adkins has been able do to. The thing that distinguishes Pochettino from Adkins though is that three Southampton players have received international recognition with England under Pochettino’s regime, so he must be doing something that Adkins failed to do. The fact that Rickie Lambert was called up despite being 31 also shows that the style of football Pochettino plays pays dividends for everyone involved, not just the young players.

If there’s one thing that Pochettino is guilty of however, it is that he has slightly given in to the money game, splashing out in the summer on foreign talent such as Victor Wanyama, Dejan Lovren and Dani Osvaldo, who has since been shipped out on loan to Juventus. Despite this however, the home-grown talent still have places in the team, with the exception of Wanyama initially taking the place of Jack Cork in the centre of midfield, a position Cork has since won back. He will give the talent coming through a chance of playing in the first team, even if it is in one of the cup competitions or five minutes from the bench; the experience is vital no matter what competition it may come in. Sam McQueen, Sam Gallagher and Harrison Reed all made their first team debuts this season, while Calum Chambers has become a regular starter at right back under Pochettino.

Pochettino’s future is in doubt too due to the departure of Nicola Cortese, so what the end of the season holds for Pochettino is up in the air at the moment. If Pochettino isn’t involved in the England setup in the future (which is very unlikely as it is), his Southampton players have to be recognised more. Lallana, Lambert and Rodriguez already have been recognised, but I’m talking about the likes of Luke Shaw and Jack Cork who have been incredibly impressive this season. Shaw is a regular player for Southampton, whilst Ashley Cole has been sitting on the bench for Chelsea, with Mourinho preferring Cesar Azpilicueta at left back. It’s one thing for the FA to say that English players should be playing more, but they have to pick the ones that are playing, and not overlook them for ones that are sitting on the bench. It’s common sense.

The title race

Chelsea have just ended Manchester City's 100% home record in the Premier League, and credit has to go to Jose Mourinho for that. Love him or hate him, the man is a genius. But what has that win told us about the title race?

Firstly, it shows that Man City are vulnerable at home, and is not mission impossible for the away side. They've shown in previous games that they can be shaky at home, most notably the Watford game in the FA Cup (a game that I was fortunate enough to be in attendance of), as well as conceding more than usual at home recently. Obviously only one was enough for Chelsea tonight, but their defence had to be outstanding, which it was, meaning Man City failed to score at home for the first time in 61 games.

It also shows us that City miss Aguero. Maybe not for games against so called lesser sides, but against title rivals, his cutting edge is needed. Dzeko and Negredo are both quality strikers, and Jovetic is starting to find his feet, but none of them are like Sergio Aguero. In that Watford game, he scored a hat-trick, but was nowhere near outstanding, just in the right place at the right time. A clinical edge was needed tonight against Chelsea, and I feel that Aguero would have buried some of the chances Dzeko had, or at least hit the target.

We also learnt that Chelsea can be hit and miss. A 0-0 against a West Ham side at home isn't the result that a title chasing side should be achieving. Beating City at the Etihad is the result that a title chasing side should be achieving. Away defeats to Stoke and Newcastle in the last few months of 2013, as well as snatching a last gasp home draw with West Brom did make people question Mourinho, but the man gets his tactics right when they play the so called 'big teams'. If Chelsea are to win the title this season, Mourinho has to get his tactics right against the smaller sides as well, and not underestimate them, which he can do at times.

One thing is for sure - we're in for a great final few months of the season.

Does Mata matter?

It looks like Juan Mata is set to join David Moyes’ Manchester United for a fee around £37m, breaking United’s transfer record of just over £30m that they paid to acquire Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham. But the big question remains – can he have the desired impact at United?

There’s no doubt about it; Juan Mata is a quality player. He’s proved that throughout his time at both Valencia and Chelsea, who seem to have already agreed a deal to replace him, with the imminent arrival of Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah from everyone’s favourite Swiss side, FC Basel. For whatever reason, Mata wasn’t a Mourinho type player. He’s never been one to play the intricate one touch game that we’ve seen at Barcelona, Arsenal, Swansea and so on, and perhaps he feels that Mata fits that mould. But why Manchester United? It’s been heavily suggested in the media that Moyes needs a big name signing to make the fans believe again, so it seems to me that Moyes has bowed to media pressure and dipped into the transfer market to sign the Spaniard. But it doesn’t end there. We saw the style of play that he started to implement at Everton, with a lovely flowing passing game, most notably down the left with Baines and Pienaar; a style of play maintained under Roberto Martinez. Obviously Manchester United is a bigger club, a much more successful club, and the fans expect immediate success because that’s what they are used to and have been for such a long time under Sir Alex Ferguson, but it’s a new era. Look at Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool. He’s tried to take the style of play that reaped many rewards for him at Swansea and get Liverpool playing the same way. It has taken time, and he’s had to bring in his own players – the majority of which he has worked with previously – to make his philosophy effective, which it has done. Moyes has so far only made one transfer, Marouane Fellaini – a player he has previously worked with – to try and replicate his style of play at Everton. 

Vogue.

Mata is like Man Utd’s Coutinho, except better. Coutinho was a relative gamble, having not made the grade at Inter Milan and having never before played in the Premier League. The question was asked whether or not he could cut it in England. He has shown flashes of brilliance, and fits the mould that Brendan Rodgers was looking for. Mata on the other hand has already proved he can cut it in the Premier League, and therefore isn’t a gamble in that respect. United are paying about 4 times what Liverpool paid for Coutinho on a bigger name, hoping it will save their season. It’s another safe signing for me, a player that is comfortable playing in the Premier League. He’ll definitely help short term, there’s no doubt about that, he’s a quality player. But for me, Moyes has to take a risk in the summer, and buy a player with no Premier League experience and make him a star. That’s when he’ll prove his critics wrong.