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Football fans all over England will be wishing for a good Christmas period and the stakes don't get bigger than the Barclays Premier League. Manchester City have set the pace, with their relentless, aggressive spending and managerial musical chairs finally sticking with a great squad/coach combination this season. Money can warp and transform Premier League trends. Who would have thought 5 years ago that Arsenal would tentatively travel to the City of Manchester Stadium (aka the Etihad) expecting to struggle to come away with even 1 point.

As a Spurs fan, I loved Mancini dissing Chelsea as in his mind there is a 3 horse race of Man City, Man Utd and Tottenham. As we get closer to the transfer window, will Chelsea get rid of Torres? Andre Villas-Boas has insisted that he isn't for sale; however his failure won't fall on the new Blues boss's shoulders.

Man Utd are almost guaranteed to be there or thereabouts despite losing Nemanja Vidic for the rest of the season and Darren Fletcher for an unknown period of time. Fergie's larger than life management style shines through irrespective of the manpower constraints that pop up in any football squad as he makes sure that his players understand what it means to pull on the Manchester United jersey. That said, Aguero and co are better. :-)

This weekend's fixtures are very interesting as the top 4 teams are all in extremely difficult matches. Chelsea will have a physical battle on their hands at the DW. Manchester United travel to QPR who have been very impressive in their debut Premier League season. Spurs might suffer from new manager syndrome as they face Sunderland and Manchester City have to keep Robin Van Persie out who is currently on fire.

Here are the fixtures - enjoy fellow football freaks!

Sat December 17th 2011

Blackburn v West Bromwich Albion 3pm @ Ewood Park

Everton v Norwich 3pm @ Goodison Park

Fulham v Bolton 3pm @ Craven Cottage

Newcastle United v Swansea 3pm St James's Park

Wolverhampton v Stoke City 3pm Molineaux

Wigan v Chelsea 3pm DW stadium

Sun December 18th 2011

QPR v Man Utd 12pm Loftus Road

Aston Villa v Liverpool 2pm Villa Park

Tottenham v Sunderland 3pm White Hart Lane

Man City v Arsenal 4pm Etihad Stadium

Premiership review 15th/16th October 2011

The first game of the day is the big fixture - the noon kickoff is at Anfield as the reigning champions travel across Lancashire to Merseyside. A huge match for Dalglish as the rivalry will be considerable as it always is. You would still bet on Man Utd being unbeaten at the end of tomorrow though. Wayne Rooney's ban has taken a lot of the sporting headlines but I am sure that he will be looking forward to just getting on with his football.

A difficult match for Mancini after some more negative publicity with Carlos Tevez, who apparently now may never play for Manchester City ever again. Irrespective of this I think they will comfortably beat Aston Villa with their slick, professional squad.

Both North London clubs (Arsenal and Tottenham play the North East clubs (Sunderland and Newcastle) on Sunday - Wenger in need of all 3 points. Spurs haven't suffered from off pitch behaviour from Modric like City have with Tevez and are coming into decent form so I expect the lily whites to get at least a point tomorrow if not all 3. We shall see, I may have just electronically cursed my beloved Spurs!

Anyhow - here are the games - anyone who is attending a match, watching Super Soccer Saturday or just good old MOTD enjoy the full Premiership programme - I for one don't miss the internationals once they come to an end!

Premier League fixtures Saturday October 15th 2011

Liverpool v Man Utd, 12.45pm Anfield
Man City v Aston Villa, 3pm Etihad Stadium
Norwich v Swansea, 3pm Carrow Road
QPR v Blackburn, 3pm Loftus Road
Stoke v Fulham, 3pm Britannia stadium
Wigan v Bolton, 3pm DW Stadium
Chelsea v Everton, 5.30pm Stamford Bridge

16th October 2011 [Sunday] Premier League fixtures

West Brom v Wolverhampton, 12:00 Hawthorns Stadium
Arsenal v Sunderland, 13:30 Emirates
Newcastle v Tottenham, 16:00 St James' Park

Newcastle United: Krul, R Taylor, Coloccini, S Taylor, Simpson, Barton Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez, Ba, Ameobi.

Arsenal: Szczesny, Gibbs, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Sagna, Song, Rosicky, Ramsey, Gervinho, Arshavin, Van Persie.

In the past 4 years, Arsene Wenger has spent £98.55m on players, received £110.59m - netting Arsenal £12.04m in player profit. Whether you think Arsenal are a selling club or not, you have to admire the commitment from Wenger to the board to deliver quality on the pitch and chairman proof figures off it. Fabregas and Nasri going has hit the top pre-season headlines. There is only this and the Man Utd signings that have really been of interest. My last point on Arsenal – superb to see Aaron Ramsey start the Gunners’ Premier League opener.

Newcastle hit the headlines for Twitter shenanigans as Joey Barton criticised Newcastle for being a selling club with Carroll, Nolan and Enrique all gone. Alan Pardew has suggested that Newcastle would be putting controls in place with players’ social media accounts particularly Twitter. Furthermore, Newcastle seem to be gradually splashing the Andy Carroll cash – 25 year old midfielder Yohan Cabaye has come in from French champions Lille for only £4m and there are apparently more on the way. I think the Magpies will do well in this new 2011-2012 football season and I also think it is ridiculous that he should be under pressure at this early point in a 5 year deal.

As you would imagine, both sides were straight at each other, following on from the 4-4 thriller 6 months ago. Arsenal countering with Newcastle probing with the wonderful Toon Army singing their hearts out. After the initial flurry of mad, headless chicken football, the pattern of one touch passing resumed with Wenger’s team illustrating that they are still the best team in the Premier League to watch. Gervinho displayed decent energy, two good feet and good balance on a couple of occasions. Arshavin also looked bright down the right hand side linking up nicely with Sagna. Vermaelen managed the Arsenal back 4 and the Newcastle top 2 effortlessly squeezing the home team up the pitch to quieten the Toon faithful.

Ex-Spurs legend made a good call a quarter of an hour in when commentating on ESPN when suggesting that a 4-5-1 re-shape for the home team might be the way forward as the Arsenal pass and move had made the Newcastle midfield dizzy and ineffective. Joey Barton made a couple of decent link up passes in this first quarter but it was all one way traffic with Arsenal fully bossing the show.

Van Persie had the first half chance in the 17^th minute after some industrious wing play from Gervinho. Arsenal maintained possession for a spell after this, making the ball do the work and in doing so making the first run out for Newcastle a difficult one athletically.

Gutierrez then had Newcastle’s first chance as he powerfully volleyed within the 18 yard box going about 2 yards wide – a decent hit.

Alex Song got yellow carded in the 28^th minute after putting himself about a little bit too much but as an athletic holding man I think Song is really starting to look the part.

Despite completely dominating the first half an hour, Newcastle did show resilience in defence and there were no real clean cut chances. Arsenal’s final ball could have been a little bit better but I would give the Newcastle defensive unit credit for good pressing and chasing.

Arsenal continued to walk through the Newcastle midfield but then walk into a strong Newcastle defence that they got no change out of. As Arsenal concocted their intricate passing moves on the edge of the ‘D’, Newcastle simply crowded them out with six men behind the ball. It certainly looked like Pardew’s strategy was the old park a bus method; and it worked. Newcastle United nursed out the last 10 mins, effectively numbing the Arsenal alchemy to go in at the break 0-0.

 Moving into the second half would Newcastle park the bus in front of the Gunners? The first change was that Obertan started the second half to build link up play, making his debut after moving from Manchester United. This was a nice way for the home team to begin the second 45 minutes showing their intention to produce attacking football in the traditional Newcastle way.

 After attempts from Newcastle to squeeze the visitors, Arsenal regained their poise and started to dictate the pace of the game. Van Persie caracked a terrific free kick in the 54^th minute with plenty of spin but the ball went a foot over Krul’s crossbar.

 In the 58^th minute, Joey Barton (not for the first time) was at the centre of a controversy as it appeared that Alex Song stamped his studs down on Barton’s leg after a tackle. Barton sprinted over to the referee’s fourth official questioning him on what he saw but nothing came of it at the point in time. 

Theo Walcott’s introduction in the second half did create some inspiration for Van Persie and the other attacking Arsenal players. He chased down some ambitious through balls and had one half chance after a classic Arsenal passing move.

The second half proved to be a little dull – typical first day of the season stuff. Arsenal displayed great touch but struggled to pack the punch in the final third (and yes, they could have done with either Nasri or Fabregas). Their possession in the second half was slightly more fragmented as Newcastle got their angles right and stifled some of the triangles and creative passes. 

Gervinho then sparked Joey Barton madness. A run into the box that seemed to end in a ‘creative fall’ by Gervinho was the catalyst for the old Premier League handbags between Barton and new boy Gervinho. Barton man handled Gervinho who seemed to slap Barton – Barton then hit the deck like a ton of bricks. Gervinho got a red card which I agreed with however Barton only saw yellow so Joey managed to con the referee successfully. Video evidence…discuss? J

Barton had a half chance in the 80^th minute, how ironic that would have been. Walcott had a good header chance on the subsequent break but squandered the chance.

In the 94^th minute, Rosicky was subbed for Ghanian international powerhouse Frimpong came on to protect the back four.

There wasn’t a great deal you could conclude from this match as is the case with many Premier League openers but Newcastle did a professional job of muting the Arsenal creativity, the game was marred by one unsavoury incident which Arsene Wenger did criticise after the match. There was an interesting Twitter  tete a tete as Jack Wilshere suggested that Barton was in the wrong with the Newcastle midfielder defending his actions right back via the social media month Twitter.

Kenny Dalglish had a superb impact at Liverpool last season when Roy Hodgson departed making way for the ex-Reds man to take charge. A man of football, Dalglish was judged on results after a long spell out of professional football management and within a small amount of team was given the Liverpool manager position permanently from his original post of caretaker.

Tipped for top 4, Dalgish is continuing to make big decisions. Following on from selling Torres/acquiring Caroll in the eventful winter transfer window 2011 King Kenny is having a clear out. It is rumoured that Jovanovic, Konchesky and Cole could all be on the transfer list and you would imagine that there will be good demand within the Prem for Joe Cole (its that bargain time of the year, 'arry!). Blackpool virtuoso midfielder Charlie Adam nearly moved to Anfield in that last window but has now completed the transfer.

With Liverpool linked with Roma 'keeper Alexander Doni and Aston Villa's Stewart Downing these are exciting times yet again for the Reds. Go on Kenny!

New West Ham boss Sam Allardyce will be pleased to reunited with ex-Bolton skipper Kevin Nolan. Funnily enough this today on Twitter Joey Barton tweeted showing his distaste about the sale, clearly dissapointed in Newcastle. Almost like Wayne Rooney with his hair transpant tweet, this broadcast will do Barton no harm!

After a dissapointing Premier League and Champions League campaigns, Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is highly rumoured to be leaving Arsenal. That would have to be a mammoth transfer fee as Fabregas has 4 years left on his current Gunners contract. Wenger is apparently keen on signing midfielder Willian from Shakhtar Donetsk, with a potential cash + swap deal of Denilson rumoured to be on the table.

High rollers Man City and Chelsea will go after Barcelona's front man David Villa, which apparently would allow the Spanish giants to fund a purchase of Fabregas. Personally I would be surprised if Barca let Villa go, I still have his Champions League goal at Wembley against Manchester United etched vividly on my football memory.

Tottenham are close £12m for Internacional's Brazilian striker Leandro Damiao. 21 year old Damiao, who made his international debut at the Emirates in March against Scotland.

Alex Mcleish is linked with a move to Aston Villa after resigning at relegated Birmingham City.

6th February 2011 Chelsea 0 Liverpool 1

Today was the day Chelsea unveiled their £50m man, with huge irony in that he faced his old club Liverpool FC. So how did he look? I thought Torres looked sharp and happy to be in and around some world class faces. He was subbed towards the end, before the winner from Raul Meireles, only to be greeted with a standing ovation from eager Chelsea fans and simultaneous growls from the unhappy scousers. The suggestions this week that Torres wasn't trying since the World Cup I thought was hugely disrespectful towards the Spaniard, who is a professional that has stayed at Liverpool through a very tough patch. Playing as a lone striker, some times under Benitez carrying injury, I don't think anyone really expected Torres to stay at Liverpool for the rest of his career.

Will Chelsea reap the rewards of the Torres buy? I think they will get goals, yes. I also think the shirt sales will have been a calculated revenue line in the huge record £50m valuation - good luck to Chelsea who did the brave thing that countless pundits / fans can lazily criticise.

I could go on, with so many mouth watering signings cracking off in this allstars competition that is the Premier League. Lots of loan deals in this transfer window!

At January 31st 10pm, this is my key transfer update in the Barclays Premiership:

Keane leaves Tottenham Hotspur to join David Bentley at Birmingham City. Great business Alex Mcleish, £4m is a bargain.

Pienaar snubbed Chelsea in a £3m offer...lucky escape Steven if you're not a fan of warming the bench!

Dutch midfield work horse Mark Van Bommel could be eyeing up the Premier League, with Dutch and Italy clubs also interested.

13/12/2010 Manchester United 1 Arsenal 0 Premiership result

Sky Sports determined the awkward Monday evening fixture of the big clash Manchester United against in form Arsenal. Currently the Premier League is wide open with 5 teams in it - with all of the big boys playing each other in the next few weeks you would imagine that this will be down to 3 once the festive period is completed.

26 of the 33 Chilean miners the survived the recent disaster attended this evening's match with a great chaperone in David Beckham

In typical fashion, the Old Trafford crowd witnessed a game of chess as these two giants tested each other mainly in midfield. Arsenal looked dangerous on the break but possibly lacking striking power agianst Vidic and Ferdinand. Nasri showed good poise on the ball, demonstrating that he is the key man currently form wise.

The goal came in the 41st minute for Man Utd from a long ball which Arsenal failed to clear efficiently. Rooney flicked a header over to Nani who moved inside with admirable disguise and Ji-Sung Park cleverly contorted his neck to get into a position where he could loop a header over Wojciech Szczesny. A blow for Wenger as scoring 2 at OT is not the easiest task even when you are the Arsenal.

The Gunners started brightly in the second half with Nasri playing in a more advanced central position. They played grest one touch football with Wilshere, Nasri and Arshavin all providing classy movement and passing.

However Fergie's midfield remained resilient with good grafting from Fletcher and Anderson. The Red Devils flexed their muscle when they needed to but it was a good honest contest with no stupid challenges. Wenger got to the 1 hour mark and decided to take a bit of a risk with so much at stake. A double subsitution followed, Rosicky came off for Cesc Fabregas and Wilshere came off for Robin Van Persie.

Wayne Rooney battled well as the lone striker, showing some signs of his unstoppable form in the 2009/2010 season. Nani also displayed persistent qualities in the 72nd minute inside the box, leading to a harsh penalty where Clichy was to have judged to handled. Rooney stepped up and surprisingly gave it the Chris Waddle 1990 treatment, skying the ball over the Arsenal cross bar giving Wenger's men a lifeline.

Arsenal still seemed a bit short. In the 76th minute, Arshavin was substituted for Theo Walcott in an attempt to increase the pressure on the Man Utd back four. Fergie's midfield packed the centre of the park, protecting their defence impressively. This frustrated the Gunners and forced them into optimistic long range shots as they moved into the last 10 minutes.

Walcott had some nice touches, linking up with Fabregas but the home team seemed to work harder and display more physical strength in the central areas of the pitch. As Manchester United successfully killed off the last few remaining minutes, Old Trafford legend Ryan Giggs came on in the 84th minute.

Rooney had a good chance towards the end, trying to chip Szczesny who got a palm to the ball. Rooney did look incredibly sharp and linked up with Ryan Giggs a couple of times showing that he is very much still a huge part of the Manchester United future.

With 4 minutes of added time, Arsenal struggled to find any space in the final third as they desperately attempted to put pressure on the home team. Walcott had one half chance in the 93rd minute but volleyed over the bar allowing Van der Sar to run down some more seconds. The ref blew up to see the home team grab 3 huge points to make a big move for the Premier League, putting Manchester United top with 34 points.

Premier League preview: Arsenal versus Tottenham H Emirates 12.45pm 20/11/2010

This is a London derby not to miss, as ex-gooner captain William Gallas travels to the Emirates stadium with his new club Tottenham Hotspur.

The clash will remind football fans of Sol Campbell making his first trip back to White Hart Lane as an Arsenal player, where the abuse and missiles were relentless as the Spurs fans demonstrated the fierce rivalry between these two North London clubs.

To spice up the atmosphere with Gallas even further, French forward Samir Nasri has stated that he will blank Gallas pre-match and not shake his hand. There are rumours that suggest that Nasri has abone to pick with Gallas since the release of his autobiography had references to Euro 2008 and Nasri's supposed negative influence.

The big question for the travelling team will be whether missed forward Jermaine Defoe starts, who is back after an ankle injury. Harry Redknapp has dearly missed Defoe, who yesterday reinforced this fact that missing the England striker for 6-7 games will always mean that you run the risk of dropping points - which has been the case for the lily whites. It is more than likely that Crouch will start and Redknapp will use Defoe as an impact player. Dutch hit Van der Vaart will play a supporting striker role, giving the Spurs team a real added dimension.

Tottenham's staccato league form however is mainly down to their UEFA Champions League debut. Through injury and midweek fatigue, Redknapp has been frustrated by mediocre peformances and forced into regular squad rotation leading to missed opportunities in the form of points.

After recent losses at home against West Brom and Newcastle, Wenger will be keen to show Chelsea and Manchester United that they are a serious Premier League contender in this 2010/2011 campaign - their record in these North London derbies is good when playing at home - most tip the Gunners for a win. Popping into second regularly has given the Arsenal faithful hope - but 3 points today would put them momentarily into 1st - giving their players added belief that this could well be the season to get some silverware.

Jack Wilshere is expected to start, recovering from a back problem which kept him out of the midweek friendly against France.

Predicted first 11 line-ups

Gunners: Fabianski (GK), Sagna, Squillaci, Djourou, Clichy, Song, Wilshere, Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott, Chamakh.

Spurs: Gomes (GK), Hutton, Gallas, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto, Modric, Palacios, Jenas, Bale, Van der Vaart, Crouch.

Should a a great Premier League derby!