The Beautiful Game's Highlights of the Decade

 When I decided that this was going to be my final post of the year I thought it would be an easy thing to pull together - just sit down and think of the best bits over the past few seasons. However, I soon had a list of about 25 - and that was just an initial thought. A few days deliberating and I have come to think of the below as my key highlights and Cristiano Ronaldo does not even get a mention!

  1&2: The Gerrard Finals (UEFA Champions League Final 2005 & FA Cup Final 2006)

  I think that these two would be on most peoples lists. Hopefully Gerrard will have one of these matches on the International stage next summer. But in Istanbul in 2005 and in Cardiff in 2006 Gerrard was simply immense. Both matches were brilliant to watch and I distinctly remember both games and how the momentum swung so dramatically. They are two of the best Finals I have ever seen - and on both occasions you could feel the Liverpool skipper grab hold of the games in the second half determined that he would get his hands on the trophies - incredible.

  3: Jose Mourinho (Chelsea 2004-2007)

  From nowhere to beating United at Old Trafford, lifting the UEFA Champions League with Porto and then machine like victory with Chelsea. He was a breath of fresh air to the English game - his charm, passion, confidence and ability meant he became a housewife's favourite and the 'special one' became talk of many a pub table and he delivered trophy after trophy for Chelsea. I hope he comes back to the English game soon, its not the same without Jose around.

  4: Fat Ronaldo (2002 FIFA World Cup)

  I remember being in a bookmakers before this tournament started and looking at the top scorer / champions doubles and I opted for Christian Vieri and Italy at 10/1. A little down the list was Ronaldo and Brazil at 20/1 - at the time it seemed like short odds considering how his career had dipped since the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final and how not much was expected of those in yellow and blue. What followed was a bizarre haircut, the comeback of the toothy grin and the instinct that saw him walk away with the Golden Boot and the winning goals in the Final. Fair play Ronnie.

   
5: The Untouchables (Arsenal Premier League Champions 2003/2004)

  When Wenger gets it right he really gets it right. I have been lucky to watch the Gunners on a few occasions over the past few seasons and every time have been blown away by the way they play football. In the 2003/2004 season they were quite literally untouchable and went the whole season undefeated. Looking at the team they had, and the style they played it was even more poetic that they lifted the title. It really was what the beautiful game is all about.

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Rafa the next to go..

So the rumour mill is in full swing. Liverpool are in crisis - we all know that - especially after the terrible performance on saturday that saw Liverpool lose their 7th game of the season to bottom of the league Portsmouth and now sit an incredible 14 points from Chelsea at the top of the English Premier League. One of the main issues this season for Rafa has been the injuries to his two star players. El Nino and Stevie G.

Now the injury to Gerrard could actually become a crisis as it seems that Gerrard needs an operation to rectify his groin that has cut back his usual ability to make the difference for the Reds week in week out. Obviously, Gerrard now has the FIFA World Cup in his sights (if he can get beyond Europa League victory) and wants to get the operation in now so that he can get it sorted and be fully fit for the match on June 12th in Rustenburg against the USA. To me that makes perfect sense - mind you I am an England supporter.

However, Rafa must be sensing the chop from up above. With Mark Hughes not doing enough at City  after losing just 2 Premier League matches and getting the club to its first semi-final in 28 years he must really be feeling the heat - and thinking his American bosses might also get the trigger finger. The last thing he needs is Gerrard to take two months out and face the prospect of a midfield of Lucas, Dossena, Spearing and  Benayoun. With or without Torres, it will be tough to cope with no Gerrard, Mascherano (always suspended) and Darren Anderton...sorry Alberto Aquilani.

With the developments at Eastlands, there must be an increase in pressure on club owners. In a world where commercial success is changing the requirements and expectations of club supporters - never has the term glory hunter been more relevant - the stakes are much higher for a manager, and it seems that they are even higher for the owners who now demand instant success. I read something interesting this morning by Mark Bright who posed the question of how long away are we from players being sacked for giving a series of poor performances?

It is clear that boards and club owners and therefore managers need to clarify what is deemed by success. Looking at Mark Hughes release via the LMA it seems that the goals that were agreed with his owners at the start of the season were still very obtainable and I am sure that Hughes would of strengthened his defence in January, but it still was not enough. It seems that his targets and his owners were actually very different.  

But what a chance for Mancini. He has turned up in his tailored Italian suit and taken over a squad bursting with attacking talent, sitting in a great position in the league and already in one cup semi-final. If he approaches the task in hand with the same kind of rigour as Capello has done with England then he will achieve the UEFA Champions League ambition of his billionaire owners. All he needs to do is identify the problem and fix it. England were individuals and now they play as a team. Man City can't defend for toffee, let alone 3 points, so the best signing Mancini could make, he has made with Brian Kidd. If he can focus his role as a defensive coach and calm City's nerves from any kind of pressure then they could really kick on in the New Year - especially as United, Arsenal and Chelsea will all be back in battle in the UEFA Champions League.

It will be very interesting to see who he signs in January. I am sure there will be at least two big signings made to reinforce the defence and the midfield  probably as many as four, again in the same area of the team. Given, Barry and Bellamy have been superb and depending on the way Bellamy takes to his new manager (after Sparky apparently personally contributed to the transfer fee to sign him). The worst move the Mancini could make could be to add yet more options to his attack. For his apparent faults Hughes has got all his front players flying and scoring goals (apart from Robinho that is) and I have never seen Craig Bellamy play better or more consistently. In Tevez and Adebayor / Santa Cruz the team possess a potent spearhead, and if Robinho turns up (probably not till the snow has gone away) then they will score goals no problem.

Who knows what will play out over the coming weeks and months, if Mancini fails to get to grips with the ego of his squad then come May both Mancini and Rafa could follow Hughes to the JobCentre. The game feels like it is on the verge of going crazy, and I expect lots of cash to be spent this January and I would say there are only 3 managers safe in their job Fergie, Hodgson and Wenger.

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