As if there weren’t enough reasons to hate the Daily Mail already. Following the Mail on Sunday exposé about the admittedly stupid Lord Triesman, they have now alienated the only group that still liked them – racist football fans.

The English press have long sought to build up and then knock down our sporting endeavours in the interests of flogging newspapers. And while one might have little sympathy for John Terry or Ashley Cole’s infidelities being exposed, seeking to jeopardise the country’s World Cup bid is scandalous.

As ever, the timing of the story seems to have been engineered to maximise damage to those involved – in this instance, that being all English football supporters. This has been highlighted by Gary Lineker’s decision to resign from his Mail on Sunday column.

Lineker has not always been my favourite person, in no small part down to his massive smugness. But taking this stand seems a noble gesture, and given that he took over the column from the late, great Sir Bobby Robson, a symbolic one too.

I do not condone Lord Triesman’s behaviour. It was naïve and misguided, but delivered in a private conversation, and needn’t have been damaging to our World Cup bid.

Maybe I am naïve myself, but the apparent short termism of the English press is staggering. One would imagine that England hosting the 2018 World Cup would be hugely lucrative for all media groups in this country.

Yet they would rather threaten that opportunity by paying off some ten-a-penny harlot to spill the beans on yet another randy FA executive. Depressing and pathetic.

For the first time in seven years, there will be no English representation in the last four of the UEFA Champions League.

To say that an era has ended would be excessive, but it is certainly notable that none of the established ‘Big Four’ have reached their usual positioning amongst Europe’s elite.

You only need to look at each side’s individual demises to know that the margins are small in these knockout battles. United go out to on away goals to a wonder strike from Arjen Robben.

Chelsea were guilty of a slight lack of energy and guile in attempting to break down the brick wall that is the Inter defence whereas Arsenal were, wholly reasonably, outclassed by a player who operates on a different planet. Only Liverpool can be seen to have seriously regressed from past endeavours, having been eliminated at the group stages.

If we go looking for wider influences behind a poor year for the English sides, can one be found in the emergence of Manchester City as a spending powerhouse?

In the summer, they swooped to relieve Arsene Wenger of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor; they enticed long-term Liverpool target Gareth Barry to Eastlands; and perhaps most significantly of all, they convinced Carlos Tevez to move from the red to blue side of Manchester.

Most pundits point to Xavi Alonso’s departure as a key influence in Liverpool’s fall from grace. Would Barry have proved a more able replacement than the brittle and under-used Alberto Aquilani?

In the face of a central defensive crisis, Arsene Wenger could have done with Kolo Toure in the Nou Camp in place of the creaking Mikael Silvestre. And surely Adebayor would have proved a more dangerous threat to the Barcelona defence than Nicklas Bendtner?

Lastly, Sir Alex Ferguson took a chance last night on a clearly under-par Wayne Rooney, not least due to the lack of dynamism offered by £30m alternative Dimitar Berbatov. How he would love to have called upon an on-fire Tevez.

As I say, the margins are small. At the business end of a season, squad depth is vital. Thanks to Man City’s mega bucks, their Premier League rivals have been weakened and now exposed by Europe’s best.

Following a meeting between the Football Association and the twenty Premier League chairmen, the vaunted Champions League 4th place play-off idea has been thrown to the scrap heap.

Richard Scudamore told the media today that the proposal did not receive sufficient support from top flight bosses and will not be examined further.

This development may surprise many, given that 14 clubs must support such proposals in order for them to be explored more seriously.

Outside of the traditional ‘Big Four’, one would expect almost universal support for a change that would dangle the gold-plated carrot of Champions League qualification in front of a team finishing as low as seventh in the league.

Is there any chance that some level of pragmatism is finally sinking into football authorities? Perhaps they fear the consequences of such a temptation.

The lure of more realistic Champions League qualification would surely lead many ambitious chairmen into spending beyond their clubs’ reasonable means. We could end up with six or seven Pompey’s on our hands.

If you look at the last three PL final tables, we might have had the salivating prospect of European giants Barcelona locking horns with the likes of Fulham, Blackburn and Bolton. On these grounds alone, it would seem a sensible decision.

Winning the Premier League is considered the most significant achievement because it measures results over 38 hard-fought matches. The same logic should apply to the 4th CL place.

The play-offs would add yet more exciting games to the schedule. However, with four teams currently vying for that one position, isn’t it exciting enough already?

It is an old football adage that a great team is built around a great spine. With that in mind, Arsene Wenger is in big trouble.

In two home games against their two main rivals, Arsenal have been totally overrun, registering comprehensive defeats to Chelsea (0-3) and Manchester United (1-3). In both games, the Gunners have been outmuscled and outthought in every department.

It is worth breaking this down into each individual third of the pitch:

Central defence – the best defensive pairings have at least one commanding, non-nonsense defender in the mould of Terry or Vidic. A classier, quicker partner compliments this well.

Neither Gallas nor Vermealen quite cut the figure of a commanding leader of a centre back. This results in a perceived weakness & disorganisation which spreads throughout the whole team. Didier Drogba has taken great joy in tormenting Arsenal for the last four years and the superlative Wayne Rooney was equally devastating on Sunday.

Central midfield – Cesc Fabregas must be one of the finest talents in Europe. Unfortunately his impact is being blunted in the big games by central midfield partners lacking in presence and influence. Let’s face it – Denilson is never going to be the next Keane or Vieira. Chelsea and Man Utd both possess phenomenal strength and quality in midfield, and Wenger’s team have lost those vital midfield battles spectacularly.

Up front – Arsenal miss Robin van Persie massively, as Wenger’s other strike options are lightweight, aside from Bendtner, who does not seem to be good enough at this level. With the likes of Rooney, Drogba & Anelka, the top two have a decisive edge to their play, particularly on the counter attack, where as Arsenal find themselves too reliant on executing a wonder-pass. It has been noticeable, too, to observe how ineffective Arsenal are from wide positions. With no striking presence, they score few goals from wide in open play or set pieces.

If Arsenal’s outfield issues were not enough, the position of goalkeeper must be questioned. If you were to put the 20 first-choice keepers in order, would Manuel Almunia make your Top 10? Nani has rightly been praised for creating United’s first goal. However, his fantastic skill has diverted attention from the absolute horlicks that Almunia made of the cross. Goalkeeping errors undermine all the outfield efforts, and affect the team’s overall confidence.

Although he might not admit it, Wenger must be aware of these issues. However no signings of note have arrived at the Emirates in the January transfer window. You must fear for their season with tricky games against Chelsea and Liverpool on the horizon.

John Terry must be the cornerstone of England’s World Cup 2010 challenge. In light of recent scandals, it cannot be as captain…

Bad boy captains don’t sit well with sporting authorities. Just ask Shane Warne. Aside from being arguably the most skilful bowler in the history of cricket, Warne was blessed with a quite brilliant cricketing brain. Perfect captaincy material…until he stepped off the park. A string of off-the-field indiscretions made Cricket Australia reticent to have Warne in a position of authority.

The England football captaincy is viewed with similar magnitude to leading the baggy greens. It requires a character who is whiter than the white kits with three lions on the chest. When Fabio Capello took over, JT seemed a wholly reasonable choice to lead his side into a World Cup campaign. Inspirational leader, world class centre back, committed husband and even named Father of the Year. How that has changed now.

Terry was already on the ropes after the News of the World broke a story about his unofficial £10,000 stadium tour. Now his alleged affair – with, of all people, the fiancée of an England teammate – surely makes his captaincy position untenable. For the FA to continue with Terry would be tant amount to an endorsement of his alleged antics.

You can argue whether personal affairs (literally!) should affect team matters, but in this case they certainly do.

Assuming he goes, who will fill the embarrassing void?

Rio’s injury problems call his claims into question. Lampard leads by example on the pitch and is seen as a model professional. However, in light of his acrimonious split from Elen Rives, his appointment would surely be butchered by the press. That leaves Steven Gerrard to finally prove that he can inspire his England teammates the way he has for Liverpool for the past decade.

Picture the scene. Sepp Blatter, fed up with England’s dominance of European football, decides to ban all non-British & Irish players from the Premier League. In this post-Apocalyptic world, Aston Villa would probably romp to the league title.

Martin O’Neill faced a tricky pre-season last summer. Early season form had wilted under the stresses and strains of UEFA Cup campaign. His talismanic centre back and captain, Martin Laursen, was forced into early retirement. O’Neill responded by making some understated but extremely savvy signings. New signings Richard Dunne, James Collins, Stephen Warnock & Stewart Downing might not have made headline news in the maelstrom of Manchester City’s spending, but they are all made in a similar image – solid, British, with important top flight experience.

Probably his key signing has been Dunne. One gets the feeling that Dunne was not quite sexy enough for the billionaire owners’ liking. But the over-priced, imbalanced pairing of Joleon Lescott & Kolo Toure is proving about as sexy as Iain Dowie in a mankini.

Richard Dunne may not be the prettiest player to watch, but he is mighty effective, experienced, and you can imagine, a very positive influence in the dressing room. He is a poor man’s John Terry, and that is no bad thing.

The result has been to strengthen the spine of a side that can not only compete with their perennial rivals, but take 9 points from 9 against the seemingly dwindling Top Four. O’Neill is both a great creator of teams but also an impressive developer of players. Exhibit A – James Milner, currently reinventing himself as a creative central midfielder, and making a strong case for a ticket on the plane to South Africa.

Without Europa League distractions, there is no reason to question Villa’s ability to penetrate the Top Four. But with Man City and Spurs also flexing their muscles, it promises to be the most exciting finish to the top half of the table in Premier League history.

Fast forward to Saturday 27th March 2010. Manchester United travel to face relegation-threatened Bolton, on the eve of a Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. Sir Alex Ferguson picks a weakened team and Bolton grind out a 1-0 win.

Come the end of the season, Bolton finish in 17th position, one point ahead of relegated Wolves. If this series of events unfolds, Mick McCarthy will wear the wriest of smiles.

McCarthy’s decision to change all ten outfield players for Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford has opened a massive can of worms. Before the match, it generated a feeling that the result would be a foregone conclusion; a gimme.

Eyebrows will have been raised at all of United’s rivals, not least Arsene Wenger. He watched his Arsenal side held to a 1-1 draw last night by a motivated, full strength Burnley. Afterwards, Wenger commented that he will compete on an equal playing field with United over 37 matches – sarcastic, but fair comment.

We always hear that football is a confidence game. I wonder how those ten dropped players felt…Morale must have been sky high after a fantastic victory against Spurs, and the prospect of an injury-ravaged United defence will have excited the likes of Kevin Doyle.

And what of the fans? A midweek trip to Manchester will have set back the away supporters north of £100 per person. Surely they deserve better?

You can understand the reasons behind McCarthy’s decision, and if the renewed players gain three points at home to Burnley on Saturday, it would seem to have paid off.

But the bigger picture is cloudy. When a club’s final league position has such gigantic consequences, financial and beyond, surely all teams have an obligation to field something close to their strongest line ups in every game.

If the FA take no action against Wolves, it sets a precedent and gives every club carte blanche to decide which games they take seriously, and in which games they simply roll over and die.

Arsene Wenger is clearly an intelligent man and brilliant manager. However, in the light of his team’s 3-0 home humbling to Chelsea, he runs the risk of damaging his considerable credibility. Read on to find out why…

In the build-up to this vital match, Wenger issued a call to arms for his players – they can no longer be considered a young team; now is the time to deliver against the league leaders. 90 minutes later, and Arsenal’s fragility had been cruelly exposed by a bullying, clinical Chelsea. Having set the scene in advance, Wenger would surely have to concede – his team fell badly short in both final thirds. A lack of incision in attack; a lack of organisation in defence.

But rather than admitting any shortfall in his own team, Wenger chose to blame the officials. He reasoned that Arsenal dominated the game and Chelsea scored with their first shot.

A dose of reality is required. Chelsea had 5 shots on target to Arsenal’s 3. Possession ended up only 51-49 in Arsenal’s favour. If Arshavin’s goal was disallowed harshly, what of Sagna dragging down Anelka in the box and Vermeulen’s rugby tackle of Terry, both offences committed in the area?

With the news of Robin van Persie’s extended absence still raw, and in the immediate aftermath of an embarrassing home defeat, maybe you can excuse Wenger’s reaction. But in the cold light of day, he must surely recognise that Arsenal lack leadership and power across the field. The Invincibles team was built around exactly that.

Their frailties will rarely be exposed against the majority of teams in the Premier League and Champions League. But against the top teams in Europe, the Gunners’ soft centre will be there for all to see. Until Wenger addresses this and performs a major overhaul, Arsenal fans will have a long wait for their next major trophy.

Billionaire oligarch Roman Abramovich will have seen a few diamonds in his time. Thanks to his latest managerial appointment at Chelsea, he is observing a new one, and on initial inspection, it may be to his liking.

In the spirit of pre-season hype, much has been written about Carlo Ancelotti’s favoured diamond system. On paper, the formation seems a little narrow, with an over-reliance on overlapping full backs to provide width. In practice, we are seeing that it is an impressively fluid system, and in no small part, that is down to the embarrassment of riches the Italian has inherited in midfield.

If width is required, he can call upon the much-improved Florent Malouda, in addition to Kalou, Zhirkov and (if and when fit) Joe Cole. For tighter occasions, Ballack and Deco may be preferred. Either way, it seems Ancelotti will rotate his options in midfield according to the opponent and match situation.

Make no mistake, Ancelotti will be no ‘Tinkerman’. Expect to see the irrepressible spine of Cech, Terry, Lampard and Drogba on the vast majority of team sheets.

The early signs are extremely encouraging – Roman may have found his diamond geezer. However, a word of caution.

This time last year, Deco was shining in the late summer sun, and Luis Felipe Scolari was charming all whose path he crossed. While Deco tries to establish himself again, ‘Big Phil’ is now managing the mighty FC Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan. As Greavsie’s said so sagely, it’s a funny old game.

Controversy is brewing at the otherwise rather tepid affair that is the Confederations Cup.

With the Brazil-Egypt clash locked at 3-3 going into the 90th minute, an Egyptian defender cleared a goal-bound header off the line with his arm. As the defender in question writhed around holding his head – in an attempt to disguise his misdemeanour – English referee Howard Webb signalled for a corner.

During the ensuing melee, Webb appeared to receive instruction from the touchline via his earpiece, and changed his decision to award a penalty and dismiss the Egyptian. The implication being that the 4th official had identified the handball having quickly reviewed the footage on video replay.

The world’s most expensive player (for now), Kaka, coolly stroked home the spot kick to give Brazil a 4-3 victory.

Egypt have subsequently lodged a formal complaint over the manner in which the decision was made – and in a way, they have a right to feel aggrieved since the use of technology has not been formally sanctioned.

However, surely this begs the wider (and eternal) question – why don’t we use technology for these incidents?

The fact is that the correct decision was reached, and in relatively quick time. If the corner had stood, Brazil would have had just cause to feel significantly more aggrieved than the Egyptians.

Of course there are intricacies that would have to be addressed if video technology were introduced, not least the question of under what circumstances it is used. But with the stakes higher than ever in the modern game, and with its adoption so successfully introduced in other sports, surely now is the time for FIFA to get on the case.

However, in an organisation controlled by Sepp Blatter’s ego, we won’t hold our breath.