Love him or hate him, there is no denying the brilliance of Real Madrid's manager, Jose Mourinho - especially when it comes to taking care of league business at home. The self-styled "Special One" is celebrating a landmark milestone this week, which sees him go nine years as a coach in football - starting back in February 2002 - without having lost a home league fixture in whatever country he has been managing in. His record, from Porto to Real Madrid via Chelsea and Inter is unsurpassed and remains

As the Champions League gears up for a return this week the disadvantage of playing in the all-action, non-stop Premier League has again come into focus. Yes the division is the world's richest and so club's can gather together large, expensively assembled squads but those players have just come through a gruelling winter schedule that included games right through the Christmas and New Year period. But many teams on the continent - such as Serie A, La Liga or Bundesliga clubs - enjoyed a winter

On the back of their first defeat in 29 games, Manchester United will be looking to bounce back this weekend in order to maintain their 4 point lead at the top of the Premier League as they look to win their 12th title in the last 18 years. They will be faced with one of their toughest fixtures of the season however, with the visit of City rivals and the new super buying powers of Manchester City. A fixture that has always been eagerly awaited from the start of the season, by both the blue

West Ham football kits are set to grace the Olympic stadium as the club looks set to be named as tenants for the venue in Stratford after receiving the backing of the Olympic Park Legacy Committee. The body, partially in charge of deciding who will use the stadium after the Olympics in 2012, have rejected Tottenham Hotspur's controversial bid to use the stadium according to BBC London. The North London club planned to remove the running track from around the pitch, and tear down some of the structure

Wayne Rooney reckons Manchester United still need to be wary of Chelsea's presence in the Premier League title battle, despite the Red Devils having a ten point advantage. The England striker has struggled for form so far this season, but looked like he could have turned a corner when he scored two in the win over Aston Villa earlier in the week. That result ensured United kept a five point gap open to Arsenal and Chelsea, who had looked unstoppable at the start of the campaign, are a distant

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway put himself in a difficult position when his team faced Aston villa in November. Not the fact that he decided to change ten players from his side that faced Everton the week before the game against Villa. But when, after the game it was revealed his club were to be pulled before the FA for fielding a weakened side, the Blackpool boss threatened to quit if his club were found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute. The North-West club have had a sensational

Whether misquoted or not (and I'm fairly sure he was) Denilson has made a valid point about the lack of leaders in the Arsenal side. True his actual quotes were taken from an interview meant only for the Arseblog and Arsenal Brazil website by a third party, sold to the Sun and then put through their trashy, tabloid story spinner in order to make dramatic if misleading headlines, take the focus away from what really matters - the livescore in each game the side plays. But cut away the red-top

Barcelona are a football club that has always been able to attract a high level of support from fans of all clubs, as well as managers and pundits, with the Spanish side often cited as the team for Premier League sides to try to emulate. However, while they certainly do have some features that can be emulated, Barcelona as a club will never be replicated in the Premier League, despite what some people's football predictions suggest. You may think this is a little harsh, especially since Arsenal

Could it be the case that Liverpool have left themselves in a lose/lose scenario by signing Dalglish?

Joe Cole emerged from the World Cup this summer as a man in demand. Despite calls throughout the tournament for the newly-released Chelsea star to start, England boss Fabio Capello didn't cave in to public demand and left Cole on the bench for the most part. The precocious talent the former West Ham man has was available for free to anyone who would have him. Both Liverpool and Tottenham were public suitors of Cole; both showed a willingness to shower him with the affection he desired and needed

Reports are surfacing that Aston Villa's Steve Sidwell could be close to sealing a move to West Ham when the January transfer window opens next month. The 28-year-old has failed to make a real impact at Villa since arriving from Chelsea in 2008. The midfielder has struggled with injury during his two and a half years at the club but even when fully fit Sidwell found his chances limited under both Martin O'Neill and Gerard Houllier. Sidwell's contract at Villa Park is due to expire at the end of

Wojciech Szczesny is a man whose name would have been unfamiliar to the ears of most football fans before  Arsenal stuttered to defeat at Old Trafford earlier this week, but he now  appears to be poised to grab hold of his chance to become the next young  goalkeeper to impress at the highest level in the Premier League. Although the English press and those regularly placing free sports bet have so far focused solely upon Joe Hart as the prime  example of a hugely talented young goalkeeper

Avram Grant insists West Ham can turn things around and avoid Premier League relegation, despite looking favourites for the drop at this point in time. The Hammers are two points behind Wolves and three points adrift of safety having played one game more than most of their Premier League relegation rivals due to the amount of matches snowed off at the weekend. Only one team that have been rooted to the bottom of the Premier league at Christmas have managed to avoid the drop, and that was West