It's funny how the passage of time changes things; 6 months ago Man Utd were complaining about Real Madrid's attempts to buy Christiano Ronaldo, 4 months ago Tottenham were complaining about Man Utd/Berbatov and now Spurs are villans over Stewart Downing. Of course the times I've listed are approximations since both the Ronaldo and Berbatov saga's have raged on for quite some time (and the Ronaldo one continues to this day).

But it does present an intresting arguement over who holds the power in matters like these; the club, the manager, the player or agents. Of course it varies from deal to deal, after all if you look at Kevin Keegan's departure from Newcastle it was allegedly down to a lack of control over who was bought and sold.

There are other issues to consider though? For example if a club has a player who doesn't want to be there can they really keep a hold of them? Obvious examples are Berbatov and Robbie Keane this summer, both clearly wanted to leave Tottenham and while as a Spurs fan I hated to see them leave I think in the long run we were better off, after all if you have a player who is unhappy they're aren't going to play as well for you as they could. Look at Anelka and the way his preformances began to drop as he approached the end of his spells at the many, many clubs he has played for.

Anyway the reason that this springs to mind is with the news coming out over various players in this window. First off, you've got Man City trying to buy Scott Parker from West Ham, with the Hammers stating that they have no intrest in selling him. Apparently Pascal Chimbonda wants out of Sunderland and the same can be said with Jermaine Defoe. Now while Portsmouth seem more than willing to make a deal for JD (I'm hearing that Spurs are currently in negotiations with Pompey), Sunderland seem less than enthusiastic about letting Chimbonda go.

And of course there is Stewart Downing, a player who has been a target for Spurs for a number of seasons, has always seemed happy enough with boro. However as of this morning he handed in a written transfer request, stating that the clubs ambitions at the start of the season have not matched his own. This request though was promptly rejected by the club, and Steve Gibson has repeatedly said since the window opened that no senior members of the squad will be sold this January.

But as I've said before the question is if a player really wants to leave a club can the club really keep a hold of him? Previous experiance would suggest no, I mean I've already mentioned Keane, Berbatov and Anelka but you've also got Robinho. Hey was so desperate to get out of Madrid he went to Man City? But of course I do believe that most of the time it is money which is motivating these moves. So it should be interesting to see how the Downing situation ends up when there isn't millions involved, similarly I would like to see if any club can resist the cash that Man City seem to have available?

Whilst watching the football last night something dawned upon me. It was exactly five minutes before the end of the Liverpool game when it was looking like going to penalties and one the pundits on Gilette Soccer Special mention if the Scousers failed to qualify they would automaticly be entered into the first round of the UEFA cup...

eh?

This my dear readers did not sit well with I. Come on, if you get knocked out of one tournament you should not be entered into another. It's not as if when a team gets knocked out of the League cup they get into the FA trophy now is it? The point is it should be "bye, bye, thanks for coming better luck next year" not "oh well, because we feel sorry for you, you can enter this tournament instead." At the end of the day you should get into a tournament for winning games, not by losing.

If UEFA want that cup to be taken seriously (or at least slightly more seriously than it's taken now) they really need to sort it out... and that includes all the 3rd place teams from the group stages.

With the Charity... sorry Community Shield this weekend it can mean but one thing, the Premiership season is once again upon so here's this old Outlaw's verdict on what to expect...

Top 4:

1) Man Utd
2) Liverpool
3) Chelsea
4) Arsenal

No real surprises to be had there, none of the "mid-table" teams have really done enough work to break in to the top 4 except maybe Spurs. However Ramos has put together a team with little experiance both of playing in the Premiership and together. In the time it takes for them to gel together and adapt they may loose out on that Champions League spot.

As for the placing, Liverpool have made good strides to improve their team. More so than any other team in the group but is it enough? Not quite, at least in my opinion. Utd remain solid as always and the fact they've seemingly held on to Ronaldo is a boost. And Chelsea, well despite the introduction of a big name manager as far as I know Scolari has never achieved anything on a domestic level which is an entirely different situation to the international scene.

The Drop:

Stoke
Hull
West Brom

none of the newly promoted teams have made any of the move that ae neccessary to stay in the top flight in this day and age so straight up, straight down.

The Chop:

Southgate is looking increasingly weak as 'boro have let go of a lot of good players and haven't really replaced them with any quality. Also look out for Keegan to take a wander if things turn sour at Newcastle.

Player(s) to watch out for:

Despite temptation to peg Ronaldo again I think Modric will be one to look out for. He was very impressive in the Euro's and has continued to impress in pre-season. Also keep a look out on Theo Walcott, if he gets a chance at Arsenal he is sure to impress.

The Cups:

F.A - Liverpool
League - Blackburn

Paul Ince is looking for a chance to impress on the big stage and the league cup may just be within his grasp. And while Liverpool may not be quite ready for the title they may have what it takes to get their hand on some silverware

Europe:

Look out for British clubs to do well in Europe once again this year, particularly Spurs in the UEFA, they have a large sqaud with lots of quality, plus Ramos is known to have a certain magic in the contest. But winning it... sadly not. Unless there are some giant killing antics or a miracle Milan should take it. As for the Champions League I'm not overly sure what's going to happen... although for entertainment value I'd love to see Inter win it, just for the look on Abramovic's face when Mourinho lifts the cup.

Feel free to comment or add your own predictions.

Maria & Ashley vs Beth Phoenix and Melina (Bunnymania Lumberjack match):- You can tell it's Wrestlemania when the random matches start coming out of the wood work and this is about as random as it gets. A diva tag team match with Snoop Dogg officiating and all because of playboy! So in the grand scheme of things nobody really cares what's going to happen but for the sake of it the pro-playboy side should win it. Winners: Maria & Ashley

Finlay vs JBL (Belfast Brawl):- Another match which doesn't deserve to be at Wrestlemania as these two brawlers will go at it in a glorified No D.Q match and all because of Finlay's "son" Hornswaggle. I really don't care enough about this storyline to do a proper preview but JBL should win to keep the storyline going and reveal which member of the MacMahon clan set Vince up to believe that Hornswaggle was his son first. Winner: JBL

Batista vs Umaga:- Smackdown vs RAW here in a battle of brand supremacy... in other words they couldn't think of anything better to do with these two. These sort of matches really do bore me because despite the fact that RAW is clearly the better brand, Smackdown always wins? Why? Simply because they need the publicity more. Winner: Batista

Chris Jericho vs MVP vs Mr Kennedy vs Shelton Benjamin vs Carlito vs C.M Punk vs John Morrison (Money in the Bank Ladder Match):- Here we go, this is what I'm talking about. I love money in the bank matches, the carnage, the mayhem, the insanity and this match has been made all the more intersting in recent weeks. Pretty much since Wrestlemania 23 everyone knew that Jeff Hardy would win Money in the Bank at 24, but unfortunately for him he got himself suspended for doing drugs so is out of the match leaving it wide open. Now the emphasis in the buildup has been on Chris Jericho and MVP so logic would dictate that one of them would win. However last years Mr Money in the Bank was Mr Kennedy but he had to drop the briefcase due to injury, so there's a shout that the WWE might pick up where they left off an initiate whatever plan they had for last year, but two wins in two years? Unlikely. As for Morrsion, Carlito and Benjamin, I can't see it happening as they're not really main eventers, at least not yet. Leaving C.M Punk, while he does deserve a push and is a solid fan favourite there is the question of who he'd challenge for the title and the only logical choice would be the current World champ Edge as he was responcible for Punk losing the ECW title. But since I think that he's going to drop the belt (see below) I can't see punk winning. So we're back to MVP and Jericho, while both would do a great match for the title I have to go with experiance at the top level, which Jericho has bucket loads. And it's worth bearing in mind that he invented this match in the first place so he should get at least one win in it. Winner: Chris Jericho

Ric Flair vs Shawn Michaels (Career Threatening Match):- Well this should be interesting since if Ric Flair loses he has to retire. Now when Vince originally stated that the next match Flair would lose would be his last I knew that the WWE would drag this out to Wrestlemania and have a big send off for the Nature Boy, and they've not dissappionted me. That being said this is the perfect time for Flair to retire, on the grandest stage of them all, so grugingly Michales should win. Winner: Shawn Michaels

The Big Show vs Floyd "Money" Mayweather:- Absolutely pointless, honestly when this began I knew Mayweather would win and I still believe it. The simple fact is he is currently (well to my knowledge) undefeated in the boxing ring so for him to lose to Big Show would completely destroy any credibility he has as an athlete. Plus due to the size diffence he is he underdog, and we all know how the WWE loves underdogs. Winner: Floyd "Money" Mayweather

Chavo Guerro vs Kane (ECW Championship):- Since the WWE.com exclusive Battle Royal has just finished we now know the number 1 contender for the ECW title is the Big Red Machine Kane. Now Kane has not eld a singles title in quite some time and there have been rumours that this yea will be his last hurrah and the WWE want to give him one last run with a belt before he goes. But the difficulty in giving him a title is that he's been pushed to be this unstoppable monster, so if they were to give him a title it would limit the number of people who could take it off of him and frankly there isn't enough competition of ECW to constitute that. Winner: Chavo Guerrero

Edge vs The Undertaker (World Heavyweight Championship):- Now however much I would LOVE Edge to retain I can't see it happening. This is Wrestlemaina after all and 'taker is undefeated in 15 years so an end to the streak is unlikely. Plus over the past few weeks Edge has been getting the upper hand on his opponent, with con-chair-tos and escaping the clutches og 'taker on a number of occassions so the old man should come out on top. Winner: The Undertaker (new champ)

Randy Orton vs Triple H vs John Cena (WWE Championship):- OK triple threat match so usual triple threat rules apply, a retention or the dark horse. But this time I'm sensing a title change because Orton is allegedly not to popular with upper management, so the question is; will RAW turn into the Triple H show, or the John Cena show? Personally I think it'll be Triple H as he's not had the title in quite sometime and you know that he's not happy about that! Winner: Triple H (new champ)

10 divas Tag Match:- So to kick off we have a diva tag match; Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Melina, Victoria and Layla vs Mickie James, Maria, Torrie Wilson, Michelle McCool and Kelly Kelly. Which will either end with Beth Phoenix doing the whole Glamazon thig and kicking the shit out of everyone, or one of the faces picking up a roll up to create a rivalry. I'm banking on the former. Winners:- Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Melina, Victoria and Layla.

Hornswaggle vs The Great Khali:- WHY? Why in god's name is this match even happening? Hornswaggle (4"4, 130 pounds) vs the Great Khali (7", 420 pounds). Why? It's stupid, it's pointless there's no possible way the little guy can win... which means he will. Winner:- Hornswaggle

Cade & Murdock vs Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes (World Tag Team Championships):- There's been a spot of tention between the tag champs as of late and it could be a sign of a bust up. And the best way to kick that off is to loose the titles. Winners:- Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes (new champs)

C.M Punk vs John Morrison vs The Miz (ECW Championship):- Ok triple threat principles apply plus there is the fact there isn't enough talent on ECW to justify Punk loosing the belt so retention. Winner:- C.M Punk

Survivor Series Elimination Match:- So we have Triple H, The Hardyz, Rey Mysterio and Kane vs Umaga, Mr Kennedy, MVP, Finlay and Big Daddy V. Now for the past couple of weeks team HHH has suffered a bit of a beating with 3 members all picking up "injuries" which sets up for team Umaga to walk it, but we all know how this industry works and the underdogs usualy come out on top. WInners:- Team HHH

Batista vs The Undertaker (Hell in a Cell for World Heavyweight Championship):- Ok lots to bear in mind here, 'taker is more experianced in a Cell with 7 appearences to Batista's 1. However Batista has won his solitary appearances where as 'taker is slightly less fortunate with the majority of his appearances resulting in loses. However this is an outside issue. Edge is alledgedly coming back and he never lost the titel, he surrendered it due to injury so whoever wins will have to deal with him, and since it was Batista he was fueding with at the time it will proabbly be him. Winner:- Batista

Randy Orton vs Shawn Michaels (WWE Championship):- Regular match made interesting by it's stipulations; if Shawn Michaels uses Sweet Chin Music (super-kick) he looses but if Randy Orton is disqulaified he looses the belt. Now in all but 1 of the times Shawn Michales has won the title it has been because of the super-kick. Interstingly the only time he didn't use it was at Survivor Series exactly 10 years ago in the infamous Montreal Screw Job. Now you just know that they've got to do something about that, which probably means that Orton will retain. Winner:- Randy Orton

I really should do a proper post at some point... meh

Rey Mysterio vs Finlay (fans pick stipulation)
-Strecher Match
-Shillelagh on a Pole Match
-No DQ Match
Right 1st off I predict this to be a strecher match, why because I think it'll be the coolest, that and it favours the face (rey) more. I also think that Mysterio will win because there's not much point in giving it to Finlay, it serves no real purpose. Winner:- Rey Mysterio

MVP vs Matt Hardy (fans pick stipulation)
-Boxing Match
-Mixed Martial Arts Match
-Wrestling Match
Ok my money's on a wrestling match, because boxing's been done and martial arts will be dull. As for the winner, in order to make him a viable contender for the US title Hardy really needs a win against his tag partner. Winner:- Matt Hardy

Triple H vs Umaga (fans pick stipulation)
-Streetfight
-1st Blood Match
-Cage Match
Come on it's gotta be the cage! Hands down, you can't beat a good cage match. As for the result well since it's been built up that it'll be difficult for Triple H to win he really should do, especially since I think he'll be making a push for the title soon. Winner:- Triple H

C.M Punk vs ? for ECW title (fans pick opponent)
-John (I wish I was Jim) Morrison
-The Miz
-Big Daddy V
No personally I voted for Miz, why? Because I not seen that match yet and I think it'll be a good one. Nether-the-less Morrison should win the voting, as far as I know he never got his rematch when he lost the belt and the two always have good matches. But Punk should retain since he's the only real face on ECW right now so if a heel were to hold the belt there'd be no-one to defnd against. WInner:- C.M Punk

Batista vs The Undertaker for World Heavyweight title (fans pick referee)
-JBL
-Mick Foley
-Stone Cold Steve Austin
Austin for ref, unless WWE rig the vote there is no way Austin is not going to be the official in this match he's far to popular with the fans. But JBL has guarenteed that he will be the ref and that he'll screw Batista. SO he won;t be the ref, but will interfer allowing 'taker to win the belt. Winner:- The Undertaker (new champ)

Randy Orton vs ? for WWE title (fans pick opponent)
-Mr Kennedy
-Jeff Hardy
-Shawn Michaels
Again I voted for Jeff but he aint gonna win, I'd put money on it being Shawn Michaels. That doesn't mean he's going to win mind you, my betting is that they drag this out till Survivor Series where they'll find some way to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the "Montreal Screw Job". Winner:- Randy Orton

Candice Michelle vs Beth Phoenix (Women's title):- Right apparently the pressure is now on Beth to win as she has guarenteed victory. No how this works in terms of storyline I have no idea. The way I see it, it'll go one of two ways, Phoenix will win, or she'll loose (duh!) causing a major rampage in the women's divison. My money's on the latter. Winner:- Candice Michelle

Finlay vs Rey Mysterio:- Since returning Mysterio has had a bit of hit and miss in terms of his matches, simialrly Finlay has had little to do what with the whole Hornswaggle MacMahon storyline so both could do with a push. But the way WWE works Mysterio will get it this time. Winner:- Rey Mysterio

C.M Punk vs Big Daddy V (ECW title):- Ok usual giant storyline here, the way it's been built up there is no way Punk can retain which prety much means he will especially since the event is in his home town. Winner:- C.M Punk

Triple H vs Umaga:- Still coming off of his big comeback I can't see Triple H losing here, unless of course there is outside interferance, which is a distinct possibility considering the vibe I'm feeling for 'mania. But I think that won't come for a while yet... maybe Survivor Series. WInner:- Triple H

Batista vs The Great Khali (Punjabi Prison Match for World Heavyweight Title):- Yeah Batista's gonna win this, can't see it going any other way than that. Winner:- Batista

WWE Championship Match:- FINALY!!! CENA IS NO MORE!!! Yes that's right after a year of holding the belt John Cena has suffered an injury which'll put him out for between 6 months and a year! So at f*cking last we can see a new WWE Champ! So who's it going to be? As it stands the push they're giving on WWE.com is either Randy Orton, Mr Kennedy, Jeff Hardy or a dark horse. My money's is on a dark horse, someone jumping show or coming back from an injury/sabbatical. God knows who though, since details are still sketchy about what's going down. Winner:-???

After more of my various adventures througout the country (I've since been to Newcastle, York and Sheffield) which have been both entertaining and down right annoying due to certain people who will remain nameless at this time (I'm not pissed off enough for a proper rant just yet but there is still plenty of time for that to happen) I think it's time for another ppv preview:

Matt Hardy & MVP vs Duece & Domino (WWE tag team championship) - Yes you are reading this right, for those of you who don't follow wrestling but follow my blog, former rivals Matt Hardy and MVP are now the tag champs. But bizarrely enough Hardy still wants a shot at the U.S title held by his partner! Anyway depending on how long they want this to run they'll probably retain since this story line can be dragged out for a bit longer. Wiiners: Matt Hardy & MVP

Cade & Murdock vs London & Kendrick (World tag team championship) - Now in terms of televised storyline there not been much build up to this match, but on recent tours of SOuth Africa these two teams have traded the titles an number of times (well two). But I can sense another change here since there are now more heel teams than faces so it would make sense to have face champs that way you can have more matches. Winners - London & Kendrick (new champ)

Candice Michelle vs Beth Phoenix (Womens championship) - Ok not sure how this one'll go as Phoenix has the superior ability menaing it'll be better for the company to have her as champ, but the build up has been that there is no way Candice can retain... which usualy means she will. But she has held the title for a bit now and it could be time for a new champ. Winner - Beth Phoenix (new champ)

C.M Punk vs Elijah Burke (ECW championship) - Well ECW is in a state of flux right now since it's champ has been done for drugs! (hense the non ppv title change). Anyway after all the build up Punk has had it makes absolutely no sense what-so-ever to have him drop th belt this quickly. Plus Burke isn't quite established enough to carry the belt and realisticly there would be no-one to challenge him if he won it. Winner - C.M Punk

Triple H vs Carlito - After a triumphant return at Summerslam the Game is back and decimating anyone and everyone in his path, so he's going to win. Especially since the stipulation that the match is no DQ but only for Carlito, so it's the whole "there no way he can win" thing. Winner - Triple H

Undertaker vs Mark Henry - Right 'taker's coming back form an injury and it's the Undertaker. There's no way he can loose. Winner - Undertaker

The Great Khalii vs Batista s Rey Mysterio (World Heavyweight title) - Ok triple threat so usualy rules apply, a retention or the dark horse. And sinse I severly doubt Mysterio can carry the belt again (I'm sorry to say it but the ONLY reason he held it when he did was because Eddie Guerro died) it looks like Khali will retain. Besides my theory is that he'll hold it till 'taker's ready to take it off of him. Winner - The Great Khali

John Cena vs Randy Orton (WWE championship) - I can not believ that Cena has held the belt for a year. A YEAR for christ's sake! I don't care how popular he is, that just isn't right. Even during the hight of Hulkamania Hulk Hogan didn't hold it for that long. Anyway, my theory right now is that there's going to be a Chamber match at Survivor Series for the belt so it's pretty much a question of who's going to take the belt in to it. The story is very personal at this point since a couple of weeks ago Orton absolutely annihalated Cena's dad and Cena is understandably annoyed at this, giving him an extra push. Plus if you add the fact that Orton's backstage shenanigans have got him into trouble on more than one occasion it seems unlikely that he'll get the belt. But I can still dream... please let this be the time! Winner - Randy Orton (new champ)

The Sandman vs Carlito (Singapore Cane Match):- Well this is a somewhat surprising turn of events, the Sandman getting a push... can't last though since he's pretty much a one dimensional character (at least in WWE) so there isn't much that can be done with him. Where as Carlito can be pushed into a title picture, so he shoud win. Winner - Carlito

MVP vs Matt Hardy (US championship):- Hard one to call here, MVP hasn't held the title for too long, but Hardy deserves a title run. So the question is where can they go from here? Since the draft Smackdown is floundering with a lack of talent but there does appear to be more heels than faces so a face champion is a distinct possibility. Winner - Matt Hardy (new champ)

Dusty Rhodes vs Randy Orton (Texas Bullrope Match):- Here we go with another "legend vs legend killer match" this time with Rhodes' specialty. In my opinion Orton should be challenging for the title so a win should be on the cards, but they don't bring these legends out just to get whupped... plus I do have a theory that at Summerslam it'll be Randy & Bob Orton vs Dusty & Cody Rhodes in a dodgy father/son tag match. But still it makes more sence to have Orton win. Winner - Randy Orton

Candice Michelle vs Milena (Women's championship):- Ok Candice hasn't held the title for too long so it would be somewhat unfair for her to drop it this quickly, plus with the number of divas about now you could probably throw them all in a fatal four way at some point. Winner - Candice Michelle

Umaga vs Jeff Hardy (Intercontinental championship):- I hate the fact Umaga has a title, it just doesn't make any sense to give a belt to someone you've built up so much that they can't realisticly be beat. Which means he should drop the belt, after all there is that much mid-card talent on RAW that there is any number of people Hardy can defend against. Winner - Jeff Hardy (new champ)

John Morrison vs CM Punk (ECW championship):- Ignoring the fact WWE have seemigly ripped off the Doors, it's difficult to call this match. Morrison has only had the title a month and is a good heel champ so it seems unlikely that he'll drop it so quickly, Punk though is the only real face contender so it seems pointless to have him loose again then have no-one else left to fight for the title. But I'm sencing a screw job here setting up for a stipulation match at Summerslam. Winner - John Morrison

The Great Khali vs Batista vs Kane (World Heavyweight championship):- If we do not see a new champ here I will not be responsible for my actions... The Great Khali as champ? Why? He can't wrestle... he stands there looks big and punches people, he can't even do a DDT for Christ's sake! So who to win? Well they've only just taken Batista out of title contention so it makes little sence to give him the belt straight back, plus Kane is alledgedly coming tho the end of his career so it would be good for him to have one more run. Winner - Kane (new champ)

John Cena vs Bobby Lashley (WWE championship):- Another Cena match and once again I don't care. Sorry but it's true, even though out of all his title defences this is the one he could actually loose. But I don't see it happening, he's still worth too much as a champion. Winner John Cena

It's been a bad week, it started all so well with a good bye party for Cod as he headed home on Tuesday. The night was a good laugh a nice chilled evening with good friends. Afterwards we headed back to mine to watch Monday Night RAW to see the latest goings on with the WWE. It was due to be especiall interesting as it was a three hour special detailing the storyline of Mr McMahon's alleged death in a limo exposion a number of weeks ago.

However we were amazed to see Vince stood in the center of the ring in an empty arena as he announced that Chris Beniot, his wife Nancy and son Daniel had been found dead. Needless to say we were shocked. Vince went on to say that due to this the show had been cancelled and instead the show would be a three hour tribute to him. But more on that later.

On Tuesday I had another goodbye gathering, this time it was for Ellie a girl who I knew through the Monday Night quiz. Unlike Cod, Ellie isn't coming back to Teesside next year so this was slightly more special occassion. Again the night was good fun, but again it ended badly. As I headed home I was confronted by two chavs demanding to know where my phone was. Obviously I told them that I didn't have it on me, which led to one of them swinging for me. Knowing that if I tried to fight back the other one would jump in and I'd be screwed I took it. In the grand scheme of things it was somewhat amusing to see the guy's face when he hit me as hard as he could and I didn't go down. In the end he gave up and ran off. People have since asked me if and why I didn't give chase, but in the melee my glasses were knocked off and by the time I picked them up and got them on he was gone.

After the incident I was a little disorientated but I was lucky enough that a couple had seen what had happened and walked me back home. But the good times rolled on as I found out that my i-pod had been broken during the fight, plus with it being the end of term I don't have the money to replace it.

Anyway feeling sore as hell I woke up the next day to here the full story behind Beniot's death. From what I've been hearing from the WWE and various news broadcasts he allegedly strangelled his wife, smoothered his son and then hung himself. Since this has come out various people from all corners have kicked off about "roid-rage" and the other deaths of a number of wrestlers, namely Eddie Guerrero, Curt Henning and Davy-Boy Smith who all died of drug related heart faliure.

Now despite the tragic nature of the deaths, I think people are forgetting one thing; for over a decade Chris Beniot has been not just a great entertainer but a great wrestler which is somewhat of a rarity in terms of the wrestling business. Take Michael Jackson, he's alledgedly a peadofile, doesn't stop people listening to his music. It's a bad analogy but it's the best I can come up with right now, I'm still not 100% ok.