Rockin' Rafa

"The second half was a crazy game and when it is a crazy game you can't control things. Why was it crazy? Because it was crazy." Make of that what you will. As Liverpool's title challenge ran into another brick wall in the form of Wigan last night, it seemed manager Rafa Benitez was feeling the strain of yet another draw, their third in a row.

But just what was Rafa talking about? The penalty decision? Wigan's physical, "in your face" approach? Liverpool's lack of form? Probably not. Sir Alex Ferguson? Probably. After claiming Liverpool lack the mental strength to cope with the demands of a title race, Ferguson has seen his arch-enemies draw with Stoke, Everton and now Wigan, while his United side have hit top gear again, epitomised by their 5-0 drubbing of West Brom on Tuesday.

Benitez may well have been complaining about the increased mind games being played by Ferguson, and although Benitez has said he will not enter into any, the time will surely come when his players will need the belief and a public vote of confidence from their manager.

Robbie Keane may as well have sat at home watching the game from the comfort of his own living room again. Torres came off because he was "tired", but on came Albert Riera. Keane was then snubbed again as Dirk Kuyt came on, but when the Irishman eventually entered the fold, all he had was nine minutes to make a difference. The fairtytale ending for the £20 million man was not to be, the 1-1 draw seeing Liverpool slip to third in the table.

Liverpool are on a dangerous run, their bad form being time with United's record breaking 11 consecutive clean sheets and 6 straight wins. Somehow, Chelsea are back in with a shout after their 2-0 win over Middlesbrough last night. After being mauled 3-0 at Old Trafford and being 1-0 down at home to Stoke after 85 minutes in the following game, it did look all over for Scolari's men, but they've fought back and now find themselves United's closest challengers again.

It does seem, though, that everything is suiting the league leaders at the moment. Liverpool and Chelsea meet on Sunday, and a draw then would hand a massive advantage to United, whose title odds have been slashed to 1/4 after the last couple of days' events. And whilst Gerrard and Torres had to be replaced with tiredness, Berbatov, Tevez, Ronaldo et al seem to be firing on all cylinders. Plus they have the return of a certain Mr Rooney to come later in the month.

After the fifth goal was scored at the Hawthorns on Tuesday, the United fans' chants were "Rafa's cracking up". They may well be right, after this latest show of "crazy" by the Liverpool manager, in tactical decisions and public speaking. It's advantage Manchester United.

Call Up for Cole?

The campaign for Carlton Cole to be included in the next England squad is gaining momentum all the time after a string of impressive performances from the striker. Cole scored another goal in West Ham's 2-0 win over Hull last night, while England boss Fabio Capello was in Italy, watching another Englishman score too, David Beckham staking his claim for a place in the squad against Spain.

Cole has hit a rich vein of form - his 6 goals in 6 games is no coincidence with West Ham's march up the table - and the talisman is knocking on the door all the time. Described by Gianfranco Zola as "the gentle giant", Cole's size is often not used to the best effect possible, something his possible rival for a place, Emile Heskey does to great effect. But let's face it, Heskey won't be around forever to play in "the Heskey role" as it has been named. Basically, that involves throwing your weight around up top and working selflessly for the good of the team. Cole is only 25, and if he keeps improving could still yet reach the top.

Heskey's appaling goal record for club and country could probably be blamed on his willingness to set other players up instead, but Cole gained three times as many assists as Heskey last season, as well as scoring more goals. In fact, only four other Premier League strikers had more assists than the West Ham man.

After Michael Owen broke a bone in his ankle, (whether he would have been picked is another matter) it unveils even more doors for Cole to keep knocking on. Dean Ashton is another competitor for the role, but always seems to be injured, and Kevin Davies is - well - always overlooked really, plus he's 32. Wayne Rooney - how fit will he be after his hamstring injury in the last few weeks?

Like Heskey, Cole sometimes goes wandering for long periods in matches. Sometimes looking disinterested and unwilling to throw himself about for a while, he does need a metaphorical cattle prod poked in his behind from time to time. But still, Cole offers England everything Heskey does, with a few goals chucked in for good measure. You could say, the English Didier Drogba. Too far? Maybe not in a couple of years...

Van-tastic United

Manchester United moved three points clear at the top of the Premier League and smashed Chelsea's record of 11 successive clean sheets after a 5-0 thumping of West Brom. The Premiership's bottom and top sides showed that, despite this being the closest the league's been in years, the gulf between the elite and the not-so-elite is just that, a gulf. Paul Robinson was sent off in a frustrating and ultimately disappointing night for the Baggies, who could have lost by a lot more.

The home side did start well however, new signing Marc-Antoine Fortune causing United's defence some early cause for concern, a defence which was boosted by the shock return of Rio Ferdinand after back trouble. Fellow defender Wes Brown came off the bench to further his recovery from injury problems, and Park Ji-Sung returned in typically spritely fashion, his pace and energy causing Albion trouble all evening.

Indeed, it was Park who was the victim of the Paul Robinson tackle that got him sent off, a slightly harsh decision looking back. Albion's fans were furious with the red card, but the brutal truth was that they were outclassed, and by then United had gone one up anyway.

Dimitar Berbatov played a lovely one-two on the edge of the box with another former Spurs man, Michael Carrick. Robinson probably should have done better with his positioning, his drifting inside allowed Berbatov a free shot, which in his current form he finished with aplomb, and the floodgates started to open. Carlos Tevez added a second before half time after Scott Carson mis-handled a free kick. Carson protested but in truth it was poor goalkeeping by the England man.

By then, the game was over as a contest and United switched their focus to shutting out West Brom in order to gain the record. They did have a nervous moment when Ryan Donk smashed a shot off the post just after the break. If that had gone in, who knows. With the crowd behind them, and a bit of momentum, Albion could have made a fist of it. But in true style of champions, United punished them with a third goal, Nemanja Vidic stealing in to head home from a Ryan Giggs corner.

Giggs had a hand in the fourth too. Rolling back the years, the Welshman went on a mazy run and pulled a perfect ball back for the up until then relatively quiet Cristiano Ronaldo. He shot into the corner after earlier missing two farily simple chances by his standard. The relief was clear to see for the Portugese winger, but many of the congratulations went to Giggs, who seems to have peaked again, with Sir Alex giving him exactly the right amount of playing time to keep him fresh for United's run-in.

A sweeping move saw United finish off their scoring for the evening, and two contentious offside decisions outraged Baggies' defenders, and saw two yellow cards brandished for dissent. Berbatov picked the ball up on the right wing, and after a run inside found Ronaldo with a throughball, who finished through the legs of Carson. Ronaldo was not offside, Berbatov might have been. It was all irrelevant really as five minutes later United broke the record.

11 clean sheets since their 2-1 loss to Arsenal way back on November 8th, and interestingly enough in that time they have conceded 12 goals in 9 Cup and European matches. Their defensive record has been absolutely brilliant, considering in that time they have played 8 different combinations of the back four, and three different goalkeepers.

If United continue this rich vein of form, it's hard to see anyone stopping them romping to a third successive title. Not even Roman's millions can save Chelsea this time.

Transfer Fever Hits, Part II

Our transfer lo-down continues here, with the other 10 Premier League clubs, and their possible buys before the transfer window shuts.

Man Utd

Fergie has said that's it for the January buys after Serbian duo Tosic and Ljajic joined from Partizan Belgrade, but with United's current injury crisis I wouldn't be surprised to see a Henrik Larsson type signing emerge from Carrington in the next few days. United won't want to spalsh out, but the Swede did wonders in the short stay he had two years ago.

Middlesbrough

The Stewart Downing affair seems to have finally come to an end, with the winger seeming set to stay at the Riverside, good news for the Boro. Marlon King has signed and will provide good support for Tuncay and Alves, but they look set to miss out on Ben Watson. That may be a cloud with a silver lining, as I feel they need someone with more experience anyway.

Newcastle

Will they keep hold of Shay Given? It's pivotal to their aspirations that they do, Given has been a magnificent servant and I can't see him leaving unless a very attractive offer comes along. Steve Harper has signed a new deal, which again points to the exit door for Given. Like Boro, they possibly need a bit more experience, especially in defence, and possibly in the manager's office too...

Portsmouth

Selling Defoe, and selling Diarra is not good news for Pompey fans. The money generated will help stabilize the club, but signings like Hayden Mullins will not go a long way to winning the fans over. Glen Johnson and Peter Crouch have commited their futures to the club, which is good news, but they really do need a striker. Nugent is not Premiership standard, and Crouch is crying out for someone to feed off him.

Stoke

The signings of James Beattie and Matty Etherington are very good buys. Beattie will work his socks off all game, and could be the ideal partner for Fuller, and Etherington can provide that crucial final pass in the attacking third of the pitch. Stoke have a real battle on to stay up, and their away form needs to improve, but it does seem they lack a creative spark at times.

Sunderland

They do need to make signings. Letting Chimbonda go is good news for the Mackems, but if Kenwyne Jones were to leave it could spell a disaster. Darren Bent might come the other way, and will score a good few goals but lacks the physical presence of Jones.

Tottenham

If the problem at Tottenham is the ethic and spirit of the side, then why didn't Harry go for Jimmy Bullard? He would have fit the bill perfectly and given a real wake-up call to their currently under-performing midfield players. Wilson Palacios could prove to be a good signing for Harry, who seems to have given up on defenders altogether. Chimbonda returning could be good, it could be a disaster. Much like Scolari at Chelsea, Redknapp will need to get the most out of the players at his current disposal.

West Brom

Really need a top player to turn games for them. Their injury list is as long as my arm and with a squad that size it could be fatal. Tony Mowbray needs to get his chairman's cheque book out and start splashing the cash or it could be a quick return to the Championship for West Brom.

West Ham

The turning point in their season seems to have been the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. West Ham have been turning out some great performances in the last few weeks, and the signing of Savio seems to echo what Zola is trying to do with the club. Like the other "smaller" teams in the league, they need to keep hold of their best players, like Cole and Parker.

Wigan

Been great in recent weeks but the loss of Emile Heskey could threaten their season. Mido's an interesting one, couldn't get in the team at Boro so I don't know how he will fare at Wigan. They've also let Palacios go which is a blow and the standard of player being brought in is not the same (see Ben Watson).

Transfer Fever Hits

With just under a week left until the transfer window slams firmly shut in the faces of Premier League managers, there has never been a better time to unveil a new superstar to the team. The top division in English football is the tightest it's ever been, with some clubs having the potential to finish in about 15 different positions. If a shrewd signing is made between now and Monday, February 2nd, it could be the difference between European football and mid-table mediocrity, or the difference between a safe passage into next season's top flight and a relegation dogfight.

So which teams will be looking to bolster in these last 6 days or so?

Arsenal
With Cesc Fabregas out injured for a while, Arsenal need a dominant figure in that midfield to really improve their options, something they've lacked since Gilberto, Flamini and even Vieira left. Arshavin could be on his way to the Emirates but a deal looks some way off at the moment, and with van Persie, Rosicky and Nasri already on the books, he isn't what they need anyway. The ongoing Gallas/Toure saga might result in an emergency defender being brought in too.

Aston Villa
Emile Heskey has been brought in by Martin O'Neill, a move that really shows his belief about the club's ambitions, not for the long term, but this season. He could have waited until the summer and brought the England striker in for nothing, but the £4m paid by Villa signal their intentions of finishing in the top four. Quite how he will fit into the Villa system with Carew, Young and Agbonlahor in the form of their lives this season remains to be seen, but as far as any other signings go, Villa just really need to boost numbers to stave off Arsenal.

Blackburn
It's not as much who they will sign, it's who they can keep. Santa Cruz is apparently getting ever more itchy feet and Rovers will do well to keep Man City and their billions away from their prized asset. Without him, they could be in real trouble. Elsewhere, Blackburn's defence has not looked great this season and they could really do with some cover there.

Bolton
Bolton seem to be back in trouble after a bad run, and signings could prove to be the way out of it. Record hitman Johan Elmander has failed to fire since moving to the Reebok so another striker might be needed, a Heskey-type figure would have been ideal.

Chelsea
Where do you start with Chelsea? Roman insists his wallet is being kept firmly in his pocket for the time being, with no money becoming available for transfers. Selling Cudicini might prove to be a mistake, especially if Cech gets injured again. For me, the main problem is the players that Chelsea have right now. Sort the Drogba's, the Ballack's and the Alex's out and they'll go a long way to challenging for honours this season, as they certainly have the talent.

Fulham
Jimmy Bullard leaving is a massive blow for Fulham fans. So often their saviour, he had the ability to turn a game with a beautifully crafted pass, a free-kick or the occasional blinding goal. Eyebrows will be raised at the £4m paid by Hull, but he needs to be replaced by someone of equal standard or Fulham could find themselves back in trouble.

Hull
After an incredible start to life in the top flight someone seems to have turned the power off for Hull's season. They're on a terrible run, but the signing of Bullard should help. Teams have realised now how to play against Hull so they need something different. Marlon King's left and with only Cousin up there now, they may need a striker too.

Liverpool
Another tough one to call. Although actually signing Robbie Keane might do Liverpool the world of good. They need to sort his situation, as at the start of the season a Keane-Torres partnership looked fantastic on paper, but the Irish star hasn't hit it off at Anfield yet. Benitez leaving him out altogether won't help, but I can't see Liverpool making any other signings.

Man City
Again, where to start? Wayne Bridge, Craig Bellamy and Nigel de Jong have joined, although you get the feeling that isn't it for City. They're sniffing around Roque Santa Cruz and will want to go comfort shopping after having their ego bruised by Kaka and Milan. Drogba anyone?

It's Getting Messi In Here

At the moment, Lionel Messi is quite simply the best in the world. Unlucky to come runner-up to Cristiano Ronaldo in the World Player of the Year award, Messi is proving his doubters wrong with a series of scintillating performances for Barcelona. The latest came on Saturday night, when Barca scored four second half goals to rout Numancia 4-1.

Messi grabbed two of those goals, taking his tally for the season to 14, and highlighting why he is so highly rated by followers worldwide. After pledging his future to the Catalan giants, saying he "would play for Barcelona until they threw me out", the Argentine wonderkid went on to partake in Barca's most entertaining performance of the season so far. And there is certainly no need to worry, Lionel, they won't be throwing you out just yet.

If they did, there would be a queue about as long as outside any job centre in England at the moment waiting to snap him up. Apparently it would cost $330 million to get Barca to accept an offer, and even then, he wouldn't leave. And why would he? Barca are running away with La Liga at the moment, leading closest challengers Real Madrid by 12 points. They were unlucky not to win the Champions League last season, reaching the semi finals before the World Champions had their way.

The business end of the season will definitely bring out the best and worst of many clubs at the top of the scale, and Barcelona are fantastically positioned to launch an assault on league, cup and European competitions alike. And Messi is desperate for success to really stake his claim as the world's best player. With Ronaldo's future at Man United still a little unclear, his performances have not been of the magical standard of the past two seasons, yet Messi is improving his all the time.

Fergie Feeling The Heat

Manchester United's injury concerns reached crisis levels on Saturday when Fabio, Danny Welbeck and Cristiano Ronaldo limped out of the action early. It takes the Champions' sidelined total to 12 senior players, with Edwin van der Sar possibly becoming a 13th as Ferguson insists on giving the experienced goalkeeper an extended rest period.

This comes just as news filters through that United's match with Everton has been brough forward 48 hours, and will be played at Saturday teatime instead, due to the Merseysiders' FA Cup replay with Liverpool. Ferguson will be genuinely worried about the effects of this massive fixture pile-up for his side, with games such as the Super Cup back in August, the World Championships in December, not to mention the travelling to and from Japan, the prolonged run in the Carling Cup which has seen them reach the final, and their ongoing involvement in the FA Cup and Champions League.

Looking at United's squad, it would seem they are the only side in the country that could cope with such demanding circumstances. However these latest injury additions has forced Fergie into playing the "false sense of security" card to his title rivals. On Monday, the Scot said that United will slip up somewhere along the line, that's inevitable. And with the current injury crisis, he wouldn't be far wrong. From United's 12 injured players, and the rested Van Der Sar, you could put together a very strong first XI:

Goalkeeper: Van der Sar
Defence: Brown, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra
Midfield: Ronaldo, Hargreaves, Anderson, Park
Strikers: Rooney, Welbeck
Substitutes: Rafael/Fabio

And this is the side that is likely to be put out against West Brom tonight:

Goalkeeper: Foster/Van der Sar
Defence: Fletcher, Vidic, Neville, O'Shea
Midfield: Nani, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs
Strikers: Tevez, Berbatov

There is a case that the former side would possibly be better suited to a trip to the Hawthorns, but still with 12 players injured United can put out what seems to be a very strong side. Will they slip up along the way? Probably. But the smart money is still certainly on Ferguson's men, especially with Liverpool and Chelsea not exactly in convincing form themselves.

So Close For Non-Leaguers

The beauitful game really can be a harsh, cruel, unromantic sport at times. Just days after the hearts of the footballing nation were won over by a tremendous Burnley performance, only for them to be kicked off their perch at the very last by Harry's Spurs, Kettering Town and Torquay United of the Blue Square Premier were just minutes from gaining glamorous replays at the homes of their more illustrious opponents. Only late shows from Fulham, and more luckily, Coventry City ended non-league interest in this year's competition, whereas at this stage last season there had been 6 sides from outside of the Football League still in with a shout.

Havant & Waterlooville stick in mind, they twice led at Anfield before being eventually overpowered by Torres et al last season, but Kettering were even closer to causing a massive upset, twice coming from behind to draw level with Fulham, two goals from hero Craig Westcarr giving the Premiership side a real fright. Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora scored late goals to send Fulham into round five on a day where shocks were few and far between.

Torquay were so close, yet so far from claiming a massive scalp in Coventry City. Coventry boss Chris Coleman admitted he would have been "happy with a replay", which shows Torquay had the chances. Tim Sills and Matt Green were the villains - if you can call them that - both missing gilt-edged opportunities to put the non-leaguers in front, but Elliot Ward scored from a corner with a few minutes to play, sending the Championship outfit through.

Cupset fans (Yes, that is in fact now a recognised word) would have to look further South than Torquay to find the shock of the day, with holders Portsmouth crashing out at home to Roberto Martinez's Swansea. The Swans were nearly on the end of a few upsets themselves, having played four non-league opponents in the last two years - Horsham famously forcing a replay, and leading 2-1 in Swansea, before finally succumbing to a 6-2 defeat. Here though, they were the pantomime heroes. Nathan Dyer, on loan from Portsmouth's massive rivals Southampton slotted home the first after an excellent ball from Jason Scotland. Pompey had chances, not many, but Sean Davis should have levelled before Swansea scored a second to go through.

Much has been made of ITV's coverage of the FA Cup, in cohesion with Setanta Sports. The highlights shows have been criticised, with many of the public calling for a return to the BBC. The live games chosen by ITV were Hartlepool vs West Ham, which had potential for a Cupset which never really got going, and Man United vs Spurs, a game which threatened to be a complete joke with both managers' comments before the game, but actually turned out to be a decent encounter, for the first half an hour anyway. Say what you like about ITV, they're pulling in the ratings.

Tottenham led at Old Trafford through Roman Pavlyuchenko's header, but goals from Paul Scholes and familiar face Dimitar Berbatov, from other familiar face Michael Carrick's pass, saw United safely through to round five. Elsewhere there were wins for Chelsea, who eventually overcame a stubborn Ipswich side, and Middlesbrough, who scored a late goal to knock Wolves out.

Now You See Him...

When choosing his destiny in the summer, maybe Robinho should have given his old mate Kaka a call. The Man City striker made it clear that he was desperate to leave Real Madrid in the summer, with the arrival of Arjen Robben, and the potential arrival of a certain Portugese winger unsettling the Brazillian into rash statements of intent. It was made particularly clear that Stamford Bridge, and former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was his preferred destination, but Real were unwilling to sell to what they saw as a Champions League rival. So when Manchester City came in with a transfer record smashing £34 million bid on deadline day, it seemed all parties would be happy...

City were in the process of being made the richest club in the world by Sheikh Mansour and his gang of cronies, and Real were happy to see the back of one of their troublesome "Galacticos", particularly not to Chelsea. But now it's clear that all Robinho saw when he heard of City's offer, were big pound signs lighting up in his eyes. Some would say, he left his footballing soul behind in Madrid.

The infamous walk-out of the last couple of days from City's training camp in Tenerife was not the first time Robinho has pulled a stunt like this. Better known for his ability to shake off markers on the pitch, it seems the Brazillian has a knack for it whilst not playing as well. In 2005, the forward went on strike, demanding to be allowed to move to Real Madrid after current club Santos refused to lower their £35m price tag.

He then of course, did the same last summer, organising his own press conference to tell of Real's "broken promises". It now seems Robinho has realised the magnitude of what he's done.

Leaving possibly the most famous club in world football for some rainy Saturday afternoons, turning out for a team in the bottom half of the Premiership? £35 million.

Robinho's wages? £200,000.

Now realising his choice of actions was probably not the best? Priceless. Some might say, soulless.

Heartbreak For Clarets

Never has a team overturned a three goal deficit in the Carling Cup. That record still stands this morning, but Burnley came within minutes, within seconds of the most extraordinary turnaround the competition has ever seen. Spurs led 4-1 from the first leg, and were expected to comfortably see out the match, but the lack of bottle, desire and hunger was juxtaposed by Burnley's lions, who were so close to the ultimate fightback.

The maths at the start of the night was pretty simple. Burnley had to score three goals without reply from their more illustrious opponents, and if Spurs scored one they would need four, and so on. It must be said, Burnley created little to worry debutant Ben Alnwick in goal, only Benoit-Assou-Ekotto tried to aid the Lancashire side's fortunes, his well over-hit backpass forcing a fingertip save from the England U21 international.

However, the man of the match by a country mile, Robbie Blake, was not going to go down without a fight. His cleverly disguised free-kick caught Alnwick out at his near post, the first of two high-profile errors from the 'keeper. Burnley sensed blood, but couldn't turn their domination of possession into a second goal before half time.

The lack of chances created by both sides was understandable in treacherous conditions at Turf Moor. Many of the players emerged with new kits for the 2nd half, as Spurs' white shirts seemed to blend with their Claret opponents. If the lack of creativity could be forgiven from Spurs, their lack of hunger could not. Not one player stood out for them, except maybe Zokora, whose bite in midfield saved even further embarrassment. Their passing was woeful, defending unconvincing and creativity not there in the slightest.

Luka Modric was hauled off for Spurs, and Roman Pavlyuchenko replaced him. However, the extra bite up front was ineffectual and Burnley continued to press. Blake, whom, with such managers as Allardyce and Moyes - as well as Man Utd assistant Mike Phelan in the stands, must be attracting interest from higher profile clubs, was the catalyst for the second goal too. His jinking run on the left hand side left 3 defenders for dead, and his precise ball across found the unmarked Chris McCann to double the advantage.

If the first goal injected hope, the second sent a surge of belief around Turf Moor, the fans daring to think that maybe, just maybe they could snatch a third. And two minutes from time, they did just that. Blake tossed a looping, swirling free-kick into the box, and Dawson et al seemed to be able to deal with it. 'Keeper Alnwick came out, caused confusion, and dropped the ball at substitute Jay Rodriguez's feet. The striker had the simple task of tapping the ball into the empty net, and lift the roof off the stadium.

Extra time loomed, and Burnley now had something to cling on to. The away goals rule meant that only after extra time would they go through, so if it stayed 3-0 for the next 30 minutes, Burnley were at Wembley. In fairness, this may have counted against them. For the first time all evening, the Championship side sat back, allowed to Spurs to string some passes together on the halfway line, get some rhythm going. And with just three minutes of extra time to go, sub Pavlyuchenko struck the hammerblow. Bale's run and cross down the left hand side found the Russian, and although 'keeper Brian Jensen might have done better, he cannot be blamed - as the "beast" as he's known in these parts, was truly magnificent all evening.

Spurs fans seemed embarrassed, reluctant to accept what their team had just done. It was as if they needed to apologise to Burnley, like they'd broken the laws of football. In truth, they had. Never has a team with such a heartless performance made it to a final. This was meant to be a Cup semi-final, not a pre-season friendly. Some of the prima donna's that were out there tonight for Spurs need to take a long, long look at themselves. Wilson Palacios, subject to a work permit, will sign sooner rather than later. Harry said "I'm not sure if he will fit into our team - as he actually likes to tackle." That about sums it up.

Jermain Defoe scored with what was a sublime finish to add insult to what already seemed like broken limbs and broken hearts, and finished Burnley off. But the side from the Championship should have their heads held high. As a team, as a town, this day will never be forgotten. Spurs, you're going to Wembley. Congratulations for that, and that alone.

Red Devils Limp To Wembley

As a Manchester United fan, waking up this morning it didn't seem like we had got to a Cup Final, our first domestic one since the largely disappointing 1-0 loss to Chelsea, in what was supposed to be the glorious curtain-raiser at the new Wembley. I suppose the fact that the team was completely depleated by injuries, along with Derby's late rally, scoring twice in the last 10 minutes, put a bit of a downer on things. Nevertheless, United are through, and will play Burnley, or most likely, Tottenham in February.

Sir Alex Ferguson will know the real cost of reaching the final after their next couple of more high-profile matches. With Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown and Patrice Evra all out injured currently, and Gary Neville easing his way back into the team, the last thing the manager needed was more defensive problems. Defensive problems are exactly what he got. Rafael, one of the men completely transformed from the 1-0 first leg loss at Pride Park, limped off before half-time, and Jonny Evans, the magnificent stand-in for Ferdinand in recent weeks, struggled through the final exchanges.

United ended the night with a back four unrecognisable to most fans, John O'Shea at left back being accompanied by debutant James Chester and a half-fit Evans, and makeshift right-back Darren Fletcher. Ryan Giggs also limped off for United, but replacement Cristiano Ronaldo was obviously under instruction to "take it easy". The Portugese winger hardly touched the ball in the half an hour run-out he received. It was his fellow countryman, Nani, that set the game alight after a quarter of an hour.

Having seen Kris Commons try to repeat his first-leg heroics with a spectacular effort early on, Nani cut inside from the left and unleashed a thunderbolt into the top corner, from a good 30 yards. The inquest into how he managed to get that far unchallenged should take nothing away from a stunningly sweet strike, but Derby's "defenders" gave Nani permission to waltz past them.

Schoolboy defending led to United's second, too. John O'Shea made a storming run from left back, and found himself with the ball at his feet 12 yards out. In truth, he had enough time to score the goal 5 times over before Derby got a tackle in. Almost apologetically, O'Shea stroked the ball in, admitting afterwards: "I'm sure I was offside!" Before limping off Rafael delivered a beauty of a cross for Tevez to head home United's third, again after criminal defending. Derby were simply blown away by United's football in the first half, and it looked like a damage limitation job when they came out after the break.

But the rhythm of the Champions was disrupted by injuries and substitutions, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Rafael all subbed because of knocks. Anderson finished the night on a stretcher whilst Evans limped down the tunnel. The visitors took advantage of Evans' lack of mobility, winning a penalty after a rash challenge from the centre-half. Sub Giles Barnes stroked home, and the talented youngster also scored a marvellous free-kick in stoppage time. It makes you wonder, if it wasn't for his terrible knee injury last season, a bigger move would have surely been on the cards.

Yet it turned out not to be enough, as ex-United 'keeper Roy Carroll did his old team a favour by bringing down Carlos Tevez in the 89th minute. Carroll was booked, and Ronaldo stepped up to comfortably strike the pivotal blow. It was 4-2 on the night, 4-3 on aggregate, but new manager Nigel Clough's fairytale start has turned into somewhat of a nightmare.

They were abysmal by his own reckoning in the defeat at QPR on Saturday, and although put up more of a fight tonight, it will be hard for Clough Jr to not think "what if" after the awful first-half show of defending. The late rally will give them some confidence going into Friday's massive cup-tie with neighbours Nottingham Forest, whilst for United, it's the first of a potential two Cup dates with Spurs, but don't be surprised to see a string of changes because of injury for Sir Alex's men.

Right Men For The Job?

The relegation battle at the bottom of the Premiership is as tight as it has ever been, with goal difference seperating the bottom 5 clubs, and just six points seperating the bottom 11. From Hull, who appear to be sitting in 9th place, to "lowly" West Brom, who are just two wins away from surpassing Hull's current points tally. Even that doesn't look too far out at the current time, especially off the back of their 3-0 drubbing of Boro on Saturday. But what about the managers who put themselves through it every week?

When Sam Allardyce was appointed Blackburn manager after the sacking of Paul Ince, it was greeted with a certain amount of scepticism from fans and experts alike. Having failed with Newcastle, the press were preparing their oversized knives especially for Big Sam. All I can say is, rubbish. Allardyce has a proven record with Bolton, he won them promotion, kept them in the division and even led them to a 7th place finish. At times he can be accused of what some call "anti-football" but the stats don't lie. And with more creative players like Santa Cruz, Pedersen and Dunn to work with, maybe we will see a different side to one of Sam's teams.

Lets look at the managers for the other clubs around him: Gareth Southgate, Joe Kinnear, Ricky Sbagria, Tony Mowbray, Tony Pulis, Gary Megson, Tony Adams, Harry Redknapp. With the exception of Redknapp, I know for certain who I'd want trying to wangle my team out of a relegation battle, and no, it's not Kinnear.

But for all Allardyce's football know-how, you still wouldn't like to sit next to him in a crowded bus on a very hot day now, would you?

Move Aside Ronaldo, Messi and Torres...

In 2006, Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro won the World Player Of The Year award, but before that, you have to go back to 1997 for a defender to even feature in the top 3. That man was Roberto Carlos, the Brazil left back famous for that bullet of a left foot. Here starts the somewhat early, and maybe optimistic campaign for Nemanja Vidic to win the 2009 award.

Off the back of Manchester United's record-equalling 10 clean sheets in a row, Vidic has been the prominent figure in all the matches, carrying the burden of Rio Ferdinand's absence and allowing young Jonny Evans, who has also been a revelation in the heart of United's defence, to step up and mature into an accomplished Premier League footballer. Let us not forget that Patrice Evra has played in only one of United's last 7 domestic games due to injuries and suspension, Ferdinand even less so. Wes Brown has missed them all through a long term injury, and the return of Gary Neville has not disrupted their rhythm.

But there is one man who has been through it all, and Vidic deserves special praise for his outstanding performances at centre-half. United striker Dimitar Berbatov has recognised this, saying United's back five (including goalkeeper van der Sar), who has looked increasingly shaky this season, do 70% of the work. They might not need to if Berbatov started giving higher than mediocre performances, but that is a debate for another day.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be wary however, that Vidic is suspended for United's first leg against Inter Milan in February. Then, you feel, it will be essential to have Ferdinand back and on top of his game. Any good side is built on a solid defence, and United have exactly that. With games against West Brom and Fulham coming up, you can only see that run of clean sheets extending, especially if their rock at the heart of it all keeps himself fit.

Cahill Steals Limelight

The script was written perfectly until about 9.45pm last night. He had scored a tremendous goal which looked like putting Liverpool back to the summit of the Barclays Premier League, along with a massive vote of confidence for his manager, and all just a couple of days before his court hearing. But Steven Gerrard doesn't always get things his own way. Occasionally, just occasionally, a spanner is thrown in the works. Last night Tim Cahill threw that spanner.

In what can at best be described as an average Liverpool performance, one moment of genius from their captain and midfield dynamo looked set to win the 209th Merseyside derby and send most of Anfield home happy, but Gerrard's 2nd half 25 yard effort was cancelled out by Everton's makeshift striker grabbing an absolutely vital goal.

The truth was, Liverpool really needed to win last night. In a couple of weeks of internal and external fighting, Sir Alex Ferguson's dig at Liverpool "cracking" under pressure appears to have started to come true. Rafael Benitez's irrational, and slightly strange outbursts at first Ferguson, and then United chief executive David Gill appeared to have completely the opposite to the desired effect. His Liverpool side spluttered to an unconvincing 0-0 draw at Stoke, while the champions brushed aside Chelsea the following day.

The match yesterday was a perfect opportunity to put that right. Benitez was bold from the start, playing Keane, Torres and Gerrard in the line-up. But Torres looks short of match sharpness, and missed a couple of chances that last season, he may well have put away. Keane, the forgotten figure, was once again anonymous - it really seemed that he went un-noticed for much of the game by his team-mates. He made runs off the ball that weren't spotted, and when he did have the ball, the Keane on show was unrecognisable from the wizard we were all so used to at Tottenham.

Let us not forget though, there were two teams playing in this football match. Everton have now not lost in 7 since that remarkable late show by Aston Villa at Goodison in November, and have drawn this season with Chelsea, Manchester United and now Liverpool. Their away record is contending with any in the top flight, but the next step for the blue half of Merseyside is going to be the toughest. The depth of their squad, or lack of it, has been shown up by the striker crisis at the moment, but Cahill and co appear to be doing a great job in covering up the cracks.

Everton restricted their rivals to half-chances, and even the Liverpool goal could only be counted as that, a half-chance. Victor Aniechebe felt he should have had a penalty on at least 1 count, maybe two, but it wasn't given and Liverpool broke away. Gerrard pulled the trigger from 25 yards, leaving ex Manchester United stopper Tim Howard absolutely no chance. Everton themselves didn't look like scoring before they did, but the sheer brilliance of Mikel Arteta's deliveries will always pose a threat.

Yossi Benayoun, ironically the man who replaced Robbie Keane, gave away a needless foul in Arteta territory, something that Alex Ferguson would have said "champions just don't do". Rafa's zonal marking will be called into question again as Cahill was allowed a completely free header at the near post, stooping to equalise in the 87th minute.

Man United now sit pretty at the top of the Premiership on goal difference, having played a game less than Liverpool, and didn't the Everton fans just know it. Shouts of "United - top of the league" came from the away section of Anfield, much to the disgust of the Kop. But they couldn't do anything about that, having taken off their main marksman Torres, and bringing on Lucas to steady the ship before Everton equalised.

If Liverpool are going to maintain a challenge for honours, especially in the Premier League, the internal squabbling needs to be sorted. Daniel Agger needs to sign a new contract, Rafa Benitez can wait until the end of the season for us, and all of Liverpool will be hoping that the court are lenient on their captain at the end of the week. Saying that, had you offered this position to any Liverpool fan at the start of the season, they'd have bitten your hand off.

Sheikh It All About

In a time when many believe money rules over anything in the world of football, it is refreshing to see that Kaka has chosen to stay at AC Milan. Not even Man City's millions could prise away the former world footballer of the year, who said his team-mates and everyone connected with Milan were the ones that persuaded him his future lay with the Italian outfit. The news will come as a terrific boost to Serie A itself, often bemoaned for its lack of attacking flair and style, the news that one of the most entertaining footballers on the planet will continue to ply his trade at one of the country's top clubs was greeted with mass enthusiasm - and not only by his own supporters.

The signs were ominous for Milan, after their game at the weekend Kaka made a point of keeping his own shirt, possibly a piece of memorabilia from his final game for the club? Even last night, as the drama was developing, Kaka emerged from a balcony in his house, holding the club shirt, and beating his chest with his fist three times. Again, a sign that he was leaving, or a show of devotion to his adopted club?

Kaka, a quiet, religious man off the pitch, turned down the chance to treble his salary to almost £26 million a year in favour of staying with the club he loves. Had it been Chelsea, or City's fiercest rivals Man Utd offering the cash, the outcome may well have been different. But the Eastlands club are labouring in 11th in the Premier League, and show no signs of an immediate assault on the top four. That may have swayed the Brazillian's decision, who clearly still feels he owes Milan something after they took a gamble on him, snapping him up from Sao Paulo in 2003.

Garry Cook, the Manchester City chairman, chose to put a brave face on the whole saga, saying AC had "bottled it" after agreeing to sell the player. The underlying message there surely, is that Kaka himself rejected the chance to move to City. Obviously, Cook, along with his other counterparts will not claim this as a massive blow, but you get the feeling there is a lot of embarrassment coming out of the City camp this morning, along with the news that Robinho appears to have wandered off without telling anyone.

Cheer up City fans, eh, at least you've still got Craig Bellamy...