With the arrival of Wilson Palacios Harry Redknapp, by his own admission, has a real selection headache this weekend for the Bolton game.

Zokora is highly rated by Redknapp, if not by others, and is seen as a must play partner for Modric. Luka is, of course, the mainstay of the midfield and isn’t going to be dropped for anyone.

So how does he do it? Dropping Pav is not going to happen because Defoe cannot be up top by himself. In turn a 3-5-2 could happen, but with our defence being a major issue, that could cause a world of problems, although it would solve the left-back/right-back/King issue in one move. But having Chimbonda back would suggest Harry is planning on using a right-back.

The obvious choice is a 4-1-3-2, with Zokora in front of the back four and a midfield of Palacios, Modric and probably Bentley on current form. This could be dangerous. Zokora can be hit and miss in this position and a three man creative midfield can be stretched and over-run.

Huddlestone could always play in the ‘quarterback’ role that he did so well in at the start of Harry’s reign, but he is out of favour. Furthermore, the chasing of N’Zogbia clouds the formation dilemma by showing that a left sided midfielder has been identified as a must have.

Personally I would drop Zokora and play 4-4-2 to see how well Palacios does alongside Modric as the all round midfield general we all hope he will be. If N’Zogbia does arrive he would simply slot in on the left to create, in my view, a well balanced and pretty daunting midfield.

How would you do it? Drop Zokora, or try and play all three?

After weeks and weeks of speculation it appears that Newcastle United ‘manager’ Joe Kinnear has finally admitted defeat.

The media have both been speculating about the future of both of Newcastle’s long-term goalkeepers Shay Given and Steve Harper. With Harper signing a new three-year deal this week, it seems that Given is ready to make a move, with Manchester City sniffing around the Republic of Ireland stopper. [Read the rest of this entry »]

The chances are that Manchester City are not quite finished in terms of their January spending. However, the new recruits of Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bridge and Nigel De Jong should go some way to making sure that the final 15 games of the Premier League season are successful for Mark Hughes’ team. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Chris at Studs Up has done a fine job predicting the UK’s next top selling novel, almost certainly a winner in today’s trying economic times. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Last night, while strolling to a 5-0 win over relegation favourites West Bromwich Albion, European Cup holders Manchester United set a new English Record for the 1,032 minutes without conceding a goal. The previous Record was held by Premiership rivals Chelsea, when goalkeeper Petr Cech did not concede a top-flight goal for 1,025 minutes in the 2004-2005 season.

However, some have said that United are getting more praise for their achievement than Chelsea ever did, which prompts the debate: Is one achievement more of a feat than the other? [Read the rest of this entry »]

It’s finally happened, Harry Redkanpp has turned Tottenham Hotspur into a joke.

It hasn’t taken very long, just a transfer window in effect, but the results maybe long term. Daniel Levy clearly hasn’t got the balls to say something to ‘arry along the lines of ‘Please Harry, stop talking’. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has stoked the derby fire once again by categorizing Everton as a ‘small club.’ It’s a good thing David Moyes brought his ammunition, because he had more than enough to say about Liverpool to make it a fair fight! [Read the rest of this entry »]

With a squad crippled by injuries and a horrific transfer strategy, Tottenham are set to balance things up with a few quickie signings on the heels of Wilson Palacios’ transfer last week.

Pascal Chimbonda is set to return from Sunderland, giving Spurs their fourth option at right back but more importantly giving them cover at center half and left back as well. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Now and again when we’re all down in the dumps, we have a tendency to look in one direction for guidance. The big guy upstairs usually hears from me when I’m on my last thread, usually looking for guidance on how to get that sweet unicycle or Pog slammer I’ve had my eye on.

For Arsenal target Andrei Arshavin, he finds himself in the same situation; on his last thread and looking for guidance, the Zenit striker has gone to God to help him make the move to Arsenal a reality. Please hear his prayer! [Read the rest of this entry »]

We are 22 days into the January transfer window and speculation is getting more significant day after day. Especially when Manchester City are concerned. In fact, there probably hasn’t been many days in January when the Eastlands club haven’t been linked with at least one player.

Even when other teams are thought to have made a bid for a player, there is talk that Manchester City will ‘hi-jack’ it with their own bid. It’s rather frustrating at times, but I guess that’s all part of being the richest club in world football.

The latest man to be linked with a move to Eastlands though will probably generate more interest than most. It is thought that Mark Hughes is keen to make the most of Didier Drogba’s reported fall out with Chelsea by making a £15m bid for the striker. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Chris at the very amusing Studs Up puts forth one opinion.

But A few weeks ago, Rafa did his best to follow Kevin Keegan into an upcoming special entitled “Sir Alex’s Greatest Wind-Ups” and given that draws against Stoke and Everton have followed, is it time to add him to the list? Or is the title race still on?

Chelsea may have an FA Cup draw against Ipswich to worry worry about this weekend, but you’d be hard pressed to find a single player with the mind on the match.

With Chelsea currently sitting two points behind table-toppers Liverpool and Manchester United, many players know that another slip-up in the league could prove to be the costliest of them all.

You can count Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka amongst those who fully believe that their season will continue of end with next weekend’s match against Liverpool. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Wonder what Rafa thinks now? [Studs Up]

Manchester City’s new saviour [The Spoiler]

Football’s best attempt to make you hate it [SoccerLens]

Someone is angry at Kaka [Dirty Tackle]

Chris writes and draws Studs Up, the football webcomic, and it is hilarious. So be sure to check it out.

People are generally split into two groups when it comes to Kaka’s move to Manchester City.

Group 1 thinks it’s great to see the best talent in the Premier League.

Group 2 thinks it’s the end of football as we know it.

As usual when people are split into two groups, they’re both right. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Fear not, ye followers of Tottenham. For here is a place for you to find peace, quiet, and maybe a Champions League spot… [Read the rest of this entry »]