I think Man Utd have to be the favourites for the PL now. Man City did well to stay at the top of the league for as long as they did, but IMO there are now cracks appearing and it remains to be seen how they perform during the run-in. As Alan Hansen said on MOTD last night, Man Utd have been over the course so many times before and know all about the pressure that comes with it. For Man City, that is unchartered territory.

Another win for Newcastle v Norwich puts them above Liverpool on the same number of matches.

Very valid point David... City despite spending an absurd amount of money, amassing a team of some of the finest talents that money could buy, do not have the title run in experience that SAF and his players have. I dont see Man U dropping too many points in their last 9 games...it will take a great title run in for City to wrestle the title from Utd, one which they are more than capable of doing. However Man U i believe are slight favourites despite a meeting at the Etihad stadium.

Sorry to be pedantic, but we actually have a game in hand. However, the fact that Newcastle are 7 points clear of in 7th is still dire.

Some big games coming up tonight and tomorrow....

A lot of draws look possible also.

I was speaking today with someone who was at the football at the weekend. They said as soon as it happened people knew something major was going on. The whole stadium fell silent. Some fans were hugging each other, whilst others were in tears. There was a general air of uncomprehension around the place.

Nobody inside Stamford Bridge could actually believe that Torres had scored a goal.

LOL Martin, very good.

I bloody knew Blackburn would beat us last night, one and for all ending my dream of finishing above Newcastle (it was always a tall order).

The trouble is at this stage of the season, no matter how well Martin O'Neill gets his players up for the game, the fact that Blackburn have a real something still to play for gives them the edge. I can see us having a very mixed end to the season, I just hope that we somehow manage to turn Everton over at SOL so I can have a trip to Wembley in the semis...................I don't agree with that, but it's the closest I am likely to get to a final for quite some time.

Oh Liverpool 

Well QPR took care of the game in hand!

Well Spurs seem to really be struggling now.

I assume they will in fact spend the rest of the season looking up at Arsenal.

Looks like they need a decent striker like RVP, the difference between the 2 teams.

Not good enough. Absolutely battered Stoke. But the important stat is that it was a draw.

At least we stopped the run of losses, however I would have thought we could have won at home, next saturday chelsea away, I am not hopeful. Chelsea are beatable, but can we, if we don't I reckon Arsenal will be unstoppable for 3rd place.

Which is or rather would be personally rather disappointing, after offering so much, when will we ever be better than them.!

Place wise

And not forgetting we could be screwed for a CL place even if we finish fourth, should Chelsea win the CL. Not likely, admittedly, as they would likely have to beat Real and/or Barca.

Arsenal still have some tough games to come in the run in, however the important factor is that their confidence is on the rise whilst Spurs seem to have lost theirs. It would not surprise me at all if Spurs finish 5th now and miss out on CL through league placing.

Chelsea will bounce back from last night and they have plenty of 3 point games coming up.

Nine points out of a possible 27. Sums it up really. The rot will stop somewhere because the run-in is relatively easy after the Chavs this weekend.

I still think you'll finish third. Partly because of your easier run-in, and partly because although Arsenal are on a great run, you stil get the feeling they are one bad defensive performance away from capitulating, and I see that happening on a minor scale for them during their run-in 

Except for since '92...

Three FA Cups

Four League Cups

Two Community Shields

1 Champions League

1 Uefa Cup

2 Uefa Super Cups

..during those 20 years. Pretty sure the usual mid-table teams haven't won that many trophies Matty?

In saying that, I am not completely blinkered. We are certainly not the force that most Liverpool fans think we have a devine right to be. 7th place is 7th place. With the team sheet on paper should anyone expect more....Gerrard and Suarez aside, I cannot see any of that team getting into any of the top four sides.

Pepe would stroll into three of the top four sides.

Success is measured in league titles though isn't it? Spot on with the highlighted piece

I would honestly say that success is measured in trophies. The league however being by far the most important and the only indicator of the best side. A side that can produce the goods week in week out, or at least if not performing at 100% then grind out a result. I cannot seem to remember Liverpool grinding out a mucky 1-0 for what seems like ages. Yes there have been comic book comebacks, enthralling goal glut spectacles and famous one man shows, but no consistency for nearly the 20 years we have been discussing.  We genuinely can beat anyone on our day (hence the cup wins), but ultimately could lose to anybody any day.

Whilst the Champions League win was indeed a most coveted piece of silverware (just ask Roman!) winning it papered over cracks in the Benitez era, something that Liverpool sides seems excellent at doing now on a week by week basis. Unrest just a week ago was quelled by a resounding 3-0 success over the blue half. A week later and we capitulate to QPR after dominating them for the best part of 70 minutes. Again the football was profoundly better than under Hodgson and Benitez but what happened in the final 15 minutes was just inexplicable. People calling for Dalglish's head however would do well to remember how insipid we were under Hodgson.

Fair point. I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think that Man Utd's trophy haul was any better during their 26 year long league title drought (1967-1993). Remember, in late 1989/early 1990 SAF seemingly came close to getting what Ron Atkinson had got 3 years previously- the sack. It was only the 1990 FA Cup final replay win over Crystal Palace that kept Fergie in his job.

Don't worry, I've just turned down a ticket for Saturday's game at Chelsea because I can't afford the day trip at short notice so that will guarantee a Spurs win!!

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/transfer-news/Liverpool-transfer-gossip-Raheem-Sterling-could-quit-in-summer-over-lack-of-first-team-chances-Spurs-are-watching-situation-article881866.html

I haven't seen much of Sterling, so I'll leave it to a fellow poster on the Spurs board who follows these things far more closely.

"Souness went into Bill Nicholson's office and demanded playing time, yeah that Bill Nicholson. We shipped him out to the NASL of all places and the rest is history. You never like an arrogant player but part of a managers job is to..... manage... Managing personalities is only part of the job.

"I know this, I've seen England youth players quite a bit, he's probably the best one England have. In overall contribution to a side regardless of position probably better then Wilshere, Cleverley, Jones, Caulker etc. He's worth a punt. He's not going to cost much, I don't see the risk if he doesn't work out."

Man City attempting to indulge in mind games with SAF. There will only be one winner of that battle