Keith Downing and West Bromwich Albion have a huge list of tasks left to do as the transfer window has re-opened but the Premier League club still have not found their ideal coach as Steve Clarke was sacked around 1 month ago and now Downing is the man in charge of the club until they can find someone else.
Osasuna’s Jose Luis Mendilibar is a top candidate on being the new coach of West Bromwich Albion as he is being linked strongly with the job but other names are emerging such as Pepe Mel and Malky Mackay but the club is taking the necessary time before making a conclusion.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers says he has no doubts that Lucas Leiva and Joe Allen can fill the void left by skipper Steven Gerrard’s hamstring injury.
Gerrard limped off during the second half of Saturday’s 4-1 win over West Ham and is now expected to miss most of the busy festive period, while Jordan Henderson is also set for a spell on the sidelines with an ankle problem.
Arsene Wenger has admitted he has been offered a new contract by Arsenal despite not yet committing himself to signing an extension to his current deal. The long-serving Gunners manager is entering the final year of his contract and the new deal on the table is believed to offer the Frenchman the chance to extend his current contract until the end of 2016.
As the Premier League continues to import the best foreign talent football has to offer, an increasing number of home-grown players are looking to ply their trade abroad.
Michael Mancienne has rejected English football and is a regular at HSV, while Luke Moore is just one of many playing in Turkish football. Of course, Gareth Bale’s high-profile transfer to Real Madrid further highlighted how British players are searching for better things elsewhere.
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas says that he had the opportunity to join French club Paris St Germain in the summer, but he chose not to in order to stay with the Premier league outfit.
Villas-Boas has been at Tottenham for only season after being appointed only last summer. He said in an interview given to the French tabloid that he did not want to change clubs after just one season.
Are the German national side the most successful international team of all time? Their ladies team have managed to win the European Championships for an unprecedented SIXTH time in a row!
There have been several rumours that Sir Alex Ferguson may step down from his role as the manager of Manchester United at the end of the season. The club has only served to fuel the rumours after refusing to comment. Ferguson recently managed to guide United to the 20th league title in their history.
He has been in charge of United for the last 26 years, but there is a feeling that the health of the 71-year-old could not allow him to carry on for much longer. Ferguson almost retired back in 2003, but decided to continue due to various reasons.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in unplayable form against England, scoring 4 goals in a friendly before England's World Cup Qualifers.
Whilst the fans raved about his overhead kicked fourth goal, he himself said that he preferred his first goal (below) - it had more history and revenge behind it!
It would be fair to say that Manchester United have experienced their fair share of defensive worries over the past few weeks and that has undoubtedly contributed to their indifferent start to the new campaign.
Unfortunately, the situation does not seem to be easing, with Phil Jones and Jonny Evans continuing to suffer with the problems that have prevented them from playing this term.
Sir Alex Ferguson has seen his options in defence severely limited this term and has even been forced to rely on the likes of Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia to fill in when the crisis reached its peak. Fortunately, he now has Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic both available, although the duo have not been without their problems in the past and it remains to be seen whether they'll be able to withstand the rigor of the next few weeks.
There was plenty of hope that both Evans and Jones would make comebacks and at least provide competition. However, even after he recovered from the back problem that kept him out of the opening games, Jones now looks set to miss the next couple of months after incurring a knee injury and having surgery.
It could be the fitness of Evans that worries Ferguson the most though. After starting for Northern Ireland at the weekend, the 25-year-old admitted that the game was not without problems and he had to play through the pain barrier.
He said, "I felt my ankle after about five minutes. It was the same one I had surgery on in the summer but I got a heavier strap put on it and I was able to carry on for the second half. I was disappointed I felt pain so quickly in the game but if I’m being honest, I always expected I would feel a little pain – just not that early."
Is this how you would celebrate if you've just scored an absolute belter of a goal for your country in the European Championships Semi-Finals against an old enemy, to give your team a 2-0 advantage after just over 40 minutes?!
No, I thought not - but rule nothing out when it comes to Mario Balotelli!
