In January 2006, we were in a bit of a mess.
Patrick Vieira, the lynchpin of three title-winning teams, had been abruptly sold in the summer of 2005 and we had failed in our attempts to buy a replacement. Fabregas and Gilberto did their best to strike-up an effective partnership in midfield, but couldn't cover up the fact that we had a hole in the middle of the side.

Ducky's Note: The following is a Guest post contributed by Ray on behalf of Wonga – the payday loans alternative. Take a look at their Facebook page for a competition to win season tickets as well as their fantasy football league.

Both Arsenal and Chelsea have seen a dip in form lately and both are a full 17 points behind league leaders Manchester City.

Jack Wilshere's ankle fracture is nowhere close to healing after months of wearing a CAM boot. Now, he will undergo ankle surgery this Monday which will put him out of commission for another 2-3 months.

The present squad have now lost almost 5 years in playing time devoted to recuperation from ankle injuries with RVP and Thomas Vermaelen accounting for two years of that time.

The Brian Mullan-Steve Zakuani ugliness was easily the big weekend story of Major League Soccer's 6th round. On any other weekend, the reigning league MVP going down to injury would gain a bigger share of the conversation. Like everyone else, I write a lot about that in my weekend review at SI.com.