With the PFA Player of the Year award (and many others) only a few months away, many members of the media - myself included - have started searching for a suitable winner. The two names that I've heard the most this season have been Steven Gerrard and Nemanja Vidic. It's no surprise that Gerrard finds his name towards the top of the list once again, as Liverpool have pinned their hopes and dreams on their inspirational leader.

So little time has been given to the silent helpless victim of that horrendous offence committed by Arsene Wenger that led to him being ordered to the stands. Today we reveal the identity of the poor victim of the Old Trafford incident. (How the hell can a manager be sent off for kicking a plastic container, insane)!

This past week Manchester United announced the signing of Zoran Tosic, the Serbian winger from Partizan Belgrade. The signing signals more competition amongst Manchester United's wingers, and potentially could see the exit of someone like Ji-Sung Park. Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that it also means a lot to the future of Wayne Rooney.

Cinderella stories happen everyday, everywhere in this world. In particular, when it comes to the world of football, we have seen quite a few of them. After all, who would have thought that Senegal would knock France out of the World Cup in 2002? Or who would have picked Greece to win it all in the European Cup of 2004?

I don't know about you, but I am genuinely excited about the rest of the Premier League season. Unlike other seasons, it's not just the title race that is exciting me. Instead, it's the whole table. After the closing of the January transfer window, I can't help but take a look at the battle going on between Aston Villa, Arsenal, and Everton.

After another exciting weekend of Premiership action, Arsenal have yet again failed to capitalize on Aston Villa's slip up. With time running out on the 2008/09 season, Arsene Wenger is beginning to realize that it's do or die for his young Arsenal squad. If fans at the Emirates want to see Champions League football next season then Wenger and co.

As soon as Emmanuel Adebayor started limping off the field in the 38th minute, it was clear that the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham would swing into the favor of the hosts at the White Hart Lane. The more important implication of Adebayor's injury, however, was obviously much beyond this afternoon's game.

Ten things I noticed from this week's Champions League semifinals:

1. Much Ado About Nothing – Much to the woe of slobbering, over enthusiastic journalists everywhere, the Barcelona myth was partially debunked on Tuesday. It's not that they were awful by any stretch of the imagination, but when faced with an equally good team who didn't stand aside and let them play through them they looked more than a little stumped.

Football FanCast columnist Mike Harvey feels that technology in football is not the answer.

Officiating in football is headline news these days. The past few weeks left a sour taste in the mouths of many fans. FIFA is at a crossroads and how they choose to handle this problem will affect the game for years.

With the Premier League over for another season. Here are some of the things I noticed from the 08/09 campaign:

Like a bat out of Hull

Hull City were everyone's favorite to go straight back down this season. They seemed like a sweet little feel good story, content to have their moment in the big leagues before quickly sinking back to lower level obscurity where they could be patronized by football and non-football people alike for sounding like a thoroughly dull and uninspiring place to live.

Normally these types of incidents are part and parcel of the game in South America but I was surprised to see this attack take place in the Chinese Leagues. I wonder how long a ban a player gets for physically assaulting an official?

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The FA Cup is always good for a few surprise results, and this year has already proved to be no different. Both Chelsea and Manchester City faced lower league opposition at home in the third round, and neither side came out with the result they wanted. The more surprising of the two is perhaps Manchester City's 3-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest.

Bolton could have a World Cup winner on their side.

Today I'm reading an article at MLSnet.com about Dallas committing to what the writer called "attacking" soccer. I like to call it "Soccer at warp speed".

Let me give you some background. Soccer was the only sport I played as a kid and I played like a lunatic. We ran hard, we kicked hard, we tackled hard (I even once broke a kid's leg slide tackling him.

There is no denying that Liverpool F.C. is the form team in the Barclays Premier League at the moment. Rafa's Reds have defied all odds to overcome a frustrating start to the campaign and surprisingly, the Steven Gerrard - Fernando Torres pairing isn't exclusively responsible for leading the revival.

With the Ballon d'Or nominations finally releasing this weekend, the headlines have mostly been devoted to the fact that world champions Italy have no representation whatsoever. But why blame the press for paying excessive attention to an irrelevant detail? After all, the award itself is destined to be heading Lionel Messi's way, which means very little is there to be talked about in terms of debating the winner, right?

While Tottenham avoided blushes last night at White Hart Lane, Manchester United couldn't do the same. As the Red Devils squared off against Derby in the Carling Cup semi-finals, all eyes were expecting a convincing win - for United. Instead, Derby scored one fantastic goal, and Rob Hulse could've added another to make it 2-0 instead of 1-0.

In what is being called, by many UEFA pundits, arguably the most thrilling Champions League quarterfinal in recent memory, Chelsea knocked Liverpool out 7-5 on aggregate. However, the aggregate score is certainly flattering for the Blues, who defended amateurish throughout the second leg at home tonight.

When Taylor Fisher named Federico Macheda last week's Wednesday Wonder, few people - myself included - expected the 17 year old to make any further impact this season. Let's face it, Macheda was only in the squad against Aston Villa because of injuries and suspensions, and his spot on the bench against Sunderland was more out of respect for the Italian.

With the Champions League quarterfinals a thing of the past, here are eight things I noticed from the last eight.

The Usual Suspects

So, here we are again. Three English teams and Barcelona square off for the Champions League semis for the second consecutive year. No doubt Michel Platini will have already dusted off his Panini stickers and erected a Barcelona shine in his 'salon.

It's always this way, isn't it? You wait forever for one bus and then four or five come along at once. After a fairly drab season by Premier League standards, it's all gone frigging loopy as the fight for European and domestic dominance reaches its final stretch. A month ago we (well mainly I, but I'm sure you, too) were bemoaning the lack of really exciting games from the 08-09 Premier League season.

Ten things I noticed from this week's Champions League semifinals:

1. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth

Results lie. Sometimes. If not, then in the last 5 years I've been privileged enough to watch the great Greek team of 2004 justly claim their prize as the greatest international team in Europe.

Tuesday May 26th

11am – After failing in my quest to get a good night's rest the night before, I spent the morning zombified thanks mainly to the hypnotic waffling of Paddy Crerand on MUTV. After a wash and an egg (though maybe not in that order) I got in the cab and headed for Heathrow Terminal 5.

With the new season under a week away, we once again await what impact new signings and emerging youngsters will have on their respective teams. There has been an increased emphasis on value for money this summer and this has led to a number of clubs searching for lesser known players that can add quality to a club while other clubs try to groom youngsters to improve their sides.

Some moments are never meant to be forgotten. The entire world of football witnessed one such shocking moment a little less than two years ago in London. On a rainy evening at Wembley, hosts England were expected to advance to the finals of Euro 2008 with just a draw needed against visiting Croatia.

PFA chief Gordon Taylor has urged football fans, pundits, and the FA to put a stop to the lynch mob mentality that is surrounding Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor. The targetman stirred up controversy over the weekend by first stamping on Robin van Persie's face before scoring a goal and sprinting the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the angry Gunners fans.

Barcelona may be the treble winners last season. In addition, they may also be the side with arguably the most potent attack in Europe, comprising of the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry, Bojan Krkic, and FIFA World Player of the Year hopeful Lionel Messi. On top of that, they also possess one of the most powerful midfield combinations in the continent in the form of Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.

Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has become the latest Barcelona star to egotistically pronounce the treble winning club's's dominance over their global rivals. Following Sweden's bitter loss to Denmark this weekend, where the spotlight was stolen away from him thanks to Nicklas Bendtner's scintillating performance for the Danes, Ibrahimovic has taken his frustrations out on former club Inter Milan.

Unbeaten at home squares off against unbeaten on the road.

Once viewed as a tactical mastermind, in recent weeks Rafa Benitez has tarnished that reputation. Instead, the Spaniard has quickly become the man of a thousand words. If only he could turn those words into points... After launching a scathing attack on Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United just over a week ago, Benitez followed those comments up with more criticism about United executive David Gill.

Some surprising results, but the usuals are through.

It's May, which can only mean one thing. Every single match around the country is important for every single team in the world's greatest league. Today saw the bulk of games, and here are the winners and losers from Saturday's action.

Winners Stoke City

Stoke City weren't just winners on the scoreboard, but they also clinched safety in the English Premier League for at least another year.

So, after months of speculation, it seems that Emmanuel Adebayor's departure from Arsenal is inevitable. With Manchester City's spending spree the talk of the town at the moment, the asking price of £25 million, which was once astronomical for clubs like AC Milan, seems to be pocket change for the Eastlanders.

Those who saw last night's World Football Challenge clash between Internazionale and Chelsea must have noticed a solid performance from a rapidly emerging star wearing the blue shirt. Branislav Ivanovic, who played fullback for 65 minutes of Chelsea's dominant 2-0 victory over the reigning Italian champions seemed to be the player who was more eager than anyone else to cement his reputation during the high-profile friendly at the Rose Bowl.

Stability. Composure. Quality. These are just a few adjectives that England's defense certainly doesn't deserve based on the Three Lions' 2-2 draw against Holland in their most recent international fixture. However, only the aforementioned adjectives can do justice to one defender that England's system failed to recognize.

After experiencing a promising start in the top flight by defeating the current Premiership champions, Burnley's form went crashing down with two heavy road defeats at the hands of Chelsea and Liverpool, 3-0 and 4-0 respectively. Now, they have to defend their perfect record at home against Sunderland, who come pumped and ready after thrashing Hull City 4-1 at home.

Antonio Cassano has reinvented himself. Not only has he changed his physical approach by losing weight, he has changed his mental approach too, becoming not only more mature, but also a leader. He is now someone who visits hospitals and gives signed shirts to sick children. He is now someone who can carry a team on his back, provide assists for his teammates, and entertain the crowd.

As the Olympiacos team bus got closer and closer to the Finsbury Park area, I am sure veteran goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis began to relive some of the greatest moments of his career at the highest level. From his invaluable contribution in Greece's historic Euro 2004 win to his consistency during his club's league triumph over the last three years, Nikopolidis is no stranger to success at a grand stage.

With the first quarter of football almost over in most leagues around Europe, now is a good time to measure the current progress of some of the giant clubs on the continent. Actually, analyzing the success or failure of clubs in general won't be nearly as exciting as identifying a more specific object of analysis.

Defoe and Redknapp are reunited (and it feels sooo goooood).