"Football is a simple game" were four words of Graham Taylor's wisdom when he was managing Watford up the Football League in the late 70s and early 80s. And his Watford sides certainly "kept it simple." But it is an unfortunate consequence of the contemporary 24-hour news culture that "keeping" football analysis "simple" leaves a gap in the media schedules.

Still plugging away. Still awake. Time for a massive thanks to everyone who has helped out and everyone who has donated.
If you've not, and you can, please do.
This topic was suggested by one of my oldest friends, Darren Gillies, who has been following the blogathon from his new home in New Zealand.

Results, regardless of performances, are often the hallmarks of champions. Time and time again, the best sides have been able to grind out wins even in the face of formidable adversaries and unlikely circumstances.

Now, the Arsenal performance Tuesday night at the Stade Velodrome was far from subpar, but in a fairly even match, Aaron Ramsey's strike at the death brings all three points back to North London, and for the first time it seems that Arsene Wenger's side, who have suffered this year from media criticism and a string of very poor results, may have the ability to achieve something this year and in the future, and at the least remain in the Champions League spots.

In a week where Arsenal's dream of a historic quadruple has faded into near nothingness while Manchester United's hopes of bagging a terrific treble continue to burn brightly, Sir Alex Ferguson has sought to adopt an an all too familiar siege mentality in relation to recent media criticism and jibes he has received from rival managers of his attitude towards match officials.