Maybe Sven should have announced he was leaving before every squad he picked. Can you believe it? Quite exciting, but also quite worrying.

Let's look at the facts. Three shocks, I suppose. This from a man who has had zero selection shocks in his whole tenure.

First shock, Stewart Downing. Well less of a shock and more than anything, logical really. The best naturally left footed wide player we have.

Second, Aaron Lennon. Great season under his belt. But is he really better than Shaun Wright-Phillips? Whom, I bet is really regretting moving to Stamford Bridge.

Thirdly (and most shockingly) Theo Walcott. Sven you are either a mad man or a genius.

On the Walcott selection. Imagine this, Rooney doesn't make it and Owen breaks down in mid tournament. At this stage Defoe has come in (for Rooney) pre tournament. So we have Crouch, Defoe, Cole (why has he now being considered a striker?) and Walcott.
Sven wants to start with two strikers, what does he do?

Well, I think he picks Cole on the left (as usual) and then selects Defoe and Crouch to start. Agree?

Based upon the above (which we think is pretty much on the money), why has Walcott been picked ahead of Defoe? No sense to it.

Sven, please prove us all wrong!

P.S. if you didn't guess already, the Road Runner reference is because he is quite fast. Must have been tempting for Sven based upon his only selection criterion!

What do we mean, Big Day? Well, read on ...

Big day in that, Arsenal will now not come 4th (Arsenal fans will re-read this with glee if by end of season they actually have!) and Chelsea will not win the domestic double.

More importantly though, I think that the Arsenal situation will end up with them being in the UEFA Cup next season (don't think they will beat Barcelona in the final of the Champions League if they get there) and that a significant chink has been found in Jose armor. The chink is that, tactically, he is not up there with the greats.

So, what does this all mean. Well my prediction is that Arsenal will do better in the long term for taking a backward step. Wenger has a unbelievably talented crop of youngsters at the club who may do well to have a season where they win the UEFA Cup.

The Chelsea situation will ultimately lead to Jose not quite being able to deliver what the money can bring. He is the "special one" and what he has done for the club will live long in the memory. But, ultimately, he may not deliver. The real question is, based upon the expectancy, could anyone?

Can the FA seriously be considering Steve McClaren for the England manager's job? Don't get me wrong, I think McClaren is good and overall have a very good record in the game, but England manager! Come on!

The real irony is that since Middlesborough started hitting some sort of form (bearing in mind the level they should be at, based upon the personnel they have) McClaren's name has been back at near the top of the list.

When Middlesborough were getting beaten 7-0 by Arsenal his name seemed to be somewhere near the bottom of the list. Now Middlesborough have won a few (credit where credit is due in Europe though) he seems to be at the top again.

Is this really the best way to decide who will manage the national team (for our national game)?

Does anyone really care if Rooney bets?

I think the main question we should ask is "has he bet on England to win the World Cup"?

If he has, we have to then decide (based upon his supposed betting record) if this is a good or a bad thing?

Hands up if you are not a Chelsea fan, but would still grudgingly admit that Mr. Mourinho is somewhat of a "Special One"?

There is something about the guy you can't help but admire. He is stylish, smart, driven, cleaver and most of all a winner; traits that we aspire to in one way or another. However, he must be beaten mustn't he? I mean even Chelsea fans will lose interest if thire dominance goes on for five or ten years.

Mr. Abramovic's money is probable the most decisive factor in world football currently, but you get the feeling that without Mourinho, it may not be enough. Certainly not enough to be the dominant force that it seems Chelsea is becoming.

So, back to Mourinho. How do you stop him?

It seems to me that, domestically, everyone has sort of, given up. Wenger has decided to not talk about him anymore, Ferguson has treated him like his kid brother and everyone else is either not a big enough name to be on the man's radar or seems to quite like him. The one notable exception is Benitez who at least has had the better of him in some important games. However, from a domestic perspective, Chelsea has given Liverpool a sound beating just about every time they have met whilst the two have been in charge.

So what is the future; is there anyway to try to knock the man's confidence? Will he ever show a chink of venerability?

I think there is one man who could be up for the task, but he has to start trying. The man? Alex Ferguson.

The thought process is that there is only one current premiership manager who can truly say that he has been there, done it and bought the t-shirt. Mourinho recognised this himself and cleverly put Ferguson on a pedestal from day one (once they got over their Man United v Porto spat). The result? What else could Fergusson do but be flattered and subsequently become somewhat passive.

There is the possibility that Ferguson does not truly have it in him anymore. The recent evidence shows that there is a big doubt over whether he can build that one last great team and in doing so take on the might of Chelsea.

To be fair both Wenger and Benitez are good enough (and could be great enough) to be the man to take on the challenge. However, I just get the feeling that Mourinho has the measure of both.

Why Ferguson is different is because of what he has done. Will anyone ever do it again? All the titles, all the cups, from remote Aberdeen to the Theatre of Dreams he has been the most successful football manager in history. Track records like that carry a lot of weight and you get the feeling that Mourinho knows this.

So let the games commence. Over the next year or so we will see if Chelsea is to become the team, and club they could be and dominate all before them for at least the next decade. We are in a crucial time where their momentum, if not stopped, could become unstoppable.

Good luck to anyone who tries to stop them, but I think there now needs to be at least a concerted effort to try. The football world is waiting for you, Mr Ferguson, to make your move.

P.S. for instance will none of the managerial challengers to Mr. Mourinho not bring up what happened at West Brom the other day? Not the stuff that happened on the pitch (although a mention of the way Chelsea have taken referee baiting to where it was about four years ago, would not go amiss), I mean when Mourinho tried to square up to Bryan Robson. We all know that Bryan is a nice chap and seems quite placid on camera. However, if it wasn't for a few quick thinking men who stopped Mourinho getting to Robson, Mourinho would most certainly have been waking up in hospital this morning. Football management wise, Mourinho against Robson is a non-contest. However, Mourinho taking Robbo on in a fight, please Jose, understand, you don't do that and win........ask anyone.

Well done United in winning the Carling Cup today. Whomever the opposition (no reflection on Wigan who have been great this season) to win a cup final 4-0 is a very good day at the office.

However, as every good United fan knows the Carling Cup is not exactly the trophy United were aiming for this season. Not so long ago, even if you were the tea lady you were guaranteed a game in the League Cup at some point if the team survived long enough.

Still, United (like every other club over the past four years or so) have actually been trying to win the competition in recent years, so this win was always on the cards.

The bigger question is whether this is the first success of a great new Fergie team, or the last of his great era with the club. To be honest the jury is still out on that one. Although the signs have not been promising of late, you can't argue that if it wasn't for a Russian with a lot of money, United would probably win the league this year (and last year too).

The old master still shows he has the ability to make a big decision (i.e. dropping Van Nistelrooy). This one has been coming for sometime, in that Saha has been the best United forward every time he came on the pitch and that Van Nistelrooy's goals have been covering up the fact that he is not the player he once was. I know a striker is judged on goals and for that you could never knock the Dutchman, but a few years back his overall play was that of the best front man in the world, now it seems the brain and not the body is main part of his game. Like the top class player he is the memory will keep him there or there abouts for a few years yet.

More to come on this subject, but to sum up, you feel that Fergie needed this win today to give him the chance to create that one last great team. Has the old master still got it in him? You wouldn't bet against it, but as I say, the jury is still out.

In both Euro 2004 and the World Cup of 2002, England looked somewhat heavy legged on occasions. True the searing heat of the Far East in 2002 must have played a part and also both tournaments coming at the end of long and hard domestic seasons is a big factor.

However, wasn't it the same for everyone else?

So, Mr. Eriksson has got his wish and now has more time to prepare his team for this year's World Cup. They can now also recharge and come to the tournament as fresh as daisies.

One thing to think about though........

At the World Cup in 2002, I remember seeing the Republic of Ireland game against Spain (which they ultimately lost on penalties). Whilst watching the game I thought that the Irish lads were playing the game of their lives and were running the legs off the Spaniards.

Sort of disproves Sven's theory, doesn't it?

Could the answer be that his teams don't get their second wind because of his own lack of passion (and a pulse?).

Could it also be the case that because he is so weak he makes them weak too?

I guess we will find out in Germany soon enough!

No doubt about it. Arsenal's victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday was a great performance and a great result. Well done to all concerned.

However, wasn't it what we should have expected? Backs to the wall and all that. This is the team remember who lost a league title that they should have won (2003) and used a song Manchester United sang when they were presented with the trophy (we've got our trophy back...we've got our trophy back....etc.) as the motivation for a historic and unbeaten next season.

So we would expect them to get beaten to Blackburn away the following Saturday? Too right. Did they? Absolutely.

Two things you can draw from this I think.

You can defiantly say that Real Madrid must be the most expensively compiled bunch on misfits (who only use the word tackle when it comes to fishing or euphemisms about their private parts) since Michael Jackson decided to alter his facial features.

Also, be sure that Arsene Wenger can produce a mind set within a team that is literally unbeatable sometimes; no matter what the circumstances. Let's see if it can last for the second leg!

Football Muse - If you think about it and you're right about it, write about it!