To look at it firstly from the view of Man City, what Patrick can bring to the star studded squad of the citizens? Man City’s squad is rich in talent in most areas, and the holding midfielder is probably the last place City need to improve. Man City have mainly played a 4-3-3 system this year under both Hughes and Mancini. Within this middle 3 City have usually employed 2 defensive midfielders to compliment either Shauny Wright or Stephen Ireland. So far this season these two spots have been filled by Gareth Barry and Nigel De Jong, and its difficult to see where Patrick can fit in here. Barry since moving to City For 12 million though perhaps has struggled to replicate the form he has shown for Villa and England for 18 months, is the most experienced player in the centre and has become a leader for his new club. In addition to this De Jong has arguably been city’s best outfield player this season, and his dominant performances against teams like Chelsea and Liverpool have shown him to be one of the best destroyers in the English game.

In his pomp Vieira was in a different league than either of these midfielders, as the heartbeat of Wenger’s Arsenal team Vieira’s physical presence and ability on the ball had teams all over Europe enviously watching him. Since leaving Arsenal time has taken its toll on Patrick’s huge frame and his form in the last 2 years means its difficult to make a case for him to play ahead of these two midfielders. It wont be good for moral if the team see Vieira, an aging player, come in and replace De Jong in the form the dutch player has been in. For Man City though Vieira doesn’t really seem like much of a risk. The money involved in transfer fees and Wages are irrelevant to the oil rich owners, and even though Patrick wont be the player he was for Arsenal and may struggle to get a place in the starting XI his experience may be valuable in the dressing room. Mancini on signing the midfielder pointed to this and his winning mentality in interviews and this to a squad short on both could be invaluable. As long as his presence doesn’t unsettle the players competing for his position like Barry, De Jong and the promising Belgian Kompany Mancini should only be rewarded for his choice.

For Patrick though the decision to join Man City is an even stranger one than City’s choice to bring him back to the Premiership. I completely understand Patrick leaving Inter, a player of his age and ambition to feature for France in South Africa needs to play football. Mourinho has used Patrick sparingly this season and Patrick had to move to win a place in France’s squad. As mentioned above though Patrick could find himself once again on the substitutes bench at Man City and even though I’m sure a return to the Premier League and the Manchester City transformation would of interested Patrick, if he doesn’t play he will regret his decision. Patrick has a lot more to lose than City in this deal and unless City are stricken by injuries I can’t see Vieira doing anything different than he was at Inter- bench warming.

Goalkeeper - Brad Friedel -  This was a tough selection, but not many goalkeepers have been playing at the top-level for the majority of the decade, and have been as consistent as the big American. In 8 years at Blackburn and a couple of seasons at Aston Villa Friedel has transformed himself from Liverpool understudy to one of the most respected and best goalkeepers in the Premiership. He is the current holder of the most consecutive appearances in the Premiership with 207 and despite being 38 is enjoying some of the best form of his life with the Midlanders.

Right Back – Gary Neville - Quite simply the best right back in Premiership history. At the start of the decade, when a little younger, he was bombing up the right side of Premiership grounds up and down the country using his great understanding with David Beckham and his great crossing ability to create chance after chance. Once Beckham left and Neville began to slow down he became an even more solid defender using his positional sense, and no nonsense style to great effect. Although in recent seasons injuries have got the better of him his impact at Man Utd can’t be underestimated.

Left Back – Ashley Cole - This really wasn’t a difficult decision. Despite being one of the most universally unpopular people in the Premiership Cashley’s abilities in full back aren’t paralleled in the Premiership or in Europe. His pace, quick feet and seemingly unbreakable ability defending one on one have seen him spend this decade leaving right wingers pinned back in defence and with little joy attacking. His actions in securing a move to Chelsea in 2006 will perhaps always mean he will never truly be appreciated by the masses but their isn’t a team Europe that he wouldn’t walk into.

Centre Back – John Terry - Did anyone ever truly believe John ’Chelsea’ Terry was going to Man City in the summer? Terry has been the rock at the centre of Chelsea’s defence for most of this decade now, and arguably was the most important player in their two title years. His positional sense, aerial dominance and ability on the ball have seen him become one of the toughest defenders in Europe. You can probably count on one hand the amount of bad games he has had in this whole decade, Mr Consistency.

Centre Back – Rio Ferdinand - On joining Man Utd in 2002 and becoming the most expensive defender of all time Rio threw himself at the mercy of criticism. Any wrong move he made would be heavily scrutinised by everyone in football. Since then though Rio has confirmed himself as one of the very best defenders this country has ever produced and his solid partnership with Nemanja Vidic was the foundations for Man Utd’s change in fortunes in the second half of the decade. Though he has been deemed by many to be to prone to lapses in concentration and foolishly saw himself banned for missing drugs test in 2004, Rio has been the most talented defender in the English game for 10 years now.

Left Winger – Ryan Giggs - Here I must express sympathy for Robert Pires. If he played in most other positions, or wasn’t competing with the Premierships most enduring star he would have a place in the team. Ryan Giggs isn’t as pacy as he was in the 90′s but his sheer footballing intelligence, and technical ability has seen him spend 10 years terrorizing defences. The second half of the decade has seen Ryan more often playing in the middle, where his passing ability and dangerous bursts saw him grab the PFA player of the year in 2009.

Right Winger – Cristiano Ronaldo - Arguably the best player the Premiership has ever seen.  84 goals in 196 games and a shed load of assists made him the most feared player in the Premiership for a few years. Quick, strong and lethal in front of goal Ronaldo turned a resurgent Man Utd into the best team in Europe, and now the Premiership is worse off without him.

Central Midfield – Claude Makelele - You know you’re doing something right when they name a position after you. The Makelele role, just sitting in front of defence snubbing out danger and helping link  play between defence and midfield has become an essential part of nearly every Premiership midfield. Though it would be naive to claim Makelele invented this in the Premiership, he certainly perfected it. He played a vital role in Chelsea’s title runs, being just as responsible for their defensive prowess as Terry or Carvalho. The clearest indicator of how good Makelele was is to see how much better Chelsea were with him and how much worse Real were without him.

Central Midfield – Steven Gerrard - No one has dominated Premiership midfields over the past decade like Steven Gerrard. I think if you asked people who is the hardest person to play against in the Premiership most would say Gerrard. He is simply a complete footballer, and is 9 out fo 10 for pretty much every skill. He has been the engine and heart of Liverpool for 10 years now, and has improved nearly every year. He scores goals, he sets them up, he is a strong tackler and an inspiration to everything that Liverpool do; simply the most dominant player in the Premiership over the last decade.

Striker – Thierry Henry – Before a certain Portuguese star began showing his potential in the Premiership Thierry was the most talented player the Premiership could boast. Year after year for Arsenal Thierry showed incredible levels of consistency in front of goal and in general attacking play. Unlike lots of prolific goalscorers Henry didn’t rely on bags of tap ins and penalties and would regularly score 25 goals a season that no one else could have scored. In Arsenal’s unbeaten season Henry reached heights that no striker is likely to replicate in the near future. Simply an outstanding player, one of the best of all time.

Striker – Ruud Van Nistelrooy - Ruud used this decade to replace Shearer as the deadliest player in the Premiership. In his 5 years at Old Trafford he scored 95 goals in 150 Premiership games and built a reputation as one of the best finishers in Premiership history. Aside from his lethalness within the penalty box, Ruud was a master of holding the ball and possessed dangerous pace for such a big man. For all the guile of Thierry Henry, Ruud’s sheer physical strength and shooting technique led him to being just as feared by Premiership defences.

SUBS: Given, Vidic, Lampard, Pires, Rooney

Hope you like the picks, would love to hear what other people would have?

The draw for the last 16 is almost as eagerly anticipated as the games themselves, and this year didn’t fail to disappoint in having football fans salivating for 2 months waiting for the giants to come out of their winter slumber and get playing again.

• AC Milan V Manchester United – Probably the draw of the round. The biggest team in Italy goes up against the biggest in England. Oh yeah and a certain David Beckham comes back to Old Trafford for the first time since his 25 million pound move to Madrid in 2003. Man U wont see this as much of a reward for winning their group, with Milan impressing heavily in the group stages, including a 3-2 win in the Bernabeau. Despite this Milan aren’t the team that won the Champions League 2 and a half years ago, with Kaka leaving for Los Blancos in the summer, and the midfield pair ofGattuso and Pirlo ageing,I expect with Man Utd having the second leg at Old Trafford to sneak through. (Saying this I am slightly partisan and Milan have knocked Man U out the last 2 times they’ve met in 2005 and 2007).
• Inter Milan V Chelsea – Another eagerly anticipated clash sees an English side go head to head with the other Milan giant. Once again their will be familiar faces on show as ”The Special One’ returns for the first time  since his controversial departure in September 2007. Since going to Inter Jose has attempted to turn by far the best team in Italy (4 titles in a row) into contenders on the European stage. Unfortunately for him this has so far failed, they were outclassed last year by Man U in the last 16 and limped through a tough looking group. On top of this Inter were forced to sell their star player in Ibrahimovic to Barca in the summer, and despite making a tidy profit and getting Samuel Eto’o in return probably aren’t as strong as they were with him. I expect a couple of games of intrigue and power as both teams are built on the same physical mould, with Chelsea just being too good for them in the end.
• Porto V Arsenal - Arsenal will perhaps feel slightly fortunate seeing what the other two English sides have top face. Regardless of this Porto have won 4 Portuguese titles in a row and seem to have an endless ability to unearth star players from Portugal and South America. Arsenal and Porto both qualified comfortably and I expect this to be a very tight match, though Wenger’s Babies are seasoned performers in the Champions League, so if talismanic captain Fabregas stays fit, I fully expect to see them in the last 8.
• Lyon v Real Madrid – Arguably could be the most intriguing game of the last 16. Benzema returns to the team that developed him, and Madrid now have to start reaping the rewards for that massive layouts in the summer. Lyon looked very impressive during the group stages, as did Real, particularly record signing Ronaldo. Though Madrid have the most expensive squad of players EVER, and players like Kaka and Ronaldo have won Champions League titles before I’m going for a shock result with Lyon to sneak through on away goals. Madrid for all their attacking talent still look suspect at the back and Lyon have the talent in players like Lisandro to exploit this. Lyon are formidable at home in Europe as Liverpool can tell you , and I feel will pull off the shock fo the round.
• Bayern Munich v Fiorentina – Both teams did very well just to get out of tough looking groups. Bayern had to rely on a final match brilliant 4-1 win against Juve, as Fiorentina did the double over Liverpool in their group. Before the start of the season both teams would have seen the last 8 as a massive success for them considering their recent form in Europe. Both teams rely heavily on their star players Ribery and Gilardinio respectively, and though this is a tough tie to call and perhaps just because Fiorentina have won a place in my heart this season for some reason I think the Italians will progress  further than either of their Milanese counterparts.
• The Rest – The other 3 ties include Olympiakos’s clash with Bordeaux, Cska Moscow facing Sevilla and the holders Barca playing Stuttgart. These ties don’t quite have the same appeal as the others and most teams with the exception of Stuttgart will fancy their chances. Laurent Blanc has turned Bordeaux into one of the most exciting teams in Europe, and I fully expect them to ease past Olympiakos. Similarly though Cska showed glimpses of brilliance in Man Utd’s group Sevilla should prove too strong for them. Barcelona have failed to set the tournament alight so far, yet I find it hard to see them struggling against an average Stuttgart team.

Despite my predictions some of which will undoubtedly be wrong, the draw has once again produced a fascinating set of fixtures and the 2009 Champions League promises to be a must see affair for any football fans.

This problem has been highlighted recently by cases such as the transfer of Gabriel Kakuta to Chelsea (which led to them being banned from signing players for 18 months) and now Platini hopes to bring in regulations preventing any player to leave his country and club until the age of 18. Platini sees transfers such as that of Kakutas to Chelsea and any involving Under 18’s leaving their country as detrimental to football, and a way in which richer clubs are undermining the youth systems of smaller clubs.

Though these regulations may be seen by many as a just attempt to protect the interests of young footballers and smaller clubs to sign local talent I believe that despite its fair nature it may lead to a failure to nourish talent. Though it would be unfair to completely dismiss a clubs ability to develop a player to their full potential, it can’t be denied that clubs with greater funding are able to invest greater in their youth systems and coaching.  Great teams such as the Manchester United of the 90’s and the modern day Barcelona team have been based around players who have been nourished at the club from an early age.

To use an example of perhaps currently the worlds best player, as an advocate for stopping any such transfer law, I would like to present the case of Lionel Messi. At the age of 10 Messi was diagnosed with a disorder that Argentinean doctors claimed would stop the starlet ever growing past 4’10. This led to his club Old Newells Boys releasing him, as they couldn’t afford growth hormone treatment. Barcelona on watching the youngster play took it upon themselves to settle Messi and his family in Spain, and personally fund for and oversee his medical treatment and football coaching. Messi has gone on to become one of the greatest players in the world, and it’s a depressing thought that Platini’s rules could see a future Messi to miss out on such an exciting future.

Amongst the biggest critics of plans to restrict transfers is the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, a manager famous for unearthing talents from around the globe. As part of his on going dispute with his patriot Arsene has questioned the fairness of such regulations on foreign teenage players. Arsene has claimed that youth players coming from places like Africa will benefit from superior coaching and a better lifestyle with clubs like Arsenal and other top European clubs.

Despite these worries being shared by many in the game if Platini remains determined to undermine the superpowers of European club football with such rule changes then perhaps in the future more stars may be left undeveloped, undiscovered and ultimately worse off in his attempts to change transfer rulings, and stars like Messi will become stories of failed potential.

The main reason for this is the dominant status of the countries 3 main sports: Football, Rugby and Cricket. Each of these sports have centuries of history in Britain and maintains mass popularity. This position in the affection of the general public has taken years to obtain and realistically no other sport has a chance of attracting the kind of attention these sports can in the near future. Sports are a crucial part of a nation’s culture and the relationship between the public and a certain sport takes decades to create.  Though given time the love of American Football may grow, due to the dominance of Football, Rugby and Cricket British people seem incapable of immersing themselves ever truly appreciating American Football. It’s simply a case of their only being so much room for sports in people’s lives, and that is being monopolised by existing sports, and forcing American football to the fringes

The best way for fringe sports to raise their profile within British Media is for Britain to enjoy some level of success within the sport, such as the rise in profile cycling enjoyed following Beijing 2008. Due to the complete lack of youth involvement in American Football in this country this can’t happen in the foreseeable future. The US has a unique system of developing young talent through its college system, and the NFL is nearly entirely made up of American graduates of this. Although Britain has its own American Football league the standard is incomparable to even School Football in America and can’t be expected to produce a NFL standard player. As long as British talents have no viable means of making it stateside British interest will lack a figurehead to spark true interest in the sport.

Aside from British factors holding back the rise of American Football within the UK, issues from within America itself are evident. First of all the nature of the game of American Football is that of one of the world’s most technical sports, with numerous rules and takes 3 hours to complete. The technical and slow nature of the sport make it difficult for newcomers to enjoy, understand or even endure. This also isn’t helped as Britain’s two most prominent sports, Rugby and Football, are much quicker and simpler to understand. Fans on seeing the sport first time struggle to understand why the game stops so frequently. This chasm in ideology between American Football and leading British spots don’t allow it to adapt well to a British market. In addition to this are doubts from within the NFL itself of expansion overseas. Tom Brady, star quarterback of the New England Patriots, following his team’s victory in the third annual NFL London game admitted it would be difficult to expand NFL integration beyond the one annual game. This concern is common throughout the sport who don’t see the spreading of the game to the UK and Europe as too important.

Despite my predictions of the NFL struggling to ever have a truly long lasting future within Britain the popularity of the NFL London games can’t be denied. The stadium has seen sell out crowds and further talks are taking place in seeing more games played this side of the Atlantic. As promising as this sounds, as long as Football and Rugby continue to excite the British public, and American Football remains such a difficult game to understand, its appeal in Britain  seems to be limited to one off rather novel occasions and to the odd true admirer like myself.

Though Andy Murray has seen relative progress in his game, particularly on clay, his performances in the Grand Slams have been disappointing. A 4^th round defeat to Verdasco in Australia, quarter final demolition by Gonzalez in France, followed by heartbreak at Wimbledon in the semis against Roddick, and ending perhaps worst of all with a 4^th round defeat to Cilic in the US open. As previously mentioned 2009 has been a year of progress for Murray just limited progress, and I remain convinced that Murray would have been expecting a lot more from his year. To make these failures even worse Murray has seen his main rivals Federer and Nadal add more slams to their totals and, perhaps most worrying of all was Juan Martin Del Potro’s victory at the US open.

The young argentine is 2 years younger than Murray, has been nowhere as successful as him in regular Tour events yet now has an elusive Grand Slam title. Murray is now the only one of the top 6 players to not have won a Slam and in 2009 looked no closer to winning one. As unfair as it seems even at the age of 22 time is already catching up with Murray. Tennis is becoming an ever younger sport, and its very rare for players to win their first slam older than 23. Though Murray is still described by most as a rising talent, in truth of the last 10 grand slam winners only 2 were older than Murray is now when they won their first slam. He may still be deemed by the majority to be on course for a great career but the longer he goes without winning a Slam, the less likely it becomes.  Andy is a notoriously stubborn character and, it’s unlikely he will admit to being worried about the direction his career is taking, but it must frustrate him that players like Djokovic and Del Potro had their first Slam won by 20.

As negative as this may seem Murray remains a phenomenal tennis talent and able to compete with any player in the world. He has made massive strides in his game in the last two years, and perhaps with a more aggressive style at important moments of big matches will finally win a Grand Slam. If Murray is to take his career to take the next level and not become one of the best players to never win a slam, the best way will be to start the 2010 season well and, finally make a decent run at the Australian Open. If that is to happen perhaps a title in London as this season culminates will be a great way to start his charge to becoming a great player rather than a very good one.