By Myles Palmer
Arsenal will knock Vialli’s Watford out of the FA Cup on Saturday, having had a welcome rest midweek after that frozen-pitch postponement at Leicester on Tuesday night.
Watford can’t be regarded as an away game, even though it’s not a home game.
Watford FC is nearer to their Shenley training ground than Highbury is, a ten minute coach-ride from their HQ.
Convenient, or what?
The newspapers and airwaves are now packed with Premiership title predictions.
At the moment it looks as if Robbie Fowler will win the title for Leeds, Arsenal will be second, and Man United third.
But prospects change every week.
Leeds crushed West Ham last night in a game that lasted only seven minutes, Mark Viduka scoring twice from crosses by Smith and Mills in that time. It finished 3-0.
Eriksson should be looking at David Batty for his squad, which is too young to make the semis.
Scholes/Batty/Gerrard/Beckham would be a balanced midfield, and take Scholes out of the danger areas where he loses the ball, often fatally.
Batty is a keep-ball master and Engerland will need that in Korea-Japan, where it is hot and humid and Brit-football just won’t work, except in spurts.
Svenglish football is positive and dynamic, based on passing the ball forward.
But it does not place enough emphasis on possession. Not so far anyway, in my view.
Argentina and Nigeria are, man for man, technically superior to England. And Sweden are better organised.
England will not blitz anybody 5-1, even if Owen is now the European Footballer of the Year.
Call me a conservative, but I think Sven needs proven tournament players like Anderton, Batty and even (I know these are two swear words) Le Saux.
Leeds are not in the Champions League and that will be a big factor next month.
For them, I think it’s now or never because Viduka and Kewell will go.
I’m told that Inter have Kewell’s mobile number and call him after games.
I’m also told that Real Madrid offered Ridsdale £20 million for Viduka last summer.
Viduka would link sweetly with Zidane and Raul – and he would head in Figo’s crosses. He fits their jigsaw so neatly.Viduka is what they always hoped Morientes would become.
Meanwhile, tonight’s Man United-Newcastle game might be the thriller of the season.
Robert,Bellamy and Dyer have breakaway pace and can score Arsene-goals, the electrifying kind of goals Anelka and Overmars scored in 1998.
And Fergie has finally seen the light and started copying Wenger, using Giggs as his Overmars, with Van Nistelrooy.
Ruud and Ryan are clicking, and Scholes can do a job from the left.
That means he can use Butt and Keane in the warzone to protect his dodgy defence.
It’s not rocket science, but it’s taken Fergie 30 games to figure out that balance!
Experts say Man United have been beating duff teams recently in this run of five Premiership wins.
I would love to see Solano clip a couple onto Shearer’s head, but past history suggests the Red Devils will shade it with a deflected shot into the bottom corner.
January 2nd 2002.