Here's to a fantastic decade of the beautiful game!

With the "Noughties" drawing to a close, it seems proper to do a highlights package of the biggest moments of past ten years of football, both at club and international level. It's been one hell of a decade for football and while not all of it's been for the better, it's certainly generated some fantastic talking points for when you're down the pub!

2000: Real Madrid sign Luis Figo from Barcelona.

"We hate you so because we loved you so" Luis Figo's transfer from Barcelona to Real Madrid was not only the biggest transfer fee in the history of the game (at the time), but it was also between two of its fiercest rivals. Luis Figo was Barcelona's star player and a fan favourite before leaving to join the capital club. The reaction of the Barcelona faithful was remarkable. The anger of Madrid signing the best player in the game was nothing compared to the sense of treachery they felt over one of their own leaving for their bitter rivals. his culminated in a match between the two teams in 2002 when Figo was bombarded by missiles from the Barcelona supporters, including most famously a pigs head.

2001: Liverpool win a treble!

Okay, so it wasn't quite the treble Man Utd achieved two years previously, but it still isn't anything to be sniffed at. After going six years without a trophy, Liverpool manage to win three at once. Perhaps the most remarkable of these trophies was the FA Cup Final against Arsenal. Michael Owen, in the form of his life, almost single-handedly won the trophy for Liverpool, scoring twice in the final ten minutes.

2002 World Cup: France get knocked out in the first round; everybody laughs.

Despite winning the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000 and the 2001 Confederations Cup, France managed to achieve the worst finish for reigning World Cup champions. They managed to get a single point in their group (against Uruguay) while losing to Senegal and Denmark. The 2002 World Cup is also notable as announcing the arrival of Ronaldinho to the world scene. A stunning goal against England in the Quarter Finals cemented his place as a star of the future.

2003/4: Arsenal go a whole league season undefeated.

The first team to do so since Preston North End in 1889, Arsenal were untouchable in the league, winning 26, drawing 12 and losing none. Led by Arsene Wenger, Arsenal had one of the finest sides to ever grace the English top flight and it showed. Arsenal finished 11 points clear of their nearest rivals, Chelsea. This is a feat made all the more incredible by Chelsea's takeover by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. After spending £100 million on new players, expectations were high, but they were expectations they failed to live up to.

Euro 2004: Greece stun everyone and win.

I don't think anyone expected this. Greece had shown they were no pushovers three years earlier in the World Cup qualifier against England, but three years is a long time in football and few would have imagined them knocking getting to the Quarter Finals, let alone winning it! It was a surprising tournament all round. Germany, Spain and Italy were knocked out in the First Round and Greece beat Portugal in the first match and also knocked out holders France. By the time the final came round, many people expected Portugal to lift the trophy on their home turf, but it wasn't to be. Defeating Portugal again, it was Greece who were named champions.

2005: Liverpool win the Champions League from 3-0 down.

One of the greatest comebacks in football. 3-0 down at half time against A.C. Milan, Liverpool looked as though they needed a miracle if they were to win their fifth European Cup. Their prayers were answered in the form of Steven Gerrard and Jerzy Dudek. Gerrard turned in a man of the match performance to land the trophy for Liverpool, scoring Liverpool's first and sending them on the way to victory. With the game going down to penalties, it was the turn of the Liverpool goalkeeper to shine. Saving two penalties and seeing Serginho sky another saw Liverpool crowned European champions.

2006: Italian Serie A Scandal

The Italian game has always had a reputation as being dodgy and scandalous, but this took it to a whole new level. A whole network of links between managers, officials and referees were uncovered, bringing the whole of Serie A into disrepute. The effects of the scandal, I would argue, weren't severe enough. Of the three teams punished with relegation (Juventus, Fiorentina and Lazio), only Juventus stayed in Serie B. There were several instances of teams being hit with point deductions, but nothing that wasn't easy to overcome. Since the scandal, it's also led to a drop in competition in the Champions League, with Milan's victory in 2007 being the last time any Italian side had any success in the competition.

That being said, it's given rise to a new era of dominance in Serie A for Inter Milan. None of the teams in Italy have been able to touch them since the scandal, with only Roma giving any serious challenge. However, with Serie A soon to do a Premier League and break away from its lower leagues, the increase in revenue could see another shift in Italian domestic and European power.

2006 World Cup: Zidane loses his cool (and Materazzi loses his balance).

The World Cup finals in Germany were absolutely fantastic and a wonderful advert for the game. Full of twists and turns (Brazil being terrible, France's return to form), moments of sheer brilliance (Argentina's magnificent team goal against Serbia) and some controversial games (Portugal vs Holland, Italy vs Australia). However, it was a moment of utter madness that this World Cup will be remembered for. Zinedine Zidane, playing his last game before retiring, decided to headbutt Marco Materazzi in the chest following an insult aimed at Zidane's sister. France ended up losing on penalties, meaning Zidane's sending off had arguably little effect on the result. Regardless, it was a sour note on which to end the career of one of the greatest players there's ever been and thankfully hasn't sullied what was a fantastic career.

2007: England fail to qualify for Euro 2008

It went down to the final game of the qualifying campaign to determine whether or not England would make it to Austria and Switzerland and in true English fashion we managed to cock it up. Led by Steve 'Wally with a brolly' McLaren, England had been unconvincing throughout the qualification campaign, with losses to Russia and Croatia, a draw against Macedonia and taking 60 minutes to score against Andorra. Their decisive game was against Croatia at Wembley, the team we'd lost 2-1 to in Zagreb. What was to follow was the perfect example of "How not to manage a football team". In pouring rain and with England desperately struggling and needing to win, what did Steve McLaren decide to do? Lead by example and brave the rain? No. Roar instructions from the touchline? No. At least make an effort though, right? Uhhh, no. Instead he stood there with his FA regulation brolly. We would've had more chance for victory with General Custer in charge...

Euro 2008: Spain finally reach their potential.

Despite being tipped as strong contenders in every competition under the Sun, Spain very rarely delivered on the international stage, even though their team is packed to the rafters with talent. "Perennial underachievers" was how Spain had become known, but this was their year to truly shine. With talent oozing out of every part of their squad, Spain really were the business that year. With Fernando Torres and David Villa leading the line, midfielders that would waltz into any team in the world, a solid defense and the best goalkeeper in the world, it's no surprise that Spain emerged victorious. Spain looked every part the champion, showing their class in beating a talented Russian side 4-1 in the first round and 3-0 in the semi's, while also showing their determination in a penalty shoot out against Italy.

2009: Barcelona win the Sextuple.

At the moment, Barcelona are easily the best team in the world and following the 2008/2009 season it's not hard to see why. Sweeping aside all who came before them, Los Culés won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. While this was a fantastic and historic achievement, it was made all the more noteworthy due to Barcelona's style of play of free-flowing, attacking football. Barcelona don't grind out results; it's win in style or don't win at all. Personally I'd love to see a match between this side and the 1970 Brazil national team, just to see who'd come out on top.

Get your vuvuzelas out! My predictions for the World Cup.

So the draw for the greatest sporting event has been made and England have been handed a fantastic chance to go far in this competition. Without further ado, my predictions (and explanations) for the 2010 World Cup!

Group A
1. France - 7pts
2. Uruguay - 4pts
3. Mexico - 3pts
4. South Africa - 1pts

Unfortunately for the hosts they're going to make history as the first host side to go out at the group stage. They've got some good players, but are going to be completely outclassed by the three other teams in their group. That being said, I think they'll start well and get a 1-1 draw against Mexico.
France are utterly mediocre compared to what they used to be. Their saving grace here is that they'll get through on sheer talent alone. Like Argentina they're let down managerially. The experienced players are over the hill and the players in their prime aren't experienced enough at this level.
Uruguay are better than Mexico in my opinion. Mexico are very toothless going forward with their main centre forward, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, 37 by the time summer rolls round. Uruguay on the other hand have Diego Forlan, one of the best strikers in Europe at the moment, leading their front line.

Group B
1. Argentina - 9pts
2. Nigeria - 4pts
3. S. Korea - 4pts
4. Greece - 0pts

That's right, Argentina to win all their group games. Yes they cocked up their qualifying campaign rather well and yes they're managed by someone so incomptent it makes Raymond Domenech look like Alex Feruson. But this is a team with Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano, Carlos Tevez and Walter Samuel available to them, they should breeze through this group. That being said, like England they have real problems between the sticks. They have a good up and coming goalie with Oscar Ustari but he's only played for them once, while Leo Franco and Roberto Abbondanzierri, their two most experienced goalies, have both been ignored by Maradonna.
The rest of this group is a bunch of mediocre national squads. Korea won't match the achievements of 2002, nor Greece 2004. Nigeria are the only other team in this group with the depth and quality to make a go of it.

Group C
1. England - 7pts
2. USA - 6pts
3. Slovenia - 2pts
4. Algeria - 1pts

England couldn't really have asked for a better group. The USA and Slovenia are beatable without being push overs, so we shouldn't get too complacent. Algeria are a team there for the taking as far as I'm concerned. Whoever we have in goal shouldn't be too heavily tested against any of these sides, although I expect Slovenia to surprise us with a draw. Dunno why, I just do.
The USA should do well in this group. They're a good team with some good players and are difficult to break down. Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard are known quantities to us here in England and are both cracking players. Players such as Landon Donovan also provide a real threat on goal as well.

Group D
1. Germany - 7pts
2. Ghana - 5pts
3. Serbia - 2pts
4. Australia - 1pts

Germany to win the group with their typical efficiency. With players like Ballack, Podolski, Schweinsteiger, Gomes and Klose they'll inevitably do well and will overpower the rest of their group. Only sticking point for them will be Ghana. I can see that game getting mired in the middle of the park as both sides strong midfields slug it out.
Talking of Ghana, they'll do well in this group. With Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Stephen Appiah in midfield they'll be able to choke other teams while also getting the ball to their forward quickly and accurately.
Serbia are a good side and are unfortunate to land this group. In another group they'd have stood a solid chance of getting through. A good side with some good players, let down by no definite article. Their main striker in Nikola Zigic who can barely get a game for Valencia.
Australia aren't the team of four years ago. No depth, no quality, will get a get a point out of sheer determination and stubbornness.

Group E
1. Holland - 7pts
2. Cameroon - 5pts
3. Denmark - 2pts
4. Japan - 1pts

Ah Holland, you little tease. You promise so much and deliver so little. Attractive, flowing football is all well and good, but not when you haven't the grit to knuckle down when needed. I can see a good game between them and Cameroon (2-2). Eto'o will have a field day against their back line, but the rest of the squad will let him down. The Dutch really do have a problem defence. Not one player in their backline is world class and with Van der Sar now retired from the international stage they don't have him to fall back on.
Denmark and Japan are much like Korea and Greece, quite mediocre. Not their fault of course, but they'll have a poor tournament.

Group F
1. Italy - 9pts
2. Paraguay - 4pts
3. Slovakia - 4pts
4. New Zealand - 0pts

The World Champions will qualify with ease from this group. They'll be slow to start and may have to grind out a result against Paraguay, but a demolition of New Zealand will set them well on their way.
Paraguay and Slovakia will be seperated solely on goal difference. It really comes down to who can give New Zealand the biggest hiding really.
As for the Kiwi's, what the record for the most goals conceded in the group stage?

Group G
1. Brazil - 9pts
2. Ivory Coast - 6pts
3. Portugal - 3pts
4. North Korea - 0pts

Group of Death, how nice of you to join us! This group contains two of the teams England desperately wanted to avoid in Portugal and the Ivory Coast, while Brazil will always be a monumental threat, especially when going forward.
I reckon the Brazilians can win all these matches, I really do. They've had a transformation under Dunga, similar to the one England's had under Fabio Capello. Gone is the celebrity culture of Brazil-that-was and in is the no-nonsense, well balanced game which is utterly devastating. Whereas pre-Dunga they were like Real Madrid, a bunch of stars playing football, now they're Barcelona, footballers first who just happen to be stars as well.
I've gone for the Ivory Coast to take the other qualification spot. They've a fantastic spine to the team, while Didier Drogba is in the form of his life. Yes the Portugese have Ronaldo, who is without doubt an amazing player. However, that's about it. No-one in that Portugal side leaps out at me bar him. If he has a bad tournament, Portugal have a bad tournament. The two are mutually inclusive.
Poor North Korea though. Their glorious leader Kim-Jong Il has said that North Korean matches in South Africa will only be aired if they win. Looks like North Koreans won't be seeing much of South Africa, then...

Group H
1. Spain - 9pts
2. Chile - 4pts
3. Switzerland - 4pts
4. Honduras - 0pts

Spain to dominate this group easily. Chile will put up a fight, but that's about it. Spain have far too much attacking talent to not swat any of these teams out of the way.
Chile and Switzerland seem quite evenly matched for me. No real match winners, nothing to really shout about. This game will be rather boring.
Honduras will get a thorough dicking by everyone. Like New Zealand, I've no idea how they even qualified.

Now that's the group stages done and dusted, onto the meat and potatoes of the competition: the knockout stages.

Second Round:
France 2 - 1 Nigeria
England 2 - 1 Ghana
Germany 1 - 0 USA (AET)
Argentina 1 - 1 Uruguay (Argentina win on penalties)
Holland 2 - 0 Paraguay
Brazil 3 - 0 Chile
Italy 2 - 1 Cameroon (AET)
Spain 2 - 1 Ivory Coast

Quick Summary:
France, England, Holland, Brazil and Spain all overcome their opponents due to their depth and quality. Germany to have a tough time against the Americans due to their tight-knit nature and organisation. Argentina and Uruguay will be a tough one for both sides, but Argentina's depth of star players will see them through a shootout. Italy to win due to superior fitness levels deep into extra time.

Quarter Finals:
Holland 1 - 1 Brazil (Brazil win on penalties)
England 1 - 0 France
Argentina 0 - 2 Germany
Italy 1 - 2 Spain

Quick Summary:
Holland and Brazil will go right to the wire. Heroics by Julio Cesar keep Brazil in the competition.
England score early and grind out a win against a lacklustre French side. Lack of decent service to Henry/Benzema/Anelka to be their undoing.
Argentina's luck runs out against a highly organised German side. This game should be won from the touchline, with Maradonna running round like a headless chicken and Joachim Low keeping cool and exploiting the lack of Argentinian leadership.
Italy and Spain to be the most entertaining match of the tournment so far. Immovable object versus unstoppable force time. Italy to score from a set-piece, but Spain just edge it due to relentless pressure.

Semi Finals:
England 0 - 2 Brazil
Germany 0 - 1 Spain

Quick Summary:
England's intrepid run comes to a brutal end. Defensive fumbles aplenty is the dish of the day. I can see the pace of Brazil causing havoc for what is quite a slow defence (with the exception of Ashley Cole).
Germany efficiency outdone by Spanish elegance.

Third Place Play-Off:
Germany 1 - 1 England (England win on penalties)

Quick Summary:
Well it has to happen some time...

Final:
Brazil 2 - 1 Spain

Quick Summary:
Brazil's improved defensive qualities see them lifting the trophy for the sixth time. Power and pace combined will shatter a tired Spanish squad.

Top Goalscorer:
Luis Fabiano

Now these could all be totally wrong, and most likely will be, but it'd be a good tournament if it played out like this. Brazil vs Spain is probably the best final I can think of if I'm to be honest.

Tennis in Britain? Sounds about right. But in the Winter? Oh go on then.

This month saw the ATP World Tour come to the O2 Arena in London. This is quite a rare event for Britain; tennis in the depths of Winter. We go absolutely ga-ga over tennis in the summer with Wimbledon taking up two glorious weeks of the BBC's airtime and strawberries and cream coming out of our ears. It's a bit odd though to see tennis happening in November, not that I'm complaining. 

A tournament between the top 8 players in the world is always going to be worth watching. It's like Wimbledon only without all the chaff you get at the beginning. Once again Britain placed its hopes on Andy Murray and while he gave it his all he ultimately crashed out in the group stages. It wasn't all bad as you got to see Carlos Tevez having a knock around with Juan Martin del Potro while everyone waited to see if Murray went through or not. While Tevez wasn't brilliant by any means, he may consider taking up tennis instead of football. He'll probably win more games than at Man City...

It was an odd tournament really. Here in Britain to the casual tennis fan you'd think the sport would consist of Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. None of these guys won it, hell they didn't even get to the final. Both Murray and Nadal crashed out in the group stages, while Federer suffered an upset in losing to the eventual winner Nikolay Davydenko. 

As a tournament it was cracking stuff. Despite it being the end of the year all the players gave it their all. Moreover the O2 Arena made a magnificent venue. I was lucky enough to go there earlier this month to see Muse in concert. Who'd have thought that the Millenium Dome would actually become something useful?

Luckily the O2 Arena has the ATP World Tour for five years. Here's hoping that future tournaments are as good as the one that's just gone. 

How to solve play off drama in one simple step.

Get rid of them!

Honestly, why is this so hard to understand? Play offs are fundamentally unfair. Teams should be rewarded by playing consistently through a campaign. If they finish one spot behind the current automatic qualifiers/promoters then they should qualify or get promoted just as equally, not forced to play another round of games designed only to line the pockets of FIFA/UEFA/FA beaurocrats!

This case is perfectly highlighted by the Ireland vs France game last night. Ireland deserve to be in South Africa this summer, France do not. Ireland managed to go through the entire first qualification phase undefeated, despite being in a tougher group than the French. However, France will be in the World Cup. In what way, shape or form is this fair?

To compound matters, the way the French beat the Irish was through an act of blatant, if uncharacteristic, cheating by Thierry Henry. I'm not saying that the match should be replayed, that'd be ludicrous and open up a whole new can of worms. However, in order to prevent such monumental cock ups something has to be done.

Video technology has to be introduced, even if it's just in a limited capacity. It works in every other sport that it's been tried in, so why not football? People argue that it'd break up the flow of play but that's nonsense. In cases such as the one last night, how much longer would it have taken to check the videos than it did to stop players protesting?

This doesn't go for just play-offs either. It should be implemented across the board for higher level games. With football being the multi-billion pound industry that it is, shouldn't fairness be a critical issue?

Rafa Benitez may have won this week, but one good performance does not make a season.

So Rafa's done it again; when all seemed lost he's managed to motivate Liverpool to pull out all the stops and get that much needed win. Much needed it was to, as a fifth successive defeat (against Liverpool's biggest rivals to boot) would have seen him collecting his P45 quicker than you can say "title challenge".

Benitez has developed a habit of turning things around at Liverpool, most notably in the 2005 Champions League final. However, while the red half of Liverpool will be celebrating this victory, serious questions need to be asked over the long-term future of the club and Benitez's job.

A lot of the problems Liverpool face at the moment aren't strictly the fault of the manager. Gillett and Hicks are probably two of the worst chairmen football's seen since Peter Ridsdale and their refusal to significantly back Benitez in the transfer market, as well as their constant bickering, is impacting on the club in a major way.

In order to progress on last seasons finish Liverpool needed serious depth added to the squad, namely another striker, another box-to-box midfielder and another right back. Admittedly Liverpool signed Glen Johnson, but they sold Alvaro Albeloa, who was probably Liverpool's most improved player last season. Even more significantly they sold Xabi Alonso, whose absense has been keenly felt. Add to this the replacement they bought, Alberto Aquilani, was injured upon signing and has only just got back training doesn't do anything to improve matters.

While Liverpool need to add depth, they also need to get rid of the dead wood in the squad in order to get some funds to sign some quality. Players such as Voronin, N'Gog and Lucas wouldn't even make it into the Stoke City first team, let alone into a team hoping to contend for major honours at the end of the season. Personally I can see someone like Carlton Cole moving to Liverpool as he'd compliment Torres nicely, can score and will be desperate to impress Fabio Capello and be picked for the World Cup squad. Players such as Ricardo Montolivo would also add additional technical quality to Liverpool's game and help shore up the midfield.

If Liverpool can use this victory to kick start their season then all the better, but some serious action in the January transfer window is needed if Liverpool are to keep up with the rest of the pack. If they don't push the title challengers to the wire, Benitez will find himself like so many other people at the moment; looking for another job.