AC Milan - Transition complete; Ready for Take Off.

It's fair to say that after an excruciating summer for the Rossoneri faithful last year, this season was always going to be an interesting one. It started off poorly, to say the least. Dreams of the Scudetto rapidly raced from the minds of Milan players and fans alike as they plummeted into a time of crisis. It was beginning to look unlikely that the seven time European Champions would even be representing their country in a European competition next season. Of their first ten games, Milan had won just three, drawing two and losing five in the process. This was not the form of a Europa League contender, never mind the form of a title contender.

On October 30th, Milan found themselves 2-0 behind away to Palermo thanks to two goals either side of half time. Milan looked spineless. Nobody was willing to fight for the cause. Nobody was willing to rally the troops and push the Rossoneri through. Milan were a wounded animal. An under-performing Bojan Krkic was brought on to replace an equally underwhelming Alexandre Pato. He made a difference. On 69 minutes Milan were presented with a glimmer of hope. A goal from Riccardo Montolivo, a rare consistent performer for Milan gave them new life. Milan pushed on and equalised on 80 minutes through Stephan El Shaarawy. They even could and perhaps should have won the game were it not for a few fluffed chances in the dying moments of the game. This was a turning point. From this point on, Milan were a different animal. The beast had been woken up. 

Results began to change and from November onwards, Milan were the form team in the league. January saw the exit of Pato and the arrival of one Mario Balotelli. Heads were being held high in the red half of Milan, even more so given that their run of good form coincided with a dramatic dip in form for their city rivals - Internazionale. From the 18th of November no team would pick up more points than Milan in Italy's top flight until the end of the season. 

The coming season will be different, very different. Milan have reasons to be positive. 

This summer will not see any major exits like last summer, primarily because they haven't got as many big name players this year. Last year they lost the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Clarence Seedorf, Pippo Inzaghi, Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso, Antonio Cassano, Gianluca Zambrotta and Marc Van Bommel. On top of this Maxi Lopez and Alberto Aquilani both left following the expiry of their respective loan contracts as well as a plethora of rumours surrounding the futures of Pato and Robinho. This time round their main superstar is also their latest arrival and he's not going anywhere - Super Mario. Their young gun Stephan El Shaarawy has been attracting rumours which Adriano Galliani has firmly denied. The only real transfer talk coming out of the club is to do with the potential arrival of Carlos Tevez from Manchester City - a signing which would further strengthen Allegri's squad. The side have adapted from being focused on the above players to being focused on the likes of El Shaarawy, Montolivo, Balotelli, Pazzini. A new spine has been formed and it has been formed a lot quicker than many anticipated.

One huge plus that Milan will have for next season is simply having Mario Balotelli for a full campaign. His form since setting foot on Italian soil has been nothing short of remarkable. Scoring twelve goals in thirteen games he is beginning to make headlines for all the right reasons again and this will put a smile on the faces of Milan fans worldwide. It's clear that Balotelli feels loved at Milan, he feels like he's an important player to that team, something which was evidently lacking during his time in England. He is the main man now at Milan. All eyes are firmly on his footballing ability and it would appear that he is loving every minute of it. If he can take this form into next season then there is no reason why he can't be scoring title deciding goals come May 2014. 

Another factor which could very well play into Milan's hands is that Juventus will be giving more attention than ever to the Champions League. Having found themselves to be very unlucky to come up against a wonderful Bayern Munich side this season, Juve will want to show the world that they are well and truly back after years of suffering following the Calciopoli scandal. This might well see The Old Lady resting players in Serie A matches allowing teams to take points off them more so than they did this season and thus providing Milan with a golden opportunity. 

On top of these factors, Milan will have a new-found hunger, a hunger stronger than ever before to reclaim what they feel is their post at the summit of Italian football. Having seen Juventus win the previous two Scudetto's, Milan will do everything in their power to stop it from becoming a hat-trick of league titles for their enemies from Turin. Furthermore, winning a third consecutive title is by no means an easy thing to do and Juventus will face enormous pressures which could see them crumble and the Rossoneri will be waiting to pounce at any sign of weakness.

For the above reasons as well as others, I would not be the slightest bit surprised to see AC Milan emphatically bounce back this year. The transition is now complete, the Rossoneri are ready for take off.

The Republic of Ireland: Evolution takes time, small steps are being taken.

After the shameful performance from the Irish football team at the 2012 European Championships in the Ukraine and Poland, the ‘Boys in Green’ took a bit of a verbal battering from myself and many of the country’s other football fans and writers alike. This criticism, in my eyes, was perfectly justified. The team simply did not perform in the manner which was expected from them. Expectations were not unrealistic, the team were never expected to beat sides like Spain, Italy and Croatia. The way in which they played these games, however, was nothing short of deplorable.

A lot of the blame was placed on the head of Giovanni Trapattoni, his tactical approach and team selection was thrown into question countless times. The Italian was criticised from almost every football fan in the country. It was evident to everybody that some sort of change was needed if the Italian was to remain in his post as Irish manager. Fortunately, that change has begun to occur.

Trapattoni seems to be, for the first time during his role as Irish manager, listening to the nation. For over a year now, there has been a demand for the likes of Séamus Coleman and James McClean to become regular starters for Ireland. They are now finally being given a chance on a regular basis and proving that they are more than deserving. Coleman has been brilliant at right back. Taking the step to being an international footballer in his stride, something that is not always easy for a young footballer to do with such comfort. McClean’s performances have shown that he is not making the transition to international football as convincingly as Coleman, but he is by no means doing a bad job. He has handed in some very respectable performances in an Irish shirt and has provided a good foundation on which he can look to build and improve. He has already become a very important part of this Irish side and his ability to be a match winner is clearly seen by his teammates. During the game against Austria it was visible that whenever James McCarthy had the ball in the middle of the park, the first place he looked was out to the left to see where McClean was and whether or not he was available. Nearly every time McCarthy received the ball into feet with the time and space to look up and pick out a pass, that pass was out to James McClean was more often than not met by more than one Austrian player, which in itself is a complement – it’s a sign that they were worried about him.

James McCarthy is stepping into the role of Ireland’s primary creative, passing midfielder. With Glenn Whelan or Paul Green alongside him to do the majority of the ‘dirty work’ McCarthy is allowed to find space and time when on the ball to allow for him to play important and potentially match winning passes. With the ever threatening James McClean to the left, the powerful Jonathan Walters to his right, and the clinical Shane Long in front of him, McCarthy is never found short of options and the movement of these three players will often open up space and an opportunity for the Wigan midfielder to play a killer ball into. McCarthy is going to play an even more integral part for this Ireland team in the coming years. As the side develops further and inevitably moves away from this ‘defend, defend, defend’ style, his role will become even more prominent. It appears to be unanimously accepted that Trapattoni’s contract will not be renewed again after this campaign, leaving the job vacant for a new manager with a perhaps more open mind to come in and allow the squad to play in a system most suited to the best players within it.

A man mentioned above whose reputation is growing is Paul Green. Green was torn apart in certain areas of the media during and after the European Championships. Since then, improvements have been made and Ireland are benefitting from this. For the first time in an Irish shirt, everybody who watched the game against Sweden had nothing but good things to say about his performance. In the following game against Austria as he prepared to come on, the usual groans and shouts of frustration were noticeably absent. The only criticism of this change was that he was brought on for the wrong player and then played out of position - neither of these are criticisms of Green. Trapattoni insisted on playing Green out on the right and pushing Jon Walters up front when it was felt that Green should have been brought on as an extra body to crowd out the Austrian midfield and attempt to reduce the threat posed by David Alaba who was pulling the strings for them. Paul Green is growing as a footballer, if his performances continue at this level he will almost certainly develop into an important player for his country.

Another key contributor to the Republic of Ireland side at the moment is Shane Long. Long is becoming, and already has become in my mind, Ireland’s best striker. The time has come for the team to be built around him and not Robbie Keane. I am extremely thankful and respectful towards everything that Keane has done for this nation during his career but his time has come and gone. He is no longer the striker he was, his goals are beginning to dry up for his country and at a time when the Tipperary man is playing better than ever and constantly improving, it makes sense for this transition to occur now.

So what lies ahead for Ireland, then? What more needs to be done and how can they continue to grow?

Ireland need time to blend and time to familiarise themselves with their fellow players. With only two of the eleven that started the opening game of the European Championships starting the game against Austria, it’s clear to see that the team is changing.

In the coming years we will more than likely see the introduction of Greg Cunningham at left back, who could well be the left hand side’s answer to Séamus Coleman on the right. This would give the team great balance to have a good, solid defensive full back who can also threaten when the team go forward. He could potentially provide support for James McClean and take advantage of any space occupied by the opposition doubling up on McClean.

The probable departure of Trapattoni after the World Cup Campaign will also open up the door for the reintroduction of Darron Gibson into the Irish set up. The Everton man would be a welcome addition to the side and would provide competition for Paul Green should he hold onto his place in the starting eleven.

I said before the campaign began that I would happily take not qualifying for Brazil 2014 if it meant the team was beginning to evolve and new players were introduced with the nation’s future in mind. This has absolutely been the case so although not qualifying might be painful for the immediate future, in the long term, this early stage of evolution could prove key to Ireland’s hopes for the next European Championships in France three years down the road.

To briefly summarise the message I’m trying to get across here: it’s not all doom and gloom for Ireland. Small steps are being taken, improvements in performances and results are imminent. 

Why Mario Should be Cherished, not Chastised.

Mario Balotelli is without doubt a footballer who, to coin a clichéd phrase, is a lot like marmite – you either hate him or love him. There is very rarely any middle ground when it comes to this particular young man.

As I sit here, sipping on a fresh cup of tea and typing away I can’t help but think back to an argument I had today, an argument I often have with people, an argument discussing the ability of Mario Balotelli.  As I think back to the argument, I can’t help but laugh. Only a matter of hours after the discussion of Balotelli’s ability, during a friendly between Brazil and Italy, he beautifully placed the ball into the top corner of Julio Cesar’s goal from 25 yards, leaving the Brazilian goalkeeper with no chance of getting anywhere near the shot. It’s almost as if he did that just to reassure me that I was right, and that he is in fact brilliant.

I happen to be a keen admirer of Balotelli. It is a far too regular occurrence for me to be involved in a discussion in which I will find myself endlessly defending the ability of the controversial Italian front man and telling those who disagree with me to “look at the stats from when he plays.” There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Mario Balotelli is an astonishing footballer. I do not understand the view shared by so many that his ability is nothing worth getting excited about and I personally feel we should be screaming from the rooftops about just how brilliant this boy is.

Firstly, let’s take a quick look at his recent form. Since moving back home to Italy to play for Milan, Balotelli has scored seven goals in six league games, of which he started five. Seven goals in six matches, which works out as being an average of a goal every 73 minutes. He has notched up a total of eight goals in eight games this calendar year. This is pretty black and white for me. This form is outstanding. However, to refer to the well-known saying that form is temporary and class is permanent, I’ll show you that the boy has class too.

In his time at Manchester City, Balotelli came under a lot of criticism from fans of the English game. People are quick to remind you how he carelessly got sent off in a vital game against Arsenal which almost ended City’s title hopes, but are a little more forgetful when you respond by pointing out that he returned to the side to provide a brilliant assist for that Sergio Aguero goal that clinched the Premier League title. That wasn’t even his only contribution in that match. Coming off the bench when his side were a goal behind, he played brilliantly, he changed the game. Critics are either extremely forgetful or choosing to ignore the fact that he scored twenty goals in forty games that season also. A record of a goal every two games which in a world without Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, is a brilliant return. His overall record at Manchester City is nothing to turn your nose up to either. In a total of eighty games for the club, he found the net thirty times. Not bad for a player who is still developing and maturing as a footballer, as well as a person.

It is not only with his club that he has been performing to a very respectable standard. For Italy he has played a total of eighteen games, scoring six times. The peak of his international career to date was without doubt his performances at Euro 2012, where he had a return of three goals in his six games and had the whole of Europe talking about him. He helped Italy to reach the final where they eventually fell short against Spain.

Another attribute of Balotelli’s which makes him stand out as a world class player is that he scores in big, important matches. As stated above he scored three times in the European Championships for Italy. Two of these goals coming in the Semi-Finals against the highly tipped Germany. As well as this he has scored against many top teams in England. He put Manchester City 1-0 up at Stamford Bridge in a game against Chelsea in Manchester City’s title winning season. In the same season he scored a crucial last minute penalty at home to Tottenham which kept his side top of the league. The tension within The City of Manchester Stadium was felt by all who were watching and Balotelli seemed to be the most composed person in the ground as he strolled up to the ball and nonchalantly stroked it into the bottom corner. As well as these big games, he also scored against tough opposition such as Everton, Newcastle, Napoli and Manchester United in this season. I will come to his goal in the derby soon.

Controversy is a shadow that appeared to follow Balotelli during his time in England. Every week there would be a new outrageous story about how he rescued a child from bullying or how he drove around with his winnings from a casino on the passenger seat of his car. Most of this stories were later discovered as being untrue. As Balotelli said himself on the issue: “Certain people really don’t know how to make money in life and therefore try to take advantage of others. Gossip is one thing, but what these people do is close to criminal. Many stories are invented about me, I’d say about 0.01% of them are true. Who uses me? Almost everyone”.

One story, however which caught the eye of everybody was the infamous firework incident. In the aftermath of this, came one of Balotelli’s most explosive days in English football. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) The game following this incident was none other than the Manchester derby, arguably the biggest game in English football since the blue half of Manchester became realistic title challengers. It wasn’t long before Mario was making headlines for all the right reasons. He opened the scoring with a typically calm finish from just inside his opponent’s box where most would have put their heads down and laces through the ball, he kept his head up, opened up his body and trickled the ball into the far corner past the despairing David De Gea. Scoring two goals in the home of his side’s most fierce rivals and helping his team to an historic 6-1 drubbing of their Manchester counterparts it was nice to hear that the whole country was talking about Balotelli and his t-shirt for all the right reasons.

Another thing which is interesting about Balotelli is that he’s not your typical striker. He does not have any one defined position. He is versatile. He can play as a target man, on the shoulder of the last defender, as a second striker, out wide, you name it. This is a wonderful characteristic for a striker to have. It allows him to be utilised in many different formations and playing styles and to cause opposing teams a number of different problems. It must not be forgotten that while at Internazionale, Balotelli was one of Europe’s hottest young prospects. He has shown that he is capable of performing to the heights expected of him, he now just needs to show that he can do it on a more consistent basis. If he can do this, he will inevitably begin to win over his critics sooner rather than later.

Balotelli is a phenomenal talent. This can simply not be debated in my view. He has won everything available to him in club football by the premature age of 23 and has a European Championships runner’s up medal to go along with those honours. I cannot think of another player who, if they had achieved what he has achieved would face such unjustified criticism. Mario Balotelli should be judged by what he does as a footballer, not by what he does or is reported to do in his private life. If this is the case, it cannot be denied that he is a wonderful talent who is only going to get better as he matures.

Rafa at Chelsea; Time for the facts.

With Rafael Benítez having managed as many Premier League games in charge of Chelsea FC as Roberto Di Matteo this season, I was curious to investigate how the two match up. When you look at the stats, it is fair to say that the Spaniard is lucky to still be in the job at The Bridge, although it is debatable whether or not anybody is lucky to be the manager at this particular club. At the time of the initial statistical research, Benítez had managed twelve Premier League games as Chelsea boss - the same as Di Matteo this season, at the time of writing, he has managed one more so I had to recalculate some of the figures to make them up-to-date.

To begin with, lets take a look at the most basic figures possible. How many games has Benítez won, lost and drawn? Well, in his thirteen games at the helm, he has won only six, drawn four times, and lost three times. Compare this to Roberto Di Matteo's twelve games in charge out of which he won seven, drew three and lost only two. With his win ratio being worse than Di Matteo's - a man who was sacked, it makes you realise just how lucky Benítez is to be still employed.

Now lets move on to some more, perhaps unseen statistics about Chelsea under Benítez. Under him, Chelsea have scored twenty seven league goals, not too bad. If we take away the 8-0 drubbing over Aston Villa, this figure falls dramatically to nineteen. Now this stat doesn't look so good. Nineteen goals in twelve games is simply not good enough. This averages out as being just over 1.5 goals per game. For a side who were title challengers under Di Matteo, this is not acceptable. This figure also looks even worse when compared to the goal to game ratio under the Italian, which worked out at being exactly two goals per game.

One of the things that Chelsea fans were promised when Benítez arrived was that he would tighten up the defence. That the defence would become almost airtight. This has not come to pass. Although he has helped Chelsea to keep one more clean sheet than Di Matteo - five to Di Matteo's four, he has not made any dramatic improvements to the defensive aspect of the European Champions' game. He has seen his side concede an average of 1.07 goals per game. This is all but identical to the record of Di Matteo's Chelsea, who conceded an average of 1.08 goals per game.

Time to take a look at some very important figures now, lets look at the points accumulated by Benítez at Chelsea. This figure does not reflect well on Benítez, even less so when compared to the figure that got Di Matteo sacked. Since taking control in November, Benítez has averaged 1.69 points per game. To further understand how poor this is for a club of Chelsea's stature I'll explain it another way. If Chelsea went the whole season maintaining an average of 1.69 points per game, they would accumulate 64 points by the end of the season. This is the figure they reached last season, leaving them languishing in sixth place in what was unanimously seen as a catastrophic domestic league season for the Blues. For a side who want to be fighting for silverware on all fronts, this is not good enough. Lets compare this to that of Di Matteo. During his twelve games this season, he achieved an average points per game tally of 2.00. This, maintained over the course of a season would accumulate 76 points, a much more respectable total. This total would have seen Chelsea finish third based on last seasons final standings, and second based on the season previous to last.

One thing that has stood out for many, myself included about Chelsea of late is that they seem unable to see out a game. Having recently thrown away a two goal lead to Reading and Southampton I wondered just how many points Chelsea have dropped from winning positions under Benítez. Well, the answer is shocking. Chelsea have dropped a total of ten points from advantageous positions. Now, answer me this, can you ever imagine Chelsea under Mourinho, Hiddink or Ancelotti doing this? No. I thought not. Even compared to Di Matteo this record is poor at best.

On top of these telling statistics, the style has also changed since the arrival of Benítez. Under Di Matteo's guidance, Chelsea were beginning to evolve. They were moving on from the more rugged, 'British style of play' towards a more continental style based on passing, movement and fluidity. This is no more. They now appear very rigid in games, players more reluctant to roam from their positions and to find and create space which they would have done under the previous regime. The average passes per game has decreased since the Spaniard's arrival, albeit only by a very small fraction - from 429 to 416.

It must also be remembered that the statistics outlined in this piece only take Premier League games into consideration. They do not include the embarrassing 2-2 draw to Brentford, or the 2-0 defeat over two legs to Swansea in the FA Cup and Capital One Cup respectively.

With a league game win percentage of just 46.15%, Benítez has a worse win ratio as Chelsea boss than Claudio Ranieri (52.1%), José Mourinho (70.8%), Avram Grant (68.8%), Guus Hiddink (84.6%), Luiz Filipe Scolari (56%), Carlo Ancelloti (63.2%), André Villas-Boas (48.2%), and Roberto Di Matteo (52.2%), yet he still finds himself employed by Chelsea Football Club and trigger happy owner Roman Abramovic. Looking at the above statistics really makes me wonder just how much longer will it be before that side banner on Sky Sports News and the back of every tabloid newspaper is displaying the odds for the next Chelsea manager.

Before I wrap up I want to thank the Twitter account '@ChelseaStats' for allowing me to email them requesting many of the statistics used throughout this piece. A must follow account for all Chelsea fans, and for those of you who just enjoy your random football stats and facts.

The power shift within European football.

Throughout recent years, European football has been primarily dominated by the clubs of two respective countries; Spain and England. Germany and Italy have meanwhile been left to fight it out for the honour of having the third strongest league in the continent. Over the last few years, this has begun to change a bit. The German Bundesliga is now beginning to maintain a serious challenge to be seen as Europe's second strongest league, ahead of England's Premier League.

I think it's safe to say that Spain's La Liga is now the dominant league in Europe, boasting of being the home of what are probably the two best teams in the world in Barcelona and Real Madrid. However, if the German game continues to grow in the same way it has over the last few years, it will not be too long before it knocks La Liga off the top. With the arrival of Pep Guardiola in Germany, there is now a serious chance that this could happen. 

Pep will take the reigns at FC Bayern Munich in July. He could be the key ingredient in making the Bavarians the kings of Europe in the coming years. It's not as if they are a million miles away as it is.

FC Bayern have reached two of the last three Champions League finals, 2010 and 2012 respectively. They were unfortunate in losing out on both occasions. In 2010, they faced an extremely well organised Internazionale team. Under the wizardry of José Mourinho, Inter had managed to knock out Barcelona and Chelsea en route to the final. This Inter team also had an on-form Diego Milito leading the line - a man who was seemingly unstoppable in the final. So there was no shame in being defeated on this occasion. In 2012, they faced an equally stubborn Chelsea side who managed to defend their way past Barcelona after beating Benfica and a heroic victory over Napoli at Stamford Bridge when they seemed as good as out of the tournament. Bayern knocked on the door for 120 minutes in the final. Mario Gomez uncharacteristically missed several chances, Arjen Robben missed a couple including an extra-time penalty, as did Franck Ribéry. Bayern scored late on and had the game as good as won until Chelsea got their first corner of the game deep into extra-time and scored through a powerful bullet like attempt, courtesy of the head of Didier Drogba. The match went on to penalties, where Chelsea were came through victorious, so once again, there was no shame in losing this particular match despite being overwhelming favourites.

Thanks to the efforts of Bayern and others, the Budesliga has been given an extra place for the Champions League. Germany will now have 4 places, this itself shows that German football is already becoming stronger and more of a force when it comes to European club competitions. Take this years group stages for example and you can see proof that German sides are a force to be reckoned with in Europe. Bayern, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke all topped their groups. Dortmund and Schalke both finished above English sides in the process. 

Compare this to the success of English clubs in the Champions League this season. Only Manchester United went through as group leaders, Arsenal finished runners up to Schalke, Manchester City were knocked out of a group which was topped by Dortmund, and Chelsea also found themselves exiting the tournament at this premature stage. This is the second consecutive season that two English teams have crashed out before the knockout rounds. Last season Manchester City were joined by their city neighbours United.

Under the management of Guardiola, a man who won everything he possibly could with Barcelona while maintaining a win percentage of 72%, it would be no surprise to see Bayern win the Champions League in the next year or two. Guardiola, or the professor, as he is known, is a phenomenal coach. Winning 178 of his 248 matches in charge of Barecelona supports this. He also won a total of 14 titles in his time with Barcelona, this averages out as being a title every 17.7 matches. Yes, you read that right, one title every 17.7 matches . His personal accolades also suggest that he is a manager who will bring success to Bayern. In 2011 he was named as FIFA's manager of the year. He was announced as the LFP manager of the year in 2009 and 2011 respectively. He was also voted as the world's best manager in two respective years by World Soccer, once again in 2009 and 2011.

The combination of a man with these honours and a team who look set to win the Bundesliga as well as mount another serious challenge for European success will undoubtedly spell danger for other European clubs. 

Bayern are only going to improve under him. They may well even go on to be the dominant force in Europe. Bayern, however, are not the only team that English and Spanish teams will need to worry a little bit more about. The likes of Dortmund and Schalke have to try to compete with Bayern every single week. In order to do this they are going to have to strengthen further. This is frightening if you are a fan of an English side. Dortmund have come on leaps and bounds in the last three years and for them to go on and become even better could see English clubs becoming less and less influential and dominant when it comes to the latter stages of the Champions League. Dortmund have already brushed aside the English champions as have Schalke with Arsenal, what could happen should these sides become stronger? 

English football will need to respond. For years it has had a certain arrogance about it and is often referred to within the country as being the best league in the world. Will Pep's arrival in Germany make the English supporters and press reevaluate their league? Only time will tell. In order to compete in the coming years they will definitely have to. Real Madrid and Barcelona are going nowhere anytime soon and with the growth of Bayern and Dortmund England needs to react. 

One thing that Dortmund, Barcelona and Bayern all have in common is that they all encourage an attractive, easy on the eye playing style. This seems to be the way forward for football. The Spanish national side that have won three successive trophies made it the popular thing to do. Barcelona have proved that it can work in European club football. Bayern and Dortmund don't strictly play the same way as the Spanish national team or the Catalan club side, but their respective styles are without doubt streets ahead of that of their English counterparts. Arsenal are the only side who really attempt to play in a similar fashion. Chelsea are also taking steps towards that particular way of playing. This may well be the only way of progression for English sides. Chelsea won the Champions League last year by playing a completely polar opposite style, but on another day they would have been put to the sword by Barca and Bayern who passed up countless golden opportunities in their respective matches. 

So what exactly does Pep Guardiola's move to FC Bayern mean for European football? Pep could prove to be a catalyst in the potential power shift that is to come in the next few years. Watch this space - European football is changing.

AC Milan - A Club in Transition.

Before a ball was kicked in Italy this season, there was one thing on almost everybody's mind - "What will happen with AC Milan?"

It would be an understatement to say that The Rossoneri underwent a bit of a clear out in the summer. However, this was not the kind of clear out that is quite commonplace in modern football. This particular clear out caught the eye of almost every football fan in Europe. It is not unusual to see a club attempt to remove any and all deadwood from it's books to allow for new signings to come in or to present an opportunity to young, up and coming players to make the step up to first team football while still having the big names around to act as mentors during their transitional phase. This is not what happened at AC Milan.

In a desperate attempt to cut costs, president Silvio Berlusconi and vice-president Adriano Galliani decided to sell the clubs most valuable assets and star players. Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were both sold to French giants PSG seemingly against the interests of the players themselves. Clarence Seedorf moved onto a new adventure in Brazil with Botafogo (this was his own decision, not the decision of Galliani.) Antonio Cassano was sold to bitter rivals Internazionale in a swap deal for Giampaolo Pazzini. As well as the above, key players such as Gennaro Gattuso, Alessandro Nesta and Filippo Inzaghi all moved on. Though some of the latter names may not have been key players last season, they were still massive characters and names among the Milan squad and fantastic mentors to have around the younger players at the club. 

It was evident from the start that this was going to be a long, hard season for the red half of Milan. Results early on indicated that it might be a lot tougher than even the most pessimistic Milan supporter would have imagined. Early defeats to Sampdoria, Atalanta and Udinese meant that the seven times European champions were in a time of crisis. It was difficult to see where the club's next win was going to come from. The fixture list threw up fixtures against Internazionale, Lazio, Napoli, Juventus and Fiorentina all in the space of two months. People were starting to say that Milan could feasibly be involved in a relegation battle. Back to back defeats to Inter and Lazio respectively proved to be a bit of an overdue wake-up call for The Rossoneri. On the back of the Lazio defeat they beat Genoa 1-0. They then traveled to Palermo where they found themselves 2-0 down. It looked like another defeat was on the cards. For the first time all season they showed real fight and managed to claw the game back to earn a 2-2 draw and could well have snatched it late on. This was the first real sign of a will to fight for the cause within the squad. This result appeared to give birth to a new feeling of belief among players and fans alike. 

A few days after the Palermo game Chievo Verona made the journey to the San Siro. Milan smashed them 5-1. Not only did they score five, they also had five different goalscorers. Milan appeared to have got their swagger back. Then they welcomed high-flying Fiorentina to the San Siro. They lost 3-1 and the players looked helpless, lost and confused once again. Had the slump restarted?. Just as things looked to be improving they hit a brick wall and crashed again. With Napoli and Juventus being the next two games Milan had no time to lick their wounds. They needed to find that fight that they showed in the second half away to Palermo, and they needed to find it fast. 

The fans arrived at the Stadio San Paolo to face Napoli full of fear. The general consensus was that Milan were about to be beaten, and it wasn't going to be pretty. Surprisingly, this was not the case. They held Napoli to a 2-2 draw and attention swiftly turned to the following week. All eyes would turn to the San Siro as champions Juventus were coming to town. Juventus had recently had their remarkable forty-nine game unbeaten run ended by Internazionale. Could AC Milan do what their neighbours had done a few weeks previously? Could they overturn the stubborn Old Lady? Against all odds, Milan not only avoided defeat, but beat the defending champions 1-0 through a Robinho penalty. 

Since the win against Juventus, Milan have won two consecutive games against Catania and Torino respectively. Two months ago it would have been hard to see any glimpse of a positive sign for Milan, now with a few wins under their belt things are starting to look a little bit better. It is now possible to look at Milan and see that it is not all doom and gloom for the club.

In Stephan El Shaarawy, Antonio Nocerino and Riccardo Montolivo Milan have found a new core and spine to the starting eleven. They appear to be finding their feet in their new roles in the squad and the recent upturn in results reflects that.

The squad as a whole appear to have gotten over the shock of losing the big characters and names in the summer and are now beginning to look united for the first time. After some of the earlier defeats the players looked lost on the pitch. They looked like eleven individuals without the slightest sense of camaraderie. The players are now showing a real passion and will to fight for the cause. During the victory over Torino, Antonio Nocerino gifted Torino the opening goal. He then went on the score the goal that put Milan 2-1 ahead and his celebration oozed passion and showed a real desire to redeem himself for his earlier mistake. This type of attitude is infectious in a football club. The team looked united after the match as they celebrated the win passionately. 

They now look like a club who have a reliable core. They have a passionate battler in the shape of Nocerino. A cool, calm and collected ball playing midfielder in the Montolivo. Attacking flair with Robinho, and a new superstar in El Shaarawy. Even in the dark times of September and October there was always one, tiny flicker of light. Stephan El Shaarawy has been phenomenal for Milan thus far this season. Could he be the next big thing for The Rossoneri? Only time can tell but at the moment, this boy looks like he has a big, big future ahead of him. And seeing as he has an unusual friendship with Berlusconi, I can't see him being sold anytime soon so Milan may well have found themselves a new hero.

I have always had a love for AC Milan. It is a love that I cannot explain. So it's fair to say that it was hard for me to watch them lose game after game early on this year. I, along with many of you I'm sure, hope that this recent upturn in form will continue and The Rossoneri can go back to competing for the scudetto sooner rather than later. 

The Barclays Premier League Stand Out Stars So Far

With the Premier League at the tender age of nine gameweeks old, I have decided to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) with a brief piece of my thoughts on who has stood out for me at this early stage. I am not, however, going to discuss the blatantly obvious and predictable brilliance of the likes of Juan Mata, Robin Van Persie and Santi Cazorla, my reason being that anybody with an ounce of football knowledge will have expected nothing less from the likes of those players.

I am going to get the ball rolling by talking about Jermain Defoe. A man who seems to blow hot and cold as if he's living out Katy Perry's first hit single. I have never been able to understand how Defoe's ability can fluctuate so dramatically between seasons. One season he could be lethal, simply unstoppable. The next, the opposing defense would be happy to see his name on the team sheet. This season has started off well for Defoe. I think credit has to go to André Villas-Boas for this. He has clearly instilled confidence in the striker. He must have sat with Defoe and assured him that he is his number one striker, ahead of Emmanuel Adebayor. Being put ahead of Adebayor is bound to fill the Englishman with an abundance of self-confidence. Confidence for a striker is absolutely pivotal to his success. At times, confidence is more important than actual ability - just ask Fernando Torres. Defoe is visibly full of confidence and his form thus far is nothing short of fantastic. Having scored five goals in nine league games it looks as if he could play a major part in deciding whether or not Tottenham can table a serious Champions League bid this year. I think his form will directly correlate between Spurs' position come May.

Next I want to move onto a man not many people will have heard of before this season - Christian Benteke. A lot of people were surprised to see Aston Villa splash around £7 million on the young Belgian international, myself included. I did not know what to expect, and to a certain degree I still don't. He has scored four goals in eight appearances for Villa so far and is doing his best to keep Darren Bent off the scoresheet. On top of this, he has also played and scored for Belgium this season and certainly looks a talent. At the age of only twenty-one, he is definitely one to watch for this season and possibly for many seasons to come.

The next name I'm going to mention might surprise you a bit. This man has come under a lot of criticism since his arrival in England but I have found myself defending him over and over again. This man is Olivier Giroud. The new Arsenal striker was always going to be under the spotlight after the departure of one Robin Van Persie. Despite only having one league goal and assist to his name in nine appearances, I feel the Frenchman has started well. He is missing a lot of chances, yes, but at least he is getting those chances. Once he takes a couple of these chances the goals will begin to come thick and fast for Giroud, in my opinion. He is suffering from a major lack of confidence. When he goes through, I think that he is more worried about missing than he is confident about scoring. This problem will eradicate itself after he hits the net a few times. The form of a striker can change in the blink of an eye as we saw earlier with Jermain Defoe and I have full confidence that Giroud will bag double figures for Arsenal this year and will push on next season. He scored an impressive twenty-one goals in thirty-six league games for Montpellier last season, this is proof enough that he knows how to stick the ball in the back of the net.

Raheem Sterling's name feels like it has been spoken about for a long, long time. So often with young players you hear a lot of hype about them when they are in their mid-teens and with most of them, they never live up to the expectations. Things look different for the Liverpool youngster. Since Rafael Benítez snapped him up from Queens Park Rangers in 2010 I have been eagerly waiting to see whether or not the Jamaican born youngster was the real deal or not. I was skeptical, and with good reason to be. It is rare for a player to actually meet the expectations set by fans and media. It would appear that Sterling has answered my questions with a solid start to his career. He has been a bright spark in this below-par Liverpool team. He became the clubs second youngest ever goalscorer, only behind Michael Owen. His youthful exuberance has been a breath of fresh air to the Premier League. With the ball at his feet, he brings fans to the edges of their seats, he worries defenses and excites his teammates. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching this young man play this season, and long may it continue!

Finally, my fifth and final player. This man has been around for quite a while. He has been criticised time and time again, and justifiably so in some cases. This year he is silencing his critics. Theo Walcott is a strange type of player. For years he has said he wants to be played through the middle of Arsenal's attack, but has never shown that he has the required attributes to do so. This year is different, this year he is backing up his requests with outstanding performances. The days of waiting for years for an Emirates goal are over for Walcott. Expect to see his name on the scoresheet more often. In all competitions this season, Walcott has played eleven times. In these eleven appearances, he has contributed with seven goals and four assists - not bad. It used to be the case that when he broke clear, you expected him to drag his shot wide or to panic and hit it straight at the 'keeper. Those days are a thing of the past. Walcott has grown, he has finally come of age and this is a worry for Premier League defenses. There is no doubt that Roy Hodgson will be keeping a keen eye on his development over the coming season and he may well have a big part to play come Brazil 2014.