The hottest Premiership yet

There’s been a lot of stuff in the papers recently about the supposed importance of the mind games being played by Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson but the final outcome in what is undoubtedly the tightest and best Premiership yet, will be decided on the pitch.

It couldn’t be more finely balanced with at least three teams in contention – Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool – and a fourth, Newcastle, who certainly won’t be ruling themselves out, no matter what anyone says.

For a long time, I’ve been tipping Arsenal to win but even though some of their recent performances have been wonderful, the way Manchester United bounced back after their little hiccup at Derby has me leaning towards my old club again. Plus, they’ve been there and done it before, again and again, from the manager through to the players, so if I was really forced to pick one of the two right now, I’d have to opt for United. However, the way this season has been going you wouldn’t want to be betting heavily one way or the other as the top teams start the run-in.

With the firepower already at their disposal,

a lot of people were surprised when Alex

apparently went looking for Paolo Di Canio

and then brought in Diego Forlan. What it

shows is that, at a top club like United, the manager can afford to pay big bucks for someone who is effectively a squad player, a lad who

may have to be prepared to cool his heels sitting on the bench.

That said, Forlan’s start in last week’s thumping of Spurs gave him a real chance of opening his goal account. It wasn’t to be that night. Although he played well, and helped set up a great goal by Beckham, his own efforts on goal were wayward. You could see the frustration on his face and you could almost feel the crowd and his team mates willing him to do well.

Of course, the more that supporters want to see you score, the more pressure a player will bring on himself. And then there’s the danger that the crowd will get impatient, with their frustration turning to contempt. I remember playing with Alan Brazil, a terrific striker, at Manchester United but although his ratio of goals to games wasn’t bad for the short time he was there, the crowd simply never took to him. Gary Birtles was another.

And, from my own experience as a professional, I can assure you that no matter what a player might say publicly at the time, if the crowd starts giving you stick on a regular basis, it really does get to you. What you’ll also get then is a squad of players rallying around and trying to lift you, because every player knows that there’s nothing worse than for a lad to pull on a shirt and try and do his best for a club, and it just doesn’t happen for him. It really is a form of hell to play for a club when you know you’re not appreciated by the fans.

There’s been a twist to that one at Elland Road recently where the manager and the players have rallied around Brian Kidd in the face of pretty severe abuse of the coach from a section of the fans. I thought it was a lovely gesture to see the way Ian Harte led the rest of the team to celebrate with Kidd after Ian’s goal in midweek. Whether that will backfire, I suppose, depends entirely on how Leeds go from here. And that will depend on how they recover from what has been a difficult time for the club. David O’Leary has been reported as saying that he wants to get back out on the training ground with the players. That, surely, should be a manager’s priority all the way, much more so than the “upstairs” stuff, the plc and all that.

If the title race in England is hot, I’m afraid the same can’t be said for what’s going on north of the border where Celtic and Rangers are, once again, way ahead of everyone else, with Martin O’Neill’s boys looking well placed to end up champions again.

But how much can that mean when the competition is so weak? I’m sure other clubs love it when Celtic or Rangers put thousands on the gate but, at the same time, there can be little satisfaction on the pitch in constantly getting beaten, often enough by a hatful of goals. For me, that’s not football. For me, football is seeing Manchester United playing Arsenal and not having a clue who is going to win.

Or how about, for that matter, Manchester United versus Celtic? Or Rangers versus Arsenal?

Yes, I know it’s been debated, dismissed and debated again but, personally, I would love it if the Old Firm were brought into the Premiership. Imagine the interest that would generate on both sides of the border. It would be fantastic. I really think it’s time to take it out of the hands of the people who thought up the Scottish league anyway – because it’s crap! No, seriously, surely the other teams would rather be in a league where the top two aren’t thirty points ahead at the end of the season?

So how would the Old Firm be doing if they were in the Premiership right now? Well, I’ll tell you what, knowing where the sympathies of most Hotpress readers probably lie, I’d say Celtic would be right up there at the top and Rangers, well, they’d be relegated.

Okay, I jest. Truthfully, I’d say both would be up around seventh or eighth. But it’s hard to say – unlike in Scotland, they wouldn’t have an easy match in England. Apart from all the big guns, they’d have to play the likes of Southampton, West Ham and Leicester – and they wouldn’t be easy games for them.

As for my own allegiances, like a lot of Irish football fans, I’d have a soft spot for Celtic. Even to the extent that if they were playing Man U, I’d have to support Celtic. There’s such tradition at that club and whenever I meet, say, the Lisbon Lions – players like Billy McNeill – at functions, there’s an aura around them that I love. They’re real gents, those guys.

Meanwhile, back to reality: even without the added spice of the Old Firm, it continues to be a magnificent title race in this year’s Premiership. And you can bet it has a few surprises in store to keep us on our toes right to the end.