As the Christmas holidays end the New Year begins in the footballing calendar with the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday. It is traditionally when firm interests begin in the World's oldest football knockout competition.
With just over a year passed since England relinquished their place at Euro 2008 to Croatia, the national team have clearly made much progress towards repairing their damaged reputation. The unexpected joy that followed England's 4-1 defeat of Croatia demonstrated how significant a result it was. The new yardstick of improvement under Fabio Capello clear for all to see.
So this week we are given what may be regarded as a brief holiday jaunt by footballing supporters, international friendly football dominates the agenda but there is nothing really at risk bar pride. Nonetheless, I do not agree with some assertions expressed in recent years that international friendlies offer no real worth.
This Wednesday evening England take on Germany in Berlin, a fixture that has gathered history over the years with many famous significant clashes. Games such as this will always attract interest regardless of context because of their nature and past, when the 'major' footballing nations compete honour is a major factor. As with most news stories, the English press will always be particularly prone to over-hyping events, but this fixture will have that extra edge to it in Germany and will be of interest to footballing aficionado's across Europe as well.
Another weekend of Premier League action, another weekend of surprises, late goals, farcical refereeing decisions, drama & controversy. Nothing new there and that is what makes the Premiership the entertaining spectacle that it is.
One of the biggest results of course, was Aston Villa recording their first victory over Arsenal - the Villains inflicting upon them the biggest defeat they've suffered at the Emirates. It was certainly no fluke as Villa comprehensively outplayed the Gunners and deserved the win. Even Wenger, normally a big one for excuses, had to concede that fact.
When viewing the current Premier League table it wouldn't be too much of a push to imagine that we have gone back a few years in time. The relegation zone is littered with some usual suspects that have dealt with the stress of being a 'yo-yo' club, if you ignore the on-going Newcastle soap opera, and sitting precariously above them is Manchester City.