Premiership Plus

So Romans billions have finally done it. After 50 years of hurt the Blues won the Premiership title at Bolton on Saturday. Just one defeat and 13 goals conceded show that they have been by far and away the best team in the country this season and manager Jose Mourinho is collecting all the plaudits after making some astute if rather expensive buys such as Petr Cech and Alberto Ricardo Carvalho although I question whether Drogba is worth 24m?

More importantly Mourinho has added structure, consistency and team work to what was already a star-studded squad and he has improved players like Joe Cole, John Terry and Frank Lampard who any West Ham fan will tell you is light years away from the player he was a couple of season's back!

Congratulations to those long suffering fans, not the Jonny come lately's mind.

Looks like Arse will get 2nd and Man U 3rd, who sauntered to victory at the Valley on Sunday. Charlton's most recent end of season collapse has been the most painful to witness. We have hardly set the league alight this season even though we have barely been out of the top 10. We have bored people senseless with our 4-5-1 formation and Curbs does look like he has completely run out of ideas. Time for a change? The players yes, the manager most definitely not.

Liverpool getting to the final of the Champions League continues the headache over who will be given the 4th qualification place. Everton have more than proved their worth over the course of the season. Moyes used the Rooney money well (at least that what he got given) and 4 points from 3 games will see them finish 4th. Arsenal will play a major role in the outcome as they play both the Scouse teams.

But should Liverpool get automatic qualification if they win the Champions League title? And at the expense of Everton? UEFA have made it clear that if that's what the Premiership want then it's their decision. They must have been gutted that the Reds beat Chelsea! Why can't they just chuck them in the qualifiers with the winners and runners up from Latvia, San Marino and Northern Ireland et al? Surely it will mean only another summer preliminary, and no tiny clubs going to not want to play a lucrative tie against the Champions are they?

FIFA of course are making World Cup winners Brazil re-qualify for Germany 2006 and I guess that is a given but I believe competiton winners should automatically qualify for the next competition.

The most exciting race in the Premiership is down at the bottom. Four teams are left fighting, the 3 promoted and Southampton.

West Brom have the hardest run in and despite Bryan Robson really turning it around at the Hawthorns I think they will need results to go their way. The massive game on Saturday is at Smellhurst when Redknapp's Southampton play Palace. The Saints, like WBA, still have to play Man U (who they have a good record against as does Harry) and it is still in their hands.

Palace then come to the theatre of broken dreams on the last day of the season. I would not put a single cent on Charlton helping out Norwich, West Brom or Southampton though, even though in an hour and a half Curbs and the boys could completely wipe away 10 weeks of disappointment by sending Palace down.

Norwich because of their goal difference have to beat Birmingham on Saturday and they then play at Craven Cottage on the last day. Two winnable games but they are leaking goals like crazy at the minute.

It will go down to the wire.