As another round of internationals hits us footie fans (don't they seem to be coming round sooner and sooner, or is it just me?), it's time to take a quick look at what's been going on over in the Premier League for the last month or so. It's been an interesting month, hasn't it?

The Premier League table now stands 7 games strong, still a long way off from indicating what will happen come May time, but slowly we're getting a picture of the current Premier League big boys and the biggest early flops. And it's probably not much of a surprise to see Chelsea outpacing the rest of the league, as they storm to a four point gap over second placed Manchester City. They've been impressive in almost every game, well-oiled and full of goals. But perhaps they're just too quick off the mark? Can they really keep that impressive up til the end of the season, which is still a long way away? I have a feeling they might struggle come Easter, especially if they pick up some injuries.

As for the other big contenders, Manchester City have come good haven't they? Obviously the money has been pouring in over there over the last year or so, but they've started well, scored goals, and looked strong. It's another question whether or not they've got the winning experience come money time next May, but they have some very talented players on their books, so should be there or thereabouts. Carlos Tevez as skipper I have my doubts about, but I'm not paid billions and zillions so I'll leave it up to Mancini...

Old favourites Arsenal and Manchester United have started reasonably well, with some very nice stuff from Arsenal at times. It's kind of telling though that United, who seem to be notoriously slow these last few seasons at getting into their rythm, are lying in third without setting the world alight. You can be sure that Sir Alex will have his boys firing later on in the season. Wayne Rooney's troubles probably aren't helping much, but Fergie has seen it all before, hasn't he? He'll come good. And if not, off with his head!

At the bottom of the table it's a bit of a surprise to see Liverpool currently lying in 18th place, deep in the dreaded relegation zone. Their boardroom battles seem to be playing a role, although to be honest, I don't see why this should affect top professionals, who should really be going out and giving it their all, whoever their paymaster is. I don't think we'll see Liverpool down there much longer, they should be able to climb up the table fairly rapidly with a couple of good results under their belts.

Surprises of the season so far have to be Blackpool and West Brom, who have struck deep into the Premier League top ten. I'm going to have a wild stab in the dark, but I don't think they'll be there in May. Brave, aren't I?

Prediction time: Chelsea will be champions, followed by Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United, in that order. Going down it has to be the three W's - West Ham, Wolves and Wigan.

Over to you, what do you think will happen come May?

Ah, Wayne Rooney, where do we start with you...

It's possibly been one of the hardest weeks in young Wayne's life, as the media hound him, the public side with his wife Coleen, and even England supporters get on his case during England's crucial away victory in midweek in Switzerland. Despite scoring the opening goal for England, his first goal in open play (for either United or England) since March, he still remained the target of some vicious taunts from the England supporters.

A week filled with countless headlines of Rooney bedding a prostitute while his wife was pregnant is about to to reach its peak though, with Saturday's Premier League lunchtime meetup with Everton. United boss Sir Alex has already hinted that Rooney might be dropped for the match, which, when you look at the fixture and the current media circus surrounding Rooney, makes perfect sense. Wayne did, of course, grow up at Everton, and many over on the blue side of Merseyside still cannot forgive him for leaving for the bright lights of Manchester. That lack of forgiveness would have put Rooney under immense scrutiny, and a probable barrage of non-stop abuse. And despite a tough, street-wise persona, there's only so much a young guy can take, faced by a stadium full of people on your case, with a media pack just waiting for him to crack to keep him in the headlines...

But should we be publically barracking a young man who has simply made a stupid mistake? OK, he is world-famous, earning a Premier League fortune at one of the biggest clubs in the world, but does that give us the automatic right to know every detail of his private life? Should we be taunting him at every opportunity, despite the effects those taunts will have on him and our team (that we are supposed to be be supporting)?

It is a bit of a mess frankly, and could roll on for a long while yet. Who knows, could this be the Premier League's version of a Tiger Woods-like scandal? Will his missus be convinced to stay with him (many would argue that she has only gained any kind of celebrity status because of her relationship with Wayne) or will she chuck him out with the bathwater?

It's all a bit of a shame, as the only people getting harmed by this are the many supporters of Manchester United and England (who probably now have the answer that was vexing them all summer as to the reasons for a very poor World Cup from Wayne Rooney). And, of course, a certain Wayne Rooney, one of England's truly world class footballers. His hero status might be a little tainted this past few days, but is he really the big villain he's made out to be?

Yesterday saw millions of footie fans across the globe waiting excitedly for the draw for the group stages of the Champions League. And it didn't disappoint - the draw threw up some nice groups and some interesting games to look forward to. We have to wait until the middle of September (the 14th and 15th to be precise) for the Champions League to officially kick off, but now we know who's facing who the wait just got a little more intense...

So, the most interesting group? I guess that depends on who you support, but for the neutral, Champions League Group G, with AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax and Auxerre looks like the toughest, the group which could spring up some surprises and some very tough battles. Real Madrid will be looking to The Special One, Jose Mourinho, to weave his magic spell over a team that has spectacularly disappointed in Europe over the past few years. An extra little bit of spice to throw into the mix is the fact that Mourinho is the ex-boss of Inter, AC Milan's cross town rivals. We predict AC Milan and Real Madrid to go through, with Auxerre the surprise team of the group, pushing the big boys close. Who knows, maybe they can even repeat Bordeaux's Champions League efforts from last season.

The easiest group? Well, it looks like Barcelona and Manchester United have struck lucky. Barcelona have Rubin Kazan (who actually beat them last season at the Nou Camp!) but the Danish team Copenhagen and Greek side Panathinaikos shouldn't cause too many problems. Manchester United can feel a little relief with their group, what with Valencia the only real toughie for them. The so called Battle of Britain with Scottish team Rangers won't really live up to the hype will it, as we know the Scots are fairly hopeless in Europe. Of course, saying that, they will now go on to beat United 3-0 at Old Trafford .

And the new boys? The biggest name to join the list of debutants is probably Spurs, and they're going to find it very tough, with Werder Bremen, Inter Milan and FC Twente their opponents. In this their first ever Champions League season, it looks just a bit too much. Old Harry (Redknapp) might get a little twitchy on the sidelines, but I don't think he can expect too much. As for the other new boys in this season's Champions League, I think they're just here for the ride. For example, can Hapoel Tel Aviv outdo their Israeli league rivals from last season, Maccabi Haifa, who didn't score a goal or grab a single point? And can MSK Zilina do any better? It's going to be interesting to watch these new faces, but the experience gained by the Big Boys will be worth its weight in gold, as it usually is...

Don't forget to head on over to the Champions League section to start putting your prediction skills to the test!

There were some impressive results over the weekend in the Premier League, what with Chelsea (for the second week in a row), Arsenal, and even Newcastle, hitting their opposition for six. But perhaps the standout performer from the weekend was the Arsenal starlet Theo Walcott.

Ahh, Theo, where do we start with you? Still only 21, and seemingly around for years, Theo is the victim of his own teenage talent, when he was scarily quick running Championship defences ragged and being constantly tagged as The Next Big Thing. He still is frighteningly fast of course, and when he’s on song, he really is singing. But I think that it’s his lack of consistency which is frustrating many (Arsenal fans, Capello, England fans, Wenger…) and earning him the label of a one trick pony (I think you know what I mean: run fast down the flanks, take on a defender, falls over the ball or a defender’s leg, crowd moans).

Snapped up by Arsenal at the age of 17 from Southampton, he’s been nurtured ever-so-carefully ever since by Arsene Wenger. But injuries have definitely played their part in his stop-start career. Last season was typically off and on and when he needed to perform at the tail end of the season, in order to impress Capello and get a call up for the England World Cup squad, he fell short.

Perhaps being snubbed for the England squad will mean a different Theo Walcott in this season’s Premier League. Maybe he’s also reached an age where he realizes he really must change something. There’s no more room at the inn for steaming down the wing and running into a dead end. Having the summer off, getting fit, having a decent pre-season and now kicking off his campaign with a very well-taken hat-trick might just be the making of a new Theo Walcott.

But can we expect to see more awesome performances like the one against Blackpool this Saturday? Or are we in for yet another inconsistent season, providing more frustration for Arsenal and England fans…?

What do you think? Is Theo Walcott really any good? And are we about to see the dawn of a new Theo…? As an England fan, I really hope so…

So, a fresh, juicy new Premier League season is once again here. Feels good, doesn't it? I managed to catch a couple of games and together with the beer or three, I enjoyed them just a wee bit!

But looking at the results and the table, is there anything new we've learnt from this opening round of games? I know it's kind of stoopid to look at the table after only one game, but it does have a feeling of been there, done that, seen the movie about it...look at Chelsea perched high with a nice goal difference already in their favour. And that bottom three of WWW - West Ham, Wigan and West Brom - you've got to say that if those three teams stay there it won't come as too much of a shock.

The only real surprise that you can really call a surprise is Blackpool's amazing 4-0 win at Wigan. It has catapulted them into second spot, given them a much needed boost to their first ever season in the Premier League, and also put them in the eye of the media a bit, which can't hurt any plans to sign up some players before the transfer deadline kicks in. How long they'll stay in the top half of the Premier League table, that's a different story...

Of the games I saw, Arsenal and Liverpool seem to be continuing on from last season. Arsenal still really need a classy keeper what with Almunia flapping about at corners, and in my opinion should snap up the seemingly available Shay Given (Joe Hart was in awesome form for Man City against Spurs, and looks to have closed the door on Given's City career). Liverpool started poorly but Joe Cole's sending off actually inspired them and they played like the Liverpool of a couple of seasons ago...only to blow it in the closing minutes. And of the two Manchester sides, United look to be the better bet. They had the easier opening game, against newly promoted Newcastle, but they did more than enough to convince us all that they'll be there come May time. Man City will need some work though, they have some classy players but will need time to gel.

It's great to have Premier League footie back!

So the new Premier League season kicks off today, and to celebrate another much anticipated season we've lined up five things that we think will happen this season. Five things to amaze and delight you, five things that'll have you longing for this new season to get cracking, five things that will surely have your socks rolling up and down, all by themselves...

1. There will be at least one early big name managerial casualty. We're talking one of the Big Boys, as pressure will quickly mount on any team that doesn't get off to the flying start expected by many. We're not sure which Premier League boss will be heading for the chop, but the safe money would have to be on Mancini at Manchester City, if his rebuilt City side fail to get off to anything less than a cracking start. If I had had my football predictions hat on yesterday I would have gone for Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. But he apparently put pen to paper on a new deal this morning (or at least it was announced this morning), so the chances of him going would have to be much slimmer now.
2. The surprise team of the season will be... Newcastle. Everybody will be expecting a minimal impact from the Geordies, and this might actually be in their favour. Chris Hughton did a great job to get them back in the Premiership at the first attempt, and with players like Sol Campbell joining them over the summer, they could do well.
3. The clamour for goal-line technology will reach bursting point. There will be a huge match decided by yet another poor refereeing decision, and the calls for goal-line technology will go nuts! Perhaps this will be the season when the FA decide that enough is enough? I expect to see a red-faced, seething Sir Alex to be involved somewhere...
4. The young England players called upon by Capello will shine brightly. The players expected to bring England into the next era will have a great season in the Premier League overall. The Arsenal trio of Walcott, Wilshere and Gibbs will play well when called upon, while Bobby Zamora, Michael Dawson, James Milner, Ashley Young and Adam Johnson will also do well. Will Capello be daring enough to use them in actual Euro 2012 qualifying games, that's the real question...
5. The Premier League's new heroes will be... Hernandez over at Manchester United and Chamakh over at Arsenal. Two strikers brought in over the summer, when given opportunities they will impress. A Rooney-Hernandez partnership could be lethal when in full flow, while the height and skill of Chamakh could finally supply Arsenal with a replacement for Adebayor, especially as Bendtner is out for the first few weeks of the season.

Yesterday saw the announcement, unofficially, of David Beckham's final moments as an England player. Perhaps it was just a little bit messy - thanks to Capello's renowned man-management skills, or lack of them - and not quite the send-off Becks would have wanted, but at the age of 35 he would have been honest enough to admit that his days were numbered. And after England's woeful showing in the World Cup in South Africa, Capello's decision to go with a fresh new look must have convinced Beckham that his number was up.

Should he have been dumped so unceremoniously, especially after serving his country so well over the years? Is this really the way to end a legendary career, a career that has spanned over 100 games and made David Beckham the most capped outfield player in England history?

I have to say, despite the pouting and rippling abs and general celeb ferver that has accompanied Beckham's career, from his early days bombing down the wing at Old Trafford in the Premier League up until his recent spells in Italy and America, he has always been the ultimate professional. At times, he may not have convinced on the pitch, but he usually gave it his all. And on many occasions for England, I remember him working his socks off for the cause...in my opinion, he was much missed in South Africa this summer, despite his heavier legs...

So what do we have to remember from an England career that first started back in 1996 in the World Cup qualifiers and spanned 14 years? Let's take a little gander down memory lane:

• Becks debuted in the World Cup qualifier against Moldova in 1996, at the age of 21.
• Picked for the 1998 World Cup, England manager Glenn Hoddle publicly dissed him for not concentrating on the games at hand. Finally selected for the third game against Columbia, he went and scored a free-kick, his first goal for England.
• In the second round of the World Cup in 1998, England faced Argentina, and Becks was sent off for retaliating against Simeone. He was later blamed by many for England's exit and even received death threats.
• November 200 saw his promotion to England captain by caretaker boss Peter Taylor, and then Sven Goran Eriksson confirmed his trust in the new skipper.
• October 2001 saw one of his finest moments, as England needed a draw against Greece to ensure qualification to the 2002 World Cup finals. With seconds remaining, he glided in one of his trademark free-kicks to ensure hero status.
• In the 2002 World Cup he scored the winner, a penalty, against Argentina to knock them out at the group stage. Revenge was 4 years in waiting, but surely couldn't have been sweeter.
• In 2005 he became the first ever England skipper to receive a red card, against Austria.
• In the 2006 World Cup, he became the first ever England player to score at three World Cups, with a goal against Ecuador.
• After getting knocked out by Portugal, Becks returned home a beaten man and resigned as England skipper.
• New England boss Steve McClaren subsequently dropped Beckham from the England squad, but was forced to recall him a few months later.
• McClaren's replacement, Fabio Capello, also passed Beckham over for his first game in charge, but soon recalled him. 
• If Beckham had been fit, it's a safe bet that he would have been part of the squad for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa. If he would have made a difference to a poor England side, that we'll never know...

Sir David Beckham, you shall be missed.

The new Premier League season kicks off in just two weeks time. Oh yesss! Doesn't it seem ridiculous that just a couple of weeks ago we were bathing in World Cup footie, and in two more weeks the English Premiership kicks off yet again?

Not that I'm complaining. It just seems to have been a very short summer, with copious amounts of football to keep us occupied and our minds off boring transfer sagas that usually end up meaning a leading Premiership player being courted by a leading European side (this summer it has of course been Cesc Fabregas being hunted by Barcelona). Transfer rumours that seem to have a lot of life left in them, despite what some might say.

So what will the upcoming Premiership season have in store for us? We'll be posting a preview in the next few days, but the main ingredient I see coming into play is the force of the teams just outside the standard Top Four of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Manchester City look set to be the team to upset the odds this season, as they've gone out and splashed some serious cash over the summer. Without a doubt, their squad on paper now looks like a very strong Premier League Top Four side. It just depends whether or not they have the ability to transfer that potential into reality. A strong start to the season and they could be in with a very serious shout.

Another side that looks like it has the power to compete is Spurs. Led by Harry "I shoulduv been Ingerlund boss" Rednapp, they had a great season last year and are now poised to strike it big in Europe (although have to get through a potentially tricky qualifying match to make it through to the group stages). They've always been the "nearly" side of London, so perhaps the tide is finally turning.

Elsewhere, Everton don't seem to have the financial clout to compete, though will always perform and fight as a team. I would love to see Newcastle do something big, but they really need a stable season to reinstate themselves back in the Premiership. And Aston Villa have perhaps one of the finest British managers around today in Martin O'Neill, but do they have enough to scare the big boys? I fear not.

Anyway, watch out for our review of the upcoming Premiership season, coming soon. We'll also be blogging our way through the season, with attention on each of the major leagues, plus of course the Champions League. We'll also be following the Hunchers Consensus, just to keep a track of how well the Hunchers community is performing. Don't forget to make your weekly football predictions!

The summer has been and almost gone (if you're in northern Europe there are probably only a few more days of shimmering sun to catch, sob, sob), but with new seasons across Europe about to kick off (August 14th - Premier League, August 20/21 - Bundesliga, August 22/23 - Serie A and August 29 - LaLiga), there are still plenty of transfer rumours to keep us wishing/hoping/expecting, depending on who you support of course.

In England it looks like Manchester City still haven't put away their checkbook. With rumours aplenty that Fernando Torres isn't the happiest camper over at Liverpool, a huge, ginormous bid is expected to be winging its way over top Anfield any day. With deep, deep pockets it's perhaps surprising that they've recalled Robinho from his loan spell at Santos. Though if the Brazilian star doesn't fancy playing in rainy Manchester there's not a lot they're going to be able to do, except ship him on and flesh out the bank balance a bit.

Liverpool and Manchester United have appeared perhaps a little too quiet on the transfer rumours circuit this summer. Despite having a new manager in Roy (Woy) Hodgson, Liverpool look like they're going to having a rebuilding year or so. Whether Torres stays is a critical question, but with just over 2 weeks to go before the start of the Premier League, my money's on him staying at Anfield. His teammate Mascherano however looks to be on his way, with Inter Milan (now bossed by his former manager Rafa Benetiz of course) and Barcelona, who almost snapped him up last year, favourites to grab him. As for Manchester United, they appear to have done all their purchases looong ago (including Mexican starlet Hernandez of course), and despite plenty of big names getting talked about, the transfer rumours for United fans are nothing but, well, rumours. I'm choosing to ignore the very latest rumour hitting us that has Man United apparently lining up a £25 million bid to sign Werder Bremen midfielder Mesut Oezil (pictured below), one of the stand-out stars of the German World Cup campaign. Fergie won't go for that. Or will he?

Londoners Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs have also been fairly quiet on the transfer market, though Arsenal have splashed the cash on Chamakh and are rumoured to be lining up a top goalkeeper (yes, plenty of transfer rumours about Russian Arshavin "selling" Arsenal to his compatriot, goalkeeper Akinfeev, but who knows if there's any truth in it). Sol Campbell is also rumoured to be on his way out, with Newcastle now favourites to land him. Chelsea have been mentioned as a potential target for Torres, but will they be pipped to his signature by moneybags Man City? And if they don't sign him, are they strong enough to defend their title?

As the big names and big clubs wheel and deal on the sidelines, it might be worth mentioning Real Madrid legend Raul, who is one big name definitely on the path of a new career. Whether it continues in England or Germany remains to be seen, as he's still unsure, though Schalke remain favorites to snap him up. He may be 33 but he's still got some football left in him, he'll be a great addition to any team.

So the Premier League season draws near once again. The excitement is slowly building up, I can feel it already. All the big clubs are in their usual pre-season mode, already in training of course, while trying to close any last-minute deals for players (the season starts in less than a month by the way, so those deals had better be wrapped up pretty sharpish!) to get them integrated into their squads in time for D-day. Transfer rumours abound of course, though deals usually take a bit of work before the i's are dotted and the t's crossed...

But one Premier League club that doesn't seem to be too worried about crossing t's and dotting i's is Manchester City. With more money available than they really know what to do with it, City have already splashed the cash and have built themselves up quite a formidable squad for the coming season. Big name signings include David Silva from Valencia and Yaya Toure from Barcelona, while the latest transfer rumours have them linked with Didier Drogba, Balotelli and Aleksandar Kolarov of Lazio. No question that their shopping spree isn't quite over for the summer...

Look too at who they've brought into their coaching ranks this summer. Former England skipper David Platt and Italian Attilio Lombardo (he of the bald head and who starred for Crystal Palace in the Premier League back in the 90s). The backroom staff is an area often critically overlooked, but could it be that City are building themselves an empire of sorts and are laying down the foundations for seasons to come?

Some might say that all that money being spent will build an empire, but will it build a team? There's no doubting that City possess a very talented squad with world-class individuals, but do they have what it takes to go all the way in the Premier League? Will spending even more money on players like Drogba guarantee them a title? Let's face it, Jack Walker's money gifted Blackburn the Premier League title, and without Roman Abramovich's money Chelsea would still be only the second or third best side in London. So yes, money can buy success.

But will all that flash cash turn Manchester City into a club despised and ridiculed, much in the way that Chelsea were in the early days of Abramovich? Nobody likes having wealth flaunted before them, and perhaps City are leering dangerously in that direction. Especially with players like Adebayor on their books. For a club that was just a few seasons ago languishing in the third tier of English football, they've come a long way: financially, spectacularly so over the last year or so. Not that it's gone to their heads, but that club always yo-yoing between leagues, with seasons always poised to end in either success or tragedy, is no more.

And when I stick my fanciest football predictions hat on for the coming season, I see that Manchester City won't be walking away with the Premier League trophy. They should break up the Old Top Four, but I can't see them quite surpassing Chelsea and Manchester United. At least not this season...