Sanctions, LVG, Going Down with the Norwich

There was a time when Chelsea fans dreamed of glamour, back during the rough old days of pitch invasions, pre-match punch up's, and bloody awful footballers. For the past 19 years, a new breed of Chelsea fans has emerged younger, hungrier, and perhaps more ego-driven. Stamford Bridge is now a place where bankers, politicians, and Americans choose to watch their football. The Bridge is full of nothing, glory hunting cliched speaking fans. The food and drink menus are driven by entitlement and city house owning 4X4 drivers. When Roman leaves will all of that change? Will the club see the return of the ' we were here when we were sh-t fans' or will it still be a millionaire's dream?

The time has come when the club's next owners are been whittled down to single digits. At the other end of the Premier League spectrum, there is yo young Norwich who has seen both promotions and inevitable relegations. It is not as if Delia Smith is a bad chairman, she is in fact extremely capable. The problem is more to do with the perils of such an unequal economic system. Maybe in the grander scheme of things the self-styled 'best league in the world needs to change to a more equal economic model. One is based less on the pyramid system and more on socialist principles.

On the pitch, the question is who will make up the bottom three when the final May ball has been kicked. Has Watford finally gotten rid of too many managers? Is Everton just like the old Newcastle of the late naughties, the team who is not quite too good to go down? Lampard seems like a decent fit for Everton, ambitious, young, articulate, and desperate to succeed.

The question is not about Lampard's ability it is a question of how long he will be given. Everton is a club that has been unstable for years like a lower down version of Manchester United, tearing through supporter patience, managers, wages, and transfer fees. At the moment the club seems to be going through a constantly fluid identity crisis.

Given time surely Lampard will prove his worth. After all, this is the same man who was doubted by all at West Ham, it was only 'Arry Redknapp who offered genuine belief in his nephew. Lampard's strength has always been his obvious intelligence and his thirst to improve. He has never shirked at a challenge, always been his own harshest critic, and has always emerged stronger and more able because of the challenges set. It is likely that he loves the challenge of improving? One thing is for sure, the Lampard vs. Gerrard debate is set to go on for a minimum of another twenty years, boring everyone to tears.

How long will the blunt LVG go on? Van Gall's passion, aside from substituting goalkeepers at the end of extra time, is sticking his oar in. His latest rant has seen him take on his former employers at Old Trafford. Warning his Dutch counterpart ten Hag off the United hot seat he has once again hit on some home truths.

Where is Man UTD heading? Are they for-profit over success? Are they a good fit for a dynamic progressive coach? What can be written is like Everton they are not a stable club, since Sir Alex left they have been lurching from one self-inflicted crisis to the next. When and where will it all end?

So as the Sky and BT cameras welcome the return of proper, proper non-international football this weekend, the footballing circus continues in earnest. Will it be Liverpool or City? Will Leeds be saved? Is Newcastle heading for long-term greatness?