With the Big Four all failing to win for the second time in a matter of weeks this weekend, have we perhaps seen the last of the monopoly that has been associated with the Champions League places in recent years? 

One man who will certainly be hoping that this is the case is Aston Villa manager, Martin O’Neill, who has seen his side break into the top four of late, mostly due to stunning displays from young duo Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor.  The England U21 Internationals have been in flying for of late, managing three assists and five goals between them in the last two matches alone.

Although O’Neill can claim some praise for his side’s current fourth place status, it is mainly due to the drop in form of the ‘Big Four’, with Chelsea’s current home form perhaps the most extreme example of this.  The once inpenatratable Stamford Bridge has heralded just three victories in nine attempts, with Chelsea dropping fourteen points along the way.  This fact has certainly not gone unnoticed by the fans, with Chelsea being booed off last weekend after their 1-1 draw with West Ham.  Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari even admitted that this behaviour was justified, telling reporters ”If I think about the competition and the games that we lost points here, I agree with the fans but they need to understand the players try to do their best”, before going on about how it is an injustice that his side have yet to be given a penalty this season (a Drogba/games played/dives taken stat might shed some light on the reason for this-he has been injured most of the season).  

Scolari’s blushes have been saved somewhat by both Liverpool’s and Arsenal’s poor form of late, and to a lesser extent, that of Manchester United’s.  All four sides are seemingly no longer the forces they used to be and the fact that Chelsea’s biggest cheer of the night was reserved for West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola might offer some insight as to why - the sides simply don’t have the quality players of old (and those few that are playing are underachieving ).  Manchester United fans can also relate to this fact, with Giggs and Scholes both coming on last weekend in the hope of salvaging a win.  Arsenal’s young guns underachieving coupled with Wenger’s apparent reluctance to buy any new players, has seen their title aspirations vanish and with Liverpool so reliant on Gerrard and Torres playing (let alone performing) together, the January transfer window has never looked so vital to one team breaking away from the pack. But with all four now somewhat hindered by the current economic crisis, perhaps this will be the year when the monopoly is finally broken and an Aston Villa or an Everton (or maybe even a Hull) gets a crack at the big boys in the Champions League in 09/10, and who can argue that this is a bad thing?

If we are to believe Italian newspapers today, Ronaldo may be soon leaving Old Trafford for Inter Milan in the not too distant future.  According to the Corriere dello Sport, Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has told the Italian club that Ronaldo still wants to leave Manchester United and that he is interested in a move to the San Siro.  First impressions of the story will leave many readers dubious as to whether there is any truth in the story, but if there is even a hint of honesty in the rumours, then they should be taken seriously as Mendes is also Jose Mourinho’s agent, and you don’t have to be a genius to work out the connection there. 

If Ronaldo does make the move to Inter, he will join fellow Portuguese international Ricardo Quaresma in Mourinho’s new set up and with reports that Inter president Massimo Moratti already has the financial backing for the move (ironically alleged to be from Pirelli, who also funded a move for the other Ronaldo), United fans may be waving goodbye to their top scorer come January.

Ronaldo is not the only name doing the rounds in the papers recently, and with the transfer window opening in a few weeks, there are sure to be many more to come.  Those of note recently include Daniel Agger, who apparently is off to AC Milan, with Gabrile Heinze set to be the man to replace him.  If the Daily Mirror is to be believed (and we have no reason not to) then either Man City or Chelsea are set to sign David Villa in January, but I think we have heard that one before.  If it is City who sign Villa, at least he won’t be the only new arrival at the City of Machester Stadium, as there are currently whispers of Kaka, Messi, Ronaldo, Tevez, Eto’o, Santa Cruz, Grosso and Buffon all joining the club, and with the Abu Dhabi United Group not short of a few pence, you can be pretty sure that at least one of these names will be playing alongside Robinho and star player Stephen Ireland (that’s a whole different debate) come January.  Spurs are also rumoured to be solving their current keeper issue by signing Ireland international, Shay Given, from Newcastle, with Given apparently a big fan of new manager Harry Redknap.

It should be interesting to see how all of these rumours pan out, and how many more come to surface before January.  I have not even touched on the manager situation, which is currently being dominated by Roy Keane’s struggle at Sunderland, but there is plenty of time for that another day…