So we face the final curtain of an extraordinary Premier League season by anybody’s standards, and still only Blackburn and Wolves can be absolutely certain of their fate. Everybody assumes Man.City will beat QPR to clinch the title. Everybody assumes Bolton will fail to beat Stoke and provide the ultimate lifeline for QPR. Everybody ‘s been assuming things all season that haven’t been borne out by events on and off the field, so I would be most surprised if there wasn’t another sting in the tail at the top and bottom of the table on Sunday afternoon, and these are the final fixtures we are faced with:

I suppose it was no real surprise that after a weekend when the nine Premier League games had produced an impressive 34 goals, the biggest disappointment was Monday night’s match that had received by far the biggest build-up. The two Manchester sides served up a distinctly underwhelming encounter on Monday night that featured little in the way of goalmouth action, and two managers setting their sides up in a way that nullified their obvious flair and attacking prowess. The fact that the winner was scored by a defender from a set piece summed it all up really, and other than City fans, I’m sure many people watching were left cold by the whole event. The other event that hasn’t surprised me in the slightest this week is the immediate parodying in our tawdry press of Roy Hodgson’s deserved appointment as England Manager. It’s painful to see that qualifications required to become a “journalist” on a national newspaper now consist of nothing more than ridiculing the way someone speaks, or uncovering pictures that