One more round of Premier League fixtures is scheduled to take place before a break for the FA Cup 4th round, and following this week’s replays, we are now set for repeats of the two fixtures that have caused most lasting controversy this season, with Liverpool hosting Man.United, and Chelsea visiting QPR. It will be interesting to see whether John Terry, Anton Ferdinand and Patrice Evra make the starting line-ups for the cup ties, and if they do, you can expect the most hostile atmospheres to be generated at both grounds that should make for an extremely interesting (and maybe uncomfortable) afternoon’s viewing.

One of the pleasant surprises of the season at Premier League level is that only two managers have lost their jobs so far: the overrated Steve Bruce whose departure has seen an immediate upturn in the fortunes of Sunderland overseen by the quite astonishing managerial skills of Martin O’Neill, and now Neil Warnock, who was so desperate to prove that he could be a successful manager at the top level following a disastrous Premier League season with Sheffield United. Despite a dramatic turnaround for QPR following Warnock’s arrival at the club in 2010, and promotion at the first attempt, nagging doubts remain that a first class Championship manager is as high an accolade as he can be credited with, and there are similarities with West Brom’s situation last season. Roberto di Matteo found himself out of a job mid-season despite having taken the Baggies up at the first attempt, and Roy Hodgson was brought in to steer the side into relative comfort in the table. Changing your manager during the transfer window is