The Premier League’s various chairmen met in their secret lair this week to discuss a possible playoff for England’s fourth Champions League spot.
In the proposal, the top three teams in the league would still automatically qualify for the group stages of the CL, but clubs finishing from fourth to seventh would play a [...]

The title race was once again thrown wide open, as Chelsea’s lead at the top was cut to a single point over Manchester United after falling 2-4 to Manchester City on Saturday. Arsenal took maximum points from Stoke City to move within three points of the top as well.

Portsmouth became the first ever Premier League club to enter into financial administration on Friday after a search for a new owner fell through.
The move will result in a nine-point deduction for the club, all but guaranteeing relegation to the Championship. Portsmouth are currently last in the league even without the penalty, and with [...]

Guus Hiddink announced on Saturday plans to step down as manager of the Russian national team when his contract runs out at the end of June.
It was news many people were expecting, given the country’s failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and the Russian Football Federation’s difficulty in paying Hiddink’s annual $10.2 million [...]

There’s not much you can do during a blizzard. Well, besides shovel, I guess. It’s like being trapped in a prison, only the prison steadily gets more difficult to escape and then eventually melts. But this year’s big Nor’easter storm did give me plenty of time to prepare myself for United’s showdown [...]

Papers this week were buzzing with rumors about Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas’ possible departure to the reigning European Champions. Reports in Spain had Fabregas and Barcelona committing to a verbal agreement for a transfer this summer.
Both the club and player denied the story, with Fabregas insisting that he just wants to focus on Arsenal. [...]

With Arsenal dropping games against Manchester United and Chelsea in the past week, the Premiership’s top two have opened a seven point gap on the Gunners in the title race. Chelsea’s 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday ensured they stayed top of the table, two points ahead of United.

The clash between second and third placed Arsenal and Manchester United provided the only truly surprising result of the weekend, as the Red Devils completely silenced the home crowd at the Emirates. The rest of the fixture list went according to plan for the most part, as Chelsea stayed top of the table and the push for fourth place continued.

Manchester United center-back Rio Ferdinand has been issued a four-match ban for violent conduct by the FA after he swung an arm at Hull forward Craig Fagan in last weekend’s Premier League match.
Ferdinand appealed the charge, but the FA rejected the appeal as “frivolous” and tacked on an extra match to what would have been [...]

Manchester United’s parent company Red Football Joint Venture has shown debts rising to a staggering $1.17 billion according to the latest accounts.
The company, owned by the Glazer family, has hit a new high of debt since the highly publicized 2005 takeover of the club. More than $110 million was paid out of [...]