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That will make those clubs even richer, more attractive to the best players and therefore perpetuate the divide.Name the clubs. Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United, who are the bankers, and then there is a second tier of Newcastle and Chelsea. I would include Leeds United in the long run, but they need to compete against the opposition rather than fight each other.That is all the probables and possibles, so maybe in time it will be six clubs. Also there will be one club that no one has considered, and that, for me, would be Everton. David Moyes has proved in five months that he is an exceptional talent by taking the same core of players who have been at Everton in recent seasons and pushing them towards the top of the table.The fight against relegation continues, according to the man himself and his squad, but the reality is that they are developing into a very hard side to beat who rely on hard work, organisation and excellent team spirit.Maybe the next breed of big-money men in the game will be the best managers And while Everton rise, their arch rivals Liverpool fall. The past month has been horrendous for them, and if they lose today at Arsenal I think they will have to forget winning the Premiership.The talk is of a crisis of confidence, which seems to be a favourite excuse when a club are struggling.

The truth is probably that they simply have not played very well.No side have a divine right to win, as Manchester United have discovered rather more frequently than usual this season, and Liverpool’s performances have not warranted victories. Maybe they know that, and the frustration of working so hard for so little reward is beginning to bubble over. At least that would explain Steven Gerrard’s two-footed lunge at Everton’s Gary Naysmith.At least Ipswich are looking more like contenders to rejoin Liverpool. A draw against Portsmouth followed by wins at Leicester and at home to Walsall yesterday have put us near enough the play-off zone to suggest this season may not be a write-off, and with me playing at centre-half as well.

Injuries dictated the switch – I do prefer midfield, but the team come first.Finally, my predictions for the new year are a fantastic battle between Arsenal and Manchester United for the title, a high-octane poker match via the media between Ars? Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson, and loan deals rather than straight purchases to dominate the transfer window.The Ipswich captain was talking to Iain Fletcher. The Beeb have gone to great lengths to showcase the FA Cup, employing the services of some of the game’s biggest names to highlight the key ties of the third round But there was no need to spend a penny. Never has there been a better advert for the oldest knockout competition in the world than when the Oxford United dressing room erupted as they were drawn against Arsenal So much for the Cup having lost its magic. So much for the Cup having lost its magic.
Of all the players captured celebrating the prospect of a trip to Arsenal, one stood out.

Jefferson Louis was barely decent, relying only on a small towel to cover himself, when news broke that Oxford were going to face the Double winners. What followed was a song and dance of epic proportions; proof, if needed, that professional footballers still get excited at the thought of 90 minutes of fame.”It’s a good game for the players because very rarely do they get the opportunity to face Premiership opposition,” Ian Atkins, the more phlegmatic Oxford manager, says. “It will take a minor miracle for us to get anything at Highbury, but I don’t think we’re too worried What matters is that we’re going there. You can feel the buzz around the place at the moment.”No one is more enthusiastic about the opportunity of facing the Double winners than Louis. “Jefferson’s been an Arsenal fan nearly all his life,” fellow striker Manny Omoyinmi explains.