Cristiano Ronaldo is the Ballon d'Or winner for the second time, winning the world's leading individual player's gong before and after four years of Lionel Messi dominance.
And few would deny the Real Madrid star's been the planet's best in the last twelve months. Messi's progress was hampered by hamstring injuries and though Franck Ribery won five titles as the best player in the best team, Ronnie remains the talisman who lights up the Bernabeu and Portugal every time he plays.
Who voted for who? This always makes interesting reading and as you skate down to England, coach and captain were united in Ron - but have a look at Stevie G's controversial choice for third!
We may have secured our place among the world's elite by beating Poland but there'll be no "England Expects" fanfare before next summer's World Cup finals.
For what we lack in world class we certainly make up for in passion. It's a commodity more than good enough to beat Moldova but has a tinge of amateurish hopelessness as prep for Argentina or Spain next summer.
As we head to Brazil, even the most ardent England fan must take a reality check. We're thin on the ground when it comes to elite players. Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard carried us through the decisive Polish win, but Cole didn't play and Lampard jogs through the closing stages of a glorious career. What's left of the golden generation won't scare the contenders. Andros Townsend is taking his chance in an England shirt. His first caps against Montenegro and Poland were marked with a goal and bags of running. He was totally unfazed by the step up to international level.
But he runs with gay abandon with little more responsibility than that, akin to a privateer with a government licence to snaffle up any opportunities. Tactics aren't important for a player whose task is merely to dribble and shoot on sight - that is until the opposition demands greater respect. Daniel Sturridge is another example of England's deficiency. Good enough for both Liverpool and England - but not the Champions League. Playing at Wembley in a qualifier is akin to the Europa League but it's no longer football's highest level.
As if to prove my point, the latest FIFA Rankings saw England jump back into the top ten, but two places short of being seeded for the Finals.
"You need a ticket to be in the lottery. We've got a ticket", cheered Roy Hodgson as his angst ridden husk relieved itself on the media after Poland. He got good press too. And he deserves much credit for his mix of pragmatism and adventure, but his gung-ho optimism must disguise private thoughts that he's got to make the most of what he's given. Look, I don't want be too down on England. We've qualified and rightly the popular press and media chirped and tweeted amid the feelgood factor qualifying brings. But I'm also a paying customer. We're a football nation of the first water with a world class league, so I dream of an England with more than just a punchers chance of coping in finals.
Let's hope we don't do the Scotland Shuffle and last just three games.
When the older, more experienced players are in the mood, England tick.
They were bright from the get-go recording a first win over the 5-times world champions in 23 years, 2-1 at Wembley.
Despite some early defensive flurries and the mistake by Gary Cahill which led to Brazil’s goal, England deserved it.
The Roy Hodgson and Steven Gerrard regime has given England a spring in its step, a desire to do well.
It was a friendly, so it wasn’t as frantic as per, but there was definitely a competitive edge to the challenges.
Wayne Rooney took his most recent Manchester United form to the Three Lions shirt to give us the half time advantage. But the Brazilians came out after the interval. Right Said Fred! he equalized.
Right said Fred, let's get back into this game
Then Frank Lampard exquisitely placed the ball into the net and restored the lead for his 27th international strike.
All this after Ronaldinho had a penalty saved by the imposing Joe Hart.
Theo Walcott skinned the defence with frequency, Jack Wilshere’s long, long England absence is water under the bridge, he's such a talent and Tom Cleverley is unfazed at this level.
Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill are the latest defensive partnership to be tried out. It wasn’t glorious – but they’re the most likely duo that Roy will go with.
Composed calm opportunism from Rooney to open the scoring
But what of the Samba Boys? The truth is they're totally demystified. Gone are the days of the faraway fantasy football which captivated worldwide audiences.
We’re totally used to the players and personalities of Brazil in 2013.
Hark back to the 70’s and 80’s and the Samba Boys with their free-wheeling, flowing football captivated the world.
With honourable exceptions, Brazil have the look of a built for purpose group of European stars, so many ply their trade in our Premier League - at Chelsea, QPR and the like.
I’m not saying the Brazilians don’t have a shout of winning the World Cup in their own backyard next year, but they’re definitely not the best team going into the tournament – and I’m wondering whether home advantage will be a hindrance rather than help.
The dust may already be settling on a mere friendly which will record a Swedish win over England by four-goals-to-two in Stockholm.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic salutes the home crowd.
But what'll live long in the memory was the individual brilliance and performance of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Scorer of all four of Sweden’s goals, the final one being so exquisite commentators reached for their thesaurus to describe it adequately.
Having already scored a hat-trick, Zlatan granted himself freedom of the city of Stockholm.
Great players play with freedom when the game is won but even by his lofty standards, his final strike was special.
England keeper Joe Hart came way off his line - off his line? off his line?? he was virtually playing centre-half – but the clearance bounced a mere few yards, so with his back to goal from 30 yards, Ibrahimovic launched himself in the air with a bicycle-kick of such looping precision and accuracy that even Shawcross, England’s last line of defence right on the line, could do nothing about.
As for Zlatan, “Magic, magic… haha! How can I do that in a friendly? I just enjoyed it”.
It ranks as one of the great goals scored in recent decades - right up there with David Beckham's last-ditch free-kick against Greece to secure England's place at the World Cup, Rooney's bicycle kick in the Manchester derby and Di Canio's scissor kick for West Ham in the Premier League.
Gracious Gerrard confirmed he'd held on to his England shirt. Instead of giving it away to an opposing player, he's giving it to his father, Paul.
Ibrahimovic has often struggled to perform at club level against English sides - but that's to ignore his overall record and the who's who array of clubs he's played for. Both Milan clubs, Barcelona and Ajax to name but four.
It's a shame he never played in the Premier League and Paris St. Germain's gain is someone like Tottenham or Manchester City's loss.
There's no doubt in my mind that Roy Hodgson's the man to make best use of this pool of England talent - but as I explain in this two-minute podcast, we've made scant progress since losing Fabio Capello. Roy has a Plan A but often struggles when an about-face is required.
When grand plans don't come together, great generals resort to a Plan B, but at Wembley, Roy Hodgson's backup looked distinctly laboured.
Konoplianka's strike was superb
Only a late equalising penalty from Frank Lampard saved England from the ignominy of home defeat to a determined Ukraine intent on revenge.
Their disallowed 'ghost' goal against us in Euro 2012 was the easiest motivation possible for coach, Oleg Blokhin.
The visitors came out of the traps keen to break us up with pugnacious directness. Skipper Steven Gerrard, who later saw red for the first time in his international career, was deliberately run into by a Ukrainian marker in the early minutes.
Roy's blood pressure increases
It's true goals that goals change games and Jermain Defoe's disallowed one would've given the game a whole different outcome had it been allowed. Instead it gave Ukraine their chance.
Their greater resolve resulted in a terrific strike from Yevhen Konoplianka and from then on, England struggled with it.
The problem of searching for an equaliser came in leaving ourselves exposed at the back. Hodgson's instruction to keep possession exposed our deficit of creativity and imagination.
Lampard's great leveller: he leathers it.
We missed sitters, struck woodwork and worked hard in front of a patient Wembley crowd, but it's hard to watch England forced to perpetually evolve during competitive games. We don't have the guile of more than one gear. We're not good under pressure.
A late penalty can't disguise the lifeless, oft limp show and it's no good blaming the referee for handing out cards like confetti. We know international football's less tolerant on challenges.
LESSONS:
1) This early setback's a reminder qualification isn't a formality.
2) Roy Hodgson's still at the drawing board post-Capello.
England have made it to the quarter finals of Euro 2012, winning the group with two wins and a draw.
Let's keep our powder dry, we're English, FFS!
England rode their luck en route to a 1-0 win over host nation Ukraine, including a "goal" for the host nation which should've counted. John Terry's athletic last ditch clearance was in fact over the line. But Ukraine are out.
Wayne Rooney marked his return from suspension with the winner from a Steven Gerrard (who else?) cross. It was a tap in but an important boost for the Manchester United striker, who huffed and puffed his way through a first outing for five weeks. He looked off the pace for long periods but has an inner determination to overcome his blatant lack of match fitness.
He found his feet towards the end of the match, but will certainly feel the effect of the workout tomorrow.
Keeper Joe Hart was on top of his game and had to be, staying alert to the most determined of Ukrainian strikes, but special mention goes to the skipper.
Gerrard has been magnificent this tournament. He's responded to wearing the armband with aplomb.
Twelve years ago, I witnessed Liverpool's highly-rated youngster make his debut, also against Ukraine. Years later, now skipper, he stands up as our most important player.
Some say we over rely on the set-piece for our goals and creativity: if so, who better than the artist Gerrard to conduct our progress?
In winning the group, we avoid defending champions, Spain. That fate befalls the French on Saturday night. Instead, it's Italy on Sunday who like England, arrived at the tournament with low expectations despite the reputation of a first rate nation.
John Terry, who'll always assume a form of captaincy whether wearing the armband or not, huddled the team together at the final whistle. Difficult to beat and united in purpose, England have a chance to make it to the semifinals. Then again, so do Italy. We must remain resolute and concentrate hard. Our dreams of winning can end in a heartbeat.
England aren't the finished product by any stretch, but as John Lennon said "life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".
We've more than a fighting chance of going beyond expectations and this is a vast improvement on Capello's South African flop.
Roy Hodgson's called everything right. It's as if being overlooked for the job too many times has prepared him even more so. Doesn't he look so much the better choice than Harry Redknapp now?
There's no doubt Kenny Dalglish is relying on his legendary status to remain as Liverpool manager at the moment.
Here was a man in his first year as player-boss who claimed the Reds the double, clinching the league at Chelsea and scoring the winner. Real Roy of the Rovers stuff from one of Britain's greatest ever players.
And of his second coming amid the dying embers of the Gillett, Hicks and Roy Hodgson gloom, which Kopite wouldn't have called for the Messiah back then?
But how long can King Kenny's credit last? Six defeats in seven games has left the summer's big spenders out of Europe and out of touch of the big sides. Liverpool FC a big brand? Yes. A big club? Measured against the new arrivals at football's top table in the form of Tottenham and Manchester City? it's highly questionable.
Not even Roy could match King Kenny's '86 triumph
During the latest defeat at Newcastle, I was surprised to see Steven Gerrard shoeing Dalglish off the pitch in a "stop interfering" kind of way. Gerrard is about the only one at Anfield with the status to do such a impudent thing to the gaffer - and it was telling.
But the blame for Liverpool's plight can't entirely be placed at Dalglish's door. It's transfer policy which has been a major let-down too - and that's squarely the responsibility of Damien Comolli.
Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll have yielded just six goals between them. The quartet cost owner John W. Henry an eye-watering eighty million quid in the summer.
Comolli talking a good game with the owner.
They're all British too. Now, I'm not battering the reputations of home-grown players. Indeed, the English backbone of Chelsea and Manchester United has served them rather well over the years. But the contention of building a new team from the British Isles is misguided when as a Premier League club, one can attract the best of the world.
It's just not true that British players settle in better or faster. A high-level professional from Togo or Tel Aviv is just as reliable. But Comolli seems to think so.
Without qualifying for the Champions League, the best players, whatever their nationality won't be Anfield-bound anymore. Without them, Liverpool will become Premier League also-rans. Despite splashing out in the summer, that's what they've become this year.
As with other victorious Carling Cup managers, trophy glory doesn't guarantee job security and sometimes it's the straw that breaks the back of relegation.
Let's not forget Juande Ramos has still won one more piece of silverware at White Hart Lane than Harry Redknapp, but the Spaniard was taken out in a midnight cloak and dagger exit months later.
Alex McLeish steered Birmingham City to the League Cup last year - but at huge cost to the Second City's Second Club, as they were relegated. Next thing you know, it was out of the frying pan and into the fire for Big Eck when Aston Villa came calling.
So it's a results business whether you're Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, former Spurs boss Glenn Hoddle or Newcastle's Kevin Keegan (twice). And if things don't turnaround fast, I can see the passwords to the Liverpool bank account reset for a new manager this summer. Kenny's got to be the on the edge.
But it's not just players that lose managers their jobs these days. It's Directors of Football too.
I'm sorry to say this about a good man, but Roy Hodgson's reign as Liverpool boss will be a short one.
Hodgson, who steered modest Fulham to the Europa League Final and a mid-table finish last season, simply can't steer the Anfield Titanic round the iceberg.
But home defeat to relegation-haunted Wolves, without a single away win since March and a first victory at Anfield in 27 years, must be close to being the last straw for Hodgson. It's an eighth defeat of the season and their third in four games.
Unfortunately, the damage began in Rafa Benitez' last campaign. Liverpool dipped from Premier League runners-up to seventh place - so failing to qualify for their usual Champions League spot.
The hallmarks of Shankly's Liverpool are all but gone.
And a change of ownership's not yet galvanized anything resembling a recovery.
John W. Henry's adopting a watching brief in his first months as owner - and will be troubled with what's on offer. This is easily the worst Reds team since Bill Shankly shook the club to its foundations and built modern Liverpool.
Not even the era of Graeme Souness was as bad as this. The abolition of the Boot Room was a symbolic low point, akin to the ravens leaving the Tower.
But even then, as the Reds lost their grip on an annual title assault plus cup shocks at home to lowly Bolton and Bristol City, there was still an FA Cup victory and just the thought that the right manager could restore the trophy culture.
And it duly came to pass; even though the title hasn't returned to Anfield since, Liverpool have won trophies galore in the last twenty years including the very biggest one, the Champions League.
But this time, Liverpool's decline is spectacular. They are fast-becoming instititional also-rans. As the Reds slide down the table and lose their glister and status, Tottenham and Manchester City are fast-replacing them in ways that make them uncatchable. London and Manchester hold more excitement to young men with dreams of the Champions League than Liverpool, with less to offer all-round.
The summer will surely test the loyalty of Steven Gerrard and the commitment of Fernando Torres. Will both be considering life after Liverpool?
Hodgson admits the support has never been there from the Kop, but neither have the results. He cites the popularity of Kenny Dalglish, who he beat for the job, as the reason. Good results would have made life easier though.
But the key fact is, Roy Hodgson is not Henry's man. The ex-Inter and Switzerland boss had a clause added to his contract about severance should ownership change. As sure as eggs is eggs, Henry will trigger it - and soon.
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Manchester United's 3-2 win over Liverpool will be remembered for Dimitar Berbatov's hat-trick. The brilliant Bulgarian's shaken off whatever was bothering him at Old Trafford - and produced a performance worthy of his considerable talent.
But amid the fog of Liverpool's latest defeat, it's worth highlighting The Steven Gerrard Show. He turned in yet another captain's performance at Old Trafford. With typical one-man resilience, he struck twice to level the game when the Reds looked down and out at 2-nil down.
His free-kick to equalise at 2-all was particularly brilliant. Finding the only space available in the United wall to expertly place the ball past the unsighted Edwin Van der Sar.
Gerrard's love affair with Old Trafford. Sealed with a x.
It's a pity the Scouse warrior had to end up on the losing side but as his performance confirmed, he's playing the football of his life once more.
Soccermongery was critical of Steven Gerrard last season. He looked off the pace and bothered by off-field problems. Now he's consigned those to the past and despite the ill winds of change swirling around Anfield, Liverpool can still reply on their talisman to deliver.
Not only is Gerrard turning in quality club performances, he's delivering for England too. Appointed captain because of the John Terry scandal and set free in midfield by the international absence of Frank Lampard, Gerrard keeps on playing himself into the lead role whoever he plays for.
It must be disspiriting for Gerrard to be playing at a club who can't arrest a decline which started in Rafa Benitez' last season in charge. I'm sure not even the most stringent Anfield loyalist would begrudge him leaving for pastures new (as long as it was abroad!)
Berbatov is also enjoying the limelight. Capitalising on wayward Wayne Rooney, the Bulgar can get on with his United career on a new footing. Don't be surprised if he outscores Wazza in United colours this season.
But Gerrard is too. To Liverpool and England, his contribution is priceless.
What a bad weeked for England and the Ivory Coast.
Rio Ferdinand has succumbed to an eleventh hour injury with the tournament just a week away. It would have been his fourth World Cup, a new England record.
The England skipper sustained a knee injury in their first training session in Rustenburg in a clash with Emile Heskey. Michael Dawson's been drafted in as replacement; he's the fifth Tottenham player in Fabio Capello's 23-man squad.
Steven Gerrard steps upto take the vacant captain's armband for the first game against the USA next Saturday. But Ferdinand will stay with the England squad for the opener.
But while it's bad to lose your skipper, the England squad can cushion the blow. The Ivory Coast fear they've lost their chief talisman Drogba, the man who gave them a puncher's chance of winning it.
Drogba suffered an elbow injury during their warm-up game with Japan having just scored from a deflection. He's had a weekend operation and his recovery is described as encouraging.
The Chelsea striker, known for his high levels of fitness as the Blues marched to the Premier League title this season, is the difference between success and failure for Ivory Coast, pitted as they are in the Group Of Death with Portugal and Brazil.
Sven-Goran Eriksson can't possibly have a Plan B to replace their best player and one of the world's great strikers. Working with Drogba must have been a major consideration in Sven accepting the post in the first place.
Although given Eriksson's track record, you can expect Drogba to make some kind of appearance. Sven likes to strap up his big stars and play them irrespective of injury. Remember Rooney and his metatarsal ahead of Germany 2006?
Meanwhile, Holland's Arjen Robben sustained a hamstring in their last warm-up game but despite missing the squad plane to South Africa, he's expected to join up with the squad before the tournament gets underway.
Whoever you support, it's a bad day when the World Cup Finals is denied its best players.
He's the chief talisman, the embodiment of modern Liverpool who more than anyone shoulders the burden of their failings.
But Steven Gerrard's loss of form and injury problems is an outward sign his career's hit the buffers. The one-man show, so often the Reds' Saviour needs to leave Anfield to kickstart his career. His club performances have lacked discipline this season and fit players don't get injured. His wild celebration when scoring from the spot at Spurs smashing the ball against the crossbar as it rebounded out the net, to scything down Reo-Coker to concede a penalty against Villa stand testimony to a man in turmoil.
Both of those games ended in defeat too. The two reasons he's stayed at Liverpool this long look more and more flimsy: ending the nineteen-year title drought and Scouse loyalty.
Last season, Liverpool took the fight to Manchester United so far that their record would've been good enough to win the league most other seasons.
Now Rafa's Premier League project looks shot to pieces.
Defeat after defeat after defeat, an early Champions League exit, nine in the Premier League, fifteen in all competitions. It's their worst run since 1987, a rare season when the all-conquering 80's team ended trophyless as rivals Everton won the league and Coventry won the Cup.
And you wonder how much he'd benefit from leaving Merseyside to start a new life away from the area.
Motor accidents, house burglaries and the unfortunate incident in Southport which saw him acquitted in Court of punching a DJ, Gerrard's the right age to let his football do the talking - elsewhere. And there's one club and one manager that would suit him down to the ground. But it's unthinkable. If he could swallow his Scouse pride, if he could live behind 24-hour security in Alderley Edge, then Gerrard's football would be well served playing for Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson.
I know, I know. It'll NEVER happen - but seriously, where else would Gerrard's career be best-served? he's not a Southerner; Chelsea and Arsenal are just wrong for him. Barcelona and Real Madrid? Not sure. It might be as anti-climactic as Michael Owen's Spanish Adventure.
Gerrard's problem is that he's tied his colours so tightly to the Shankly Gates that he's going to have to play himself - and Liverpool back into contention.
But you wonder even for giant like him, it's a step to far. Gerrard needs to leave Liverpool after the World Cup in South Africa.
The FA are reviewing their security arrangements after it was revealed the dressing room at the team’s Grove hotel training HQ was bugged. Soccermongery’s got EXCLUSIVE access to the tapes. We reveal the astonishing aftermath of the decision to drop John Terry as skipper and replace him with Rio Ferdinand!
England responded to the Wembley roar with an emphatic 5-1 win over poor Croatia.
Fabio Capello's charges qualify for next summer's World Cup Finals with a 100% record. Eight matches, eight wins. Unlike the last time we faced Croatia; the rainy, gloomy 3-2 reverse which knocked us out before EURO 2008, England played without fear.
The Croats were reduced to pass-and-move training monkeys. They had no response to the all-out fight, commitment and desire of a team which their coach Slaven Bilic had described before kick-off as "flawed" and "lacking Englishness".
Are you 'avin' a larf, sunshine?
What was so impressive was our organization and discipline. Every player knew his role and while some might criticise Capello for stifling flair, no one can argue with the growing sense of purpose and command England have these days.
We're not blessed with a huge pool of striking talent these days, which is why it's so important goals come from midfield. A brace each for Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, while Aaron Lennon was Man Of The Match.
But England's World Cup work in progress must extend to defence. We still have occasional lapses of concentration at the back. Conceding against both Slovenia and Croatia shows we could be well and truly punished by bigger and better teams.
But make no mistake, we qualify for South Africa with strength and vigour and with the hallmark of Capello running through the whole team: "you don't have to like me, you don't even have to respect me, you just need to do as I say!".
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I'm sure you'll forgive me the self indulgence but watching my team, Aston Villa thrice bulge the Anfield onion bag made me squeal like a pig in shit!
Repelling an explosive Liverpool start, Villa pitched up with the perfect away performance, knocking the wind out of Liverpool's sails by taking their three chances at just the right times.
The Reds, unbeaten at Anfield in 31 successive matches, have now lost as many times in their opening three fixtures this season as they did throughout the whole of last.
As for Villa, this is a huge fillip after a surprise opening day defeat to Wigan and a similarly low-key loss in Vienna. There's a lot of quality near the top of the Premier League and Villa have asserted their place among the big boys emphatically.
Me? I'm off out to celebrate Villa's first win at Anfield in eight years: I'm popping down the disco and in true Merseyside-style, I'm going to punch the DJ in the gob. Hope he's playing some Phil Collins! Su-ssu-ssu-sudio!
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Am I alone in thinking this? I don't think so watching his wild celebrations after scoring at Spurs last weekend. It was a beautifully taken spot kick, but then the Reds hero lashed the ball at the crowd with all his might. Instead, it shuddered off the woodwork as he ran at the White Hart Lane faithful to gloat.
This is last season as Liverpool thumped Manchester United 4-1 in their own backyard. It's the famous kiss into the Sky Sports camera from the reverse angle (that's the term where football meets geometry).
Recall also Liverpool's emphatic 5-1 trouncing of Newcastle. His celebration struck me as slightly unhinged then. What happened later that night? He popped out for a quiet drink and punched the DJ in the gob.
As the old joke goes, "What do you call a Scouser in a suit? The accused!"
Gerrard will have to take a lot of abuse this season as any top player from opposition home ends does.
But especially now, as he demonstrated an achilles heel with events in Southpaw... er, I mean Southport.
I sense the temperature on the field of play is higher than it was. The financial pressure on players seems to have grabbed a hold of the mood. Have you noticed how there's more after match hugging between victorious managers and their coaches and players? The sense of relief at the end of a game is palpable. It doesn't look as much fun for the players anymore.
It's upto Gerrard to keep a lid on his feelings and let his football do the talking. Just like his England teammates, Wayne Rooney and David Beckham!
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I might be kissing the hallowed trophy now but who's lips will be puckering up to the Premier League crown next May? Rio Ferdinand? Steven Gerrard? John Terry?... Richard Dunne?
And as ESPN enters the UK's TV market, will their arrival provide Sky Sports with food for thought?
Across the land, hopes are raised for a title tilt, Europa League qualification or a successful fight to avoid the drop, depending on which of the twenty clubs you're behind.
It's a reality of the modern era that every club calibrates its hopes according to revenue forecasts. The Premier League is divided into three, so newly-promoted Burnley aren't about to repeat the achievements of Nottingham Forest's extraordinary Championship victory in their debut season, however adept Owen Coyle appears to be in his top-flight bow.
But Manchester United will attempt something which remains the stuff of fable in 120 years of league football - by retaining the title for a fourth successive year.
They won't!
Just as with Huddersfield, Arsenal, Liverpool and United of the early noughties - they fall beyond the hat-trick hurdle.
Sir Alex Ferguson is no lagger but summer events have subsumed even his pro-active plans. United's great side is disassembling. Cristiano Ronaldo's realised his boyhood dreams and the itinerant Carlos Tevez has packed his work ethic in a bag bound for Manchester City. Fergie's not been quick enough to plug those holes in the face of stiff competition.
No, the trophy will be housed in a new cabinet from next summer - and look no further than the air-conditioned vaults of Stamford Bridge or Anfield for where you'll find it.
As Ray Stubbs told me in the attached interview, nothing will concentrate Anfield minds more than United drawing level with them at eighteen-all in league titles (and that's a fact!) The most successful English club in history are being caught by the Fergie Fablemaker - and it hurts.
But it's within Rafa Benitez's gift to nose ahead once more. The Reds came close to claiming last season - but were let down by a series of unlikely goalless home draws.
Xabi Alonso's defection to Madrid is a blow but the collective resolve of the remaining squad is too big for that to have a lasting effect.
For all of Alonso's contributions, his effect on the Anfield dressing room was negative. He and Rafa didn't get on. Any form of disquiet is a hindrance to a winning team.
Steven Gerrard's put fight night behind him (Southport or Southpaw?) Fernando Torres promises iconic goals if he stays fit and Jamie Carragher, Yossi Benayoun and Dirk Kuyt are essential cogs in a title-winning outfit.
But for me, it's Chelsea's season.
It's been a good summer for the Blues. FA Cup glory was followed by Carlo Ancelotti's recruitment as coach, then John Terry confirmed he was staying put after a lairy flirtation with Manchester City. His decision is significant for if he'd left, it would have been akin to the ravens leaving the Tower of London. Surely Lampard and Drogba would have followed him out the exit door in doublequick time - now emphatically off the agenda, Chelsea look tooled up.
I've not mentioned Arsenal yet. In fact, no one is in the same breath as potential champions. The truth is their an unknown commodity. A young side on the edge of maturity. The question is, can they step upto the plate and launch a realistic challenge?
Underestimate Arsene Wenger and his troops at your peril. They have a habit of getting the bit between their teeth and going on long unbeaten runs. Trouble is no one knows if Fabregas, van Persie, Arshavin, Wilshere and Walcott have a new maturity or a soft underbelly - one thing is for sure:
Reports of their demise as a top four club are overstated. The Gunners are too strong to be consumed by the marauding chasers of Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City. Pretenders to the Champions League those three will remain. Arsenal will prevail as one of the big four, and who really knows what they're capable of?
It's also a big season on the silver screen. Sky Sports now have meaningful competition as ESPN become new entrants into the UK's Premier League market.
But new kids on the block they certainly aren't: the Disney-backed titan runs over forty channels worldwide and they've invested a million pounds a game in securing 46 live and exclusive games this season. It all starts with Everton v Arsenal on August 15th and I caught up with Ray Stubbs, who after twenty years with the BBC will front their big games.
I never become tired of the Premier League!
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The magic of the FA Cup as seen from the News Of The World's backpage. I'd like to have been at this cuptie!
Arsenal played from left-to-right, Barnsley from right-to-left and Chelsea, coached by Ray Wilkins, played sideways.
The replay kicks off when the DJ upsets Steven Gerrard.
It's live and exclusive only on ITV, Setanta, Chelsea TV, Arsenal TV and the BBC. Village football rules apply. Chopper Harris and John Fashanu are vying for recalls.
Actually, arranging the scores like this is a canny way of burying bad news if you're Mark Hughes. He could tell Abu Dhabi Babby that Manchester City drew nil-nil at Stoke instead!
By the way, I love the FA Cup. Here's proof (it's me kissing it!)
Low confidence, a lack of attacking adventure and only two-goals scored against low calibre Andorra - but it's hardly surprising Fabio Capello's England is misfiring.
He has little support from inside the English game. "We're All Doomed" if we're not in this together.
Capello's agitated by a perceived lack of respect from fellow managers in the Premier League. He was disappointed by Harry Redknapp's comments about England's performance in the friendly against the Czechs. After all, when Fabio watched Portsmouth, Fabio didn't pass comment on the way Pompey played up. Fabio kept it professional.
Capello's antennae are well-tuned. His intuition about a lack of respect is right. How are we going to forage through Europe without co-operation from the Home Front?
But unwelcome comments about his team from fellow managers are just the tip of the iceberg.
Premier League bosses think nothing of withholding their players citing spurious fitness concerns. "England needs that player?"... Tough!
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez saw this international window as the ideal chance to put Steven Gerrard under the surgeon's knife. The operation though necessary, didn't need doing now; better Gerrard misses a couple of games for England than for Liverpool, eh Rafa?
Gerrard's drive in midfield is sorely missed and England's best starting line-up is compromised by outside forces.
Capello's been highly-visible stadium-hopping to assess the form of his prospective squad, but he's not across another major issue; a meaningful dialogue with managers about the players heneeds.
Sven recognised this and often resorted to the press to air his grievances with managers by using the backpages to put them under pressure.
He was a canny operator was Sven. Fergie and Co were often forced onto the backfoot when it came to making players available for England. Remember how Sven scooped an injured Rooney off to the 2006 World Cup against Fergie's wishes?
Capello has a more rigid mindset than Sven and frankly, he doesn't seem to have the Premier League with him so far.
There are FIFA rules about making players available for international duty, but there's no help more locally from the FA to steer Premier League managers to play ball on a more informal basis.
Until Capello grapples with his peers and starts winning these mini-battles with the clubs, Capello's England Project looks compromised - and ultimately doomed.
The swift and seemingly money-no-object capture of Robbie Keane shows one thing in spades.
At every level of Liverpool Football Club: the board, management and probably senior players too - all realise that time is running out to sustain a realistic annual tilt for the title.
The board knows it: without a bigger stadium and without sufficient funds to finance the proposed new home in Stanley Park, the Reds won't be able to compete with Manchester United and Chelsea for much longer. The fact is the big two have too much muscle.
And Rafa knows it: his squad's in danger of being Premier League also-rans even if they keep finishing third or fourth. Eleven points adrift of the Champions last season was progress, but it's still way short of a baying Kop who accept nothing less.
Most clubs would've dropped the pursuit of Gareth Barry months ago but his capture's all wrapped up with pacifying Steven Gerrard to create a squad they think can win the title NOW. It smells like "It's Now Or Never".
Stanley Park's looking a more dim and distant dream every day. The double whammy of the Credit Crunch and the spiralling cost of building materials means Anfield will be Liverpool's home for the foreseeable future - unless there's a change of ownership. In these troubled times, who exactly is out there?
And Rafa's capture of the Spurs striker is a swift departure from his patient investment in teenage Latinos. He's moved up a couple of gears. Keane's in to unlock Torres, to score goals, to win the Premier League. If they can't do it this year, then when will they mount a serious challenge?
Whenever that is, one thing's guaranteed; it'll be without Gillett, Hicks and Benitez.
2008/9 is this regime's last throw of the dice at Anfield.
