During the history of the Premier League, there have been many famous moments where managers have lost the plot when under severe pressure, and have hit out at rival players and managers. There was of course Kevin Keegan’s “I would love it…” interview, and more recently, Rafa Benitez was at pains to point out some “FACTS” about Manchester United.

However, this week’s feud started by Manchester City boss, Roberto Mancini, with the white half of North London is one of the strangest episodes in recent times.

Mancini’s claim is that without Gareth Bale, Tottenham would be half the side they currently are – a strange statement to say the least. Whilst Bale has put in several high-class performances in a Tottenham shirt over the last twelve months, the main reason for Spurs’ continued success is their ability to rotate their squad, with quality replacements in every position.

The Welshman has excelled this season, however his displays have mainly been in European fixtures – the consistent week in, week out Premier League performances have come from other players – particularly earlier on in the campaign. Rafael Van der Vaart has been a revelation, and the creativity of Luka Modric has been a joy to behold. The scary thing for Mancini is, that could Bale find a greater level of consistency in his league performances, the Lilywhites could be even stronger domestically.

Were Mancini to locate a realistic weak point, he may have looked at the obsession with bringing a 35 year old David Beckham to White Hart Lane, or the poor fitness record of the Tottenham back line, but his attack on Tottenham’s squad depth is laughable, particularly looking at the resources available at Chelsea and Liverpool.

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Mancini’s comments are sure to rile Tottenham fans all over the country, but why do it? Bearing in mind it was this exact Spurs side that forced Manchester City out of the Champions League spots at the end of last season, the Italian tactician is making a rod for his own back should his team slip up in the coming months.

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A bigger concern for the former Inter Milan boss is that his own players have caused enough difficulty over the last few weeks. From Carlos Tevez’s insistence that he would never play for the club again, to training ground bust-ups amongst his expensively assembled squad, you would have thought the Italian would have used the time away from the spotlight to quietly strengthen his hand rather than get involved in a needless squabble.

Throughout the course of a season there are inevitable verbal jousts between rival managers, particularly as we move towards the business end of the campaign. Mancini’s comments may be simply washed over in the coming weeks as the battle for Champions League qualification takes its most significant turn, however if his remarks result in a dramatic backlash when the two sides meet in a couple of months time he will only have himself to blame.

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Newcastle striker Andy Carroll will visit a specialist in Sweden in a bid to rid himself of a troubling thigh injury.

Carroll, 22, has played a big part in Newcastle’s success in their first season back in the Premier League, scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances as Alan Pardew’s side have climbed inside the top 10.

A thigh injury has seen Carroll out of action since his side’s 2-0 loss to Tottenham on December 28,despite hopes he would only miss three weeks at most.

Carroll’s return was earmarked for the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland on January 16, but after the striker missed that match and Newcastle’s home clash with Tottenham the next week, action needed to be taken.

Pardew’s squad are currently in Portugal in a break between fixtures, but Carroll will be sent to a colder climate to see a specialist in the hope of fixing his thigh complaint.

“We brought him out here to start running, and the disappointing news is that he hasn’t,” Pardew told The Northern Echo.

“His injury is in the muscle, just above the tendon where it joins the knee, so it’s not an area that gets great circulation and therefore it doesn’t heal quickly.”

“We have had a consultation this week about sending him to someone who is the world’s best tendon repair expert – there are experts in different fields – and this guy is at the Arctic end of Sweden.”

Pardew admitted the striker will not be in action against Fulham on February 2 and said he could also miss Newcastle’s home match with Arsenal three days later.

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“He’s flying out there on Friday and we’re hoping that we can turn him around quickly,” Pardew said.

“But now I have to say that Fulham is definitely out and possibly even Arsenal. We can’t rush him back.”

So, one of the busiest and extravagant transfer windows has come to a close. Who could have predicted the level of spending we would see in the final hours before the deadline.

Below I try and establish which clubs have come out of this month’s window well, and which will be left feeling a little short changed.

Winners

Newcastle United

Andy Carroll is not worth £35 million pounds, in fact, not even close. Yes, he is a young man with a lot of potential, but I struggle to remember the last time so much was lavished on such an unproven player.

Newcastle fans will be frustrated that their Shearer in waiting has been taken from them, but should be thankful that Liverpool have been panicked into securing a replacement for Fernando Torres at short notice.

Newcastle may struggle to complete a top half finish this term with limited resources up front, however, with their midfield firepower they should not be relegated and will have a healthy transfer kitty to invest come the summer.

Manchester City

After just over a year in charge at the City of Manchester Stadium Roberto Mancini will finally feel he has a squad that is truly his own. This has meant, from the Italian’s perspective, letting a number of players left over from Mark Hughes’ reign at Eastlands go out on loan.

Whilst Mancini only added one purchase to his squad, striker Edin Dzeko, the noises coming out of Eastlands suggest that the club believe they have a squad of players capable of challenging for top honours.

Chelsea

Tough one to call. Chelsea fans will be delighted to see one of Europe’s top strikers land at Stamford Bridge. The price tag for Fernando Torres is exorbitant, however, when you consider the money spent on Liverpool’s two new acquisitions, Torres begins to sound very good value.

The squad remains weak in other areas, however, and it is not as if Nicholas Anelka and Didier Drogba have been failing to put chances away. The purchase of David Luiz from Benfica at the 11th hour is a massive boost to the squad defensively, and should enable Branislav Ivanovic to revert to right-back.

There is still a paucity of creative options in the middle of the park for the league champions and I was surprised that this was not top of Chelsea’ list. Buying Torres and Luiz will not all of a sudden fix the team’s stability, however it may be enough to secure a Champions League spot and push the squad towards a challenge in Europe this season.

Liverpool

Another example of a club benefiting from the ridiculous pricing that comes with premium player purchases at this time of year. Considering the lack of goals coming from Fernando Torres over the last year, a £50m price tag is incredible business for Kenny Dalglish.

That said, Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll are both massively overpriced, and rather unproven in the Premier League. How these two settle in at Anfield will go a long way to establishing if the club were right to let Torres leave.

Blackpool

Somehow, with ever other want-away player securing a move after submitting a transfer request, Blackpool have managed to keep hold of Charlie Adam. In all likelihood, Adam will make a move during the summer, but Ian Holloway will hope that in the meantime Blackpool will have secured survival for next season.

The only concern for Holloway is that the speculation surrounding Adam beings to affect the midfielder’s performances. The player himself will know that nothing in football is certain and that a strong second half of the year is mandatory if he is to secure that big move in the close season.

Aston Villa

Considering the money lavished on strikers over the course of this transfer window, the 18 million spent by Aston Villa to prise Darren Bent away from Sunderland must look an absolute snip.

Gerrard Houllier will have known that a proven goal scorer would be the most important part of his transfer policy during the window, and the acquisition of Bent should be enough to safeguard Villa’s position in the top flight. The loan move for Michael Bradley from Borussia Moenchengladbach could be a shrewd move, although Steven Ireland’s inability to settle in at Villa Park and subsequent loan move to Newcastle is less positive.

Losers

Arsenal

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One Arsenal fan described transfer deadline day as being in detention when the other kids are out playing in the playground.

Arsene Wenger has long been reluctant to get involved with the January transfer window, and this year has been no different. Fans of the North London club will have wanted the Frenchman to strengthen the Gunner’s back line with an experienced central defender and a reliable goalkeeper. Lacking in both of these may well reduce the London club’s chances of securing the biggest prizes this year.

Tottenham

After a great deal of talk and speculation, Spurs delivered only one player to their squad during the transfer window. David Beckham’s proposed loan move from LA Galaxy collapsed, and bids for Phil Neville and Scott Parker were rejected.

Tottenham still have a ludicrously strong squad, and whilst some fans might grumble about the lack of striking options, the goals of Rafael Van der Vaart and Gareth Bale has been enough to compensate thus far. Spurs might have wanted additional firepower going into the knockout phase of the Champions League, however many of Harry Redknapp’s potential targets would have been cup tied. Expect some movement in the summer.

Everton

David Moyes must have looked at the spending going on elsewhere in the division and longed for a fraction of the funds afforded Chelsea and Liverpool. The long serving Everton boss saw influential Steven Pienaar move to Spurs and had to fend off late bids from the same club for his captain, Phil Neville.

The blue half of Merseyside have recruited young players, Eric Dier and Apostolos Vellios, with the hope that both can provide added spring to a tired looking squad. Moyes will hope these kids will be another example of his pulling a rabbit from the hat, but the lack of financial clout at Goodison Park is going to hamper long term plans to push for European football.

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Juventus’ inconsistent form reared its ugly head again with a 2-0 loss at Lecce, while AC Milan kept the field at bay with another win.Juve’s hopes of snatching a European berth were put in jeopardy by their latest defeat, which came after Gianluigi Buffon was sent off at the Stadio Communale Via del Mare.The Juve captain and goalkeeper saw red in the 12th minute for handballing outside the box, and Djamel Mesbah and Andrea Bertolacci made the Old Lady pay with goals either side of half-time.Luigi Delneri sacrificed Serbian midfielder Milos Krasic to bring on reserve shot-stopper Marco Storari for Buffon, but the incident seemed to rattle Juve and Lecce took full advantage in the 31st minute through Mesbah, the Algerian steering Gianni Munari’s lobbed pass beyond Storari.The hosts doubled their advantage three minutes into the second half through Bertolacci, the 20-year-old playmaker tapping home after being played in by David Di Michele’s header.Lecce also went down to 10 men when skipper Guiseppe Vives earned a second caution 20 minutes from injury time, but Juve were unable to capitalise and fell to their fourth loss in eight league fixtures.The latest defeat leaves them 14 points adrift of Serie A leaders Milan, though Palermo and Roma’s own dire form sees Delneri’s side safe in sixth place for now.For Lecce, the win takes them four points clear of the drop zone in 16th place.Elsewhere, Milan romped to a 2-1 win over 10-man Chievo thanks to substitute striker Alexandre Pato’s 82nd minute winner.The Brazilian latched onto a through ball by Gennaro Gattuso and shimmied his way through Chievo’s defenders before unleashing a wonder strike that goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino could do little about.The valuable away win maintains Milan’s five-point gap over second-placed Inter.Lazio edged past bottom-placed Bari 1-0 at home thanks to a lone goal from Brazilian playmaker Hernanes, while Roma slumped to a third straight loss in outrageous fashion, losing 4-3 at Genoa despite leading 3-0 at the break.Rodrigo Palacio and Alberto Paloschi scored braces for the hosts in the second half, providing yet another headache for under-fire Roma boss Claudio Ranieri.Meanwhile, Udinese’s upward momentum halted with a goal-less draw at home to lowly Brescia, Fiorentina and Sampdoria fought out a scoreless stalemate and Raffaele Palladino’s 89th-minute equaliser salvaged a 2-2 draw for Parma against strugglers Cesena.

Dynamo Kiev captain Oleksandr Shovkovskiy believes team-work is the key to overcoming Manchester City’s star-studded line-up.Dynamo are within reach of a berth in the Europa League quarter-finals after defeating City 2-0 in the home leg of their last-16 tie.The Ukrainian club travel to Eastlands on Thursday for the return leg full of confidence, though they will be without striker Artem Milevskiy, who fractured his hand against FC Vorskla Poltava on Sunday.If any club has the firepower to score three times within 90 minutes it is City, and Shovkovskiy is under no illusions about the challenge facing Dynamo.But the Dynamo goalkeeper is confident his team-mates can wreck City’s European title ambitions by simply playing for each other.”I don’t feel as though myself, or any of my team-mates have anything to prove. We have demonstrated our skills already,” Shovkovskiy said.”We all know Manchester City have a very good financial base and that they have some great players.””But tomorrow is not about their stars. Tomorrow is about how we do as a team. That is how we intend to play against them and use our spirit to its maximum effect.””We deserved to win in Kyiv, but the game in England will be completely different. We have to play even better away.””Even if we had scored three times at home, nothing would be settled. We are happy with our two-goal lead and are looking forward to the game.”

There is nothing better than seeing a 30-yard free kick go rocketing into the top corner of the net. For years the Premier League has seen a vast number of players who could score from set-pieces and it’s an important part of the game just like the penalty takers, except without as much pressure and with a bigger impression if you score. Despite there being great free-kick scorers outside of the Premier League with the likes of Juninho and Roberto Carlos, we can still boast having some of the best.

Technique is all important for the consistent set-piece scorer, whether it is a whipping cross with the left foot floating into the far corner or a thunderbolt shot, with the laces the EPL has seen a variety in free-kick taking. So, who has made it into the top 10? Well rest assured I will include an honourable mention list at the end because the list was endlessm but for the best… check it out below!

10: Jimmy Bullard – The cheeky player is not only a personality on the pitch but he has the skills too. Bullard has scored free-kicks up and down the divisions and despite dropping out of the Premier League this season, he still has a quality when it comes to dead ball situations.

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9: Steven Gerrard – The Liverpool star has scored a number of free-kicks during his career which warrants entry into the top 10. Gerrard chooses to get power behind his free kicks but has scored a few curlers as well.

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8: Alan Shearer – His free-kicks may not have been as graceful as some of the other entries into the top 10, but Shearer did know how to hit the target whilst powering his free kicks, leaving the ‘keeper rather helpless.

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7: Jay Jay Okacha – So good they named him twice, the former Bolton Wanderers player provided some great entertainment during his time in the EPL. My reason for including him in this top 10 is because of his versatility when taking free-kicks.

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6: Robin Van Persie – The Arsenal and Holland forward has one of the best left foot strikes in the game. His free kicks can either have enough curl and bend to beat the ‘keeper or be lashed with power to leave them stranded in between the sticks.

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5: John Arne Riise – Former Liverpool left back will be remembered for his powerful long shots. Especially the free-kick scored against Manchester United at Anfield which was so powerful, I am surprised it did not break the net and keep on travelling.

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4: Matthew Le Tissier – The goal against Wimbledon sticks out in my mind with Le Tissier, as a team mate lays the ball off, Le Tissier flicks it up before volleying it into the top corner.

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3: Thierry Henry – The Frenchman was untouchable at the Gunners and that’s including his free kicks. By putting power and curl into his free kicks he made it look effortless.

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2: Cristiano Ronaldo – Have you tried the stance? I am sure most kids who play football have. Ronaldo provided the Premier League with a number of great goals over the years but some of his best came from free kicks. Using the advantage of the lighter modern footballs, Ronaldo would keep his straight technique, using his laces to power the ball and giving it swerve.

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1: David Beckham – Surely one of the best free kick takers of all time? Wherever Beckham has played, he has been able to produce a moment of magic from a free-kick. He has to be one of most accurate free kick takers in football and shows that practice does make perfect. Check out the video compilation below…

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Honourable Mentions – Gianfranco Zola, Laurent Robert, Denis Irwin, Andy Hinchcliffe, Ryan Taylor, Didier Drogba, Alan Stubbs, Sebastian Larsson, Morten Gamst Pedersen, Owen Hargreaves, David Ginola, Stuart Pearce, Carlos Tevez, Charlie Adam, Ian Harte and many more… Follow me on Twitter to discuss @verbal_football

With Chelsea safely through to the quarter finals of the Champions League, it is the turn of Manchester City and Liverpool who are looking to overcome deficits to move through to the next stage of the Europa League. Neither tie will be easy, although home advantage is likely to see both English clubs through.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Dalglish hitting out at UEFA; Dawson warns against the threat of Bale, while Arsene Wenger defends slanging match with referee.

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Grant hit with FA charge – Sky Sports

Ferguson hit with record ban as FA takes hard-line stance – Guardian

Ancelotti prepares to play tinkerman – Daily Telegraph

Roo: I’m all set for Treble charge – Sun

Wenger defends slanging match with Swiss referee – Mirror

Dawson warns against threat of Bale – Guardian

Dalglish hits out at Uefa – Daily Telegraph

Fit hits the fan at Villa Park – Sun

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Mancini – Tevez is tired – SkySports

Shear agony at England farce – Sun

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Reigning European champions Inter Milan face an uphill battle to progress to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals at Schalke on Wednesday.The Italian giants gave up two leads in their home tie at the San Siro before eventually succumbing to a 5-2 defeat.

Schalke exposed numerous holes in the Inter defence and three second-half goals have put them on track to go through to their first semi-final.

The Bundesliga outfit is unbeatable in European competition at Gelsenkirchen, winning all four games at home.

Italian sides have a winless record at the venue with Schalke winning three and drawing two of the five games.

Beginning with their 3-1 defeat of Valencia in the last phase, Schalke have won five of their last six outings in all competitions.

The loss to Schalke capped off a poor period of four days for Inter, who first lost to AC Milan to drop further behind in the Serie A title race.

But at 2-0 win at Chievo on the weekend kept their slim hopes of winning the title alive.

Leonardo’s men did come from behind to beat Bayern Munich in the previous phase, but it was a one-goal deficit rather than the three they face this time around.

It would be a historic result if Inter were to advance, with only one other team ever achieving the feat in UEFA competition – Dinamo Bucharest overcoming a 3-0 forfeit first-leg defeat against Czech side Slovan Liberec.

Leonardo reportedly offered his resignation to Inter president Massimo Moratti after the first-leg defeat and the pressure is firmly upon him at the highly successful club.

With goals needed, strike duo Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito will need to be on form in Germany.

Milito was on the scoresheet in the first-leg, but he missed a glorious chance to put Inter up for a third time early in the second half.

The Germans are a pressing and attacking side and with attackers like Raul Gonzalez, Edu and Jefferson Farfan, it is hard to see them playing otherwise.

Another early goal could help Inter set the trend, but they will need to keep a clean sheet in order to make up for their first-leg drubbing.

This summer, football clubs throughout Europe will have to reconsider their usual transfer policies and contract negotiations as UEFA implements the first phase of its so-called Financial Fair Play policy. Designed to curb lavish spending far exceeding turnover and reduce the reliance on rich owners at clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City, the following three seasons will prove a testing time for football as a whole. By 2014, UEFA President Michel Platini hopes to impose sanctions and limits on clubs who don’t meet the new financial requirements and for the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United and Barcelona, the three richest in terms of income, this is unlikely to effect their future participation in European Competitions too severely. But what of the smaller clubs hoping to invest and make the step up to the highest level of club football?

Sadly these days football is not just about what happens on the pitch. Whilst the likes of Manchester United have achieved their position through consistent growth and fantastic commercial infrastructure, the likes of Chelsea have managed to invest heavily initially in players to gain a competitive advantage over rivals and build a title-winning side. Admittedly the London club’s commercial revenues have now caught up and, with the exception of the most recent transfer window, huge spending has slowed. But, the club was still able to grow courtesy of a rich benefactor.

In the case of Roman Abramovich, he is one of the richest men in the World and free to do as he wishes with his money. He has brought huge wealth into football which has filtered down through the game. For example, without his £50million outlay on Fernando Torries, Liverpool would not have spent so much on Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll. Similarly, the signing of David Luiz from Benfica allowed the Portuguese club to invest in three further players.

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However, for every Chelsea and Manchester City there is also a Portsmouth or a Leeds. These are clubs that tried to invest heavily to progress the club and did, in the short team, achieve success on the pitch. But, without the security blanket of an Abramovich or a Sheik Mansour, the growth was unsustainable, the clubs were liable and eventually crumbled.

There have been clubs to achieve European Football without excessive spending in recent years, however. The likes of Everton and Tottenham both achieved Champions League qualification through merit on the pitch alone. And, following their recent Carling Cup victory, Birmingham look to have qualified for next season’s Europe League.

But, without the financial clout to invest heavily, Everton didn’t make it past the qualification stage in 2005. Spurs have had a fantastic debut season in the Champions League but, even with seven games still to play, Champions League qualification is far from certain next year. And, despite qualifying through their Carling Cup success, Birmingham could still be refused the required UEFA license to participate in the Europa League due to their financial status. But will the new Financial Fair Play laws lessen this gap and reduce the vast difference in the game between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’?

Admittedly it will be a slow integration period as clubs will still be allowed to post losses of up to £38.5m for the following two seasons whilst commitments to transfers, amortisation and wages pre-June 2010 will be excluded from the rules. But, by 2014 clubs must be able to prove financial stability and ensure expenditure is covered by turnover. But with transfer fees and player wages seemingly spiralling out of control, where will this extra income come from? It would be a shame to see fans alienated by even more ticket price increases. And, bearing in mind the money the biggest teams bring into the game through Television revenues, would UEFA really have the clout to prevent the likes of Chelsea or Barcelona from participating in its flagship event?

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Financial Fair Play will, hopefully, encourage long-term planning and the building of profitable teams. But, bearing in mind the way wealth is distributed at the top-end of the game, it must be careful not to alienate those smaller teams hoping to achieve Continental status through strong performances on the pitch and, more importantly, the fans who watch the game week-in, week-out.

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Last weekend Liverpool cruised past Newcastle 3-0 at Anfield. While Newcastle fans were disappointed by the result, they were angered even further by seeing former striker Andy Carroll play against them in a Liverpool shirt. You might have thought that the Magpies’ frustration at losing Carroll in the January transfer window was dampened somewhat by the £35 million they received for their former number nine, but that didn’t seem to be the case on Sunday as the Toon Army were holding nothing back in their chants against the striker. Carroll only came on towards the end of the match and didn’t make a significant impact, but it was enough to cement in Newcastle fans’ minds that he really has left the St James’ Park club. Here’s Andy getting close to former Newcastle teammate Joey Barton, but what’s being said between the two ‘bad boys’?

Leave your suggestions below…

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Check out our Caption Competition Gallery for some inspiration and to see the winners so far.

Last week’s winner: Gary – click here to see all entries