Ronaldo Not Fat, Podcast, Napoli Docked, Scribes, MNF, Tactical Trends

Wow. Loads today. Let's bust out with the Podcast. Here's your breakdown: AC Jimbo welcomes Owen Gibson, Barry Glendenning and a festive Sean Ingle to the pod to discuss Aston Villa's destruction of Liverpool and QPR's first win this season. Elsewhere in the programme ... Chelsea come home beaten from Japan - will they be disorientated come Wednesday against Leeds? Has Marouane Fellaini played his last game for Everton? And was West Brom v West Ham the worst game this year? Owen Gibson has just come back from Qatar and has some interesting thoughts on how the 2022 tournament will play out. But can it possibly be played in the summer, as the Premier League would like? Plus we have time to cover your notes and queries, Sid Lowe ponders the plight of Real Madrid and there's more Serie A with James and Barry. Please leave your own thoughts on any of the above, below.

From James Richardson let's hop to Jonathan Wilson and his look at the tactics that dominated 2012. Possession football, strikers' struggles and Barcelona's passing and pressing were all in the mix.

There was actual football played yesterday. Arsène Wenger let Theo Walcott play up top and it proved a wise decision as Reading were defeated 2-5. Arsène knows, or so they say. Santi Cazorla had a hat-trick. Both defenses were terrible. Phil McNulty was there.

A quick shot of props to Ronaldo who has lost over 35 pounds during a variety show fitness program in Brazil. Here are the before and afters...

Meanwhile, over in Italy, Napoli have been docked two points and defenders Paolo Cannavaro and Gianluca Grava banned for six-months in the latest match-fixing action in Serie A. Napoli now fall to fifth in the table. Read about it here. Sticking in Italy, let's check out Paolo Bandini's latest submission. Paolo didn't know the Napoli news when he wrote, and ironically he wrote about how Bologna won at Napoli this weekend with a winner from a defender returning from a ban for failing to report an attempt to rig a result. It's the same offense that got Cannavaro and Grava banned. Wow.

Spain: Phil Ball is thinking about Mallorca. Sid Lowe says the title race is indeed over. Speaking of title races being over, Raphael Honigstein wonders if Bayern Munich might have a lock on the Bundesliga already. 

This is pretty funny. Apparently Chelsea's World Club Cup defensive tactics sheet was found in a dressing room trash can by some Brazilian reporter. 

Time for The Mill. Your rumors for Tuesday. Word is Newcastle are about to get that French bloke Loic Rémy. And your Plus One.

Graham Parker poses this question: Was Rafael Márquez the worst ever MLS designated player? Nery Castillo, anyone?

Michael Parkhurst. American Abroad. Denmark, specifically. Nordsjaelland, more specifically. You saw him play (and play well) in the Champions League. His contract is about to expire and he wants to move on up. Here's an interview.

And there you are.

Onward!!

-SSN