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As we reach the end of the season is the Premier League the most unpredictable league?

Looking at the tables as the end of the season approaches, it might occur to you that, with very few exceptions, no one really knows anything. Passages of play in matches have been described as little more than a series of random events, their final outcome decided by whoever is able to impose a distinct pattern, which more often than not neither side manages to do. This season, the same sense of galumphing randomness has applied to the football predictions business. Never before have the forecasts for how the season will pan out come so badly unstuck – the confident assertions made in tabloid and broadsheet columns and TV discussions may as well be seen in same light as contributions to the astrology page.

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It’s war at the Britannia Stadium, after manager Johan Boskamp found his authority undermined from the stands by Stoke’s director of football. Andy Thorley reports

November 1, 2005 and Stoke City win a crucial game away at the Ricoh Arena. It might not seem the sort of match to begin a feud between the club’s managerial staff that is likely to see at least one of them leaving his job. However, this is the sort of thing that passes for normality at the Britannia Stadium.

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Thursday 1 Neil Warnock says no so Portsmouth want to talk to Harry Redknapp. Celestine Babayaro and Tim Cahill receive three-match bans for exchanging blows in last week’s Everton v Newcastle match.

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As the World Cup approaches, the possibility of violence is a concern but so is the ability of the German police to tell the difference between a fan and a hooligan, writes Paul Joyce

On November 27, 53 Polish hooligans drove to a wood in Briesen in north-east Germany for a pre-World Cup fight with 45 hooligans drawn from the region’s Hell’s Angels and nightclub bouncer scene, one of whom had been involved in the assault on French policeman Daniel Nivel at the 1998 World Cup. Although German hooligans had previously been keeping a low profile at home, fears of a resurgence of organised violence had already surfaced last March, when more than 40 Germany followers were arrested after rioting during a friendly in Slovenia. 

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In the blue corner, Alex McLeish, only keeping his job because of European success; in the maroon corner, Graham Rix, in his job for reasons no one can fathom. Dianne Millen reports

Tired of the predictability of your domestic league? Hoping that more than two clubs might be in with a chance of winning it? The recipe is simple – just sell one of your clubs to a wealthy foreign businessman and watch the points (and the crowds) roll in.

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