The time has come to get tough on the tough tacklers. A recent spate of bad injuries caused by dangerous and reckless tackles has brought the issue into the limelight, but those who often look at football betting prices note how something should have been done earlier.

There has been a tendency to excuse bad fouls, with the apologists citing the speed of the game and its status as a ‘contact sport’ – a canard that is not supported by the game’s rule book. Foul play should always be punished and it is clear that serious foul play should be especially harshly dealt with.

Danny Murphy is right to blame managers for the current situation. Too often we here them defend players who have injured an opponent with the mantra that he is ‘not a dirty player’. It makes it too easy for players to justify their aggressive tackling, but the offenders need to take responsibility for fellow professionals.

No one believes that players purposefully harm each other, but there must be a realisation that certain types of tackles carry risk to the opponent. A strengthening of the sanctions available to the authorities would soon stop players feeling they can get away with mis-timed tackles that are in fact dangerous fouls.

The status quo of being unable to upgrade the punishment of a player who was booked for his infringement needs to be altered. If a mistake was made by the referee, why compound it by not changing it? Nigel de Jong cannot be disciplined for his crude challenge on Hatem Ben Arfa as referee Martin Atkinson did not award a foul.

Football betting pundits agree that this also needs to be changed, with the implementation of a rugby-style citing system attractive. In truth de Jong has borne the brunt of the backlash on the tough men, losing his international place and becoming something of a marked man for Premier League referees. This is no bad thing, as who would you rather see this season – hatchet man de Jong or the skilful Ben Arfa? We will see only on over the coming months.

I am a huge Arsenal supporter. Ever since the day Arsene Wenger walked into Highbury and went about turning the Gunners into one of the most entertaining and finest teams in world football, I have been a huge admirer of the football club both on and off the pitch. Arsenal’s approach to footballl both on the park and financially is exactly what the game should be about and it pains me that they are not rewarded with trophies.

Similarly, I am by no means against Arsene Wenger and I fully support the approach he takes to managing Arsenal Football Club. Those who claim that Arsenal would be better off without him in charge are deluded and ignorant of the fact that were it not for Arsene’s unparalleled ability to discover and bring through young talent, Arsenal would not be able to compete against the Arab riches of Manchester City, Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea or Manchester United’s unlimited debt financial model.

Despite this though, I don’t believe Arsenal can win the Premiership title this season. I would love to be proved wrong but I fear that the weekends conquerers Chelsea are going to be too strong  for those in Arsenal shirts this season.

The reality is, Arsenal dominated the game of football on Sunday. They went to the home of the Champions, a club with one of the best home records in Premiership history and were the better team for the majority of the football match. The fact of the matter is though, Chelsea are more ruthless, they are more clinical and once again, they organised themselves superbly defensively and stung Arsenal on the counter attack.

As impressive as Arsenal’s attacking game is, the offensive side is only half of football and Chelsea’s ability to defend and organise is as impressive as the Gunners flowing attacking instincts. As they always do, Chelsea restricted the space and formed a compact unit in a way that (in my opinion) only they can. Arsenal may have had all of the ball and they may have had their chances, but Chelsea’s counter attacking caused the Gunners no end of problems and it was no surprise, nor co-incidence that they won the game.

It cannot be ignored that Arsenal were without key men in Thomas Vermaelen, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie and yes, had they played it could have been different. But how long can Arsenal keep using this as an excuse, for it seems they are permanently without key men in big matches?

The title is by no means beyond Arsenal and the break for the Euro 2012 qualifiers comes at a welcome time, affording the Gunners time to regroup after back to back defeats. A seven point deficit at this stage in the season is by no means impossible to make up, but it will be very tough and Arsenal need to both keep their key players fit and develop a ruthless streak if they are to mount a serious challenge for the title.

Written by Colin Hill, a sports blogger who writes about new football shirts.

The idea of selling Fernando Torres will sends chills down the spine of most fans of Liverpool Football Club. Since arriving in the English Premier League after a big money move from Atletico Madrid, the Spaniard has turned himself into one of the leading strikers of world football and is the darling of The Kop. He has gone on to become not only a European, but a World Champion with the national team and has terrorised Premiership defences, winning games against Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. To sell Torres is unthinkable because the predatory instincts of the Spanish forward is a vital component of a title winning side.

However, the reality for Liverpool fans is their club is no longer a title winning side. They may have come close two years ago under Rafa Benitez, but since then a combination of the disastrous reign of the American owners and the erratic transfer dealings of the now Inter Milan boss have resulted in an almost unbelievable fall from grace for the Reds, who incredibly now occupy the relegation zone.

For Liverpool to move forward, they have to first accept the position they now find themselves in. They are no longer title contenders, they are barely Champions League contenders and the club has to regroup in order to allow themselves to rebuild and once again establish themselves as a top four side.

As talented a player as Torres is, the reality is he is no longer the player he was two seasons ago. Of course, he is certainly capable of recapturing this form but such is the dilemma Liverpool find themselves in, they cannot allow themselves to wait for this to happen. Undoubtedly, sales of Liverpool shirts would fall if the number 9 left, but there has to be a bigger picture and if the Reds were to cash in the January transfer window, they would be able to command a significant sum of money for the player from the likes of Man City or Chelsea.

At the moment, Liverpool are far too reliant who a man who cannot currently be relied on. The groin injury picked up in the opening minutes of Sunday’s 2-1 defeat by Blackpool which has ruled him out of the Euro 2012 qualifier with Scotland next week is just the latest in a string of injuries picked up by the Spaniard over the past 12 months. He is also a doubt for the Merseyside derby on October 16th, a match which is even more significant than usual given both teams find themselves in relegation territory.

The injuries Torres has suffered have meant that not only can he not be relied upon to start consistently but when he is playing, he is lacking the sharpness which made him one of the most feared strikers. While it could be argued this is down to the poor Liverpool side around him, he was equally sluggish in the World Cup – despite playing with a team who ultimately went onto be crowned champions.

As heartbreaking as it would be for Liverpool fans for Fernando Torres to leave Anfield, it could now be time to for the financially stricken Reds to cash in on the hitman and invest in a less talented, but more reliable and stable strike partnership who can help ensure Liverpool remain at least on the fringes of the UEFA Champions League.

If they can do that, Liverpool Football Club will always be big enough that they can attract players and once the mess involving the American owners is settled, the club will definitely be in a position to challenge for the title once more.

Written by Colin Hill, a sports writer who blogs about kids football kits.

Whereas Chelsea have been able, in recent years, to slim down their wage bill and the amount spent on transfers, Manchester City have apparently been looking to set new records when it comes to outspending a club’s incoming revenue.

This was highlighted on Friday when the club announced that they had managed to achieve a spectacular £121 million loss for the 12 months to May 31st 2010. Perhaps more worrying was the fact that City not only managed to achieve this staggering loss, but wages also exceeded the club’s total turnover. Take into account when you read this stat that most clubs consider it extremely bad form if they manage to spend more than half of their turnover on wages. The Manchester City betting suggests they are primed for glory this season, but their financial situation seems unsustainable without the backing of the owners.

Although it was clear a massive amount of money would be needed to help City meet their ambitions, the recent news has emphasised the massive difference between the best and the rest in the Premier League, something that is worrying to say the least. With Blackpool currently have a £10,000 per week salary cap in place and the fact that City can offer ten times that amount goes to show that the Premier League may need to act fast if it is to stop the competition becoming a two-tiered competition. The two clubs meet next weekend and the Blackpool betting suggests they will come away with nothing.

Despite UEFA introducing new rules which mean that clubs will be required to stay within the limits of strict financial rules if they wish to take their place in European competition, fans are already beginning to worry that sides with mega-rich owners are going to find ways around the plans which are supposed to introduce a level playing field.

Considering it was their first home game in the European Cup for 40 years, Spurs made it look incredibly easy at White Hart Lane on Wednesday.

FC Twente, the Champions of Holland, were dismantled as Harry Redknapp´s men romped to a 4-1 victory thanks to goals from Rafael Van Der Vaart, Gareth Bale and two from Roman Pavlyuchenko.

The result leaves them lying second in Group A on goal difference behind Inter who hammered Werder Bremen 4-0.

The result means they can go into the Inter game knowing they don’t have to win in order to keep qualification hopes alive. Of course three points would be welcome, but the two games against the Italian champions and current Champions League holders will be their stiffest test yet.

But even if they lose both games they know Bremen, a side they drew with in Germany two weeks ago, and Twente are beatable opposition. A repeat of their performance of Wednesday against both of those teams and qualification for the knock-out stages will be likely. The Champions League betting suggests they have every chance of making it through.

Extending their Champions League adventure into the new year will not only prove beneficial for the players, who will get to test themselves against even better opposition, many believe the Champions League only really gets going after Christmas, but the prize money starts to escalate. They won’t be anyone’s football tip to win the competition, but they have every chance of doing well.

A run in the groups will only increase Spurs´revenue by around 10 per cent, not to mega riches many people assume Champions League qualification brings. But a run into the knock out stages and beyond could net in excess of £25 million.

Given the way Spurs have taken to their group games, that golden ticket is well within their grasp.