We may be only 180 minutes into the new season but my title predictions are already starting to look a little shaky...

Sunday’s clash between Arsenal and Chelsea was as tight as they come and only a freak shinned goal from Drogba divided the two teams.

But it is results like that which separate champions from runners-up. And my suggestion that Arsenal have what it takes to wrestle the title back from Chelsea is looking flawed from the word go.

Having said that it is early days yet. Very early days. And there is plenty of time for Chelsea to slip up and for Arsenal to be on the right side of fluked goals.

There is a lot of football to be played between now and the end of the season and it is my view that good and bad luck equal themselves out over the course of 38 matches.

Meanwhile, if there is one prediction which I made at the start of the football season which I still very much believe in, it’s that Newcastle are going to struggle.

Two games in and only the one point. And with Bolton away tonight, followed by Manchester United at home at the weekend, it could easily be just the single point out of a possible 12 by the end of the week.

And that, like it or not, is relegation form.

The truth is it shouldn’t be that way. Newcastle have a nucleus of excellent players and have added a few even better ones during the summer, Scott Parker being my personal favourite.

But Souness’ poor management skills have seen the club start the season with just the aging Alan Shearer as a strike force. Yes, he is working round the clock right now to bring in others, but that should have been done weeks ago – that’s what pre-season is all about.

For some reason I can’t help not liking Souness.

There is something about his abrasive character which just rubs me up the wrong way. And his history of clashing with players shows it generally rubs them up the wrong way too.

He remains my favourite to win this season’s sack race and, believe it or not, I think that might just happen before the end of the month...

The Ashes

For many people the beautiful game will be playing second fiddle to cricket over the next few days.

The fourth Ashes test starts tomorrow and, in England at least, it will be the resumption of the battle with Australia which will capture the minds of sports lovers.

With the series delicately poised at 1-1 with two matches to play, it could, like a Flintoff special, swing either way.

England have the momentum with them but having failed to clinch victory in the last match by the narrowest of margins, Australia may come into this one with renewed hope.

Hopefully tomorrow’s match will prove as exciting as the last two which both went down to the wire. My prediction? Wouldn’t dare make one at this stage. Ask me again on Sunday.

L’Equipe

There have been many times when I have leapt to the defence of newspapers when members of the public have complained the media is just too darned intrusive.

I firmly believe that if there is a good story which needs following and that the general public has a right to know, then there is little which should be off-limits to journalists.

But even I have to take exception to the witch-hunt being carried out by French newspaper L’Equipe which seems absolutely determined to discredit cycling legend Lance Armstrong.

This time the paper has claimed that Armstrong tested positive for performance enhancing drugs back in 1999, something which the American is passionately denying.

L’Equipe itself admits the testing on his sample is flawed but that didn’t stop them from printing their report in a bid to shame the seven-times Tour de France winner.

A combination of the sourest of grapes and rather poor journalism.

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