Having lost at Wigan on Monday night, Liverpool have confirmed beyond a doubt that at best this has been a troubling season for them and in particular Rafa Benitez, whose position has come under increased scrutiny as a result of his sides poor form.

An early exit from the European Big Cup and a total of nine league defeats this season has left Liverpool adrift of the leading pack, having played three more games than rivals Villa, which has piled the pressure on the Gaffa.

In many similar circumstances to this where a manager has underperformed at a club with grand expectations, he’s been shown the door in the hope of saving the season or at least some local pride, but will Rafa suffer the same fate?

It has today been announced that Wolves have been fined £25,000 for fielding a weakened team against Manchester United in December, a ruling that leaves me feeling unsure of which side of the football fence I sit on.

Initially I was outraged that a club fighting for Premiership survival should be picked upon for their decision to rest players, with the intention of having a fresh and fit starting XI for an important upcoming fixture.

A statement from the Premier League helped to clarify my feelings momentarily, before realising that this ruling had opened a massive can of worms.

Thankfully no one has had to endure watching Tim Wonnacott during this transfer window, but teams have ended their bargain hunting, with varying success. Manchester City will draw interested if sceptical gazes from Wonnacott as he surveys their expensive trolley full, but will they be successful when it all goes to auction though?

Overall spending of £450m in this transfer window is down ten per cent on last years record total and would have been even lower had City not shelled out a whopping £120m to keep the money in the Premier League flowing.

The notable departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid for a total of £120m have added to the bulging transfer kitty’s of their teams, even though Liverpool and United might be poorer without them. Despite the exaggerated and bloated fees some players commanded, there were still bargains to be had, with Niko Kranjcar’s switch from Portsmouth to Spurs for a reported £2m the pick of the bunch in my opinion.

The excitement of football is one of the many things that lures me in to its clutches and keeps me coming back to it every weekend, for better or worse.

Without the benefit of a ticket to the match or plushness of a full satellite TV sports package, I rely heavily on the BBC’s coverage, with most of my attention focused on Saturday nights Match of the Day.

Whilst the program is excellent and has me transfixed to the goggle box for the duration, its late screening means that I’m often forced by curiosity to watch the scores come in on the vide-printer come 4:45 and this somewhat takes the excitement and anticipation out of my nights viewing.

Like a kid at Christmas, the waiting has been unbearable. The restless nights and the days filled with anticipation, before the moment finally arrives and you have the presents in your hands. Similarly, after waiting and waiting the Premier League finally got under way on Saturday and the days worth of football didn’t disappoint, with the possible exception of my team Aston Villa, who due to confusion surrounding the kick-off time failed to turn up and instead submitted eleven Madame Tussauds waxworks in the starting line-up.

By the time the whistle blew for kick-off around the country I was a mixing bowl of emotions, which included, excitement, anticipation and also relief that a summer of sports filled with beige woollen jumpers and breaks for tea was finally over.

Expecting fireworks from the opening days events, I was not disappointed. I was treated to a host of spectacular goals and shock results with Arsenal’s 6-1 drubbing of Everton being a particular highlight and kindly dominated back pages, forcing Villa’s 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Wigan away from further humiliation at the hands of the press.