And the winner is ... surprise surprise ... Manchester United ... again! OK, so they haven't quite won it yet, but I dare anyone to suggest otherwise. And OK, the fact they have, or nearly have, won it again doesn't give the Premier League an unprecedented air of inevitability does it? They will, of course, have only won it three times in row, which as you will remember, also happened about 10 years ago. It's just that the top four have not changed in those three years either and the gap between them and the rest, whatever you may think about Aston Villa, has widened.

A good game, for me at least and I beg you to differ, is one where the winner can not be easily predicted, and one throws up surprises. Clearly a game that is over before it has begun, where the victor and loser are known from the outset, regardless of the quality of performance on display, loses its charm. There is an argument for tighter regulation in the game and the introduction of strict globally-observed rules and standards which guarantee fairer competition between clubs and prevent the emergence and preservation of immense footballing powers. While legislation, which caps players' wages or minimises the number of foreign imports in a team will draw arguments of anti-competitiveness and will upset free market idealists, they have clear benefits and will ensure more surprises.

It is worth noting that the free market norms adopted in football are not absolutes that will remain unchanged, The way that football is structured will be redefined in the future but will only happen when the time is right and when those involved in the football no longer benefit from its structure and system. While global financial markets and the way they function is being, at least partially, rewritten in the light of their total failure and collapses, football will have to wait for its own revolution. The thing is, the dominance of a footballing elite in the PRemiership has not yet at least diminished viewing figures and consequently profits. I, for one, have watched more football this season than I ever remember watching. So, while we keep watching and the corporate elite of clubs, players, agents, the media, national and international football associations keep winning (OK, there are always some losers along the way), the current structure of global football will remain the same and we will continue heading towards a game that draws fewer surprises. To support my view, I offer you some unsurprising predictions for how things will stand at the end of the season:

Premiership:

1. Man Utd  2. Liverpool  3. Chelsea  4. Arsenal

Going Down:

Hull, Middlesborough and West Brom

And on a less surprising note, Burnley to reach the Premier League for the first time ever, and to go straight back down again.

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