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Sunderland manager Steve Bruce bemoaned the tough Christmas and New Year schedule when a string of his top players picked up injuries over the festive period - and chief among his concerns must be the back injury that has ruled out skipper Lee Cattermole for at least a month.

How Sunderland cope without the combative Cattermole will be crucial to their prospects of continuing their good form in the second half of the season. There are signs that he will be sorely missed, which could enable punters to cash in both during his absence and when he returns.

A strong defence has been central to Sunderland's improvement this season, with Bruce's men joint-leaders for Premier League clean sheets with 10, level pegging with Manchester City. That is all the more admirable because Bruce has been forced to chop and change at the back, with only the on-loan Nedum Onuoha anywhere close to being an ever-present.

Before his injury, Cattermole had started most of Sunderland's Premier League games and the stats show his holding role in midfield has been a key factor in their impressive defensive record. Bruce's side kept only one clean sheet in the 11 league games Cattermole missed in 2010, but had close to a 50% clean sheet record when he played.
Having picked up his injury in the 2-0 home defeat by Blackpool on December 28, Cattermole was ruled out of Sunderland's opening game of 2011, at home to Blackburn, and stand-in David Meyler did a good job as Bruce's team kept another clean sheet in the 3-0 win.

Blackburn are poor on the road, however, and it may pay to focus more on Sunderland's record when Cattermole was absent in 2010. Of the 11 league games he missed, Sunderland lost six and won just three (two of them against relegated teams last season).

That makes Sunderland a team to oppose without Cattermole, especially on the road, where they have lost 10 out of 12 and won just once since the start of last season.

Their next road trip in January is to Blackpool on the 22nd, - and in the circumstances, Bruce may be relieved that they were drawn at home to League One side Notts County in the FA Cup third round.

One of the standout stats during Manchester City's development into genuine title contenders has been their remarkable win-win record in the Half Time/Full Time market.

Since the start of last season, virtually all of City's wins have come that way - 15 of their 18 wins last season and nine of their 12 wins this season. In that period they have never come back to win after trailing at half-time - one of just five teams without a loss-win to their credit.

Since Roberto Mancini took charge, only five of City's 23 league wins have been by any other method apart from win-win, which clearly points the way for backers to go for the better odds on win-win than back them for the straight win.

That stat breaks down into 10 of their 13 home wins under Mancini being win-win and eight of their 10 away wins being win-win.

And for in-play punters, there is a remarkable correlation between the half-time and full-time results in City's matches. Under Mancini, the two outcomes have matched 31 times out of 42.

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The Los Angeles Lakers were beaten 96-80 by the Miami Heat on Christmas Day in front of a packed house at the Staples Center. The revamped Miami Heat crushed the reigning champions with a truly magnificent performance.

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh marched up and down the floor and scored at will against the lethargic Lakers. There is no dressing up what happened in this one sided affair. The Lakers simply did not show up for one of the most important fixtures in the NBA schedule.

This humiliating defeat has left many people questioning the attitude of this superstar rotation. For the past decade this team has risen to the occasion when they needed to, and have six championships to prove it.

These days things are very different in Tinseltown. Team leader Kobe Bryant is in his 15th year in the league along with fellow guard Derek Fisher. Forward Ron Artest is in his 12th season as is Lamar Odum. This is not a young team anymore and they are showing signs of a little wear and tear.

Last season the Lakers won the Pacific Division and clinched the top seed in the Western Conference with a record of 57-25. They went on to win their 16th championship after defeating the Boston Celtics 4-3 in an epic series.
　
This season the Western Conference looks a lot more competitive with San Antonio and Dallas looking like legitimate championship threats .

The Spurs are leading the Conference with a record of 26-4 and the Mavericks are in second place with a record of 23-5. The Lakers are five games behind San Antonio with a record of 21-9.
　
Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson has downplayed the Christmas meltdown against Miami. He remains confident his team will win a third consecutive NBA title next year.

There is no doubt that the Lakers are still the team to beat in the west but they need to play with a lot more urgency and commitment to get the job done. I also think they need to strengthen their bench before the playoffs begin. Last year the Lakers had Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic who contributed valuable points when Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher were resting. Both players have since been traded to the New Jersey Nets.

It's never wise to take on the Lakers but they're vulnerable at the moment and are worth laying in the short term. In the early part of next month they host Memphis and Detroit before heading to Phoenix. It's well worth laying Los Angeles with the handicap in each of these fixtures. They have struggled to put away inferior teams in the past few weeks and there is every chance this trend will continue in to the new year.


By Nick Shiambouros

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It's less than a fortnight since Santa came down his chimney, but Frank Gregan has already penned another wishlist. This time, it's addressed to the England cricket team...


The mind plays strange tricks on you during the middle of the night as you sit cradling a glass of red wine whilst waiting for the weather Down Under to change. A glance at the Medoc bottle raises the question, "Where do genies really come from?" We have our share of lamps in our house but like most homes at this time of year, there are considerably more bottles - the majority empty!

EuroMillions and Cheryl Cole feature high on my wishlist before I get around to putting the sporting world to rights but cricket is at the forefront of the mind with England enjoying one of their best tours in living memory. So how can things get any better for the English cricket team? Here's three wishes that might just be attainable during 2011 without the help of a genie.


Win the Ashes Series

Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower are spot on when they say the job isn't done yet. The difference between winning the series and drawing is immense. An Australian win in the final Test would dilute the gloating, honours even and the Ashes only kept due to the retention rule. But how sweet it would be to win this series, which given that they are currently 1.28 seems to be the expected outcome. It would mean back to back Ashes successes and three wins out of four. That's a lot of bragging rights!


Win the World Cup

2010 was a great year for English cricket with the highlight arguably being their first ever World Cup victory when they lifted the Twenty20 Trophy in the Caribbean. There is still a stigma attached to the format and opinion is divided as to whether Twenty20 is 'real cricket.' There is a school of thought that England's performance thus far in the Ashes has been far more important than winning a slap, bang and wallop title. Winning the World Cup (which gets underway next month) would silence the critics, the 50 over game is the one day yardstick and with England at 6.8 to win, it would be one heck of an excuse for another massive party!


Keep Getting Better!

English cricket is in finer fettle than it has been for many a year but there's still room for improvement. There were many who scoffed (myself included) when Andrew Strauss was appointed captain but he could become one of England's greatest ever skippers.

The team spirit is superb but they're still capable of shooting themselves in the foot. Most self-inflicted injuries these days seem to revolve around Kevin Pietersen which is a pity as he is such a talented cricketer when his head is right. His claim last week that he was responsible for the upturn in the nation's fortunes because he caused the rift that led to Strauss being appointed was nonsensical. He seems to be in the 'I say what I think' mode. Somebody needs to advise him that it's starting to sound like sporting tourettes!

England are in a much better place than they were during those days under Pietersen and Peter Moores. It's more than possible that this year they could win the Ashes, win the World Cup and improve their World Test ranking. Previously that would have been unthinkable - unless of course you know a friendly genie!


By Frank Gregan

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A short-term loan deal for David Beckham at White Hart Lane isn't as unlikely as it sounds and if it were to happen, it would prove to be another masterstroke by a man who has turned Spurs from bottom-placed league team to Champions League contenders.


Love him or loathe him, Harry Redknapp has worked wonders since taking over at Tottenham Hotspur and his latest bid to take David Beckham on loan could be yet another masterstroke.

There is no question that Redknapp has had his fair share of money to spend since taking over at White Hart Lane - and his detractors claim that many of Spurs' best players (Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon, Michael Dawson, Benoît Assou-Ekotto) were bought by Martin Jol, who could have done just as good a job at the club given more time - but the facts speak for themselves; Spurs were bottom of the league when 'Arry took over and now they're in the Champions League and playing some of the most exciting football in the Premier League.

Redknapp has also bought well. He may have stripped Portsmouth of Jermain Defoe, Younes Kaboul, Niko Kranjcar and Peter Crouch but they have all been successful signings, while the purchase of Rafael van der Vaart from Real Madrid for £8 million, has probably been the signing of the season. In terms of squad depth, Redknapp's side is one of the most talented in the English top-flight but although Tottenham are developing into a force to be reckoned with, they are not used to battling it out for the title, and certainly not vying for European club football's most prized trophy (they are 27.0 to clinch the Champions League).

The four-match winless streak that followed their 4-3 defeat at Inter Milan in October hinted that Spurs may prove susceptible over the next few months as the pressure of a two-pronged assault at home and abroad begins to mount, which is probably why fourth-placed Tottenham, who are five point behind leaders Manchester United having played a game more, are still 29.0 to win the league (and 2.36 to finish fourth).

With the exception of William Gallas, Rafael van der Vaart and Peter Crouch European experience is thin on the ground at White Hart Lane and Beckham, whom Redknapp claimed after the 1-0 victory against Fulham yesterday, is keen on sealing a three-month loan move, would bring know-how in spades. Not only has the former England captain won six Premier League titles, La Liga and a European Cup, but, having spent two loan spells at AC Milan, who better to advise Redknapp and his charges on how to knock out the Rossoneri in the Round of 16? They're 2.06 to do that by the way.

Apart from stardust Beckham would, more importantly, offer a different technical outlet to what they have already. The pacy and fast-improving Lennon would obviously still command a first-team place on the right wing, but if you need to keep possession, introduce a calm head or throw the dice with a potentially match-winning set-piece specialist - then the 35-year-old would be the ideal man to bring off the bench, particularly if the disappointing David Bentley leaves this month.

The only foreseeable down side to the deal is if Beckham's new team-mates found his arrival disruptive, or, alternatively, if he proved so influential they would lose their way once he returned Stateside after three months. But neither of the above scenarios are likely because Beckham is the archetypal team player who plays for the love of the game. He is far more likely to help Spurs push on than prove to be a distracting sideshow. He would also not play enough games for Spurs to become Becks-dependent.

It remains to be seen whether or not LA Galaxy will be prepared to loan out their big-name player for three months in the light of what happened last season. The Achilles injury the midfielder sustained while playing in Italy not only ruled him out of the World Cup but it cost Galaxy his not inexpensive services for all but seven league matches of their 2010 campaign. But Harry is right to try.

"I think he'd be a good influence at the football club, he's the type of lad who'd give the place a lift," said Redknapp. "He's a proper professional. I read Theo Walcott the other day saying how he spent time around the training ground practising with him - you need people like that around you.

"He's been a fantastic player and he's someone who the players would look up to and respect. If he's over his injuries and is as fit as he thinks he is, then he could still play at the top level. It's not as if he's suddenly lost blistering pace - he had no pace when he was 17, but he has a great brain and is a great deliverer and striker of the ball."
Spurs fans should be excited about Beckham's possible arrival and grateful to Redknapp for pulling off another piece of transfer market magic.


By Richard Aikman

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I've enjoyed a break of a few weeks from PGA Tour Golf but I'm now ready for the action to start once more. The first tournament kicks off on January 6 in Hawaii and the recent big money end-of-year tournaments provided a fascinating insight into what we can look forward to. After day one of the Chevron World Challenge in America, it seemed that Tiger Woods was going to cut short Lee Westwood's time as World number one. However, after four days of play, Westwood had emphatically won the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa and Woods, having been reeled in by Graeme McDowell at the Chevron, now has a real fight on his hands to regain that top spot.

However, despite all his troubles, a winless season and the fact that he finished 68th on 2010's Money List, Tiger is remarkably as short as 2.12 to top this year's list.

One thing that is undoubtedly in Tiger's favour is that, bar a major U-turn, top Europeans Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy will not be fighting it out at the top of the Money List. Westwood has made it clear he's happy with his current schedule, saying: "The FedEx Cup sits right in the middle of the kids' summer holidays and I like going on holiday with them"

While Kaymer and McIlroy have offered up a similar commitment to a European Tour that gets stronger and stronger, McDowell 34.0 has confirmed he'll be spending more time in the states this year and as such becomes a genuine Money List contender.

There will no doubt still be plenty of Englishmen doing their best to top the Money List, Luke Donald, Paul Casey and Justin Rose all finished in the top ten last year and Ian Poulter wasn't far behind. The 80.0 available about Rose looks a little big for a player who looked the best on the planet for three weeks last season.

Of the other Americans, Dustin Johnson 20.0 finished fourth on last years Money List and can be confidently backed to go close again this year while Rickie Fowler 50.0 managed to finish 22nd without registering a win. Fowler is odds-on to gain that first victory this season and the fact that he seems to play every week can only help his Money List cause.

Of the Nationwide tour graduates, I'm most excited by the chances of UCLA standout Kevin Chappell, globetrotting Bobby Gates and the super consistent Jamie Lovemark and Chris Kirk. Finally, of the Q School victors I'm keen to follow monster hitters Gary Woodland and Kyle Stanley this year. While it's a huge ask for any of them to be involved at the top of the Money List, there will undoubtedly be an opportunity to get them onside at some point during the season.


PGA Money List 2011 Selections:

Dustin Johnson 20.0
Rickie Fowler 50.0
Justin Rose 80.0


By Dan Geraghty

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Now I know we've been here before. Just before the Perth Test I was smugly writing that Australia couldn't possibly take 20 wickets, and my 'available to bet' balance is still suffering the very serious consequences. So it's rather scary to start making the same sort of sweeping judgement about what might happen in Sydney.

But as things stand this morning the Aussies couldn't be in a bigger state of disarray yet England, having just won an Ashes Test match by the biggest margin since 1956, are still healthy odds against at 2.5 this morning. Yes, I know you shouldn't chase losses, but this one looks far too much value to miss out on.

Everything that can go wrong for Australia is still doing so. Ricky Ponting confirmed overnight that he'll definitely not be fit to play, with scans on his injured left little finger confirming the 36-year-old has almost certainly worn the Baggy Green as captain for the very last time. We already knew that Ryan Harris was out after he limped from the field in Melbourne. We also know the Aussies don't have a spinner worthy of the name on a Sydney wicket which nearly always turns (incidentally that makes Graeme Swann worth backing at 4.3 to overhaul Jimmy Anderson as England's top wicket taker).

That leaves the home country gambling on a debut for 26-year-old Usman Khawaja. He has a first class batting average higher than 50, but will have to deal with the circus of being the first Muslim to represent Australia as well as handling the nerves of a Test debut on his home ground. In the bowling attack they'll have to go back to Doug Bollinger, who was unceremoniously axed after going for nearly five an over in two miserable days at Adelaide.

Michael Clarke will take over the captaincy, a case of swapping one hopelessly out of form batsman for another. Clarke did get 80 in Adelaide, but in six other trips to the crease he's collected just 68 and when his team needed somebody to score big runs to save the game in Melbourne he never looked remotely as if he believed he could do it.

It seems to me that the only people who can stop England completing a series win are the England players themselves. And there you have to hope they learned the painful lessons of Perth, where they went into the game talking merrily about becoming the number one Test team in the world and then batted like a school 2nd XI.

It was encouraging to hear Andrew Strauss talking in terms of wanting to win in Sydney almost as soon as his team had confirmed they would retain the Ashes by wrapping up the Melbourne match. And good to know, also, that he'd given the same message in a dressing room huddle before he'd told the media.

Here's hoping the rest of the team are just as committed. And if so then 2.5 for a side that has not just beaten but thrashed its opponents twice in the last three matches is just too good to turn down.


Five things you might not know about Usman Khawaja:

1.Born December 1986 in Islamabad, he was three when father Tariq, who worked for the Pakistan air force, moved the family (he has two elder brothers) to Sydney.

2.As a boy he used to wait outside the Sydney Cricket Ground when Tests or One Day games were on. then rush in to watch the last ten overs for free.

3. He was voted player of the year in the 2005 Australian Under 19 Championship, and then opened for the Aussies in the Under 19 World Cup in Sri Lanka.

4.He studied for a degree in aviation at the University of South Wales - and then gained a pilot's licence.

5. He'll be the man to lead the singing if Australia do square the series - he's a good guitar player. His favourite band is Guns N' Roses.


By Ralph Ellis

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This season has been a right old rollercoaster ride for Manchester City backers. Matched as low as 5.9 on the eve of the start of the season, they drifted out to 40.0 at one stage but are now right back in business according to the market, trading at 9.0. If anyone can explain to me why they're almost twice the price Chelsea are (even if Carlo Ancelotti's side won their two games in hand they'd still be a point behind) I'd love to hear their explanation by the way, but my advice to anyone who hasn't yet had a bet on the Premier League winner market is to take a punt on Roberto Mancini's side. The Italian has a really good chance of guiding this motley crew to Premier League glory but....only if he follow these five golden rules.

1) Get rid of everyone who doesn't want to be there - It's one thing for the likes of Wayne Bridge or Adam Johnson not getting as many games as they'd like but it's completely different to have the likes of Roque Santa Cruz, Emmanuel Adebayor and Shaun Wright-Phillips making it clear to all they'd rather be anywhere else than at Eastlands. This creates a bad atmosphere and is a bad influence on younger players. All three were signed by Mancini's predecessor Mark Hughes, are players he clearly doesn't like and doesn't intend to play, so they should be shipped off before they cause further damage.

2) Buy Edin Dzeko - Easier said than done, I hear you cry. Reports suggest that it may be a lot more straightforward than one would think though. It looks like Wolfsburg are ready to cash in on their prize asset before injury or loss of form sees his value dip below the £30-35 million he's currently valued at. Steve McClaren has made a pretty ordinary start to his time at the German club but with little chance of securing a European place and relegation very unlikely, this may not actually be the worst time to let him go. The money clearly isn't a problem for City and a world-class out-and-out goalscoring striker who is strong in the air is arguably the only thing that's missing from this squad.

3) You've got to go for it if you want to win the title - I don't blame Mancini for setting his side up in a defensive mode away to Spurs on the opening day of the season or for considering a goalless draw at home to Manchester United a decent result. But that's a far cry from hauling off Carlos Tevez with a few minutes to go at home to Birmingham and replacing him with Gareth Barry. His explanation at the time was that almost every other player on the pitch was going forward and that was leaving gaps which Birmingham could have exploited on the break. In other words: he was better off taking a 0-0 draw than risk losing the game.

I'm sorry Bobby (that's what I call him in my imaginary conversations with him) but across town at Old Trafford they don't settle for home draws to Birmingham when they're trying to win the Premier League; they go for it even though every so often they end up losing the match going for the win. And they know a thing or two about winning the league over there...

4)Play your best players in their natural positions - The most glaring mistake Mancini made for his first ten or so matches this season was to think James Milner was an attacking midfielder. For the most part this season Mancini has played a 4-3-3 or a 4-3-1-2. That's fine. But if you're going to do that and you want to include Milner in the side, he has to be part of the midfield three, not the front three. To play Nigel De Jong, Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure and then Milner as well is just far too defensive and is asking the former Newcastle and Villa man to do something that just isn't in his make-up. Speaking of Yaya, he's a far more skilful player than many Premier League fans first thought but he's not Juan Riquelme just yet. Once again, to play him as part of the midfield trio and give him license to roam forward is a good,positive move; to ask him to become some sort of playmaker all of a sudden doesn't do him or the team any good.

5 Silva plus ten - It's harsh on Adam Johnson, who is one of England's most promising young players, but David Silva needs to start every single match Mancini is desperate to win. In other words, I'm all for Johnson playing 90 minutes in the two Cup competitions but Silva needs to start the PL matches just because of that extra little bit of experience and class. If he's having a bad day then yes, bring Johnson on for him with 20 minutes to go. But the Spaniard is the player most likely to unlock a defence with a moment of magic and is arguably the most essential cog in Mancini's wheel.


By Jamie Pacheco

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Seamus Cahill's star faces a tough challenge as he bids to round off 2010 in style... The Lord discusses this and the rest of the week's greyhounds news...


The stage is set for Jimmy Lollie to become one of the sport's best-known stars when he lines up in a race named in his honour at Hove on Thursday.  The Jimmy Lollie Challenge will be screened live on Sky Sports News at 20:34 as Seamus Cahill's star sprinter, almost certainly Greyhound of the Year, bids to claim a modern-day record for number of open-race successes in a year.

But his attempt to make it 38 victories for 2010 will be no stroll in the park as the field assembled for the valuable one-off is among the toughest he has faced throughout the year.

The likes of King Lee, Castlehill Nani, Ardbeg Kate and the up-and-coming Brooklyn Bandit will do battle with Jimmy Lollie for 273m in front of what should be a bumper crowd at the Sussex track.

And the presence of the Sky Sports News cameras, who plan to be at Hove for much of the day, gives added kudos to the night, which should provide the sport with a great showcase.

Trap draw for the 8.34pm at Hove on Thursday: 1 Sleeping Urban, 2 King Lee, 3 Jimmy Lollie, 4 Brooklyn Bandit, 5 Ardbeg Kate, 6 Castlehill Nani (m).

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Ricky Holloway and his fellow Save Our Stow campaigners have been acknowledged for their two-and-a-half year battle to bring back the dogs to Walthamstow by being awarded a Services to Greyhound Racing honour at the annual GBGB Awards bash next month.

From almost the moment that the Chandler family signed over the famous east London venue to the housing association London & Quadrant, Holloway has fought to keep the bulldozers from moving in to demolish the track, and in doing so has raised the sport's profile with huge media interest.

The campaign began with declarations of intent inside and outside the track, and the handing out of hundreds of Save Our Stow T-shirts. But it has effectively now had the backing the such political heavyweights as Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith and Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London.

A meeting next month, which will see London and Quadrant representatives face potential buyer of the site Bob Morton head-on, is seen as a defining moment in the campaign and could yet see the traps open for a greyhound race at the iconic greyhound racing venue in 2011.

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Open race action this week is the exclusive preserve of Hove where Jimmy Lollie (see above) will be the star of the show, win or lose.

But other tracks will be counting down to a solid start to 2011 with Hall Green's Betfair Prestige kicking off with heats on Tuesday, January 4 ahead of a live-on-Sky final on January 11, and Romford's Coronation Cup which starts with heats on January 7.

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Sheffield are still celebrating a sensational Xmas present of well over 2,000 people through the gates for his morning Boxing Day meeting.

The Yorkshire track has been one of the best success stories in recent years, with the multi-million pounds investment in the main grandstand and restaurant well received.

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Talking of Sheffield, management at the Owlerton venue are being linked to a possible takeover at the GRA-owned Belle Vue.

The GRA, owned by venture capitalists Risk Capital, is in real danger of being broken up if the loans taken out by the parent company need to be paid later this year.

It could spark a firesale of the group's six tracks, which include high-profile Wimbledon, home of the Derby.


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While the ATP Tour enjoys its few short weeks off at the end of another gruelling season, we conclude our look back at the key moments in men's tennis in 2010 with my picks from the last six months.


Fish knuckles down

Throughout his career, Mardy Fish was often accused of lacking the necessary desire towards training and nutrition, but all that changed in mid-2010 and the American profited greatly as a result. The realisation at 28-years-of-age that it was now or never saw Fish quit the junk food and train like a Trojan. The leaner Mardy enjoyed a great summer where he reached the final at Queen's Club, won in Newport and Atlanta, and reached the final of the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinatti. Fish ended the year at a career high of 16 in the rankings and will be targeting a run in Melbourne after his season was ended early by injury.


Fond farewells

This year saw the retirement of two modern day greats of the men's game in Fabrice Santoro and Carlos Moya. The latter ruled the clay courts for a time in the late 90's and the pinnacle of his career was the French Open title in 1998, but he also won three ATP Masters 1000 events, including one on hard courts in 'Cincy'. The Spaniard was ranked number one in the world in 1999 and won at least one title per year from 1995 to 2007 other than in 1999. Santoro of course was a true one-off with a playing style so unorthodox that he bamboozled many top players despite not possessing many of the attributes of the modern day player. Despite officially retiring in 2009, The Magician came back in Melbourne to become the only player to have played Grand Slams in four different decades.


Coaches come and go

Andy Murray's relationship with Miles Maclagan bit the dust in July after a dismal clay court swing and so-so Wimbledon and he ended the season without an official coach. Alex Corretja will carry on in the unofficial role Murray announced this week and other long-term splits included Robin Soderling and Magnus Norman. This could be significant to the Swede's prospects next season, as he begins 2011 with a new coach in Claudio Pistolesi.

It will be interesting to see how the notoriously prickly Soderling develops with the new man at the helm. Roger Federer brought Paul Annacone in as coach in August and looked near his very best towards the end of the year, while Lleyton Hewitt is also back with Tony Roche for 2011, as he targets an unlikely return to the top 10.


Novak's late improvement

The Serbinator struggled badly in the first half of the year, but was transformed from September onwards and won one of my top two matches of the season by beating Federer in the last four of the US Open. From the brink of defeat, Djokovic played one of the best single games that I can remember to stun the Swiss and make the final. He'd shown little on hard-courts in 2010 until then and nobody gave him a prayer at Flushing Meadows, but that win galvanized him and he went on to win in Beijing, reach the final in Basel and best of all, won the Davis Cup with Serbia.


The match of the year

We had to wait until right at the last knockings of the 2010 season to witness an absolute classic match that had it all, but Nadal v Murray in the last four of the ATP Tour Finals in London was worth the wait. The Spaniard preBvailed after 192 minutes of breathtaking entertainment involving two tie breaks and Nadal coming from 4-1 behind in the final set breaker to pinch it from the Scot. Murray blasted 22 aces and won more points in the match, but Rafa would not be denied and squeezed the life out of Murray, who later commented that 'matches like this are why I play tennis'. It was arguably Murray's best performance of the year and a real treat for the packed crowd at the O2.


By Sean Calvert

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January is a good time to be a selling club, and indeed a player on the move, as transfer-fees and contracts are invariably inflated for clubs desperate to sign the key player whose arrival could help them win a trophy or avoid relegation in the second half of the season. There have been successful winter moves, ­among them Patrice Evra to Manchester United, Branislav Ivanovic to Chelsea, Brede Hangeland to Fulham ­ but most took time to settle in their new surroundings.

Strikers tend to fare better at the other end of the table after January moves: Christophe Dugarry (Birmingham) and James Beattie (Stoke) helped their clubs stay up while Arsenal pair Emmanuel Adebayor and Andrei Arshavin used their first six months to settle in.

What all clubs want to avoid is the Asprilla factor: when Newcastle signed Faustino Asprilla from Parma in early 1996, they were nine points clear of Manchester United at the top of the table, but they ended up missing out and Asprilla's arrival was blamed.

The question being asked in Italy this week is if AC Milan have just had their Asprilla moment: Milan are top of the table and have just taken Antonio Cassano from Sampdoria following his fall-out with president Riccardo Garrone. For all Cassano's pleas that he is a changed man and his famous on-pitch morale-busting meltdowns are behind him, his behaviour at Samp was far from exemplary. New coach Massimiliano Allegri has already performed wonders to keep the egos in the dressing-room in check. ­How Cassano fits in alongside the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho, Kevin-Prince Boateng and, at the moment, Ronaldinho, could determine Milan's Scudetto chances. Milan are currently 2.08 for the title and 1.84 to get past Spurs in the Champions League.

The other big striker who could be on the move is Edin Dzeko at Wolfsburg. The prolific Bosnian has been sending mixed messages this season: he reportedly wrote a letter to Manchester City asking them to sign him, but last week claimed he was happy to stay for the season. With the Wolves struggling in the Bundesliga and coach Steve McClaren under pressure, Dzeko could be packing his bags: and while City would be prepared to pay his transfer-fee, expected to be around £30m, in one instalment, other clubs like Juventus and Real Madrid would prefer a staggered deal.

City missed the chance to top the Premier League after losing 2-1 to Everton last week but they are in second place yet still 13.5 for the title and 1.35 to finish top four. With Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz heading for the exit, coach Roberto Mancini might need someone to take the scoring burden off captain Carlos Tevez, who is second-top Premier League scorer with 12 goals and 4.6 to finish the season on top.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, are only two points behind Barcleona despite their 5-0 drubbing at the Nou Camp, which means a win at the Bernanbeu over Barcelona in April could prove decisive. Madrid are 2.8 for La Liga with Barcelona 1.56. Barcelona have already bought Ibrahim Afellay from PSV this winter, which could give some of their strikeforce a rest at key moments. Barca are 1.92 to beat Arsenal in Europe and 3.25 to win the Champions League, while Real are 1.97 to avenge last season's Lyon defeat and 5.3 to triumph at Wembley in May.

The rumour-mill will be in full swing before the transfer-window opens at the weekend: other players who have been linked with moves this month include Shay Given, Stephane Sessegnon, Conor Wickham, Robbie Keane, Romelu Lukaku, Kun Aguero, David Luiz, Gueida Fofana, Stephen Ireland, Oscar Cardozo and Hulk. Some might move on, some will stay at their clubs, but one of them could make a decisive impact in the second half of the season. Milan fans praying that Cassano will be the biggest bargain of the January sales will agree on one thing: he is certainly the riskiest.


By Ben Lyttleton

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