 Grumblers... I trust you hated Xmas as much as me? Good, let's move on.
It's half term kids and you know what that means... yes, it's those dreaded reports. Take them straight to your parents, don't try and hide them in the hedge - we have spies everywhere.
Aston Villa
Now that Juan Pablo Angell and Darius Vassell have realised that they are paid to score goals it could be a better year for Villa. Aside from the continuous and very dull 'fans vs Ellis' row, Villa have a lot to look forward to. There are a good blend of youngsters coming through the ranks, and if the likes of Dublin, Mellberg, Angel, Hendrie etc can play to the top of their game,then they will help the youngsters along. David O'Leary continues to talk about Leeds far too much for for the liking of many a Villa fan - but he is more than capable of steering the club into the top six. He won't though. They will finish 9th.
Birmingham City Christophe Dugarry has proved that he was a one-season man, and now all he can really do well is make the physio's room look good and make Savage look a saint when he does get on the pitch. He is top of the bad boy stats for the Premier League so far. It's a shame he isn't top of the scoring stats, that is after all where his talents are needed. Steve Bruce continues to to a good job with Blues, his signing of Mikkael Forssell was inspired. But the signing of David Dunn, however was slightly bold, and is not paying off. The midfielder is rapidly looking like a big mistake - second only to the big money splash-out Luciano Fig-roll. Who has now left. Blues looked like having a great season and possibly finishing in the top 8. This won't happen, they aren't consistent or good enough. Blues will finish 12th. Wolves
Well Xmas is over, the animal is dead, stripped, eaten and the carcass is now rotting... the problem is Dave Jones hasn't got a clue what to do about it The have now been renamed 'Wolverhampton whipping boys'. The board let Jones down, all he needed was about £10m to spend and they would have stayed up. But Sir Jack decided he had spent enough, and his suitably less rich offspring took over. Watching Wolves defend is like watching a supermodel get her eyelashes pulled out with tweezers by a drunken gorilla. Or something like that. Or not. Dave Jones has a terrible team at his disposal, and he is now scouring the worldwide transfer market for a suitably low-cost kitchen sink to throw into battle. It will be to no avail - bottom. West Brom. The Baggies should be romping it. They are on the top rungs of the first division ladder, yet they are having a really good stab at trying not to get promoted.
Consistency is all that is needed for a glorious return to the top-flight. How the Baggies fans can call for the head of Gary Megson is beyond me. OK he's miserable. But he has transformed a very poor side in a matter of a couple of season. If anything, he should be given the keys to West Brom, although what anybody would do with them is beyond me. Promotion beckons for the Baggies, I predict top-spot. Walsall I am a bit reluctant to write anything to be honest, Walsall are the cousins that you never see at Xmas. They are family but only because they have to be, you save the cheap paper cards with that awful robin on the front in the snow for these boys. They are doing well considering they are a very small team, but as I have said before, the most interesting thing about watching Walsall is the view of the M6 - oh and the pies - legendary. My prediction - 15th. And that's your lot. You know I will be right. I always am. Happy New Year Grumblers! | 
Row Z 
