Champions League View: Bayern Munich and Liverpool FC could get 10 points and still not qualify.

An entertaining set of Champions League games threw up some unexpected results, great games and the odd ninja (but not a very effective one). Almost all of the big names have a chance to reach the knockout stages, even though the likes of Bayern and Liverpool have made it very, very difficult for themselves.

Some teams have already fired their managers, some teams might do so in December if results don’t go their way domestically and in Europe.

Let’s look at each of the 8 groups, the teams, the remaining fixtures and what’s likely to happen by 9th December. Despite the drama, you’ll notice that apart from the odd team being in serious trouble, all the teams tipped to qualify at the start of the season are set to go through.

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In this article we look at the world’s ten largest football stadiums, some perhaps better known than others, and assess their legacies and impact both on the game and in their individual countries.

We also look ahead and ask what the future may hold for this selection of magnificent sporting venues.

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Join celebrated football pundit, author, radio show host and DJ Andy Brassell every Monday on the Soccerlens Show.

With one-third of the Premier League season done and dusted, Tottenham and Manchester City are meeting pre-season expectations as the two genuine contenders for breaking into the top four.

In this week’s episode, Andy discusses Liverpool’s ability to bounce back from seemingly impossible situations and the inability of both Tottenham and Manchester City to defend, especially away from home. As Andy says, Liverpool have the added experience and quality in their ranks to make up for their dodgy start to the season and finish strongly (in this case, by qualifying for the Champions League next season).

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Like Barcelona, who claim to be more than a club, Jose Mourinho has always cast himself as more than just a football manager. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, the Special One even had the temerity to suggest he is much better at knowing what footballers are thinking than any shrink in the business.

“I am the best sports psychologist,” Mourinho quipped. “I am better than those I have spoken to. They have a theoretical knowledge while I have a much more practical insight. I have worked in football all my life and the best sports psychologists are the managers.”

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In the summer of 2009, the usual predictions were cast on the aspirations of clubs in the Barclays Premier League. The Big Four’s greatest threat was said to come from Manchester City, Tottenham and maybe Aston Villa and Everton, while the club most likely to drop out of the Big Four was Manchester United or Arsenal.

Come last week of November, 3 months into the campaign and the predictions are mostly spot on. Tottenham are leading the race to challenge for the coveted 4th spot, with Manchester City and Aston Villa close behind. Chelsea, as expected, are top of the table.

But instead of United or Arsenal – two clubs who ‘failed’ to strengthen over the summer, are far more secure than Liverpool, the club expected to ‘challenge’ for the title.

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In the wake of Ireland’s heartbreaking aggregate defeat to France, where Thierry Henry’s handballed assist for William Gallas to score an equaliser in extra time denied a team who had performed magnificently to haul themselves level, we pay tribute to five of the greatest footballing heartbreakers in recent memory.

We start off, perhaps predictably, with the greatest last-gasp turnaround of events in recent footballing history.

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