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With the World Cup fast approaching it is worth looking at some of the key players that will be gracing the fields of South Africa. One such player who potentially has a huge influence on the outcome of Group C, which sees the USA come up against England, Algeria and Slovenis is Wayen Rooney, the England striker, widely considered one of the best players in the World right now. However, in the build up to the tournament, Rooney has been suffering from injury which could have a huge impact on the odds on England winning the World Cup.

If England were to lose the services of its most gifted player, Wayne Rooney, then unlike the last time they were World Champions of 1966, they simply do not have the players with required class to replace him.

In 1966 the talking player of the England team was the great Jimmy Greaves, regarded at the time as the one of the two or three best strikers in Europe. However manager of the day, Sir Alf Ramsey, decided to leave the superstar out of the team, after the Group stages, but the difference between now and then is that in 66, there were a number of international standard strikers who could ‘step up to the plate’ and replace him. In the 2010 squad there is no such player.

The striking department is already a dilemma for coach, Fabio Capello, he clearly has not found exactly what he has been looking for in his two years at the helm, but knows that in Rooney he has potentially the best striker in South Africa. Various players have been tried alongside him, Defoe, Heskey and Crouch being the most recent; he has even experimented during matches with Steven Gerrard. He still has those players at his disposal but has added the talents of Darren Bent to the preliminary squad, but it is doubtful if he has solved the dilemma.

The biggest worry for him, the team the staff and the fans however is what would happen if Rooney should get injured or banned? Unlike the squad of 66, Sir Alf Ramsey had the huge talents of Geoff Hurst and Roger Hunt at hand, both strikers who could play at any level in the world. Indeed Hurst of course went on to score that famous World Cup Final hat-trick to win the tournament against Germany.

Without Rooney, Capello will almost certainly plump for the Spurs strike partnership of Crouch and Defoe, but he will know that even together they do not represent the threat and presence of a Wayne Rooney in top form. Both are proven goalscorers but should England get into the latter stages, they will find extremely difficult to get the better of some of the very best defenders in the World and neither possess the perception of Rooney either on or off the ball.

Of course it could be that Rooney survives all the knocks and the threat of the yellow and red cards meaning that all Capello has to decide is who plays up top with him. Or will he decide on a five man midfield with Rooney playing the lone striker, a system which many experts and plaudits favour.

Whatever the decision and whatever the progress of the England team, it is clear that Rooney is the team talisman and with him ‘firing on all cylinders’ England can even win the Trophy.

Whilst there will be many doubters, it looks highly likely that the Premier League this season will be won by either, Chelsea, Man Utd or Arsenal. The top three all won their latest matches last weekend which has put considerable distance between them and the chasing pack and it now looks like a very exciting straight fight between the three for end of season supremacy.

Equally exciting however is the battle for fourth place, which is being contested by the next five clubs. Just five points separate these five after 21 games played by each.

Favourites for 4th place are Manchester City (38 pts), with Spurs (38 pts) with Liverpool (34 pts) next best. Aston Villa (36 pts) and Birmingham (33 pts) bring up the rear

The reward for fourth place is of course considerable, not only would the team qualify for the 2010/11Champions League but the financial incentives are awesome, particularly if the team gets to the latter stages of the competition.

At the outset of the season it was believed by most that the top four would be a formality, with Liverpool, joining the other three as they have done for the last few seasons. However they have had a dismal time of things this season, which has seen them struggle in the League and eliminated at the Group stage in the Champions league. Their boss, Rafa Benitex is under enormous pressure at Anfield to keep his job and he has the added threat of possibly losing his two star players, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres at the end of the season. Liverpool meet Spurs at Anfield this week where anything but a win could end their Premier League hopes and see betting on the next Liverpool manager begin.

Man City, who were having a lean time under Mark Hughes have been revitalized, it seems, under the management of Roberto Mancini, who has seen his side win four of his first five matches. They were however well beaten last weekend by Everton, who exposed plenty of weaknesses in their make-up.

Spurs and Villa also dropped points, to teams from the relegation zone, which could indicate that the pressure is beginning to mount on both clubs. Meanwhile, Birmingham City, who are the surprise outfit so far this season seem set to continue their march. They are a run of 12 matches unbeaten at the moment and whilst the bookmakers do not rate their chances too highly, they are certainly in a position where they can threaten, particularly if this run of outstanding from continues.

Football fans therefore have plenty to look forward to as the Premier League unfolds over the next few months. In theory it is usually the team with the strongest squad that would prevail in such a tight battle and that asset would seem to belong to Manchester City, who might, by the end of the season be rewarded with their huge pre-season spending spree.

The betting odds suggest that only five players are given any realistic chance of lifting the Men’s Open title at this year’s Australian Tennis Open which begins in Melbourne on 15 Jan 2010. The six are led by world number one, Roger Federer, while reigning champion, Rafa Nadal is only rated as fourth favourite.

For many, the men’s singles tour for 2010 is poised to be the best ever with a host of players in with great chances of Grand Slam success. This opening Grand Slam however does seem to be in the hands of the top five. They are:

Roger Federer

Federer ended 2009 as World Number One after lifting two further Grand Slam titles and finishing Runner Up in the other two. His year began with a pulsating final against his greatest rival, Rafa Nadal in Melbourne where he went down in the five set thriller. However not only did he bounce back he went to Paris and won the French Open for the first time in his illustrious career; that win equaled the record of 14 Grand Slam titles held by Pete Sampras. The great Swiss star was soon to surpass that record when he won a thrilling five set final at Wimbledon against Andy Roddick, claiming his sixth Wimbledon crown in the process. Federer also made the final at the US Open but was beaten by the emerging Argentine star, Juan Martin del Potro.

Andy Murray

Rated by bookmakers as the second favourite to win in Australia, Murray comes to the tournament with the game to win, but will he once again find one player too good for him on the day. He climbed the world rankings to number two last year but by the year’s end he was back to number four and is one of only two player in the top six yet to win a Grand Slam. Surprisingly he was beaten in each of the 2009 Grand Slams by players rated below him. He lost in the last 16 in Melbourne to Fernando Verdasco, in Paris he was beaten in the quarter final by Fernando Gonzalez. At Wimbledon where he looked like the bst player for a while, he was knocked out in the semi final by Andy Roddick and at the US Open he was beaten in the last 16 by another of the emerging stars, Marin Cilic.

Novak Djokovic

Winner of the Australian Open in 2008, Novak Djokovic finished 2009 at number three in the world rankings after a year which saw him win five titles and finish runner up in a further five. He played more matches than any other on tour in 2009 winning 78 and losing 19. The only surprise to what was an otherwise fantastic year for the Serb, was that he failed to reach a single Grand Slam Final. He was forced to retire at the quarter final stage in Melbourne when losing to Andy Roddick and was surprisingly beaten in straight sets at the French Open in Paris by Phillip Kohlschreiber. At Wimbledon he reached the quarter final losing to Tommy Haas and at the US Open he was beaten by Federer in the semi final in three tough sets.

Rafael Nadal

Injury stricken for most of 2009, Nadal had started the year as world number one, however after lifting his first hard court Grand Slam tournament by winning the 2009 Australian Open, his Grand Slam year went into decline after a leg and abdomen injuries. He lost for the first time at Roland Gaross in five years in the French Open and was unable to defend his Wimbledon crown through injury. Nonetheless he entered the US Open at the end of August and reached the semi final stage only to be beaten by eventual winner, Juan Martin del Potro.Nadal has started 2010 in fine style winning the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi and is looking like he could be back to his best in time to defend his title in Australia.

Juan Martin del Potro

Reigning US Open champion, Argentine, Juan Martin del Potro will come to Melbourne as a major force to be reckoned with and with every chance of winning the tournament. Aged only 20, this lanky right hander has the perfect game for hard court tennis and proved beyond any doubt that he has the temperament to match his ability. He made the quarter finals at both the Australian and French Opens, but failed miserably at Wimbledon going out in the second round to Aussie. Lleyton Hewitt. His win in the final at the US Open against Federer was easily his best result of his fledgling career and it is surely a case of going on from there. His Grand Slam results in 2009 coupled with his performances in the Masters series earned him the number five spot in the world rankings which is where he will begin the 2010 season.

The 2010 Australian Open Odds suggest that the battle for the mens title will be the closest for some years but it is difficult to look beyond three time Champion, Roger Federer, from adding a fourth Australian Open to his roll of honour.