The balance has tipped Manchester United's way in the Premier League title race, and City face a real test of their mettle over the final 10 games.

The key to success at the business end of the season is experience. You need to know how to win games during the run-in, and cope with the pressure. For all their talent, City don't actually have too many league winners in their squad.

You can point to Yaya Toure who was a serial winner at Barcelona, and David Silva who won the World Cup. But a lot of their major signings, like Gareth Barry, James Milner, Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko have not

Tottenham have seen their grip on third place loosened in the past fortnight by defeats in big games.

They have developed a habit of underperforming when the pressure is on, and as the season comes to its conclusion that pressure is only going to increase, no matter who they are playing.

They have a four-point cushion ahead of Arsenal, but that could be slashed again this weekend, as they face a difficult trip to face Everton just three days after playing in the FA Cup.

Spurs look unstable at the back, and the loss of Michael Dawson for the rest of the season will hurt them.

What's more,

Lampard and Terry crane their necks to get a view from the benchAndre Villas-Boas's sacking from Chelsea at the weekend is another victory for player power at the club.

While the results were poor for the Portuguese coach — he had both the lowest win percentage and points-per-game average of any Chelsea manager since Roman Abramovich bought the club — he was brought in with the long-term objective of making significant changes at Stamford Bridge.

He was meant to not only oversee a transition from an ageing squad into a more youthful one but also to change the whole culture of the club, from the formation and style on the pitch to the way things operated

I was bemused to read in some newspapers on Friday morning that the Football Association has widened its search for a new manager to include Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho and Barcelona's Pep Guardiola.

There is absolutely no way either of those two are going to manage England. It's a poisoned chalice, and with the reputations they have, why would either want to come and work for the FA and manage this underachieving and underwhelming group of players?

You could bring back Sir Alf Ramsey, or any of the coaches who have won the World Cup throughout history, and they are not going to win anything

The FA should look closely at Harry Redknapp's tactics as they prepare to appoint the next England manager.

Poor defending from both sides made for an entertaining North London derby, and Arsenal showed some good fight to come back from a bad position.

But maybe Spurs boss Redknapp has shown with his recent decisions that he is tactically not ready for the England job.

He's the popular choice, but that doesn't mean he's the right choice — and the last couple of games should be a cause for concern at the FA.

For some unknown reason against Arsenal he decided to change the way Tottenham have

Sunday's Carling Cup final against Cardiff City at Wembley is a huge game for Liverpool given they have suffered so much disappointment over the past six years, but it could also be critical in determining the future of Kenny Dalglish.

I think Dalglish may have to win a trophy to convince the Liverpool hierarchy that he remains the right man to take the club forward after a difficult season for all concerned. There is a reason the American owners have so much money: success is important to them. Names and reputations won't mean anything, it is silverware that they crave.

Even if Liverpool do

It is said that Andre Villas-Boas has to lead Chelsea to victory over two legs against Napoli to save his job, but the real factor undermining the club's season is not the shortcomings of their inexperienced manager, but the stubbornness of their senior players.

There are certain individuals at Chelsea who have served their time, but are clinging on to their status as best they can. They had success under Jose Mourinho and carried it on under Carlo Ancelotti, but they have become too powerful. I think some of them are trying to take control of a young manager.

Some of the older players know

FA Cup trophyI hate to say it, but none of the top teams still in the FA Cup should be treating the competition as their priority.

The two Manchester clubs are out, which leaves Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool as the biggest contenders for the Cup — but their focus should be elsewhere.

Take Tottenham. If you told the fans at the start of the season that they could finish fourth in the league and win the FA Cup this campaign, they'd have bitten your hand off. But here we are in February, and their situation is slightly different.

Champions League football doesn't look like being a problem for