However, Queens Park Rangers seemed to have turned against their manager as they have suspended Jim Magilton whilst investigating an incident between he and influential midfielder Akos Buzsaky after Monday night's defeat to Watford.
The other incident occurred at The Emirates Stadium on Saturday where there was an apparent falling out in the Stoke dressing room between Tony Pulis and striker James Beattie. We don't know the facts of exactly what happened but if you believe the tabloids it seems it was to do with the club's Christmas party which seems difficult to believe.
Of course this would be an unbelievable thing to argue about after a game and Beattie would clearly be in the wrong, but he has had a good time of it since his move to The Brittania in January and would be foolish to mess it up.
Now for QPR to suspend their manager they must feel he has done something to warrant this punishment. But his back room staff have come to his defence by refusing to work until he is reinstated so they must feel there has been an injustice. When there is a disagreement between player and manager it is simple; the manager is correct because what he says goes. The players just have to get on with it. You wouldn't got to work, have an argument with the boss and expect him to be suspended would you?
I'm sure a similar thing won't happen at Stoke though. Pulis has done magnificently over the past couple of years and I'm sure he won't want to lose Beattie so maybe they can do what's best for the club and patch things up. The spirit has been fantastic at The Brittania and this has been instrumental in their survival.
There had been rumblings of discontent though down at Loftus Road prior to this incident about poor results despite Rangers been in and around the top six. But there are high expectations from the high rollers who run the club who want instant success, so maybe this is there chance to dump Magilton. What they need though is stability.
No player should be above the manager and if a player is unhappy then the club should cut out the player that's causing the disharmony and get rid. The manager is in charge of the team and the players should respect that.
---------
Owen Rolls Back The Years
Just like Jermain Defoe nine days before him, Michael Owen sent out a reminder to Fabio Capello and also Sir Alex Ferguson that he's still capable of playing at the top.
He rattled in a magnificent hat-trick against Wolfsburg to round off Manchester United's Champions League group in style. This was Owen's perfect opportunity to shine in an unfamiliar starting line up as United had already progressed in the group. However, their opponents were at their strongest and desperate for victory to try and get through, so this was an impressive performance by Owen against the German champions.
The first was a close range header at the back post, the second a nice reaction poke in and the third the most impressive. With Wolfsburg attacking desperately to try and get something from the game United hit them on the counter attack and with Owen through on goal you got a glimpse of Argentina at World Cup 98, as he cutely chipped the keeper to seal a brilliant hat-trick.
Owen would now like to think he's got a shot at a starting place in the Premier League against Aston Villa on Saturday. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen but Dimitar Berbatov has hardly been setting the world alight lately.
And how Capello would like to see him in a regular starting berth as Owen tries to force his way into his World Cup plans. But if Owen can continue to hit these heights then he must surely be in with a chance of boarding the plane to South Africa.
