25 years of Sir Alex

Only one story in England this week: the longevity of Sir Alex Ferguson. Whilst the majority of EPL managers have been in their positions for less than two years, and only three have managed a decade (David Moyes and Arsene Wenger), Fergie has now cracked a quarter of a century in charge of one of the biggest clubs in the world. In that time he's won 12 EPL titles, five FA Cups, four League cups, a UEFA Cup Winner's Cup, Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, a FIFA Club World Cup and two European Champions League titles. It's an astounding record.

Last Saturday, United celebrated the landmark by renaming the South Stand at Old Trafford in Sir Alex's name, and then picked up another three points by beating Sunderland, managed by Fergy's former captain Steve Bruce.

The only goal of the game came courtesy of another United old boy, with Wes Brown heading into his own net on his first return to Old Trafford. Liverpool fans can come out of hiding now... or perhaps not, as the Reds snatched another draw from the jaws of victory at Anfield, failing to score despite having by far the better chances, against a hardworking but hardly inspiring Swansea City. Liverpool have now dropped points at home to three sides (Sunderland, Norwich and Swansea) who they should really be beating if they are to mount a serious title challenge. Another club to fail when success appeared guaranteed is Newcastle United. Unbeaten this season and with the best defensive record in the league, the Toon Army faithful were finally forgiving owner Mike Ashley for two years of bizarre, apparently self-destructive decisions.

But it appears that Ashley doesn't like to be liked, and this week he announced that St James' Park, proud home of the Magpies since 1892, is to be renamed Sports Direct Arena. Fans were upset when he changed the name to Sports Direct @ St James' Park, so there's no telling how they will react to losing the famous old name altogether. For some reason I can't imagine Manchester United renaming Old Trafford at Vodafone Stadium, or Liverpool calling Anfield 'Carlsberg Park'. Coming as it does on the eve of fixtures against the top three sides in the league, the timing could have perhaps been a little better.

Elsewhere in the EPL, there were wins for Manchester City, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal, to maintain the EPL status quo, and a stunning 5-0 win from Bolton against a Stoke side which appears to hit self-destruct every few weeks. Blackburn and Wigan are starting to drop away from the rest at the bottom of the table, a terrible but predictable position for both of them to be in. This weekend, the international break will give clubs a chance to recharge their batteries, although many of the players, even those at Blackburn and Wigan, will be away on international duty.