Bom Dia! And happy new year to you! Nick and his Portuguese Wolves are back from the festive break to give you your Friday fix of Champ once again. They were in a great position when we stopped for Christmas, but will that continue this week? Here’s Nick…

After just under a third of the season, we sit in fourth place, equal on everything with Liverpool but with a better goal difference, so not too shabby so far. Let’s get cracking…

We start this week with some League Cup action against Leeds. It’s a shite performance and we’re out at the first hurdle. Our keeper and one of our defenders are our best players on the pitch, which says it all really…

Some outgoing loan transfer news…

Is swiftly followed by a customary long-term injury…

Pauleta comes off the bench at Barnsley and goes off again injured, but not before winning us a penalty, which is despatched by JP before Manarte puts the icing on the proverbial cake just before the final whistle. We’re back…

A few days later we wrap up our UEFA Cup tie with a comfortable home win over Rangers to add to the slightly more emphatic 3-0 first leg win, which sees us through 5-1 on aggregate to face Liverpool in the next round…

Fulham are in town at the weekend, and we find ourselves behind to an early Noel Whelan strike, but immediately recover to earn a valuable point in what’s probably the right result against The Cottagers…

I change both wingers for Coventry at home, and it pays off handsomely, as Porfirio puts us ahead. JP rounds things off to seal a huge win and ensure that this is one day that Magnus Hedman won’t be ruining for once…

Back to Europe, and Robbie Fowler takes just 2 minutes to open the scoring for Liverpool. I’m expecting a hammering, but their goal gets us going, and after being thwarted again and again by their keeper, our patience is finally rewarded with two late goals to secure a second successive win at Anfield…

A shock defeat apparently…

And while we’re on the subject of shocks…

It could have been worse, but the FA Cup balls do not drop kindly from the velvet bag…

We’ve not played Birmingham in a while, and we welcome them to the top flight by taking the spoils in our first Premiership midlands derby courtesy of JP and Pauleta. The Brum eventually Buck their ideas up, but we hold on.

Back in Europe, Liverpool are the better side for most of a tense second leg, and Ole gets a late one to make it a nervous last few minutes, but we hold on and our reward is more English opposition in the quarter-finals…

We’re unfortunate to trail 2-0 at Bolton after doing all the attacking in the first half, but to our credit, we battle our way back to 2-2 via a brace from The Boa, only to be beaten right at the last, after the ball falls Howard’s way…

Despite still owning the likes of Bergkamp, Overmars and Petit, Arsenal somehow find themselves rock bottom, which initially worries me, given our record against lower teams, but those fears are instantly laid to rest as Pauleta scores the first of five goals as we pile more misery on poor old Arsene Wenger…

Really?! Have you seen the table lately?!

I’m not wasting any time with blade-related puns about Sheffield United, so I’ll just cut to the chase… It’s a pathetic performance against the 7th placed team, during which we have to play the last 18 minutes with 10 men after Coelho gets injured after he made all 3 subs…

After a break last match, Pauleta returns to the score sheet as we look to be heading for a narrow win over Wimbledon. But some lax defending sees us get Cort out, and in the end we have to settle for a point…

After two straight league losses, we’re back on track in the FA Cup with a win over Blackburn. It should probably have been more, but I’m not complaining, and the draw gives me the opportunity for more blade-related puns as it pits us against Sheffield United…

A late Manarte penalty looks to have earned us a deserved point at 2nd-placed Everton, but an even later Smicer strike makes the joy of an apparent return to form all too brief, as we come unstuck against The Toffees once again…

Cao says Ciao, and heads home on loan…

We finish this week at home to 17th-placed Sunderland, and it’s pretty much a carbon copy of the Everton game, as we go behind early, equalise late, and then get hit with a sucker punch right at the end. For f*ck sake!!!

To add injury to insult, Sa Pinto is now out for 6 months…

At least I can always rely on a signing to make me feel better. I wanted this man right from the beginning, but he thought Compostela and then Espanyol were better options. I’m not one to hold grudges though, and he becomes our first arrival since last June for £2.4m…

Let’s just take a quick look at the squad as it’s been a while. Veiga’s arrival means I’ll have to offload one of my other keepers as we’re now giving West Ham a run for their money! We’re also a bit congested up front, but other than that, it’s not looking in bad shape, and Jorgey is constantly looking out for new talent for me.

We were actually going along quite nicely, and were as high as 2nd at one point, but that UEFA Cup 2nd leg loss to Liverpool appeared to be a turning point, as we’ve only won 2 of the 7 games since then, and only picked up 4 league points from a possible 18, so hopefully good things lie in wait next week..

So there ends another week. Thanks for joining me as always, and do come back next week, where we’ll be hoping for an upturn in league fortunes, while continuing our good form in the FA Cup and Europe. Adeus!