James Richardson and the Football Weekly crew return to analyse Portsmouth’s triumph in the FA Cup. Administrators permiting, they’ll meet Chelsea in the final, but what now for beaten semi-finalists Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa? Meanwhile, Barry Glendenning points green fingers as he explains why Wembley stadium – which didn’t leave much change from a billion quid, remember – has such a terrible pitch.

Turning our attention to the Premier League, Owen Gibson gives his thoughts on the title race, the relegation battle between Hull City and Burnley, and that potential dry run of the European final between Liverpool and Fulham.

Finally, Paolo Bandini muses on a momentus weekend in Serie A, with Roma knocking Internazionale off the top, while Sid Lowe reflects on a super Clásico that was neither super nor classic, but saw Barcelona humiliate Real Madrid all the same. For entertainment, he urges you to look at this goal instead.

Have a listen and give us your thoughts on the blog below. Remember to find us on Twitter and Facebook, and get your daily dose of the Fiver too

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Manchester United sit on top of the Premier League today after beating Liverpool, while Chelsea dropped more points against Blackburn Rovers. On your brand new Football Weekly, James Richardson, Sean Ingle, Paolo Bandini and Fernando Duarte analyse the various machinations of the title race. Can the Blues regain their confidence? Are the Red Devils utterly unstoppable? And will Arsenal still have a say, or will the Champions League prove too much of a distraction?

Plus, at the bottom of the table, we ask: who’s more ill-equipped to get their team out of trouble – Brian Laws at Burnley, or Hull City’s, ahem, ‘football management consultant’ Iain Dowie?

Elsewhere, we pay tribute to Roy Hodgson’s formerly plucky and now formidable Fulham. After brushing aside Juventus, can the Cottagers go all the way in the Europa League?

Finally, never mind the caveats, Sid Lowe throws caution to the wind and indulges in the Lionel Messi love-in. Is the 22-year-old the best player ever to have kicked a pig’s bladder, or is he flattered by the current weakness of La Liga?

Have a listen and post your comments on the blog below. We’re also on iTunes, Facebook and Twitter, and if you enjoy this type of thing, get your daily dose of fooball with our tea-time email, The Fiver.

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Today’s Mill has its head in the clouds

Some years ago research carried out by unlicensed Chinese neurologists on a sample group of 5,000 men with internet access and a large comic book collection that they keep in little plastic sleeves and occasionally brood over concluded that, when most people picture The Mill, the image that springs into their mind is either:

(a) a pleasantly shuttered, Flemish-style clapboard and oak-beamed structure on a slight incline, set against a cloudless sky in fine, rolling countryside which, pushing open its heavy front door, turns out to be operated entirely by very small, frightening pig-faced men; or

(b) an overheated strobe-lit basement down a narrow hidden staircase that smells overpoweringly of meat and where the door seems to vanish as soon as it slams shut behind you and a peculiar gurgling, thrashing, chugging noise is coming from inside a studded, leather-upholstered ante-room and something is suddenly moving in the corner of your eye before, all at once, everything goes dark.

Which is strange, because in the Mill’s own mind it is a beautiful place that exists in the sky, perhaps in the first class section of a prestigious aeroplane. A place where a smiling teenage Brazilian is constantly going somewhere, perpetually excited, always linked, continually a whizz, a picture only partially clouded by the lingering stench of something that might be, and then might not be, Harry Redknapp’s distinctive gentleman’s cologne.

Which is, by coincidence, pretty much exactly what’s going on in this morning’s Daily Mirror. There’s a picture of Internacionale starlet Sandro Ranieri (which is Portuguese for “Sandra Redknapp”) preparing himself for his £6m summer move to Tottenham by reading an English dictionary.

“I need to be prepared for my new challenge in Europe,” he said, spending 20 minutes frowning over the word “aardvark”.

West Ham are planning a sensational triple swoop on Birmingham. Liam Ridgewell and Sebastian Larsson may be available on the cheap. Christian Benítez, who runs a lot and tries very hard but never scores any goals, is available for £7m.

Roma are dead serious about signing quivering Arsenal defensive diva William Gallas. Sporting director Daniele Prade attempted to “thrash out” a deal after the victory over Porto.

Harry Redknapp is frantically trying to find a club in Belgium to loan his new Zambian left-back. Emmanuel Mbola has somehow signed for Spurs even though we’re not in the transfer window. “Spurs liked me a lot but there is contract confusion with my Armenian club and my agent,” Mbola shrugged yesterday, pretty much clearing all that up then. Celtic and Rangers both want Arsenal striker “Oh” Jay Simpson, currently on loan at QPR.

In the Daily Mail delicious pigs-ear-in-mushroom-pastry-parcel dish Wellington Silva is all set to sign for Arsenal, although Fluminense want to keep the 17-year-old, who has only just got into the first team, until 2012. Wellington has agreed a £3.5m move but can’t be registered until after his 18th birthday. “We are working on a way to make it happen,” emoted leg-warmered Fluminense vice-president Alcides Antunes, dancing on top of a car.

Chelsea have opened talks with Nicolas Anelka over paying him an extra £40,000 a year until 2013. Talks The Mill imagines will be over very quickly and simply involve him muttering the word “yes”. This means they have to get rid of increasingly peripheral ageing wing-jink prodigy Joe Cole.

In The Sun David Beckham “wore the green and gold” on his return to Old Trafford. “I did it as I’m a United fan, always will be,” he said, before stopping off in Hertfordshire and Essex on his way to the airport. Portsmouth have sacked 85 staff who have nothing to do with the club going bust. Peter Storrie is still being paid £10,000-a-week.

And Sol Campbell, 49, is “chasing” an England recall, presumably very slowly in a pair of XXXL shorts, waggling his elbows about a lot before eventually falling over. “You never know. I might get a sniff if I keep on playing. Why not?” he asked, putting his hands over his ears and walking off before you can answer.

Surprisingly good American Landon Donovan will play his final game for Everton on Saturday. LA Galaxy’s manager, Bruce Arena, who either does everything in US football, or is one of several men also called “Bruce Arena” said: “Landon will be back on March 15.” Just like that. Not March the 15th. “March 15.”

And on Goal.com The Houston Dynamo have signed Francisco Navas Cobo from The Dynamo Academy. A man called James Clarkson, who presumably has both long, girly hair and horrible baggy stone-washed jeans said: “To have a successful Academy, you need talent and opportunity. In Francisco Navas Cobo, we have talent, and through Dominic Kinnear’s vision and support of the Dynamo Academy, we’ve been able to provide opportunity to Francisco and the other young men in our development system.”

Which The Mill has now written on its hand and will be repeating like a personal mantra as it attempts to struggle tearfully through the rest of the day.

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