Ben McAleer

There are two types of referee in football, those to apply common sense in their approach to the game, and those that apply the laws of the game to the letter.  On Sunday, we saw both types in all their glory.

Lionel Messi won his 4^th Ballon D’Or on Monday night. In the process, making him the only player since the inception of the award to win four in a row. At the same time, beating off  media labelled ‘rival’ Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona teammate Anders Iniesta.

The African Cup of Nations 2013 begins in 5 days with South Africa, the hosts, taking on tournament debutants Cape Verde. With the Zambian underdogs leaving Gabon triumphant in 2012, it goes to show that anyone can win this years trophy.

Andre Villas-Boas has been named Manager of the Month for December after Tottenham’s impressive rise to third in the table.

Spain just can’t seem to stop winning, can they? They’ve certainly achieved on the pitch – having been the first ever side to retain the European title, and picking up a World Cup in between.

As the last of the joyous Sheffield Wednesday fans filtered out of Hillsborough on an idyllic day last May, few would have predicted such an arduous autumn and bleak mid-winter for the Owls. The Yorkshire outfit defeated an already relegated Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 in front of a capacity crowd to secure a return to the second tier of English football.