European woes...but still the most entertaining?

In a week of drama, shocks and excitement the Premier League has proved yet again that it is the most exciting in world football.

At the top, Sir Alex got the title-challenger mind games going have by lambasting Patrick Viera’s criticism of Paul Scholes before simultaneously attacking the return of Carlos Tevez.

Ferguson and his team thrive in this situation, and despite Tevez and Samir Nasri’s midweek heroics against Chelsea, the title-race is now United’s to lose.

Considering their much publicised injuries and insufficiencies it is amazing that they contending at all, and the genius of Ferguson and his generals Scholes and Giggs must be applauded once again.

Arsenal’s recent recovery has also been astounding, and after another fine week they are moving clear of their London rivals. RVP remains the star, but the return of the first-choice back five has also been key.

With Peter Crouch’s wonder-strike and QPR’s wonder-comeback, it was a week of thrills.

But Bolton’s ‘fab’ win over Blackburn was the most heart-warming, as they showed Muamba-like fight to triumph and cut Wolves adrift at the bottom of the table.

It was a pity that the Old Firm match was not played with the same derby spirit, and despite the brilliance of Barcelona’s record scorer Messi, even La Liga does not have the same unpredictability and excitement as the Prem.   

Speaking of excitement, with the Six Nations over Rugby focus turned to Hong Kong, as perennial Seven’s stars Fiji beat England on way to victory, while on these shores Wales boss Warren Gatland was approached for the Lions job.

With England’s latest Test series approaching, spot fixing was back dominating the cricket agenda after a series of interviews with Pakistan’s Mohammed Amir. On the field Afghanistan continued their rise by reaching their second successive Twenty20 World Cup.

Underdogs also succeeded in Formula One, where Ferrari and Fernando Alonso prospered in wet Malaysia ahead of rising star Sergio Perez.

But in Golf it was a week for the veteran as Tiger Woods showed ominous pre-Masters form by winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

In the UK it was a week of charity, and in Rugby League Leeds marked Sport Relief by dyeing their hair pink before being comprehensively beaten by St Helens.

The issue of whether appearance affects performance has been a prominent one this week with the revealing of Britain’s Olympic kit.

But it is not what you wear, but what you do in it which matters, and our performances continue to encourage. After much criticism in 2012, Tom Daley has won three World Cup medals this week, as he chases China’s brilliant world-leader Qui Bo.

And the hierarchical battle between our top female cyclists continued as Lizzie Armistead won in Belgium to put more pressure on Beijing champion Nicole Cooke for the sole team-leader spot.

The Olympics, like the Premier League, is a physical and mental struggle towards perfection.

 After his sad death this week, Darts’ Jocky Wilson belonged to a vastly different culture. Yet he remained a great entertainer, and it is important to remember that thrills and excitement are also key aspects of modern sport.