Football: Wimbledon's failure to surprise is the big surprise

OLIVIA BLAIR ON THIS SEASON'S TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED

There may have been no real surprises in the third round of the FA Cup (Stevenage aside, that is) or in the midweek Coca-Cola Cup semi- finals, but never let it be said that football as a whole has lost its capacity to surprise. OK, so you did not need to be a clairvoyant to predict that Manchester United might now be peering down at Barnsley from their lofty peak astride the Premiership, but elsewhere this season has sprung enough surprises to catch even the most convincing of bookies on the hop.

Teddy Sheringham's pre-season transfer to Manchester United set the trend (the surprise was that United got him for pounds 3.5m when Spurs had put a pounds 6m price tag round his neck - a steal that evoked memories of Ferguson's astute capture of Eric Cantona from Leeds). Sheringham's mid-season report reads well, but it is the form of his strike partner that has made everyone eat humble pie. Once the butt of every football joke going, Cole has remembered how to score goals again and an England place is suddenly on the cards.

Arsenal's inconsistency has been a surprise; ditto Blackburn's consistency; it's amazing what wonders a new manager and a recuperated, rejuvenated strike force can work, although try telling that to Tottenham fans.

Newcastle, meanwhile, do not even have a strike force, let alone one that is recuperated or rejuvenated. Their trouncing of the mighty Barcelona was certainly a surprise, as have been their sluggish performances since. And while Alan Shearer may have surprised no one by healing so fast (is there anything this man does not do well?), his return to action cannot come quickly enough.

The form of Derby and Leicester has surprised those who wrote them off; Leicester went one-up against Atletico Madrid, for heaven's sake. Southampton, too, have so far upset the odds, thanks mainly to the form of 20-year- old Kevin Davies, who, for me, has been the surprise package of the season to date.

Coventry, as usual, are full of surprises: you never really know quite what to expect from the Sky Blues, but it is certainly not victories over Man United and Liverpool. And in Darren Huckerby they have the footballing equivalent of a conjurer: no one really knows what he's going to pull out of his bag of tricks next.

Wimbledon always spring a surprise; this season it's that they appear to have lost their ability to spring a surprise. Sheffield Wednesday's early demise was unexpected considering how well they started last season and the fact they had strengthened their squad with the likes of Paolo Di Canio and Peter Rudi after just missing out on a European place.

That Everton and Spurs are suffering can be surprising no one - both teams were heading for a fall - but the same cannot be said about the form of Nick Barmby (one wasted season is forgiveable, two is not), the arrivals at White Hart Lane of Christian Gross and Jurgen Klinsmann and the fact that Darren Anderton actually played some football before getting injured again.

No one would have prophesied Villa would lose their first four games, nor that pounds 7m Stan Collymore was going to forget where the goal was; after all, he knows Villa Park well enough. And who would have thought that Palace would be so unassailable away from home and so assailable at Selhurst Park, or that Attilio Lombardo would be playing his football in SE25 this season?

No prizes for guessing the biggest surprise outside the Premiership. Kevin Keegan's return to football was astonishing; that he should choose to return at Fulham was flabbergasting. But despite Keegan's much-heralded five-year plan the Cottagers have hardly set the Second Division alight. Watford have, however: inspired by the game's most put-upon strike force (Jason Lee and the evergreen "Rocket" Ronny Rosenthal) and its most prolific left-back (Peter Kennedy), they have opened up an almost uncatchable lead at the top. It will be a surprise if they are caught.

In the First Division newly promoted Stockport have been the surprise packet, although you also could say that of their local rivals Manchester City - it's surprising just how low a side can sink. In the Third Division, meanwhile, that accolade should go to 38-year-old Jimmy Quinn, scorer of 20 goals for high-flying Peterborough. Quinn has been the most significant of all Barry Fry's signings - and there have been a few.

The biggest surprise north of the border came last Friday when Celtic beat Rangers for the first time in a New Year game since 1988, although Hearts' early pace-setting also caused a stir.

Marco Negri has been a turn-up for the books, too, the taciturn Italian having scored 33 goals so far for Rangers this season. His manager, Walter Smith, is not renowned for his successful foreign shopping trips (Oleg Salenko, Basile Boli and Erik Bo Anderson spring to mind).

England astounded rather than surprised Italy by holding out in Rome to secure their place in the World Cup finals. But those who remain sceptical about their World Cup chances will be hoping that they will remember France '98 for providing the biggest surprise of the season. Ne c'est pas?