Martin O'Neil's resignation as manager of Aston Villa Football Club would have sent a few shockwaves through the Claret and Blue half of Birmingham.

There have been rumours circulating for a few months that Martin might quit Villa Park, but it still came as surprise earlier this week when he made his announcement.

It's never a good time to lose your manager, especially just a few days before the new Premier League season gets underway.

Some people may criticise Martin's management style but you certainly can't fault his record at Villa. They have finished in the top six for the last three seasons.

He's a top manager and will certainly be a tough act to follow.

Martin's deteriorating relationship with chairman Randy Lerner amid the club's financial cutbacks have been well-documented.

But it's nothing new; managers and chairmen have been at loggerheads since the year dot.

Managers hate nothing more than being told what to do by owners who have never played the game.

And let's face it, Martin's proved himself at every club he's been at and I'm positive he won't be out of a job for too long.

I gather USA coach Bob Bradley has been hotly linked with Villa and it will be interesting to see what happens there.

Because don't think for one minute that the guys in the US don't know about the game, because they have proven that they do.

If Bradley gets the job I would like him to do well because the USA have proven themselves on the world stage and they can play with the best.

There was no surprise when Fabio Capello revealed that David Beckham's England career had come to an end. It makes sense, the time is right and David can have no complaints with what he's achieved with England.

He's been a wonderful player, a wonderful professional and a wonderful ambassador.

As for the Premier League title race, I think it will be very tight and I can see Liverpool having a good go under their new manager Roy Hodgson.

He's always does a great job and has snapped up two good players in Joe Cole and Christian Poulson as well as keeping hold of Stevie Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

Of course, if you're a betting man you can't look too much further than Manchester United, Chelsea and perhaps Arsenal.

I'll also be interested to see how Tottenham and Manchester City get on this season as well.

Harry Redknapp is a superb man-manager and I'm sure he'll be able to build on last season's success.

As for their opponents today, Man City, well, the jury's still out on their coach Roberto Mancini – this season could be case of make of break for him.

He's spent a lot of money and the powers-that-be will be demanding instant.

The former Inter Milan boss will be hoping his team come out the starting blocks pretty quick to relieve some of the pressure he us under.

As for my boys, West Ham, I think we'll be a lot more organised under our new coach Avram Grant.

I was a bit perturbed, however, to discover our striker Benni McCarthy has still has not shed the weight he was ordered to at the start of pre-season.

I mean, McCarthy's being paid all this money so the least he can do is keep to his side of the bargain and stay fit.