Open Mike Monday: Goal Line Replays, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona

We've been here before. Many, many times before.

Maybe you noticed it, too. Something about this past weekend in world football felt a little too familiar.

Perfectly good goals were ruled out for no apparent reason. Manchester United stormed to the top of the English Premier League table. Spurs, well, they kept heading the other way.

And, really, is it necessary to wonder what goes on in La Liga anymore?

The answer is yes, of course. Anything can happen at anytime in football, and that's why we watch. But this past weekend offered little in the way of novelty—even if it did provide plenty of controversy and excitement.

Familiar or not, here are six stories that caught my eye over the weekend.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeCummings37

Over the Line

It can't be long now. Goal-line technology is coming.

On Saturday afternoon, Queens Park Rangers defender Clint Hill had a perfectly good goal ruled out because of a missed call by a linesman. QPR inevitably lost the match by that one-goal margin, and before the day was over, the FA had already released a statement.

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"Following last week’s meeting of IFAB (International Football Association Board) The FA would like to reiterate our strong desire to see Goal Line Technology introduced as soon as possible," the statement read.

"The FA has been a leading proponent of Goal Line Technology for many years. We will continue to press for its introduction once further independent testing is complete later this year, so that anyone wishing to introduce the technology is able to do so at the earliest possible opportunity."

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First Sepp Blatter, and now the FA. How about that?

They're quite the strange bedfellows in a fight for a progressive cause, but for fans of justice in football, this is great news. The end goal of all referees and rules and rulemakers and governing bodies should be to ensure a fair competition. Incidents like this need to pushed forever into the past.

QPR didn't get a fair shake Saturday, but when the season ends, it could be worse. In a relegation fight, fates can be decided on the slimmest of margins. And on Saturday, the one-goal margin that separated QPR from a draw shouldn't have been there at all.

Let's hope that's not the point that sends them down.

Twist in the Title Race?

The title race in England has long been a two-team, one-town affair. But on Sunday, a small club from a different country threw the latest curveball. And now our excitingly unorthodox season is swiftly turning the corner to depressing familiarity.

Swansea welcomed Manchester City to Wales and promptly sent the visiting fans home crying with a 1-0 defeat. The winning goal came courtesy of Luke Moore's head, and coupled with Manchester United's easy 2-0 win over West Brom, it sent United to the top of the table.

Title twist? Hardly.

If you've followed the Premier League for any amount of time, this development should feel chillingly familiar. For all the wackiness this season has given us, it's starting to feel like just another boring Manchester United title-winning season.

Lord help us. This isn't even a vintage United squad. This is an aging band that's been hit hard by injuries and keeps losing to inferior teams in Europe.

But domestically, Sir Alex Ferguson still has the answers, as Sunday's win over West Brom again showed.

Falling Spurs

Spurs hadn't lost three straight league matches under Harry Redknapp before Saturday. After Saturday, they're in danger of extending another streak.

Saturday's 1-0 loss to Everton kept Spurs four points ahead of Arsenal for third place. If the Gunners beat Newcastle on Monday night, Arsene Wenger's team will be just one point behind their biggest rivals.

With Chelsea right behind Arsenal, it's starting to look more likely that Spurs won't finish as London's top side. That hasn't happened since 1994-95, and while it seemed inevitable just a few weeks ago, who would bet on Spurs now?

On Jan. 22, Arsenal had just lost their third straight league game, falling 2-1 at home to Manchester United. Fans were booing Andrei Arshavin and calling for Wenger's head, and Arsenal were 10 points behind Tottenham.

Less than two months later, Arshavin is gone, Arsenal are racing through Tottenham's rearview mirror, and Wenger is playing mind games with Redknapp.

No one ever said football always makes sense.

Roy Hodgson for England?

With all the chaos surrounding Spurs, Redknapp is suddenly no longer the runaway favorite for the England job. But one of the new names being linked with the job doesn't make much sense.

Maybe you've already seen the stories. Lately, West Brom's Roy Hodgson has emerged as a trendy pick to coach England. From the Independent:

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"Tipped as the best choice for the job last week by the former Football Association chairman Lord Triesman because of his 'extraordinary international experience,' Hodgson said: 'I am flattered to be considered.'"

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Really? Roy Hodgson?

That "extraordinary international experience" of his amounts to coaching Finland (2006-07), United Arab Emirates (2002-04) and Switzerland (1992-94). He has been to one World Cup, with Switzerland, and that was 18 years ago.

With Finland, he almost earned qualification for 2008, and with UAE he called his players "lazy." A few years ago, he led Fulham to the Europa League, and these days, he has West Brom in 14th place.

Sounds like the FA is again setting the bar high.

No Fun in La Liga

It's come to this in La Liga; Jose Mourinho is praising opposing teams for giving Real Madrid a decent game.

At this point, that seems like all Mourinho can do to stifle the boredom. With their 3-2 win over Real Betis on Saturday, Real Madrid moved 13 points clear at the top of the table. Barcelona won again Sunday to "narrow" the gap back down to 10 points, but it doesn't really matter.

Before the weekend, I foolishly predicted one of them to slip up. They didn't, and they won't.

The league belongs to Real Madrid, and second place is Barca's. Valencia are third, 16 points behind Barca, and Málaga have fourth place with an impressive goal differential of zero.

La Liga is no longer a spectacle. The two teams at the top are miles ahead of everyone else. Honestly, it's only fun to watch when they're playing each other, and the only contest is between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo (Messi, by the way, now has 50 goals this season)

Bring on the epic European showdown.

European Goodness

Speaking of European showdowns, the Champions League will feature some interesting matches this week.

On Tuesday, Bayern Munich will host plucky FC Basel, who will head to Bavaria with a 1-0 first-leg advantage. Bayern Munich destroyed Hoffenheim 7-1 over the weekend, and for now at least, they seem to have pulled themselves together.

And on Wednesday, Chelsea will host Napoli, who will head to London with a 3-1 first-leg advantage. Since the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas, Chelsea have advanced in the FA Cup and won in the league. Napoli, on the other hand, beat the tar out of Cagliari on Friday.

Both matches promise intrigue and goals. Here's guessing we'll see at least one European giant crash out.