THE credit crunch hasn’t brought much in the way of good news, but it could yet have a positive effect on British football this season.

The current Premier League campaign is the most unpredictable in years, and with at least three of the ‘big four’ clubs unlikely to spend a penny next month, the uncertainty is set to continue right through to May.

Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United might be three of the richest clubs in the world, but they won’t exactly be flaunting their wealth when the transfer window opens at the start of next month.

Roman Abramovich has suffered colossal losses on the Russian stock market, George Gillett and Tom Hicks are unable to borrow because of the weakness of the American credit markets, and the Glazers are mortgaged to the hilt. The Premier League is hardly a level playing field, but it’s starting to look flatter than did at the start of the current campaign.

On paper, the first half of the season appears to have been as predictable as ever.

The established ‘big four’ fill four of the top five places, and the interlopers, Aston Villa, were widely tipped as potential Champions League qualifiers at the start of the campaign.

But while the ‘big four’ continue to dominate, they do not do so with anything like the same conviction as they once displayed.

In the last two rounds of Premier League matches, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have claimed a grand total of two wins. Both were 1-0, and one came courtesy of Nemanja Vidic’s fortuitous winner against Sunderland. Hardly emphatic.

In the past, such a poor run of December form would have hastened a January spending spree.

Chelsea are crying out for reinforcements, most notably in attack, where Nicolas Anelka remains the only option in the absence of the injury-prone and seemingly disinterested Didier Drogba.

Liverpool might top the table, but even the most ardent Koppite would be forced to accept that things are hardly ideal at Anfield at the moment either.

Rafael Benitez could also do with another centre-forward to mitigate for the dreadfully out-of-form Robbie Keane, while left-back remains something of a no-go area, given Andrea Dossena’s failure to adapt to life in the Premier League.

Even Manchester United would benefit from the arrival of some new blood in January, with Dimitar Berbatov having struggled since leaving Tottenham in the summer and a lack of midfield cover presenting something of a problem now that Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs appear to be past their best.

Arsenal are the odd ones out when it comes to the free availability of finance within the ‘big four’, but given Arsene Wenger’s avowed reluctance to spend big in the January window, it remains far from certain that the Gunners will be splashing the cash next month.

As a result, it is not stretching credulity to suggest there could well be more of the same in the second half of the season.

More of the likes of Hull going two up at Anfield, more of the likes of West Ham claiming a fully-deserved point at Stamford Bridge, and more of the likes of Tottenham securing a merited clean sheet against Manchester United.

With their financial superiority neutered, the ‘big four’ are suddenly having to play their way out of trouble, rather than simply spending their way to the top.

The end result might well be the same – one of them is still bound to win the title – but the journey to May should be a damn sight more interesting as a result.

RICKY SBRAGIA might well make a fantastic permanent manager of Sunderland, but the Black Cats should beware the curse of the over-performing caretaker.

Glenn Roeder produced heroics when he was in temporary charge of Newcastle, only for the wheels to come off within six months of him being appointed on a permanent basis.

An uplift is to be expected when a caretaker takes temporary charge, and it was even more inevitable at Sunderland, given the fractious atmosphere in which Roy Keane was operating during his final weeks at the club.

But just as one swallow does not make a summer, so one thumping victory does not constitute a compelling CV.

There are legitimate reasons why Sbragia should be considered a viable candidate, but a 4-0 win over West Brom is not one of them.

SO, Sir Allen Stanford appears to have lost interest in his Super Series cricket event.

The only question worth asking is, ‘What took him so long?’