OK guys, I have taken the plunge. Just subscribed to Al Jazeera for 9 months (the season package). I had no issues using a non middle eastern credit card. And it works pretty well. Paid US$135 up front and no more to pay for the rest of the season - works out to be US$15 a month - honestly what service in the world gives you all this for that price? Thats right - no-one.
The HD channels don't look that high quality but its still decent and very watchable and the stream is extremely smooth.
The "catch up section" has audio but no commentary. I prefer that to Arabic commentary (or any language I don't understand) personally so I can live with that.
Already checked that some live streams are in English and some HD channels have an "audio 1; audio 2" section. So I am hoping that the HD live stream of a Serie A match you can choose between Arabic and English.
In conclusion, I am a very happy camper. I think I no longer require one of my cable boxes at home so this will end up saving me money and give me total live access (and replays) to: Serie A, EPL, Champions League, La Liga, and french league. Only thing it doesn't have is the Bundesliga - which is a non-issue for me.