Touchline Views

The transfer merry-go-round has begun

2010-07-16T18:31:00.005+01:00

The World Cup has ended - Spain have been crowned World champions and now it is time for silly season to get underway, as we are just weeks away from the new domestic seasons beginning in the major league across Europe. Wait, hang on a minute, it looks as if it has already begun – certainly since England departed from South Africa. And it looks as if the various hacks have been trying to beat each other for the most outrageous transfer rumour.

In the lead at the moment was one which I saw on Twitter (reliable more often than not) about two days ago, of James Beattie to Liverpool. Now we all know the current predicament that Liverpool are in (contrary to reports suggesting that Hodgson has £40m to spend) but are we really expected to believe that they would sink as low as Beattie – a player who hasn’t shown any sort of form since his days as Southampton? I didn’t think so.

One story that looks set to run and run and again and dominate this summer is the endless flirtations between Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas and Barcelona. Not for the first time, this story raised its head Pre-World Cup and with that now over the romance has begun to blossom again. Further fuel was added to the fire when his Spanish team-mates Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique of Barcelona decided to play a nasty prank of Fabregas by pulling a Barca jersey over his head during their post- World Cup celebrations.

Elsewhere, Ashley Cole could be heading for a swift exit from Chelsea to join his former manager Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid. "From what I am hearing the signs look good," says the clubs goalkeeper Iker Casillas. "I have only briefly spoken to people at the club but I am confident that he can be a Real Madrid player next year.” If what Casillas has said is to be believed and somehow I doubt that he would lie, but it is silly season, so, who knows?

At Manchester City the transfer merry-go-round is in full swing, no speculation here – just concrete deals with City having already signed Aleksander Kolarov, David Silva, Jerome Boateng and Yaya Toure bring their collective spend to almost £80million. More and more names have been linked with the club with James Milner and Edin Dzeko being their main targets.

This is a time for us all not to believe everything we read in the papers or hear on Sky Sports News. I make a point of assuming every bit of transfer gossip at this time every year is just pure speculation until I see said player holding up the club scarf or shirt with his name on it. And with 30 days to go till the new Premier League season kick-offs – my advice is to take everything you hear with a pinch of salt.

Roll on deadline day because we all know that that is where things get even more interesting.

Champions League Final: Preview

2010-05-21T21:01:00.002+01:00

This seasons Champions League Final is the case of the pupil taking on the master - Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan take on Louis Van Gaal Bayern Munich, the man whom he was an assistant to at Barcelona from 1997-2000. Tonight, represents a very important night for both coaches, as they have the chance to create their very own piece of history.

Currently, Ernst Happel (Feyenoord 1970 & Hamburg 1983) and Ottmar Hitzfeld (Borussia Dortmund 1997 & Bayern Munich 2001) are part of a very elite club having both won the European Cup on two occasions with different teams. However, either Mourinho who won the Champions League with Porto in 2004 or Van Gaal who was victorious with Ajax in 1995 will become the third member of that club.

Three is the magic number for both coaches as they both have the chance to complete an unprecedented treble of League, Cup and European Cup. Neither Inter nor Bayern have ever won the treble before in their history. This could be the second year in a row that the treble can be won after Barcelona completing it last term.

This year’s final will be the first where neither of the finalists qualified from their respective groups as winners.

On the way to the final Jose Mourinho and his Inter Milan side have had to overcome all the adversities and rivalries of his past - his very own road to redemption, if you will. The route certainly wasn’t all plain sailing for the Nerazzurri as they looked to be on their way out after opening the group stages with three draws.

Who would have thought Inter would go on to beat, Chelsea, CSKA Moscow and Barcelona (over two legs) to reach their first European final in 38 years, although it is 45 years since they last won the competition 1965 – which is an astonishing wait for a side who have been so dominant in their home country, wrapping up their 5th Serie A title in a row last Sunday.

Mourinho has already stated that beating Barcelona was “greatest moment of my career” although; if Inter manages to beat Bayern then it will certainly be his greatest ever triumph.

Having shown that he can beat Barcelona, Real Madrid are on high alert, so, will this be his final audition for the manager’s job on their own stage and winning the Champions League and completing the treble be his last hurrah for Inter?

The resurgent Bayern Munich are currently riding the crest of a wave after a memorable domestic season. Having already had the Bundesliga title in the bag, Munich crushed rivals Werder Bremen on Saturday last 4-0 to complete to thirds of their treble winning the German Cup (DFB Pokal Final).

This has all been down to the fantastic stewardship of Louis Van Gaal. In his first season in charge of the Bavarians’ he has managed to lead them to their first Champions League final in 9 years.

One could argue that they had a far easier route to Madrid, but they did rely on the away goals rule against Fiorentina and Manchester United, both of whom they drew with 4-4 on aggregate before running Lyon ragged which saw them beat them 4-0 over two legs.

The two sides do have previous having met four times before on the European stage – the most recent being 2006 in the Champions League group stages where Munich beat Inter 2-0 in Milan, before drawing 0-0 in Munich.

Neither sides will be making many changes to their respective line-ups, but, Inter will be without the suspended Thiago Motta who was sent off in the semi-final against Barcelona, while Bayern Munich will be without Frank Ribery who is also banned.

If you wish to check out a full tactical preview of the final then check out either The Equaliser or Zonal Marking. Both of which come highly recommended.

With no English teams in the final this time round the chance for an English official to officiate this year’s showpiece has come to pass. Howard Webb becomes the first English referee in the Champions League final since Phillip Don took charge of AC Milan's 4-0 victory over Barcelona in Athens in 1994.

Now the time has come for me to look stupid by predicting the outcome of the final tonight and boy, oh, boy it is a tough one. Obviously, and well, for the sake of everyone watching, both teams will play a highly competitive final and no errors will be made by the officials involved.

Both sides have had great seasons and this is their chance to end it on a high and win the treble. My head and my heart say Inter and at the end of the day that is who I will be supporting - another Special victory for the “Special One”.

Touchline Views Prediction: Inter 2-1 Bayern Munich

Arsenal's goalkeeping conundrum

2010-05-18T07:28:00.004+01:00

Certainly over the years Arsene Wenger has been praised for his management skills, turning virtually unknown players into potential world beaters. However when it comes to the goalkeeping slot at Arsenal that Midas touch seems to have deserted him as he struggles to find a world class number one.

When Wenger took over from George Graham he inherited the trio of David Seaman, John Lukic and Vince Bartram. The undisputed king of the group by a country mile was Seaman who was also England’s number one at the time, but he was purchased by Graham and not Wenger.

Since 1996 the Frenchman has bought no less than 13 goalkeepers – Alex Manninger, Stuart Taylor, Graham Stack, Richard Wright, Rami Shaaban, Guillaume Warmuz (who?), Jens Lehmann, Manuel Almunia, Mart Poom, Vito Mannone, Lukasz Fabianski, Wojciech Szczesny and James Shea.

It could be argued that the shining star among those was Jens Lehmann, but since his departure his predecessor Manuel Almunia has faltered on too many occasions and is without doubt a keeper far too prone to error.

People are more likely to remember your bad points as a goalkeeper and not your good ones which is why the Spaniard has been criticised vehemently on many occasions as has his understudy Lukasz Fabianski while third choice keeper Vito Mannone has also proved to be inconsistent but, that said, he hasn’t had as much first team experience as the others.

The only keeper that seems to be earning all the plaudits currently at Arsenal is 20 year old Wojciech Szczesny who spent most of this season on loan at League One side Brentford.

Wenger is undoubtedly on his side having said back in April: “I believe one day he will be the number one at Arsenal certainly.”

He should get a chance in my opinion, but there is also the opportunity for him to be loaned out once again, this time to Leeds, newly promoted to the Championship.

This would be another step up for the Polish international from League One this season, Championship next season and potential Arsenal Number One the season after?

Obviously that would mean another season of Almunia as the number one keeper. Would this be a gamble worth taking or would Wenger be better off splashing the cash on a top class keeper?

Title winning sides are built on solid defences and therefore goalkeeping blunders cannot be tolerated at this, the highest level of football. Bologna’s Emiliano Viviano, Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus, Hugo Lloris “closet Gooner” Joe Hart, or Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow) have all been named checked as being on the shortlist.

Arguably, Arsenal’s current crop of players are just two or three world class signings away from mounting a serious title challenge. Consequently, a goalkeeper should almost certainly be top of their priority list this summer because the clock is ticking and this conundrum must be solved very soon.

Ollie on the cusp of the Premier League

2010-05-17T10:41:00.006+01:00

The unthinkable could be about to happen for Blackpool. They are just one game away from a tilt at the big time following their 6-4 aggregate win over Nottingham Forest in the Championship play-off semi-finals.

Having finished 16th last season who would have thought they could be playing against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal next season?

Not since 1971 have the Seasiders graced the top flight and under manager Ian Holloway it looks like their time has come to play in the Premier League.
Holloway is clearly the comedian of English football with his legendary one-liners:

“Right now, everything is going wrong for me, if I fell in a barrel of boobs I’d come out sucking my thumb.”: is just one of his witty comments made over the past couple of years and it certainly something we will all look forward to if they get promoted.

At the moment everything is going right for Holloway. The 47 year old inherited a team more familiar with the bottom of the table rather than the top but having formed a squad on a shoestring budget his management skills are all that are shining through in his first season in charge at Bloomfield Road.

One of Holloway’s star signings has been that of Charlie Adam from Rangers, he became their record signing at £500,000, which seems like steal when you consider he has been their top scorer in the league this season with 17 goals and has international experience to back it up with.

Other than the splurge on Adam, Blackpool has spent close to nothing on assembling their squad. Loan signings have been instrumental over the season with highly-rated Everton defender Seamus Coleman being the shining light, also Barry Bannan of Aston Villa and DJ Campbell of Leicester have played their part in Blackpool’s promotion push.

Club president Valeri Belokon has pledged funds to improve the squad, so, the future is certainly bright no matter what happens for Holloway and the team. Chairman Karl Oyston has also assured Holloway that his job is safe regardless of results.

In 2006 the Tangerines completed two promotions in three years to reach the Championship and now four years later they are in their third final in ten seasons. They will face Cardiff on Saturday, another side that have not played in the top flight since the Premier League’s inception in 1992.

I for one would love to see Blackpool in the Premier League, purely just for Holloway’s press conferences afterwards and I am sure I would not be alone with those sentiments. As he has said himself even if they were to go out and lose every week it would still be a blast.

Blackpool has nothing to lose by getting promoted but everything to gain. However, Cardiff on the other hand needs promotion due to their current financial troubles.

Whichever side emerges at the victors, it will be nice to see a new face in the Premier League, the question is can they remain on in the league and battle it out with the big boys. That question will be answered around about this time next season.

What better way to finish than another quote from Holloway on Blackpool: "I love Blackpool. We're very similar. We both look better in the dark."

Blackpool vs. Cardiff City - Saturday 22nd May, 2010.

One to watch: Phil Jones (Blackburn)

2010-05-06T09:35:00.003+01:00

Premier League debuts are always a nerve wracking occasion for anyone but to come up against one of the biggest and strongest centre forwards in the league could easily be the difference between a good debut and bad debut.

The player in question making his debut was 18 year old Blackburn defender Phil Jones and the striker in question is Chelsea’s Ivorian international Didier Drogba. You can check out analysis of Jones’ debut courtesy of Zonal Marking.

As you can see Jones made a very consistent first start for Rovers and was successful more often than not in making clearances. While him and the defence did concede an early goal from Chelsea they managed to keep them at bay for the next 85 minutes.

That certainly is no mean feat when you consider Chelsea have scored seven goals against teams on three occasions this season and have scored 95 goals overall in the league.

That 1-1 draw and in particular the performance of Jones earned plaudits from manager Sam Allardyce – “He made his debut and it was an outstanding performance from the young man, he showed a lot of commitment and a lot of quality and it revved everybody up.”

He was also named man of the match in the game in question and has since gone on to have another star studded performance against Manchester United. Jones seems to make a habit of giving a good account of himself because in his first team debut in the Carling Cup against Nottingham Forest he received plaudits once again.

A product of Blackburn’s youth system - Jones is already being compared to a young John Terry. Even Alan Hansen on MOTD in his analysis has said Jones is “unbelievably good.”

This in my mind is an understatement. It is no surprise to hear in the past couple of weeks that clubs such as Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea are in pursuit of the defender.

Strong, solid, mature with good awareness. Those are attributes which we all associate with defenders and the 18 year old possess all of these. Jones has had a superb run of form since breaking into the first team and has showed a lot of grit and determination.

The Blackburn defence have caused many teams problems at Ewood Park this season and this has certainly been the case since the Englishman came to the fore.

It comes as no surprise that he has yesterday signed a five year contract with Rovers which will keep him tied to the club until 2015.

Allardyce has said: "When you have spent so much time and effort developing a player you want to see the club benefit as much as possible by him playing on the field."

I predicted a very bright future for 18 year old Jones a couple of weeks ago on Twitter and I don’t think he is going to let me down. I am almost certainly that he will be an England international one day also.

In the style of Andy Gray – Phil Jones: “take a bow son, take a bow.”

Who will replace Sir Alex Ferguson?

2010-05-01T09:47:00.003+01:00

The Daily Star recently ran with the story of “Ferguson out, Mourinho in” with Bill Thornton saying Sir Alex Ferguson would retire as manager of Manchester United at the end of next season and be replaced by the enigmatic, self proclaimed “Special One” – Jose Mourinho.

However, Fergie countered that just days afterwards. The Scot was adamant that he was going nowhere: “It is rubbish,” he said. “I have no intention of retiring and if I did the people I would tell are David Gill and the Glazer family.”

He may have said in the past: “When an Italian says it's pasta I check under the sauce to make sure. They are innovators of the smokescreen.”

But for those of us who observe Ferguson closely we know that he is quite clearly the master of smoke and mirrors. There is no point in trying to second guess his next move or indeed when he will walk away from Manchester United. The only person who knows that is the great man himself.

For 24 years he has dominated English football and is undisputedly the best manager of his generation. His achievements are beyond doubt. They roll off the tongue – 11 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cup finals, two Champions League crowns as well as the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

There are a couple of things that Fergie has yet to achieve and well, I suppose that is probably why the hunger and desire is still there after all those years at the top. He has yet to accomplish the number one mission – “knock Liverpool off their fucking perch.”

But as he grows closer to his 69th birthday, his future is once again coming under question. The indication seems to be that he WILL retire in the next two or so years. He has been quoted in the past as saying that he does not expect to be in management past 70.

The big question that is on most Manchester United fans lips, including mine is – Who will replace Sir Alex Ferguson?

Well, at the moment, Jose Mourinho looks to be in poll position to make a dramatic return to English football having led Chelsea to two Premier League titles during his time there. He will now lead Inter Milan into the Champions League final next month and it also on to with the League and cup double in Italy.

Certainly has to be considered as a frontrunner, but there is also a chance he could be going to Real Madrid next season which would be perfect for all involved, stay in Madrid for a year or two, win a trophy or two and then answer United if or when they call.

Another contender is David Moyes of Everton, who in the past eight years has worked on shoestring budget but has managed to lead the Toffees to a place in the top six in four of the last five seasons.

He even managed to break up the so-called Big Four in the 2004-05. United would certainly be a big step up for him but it would also be a chance to work with a bigger budget and build a legacy there or would he prefer to continue on with Everton?

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill, former players Steve Bruce, Roy Keane and Mark Hughes have been mentioned previously as potential successors. Personally, none of those are even close to making a return to Old Trafford as manager.

One ex-player who has enjoyed tremendous success since retiring is defender Laurent Blanc, who we all know Sir Alex Ferguson rates very highly. However, the Frenchman has been touted as a potential successor to national team coach Raymond Domenech after this summer’s World Cup.

Perhaps, reserve team coach and another Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be in with a shout of the job?

Whoever does takeover from Fergie will have some pretty big boots to fill. There will always be that comparison to the predecessor. They will require great strength of character and will almost certainly have to put their own stamp on the club.

Will that person ever compare to Sir Alex? The answer to that is no, there are no two ways about it. Ferguson is the greatest coach ever. I stand by that statement vehemently.

So, who will succeed him as manager I hear you ask? Well, you may be certain that I don’t know, other fans don’t know, Ferguson doesn’t know and the Glazers haven’t got a clue.

And, guess what? The successor doesn’t even know himself.

That’s football for you or as Fergie said himself: “Football, bloody hell.”

West Ham - Safe for another year.

2010-04-29T18:35:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I wrote about Hull City and their current plight. Today marks the turn of West Ham who are all but safe for another season in the Premier League after last weekend’s crucial victory at Upton Park against Wigan, running out 3-2 winners on the day.

While the club maybe safe in the knowledge that they will be playing top flight football next season their current crop of players are not guaranteed to be turning out for the Hammers.

Co-owner David Sullivan has revealed this week that the club will accept offers on all players bar talismanic midfielder Scott Parker. He said: “Other than Scott Parker there is not a player we wouldn’t sell if it was the right bid”.

Sullivan and his business partner and co-owner David Gold are already planning for next season. They have already had a £4million bid for Graham Dorrans rejected by West Brom. It is clear that right now they are effectively managing the club on all levels.

The position of manager Gianfranco Zola is still questionable with conflicting reports coming from the club saying he “might resign” at the end of the season.

A couple of weeks ago it looked like he had given up all hope after six consecutive defeats he travelled home to Sardinia before coming back to fight on. Since then he has managed to rally the troops with two wins, one draw and one defeat which was to Liverpool at Anfield.

Personally, it is hard to see Zola retaining his position as manager of West Ham for next season, but it is certainly through no fault of his own. Managers such as Steve McClaren, Mark Hughes and Slaven Bilic have already been linked with Zola's job.

The problem also lies with Sullivan and Gold, Zola is not their manager he just happened to be in charge when they took over, therefore they will be looking to bring in their own man who can take the club forward.

Clearly the current crop of West Ham players are not up to scratch, apart from the outstanding and ever professional Scott Parker. If the rest of the squad were to show his hunger, desire and drive then they would not have been embroiled in a relegation battle.

Off the field there are also a lot of problems. The club were heading towards administration with debts of around £110million before Gold and Sullivan took over from Icelandic bank Straumur at Upton Park in January. Of that debt around £50million is owed to banks and £40million to other clubs for transfer fees.

Therefore, matters are not playing sailing for the Hammers just yet. There will certainly be a lot going out of West Ham during the summer, but who goes out and who comes in remains to be seen. It’ll certainly be one to keep an eye on over the coming weeks and months.

First, relegation. Next, administration?

2010-04-28T18:41:00.003+01:00

Last weekend virtually ended Hull City’s time as a Premier League club when they lost out to Sunderland 1-0, with fellow strugglers West Ham beating Wigan 3-2. Relegation was always going to be an issue for the Tigers this season after they managed to stay up last term, only just, might I add, surviving by one single point.

Now faced with the prospect of playing Championship football next season the future looks to be bleak for Hull. Already they are in serious trouble of going into administration and preparations have begun to restructure the club and its loans.

The figures which stick out are the current level of debt which stands at £35million; however, as we know with Portsmouth this could be even higher. Also, the wage bill stands at a staggering £40million, which is expected to be reduced to £15million before the start of next season.

One Premier League club has already gone into administration this season and that is the aforementioned Portsmouth, but there are now fears Hull City could be following them down the same road. There are serious questions which need to be answered in regards to the players Phil Brown signed during his tenure.

Jimmy Bullard is currently on a reported £45,000 a week and has made it clear that he intends to see out the remained of his three year contract with the Tigers.
Similar to West Ham there will most likely be a fire sale of players during the summer, in particular, valuable ones such as Stephen Hunt (currently injured) goalkeeper Boaz Myhill and Bullard would all be favourites to be offloaded.

Then there is still the issue with Phil Brown who was placed on “gardening leave” in March after a run of four defeats. He was replaced with by Iain Dowie who is now the “Football Management Consultant” until the end of the season.

It remains to be seen as to who will lead Hull in the Championship next but Chairman Adam Pearson has not ruled out the possibility of Brown coming back as manager. He said: “Could I work with Phil Brown again? I don’t see why not.”

“He’s definitely technically and contractually still the manager of this club. I haven’t discussed this with the owner or with Phil yet. But it is an option to bring Phil back in.”

Will he be welcomed back to the club with open arms? Certainly not, especially judging by George Boetang’s comments last Saturday, where he had some harsh words for Brown.

'When the new staff came in it gave us a bit of hope because the squad were not behind Phil Brown, said Boateng

He also went on to say: ‘Iain Dowie hasn’t taken us down; we were down before because Phil Brown made essential errors that caused us to lose many games.’

Owner Russell Bartlett and Chairman Adam Pearson have already begun restructuring the club to avoid going into either administration or a Creditors Voluntary Agreement (CVA). If they were to enter either of those then they would start off next season on -10 points.

Since the 2003-04 season the club has been on the rise. That season they played in the old third division under Peter Taylor in which the finished second and were promoted to the newly reformed League One where they won promotion again.

After spending two seasons in the Championship they gained promotion to the Premier League in 2007-08. That dream is now over and with the current financial plight Hull is in danger of slipping back down the leagues.

Sadly, they like others before them have “lived the dream” and enjoyed life at the top but now they could be in for a dramatic fall.

McClaren’s road to redemption

2010-04-23T17:59:00.002+01:00

He may still be dubbed as “the Wally with the Brolly” in England after that infamous defeat to Croatia at Wembley where the national side failed to qualify for the 2008 European Championships. While, in Holland Steve McClaren may soon become known as “the man who wins plenty with FC Twente.”

Having guided Twente to runners-up spot in the Dutch league in his first season in charge, McClaren is now on the verge of winning the Eredivisie with the club. It would be their first time winning since reforming as FC Twente in 1965 - they have won the league previously in 1926 when they were known as Sportclub Enschede.

With one game left to the go Twente remain top of the league one point ahead of second placed Ajax. If McClaren does indeed win the title then he is well on his way to recovering his reputation. He has already been short listed for coach of the year along with Ajax's Martin Jol, Feyenoord's Mario Been and Heracles Almelo's Gertjan Verbeek.

Clubs in England are beginning to take a notice in his achievements with West Ham looking for his services. But the former Middlesbrough manager has been quoted in the past as saying: “I’ve no idea if I’ll ever go back to coaching in England. I’ve long since stopped planning my career in terms of ‘I’d like to do this or that.’”

Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of his achievements with the current crop of players is that he has not brought over any English players, instead going for home-grown talent along with coaches from Holland.

In recent interview with the Guardian he talked about this: "My assistants are all Dutch; there are some fantastic young coaches here. I thought it was important to embrace and understand the culture of the club and Dutch football rather than import a different one.”

Twente’s rise is certainly one for all to take note of. Over the past nine years they have been climbing the table slowly but surely from 12th in 2003 up 6th in 2005 before a minor blip which saw them drop to 9th in 2006, then two fourth place finishes and of course last season they were runners-up to AZ Alkmaar.

There has also been a consistent air about their performance this season. Certainly their home record speaks for itself – winning 16 of their 17 games at De Grolsch Veste and drawing the other, similar to Ajax.

Certainly, it is amazing to look at the league table and see Ajax’s goal difference of +83 having scored 102 goals and conceded just 19 and still not be on top of the league. But, as well all know victories and points are what really matter and that is where Twente hold the advantage going into the final round of fixtures on May 2nd.

Sir Bobby Robson, advised McClaren to take the job with Twente. So, it is perhaps fitting that if his side is to beat NAC Breda on Sunday week he will become the first English manager since Robson at Porto in 1996 to win a major European league title.

Now, if that isn’t redemption then I don’t know what is. Should he comeback and manage in England? Maybe not just yet, but certainly one day.

The future of Mancherster United - Smalling & Hernandez

2010-04-13T18:25:00.004+01:00

Chris Smalling has been on a momentous journey, over the past two years, he has gone from non-league football in the Isthmian League with Maidstone to Premier League football with Fulham. He will now move on to the biggest club in the league (no, not Manchester City) but rivals Manchester United, despite only making a handful of appearances for the Cottagers.

Javier Hernandez or as he is also known “Chicharito” meaning Little Pea plies his trade at Guadalajara in Mexico and like Smalling will move to the Red Devils after the World Cup where he will become the first Mexican to join Manchester United. These two players are the future of the club which is £700m in debt.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s comments were particularly interesting on Hernandez: “Players like Hernandez - we have been historically very good at developing”. Ferguson has also begun to enter into the business lingo using words such as “resale value” lately.

So, is this the way the club will be going now – buying hot prospects and youth players in order to sell them on at a profit?

I believe it is. Smalling and Hernandez are both young, ambitious players and if all goes well for them at Manchester United they could, and I emphasise could be sold on at a significant profit. Fail to make an impact and they will end up on the scrapheap with famous flops such as – Eric Djemba-Djemba.

The signing of Hernandez came the same week as United were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich, however, more importantly, it was also reported that the club had turned down the chance to sign Valencia’s David Villa. Another sign that the mountain of debt is beginning to catch up on the club, perhaps?

Apparently buying Villa would have been a risk because there would not be profit made on him in the future and considering he is 28, possibly four to five years playing at United he would be 32 and no club would pay in excess of £40million for him.

It is fair to say in light of recent performances and in the absence of Wayne Rooney that the £30.75m spent on Dimitar Berbatov was a waste of money. Therefore, it is probably best that he is the last big money signing of his kind.

"Occasionally we do go into the transfer market for mature players," insisted Ferguson. "Berbatov was 27 when he came to us but you have to ask yourself if when a 27-year-old fulfils his contract for five years he will have little resale value."

Since when has Fergie been worried about resale value?

Who knows what David Villa might have been like had he joined, somehow I think he would not fail as spectacularly as the Bulgarian.

So many questions and so little answers. Fergie is the master of smoke and mirrors which we discovered last Wednesday night. It could be another interesting summer where not just transfers are concerned at Old Trafford.

As the master said himself – “Football, bloody hell.”

Refereeing - Is it time for change in the UK?

2010-04-08T20:36:00.002+01:00

Mike Dean has been demoted to Championship football this weekend following his – as the Guardian describes it – “erratic” display at Old Trafford last weekend in the game between Manchester United and Chelsea.

His linesman on the day Simon Beck has also been demoted having failed to raise his flag when Didier Drogba was clearly in an offside position when he scored Chelsea’s second goal of the game.

The pair will now take charge of Bristol City's home game against Swansea on Saturday. But, is this really a good enough solution from the Referees Association?

For me, it is blatantly obvious that they have identified the poor performance from the officials in question yet the solution is the ignominy of being demoted.

Admittedly, the errors on the day did cancel each other out – both Manchester United and Chelsea, were denied clear penalties by Dean. Gary Neville barged into Nicolas Anelka while Yuri Zhirkov tripped Park Ji-Sung in the box.

Perhaps due to pressure from his previous game in where he awarded a penalty after Blackburn’s Martin Olsson deceived him with a dive - Dean was never going to give one at Old Trafford.

And while as I mentioned before, Drogba’s goal was offside, Manchester United did manage to clamour a goal back – which was handled in by Fredrico Macheda, therefore you could say fair is fair, right? Wrong.

Sir Alex Ferguson – who is more critical on referees than most called it a "poor, poor performance” before saying "When I saw it was Mike Dean I did worry, I have to say."

Time and time again we hear about the Respect campaign, yet, with all the injustices that seem to be occurring in the game these days – it is hard to abide by this and give referees the respect the obviously deserve.

Former referee Graham Poll wrote in his autobiography - “We are not there to be liked. We are there to try to make the right decisions.”

So many of the calls they make are incorrect. There is a distinct lack of consistency from referees also. Mistakes are part of all walks of life – you and I will both accept that, but it is simply not good enough in football anymore. Each game has so much riding on it – be it promotion, relegation and even reputation.

These days it is easy to cry wolf and call for video technology to be introduced at every little injustice but for how long more do we have to live with these errors?

Does a showpiece tournament such as the World Cup or Champions League Final have to be decided by – a) an offside goal, b) a dive to win a penalty – which is converted or c) a repeat of the Thierry Henry debacle before people sit up and take notice?

A very interesting point which was raised on 606 last Sunday evening in regards to refereeing was that – we have foreign players playing in our leagues, therefore why not have the same with referees?

Gabriele Marcotti said that rather than having a closed system for referees, the Premier League or the Football League chose to bring in the best referees regardless of nationality. It would take the Premier League putting pressure on the Referees Association and Mike Riley - but there is scope for it.

We all want what is best for the game and that is that games are officiated at the highest level and that all the laws of the game are enforced. There are far too many arguments for and against video technology and that is whole different ball game and is something I will be discussing in the near future.

For now – a complete overhaul in refereeing in the Premier League and Football League needs to be undertaken.

Lionel Messi – the best in the world?

2010-04-07T10:41:00.002+01:00

It really is hard to come up with an original piece on Lionel Messi these days because game after game, kick after kick and goal after goal he is fast becoming the greatest player in the world, and certainly the greatest player of my generation.

Sid Lowe wrote in his Guardian column about Messi a couple of weeks ago, after his sensational hat-trick against Zaragoza – saying:

"He was unbebloodylievable. The milk. The consecrated bread. The dog's dingly-danglies."

Forget about the Special One off the pitch – Jose Mourinho. Lionel Messi is the Special One on it. He lets his feet do the talking, and boy, oh; boy that’s what they did last night. I like many other journalists, fans and bloggers alike have run out of adjectives to describe the Argentine striker.

Amazing, fantastic, sensational, out of this world and unstoppable are the words that are going to be trotted out by the usual media hyperbole surrounding his performance last night. And rightly so, however, he was all that and more.

There may have been suggestions that Messi underperformed at the Emirates last Wednesday night but he was far from invisible last night.

Messi didn’t just score one goal, he didn’t even score two, or three – he scored four.

It was Nicklas Bendtner who gave Arsenal the lead after 18minutes, but after that Messi took over the Camp Nou. First taking advantage of a misplaced ball by Mikael Silvestre to equalize in the 21st minute, he then put the defending champions ahead in the 37th by rounding off a smart build-up play with a shot into the top of goal.

Messi capped off the half with a hat trick, his fourth of 2010 - in the 42nd minute when he scooped the ball over goalkeeper Manuel Almunia - his 27th goal in only 24 appearances.

He wasn’t finished there, albeit he had a couple of chances throughout the second half none managed to find the back of the net until the 88th minute - rounding off a spectacular night by sending the ball through Almunia’s legs to make in 4-1 on the night and 6-3 on aggregate to set up a semi final tie with Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan who beat CSKA Moscow 1-0 on the night and 2-0 on aggregate.

There is little doubt that right now Messi is the best in the world. That question of who is the best player in world seem to be popping up more and more recently and have gone from Ronaldo to Rooney to Messi.

Once again, last night, Messi put on a show, an exhibition of his talent for the entire world to see. What amazes me and is something a lot of people forget, this guy is just 22 years old.

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola recently spoke about Messi saying – “This boy is from a different galaxy. He is from a different world.”

Messi is a once a lifetime player and for those lucky enough to see Maradona in his pomp where he single handedly won Argentina the World Cup in 1986 and went very close in 1990 it must be very special to watch Messi today.

Just to get some perspective I posed the question on twitter last night - What does Messi have to do to become the best player of all-time? Does he need to win the WC?

Here is a sample of what I got back:

@DKDickson - It's the Diego/Napoli thing. But it can't happen in this day and age. But if he leads a team from nothing to glory, he is. Maybe leading Argentina to a World Cup IS leading a team from nothing to glory, since Diego is a shambles. - (Check his blog on Messi)

@CFC8Scott – I’m afraid he will NEVER win the World Cup with Argentina. But I agree with everything else about him.

@nikegoal – Messi was the greatest last year and he will continute to be the best for a long time, he is still getting better

@realmadridtalk – He is the best player right now, but I still think Ronaldo is more complete.

@JimKnight88 – Echoing Lukey Moore’s comment that a player like Messi only comes along once in a lifetime. I’m glad he’s the player of our generation.

There you have it, universal praise for Messi. Another big test awaits for Barcelona this weekend – El Clasico – where ultimately the title will be decided. It is conceivable that we could see yet another footballing masterclass from Messi twice in one week?

Confidence will be high in the Catalan camp ahead of the game and you certainly wouldn’t bet your house on Real Madrid winning it, not by a long shot, despite the game being on their home turf - Barca will go into the game favourites knowing that if they win this then La Liga will be theirs for the taking for the second consecutive season.

Can they do it? With Messi – anything is possible.

Martin O'Neill - Will he stay or will he go?

2010-04-04T21:54:00.002+01:00

Seeing Martin O’Neill’s post-match interview on Saturday after his side beat Bolton 1-0 it was blatantly obvious that he was still hurting from last weekend’s trashing against Chelsea. And with doubts about his future as Aston Villa manager being raised it hasn’t been a great week for the Irishman. So, will he stay or will he go?

After back to back sixth place finishes Villa were expected to build on that success this term and challenge for fourth place grabbing a spot in next seasons Champions League, which would be viewed by most as yet another step in the right direction.

However, once again Villa look to have run out of steam just as they near the finish line. For me, the buck has to lie with one man, the manager of course. He expects his team to challenge, yet uses the same key players time and time again, game after game without rotation.

That said it is always good to have stability in a team also, while being able to maintain a level of consistency at the same time, a couple of tweaks here and there and then Villa away in a hack.

Much speculation has been made about O’Neill’s future with some sources saying that he had walked out of the club on Tuesday after a row with owner Randy Lerner, coupled with odds on his departure tumbling from 66/1 to 7/1.

In the run-up to the Bolton game he has said that he will, as he has done in previous seasons sit down will Lerner to discuss next season. Since joining the club four years ago O’Neill has been operating on a “one year rolling contract”. If I was a Villa fan I wouldn’t be exactly filled with confidence by this. Why?

Because he has not nailed his colours to the mast and could effectively walk out of the hotseat at the end of any season. And with the manager’s job vacant at former club Celtic it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he could go back to the side where he achieved huge success.

I’m not taking away from what O’Neill has achieved at Villa – he has led them to the Carling Cup final albeit unfortunately losing out to Manchester United.

Reaching Wembley twice in one season is no mean feat either for the Midlands side, and next Sunday they come up against Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi-Finals.

If you were to ask Villa fans right now which they would rather, winning the FA Cup or finishing fourth many would say the former.

After investing £88million in players, Aston Villa has spent more money than any other Premier League team, obviously with the exception of moneybags Manchester City.

Therefore, another sixth place finish would not be considered as a success from my point of view. Yes, the Premier League is more competitive this season, but Villa have had their chance to grab 4th twice now. But, what better way to make up for that by winning silverware.

Don’t get me wrong I am a big fan of Martin O’Neill and really like Aston Villa as a club and they way the line-up so I would not like to see him leave the club, nor would I ever like to see them crash and burn at the final hurdle.

Coming back to the question will he stay or will he go? Honestly, I think he will stay; he hasn’t lost the fans and hasn’t lost the dressing room therefore there is no reason for him to leave unless he feels he isn’t up to the job anymore and we all know that is not true.

Extra reading: Is Martin O'Neill all he is cracked up to be? - Gabriele Marcotti

Fulham: The incredible journey continues

2010-04-01T10:54:00.002+01:00

Fulham have been on an incredible journey. 15 years ago they were struggling at the bottom tier of English football. Even go back to just two years ago and they were battling relegation from the Premier League, now they are potential Europa League contenders this season mingling with some of Europe’s finest.

A little over three weeks ago the Cottagers pull off their biggest and most famous win of their 131 year history when they beat Juventus 4-1 at Craven Cottage. It was an amazing comeback from Fulham, who had many people in awe considering they went into the game trailing 3-1 from the first leg in Turin.

Many may have thought it was all over after the first minute after David Trezeguet scored for the away side, but it went downhill for the Italian side from there. Fulham made the impossible possible, scoring four goals and pulling off a famous European victory. One being a stunner from Clint Dempsey.

Their reward is a quarter-final tie with reigning German champions Wolfsburg who they take on tonight in London, the winner of the tie over the two legs will play the winner of Hamburg and Standard Liege in the semi-final. So, it is not beyond the realms of possibility for Fulham to reach the final.

A much underrated manager on these shores – Roy Hodgson is the man who has been pulling the strings at Fulham since taking over from Lawrie Sanchez a little over two years ago. He has travelled the world managing teams such as Inter Milan, Udinese, Switzerland, Finland and United Arab Emirates he has picked up many tricks of the trade along the way.

The 62 year old has even been linked as a possible successor to national team coach Fabio Capello, certainly not something people would have said two years ago, because they either would not have heard of him let alone rated him.

Personally, because of what he has achieved this season with Fulham in Europe and in the Premier League that Hodgson warrants manager of the year. Getting results against sides such as Juventus (4-1), Manchester United (3-0) and Liverpool (3-1) is no mean feat while also reaching the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Every successful manager gets the best he can out of his players and that is exactly what Hodgson has been doing – Mark Schwarzer, Brede Hangerland, Bobby Zamora, Chris Smalling(who Hodgson will take credit for finding), Damien Duff et al. All have prospered at Fulham since joining.

It looks likely Fulham won’t qualify for Europe next season, which is another reason for them to put on a fine showing tonight and in the away leg.

Can they win the Europa League? Under Roy Hodgson anything is possible.

Serie A - Roma join the title race

2010-03-31T21:18:00.005+01:00

As with all of the major leagues around Europe this season title races are going right down to the wire. Perhaps the most fascinating one is taking place in Italy where Inter Milan are vying to win their fifth Scudetto in a row, but coming up in the rear view mirror is Claudio Ranieri’s Roma.

The Giallorossi’s journey is of phoenix like quality, two straight defeats at the start of the season saw Luciano Spalletti resign. After musings the Sensi family who own the club weren’t willing to back the club with more money to bring in new players fans were left frustrated.

Claudio Ranieri soon took over and spoke about “pragmatism” when he took charge in September, however not even he would have thought that Roma would be challenging for the Scudetto come the business end of the season.

This weekend saw the two contenders come head to head – Roma vs. Inter and Ranieri vs. Mourinho.

There is no love lost between these two who drew their battle lines a couple of years ago when Mourinho questioned Ranieri’s age – “He’s old and he hasn’t won anything.” He has won a Supercup and another small trophy and he is too old to change his mentality.”

Going into the game the Giallorossi were four points behind Inter after a 2-0 win mid-week over Bologna, which was helped by the fact Milan, Roma’s nearest rivals Milan, fell to a 1-0 defeat away to Parma.

The Stadio Olympico was the venue for the two sides to showcase their title credentials and it was the home side that got off to the better start. Daniele De Rossi poked the ball home after 17 minutes - a shocking error from Julio Cesar who let the ball slip from his grasp.

Inter were unlucky not to draw level before half-time Samuel and Milito both hitting the crossbar. The Nerazurri did manage to find an equaliser which came in the 66th minute, but it was marred with controversy – Goran Pandev was clearly offside in the build-up to the goal, which both the ref and his linesman failed to spot, Diego Milito knocked the ball in from close distance.

Roma managed to find a winner just six minutes later, Luca Toni sending the Stadio Olympico into raptures as, which prompted Ranieri to say the title race is back on.

Speaking after the game he said: “We have reopened the title race, now it will be a test of nerves. For five months we have chased and sacrificed ourselves to the cause; now we have beaten a stratospheric team who deserve our compliments”

Despite the fact Inter are still top of Serie A by a point at the moment, the advantage lies with Roma who would win the league on the head to head count if it comes down to that. They are now unbeaten in 21 game which is three short of the club record held in 2001-02 season under Fabio Capello.

Inter paid the price for high tensions during the game – seven yellow cards were dispatched and the Nerazzurri will be without Maicon, Zanetti, Lucio and Eto’o who will miss Inter’s next game to Bologna.

Roma have made up 13 points on Inter since the sides last met in November, they are now the form team of the Serie A and could well over take Mourinho’s side.

The title however, is still Inter’s to lose.

Mowbray axed - Former players top of the recruitment list

2010-03-26T13:01:00.002+00:00

Lately there seems to be a perception that former players who have been considered “club legends” in the past can come in as a manager and transform a team with their reputation.

While this may not be the case for Tony Mowbray - he was a former player of Celtic who lost his wife to cancer during his first term at the club, therefore there was always going to be that emotional connection by returning to Parkhead.

His fate as Celtic manager was sealed on Wednesday night after the Hoops suffered a shocking 4-0 defeat to St. Mirren, their first defeat in the town of Paisley in 21 years; it was also the Saints first win in 12 games. Even at 4-0 the St. Mirren faithful looked for more as they chanted “we want five”.

Yesterdays Irish Daily Star’s back page led with the witty headline of “Hell in Mirren” probably the best headline since “Super Cally Go Ballistic, Celtic are atrocious” which followed after shocking defeat for the Hoops a couple of years ago.

There is a certain pressure that goes with being Celtic manager and that comes when you are not keeping in check with Old Firm rivals – Rangers. The SPL has been a two horse race for years but this term it is now Rangers’ to lose, the Gers are currently 10 points clear at the summit, albeit they have played two more games than Celtic.

Speaking after the game Mowbray said that "I just said to the team in the dressing room that I take responsibility,” And that is exactly what he did as the former West Brom manager was relieved of his duties yesterday afternoon.

Of his 45 matches Mowbray’s record looks like this - his team won 23 games, drew 9 and lost a staggering 13 times, with defeats to Dinamo Moscow, Arsenal, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Rangers, Hamburg, Hearts, Dundee United, Hibs, Kilmarnock and, finally, St Mirren.

Neil Lennon now takes over as interim manager – another former player and current first team coach. The Northern Ireland man is the bookies favourite to take the job permanently; also on the list Ipswich manager Roy Keane, Paul Lambert and Henrik Larsson all ex-Celtic players.

Yet again former players make up the list of potential candidates, all of which have huge reputations in Scotland. Would they be willing to take control at Celtic and take a drop in wages? Or put their reputations on the line?

Celtic’s last hope of silverware this season is the Scottish Cup which will no doubt need to be won or else their whole season has been a failure, that may sound harsh but football is Scotland is hardly setting the world alight at the moment.

Last weekend’s home victory over St. Johnstone was watched by only 30,000 – which shows that even season ticket holders, all 20,000 of them are not bothered anymore.

If the club cannot attract the fans then money, which is already an issue for the Bhoys is going to become even tighter and will affect the calibre of manager they can attract to Parkhead.

It’s over to you – who should become the new Celtic manager? Should it be an ex-player or should it be someone with no connection with the club whatsoever?

Antonio Valencia - The wing wizard

2010-03-23T21:31:00.005+00:00

When Antonio Valencia was bought by Sir Alex Ferguson in June 2009 there was always going to be a comparison made between him and Cristiano Ronaldo, whether he likes it or not - having been acquired in his immediate departure from Old Trafford.

Valencia moved to Old Trafford after having played 89 games for Wigan, scoring seven Premier League goals in his time with the Latics, while also attracting interest from clubs both at home and abroad.

It might have taken the Ecuadorian international a while to make the step up from playing at almost always half empty DW stadium and adjust to playing at a packed to the rafters Old Trafford.

At first Valencia was considered by many to be a bit part player when he first signed. However, this is not true, yes he did take a while to find his feet but now he is beginning to shine. What qualities does he bring to the table?

He offers United all the S’s – strength, speed, skill and style.

While finding the back of the net might be elusive for Valencia and he will never set the goal scoring charts alight or beat Ronaldo’s record of 42 goals in a season – he does have the knack of setting up goals for others.

His recent man of the match performance in the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa where he set up the winning goal for Wayne Rooney is testament to this. In the 42 games he has played this season he has scored seven goals and made five assists.

As I said before whether Valencia likes it or not he will always be compared to a certain Portuguese winger – Cristiano Ronaldo. And that is exactly what I have done here.

Looking at Valencia vs. Ronaldo in detail I point you towards the Guardian chalkboards which I have recently discovered. Recommended if you are looking to see a players work rate. I took Valencia’s performance against Liverpool on Sunday and compared it with the same fixture against last season which Ronaldo played in.

Both games did have contrasting results with Liverpool beating Manchester United 4-1 last season, but the Red Devils made up for that crushing defeat by winning 2-1 this time round.

by Guardian Chalkboards

As you can see Valencia’s mainly plied his trade down the right wing was intent on getting into the box. On the other hand Ronaldo was more an all-round player in the game playing on both wings and even tracking back to defend.

Ronaldo had more passes in the game – 42 in total, 30 of which were successful and 12 unsuccessful. Valencia fared better, he did only have 31 passes, but 25 of them were successful with 6 unsuccessful.

When asked about Real Madrid’s star man Valencia modestly replied with “Cristiano is a superstar and I’m Valencia, a footballer learning each day.” “I don’t desire comparisons with him as we are different players.”

Ageing Chelsea in need of rejuvenation

2010-03-22T13:21:00.002+00:00

When Carlo Ancelotti took over as Chelsea manager in July he was the man who Roman Abramovich believed would lead Chelsea to glory on all fronts this season. However, the clubs recent form and suggestions of split among the players could mean the Blues end the season empty handed.

They might be still vying for the double of the Barclays Premier League and FA Cup – if they do so then they will become only the sixth team in the 114 years of English football to achieve the league and couple double. Other teams to do the double are Tottenham, Arsenal, Man United, Aston Villa and Preston.

But, it does not disguise the fact that they’ve played very poorly in their last two games, especially against Inter Milan on Tuesday and the draw against Blackburn yesterday. The game against Milan wasn’t the first time that Chelsea have been bossed in a game this season; you just have to look at their 4-2 defeat at the hands of Manchester City to see that.

Recent reports say that there is a clear split in the camp at Chelsea, after the John Terry/Wayne Bridge fiasco with a lot of people supporting the latter. Also revelations of serial cheater and naked snapper Ashley Cole will be taking its toll and affecting team morale. You can’t have controversy like that and not be disturbed by it.

After a fantastic start to the season Chelsea’s form has dipped lately towards the latter part of the season where form really counts. The problem with Chelsea is they have not evolved since Jose Mourinho left two years ago and that was very clear in the game between the two clubs with the Special’s One mark still written all over the team sheet.

Is it facade to suggest Roman Abramovich should not have forced the Special One out?

The answer is no. The Russian billionaire has had too many knee jerk reactions over the past couple of years to defeats. Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Guus Hiddink have all been and gone since Mourinho left.

By securing the services of Carlo Ancelotti a man with plenty of Champions League pedigree having won it as manager and a player – he was expected to deliver European glory which Blues fans crave.

Ancelotti will now be under a significant amount of pressure having failed in Europe and if Chelsea miss out on the Premier League title then Italian will be in an even more precarious position.

If Ancelotti lasts at least until the end of the season, it will mark the first time that the Londoners have completed a full season under the leadership of one manager since Jose Mourinho in the 2006-07 campaign.

As we saw when he was in charge of AC Milan, Ancelotti is not an advocate of buying new players but rathers working with what he has got. When probed about his squads’ age he replied – “I don’t think this team is old. I won a Champions League with players who were 39 years old.”

He may not have a player as old as 39 at Chelsea but most of his key players are the wrong side of 30 – Ballack (33), Anelka (31), Drogba (32), and Lampard (31).

If Chelsea fail to win the title or/and the FA Cup then Ancelotti could be shown the door along with a couple of players. Win the title and the FA Cup and Ancelotti will have rescued Chelsea from the abyss.

The Blues will need to spend big during to summer if they are even to think about challenging on all fronts next season. Abramovich needs to help and not hinder this process and for that to happen Ancelotti needs to stay in charge.

Champions League Draw: All English Final still on the cards

2010-03-20T12:08:00.002+00:00

Having survived the last-16 curse which has claimed three holders in the last four years tournament favourites Barcelona have managed to make it to the last eight where they will face Arsenal in a repeat of the 2006 final.

There was also a case of déjà vu for Manchester United who will face Bayern Munich in a repeat of that classic 1999 final where United scored two late goals to secure an historic treble at the Camp Nou. Having trashed AC Milan in the previous round Sir Alex Ferguson and co will be confident in overcoming the German side.

If they do overcome Bayern they will face the winners of the all-French clash between Lyon and Bordeaux. This means there will be a French side in the last four for the first time since Monaco in 2004.

Because United and Arsenal have been separated there is still a chance of an all English final but the chances of that could be quite slim given that Barcelona are still favourites to become the first side to retain the trophy in the Champions League era.

Arsenal are at home to the Spanish champions in the first leg, while United will be at home for the second leg against Bayern. Of course, Arsene Wenger will have wanted to avoid Barcelona in the draw but it does set up some mouth-watering match ups.

Cesc Fabregas will relish playing against his former club, with whom he is often linked with a return; also Thierry Henry will face the club where he became a cult hero. Of the men who started in Wenger's line-up that night in Paris only Campbell, Emmanuel Eboué and Cesc Fábregas continue to be on Arsenal's books.

The winner of the clash between Arsenal and Barcelona will face either Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan - who knocked out Chelsea earlier this week - or CSKA Moscow in the semi-finals. No doubt the Italian side will be favourites to progress in that one.

CSKA Moscow are making their first appearance in the last eight but will be no pushovers as Manchester United know when they came to Old Trafford and got a 3-3 draw, they also knocked out Spanish side Sevilla in the last round.

The Quarter-finals is made up of eight teams for six different countries, which is the most varied group to reach this stage since the 1998-99 season. Once again English teams are at the forefront of the latter stages having two teams in the last eight along with France, while Spain, Italy, German and Russia have one team.

If I was to go out and make a bold prediction, then Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Bordeaux should be in the semi-finals. That would make it Barcelona vs. Inter round two and Bayern Munich vs. Bordeaux. Who says that the Champions League is predictable?

Match Report: Chelsea 0-1 Inter – Inter win 3-1 on aggregate

2010-03-17T11:14:00.002+00:00

The self proclaimed Special One returned to Stamford Bridge last night having left the club three years previously. This time he was seated on the opposition bench and was ready and raring to go three minutes before the game kicked-off soaking up the atmosphere of his former home.

Of course the match did not begin on the pitch when the referee blew his whistle at 7.45pm, oh no. The game kicked off much earlier than that, in a place where Jose Mourinho is at his best – the pre-match press conference. This is where the fireworks begin and where journos can fill their notebooks with words of wisdom from the Inter coach.

As usual he didn’t disappoint. Speaking before the game he said “I will be the Special One, win or lose” And luckily for his reputations sake it was the former that came to pass.

Mourinho the tactical mastermind inflicted Chelsea’s first home defeat in the Champions League in 22 games sending them out of a competition that they crave to win. It was also only the second time Chelsea failed to score in 45 outings.

Just one goal separated the sides and that came 12 minutes from time. Inter had been knocking on the door for long periods of the second half but it was going to take a touch of class to break Chelsea down.

Dutch international Wesley Sneijder was the one who found the key to unlock the door, he released Samuel Eto’o who beat the offside trap on the right side of Ivanovic before running on and shooting emphatically into the bottom left of Ross Turnbull’s net.

Carlo Ancelotti who seemed to be forgotten about by all of the press was the man brought in by Roman Abramovich to end Chelsea’s drought of European glory yet it has ended in disaster by being knocked out in the last 16 stage.

It was always going to be a bittersweet occasion for all involved but will billionaire Russian owner be regretting falling out with the man they like to call the Special One?

As is always the case with Chelsea controversy marred the end of the game and somewhat typically Didier Drogba was involved. A pure lack of discipline from the Ivorian international letting his frustrations get the better of himself by stamping on Thiago Motta. He was shown a straight red card for the third successive European campaign.

When you put it into perspective you can see why Drogba lost the run of himself at the final hurdle. Over the two legs he was kept under the cosh by the Inter back four, however, he was also unlucky not to get a penalty having been dragged to the ground by Walter Samuel. At that stage Drogba had been on the ground many times so it was no surprise when Wolfgang Stark waved play on.

Overall Inter deserved to go through. They were the better team over both legs and were a mirror image of the Chelsea Jose Mourinho created all those years ago.

For the neutrals out there it was a classic Champions League tie - now the Italian side go into Friday’s draw with heavyweights Manchester United, Arsenal, Lyon, Bayern Munich and CKSA Moscow waiting.

For now, the Special One lives on – “I keep winning important things, he said. “They keep winning something. They won an FA Cup” The big question is can Mourinho win the important thing - the Champions League? Chelsea’s only hope now is another FA Cup and a Premier League title; even then they are not guaranteed to win either.

Beckham's World Cup dream in tatters

2010-03-16T13:35:00.002+00:00

David Beckham’s dream of playing in a fourth World Cup look to be over after he was pulled up with an Achilles tendon injury in Milan on Sunday night, there are also fears that his 18 year career could be over.

Reports suggest it could take anything up to five months before Beckham is up on his feet and kicking a ball again. As were the case in 2002 when Beckham broke his metatarsal a nation once again holds its breath in the off chance he could make the World Cup in June.

However, this media frenzy surrounding the former England captain is somewhat creepy from my point of view. He has got injured, by some newspapers yesterday you would think he had died and they were already writing the obituaries.

Of course it is hard not to feel sorry for Beckham but I would like to echo the view of Guardian columnist Rob Smyth who wrote a piece titled “Can we have some perspective?” And I believe that it what is needed here.

While Beckham is a key figure in the dressing room and would almost certainly be assured of a place on the place to South Africa, albeit he would not have featured in Fabio Capello’s starting XI in each game but would have most likely been a morale boosting substitute.

Therefore his injury does not affect the shape of the team in any way. Had the injury been to Wayne Rooney then it is safe to say we would all be imposing a newspaper lockdown upon ourselves because it would be impossible to escape.Let’s hope that does not happen, certainly for England’s World Cup dream to stay alive.

As a Manchester United fan I’ve always had admiration for David Beckham even though he has long since departed Old Trafford for Real Madrid and LA Galaxy. He has always shown that he is a true professional who is committed to his football and is always looking to better himself.

This is exemplified when his England place was under threat while playing in the MLS in America – he has moved to Milan for the past two winters in a bid to keep himself in Fabio Capello’s plans.

The World Cup would have given him the chance to close in on goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s international appearance record of 125 caps, currently Beckham has 115. He is also the only man to score for England in three World Cup tournaments, an amazing achievement in its own right.

Beckham’s motivation over the past few months would have been this summer’s tournament and would possibly have been his swansong. Now it looks like the midfielder will have a long and winding road to recovery, a lonesome road at that, not something anyone likes to see a player go through.

It remains to be seen whether this is the end of Beckham’s career but it is and injury he would have liked to avoid especially with his 35th birthday coming up in May. I’m sure Capello will take Beckham to the World Cup regardless of his injury not as part of the playing squad but the backroom team.

This begs the question - is this the injury that spurs England on to World Cup glory?

Is it time for Benitez to go?

2010-03-15T13:33:00.003+00:00

The minimum requirement for any Liverpool manager should be a top four finish and domestic or European trophy but currently Rafa Benitez is failing to deliver on a promise he made a couple of months ago. Now the big question on everyone’s lips is – Will Rafa Benitez still be in charge of the club next season?

And the answer to that question is yes, albeit he should not be considering how his team have gone out and performed this season. We all know from his press conferences, his tactics and his interaction with other managers that Benitez is highly negative and stubborn.

That is why he remains on as manager, but not just that, because he signed a new contract last March it could cost the club around £16million to sack him according to the Daily Mail. The Spaniard has a clause in the five-year contract that dictates his £4m-a-season deal is paid up in full within 24 hours of him being dismissed.

Despite some abysmal performances and shocking defeats, nine in total, Benitez still won’t walk away from what is a sinking ship.

Having dominated the Premier League last season Liverpool were hotly tipped to continue that form once again this term but their season started out bad and has gone to worse after back to back defeats at Wigan and Lille in the Premier League and Europa League respectively in the last week.

As I said earlier the Kop have been beaten on nine occasions in the Premier League this season, defeats have come at the hands of: Wigan (a), Arsenal (a), Portsmouth (a), Arsenal (h), Chelsea (a), Fulham (a), Sunderland (a), Aston Villa (h) and Spurs (a). It is interesting to note that only two of those defeats have occurred in front of their home crowd and it shows how important fans are to a team.

Crashing out of the Champions League at the group stages, losing 2-1 to Reading in the FA Cup and being knocked out of the Carling Cup by a youthful Arsenal side the only trophy which Liverpool can now win is the Europa League even then that is not realistic they would be better off focusing on finishing fourth.

Defeat to Manchester United next weekend would make it impossible for Benitez to fulfill his promise of Champions League football next season. Failure to reach the Champions League would leave Liverpool seriously lacking the TV money that goes with qualification and could see key players like Fernando Torres leave the club.

I am not a Liverpool fan but all these talks of new investors sound hopeful but that have to be seen to be believed, so I take them with a pinch of salt and I am sure Liverpool fans would agree with that.

According to recent reports Liverpool are in talks with private equity firm the Rhone Group over a proposed £118.5million deal to buy a significant share of the club, apparently their investment would see Liverpool retain both Torres and Gerrard.

Another crucial week for Rafa Benitez and Liverpool begins tonight as they take on Portsmouth, they will also face Lille on Thursday night and Manchester United on Sunday, by this time next week Liverpool’s season could well be totally over.

The fans need to get behind their side and ask questions of the players and
management later because fourth place is currently a dream but could be a reality if they win every game between now and the end of the season.

Administration: Pompey are the first, but won’t be the last

2010-03-01T12:37:00.004+00:00

This week the inevitable happened for Portsmouth FC. They became the first ever Premier League club to enter administration. They will now be pared right down to the bone as the administrator Andrew Andronikou takes over the daily running of the club looking to cut all costs in order to get the club back on track.

However, despite all the reports of how Pompey were going to go out of business, administration looks to be the best option for them right now. It means that they will now remain on in the Premier League and will not be served with a winding up order, which was due to be given on the 1st of March.

Having now entered administration Pompey look set to incur a nine point deduction as punishment. Although, it remains to be seen whether the club will actually be deducted these points, Andronikou has said this week that he will ask the Premier League for this to be held off because it is the first time a club has entered administration in the top flight.

Avram Grant really sums up the situation - “Football should be decided on the pitch not in the courts, not in the Premier League offices”

If they were to be deducted nine points then Pompey would effectively be relegated to the Championship because they would be 14 points from safety with 12 games remaining. It is not inconceivable, but they would be depending on teams above them not to win.

While it has been the worst week in their 112 year history, Pompey have at least three positives to take from it.

Firstly, they have entered administration, which I think is a blessing in disguise rather than going out of business. That would have been disastrous for all involved not to mention the Premier League as a whole and results becoming null and void.

Secondly, Avram Grant who I have a newfound admiration for - will be staying on as manager of the South Coast club. I think what Pompey need is stability and that is what Grant has brought to the team.

And finally, the spirit of the players who went to Burnley on Saturday and gained what was possibly their biggest victory of the season beating the Clarets 2-1.
For a team who have gone through not just a rough patch but, a rough season deserve an immense amount of credit. People may say the win was against Burnley, but it was at Turf Moor which has been the Clarets fortress this season.

Honestly, I hope the Premier League hand Pompey a lifeline by not deducting the nine points. Certainly, I did say before that the Premier League should not help Pompey but that was in regards to dishing out money when there was no hope of survival. With the appointment of the administrator I would argue that the club is already more stable.

They also must enter a Company Voluntary Agreement for unsecured creditors or start the next season with another deduction of at least 15 points.

Portsmouth are the first ever Premier League club to enter administration, but the sad thing is that they certainly will not be the last. I wish the club all the best for the future, and really hope that they do manage to stay up if they don’t incur the nine point penalty.

Who will win the title? And who will snatch fourth place?

2010-02-24T08:34:00.004+00:00

The most dramatic title race in the Premier League for years took yet another turn this weekend as current holders Manchester United lost for the sixth time this season after they were comfortably beaten by Everton 3-1 at Goodison Park, but last night they made up for this by beating West Ham 3-0 at Old Trafford.

The Toffees have had a huge impact on the title race having first beaten Chelsea and now Manchester United in the space of ten days. But, the big boys’ slipping up has been the story of the season. The top three of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal collectively have been defeated 16 times so far, compared to the 11 in the whole of last season.

Each team craves the Premier League title yet nobody seems to want to take a hold of it. There have been fleeting moments when one of the three has broken away only to be dragged right back after a crushing defeat.

If the teams overall form was to be described in one word then it would be: mediocre. There has been no consistency at all, Manchester United have never lost six games in a season since the inception of the Premier League, Chelsea have dropped 18 points on the road, while Arsenal have crumbled when they came face to face with Chelsea and United and fell to crushing defeats.

Despite that, the Gunners are far from out of the title race, they are after all only two points behind United in 3rd place, and have possibly the easier run-in, albeit every game needs to be won and hope both Chelsea and Man United slip-up.

Personally, the defining moment of this season will be when Chelsea come to Old Trafford on April 3rd. Currently the Blues have a one point advantage at the summit of the league, although, Manchester United have played a game more, yet the Blues are by no means a safe bet to win the title. Any slip-ups and the chasing pack will be right on them. Having said that, I will stick my neck on the line and say Chelsea will win the title.

The other race that is hotting up is the one for fourth place and that coveted qualification into next seasons Champions League. At the moment it is advantage Tottenham who after a 3-0 win over Wigan managed to leapfrog Liverpool and Manchester City.

City have dropped down to 5th after that dismal 0-0 draw with Liverpool at the City of Manchester Stadium in what many people billed as the worst game of football they have ever seen, despite a plethora of talent being on show. The Reds stay 6th in the table, compared to this time last year when they were top of the table.

Hot on their tails are Carling Cup finalists Aston Villa in 7th on 45 points. Only one point separates them from Tottenham in 4th. Like the top three, these four teams will probably not change as seven points is the gap between Villa and the next team, Everton who are on 38 points.

I fully expect Aston Villa to secure fourth place. They came agonisingly close last year only to go on a run of losing games and were pipped at the post by Arsenal. This time round Martin O’Neill has not only has players fit, but players who are capable to getting results when they are needed. Also, their airtight back four will stand to them when it comes down to goal differences, out of the teams only Spurs have better.

So, what are your thoughts? With 11 games remaining we know that the top three will probably be Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United but it what order? And who will win the race for fourth place? Leave your comments below.

Wolves fined for fielding a "weakened team"

2010-02-18T15:17:00.002+00:00

“Taking the Mick or expecting the inevitable?” That was the name of the piece I wrote after Mick McCarthy fielded a weakened team against Manchester United at Old Trafford on December 15th. Today, Wolves have been fined £25,000 for fielding that weakened team, but the question is what really constitutes a weakened team?

In the run up to the game the former Ireland manager made 10 changes from the side which had won 1-0 at Tottenham three days before, Wolves went on to lose to Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford. Subsequently nine of the players who had been in action at that victory White Hart Lane and were rested at Old Trafford were recalled as Wolves faced fellow strugglers Burnley a game in which they went on to win 2-0.

In my original piece I argued that McCarthy was right to put out an under strength team, why, because they had this important game coming up at Burnley the following Sunday which was a must win game. However, I also said that was a cop out by Mick McCarthy, almost similar to holding up a white flag and waving it in the air.

Speaking after today’s announcement he said: "I accept the Premier League’s decision. It was never my intention to break any of the Premier League's rules, only to pick a team that was in the best position to get a result. I'm pleased the matter is now closed."

The club has been found guilty of breaching two rules, Rule E20 which states “In every League match each participating club shall field a full strength team.” And also Rule B.13 – “In all matters and transactions relating to the League each club shall behave towards each other club and the League with the utmost good faith.”

Wolves were not the first team to field an under strength side in a Premier League tie, Manchester United have done it on occasions, so have Liverpool, albeit they have usually been in dead rubber end of season games.

But, had Manchester United had fielded a second string side against Wolves would anyone have batted any eye? Possibly not, but now that Wolves have been fined it will lead to wider discussions about squad rotations.

Just because Wolves’ and indeed other team’s reserve players are not as well know as others does not mean that they are not good enough to go out and play in the first team.

Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey said: 'We are obviously disappointed but we respect the Premier League's ruling especially as they have now used our case as a clear warning to all other clubs, some of whom have made similar changes to their teams in Premier League matches in the past, that this is not acceptable in the future.

Football is a cruel game and I am afraid in the Premier League there is no parity between clubs that is really the main issue this. Wolves have been unfairly charged in my opinion, rules or no rules. All these proposed changes in the league mean nothing because it is one rule for the top clubs and another for all the rest.

What are your thoughts? Who will be the next club to field a weakened team? Will it be Chelsea at the aforementioned Wolves on Saturday?