Premier League Fans - Mirror.co.uk

The curtain raiser to the new season edges near...

2009-08-08T15:34:23Z

Time flies quickly in the footballing world, it wasn't too long ago when Manchester United's players were standing around in the Stadio Olympico feeling deflated, minutes after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League final. Months later, with arrivals and departures in the players lounge, the new season draws near and the expectations rise again.

In the summer of big spending, United have been relatively low key in their purchases. Spending the money received from Cristiano Ronaldo's world record transfer to Real Madrid, they bought Wigan's Luis Antonio Valencia for £17m, another £3m on unknown Frenchman Gabriel Obertan and a shock free signing of ex-Liverpool forward Michael Owen. A far cry from the big names United, in the aftermath of Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez's exit from Old Trafford, were linked with Franck Ribery, David Silva, Karim Benzema and other international stars.

But what Manchester United are, unlike Real Madrid, not a team of 'Galacticos'. The strength and success at United is down to good squad conditioning, buying experienced players such as Owen alongside promising individuals like Valencia and Obertan.

It would have been too easy to spend £50-60m on Ribery, just to satisfy those fans wanting a 'big name' to replace Ronaldo but history shows that the unknown can prove to be a better player than the huge star. When David Beckham left in 2003 to join Madrid, it was a certain Portuguese at the age of 17, who wore the number seven shirt and showed his wizardary on the wing.

That's why the Ecuadorian Valencia could be a perfect signing and a different type of player to Ronaldo, who used his skills, energy and pace to burst his way into the goal socring charts over the past three years. Valencia will not offer the number of goals Ronaldo could, but has shown in the pre-season games that he will be more the provider and that can only bode well for the United strike force.

Frenchman Obertan was a surprise signing from French champions Bordeaux, he is another unknown but potential star. Playing mainly on the left wing, he is seen as another replacement for Ryan Giggs but he is currently on the treatment table recovering from an injury.

Out of all the signings, Owen has shown excellent pre-season form and hinting that his signing by Sir Alex Ferguson could prove to be a bargain signing. He's looked deadly in the box and scored a beauty of a goal on the tour in the Far East after an exquisite touch by Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov, who also should reap the benefits of the exits of Ronaldo and Tevez.

United boss Ferguson has injury issues ahead of Sunday's Community Shield clash with Chelsea, with goalkeeper and defensive problems. Edwin Van Der Sar, Nemanja Vidic, Gary Neville and Wes Brown are unavailable with Ben Foster and Tomasz Kusczak looking to replace the Dutchman in goal for the eight weeks he will be out for.

All eyes are on the Community Shield, as United and Chelsea will nudge up the pre-season energy levels. Chelsea, under the management of Carlo Ancelotti will be looking for an early trophy to boost their own confidence under a new manager. I'm not expecting any huge fireworks, but an energetic kick about in the Wembley sun.

You have got it so, so wrong Adebayor!

2009-07-24T13:20:42Z

What the *BLEEP* has Adebayor been going on about in the papers this morning!?

The Arsenal fans drove him out of the club and did not show him the support that we show Cesc!?...... I wonder why that may be Ade? Possibly because whenever Cesc is linked with a club he instantly puts a statement out reassuring the fans that he is 100% an Arsenal man. Now this can be compared to our latest exit, who personally decided not to deny speculation last summer but allow his agent to release comments in relation to how flattered and pleased he was for such clubs to be after him.

We gave Ade amazing support during his first two years, considering before his 30 goal season he had a goal to every 3000 shot average (slight exaggeration I know), he was absolutely loved by the fans. He showed commitment, desire and had unlimited energy for the team. Then he had that one good season, got a big pay increase and failed to ease the fans during a summer where he was linked with all of Europe's top clubs. The season that followed resulted in numerous lazy and un-inspired performances, which is what angered the fans and now he has the audacity to say we forced him out!!!

Good riddance Ade, I am sure he will do well at City, but to be perfectly honest I'm glad he is no longer with us. Considering the baron spell that we are currently going through as a club, we still fill that stadium every week at one of the highest ticket prices in the league and give our all. Every player that has performed at this club and been a true Arsenal player is always welcomed back with huge amounts of admiration, it is not that long ago that Pires' name echoed out again against Villarreal. But unfortunately Ade all of your actions now mean that you will not be one of those player, you won't be in the Ashley Cole group of hatred, but I would not be thanking you for your time at Arsenal if I saw you in the street.

On a much brighter note I am so, so excited at the prospect of both Eduardo and Rosicky featuring again on Monday night. Keep the faith, Arsene Knows.

Arsenal's injury jinx strikes again!!!

2009-07-21T13:04:28Z

So the official announcement from Arsenal has finally arrived, Adebayor has been sold to Man City and with no uproar from us Gooners at all. Ade, until last season, was a great player and emerging talent on the world stage in an Arsenal shirt. He WAS loved by the fans and WAS showing that Wenger had bought another absolute bargain, but that all changed after last summer. He deservedly got a lot of stick from segments of emirates stadium due to his stalling over a contract and lack of commitment to the club. It was his reaction to this that sealed his fate in the end, he could have come back with more desire and won the fans over, but instead he had a mediocre season with many supporters questioning his commitment.

Arsene made a comment about how he did not get enough support from the fans and this annoyed me a little. The relationship between a fan and the squad is one of give and take, the players show their passion and determination for the club and the fans give back by singing their heart out for the team. So if a player is obviously not fully behind the cause, like Ade was last season, can there really be any complaints about lack of support? I think not.

The other big factor for the club is the lack of transfer funds in comparison to the other top teams, due to the debt from the stadium, so 25 million is always going to be snapped up if it's right for the club. It seems that Wenger is hinting at no more arrivals before the start of the season, asking for us to have faith in the current squad. I personally do not see a need for an immediate replacement for Ade, as the new season should see the return of Eduardo and Rosicky and the options up top for Arsene will be far from limited. Eduardo and RVP would work just fine as a combo and would be a similar setup to the Bergkamp/Wright partnership with an out and out goal scorer lining up next to a skilled playmaker with an eye for goal. If we go for a 4-4-2 at the start of the season then that would be my initial shout for the starting partnership before we see the pre-season action.

I would still love to see a new defensive midfielder come in that can add some real steel to the heart of the side and allow our attack minded players to have a little more freedom. But having said this, like so many Arsenal fans, I have total faith in Wenger and am sure he has everything for the new season worked out to the very last detail. It's time now to enjoy some pressure free football till the start of the season before the intensity of chasing titles is back upon us.

Just as I finished this I saw an update on the Arsenal website stating that Nasri has broke his fibula at the Austrian training camp*insert expletive here* . We must be one of the unluckiest clubs when it comes to injuries and always seem to have someone out with a long term issue. Nasri is a vital member of the first team and has had some brilliant games for us so far in the red and white, so we really must hope that rosicky can start the season now as Nasri will be a big loss. So maybe Wenger might update his thinking on transfers now, but this will still depend on how the returning players react to pre-season training. Keep the faith, Arsene knows.

Ferguson keeps the pennies in the bank to buy a transfer market "bargain"...

2009-07-03T17:12:48Z

In the heyday of when he scored goals in front a delirious Kop at Anfield and a national treasure, the sentence of "Michael Owen to join Manchester United" would never even have come into the mind of the striker himself. But as a troublesome season came to an end in relegation at Villa Park, the ex-Liverpool forward is set to resurrect his career at Old Trafford.

News filtered through late afternoon that United had exploratory talks with Owen's advisors, but come this morning, the 29-year-old had already undergone a stern medical on his knee and close to joining the Premier League champions.

A couple of weeks ago, Owen had probably resigned himself to accepting that he'd have to join the likes of Hull or Stoke to continue playing in the Premier League to have a chance of resurrecting his England career. But Sir Alex Ferguson has given Owen a lifeline with a golden ticket return to the big time, by joining the club Liverpool fans have a passion of hate for.

At first, it was a bizarre choice by the Old Trafford supremo. Why sign a striker who'd ended last season with a relegated club, had spent more time on the treatment table than on the pitch and seemed a player who's sell by date was nearing?

But, in the cold light of day, it could turn out to be a bargain buy for the Old Trafford club. No transfer fee to pay which means no money to be taken out of the £80m transfer kitty that United have got due to the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo, buying a striker who has a proven goalscoring record at Premier League level and has that finishing ability that at times last season, eluded United's attacking array of talent.

And finally, it's no win no lose situation. If Owen fails due to injury or unable to produce the goals, then with a reduced salary, it's no big loss. However, United's squad is littered with attacking service and that has been improved with the signing of Wigan's Luis Antonio Valencia, it seems inconceiveable that Owen will struggle to get help in putting the ball into the back of the net.

Also, Owen's arrival could impact on his one-time England strike partner Wayne Rooney. Last season, Rooney at times played on the left wing where he showed promise but Owen's entry could see the ex-Everton forward play in the role that he's good at, and importantly enjoys playing in.

In the midst of transfer speculation and big names linked to Old Trafford, Owen was the last name United fans expected to be joining the players at Carrington when they resume pre-season training next week. But, Owen could turn out to be Sir Alex's best instinct purchases in recent years.

Arsenal's first signing and Capt. Fab is going nowhere!!

2009-06-26T13:00:55Z

At the end of the season I think it was the opinion of most Arsenal fans that we needed to strengthen the defence (centrally) and bring in a strong defence minded midfielder to bring more balance to the side. So when I returned from my holiday I was really pleased to see that we had signed a central defender, but not ecstatic because I do not know enough about him to rant and rave. Arsene though will have been watching Vermaelen for a long time now, so I am sure we have a fantastic new addition to the squad. From what I have read he is a strong no-nonsense type of player who will be vocal and get right in the mix and I think that is just the type of player we need and of course, as he does, Arsene has bought in a young player that can grow with the team.

So I am sure a lot of us are still waiting on a new central midfielder to come in and be the foil to our captain Fab, but if the papers are to be believed he will be out before long anyway. It is a nightmare during the summer break, the papers grab hold of any tiny little quote or action and try to create a story from it. I have not read the interview that the 'impotent' quote came from, but as I read about it in the paper I said to a guy in the office that I bet there is a statement from Cesc on Arsenal.com soon. Fab did not prove me wrong, as happens every time the press link him with Barca or real our captain has come out to confirm his desire to stay and battle at the club. I think it is great that he sends these messages out to the fans, but we all see the passion for the club he has when he plays and never doubt him staying when these stories emerge. I am sure though that he will continually be linked to Barca right up to the first whistle of the season!!

I am not sure if anyone has been watching the England U-21 games but you would never think that Walcott was the more experienced of himself and Gibbs would you. Gibbs looks like the established premiership player and has carried on the fine form from the end of the season into the international setup and his future at Arsenal excites me. On the other hand, Theo has established himself in the Arsenal side, but has yet to consistently perform at the level we all hoped for when he joined in Jan 06. He is undoubtedly going to be a huge player but now is the time to kick on and produce quality performances on a regular basis. I back him 100% to be a vital player for us next season and don't think he is under any pressure from the fans at all, but I feel the time is right for us to see what he is really made of. I am sure next season we will see the next step in Theo's career and hope this will lead him to scoring a lot more goals.

Not much else to say really, I am, loving the new away kit now I have it in my hands. I was not too sure about it from the pictures on the website, but think it's a pretty smart kit. I just hope that what I have seen on the mirror online pages are not true with rumours of a new home kit, if there is one it would be 7 new kits in the 3 years at the Emirates and I am sure I am not the only one that thinks that that would be a bit cheeky! Having said that, if they bought one out I would obviously be buying it, I guess its fools like me that like to have every kit that allow them to do it!

Hope your all having a lush summer so far and not too saddened by the news about MJ this morning.

Blackburn Transfer Roundup: Santa Cruz, Keith Andrews, Khizanishvili, and Cat Traps!

2009-06-17T13:59:19Z

The main Rovers story, as with the past 2 transfer windows, is the Santa Cruz to City saga. The Sun reckon he's set to leave for £15m with further payments if he plays well. Sounds like decent business, although I don't think we can expect to see any of the extra dosh if his recent bill of health is anything to go by.

Zurab Khizanishvili's move to Galatasaray is stuttering because he's sunning himself in Hawaii. Fortunately Tugay is sorting it all out, according to the Lancs Evening Telegraph.

Most suprising story of the week goes to this number from the Evening Telegraph, reporting that Rovers are having to "fend off interest in Keith Andrews", with "enquiries from more than one club about Andrews' availability" - right.

And finally on the transfer front, "the new Vieira", France's Steven N'Zonzi, is on Allardyce's shopping list this summer. £400,000 should be enough to bring the 20 year-old to Ewood says TeamTalk's news feed.

In other news, the Lancs Eve Telegraph reports that Ewood's groundsmen are having a bit of trouble with Cats relieving themselves on the newly grown pitch and have had to resort to Cat Traps, much to the disgrace of the Lancashire's RSPCA members. Wonder if they'll be available in the club shop next season...

Lastly, Eurosport report that Diouf is going to turn his hand to politics when he retires. Seriously.

Ronaldo will finally get to realise his "dream".....

2009-06-11T20:10:35Z

It was the worst kept secret in world football, really it was. Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to join Real Madrid and fulfull his "dream". Well, he's not too far away from achieving his personal ambition.

There have been interviews, transfer rumours, claim and counter claim from Real Madrid and Manchester United but today, all that has finally been put to bed.

I was told of the news via a text message from my brother which said "Ronaldo's going to Real Madrid for £80m". I briefly read the message, before getting back to my much needed sleep, I just assumed it was one of those press stories making the rounds in Spain. The constant stories that Ronaldo would join Madrid, nothing new I thought.

But after awakening and putting on the TV, it was confirmed as being official. United had accepted a world record £80m offer for the Portuguese international and the statement released by the Old Trafford side told the whole story.

The statement said: "Manchester United have received a world-record, unconditional offer of £80million for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.

At the request of Cristiano - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player.

Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June. The club will not comment until further notice."

Ronaldo has talked about his dream move to Madrid, well for ages now. And it seems clear again that despite winning the Premier League again for a third straight season and coming close to being the first team to retain the Champions League, the lure of Madrid's big bucks was not enough.

The transfer should be completed within days in my opinion, and Manchester United will have a juicy £80m to put into their coffers, not a bad return for a player they paid £12m for in 2003, when he was a raw 17-year-old.

After an indifferent first few seasons, Ronaldo's talent began to shine through and he reached his peak with an incredible 42 goals in the 2007/08 season. Injury problems haltered his start to the last campaign, but still he was able to contribute with goals and some slight prima donna incidents towards the end of the campaign.

Madrid are getting a fantastically gifted 24-year-old, who should shine in La Liga and playing alongside another Galactico signing, Brazilian Kaka, who signed earlier on in the week for a then world record of £56m.

I feel the majority of Manchester United supporters will feel, like myself, that the deal represents good bit of business. My surprise is that it has been sorted out with the minimal amount of fuss and not the drawn out transfer saga that we experienced last summer. Maybe Sir Alex Ferguson didnt want another summer of going over the same old questions, and realised he could use the money to strengthen areas of the team that needed reinforcements.

United's transfer activity for the summer will now begin, with tons of back page rumours as a cream of the world's top footballers are linked with a move to Manchester.

Personally, I think Franck Ribery would be the ideal replacement for Ronaldo but Bayern Munich aren't keen to sell their French star and apparently, Ribery doesn't want to move to England - because of the weather.

David Silva of Valencia put in a promising performance at the European Championships in 2007, and with his club in reported £400m in debt, a tempting offer by United could see Silva trade sunny Spain to wear the number seven shirt vacated by the FIFA World Player of the Year.

Carlos Tevez, who's future is in doubt at Old Trafford, could be saved by the new cash injection the club has received but I still feel a permanent Tevez signing would be least beneficial since striker Wayne Rooney does a similiar job to the Argentinian and scores more goals.

Klass Jan Huntelaar, a reported target of Man United could be a striking solution. He's plying his trade at Real Madrid but has not been given opportunities in the line up, could United tempt the Dutchman with a way out by moving to Old Trafford?

Whatever happens, it remains to be seen but Cristiano Ronaldo's six year career at Manchester United is over. How will the English league cope without his magic box of tricks, his trademark run up before a free kick, his prima donna antics at times? They will be happy. It's the end of a tremendous time at United for Ronaldo, where he really began to show what a bargain purchase it was for Sir Alex to sign him for £12m, and six years later, to sell him for £80m.

Chelsea's Got the Talent to overhaul the Toffees

2009-05-30T06:45:15Z

It should be a FA Cup great final today. Both teams finishing their premiership campaigns well, both sides fit, both coaches tactically astute, both clubs wear blue. And Howard Webb is the ref.

Chelsea come out as the favourites, but only just. If the sun is shining it will be lovely to watch our passing game against Everton's rigid, rugged defensive set up. Cahill is the threat to us from them, but Anelka and Drogba are now the in-form partnership.

All I hope is we don't get penalties, my heart can't take it. May the best side on the day win.

I'm off to work for a few hours this morning and then heading off to Wembley for the match. I'll be back later or early tomorrow to let you know what the atmosphere was like.

C'mon the Blues (the ones in yellow that is).

Pompey to join football's Rich List

2009-05-29T14:48:10Z

As we tried to forget most of the season that just finished, wondered where the club is heading and where our best players will be heading, no-one saw this scale of takeover coming.

News that a deal has been agreed with Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim (apparently the world's 16th richest Arab) puts Pompey among the growing list of Premier League clubs with foreign, billionaire owners. Still don't quite believe it.

To be honest I thought we'd had our time in the sun, winning the FA Cup and playing in Europe. But now the possibilities for the club are mind-boggling.

No matter how much money you have there's guarantee of success. And we'll be competing with all the other "rich" clubs for the same over-priced players.

But this squad doesn't need an instant £100 million make-over, the basis for a good team already exists here, given the right management of course. The squad that started the season was good enough to challenge the top 6 or so, the players that were sold, Mendes, Diarra and Defoe, exposed the key areas of weakness. In theory we could be 3 or 4 good signings away from really competing at the right end again for the Europa League places.

So:

Will this now encourage the likes of Glen Johnson and Niko Kranjcar that they should stay and form the basis of the next team?

If there's money available now, will the club try to retain the decent players (Sol, Hreidarsson, Kanu, Sean Davis) that are out of contract instead of having to reduce the wage bill?

Who will become the new manager? The new owners will have their sights set higher than Paul Hart, with all due respect to what he achieved in stablising a falling team.

Will the club be built up modestly and patiently, or will there be a massive statement like Man City made with Robinho?

Can we have our new stadium now as well? The new owners have a property development background so maybe they can finish this 20 year old saga.

Will there be stories linking us with Kaka, Messi, etc every week now?

All of this is subject to the takeover passing the FA's "fit and proper person" scrutiny, whatever that might involve.

It's enough to make your head spin, it just seems too good to be true.

Bolton end of season review

2009-05-29T11:28:17Z

Yawn.

And that's it, done. The 2008/09 season passed us by completely. A season in which we got no points from the big boys, scored no penalties and had Jlloyd Samuel as an ever present all year.

A year in which Kevin Davies found some scoring boots and spent much of the season as the top English goalscorer, overshadowing record signing Johan Elmander who never quite reached the fitness and pace required in the Premier League.

A season where fan discontent grew, despite improvement to 13th in the table, despite the continued overhaul of the squad and financial stability. Where our manager called the fans "pathetic" and in the same game had the contrasting chants of "Ginger Mourinho" and "Gary Megson, you're a w****r" chanted his way. A season in which Gary Megson claimed manager of the month, an award that currently sits in his garden shed alongside some unused golf clubs.

A year where all 3 loanees were restricted to bench appearances at best, despite a first XI in desperate need of pushing for their places. Where local hero Nicholas Hunt was loaned to Birmingham following his best form of his Bolton career last year.

A year after much debate on whether we should re-sign Jussi Jaaskeleinen, and then he has performance after performance where he is a one-man mission to stop the ball breaking his net.

A season in which we allowed our captain to move to Newcastle United, where he lauded the big club and it's big support. A club which got relegated from the Premier League.

Thank heavens for that. It wasn't pretty. In fact often it was pretty dire. Hopefully we can retain our small squad, add some quality to it and kick on. Whether the fans will ever accept Megson remains to be seen. He needs to prove he can build a team capable of winning regularly, controlling the fortress Reebok and attract quality players. He needs to show he has the ambition to get Bolton moving back towards UEFA places, ambition to win games away from home and the nous to change difficult games when things are not working. And that doesn't mean substituting centre half for centre half.

COME ON YOU WHITES

Why can't Wigan crack it?

2009-05-27T18:54:11Z

Why? No matter what we do, we can't get that elusive three or even one points against that lot from up The East Lancs or down the M1 rather.

I wasn't expecting anything from this game after the abject displays of recent weeks and the 3-1 defeat against West Brom at the weekend, but an increasingly criticised Wigan Athletic side certainly raised their game against the Mancs in the hope of damaging their title aspirations and they very nearly did just that. Olivier Kapo was replaced with Antonio Valencia who made the first forrages into the United Box and certainly looked closest to scoring.

This wasn't one sided by any means and Wigan were by far the stronger team throughout the first half and it was no suprise when they went one nil up before the break. A decent ball into the box saw Vidic grappling with Rodallega for the lose ball, as Vidic lost his footing Rodallega kept his composure to hit the first goal of the game past Van Der Sar.

As the half went on Wigan continued to push and could have been 2-0 up before half time.

But as the 2nd half beckoned and substiutions including Tevez materialised it was clear that the valiant Wigan side wouldn't be able to hold out. With United pushing and much improved than the first half it was clear that the leveller was going to come from somewhere, it was of no suprise that it came from the man who had been subject of such speculation for the last few weeks. As Tevez equalised it was a case of damage limitation from Wigan yet unfortunately this was also beyond the side as Michael Carrick hit an unstoppable shot from 20 yards out to put united further in front and give them one hand on the trophy.

A much improved Wigan performance though gave hope for another good performance away to Stoke at the weekend. Sadly this positive mind set was as misplaced as usual.

Baggies offered hope

2009-05-27T17:07:54Z

Well that was until Liverpool sent them down the next week, but the 3-1 win against Wigan offered them hope. False hope that may be but it certainly showed the weakness behind Wigan's recent form.

I'll keep the review of the game short but the positives were limited for sure, Hugo Rodallega is looking every inch the player that Steve Bruce promised he would be whilst Richard Kingson put in a comptent performance taking over from the injured Chris Kirkland but he must surely be one of the smallest Keepers to ever grace the Premier Leauge. Negatives and there were many once again our inability to convert any sort of chances, the continued lacklustre performance from one Olivier Kr*po how this man got any where near double figures in France caps is beyond me whilst the rest of the side look like they have only just been introduced.

But not to worry the 3-1 defeat may be the wake up call Wigan needed or else Wednesday's title showdown at the JJB against United could be an absolute white wash!

Man City, Bolton, A Pigeon, Superheros

2009-05-27T12:21:11Z

I was at the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday. I gave more a toss about the game than the players or the manager did, but to be honest even that wasn't much.

What I can tell you is that the main attraction was a pigeon who hunted around Jussi's penalty area in the second half, at about Gary Lineker territory, 2 yards out. He spent more time in the box than Johan Elmander, showed a great deal of hunger, showed no fear and just kept pecking away for 45 mins at the penalty area. What a star.

Megson said after the game that if we had needed to win it he felt as though we would have done. What genius motivational skills from Mr Positive himself. Ok so we didn't physically need to win it Gary, but how about giving it a go for the fans eh? It's always nice to beat local rivals, especially ridiculously rich ones.

Last away days of the season often means fancy dress. These three were spotted in the crowd, and I think the headline/image sums up what Bolton need at the moment.

Bruce cleared for Sunderland talks

2009-05-27T11:38:40Z

It's never dull being a Sunderland fan. Days after the league season finished, a season in which we did our utmost to get ourselves relegated to the Championship, a new dawn beckons once again.

Today Ellis Short has become the sole owner of Sunderland AFC, buying out the Drumaville consortium which saved us from the brink a few years ago and since brought us Roy Keane and a whole load of Irish supporters.

For those of you that don't know, Ellis Short made his millions from founding Lone Star Funds, a private equity firm based in Dallas, Texas. He has already spent more on the club than any other chairman or owner in the history of SAFC combined.

On top of this news, apparently Steve Bruce has been cleared for discussions with Sunderland, the rumoured fee to around the £5m mark. So what do we think?

Quinn came out and said back in December 2008 after Keane's departure that Sunderland needed a big name manager to carry on the legacy created by Roy Keane. He wasn't wrong. He was wrong in appointing Sbragia. I can understand that Big Niall probably wanted the big name to come in the summer, but Sbragia could have taken us down.

Thankfully we stayed up, albeit just, and the rumour mill started pretty quickly with Rijkaard, Jol, Bilic and McLaren (???) linked with the post. Steve Bruce then comes as a bit of a blind sider in that I didn't see that one coming. Let's face it, everyone thought he would have the Newcastle job when it came around as he is a Mag. Managing Sunderland must make it pretty difficult to ever be able to have that job in the future.

But he comes with a pedegree of stabilising mediocre clubs and pushing them up the league. His scouting network must be second to none, as some of the players Wigan seem to get are superb and I have often wondered why Sunderland can't operate such a policy, just without the need to have to sell them on. Valencia, Zaki (for the first few months anyhow), Palacios, Rodallega, Figueroa, Scharner. Let's face it, anyone that can make Titus Bramble look like a footballer has to be good at something!!

So is it a good option? I think it is. He's English, he knows the transfer market obviously, people have heard of him and he talks sense (more than most which is a start). There's no guarantee that someone like Rijkaard would come, and even if he did, he would cost us a mint and even then there is no guarantee that he can manage in the Premier League. Steve Bruce can. I'd be interested to hear what Wigan fans think?

So with the promise of more millions to spend from our new owner, next season we should be able to push on (I know, where have we heard that before?).

Sell Jones as he over-rated and lazy, clear out half of the Championship standard players we currently have and start from scratch. It could be a very busy summer.

One final note, I haven't gloated yet so hear goes. A few years ago Newcastle fans came to the Stadium of Light after we were already relegated and waved banners saying "Let's all laugh at Sunderland" and singing "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when". Well all I am going to say is this...what goes around comes around.

Manchester United vs. Barcelona - Two of Europe's attacking warriors prepare to collide in Rome..

2009-05-26T18:54:55Z

It's a UEFA Champions League final that the men in suits at Europe's governing body wanted (allegedly, I might add) rather than an all-English repeat from last year's but the countdown is nearly over.

Players from both Manchester United and Barcelona are being put through their paces at the Stadio Olympico in Rome, ahead of tomorrow's mouth watering clash, on paper it looks like a classic, but as United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has predicted, could end up becoming an anti-climax.

Both sides have clinched domestic success already by winning their domestic titles and cups, but victory in the Champions League final would add another bow to the team's successful arrows.

If Manchester United were able to win the final tomorrow, they would become the first team since the introduction of the UEFA Champions League, to retain the trophy, something never achieved before. For Spanish giants Barcelona, it could see them become the first La Liga team to win a treble in a single season.

All the talk is always about the big players who will grace their presence to tomorrow's occasions, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the two which are occupying the most column inches and TV coverage, as it is seen as a battle of the world's top two players.

But, for them to be the best players in the world, it requires the silent, hard workers of each team to do all the dirty work for them. That is, the defensive tracking back and chasing down on opponents and allow Ronaldo and Messi to launch forward without any defensive care in the world.

For Manchester United, it's Michael Carrick, Anderson, Ji Sung Park and possibly Wayne Rooney who will have to do some defensive running although Rooney will be given leeway to give Barcelona's right back a torrid time on the left. All four players have had some stamp on United's success this year but Park, Anderson and Carrick's energy will be in full use to keep quiet two of Barcelona's danger men.

Not Messi, Thierry Henry, or Samuel Eto'o but their midfield pairing of Xavi and Andres Iniesta. Both who impressed me and everyone else during the two legged semi final against Chelsea. Whilst Messi, Eto'o and Henry were kept quiet by Chelsea's rearguard, it allowed Iniesta and Xavi to work their magic. The former being their best player at Stamford Bridge and getting the all vital goal that took his side to the Rome final. He was playing out of position on the left of midfield, but was without doubt their attacking inspiration at times whilst Messi and co were frustrated by a Chelsea defence determined to reach their second Champions League final.

Its too easy for me as the Manchester United blogger to say we will win, but I definitely feel the importance if United win, will be how they deal with Iniesta and Xavi plus how we deal with Messi, Henry and Eto'o.

A day remains, as two attacking warriors who've triumphed domestically, meet in the final of Europe's elite competition. Will Manchester United be able to make history by being the first team to retain the trophy or will Barcelona become the first team in Spain to seal a treble?