2141: League One: Opening day fixtur

by : Hugh Larkin

There is little point in comparing past players – both sides have had many great players and we have even shared 3 in more recent times – Waddle, Gazza and Ginola – the fact that all three are legends at both clubs says something about the style of football demanded by both sets of fans.

Current squads are also quite interesting to compare – Spurs have brought together an entirely new team in the last 12 months – acquiring along the way some of the best young English talent around – all very promising for the future but some are unlikely to play much in the next season or so – a new striker to support Defoe and Keane (if he stays) is needed. Souness inherited the basis of a good squad but needs to strengthen the defence and find long term replacements for Bellamy/Shearer/Kluivert up front. The Newcastle mid-field looks young but good with Jenas, Parker, Dyer, Ambrose and Milner all competing for places – Nicky Butt looked like a spent force to me – just as Poyet was in his last season at Spurs.

My favourite way of comparing squads is to consider the best possible team/squad and see which side supplies the most players. How many Newcastle players today could oust their Tottenham equivalent? In defence only Carr (and only just) edges out Kelly in my opinion. In midfield it is a much tougher call but Dyer and Jenas with Carrick and one of Parker, Routledge or Reid looks good to me. Up front the only question is who should partner Defoe and for one season only the answer has to be Shearer. On the bench the choice is too big but Given and Keane are musts with the other three places something we could all argue about for a long time. So for me – trying to be honest and fair-minded Spurs players edge out Newcastle players in terms of numbers – but only because Spurs have Robinson and King and Newcastle lack a dominant centre-back.

Last but not least we should consider prospects and trajectories. To my way of thinking Newcastle have just begun to decline – despite a good cup run (including a slightly fortunate victory over Spurs) Newcastle finished the season poorly with low morale due to a number of ‘player issues’ – Bellamy, Dyer, Bowyer, Robert – and a less than happy dressing room. Whether Souness can arrest and reverse this decline is unclear but the squad needs strengthening and a new strike force needs to be acquired. I am not sure Souness is the long term manager most Newcastle fans want or need but a tough character who will sort out the discipline issues at the club is needed right now and Souness fits the bill. Spurs fans, after too many false dawns, seem to have finally found a manager that can unite not just the players but also the fans and staff together in a common cause. For the first time in a long time we have good reason to feel genuinely optimistic about the future – the team’s trajectory is upward.

Right now I honestly think Spurs fans have, for the first time in years, more substantive reasons for looking forward to next season than their Newcastle equivalents.

No doubt about the most striking fixture to open the new season in League One on 2nd August. 25 years ago Nottingham Forest opened the campaign as reigning European champions but the two time winners must begin the climb back with a home match against Huddersfield Town. In the same division will be MK Dons who, in their former guise, weren’t even a League club in 1980.

It will be a new experience for travelling Forest fans as the team checks in at destinations like Hartlepool and Yeovil (another outside the League in 1980), two sides who have never experienced life outside the lower divisions. Their first fixture on the road though will be at the comparatively familiar Walsall on the Tuesday after.

Walsall visit Rotherham on the opening weekend as the Millers get reacquainted with life down the leagues after a rare four years in English football’s second tier. The same feelings will afflict Gillingham fans who have enjoyed the club’s best ever spell in its moderate history- five unprecedented campaigns in the second tier which only came to an end after a dogged battle against the drop. With all due respect to Colchester United, their visit on the first Saturday will quickly bring Gills supporters back down to earth.

On a different level the fans of Yeovil Town are still embarked on a big adventure. The Glovers are starting their first campaign at this level and have pulled out the plum of an away game at Oldham Athletic for the opener. This is a tremendous result because Oldham were a very recent Premiership club but more especially because getting the visit to Ice Station Boundary Park out of the way before winter sets in is a real bonus.

Mixed feelings on Day One at Griffin Park where Brentford fans will still be wondering about what might have been in the playoffs while Scunthorpe’s followers will have the chance to see the Iron out of the bottom division for the first time in five long years. Plus, Peter Beagrie will still be teasing defenders for the club, even into his 40th year.

A couple of heavyweights square off on the opening day when Doncaster Rovers head for the West Country. Bristol City and their visitors are both teams who expect to be in the shake-up at the end of the season and Rovers can be expected to take a very big following to see Dave Penney’s improvers take on the Robins.

Chesterfield go to Blackpool where they survived on the last day two seasons ago. The Spireites have become a fixture in the lower reaches of this division in the past few years, unable to move upwards but just managing to escape the drop. Money is still tight at Saltergate and an early away win would do much to boost the morale of their long suffering fans.

Promoted Swansea City open against Tranmere Rovers and with Kenny Jackett awarded a new contract, plus the prospect of a new ground and the FAW Cup also in the trophy room, these are exciting times in South Wales. Lee Trundle gets the chance to ply his tricks at a higher level and Andy Burgess’s signing from Rushden shows the Swans mean business.

Hartlepool will try to use their near promotion to League One as a springboard to a successful run again. Bradford City, who should have finished higher last season, are their opening day visitors. Swindon make the trek to Barnsley for a clash of two ex-Premiership clubs who appear to have little hope of reaching that status again. Southend and Port Vale meet in match between two sides who will probably be happy with a mid-table finish.

Finally, the unloved MK Dons start another year at the National Hockey Stadium trying to persuade the Northamptonshire public that League football has a future in the town of roundabouts and concrete cows. Danny Wilson and his players did their bit with a late ‘Houdini’ act but the fixture committee hasn’t given them the hoped for Forest for an opener. Instead, Bournemouth provide the opposition as the inevitable survival battle kicks off again.

2140: Newcastle versus Spurs – “My C

by : Tony Rubin

Yesterday I read through a very long message board thread on a Newcastle United site that started with a NUFC supporter basically laughing at Tottenham’s audacity to make a bid for Jermaine Jenas (whether it is true or the figment of what passes for a bored football journalist’s imagination is irrelevant). Reference was also made to Scott Parker’s (a Spurs fan) decision to join Newcastle over Spurs – although whether this opportunity was ever real is debatable.

As is often the case with these things, the thread soon descended into name-calling, insults regarding the morals of female residents of both Tyneside and Essex, degrading references to the out-of-hours proclivities of both former managers and current players from both sides and a general slide into bad-language and less than subjective player assessments.

‘So what?’ you might ask – surely football is a game of subjective emotions, passionate support of one’s team, even in the face of incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, and the pleasure of deriding the opposition and their fans at every opportunity?

To some extent this is true but the message thread set me thinking about the claims and counter claims of both sets of fans regarding which was the better, bigger, richer club. Could I, a passionate Spurs supporter, rise above the petty? Could I try to make an honest and fair assessment of the merits of both teams and come to a conclusion that both sets of fans in their heart of hearts could agree with? Well here goes:

Newcastle are undoubtedly a ‘big club’ by any reasonable definition of the term – they have a large and loyal fan-base, sell-out almost every home game in an excellent stadium that holds more than 50,000. Spurs by the same criteria are also ‘big’ – despite having a smaller stadium it is fair to assume that both Spurs and Newcastle could fill a ground the size of Old Trafford for just about every home game. Because of the fame and publicity that accompanied their 1960’s team and its achievements at home and abroad Tottenham does seem to have a larger than expected set of fans around the world – although many of these are now probably getting on in years.

Laying claim to being a ‘big club’ does not in itself mean much – it is probably a burden to some extent on both Newcastle and Spurs. Expectations of fans and media alike are higher because they are based on a time long since passed and players long since retired or dead. The constant demand to recapture past glories, for current players to live up to the legends of the past or to win trophies ‘like we used to’ makes life tougher for managers, players and fans of a big club than for their equivalents at so called ‘smaller clubs’ (you know who you are!),

In terms of trophies – neither Newcastle or Spurs have won much recently – a couple of losing FA Cup Finals for Newcastle and a win and a loss in the Carling/Worthington Cup finals for Spurs is all either side cam claim in the last 10 years. If you want to start just adding up trophies won then this particular criterion has to be awarded to Spurs – more FA Cup victories, more European trophies and more League Cup victories are hard to argue with. Newcastle have won more Football League Division 1 titles (neither side has won the Premiership) with three to Spurs’ 2 but Newcastle’s last title was in 1926/27 and Tottenham’s in 1960/61 so neither have much to crow about on this front.

Considering the Premiership there is only one winner; Newcastle. Tottenham’s record in the Premiership is mediocre at best with 7 top 10 finishes but never appearing in the top 4, whereas Newcastle have 5 top 4 finishes (including twice runners-up) and two further top 10 finishes.

If one considers football style – itself a very subjective topic – then both sides have a history of playing a fluid passing and attacking style. There was a period in the mid 1990’s under Kevin Keegan when Newcastle were the most attractive side in the land – most real football fans (including Spurs fans if we are honest) would have loved their team to play with the flair and panache that so nearly brought a Premiership title to Newcastle. Further back in time of course Spurs with their ‘push and run’ side of the early 1950’s and the famous double side of the 1960’s also established a style of play that is forever associated with Tottenham. In more recent times both sides have struggled to reach the heights their predecessors reached – both show occasional flashes for a game or two but by and large recent sides have been poor imitations of their better teams.

2139: Beckenbauer is right about Eng

by : Alex Wolstenholme

Franz Beckenbauer has been fulsome in his praise of the England side recently, believing that Sven-Goran Eriksson’s men are the leading European contenders for next year’s World Cup.

"England at the moment are maybe the strongest team in Europe. I follow English football a lot and the English team looks wonderful at the moment,” he said.

"The balance of the team, they have excellent young players who are gaining more experience, and the way they play is fantastic."

Der Kaiser is right although some would argue that England’s pre-eminence on the continent has come about almost by stealth, a case of them standing still while other teams have gone backwards.

The media may have fallen out of love with the Swede but he is again presiding over a qualification campaign that has provided no major hiccups,

A year ahead of the tournament, Eriksson can be more confident about his side’s qualification prospects than his French and Spanish counterparts while there are doubts hovering over the other traditional superpowers.

Germany have progressed under Jurgen Klinsmann and have home advantage next year but the manner of their exit from Euro 2004 shows how far they have to go to be considered contenders.

Italy meanwhile, like Spain seem to be a team made up of extremely talented individuals who have had major problems working as a team when it has come to the big tournaments of late.

Elsewhere, Holland look to be building a team similar to England with some precocious young talent in their ranks but are possibly one step behind in their progression.

While in other countries there are debates over the likes of Pires, Totti, Del Piero and Raul’s place in their respective teams, at this stage Eriksson has the luxury of knowing virtually all of his starting eleven and knowing the kind of talent that it contains.

The over-hyping of the Premiership can make a fair comparison difficult but in Terry, Ferdinand, Cole, Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard, Owen and Rooney, England have eight players who would be in the running to get in to any other national team side in Europe.

With European sides having won the last five World Cups played in the continent the winner could come from an unlikely source.

Greece’s Euro 2004 success and the performance of South Korea and the USA at the last World Cup points to a democratisation in the international game.

That could point to a triumph for Portugal, Sweden or even the Ukraine who are all performing well in qualification but as things stand England deserve to be the favourites among the European teams.

2138: The sack race, part two - Soun

by : Stephen Orford

Having examined the likelihood that one of Fulham’s Chris Coleman, Portsmouth’s Alain Perrin or Alan Pardew of West Ham United will be the first Premiership manager to be relieved of his duties in 2005/06, part two of The Sack Race now examines some more surprising, but perhaps no less endangered candidates.

With all the goings on at St.James’ Park in recent times it is little wonder that Graeme Souness finds himself in the frame in the eyes of many. As I write, former Newcastle United winger Laurent Robert is busy predicting doom on the former Liverpool manager whose team endured a troubled time last term.

Chief among Souness’s problems is the in-fighting and unrest at the club. Lee Bowyer and Keiron Dyer, protagonists in a now infamous but comical round of fisticuffs, remain at the club, and there is the threat of a return to the fold by Craig Bellamy after the Welshman’s loan period at Celtic ended recently.

Removing Bowyer from the payroll is proving particularly troublesome for Souness, as one by one Premiership clubs and their fans queue up to express their disinterest in the wayward star. Dyer, having been somehow absolved of blame by Souness following the spat, is likely to be given another chance to concentrate on his football and finally fulfill his obvious potential, while Bellamy should not be hanging around the youth team long before a top club decides to take a gamble on him.

Scott Parker has been brought from the Chelsea wilderness to bolster a midfield that was lacking direction and energy towards the back end of a season which saw the club challenging for honours on two fronts despite a quite torrid league campaign. Parker’s ability to settle in his new home quickly will be key, as will the continued form of the ageing but talismanic former England captain Alan Shearer. Ever the professional, Shearer is likely to postpone all thoughts of replacing Souness to concentrate on banging in the goals that may just offer the former Scotland international a stay of execution.

The fixture list is gruesome for Newcastle early on, with Arsenal arriving on the opening day followed by a more comfortable looking home game with West Ham United. However, it gets tough again as a trip to the Reebok to face UEFA Cup qualifiers Bolton is followed by the visit of Manchester United.

In a seemingly endless spell in charge at The Valley, Alan Curbishley has probably never been a serious contender in The Sack Race. Perceived wisdom around the Premiership these days is that managerial stability is one of the major keys to a successful and progressive club. Charlton Athletic have certainly been that, but a succession of disappointing finishes in recent Premiership campaigns have seen them fail to fulfill early promise. Despite being undoubtedly the most successful manager in the club’s history, Curbishley could come under pressure from fans who now feel that merely hovering around the top half of the Premiership is no longer good enough for Charlton Athletic.

As 2005/06 fizzled out for his charges, Curbishley could be heard mumbling about the possible need for a new challenge. With this in mind, and with the club’s relative inaction in the transfer market so far this summer, it may be that it is Curbishley himself who makes the decision to part company with the Addicks. Sacking him will be a difficult decision for the board, but with the new footballing trend of parting company by ‘mutual consent’, anything is possible.

Opening with two wins would help, as Charlton take on newly promoted pair Sunderland and Wigan in their first two fixtures. However, the task becomes harder thereafter, with the visit of European champions Liverpool followed by a trip to Middlesbrough.

If Curbishley’s vulnerability was unthinkable two or three years ago, then that of Sir Alex Ferguson has always been somewhere in the realms of fantasy. The most successful and arguably greatest manager in Manchester United’s history has been part of the Old Trafford furniture for almost twenty years, but with the wind of change whistling through the club the forthcoming season could prove to be one of his most important yet.

In addition to the controversial Malcolm Glazer take-over, Ferguson also has to contend with the fact that his previously all-conquering team has been caught and surpassed by both Arsenal and Chelsea in recent years. Building yet another champion side from scratch is something which most would say is perfectly within Ferguson’s capability, having seen what he has achieved in years gone by. However, establishing his side back among the honours list has proved a slower process than many imagined, despite winning the 2004 FA Cup.

Ferguson’s new United may just be about to come into its own, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney about to bloom into the genuine world superstars that they were always likely to be. However, with an ageing midfield and the recent uncertainty over the future of Rio Ferdinand, Sir Alex is not without his problems. The fitness of Ruud Van Nistelrooy will be key, as will the ability of new signing Edwin Van Der Sar to finally solve the club’s goalkeeping problems of recent times.

It may be hard to believe that three men of such great experience and distinction in the game could find their positions under threat. Still, this is the Premiership after all, and so the propsect of a top flight without Graeme Souness, Alan Curbishley and even the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson has become a very real one indeed.

2135: Confederations Cup Final previ

by : Chris Sherrard

Maybe it is the lack of alternatives to fill the football-less void at this time of year or maybe it is the wide range of genuine talents on show. Whatever the reason, this has been a Confederations Cup to remember.

Admittedly it won’t be remembered incredibly long. But it has been competed in a true professional spirit, rather than a manner befitting an end-of-season/pre-season competition.

And so it comes to the final - and the duo that will cross swords for the title have been clearly the best two teams in the competition. In fact, a strong case could be made for Brazil and Argentina being the top two teams in world football right now.

They don’t like each other. And that only makes it even better for us, the far-off spectator searching frantically for top class competitive football to keep us sane.

When they met around three weeks ago in a World Cup qualifier with full panels of players to pick from, it was Argentina who prevailed in front of 50,000 ecstatic supporters in Buenos Aires.

There will be no Crespo or Ronaldo when they meet in Germany on Wednesday evening. But there will be a renewal of hostilities and a yearning on behalf of the men in yellow to make amends for their lacklustre display in that previous meeting which secured Argentina’s passage back to Deutschland for next season’s World Cup.

For all the star names sure to be on show in this Confederations Cup Final, perhaps the surprise hero has been a man who failed to make more than a handful of appearances for Birmingham City.

Luciano Figeuroa was never really given much of a chance to impress at St Andrews but he bagged an impressive hat-trick for Argentina against Australia in the group stage here and followed that up with a decisive injury-time equaliser in the semi-final against Mexico which propelled his nation towards the final. 8 goals in just 13 international appearances so far is a tremendous record and has done much to give the Villarreal forward a shot at starting next year’s World Cup.

Brazil have wheeled many of their big names out for this tournament but have lacked a little edge despite their passage through to the final. Only Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos of Brazil’s big guns have really opted out of this one.

On any given day, either Ronaldinho, Kaka, Adriano, Robinho or Juninho can tear a side apart. To have all of them in the same side running and dribbling at you must be a truly intimidating sight. It is true to say that all have had their turns to fade out of games in Germany - understandable given the heavy duty seasons all have participated in.

But playing against Argentina in the final of a big tournament is sure to get them hungry and interested. Ronaldinho and Kaka would make anybody’s list of the top ten footballers on the planet right now and their compatriots in Wednesday’s final wouldn’t be a million miles behind.

That is why I can see them turning the tables on Argentina in this one and taking the title. It will be rough and ready, at times. But this match promises to be laced with skills, tricks, spins, crosses and goal-attempts of the highest standard.

All that remains now is to bring it on!

2137: Championship opening day previ

by : Alex Wolstenholme

The most attractive of the opening day fixtures in the Championship sees Glenn Hoddle take his Wolves side to Southampton where opinions of the former England boss differ sharply between the fans and chairman Rupert Lowe.

Wolves were the form side in the division at the end of last season and look to have added an astute purchase with the signing of Jackie McNamara from Celtic as well as persuading Paul Ince to play on for another season.

Southampton have yet to recruit at the time of writing with uncertainty surrounding a number of their top stars, notably Peter Crouch, Kevin Phillips and Antti Niemi.

Possibly the most expectation will come at Elland Road where after doing well to keep Leeds above water last season, Kevin Blackwell knows that expectations will be a lot higher this time around.

The signings of Ian Bennett, Dan Harding and Eddie Lewis are in addition to a number of new faces who arrived last season and will have had a pre-season under the astute guidance of Blackwell.

A large home crowd will want nothing less than a victory against Millwall, led now by Steve Claridge but already having lost Paul Ifill and Darren Ward to Championship rivals.

Big expectations too at Bramall Lane where after just missing out on the play-offs in the last two seasons the Sheffield United board have backed manager Neil Warnock in the transfer market and will be expecting a top six finish at the very least.

Paul Ifill, Lilian Nalis and Danny Webber have all arrived at the time of writing and should make their debuts at home to Leicester.

Craig Levein has had his first pre-season as Leicester boss and goes into the season with a side that is much more his own. Foxes fans will not tolerate another campaign like last season and Sheffield United away is a real test of their ambitions.

The other big question of the opening day games is whether Andy Johnson will be in the Crystal Palace side that entertains Luton Town at Selhurst Park.

The two sides were two divisions apart last season and Luton will be relishing their chance to show that they can hold their own at this level.

Johnson is one of three players, along with Robert Green and Peter Crouch with ambitions of making the England World Cup squad who could be playing in the Championship next season. Palace chairman Simon Jordan is talking tough at the moment but these kind of disputes are more and more being settle in favour of the player.

Elsewhere, Norwich are also among the favourites for promotion and after the switching of their away fixture with Coventry to Carrow Road have the chance to lay down an early marker with three home games in a row.

The Canaries’ good financial management means Nigel Worthington will go into the season with a squad that is as strong if not stronger than last year’s Premiership campaign.

Dean Ashton looks a good bet at this stage to be top scorer in the Championship given his record at Crewe last season and his form for Norwich after his January move as well as Johnson’s request for a move away from Palace.

Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday make up the trio of promoted sides and both will bring 20,000 plus crowds to the division along with very astute managers who will see mere survival as being not enough next season.

Hull start at home to Queens Park Rangers who are looking towards a play-off place this season under the guidance of Ian Holloway. Rangers had an encouraging first season in the Championship and if they can get another good season out of Paul Furlong could be there or thereabouts.

Wednesday travel to a Stoke City side that performed solidly last season but were thrown into limbo in the transfer market by the decision of the Icelandic consortium that majority owns the club to sell up, making recruitment difficult for boss Tony Pulis. So much so that Pulis and the club have now parted company.

2136: World Cup 2006: Back the South

by : Hugh Larkin

Brazil are still the only nation to lift the World Cup outside their own Hemisphere. The Samba Machine has done it twice- 1958 and 2002- as well as a third triumph outside South America in 1994. With a year to go to Germany’s hosting there seems every chance that the cup is going out of Europe again.

Those bitter rivals Argentina and Brazil will contest the Confederations Cup Final having dismissed Europe’s challenge from the hosts and a feeble Greek side. Both of the South American giants are in rude health with twelve months to go while most of Europe’s top sides have much to worry about on the road to Germany.

Brazil are always strong of course, but they are likely to produce an array of attacking options better even than that they deployed in 2002. Ronaldo remains a top performer, if not the most assiduous trainer but he’ll need to look to his laurels with the likes of Adriano and the new kid on the block, Robinho, to pressure him.

Then there’s that gem of a talent Ronaldhino, newly crowned World Player of the Year and inspiration of Barcelona’s title win. The only worry for coach Carlos Perriera is that his star talent might come to Finals in less than perfect shape, as Barca can be expected to mix it with the best in the coming Champions League season.

There are the usual concerns about the defence- if Roque Junior’s your top centre-back then there are problems- but expect the coach to stick a couple of holding players in midfield when the time comes, a role Gilberto Silva and Kleberson performed in 2002. As long as the full backs can still give width this provides the stars with a platform. Just as an addition, the coach has got Juninho Pernambuco to liven things up in the middle of the park- the sort of deadball specialist that has even fellow Brazilians in awe.

Argentina rarely receive the plaudits that Brazil enjoy but at the moment they are in the business of winning when it matters. A large part of Jose Pekerman’s squad were World Youth winners in 2001 and then some of them also joined in the Olympic triumph in Athens. The Argentinians will also top the tough South American qualifying group and have now reached the final in Germany. At the moment this team has massive reason to be confident.

For strikers Pekerman can call on Hernan Crespo and Javier Saviola with support from Olympic top scorer Carlos Tevez and Luciano Figueroa. In midfield he has Europe’s most impressive playmaker in Juan Roman Riquelme who finally could be the player to make Argentines stop pining for the next Maradona. He’s backed by Esteban Cambiasso- good enough to play at Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

At the back there’s Gabriel Heinze of Man United and two typically tough stoppers in Fabrizio Colloccini and Gabriel Milito. Each of the starters has a top player pressing for his place and the squad has a settled look.

Contrast that with the state of Europe’s traditional might. Still not recovered from being mugged by Greece last year, Germany and Italy have opposite problems. The hosts have found some vibrant attacking options as Michael Ballack pulls the strings. Young talents like Kuranyi, Podolski , Schweinstegger and Deisler (at last) should get the goals but Germany are having trouble stopping them. There isn’t a dominant figure in their defence with the likes of Nowotny, Linke, Worns and Metzelder all gone.

Italy of course, have no trouble defending but they are struggling to find the cutting edge. Francesco Totti hasn’t delivered as the playmaker and strikers like Antonio Cassano haven’t convinced at the highest level. France are still in relative decline from their 2000 peak and question marks remain about England’s tactical approach. Holland and the Czech Republic have significant talent but each nation has a record of falling short at the vital moment.

All of which means the smart punter should be sniffing out the odds on South America’s Big Two because at the moment it’s difficult to see which European team can stop the World Cup going out of the Continent next year.

2134: The sack race, part one - Pard

by : Stephen Orford

“But if the goal isn't given it could well be a red card for Petr Cech for the foul on Milan Baros and a penalty.” he explains, describing the circumstances which led to Garcia’s goal perfectly. Liverpool’s 1-0 second leg victory over the Premiership champions elevates Benitez into Anfield folklore, as they advance to their first European Cup final in 20 years.

The Reds survive a late scare when Eidur Gudjohnsen fires narrowly wide during an astonishing and frankly ridiculous six minutes of added time, leaving not quite so special boss Jose Mourinho to moan;

“The linesman scored the goal. No-one knows if that shot went over the line and you must be 100%. The best team lost. After they scored only one team played, the other one just defended for the whole game.” he insists, crying into his expensive red wine.

“They are in the final and from my heart I hope they win it. The night belongs to them and I don't want to criticise them.” he adds, having already criticised them.

There are other stories this evening and while Liverpool may have officially entered Dreamland, Nottingham Forest suffer more bad disappointment with the news that Gary Megson intends to stay on as manager despite their relegation from the Championship;

“I've spoken to the people who run the club and they are happy for me to carry on in the job. If's that's the case, that's what I will do.” he cackles insanely.

“We are all singing from the same song sheet.” he suggests, disturbingly.

“We have to get the right personnel in and I have more faith in Gary succesffully doing that than I have in anyone else.” says Forest chief executive Mark Arthur, as Joe Kinnear is heard guffawing in the background.

No sooner has David Hay been dismissed as manager of Dunfermline than Jim Leishman is appointed to replace him. Leishman is installed as caretaker manager, and begins his reign by pledging his every sinew to the cause;

“I'll do anything I can to help the team this season.” he says, phoning the Samaritans and emailing David Blaine.

Wrexham are relegated from League One after losing 2-1 at home to Brentford. The Robins take the lead, but later suffer a last-minute disaster when Scott Fitzgerald notches the winner following Isiah Rankin’s 68th minute equaliser.

The Welsh side are condemned to League Two football next term due mostly to the deduction of ten league points after they went into administration earlier in the season. Meanwhile, Brentford climb into fifth place in the table, on the brink of a play-off place with just one game to go.

As expected it will be AC Milan who meet Liverpool in the Champions League final on May 25, but only after a late Massimo Ambrosini goal denies Dutch side PSV Eindhoven what would probably have been a deserved chance at an extra 30 minutes during the Champions League semi-final second leg on May 4.

The Dutch champions manage to wipe out their 2-0 first leg deficit with goals from Ji Sung Park and Philip Cocu only for yet another last-minute concession to Milan to end their dreams. Cocu strikes again moments later, but Massimo Ambrosini’s crucial away goal had already settled the issue. It was the third time during the two-legged tie that PSV had conceded at the end of a half, with no way back this time;

“We're very lucky - and grateful - to be in the final.” admits Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti afterwards.

“We were very scared when we were 2-0 down. PSV will be a standout team in the Champions League in the next few years.” he adds, a prediction which seems to rely on the likes of his own club not cherry-picking from Guus Hiddink’s squad in the summer.

“It is not the biggest disappointment of my career.” insists Hiddink. “My worst experience was as Holland coach when we lost to Brazil in the 1998 World Cup semi-final.” he confirms, just in case we were wondering. Champions League? Pah. Small beer.

“There was only one team that played to win, and that was us.” sobbed a devastated Jose Mourinho. No, it was Philip Cocu. Sorry.

There is one Premiership encounter this evening, with Fulham and Newcastle United left to squabble over minor league placings at Craven Cottage. The Toon come out on top 3-1, despite manager Graeme Souness’s decision to rest Alan Shearer, apparently requested by the player himself;
“He came to me and asked if he could be rested and I can't argue because he's worked his socks off for me.” says Souness.

Goals from Darren Ambrose, Patrick Kluivert and Shola Ameobi seal the win but the Scot is not entirely convinced by the performance;

“We've made hard work of it. At 3-0 we had done the hard work but we were a bit nave towards the end. We didn't keep the ball as well as we could have done but we've got three teenagers and a 20-year-old and I can't ask any more from the teams I've been putting out.” he says.

Anyone who didn’t know better would think that Souness is complaining about squad depth having rested his Head Boy at his own request, sent one striker off to Glasgow for answering back without putting his hand up in class, and failed to stop two more of his players from scuffling in the same unruly classroom.

Fulham’s Tomasz Radzinski is still alive, confirming this with a late consolation for the Cottagers. Boss Chris Coleman is left to over-state the significance of Saturday’s victory over Everton (April 30) and to convince his players to forget about the Seychelles for another fortnight;
“Overall it was definitely a case of after the Lord Mayor's show. It's important we finish on a high - we can still climb a couple of places up the table and well be aiming to do that.” he says, yawning slightly while flicking through the latest Thomas Cook brochure.

Two mysterious managerial departures to end Wednesday with, as first Neale Cooper leaves the possibly play-off bound League One outfit Hartlepool by mutual consent, while Argentine Ramon Diaz absconds from Oxford United.

Cooper is immediately linked with the recently vacated Dunfermline job, while Diaz’s departure from Oxford is “unexpected” according to chairman Firoz Kassam. Oxford lie a mediocre 14th in League Two, and Kassam adds;

“Ramon has ended his time as manager and left the country.”, which is one way of ducking out of contract negotiations.

Everton finally secure Champions League football for next season as Liverpool suffer a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal at Highbury on May 8. Gunners goals from Robert Pires, Jose Reyes and Cesc Fabregas complete the transition of David Moyes’ toffees from relegation fodder to major European players in the space of twelve months.

“There's no denying Everton are the best team in the city this season.” suggests Moyes.
Steven Gerrard replies for Liverpool but manager Rafa Benitez is left to admit that his team has fallen way short in the Premiership this term;

“I am disappointed by the things we have done away from home. To be in two finals is not easy, but we haven't done well in the Premiership.” says the manager of the second best team in Liverpool and at least the second best, if not THE best team in Europe.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger sees his side cement second place and automatic qualification for the Champions League group phase next season, but begins worrying about injuries ahead of the FA Cup final against Manchester United on May 21;

“The injuries are serious, Gilberto has a recurrence of an ankle injury, Patrick Vieira has hurt his knee, while Robert Pires turned his ankle.” he laments, with Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg already doubtful for the Cardiff dust-up.

It’s the last day in the Coca Cola Championship with promotion and relegation issues settled once and for all. Wigan Athletic will enjoy a first ever season in the top flight after they beat Reading 3-1 at the JJB, securing the second automatic promotion spot behind champions Sunderland. Lee McCulloch, Jason Roberts and Nathan Ellington put Latics in command, before a late Steve Sidwell consolation for the Royals;

“The players deserve all the plaudits, for Wigan to be in the Premiership is an unbelievable achievement.” says boss Paul Jewell.

“I'm delighted not to be going into those play-offs.” he adds.

Reading boss Steve Coppell may not agree, as his side’s defeat costs them a place in the end of season lottery after West Ham United beat Watford 2-1 to claim the last berth.

The Hammers’ win sets up a play-off semi-final tie with Ipswich Town, whose 1-1 draw with Brighton is not enough for them to pip Wigan to promotion, but plenty good enough to secure Albion’s Championship status at the expense of Gillingham;

“It's the worst day of my football career.” claims Gillingham boss Stan Ternent, whose side miss out on the win that would have saved them after conceding a last minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw with already relegated Nottingham Forest;

“It's a great little club. It can be a great slightly bigger club if we can have the right stadium.” says Brighton boss Mark McGhee, dropping a subtle hint.

Crewe Alexandra also survive thanks to a 2-1 win over Coventry, while Derby beat Preston North End 3-1 to set up a re-match with the Lancashire club in the play-off semi-finals.
Dennis Wise has had enough of Millwall. The former Chelsea midfielder resigns his position after a goalless draw with Burnley gives the Lions a 10th place finish in the Championship;

“He (new chairman Jeff Burnage) told me his direction and I didn't agree.” says Wise, citing his reasons for leaving just twelve months after guiding the London club to the FA Cup final.

Juventus open up a possibly decisive three-point gap at the top of Italy’s Serie A after beating nearest challengers AC Milan thanks to a solitary David Trezeguet goal. Meanwhile, goals from Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o take Barcelona a step closer to winning La Liga in Spain as they beat Valencia 2-0. The Catalan club now lie six points clear of Real Madrid with only three games remaining.

Lyon secure the French title for the fourth consecutive time with a 2-1 win over AC Ajaccio

“Signing Rob Hulse shows that the club is coming out of the terminal decline it was in and we are serious about moving forward.” says Leeds United manager Kevin Blackwell on May 9, almost convincingly. The former Crewe striker signs from West Bromwich Albion on a three-year deal worth in the region of £1.1million after spending the last three months on loan at Elland Road.

“I thought Rob was at the stage where he needed first-team football and I couldn't guarantee him that.” says Baggies boss Bryan Robson, putting Leeds current plight into some sort of perspective.
Hearts shoot themselves in the foot by provoking manager John Roberston into a resignation. Despite leading the club to fifth in the SPL table Robertson’s position is reviewed by the board, at which point he is offered a revised role as an assistant. He politely declines, stating;

“Everyone knows what the club means to me and it was a fantastic opportunity to come here. It hasn't left a bitter taste in my mouth. We've done the job, we've been to two semi-finals and we've won in Basle which no other British team has done, and we won at Celtic Park for the first time in five years.”

Records tumble at Old Trafford, but it is visitors Chelsea who are setting all the benchmarks as they cruise to a 3-1 victory over Manchester United on May 10.

The Red Devils take the lead through Ruud Van Nistelrooy but goals from Tiago, Eidur Gudjohnsen and an impossibly off-side Joe Cole seal Chelsea’s landmark 29th win of this Premiership season. Their points total of 94 is also a record, and all of this after they had previously beaten Arsenal’s record for clean sheets during a Premiership season. Barring a catastrophic defensive display on Sunday at Newcastle United (May 15), Chelsea will also better Arsenal’s record of only 17 goals conceded in a Premiership campaign.

The win over United is achieved despite the absence of Arjen Robben, Damien Duff, John Terry and Petr Cech from the starting line-up, leaving manager Jose Mourinho to reflect;
“The record was our motivation. We wanted to beat it and this is a special moment. It is the perfect way to do it - at a great stadium against a team who in Sir Alex Ferguson have a manager who leads by example in success and fair play.”

“Once Chelsea's second goal went in they were worthy winners.” admits Sir Alex, leading by example in fair play, if not necessarily success on this occasion.

Millwall assistant manager Ray Wilkins announces his intention to quit the club following the parting of Dennis Wise last weekend;

“I will depart when a new manager is appointed but I have promised to stay until that happens. I will give the new manager all the information I can about the squad.” says the painfully reasonable Wilkins, after earlier stating he has no interest in the vacant manager’s position.

Everton make a stunning return to the form of twelve months ago as they suffer a humiliating 7-0 pasting at Highbury against Arsenal on May 11. Dutch maestro Dennis Bergkamp is on the score sheet in what may or may not be his last home league game for the north London club, with negotiations on a new contract yet to be concluded;

“I've made a decision, but we won't announce it until the end of the season.” says Gunners boss Arsene Wenger of Bergkamp’s future. “He is a super-special player. You don't meet a Dennis Bergkamp at the end of every street.” he continues.

All of which must be a relief for mortified Everton boss David Moyes. It is just possible that his troops have enjoyed too much champagne after qualifying for the Champions League with two games to spare, but the former Preston North End manager is making no excuses;

“It has been a great week for for Everton Football Club and I have no criticism of the players but tonight, as a manager, I am embarrassed.” he admits, crawling through a large hole in the ground.
Despite numerous attempts to burgle his home, Manchester City defender Ben Thatcher decides to stay with the City Of Manchester Stadium club, looking to be a huge part of the plans of fellow left-sided hatchet man Stuart Pearce;

“It (the series of burglaries) was really unpleasant and shook us. The transfer window coincided with the break-ins, but I am not disappointed the move fell through. I have three years left on my contract at City and I would like to stay.” he claims, rejecting moves to Detroit and Baghdad.

Dastardly American penny-pincher Malcolm Glazer seems finally set to get his filthy mitts on Manchester United after winning control of the club with a £790 million takeover bid on May 12.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner secures the 28.7% stake previously owned by Irish race-horse tycoons JP McManus and John Magnier, taking his overall stake in the Old Trafford club above 70%.
There is uproar among the fans at this, and the situation is deemed serious enough for government comment;
“Manchester United is very important to English football and the government is keeping a very close eye on the situation. The fans are very worried and obviously there is concern that ticket prices will go up and that there won't be investment in the players.” reckons Constitutional Affairs Minister Harriet Harman, speaking on the BBC’s Question Time programme no less.

“I hope Mr Glazer sets up constructive discussions with the club, its supporters and employees, as well as the footballing authorities, as soon as possible.” adds Sports Minister Richard Caborn worriedly, as the prospect of his own involvement looms large.

Both Mr Caborn and Ms Harman seem to have that government gift for understatement, as the heads and spokesmen of various United supporters groups set about making their feelings known a little more clearly;

“I am very sad - I still love the club but I refuse to put a penny into the company. And I believe as many as 20,000 fans may also leave Man Utd.” suggests Nick Towle, chairman of Shareholders United, while also claiming to have ripped up his season ticket along with all of his prawn sandwich vouchers.

His second in command, vice-chairman Oliver Houston, is equally dismayed;

“He's (Glazer) not turning up with a suitcase full of his own cash. He is, in effect, asking Manchester United fans to pay for his takeover, to pay for increased ticket prices and increased merchandising.” he moans, failing to realise that he and his comrades have been requested to do that since they became a Public Limited Company over a decade ago.

The last word (for today) on the subject goes to Independent Manchester United Supporters Association chairman Jules Spencer;

“If Glazer does get control, then we will up sticks and form a new club which will continue the traditions and heritage and the legacy of 125 years of Manchester United.” he insists, taking his ball home.

There is other news today, as Stuart Pearce is officially unveiled across town as the new manager of Manchester City. Pearce‘s appointment comes after he was recently named manager of the month for April, and after a run of results that sees City with a genuine shot at UEFA Cup qualification;

“I'm very pleased and honoured to be made manager. I don't know any other way than to win things and judging by results the players are backing me.” says Pearce, seemingly expecting a large trophy haul any time now.

“The oomph of a new manager has helped with our recent results, but all the players have pitched in with 7/8 out of 10 performances in all the games. I try not to baffle them with science, everyone knows their job and they've delivered.” he adds. 7/8 out of 10? Which paper was that in, then?
The only on-field action sees the start of the promotion play-offs with the first leg of the League One semi-final between Sheffield Wednesday and Brentford played out at Hillsbrough. The Owls win 1-0, thanks to an early Jon-Paul McGovern strike, leaving manager Paul Sturrock to reflect;

“It was a good performance from the boys, especially in the first half - the second half was a bit scrappy.”

Brentford boss Martin Allen mentions the fact that it is 'only half-time' a record number of times in his post-game interview, before adding;

“We didn't really get to grips with the game in the first 30 minutes, but that was perhaps to be expected.” without explaining why this sort of expectation is held.

“I do feel sorry for the other managers though. I feel great now but I can understand how the others must feel.” says West Bromwich Albion boss Bryan Robson as his side complete the great escape on the last day of the Premiership season on May 15.

Those other managers are namely Iain Dowie of Crystal Palace, Harry Redknapp of Southampton and Norwich's Nigel Worthington, as all three see their teams slip out of the elite for next season. Robson experienced the pain of relegation with Middlesbrough in 1997, but goals from Geoff Horsfield and Kieran Richardson help his side to the 2-0 victory over Portsmouth that ensures the Baggies safety.

The Hawthorns crowd offers only a mild reaction to Richardson’s ultimately decisive strike, due in the most part to the goings on at The Valley. At the time of Richardson’s goal, Crystal Palace had their fate in their own hands as they led Charlton Athletic 2-1. However, a late Jon Fortune header snatches a point for the Addicks, and seals the fate of Iain Dowie’s Eagles;

“It's not time for recriminations. It's a time to be proud of a group of players who have given me everything.” says Dowie, philosophical as ever.

Harry Redknapp’s future at Southampton and possibly in football is in doubt after his side slipped into the abyss also. The Saints lead Manchester United 1-0 through a Jon O’Shea own goal before Darren Fletcher and Ruud Van Nistelrooy condemn them to their first relegation in 27 years.

“There's a lot of surgery that needs doing. I'll sit down with the chairman, see what he wants to do and where he wants to take the club.” says Redknapp, perhaps suggesting that he might not wish to get involved in messy rocedures like surgery.

The one club who had their fate in their own hands going into the day’s football were Norwich City. However, after a good recent run of form the Canaries spin spectacularly out of the top flight, losing by an apocalyptic 6-0 at Fulham.

“We're down, but I wouldn't have done anything differently.” claims Norwich boss Nigel Worthington.
Not even about Delia’s half-time speech against Manchester City? Strange.
Speaking of whom, Stuart Pearce’s men fail to secure the final UEFA Cup place after Robbie Fowler misses a last-gasp penalty against Middlesbrough. Mark Schwarzer’s save from the former Liverpool striker earns his side the 1-1 draw that ensures another crack at European football next season.
The game features the incredible sight of David James playing as a striker late on, wearing an out-field shirt with his name and number on it after Claudio Reyna is substituted for back-up goalkeeper Nicky Weaver.

Reflecting on his side’s narrow failure to make Europe, and his eccentric tactical manouvre, Pearce comments;

“Credit to Middlesbrough, they came here and shut up shop. Steve McClaren is a good manager. I just thought, with his height, he (James) could unsettle their defenders and I think he did.”

“The whole season comes down to one moment between two players and our player won.” suggests McLaren, personalising things somewhat;

“You couldn't write a better script. We withstood a battering. The team showed amazing character. But we deserved it over 38 games, not just this one.” he adds.

In the Championship there is play-off business to be attended to, as Preston North End earn what could be a decisive 2-0 win in the first leg of their semi-final with Derby County. David Nugent opens the scoring before a late howler by Rams goalkeeper Lee Camp gifts Billy Davies’ men a second through Richard Cresswell;

“I'm pleased but it's only half-time.” says Davies, echoing the sentiments of any coach who has ever won the first leg of any tie in the history of football.

“Preston were celebrating as if they were already at Cardiff but let's remember what the last score was at Pride Park.” warns a seemingly resentful and determined Derby manager George Burley.
Further down the league pyramid there is a goalless draw in the first leg of the League Two semi-final between Northampton Town and Southend United.

Barcelona finally wrap up their first La Liga title since 1999 after a 1-1 draw with Levante. They fall behind in the game, but Samuel Eto’o’s equaliser earns the point that they need following Real Madrid’s 2-2 draw with Sevilla.

“I said from the start that we'd have to fight hard for the league title and we had to suffer to earn this draw but we did it in the end.” says a battle-weary Barca boss Frank Rijkaard.

Stan Ternent quits his post as Gillingham manager after only six months in charge, following the club's relegation to League One this season.

American business baddie Malcolm Glazer now owns more than the 75% of the shares required for overall control of Manchester United, ending the days trading in the stock exchange with 75.7% to his name on May 16. Glazer can now remove the club from the stock exchange, allowing him to effectively make decisions without the approval of others. However, negotiating a broadcasting rights deal for the club independently of the current Premier League contract is out of his reach, so claims Premier League boss Richard Scudamore;

“The Premier League is blessed with a very conservative constitution. Fourteen clubs out of 20 need to vote to do anything. So it is almost impossible, and we have seen it in the past, for a small group of clubs to come along and achieve an alteration to what has been a very successful formula, both in terms of the way we do the TV deals and also the way we distribute the money.” he claims, as Glazer prepares a bid to purchase the Premier League.

Meanwhile United pair Ryan Giggs and Tim Howard both agree two-year extensions to their Old Trafford deals. Despite his inability to hold down a regular starting slot in recent times, American shot-stopper Howard seems enthusiastic about the future;

“The fans here are amazing and I am happy to be committing my future to the club. I look forward to enjoying a successful time with United.” he says, as compatriot Glazer looks forward to reaping the marketing benefits in his homeland.

The satisfaction of being a Portsmouth fan following Southampton’s relegation is damaged a little by the news that the club look set to sell leading scorer Ayegbeni Yakubu to Middlesbrough. The clubs agree a fee of around £7million after the player agrees personal terms at the Riverside Stadium;

“He fills Steve McClaren's requirements - he's young, he's a goalscorer and he's the next generation.” says ‘Boro chief executive Keith Lamb, as Mark Viduka’s broken fingernails rule him out for another two years.

Sheffield Wednesday become the first team to reach Cardiff for the playoff finals, as they see off Brentford 3-1 on aggregate in the League One semi-final. The Owls pull off a passable impersonation of Liverpool on the night, defending for long periods before scoring from two set-pieces through Lee Peacock and Chris Brunt to put the tie beyond the Bees. Andy Frampton pulls one back late on for the Griffin Park club, but it is too little, too late;
“This club has been in the doldrums for too long, and now we have a chance to move up a league.” enthuses victorious boss Paul Sturrock, no doubt relishing the chance to earn promotion to the Championship and a long awaited meeting with Rupert and Southampton.

It will be Hartlepool who face Sheffield Wednesday in the League One playoff final in Cardiff on May 29, as they come through a nerve-jangling penalty shoot-out against Tranmere Rovers on May 17.
Rovers pull back a 2-0 deficit from the first leg thanks to goals from Ryan Taylor and David Beresford, but lose out 6-5 on spot-kicks. Ritchie Humphreys, a former Wednesday player, notches the winning 12-yarder leaving Pools caretaker manager Martin Scott relieved and stressed all at the same time;

“Full credit to Tranmere, they battered us. It was an exciting game but it didn't go to my plan and I aged tonight.” he comments, as Ian Sharps is the unlucky man to miss the vital kick for Tranmere.
The Portsmouth exodus continues as Patrik Berger looks all set to join Aston Villa on a two-year contract. The former Liverpool man is out of contract at Fratton Park this summer after two years with Pompey;

“It is an exciting move and I'm looking forward to my first season. David O'Leary was the main factor in me coming here.” says the 31 year-old.

“As soon as I knew of the interest from Villa, I wanted to come here. This is a big club with a great history.” he adds. Great history, questionable future.

Still needing one more point to preserve their SPL status, Livingston announce the impending departure of manager Richard Gough. It is thought that the former Tottenham and Scotland defender wants to return to the United States where he enjoyed a playing spell. Assistant Archie Knox will also leave the club at the end of the season, and Livi chairman Pearse Flynn doesn‘t know quite whether to worry or not;

“Their primary task was to steady the team's fortunes and start to climb away from the bottom of the table, as well as refreshing the first-team squad in January.” he suggests.

“This they have achieved, although obviously we are all preparing for a grandstand finish to the season against Dundee at Almondvale this weekend.” he adds, with perhaps a hint of panic.

Squarefootball.net is a proper source of footballing news, views and mischievous gossip, and so we start May 18 with the UEFA Cup final whether you are interested in it or not. Roman Abramovich‘s other little hobby, CSKA Moscow, become the first Russian team to win a European trophy, beating Sporting Lisbon of Portugal 3-1 in their own back yard.

“They (the CSKA players) are heroes. They did the impossible.” declares Moscow coach Valery Gazzayev, as his side come from behind to pull off a remarkable victory. Goals from Alexei Berezutsky, Yuri Zhirkov and Vagner Love cancel out Rogerio‘s first half opener, leaving Sporting boss Jose Peseiro magnanimous but seemingly devastated in defeat;

“They are the best team we've faced this season. We are enormously sad. We gave our all but luck wasn't on our side.” he offers, as the conquerors of both Newcastle United and Middlesbrough fall at the final hurdle.

Domestically, the big game of the night is the second leg of the Championship playoff semi-final between Ipswich Town and West Ham United at Portman Road. The Tractor BoBo’ tragic run in the playoffs continues, as they go down 2-0 to a West Ham squad perhaps aware that it could be drinking in the Last Chance Saloon.

Two Bobby Zamora goals seal a second consecutive playoff final appearance for West Ham, as they go through 4-2 on aggregate.

“This was a magic night. It is the players' win because they were brilliant.” insists a jubilant Hammers boss Alan Pardew, before going on to perhaps hint ever so slightly at his own contribution;

“The professionalism and tactical awareness we showed from start to finish couldn't have been better.” says the former Reading boss. Tactical awareness? I wonder what you might be suggesting, Alan?

“We now just want to win the final to get this club back where it belongs.” he concludes.
Despite a third place finish in the league, and a 12-point buffer over their opponents over the 46-game campaign, Ipswich boss Joe Royle suddenly decides that his side are not better than the sixth placed Hammers after all;

“If I'm honest they've probably got better players than us. Our lads have climbed mountains to get here.” he claims, before falling back on the old injustice of the playoff system chestnut;

“I think the play-off system is wrong but that's not a complaint. - Ipswich Town manager Joe Royle.”
That’s odd, Joe. It certainly seems like one.

Episode three is a huge disappointment. That statement works on a couple of levels, but in this case it refers to the third instalment of the recent Preston North End v Derby County spat on May 19.

The Rams, having beaten Preston 3-1 in their final league game of the season, somehow managed to lose 2-0 at Deepdale in last week’s playoff semi-final first leg, a result which ultimately proves costly after tonight’s goalless, pointless tedium at Pride Park.

“Last year we were a point away from getting relegated. We played our part in a fantastic fight but credit must go to Preston.” - says a disappointed Derby boss George Burley.

“They worked very, very hard over both legs and they defended really well.” He adds, perhaps implying a hint of negativity about Preston’s approach.
A late penalty miss from Grzegorz Raziak did little to help the East Midlands club’s cause, and the 2-0 aggregate victory left North End manager Billy Davies jubilant, and looking forward to the May 30 clash with West Ham United for a place in the Premiership;

“It's a very proud day for Preston and we've worked hard for it. We've beaten a good side, we're going to Cardiff and it'll be a great day for Preston.”

Despite taking a fearful pasting, Arsenal overcome arch-rivals Manchester United 5-4 in the first ever FA Cup final penalty shoot-out on May 21 after a 0-0 draw after extra time. Paul Scholes is the unlucky man to have his spot-kick saved by Jens Lehmann, leaving Arsene Wenger to reflect;

“We really had to dig deep. I'm very proud because it was a difficult game.” he gushes.

“There were some times in the second half when we were a bit lucky but we defended very well and to keep a clean sheet is good.” he adds, taking understatement to new levels before finally offering perhaps a miniscule amount of sympathy to the beaten finalists;

“Of course it is bad for the team that loses on penalties but it was a very intense game.” he admits.

Ashley Cole, the man at the centre of the Chelsea-Arsenal ‘tapping up’ row is the man lucky enough to convert the winning penalty. He dedicates the moment to those nice Manchester United fans who had encouraged him so much throughout;

“They were trying to hammer me and get on my back and I just wanted to shove it down their mouths.” he blasts. Shove what? More pizza presumably.

“The test of any manager or player is how they handle adversity. I think our club has handled that well over the years and will do so again. They are a good bunch.” says United boss Sir Alex Ferguson menacingly, as he plots another ten years in the hot-seat. Maybe.

“My problem is that I don't have words to express the things that I feel at this moment.” says Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez on May 25 as his side pull off the impossible, winning the Champions League by beating AC Milan 3-1 on penalties. The win was all the more remarkable given that the Anfield side found themselves 3-0 down at half-time through a double strike by Hernan Crespo and a goal inside a minute by veteran Paolo Maldini.

Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer in possibly his last game for the club, and Xabi Alonso drag Liverpool back from the dead before Jerzy Dudek saves from Andrea Pirlo and Andriy Shevchenko in the shoot-out.

“I am so happy to lift the cup for the fans.” says Gerrard as Chelsea tear up the contract that they had waiting for his signature.

Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti becomes the second manager, following Jose Mourinho, to refuse to believe that Liverpool deserve the glory;

“I think Milan played a marvellous final. We lost without deserving to lose and OK, we have to accept our defeat. We had the penalties and we lost and I think the team should be proud of what we have done. We are unhappy but I think we lost in an honourable way.” he insists.

May 28 sees the first of the three play-off finals as Southend United see off Lincoln City 2-0 after extra time in the League Two showdown. Goals in the extra period from Freddy Eastwood and Duncan Jupp break Imps hearts;

“To get promotion wipes away those two losing LDV Vans finals and it's nice to score here - it's the first time in three visits.” offers Southend boss Steve Tilson, whose side narrowly failed to gain automatic promotion at the end of the season.

“We have to go out and get a better team.” says Lincoln boss Keith Alexander, planning a clear-out.
A day later it is the turn of Sheffield Wednesday and Hartlepool to fight it out over promotion to the Championship. The Owls emerge victorious 4-2, again after extra time and having been just ten minutes away from defeat in normal time before a Steve McLean penalty rescues them;

“They kept with us when we looked like we were out of it.” says Wednesday boss Paul Sturrock of his side’s massive and vociferous support.

“The players were really professional in their approach in the last half-hour and, despite some of them playing 50 games, they were still digging deep.” he adds, giving his players a little of the credit also.

“I'm disappointed but you have to look at the bigger picture. This club is going forward. Yes, it's one step at a time but we are a force to be reckoned with now. If we can keep these players together we will have a good time next season.” says a philosophical Hartlepool caretaker-manager Martin Scott.

A lone Bobby Zamora goal takes West Ham United back to the Premiership at the expense of Preston North End in the Championship playoff final on May 30, Bank Holiday Monday.

“We're back in the Premiership, we'll do it justice and this lot will work hard next year.” promises Hammers boss Alan Pardew, before getting all touchy about previous criticisms of himself and his team;
“We proved a lot of people wrong after they said we didn't turn up last year.” he blasts, refusing to accept responsibility for last season’s playoff final defeat to Crystal Palace.

“We had a lot of criticism but we had to dig deep and we showed them today.” adds captain Nigel Reo-Coker, further displaying symptoms of the paranoid siege mentality that seems to have done the trick.

Preston boss Billy Davies immediately looks to his players to come back stronger next year;

“We've got to dust ourselves down and learn from what happened - learn from the mistakes and the experience.” he suggests, eyeing up West Ham as an example of how to bounce back from such a major disappointment.

“I couldn't have asked any more of these players, they've been absolutely fantastic all season.” he adds.

For those still interested, the future of Arsenal midfielder Edu is finally confirmed, as Valencia reveal that he is to join them later in the summer;

“He will join on 1 July and will play for the team in the next five seasons.” says the most optimistic statement to come out of the club since Claudio Ranieri suggested he would need a few seasons to settle into his job.

“You can't compare this hat-trick to the one I got in Germany because that was a World Cup qualifier and a special night for the whole country.” says Michael Owen, displaying a razor-sharp grasp on reality after his treble helps England overcome the might of Colombia 3-2 in New Jersey on the final day of May.

Peter Crouch falls around like Bambi on a treadmill for 72 minutes of an unspectacular debut, but it is the former Liverpool man who steals the show. Even goals from Mario Yepes and Aldo Ramirez cannot spoil the Real Madrid strikers mood, and he adds;

“We’ve made friends and won two games, so it’s job done for us.” as he moves into fourth place on the all-time England goalscorers list with 32.

Gordon Strachan is finally unveiled as the successor to Martin O’Neill as manager of Celtic, revealing that the decision to join the Bhoys was a very simple one;

“I made the decision in seconds. This is a chance I just couldn't turn down. I’m proud to be asked to follow Martin O’Neill and I’m looking forward to the challenge with a world famous club.”

By Stephen Orford
The big Premiership kick-off is still some 46 days away, but with little else to worry about over the summer than Chelsea’s latest misdemeanour or the potential arrival of another Spaniard in Liverpool, it might still be fun to look at what the new season has in store for the 20 men charged with leading their clubs through the rigours of a top-flight campaign.

By Christmas, you can expect several managers to have fallen by the wayside as one by one panic stricken chairmen push the button on the ejector seat, hoping that the arrival of a new man will provide the quick fix. Last year, Paul Sturrock took the honours, sacked by trigger-happy Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe after a ludicrous two games of the season. Sturrock eventually pitched up at Sheffield Wednesday, leading the Owls to playoff glory in League One, and a deserved assault on this year’s Championship.

So, whoever gets the bullet first might not be doomed to an entire year in the wilderness. However, don‘t expect Premiership chairman to learn any lessons from the Sturrock situation at Southampton who, lest we forget, were eventually relegated. The scramble to avoid the indignity of being first out will be as intense as ever. So, who are the men most likely to be in the firing line?

Many observers rate Chris Coleman high on the list of those likely to seeking new employment sooner rather than later. His Fulham outfit failed to inspire last season, without ever really getting themselves involved in the relegation scrap. The signing of Heidur Helgusson which was announced today (June 28) has bolstered the Fulham attack, but with Tomasz Radzinksi having disappointed badly in his first year at Craven Cottage the former Watford striker will need to settle in quickly if he is to ease the Cottagers’ striking woes.

The likes of Slyvain Legwinski and Steed Malbranque are routinely linked with moves away from Fulham, and should that happen Coleman's team might find it ever more difficult to mix it with the big boys. Coleman was a revelation in his first season with Fulham after taking over from Jean Tigana, but a continuation of the flat performances regularly seen last season will heap the pressure on him. A reasonably gentle opening at home to under-achieving Birmingham City and away at dogged but unspectacular Blackburn may just help the Welshman keep the wolves from the door in the early going. However, Arsenal and Everton await in Fulham’s next two fixtures of the new season, and they are likely to provide a rude awakening for the west London outfit.

Portsmouth were in free-fall last season, escaping relegation only because of the good form achieved under Harry Redknapp before the former West Ham manager made his acrimonious exit from Fratton Park. Frenchman Alain Perrin was appointed by chairman Milan Mandaric and he has immediately set about re-structuring the Pompey squad. Out have gone Patrik Berger, Steve Stone and, most notably, Ayegbeni Yakubu, and in have come Newcastle pair Laurent Robert and Andy O’Brien. With a replacement for Amdi Faye yet to be found, Portsmouth could find that they have a soft centre which could be ruthlessly exploited at the top level.

That they are in the Premiership at all is a remarkable achievement, more so that they have stayed there for what will be a third season. However, Perrin will need to instil a winning mentality quickly if he is to stave off the threat of Milan’s meddling. With the spectres of Velimir Zajec and the strange appointment that is David Pleat looming large over Perrin, things could get awfully complicated on the south coast.

Like Fulham, Portsmouth have a pretty forgiving opening to their schedule, with Tottenham visiting on the opening day followed by a visit to West Bromwich Albion, a home game with Aston Villa and a trip to Manchester City. All winnable, but all likely to be played under the intense pressure that comes with knowing the importance of a good start for a relatively new manager. The complexity of the management structure at Fratton Park muddies the waters even further, and it is Perrin who will be most in the firing line if results do not go according to plan.

It is well documented how much pressure Alan Pardew has been under during his short tenure in charge at West Ham United. The former Reading boss seems to have won the fans over for now, following the playoff win against Preston North End that finally lifted the Hammers out of the Championship , but there are still those who do not see him as the man to bring back the good times to Upton Park. For many, the free-flowing football that has for so long been a tradition in east London is not on show under Pardew, and failure to produce results could see him pay the price for that.

Undeterred, Pardew has set about strengthening defensively, an area in which many promoted teams often fall short, with the signing of the experienced Northern Ireland international goalkeeper Roy Carroll from Manchester United. Thomas Repka, a player much maligned but with much experience including some at Premiership level, has also agreed a new deal and could prove crucial.

Up front Teddy Sheringham remains, despite the fact that he will pass his 40th birthday before seasons end. Pardew will be hoping that the former Tottenham and Manchester United veteran, along with Marlon Harewood and Bobby Zamora can provide the goals to keep the team in with a chance in the top flight, but it is going to be a struggle.

The Upton Park club open with Blackburn Rovers at home before visiting the much troubled Newcastle United a week later. Bolton and Aston Villa then arrive, and it is not until September 24 that West Ham get their first chance to test themselves against the very best, as Arsenal make the journey across the capital.

2131: Retired FC: The Stars Hanging

by : Hugh Larkin

The end of the 2004/5 season sees the end of the line for a clutch of famous names, several England internationals among them. Below are brief appraisals of some stars who won’t be on the paddock come August.

Fernando Hierro

Sam Allardyce wanted him to stay for another year but the multi-capped Spaniard bows out after helping Bolton into Europe for the first time. He could still do a job but should three-time European Cup winners end up ‘doing a job’? Best remembered for a phenomenal goalscoring record as a defender at international level- over 30 goals for his country.

Graeme Le Saux

Exits Southampton with mixed feelings. Voted Player of the Season by Saints fans on Square Football but the campaign ended in relegation. A cultured presence on England’s left at his peak and a good servant at all his clubs, yet Le Saux suffered for his perception as an intellectual by soccer standards.

Ironically, he developed his own reputation for a short fuse and the odd reckless tackle which could explain Sven-Goran Eriksson’s steadfast refusal to pick him in front of the likes of Michael Ball and Chris Powell. Ashley Cole’s emergence ended his England chances but he may be a fixture in commentary boxes in the future.

Jamie Redknapp

Also leaving Southampton,but unfortunately not on his own terms. Redknapp has finally succumbed to the injury troubles which blighted his top flight career. Could have been an England fixture and contributed stylish midfield play to Liverpool and Spurs when fully fit. Another who may well work as an analyst- impressed with the dignified attitude he took to his many setbacks.

Martin Keown

Should have been born in Italy or Germany where he would have been a legend. If ever a player was born to man mark, Keown was it. In the British style back fours there was always an Adams with more leadership, a Ferdinand who could bring the ball out better or a Walker with more pace.

Uncompromising hardly does justice as a description of the centre-back’s style. Not on everyone’s Xmas card list but many forwards will breathe easier when he’s gone. And he wasn’t just a stopper, although he’d probably take the moniker as the ultimate compliment.

Les Ferdinand

‘Sir Les’ isn’t a definite retiree yet but the bags are packed and he’s in the departure lounge. A late starter at the top level, the former Newcastle hero has understandably sought to wring the maximum from his career. In the last few seasons though, the injuries have mounted and the game time decreased. A player who’s highly thought of at all his clubs and always gave it everything in each game.

Dean Richards

Sad to see that Dean Richards has finally had to give best to what the doctors have termed a ‘mystery illness’. At his best a commanding centre-back who could do damage at the other end. Occasional lapses of concentration prevented him making the England squad but Glenn Hoddle liked him so much he braved bad feeling to take him from Southampton to Spurs. Wolves fans would have loved to have seen their team in the Premiership with ‘Deano’ at the heart of the defence.

Steve McManaman

Is Macca going to join his former team mate Hierro on the sidelines? He won’t be staying at Man City and is the desire still there? Certainly has nothing to prove to himself as an Englishman with two Champions League winners medals.

And Going On

Teddy Sheringham – the oldest top flight professional, will celebrate his 40th birthday towards the end of West Ham’s next season, having played for 7 clubs scoring 342 goals along the way.

Alan Shearer - still after that trophy in black and white. Shearer has surprisingly only bagged three more league goals than Sheringham – although each of his 18 seasons have been in the top flight. 365 goals in all.

Duncan Ferguson - an impact player now in all senses of the word. Ferguson has only managed 262 league starts in his 16 seasons, which is odd considering almost £19m in transfer fees have been lavished on him.

Dennis Bergkamp - silky skills still available, when Wenger needs them. Next season will be his 20th professional season – yet he has played for just 3 clubs (Ajax, Inter and Arsenal)

Paul Ince - yet another one year deal at Wolves will take Ince into his 21st season, with almost 700 league and cup games behind him it seems odd that Ince’s move to Manchester United was eventually sealed on a pay-as-you-play basis because of concerns over his pelvis. That was 16 seasons ago.

2133: Squarefootball diary: May

by : Stephen Orford

The hardly pulsating race to finish as runners-up to new Premiership champions Chelsea sees another development on the first day of May, as Manchester United thrash beach-gazing Charlton Athletic 4-0 at The Valley. Goals from Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher, Alan Smith and Wayne Rooney leave Sir Alex purring at his team’s performance;

“I think that's what we expect of a Manchester United team. There was a far greater confidence and authority about our game.” he says, as another of his horses bolts and begins galloping around on grass several miles away.

“Perhaps I've been here too long - I'm a bit down about it.” laments Addicks’ boss Alan Curbishley as his legions of amnesiac fans begin calling for his head.

“My hard work starts in the summer.” he concludes, either steeling himself for an off-season of rebuilding, or looking forward to a change of employment.

Tottenham fans and journalists everywhere have another opportunity to wax lyrical about their world-beating exploits as they thump Aston Villa 5-1 at White Hart Lane. A brace from Fredi Kanoute, along with goals from Ledley King, Stephen Kelly and a first for Irish international Andy Reid seal the points which take Martin Jol’s men into seventh place and a potential UEFA Cup berth.
“I think it'll go to the last match.” says Jol of the most exciting thing to happen to a Tottenham team since David Ginola signed a new shampoo advertising deal.

Gareth Barry replies with a penalty for pitiful Villa, whose boss David O’Leary immediately begins feeling sorry for himself and his team;

“We are a small group. The players have given me everything.” he observes, as if it is all somebody else’s fault.

Real Madrid are involved in the whacky transfer speculation of the day, as Arsene Wenger is quoted by one Sunday newspaper as saying that Arsenal would be interested in bringing England captain David Beckham to Highbury in time for the start of next season;
“We will have some money to spend in the summer and if there was a chance to sign David Beckham, we would look at it.” says Wenger, possibly trying to provoke a reaction from Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of the FA Cup final.

West Bromwich Albion slide further into relegation trouble after suffering a 2-0 defeat at home to Arsenal on May 2. Dutchman Robin Van Persie and Brazilian Edu do the damage for the Gunners, who remain four points clear of Manchester United in the race for automatic Champions League qualification.

“(Manchester) United are going for second position and the Champions League is very important to Arsenal and Manchester United. I know we'll get no favours.” comments Robson ahead of Saturday‘s clash with United (May 7), as if anybody had suggested that they might.

On the subject of favours, Arsene Wenger defends his decision to give youth it’s chance in one or two of his team selections;

“I need to know how these young players can play in big games and there's no better time to find out.” he comments, much to the surprise of Matthew Upson, Jermaine Pennant and David Bentley.
Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho spend much of their day arguing through the media about which of them is under the most pressure ahead of tomorrow night’s (May 3) Champions League semi-final second leg at Anfield.

“Jose is one of the best coaches and he has a very good team, sure, but they will lose on Tuesday.” claims an unusually bullish Benitez;

“We say well done for the league, but sorry as you will not win this cup.” he continues, perhaps pushing his boat out a little too far.

Jose is having none of it, however;

“We will go back to London as heroes whatever this result because we won the championship. If they lose they will have nothing. I think the pressure is on Liverpool.” he insists, almost convincing himself that failure to win the Champions League will be a minor irritation.
David Hay, until today boss of Dunfermline, has no such giddy heights to worry about. He is relieved of his duties after his side slipped to the bottom of the SPL on Saturday (April 30) with just three league games remaining;

“Our record sums up a poor season. There will be something fresh for Saturday when we play Dundee.” says chairman John Yorkston, perhaps a little too late in the day.

Manchester United wonder-kid Wayne Rooney is officially a poor role model, so says English Schools Football Association chief executive John Read. Rooney was due to be the guest of honour at a semi-final match of an ESFA event, but his presence will now no longer be required;

“We felt under the circumstances, over what was being reported, that we could find a better role model.” says Read, searching for Lee Bowyer’s telephone number. This crushing blow to Rooney’s social plans comes after several news stories linking him with nightclub fights, and allegations of hitting his girlfriend recently, all of which the star strenuously denies.

Charlton Athletic finally win the Women’s FA Cup at the third time of asking with a 1-0 final victory over Everton at nearby Upton Park. Eniola Aluko notches the winner, leaving triumphant manager Keith Boanas to reflect;

“It's incredible to come here three times on the trot and finally get it. If we hadn't got it this year, I'd have seriously questioned what I was doing wrong.”

“Inexperience and nerves undoubtedly played a part, but Charlton were a lot sharper than we were.” admits Everton boss Mo Marley.

“I don't know whether it was a goal or not.” says Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez of the strike by fellow countryman Luis Garcia that takes his side into the Champions League final after the semi-final second leg with Chelsea on May 3, almost as if he could care less.

2132: SPL: Nervous Time for Scotland

by : Hugh Larkin

The Champions League qualifying rounds loom large already and unfortunately for the giants of Scottish football, both Rangers and Celtic have to negotiate a passage to the lucrative Group stages. This season the Scots have forfeited the automatic entry to the latter stages which Celtic enjoyed last season.

That dramatic last day in the SPL that took the title to Ibrox had big repercussions for Celtic’s European hopes too. Gordon Strachan now has to begin his tenure as manager by taking his side into the 2nd Qualifying Round of the competition. The Bhoys at least have a seeding at that stage and should be able to see off most of the teams that progress from the 1st phase with comparative ease. However, the Liverpool effect has its ripples here, because although Celtic cannot draw the champions, their presence means a team that would have been seeded joins their potential opponents.

A couple of clubs Strachan would like to avoid are Malmo of Sweden and Swiss champions FC Thun. The Swedes would be awkward, not as they are former finalists but because their domestic season is still running and they are bound to be sharp. Thun pushed the well-regarded FC Basle all the way in the Swiss championship, so are clearly no pushovers. Added to that, there are a number of clubs who are likely to be easy meat on the pitch but an unwanted burden in terms of travel arrangements. Shelbourne of the League of Ireland would obviously be highly convivial opposition if they come through Round One.

Rangers last-gasp title allows them to come in at the 3rd Qualifying Round stage but sweaty palms will be the order of the day as this is where the club exited last season. Given that CSKA Moscow are now the UEFA Cup holders, Rangers’ 3-2 defeat hardly looks the disaster it appeared at the time. The Russian clubs’ success only goes to show what tough adversaries await in the 3rd Round draw.

Seedings have yet to be worked out for that phase but even if Rangers are given that luxury there would be some potentially lethal opponents to deal with. Spain, Italy and England each have two teams in that phase; experienced teams like Rosenborg of Norway and Dinamo Kiev could be lurking.

The record of the two Glasgow clubs is mixed. In 2003/4 both eased through the final qualifying round, Celtic easily over MTK of Hungary, Rangers with difficulty against FC Copenhagen. A season earlier though, Basle ended Celtic’s hopes at the same stage, in a gripping tie. In 2001/2 Celtic had to see off a club of the calibre of Ajax to reach the groups while Rangers lost out to Fenerbahce of Turkey.

There are no easy games to be had at that stage but the wrong draw could set back each clubs’ season almost before it has begun. Both the Glasgow teams desperately need to be in the Group stages for revenue, to attract quality players and most of all, for pride. The UEFA Cup becomes even less appealing if the other is swanning it in the Champions League.

**

This article was written before the Champions League draw.

In the second qualifying round Celtic will play Kairat of Kazakhstan or Artmedia of Slovakia.

Ranger will start in the third qualifying round.

Both teams are seeded and will avoid most of the big guns, with Everton as the best potential opponents for either team in the third round.

2127: Next Season’s Headlines – Reme

by : Tony Rubin

Since it is the silly season in football and most (men’s) football news is now centred around either Chelsea’s latest display of ‘breathtaking arrogance’, Liverpool’s early start to defend the trophy they won last month or wildly speculative transfer talks involving Tottenham or Newcastle I thought I’d take a punt at crystal ball gazing and attempt to predict the headlines for next season, month by month.

August:

‘Two sent off in Charity Shield dust-up’ The football season’s traditional pipe-opener the Community Shield match got the season off to the worst of start when Chelsea and Arsenal players became embroiled in a multi-player brawl mid-way through the second half. Tempers flared as players, fuelled by the close season Colegate affair clashed….

‘Sunderland off to cracking start’
Who would have thought it? Newly promoted Sunderland gave their long-suffering fans a dream start to the season by taking 7 points from their opening three games to head the Premiership after the first week of the season….

September:

‘O’Leary and Bruce under pressure as Midlands teams falter’ Aston Villa manager David O’Leary and Steve Bruce manager of deadly rivals Birmingham City find themselves under pressure to produce results, and quickly, this morning with both their sides languishing at the wrong end of the Premiership table. Without a win between since the season kicked off four weeks ago, both sets of fans booed their teams off the pitch yesterday after losses to …..

‘European Champions? You’re Having a Laugh’
Liverpool’s slump continued yesterday when they lost at home again. After an initially promising start to the season, the European Champions showed their defensive frailty by conceding two soft goals to a pedestrian…

October:

‘Stuart Pearce loses it, again!’ Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce is looking down the barrel of a record touchline ban after having, in his own words, ‘another crazy, unforgivable and ill-disciplined rush of blood to the head’ that saw him leave the technical area to remonstrate with the assistant referee who kept his flag down allowing a clearly offside…..

November:

‘Too early to think of Europe’ – Jol Spurs’ boss Martin Jol shrugged off suggestions that a top 6 slot and European football was a formality as Spurs eased into fourth spot in the table after a fourth successive victory.

Hoddle backing for Ince pays off as Wolves k.o. ‘Boro
Glenn Hoddle’s decision to offer Paul Ince an new one year deal last June paid off big time last night as Ince rolled back the years to dominate the midfield for Wolves in their Carling Cup match against a lacklustre Middlesbrough eleven. Steve McLaren said….

December:

Ferguson Quits! Sir Alex Ferguson walked out on Manchester United after he saw his team humiliated by an energetic Newcastle side last night. Rumours have been circulating around Old Trafford since the weekend when the once mighty Red Devils lost their third consecutive home game to drop below the mid-point in the Premiership Table. Sir Alex has complained all season about the new owners and now…

January:

Arsenal hit the top! Champions Chelsea dropped two points in a dull draw at Everton allowing maroon-shirted Arsenal to hit top spot by beating an out of sorts Fulham…..

Hoddle: ‘Its payback time’
The Carling Cup Final will be contested by Spurs and Wolves after both sides scored unlikely second leg away victories last night. This of course pitches Wolves Manager Glenn Hoddle face to face with the team he loves but who sacked him in October 2003…

February:

Six and out! A record six Premiership sides were knocked out of the FA Cup by lower league opposition yesterday. West Ham, Fulham, Wigan, Bolton, West Brom and Birmingham all suffered defeat away from home to leave most of them with nothing to play for except Premiership survival…

March:

Coleman goes as Fulham hit rock bottom Relegation favourites Fulham sacked manager Chris Coleman yesterday in a last desperate bid to turn their season around.

Chelsea go 5 points clear
Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea took a massive step forward in their bid to be only the second team to retain the Premiership title when they overcame a determined but injury-hit Arsenal.

April:

O’Neill says ‘Yes’! Manchester United finally got their man last night when Martin O’Neill agreed to join them from June 1st.

Scousers meet in derby semi
Everton and Liverpool will come head to head in the FA Cup semi-final. The game, will be the first time the sides have met in the FA Cup since the Cup Final in 19….

May:

Blue Heaven!! Chelsea retained the Premiership title last night with a predictable home victory against mid-table Sunderland.

West Ham escape bottom three
West Ham climbed out of the dreaded drop zone last night with a well earned point away to UEFA Cup hopefuls Everton. New manager Ian Dowie praised his side’s performance. “Every one of the lads gave 100% for the cause out there.”…

2129: SPL: Relegation row casts a sh

by : Stephen Orford

Just when it seemed that there was no hope that the Scottish Premier League (SPL) would ever become interesting again, a row is brewing on the eve of the release of the fixture schedule for next season.

With all the key dates for 2005/06 set to be announced this Thursday (June 23) relegated Dundee are still lobbying for a points deduction to be handed to Livingston, thus raising the possibility that the two sides could swap places in the league pyramid for next season.

The squabble concerns Livingston’s signing of former Aston Villa man Hassan Kachloul. The player helped Livingston avoid relegation by just two points at the end of the season, but the Dens Park club are questioning the legality of his transfer. Kachloul was signed as an amateur by Livingston, under the apparent instructions of the SPL and the SFA, but it is alleged that he was operating on a fully professional basis. The suggestion is that Kachloul was paid as much as £4,000 a week by the club, an allegation which has been vehemently denied by Livingston owner Pearse Flynn.

The club were fined £15,000 over the complex affair after being told that they could have signed Kachloul as a professional after all. All of which suggests that firstly the SPL or SFA had no business instructing Livingston to sign him as an amateur, and secondly that the fact that he eventually became a paid professional is nothing more than a technicality amid all of the ludicrous red tape of modern life.

Confused? You will be, as undeterred Dundee carry on the fight to see Livi docked the three or more points that will see them fall out of the top flight. They have written to the SPL to urge them to reconsider the imposition of a mere fine on Livingston, and have contacted the SFA for further information on payments made to Kachloul while he was listed as an amateur.

It is one of the more improbable plot twists in a division that has almost eaten itself whole in recent years. The irresistible force that is the Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers have reduced the competition to an annual two-horse race, and this development is symptomatic of the scramble to avoid the financial complications that relegation to a league without the big two would involve. Currently, only the Glasgow clubs can attract any meaningful television revenue north of the border, and the huge travelling away support that they possess always proves useful to the smaller club’s when it comes to adding to the coffers.

In essence, relegation from the SPL has dire financial consequences for club’s already struggling from the massive imbalance between the financial power of the Old Firm and the rest. As such, clubs are now more determined than ever to survive in the top flight, which in turn is likely to throw up legal wrangles of the kind currently embroiling Dundee and Livingston.

In fairness, it is not only Dundee who have had words to say about the Kachloul affair. Dunfermline made the original complaint, at a time when they too were heavily involved in the relegation scrap. They survived and have gone strangely quiet ever since, yet chairman John Yorkston’s actions in raising the matter have not been forgotten by Flynn. The Livi owner suggested that Yorkston would no longer be welcome in his boardroom, which will no doubt have left Yorkston reeling as he looks forward to another couple of visits from the profitable, glamorous, Glasgow heavyweights.

All of which mud-slinging tomfoolery could throw a spanner in the works as the SPL try to establish a schedule for next season. With little or no time remaining ahead of the original deadline, they must act quickly to resolve what has become one of the more interesting sub-plots in Scottish football since Duncan Ferguson was sent to prison for a misplaced header.

2128: Chelsea: Money talks

by : Simon Cole

They say that money talks. In Chelsea’s case, money talks far more than necessary. In fact, money gloats, money whinges and money stokes many fires.

As soon as Roman Abramovic got rid of former manager Claudio Ranieri, the friendly face of Chelsea Football Club disappeared. Abramovic’s millions started to take their toll, and so the talking began.

The most important acquisition from Chelsea’s millions was manager Jose Mourinho, and boy does this man talk. Sometimes its amusing, sometimes its ridiculous, sometimes its out and out whinging and sometimes its arrogance. But when Mourinho enters a press conference, you can guarantee to get plenty of quotes and controversy coming from him.

Perhaps the most famous of all was his “dive, dive, dive, cheat, cheat, cheat” rant about Manchester United. Clearly his handsome wage packet means he can afford to ignore the amazing theatrics of Joe Cole and Didier Drogba throughout his Chelsea career, as well as he himself admitting he cheated touchline bans while in charge of Porto.

Most of all though, in Chelsea’s case money talks very publicly. Just ask Ashley Cole. Peter Kenyon has been another key acquisition, and he doesn’t seem to care who sees him talking – whether it is legally or not. Chelsea have money, so they can afford the consequences of talking too much. Cole and Sven Goran Eriksson remain the two very public approaches we know about. Then of course there are the rumours about a meeting with Rio Ferdinand. But one big question came out of the Cole ‘tapping up’ saga. Cole said “Mourinho told me they had already agreed a deal with Steven Gerrard.” Had Chelsea been tapping up the Liverpool captain? Or are they just so arrogant they believe their millions can bring them who they want. Either way, they’re still talking.

The change in the Chelsea players has also been very noticeable since their wages shot through the roof. John Terry and Frank Lampard now seem more than happy to boast publicly about how Chelsea are going to win this that and the other. And how about Joe Cole, who is more than happy to tell people how great a football player he has become, and how he can solve England’s left-sided problem because he impressed against the mighty Azerbaijan. These players need to learn to let their football do the talking, particularly as over the past year the football has done that very well. So why not keep some dignity by letting the public talk about their performances? Because with Chelsea, when the money came, the dignity went.

What we see now at Stamford Bridge is a money-machine with complete disregard for the rules. Of course there is plenty of tapping-up going on in football, but to do it so publicly is sheer arrogance and proves that Chelsea think they are above the rules. Once again we saw this with their alleged tapping-up of Spurs Sporting Director Frank Arneson. There is no reason that these deals can’t be done legitimately. But the mentality seems to be that why should they have to worry about this? They are mega-rich Chelsea.

But it is an easy mistake to make to confuse fortune and short-term success with being a big club. Just look at the Champions’ League seedings: despite winning the Premiership, Chelsea are still ranked behind Liverpool, Man United and Arsenal. Regardless of what the future holds, the reality is that at present Chelsea have achieved no more than Blackburn did in the 1990’s. A very rich club has bought one Premiership title. Chelsea now need to answer the question as to whether they can turn this into long-term success, and become the big-club that they think they are.

Money may well talk, but it clearly also clouds vision. Chelsea still aren’t Liverpool, Man United or Arsenal. These three would laugh at one title in 50 years. But there have been plenty of laughable comments to come out of Chelsea over the past 12-months, most notably Jose Mourinho comparing £26-million man Drogba to Thierry Henry. That is perhaps the one lump-sum of Chelsea’s money that hasn’t done the talking so far.

While money is a major factor in the modern game, it is the mere arrogance of Chelsea that has angered the footballing world. Of course success brings a certain amount of arrogance: Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson are more than happy to talk up their success, but they have never treated the game with such disregard as Mourinho and Kenyon have done.

In the last year, Chelsea have more than proved that money talks. Now they need to prove that money can bring long-term success.

2130: Spurs: Regaining the high grou

by : Antony Melvin

For a while there as Chelsea shut up and let Tottenham Hotspur make all the plays in the media the PR battle was going only one way – to Chelsea. As various aspects of the negotiations between Spurs and Chelsea become public knowledge it soon became apparent that Spurs were on no moral crusade on ‘tapping up’ – they were simply trying to wrest plenty of cash from Chelsea.

Nothing wrong with that you might say, but the talk of this player in lieu of compensation or that player plus cash eventually got boring and Spurs were starting to look cheap.

And then of course Frank Arnesen had one of those classy lunches that Chelsea seem to specialise in. Over the last couple of years Sven Goran Eriksson, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand and now Frank Arnesen have all broken bread with the Chelsea management team. And each time Chelsea has denied that there was a problem. That it was a coincidence. That they didn’t talk about football.

And true to form Chelsea yesterday again denied that anything was amiss:

“Chelsea is aware of photos showing Frank Arnesen with Roman Abramovich on his yacht.”

“Mr Abramovich and Mr Arnesen know each other and were holidaying in the same location.”

“Roman and his wife then invited Frank and his wife for lunch. It was a purely social occasion.”

The marked similarity with the Eriksson incident is clear to see. Coincidental meeting? Pop in for a cup of tea? Now then what shall we talk about? The weather’s picking up…

But in giving Chelsea a deadline of noon today Spurs have basically said that they are prepared to abandon compensation so that justice will be done. And in taking that stand they have re-taken the oh-so-important moral high ground. Once again the Chelsea fan-base will have few options but to put up with a series of cheap jibes – once again arrogance at the top will hurt the fans at the bottom.

Now Chelsea have a few hours to salvage the situation. If Spurs report Chelsea at noon it seems difficult to avoid the conclusion that Chelsea will lose any inquiry – the photographic evidence of another meeting between a Chelsea official and another club’s employee is hardly debateable.

For Spurs enough money to land a couple of players will be more useful than a drawn out enquiry with little real compensation at the end. For Chelsea the choice of cash or a points deduction is a no-brainer.

As the pace quickens in this affair and if Chelsea and Spurs fail to reach an agreement then both clubs will lose – the winners will be elsewhere in London and in Manchester. But however today falls out, Spurs have acted with some dignity and should be applauded for eventually doing the right thing.

2123: Serie A: Meaningless Success S

by : Paul Grech

As cup competitions go, the Coppa Italia generates the same kind of interest that Arsene Wenger has in the League Cup. Only that the dislike is on a much larger scale.

With participation being open only to clubs in the top two flights of Italian football, the possibility of surprises is limited and there is none of the tradition that surrounds the FA Cup. Nor do fans feel any special attachment to the competition with the big clubs often struggling to attract more than a couple of hundred fans for their games.

It goes beyond degrading when even clubs fighting against relegation opt to use reserves as try to get knocked out as early as possible from Italy’s unloved cup competition.

Which makes Inter’s celebrations on winning this year’s edition look rather sad. Here is a team costing millions, built with the clear intention of challenging for the Italian Serie A and the Champions League celebrating a success that is effectively meaningless.

Yet for Inter’s long suffering fans (of which there are plenty: over 80,000 witnessed the second leg of the final at the San Siro), winning the Coppa Italia is a long sought lifeline after years of constant disappointments. Receiving the trophy from Adriano Galliani, who juggles his job as the head of the Italian FA with that of President of city rivals Milan, made the occasion all the more enjoyable.

No one enjoyed Milan’s defeat in the final of the Champions League more than the nerazzurri fans and a Grazie Liverpool (Thank you Liverpool) banner has been regularly making an appearance at Inter games. Now, contrary to their neighbours, they can even boast ending the season with a trophy something that Galliani was constantly reminded following the 3-0 aggregate success over Roma.

Yet it does not paper over the fact that Inter have once again been extremely disappointing. New coach Roberto Mancini took too much time to decide on his best formation and his indecision was reflected on the pitch as Inter became experts in snatching draws from the jaws of victory.

Their over reliance on Adriano was another problem particularly when the Brazilian first suffered an injury and then saw his form dip after naively admitting to a journalist that he’d like to play with Ronaldo. Both the Spanish and Italian press saw that as an invite for Real Madrid to come forward and rumours of a split with Mancini started to circulate. His goals dried up soon afterwards.

It seems unlikely, however, that Adriano will start next season anywhere but Milan. If anything, billionaire owner Massimo Moratti seems willing to launch another spending spree.

And that has often been the main problem at Inter. Lack of stability and the misguided belief that matters could be rectified by spending more money – Moratti’s total outlay in his ten years at Inter is of about £750 million – has often had a negative effect. Players have often been signed on reputation rather than because of a genuine need, with many proving to be less than capable for the job.

Their haphazard transfer policy has also been reflected in some ridiculous decisions which culminated in the sale of Fabio Cannavaro to Juventus last summer. The Italian captain was magnificent throughout the season as he led Juve to the title.

Inter would do well to learn from their past errors. But they would do equally well to learn from recent successes. Their best player last season was Esteban Cambiasso, a revelation in midfield where he effortlessly kept out Edgar Davids with his efficient style, knitting together the defensive and offensive aspects of Inter’s game.

Yet Cambiasso, reluctantly and belatedly signed as a makeweight in the deal which took Ronaldo to Real Madrid, had barely received any attention before Mancini decided to try him out.

It is players like Cambiasso and the equally effective Colombian defender Oscar Cordoba who could lead Inter to the Serie A success that they crave for. And the signs are that they are learning this: Moratti has just announced that he has no intention of buying Antonio Cassano, the brilliant but problematic forward that Roma are desperate to offload and just the kind of player that would mean more problems than he’s worth for Inter.

If they continue this way, Galliani might even have to be back next season presenting Inter with a much more impressive trophy than the Coppa Italia.

2125: Well done Birmingham fans for

by : Chris Sherrard

With all the murky agent-infested transfers, shiny Megastores and crass commercialism so evident in football these days, there are times when you wonder whether the people’s game is anywhere close to being such a thing.

The overwhelming evidence points to it being anything but. Ticket prices have spiralled beyond reproach. Working class fans - by whom the clubs and game were built - are being increasingly priced out of getting to watch their club play by boring men in boring suits with little interest or understanding of what football really means to the fans.

Frankly the way football clubs have been ripped away from the core reason they exist is a cause for concern and reflection far beyond anything I could summon to say.

But when those fans bite back, when they say enough is enough, that is the voice that should be heard loudest in the places where it really matters. And that is why Birmingham City’s reaction to a projected move for Lee Bowyer was so admirable.

Now once upon a time Mister Bowyer was a good player, one of burgeoning promise and potential who looked set for an England career, if only as a reliable squad man. But far from making the most of the gates of opportunity flung wide open in front of him, Bowyer let his unprofessional side take over. He became what he always was, rather than what he could well have been.

Punching team-mates, abusive behaviour towards racial minorities in fast food restaurants and getting mixed up in late night drink-fuelled punch-ups have done much to create the reputation which he now holds.

So, thank you Birmingham City supporters who stood up and said enough is enough. Fine, be a little rat-faced thug if you want to, but not in our name. Do not drag the name of Birmingham through the mud in the same way you previously did with Newcastle United, Leeds United and Charlton.

The truth is, any manager wanting to bring Bowyer to their club this summer will, and should, be risking a similar mutiny by their supporters. And rightly so. For Lee Bowyer represents all that is abhorrent and vile about modern day footballers. For me, he is the antithesis of men who went before him in the once beautiful game; men like Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan, Peter Shilton and Gary Lineker in this country. What they would make of people like Bowyer earning anything up to £40,000 every week for behaving like animals, you shudder to think.

But perhaps the most startling and downright ugly side of this debacle must be the subsequent reactions of the Birmingham City manager and chairman in the face of their supporters’ moral protest. Steve Bruce, a man who was a very good player but has yet to achieve much as a manager, described the fans rising up to block Bowyer from dirtying their club ‘disgusting’ and ‘very disappointing’.

Well far from them being such, the real disgusting, disappointing ones are Lee Bowyer and you, Steve Bruce for coming out with such a thing. Integrity is not a word that could ever be used for a man who has managed more teams in six years than his mentor at Old Trafford racked up in an entire trophy-laden career. Bruce comes up well short in such matters and should be forced to apologise to the fans who pay his wages for his recent denigration of their worth.

Your fans deserve applause and respect for their justified stance, not a public slap on the wrists and to be told to behave. Birmingham fans can feel proud if their protest succeeds and Bowyer is blocked from signing for the club.

I find it astounding to think that while Bruce is pushing so hard for Bowyer to arrive at the club, another midfielder, in the shape of lifelong Blues supporter and bright talent Darren Carter, is being allowed to go without much of a second thought. The fans would have eleven players like Carter who love the club and only want to see it doing well, above Lee Bowyer any day of the week. And it’s about time the manager and chairman listened to those who pump their cash into the club.

Football supporters everywhere could do a lot worse than follow City’s lead to get their clubs back. How else would the people’s game ever again feel like it is living up to its name?

2126: Where might Liverpool be trave

by : Hugh Larkin

This Friday Liverpool find out who the opposition will be for a defence of their European title that promises to be an epic to rival Homer’s Odyssey. The Reds are one of the seeded teams, although if they failed to beat any of the assembled sides it would rank with the most amazing football shocks in history.

The seeding does at least help them avoid seasoned campaigners in this competition like Skonto Riga and Dinamo Tbilisi, although the latter are nowhere near the side that knocked Liverpool out of the European Cup in 1979. The rest are a mixed bunch, many of whom the champions will want to avoid simply because of the travel complications involved.

Ideal opponents would be the representatives from Wales and Northern Ireland. Total Net Solutions and Glentoran would consider it a bonanza if they could be paired with the Reds and Liverpool would be equally happy with the prospect. The teams from Malta and Luxembourg would also be relatively simple destinations and agreeable opposition. After those four however, the pairings are less appealing.

Minsk isn’t an easy place to get to and Belarus is probably the strongest nation internationally with a team in the unseeded pot. Drawing Dinamo would arguably be the toughest contest in purely football terms. A tough (but winnable) game is probably in the offing for whoever draws FK Tirana of Albania too.

As many international teams have found since 1990, a trip to the Faroe Islands- bumpy pitches, possible foul weather, a long journey and local teams who give absolutely everything-is anything but a cakewalk. On the plus side English teams, especially Liverpool, are well regarded in Scandinavian territory and this would be the case again in Torshavn.

Travel problems multiply when Kazakhstan comes into the equation. The team would certainly want to sidestep a trip to one of European soccer’s farthest flung outposts. Armenia and Azerbaijan would also represent an awkward destination. For all three nations there is the element of the unknown- it’s fair to say that Kairat Almaty, FC Pyunik and PFC Neftchi have rarely featured on Rafa Benitez’s scouting priorities.

FK Rabotnicki of FYR Macedonia have only become champions of their country for the first time but the Republic of Ireland found out to their cost that teams from that country have to be given the fullest respect. Likewise the Estonian title holders FC Levadia Tallinn; as Latvia proved, there are some highly talented players in the Baltic States.

If (and it’s not a big if) they do progress, the opposition at least doesn’t become that much stiffer. The champions will retain a seeding in the second round which will allow them to avoid the likes of Anderlecht, Dinamo Kiev and Lokomotiv Moscow. On the negative side it could mean another long-distance haul and/or an encounter with opponents who have hardly registered on the Anfield radar. ( for instance the improbably named FC Sheriff of Moldova, who would no doubt be a sub-editor’s dream)

The argument over where Liverpool should have entered the competition needs to be forgotten now. The club should be able to find a path back to the lucrative group stages as long as the players are focused on the task in hand, because they will be a big target for some hungry opponents. Hopefully the atlas won’t be needed too much along the way.

2124: Derby: Is a new manager immine

by : Stephen Orford

You know how it is? It is all going swimmingly well. Your manager has guided you from the messy annual relegation scraps at the foot of the Championship to the play-offs in just a couple of seasons and you have a squad assembled that can finally make an assault on automatic promotion. So what happens? Said manager resigns in shrouded mystery, and the board dally around for the best part of two weeks when it comes to appointing his replacement.

Sound familiar? Then you must be a fan of Derby County Football Club. The recent departure of the hitherto successful George Burley from Pride Park caused something of a scramble among the unemployed football managers of the nation, with a plethora of names originally in the frame. With the likes of ex-County favourites Mark Wright and Dean Saunders ruled out, aswell as those routinely linked with any job above North West Counties level such as Sir Bobby Robson and Mike Newell, it seems that only Yeovil Town’s Gary Johnson and Bolton Wanderers assistant Phil Brown remain in the hunt for the job.

Johnson is the man who has led the previously unheralded Yeovil Town from the Conference into the relatively giddy heights of League One in just four seasons. He has also helped put the FA Trophy on the sideboard for a club with a proud history of giant-killing, but little in the way of silverware. These successes have clearly caught the eye of the Derby County hierarchy, and it would be interesting to see if Johnson could make the step up to managing in the second tier of English football after so much lower league success.

Interestingly, he has managed at international level, having had a spell in charge of the Latvian national team. That was in the days before they pottered around getting in the way of the likes of Germany and the Czechs at Euro 2004, and so it is still safe to say that Johnson is perhaps a little unproven at the very highest level. However, his Yeovil Town outfit play good, neat, attractive football of the kind that has served many a team well in the scramble to get out of the Championship and into the Premiership rich-set.

With The Glovers keen to hang on to their man, however, it might be more probable that Derby will swoop to offer Phil Brown his first managerial position. Bolton assistant Brown has been working under Sam Allardyce for so long now that it seems unthinkable that the pair could be separated. Together at Blackpool previously, the two have worked together at Bolton since 1999. Though it is Allardyce who takes many of the plaudits for the club’s remarkable achievements over that time, Brown has been an integral figure in much of their success. He may now relish the opportunity to branch out on his own and steer his own ship. With The Rams having risen from their slumber under the careful guidance of Burley, this could be an ideal job for Brown to take on as his first solo assignment.

If Brown and indeed the Derby County board need words of caution, then perhaps those words could be 'Brian' and 'Kidd'. The former Manchester United assistant manager enjoyed a trophy-laden spell as Sir Alex Ferguson's number two, only to guide Blackburn Rovers through the Premiership relegation trap-door in his first attempt at management. It is always a gamble to appoint a man with no experience of the top job, no matter how good a football coach he has proven himself to be elsewhere.

Although Derby cannot be said to be in as healthy a position as Bolton Wanderers, there are solid foundations in place which suggest that whoever the new man is could be a success. Their play-off bid failed at the end of this past season due mainly to the effects of a long, hard season. They simply ran out of numbers with the likes of Grzegorz Raziak and Inigo Idiakez missing through injury for the semi-final tie with Preston North End. With either Johnson or Brown on board in time for pre-season, the east midlands club could yet re-assert themselves on the top flight as they last did in the mid-1990’s under Jim Smith.

2121: The Russians are coming

by : Alex Wolstenholme

Fifteen years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the emerging new force in European football is set to be teams from Russia and the East.

After losing the state backing that they used to receive, the big names in Russia have adjusted fully to the new commercial world that they inhabit.

CSKA Moscow this year became the first Eastern European side since to win a European trophy since Red Star Belgrade’s European Cup triumph of 1991 when they won the UEFA Cup.

Two of the stars of FC Porto’s Champions League winning side, Maniche and Costinha have moved to Dynamo Moscow for a fee of around 20 million Euros while the Greek right-back Seitaridis, part of Greece’s Euro 2004 winning side has also made a big-money move to the same club.

Spartak paid 12 million euros for young Argentine Fernando Cavenaghi and Lokomotiv brought home Russia striker Dmitri Sychev from Olympique Marseille.

CSKA Moscow themselves are benefiting from a £29m sponsorship deal with the oil company Sibneft who are majority owned by Roman Abramovich.

Over in the Ukraine, Shaktar Donetsk have been able to sign top class players and break Dynamo Kiev’s hold on the league title.

These clubs do have some advantages over their Western counterparts, quite aside from the abundance of wealthy benefactors looking for a home for some of their wealth.

Players from Argentina, Brazil, Nigeria or elsewhere are able to join Russian clubs without the need for a certain number of international caps, as would be the case inside the EU.

Also the clubs can benefit from the fact that often the lines are blurred between the clubs themselves and local officials and even national governments.

Aside from being a bigger threat on the pitch, the growth in power of these clubs has other implications, notably in the Champions League.

Russian sides and those from other nations will gain more Champions League places as their performances improve but they will also demand a bigger say in the corridors of power, similar to the shift in power in world cricket to the Indian sub-continent where the revenue from Asian TV stations is the new driving force behind the game.

Most at risk at the moment would appear to be the Italian league where aside from Milan and Inter who have wealthy benefactors no other club is in a position to attract the top players.

Juventus are financially sound but are run as a business these days, spending only what money they raise from player sales while Roma, Lazio and Parma are beset by financial troubles.

Even in the all-conquering Premiership, the loss of just one Champions League place could have disastrous consequences for some of the country’s biggest clubs.

2122: Soulless Intertoto Returns

by : Hugh Larkin

Did you miss the start of the 2005/6 football season? The campaign began yesterday at the same time as the jaded players of Brazil, Argentina et al were still trying to finish off 2004/5 in the Confederations Cup. This weekend saw the first round matches in UEFA’s curiously named and hugely annoying Intertoto Cup.

According to UEFA, The Intertoto is a competition to allow those clubs that haven’t qualified for Europe to ‘sample the unique atmosphere of European Football’. Hardly unique, as most of the participants have been there before and apart from the East Europeans, most of the players are just about on their last legs after full domestic seasons.

For ‘unique atmosphere’ insert ‘chance to earn more cash’. The Intertoto Cup is about UEFA’s total determination to get soccer on to some TV station in the world for the whole 12 months of the year, thus maximising the brand, as the marketing professionals would describe it. Interestingly, the Intertoto started on the day Women’s Euro 2005 ended, handily ensuring that the cable/satellite channels are not bereft of any football to show.

One thing we can say about the Intertoto is that it has some fairly innovative features for a Cup competition. For a start, teams have to apply to enter, which leaves some teams from farther down a domestic league competing, while others who finished higher have declined entry. Most unusual of all, there is no one winner; the event has three Finals- frenzied TV execs can therefore have a trio of games that can be sold as the ‘big showdown’ or ‘winner takes all’ etc. etc. The three winners get a place in the UEFA cup for their efforts but pay the price of knackered players by November.

The Intertoto would have some sense if it offered a competition for teams from Europe’s’ smaller nations to win more places in the UEFA Cup. That would be a big prize for FC Rangers of Andorra or Bangor or Dinamo Tirana. Instead of course, UEFA relentlessly favours the big leagues by allowing teams from the top nations to by-pass the 1st round. The 2004 competition delivered three winners from France, Spain and Germany, who can then produce more viewers for the TV companies. The 2003 winners came from Spain, Italy and Germany and of the 31 ‘winners’ since 1995, 29 have come from Germany, Spain, France, England and Italy.

In England, West Ham, Aston Villa and Fulham have all won a place in the main European draw from this route. For Fulham it was at least an adventure, as the club had never qualified for a spot in Europe previously. If the competition was opened to clubs who have never before competed in the UEFA Cup, then it could also be a fresh, exciting tournament.

As it is, the competition feels like a money-making exercise to place more football on television and ensure that soccer blocks up airtime in periods when other sports have traditionally held sway; and for some clubs it’s a backdoor route to a competition that they weren’t good enough to qualify for over a domestic campaign.. What it certainly isn’t about, is giving more opportunities to the minnow and smaller nations to enjoy a bigger slice of the action.

2120: Wishing FC United all the best

by : Alex Wolstenholme

The latest chapter in the history of Manchester United will be written next season when newly-formed Football Club United of Manchester will take their place in division two of the North West Counties league in the unlilkely setting of the Butchers Arms, home of Droylsden FC.

FC United have been set up by Manchester United fans in the wake of Malcolm Glazer’s takeover at Old Trafford.

The inevitable comparison is with AFC Wimbledon but there are clear differences between the two.

Wimbledon’s move to Milton Keynes to all intents and purposes meant an entirely new club, MK Dons had been created leaving an empty space where Wimbledon had been.

A number of people were thus left without a club to support and so formed (or re-formed) their own with the intention of it being there more or less forever.

Manchester United still exists of course in its recognisable form, albeit with a new owner who is unpopular to say the least, meaning the new club is there to serve a different purpose than AFC Wimbledon and will probably have a finite time limit on its existence.

The key thing to say about all this is that Manchester United’s unpopularity as a club on many levels should not detract from the fact that they have many thousands of genuine, committed supporters who see the Glazer takeover not just as a bad thing in itself but as the straw that broke the camels back after years of being marginalised, taken for granted and exploited by their club.

For fans of other, smaller clubs the interesting thing is that if these fans achieve their intention of being in a position to take a stake in Manchester United in a few years time, then they could find themselves in a position of power in English football.

Hopefully then the things that they have picked up during a journey around the lower reaches of the game could lead to a more enlightened Manchester United who have not just their own welfare at heart but the game as a whole.

Much of the ambivalence from supporters of other clubs towards the Glazer takeover has come because Manchester United as a club have been at the forefront of many of the moves over the last fifteen years that have made themselves and the bigger clubs richer at the expense of the smaller sides.

The ‘us and them’ mentality is now firmly embedded in the English game and is not benefiting it at all. A more enlightened administration at the biggest club in the country could have a positive impact on more than just Manchester United.

2119: Middlesbrough: Summer transfer

by : Henry Knight

Steve McLaren has created a good balance of experience and youth. Gareth Southgate and Chris Riggot at the centre of the defence proving this; but they lack some high class players in the prime of their careers to really push forward. They have, however, already signed a player of that type;

The 7 million pound signing of Portsmouth striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu was one of the first major deals of the summer and could also prove to be the best. Middlesboro have lacked a consistent goalscorer since the departure of Fabrizio Ravanelli many moons ago and Yakubu can remedy this. Another benefit of having Yakubu is his European pedigree, a real boon for a club determined to break into top European competition, after all it was his form for Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League that persuaded Harry Redknapp to take the Nigerian to Portsmouth.

Despite the high promise of young right back McMahon, Boro need a new right back, as Reiziger has not worked out for them and, when tried, a back three failed; players like Christian Zaccardo and Hatem Trabelsi would be true signs of intent from Boro, however, it is more feasible that McLaren will go for talents such as Thomas Hubschmann and Luciano Zauri.

Stephen Appiah is a talented player and could prove brilliant value if Boro pry him from the confines of the Juventus bench, this does seem slightly unlikely at the moment, but with the consistently impressive George Boateng, the once-genius Gaizka Mendieta and the inverted Boudewijn Zenden; Boro’s midfield is strong.

On the left Stewart Downing was easily the best newcomer of the Premiership last season and a new right sided winger is necessary, Ray Parlour just
isn’t sprightly enough and Morrison is paradoxically too young; If Amdy Van Der Meyde fancied a jaunt in the Premiership he could be a class acquisition.

Although not a vital position for McLaren, who will quite rightly be searching for solidity, the fantasista, withdrawn striker/midfielder role, once occupied by Juninho, is not occupied at Boro; perhaps a gamble on Luis Figo, admittedly not the prime player that has been prescribed, could prove very effective and would certainly bring in the fans.

2117: Portsmouth: Gamble on old Newc

by : Daniel Kelly

The signing of Andy O’Brien followed by Laurent Robert completed a double swoop on Tyneside, by Portsmouth manager Alain Perrin. He seems keen to make his mark on the Portsmouth squad he inherited. The signings can be described as bold or foolhardy, but which will it turn out to be?

First the plus points. The signings mark a statement of intent from the club. Signing players from a club of the stature of Newcastle, and beating UEFA Cup qualified Bolton to a player’s signature indicate that Portsmouth have both the draw and financial muscle to compete in the Premiership. The signing of Andy O’Brien will add premiership experience to the Portsmouth defence and bring an international defender to the club. Along with Robert the player also has experience of European football and has played against some of the best attackers in Europe. Both were part of the vibrant Newcastle side that lit up the Premiership under Bobby Robson.

Moving onto Laurent Robert, he should replaced the departed Patrick Berger more than adequately. He has a far better fitness records than Berger and like him he possesses the eye for the spectacular goal. Robert will add flair to the Portsmouth midfield and provide a goal threat from set pieces and from anywhere with 45 yards of goals. As with Newcastle, he will be some fans favourite, and some fans nightmare.

To progress onto the negative both players were part of the Newcastle team which slumped so badly last season, and both were part of the Newcastle side which leaked 57 goals last season. Andy O’Brien formed part of Newcastle’s infamously porous back four, and ended the season with a string of poor performances.

Laurent Robert was consistently criticised by his manager for his lack of commitment to his defensive duties and seems unlikely to add this to his repertoire at Fratton Park. The Portsmouth left back fraternity is probably still cursing.

On the financial side, both transfer fees seem excessive. For O’Brien a reported £2 million for an out of favour defender at a club whose defence leaked goals seems expensive. The transfer fee for Robert was matched by Bolton so would seem closer to market value, though reservations remain over the players reported £30,000 wage and the offering of a three year contract to a thirty year old is at odds with most clubs policy. It could be argued the fees and wages paid could have been spent more economically elsewhere. Should the player fail to live up to expectation the financial burden of carrying such wages could be substantial. Consideration should also be given to the effect the signings may have in the dressing room, with Robert linked with the dressing room unrest on Tyneside.

Both signings have indisputably increased Portsmouth’s profile and improved their squad, and by this measure are unquestionably a positive for the club. Whether these muted negatives will outweigh these gains remains to be seen.

2118: Rules: Replays and not penalti

by : Henry Knight

The ludicrous moment when Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek was fully two yards off his line to make a save during the Champions League final showed why penalty shoot-outs are neither just nor fair. This may have been a mirror image of the movement shown by Milan’s keeper Dida two seasons previously but the fact that the referee - Manuel Gonzalez - and his linesmen failed to act does not make this right.

Two whole yards off of his line and not the one possible saving grace of video technology is allowed, held down by the stubborn desire for football to be the same at the top as it is at the bottom. This is already a ludicrous concept with the advent of mega money, legitimate performance enhancing drugs and fastidious rules, made even more ironic by the fact that the average kick about between kids in a field is played until all children have to go in for their tea; not after they have staged some ludicrously mismanaged penalty shootout of their own.

Penalty shootouts are indeed a cruel delight for the armchair neutral and in many ways they encapsulate most of the highs, lows, mistakes, technical brilliance and surprising inadequacy of a normal 90 minutes. They are, however, not a true representation of who the champion should be. A draw between two teams is, despite a clear American influence upon football’s governing body, no disgrace, but more importantly it should not lead to a triumph either.

There are two clear aims of a football match; to entertain by competition and to facilitate that entertainment there should be a victor in the competitionn. This is only really applicable in cup or playoff football and a penalty shootout was clearly designed to make sure that, whatever happened, the fans could walk away with the joy of victory or despair of defeat. This however transcends the competitive angle of football and is surely only a way of making fixture organizers lives easier and fans given quick relief.

The winner of a football match is always the one that deserves the win, no matter if they have been outplayed, out thought or outfought, the other team simply did not take their chances and fight, play or think hard enough to quash their oppositions luck. So with this in mind; a penalty shoot out is a facile way of deciding a match, it ignores all that has gone before, it disrupts the idea of real sporting competition and takes away from the greatest aspect of football, that being the fact that football is a true team sport. A winner of a tournament via penalty shootout will never be as great as one that wins it via the traditional route, no matter how miraculous the circumstances.

Replaying a match should become the universal code of footballing conduct for all games which cannot be decided in their original 90 minute parameters. Logistics are a problem with fans being charged more cash, having to rearrange all their plans and also for the organizers of football matches that, in this era of the constant overbearing fear of terrorism, have an incredibly tough job. These features are, however, simply arbitrary when considering true sporting values.

If one was to offer a Milan fan, who had paid good money to watch their team outplay Liverpool only to lose in a penalty shootout, a ticket for a replay, they would almost certainly snap ones hand off, risking life savings, relationships and livelihood in the expensive process.

A Liverpool fan, on the other hand, might point to the fact that Milan knew the rules before hand and that Milan had their chance and blew it; all perfectly legitimate points. However, Milan blew their chances in 90 minutes, the allotted time for making your bid to win and hoping it pays off, whatever happened after those 90 minutes was detached, irrelevant and an unnecessary extension to a contest that was over and finished thrillingly, yet paradoxically unsatisfactorily, in a draw. It would have been equally cruel and fatuous if Shevchenko had not failed to score his point blank header in extra time.

If a compromise was to be made between sporting values and cheap satisfaction, then extra time should be fused into one extra allotted period, not some twisted mini exhibition game of 15 minutes a half. At least that would be football, not the separate fish in a barrel game of chance that is a penalty shootout. If a winner cannot be found from that, then a replay would and should be the only option and, certainly, this process should go on until a true winner is eventually found, a team that can claim they were victorious over the course of a single competition, a true champion of
football, not some obscurely related kicker v keeper bi product of the game.

2116: Charlton: Is mid-table enough?

by : Fred Tarow

For some time now, pundits media-wide have been espousing how beneficial a change of managerial scenery would be for Alan Curbishley. He has apparently taken Charlton as far as he can and to flex his managerial muscles further, Curbs needs a fresh challenge. Some Charlton fans have been known, on occasion, to bemoan the lack of recent progress and feel that the club has stagnated. The man himself even wondered aloud towards the end of last season if he had done all he could at The Valley and should move on. However, if either Curbishley or the Charlton get the urge to necessitate a change it could have dire consequences for both parties.

Let's get one thing straight. Alan Curbishley has done a magnificent job to date with The Addicks. When he was appointed joint manager with Steve Gritt in 1991 Charlton were a club in disarray. Memories of top-flight football, under Lennie Lawrence, were fast disappearing in the rear view mirror, while there was little on the horizon to warm the cockles of the average Charlton fan's heart. A selling club with no ground to call their own, Charlton were at the lowest ebb of what would prove to be a lengthy sojourn in the wilderness that was the second tier of English football.

In their four years together the Gritt/Curbishley partnership bore little fruit. It came as little surprise when chairman Martin Simons handed the former Aston Villa and Birmingham midfielder sole control of the team in 1995 (by which time Charlton had returned to The Valley). Curbs guided Charlton to the play offs in 1996 but defeat to Crystal Palace ended their promotion dreams. However two years later play off victory was theirs after a penalty shoot out win over Sunderland and Charlton returned to the top flight after an eight year absence. Their time there would be brief as the Londoners were relegated in 1999. Run with sufficient prudence to easily sustain the blow of relegation Charlton bounced straight back up and despite being widely tipped for another relegation they secured a top half of the table finish. Recent seasons have seen the trend of mid table finishes continue, rarely does the tide of relegation ever threaten Charlton these days; flirtation with qualification for European football is a more common occurrence.

You get the feeling though that Curbishley is pivotal to Charlton's survival in the Premiership. Southampton, for example, looked like a solid mid-table club when Gordon Strachan packed up his desk at Saint Mary's last February. One season later and The Saints are facing the stark reality of Championship football. Their situation is not unprecedented. Wimbledon were an established Premiership team until they and Joe Kinnear parted ways in 1999. His replacement Egil Olsen, a man of not inconsiderable achievement, oversaw their relegation the very next season. Charlton are one of those clubs whose Premiership status could be quite precarious. Like Bolton or Fulham, were The Addicks to lose a component as integral to their success as their
manager, it would surprise few to see them embroiled in a relegation dogfight.

Those who argue that the annual mid table finishes are proof that Charlton have hit a brick wall under Curbishley, and need a change to progress any further are missing a crucial point. Charlton Athletic are not a big enough club and don't have the resources to challenge for European football on a regular basis, no matter who is in their manager's chair. In their present circumstances Curbishley's mid-table finishes are not a sign that the club has stagnated under him. Rather it is an indication that he is continually fulfilling Charlton's potential or at least coming as close as is realistically possible.

So, bearing that in mind, Charlton should be grateful for Curbishley and should do all they can to keep him for as long as possible. Is this because he will inevitably move onto bigger and better things? Not necessarily. If Alan Curbishley decided that he could do better elsewhere he might be taking the first step towards destroying the managerial stock he has so steadily built up. First of all, if he were to leave The Valley, Curbishley would look to move to a "bigger" club. Let's assume that the top three and Liverpool are out of reach. So where would Curbs go? Aston Villa? Spurs? Man City? Newcastle? Everton? All clubs at roughly the same (playing) level as Charlton but with one crucial difference. The burden of expectation at the other clubs would be far greater than that at The Valley. Perhaps that would be a good thing for Curbishley. But then again, look at what happened to Mike Walker when took over at Goodison Park or Bruce Rioch when he moved to Arsenal. Even Joe Royle, despite winning the 1995 FA Cup, never re-established himself in the Premiership after his Everton experience. For every David Moyes there's been a Brian Kidd. Just because a manager works miracles at one club does not automatically mean that they can do likewise when they move up a level. For Curbishley to leave The Valley would be an extremely risky move that could prove to be the ruination of his career.

Perhaps both Curbishley and Charlton have found their level and both should be quite happy for as long as the status quo is maintained. Sure it's not exactly ambitious, but more often than not blind ambition is just a precursor to failure. The current arrangement is safe and works exceptionally well for both parties. Should it be terminated, at the behest of either party, then Charlton and Curbishley might find that they have lost far more than they could ever have hoped to gain.

2115: Crisis at Manchester United? -

by : Matt Furniss

So Manchester United fans feel that the sale of their beloved club to Malcolm Glazer will be a negative effect to the team, and that they will no longer be the force that they have been over the past decade. They believe that this is a football crisis. REALITY CHECK - This is not a crisis. So what, they may finish third again in the Premiership - the greatest league in the world. But imagine supporting a team where finances have got to such a low that the fans have pledged to constantly give money to them in order for them to stay in their division and to compete at a high enough level to keep the club afloat. This is exactly what is happening at Southern League team Hitchin Town F.C.

After finishing 18th in the Southern League Premier division last season, one place and five points above relegation, Hitchin Town fans have decided to form a fund-raising scheme for the upcoming 2005/06 campaign. At this time around 30 fans have pledged their support to this fund-raising scheme, which in the future hopes to become a trust. Supporters of the club have been invited to make either weekly contributions to the fund over a 40-week period or one-off donations.

Before the last league campaign, with an average attendance of just over 300, Hitchin Town made a brave decision to move from the Ryman League to the Southern League. This decision proved to be a strain to the finances as attendances never reached the levels that were expected and the money needed wasn’t coming through the turnstiles. A failed F.A cup campaign, that ended in a embarrassing defeat to the lowly Beaconsfield SYCOB in the First Qualifying round didn’t do much to help their problems. At this time Hitchin, were managed by former Chelsea striker Kerry Dixon. Previously another local team Letchworth F.C, had Dixon in charge and they went out of business. Unfortunately for Hitchin and Dixon, bad luck seemed to follow him as when he left Hitchin they were in both footballing and financial trouble. Funnily enough Dixon did Hitchin a favour and managed to get relegated with Hitchin’s local and league rivals Dunstable Town F.C.

Now with the managerial partnership of former Scotland Under 21 international Darren Salton and his number two Ken Gillard, Hitchin are better equipped to rise out of the doldrums of the past couple of seasons and make a top-half finish to be proud of. I am sure that all Hitchin Town Fans are hoping that I am right come May 2006.

For further details about giving money to the club please visit http://www.hitchintownfc.co.uk

2114: Transfer windows will benefit

by : Alex Wolstenholme

Football League clubs will be subject to the same transfer windows as their Premiership counterparts from this season onwards and despite talk of an appeal against the move it is unlikely that any stay of execution would be put off for more than a couple of seasons at most.

Frank Clark of the League Managers Association has said: "Although most of our members hate it and I have to represent their views, I personally think it is a good idea.

"It will give more managers the time to get out on the training field and improve the players they have got.

"Outside the window, there won't be the opportunity to simply go knocking on the chairman's door asking for more money to go and buy someone.

"If there are injuries and you are unable to get someone in on loan, the younger players will have to be given an opportunity - and that is a good thing."

Clark has that necessary distance of course between himself and the front-line pressures of management to be able to see the benefits of such a move in the long-term.

Since the financial crisis among Football League clubs and the advent of transfer windows for the top-flight teams, the number of loan deals in the English game got completely out of hand.

Teams like my own, Coventry at times had more than a half a team on loan, whether the players had come in for the whole season or just a month.

Perhaps in the short-term there will be a drop in standards by forcing teams to bring in players from the youth-team but not necessarily.

Even if there were, fans are always more willing to tolerate mistakes from a young, home-grown player than someone who is only at the club on a short-term basis.

Financially, the days of lower-league clubs relying on transfer fees to keep them afloat has long gone and the new restrictions should not affect them too much.

In the Premiership, managers have been forced to rely more on their skills and those of their backroom team rather than using the constant arrival of a new face to keep things fresh and create momentum.

Harry Redknapp, perhaps the most celebrated exponent of this art, found himself slightly at sea when he took over at Southampton after the initial short-term rush that his New Year signings provided.

And given the way that transfers seem to be getting more and more complicated and drawn-out, managers do not need the distraction of buying and selling players on a twelve-month basis.

2113: Chelsea – More of the Same?

by : Andy Bowen

As the curtain falls down upon the 2004-2005 season, with just pointless money making tours of the US and Asia and no international competition to fill the void, its time to start questioning whether Chelsea have it in them to defend the title.

Mourinho’s men dismantled the two-horse race that had not been breached since Blackburn pipped Manchester United in 1995. The question is whether they can maintain their hunger and win successive championships - something that has not happened since United won the league in three consecutive seasons between 1999 and 2001.

Retention of the league is not easy (Just ask Arsene Wenger), and given that both Arsenal and Manchester United underestimated Mourinho’s ability to win the title in his first season – next season will perhaps be a lot closer. For the Blues to become true greats they need to win back-to-back titles, and much will depend upon whether Ferguson and Wenger strengthen well enough to match Chelsea’s own forthcoming additions. Each team displayed obvious weaknesses during the course of the season – Chelsea lacking a truly world class striker to match the quality of the rest of the team, and both the Gunners and United had serious issues regarding their goalkeeper’s performances.

After a season of memorable mistakes from the goalkeeping duos of Roy Carroll and Tim Howard and Manuel Almunia and Jens Lehmann, both teams clearly need to recruit keepers to match Chelsea’s virtually unreachable defence. The recent signing of Edwin Van der Sar may help United improve, but keeping goal for a side challenging for honours is a different world from his relegation battle experiences with Fulham. For much of the season his goal was under constant bombardment and his movement to a top club will test his ability to concentrate in games where he may only be required to make routine saves. In Wenger’s case, despite Lehmann’s terrific display in the FA Cup final, a keeper must be at the top of his shopping list if Arsenal are to pose any threat to Chelsea’s defence of the title.

The worrying thing for both managers is the likelihood of Chelsea adding three new players; in particular a world class striker. Drogba’s goal return has been disappointing. Though a great physical presence that unsettles defenders his conversion rate is below par, given his twenty-four million price tag. With a player like Shevchenko or Adriano Chelsea could be truly devastating and perhaps too much again for the both United and Arsenal.

Although it was a refreshing to see Chelsea dismantle the tedious two horse hierarchy of Manchester United and Arsenal, as fans of what is arguably the best league in the world we have to wonder what the consequences will be if Chelsea fail to recapture the league next season. If they fail there are always a few world class players, with clubs only too willing to agree overpriced fees with Chelsea. So, even if Chelsea fail to reclaim the league, money will ensure they are ahead of other clubs on and off the pitch. Their superior finances could ensure domination even greater than Liverpool’s or United’s legacies.

One only has to look to the continent to see how hard it is to achieve successive glory as in the past ten seasons in Spain only once has a team retained the title (Barcelona 97-97/98-99), in Italy only Juve have managed it, but twice (02/03, 97/98). Chelsea no doubt face a tough battle with Arsenal and Manchester United, but if any team is more than equipped to win such a war then it is Chelsea.

2112: Newcastle United: Summer trans

by : Henry Knight

Graeme Souness’s situation is unenviable as it’s the mental qualities of some of his best players that shroud the clarity ofO positions that need new blood this summer. However if Newcastle are to be ambitious and aggressive in the market, which Freddy Shephard seems to be, they will sign a whole host of new players.

Shay Given, Jean Alain Boumsong, Stephen Carr, Amdy Faye and Jermaine Jenas are the only players that can be anywhere near comfortable this summer, but for players like; Lee Bowyer, Kieran Dyer, Nicky Butt, Darren Ambrose, Shoala Ameobi, Titus Bramble, Andy O’Brien and Celestine Babayaro, it might be an anxious wait for the season to start.

Boumsong proved himself to be a very good defender and along with the brilliant Shay Given helped keep a rampant Arsenal down to just the one goal at Highbury last season. Clearly he needs a partner as Bramble will seemingly never have one whole season being fully fit and O’Brien will always be prone to buffoonery.

Babayaro is a good player when he puts his mind to it, strong in the tackle, a good competitor who is accomplished on the ball, but like so many others around him he lacks consistency and mental toughness.

Nicky Butt has been caught napping for much of his time thus far at Newcastle, he was verging on narcoleptic for Newcastle’s late horror show vs
Sporting Lisbon, but just like midfield compadres Kieran Dyer and Lee Bowyer, he is a quality player. Amdy Faye does seem to be a better option than Butt at the moment and with those two in the side it would be unnecessary for Souness to buy a defensive midfielder, therefore it is further up the park where the transfer budget must be focused.

If Newcastle were to go spend crazy during the summer they would purchase left and right sided wingers, one more central midfielder and an attacking midfielder, however Souness is more likely to utilize at least some of the damaged talent at his disposal. Scott Parker is of course a fabulous addition, Aleksander Hleb would be a great steal and Martin Petrov and Christian Willhelmson, two Scandinavian wingers, would certainly add the necessary width, blistering pace and accurate crossing.

Sir Alan Shearer will never do a thing wrong for the Newcastle faithful, but he should not be used as a starter next season. It has been at least three seasons since you can say Shearer has been a genuine force to contend with. Shola Ameobi has been very impressive in some big matches, but with a lack of real opportunities and consistent goalscoring his place is possibly never going to be at Newcastle;

Emerging Holland striker and a favourite of, striking God Marco Van Basten, Dirk Kujt, is a fantastic player with all the physical attributes, technical attributes and work rate to fit in at any top club. He now has the experience of top European and International competition and is quite similar to Ruud Van Nistelrooy, but direct comparisons are probably unfair at his young age, 22, however Newcastle really should attempt to secure his signature as a genuine long term replacement, if possible, for Shearer. If Kujt proves impossible to lure, due to Newcastle’s failure to reach the Champions League, then maybe equally experienced Eastern European talents of the Ukraine’s Andriy Voronin, Shevchenko-lite, and Russia’s Kherzakhov, could prove very effective bargains.

2111: Liverpool and the Queen of Spa

by : Simon Cole

If you’re going on holiday to Spain this summer and you’re a Liverpool fan, watch out for hidden photographers when having a kick-about in your Reds shirt. It seems that anyone who has ever set foot in Rafael Benitez’ home land is being linked with a move to Anfield.

The transfer history of Benitez since his arrival at Liverpool a year ago is of course what is fuelling all of these rumours. Josemi, Luis Garcia, Xabi Alonso and Fernando Morientes make up almost £25million worth of Spanish expenditure in the past 12 months. But Benitez was merely sticking to what he knew – the Spanish market. And the fact these signings helped bring home the Champions’ League is justification enough for these transfer dealings.

But now that Benitez knows more about the English transfer system, expect more signings from the domestic market. Sure, there may well be a couple coming over from La Liga, but if you were to believe everything you read, then anyone who has ever played for, against or in the same ground as Benitez would be coming to Liverpool.

Surely merely being Spanish is not enough for newspapers to start transfer speculation about a move to Liverpool? Well, apparently not. But then again, these are the newspapers who have recently been boasting their “Exclusive: Gerrard to Stay!” stories, freely admitting they have been lying about his “done and dusted” move to Chelsea for the past 18-months.

A distinct possibility is that an army of professional hoaxers will descend onto the Spanish club training grounds (deserted right now) and get a few pictures taken and perhaps a video made. Who knows, the next season of reality TV show ‘Faking It’ may involve the European Cup holders and one of their new signings. But then again is anyone sure about where Antonio Nunez was ‘discovered’? Real Madrid! Really?

So a word of warning to anyone heading out to sunny Spain in Liverpool attire this summer: if you happen to meet any famous footballers, to avoid being accused of working for Liverpool and negotiating deals with Spanish stars, make sure you are clearly labelled: “Not a representative of Liverpool Football Club.”

2110: The Everton Medical. Pain or G

by : Daniel Kelly

Offence
A player in an offside position is only penalised if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play:
· by interfering with play or
· by interfering with an opponent (often resulting in a civil action) or
· by gaining an advantage by being in that position or
· by way of upsetting the referee earlier in the game, when he told him what his mother does with goats, after he gave him offside the last time.
· by not being Thierry Henry or Ruud Van Nistelrooy

No offence
There is no offside situation if a player receives the ball directly from:
· a goal kick or
· a throw-in or
· a corner kick or
· Robert Pires or
· Ryan Giggs or
· Paul Scholes or
· Freddie Ljungberg or
· Christiano Ronaldo or
· Patrick Vieira

Infringements / sanctions
For any offside offence, the referee awards an indirect free-kick to the opposing team to be taken from the place where the infringement occurred.

The player taking said free kick (or indeed any free kick) will then pick the ball up and throw it (with backspin) forward several yards, before walking away, leaving it for another player to take, who will again pick the ball up and throw it forward several yards more.

Finally, the goalkeeper will normally come forward and punt it aimlessly into the opposition penalty box – not before first moving the ball another several yards forward.

Law Alterations

New Law currently under review by FIFA

Under this new ruling match officials would in future award all free kicks at least 30 yards from where the incident took place. This is to offset the 30 yards always stolen in dead ball situations by the attacking team.

Law 11 Alteration currently under review by DHROD

Under an alteration to Law 11 a player would not be deemed offside if:

· more than three of his team-mates were still in their own half of the field of play, or inside, or within a reasonable distance of, the centre circle or
· the team mate playing the ball was standing at an angle greater than 90 degrees to the goal line or
· the player in the offside position is deemed to be running at greater than 15mph (approx).
· the player in the offside position was of the Taurus or Gemini zodiacal star signs and the player playing the ball was not, or
· the biorhythms of the player playing the ball were not correctly aligned

The Everton medical continues to set the standard as the most rigorous examination in the Premiership, if not Europe. But are these stringent tests helping or hindering the blue side of Merseyside?

Mikael Forsell became the latest player to fail a Goodison Park medical last week before signing instead for Birmingham, whose medical team appeared not to share the serious qualms about his knee displayed in Everton. The diminutive striker displayed a lethal eye for goal for the Blues two seasons ago and was one of the top scorers in the Premiership. His goals fired Birmingham up the league, and were sorely missed this time around. The cause of his absence, a long term knee injury, has cast doubts over his long term fitness but should he recover fully, as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Alan Shearer have done so in the past, he will undoubtedly prove to be one of the bargain buys of the summer. Everton may find themselves regretting passing up the chance to sign him, particularly in lieu of their recent recruitment problems.

David Moyes has already bemoaned the fact that the club is struggling to attract its targets, with the competition fiercer than ever this season. Everton’s Champions League and Rooney windfall has served only to propel them into the transfer league of bigger spending clubs such as Newcastle, Spurs, Birmingham, and Villa. Some of these clubs can offer higher wages and longer contracts than Everton, and this, along the sheer competition, has countered the attraction of Champions League football at Goodison. Scott Parker’s move to Newcastle in particular highlights this point. With Everton struggling to attract their targets, it could be argued that their stringent medicals are hamstringing the club further by rejecting the few quality players who are willing to move to the club. Two years ago, Sean Davis failed a medical only to sign six months later for Spurs, and his presence in an Everton midfield shorn of Thomas Gravesen would have been a definite plus. Davis did spend 3 months on the sidelines at White Hart Lane with another, unrelated knee injury, but whether this was injury proneness or merely the Spurs injury curse will forever remain a mystery. Once again the Everton medical strikes.

The counter argument to this is Everton’s phenomenal fitness record. David Moyes has succeeded in moulding a seeming indestructible side, with very little injury problems and a will to win. This fitness has been key to Everton’s success this season and has been built upon strict fitness criteria when signing players. Everton’s recent reluctance (James Beattie aside) to sign injury prone players has undoubtedly contributed to this. It also makes excellent fiscal sense, with very few players being paid for their time in the injury room. Indeed some players (Jamie Redknapp springs to mind) never fully recover from knee damage and the risk of signing such a player, especially with a transfer fee and significant wages may be greater than the possible advantages. Birmingham may well regret their decision. It should also be remembered that until recently Everton have not had money to burn.

Indeed Everton’s rather modest transfer dealings have forced David Moyes to turn to the Championship for bargains, resulting in some highly effective signings. Marcus Bent and in particular Tim Cahill have been revelations this season despite their modest price tags, proving that talent doesn’t always have to come with a hefty price tag. It could be argued that Championship players have more hunger to succeed than established premiership middleweights. Certainly the exploits of the Everton duo, along with Ashton, Johnson and Routledge would seem to support this theory. Pursuing this policy further may be more beneficial than entering a bidding war with half the premiership, and makes more financial sense.

To conclude, Everton’s safety first approach has certainly minimised financial risk, and helped unearth a few championship gems. However, with increased funds available and a Champions League campaign to come it may well be time to gamble just a little financially. An Everton side bolstered with some major summer signings could face the season ahead looking to build on their progress. Failure to improve significantly is likely to see the club slide back into mid-table, and the Everton medical may well shoulder some of the blame for any lack of improvement.

2109: squarefootball’s Guide to Law

by : Sean OMeara

Important Note:
Before explaining Law 11, it should be noted that all of the Laws of Football, as documented by FIFA seem to assume that women do not, cannot, and would not ever want to play the game.

This rule in particular stands out of course, as legend has it that no woman has ever been known to fully grasp this particular law of the game – as has no match official.

Background
The offside rule was designed to make the game more complicated. It’s sole purpose is to stop each team camping out on the opposition half, waiting for the ball to break to them.

This rule has been amended over time, as players, fans, match officials, and even the media (once they were invented) came to understand the rule in it’s current form.

The key to the offside rule, is that as few people as possible must understand it.
This is known as the FIFA Offside Directive and goes as follows:

‘As understand it more people do, so changed it must be.’

FIFA have recently set up a new body, the DHROD (‘Department of Hanging Referees Out To Dry’) whose sole remit is to find great new ways to make Law 11 harder to officiate.

The Offside Rule

Offside position
Technically speaking, it is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position, unless you are:

· not Thierry Henry or
· not Ruud Van Nistelrooy or
· restraining the opposition goalkeeper or
· building a structure which would, once complete, obstruct the opposing goalkeeper’s view of the field of play.

A player is in an offside position if:
· he is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent or
· the referee thought he was nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent or
· the referee thought his assistant thought he was nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent or
· the assistant didn’t know, because he was blinking, sneezing, looking at his watch, or thinking about his steak and kidney pie.
· the assistant thought the referee thought his other assistant thought he was nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent or
· neither the assistants or the referee have any idea whether he was nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent or
· there has been a recently published very woolly alteration to Law 11, which the match officials quite frankly do not understand and so are just randomly giving offside decisions, hoping no-one will notice or
· it is the opposition’s turn to have a free kick or
· the referee has lost count of how many key decisions he has given to each side and so must start again at one.

A player is not in an offside position if:
· he is in his own half of the field of play or
· he is level with the second last opponent or
· he is level with the last two opponents or
· he is laid on the floor, is squatting or bending or
· he is tying his laces or
· he is on the phone or
· he is Thierry Henry or Ruud Van Nistelrooy and is running the wrong way as the ball is played and has been in an offside position for the past five minutes or
· the referee didn’t think he was nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent or
· the referee didn’t think his assistant thought he was nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent or
· the assistant thought the referee didn’t think his other assistant thought he was nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent or
· neither the assistants or the referee have any idea whether he was nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent or
· there has been a recently published very woolly alteration to Law 11, which the match officials quite frankly do not understand and so just randomly let players play offside, hoping no-one will notice, or understand or
· it isn’t the opposition’s turn to have a free kick

2108: World Cup 2006: So Who’s Comin

by : Hugh Larkin

Germany are no longer the only certain name on the lineup for the 2006 World Cup. Last week five nations became the first definite qualifiers for the big event and several more almost certainly wrapped up their participation next summer. On the other hand, a number of top names seem consigned to enduring an unwanted long holiday.

Argentina can enjoy their Confederations Cup jaunt, knowing they certainly come back next year. They topped the South American group with a blistering 3-1 win over rivals Brazil- that man Hernan Crespo netted twice again. The Brazilians should soon join them despite this defeat, but behind the holders there’s a real log-jam of countries chasing the last two automatic spots.

Three points separate four teams with 3 games each left and lagging behind this bunch are the Uruguayans a further two points back. Unless they string together three wins Diego Forlan will be able to put all his effort into Villareal’s upcoming European campaign.

The South Americans 5th best take on the Australians in a play-off. Many of the Australian players ply their trade in the UK and they will hope to prevail where they have fallen short previously. Yet again winners of the Oceania section, the Socceroos are pig sick of taking on South Americans and have applied to join the Asia groups next time. Looking at the Asian qualifiers you can see why.

Japan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and South Korea have come through; these are fast becoming what could be termed the ‘Usual Suspects’ in Asian football. Slightly disappointing not to see a new participant at the sport’s biggest event and the latter stages were a non-event as the ‘Big 4’ wrapped up qualification before the final group games.

On the subject of perennial qualifiers, the Mexicans top the final CONCACAF pool and they and the USA are almost certain to confirm their tickets to Germany sooner or later. Paulo Wanchope has fired Costa Rica to pole position for the 3rd qualifying place and if they prevail there will again be no new competitor in Germany.

African qualification is very tough with only the winners of five pools awarded a place in Germany. Not surprisingly, no team has clinched a group yet but there’s no doubting the most unfamiliar contender. Togo lead Group 1 over teams like Senegal and Zambia. There’s no doubt there are a few UK fans who wouldn’t mind seeing the Hawks denie El Hadj Djouf another World Cup Finals. Togo’s effort is led by Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayo of Monaco, one of several Nigerian-born players in their ranks.

The Super Eagles are jointly leading their section but as usual doing it the hard way. Last week they dropped points to the unfancied Rwandans and this week they have a critical game with the resurgent Angolans. Form suggests that when the Nigerians end their internal dissension they can take this group.

Which leaves Europe. Group 2 now appears almost certain to throw up the most interesting new qualifying nation, as the Ukrainians finally put behind them the heartbreak of play-off losses to reach their first tournament finals. It’s not in the bag yet but Europe’s No 1 player, Andrei Shevchenko, should finally appear at the highest level. His team will be a real dark horse if they stay on course and win their section.

Big names like France and Russia are struggling to make it and Bulgaria and Rumania are already out, to name just two. Spain, who always seem to qualify with ease, are locked in a slugfest with Serbia/Montenegro for top spot in their section and may face the indignity of a play off. One of Holland and the Czech Republic are certainly destined for that fate.

On a (very) rough count, over 50 nations are still in with some sort of a chance to add their name to the contenders at next year’s World Cup, which shows the levelling of standards in the past 20 years. It’s going to be the soccer’s maddest scramble ever in the next few months.

2107: Euro 2005: Some positive point

by : Hugh Larkin

So England failed to make the semi-finals by what became the narrowest of margins but nearly 70,000 turned up to watch their three games. The tournament has been a success and watching 5 matches in 6 days left some very favourable impressions.

WIDTH

Euro 2005’s various coaches don’t have any Eriksson-like problems with diamonds and shoehorning players into the left side. Just about all the teams used the full width available, employing various tactically sophisticated formations to do it. Hope Powell’s England favoured a 4-2-3-1 that allowed Rachel Yankey and Karen Carney to stretch the opposition, although sometimes it left the midfielders slow to get into the box- but it so nearly paid off.

Germany’s full backs powered forward (when was it ever different?), the French always had a right side outlet and Norway had the starring Dagny Mellgren running their line.

ON THE DECK

With no sign of Peter Crouch’s sister, the ball spent far more time on the floor and it felt all the better for it. At times, teams like England and Italy were inclined to play too much football in tight areas but the overall impression was of good habits and an ambition to pay through the opposition. That’s not to say that the aerial route wasn’t employed but only rarely was it first choice. The Germans, the dominant force in the competition, were leaders in this regard, despite having forwards who seemed bigger than many of their markers.

DISSENT

Or the lack of it. Refereeing standards were mixed on the whole but received with good grace by the players. Players squaring up to each other were largely absent and lineswomen got through the game without abuse or theatrical applause from central defenders.

TOLERANCE

At a critical juncture in England’s vital final group game, two Swedes took to tearing up and down the pitchside manically waving huge flags. Normally they would have been buried under an orange tide of stewards- if they were lucky- or an angry mob of outraged home fans. Mild booing and a gentle reprimand from a single steward sufficed here.

In the seats, the absence of a torrent of foul language and abuse proved mildly disconcerting at first. For the first time in a long while I didn’t have to listen to at least one bile-spewing psycho.

TACKLING

A high proportion of the tackles made were clean ball-winning affairs. This may be because the pace of the game is a bit slower but it certainly does a lot for the flow of the match. And these are full-blooded tackles too.

Now England, with an improving side, aim for World Cup qualification in 2007. Hopefully this tournament will swell the ranks of the 130,000 women who already play in this country. Germany have nearly 900,000 active participants so there’s a long way to go but the success of the Scandinavians proves that England-and the other Home Nations- should be competitive at this level. We might hear a lot more about Karen Carney, Kellie Smith, Eni Aluko and co. in the future.

2106: Manager profile: Gordon Strach

by : Alex Wolstenholme

Gordon Strachan has been linked with a number of vacant managerial jobs since leaving Southampton but is now back in the game, replacing Martin O’Neill as the man in charge at Celtic and hoping to write the latest chapter in an eventful and mostly successful career.

The winner of 50 caps for Scotland, enough to earn him a place in the SFA Hall of Fame, Strachan started out with Dundee but it was his move to Aberdeen that kickstarted his career.

Under the guidance of Alex Ferguson, Strachan, a right-sided midfielder, was a key part of the Aberdeen side that broke the dominance of the Old Firm domestically and memorably won the European Cup Winners Cup against Real Madrid in 1983.

In 1984 Strachan left Pittodrie to join Manchester United and was reunited with Ferguson when he took over at Old Trafford in 1986 but simmering tensions between the two men were not resolved and three years later Strachan, then in his thirties left to join second division Leeds United.

Amazingly, Strachan not only inspired Leeds to promotion but played a major role in their 1992 League title win and was named Footballer of the Year at the age of 35, the only player to win the award both in Scotland and England.

In March 1995, Strachan took the job as assistant manager at Coventry, stepping up to first team boss when Ron Atkinson was moved upstairs.

Strachan’s early years at Highfield Road showed the kind of promise that later shone through at Southampton but he will ultimately be remembered as the man in charge when relegation finally came, despite spending more money than any manager in the club’s history.

He was sacked just after the start of the 2001/02 season but was handed almost an immediate return to management with Southampton after Stuart Gray’s departure from the club.

The main positive on Strachan’s CV so far is taking Southampton to the FA Cup Final but the Saints were handed a fairly comfortable run to Cardiff and his subsequent departure from St Mary’s means that no-one could say with any conviction whether he would have built on the encouraging signs that did exist.

Since leaving Southampton, however, Strachan has managed to enhance his reputation as a manager without becoming a boss again thanks to his (excellent) media work.

His incisive opinions and disarming manner mean he comes across very well and with a regular role on Match of the Day 2 as well as newspaper columns, it looks to have taken a big job to make him put his head on the line again.

There are a lot of clubs he could take over in a worse position than Celtic who come with home crowds of 60,000 every week and guaranteed European qualification every season, something that very few jobs down south could have offered Strachan (his well-publicised fall-out with Sir Alex Ferguson makes him an unlikely successor at Old Trafford while he is a world away from the kind of European model that Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are pursuing).

Time is not always afforded to new men in charge at either Old Firm club but despite O’Neill’s popularity, there were enough doubts about his tactical knowledge and performance in the transfer market to mean that Strachan does not have an impossible job, especially if there is some money to spend.

O’Neill is still a tough act to follow but Rangers’ title win and the acceptance that the current Celtic team is reaching the end of a very successful period give Strachan a chance to shape a side in his own image without an immediate need to defend the league title.

Strachan’s major strength is getting the best out of some decidedly average players. In his previous jobs he has managed to get previously unseen form out of both Dion Dublin and James Beattie, turning them into England internationals.

That kind of player seems to be the kind that he is most comfortable with and it will be interesting to see whether he looks to build a team without stars or responds to the size and expectations of his new club with a move for some big-name players.

With Rangers looking a season or two ahead in their rebuilding, next season will be tough for the new man in charge but Strachan knows his managerial reputation can go one of two ways at such a big club (compare O’Neill’s employability now with that of John Barnes) and as always with the man, he will be giving it his best shot.

2105: Chelsea move for Arnesen was i

by : Fred Tarow

Seaman’s Curse
David Seaman’s final game for England might have left a bitter aftertaste and he was widely blamed for the World Cup quarter final defeat to Brazil, yet he has to be considered one of England’s greats and a player who has yet to be properly replaced.

A number of young pretenders have been earmarked as potential England Number One’s, but most – including the following - have failed to make the grade.

David Lucas

As a young keeper with Preston he was earmarked as one of the brightest prospects outside the Premiership with one national magazine going as far as predicting that he would be keeping goal for England at the 2008 World Cup. Having lost his place at his home town club, he was transferred to Sheffield Wednesday for £100,000 last summer and has got his career moving back in the right direction following their recent promotion from Division One.

Stuart Taylor

In 2001, following injuries to David Seaman and Richard Wright, Taylor stepped into the spotlight and he helped Arsenal to two 3-1 victories against Manchester United and Juventus. Eventually, he played enough games to get a championship medal and seemed to be Seaman’s long term replacement for club and country.

However, his career has tailed off since then. Wenger brought Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia, thereby limiting Taylor’s prospects. A shoulder injury caused him to miss most of the 2003/04 season and he spent time on-loan at Leicester last term. As with Kirkland, regular football elsewhere looks like the best option.

Nicky Weaver

Signed for £100,000 from Mansfield, Weaver made his debut for Manchester City at 19 and immediately looked the part. His progression gained pace as City won two back-to-back promotions, attaining hero-status in the penalty shoot-out win over Gillingham in the 1999 Second Division Play-Off final.

The Premiership, however, proved to be a step too far. A number of erratic displays as City struggled against relegation saw him being replaced by Carlo Nash with his reputation blown to bits. Injuries almost forced him to quit but he made a comeback late last season coming on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw at Middlesborough.

Richard Wright

“Nervy and erratic performances became the norm with Wright between the sticks, although the defence started to do a more effective job of protecting him – and he needs a lot...England No. 1? My a**e!” That is the verdict of an Everton site and as clear an indication as any of how Richard Wright’s reputation has fallen.

Yet during 2000-01 he was arguably the best keeper in England as Ipswich took the Premiership by storm. Things started to go wrong when he was signed by Arsenal for £6 million. Rather than confirming his status, a series of howlers soon saw Wright being dropped and eventually shipped off to Everton. At Goodison he has done little better and 39 year old Nigel Martyn is a much safer option for David Moyes. Tellingly, despite playing just seven games last season, Wright suffered 20 goals: almost half of the 46 shipped by Everton over the whole season.

Steve Simonsen

Another player who failed to make the grade at the highest level, Simonsen started out at Tranmere and even won England U21 recognition. A rumoured £3.3 million deal (although apparently Tranmere only received about £1.3 million as much of the rest was based on appearances) made him the most expensive teenage goalkeeper and took him to Everton in 1998 but Thomas Myhre’s impressive form kept him out.

On the rare occasions that he got a chance, Simonsen failed to impress and when David Moyes took over, he made it clear that a new keeper was his priority. In May 2004 he was released by Everton and joined Stoke.

My fury has just about abated. The red mist that blighted my sight so is lifting. The vet just called and advised that my dog will be okay despite suffering a boot (from an as yet unknown assailant) to the torso, the second such attack in the last year (the other one came in November). He did tell me I should expect a call from the RSPCA though. The stench of betrayal still lingers, but it is being slowly replaced by a feeling of inevitability about the whole situation. Why did I expect any different from Frank Arnesen? Once he-with-the-oil-stained-roubles came acalling, it was obvious that the Dane's recent claim that "I'm happy in London" was anything but a public statement of his loyalty to Tottenham Hotspur.

The moral outrage that greeted the news of the former PSV man's suspension and desire to join Chelsea was understandable, even if some of the punishments proposed for Chelsea's alleged illegal approach were pure fantasy. "Strip them of the league title and give it to Arsenal" are words I thought I'd never see pass a fellow Spurs fan's keyboard but they did. And it wasn't just one deranged fan; there was a whole cackle of them. Other punishments suggested included the FA withdrawing them from the Champions League or even relegating them to The Championship.

Then of course we had the conspiracy theories. Chelsea took Arnesen because they saw Spurs as some sort of threat to their long term plans for world domination and decided to sway the Dane with their bundles of ill gotten cash. Even the usually level headed Alasdair Gold perpetuated the theory in his otherwise excellent "Spurs shock as tea-lady is tapped up by Chelsea" piece. It seems that people have this view of Roman Abramovich as some cartoonish super-villain who will hire people he has no real need for and spend national budgets doing so, just so no one else can have them. If this is so would Roman not be trying to destroy Arsenal and Manchester United before relatively lowly Tottenham? If the theory is in fact true can I expect to see Arsene Wenger selling programmes and Alex Ferguson serving pies at Stamford Bridge in the near future for obscenely inflated salaries?

The truth is that Chelsea need someone like Frank Arnesen and that's why they have head-hunted the Dane. Yes they can spend fortunes on players, like they have done over the last couple of seasons, but its not financially viable to do so. Roman didn't make his billions by just throwing money away and I don't expect that he is going to start anytime soon. Earlier this year, the repulsive Peter Kenyon claimed that Chelsea's spending would be no where near as flamboyant in the future as it has been over the last two years. Furthermore with UEFA's impending insistence on having a minimum number of "home grown" players in the squad it was imperative that Chelsea started to do more than just buy finished articles from abroad. Logically the club needed to develop an infrastructure that promoted the development of "home grown" talent.

Roman wants the best for Chelsea, even at the expense of other clubs and the game as a whole, and Frank Arnesen is arguably the best at spotting and signing young talent. Yes Chelsea's recruitment tactics are about as subtle as a nuclear bomb, but they know that because of their healthy financial state they can sustain any fine the FA might mete out quite easily. They were also clever enough to know that even if Tottenham make a formal complaint to the
FA, a points ban is unlikely. Chelsea may be public enemy number one, and deserve a stiff punishment, but one cannot deny that they are assembling the crme de la crme of football in all departments at Stamford Bridge in an effort to create a dynasty more durable and immune to footballs cyclical nature than those of bygone years.

What about Arnesen? His actions have proven, yet again, that contracts are no longer a guarantee of services for a period of time, but merely a tool for employers to extract compensation once their employees get a better offer elsewhere. Yet are the charges of disloyalty justified? Not really. While us Spurs fans have invested a lifetime suffering disappointment at their hands, and have a huge emotional investment in the club, Frank Arnesen doesn't. He joined last year, not because of a noble desire to lift Tottenham from perennial mediocrity to its rightful place in the sun, but because he was being well paid to do so. He was there because the price was right.

Now he's got a better offer, with a better club, and by all accounts his responsibilities will not be quite as burdensome at Chelsea as they were at White Hart Lane. Let's be fair, if a friend came to me and said that he had been offered the chance to double his salary, move to a better company, and have his workload reduced, and asked me what he should do, I could only give one answer. Just because us fans believe that the club's employees should be as loyal to the club as we are, and have the same emotional connections that we do, does not mean that they will, and only on rare occasions will it be so. To the likes of Arnesen, and in professional football and society in general his type are in the majority, the main reason for working is to earn money. It's vulgar but its reality.

So while the moral outrage over Arnesen's inevitable move will continue for some time, and the claim that Chelsea are destroying football as we know and love it for even longer, one cannot deny that both parties have done what is best for them and in Arnesen's case, what any right minded person would have done. Is he greedy? Perhaps, but in his position how many of us would have acted any differently?

2104: Liverpool: Keeper move the ide

by : Paul Grech

Chris Kirkland’s dad must be a nervous wreck. He’s been waiting for years to cash in on the £1,000 that he stands to win should Kirkland junior ever represent England in a senior competitive game, thanks to a £10 bet at odds of 100/1 that he made in 1997 when his son had just joined Coventry City’s Centre of Excellence.

Given that at the recent American tour England used a keeper whose apparent ambition seems to be that of constantly proving that he’s not good enough (David James) and another who was nothing more than average during his recently terminated stint in the Premiership (Robert Green), that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Or at least, it wouldn’t have been if Kirkland hadn’t suffered an incredible series of injuries. Damaged cruciate knee ligaments following a clash with Crystal Palace’s Dele Adebola brought his first spell in the Liverpool goal to an abrupt end in February 2003 whilst a broken finger during a game against Bolton – aptly on Boxing Day of the same year – did for his second stint.

These were followed by a wrist injury suffered during training in February 2004 which brought his season to an end along with hopes of making it into England’s European Championship squad whilst a back injury early this year cut short last season.

It wasn’t supposed to work out this way for him. Despite spending an apparently inflated £6 million, Houllier’s decision to go for the Coventry youngster was still viewed favourably. The decision to sign Jerzy Dudek on the same day was less so.

Legend has it that the French manager was looking for a back up keeper to put pressure on the erratic Sander Westerveld, with Kirkland being his first choice.

Coventry, however, were seemingly determined to hold on to their man. So on the last day in which he could register players for the Champions League, Houllier turned his attention elsewhere and brought in the Pole only to find out that Coventry had changed their mind in the meantime. So keen was he on Kirkland that he still opted to sign him with Westerveld being sacrificed.

At the time, everyone expected Kirkland to spend a period of apprenticeship behind Dudek before claiming the number one shirt as his own. This was backed up by a sensational debut in Turkey against Galatasaray before Dudek’s sudden loss in form during his second season let Kirkland into the first team.

Then the injuries started kicking in. Every time he’s got close to Liverpool’s first team, another injury knocks him back. Inevitably this has landed Kirkland with the unwanted reputation of being injury prone. Somewhat unfairly perhaps – no one would have survived unscathed the clash with Adebola for instance – but still an irritating distraction.

Yet what should really be worrying Kirkland is the shaky form that he showed when given the chance to replace Dudek early last season. Although he avoided the high profile blunders that seemingly haunt Dudek, he was hardly convincing before injury deprived him from further opportunity to convince Rafael Benitez.

The past few months must have been quite hard on him. Not only has he seen Dudek earn hero status for his performance in Istanbul, but he’s also seen Benitez sign 20 year-old Scott Carson (who was the third English keeper taken by Eriksson for the American tour) with 23 year old Pepe Reina rumoured to be on the verge of joining as well.

Having regained full fitness, Kirkland could stay and fight for his place, but regular football elsewhere seems a better alternative.

In this sense, the loan move to West Bromwich Albion is the ideal solution. Even given last season’s injury problems, four keepers are too much for Liverpool and Kirkland would appear to be the most disposable of the bunch. By loaning him out, they’re offering Kirkland with the possibility to rehabilitate himself fully aware that a good season would raise his value.

At West Brom, he would certainly get plenty of practise. His experience of playing in a team fighting against relegation will be useful for them as Bryan Robson will be fully aware. He will also be aware that they’re getting a keeper with the potential to be one of the country’s best without eating away any of his transfer budget.

And who knows, it could also mean that Kirkland senior finally gets his hand on that £1,000.

2102: Newcastle: The fall from grace

by : Simon Cole

It wasn’t so long ago that Newcastle were the team most people wanted to win the Premiership. Not because they loved the Geordies, but because they were the only team who could get close to Man United.

Kevin Keegan had made them the great entertainers of English football, as well as genuine title contenders. But the squandering of a 12-point lead at the top of the table showed that Keegan had taken them as far as he could. He left the foundations for greatness. They were turned into mediocrity.

It is difficult to finger the blame at one person. The overall responsibility perhaps lies with chairman Freddy Shepherd. Not only did he appoint a string of managers not up to the task, but he allowed them to squander millions on players who flattered to deceive.

The managerial spells of Kenny Dalglish and Ruud Gullit at St James’ Park were both disastrous. Sir Bobby Robson made some strong attempts to bring back the glory days, but eventually confirmed that his managerial heyday is behind him. The turning point for Robson was probably the loss to Croatia Zagreb in 2003 in the final Qualifying round for the Champions League. Newcastle threw away a first-leg lead to lose the pulling power and financial reward of Europe’s premier competition. Robson’s Newcastle era went downhill from then on.

Now Graeme Souness is the man trying to pick up the pieces. Finishing outside the top half of the Premiership didn’t fill his first season with glory, but Souness is still sorting out the tatters he has been left with. While his appointment early in the season was a shock, he is not to blame for the state the club are in.

When Keegan departed St James’ Park, he had left a title-challenging team with strong foundations. Some sensible signings in the transfer market over the next few years would have made Newcastle a force to be reckoned with. Instead, we say some of the worse business deals ever made in English football.

The two that stand out the most are France’s Stephan Guivarc'h and Wimbledon’s Carl Cort. Importing Guivar’ch cost £3.5 million yet failed to make any impact. The fans soon turned on him for his inability to turn simple chances into goals. He lasted less than a season at Newcastle, before being moved onto Rangers.

When Robson splashed out £7 million on Cort, supporters and pundits alike were shocked. A man who admittedly did an outstanding job for a one-dimensional Wimbledon side was suddenly an £7 million player. His Newcastle career was ruined by a string on injuries that stopped him ever getting a run in the side. But even is that hadn’t been the case, Robson had paid well over the odds for a man to join a club well above his threshold.

Another disaster was Andreas Anderson from AC Milan. The Swede struggled to adapt to English football, at left the St James’ faithful question how he ever got into the Milan side. His contribution to Newcastle was as close to nothing as you’ll ever see. The opposite happened to Dane Jon Dahl Tommasson, who again failed to make an impact at Newcastle, but is now a firm favourite with Milan. And Patrick Kluivert this season has looked a patch of himself. With Newcastle struggling to replace Alan Shearer, St James’ Park is looking more and more like the ‘Strikers Graveyard’.

But even if you ignore the quality of players signed, some of the business carried out by Newcastle beggars belief. In 2000 they paid £7 million to Everton for Duncan Ferguson. Within 18 months they had sold him back for half that. Bad business is an understatement.

No matter what Dalglish, Gullit and Robson have done it the transfer market, it doesn’t seem to have gone right. Players such as Titus Bramble, Stephen Carr, Darren Ambrose and Lomanu Lua Lua are all decent players, but simply not good enough for a team that were not so long ago genuine title contenders.

And from the quality of players they have signed, there has been no end to the off-field problems caused by them. Kieran Dyer has had numerous reported incidents during nights out, Laurent Robert is always sulking about something or other, Lee Bowyer seems unable to control his fists, while Craig Bellamy could give classes in public fall-outs. And as we all saw, this trouble has spilled onto the pitch, with Dyer and Bowyer’s very public bust-up. If Souness hadn’t previously known what he had let himself in for by taking the hot-seat, he did now.

The upcoming season is when you can really judge how good a job Souness is doing at Newcastle. He has been left with an enormous task, but certainly has the authority to sort out a few of the egos in the dressing room. His first major signing of Jean-Allain Boumsong from Rangers was very sensible, as the Newcastle backline is notoriously leaky. His next task is probably going to be to replace the legendary Alan Shearer.

A year of Judgement lies ahead for Souness. He needs to find the foil for the likes of Jermaine Jenas, Kieran Dyer and Shay Given and to bring the best out of rising stars such as James Milner, Steven Taylor and Shola Ameobi. Despite the best attempts of his predecessors, Souness still has some solid foundations at Newcastle. Now he needs to prove he is the right man to build upon them.

2101: Liverpool thrown to the dogs b

by : Daniel Kelly

First the good news for Liverpool fans; their side has been graciously permitted to defend the trophy they won so dramatically last month. And now the bad; they have been permitted to do so in the most mean spirited and unfair manner possible; most fixtures, least money, no seeding and no English team avoidance. In short UEFA have once again done their best to prevent achievements being recognised.

The impact these extra fixtures will have on Liverpool’s Premiership challenge has already been pointed out, and I will only add the comment that the precedent of pre-season competition in the Intertoto Cup has always seen these sides start the season flying before running out of steam dramatically by Christmas and slumping to a poor Premiership finish. Moving onto the allocation of least money for the Reds smacks of pressure from those big clubs that have already qualified, anxious that they Champions League remains the cash cow it has always been.

However, the really galling issue about this decision must be the complete lack of respect afforded the new Champions. To put the issue into perspective Liverpool will have to play six extra games to retain their trophy than anyone else. Participants in the first qualifying round last season included Rhyl and Linfield to give an indicator of the likely level of opposition. With no protection Liverpool are likely to face a seeded team in the third round of qualifiers, which could include Manchester United, Inter Milan or even Everton. Imagine the uproar if Liverpool were to knock one of these clubs out before the lucrative group stages. Should Liverpool make the group phases of the competition, they would receive less TV money than any other English club in this phase, hardly reflective of the relatively higher worldwide demand to see the champions in action and they would also not be top seeded despite being champions and therefore placed once again at a disadvantage compared to other top teams.

This treatment comes on top of UEFA’s decision to change the rules so that in future the holders would qualify automatically at the expense of a fourth placed side, this year Everton, despite refusing to alter the rules this season for Liverpool. Future champions would be able to defend their title on a level playing field with everyone else and priority would correctly be placed towards the rather more difficult task of winning the trophy rather than finishing fourth in your domestic league.

This lack of respect would not have been displayed towards Manchester United or Chelsea and it seems Liverpool have suffered for not throwing their weight around and not acting with enough arrogance to bully UEFA. It has been made clear that the Champions League exists as a money spinning cash machine and that winning is of only secondary importance.

Liverpool could decide to take offence at this treatment and pull out of the competition altogether and also the Super Cup, citing the immense importance of finishing fourth rather than actually attempting to win anything. Given the likely effect of the fixture congestion and the difficulty Liverpool face in qualifying it may actually make sense in this topsy-turvey football world we now live in. It would certainly be one in the eye for UEFA. Unfortunately money talks.

2103: Championship: League clubs off

by : Paul Grech

The days when it was considered implausible for a club like Charlton to spend £3 million on a player have long gone. Intelligent management has guaranteed them an extended stay in the Premiership along with the financial rewards that accrue from it.

What does surprise many is that they’ve opted to spend that sort of money on a player (Darren Bent) from the Championship (Ipswich). These days, most Premiership clubs tend to look abroad when they’re looking for new players: a total of £263 million went to overseas clubs in transfer fees last year.

Foreign managers tend to have more contacts in their homeland – at least initially – and as such favour players that they know about.

But it would be far to simplistic to put all the blame on the likes of Arsene Wenger or Rafael Benitez. British coaches are just as guilty, signing players on the cheap hoping that they manage to find someone decent.

The truth is that many take a scattergun approach, taking decisions without ever really watching the prospective signing in action. The theory with which such decisions are usually justified is that these players are much cheaper than their local counterparts and as such represent better value for money.

Whilst there’s no arguing that they’re cheaper, it is doubtful whether they represent a better deal. Last season, Tim Cahill was one of the better players in the Premiership and certainly fully justified the money that David Moyes spent on him.

His rise to prominence does lead to questions as to why no one took a chance on him earlier. Milwall definitely weren’t pricing him out of the market seeing that it only took £2 million for him to move to Everton.

Nor was he the only one to impress. It took promotion to the Premiership for Andy Johnson and Wayne Routledge to show what they’re capable of at the highest stage, even though they had long been among the best players in their division. And the purchase of Dean Ashton – at Christmas the leading scorer in the Championship - almost saved Norwich’s season. Again, it is revealing that only a club struggling for survival had the courage to go for the Championship’s leading scorer.

Now, all of a sudden, those same managers who wouldn’t have considered these players twelve months ago have woken up to their potential with many eager to splash millions on them. Rather than looking to see whether there are others who are just as good from where they came from but would cost a good deal less.

Some people never learn.

Ryan Taylor – Right Back – Tranmere

The right-back’s season ended on a disappointing note when Tranmere lost the First Division play-off semi-final, but it has still been a memorable campaign for Taylor. A regular for the past two seasons he’s the club’s regular penalty taker and managed ten goals last season. Manager Brian Little describes him as “arguably the best right-back in our division”.

Steve Sidwell – Midfielder – Reading

Widely considered to be the best player outside the Premiership, he was let go by Arsenal after failing to get a look in. Arsene Wenger recently admitted that he might have been wrong in thinking that Sidwell wasn’t good enough to make it in the Premiership. Everton, Birmingham and Aston Villa are all reported to be interested but as yet no one has made a move.

Daniel Gabbidon – Central Defender – Cardiff

Widely tipped for a move from cash strapped Cardiff, it is surprising that so few clubs have shown an interest in Gabbidon. A regular for Wales, his speed and ability to read the game have impressed many observers leaving little doubt that he could cut it at the highest level.

Phil Jagielka – Right Wing Back – Sheffield United

It is staggering that no one has picked up Jagielka from Sheffield United seeing that he always excels not only in the league but also when faced by Premiership opposition in the cups. Primarily a right wing back, he has played all across the park for United, including a couple of stints between the posts.

Leroy Lita –Striker – Bristol City

Came to prominence following a debut goal for the England U21s in their game against Holland, Lita has had an exceptional season for City despite the club’s failure to impress. 29 goals have brought about unoriginal comparisons with former City forward Andy Cole. Was released by Chelsea and Fulham before being taken on by Bristol City.

2100: Book review: Golden Past Red F

by : Bill Urban

Perusing the Tomkinomicon

There can be little doubt: Liverpool Football Club should have sacked Bill Shankly back in 1961. - Paul Tomkins & Jonathan Swain.

A strong, provocative opening, illustrative both of the results-yesterday approach against which the authors strongly object and the sharp, incisive prose that is the tool used to dissect both the glamorous past and uncertain yet promising future of the Liverpool Football Club.

Books about football tend to fall into one of several broad categories: the anodyne, air-brushed official club tomes, auto-biographies promising interesting insight and delivering strings of banal, safe comment instead, books which examine football’s cultural and societal role, leaving the reader wondering whether the author has in fact ever attended a match, and the books glorifying hooliganism for forty year-old readers who frankly should know better. Golden Past Red Future, co-authored by Paul Tomkins and Jonathan Swain, is a refreshing change from the general stultifying pigeon-holing of football titles by the publishing industry, a capable entry in the sub-genre of books about football by club supporters who have nothing to do with trying to assert themselves by behaving as playground bullies on the weekend. Or weeknight, as it were.

Written from the unabashed and unashamed perspective of a Liverpool supporter chronicling the season past, Golden Past Red Future’s prose is noteworthy for its attempt to present both the hard-head, club-before-everything-else die-hard supporter perspective interspersed with genuine insight and reflection on both the history and upcoming events at Liverpool football club. Bridging the gap between Constant Fan and detached, Armchair Theoretician is as difficult a task as any in football supporter circles, but Tomkins and Swain weave the magic of the Kop and the role of the passionate Liverpool fan base into a more sober reflection on the tidal wave of change that swept over Anfield this season past with the arrival of Rafael Benitez and the Spanish emigre contingent.

The book has no real chronology, so those looking for a match-by-match account of Liverpool’s improbable, spectacular, and surreal run to the Champions League title in Istanbul will be disappointed. Rather, the point is to examine the background to Benitez’s first season, with particular attention paid to the Houllier years, and the influence that events under the Frenchman had on the club’s season past and will have on future events at Anfield. Indeed, a legitimate criticism of the book from a historical perspective would be that rather too much of the text deals only with the recent past, with comparatively little time spent on the true golden years under Shankly, Paisley, Fagan and Dalglish. But in the opinion of the authors, and if the book is anything, it is an extended, well-argued, logical series of points of view, jokingly referred to on the Red and White Kop website as “the Tomkinomicon,” the Houllier years and the mis-steps made during the Frenchman’s tenure, are, along with the elevated bar of supporter expectations, the single biggest obstacle the new manager Rafa faces in his quest to continue the revival of Liverpool’s fortunes..

Of course, the book does not neglect the single biggest story of Liverpool’s past season, with eyewitness accounts from Tomkins on events in Istanbul. One of the successes of Golden Past Red Future is the conveying of the extreme roller-coaster nature of Liverpool’s play during the 2004-05 season, the inconsistent performances in the Premiership contrasted with the true-grit, wildly exciting European displays culminating in the Champions League trophy raised above club captain Steven Gerrard’s head.

A must-read for Liverpool supporters, particularly those with an open mind for considering issues confronting the club other than which multi-million pound player might be arriving in the next transfer window, Golden Past Red Future will appeal to fans of clubs other than Liverpool interested in examining the long, strange saga of a club with tremendous history trying to adjust to the demands of both a modern, financially-centered league competition and a support base firmly in touch with the time when the club swept all before them. The Tomkinomicon can be ordered online from the book’s website, www.paultomkins.com for £12.99 plus postage and packing costs, and worth every penny for both committed Liverpool supporters and modern football fans alike.

2088: Four point away win will widen

by : Sean OMeara

Premiership clubs could receive four points for an away win under plans discussed by team bosses who want to make games more entertaining.

The radical idea reportedly given an airing at the Premier League’s annual meeting, is an attempt to address growing concerns that some matches have become boring or irrelevant.

If this rule change is brought into being, what would it mean for clubs and how would it have affected last season’s competition, had it been in place?

Obviously, a look at last season’s table using a new rule book is hardly a scientific approach to analysing the effects of a rule change, but just for fun, we were going to show you how things would have turned out.

However, the only change to the table positions would have been Liverpool slipping to 6th, with Bolton taking 5th.

Aside from this statistic, the top three would have pulled further away, with Manchester United taking an additional 10 points, Arsenal 12 and the Champions a huge 15 extra points, taking them a massive 43 points clear of Everton.

This surely serves to illustrate most clearly why a change is required – so few were the away wins this season, for the majority of teams.

Between 4th place and 5th from bottom, an average of only 19 away points were taken per team, from a total available of 48 – that’s just under a point per game.

Conversely, the top three won almost as many away games as home; with Chelsea, in fact, winning more on the road than at Stamford Bridge.

Most teams travel with a determination not to lose and a point on the road is a deemed a very valuable gem in many parts.

If the extra point was introduced for the away win, what would it do to the psychology of the game?

Would we see a shift from a desperation not lose away, to a desperation not to lose at home? Is it possible that the fear of giving away 4 points at home, especially to a close rival, be it geographical or table, would produce a complete turn around with clubs looking first to ensure a point at home, hoping to snatch all three?

Increasing the value of an away win, decreases the value of a victory at home.

This rule change would also further alienate the rest from the top three.

Teams are already trying their utmost to preserve some kind of result at home against these top sides and to add further weight to the importance of these fixtures would make it almost impossible for a home underdog to play any kind of attacking football at all.

It would be perhaps better to remove the point for an away draw, awarding only the home side with a point, with the visitors earning nothing.

This would achieve the goal of making an away win that much more attractive while also preventing the top three from moving even further ahead of the pack.

Chelsea won all but four of their away games last season – with one of these a defeat. There would’ve been only three additional points available to them under this system.

By this method, the top three would have less opportunity to accrue extra points, with the rest of the table having many more chances to turn one (or now zero) points into three.

This approach would also eliminate the devaluing of a home win, as the value of an away win has not actually increased.

All games would be more exciting to watch, as there would never be two teams playing for a point.

What we would see would be something akin to the away goals rule, but more a home point rule. One goal for a home side could ensure a point, with the away side then having to score twice to get anything from the game.

Let us not play further into the hands of the already successful few, but look to promote the idea of success for the struggling many.

2099: Liverpool: Will fixture conges

by : Antony Melvin

In a victory for common sense UEFA this morning allowed Liverpool into the qualification stages of the Champions League. Unfortunately their concession was the meanest possible admission.

By placing Liverpool into the first qualification round UEFA has basically drawn a line through any pre-season preparations that Rafa Benitez was planning. If the current pre-season schedule for Liverpool is not amended they could play four competitive games before the Premiership season starts - as well as four high profile friendlies. And in the opening weeks of the Premiership campaign another couple of CHampions League qualifiers and the Super Cup.

All in all Liverpool may yet face 11 non-Premiership games in July and August - including their short Japanese tour. A more taxing close season is hard to imagine. World Cup qualifiers and international friendlies also start up in August - England play Denmark on 17 August - adding to the players' burdens.

And the conditions placed on Liverpool's entry - earliest possible round, little TV revenue, no English team avoidance - will make the Champions' League campaign long, difficult and less financially rewarding. For example What price a third qualifying round clash with Everton or Manchester United - either of which would be absolute humdingers!

The impact on Liverpool's league campaign cannot be underestimated. Liverpool struggled to get to the 60 point mark that is the minimum for a fourth place finish and Champions League qualification. Surely the Anfield club would have been targetting 75 points from the coming season as a mark of significant progress? The loss of the close season could well cost Liverpool as much as 10 points in the coming season.

There are some other positives. At least the neutral will have some decent football to look forward to in July, and UEFA will be amending their rules to stop this kind of mess from repeating itself. They point out:

"The Uefa executive committee decided to amend the regulations for the future editions of the Champions League, so that the holders will have the right to defend their title and therefore qualify automatically"

Whether this means that future winners will be open to the indignity of the first round of the qualification process is open to debate.

Liverpool: Possible matches in July/August
12-13 July: CL 1st round, 1st leg
16 July: Friendly v Bayer Leverkusen
19-20 July: CL 1st round, 2nd leg
22 July: Friendly v FC Cologne
26-27 July: CL 2nd round, 1st leg
27 July: Friendly v Shimizu S-Pulse
30 July: Friendly v Kashima Antlers
2-3 Aug: CL 2nd round, 2nd leg
9-10 Aug: CL 3rd round, 1st leg
13-14 Aug: Premiership round 1
20-21 Aug: Premiership round 2?
23-24 Aug: CL 3rd round, 2nd leg
26 Aug: Super Cup v CSKA Moscow

2098: Cambridge United: From despair

by : Alex Ross

French affairs, cheating managers and homelessness: Cambridge United fans know it all. Doomed to the conference and possible closure, the last decade for the U’s has been a real rollercoaster. The problem is that now they are now seriously running out of track.

Just recently the club tempted with death as they came very close to being closed down. Fans had to raise over £40,000 to save their club, yes £40,000; at lowly Cambridge that’s 400 supporters to donate £100 each, 160 supporters to donate £250 each or 40 supporters to give £1,000 each. Whatever permutation the fans took, they did it. But the danger has not gone; fans admittedly predict this is just the start of a gruelling time for the club.

It was all so different a decade ago. In 1991 Cambridge United had just achieved two successive promotions to attain a place in today’s Championship. Under the guidance of controversial manager John Beck the club achieved outstanding League and Cup success with the help of stars such as Dion Dublin, Steve Claridge, John Filan and many more future Premiership players. Of course success was not just down to the squad; manager John Beck was using all the cards up his sleeve, enforcing bizarre training methods and dirty tricks. Supplying away teams with dirty changing rooms and hot showers, and sustaining long grass in the pitch corners to coincide with the team’s long ball style was to name a few tricks inspired by Beck.

Supporters were not complaining though, Beck took the team to the brink of the Premiership narrowly missing out on a promotion after falling at the last hurdle to Leicester City in the play-offs. Despite defeat Cambridge fans were happy, I hope they made the most of it.

Because, as most people know; with every rise comes a fall, with Cambridge it was not a fall, it was an avalanche. Cambridge, since Beck’s era have been through nine managers, fallen three divisions and have sold their stadium - all in just 12 years. Downfall is an understatement.

Desperate to regain the club’s past achievements the directors took a bold move two years ago, appointing former Cameroon manager Claude Le Roy as manager. Le Roy, as all unsuccessful managers do, aimed to get to the Championship in five years. Instead, two months later he left an inexperienced French man Herve Renard in charge. Renard arguably destroyed the team, selling good players and severely damaging club morale after only managing three wins in his four month spell as manager.

United’s next manager, Steve Thompson took on the role to repair damage last December. Assigned with the task of saving a sinking ship that was in serious financial trouble it was never going to be easy.

And while Thompson tried to save the team on the pitch, the supporters set the aim of saving the club. Creating a Cambridge Fans United the team started appealing for money and investment after Christmas. With debts approaching £1 million the club organised a ‘Fans United Day’ at a crucial home game to Wycombe Wanderers. The game raised money towards the May financial deadline which the supporters met, the team however did not make their target and fell badly into poor form and relegation beckoned at the end of the season. You can’t have everything in football.

Now, with a hard season in a tough Conference to look forward to fans will be concentrating on keeping their club alive. With 260 season tickets already brought and investments pledged, supporters aren’t going to give up. This is a SOS mission I hope will be achieved.

2090: The Premier League created Che

by : Alex Wolstenholme

A move for Tottenham sporting director Frank Arnesen has embroiled Chelsea in another ‘tapping-up’ row just days after the guilty verdict on their move for Ashley Cole of Arsenal.

The fact that Chelsea have the power to destabilise traditionally bigger clubs such as Arsenal and Spurs seems to be what is worrying a number of people in the game who can see the situation snowballing and Chelsea being in a dominant position for many years to come.

Yet it is the big clubs themselves who have created the conditions for Chelsea to become as big as they aspire to be.

Every decision taken by these clubs over the last 20 years, from home sides keeping all the gate receipts for a match, through to the breakthrough television deal with ITV, the formation of the Premier League, the deal with BSkyB and the creation of the Champions League has been designed to make big clubs richer with little or no thought for the rest of the 92 teams.

That has made successful football teams very attractive propositions, whether to billionaire Russians or strange-looking Americans looking to satisfy their greed, their vanity or a combination of both.

The Premier League is a concept designed to reward the biggest and richest teams in perpetuity, making them bigger and richer and less inclined to suffer from the odd curveballs that life and football occasionally throw them.

If there were any concept of ‘fair play’ behind it then there would be some provision for the clubs outside the top-flight to receive a share of the revenue the Premier League generates.

This would be some recognition for the fact that a great number of those clubs have played a part in making English football a ‘product’ that is admired around the world.

A recognition of the fact that Norwich City for example are no less loved by their fans, no less a part of the Norfolk community and no less likely to develop a talent like Robert Green to go on and play for England just because they are considered to be the 21st best team in the country rather than the 20th.

It is because the clubs involved in Chelsea’s ‘tapping-up’ rows are big clubs themselves that such a furore has surrounded it.

If they had tried to tap-up a player from a Championship side or a director of football from a small foreign club then a lot less would have been written about it because that would have been within the natural order of things.

However, Chelsea (by the luck of the draw) have bagged themselves someone with even more money than the Premier League could have ever imagined and are simply operating in an even smaller league of their own.

They are simply taking the guiding principle behind the Premier League and refining it to the ultimate degree, leading to talk of interventionist measures like salary caps from those left behind who have happily allowed what they would call market forces to justify their treatment of the smaller fish over the past twenty years.

2096: Portsmouth looking short of Pr

by : David Hulott

With Southampton’s relegation to the Coca-Cola Championship, Portsmouth should be basking in the glory of being the top team on the south coast this summer. However, while many of the Pompey faithful are still no doubt rejoicing at the demotion of their local rivals and one Harry Redknapp esquire, they must also be increasingly concerned at their own prospects for the season ahead.

The squad left by Redknapp has been rapidly whittled away, with Alain Perrin facing a major rebuilding job over the close season if they are to have any hope of avoiding a relegation battle next term. The departures of Aiyegbeni Yakubu, Patrik Berger, Steve Stone and Shaka Hislop over the last few weeks would leave Perrin struggling to put out a team worthy of the name as things stand.

Chairman Milan Mandaric has reassured the fans that new recruits will be forthcoming, but they seem to be having trouble attracting players of the requisite quality to Fratton Park since Redknapp left with his bulging contacts book. It could certainly be argued that the January signings of Kostas Chalkias, Giannis Skopelitis and Aleksandar Rodic don’t bode particularly well for the future.

Perrin obviously has his own targets, but it must be worrying that veteran Czech striker Vratislav Lokvenc recently plumped for a move to Austrian strugglers Salzburg, rather than Pompey. Another target, Sebastien Grax, has opted to sign a new contract with Monaco, spending next season on loan at Troyes (where Perrin began his managerial career).

A replacement for Yakubu is naturally high on the agenda, with Israeli striker Yaniv Katan from Maccabi Haifa looking likelier than either Peter Crouch or Mikael Forssell, especially given the competition from other clubs for the latter pair.

The midfield is in particular need of new blood, with Gary O’Neil (himself reportedly a target of Liverpool) having seen Berger, Stone, Nigel Quashie and Amdy Faye all leave the club in 2005. A deal, permanent or otherwise, to bring back Chelsea’s Alexei Smertin would appear a distinct possibility, while it would be no great surprise were they to add to their growing collection of Greek players with Angelos Basinas from Panathianikos. Everton’s Leon Osman, Reading’s Steve Sidwell and Sheffield United’s Michael Tonge have also all been linked, as have wingers Peter Lovenkrands from Rangers and Racing Genk’s Koen Daerden. There’s a definite pressing need for at least three new midfielders.

At least Perrin can still call upon the admirable Dejan Stefanovic and Arjan De Zeeuw in defence although, as elsewhere in the squad, a few new faces to bolster the ranks would be welcome. It has to be doubted whether Perrin is particularly confident in having either Chalkias or Jamie Ashdown as his number one goalkeeper next term either. If nothing else, the Portsmouth scouts should certainly be clocking up a fair few Air Miles this summer.

With the new season edging ever closer, it’s going to be tough for Perrin to not only attract the players he wants, but also to shape them into a cohesive unit in the available time. A few deals could be confirmed once the current round of internationals are out the way, but it seems that a season of struggle could well be on the cards at Fratton Park.

2097: Galactico: Is English grit rep

by : Simon Cole

Over the past ten years, the players that every fan in the world has wanted their club to sign have been the flair players. We have all been thoroughly entertained through the age of the ‘galactico’.

Real Madrid have been the envy of the footballing world with such stars as Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo gracing the turf at The Bernebeau. But the time has come for the galacticos to step aside and make way for the modern-day football superstars – the English.

English football owes a great deal to David Beckham and Michael Owen for taking the risk of playing in Spain, but they have really laid down a platform for English soccer stars to achieve great success.

The pressure the pair faced when joining a team full of superstars was immense. So much is demanded from the Real Madrid fans and it is fair to say both players struggled at first. Beckham’s form wasn’t at its best in his early months at Real Madrid, but he soon knuckled down to win over the Bernebeau faithful – something that is no easy task.

And Owen had a very difficult start to his career in Spanish football, struggling to force his way into the starting line-up. Yet he remained patient and determined, and ended up with a higher goals-to-games ratio than both Ronaldo and Raul, two modern day superstars. Like Beckham, Owen’s determination to succeed helped him win over the crowd and both players are now firm favourites with the supporters and media. The attitude of Owen for not complaining once at not getting starts – despite always impressing – is a glowing reference to the attitude of English football players. They may not have the spark of your Zidanes, but for pure grit and determination, we are second to none.

There are certainly big signs of a power shift in what is perceived as a ‘great football player’ on the continent, as the English stars seem to be easing out the continental flair. The fact that two of Spanish football’s biggest stars – Raul and Figo – are rumoured to be on their way out just shows the impression the Englishmen have made in Spanish football. It is no coincidence that this pair play in the same positions as Owen and Beckham. It has taken a while but English supremacy is beginning to shine through.

But the signs of this power shift don’t end there. Real’s signing of Jonathon Woodgate – which unfortunately has been marred by injury – also shows they are looking for a no-nonsense British-style defender, rather than their traditional ‘fancy’ centre halves such as Ivan Helguera and Fernando Hierro. And the change in the tone of the rumour mill from Madrid also emphasises how big an impression the English style has left.

With Zidane not getting any younger, the man they most want to replace him is none other than England’s Steven Gerrard; a man with an abundance of skill and natural ability, but also a drive, physical presence and work-rate rarely seen in Spain. He is the kind of man they want for the new era of Superstars.

And in recent weeks, Ashley Cole has also been touted to replace Roberto Carlos, as a second consecutive trophy-free season is forcing Real Madrid into a shake-up. And if any proof was needed that English football is one of the strongest forces in the game today, look no further than the Champions’ League triumph of Liverpool, who only finished fifth in England.

But there is little doubt that Beckham and Owen have led the way in promoting English football on the continent. There was no finer example of this than when Real Madrid faced Barcelona two months ago. With the likes of Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto’o, Deco, Zidane, Raul and Ronaldo on show people always knew they were going to be entertained. But among all of these big names, one man stole the show: David Beckham.

He proved once and for all that any questions over his form in recent times could now be written off all together. The world witnessed a man who took a gamble in leaving his beloved club Manchester United, but had become a better player for it. Owen was also outstanding as the pair did English football proud and propelled the English game to the forefront of continental football.

With the World Cup just a year away, England are looking stronger than they have for a long time. Their players are the envy of nations across the world, and the two biggest names in the squad are looking in better shape than ever. Fans of football throughout the world have been hugely entertained by the era of the galacticos. But now we could see the beginning of something special, as English football finally seems to be returning to the forefront of the game.

2091: Tottenham face up to crucial d

by : Alex Wolstenholme

With Frank Arnesen looking set to leave Tottenham, whether for a spot of gardening leave or a job at Chelsea, Martin Jol has indicated through the media that he is keen to become more of a British-style manager with responsibility for transfers as well as team selection.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy though has set his stall out to adopt a ‘continental’ style blueprint for the management structure at the club and may want to continue that despite Arnesen’s impending departure.

However, Frank Arnesen is regarded as one of the best, if not the best at the role of football director in the whole of Europe.

Not a manager turned director of football like Ron Atkinson, David Pleat or Dave Bassett who have attempted the role in the past, Arnesen is a natural in the role, combining a distinguished playing career with the kind of contacts and nous necessary to do the job.

To try and find someone else to fit the role and work alongside Jol is fraught with difficulties and dare Tottenham risk the future of the man who has done so much to restore the club’s pride?

Jol and Arnesen came to the club together at the same time, as people who knew each other from football in Holland and who knew exactly how the coach/director of football roles worked. That dynamic would be altered if a new man came in above the head coach.

Jol has achieved so much in his first season (not even a whole season of course and ahead of schedule after taking over from Jacques Santini) that he should be given the chance to become the man in charge at White Hart Lane.

From the outside it looks as though Jol did have an active say in the players that were being brought in to the club and that it was not an Italian style set-up whereby the coach simply works with the squad he has been given.

Giving him the role of ‘manager’ would be a continuation of that role and of course it doesn’t mean that another person cannot come in to deal with wages and contracts.

It needn’t be the end of Tottenham’s improvement. For the first time in a long time the club has a clear recruitment policy and long-term plan.

Jol must take a lot of the credit for that and as someone who was well-regarded but not one of the major players in the Dutch football scene he knows that his work at Tottenham is catapulting him into the big-time (witness the link with the Ajax job when it came up).

Giving him the role of ‘manager’ would be the acid test of his capabilities.

2089: Football’s gone mad, and the f

by : Sean OMeara

In a week that saw the Premier League dish out £600,000 worth of fines to Ashley Cole, Jose Mourinho and Chelsea, following the shenanigans of the Blues tapping up the Arsenal left-back, Spurs now suspend Sporting Director Frank Arnesen following allegations of an illegal approach for the Dane, again from Chelsea.

The biggest fingers are pointing very directly in Chelsea’s direction at the moment. All and sundry are labelling them the big bad wolf in the supposed fairy tale that is the English Premiership.

But, the truth is that the English game is no fairy tale and has been falling way short of that tag for longer than some considerable time.

Further to ColeGate and ArnesenGate, we can highlight other incidents that present the football fairytale as much more of a schlock horror story.

Sadly, the behaviour of these parties continues to tarnish the national game and leave a bad taste in the mouth of the man in the street; but nevertheless has been accepted as common place.

Rio Ferdinand, of forgotten drugs test fame is a stalling on a new contract at Old Trafford, presumably for more money, though it could be that he just wants a better parking spot (you never know).

The screams from the Manchester United faithful can be heard all round London…
’Oi, you berk, we paid you in full, for 9 months after you forgot to go for a drugs test you greedy... just sign it!’.

My, my, what short a memory you have these days, Mr Ferdinand.
All the better to fleece you with.

These same fans are aghast at the arrival of a certain money-man from the good old U.S of A. Some fans are even ‘thinking about’ setting up a break away club to illustrate their anger and to distance themselves from the commercially driven monster that United has become.

Unfortunately, there will be no knight in shining armour to come in and slay this dragon. The Red Devils are on a fast track to the commercial super-highway and the brakes don’t work – even if the driver wanted to press them.

Football, not just United, will be a different proposition once the American gets his feet firmly under the table.

Players left right and centre are screaming for more, more, more. Money talks and they all want more of it. They want bigger wages, bigger signing-on fees and then on top of that, the clubs have to cough up multi million pounds transfer fees.

Then what happens? The players send their agents off to find bigger better deals, to then hold the club to ransom for wage rises, on top of their already obscene earnings.

It has been suggested that full employment law be brought in to govern the game, to stop the restrictions placed on players, by clubs. This would apparently allow players to know their market worth and to find the best deal for them, without the need for underhand wheeling and dealing.

What about the fans? How do they get the best deal for themselves? Can they shop around to find the best price for a season ticket?
Can they shop around to find the best price for a shirt?
Can they shop around to find the club that will incur the cheapest travelling expenses?
Can they shop around to find the cheapest TV sports subscription?

The answer to all of these questions is of course a great big fat enormous resounding, no.

The fans are stuck with the one club. They are stuck with the one TV deal and they are stuck with the one shirt manufacturer.

And, do the players, or the clubs for that matter, give a flying fig about any of this?
No they do not.
Why not?

The clubs and players don’t care about the fans, because Joe Plonker in the street keeps on paying. He keeps on going to games, paying hiked up ticket prices, queuing for a season ticket, buying shirts and paying his TV subscription.
Supply and demand, supply and demand.

He keeps on paying and keeps on moaning.

Then, out of the blue, it is his club on the back and front pages following the poaching of his beloved star player, manager, CEO or Sporting Director.

Suddenly, his club are dressed up in white. They are as pure as the driven snow, and are having their house blown down by the big bad wolf. They are not ripping anybody off, they have never poached anyone from anywhere and find this kind of behaviour quite frankly, inappropriate. Just not cricket.

Well, it seems that things are moving very, very fast in the sport these days, and it doesn’t matter what you build your house from, the big bad wolf will just blow harder and harder until he gets his big sharp teeth into your little piggy.

Of course, the woodcutter is your man. He is the one normally wielding the sharp axe, freeing victims from the over-stuffed belly of the big bad wolf, but unfortunately he is at home, with a bottle of beer in one hand and the TV remote in the other. If he could help, he would, but he only has one pair of hands.

All of this financial gore is the fans’ doing. If the people stop putting in, then nobody can take out – all except Roman’s Chelsea of course. They don’t actually need fans.