Real Madrid has secured another Spanish Championship, Bayern has done the same with the Bundesliga while Inter remains within touching distance of a third consecutive scudetto.
Elsewhere Ligue Une could take an interesting turn this weekend as leaders Lyon are at home to France’s surprise package AS Nancy.
Nancy leaped over Marseilles last weekend and currently occupies the third and final Champions League spot. To grab the final spot Nancy needs to match Marseille's results over the next two games – this weekend at Lyon and after that at home to Rennes.
If it is goals that you are looking for then AS Nancy is not going to be your cup of tea. They have recorded seventeen clean sheets in 36 starts, conceded a miserly twenty-six goals while scoring a parsimonious forty-two goals.
Lyon have recorded a win, a loss and 3 draws in last 5 matches and are dormie two over second place Bordeaux. However, they can take some comfort from their weekend opponents away record this season – only two wins, ten draws and six losses so far.
Lyon finishes with a match against 15th place Auxerre while Laurent Blanc’s Bordeaux faces two bottom half sides in Sochaux and Lens.
The EPL goes into Sunday’s final games with the title, the remaining UEFA Cup spot and two tickets (complete with parachute payments) to the Championship still to be decided. Although Manchester United appears to have the tougher task they also know that they only have to match Chelsea’s result in order to secure back-to-back Premiership titles for the first time since 2001.
Since taking over at the JJB, Steve Bruce has brought some defensive organization and grit to Wigan. With clean sheets in seven of their last eleven games and thirty-two points from Bruce’s 23 games in charge Wigan are enjoying their best run of results since their early splash when they joined the Premiership back in the 2005/06 season.
On the down side Wigan are facing a United side that has a 100% record in five Premiership matches between the the two while scoring 16 goals to Wigan’s three. Strangely all three goals for Wigan have come from defenders. Toss in for good measure that Steve Bruce’s record against Manchester United is nine matches without a win then the league leaders will go into the game with enough good omens to satisfy the most superstitious of fans.
Chelsea are faced with a situation of doing their absolute best but finding out late Sunday afternoon that even that may not be good enough to capture a third Premiership title in four seasons. Theoretically Bolton are still not safe from the spectre of relegation but it requires not only wins for Fulham or Reading but also a huge winning margin combined with Bolton being taken to the Stamford Bridge cleaners.
It is testament to how badly Reading are playing that even a trip to woeful Derby calls into question Reading’s ability to score a goal let alone get three points. Steve Coppell’s side are on the longest current streak in the Premier League without a goal of 6 matches or 551 minutes and need to better Fulham’s result and at least match Birmingham’s if they are to line up in the Premiership in August.
Derby also has a goal (really two goals) going into this game. Derby needs to score two more in order to overtake the Premiership low of 21 in a season set by Sunderland scored five years ago.
Fulham visits FA Cup Finalists Portsmouth with 3 wins in their last four games and last weekend they finally put together back to back wins this season. Fulham are winless at Pompey (2 losses and 2 draws) but appear to have convinced most fans that they can get the win that they need to stay up.
Birmingham is in the most precarious position – the bottom version of Chelsea. They could put in a season-best performance at home to Blackburn but still not beat the drop if other results conspire against them.
Of the nine Premiership matches between these two only one has been decided by more than one goal. Birmingham’s home record (a single home loss since Christmas) has proved to be their flotation device although by the same token the defense has failed to record a clean sheet since the Boxing Day win over Boro.
If Fulham and Reading should both lose then Birmingham could survive with a draw but playing for such an outcome would be a huge gamble.
The North American disease strikes again. The hockey play-offs are on and the great North American tradition of rioting when you win gets underway. Surely this must lead to a European ban for all NHL clubs? If you ask me this is why hockey/baseball/basketball/gridiron football will never catch on in the rest of the world. If you can’t even get your reason for wanton destruction right, how can you ever expect normal thugs and hooligans to relate?
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are a smidgen away from securing their respective league titles. Lyon are being made to work a bit harder to win their seventh consecutive French title although with four games to go and a four point lead on Bordeaux harder it might be but it looks like pretty inevitable anyway.
It’s possible for Inter to win another scudetto if they win (home to Cagliari) and Roma shockingly lose at home to struggling Torino. Not probable, and even so I’m sure Inter fans would rather wait until the Milan derby to sow another title up. That opportunity comes next weekend.
Which brings us to the Premiership and a match that will see Manchester win another Premiership title (I know Chelsea would still be able to catch United on goal difference but a goal difference of at least 20 makes the task and impossibility) or make the race interesting for at least one more week.
The fact that both teams hold a slight edge in their respective Champions League semi finals and this could be the first of two meeting over the next few weeks only adds more flavour to the pot.
No matter the outcome of this game Manchester United will finish the season atop of the mini league that also includes Saturday’s opponents, Arsenal and Chelsea. Going into the game United have 13 points, Chelsea 7, Arsenal 6 and Liverpool with four draws and no wins. Chelsea also enjoy a very good record over Manchester United in the Premiership and have taken more points off of them than any other side.
The defensive records of both teams this season have been outstanding (United 19 against and Chelsea 24 against) and when you add in the fact that the goals for either team have not been coming as freely in the last few weeks an avalanche of goals seems unlikely.
The Everton vs. Aston Villa match holds a lot of promise with Villa three points a flagging fifth place Everton. Only Manchester United have scored more goals in the Premiership this season than Villa (who would have picked that?) and they have recovered from a truly terrible march to score 15 goals in the last three matches – albeit against three of the cellar dwellers.
Birmingham were Villa’s victims last Sunday and find themselves in the last relegation spot. Birmingham desperately need at least a point this weekend against Liverpool and hope that Spurs do them a favour against Bolton and Reading come a cropper at Wigan. That would leave the Brummies ahead of the other two on goal difference and a run-in that has them face Fulham and Blackburn Rovers.
As chance would have it Birmingham are a bit of a bogey side for Liverpool with the Reds only winning twice in 9 Premiership games. A few years back a Championship Birmingham took Liverpool to penalty kicks before losing in the Carling Cup Final of 2001.
In Italy Fiorentina needs to see off sixth place Sampdoria to maintain at least a four point gap on fifth place Milan and to essentially kill off any reasonable hope that Samp might have of securing the fourth and final Champions League spot. Fiorentina have won their last six at home are playing a side that has a on the face of it a relatively poor away record this season. However, three of Sampdoria’s away wins have come in their last four games and only a surprising 1-0 loss against Reggina a couple of weeks ago brought a solid run to an end.
If Fiorentina can win this one then they will be very much in the driving seat with their remaining fixtures against Cagliari, Parma and Torino. On the other hand Sampdoria need the win to cut into Fiorentina’s lead but then have games against Roma, Palermo and Juventus in prospect.
Finally MLS has the first Los Angeles derby of the season and who is betting that this one will finish with eleven-a-side?
James Lawton draws a parallel between the Premiership proposal and what the move of the Brooklyn Dodgers led to in the USA. (Insert craigy_f’s dismissive comment of Lawton here.)
I would happily link to a credible article that supports the Premiership’s ludicrous, ill-conceived and badly managed proposal but I have yet to find one. Almost all the stuff that is supportive is based on the concept of “I can see my team in Bombay” or “Money – Good, More Money – even Better”.
Raphael Honigstein on this season’s edition of Bayern Munich.
Simon Kuper spends sometime with Glenn Hoddle who is working on an interesting player development idea.
David Owen says that Manchester United has failed to punch its weight in Europe and it is down to the expectations of how the team should play.
Isn’t this convenient – international play takes a toll but travelling to Saudi Arabia to play a game doesn’t.
An early posting this week as I am off to Baltimore to participate in the FSC show live on Thursday evening from the NSCAA annual convention. Steve McClaren and Gerard Houllier will in attendance although I am not sure when they are scheduled to arrive. I will be back on a plane early Friday in order to get back to do the Friday show.
Because of this the weekend preview normally posted on Thursday evening will be sketchy at best this week.
Djnima - What are your thoughts on the Brazilian trio of Ronaldo, Pato and Kaka? It was a joy to see Pato's tears when his contribution brought Milan their first home win. Can you see Milan going on a run and making fourth in Serie A? Do you see Rafa getting the axe in the summer or before? I think he should be given the remainder of the season. Terminating him sooner would be a mistake. Could you see Mourinho popping up in the Prem next season? Maybe United or Liverpool?
Bobby – I would not be getting too carried away with the Brazilian trio at this time. Kaka is the only one at this point that can be relied upon as a consistent threat. The chances of Ronaldo playing from now until season’s end has to be considered remote while Pato has not played thirty professional games.
Every team in Italy on the top teams in Europe are going through the game against Napoli looking for Pato’s strengths and weaknesses and his habits good and bad. One thing is guaranteed and that is that Pato good sides will not grant him the freedom that Napoli did. He obviously has a ton of natural talent but I think the expectations being placed on plus the reaction to Napoli win have been ridiculous.
Fourth place is a realistic aim for Milan even though they are currently 12th. After 15 games they have the same number of points as last year and they finished with 61 points. However, it might take a couple more points this time. The 4th place finishers in Serie A since 2002 have finished with 61 points, 67, 66, 62, 54 and 61 (2002-2004 were 34 game seasons so I have pro-rated the points). Udinese are currently tracking at a rate that would give them 68 points.
Milan plays Udinese this weekend so that is an important match for both clubs. A concern for Milan might be the number of games they might be facing because of the three games in hand in Serie A.
In terms of your Rafa and Mourinho questions the answers can be yes, no or a mix. There are far too many twists, turns and downright weirdness in the game to pontificate on the future based on what is in place today. It’s fine saying that terminating would be a mistake but would you say the same thing if they get knocked out of the FA Cup, loss their next three league games and get stuffed by Inter Milan? Mourinho will resurface in the Premiership but who knows when. Circumstances will dictate that.
MasMaz - Wenger should sign Beckham on loan. He sure could have used him on Saturday. The game was calling for some good balls into the box with Ade, Bendtner, Gallas and Eduardo. Some of those corners were atrocious by Fabregas. Becks doesn't play any less defense than Walcott anyway.
Bobby – Even if Wenger was interested it’s more than a case of the Galaxy not allowing it. As I understand it FIFA regulations don’t allow players to flit between federations on loan deals. There are proscribed periods which would mean if he did go out on loan he would miss part of Galaxy season. Over the years Beckham has always shown great positional sense and has defended well – he’s never been a great tackler but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t defend.
CIAO - I'm interested to know what you think of Klinsmann's move to Bayern. It appears he as already attracted Borowski to make the move in the summer on a free transfer. I'm curious to see how the Kahn and Sepp Maier, the goal keeping Coach who Jurgen fired while coaching the NT because he publicly backed Kahn over Lehmann. Do you think Kahn will retire this summer or move to another club? Also are there are players you would like to see move to Bayern? And are there any other players you see that need to move on?
With all in mind, is Kevin Keegan the best choice for Newcastle right now? As some of the media reports they could appoint Alan as his assistant so he gains experience. Whoever gets the job will need a lot of patience from the owner and fans.
Bobby – Bayern would not have signed Klinsmann without discussing these kinds of issues so no matter what course of action he takes it should come as no surprise to the club executive. I would be surprised if Kahn moves to another club in order to delay his retirement.
The question of picking players I would like to see moving to Bayern seems to be predicated on me caring who Bayern Munich signs – which I don’t. Bayern started their housecleaning last summer – two seasons to late – so I am sure that there are some who still have to be shipped out. I have only seen Bayern play sporadically this season so I’m probably not a reliable source for who should be punted.
Keegan might be the romantics choice but times have changed and I don't think he would be able to replaicate the great performances of the 90s. Whta's more with Kevin Keegan it always seems to end in tears. If Alan Shearer wants to be a manager then he should go out and work at it and learn the trade.
Craigy_f – 1. Do you own any replica shirts - if so which ones? 2. Who, if anyone, did you swap your shirt with? 3. Your take on Pato's debut, Ronaldo's (and Ronaldo's Hair) return and Arsenal's task in the CL. 4. Seems like the SFA is whittling things down, has your former view changed? 5. Scudamore refutes Blatter - who do you tend to side with. 6. Boys and their toys - some that stand out are Gibson and Walker, Briatore, Ashley, Abramovic. There is a new breed of owner who seems to have 'done it all on Championship Manager' and now wants to do it for real. Do you have any opinions thoughts concerning that? 7. No Couch at The Riverside (apart from the possibility of him acting as a security guard) why do you think he didn't even travel with the team?
Bobby –1. There might be some more tucked away in storage in the basement but the only one that I see regularly is one I was sent from Scotland when Tayport played Linlithgow Rose in the Scottish Junior Cup Final a few years ago. 2. I once offered to exchange shirts with a member of the Canadian national senior team but was turned down. I should probably add it was the women’s team and we were an over 35 (I think) men’s team that was asked to play them as part of a training camp that they held locally. 3. Good but excessive exuberance. 4. Sentiment seems to be moving towards Mark McGhee. In all honesty I don’t think I would have a problem with McGhee, Davies or Burley. Burns leaves me cold and Souness worries me. 5. It reminds me of the remark attributed to Fergie – You have Posh BLEEPe and Wenger in a room, you have a gun and one bullet. What do you do? Fergie – ask for another bullet.
Both are spinning frantically with the truth of it somewhere in the middle. Blatter wants to turn the clock back not because it will improve the game but because he fears the power of the clubs and the possibility that it might affect the cash cow that it is the World Cup.
Meanwhile Scudamore conveniently forgets that one of the major reasons put forward in support of the formation of the Premiership was how it would help the national team by – amongst other things – cutting the top flight to sixteen teams.
The truth is that a pittance of what the Premiership genertes is making is making its way to the grassroots. What is more there appears to be a wealth of evidence that the Premiership has alienated an entire generation of fans who can no longer afford to attend Premiership games. The Premiership is a boomers league or pretty dam close.
6. If you’re goals is the pursuit of wealth and status (as a league) then you should not be surprised when big (and often ruthless money) is attracted as well. Without a proper process to vet owners then you get what you deserve.
As fans we can enjoy the spectacle each week but Premiership teams have in many cases become playthings as you correctly point out . Or worse, vehicles for financial speculation. If the Arabs (I was surprised Dundee United have that kind of money!) do buy Liverpool and Hicks and Gillett make off with a substantial profit then it will only lead to more speculative investment. We also see it trickling down to Championship team who are available for relatively little money.
7. I think Crouch’s situation – whatever the reason – has been overshadowed by the draw followed by the Klinsmann revelation.
Bonmot -- Any recent news on Americans moving to the Premiership this month?
Bobby – I doubt anything that you have no read elsewhere. Johnson still talking to Fulham and a move for Benny Feilhaber from Derby to Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Redfan2000 - If you were gaffer against Villa which Liverpool 11 would you play?
Bobby – Call me a traditionalist but I would go for the best eleven. One thing about playing against Villa you know what to expect.
You need to shut down the supply to Young and match Carew physically. Agbonlahor’s pace is a concern and giveaway as few set pieces as possible. I looks to me that Villa’s primary weakness is at full back especially if they can be coaxed forward and leaving space behind them. But I think the same is true for Liverpool.
Finnan and Riise especially give the ball away far too cheaply and their crossing as been generally poor this season. Either way the game might be won or lost (or drawn) in the wide positions.
Henry14 – Q 1 Last week you dogged my question on the somewhat rascist statements that they pour at foreigners as if they are illegal immigrants. In any line of work other than football you are reprimanded or fired for such comments. Q 2 What your view on Walcott, and do you think Wenger is satisfied with his progress? Q 3 Who do you think will win the African Cup of Nations? Q 4 - If you had a club with a managerial vacancy, who would you have, Klinsmann or Benitez?
Bobby – Q 1 - First of all I think – I hope – you meant dodged rather than dogged. Dogged is what Stan Collymore got up to wasn't it? And I am not going to answer your question because it wasn’t a question it was a statement with a question mark on the end of it.
Q2 – Walcott is 18 - give the kid a break. At times he plays as if his body is out of sync with his brain but that will sort itself out with experience. He has fantastic pace and is able to turn defenders. Give him time and he will be a very good player. You really need to ask Wenger but the fact that he plays him or has him coming into games regularly of the bench is probably an indication that he has confidence in him.
Q 3 – I don’t know about picking a winner but I will be watching South Africa with interest.
Q 4 – Depends on the club, the country, the financial situation, the expectations, the history, the culture. Otherwise you are running the risk of fitting a square peg in a round hole. Appointing a manager in football is the same as in any other business. If you don’t understand your needs and the environment then you are more likely to make an expensive mistake.
Ringo - I never did understand that whole Clydebank/Airdrie situation a few years ago. Could you explain what happened, how could one team go bust buy another team and replace them? And any idea what happened to the Clydebank supporters?
Bobby – You’re testing my memory on this one. I think you have to go to the mid 60s. There was some sort of agreement between East Stirlingshire (a team in the Scottish League at that time) and Clydebank who were a Junior club with ambition.
It did not work out but shortly after Clydebank were elected to the Scottish League (2nd division at that time). It may have been to replace Third Lanark. Airdrieonians (great name) were also part of the Scottish League and had been for a very longtime.
I think the Steadman brothers were the movers and shakers behind Clydebank and by the mid 70s they had a Clydebank team (Davie Cooper prominent) good enough to gain promotion to the first incarnation of the Scottish Premier League which was formed in 1974 (?).
Fast forward to the early part of this decade and Airdrie went bankrupt only to be reformed under the name Airdrie United. But they had no place to play as they lost their place in the league when they declared bankruptcy.
They applied for a place under their new name but were refused. At the same time Clydebank were experiencing financial and attendance problems. The owners of Airdrie United stepped forward offered to buy Clydebank and had it approved by the SFL.
They then applied to rename the team Airdrie United and move the team to Airdrie. From what I understand a reconstituted Clydebank is now back in the Junior ranks.
As for the Clydebank supporter – I think he is still around.
There was a comment on the previous blog from travel coach.
“I've seen Bobby has no love for the England team -- though I do and support Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland whenever they play -- but I feel the need to rant about our abysmal performance--beginning with the $25 we had to pay to watch the game (so I missed it live)!”
Normally I let this sort of remark go but being in a particularly foul mood this morning I don’t think I will let this one pass. First of all any Scottish (Welsh or Irish) view of English football is ambiguous. Being the small neighbor there is the reality of living in the shadow of a larger, more powerful and richer neighbor. Travel coach you may support (I notice that you don’t love) Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland but you are an exception if you actually take an interest in the game in these countries.
It is rarely the case in reverse. If you are a football fan in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland it is almost impossible not to have a lively and long standing interest in English football. For years our best players have played in the English league to the point that up until fifteen years ago it was almost inconceivable that a good English club side might not contain key players from the other three UK countries.
The performance of the English national team has always been given more prominence particularly around World Cup and European Championship time. However, much of that coverage is insular, myopic and in many cases xenophobic.
The problem comes when someone dares to criticize the English team. Many English fans are ill-equipped to come to a carefully considered opinion of their side and so criticism is often met with open hostility and an attempt to belittle. (It is usually the case that the people most openly hostile to comments are the ones that are the most critical when things do actually implode. Where is the "England must have an English manager" crowd now?)
The issue is not whether I love the English team or not. The issue is whether I am providing a fair and rationale assessment of the English team and performance. Based on my comments prior to the last World Cup and views on the hiring of Steve McClaren I am happy to allow others to come to their own conclusions.
Part 2
Passion - England (and often Scotland's) answer to any football problem. Could someone please explain to me why so many British fans seem to believe that passion is some sort of differentiator between British sides and foreign teams?
How does that square with the foreign (particularly Latin) stereotype of being hot tempered and dare I say overly "passionate"? Isn't the constant use of the word "passion" just another way of saying technically inferior and the only way that it can be covered up is running around more and trying harder? It may work in the short term but it has a limited shelf life.
Doesn't it strike everyone as a bit odd that while British fans worship at the altar of passion that it is other countries - who apparently are not so passionate - produce teams that win the WC and European championships?
The commitment to passion leads to the an over emphasis being placed of players that may be poor but try hard to the exclusion of players that are skilled but are seen as a liability because they don't show passion.
The media in the UK doesn't help either. With a few exceptions it continues to be distrusting of anything foreign and coaching to name only two.
How many times have you heard a commentator make a remark about a foreign signing - "they will soon find out that there are no easy games in the Premiership." What rubbish. First of all the idea that the Premiership is the only competitive league in the world is nonsense. Second it perpetuates the myth that somehow the rest of world lacks a competitive spirit.
And it is not only the English media. I heard one on the weekend when watching the Scotland – Italy match. The Scottish colour commentator (who was an embarrassement throughout) commented to the effect that Luca Toni was starting for Italy even though he was not a regular for Bayern Munich. His evidence – Toni was on the bench against Bolton. Insular and uninformed.
Paul Doyle lists six outstanding goalkeeping displays.
Carlos Bilardo is not impressed with the quality of the play or the tactics in the Premiership. There again England has never been in love with the doctor.
Last weekend while Arsenal were putting five goals past Derby County, Liverpool were forced to settle for a scoreless draw with their Premiership bogey team Birmingham. This weekend Arsenal faces what could be considered their bete noire – West Ham United. As well as beating Manchester United twice last season, the Hammers also did the double over Arsenal – and didn’t concede a goal in the four games. A fantastic accomplishment for a team that only avoided the drop on the last day of the season.
In fact West Ham are looking for a fourth straight Premiership win over the Gunners having won 3-2 on their final trip to Highbury in February 2006. The other game that season between these two London rivals was a scoreless draw so Arsenal fans’ memories need to stretch back to January 2003 for the last time their favourites took three points off of West Ham.
Back then Thierry Henry notched a hat trick. Last weekend a hat trick from Emmanuel Adebayor claimed the first hat trick to be scored at Emirates Stadium and took his season tally to six in the Premiership. Arsenal will be hoping that the Togo international can strike again given that the Gunners have never lost in the 18 games in which Adebayor has scored.
While West Ham’s summer signing of Craig Bellamy (the only British player to have been transferred for $10M or more on five occasions – good or bad, discuss) has been the usual centre of attention it could be argued that the return of a fit Dean Ashton will prove to be of greater value to the Hammers. The now bottle-blonde Ashton (trying to become the first footballer to improve his game after dyeing his hair!) has scored in the last two Premiership games as well as scoring a very late winner in the Carling Cup in midweek.
A continuation of the scoring streak and Steve McClaren will find it difficult not to pick the former Norwich and Crewe striker for vital European Championship qualifying games in October. Three former Arsenal players will be in the West Ham squad - goalkeeper Richard Wright, Matthew Upson and Freddie Ljungberg. Former Charlton, Chelsea and Newcastle midfielder Scott Parker may finally make his Premiership debut for the Hammers.
Liverpool’s improvement away from home can be gauged by comparing their record on the road this season with their visit to Wigan last December. Liverpool thumped Wigan 4-0 but that was their first away win of the season and it came at the eighth time of trying. It also took their goals scored away from Anfield to five after being shut-out for 6 straight away games.
This season Liverpool have already won two away games, drawn the other and they have still let in a goal from open play this season. Since Wigan arrived in the Premiership Liverpool hold a perfect Premier League record with four wins from four matches, 10 goals scored and none against.
After leaving Fernando Torres out of the starting line up for the last two games (don’t mention rotation to Liverpool fans, I did once but I think I got away with it!) and then being held scoreless it is hard to see how Rafa Benitez cannot start the Spaniard on Saturday.
As for Wigan there is a sense that after two wins in their first three games their record of two losses and two draws in the last four games is a fairer reflection of their overall quality. However, Wigan are a team that manages to get on the scoreboard – albeit in the second half. They have only been shut out once this season but seven of their eights goals have come after a cup of tea and a pep talk.
Chelsea might have cruised to an easy midweek win over Hull City in the Carling Cup but the first priority has to be to stop the Premiership bleeding that has seen the Blues drop to their lowest league position in five seasons. Chelsea have only three wins in last 12 Prem games stretching back to last season and are currently without a goal in 329 minutes – their longest streak in nearly a decade.
We are so used to hearing that the first goal is so important in a game – and it is – but it has been a curse in Fulham games this season. The side scoring first in a Fulham league game this season has yet to win and on five occasions it has been the Cottagers. Conversely Chelsea has gone behind five times but still recovered to pick up seven points.
The dilemma for Avram Grant is how to come good on his commitment of playing attractive football when the platform for success comes from a strong defense – something that Chelsea has failed to deliver on this season. In seven games this season Chelsea has conceded 8 goals. That’s not a lot for a normal team but in the first 7 games last season they recorded 4 goals against and 4 shut outs - the season before it was 1 goal and 6 shut outs.
This weekend in MLS we may have a preview of a first round play off game in store. If the Chicago Fire can maintain a hold on 5th in the east and stay ahead of the western conference Colorado Rapids then there is a very good chance that they will “cross-over” and run into Chivas come the play-offs.
Chivas are now guaranteed place in the final eight and are also unbeaten in their last eight games. Their next challenge is to catch DC United in the race for the Supporters’ Shield. They are three points behind but with a game still in hand.
Chivas’ home record has been outstanding so far with ten wins and no losses in 12 games and they have only trailed at home in one game this season – 2-0 to DC United but still rebounded to share the points. Ante Razov has been hot with 6 goals in the last 4 games but the Fire will be confident of dousing his streak.
Ten of Chicago’s 14 away points have come in the last 6 games; the other 7 away games only generated 4 points. What’s more Chicago are also unbeaten in their last four games although three have been drawn. All things considered an excellent game in prospect.
In the Bundesliga it is the team currently sitting second – Bayer Leverkusen – trying to ensure that the four point gap on league leaders Bayern Munich does not grow larger this weekend. It also brings together the Bundesliga’s leading scorers from the last two seasons.
Miroslav Klose notched 24 goals two seasons ago for Werder Bremen but signed for Bayern Munich this summer. Around the same time the 2007 top marksman Theofanis Gekas moved from Bochum to Bayer Leverkusen. While most of the soccer world knows of Klose, Gekas is also a man with a nose for goals. He was the top scorer in Greece in 2005 and the runner up the following year before moving on loan to Bochum. He almost single handedly kept Bochum in the top flight while finishing as the Bundesliga’s top marksman in the 2006/07 season. This past summer a complex three deal that also involved Panathinaikos saw him land at Bayer Leverkusen.
So far this season Klose has got the jump on his Greek rival outscoring him 8 goals to 3. However, if Klose is to add to his total then he will have to do something that has not been done so far this season – score against Bayer at home. There again Bayern has averaged three goals a game away from home this season and this fixture has delivered 17 goals the last three times these sides have clashed in Leverkusen. I’m willing to bet that Bayer’s shut out streak is about to end.
Roma started a tough run of games last weekend with a draw against Juventus after leading 2-1 at half time. In midweek there was a reprise against Fiorentina. These two results combined with an Inter draw at Livorno and a win against Sampdoria means that Roma and Inter are now tied at the top of Serie A with 11 points from five games. Inter have not lost in their last five Serie A matches away to Roma although Roma can look back to a comprehensive Coppa Italia win last spring and a 1-0 Italian Super Cup win last month.
Totti was rested for Wednesday’s game but is almost certain to return for this table top clash. Totti was Europe’s leading marksman last season and has already scored 5 goals in his four games although he trails Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Inter who has two more – he’s tied at the top with David Trezeguet of Juventus.
After relinquishing their position at the top of the table for 24-hours to Villarreal (apparently their first time atop La Liga) Real Madrid leapfrogged three teams after beating Real Betis 2-0 on Thursday evening. Now manager Bernd Schuster returns to his old stomping ground where he will find his old charges in anything but fine fettle.
During his two years with Getafe, Schuster led them to consecutive ninth place league finishes and a Copa del Rey Final appearance last season.
His replacement Michael Ladrup – also a former Real Madrid and Barcelona player – has not got off to an auBLEEPious start. Getafe is still winless after 5 games although they are undefeated at home with two draws. Getafe’s “success” during Schuster’s tenure – and his predecessor Quique Sánchez Flores - was very much built on performances at home. An illustration of that is the fact that Real Madrid has lost twice and drawn once at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez since Getafe were promoted for the 2004/05 season.
Footie fan - Do you think Tevez and Rooney combo will work upfront?
Bobby – We discussed this topic on Monday’s show and I don’t see how these two can’t play together. Both attract multiple defenders when they get the ball so I can see lots of opportunities being created. More importantly I can’t see how any coach worth his salt would turn down having two players like that on your team.
Ulsterson - Heinze (or his agent) seems to badly want the move to Liverpool and first team football, but I'm not sure Heinze would start in that back four. Would he move to the middle? Riise?
Bobby – I think Heinze’s versatility as well as his aggressiveness is what Benitez likes about him. Riise has often pushed forward into the midfield as well so overall it gives Benitez a lot more options to pick from.
CIAO - I'm not sure if you read Atleti's blog, but we from her blog, were wondering if you would participate in a fantasy footie league with some of us? That I know of Atleti, gabemar, Verbal, LGB, VVV, ulsterson and last but not least, the crowd favorite, Ringo were also interested in the idea.
Bobby – You can forward details to fsr@mts.net and the e mail should reach me. No promises.
LetsGoBuffalo - Why doesn't Liverpool build the new stadium to full capacity? After seeing United draws in 3 million pounds per match, what are Hicks and Gillette thinking?
In the same article it talked a little about Man U's transfer activity. First, are most deals between clubs now performance based with escalators? Secondly, seeing as two of United's signings have a hard time with injuries(Anderson and Hargreaves) Who do you see as doing the best with their money out of England's top five?
Bobby – Sorry can’t help you on the stadium issue. In terms of transfer deals there are certainly a lot more incentive based deals than you would have found even five years ago. Re best with their money – it would be Chelsea. They needed more depth in certain positions and they have achieved it.
CIAO - will you also have a review of the upcoming Serie A season?
Bobby – A Serie A preview will be up the week of August 20.
CIAO - Since you will not review the Bundesliga can you please give us your opinion on how Bayern, Stuttgart and Werder Bremen prepared for the new season? I know that Stuttgart added Basturk (a big +), but lost Hildebrand and replaced him with a goalkeeper named Schafer. Do you know anything about him? Bremen lost a defender to Real and Klose to their main rivals. Speaking of, Bayern hit the jack pot with all the talent coming to Munich. What do you make of these three teams in their domestic vs UEFA/CL cups?
Bobby – I haven’t had time to look at the Bundesliga yet so I don’t think I can be of much help. Here’s what I know. Stuttgart was the youngest side to win the Bundesliga for 30 odd years so I’m not surprised that they have not made many moves. Schafer was with Nurnberg and played in the side that beat Stuttgart in the German Cup Final in May. Werder Bremen is one of these teams not somehow find a way to replace players when they move on – almost seamlessly. They have signed Carlos Alberto who played and scored when Jose Mourinho’s Porto side won the Champions League in 2003. Bayern has splashed some serious dollars this summer and none to early. They should have done this a couple of summers ago instead of allowing the team to grow stale.
Neophyte - What do you think of DeMarcus Beasley at Glasgow Rangers? This seems to be in complete contradiction to his slight frame and easily bumped off the ball style. Do you see this working out? Ally McCoist has been complimentary of him so far. Your thoughts....
Bobby – It was DaMarcus Beasley’s performance for the US against Scotland in November 2005 that set the move to Ibrox off. Walter Smith was managing Scotland that day and in the press conference he was very complimentary about Beasley’s performance and remarked that he was the type of player Scotland use to produce but no longer. Beasley needs a shot of confidence and if he gets it you won’t find him being bumped off the ball so much. I don’t think it has anything to do with his “slight frame.”
Henry14 - 1 What happened to Nakamura, he looked like a guy who had a big club waiting to take him? 2 Who do you think are favourite to win the champions league? 3 Do you understand the ac milan transfer policy because they have money and are linked with everyone but are not buying
Bobby–1. He plays in front of 60,000 every second week, how much bigger can it get? I doubt that there are another ten clubs in the word that attract crowds like that. 2. The bookies say Barcelona. 3. They are linked with everyone because that is how it is with big clubs. There is still over three weeks left before the transfer window closes so it is a bit early to draw the conclusion that because they haven’t spent money they won’t spend money.
Craigyf - So Bobby, love to see if you have any opinions you can publish or share on the coverage of the MLS, how it's packaged, what it could learn from the more established football broadcasters (if anything) and do you have broadcasters/commentators you like.
Also we have had the Beckham stuff play out a little - what is your take on the whole pulava so far?
Bobby – Because there are multiple MLS broadcasters there is no standard presentation. I have seen good and I have seen awful this year. However, the MLS site is excellent and MLSTV is great. To be able to sit down and watch a game on the laptop or to grab the highlights is fantastic. In terms of broadcasters/commentators in general there are a lot more bad ones than good ones unfortunately - particularly in the area of colour commentators. There are far too many that seem to think that their job is to (a) second guess the officials courtesy of replays or (b) act as back-up play-by-play announcers. The colour guy’s job is to tell us why something happened not to repeat what we can see for ourselves.
As for David Beckham – I have a self imposed Beckham embargo in place until he kicks a ball in anger. Until then I don’t care.
If you are a fan of a team in a top tier European League it is no longer good enough to just keep track of your team’s fortunes but also the Championship races in other countries.
Particularly at this time of year – the reason? Welcome to the wonderful world of UEFA Coefficients. For it is country and club coefficients that will dictate what rounds clubs will be dropped into (country coefficients) and the seeding that the club will attract when the various draws are made – the club coefficients. for the two European competitions next season
So if you are a Celtic fan for example you are checking the results from Germany this week in the hope that Stuttgart can maintain a lead on Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and eventually take one of the three CL spots to the exclusion of Bayern.
If Bayern usurp Stuttgart them Celtic will be more likely not to be seeded in pot 2 which means when they enter the third round of Champions League they are more likely to face a strong team such as the likes of Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Arsenal or AC Milan. The site that I linked to is maintained by Bert Kassie who does an incredible job of staying on top of the constant changes in the UEFA Coefficients.
Last weekend we saw Celtic, Inter Milan and Lyon wrap up their respective titles and all by the proverbial country mile. The Dutch title will be decided this weekend but the contrast with the title processions in Scotland, Italy and France could not be more marked.
A few weeks ago it looked as if PSV were going to stroll to the title but over the last six games they have stumbled badly with only one win and three draws. Even going into the final few minutes of the game last week against Utrecht it looked as if they would at least enter the last round of play with a two point lead over AZ Alkmaar and Ajax.
But, with four minutes left Utrecht equalized and AZ Alkmaar took over top spot on goal difference with Ajax second and PSV trailing in third. All the teams have 72 points but AZ have a goal difference of 53, Ajax 47 and PSV 46. If AZ take the title it will be only their second all time – that last was in 1981 – and they will be the first time that a side outside of the big three in Holland (PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord) has one the championship in 26 years.
For the second and third place sides a play off for the other Champions League spot. awaits. AZ plays Excelsior who are currently 16th, Ajax plays 15th placed Willem II and for PSV it will be Vitesse who are sitting in 12th spot. AZ and Ajax are both going for the domestic double and will face each other in the Dutch Cup Final.
In France, Italy and Portugal it is a case of the second place team playing the team right behind them in the table.
At stake in both France and Portugal are automatic group spots for the league runners up and in the case of Portugal there remains a faint hope that Porto might still be caught. Lens still leads Bordeaux by a point in France even though a win last week was their first in six matches. Bordeaux are riding a crest at the moment and are unbeaten in their last eight games (four wins and four draws). They have also scored five goals in their last two wins which constitutes an attacking explosion for a side that has only hit the back of the net 35 times in 33 games.
Benfica and Sporting Lisbon could both be considered in-form teams with the Eagles unbeaten in 17 games (12 wins and 5 draws) and Sporting have not tasted defeat in their last 14 games (9 wins and 5 draws). Benfica’s last loss was back on November 18 while Sporting’s last loss was to their great city rivals by a score of 2-0 when they last met. Porto enters the weekend with a four point lead and also face a derby encounter against Boavista who are struggling in a lower mid-table position.
The Rome derby is the match of the weekend in Italy with Lazio looking to complete the double over Roma. After falling one game short of matching a club record on nine straight wins Lazio fans will be concerned that the team is running out of gas with two draws and a loss in their last three games. It could be a more noteable occasion than normal for Roma’s Francesco Totti and Lazio keeper Angelo Peruzzi. If Totti plays he will set a new record of 23 appearances in this derby rivalry while for Angelo Peruzzi it may be his last as he contemplates a season’s end retirement.
In the UK the battle at the top and bottom of the Premiership will demand attention but in the Championship and Scottish League there will be some compelling match ups. In Scotland, Gretna needs to beat bottom of the table Ross County in the last game of the season to secure promotion to the SPL for next season. They currently lead St. Johnstone by a single point and what makes this remarkable is that it will mean that Gretna will have achieved three successive promotions.
In the second tier of English football two of Sunderland, Derby and Birmingham will gain automatic promotion and a massive payday to the Premiership. The side that misses out will have another chance together with three other teams in the play offs. The problem is that is far from clear who the other three teams will be. With two games left only three points separate seven teams. Fans of Preston, West Brom, Wolves, Southampton, Stoke, Colchester and Sheffield Wednesday will be sweating ever moment this weekend.
The FSC MLS Game of the Week is the LA derby with Chivas playing LA Galaxy. You would think that if any team can use the media attention showered on the Galaxy the last few months to their own advantage it would be Chivas. I have yet to see Galaxy this season but have watched Chivas twice. They were well in control of the game against Toronto FC and thought that were unlucky to lose to Houston Dynamo. Maykel Galindo’s seering pace is going to create a lot of chances for him this season and I could see him making a big impact during his first year in the league.
Toronto FC opens their new stadium (BMO) this weekend against the Kansas City Wizards the team that convincingly beat them 3-0 on Wednesday night. The trades that Mo Johnston made to acquire Kevin Goldthwaite and Marvell Wynne looked to have improved the defense although the central pairing of Jim Brennan and Marco Reda didn’t inspire confidence. Centre back is not the position for Brennan who was probably Toronto’s best player over the first two games when he occupied the left side of the defense in a 3-5-2 formation.
Toronto desperately needs a player with presence in the centre of the defense and there is no indication that such a player is presently on the roster. The midfield is struggling to string more than two passes together and rarely get into positions to support the two strikers. Up front Alecko Eskandarian is constantly tearing down blind alleys but at least he is giving honest effort. We will see if home support of 20,000 can help Toronto to their first goal and win.
Let’s start in Spain this week. It seems that while Barcelona confront a reasonably straightforward stretch run the other title contenders are being left to knock lumps out each other. Last week it was a case of Valencia having to beat Sevilla – which they did - and this week they have to repeat the feat, this time against Real Madrid.
If Valencia can collect another three points (they have failed to win back to back league games since mid January) then they only have to play one team presently in the top seven – Real Zaragoza – in their last seven matches.
On the other hand Real Madrid and Sevilla have to play each other as well as Real Zaragoza. Perhaps the team we should really be feeling sorry for is Real Zaragoza who is currently fifth in the league and ahead of Atletico Madrid courtesy of a better head-to-head record.
This weekend Sevilla faces an Athletic Bilbao side that has come to life in their last two matches. Athletic Bilbao has never been relegated and has finally dragged themselves clear of the bottom three positions in the league. Sevilla are going through a goal drought and this match may prove trickier than the league positions might indicate.
Barcelona have not exactly been road warriors this season and have only one win away from the Nou Camp in the last eight games. They do however have an excellent record against teams in the lower half of the division which is where a disappointing Villarreal side currently resides. Barcelona have won 11 and drawn four of 15 such games, while conversely Villarreal have only three wins in 16 games against top-class opposition.
In Germany, Bayern Munich travels to face the team currently one spot above them in the Bundesliga, third-place Stuttgart. Stuttgart currently enjoys a two-point cushion on Bayern Munich and after this weekend only four games will remain.
Bayern cannot afford to lose this weekend, because if they do there will be a very real possibility that next season their only participation in the Champions League will come from watching on television. For a side that over the last decade has won the Bundesliga title seven times, been runners up twice and finished third once it would be a crippling blow. Only four of the first choice eleven out under the age of 29, and it is clear that Bayern need to retool this summer. Without Champions League money Ottmar Hitzfeld may have to restrict his shopping to the bargain bin.
Inter should wrap up Serie A this weekend after they stumbled late in the midweek game against Roma. Lazio and Fiorentina are two sides that have recently seen excellent runs come to an end. For Lazio, two draws against as Ascoli and Chievo brought eight straight wins to a halt. Even so Lazio’s last loss was back on December 20. They face a Fiorentina side that lost to Parma in midweek after going 11 games without loss. Both sides enjoy two very effective striking partnerships. For Lazio it is Rocchi (15) and Giuly many five because he kbit okay because he is going to get very Kiel doolally gor (10), while Fiorentina can look to Luca Toni (16) and Adrian Mutu (14).
Lazio are currently sits third in the league 11 points behind rivals Roma, but only four points ahead of Milan. Fiorentina is seventh but have Empoli and Palermo in their sights even though the gap is five points.
Two teams who have spent the week moving players in and out clash in MLS. Houston Dynamo moved defender Kevin Goldthwaite to Toronto for midfielder Richard Mulrooney, while the New York Red Bulls also sent defensive help – and they desperately need it – to Toronto in the shape of speedy full-back Marvell Wynne.
However, the most interesting move was the acquisition of 31-year-old Colombian striker Juan Pablo Angel by the New York Red Bulls from Aston Villa. The frantic pace of the Premiership never suited Angel’s style but I reckon he’s got a good few goals left in him and he will turn out to be a very astute signing. The Colombian’s debut depends upon how quickly a work permit can be acquired.
In the Premiership Manchester United - unbeaten in the last 14 one games – await the visit of Middlesbrough who are winless in their last five away games. In fact, Middlesbrough have only one away win all season and only two teams have collected fewer away points. However, Boro appear to enjoy the Old Trafford stage and have a very respectable record. Since 2002 Boro only lost once in five Premiership visits to Manchester United while winning twice and drawing the other two games.
Coincidently a similar dynamic appears to be at play when Newcastle plays Chelsea at St James’ Park. Newcastle goes into this game have won only once in their last seven Premiership games. Chelsea on the other hand have won their last nine. But, Newcastle have won three and drawn the other when Chelsea have come calling in the last four seasons. The Magpies also enjoy the sixth best record in the league against top half teams, while they sit only 18th against teams occupying positions eleven through twenty. The better the opposition the better Newcastle seem to play.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Martin Jol said this week that his team needs to win four of the remaining five games in order to secure a UEFA spot for next season. Step one would appear to be beating Arsenal in the early game on Saturday. This is something that Spurs have failed to do in their last 17 league and cup matches against their North London neighbours. Six more points for Arsenal will guarantee them at least fourth place and entry into the Champions League pre-qualifying round 2. These two teams have shared the points in five of the last six premiership games that White Hart Lane. What chance of six out of seven?
At the bottom of the Premiership Charlton and Sheffield United is a game that everyone will be keeping an eye on. A classic six pointer, Charlton are undefeated in 11 league games against Sheffield United, but are currently two points behind the Yorkshire club with the same number of games played.
Sheffield United have lost more away games in the Premiership than any other team and have not even scored on the road since in early February. On the other hand Charlton are unbeaten in their last four home games and have kept clean sheets in each of then.
The most important league game of the weekend is in Portugal with Benfica against Porto. Sporting Lisbon blew the league race open when they went to Oporto almost two weeks ago and beat the home team 1-0. Benfica have the best home record in Portugal with a draw in ten games the only blemish and they currently trail Porto by one point. Benfica have to play Sporting once more in the league this season – April 29. Portugal cut the league back to sixteen teams this season so although each team has only played 22 games they are only eight left to play.
Lyon are looking to for the first half of a league and league cup double – something they never accomplished – when they face Bordeaux in the League Cup Final. Lyon won the trophy in 2001 which was the year before they set off on their run of consecutive league wins. Bordeaux won the Cup the following season and it remains their last piece of silverware. Interestingly Juninho of Lyon has never scored a goal in a game against Bordeaux.
It looks as if Bayern Munich needs to beat Schalke in order to retain any interest in the Bundesliga title. With only eight games to go and trailing Schalke by nine points and Werder Bremen by six, three points would appear to be mandatory. The good news for Bayern fans is that in thirty-six Bundesliga visits Schalke have only five wins and five draws to show for their efforts.
With both teams facing Champions League action this coming week it will be interesting to see how Milan and Roma line up in the Olympic Stadium on Saturday. Roma are sitting with a comfortable nine point lead on rivals Lazio – surely one of the over achievers in the European leagues this season – who are in third place. Milan have slowly but surely worked their up Serie A and are now within four points of a slumping Palermo side for the last Champions League spot and Milan has a game in hand.
The Barcelona versus Deportivo La Coruna game would be more interesting if the game wasn’t in the Nou Camp. Deportivo La Coruna have an abysmal away record having won only twice on their travels this season although both came relatively recently. Goal scoring has been Deportivo’s problem with only 20 goals in the “for” column – only seven have come away from the Riazor. Barcelona have yet to lose to any opposition in the bottom half of the table.
The best in the premiership would look to be Liverpool vs. Arsenal in the early Saturday game while free scoring Tottenham and Reading on Sunday also looks promising. In the battle to avoid relegation Charlton have the opportunity to pull Wigan into the battle and reduce the gap between the two teams to three points. Some things to note going into this game are that Wigan has yet to come back and win a game in which they have conceded the first goal and they have lost 19 points this season from winning positions – the worst in the Premiership
Sheffield United could give themselves a massive lift if they can beat a slumping Bolton side which has lost their last three games. The bad news is United last picked up a point on the road over three months ago. Here is Sheffield United run-in which at least gives them control of their fate - Newcastle (h), Manchester United (a), West Ham (h), Charlton (a), Watford (h), Aston Villa (a) and Wigan (h).
