Henk Ten Cate will bring attacking verve and a notoriously short temper to Stamford Bridge, writes Daan Schippers. Cate or should it Ten Cate played 21 games for the Edmonton Drillers in the NASL in 1980.

Former Manchester United winger and now Dallas resident, Gordon Hill, chimes in with his thoughts on the dearth of young English talent. What a sight Hill and Steve Coppell were on the wings in Tommy Docherty's Manchester United side of the mid-seventies.

The G14’s response to Michel Platini’s proposals to reshape football in Europe.

Ask fans to name the first Dutch team to win the European Cup and many will blurt out Ajax. However, Feyenoord beat them to it. Here is an abbreviated article on their coach Ernst Happel who also took the Netherlands to the 1978 World Cup Final.

Glenn Moore on the Premiership striker’s best friend – Paul Robinson.

Touch blue (no pun intended) paper and retreat. SFA Chief Gordon Smith chimes in on Old Firm bias.

The surgeries and treatment rooms of Europe are full of football players – so we must have another break for European Championship qualifying. But this time over the next five days there is also the start of the marathon that is South American qualifying. And so this week we start in South America.

The last two World Cups have seen Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay qualify both times with Uruguay moving on through a play off in 2002 after finishing 5th in the ten country group. Uruguay repeated as 5th place finishers two years ago but failed to negotiate a way passed Australia.

Whichever country finishes one behind the four automatic spots two years from now will play the 4th place CONCACAF team rather than New Zealand (sorry that should have read the winner from Oceania).

Winning at home is critically important in any competition but  South American World Cup qualifying reinforces just how important it actually is. Tracking back though the 2002 and 2006 qualifying results show that the top four have only lost three games out of their 72 home games and have drawn only 14.

In 2006 the “final” four only lost once at home (Paraguay to Colombia), drew 8 and generated 89 points from a possible total of 108 - 82%; in 2002 two games were lost at home (Ecuador to Argentina, Paraguay to Colombia), six were drawn producing 90 points out of possible 108 – 83%.

Go back a further four years and although World Cup holders Brazil did not have to qualify, the overall outcome was very similar. Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia and Chile all qualified with Argentina unbeaten at home. The others lost four games but three of them were to table topping Argentina. Even so the top four still generated 88 out of a possible 108 points at home (81%).

Argentina are at home to Chile who have former Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa in charge of a competitive game for the first time. Chile made the headlines for all the wrong reasons at the Copa America this past summer and Bielsa has his work cut out if he is to make it to South Africa 2010. He has some very promising youngsters on the threshold of solid international careers but qualification for a World Cup may have to wait another four years.

Brazil start with an away match against Colombia and Ecuador hosts the ever improving Venezuela. Bolivia are preparing very differently for an opening game at sea level against Uruguay and then a home match against Colombia at altitude in midweek. Domestic players are continuing to train at altitude while foreign based players (including DC United’s Jaime Moreno) are working out at lower levels. Peru versus Paraguay is the other game.

European Championship qualifying for next summer’s finals in Switzerland and Austria may give us a first qualifier this weekend to join the co-host nations. However, if it does happen it won’t be from Group A.

The top four countries all face potential banana skin matches. Group leaders Poland have never made it to the Euro finals and are two points clear at the top with three games left. On Saturday they are at home to Kazakhstan, a country they beat 1-0 earlier in qualifying. 

Serbia are away to Armenia (in their final four games Serbia plays the bottom three and host Poland in the last round); Finland travels to Belgium – a tricky fixture for Roy Hodgson’s side; Portugal with four draws in their last 5 matches travels to Azerbaijan.

Scotland may lead Group B and may “only” require two wins and a draw to qualify but I have this horrible feeling that this is the weekend (or Wednesday) when it all goes pear shaped. And before I receive any e mails questioning my “Scotchness” let me tell you something. Any Scottish fan over the age of 25 has to be worried or they are brain dead.

Far too many Scottish football revival articles being printed for my liking. For every piece I’ve read I can come up with a heart breaking disappointment. In reverse chronological order – losing 6-0 to Holland Euro 2004 qualifying; knocked out of the 2000 Euro play off by a poor England side; losing to Morocco 3-0 World Cup 1998; Costa Rica, a 1-0 loss WC 1990; 1986 WC scoreless draw against 10-man Uruguay for 89 and a half minutes; Hansen and Miller in a Keystone Cops routine WC 82 in a must win game versus Russia; Iran 1978 1-1 ; losing 2-1 to Spain at Hampden 1974 European qualifying; Zaire World Cup 1974, at least that was a 2-0 win; England 1968 at Hampden; losing two late goals to Poland 1965 at Hampden; World Cup play off against the eventual runners up Czechoslovakia in Brussels in 1962. And there are more. If Scotland goes through I will be as happy as anyone. But until that moment arrives my skepticism will be unabated. Oh yeah, they play Ukraine at Hampden on Saturday.

Germany are the most likely nation to be the first to book one of the remaining 14 spots. Unbeaten in eight games with seven wins and a draw, the Germans need only a share of the points when they play the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. A loss for the Irish would put the Czech Republic within a sliver of joining the Germans.

England should be able to qualify with a win over Estonia and then draws against Russia and Croatia. But rather like my feeling about Scotland, I am tending towards a counter intuitive view of England. Impressive wins over Israel and Russia a month ago can only mean an unimpressive display is on the cards versus a poor Estonia side. No matter they will get three points which will nicely set up Wednesday’s massively gigantic showdown clash (a bit of tabloid stuff there) in Moscow.

Israel faces a mammoth task in beating Croatia in Zagreb if they are to maintain a realistic chance of advancing. The last time these two countries met Arsenal’s Eduardo da Silva notched a hat trick as Croatia inflicted a 4-3 home loss in Israel. A win on Saturday would put Croatia impressively through with two games to spare.

Denmark and Spain renew a bitter rivalry (bitter for the Dames anyway) with Denmark desperate for a win that will keep them in contention for a top two spot in Group F. Since 1984 Spain has beaten Denmark in the 1984 European championship in France; thrashed Denmark 5-1 at the 1986 World Cup; won 3-2 at the group stage of Euro 88; defeated Denmark at the qualifying stages of the 1990 and 1994 World Cup and lost the corresponding fixture of this competition 2-1 back in March.

Denmark have six shut outs in eight games but none of their four wins have come against any of the top three teams. Even so Denmark currently trail Spain and Sweden by 5 points and Northern Ireland by two a win here could put the Danes in a decent position. Spain, Sweden and Northern Ireland all have to play each other while Denmark has to face the Irish (a) and Latvia and Iceland at home.