Scotland may be sitting top of their group in Euro qualifying but there is an anthem problem.
Paul Wilson asks the question that if Manchester United fans have to buy tickets to Carling Cup games then shouldn’t United field a top class team. Buried in the piece Wilson also takes to task people who quote Bill Shankly’s “matter of life and death” comment. Wilson’s right – the vast majority of people quote Shankly as if he was serious which he clearly was not.
My favourite Shankly quote was from the late Emlyn Hughes. Hughes told a story that Shanks loved training and joined in all the time. One day Shankly turned round to Hughes and says to him "When I die I want to be the fittest man to ever die."
An interesting and informative website created by a regular blog visitor www.billsportsmaps.com Something obviously close to his heart. Check it out.
I received an e mail last week taking me to task. Apparently I have yet to publish my Champions league picks. So here goes – Group A, Liverpool and Porto; Group B, Valencia and Chelsea; Group C, Real Madrid and Werder Bremen (would not be surprised if Lazio qualified); Group D, Milan and Benfica; Group E Barcelona and Rangers (bring on the “are you on crack McMahon” e mails); Group F, Manchester United and Roma; Group G, Inter Milan and PSV; Group H, Arsenal and Sevilla.
Just a reminder that if you have questions you would like my take on, then the best idea is to post them on Monday’s Speakers’ Corner Blog. If they are posted any other time then there is a very good chance that I will miss them. I try my best to keep up but sometimes questions slip through the cracks.
And finally Winnipeg Thistle lost their Winnipeg Old Timers crown after losing 2-1 to Portuguese in the final on Sunday. A lack of polish in front of goal cost us dearly. It was a great game and I am glad to say that I am at the stage in life that I prefer to play in a good game and lose, than play in a bad one and win. To all the players and officials that make it possible for old guys like me to continue to kick a ball and love it a massive THANK YOU.
Nick Harris on Mike Ashley’s takeover bid for Newcastle. Is there any Newcastle fan opposed to this? I doubt it. Two teams that I thought would be worth buying outside of the top four would be Newcastle and Manchester City.
An extract from Lisbon Lion Bobby Lennox’s autobiography.
Where to start this week? Seeing that Milan won the Champions League and that they are involved in the battle to stay in Serie A – they play relegation threatened Reggina – we will start in Italy.
With the final round on Sunday five teams are battling to avoid the final relegation spot. Here is a rundown in order of the team most likely to step on the trapdoor.
Siena (37 points) plays Lazio and if they lose they will be relegated. A draw could keep them in Serie A if either Catania or Reggina lose. Siena was docked a point for irregular tax payments and come Sunday night they may rue their run-in with the taxman. Siena has only one win in their last five matches and they must be hoping that Lazio - who has already secured a Champions League spot for next season - have already started their holidays.
Reggina (37 points) is surely hoping that Milan will lack motivation after winning the Champions League on Wednesday. Reggina pulled off a stunning comeback last weekend against Empoli. Down 3-0 they fought back to draw 3-3. Reggina has two wins and six draws in their last eight games and if it wasn’t for an 11-point penalty they would be sitting in a comfortable mid-table position. Reggina needs to match Siena’s result in order to stay up.
The only head-to-head battle of relegation threatened teams is Catania (38 points) and Chievo (39 points) and it will be played at the neutral site of Bologna. The winner of this game is definitely secure. However, a draw combined with Siena and Reggina wins would relegate Catania. The same fate is in store should Catania lose and the other two take a point each. Since the ill-fated match against Palermo that resulted in the murder of a policeman outside of the Catania stadium the Sicilian club has picked up only 8 points out of a possible 42.
On the other hand Chievo (39 points) has picked it up lately with only one loss in the last six games. A draw is enough for Chievo although a loss combined with wins by Siena and Reggina and a draw for Parma would mean some unhappy donkeys.
Parma (39 points) and Claudio Ranieri need only a point from Empoli and after suffering only two losses in their last 14 matches they would appear to be well positioned to do so. In fact they might even survive a loss given that in order to be relegated Reggina and Siena both need to win and Catania needs to at least draw with Chievo.
In Spain the focus is at the top end of the table with Real Madrid and Barcelona both playing on Saturday and Sevilla on Sunday. Talk of revenge will be prevalent as Barcelona takes on Getafe the side that knocked them out of the Copa del Rey. Barcelona is the only team in La Liga with an undefeated record at home while no team in the top 12 in Spain has a poorer away record than Getafe – only 5 wins and 18 points.
Getafe did however administer a 5-1 spanking last weekend to Espanyol in Barcelona. If Getafe is to pull off a major surprise then they are probably going to have to score at least a couple of goals given that Barcelona has scored in every home game this season in La Liga.
Next weekend it is the Barcelona derby while the season concludes with the reigning champions visiting already relegated Gimnastic.
Real Madrid has won eight of their last nine matches but in the last three games they have left it late. Wins against Sevilla, Espanyol and Recreativo have all been secured with progressively later goals - 85th, 89th, and 90th. For a team that has struggled to score goals this season, Real has hit a purple patch with 14 coming in the last four games.
However, they have also conceded eight. Real’s opponents this weekend Deportivo La Coruna has the third poorest away record in La Liga with only 13 points (2 wins) and have only scored 9 goals. After this match Real has Real Zaragoza away and Mallorca at home to finish the season.
Sevilla showed a lot of character to come back from a goal down to beat Deportivo last week and on paper they face a stiff test against Real Zaragoza. However, Zaragoza’s challenge has faded and they have not won consecutive matches since last November. They also only won once away from home since mid-December. Mallorca away and Villarreal at home await Sevilla.
A late charging Villarreal (5 straight wins) might bring to an end any faint hope Valencia may harbour of a La Liga title. Villarreal is only a point behind Atletico Madrid and pushing hard for a UEFA Cup spot. Valencia centre back Roberto Ayala has already signed for Villarreal for next season and in the last two days alone Shevchenko, Makelele and Heinze have all been linked with possible moves to El Madrigal.
In Scotland and Germany cups will be decided. Relegated Dunfermline will be making a third appearance in a final since 2004 and all against Celtic. They will hoping to make it third time lucky after losing both the CIS Cup and Scottish Cup finals. Dunfermline won the Scottish Cup twice in the sixties and beat Celtic on route both times. All in this will be the fourth time Celtic and Dunfermline will have faced each other in a Scottish Cup final.
Celtic finished the league season sluggishly with three losses in last four league games and five of their six league season losses came in the final nine league games. In contrast Dunfermline have had half of their six league wins this season come in their last four league games and have lost only three of their last nine. But still there was a 58 point gap between the two teams come the final league table.
Domestic doubles are not normally frequent events but it doesn’t seen that way in German where for the last four seasons it appears to have been a case of win one and get the other one free. The last four seasons Bayern Munich three times and Werder Bremen have all done the double. Stuttgart has a chance to make it five when they play Nurnberg in the German Cup final on Saturday.
Both teams have won the Cup three times. Stuttgart’s last German Cup win was in 1997 and Nurnberg’s in 1962. Nurnberg finished sixth in the Bundesliga, their best performance since 1988 when they were one place higher. They beat Stuttgart 3-0 on the opening day of the season and again 4-1 after the winter break. Nuremberg coach Hans Meyer is trying to become the first coach to win cup competitions in both East Germany and Germany.
On Monday there is the Premiership play off that is worth zillions of dollars – just pick a number everyone one else does. Derby versus West Brom – I’ll go for West Brom.
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.
Another interesting weekend of football. The "Dream Final" will have to be an unbelievable match to beat out the Chelsea-Blackburn game. How many times do you think Morten Gamst Pedersen has replayed in his mind the header that went inches wide with 8 minutes left?
With the Everton-Charlton game on delay I was sorely tempted to check the score on the internet. Fortunately, I resisted the temptation and an amazing finish was the reward.
In Italy it was like old times with Inter coming back from two goals down to Palermo to draw. Parma have sufferred only one loss in their last 8 games although five other games have finished as draws. Although Ascoli pulled of####ood result against Lazio (2-2) it wil be awfully tough to make up the lost ground. Messina are in free fall so it may come down to Parma, Reggina or Chievo joining the other two.
Barcelona scraped through courtesy of a last minute own goal to extend their lead at the top of La Liga. The schedule favours Barcelona with only three (Atletico, Getafe and Espanyol) of the eight games against top half teams. Of the 31 points dropped by Barcelona this year only 8 have come against bottom half of the table teams and they have yet to lose to a team from #11 down.
Levante became the latest team to drop into the bottom three in Spain. Athletic Bilbao and Celta Vigo under new coach Hristo Stoichkov both won. There is a full schedule of games in Italy this week and a partial schedule in England.
Coming off a 3-0 loss to Sheffield United another loss to Chelsea would leave West Ham at least 5 points from safety and with a much poorer goal difference. Sheffield United faces Manchester United before another 6 point encounter on Saturday - this time against Charlton.
Here are a few articles that have caught my eye recently.
Over the next few weeks I will be looking to develop a weekend preview piece. A few games will be highlighted and there is of course the opportuntity for readers to provide comments as they see fit.
Manchester United vs. Bolton and Chelsea vs. Sheffield United.........obviously United and Chelsea start as favourites. Didier Drogba and Cristiano Ronaldo will continue to battle it out for the Player of the Year Award.
At the over end the table Manchester City faces Middlesbrough. Based on their past record things don't look good for Stuart Pearce and City. City have lost 5 straight Premiership games have not won in 7 visits to Middlesbrough with 5 losses and 2 draws. In the Premiership City have only beaten Boro once in 15 games. These games are generally low scoring with only 4 goals in their last 4 games.
Watford are the latest team to try and tame the Tottenham Hotspur scoring machine and in particular Dimitar Berbetov. Watford with a win and two draws in their last four have equaled their best run of the season. Spurs appear to have given up stopping goals going in and have reverted to scoring more than the opposition - an interesting idea. The last time Spurs earned a shut out in the Premiership was back at the end of October against Watford in a scoreless draw.
In the Championship the race for promotion continues to be tighter than a Scotsman. At the bottom of the table it is the same thing. Luton have dropped into the relegation zone and Mike Newell was fired this week. Two teams trying to save thenmselves from slipping into League One clash this weekend when Southend United plays Leeds United. Oh how the once mighty have fallen.
Schalke 04 v VfB Stuttgart (Bundesliga), Lazio v Empoli (Serie A), Recreativo Huelva v Barcelona (La Liga), and Porto vs. Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) appear to be the pick of games on the continent.
Reuters and Associated Press are reporting that nine warrants have been issued after an investigation was launched in March. Giorgio Chinaglia's name is said to be on one of the arrest warrants.
All four Italian clubs have had their sentences reduced. All the clubs have seen a substantial reduction in their original punishments. Milan has been reinstated to this season's Champions League.
"Fiorentina and Lazio were restored to Serie A, while Juventus had its points penalty in Serie B cut almost in half after successful appeals in the Italian match-fixing scandal on Tuesday.
AC Milan also had its points penalty in Serie A cut from 15 to eight. Juventus went from 30 to 17. Fiorentina will have 19 points docked in the Italian topflight next season, while Lazio will be minus 11.
The sports court also upheld the July 14 ruling stripping Juventus of its last two Serie A titles. But Milan has been allowed to play in the Champions League preliminary rounds this season."
Juventus now have an extra incentive to hold on to some of the better players as promotion back to Serie A is a more realistic possibility.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
Thank you to all who take time to visit this blog and especially to those of you who post your comments and thoughts.
PS - If you have questions please post them on the regular Monday blog. I am unable to answer e mails posted to the inbox on this site.
And one more thing. If you have questions or complaints or compliments about programming please contact Fox Soccer Channel or Fox Sports World Canada directly. I have no control over what the stations televise.
