Archive for February, 2010
English teams regain Eurovision
This might be the season that an English team finally wins the Europa League. There have been only three Premier League finalists in the UEFA Cup since English teams returned to Europe, with Liverpool’s victory in 2001 the first in the competition since Tottenham Hotspur’s in 1984.
An English champion in the first season – in the year of the 2010 Football world cup - of the Europa League would be appropriate. Spurs won the first ever UEFA Cup in 1972, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final, and whilst it might be too much to expect both Liverpool and Fulham to go all the way, both teams have a good chance of glory.
English teams have struggled in the UEFA Cup recently due to their inexperience in Europe. The so-called big four monopolise the Champions League places to such an extent that no one else gets the chance to regularly sample continental football, because the battle for fifth and sixth places in the league is so competitive.
Liverpool’s presence in the event his term has changed that. They know how to win in Europe and their Champions League pedigree, combined with a recent upturn in domestic form, makes them worthy favourites. Steven Gerrard’s improving form should help favour England’s World Cup Betting Odds too.
Fulham do not have the same European experience, but their impressive victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the last 32 proves they can compete at this level. No one gets an easy game at Crave Cottage, so Juventus must be on their guard in the last 16.
Everton missed out after a late collapse at Sporting Lisbon, robbing the competition of the prospect of a Merseyside derby at some stage, but the Toffees neighbours will not be bothered – Liverpool know they cannot look down on the importance of any trophy at the moment and that the Europa League is there for the taking.
Tags: Ascii, Cambria, Champions League, Div, Donetsk, English Champion, European Experience, Eurovision, Everton, Font Definitions, Font Format, Football World Cup, Footer, Fulham, Good Chance, Impressive Victory, Inexperience, Lt, Merseyside Derby, Mso, Orphan, Panose, Paper Source, Pitch, Premier League, Props, Sans Serif, Sporting Lisbon, Steven Gerrard, Style Definitions, Style Name, Style Type, Theme Font, Times New Roman, Tottenham Hotspur, Uefa Cup, Upturn, Wanderers, World Cup Betting Odds
Chelsea shorten for FA Cup glory
Chelsea are the hot 5/4 favourites to retain the FA Cup after being drawn at home again in the quarter-finals. They top the list when it comes to Odds FA Cup experts produce and will take some stopping.
The Blues defeated Cardiff 4-1 at Stamford Bridge in the fifth round and have been rewarded for their efforts with another home tie - against either Manchester City (8/1) or Stoke (25/1) who will replay at The Britannia Stadium.
Chelsea have edged out Watford and Cardiff on home soil and saw off Preston in the fourth round away from the King’s Road, but they will now have to topple Premier League opposition to reach the semi-finals. Carlo Ancelotti’s men still look primed for more cup glory and have shortened up to repeat last year’s heroics with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United already out of the tournament.
Tottenham are the 11/2 second favourites after battling out a 1-1 draw at Bolton (50/1) and now face a replay at White Hart Lane to determine who will take on Fulham (14/1) at Craven Cottage. FA Cup Match Betting certainly expects Harry Redknapp’s men to progress though.
Financially-stricken Portsmouth (16/1) are well placed to repeat their FA Cup success of 2008 and face Birmingham (11/1) at Fratton Park for a place in the last four.
Pompey will be desperate for cup success in a bid to ease their cash problems on the south coast and they could still become the first team in history to win the prestigious tournament and be relegated in the same season.
Reading (80/1) and West Brom (33/1) face a replay at The Hawthorns to determine who will take on Aston Villa or Crystal Palace (66/1), who will also replay at Villa Park. Villa are 6/1 third favourites to get their hands on the trophy they last won in 1957.
Tags: Ascii, Aston Villa, Britannia Stadium, Cambria, Carlo Ancelotti, Craven Cottage, Crystal Palace, Cup Glory, Cup Success, Div, Font Definitions, Font Format, Harry Redknapp, Hawthorns, Heroics, Home Soil, Home Tie, Lt, Manchester City, Mso, Orphan, Panose, Pitch, Pompey, Prestigious Tournament, Priority, Props, Quarter Finals, Sans Serif, Span, Stamford Bridge, Style Definitions, Style Type, Text Decoration, Theme Font, Times New Roman, Villa Park, West Brom, White Hart Lane
O’Neill’s chance to emerge from the shadows
Martin O’Neill has an affinity with the League Cup. He won the competition twice with Leicester in 1997 and 2000 as well finishing runners up in 1999.
Back then the victories were the pinnacle of his achievements at the Foxes, who have been unable to reach such heights since. Fast forward to today and a win for Villa at Wembley could be the launch pad for future success.
The Villains have improved steadily under O’Neill since he took over a club that were dark horses for relegation in 2006. The previous season the club had laboured under David O’Leary. With an aging squad and fans’ morale at an all time low, changes were needed at all levels.
But with able support from new owner Randy Lerner, who took over from Doug Ellis, O’Neill refreshed the squad with young dynamic players like James Milner and Ashley Young as well as solid pros like James Collins and Richard Dunne. The club has finished in the top six in the past two seasons and are well in the hunt for a top four spot.
But the one thing to elude O’Neill is a trophy, and until he achieves that he knows his achievements in turning the club around will not be recognised when we glance back at the history books in a few years time. It is often said that a trophy can open the floodgates and clear the way for more to follow. With the support of Lerner, who has consistently backed his manager with cash, O’Neill will hope victory could signal the start of a new era at the club rather than be the peak of his Villa reign.
Standing in their way is a familiar foe in Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United. Fergie’s trophy laden legacy at United would not be unduly affected by a defeat on Sunday, but with their current financial troubles prompting newspaper stories predicting their imminent demise, adding another piece of silverware to the bulging cabinet would serve as a reminder that the club is alive and kicking.
A lot will depend on the type of side Ferguson decides to pick. With his side in the midst of a Premier League title battle and a Champions League knock out tie with Milan, he may decide to pick his kids. However, even if Fergie does pick his first-teamers I fancy Villa to triumph anyway. The club have been starved of success for a long time - their last trophy was the league cup in 1996 - and the fans will be desperate for the players to make up for their disappointing performance in the 2000 FA Cup Final, where they limped to a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
I feel that extra motivation will be enough to ensure it will be a Claret and Blue day at Wembley on Sunday. Although the Carling Cup betting odds make United favourites for the tournament, Villa have already taken four points off them in the league, so an upset can’t be ruled out.
Tags: Alex Ferguson, Dark Horses, David O Leary, Doug Ellis, Fergie, Financial Troubles, Foxes, History Books, Imminent Demise, James Milner, Launch Pad, Manchester United, Martin O Neill, Mids, Randy Lerner, Relegation, Richard Dunne, Silverware, Sir Alex Ferguson, Villains
Champions League play-offs not the answer
So the Premier League has come up with its latest great idea to even up the growing disparity in the English top flight. The Premier League top four is now such an elite club, something must be done about it. Well that’s what they are saying anyway.
The play-off system for the final Champions League place, which would feature the
sides finishing from fourth to seventh, sounds quite exciting on paper but the
timing of the announcement fills me with cynicism. After all it comes around two years after Richard Scudamore proposed the now infamous 39th game, matches which would have been played in venues across the globe. That was unceremoniously booted out by FIFA and criticised by the fans. But it is now obvious Scudamore and co have been thinking of money making alternatives ever since.
Cue the play-off idea.
We would get between six and eight extra high stakes games, with all the TV and sponsorship money that entails. Furthermore, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if these games were played abroad in Singapore, Bangkok, Sydney and New York - thereby sneaking in the 39th game idea in after all.
This blatant money-making is what annoys me about the modern game and the people who run it. This idea isn’t about levelling up the league, it’s about exploiting the fans for more cash. It is all the evidence you need to prove the game has lost touch with the fans who kept it going for more than 100 years. If they want to level out the league, why not re-distribute the TV money? Oh no, because that would see the big four giving up some of their cash.
Why not reduce the number of teams in the Champions League to two? The idea that a side finishing fourth in its division should compete in the ‘Champions’ League is ludicrous anyway. The competition should be a reward for real success. This in turn would strengthen the Europa League which would be open to the winners of the two cups and two extra spots in the league. With better teams in the competition, the TV
money would increase but it would be distributed more fairly. Unfortunately it all sounds a little too sensible to ever happen, and the Premier League worldwide tour could be coming to a city near you very soon.
Meanwhile, the football betting makes Manchester United 5/1 shots to win this year’s Champions League after they defeated Milan 3-2 in the first leg of their tie last night.
Tags: 100 Years, Bangkok, Criticised, Cue, Cynicism, Disparity, Elite Club, Fifa, Final Champions League, Game Idea, Globe, High Stakes, Levelling, Play Offs, Premier League, Scudamore, Singapore, Sponsorship Money, Top Flight, Tv Money
UKSoccershop Sale - Save Up To 70% On Top Teams
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Our January Sale was a huge success and as we enter February we have added more items to our sale. You can find a combination of discounted 09-10 products from top teams including Arsenal, Barcelona, England, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Marseille, Real Madrid and more, as well as some older stock which has now been priced to clear. Stocks of all products listed is extremely limited - sometimes only one item is left in stock - so act quickly to avoid missing out. You can check our full range of special offers on our website, or check out some of our hot picks below. 2010 Sale Highlights 09-10 Arsenal Lightweight Top - was £39.99 now £26.99 08-09 Bayern Munich CL home - was £44.99 now £20 08-09 Celtic Lineup Jacket - was £44.99 now £22 08-09 France Tracksuit - was £79.99 now £40 07-08 Inter Milan away shorts (Kids) - was £19.99 now £7 09-10 Man Utd Lightweight Top - was £39.99 now £24.99 08-09 PSG Woven Tracksuit - was £69.99 now £35 |
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Tags: Ajax, Bayern Munich, Blackburn, England Rugby, Hertha Berlin, Home Kids, Inter Milan, Kuyt, Liverpool, Man Utd, Marseille, Mgb, Mini Kit, Newcastle, Polo Shirt, Porto, Qpr, Real Madrid, Socks, Tracksuit