Barcelona win the Champions League

So I was half right. I did manage to predict 2 goals from Barcelona. It’s just that Man Utd let me down and didn’t score the 3 they were meant to.

First of all, hats off to Barca. They were majestic. Although, Pep Guardiola has surely been playing Football Manager. He employs the exact same formation that I have used to guide Newcastle Utd to multiple League and European titles. The whole tactic revolves around your midfield 3 (in this case, Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets) controlling 80/90% of the possession combining with 2 attacking midfielders/wingers (Messi and Henry) and a strong forward (Eto’o). So, congratulations to the Football Manager community. This victory is yours.

It was however, one of the poorest United performances I have seen for a while. And I must start my analysis with questioning Sir Alex’s team selection. He must have had an idea that Barca would have fielded this tactic, as they have done in almost all of the games this season, so one thing you will want to avoid, is being out numbered in midfield. Yet that is exactly what happened. Giggs and Anderson were often far too far away from Carrick, leaving him isolated, and as a result, he ended up giving the ball away almost as soon as he got it. Surely Scholes would have been a better bet.

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Champions League Trophy

So we come to it at last, the Great Game of Our Time.

Or something like that. The Champions League final marks the finale and the pinnacle of European (and World) Football. And what a game it’s shaping up to be this year!

Whilst I felt sympathy for Chelsea when they were knocked out by Barcelona a couple of weeks ago, I’ve always felt that this fixture would offer the better proposition for the neutral fan.

Sadly time dictates that I can’t offer a full preview of the game (you can get one here) as my dinner is imminent, but suffice to say I can’t wait to see it, even though it requires me to be up at 4am!

My prediction: Man Utd. 3-2 in an enthralling game.

Alan Shearer

So, after 740 games, 66600 frenetic minutes and 919 goals (not to mention 10 managerial changes) the Premiership will finally reach it’s thrilling conclusion on Sunday. Much has been made over the last few years of the apparent lack of excitement of the Premiership as the Big Four fight an exclusive battle for supremacy, but this season has shown why England can be proud of the Greatest League in the World.

While Liverpool ultimately failed, they pushed Manchester United all the way this season and will be confident of making that extra step next season.

But although the race for the title has been wonderfully entertaining, the final day is all about the bottom of the table in what has become a most extraordinary scrap.

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Andrew Symonds

Chapter 1.

I’ve been “behind enemy lines” for 2 years now, but only now is it starting to get dangerous. If I had followed my original life plan, I would have timed it nicely to return to England in time for the 2009 Ashes. But then when I made that plan, I didn’t envisage Australia being this much fun! So instead I must prepare myself for the constant banter and ribbing that will no doubt come my way should Australia win this Ashes series. But I’m not complaining, it didn’t rain today.

To business then. You’ve probably all read that Australia have selected their Ashes squad for the trip to England, and there were certainly some surprises. The biggest shock was no doubt the omission of big-hitting all-rounder Andrew Symonds. It seems that the Australian selectors have had enough of his errant ways and lack of commitment and it is now difficult to see a way back for him. I have always been of the opinion that he is slightly over-rated anyway (with Shane Watson being the better player in my book) so, in a twisted kind of way, I thought it was a shame that he wasn’t selected.

The Australian public seem divided on the topic, with most merely questioning the selection of all-rounder Andrew McDonald. I think the fact that the selectors didn’t pick Roy is more about making a statement then anything else.

So what do the Aussies have in store for us?

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Bopara and Cook rack up the runs

So England continue their build up to the Ashes series with an excellent start against a very lackluster West Indies. It is encouraging that we are scoring runs again, and although the Windies are among the weaker sides in Test Cricket these days, you can only beat the opposition put in front of you.

It appears England have finally found a solution to the problematic number 3 batting position. I’ve blogged before about the options available at number 3, but I must admit I got this one wrong. I never saw Bopara as a potential number 3, more an alternative Collingwood if anything, but you can’t argue with 3 successive hundreds in that position. True, he doesn’t have the air of a world class number 3, but he certainly has the potential to grow into one. His future in that role will no doubt be decided by his performance in this year’s Ashes series. With his place now cemented, he will be keen to test himself against the best. Read More

Mike Blair

Scotland captain Mike Blair has been added to the Lions squad today to replace the injured Tomas O’Leary. It was an obvious choice really (and one I predicted earlier, ahem ahem), and he will provide excellent competition to Phillips and Ellis for the test number 9 shirt. He is certainly a standout player for Scotland, and I was surprised when he wasn’t included in the original party.

A replacement is also soon to be announced for the injured Tom Shanklin, with Gordon D’Arcy and Mike Tindall among the favorites to be named. As I’ve said before, with Lions squads you always have to think about the teams within a team, and for this reason I would favour Gordon D’Arcy (to partner Brian O’Driscoll).

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Didier Drogba rages at the referee.

It’s been a night of high emotions at Stamford Bridge, where Bracelona scraped through to the Champions League Final on away goals.

I really feel for the Chelsea players and fans, because it is such a frustrating way to go out of the competition. Despite dominating the tie they failed to kill the game off, and Barcelona scored with their only shot on goal (albeit a pretty spectacular one).

Rather then the two exceptional goals that were scored, what will be remembered from this game, are the ugly scenes that followed the final whistle, with Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack leading the Chelsea players in a verbal attack on referee Tom Ovrebo. Whilst such behavior is unprofessional and will warrant deserved punishment from UEFA, you can’t help but feel for them.

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