Olympics

With no football currently it has been very easy to be drawn into watching the 2008 Olympic Games. It seems to be on all the time and just about everywhere you look there is something about the Olympics. So far in the Olympics there has been a heavy focus on the swimming events and there seems to be so many heats, finals and events in the pool you get lost with what’s going on.

It’s hard to ignore the fact that Michael Phelps is cleaning up big style as far as swimming goes. He is already considered the greatest Olympic athlete, swimmer and man in the history of the Olympic Games. I am just incredibly happy and feel extremely privileged that I was alive during his prime. The man must have fish DNA. No. Shark DNA. He is a monster in the pool and I won’t be surprised if he wins all the medals he has entered in for (eight; five won so far).

The British have done pretty well in the pool and it’s good to see that most of the swimmers we have are very young ranging from 17 to 20 years of age. So we have a good future ahead of us for the London 2012 Olympics. Although the men pretty much have no chance if Phelps is still swimming in 2012 which you imagine he will be.

I’ve also been fascinated with the table tennis; hockey and today the beach volley ball grabbed my attention. The game I was watching happened to be Russia versus Georgia, both countries I wouldn’t expect to be particularly good at the sport. How many beaches do Russia and Georgia have? Anyway Georgia were getting hammered in the first set but came back and beat the Russians which seems slightly fitting when you consider what’s happening between the two countries at the moment.

So far the games have been fantastic and with track and field events set to begin on Friday the Olympics will get a lot, a lot better.

Premiership Season 08/09

Supporting Manchester United whenever the season starts you always predict that the title is going to end up in Manchester at the end of the season. We’ve been so lucky over the years that you would be silly not to predict anything but the Premiership crown come May 2009. This time last season it was the same story and thankfully May 2008 was a very good month for everyone involved with Manchester United. Where do the challengers come from? The same ones as usual but Arsenal and Liverpool can’t win the title (I may regret saying that). It’s mainly between United and Chelsea, if United were to sign a top class centre forward it’d be more straight forward, but they won’t so it’ll be very interesting.

Elsewhere the relegation battle doesn’t appear to be as interesting as usual because the three teams that came up look the most likely to drop back down again. Out of the three of them West Brom have the best chance but even then losing players like Gera and Phillips will be a big blow and they could yoyo back to the Championship like so many others. Above them expect to see the likes of Wigan and Bolton because they are the two others who could face a long old season.

Sunderland and Fulham have spent the most it seems and they could both have good seasons if they can keep the key players fit. Teams like Newcastle and Middlesbrough will never really be in serious trouble because they both have goal scorers and Boro are usually very solid at the back. Everyone is predicting as usual that Everton as usual will finish 5th however this could be the season where the toffees struggle. So far not signing any players and selling Andy Johnson could result in a lowly finish for the blue half of Merseyside.

Aston Villa could push for that 5th spot if they can get a proven goal scorer and another option in midfield. Tottenham will fancy themselves to get a top 6 finish however if they don’t sign another forward then it could be a different story. They are also quite dodgy at the back with the likes of King and Woodgate both very injury prone. Then the full backs Bale and Hutton both prefer attacking than defending, however the midfield looks very promising with Jenas, Modric, Bentley, Lennon, Dos Santos, Huddlestone and Zokora.

Other sides like West Ham, Hull, Stoke, Blackburn and Manchester City (let's fucking hope so) will probably have quite miserable seasons but Portsmouth are very likely to get a top 6 finish with the strike force of Crouch and Defoe. Domestically the League Cup could end up with a team outside the top four again (Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Newcastle all come to mind). However the FA Cup will DEFINITELY end up with a top four side, hopefully Manchester United. Eight excruciating days remain; pre season football is really getting to me.

Formula One

On Sunday afternoon I spent a few hours watching a whole grand prix race, something I have never done before. I’ve always seen Formula 1 as a pretty dull sport really and only ever have watched highlights here and there. In the days where Michael Schumacher dominated the Championships I do honestly believe it was pretty dull. To watch a guy win race after race, title after title was slightly boring, especially when the sport itself can be at times boring.

In those years that Schumacher was dominating there wasn’t really any challengers either that could really take over from him. Y’know like when Chelsea spent 500 million on players and Arsene Wenger arrived to turn Arsenal around to challenge Manchester United. There was none of that during the Schumacher era really, however it’s in current climate there are so many drivers who have the ability to win the Championship, but at the same time lose it. Last season was one of the most exciting in history as only two points separated the top three drivers. In the end Ferrari’s Finish ice man Kimi Raikkonen wan the drivers Championship with Lewis Hamilton second and Spaniard Fernando Alonso on third.

This season the race is as close, as exciting and of course as unpredictable as ever and Lewis Hamilton is still leading the charge for the drivers Championship. Eleven races in Lewis Hamilton leads the table but only by a mere 5 points over last year’s winner Raikkonen and 3 points behind him is fellow Ferrari Felipe Massa. Seven races remain in the race for the biggest price in motor racing and Lewis Hamilton will be pushed all the way by the two Ferrari’s I’m sure. Many questioned whether last year’s success for Hamilton would be a one off but he has come back this year as strong as last year.

Winning races so far in Australia, Monaco, Germany and the Silverstone track in Northamptonshire, Great Britain. However Lewis will have to keep it up because in Massa and Raikkonen he is up against a very fast Ferrari car. Lewis Hamilton’s arrival and drivers such as Massa, Raikkonen, Alonso and Kovalainen have made F1 exciting again. I really hope Lewis does the business this year and secures the F1 Championship. 1996 was the year Damon Hill won the F1 Championship, the last from Great Britain and it’s about time we had a new British motor racing hero.

Summer Transfers

2008 has been slow for transfer activity mainly because of the European Champions however transfer activity in the Premiership is now in full swing. Sunderland has one of the most active so far signing Spurs trio Taino, Chimbonda and Malbranque along ex Liverpool and Bolton forward Diouf. Roy Keane certainly has signalled his intent for the new season not to just stay up but to get a high table position.

The big four have been fairly quiet especially Manchester United and Arsenal who haven’t really splashed out with United not signing anyone so far. Arsenal have signed young starlet Samir Nasri but have sold Hleb, Gilberto Silva, Flamini and Lehmann. Chelsea have splashed out on Portuguese duo Deco and Boswinga and let the likes of Steve Sidwell and Ben Haim leave. Liverpool has made the biggest signing so far purchasing Robbie Keane for £19million and are still trying to get Gareth Barry for a similar price. They have recouped some of the money though by selling the likes of Crouch to Portsmouth and Riise to Roma.

Teams like Aston Villa, Everton and Manchester City have yet to really set the transfer window on fire. City did sign Brazilian Jo with Villa buying Chelsea’s Steve Sidwell and Blackburn’s veteran keeper Brad Friedel however you expect all three to bring in plenty of talent. Fulham have quietly been making several acquisitions including Andy Johnson (£12 million), West Ham pair Bobby Zamora and John Paintsill, Swede Fredrik Stoor along with free transfers Zoltan Gera and Mark Schwarzer.

Tottenham have probably been the most active signing the likes of Dos Santos, Bentley, Modric and Gomes. With the likes of Milito and Arshavin both expected to be Spurs players sooner rather than later. However Spurs have sold a lot of players with the likes of Gardner, Taino, Malbranque, Kaboul, Keane, Chimbonda, Robinson all departing and Berbatov is expected next too.

Newcomers Stoke, West Brom and Hull have all been fairly active in the market. Stoke City have made Dave Kitson their transfer record and have also signed experience Danish keeper Thomas Sorenson. West Brom meanwhile has signed Scott Carson and Gianni Zuiverloon and Hull have brought in George Boateng, Giovanni, Bernard Mendy and Anthony Gardner.

Elsewhere Newcastle and Middlesbrough have all been fairly quiet only making a couple of signings each. Wigan has made a fair few signings including former Birmingham duo Kapo and De Ridder. I expect so much more activity over the next 4 weeks with the transfer deadline looming on August 31st.

Wimbledon

As much as I like tennis I couldn’t say I was an avid watcher of it, in fact the only time I really take an interest is when Wimbledon is on. Obviously I am aware of the other three Grand Slams but because of the time difference of two of them and the lack of coverage of the French Open usually I tend not to watch any of them. Wimbledon on the other hand I usually get quite excited about and will watch a lot of the matches (if I am not working, which I am currently not). There is something about Wimbledon which sets it apart from any other tennis tournament and every year all tennis players look out for Wimbledon. I'm not suggesting it's a better tournament than the US or Australian however it is different and has something quite special about it the other three don't appear to have.

All the talk in this country at least has been about Murray and on Monday night he provided one of the great Wimbledon comebacks coming from two sets down to win 3-2 against world number 8 Gasquet. Unfortunately for Murray the quarter-final opponent that stood in his way was one Rafael Nadal who is at the moment the best player on tour and is tipped to finally win the Wimbledon title that Roger Federer has dominated for several years gone by.

You can help but not like Nadal who comes across off court as a genuine guy and on court he is a master with a tennis racket. My money is on him to win the tournament because I seriously don’t want Roger winning another. The final looks like it will be a repeat of last year and a repeat of the French open final with number one and reigning champion Roger Federer against hotly tipped and 5 time French Open Champion Nadal.

In the Women’s draw the final looks like it will be an all American all Williams final. Venus Williams is currently destroying number 5 seed Dementieva and her sister Serena faces the un-seeded Chinese Zheng. Who despite knocking out some big seeds will surely not be able to beat the power of Serena Williams? So for the Williams family another final for the two sisters’ beckons, the question is who will the Williams family support?

Euro 2008

To begin with I tipped a Portugal versus Spain final so I got one of the final participants correct. The Germans managed to claw their way through to the final playing some really bad football and not performing like some of the better teams in the tournament (Holland and Russia come to mind). However this is the way of the Germans, but in the final Spain was just too much for them.

Many pundits were calling Spain’s victory over Germany a victory for football because the way the Germans played and the way the Spanish played for the whole tournament. Previously the Spanish knocked out the Russians and before that the Italians on penalties. The win against the Italians was a win for football because the way they set up to play football. I was pretty disappointed with Italy and France in this tournament and I think both nations need to have a look at some of the other sides in the tournament and take note of how they play football.

The best game I watched was between Russia and the Dutch because both teams played fluent football. Quick passing, clever movement, one touch stuff and a real pleasure to watch but I never expected the Russians to be victorious. From the other side of the tournament Croatia disappointed against Turkey and I think had they got past Turkey they could’ve beaten Germany to get the final. However you have to give credit to Turkey for the way they kept coming back in games (Switzerland, Czech Republic, Croatia and almost Germany).

Turkey was the surprise package of the tournament and they never stopped believing which is a great trait to have. The Dutch were playing the best football to begin with but the old cliche "peaked too soon" came out of the closet and proved right in the end. Croatia and Portugal both had their moments but the two winners of the tournament have to be firstly of course Spain. But Guus Hiddink and his Russia side will have made the whole of the World take notice of them. This year's European Championships have provided a great month of June for football and definitely have been one of the better Championships of recent years.

Team of the tournament:

Iker Casillas (Spain)
Phillip Lahm (Germany)
Carlos Puyol (Spain)
Pepe (Portgual)
Sergio Ramos (Spain)
Wesley Sneijder (Holland)
Xavi (Spain)
Andrei Arshavin (Russia)
Lukas Podolski (Germany)
David Villa (Spain)
Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia)

Manager: Guus Hiddink (Russia)

Euro 2008: The Story So Far

The group stages are over and there has been some really great football along with some really dire stuff (Romania vs France springs to mind). There have been shocks along the way and there has been some pretty routine results as well but thankfully there has been shocks than we’d all hoped.

In Group A Portugal did what was expected of them and qualified as winners of the group but the game of the group was between Turkey and Czech Republic. The Czech’s were 2-0 up with 25 minutes to go but thanks to a couple of great finishes and Petr Cech’s costly mistake won the game 3-2 to go through to the quarter finals.

Croatia did what I knew they could and qualify, I said all along they were the dark horses for the tournament and they won all three games including a great 2-1 victory of Germany. Elsewhere Poland and Austria were disappointing and Germany despite faltering against Croatia qualified in second place.

Group C in the end turned out to be the most interesting of all the groups, before the tournament you would’ve expected Italy and France to both qualify considering they were both in the World Cup Final just 2 years ago. But no France failed to win a game and only scored 1 goal, Italy also struggled and got through with the skin of their teeth (like they always do).

But the story of the group and of the tournament has been the Dutch who have been on fire scoring 9 goals in 3 games and only conceding the one goal against France. Demolishing the World Champions 3-0 and disposing of the World Cup finalists of 2006 4-1 is impressive. However it doesn’t stop there because with their so called second string they finished off a Romania side that needed a victory to go through.

Group D saw Spain qualify for the quarter finals with some stand out performances from forwards David Villa and Fernando Torres. Meanwhile holders Greece crashed out miserably and the final game between Sweden and Russia was the crunch second place qualifying game. Sweden are an aging team with the likes of Ljungberg, Larsson, Mellberg and so on where as the Russians are on the up and play football quite sensationally. The result Russia out playing, out doing and most importantly out scoring the Swedes and won 2-0 to get through to the quarter finals for the first time in their history.

NBA Finals

This year is the first year I’ve actually taken an interest in the NBA properly, in years gone by I’ve always seen basketball as a sport not really exciting. However this year the NBA has gripped me especially when the playoffs started and I’m glad I am now a basketball and NBA fan. The NBA is made up of the Eastern and Western Conference and after a long, long season the winners of the East face the winners of the West over 7 games. This season pitted the Western Champions the LA Lakers against the Eastern Champions the Boston Celtics.

Before the first game the talk was that the Lakers could win the trophy 4-0 so with this being the talk I opted to support the Celtics (the underdogs). Boston won the first two games and the Lakers won the third game in the 7 game series but game 4 was won by the Celtics and is considered the turning point as it was in Los Angeles.

Going into Game 6 the Celtics were 3-2 up and just needed one victory to secure their 17th NBA Championship, the first in over 20 years. The game was at Boston and the home crowd along with the home players were really up for the game and did not want to take it to that game 7.

In my short time of watching basketball this game provided fans with one of the best performances both offensively and defensively. When you remember the Lakers are considered one of the best sides in the history of the NBA the Celtics destroyed them beating them by almost 40 points. Paul Pierce picked up the MVP for the series but it was the whole Celtics roster which won them the NBA Championship.

Rondo a 22 year-old heavily criticised point guard was exceptional in game 6 scoring over 20 points, coming up with 6/7 assists and most impressively stealing on 6 occasions. Then there are players like James Posey, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett who on the night were on fire. But over the series the bench players like Cassell, House, Brown, Kendrick and Leon Powe were just as impressive. And a special mention to the Celtics coach Doc Rivers who provided the inspiration for every player on the floor to go out and become a Celtics legend.

The Celtics played a perfect series and have turned me into a big fan of basketball and the Boston Celtics.

Euro 2008: Top Ten

Fernando Torres
My prediction for top goal scorer in the competition, has had a great first season with Liverpool. Certainly has lived up to the 25 million Liverpool splashed out on him last summer and the Spanish will be hoping he can continue his great form into this tournament to help Spain lift the trophy.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Will surely pick up World player of the year when the awards are handed out, after already collecting every individual trophy in England Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the world at the moment. There is a lot of hope and pressure on the winger to perform but if anyone can deal with the pressure it’s the boy from Madeira.

Luka Modric
Recent signing for Spurs the tricky centre-midfielder will be involved in every good the Croatians do. He can dribble, pass, shoot, score, cross – heck he can do just about everything and is only 22 years old. Big things are expected in the future for this boy and I think he’ll show his potential throughout this month.

Frank Ribery
The first of three Bayern Munich players Frank Ribery has a heavy burden on his shoulders after being compared to the great Zidane. He will have to create for the French along with score goals from midfield, but he has the ability to do both and I think he will have a good tournament.

Philipp Lahm
The only defender in the list Lahm plays more like a full-back come winger, expect him to bomb forward at every opportunity and don’t be surprised if he comes up with a goal or two during this tournament.

Luca Toni
Powerful and strong are two words which epitomise the Italian forward who plays his trade at recent German champions Bayern Munich. He can score goals, hold up the ball for players and create problems on set-pieces. Defenders will find him a handful and the Italians adore him for his passion for the Azzuri.
Wesley Sneijder
Real Madrid midfielder Sneijder is the cream of the Dutch crop and I think he will have a good tournament for ‘Oranje’. His vision on the ball and ability to score from anywhere means he is a real threat at all times and opposition players will have to track him carefully.

Petr Cech
Familiar to fans of the Premiership, without a doubt he is the best goalkeeper in the world and the Czech Republic are going to need him to be on his best form if they are going to progress in this tournament.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic
A forward who has power, great technique and a world-class first touch Sweden will be relying on Zlatan to hold the ball up, find other players and of course score them goals. He always turns it on at major competitions and I expect him to come good for the Swedes this summer.

Andrei Arshavin
I almost didn’t put the silky playmaker in this top ten because he is going to be suspended for the first two games. However if Russia make it through the group stages then he is going to be fresher than anyone else and could cause real problems opening up defences with his vision.

Euro 2008 Guide (Part Four)

Group D

Greece

Four years ago today had you walked into a bookies and placed a bet on Greece to win you would’ve been laughed all the way home. But you would get the last laugh when you collected your money when Greece won the European Championships. However lighting will not strike twice and Greece will NOT win it again and I am not even sure they will get out of their group when you look at their opponents. Greece does have in Otto Rehhagel an experienced German manager who knows how to win matches. They also have some experienced footballers with the likes of Stelios (74 caps), Basinas (88 caps), Karagounis (74 caps) all from midfield. Up front Charisteas will be Greece’s goal hope and in goal Nikopolidis has 87 caps to his name. This Greece will be no pushovers but you just cannot see a repeat of 2004.

Russia

Guus Hiddink is one of the best managers at international level around at the moment; he took an unheard of South Korea side to the semi-finals in 2002 as well Holland to the same stage four years earlier. This Russian side is brimming with talent, silky football and great football brains. Zenit St. Petersburg showed the whole of Europe recently what a great side they are and expect them to be playing great football in the Champions League final next year. I would’ve put money on them qualifying from this group before I heard the news that influential playmaker and Captain Andrei Arshavin will be suspended for the first two games. He will only face Sweden in the last game when it could be too late for Russia to qualify.

Spain

There is a lot of pressure on Spain to finally come good in a major tournament and there is a lot of hope of the Spanish people to finally bring home a major trophy. Many critics, pundits, neutral supporters and even Jose Mourinho are suggesting that this year could be the year for Spain. When you have a the side which contains Fabregas, Torres, Ramos, Xavi, Silva, Villa, Puyol, Casillas, Xabi Alonso you have to quietly confident. But every time a big tournament comes around Spain have a side full of quality players but it doesn’t always mean they perform. I hope they do this year because they are easily the best side in terms of talent and flair this summer.

Sweden

Not many pundits are tipping Sweden for much success, but I think you would be a fool to write them off. I saw one critic who suggested they would finish bottom of their group, I’d be very surprised if this happened and I expect them to finish second in this group. In attack the Swedes have countless amount of goal scorers (Ibrahimovic, Elmander, Allback and of course the great Henrik Larsson). At the back Isaksson, Mellberg and Nilsson are capable of stopping world class players and in midfield the flair will come from Ljungberg, Svensson Kallstrom and Wilhelmsson. Sweden have goal scorers, solid defence, experience and creativity – all the attributes you need to be a force in major tournaments.

Euro 2008 Guide (Part Three)

Group C

France

Group C to me is the most intriguing and most interesting group because it involves three “big teams” and Romania who will consider themselves in the group of death. France who reached the 2006 World Cup final is not the winning side of 1998 and 8 years ago in 2000. Zidane, Blanc, Barthez, Deschamp, Lizarazu, Thuram, Petit and Desailly all at their peak the French were unstoppable. However today it’s a different story for the French who will rely on a new generation of stars that are not a shade on the sides of 1998 and 2000. Despite the French downfall I expect them to be strong and get past the group stages, how can you bet against a side with the likes of Henry, Sagnol, Abidal, Ribery, Nasri, and Benzema and so on?

Holland

Holland are the team everybody loves to watch and over the past 20 years have had generated some of the world’s best players. Cruyff, Van Basten, Seedorf, Bergkamp, Overmars, De Boer, Davids and the list goes on. Unfortunately for the men in Orange Holland are the “nearly” men listed alongside Spain. Could this be the year of the ‘Oranje’? Holland DO have the players to mount a serious challenge when you consider the likes of Robben, Van Der Vaart, Van Nistelrooy, Sneijder, Van Persie and experienced goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar. However it’s in defence I worry about the Dutch side, no longer are the days of De Boer, Stam or Reiziger, Numan, Bogarde. I hope for the neutrals amongst us that Holland get into gear this summer and show the world what beautiful football they can play.

Italy

The reigning World Champions will really fancy themselves this summer despite losing influential captain Fabio Cannavaro. I think the loss of the Real Madrid star will prove very costly for the Italians especially in the latter stages of the competition however I do expect them to get through this group and get to the semi-finals at least. When you have players such as Toni, Gattuso, Pirlo, Buffon, Zambrotta, Del Piero, De Rossi, Perrota etc you have to be considered one of the favourites to win the tournament. Despite the talent contained by the Azzuri I think this year they will struggle to A) score enough goals and B) keep them out without Cannavaro; their rock at the back.

Romania

Poor old Romania who has been given the group of death and no one in their right mind will fancy them to beat any of the above. If this group goes on paper Romania will sit at the bottom of the group in a couple of weeks with no points. Are critics being too harsh on the Romanians? No way. When you get put in a group with the World Champions and the runners-up of that very competition alongside the very talented Dutch side you have to be realistic and state the facts. I hope the Romanians prove everyone wrong and really show the three big sides in their group that they are no pushovers. If this is going to happen they need very BIG performances from the two centre-backs Chivu and Contra along with world class showing from controversial striker Adrian Mutu.

Euro 2008 Guide (Part Two)

Group A

Czech Republic

Not the team they once was when Pavel Nedved, Patrick Berger and Karel Poborsky were all pulling the strings. Along with a much younger Koller and an in form Baros the Czech team had all the ingredients for a fantastic side. However now Nedved, Berger and Poborsky have all gone and with influential midfielder Rosicky missing too you have to wonder how far they can go in this competition. However they will still fancy themselves to beat Switzerland and Turkey from their group and with Petr Cech in goal they have the best keeper in the world. At the back they are solid too; key players Grygera, Jankulovski and Ujfalusi have 176 caps between them.

Portugal

Phil Scolari has a knack of doing well with teams he takes to big finals like this one. Four years ago he took this Portugal side to the final and should’ve won against Greece in the final, this year he and his side will be looking to go one step further. Everyone will be focusing on Ronaldo but the Portugal squad is brimming with flamboyant players like Simao, Nani, Quaresma, Moutinho and Deco. They aren’t short of experience at the back either with Ricardo (goalkeeper, 75 caps), Miguel (47 caps), Paulo Ferreria (47 caps), Ricardo Carvalho (43 caps), Fernando Meira (49 caps). All over the pitch Portugal have talent, which is why this year could just be their year.

Switzerland

The co-hosts will not expect to finish top of this group or even second however as the old cliché goes “football’s a funny old game”. Not that funny though. Alexander Frei is the man up top for the Swiss with 35 goals to his name with Hakan Yakin in midfield the creative star. At the back the Swiss are experienced and hard to break down at times with the likes of Muller, Magnin, Spycher and new Liverpool signing Philipp Degan adding much protection to their goal. Protection is something they are definitely going to need when the likes of Ronaldo, Koller, Nihat, Deco, Tuncay, Baros etc are going at them.

Turkey

I am torn whether the Turkish team will finish above the Czech’s in this group; I think it will depend on how key players perform. Former Newcastle midfielder Emre being one of the players who needs to show why he is highly rated on the International scene. Nihat up front will score the goals in the Turkish side along with Tuncay who plays his trade for Middlesbrough in the Premiership. Captain of the side is experienced infamous goalkeeper Rustu Recber who is an experienced character. The problem with Turkey is that they don’t have enough goal scorers or flair players to really mount an attack on the European Championship trophy. Having said that they are hard to beat and on their day can cause problems for many sides across Europe.

Euro 2008 Guide (Part One)

Group B

Austria

There is no CHANCE in hell that Austria will win the tournament and if you’re being totally honest Austria did only qualify because they are hosting it along with Switzerland. They are in an interesting group with Germany, Croatia and Poland so I don’t expect them to even get out of their group. You’d expect both Germany and Croatia to beat them and even Poland will fancy their chances against the hosts. To win matches in International tournaments you need a strong defence, influential midfield and forwards who will score. Austria only has one of these qualities, therefore have no chance.

Croatia

Had Eduardo not suffered one of the most horrible injuries you’ve ever seen a few months ago I’d fancy Croatia to have gone very far. Unfortunately for them and the neutrals Eduardo is missing from the tournament however they have many other talented players such as Modric, Petric, Kranjcar, Srna and of course the two Kovac brothers Robert and Niko the captain. Croatia are my dark horses but if they finish second in the group and Portugal wins their group (which you expect they will) the two will meet in the next round. Against Portugal you just can’t see Croatia A) scoring and B) keeping a clean sheet. Never the less it should be interesting to see if Croatia can prove me and the critics’ wrong, if anyone can it’s the Croatians.

Germany

We all know about the Germans in International football competitions, they are brilliant and performing in the big tournaments and I expect them to turn up in June. They have forwards who can score serious goals and don’t be surprised if the top scorer from the competition is a German when you have Klose (39 goals), Podolski (25 goals), Kuranyi (19 goals) up and coming 22 year forward Mario Gomez who has 6 goals in 10 games. Defensively the Germans are strong too with centre backs Mertesacker and Metzelder along with the impressive full back Philipp Lahm. However apart from Ballack the midfield is not looking as strong as it once did, the same goes with the goalkeeper position which will suffer without German legend Oliver Kahn. Either way expect Germany to be around the semi-final places because they are so good in knock out competitions.

Poland

Can’t say I know much about the Polish team but what I do know is that all three of their goalkeepers play their trade on the British Isles. I don’t expect Poland to qualify from this group when you consider how strong Germany and Croatia will be in their group. I suppose stranger things have happened in these tournaments (Greece winning it four years ago comes straight to mind). I am sure Poland will have a strong following from this country and also that the commentators will have great fun in trying to pronounce the names of almost every player.

Euro 2008 Preview

So England are not in the tournament; big fucking deal. I for one am glad England are not in the competition because the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Wes Brown, Owen Hargreaves, Michael Carrick will all get the summer off. I’m not a big follower of England for reasons I will not delve into. Anyway I love International tournaments like Copa America, European Championships and of course the World Cup.

The BBC and many tabloid newspapers have been voicing their “Who Will You Support?” campaign in a plea to get more people interested. I said from day one I was going to support Portugal and I stand by that because I love big Phil Scolari, Ronaldo, Nani, Veluso, Quaresma, Mouintho, Pepe, Ricardo – fuck it the whole team (I may become Portuguese just because I love Nando’s so much as well).

I suspect the usual suspects to be challenging for the crown the likes of Italy, Germany and France. Many are suggesting it could be the year of Spain when you look at the talent they have in Torres, Silva, Villa, Fabregas, Puyol etc. Could it be the year of Croatia? I like their team spirit and have many really good passers of the ball. Undoubtedly they will miss their main scorer Eduardo, just like Italy and France will miss their captains Cannavaro and Vieira respectively.

Through a lengthy working out going through every fixture I have come to the conclusion that Portugal will knock out Germany in the Semi-Finals to face Spain who will knock out France in the Semi-Finals. To get a final of Portugal against Spain, which I think is the final we all want to see, probably the two best attacking sides in the competition against each other. Who would win out of those two? I think it could come down to penalties, and then my money would be on lucky Ronaldo and Portugal.

Champions League Final

For the neutral the Champions League final had just about everything; not just blood, sweat and tears but penalties, drama, a red card and much more. However for a non-neutral the game was horrific to watch although if you are a Manchester United fan the result was obviously pleasing. Thankfully I support the boys in Red and could not wait for this match but when it finally arrived I was shaking nervously.

When we last won the European Cup I was only 11 therefore did not realise the seriousness of the trophy and I also did not partake in much football banter. When Ole scored that goal I cried with tears of joy and phoned my Nan who said she jumped out of her wheelchair for the first time in years. She is sadly not with us anymore but she would’ve been over the moon with the result on Wednesday night.

First half we played some of our best football with Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez all combining to great aplomb. Really United should’ve easily had the ball in Petr Cech’s net 3 times but alas we didn’t and Frank Lampard scored a lucky goal just before the stroke of half time. Which changed the course of the game and second half Chelsea were on top and we defended for our lives like we have done many times this season (Barcelona home and way both come to mind). Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have become heroes like the days of Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister and Patrice Evra is certainly on his way to becoming a United legend much like previous left-back Dennis Irwin.

Penalties are cruel. However it is the only fair way to decide the game (easy for me to say with the European Cup sitting comfortably at Old Trafford). When our player of the season missed I thought it was all over but you know with United that we never give up. Nani scored a vital spot kick which put all the pressure on John Terry to score; but he couldn’t do it. “Mr. Chelsea” failed to put the ball in the net and Ryan Giggs scored United’s winning spot kick with ex Liverpool and Man City forward Nicolas Anelka missing the all important penalty. Thank you John Terry, thank you Nicolas Anelka and most of all thank you Edwin Van Der Sar.

Cue mad celebrations, singing on the streets, running up and down the street waving my George Best no. 7 retro United shirt in the air. I cannot believe how a game of football can take you through so many emotions, but for United fans the feeling at the end beats any feeling in the world. Wednesday May 21st is a day I will never forget till’ the day I die.

Yearly Awards

Team of the year: David James (Portsmouth), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal)

Best Newcomer: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

Best Signing: Carlos Tevez (Manchester United)

Young Player of the Year: Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Manager of the Year: Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)

Premier League: Season Review

Kevin Keegan claims the Premiership is boring but this season has probably been the best season since the beginning. The title went down to the wire and could’ve been won on goal difference but also this season saw a three way title race. As a Manchester United supporter the start of the season was bleak we didn’t win our first three games taking only two points from a possible nine not too mention a defeat to City. Ronaldo was sent off in the third game of that run and was suspended for three games; Wayne Rooney picked up yet another foot injury.

However in the end thanks to some great experience from players like Scholes, Giggs and Van Der Sar. Along with some of the best defending ever witnessed from a back four of Brown, Evra, Vidic and hopefully future captain Rio Ferdinand. Then there was that man from Portugal who was sensational scoring 41 goals in total with one huge game to go. Manchester United deserves to be Champions for the way they play football in comparison to Chelsea’s successful but boring style of football.

Down the bottom it looked for a long time Bolton and Fulham would join Derby County however thanks to some great form at the right time the two sides managed to escape relegation. Reading and Birmingham being the teams, who suffered, Birmingham I expect to be back pretty soon but Reading it could take a bit longer.

Martin O’Neill has done a fantastic job at Aston Villa with a very small squad and without spending too much money. What is great about Aston Villa is the English spine running through the squad with the likes of Young, Barry, Carson, Davies, Gardner, Reo-Coker and Agbonlahor. Next season with a few additions expect Aston Villa to challenge Everton and Liverpool for the 4th and 5th spots.

Tottenham, Newcastle and West Ham all under performed considering the money the three spent last summer however I expect Tottenham out of the three to mount a serious challenge on the top 5 next season. Newcastle with the right signings may get close to a UEFA spot but West Ham could see another mid-table finish next season.

Final Day Drama

Sir Alex Ferguson said at the beginning of the season that the title would go down to the wire and the Scot was right. Throughout the season the battle seemed to between Manchester United and Arsenal, however Chelsea have been battling away each game securing victories and they are still in for a shout of winning the title.

My opinion is that they don’t deserve the title over United, however if they do win the League title it will be down to United giving it to them. If we cannot beat Wigan then quite frankly we do not deserve the Premiership crown. It does appear (fingers AND toes crossed) that we will win the Championship on goal difference, which says everything about how we play football and how Chelsea play football. We try to score goals where as Chelsea get a goal and defend the lead much like the Italians are famous for.

Down the bottom it is very interesting three weeks ago I said to a friend the bottom three would definitely be Derby, Bolton and Fulham and now it appears only one of them will go down. Derby were doomed from the off really, and have been playing for next season for a very long time. The other two places could be filled by Birmingham, Reading, Fulham or Bolton (though that would be requiring some miracle). So it appears that Birmingham, Fulham or Reading will occupy the last two relegation places. Birmingham and Reading have the two easier fixtures with the Blues at home to Blackburn and the Royals away to already relegated and hopeless Derby County. Where as Fulham face a tricky match at Fratton Park against Pompey. Saying that many of the Portsmouth player’s minds could be on the FA Cup the week later so it could give Fulham the perfect opportunity to seal a rare away victory down on the South Coast.

What will happen? My heart says United will win the title but for some strange reason my head says there will be a horrible huge twist that will haunt me forever. Down the bottom I think Fulham have the momentum and they also have it in their own hands unlike Reading and Birmingham therefore my money is on the Cottagers to survive.

The Championship

This weekend is a big for the Championship with almost every match meaning something, with only thing decided is that Scunthorpe and Colchester will definitely go down it is a big day on Sunday for all those involved. Probably the biggest game is at the Britannia Stadium between Stoke City and Leicester City. If Leicester City win the game it will guarantee them survival however anything else will have them very nervy about the game between Southampton and Sheffield United. Stoke City need a point to clinch their promotion to the Premiership, so the game at the Britannia has a lot on it.

That’s not it though, two play-off places are up for grabs and five sides (Watford, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton, Ipswich and Sheffield United) are chasing the final two places. Ipswich and Sheffield United must be considered outsiders because they both require wins to get into the play-offs and have to hope the teams above them drop points. Sheffield United face a Southampton side requiring a win to have any chance of survival and Ipswich face third place Hull who have secured their play-off place and only a miracle would see them catch Stoke City in second.

Down the bottom five teams could still be relegated into the last place but Southampton and Leicester look the most likely however Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry and Blackpool all require points in their games to secure Championship status. A lot has been said about the Premiership this season; however the Championship has had its best season in terms of entertainment. Potentially a team who gets 53 points could be relegated and West Brom could win the division with 78 points. Only a 25 point gap between relegation to League 1 and promotion to the Premiership, this says a lot about how competitive the division really is.