The FC 100: Loves Talking Football.

Due to being very busy and important thefc100 is on a small break and will return soon…..

Chelsea meet Tottenham at Wembley today as Juande Ramos and Avram Grant look to earn their first trophy for their respective clubs.
Chelsea are most people’s favourites, however Ramos has a terrific record in cup finals having won the last two UEFA Cups with Sevilla, while Grant has yet to experience that level of pressure in a cup final.
The big debate surrounds whether or not John Terry will start the game. As club captain it would be expected that he would, however Avram Grant has done nothing to quell the rumours of Alex patnering Carvalho at the back for the Blues.
For Spurs, Ledley King is desperate to be fit however his lack of match practise may count against him.
Spurs’ defence is the big question-mark on their chances of winning the cup with Didier Drogba having scored in cup finals against Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal.
Despite all this the game is likely to be an entertaining one. Spurs play with a reckless abandon at times, while Chelsea are used to winning and the likes of Anelka and Cole are in great form going into the game. Likewise Keane and Jenas for Spurs, who I just fancy to nick it, possibly in extra-time.

Prediction: Spurs 3 Chelsea 2

All of the Champions League games are delicately poised going into the second legs in a fortnight’s time.
                
Liverpool, Manchester United and Barcelona are in strong positions having secured an early advantage in their respective ties.
Liverpool produced a dominant performance to secure a 2-0 win over Inter Milan. Having been held by ten-man Inter for 86 minutes, the Italians were on course to pull off a terrific result having defended doggedly from the outset. However goals from Kuyt and crucially Steven Gerrard in the 90th minute, have given Liverpool a terrific platform from which to secure qualification for the quarter-finals. Gerrard’s goal may well prove to be the difference as Inter would surely have settled for a 1-0 defeat. Materazzi’s suspension and an injury to the superb Ivan Cordoba will also give Liverpool hope that they can grab a vital away goal in the San Siro.
The Inter Milan team may well be a much-changed outfit however, with the likes of Viera, Figo and Hernan Crespo likely to feature prominently in the second leg. While Torres was, for the most part, kept quiet by Inter’s excellent defence, the Spaniard will fancy his chances against a weakened defence in the second leg, especially as Inter will have to push far further upfield than they ever did in the game at Anfield.
              
An 87th minute goal from substitute Carlos Tevez gave Manchester United a vital away goal despite a lacklustre performance. Lyon took the lead early in the second half after United-target Karim Benzema scored a terrific solo effort, with four Red shirts around him the Frenchman somehow shifted the ball from his right foot to his left and belted the ball past Edwin Van der Saar.
In a free-flowing game Wayne Rooney’s 1-on-1 with Coupet was well saved while Juninho went close with a free-kick.
Benzema had a chance to make it 2-0 when he evaded a Rio Ferdinand challenge only for the ever-reliable Vidic to step across and sheperd the forward wide.
Ronaldo had a quiet night but produced a terrific save from Coupet late-on when his free-kick threatened to sneak in at the far post. However when Giggs and Scholes were replaced by Nani and Tevez, United began to look brighter and sure enough when Nani’s cross was deflected by Fred, Tevez pounced on the line to give United a foot in the quarter-finals.

Celtic and Barcelona put on a terrific game of football at Celtic Park but with the Catalans running out 3-2 winners, Barcelona will be confident they can secure victory in the Nou Camp, and they are already looking like the team to beat. Despite a disappointing campaign so far in La Liga, Barca have cut the gap on arch-rivals Madrid to just five points and on this display they look like peaking at just the right time.
Celtic took the lead through Venegoor of Hesselink, a terrific header against the run of play. However despite Robson’s goal to make it 2-1, a brace from Messi and a brilliant strike from Thierry Henry leave Barcelona in the driving seat.
Gordan Strachan joked after the game that he wouldn’t put his house on Celtic winning in two weeks time and he’s rarely wrong about these kind of things.

Elsewhere AC Milan and Arsenal played out an entertaining 0-0 draw at the Emirates. AC will be favourites as the old masters denied an exciting Arsenal team. Adebayor’s stoppage time miss will be giving him sleepless nights this week, the Togo striker slamming a header against the bar with the entire goal gaping in front of him…..Chelsea did enough to take a 0-0 game back to London and should progress past Olympiakos. With one eye on Sunday’s Carling Cup Final, Avram Grant rested Terry and Lampard and with one of the strongest squads in Europe, Chelsea should progress to the next phase in two weeks time…… Fenerbache’s 3-2 win over Sevilla makes for a hell of a return leg in Spain. An 87th minute deflected winner means the Turks can progress to the quarter finals for the first time if they avoid defeat in Spain. However, Sevilla will be confident they can turn the game on it’s head at home, and are many peoples’ tips as a dark horse this season…..Roma and Real Madrid served up an entertaining encounter which the Italians shaded 2-1. Despite a strong first-half performance from Real, Roma take the advantage thanks to two Francesco Totti-assisted goals….Shalke 04 lead FC Porto 1-0 thanks to a fourth minute Kevin Kuranyi strike. While the game was always likely to be tight, Shalke are firmly in the driving seat, aware that an away goal will give the Portugese team a mountain to climb. While Shalke’s defence has been their achilles heel so far this season, in Kuranyi they have a top striker and they will look to score and force FC Porto to gamble at the back, having to attack in search of three goals…

Tonight’s action:

Liverpool V Inter Milan
Olympiakos V Chelsea
Roma V Real Madrid
Shalke 04 V FC Porto

   V 

The pick of the ties comes at Anfield where Liverpool and Inter lock horns for the first time since their controversial 1965 European Cup semi-final where the Merseysiders took a 3-1 advantage into a second leg that the Italians won by three goals to nil, sealing their place in the final. Allegations of corruption have refused to go away since that night when the referee, Jose Maria Ortiz de Mendibil, allowed two goals that Liverpool felt should never have been allowed to stand. Ian St John also had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside. While the memories of that game still linger in the minds of the older generation of Liverpool fans, Inter Milan fans went out and bought Liverpool replica jerseys by the bucket-load following Liverpool’s 2005 win over their arch rivals AC Milan.
Tonight’s game is likely to be a tight affair with some intriguing battles. When Liverpool last came up against Zlatan Ibrahimovic they knocked Juventus out of the Champions League en route to glory in Istanbul. Sami Hyypia often struggled against the Swede though, and the lanky striker hit a post that night in Anfield.
Javier Mascherano will also come up against some familiar foes in his Argentine teammates Esteban Cambisso, Javier Zanetti and Julio Cruz, who is expected to lead the attack alongside Ibrahimovic.
Meanwhile Fernando Torres will start for Liverpool up front and will be anxious to score on a night that epitomises why he chose to come to Anfield.

Prediction: While many are predicting Inter to come and destroy a Liverpool team lacking confidence, this one should be tight. Liverpool respond well to Champions League adversity and might nick it, 2-1.

Olympiakos V Chelsea

  V 

The suggestion is that Chelsea will be resting the likes of John Terry and Frank Lampard, while Nicolas Anelka will drop to the bench to make room for Didier Drogba. Michael Ballack and Alex should return to the starting lineup for Chelsea in place of their captain and vice-captain.
Continue reading ‘Champions League 2nd Round’

(5): Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United

Ah Rio. Ever since making his stupid ‘Punk’d’ rip-off , lounging about in his over-sized ‘Am I white? Am I Black?’ clothes and saying stupid lines like ‘Wazza my son, you fowt you waz well ard’, the non-Manchester United fans of this world have begun to despise Mr Ferdinand (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvWpkLwiQNc). A missed drugs test in 2003 may well have proved nothing in regards to illegal activity, however it did prove to everyone that Rio was in fact, as stupid as we all suspected. I believe an inside source said at the time: “Not the brightest”. Indeed.
Having been banned from driving on a number of different occasions, Ferdinand was dropped from the England squad earlier in his career after being found guilty of drink-driving. He has called DJ Chris Moyles a ‘faggot’ live on air. He has his own record label, TV and film company and property company. However, he still manages to contribute ‘thousands’ to charities each year according to his Biography. Ah, bless him. He’s really just one of us when it comes down to it I suppose. How many thousands I wonder? 2? 5? 10? Let’s say a weeks wages? 100?

(4): Robbie Savage, Derby County.

What is it about Robbie? The blonde hair, the horrendous challenges. The fact that he loves when opposing fans try to wind him up? Whatever it is, there is no doubt Robbie Savage gets under the skin of a lot of fans, up and down the country. He has pissed off Spurs fans when his play-acting got Justin Edinburgh sent-off in the League Cup Final in 1997. He has pissed off Birmingham fans for leaving to join Blackburn saying he wanted to be closer to his parents. Having recently completed a move to Derby he claimed they had no chance of staying up in the Premiership. While true, not the best way of saying hello to your new supporters.
Savage has been awarded more yellow cards in the Premiership than any other player. Having played 39 times for Wales, Savage quit after a very public falling-out with John Toshack. He has previously fallen out with several other managers. Hell even darts fans don’t like him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4L6qfoqHjs

Continue reading ‘Top 5 players we love to hate:’

After the weekend’s action put paid to another couple of Premiership teams, the draw for the quarter-final of the FA Cup has been made.

         
(Terry and Lampard celebrate last year’s victory over Man Utd)

Manchester United have been rewarded for their victory over Arsenal with another home draw against Portsmouth while Chelsea will travel to giant-killers Barnsley.
Middlesbrough or Sheffield United will entertain Cardiff City while the final game sees a guaranteed place in the semi-finals for a team outside the Premiership when Bristol Rovers host West Bromwich Albion.

The full draw:
Barnsley V Chelsea
Brstol Rovers V West Brom
Man Utd V Portsmouth
Sheffield United V Cardiff City
(ties to be played Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th March: Man Utd’s game against Bolton, Chelsea’s game against Derby and Boro’s game against Aston Villa will all have to be re-scheduled)

                 
(Trapattoni in his previous job as a dirty old man)

Giovanni Trapattoni has been appointed as the Republic of Ireland’s new manager, ending a four-month search for Steve Staunton’s successor.

The Italian will have gone a long way to forming a good relationship with Irish fans already by declaring his belief that Ireland can win a tricky group that includes Italy and Serbia. He said:

“Ireland are not a second-rate team, they are supposed to be a first-rate team. Qualifying for the World Cup in 2010 will be hard, and playing against the Italian team will make me proud, but it should be possible for Ireland to come first.”

Trapattoni managed Italy from 2000 to 2004 and brings a wealth of experience and a hugely impressive track record at club level, with six Serie A titles with Juventus and one with Inter Milan to his name. He has also won domestic club titles with Bayern Munich, Benfica and Salzburg.

“In the last two weeks I received offers from various clubs, and about 10 days ago representatives of the Football Association of Ireland approached me. I found their offer very interesting. I am very comfortable here in Salzburg. We won the Austrian title last year and we have a great chance to win the title again this year again. But the opportunity to manage the Irish team would give me a lot more time to spend with my family. My lawyers in Milan and representatives of the FAI came come to an agreement and I accepted their offer. Leaving the title as a farewell present to my Bulls is now my number one aim.”

 (Brady in his days at Juventus) 

Trapattoni will also try to bring RTE pundit Liam Brady into the new Irish set-up and he believes the Irishman can combine any post with his current job at Arsenal. Brady also played under Trapattoni at Juventus and is well-respected within the game. As the panel said at the press conference, Trapattoni is keen to bring in someone Irish to work with the team and Brady, a fluent Italian speaker, fits the bill perfectly.

“I know Liam from our mutual time at Juventus,” said Trapattoni. “I called him and asked him for his thoughts on my commitment with the FAI, and when he said it was okay, I asked him for assistance if needed. I am positive that  Arsene Wenger, who is a friend of mine, will lend me Liam’s services if I called him.”

The FAI are holding held a press conference to anounce the arrival of Giovanni Trapattoni.

Ray Houghton: “I couldn’t give a more glowing report. 100% hand on heart when I spoke to him for two hours I knew he was the right man for the job. We need to get everyone behind the new manager coming in.”

Don Givens: “It seemed like a pipe dream at the start”

Houghton: “We will not reveal who we interviewed. Some were in employment, some weren’t. I think there was around 7 who were interviewed.”

Givens: “It’s a two-year contract starting on the 1st of May with an option to renew it afterwards.”

John Delaney: “He can come here and do a press conference while he is employed with Salzburg or he can come here in May. Over the next couple of days we’ll talk about that. He’ll live in Milan.”

Delaney: “He deserves a lot of credit for the gesture. I hope more people like him get involved in investing in Irish football. (referring to the man who has offered to pay half of the managements’ wages).”

Yes, you’re probably bored to death of reading about the proposal to move Premiership football abroad for a competitive  fixture or two, an idea that has been met with some praise but mostly condemnation.

This blog is mostly of the condemnation opinion. There are advantages. It’s a fact that forward-thinking people help to keep competitive businesses alive and varied and exciting and there is no doubt why this would appeal to fans worldwide. Especially in the Far East where Premiership football is revered. Would the Americans be interested? Possibly. However this would primarily be due to the dollar signs lighting up their eyes. While some have come out against the idea in America, there is no doubt of the financial appeal to the plans.

The USA may wish to focus on promoting the MLS, a league that has hardly transcended barriers as many thought it would when Beckham arrived. It never will, however, because for ’soccer’ to thrive it would have to knock integral US sports like baseball and American football off their pedestals. And they are damn tough pedestals so don’t expect it to happen any time soon.

Many countries will be attracted by the wealth and prestige the Premiership can offer, however again it is a push-pull factor between financial strength and the desire to focus on their own game.

 As for the Premiership’s hierarchy, announcing the move as a surprise was a smart one. While Alex Ferguson may have started his complaints at not being informed before it went to press, the top dogs will have assumed that Fergie et al would have been against the proposal and would have rallied anti ‘extra-curricular games’ troops before the announcement was made. The fact that it was a surprise means people had a chance to digest the move without hearing immediate criticism. It means the plans could be announced as bold and exciting before the complaints started, rather than having to go on the defensive from the outset.

In this blog’s opinion it would be a sad day for the game. Ordinary fans are already being alienated and even turning to other sports like rugby, which currently charge nowhere near the admission price of football, have far less prima-donas playing on their teams and also have that fresh sense of a sport untarnished by money. Eventually rugby will become spoilt, like football has been to a certain extent. For Gavin Henson read David Beckham. Sky and Setanta have already realised the potential of the Heineken Cup and will battle for rights, driving up bidding and increasing money into the game. Football, sadly, started turning into a business long ago.

Summer tours to the Far East, new kits brought out each year, pay-per-view club channels, increased merchandise, inflated wages and transfer fees, diamond studs and flashy women. Wags. Hounding of referees. Divers. Defensive tactics. Golden goals. Offside rule? Bribes. Television replays? Compulsory ticket-buying. Fans banned. Fans warned. Game’s over, out ya get.

It might make for sad reading, depressing even, but the truth is it remains in my and millions of others’ eyes: The Beautiful Game. It’s just the idea of taking it away from the fans who support their team through thick and thin makes me feel angry. The fact that a chairman can be so far removed from his supporters that he feels he can take the team worldwide and get fans who are willing to pay whatever he wants to watch his team play. And he feels like he can get away with it. And the really sad thing? He can.

Let’s figure out how to help the Premiership thrive. Let’s just leave Europe to the Cups and America and Asia to pre-season tours. Everyone stays happy and people don’t have a reason to feel betrayed by the very team that made them love football in the first place.

MAN UTD V MAN CITY

A thrilling derby is in store for the lunchtime kick-off tomorrow, Sunday February 10.
While the first talking point will be whether the Man City fans will respect the minutes silence for the victims of the Munich air crash, the game itself should be entertaining.
Benjani’s confession that he didn’t want to leave Portsmouth will probably not have endeared him to the City fans. A goal at Old Trafford may go some way to changing that.

Continue reading ‘Sunday Preview’