CL Coma

I know it has been mentioned before, here and on most football websites, but this Champions League business is a bit crap isn't it?

Tuesday and Wednesday night showed us the worst of the CL action, I flicked between the 2 televised games on each night, and almost couldn't decide which was worse. Watching Arsenal huff and puff to blow Kiev's house down, Villarreal defend against United's impotent attack, Liverpool squander possession against Marseilles, or Chelsea faffing around the place against Bordeaux (to be fair, Bordeaux equalised late on, and Lamps was sent off, so that is the winner).

After 5 matches, 13 teams have already qualified, with only group A & B in the balance. As far as teams hoping to win the group and thus earn themselves the chance of an easier draw in the second round, it's hardly riveting is it? And with Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid currently occupying second in their groups, there's not much of an incentive to finish top.

In group A, Chelsea need to beat Cluj at home to progress, while Roma should be able to tackle Bordeaux at home. In group B, there is excitement, the 2 European powerhouses, Panathinaikos & Anorthosis Famagusta go head to head for qualification. But that won't be on TV.

No, we'll see Chelsea winning at home, and Liverpool doing the necessary away to PSV. Man Utd will be shown showboating around whilst crushing AaB, and Arsenal will try to draw against Porto to seal top spot.

So that's all done and dusted then.

Over to the UEFA Cup tonight (no, wait!) and Pompey take on AC Milan. Milan will be resting players, so the story goes, and even old Sheva is likely to get a run out.
Tony Adams meanwhile has said that it is nights like this that made qualifying Europe so great, and it is the biggest match in their history. He then went on to say that he wants to looks at some of the lads who have been out of the team and it is important to stay in the Premier League. Is he mad?

Firstly, I'm sure all the players want to test themselves against AC, and a good performance will do wonders for their confidence, while being left out is sure to infuriate . Secondly, why reward players who are out of the team with a start against the 7 times European Cup winners? They are out of the team for a reason. Thirdly, Portsmouth have a good team, and thus have a good chance to win the competition, and after their 3-0 loss last time, need to pick some points. Do you really want to be despised like Megson & Bolton after their shameful antics last year?
Fourthly (I think I need to stop after 'fourthly', in fact, I'm not even sure it's a word.), Tony says "What we need to be focused on is staying in the Premier League" - no Tony, you need to be focused on going far in the UEFA Cup and qualifying again via the league with your expensively assembled squad.


Mark