Champions League Preview

AC Milan vs Arsenal (Agg 0-0)

Arsenal go into this game with some injury worries, notably upfront, but I think a good bet is for Arsenal to get a score draw here, with Adebayor to make up for his injury time, open goal miss.
Gallas and Toure need to be on form to keep it tight at the back. Wenger and beautiful football? Not this time. 4-5-1 with increasing counter attacks as the game wears on. Arsenal's tempo and speed could hurt Milan's aging legs.
prediction: 1-1

Barcelona Vs Celtic (Agg 3-2)

Well, it's really all over bar the shouting for Celtic. They have done brilliantly to get this far but even a terrible Barca performance should see them through. Hell, even Henry looked good against them 2 weeks ago.
Prediction 2-0

Man Utd Vs Lyon (Agg 1-1)

As I said on the podcast, this looks like a routine 2-0 win for United. They should beware Benzema & Ben Arfa on the counter but there is a big difference in class between the 2 sides (which was strangely not evident in the first leg). Also, a great chance for Ronaldo and Tevez to prove themselves in a big game
Prediction 2-0

Sevilla v Fenerbahce (Agg 2-3)
Has the makings of a rip-roaring European tie. Sevilla are dodgy in defense and good in attack, and you'd have to imagine the Turks will need to score at some point. End to end stuff.
Prediction 2-1

Enjoy the night,
Mark

Here's Sissoko, Oh No, Now Marseille Have It....

These Champions League reflections are much easier than predictions, so with ease of mind, I'll get started.
Liverpool - Benitez is assuming the look of a desperate man (and no, I'm not talking about his 'goatee deflecting attention away from fatness' look) and he has started blaming his players outright. The players he bought.

"Everything was wrong" he blubbed, "it is the whole team who played badly". The team you picked, Rafa.

"Today the team was not good enough". "We were not controlling the middle".

It is hard to control the middle when you have the position-insensitive Gerrard buzzing around the place, and Momo Sissoko, the professional footballer for whom the old quote applies - he can control it further than I can kick it. His misery of attempting to control a football was shown last season against Man Utd, when he attempted to solo the ball, but instead kicked it 20 yards up in the sky. Last night he gave another reminder of his ineptiude.

So, tough times for the 'Pool, but they plays Spurs at home next, which should be the perfect chance to get their season back on track, and take the heat off Rafa. And if they can't, what fresh excuse will he dream up?

Man Utd - another lack lustre (like an empty can of pear halves) performance, but another 1-0 win. Roma had good chances to at least draw the game. Nani showed glimpses of his talent in his best game so far, but his play-acting and poor decisions are reminiscent of the old, bad Ronaldo. Anderson's cameo was lively enough, but he looks a bit lightweight yet. United have Wigan at home to continue their run of wins but the absence of Fletcher, Carrick & Hargreaves will probably mean the horror of O'Shea in midfield.

Arsenal - another game, another win, how long will it be before everyone is tipping them for trophies? Doubts remain, but they are cruising so far.

Chelsea - is the old spirit back? No, it's Carvalho. A fantastic player who made vital interceptions and organised the back line well. That John Terry fella looks like a good player with him in tow. Terry and Ferdinand must get together and pray that their co-defenders never get injured again. Sheva must wish he invested in an English teacher rather than make the move to London to learn the language. Nobody missed his witless presence last night.

Celtic - they are short on quality but they held their own against a Milan team who didn't look too bothered about the whole thing until they fell behind. Gave away a ludicrous penalty but fought back well and received their just rewards. They are handicapped by having an extremely annoying, jumped up runt of a manager and idiot supporters who think it's a good thing to run onto the pitch and caress Dida's breast.

Rangers - I thought they'd head to France and get a draw but they surpassed themselves against Lyon. Poor oul Alain Perrin must be feeling the heat over this one. 6 points from 6 for Rangers mean even a spectacular collapse should see them into the UEFA Cup.

So, it's all action this season, it's UEFA Cup time tonight but that won't get interesting until next March, join us from tomorrow morning for the podcast, where, among other things, we hate Jamie Redknapp. Like shooting fish in a barrel.

Mark,
http://www.okeydokefootball.com

Paul Robinson & The Rocket

Who's that idiot with a desperate look on his face? Why, it's every opposition's favourite goalkeeper, Paul Robinson. The latest in a list of calamities occurred last night as he dropped a cross, allowing Villa to score. A freekick later exposed his inadequacies further, poor positioning of the wall and himself gave away another soft goal. This man has done more than anyone else to try to lose Jol his job this season and how is he rewarded? Constant selection and the England No. 1 jersey. Tottenham have been a disaster at the back this season, making a mockery of rubbish predictions of 4th place (i.e. mine) but with Lardy Robbo in goal crumbling to pieces at the sight of a cross into the box it is hard to see it getting much better in the short term. Jol should be smart & ruthless and bring Cerny into the team but doesn't it strike you as strange that Robinson has been the most vocal backer of Jol? I wonder why that is....

The Champions League is on tonight and the most interesting encounter is Man Utd vs Roma. Roma have conceded plenty of goals lately (not least a 4-1 loss at home to Inter) but should be a bit more savvy this time round. United's lineup will again be interesting, a miserly defense and flukey 1-0 wins are OK in the opening weeks of the League but I get the feeling that they need to improve quickly to stay in the title race. The loss of form of some players is alarming from United's perspective - Rooney, Tevez, Scholes & Giggs have been poor by their standards, while Ronaldo is in the 'could do better' bracket. They are relying on their defence heavily, and with Hargreaves scheduled to play tonight, I can't see much luck for Roma, and sooner or later, United will click past 2nd gear - unfortunately for neutrals, probably not tonight.

Arsenal are off to Bucharest to play Hagi's former charges in what should be a leisurely stroll while Lyon take on Rangers in a much more interesting match. Rangers got off to a flyer by beating Stuttgart while Lyon took a 3-0 pasting away to Barca. Lyon have had a poor start to the season, not helped by injuries in goal and defence (or by the fact that Alain Perrin, former Pompey 'supremo' is the man in charge). Walter Smith has turned around Rangers and I'm taking a punt on a draw here, with the wonderfully named Jean-Claude ('The Rocket') Darcheville to be fit and throw his considerable weight around.

Mark,
http://www.okeydokefootball.com

Weekend Reaction

Hi All,

It was unfortunate (not least for Chelsea) that yesterday's Man Utd match was overshadowed by referring errors, 4 major ones in total (sending off of Mikel, penalty given, penalty not given and Cole's snide tackle). Looking past this however and we can see that Chelsea have some big problems. United were far superior, even before the sending off, but this was exacerbated by the non-performance of some of their old reliables. Essien was practically non-existent, Sheva still looks disinterested and off-pace, despite many expecting him to have a new lease of life after being freed from Jose's tyranny. Roman clapped him off the pitch as he was substituted - perhaps he was hoping Kalou would be better, but there wasn't much chance of that!

Ben Haim was ordinary at the back, Ashley Cole was more interested in diving & winding up Rooney than in attacking, and Malouda has lost his form after a good start.

Inevitably there will be rumours of unrest in the camp in the coming weeks, but this will settle down as the players will realise that there is no point pouting over Jose's loss (or crying, as in Frank & Didier's case) and get their act together. I agree with JJ last week, no mass exodus, and a high profile manager to come at some stage in the coming year. Hell, if they bring Jamie Redknapp into the backroom staff, maybe they'll groom him to take over?

Liverpool's game against Birmingham offered more evidence of Rafa's madness, after the folly of leaving Gerrard, Torres and Babel on the bench versus Portsmouth. Leaving Torres on the bench was a masterstroke of insanity and the excuses began after the match that it was for tactical reasons, that he has four strikers and has to play them. This is rubbish and it looks like Rafa will rotate his way out of the title race, and possibly a job, before the end of the season. Benitez has done a lot for Liverpool, but a lot of fans I've been talking to are coming around to the opinion that maybe, despite his success, he won't deliver the league title.

Arsenal continue to play well, Adebayor has been revelation so far, and Fabregas would be a decent bet now for player of the season. After all the doom and gloom of the summer, there is now a lot of optimism and their first major test is 28th October vs Liverpool, followed the next weekend by United, so they have plenty of time to rack up points (West Ham, Sunderland and Bolton up next). If they can get to Christmas in a good position, add a centre back and goalie to the squad, they'll be in the battle for the title

Later,

Mark

Champions

Hiya Lads,
Mark here.

So, an eventful weekend saw United champions, Charlton relegated and West Ham take a huge step towards survival.

United are expected to field a relatively fringe team tomorrow vs Chelsea, so I think it will be quite amusing to see Terry, Lampard et al forming a guard of honour for the likes of Richardson, Dong and O'Shea. I think we could all guess their thoughts. To the weekend - United deservedly beat a terrible Man City side, though they had VDS to thank for his lucky peno save. City are now the worst home scorers ever - since the leagues began over 120 years ago. On Sunday, Chelsea had the hapless Boulharouz to thank for providing an impression of Traore. Khalid was out of position, making poorly timed challenges and finally gave away a penalty and was sent off. To those slagging off Mourinho for playing Essien at centre back, they got their riposte that afternoon. Overall, Chelsea did well to come back into the game with ten men, though they were helped by the profligacy of Adebayor - a skillful player who needs to step up his scoring to be 1st choice at the Arse next season. Ultimately, Chelsea's endeavour wasn't enough and United took the title.
At the start of the season, there was much talk about United's squad weaknesses, but this was overcome by the 19 different players who scored in the league, and a ruthlessness at putting teams away, while their contenders stumbled (example: United scored 4 home and 4 away to Bolton, Chelsea 1-0 away and 2-2 at home). I'll expand more in the podcast this week.

Charlton are down, and I can't say I'm disappointed. I'm a fan of Pardew and I do not believe another manager could have done much better in keeping them up. Their squad is paper thin, and plainly not good enough. I would like to see Wigan relegated, as they add nothing to the Premiership - atmosphere, fans, history, players (Heskey). However, it will be a disgrace if West Ham stay up. The Premier league think they are on safe ground because the precedent of points deductions to other clubs occurred because of incorrect registrations - Tevez and Masch's registrations were fine - other rules were broken. This is, obviously, complete bollox, a way to deflect attention. Also, the wording of the outcome was strange to say the least - they didn't want the West Ham fans to suffer, etc.

I haven't enough time to go into all the other news from the weekend, but briefly:

• Roeder had to go
• Interesting to see how Big Sam gets on at Newcastle
• Will Paul Allen buy Southampton?
• Congrats to Sunderland & Keane for winning the Championship
• I agree with Jorge Valdano (http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_2113453,00.html)
• The intrigue at Chelsea

As usual, we'll take the pick of the stories from football for our pub talk section on the podcast. Feel free to leave comments below or email comments@okeydokefootball.com

Cheers,

Mark

United Open a Can of Whoop-Ass on Roma

Howdy Folks,
Mark here.
A great night of football from Man Utd, scintilating play from almost everybody (I'm looking at you, Rooney). C. Ronaldo was excellent in a big European match for the first time, well, ever. Smith showed a fantastic attitude up front and now gives Fergie a good choice while Saha is (again) injured. Carrick was excellent, not only did he score 2 class goals, but his distribution and movement were first class, and (not just last night) he looks a much improved player in the few months since his debut.
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm a bit worried that John O'Pies and Rio Fuckface Ferdinand went off injured, although Evra returned last night. Perhaps we can get Chelsea's 50 year old fitness coach to play centre back, as Mourniho was reportedly close to doing already this season.

Still a tough semi-final ahead against Bayern or Milan, I'll cover that closer to the match.

Last night also saw the Chelsea boys win their tie, Essien (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ok0y_valencia-1-2-chelsea-essien-goal) scoring the decisive goal -like last week, Canizares let his team down in a vital game, despite making a wonderful save a few minutes before.
Chelsea vs Liverpool to look forward to in the semi's... hopefully there will be as many incidents as there was the last time they met in the semi finals - "Gudjohnsen, how did you miss that!" etc.

We'll cover all this and more on the podcast, subscribe to the RSS here (http://feeds.feedburner.com/okeydokefootball ) to get this week's episode from tomorrow night at 2200 GMT,

Thanks and enjoy the football,
Mark,
http://www.okeydokefootball.com

Champions League Reaction

Sickening scenes in Rome last can be seen here:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1motq_roma-v-manu-bbc-news-report-police

It is a worrying time for UEFA, crowd trouble seems to be on the rise in Europe. The Man Utd fans are no angels, but it is clear to me that the Italian fans were the instigators of the trouble. The police, naturally enough, were heavy handed, trying to control the situation.

As for the match, I thought it was a highly enjoyable affair, United will be glad to have the away goal after Scholes let the whole team down with a stupid sending off. Rooney's goal was excellent with Ronaldo beating 2 men on the right and laying a precise pass for Solksjaer, who clipped a beautiful cross to Rooney, who controlled wonderfully on his chest, and smacked the ball into the net. United tactics were on the fine line of very brave/very stupid as they left 3 attackers on the pitch, hoping to score the away goal. The trick worked, but they still lost the game. Still, a vital away goal means a 1-0 win is enough at home next week. I think they will do it, as Roma showed no penetration before the sending off, and only really threatened as the game opened up in the second half. Totti was average enough last night, Mancini anonymous, Taddei was in the right place to take his (deflected) goal but did little else. Roma will look to hit on the counter next week and flood the midfield, but if United keep their heads and play to their ability, they will go through.

I watched extended highlights of the Chelsea game and it looked like a rip-roaring affair. A wonderful goal from David Silva (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1mn6q_chelsea-01-valence) put the pressure on Chelsea, and only bad goalkeeping from Canizares let Drogba score, albeit well taken. Chelsea have it all to do next week and must score in Spain. There are some frailities in the Chelsea team - Diarra, a midfielder, at right back, Mikel Obi or an out of form Makelele as defensive midfielder, and the quite ordinary Kalou in whatever position he is played. Joe Cole is back though which is big boost, and any team with Drogba in it is a danger. A great second leg in store then

Tune into the podcast tonight to hear myself and JJ's thoughts on the above and more:
http://www.okeydokefootball.com/
Premiership & Champions League results. We love Paulo Maldini in the Legend section. Pub Talk featuring the issues of the week: Niall Quinn's disco pants, Big Ron vs Totti and loads more from the first and only independent Irish football podcast on the internet, online since October 2006.

Cheers,
Mark

Champions league

The Pool had a very good win last night, not the most entertaining game, as was feared by everybody, but there is a horrible look of inevitability in Liverpool's CL Challenge.

Bayern were lucky to draw against Milan, and are clear favourites for the 2nd leg with the 2 away goals. Now we'll see what Milan are made of...

As for tonight's games:

Roma vs United should be a really good game of football, United should be positive enough tonight, as they could really use an away goal. Once again though, a lot depends on Rooney and Ronaldo to do the business. They haven't so far in The CL this season so it is a big game for them. Is Ronaldo the best player in the world, as some hysterical media outlets (and Ferguson!) dub him - he goes MIA against good teams in Europe, so tonight and next is the time to prove it.Looking at Roma's team, they look very strong, with players of the quality of Totti, Mancini and De Rossi, and they will cause United a lot of problems, especially with United missing 3 first choice defenders. it must not be forgotten however, that this Roma team only finished 5th last season in Serie A, and are currently way off Inter's pace at the head of the table this season.
Overall, an intriguing game, and one I will not bet on...

Chelsea vs Valencia should be a tough, close encounter. I think the key to this game is how Chelsea will contain Valencia on the break, especially Villa, Joaquin and Vicente. Vicente may relish Chelsea's right back (whoever they are going to play there) and Villa has the quality to trouble Terry and Carvalho. As for Chelsea attacking, Lampard or Ballack must break forward to create space for Sheva and Drogba, and I think they have the quality to score tonight....

We will be discussing all the Champions League results tomorrow night on the podcast - subscribe at http://feeds.feedburner.com/okeydokefootball or visit our website below.
Cheers,
Mark,
http://www.okeydokefootball.com