Manchester United Beats Schalke 04 to Set Up Champions League Final With Barcelona

Manchester United beat Schalke 04 at Old Trafford to set up a mouth watering UEFA Champions League final against Barcelona in Wembley on May 28.

Sir Alex Ferguson's team dominated the 2nd leg with goals from Antonio Valencia, Darron Gibson, and a brace from Anderson Luis de Abreu Oliveira.

In making the final, the United boss becomes only the third manager in history to bring a team to the Champions League Final four times, joining a small but elite group of managers that include Miguel Munoz (Real Madrid - '60, '62, '64, '66) and Marcelo Lippi (Juventus - '96, '97, '98, '03) .

Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho Left Embarrassed By Barcelona Champions League Defeat

Barcelona beat Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu last night thanks to two sublime goals from Lionel Messi. In truth, it was all that La Blaugrana deserved after Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid thoroughly embarrassed their own great names and standing in the game.

Tottenham Fight to Save Their Season After Real Madrid Hammering

Tottenham Hotspur's season stands on a knife edge following their 4-0 hammering away to Real Madrid in the Champions League midweek. Qualifying to the Semi-Finals of the Champions League is an impossible task but finishing in the top four is still within their grasp...

Where Next For Arsene Wenger and Arsenal?

Within the space of just 14 days, Arsene Wenger has seen his Arsenal side's chances of a historical quadruple devastated by the boys from Birmingham, Barcelona, and Brazil.

The Gunners' season is now in real danger of being fruitless yet again, and if it does, questions will be asked about the great Frenchman like never before.

Tottenham Hotspur Beats AC MIlan to Qualify For Champions League Quarter Finals

Tottenham Hotspur are through to the Last Eight of the Champions League after drawing with AC Milan at White Hart Lane tonight. The Lilywhites, 1-0 up after beating the Rosseneri at the San Siro, held their austere counterparts to a 0-0 and are now just four games from a scarcely believable Wembley final.

Where Have All The Midfielders Gone?

Where have all the midfielders gone? It might sound like a mad question but given the state of the modern game it is one of the most pertinent.

Last night Manchester United and Marseille met in the Last 16 of the UEFA Champions League. Truly, it was one of the worst games the Champions League has ever produced. Neither side managed a clear cut chance on goal all night. Stifling tactics cannot be blamed; rather the enemy on the night was poor players and specifically poor midfielders...

Fernando Torres Signing For Chelsea Will Get Carlo Ancelotti The Sack

Chelsea FC pulled off one of the biggest transfers of all time recently, when they took Fernando Torres from Liverpool for £50 million. The move was seen by many as Roman Abramovich flexing his financial might to not only get the Pensioners back in the title race, but also as a way of bringing the Champions League to Stamford Bridge.

However, while that may have been the Russian Oligarch's main aim, what he has achieved is a further erosion of the fragile foundation under Carlo Ancelotti's feet.

As the league table stands, Chelsea has 44 points and is a full 10 points behind the leaders, Manchester United, with just 13 games to go. Considering that the Red Devils have only lost one game from the previous 25, it looks highly unlikely that Alex Ferguson would allow his team to lose four games from their remaining fixtures to leave the Blues with a chance at retaining their title.

This, of course, means that Chelsea's only real aim for the rest of the season is the trophy that Roman Abramovich craves so much...the Champions League.

Last season, as Chelsea was eliminated from the Champions League by Jose Mourinho and Inter Milan, an incandescent Roman Abramovich issued an ultimatum to Carlo Ancelotti:

Win the league, or else.

At the time, a Chelsea insider told ESPN "[Ancelotti's future] now depends on the league. He will need to win the league to survive."

So, it is not beyond the realms of imagination to think that the Chelsea owner has issued a similar demand about the Champions League this time around.

The insider also told Soccernet that Abramovich wanted to bring Fernando Torres to the club next season, despite other areas of the team needing renewal.

"Of course Roman wants Torres, but he will not pay even £50 million for him, and Liverpool will be asking more than that."

“If the situation stays the same at Liverpool, then they will have to consider selling Torres, but you will not be able to get him for £50 million.

"How much? No one knows yet, as Liverpool has yet to decide to sell him."

Just last week, Roman Abramovich fulfilled one of his footballing ambitions when he bought the services of Fernando Torres for the £50 million mentioned last March.

With that, there are a number of things to be taken from the purchase of the Spanish striker.

The foremost is Torres was an Abramovich signing, and Carlo Ancelotti was not consulted on the addition of another striker. With that in mind, you can see how Abramovich sees himself as the manager of the club and that Ancelotti is little more than a coach with no say in the matter.

If Ancelotti had been consulted, then he would surely have looked at bringing some much needed creativity into midfield. This is an area where Chelsea are weakest, as the defeat to Liverpool showed.

The Reds used an unconventional 3-6-1 or 5-3-1-1, depending upon your point of view, to stifle Chelsea’s powerhouse midfield. With the Blues' lack of creativity, Kenny Dalglish’s side basically strangled the life out of the defending champions.

The Liverpool defeat, albeit with Torres on the team, demonstrated all the main reasons Chelsea’s season has come undone and why they will probably finish the season trophy-less.

They are an incredibly cohesive unit and every move has the look of a well-worked training-ground set piece. If those do not work, they lack a creative player in the midfield who can find teammates in dangerous areas of the pitch.

While the Pensioners midfield is their greatest asset, it is also a liability against teams that are well organised and who, most importantly, pack midfield.

It speaks volumes that Liverpool’s caretaker manager chose to take Chelsea on where they are physically strongest, because he was full in the knowledge that once that area of the pitch was won, Chelsea had no other routes to victory.

In essence, the supply lines to Didier Drogba and Torres were cut off completely.

Even if Carlo Ancelotti had acted more quickly to bring on Malouda and Kalou, the game was up, as both of those players are wide forwards rather than wide midfielders. Thus, the personnel up front would make no difference to the outcome of the game, as midfield was where the game needed to be changed.

This immediately points to the two areas Ancelotti would have strengthened before even looking at bringing in another centre forward, particularly one with such a poor track record at finding a partner.

Chelsea needs a creative central midfielder and a wide midfielder.

The defeat to Liverpool effectively ended Chelsea’s slim title hopes, and now Carlo Ancelotti’s job is dependent upon winning the Champions League.

The Italian can rightly feel aggrieved with Abramovich. Even though he has done a superb job since joining the club from AC Milan, winning the double in his first year, that hasn’t stopped Abramovich from seemingly undermining his head coach at every opportunity.

The first example was last March when he told Ancelotti he would be sacked if he did not deliver the league title. This effectively sent the message out to the players that, with anything less than a 100 percent success rate, they would have a new boss. Every player worth his salt knows that this demand is impossible over the fullness of time.

The next step was the disgraceful sacking of Ray Wilkins.

Regardless of what Wilkins’ role was at the club and whether Abramovich thought he was needed or not, Wilkins was Ancelotti’s man. By unceremoniously sacking him in the manner that he did, Abramovich sent another two messages out to the team:

1. Roman Abramovich is the main man at Chelsea, not Carlo Ancelotti.
2. Ancelotti is in an uncertain position and is not important enough to consult on the team’s direction, never mind the club’s direction.

Shortly after Wilkins’ removal, Ancelotti was inflicted with Michael Emanalo, a coach with very little experience of football at the highest level.

His installation as Ancelotti’s right-hand man is seen with distrust by all involved in the first-team set-up. Emanalo is thought of as little more than a spy for Roman Abramovich, and Ancelotti has done his best to distance himself from the new appointee.

This also means Ancelotti is now completely alone at Stamford Bridge, with no one to turn to for advice or to brainstorm with.

It is in this atmosphere that Carlo Ancelotti approached the League Managers Association in late November, to seek advice on his standing and employment rights at Chelsea.

He spoke on the matter and offered a frank opinion on where he stands at the club and how his role is completely different than the one enjoyed by Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

He said, "You compare me with Ferguson, it's a different position. Ferguson has total control of the team. I have just technical direction. Full-stop.”

This was a clear indication that Ancelotti has no say or power at the club and that every signing is chosen for him, regardless of how he feels about the matter.

Now, the latest step in the constant disruption of Carlo Ancelotti has seen Roman Abramovich buy Fernando Torres.

There can be little doubt that the Chelsea manager would not have chosen Fernando Torres as a player to bring in.

The ex-Liverpool striker has a fearsome reputation in front of goal, but his link-up play outside the box is average and his past history has shown that he is a striker who plays best by himself, in a counter-attacking team where he can come onto the ball rather than playing with his back to goal.

If anything, Ancelotti would have tried to buy Andy Carroll, as the ex-Newcastle No. 9 is as close a player to a young Didier Drogba as you’re going to find.

He would have fit in at Chelsea seamlessly.

It is clear for all to see that Carlo Ancelotti is living on borrowed time at Chelsea. The ironic twist in all of this is that the newest catalyst of erosion, Torres, is also the only man who can save his job.

Given Chelsea’s and Torres’ form over the last couple of months, it seems highly unlikely that things will click in time to win Ancelotti and Abramovich the Champions League.

First up is FC Copenhagen in two weeks time. The Danish club are seen by many as the weakest team in the Last 16, but the short time frame leaves Ancelotti struggling for answers.

The likeliest result is that Chelsea will beat FC Copenhagen, with or without Fernando Torres. However, the real test of the new partnership with Drogba and Anelka is likely to happen in April in the quarterfinal, just eight games away.

To go any further, the Blues will be hoping for another good draw. But, considering that the waiting teams are likely to include Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United, amongst others, their chances won’t be good.

Looking at their current form and the type of player that Torres is, it is very hard to see that particular partnership working, and it looks increasingly likely that Chelsea will not win the Champions League this year.
Should that happen, Roman Abramovich is almost certain to send Carlo Ancelotti back to Italy, with AS Roma as his likeliest destination.

The irony for Carlo Ancelotti is that the last signing by Roman Abramovich, Fernando Torres, said, “If you don’t play in the Champions League, it is as if you don’t exist.”

He’ll find that, as far as Abramovich is concerned, that quote is very true indeed.

KPMG; Liverpool FC On The Verge Of Administration After Massive Rise In Debt

The season that just keeps kicking gave Liverpool and it's many fans the worst news imaginable after it emerged that the club have sunk deeper into debt . Yesterday's financial report from Kop Holdings revealed a record loss of £54.9 million over the course of the last season meaning that the clubs total debt now stands at £472.5 million.

Accounts for the club's holding company for the year ending in July 2009 show spiralling interest payments of £40m, wages breaking the £100m-a-season barrier, a record loss of £54.9m and an increase in the club's debt of £51.5m.

At the end of last season, after a record profit of £10 million, Liverpool's debt stood at £350m. Urgent negotiations with RBS and a refinancing of the loan reduced the deficit to £237 million, and the British Government owned bank are now expected to come back and seek their money.

Liverpool now stand £351m (net) in the red. Some £233m of that is owed to the British government-owned RBS and the US investment bank Wachovia, while another £144.4m is owed to Hicks and Gillett's parent company, Kop Cayman.

KPMG were brought in as financial auditors to survey the wreckage on show at the Anfield based club.
They found that Liverpool's debt had grown but, just as alarming, also found that Kop Holdings were also in debt for £42.6 million.

KPMG had warned Kop Football Ltd of the "material uncertainty" of their product. In other words, should Liverpool fail to bring the EPL trophy or the Champions League trophy home in the 2009/10, then the debt would increase substantially, as there would not be any monies available to pay off their debt.

With the current findings we can see that that is exactly what has happened to the once great club.

Liverpool have until the end of July to pay RBS and Wachovia their debt, but this looks increasingly unlikely. Already ahead of the curve, the EPL and UEFA summoned new Chairman Martin Broughton to their headquarters to discuss Liverpool's participation in in their respective tournaments next year.

Their greatest fear being that the now Government owned bank will have no where near the level of sympathy for the club that they had last year. RBS restructured their core business after the EU allowed to company to redesign itself after the biggest tax payer bail out in Europe during the financial crisis, some £100 billion.

The EU’s top competition enforcer, Neelie Kroes, warned that if the bank failed to meet 2013 targets to restore healthy, natural order to its balance sheet, her successor Joaquin Almunia would not hesitate to take fresh action.

The fact that the goalposts have now shifted for RBS means that the bank will almost definitely come looking for Liverpool to repay their debt. There is no sympathy for football clubs who spend beyond their means in the current climate and Liverpool will do well to garner support from political parties because their debt is essentially tax payer money.

Broughton has been quick to talk of the proposed £81 million four year sponsorship deal with Standard Charter and how it will help to reduce the debt. However, it would now seem that the level of sponsorship depends upon Liverpool's success during that period.

One theory on Broughton's role thar has begun to surface is that his appointment to the role of Chairman is only window dressing to appease RBS, to make it look as if the club are actively looking to reduce their debts, but are in actual fact threading water with no serious buyers on the horizon.

This would seem to go with the EPL's recent talks with Broughton about their commitment to meet every fixture next season.

"I expect to be chairman until we sell, so a matter of months,” Broughton said. “There’s no fixed price, there’s no agreed price — it’s a willing buyer, willing seller trade. We have willing sellers and there are willing buyers out there — that will determine the price," which all sounds a little bit desperate.

With the club now losing £110,000 a day through interest alone it looks as if Broughton, RBS, and the UK Government will have much to discuss over the next two months.

Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia have been forcing Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr to move Liverpool’s borrowings away from them and on to Hicks' Cayman Islands-listed parent company, Kop Cayman.

Many fans rejoiced last year when Liverpool appeared to reduce their bank loan from £350 million to £290 million, but that was only because their offshore parent company increased its loan to the club by £86.2 million to £144.4 million. That loan, on which Liverpool has to pay 10 per cent interest, is likely to have increased over the last 12 months, explaining these new devastating figures.

Only this week Rafael Benitez eventually agreed to meet Martin Broughton about the Spaniard's future at the club. There has been a huge amount of speculation about his future role at the club, with stories emanating from Italy every day with new links to Juventus.

Benitez has played a polital chess game with Hicks and Gillett in the corridors of power at Anfield and he has become part of the fabric at the club with his people in virtually every position of power regarding the football side of the club.

He has called upon the owners to lavish him with money, or he will leave. He has told them not to sell Fernando Torres or Steven Gerrard, or he will leave. Rafa knows the club lies on the edge of a financial precipice and has made demands that he knows sound impossible given the level of debt.

During his six years at the club he has spent some £210 million on 49 players whilst bringing in some £125 million for 80 players.

With the news that Rafa is now saying he needs at least six new players to challenge for fourth it would seem that Rafa has spent quite poorly over his time in charge. To say he needs six players for a decent team after six years in charge in nothing short of Benitez admitting wasting Liverpool's money.

The biggest rise however has come in the wages bracket at the club,where Benitez has almost doubled the clubs wage bill since taking over.

2004- £66m, 2005- £65m, 2006- £68m, 2007- £75m, 2008- £79m, 2009 - £101m (£453m total)

For the second year running KPMG have given a brutal audit on all that is wrong with Liverpool FC. Citing "material uncertainty" yet again...

"These conditions indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast doubt on the parent company's ability to continue as a going concern," it said.

Liverpool are on the verge of becoming the next Leeds, the EPL think so, UEFA think so, and KPMG know so. The next two months are vital for the club.

Challenging for the title is gone, keeping Benitez at the club looks less and less likely every day, Fernando Torres has intimated that he wants to leave English football, and Steven Gerrard has just endured his worst ever season in a red shirt.

Liverpool will not earn Champions League money next season, they will not challenge for the league title, their best players could leave, and their manager could go to Italy.

Next year couldn't be any worse than this one, could it?

Manchester City 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur: Spurs Qualify for the Champions League

Tottenham Hotspur will head into Europe's Premier Cup competition for the first time since 1962 after they beat high spending Manchester City 1-0 at the Eastlands. The match was essentially a playoff for the final English placing in the Champions League next season.

Peter Crouch scored the only goal of the game as the man-of-the-match latched onto Martin Fulop's messy clearance to head the ball home with just eight minutes remaining.

The 1-0 win was thoroughly deserved by Harry Redknapp's adventurous side as they took the game to the home-side right from the off. 'Arry signalled Spurs' intentions with a brave team selection that included the returning Aaron Lennon and the injury prone Ledley King.

Lennon's inclusion meant that Spurs went with two out and out wingers on either side of the pitch, sending the message to everyone that Spurs were there to win the match and not to play out a draw that would have given them the advantage going into the final games this weekend.

City on the other hand were strangely subdued, and one must figure that the Italian fearful mentality of Roberto Mancini dictated the tempo his team were to play at.

While Spurs attacked and probed and got men forward at every opportunity, Manchester City played with two deep defensive midfielders and seemed happy to let the Londoners force the flow of the game.

Ex-Tottenham 'keeper Fulop made a number of brilliant saves to deny Spurs and at one stage the Blues goal was leading a charmed life. Crouch hit the post with a diving header, King had a goal disallowed for pushing, Defoe went close only to see Fulop's finger tips deny him, and Gareth Bale fired inches wide after a deft header from Crouch.

In reply, City barely troubled Heurelho Gomes, and when he was eventually called into the action the Brazilian was equal to anything the Citizens could muster.

In the end, City's game-plan and shape went out the window completely, and the more disciplined Spurs side took over. David Bentley, on for the dog tired Lennon, released Youness Kaboul who was let free by some abysmal defending by Craig Bellamy.

The deputising full back's cross was too hot to handle for Fulop and his parry sat up nicely for Crouch to nod home and send Spurs into Europe.

For Tottenham it is the next chapter in a remarkable story. In October 2008 when Redknapp took over they were rooted to the bottom of the table with an under-performing team. Less than 18 months later and they will be one of three London teams that will play in the Champions League next year.

The Spurs boss has built an exciting team, one of the few sides who use a traditional 4-4-2 with two attacking wide players. They have a goalkeeper who has gone from zero to hero and who is regularly linked with moves to the likes of Bayern Munich and Juventus.

A midfield that combines silk and steel in equal measures with the likes of Wilson Palacios and Tom Huddlestone growing with every game. Luka Modric is a class act who will garner attention from every major club and the two wide "diamonds" of Lennon and Bale are good enough to frighten any defence.

Spurs contain quality all over the pitch and with one or two extra signings could consolidate their stay in the top four.

That very much depends on progressing towards the group stages of the Champions League, and if they do they will have the financial and motivational tools to hold onto their very best players.

As the travelling Spurs fans broke out into Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur one could not help to feel for Manchester City's fans who had expected so much after their massive spending.

This defeat to Spurs has knocked their plans back, but they will end up in the top four sooner rather than later so it is up to Spurs to take advantage while they can and make hay while the sun shines.

Speaking after the game an obviously happy Harry Redknapp spoke gushingly about his young side, which included eight English players.

"Most people probably thought we'll come here and take a point but I picked the most attacking team you could ever wish to see," he told BBC Sport.

"We came here to a hot atmosphere and got at them and we deserved the win."

Redknapp added: "It's fantastic. It's been a terrific season for us, we've played some great football and we deserve it.

"I thought maybe the goal wasn't going to come and we'd go to Burnley with the extra point in the bag, which would have been a good situation, but this is perfect to finish it here today. It's just perfect for us.
"Crouchy was top class and led the line and he deserved the goal," he added.

"I also think Jermaine Defoe had his best performance away from home for some time.

"Finishing fourth is something that gives me a lot of pleasure. It's great for the club and it is nice to have finally done it after coming so near in the past.

"I think to finish third would be asking a lot but fourth is a great position for us.

"We'll have to have a look in the summer and see where we can improve if we have to, but we've got good players here. I think there might be eight boys in the preliminary squad for England."

Asked about centre-back Ledley King, Redknapp said: "What a player, he's got to go to the World Cup, but Michael Dawson as well—the two of them tonight were just fantastic. You've got to put them in your squad."

Eighteen months ago Spurs were on the verge of relegation, today they sit on the edge of playing in the Champions League and contributing more players to Fabio Capello's England squad than any other team.

Happy days indeed.

Jose Mourinho Guides Inter Past Barcelona On A Bad Night For Football

Jose Mourinho, the man so laughably dismissed as little more than "an interpreter" by Barcelona has guided Inter Milan through to the Final of the UEFA Champions League after they beat La Blaugrana 3-2 on aggregate.

Following Inter Milan's superb performance last week when they beat Barcelona 3-1, Jose Mourinho brough his troops to battle in the cauldron that is the Camp Nou. In front of 100,000 baying fans, Inter produced one of the best defensive performances seen in years to deny Barca a place in the final.

Alex Ferguson's Rooney Gamble Backfires As Bayern Munich Beat Manchester United in Champions League Quarter Finals

Alex Ferguson gambled on Manchester United's season by picking an unfit Wayne Rooney against Bayern Munich, and like all poor bets, it did not come off as his team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Louis van Gaal's team. Bayern fought back from 3-0 down to 3-2, putting them through on the away goals rule after the tie had finished at 4-4.

Before the match all the talk was of whether Wayne Rooney would even make the bench. As it was the English international was parachuted into the team in place of the lacklustre Dimitar Berbatov, as Ferguson sent the strongest message possible that he had conceded the English Premier League title to Chelsea and that he had completely lost faith in his Bulgarian striker.

By playing an obviously unfit Rooney, Ferguson gambled that the striker would have enough ammunition to see his team through to the Champions League Semi-Finals with Lyon who beat Bourdeaux 3-2 on aggregate.

It also means that the striker is highly unlikely to be fit enough to play against Blackburn in Ewood Park on Sunday, and knowing his star player was going to miss the next league game it means that Ferguson has pretty much conceded the title to Chelsea as he has no one to replace Rooney's goalscoring feats.

Alex Ferguson rarely gets his team as wrong as he has done so in Manchester United's last two games, two losses to Bayern Munich and Chelsea. Fans of the club had hoped that he was going to pull it out of the bag and send out a team that were going to steamroll Bayern and get their floundering season back on track.

His starting XI for tonights match was highly questionable to say the least.

Rafael came in for Gary Neville which was understandable given the veterans abysmal displays in United's last two games. A half fit Rooney was considered better than a fully fit Berbatov, while the strangest decision of all was Darron Gibson starting in central midfield beside the static Fletcher and Carrick.

With those three in the Red Devils engine room United were always going to find it hard to keep and gain possession of the ball.

Gibson, the young Irish international is an extremely limited footballer. He is quite slow, is not a great passer of the ball, lacks creativity, and finds it hard to close down the opposition. Saying that, he does possess an absolute rocket in his right foot and it was his calm finish in the third minute that put United into the driving seat.

Valencia's quick break from midfield and his ball into the centre found it's way to Rooney who teed it up for Gibson on the edge of the box. His side footed finish found it's way into the bottom corner and United were in front 1-0 on the night.

Four minutes later and Luis Nani put United 2-0 up as the Red Devils threatened to run riot in the first ten minutes. Bayern Munich looked shell-shocked but their experience gave them a foothold in the match as the half wore on.

Valencia again the provider as his whipped cross was met perfectly by the little Portuguese who backflicked the ball expertly into the far post. Nani making up for his poor performance in Munich last week.

The subtlest of changes happened to the tide of the game in the 24th minute as Rafael flicked out a boot to catch Mark van Bommel after the Dutchman had fouled him. A yellow card was the reward for the most selfish and impudent of actions by the young Brazilian.

One minute later and Wayne Rooney showed the first signs of how unfit he actually was as he started hobbling.

As the half wore on United began to tire from the exertions of applying so much pressure and Bayern eked out their first real chance as Edwin van der Sar saved brilliantly and bravely at Muller's feet.

From the clearance United managed to gain possession as Rafael threw the ball to Valencia. The muscular winger easily fought off the attentions of the fantastically named Budstuber and his perfect cross was met by Nani who fired home his second and United's third.

A sea of red scarves melted in with yellow and green as United's fans tore the roof off Old Trafford. At 3-0 up the Red Devils were as good as through, and it would take United to take their foot off the pedal, combine it with good luck for Bayern, bad decisions by the referee, and world class finishing to deny them on this European night...

Less than one minute later and Michael Carrick served up the first part by completely switching off and allowing the workaholic Ivica Olic through. His finish from the tightest of angles giving Bayern the slimmest of hopes as the two teams went in for half time.

That glimmer became a beacon on 50 when Rafael fouled Franck Ribery to earn himself a second yellow card and a sending off. In previous times the referee might have been allowed to use common sense and just award the free-kick with a warning for the young Brazilian, but the letter of the law decrees that the offence carries a card, and the devastated youngster, who was always a liability, walked off the pitch morosely.

United re-jigged, Rooney came off, Nani went up front by himself, John O'Shea came on at right full, and Berbatov stayed on the bench...

It was the bitterest of blows to lose Rooney with an aggravation of his injury, and it will be in the lap of the Gods to see how quickly he returns. Without him, Manchester United are simply not the same team.

All Bayern needed was one more goal. The wind was in their sails, they were up against a United team who had stopped playing completely and their midfield was non-existant. Surely a goal was only a matter of time in coming?

Sensing they were trapped, United sat back and allowed Bayern to come onto them. Only using the outball provided by Nani with rare occasion.

Ribery and Gomez both went close as van der Sar and the crossbar saved United in quick succession. By this stage Manchester United were beaten in everything but the scoreline.

Players like Carrick, Gibson, Nani, and Valencia were little more than spectators as Bayern's greater desire and mobility took over. The goal they deserved and craved came from the boot of the imperious Arjen Robben with 15 minutes to go.

A deep corner by Ribery was met by an unmarked Robben on the edge of the box, he positioned himself perfectly and met the volley with perfection and crispness, and the ball found it's way into the bottom corner of the far post with van der Sar rooted to the spot. There is not a 'keeper in the world that would have been capable of saving the shot.

With the scores at 3-2 on the night, 4-4 on aggregate, Bayern Munich were through on the away goals rule. Ferguson had one last throw of the dice and turned to the player he had snubbed to save his season. Dimitar Berbatov.

It is hardly surprising to see that the Bulgarian's influence was negligible after Ferguson's message without words.

In the end Bayern closed out the game in the kind of professional manner that United should have shown at 3-0 up. It leaves us with a Champions League semi final bereft of English talent for the first time since 2003.

It is a sad night for fans of English football and more importantly, fans of Manchester United.

United were incredibly poor in the final against Barcelona last year and needed to rebuild their team in almost every position.

Carlos Tevez, enjoying life at Manchester City, was allowed to leave while Dimitar Berbatov was kept at the club. Tonight Ferguson all but admitted that he let the wrong player leave.

For some time now Manchester United's midfield have been in decline. The incredibly important central berth is populated by players who are either too old or too static to influence matches of the highest calibre. Tonight they were found out yet again.

Nemanja Vidic obviously wants to leave the club, Ferdinand and Neville have aged terribly this season, and van der Sar, who has been brilliant all year, is old and needs to be replaced.

In short Manchester United are in trouble. Given their financial predicament and the imminent rise of Manchester City, it might be no exaggeration to see United relapse into previous malady and go some years without another trophy.

The warning signs are there for all to see and while the Red Devils still have a chance at winning the league this year, the malaise needs to be repaired and the only thing that will do that is a cold hard cash injection.

Alex Ferguson Contributes To Manchester United's Downfall in Munich

Bayern Munich took partial revenge on Manchester United tonight by beating them 2-1 at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League after Ivica Olic scored a dramatic 93rd-minute winner.

However, although Bayern deserved their win, Alex Ferguson must hold his hand up and accept that he contributed greatly to his team's demise.

Just as Ferguson's substitutions turned that now famous game in 1999, his changes tonight were equally as poor, handing the impetus and control on midfield directly to Louis van Gaal's team.

Manchester United were given a dream start when Nani was brought down at the corner flag by the clumsy Demichelis, who had a nightmare first half.

The little Portuguese winger picked himself up off the ground to fire in a free kick that a completely unmarked Wayne Rooney met to volley home in the Bayern six-yard box after Demichelis had slipped and lost his footing.

Sixty-six seconds in and the procession that many believed would happen was well under way.

Something changed in United's setup though. The team began to defend very deeply, rendering much of its own penetrative forces useless, as the likes of Patrice Evra could not get out of his own half.

On the other side of the pitch, a terrified Gary Neville was brought face-to-face with one of the most frightening sights in football: Franck Ribery tearing down the wing at full pace.

The fact that Nani was operating in front of him on the right didn't help Neville's cause, after Ferguson decided to leave the much better and far more effective Antonio Valencia on the bench. Perhaps he was resting him for Sunday's crucial clash with Chelsea.

It was just one of the Scot's many questionable decisions that went wrong on the night.

As Bayern began to gain a stranglehold in midfield, Rooney became an isolated figure up front. Nani, Scholes, and Carrick became peripheral figures as Marc van Bommell orchestrated midfield beautifully.

The Dutch star may be coming to the end of his career, but he has a phenomenal football brain and always manages to be in the right place or pick the right pass. He possesses the strength and stamina to back it up.

With him providing the foundation, the likes of Ribery and Altintop were free to bomb forward and troubled a brilliant Edwin van der Sar on more than one occasion.

Sensing that this United team was not of '99 vintage, Bayern stepped up a couple of gears.

The game was in real danger of slipping away. Ferguson was forced to act—he brought off Park and Carrick for Berbatov and Valencia.

They were curious moves for a couple of reasons.

Playing with five in the middle, United's midfield were already being overrun, so the decision to bring on Berbatov and go 4-4-2 was strange to say the least.

While Park was having a quiet game, he was far better than Nani. By bringing Valencia on, he moved Nani out left and made three changes for the price of two, never a good move when you are under pressure.

By going 4-4-2, a legless Paul Scholes was left with a demoralised Fletcher in United's engine room. Bayern just steamrolled past them.

United's static midfield has caused them problems in every game, which has raised questions. Van Gaal deserves huge credit for exploiting them, when other managers are often afraid to take the initiative.

A far more sensible approach would have been to remove Neville for Rafael and replace Nani with Valencia.

United would have kept the same formation. But they would have replaced the wheelbarrow-slow Neville with a much younger model and replaced Nani for a much better player, who wouldn't be afraid to work either end of the field.

But with Ferguson's substitutions made, Bayern duly took over.

Seven minutes later, they scored the equalizer they deserved after Ribery's free kick was deflected past van der Sar and off Rooney.

In a cowardly move, the England striker turned his back on the ball as it left Ribery's boot.

It is a cardinal sin in football to turn your back on the ball, especially in a free kick. You just don't know where the ball is going to go. Nine times out of 10, the deflection gives the ball a dipped trajectory that 'keepers find impossible to judge.

Besides, when you're on as much as Rooney, taking a ball in the face is all part of the game.

The free kick was initially awarded after a punch-drunk Neville fisted the ball away from Ribery with the referee less than five yards away—incredibly poor defending by the player many feel is the best right full ever to play in England.

It was a night to forget for Neville and one that will linger long in both his and Ferguson's minds.

And one thing is for sure: Ronaldinho of AC Milan is no Ribery.

The goal spurred Bayern on even more as Die Roten went chasing a winner.

Staring defeat straight in the eye, Ferguson played the only card he had left and took Nani off for Ryan Giggs.

It was too little too late though. Ivica Olic stepped up in the 93rd minute to coolly slip the ball past van der Sar for a winner that will go a little way to eradicating the memory of 1999.

Olic pounced onto the ball after a schoolboy error by Patrice Evra, who could not control the ball. He took far too many touches with the striker in close attendance, the end result being Bayern's winner.

Insult was added to that injury-time winner when Rooney appeared to twist his ankle awkwardly. It would now appear that the United striker will miss Sunday's crucial Premier League clash with Chelsea at Old Trafford.

Ferguson had spoken before the match of how he valued an away goal more than a clean sheet, and perhaps this mindset had seeped into the team.

The tie is delicately poised, but Bayern will be a far different animal in the return leg when Arjen Robben returns to the fold.

Rooney's season is now in the balance, and so is United's.

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Football Is Not Recession Proof, Now UEFA Know and 2012 Begins a New Era

The landscape of football is about to take a dramatic change if UEFA and Michel Platini are to get their way.

Since Platini took over as UEFA President in 2007, the Frenchman has always stated his desires for financial fair play across Europe.

Premier League Rejects Playoff Proposal

Premier League chairmen have rejected the idea of a introducing a play-off to decide who takes the fourth UEFA Champions League place. The motion was beaten after it failed to gather the 14 votes it needed to pass.

The controversial idea of introducing play-offs for the final Champions League spot was proposed last month. Under it's premise teams finishing between fourth to seventh place would then go into a playoff to decide the leagues last place in the Champions League.

At best the proposal received a mixed reception from Premier League managers with some very much for the idea while others were dead set against it.

The idea was examined by Premier League chairmen at their meeting on London on Thursday after Peter Scudamore brought forward a mandate for the proposal and they have voted against it, meaning the status quo will stay as is.

While managers from Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool were vehemant opposers to the proposition, they were the four clubs with the most to lose, they were also somewhat ironically the four clubs who would have gained most.

Given the finances that the four clubs enjoy over every other team it is highly unlikely that any of these clubs would have finished outside the top seven positions in the short to medium term future.






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Real Madrid and Barcelona Head Football's Rich List, Arsenal Up To Fifth

Manchester United have dropped out of the top two richest teams in the world for the first time as Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona, have established themselves as the new dominant financial forces in football.

Seven of the top 20 richest teams in the world are based in the English Premier League, but it now looks as if La Liga is where the real power lies.

Over the last 18 months, La Liga has seen itself attract some of the best talent in the world, some of it from the EPL, and become the new dominant league in Europe, and the world.

Rising tax rates in Britain combined with an ailing currency have become a vital ingredient in seeing Spain become the destination of choice for footballers.

Currently the high tax rate in Britain is 50 percent, meaning that half of everything a player earns goes directly to the government. While this has been going on in England, the Spanish government has reduced the tax rate for "foreign executives" down to an amazing 24 percent.

This in turn enables Spanish teams to attract bigger names and pay bigger wages. This then returns to the clubs through advertising and merchandise revenue streams making Spanish teams winners on every angle.

English football also has another cross to bear.

The current amount of debt the Premiership owes is £3.5billion.

Incredibly, that is 56 percent of all the debt owed by football teams in the whole of Europe. And £2billion of that total is owed by just four teams, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool.

Barcelona's rise on the list is due to their phenomenal success on the pitch over the last two seasons, and last year in particular.

In the 2009/10 season, Barcelona entered six competitions, and won every single trophy available. Something no other team in world football has ever matched before.

This has sent their annual income soaring above previous high levels.

Alan Switzer, director of Deloitte's sports business group, warned: "Real Madrid and Barcelona have created a clear revenue gap between themselves and their main competitors.

"They look set to contest the top two positions in the money league for the foreseeable future, particularly if the pound doesn't strengthen against the euro."

Dan Jones, a partner in Deloitte's sports business group, added: "Just like it was in Rome last May, Barcelona just proved too strong for United. Like other English clubs, United were impacted by the continued depreciation of sterling - and the scale of this is shown by the fact that, if exchange rates remained at their June 2007 level, they would be top of the money league table."

Real, whose new class of Galacticos include the £80million Cristiano Ronaldo, became the first club to generate more than €400 million of revenue in 2008-09.

Despite the drop seen by most Premiership clubs, Arsenal have replaced Chelsea as the fifth richest club in world football. Returning the favour for the Pensioners taking their place over the last couple of years.

This is quite remarkable especially when you consider that the Gunners are trophy-less for the past five seasons.

A prudent financial footing and a huge revenue creating stadium the main reasons why Arsenal have moved back up. However, the Gunners do have large debts hanging over them, although they look well placed to deal with them if they continue with their current policies.

In recent times speculation has begun to mount about an American consortium being interested in acquiring Arsenal. This rumour spread after Liam Brady resigned from his post as Assistant Manager to Giovani Trappatoni, the Irish national team manager.

Speculation is rife that Arsene Wenger was happy to let Brady double job, the Irishman is in an extremely important job at Arsenal as "Head of Youth Development", but that he was put under pressure by the board to resign as they did not want to be seen to be allowing an important member of staff to take his eye of the main job at hand.

Despite the top fours empires being built on massive debt, Jones believes leading English clubs are still well-placed to survive.

With speculation arising that the EPL will sign a £1 billion TV deal, Jones said: "While there has been much recent comment on the finances of English clubs, we believe problems are experienced at the very highest level are more likely to be a result of mismanagement, weak cost control or a lack of credit than any problems with revenue generation."

How will Premier League teams survive their massive debt strains and still be competitive in Europe is something that will occupy the minds of many owners and chairmen over the next couple of years.

Already, the league has proposed a "39th game" which would be played outside England in the hope of each Premiership team being allowed to generate millions as cities bid to have certain teams play there.

That idea was scrapped but another has surfaced in it's place. A set of playoffs between the four teams who finished from fourth to seventh, allowing the winner to play in the Champions League.

As these playoffs would be outside a normal season they could be brought abroad to the highest bidder...

Either way, the EPL has some way to go to gain on La Liga, whilst Serie A is in real danger of becoming a mid-tier league in Europe.

The pressure is on for all European teams in Serie A. The league faces losing it's coveted fourth Champions League place next year unless an Italian team wins in Europa and every German team gets knocked out in the current rounds of competition.

Given the strong cases being built by Bundesliga teams, that looks a distant prospect.

The power in football is currently residing in Spain, it will stay there for some time until it finds a new lover, expect the new mistress in the coming years to speak German, the Bundesliga is a league on the up.



The Top 20 Rich List:

Position Club Revenue (£m)

1 (1) Real Madrid 341.9

2 (3) FC Barcelona 311.7

3 (2) Manchester United 278.5

4 (4) Bayern Munich 246.6

5 (6) Arsenal 224.0

6 (5) Chelsea 206.4

7 (8) Liverpool 184.8

8 (11) Juventus 173.1

9 (10) Internazionale 167.4

10 (7) AC Milan 167.4

11 (15) Hamburger SV 124.9

12 (9) AS Roma 124.7

13 (12) Olympique Lyonnais 118.9

14 (16) Olympique de Marseille 113.5

15 (14) Tottenham Hotspur 113.0

16 (13) Schalke 04 106.0

17 (n/a) Werder Bremen 97.7

18 (20) Borussia Dortmund 88.1

19 (n/a) Manchester City 87.0

20 (17) Newcastle United 86.0

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Arsenal Robbed Against Porto By The Same Referee Who Cheated Ireland In France

The most popular referee in Ireland was back to his old tricks tonight as he robbed Arsenal in their 2-1 defeat to Porto in the Dragao Stadium. First of all he took the ball from Fabianski to set up the quick free before obstructing Sol Campbell as he tried to get goal-side, he also waved away a definite penalty after Rosicky was taken down.

It was not a good night in the office for the Gunners who were bereft of ideas of the vast majority of the match. Heading into the game they were robbed of four important players through injury, and their replacements were key in giving the match to their obstinate Portuguese opponents.

For their part Porto were worth the win, they created the most chances and always looked the more likely to score. But they had to get help from two Arsenal players to get those valuable goals.

This match was Sol Campbell's first appearance in the Champions League since scoring in the 2006 final, where Arsenal were beaten 2-1 by Barcelona. Parachuted in at the last moment due to the departures of William Gallas and Manuel Almunia through injury, the eye was always going to be on Campbell and Fabianski in particular.

Arsene Wenger did his young Polish 'keeper no favours this week when he described him as a young David Seaman, and the youngster had a major part to play in both Porto goals.

The two goals were self inflicted schoolboy errors, with Fabianski and Campbell being the two main culprits.

The opener was a real howler. Gael Clichy is suffering a poor run of form since coming back into the team after injury. He was little more than a spectator as Silvestre Varela tore past him on the wing before whipping in a cross that Fabianski helped into the back of the net!

Porto one up after eleven minutes and the worst possible start for the Gunners.

Arsenal equalized through the returning Campbell as he headed home from six yards after meeting Tomas Rosicky's headed cross following Cesc Fabregas' deep corner.

It was a real fairy tale return for the defender who was playing in League Two only five months ago, it also meant that he has scored in his last two Champions League games, even though they were 45 months apart!

He had a good first half but his legs are gone at this level and the further the game went on the further off the pace he moved. The head may be willing but his legs are wilting and he was caught out time and time again by Porto counter attacks as the match wore on.

The second and winning goal was an absolute comedy of events worthy of a William Shakespeare farce.

First of all Sol Campbell passed the ball back to Fabianski, who instead of clearing, picked the ball up, giving an indirect free kick away. Schoolboy error number one.

Referee Martin Hansson charged in with his arm in the air signalling the dead ball. Fabianski backed off with the ball while Campbell held his head in his hands at his terrible mistake.

Neither got back into position. Schoolboy error number two.

The ref asked Fabianski for the ball and he gave it to him! Schoolboy error number three.

The rest of the Arsenal team looked on dumbfound, not getting back. Schoolboy error number four.

Campbell finally wakes up and decides to get back into position, but the referee blocks him!

Quick free kick and Porto are in the lead as Falcao slaps the ball into the net.

While the ref was quite right in awarding the free, he was wrong to demand the ball back from Fabianski and giving it to Porto so quickly, and in essence he aided the quick free kick. Referees are meant to be impartial, and while he was right to ask for the ball, which any goalkeeper worth his salt would have held onto while his defence gets organized, he should not have given it to Porto and should have allowed Arsenal time to set up.

This situation is different from a quick free kick in a normal situation where the free taking player already has the ball, tonight Hansson aided the situation by giving the ball, a cardinal error by the same referee who made a terrible decision in Paris by allowing William Gallas' goal to stand after a blatant handball by ex-Arsenal striker Thierry Henry.

Minutes before Porto's second goal Hansson made another terrible call as Tomas Rosicky wriggled his way into the Porto box before being uncerimoniosly upended by a clumsy tackle from behind.

It was a definite foul and penalty but Michel Platini's favourite World Cup referee waved play on while Arsenal's players wondered what had just happened.

As mentioned before, Porto were the better side and deserved their win. Brazilian centre-forward Hulk caused Vermaelen and Campbell all kinds of problems and were it not for some smart 'keeping from Fabianski the Gunners would have found the deficit growing.

The 2-1 scoreline means that the tie is very much open, and despite Arsenal doing very little in this game they will be relatively confident of winning the return leg by two goals to take them through to the quarters.

Porto will be hoping that Campbell and Fabianski will be there for the return leg, but one gets the impression that this might be the last time we get to see the young Polish 'keeper this season.

Big Four Monopoly To End? English Premier League Clubs To Vote On Proposed Champions League Playoffs in April

The monopoly that Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea have enjoyed for the last ten years looks set to end. The Premier League are considering the introduction of a playoff for the last Champions League place, meaning a team as low as 7th could play in Europe's foremost trophy.

Premier League sources have confirmed that the play-off system proposal was presented to all at the most recent meeting of EPL clubs, on 4 February. As with his mandate of Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore, now has until the next meeting in April to produce a proposal that would be acceptable to the teams of the EPL.

Under the proposal, a playoff would be played at the end of the season between the teams that finished 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th. The matches would take the form of two semi finals and a final, with the winner progressing towards the Champions League as reward.

One major obstacle that the likes of Liverpool and United will hope to exploit is the lack of fixture time between the end of the league season, the start of May, and the traditional end of the season, the FA Cup Final.

The proposal is still in it's infancy but with 16 teams backing the initial plan, it looks as if a solution should easily be found around the sticky situations of home and away legs, or seeding.

Or even God forbid if England's UEFA co-efficient should drop and only three, not four teams were eligible for Champions League football.

These topics will be picked over by Scudamore over the next month as he readies his proposal.
The move has been met with open arms by the vast majority of clubs plying their trade in England's upper echelon, with only four dissenting voices to be heard, those of Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea...The four clubs with the most to lose.

It is not known which chairman raised the issue but it is safe to say that he was not from one of the leagues top four teams. And only needing a majority of 14 it looks as if this proposal could be implemented by as early as next season.

The move was sparked by the aforementioned clubs domination of the the league since the Premier League's inception in 1992.

Since then debt has spiralled out of control in English football, but in the Premier League in particular.

As it stands the 20 teams in the EPL owe around £3 billion in debt, with £2 billion of that total being spread amongst the monopoly on top. Manchester United, famously in debt for £716m recently set up a £500m bond trust to push them further into debt.

Chelsea were smarter and used slight of hand to remove their £700m debt by giving Roman Abrahmovich sole ownership of the club, as owner the debt is now his, and as the Pensioners owed him the money in the first place the slate is wiped clean...

Liverpool came within hours of going under last summer only for RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) to baulk at the last moment and give them a one year reprieve. The Reds now have until June to find over £100m from a £290m debt.

The Gunners have been more spendthrift than their rivals but are still in debt to the region of £400m with a £25m mortgage to pay on the Emitates stadium for the next 24 years. This despite a recent £150m share issue that saw Bank of Ireland take on shares at the club to quash their debt.

Should other plans by Michel Platini come into fruition then Arsenal could be further plunged into debt as their property company Arsenal Holdings is struggling under the debt they accrued in the development of apartments at Highbury.

Meaning that the other £1billion is spread between the other 16 clubs. When you realise that newly promoted sides like Birmingham and Burnley are reletively debt free it shows that the leagues leading clubs have been allowed to exploit their stature by going further into debt and that the rest are playing an impossible game of catch up.

The fact that these four clubs are the only opposing faction speaks volumes of how this little clique see themselves as being above every other club. Their flat refusal to share the spoils of European football is pure indication that their monopoly is under threat and that the EPL are moving to breakup their strangle hold for the good of the game in England.

Ironically this latest move by the EPL comes as Manchester City enter the fray as the world's richest club and as such are insulated against giant debt. On top of that, Liverpool's traditional placing at the top of the EPL table is under threat from three different sources for the first time in decades.

The top fours opposition to the playoff system is obviously driven by self interest, but their argument that such vast rewards should not be given to a team as low as seventh do not wash as Liverpool themselves won the trophy whilst finishing in fifth place in the league. Add this to the fact that very few champions have actually won the Champion League and finishing seventh is no different than finishing fourth.

The proposal  will of course have massive implications for both the Carling and FA Cups and the relevant teams who have enjoyed their stay at the top of the league.

The two cups have already been devalued by almost every team in English football, attendances show that from the FA Premier League all the way down to League Two that gates have reduced for the cups by almost 20 percent since the 80's.

The new proposed playoff system means a further devaluation to the once great trophies, as EPL teams will now have very little incentive to win the cup as finishing seventh could bring greater glory than winning a cup.
But why introduce a playoff system after almost 20 years of Premier League action?

Is it a reflex reply to the scathing criticism that the 39th game received? In a way one could easily come to this conclusion.

The EPL is the most watched league in the world and the introduction of a "cup" involving four teams with everything to play for at the end of the season would be sure to spark major interest around the world.

At the moment the Championship Playoff Final is labelled as the most lucrative match in world football with an estimated £40m waiting for the winner. How much would the Champions League Playoff be worth?

Currently the top fours budgets earn almost 15 percent of their turnover from the Champions League. Just on television rights alone a trek to the final could be worth almost £40m, and that is before prize money and gate receipts are taken into account.

This season Liverpool were eliminated from the Champions League in the group stages and were dumped into the Europa League. Should Liverpool win every match in Europe's second trophy and lay claim to the trophy, nine matches, they will still pick up less money than they would have earned from playing in the CL Last 16 alone.

In short, the Champions League is huge, and the money earned there is massive. Little wonder that the top four are obsessed with keeping the league in it's current status quo.

If there is one competition that is more drenched in money than the English Premier League, it is the UEFA Champions League.

And now the lower lights in the EPL want their say, will they have the moral courage to break such a powerful monopoly?

Doing it in paper is one thing, doing it on the pitch is another...

Embarrassing Early Exits by Liverpool and Juventus in Champions League

This year's Champions League was hailed as the most predictable of all time. But as we stand, before the year turns, some of the game's biggest names have crashed and burned and exited the competition in embarrassing fashion. Liverpool and Juventus are easily the two most prominent clubs to bite the dust...

Will Spurs Finish Above Manchester City and Liverpool to Finish Fourth?

As we head towards December, Spurs sit in the oxygen-thin heights of fourth, but will they last? 

Is Harry Redknapp the right man for the job? Where do Spurs need to improve if they are to stay in the Champions League positions? And what would be deemed a successful season at White Hart Lane?