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Champions League

 

The blue half of Glasgow was celebrating again recently after bitter rivals Celtic were defeated in an away game in the Champions League. The bhoy's away record in the competition is simply shocking. The 2-1 defeat to Aalborg in Denmark completes a terribly poor run of results for the Scottish Champions away from Celtic Park. The most recent loss means that Celtic have picked up just one point from 18 matches in the group stages of the competition.

Hoops manager Gordon Strachan tried to put a brave face on the result in Denmark and indeed Celtics poor Champions League run of results this season. He said " Our performances away from home have been better this season. This (the 2-1 defeat to Aalborg) ranks up with one of the best away displays but as a manager you can only ask players to do so much."

The unlucky defeat means that Celtic also miss out on a spot in this season's Uefa Cup as they will definately finish bottom of the pile in Group E.

 

PREMIERSHIP FOOTBALL

When Peter Crouch was sold by Portsmouth in 2002 Aston Villa paid £5 million for the 6ft 7inch striker's services.

He now returns to Pompey for over double the price but in todays crazy days of big money signings Harry Redknapp knows he's picked up the big hit man at a relatively good price.

Crouch scored 42 goals in all competitions for Liverpool over three seasons at Anfield but after the signing of Fernando Torres last season the England International was always going to struggle to book a regular starting place in the Red's side.

Now Harry Redknapp will hope the England little and large tag team of Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch can help solidify his side's place in the Premiership elite.

And judging by Crouch's strike rate over his career to date clever Harry seems destined to see his plan work.

The 27 year old has in general been consistent throughout his career and fans of Queens Park Rangers, Portsmouth (2001-02), Aston Villa, Norwich City, Southampton and Liverpool will be quick to tell you that he's a massive talent.

EURO 2008

Firstly hats off to the stylish Spanish who brought a breath of fresh air to a major Championships and fully deserved to win on the big stage for the first time since 1964.

While striker Fernando Torres of Liverpool was the hero last night in the final against Germany Spain boast an entire squad of gifted players who for

once all pulled in the one direction for the benefit of their country.

Today the 28 year old Barcelona midfielder Xavi (pictured right) was voted player of the tournament though I have to say I disagree with UEFA's panel on that decision.

Certainly he played a major role in Spain's return to the big time and his goal against Russia opened the floodgates for his side but at least two of his fellow countrymen stood out for me.

EURO 2008

I remember wiping tears of joy from my eyes in New Jerseys Giants Stadium in 1994 after watching Ray Houghton score for the Republic of Ireland to defeat the Italians 1-0 in the World Cup.

We were on cloud nine and thought we were world beaters.

A few short weeks later our boys were on their summer holidays and Italy were in the World Cup Final against Brazil, a clash they lost in a cruel penalty shoot out.

That tournament showed clearly that writing off the Italians is as fool hardy as placing Theo Walcott in your World Cup squad though you know you'd rather play with 10 men than use him!

True neither they nor pre-tournament favourites Germany have set this competition alight yet in the same way Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands have but they have experience on their side and a mental resilience that all the skill in the world can't match.

FOOTBALL

There have been calls from across the world of football for players to undergo compulsory heart screening after the recent death of Motherwell Captain Phil O' Donnell.

The 35 year old collapsed during Motherwell's 5-3 victory over Dundee United at Fir Park.

As thousands turned out to mourn the passing of the Scottish midfielder many asked why his heart condition had not been detected before.

Now groups such as the Professional Footballers Association has urged clubs to do more to safeguard player's health.

PFA Chief Gordon Taylor said " It is important for clubs to carry out health checks themselves. You can never tell if someone has a particular heart defect. It is like with any high intensity sport - you are never quite sure about the heart until it is put to an extreme test."

Heart screening could begin at clubs in Scotland from as early as next season.

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FA CUP

His credentials as a gifted football manager have never been in doubt but so far this season Aston Villa manager Martin O' Neill has surpassed even his own expectations.

In the Premiership the live-wire Irishman has guided Villa to victories over the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham, West Ham and Blackburn Rovers and currently the Villans sit seventh in the table just three points off a Champions League spot.

Villa are unbeaten in their last five games and on Saturday welcome Manchester United to the midlands in a mouth watering FA Cup 3rd round tie.

Though Martin O' Neill is confident his side can cause an upset and defeat the Premier League Champions history indicates thats unlikely to happen.

Amazingly Villa have failed to defeat the Red Devils in 20 league and cup matches with the last win coming in a 3-0 triumph in the third round of the Worthington Cup in October 1999.

Premiership Football

To use the old cliche this was simply a game 'of two halves'.

A injury time strike by William Gallas maintained Arsenal's unbeaten record in a titanic tussle with Manchester United.

Cautious and afraid of making any big errors both sides were careful in the opening 45 minutes before Wayne Rooney (with the help of a William Gallas deflection) put the Champions ahead in North London to silence an already quiet Emirates Staidum.

 

 

They like their English football in Spain but few Iberians would be familiar with Blackpool FC!

There were many who doubted Arsenal's ability to mix it with the top sides in the Premiership this season believing the success of Arsene Wegner's young side was fleeting.

As if Merseyside derby's are volatile enough now Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard is at the centre of a major storm brewing between his club and Everton.

Evertonians claim that the England midfield star intentionally influenced referee Mark Clattenburg to send off defender Tony Hibbert after he had fouled Gerrard to give away a penalty on Saturday.

Television pictures show Clattenburg immediately reaching for a yellow card after the offence took place. Gerrard walks towards the referee and says something to him. Seconds later Clattenburg puts the yellow card back in his pocket and instead brandishes the red one.

If the inevitable happens and Republic of Ireland manager Steve Staunton is axed by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) this week you may well see dancing on the streets of Dublin.

It's business as usual this weekend with the Premiership resuming after the International break.

Leaders Arsenal have on paper a comfortable fixture when they welcome a struggling Bolton side to the Emirates stadium.

A massive 17 points separates these two sides and that will surly be extended to 20 by 5pm on Saturday.

Chelsea lost 2-0 at Villa Park earlier this season so Manchester United who trail Arsenal at the top of the table by two points won't be taking anything for granted.

This could be the clash of the weekend with Villa themselves in flying form. A draw here would be far from a surprise.

The city of Liverpool will come to a standstill when the bitter rivals Liverpool and Everton lock horns in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

Fernando Torres is fighting against time to be fit for the clash having injured himself while training with Spain this week.

Away from the pressures of International football Sven Goran Eriksson is thriving at Manchester City and he'll be expecting Elano, Petrov and co to deliver another three points when Birmingham city visit the city of Manchester stadium.

With just a handful of games remaining in the European Championship qualifiers both England and Scotland stand on the verge of booking their flights for Austria and Switzerland.

On the back of three consecutive 3-0 victories Steve McLaren's England are looking in good shape to qualify.

On Wednesday they face Russia in Moscow knowing that a win would ensure they make the competition.

England will be without Ashley Cole and John Terry for the clash of the giants, a game which Russia need to win if they are to finish in the top two.

Elsewhere Scotland without four first choice players travel to Tbilisi in a game they simply must win if they're to send shockwaves across the continent and deprive either current World Champions Italy or former World Champions France a place at the finals.

Scott Brown, Lee McCulloch, Paul Hartley and Garry O' Connor are all missing for the trip to Georgia.

After beating the Ukraine 3-1 at home last Saturday the Scots will be aiming to take all three points here. If they manage that then a draw at home in the last game of the group to Italy would be enough to send Alex McLeish's side through and start one hell of a tartan party!

By Graham Clifford

After another successful week in Europe Arsenal return to the Premiership looking for their 7^th win out of 8 games on Sunday when Sunderland make their way to the Capital. Sunderland languishing 14 places behind the 'Wenger boys' in the table will have their work cut out for them against a side who have found the back of the net 16 times this season as opposed to the Black Cat's 8. Roy Keane may have had some famous days at the old Highbury but he'd settle for a drab goalless draw at the Emirates in a game his side are severe underdogs to win. Sunderland travel with the task of ending a 10-match losing run of Premier League trips to London, and have not won a top-flight match in the capital since beating Chelsea 4-2 on 17 March 2001.