Champions League Wrap!

The first four ties of the quarter finals of the Champions League for 2011 have been completed and some results may have come as a surprise as European Giants Milan were bundled out, and much hyped Arsenal were also shown the door.

At their expense teams like Tottenham and Shahktar Donetsk made history qualifying for the quarter finals for the first time.

Arsenal vs Barcelona was probably the most anticipated match of the round. With two giants of the game clashing in what was an exhilerating tie. It was Barcelona who came up trumps producing the goods in the second leg to send the Camp Nou into raptures. Arsenal will rue a missed opportunity as they failed to capitilise on an impressive 2-1 lead in the tie. For Wenger's men winning the league will be their main aim.

Little known Ukrainian side Shahktar Donetsk took on Italian side Roma. After a 3-2 victory in the first leg, it was looking good for the team who had never before reached the knockouts of the Champions League. The second leg saw a coomprehensive 3-0 victory in favour of Shahktar which was more than enough to see off the Italian side.

After an exhilerating first leg at the San Siro, Tottenham were looking to produce the goods against Ac Milan. In an affair which could be best described as an anti-climax the English team held on to produce an aggregate victory, much to the dispair of the Italians. Credit must be given to the outstanding defensive display which was on show at Whitehart Lane.

Valencia have looked to seemingly be cruising following the departure of lethal duo David Villa and David Silva, however that all came to an end after being put to the sword by Shalke. The 3-1 loss will see Valenica return to Spain in the hope that they can try and bridge the insumountable gap between themsleves and Barcelona and Real Madrid.

With another four games to follow next week, the quarter finals are already looking tantalising. With some new faces in the last eight the 2010/2011 installment of the Champions League may prove to be one of the best yet!

Video - Highlights from Blackpool vs Chelsea

Chelsea have cemented fourth spot in the EPL with a comprehensive win in their away match to Blackpool.

A John Terry header along with a double from Lampard helped guide the Blues to yet another win, which leaves them nine points behind Manchester United.

Blackpool edge closer to relegation and now sit just two points out of the bottom three.

Video - Highlights from Wolverhampton vs Tottenham

Spectacular goals were abundant in Tottenham's clash with Wolves. Although the match ended 3-3, Jermain Defoe found the net twice in amazing fashion.

Pavlyuchenko also got in on the action with a nice strike.

In the end Wolves hung on to the point, which is crucial in their battle to avoid relegation.

Video - Highlights from Liverpool vs Manchester United - 3-1

Check out the latest from the EPL with the highlights from Liverpool vs Manchester United. A hattrick from Kuyt was enough to seal a famous victory over Manchester United.

United have now lost two games in the space of a week.

The extended highlights are below

The Rise and Rise of Thomas Hitzlsperger - A Blessing for West Ham United

Even though it's taken more than half the season for German midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger to make his debut for West Ham United FC, it couldn't have come at a better time for the Hammers. Nicknamed "Der Hammer" (The Hammer in English) for his punishing and accurate long range drives, Hitzlsperger comes as welcome boost for a West Ham United side that is trying to fight a relegation battle along with four or so other Premier League teams. Bought from Italian side Lazio in the previous Summer transfer window, it has taken Der Hammer more than half a season to debut for the Hammers due to an injury he picked up while on international duty for Die Mannschaft. His influence has been well noted, as all games that he's featured in he's left a significant impact on: his teammates, West Ham fans, media, pundits and opposition alike.


Although its only been three matches since he's made his mark for the Hammers, it seems that he's regaining his form that made him a media darling while at fellow EPL side Aston Villa. His return to the side has coincided with West Ham United's recent revival of form and his rocket shots against Burnely in the FA Cup and a punishing drive from 10 yards against Stoke City have been influentual in helping the Hammers try and battle relegation. Have a look at his stunning strikes and judge for yourself.


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By Marcel Abboud

Robbery is back!

After several months of waiting the great duo of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben also called Robbery are back on the pitch together. Bayern Munich have had big problems with injuries this season. Players like: Miroslav Klose, Daniel Van Buyten, Toni Kroos, Holger Badstuber, Diego Contento, Breno, Mark Van Bommel, Ivica Olic and last but not least Ribery and Robben.

Their replacments has been good but not good enough too compare with the magic Robbery delivers in matches. 

The duo has  now played a few games together after recovering from their long lasting injuries. One can already see the effect of the two wingers. 

Ribery has delivered some crucial crosses while Robben has scored some vital goals, in fact Robben scored four goals in his first four games in the starting line up, this season. There is no doubt Robbery are extremely important to Bayern Munich. Perhaps will they even lead the Bavarian side to a second place in the Bundesliga and secure a spot in next years Champions league.

By Aksel Petter Spence

From Ferrara to Zaccheroni to Del Neri to...... Juventus' coaching saga continues!

The 2010/2011 instalment of the Serie A has seemingly mirrored that of 2009/2010 for the Bianconeri. A new coach brought a new hope for the fans who have been disappointed on a regular basis, amongst some poor performances and some woeful transfers the Juventus of old has seemingly disappeared post Calciopoli.

 
The Turin giants sit 7th in the Serie A on 41 points. In perspective they lie 17 points behind rivals and next opponents Ac Milan, and 7 points outside of the top four. They remain in the hunt for a spot in the Champions League spot, although with only 11 games remaining this season this may seem to be an insurmountable task.
If one thing is for certain though the Juventus board will look to hold those responsible for the utterly diappointing season. It looks as though the first person to go - as is always the case - will be Luigi Del Neri.

Many would argue that Del Neri is not responsible for the poor run of Juventus form. Rather it is the players, both newly transferred and season campaigners who have failed to produce consistency on the pitch. Nevertheless Juventus will be on the look out for a new coach. Several high profile managers have already been linked with the Old Lady.

During the January transfer window, former Roma coach and current Zenit St Petersburg coach Luciano Spalletti was linked with Del Neri's job. During his time in the Serie A he lead Udinese to a Champions League position, and later lead Roma to a host of Coppa Italia victories. He continued his good run of form in Russia winning two league titles with Zenit.He would certainly have the Serie A experience to take over the role of coach at Juventus.

Current English national coach and former Juventus coach Fabio Capello was also linked with a move to Juventus. Capello was at the helm of the Bianconeri in the period leading up to Calciopoli. He developed a team that proved to be one of the most lethal in Europe, there was the possibility that he was even going to lead Juventus to a third Champions League title in the following years. However his team was dismantled when Juve were relegated. Capello is not the man to back down from challenges, and the challenge for him to finish the task he started 7 years ago is still more than alive.

With rumours as absurd as a Lippi return, or a certain Arsene Wenger walking in on the action, Juventus will certainly have an abundance of choice to choose from when choosing their new coach. For now the board will hope that Del Neri has the ability to lead the disappointing Bianconeri to an elusive Champions League spot, so that his certain predecessor is given an opportunity to make his mark.

Juventus face Milan at home this weekend, a win is almost necessary to keep European dreams alive.

When is enough, enough?

How many mistakes do you think you would be given in your job before you were shown the door? How many times could you say sorry before the word becomes meaningless and empty?

How many times can you bawl red faced and spitting in anger towards a referee before it goes too far? How many times can you get away with murder?

This week has been a shameful one for English football. Two incidents, with two Englishmen caught red handed will go by without reprimand as the reputation of the game suffers.

Manchester United’s assistant coach Mike Phelan’s assertion that it is unfair to question the referee’s decision to not award more than a free kick to Wigan for Wayne Rooney's elbow on James McCarthy, is an outrageous act of hypocrisy.

“We can’t dispute the referee’s decision” said Whelan as he somehow managed to keep a straight face after the game.

Luckily he has never spoken out, outraged by a perceived slight from a referee against his side. Ever.

“You expect officials to get that one right. It was not even close. Their job is to keep their composure and they failed to do that." Said Phelan after Man Utd lost to Chelsea last April.

So you can’t question the referee’s decision if the decision goes in your favour you mean, Mike?

His boss, Sir Alex Ferguson also defended Wayne Rooney’s clear elbow on Wigan’s James McCarthy, claiming the media wanted the striker “electrocuted" for his actions. An attempt to find a quote where he has turned a blind eye to his own team’s thuggery while lamenting the performance of a referee that awarded a decision against him would have taken too long, there was just too many to sift through.

Carlo Ancelotti was equally as indignant after revelations in the News of the World about Ashley Cole shooting a university student at the club’s training ground with an air rifle.

“He said sorry, said it was a mistake, an accident, we will take the proper action, but tomorrow he will play.” He also suggested he should be allowed off because he had admitted to making a mistake, and who else doesn’t make a mistake after all? We don’t know the ins and outs of the goings on at Cobham, so how can we judge?

Anyone willing to place a free bet on the outcome being a ticking off? Every action does not have an equal and opposite reaction, apparently.

When did football become so removed from the realities of the world? When did it become an inclusive bubble, separate from the rights and wrongs of the world?

Rooney and Cole have proved themselves to be devoid of common sense, morality and class before, and their action only serves to add to their quickly growing reputation for idiocy, and worse, sleaze. But why managers have become PR representatives, spinning a story to coerce others to see their point of view? Win hearts and minds, boys and you will win the war.

Ancelotti, Ferguson and Phelan are blinded by their own cause, and look foolish because of it.

Two of these are managers with excellent records in the game, both Champions League and Premier League winners. Supporters should expect and demand not to be treated like idiots by them.

You elbow someone in the head, you are punished. You shoot someone with an air-rifle, you are punished. Nothing a manager suggests afterwards will ever change that fact. It is only a major flaw in the laws of football that protects Rooney. In your next Sunday league fixture, smash someone in the temple and see if they will accept a free-kick as an appropriate punishment, and that no further action is necessary.

Or shoot someone in broad daylight during a training session and see how many people you are able to convince that it didn’t happen.

Free bets for anyone who is able to get away with it with just a clip round the ear like Rooney and Cole.

But hopefully these two will face a more severe punishment that a three match ban, or a slap on the wrists by a manager. Rooney in particular has completed a quite spectacular fall from grace since the World Cup, while the closest Cole will have been to grace would have been in a nightclub with a girl of the same name draped over him.

Supporters will judge and punish them accordingly, even if those in power have shown an inability to do so.

Make no mistake, football hasn’t been a game of the people for some time, the money men took care of that, but is it too much to expect a level of decency and honesty? The sheer level of unaccountability defies belief; It makes you wonder why you watch the game in the first place.