FC Barcelona, Champions of Europe

Bloody Nora, that was worth getting out of bed for!

In a Champions League final that thoroughly lived up to the considerable hype, Barcelona recorded a 3-1 victory to claim their fourth European Cup, bringing their tally level with the great sides of Bayern Munich and Ajax. The scoreline tells only part of the story though.

Barcelona were at their irrepressible, unstoppable best in this game, and had spells where they were tearing Manchester United...Champions of England and probably second or third best team in Europe, mind you...tearing them to shreds. The spell between the second and third goal in particular was some of the most compelling attacking football I've ever had the privilege to witness.

United can look back on a bright start and perhaps think what might have been. For the first ten minutes, just as in Rome 2 years ago, they were first to everything and frankly Barcelona looked rattled. The tempo that United opened with was never going to work for 90 minutes, and it seemed that Barca sensed this. Messi dropped deep, Xavi dropped deeper, internal, organic reshuffling of the pack to address the issue of, god forbid, an opponent actually trying to control the game. Their game.

And from around 15 minutes in, be under no illusions, this was Barcelona's game. They controlled the football so often and with such authority that United were being outplayed in a way that, as Alex Ferguson conceded, they maybe never have before. When Pedro gave Barca the lead from yet another inch-perfect through ball from Xavi, it had been coming.

A moment of brilliance from Rooney, linking well with Carrick and then Giggs before unleashing an expert finish brought United on level terms. It was massively against the run of play, and although it meant parity at the break, it never seemed to seriously worry the Blaugrana.

As mentioned above, they had spells of such scintillating attacking football that United couldn't cope and millions couldn't look away. Messi was unforgivably given time and space around 30 yards out, and the inevitable goal that followed was taken with such speed of foot and power of shot that Van Der Sar can be forgiven for reacting slower than he should have. Villa's sumptuous third carries no such blame, the keeper had not a chance in the world of stopping it.

Messi's goal brought him level with the record number of goals scored in a Champions League campaign, and with the way he was destroying the United defence, a record-breaking 13th goal in his 13th match looked like nothing more than an option that he had full control over taking or not. As it was, the professionalism of Barca kicked in and with Villa's third effectively sealing the tie, they chose to sit back and make safe the victory rather than search for more goals.

They still had chances, plenty of them - the most spectacular would have been Iniesta's genius attempted lob near the death, but essentially they knew that with United requiring two goals to force extra time, there was no need for them to attack and take risks. This disappointed me slightly since they could probably have scored 5 or 6 without too much trouble, but the trophy is all that matters.

The performance from Barcelona was so utterly dominant that no-one can argue they are not deserving champions. When your beaten opponents all come out and credit you as a great team even in the immediate aftermath of defeat, you know you have played well. This was just what I was hoping for, a stellar display from a side that are increasingly building a case to be one of the greatest teams ever assembled. They have the chance to form a dynasty now...no team has yet managed to retain the Champions League in it's current format so that must surely be the next goal for Pep Guardiola and his phenomenal team.

Final word goes to the man below. Three times winner, aged only 23. The best player in the world, what a dream it is to be able to watch him play, we are lucky to have him.

Lionel Messi, perhaps only in the fullness of time will we understand just how good he is. Certainly he has the time and the ability to re-set all perceptions of what is possible. What a player.

The Classico of Europe...

In little under 12 hours, Wembley Stadium will play host to the Champions League final for the first time since 1992. Barcelona were the victors that night, and will go into this match as favourites.

They are playing football at the moment that, at times, is out of this world; and they have the top three players in last year's Ballon D'Or vote. All three. Lionel Messi is, frankly, not human. They strangle the life out of opponents with obsessive ball retention and frantic possession in the rare minutes that they don't have the ball. They know how to rile the opposition and are smart enough to capitalise when something is there to be capitalised on. Busquets and Mascherano provide the steel/gamesmanship to back up the artistry of the rest of the team. In short, they are freaking awesome.

And yet, and yet...

Their opponents tonight are Manchester United. Alex Ferguson's Manchester United. Limited perhaps in terms of personnel, but not in terms of determination and that irrepressible Ferguson inspired ability to confound the odds and just, plainly, win.

I can't wait for this game (even with the 4:45 am start). The Champions League final has become the biggest game in club football, and the presence of an English side always adds to the excitement for me. I'm struggling to think of a more compelling fixture in all of inter-country club football than Man United v Barcelona. The best team in the world versus probably the best supported club in the world. The chance to claim further tangible evidence for the claim to be the best team ever, against the chance to achieve perhaps the most unlikely of titles and gain some much-deserved credit in a year when it has been in relatively short supply.

Colours to the mast - I want Barcelona to win this match. I think that Barca are probably the best team I've ever seen in club football, for the past three years in particular they continue to perform at ever higher and more superlative levels. This is all well and good, but in years to come when telling bored children about the best team ever, a series of consecutive European titles will back up the claim better than any anecdotal evidence or Youtube 4.0 footage. I never saw the Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Ajax dynasty teams, but the record books show in plain English how good those teams must have been. For Barca to win 4/5 titles in 6/7 years would provide the best possible evidence for what they are threatening to become.

I wouldn't rule out United. Any other team in England, forget it, but never ever rule out United. Javier Hernandez is precisely the type of player Barca fear - look at the panic they get themselves in every time they face Theo Walcott - and United are the masters of overcoming adversity. That being said, I still think Barcelona are simply too good, the midfield in particular should utterly dominate United and the goal threat of Messi and Villa is realer than Really McReal the Lord Mayor of Realtown, South Real.

Whatever happens, I hope the game is as open, expansive and exciting to watch as it has the potential to be. Would a 5-4 win for Barca be too much to ask? We'll see. Time to set the alarm....

The uber-prestigious Subbies 2010/11

Welcome one and all to the one awards column that really matters. The Sub Please awards for season 2010/11 are here, thanks to The Ainswolf for some valued suggestions, read on to find out who's taken home a Subbie.

Goal of the Season:
For me, if the remit is all of Europe, the stand-out goal this year is easy. Dejan Stankovic's ludicrous volley from halfway line for Inter Milan displayed such incredible poise, technique, vision and execution that it should be shown again and again, perhaps on continuous loops in sports centres and schools. Brainwash kids with repetition of this goal and they too shall be blessed with technique like that. The fact the goal was for the losing side means it has lost a lot of it's stature, but this should take nothing away from the brilliance of it.

In the Premier League, Gareth Bale showed similar volleying expertise against Stoke early on - I also enjoyed the wizardry of Johan Elmander for Bolton against Wolves, twisting and turning his way past an entire defence in a space. The thing is though, and I'm slightly reluctant here but I feel I have to do this...the goal of the season, it just has to be doesn't it? Wayne Rooney against Manchester City. I know, he didn't catch it cleanly on his toe...I know, the defenders stood off allowing him the space to size it up...and I know that many, many players could pull that off once in a career. But I guarantee that goal will be the one most replayed and most remembered in the fullness of time. The fact that it was the winning goal in a derby of such importance these days...in bright sunshine, Reds v Blues...it is such an aesthetically pleasing goal that it resonates with anyone who knows even the slightest thing about football. The number of people here in Australia that were talking about it afterwards is credit to that - that goal is a famous goal and therefore a worthy winner.

Match of the Season:
Easy. In a season of many exciting draws, there is only one that stands out clearly above the rest. Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal. A magnificent scoreline any time...but when you factor in the fact that one team led 4-0 it becomes incredible. 4-0 inside 25 minutes, ridiculous. The 1st goal in reply did not come until the second half? Brother, you've got yourself a classic. The beginning of the end for Arsenal, only they could capitulate in such a manner, but credit to Newcastle for pushing it all the way and exploiting their opponents fragility. A game that will be remembered for a long, long time.

Moment of the Season:
Directly linked to the above: 87th minute, St James' Park is a cauldron of noise and the Magpies are pouring forward in effort to complete the most unlikely of comebacks. A cross is sent in to the traumatised Arsenal penalty box, but a defender gets a strong head on it and sends the ball high into the air. All eyes turn to the black-and-white striped shirt bearing down on the space where the ball is looping towards. Cheik Tiote hammering a left footed volley powerfully into the bottom corner of the net - and his subsequent celebration - was the moment of the entire season for me.

Player of the Season:
This season has been one defined by a lack of the outstanding. No team has run away with it, those at the top underperforming against their usual records and ultimately the best. most consistent team coming away winners. Whilst in Spain, Messi and C-Ron have been utterly superlative, on English shores that has not been the case. The two players to share golden boot have been at times superb, but for Berbatov this was mainly in a handful of games in the first half of the season - since the emergence of Little Pea he is more often than not a substitute. Carlos Tevez meanwhile has been consistently Man City's best player and scored some fantastic goals, but has also missed large periods through injury and displayed a petulance at times that leaves a sour impression. Bale and Van der Vaart - and Samir Nasri also - were excellent for the first half of the season until injuries and/or fatigue played a part; while Robin Van Persie has hit heights since January that all season long would make him a worthy winner. Other media outlets have favoured Luka Modric, a player that I rate very highly and love to watch, but my nod goes to Nemanja Vidic. A strong, powerful, presence in the heart of United's defence that has brought the best out of Chris Smalling when deputising, or formed an impenetrable wall with Rio and Edwin for company. He cheats, he fights, he snarls - and that is exactly what a line leading centre back should do. Defenders often lose out in these things since it is a less visible, less glamorous task, but for a more tangible demonstration of the will and competitiveness that Vidic brings to United, look at the winning goal against Chelsea in the title decider. The way he explodes past anyone to get to that ball first sums him up, in my opinion a key factor in United winning Number 19 and a worthy winner of this award. I bet he's thrilled.

Signing of the Season:
The signing for the entire season is between two for me. Javier Hernandez has been revelatory - surely he was one for the future and Ferguson will not have expected to end the season with Hernandez as his leading man. 20 goals in a first year is phenomenal, for a youngster it's even better (what is better than phenomenal...extraterrestrial? miraculous?) He was cheap as well which adds to the outstanding return that his first season has already given. Talking of cheap, Peter Odemwingie has led the line all season for West Brom - a newly promoted team in a brand new league for him - and he has scored 15 league goals, helping in no small part to his teams decent 11th placed finish. Fundamentally though, I don't give a sh*t about West Brom, so Chicharito gets this one - anyone who disagrees can answer this...even at 36 seconds into the match, did you think he was going to do anything other than slot that ball past Peter Cech? Exactly.

As for January signings, there are strong arguments for Luis Suarez and David Luiz, both of whom I expect to shine next year. However Aston Villa finished 9th, thanks in no small part to the immediate impact of their £18m striker, Darren Bent, Great signing.

Flop of the Season:

It's tempting to point to £50m worth of Fernando Torres, there is no way on earth that 1 goal against useless West Ham is the return they were looking for with that outlay...but I believe anyone writing off Torres will end up looking foolish by around October next year when he is back in the 2007/8 groove for the Blues. For me, this one has to go to Joe Cole. You know how they say, 'he got his first goal and then never looked back'...well Cole got sent off on debut and never looked forward. An unfortunate poster boy for Liverpool's rancid early season form. Must do better.

Manager of the Season:

Alex Ferguson got a league title and a Champions League final out of a relatively limited squad. He deserves a Subbie - the one award that has eluded him this far and, many say, the one that he craves the most, but he's not getting it this time. Tony Pulis gave Stoke fans a cup final and a third consecutive season of relative comfort. Granted they fell away slightly at the death, but I remember the 2002/3 season when Southampton finished runners up in the FA Cup and 8th in the Prem. It was the best season ever, packed with satisfying result after satisfying result and was just great fun. Pulis has given this to his fans and deserves the award. For what it's worth, I expect Stoke to be relegated within 3 years but this was an enjoyable peak I'm sure.

The Fair Play Award:

Usually given to the fat kid who turns up every week but never plays, this one goes to Blackpool. Ultimately they fell short, on account of defending with the slapstick hilarity of the Chuckle Brothers in that classic episode at Rotherham FC...but they gave an exceptionally good account of themselves. The onus on attack was admirable and resulted in a record number of goals for a relegated side, but the fact is the are a relegated side. Bye, fatty.

The 'and finally' Award:

In time honoured tradition of closing the news with a light hearted snippet to warm the cockles, the Subbies close with the And Finally award.

This years recipient is the loveable scamp Sepp Blatter for his hilarious early April Fools joke. He fiendishly claimed, oh the pesky rogue, that the World Cup would be played in Russia and Qatar!!! What a cad, great sense of humour on him. Wait...what?

Time for tubby bye bye

5 teams could have gone. 2 definitely would.

At varying points between 4 and 5:45 pm yesterday in England, 4 of the 5 in peril had a spell staring down the barrel of the relegation gun.

There has not been a more tumultuous and engaging basement battle final day since 2005, when no team had been relegated going into the final day. Obviously the main thing in the Premier League is who wins it, but almost invariably the best final day drama is provided by the teams who, for the best part of the last nine months, have been useless. This final day was a barnstormer, the tables turning more times than a revolving restaurant. (Sorry, that is woeful)

When the dust finally settled, after late goals at the Britannia Stadium, Old Trafford, Molineux and most critically of all, White Hart Lane, the two teams to join West Ham in the Championship next season were Blackpool and Birmingham.

Blackpool have won lots of praise from all corners this season, they have played an attacking, aestehtically pleasing brand of football and scored plenty of goals. Shame they can defend their goal with about as much effectiveness as a footballer suing Twitter. Good luck stopping the tide there, CTB. Personally, I have to say I find Ian Holloway annoying. His rent-a-quote cheeky chappy quirkiness started to grate on my nerves a while back, it seems to me that he tries too hard to come across in this way, and often his oddball off-the-wall comments are so contrived that they lose all effect. If he'd spent more time this season working on his team's defending than researching hilarious quips perhaps things would be different for the Seasiders.

By contrast to the warmth shown to the men in orange, few are mourning the loss of Birmingham City. A dour, negative and pragmatic approach has been the hallmark of Alex McLeish's Blues side in the Premier League - it served them to great effect last season. Trouble is, it doesn't make for good watching and not many will pine for highlights of another 0-0 from St Andrews.

Wigan made the biggest leap, a 1-0 win over Stoke catapulting them from 19th to 16th in the final reckoning. The combination of Charles N'Zogbia and Hugo Rodallega yet again provided the threat for the Latics - surely the pair will be able to find a proper football club to move onto next season. Don't get me wrong - Wigan's recent results and haul of 42 points means they deserve to stay up, and Martinez seems to be a decent bloke who carries himself with dignity and class. However...

Call me elitist, old school, or whatever - but teams like Wigan remaining in the Premier League just rankles with me. If their own fans don't care then why the hell should anyone else. Proper football clubs like Leeds, Nottingham Forest, the Sheffields, Southampton (ahem) - clubs with a massive fanbase, a history, a pedigree - they are clubs I would rather see in the top flight than a plastic new team from a rugby town that is too close to Manchester and Liverpool to ever really build a credible following.

Fair play to the Latics, they have had their highlights over the years and have been responsible for unearthing a number of impressive players...I just rather hoped this was the end of the line. As it is though, both Wigan, Wolves and also Blackburn survive to ride the gravy train for another year. Even in the cheapest seats it's still a good ride to be on, and they do not need to face up to the potential catastrophe that is a reality for the unlucky ones today.

Blackpool will have an entirely different squad next season but should be able to do well in the Championship given the obvious likelihood that their sojourn into the top flight was going to be short. Birmingham meanwhile are likely to run into serious financial hardship, a lot will depend on the willingness of owner Carson Yeung to get them out of the mire. Whatever happens to them and West Ham is now neither here nor there for many people - the Premier League is where the focus is, where the attention is, and where the money is.

This time next season the battle for the league title promises much, with City, United, Chelsea (minus Captain Eyebrows, stupid decision, they will regret it) and most likely Liverpool and Arsenal (until March) all involved. Come the final day though, chances are the real drama will be at the bottom...it will take something incredible to top this one though.

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Sub Please end of season awards coming next, let me know what catgeories you'd like to see included besides the usual. Any special mentions?

Blue Moon Rising

In February 2005, an expensively assembled team with a mute, billionaire, foreign owner, won a trophy. They were led by a dashing young manager, new to the country but with a proven track record of success in his own domestic league. The trophy was not the most prized or heralded in the world, but it was a trophy nonetheless. Roman Abramovich, Jose Mourinho and Chelsea went on to win the Premier League twice, and the club continued post-Jose to reach heights in Europe and domestically that they never had before. Many point to that come-from-behind Carling Cup final victory over Liverpool as a key factor in the success of Chelsea – forging a winning habit, becoming acquainted with success and notching an early, shiny, and very tangible signal of intent.

In the last few days, Manchester City claimed their first silverware in over 34 years with a comprehensive defeat of Stoke City. Stoke are having perhaps their best ever season, but failed to really show what they are capable of on the big day and were thoroughly outplayed by City – the scoreline of 1-0 does not tell the true story of the match.

The curious nature/wicked sense of humour of the fixture computer threw the two finalists together again just days later for a Premier League fixture – again won by City and again providing them with some real and tangible signal that they are a club on the up. Leapfrogging Arsenal into third place, which brings an automatic entry into the Champions League group stage, will (provided they remain there after the final game) secure the holy grail of a ticket to the money factory, but also will be duly noted in West London and across town. 3^rd place is an impressive achievement without question and Mancini can be rightly pleased with this seasons work.

Clearly the point of my opening paragraph was to draw a parallel with the Chelsea of 2005 and the City of 2011, and I believe that this FA Cup win could well prove the start of further success for Abu Dhabi’s finest. Entry into the Champions League was the main hurdle in their pursuit of players last summer – now that they can offer that as well as wages incomparable anywhere in the world, they may be able to hit the shops this transfer window with the reckless abandon of Michael Jackson buying bizarre Egyptian artefacts. ‘I’ll take it.’ (Remember that? Weird. Ow.)

Further to the acquisition of new faces, there should be no obstacle to City keeping their best players. Of prime importance in this category is of course Carlos Tevez, who gave a clear demonstration of his class on Tuesday night. Tevez scored two goals of such sheer quality and variety that Stoke’s defenders had no answer or possible way to stop him. After the twist and turn of the first goal, one of their defenders (I think it was Shawcross) throws a Kevin the Teenager style strop, seeming to throw his hands up and say “It’s so unfair, I hate you” at the ability of Carlitos. As for the second, if a player strikes a freekick with that much power, swerve and accuracy, then there is very little anyone can do to prevent the inevitable goal. Absolutely brilliant from Tevez who could well be the best player in England nowadays.

Having returned home for WeddingFest ’11, I have now made the long journey back to my native Australia. During the second flight I took a wander to stretch my legs and use the facilities. I struck upon a moment of sheer luck and awesome spectacle – the precise moment that I chose to visit the toilet with a view (when you stand up to do what you came to do, you’re looking straight out the window onto the world below, epic) – that precise moment was when the ocean below gave way to the Western edge of all Australia. To see the very limit of this vast, continent sized landmass suddenly arrive out of nowhere, displacing the endless blue and looming onward with nothing but desert for the next 4 hours, it was really quite something. Awe-inspiring and impressive, it definitely goes straight into the top five Best Toilet Experiences ever...you don’t want to know any of the others though, trust me.

The arrival of Manchester City on the trophy-winning stage, into the Champions League, 3rd in the League, should loom just as large on the horizons of football clubs across Europe. This could be the start of something big. Really big. Australia big.

Quelle est le date de ton Anniversaire?

Indeed it is true, scarcely believable I know but this very blog is now in it's second year of existence.

105 posts, over 4'000 views, with readers coming from as far afield as the USA, Hong Kong, Australia (me, admittedly) Denmark, France, Canada and Slovenia. It's been a lot of fun and I have many plans to improve the time spent on it, the presentation, the reach etc so please keep reading and thanks for the support and interest throughout this first year.

The main thing of course that makes my blog and the many others out there possible is that football just keeps throwing up stories. So, on this historic anniversary, I thought a little look back over the year on Sub Please might be worthwhile...some of the events on which I blogged will be remembered for years.

My personal highlights of this footballing year would be the rampant form of the mighty Southampton; the entertaining exploits of Tottenham in Europe featuring Monkian who I was lucky enough to meet in the Summer; experiencing football in an entirely different league and continent with the A-League; and of course attending matches in person at the underwhelming but still brilliant 2010 World Cup.

What's been your highlight? Let me know via the comments below or on the Facebook page - also any advice or suggestion about how Sub Please copuld improve will always be gratefully received. To jog your memory here is a look back at the footballing year:

May: Fabio Capello springs few surprises in his squad for the forthcoming World Cup other than omitting the unfortunate but out-of-form Theo Walcott. The fact that much importance is being placed on the fitness of Gareth Barry hints at the disaster to come. Jose Mourinho wins the European Cup with a second club as a Sneijder inspired Inter Milan are too much for Bayern Munich. My career as an illustrator starts. And ends.

June: The Big Show. The FIFA World Cup kicks off in Johnannesburg to the sound of angry bees using rusty chainsaws. The novelty of the vuvuzela wears off after around 8 minutes, hospitals across the Rainbow Nation have proctologists on standby to remove the plastic instruments from the rectal passage of thousands of annoying/deserving fans. Bafana Bafana become the first host nation to crash out at the group stage despite an honourable showing - France and Italy go into meltdown. England scrape through and are then given the rogering of a lifetime be a youthful and exuberant Germany team who provide the most entertainment in the tournament. Spain look ominous.

July: Asamoah Gyan rattles the crossbar in a moment that was perhaps the most dramatic and gripping point of the entire tournament - Ghana failing to become the first African team to make the semi finals. Spain lift the trophy against StreetFighterTekkenMortalKombat FC Holland who resort to fouling in an attempt to stop the best team in the world. Iniesta becomes a hero across Spain for his moving tribute to deceased friend and Espanyol player Antonio Puerta - a move that sees Iniesta applauded at every away ground he visits to this day. I complete my Panini sticker album, after an outlay of far too much money.

August: Melbourne Heart begin their first ever A-League campaign with an extra supporter. They lose. Southampton begin their campaign as favourites for League One. They lose. Gina writes a guest colum for the site, generating more feedback and views than anything I could produce. I lose.

September: Chelsea start the Premier League like the runaway train in Unstoppable (which, just like in the film, proves...'stoppable'.) Berbatov scores a hat-trick to defeat Liverpool and sulks the whole time, Spurs get their Champions League campaign off and running with an entertaining draw.

October: Now resident in Australia I start to engage with the A-League, with initial impressions being that the quality of players is lacking, but quality of punditry excelling. United stutter, Chelsea march on, Rooney plays the contract negotiation of a lifetime.

November: Gareth Bale cements his status as better than Lionel Messi and Jason Park put together with two exceptional performances against Inter Milan. Maicon kills himself. Barcelona crush bitter rivals Real Madrid 5-0 at Camp Nou in an incredible display of pressing and attacking football. Jose Mourinho, for the first time in his career, has no excuse.

December: FIFA convince nobody that the choice of Russia and Qatar as World Cup hosts is fuelled by anything other than, well, fuel. Arsenal lose to an as-yet-unconvincing United to relinquish top spot, Chelsea start to fall apart. I attend my first A-League game and get really quite drunk.

January: Incredible sums of money are spent on Fernando Torres, David Luiz, Edin Dzeko, Luis Suarez and most eye-wateringly of all, Andy Carroll. Chelsea are still falling apart, Arsenal are looking good. We all know it won't last.

February: Two legends of the game announce the retirement...whilst one is a legendary footballer, the other is a legendary arsehole. Real Ronaldo and Gary Neville each receive tributes on this site of which I have no doubt they are immensely proud. Rooney scores that bicycle kick, Arsenal lose that cup final. No-one is surprised.

March: Arsenal aka Spineless FC continue to fall to pieces. The Champions League reaches the business end, with Tottenham and Schalke perhaps the most chuffed to have made it to the quarter final stage. Southampton begin a promotion push that takes them within reach of the automatic places, not many people outside Southampton seem to care.

April: Manchester United do what Manchester United do, and continue a perfectly timed return to form to put themselves within reach of a record 19th title and a third Champions League final in 4 years. QPR get themselves back in the Premier League, no one is happy for Neil Warnock. The FA Cup final is set for Stoke City v Manchester City, I politely inform my sister that I won't be at her wedding. She is pleased.

May: Here we are, one year on. Reading it back, a lot has happened but not much has happened - Barca are still beautiful and deadly, United are still the ones who always find a way to win, England are still in my bad books after the horrors of SA2010, and every week I'm still finding plenty to write about. Roll on the next 12 months!!

Nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh Nineteen

Theoretically it is not all over yet. Manchester United still need another point to mathematically confirm a record 19th league title...but anyone who thinks they are not going to get that point is more deluded than those retards that go on TV talent shows thinking they have a chance. Just 'cause your pikey idiot Mum says you can sing/juggle/dance does not make it true. Loser.

I digress...United's victory over Chelsea yesterday has without doubt sealed yet another Premier League title and has given Alex Ferguson the statistical realisation of his long-achieved aim, knocking Liverpool 'off their f**king perch'. United have been the better team and arguably bigger club for the best part of the last 20 years, but with the clinching of number 19 they can now point to the record books to back it up.

The surprising thing about the game yesterday was not the verve and purpose that United showed - Jason Park proving yet again that he is better than Messi - but more the insipid showing from Chelsea. Of course a goal within 36 seconds will take some getting over, but Chelsea only really looked anything like threatening after they got a goal back and were chasing the game. Even then, United continued to have the better chances and look more likely to score.

It's been a funny season at the top of the Premier League - numerous times I have written about this being in some ways far from a vintage United team. That can be debated, ceratinyl in recent weeks they have been excellent, but the fact is they have prevailed when all around have fallen short - this may well be regarded by history as a season when excellence was not really required. The points tally needed to win the league this season (77) is not the lowest ever but is around 9 points below the average; surely Arsenal, Chelsea and even Manchester City must be reuful about their own failings. If United continue to improve then they can be expected to fetch a higher total next season, and will any of their rivals be able to match it?

One of the key factors in United's success, and a major reason to be optimistic about the future, is Javier Hernandez. His statistics are phenomenal in terms of goals per games/minutes, and his finishing is lethal. Even with the magnitude of the occassion and the immediacy of the chance, did anyone really think he was going to miss when put through against Cech? Chicharito, the Pride of Poddington, an outside bet for golden boot next season? I'd say so.
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Another team celebrating this weekend was my own Southampton, who sealed promotion up to the Championship with a comfortable and emphatic 3-1 win over Walsall. Obviously this interests me more than it will most of you so I won't go into the intricacies of our season (slow start, loss of a chairman, new manager, ridonkulous form since Christmas) but one thing to say is this: travel where you like around the world, nowhere else will you get 31'000 for a third division match. Great support, many reasons to be cheerful and lots to look forward to next season...The Saints Are Coming!

Hate to say I told you so

I'm not going to be smug about correctly predicting a United v Barcelona final way back before the Champions League semi finals were played - it's hard to gloat over something that was plain for all to see. It was always the most likely outcome and never really looked in much doubt at all.

What I'll freely admit that I did not see coming, was quite how embarassingly easy it would be for United in particular.

I had suggested that Schalke might find the biggest stage to which they had ever performed a step too far. Yep, just a bit. Hopefully their fans can take heart from the achievement of getting this far - and they will always have the incredible 5-2 San Siro win to look back on; but the club would do well to omit the semi final from any end of season DVD. It's difficult to think of a team ever being so comprehensively outplayed over 2 legs of a Champions League semi final - and United have surely never had such an easy stroll to the big show.

Even with the foregone conclusion of last night's game, rubber stamped with the first half goals, it still surprised and slightly annoyed me to see the empty seats with 5 minutes left. Get to the European Cup Final every week do you? Spoilt bastards...Southampton are getting 32'000 fans on Saturday to our own (hopefully) dead rubber match, and I guarantee not one of them will be leaving before giving our team the congratulations and appreciation they deserve for their achievement.

It is testament to the continued success that Ferguson's team enjoy, that the fans were able to treat this with such meh-ness. Disdain? Apathy? We'll go with meh-ness, why not. 3 Champions League finals in 4 seasons is phenomenal, and if Barcelona weren't always in the way the wins column would be higher than it is.

But Barcelona are in the way.

As obstacles go, they don't come much bigger. United have reached the biggest game in domestic football, in their home country. It could not be better- and many teams fail when the venue is so tantalisingly fitting and historic. Over recent seasons the number of favoured teams who would have had a final in their own country only to fall short is plenty; so United should be basking in the glory of their achievement and enjoying their status as overwhelming favourites with a vociferous home advantage.

Instead, just as no-one set up an appreciation group for Kate's arse, all the attention has gone elsewhere. Barcelona have their own history with Wembley, winning the European Cup there the last time it staged the final. More than this though, the fact that everyone is focussing on Pep Guardiola's men more than Ferguson's, is that they are just so bloody good. Beautiful to watch, many of us don't get to see them very often but when they are around you don't want to look anywhere else...the Pippa to United's Kate. The attention is no doubt deserved...but Kate is fit in her own right god damn it and people should pay her more thought. (I'm not sure if I'm still talking about football here, the analogy has kind of extended itself due to my distraction any time I think of those two).

What I'm clearly stating (?) is that Ferguson clearly has to pay heed of his illustrious opponents, but on such a big stage it may be right to remember his own strengths and go out there to play their own game. If they change too much to accomodate the myriad threats posed by Barcelona, they might come off looking a pale imitation of themselves. No doubt he will find himself lying awake at night, unable to shake the images from his mind, unable to picture anything else.

Hang on, I think I'm talking Pippa again...

Things and Stuff

A week is a long time in politics, that's what they say.

Sitting down today to finally get round to updating my site after a ludicrously busy few days, I have just realised that 2 weeks is a bloody long time in the blogosphere.

Since my last update I have had a lot to write about in the ever changing world of football, but due to travelling halfway round the world, finding the time has not been easy. In order to get things back in business, I thought rather than let things slip, I'd get the ball rolling with a bit of a round up.

Classico-fest. Obviously Real Madrid will be delighted with the Copa Del Rey victory, but the truth is that Barca would probably have taken that. The likelihood of one team winning all four games was always slim; to draw the league game keeping the lead intact, and win the big one away in El Bernabeu to all but book a Wembley visit is a price worth paying at the expense of the domestic trophy. Messi continues to go from strength to superlative strength, the second goal in the Champions League game just seemed so effortless. Hmm, 2-0 would be a comfortable cushion, yep, I'll just toddle off and score another, why not. Ridiculous.

Sticking with the Champions League, I watched United put one foot in the final, and was impressed with the ever more convincing nature of their performance. Schalke must be devastated to have performed so woefully on their biggest of nights - there is surely no way back for them now - but United were dynamic, dangerous and looked every inch the finalists they are due to become.

As I wrote earlier however, United will finish second best in Europe. With the kind of space and time afforded them by Schalke they are great...against the greatest club team I've ever seen they will be over-run. You have to give them a chance, they are United and will therefore always have a chance in any match - but I fully expect Barca to claim No 4.

Another side that Barca vanquished this year on route to Wembley is Arsenal - who would never have won the game against United if it wasn't too little too late. Only they could lose a game having taken the lead in the 98th minute. Enough has been said about these losers, next season Wenger should just petition to reschedule any games in March. They've kept things interesting but lost it with all the pathetic home draws.

Now, onto The Super, Super Saints. Barring a collapse of surely unthinkable proportions, Southampton FC will finish as League One runners-up and will be playing in the Championship next season. The road to redemption began with Markus Liebherr saving us two years ago, sadly he is not there to see this but hopefully this is the beginning of better times ahead for the club. Norwich City have achieved back-to-back promotions giving hope to the Saints, but the reality is that we could do with a season or two of building in the Championship before making the step back up to where we want to be. Two games against Pompey next season will be nice though!

As we move now into the crucial closing stages of the season, things are looking fairly settled in many of that major leagues. With every game relegation and promotion issues are being confirmed, but there is still room for some grandstand stuff, in the Premier League in particular.

Coming up on here we'll have Champs League fall-out, Man U Chelsea preview, and the tale of my return after almost a year to proper real English live football - Southampton v Walsall on Saturday. Exciting times indeed...