Tag Futebol

 It took all of 17 minutes at this years European championships for Polish striker Robert Lewandowski to make his mark. The 23 year old met a cross from Dortmund teammate Jakub Blaszczykowski, bouncing a header into the ground and past the despairing Greece goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias. Warsaw and the rest of Poland burst into jubilation, and Lewandowski had further announced himself onto the European footballing stage.

Followers of the Bundesliga will be all too familiar with Lewandowski and his goals, as he scored 22 of them in Borussia Dortmund colours this year, guiding them to their second successive German title. His hatrick in the German Cup final contributed significantly to the demolishing of Bayern Munich 5-2, as The Borussians won their first ever domestic double.

There is no question that Poland’s number 9 is a goal getter. His goals in Germany this season may have put him on the radar, but he has been a consistent scorer throughout his short career. Prior to his move to Westfalenstadion, Lewandowski scored 41 goals in 82 appearances for Lech Poznan, a commendable rate which he further improved in the Bundesliga this year.

In recent weeks, a move to Old Trafford for Lewandowski has been circulating transfer gossip columns, although the Pole remains tight lipped on any speculation. Polish manager Franciszek Smuda however, has announced that the striker will almost certainly be on his way to Manchester United after Euro 2012, where he will join former teammate Shinji Kagawa.

So where would the Pole fit in should he move to Old Trafford? Last season saw Wayne Rooney playing predominantly as a supporting striker, with Danny Welbeck the first choice as an advanced forward. The proposed arrival of Lewandowski could potentially stunt Welbeck’s development should he find himself behind the Pole in the pecking order.

The most recent target man Sir Alex Ferguson signed was Dimitar Berbatov. Having initially excelled at Spurs, the Bulgarian is now a more prominent figure on the Old Trafford bench than on the pitch if last season is anything to go by. Manchester United failed to accommodate their last target man, and this is something that Lewandowski should be wary of prior to a move away from Dortmund.

At 23, a big move now could potentially excel Lewandowski to one of the best strikers in Europe in a short space of time. Manchester United are desperate to challenge the dominance of their rivals Man City following a season which reached its climax in a gut wrenching final day for United. The Polish forward is just the kind of signing that would be the perfect addition to Sir Alex Ferguson’s team. The creativeness of United that has been further added to with the signing of Shinji Kagawa could make Lewandowski an even more prolific striker at one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Whilst the speculation may suggest Lewandowski is on his way to join the Premier League runners up, there is no guarantee the move will pay off. Although should the move prove to be a success, the Polish striker could excel in spectacular fashion.

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However, Borussia Dortmund are hardly one of Europe’s smaller clubs, as the last two seasons have demonstrated thanks to the contribution of their prolific number 9.

Franciszek Smuda may believe Robert Lewandowski is due a move to a big club in the form of Manchester United, but it would be criminal to dismiss Borussia Dortmund and the foundations they already have in place to become one of Europe’s giants once again, something Lewandowski would no doubt play a key part in.

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Rangers bowed out of the Champions League as a late Jiloan Hamad goal saw the Scottish champions eliminated by Malmo.After a shock 1-0 defeat in last week’s first leg, Rangers were back on level terms in their third round qualifying tie through Nikica Jelavic’s first-half strike in Sweden.

But Malmo would have the last say as Hamad’s intervention in the 80th minute condemned Ally McCoist’s men to a Europa League play-off spot.

Rosenborg’s hopes were also extinguished, with Viktoria Plezen sealing a 4-2 aggregate result over the Norwegian giants following a 3-2 win on Wednesday.

While one Czech side progressed, another was eliminated as Slovan Bratislava exited at the hands of APOEL Nicosia.

Bratislava were poised to progress to the play-off stages following last week’s scoreless draw at APOEL, but goals from Brazilian duo Ailton and Gustavo sent the Cyprian champions through.

Benfica moved into the final qualifying round after a 1-1 draw in Turkey against Trabzonspor gave them a 3-1 aggregate win. Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb progressed by the same aggregate score after a 1-0 home win over HJK Helsinki.

FC Twente moved on despite a scoreless stalemate with Vaslui in Romania, with the Dutch side advancing courtesy of a 2-0 first-leg triumph.

Russian outfit Rubin Kazan wrapped up their tie with Dynamo Kiev after a 2-1 home win at the Tsentralnyi Stadium capped a 4-1 aggregate result.

Genk also advanced, as a 1-1 draw with Partizan Belgrade in Serbia sealed a 3-2 aggregate result for the Belgian champions.

Elsewhere, FC Zurich continued their push for the group stages after knocking out Belgian side Standard Liege, while Austrian powerhouse Sturm Graz ended the run of Georgian outfit FC Zestafoni.

Polish champions Wisla Krakow kept their dream of a first-ever group-stage berth alive at the expense of Bulgarian counterparts Litex Lovech, while Israeli side Maccabi Haifa ousted Slovenia’s Maribor.

Twitter. Love it or hate it, it has become a great place to get the latest football news and receive insights from Premier League clubs that you might not otherwise get. It is the tweets from professional players that are of most interest, unless of course you want to get embroiled in the world of the spoof Sam Allardyce (I can highly recommend that you do!). The personality of players really comes out, which isn’t always the best thing for players who are lacking a bit between the ears, and while Tweets many be of great interest to us, they are getting the players themselves into a bit of bother.

The prime example of this is Aldershot’s Marvin Morgan, who was transfer listed and fined two weeks wages after an outburst on Twitter in which he said to the Shots’ fans “I hope you all die”. Morgan was booed during his side’s 2-1 defeat by Hereford and responded angrily on Twitter with a rant that said “Like to thank the fans who booed me off the pitch. Where’s that going to get you! I hope you all die.” Not exactly a great way to get on side with the fans and the statement from Aldershot that said Morgan was foolish was something of an understatement.

It isn’t just Morgan that has got himself into trouble. Newcastle’s Jose Enrique didn’t put himself in new manager Alan Pardew’s good books by saying that he would miss the Tottenham match at White Hart Lane with an injury before the starting XI was even announced. Newcastle responded by saying that they were going to educate the players on how to use Twitter, a meeting that I’m guessing would have gone along the lines of “just keep your mouth shut”.

Even if players aren’t making Twitter gaffes, their mothers are on Facebook really sticking the boot in. Paul Konchesky has been getting a bit of stick at Anfield since his move from Fulham, something Liverpool fans have every right to do. However, his mum Carol was far from happy and on Facebook told the ‘scouse scum’ to ‘stop living off the past’ (you can see the rant in full here). Konchesky must have shook his head in disbelief when he saw that, but I suppose you can say good intentions and all that.

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Social networks are a way to show support for players, something that Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas did after teammate Jack Wilshere was dissed by Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli who said “Jack who?” However, I think Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has got it just right with Twitter, with Tweets such as “Oh my days….has any1 else seen what Song has done to his beard??? Not a good look…AT ALL!!” showing just what it should be used for. Social networking is just a bit of fun, and players should steer clear of abusing fans and just have a bit of light-hearted banter!

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A patch of grass. Painted white lines. Two sets of goalposts. And that’s about it; the only common constituents shared by our two most imperial of sports, football and rugby. Despite emerging from the same cultural and ideological backgrounds, the two have rarely found mutual ground as they abide by diverging societal paths. Football; opium of the people, the embodiment of the working classes. Rugby; penchant of public schoolboys, attached to society’s middling masses.

As football becomes increasingly opulent and demographics of followers of both sports constantly shifting, the two can no longer be so acutely separated along such strict philosophical lines. Likewise, it is progressively evident that the realms of football and rugby are entwining further as groundshares between clubs on both sides becoming a more salient feature in British sport. Can they really get along?

With London Welsh’s victory over the Cornish Pirates on Wednesday night at Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium raising the prospect of promotion the AVIVA Premiership, further debate has been ignited by the potential presence of Welsh on a permanent basis at the League Two club. Though embroiled in murky dispute with the RFU over the issue, there remains a fair chance of rugby being played regularly at the Kassam next season.

Reaction to the decision is a potent mix of cautious apprehension and outright revulsion. As mere tenants of the ground, Oxford United hold little sway over the decision as all negotiations go through the stadium company. Besides the obvious anxiety with regards to the state of the pitch, fears linger that the club will be conceding a segment of its identity. Likewise, London Welsh Managing Directon John Taylor claimed that “it could be a match made in heaven with both seeing financial benefits”, yet with the club receiving only a fraction of the profit generated through the stadium’s activities and paying substantial rent, this seems less a realistic prospect and more an attempt to mollycoddle fans into placating hostilities.

If made prime tenants, London Welsh will have priority over fixture scheduling and stadium branding; on Wednesday night, all traces of Oxford United were abolished and pasted over with Welsh signage. Understandably, many Oxford fans are unwilling to relinquish the stamps which define the club’s presence at the ground, as abounding efforts have been made in recent years to brew a greater sense of belonging where previously detachment was the prevailing sentiment. Supporters group OxVox have established a ‘heritage project’ in recent years in an attempt to promote a more visible poise at the ground; there is a real prospect that all this may be vanquished. The arrival of rugby will only exacerbate the disconnection between club and home.

With an attendance of around 3,000 for what is the biggest game in domestic rugby outside the top flight on Wednesday, many are rightfully skeptical as to the feasibility of London Welsh playing at the Kassam Stadium. With a traditionally small fan base, the club would be reliant upon a combination of larger swathes of visiting supporters and an unlikely growth in local enthusiasm to vindicate such a move. History suggests that may be hard to come by; Oxford previously held the final of Rugby’s Europa League equivalent in 2002 and 2005, the latter attracting a crowd of just over 7,000 for European Rugby’s second most prestigious event. With Oxford averaging more than this in the fourth level of English football, the implication is that the city has firmly marked its preference for football.

There are of course a number of examples whereby football and rugby clubs have coincided in relative harmony for a number of years. Wycombe Wanderers, Reading and Watford each share with London Wasps, London Irish and Saracens respectively, with manageable levels of friction. The difference being here, however, that each is a secondary tenant to the football club: Wasps were forced to move a Heineken Cup tie to Coventry’s Ricoh Arena in 2007 as Wycombe had an FA Cup tie at home the same day. If a similar scenario were to arise in the case of London Welsh and Oxford, it is most probable that the football club would have to move their fixture in order to accommodate the rugby tie. Whilst fixture lists are easily workable around both sports, postponements and cup ties cannot be accounted for, throwing up contentious logistical quandaries for both parties.

Whilst the practical hurdles are manageable, it is the ethical dilemmas which pose most menace in groundshares. Football and rugby fan cultures exist in entirely different spectrums and as such attrition between followers of both codes is inevitable. Supporters of Wigan Athletic and Rugby League side Wigan Warriors have been embroiled in constant bickering for many years. There is only a limited crossover of consensus between the two sports, despite progress being made in recent years to alter stereotypical perceptions. The crux of the matter is that ultimately the cultural leanings of football and rugby are incompatible.

Whether London Welsh are able to win their appeal with the RFU and assume tenancy at the Kassam Stadium or not, the issue has undoubtably reignited tensions between the two sports and further emphasised the inherent disparities which are present.

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Though most poignantly, most ardently and most importantly, there lies one fatal flaw at the heart of London Welsh’s bid. With a car park occupying the vacant end of the three-sided Kassam Stadium, London Welsh will have a crippling amount of insurance claims for smashed windscreens to deal with.

Do you think football/rugby groundshares are workable or should the two remain separate? Tweet me @acherrie1

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Transfer speculation can entertain and frustrate in equal measures. In the summer months waiting for the new season to start reading the back pages for the latest rumours of who could be leaving or arriving your club is an enjoyable pastime. But sometimes speculation can cause more trouble than enjoyment for clubs and players.

Tottenham have had a shaky start to the transfer window so far this summer. Intense speculation about the future of Luka Modric has prompted doubts over the futures of their other key players, including Gareth Bale who has been linked with Barcelona. But the latest name to be reportedly heading for the White Hart Lane exit door is Michael Dawson. Dawson wouldn’t be high on a list of the most likely leavers at Spurs, not because of a lack of talent but the Spurs’ skipper seems like a settled and loyal member of their squad.

Reports emerged on Wednesday that Dawson was in a dispute with Spurs over his contract but the defender has immediately refuted the claims. Unfortunately for Spurs they are one of the clubs at the centre of so much speculation and this has lead to the obvious and lazy rumours that everyone from the kit man to the captain is considering their future. According to the media there is currently a domino effect of discontent in the Spurs’ dressing room.

But Spurs are in no way the only club affected by speculation. Back in October last year Liverpool owner John Henry made a statement on the Liverpool website labeling stories about their key players possibly leaving as “destructive and unwarranted”. That statement came after speculation over the future of Pepe Reina. Henry seemed willing to ignore nuisance rumours and accepted them as common practise these days. If such reports are completely untrue most can be brushed under the carpet and deemed harmless. It is those rumours that plant a seed of doubt in people’s minds that can be destructive for both the clubs and players they are concerning.

Cesc Fabregas’ transfer saga is another popular rumour but this one just won’t go away. To be fair to the media this one seems to have just a little truth behind it despite a possible deal for Fabregas not gaining any steam recently. Whilst Arsenal claim he will stay speculation surrounding their captain’s future just won’t go away, the latest being that Fabregas has told Barcelona’s Xavi that he is ‘suffering’ because of his desire to join the European Champions. The constant speculation over the future of their captain and best player has understandably be causing unrest at Arsenal for years.

Luckily for Spurs these new claims about Dawson seem to just be rumours. Spurs will no doubt take centre stage on the back pages sometime soon but hopefully for Harry Redknapp it will about star arrivals rather than anymore unwanted departures.

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If you want to read more of my bite size, 160 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5

It’s easy to forget that Salomon Kalou is just 25 years of age. The man is a Premier League winner, champion of three FA Cups and one League Cup. He has also scored goals not only at the Home of Football (Wembley), the Theatre of Dreams (Old Trafford) and, um, the Stadium of Light (Sunderland), but also on perhaps the three biggest stages of them all, the Olympics, the World Cup and the UEFA Champions League (including a penalty in the shoot-out in Moscow).

He is, in the current Chelsea squad, 3rd top goal-scorer – behind Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba and 7th longest-serving player. Most astonishingly is a statistic that seemed to have passed everyone by, including most Chelsea fans. This was that, after his goal against Wolves at the end of October, he had scored 9 goals in 9 games, against Inter Milan, Aston Villa, Wigan x2, Stoke, Blackpool, Man Utd, West Ham and Wolves.

However, despite these impressive statistics and accolades, ‘Number 21, Salomon Kalouuuu’ has a frustrating inconsistence, a flattery to deceive that sees the pendulum of his performance swing from laudable to laughable, often within minutes. You only need to go as far as last Sunday where, but for Kalou’s goal, Chelsea would have found themselves point-less at St James’ Park. This is over-looking the fact that, but for his second-half miss, with the goal gaping, Chelsea would have left St James’ Park as league leaders.

See also his performance versus Atletico Madrid last season, which saw him fluff an opportunity at 0-0 but ultimately, score 2 goals in a 4-0 win. No-one will ever forget, nor let Salomon forget, the ‘Worst Miss Ever In An FA Cup Final™’, which came at Wembley in May. I’m sure I don’t need to go on with examples of his exasperating execution, as anyone who visits Stamford Bridge on your average Saturday is bound to be baffled by Chelsea’s apparent Ivorian-Irishman O’Kalou, such is the regularity of the cries of woe and anguish from the Shed and Matthew Harding faithful.

Nevertheless, I feel that our bewildered-looking, Bambi-on-ice impersonator is a vital member of our squad. Lets recall some of the better times: a hat-trick against Stoke, a standout performance at the San Siro which included a goal and a stonewall penalty that was not given and the winning penalty in the Community Shield last year and Chelsea’s only goal in the same fixture this year. Focusing on last season, which is only fair in my opinion as the 2010 version of Salomon Kalou is a different player to the wet-behind-the-ears 2006 version, the 37 appearances he made show just how worthy a squad player he is for Carlo Ancelotti. It’s also worth mentioning that he would have enjoyed more pitch-time for Chelsea, had he not been in battle at the African Cup of Nations. If anything, his value to the team and to Ancelotti has become even greater this season, with the side so often left with a youthful and inexperienced substitutes’ bench after 2 seasons of sparse arrivals and frequent departures. He has 6 goals from 6 Premier League starts (and 5 substitute appearances), and has arguably (or perhaps not) been on better form that Chelsea’s supposedly 2nd senior striker, Nicolas Anelka.

Possibly Kalou’s best attribute is his lack of injury proneness; the Ivorian can almost always be trusted to play any role in any game, and his unwavering determination and enthusiasm to help the Chelsea cause whenever he pulls on the shirt should, in my eyes, be given more credit that has previously been given. This is a family man with a squeaky clean image who lives with his sister, who learnt how to play football the hard way at the astoundingly successful Académie Jean Marc Guillou, funded by ASEC Mimosas (aka ASEC Abidjan), which has more than 10 alumni now playing in top-flight European leagues (with one of them reportedly earning £220k per week at an infamously wealthy Manchester club). Given his development while he has been plying his trade in West London, it is not ridiculous to think that, with a continuance of loyalty and willingness to learn and improve, the Ivorian will one day be more than just ‘a handy squad player’.

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Holy Crap – its live fantasy football! Become part of the Arsenal v Partizan match and play Picklive for FREE Watch and bet live – spices up any game!

As we sit here on the day of the Champions League final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich, I decided to take a look back down memory lane at the great European Cup finals of all time. There have been some classic finals in the past decades and we can hope tonight’s showpiece in Munich proves to be another one of those occasions.

Manchester United 4 Benfica 1 (1968)

The Red Devils became the first English side to win the European cup, and what made it sweeter was the fact it was won at Wembley (perhaps a good omen for SAF tomorrow). The game is remembered for European footballer of the year and football writer’s Footballer of the Year, George Best’s ‘wonder’ goal, but it could have been so different for United if goalkeeper Alex Stepney hadn’t saved from Eusebio, when the score was 1-1, when the Benfica forward broke through in the final moments. United sealed an emphatic win in extra time, with ‘that’ goal from Best, another from 19 year old Brian Kidd and another from Bobby Charlton.

Celtic 2 Inter Milan 1 (1967)

Celtic broke Britain’s European duck, in a remarkable game of attack versus defence, with the Scottish club managing 42 attempts on goal, with the Italians only achieving a measly five. Inter Milan took the lead on seven minutes via a Sandro Mazzola penalty, but that is as good as it got for the Italians, with Celtic unleashing wave after wave after attack, which eventually paid dividends with Tommy Gemmell and a deflected Bobby Murdoch shot, sealing the win.

Manchester United 2 Bayern Munich 1 (2000)

Everyone related with the German giants started to celebrate when the clock ticked over the 90 minute mark but 36 seconds later, the party was abruptly halted thanks to a Teddy Sheringham equaliser. Everybody began readying themselves for extra time but somebody forgot to tell Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who scored a dramatic winner on 92 minutes and 17 seconds to clinch the Treble for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.

Liverpool 3 AC Milan 3 (Liverpool win 3-2 on pens) (2005)

AC Milan fans are still recovering from this historic night in Istanbul, where Liverpool achieved, what was deemed impossible at half time. 3-0 down against a stereotypical Italian defence, the game basically over, but in a mad seven minute spell Liverpool showed us all why we love the beautiful game with Gerrard, Smicer and Alonso completing a sensational come back, to take the game to extra time and eventually penalties, which of course the Merseyside outfit won.

Real Madrid 7 Eintracht Frankfurt 3 (1960)

This cup final is viewed by many as the greatest European final ever, and it is hard to argue against with ten goals, two hat tricks (Ferenc Puskas 4 and Alfredo di Stefano 3) and world record number of fans at Hampden Park (127,261). This victory was Real Madrid’s fifth consecutive European Cup final victory in a row.

Benfica 5 Real Madrid 3 (1962)

Real Madrid were looking to reclaim their European dominance after Benfica had taken the trophy the year before, and with two early goals from Puskas it looked like Madrid would do just that. However within ten minutes Benfica were level again, only for Puskas to complete his hat trick before half time. Benfica managed to draw level in the second half and eventually went on to retain their crown with two goals in four minutes from Eusebio.

Nottingham Forest 1 Malmo 0 (1979)

Just two seasons earlier Forest were playing in the old second division, something of a fairytale football story. If that wasn’t enough of a story for you, UEFA rules meant that Trevor Francis Britain’s first £1 million signing couldn’t play in European matches for three months, which meant the Cup final was the former Birmingham City man’s Euro debut, a huge gamble by Old Big ‘Ead but one that paid off with Francis netting the winner.

Milan 4 Ajax 1 (1969)

This Milan performance destroyed the cliché of Italian football being negative and defensive, with Pierino Prati scoring the last hat trick in a European final to date. This Ajax side would eventually go on to be European Champions three years in a row in the early 1970s.

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Real Madrid 2 Bayer Leverkusen 1 (2002)

A very close encounter with Raul opening the scoring after eight minutes for Madrid but Leverkusen’s Lucio levelled the score only five minutes later. It is what happened in the 45th minute that gets this game onto such lists, arguably one of the greatest UEFA Champions League goals was scored by Zinedine Zidane who volleyed a high arcing cross from Roberto Carlos into the top corner from the edge of the area, a goal worthy to win any match, especially a cup final.

Borussia Dortmund 3 Juventus 1 (1997)

Everyone loves an underdog and the German’s duly obliged in giving us a victorious one. The German’s went 2-0 up before Del Piero (who else) pulled a goal back but Dortmund sealed the win with a Lars Ricksen goal, 16 seconds after he came on as a substitute, which was and still is the faster goal by a substitute in the Champions League ever.

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp says he would be lying if he claimed Luka Modric was happy after being denied a transfer.Croatia international Modric met with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy on Wednesday and was told the club had no intention of letting him join Chelsea or Manchester United.

Tottenham hope their strong stance will ensure prized asset Modric remains in north London, but Redknapp conceded the 25-year-old playmaker was far from satisfied upon his return to pre-season training.

“He’s going to remain here, but there is no point me saying he’s walked in here today and everything is great, he’s happy and he’s going to stay,” Redknapp told Sky Sports.

“The kid is a bit confused at the moment and it’s not been easy for him.”

“I’d be telling you lies if I said he’s happy and he doesn’t want to go and play for whoever wants him – I think there are three or four of the top five that want him. But we want to keep him here.”

“The chairman wants to keep him, I want to keep him and we need him if we’re going to progress. We need him and, as he said to me this morning, we need to add to him.”

Redknapp confirmed he and Levy were keen to strengthen the squad prior to Spurs mounting a bid for Champions League qualification.

“We are looking to improve and we need to,” Redknapp said.

“It’s no good people talking about Champions League football if we don’t improve the team, we know that.”

“We have to make way with one or two going first, we are just a little bit overloaded in one or two areas, but if we can do that we will look to bring one or two in.”

“We know what we need and it won’t be for the lack of effort.”

“Daniel always does it, in the end we always spend money here and improve the team and he will do it again this year.”

Who doesn’t love a good rant? The Premier League are ‘investigating’ Blackpool boss Ian Holloway after he made ten changes to his side against Aston Villa. Holloway’s emphatic response is that he will quit if his club are fined for fielding a ‘weakened side’. The claim is that Holloway intentionally fielded a sub-par team against Villa with the knowledge that they were more likely to get points against West Ham on the weekend if his players were fully rested.

Holloway was understandably furious with the allegations: “We deserved at least a point and how dare anybody tell me the players I’ve been working with, I can’t treat them with respect and give them a chance.” He also highlighted how important it is to keep players fresh and not to burn them out: “We’ve got four games in 12 days and the lads I’ve played every week are struggling to keep up the level”. How can the Premier League argue against that? The League’s fixture list is ridiculous convoluted at the best of times and Holloway has a duty by his players to ensure that he doesn’t over-exert them. When the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal or Liverpool rotate their squads, no one takes much interest. When Blackpool does it, it creates a furore.

The trouble is that there’s already a precedent set by the Premier League. When Mick McCarthy fielded a Wolves side with ten changes against Manchester United in December 2009 the League saw fit to fine him £25,000. Mick argues that Holloway won’t be able to dodge the fine: “They won’t escape it, how can they? If they do then the Premier League is absolutely toothless.” Whether Blackpool sidestep the fine or not, doesn’t the whole affair highlight the Premier League’s infuriatingly bad judgement?

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Ian Holloway is manager of Blackpool FC and as such, it’s his duty to pick eleven men to take to pitch every match day. It is not the duty of the Premier League to decide who has a right to play and who doesn’t. If the Premier League approved the 25 players required at the beginning of the season, what right do they have to say now that a certain collection of these players are not worthy? Every player in the accepted 25 man squad must be capable or they wouldn’t have a contract in the first place.

It compounds the whole affair that Holloway’s team played so well against Villa despite apparently being a ‘weakened side’. Nobody can say that the players didn’t acquit themselves well or that they were unworthy opposition for Villa. They lost only by the odd goal and deserved at least a point. In the fight for Premier League survival, why shouldn’t Blackpool be allowed to field whatever team they want? It’s Blackpool that will live or die as a result of Holloway’s decisions. This strikes me as a case where the League has no right to stick its beak in.

The FA has no right to ‘ok’ team-sheets. If the fine goes through it will be indicative of a sad state of affairs. It would be sadder too if Holloway follows through on his promise to quit. He’s a genuine character and a good bloke. I personally hope both he and Blackpool remain in the top flight next season and that the Premier League sees sense.

If you’re interested and want to hear more feel free to follow me on Twitter.

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Click on image below to see Wesley’s latest lady

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A strong end to a difficult season must give Lion’s fans reason for an optimistic summer. There seems to be a magical word in the Championship and it begins with ‘M’. When teams have it they are feared, without it they can stumble. Southampton had it and then Reading found it. Momentum!

As the season came to a close it appeared we had finally found it, the form team in April, all of sudden we were sweeping aside all opposition with a new found swagger and exuberance.

A surprisingly smooth finish to a turbulent campaign, seven games unbeaten, culminating in The Lions finishing above our South London rivals Crystal Palace seems to have masked a season spent flirting with relegation. Our Achilles heel was no doubt what had, over the last few seasons, been such a key ingredient to our success.

The Den was no longer a fortress. Especially at the turn of the year, it seemed as if teams were arriving with a smile on their faces, relaxed and licking their lips at the prospect of playing in front of the Lions’ faithful. The opposite could be said of the hosts.

When a team isn’t winning at home, momentum is suddenly a foreign word. Strong home form is vital for any successful side in this division; it releases pressure and provides a platform for confident away performances.

Occasional convincing away wins, at Oakwell and Turf Moor, kept the murmurings of discontent from becoming anything more. But with any poor form questions around the suitability of the manager seem inevitable.

Kenny Jackett is the longest serving manager in the division. He has provided stability following a difficult period, where we saw a frequent change in management and personnel coinciding with the club falling into League One and struggling; League Two suddenly became a scary possibility.

But this year saw his biggest challenge since his first season, turning around the fortunes of a losing side, this time a side which he was responsible for. January signings of Shane Lowry and Andy Keogh have not only turned out to be very astute acquisitions, but also shown that Jackett has the backing of Chairman John G Berylson. A partnership which will certainly be crucial to any progress the club makes over the coming seasons.

Jackett has come through a turbulent spell with his reputation in enhanced. Whether promotion-chasing or survival-seeking, Jackett has shown he is the best man for the job.

Off the back of our tremendous end of season run-in, we have cause for optimism as we look forward to next year. Keogh will be crucial and if Jackett can get young Harry Kane again for another year, then the partnership that has already yielded 13 championship goals in such a short period, will undoubtedly shine again.

We have also spent the season without our previous player of the year, Tamika Mkandawire, who in our first season back in the Championship was perhaps the main reason for us holding the third best defensive record in the league behind promoted QPR and Swansea.

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With these positives at either end of the pitch and a Chairman willing to back his Manager financially, we must be itching for August to come around already. We can learn from the experiences of this season, take the momentum we seem to have generated, thus making The Den a fortress again and becoming a feared side in this division.

It can be a funny old division, with pre season favourites such as Nottingham Forest, Leicester and Middlesbrough all underachieving. Southampton got off to a strong start and held on as the season drew to a close, Reading came from nowhere at the turn of the year and powered to promotion.

Perhaps if April hadn’t have shown as many positives we wouldn’t have reason to be so optimistic but continue our form into the start of next season and you just never know. In the Npower Championship, momentum can take you a long way.

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