Euro 2008 Preview--Group B

I'll get right to it -- here's a look at Group B, comprised of co-hosts Austria, Croatia, Germany, and Poland. If you're a history buff and know anything about war in Europe over the past few centuries, you'll understand why this group could provide some of the tensest, most passionate games in the tournament.

First, the match schedule (all times Eastern):

June 8:
Austria vs. Croatia (Noon; Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna)
Germany vs. Poland (2:45; Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt)

June 12:
Croatia vs. Germany (Noon; Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt)
Austria vs. Poland (2:45; Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna)

June 16:
Austria vs. Germany (2:45; Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna)
Poland vs. Croatia (2:45; Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt)

Austria:

Coached by Josef Hickersberger, Austria will make their first appearance in the European Championships. They gained automatic entry, of course, as a co-host, but this is a country on the rise in soccer as evidenced by their run to the semifinals in last year's FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The captain of that team, Sebastian Prödl, is a tall, commanding center back that has been included in Hickersberger's provisional squad after scoring twice in a senior friendly against Holland on March 26 and is a very good bet to make the final cut. As you can go back and read in my preview and recap of the US-Austria quarterfinal from the U-20 World Cup, won 2-1 by Austria, I came away very impressed with Prödl (who was named to the all-tournament team by Gazzetta dello Sport) and his teammate, striker Erwin "Jimmy" Hoffer, who was deadly off the bench all tournament and scored the game-winning goal against the US. Hoffer is also part of this provisional squad, which is at 31 right now and will be trimmed down to the required 23 after tonight's friendly against Nigeria.

Much of the team remains a mystery to the casual observer; the vast majority of players on the 31-man squad play their domestic soccer in the Austrian Bundesliga, though fans of the Premiership likely will recognize the name of Emanuel Pogatetz, who plies his trade for Middlesbrough and is the starting left-back for country and club. Several other players, Prödl included, have already finalized moves that will take them to clubs outside of Austria after this tournament finishes.

Coupled with the relative anonymity I just mentioned is the fact that Austria, like Switzerland, didn't have to go through qualifying. Hickersberger hasn't had to give anything away or use his full-strength lineup; his team played a whopping 12 friendlies last year and will end up playing four before they start their Euro campaign against Croatia, but you can't take too much from those.

It would be foolish of me to speculate on a possible lineup because I simply don't know enough about the team, but I would assume that Pogatetz, two midfielders, the captain, Andreas Ivanschitz, who also boasts a very nice left foot, and René Aufhauser, a defensive-minded player, and striker Roland Linz all will be in the starting XI. Other than that, I'd like to see Prödl right in the center of the back line and there seems to be a good possibility of that happening.

Avoiding Germany until the third and final group match could be extremely beneficial, as the Austrians aren't likely to get anything out of that game and would have a better chance to get the points they need to advance in their first two games. The critical match is against Poland, in which one would think both teams would absolutely need a victory. In front of their home crowd, it'll be Austria's best opportunity for three points, and they can't afford to let it slip by.

Croatia:

England fans know all about Croatia, the team that ended the Three Lions' hopes of making it to Euro 2008 with a 3-2 victory at Wembley on the last day of qualifying in their group. Croatia had already booked their trip to this summer's tournament as group winners and had nothing to play for, but their no-nonsense, never-quit attitude was enough to spoil England's dreams.

Croatia is coached by Slaven Bilić, who is a hot commodity in the coaching world and already spurned advances from West Ham and several other clubs. This is a guy who speaks three different languages and has a law degree. For those who don't know, trust me, he means business and with him at the helm, Croatia has to be taken extremely seriously.

It all starts at the top with Bilić, but he also has a lot of talent to pick from on his already-finalized roster. After his team's uninspiring 1-0 victory over Moldova earlier this week, Bilić is considering changing from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 for the Euros. He has the players to do this; the Croatian midfield is absolutely loaded with quality, with Niko Kovač, Ivan Rakitić, Niko Kranjčar, Darijo Srna, and Luka Modrić all in the mix. Up top, Ivica Olić, Mladen Petrić, and Nikola Kalinić will fight it out for what now looks like one spot. In the back, an experienced group led by Dario Šimić and Robert Kovač, as well as Manchester City's impressive young right back, Vedran Ćorluka, are all capable of shutting down the opponent's front line. Stipe Pletikosa will be between the posts, reprising his role from World Cup 2006, which ended in a disappointing early exit for his nation.

This team is loaded, and all of this is without Arsenal’s Eduardo da Silva, who led Croatia with 10 goals in qualifying but as we all remember, suffered a freak injury in January and won’t take any part in the action in June. With a knowledgeable, savvy coach in Slaven Bilic, and talent all across the field, Croatia definitely is capable of making a deep run in this tournament.

Germany:

Perennial tournament favorites Germany enter Euro 2008 in their customary position. As hosts of World Cup 2006, they beat Portugal 3-1 in the third-place game and led all nations in goals scored with 14. They finished second, two points behind the Czech Republic in a ridiculously easy qualifying group for this competition and haven't really been tested in a while on the international level.

The 26-man provisional roster named by coach Joachim Löw is stacked, and just screams 4-4-2. Jens Lehmann, of course, will be in goal, this time without the considerably large shadow of Oliver Kahn lurking behind him. If recent friendlies are any indication, Heiko Westermann and Phillip Lahm will occupy the left and right back positions, respectively, but Arne Friedrich can't be counted out and I'd expect to see him reclaim his right back position from World Cup 2006, which would then shift Lahm over to left back. The twin towers, Per Mertesacker and Christoph Metzelder, will anchor the middle. In the midfield, Michael Ballack and the more rough-and-tumble Torsten Frings will be in the center, with Bastian Schweinsteiger and possibly David Odonkor on the wings. Up front, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, the Best Young Player of the 2006 WC, will form one of the most lethal strike duos in the tournament.

This is a group Germany should advance from, and although it won't be easy, there is more than enough talent here to do the job. Their first game is against Poland, a rematch of Germany's charged, exciting 1-0 victory in the last World Cup, followed by Croatia and then Austria to close out the group stage. If they come into that game against Austria needing a victory to progress, look out, as that would be one of the must-watch games of the competition.

Poland:

Closing things out on this preview of Group B, let's get to Poland, who will also be making their first appearance in the Europe's continental championship.

Poland won their qualifying group, which was probably the most competitive of its brethren with Portugal, Serbia, Finland, and Belgium all competing. With that said, take a look at their squad and you'll wonder how they did that; Poland has been known in recent years to produce some very good goalkeepers and some above average strikers, but from an outside perspective, there just doesn't appear to be much in the way of talent in the defense and in midfield.

They have a Dutch coach, Leo Beenhakker, who is as experienced as they come and has led many high-profile club teams as well as the Dutch national team. By all accounts, he's blended a solid team together -- winning a qualifying group can't be a fluke, and even though there isn't a lot of name recognition here, Poland will be very competitive.

I know even less about Poland than I do about Austria, so again, but here's my educated guess as to their starting lineup based on the research I did: Artur Boruc will be in goal, although Tomasz Kuszczak and Łukasz Fabiański are also capable at that position. Michał Żewłakow will be ahead of Boruc at left back, with Jacek Bąk and Mariusz Jop in the center and Marcin Wasilewski on the right. In the midfield, veteran Jacek Krzynówek will be on the left in a more advanced role, with both Mariusz Lewandowski and Dariusz Dudka sitting in holding positions and Wojciech Łobodziński, wide right. Up front, the captain, Maciej Żurawski has a guaranteed place, alongside either Southampton's Marek Saganowski or Euzebiusz Smolarek, who led Poland's qualifying group in goal scoring with 9.

Group B Final Prediction (teams in bold advance):

1. Germany -- 7 points
2. Croatia -- 5 points
3. Austria -- 2 points
4. Poland -- 1 point

Tomorrow will be a busy day on the Euro 2008 front, as final rosters have to be submitted. As of right now, five of the 16 nations participating have already trimmed their squads down to the 23-man limit, so simple math tells us that 11 countries will make their final cuts tomorrow.

Here at English Soccer Talk, I'll be previewing Group C, which is this year's "Group of Death" -- Holland, Italy, France, and Romania. I'm planning on handling it like I did on Monday, that is, I'll break it down into two parts, put one up in the early afternoon and the other up by the evening. During that break, I'll be posting the final squads for the countries that haven't already released theirs. To keep the posts short, I'll start by doing the nations in Group A, then a separate entry for what's left of Group B, then Group C, and then Group D. Basically, tomorrow you'll first see my breakdown of France and Holland, then the final rosters, then my previews of Italy and Romania.

So until then, have a good one, everybody.

Russia's Euro 2008 Squad

Last week, Guus Hiddink denied reports that he was in talks with Roman Abramovich to become Chelsea's newest manager. Today, the Russian boss announced his 23-man squad for Euro 2008, with his team set to fight it out with Sweden, Spain, and defending champion Greece in Group D.

GK (3): Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Gabulov (Amkar Perm), Vyacheslav Malafeev (Zenit St. Petersburg)

DEF (7): Vasili Berezutskiy, Sergei Ignashevich, and Aleksei Berezutskiy (CSKA Moscow), Renat Yanbayev (Lokomotiv Moscow), Denis Kolodin (Dynamo Moscow), Roman Shirokov and Aleksandr Anyukov (Zenit St. Petersburg)

MID (7): Dmitri Torbinsky and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Sergei Semak (Rubin Kazan), Konstantin Zyrianov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow), Igor Semshov (Dynamo Moscow), Vladimir Bystrov (Spartak Moscow)

FWD (6): Roman Adamov (FC Moscow), Ivan Saenko (Nuremberg), Andrei Arshavin* and Pavel Pogrebnyak (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Spartak Moscow), Dmitri Sychev (Lokomotiv Moscow)

*Captain

Euro 2008 Preview--Group A (Part 2)

After taking a little break to watch some afternoon baseball, I'm back with the second part of my Group A preview.

Switzerland:

Coming off their unexpected progression to the Round of 16 in World Cup 2006, where they were the only team to not concede a goal during regulation, Switzerland has fairly high hopes in this edition of the European Championship. Boosting those hopes, of course, is the fact they are a co-host of this tournament along with Austria, and we've seen in recent international competitions that the host country is almost a surefire lock to make it out of the first round.

Switzerland's competition in Group A complicates that notion; behind Group C, this year's "Group of Death", Group A is the trickiest to navigate. Köbi Kuhn's team hasn't played a competitive game since losing in PK's to Ukraine in the last World Cup; as a co-host, they had an automatic berth in this tournament and thus didn't participate in qualifying.

Kuhn announced a 26-man provisional squad on May 13, and from its breakdown by position, I would guess that he'll trim it down to the required 23 by dropping two defenders and a midfielder, although there are injury worries in both areas. Going by age alone would indicate that this a young team, but that's not the complete truth. This is a very experienced group of players and will use their success in Germany two years ago to their advantage.

For me, it all starts with the ageless one, Pascal Zuberbühler, in net, although Diego Benaglio has gained considerable momentum in Kuhn's eyes and could very well be first choice on June 7.

The back line is insecure at the moment. Philippe Senderos will anchor the defense, that is for certain, but there are question marks surrounding the health of Ludovic Magnin, the first-choice left back, the soon-to-be Liverpool player Philipp Degen, the starting right back, and Patrick Müller, Senderos' fellow central defender. If all three are fit, all three will start, but if not, Johan Djourou, Senderos' teammate at Arsenal, will take Müller's place, Stephan Lichtsteiner will play on the right, and you could see Stéphane Grichting or Valon Behrami on the left.

The midfield also has some concerns. Tranquillo Barnetta is a fixture on the right, but he took a knock recently in training and missed Switzerland's 2-0 friendly victory over Slovakia two days ago. If he recovers in time, which appears likely, he could be joined in the midfield by Manchester City's Gelson Fernandes, who would occupy a central role behind the creative Hakan Yakin. There are two candidates for the left wing, Valon Behrami and Daniel Gygax, but Behrami is more naturally a right-sided player who is capable of playing either left back or left midfield if necessary.

The captain, Alexander Frei, will lead the front line if he's fully fit after an injury-plagued season at Borussia Dortmund. Frei needs just two more goals to become Switzerland's all-time leading goal-scorer with 35 after scoring in that game against Slovakia, and you know he'll be hungry to do that in front of his countrymen in the crowd. Alongside Frei, you could see Marco Streller (first option, but health issues remain) or Johan Vonlanthen, who has been effective off the bench in his international career.

As you can see, there are a lot of "ifs" and concerns surrounding this team. If everything is resolved, and all signs right now point to that being the case, Switzerland will be very dangerous in front of their home crowd and could repeat their success from World Cup 2006. By avoiding group favorite Portugal until the third match, the Swiss should be able to pick up the points they need in the two previous fixtures and put themselves in a position where their destiny is in their own hands in that final game.

Turkey:

I won't lie -- I know very little about Turkish soccer aside from watching Galatasaray, Beşiktaş, and Fenerbahçe in European club competitions. The national team finished seven points behind group champion Greece and a point ahead of Norway to make it to Euro 2008 out of the weakest qualifying group.

With all of that said and my ignorance aside, it would be foolish to underestimate a nation that made it to the quarterfinals in Euro 2000 and won the third-place game in World Cup 2002. Rüştü Reçber, the goalkeeper on that World Cup team, could be back between the sticks again and has piled up 128 caps in his career. An outstanding goalkeeper or one who just gets hot at the right time can carry a team in any competition, and on that basis alone, Turkey can't immediately be counted out.

Defense appears to be the weak link on this team; the leading cap-winner amongst that group on the 27-man provisional squad announced by coach Fatih Terim is center back Emre Aşık, who is 34 years old but has appeared only 26 times for his country.

There are some recognizable, talented names in the midfield and up front. Belözoğlu Emre is the nation's captain and a stalwart in the center, where his creative abilities have helped land him in Serie A at Inter Milan and now Newcastle. He is one of the most decorated, accomplished Turkish players ever (although granted, Turkish soccer has only recently come to the forefront).

Yıldıray Baştürk, who was born in Germany and has played his entire domestic career in Germany, is another vital contributor to the Turkish midfield. Also born and bred in Germany is Hamit Altıntop, a spectacular ball-striker who can score from long range and rack up assists. He's carved out a very nice career in the Bundesliga and is at Bayern Munich now. A broken metatarsal suffered on March 27 has Altintop's availability for Euro 2008 in question, but as of this preview today, I couldn't find any articles or reports declaring him out of the squad.

Mehmet Aurélio is the other well-known player in Turkey's midfield, and he is more defensively-minded than the previous three, though he does score his share of goals. Aurélio is Fenerbahçe's captain and was the first naturalized player to appear for Turkey when he played in a friendly at the age of 29, as he was born in Brazil and didn't go to Turkey until five years prior.

Middlesbrough's Tuncay Sanli will spearhead the forward line with either Gökdeniz Karadeniz or Nihat Kahveci right there with him.

Turkey has the most difficult schedule in the group, with their first game coming against Portugal and the second (and pivotal) game against Switzerland. They'll finish up against the Czech Republic, likely needing a victory in that game to have a chance at advancing to the quarterfinals.

Group A Final Prediction (teams in bold advance):

1. Portugal --7 points
2. Switzerland -- 5 points
3. Czech Republic -- 4 points
4. Turkey -- 0 points

Check back tomorrow for my full preview (which will be more brief, I promise) of Group B, made up of Austria, Croatia, Germany, and Poland.

Euro 2008 Preview--Group A (Part 1)

First of all, I want to wish all of my fellow countrymen here in the States a wonderful Memorial Day. Almost everyone I know has or had a family member in the armed forces, and today is all about remembering those who died while in military service to their country. We know it as the unofficial first day of summer when swimming pools traditionally open and families have a nice barbecue, but today is really more than that and I hope everyone takes a moment to reflect upon what this day truly means.

Now, onto the meat of this post -- previewing Group A in Euro 2008, which will start in just under two weeks' time. This group is comprised of Switzerland, the tournament co-host, Turkey, Portugal, and the Czech Republic.

Here's the fixture schedule (all times Eastern):

June 7:
Switzerland vs. Czech Republic (Noon; St. Jakob-Park, Basel)
Portugal vs. Turkey (2:45; Stade de Genève, Geneva)

June 11:
Czech Republic vs. Portugal (Noon; Stade de Genève, Geneva)
Switzerland vs. Turkey (2:45; St. Jakob-Park, Basel)

June 15:
Switzerland vs. Portugal (2:45; St. Jakob-Park, Basel)
Turkey vs. Czech Republic (2:45; Stade de Genève, Geneva)

Czech Republic:

In a qualifying group that included Germany and Ireland, the Czech Republic finished first with 29 points from their 12 games. This is their sixth appearance in the European Championships, although three of them came as the former Czechoslovakia, including the 1976 team that won the whole thing.

Their U-21's won the European U-21 Championship in 2002, and you can find a fair amount of players from that team on the senior team that will open up against Switzerland on June 7, including Petr Čech and Milan Baroš. It's always an unpleasant assignment to play your first game and the first game of the tournament against a host country, and you can bet the Swiss crowd will be in full roar in Basel.

Tomáš Rosický, known as the "Little Mozart" for his creative skill, fantastic passing ability, and the way he orchestrates play out of the center of midfield, will miss the tournament due to injury and that's a major blow for his country. He is their captain and field general and there just isn't anyone who will be able to replace him.

Coach Karel Brückner has named a 23-man provisional squad already, which of course is the number his final roster will have to have as well. If he chooses not to replace anyone, he'll have a team that seems to be pretty solid through the starting XI but without much on the bench.

Čech, one of the world's best at his position, will of course be in goal, in front of him could very well be an experienced back line of Grygera, Rozenhal, Ujfaluši, and Jankulovski (R to L), a midfield comprised of Galásek in the holding role, Jarolím on the right, possibly Skácel or Matějovský on the left, and Plašil right in the center. Up top will be the two stalwarts -- the big target man, Jan Koller, and his quicker sidekick, Baroš.

Portugal:

Big Phil's team finished second in an ultra-competitive qualifying group, as Poland nipped them by just one point. Under Scolari, Portugal lost in the final of Euro 2004 to Greece and lost to France in the semifinals of World Cup 2006. They will be looking to shake off those disappointments and win this competition, one in which they are favored to make a deep run.

Portugal's final squad has already been released and squad numbers have been announced, so barring injury, there will be no changes and what you see is what you'll get. This is a country not known in recent years to produce true center forwards; instead, an emphasis has been placed on pace, creativity, and wing play. In this group, those attributes should be enough to overcome the three either older or slower teams (who also simply have less talent), but that may not be the case come the knockout rounds.

Scolari is known as a unique character, one who tends to take the pressure off his team through his own personal antics and behavior, and I think that will really benefit his side in this tournament. It's a team that has 4-5-1/4-3-3 written all over it, with Ricardo in goal, either Bosingwa or Miguel at right back, Ferreira on the left, where he has played before, and Meira and Carvalho in the center. In the midfield, Deco will roam freely in the center, Cristiano Ronaldo and Simão will be on the wings, Petit seems likely to play in the holding role, and either João Moutinho or Raul Meireles, both terrific passers, will also be in the middle. As the lone center forward, Nuno Gomes will feature with Hélder Postiga spelling him.

Portugal’s schedule also sets up as arguably the most comfortable of any team in the group. While it is no slouch, Turkey has to be considered the weakest team out of the four and Portugal plays them first, followed by the Czech Republic. After those two games, they’ll know exactly what they need (if anything at all) in their third and final match, against Switzerland. That game seems to me like Portugal’s toughest, as not only do the Swiss have the home-field advantage, they are very difficult to break down and that is Portugal’s strength, quick passing and dribbling.

Check back later this afternoon for Part 2 of my Group A preview, in which I'll take a look at Turkey and Switzerland and give you my prediction for how the group will finish up.

Euro 2008 Preview

Tomorrow marks the start of Euro 2008 coverage here, and I'll begin by previewing all things concerning Group A -- Switzerland, Czech Republic, Portugal, and Turkey.

I'll have a breakdown of each nation's roster (preliminary and final, if it's been released) with key players to watch. I'll also predict the final standings for the group, right down to exact point totals.

Euro 2008 is right around the corner, and I can't wait for it to begin!

Goodbye, Avram Grant

This was a long time coming, and definitely the right move by chief executive Peter Kenyon. Grant was sacked today as manager, not even a year into his four-year contract. Kenyon and Bruce Buck, the club's chairman, said that Chelsea's performance this season was "simply not good enough", and they're right. As a big club in England, you basically have a one-in-four chance to win a trophy, and Chelsea won none of the four competitions they entered (FA Cup, Carling Cup, Champions League, and Premiership).

The Israeli manager did a decent job after replacing The Special One at Stamford Bridge. His managerial record (26-8-3) was statistically fantastic, there's no doubt.

But let's get something straight. He didn't get it done in the big games, when it matters the most. I could pick a starting XI from Chelsea's roster to beat the Sunderlands, the West Hams, and the Middlesbroughs of the world. That's not difficult. He inherited the squad that Mourinho had built — one that won back-to-back league titles — and had the added benefit of a healthy Michael Ballack.

His team didn't even show up to play in the Carling Cup final against Tottenham. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by Barnsley -- BARNSLEY. Grant was outcoached in the Champions League final earlier this week, which I firmly believe now upon further reflection although I didn't think that was the case immediately after the game. He always allowed the opposing manager to make the first move in a game and then tried to counter it, even though the best managers have proven that they are the ones who dictate how the game will be played. He repeatedly took off his best player/s in games, whether it was Joe Cole, Salomon Kalou, or whoever. His one major purchase in the January transfer window, Nicholas Anelka, barely had a role in Chelsea's first team despite scoring goals left and right at Bolton with very little talent around him.

Grant has no qualifications on his résumé that would indicate he had the experience and ability to lead one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Sorry, managing Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa isn't even close. Managing Israel's national team isn't even close. Israel didn't qualify for either of the two major tournaments (Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006) they wanted to enter during Grant's tenure. Being the technical director or director of football, whatever you want to call it, at Portsmouth for one season isn't even close.

Let's be clear. The only reason Grant got this job in the first place was because of his close friendship with Roman Abramovich, the club's owner.

As soon as Chelsea lost the final on Wednesday to Manchester United, who has, without exaggeration, the best manager in the world in Sir Alex Ferguson, you always knew Grant was going to get his walking papers. It was just a question of when, and we got the answer today.

Ekpe Udoh Is Transferring

With news slowing down in the soccer world in this lull period between the Champions League final and the start of Euro 2008, I wanted to bring a piece of news that I saw a little while ago to the forefront. This story, of course, concerns me a little bit as a Michigan Wolverines basketball fan and should concern those of you who are expecting John Beilein's team to have a better season next year as well.

In a statement released on May 6, sophomore center Ekpe Udoh announced that he would leave Michigan and seek a transfer to, presumably, another Division I school. Udoh was Michigan's best defensive player by far last season and led the Big Ten Conference in blocked shots, and his offensive game was also picking up. While it's true that his jumpshot was nowhere near what Beilein wants to see from his big man, it was definitely improving and I think he would've had a breakout year on that end of the floor, similar to that of DeShawn Sims in '07-'08.

Another offseason in the gym bulking up a little bit and a summer at Michigan and Udoh would've been a star for the Maize and Blue this year. I definitely could've seen him as a first team all-conference performer this year with the development that one would expect between sophomore and junior year. He already ranked fifth on Michigan's all-time blocks list with 159 in his two years, which is a huge accomplishment given the abundance of talent the Wolverines have had in their big men positions over the years.

"This was a very difficult decision for me," Udoh said in a released statement. "I just feel I need to explore other options right now. I had a wonderful experience at Michigan and I want to thank everyone for helping me the last two years. I wish them nothing but success in the future."

The same sentiment is echoed from me towards Udoh, who gave Michigan everything he had in last year's disappointing campaign. He is a guy with the natural ability and tools to play professionally, and because John Beilein's system is not known for producing NBA-level players, I understand why Udoh wanted to leave. I think he may very well regret this decision in the short term, though, because Michigan will be a much-improved basketball team this year led again by Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims.

The Wolverines lost only one scholarship senior from last year's team, Ron Coleman, who had been relegated to a sixth man-type role anyway, and have brought in what looks like a solid recruiting class. This is a team with postseason aspirations and Udoh would've been a big part of that. He's gone, and even though he would've been hugely important this season, I believe Michigan will be able to overcome his transfer.

Manchester United--The Champions of Europe

It was always going to come down to one break or mistake either way, and it was the cruelest of fates for Chelsea captain John Terry and his team as Edwin van der Sar punched Nicolas Anelka’s weak penalty away to clinch the Champions League for Manchester United. Terry could’ve won the shootout in the fifth round but slipped on the wet turf right before his penalty, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s miss earlier on was cancelled out.

I won’t say that penalties aren’t the way to decide games like these; the alternative is to play until someone scores and that’s not reasonable in soccer like it is in hockey because it is much more difficult to find the back of the net. I also won’t criticize Anelka, Terry, or Ronaldo for missing their spot kicks, and I feel gutted for the two Chelsea players but particularly Terry.

It’s difficult to find the words to describe a game like this. I firmly believe the pictures and moments we saw speak for themselves, so I don’t want to spoil such a big occasion by not doing it the justice it deserves. I will say that Manchester United were the best team in Europe this season, even if they were dominated in the second half of this game and for stretches of extra time as well. I know that the best team doesn’t always win, but this year, that wasn’t the case.

Ferguson’s substitutions proved to work as all three of the players he brought on scored in the shootout. In that regard, you can say he outcoached Grant tonight but I honestly don’t think that was the case. Chelsea picked up their play considerably as the game wore on and were unlucky not to win before it even went to PK’s.

As I said earlier, it would be foolish to ruin what we just witnessed and so I’ll sign off here. Congratulations to Chelsea and especially Manchester United, the champions of Europe in 2007-2008.

Champions League Final--Halftime Thoughts

• Interesting choice by Avram Grant to start Florent Malouda on the left wing instead of the more explosive Salomon Kalou, and by Sir Alex Ferguson to start Owen Hargreaves wide right ahead of Park Ji-Sung, who didn’t even make the bench tonight.

• Clarence Seedorf, who I am a big fan of, was very enjoyable to listen to, although Derek Rae is carrying the group once again. The Dutchman was able to provide insights as a player himself that the two commentators just can’t see.

• Testy, cautious first ten minutes, which everyone expected given the magnitude and significance of this game.

• Neither team looks like they have much energy at this point (20 minutes). Perhaps the extremely late local start time (which, by the way, is an injustice to the players) has had more of an impact than anyone would have thought.

• No way that should’ve been a yellow card for Makelele in the 22nd minute. Clarence Seedorf was spot-on; it was a complete accident, and to me, it even looked like Scholes was the one who went into that challenge more dangerously.

• Chelsea hasn’t done ANYTHING going forward in the first half-hour whatsoever.

• The best player in the world this season, Cristiano Ronaldo, rose above Michael Essien to make it 1-0 and as Derek Rae said, heading is a very underestimated facet of Ronaldo’s game. He has shut the critics who said he can’t score in a big game up. Oh yeah, and he’s halfway towards the goal tally I marked him down for today. Good left-footed cross by Wes Brown to allow Ronaldo to nod it past Petr Cech.

• There he is, the biggest embellisher in world soccer, Didier Drogba, on the ground again as a result of absolutely nothing in the 31st minute. Then he came back on one minute later and looked perfectly fine. Give me a break. There’s a reason soccer will never gain a major foothold in America, and it’s because of guys like Drogba who flop around needlessly, much like Ronaldo used to do.

• Great save by Edwin van der Sar on Ballack’s point-blank header. Chelsea’s best opportunity of the game by far went begging as Ballack should have done so much better.

• Two wonderful saves from Cech just moments later to deny Tevez and Carrick on the other end. This game is opening up nicely now as Chelsea has been forced to push the issue.

• Wayne Rooney has been invisible up to this point except for his ball to Cristiano Ronaldo to set up that two-shot flurry and his nice low cross to Tevez, who completely whiffed near the penalty spot. It hasn’t been too costly yet, but the Red Devils need Rooney to really step up if they want to win this game.

• I’m sorry, Ashley Cole’s antics after every call that doesn’t go his way are getting more and more tiresome and intolerable. You can’t continue to show up the referee by flapping and waving your arms and throwing a tantrum without getting punished, and I would hope referee Lubos Michel books him for unsporting behavior or dissent the next time Cole behaves like a petulant child.

• Ballack has been poor in the first 45, not only with that ugly free kick just outside the 18 before halftime but that missed header I wrote about earlier.

• Very important goal for Frank Lampard just on the stroke of halftime for Chelsea. Sure, it took an unlucky bounce from United’s point of view to spring Lampard, but he coolly put it home to give Chelsea new life and that’s something Ballack couldn’t do earlier. Big psychological boost for Avram Grant and his men.

• Chelsea was clearly outplayed in the first half, but the only thing that matters is it’s 1-1 (as I predicted it would be before United score twice more to win 3-1) and both teams will like their chances as the game goes on.

Champions League Final Prediction

I'm not going to do a full preview here, considering there's 5,477,759 of those or so that have been on various websites and media outlets in the build-up to tomorrow's game in Moscow.

Suffice it to say, though, that I'm feeling a bit devilish. I'm going to go out on a very short limb and pick Manchester United to win 3-1, cementing their status as the best team in Europe without question this season.

Who's going to score, you ask? Well, Cristiano Ronaldo will shut all the critics up who say he doesn't show up in the big games by scoring twice, and Rooney will seal it late on the break as Chelsea will need to send men forward to equalize. For the Blues, their Kaiser, Michael Ballack, will make it a 1-1 game but that won't be enough.

Chelsea doesn't have enough firepower to compete with United, in my opinion. Avram Grant just doesn't have a true match-winner on his team, whereas guys like Ronaldo, Tevez, and Rooney can put United on their backs if necessary.

The coaching edge clearly belongs to Sir Alex Ferguson, who has so much more experience then his counterpart. Grant has been hesitant to make moves and tactical changes this year and when he has, they've rarely turned out well. Ferguson is a proactive manager who will fix something before it's even gone wrong, and I just have a feeling that one of the players he brings off the bench will have a huge impact on this game.

We'll find out everything tomorrow, starting at 2:45 PM here on the East Coast.

Euro 2008 Introduction and Final Rosters for Portugal, Croatia, Spain, and Sweden

Co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland, Euro 2008 is just three weeks away. It'll be kicked off by a Group A matchup on June 7 between the Swiss and the Czech Republic in Basel, followed up by Portugal-Turkey in Geneva.

The final 23-man rosters, of which three must be goalkeepers, for each nation aren't required to be submitted until May 28, but a few coaches have already announced their respective squads. Others have announced a provisional roster and will have to trim it down by the 28th. If a player named to the final roster gets injured to the extent that he can't take part in the competition before his country's first match, he can be replaced.

Here at English Soccer Talk, I'll be covering this tournament much like I did the African Cup of Nations in January and February, with daily recaps and previews of the upcoming action. Sure, England isn't taking part, but this is the world's second-largest international competition and it would be ignorant of me to not give it its just due.

Starting next week, I'll be taking a closer look at all 16 teams in the tournament -- two per day for eight days -- and then spend the first week of June examining some of the must-watch games and making my full predictions as to who will advance out of the group stage and who will win the whole thing. Keep checking this site as it's your one stop shop for everything Euro 2008, including the final rosters for each nation.

First on the docket are Portugal, Croatia, Spain, and Sweden.

Portugal (Group A)- Head Coach: Luiz Felipe Scolari

GK (3): Ricardo (Real Betis), Quim (Benfica), Rui Patrício (Sporting Lisbon)
DEF (8): Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista), Fernando Meira (Stuttgart), Miguel (Valencia), José Bosingwa and Bruno Alves (Porto), Pepe (Real Madrid)
MID (8): Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani (Manchester United), Raul Meireles and Quaresma (Porto), Petit (Benfica), João Moutinho and Miguel Veloso (Sporting Lisbon), Deco (Barcelona)
FWD (4): Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Simão (Atlético Madrid), Nuno Gomes (Benfica), Hélder Postiga (Porto)

Croatia (Group B)- Head Coach: Slaven Bilić

GK (3): Stipe Pletikosa (Spartak Moscow), Mario Galinović (Panathinaikos), Vedran Runje (Lens)
DEF (6): Dario Šimić* (AC Milan), Josip Šimunić (Hertha Berlin), Robert Kovač* (Borussia Dortmund), Vedran Ćorluka (Manchester City), Hrvoje Vejić (Tom Tomsk), Dario Knežević (Livorno)
MID (9): Ivan Rakitić (Schalke 04), Nikola Pokrivač and Jerko Leko (AS Monaco), Niko Kovač** (Salzburg), Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Luka Modrić and Ognjen Vukojević (Dinamo Zagreb), Niko Kranjčar (Portsmouth), Danijel Pranjić (Heerenveen)
FWD (5): Nikola Kalinić (Hajduk), Ivan Klasnić (Werder Bremen), Ivica Olić (Hamburg), Igor Budan (Parma), Mladen Petrić (Borussia Dortmund)

*Vice-Captain, **Captain

Spain (Group D)- Head Coach: Luis Aragonés

GK (3): Iker Casillas* (Real Madrid), Andrés Palop (Sevilla), José Reina (Liverpool)
DEF (8): Raúl Albiol and Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Álvaro Arbeloa (Liverpool), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Juanito (Real Betis), Fernando Navarro (Mallorca), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
MID (8): Xabi Alonso (Liverpool), Santi Cazorla and Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Rubén de la Red (Getafe), Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal), Andrés Iniesta and Xavi (Barcelona), David Silva (Valencia)
FWD (4): Sergio García (Real Zaragosa), Dani Güiza (Mallorca), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Villa (Valencia)

*Captain

Sweden (Group D)- Head Coach: Lars Lagerbäck

GK (3): Andreas Isaksson (Manchester City), Rami Shaaban (Hammarby), Johan Wiland (Elfsborg)
DEF (7): Mikael Nilsson (Panathinaikos), Olof Mellberg (Aston Villa), Petter Hansson (Stade Rennais), Fredrik Stoor (Rosenborg), Daniel Majstorović (Basel), Andreas Granqvist (Wigan), Mikael Dorsin (CFR Cluj)
MID (8): Tobias Linderoth** (Galatasaray), Niclas Alexandersson (IFK Göteborg), Anders Svensson (Elfsborg), Fredrik Ljungberg* (West Ham), Kim Källström (Lyon), Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham City), Daniel Andersson (Malmö FF), Christian Wilhelmsson (Deportivo de La Coruña)
FWD (5): Zlatan Ibrahimović (Inter Milan), Johan Elmander (Toulouse), Henrik Larsson (Helsingborg), Marcus Allbäck (FC Copenhagen), Markus Rosenberg (Werder Bremen)

*Captain, **If he fails to recover from injury, Linderoth will be replaced by Ajax's Kennedy Bakircioglu.

Portsmouth Wins FA Cup

Nwankwo Kanu tapped home a cross parried away by Cardiff goalkeeper Peter Enckelman in the 37th minute, the Bluebirds' Glenn Loovens had a goal taken away for a handball right before the first half ended, and Portsmouth was able to hang on for a 1-0 victory today in the FA Cup final in front of a crowd of 89,874 at Wembley.

The win ensures that Portsmouth will be playing in the UEFA Cup next season, as they'll join Everton, Manchester City, and possibly Aston Villa if the Birmingham-based club makes it out of this summer's Intertoto Cup. Harry Redknapp, who did a great job this year on the South Coast, won his first real trophy in the top flight. He had Portsmouth on track to qualify automatically for the UEFA Cup for a large part of the season, but after his team reached the final of this competition, they took their foot off the pedal in the league and played solely to win this game.

The win also gives Portsmouth a chance to win another trophy next season. They'll meet Manchester United, the Premiership champions, in the Community Shield on August 10, a week before the 2008-2009 league season officially kicks off. Remember, Portsmouth knocked United out of the FA Cup this year at Old Trafford and held them to a draw at Fratton Park as well, so you can bet that there will be no fear from 'Arry's boys.

It was great to see two teams from outside the "Big Four" contest this game for a meaningful trophy. Cardiff is a Coca-Cola Championship side who was playing with house money for a UEFA Cup spot, and Portsmouth had to have this game to play in Europe next year. Both squads battled it out for 90 minutes and left it all on the field, and I don't think we would've seen that if two "Big Four" teams had reached the final. They don't care much about the cup competitions anymore, but everyone else does because they know it's their only real chance to win something.

Interestingly enough, though, I think because no "Big Four" teams were involved, the build-up and pomp surrounding this game from a national perspective wasn't there like it usually is. I just got a sense that this was sort of a throwaway game for the national media, and if that's the case, it obviously doesn't do justice to Portsmouth and Cardiff and that's a shame. It seems like there is always talk about how we don't want the "Big Four" to win everything, but when non-"Big Four" teams aren't playing, we seem to not care.

Don't take anything away from Portsmouth, and even Cardiff, for doing what they did. Just because neither team has an international reputation doesn't make their respective accomplishments any less significant. As I already said, Portsmouth knocked out the league champions at their place in their run the final and Cardiff are a Welsh-based team playing in England's second tier. Full credit to both teams, and particularly Portsmouth, for an entertaining match today.

Derek Rae Interviews Clarence Seedorf

This obviously doesn't have anything to do with soccer in England, but it's still an interesting interview. I was surprised that Seedorf pulled out of Holland's team for Euro 2008 as it looks to be the best Dutch team in recent years, but there is clearly a conflict between Seedorf and Marco van Basten, the outgoing coach of the Oranje.

Seedorf believes he still can bring something valuable to the table and can contribute, which is true, and van Basten has shown in recent years that he favors the younger generation -- guys like Robin van Persie and Rafael van der Vaart -- over the "old guard" -- Ruud van Nistelrooy, Mark van Bommel, Edgar Davids, etc. Instead of coming to camp to train hard and probably not get selected, Seedorf has opted to withdraw his name from the squad to perhaps avoid causing any unnecessary controversy and drama within the team.

End-of-Season Awards

The end of the season is upon us, with only the UEFA Cup final today and the Champions League final next week still to go.

It was an exciting year in the Premiership, and it's time to recognize the players who stood out the most over the long, arduous 38-game schedule. To do that, I'll use some the same categories I used before the season when I predicted who'd win these superlatives when it was all said and done, and also add some new ones as well. The players highlighted in bold were my preseason picks.

So, here we go, my 2007-2008 Premiership awards:

Most Outstanding Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Most Valuable Player: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Most Outstanding Goalkeeper: David James (Portsmouth)

Most Outstanding Defender: Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)

Most Outstanding Midfielder: Cristiano Ronaldo

Most Outstanding Striker: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

Biggest Bust (summer signing): Florent Malouda (Chelsea)

Best Bargain Buy: Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn)

Most Outstanding Newcomer: Fernando Torres

Top Young Player (20 years old and younger, 38 or less Premiership games played at start of season): Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

Manager of the Year: Martin O'Neill (Aston Villa)

Team of the Year:
GK: David James
LB: Gaël Clichy (Arsenal)
CB: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)
CB: Nemanja Vidic
RB: Bacary Sagna (Arsenal)
LMF: Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
CMF: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
CMF: Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal)
RMF: Cristiano Ronaldo
ST: Fernando Torres
ST: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal)

The Beauty of the Playoffs -- Part II

If you're still opposed to a playoff format at the end of the season, you're crazy. It doesn't have to be one that determines the champion, it can be one that determines the UEFA Cup places or Champions League places. After watching Bristol City book a date at Wembley in 12 days' time after beating Crystal Palace 2-1 today and 4-2 on aggregate in the Championship playoff semifinals, I'm more convinced than ever that some postseason system should be in place.

I didn't think the first leg of this tie could be topped in terms of excitement and drama, but I was wrong. This game went back and forth; both teams enjoyed dominant stretches where it looked like they'd be the side to advance. I watched the full 120 minutes today and came away impressed with both teams and both sets of supporters, although Crystal Palace's fans wanted to storm the field when their team was losing during extra time, presumably in order to get the match abandoned (GROW UP!!).

You just don't see many games like this during the regular schedule. There were so many twists and turns that I felt like I was watching a rollercoaster over and over again. The crowd was amazing, the goals were great, the tackles and 50/50 balls were all hotly contested, and there was even a missed PK that smacked the left post that could've won the tie for Crystal Palace. Lee Trundle, a terrific player but one who apparently has no right foot whatsoever, curled in a goal just right of the top of the penalty area to put City ahead in extra time, and a low, driven free kick from Michael McIndoe sealed the deal for Gary Johnson's team.

After this game, you just can't be opposed to a playoff system. Well you can be, of course, but you'd be insane if you weren't at least open to the idea.

Final Statistics

With the 2007-2008 Premiership season now in the books, let's take a look at the league leaders in several different league-only statistical categories.

Goals:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)--31
T2. Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal)--24
4. Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn)--19
T5. Robbie Keane (Tottenham), Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham), Benjani (Portsmouth/Manchester City), Yakubu (Everton)--15
9. Carlos Tevez (Manchester United)--14
10. John Carew (Aston Villa)--13

Assists:

1. Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)--19
2. Ashley Young (Aston Villa)--17
3. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)--13
T4. David Bentley (Blackburn), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham)--11
T7. Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland)--10
T9. Carlton Cole (West Ham), Nicky Shorey (Reading), Martin Petrov (Manchester City)Salomon Kalou (Chelsea)--9

Yellow Cards:

T1. Michael Brown (Wigan), Nicky Butt (Newcastle), El-Hadji Diouf (Bolton)--11
T4. Kevin Davies (Bolton), Kevin Nolan (Bolton), Liam Ridgewell (Birmingham City), Christopher Samba (Blackburn)--10
T8. George Boateng (Middlesbrough), Carlton Cole (West Ham), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa), Alan Smith (Newcastle)--9

Red Cards:

T1. Richard Dunne (Manchester City), Sulley Muntari (Portsmouth), Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn--2
T4. Countless others, check premierleague.com for the complete list

Fouls:

1. John Carew (Aston Villa)--93
2. Kevin Davies (Bolton)--86
3. Michael Brown (Wigan)--80
4. Alan Smith (Newcastle)--78
T5. Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Carlton Cole (West Ham)--74
T7. George Boateng (Middlesbrough), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Benjani (Portsmouth/Manchester City), Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa)--66

Appearances:

T1. Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Brad Friedel (Blackburn), Robert Green (West Ham), Marcus Hahnemann (Reading), James Harper (Reading), Stephen Kelly (Birmingham), Martin Laursen (Aston Villa), George McCartney (West Ham), Jose Reina (Liverpool)--37

Attendance (Average):

1. Manchester United (75,691)
2. Arsenal (60,070)
3. Newcastle (51,320)
4. Liverpool (43,532)
5. Sunderland (43,344)
6. Manchester City (42,126)
7. Chelsea (41,397)
8. Aston Villa (40,029
9. Everton (36,594)
10. Tottenham (35,966)

Preseason Predictions Revisited

Alright, it's time for me to face the music and let you all have a go at me. I'm going to compare my preseason predictions as to how the final table would look with what has actually transpired over the 38-game season.

Here is my original prediction, and you can go back into the archives and look it up if you want proof:

1. Manchester United
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool
4. Tottenham
5. Arsenal
6. Portsmouth
7. Aston Villa
8. Everton
9. Bolton
10. Blackburn Rovers
11. Reading
12. West Ham
13. Fulham
14. Newcastle
15. Manchester City
16. Middlesbrough
17. Sunderland
18. Wigan Athletic
19. Birmingham City
20. Derby County

Now, here is the final table. Teams that I picked to finish exactly where they did are highlighted in bold:

1. Manchester United
2. Chelsea
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Everton
6. Aston Villa
7. Blackburn Rovers
8. Portsmouth
9. Manchester City
10. West Ham
11. Tottenham
12. Newcastle
13. Middlesbrough
14. Wigan Athletic
15. Sunderland
16. Bolton
17. Fulham
18. Reading
19. Birmingham City
20. Derby County

As you can tell, I hit four out of the league's 20 teams on the head, which is a 20% success rate. I also correctly predicted six out of 20 (30%) to finish either exactly where they did or one spot above or below, and 11 out of 20 (55%) to finish either exactly where they did or two spots above or below.

On the whole, I didn't do a great job but that's why this league is what it is. It's extremely difficult to make these kind of predictions and have any significant amount of accuracy. This was also the first season that I've really gotten into the Premiership and followed it closely.

I can't wait until July, when I do my second annual "20 Teams in 10 Days" Premiership Preview, where I take a look at all the teams for next year, their summer comings and goings, and predict where they'll end up in reverse order.

Go for it, everyone, have at me. I know you want to!

Season Finale of "I'm on Setanta Sports"

In the last episode of the season, The Special One pays tribute to Sven in a fantastic song.

"WELL", sort of..

England 31-Man Provisional Squad Announced

Fabio Capello has announced a provisional 31-man roster for England's upcoming friendlies against the United States on May 28 at Wembley and at Trinidad & Tobago on June 1, likely in Port of Spain.

He didn't give any of his big guns a break after the long, grueling Premiership campaign -- Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, and Wayne Rooney were all picked. However, there's also a few relatively inexperienced players and several young up-and-comers in the squad, so Capello wisely opted for a nice mix in this group before he trims it down closer to the end of the month.

Here's the full roster:

Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Chris Kirkland (Wigan), Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Defenders: John Terry, Wayne Bridge, and Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Stephen Warnock (Blackburn), David Wheater (Middlesbrough), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham)

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry and Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Joe Cole and Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United), David Bentley (Blackburn), Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Phil Jagielka (Everton)

Forwards: Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Dean Ashton (West Ham), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth)

If it was up to me, I'd drop seven players from this group of 31 -- Bridge, Kirkland, Wheater, Downing, Jagielka, Jenas, and Ashton. Recognizing Ashton and Jagielka, in particular, and their contributions to their respective clubs this year was a great move by Capello, but I just don't think they have a place in the full England team right now.

I was pleased to see Joe Hart on this roster; he's had a fantastic first season in the Premiership. Glen Johnson's inclusion was much deserved, and of course, my man Ashley Young is in the team as well and that was good to see.

This is certainly a formidable squad, one that should come away with two wins in these friendlies. With that said, the US certainly won't be a pushover and I could see an exciting draw in that game, maybe 2-2.

David Noble's Wickedly Struck Game-Winning Goal Yesterday

Wow, check this out.

Boys and Girls, the Great Escape is Complete

Music fans may appreciate the title of this post, seeing as one of last summer's biggest hits was "The Great Escape" by Boys Like Girls.

Back to soccer though, and Fulham has escaped what was near-certain relegation a few weeks ago and will remain in the Premiership for another season.

This has been an ongoing theme here recently, as I'm sure you all have seen. I'm not going to go over the reasons I cheer for Fulham because I've done that before on multiple occasions, but I couldn't be more thrilled that Roy Hodgson's men got the job done at Fratton Park today with a 1-0 victory.

Fulham had their doubters all season, and even I was starting to give up hope a little bit about a month ago when they looked doomed for the drop. A remarkable comeback at Manchester City sparked by Diomansy Kamara turned everything around, though, and with their destiny in their own hands (or feet, or heads, as the case was today when Danny Murphy finished Jimmy Bullard's terrific free kick), Fulham was able to take care of business and beat Birmingham last week and then Portsmouth this afternoon.

It was a wonderful scene on the South Coast after the final whistle. Fulham's fans supported their team all season long, through thick and thin, from Lawrie Sanchez to Roy Hodgson, from mid-table to the relegation zone to safety. The players paid tribute to them today and you could tell how much it meant to both parties.

Roy Hodgson deserves a lot of credit for the work he's done this season, inheriting the mess that Sanchez left behind and molding them into a team with belief. He was the quintessence of calm today on the bench, even when Fulham were goalless for the first hour and ten minutes and needed to change that in order to survive.

The Americans on the team are so important, and we've seen that all year. When Brian McBride has been healthy, he's been able to score some hugely important goals. Clint Dempsey has been a workhorse, Kasey Keller played very well in goal since joining the club, Eddie Johnson got a couple run-outs up front in February and March, and even Carlos Bocanegra had a role at the beginning of the season.

Jimmy Bullard's return from injury was what really turned Fulham's fortunes around; he is a masterful set piece taker and is the creative force that Fulham desperately needed to have in their midfield. Danny Murphy came on strong at the end of the season and capped it off with the game-winning goal today.

It's a shame that the relegation battle came down to goal difference, just like it did last season. You all know my feelings on that; I touched on it briefly in my earlier post about Manchester United, and I truly feel bad for Reading.

As with United, I have to give my congratulations to Fulham, a team I picked to finish 13th this season. They didn't do that obviously, but they avoided the drop that many people believed they'd suffer and it'll be good to watch the Cottagers in the Premiership next season.

Hail to the Champions!

Manchester United's 2-0 victory today over Wigan, sealed fittingly by Ryan Giggs late, gave the Red Devils their 17th Premier League/First Division title and Sir Alex Ferguson his 10th since moving south from Aberdeen.

There really isn't too much to say about this game itself. Cristiano Ronaldo, the best player in the world this season, coolly slotted home a justly-awarded PK in the first half to give his team a lead they wouldn't let slip. Wigan were game for the duration, but never had that finishing touch necessary to put one by Edwin van der Sar. Marcus Bent looked dangerous at times for Steve Bruce, a former United captain, but didn't really threaten the net. Giggs came off the bench in the second half and is now tied with Sir Bobby Charlton for most career appearances for Manchester United with 758.

United's summer signings all were instrumental in their success this season. Carlos Tevez linked with Wayne Rooney to form one of the most lethal striking partnerships in Europe. Owen Hargreaves' versatility was absolutely critical when injuries struck and his free kick against Arsenal will go down in United's history. Nani and Anderson didn't contribute as much on the scoresheet, but both played valuable roles in the midfield and allowed the veterans like Scholes and Giggs to get as much rest as they needed.

United was my preseason pick to win the title and so it's good to nail that one right on the head. They were the best team in the league by a mile this season and are only 90 minutes away from earning the mantra as the best team in Europe in 2007-2008 as well. It won't be easy; it never is against Chelsea, but I like United to win that game 3-1 and complete the double.

Fortunately, the title didn't end up being decided on goal differential, something that I've harped on since I started this blog last summer, as Chelsea drew 1-1 with Bolton. Goal differential is no way to break ties; it's a semantical stat that doesn't always indicate the better team and favors the teams that score a lot of goals. When you look at Bolton last season, however, it shows that you don't necessarily need to play a high-flying, fast-paced style to be successful.

Congratulations to Manchester United, the champions of the Premiership.

Brief sidenote: Later this afternoon, I'll post my original preseason predictions and compare them to how the table finished up.

The Beauty of the Playoffs

Those of you against some form of playoffs at the end of the season, what do you have to say for yourself now?

Bristol City, a relative lightweight who won League One just last year, stunned most pundits' pick to win promotion to the Premiership, Crystal Palace, today with a 2-1 victory at Palace's Selhurst Park. The hosts looked like they were going to pull out a draw after equalizing through a Ben Watson PK in the 87th minute, but David Noble came up with an absolute cracker of a goal from 30 yards in the 93rd minute to give City the win. Neil Warnock's Crystal Palace side will now have to overturn the deficit in Bristol on Tuesday.

I don't want to say that this was a true David vs. Goliath story, but let's face facts: Crystal Palace was the form team coming into these playoffs having lost only once in their last 12 games. They had a +15 goal differential over Bristol City despite finishing three points behind. This is City's first year back in the Championship, whereas Palace was in the Premiership just a few years ago, and their stadium's seating capacity is only about 21,500. Palace have a manager in Neil Warnock who has a lot of experience in England's lower leagues and took Sheffield United to the Premiership. Looking at his roster, he has quite a few players that are fairly recognizable to soccer fans in Clinton Morrison, Scott Sinclair, Shefki Kuqi, Scott Flinders, and others. City, on the other hand, have maybe one name you've heard of -- Darren Byfield.

Suffice it to say that Palace looked to be the easy pick to go through to the Championship playoff final at Wembley, not Bristol City. If I was a betting man, I would've put a lot of money on it.

But that's the magic of the playoffs. You can't underestimate anybody because on any given day, any team is capable of getting a result. We see it all the time in the FA Cup and to a lesser extent, the Carling Cup. Yes, you can argue that that is because the Premiership teams don't care as much about those competitions any more, but you can't say that Crystal Palace doesn't care about being promoted to the Premiership.

It's not just the fact that City won, it's the manner in which they won. After giving up that PK, they would have had every excuse to fold up the tent and take a 1-1 scoreline back home. To their credit, they kept fighting and were rewarded with a game-winning goal in the 93rd minute to silence the home crowd. It was something dreams were made of. Rarely in real life do we see something like that happen, especially not in a game as meaningful as today's contest. You couldn't script it any better if you're affiliated with the Robins, either as a fan, player, or coach, and you couldn't be more heartbroken if you support Crystal Palace. In one minute, their hopes of returning to England's top flight were likely crushed.

You never know, though. Just as I said that David Noble's goal and City's win today was unlikely, Crystal Palace could come up with their own fairytale story and do the job in the return leg in Bristol.

That's what the playoffs are all about -- passion, life, exuberance, drama, and unpredictability. You just don't get that during a typical 38-game league season when most of the meaningful places have been wrapped up with a month and half left to play. Sure, it hasn't happened like that this year in the Premiership, but the fact of the matter is that the run-in of most seasons just doesn't have much excitement. This season has been an anomaly in that regard.

When I see moments like I saw today, it just makes my desire for a playoff format even stronger. I hope that my recent posts on this topic have forced you to think about it a little more, to think about how we can spice up a league that has become stale at the top.

Top 10 Goals of Euro 2004

If we see goals like this next month, we'll be in for a good summer.

England Awarded Extra Place in the UEFA Cup

UEFA announced their continental fair play rankings today and -- honestly, this amazes me with some of the tackles we see on a weekly basis -- England has come out on top. As a result, an extra UEFA Cup spot will be granted to the highest-ranked team on the Premier League's own fair play table that hasn't already automatically qualified for Europe next season.

Right now, that team is Manchester City, who are fifth in the current table behind Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Liverpool, all of which have already booked their place in Europe next year.

Everton and Fulham are still in with a shout for the extra UEFA Cup place as well, but the Toffees likely won't need it because a point gained on Sunday against Newcastle would seal a berth in Europe's second-tier club competition through their league position. Fulham, remember, will be doing everything they can to try and beat Portsmouth on Sunday in hopes of retaining their Premiership status, and if it takes one or two red cards and five or six yellows in the process, so be it.

England's fair play rankings won't be finalized until after Sunday's games, obviously, so we won't know for sure who the extra English representative in the 2008-2009 UEFA Cup will be until then.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Top 10 Goals of the 2007-2008 Season

Enjoy.

Summer Plans

With the 2007-2008 season winding down, it's time (unfortunately) to wind things down a little bit here as well.

Euro 2008 will be on everyone's minds this summer, and you'll be able to find coverage of that here as I'll be posting a daily recap much like I did for the African Cup of Nations in January. I definitely look forward to watching that tournament, the second-biggest international competition in the world, and will go out on a limb right now and pick England to advance past the quarterfinals and win the whole thing..

Oh wait, England won't be there. Whoops.

In all seriousness, I'm going with Portugal as my choice to win the Euros led by the best player in the world right now, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Posts concerning the Premiership will obviously become more infrequent as there just isn't much to talk about other than player movement and transfers. I'll keep you all updated on that, but the "Useful Soccer Sites" section on the left side of the home page has all the information you'll need to keep up with the goings-on in the summer.

When pre-season friendlies start picking up and teams start getting ready for next season in earnest, English Soccer Talk will pick up again to multiple posts every day (hopefully) like normal.

I'm also still flirting with the possibility of a weekly or bi-weekly podcast during the summer as a way to expand the site. I've lined up a couple of potential guests, so we'll see what happens and possibly by July, the debut of the English Soccer Talk podcast will be available for your listening pleasure.

It's been great writing this season, although I did take a bit of a break last fall, and I look forward to checking in as much as possible during the summer. Can't wait for the 2008-2009 season!

Football League Playoff Schedule

First of all, congratulations to West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City for their automatic entry into the Premier League next season, congratulations to Swansea and Nottingham Forest for heading up to the Championship, and congratulations to Paul Ince's MK Dons, Peterborough, and Hereford for their promotions to League One. Also, a shout out to Aldershot for winning the Blue Square Premier division and earning a berth into League Two.

With that out of the way, there are still three more promotion spots in total up for grabs through the playoffs, one in each league. The passion and win-or-go-home attitude displayed at this stage of the season is really a great treat to watch, and if the semifinalists are lucky enough to advance, a one-off, winner-take-all match in front of a massive crowd at Wembley awaits. No pressure or anything...

Here it is, the complete schedule for the Football League playoffs. Games start this weekend, so enjoy. All times are BST, home teams are listed first:

Championship:

Saturday, 10 May 2008
5. Crystal Palace vs. 4. Bristol City -- Semifinal, Leg 1, 12:15

Sunday, 11 May 2008
6. Watford vs. 3. Hull -- Semifinal, Leg 1, 12:00

Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Bristol City vs. Crystal Palace -- Semifinal, Leg 2, 19:45

Wednesday, 14 May 2008
Hull vs. Watford -- Semifinal, Leg 2, 19:45

Saturday, 24 May 2008
Winners 3rd vs. 6th vs. Winners 4th vs. 5th -- Final (@ Wembley), 15:00

League One:

Friday, 09 May 2008
6. Southend vs. 3. Doncaster -- Semifinal, Leg 1, 19:45

Monday, 12 May 2008
5. Leeds vs. 4. Carlisle -- Semifinal, Leg 1, 19:45

Thursday, 15 May 2008
Carlisle vs. Leeds -- Semifinal, Leg 2, 19:45

Friday, 16 May 2008
Doncaster vs. Southend -- Semifinal, Leg 2, 19:45

Sunday, 25 May 2008
Winners 3rd vs. 6th vs. Winners 4th vs. 5th -- Final (@ Wembley), 15:00

League Two:

Saturday, 10 May 2008
6. Darlington vs. 4. Rochdale -- Semifinal, Leg 1, 17:35

Sunday, 11 May 2008
7. Wycombe vs. 5. Stockport County -- Semifinal, Leg 1, 18:00

Saturday, 17 May 2008
Rochdale vs. Darlington -- Semifinal, Leg 2, 12:00
Stockport vs. Wycombe -- Semifinal, Leg 2, 18:00

Monday, 26 May 2008
Winners 4th vs. 7th vs. Winners 5th vs. 6th -- Final (@ Wembley), 15:00

Should the Premiership Have Playoffs?

There are those out there who believe the answer to the question is a resounding "no"; in fact, the vast majority of people I talk to are firmly against the concept of playoffs in the Premiership.

I hear the same arguments all the time: "Every game means something in the Premiership; it's not like the regular season in American sports, which counts for nothing" or "No, we don't need playoffs. The best team at the end of 38 games wins, and that's that" or "No, it goes against the tradition of the league".

You've all talked to people about this. It's a debate that pops up every now and again and gets shot down by the mass media every single time. They give you the same reasons for why a playoff structure shouldn't exist.

It's about time, though, that you heard the reasons FOR why the most exciting league in the world should have playoffs at the end of the year. Later on in this post, I'll describe my perfect system and explain how it would work.

1. First off, the "every game means something" argument is complete and utter rubbish. A certain host of World Soccer Daily feeds the audience that cliché every time when ripping the MLS and saying how it will never be more than a third-tier league, much less as good as the Premiership.

I'll tell you what, folks, that argument is invalid. By mid-February of each year, the only teams playing for anything are the teams fighting it out for the title (usually two or three), trying to avoid relegation (usually two or three), and the teams contesting the UEFA Cup spots (usually two or three). That leaves anywhere between 11-14 teams that have, for all intents and purposes, packed it in for the season with two and a half months of games left to play.

Think about it. When's the last time you saw West Ham and Tottenham actually play with any sense of urgency this season? Teams like Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Manchester City, and Newcastle were all confined to mid-table mediocrity a while ago. The whole glut of mid-table teams make up the majority of teams in the league, and they go overlooked because they're not playing competitive games for the last quarter of the season.

What motivation do those teams have to show up every week? They're just playing out the string, which isn't necessarily for their fault, and it's a disservice to the loyal fans who have to pay exorbitant ticket prices to watch flat, stale performances at the end of the year.

Having a playoff system would negate this. Teams would be fighting it out tooth and nail until the last day to get into the playoffs, and it would prohibit managers from playing second-string teams at the end like they do now.

2. Let's face it, the Premiership is in need of an electric shock-type revitalization. The same four teams finish in the top four every single year and only two or three of them have any hope of winning the title in any given season because the other/s are down, though still good enough to finish in a Champions League place.

Granted, most fans of the Premiership are fans of those four clubs, but it's extremely boring and predictable for the other 16 teams (80%) of the league. The same teams shouldn't be at the top every season. It has become a huge accomplishment to finish 5th these days and it's almost unheard of for any team to break the stranglehold of the "Big Four". When the most exciting race every year is at the bottom, and not the top, you know something is wrong.

Making the playoffs would become a more reasonable feat for clubs and provide something for the other 16 teams in the league to shoot for. We know that because of economics, the other 16 in the Premiership will never reach the status of the "Big Four", but anything could happen in the playoffs and at least for one season, the smaller clubs could enjoy a triumph over the big boys.

3. As I just touched on briefly, it gives the little guys a chance and an escape from perennial mediocrity. In a typical season, Middlesbrough's 29th game may be basically meaningless and there would very likely be a small crowd at the Riverside. With a playoff system, though, those three points would be huge because Middlesbrough would be no sure thing to make the playoffs and they'd need every single point they can get. This, in turn, would create a better atmosphere because the game has that much more meaning. Mid-table teams would have their own little race to get in instead of settling for where they are and shutting it down with multiple games to go.

Instead of playing out the string in front of small crowds with little enthusiasm, you're playing to make the playoffs and get a shot at one of the big boys, with one game at your field if you make it to the quarterfinals. Playoffs ensure that the teams fighting to get there don't take games off and it eliminates the apathy that we see at the end of the season nowadays.

4. The intensity, atmosphere, and passion that would be found in the playoffs would be great -- think Liverpool's Champions League nights at Anfield. If you watched their game today against City, sure, there was some chanting, but I couldn't count the times I saw close-up shots of the crowd and there were so many quiet people with their hands on their chins, just sitting there and watching the game. I don't want to see that, and we wouldn't if there was the possibility of playoffs after the regular season.

If you've ever seen any playoff games in professional sports here in the US, everything just goes up a notch. The players have more of a bounce in their step, the fans are louder, the stadiums are raucous, and the game itself is just a better one. It's hard to qualify in words unless you've seen it, but trust me on this one, you'd rather have playoffs than watch Blackburn's last 10 games of the season with nothing to play for after that.

OK, so, here's my playoff proposal:

• 12 teams (1-12 after 38 regular season league games) based on points

• Top three teams automatically go to the Champions League, with the fourth CL place and the Premiership trophy given to the team that wins the playoffs. If that team finished in the top three during the regular season, then the CL place would be given to the playoff runner-up. This provides incentive to finish in the top three after 38 games, as well as give something meaningful to the playoff winner.

• Top four teams get a "first-round bye”, with team #5 playing #12, #6-#11, #7-#10, and #8-#9. After that first round, team #1 would play the lowest remaining seed, team #2 would play the second-lowest remaining seed, then team #3, then team $4 playing the highest remaining seed in the quarterfinal round.

• All first-round games are one-offs, with the games being played at the higher seeds’ stadiums. No away goals rule, extra time is two 15-minute halves (golden goal), and then PK’s.

• All quarterfinal round games are two-legged ties, with the higher seed hosting the second leg. No away goals rule, extra time is two 15-minute halves (golden goal), and then PK’s.

• For the semifinals, the highest remaining seed would play the lowest remaining seed, and then the two middle teams would play. Again, two-legged ties; higher seed has second leg at their ground. No away goals rule, extra time is two 15-minute halves (golden goal), and then PK’s

• The two winners of the semifinals would play in the final, a one-off game at the venue of the higher seed. No away goals rule, extra time is two 15-minute halves (golden goal), and then PK’s.

How would this work? Well, the weekend after the season ends, the first round would start. Two of the games would take place Saturday, and then the other two would be played Sunday.

The quarterfinals would begin the next midweek, with the Sunday winners playing their top four opponents on Wednesday and the Saturday winners doing the same on Tuesday. For the second leg, the teams playing on Tuesday would go at it again on Saturday, and the teams playing on Wednesday would finish their tie on Sunday.

The semifinals would follow the same model, with the winners of the Wednesday/Sunday games playing the next Wednesday/Sunday, and the winners of the Tuesday/Saturday games playing the next Tuesday/Saturday.

The final would then be held at the highest remaining seed on the Saturday after the semifinals conclude.

All in all, it would add on a month to the end of the season while giving the teams involved an adequate amount of rest.

You can argue that the teams who have already clinched playoff spots will simply rest players towards the end of the year like they do now, and I understand that to a degree. However, the battle for seeding and having the second leg at home or the one-off game at home, as well as the fight for the three automatic Champions League spots, should negate managers from doing that.

Look at the interest that the playoffs in England's lower leagues have gotten. It's a priceless moment to see teams win promotion at Wembley. The two-legged semifinals are great and are nearly always sold out, which isn't the case for many other games during the course of the year at the grounds of some of these teams. Teams that still have had good seasons are given a lifeline to actually win something instead of settling for finishing in the middle of the table and getting another crack at it in the next year.

Let me know what you guys think. I'm fully aware that this will probably never happen, but it's just an idea to create more passion and excitement from fans and teams in a league that has become fairly stale in recent years.

Dave from Newcastle and Wazza--Full, Unedited Interview

Dave from Newcastle Interviewed on "I'm on Setanta Sports"

Also in the second-to-last episode of the season, a video collage of Jose's fantasticness, Roman Abramovich tries to tap "The Boy" up, and Sven's future remains in doubt.

The Dream Lives On!

Fulham is a victory at Fratton Park next weekend away from completing a great escape after their 2-0 win today over Birmingham. A trademark Brian McBride diving header to finish off a fabulous in-swinging free kick from Jimmy Bullard opened the scoring for the Cottagers, and Erik Nevland sealed it late once again to account for the final scoreline. Kasey Keller continued to prove why he’s become Roy Hodgson’s first choice in goal over Antti Niemi with the clean sheet.

Their third win in four matches propelled Fulham out of the relegation zone (for now, anyway) and into 17th place, as they have a better goal differential than Reading. Both clubs have 33 points, Birmingham is in 19th with 32 points, and obviously each of these three teams have one game to go.

As previously mentioned, Fulham's game is at a Portsmouth team playing for nothing right now except to stay healthy for the FA Cup final, Birmingham hosts Blackburn in a game that has draw written all over it, and Reading will visit Derby, who will want to bow out of the Premiership with a great performance for their fans. Bolton is playing Sunderland right now, and the Trotters also have 33 points. A victory should mean safety, but a loss would make things hairy for Gary Megson's team as they aren't going to get anything against Chelsea next weekend.

There was a terrific atmosphere at Craven Cottage for Fulham's last home game of the year. Fulham has some of the best fans in the Premiership and it showed today. You can really tell how much that team means to the supporters, and you can't say the same about other fans and teams in the league.

90 minutes left for Fulham and three points would do the trick. They are playing with so much confidence right now and I really believe they're going to get the job done at Portsmouth next week.