PK's Unkind to Spurs, Everton

Clubs from England, England, of all countries, struggling in a penalty shootout? Not surprising in the least.

Everton needed to reverse a 2-0 deficit heading into their second leg against Fiorentina at Goodison Park today and did so. Both teams had their chances late in normal time and then in extra time to win the tie but couldn't finish, and Fiorentina won the crapshoot that is PK's. All bets are off after 120 minutes, no matter who the home team is. Both goalkeepers, Sebastien Frey and Tim Howard, had very good games and each made some crucial saves, but Frey was able to parry Phil Jagielka's spot kick and Yakubu hit the post. Fiorentina converted all four of their efforts from 12 yards out to escape Liverpool and advance.

Like Everton, Spurs needed to overcome a deficit in Eindhoven as today's hosts won 1-0 at White Hart Lane in the first leg. Like Everton, Spurs were able to accomplish that. Like Everton, Spurs lost in PK's, although this shootout was more captivating. Tottenham had a chance to win the game but Jermaine Jenas' effort was saved by Eindhoven's goalkeeper, Gomes, and then Pascal Chimbonda's awful shot allowed the Dutch side to progress on penalties, 6-5.

Dick Advocaat-managed Zenit St. Petersburg continues to impress, coming from 3-1 down in the first leg and winning 2-0 today to advance on the away goals rule over Olympique Marseille.

I'll have a complete recap of the Round of 16 after the final two games tomorrow, both of which feature another British team -- Rangers in Bremen to take on Werder, and Bolton in Lisbon to take on Sporting.

West Ham Will Be MLS All-Star Team's Opponent This Summer

The Toronto Star is reporting that West Ham United, they of the wrong end of three consecutive 4-0 losses, will come to Toronto this summer and be the opponent for the MLS All-Stars. It would be the fourth straight year in which a British team has traveled across the Atlantic to play in the MLS' annual summer showcase, with the home side winning each of the previous three encounters.

BMO Field will host this game on July 28 and there isn't a better stadium and fan base in the league. Toronto FC was a pretty poor team last season and yet you couldn't tell by the crowd in the stadium; they made noise for the duration of each and every game and there was an atmosphere unlike any other in American (although of course, Toronto is in Canada) soccer.

To be honest, I'm not particularly excited about this game; I don't think West Ham are that appealing to watch and the only connection they have to the game here in America is in the form of young defender Jonathan Spector, who has made eight appearances for the US National Team.

Everton would've been the perfect opponent in my opinion; I understand that their only American is goalkeeper Tim Howard, but Howard is a much more recognizable player than Spector and the Toffees have a sizable fan base in North America, more so than West Ham.

Either way, definitely tune in to this game this summer.

Liverpool Advances to CL Quarterfinals; New College Basketball Podcast

As sure as the sun will rise and set every day, a Rafa Benitez-coached team will not give up a 2-0 lead in a Champions League tie. I've criticized Benitez's tactics in the Premier League on many occasions and will continue to do so when the situation calls for it in the future, but this man simply is built for two-legged ties and knows exactly how to get the job done in Europe.

I never once got the feeling today that Liverpool were in danger of losing to Inter Milan, even though Milan had their fair share of near-misses. Once Fernando Torres scored midway through the second half, the tie was, for all intents and purposes, over. Torres has been the best striker in the Premier League this season and without him, I'm not sure where Liverpool would be.

As far as I'm concerned, the Reds are England's best chance to win the Champions League this season; they may not be a better team than Manchester United, Arsenal, or even Chelsea, but as far as in Europe, they have the best manager in Benitez and a team full of players who have a lot of Champions League experience and the same can't be said about those other three teams.

On an unrelated note, I was asked by my good friend Kartik to come on to his Canes Rising podcast again and talk about the college basketball landscape heading into Championship Week and Selection Sunday. We'll be recording tonight and the finished product should be ready for your listening pleasure within the next couple of days, and trust me, if you're a fan of the ACC, you'll want to listen.

Sven Pimps "I'm on Setanta Sports"

This show is getting more and more unbelievable every week, but you know what, I don't care.

It is fantastic.

FA Cup Semifinal Draw

A record 731 teams set out for eternal glory in winning the 2007-2008 edition of the FA Cup and after matches since August 18 of last year, we're down to the last four remaining clubs: Portsmouth, Barnsley, West Bromwich Albion, and Cardiff City.

Bryan Robson conducted the draw for the semifinals this afternoon, with both matches to be played at Wembley during the first weekend of April:

April 5: Barnsley vs. Cardiff City
April 6: West Bromwich Albion vs. Portsmouth

A betting man would likely take Portsmouth to win this competition, something they've done only once in their long history (in 1939). However, West Brom, Pompey's opponent, just thrashed Bristol Rovers, who were the cinderella story in this year's FA Cup, 5-1 on the road.

Many people, including Chelsea captain John Terry apparently, want Barnsley to go on and win though and I have to say, after beating Liverpool and Chelsea in consecutive rounds, Barnsley certainly would deserve it. The Tykes could be due for a letdown against Cardiff after those two massive victories, so that will be an interesting game to watch.

Wigan Should Consider a Synthetic Turf Field

Watching today's game at the JJB Stadium between hosts Wigan and Arsenal, one thing was made patently obvious: That field is a disaster and shouldn't be used for Premiership games. It has gotten worse and worse as the season has gone on and it's gotten to the point where it just seems unplayable; the surface is an embarrassment to a league that is one of the top three of its kind in the world.

The field is as hard as a rock on sunny days and a mudpit on rainy days. There are vast stretches without grass. There are clearly visible remains of rugby lines from games played by rugby Super League's Wigan Warriors, who share the JJB with Wigan Athletic.

My high school soccer field was in much better shape than what I'm seeing today and have seen for large portions of the season. I've seen better elementary schoolyard fields than that as well.

What's the solution? Something many purists of the game don't want to hear and likely will criticize me for even suggesting it.

Synthetic turf.

You know what, I don't care if it isn't commonly used on soccer fields in Europe. That doesn't matter. I don't care if it isn't part of the sport's tradition; the only reason synthetic turf wasn't used back in the old days was because it hadn't been invented yet. If it had been, it would've been installed and there would be none of this debate about tradition and sentiment.

The Premier League and its member clubs have a responsibility to provide the best and most safest possible fields with the surfaces most condusive to the game. You can argue and cite studies that indicate that natural grass is safer than synthetic turf and if all things were equal, I'd agree with you. I'd rather play on grass than turf also.

But when the conditions lead to such slop like we've seen for a majority of the season at the JJB, synthetic turf simply has to be considered. It would be safer than what we're seeing now and it would allow the players to contest a game with as close to a perfect surface as possible. As I said earlier, this is one of the top, if not THE top, leagues in the world. It's inexcusable to see balls skipping around all over the place and players not being able to gain any firm footing, especially when the technology to prevent those things is out there.

UEFA announced in 2005-2006 that approved artificial surfaces were permittable in their competitions. Stadion Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim in Salzburg, Austria has an approved synthetic turf field and will have matches played on it in Euro 2008 this summer. Heracles, a Dutch Eredivisie side, has a synthetic surface in their stadium, which, like the JJB, is a multi-use ground.

The field in today's game was a joke. A joke. There are alternatives, namely in the form of synthetic turf, that just have to be considered. Soccer purists, I don't want to hear you. It's not about tradition, which I respect, it's about getting it right and providing the best possible surface for these players to compete on.

Nightmare Saturday for Chelsea, UEFA Cup Spot Contenders

What a day.

For Liverpool, who are now just two points behind Chelsea for third place in the Premiership, although Chelsea have two games in hand, today couldn't be any better. Led by Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, who have been carrying the team all year, the Reds strolled to a 3-0 win over Newcastle.

For Reading, who picked up a much-needed 2-0 victory over Manchester City and escaped the relegation zone in the process, today couldn't be any better either. The Royals now sit in 13th place in the league, which is a bit deceiving due to the small points gap between themselves and 18th place Bolton, but it's clearly a better position to be in then the one in which they came into today's match.

For a few other teams, however, today was a day they'd love to forget.

We'll start with Chelsea, who crashed out of the FA Cup in shocking fashion at now multiple giant-killers Barnsley. The FA Cup represented the last real chance for silverware for the West London club, because they're not going to win the Premiership and in my opinion are the fourth most likely team in England to win the Champions League, not even factoring in the rest of the continent. I'm not saying a third place finish in the league and deep cup/tournament runs wouldn't be respectable, but that's not acceptable to Mr. Abramovich. Avram Grant could very well be replaced in the role of manager this summer..

As refreshing as it was to see Barnsley, a lower-league side, knock off Chelsea and advance to the FA Cup Semifinals, teams like Aston Villa, Everton, Portsmouth, Manchester City, and Blackburn have to be disgusted with the way these cup competitions have gone this year. With Spurs winning the Carling Cup and no "Big Four" teams left in the FA Cup, two UEFA Cup spots (those usually given to the league's 6th and 7th place finishers) have vanished, although Portsmouth could very well make it into the UEFA Cup through their league position anyway, even though now they have to be considered the odds-on favorite to win the FA Cup.

The fight is on for 5th place in the Premiership now, and in my estimation, three teams--Aston Villa, Pompey, and Everton--have a legitimate chance to finish up the season there. Everton, of course, are currently in 5th with a five point lead on Villa and a nine point lead on Portsmouth, so it would take a poor run of games for Everton for either of those other two clubs to take that spot.

I already mentioned Liverpool's victory over Newcastle. Newcastle and losing badly seems to just go together very nicely these days..

No Posts Today

I'm heading down to the Richmond Coliseum this morning for the first two rounds of the Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball tournament, so I won't be posting for the rest of the day.

Four games today and four games tomorrow, nothing better than watching win-or-go home college basketball. It's something I wish more soccer leagues across the world would adopt; as it stands right now, a 20-team league with no playoffs uses a 38-game schedule but every game means the same. There is no extra pressure to win or lose; either way, you'll live to play another game.

Today's First Round Schedule:

Noon: #8 Hofstra vs. #9 Towson
2:30 PM: #5 William & Mary vs. #12 Georgia State
6:00 PM: #7 Delaware vs. #10 Drexel
8:30 PM: #6 Northeastern vs. #11 James Madison

My Champions League Round of 16 Predictions Update

After seven of eight ties, with Liverpool going to Inter Milan next week, here's a quick recap of my predictions:

My predictions to advance:

Liverpool (second leg still to come, currently up 2-0)
Real Madrid (eliminated by Roma, 4-2)
AC Milan (eliminated by Arsenal, 2-0)
Fenerbahçe (defeated Sevilla on PK's, 5-5)
Barcelona (defeated Celtic, 4-2)
Chelsea (defeated Olympiacos, 3-0)
Manchester United (defeated Lyon, 2-1)
Porto (eliminated on PK's by Schalke 04, 1-1)

So as it stands right now, I'm 4-7, with Liverpool looking pretty good to make me 5-8. That would be 62.5%. Not bad, not great.

If I was able to predict the outcome of every tie correctly, there would be no reason to play the games. When it gets down to the last 16 in the Champions League, it's a crapshoot and all bets are off.

Attractive Style Shouldn't Matter So Much in Soccer

Fabio Capello, as manager of Real Madrid in the 2006-2007 season, won La Liga, which was Madrid's first domestic league title in four years. One month later, he was fired. Why? Fans and club executives didn't like his defensive-minded style.

Felix Magath, as mananger of Bayern Munich from 2004-2005 until the middle of the '06-'07 season, won two Bundesliga titles, two German Cups, one German League Cup, and reached the Champions League Round of 16 (eliminated by AC Milan) and the Quarterfinals (eliminated by Chelsea). When he was fired, Munich was 10-4-5 in the league and had won Group B in the Champions League. Why was he fired? No one liked his management style, which placed a premium on discipline and hard work.

It brings up the question that I've really never heard talked about at any length.

Why does creativity matter so much?

The last time I checked, the object in a game of soccer, and this holds true in any sport, is to win. That's the bottom line. Win.

To me, it's not about how you do it, it's about doing it. You can play the most technically sound, beautiful style you want. If you don't win, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, people remember the team that came out on top, not the team that played the most attractive game. If that team is one and the same, then that makes it even better, but playing "joga bonito" shouldn't be the be-all and end-all.

José Mourinho has been the most successful European manager this decade in my opinion, having won four league titles, a Champions League, a UEFA Cup, two Carling Cups, an FA Cup, a Portuguese Cup, and a Portuguese SuperCup. Did his teams play an aesthetically-pleasing style? Hardly. Some of Mourinho's best players have been guys who did the grunt work and received few accolades and little recognition from mainstream media for it, like Claude Makélélé.

Fabio Capello has won five Scudettos, two La Liga titles, a Champions League, a European Super Cup, four Italian Super Cups, and been to two other Champions League finals. He uses the 4-2-3-1 formation, which employs two holding midfielders and a lone striker. Definitely not what I would call creative, but it gets the job done.

One of Capello's former clubs, AC Milan, uses three defensive midfielders in Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, and Massimo Ambrosini. What has that done for AC Milan? Just helped them win a Champions League last season and go to a final in 2004-2005.

The point is this: There are many ways to go about winning games, but it's wrong to value how you win over actually winning. It's not about looking good while doing so, it's not about pleasing the fans or club executives, it's about doing the job you're supposed to do, and that is win games and trophies. You can't ask for more than that because there is nothing more; it's unfair to put stipulations on being victorious. Playing the most attractive style doesn't always work and in fact, I'd argue that it works less often than playing a more defensive-minded formation.

Either way, the bottom line is winning, and doing whatever it takes to do so. You can't please everyone with how you do it; some people want to be entertained when they watch a game, some don't. You caan, however, please everyone by doing it.

Do or Die Time for West Ham

The race for the UEFA Cup is in full swing, with essentially six or seven teams fighting for two spots. Tottenham's triumph in the Carling Cup Final guaranteed them a place in Europe next season, something they wouldn't have achieved through their league position, but that took away the UEFA Cup berth usually handed to the league's 7th place finisher. Depending on which teams advance to the FA Cup Final, it's also possible that another UEFA Cup spot, the one generally given to the league's 6th place finisher, would vanish.

Of course, multiple Premiership teams have already applied for next summer's Intertoto Cup, which leads into the UEFA Cup qualifying rounds if the team selected progresses through. That would, for all intents and purposes, replace the UEFA Cup spot taken away by Spurs, and England could gain another spot in Europe's second-tier club competition if it remains on top of the UEFA Fair Play standings through the end of April.

With all this said, today's game between West Ham and Liverpool is big, especially for the Hammers. The East London-based club is currently in 10th place in the league table, eight points out of what would be a UEFA Cup spot if the season ended right now, but with today's game in hand.

Current Standings (4th-10th):

4. Everton (53 points, 28 games played)
5. Liverpool (50 pts., 27 GP)
6. Aston Villa (48 pts., 28 GP)
7. Blackburn Rovers (45 pts., 28 GP)
8. Manchester City (45 pts., 28 GP)
9. Portsmouth (44 pts., 28 GP)
10. West Ham (40 pts., 27 GP)

West Ham has been consistently inconsistent up to this point in the season, having beaten Manchester United and Liverpool while also losing to Wigan and Newcastle. They seem to follow every good, even great, performance with a display that can be considered abject and dismal at best.

They can't afford a showing more like the latter today. A loss and the Hammers will be hard-pressed to get back into the European fight; they'd be hanging on by a thread. To their advantage, they still have games against Villa, Blackburn, Everton, and Pompey, fellow UEFA Cup spot contenders, but they would likely need to win three of those games instead of possibly earning a point, or even worse, losing, in a couple of those games and then making hay against the rest of their schedule.

Right now, these teams are like a fast-moving train and West Ham has to find a way to get onboard or risk being left behind for good. Today's game is at Anfield, where the Hammers have not won since September 1963, so there is no time like the present to fix that. A draw wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for West Ham; they'd still be on the train, but they'd be the ones being dragged along on the tracks.

For Liverpool, this is an important game as well. Three points behind Everton for the fourth and last Champions League spot, the Reds and captain Steven Gerrard have come to terms with the fact that 4th place is what they're playing for. This is a team that will play their next three league games, including today's match, and four of their next five, at Anfield, so the opportunity to make up ground is right in front of them.

It all starts today though, and Liverpool lost at Upton Park 1-0 on January 30. They'll need to reverse that scoreline and get a win because they don't want to make things more difficult down the stretch of the league season than they have to be, particularly because one would have to say that a deep Champions League run will be a focus given their disappointing Premiership campaign.

I've got Liverpool winning 2-0, with Gerrard and Torres both scoring for the home team. We'll see what happens though; both teams should come out desperate for these three points and that should make for a good game to watch. West Ham seems to come out for the big matches, which today's game certainly is, but you just never know which Hammers team you're going to get on a given day.

Full Credit to Arsenal

The title of this post says it all.

I’ve criticized Arsenal and manager Arsene Wenger a lot recently, although there was every reason for me to do so.

Today, there’s nothing for me to do but salute the Gunners’ performance in Milan, as they beat the hosts 2-0 and advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals. This was a match that Arsenal had the better of from start to finish and while the final scoreline may be a bit flattering, there is no doubt that Arsenal deserved to win. They had more chances and created more going forward than Milan, and it’s as simple as that.

It’s time for me to eat a bit of crow and I will do so. I picked Milan to win this tie and prove that experience was more important than youth, something I still believe regardless of this result but will have to question more when the case arises again.

Great result for Arsenal and as I said, they were the better team on this day.

I would be remiss to not also salute Paolo Maldini, who played his last European match for AC Milan today. Maldini has been a great servant to the club and has played in over 1,000 competitive games for the Rossoneri, which is unheard of today. Along with Franz Beckenbauer, I believe Maldini is the best central defender in international history.

José Mourinho is Back and Joined by His Newest Signing, Sven

Two more segments of "I'm on Setanta Sports" for your viewing pleasure.

Fantastic.

Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg--TV Schedule

ESPN2:

AC Milan vs. Arsenal (Tomorrow, 2:45 PM ET)
Chelsea vs. Olympiacos (Wednesday, 2:45 PM ET)

ESPN Classic:

Barcelona vs. Celtic (Tomorrow, 5:00 PM ET, Tape-Delayed)
Real Madrid vs. Roma (Wednesday, 5:00 PM ET, Tape-Delayed)

Setanta:

Manchester United vs. Lyon (Tomorrow, 2:45 PM ET)
Sevilla vs. Fenerbahçe (Tomorrow, 6:00 PM ET, Tape-Delayed)
Schalke 04 vs. Porto (Wednesday, 11:00 PM ET, Tape-Delayed)

If you can only pick two matches to watch in these next couple days, look no further than the game at the San Siro between AC Milan and Arsenal and Sevilla's clash with Fenerbahçe, which could have a few goals in it.

Should the Premiership Have an All-Star Weekend?

This is an idea I’ve been kicking around in the back of my mind for a few weeks now, and I wanted to put it out there for discussion.

Here in the US, all of our major professional sports leagues (NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB) have their own versions of an All-Star Game, and the NBA, MLB, and NHL all have an All-Star Weekend with festivities usually on Friday and Saturday leading up to the All-Star Game itself on Sunday. The cities hosting the events benefit from a tremendous economic boost during the weekend due to the mass influx of tourists and visitors looking to be a part of the whole showcase and experience.

There is often an extravagant halftime or pre-game musical act as well, and for those of you who haven’t seen an All-Star weekend here in the States, suffice it to say that it is an orgy of sports and entertainment crammed into a two or three-day span. Celebrity sightings are routine during these games, especially if they’re being played in a fun, desirable city like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, etc.

Before I get to the specifics of my Premiership All-Star Weekend proposal, I want to address the logistics of hosting such an event.

1. To capitalize on financial possibilities and to accommodate the large number of fans who would want to come to this event, only stadiums with a seating capacity of at least 40,000 and are used primarily for soccer would be eligible to host the festivities.

In England, that limits us to Old Trafford, St. James Park, Wembley, Emirates Stadium, the Stadium of Light, the City of Manchester Stadium, Anfield, Stamford Bridge, Villa Park, Goodison Park, and Elland Road. I would also be in favor of playing the game elsewhere in Britain; in Scotland (Celtic Park, Hampden Park, and Ibrox), Ireland (Croke Park), and Wales (Millennium Stadium) to acknowledge the fans who support the league outside of England.

No stadium would be be permitted to host more than once in a 10-year period.

Total stadiums (at least at this point in time): 16

2. The city, stadium, and team hosting the event obviously would be responsible for hiring a sufficient amount of security, with cooperation from national governments. A weekend of this magnitude could very well bring terrorist threats and/or an increased rate of crime (both petty and serious) during the run-up to the weekend and the weekend itself. The number one priority is to keep the fans safe so that they can enjoy their experience without having to worry about their well-being, and it’s also necessary to protect the players themselves.

Now, to the weekend itself. The All-Star Game would be played on Sunday, with a “Young Stars” game on Friday night, a celebrity game on Saturday afternoon, and a skills competition to follow that night. I would schedule the festivities for the weekend immediately following the Champions League final; so this year, for example, it would be the 23rd-25th of May.

Young Stars Game: Players must be 22 or younger to be eligible for this game and can’t have been chosen to play in the “real” All-Star Game. Rosters would be comprised of 18 players, with one squad made up of players who play for clubs that finished in an odd-numbered position that season in the Premiership (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19), and the other made up of players who play for clubs that finished in an even-numbered position that year.

Each Premiership team would have at least one representative on the Young Stars rosters, with the manager of that year’s third place team coaching one side, and the manager of that year’s fourth place team coaching the other. Each Premiership team would nominate one player from their team to play, and the other eight players to fill out the roster would be selected by each Young Stars team’s manager. Unlimited substitutions, 9 vs. 9 (8 field players and a goalie), 35-minute halves.

Celebrity Game: This is where I defer to you folks in Britain. Surely there are some British celebrities–actors, singers, models, etc., who love to play soccer and played it growing up that you would love to see play under the bright lights. I don’t know of any offhand, but I’m sure you could find 20 “A-List”, “B-List”, “C-List”, whatever, who fit that description, 10 for each team. Unlimited substitutions, 8 vs. 8 (7 field players and a goalie), 20-minute halves.

This is the part of All-Star Weekend I’m flexible on; it wouldn’t kill me at all to not have this as part of the festivities.

Skills Competition: Taking a page from what the NBA and NHL do, I’d love to see a skills competition featuring Premiership players. To take part, you would have to be named to either the Young Stars Game or the All-Star Game. Two teams would be competing: the British team against the World team, with the Young Stars joining whichever of those they’d belong to.

Here’s a few of the events that I’d propose:

Fastest Man: Three heats, four players in each, two from each team, with the top two finishers from each heat advancing to a six-man final. Goal line to midfield; so depending on the stadium, it’d be anywhere from a 50-60 yard run or thereabouts. Wouldn’t you love to see just a dead sprint between speed merchants like Theo Walcott, Gabby Agbonlahor, Nedum Onouha, Aaron Lennon, and Ashley Young? I know I would.

Hardest Shot: Place the ball at the center of the top of the 18-yard box. Five players from each team, three shots each. A radar gun would be used to measure the velocity of each shot. To count, a shot has to go in the goal; I don’t care how hard you can strike a ball if it goes into Row X. Again, I’d love to see Steven Gerrard, Michael Ballack, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kolo Toure, and others just lay into a ball with no one in front of them.

Obstacle Course: This is something that could be taken straight off the training pitch. Get some cones or flags, put them close together and have the players dribble in and out. Make the players pass a 15 or 20-yard ball into a tight little space. Make them juggle the ball 20-25 times in a row, which should be no problem. Whatever. Come up with some course that challenges and incorporates the different skills it takes to be a player. Fastest time through the course wins, maybe six or eight players competing, three or four from each team.

Dribble-in Penalty Shootout: Taken from the old days of MLS, I think this would be entertaining. Five players on each team start 35 yards from goal and have five seconds to get their shot off, one team at a time. Whichever team scores the most goals wins.

All-Star Game: OK, here’s the centerpiece of the weekend. Again, two teams, the British team against the World team, or you could even do the same even and odd thing that I proposed for the Young Stars rosters. Each team would be comprised of 20 players (18 field players and two goalkeepers, with each Premiership team from that season having at least one representative so that it’s not just an Arsenal XI or a Manchester United XI. Each goalkeeper would play one half.

Same rules as always, with one exception: unlimited substitutions. The first-place team’s manager would coach one All-Star team (his choice), the second-place team’s manager would coach the other. Each coach would be responsible for picking both goalies and the ten reserves not nominated by each Premiership team. The players that the Premiership teams choose would start the game, so we’d see all 20 teams represented in the starting 22.

To incorporate the fans, perhaps each club could set something up on their website in which their fans select the one guaranteed representative.

This is a very, very rough outline of what I’d like to see one day. I don’t think anything like this would ever happen; All-Star festivities seem to be uniquely American in concept but I’d still love to see this kind of thing in the Premiership.

I’m interested in your feedback, whatever it is. Let me hear what you like in this proposal, let me hear what you’d want to change a little bit, let me hear what you wouldn’t want to see at all. Remember, the point of having an All-Star event, at least ideally, is to show off the game for the fans who love watching it, and to put on a showcase for those fans in a show of thanks and appreciation for coming out each and every week.

Keegan Gets Dreaded Vote of Confidence

Uh-oh. Newcastle chief executive Chris Mort came out and publicly backed his manager, Kevin Keegan, today, saying that Keegan is the man to turn the club around and that there is no "doubt or worry" about Newcastle's recent form.

Now that Keegan has the vote of confidence, expect him to be gone by the end of the month.

Just kidding, I think. We all joke that once the ownership backs the manager during hard times, there's a very good chance that they'll act in the contrary and get rid of him sooner rather than later. In this instance though, the manager is a legend at the club and probably has more wiggle room than most in his position.

Still, things don't look good for Keegan and Newcastle. When Keegan got back into managing after taking some time away from the game, he had to have thought Newcastle was in better shape then they really are. Sure, financially they're set, but this just isn't a good team. Aside from Steven Taylor and James Milner, there are no quality youngsters on the roster and the veteran players are perennial underachievers for the most part.

Mike Ashley will have to overpay to bring even average to above-average players in because Newcastle isn't a desirable location to play, not for the team itself or in the city.

I honestly can't see Keegan staying beyond next season and he may leave this summer. Now that he has the dreaded vote of confidence though, he could very well be gone next week.

Upset Alert

Alright, maybe this wouldn't be as big of a surprise as some people would think, but I like Aston Villa's chances to go to the Emirates and beat Arsenal on Saturday.

Martin O'Neill's young side has only lost twice on the road this season, and they gave Arsenal everything they had and more at Villa Park back on the 1st of December, although they lost 2-1. Villa is fully healthy as well, which counts a lot at this point in the year.

Arsenal aren't exactly playing too well right now as they're winless in their last three games. Emmanuel Eboue will be suspended for this match (frankly, Eboue is one of the dirtiest players in the league), and creative midfielder Tomáš Rosický is still out with a hamstring injury. There is also the question of whether or not the Gunners will be up for this game after the devastating injury to Eduardo da Silva last week.

I've got Villa returning the favor and continuing their quest for 4th place with a 2-1 victory.

Also, make sure to tune in to the Portsmouth-Everton game on Sunday. Both teams have legitimate European aspirations and the three points would be huge in a game of this significance.

Who Needs Aliadière When You Have Paddy Kenny??

Obviously not Middlesbrough, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup yesterday thanks to an own-goal from Sheffield United goalkeeper Paddy Kenny in extra-time.

It was a harsh ending for Kenny, who had played a very good game in net for the Blades.

Jérémie Aliadière’s Ban is Ridiculous

Middlesbrough’s Jérémie Aliadière, the man with the last name that takes me 73 tries to pronounce correctly, had his red card appeal denied today on the grounds of its “frivolous” nature and his ban increased from three to four games.

This is one of the biggest farces I’ve seen all season.

I don’t subscribe to any conspiracy theories suggesting that the Premier League publicly wants the “Big Four” to finish in the top four, so I don’t believe that this is a case of Middlesbrough being harshly done by and Liverpool escaping without penalty simply because they are Middlesbrough and Liverpool.

With that said, this is simply outrageous. Aliadière should NEVER have been sent off in the first place. Sorry, the “violent conduct” section in FIFA, UEFA, and the FA’s rules dealing with this sort of thing shouldn’t apply to what Aliadière did; it should be reserved for actually striking or punching, or attempting to punch, an opponent in a malicious manner. This was nothing more than a light tap on the face, so I don’t buy the red card for a second.

Not only do I not buy the red card though, I have a problem with the way match referee Lee Mason handled the situation. First of all, Aliadière was responding to Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano putting his hand on the Frenchman’s mouth in a muzzling, shut-your-mouth-type manner. If you’re going to send Aliadière off, then surely Mascherano should’ve been dismissed as well since he instigated the whole thing to begin with.

Coaches always say that it’s not the first one that gets caught, it’s the retaliation. That certainly proved to be true in this instance.

As a referee myself, I would’ve handled the situation much differently. This is a professional game we’re talking about here, a match in one of the top leagues in the world. We’re not talking about kids, where sportsmanship and safety and all those things are more important than winning. Liverpool are battling for every point they can get to climb back into the 4th spot, and Boro need every point they can get to feel safe from relegation. Understandably, emotions were running high as Boro were frustrated that they were losing. If I would’ve been in charge, both players would’ve been called over, warned, and that’s it, end of story, let’s move on. No need to hand out cards, certainly not a red card, and especially not a red card to one player and not both. It takes two to tango, does it not?

To make matters worse, Aliadière had his already unfair suspension increased by another game. He’ll now have to sit out Boro’s next four matches, including their FA Cup Fifth Round replay and potential FA Cup quarterfinal, and that’s a big blow to that club’s attack. Aliadière doesn’t score many goals, but his pace opens up space on the field for others to run into and he’s a pretty decent passer of the ball. Meanwhile, Javier Mascherano gets off scot-free, even though the referee’s assistant had a clear view of what went on and could easily have recommended a booking for the Argentine.

Boro chief executive Keith Lamb was rightly upset at the decision, branding it “a travesty of justice.”

Lamb also said, “We are furious and totally astounded that the commission, without consultation, should consider our appeal to be frivolous. Who are they to know our minds when we made this appeal? We are appalled at the decision and the entire process. How can nameless, faceless people on a commission decide that our genuine claim for equality and justice be dealt with in such a flippant manner? It is a disgraceful comment to suggest our claim was frivolous. We agonised over it before deciding to submit a claim for wrongful dismissal.”

Good for you Mr. Lamb, you have every right to be incensed with this mockery of a ruling.

Podcast is Available

I know I mentioned this already today, but the most recent episode of the Canes Rising podcast, featuring myself and host Kartik Krishnaiyer, is actually out right now for you to listen to or download.

I didn't think it would be available until Tuesday, but once again, I've been proven wrong.

Head over to canesrising.com to download this episode directly, or go to iTunes and search "Canes Rising" in the Store, where you can subscribe to the podcast and download each show.

We'll be talking more about college basketball in the days to come as conference tournament and NCAA Tournament time is drawing near.