For All You Lower-League Fans Out There...

Admittedly, this is a blog focusing mainly on the Premiership, with occasional Champions League talk and even discussion about the UEFA Cup when the situation calls for it.

I've tried to pay as much attention as possible to the promotion, playoff, and relegation races in the lower leagues in English soccer this year, though, and so this update is for those of you are interested but can't find much coverage of the Coca-Cola Championship, League One, and League Two:

Championship:

West Bromwich Albion are on the brink of sealing promotion. Only the massively-improbable combination of a final-day loss at QPR coupled with a Hull win over Ipswich, turning over a 12-goal deficit in the process - combined with Stoke getting at least a point - will prevent the Baggies' return to the top division.

In reality, Stoke and Hull are battling for the right to join West Brom, with Stoke needing a point to deny the Tigers.

Stoke, Hull and Bristol City are guaranteed at least a playoff place.

Watford, Crystal Palace, Wolves, Ipswich and Sheffield United are all in with a chance of joining the playoffs.

If Cardiff City wins the FA Cup, they will qualify for the UEFA Cup after they were approved by the Football Association's board on April 24 to represent England in the Uefa Cup. (Welsh clubs normally only qualify through their own competitions).

At the bottom, three teams go down. Colchester were relegated on April 9 and Scunthorpe joined them three days later after their defeat by Crystal Palace.

Blackpool, Coventry, Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester and Southampton are battling to avoid filling the third place - with Southampton occupying the dreaded 22nd position going into the final day of the season.

League One:

Swansea clinched promotion by beating Gillingham on April 12, and won the title a week later after Carlisle's defeat to Southend.

The Football League had decided not to hand them the trophy until Leeds' arbitration hearing over their 15-point deduction was concluded - but Leeds lost their appeal on Thursday, confirming the Swans as champions.

The second automatic spot will be decided on the last day of the regular season. Doncaster will take it if they win at Cheltenham, or match the results of Nottingham Forest and Carlisle. Forest will snatch it if they beat Yeovil at home and Doncaster slip up.

Doncaster, Forest and Carlisle will at least make the playoffs. Southend and Leeds will also be in the playoffs.

Four teams are relegated from this division. Luton and Port Vale both went down on April 12, and two more teams will join them on the final day. Bournemouth will go down if they lose at Carlisle - or if they draw and either Cheltenham avoid defeat at home to Doncaster or Gillingham win at Leeds. Gillingham are also down unless they win and other results go their way - while a Cheltenham win will guarantee their safety, and Crewe need a point at home to Oldham to avoid being drawn into the relegation scrap.

League Two:

Milton Keynes Dons and Peterborough secured promotion on April 19. Hereford joined them on April 26, when Milton Keynes also clinched the title with victory over Bradford.

Rochdale, Stockport, Darlington and Wycombe will contest the play-offs.

Wrexham were relegated on April 22 and Chester's draw against Stockport one week later meant that Mansfield also drop out of the Football League.


Got it? OK, good. Thanks to BBC Sport for all the info.

Chelsea-3, Liverpool-2; Blues Heading to Moscow

Wow.

That’s just all there is to say.

That was how a Champions League semifinal should be played. That was a terrific, terrific two hours of soccer.

Congratulations to Chelsea, obviously, for winning 3-2 and advancing to Moscow to play Manchester United on May 21, in what will be the first all-English final in Champions League history.

Full credit to Didier Drogba, who has been slated by me and nearly everyone else in the blogs, newspapers, and on TV for not giving his all on the field. He shut all the critics up with his performance today, beating Pepe Reina to the near post on both of his goals.

Full credit to Frank Lampard for stepping up and nailing that PK in extra time. All the pressure in the world was on a man who just lost his mother and for him to even be playing is a testament to his mental strength. It was a precious moment to see him kiss the black armband, worn in memory of his mom, during his celebration in the corner.

For Liverpool, you also have to credit them for never giving up. Ryan Babel’s 40-yard strike in the 117th minute should’ve been saved, I understand that, but Liverpool deserved some consolation after the way they came back from 1-0 down in regular time and for the way they played in extra time. I do have to say that Steven Gerrard was largely invisible today; he had a disappointing game, and I don’t understand why Fernando Torres was taken off. If anything, Kuyt should’ve been replaced by Peter Crouch, not Babel on for the best out-and-out striker in the league this season even though Babel did end up scoring.

I thought the referee and his assistants had solid games as well. Kalou looked to have been just offside on Chelsea’s first goal, but it was a matter of inches either way and when in doubt, you give the attacker the benefit of the call. Chelsea’s penalty was justly awarded, and Hyypia’s shout for one late on was justly not given. Essien’s potential second goal was correctly disallowed as four Chelsea players were offside and Didier Drogba was impeding Reina by standing right in front of him.

That was just a mind-blowing game. As I was telling a friend, I don’t support either team but I was even feeling nervous for the majority of the game. That’s the type of action you want to see from a match of this magnitude, and it’s great that both teams delivered.

Halftime Thoughts--Chelsea vs. Liverpool (Second Leg)

• Great atmosphere at Stamford Bridge tonight. This is a proper, proper European occasion. It wouldn’t be complete without pouring rain either; the drearier, the better.

• Terrific long, diagonal ball from Ballack to Ashley Cole in the 8th minute. The German captain has been a man on a mission recently.

• Why did Torres take that shot with his left foot in the 10th minute?? He had a perfect cut-back opportunity on his right foot to bend it to the far post; instead, he cut down his own angle by dribbling further to the byline and getting it on his weaker foot. Great one-touch ball from Gerrard to spring the Spaniard, though.

• Carragher was commanding in the air on Chelsea’s corner kick nearly a quarter of an hour in, with two headers to clear the area.

• If you ever want someone to blast a free kick into the wall or smash it into Row Z, John Arne Riise is your guy.

• Drogba really, really should’ve done better in the 19th minute…you have to score from there. He had Reina dead to rights and only came up with a weak left-footed dribbler.

• Solid strike by Essien, good save by Reina to smother that ball on the wet pitch in the 21st minute.

• Hmm, Hyypia for Skrtel was necessary due to the knock taken by the Slovakian, but it takes away one of Benitez’s changes for later in the game. That could really come back to bite Liverpool.

• Dour period between the 20th-30th minute. One speculative effort from the Kaiser, easily fisted away by Reina.

• Liverpool hasn’t showed nearly enough going forward at this point to make me think they can steal a goal today. You’d have to think Crouch will be on by the 70th minute if things stay the same.

• Wow, a lot of emotion there from Drogba after slamming home the rebound in the 33rd minute. Reina, once again, showed that he is very vulnerable at the near post.

• Drogba seems very motivated by Rafa’s scathing comments earlier in the week. Memo to any professional, either player or coach: NEVER, EVER criticize or insult your opposition before a game. Bulletin board material is exactly what you don’t want to give the other team, and I would’ve thought Benitez would’ve known better than to say what he said. The Ivorian has had multiple chances today and has definitely shown up to play, something that can’t be said about him in recent weeks.

• Drogba should’ve been booked for that clumsy sliding challenge on Gerrard in the 38th or 39th minute. Late, no ball, right on the ankle. Has to be a yellow card and I’m shocked that it wasn’t.

• Was that Avram Grant who slipped and fell backwards into the bench area just before halftime??? That was hilarious!! I hope he’s OK though, you know what they say…the bigger they are, the harder they fall…

• Liverpool has just had a woeful 45 minutes going forward…they have no chance to get back in this tie if they play like that next half. Avram Grant's side is one goal up at the break.

Manchester United Punches Ticket to Moscow

Without their best forward in Wayne Rooney and their best defender in Nemanja Vidić, Manchester United made a fabulous 14th-minute strike from Paul Scholes stand up with a 1-0 victory over Barcelona to win their Champions League semifinal tie.

Patrice Evra put in a man of the match-type performance at left back this afternoon for the Red Devils, shutting down Lionel Messi for more than 90 minutes before being taken off in stoppage time for Mikael Silvestre.

As we all know, the team that deserves to win doesn't always do in soccer, but Manchester United did just that today. Man for man, United was the better team and I don't think there can be any denying it. Messi was Barca's best player, but he was contained very nicely by Evra, as I already mentioned, and Samuel Eto'o was useless up top. Rio Ferdinand had a solid game in the center of United's defense, and even the much-maligned Wes Brown put in a competent shift.

In truth, Barcelona never looked that threatening going forward. The stats will show that they had the better of possession, but that doesn't matter. Edwin van der Sar was rarely tested in goal, a tribute to the outstanding work done in the center of the park by United.

Although he may not admit it, Sir Alex Ferguson will feel vindicated for his tactical choices and his team’s mindset in Barcelona last week. He was criticized heavily in the press for going there not to lose and for playing such a boring, unattractive style, but at the end of the day, his team got the job done and for people to not understand that is mind-boggling.

Just because United has a dearth of attacking players doesn’t mean they need to score three goals every game to do what they need to do, and Ferguson went to Barcelona to not concede a goal, take it back to Old Trafford in front of about 75,000 people, and win the tie there. The same people who praise high-flying teams like Arsenal and Barcelona for playing “beautiful football” are the same people who have no room to talk when those teams don’t win trophies, which the Gunners haven’t in the last three seasons and Barca won’t this year. It doesn’t matter how you play as long as you get the result you want.

For the first time in Champions League history, it will be an all-English final. Who will join United in Moscow on May 21? My money is still on Liverpool, but Chelsea has the advantage going into tomorrow's second leg at Stamford Bridge.

PFA Premier League Team of the Year

Along with their announcement of their Player of the Year (Cristiano Ronaldo) and Young Player of the Year (Cesc Fàbregas), the PFA announced their Premier League Team of the Year yesterday. For once, I have no real issue with any of the selections made; I think the players did a good job with this and full credit to them for it. To be honest, my Premiership XI looks exactly the same with one exception: Liverpool's Jamie Carragher ahead of Rio Ferdinand at center back.

GK: David James (Portsmouth)
RB: Bacary Sagna (Arsenal)
LB: Gaël Clichy (Arsenal)
CB: Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)
CB: Nemanja Vidić (Manchester United)
RMF: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
LMF: Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
CMF: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
CMF: Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal)
ST: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal)
ST: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

A couple quick observations:

• I would've liked to have seen a true defensive midfielder on this team rather than two attacking central midfielders in Gerrard and Fabregas. You can't deny that either of those two guys have had great seasons, but it would've been nice to see either Javier Mascherano or Mathieu Flamini in there. The role they play is one that isn't sexy; it doesn't get a lot of recognition from the casual fan, but it is critical to winning.

• It's interesting that Chelsea, who is tied on points with Manchester United on top of the table, didn't get one representative in this team, and even Arsenal got one more player (four) than United (three).

• As you all can probably guess, I'm ecstatic to see Ashley Young here. He has had an absolutely fantastic season for Aston Villa and has surely played his way into the England starting lineup for years to come.

Fulham's Premiership Survival Battle Is Not Over Yet

Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis know of my undying hope for Fulham to stay in the Premiership. It seems like every couple weeks for the past two months, I’ve written a post saying that it’s unwise to write Fulham off, but then they go and screw up where they shouldn’t screw up and it looks like crow will become a new part of my diet at the end of the year.

I picked them to finish 13th this season and while that won’t happen, I would like to see my prediction somewhat vindicated by the Cottagers staying up. Their roster is full of Americans — Kasey Keller, Clint Dempsey, Carlos Bocanegra, Eddie Johnson, and the captain, Brian McBride — and as an American myself, I’m rooting for my fellow countrymen to get the job done each and every week. I also have a soft spot for them as an underdog, playing in the shadow of much bigger clubs in London in a small, old (but cozy and picturesque) stadium.

So yes, it’s no secret that I want Fulham to be successful.

I had a previous engagement on Saturday and wasn’t able to turn the Manchester City-Fulham game on until about the 55th minute, by which City was already up 2-0 through a couple of early goals. I watched for five or ten more minutes and wasn’t exactly thrilled by what I saw out of the West London club. At that point, I was resigned to Fulham losing, so I turned on the NFL Draft to check out who my Buffalo Bills were going to take in the 2nd Round.

I won’t lie to you. I wish I could say I was a diehard fan who watched the game until the very end, but I can’t. I wish I could say that I always knew Fulham would find a way back and get something out of that game, but again, that wouldn’t be the truth.

Watching the Everton-Aston Villa game the next afternoon, I was talking with my brother, an avid Liverpool fan, about useless strikers in the Premiership. He, of course, went on and on about Andriy Voronin and Dirk Kuyt earlier in the season. I then threw out Diomansy Kamara, who is usually a late game sub brought on by Roy Hodgson to have an immediate impact. That seems to never, ever, happen though; Kamara generally replaces David Healy and does very little when he comes into the game.

Then he told me Kamara scored twice on Saturday.

“Twice?!? Fulham lost 2-0, how’d he score twice??”

“They didn’t lose, they won 3-2.”

“No they didn’t! It was 2-0 when I turned the game off, how did they win??”

“Well, Danny Murphy put in his own rebound from a missed PK, and they got the winner from Kamara in stoppage time.”

As a Liverpool supporter, he had to mention Danny Murphy. He just had to.

When I saw the highlights on the Premier League Review Show last night, I was still stunned. Diomansy Kamara looked like a world-beater out there. He looked like a guy who had no business playing for a small club like Fulham. His two goals came from cool, cool finishes, and Murphy was composed enough to score from close range as well.

Manchester City seemed to have bossed the game, with Kasey Keller repeatedly coming up huge in net for Hodgson’s team. Then all of a sudden, boom, boom, boom, Fulham won the game and took the valuable three points.

Because of that incredible comeback, Fulham now has a chance to avoid relegation. They’re still in 19th place with 30 points, but they’re only three points away from safety and have a better goal differential than 17th-place Reading.

Next weekend, the Cottagers host Birmingham City, who are in 18th with 32 points and have lost a whopping 13 games away from home this season whilst winning just two. A victory for Fulham would potentially propel them ahead of Reading, not to mention Birmingham, because Steve Coppell’s side has a home game against Tottenham. I can’t see Reading winning that game, although a draw is very likely, but they could just as easily lose. If they don’t come away with anything and Fulham wins, Fulham would leap into 16th place heading into the last game of the season.

Now, I’ll admit, I think the Reading-Spurs game will end in a tie. That would put Reading on 34 points, one ahead of Bolton, who plays host to Sunderland next weekend. I can also see that game ending all square, so Bolton would be on 34 points as well. A Fulham victory would give the Cottagers 33 points with one game to go, and for Fulham, it’s a trip to Fratton Park against a Portsmouth team who have put all of their eggs in the FA Cup final basket. Bolton’s last game is at Chelsea, where they’ll get nothing, Reading’s is at Derby, who will be anxious to give their fans one last solid Premiership performance, and Birmingham is home to Blackburn, which has “draw” written all over it.

What does this all mean? Well, let’s say Fulham manages to get a draw at Portsmouth, Reading get beat at Derby, and Birmingham do pick up a point against Blackburn. Assuming Fulham does, in fact, take care of business and beat Birmingham, that would leave Fulham on 34 points, Reading on 34, Bolton on 34, and Birmingham on 33. Birmingham would be relegated, and it would come down to goal differential between the three tied teams. Fulham’s is currently three goals better than that of Reading, and five goals worse than that of Bolton. If it all stays the same, Reading would go down as well, leaving Fulham and Bolton in the Premiership.

Whatever happens, it’s going to be a great end to the Premiership season. I sincerely hope that Fulham can pull off the great escape and stay in England’s top flight, and yours truly will be cheering for them in each of their last two games.

Ronaldo is PFA Player of the Year, Fabregas is Young Player of the Year

This makes no sense, or at least half of it doesn't.

For the second year in a row, Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo was named the Premiership Player of the Year by his peers. He's scored 38 goals in all competitions this season and is fully deserving of the award. If he didn't win it unanimously, or at least very near unanimously, I would be surprised.

But somehow, some way, Cesc Fabregas won the Young Player of the Year award. Don't get me wrong, the Arsenal midfielder has had a good, if not great, season. In any other year, he would've been the top candidate for this honor. However, he was up against Ronaldo (and others), and the Portuguese winger already won the more prestigious award.

So how did Fabregas, who was also nominated for Player of the Year, beat Ronaldo? I don't get it.

Let me get this straight. According to the players, Ronaldo was the best player in the league. The BEST PLAYER, regardless of age. Yet Fabregas was the best young player, even when Ronaldo was also eligible???

It just doesn't make any sense to me. It's a regular occurrence for someone to be the Young Player of the Year but not the Player of the Year; that's normal. I've rarely ever seen it go the other way, though, in any sport, and I question it when it does each and every time.

As it is, I don't think either Fabregas or Ronaldo (or Torres or Ashley Young, for that matter) should've been up for the young player award in the first place. It's a joke that these players were; first of all, they're not "young" in age in soccer terms, and they each have more top-flight experience than players five or six years their senior.

I talked about this more when I wrote about the original nominees a few weeks ago, but I think the young player award should be limited to those 20 years of age at the start of the season and younger, and who also have appeared in 38 or less top-flight league games at the start of the season. That would rule out guys like Fabregas, who has played in 137 Premiership games for Arsenal.

That issue is for another time, though. Congratulations to both Fabregas and Ronaldo on their achievements this season. They've both had wonderful years for their respective clubs. I can't say I agree with the players on naming Fabregas as the YPoY, but that's just how it goes.

Most Exciting Weekend of the Year

Wow!

Have you caught your breath yet? If there was one round of games to watch this season, this was it. I remember the last weekend of the 2007 calendar year being pretty good, but I think what we saw yesterday and today took the cake.

The title race is alive and kicking. The relegation fight will be contested until the weekend of the season. Everton is still in 5th place, the last automatic UEFA Cup spot, but the Toffees can be tracked down in the last two games of the year. Think about it; there was meaningful excitement at the top, middle, and bottom of the league table all in one weekend.

Consider:

• Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Manchester United, sealed by an 86th-minute PK from Michael Ballack, propelled the Blues into a tie atop the league table with the Red Devils. Both teams have 81 points with two league games still to play, although Man U is ahead on goal differential.

• Dimitar Berbatov put a header just inches above the crossbar in 2nd half injury time, and Tottenham settled for a 1-1 draw with Bolton. A goal in that situation wouldn’t have meant anything for Spurs, but it would’ve resulted in no points for Gary Megson’s relegation-threatened team, something they couldn’t have afforded at this point in the season.

• Newcastle came from 2-0 down at Upton Park by scoring two goals in three minutes late in the first half to pick up a 2-2 draw against West Ham. The point doesn’t mean anything in the long run for either team, but Kevin Keegan’s side is showing the fight that they didn’t have earlier in the year.

• Fulham also came from 2-0 down, but they came ALL the way back and scored three goals in the last 20 minutes of the game to beat Manchester City 3-2 at their ground. The road victory was only the Cottagers’ second of the year, and the three points that came with it are a potential Premiership lifeline. City dominated the first hour of the game, but Diomansy Kamara’s brace, capped off by a 92nd minute near-post roofer, helped Fulham pull off the shocking upset. The loss also could leave Sven in big trouble as City’s manager…

• Sunderland’s second North East Derby in two weeks ended in late jubilation, as an Emanuel Pogatetz own goal gave the Black Cats their 9th home win of the season. This match was a wild one, with Middlesbrough’s Tuncay Sanli opening the scoring in the 4th minute, followed by Danny Higginbotham’s equalizer two minutes later and Michael Chopra’s goal right before halftime. Afonso Alves leveled for Boro in the 73rd minute with a weak dribbler, and then Pogatetz’s unfortunate mistake in injury time, claimed by Sunderland’s Daryl Murphy, sent the crowd at the Stadium of Light into raptures.

• Liverpool’s second-stringers came from 2-0 down at St. Andrew’s to pick up a point, one that clinched 4th place and a berth in the Champions League next season for the Reds when Everton drew with Aston Villa a day later (today, more on that in a bit). Peter Crouch and Yossi Benayoun scored in the span of 13 minutes for Rafa’s side, and Birmingham missed out on a badly-needed victory. The Blues will travel to Craven Cottage next weekend for a relegation showdown against Fulham, with the loser almost certainly destined for the Championship.

• Three goals, two from Aston Villa and one from Everton, were scored in the last 10 minutes of today’s game at Goodison Park, but the Toffees had already scored a fluky goal earlier in the match. It ended 2-2, obviously, as John Carew’s header gave Villa a share of the spoils just when it looked like Everton was going to escape with the three points and a return trip to the UEFA Cup next year. They still may, but Villa now have a chance to catch them, as the two teams are three points apart with two games left to play.

It was a great weekend of soccer in the Premiership, and a great example of why it is the most exciting domestic league in the world.

Chelsea Victory Won't Matter

First of all, no matter what you think about Alan Wiley and his refereeing yesterday, you have to give credit to Chelsea for their 2-1 triumph over Manchester United. The Blues' victory puts them level on points with the defending champions with two league games to go, although Sir Alex Ferguson's team is on top of the table thanks to a far-superior goal differential.

Here's the bottom line. Manchester United's last two games are relatively straightforward -- home to West Ham, and @ Wigan. Wins in both of those matches and the Premiership trophy will remain in Manchester for the second year in a row, even if Chelsea wins both of their fixtures as well.

West Ham has been the Red Devils' bogey team over the past couple seasons. They've beaten United three straight times over that period. With that said, the Hammers had something to play for on each of those occasions; most notably, their Premiership lives when they won at Old Trafford on the last weekend of the 2006-2007 season.

This year, though, Alan Curbishley and his boys seemed to have packed it in for the season back in January. They've been in 10th place for ages and have hovered around the mid-table area all season long. Their performances in recent weeks have been flat, to say the least, and I don't think they have any chance to go to Old Trafford again and take any points off a hungry Manchester United team.

As I said in a recent post, I think Steve Bruce has done a terrific job since taking over at Wigan. He's under-appreciated by the mainstream media and fans of the Premiership, especially those outside of the North West, and has led Wigan to safety this year. His team is unbeaten in their last seven league games at home and recently picked up a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Aside from Arsenal, a match that ended 0-0, Wigan's other six opponents in this unbeaten streak haven't exactly been top quality: West Ham, Derby, Bolton, Birmingham, Tottenham, and Reading. Four clubs at or near the bottom of the table and two that haven't even played a seriously competitive game since the middle of January. There's something to be said for not losing in seven straight home games and I understand that, but with all due respect to those seven teams, none of them are Manchester United, and certainly none of them are Manchester United possibly looking to clinch the title.

Look, United's last two games won't be easy, but they're going to find a way to win them both. Chelsea will beat Bolton at home on May 11, the last day of the season, but it won't matter if they don't go to Newcastle and win next Monday. Hmm, a Monday night home game for the Tynesiders, the "Kevilution" with the team playing much, much better, a Champions League semifinal second leg this Wednesday against Liverpool, and I smell a draw at St. James' Park.

Again, all United has to do is win their final two games. I think they're going to do just that, with the match at Wigan presenting more of a difficulty. It was a great win for Chelsea yesterday and they'll be full of confidence and momentum, but I just don't think that it will mean much in the end.

The Boys Try Out for a Talent Show on "I'm on Setanta Sports"

Also in the newest episode of Setanta's hit show, Wayne acts out online lingo, The Special One makes a plea for any information on the whereabouts of Dave from Newcastle, and Sven gets rejected again.

Benitez Is Right To Rotate Lineup

Despite former Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock’s furious claims to the contrary last season and more whining this week, Rafa Benitez has every right to rotate his squad for a game against a relegation-threatened team.

This issue has come up in recent days because Liverpool will make the trip to St. Andrew’s and play 18th place Birmingham City tomorrow. The Reds are in the middle of their Champions League semifinal tie against Chelsea, and they’ll need to be as close to full-strength as possible heading into next Wednesday’s second leg at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool has to score there, something that has literally been impossible under Benitez’s tenure, to advance to their third CL final in four years.

Mathematically, Liverpool needs three points in their final three Premiership games to clinch 4th spot and the last Champions League berth that comes with it. Realistically, though, they already have a stranglehold on it and could probably not even earn another point for the rest of the season and still be ok.

Benitez sent out a second-string lineup at Craven Cottage and still managed to dominate a desperate Fulham team, coming out of West London with a 2-0 victory. The term “second-string” is relative, though, because Liverpool’s backups are still good enough to start for the majority of teams in the league.

This is part of the reason I don’t want to hear guys like Neil Warnock and more recently, Steve Bruce, slam Benitez for resting his stars. It’s not just Warnock and Bruce either; Benitez has had his share of critics in the media for what he’s going to do.

“It undermines the competition and integrity of the game”, they’ll say, or “It gives other teams unfair advantages”. You know what I’m talking about, the typical moaning and groaning from people with a vested interest while trying to make it sound like they have the game’s best intentions at heart.

Let me tell you something right now. That’s rubbish. It just is. It’s BS of the highest order.

Rafa Benitez doesn’t owe anyone other than Liverpool FC anything. It’s that simple. As the manager of that club, he is responsible for their best interests, whatever they may be. He is entitled to do whatever he needs to do, as long as it’s legal, obviously, to make sure that those goals are met. He doesn’t owe Steve Bruce or Neil Warnock anything. He doesn’t owe the Premier League and sentiment anything.

Benitez can play whoever he wants against Birmingham. There is strong talk that the only regular player Benitez will put out there is Jamie Carragher, and even that is no guarantee as far as from what I can tell. It seems like a fair bet that Gerrard, Torres, Alonso, Reina, Babel, Riise, Kuyt, and Mascherano all won’t play, or at least won’t start. Relatively inexperienced players like Charles Itanjie, Emiliano Insua, and Damien Plessis could all get a run-out.

You know what? Good for them. Liverpool has to come up with the goods next Wednesday, and it makes no sense for Benitez to risk his best players in a meaningless game, at least from Liverpool’s point of view. Birmingham needs points and will come out playing a physical, in-your-face style, and Benitez can’t afford for any of his players to get injured.

To his credit, Bolton boss Gary Megson has come out and said that he doesn’t care who Benitez plays against Birmingham. Bolton is in the thick of the relegation fight, and it would be understandable if Megson lashed out and urged Benitez to pick his strongest team.

Instead, he believes that “Rafa Benitez has to do what is best for Liverpool and we all have to do what is best for our own teams…The fact Liverpool can rest players and still put out that kind of side just shows the size of the squad and quality they have got.”

I applaud Megson for saying this, and he’s got it right. He also told Sky Sports News that “Rafa’s team and his selection is nothing to do with me or indeed anybody else other than Rafa and Liverpool”.

Spot-on, Mr. Megson. Spot on.

Check Out the Center Circle at the Camp Nou

Obviously this picture doesn't show the point I'm trying to make. I just had to use for it aesthetic purposes, so I hope you don't mind.

In all seriousness though, if you're watching the Champions League semifinal first leg between Barcelona and Manchester United at the Camp Nou right now, take a look at the center circle. Whoever painted those lines must've been drunk. If not drunk, he was high. He could've been both drunk and high.

That is the most wobbly circle I've ever seen in a professional stadium, especially a stadium of this magnitude for a game with this importance. It's a disgrace. You would think that one of the most basic tenants of the game, the lines on the field, would at least be painted correctly. It's supposed to be a perfect circle with a 10-yard radius around the center spot.

If that's a perfect circle, then I don't know how I passed geometry. I don't think my eyes are deceiving me on this one. What a joke.

Rob Styles Demoted to League Two for a Weekend

From the Daily Telegraph's website:

"A week after officiating at Blackburn's Premier League game against leaders Manchester United, referee Rob Styles will be in charge of Saturday's League Two match between Shrewsbury Town and Chester City.

Styles turned down two United penalty appeals and cautioned Wayne Rooney when he complained about a challenge by Steven Reid.

The Premier League would say only that referees' supremo Keith Hackett had 19 referees to choose from for 10 Premier League games each weekend, but it does appear a huge drop in status for a man regarded as one of England's senior referees.

Last month Styles was criticised over a penalty he awarded to Birmingham and in August he was sanctioned following his performance in Liverpool's game at home to Chelsea."

This is why the higher-ups in the Premier League, particularly Keith Hackett, are nothing more than a joke. This is why there's a major problem in England in terms of respecting the referees.

As the article says, there are going to be nine eligible referees every week who don't work a Premiership game. No one makes a big deal about it when a referee isn't picked, unless it's a form of punishment for poor performance in a previous game.

My question is this: Why embarrass the referees by making disciplinary action public? If Keith Hackett didn't want to assign Rob Styles to a Premiership game this weekend, that's fine; there are nine other guys waiting to step in, and he quietly could've sat Styles down and chosen a replacement.

Styles is very experienced and has been around the block a few times. He doesn't need to subjected to the relative humiliation of working a League Two match, and he doesn't gain anything by doing it. Like I said, if Hackett didn't want to select Styles, then he should've just given him the weekend off altogether.

All this does, and we've seen it before with other referees (Mark Clattenburg earlier in the season sticks out to me), is gives players and managers more ammunition to criticize the referees and treat them without respect. It's obvious that Hackett doesn't have the backs of his officials, and demoting them to lower-league duty just chops their authority off at the knees when they get back to the Premiership.

Congratulations to West Bromwich Albion

Math has never been my strong point, at least not since 6th grade. Once I started taking pre-algebra the next year, I just knew I was in trouble for the rest of my school days.

I believe, however, that my math is correct in this scenario. If West Brom, currently on top of the Coca-Cola Championship with 77 points after 44 games, gains two or more points in their last two games, or if third-place Hull City fails to win both of their remaining games, the Baggies will be assured of automatic promotion to the Premier League for next season.

Realistically, West Brom only needs one more point to move up to England's top flight. That one point would give them 78, and even if Hull City was to win their last two games (which would put them on 78 as well), W.B.A. would have a far superior goal differential and that's the first tiebreaker in England.

If you're wondering, West Brom's final two matches are against 21st place Southampton (at home), and at QPR, who are in 14th, so their chances to pick up a point or two are obviously pretty good.

Stoke City, in second place, has 75 points right now. The Potters' position isn't quite as secure but is still strong; their goal differential is five goals worse than that of Hull, but they do have a three point advantage and games against two teams in 20th place or lower. They seem like a good bet to join West Brom in the Premiership next year.

The playoff spots are still up for grabs and will go down to the last day of the season. We have an idea of who the four teams competing for that one last berth to the Premiership will be -- Hull, Bristol City (who was on top of the Championship only a couple weeks ago), Watford, and Crystal Palace -- but a victory for Wolverhampton over Cardiff today would complicate things. Only four points separate teams 3-6 and obviously, you want to finish in either 3rd or 4th to gain the "home-field advantage" in the two-leg playoff semifinals.

I did a post about the Championship recently, talking about the parity in the league and how exciting and heart-pounding it was for fans. While I don't think any of the teams who come up to the Premiership next season will be able to stay up, you still have to give them a lot of credit for making it out of this league this season. Every game is a fight, every game is a battle for three points and every point you can get is so valuable. That's not the case in the Premiership, where some teams basically packed it in for the season in February. I've enjoyed this race in the Championship, and wish more people in the mainstream media would pay attention to it.

Full-Time Thoughts--Liverpool vs. Chelsea

• The second half was a much better 45 minutes of soccer to watch. Both teams went after it, particularly early in the half, and the game was played at a faster tempo.

• Didier Drogba is so ridiculously disinterested in playing for Chelsea that it’s a joke. If I was Avram Grant, I would consider suspending him for the rest of the season and just telling him to stay away from the team. Drogba seems to be a cancer to Chelsea FC right now. He is less than half the player he was under Mourinho.

• Kalou in for Joe Cole seemed to have been a bit of a pointless change. I understand that Cole had had a quiet game up until that point, but he is Chelsea’s most creative attacking player and can provide things that no one else on that team can. One moment of brilliance and Cole could’ve equalized for the Blues, and you can’t say the same about Kalou.

• Frank Lampard didn’t seem to fully be into this game. He was there in body, obviously, but he seemed to be a couple steps off the pace and I don’t think his mind was completely focused on playing Liverpool. After being with his sick mother for a while though, you can’t have expected a wonder game from him either.

• Rafa Benitez clearly outmanaged his counterpart, Avram Grant, tonight. Grant was hesitant to pull the trigger on any attacking moves, and Benitez stood pat and didn’t bring on an extra defender, which in turn likely would’ve brought an immediate countermove from Grant and invited more pressure onto the Reds’ back line. Grant brought Anelka on in the 85th minute, way too late. A guy like Anelka typically needs five minutes or more just to get acquainted with the flow of the game, and Grant was asking too much of him to contribute something in that short a period of time. Grant also took off his best player on the night, Michael Ballack, for some unknown reason.

• Liverpool was harshly done by the officials. Chelsea got the benefit of almost every close call; Drogba went down at every chance he got and usually won a free kick, Chelsea clearly was offside on two or three occasions and it wasn’t spotted, and Liverpool had a great shout for a penalty after Michael Ballack appeared to play the ball with his arm in the box midway through the second half.

• Chelsea really lacked that spark of creativity necessary to steal a true goal at Anfield. Ballack was their best player, as I said, but didn’t seriously ever test Reina. I’m still unsure why he was replaced.

• Just how important were Fernando Torres’ two great chances that weren’t finished? The second was only a minute before Riise’s unfortunate own-goal, and going 2-0 up would’ve finished the game for good.

• In the end, 1-1 obviously is a flattering scoreline to Chelsea. The Blues were outplayed virtually all game and only a lucky own-goal at the death rescued them. Chelsea now has the advantage heading back to the Bridge next week, but Liverpool has to be encouraged by their own performance today. Take nothing away from Chelsea though; they had fate on their side tonight, and that can’t be underestimated.

Halftime Thoughts--Liverpool vs. Chelsea

• I miss Tommy Smyth and Derek Rae on the call. I’m assuming they’ll be working the Manchester United-Barcelona game tomorrow, but I’m not sure why they couldn’t do this game as well…

• The first shot on goal came nearly eight minutes in, and it was a relatively slow dribbler from Steven Gerrard. One shot in eight minutes, and a low-quality shot at that, isn’t exactly a good sign of things to come.

• Chelsea dominated possession in the first ten minutes, with Liverpool content to sit back and not waste energy chasing the ball around.

• Dirk Kuyt, of all players, had the best chance in the first quarter of an hour. Chelsea has looked absolutely woeful going forward thus far, relying on set pieces to pump balls into the box.

• Liverpool had the better of the second ten minutes, no question.

• Once again, Drogba just doesn’t look motivated to play, which is inexcusable seeing as this is a Champions League semifinal. Drogba won’t be at the Bridge next season, and has had a poor first half today.

• Good opportunity for Joe Cole right on 18 minutes; that obviously would’ve been an invaluable away goal for the Blues. A few inches taller and he may have connected with that slide.

• A second chance for Cole in the 21st minute went begging…that was a weak, weak stab at the ball. Get up, young man!

• Glad to see Tom Hicks in attendance today. The man shouldn’t be frightened off by the Scousers; he owns the club, he has every right to watch his team play. Surprised he and Gillett haven’t gone at it yet though!

• No penalty on the Drogba/Carragher incident in the 29th minute. Ball first, then man is legal; the referee made the correct decision.

• Lovely through ball from Gerrard to Torres in the 31st minute, good save from Cech, but Torres really should’ve done better and put Liverpool up 1-0. Best chance of the game went wasted.

• Another weak effort from Gerrard two minutes later; he’s certainly capable of pulling one out of the magic hat as we all know, but hasn’t come close yet today.

• Kuyt with the goal?!? Kuyt? We all know he works harder than anyone, but he doesn’t have much in the way of natural talent. Cool, cool finish though; must’ve made a guy like Torres proud.

• They said it would be like watching paint dry or grass grow, and aside from a few brief moments, they were right. Both teams are tactically sound and don’t give much away. Liverpool-1, Chelsea-0 – in all honestly, a fair scoreline.

Stay Tuned...

Make sure you check back here at halftime, and again at full-time, of today's Champions League semifinal first leg at Anfield. As I did in both games of the Liverpool-Arsenal tie, I'll have my halftime and post-match thoughts for you to undoubtedly pick apart.

For those of you want to see attractive, free-flowing soccer, this isn't the game for you. It's going to be a grind-it-out, slow-moving affair, with the winner likely only needing one goal to prevail.

My prediction: Liverpool-1, Chelsea-0, with a late goal from Fernando Torres the only thing separating the two sides. In next Wednesday’s return leg at Stamford Bridge, I’ve got a 1-1 draw, which, of course, would be enough for Liverpool to advance to their third Champions League final in four years.

And The Winner Is...

Two weeks ago, I announced the five nominees for my Premiership Manager of the Year award. Amongst the five were a Scotsman (David Moyes), an Irishman (Roy Keane), a gentleman from Northern Ireland (Martin O'Neill), a Spaniard (Juande Ramos), and a voyeur...excuse me, a Frenchman (Arsene Wenger).

That list was then narrowed down to three "semifinalists", as I dropped Ramos and Wenger from contention. The original plan was to name the winner two days later, but as you all know, I made a change and delayed the announcement until today, when two more rounds of games were played. As far as the winner goes, I really saw all I needed to see this weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I think each of these three managers have done a terrific job at their respective clubs this season. One of them has stood out above the rest, however, and so without further ado, here he is, my 2007-2008 Manager of the Year:

Drumroll please...

It's Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill!

I chose this specific picture of O'Neill because I think it is a great representation of the type of manager he is. We saw it after each of his team's five goals yesterday against Birmingham, this is a guy who is a players' coach and his team absolutely loves playing for him.

You can tell a lot about a manager by observing what he does after his team scores a goal; Sir Alex Ferguson has the same, exuberant celebration every time, Steve Bruce hops around a lot, Arsene Wenger pumps his fist a few times, Kevin Keegan leaps out of the dugout when Newcastle bags one, and they're all good, good managers. On the other side of the coin, you have guys like Rafa Benitez and Avram Grant, who seem almost disappointed when their their sides put one on the board. By no means are those two men bad managers, but again, it's telling that a high player turnover rate either has been or will be a constant in their tenure.

O'Neill takes it to a whole other level. He's the only manager from what I can tell who actually wears cleats on the sideline, showing his solidarity with the players. He jumps seemingly four or five feet off the ground when Villa scores, races down the touchline, and then runs back again.

"OK, that's fine, but what has O'Neill actually done to deserve this award?"

Well, I'll tell you. He has one of the smallest, if not the smallest, first team rosters in the Premiership. Only 16 field players have started a league game for the Villains this season and of those 16, nine have started 20 matches or more in the Premiership and 12 have started ten or more.

He also has one of the youngest first team rosters in the league. I joke all the time that he basically has half of England's U-21 team but the reality is, these are now players who are on the verge of the senior national team based on their performances this season, my man Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor chief among them.

Villa finished in 11th place last year and have a legitimate chance to wind up 5th this season. They've already improved on their 2006-2007 win total (11) by five, with three games left to play. A victory at Everton this weekend and the Birmingham-based club will almost assuredly be playing in Europe next season, either the Intertoto Cup to get into the UEFA Cup or straight into the continent's second-tier club tournament.

You also can't underemphasize Villa's two wins over Birmingham in the Second City Derby this year, and the 5-1 victory yesterday was a complete thrashing. Any time you can beat your hated rivals twice in one season, that's an accomplishment, no matter where either team sits in the standings.

O'Neill has shown an ability to make tactical adjustments on the fly, something that is key in a manager. His recent formational switch to a 4-3-3 has helped to net 15 goals in Villa's last three games. Villa's reputation as a set-piece monster also comes straight from the manager, who oversees that in training every day. Sure, it helps to have great aerial threats like John Carew, Olof Mellberg, and Martin Laursen, and a couple of fantastic dead-ball takers in Ashley Young and Gareth Barry, but success and execution still has to start from the manager.

Martin O'Neill, ladies and gentlemen, my 2007-2008 Premiership Manager of the Year.

For those who are interested, I had Moyes in second and Keane winning the Bronze.

Young Makes Case for England Call-Up

Watching today’s edition of the Second City Derby, won in style 5-1 by Aston Villa, one had to have been impressed with the victors. They scored from open play and set pieces. They ran Birmingham ragged from start to finish. Ever since manager Martin O’Neill altered his team’s formation to a 4-3-3, they’ve been almost unstoppable in the league and it continued this afternoon.

The one player who appears to have benefited the most from this change is Ashley Young, who I’ve been high on ever since watching him play against Liverpool during the first weekend of the 2007-2008 season. O’Neill has given his star 22-year old, who was acquired from Watford for nearly $20 million, a free role now, instead of playing him solely on the left wing.

Make no mistake, Young was having a great season before today’s game, in which he scored twice and got an assist after swinging in a free kick to John Carew. He’s been nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award, and although he won’t win it, the acknowledgement of his play by his peers counts for a lot. He and teammate Gabby Agbonlahor, also nominated, are up against the likes of more established superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Torres.

Still, Young’s new role allows him to roam all over the field and we saw that today. He was everywhere; he scored his first goal in the center of the field, his second cutting in from the left, and his through ball that sprung Gareth Barry, who then assisted Carew for Villa’s third tally, was played on the right side. Young is up to seven goals and 17 assists in the Premiership this season.

I’ve said this so many times, this is a two-footed player with great pace, good technical ability, and is a deadly crosser of the ball, both from open play and on the set piece.

In addition to my admiration for him, which, admittedly, doesn’t count for much, you have to think England boss Fabio Capello shares the same sentiment, or at least close to it. Capello was in attendance at Villa Park today and although you couldn’t tell from his facial expressions, he undoubtedly was pleased with what he saw from Young.

Capello has a plethora of right-sided wingers to choose from — David Bentley, David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips, etc. — but really doesn’t have many options on the left aside from Stewart Downing. In my opinion, Young is a much, much better and more complete player than the Middlesbrough stalwart, and does seem like the future at that position for England.

England’s next game is Wednesday, May 28, against the US at Wembley, and then they’ll make a trip to Trinidad and Tobago four days later. Expect to see Ashley Young in the starting lineup in at least one of those friendlies, if not both. He deserves a call-up, and I think he’ll get it.

Willie Nelson Makes an Appearance on "I'm on Setanta Sports"

Also on the newest episode, more of Wazza and his hilarious Scouse accent, and The Special One continues to insult Sven.

Setanta keeps finding a way to make this funny every week, so I can't complain.