No Excuse for Attack of Manchester United Team Bus

Shortly after Manchester United's 1-1 draw at Chelsea yesterday, their team bus was attacked by an as-of-yet unknown assailant, who cracked the bus' front windshield (as pictured here) with a thrown bottle. No one was hurt, and United continued their short trip across London to the train station and following trip back to Manchester.

Let's be clear here. I'm not exactly going out on a limb when I say that it seems obvious that a Chelsea fan, or fans, was responsible for this. There would be no real motivation for anyone else in this instance to hurl something at a moving vehicle belonging to Manchester United. Yes, there's a possibility that it was just a random act, but come on, let's be serious.

There is a rivalry between United and Chelsea, of that there is no doubt. United have won the last two Premiership titles after Chelsea had won two in row before that. United beat Chelsea in a shootout in last year's Champions League final. They battle for big-name signings all the time, including the much-debated controversy regarding John Obi Mikel, who eventually went to Chelsea, in 2005. Rio Ferdinand, hardly a model citizen, and Patrice Evra got involved in heated exchanges with Chelsea personnel the last time United visited Stamford Bridge.

These two teams don't like each other. Their respective fans really don't like each other. I get it, believe me. With that said, however, there is no excuse for what happened yesterday. None. There can be no justification for it.

What many fans in England, and more so in other places, to be fair, fail to realize, or at least don't want to embrace, is that soccer is just a game. That's all it is. It isn't life and death. No matter what happens in one particular game, the world will go on. Life doesn't stop for soccer. It's a game. It doesn't need to be taken as seriously as it is. There are more important, pressing things going on in the world, in this country, in your city that merit your attention.

If people worked as hard in their daily lives as they care about "their club", this world would be a better place and those people would be better off. They have a bad habit of living vicariously through a team that plays once a week and vastly overpays their players and overcharges their fans to watch those same players. They don't realize that for the most part, the club doesn't care about the fans half as much as the fans care about the club.

I love soccer and the Premiership very much. It's entertaining stuff, and there's so many stories and so much quality to talk about every week. But that's all it is to me, and that's all it should be. It hasn't yet and will never cross the invisible line to where it becomes life and my sole drive. I don't count the days until the next time a game is played. I don't get through the week only looking forward to the weekend when my team plays. That's not how it should work.

Whoever is responsible for yesterday's event needs to get over him/herself in a hurry. There's more to life than soccer.

Games To Watch This Weekend

With a relatively lazy Friday as far as soccer news is concerned, I thought I'd put out a quick primer for the weekend's most interesting matchups. This is something I'll be doing sporadically throughout the year, though more so for domestic and continental cup competitions (when English teams are involved) rather than the Premierhip.

Tomorrow:
Tottenham vs. Sunderland -- Neither team got a result in their respective opening games last week, but Sunderland looked more impressive in their 1-0 loss against Liverpool than Tottenham did in their 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough. The Black Cats were even with Rafa's boys all game long until a thunderbolt from Fernando Torres won it. Spurs needed an own goal in second half stoppage time just to account for the final scoreline. Boro played them off the park in that match.

The so-called "Tottenham trio" — Pascal Chimbonda, Teemu Tainio, and Steed Malbranque — will be returning to White Hart Lane for the first time since moving to Sunderland this summer. You can bet Chimbonda and Malbranque will be motivated to play well against the team that gave up on them. The three players each spent a couple seasons at Tottenham, though Tainio probably had the most success. He’ll miss this game with a muscle strain.

Tottenham made it clear through their summer signings that they're pushing for a place in the Champions League. Performances like the one they turned in last week aren't going get to it done, obviously. Sunderland, on the other hand, wants to stabilize their position in England's top flight and then push their way up the table. This is the perfect opponent for them -- one who struggles to defend. Sunderland won't score many goals without star striker Kenwyne Jones, but if they can find a way to steal one or two tomorrow, this is a game from which they can pick up points.

Sunday:
Manchester City vs. West Ham -- City opens their home schedule coming off a 4-2 shellacking at the hands of Aston Villa last week. That loss isn't the main concern at the Eastlands right now, though, as news broke tonight that owner Thaksin Shinawatra, one of the most corrupt men in all of soccer, is preparing to resign from his position or, at the very least, sell some of his stake in the club. Instability is the name of the game right now in that area of Manchester.

His team doesn't have much up front, which is a huge concern for manager Mark Hughes. Daniel Sturridge played very well off the bench at Villa, but he's not ready to be a full-time starter. Valeri Bojonov is injured once again, as are Benjani and Darius Vassell. Chedwyn Evans and Sturridge are all City has for the time being, at least until record signing Jô comes back from his Olympic duty for Brazil.

West Ham picked up three points in a solid 2-1 win over Wigan at Upton Park. Dean Ashton scored both goals and would've earned himself another look-in to the England national team, but the striker came off with a cramp in his lower leg and was not selected by Fabio Capello. He should be ready to play tomorrow against a defense that was torn to shreds by Villa's firepower.

If City loses on Sunday, make sure you turn up the volume when the final whistle is blown. Nothing like the clear sound of "boos" to get you going early in the morning, I always say.

Monday:
Portsmouth vs. Manchester United -- Make no mistake: this is not the same Manchester United team that won the Premiership a year ago. Cristiano Ronaldo's absence affects United as much as the loss of any one player from any team in the world. Without him, Sir Alex Ferguson's team is vulnerable and struggles to score goals, which we saw in their 1-1 draw against Newcastle last week. No disrespect to Newcastle, but United beat them 6-0 at home last year when Ronaldo played (he had a hat trick), and Newcastle hasn't improved their roster that much since then.

For their part, Portsmouth looked nothing like they did last season in their 4-0 spanking at Stamford Bridge last Sunday. Chelsea dominated the game -- Pompey had a hard time advancing past midfield for stretches of the 90 minutes.

United and Pompey have developed a very nice little rivalry over the past few seasons, one that saw Sulley Muntari and Ronaldo get sent off in a two-minute span in the corresponding fixture last year, a game that ended 1-1. United won the second league game between the two 2-0, but Pompey returned the favor by knocking the Red Devils out of the FA Cup, a competition eventually won by the South Coasters. Just two weeks ago, United triumphed over 'Arry Redknapp's side in PK's in the season-opening Community Shield.

There's nothing like a Monday night game at Fratton Park. The crowd will be buzzing for an upset, one which wouldn't be too surprising from this writer's point of view.

Should be a good weekend in the Premiership.

Premiership Preview--1. Manchester United

The two-time defending champion of England and current champion of Europe experienced quite the drawn-out saga this summer, as there were times when it seemed certain that Cristiano Ronaldo, the most talented player in the world, would be leaving Old Trafford for Real Madrid. He stayed put, delaying his inevitable move to the club he supported as a boy for at least another season.

It would be unfair to say that Ronaldo single-handedly led United to their second European Double, but without the Portuguese winger on board, there's no way that the Red Devils would've accomplished the feat. He will miss the first month or so of the '08-'09 campaign while recovering from the ankle surgery he had done in early July, though, and we saw what happened in the first couple of weeks last season to United when they didn't have him or Wayne Rooney in the lineup: United looked extremely sluggish, and scoring goals became a difficult chore rather than a sure bet.

Sir Alex Ferguson hasn't addressed that yet this summer. He hasn't brought in any new faces, though the on-again, off-again speculation surrounding Dimitar Berbatov's move from Tottenham seems to be in full force right now. Berbatov would address United's biggest need -- a true striker who can play with his back to goal. Unlike Rooney and Carlos Tevez, Berbatov doesn't drop back into the midfield to collect the ball, he stays up front and gets himself in a position where he can do the most damage. Fraizer Campbell is back from his loan at Hull City, where he shined last season in the Championship. Campbell is nowhere near Berbatov's level, obviously, but has scored wherever he's been. He'll get a chance to play up front this year; Ferguson really likes this kid.

Ferguson lost his right-hand man in Carlos Queiroz, who left Manchester to become his native Portugal's senior national team head coach. The two men had established a great relationship over the years, both personal and professional, and Queiroz's absence will be felt. As I wrote earlier this summer, Queiroz is largely responsible for Ronaldo still playing for United and played a major role in landing Nani and Anderson, both of whom speak Portuguese, before last season.

As far as players go, United hasn't lost any of importance. Gerard Pique has plenty of potential and can play at center back and right back, but the Spanish youngster never seemed to settle in England. He went back home to play for Barcelona after some nervous performances last season in fill-in circumstances.

The Red Devils are undoubtedly strongest in midfield, where they have nine players for four or five spots, depending on the formation and importance of a given game. The wingers are interchangeable and shift from left to right. Ronaldo highlights this group, this team, and this league, and his fellow countryman, Nani, will be given a larger role opposite him this year. Nani is a "mini-Ronaldo" and will step right into Ronaldo's shoes if and when he does, in fact, leave for the Bernabeu. The vastly more experienced Ryan Giggs, who has appeared in over 750 competitive games in 18 seasons and counting with the club, will play an important, but reduced, part this season, likely used in the big Premiership and Champions League games. The same applies to Anderson and Paul Scholes, though Scholes does have more in the tank left than Giggs and will play more often than the Welshman. Anderson is the heir apparent to that position, ahead of Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick, the two solid holding midfielders. Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea are two of the most valuable utility players in the league. Park Ji-Sung has a tough time staying healthy but when he's fit, Ferguson plays him and he's another one of the manager's favorites.

Projected Starting Lineup (4-4-2):
GK: Edwin van der Sar

RB: Wes Brown
CB: Rio Ferdinand
CB: Nemanja Vidić
LB: Patrice Evra

*RMF: Nani
**DMF: Carrick
CMF: Scholes
*LMF: Giggs

ST: Rooney
ST: Tevez

Again, the two wingers will swap sides throughout the course of the game. With Ronaldo out, both Nani and Giggs will start. When Ronaldo comes back, one of those two will obviously sit.

**Hargreaves may miss the first week or two with a knee injury, so Carrick will step in. Last season, Ferguson seemed to interchange Carrick and Hargreaves with neither one really getting a long stretch at a time in the starting lineup. Both will play significant minutes this year.

United opened the new year last Sunday, beating Portsmouth in PK's to win their second consecutive Community Shield. The game itself is basically just a glorified exhibition, but it's still a trophy, and it symbolizes what we've been waiting for all summer: the start of another Premiership season.

Ferguson's side kicks off their domestic league slate on Sunday with a home date against Newcastle. The same game last year finished 6-0 to United, and their fans would like nothing more than a repeat of that performance.

It gets tougher after that, though -- United visits Portsmouth next weekend, never an easy place to play, plays Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Super Cup, another glorified exhibition, in Monaco on the 29th, then come home less than 24 hours later to play Fulham.

A trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool on September 13 is the highlight of their early season schedule, and it's followed up by another difficult game at Chelsea. Those two will be United's main competitors in the Premiership this year, so it'll be interesting to see how those three stack up with each other.

The first Manchester derby of the year comes at City on November 30, a week after United will be challenged at Aston Villa. City won both games against their crosstown rivals last year, which is unacceptable for United and a historical rarity. Ferguson hates losing more than any other manager in the league, especially in those types of games, so you can count on him lighting a fire in his team to put in an impressive performance and get a victory.

Stepping back and examining this league schedule from a broader sense, it shapes up favorably for the champions. Cup competitions and their Champions League will complicate things, sure, but United doesn't have any strenuous run of domestic games. Granted, they don't have a particularly easy stretch either. They host Arsenal and City before finishing up the year at Hull City, and that's a microcosm of their year -- a couple tough games but a very easy one right after, or two easy ones with a tricky match in between.

Bottom Line: With Berbatov, United is a slam dunk to win the league for the third straight year. Without him, they're still the clear favorite. This team is better top-to-bottom than any other in the Premiership, in both their starting XI point of view and their full first team roster. The key is keeping Ronaldo and Rooney in the lineup -- they're vulnerable without one and beatable without both. Ronaldo isn't going to have as good of a season as he did last year; that would be impossible, so someone or a combination of players has to step up. If it's Nani, watch out, because it's scary how much raw talent this guy has.

And that's a wrap, my second annual Premiership Preview is now complete. The new year gets underway tomorrow, though Sunday's games should be more entertaining. It's been a pleasure to write these capsules, and whether you agree with them or not, I'm glad you've checked them out. I appreciate the feedback as always.

Let the season begin!

How Carlos Queiroz’s Departure Affects Manchester United

You can’t blame Carlos Queiroz one bit for answering the call from his country. He’s 55 years old, and if he didn’t take this job now, he may never have gotten another chance, especially with Jose Mourinho already on the record as saying he intends to finish his managerial career with the Portuguese national team.

His record in the past as the top man for both club and country has been less-than-stellar, particularly at the senior level. Again, you can’t blame him for seizing this opportunity to prove himself and to show that he can be successful outside of the large shadow of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Queiroz’s acceptance of the Portugal job has left Ferguson without his right-hand man just five weeks before the start of the Premiership season. There are several candidates in-house that will almost assuredly be considered by Ferguson to fill that assistant’s role — Brian McClair and Mike Whelan chief among them — but none that seem to have the same working relationship and mutual understanding that Queiroz and Ferguson have.

Manchester United will be seeking to win their third consecutive Premiership title, a remarkable feat that the club also achieved from 1998-2001. There is no doubt that United wouldn’t be in this position without Cristiano Ronaldo, who has developed into the best player in the world during his tenure at Old Trafford.

Queiroz was largely responsible for convincing Ronaldo to remain at the club after the incident with Wayne Rooney at World Cup 2006 threatened to permanently sour his relationship with English fans. Queiroz visited the star winger in Portugal immediately after that tournament, and the rest (back-to-back league titles and a a Champions League title) is history. Queiroz has also made his best efforts to drive Real Madrid off Ronaldo this summer, accusing the Spanish giants in no uncertain terms of tapping him up and comparing him to Christopher Columbus, who both Spain and Portugal claim sailed for their respective nations. Simply put, it’s well-documented that Ronaldo and Queiroz have a close relationship.

Queiroz, too, played a significant role in Manchester United’s acquisitions of Nani and Anderson, who both speak Portuguese, last summer. Nani is the natural successor to Ronaldo, if and when he does leave, and certainly has a bright future ahead of him. He’ll play more this season than he did last year, allowing the veteran Ryan Giggs to rest and conserve whatever he has left in the tank. Anderson will do the same for Paul Scholes, who simply can’t go box-to-box on a regular basis like he could in his prime. Anderson can, and is the central midfield general that Manchester United is really lacking.

At 66, there’s no way Sir Alex Ferguson is involved with the day-to-day affairs of the club as much as he once was. He can’t be expected to do everything 100% anymore, and that’s not a knock on him, that’s just the natural effects of age. Having Queiroz right by his side allowed Ferguson to concentrate on the big things, delegating the lesser but still important responsibilities to a man who was on the same page as him. Ferguson has also never been known as a master tactician by any means and again, at his age, it’s unclear how up to speed he is with everything else going on in the European game, knowledge that is necessary for United’s Champions League campaigns.

With Queiroz gone, Manchester United will take a hit. He is widely regarded as one of the top, if not the top, assistant managers in the world, and he can’t just be replaced like-for-like. He has significant influence in Portugal, obviously, a country that produces some of the best young players on the continent, which Manchester United has exploited in recent years. He is almost a second father to Ronaldo and while that may not change, his absence from Old Trafford may push Ronaldo over the edge in his desire to play for Real Madrid.

United fans would be unwise to not take this seriously and assume that the train to another Premiership trophy will simply continue full speed. The club has been able to stay at an extraordinary high level after parting ways with several high-profile players in recent years — Roy Keane, David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, etc. — but I’m not sure they’ll be able to do the exact same without Queiroz at Ferguson’s side. Money can buy you more talent on the field, but it doesn’t work that way with coaches.

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.

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.

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

Enjoy.

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.

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.

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.

Tévez's Tally Saves Title

You just knew it was coming, didn't you?

Anyone watching the last 25-30 minutes of the Blackburn-Manchester United game today just knew that the Red Devils were going to pull some magic out of the hat. Brad Friedel made several outstanding saves to keep Rovers ahead, but they only delayed the inevitable.

United were huffing and puffing, and unlike the Big Bad Wolf, were able to blow the house down. Blackburn were inviting pressure onto themselves, settling to sit 9 men behind the ball and hoofing it up to Jason Roberts to escape danger. That was probably the worst thing Mark Hughes' team could do, because Manchester United were eventually going to find a way to break down the defense and score. Much like the "prevent" defense in football here, the only thing Blackburn did was "prevent" themselves from winning by playing so deep.

It happened on a late corner kick, but Carlos Tévez's redirection of a Paul Scholes header (which, by the way, looked to be going in) found the back of the net and left Friedel standing helpless on his line.

The Argentine striker's goal levelled the match at 1-1, where it would finish, and gave United a hugely significant point in the standings. United now are ahead of second place Chelsea by three points heading into the two clubs' massive showdown at Stamford Bridge next weekend. Even if Chelsea was to win that game, and all the impetus will be on them to do so, they'll still be behind United on goal differential.

In short, you could argue that Tevez's 13th goal of the season clinched what would be the the second consecutive league title for Sir Alex Ferguson's squad. A draw would seem the most likely result in West London next week, but even with a loss, United would still be on top. Their last two games -- home to West Ham, @ Wigan -- should be six points gained and that would be enough to win the league no matter what Chelsea does in their remaining schedule.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland..in April?!?

This weather in England is crazy.

I wrote a post a couple weeks ago about how there was rain, sleet, snow, and sunshine all in the space of an hour or so in the Tottenham-Portsmouth game at White Hart Lane. I couldn't believe the drastic, sudden changes in weather but after today, nothing should surprise me.

It's the beginning of April, but you wouldn't know it if you were watching the Middlesbrough-Manchester United match today in the North East. I turned on the TV and thought I was watching an NFL game in Cleveland or Buffalo in the dead of winter. Snow was falling as hard as I've seen it come down in a while, and the condition of the field obviously reflected this. The ball was skipping, players were slipping and sliding, and yet the passion from them and fans alike was still evident.

I have to give Middlesbrough's supporters a lot of credit; I've criticized them harshly (but fairly) in the past for not filling the Riverside for a big game but today they came out in droves. The stadium was nearly sold out and the fans gave such a boost to the team. They played a huge part in spurring their club on to hold Manchester United, the defending champions and likely champions this season as well, to a 2-2 draw, and Tuncay almost won the game for Boro at the very death. Snow and cold didn't seem to bother the crowd in the least bit and they were singing and chanting and shouting for the full 90 minutes.

Good stuff as usual from England. Soccer can truly be played in all conditions, and we saw that today.

Champions League Quarterfinals Preview--Part 1

The first legs of the Champions League quarterfinal round are right around the corner. We'll see two games on Tuesday and the other two on Wednesday, and if you're a fan of the Premiership, you have to be happy with the situation right now. Four teams out of the eight remaining hail from England and of those four, three could very well advance to the semifinals.

Today, we'll take a look at the ties scheduled to open on Tuesday. My pick to progress is highlighted in bold.

1. AS Roma vs. Manchester United: This is one of the "dream ties" I wanted to see and a rematch of last year's quarterfinal, won on aggregate 8-3 by United. These two teams are well acquainted with one another as they also were in the same group this season, a group won handily by United.

It's really rather simple for Roma. If Francesco Totti doesn't play, and he is a "major doubt" for Tuesday's game, the Italian side has very little chance at advancing. Totti isn't just the straw that stirs Roma's drink, he is the drink. This is a guy who is one of the two or three best players in Europe right now (behind Cristiano Ronaldo and possibly Fernando Torres) and without him, I'm not sure if Roma has the firepower to overcome a United side that is working on all cylinders at the moment. If Totti is healthy, it's a different ballgame altogether and Roma would have a puncher's chance.

Roma need to win at the Stadio Olimpico, where they are 12-2-1 in Serie A, on Tuesday because they're not going to win in Manchester. It's also important to not concede an away goal to United, who have scored 27 of those in the Premiership, good for the second-highest total in the league.

Prediction: Roma won't be able to keep United off the scoreboard at home, and will get tonked at Old Trafford. Totti at 80-90% is good enough to beat a lot of teams, but United isn't one of them. 1-1 in Rome, 3-1 in Manchester -- 4-2 aggregate

2. Schalke 04 vs. Barcelona: With no disrespect meant to Schalke, Barcelona got the easiest possible draw in this round. Schalke are in a dogfight just to finish in a Champions League spot in the Bundesliga and scoring goals is a problem for them.

Barcelona will be without the services of Lionel Messi, but I honestly don't think it'll matter too much in this tie. The Spanish giants score for fun (60 goals in 30 league games) and while their road form is a bit of a concern, they more than make up for that at the Camp Nou.

Kevin Kuranyi needs to come up with two all-world performances for Schalke to have much of a chance, and by that I mean 3 or 4 goals in these two games. The problem? In Schalke's last five Champions League games, they've scored a combined four goals. Ouch.

Prediction: Schalke will get something at home but won't be able to stop Barca from scoring. The return leg, however, won't be pretty for the German club. 1-1, 3-0 -- 4-1 aggregate

Check back tomorrow for a brief look at the ties set to commence on Wednesday, Arsenal-Liverpool and Fenerbahçe-Chelsea.

Update (Monday afternoon): Roma's talisman, Francesco Totti, has been officially ruled out of tomorrow's first leg against Manchester United due to injury. Mirko Vucinic will take his place.

Good For You, Steve Bennett

I don't want to hear Liverpool fans criticize referee Steve Bennett for dismissing Javier Mascherano late in the first half today. I just don't want to hear it, simple as that.

It's about time that a referee stood up for himself and didn't take any BS. I've complained all year long about the referees and how they're too weak and inconsistent to punish players for dissent. In midweek, I sat there and watched Ashley Cole, who was fortunate to not be sent off for his horrific challenge on Alan Hutton, turn his back on Mike Riley as if to say "Hey, do you know who I am?". Cole gave Riley an earful, didn't come over to receive the original yellow card, and still didn't get the second yellow for dissent.

Javier Mascherano must be an idiot. Has he not been watching the news or reading the paper at all this week? Did he not see that the FA just came out with a "respect the referees" initiative? Did he not remember that he already had a yellow card and was walking on thin ice? Did he not see that his teammate, Fernando Torres, had been booked for dissent just a second earlier?

I guess not. Sorry, this guy is a moron. He had basically been begging for a second yellow card ever since he got the first one. He'd committed two or three additional fouls since being cautioned early and took every opportunity to give Steve Bennett a piece of his mind. He then went out of his way to question an innocent play right before the half ended. Bennett gave him a chance to be quiet and motioned for him to walk away, and Mascherano didn't. He kept going, Bennett reached inside his pocket, boom, see you later.

Where was the captain, Steven Gerrard, in all of this? One would think he would've gotten in there and separated Mascherano right away, or tried to calm him down a little bit and then speak to Bennett himself.

Nope.

Sure, after Mascherano had been dragged to the sideline by his teammates (where he proceded to rant and rave like a lunatic), Gerrard went to the Argentine and spoke to him, but that doesn't exactly do much good.

Good for you, Steve Bennett. I applaud you for having the stones to do what Mike Riley and others haven't done all season.

Another 4-4 Draw for Chelsea, Tottenham

What a remarkable game.

This 4-4 draw was the second of its kind for both Spurs and Chelsea this season; remarkably, Aston Villa was the opponent for both London clubs in their other 4-4 game. Spurs also drew 3-3 with Fulham and beat Reading 6-4 earlier in the year, showing their knack for high-scoring contests.

Tottenham very nearly won the game today in second half injury-time, but Chelsea keeper Carlo Cudicini denied Dimitar Berbatov from close range. It was a chance on which I would've bet my house on the Bulgarian striker scoring, so luckily I couldn't make it to Vegas to place a wager.

I thought that Ashley Cole should've been sent off for that horrible challenge on Alan Hutton right before the first half ended, and somehow he walked away with only a yellow card. I'm sorry, but if you're going to give a red card to Jason Koumas for his tackle last weekend, which was a joke in itself (the red card, not the tackle), then surely Cole should've been dismissed as well, no question about it. Did I miss something, or was Hutton's shin almost snapped in half? Come on.

Not only that, but John Terry, Frank Lampard, and Didier Drogba all should've been booked for dissent after they followed referee Mike Riley for nearly 20 yards after Riley kept backing away and calling for Cole. I don't care that John Terry is the captain; you can't show up the referee like that. Lampard and Drogba certainly had no business getting in Riley's face either. All of this after the FA came out today with a "respect the referees initiative". Please!

Oh, and then Robbie Keane gets a yellow card for opening his mouth a little bit just after that? It's a joke! Keane gets a yellow card for saying something 10 yards away, and the three Chelsea players get away scot-free. Mr. Riley, take yourself and your big nose right off the soccer field and don't come back, thanks. He has no business being a Premiership referee if he's going to be as inconsistent as he was today.

With the way the game went, I think both teams will gladly take the point and live to fight another day. Chelsea really squandered an opportunity to make it a three-team title race and will now have to beat Arsenal this Sunday to get back in contention, but a point is better than nothing and that is very nearly what Chelsea got out of this match.

Manchester United took care of business against Bolton with a 2-0 victory at Old Trafford, putting the Red Devils three points up on Arsenal with eight games to go. I'll tell you right now, as long as United don't get beat by Arsenal at Old Trafford on April 13, the Premiership trophy will be heading to Manchester for the second year in a row.

Can't Wait for Sunday

Not that I'm complaining, but the Premier League isn't fooling anyone. Somehow with their so-called "random" schedule, Sunday will be the second time this year that the "Big Four" will play against each other. Manchester United will host surging Liverpool at Old Trafford and Chelsea will have their chance to reel in suddenly slumping Arsenal as the Gunners head across London to Stamford Bridge.

Not only will the "Big Four" be in action on Sunday, they're the only four teams playing and it just so happens that fans across the world will be able to watch both games in their entirety, with Man U-Liverpool kicking off at 9:30 AM ET here with Chelsea-Arsenal to follow at noon.

I have no problem with this at all, believe me. None. But come on, the Premier League should at least be up front with the public that these games were scheduled like this intentionally. Don't try and tell us that everything is random and computer-generated; it insults our intelligence and no one is buying it. "Super Sunday x2" should be fun to watch and the media hype around it is well-deserved, but it reeks of an unnecessary money-grabbing ploy.

I'll be watching soccer on Sunday, but it's also that time of year...

It's time for March Madness, baby!

That's right, Sunday brings the second batch of Round of 32 games in the NCAA Tournament and for those who haven't witnessed the spectacle that is college basketball in March, trust me, it is the best, most passionate single sporting event of the year, bar none.

I fully expect you all to tune in to CBS after you're finished watching the Premiership action on Sunday for a great day of college basketball. Don't even get off your couch.

I can't wait for the weekend.

Champions League Quarterfinal + Semifinal Draw--Live

No time for intros, I'm doing homework at the moment and have class at 9 this morning, so I'm just going to list what's been drawn so far. The quarterfinal ties are scheduled to be played April 1/2 and 8/9, and the semifinal ties are scheduled to be played April 22/23 and 29/30. More analysis later.

Quarterfinal round; first leg home team listed first; Premiership teams highlighted in bold:

Arsenal vs. Liverpool
AS Roma vs. Manchester United
Schalke 04 vs. Barcelona
Fenerbahçe vs. Chelsea

Semifinal round; same things as before apply:

Arsenal/Liverpool vs. Fenerbahçe/Chelsea
Schalke 04/Barcelona vs. AS Roma/Manchester United

My Dream Champions League Quarterfinals Draw--Part 1

The real Champions League draw for the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final will take place tomorrow in Nyon, Switzerland, and for the first time in the competition, teams from the same group or country can be paired against each other. It's likely that we'll get a few duds and also a few exciting ties; that's just how it usually turns out. UEFA says that these draws are random, which I'm not necessarily questioning, but it seems like the same teams are always drawn against each other and things have appeared a little fishy at times...

For now though, he's my dream draw for the next round of the Champions League:

1. Arsenal-Fenerbahçe: Both teams play an attacking style and are capable of scoring multiple goals in any given game, something that can't be said about every team left at this stage in the competition. I'd be interested to see how Arsenal handles the raucous crowd in Istanbul, which is a different beast altogether than than the one they encountered at the San Siro last week. I don't doubt that the Gunners would go through in this tie, but Fenerbahçe would certainly give them a good game in Turkey and both legs would have goals in them. The winner of this tie would go on to face the winner of...

2. Manchester United-Roma: A rematch of last year's quarterfinal which Manchester United won 8-3 on aggregate, using a 7-1 thrashing at Old Trafford to overcome a 2-1 deficit from the first leg. This is a different Roma team though, and their leader, Francesco Totti, is playing out of his mind right now, and Manchester United looked pretty shaky at times against Lyon in both legs of their Round of 16 encounter. Would Roma have the firepower to overcome United? I'm not sure, and a lot would depend on how Totti performs.

Check back later for my other two dream pairings.