Dark Clauds For Ranieri

UNLESS YOU'RE A Hull City fan, one win since the 24th March is simply not acceptable. Unfortunately for Claudio Ranieri, managing an Italian giant rather than a mediocre English side meant there would be ramifications to Juventus' dismal performances. So it is that the ex-Chelsea boss, loved by the English and mistreated in London, once again finds himself in the job centre searching for the next best thing.

An under-performing AS Roma is the last time Ranieri claimed victory and since, a loss to Genoa and six consecutive draws. Team brawls in the dressing room and on-pitch have rocked a season that started so promising. At one stage, the closest competitors to Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan, but now are battling with Fiorentina for 3rd spot.

The Turin club also vanished from the Champions League hastily in the New Year after Chelsea comfortably pushed past the lacklustre Italians. With two games remaining in Serie A, the Juve board have taken this swift act in an aim to hold on to that elusive European place.

A statement from Juventus said, ‘’Ciro Ferrara is the new Juventus coach. Juventus would like to communicate that they have sacked Claudio Ranieri. From today, the first team will be handed over, and guided by Ciro Ferrara. Juventus would like to thank Claudio Ranieri for the work he has done in these two years. We would like to wish new coach Ciro Ferrara well for immediate success.”

Ferrara takes over as a Juventus legend and there is only one job to be done.

United Push Past Liverpool To Earn Third Consecutive Title!

AFTER A GOALESS draw at home to Arsenal on Saturday, Manchester United earned their 11th Premier League trophy. We take a look back at some of the season’s pivotal points that shaped into another Sir Alex victory.

Golden Balls Heads 2018 Mission

THE MOST RECOGNISABLE face in Great Britain, Europe and possibly the world is at the forefront of England’s bid to host footballs prestigious event. No, not Gary Glitter.

Ex-England skipper David Beckham is once again leading his country onto the playing field to battle some of the sports elite competitors, who brag excellent facilities and high-capacity stadiums.

According to bookies, England has been labelled as favourites to host the showpiece, ahead of Australia, the USA, a joint Spain-Portugal bid, Russia, and many other potential candidates.

After the disappointment of failing to land the 2006 event, which of course was granted to archrivals Germany, England has pulled out all the stops, with many big names clubbing together to make sure of success this time around. Those backing the cause include, FA president Prince William, Prime-Minister Gordon Brown and the hero’s of 1966 including Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Geoff Hurst.

Speaking after the opening scenes, 34-year-old Beckham said, ‘’To have the World Cup in your own country is the dream of any player. I know first-hand the passion of our fans and they would provide an incredible atmosphere at every game. There is no bigger support than our fans. We're renowned for getting excited by big events and I don't think any other country can compete with us for that.’’

FIFA will make their final decision in December next year and if the World Cup does arrive back to the land of hope and glory, a mere six years after the 2012 Olympics, it could be Britain’s greatest sporting decade.

Lions Roar Past Heartbroken Leeds

NEARLY 37,000 LEEDS FANS were left devastated on Thursday night as Millwall crept past the Elland Road faithful with a 2-1 aggregate score line. Kenny Jackets’ side will now face the winner of Scunthorpe v. MK Dons next week at Wembley.


Lion’s keeper David Ford was the hero early on after a double save from Beckford and Delph as Leeds rallied. Jermaine Beckford had another chance to open the score, but missed from the spot after Sodje was dubiously pulled back in the box.
It wasn’t until the 53rd minute that The Peacock’s had something to celebrate, as Luciano Becchio poked home between two defenders, to send the home fans into raptures.
As Leeds pushed for a second they were caught on the break and substitute Grabben pulled it back for Abdou to slot in a 74th minute equalisier. With time running out, Leeds pressed hard but despite six minutes stoppage time, it was Millwall that proceeded to the play-off final.

Prior to the match, the Lions fans were warned against causing trouble at Elland Road after the scenes that erupted from the first encounter at The Den. To their credit, there was no repeat of the opening leg fiasco and Jacket was undoubtedly proud of his player’s achievements.
He said, ‘’to overcome Leeds, who are a very good team, over two legs is a very good achievement.
It was one of the best atmospheres here tonight that I've been involved in and when their goal went in there was some momentum there and we came back from that very well.
I've got to say the Leeds crowd was magnificent. Walking back myself, they were first class, congratulating us and although it's no consolation they were a credit to their club."


Millwall fans are already optimistic on the clubs future prospects and the more expectant of them will be relishing a recurrence of the early nineties glory days. A side including a young Teddy Sheringham, was competing in top-flight football and both board and fans will be looking for a similar feat, nearly 20 years on.

The Tale of Two Uniteds

THE RED HALF of Manchester gave an enormous sigh of relief last night as Michael Carrick’s 20-yard effort overcame a resilient Wigan Athletic. Now just one point is all that stands between Sir Alex Ferguson and a third successive Premier League title and 11^th in total.

This coming Saturday the Reds play host to an Arsenal side lacking any leadership, defensive cohesion or attacking fluidity. A 4-1 home thrashing at the hands of Chelsea last weekend and a knockout blow in the Champions League would surely give justification to an almost certain United victory in just under 48 hours time. Or would it?

Think back to a time when Hiddink, Benitez and Abramovich were not making the back page headlines. The battle for top dog was contested solely between Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, (except that 01/02 season that Houllier guided Liverpool to 2^nd). Amidst the fog horns and war signals, a rivalry formed. A rivalry that, post Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira, has failed to ignite in the last couple of years. Instead the press captured the Mourinho vs. Ferguson antics and of late, the spat between Sir Alex and Rafa. This rivalry not only shaped an intriguing decade of contests but also captured the player’s emotions and will to triumph.

That same emotion - although dormant - is not lost. The true question is not, ‘’Can Manchester United snatch another league title under Alex Ferguson?’’, but ‘’Can Arsene Wenger install that much needed belief into a lacklustre side and take the game to their rivals?’’

If the first question’s answer is YES, then Ferguson can roll into Hull last day of the season and field a reserve side – both eyes firmly fixed on a date with Barcelona. If the positive answer arrives from the latter question, then all will not be lost for the Scousers who will be cheering London for the next few days.

Not so great in Toon-Ville

It is the foot of the table, however, that is providing more twists and turns than the Thames River. It has taken two Messiah’s, one hospitalisation and one baldy, to scrape the Magpies out of the bottom three, but for how long?

After a turbulent battle against Gareth Southgate’s Middlesbrough on Monday, Newcastle claimed all three points after two super substitutes from Alan Shearer. Obi Martins and Peter Lovenkrands came off the bench to give Shearer his first win as boss and creep past Hull City on goal difference. The job is not done yet and the former England star admitted that all the hard work was yet to come.

From Southgate’s point of view it’s an uphill battle now, as his side remains three points off the chase. He quite rightly put that whoever lost the collision on Monday would be doomed and it looks just that. After a heartbraking game Southgate said, ''We've conceded goals at a crucial time but they got the fortune that it dropped to them in the box. We can analyse what we've done but I'm proud of what the players have given tonight.''

Nice guys don’t win and unfortunately for Gareth and Chairmen, Steve Gibson, the pair will be rueing that old saying in the Championship next year.

With West Brom somehow sliding into the picture, it’s up to all teams in that relegation battle to stay on their guard. Let’s have a look on what’s to come in the final two fixtures at the bottom.

Sunderland 36 Points

Remaining Fixtures - Portsmouth (A) and Chelsea (H)

Newcastle 34 Points

Remaining Fixtures – Fulham (H) and Aston Villa (A)

Hull City 34 Points

Remaining Fixtures – Bolton (A) and Manchester United (H)

Middlesbrough 31 Points

Remaining Fixtures – Aston Villa (H) and West Ham (A)

West Brom 31 Points

Remaining Fixtures – Liverpool (H) and Blackburn Rovers (A)

CATALAN'S CLAW INTO FINAL AFTER USING ALL NINE LIVES!

SPANISH GIANTS BARCELONA superseded the English National team on Wednesday as perhaps the most over-hyped squad of all time. Despite their attacking freedom that has been shredding La Liga outfits apart, including a 6-2 thrashing of Real Madrid, Barca struggled to create chances against a rapidly improving Chelsea side.

The Spanish supremo's including Messi, Eto'o, Alves and Iniesta mustered up just one effort before the stoppage time equaliser that shattered 40,000 dreams. In fact it was Norwegian referee, Tom Henning, that gifted Barcelona their last-minute life-line, after a string of poor decisions that left Chelsea stars Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack outraged at the final whistle.

The 42-year-old turned down four penalty appeals and at least two were blatant, leaving the Stamford Bridge faithful in an unforgiving mood. Controversy was the word on most West Londoner's lips and after Henning signaled the end of the match, he was rallied with a protesting Ivorian and devastated German. Despite his aggression, Drogba has since revoked his accusations and apologized for the scenes that erupted. He said, ''While it is clear that some of the events last night were regrettable, they occurred only because of the high emotions and frustrations which arose from the disappointment of a controversial defeat in such an important game.''

Both players and staff at Chelsea F.C have backed Drogba's abuse and have accused UEFA of selecting an inexperienced official for a match of such high magnitude. However, whatever the circumstances, Roman Abramovich's dream of grasping the elusive Champions League trophy will have to wait for at least another 12 months and traipsing across the turf, post-match, he was the loneliest billionaire in London.

Zola's Blowing Bubbles at Upton Park

THANKS TO ELIJAH WOODS’ performance in the 2005 football hooligan movie Green Street, ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ has become one of the most recognised club anthems in English football, behind that of Liverpool’s’ ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone.’

Unlike the words uttered by thousands of Hammers on match day, West Ham’s dreams are not about to fade and die. Gianfranco Zola has built a fortress at the Boleyn Ground and together with Steve Clark; the pair have turned a mid-table team into one capable of a top eight finish. Even European football is still on the cards, if they can maintain their current strong league position of 7th.

How can they make it back to Europe?

West Ham's bid for European football is definitely a reality as the Irons occupy the position needed for an outside chance of UEFA cup positioning. There are, however, a few factors that could contribute to West Ham failing in their conquest:

1. Premier League Positioning: West Ham occupy 7th spot in the division behind Aston Villa and Everton (5th and 6th respectively), but other teams ARE knocking on the door to disrupt the Hammers European dreams. Wigan, Fulham, Manchester City and Tottenham stand between the East London club and Europe, so as many points as possible in the closing stages is a must to avoid a slip down the table.

2. National Cups: Unlikely…I repeat VERY unlikely that this year’s F.A cup will have a bearing on European positioning. With Manchester United winning the Carling Cup and the FA Cup almost certain to go to a top 4 side, there is no European place on offer. Unless, Everton suffer a massive dip in form and slide uncontrollably, but still manage to win England’s oldest football trophy. As I said, unlikely.

3. 08/09 UEFA Cup: If Manchester City defy their Premier League form and produce a win here, they will indeed steal 7th spot from the league and gain a place for the 09/10 tournament. Can Mark Hughes destroy Zola’s aspirations?

Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clark

The Chelsea legend is now in the frame to make his mark at West Ham. Despite strong ties with the West London club and seven years as a player there, the 42 year old Italian has seemingly given West Ham the flair and desire to compete in both English and European football. The most avid Blues fan will attempt to convince you that he is simply biding his time for a job offer in the summer, that is if Hiddink gives his word of leaving the London club.

Steve Clark also spent several years at Chelsea as an assistant under both Mourinho and Grant. In the summer after Grant’s dismissal, Clark was linked with a move to Everton as David Moyes right-hand man. This proved to be just speculation but on 11th September, Steve handed in his resignation in the hope of joining Zola at West Ham.

The pair have gone about their business superbly and pushed the Hammers a step further than under the reign of Alan Curbishley.

West Ham’s Form

After 29 games the Irons sit on 40 points and despite the goalless draw against bottom of the league West Brom on Monday, have sported their best form in recent time. Having only lost twice in the league since the New Year, (one being the 1-0 defeat to Manchester United), West Ham have impressed with their attacking displays. The passion displayed has impressed fans and pundits alike and the troubles and turmoil of the Tevez affair is now lodged firmly in the past.

The Squad

Swiss international, Valon Behrami, had been West Ham’s player of the year, but news of his six month injury could put a massive dent in their target for short-term success. In fact injuries in general have hardly been light at Upton Park, as Matthew Upson became the latest casualty against West Brom. The good news is that he’s likely to be back for the weekend match against Blackburn.

West Ham are also missing key striker Dean Ashton, who won’t be back until at least the summer break. The sale of Bellamy in January has given way for Carlton Cole to make an impact and the striker has bagged 11 goals so far this season. All in all, Zola has done a magnificent job with the squad given the circumstances.

Conclusion of the season

The seasons climax could be crucial for West Ham as they look to improve on last year’s 10th spot. This weekend they face relegation battling Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park before taking on Sunderland a week later. Whether West Ham posses the fire-power to maintain their recent good form will be concluded in the coming weeks, but even if they don’t make it back to Europe, supporters should take solace in the fact that they finally have a manager that can take them places in the future.