Some People Are On The Pitch

World Cup 2010 Draw Seedings

2009-11-20T17:09:00.002Z

With 32 names in the bag (regardless of how they got there) thoughts can now turn to the subject of the draw for the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa.

The first thing to be decided is which countries to seed. This is calculated just before the draw and is based on past performances in recent World Cups and the FIFA World Ranking. Controversially though, the same calculation never seems to be used twice and the choice of calculation is only decided once all the figures are available, leading to allegations that the whole system is rigged.

For 2006, past performances in the last two World Cups were considered with the performance in 2002 carrying twice the value of 1998. This was added to the FIFA ranking over the last three years. Both figures carried equal weight.

In 2002 and 1998 though, the past three World Cups were considered, and in 1998 the past World Cup performance carried 50% more weight in the final totals than the Ranking score.

Confused? It's easily done. Anyway to save you a headache, we've calculated the scores for each country using the same method as 2006 and the results are shown on the left (click to enlarge)...

The good news is no matter which system from the last three World Cups you use, the seven seeds selected are the same every time. However, should FIFA cook up a new formula between now and the draw, everything could change.

Do the seeds deserve their placing? Well it's almost impossible to argue with the inclusion of Brazil or Germany, with Italy as holders and Spain as European champions and ranked number one in the world their places are secured. England make it by virtue of their consecutive quarter final placings and France have reached the Final in two of the last three tournaments.

Argentina are there despite recent form and they only just manage to nudge out Portugal who also failed to impress during qualification. The team it's hardest on is the Netherlands - ranked third in the world for over a year, they're suffering from failing to qualify in 2002. If the new system of calculation puts more weight on ranking rather than finals performance, England could be in trouble.

One thing is for sure - if Netherlands aren't seeded, they're guaranteed to be drawn in the "Group of Death"...

Likely draw Pots:

Pot A: Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain, England, France, Argentina, South Africa
Pot B: Paraguay, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Uruguay, Chile, Algeria
Pot C: Portugal, Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Serbia, Denmark, Slovenia, Slovakia
Pot D: Mexico, USA, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Honduras, New Zealand, North Korea

The draw takes place on Friday 4th December, with the seeding being announced two days before.

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #140

2009-11-20T12:43:00.004Z

Why are we waiting...
The 17 Clubs Around The World Who Have Been Waiting The Longest To Win Another Championship Title Despite Holding The Record For The Most Championship Titles In Their Country

1. Club Colonial, Martinique (18 titles, last one - 1972)
2. Horseed, Somalia (8 titles, last one - 1980)
3. Santos FC, Jamaica (5 titles, last one - 1979/80)
4. Saint Etienne, France (10 titles, last one - 1980/81)
5. Enugu Rangers, Nigeria (6 titles, last one - 1984)
6. Hafia FC, Guinea (15 titles, last one - 1985)
7. Górnik Zabrze, Poland (14 titles, last one - 1987/88)
8. Millonarios, Colombia (13 titles, last one - 1988)
9. Vitória FC, São Tomé and Principe (5 titles, last one - 1989)
10. Liverpool, England (18 titles, last one - 1989/90)
11. ASC Police, Mauritania (7 titles, last one - 1991)
12. Tokyo Verdy, Japan (7 titles, last one - 1991/92)
13. Ministry of Defence, Cambodia (3 titles, last one - 1993)
14. Shamrock Rovers, Ireland (15 titles, last one - 1993/94)
15. Gor Mahia, Kenya (12 titles, last one - 1995)
16. Saint Louis Suns United, Seychelles (13 titles, last one - 1995)
17. SV Dakota, Aruba (15 titles, last one - 1995)

(With thanks to FourFourTwo for giving us the idea for this Friday List.)

Weekend TV Preview: 14-21 November 2009

2009-11-20T11:27:00.005Z

Saturday 21st November

11:00 Rubin Kazan v Zenith St Petersburg, Russian Premier Liga, ESPN
What better way to return to club football than by watching a potential domestic title decider? Yep, it's starting to get a bit parky in Russia and this is the penultimate round of the season. Rubin require a win against third placed Zenit to put the Championship beyond Spartak and claim their second successive crown.

12:45 Liverpool v Manchester City, Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
And once the action in the Motherland is over, switch over to Google Botherers Sports 1 who are interrupting their usual schedule of pro-video evidence propaganda for a football match. And it's a huge match in terms of the fight to finish in that final Champions League spot. City may not have lost in seven matches but they've drawn their last five and the pressure is on Mark Hughes. Liverpool are there for the taking too.

17:20 Ipswich Town v Sheffield Wednesday, Championship, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Two teams whose respective clubs have money in the bank but are having trouble getting to grips with this most fractious of leagues. Roy Keane may win the Most Murderous Stare Competition but is having trouble winning football matches. Don't tell him I said that though as he's bigger than me.

17:30 Manchester Utd v Everton, Barclays Premier League, ESPN/HD
Thought I'd double-check the head-to-head on these two in recent years and I was right. United pretty much own this fixture. The last time Everton took so much as a point at Old Trafford was in 2004. However, The Toffees did beat United at Wembley the last time they met so perhaps... Nah who am I kidding? Worth watching if your a supporter otherwise go ahead and watch something else. The Dortmund v Mainz game will be somewhere on the Internets.

18:55 Real Madrid v Racing Santander, La Liga, Sky Sports 2/HD2
Second meets fourth from bottom. Expect a home win and a lot of wank about Cristiano Ronaldo.

19:45 Fiorentina v Parma, Serie A, ESPN
La Viola can overhaul Juventus with a win but have a massive game against Lyon during the week. They'll be grateful af the extra day's preparation, no doubt.

21:00 Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona, La Liga, Sky Sports 2/HD2
This is a bit more like it. A lively atmosphere is in store for the visit of the winners of everything last season. Bilbao are in eighth and Barca have the Champions League on their minds.

Sunday 22nd November

12:30 Dundee Utd v Celtic, Scottish Premier League, ESPN/HD
We keep hearing that the financial constraints of Rangers and Celtic are making Scottish football interesting. Yet a quick glance at the table reveals that the Old Firm are still at the top. It would be great if the home supporters unfurled a huge banner before the match saying "Don't forget, you're here forever."

13:30 Bolton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers, Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Definitely falls into the 'Not Quite As Dull As It Looks' category. A rip-snorting local derby featuring Allardyce versus a re-imagined version of Allardyce. Sort of like Escape From New York v Escape From LA. Which team will be New York? Watch and find out.

16:00 Stoke City v Portsmouth, Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Another deceptively intriguing match. Both teams have bags of commitment and the away side will try to take it to Stoke for fear of being bullied. Having said that, if Stoke play with the sort of ambition they lacked at Hull two weekends ago this could be a walk over. Be interesting to see if Tuncay makes an appearance.

16:30 Hamburg v Bochum, Bundesliga, ESPN
Both teams are pretty awful. Hamburg's injury problems are hampering their progress while Bochum's lack of good players is sending them down with the Hertha.

17:55 Malaga v Zaragoza, La Liga, Sky Sports 2/HD2
Jermaine Does Malaga sounds like a Seventies soft porn movie but is in fact a football match. I'll leave you to decide which you'd rather watch.

19:45 Juventus v Udinese, Serie A, ESPN
Assuming Fiorentina take the points on Saturday, Juve will need to win this one to regain second spot. Udinese are looking at a fairly meaningless season.

01:30 (Monday morning) LA Galaxy v Real Salt Lake, MLS Cup Final, ESPN
The final game of the Major League Soccer ends in a grand final. Say what you like about the quality and interest of football in the US but all tickets are sold and an a lively atmosphere awaits the teams at Seattle's Qwest Field. The Galaxy are a poor side being carried by the excellent Landon Donovan and David Beckham. Real Salt Lake are a more solid if unspectacular unit who, much like New York last year, are surprise entrants in the Final. Unlike NY, they're a better team and the outcome of this match is not nailed on by any means. You'll be able to read all about this match in Chris Nee's excellent Football Americana on this very website.

World Cup Round-up: Play-offs Part 2

2009-11-19T09:47:00.004Z

Africa

Arguably the headline match of the day was the special play-off match between Algeria and Egypt to decide the final World Cup qualifier from Africa.

Both teams had finished with identical records in Group 3 of the final qualifying round which led to this hastily-arranged one-off match in Sudan to decide the winner.

Sparks were predicted to fly and within a minute of the start they did when Portsmouth's Nadir Belhadj was booked for fouling Ahmed Al-Muhammadi. Three minutes later, Mourad Meghni's challenge on Egypt's captain Ahmed Hassan prompted a huge free-for-all which, fortunately, was quickly dispersed by the referee but led to a yellow card for Hassan.

Eventually the game simmered down somewhat as both teams tried their luck in front of their opponents' goal but just as Egypt were starting to look the more likely to score, Algeria pipped them to it. With five minutes of the first half remaining, Antar Yahia received the ball from a cross into the area and volleyed it in off the crossbar from a very tight angle.

The second half began with more great goalkeeping at either end to deny some fine efforts on goal but the longer the game went on, the nervier both sides looked. Either team could have scored but the Algerians swapped attacking tendencies for defensive ones and eventually held on to secure their first World Cup qualification since 1986.

Egypt, for all their African Nations Cup wins, must wait another four years to confirm their standing on the world stage. The only scant consolation for them must come in the fact that in the end only a single goal stopped them ending their 19-year wait to reach the Finals. Perhaps the thought of playing in Brazil in 2014 will spur them on that little bit more next time around...

Europe

The big news from Europe surrounds France's somewhat dubious qualification for South Africa 2010 following a 2-1 aggregate win over Ireland.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Ireland struck first at the Stade de France last night when Robbie Keane exposed a lapse of concentration in the French defence to slot home after 33 minutes. As in the first leg, both sides looked evenly matched and while France had played the faster, more aesthetically-pleasing football, it was often punctuated by some inaccurate passing. Ireland looked the more industrious but had lacked any real penetration up front until Keane's goal.

During the second half, both sides continued to battle away but the aggregate score remained 1-1 by the final whistle to send the game into extra time. Tired legs were the order of the day and gaps started to appear, one of which saw Nicolas Anelka dribble into the Irish penalty area before apparently being fouled. The referee remained convinced this was not the fact (and the replays showed Anelka had dived) and no penalty was given.

Finally it was William Gallas who broke the deadlock in the 103rd minute but only after Thierry Henry had handled the ball prior to setting up his team mate from close range. The entire Irish defence saw it, we, the television audience saw it, but referee Martin Hansson did not. The goal stood and with it France had avoided a repeat of their Bulgarian nightmare in qualifying for the 1994 World Cup by beating Ireland 2-1 on aggregate. Heartbreak for Trappatoni's men – some soul-searching to be done by Thierry Henry.

Elsewhere, Slovenia made use of their home advantage to overturn a 2-1 first leg defeat in Russia by winning 1-0 in Maribor. Zlatko Dedic, a possible contender for Man of the Match, grabbed the winner just before half time to leave Guus Hiddink's Russian side rueing the goal they conceded two minutes from time in the first leg.

Slovenia enjoyed less possession than their opponents in this second leg, but Russia looked ineffective up front. In the end, frustration and tension crept into their game and they finished the match with only nine men following the dismissal of Alexander Kerzhakov and Yuri Zhirkov.

Slovenia reach only their second World Cup Finals, then – a feat matched by Greece who ended up 1-0 winners over Ukraine last night. Alexei Mikhailichenko's men seemed to lack imagination in their tactics as Greece opted to counter-attack at pace whenever possible, the result of which was a Dimitrios Salpingidis winner in the 31st minute. Greece therefore head off to the Finals next year for only the second time in their history after their only previous encounter in 1994 where Maradona and Co. got in the way of further success.

Finally to Zenica where Bosnia-Herzegovina had it all to do as they attempted to reverse the 1-0 win gained by Portugal in the first leg of their play-off. Like Greece before, Portugal sat back and used the counter-attack as their choice of tactic and it worked well in the face of an ineffective Bosnian side.

The fate of the home side was sealed in the 56th minute when Porto midfielder Raul Meireles received a pass from Nani and calmly shot past Kenan Hasagic in the Bosnian goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. The Portuguese continued to defend solidly after that and when Sejad Salihovic was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 77th minute, the home side knew their chance to make history had effectively ended.

The game ended on a sour note as many of the Bosnian fans reacted aggressively to their team's defeat and the match was stopped for a short time as the officials noted objects being thrown onto the pitch. One of them appeared to have struck Roberto Rosetti, one of the referee's assistants, and for that the Bosnian FA can expect a heavy fine from FIFA.

For the Portuguese, however, their objective of qualifying for their third successive Finals was finally achieved, but who'd have put money on that given their very poor run at the start of their campaign? It's inconsequential to say it, perhaps, as Carlos Queiroz and his men now prepare for the honour of playing at the World Cup next June.

South America / North & Central America

The second leg of the tie between Uruguay and Costa Rica looked a formality on paper. Uruguay were returning to the Centenario Stadium with a 1-0 lead gained in Costa Rica and with home support their quest for a second and presumably conclusive goal would be a straight-forward affair.

The first half, however, gave hope to both sides and ended goalless. Junior Diaz saw a spectacular long range shot go just wide for The Ticos while Diego Forlan lost control of the ball with only the keeper to beat just before the interval.

The second half started with Uruguay looking the brighter of the two sides as they enjoyed the best of the early chances, yet it wasn't really until Sebastian Abreu came on as a substitute in the 65th minute that the home side really looked a more dangerous proposition. The 33-year-old striker who plays for Aris Thessaloniki in the Greek Super League almost scored with his first touch of the ball but made certain of it with his second.

'El Loco' (as he's known, like one in every three South American footballers) was in the right place at the right time to head in Andres Scotti's cross in the 70th minute. 'Game Over', so it seemed, but Uruguay's lead was to last only four minutes after Walter Centeno took advantage of some sloppy defending to put the ball in the net.

Sadly for Costa Rica, however, there was nothing left in the tank and Uruguay played out the rest of the match comfortably to qualify for the World Cup as 2-1 aggregate winners. It'll be their 11th appearance in the Finals and their fourth in the last seven attempts.

The SFA and the search for the next manager of Scotland

2009-11-18T10:25:00.012Z

Now that the bunting has been torn down from between the tenements and the houses, and the last of the party revellers bundled into a taxi for the long ride home, the mandarins at the SFA find themselves in a situation that gets less unique with every tournament that passes Scottish football by.

Like many other blogs and newspapers, we published our own list of candidates yesterday over at Inside Left. Our list is fairly standard in that it contains the same names that appear on most other lists, and when we published it yesterday, we felt confident that whoever takes over at the helm will probably feature on our hit parade.

But the SFA should take a long, hard look in the mirror before they take a look at the CV’s.

In an ideal world, and in a recession when finding a job is not the easiest of challenges, the Scotland job should be one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunities. It comes with a few perks. There’s a nice compensation package, travel to exotic locations and the opportunity to work with some of the brightest talents (sic) in the Scottish game.

In reality however, finding someone who is prepared to work with a limited talent pool and a governing body whose organisational skills couldn’t arrange a ride in a brothel is like the search for a piece of hay in a giant stack of needles.

Between Berti Vogts and now George Burley, the position of national manager has become, if you’ll excuse the oft-quoted cliche these last few days, a poisoned chalice. Constantly pilloried by the press and often left in the dark or the lurch by the SFA, who’d want to take this job on?

The job requires someone who can take on the suits at the SFA and who is willing to deal with the politics and Machiavellian machinations all the way up the greasy pole. Someone with a big gob and a tough skin. Unfortunately, the only candidate we can think of with the balls to pull that off, Graeme Souness, has put himself out of the running.

At a time when Scottish football is at a crossroads, the new manager needs to be an individual who has the vision and the clout to force the SFA to make changes needed to get the national team back on the road to respectability. And that is something that goes beyond picking the 22-man squad for every tournament – it’s about changing the youth setup, it’s about training and supporting a raft of new coaches to be deployed in schools and clubs around the country, it’s about getting the funds to improve the facilities at every club to foster a culture of ambition and success.

Does such a candidate exist? And would we be able to afford them?

The SFA is not a rich organisation, so the salary on offer to the lucky candidate is going to discount most of the names who currently ply their trade south of the border and who have appeared on some lists of successors: David Moyes, Roy Hodgson, Billie Davies, Alan Irvine and Steve Clarke, to name but a few.

Aside from the fact that none of these people would ever give up a relatively successful career in leagues that offer more challenge than the Scotland job would ever do, the amount of money we’d have to pay them to even join up would be prohibitive. The biscuit tin at the SFA is still very much in existence.

So where does that leave us?

It leaves us with candidates who certainly carry a degree of gravitas, and who, more importantly wont ask for too much money. Jim Jefferies can’t be on a whole lot, John Collins, Darren Ferguson and Jimmy Calderwood are all on the dole, so could be brought in relatively cheaply. Walter Smith probably doesn’t need the money anyway.

You then have to ask the question “would I want these people managing my squad?“.

Jim Jefferies has operated for years at a club with little funds or talent yet he’s been able to keep Kilmarnock in the league (just, on some occasions). Like Walter Smith, he’s a safe pair of hands, someone to steady the ship without really setting the heather alight.

John Collins would certainly keep the team fit, but his management skills leave a lot to be desired. He survived a mutiny during his time at Easter Road (they where not too happy with his constant team and formation changes), suggesting perhaps that his tactical nous and man-management qualities are open to question.

Jimmy Calderwood is a man who is often derided for his appearance and questionable media skill, but underneath the orange exterior you’ll find a canny manager who, like Jefferies, has a long track record of getting the best out of a pool of players with limited ability.

Darren ’son of Alex’ Ferguson is, was, an up-and-coming manager who also has experience with crappy squads. He led Peterborough to the Championship before leaving earlier this month after a run of poor results. He clearly has talent, but given the amount of work needed to get the national squad into shape, is he really up to it, even if he has the auldyin on the end of the phone. And would he want to be tainted with the Scotland post at the risk of putting him out of contention for any future English club management jobs?

Mind you, that could also be said for a candidate we see that can fulfill our requirements – Craig Levein.

The Dundee United manager has expressed an interest in the job and is currently doing the sort of thing at Tannadice that, on a broader scale, the Scotland setup requires: investment in youth and an overhaul of the youth academy and total control over all football-related activities. He’s getting results on the pitch with a largely Scottish squad, but would he want to risk the massive kudos he’s built up at United? He’s the bookies favourite, but we see him staying at United for a few more years to finish what he started.

Having thought about the situation for a few days now, I’ve come to the conclusion that while the quality of manager is important, the other issue facing the country is the august body of people who ultimately make the final hire or fire decision.

The Scottish Football Association, an 11-man strong board of cronies and hangers-on are aware changes needs to be made, but are unwilling to give up the cosy lifestyle or to invest the time in changing the very structure that keeps them in power.

This means that whichever candidate we get will more than likely be another meek and mild character, like Burley, who won’t rock the establishment boat too much. This is why you’ll never see Craig Levein get the job, no matter how much he says he wants it, because he would simply demand too much, too soon.

The concept of ‘the buck stops here’ is not one that seems to apply to SFA. For them, the buck stops one level below them. The men responsible for Burley’s appointment, those responsible for keeping him in a job when clearly the man was failing and those responsible for so much of the challenges facing the Scottish game need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and question the value of their own contribution to the national game.

Neither Chairman of the SFA George Peat, whose outbursts about Chris Uwelumo’s miss against Norway where particularly sickening and uncalled for, nor Gordon Smith, our erstwhile Chief Executive whose only contribution has been to change the rules to give Islam Feruz a game for Scotland, have made any real difference to the game north of the border, and both have presided over a period when the national side has become an object of ridicule and embarrassment.

While Burley, his reputation forged at successful spells at Derby, Southampton and Hearts forever damaged by his sacking earlier this week, is busy signing on, the leading lights of the SFA return to work, looking for the next man to carry the can for the institutional failings of the people who run the game.

Good luck to him, whoever it is.

World Cup Round-up: Play-offs and more

2009-11-16T22:26:00.002Z

Europe

With four places left to be filled, the eight best runners-up from the group stage took to the field on Saturday to kick-off the first leg of the European play-offs.

In Dublin, Ireland battled tenaciously against the visiting French team but somewhat frustrating played true to form, i.e. they didn't score many (not any, as it turned out) and couldn't grab the win either. The final result was a 1-0 win to France, the goal coming from Nicolas Anelka whose 72nd minute goal took a big deflection off Sean St. Ledger and then Shay Given's left post.

The Irish will have a mountain to climb in Paris this Wednesday as draws seem to be their speciality these days, but a draw won't be good enough to swing this tie in their favour. Hard-working Giovanni Trapattoni's men might be, but they'll need to improve on their goalscoring capabilities if they're to reach South Africa next year.

In Lisbon, Portugal earned a 1-0 lead of their own to take into the second leg against Bosnia-Herzegovina this Wednesday. With Cristiano Ronaldo watching the match from the stands due to injury, Portugal had to rely on stand-in Nani along with other experienced players like Deco for support and it proved enough in the end – albeit only just.

Portugal had much of the possession throughout the match but could have won by a far higher margin had they been more efficient in the final third of the pitch. Eventually it was down to Porto defender Bruno Alves to get the winning goal in the 31st minute and though the Portuguese will be pleased to have stopped Bosnia-Herzegovina getting an away goal, they'll find it hard to retain that advantage in two days' time.

Everton's Dinyar Bilyaletdinov put Russia in the driving seat having scored either side of the interval in their game against Slovenia on Saturday. Guus Hiddink's side looked solid and professional for the greater part but crucially took their foot off the gas going into the closing minutes, allowing Nejc Pecnik to grab a vital away goal for the Slovenians.

Were it not for that lapse in concentration, Russia could have been home and dried heading into the second leg, but some fervent support and a gifted set of players in Slovenia could make their charge towards South Africa that bit more arduous.

Finally in Europe, Greece played Ukraine at the Olympic Stadium, Athens and the final score there was 0-0. It was, so we're told, quite a dull game with neither side showing many of the qualities needed to do well when the Finals roll around. We're optimistic that the second leg will be different, however, as Greece go on the attack in Kiev to get that valuable away goal advantage.

Asia / Oceania Play-Off (2nd Leg)

The Cake Tin was full, the scene was set and with it New Zealand and Bahrain played out Part 2 of their decider to see who'd take their place at the 2010 World Cup Finals.

Last month, the first leg of this tie finished 0-0 in what's generally being regarded as one of the dullest games seen by anyone in recent memory. Truth be known, this rematch could have ended up the same way but fortunately for the neutral onlooker, New Zealand came out looking like they wanted a holiday in South Africa next year more than their opponents.

In front of a 35,194 capacity crowd at the Westpac Stadium (or 'Cake Tin' as the locals call it), the All Whites came out on Saturday knowing that a goal for Bahrain would immediately give them the away goal advantage, therefore a goal of there own was vitally important. In the end (and after some good, positive football), Ricki Herbert's men took the lead just before half-time thanks to a header by Rory Fallon.

Herbert, who played for New Zealand the last time they qualified for the World Cup in 1982, had obviously organised his team to go in search of goals and to their credit they created several chances to improve on Fallon's opener. Only the crossbar and some good goalkeeping by Bahrain goalkeeper Sayed Jaffer prevented New Zealand extending their lead, but they were nearly made to rue their missed chances.

Five minutes into the second half, Tony Lochhead brought down Abdulla Ismaeel in the penalty area and Bahrain had their chance to equalise, but Sayed Mohamed Adnan's weak spot kick was easily saved by the excellent Mark Paston in the NZ goal.

From that point on, Bahrain looked like a team with little to offer in the way of decent attacking football and New Zealand were largely untroubled on their way to the final whistle. When it came, the stadium erupted as the All Whites celebrated qualification to only their second World Cup ever, and certainly on the basis of this match it was very well deserved.

South America / North & Central America Play-Off

Not much to say here, other than the fact that Uruguay travelled to Costa Rica and beat their opponents 1-0 in San Jose. Fenerbahce defender and Uruguayan captain Diego Lugano scored the only goal of the game in the 21st minute for the South Americans. Costa Rica, meanwhile, had to play much of the game with only ten men after Randall Azofeifa was sent off for a second bookable offence, but by that stage they were already a goal down and playing well below par.

The second leg is therefore all set to be an exhibition of Uruguayan defending and occasional counter-attacking when the chance arises as they aim to book their place among the final 32. Nothing short of a major upset is required if Costa Rica want to change all that.

Africa

Finally to the Dark Continent where we thought we'd establish the last three qualifying countries by the time Saturday's games were over. How wrong we were. We now know two of them while the third will remain a mystery until this Wednesday.

In Group A, Cameroon did what everyone expected and finished top of their group after a 2-0 win away to Morocco. It's strange to think that the Moroccans threw their hat into the ring when it came to the bidding rights for the 2010 World Cup, yet like the eventual winners South Africa, we now find them at something of a low ebb in their fortunes. Achille Webo and Samuel Eto'o were on hand with the goals to ensure Cameroon reach their sixth consecutive World Cup – a record for an African country.

Group B offered something extra in the way of suspense. Going into the final pair of games, Tunisia led the group but had to win their last game away to Mozambique in order to qualify. Nigeria, second in the group behind Tunisia, had to win in Kenya and hope for the best.

With eight minutes remaining in both games, Tunisia were holding out for a 0-0 while Nigeria had equalised for a second time in Nairobi to make it 2-2. Tunisia looked to be going through, but a minute later, it was all change. In Maputo, Dario had put the home side 1-0 up against the Tunisians while in Kenya, Obafemi Martins was scoring his second of the day and Nigeria's third to go 3-2 up. And that was the way it stayed until the final whistle went – Tunisia were out and Nigeria were through. An amazing turnaround in fortunes and one which sees Nigeria reach their fourth World Cup while the Tunisians are left with much soul-searching to do in the days to come.

And finally to Group C where Algeria and Egypt had a straight fight to the death to see who'd make the trip to the other end of the continent next summer. Before the game, Algeria led the group knowing that a three-goal defeat to the Egyptians would see their dreams end in tatters. Scoring even a single goal would be the first priority for Algeria while a 2-0 win to Egypt would see both teams end the campaign exactly level on points, goal difference, goals scored and on their head-to-head record.

Just three minutes after kick off, Wigan's Amr Zaki opened the scoring for Egypt in front of a boisterous home crowd. Algeria regained their composure and created several chances of their own but it was to little effect. The score remained 1-0 as the game wore on and it seemed Egypt's chances of bagging a vital second were slipping away. That was until the fifth minute of injury time at the end of the game when Emad Meteab popped up with almost the last kick of the game to end the match 2-0 to Egypt.

And so it was that both teams finished exactly level in the group, thereby forcing a replay in Sudan to be put in place for this Wednesday. Pretty remarkable stuff, and probably not the last of the amazing football we'll see between these two sides as the prospect of extra time and penalties looms large in two days' time.

The Great SPAOTP 2010 World Cup Pull-Out

2009-11-16T10:20:00.004Z

At the end of day, you can keep your Premier Leagues and your Champions Leagues. Hell, you can even keep your MLS Supporters Shield... The real deal for any football fan worth their salt is the four-yearly spectacle that is the FIFA World Cup Finals, and the good news is there's another one appearing on the horizon as we speak.

For that very reason, Some People Are On The Pitch proudly brings you its very own 2010 World Cup Pull-Out featuring all the information you need to build up to the big event in style.

Right here on this very page, we'll be adding articles, features and your guide to every conceivable aspect of the World Cup from now until the Final ends on July 11th 2010. So why not bookmark this page in your browser and make sure you come back regularly to see what's new? You know it makes sense...

32 For 2010
Our regular series profiling each of the 32 qualifying countries for World Cup 2010.

Chile | Denmark | Switzerland

World Cup 2010 Round-Ups
The latest news from the qualifying matches going on around the globe.

November 19th 2009 | November 16th 2009 | October 14th 2008 | October 12th (Europe) | October 12th (Rest of the world) | September 9th 2009

World Cup 2010 - General stuff
Items we can't fit into other categories on the subject of the next World Cup.

Seedings preview

Obscure Kits From World Cup History
A look at the quirkier outfits worn by teams in the rich, illustrious history of the FIFA World Cup.

England (3rd, 1970) | Nigeria (away, 1994) | France (home, 1978

World Cup Bid 2018
Looking ahead, who wants to follow in South Africa's footsteps by hosting the World Cup in 2018? We assess the good and bad points of each of the bidding countries.

Australia | Belgium / Netherlands | England | Indonesia | Japan

Sound Of Football Episode 15 - World Cup Qualifiers

2009-11-16T09:30:00.002Z

As the last batch of teams book their reservations at next year's World Cup Finals. The gang reflect on the drama and excitement in Moscow, Dublin and Cairo. We also ask if Portugal can navigate their way past a tricky Bosnia team and celebrate the qualification of the All Whites.

You can listen by clicking here. Or if you right click on that link, you can download the MP3. Alternatively, you can subscribe via the your reader of choice or via our iTunes feed.

Please leave us a comment and let us know what you think. You can do so on the comments section below or on our Facebook Fanpage.

Midweek TV Preview 16 - 18 November

2009-11-15T23:20:00.007Z

Monday 16th November

19:45 Coleraine v Glenavon, IFA Premiership, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
Not much to talk about this week. The last knockings of World Cup qualifying is underway with precious little local interest. So instead, Sky have wheeled out this rare gem from Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 17th November

19:45 Northern Ireland v Czech Republic, U21 International , Sky Sports 1& HD1
This is a European Championship Qualifier. Northern Ireland, who haven't won in five, try to stop a Czech team who have won their last four matches.

Wednesday 18th November

19:45 France v Republic of Ireland, World Cup Qualifying Play Off Second Leg, Sky Sports 1& HD1 (first leg 0-1)
Sky have this down as 'TBC' so I'm assuming that the game will be screened in this slot. What is there to say? Ireland have it all to do and you feel only a meltdown of catastrophic proportions will prevent La Marseillaise being sung in South Africa next year.

19:45 Slovenia v Russia, World Cup Qualifying Play Off Second Leg, ESPN & HD (first leg 2-1)
Again, ESPN haven't scheduled it on their official listings but it's definitely on. The Russians have complicated what looked to be a very straightforward process. The Slovenians are tough to beat and know that a single goal will see them through and enrage some pretty powerful men in Russia.

And that's about it. There's a stack of Beach Soccer on Eurosport if that takes your fancy. Hopefully a broadcaster will decide to pick up the Egypt v Algeria Play Off in Sudan on Wednesday where drama is guaranteed.

Football Americana: Galaxy and RSL reach MLS Cup Final

2009-11-15T14:39:00.002Z

Major League Soccer is now just one game away from the end of the season, and this weekend the two conference Finals were played to determine the two MLS Cup finalists. The two matches were devoid of goals over 90 minutes, and while the Western winners managed to conjure up a couple in extra time, a team from the West took it all the way to penalties in the Eastern final. Intrigue and excitement abounded, but tension ruled the roost.

On Friday night, Houston Dynamo travelled to Home Depot Center amid a whirlwind of expectation. But it was LA Galaxy who marched on, giving David Beckham his first appearance in MLS Cup Final. But it wasn't smooth sailing - the Dynamo again took their opponents to extra time, but this time the result went against them.

At the end of the 18th minute...well, I'd like to say something happened but it was difficult to see because the floodlights went out. But they weren't out for long and...oh, they went out again in the 51st minute with Galaxy's Donovan Ricketts clutching his head after a clash with Brian Ching.

With the ball in play, both teams created chances but few were clear cut. Ricketts made some excellent saves when the Dynamo did carve out something meaningful, but in the 80th minute he could do nothing as Andrew Hainault found the net. The goal was disallowed for a foul by Ching but the decision will be subject to much discussion this week.

And so it went to extra time, and just before half time David Beckham floated in a long free kick and Gregg Berhalter tapped in after the knockdown to put LA one up. And just after half time Ricardo Clark tripped Alan Gordon in the penalty area and Landon Donovan confidently fired in the penalty to become the all-time leading playoff goalscorer and win the Western Conference title for the Galaxy.

Toyota Park hosted the Eastern final on Saturday evening, where the visitors were Real Salt Lake. Salt Lake snuck into the playoffs on the final day and then upset Columbus Crew to set up Saturday's tie against Chicago Fire. Robbie Findley and Yura Movsisyan carved out the first clear chance of the night for RSL but Jon Busch was equal to it, and Chicago could only hit the crossbar in reply.

Busch and his counterpart Nick Rimando had to be on solid form to keep their sheets clean but in truth had few top classes saves to make. The game grew frantic in the second half but, like Friday's match, was destined to reach 90 minutes without a goal. Chicago's shooting was very poor, and they fired chance after chance wide of goal.

As the flares were lit in the stands, extra time began. Salt Lake hung on for their lives as the Fire went in search of the winner and earned a penalty shoot out.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco took the first, running up from fully 25 yards and blasting in off the bar to give the Fire an early advantage. Javier Morales of RSL was the first to miss but it was a false dawn for Chicago as John Thorrington's kick was saved by Rimando and Logan Pause suffered the same fate. Fabian Espindola missed the chance to win it for RSL, but when Brandon Prideaux's spot kick drew Rimando's third save, it fell to Ned Grabavoy to fire home and he did - just. A stronger hand from Busch would have kept the ball out. On penalties, Real Salt Lake win 5-4.

So next weekend's MLS Cup Final will take place between LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake at Seattle's Qwest Field. Five months ago, few would have predicted the Galaxy would make it. Two weeks ago, the same could be said of RSL. Congratulations to both on their big conference wins, and next Sunday should be a great final. Will it be Landon Donovan or Kyle Beckerman lifting the trophy?

Weekend TV Preview: 14-15 November 2009

2009-11-13T16:03:00.005Z

Saturday 14 November

07.00 New Zealand v Bahrain, World Cup Qualifying Play-off 2nd Leg (0-0), British Eurosport
A treat for early risers to decide the 24th qualifier for next summer's World Cup. A goalless first leg sees the All Whites as narrow favourites to progress. Bahrain haven't relied on Brazialian ringers for their success (unlike their neighbours) and fully deserve their shot at getting to the finals. Well worth getting up for.

12.05 Huddersfield Town v Wycombe Wanderers, League One, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Nice to see Sky showing a League One match that doesn't feature an ex-Premier League team. Huddersfield are going well in League One, currently sat in the play-off spots, while Wycombe are nailed to the bottom with just one win so far. The Terriers have scored 14 goals in their last three home games so it could be another tough day for Wycombe.

15.00 Wales v Scotland, International Friendly, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Honestly, why do these guys even bother anymore?

16.00 Russia v Slovenia, World Cup Qualifying Play-off 1st leg, ESPN
An interesting choice of match to cover, probably made because of its kick off time rather than the teams involved. Russia ran Germany close in qualifying and amassed a points tally that would have seen them through in other groups. Slovenia finished their qualifying strongly, nudging out Czech Republic and Northern Ireland. For the Russians, Pavlyuchenko will be hoping for the chance to put himself in the shop window after falling out of favour at Tottenham.

17.00 Brazil v England, International Friendly, ITV1/HD (not Scotland)
A pointless money-making jolly in the desert? Well maybe, but Brazil are good value wherever or however you play them. A large ex-pat community could make it feel more like a home game in the 39,000 seater Khalifa Stadium. A chance to test out new players in a foreign stadium and in front of an excitable crowd against decent opposition - maybe it's not such a pointless World Cup warm up after all.

17.30 Northern Ireland v Serbia, International Friendly, Sky Sports 1
Northern Ireland's minds will be on a favourable seeding and draw in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, to be made on February 7 in Warsaw. They're currently in the third pot of countries meaning they'll avoid Scotland and the Republic. A run out for Serbia in their warm-up to the World Cup; they finished top of their group ahead of France. Speaking of which...

20.00 Republic of Ireland v France, World Cup Qualifying Play-off 1st leg, Sky Sports 1
Everything about this match says draw to me. Ireland were undefeated during qualification and France lost just the once. It was draws that meant these sides are here and not cashing in on some swanky Arabian-based friendly. My prediction is an exhilarating 2-2 here followed by a heart-breaking 0-0 and away goals exit next Wednesday.

Alternatively, you could surf over to Bet365 who are streaming the Bosnia v Portugal play-off over the web.

Sunday 15 November

16.30 Southampton v Brighton, League One, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Gustavo Poyet takes charge of Brighton in what should be a south coast ding-dong at St Mary's (that used to work so much better when they played at The Dell). A win for Southampton could see them climb out of the relegation zone (and Brighton slip into it) despite their 10 point penalty.

18.00 Nigeria v Switzerland, FIFA U17 World Cup Final, British Eurosport
The hosts have made it to the Final but not without controversy. A club coach has claimed that the Nigerian captain Fortune Chukwudi is at least 25, having had the player under him almost a decade ago. FIFA had hoped that the use of random MRI scanning would have eradicated this from the game but suspicions are still rife. They face a Swiss team that is 100% through the tournament and are scoring plenty of goals. Should be a good one.

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #139

2009-11-13T08:17:00.003Z

In association with...
FIFA's 35 Official World Cup Partners Since 1982

1. Adidas (1998 onwards)
2. Alfa Romeo (1990)
3. Anheuser-Busch / Budweiser (1986, 1990 and 1998 onwards)
4. Avaya (2002 and 2006)
5. Bata (1986)
6. Canon (1982 to 1998)
7. Castrol (2010)
8. Cinzano (1986)
9. Coca-Cola (1982 onwards)
10. Continental (2006 onwards)
11. Deutsche Telekom / T-Mobile (2006)
12. Emirates (2006 onwards)
13. Energizer (1994)
14. Fujifilm (1982 - 2006)
15. Fuji Xerox (2002)
16. Gillette (1982 - 2006)
17. Hyundai Kia (2002 onwards)
18. Iveco (1982)
19. JVC (1982 - 2002)
20. Korea Telekom / NTT (2002)
21. MasterCard (1994 - 2006)
22. Metaxa (1982)
23. McDonald's (1994 onwards)
24. MTN (2010)
25. Opel / General Motors (1986, 1994 and 1998)
26. Philips (1986 - 2006)
27. R.J. Reynolds / Camel / Winston (1982 and 1986)
28. Satyam (2010)
29. Seiko (1982 and 1986)
30. Snickers / Mars / M&Ms (1990 to 1998)
31. Sony (2010)
32. Toshiba (2002 and 2006)
33. Vini d'Italia (1990)
34. Visa (2010)
35. Yahoo! (2002 and 2006)

Jeu du Jour Week 14: Game of the Century

2009-11-12T20:40:00.003Z

If Week 14 of the 2009/10 Ligue 1 season took a little while to warm up in terms of 'goals scored', it was well and truly ablaze by the time it ended.

And end it did with the most dramatic game seen in the French top flight for many a long year. Lyon and Marseille faced each other having gained important UEFA Champions League results last week (a 1-1 draw for Lyon over Liverpool and a 6-0 thrashing by Marseille over FC Zurich) while looking to keep pace with Bordeaux at the top of the Ligue 1 table.

The match got off to a flying start when Miralem Pjanić put Lyon in front in the 3rd minute, but an equaliser arrived for the away side eight minutes later following a header from Souleymane Diawara from a corner kick. Another three minutes later, Lyon re-took the lead through a left-footed strike from Sidney Govou after an amazing run. Then just before Half Time, Marseille again drew level through Benoît Cheyrou whose shot was spilled over the line by Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

The scores were level at 2-2 going into the second half, but Marseille didn't take long to take the lead for the first time. Bakari Koné received the ball via a cross and poked it pass Lloris to make it 3-2 to L'OM. What happened next was rather extraordinary in the overall context of the game – more than half an hour passed by without anyone scoring.

With the crowd reeling from such an apparent lack of commitment on the part of the players, the game reignited in the 74th minute when Marseille doubled their lead through Brandão. As the clock showed just ten minutes remaining, Lyon got a goal back from Lisandro López who skipped through Marseille's defence before cheekily chipping the ball over Steve Mandanda.

Four minutes later, Lyon were awarded a penalty by referee Stéphane Bré following a handball in the box by Gabriel Heinze. The penalty was converted by Lisandro and it looked for all the world as though Lyon had scraped to a 4-4 draw, but there was yet more to come going into injury time.

In the 90th minute, Lyon took the lead again at 5-4 following some great inter-play between Lisandro, Pjanić, and Michel Bastos, resulting in Bastos getting the goal. Then, finally, with Lyon two minutes away from victory, their chances of taking all three points were ruined when a goalmouth scramble brought about an own goal by Lyon's Jérémy Toulalan. 5-5 was the score, and that, finally was that.

It's already being talked about as the 'game of the century' - *any* century, for that matter – and few people disagree. You can also talk 'til the cows come home about whether it was merely the result of two teams being unable to defend, but the truth is these were two teams that like to play good, open football and were hell bent on winning. That alone was enough reason for this most marvellous of adverts for French football.

It's ironic that if either team had won, they'd have gone top of the table – largely thanks to Bordeaux's inexplicable 2-0 defeat at Lille. Rudi Garcia's men are actually something of a bogey team for Bordeaux having not been beaten by them since 2002, but Lille's form so far this season has been nothing short of poor.

Once again, both teams were returning from European action last week – Lille losing 3-2 in Genoa while Bordeaux did a great job in beating Bayern Munich 2-0 away – but conversely it was Bordeaux that looked as though they'd now lost their sparkle.

The game itself was quite balanced between the two sides and a breakthrough goal didn't arrive until the 68th minute when Yohan Cabaye was on hand to poke in a Pierre-Alain Frau shot that was parried by Bordeaux keeper Cédric Carrasso. Les Girondins fought back all the more in search of an equaliser, but it hadn't arrived by the time Florent Balmont grabbed a late penalty to confirm Lille as 2-0 winners.

As mentioned before, however, Bordeaux remain on top, albeit with a lead reduced to one point. After that comes Lyon, then in third are Auxerre who continue to bulldoze their way through anyone in their path – so much so that they're now only two points off the top. A narrow 1-0 win away to Le Mans was enough to bag another three points, but they may consider themselves lucky after Anthony Le Tallec and Ludovic Baal hit the woodwork late on. Le Tallec also saw his 86th-minute penalty saved by Olivier Sorin to seal a thoroughly frustrating day for Le Mans.

Auxerre's place in the top three was partly made possible after Monaco could only draw against... no, surely not... it can't be... it is... GRENOBLE!!! Yes, the team that have made losing games an art form finally picked up their first point of the season at the twelfth attempt. Monaco, looking to make amends after their defeat against Bordeaux last week, were unable to get back into winning ways and had to make do with a 0-0 against the bottom club. The point gained by both teams is likely to be more valuable to Grenoble than Monaco, however Grenoble still have seven points to get before catching up with the team in 19th, Le Mans.

Boulogne's demise continues. They're now in the bottom three after a 5-0 thumping at Lorient, Kevin Gameiro and Marama Vahirua scoring two each prior to Morgan Amalfitano's injury time goal that sealed the win. Lorient climb to fifth – unexpectedly so after a couple of poor matches, but aided no doubt by the fact that the three teams above them – Marseille, Valenciennes and Marseille – all drew.

Two of them, Valenciennes and Montpellier – played out a slightly dull 1-1 stalemate at Stade Nungesser, while Toulouse's 3-2 win over Rennes maintains their fine run of form and finally sees them return to the top half of the table. Just behind them are Nancy who handed Saint Etienne a rare win, Les Verts winning 1-0 thanks to a 70th-minute Dimitri Payet strike.

Speaking of rare wins, Lens picked up their first victory in nine games by beating Sochaux 2-1 to pull themselves out of the relegation zone. Sochaux, meanwhile, will be cheered by the release from hospital of striker Charlie Davis following his recent car accident, however his return to the team won't come soon enough as they now fall to 14th place in the table.

Finally, Nice continued their upward surge by beating Paris Saint Germain 1-0 in the capital. The winning goal from Loic Remy came two minutes from time and was enough to see Nice overtake PSG in the standings by moving up to 11th.

And that just about wraps it up for another Ligue 1 round-up. Full results and standings can be picked up here. For now though, it's à bientôt...

Bundesbag Week 12 Round Up

2009-11-12T11:21:00.010Z

It was Tim Vickery who said that of all the unimportant things in the world, football is the most important. So while Germany comes to terms with the death of Robert Enke, let us take a few moments to reflect on trivial yet happier matters, namely last weekend's Bundesliga action.

Bayern Munich have problems. Eighth in the Bundesliga, all but out of the Champions League and handing out fines to players for indiscipline and loose tongues. Under pressure boss Louis Van Gaal substituted Luca Toni at half time in the game against Schalke on Saturday. The Italian international didn't take the decision too well. His response was to get dressed and bugger off. The player was fined for breaching club discipline and the incident can be added to the list of reasons why Toni left Bayern when he eventually does.

More serious was a controversial interview given by Phillip Lahm. The German international criticised the club's transfer policy and generally expressed his unhappiness at the way things were going. These comments were particularly damaging, not because of what was said - more who said it. A loan spell in Stuttgart notwithstanding, Lahm is pretty much Mr Bayern. A player who, as Raphael Honigstein reminds us, was offered gigs at Manchester United and Barcelona but turned them down after receiving assurances from Uli Hoeness that the club were investing in the squad at levels which will satisfy Lahm's ambitions. Given the deficiencies in the Bayern squad and their current position in the Bundesliga and the Champions League, Lahm has every right to feel stitched.

Lahm has been fined more money than any other Bayern player and his since expressed his regret for opening his mouth. But the worms have wiggled free now and the much discussed failings at Bayern have become legitamised by Lahm's words. The question now is how will the club respond?

Of course at times like this the last thing you need during a massive domestic is an old family member to turn up at your place. So when former coach Felix Magath turned up he must have repressed a wry smile as the club that sacked him after winning back to back league and cup doubles were thwarted by an 18-year-old debutant for Magath's current club Schalke. Daniel van Buyten gave the Bavarians the lead after 31 minutes, but the visitors equalised 12 minutes later thanks to young Joel Matip whose playing record reads 'played one, scored one'.

The draw keeps Schalke in fourth behind Hamburg and Werder Bremen who themselves could only manage a point. The former rather spunked their lead against Hanover after Tomás Rincón brought down Jiri Steiner in the 86th minute. The Czech international got up and took the penalty himself. Bremen looked to have the measure of Borussia Dortmund after Mesut Ozil scored the goal of the weekend (a beautiful first time shot taken on the full). However they flagged as the game went on and BVB equalised thanks to a goal from who else but Lucas Barrios.

The match also enjoyed the distinction of having one of the three disallowed goals last weekend. The others were at Mainz where Nurnberg were denied an equaliser and Bochum should have taken the lead against Freiburg only to have the goal disallowed incorrectly. To make things worse, Stefan Reisinger scored for the visitors to claim the three points and really piss off Bochum's new coach Heiko Herrlich (who looked very dashing in his duffel coat, by the way).

Elsewhere, Leverkusen extend their lead at the top to three points after thrashing Frankfurt 4-0. Grafite returned to the Wolfsburg first team and scored in their 2-1 win at Hoffenheim. Stuttgart had Markus Babbel has Jens Lehmann to thank for their 0-0 draw against 'Gladbach. He made some quite sensational saves.

Finally, let us take a moment to observe the goings on in the German capital as they celebrate the 20th anniversary of the end of the Berlin Wall. Bottom club Hertha welcomed fellow strugglers Koln in an atrocious match that ended 1-0 to the visitors thanks to a goal from Slovenian international Milivoje Novakovic. It was another wretched performance by the home team and are in danger of being out of sight by the time the Winter Break comes along.

The other prominent club in Berlin are of course 1. FC Union Berlin who received some coverage on these web pages earlier in the season. The Iron Union were an East Berlin club before the Wall came down and played in the DDR Oberliga. They were a strong anti-Stasi club though and didn't fare too well. The club struggled after German unification but have recovered to the extent that they now sit fourth in the 2.Bundesliga. If they fail to gain promotion they can console themselves with the prospect of playing Hertha next season.

That's it. Results and tables here.

Bundesbag - Robert Enke dies aged 32

2009-11-10T22:13:00.002Z

This week's Bundesbag was all set to go when we heard of the sudden death of the German international goalkeeper Robert Enke. The Hannover 96 goalkeeper took over as Germany's Number 1 after Jens Lehmann retired last year.

The circumstances surrounding his death are not confirmed at the time of writing but it is quite clear that they are of the most tragic kind. Robert and his family suffered great personal loss in 2006 when his two year old daughter died of a heart defect.

Enke started his career at Carl Zeiss Jena and played for Borussia Monchengladbach, Benfica and Barcelona. However, it was his years at Hannover that will define his professional life and it is the people in and around that club who, beyond his family, will feel his death the deepest.

The Bundesbag will return with a full round up of last weekend's action later in the week.

Sound Of Football Podcast 14

2009-11-10T10:29:00.002Z

This week, we offer an alternative to our usual format. This is due to a technical problem that wiped out all of Terry's track and rendered the original podcast useless.

Instead. Chris Oakley has gone it alone this morning to talk about Manchester United v Chelsea, the FA Cup and World Cup qualifiers.

We'll be back to normal service next week. In the meantime we hope you enjoy this light but tasty morsel.

You can listen by clicking here. Or if you right click on that link, you can download the MP3. Alternatively, you can subscribe via the your reader of choice or via our iTunes feed.

32 For 2010: Chile

2009-11-10T07:39:00.001Z

The FIFA World Cup 2010 welcomes Chile to South Africa after they qualified in an impressive second place. This will be the first time they have qualified for the finals since 1998 (they were banned from qualifying for 1990 and 1994 after their 'keeper feigned injury during a qualification match against Brazil). While they have made seven appearances at the World Cup (including the first in 1930) the Chileans have never fared too well. Their best performance was as hosts in 1962 when they made it as far as the semi finals only to be knocked out by the eventual winners Brazil.

For most of us however, the most memorable Chile side was the one that played in France 98. The team boasted two exciting attacking players in Ivan Zamorano of Inter and the great Marcelo Salas who was a striker at River Plate in Argentina at the time. Salas proved to be the superstar that many pre-tournament experts believed him to be. He scored four goals in as many games. A record that was to seal a move to SS Lazio where he would go on to win the Scudetto.

Chile reached the furthest in France than they had in any World Cup since 1962. They finished as runners-up in their group and progressed to the knockout stage, however their run was cut short once again by Brazil in the Second Round. Unfortunately, the Chileans paid the price for failing to turn any of their draws into wins in the group stage of the tournament where they played Italy, Cameroon and Austria. While the first two teams provided stiff opposition, it was unforgivable that they failed to beat a poor Austria team. While they were enteraining to watch, they finished a poor second behind Italy and drew the short straw in the Second Round.

La Roja's qualification to South Africa 2010 has been aided in no small way by the goals of Humbarto Suazo. The 28-year-old has scored 39 international goals since his selection in 2006. He scored three in the 2007 Copa America and ten in the 2010 qualification campaign. Suazo was a prolific striker in Chile for Colo Colo and is currently banging them in for Monterrey in Mexico. Salas himself was still playing in 2007 and he scored in Chile's 2-2 draw in Uruguay. He retired in 2008 but his team-mates went on from strength to strength.

Most of the current squad are South American-based. A few are based in Europe. The goalkeeper Claudio Bravo plays for Real Sociedad, ex-Liverpool winger Mark Gonzales (now at CSKA Moscow) is coming up to 50 caps and West Brom fans would have enjoyed the versatile Gonzalo Jara's thunder strike against Leicester City at the weekend.

But the main man for the Chilean National Team is not a Chilean. He's the Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa. When the Chilean FA awarded the position of their national team coach to Bielsa, their was no small amount of controversy. There remains a great deal of antipathy between Chile and their neighbours Argentina and while Bielsa is an experienced international coach (he left the Argentina National Team position in 2004), the decision was not a popular one at first. However, as Rex Gowar reported in World Soccer magazine, he has become a national hero:

"Bielsa, a reclusive studious man who enjoys success but not the trappings has been talked about by politicians, psychologists and newspaper columnists to name a few. When he was discovered in the audience at a Santiago theatre, the applause for him a the final curtain was as loud as it was for the actors."

Bielsa is hailed as the coach who has instilled a great team spirit which in the squad. Under him, Chile won more matches in the qualification campaign than anyone else. If the South Americans can maintain that sense of togetherness and with a favourable group draw, they may go one better than the Second Round in 2010. At the very least they will be a team well worth watching next summer.

Football Americana: Conference semi-finals, second leg

2009-11-09T14:52:00.002Z

The second batch of Major League Soccer playoff games saw some tense football, great goals and short tempers. At the end of it, four teams progressed to the two conference finals. But did David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco make it?

On the 5th November, the King was dead. Columbus Crew were behind 1-0 on aggregate against Real Salt Lake and, despite quickly setting about overturning the deficit, the champions were ejected from the playoffs at the first hurdle.

By the 35th minute, a double from Guillermo Barros Schelotto had turned the series on its head. The first came from a 50-yard free kick which bounced in at the far post, the second from a much crisper strike into the bottom corner.

From there on in, it was all RSL. Javier Morales poked in the aggregate equaliser just a minute after Schelotto's second and Robbie Findley's spot kick levelled matters on the night in first half stoppage time. Andy Williams gave Schelotto a taste of his own medicine, firing in a low cross which found the net to put the game beyond the Crew with quarter of an hour remaining. Real Salt Lake advance.

New England Revolution took a 2-1 advantage to Toyota Park where they faced Chicago Fire on Saturday. Edgaras Jankauskas hit the crossbar for the Revs but it was Chicago's John Thorrington who opening the scoring in the 34th minute, finishing neatly after Marco Pappa's pull-back.

The Fire really took the game to New England and got a deserved winner with a little over five minutes remaining. Almost inevitably, it was Cuauhtemoc Blanco who secured himself at least another MLS game before his return to Veracruz. Having hit the crossbar minutes earlier, Blanco kept his composure in the area and found the top corner to send the Fire into the Eastern final.

Referee Alex Bruce courted controversy with 20 minutes remaining, failing to punish Revolution sub Mauricio Castro after he appeared to blast the ball into the crowd having been asked to leave the field to deal with a cut. Chicago Fire advance.

The tension was apparent at Robertson Stadium on Sunday, where Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders reached the 180-minute mark without a goal between them.

But it didn't take long once extra time had begun. Mike Chabala had been running up and down the left flank all day and it paid off when Brian Mullan kept his deep cross alive at the back post, allowing Brian Ching to crack in a brilliant volley.

James Riley of the Sounders was red carded in the last minute for a dangerous tackle but in truth Seattle had not looked like scoring the crucial equaliser regardless. Houston Dynamo advance.

After witnessing the circus-like defending in the first leg, supporters will have been forgiven for expecting a goalfest in the Superclasico at Home Depot Center. But one goal was enough to see LA Galaxy safely through to the Western Final and send Chivas USA crashing out.

The nervy defending still revealed itself on occasion, but thanks to some brilliant goalkeeping from both Zach Thornton and Donovan Ricketts it was a penalty which won the game for LA.

Mike Magee was fouled after a quick move featuring breathtaking passes from David Beckham and Landon Donovan, and it was Donovan who stepped up, gave mindgame-playing goalkeeper Thornton the eyes and won it from the spot. The end of the match was marred by an ugly confrontation which appeared to be sparked when Chivas coach Preki headed towards Dema Kovalenko at the final whistle. LA Galaxy advance.

So the conference Finals are set, and in the West we have a right old humdinger. On Friday, Houston Dynamo travel to Carson to face LA Galaxy at Home Depot Center. And in the East, Chicago Fire host Western side Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

The two finals will be played over one leg only, and the winners will play for MLS Cup on November 22nd in Seattle. My money remains on the Galaxy.

For more great writing by Chris Nee, visit TwoFootedTackle.com.

Midweek TV Preview 9 - 12 November

2009-11-08T18:35:00.006Z

Monday 9th November

19:45 Barnsley v Sheffield Utd, Championship, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Start the week with a thundering Yorkshire derby if that's your pleasure. An Eee Ba Gum Classico if you will. Both teams are two of six on 17 points making it tighter than a gnat's chuff in the middle of the Championship.

20:00 Liverpool v Birmingham City, Barclays Premier League, ESPN/HD
The Liverpool players owe their manager a response after the Fulham game. The Kop should be in full voice as they set their faces to adversity and try to roar the lads home. A great atmosphere, if not a great match, awaits the viewer.

Tuesday 10th November

19:45 Leeds Utd v Grimsby Town, Johnstone's Paint Trophy Area Quarter-final Sky Sports 1/HD1
Very difficult games to call, these. The old Associate Member's Cup may benefit from the sheen of fallen Premier League club's participation. But to what extent will they take it seriously?

Wednesday 11th November

19:45 Southampton v Charlton Athletic, Johnstone's Paint Trophy Area Area Quarter-final, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Take this tie for example. Charlton are dead set on not being eligible to play next season and are unlikely to regard progress as a way of making up for getting knocked out of the FA Cup to the Vic on Sunday. Southampton, for their part, are playing catch up in League 1. Still and all, this is a worthy competition for perennial lower league-sters.

Readers are reminded that the UEFA U17 World Cup continues on British Eurosport with the competition reaching the Quarter and Semi-Final stages this week.

Weekend TV Preview: 6 - 8 November 2009

2009-11-06T10:55:00.004Z

Friday 6th November

19:30 Leverkusen v Frankfurt, Bundesliga, ESPN
Leverkusen find themselves one point ahead at the top of the Bundesliga, but they've only beaten Frankfurt once in their last six meetings. Normally stingy in defence, they conceded two goals late on last week against Schalke, so the potential for a further wobble here is considerable.

19:45 Derby County v Coventry City, Championship, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Derby's last win was in early October, Coventry's was in late September. Draw.

Saturday 7th November

12:30 Hearts v Hibernian, Scottish Premier League, ESPN/HD
Hibs are on a great run at the moment and find themselves in a Glasgow sandwich at the top of the SPL table. That'd be a deep-fried sandwich, presumably.

12:45 Swansea City v Cardiff City. Championship, Sky Sports 1/HD1
A tasty Welsh treat and one in which Cardiff are long overdue a win. The last time The Bluebirds beat The Swans was in 1997, but Dave Jones men look serious promotion candidates this year and could grab all three points.

12:45 Paulton Rovers v Norwich City. FA Cup 1st Round, ITV1/HD
No, us neither, but apparently Paulton are based just outside of Bristol and play in the Southern League Division One - South and West. Their record attendance is said to be around 2,000 for an FA Cup tie against Crewe back in 1906. We suspect they might beat that today.

17:30 Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal, Barclays Premier League, ESPN/HD
Unfortunately for Wolves, this is a decidedly above-average spell for The Gunners. They've booted Liverpool out of the Carling Cup, thumped Spurs in the North London derby and beaten AZ Alkmaar 4-1 in the Champions League. Their last five games have seen them score 1, 2, 2, 3 and 4 goals respectively, so what chance 5 against Mick McCarthy's men?

19:00 Barcelona v Mallorca, La Liga, Sky Sports 2/HD2
Mallorca are having a good season so far, but that's largely due to their 100% start at home. Away, they're about as good as... well... Barcelona in the Champions League.

19:45 Atalanta v Juventus, Serie A, ESPN
Two teams gravitating towards different ends of the table. We'll give you a clue as to which one's which: Juventus have only lost two of their last 21 matches stretching back to April this year. Your time starts now...

21:00 Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid, La Liga, Sky Sports 2/HD2
Atletico are already struggling to avoid relegation this season, let alone progress in the Champions League. What they need is a match against weak opposition to steady the nerves a bit. What a shame they won't get one until Monday.

Sunday 8th November

12:45 Falkirk v Celtic, Scottish Premier League, Sky Sports 3/HD3
Bottom v top. A team that hasn't won a game in the league all season against a team that's only lost one. Do we really need to spell this one out for you?

13:20 Northwich Victoria v Charlton Athletic, FA Cup 1st Round (followed by 2nd Round Draw), ITV1/HD
As we said on The Sound of Football podcast last week, this fixture would have seemed inconceivable a few seasons ago, but The Vics won't mind that one bit. Northwich have applied to go into administration twice in the last couple of years and this fixture will help pay off some of the huge debt they find themselves in.

13:30 Hull City v Stoke City, Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
If the tabloids are anything to go by, this could be your last chance to see Phil Brown for a while – especially if Stoke continue to hold the sign over their opponents today. Stoke will also be spurred on by the fact that a win in this match could see them move into the top five. Highly unlikely, but technically possible.

13:30 AZ Alkmaar v Feyenoord, Eredivisie, ESPN
The start of a Double Dutch weekend for ESPN! Both teams will be looking to put heavy, nay, embarassing defeats out of their memory. Feyenoord were walloped 5-1 in the league last weekend while AZ met the full force of an in-form Arsenal on Wednesday. We'll take a draw on this one.

15:30 FC Twente v Ajax, Eredivisie, ESPN
So Ajax haven't lost any of their last seventeen (ZEVENTIEN) matches going all the way back to August, and yet they're only third in the Eredivisie table. A win in this game, however, and that could all change.

16:00 Chelsea v Manchester Utd, Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
The top two face each other in the big game of the day with Drogba on fire and Joe Cole back to his tenacious best for the hosts. United have Ferdinand out through injury but Vidic should be back in defence. United haven't won at Stamford Bridge for seven years and we think they might have to wait a bit longer after this one.

18:00 Valencia v Zaragoza, La Liga, Sky Sports 1/HD1 (19:00-20:00 2nd half only)
Zaragoza's win over Almeria last week was their first in the league since late September – which was around the time Valencia last lost in the league. Home win.

19:45 Inter Milan v AS Roma, Serie A, ESPN
Roma showed great resolve to come back from 1-0 down to beat Fulham 2-1 last night, but a seemingly unstoppable Inter are a different proposition altogether – especially with Roma's poor away form. Three points to the Special One.

20:00 Sevilla v Villarreal, La Liga, Sky Sports 1/ HD1
Possibly the best Spanish game of the weekend. Both teams are in great form, Villareal's making a mockery of their 13th spot in the table at the moment.

21:45 TBC, MLS, ESPN
Yes, possibly our shortest ever listing as we're not sure which Conference semi-final will be shown by ESPN, so keep checking their website for more updates as they arrive. Or indeed 'if.'

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #138

2009-11-06T08:52:00.003Z

Vowel please, Carol...
The 15 Clubs Of The Premier League And Football League With The Highest Vowel-To-Consonant Ratios In Their Name

1. Torquay United (46.2%)
2. Leeds United (45.5%)
3. Bournemouth (45.5%)
4. Liverpool (44.4%)
5. Peterborough United (44.4%)
6. Morecambe (44.4%)
7. Hartlepool United (43.8%)
8. Arsenal (42.9%)
9. Chelsea (42.9%)
10.Everton (42.9%)
11. Reading (42.9%)
12. Carlisle United (42.9%)
13. Southend United (42.9%)
14. Crewe Alexandra (42.9%)
15. Hereford United (42.9%)

Jeu du Jour Week 11: Return of the Unrelegables

2009-11-05T14:12:00.002Z

It's about time we shone our Jeu du Jour spotlight on Auxerre as we look back on Week 11. The only team never to be relegated from France's top flight started off this season as though that might all change, but after a defeat in each of their first three games, they now find themselves unbeaten in eight and up to fifth in the table.

AJA's progress was maintained on Saturday with their fifth successive win, 2-1 at home to Montpellier. Once again it was the Polish striker Ireneusz Jelen who did the damage, bagging two goals to add to the two he got last week against Lille. Both goals had a familiar ring to them, the first beginning with a run down the left by Aurélien Capoue who crossed for Jelen in the area, the second beginning with a run down the right by Dariusz Dudka who crossed for... well you can probably work out the rest.

Auxerre by no means found this an easy victory, however, and Nenad Dzodic's consolation goal for the visitors in stoppage time was certainly deserved, but there can be no denying Jean Fernandez has got his team playing very efficiently these days. They're now level on 20 points, meeting Montpellier on their way down, and at this stage you'd have to say they're a good each-way bet for a Europa League place.

Above them, Bordeaux retained top spot with a gritty 1-0 win over Monaco. In a no-frills meeting between the two sides, the winning goal came just after the hour mark when Marc Planus slotted home a spilled save by Stephane Ruffier after Marouane Chamakh had headed a Wendel free kick straight at the Monaco keeper.

So Monaco's recent run of fine form which has seen them rise to third in the table receives a setback, albeit perhaps only a temporary one, while Lyon stay only two points behind Bordeaux after their 1-0 win over Saint Etienne last Saturday. In a fairly balanced game, both teams hit the woodwork but Lyon upped the pressure in the second half and picked up all three points through former Saint Etienne player Bafetimbi Gomis.

Losing their footing in the leading pack were Marseille who returned from their swine flu-enforced absence last week only to draw 1-1 at home to Toulouse. Within eight minutes, Toulouse found themselves down to ten men when their keeper Yohann Pelé was judged to have felled Mamadou Niang on the edge of the area. Off went Pelé but no penalty was given, yet this didn't discourage Toulouse from rallying even with their numerical advantage.

With 28 minutes on the clock, they actually took the lead thanks to a wonderful long-range strike from an indirect free kick by Moussa Sissoko (see below). It was a tremendous effort and one which set up the away side for the second half in no uncertain terms. And they almost weathered the storm to the very end, but sadly their substitute keeper Olivier Blondel – who had been brilliant since replacing Pelé – gave the ball away, only to see it end up in the back of his own net via a neat bit of finishing from Brandão.

Marseille drop to seventh, then, but don't be fooled – that game in hand against PSG could see them rise back up to third if they were to win it, and just in case you're wondering, the match itself has been rescheduled to November 20th following all that nasty swine flu business.

Valenciennes remain a team in tip-top form and are now up to sixth following a very impressive 3-0 away trouncing of Rennes. Bad marking was the order of the day for Frédéric Antonetti's side as Bobo Baldé and Fahid Ben Khalfallah put Valenciennes 2-0 up in the second half. Their third was highly debatable, however, as Grégory Pujol's curling shot hit both post and bar before bouncing down onto the goalline and out again. The referee considered it to have crossed the line, but replays later showed otherwise.

Nonetheless, Rennes continue to fall with just one win in their last five, but the same can be said of PSG who got that win on Sunday – 4-1 away to Sochaux. Goals from Clément, Chantôme, Erdinç and Luyindula brought an end to Sochaux's three game run of wins and keeps foreshortens any further dropping down the table on the team from the capital.

At the other end, we first need to see if Grenoble got their first win of the season, andddddd... no. Defeat number 11 came at the hands of Lille, 2-0 at home, which leaves the bottom club with just five goals in the 'For' column and 23 in the 'Against'. On the plus side, congratulations to Mecha Bazdarevic for hanging onto his job for so long against all the odds.

And they're all queuing up to be in the bottom three, seemingly. Le Mans lost again on Saturday, 1-0 away to Nice who, with three wins in their last four, are now well clear of the relegation zone. Above Grenoble and Le Mans are Lens who picked up a vital if unsubstantial point in their 1-1 draw at home to Lorient. Fourth-bottom is Boulogne who predictably, perhaps, are finding life in Ligue 1 a bit of a struggle after they lost 2-1 at home to Nancy.

Well there we must leave it for another Ligue 1 round-up. Full results and standings can be picked up here. For now though, it's à bientôt...

Football Americana: Conference semi-finals, first leg

2009-11-04T10:03:00.002Z

The regular season is over and the playoffs are the order of the day in Major League Soccer. Surprise qualifiers Real Salt Lake made themselves known in the first leg of their tie with Supporters Shield winners Columbus Crew, while all four conference semi-finals were even matches with little to separate the sides. Excitement was not in short supply.

The 2009 post-season got underway at Qwest Field, where expansion club Seattle Sounders could only secure a goalless draw with Houston Dynamo. Houston had some great early chances but had Brian Mullan to thank for clearing off his own line in the 14th minute. Shortly afterwards, Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad chest-barged Fredy Montero and the Colombian went to ground in embarrassing fashion. Both were cautioned for their efforts.

Montero's better side emerged in the second half and he created some space for himself on the hour only to fire wide. The stars of the evening were the goalkeepers, Onstad and Kasey Keller, who kept the ball out with the exception of Nate Jaqua's disallowed goal in the 77th minute. Onstad had stopped after hearing a whistle, but the advantage should certainly have been played.

Only a late goal could separate the teams at Rio Tinto, Real Salt Lake gaining the edge over Columbus Crew. The Crew created lots of chances but most were struck right down the throat of RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando, and Robbie Findley's sliding finish made them pay.

Gritty New England Revolution looked in trouble at Gillette Stadium against Chicago Fire. Chris Rolfe pounced on an error by Matt Reis to put the Fire in front in the 17th minute, but the Revs came from behind to win 2-1. Emmanuel Osei flicked in a header to equalise in first half stoppage time and the talismanic Shalrie Joseph got the winner 15 minutes from the end, prodding in to end a goalmouth scramble. Both teams hit the woodwork but New England take a slight advantage into the second leg.

The most promising game of the weekend delivered the goods, providing four goals in the Carson superclasico. Chivas USA opened the scoring far too easily in the fourth minute, Maicon Santos finding the corner past a flailing Donovan Ricketts. Mike Magee equalised for LA Galaxy ten minutes later, again beating the goalkeeper too easily after pouncing on terrible defending. Landon Donovan put the Galaxy in front thanks to hilariously shambolic defending by Chivas, but Chivas got the all-important leveller. Maykel Galindo raced onto a stray backpass to secure parity for Chivas.

At the halway point, it's advantage Houston, RSL and New England, but only very slightly. Each game remains in the balance and the second legs should be absolute crackers. I think Houston will have a little too much nous for Seattle but I think RSL might cause Columbus some problems. New England will fancy their chances at Toyota Park and I think LA Galaxy have a superb opportunity to win the MLS Cup. They will beat Chivas if they're on their game, but it won't be easy.

Bundesbag Week 11: After you. No after you.

2009-11-04T07:22:00.001Z

Every league experiences them, sometimes more than once. That's a weekend where the championship contenders all contrive to lose the initiative.

We'll begin with a shock defeat to Hamburg who were at home to 'Gladbach. A fixture, rare in the Bundesliga as one in which you should have been able to put the house on a home win. However, if the homeless population of the Rieperbahn increased over the weekend it's because the away side stormed back from 2-1 down to win 3-2 thanks to a winner from substitute Rob Friend.

Bruno Labbadia's squad is missing the odd striker or twelve and is said to be interested in signing Andrei Voronin. However, their problems at the back require urgent attention and lend credence to my earlier contention that Bremen are emerging as the title favorites given their strength at the back. At least it would if Werder had not surrendered two goals to Nurnberg and had to chuck the kitchen sink at them to salvage a point.

That draw was enough to briefly move Bremen to the top of the table on Saturday afternoon. The way was clear then for Leverkusen to extend their morning lead or for Schalke to top the table by beating the Bayer club in the 5:30 kick off later that day. Needless to say the pressure got to both of them and the game finished with another 2-2 draw. The result could have been so much more for Leverkusen after going 2-0 up with goals from Toni Kroos and Stefan Kiesling. However, Kevin Kuranyi and Vincente Sanchez lifted the roof off the Arena Auf Schalke with two late strikes to keep their guests on top while narrowing the gap at the top AND bringing Hoffenheim into the fray. Yes, Hoffenheim are back on the agenda after an impressive 1-0 win at Freiburg on Sunday.

Immediately behind them are Bayern Munich who could have sealed Stuttgart coach Marcus Babbel's fate had they won at the Mercedes Benz Stadium. As it happened, the home side busted a gut for their coach and claimed a point in a goalless draw. Babbel lives to fight another day but will fear what awaits them in Sevilla in the Champions League this week. Bayern on the other hand were to suffer the indignity of losing to a French team last night.

Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund are slowly progressing up the table after beating Hertha 2-0 at the Westfalon. BVB had to work hard for their result which was not completely assured until Lucas Barrios scored a late nerve-settler. Improving Hannover should be well pleased with their away win at Koln. Bochum, meanwhile, are not improving and lost again, this time to Frankfurt.

Finally, Mainz have made a great start to the season. They have 18 points, only one behind Bayern and level with their opponents last weekend, Wolfsburg. Much of their success is down to the six goals and five assists from attacking midfielder Andreas Ivenschitz. He was on the mark once again last Saturday. The champions took the lead with two goals from Obafemi Martins. Chadri Amri and Ivenschitz and brought it back to 2-2. Then Misimovic scored The Wolves' third and that looked to be that until Tim Hoogland struck late to round off this weekend of meaningful draws.

In the Second Division, Armenia Bielefeld stay top thanks to goals from Giovanni Federico and Christopher Katongo in their 2-0 win against Cottbus. Second are Kaiserslautern followed by St Pauli.

That's it. Results and tables here. Follow the Bundesbag on Twitter.

Sound Of Football Podcast 13

2009-11-03T08:40:00.000Z

Welcome aboard for another edition of the Sound Of Football Podcast. This week your master of ceremonies Chris Oakley, ably assisted by is ushers Graham Sibley and Terry Duffelen discuss the comings and goings (with the emphasis on the latter) in the world of football.

First up is beleaguered Hull City boss Phil Brown but unlike others the chaps aren't too quick to poke him with sharp sticks until he falls over the precipice. While we're at it, we also take a look at the bottom of the Premier League and wonder is Pompey's win against Wigan is the beginning of the turning of the corner.

After that we look ahead to this week's Champions and Europe League action and wonder if Rafa will survive Liverpool's trip to Lyon.

This week's show is a bit of a long one but does feature some comedy corpsing by Terry near the end plus a few coughs and sniffles. You can listen by clicking here. Or if you right click on that link, you can download the MP3. Alternatively, you can subscribe via the your reader of choice or via our iTunes feed.

Please leave us a comment and let us know what you think. You can do so on the comments section below or on our Facebook Fanpage.