So it’s a good time to give you a heads up about a new website that is about to launch which will bring you a scores and results service covering all of the major British and European leagues and tournaments, including the Premier League, English Football League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and the Champions League.

As well as following favourite domestic clubs in the Premier League and Championship, I also follow the trials and tribulations of my non-league hometown team, formerly Gravesend & Northfleet now known as Ebbsfleet, as well as favourite European teams of which I have personal favourites in each of the top European leagues.

These passive allegiances stem from my childhood when the only European football to be shown on British television was on Wednesday nights on the sadly missed Sportsnight programme.  My memories are full of exciting  European football matches when I was allowed to stay up way past my bedtime to watch great teams with world class players and cool looking football kits to match.

Johan Cruyff and Ajax, Franz Beckenbauer and Bayern Munich and wonderful sounding teams like Dukla Prague, Panathinaikos and Borussia Monchengladbach!

I recall Leeds United losing 1-0 in a ill-tempered game to AC Milan in the 1973 Cup Winners Cup final just four days after losing 1-0 to Sunderland in the FA Cup final; Nottm Forest beating the Swedish part-timeers Malmo in 1979 with a Trevor Francis header and retaining the European Cup by beating Hamburg in 1980; and West Ham losing to Anderlecht of Belgium in the 1976 Cup Winners Cup.

I remember the glory days of Saint Etienne in the French League and how Real Madrid played in a similar all-white kit to Leeds United (only to recently read that Don Revie changed the home kit to mimic the Spanish giants on becoming manager of Leeds United in 1961!).

I also have a passive favouritism for teams with cool kits, choosing Celtic over Rangers not for any political or religious reasons but because I thought green and whites hoops looked cooler than a regular blue shirt.  I also preferred the black & blue stripes of Inter Milan to the red & black stripes of AC Milan.
So even before European football was made available on satellite tv, my interest in football spread further than the English leagues.  The English Premier League is often cited by critics and players alike to currently be the best league in the world.  But I still lookout for scores and results from the Spanish La Liga and Italy’s Serie A.

The Football Scores website will be a great source for all this information and will also include international tournaments, such as the European Championships, international friendly matches, international qualifiers and the World Cup. The website is called FootballScores.com and it launches this month.

Bayern Munich 'no alternative' to sacking of Louis Van Gaal

Another case of how even the most respected of football coaches cannot guarantee that they will have a job to go to in the morning comes from the Bundesliga this weekend when Bayern Munich announced that Louis Van Gaal has been sacked with immediate effect.

A year ago Van Gaal was leading Bayern to the Bundesliga title and a Champions League final against Inter Milan, but this season the team are struggling, sitting fourth in the title race and struggling for a Champions League place.

The former two time Barcelona coach has been blamed by the Bayern Munich board for the mess that the German team are in this season where they are currently sitting in fourth place in the Bundesliga.

Van Gaal was due to leave the club at the end of the season anyway, but with a crucial game next weekend against second placed Bayern Leverkusen, in which only a win will suffice, the board have decided to act sooner rather than later.

The Bayern Munich board reads like a who’s who of Germany’s past football greats and chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has said that there is ‘no alternative’ to letting Van Gaal go, while club president Uli Hoeness said it was a decision that should have been made long ago.

Hoeness said;

“It all started getting messy when he [Van Gaal] dropped Hans-Jorg Butt and replaced him with Thomas Kraft. That brought insecurity into the defence and we could not hold out for much longer. Football should be enjoyable, but there has been nothing enjoyable about football at FC Bayern for a while now. And to say that he had the players behind him was a myth.”

The situation between board and coach has been further tested with Van Gaal’s refusal to get behind the club’s bid for Schalke 04 goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, something that has led to demonstrations by Bayern fans and divisions in the club.

Andries Jonker will take charge of the club until the end of the season when current Bayern Leverkusen coach JeppHeynckes will take up his new role with the club.

As Man City continue to push for a Champions League position, if not the Premier League, it is essential they add one or two top quality strikers to their squad to relieve the pressured shoulders of sulky home-sick Carlos Tevez considering the ineffectiveness of Emmanuel Adebayor and Joe; and the surprising statement from Roberto Mancini that Paraguay international, Roque Santa Cruz is surplus to requirements.

I’m surprised Mancini is letting Roque Santa Cruz go as I have always considered him to be a good striker, and he showed he can play in the Premier League when he was at Blackburn Rovers.  It is no surprise that several clubs have apparently shown interest in signing Roque Santa Cruz including Fulham who are currently managed by his former boss, Mark Hughes.  West Ham and Aston Villa are also allegedly interested in his services.

So, on to Blackburn Rovers whose owners decided to sack Sam Allardyce in December.  At the time I felt this was to announce a new manager in time for the January transfer window and we were going to see a well-known manager be given a large sum of money to stamp his authority on the team and also announce the Indian Venky Group ownership to the world.  Well, this week they have been linked to one of the biggest names in world football, Ronaldinho.  A well seasoned player that would certainly make a statement of intent for the new Blackburn owners though I’m not sure what else they would receive from a footballer that is currently overweight, overpaid and well past his sell by date!

Furthermore, the owners have stated that caretaker manager Steve Kean will remain in charge at least until the summer.  But it’s clear that any big name signings with overinflated wages and egos are going to create even more problems for a little known manager.

Other transfer speculation includes Tottenham’s ‘serious’ attempts to agree a two-month loan deal with LA Galaxy for David Beckham similarly to his previous loan spells with AC Milan.  Beckham would be a great impact sub.  But Spurs are also keen to strengthen their squad and are showing interest in Uruguay striker Luis Suarez who is currently playing his football for Ajax.

Chelsea have shown interest in signing Gary Cahill from Bolton.  They are desperately in need of top quality players that could hit the ground running but it’s not clear if Roman Abramovich is prepared to put his hand deep enough into his pockets to afford the quality players Chelsea need for a very quick fix.

As for Liverpool, I think they will sack Roy Hodgson.  It is a matter of when, not if.  So depending on how much influence he actually has over new signings will determine whether Liverpool by sell/buy players this month or hold off until the end of the season.  Either way, they need a good clearout before adding to a poor squad.

I don’t believe there will be too many big transfers this month but expect a few players surplus to requirements to be looking for new horizons.  I expect Robbie Keane, David Bentley and Jonathan Woodgate and possibly the eternally “unhappy” Emmanuel Adebayor to be on the move.

Chelsea are going to struggle in the Premiership without John Terry and Alex for the next couple of months but they will both be fit when the Champions League knockout stages begin in March and with two games to go Chelsea have already booked their place in the second round.  And with Frank Lampard returning from injury too, I still believe Chelsea have the best chance of lifting the Champions League trophy in May, of all four English clubs.

So with two games to go in the first round of this season’s Champions League, which two teams from each group look likely to go through to the knockout stages next year?

FC Twente have two games left against Inter Milan (away) and at home to Spurs.  To finish ahead of either Inter or Tottenham they are going to have to win one of those games and hope that Tottenham & Inter drop points in their other games; possible, but unlikely.

Three teams can still progress from Group B.  Lyon currently lead the group with nine points followed by Schalke 04 on seven and Benfica with six. Lyon and Benfica should both pick up three points when they play Hapoel Te-Aviv, while Schalke 04 have the most difficult games as they face both Lyon & Benfica.

Manchester United are unbeaten this season in both domestic and European competition and lead Group C with ten points.  Rangers will need to beat Man Utd at Ibrox on Wednesday if they are going to have any chance securing second place ahead of Valencia.

In Group D Barcelona & FC Copenhagen are both in a very strong position and do not play each other in their two remaining fixtures.

Bayern Munich are one of only two teams to have won all four games and so have already qualified for the next round.  Roma look the most likely to join them ahead of CFR 1907 Cluj-Nopoca (great name) and Basle.

Chelsea are the other team with four wins out of four but it’s not clear whether Spartak Moscow or Marseille will finish second. I’m erring towards Spartak Moscow as they play Marseille at home tomorrow night, and then should easily beat MSK Zilinia in the last round of games on Wednesday 8th December, while Marseille entertain Chelsea in their last fixture.

It is not clear who will join Real Madrid in the next round from Group G.  AC Milan are currently one point ahead of Ajax and the final game on Wednesday 8th December between the two former Champions League winners will decide.  AC Milan will have home advantage, and if they beat Auxerre tomorrow, a draw will be enough against Ajax.  Ajax host Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid tomorrow evening in Amsterdam where they will be trying to keep the pressure on AC Milan with a win.

Finally, in Group H Shakhtar Donetsk look favourites to join Arsenal in the next round following their surprise 2-1 win at The Emirates where former Arsenal striker Eduardo scored the winning goal.  Both Arsenal & Shakhtar Donetsk could qualify if they win their games tomorrow evening.  Arsenal are away to Braga and Shakhtar Donetsk are away to pointless Partizan Belgrade.

Qualifying from the group stage if teams are level on points will be determined by the results of games between the teams in the tie (if tied, by goal difference and then by away goals counting double).

My Champions League tips for which two teams are going to go through from each group are as follows:

Group A: Inter Milan & Tottenham
Group B: Lyon & Benfica
Group C: Manchester United & Valencia
Group D:  Barcelona & FC Copenhagen
Group E: Bayern Munich & Roma
Group F: Chelsea & Spartak Moscow
Group G: Real Madrid & AC Milan
Group H: Arsenal & Shakhtar Donetsk

The final Champions League first round fixtures will take place on Tuesday 23rd & Wednesday 24th November and Tuesday 7th & Wednesday 8th December.

Manchester United

Van der Sar is expected to be side lined for 7 or 8 weeks and leaves the door open for United’s Ben Foster and Tomas Kuszczak to fight for a starting place in Sunday’s Community Shield against Chelsea.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has started his mind games already and you can almost see his rival at Liverpool, Rafael Benitez seething after hearing Ferguson say that the main threat for the title will come form Chelsea and not Liverpool.

In an interview in The Sun Ferguson says of Liverpool’s title challenge:

“It will be hard for them to match last season, let alone improve on it. Other teams will know more about them. Liverpool had probably their best season for 20 years and still finished four points adrift. It has to be Chelsea as the main threat. Ancelotti will change how they play.”

Ferguson also talked up the potential of the players that he has at his disposal in the wake of the departure of Ronaldo and Tevez and says the club are ‘expecting a lot’ from the youngsters who have emerged over the past season.

But why is it that when Man City offered £100 million for Kaka, the majority of English football pundits, commentators and overpaid ex-footballers shook their heads and frowned at the idea that Manchester City were prepared to pay such a large amount of money for any one player.  But £80 million for Cristiano Ronaldo between Real Madrid and Manchester United has not received the same level of criticism?

I believe there are equal measures of hypocracy and snobbery.  It’s okay for Real Madrid and Manchester United  because they are two of the biggest clubs in the world.  As Alex Ferguson likes to tell the media when playing mind games against Chelsea, ‘Manchester United has history!’

And like when Roman Abramovich made Chelsea the richest club in the world with his own money, the Manchester City owner and member of the Arab Abu Dhabi royal family, 38 year-old Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has unfairly been discrimated against as the richest clubs in the world have always paid large sums of money to prize the best players away from other teams.  It’s just not fair that someone can bully Ferguson and Manchester United around, is it?

There is an obvious elitist factor at play. Furthermore, surely it’s more acceptable for Manchester City and Chelsea to pay large sums of money for top players in this current climate than it is the likes of Manchester United.  Afterall, the Glazer Family bought Man United with borrowed money and have saddled that great club with allegedly £511 million of debt.  The sale of Ronaldo will not even pay 50% of this year’s interest repayment on Manchester United’s loans which allegedly stands at £45.5 million.

Kaka is one of the best players in the world.  But £56 million paid to AC Milan for the young Brazilian midfield playmaker, compared to £80 million for Ronaldo,  is a bargain.  Bayern Munich’s Frank Ribery and Liverpool’s Xavi Alonso were also on Florentino Perez’s wishlist at a recent press conference.  Those players have also been courted by Chelsea and Arsenal, respectively.

This summer’s transfer market has just got exciting.  Real Madrid have the money and the history to buy more top players, while Manchester City are going to find it more difficult to persuade the best players in the world to join them unless they are pushing 30 and are content with a massive weekly pay check and no European medals next season.

Manchester United will I assume look to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, maybe with someone like Frank Ribery; and if Carlos Tevez leaves Old Trafford they will most definitely need another striker to play alongside Wayne Rooney.  How about Stewart Downing and Jermain Defoe?

Arsenal need to strengthen their squad if they are prepared to put up a reasonable fight to stay in the ‘big four’ and Chelsea will have offered Carlo Ancelotti a reasonable amount of money to rebuild an aging team, if they are to mount a serious challenge for the Premiership or the Champions League.

Exciting times ahead this summer.

This season Chelsea had to overcome Liverpool in the quarter-finals to set up another encounter with Barcelona, and tonight, the stage is set for another epic encounter.  With Barcelona apparently playing the best pass and move ‘Brazilian style’ football in the world right now, against a Chelsea team that has regained its ‘never say die’ attitude of a few seasons ago, under the leadership of Guus Hiddink, it promises to be a great game of football.

I am looking forward to seeing Lionel Messi, as I believe he is the most naturally talented player in the world.  Due to Ashley Cole’s suspension it looks like Chelsea will switch Jose Boswinga from right to left back in an attempt to stop Messi. But with the likes of Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry to contend with, Barcelona will cause offensive problems for Chelsea however they line up.

I believe it is inevitable that Chelsea will concede goals at the Nou Camp, and their best line of defence will be to attack Barca and hope to score at least one vital away goal.

A score draw is the best chance I give Chelsea tonight.  But Barca thrashed Bayern Munich in the last round.

As long as they are still in touching distance come the second leg at Stamford Bridge, they will have a chance of reaching the UEFA Champions League Final, setting up the second all-England final (which will piss off Michel Platini) and make amends for last year’s final defeat.

I predict 2-1 to Barcelona in a fiery, fast and furious game of football.

When the draw for the quarter finals was made, I was assured of Manchester United’s path to the semi-finals but Porto completely outplayed Man Utd in the first half at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Manchester United were lucky not to have conceded more goals in the first half but gave a better account of themselves in the second. After taking the lead, Porto had to come from behind to draw 2-2.

Manchester United looked tired and were most definitely missing star players, especially Rio Ferdinand as they looked very wobbly in defence.  I still fancy Man Utd to go through to the semi-final after the return leg next Wednesday, though to do so they will have to become the first English club to beat Porto in Portugal.

The winners of that tie will play either Arsenal or Villareal who drew 1-1 in Spain on Tuesday.  The Spanish midfielder Marcos Senna ran the first half and scored a great goal to give Villareal a first half lead.  But Arsene Wenger’s team-talk in the interval led to a more positive approach by Arsenal in the second-half with both Cesc Fabregas & Theo Walcott seeing much more of the ball.  Arsenal also appeared to cancel out Senna’s superiority, and deserved the equaliser – a superbly taken acrobatic goal by Emmanuel Adebayor.

Arsenal will be favourites to proceed when the teams meet for the second leg at the Emirates Stadium next Wednesday.

Bayern Munich beat Sporting Lisbon 12-1 in the last round, and Barcelona scored four first-half goals in their home league against French champions Lyon, in the last round.  So this quarter-final was either going to be a goalfest or a dull 1-0 affair.

I only heard reports on the radio of this game, but it sounded like Bayern Munich were completely outplayed in the first 45 minutes, as Barcelona once again scored four goals in the first-half.  I love the way Barcelona play expansive, entertaining football.

It seems an age since Chelsea and Liverpool haven’t played each other in the UEFA Champions League; and the only advantage to have between their previous Champions League encounters has been the second leg home advantage.

Liverpool started the brighter and Fernando Torres scored after 5 minutes.  But instead of stunning Cheslea, the early goal gave them the opportunity to play a more attacking formation, and immediately they began to dictate the game.

Frank Lampard was pushed into a more advanced position, similar to Steven Gerrard, and had a great game, while Gerrard’s threat was completely nulled by an excellent performance from Michael Essein.

Branislav Ivanovic was the unlikely hero as he scored with headers from corner kicks either side of the break.  Didier Drogba put the icing on the cake as Chelsea completely outplayed a stunned Liverpool, romping home to an amazing 3-1 win at Anfield.

Chelsea look favourites to meet Barcelona in the semi-final after their quarter-final second legs next Tuesday.

What’s the odds on another Chelsea v Manchester United Champions League Final?

Manchester United play Porto, probably the weakest team left in the competition; and certainly nowhere near as strong as they were when they last knocked Man Utd out of the Champions League and went on to become Champions of Europe under the guidance of Jose Mourinho.

The tie of the round has to be the favourites Barcelona up against the goal fest German champions, Bayern Munich.

What is for sure, it won’t be a Liverpool v Barcelona final as I had previously predicted.  If they overcome Chelsea and Bayern Munich respectively they will meet in the semi final.

UEFA Champions League 2009 Quarter Finals Draw:

Villarreal v Arsenal
Manchester United v FC Porto
Liverpool v Chelsea
Barcelona v Bayern Munich

UEFA Champions League 2009 Semi Finals Draw:

Manchester United/FC Porto v Villarreal/Arsenal
Barcelona/Bayern Munich v Liverpool/Chelsea

Chelsea did well to twice come from behind against a good Juventus team, and further showed their new-found togetherness under the leadership of Guus Hiddink.

Manchester United and Alex Ferguson saw off the challenge of Inter Milan and Jose Mourinho without an overly impressive performance, while it was squeeky bum time for all Arsenal fans as they had to endure a penalty shoot-out against Roma, which had all the fun of the roller-coaster when Eduardo missed the first penalty.

But it was Liverpool who, once again played exceptional football to thrash Real Madrid 4-0 at Anfield.  An amazing 5-0 win over two legs.

The other teams to qualify for the UEFA Champions League quarter finals are Villareal and Barcelona (Spain), Porto (Portugal) and Bayern Munich (Germany) who set a new Champions League knock-out stage record by thrashing Sporting Lisbon 12-1 on aggreagate.  Yes, Sporting Lisbon may have been the weakest team to make it through from the group stage, but the fact that they qualified proves they were no mugs!

I personally think Barcelona will be crowned Champions of Europe in May, and if they avoid them in the quarter final draw (to be made on Friday 20th March) I now think they might be facing Liverpool in the final.