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.

Hodgson left out the entire starting eleven players from the previous encounter against Manchester United; and when Liverpool went  ahead after only nine minutes, it looked like a good decision.  But when Northampton drew level in the second-half, and even more shocking, went ahead 2-1 in extra-time Roy Hodgson was probably wondering what was going on.

David Ngog appeared to save the day with an equaliser four minutes from the end of extra time to take the cup tie to penalties. Beforehand, both teams had chances cleared off the goal line to win the game.  But it was Northampton who went on to win on penalties 4-2.

Listening to football phone-ins after the match several callers suggested the Liverpool job was too big for Hodgson, a step too far and that he couldn’t cope with the pressure of expectation.  Maybe those fans don’t know the level of success Roy Hodgson has had in football management, and why he was targeted as a replacement for Rafa Benitez this summer.

As a player Roy Hodgson was on the books with Crystal Palace in the 1965-66 season but only ever played at non-league level, most notably for Gravesend & Northfleet (now Ebbsfleet United) between 1969-71.  But as a manager he has had success at club level in Sweden with Malmo, in Italy with Udinese and Inter Milan and in England with Fulham; though his time at Blackburn was less successful. Possibly his greatest managerial achievement was taking Switzerland to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup & qualifying for the Euro 96 finals.  Before then Switzerland hadn’t qualified for a major tournament since the 1960s.

There’s no denying the poor start Hodgson has made at Liverpool, who are currently 16th in the Premier League with five points from a possible 15, but things need to be considered here.  Firstly, Roy Hodgson has by and large inherited a squad from Rafa Benitez; and the squad is not that good.  Steven Gerrard, Pepe Reyna, Fernando Torres, Glen Johnson and possibly Martin Skrtel & Dirk Kuyt on their day aside, Liverpool are not a team with strength all over the pitch, let alone in depth.

The addition of Joe Cole is a step in the right direction but there is no way that Liverpool can continue to be considered one of the best sides in the Premiership, let alone a member of the so-called ‘Big Four’.  Past glories need to be forgotten and money needs to be made available to rebuild a depleted squad left in a worse state by Rafa Benitez than he inherited from Gerard Houllier.

Whether Roy Hodgson is the right man for the job or not, I believe Liverpool have got to be satisfied with a mid-table finish at best this season, and hope that new owners are put in place by next summer and money made available, not simply to buy new players but to reinvest in their academy to bring on a new generation of young players like Steven Gerrard & Jamie Carragher.

There was a devout Geordie fan with his twin 10 year old nephews, one in a Newcastle top the other in a Sunderland top! We agreed there was a lot of deadwood at Newcastle, and it wasn’t only the owner who had to go before they made a return to the Premiership but overpaid prima donnas who don’t appear to care whether they win or lose as long as they get the cash.

There was a lovely fanatical Galatasaray fan who was convinced they were going to win the first Europa Cup (formerly the UEFA Cup) and another Turkish guy, a staunch Fenerbahce fan who didn’t mind any team, as long as it wasn’t Galatasaray!

I sat at a pool side bar discussing Peterborough’s chances of a third straight promotion under the leadership of Darren Ferguson and the plausibility of a third straight Premier League title for Alex Ferguson and Manchester United with a couple of fans.  We all agreed mid-table for Posh and odds-on for the Red Devils.

Waking up at the crack of dawn to place towels on sun beds was made all the easier by morning chats with Gary, a Wigan season ticket holder, who is looking forward to the new season, watching the ‘beautiful game’ according to Roberto Martinez.  Steve Bruce done a gallant job at Wigan last season, pulling them away from the relegation battle.

We agreed the most likely candidates for Premier League relegation this season would be from Portsmouth, Hull City, Burnley & Wolves.

I also think Michael Owen will not only claw his way back into the England team in time for World Cup 2010, but a fit Michael Owen will also claim the Premiership Golden Boot.

As always I like to place a pre-season accumulator bet on winners of all 4 English football leagues and the Conference.  So here are my predictions for the 2009/10 season.

I think Manchester United will win the Premier League for a third successive season through lack of competition.  I think the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea is even more proof that Roman Abramovich is more concerned with winning the Champions League than the Premier League; and without Xabi Alonso Liverpool will not be the same force they were last season.

I really can’t predict the Championship with any conviction.  Of the teams that went down I can only see West Brom having any chance of bouncing straight back into the Premier League.  There’s a few teams that I feel confident to say will be top six – Preston, Sheffield United and Cardiff City.  But I also have a feeling Leicester City is going to do well.

Last season I thought Leeds United and Millwall would be favourites for promotion from League One.  Both were beaten in the play-offs; and I can see them doing well again this season.

I don’t profess to have much knowledge about League Two, though last season chose Gillingham and Shrewsbury.  They both made the play-off final, with the Gills winning at Wembley for the first time in their history.  I think Shrewsbury Town will go up this year but cannot ignore the influence Sven Gotran Eriksson will have at Notts County.

As for the Conference League, I am confident Luton Town will win the title by about 10 points  So, here’s my accumulator bet:

Premier League Champions – Manchester United
Championship Champions – Leicester City
League One Champions – Leeds United
League Two Champions – Notts County
Conference League Champions – Luton Town

What do you think?

Carling One-All Awards 2009

Carling is set to honour the heroes of amateur football as they launch the Carling One-All Awards 2009. They are looking for teams, players, managers, referees, and fans up and down the country to nominate those they deem to be worthy winners of this year’s One-All Awards.

The Carling One-All Awards (previously named the Carling Pub Football Awards), now in their third year, will celebrate the all-too-often overlooked sporting triumphs taking place every weekend on pitches across the UK.

The judging panel this year will consist of BBC Radio Five Live’s Mark ‘Clem’ Clemmit and Carling’s Simon Pick as well as a John Nagle from The Football League.

They will once again pick out the very best nominations, and put their heads together to find a winner for each award.

The nomination process is open until Friday 7th August, so get your votes in for as many categories as you like, and help us celebrate all things from the world of amateur football.

Voters can nominate in the following 11 categories:

• Player of the Year
• Manager of the Year
• 11-a-side Team of the Year
• 5-a-side Team of the Year
• Administrator of the Year
• Referee of the Year
• Supporter of the Year
• One-All Website of the Year
• Dodgiest Kit Award
• Team Spirit Award
• One-All Legend Award

One–All is the online community for players, managers, coaches and fans of the beautiful game. Over 5300 teams have already signed up, and the One-All community provides registered users with a free website for their team or league, profile pages, competitions to win top prizes, and a chance to join the Carling Big Debate.

Rob Salmon, Marketing Communications Partner at Carling, said: “There are a number of high profile awards for the professional game – but the One-All Awards look to recognise the unsung heroes of the grassroots game.

If your team has had a great season or if you know a player, supporter, referee or manager that deserves to be recognised, then please log-on to Carling.com/oneall and tell us all about them. You’ve got to be in it to win it!”

A range of Carling prizes are on offer for the winners.

To nominate anyone for the aforementioned awards, go to www.carling.com/oneall

Ebbsfleet United reached the FA Trophy final after a second leg semi-final 1-1 draw with against Aldershot, winning 2-4 on aggregate.

Ebbsfleet United are on their way to Wembley for the first time in their history and will meet Torquay United in the final at Wembley Stadium on 10th May.

The MyFootballClub website has announced tickets will be priced at £25 with concessions at £12.50 (for under 16s and over 65’s).

A limited number of hospitality tickets are also available, which include a meal, drinks, a programme and a seat on the halfway line beneath the Royal Box. These tickets can be sold individually and to corporate guests who can buy tables that seat ten.

Hospitality tickets will be available on Monday 31st March at 9am. For more details email greg@eufc.co.uk.

The completion of the deal is the world’s first website-community takeover of a football club, and the first website-community takeover of any business.

Formerly known as Gravesend and Northfleet, over 28,250 MyFootballClub members have purchased a 75% stake in the Blue Square Premier (former Conference) non-league football club, based in Kent.

Ebbsfleet United are currently ninth in the Blue Square Premier League table, twelve points off the play-offs.

The Hampshire team will now travel to Anfield and whatever happens there, a new chapter has been written in Havant & Waterloovilles short history.  A draw at Swansea  was more than most expected, but tonights win is unbelievable. A hatful of chances were missed or saved at both ends in a brilliantly entertaining game.

Thats what the FA Cup is all about!

The vote will close in seven day’s time at 12.00pm on January 23rd, and the result of the vote will be published thereafter. If the majority of members approve of the deal then MyFootballClub Limited will become the 75 per cent majority owner of Ebbsfleet United Football Club subject only to a shareholder’s vote.

Ebbsfleet United are currently in eigth position in the Blue Square Premier League (Conference) three points off the play-off places.

Earlier in the season, I was happy to see Setanta advertising coverage of Non-League matches. They’d taken out adverts in the Non-League Paper and I think some reports appeared in local media around the more actively-followed clubs, like Cambridge.

It seems that they advertised games such as Altrincham vs Cambridge, Aldershot vs Exeter and Woking v Farsley, then chose to show Champions League or UEFA Cup matches instead at those times. The adverts said “fixtures correct at time of going to print” and gave no suggestion that Setanta might simply choose to show Euro matches instead. The full ruling is on the ASA web site.

Did you pay for Setanta to watch Blue Square Premier matches and then get only Eurofootball? Are Setanta any better than Sky? Does the cut-throat TV market mean that channels have to do this sort of thing to fans?

Ebbsfleet United changed their name before the start of this season from Gravesend & Northfleet, something that really annoyed me – see Who the **** are Ebbsfleet! I wonder if this new style of fan-base management would have allowed that to happen!

The deal is unique and has had many people wondering how it will work in reality. There are already over 20,000 paid-up website members that among other responsiblities will decide on team selection, who to buy and sell in the transfer market, staff and players wages, and ultimately if the manager gets the sack or not. Manager Liam Daish is a fan of the scheme, even though his new title will be head coach as a weekly poll on the website.

Furthermore, Ebbsfleet United’s chairman, Jason Botley told the BBC he was delighted.

“We are united in believing this is a great opportunity. This extra finance and support will enable our club to progress.”

Ebbsfleet are currently ninth in the Blue Square Premier, just six points off the play-offs, and a chance to play in the Football League for the first time in thier history.

MyFootballClub creator Will Brooks stated: “We hope that MyFootballClub members and Ebbsfleet supporters will join forces and make the football club more sustainable and successful.”

We have been following the MyFootballClub story for some time now, become members, and only too pleased members have decided to buy an English club, one I grew up supporting.