Andrew's EU Blog from Brussels

But that was not the main reason for his visit. Presidents Buzek and Platini were due to discuss a number of wide-ranging issues in their meeting, including Mr Platini's latest "Financial Fair Play" initiative, the protection of minors and the clubs that train them and the issue of betting in football, namely corruption and match-fixing.

They also spoke about the arrangements for the forthcoming UEFA EURO 2012 tournament finals which are to be co-hosted in the Ukraine and Mr Buzek's native Poland.

After signing a couple of footballs and reminiscing about former players, Mr Platini addressed the press after the meeting today saying he was extremely pleased that they share the same outlook for the sport and that Mr Buzek has "encouraged us in our efforts on Financial Fair Play, the protection of minors and their forming clubs, as well as in our fight against corruption linked to betting."

He also thanked Mr Buzek for having agreed to join UEFA's Friends of Football.

In return, Mr Buzek said these are "good policies for European football and I fully support all the initiatives of UEFA and President Platini which are crucial for football in Europe".

He also gave his backing for grassroots football and for the game to be used to help educate young people reaffirming that "there should be zero tolerance against racism, violence and doping" in the popular sport.

Focus perhaps will now turn to the future football match, and to what position Mr Buzek will allocate himself in the team. After holding one of the signed balls in his hands throughout the press conference, should perhaps he wants be the goalkeeper...?

Labels: EU, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments

Regular readers of this blog will, I'm sure, be aware that I am quite a keen follower of football. It will therefore come as no surprise to you that I took the opportunity in my first proper weekend in the European capital city to discover a new team.

FC Brussels call themselves the 'Pride of Brussels' and ply their trade in the Belgian Second Division. The club has quite an interesting history in that it was only recently formed (2003) following the merger of two local district teams: R.W.D. Molenbeek and K.F.C. Strombeek.

They play in the Edmond Machtens Stadium, which is conveniently just a short walk away from my front-door. It is in fact quite a nice little compact stadium. Tucked in behind rows of high-rise housing surrounded by tall thick trees you really would not know the stadium was there until you spotted the large floodlights rounding the corner onto the access street.

Naturally, being Belgian second division, it was not going to be the most state-of-the-art stadium, but I like that in a way. There are only two stands, running along the length of the pitch, and a limited space for standing for the away supporters behind the goal at the far end of the ground. There is no such standing space at the other end, which instead has been chosen to be the car parking facility.

Access to the upper tier of the main stand, renamed in 2005 to commemorate former player Raymond Goethals, is by an exterior staircase as to not to affect seating capacity.

That said, there was hardly a problem with seating. The ground was largely empty; the majority of fans (myself included) bunched up in the 'cheapest' ends of the grandstands. I put cheap in inverted commas because the ticket still cost €15, which for second division football in Europe is simply madness (especially when you can get a match ticket Anderlecht, in the first division and Europa League, for €10...).

I took my seat in the stand just moments before kick-off and unknowingly had chosen a seat directly behind the resident house-band. With a portable drum-set, a bass drum, two trumpets, a trombone and an enthusiastic and lively accompanying vocal chorus, they certainly contributed to the evening football match atmosphere that I love so much. Even if they were very, very noisy...

It was during the half-time interval that I experienced my first problem with language - namely the guy serving the half-time Belgian beer could not speak or understand French! With no idea how to ask for a beer in Dutch, thankfully a fellow supporter ordered it for me. [I have since looked it up, and for reference it is Eén biertje, alstublieft! although I have no idea how that is supposed to be pronounced! The beer was also very nice too...]

As for the football, well, as you'd expect, it was not the best display you are likely to witness. But for their relative lack in quality, they made up for in competitiveness, and the match finished 2-1 to the away side OH Leuven. Brussels FC did open the scoring in the opening few minutes capitalising on slack defending to lob the keeper into the net, but Leuven scored from a great free-kick (Beckham anyone?) and grabbed the winning goal late-on in an almost identical copy of Brussels' opener.

While the score was 1-0, I overheard a home supporter explain to his friend that Brussels FC had never beaten OH Leuven in any competition. This, unfortunately for Brussels, remains the case, but I did find it ironic that the away team scored almost immediately after this comment...

However, that was nothing compared to the irony contained within the home supporters' chants throughout the match (yes, sung in English): "Brussels, Brussels FC, we're by far the best team the world has ever seen..."

No, you are not the best in the world, but it was a good night's entertainment anyway.

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

The image below of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger stood over the dugouts (but not in the stand) after being sent off in yesterday's match at Old Trafford against Manchester United will for sure be one of the retained images of the season.

With United leading 2-1, Arsenal had the ball in the back of the net, only for it to be disallowed for offside (correct decision). Of course it was only natural for Wenger to feel disappointed, especially considering the circumstances, the venue and the atmosphere.

He waved his arms in disgust and then kicked a water bottle along the touchline. Nothing wrong with that. Or was there? The fourth official along with referee Mike Dean clearly thought so as the latter requested Wenger move into the stands. You cannot reach the stand from the dugouts at Old Trafford so he climbed halfway onto the roof over the medical tunnel. Mr Dean wasn't happy with that and Wenger had to endure the jeers from United fans as he was marched down the tunnel, followed very soon after by all the players.

This was a petty decision, especially so late in the game, especially as it means Wenger will most likely receive a touchline ban. It was a natural, human reaction and if I was in his position I would most likely have done the same. Wenger will get negative coverage from this but I say lay off Wenger, he's a class manager and was as bemused by the whole situation as everyone else.

Dweel instead on the great manager helping to raise money for BBC Sport Relief a few years back. For every cliche said on air by a player, manager or commentator, £100 would be raised. But when it came to Arsenal, cliche became [Gael] Clichy (player for the club). Cue the hilarity as Arsene Wenger rakes in the cash for charity - makes me laugh everytime. Click to play (756kB - from BBC Sport).

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

Wow, I can hardly believe it. England have won the Ashes, beating Australia by 197 runs in the final test match at the Oval to win the series 2-1.

Despite having scored less centuries, and taken fewer wickets over the five matches it was England who came out on top. I believe overall Australia were the better team but England won the key moments – indeed they received an disproportional amount of bad umpire decisions in their favour including a few LBW decisions in the last match – but let’s not talk about those.

Instead let’s focus on what a truly wonderful and action-packed series it was. I shall look back on the series and remember the final hour of play in the first test in Cardiff, watching the two final batsmen for England (not known for their batting prowess – especially Monty Panesar) holding on for an hour against the Australian bowling attack to clinch an unlikely (and to be honest undeserved) draw.

England were phenomenal in the second test at Lords, where we lost so horrifically back in the 2005 series, unable to cope with the bowling of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Rain prevented a result in the third test at Edgbaston, and unfortunately the rain didn’t prevent a result at Headingley in the fourth test where England were, in a word: humbled, and to add a second word if I may: thrashed.

Heading to the Oval this week with the score 1-1, England HAD to win else Australia would retain the smallest trophy in sport. Ravi Bopara had underperformed and was rightly replaced for the finale. The England selectors (who normally haven’t made the best choices) this time gambled and their gamble paid off in calling up the South-African born Jonathan Trott. He scored 119 on test debut and will share the plaudits with Stuart Broad, who I’ve admired for a long time, and finally fulfilled the promised with a 5-wicket-haul conceding only 37 runs in that spell. Phenomenal.

It was fitting that Andrew Flintoff (above right) should sign off in style running out Aussie captain Ricky Ponting in the final innings, and credit should be extended the Graeme Swann who deservedly took the final winning wicket of Mike Hussey.

Player of the series however was surely England captain Andrew Strauss. I was unsure he was captain material and I have well and truly eaten those words. He finished top run scorer and proved to make some brilliant decisions that won matches.

In a nutshell: well done England, well done Australia. England had the superior bowling attack; Australia certainly had the more consistent batting attack. A cracking series, a superb result and a source of great entertainment. Shame we’ll most likely get beaten when the urn is contended down under next year in 2010.

Andrew Strauss summed England’s performance this series rather well I thought when he said: “When we were bad, we were very bad, but when we were good, we were good enough.”

Good Enough. Well done chaps.

Labels: Comment, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments

Football fans around the country rejoice: the new season has arrived!

On the eve of the eager-anticipated kick off of the 2009/10 season, the chaps at BBC Sport have produced a rather fascinating feature which shows that the teams that will ply their trade in the Premiership this season really are global compositions (click for link).

It shows, rather shockingly, the difference between now and a decade ago when obviously the number of players born outside of the UK playing in the Premier League were vastly outnumbered by home-grown talent while this picture is somewhat reverse nowadays. While this makes the league an increasingly diverse and talented league, I do worry that as a result our English national side will rapidly decline in quality because we’re not giving English players as much opportunity in the first team, unlike the plethora of Scottish players making up every team across the border. But anyway, that’s a different blog post…

Ahead of the kick-off I shall use this opportunity to cast my predictions over the season ahead. Ok, so it’s a very cliché remark, but it will be closer than ever this season. The biggest story this summer was the £80 million transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid and this will be a massive loss not only to the league but also to Manchester United. That said, I believe the arrival of Antonio Valencia from Wigan will proof to be a great addition, as to will be the arrival of Michael Owen on a free transfer. As I argued previously, I believe this is a gamble well worth taking.

As for the other teams: Arsenal have lost Kolo Touré and Emmanuel Adebayor both to Manchester City and have only added the young Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen. Selling those two players was good business for Arsenal but I’m not convinced they have done enough to replace them. Perhaps Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner will now get prolonged spells in the first team, which will be good, but I cannot see them achieving higher than fourth this season. Arsène Wenger is building for the future so perhaps next year…

£12 million was far too cheap for the sale of Gareth Barry to Manchester City, but Aston Villa have reinvested the money smartly in my opinion purchasing Stewart Downing from relegated Middlesbrough. I’ve been quite fond of Villa and their rise through the league. Martin O'Neill is a superb manager, would love to see him take the reins at Manchester United when Sir Alex finally does decide to abdicate his Old Trafford throne although I hope that doesn’t happen soon!

Besides the arrival of the Russian Yuri Zhirkov, it is same old, same old Chelsea. I expect another strong team but their manager has yet to experience the Premier League. Retaining the services of captain John Terry was imperative, but I worry about the lack of young blood in that team and the amount of cheating divers… Cole, Drogba, Mikel, Ballack to name just a few…

Getting striker Jô back on another loan from Manchester City was smart business from Everton and so long as they manage to keep Joleon Lescott in their defence they will have another strong season. Manager David Moyes never spends lots which is testament to his managerial ability. I think they’ll do well again, as will Fulham under the watchful eye of Roy Hodgson. Their best addition I think has been the South Korean Seol Ki-Hyeon who hopefully will bring as much energy to the team as compatriot Park Ji-Sung does for Manchester United.

I think this could be Liverpool’s year, but I still think United will be the team to beat. The sale of Xabi Alonso and the arrival of Alberto Aquilani as his replacement was a great piece of business, less so was the purchase of Glen Johnson from Portsmouth – a desperate attempt to inject some English talent into a Spanish side.

Manchester City’s problem will be how to play all of their players. They have opened the chequebook and signed anyone that is half decent. With no offer of Champions League football the moves of Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Carlos Tévez (Man Utd), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn) and Kolo Touré (Arsenal) were money motivated. If Tevez didn’t like sitting on the bench at Old Trafford then what he is going to be like at Manchester City – unbelievable.

I hope they don’t well just as I hope Real Madrid flop, because it will maintain the time-honoured tradition that money does not buy you success. I think by January that there will be a queue of strikers at the club demanding they play and I just cannot see how manager Mark Hughes will manage this. On the contrary, Gianfranco Zola has done a cracking job at West Ham United and Harry Redknapp at Tottenham Hotspur. But this season’s surprise package I think will be Sunderland with their newly appointed manager Steve Bruce at the helm. Already he has made his mark and the signings of Darren Bent (Tottenham) and Lee Cattermole (Wigan) will prove to be good ones (both in my fantasy teams!).

Burnley, Birmingham City and Wolves who all made the step-up from the Championship will be favourites for relegation, but will be joined this year in the battle for survival I think by Blackburn, Wigan and Portsmouth.

As a result this is how I think the table will look next summer:

1. Manchester United
---
2. Liverpool
3. Chelsea
4. Arsenal
5. Aston Villa
6. Tottenham Hotspur
7. Everton
8. West Ham United
9. Manchester City
10. Fulham
11. Sunderland
12. Stoke City
13. Hull City
14. Bolton Wanderers
15. Blackburn Rovers
16. Wigan Athletic
17. Birmingham City
---
18. Portsmouth
19. Wolverhampton Wanderers
20. Burnley

Labels: Comment, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

The new season is nigh and after getting into the Twitter phenomenon I thought of a cunning idea - write a match report of every match I watch - in Twitter style. Naturally 140 characters is rather short for a review so each review will be restricted to 3 tweets aka 420 characters. Short make for an interesting season! Should make for an interesting and challenging season! The number of characters is written in brackets, click here for archive of entries. (418)

Key for post headings:

PL = Premier League
CB = Confidis Cup (Belgian equiv. of FA Cup)
CH = Championship
CL = European Champions League
CLQ = Champions League Qualifying Match
FA = FA Cup

Labels: 3Tweet, Manchester United, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

I guess summer is now officially over as the rain has returned to our country and announced its arrival more importantly in disrupting the cricket. But today an issue arose that I had never previously considered: how do you determine a winner of a short (limited overs) match when little or no play has been possible?

The answer, is apparently a 'bowl-out', and this was illustrated today by Somerset Sabres and Lancashire Lightning whose scheduled Twenty20 quarter-final match at Old Trafford, Manchester was abandoned because of the rain with no play possible.


The match was supposed to have been contested on Tuesday (28th) but was postponed for three consecutive days until the ‘bowl-out’ was declared the method for deciding the victor.

Now this ‘bowl-out’ is perhaps most comparable to a penalty shootout in football, except in the cricket form five bowlers from each team each bowl two deliveries alternatively at a set of unguarded stumps. The winning team is the one that records the most direct hits.

It’s not the first time in the competition in which this method has been used; the first instance came in July 2005, when Surrey beat Warwickshire after the teams finished level under the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected game. But it is still a rather bizarre way to decide a match.

As for today’s result, Somerset emerged the victors hitting the stumps five times compared to Lancashire’s appalling total of one. Courtesy of the BBC Sport website, you can watch the ‘bowl-out’ by clicking the image at the top of the post.

Somerset, the 2005 Twenty20 cup winners, now head to Edgbaston (host of the 3rd Ashes test that got underway today) for a finals day match-up with Kent on August 15. Hopefully the rain will have subsided before then else this system might have to be reemployed to determine the semi-final and overall winners!

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 6:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

With the start of the new football season just around the corner (17 days until Premier League restarts I believe) it is therefore time to enter teams into the online fantasy football competitions!

I've entered my teams and have set up private leagues in which you play against other teams each week instead of the table being decided by the points your team's players accumulate each match.

Anyway, if you fancy a flutter (free registation btw) then why not create a team and join my private leagues - details below. Although, please don't beat me!!

Premierleague.com - details - League code: 585695-128843
Skysports.com - details - League code: 9051

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments

While living in Bordeaux I saw a lot of Obertan on the pitch and was impressed with what I saw. He plays predominantly in the same position as Ronaldo used to occupy - namely attacking right-midfield - but can also play upfront as a striker or as a out-and-out winger.

At the tender age of 17 and after having spent only one year in the reserve team, he was promoted to the Bordeaux senior squad for the 2006–07 season and given the number 26 shirt. He signed a new contract ahead of the following season in which he played 26 matches and managed to score two goals.

The arrival (and consequent massive success) of Yoann Gourcuff on loan from AC Milan last season limited Obertan's first team opportunities and he ended last season on loan at fellow Ligue 1 side FC Lorient where he made a further 15 appearances add scored one goal.

I imagine he won't be able to keep his number 26 shirt as that is currently assigned to young and upcoming Angolan striker Manucho, and I do not expect him to go immediately into the United side. He is widely regarded in France as the new Thierry Henry and so for £3 million, this move feels like quite a coup.

He is only 20 years of age - one for the future.

Speaking on the official website, manager Alex Ferguson said: "Gabriel is a player we have tracked for a few years now, but because of his educational programme our efforts to get him here have always been delayed. We are delighted to get him now as he is an exciting prospect. We like to get young players and develop them, and we will see that in Gabriel over the next two years."

Labels: Manchester United, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

As I write, the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and more recently Newcastle United striker Michael Owen is undergoing a medical at Manchester United ahead of signing for the Premier League Champions.

This news has come as a great shock to myself and I’m sure the many millions of Manchester United fans around the world, but looking beyond the English strikers’ past, this could well be a very shrewd acquisition by Sir Alex Ferguson.

For many, the fact that Michael Owen, now 29 years of age, first made a name for himself in the red shirt of rivals Liverpool means that he will not be received with open arms. After all not many have played for both clubs, with the last being Paul Ince, and Manchester United fans will know what an impact Ince made in the red shirt of the Champions…

The major concern I have with the move the likelihood of Owen contributing for a large number of matches throughout the season. Since signing for Newcastle United from Real Madrid for £16m in 2005, Owen has only managed 76 appearances in the black and white shirt over four seasons and has been sidelined with numerous injuries. Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce, who managed Owen in his short spell in charge at Newcastle, commented recently that he would not even consider signing the striker now because he was too injury-prone (article).

Nonetheless, his goalscoring record speaks for itself. In 297 games for Liverpool, he scored 158 goals, averaging at 1.88 goals per game. When he moved to Real Madrid naturally his first team chances was restricted, but in one season he still managed to find the net 16 times in 43 appearances. And yet, despite his four injury-plagued seasons on Teesside, Owen still managed to score 30 goals.

Should Owen be fit, he will undoubtedly score goals.

Owen, however, is not the same player as Carlos Tevez was. He is absolutely not the same player as Cristiano Ronaldo was. He would bring a different style to the Manchester United frontline – that is if he passes the very stringent medical examination that I am sure the Red Devils’ management will insist upon. Owen used to be quick (remember his goal in the 2002 World Cup against Argentina) and at 29 he won’t be as quick as he once was. With that said he has a vast amount of experience and will be a terrific player for the youngsters Federico Macheda and Danny Wellbeck to mature around.

The best part of this possible transfer however is the cost. Owen is of course available on a free transfer as his contract at Newcastle expired on Wednesday morning. Reports from Sky Sports today suggests that the potential deal would see Owen accept a massive reduction in his salary (which priced too many other clubs out of the race for his services this summer) and his wage would be constituted by massive bonuses based on appearances.

This would be a superb arrangement as Owen would essentially only be paid if he played. Combine this with the fact that he would not cost Sir Alex Ferguson anything in terms of transfer fee and you start to see the sense this deal makes. It is a gamble with very little to loose.

You might recall that Ferguson also took similar gambles on injury-prone players in the past, most notably Laurent Blanc, Teddy Sheringham and of course a certain Eric ‘the King’ Cantona (left). He also managed to get a decent season or two from the aging Juan Sebastian Veron and more recently some tremendous and important performances from Henrik Larsson when he joined on loan from Helsingborg in December 2006.

Sure he used to play for Liverpool, and sure he has had his problems with injuries in the past, but just those names proof that if anyone can get something out of an injury-prone aging player then it is Fergie. The fact there is no transfer fee involved is yet another bonus and even if he doesn’t play many matches in a United shirt he won’t be a massive burden on the wage bill and such a financial flop – aka Fabien Barthez.

Michael Owen therefore is a gamble worth taking.

But it is important to add also that he should not be the ONLY addition to the United attacking line. The arrival of Antonio Valencia for £16m from Wigan Athletic this week is a step in the right direction but Fergie will need to add a few more high profile names. With £64m burning a hole in the pocket it is likely to be a busy summer in the transfer market at Old Trafford. (It is a real shame that Karim Benzema won’t be joining.)

EDIT (18.55GMT): Michael Owen signs two-year contract at Manchester United.

Labels: Comment, Manchester United, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments

Since the announcement of Cristiano Ronaldo’s record £80m transfer to Real Madrid, Manchester United have inevitably been linked to lots of stars as replacements. Here is how I hope the Premier League Champions line up at Wembley to face Chelsea in the Community Shield on August 9th:

Goalkeeper:

You really cannot beat Edwin van der Sar. He may be 40 years of age in October, but he was a formidable goalkeeper last season and deservedly entered the record books for a clean-sheet record of 1,311 minutes (11 consecutive games). Hopefully we can still get a few more seasons from Edwin before he retires, which should be long enough to usher Ben Foster through the ranks.

Defence:

To be honest there really is not much that needs to be done now. The aforementioned run of clean sheets proved that the United defensive unit is effective and can overcome injuries within the unit, with Jonny Evans proving himself more than capable as a stand-in for Rio Ferdinand alongside Nemanja Vidić. However, in my ‘dreamteam’ I’ve preserved the Ferdinand-Vidić because it is the strongest partnership in the heart of defence, but Evans deservedly takes his place on my ‘dream’ subs bench.

Ferguson needs to realise that Gary Neville’s day are over at United. At 34 years of age he has been displaced at right-back by the 18 year-old Rafael de Silva who has been impressive every time I have seen him play, and scored a spectacular volley in the 90th minute of only his seventh game for the club (the 2–1 defeat to Arsenal in November 2008). With this in mind, Ferdinand, Vidić, Giggs or Carrick should be considered to take over the club captain’s armband.

Midfield:

As you would expect, United will miss Ronaldo’s presence but I feel they already have enough talent to fill the void. Particularly in the form of his Portuguese compatriot Nani, who has seen first-team action very limited this year as you would expect being second in line to the World Player of the Year. I hope that Nani will see more action this year but on the grounds that he has not played enough, he takes his place on the bench.

I have instead opted for the South Korean Park Ji-Sung, who as many of you will probably know, I am a huge fan. Every time he plays he runs his socks off and gives everything for the team, normally to the extent he has to be subbed off! He has grabbed a few important goals himself, most notably against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but if he can contribute more goals it will go a long way to filling the 30/40 goals a season Ronaldo somehow always recorded.

In the centre of the park, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher have proved to be a very effective unit with Fletcher taking the more attacking approach and Carrick remaining predominantly defensive yet still recording goals from long-range.

The rumoured acquisition of Wigan Athletic’s Ecuadorian midfielder Antonio Valencia would be an excellent move and add pace to the wings. He is rumoured to be priced in the region of £21m which does seem to be a lot of money, but he could provide to be a superb addition to the team. He also has age on his side being only 23, but I fear that his arrival could further deny Nani his chance and could perhaps force him to look elsewhere.

Attack:

Wayne Rooney has often been deployed on the wing in a very attacking mode and I have stuck with this because in time I think this will reap rewards. It has already worked wonders with Rooney’s techniques and has massively benefited his game. Unfortunately this move by Ferguson in the latter part of the season has meant that his goal tally has dried up, but with such an attacking role it will surely only be a matter of time before the goals will come.

As for Dimitar Berbatov, he’s not impressed me enough since his £30.75m move from Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day back in September 2008 to make the starting 11 and must settle for a place on the bench. But that is certainly not the case for Carlos Tévez. Just like Park, he gives his all for the team and you really cannot fault his effort. He has won over the United fans and is a true fan-favourite with some very important goals in the title run-in.

His loan deal with United expires this summer and there are many issues regarding who ‘owns’ the player and £25m is apparently the amount that United would have to pay to own the player outright. It should be the first priority for United to get Carlos Tevez to sign on the dotted line on a permanent contact with the Red Devils.

The sale of Ronaldo has finally also given United the opportunity to turn their interest into a confirmed transfer and bring the extremely talented young French striker Karim Benzema from Olympique Lyonnais. He has been very impressive in the matches I’ve seen him play, he has Champions League experience, and despite only being 21 years of age he is a regular in the French national team. If United can sign him for less than £30m that would be an absolute steal.

With Tevez and Benzema up front and with Rooney and Park contributing with attacking runs from the wings, that would make a wonderful attacking front-line and I believe would contribute more goals than last season. The defence needs to be preserved so all approaches for Vidić need to be emphatically rejected, and Foster needs to see more first-team action next season too.

And so the three main objectives for Sir Alex Ferguson this summer are: 1) sign Carlos Tevez to a permanent contract, 2) remove Gary Neville as club captain and 3) sign Karim Benzema and Antonio Valencia. With that team I would expect the Champions to retain that privileged status this time next year.

Labels: Comment, Manchester United, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

Real Madrid have proved that money talks in football. They concluded a £59m deal for Brazilian Kaka at the start of this week (article) and this morning they received the green-light from Manchester United for the £80m capture of World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo (article).

While these perhaps are great coups for Real Madrid fans, these two deals have simultaneously ushered in the era of fantasy football.

It absolutely bewilders me how much clubs pay for players, especially in the current economic climate. Real Madrid has always been a club that spends big, and yet rarely finds success. It is the personification of the phrase buying success – expect the only difference is that they cannot buy success and have always been and will continue to be second-best compared to rivals Barcelona. Even with Ronaldo and Kaka - who while exceptional players in their own right, will not single-handedly transform the Real Madrid team.

The Real president, Florentino Pérez, has proven many occasions that he has more money than brains. In his previous reign as president he spent a fortune on players such as Zinedine Zidane (£44m from

He clearly has no longer has the will to play for the United shirt. He illustrated this prior to the Champions League final in Rome last month when he declared that Manchester United was his home and did not want to play anywhere else and now four weeks later he’s off to Madrid. Many will criticise his on-field antics and they are right to do so. He has been awful this year and quite frankly a shadow of his former self compared to previous seasons. The fact he was voted World Player of the Year was a total shock and it is clearly been a title that has gone to his head.

Just like the David Beckham transfer to Real Madrid for £25m back in 2003, Ferguson has done exactly the right thing. The heart wasn’t there so he’s no longer playing there. The gift of £80m certainly sweetens the deal and hopefully Ferguson will be given that money to invest in more talent that will actually be prepared to play for the United shirt.

The crazy amounts of money being thrown around these days is quite frankly disgraceful and irresponsible especially in such hard financial times when clubs around the country and across Europe are going out of business, and could be saved with just a week’s wages of one of their ‘stars’.

Kaka is an exceptional player, a team-player at that, but even he is not worth £56m. But full credit to him, he’s making the move for the right reasons and in the press conference (watch below) showed that his club came first by saying he made the move to help out AC Milan financially.

Labels: Comment, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

They did it! FC Girondins de Bordeaux successfully avoided defeat away at Caen last night and so finish the season not only on top of the league table but as Champions of France.

It’s been 10 long years since their last championship reign, a period in which we have seen the domination of the French football scene by Lyon who won the championship seven consecutive seasons. However that their reign has come to an end as they had to settle for third place behind Marseille and the Girondins of Bordeaux.

It has been a tremendous season for the marine et blancs, even more so with their victory against Vannes to win the Coupe de la Ligue (blog entry).

Prior to the match last night in Normandy, Bordeaux fans already had much to celebrate, notably because of the news on Thursday that their inspiration playmaker Yoann Gourcuff’s loan-move has been made permanent from AC Milan. According to Setanta Sports, the club had to fork out 13.5million Euros, which is an absolute snip for such a player that has courted interest from all the big clubs in Europe with his performances this year.

For French clubs (Lyon aside) that is an awful lot of money but it was a wise move by manager Laurent Blanc and the board of directors. Gourcuff has bought so much to the Bordeaux team throughout the season, including 12 goals and eight assists. He has been undoubtedly the talisman of the team and become an ever-present fixture in the midfield. As recognition of his influence he was last week voted Ligue 1 player of the year (Guardian article).

However, the 22-year old is a Bordeaux player for the next four years, a fantastic piece of news for both Bordeaux and French football fans alike, and you have to argue that without him Bordeaux would not have witnessed such success this season.

But it was a team achievement, and a fantastic one at that.

Bordeaux, with their hard-fought 1-0 victory at Caen last night, became the first team in history to record 11 consecutive victories in Ligue 1. Another reason for their success is their dominance at home at the Stade Chaban-Delmas. They have not lost their all season; in fact their last defeat at there was way back in October 2007, when Lyon recorded the victory.

The feat is all the more impressive when you consider the club’s top-scorer with 14 goals in all competitions, the Argentine Fernando Cavenaghi, has spent the majority of 2009 on the sidelines recovering from injury. This gave the young Moroccan Marouane Chamakh the opportunity to play regularly up front, an opportunity he seized to good effect, picking up 13 goals himself and attracting interest from Arsenal amongst others.

After their Champions League campaign got off to a bad start back in September against Chelsea (BBC sport report) Bordeaux focused their attentions more upon the league and began churning out victories week after week. But it was only towards the end of the season did Bordeaux finally reclaim the top of the table - a position that they had not held in the Ligue 1 for eight years!

With Marseille’s 3-1 defeat by Lyon last weekend, the gap at the top was stretched to three points heading into last night’s final round of fixtures. Bordeaux needed just a solitary point to reclaim the title. Their opponents Caen on the other hand, had to win to maintain their Ligue 1 status and avoid relegation to Ligue 2.

In all truth it wasn’t the best of matches, but it was certainly entertaining. Caen really put on an impressive performance and there were plenty of moments when they threatened the Bordeaux goal. However, I never had the feeling that they would score, after all Bordeaux had only conceded 34 goals in the league that season – less than one a game – and Caen had only won three times in their last 24 matches.

With Marseille beating Rennes 4-0, Bordeaux just had to avoid defeat and when ironically it was the former Caen player Yoan Gouffran that scored what turned out to be the winning goal just after the half-time break, Bordeaux fans could begin to celebrate. An ingenious free-kick by the talisman Gourcuff released Benoit Tremoulinas on the wing and his cross was glanced into the net from close-range by the Gouffran who joined Bordeaux from Caen two summers ago.

In central Bordeaux, in the Place des Quinconces, a large-screen had been erected to show the match and at the final whistle the 80,000 fans that had assembled there erupted into hysteria (see video below - source: youtube). Bordeaux had done it! The feeling of accomplishment could perhaps been summed up by one fan who tweeted “putain on est champion!”

The FFF, the country’s football association decided not to award the trophy to Bordeaux on the pitch at Caen because they knew that this eventuality would mean Caen had been relegated. The presentation thus was scheduled for this morning, where thousands are expected to gather again in the Place des Quinconces and applaud the team as they lift the trophy.

Unfortunately I’m stuck in Paris trying to write an essay but my congratulations to the team, well done on your achievement and I look forward to next season and further successes!

Update (23.24): see the video of Bordeaux lifting the Ligue 1 trophy this morning below :-D

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

So there it is, Barcelona have beaten Manchester United 2-0 in the Champions League Final in Rome and to some up my feelings I'm gutted.

That was not Manchester United out there, they never got going, never played like they have all season. Playing the long-ball over the top on a soaking-wet pitch was never going to work and they were completely outplayed in the centre of the park, something that has not happened to that extent this season.

The United team have played 67 times this season and have only lost seven matches, which is an incredible stat. You could argued they were jinxed from the offset as no team has retained the Champions League in its history and Manchester United never play well in their away strip.

Another incredible stat is that Barcelona had scored 157 goals in all competitions this season - they were always going to score tonight. But it is the manner of the goals that is really really disappointing, with the first goal from Samuel Eto'o coming COMPLETELY against the run of play in what was Barcelona's first actual attack of the game.

The second game from Lionel Messi, who most are proclaiming the best in the world. I disagree. I think he's horrendously over-rated. The same cannot be said for Andres Inisesta and Xavi in the midfield - they were both absolutely sublime and are worthy winners.

Barcelona have been the best team in Europe this season and deserve their win tonight - can be no complaints. It would have been nice if United turned in a performance like we saw week in week out in the Premier League, but alas it was not meant to be.

I really wish I was a betting man as I had a feeling today it would be 2-0 Barcelona with Eto and Messi the scorers - guess that sums up my day too.

Desperately disappointed with the defeat but Barcelona were the better team on the night.

It was men against boys out there, and unfortunately not the 'dream final' that I and everyone else wanted.

Labels: Comment, Manchester United, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

Perhaps not the most romantic thing to do in Paris, the city of love, but me and Pic went to the rugby today, and it was really good! The match was between Racing Metro 92 – who had already been crowned champions of Rugby’s Division 2 last week – and Bourg-en-Bresse who are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table.

As the respective teams’ status would suggest this was rather one-sided match and that was duly reflected in the final score of 48-32. Racing Metro scored a try within the opening two minutes and ran in four more before the half-time interval. Bourg-en-Bresse capitalised on a few defensive errors after the break to add a few tries of their own, but in reality they were not in the same league as Racing Metro – which is especially true as Racing are promoted into the Top 14 league.

It was Racing Metro’s final home game of the season and so was a vibrant and euphoric atmosphere. Ticket prices were slashed, an after-match festival was arranged and the RATP transport network announced on its website a competition to win some supporters packs available to only 500 people.

These packs included T-shirts, flags, entrance tickets and a free return-bus trip to the Yves du Manoir stadium, which is in Colombes, a small suburb town 20 minutes outside the Parisian border. I entered our names into this ‘competition’ as it would have made it much easier to get to the stadium, rather then taking a train I’d never taken before and walking roads I’d never walked before.

We turned up at the meeting place and went to see if we’d won. My name was on the list but Pic’s was not. Amazingly (thank you sir) the man put her name down anyway and we both got flags, shirts, tickets and best of all a return-trip out there. In hindsight I think the ‘competition’ was saying there was 500 gift packs for the first 500 to arrive at the meeting point that day, but even still it was very kind of his to allow us both to benefit.

Anyway, we got to the stadium, watched the match, waved our flags, had fun, watched the pitch inevitably get invaded by the fans at the final whistle, and then returned back to Paris on the free bus. It was an excellent little excursion, something rather different from the clichéd tourist activities, and best of all Pic seemed to enjoy herself too (even if it was only the chicken mascot!) :-)

Below are a few photos I took from the match.

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments

There was to be no upset tonight at the Stade de France as the Girondins de Bordeaux emphatically dismissed their lower-league opponents to win their third Coupe de la Ligue. Goals from Géraldo Wendel, Marc Planus and Yoan Gouffran within the first 12 minutes completely killed the game as a contest before Yoann Gourcuff added a fourth goal just minutes before the half-time break to make the scoreline more emphatic.

Truth be told it could, and should, have been more. Bordeaux were simply too good for their lower-league opponents - who were competing in their first-ever cup final. With Bordeaux due to play Rennes in the postponed Ligue 1 contest on Wednesday night, manager Laurent Blanc rotated his squad, with reserve goalkeeper Mathieu Valverde starting between the posts, Franck Jurreti came back into the side as captain and was joined by Argentine Diego Placente and young midfielder Abdou Traoré. In the attack, Marouane Chamakh was partnered by Yoan Gouffran who maintains his place up front after having seized his opportunity last week against Lyon and excelling.

Before we all entered the Stade de France I said that the worst thing that could happen in this game was that Bordeaux scored an early goal. And sure enough, only 140 seconds were on the clock when Wendel latched onto a through-ball from Placente and lofted it over the goalkeeper with the ball creeping just inside the post. 1-0. It was the quickest goal scored in the competition’s history and caught everyone off-guard – even us supporters.

Just five minutes later and things got worse for Vannes OC. When their goalkeeper Christophe Revel came and failed to collect a Bordeaux corner from Wendel, defender Marc Planus could not have done anything else other than tuck the ball in the back of the net from a matter of yards. 2-0.

At this time all of us in the Bordeaux end were joking around that the match would finish 10-0 such was the gulf in class, so when Gourcuff whipped in a free-kick and Gouffran got in front of the keeper to glance the ball into the net less than 60 seconds later, this absurd thought looked like a shrewd judgement.

Thankfully however, it would not end 10-0, and Bordeaux only found the net once more – Gourcuff capping another outstanding display with a shot (albeit with a heavy deflection) beating the goalkeeper in his bottom corner just before the half-time interval.

At 4-0 at half-time the game was over. Vannes OC had exhausted themselves just trying to close down Bordeaux and extinguish their attacks. They had not managed a single shot on goal and never even looked like threatening. Unfortunately as a contest, David vs. Goliath would not even come close as an adequate description.

Full credit to Vannes OC in the second half however, as they emerged from the changing rooms as they pressured Bordeaux’s defence and even managed to create themselves two excellent chances. Both of which were rather tame efforts, but they were efforts nonetheless. They did manage to strike the crossbar from a freekick, but play was called back for an offside.

As Vannes OC seemed to grow and grow in confidence, the supporters in the stand opposite to us started to make themselves heard, and finally a sense of atmosphere arrived at the stadium.

The crowd had been subdued somewhat by the early goals, and the normally ever-vocal Ultramarines Bordeaux Supporters Club was deadly silent and sat motionless for the entirely first hour of play as they were staging a protest.

The so-called "grève d'ambiance de 60 minutes" was organised as a high-visibility response to ever-increasing ticket prices, the poor condition of most national stadiums and the new radical ‘indiscriminate and ‘disproportional’ security measures introduced by the French Football Authorities (LFP, FFF…) that would make many objects banned within the stadium and make the tribunes more ‘English’ as a result.

During the match the Ultramarines displayed two banners. The first, displayed during the ‘strike’, read ‘Des tribunes telles que vous les voudriez’ (the stands as you would like them). As the clocked ticked onto the hour mark, the banner was removed to reveal the second which read ‘Des tribunes telles que nous les vivons’ (the stands as we live them).

Within seconds the noise level in the stadium rose dramatically, and finally we got singing and cheering on our team. Flares were lighted and the atmosphere improved dramatically, which unfortunately could not be said of the match, which had been progressing at a snail’s pace since half-time.

Bordeaux could have made it 5-0 shortly after the hour, but Pierre Ducasse’s shot bought out an extremely good save from Revel in the Vannes goal. Two minutes later, an ambitious shot from distance by Gouffran, flashed just inches past the post. But there was to be no more goals.

Just like the last time I was at the Stade de France to watch Bordeaux all of the goals were scored in the opposite end to where I was, and also like last time, Bordeaux emerged with the victory and the trophy.

As a fitting tribute to the Vannes players, the Bordeaux team gave them a guard of honour and the fans gave them a standing ovation as they went up to collect their runners-up medals. It may have been the biggest scoreline in a French Cup Final but despite this the Brittany outfit - currently 10th in the second division - should be proud of their run in the competition. After all, they were only founded in 1998 and only turned professional this season. 4-0 was a fair reflection on the game, and also a fair reflection of the vast difference in quality and experience of the two teams.

Overall it was a very enjoyable evening but it was a shame that the game as a contest was ended so soon. Had Vannes opened the scoring then the match would have been far more exciting, but naturally I was delighted with the outcome.

Watch all the goals here [Video: YouTube]

Even from their team selection it was noticeable that Bordeaux was looking ahead to the match mid-week against Rennes. Because of Olympic Marseille’s 2-1 victory over Lille this evening, Bordeaux simply have to win on Wednesday to keep their Championship hopes alive. If they lose, they will be five points behind Marseille with only five games of the season remaining.

Before the final had even kicked off, Bordeaux manager signaled his intentions to cancel any victory celebration should they win the final and explaining they would be travelling back straight away and training the next day because the Rennes game was that important. Unfortunately however, best made plans don’t always succeed, as the supporters encouraged the victorious Bordeaux players around the pitch on a lap of honour after the final whistle.

I returned home late, tired and content and unfortunately due to my enthusiastic singing, without a voice. This could prove to be a problem especially as I have an important presentation to do on Monday morning…

Labels: Current Affairs, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

The hour of reckoning has almost arrived for tomorrow night at the Stade de France, the Girondins de Bordeaux will face Vannes OC in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue.

In what is the 15th final in the competition's short history, it is arguably the most one-sided contest on paper to date. Here is my cup final build-up:

The Girondins de Bordeaux*, who will be competing in their 5th Coupe de la Ligue final (2 wins, 2 defeats prior), head into the final sat in second place in Ligue 1 with 62 points from 32 games, and off the back of an extremely impressive and comprehensive 1-0 victory over Olympique Lyonnais last weekend that if they had lost would have all but ended their challenge for the championship title.

Vannes OC*, for their part, will be competing in their first ever cup final.

The team from Brittany currently lie in 10th place in Ligue 2 with 44 points from 32 games and suffered a big 3-0 defeat at the hands of Dijon FCO in their last match.

The gap between the teams could hardly be wider as currently 27 teams separate the two and undeniably Bordeaux will head into tomorrows final as the clear favourites and Vannes OC as the underdogs.

Bordeaux, who won this fixture two years ago when I was in the stands (blog*), have only had to contest three matches to reach the final, defeating Guingamp (L2), Berrichonne de Châteauroux (L2) and Paris Saint-Germain (L1) respectively. They managed to score nine times in these three matches, compared with the total of 13 goals that Vannes recorded in their six games.

Vannes, on the other hand, have had a much tougher time.

In fact, their very pressence in the final should be saluted for the Breton team have had to contest twice as many games and in the process have disposed of three top-flight teams: Valenciennes (29th September, 3-3 (5-4 on penalties)), Auxerre (11th November, 2-0) and Nice (4th February, 1-1 (3-4 on penalties)), something that Bordeaux should certainly be weary about.

But that is not all. On 3rd September 2008, Vannes kicked off their Coupe de la Ligue campaign and in doing so because the first Breton club to compete in the competition, for it is only France’s top two divisions and a handful of National league clubs that are given the honour of playing in France’s secondary cup.

The team, from a small town* of only 50,000 residents had never been able to participate through being too low in the league echelons but after claiming promotion to the professional ranks last season, they have secured their position mid-table in Ligue 2 and have bewildered critics with their successive and impressive victories to reach the final.

After defeating Nice on penalties, Vannes coach Stephane Le Mignan spoke to journalists, saying: “it [Stade de France] is a stadium where you are used to going to watch others, or the French team. On April 25, we will be there! It’s a unique achievement in professional football, but it’s also part of the charm in the sport. We eliminated three Ligue 1 teams so we deserve it.”

While I must salute the monumental achievement of this small club, I do hope they do not manage to create another upset tomorrow and beat the mighty Bordeaux.

It’s unfortunately not completely impossible as Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc may well rest and rotate a lot of his players in order to preserve them for the Ligue 1 championship run-in. I fully expect reserve goalkeeper Matthieu Valverde to continue in goal as he has played in all of the Coupe de la Ligue fixtures this season, and Blanc may well start with the genius Yoann Gourcuff on the bench (if at all).

Nevertheless I hope that it is an extremely enjoyable game and that in the end Bordeaux emerge with their third Coupe de la Ligue final victory. But regardless of the scoreline, Vannes can hold their heads high, because their presence in the final can act as a massive source of encouragement for many and can rejuvenate this competition that like its English sister the Carling Cup* is rarely regarded as a serious competition by many top-flight managers.

Stay tuned tomorrow evening for updates from within the stadium! Allez Bordeaux!

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 9:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

In exactly two weeks time, I shall be standing in the Stade de France cheering on the Girondins de Bordeaux* as they contest the Coupe de la Ligue final again. I think it's safe to say that I'm looking forward to it!

Two years ago, while on my year abroad, I made the long trip up from Bordeaux to Paris on the coach with my friends and stood in the away end as we watched Bordeaux score a late winner to sink rivals Olympic Lyonnais and lift the trophy (blog entries here* and here*).

To this day I still believe that whole experience was the most enjoyable of my year abroad and still look back upon it with fond memories.

When I learnt Bordeaux had made the final again two years later I was delighted, I would be in Paris and they had expressed an interest in coming up and we’d all go watch another victory. Unfortunately, the current economic climate has meant the return travel is just too expensive – after all, the entire match is going to be televised live on France 2 that night.

Nonetheless I have my ticket and shall be going. It should be another great evening and I am fully expecting another victory for the ‘Marine et Blanc’ as they face Vannes OC, who currently rank 8th in Division Two.

Bordeaux, on the other hand, have finally taken their place (albeit temporarily) at the summit of the First Division with their 2-0 victory over Auxerre this evening, and will no doubt head into the final as the odds-on favourites.

But I don’t want to jinx Bordeaux’s chances, after all Vannes have already overcome Dijon (D2), Amiens (D2), Valenciennes (D1), Auxerre (D1) and Metz (D2) to get to the final themselves so have proven themselves to be more than capable defeating higher opposition.

Kick off in 13 jours, 22 hours and 37minutes, and counting… Allez Bordeaux!

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 9:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

After the last meeting of Manchester United and Liverpool, the latter's manager Rafa Benitez went on a verbal attack of United presenting what he called 'facts' (full statement here*).

It seems only right therefore that United remind Liverpool of some facts as shown in the video below. Enjoy.

(video from MUTV)

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 7:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

03/03 is not a great score in Cricket (no matter how many times it appears with the English team) and after today 03/03 will represent a bad day for the sport too. I'm speaking of course of the shocking developments in Pakistan where masked gunmen attacked the tour coach of the Sri Lankan Cricket Team, and have consequently surely made the country a no-go zone for other touring teams.

If that isn't bad enough, a few days beforehand came a shocking discovery that cricket may not be an English creation after all (source). A poem which is believed to have been written in 1533 has been uncovered by academics suggesting that the game originated from Northern Belgium and was introduced to England by immigrants.

Reading: ‘O lodre of Ipocrites / Nowe shut vpp your wickettes / And clappe to your clickettes! / A! Farewell, kings of crekettes!’, this poem was uncovered by Paul Campbell, who just to add insult to injury, happens to be Australian in a year the Ashes are once again contested.

Whether or not therefore we can assume the validity of this claim, surely the game is English? And a truly wonderful English game at that. One which England and its former-colonies will probably fully understand. Ask a Frenchman what cricket is and he’ll must probably treat you one of their traditional Gallic shrugs, but ask an Englishman or an Aussie what cricket is and more often than they’ll know it. Cricket is certainly not seen as a ‘sport’ in Europe, although apparently there are both French and Belgium cricket teams who contest a European Cricket Championship…

Nevertheless, the cricketing world in its entirety will be affected by today’s quite frankly atrocious events in Lahore. Twelve masked men are believed to have surrounded the team’s coach, thrown grenades and opened fire, killing six policemen who were escorting the Sri Lankan team. Seven players and an assistant coach were also wounded in the attack, which from the details that have emerged so far, appears to have been very highly coordinated and thoroughly planned.

But what most troubles me is what motive could these people have had? OK, these players are representatives of their country, but they did not travel with political motives, they came to play cricket - the game they love. This attack has been described as ‘was one of the worst security failures in Pakistan’ and comes at a time when security in the country was already under scrutiny. The sport’s governing body the International Cricket Council (ICC) only recently decided not to hold the 2009 Champions Trophy there while it reviewed the situation.

Now, this incident will put in doubt the likelihood of any future high-level games taking place in Pakistan, full stop. The 2011 Cricket World Cup is due to be contested in Asia but surely that will no not be in Pakistan or even India, whose national team were also caught up in violence with the bombings in Mumbai.

In fact, it was only because the Indian team pulled out of the test matches with India and Pakistan, that the Sri Lankan team agreed to replace them. Perhaps now that decision is being regretted. I hope those Sri Lankan players recover from their injuries soon, but for Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the cricketing world, the wounds may take longer to heal.

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 9:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

I had never thought of the Olympics in such a way, but what if Europe was competing as one single country instead of its seperate member states? Would we still be behind the likes of China and the USA in the overall medals table?


The answer: apparently not and by quite a long way! As of this morning, Europe (as a collective body) had won a total of 163 medals of all colours which is very impressive.

Obviously the idea of Europe competing as one country is a far-fetched utopian long-shot, but then again didn't everyone say the same things about the implementation of a single currency...

Click here to read the rest of my translation.

Labels: cafebabel, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 8:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

Now that I have finished all my work at Sheffield University I was worried that I would be bored, but thankfully today marks the start of Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria.

Despite applying to volunteer for a position out there (still not heard anything) it should be an exciting competition and I know where my money lies. It is very hard to look past Germany as eventual winners as they have a 'relatively' easy passage through to the final, Spain will crash out in the quarters as usual and Portugal make make the semi-finals but I can't see them winning.

For me with the overall winner will be who emerges winner of Group C - the 'Group of Death'. Containing France, Holland, Italy and Romania at least one of the big teams will miss out.


Despite my love of all things French, I have to admit I'm supporting France this year, with their youth in the team and firepower up front they'll do well. Shall be very exciting to see the young Karim Benzema (number 20 above) and he will surely score a few goals.

Similarly, Holland have goals within their team, and well you can never discount the current World Cup Winners Italy - without captain Cannavaro or not.

I did a translation last week on the favourites to win: click here to view (opens in new window).

Overall should be a good tournament, but my money is on France - allez les bleus!

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

Good grief. Manchester United have won the Champions League again, defeating Chelsea 6-5 in a penalty shoot-out in Moscow.

United should have sealed the game in the first half once Ronaldo had opened the scoring but Chelsea got a lucky break and scored, and then dominated the rest of the match.

The ever-reliable Ronaldo predictably missed a penalty in the final shoot-out and I sat motionless head in hands convinced it was all over. Chelsea captain John Terry slipped (really couldn't happen to a nicer guy...) and then the United keeper Van Der Sar saved Nicolas Anelka's penalty to win the game.

In addition to all this, the disgraceful Didier Drogba got his deserved marching orders in the second half of extra time, and Ryan Giggs made club history by breaking Sir Bobby Charlton's all-time appearance record.

Honestly, the night had it all.

I just wish that United would do it the easy way for once... Give all their loyal fans a little less stress and anxiety! (And I thought the 1999 final was bad enough!) Well done guys, I'm sure the vodka will be flowing tonight...

Labels: Manchester United, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments

Wow, what a game! In what maybe my final game in the stands at Hillsborough, Sheffield Wednesday (needing to win to guarantee their safety) pulled out all the stops and came back from a goal-behind to record their biggest home victory, winning 4-1 against Norwich City in front of a league record crowd of 36,208.


Norwich, who had confirmed their Championship status last weekend, started better and scored within the opening 10 minutes, which was not the start the Owls were hoping for! With Southampton and Leicester both drawing, Wednesday as it stood were heading down to League 1, and it didn’t seem that would change – the carnival atmosphere in the ground before kick-off suddenly fell very silent.

The wet conditions were not helping either team’s defence and consequently the players were slipping all over the pitch and one slip almost cost Wednesday another goal, Lee Grant in the Wednesday goal pulling of an incredible reaction save with his shoulder. How important that save was! Moments later, Grant’s clearance fooled the Norwich defence and out of nothing Wednesday had a penalty as the last-man hacked down Deon Burton who raced onto the bouncing long-ball. Burton converted the spot-kick and Wednesday were back in the Championship.

The Owls were a completely different side in the second half and completely bossed the game and deservedly took the lead, on-loan striker Ben Sarah prodding the ball home from an un-defendable cross from fellow loanee Bartosz Slusarski. A win was good enough for Wednesday regardless of results elsewhere, so suddenly what went on in the other games became irrelevant.

Southampton and Sheffield United were producing an interesting game down on the south coast and word filtered around the stands that Leicester just could not score against Stoke, who were chasing an automatic promotion place.

Then it happened; Wednesday scored and absolutely confirmed they would still be playing Championship football next season. Deon Burton (of course) converting from a cross this time by my player of the season Tommy Spurr, a goal that was almost identical to the second. Everyone was standing and jumping around, now the carnival atmosphere had returned – Wednesday were safe!

A fourth goal, added soon after by substitute Leon Clarke, was the icing on the cake. Easrlier in the season Wednesday were struggling to score, and Deon Burton was as one fan remarked “Wednesday’s fifth-choice striker”, and now they’ve scored 7 goals in the last two games and could have had more.


Because of Southampton’s win over Sheffield United, denying them a place in the play-offs and completed a dream-day for Owls fans, Leicester were relegated to League 1 after drawing 0-0 with the now promoted Stoke.

An amazing conclusion to an amazing season. Only 18 points separate the relegated teams with those in the play-off position, which is madness and is just another way of proving that the Championship is the most competitive league in the world.

Labels: Current Affairs, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

Fifty years ago today, 6th February 1958, was the day that will be remembered as the day when football as it used to be known died.

The Munich air crash claimed the lives of 23 people, including eight Manchester United players who were returning from a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade. Those eight players were eight of the most exciting footballers of the generation; the Busby Babes.

The plane had stopped to re-fuel in Munich en route to Manchester but it had been snowing in Munich and the plane over-shot the runway when the pilot attempted to take off for a third time. One of its wings hit a house and then the plane hit another building causing it to crash and catch fire.

United manager Sir Matt Busby was badly injured and had to have blood transfusions after the crash, while Sir Bobby Charlton suffered minor injuries. Others weren't so lucky, Manchester United and the whole of the footballing community lost Roger Byrne (captain), Mark Jones, Eddie Colman, Tommy Taylor, Liam (Billy) Whelan, Duncan Edwards, David Pegg and Geoff Bent.

The crash also claimed the lives of many sporting journalists, including Alf Clarke, Don Davies, George Follows, Tom Jackson, Archie Ledbrooke, Henry Rose, Eric Thompson and Frank Swift.

Others killed:Walter Crickmer (Manchester United club secretary, who was in charge of the side during the Second World War); Bert Whalley (chief coach and former United player); Tom Curry (club trainer); Captain Kenneth Rayment (co-pilot); Bela Miklos (travel agent); Willie Satinoff (fan); Tom Cable (air steward).

The tragedy of the crash changed football as we know it today and many argue that it was the birth of Manchester United as we know today. Busby's methods of using younger players is still in force today with the average age of the United team well below that of other Premiership teams.

On Sunday, there will be a minute's silence prior to Manchester United's home Premier League game against Manchester City. United players will wear a 1950s-style kit, free from sponsorship and numbered one to 11, while City will also wear a special strip. It will no doubt be a very poignant occaison, a chance to remember those special players who in the words of Sir Bobby Charlton were the best he's ever played with and whose lives were snatched away from us.

We will remember them.

Labels: Current Affairs, Manchester United, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments

Well what a day I'm having! Wednesday beat United in a superb derby match, I finish my final essay in the early hours and then go to the pub with one of my favourite people! :-)

Of course it goes without saying that it rained all day, but I don't really care about that. The match was a really superb affair and was played as if it was a cup final (as Wednesday manager Brian Laws described it in the match programme).

Wednesday played the best football that I have EVER seen them play and in my opinion fully deserved the win. Sheffield United though had by far the better oppotunities to score and dominated large periods of the game, but it was two moments of sheer brilliance that won the game for the Owls; two goals that I would have beaten any team. (Video below is the Calendar News highlights of the match:)

Labels: Current Affairs, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments

Poor old Newcastle, they've sacked their eighth manager in so many years and this afternoon they got battered 6-0 by an inspirational second-half display from Manchester United.

Newcastle United want to be the best but they're not in the same league as they big four. They have always been, and will be for a very long time, a mid-table team. One of the many reasons for this is that the fans never give the manager a chance to construct a team - just take Fergie at Manchester United as an example of how you should give a manager time!

Obviously it doesn't help if your team cannot defend, but I have so much sympathy for one Newcastle player, their goalkeeper Shay Given. For me he has been without a shadow of a doubt the best player to pull on a Newcastle shirt in the last decade. He is a consistently reliable performer and some of the saves he pulled off today at Old Trafford were simply incredible. Simply put, if it wasn't for him, Manchester United would have been in double-figures. Easily.

Given is a really quality goalkeeper, I've maintained this opinion for years and I just feel really sorry that he's at Newcastle and not elsewhere having the trophy-filled career he should be enjoying. I'd love to see him as the Man. United number 1 but I think that is probably very unlikely, and I doubt that any manager mad enough to take the vacant Newcastle job (let's be honest) would get rid of him.

Oh and on the subject of the next manager, I'm placing my money on Steve McClaren. You heard it here first!

Labels: Comment, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

What a game! This was my very first Boxing Day football match, and also my first time witnessing a local Devon derby match and it didn't disappoint! Exeter, who were a good five places below Torquay in the Blue Square Premier League before kick off, were outstanding and against the run of play scored twice in the first half to take a two goal lead into half-time.

Then after a real farce (when I had to stand in the queue for refreshments for the whole of half-time as we waited for some water to boil and meant I missed Torquay scoring to make it 2-1), Exeter scored a superb third and then were reduced to ten-men as the referee decided he would ruin the game.

One of the Torquay attackers (Sills) lashed out at an Exeter defender after the ball had gone and then the Exeter players rushed around him pushing etc. One of the defenders (Seabourne) leaned in to shout at the player, who then took a dive as if he had just been hit by a mortar. Disgusting. And then just as I had said to brother Neil, the referee gave the Exeter defender his marching orders. The attacker (surprise surprise) escaped without even a warning.

How did Exeter react? Pretty good, they scored to make it 4-1 - surely game won! But no; Torquay scored twice late on, had four shots cleared off the line and dominated the play. Exeter (somehow) held on to take the win which they did deserve for playing our of their skins.

If I manage to find a clip of the game I shall post it here, but in the meantime you can read a full match report here.

One thing's for sure, I'm unlikely to see a more action-packed game this season!

Labels: Current Affairs, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments

August 1st - the date that my new website is available to the whole public. OK, I do change it every year but this time I decided I would go for something that I really liked and would not see fit to change next summer. It's taken a while to create but I'm really pleased with it and I hope you enjoy it too. If you haven't yet seen it, click here to view, (and should you find any problems do tell me about them!)

Elsewhere, this evening saw Devon County Cricket Club again heavily outclassed and beaten by Somerset CCC in the annual Twenty20 Challenge match at Exmouth Cricket Club. As always the standard of play is very high, with plenty of boundaries and sixes to keep the fans happy, but as you would expect the County Championship Division Two side came out on top.

Unlike last year, Somerset's Aussie star Justin Langer did not play, nor did the man (the legend) Marcus Trescothick, but he was in Exmouth tonight to sign autographs! I have always maintained that he is one of the best opening batsman England have had, and unfortunately he's not in the current squad but I hope he'll be back soon. Obviously I jumped at this opportunity to meet him, got my match card signed and I wished him a quick recovery and hoped to see him back in an England shirt soon, which made him smile!

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 9:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

What a truly incredible match that was last night at Old Trafford! Second leg of the Champions League quarter final, United were 2-1 down from the first leg, without Saha, Vidic, Neville and Scholes, and had to win to progress to the next round.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think United would score more than two - let alone be 4-0 at half time and then put another three past Roma, one of the best teams in Italy.

The only down-point of the game was Roma getting on the score sheet - but even their goal was special. All eight goals were absolute quality and I think that it was perhaps one of the best matches in Champions League history. Chelsea, and their team of "stars" once again got lucky and just about earned their place in the next round, it's a shame they can't win like a real team even when at full strength and have a substitute bench worth in the region of £100 million.

I still cannot believe the match last night, I am still wondering whether it actually happened or whether it was all just a wonderful dream. But here are the goals so you can all enjoy again, and again, and maybe even again...!!! (video is in French)

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

88th minute at the Stade de France, Bordeaux have a corner. Micoud puts the ball into the area and is met by the head of Henrique. The net ripples, and 30,000 Bordeaux fans, and the blue half of the stadium erupts. Bordeaux had done it. Their first shot on target in the whole match and against Lyon, top of the league and full of world-class players, the Bordeaux team had snatched victory, and with it a place in next season's UEFA cup. And I was there.

I’ve had a while to reflect on the whole game, and I still cannot believe what happened! Bordeaux were the underdogs in the match, the whole experience was incredible, and I honestly think it was the best 24 hours of my year abroad to date.

The coach trip was good fun, we had a really nice picnic just past Futuroscope near Poitiers, we got to Paris in really good time and spent a few hours before the match soaking up the atmosphere, singing and drinking beer together. It was fantastic and it was almost a shame that we had to go into the stadium to watch the match!

The game itself as a spectacle wasn't the greatest, there were very few chances in the match and the first half was all Lyon - I don't even think the Lyon keeper touched the ball at all! Bordeaux barely looked like a team capable of scoring and so I was a bit worried that we had made the long trip north to see Bordeaux get stuffed.

After enjoying the half time show of the "pom pom girls", the second half was a massive improvement. Despite still not being able to manage a shot on target, Bordeaux were starting to create chances. Faubert went close with a shot and a few minutes later Fernando headed over from a corner. We all had our hearts in our mouths a few moments later when Lyon substitute Milan Baros went clean through 1-on-1 and fired his shot against the inside of the post (wouldn't have counted though as he was ruled offside).

But then it happened; With extra-time looming, Bordeaux won a corner and converted it. We had done it, somehow! By the time the blue half of the stadium had stopped jumping around in delight, the final whistle was blown and we were off bouncing again! Bordeaux had won the cup! Cue mass celebrations, singing and a very quickly consumed bottle of champagne before getting back onto the coach to make the long journey back south.

It was such a fantastic experience, and one I am going to remember for a long time. Allez Bordeaux!

Click here to view a collection of photos from the trip: http://shef.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2087885&l=b0bbb&id=61107707
Click here to watch the video of our celebrations at the final whistle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56DkSL503qE
Click here to view a superb news report of the match (+ goal) [in French]: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1lich_lyon-bordeaux-finale-cdl

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

Bordeaux face Lyon tomorrow night at the Stade de France, Paris, in the final of the French League Cup. And I'm going!

I will be amongst the 23,000 Bordeaux fans making their way up to Paris, and will be in one of the 170 coaches that have been commissioned to transport some of the fans! There are even 6 additional trains making the trip to Paris (on top of the hourly TGV service). Despite not being a particular fan of coaches, I am rather happy to be making the trip by coach and not train because a) it was much more expensive and b) I don't really fancy being part of the thousands of fans trying to get from Montparnasse (in the south-west) to the Stade de France (in the north-east) on the Metro...!

Saying that, the coach trip is 9 hours each way, and I'll be spending it in the company of fellow Bordeaux fans and rather a lot of beer, oh my poor liver!

My seat in the ground is superb and thanks to the Stade de France's official site I can actually see the view I'll have from my seat (see above)! It should be a superb game, as Bordeaux are (I think) the only team to have defeated Lyon (who are the League's runaway leaders) in both fixtures already this season. Both teams were in this season's Champions League and both teams have no significant injury problems heading into tomorrow night's match.

I'm really looking forward to it, not so much the 6.30am start, but I think I summed it up well when I told Nico I was going: "it'll be an experience".

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 1:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

Liverpool 0 Manchester United 1

There really aren't many things in this world that I enjoy more than a win against our biggest rivals Liverpool. What makes it even better is when it's away at Anfield, and when it's totally undeserved. So as you can guess I'm enjoying this one!

I have to admit that United did not deserve to win the game. But in the same way Scholes did not deserve to be dismissed, United should've had a penalty for a trip on Saha and Liverpool really should have scored at least 4 or 5. But they didn't, and United left with the three points despite only managing ONE shot on target, and that was the goal in the 91st minute...

Away to Liverpool is without a doubt the hardest game of the season for United in my opinion, and prior to the kick-off I didn't have a good feeling about it. United had only just escaped with a win against Fulham in their last match, and Liverpool hadn't conceded at home in ages. The whole game was pretty much played in United's half, and I honestly thought it was only a matter of time before Liverpool scored. Crouch really should have in the 88th minute, but it was a stunning save from Van Der Sar, who I really wish I could emulate on the pitch myself - best keeper in the Premier League this year, sans doute.

Anyway, the video below (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1cody_liverpool-0-1-man-utd-oshea-goal)is the winning goal. Enjoy it to your hearts' content United fans, I sure am!

Glory Glory Man Utd - Premier League Champions 2006/7

Labels: Manchester United, Sport

Posted by Andrew at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I probably shouldn't go to another Ice Hockey match because after having watching this one tonight I'm always going to feel disappointed! Tonight's match-up at the Patinoire de Mériadeck, was the team's first scheduled meeting in the play-downs (basically the playoffs for survival in the division), and it was truly incredible.

The Girondins also played tonight, but in the Coupe de France, and so there was pretty much a full crowd inside the Patinoire so it was very very noisy! And the game started off really quickly, and after camping inside the Limoges final third for nearly 5 minutes, Bordeaux opened the scoring - and deservedly so. Then the whole match seemed to spiral into madness. The first period had to be stopped with 5 minutes left as the referee had been hit in the face by the puck and was clearly shaken. Off went the players and we had the between period break. On their return to the ice, they played the remaining 5 minutes and then changed ends and immediately started playing the second period.

Limoges scored midway through the second period, and Bordeaux literally straight from the restarting face-off took the lead again - I think the official time between the goals was something like 19 seconds... Clearly spurred on by this the Bordeaux players upped their game - and Limoges' players upped their anger levels. Crunching tackles were flying in everywhere, body checks, barges into the walls, and even a few fights broke out.

Amongst this mayhem and melee of tackles (like the one you can view by clicking on the image to the left), Bordeaux were penalised for fielding too many men on the ice, and it was during this power-play that Limoges equalised. 2-2 heading into the final period.

A few minutes into the third and final period, another of the referees was hit in the face by a puck - but he just picked himself up so there was no interruption to the game. More fights, more penalties, more shots, but neither team looked like they could beat the opposing goalkeepers - both of whom had brilliant games. 2 minutes left - looked like a 2-2 draw, then suddenly a moment of magic - a cross ice pass touched home into the top corner for Bordeaux. Just over a minute left 3-2 Bordeaux.

Time out called by Limoges. They pull their keeper and so played without a keeper in favour of having another outfield player. 29 seconds left, and they scored - an excellent shot from a long way out. 3-3. Bordeaux's keeper was a little angry to concede to say the least - he shattered his stick on his goal frame, then as he went to get a replacement from the bench he was confronted by one of his defenders, words were obviously said as they started to punch each other. The referees broke it up whie the Limoges players just stood laughing. The defender stormed off down the tunnel, smashed his stick on the wall, then one of his team-mates', then kicked the wall a few times before then screamed some obscenities... The remaining 29 seconds passed (amazingly) without further incident, so it finished 3-3.

Absolutely breathtaking game, the only thing it missed I think was a streaker - oh wait, there was one, halfway through the final period - he really must've been cold...

EDIT: Just read the match report of the Girondin's cup match. That too was 3-3, but Bordeaux scrapped through 5-4 on penalties. Sounds like that too was full of action as the opposition were forced to play with 10 men from the 9th minute, yet still managed to score 3 times against a team classed a division above them...

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

Back in Bordeaux now. It is warmer although it has been quite an overcast day. The travel went very smoothly today, which was good!

After yesterday's train farce with the 13.20 Exmouth train cancelled, meaning a mad 30 minute rush, including a car-park car transfer to Exeter St Davids, we only just got on the train then - so thanks Mum and Dad! Once on the train, we had to sit at Taunton station for 25 minutes for a member of staff to arrive - ironically the driver - so we were on course to miss both our planned connections at Reading, so we both really hoped it would be simpler today; and it was.

National Express coach from Oxford to Luton Airport ran exactly to schedule - to the minute, and was equipped with reclining leather seats - needless to say I was impressed (and very comfortable). Little traffic meant a prompt arrival at Luton, so we, as Neil was travelling back with me for a 'week in the sun', checked-in straight away and boarded the flight which left on time. See Mum - British transport can go to plan sometimes!!

Arrived back in my apartment to find my Christmas tree had shed all of its needles, which took a while to clear... Not bad for a "non-drop" tree aye... Never mind. After clearing the floor, we went to the Stade Chaban-Delmas where Bordeaux (L1 - equiv to the Premiership) hosted Bastia (L2 - equiv to the Championship) in the French Cup.

The Girondins fielded a "weakened" side but ran out comfortable 2-0 winners in front of a dismal 7000 crowd... Tickets were very cheaply priced with the most expensive ticket, for the best area of the ground, only 15 Euros. As for the game, Bastia started better and forced a few good diving saves from the Bordeaux second-choice goalkeeper. But the Girondins scored with their first attack of the game after half an hour, Chamakh latching onto a hopeful punt up field from defence, beating the offside trap and curling the ball home past the advancing goalkeeper.

Chamakh got his second towards the end heading in from a yard after great skill from the right winger (Obertan?). Micoud wasted numerous glorious chances and really should've been more but hey, a win is a win! Just as we were enjoying the 11pm warmth it started to rain, I may have left England once again, but it would appear that this time the weather has travelled with me...

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments

Just looked up the score of last night's match which I missed while at the Muse concert and discovered that the Girondins' 3-0 defeat away to Liverpool has now eliminated them from the Champions League.

After watching the goals (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5RAi8o3_4U) I'm a bit disappointed as all three are sloppy ones to have conceded - especially as the defence looked to have been playing a bit better after the 3-1 win at home to Sedan on Saturday. But reading the various match reports it seems that Bordeaux had a player dismissed for a Zidane-esque headbutt - I haven't seen this but if anyone knows a link?!

The Girondins host Galatasaray at the Stade Chaban-Delmas later this month and although they cannot progress in the Champions League, one of those two teams will take the third spot in the table which gives that team UEFA Cup football. So all is not lost - just yet...

Match Reports:
BBC Online: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6094112.stm
L'Equipe [fr]: http://www.lequipe.fr//Football/C1_20062007_4J_mar_Bordeaux.html
Le Figaro [fr]: http://www.lefigaro.fr/ActualiteSportive/20061101.WWW000000184_liverpool_trop_fort_pour_bordeaux.html

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments

Still don’t have the Internet at my place, for some reason yet unknown, so I made use of the free evening and went to watch the Bordeaux Boxers Ice Hockey team at the Patinoire (Meriadeck) – where Muse are to play a concert in just over a week.

At only 3 Euros for a student, it was excellent value for money and I saw (albeit unfortunately for Bordeaux) a lot of goals – 9 in all. Needless to say Bordeaux got thrashed. 7-2. Just moments before the game started I had a glance at the league table in the programme and knew it wasn’t going to be an easy Bordeaux victory as it read that the nights’ opponents (Tours) were sitting proudly at the top of the table: played 5, won 5, goals for 23, goals against 8.

Sure enough, with less that 3 minutes on the clock Tours were 2-0 up, and even when Bordeaux pulled a goal back soon after they never really looked in with a chance of winning. The Tours keeper was having the game of his life and was saving everything – even saving a flying puck shot with his helmet after diving down to his right.

4-1 Tours at the end of the first period, 6-1 at the end of the second it was looking ominous. In the second interval between the periods the commentator had a chat with the Boxers’ president who he posed the question “in what field have Bordeaux improved on this season”. The response was surprisingly “discipline”, and I say surprisingly because there always seemed to be a Bordeaux player (or 4 at one stage) in the penalty box…

It ended 7-2 and despite the loss I thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment! 3 hours for 3 Euros – shall be doing it again soon!

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments

Saw an advert in the local paper today advertising tickets for the Girondins de Bordeaux's matches in the Champions League this year. This is their first time in the competition so whether that has something to do with the prices I don't know but I have purchased a ticket for all three of their home matches - against Galatasaray, PSV Eindhoven and Liverpool - for 45 Euros (£30)!

My seat itself is high in the stands behind the goal but I cannot argue with the prices - the most expensive of all the three tickets is for the match against Liverpool and that's only 18 Euro (£12). This is much cheaper than a ticket in the same area as I sat last year in Hillsborough (Sheff Wednesday) which was £19 on the day and less than half the price I paid to see Exeter City nearly defeat Manchester United in the FA Cup at Old Trafford in 2005.

Awesome aye - I may well pop along to more of their games this year as apparently the tickets for those games are cheaper than that!

[FFI: vs PSV Eindhoven (27th Sep) 15 Euro; vs Liverpool (18th Oct) 18 Euro; vs Galatasaray (22nd Nov) 12 Euro.]

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Oh, rafting was awesome. We did the Lutchen (I think that's how it's spelt) run which starts a little way from Interlaken near the Eiger and so was a quite fast flowing river. After originally getting scared when the instructers were outling what to do if we went over board, it was actually a lot of fun - and I didn't fall out either! (The only casulty was our guide who fell out right at the end when we tried to moor but got carried downstream - he lost his balance and fell in! We eventually stopped 100m downstream which was exciting and a bit unplanned!)

After rafting we played giant chess (I won) and then headed back to the hostel to reflect on the fantastic experience that rafting was. Would definately do it again. Soon!

Labels: Sport

Posted by Andrew at 7:18 PM | Permalink | Comments