Team GB? Thanks, but no thanks

If you can manage to see through the thick Beijing smog, the torch is about to be lit to mark the start of the 2008 Olympic games on Friday. As always, hopes are high that on these shores that Team GB can bring home some gold medals across various disciplines. Memories of Kelly Holmes becoming double Olympic champion 4 years ago in distance running, Edinburgh’s Chris Hoy taking the gold in cycling and Jonathan Edwards victory in the triple jump in Sydney are still vivid.

The British team will of course be made up of athletes from right across the British isles, with Scotland’s own Andy and Jamie Murray the sole representatives in the tennis event. And while we are there in number, there will be no GB participation in a few events.

And one of those is our national sport; football. The Olympic football competition is now taking on more importance than it has been previously, with Brazil sending superstars such as Ronaldinho to compliment the main squad comprising of under 21 players. But there will be no such players from these islands there.

However, with the 2012 Olympics being held in London, the pressure is on for there to be a British football team participating in the games. Sebastian Coe, one of the leading figures of London 2012, has demanded a British team be included while FIFA president Sepp Blatter has again waded into the debate, again insisting that “in 2012, there will be a British team”.

But the Scottish Football Association and their Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts are completely against the idea of a British national side. They say that such a move could be the start of a move to rip apart the individual associations and eventually create a united British side to compete on all fronts. Blatter could deny this, but there is a great feeling that that is what FIFA would like to see happen.

So the SFA et al are digging their heels in, and rightly so. Each of the home nations have long and established footballing histories, and Scotland V England is the oldest international match in the world. Each nation is proud of their footballing independence and a Great Britain side could threaten that. If all the associations went for the British team, then it may provoke FIFA into thinking “hang on here, they might want to go for that full time”. Which we don’t, despite the numerous lows which come with watching Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or indeed England.

Another point is the picking of the players. Motormouth Blatter has once more commented “for us it is not important if the players are all from England.” Comments like these only harden the stance of the other home nations. The majority of the players would be from England anyway, and as we regard England as footballing rivals, how could we be expected to support it? Would Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish players even get a look in, despite the fact there are plenty who are good enough? One would have to question that.

The individual identity of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland is important, but especially so in football terms. It is not something we are willing to lose, for the sake of one Olympic Games which claims to benefit the whole of the country, when in actual fact the only real benefits will be seen in the East end of London, where the majority of events will be held.

I will as ever hope that the British athletes do well in Beijing and bring home some medals, from the Murray brothers of Dunblane to Paula Radcliffe. But team GB at the football? Coe, Blatter et al- you can keep that thank you. Preserve our independence.

Moyes the key to Everton’s progress

Having been on holiday for the past week, I have been devoid of any major football news recently. Not surprisingly, the Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Barry transfer sagas continue to rumble on, while Alexsander Hleb has left Arsenal for Barcelona.

But whilst at the beach on the final day before setting off for home, I picked up a couple of British newspapers to try and get up to speed with the footie news and, as an Evertonian, a small piece on David Moyes being close to agreeing a new contract with the club caught my eye.

The article said that the Toffees manager was close to agreeing a new 5 year deal worth £60,000 a week after seeking assurances about the club’s future transfer dealings from chairman Bill Kenwright. Everton have, so far, been quiet on the transfer front while losing a vital cog and one of the Premier League’s most underrated players in Lee Carsley to Birmingham City.

But, as players come and go, the most important thing for Everton has to be securing Moyes on a long term deal, which I’m sure they will, but I’d rather see it done sooner rather than later. In my view Moyes has cemented his place as one the top managers in the British game with his work at Goodison Park.

When he arrived, the club were a sinking ship. The memories of the successful era of the 1980s, when League and European success was the norm, had long gone as relegation battles became common place, with two great escapes in 1994 and 1998. Joe Royle’s 1995 FA Cup win wasn’t built on in the way the Goodison faithful had hoped.

In stepped Moyes. He steered the club away from relegation and has secured European qualification, including the club’s first ever Champions League campaign, 3 times. Much of this achieved on a shoe string budget, though he has three times smashed the club’s transfer record- £6 million on the departed James Beattie, £8.6 on Andy Johnson and £11 million on Yakubu, who had a terrific first season last term.

Moyes initially made Everton a hard working team who were well organised and hard to beat. Indeed, the number of 1-0 scorelines in Everton’s favour in that historic 04/05 Champions League season indicated that. But a team of grafters has slowly been added to with gifted, technical players- Mikel Arteta, one of the finest midfielders in the league, the aforementioned Yakubu, Joseph Yobo and Joelon Lescott, a fine footballer for a centre back and scorer of 10 goals last season.

Everton’s fans are keen to see the club build on last season’s fifth place finish, run to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup and Carling Cup semi final appearance. Hopefully a trophy and a top 4 finish could be achieveable and of course the manager needs funds to bring more quality to what is already a talented squad.

But firstly, the board should give Moyes the assurances he needs and sign him now. It is clear that he loves the club and its fans and it is hard to see him manage elsewhere. If he keeps progressing, he may become a target for an even bigger club than the Blues, but if the board back the manager in the transfer market, why would he want to go anywhere else? Under his guidance, Everton are going places and tying him down could be one of the most important the signings could make in recent years.

The ongoing Kirkby stadium yes/ no debate still rages on and may or may not have an impact on the manager’s transfer budget. The new stadium is a debate for another day, but what is clear is that an Everton with David Moyes will continue to be a prosperous and strong Everton. An Everton without, well, I’m not so sure it would be so bright.

From Red to Blue as City nab Sparky

If you leaf through those players who were revered by the Stretford End, the number of attacking players immediately stick out at you. The likes of Best, Law, Charlton, Jordan, Giggs, Cantona, Cole, Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo. Each of whom have earned their place in the folklore of Manchester United. Another one of those United fans would instantly name is Mark Hughes, who had 2 highly successful spells at Old Trafford, scoring 164 goals in 470 games for the club. In a glittering playing career, he won 2 league titles, 3 FA Cups, the European Cup Winners Cup and a League Cup with the Reds, and was quite often the scourge of their Manchester rivals in derby fixtures.

But today, Hughes put all this aside as he took over as Manchester City manager after Sven-Goran Eriksson’s departure. Earlier on this blog, I made my views about that affair and City’s owner Thaskin Shinawatra quite clear but it is my belief that they have picked a tremendous successor to the Swede.

Since retiring from playing in 2002, the Welshman has embarked on a successful managerial career. In 1999 he was appointed manager of Wales, despite still playing with Southampton, and latterly with Everton and Blackburn Rovers.

His time in charge of his country is most noted for their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign, where they finished 2nd in their group to Italy, forcing a play off match with Russia. Although this included a famous defeat of the Italians in Cardiff, they fell at the last hurdle to the Russians over 2 legs.

But Hughes’ work had not gone unnoticed and in September of 2004 he took charge of Blackburn, following Graeme Souness’ move to Newcastle. Working on a shoestring budget, Hughes guided Rovers to Premier League safety and an FA Cup semi final, their first in over 40 years, but they lost out to Arsenal.

Rovers continued to improve under his guidance and a superb 6th place finish in his second season ensured European football back at Ewood Park. They reached the UEFA Cup round of 32 the following season, losing out to German side Bayer Leverkusen.

Another top ten finish and FA Cup semi final appearance, along with this season’s 7th place, saw his stock rise still further. Working with one of the smaller budgets in the Premier League, with one his bigger buys being Roque Santa Cruz for around £3.5 million, it is widely acknowledged that Hughes has worked miracles with Blackburn, establishing them as one of England’s leading clubs.

But today he moved back to Manchester with the blue side, citing greater potential at Eastlands for the move. He said: “I had a fantastic time at Blackburn.

“There was a limit to how far I could take the club and it’s a case now that I’m at a club that can match my ambitions.”

Clearly, Hughes will not let past club loyalties get in the way of his progression as a manager, and that has to warm the hearts of City’s fans. With all due respect to Blackburn, a club whom I greatly admire, Hughes has joined a far bigger club- larger squad, larger fanbase and they are awash with money thanks to Shinawatra, in contrast to the more limited resources available to him at Ewood.

He sees City as a club that can, and should, challenge regularly in Europe and in domestic competition. Given the success he had signing bargain players at Blackburn, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Sparky can have City reaching cup finals and challenging the European spots in the league with financial backing.

Early on at Blackburn, Hughes’ team had a reputation for being physical, which Arsene Wenger complained about after the aforementioned FA Cup semi final. But Hughes progressively built a side that was attractive to watch, with players such as Santa Cruz, Morten Gamst Pedersen and England star David Bentley coming to prominence and giving Blackburn a real zest and flair to their play.

And that sort of level is what City’s supporters will be hoping for. They saw it for the first half of the season under Eriksson and they will hope Hughes can restore that in the coming season. I still feel that Shinawatra was perhaps hasty in sacking the Swede, but I have to feel that he will have appeased the supporters by acquiring Hughes.

It poses the question though- if he is successful at Eastlands, could he be the man to eventually succeed Sir Alex Ferguson when he retires from Manchester United? I wouldn’t be surprised at that.

But that is for the future. For the present, what is Blackburn’s loss will almost certainly be Manchester City’s gain. The fact he is a hero of their sworn rivals will eventually be forgotten.

Football League Play Offs review

Now everyone, I know that today is Wednesday and the football league play off finals took place over the Bank Holiday weekend, so forgive me for posting about it later. I’ve had a strenuous few days of posting on other topics, and preparing an assignment due for this Friday before Uni disappears until September. Well, that’s my token argument anyway.

But, as usual, the play offs didn’t disappoint as six teams battled it out for promotion. Normally, the League Two play off is on the Saturday, with League One on Sunday and the Championship on Bank Holiday Monday. But this year the Football League switched the League Two and Championship finals because of Euro 2008 and the fact some of the home nations may be involved. Alas, none made it and we’ll all be picking a European side to follow from our armchairs.

But the match for a place in the Premier League still went ahead on Saturday between Bristol City and Hull City at Wembley. Earlier on this blog, I have lauded the Championship as one of the most exciting and unpredictable leagues around, and I also applauded the achievements of Bristol in reaching the play off final in their first Championship season after promotion.

Hull also deserve immense credit as former Derby County boss Phil Brown has turned them from relegation battlers into a side brimming with confidence and challenging at the top end. They went to London in search of a top flight place for the first time in their entire history, with 40,000 fans backing them.

The West Country side’s fans didn’t disappoint the Robins either, with similar numbers turning out to create a terrific atmosphere under the arc. It doesn’t sound as sexy as the Twin Towers does it? Oh well, never mind.

The two sides were seperated by just a point in the league table, with Hull 3rd and Bristol 4th, and it was a tight match as you would expect, with nerves on both teams and chances at a premium. But it was a moment of genius which saw Hull go in front after 38 minutes.

Dean Windass, the former Aberdeen and Bradford City striker, is remarkably still turning out at the age of 39 for his hometown club. Not for sentimental reasons, but because his undoubted ability has never waned and he marked his first appearance at Wembley with the goal which sent Hull to the promised land.

His strike partner Frazier Campbell, on loan from Manchester United, crossed to the edge of the area and Windass struck with a superb volley 18 yards out to give Bristol keeper Adriano Basso no chance.

Gary Johnson’s team fought back in the second half and Lee Trundle went agonisingly close to an equaliser, but it was not enough and Hull celebrated top flight promotion. At this point, credit has to go to the two managers for leading their clubs to wonderful seasons and I believe Bristol City will bounce back next year.

But Phil Brown deserves immense credit. To be the man who leads the Tigers into the top league for the first time is tremendous and his team have had a consistently good season. And when I saw goal hero Windass play for Aberdeen against Dunfermline many a time in the mid to late 1990’s, I never imagined that in 2008 he’d be heading to Old Trafford and the Emirates to go up against the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Kolo Toure. Remarkable.

So as East Yorkshire celebrated, a great deal of the south of the county headed to Wembley on Sunday as Doncaster Rovers took on fallen giants Leeds United in the League One final. Donny had been outwith the second tier of English football for over 50 years and were in the non league doldrums just five years previous, while Leeds had never been as low as League One until this season. And, amazingly, just 7 years ago, they were taking on Valencia in the semi final of the Champions League.

But that was then and former Scotland and Leeds skipper Gary McAllister aimed to take them back to the second tier after replacing Dennis Wise in January. Its been a controversial season, with Leeds docked 15 points at the start of the season for financial mismanagement but they prodcued stunning form to overcome that defecit. Indeed, their record of 27 wins, 10 draws and just 9 defeats would’ve seen them win promotion behind champions Swansea if they had not been given the deduction.

But Sean O’Driscoll’s Rovers side were superior on the day and James Hayter’s header in the second half from a corner kick proved enough to win the match. Rovers passed the ball around the slick Wembley surface with ease and dominated the opening exchanges, with United failing to get any sort of foothold on the game, with Doncaster creating chance after chance.

Hayter’s goal 2 minutes into the second period was just reward and while McAllister’s men poured forward in the final 10 minutes, they failed to trouble former United keeper Neil Sullivan to any real degree and it is Doncaster who join Swansea and Nottingham Forest in next season’s Championship.

For Leeds, it was more final heartbreak. In 2006 they lost out to Watford in the Championship play off in Cardiff, while on their last trip to Wembley in 1996, they were beaten 3-0 by Aston Villa in the Coca Cola Cup. However, you’d think they will be strong favourites to win promotion next term.

Onto the final match on Monday now and, living in the shadow of Manchester United and Manchester City, Rochdale and Stockport County don’t get much limelight. But Monday was their day in the sun and I confess to knowing little about either team (apologies to fans of both sides!) However, I do remember Stockport from the 1990s when they were in the Championship and, oddly, a Coca Cola Cup game with Middlesbrough which was live on ITV. I remember nothing about it apart from Stockport playing in Adidas, Robinson’s juice sponsored strips at Edgeley Park.

County had been beaten in four previous visits to Wembley in play off games, Rochdale manager Keith Hill had transformed them from relegation battlers to promotion chasers but the gods were not with his team- they had won promotion just once in their entire history and had played in England’s bottom league for 34 years.

In a terrific game, Rochdale took the lead early on through a Rory McArdle header but a Nathan Stanton own goal, an Anthony Pilkington header and Liam Dickinson sealed it for Jim Gannon’s County before Adam Rundle’s volley gave Rochdale a consolation.

So more misery for Rochdale who will enter their 35th year as a bottom tier club, while County are aiming for eventual promotion to the Championship. And why not- football without ambition, hopes and dreams is nothing. Stockport have played there before, so why not again?

So there we have it, Hull City, Doncaster Rovers and Stockport County earned Wembley glory. Congratulations to them and best wishes for next season as they each take a step up, but commiserations to Bristol City, Leeds United and Rochdale. There’s no reason why those clubs can’t bounce back next season and become heroes next season.

 

Grant ousted at Chelsea- An Opinion

So, the predictable has happened as Avram Grant paid for a trophyless campaign with his job as manager of Chelsea. The Blues sacked their boss on Saturday after just eight months in charge of the club, and only three days after their penalty shoot-out heartbreak against Manchester United in the Champions League.

Grant arrived at Chelsea last summer from Premier League rivals Portsmouth as director of football, a move which did not please then Blues boss Jose Mourinho. After an indifferent start to the season, the popular and media pleasing Mourinho was axed after a 1-1 home draw with Rosenborg in the Champions League, and the Stamford Bridge hierarchy placed Grant in charge.

It was a decision which didn’t go down well with the fans as, not only did they adore Mourinho, the self styled “special one” who brought the club 2 league titles, they were rightly concerned at Grant’s limited managerial experience.

His first game was a daunting trip to Old Trafford and a 2-0 defeat by Manchester United wasn’t the perfect start, though they weren’t helped by the red card issued to midfielder Jon-Obi Mikel. After that though, Chelsea embarked on a 16 game unbeaten run which saw them through to the last 16 of the Champions League, quarter final of the Carling Cup and back up the Premier League table.

Although his public demeanour was perhaps duller than Mourinho’s was, he set Chelsea out to play in a more attacking sense than Mourinho did, who focused on a solid defence. This was evident in a 6-0 drubbing of Manchester City, who were then flying in 3rd place, and the 3-2 defeat of Liverpool in the second leg of the Champions League semi final. Added to that thrilling 4-4 draws with Aston Villa and Tottenham then the entertainment value was there. Certainly more so for a neutral than what Mourinho’s sides produced.

But, ultimately, Mourinho’s teams won trophies, which is where the Israeli failed. He came in for fierce criticism following the Carling Cup final loss to Tottenham, who dominated Chelsea for long periods. Then his team suffered the embarassment of FA Cup defeat at Barnsley, who had also shocked Liverpool.

Crucial dropped points in draws at home to the likes of Wigan and Everton, where Chelsea lost very late goals, ultimately cost them the title but from a seemingly impossible position which I stated after that Wigan game, they defeated Manchester United and took the title race down to the last day and marched to their first Champions League final. But Chelsea missed out on both, leaving them with nothing to show for their efforts.

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said in the aftermath of Grant’s departure: “We have very high expectations at Chelsea and a couple of second place finishes is just not good enough for us.

“So although it was an excellent season, we are still disappointed.”

Now, of course they are entitled to be disappointed. However, this is where football as we know it is going down the swanny in front of us. Chelsea before Roman Abramovich took over were a decent side. Regular qualifiers for Europe, winning the occasional trophy. But since the Russian has invested an obscene amount, they demand instant success. They have had some, but even reaching the final of Europe’s elite tournament and almost snatching the title from the dead isn’t good enough.

I felt its been a great season for Chelsea in the main and they were unlucky to end empty handed, especially in Moscow. Grant was given a near impossible task in trying to emulate the success of Mourinho, and I feel his sacking is premature and harsh after his achievements this season. He at least deserved to put his own stamp on them and take them into next season.

The foreign owners taking over at Premier League clubs and demanding success instantly is a problem. They don’t know too much about the game it seems to me, they’ll just think they can throw money at it and they’ll get what they want. Thaskin Shinawatra at Manchester City, threating to sack Sven-Goran Eriksson after his first season there, where they finished a very creditable 9th, is another case in point. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

I’ve said it before and will do again. Manchester United and Arsenal didn’t achieve the success they have by hiring and firing all the time. Sir Alex Ferguson has been in charge of United since 1986, and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal since 1996. Sure, they have gone through trophyless seasons but the United and Arsenal boardrooms know what great managers they are and always have faith in them.

If the Chelsea board had done that, then perhaps Grant could’ve delivered trophies next term. 8 months is not time enough to judge, and certainly not given he led Chelsea to their first Champions League final, ultimately decided on a lottery. Even axing Mourinho, after the success he’d brought was ridiculous simply because they’d had a sticky start to the season.

I feel he can leave with his head held high. The question for Chelsea is, who next? Frank Rijkaard seems to be the bookies choice, but we shall have to wait and see what happens.

Fergie is the King of Europe again

Watching GMTV this morning (well, it’s now yesterday morning) was incredibley nauseating. I have no idea why, but they sent Fiona Phillips out to Moscow to cover the build up to the Champions League final. Now, this is a woman who doesn’t appear to know much about football and her stupendous contribution at Chelsea’s press conference on Tuesday was to tell Frank Lampard that Chelsea had a “better hotel than Manchester United.” Lampard, naturally, realised that was a stupid remark and replied that United would hardly be living in poverty.

And this morning, her only way of describing everything in the Russian capital was “absolutely brilliant”. This is meant to be a journalist to a decent level? I mean, if shrill, annoying laughter and not really adding anything to the coverage is what is passing for journalism these days, we can forget it.

So, why am I bringing this up? Well, she’s a Chelsea fan, going on the cheering she received while talking to their fans and the subsequent booing from the United lot. All good fun, but her annoyance, added to the fact I can’t really stick Chelsea, made me hope Sir Alex Ferguson’s team emerged victorious from the final.

It was a game I feared could go the way of last year’s FA Cup final, with one goal the difference in a dour, tactical struggle. But it was anything but as England’s top two served up a final that thrilled and spilled up until 1.45am Moscow time.

Ferguson went with a bold team selection, going with his three main attackers in Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney from the start. For Avram Grant, Didier Drogba started up front with Joe Cole and Florent Malouda deployed on the flanks.

And it was United who made the fastest start, with Ronaldo in particular tormenting auxillery right back Michael Essien early on. And it was the Portugese who fired the Reds in front after 26 minutes. An inswinging cross from Wes Brown was met by him and he flashed a header past Petr Cech for goal number 42 of a remarkable season.

United’s dominance continued, and they could’ve been 3 goals up at half time. A sweeping counter-attacking move saw Rooney feed Ronaldo, whose cross was met by Tevez but as his header was saved, Michael Carrick then saw his effort on the rebound clawed away by Chelsea’s number 1. And four minutes from the interval, Rooney’s low ball across the box was inches away from being poked home by Tevez.

And Chelsea made them pay right on half time, as Lampard stroked home after the ball broke to him after deflecting off Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic after Essien had had a shot. All square at the break and for as good as United were in the first half, Grant’s team were in the second period as they piled the pressure on.

They pushed forward and their midfield of Claude Makalele, Lampard and Michael Ballack exerted the same power and poise that United’s trio of Carrick, Owen Hargreaves and Paul Scholes had in the first half. They poured forward and Drogba came so mighty close when his curling effort from around 25 yards smacked the post and rebounded to safety.

Ferguson made his first move, bringing on Ryan Giggs for Scholes and the new record appearance holder for the Old Trafford club was to have an impact on proceedings, but not before the game had moved into extra time and Lampard hit the crossbar with an excellent shot on the turn.

United then went close as a brilliant dart into the box from Patrice Evra saw the ball cut back to Giggs, but his shot was miraculously headed off the line by Blues skipper John Terry.

With tiredness, physically and mentally, proving to be a factor, it boiled over with four minutes of extra time remaining after Chelsea felt Tevez had been unsporting after a break in play for treatment to be given to players for cramp. In the melee, Drogba slapped Vidic and referee Lubos Michel was correct in ordering him off, even though he wanted to argue about it, as he’d done with every other decision.

The game moved onto penalties and it was level at 2-2 when Ronaldo stepped up, but hesitancy in his kick saw his effort saved by Cech. With the score at 4-4 but with Chelsea having the final kick, Terry stepped forward but, agonisingly for him, he slipped as he made contact and sent the ball wide of the post.

The tension by now was unbelievable as sudden death kicks were needed. Anderson and Kalou scored to make it 5-5 before Giggs stepped up to score for United. It was down to Nicolas Anelka to save Chelsea, but instead Edwin Van Der Sar did so for United and they won their 3rd European Cup in the most dramatic of circumstances.

Despite hoping for a United win rather than Chelsea, it was hard not to sympathise with Terry especially, who was heartbroken at the end, his slip proving crucial. Drogba’s stupidity didn’t help them come the shoot-out but it was Ferguson’s night as he cemented his place as Manchester United’s greatest ever manager.

A fantastic achievement by United, and it was fitting that Giggs should net the winning penalty as he broke Bobby Charlton’s appearance record. It was also fitting that United won the cup 50 years after the Munich Air Disaster, which wiped out many of the ‘Busby Babes’ team.

For Fergie, he is the top manager in Europe once again and as he said, United don’t do it the easy way. Ronaldo was so close from going from hero to zero, and his collapse into tears at the end showed he knew it. Chelsea can feel hard done by, but in my opinion United have been better over the tournament.

Undoubtedly, it was a tremendous game and one which actually lived up to its billing for a change. I wonder if Ms Phillips’ will still be banging on about the better hotel for Chelsea this evening, as United parade the European Cup in their “lesser” surroundings.

Pompey take the glory

Yesterday’s FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Cardiff City had been dismissed in some quarters as “dull”, or “boring” in the pre-match build up. Clearly, they would have loved another installment of last year’s thriller between Chelsea and Manchester United. A game which, apart from Chelsea and Aston Villa in 2000, is the worst FA Cup final I have ever seen since starting to watch England’s showpiece from Everton’s 1995 win.

Obviously, the lack of a so-called ‘big gun’ in the final meant it didn’t mean as much. Not worthy of an FA Cup final. Well, Portsmouth and Cardiff conspired to rip that opinion to shreds, an opinion I have always said would be nonsense.

As this year’s FA Cup has been one of the most exciting and breathtaking tournaments in its illustrious history. We’ve had stunning stories, like Havant and Waterlooville, glorious shocks in the shape of Barnsley conquering Liverpool and Chelsea, and a final between two teams who had only harboured dreams of making it this far.

In one corner, Premiership Pompey were firm favourites. Harry Redknapp had steered them to 8th in the top flight, and possessed a host of big names. Having seen off Manchester United at Old Trafford in the quarter final, the pressure was on them to deliver.

But in the other corner, Championship Cardiff were not there to make up the numbers. A respectable if failed campaign to make the play offs, the Bluebirds road to Wembley contained only one real shock, the defeat of Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium. But Dave Jones’ team knew they stood a great chance of taking the trophy out of England for the second time.

And they gave as good as they got. They started well, with Paul Parry having the game’s first chance after 12 minutes but his effort was blocked by Pompey’s rejuvenated goalkeeper David James. But Portsmouth then began to assert themselves and Kanu somehow contrived to hit the post after rounding goalkeeper Peter Enckleman with the goal gaping.

But he and his team were not to be denied and a howler from Enckleman gifted them the lead. A cross ball in from John Uktaka could only be palmed by the Fin to the feet of Kanu and he gleefully tapped home.

Cardiff responded and had a goal disallowed on the stroke of half time for handball from defender Glenn Loovens after James completely missed a cross ball.

The second period saw both teams go at it but lacked a creative spark to pave a way to goal, particularly Jones’ side. In the last 10 minutes though, they charged towards the Portsmouth goal and bombarded their backline with set plays, and Loovens again went close with a header. But with Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin in tremendous form in the middle of defence, Portsmouth held on to win their first FA Cup in 69 long years and Redknapp won his first trophy in a managerial career spanning 25.

It sparked delirious scenes from Pompey at full time, from fans and players, but it was dejection for the heroes of the principality, knowing they may never get a better chance to win the FA Cup. Manager Jones proclaimed that Cardiff had done “everyone proud and made teams think they can achieve the impossible.” They had achieved the impossible by being there in the first place, and while nobody likes to lose finals, Cardiff will look back and reflect on a fabulous run which has done wonders for the city and Wales. The way is up for them, with a new stadium on the horizon. Who knows, they may yet become regulars down Wembley Way.

For the winners, sheer joy and a brilliant moment for Redknapp. Over two spells, he’s transformed Portsmouth from relegation battlers in the Championship to FA Cup winners. He and his team will be revered forevermore on the south coast and Portsmouth have arrived as a major force. Its a day that will live with every Pompey, and I daresay Cardiff, fan forever and it was a day which encapsulated the tournament this year.

The magic of the FA Cup is back. Long may it continue.

Robins flying high as Palace lose their gleam

If it had not been for the success of Tony Mowbray guiding West Bromwich Albion to the Championship title in his first full season in charge, then surely Bristol City gaffer Gary Johnson would surely have been a shoe-in for the divisional manager of the year award.

Having led the Robins to promotion from League One, a season of consolidation would have been deemed a success at Ashton Gate. But Johnson has masterminded a remarkable campaign, where they have spent their time challenging at the top of the league. They had spent time in the top two but eventually had to settle for a place in the play offs, which is no mean feat when you consider clubs such as Wolverhampton Wanderers, Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic, who were relegated from the Premiership last term, missed out.

On Saturday, they travelled to London to take on Neil Warnock’s Crystal Palace side in their play off semi final first leg, and returned with a crucial 2-1 victory. A last gasp strike from David Noble sealed it for the Robins, and Warnock was not happy at the end of the match.

“”I think you could see from their celebrations that they were already at Wembley,” he commented. Warnock is always forthright in his views and he cranked up the tension ahead of last night’s second meeting. 

And Palace gave as good as they got. Ben Watson opened the scoring for the visitors after 24 minutes, but had a second half penalty saved which would have sent them through. So the score was level at 2-2 on aggregate, so it went to extra time and City went in front through former Swansea man Lee Trundle, with a beautiful curling shot into the top corner.

Palace had to go for it but a free-kick 10 minutes from the end of extra time from Scot Michael McIndone ended Warnock’s dreams as he suffered his first play off semi final defeat and sent Johnson’s team to Wembley.

They have an excellent chance of going up again and it is ample reward for a fine season. There, they will meet the winner of tonight’s second semi final between Hull and Watford at the KC Stadium, with Hull 2-0 up from the first leg. I’d tip Hull to go through to meet Bristol City, with one of them earning Premier League football for the first time.

If Johnson’s team go up, then he deserves a lot of recognition.

Eck gets Brum rush as Premiership concludes (part two)

Rollercoaster. A word which is used so much in football its well on the way to becoming a footballing cliche, in that “its been a rollercoaster ride.” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard managers, players, fans and pundits trot it out in relation to a particular team’s performance, or that of the league season. At the end of the day, these cliches can become quite tiresome.

However, rollercoaster is one which could describe the season that Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish has had. It started with the Scotland team, leading us to victory over Lithuania, France and Ukraine (goals below) as a nation hoped for the miracle of Euro 2008 qualification. A final game defeat to Italy put paid to that, but Scotland, and McLeish, were rightly lauded. National heroes if you like.

But despite saying he would be loyal to Scotland for the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, he was off 10 days after the Italy match to take over as Birmingham boss, following Steve Bruce’s departure to Wigan. It started well enough for him, with his new charges winning 3-2 at Tottenham in his first game in charge.

But despite just one home defeat in 13, Birmingham have struggled. Games which should have been won were drawn (2-0 up on Liverpool, drew 2-2) while their away form was poor. The January signing of Scotland hero James McFadden couldn’t provide enough firepower and on the penultimate day, they slumped 2-0 at relegation rivals Fulham.

So Eck’s team went into the final day knowing they had to beat Blackburn and hope Fulham and Reading slipped up in their games to have any chance of survival. And City did their part, demolishing Rovers 4-1.

But the day didn’t go to plan. Reading, who started play outside the bottom three, romped to a 4-0 win over dismal Derby at Pride Park, who went down as officially the worst team in Premiership history. The Royals knew that if Fulham failed to win at Portsmouth, then they would stay up at the Cottagers expense.

But it was to be heartbreak for Reading along with Birmingham as Fulham completed a miraculous escape. Danny Murphy’s header 14 minutes from time from Jimmy Bullard’s free-kick sealed a 1-0 win and Fulham’s survival on goal difference.

And their manager Roy Hodgson deserves huge credit. After a 3-1 home loss to Sunderland, Fulham looked doomed with 5 games to go. But a 2-0 win at Reading, followed by a sensational 3-2 success at Manchester City having been 2-0 down and effectively relegated, breathed new life into their chances and in the end they accumulated 12 points from their final 5 games to preserve their status. A terrific effort.

So joy for the Londoners, but bitter disappointment for Reading and Birmingham. Steve Coppell is said to be considering his future at Reading despite his chairman and the fans hoping he’ll stay. Relegation is a bitter pill to swallow for the Royals after a superb 8th place finish last season, and it is reminiscent of Ipswich coming up to the Premiership under George Burley, finishing 5th then going down the next season.

As for McLeish and Birmingham, it was always going to be a struggle for the Blues. Their fans rounded on the board after the match, but now its up to them to prepare to attempt to bounce back immediately. McLeish is a good manager, but I said at the time he was mad to leave Scotland, a flying Scotland, for a struggling club like Birmingham. One wonders if that he wishes in part he was still at Hampden rather than St Andrews.

We’re all going on a European tour……

Newcastle United are becoming one of my favourite teams in the Premier League. Yesterday, Everton defeated the Geordies 3-1 to claim 5th spot and a UEFA Cup place, while in 2005 a 2-0 victory over the same opposition, at home, on the final day secured 4th spot and a shot at the Champions League. Yep, the Toon seem to be a lucky charm for the Toffees.

And its a deserved finish for David Moyes’ team and an achievement that fully merits its own post on my blog. As an Evertonian, I am absolutely thrilled that the Blues can dig the passports out once again and hopefully the team can go one further in Europe than they did this season, when they suffered penalty heartbreak against Fiorentina.

Overall its been a very good season for the People’s Club, but one which did have some low points. I’ll reflect on those shortly, but let us rejoice in the positivity reverberating around Goodison at the moment, which goes all the way back to the summer.