Kevin Keegan criticises one of Europe’s most exciting leagues
Clearly, being part of a league whose title and relegation will be decided on the final day is not exciting enough for Kevin Keegan. He bleated the following in this morning’s Sun newspaper:
This league is in great danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world. The top four this year will be the same as next year. […] The only games they lose are to each other. Not many sides outside the top four are beating them.
Keegan makes a fair (if unoriginal) point about the dominance of the Big Four, but is he right in saying the Premier League is boring? Or is the chip on his shoulder simply venting the frustration of not being able to break into the top pack? Votes and comments below, please.
Three of the Big Four dominate professional footballers’ fantasy team
Unsurprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo scooped the PFA Player of the Year award last night, even though he did not personally collect the accolade - Alex Ferguson decided attending the dinner, talking to the press and the obligatory prostitute-based celebrations would have had the 23 year old staying up way past his bedtime.
Despite sporting another ridiculous hair sculpture, C-Ron also made the PFA-nominated team of the season, whose only non-Big Four players are David James and Ashley Young. But where are the Chelsea players? Could it be that the rest of the league hates them? Surely not…
PFA Team of the Season
David James (Portsmouth)
Bacary Sagna (Arsenal)
Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd)
Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd)
Gael Clichy (Arsenal)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd)
Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
Sure, Chelsea are favourites to come away from Merseyside with three points tonight,but there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Avram Grant will get a good dressing down from his Russian billionaire friend tomorrow morning.
The damning statistics
* Chelsea have failed to beat any of the other top seven Premier League teams away from home.
* Chelsea didn’t win any of their last five league matches of the 2006/07 season. [In fact, they drew all five of them, and I think there’s great value in a 5/2 stalemate tonight.]
As a Lampard-less Chelsea gifted two points to Wigan (and left my Betfair account emptier than Ashley Cole’s sense of morality), Avram Grant looked to be a man with far too much on his plate. Nipping on his heels as the next candidate to spend more time with the missus at weekends is mouthy Spaniard Rafa Benitez, whose threat to quit amid the boardroom shitstorm at Anfield should not be taken lightly.
So who will be next to go? It seems to be a two horse race between the Chelsea and Liverpool gaffers, but there’s always the threat of Arsene ‘Injustice’ Wenger calling time after a season of slow decay - could the Arsenal conspiracy theorists be right about his departure? And how about Fergie - he bottled retirement after a lukewarm season at Old Trafford a few years back, so why not go out on a high?
After last night’s devastating display at the Stadio Olimpico, it’s hardly worth Roma turning up at Old Trafford next week (they’ve moved to 100/1 to win the tournament, while United are now at 2/1 to win). The rest of the big four tonight compete for the right to meet United in the final (it looks as if Barca will fall victim to them in the semis), and you may place your bets using the best odds available on the net here.
In our daily search for enlightenment, About.com: Christianity informs us “The next time Easter will fall on March 23 in Western Christianity is 2160, 152 years from now. It’s doubtful any Western Christians will still be around to celebrate Easter again on March 23.” So, no more Christianity then. Hmm. Wonder how they know that?
The top four sides in the Premier League meet this Easter Sunday to hasten this process of decline in Britain’s number one religion, with their message of petulance and shirt-tugging completely at odds with the church’s seasonal call to binge on chocolate and kill lambs.
As for ever rising from the dead again, Liverpool’s faith in this variety of miracle has been tested to the point at which they just don’t know
Carling Cup winners are setting their sights mighty high
Yesterday, Juande Ramos bolstered his already-impressive CV with a victory he claims will allow Spurs to ‘gatecrash’ the top four. Is the Carling Cup victory the start of a new era, or just one of many false dawns.
