Stats boffins give Madrid something else to boast about

Lord only knows why it took them nine years to compile it, but today the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) released their list of the top 200 European clubs of the twentieth century.

By awarding a varying scale of points for victories and draws in the Champions League, UEFA Cup and all other European competitions that operated from 1901-2000, the winners were determined to be Real Madrid. They finished ahead of second-placed Juventus by nearly one hundred points, while the most successful English team were Liverpool down in eighth place.

Here’s the top twenty, according to the IFFHS:

1. Real Madrid
2. Juventus
3. FC Barcelona
4. AC Milan
5. Bayern Munich
6. Inter Milan
7. Ajax
8. Liverpool
9. Benfica

Professor Wenger has seen the future, and it is pan European

Arsene Wenger adorns the back page of most national newspapers this morning, thanks to his belief in the imminence of a European Super League. The huge-brained Frenchman says:

“I see more a European league developing over time rather than one team going out of the country. The national leagues will survive but maybe in 10 years, you will have a European league.

“I’m not sure 100% that I’m right but I feel inside our game there are some voices behind the scenes coming up to do something about that, especially if the rules become too restrictive for these clubs.”

Rather than adopting an (evil) franchise model - whereby Europe’s top teams would break away and start their own league - Wenger seems to suggest that there could be a system where ”teams would have to play in both the European league in midweek and the national league at the weekend.” That may sound an awful lot like the current system, but Wenger also says that each of the big boys would actually have two teams - perhaps Arsenal A would play in Europe and Arsenal B would play.

A part of The Spoiler - the part that is terrified of change - would not like to see a European Super League, but like Monsieur Wenger, we accept it’s inevitability. But do you think it is a good idea? Or do we already have a pretty decent method of annually discovering the best team in Europe? Let us know below…

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Midfielder still won’t stop harping on about his top four dream

Gareth Barry made his Manchester City debut in South Africa last night, but marred the occasion by picking up a yellow card and earning a subsequent substitution in the 64th minute.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, the central midfielder spoke of his desire to play in the Champions League, which is, as we all know, the only reason he left Aston Villa:

“I have signed a five-year contract with City and I believe I will play Champions League football with them.”

Most Spoiler readers believe Manchester City will not finish in the top four in 2009/10, and we agree. However, we feel that the nouveau riche side will almost certainly reach the European promised land within the next five years. In fact, we’re confident they will do it in three.

Do you agree, or is Barry simply trying to justify his newly acquired remuneration package? Let us know your thoughts below…

They’d have to get to the European competitions first!

Michel Platini’s continued his love affair with British clubs yesterday by proclaiming that Manchester City would be banned from competing in Europe if they failed to “respect their budget”. It seems the Kaka saga didn’t impress the UEFA President:

“How can a guy cost €150 million? For me it’s ridiculous — from a football, social and financial point of view.

“If you want to buy a plane for €150m or a boat, you can do. But for a man? For me it’s bad. It’s not possible. But it’s why we have to do something.

“I’m finding a system where you can spend what you have. If one Sheikh brings €150m for Kaka then you have to put his salary on top of the transfer fee.

“If the club go over their income with the player’s salary plus fee, they can be banned from our competitions because

Cockney mafia offer self congratulations on Tyneside

For the first time in bloody ages, Mike Ashley has spoken to the media, and has used the opportunity to praise Magpies’ gaffer Joe Kinnear for pulling the club out of the relegation zone. The rotund club owner not only believes that Sir Swears-a-lot will keep the club safe, but will push them back into the higher echelons of the league:

“We will stay up. Yes, definitely.

“Joe’s the man to do the job. He’s my hero. Is he better than Capello? Definitely. We are going to be in Europe by the end of the season!”

Despite insisting that the club is still up for sale, Ashley also hinted that he will reward the manager with a kitty to “change the balance” of the team in January.

Is Joe Kinnear better than Fabio Capello? Vote now!

As net pay decreases, so will top European talent

In order to pull the UK back from the brink of financial apocalypse, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has revealed some risky plans in his pre-budget report. One bail out strategy is to introduce a new tax band of 45 per cent on earnings over £150,000 from 2011. This seems like a perfectly reasonable method of keeping the economy afloat, but it could have an adverse effect on the Premiership.

Cristiano Ronaldo currently earns a gross of £6.24m per year, on which he pays 40 per cent on earnings after £37,400 (which is only around two days work for him!). Under the new plans, he will pay an extra £304,500, roughly the cost of

FC Twente/ Arsenal, Setanta Sports 1, tonight, 7.45pm

This is the moment Steve McClaren has been waiting for. It’s his chance to show the world that it’s not his fault that England are a bit poo, and what better way to do that than by beating the mighty Arsenal with an unfancied Dutch team who appear to accept garden furniture in lieu of a subs bench. Winning over two legs might be too much to ask, but he stands every chance of winning the first bout…

The five reasons why FC Twente will triumph in the UCL 3rd qualifying round first leg

1. Arsenal have a poor record against Dutch opposition in the Champions League, winning just three of their last ten.

2. The last time Arsenal were eliminated from the Champions League by a foreign side, it was by the Dutch - PSV in 2006/07. On that occasion, the windmill lovers won the home leg 1-0 and drew 1-1 at the Emirates in the return.

3. McClaren boasts an impressive European club record, with 13 wins

Thankfully, Berbs and Modric will probably stick with the football

According to our petrolhead amigos over at Grid Crasher, Spurs are the latest football club to sponsor a team in Superleague Formula, a brand new racing format which begins at the end of this month:

Spurs are 16th outfit to join the championship, alongside teams such as AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Sevilla, Olympiakos and FC Porto. Glasgow Rangers are also committed to the series.

“We are thrilled to have a top-line club like Spurs join our championship,” said Superleague Formula President Alex Andreu.

While I’m not convinced this racing formula will do much to bolster the reputations of the associated clubs, it is good to see that Rangers will be in Europe next season after all (click here to see their fancy car).