Are English Teams Really The Best In Europe?

On the surface of it, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Man U, and Chelsea all in the the last 8 of the Champions League it would seem so. I beg to differ however. These teams may have purchased overseas commodities to a more successful extent than any other but they are far from greatness. And as we approach the end of the of this decade it is worth noting that English teams have failed to dominate Europe over the last 20 years in the way that they did in decades past. Only Liverpool and Man U have waved the Big Cup aloft and bukkakaeed themselves in winners' champagne of late.

Point Two: These teams are not English. Or put another way, they are not owned by the English. The players are mostly not English. In fact, a more accurate question would be "Are English based teams the best in Europe?" Really the premiership top 4 are like those car firms, still operating on English soil, that everyone still pretends, and imagines, are English.

I don't want to start the jingoistic breast, brow, and drum beating all over again now though. After all- it is the capital I have problems with and not immigration, foreignness, or any other kind of otherness.

Meanwhile it is worth mentioning however that if Cardiff City win the FA Cup they will not be eligible to compete in Europe next year- as they are a Welsh team competing in an English competition. Perhaps Cardiff should temporarily relocate to the other side of the Bristol Channel in order to get round this. A Russian owned team competing from West London are currently among the favourites to lift the trophy though. Funny Old Game.

Who put money on all of the FA cUp semi-finalists then?

No me that's for sure. My only comment on this weekends unexpected results is this
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHBarnsleyHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA yes there were bad decisions Mr Ferguson, just as there has been at Old Trafford for years HAAHAHAHAHAHACardiff.

I can't see Portsmouth being as soft as Boro were against set pieces, whoever they play next.

In the premiership I was impressed to see Chris Kirkland deliver a goalkeeping masterclass. Too bad Fabio Capello was not there to see it. Where was Fabio Capello on Sunday? Why, he was at home with his family of course, like all Italians. After Mass he went home and started to prepare the Pasta Al Sugo. A dish of delicious simplicity that takes 3 years on a Sunday morning to prepare. Fry garlic onions meat and tomatos, add water, simmer for an age. Serve with parmesan cheese.

I was also disappointed the see Newham's finest thrashed by Spurs. There must have been tears in the curry in Green Street.

What is it about Alan Curbishley that he such a good, and such an average, manager at the same time? West Ham are now leaking goals like Spurs were at the beginning of the season.

this is a scrappy, bitty post, isn't it?

this blog has been quiet of late

this is mostly due to a wall shaped depression I've been having. You may suspect that this is because Everton have been knocked out of two cup competition recently (just one more to go) but the depression is despite rather than because of this. I feel like Robby Savage would had he been rubbish at football, imagine that!

Robbie Savage actually gets a mention when you tour the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona. The guide says "here, when you see a game on Saturday you get to see Ronaldinho in midfield, in the english premiership you get to see Robbie Savage." This rather neatly expounds the 'problems if the English game'. Or, to remove my thought from the realms of cliche, the way in which the premiership passes off mediocrity as brilliance. There is no better example of this than the FA cup. the manner in which vastly 'superior' teams struggle against relative minnows, who are paid just a fraction by virtue of their lowlier footballing stature. When Everton get knocked out by Oldham, or Blackburn lose 4-1, it is as if Rome's favourite gladiators were defeated in combat by sacrificial Christians. This of course the magic of the FA Cup. And what makes it a far worthier competition, in terms of stakes and drama, if not outright competition, than the Premiership. It also show s us what a simple game football is and how with luck, motivation, and organisation, triumph is attainable in cup competition. England should take note.

On that note Capello enjoyed his first day as England manager this week. I particularly enjoyed his farcical, mostly for the cameras, meeting with Stuart Pearce. This was a chance for Capello to showcase, for the viewing public, how advanced his English had become. He stumbled a bit.

"The uhhhh, how you say, tell me of the, uhhh, proximo, Next, uh,Game, please" He managed. But even in this he managed to be equally as eloquent as Steve Mclaren, even if he was missing Sven Goran Erikson's taciturn diplomacy and sleightness of phrasing. Sven always reminds me more of a UN spokesman , in terms of style and delivery, than a football coach.

For now however, I will leave these ramblings, and turn by mind to more pressing, and weightier matters.

Hasta luego...