Becks captain again!

THREE days after receiving a golden cap to mark his century of appearances for England, David Beckham was reappointed captain for the friendly against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain tonight. Beckham takes over from John Terry, captain for last Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over the United States, who was excused the trip to the Caribbean, along with six others who played in the European Cup Final. Manager Fabio Capello said it would be wrong to read too much into his latest choice of captain, which would probably be a one-off.

He will not make a permanent appointment until the World Cup qualifying campaign begins in September. Beckham, however, was delighted and spoke like a captain when he said of Capello’s effect on the players: “He’s a very serious person. When you’re working, you’re working. When you train, you train hard, and when you play, you play hard. That’s the way it is with him, and if you don’t perform, he’ll let you know and you’ll be out. It’s just what we needed.

“We needed that seriousness and that passion back after not qualifying for the European Championship. That’s still hurting a lot of the players and the country as a whole, especially when you see adverts for it on the TV day after day and watch other countries warming up for it. We need to prove to the fans that we’re worthy of playing in the World Cup.”

Would-be successors to Beckham on the right of England’s midfield such as Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips have fallen by the wayside and the latest heir apparent, David Bentley, seems to be trying too hard. Smiling at the mention of his longevity, Beckham said: “I’m 33 now but as long as I look after my body there’s no reason I can’t go on for a few more years.”

Avram Grant and Chelsea

So Chelsea walk away from this season winning nothing. This is not really surprising if you look at the season that they have had.

Firstly the departure of Mourinho the the 20th September 2008 caused huge unrest at the club, key players such as Drogba, Terry and Lampard who where are "Mourinho's men" where bound to be affected. And then the appointment of Avram Grant the virtual unknown.

"Avram who?" was the phrase on every ones lips. The public, the media and even the Chelsea fans where very unsure of this seemingly uncharismatic, unqualified man chosen to manage one of the richest and biggest club's in the world. I certainly think this unease transferred to the players as discontent grew behind closed doors at Chelsea.

From then on you could see that they weren't anywhere close to having the same teamwork mentality of Man Utd, they seemed more like a team of individuals trying to gain personal glory. Obviously there where exceptions such as Joe Cole and Micheal Essian however the little team spirit they tried to create was overshadowed by the others around them. However they battled on and surprisingly stayed in the hunt for the premiership, champions league and league cup competitions.

This was no small part down to Avram Grant, the man who no one knew surprises many with his tactical know how and managed to gain support from those who doubted him in the first place.

So the Premiership went down to the last day and the champions League went to penalties and if truth be told Chelsea could have easily won both. However I do believe that it was Man Utd's belief to win as a team which helped them prevail to win the double.

Both teams have the quality, the managers are equal in tactical knowledge, the difference maker between the two teams is that Alex Ferguson is the personality at his club and Grant was not. Overall it was a mistake to appoint Grant in the first place and in a recent interview Glenn Hoddle said it best.

However who will take up the mantle of being the Chelsea boss? Whoever it is will have to overcome adversities such as an interfering Chairman and a team who at the moment don't play for each other...... sounds like a very tough job to me.

Pompey win the FA Cup thanks to Judas

Cardiff asked a lot of questions of Portsmouth in the first half but Portsmouth did what they needed to do; they got the goal, sat on it and defended well.

Kanu had missed an absolute sitter before he scored the winning goal but he made up for that.

Portsmouth did not have to attack on too many occasions, they said "come at us".

When you are the underdog you will get your chances but you have to take them and Cardiff didn't.

If you look at the players Harry Redknapp has brought in to the club, the likes of Kanu, Sol Campbell and David James, you have to say that he has a knack of getting the best out of his players.

Portsmouth only conceded one goal during the FA Cup run and any team that does that deserves to win the trophy.

Off the pitch it's not been a great season for Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp but on it, he's had an outstanding campaign.

He's pulled Portsmouth back into being a big club - now they've won the FA Cup and are in Europe.

Redknapp has a collection of experienced players and that told, particularly in the second half.

Cardiff will wake up disappointed but they can look back on a good FA Cup run. They played their part in the final but ultimately it was Portsmouth's day.

Harry Redknapp interview

Glasgow Rangers don't show the same fight as their fans.

Zenit St Petersburg playmaker Andrei Arshavin has claimed Rangers were the weakest opponents the Russian side faced on their march to UEFA Cup glory.

Arshavin was man of the match at the City of Manchester Stadium on Wednesday night as Zenit claimed their first European trophy with a 2-0 win over the Light Blues.

But despite conceding that Walter Smith's men gave them a tough time before Zenit's late goals, Arshavin does not believe they compare favourably to the likes of Bayern Munich, Villarreal, Everton or even Greek minnows Larissa, who they faced earlier in the competition.

Arshavian made this statement after the match.

"I think Rangers were the weakest of all our opponents in our UEFA Cup campaign, but the Scots managed to cause us problems with their dedication and good defensive play and also by not allowing us to undo them."

Champions League

Round 2, ding ding.

So Man Utd and Chelsea get to face each other to decide their seasons fate. Man Utd having already secured the Premiership ahead of Chelsea will look to get another one over their rivals. However Chelsea still hurting from the questionable non sending off of Paul Scholes and controversial penalty decision at the JJB will gunning for a convincing win to help them lift the Champions League trophy for the first time in their history.

This being the first time there has been two english teams in the Champions League and coupled with the fact that niether team has dominated this competition means that this is the greatest final this tournament has ever seen for a long time.

Just take a look at the past winners and runners up & try and pick a more appealing game-

2007	AC Milan	2-1	Liverpool
2006	FC Barcelona	2-1	Arsenal
2005	Liverpool	3-2 penalties 3-3 after extra time	AC Milan
2004	FC Porto	3-0	AS Monaco FC
2003	AC Milan	3-2 penalties 0-0 after extra time	Juventus FC
2002	Real Madrid CF	2-1	Bayer Leverkusen
2001	FC Bayern München	5-4 penalties 1-1 after extra time	Valencia CF
2000	Real Madrid CF	3-0	Valencia CF
1999	Manchester United FC	2-1	FC Bayern München
1998	Real Madrid CF	1-0	Juventus FC
1997	Borussia Dortmund	3-1	Juventus FC
1996	Juventus FC	4-2 penalties 1-1 after extra time	AFC Ajax
1995	AFC Ajax	1-0	AC Milan
1994	AC Milan	4-0	FC Barcelona
1993	Olympique de Marseille	1-0	AC Milan
1992	FC Barcelona	1-0 after extra time	Sampdoria UC
1991	Red Star Belgrade	5-3 penalties 0-0 after extra time	Marseille
1990	AC Milan	1-0	Benfica

thanks to



The teams are evenly matched Man Utd need not to be complacent and Chelsea needs to let their experience work for them not against them. To be honest this is a tough one to call.

Check out my Champions League Pikum

The race for 5th

The battle for the title might have come down to the last day however don't forget about the other last day clash for 5th place.

Both Everton and Aston Villa have surprised many with their strong defending and clinical finishing however neither cat has yet got the cream. Newcastle, Spurs, Portsmouth and Man City have all dropped away like tired runners in a marathon, but who will have the legs out of the final two to cross the finish line and cap an amazing season.

Martin O'Neil and David Moyes are probably the two most exciting young managers in the world and this final battle will be a defining moment in ether's career.

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Keegan the Messiah cannot turn water into wine

Kevin Keegan today admitted after Newcastle's defeat against Chelsea that he can do nothing to turn Newcastle into a club that can challenge for the Premier League title.

Keegan ever optimist of football said to the BBC that:

"I thought. 'what can I do next year to get near them' and the truth is there's nothing I can do at all," he said.

"Maybe the owner thinks we can bridge that gap - but we can't. This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world."

Personaly this shows me that Keegan is alot wiser than he was last time round as Newcastle manager. He is playing down Newcastle's chances of winning anything so that if he fails he wont crush the hearts of his dearly beloved Newcastle fan's. However if he succeds to win anything (yes even the league cup..... put a £10 bet on them to win it next season) he will be even more of a Messiah than he is at present.

Keegan has matured and so will Newcastle under his managerial guide, never again will you see the rash reactionary behaviour that spawned the famous "I love it" rant. Unfortunately for some Keegan himself is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great managers in the world.... lets hope he keeps it up for Newcastle's sake.