Saturday, 22 March 2014

United performances left Moyes feeling ashamed

14:15

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United performances left Moyes feeling ashamed

United performances left Moyes feeling ashamed

Posted: 21 Mar 2014 04:16 PM PDT

Uniteds first season under the Scot has been inconsistent, and was compounded by their 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League last weekend. And Moyes admitted their 3-0 victory over Olympiacos in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, that secured a 3-2 aggregate win, was the first step in repaying the supporters. I think the big thing was I could look the supporters in the face after the game on Wednesday night, because I thought we had given them something to shout about, he said at a press conference on Friday. We had nothing to be ashamed of in our performance. In some other games I felt ashamed when I felt the team hadnt played well enough, Ive not got a team out thats not got a good enough result. After reaching the last eight of the competition at the expense of their Greek opponents, United were drawn against the favourites and defending champions Bayern Munich. Moyes is relishing the chance to test themselves against the Bundesliga leaders. I was thrilled that we were in that draw and were in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, he said. When we were 2-0 down to Olympiacos a week or so ago, I dont think a lot of people were putting us through to the quarter-final draw. So, in a lot of ways, it didnt matter who I drew. But Ive got to say weve drawn out the favourites and obviously the holders of the cup competition as well, so its a really tough draw for us but one that Im looking forward to. I think if youre old fashioned, youd say you always want to be at home in the second leg (United are at home first). Ive got to say that would be the preference. But the way the games going now with counter-attacking football and a different approach by teams away from home, weve got it and thats the way the draw came out. Were at home in the first leg and away in the second leg. We just have to take it.

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Van Persie out for four to six weeks

Posted: 21 Mar 2014 10:48 AM PDT

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Calderon: Ronaldo could return to United

Posted: 21 Mar 2014 08:12 AM PDT

The Portugal forward has cemented his place as one of the worlds best players since leaving Old Trafford for the Bernabeu in 2009, winning the FIFA Ballon dOr in January this year. Ronaldo has netted 41 goals in all competitions this season and Calderon refused to rule out the possibility of him returning to Old Trafford at some stage. You never know, he told talkSPORT. I know when I signed him, he was saying that Manchester for him has been like his house, he was quite happy there with the fans, with the club. At the time with (Alex) Ferguson, he considered him like a father, and everything for him in Manchester was perfect. But he wanted to come to Madrid and play for Real, and you never know, maybe at the end of his career he would like to come back to England and back to Manchester. His strength is that every day he gets up in the morning and thinks only about being better than the day before. This makes him unbeatable. I havent seen a player like him in my life. I dont see the limit - I dont know what is going to be the highest level for this player. Real Madrid sit three points clear of local rivals Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga and meet Barcelona - a point further back in third - in El Clasico on Sunday. Its clear now that this year, mainly the last two or three months, Real Madrid has been stronger than Barcelona, Calderon added. Theyve played much better. Four points ahead is a good distance. In fact, if Real Madrid wins, its going to be a problem for Barcelona to win this league. But dont forget Atletico, they are still there, they are playing well and it is a very strong team. I think in this match, Real Madrid has a slight advantage. Barcelonas midfield is weaker this year. I dont know why - maybe the players are in a different way of playing, maybe the change of the coach. I dont know.

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In the name of the father: How the Cruyff legacy hampered Jordis career

Posted: 21 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PDT

In February of 1974, Danny Coster gave birth to her son Jordi by Caesarean section. The operation was carefully timed to coincide with a short period of time off work that Danny's husband Johan had been granted by his employers. It just so happened that Johan was one of the world's greatest footballers, and his employers FC Barcelona one of the world's greatest football clubs – and who, the weekend that Jordi Cruyff was born, had no fixtures scheduled to be played. So it was that Jordi Cruyff was predestined to a life spent living not just with his famous surname, but also his symbolic given name. Sant Jordi – Saint George – is the patron saint of Barcelona and Catalonia, and Johan Cruyff had fought with the Francoist authorities of 1970s Spain in order to circumvent a ban on the use of Catalan names and register it to his son in that form (as opposed to the Spanish "Jorge"). It was a name that would forever bond Cruyff junior with Catalonia, and by extension the iconic status held by his father within the region. Since the 8th century, Saint George has been venerated in Catalonia, with dozens of churches and chapels dedicated to his memory, and the cult of George evident throughout the province. In Barcelona, La Diada de Sant Jordi is a major event, a festival something like a Catalan hybrid of St. Patrick's Day and Valentine's Day. Yet just as Sant Jordi symbolises Catalonia, Johan Cruyff symbolises FC Barcelona. The decision of the latter to name his son after an emblematic figure with which Barcelona was so besotted was a tribute and expression of love for the city, a gesture of affection that tied the family to a place they had come to adore. As pointed out by Simon Kuper in 1994, "the Cruyffs are as good as Catalan." Like Jordi Cruyff, Saint George had a famous father, Gerontios, in whose shadow he had been born – Gerontios of Cappadocia was a noble, famous and high-ranking officer in the Roman Army – but unlike Cruyff Jr., Saint George would go on to outshine his dad. Although the earnest George progressed rapidly within the army very much on the back of his father's name – even the Emperor Diocletian knew Gerontios as one of Rome's finest soldiers – he achieved a much more lasting fame as a result of his apocryphal slaying of the dragon at Silene. Jordi Cruyff, however, never had his dragon-slaying moment, instead leading a career of relative mediocrity and underachievement – at least in comparison with his father. Ajax, Barcelona, Cruyff It wasn't as if Jordi was without talent. In the ranks of the Ajax academy, he stood out despite being treated coolly when Johan inevitably fell out with club management and, upon the family's return to Catalonia in 1988, when Johan became manager of Barça, Jordi joined the club's renowned cantera. Ten years earlier, Jordi and the rest of the family had emerged safely from a kidnap attempt at their Barcelona flat; Johan and Danny were tied up in front of their children and a gun was held to Johan's head. For several months afterward, Jordi required a police escort to school, yet even memories of that incident were not enough to keep the Cruyffs away from the Catalan capital. At first, things were tough for the young man as he struggled to adapt to life there, but after a number of years within the system, he began to show some serious potential. In 1994, aged 20, he scored two hat-tricks on a pre-season tour of the Netherlands with the first team. Over the next two seasons, Jordi made more than 40 appearances for Barça, scoring 11 goals and turning in occasional performances of real quality. There was no denying he could play. But his father he was not, and when Cruyff senior was dismissed from his position as Barça manager in 1996, Jordi was caught between a rock and a hard place. The club – more specifically its president Josep Lluís Núñez – wanted him gone, and feared his close association with his father's regime. As had happened at the Ajax academy, Jordi was being punished for Johan's relationship with the boardroom. Jordi initially refused to train with the team, and was eventually given a staged farewell at the Nou Camp against Celta. When he left the pitch, the fans applauded rapturously, but it was clear to all watching that the ovation in the stadium held much more significance than mere appreciation for his exploits that day. It was a goodbye to two generations of Cruyffs, and a display of gratitude for the 14 years of glorious service Johan Cruyff had given to Barcelona. As Jimmy Burns wrote, the stadium was "reverberating with the name of Cruyff, as if the very name was an inseparable part of its soul." Benched in Manchester The next stop for Jordi was Manchester United, a club with a standing comparable to Barça. His time in England proved frustrating, with his form being dominated by injury and his place in the team obstructed by a golden generation of midfielders that had emerged in Manchester. "I had the likes of Beckham, Scholes and Giggs in front of me in midfield," said Jordi in 2013. "I could also play as a striker but there was Sheringham, Cantona and all these magnificent players. At the time, you don't understand why you aren't playing but looking back, I see the players who were around me and think 'Fair enough'." On top of this, he had joined a league that was a world apart from the one in which he had played with Barça, one to which his style and physical stature were not particularly well suited. For a number of years, Jordi had worked with his father and other Barça coaches on developing his physique, but the demands of the Premier League were different to Spain, where the emphasis was more on technique. At every step, he still found himself dogged by the spectre of his father's greatness, with media and fans alike seeming to demand displays of skill reflective of those of the older Cruyff. Such heights were not within Jordi's capability, his stint at Old Trafford ultimately rendering him something of a figure of fun among observers in the UK. The Independent even went so far as to name Jordi as part of its "Worst XI under Sir Alex Ferguson". It's hard to imagine that this would have been the case had expectations of him not been so high. Back to Spain for a golden era By the time he left United in 2000, he was 26, an age when players normally approach their footballing peak. Perhaps if injuries and bad luck had not hindered his development to such an extent, Jordi would have been more able to take advantage of his prime years as a footballer. As it was, he returned to Spain with Alavés, a team that had been promoted to Spain's top tier just two seasons before. While at the Basque club, Jordi was to experience what was probably the best period of his career, in playing terms at least. At a club of fellow outcasts, he found a place in a team that Phil Ball describedas "one of those rare cases where several rejected, run-of-the-mill players come together and immediately gel, for no apparent reason." Jordi became an important part of a side that went all the way to the UEFA Cup Final in 2001, and looked far more comfortable back in Spain than he had in England. He seemed to simply "fit in" at Alavés, where he was freer to just concentrate on football than at his previous clubs; gone was the intense scrutiny of Barça and the harsh competition of Manchester. The team's manager, Mané, had aimed to create a laid-back, familial atmosphere where the club came before ego, and it was a setting in which Jordi thrived. After three years at Alavés, Jordi returned to Catalonia with Barça's city rivals Espanyol, but because of injury failed to make much of an impact, despite a solid first season. In 2010, an unexceptional career was ended after brief spells in Ukraine and Malta. Off the pitch and upstairs For Jordi, the future lies in management, though not necessarily as a coach in the manner of his father. Nowadays, Jordi earns a living behind the scenes at Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Israel as a general manager and sporting director. At Maccabi, he showed no lack of vision by bringing in current Brighton manager Oscar Garcia as head coach, and subsequently by replacing him with former Swansea boss Paulo Sousa. A shrewd and balanced individual keen to expand his learning, Jordi undertook a post-graduate degree in marketing alongside his close friend Roberto Martinez, and appears to have put many things that he learned there into practice at Maccabi. Time will tell whether he can replicate or even better the off-pitch exploits of Cruyff senior, although this is a task no less difficult than living up to his father's deeds on the field of play. Johan Cruyff, after all, was a man whom David Winner thought was "not simply the best-known Dutch person alive [but] also the most important." As a consequence, Jordi Cruyff was never judged in his own right. Good enough to earn nine caps for one of the better incarnations of the Netherlands national team and appear for them at Euro '96, but mediocre enough to end his career playing in the Maltese Premier League, he was neither a great player nor a terrible one. His only 'crime' was to be burdened with unrealistic expectations by an accident of birth – expectations which he was ultimately unable to justify, which is hardly something to be ashamed of. Writer Ouriel Daskal noted that in recent times Jordi "has adopted a cold, professional outlook on football, perhaps as a method of dealing with the fact that no matter what his achievements may be, he will never be able to surpass his revolutionary father's historic accomplishments." Jordi's career, however, is probably best summed up by the man himself: "There are two types of football players – the legends and the mortals. My father is a legend and I am a mortal. The legends like my father – they come, they do and they remain. I am part of the vast majority of mortals – we come, we do and we die."

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United relishing exciting tie

Posted: 21 Mar 2014 05:58 AM PDT

David Moyes men were pitted against the reigning champions and tournament favourites in Fridays draw, with the first leg to be played at Old Trafford on April 1 before the return game in Munich eight days later. It is a repeat of the 1999 final, when United staged an incredible comeback in the final moments to snatch a dramatic 2-1 victory at Camp Nou. The two sides last met four years ago, also in the quarter-finals, with Bayern progressing on away goals. The German side have been in astonishing form this season and look destined to claim the Bundesliga crown once again, but Alexander called on United to use their stirring comeback against Olympiacos as a source of inspiration. Its an exciting tie, he told UEFA.com. Bayern are a fantastic side, but we have to take heart from our performance the other night against Olympiacos. The Premier League champions beat Olympiacos 3-0 on home soil on Wednesday to progress 3-2 on aggregate.

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From title wins to Obafemi Martins: Wengers best and worst moments at Arsenal

Posted: 21 Mar 2014 05:44 AM PDT

Five of the best Arsenal 3-2 Man United (Nov, 1997) A major tipping point in English football. If Arsenal had lost this match, they almost certainly wouldn't have prevailed in the 1997/98 league title race; and with history rewritten, it wouldn't be too much of a push to say that they might not have won any of their three crowns under Wenger. Coming into this clash, United had lifted four of the previous five Premier League titles, Arsenal trailed them by four points and had just been humbled by Derby County at Pride Park. Here Nicolas Anelka and Patrick Vieira notched early to put Wenger's men 2-0 up, before former Spurs icon Teddy Sheringham scored twice to level matters before half-time. The second period was tense, but a David Platt header clinched it. The result undoubtedly gave the Londoners belief, and by the end of the season they'd thundered to a historic double. Man United 0-1 Arsenal (May, 2002 ) Arsenal love to bag the title in their closest rivals' backyards, and while this didn't quite match Michael Thomas's legendary Anfield moment, it came pretty close. Having grabbed the FA Cup four days earlier (a 2-0 win over Chelsea), Arsenal travelled to Old Trafford needing a mere point to clinch the club's third double. Twelve minutes into the second half, Freddie Ljungberg marauded into the box. United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez parried, but Sylvain Wiltord smashed home the rebound. In north London, an army of Arsenal fans went wild (as Martin Tyler caterwauled: "WILTOOOOORD!"); in the away end a 'Champions Section' banner was hoisted; somehow Nwankwo Kanu vaulted over Wiltord. United's three-year grip on the title was released, and Wenger's exceptionally talented outfit had vindicated the Frenchman's unshakeable belief in fast-paced, attractive play. Arsenal 2-1 Leicester(May, 2004) "Somebody threw me a t-shirt which read 'comical Wenger says we can go the whole season unbeaten'," remembered the gaffer in 2004 about a bold prediction he'd made a year before. "I was just a season too early." When Wenger leaves the game altogether and we reflect on his manifold achievements – helping to free Arsenal from debt, the gorgeous football, three titles, two doubles, a Champions League final and relentless European qualification – it is The Invincibles season that will stand above all else. Only one other side have been through a league season unbeaten (Preston in 1888) and it is unlikely to happen more than once in the next 100 years. Needless to say there had been wobbles when the run had looked in danger: a 2-2 draw with Spurs, a 1-1 with Manchester United (when Ruud van Nistelrooy made himself a hero). But after a joyous home crowd saw them seal the record with a 2-1 defeat of the Foxes (despite trailing to Paul Dickov's opener) – Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira the scorers – it would take a brave man to argue that this is not the finest-ever side in Premier League history. Tottenham 4-5 Arsenal (Nov, 2004) Of Wenger's many triumphs over Spurs – his record of won 20, drawn 16, lost six is better than any other Arsenal boss – this was surely the one that gave fans the most fun. An abysmal defensive performance from the Gunners offered Tottenham every chance to seize the initiative, but their rivals' own backline somehow managed to self-destruct even more spectacularly. Thierry Henry, Lauren, Patrick Vieira, Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires got the goals, Jens Lehmann pulled off some spectacular saves as the home side desperately tried to get back into it; new Spurs head coach Martin Jol watched horrified from the sidelines in his first game. North London Bragging Rights (TM) – and oh, how they did brag – once more belonged to Arsenal, as they almost exclusively have done during Wenger's tenure: one of his greatest gifts to his loyalists. Arsenal 4-2 Wigan (May, 2006) A perfect storm of high emotion and comedy-tinged Schadenfreude elevates this otherwise routine pummelling of the Latics to one of the most enjoyable afternoons in living memory for most north Londoners of a red persuasion. The last fixture ever held at Highbury meant there was barely a dry eye in the house, as the Gunners bid a raucous au revoir to their lovely old home with Thierry Henry helping himself to a hat-trick. But it would all have been for nowt had it not been for the fact that across London, their Tottenham foeswere failing to beat West Ham, having been decimated by an outbreak of the wild sh*tes caused by an underpowered lasagne. Wenger's impressive record of faultless Champions League qualification remained intact – undoubtedly one of his finest achievements – and for Spurs to be the fall guys, in such an amusingly, unfairly pleasant way, put the cherry on the top for Gooners. Five of the worst Man United 1-0 Arsenal (Apr, 1999) A game where one kick could have re-written history. Had Dennis Bergkamp managed to slot home a last-minute penalty at Villa Park, it might have been Arsenal lifting the trophy a month later at Wembley, while United's historic treble would be the stuff of Alex Ferguson's wildest fantasies. Instead the Dutch Ice Man blew it, the game went to extra-time, and Ryan Giggs scored a mazy wondergoal, humiliating half the Gunners' XI in the process. It will haunt Wenger for eternity. His despairing comment afterwards – "It is not easy to take the defeat, the luckiest team won" – has become almost a Wenger mantra since, but his pain was visible. Given the fact that Arsenal had also blown the league, losing at Leeds 1-0 in a midweek match, the horror was doubled. Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal (May, 2001) A trophy Wenger fully deserved to win, but didn't. Arsenal played Liverpool off the park at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, going ahead through Freddie Ljungberg, and with two decent penalty appeals for handball turned down by the referee. But if Wenger's sides have a fault, it is not turning utter dominance into victory-ensuring quantities of goals, and so it proved here: having blown several clear-cut chances to put the match out of sight, Liverpool hit them with two sucker punches. The lethal Michael Owen – a player who, had he played for Arsenal at his peak, would surely have turned them into a trophy machine – hit home twice. It was the ultimate smash and grab. "It was obvious we should have won, we had a clear penalty turned down, but this is the story of our season," said an ashen Arsene afterwards. Arsenal 1-2Barcelona (May, 2006) Wenger's best chance to take his place among his contemporaries – Ferguson, Mourinho, Benitez, Guardiola and the gang – as a Champions League-winning coach, was scuppered early. Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who had helped to keep 10 consecutive clean sheets before the final, was red carded early for hauling down Samuel Eto'o; Robert Pires was sacrificed in order to bring on reserve custodian Manuel Almunia. Somehow Arsenal remained ambitious and got in front thanks to a terrific Sol Campbell header – and Thierry Henry then missed a golden chance to potentially seal the deal. But Eto'o and Juliano Belletti scored in the final quarter of an hour to give the Catalans the trophy. Of all Wenger's near-misses, this must have hurt the most. "The referee made a big mistake… the way we lost was difficult to take", he despaired afterwards. Birmingham 2-2 Arsenal (Feb, 2008) A rotten moment for Wenger not so much for the match itself – a point at Birmingham isn't a disaster – but for the collapse it prompted. The eye-wateringly hideous injury to Croatian hitman Eduardo, scythed down by City's Martin Taylor, deeply upset the players. Arsenal's bad luck didn't end there, either: although Theo Walcott scored twice, they were denied a stonewall penalty, only for City to be awarded a dodgy one in the final minute. The Blues converted their chance; William Gallas threw a bizarre tantrum then sat weeping in the centre circle at the final whistle, and the Arsenal meltdown began. They subsequently lost to Chelsea and United, and finished four points off the top. It was another case of what might have been for Wenger – and Eduardo was never quite the same player again, either. Arsenal 1-2 Birmingham 2 (Feb, 2011) A game Arsenal had looked nailed on to win: City were relegation strugglers, Wenger's side had been flying in the tournament and were challenging for the title – and they'd already done a Premier League double over the Blues that season. But it was a now-familiar narrative of pain for the Gunners: they dominated the game, created twice as many chances as their opponents, but didn't take them. Nikola Zigic put the Brummies ahead; Robin van Persie equalised in the first half. The Londoners bossed the second period, but in the very final minute, a dreadful mix-up between Wojciech Szczesny and Laurent Koscielny handed glory to City's Obafemi Martins on a plate. He casually popped the ball into the vacant net. Both of Arsenal's guilty players were "destroyed" afterwards, with Wenger adding, as he always does, that it was "hard to take." The hoodoo continued.

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Lahm dismisses United form ahead of last-eight clash

Posted: 21 Mar 2014 05:13 AM PDT

The sides will face each other in the competitions last eight following Fridays draw in Nyon, evoking memories of the dramatic 1999 final when United scored two stoppage-time goals to claim a last-gasp victory at Camp Nou. Uniteds first season under David Moyes has not gone according to plan - his team currently sit seventh in the Premier League - but Lahm feels the tie will still be as big a challenge as ever for the defending champions. We cant allow Manchester Uniteds current position in the Premier League table to affect our mindset for this game, he is quoted as saying by UEFA.com. We will travel to Manchester in order to play attacking football and score goals. And Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer echoed those comments, adding:On good days, they are really dangerous. Weve got to make sure they dont have two good days. United required a 3-0 second-leg win to get past Olympiacos of Greece 3-2 on aggregate in the last round, while Bayern triumphed 3-1 over two legs against Arsenal. The first leg will take place on April 1-2, with the return games one week later.

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Dont worry United, youre not alone: Crap title defences of the twentieth century

Posted: 21 Mar 2014 04:40 AM PDT

Manchester City (1937/38) After claiming their first English league triumph in the 1936/37 season, going on a 22-game unbeaten run and scoring over 100 goals in the process, few could have anticipated just how badly City's title defence would pan out. Twelve months on, the Manchester club became the first – and subsequently only – team to be relegated having lifted the trophy in the previous season, after finishing in 21st and 16 points behind eventual winners Arsenal. Incredibly, the champions were relegated despite being the league's top scorers, having bagged 80 goals and recording a positive goal difference of three. A leaky rearguard bemoaning the second-worst defensive record ultimately proved their downfall, however. After a war-enforced break, the league resumed and City were once again competing in English football's top flight after promotion at the end of the 1946/47 campaign. Little did City know that over 60 years later, relegation would be the least of their worries. Liverpool (1947/48) Having edged a hard-fought title race by a single point over Manchester United and Wolves, the Reds claimed the first English title after the Second World War. The 1947/48 season proved to be less exciting, however. Strike partners Albert Stubbins and Jack Balmer netted 24 apiece on the way to Liverpool's fifth title, but the latter found goals harder to come by one year on. Captaincy proved a burden for Balmer, who notched only 15 in all competitions, only to be eclipsed by Stubbins's 26 goals. George Kay's Merseysiders scored 19 fewer goals in their unsuccessful defence, and shipped nine more as they ended the season in 11th, 17 points adrift of Arsenal. Chelsea (1955/56) Despite a run of four straight defeats and being 12th at the start of November, Ted Drake's Chelsea lost just three of their next 25 games as they went on to seal a maiden English league title in 1954/55. England front man Roy Bentley captained the side, scoring 21 times en route to the title as the Blues finished four points clear of Wolverhampton Wanderers. One year on, it was all so different. Chelsea's ageing squad struggled and two of their young up-and-comers, Frank Blunstone and Stan Wicks, were struck with injuries. With age catching up with Drake's side, they finished the following campaign in 16th, 21 points behind champions Manchester United. It would be half a century before Chelsea clinched the title again, under a certain Jose Mourinho. Ipswich Town (1962/63) Under the stewardship of Alf Ramsey, Ipswich defied the odds by winning their only English league crown to date in 1961/62, in their first-ever top-flight season after securing promotion from the Second Division. Despite being heavily tipped to go straight back down, Ramsey's experimenting with his tactics - namely moving inside-forwards Roy Stephenson and Jimmy Leadbitter into wide midfield positions - paid off. The element of surprise worked for the Tractor Boys in their first season, but the 1962/63 campaign saw Town struggle with the rest of the league having cottoned on to their ideas. Ipswich finished a lowly 17th, 26 points adrift of title winners Everton. The fortunes of club and manager contrasted vastly after that. Relegation followed for Ipswich in 1964, after Ramsey had left his post to manage England following the Suffolk side's 17th-place finish. And we all know what happened next... Everton (1970/71) With Joe Royle finding the net freely and the 'Holy Trinity' of Howard Kendall, Alan Ball and Colin Harvey strutting their stuff in midfield, Everton claimed a seventh English league title in 1969/70 after finishing nine points ahead of Leeds. Harry Catterick's team were tipped to dominate for years to come, but their reign of terror never materialised. The Toffees failed to reproduce their sparkling form in 1970/71, ending the season in 14th, 28 points adrift of champions Arsenal (yeah, them again). The demands of multiple competitions evidently affected the squad, who followed up a European Cup quarter-final defeat at the hands of Panathinaikos with a 2-1 loss to bitter city rivals Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-finals one week later. The draining exploits of the Toffees' English contingent at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico were also seen as a factor in what turned out to be a dismal campaign. Aston Villa (1981/82) With Ron Saunders at the helm, Villa ended their 71-year wait for a seventh league title in 1980/81, finishing four points ahead of Ipswich. But the West Midlanders endured a woeful start to their title defence, with the distraction of European football appearing to take its toll like so many others before (and after) them. By February, with the team languishing in 19th, Saunders resigned and his assistant Tony Barton was appointed as his replacement. Barton managed to salvage Villa's season, albeit ending the campaign in 11th, a massive 30 points behind league winners Liverpool. It wasn't all doom and gloom for the Villa faithful, however, as Barton's men claimed a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the 1982 European Cup Final. Every cloud, as they say. Blackburn Rovers (1995/96) With local businessman Jack Walker investing heavily into the club, promotion to the shiny new Premier League in 1992 soon followed for Blackburn. After a number of notable signings, Rovers claimed their third English title - 81 years after their last - by a single point in 1995. However, defending their title turned out to be far more difficult than anticipated. Kenny Dalglish, who masterminded the triumph, became the club's Director of Football, with his assistant Ray Harford replacing him in the managerial hot seat. A poor start to the season, and early Champions League exit in the group stage, was compounded by injuries to Chris Sutton and Graeme Le Saux. Much of the season was spent in the bottom half of the table, with the Lancashire club eventually finishing seventh, 21 points adrift of Sir Alex Ferguson's United. The late revival was largely thanks to Alan Shearer's net-busting (he finished on 31 goals), but the England striker was subsequently sold to Newcastle for a then-world-record transfer fee of £15 million. It proved to be the first of many key departures over the following years, leading to Rovers' relegation in 1999.

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Bayern to face Man United in Champions League

Posted: 21 Mar 2014 04:20 AM PDT

In a repeat of the 1999 final – when United scored twice in stoppage time to win 2-1 at Camp Nou – Bayern will be hoping to progress as the German champions bid to become the first team to win back-to-back Champions League titles. Barcelona face Atletico Madrid in an all-Spanish clash, Real Madrid have been pitted with last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain will play Chelsea. The first legs will take place on April 1-2, with the return games one week later.

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The FourFourTwo Preview: West Ham vs Man United

Posted: 21 Mar 2014 01:08 AM PDT

Billed as Just when you thought Manchester United had turned a corner… The lowdown Man United's trip to Upton Park is the rather disappointing filling in David Moyes' football sandwich this week. Not to do the Hammers down or anything, you understand, but when you've heroically bashed your way past Olympiakos in the Champions League on the Wednesday and you're staring down the barrel of a derby with Manchester City a week later, you could do without squaring up to The Sam Allardyce Gang on their home manor. All the great work of midweek and the euphoria of a European quarter-final spot could quickly be undone in east London. Arguably Moyes' toughest job will be getting his players to focus on this game only. The Scot does, however, have a rather big Liverpool-shaped stick to beat his team with. After the 3-0 home thrashing dished out by Brendan Rodgers' side, you'd expect United to come out of the traps hard and fast at the Boleyn. Their form on the road this season has outshone displays at Old Trafford, suggesting the pressure of that packed home stadium is more than they can bear, for league games anyway. Allardyce is likely to set up his West Ham team to counter-attack, using Andy Carroll as the outlet when breaking from deep. With a goal under his belt now (at Stoke last weekend) the striker will have the World Cup front of mind and will know that a good showing against United could attract Roy Hodgson's attention. Team news Man United are without their captain as Nemanja Vidic serves a one-match ban for his sending off against Liverpool, so Rio Ferdinand should start alongside Phil Jones. Talk of unrest in the camp this week could yet see a surprise omission or two. For West Ham, after the injury strife that plagued the first five months of the campaign, they are like a flock of spring lambs ready and raring to go. Player to watch: Danny Welbeck (Man United) After United reminded everyone of what they're capable of on Wednesday night against Olympiakos, praise was heaped upon Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney. The Dutchman scored a hat-trick. Rooney was at the heart of everything. There were even signs the pair were forging an understanding. But it was unsung hero Welbeck who was the catalyst for this vintage United performance. Deployed on the left of an advanced midfield three, the England forward ran tirelessly down the flank. His runs in behind the defence occupied the Olympiakos defence, creating space for Van Persie and Rooney to administer capital punishment. 3 of his 6 attempted dribbles were successful – bettered only by Rooney. He won 3 of his 5 aerial duels and earned a trio of free-kicks in dangerous positions. There's no guarantee Moyes will select Welbeck against West Ham, but after this performance he'd be foolish not to. The managers After his last home match in the league, Moyes will be thankful of standing on an away touchline. The 5:30pm kick-off should make for a lively home crowd, many of whom will have fond memories of beating significantly better United sides than this at Upton Park. Moyes will get a lot of stick, but at least he can write it off as opposing fans' stick and not rage from his own. Allardyce will quite fancy this one. Carroll battering away at a creaky back-line with Kevin Nolan sniffing for scraps is the stuff of dreams for Big Sam. Facts and figures West Ham have lost 9 of their last 10 league meetings with United, including 7 defeats by more than 1 goal. West Ham have conceded exactly 3 times in 5 of their 6 home games this season against the current top 9. United have won 16 of 21 trips to bottom-half teams since the start of last season - 7 of 9 this term. 9 of West Ham's last 10 home games against bottom-half teams have had at least 3 goals. Best Bet:Over 3.5 Goals @ 1.90 More FFT Stats Zone facts•Find the best odds with Bet Butler FourFourTwo prediction Man United to edge it 3-2. West Ham vs Man United LIVE ANALYSIS with Stats Zone

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