The Champions League final on a saturday night ......... it just doesn't feel right !
Busy weekend, in addition to the "big one" with the "special one" we have the Championship playoff final, where Cardiff and Blackpool do battle for the ultimate prize, a place in the EPL and the well documented £90m that comes with it. Blackpool will have the support of many neutrals, as it would be a true fairytale story, not least for Ian Holloway who has done a fantastic job with the Seasiders, especially with his "wheelin and dealin" in the transfer market, the on loan signing of Seamus Coleman from Everton was a masterstroke. Whoever decided to risk £60k on the left back, who looks to have a massive future in the game, must be in line for a very big bonus from the merseyside club.
I recall Holloway doing some pundit work on the radio little more than a year ago, basically begging someone, anyone, to give him a job back in the game he loves. Suspect he would work for free and it is not always about the money !
Tomorrow also sees the start of the French Open and I have had my first bet of the tennis season this week and am hopeful of landing that today. Pretty sure that I will be covering the action from Roland Garros on here in the next fortnight, but it is almost impossible not to discuss the Champions League final, so ............
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL :
Inter -0.5 ball 2.31
I have read in several places that Jose Mourinho will not be too concerened about the result today, as he is already on his way to Real Madrid next season, that is pure hogwash ! Yes, the "special one" will be gracing La Liga with his talents, but the thought that he would pass up the chance to showcase his talents on such a world stage are laughable, his massive ego would simply not allow that to happen, he also happens to be the best coach in the world and remember, he was already on his way to Chelsea, when winning the title with Porto.
He is a master at finding oppents soft spots, searching out any weaknesses and exploiting them, whilst at the same time suffocating the greatest threats. Bayern are clearly weak in central defence and Diego Milito , who is on fire atm, must be licking his lips at the prospect of facing Van Buyten and Demichelis, if Milito wasn't enough for those two to handle, then Eto'o, Pandev and Balotelli most certainly are .
Of course, we all know Bayern are much happier on the front foot and Arjen Robben has looked world class this Champions League campaign, however, the absence of Franck Ribbery means that Inter can concentrate on stifling him and that job will probably fall to Javier Zanetti, who did a similar job on Lionel Messi in the semi-finals. Inter also nullified Drogba in similar fashion during an earlier round and Mourinho knows all about Robben from their time together at Chelsea, I suspect we will not see him as such a force this evening. I give Inter an edge in all three areas of the pitch and a pretty big one on the bench, although I should say I am not a huge fan of LVG and as a former Barcelona coach , JM would love to rub the nose of his former boss in the Bernabeu turf, especially playing in what will be his new home town. Inter all the way for me.
Good Luck.
Busy weekend, in addition to the "big one" with the "special one" we have the Championship playoff final, where Cardiff and Blackpool do battle for the ultimate prize, a place in the EPL and the well documented £90m that comes with it. Blackpool will have the support of many neutrals, as it would be a true fairytale story, not least for Ian Holloway who has done a fantastic job with the Seasiders, especially with his "wheelin and dealin" in the transfer market, the on loan signing of Seamus Coleman from Everton was a masterstroke. Whoever decided to risk £60k on the left back, who looks to have a massive future in the game, must be in line for a very big bonus from the merseyside club.
I recall Holloway doing some pundit work on the radio little more than a year ago, basically begging someone, anyone, to give him a job back in the game he loves. Suspect he would work for free and it is not always about the money !
Tomorrow also sees the start of the French Open and I have had my first bet of the tennis season this week and am hopeful of landing that today. Pretty sure that I will be covering the action from Roland Garros on here in the next fortnight, but it is almost impossible not to discuss the Champions League final, so ............
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL :
Inter -0.5 ball 2.31
I have read in several places that Jose Mourinho will not be too concerened about the result today, as he is already on his way to Real Madrid next season, that is pure hogwash ! Yes, the "special one" will be gracing La Liga with his talents, but the thought that he would pass up the chance to showcase his talents on such a world stage are laughable, his massive ego would simply not allow that to happen, he also happens to be the best coach in the world and remember, he was already on his way to Chelsea, when winning the title with Porto.
He is a master at finding oppents soft spots, searching out any weaknesses and exploiting them, whilst at the same time suffocating the greatest threats. Bayern are clearly weak in central defence and Diego Milito , who is on fire atm, must be licking his lips at the prospect of facing Van Buyten and Demichelis, if Milito wasn't enough for those two to handle, then Eto'o, Pandev and Balotelli most certainly are .
Of course, we all know Bayern are much happier on the front foot and Arjen Robben has looked world class this Champions League campaign, however, the absence of Franck Ribbery means that Inter can concentrate on stifling him and that job will probably fall to Javier Zanetti, who did a similar job on Lionel Messi in the semi-finals. Inter also nullified Drogba in similar fashion during an earlier round and Mourinho knows all about Robben from their time together at Chelsea, I suspect we will not see him as such a force this evening. I give Inter an edge in all three areas of the pitch and a pretty big one on the bench, although I should say I am not a huge fan of LVG and as a former Barcelona coach , JM would love to rub the nose of his former boss in the Bernabeu turf, especially playing in what will be his new home town. Inter all the way for me.
Good Luck.
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