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With the suspension almost at bursting point, the Crystal balls are out as the In The Stands team try to accurately predict who will win the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea
The Allianz Arena will the scene of European football’s showpiece event come 19 May as the two clubs clash for the right to be called kings of Europe.
Bookies have Bayern Munich as favourites ahead of the match although the pervading feeling going into Munich’s final is that Chelsea have the look of champions especially given how the Blues have cemented their place in the 2012 final.
So where will the match be won and where will it be lost. Read on to find out…
Bayern Munich’s Record vs English Clubs
What is it like? Well, the short answer is pretty good. The Bavarians have done well in recent years when playing against English opposition and in fact, beat Saturday’s opponents Chelsea the last time the Blues were in Munich.
Contract talks between Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie and the club are on the verge of breaking down after another tense day in North London.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is still trying to convince Robin van Persie to pledge his future to Arsenal but talks over a new deal have ended in deadlock with RVPs future still unclear.
Arsenal had hoped to persuade their leading goalscorer to agree a lucrative new three-year deal worth £130,000-a-week, but turned by growing interest from Manchester City, it is believed that the Dutchman remains undecided with talks said to still be ‘tense’.
Be sure to stick with In The Stands as we bring you the latest from this unresolved transfer spectacle…
Bayern Munich defender Philip Lahm has branded John Terry’s actions at the Camp Nou against Barcelona as ‘irresponsible’.
Terry was shown a straight red card after being caught kneeing Barcelona striker Alexis Sanchez during the Blues’ UEFA Champions League second-leg semi final clash at the Camp Nou.
The Blues skipper will now miss the final in Munich and Bayern captain Philip Lahm believes that the England defender’s actions were totally ill-advised.
“Would I describe it as irresponsible? Let’s just say I would never have done something like that,” Lahm told reporters prior to Saturday’s game.
“It simply wouldn’t have happened to me. Why? Because as captain, I do everything for my team. That would have harmed them and I would not allow that to happen!”
In The Stands’ Rolly Pelovangu grabs a pint of beer and some German salami before previewing Saturday’s Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
The Allianz Arena will be scene for the biggest match this season for both clubs as the UEFA Champions League reaches its apogee.
To call the 2012 final the losers last stand would be a tad harsh, but given that Saturday’s contestants have both recently suffered painful defeats in European football’s showpiece event, there is a feeling of ‘its now or never’ emanating from both camps.
For the hosts – that is what Bayern essentially are – the opportunity to become the first ever side to lift the famous jug-eared trophy in their own lair could not serve as better motivation to succeed.
After all, Jupp Heynckes men did brilliantly well to eliminate Jose Mourinho’s much fancied Real Madrid side to get here after a superbly contested semi-final clash.
Liverpool have sacked boss Kenny Dalglish after the Reds endured a miserable league campaign despite winning the Carling Cup and reaching the FA Cup final.
The shock news was broken on Wednesday afternoon with the decision coming just two days after Liverpool owners John W. Henry and Tom Werner held a showdown summit with Dalglish the day before. In response to Dalglish’s departure, Steve Clarke – Dalglish’s No 2 – has chosen to resign.
Dalglish guided the Reds to Carling Cup success and also saw his side finish unlucky runners-up in the FA Cup final, but the Scot has paid the price for a disastrous league campaign.
The Reds lost 14 matches this season, finished with a measy 52 points (four behind neighbours Everton), and were also involved in a string of unsavoury incidents throughout the season – most notably Luis Suarez’s racism controversy with Patrice Evra.
England boss Roy Hodgson has named his 23-man England squad for Euro 2012 with Rio Ferdinand left out and Steven Gerrard being named as captain.
The squad was announced on Wednesday afternoon with the biggest talking points being the exclusion of Rio Ferdinand and the inclusion of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Ferdinand has is involved in a very public dispute with John Terry with Terry accused of racially abusing Rio’s brother Anton Ferdinand during a fiery match between Queens Park Rangers and Chelsea in October.
As well as including Arsenal winger Oxlade-Chamberlain, he also opted to call up Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy, whose performances between the sticks this season have helped the Canaries secure top-flight football for another season.
Steven Gerrard has been appointed captain, whilst his Liverpool compatriot Jordan Henderson is amongst five players on the stand-by list.
The Full 23-man Squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Man City), Robert Green (West Ham), John Ruddy (Norwich)
The video has been an explosive hit around and the world and now you can watch it for yourself with ITS; Paul Merson’s hilarious reaction to Manchester City’s 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers on Sky Sports
We all know how the greatest ever ending to a Premier League season panned out with Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero grabbing two injury-time goals to overturn a 2-1 deficit into a title-winning 3-2 victory.
Clearly the thrill and sheer entertainment took its toll on Paul Merson! Classic stuff!
Joey Barton is an evil, overly-opinionated, egotistical, sanctimonious, thuggish little man who lacks basic moral principles.
His latest Twitter outbursts merely serve to reinforce the notion that this plodding midfielder has an abhorrent lack of respect for all and sundry, and that his biggest fan is sadly himself.
This is a man who poked a cigar in a team-mates’ eye; who cowardly and viciously assaulted another team mate – Ousmane Dabo – in front of fellow players; who punched Blackburn’s Morten Gamst Pedersen with a blow of lethal satisfaction; who served a prison sentence for a horrendous and callous street brawl; and who has been kicked out of each of his former clubs for being a reckless liabaility.
His ability to light up the pages of Twitter by using a dictionary or encyclopaedia to reinvent himself as a modern-day philosopher is laughable. “Why do people always want to solve any conflict with a fight. As a pacifist I find it incredible”, he once tweeted.
So, three days after the drama that was the final day of the Barclays Premier League season, football fans everywhere look back in astonishment and excitement at what could be a pivotal moment in the history of English football.
Manchester City are champions of England. Whether you agree with their lavish transfer policy or not, City are the real deal. They are the new team that everyone wants to beat; the barometer against whom others will measure themselves; and possess the players that rivals dream of.
Despite requiring a monumental turn-around in injury time to claim their first title for 44 years, make no mistake that City were deserved winners. They have consistently played the best football over 38 games, scored the most goals and conceded the least, and did the double over their main rivals and reigning champions. Most of us looked on in shock in August as Tottenham were humbled 5-1 at White Hart Lane, yet displays such as this became the norm, as City’s flair, finesse and durability came to the fore. Indeed, the 6-1 demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford only served to reinforce the notion that City’s current crop could go all the way.
There are plenty of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ preluding Roy Hodgson’s men with the European Championships coming up and Euro 2012 England Betting reflects this.
No sooner had the new England headcoach been unveiled were we, the typical English press, itching at the knees ready to knock the former West Bromwich Albion boss.
‘They should have gone for Harry Redknapp.’ ‘Hodgson is dull.’ ‘What has Roy ever achieved at club level?’ ‘Hodgson cannot make tough decisions.’ These were just some of the excoriating remarks emanating from most of the red-tops main columnists and writers keen to dampen the FA’s decision.
Their growing worries were bolstered by the fact that The Three Lions will be without key striker Wayne Rooney for the first two matches posing a major goal-scoring problem.
With back-up striker Darren Bent losing his race to be fit in time for the summer, and the defence looking markedly frail, the English tabloid press have all but happily written off England’s Euro 2012 campaign as a mere learning experience for the youngsters.
Santos striker Neymar electrified the crowd by performing an outstanding overhead flick during Santos’ 8-0 Copa Libertadores quarter-final win over Bolivar!
With the ball stopped dead on the touchline, Neymar drew the defender towards him before producing a deftly controlled flick over the defenders head to the astonishment of onlookers.
It was just one of the many amazing feats the highly-rated Brazilian star performed during a man-of-the-match performance which saw Santos run out 8-0 winners.
No that was not a typing error. Santos ran out 8-0 winners! Catch highlights of the match below courtesy of In The Stands:
Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton has ripped into Match of The Day presenter Gary Lineker in a highly-charged Twitter rant.
Barton has come in for much criticism after seeing red during QPR’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester City on the final day of the Premier League season.
Lineker later took to Twitter to condemn Barton’s actions having felt that the Scouser was merely trying to deflect attention from his red card by attacking everybody who has openly criticized him.
But Barton replied: “No deflections here mate. Think the fact about 100m people seen it will see to that. Just don’t like how he (referring to Lineker’s co-presenter Alan Shearer) gets personal.”
Lineker, 51, then replied by asking: “Still raging then? Still kicking out? And still, presumably. misunderstood? But only by yourself I suspect.”
Barton promptly tweeted back: “Do u wanna go there publicly “Mr Squeaky Clean,” before going on to say he would expose “skeletons” in Lineker’s “vast closet”.
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