Portugal vs Czech Republic: 2:45pm ET
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Sixteen years ago, Czech Republic and Portugal met in the Quarterfinals of Euro ’96. Czech Republic emerged from that game with a 1-0 victory, courtesy of a Karel Poborsky goal. They would go on to finish runners-up to Germany—an Oliver Bierhoff golden goal providing the Germans with a victory on English soil. Much like this summer’s tournament, the Czechs opened with a defeat. They will be hoping that it is an omen for a similar performance.

A similar performance is unlikely; Rosicky will not start but is an option later on if required. Petr Cech’s performances are the focus of many a debate, they have been for some time now, but the clangers he’s dropped so far do not bode well leading up to a face-off with Ronaldo. Cristiano Ronaldo, surprisingly, is currently topping Castrol EDGE Performance’s table with a 9.68. His performance against Denmark could well lead to someone questioning the accuracy of Castrol’s data, but having said that, Ronaldo has been consistently good in distribution of the ball, adding weight to Paulo Bento’s claims that Ronaldo, just like any other player in the Portuguese set-up, is given instructions to follow. The two goals against Holland also confirmed he has not lost his taste for blood.

Bento’s dilemma entering the tournament was the absence of an out and out playmaker—Danny from Zenit being injured. His solution was to play a functional midfield three that releases Ronaldo and Nani at every given opportunity. So far, the plan has worked. The only blot to his copybook being a defeat at the hands of Germany, who many believe will win the tournament. Surviving the group of death will have done wonders for the camps confidence.

The Czech Republic’s recovery from the 4-1 defeat on match day one was admirable. But, the fact that Russia went home early brings the quality of teams in the group into question. Both Sivok and Jarosik are reformed central midfield players playing at the heart of the Czech defence. Both players lack any real pace of note, you can expect both Nani and Ronaldo to attempt to take advantage of this. The fact that the Czechs recovered to top their group, suggests that they will not roll over for Portugal, but it’s hard to imagine anything but Portugal progressing to the semi-final.  But, while the bookmakers rate the Czech Republic to have a slim 34.6% chance of progression, this is soccer…

Stats so far:

• Portugal averaged 1.66 goals per game and conceded 1.33, if you reverse the figures you get the Czech Republic’s averages.
• Two players tonight are in Castrol Edge’s top ten performers so far. The first being Cristiano Ronaldo in 1st place, the second, Vaclav Pilar in 10th place.
• The sides met four years ago in the group stages resulting in a 3-1 victory for Portugal.

Before, during and after today’s quarter-final match, post your rants, raves, questions and observations in the comments section below.

Had anyone chosen to watch the Ireland-Croatia game in a pub, there was hardly enough time for someone to wet their lips before the first goal was scored. Sean St. Ledger offered a brief moment of hope that was soon to be eradicated by Jelavic’s poached effort before half time. The second half started much like the first, a shot from Mandzukic hit the post, only to rebound off the back of Shay Given’s head and hit the back of the net. Then it was on to Spain, and the plan was to keep it tight—I thought at least. Again, with the game in its infancy a goal was conceded. A 1-0 score line at half time didn’t even look all that bad, by full time it was four and Ireland was out. It was Ireland’s worst showing in major championships, and it was completely deserved.

Just this morning, Monaghan United announced its withdrawal from the Irish league. John Delaney, the chief executive of the FAI, is sat in Poland enjoying the atmosphere that the ‘tremendous’ Irish fans are producing. The Irish have had a reputation, a somewhat exaggerated one, of having the best fans in the world. In a survey taken just this year, which accounted for the percentage of the population attending home games in their country, Ireland had a measly 0.51%.

So while the fans pay ludicrous money to follow Delaney’s vanity project to Poland, a team in their own backyard has to pull out midway through a season. Clubs in Ireland do not spend millions on new signings; I would be willing to hazard a guess that it would only have taken a fraction of the expense of traveling to Poland to save Monaghan’s season.

So where is the significance of this? Well I spoke in the previous article about Ireland being reliant on English clubs to develop their players, which is true. There have been exceptions, not that they have a place in the first team… yet. James McClean is a former Derry City player; he played for them right up until August of last year. Seamus Coleman made the jump from Sligo Rovers to Everton with relative ease, and if he can find the form that he showed in his debut season, he could be a major player for the Republic of Ireland. Enda Stevens moved from Shamrock Rovers to Aston Villa, where he is yet to make his breakthrough. In the desecrated landscape of Irish football, there is still that glimmer of hope and the odd breakthrough.

The problem is not that the team was beaten 4-0 by Spain or 3-1 by Croatia, or 2-0 by Italy. It rests in the poor infrastructure of Irish football. That is mainly due to a lack of priorities. Should the FAI and Irish supporters do some soul searching, they may find the answer to some, if not all, of their problems may well be on their own doorstep. €15 a week is what it costs to follow your home side here, and that €15 could easily turn out to be better spent than the hundreds of thousands the FAI choose to spend on its hierarchy. Dismal as the performance may seem, it can easily turn into a stepping stone for the future of Irish football. It’s not a question of competing for trophies, it’s the ability to compete at all. During the 90’s, Ireland picked up two underage European Championship titles, and finished third in an underage World Cup. Repeating that performance at senior level is unrealistic, and qualification is an achievement, but one show does not grease over the cracks that have appeared and continue to appear domestically. In the last twelve months, Ireland has qualified for a major tournament, and Shamrock Rovers qualified for the Europa League group stages. To continue improving, more attention needs to be given to the grassroots of Irish football.

I overheard a conversation between two football fans today; the gist of it was that Roy Keane had forgotten that the fans paid his wages as a player. They concluded that Roy was an idiot for suggesting that Irish fans need to adjust their acceptance of performances. To me this is a perfectly reasonable statement.

I believe what Keane was getting at is simply that losing four nil is not acceptable. Losing 3-1 to Croatia in the manner that the Irish did was not acceptable either.  To say the team did the nation proud would be an extraordinarily flattering comment that simply isn’t true. Yes, the fans paid Roy’s wages, the fans also pay mishaps like Glen Whelan’s wages and the return they get is zilch. It is the question that any fan out there singing needs to ask themselves, drinking aside, did they enjoy the tournament? I wasn’t drinking and the answer is a resounding NO.

There is a sect of fans blaming the manager, again I don’t agree. The players are simply not good enough for a start. The blame must rest solely with FAI, and their astonishing believe that anything is right in Irish football. In recent seasons, the coaching curriculum has been adjusted to that of a Dutch ideology. That in itself may seem promising, but until it is put into practise at the ground level of Irish football, the effects of such an endeavour will never see the light of day. While younger coaches are learning the new system, which itself still leaves a lot to be desired, the men running football in this country are still from the Jurassic erroneous Charles Hughes era of the game.

The recent inclination of English clubs to shop abroad, where flair and creativity is in abundance is not helping the Irish cause either. Ireland is reliant on English football to produce players for their national team. The league in Ireland is not of a high enough standard and does not have the right sort of investment to produce a starting eleven at international level.  Again, the problem falls on the doorstep of the FAI: while they have implanted a new coaching curriculum, they are happier paying astronomical wages to a coach that is not in keeping with these ideals.

The one shining light in this new ‘Dutch influenced’ coaching scheme is the addition of the word transition to the Irish footballing vocabulary. Football is not just about attacking or defending, there is constant transitions going on.

Nineteen eighty eight. The year Ireland first qualified for a major tournament. Jack Charlton, a World Cup winning Englishman, was at the helm. The tournament was the European Championships. The team, largely looking like misfits, held an unquenchable amount of enthusiasm—to a point where they could be depicted in the vein of a rabid bulldog. Under Charlton, a crude philosophy was born, ‘put ‘em under pressure’.  The method of play, kick and rush, ushered in an unexpected amount of success for the Irish team. Given that Ireland is a small nation: two World Cup appearances and a European Championships in the space of six years, is a remarkable achievement.  Victories against England (’88) and Italy (’94), on both occasions it was Ray Houghton on the score sheet, insured that Jack left a tough act to follow.

The man to follow Jack was Mick McCarthy. Captain of the Republic, in his day, Mick enjoyed a relative amount of success as the manager of Ireland. Qualification for the 2002 World Cup was both the highlight and the low light of his time in charge. Eight years had passed since ’94, during which time Roy Keane had been converted from a fresh faced promising midfielder to a world-class midfield enforcer. Now the captain of Ireland and Manchester United, Keane had put in a steady shift against Holland in the play-offs—not for the first time in his career, nullifying Edgar Davids. The team was flown out to Saipan where preparations for the tournament were to commence. It was in Saipan that everything spun on its head.  An argument, over the state of the training facilities and method of transport, broke out between Roy and Mick. It resulted in Roy Keane’s exile from international football.  The country endured a split of opinions.

When Giovanni Trapattoni took charge in 2008, Ireland was a different place. During the Jack Charlton era, it was the end of a recession, the beginning of a boom. Giovanni was introduced to a country firmly in decline. Financially the ship had sunk. The fact that an Irish millionaire, O’Brien, still pays half of the Italians salary means that, in football, it is no different. His first campaign, qualification for the 2010 World Cup, ended on familiar ground. A play-off defeat to France—Ireland is adept at making a qualification play-off.  The biggest talking point of the campaign—perhaps, even bigger than Thierry Henry’s infamous handball in Paris—was the style of play the Italian had enforced.

A typical Trapattoni line-up is a rigid 4-4-2 with a pair of anchors to man the midfield.  A side product, no doubt, of years spent playing in the infamous Catenaccio system. The Catenaccio system once reigned in terror over Europe— to a point, that once it was beaten, it ‘immortalised’ Jock Stein, according to Bill Shankly. The general concept of the old system was to restrict the opposition to few or no attempts on goal. As Gianni Brera, one of the systems biggest advocates, once put it: “The perfect game of football would end 0-0.”

The Italian’s obsession with lessening the likelihood of defeat—the schema—was to collide with the general perception of Ireland’s own footballing identity.  The period in history that Trapattoni sees is a product of controlling the game. The plucky underdog image is not in keeping with this. Although many have accused him of forcing an Italian identity on an Irish team, this probably is not completely true. There have been leaks of the enthusiasm of old, the players, when they see fit, return to their roots. Especially under extreme circumstances—the playoff in Paris when they had nothing to lose is an example of this, they won 1-0 in 90 minutes forcing the game into extra time.

At worst, Trapattoni has harnessed that energetic approach. One of his more out spoken critics has been Eamon Dunphy, who is a pundit for RTE. Dunphy is the eternal crank, with a slightly perplexing sense of romanticism. Maybe his judgement is obscured by spending too much time watching Hollywood football — Barcelona and Real Madrid (he tends to use both as a measure of how football should be played). Not surprisingly, his assessment of Ireland’s fortunes in recent times has been damning. His calls for the free-flowing football of Spain are unrealistic; I have not seen an Irish midfield, so light on talent in my lifetime, as the current midfield is.

As it stands, Trapattoni is one for two. Qualification for this summer’s European Championships has still not generated the sort of momentum you would expect behind the Italian. In his own country, Trapattoni and assistant Marco Tardelli are seen as miracle workers for what they have done with Ireland. Irish fans, it’s not that exclusive, are a selfish breed. You give them the moon and they want the stars, the planets… the galaxy and everything in between. Even winning the Carling Nations Cup, a tournament composed of Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, has not won people over. The truth is you’re never going to win everyone over.

The ‘negative methods’ that people keep harping on about are paradoxically positive. The goal of the game is to win. Trapattoni knows this as well as anyone else. Only Sir Alex Ferguson has a CV that could match the Italians—when it comes to winning trophies. He has a point to prove at international level, especially at major tournaments and when better to prove it than in a group that his home nation will compete in.

On a broader scale, the qualification has an even more significant meaning. It is a chance for Ireland to forget the decline of recent times. It is a chance to put the shadow of Saipan firmly in the past. it’s only taken ten years for that to happen. It’s about time that the football team shouldered some of the burden that has falling squarely on Rory McIlory and the Irish rugby team’s shoulders.

The Champions League has entered the twilight zone of football. Bayern Munich, who’s ground will host the final in May, are out to “wreck the dream final” and Chelsea are the underdogs—the filthy rich, billionaire fuelled vanity team of underdogs that spent fifty million on a whim, in order to secure Fernando Torres’s signature. Real Madrid, play the ‘bad guys’, the pantomime villain—largely helped on by Jose Mourinho’s uncompromising win at all costs attitude. Barcelona is simply the best team in the world.

The Allianz Arena, Munich, had come to life. At the weekend, a lacklustre performance had seen all but the most optimistic of supporters, relinquish any hopes they may have had in the Bundesliga. But, this was different, this was the European Cup. The stands were bursting in a sea of red to a point where, once the crowd started to clap in unison, the whole border of the pitch becomes a hazy wave. Amongst them, there are two former winners of the competition, Oliver Kahn and Franz Beckenbauer.  The atmosphere during the build-up to the game is probably best described by one of the headlines yesterday: “Bayern out to wreck Dream Final”.  Just try telling that to the 66,000 strong capacity that had amassed, to roar their team to a final that would be held there in May.

The more intriguing notion brings me back to the stands— to Franz Beckenbaur. Known as the Kaiser in his day, Beckenbauer, is now the honorary president of Bayern Munich FC.  During his playing days, he was part of the World Cup winning West Germany side, in 1974. The opponents that day were The Netherlands—the clockwork orange– led by one Johan Cruyff.  It was billed as Total Football’s defining moment—the moment the beautiful game would become the winning game. As it happened, the Dutch, tried to humiliate Germany, and were beaten 2-1 on the occasion. They opened the scoring early on and let arrogance replace composure. Beckenbauer began to run the show, capitalizing on the complacency the Dutch had let seep through their team.

Johan Cruyff, as we all know, is mister Barcelona:

“It’s better to fail with your own vision rather than following another man’s vision.” Johan Cruyff,

The quote embodies everything Barcelona work for—the sort of thought that is behind the alchemy of La Messia.  During the 1974 World Cup, Cruyff, was named player of the tournament. Since their playing days both Cruyff and Beckenbauer, have gone on to become icons at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, respectively. As players, as coaches, as people they are the physical manifestation of what the two great clubs stand for in the game. Even if it is only in the stands, the thought of these two historical figures gracing another major final together, for me at least, still hints at a very interesting final. It is the opportunity to witness a re-enactment of the ’74 World Cup final through modern interpretations of the game.

Bayern, as it stands, hold a goal lead going into the second leg—I am still far from convinced that will be enough to see them through. Chelsea may well have a bigger say than has been assumed. In all, I just wouldn’t be so quick to point out which combination makes for the “dream final”—we all have our opinions. There are too many combinations of interest involved this year. Whether, it is ex-players, historical reasons or managers potentially returning to their old club, the final is sure to be a fascinating affair.

The allure of the multi-million pound dealings and media accessibility has seen the EPL remain the focus for the majority of Irish soccer fans. The national league in Ireland is predominately semi-professional, and it struggles to gain focus over the GAA (Gailege football and hurling) and more recently Rugby. Away games involve travelling, and with games often being held on a Friday night, it is nearly impossible for someone holding down a job to make it. In comparison, the EPL is just the click of a remote away.

The fascination started when players, most notably Johnny Giles, started to break through into top English sides. Giles was a former Manchester United youth, but came to prominence with Leeds United at Elland Road. During his time at Leeds, he formed a formidable midfield partnership with Billy Bremner. The pair would go on to be part of, what was known as, the best team in England for the best part of a decade. While Leeds no longer hold a Premier League status, there is still a large following for the club in Ireland.

It is not just Johnny Giles doing alone. While growing up I supported Manchester United, mainly due to Denis Irwin and Roy Keane playing for them. My father supported Liverpool, I’m sure Ronnie Whelan and Steve Heighway had a hand in this. The Republic of Ireland squad, through the years, has tended to be composed of English based players—though this is not exclusive, largely it is correct. A number of the players tend to be English born or British born with an Irish heritage. Even in the current squad, there is Aiden McGeady, Simon Cox, Sean St. Ledger, James McCarthy and Jonathon Walters, for example. I do feel, in recent times at least, that the increased coverage of the EPL has led to a slight change in the manner of which Irish people choose a club to follow.

My brother is probably as good an example, as any other that I could think of. He supports Arsenal. He started watching football around the time Arsene Wenger had taken charge. At this stage, Sky subscriptions had become common; it was easier to see a team play more often than it used to be. It was no longer a case of fifteen-minute highlight on Match of The Day, on a Saturday night. Arsenal was the obvious choice, although I probably wouldn’t have admitted that at the time, the football they played, was more than appealing. To add to this case, if you look at the last ten years, the number of Chelsea shirts on view, has certainly increased.

To put its popularity into perspective, it’s probably best to look at attendances in the national league. Where I live, the local club is widely regarded as one of the best in the country; they hold the mantle of playing the most aesthetically pleasing football—they even managed to score more goals and concede fewer than any other side last season, it resulted bizarrely in a second place finish. They have won three trophies in the past two seasons, not to mention three consecutive cup final appearances.  They still average an attendance of around two thousand. They are rarely on television– cup finals being an exception. The league itself has a total average attendance of one thousand five hundred and fifty nine (average attendance taken from 2011 season). It is worth noting that prior to Sky subscriptions becoming a common feature of local households, attendances had been as high as five thousand.

Another matter to consider is the relationships between the clubs and their fans. In Ireland, there is no superstar syndrome. It is highly unlikely that a player will be a megalomaniac, in general players are approachable– the majority of the players often become friendly with members of the club’s fan base. The same goes for the managers and the committee members. The fans, who regularly attend home games, often comment on the atmosphere— they feel like they are a part of something. So why is there such an infatuation from Irish football fans when it comes to the EPL? It is most likely a vicarious or escapist fascination. The level of competition is far higher. English clubs can target an accolade that will only ever be a dream to an Irish club.

The recession that Ireland has been hit with in recent times has had a devastating effect. Through much of the ninety’s a boom, known as The Celtic Tiger, an unrealistic amount of resources were poured into real estate investments. Sporting events during the down turn have become a release– the fantasy in a non-fiction novel. Businesses that can capitalise on this use the EPL as a marketing ploy. You are far more likely to see a Premier League game advertised in a bar than you are likely to see an Airtricity Premier League game. Bookmakers join in with this endeavour— window displays often feature an offer of some sort relating to the EPL. It’s of no great surprise, a money back special on Wayne Rooney scoring last, is always more likely to attract a wider range of attention, than that of one involving Gary Twigg.

There is little to no volatility towards fans that follow English clubs in the country. It is taken as normal, that people will have a greater interest in English football than Irish. Whether it is the spectacle, ease of access, vicarious glory hunting or a route of escapism, the EPL offers a package that is just too tempting to resist. An obsession that was primarily started through the emergence of Irish players in a league has grown, the EPL is as near to a surrogate league as it gets when it comes to Irish football fans.

It is easy to get lost amongst the labyrinth of media and hyped egos that is the Premier League. So often it is the case that the side issues — claims of racist acts. off field endeavours of eccentricity, and adventures of infidelity — get more attention than a good pro doing a great job.

Fulham’s Clint Dempsey, by all accounts, has had a storming season. It all began with a brace on his seasonal return to action against Dnipro. Since then Dempsey has gone on to score an impressive 19 goals at club level this season. In February, he scored the winner in the USA’s historic victory over Italy. The first hat trick of his career had come against Charlton in a cup-tie and was quickly followed by his second against Newcastle. In spite of him consistently out shining Bobby Zamora, who has the since moved to QPR, he continues to avoid the radar. The arrival of Russian goal snatcher Pavel Pogrebnyak may well take the headlines-should Fulham do the unlikely and push on into a European place for next season. Dempsey’s contribution to the cause, however, is sure to be noted by Martin Jol and the Craven Cottage faithful.

There has been an affinity towards American players at the Cottage-with Brian McBride already occupying a special place in the team’s history. If the quantity of goals scored this season and last by Dempsey, is not enough to carve his way into the history books there, then surely the timing of his goals will certainly do it.

While it is more beneficial for a team to have a goal scorer who scores once per game, rather than grabbing a bunch in one game and nothing for the next three, it cannot be argued that Dempsey is not a game changer. Evidence of this can be found in the Liverpool game last December, when he pounced on a rebound, to secure the three points in the 85^th minute.  On Boxing Day, he scored the equalizer in a 1-1 draw with neighbours Chelsea.  Another equaliser against West Brom and a shot that rebounded off Sorensen’s back against Stoke, secured about four points for Fulham. If you were to subtract those goals from Fulham’s cause, it would leave them around Blackburn.

Without Dempsey’s knack of finding a goal when it matters, it could have been an extremely nervy season for Fulham. As recently as the 8th of March, Martin Jol commented on how heavily the club relies on Dempsey’s goals.  He went on to announce that contract negotiations had started on the day before Dempsey’s 29th birthday.

While there is speculation over where Dempsey might fit in to some of the Premier Leagues elite’s line-ups, I am sure Fulham fans would be delighted to see the American extend his stay. Dempsey brings a never say die attitude, that, coupled with his eye for a goal at crucial periods would be of benefit to any club in the Premier League.

Dempsey, on the personal front, is now the most prolific American goal scorer, the Premier League has ever seen. He also holds the same record for Fulham, as he is now Fulham’s all time EPL top goal scorer. His contribution has continued to increase, season by season. He will be a major feature in any aspirations, Fulham and Martin Jol, hold in regards to pushing into the European places next season.

The recent financial struggles of Portsmouth and Rangers have been the subject of debate amongst fans. The worry is that maybe your club is not the invincible landmark of history that it once seemed. The overall financial climate in today’s world means that finances have become a hot topic. While there have been countless pages dedicated to these issues, it is a point worth reiterating.

In June 2003, Roman Abramovich bought the companies that held ownership to Chelsea FC. Steps were quickly put in place to achieve the status of global branding. The goal, seemingly, to match the worldwide fame of footballing echelons Manchester United and Real Madrid. A spending spree, one of which English football had never been on par with, ensued. Manager Claudio Ranieri commented on it as being his chance to build his very own Roman Empire- the pun was more than likely intentional.  The tinkering Italian did not get to see any real benefit of it. While many feared a period of Chelsea dominance, there was another fear factor involved. Outsider influence had never been so threatening in the Premier League.

This outsider influence posed one problem that bordered on critical. Once a club over spends on one transfer dealing, there is a domino effect on the rest of the market. TV rights had already seen that the market was inflated; thank Rupert Murdoch for that one. Couple that with the ever-increasing influence of agents in the modern game and there was a dilemma on the horizon.

Ronnie Whelan spoke of his experience at Liverpool, claiming that it was assumed that Kenny Dalglish was paid more than the rest of the players. Nobody knew for sure. The players just did not talk about it. You got your pay and that was that. At Manchester United, there were claims of Busby’s astute ability to control a wage structure:

“The great thing about Busby was that you would go in there fighting and full of demands. And he would give you nothing at all. He might even take a tenner off your wages. And you would come out of thinking “what a great guy”. I remember going in there once absolutely livid. And ten minutes later I came out, no better off, walking on air. Delighted”.- Eamon Dunphy.

It is a far cry from modern procedure. The lack of respect for authoritative figures has infected the spinal cord of the game. Carlos Tevez flat out refused to take a manager’s instruction, took a couple of months of a holiday and decided he would come back at the business end. Roberto Mancini has shown that all-too-foreign aspect in the English game — pragmatism. Pragmatism is a nasty word around these parts. We prefer to think that our players wear their hearts on their sleeves. Given the current climate, the saying “no one is bigger than the club” is beginning to feel jaded. It is the fairy tale we all want to believe, that history counts. If history counts then money talks. Money not only talks, it speaks in biblical proportions.

On 19^th May 2011, figures released in the media made for damning reading. The general estimation is that a healthy company will spend 32% to 40% of their overall revenue on wages. The figures published by the media in relation to the Premier League showed a complete lack of respect for this estimation. Out of the twenty clubs in the premier league, only one had stayed within this principle. Arsenal was paying 29% of their annual revenue to wages. The biggest offenders in this were not surprisingly Manchester City; an obscene 106% of their revenue was spent on wages. Newcastle paid 90%, Manchester United 46%, Chelsea 82% and Liverpool 65%.

Agents in particular have had an enormous influence in this field. Their relentless pushing of their clients and use of competitive methods have led to wage inflation every year. Take the example of Bill Shankly’s Liverpool and their total wage bill of £571 a week in 1960. With players today reportedly earning in excess of £100,000 a week, it makes the Anfield legend’s team look like the best bargain you’ve ever come across in a pound shop.

The knock on effect is that the smaller clubs who try to compete with the big shots simply cannot afford too. This and the Andy Carroll transfer are probably the reason Newcastle spend so much of their revenue on wages. The fans at St James’ Park are incredibly passionate (not that this isn’t true of any self-respecting club). This has placed a greater pressure on the friendless Mike Ashley to put his money where his mouth is. Newcastle has actually shown a profit for the first time since 2006. This however is a knock on effect of the Andy Carroll sale. In order to continue making a profit off the transfer market in particular, you would have to have a steady line of youth graduates in your club playing first team football. The alarm is increased when you look at the sides’ teams field in the Premier League.  The English national side becomes the real loser here. Of the 641 players listed as playing in the Premier League in 2011, only 42% of them were English.

In 2011/2012, the transfer market also showed an alarming rate of expenditure. Revenue generated from sales was £370,550,400. The expenditure in the market was recorded at £562,773,200, which is a loss of £192,222,800.

With UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rule supposedly already in place, there was an alarming lack of interest in the outlines set in the rule. The influence of billionaire owners is certainly a factor here. It is hard to get away from the picture of the owners being some sort of high rolling gamblers, with stakes too big for a bookmaker to risk. They are willing to pay any amount for the players they want. They sift through managers and discard them, often resulting in costly severance packages. Why take the Chelsea job? The payoff is worth your while at least.

Some restraint has been shown in this area. After Manchester United sold Cristiano Ronaldo for a world record £80 million, the club then looked to hold onto most of the profit from the sale. The other side to the coin is the sale of Fernando Torres to Chelsea. Liverpool in turn bought Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll. Newcastle was the big beneficiates of this occurrence, much in the same way that Parma had seen the benefit of Zidane’s once world record transfer to Real Madrid (selling both Lillian Thuram and Gigi Buffon to Juve for then records in their positions).

The Torres transfer is of particular interest. The deal was finalized with a figure above market value. Transfers such as this one are probably the clearest example of what mortal clubs have to deal with these days. It is near impossible to compete with a business that is willing to make a loss in order to ‘beat your prices’.

You can’t leave the Glazers out of the equation either. The Glazers use Manchester United to service their own debts. They bought the club on the strength of a loan and then take their wages out of it. Their debts are now Manchester United’s and while the club makes a profit, it serves most strikingly, as a payoff for their own debt. The club, along with Chelsea, actually accounted for more than 50% of the Premier League’s overall debt in 2011.

It is not just the financial aspects that are worrying; It is the complete lack of respect for both history and the present. The chances of this changing anytime soon looks slim. Fans want trophies, billionaire owners want their fun – they want their flutter. It leaves you to wonder . . .just what comes next? Nomadic franchising?

Another chapter of the Lionel Messi legacy was last night etched into history. The mercurial Argentine became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match, helping Barcelona to a 7-1 second leg victory over a less than inspired Leverkusen side. While Arsenal put on a master class in how to over-turn a first leg deficit, Leverkusen showed us exactly how you do not go about it.

Barcelona had already amassed a 3-1 advantage from the first leg, leaving the German outfit with nothing but a shoestring of hope to hold onto for their trip to the Camp Nous. Leverkusen turned up and did little more. They were void of belief and overly conservative. Barcelonas passing in the opening minutes of the game was short of their fabled best, but this did not seem to encourage Leverkusen in the slightest. They had adopted a rigid 4-4-1-1 shape from the outset and were consistently out flanked by Barcelonas marauding wingbacks.

While I am sure the news of Michael Ballacks absence in particular hurt the Leverkusen cause, what exactly did they have to lose? Their attempts to close the space between the midfield and defence often ended up in a slightly askew line of eight that did nothing but give space to Xavi to launch calculated passes into the space behind. Lionel Messi moved majestically from attack to midfield and back, leaving the Germans unsure about his position at any given moment.

When Barcelona and Messi are on their day, there is little the majority of clubs can do to stop them. Messi was in a record-breaking mood last night, no doubt spurred on by his first international hat trick last week for Argentina. Recently certain coaches in Spain seem to have adopted an academic approach, when it comes to handling Barcelona. Some of these approaches have even been vaguely successful. Emerys’ Valencia started two defensively minded left sided players in order to halt the runs of Dani Alves. In turn, this threw Barcelona off their axis and Valencia managed to gain a lead twice before eventually drawing. The failure came when Valencia simply did not have enough depth to respond when Gaurdiola eventually did tweak the formula. Bielsa flooded the pitch when his Bilbao side faced them. He then abandoned shape in favour of a rigid man marking system and again the result was a draw. Jose Mourinho has probably used up countless notebooks devising strategies to deal with Guardiolas men and has had mixed results against them.

The point is that in Spain they have made an effort to find a solution, to what Sir Alex Ferguson has dubbed “everyone’s problem”. Some have been successful though most have not. Leverkusen attempted to save face here and probably got what they deserved in the end. At best, Leverkusen showed a faux pragmatic approach and never even looked like they intended on attempting to get back into the tie. Their central midfield duo of Rolfes and Bender were guilty of siting too deep and isolating the forward line. Deploying a nonsensical conservative strategy is certainly not going to plunder three away goals against a side as good at retaining possession as Barcelona are. I am not saying that Leverkusen could have won this tie, but they could at least have tried. Even before the kick-off it was Barcelona who lined up as the team that were about to force the issue. Their defence took position within three bands of grass of the half way line. All of the factors that made Arsenals endeavours so attractive the night before were completely bereft of this Leverkusen side. If they were due a report card on their performance here that familiar, “must try harder,” line would certainly come into play.

Anyone partial to a football fairytale would have been holding their breath on every intricate movement of the ball at the Emirates Stadium last night. Arsenal, part libertine poet, part philosopher, played with all the verve and reason of old. Theo Walcott started to waltz through the Milan defence, with clarity of thought that he has rarely shown in the past. Tomas Rosicky finally started to cut a defence open. For the first time in years he has started to look like the player that had pundits drooling over the bargain he seemed to be when he first arrived from Dortmund. Alex Song marshalled the midfield like a one-man foot soldier cleaning up the debris of a previous blitzkrieg, and the whole thing would start again.

Once Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was bundled to the ground, everyone knew what was coming next. Robin van Persie does not have to be invited into the scoring realm anymore. At half time, the nightmare of the San Siro seemed long forgotten. AC Milan’s lead was reduced to one goal and Mark van Bommell even saw fit to get himself booked early on. Arsenal really looked to be on course.

Enter the second half. Van Persie started to drift and control the game. His movement became sublime and we were shown just why Barcelona is interested in the Dutchman. When the ball broke for Gervinho on the left, you know he probably wouldn’t score. Christian Abbiati could only parry a deflected effort and it fell to RVP. Shockingly he didn’t oblige either and you began to feel that tension you get when a good thriller writer starts his novel’s twist. Fatigue had begun to set in as the usually ever reliant Song started to misplace simple passes.

When the final whistle went, and Arsenal fell just short, there was only one thing that sprang to mind. Since the departure of Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal has been just that, just short of the force of old. Financially they are about as real as a club can get, but the on-the-pitch endeavours are falling far short for their sensibility. The troubling thought is that they are right. Is there any club out there that is being run realistically? Real Madrid’s financial muscle has mainly been the product of a training field sale. Man City is bankrolled by billionaire group that view football as a hobby.

On the inception of the Scottish league, Queens Park originally declined membership. They cited that the league format and competitive nature was potentially harmful to the game itself. Queens Park is still an amateur club today and the only one in the Scottish leagues.  They have turned out to be largely right to have their concerns at the time. With Arsenal fans are growing impatient, it may well be that they are staring at the blueprint for a sustainable club. Baring the influx of billionaires that have nothing to do with their money but splash it on bragging rights, clubs could do a lot worse than follow the Arsenal mould.

The Champions League this season is likely to end up being a shout between Barcelona and Real Madrid. Barcelona is simply the best run club in the world right now but they also have their own financial worries. It is becoming increasingly difficult to compete in the business of football. The sudden transfer market traumas have left stupid prices on any player showing a glimpse of talent. With the introduction of glory-seeking billionaires, the business was turned upside down. For these men it is not about financial gain. It makes it increasingly difficult to maintain a profit and be competitive when some of your competitors are happy to make obscene losses in order to be competitive.

It is sad that money is ruling a game that was once seen as the pinnacle of gentlemans’ amateur sport. Arsenal will have a tough task in keeping van Persie at the Emirates this summer. All the financial evidence is currently pointing to a sale. They are in essence being punished for trying to do the right thing. As for the Champions League exit , it is only fair to compliment them for once again appealing to the game’s innocent roots.