After seeing his team well and truly played off the park Celtic manager Gordon Strachan honoured United as being the best side his Scottish champions had ever faced in Europe. That is some accolade when you consider that the Bhoys have played AC Milan and Barcelona in recent years. However are United still the best team in Europe and can they be the first team since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990 to successfully defend their crown?

It has to be said that at the half way point in the group stages that Man Utd’s Champions League odds are starting to look very good. After a slow start to their domestic and European seasons United are starting to click into gear. Historically the Red Devils are slow starters and despite a bore draw with Villarreal to start things off no one ever expected anything but maximum points from their next two matches.

Firstly Aalborg were brushed aside before the ‘Battle of Britain’ was made to look like more of a slaughter of Scotland. United were good on Tuesday night but perhaps should have had more than the three they got, especially as Celtic were dreadful. Strachan said after the game that he can’t fault his players for the effort they put in and you can’t, but all the effort in the world isn’t going to bridge the gap of class which was very much like the Grand Canyon.

The former United hero went on to say that he would make sure his side gave United a better game at Celtic Park in a few weeks but frankly I can’t see it being any closer than the game at Old Trafford. However beating two average sides and drawing against a decent one doesn’t scream Champions League winners.

There record so far matches the other three English teams taking part in this seasons competition, two wins and a draw. It is not like Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea have been fortunate to record such results either, all have enjoyed at least one comfortable victory over supposed top European opposition.

Despite the fact that we are only halfway through the group stages I think it would be a safe bet to say that this seasons winner will come from an English club. The only sides that have a realistic chance of stopping them are Real Madrid or Barcelona. So Strachan seemingly backing United to win the Champions League  is a smart move as he has a one in four chance of being right.

Whilst Man Utd and Chelsea are the favourites the Champions League betting places Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona ahead of Liverpool and Arsenal. Despite what that is saying I would have said that there is a good chance that all four English teams could make it through to the semi-finals as long as they don’t draw each other in the quarters. The state of European football isn’t what it use to be and the new power house is based in England so don’t expect to see the trophy end up anywhere but either back at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge, Anfield or the Emirates.

To use a golf analogy, the teams in the group stage of the Champions League make the turn today and tomorrow with the completion of the first three games of the group stage. And while it’s early, for some teams, it’s make-or-break time.
Group by group, here’s an analysis of who needs to win:

Group A:

ROMA Needs To Win: Misery may love company, but it seems to love Roma too. Last weekend’s humbling 4-0 home defeat to Inter Milan is hardly the way Roma wanted to head into the lion’s den known tomorrow as Stamford Bridge. Roma also had to shudder at Chelsea’s 5-0 smashing of Middlesborough with what essentially a B team. Still, a good result keeps Roma in the hunt. And you can bet that Roma hopes Cluj wakes up from its dream campaign in Europe soon.

Group B:

ANORTHOSIS Needs To Win: Yes the team from Cyprus, y’know, those guys who are leading Group B. Anorthosis has a win and a draw over Bremen and Panathinaikos, but its most crucial match is today against Inter at the San Siro. Mourinho says his team is cautious about the match, and well it should be. Minnows can bite, especially in a tournament such as this; over-confidence is a killer.

Group C:
SPORTING and SHAKTAR Need To Win: If ESPN had any stones, this would be the match it would televise on Wednesday. This match, as well as the return leg in Lisbon on Nov. 4 will surely be bookend epic battles. These two are fighting for second behind Barcelona in the group, with Basel already all but an afterthought. Both clubs have 3 points. Sporting pounded Basel a month ago, while Shaktar lost a heartbreaker to Barcelona. Sporting may suffer from its lack of meaningful activity coming into this one due to the international break and having played only a domestic cup match.

Group D:
PSV EINDHOVEN Needs To Win: With Marseille on the docket today and the Frech club less than inspired, Eindhoven needs a precious three points tomorrow to keep pace with Liverpool and Atletico–two teams in top form right now. A draw does neither Eindhoven nor Marseille any good. Liverpool and Atletico meanwhile, has the makings of a classic, though Liverpool could be dragged down by injuries.
Group E:
CELTIC Needs To Win: With Manchester United finding its pace–surprise surprise that it coincides with Ronaldo finding his form and Rooney finding the back of the net–Celtic cannot be looking forward to today’s trip to Old Trafford. Celtic has one point from the first two matches, and cannot afford to lose today and be six points–or two matches–behind United with three to play. The math, in that case, just does work in Celtic’s favor, especially with Villareal having a sitter today against AaB.
Group F:
FIORENTINA Needs To Win: Fiorentina has an opportunity today to make waves in this group with its visit against shaken Bayern Munich. Fiorentina has two points from two matches, even with Lyon, which figures to get a result against Steaua Bucharesti today. Bayern is struggling, having taken only three points from its last four matches in Germany. It leads this group with four points. A Fiorentina win certainly makes the final three matches much more interesting. Fiorentina is three points out in Serie A and has won three in a row.

Group G:
FC PORTO Needs To Win: If for no other reason than confidence in this group, Porto needs to win today at home against Dynamo Kyiv. Porto has regained the lead in the Portuguese first division, but its 4-0 drubbing last time out at Arsenal was humbling and revealing. Porto is vulnerable and cannot afford another slip, especially with an Arsenal win today basically pushing the Gunners through to the next round.

Group H:

ZENIT St. PETERSBURG Needs To Win: The darling UEFA Cup winners of 2007-2008 desperately need to get going in this group. With zero points from two matches, Zenit certainly welcomes Bate Borisov today to Russia. With Juventus hosting Real Madrid, Zenit quickly needs to close the gap on the top two, or else it will indeed be defending its UEFA Cup triumph–maybe.

Benfica have completed their fourth signing of the summer by agreeing a one-year loan deal for Spanish winger Jose Antonio Reyes. The 24-year-old makes the move from Atletico Madrid, with the Lisbon club also having the option to buy the player at the end of his loan spell. Benfica coach Quique Sanchez Flores continues to overhaul his squad as The Eagles look to soar once again after a poor season by their standards.

For the first time in a few season, Benfica failed to gain a top three finish in the Portuguese Liga and will play in the UEFA Cup this year. Reyes, combined with one of the other new signings — Pablo Aimar, should inject some creativity into the Benfica midfield and provide stronger service to striker Óscar Cardozo.

One player who has left Benfica is Cristian Rodríguez, who had been on loan from Paris Saint-Germain but has now made a 7m Euro permanent move to link up with rivals FC Porto.

Celtic FC have signed midfielder Marc Crosas from FC Barcelona in a deal which could rise to 1.4m Euros. The 20-year-old defensive midfielder joins the Scottish champions through a complex deal. Celtic will pay an initial £415,000 fee that could rise to as much as £1.6m depending on appearances. that allows Barcelona to buy back the player for £1.6m at the end of the 2009/10 season. Barcelona will also receive 25% of any transfer fee if Crosas is sold to another club. The 20-year-old was introduced to the fans at Celtic Park this past Sunday prior to Celtic’s season opening 1-0 win over St Mirren. Celtic fought off competition from Sevilla, Sporting Gijon and Sampdoria for Crosas’ signature.

Crosas made his first-team debut for Barcelona two seasons ago but has only made one appearance since. He went on loan to French champions Lyon in January and played eight times for the club before the end of the season. Crosas was not the first player Celtic targeted under this complex system.  Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell revealed to the Sunday Herald that Argentina forward Javier Saviola and Portugal winger Ricardo Quaresma earlier refused the opportunity to join the club.

Meanwhile, Julio Baptista’s switch to Roma could fall through due to the price tag Real Madrid have put on his head, according to the player’s agent. Roma were keen on a loan deal similar to that which took Baptista to Arsenal in 2006, whereby they would pay three million euros now with the option to shell out another 10 million to secure his services permanently next year.

After a long frustrating summer, Everton look to close some deals in the coming days. Everton have bid £6 million for Rennes midfielder Stéphane M’Bia who is being targeted as a replacement for defensive midfielder Lee Carsley. M’Bia is currently on duty with Cameroon at the Olympics Newcastle striker Alan Smith was being targeted in a £2 million transfer. Moyes has failed to bring in any new players since guiding Everton to fifth place last season and his squad was further depleted by the sale of Andrew Johnson to Fulham. Everton have had some turmoil in the boardroom after chief executive Keith Wyness resigned his position at the club. Chairman Bill Kenwright, who has come under fire from Everton fans who were angry at the lack of progress in the transfer market, has reiterated he would welcome new investment to strengthen the club’s financial firepower.

Two potential targets have dried up as Sporting Lisbon president Filipe Soares Franco insists midfielder Joao Moutinho will not be leaving the club this summer and CSKA have rubbished reports of a move for Vagner Love. Roman Babaev, the director general of the club, has reportedly stated “It isn’t true that we have loaned Vagner Love to Everton, there are no negotiations about that.”

UEFA Cup hopefuls Aston Villa have made another splash into the transfer market after agreeing a £7.8m fee with Rangers for their highly-rated Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar. Villa invoked an exit clause in the player’s contract after the 26-year-old had made it known that he wanted to play in the English Premier League.

Cuellar moved to Ibrox from Spanish side Osasuna last summer and enjoyed a terrific debut season for the club, helping them to the UEFA Cup final and winning both the Clydesdale Bank SPL and Scottish Football Writers’ Association player of the year awards.

Cuellar will be Villa’s seventh signing of the summer following the transfers of Curtis Davies (loan deal made permanent), Steve Sidwell, Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan, as well as defenders Nicky Shorey and Luke Young. Shorey and Young joined in recent days on seperate transfers from Reading and Middlesbrough respectively. Both have been on the fringes of the England squad and will add much needed depth to the Villa squad.

Sticking with the theme of defenders on the move, Monaco have reached an agreement with AC Milan to sign defender Dario Simic. Simic, 32, had spent the past six years at the Rossoneri after moving over from rivals Internazionale. Milan won two Champions League trophies during his stay at the club.

Lastly, Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp has made French defender Younes Kaboul his newest recruit after agreeing a £6million deal with Tottenham. The ex-Auxerre man was recruited by former Tottenham boss Martin Jol but he saw his playing time diminish under Jol’s successor Juande Ramos, who preferred to play midfielder Didier Zokora at centre-back rather than Kaboul.

The 22-year-old centre-back should be available for next Sunday’s Premier League opener against Chelsea but will have to work hard to break into the Pompey defence as the regular centre-back pairing Sylvain Distin and Sol Campbell is quite solid. It is unlikely though that Campbell will be able to play all of the fixtures in the domestic league and UEFA Cup so Kaboul will be a valuable depth signing.

Champions League Talk was recently sent a copy of “Jinky: The Jimmy Johnstone Story” written by Jim Black and I was given the honour of reviewing it.

Jinky, born James Connolly Johnstone, was a dynamic winger that played for the Celtic side that won nine Scottish championships in a row between 1966 and 1974. He was also one of the famed Lisbon Lions, the Celtic side that became the first British side to lift the European Cup (now Champions League) in 1967.

Known as the ‘Wee Man’ (he stood just 5ft4in tall) to his manager and teammates, Johnstone was nicknamed Jinky by the fans because of his jinking movements down the wing that left defenders so bamboozled that he would often go back and beat them a second time purely for his own enjoyment. Many rate Jinky as one of the top players ever and he is a testament to hard work. As a young lad, he was never without a ball at his feet and often invented litle games and drills to improve his skills. Assist statistics were not accurately kept during that era but in his 515 appearances for Celtic, Jinky scored 130 goals. It’s not hard to imagine him having twice as many assists.

Despite all of his talent, Johnstone only appeared 23 times in a Scotland shirt, scoring 4 goals. Largely it was due to his lack of discipline off the field, which the book touches on briefly. After he was given a free transfer by Celtic at the end of the 1974-75 season he bounced around from club to club, never staying very long in any one place. He spent time with the San Jose Earthquakes of the NASL, Sheffield United, Dundee, Sbelbourne and Elgin City before calling it a day. His heart was always at Celtic Park and he was never quite the same player after leaving.

Life after football was difficult for Johnstone and this is where the book began to give us some insight into his life and friendships. However, while the book’s back cover promises that this is the definitive account of Jimmy Johnstone’s life, it falls short of delivering on that promise. This does not mean that the book is poor — it is still an entertaining, quick-paced read.

In reviewing the notes I made while reading the book, I often noted that there were large sections that seemed to be no more than re-hashing of match summaries with little personal detail. Frequently opportunities to delve into interesting and potentially telling personal situations are bypassed. We’re given a run through almost game by game of Jinky’s amazing career but until the final chapters of the book and Jinky’s struggles after his playing career ends and his battle with motor neurone disease (commonly referred to in North America as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease).

Beyond these surface details, we get to know very little about the man, his family or his life outside the arena. There are only a few quotes from teammates and no quotes from family members. We don’t really learn why Jimmy drank so heavily, we’re not shown details of his disputes with legendary Celtic manager Jock Stein and there is no real indication of what his home life was like. His wife and children are distant, peripheral figurs. The really interesting bits are glossed over and I am going to assume that this is due to a lack of quality information available and not a lack of research. This is the only book on Celtic that I’ve read so I am in no position to judge accurately.

The book does give an outline of his life after football and it was a sad downfall. Not having been paid princely sums like today’s stars and not having been wise with his money, Johnstone found himself broke. He attempted to sell off his winner’s medals to feed his alcohol problem and he spent years failing at a variety of blue-collar jobs. One particular stint as a satellite-dish salesman sticks out as bitterly ironic. Here’s poor Jinky hoping to make a few bucks off of the same piece of equipment that hepled today’s top-paid footballers earn more in a week than Jimmy ever earned in a year.

Jinky was voted Celtic’s greatest ever player by the fans in 2002. Sadly, in 2006, Johnstone succumbed to ravages of motor neurone disease. The club paid tribute to Johnstone before the Scottish League Cup Final by wearing the number 7 on both the front and back of their shirts in his honour. At the end of the match, Celtic’s team wore shirts with the squad name “Jinky” and the number 7 as a further tribute

Despite the lack of personal detail that I wanted, the book was entertaining and provided some insight into a player and an era that I am not well-versed in. However, as a biography of Jimmy Johnston, it left me wanting to know a whole lot more.

Champions League Talk Rating: 3 out of 5

Note: I found a great clip of Jinky doing a duet with Jim Kerr of Simple Minds on a tune called Dirty Old Town. Jinky loved to sing a song or do karaoke and had a decent voice according to the book. This video backs that claim up. It also show some footage of Jinky in action.

Celtic claimed their third successive Scottish Premier League title after they defeated Dundee United 1-0 and Old Firm rivals Rangers lost 2-0 to Aberdeen. For Rangers it is a bitter end to a campaign which had promised so much right until the very end. Counting all competitions, it was Rangers’ 67th match of the season and they must now try and regroup for one final effort in the Scottish Cup final against Queen of the South. They will be hoping to add the Scottish Cup to the CIS Cup they won earlier this season.

For Celtic the win will bring a bit of comfort just two days after the funeral of Tommy Burns, their assistant manager and head of youth development. It puts a positive ending on a roller-coaster season that saw them lead the SPL for the early part of the season, only to slip and see themselves 7 points behind Rangers with seven weeks of the season left. Celtic made an amazing turnaround that included two Old Firm victories. Combined with Rangers run in the UEFA Cup, which caused a fixture congestion and subsequent dropping of points, it allowed them to overhaul their rivals and claim their 42nd SPL title. Rangers still maintain the all-time lead with 51 SPL crowns, including 8 straight between 1990-1997.