The draw for the quarter-final matches was held Friday morning at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. As expected there are some big talking points, not the least being Thierry Henry’s return to face Arsenal. These clubs last faced off in the 2005-06 final when Henry was captain of Arsenal. Another matchup with a rich history is the Manchester United and Bayern Munich tie, which is a repeat of the 1999 final that United famously won with two late goals.

From one perspective, I found it a little disappointing that the two French clubs were drawn against each other but it will still be a banner night for French football. Ligue 1 is guaranteed to have a representative in the semi-finals.

The most intriguing matchup of the round could be Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow. The surprise result of the Round of 16 saw the Russian club dump out Spanish side Sevilla FC on the strength of 2 goals from Tomáš Necid and Keisuke Honda and a terrific, disciplined performance in Spain. Inter surprised many by defeating Chelsea on their home ground to advance to the quarter-finals and manager Jose Mourinho will be looking to replicate his 2004 success by bringing glory to Inter. Below are the full pairings with my picks to advance in bold.

Quarter-Final matches (1st leg — March20/31, 2nd leg — April 6/7)
Olympique Lyonnais v FC Girondins de Bordeaux
FC Bayern München v Manchester United FC
(The winners of these two ties will face off in semi-final 1)

Arsenal FC  v FC Barcelona
FC Internazionale Milano v PFC CSKA Moskva
(The winners of these two ties will face off in semi-final 2)

The semi-finals will take place on April 20/21 & April 27/28.

The UEFA Champions League is only in the group stage but realistically there are only a handful of teams who have a chance to win. So, who are the favorites to win and how are they looking so far? Here’s a look at the favorites to win the Champions League trophy in May and their current form.

FC Barcelona (1)

They’ve looked strong in La Liga and appear ready to make another deep run in this season’s Champions League. Lionel Messi continues to be one of the greatest players in the world and newly signed striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has adapted quickly to the club. Until they are knocked off, they will remain the favorites to repeat.

Chelsea (2)

Right now Chelsea are in great form and could challenge Barcelona for the trophy in May. The transfer window ban could hurt if they have any significant injuries but (fingers crossed) they are firing on all cylinders.

Real Madrid (3)

They spent a ton of money in the offseason and not winning at least one trophy would make this season a disappoint for RM. Ronaldo thrives in the Champions League but won’t have to carry the club with Kaka, Alonso, and Benzema on the roster. They had one slip up in the La Liga but are looking stronger than Man U but just behind Chelsea and Barcelona. They still have to prove that they are for real.

Manchester United (4)

Man U have not impressed so far in the season and will miss Cristiano Ronaldo. They do not appear to have the players to beat Barcelona but could make a signing in the winter transfer window. Sir Alex Ferguson will be able to get United into the knockout stage but right now they would struggle to make the final.

Arsenal (5)

Could this be the year that Arsenal sneaks into the final or actually wins? Well, its possible but not likely. A trip into the quarters or semis is within reach but they will have trouble getting past one of the other favorites. Also, relying on a team youth is prone to inconsist performances, especially on the road.

Liverpool (6)

The team seems a bit lost after losing Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid. Fernando Torres is one of the top strikers but overall the club has disappointed in the past few season. Steven Gerrard and Torres will have to carry this team if they want to knock off Barcelona or Chelsea.

Inter Milan (7)

Will Jose Mourinho’s team be able to have Champions League success? They have shown their ability to dominated in the Serie A but have struggled in the Champions League. A draw in their first two group stage matches is not a good start but they should be able to make the knockout stage. Don’t underestimate Mourinho’s ability as a manager as they could easily make the quarters or semis.

Jonathon Feyerherm is creater and editor of the The 90th Minute Soccer Blog and Free Soccer Highlights

The story that generated the most headlines outside of the Kaka to Manchester City, was the saga of Robbie Keane’s departure from Liverpool back to Tottenham. Keane made his “dream move” to Liverpool this past summer when the club splashed out an initial £19m to buy his services from Tottenham Hotspur. After failing to win a regular starting place under Rafa Benitez, Keane has signed a four-year contract at Spurs with the fee starting at £12m and rising with add-ons. Keane managed to score just five goals in 19 appearances for Liverpool. The transfer would appear to be a good move for Tottenham, as another recent returnee, striker Jermain Defoe, will be out of action until April because of a foot injury he picked up in training.

The club also did some work to address the areas I felt need strengthening — defence and central midfield. They acquired some help at the back in yet another former player, Pascal Chimbonda, who left Sunderland and apparently took a pay cut to return to Spurs. The central midfielder they purchased, Wilson Palacios, is another creative type and I’m still not sure if he’s what they need. Palacios is a nice player, very creative but I’m not convinced he’ll add the graft they need in central midfield.

Spurs also picked up Carlo Cudicini to give manager Harry Redknapp another experienced choice for tge goalkeeper position. Chelsea allowed him to move on a free transfer, and thanked the Italian “for his years of service and wish him well”. The 35-year-old was Chelsea’s second-longest serving player behind John Terry, having joined the club from ASD Castel di Sangro Calcio in 1999 when the London side were still coached by fellow Italian Gianluca Vialli. Cudicini was Chelsea’s 2002 Player of the Year and was first choice for several years prior to Petr Cech’s arrival at Stamford Bridge in 2004.

Tottenham are still near the foot of the Premier League in 14th place, but are just one point clear of the bottom three with 14 Premier League fixtures remaining. They are still involved in UEFA Cup play (with a Round of 32 tie against Shakhtar Donetsk slated for Feb 19th and 26th) and have a Carling Cup final date against Manchester United at Wembley on March 1st. The returning Keane will not be eligible for that match because he is cup-tied.

Tottenham’s spending spree helped push Premier League clubs total outlay to a record £178m in this January transfer window, compared with £146m in 2008, £63m in 2007 and only £35m when the system was introduced in 2003. Credit crunch? What credit crunch?

Coming in a close second in generating the most stories was the prolonged transfer of Andrey Arshavin from Zenit St. Petersburg to Arsenal. The on-again, off-again move was finally completed 24 hours after the actual closing of the transfer window. The move to Arsenal is important for several reasons. First, they are in the midst of a battle for a top-four spot and a berth into the Champions League. Secondly, the club has been lacking some creativity in the midfield and Arshavin has shown himself to be a world-class player through his displays in the UEFA Cup and at Euro 2008. Lastly, the reported £16 or 17m fee dispels the myth that Arsene Wenger is unwilling to spend money in the transfer market. He has long maintained that he would only spend big money on an actual star-caliber player. The 27-year-old playmaker has claimed the vacant No 23 shirt.

A strange move, at least strange to me, was Julien Faubert’s leaving West Ham United FC on a loan to Real Madrid CF until the end of the season. The versatile 25-year-old Frenchman had filled in at right-back as well as on the right side of midfield for West Ham and will give Real Madrid coach Juande Ramos options on the right side. Madrid have the option of buying him outright in June though no fee was disclosed. The move is strange for me, not that Faubert is not good enough to be a Real Madrid player, though some might question that, but rather that West Ham would be willing to part ways with him. He seemed to be a useful player to have around but the BBC reports that Real will pay a £1.5m fee for the loan, which may be all the explanation needed. West Ham are reportedly tight for funds and the fee + future transfer funds was obviously too tempting. Faubert has been given the No. 18 jersey, a number that he inherits from Ruben de la Red, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season because of his heart problems.

In another bit of related news, Real Madrid had to choose between new signings for their Champions League squad as UEFA rules that state only one player can be registered who has already played in a UEFA competition with another club this season. Real Madrid decided to select midfielder Lassana Diarra to play in the Champions League knockout stages and not striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Real, who face Liverpool in the Champions League last 16, had argued that the rule was discriminatory, pointing to players who can play in two European competitions when their clubs drop from the Champions League into the UEFA Cup. Huntelaar and Diarra have already played in the UEFA Cup this season for Ajax and Portsmouth respectively.

Chelsea have secured the loan signing of Ricardo Quaresma from Internazionale after the Portugal international winger was left out of the club’s squad for the knock-out phase of the Champions League by manager Jose Mourinho. Quaresma has worked with Luiz Felipe Scolari with the Portuguese national team and will look to get some confidence back after being labelled as a ‘flop’ by Inter fans. He was heckled during recent matches after failing to make the desired impact at the San Siro since joining from Porto for around £15m last summer. Worringly, the Portuguese’s spell in Italy mirrored the one he endured at Barcelona in his one season at the Catalan club and there will now be questions about his ability to “step up to the big time”.

(photo courtesy of uefa.com)

Wow. There are some really great match-ups that have emerged from today’s draw at UEFA headquarters. I’m going to give a quick rundown and early predictions though I reserve the right to change my mind before kick-off of the this round!

The tie that will likely generate the most press is the Inter Milan — Manchester United clash. It is a return to English soil for former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. Mourinho and Alex Ferguson have always been cordial but there have been tense moments between the two. One was brought on by Mourinho’s celebratory run down the touchline at Old Trafford in March 2004. Jose celebrated Francisco Costinha’s last-minute equaliser as if he had scored it himself. That goal knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League and Porto went on to victory in the final, which elevated Mourinho to the status of being one of the eilte managers in the game.

In another interesting twist, Chelsea will welcome back another one of their former bosses as Claudio Ranieri’s Juventus have been paired with Chelsea. Completing the Anglo-Italian showdown is the clash of two attack-minded sides as Arsenal take on AS Roma.

A thought for poor Lyon who were matched up against the current form team in Europe, Barcelona. It’s going to be a tall mountain to climb for the French champs but it is not impossible.

I will do a more thorough breakdown in the weeks leading up to the next round but for now, here are my early predictions based on current form:

Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v FC Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
Inter Milan v Manchester United

Who do you think will advance? Which match-up are you most anticipating?

This recap comes a little late but there are still a few points I wanted to make.

First off, I was glad to see the Zenit — Juventus game proceed without incident. After the horrible incident earlier in the week, it would have been understandable had the game been postponed but the game did go on and the result did not go as Zenit might have hoped. Zenit will have to be content to defend their UEFA Cup crown as they cannot advance from Group H after a goalless home draw against already-qualified Juventus. Real Madrid’s success at FC BATE Borisov, thanks to a lone Raul goal, on Tuesday confirmed that Zenit will finish third. Dick Advocaat will be left looking for answers as his side once again dominated possession, but could not find the back of the net.

I was going to go through the groups in order but I have to get a few things off my chest first. I had the unfortunate ‘pleasure’ of watching the Villarreal — Manchester United fixture. Defending champs Manchester United are through, as are their Matchday 5 opponents Villarreal, after a stalemate at El Madrigal.

It was a fourth 0–0 draw in four games between these sides and it was not a very entertaining game. Neither team played with much energy and looked to be content with a draw from the onset. Further making this an unwatchable mess, was the constant simulation (diving) and harassing of the officials to book opposing players. Both sides were guilty of this poor sportsmanship and should feel ashamed of their behaviour. One player I’d like to single out for scorn is Joan Capdevlla.

His challenge on Ronaldo in the late stages of the match was rash and dangerous. From the multiple replays I watched, he looked to be aiming the studs of his boot at the inside of Ronaldo’s knee. ESPN’s Tommy Smyth comments summed it up nicely — it was stupid and there’s no place for it in the game. Ronaldo ended up with a visible bruise/laceration on the thigh area around the knee. The fact that Capdevila was motioning that if Ronaldo was so injured he should be substituted was another dose of poor sportsmanship on top of his already thuggish challenge. I was surprised by this as Capdevila is not normally this type of player and in a game with little on the line, I had to wonder what got him so riled. Ronaldo certainly was at his worst, diving and embellishing a number of fouls — not to mention getting himself booked for petulance over a call made by the assistant referee, but Capdevila has now gotten himself suspended for the next couple of matches and that does not help his club.

The prevailing logic is that opponents are trying to kick Ronaldo off the park. Villarreal’s tactics are being cited as merely the latest example of how opponents are trying to get under the skin of the talented United forward. Alex Ferguson has been calling for him to be more protected, which is all fine and well, but Ronaldo does not help himself out. Instead of staying upright and playing, he dives and play-acts, which casts doubt into the referee’s mind, even when he is being well and truly fouled. In the Villarreal game, he went down heavily and death-rolled his way across the pitch after only the faintest of touches. The referee bought into it and gave the foul rather than carding him for simulation.

I am not excusing Capdevila’s challenge, not by a long shot. Merely pointing out that Ronaldo is not a poor, innocent victim. He is also guilty of an offense to football. Cheating. I know in many cultures, diving to win a call is considered ‘smart’ play but I cannot bring myself to agree with that mindset. It’s plain and simply dishonest. Ian Herbert of The Independent looks back at some of the other talented players throughout the history of the game that have become the target of abuse.

OK now that the ranting is over, I will climb down off the soapbox and recap some of the other action. Group G is also decided as Arsenal defeated Dynamo Kyiv at home by a 1–0 scoreline. A Nicklas Bendtner strik in the 87th minute was just enough to see the Gunners through and give some relief to a side that’s been in a tumultuous state the last couple of weeks. The Gunners have lost three Premier League games this month and William Gallas was stripped of the captaincy after publicly criticising his team-mates. “It was what we need, reassurance, and will give us that,” Wenger told the BBC in a post-match interview. Add to that a recent win over Chelsea in domestic action and Arsenal should almost be over this whole mess, at least for the time being. Speculation has ramped up that Gallas will leave in the January transfer window but with Arsenal thin on experience it would be a risky move for Wenger.

Arsenal will be joined in the next round by FC Porto who held off a determined Fenerbahce side and picked up an impressive 2–1 win in Turkey. Lisandro scored a brace for Porto within a 10 minute span in the middle of the first half. The visitors then had to work hard to see off the match and book their place in the next round. As for Fenerbahce, they need to win at Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday 6 in order to finish third and go into the UEFA Cup.

In Group F, Bayern Munich were powered into the final 16 by two second-half goals from Miroslav Klose and another from Luca Toni as they recorded a 3–0 victory against FC Steaua Bucuresti. Bayern were stymied in the first half but made the most of their chances in the second to leave the Romanian side rooted to the bottom of the group. Bayern have been looking stronger and stronger as the season go on and most clubs will want to avoid facing them in the next round of the competition. Fiorentina’s loss to Lyon means that the UEFA Cup slot is still up for grabs as the two bottom clubs face-off in what should be an exciting Matchday 6 encounter.

I’ll have more info in the Matchday 6 preview I will be posting over the weekend.

There are some pivotal battles to be fought in the upcoming Matchday and while some groups look to have clear patterns emerging, others could go down to the wire. Let’s take a whirlwind tour of the current state of the groups along with my speculations on the ties on Matchday 5.

Group A
A win for Chelsea over Bordeaux will take them through, regardless of the result between second place AS Roma and bottom club CFR 1907 Cluj. Roma and Bordeaux are currently tied on points with Roma holding the edge on goal differential. Chelsea hammered Bordeaux 4–0 on Matchday 1 but I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of that scoreline. I still see Chelsea winning but perhaps only by a single goal. A draw would be a good result for Bordeaux and would keep their hopes alive. Top through bottom is seperated by only three points in this group so Cluj can still make things uneasy for everyone with a win over Roma at home. Roma played well against an uninspired Chelsea side on Matchday 4 and will hope to keep the momentum going. I’m going to go for a draw in this match. I think Cluj will come out with an inspired performance.

Group B
Leaders Internazionale can advance with either a victory or a draw at home to Panathinaikos. Inter could even advance if they lose should there be a draw between Anorthosis Famagusta and Werder Bremen. The suprising Anorthosis side can achieve a knockout round spot if they win and Inter do likewise. Werder Bremen must win in order to keep their hopes alive. I wouldn’t bet on Bremen to get a win in Cyprus considering their up and down form this season.

Group C:
The main business is complete: Barcelona and Sporting are both through to the last 16 after taking care of business on Matchday 4 when the Spanish side drew with FC Basel 1893 and the Portuguese team beat FC Shakhtar Donetsk. The two leaders face-off in Portugal while Basel will hope to get a result on the road in the Ukraine.

Group D:
Pacesetters Club Atlético de Madrid and Liverpool FC will extend their Champions League campaigns into the new year by winning at home to PSV Eindhoven and Olympique de Marseille respectively. Atlético can also book up for the knockout stages if they draw and Liverpool avoid defeat. A point would also be enough for Liverpool – who like Atlético have eight points – provided PSV do not prevail in Madrid.

Liverpool will be bolstered by captain Steven Gerrard, who is expected to play in Wednesday’s tie against Marseille after recovering from the groin injury which forced him to miss Saturday’s 0–0 draw with Fulham.

Group E:
With Manchester United FC and Villarreal CF sitting pretty with a six-point cushion over Celtic FC and Aalborg BK, both are likely to qualify for the next round. The two leaders are pitted against one another on Matchday 5 and I picture a draw from their match. The real game of interest in the group is between Aalborg BK and Celtic, which is a battle for the UEFA Cup spot. The Danish champions have won four and drawn four since Allan Kuhn replaced Bruce Rioch, a sequence which has seen them climb to seventh in the Danish Superligaen, progress to the Danish Cup semi-finals and twice come from behind to secure a 2–2 draw at home to Villarreal CF last time out. Also working against Celtic is the fact that they are trying to secure a first away Champions League victory in their 20th attempt. Celtic are still without a number of first-team players due to injury, including Massimo Donati, Marc Crosas and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. They will be hoping to have Georgios Samaras and Aiden McGeady available after their own injury problems. I’d have to go with the home side in this one as the odds are truly stacked against Celtic. It will be a massive win for them if they can beat the Danes at home. If they do make it into the UEFA Cup spot, I could see them enjoying an extended run in that competition.

Group F:
This group looks to be all wrapped up. Olympique Lyonnais enter Matchday 5 knowing exactly what they must do to proceed: avoid defeat at Fiorentina. FC Bayern München may trail Lyon on goals scored, but they find themselves in an even more luxurious position – only the twin occurrence of Bayern losing at home to rock-bottom FC Steaua Bucuresti and Fiorentina beating Lyon will stop the German team celebrating. Fiorentina must win to keep alive their hopes of making the next round.

Group G:
Arsenal FC hold a two-point advantage over FC Porto and will qualify for the knockout stage with a  victory at home to FC Dynamo Kyiv. Arsenal have been struggling lately and have a number of injury concerns. Compounding their poor form were unhelpful comments from captain William Gallas, who questioned the bravery of his team-mates as well as the dressing room spirit. Gallas was not in the lineup against Manchester City this past weekend, a match the Gunners lost 3–0. Manager Arsene Wenger has had little choice but to reinstate Gallas to the team for the clash with Dynamo Kiev as his squad is depleted by injuries. Wenger will have to field a makeshift defence with nine first-teamers out. Wenger has selected 21-year-old Spaniard Cesc Fabregas to permanently replace Gallas as captain.

Porto will advance if they can beat Fenerbahçe SK in Turkey, unless Dynamo win at Arsenal. Fenerbahçe will welcome back last season’s goal scoring hero, Deivid, and will hope to play the spoilers for Porto while giving themselves a shot at UEFA Cup football.

Group H:
By gaining back-to-back victories against Real Madrid CF, Juventus have assured themselves a place in the knockout stage. Real Madrid will also advance if they can defeat FC BATE Borisov in Belarus and Zenit St. Petersburg fail to beat visiting Juventus. Juventus are going to be fielding plenty of their reserve/bench players so the odds are not in Real Madrid’s favour. I am hoping that the final Matchday showdown between Real and Zenit will have a knockout stage place on the line.

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.

With World Cup qualifying on, its been a little slow for UEFA club competition news but here are some stories around the web that I thought you’d find interesting.

• ESPN Soccernet details the problems at Fenerbahce
• Bundesliga Talk has posted a quick update on every club in the league
• Owen Slot, Chief Sports Reporter for the Times, offers 10 ways football can ride out the credit crunch
• The Daily Mail reports that Real Madrid are planning to make Carlos Tevez in January
• Juventus boss Claudio Ranieri says that Xabi Alonso was passed over as they felt he was ‘too slow’ ; the article also suggests that Ranieri may be out and replaced with Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez

A few quick injury notes before I sign off. Expect to hear more coaches complain about fixture congestion, etc

• Celtic have been dealt a blow with the news that Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink is set to miss key games in both the SPL and the Champions League. Vennegoor of Hesselink looks certain to sit out Tuesday’s much-anticipated Champions League clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
• Liverpool striker Fernando Torres is set to miss the club’s next three matches through injury. Torres strained a hamstring during Spain’s 2–1 win over Belgium and is expected to be out of action for 10 days. The Reds might also be without Dutch winger Ryan Babel, who sustained an ankle injury after a clash with Blackburn Rovers’ winger Morten Gamst Pedersen in the world Cup qualifier against Norway.
• Villarreal midfielder Sebastián Eguren will be out of action for up to five weeks after tearing his left hamstring during Uruguay’s World Cup qualifying loss to Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
• FC Shakhtar Donetsk have lost defender Ilsinho for the rest of the year and striker Luiz Adriano until November, with the UEFA Champions League Group C visit of Sporting Clube de Portugal looming next Wednesday.
• Real Madrid full-back Miguel Torres has been ruled out for about three weeks after tests confirmed he suffered a tear to his left thigh muscle during the Spain Under-21s’ victory over Switzerland in Lorca on Tuesday.
• Arsenal were hit heavily as William Gallas (hamstring) and Bacary Sagna (knee) suffered knocks while playing for France and Nicklas Bendtner (ankle) was injured representing Denmark. The trio will miss the trip to Fenerbahce, while Cesc Fàbregas (broken nose), Robin van Persie (muscle strain) and Johan Djourou (concussion) are awaiting tests on their ailments.

This may be a bit long-winded and rambling but I hope you stick with me as there are a number of important points to discuss.  UEFA recently released a publication entitled “Safeguarding The Heritage And Future Of Team Sport In Europe”, which outlines UEFA’s stance on principles of good governance, player agents and home-grown players. In addition to that, UEFA President Michel Platini and other officials from both UEFA and FIFA have been speaking out about the state of the sport.

The good governance topic has hit the headlines in the past few days as UEFA has stated that they may need to look at banning heavily indebted clubs such as Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United from competing in UEFA sanctioned competitions. UEFA has set up a working group, which will meet in Geneva on Monday, to discuss how to extend its licensing system and restrict the levels of debt that clubs are permitted to operate with. Currently the financial stipulations imposed by UEFA are limited to bans on clubs who have outstanding debts on transfer payments or ones that do not pay staff and players on time.

Gabriel Marcotti, writing for Sports Illustrated, hits on the key point. The problem with their message is that the intelligent, reasonable parts have been mixed in with alarmist and what some may consider a bit of xenophobic comments. I think the latter bits are what people are reacting to most. As we’ve seen over at other sites like EPL Talk, the reaction has been strong and at times a little irrational.

Let me say that I disagree with Platini that foreign owners should be limited but I do agree with his overall idea that clubs should work to retain some of their local flavour and heritage.

Related to home-grown talent and local heritage, one important topic that Platini continues to talk about is the issue of underage players moving away from home to go to foreign academies. In an attempt to tear a strip off Platini’s example of Chelsea signing a youth from Marseille , the Gaffer of EPL Talk writes that he “would have a tremendous opportunity to become a millionaire, make his dreams come true and help support his family and parents. If Chelsea didn’t sign the player at 11, some other club would snap him up so why blame Chelsea?”

First, let’s be clear. No one is blaming Chelsea specifically, Platini was merely using an example from the current headlines. The player in question is actually 12 and his name is Jeremy Boga. Chelsea signed him on September 30th for an undisclosed fee.

Outlandishly dubbed the new Zinedine Zidane simply because, like the two-time World Player of the Year, he plays in midfield, Boga already has the spotight on him for the wrong reasons. Let me sidetrack for a moment so I can get something off my mind.  I am only going to say this once — THERE IS NO NEW ZIDANE ! Zidane was a once in a generation sort of talent and it’s simply a lax comparison to label any French player with any sort of flair/advanced technical ability as the ‘new Zizou’.

Now back to the topic at hand, what benefit comes from signing a 12-year-old from Marseille? Europe’s top teams are trying to sign players earlier and control their development as a way to keep potential star players out of the hands of rival clubs. The guise is that it may aid the team in developing cheap talent for the future but I’m not fully convinced. The theory is sound as I’ve seen the cost of turning a 16-year-old into a first-team starter quoted at about 500,000 British pounds.

However, the reality is that very few players from academies break into the first team, perhaps 1 in 100 if the odds are that high. Will this 12-year-old become a millionaire? Maybe but doubtful. The bulk of academy players are either cut loose or sold to lower division clubs in order to have a chance to kick-start their career. There are many examples of players whose development stalled simply because they were stuck in the academy/reserve side of a ‘big club’ for too long.  ‘Big clubs’ like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea and others simply bid big dollars every summer for top players from other clubs. The fact that there is another club that would sign him does not make the practice correct or healthy for the sport.

The largest argument against home-grown talent is that football is a business and you shouldn’t dictate where the employees come from. Fair point. I don’t think Liverpool needs to field 11 Scousers but insuring that there are 4–5 places for local lads seems reasonable to me. Mind you, I am used to the Canadian Football League and its limits on foreign (i.e. US-born) players so perhaps it’s not as big a leap in logic for me as it might be for others. However, if you are going to allow freedom of employee recruitment then it’s not unreasonable to expect the businesses to recruit smartly and not find themselves severly in debt.

I maintain you can’t have it both ways. Arsenal were ridiculed for not spending money in the summer transfer market like their rivals but whatever happened to sound business management? The Premier League has learned from the example of the American (and global for that matter) banking system and many clubs are spending well beyond their means or are pushing their finances to the brink (examples: UEFA Cup contenders Portsmouth spending 90% of their income on player’s salaries or West Ham’s £142m debt funded from Iceland where the economy has reached meltdown). What is going to happen to these clubs if the TV dollars are cut or some of they see other revenue streams shrink? Already you can tell that attendance at EPL games is not as strong across the board as other domestic leagues. With all of these factors in mind, I applaud Arsenal and other clubs like them for their current approach — they are running their business properly and turning a tidy little profit in the meantime.

Now had Arsenal blown 30–50 million in the transfer window, these same folks that cry out against quotas would be moaning about the fact that Arsenal were not making money and were simply buying their accolades. Or, they simply would overlook it until the clubs reached the point of insolvency as happened with Leeds United just a few years ago. One of the articles I read this week, from the Guardian newspaper, quoted a football finance expert as estimating that interest payments on debt exceed the profit from the English Premier League. Perhaps I am overly prudent about financial matters but the current Premier League situation sounds like a recipe for diaster to me. The realy worrying part is that clubs in financially well-managed situations are looking at the Premier League model and thinking “Why can’t we do that?” It’s that sort of short term thinking that leads clubs to relying on bailouts from millionaires as with AC Milan in the 1980s or as in the case of Real Madrid, a controversial property deal that reportedly netted the club 480m Euros, which they promptly plowed a large chunk of into player transfers.

What sort of rules could UEFA put in place? This is where it is going to get extremely tricky. They could state that clubs would not receive UEFA sanctioning if their debt rose above a reasonable per cent of their income or if their wage bill ever amounted to more than a certain per cent of their turnover. The latter is unlikely to happen but the limit on debt seems reasonable and fair to me. Why should a club be allowed to spend its way into debt simply to hoarde players from other clubs? The former is also problematic as Arsenal, who also have a large debt they are servicing, are in debt for a “good” reason. They’ve borrowed money to build a new stadium, which has increased their revenue streams. This is good debt as it is tied to a tangible asset and not a player’s contract, which decreases in value over time

(Note: I believe there are ways to write a player’s depreciation off as a loss against the business but it’s debatable whether the cost of acquiring the player and paying their wages is returned in tax benefits).

Those are just basic ideas and I’m sure UEFA will need time to study the problem in more depth before proposing any licensing or regulation of clubs. The important part is to address what many see as a problem within the game and not simply buy into the hype that “All is well” or “The playing field has never been level”. I don’t agree with either viewpoint. Simply because a condition has always existed does not make it just or correct. Ultimately though, UEFA may not have much power to act and might need to rely on the domestic governing bodies to bring their own houses in order as has been done in Scotland and elsewhere.

The other ace-in-the-hole for the ‘big clubs’ is the threat of breaking away and forming a European Super League as has been rumoured in the past. That would be a dark day for many domestic leagues as they would all see their TV money dip and they would be relegated to the role of feeder clubs for the Super League. And don’t think for a second that there would be a way in for a smaller club.…any such entity would be a closed shop for the elite.

Interesting days to be sure and we’ll follow the goings on as they develop. Thanks for sticking with me if you’ve read this far and I look forward to your comments and feedback!

Who says football can’t teach you stuff?

For instance, once today’s Arsenal-Porto match in Group G is done, we’ll know if the Gunners come equipped with an on-off switch. You know those devices: teams flick them to the “off” position against lesser opponents. They play down to the level of their competition, and usually lose in embarrassing fashion in front of their home fans, only to come back three days later, flick the switch to “on”, and pull off an important win in international competition.

It’s kinda like hitting the Staples Easy Button.

Apparently, that’s what Arsenal has planned for today agianst the Portuguese champions. Don’t believe this? Just ask Kolo Toure. The Gunners fullback says he was scared to play against Hull, the newly promoted team that came into the Emirates on Saturday and pulled out a 2–1 win from under the feet of Arsene Wenger’s men. Toure also says that sometimes people–not the players of course–play out games before the whistle blows. Since reading between the lines should be a requirement for all of us, here’s an unsolicited interpretation of Toure’s statement: Arsenal figured it had the game in the bag, figured it could just roll the ball out and beat Hull, and essentially fell on its face in doing so.

The question today is whether Wenger can locate that elusive “on” switch and get his boys going again in the right direction.

Wenger has already publicly bashed his club, promising changes to his lineup and hinting that Robbie Van Persie, for example, might not have a place in the Gunners’ starting eleven today. Wenger, who said he was physically sick following the Hull defeat, has already pulled back from that notion, mere hours before kickoff. Instead, he’s challenged his players to prove their class and establish themselves as contenders to win the Champions League. “We had a disappointing result against Hull, but I have been sitting on the bench long enough to know that if we’d played that match 100 times we’d lose it once,” Wenger said.

Fair enough, but even Wenger at his most optimistic has to realize that Porto is no pushover. And even Wenger at his best can’t guarantee that his players will ramp up their play on command.

A perennial threat in the Champions League, Porto has won twice and has two draws in the Portuguese Liga. With eight points, Porto is one point out of the lead in Portugal; it trails Sporting and Nacional. Ironically, Porto travels to Lisbon on Sunday for a clash against Sporting, which hosts Basel tomorrow in Group C. Porto beat up on bottom feeders Pacos Ferreira over the weekend; apparently Porto has no problems locating its “on” switch.

We’ll see if Arsenal can do the same today.

“We learned from the [Hull] game that in fact you need the Champions League focus in every single match. If we are guilty of something it’s maybe not getting our focus to the right level to take our chances,” Wenger said. “I believe we should not make too much of the result. We lost the game but we have enough strength within the club and within the team to deal with that.”