[Goodbye to Blackpool, Birmingham, West ham and...... Carlo Ancelotti]

What an exciting Sunday with all 10 premier league's matches kicked off at the same time. I just can't stop changing the channels to get the latest score of the other matches. Compare with the La Liga's two teams dance, Premier League is far more exciting. Five teams which struggle all season long to keep themselves away from relegation, gave their best yesterday. We didn't know which two teams will be going down until the final whistle. Blackpool has pull out every bullet they got at Old Trafford. Despite being one goal down, they scored twice and held a 2-1 lead over the new crown Champion. However, Man Utd is just too good comparably. They level the score and finished the game with a 4-2 victory. Blackpool is going down!! We may see Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell join another Premier League's team after the relegation, so as Ian Holloway.

The another team that going down with West Ham is Birmingham City. The club that won the League Cup title couple months ago, has been relegated. There is no excuse from their manager, Alex McLeish. It was him to take them to glory months ago, and it was him who dragged them to hell yesterday. I can see Alex to stay at the club for another season. There are decent players in the team that may make a move in order to continue to play Premier League's football, such as Larsson, Gardner, Ben Foster. 

For West Ham United, they need to find a successor for Avran Grant. I can expect that there are bunch of players who will be leaving the team: Scott Parker, Carlton Cole, Upson, Noble, Piquionne....... I hope Robert Green stays at the Hammer because he is just not good enough to play at the Premier League. 

Chelsea Statement to part company with Carlo Ancelotti.

At the HQ of Chelsea FC in London, Roman Abramovich has made a big decision to fire Carlo Ancelotti. The decision has been announced just couple hours after the last game of their season against Everton FC. Who will be the successor of Carlo? We know that Roman has the candidates in his mind: Frank Riijkard, Guardiola, Hiddink, Benitez, Harry Redknapp..... Seriously, I think Roman will hire former Liverpool manager, Benitez.

[Porto did it, again]

Falcao, the top scorer of the Europa League.

Will Boas becomes the next Jose Mourinho?

After 90 minutes of football, Falcao's only goal of the match brings the Europa League Cup back to Dragao again after eight years. Falcao, with record-breaking 17 goals in the tournament, makes him the top scorer of the Europa League 2011. Besides, Porto's coach, Andre Villas-Boas has become the youngest coach ever to win the Europa League. I can expect that the former Jose Mourinho's assistant has now become the target of the big clubs. Congratulation to FC Porto, they are the winner of Europa League 2011.

[Relegation Battle]

There is no surprise that Manchester United got their vital point with the 1-1 draw against Blackburn to clinch that premier league title. Congratulation to Sir Alex and his team, they deserve the title. I am a gentleman =D

Many of the fans around me, especially Chelsea and Arsenal's fans chose to ignore the remaining fixture since they got nothing to win now. They are more interested in discussing which players should be sold and who should their clubs bring in to strengthen their squad. 

For me, BPL is still interesting even though Man Utd has been crown champion. You know what I mean, just look at the relegation zone. I have to say, this is the most exciting relegation battle ever. With one game remaining, there are five teams which may go down to the Championship Football League next season. The margin between No.15 (Blackburn) and No.19 (Wigan) is just a point. The five teams that are facing the relegation threat are Blackburn (40pts), Wolves (40pts), Birmingham (39pts), Blackpool (39pts) and Wigan (39pts). Two of them have to go down next week. 

Wigan's key player, N'Zogbia.

Wigan Athletic: In my opinion, Wigan has the best chance to escape from the relegation zone by the end of the day even they are at the 19th place currently due to the goal differences. Their opponent next week will be Stoke City. Since Stoke have nothing to fight for, Tony Pulis may do them a favor. 

Will Blackburn's players the last men 'smiling' after next week?

Blackburn and Wolves: Both of them can be optimistic since they got their own fate in their own hands. Wolves will be hosting Blackburn at Edwood Park next week. Both of them will be looking for all 3 points to ensure that they are stay at the Premier League next season. A draw which gives them 41 points each may not be enough. 

Blackpool's skipper, Charlie Adam.

Blackpool: Blackpool's situation is interesting. They will be playing the Champ, Man Utd at Old Trafford. I think Sir Alex may do Ian Holloway a favor by resting his key players like Rooney, Hernandez, Giggs, Ferdinand, Van Der Sar for the Champions League Final. I can see Blackpool to at least grab a point from Old Trafford. The question is, is a point really good enough for Ian Holloway's side to stay at the top?

Carling Cup's winner relegated?

Birmingham: Which team has the worst chance to stay at the Premier League? Birmingham City. They have to play Tottenham Hotspur who are fighting to get their next season's entrance ticket for Europa League. This season may turn out to be a weird one for the Blues. They beat Arsenal to win the League Cup and now, they may go down to the Championship Football League. If I am one of the Birmingham's fans, I would rather sacrifice the League Cup for a chance to stay at the Premier League.

The best definition of 'Loser'.

Oops, you said I miss something? Avram Grant? I do not like to waste my energy on a manager that unable to save his team from relegation for two straight seasons. What should I call that? Back 2 Back relegated? That's pathetic!!!! 

 

A point away from their 19th

A vital match to see Man Utd grabbed all the 3 points.

Fergie knew that the 19th league's title is not far away.

Congratulation to Manchester United. They are just a point away from the record breaking 19th league title. Thanks to the 'little pea' Hernandez and their skipper, Vidic, Manchester United has beaten Chelsea by 2-1 at Old Trafford. Manchester United came out to battle from the first second the game started. A mistake by David Luiz allowed Hernandez to get an one on one opportunity with Petr Cech and guess what, the 'red hot pea' scored for United just 36 sec after the game kicked off. The goal shocked the Blues. It was Man Utd who controlled the game at the first half. Good defense and effective offense. The condition got even worst for Ancelotti's side when Vidic scored a header for United at 23rd minutes. The crowd at Old Trafford went crazy. 

The 'red hot pea'

Man Utd's skipper, Vidic scored a header.

Too little too late for the Blues.

During the second half, I saw Chelsea tried to get back into the game by gaining more possession. However, the front trio led by Drogba, Malouda and Kalou were just disappointing. Frank Lampard did not at the top of his game as well but he still managed to score a tap-in at 68th minutes to keep the hope alive. Since then, Chelsea did not really close to score a second goal. Manchester United came out on top with a 2-1 victory and built a 6 points lead. With two games remaining in the fixtures, they just need a point from Blackpool and Blackburn to secure that 19th league's title.

Once again, I cannot help myself to admire that Korean, Park. What a game he had. He was running like a nuts on the field, causing all types of troubles for Ancelotti's side. Besides, Valencia surprised me as he teared Ashley Cole apart. Ferguson made the right decision again by selecting Valencia instead of Nani. Nani's game is no where near Valencia. This Ecuadorian's game is simple, direct and effective. 

Remember the banner that Liverpool's fans showed at Anfield years ago? 

[Come back and sing Ooh-Aah Cantona when you've won 18.] by Liverpool's fans.

The United's fans brought their own banner today at Old Trafford, again: 

[You told us to come back when we've won 18 – we are back.] by United's fans.

Ancelotti: Don't axe me!!

There is no doubt that Ancelotti's position has turned insecure after the defeat. Unfortunately, Mr. Ancelotti once again made a wrong selection of his squad last night. After just 45 minutes, he decided to replace Mikel for Ramires (The second half performance by the Brazilian showed that he should be the one in the starting 11 instead of that Nigerian overrated midfielder), and bring on Alex for David Luiz (David is a great player, but he was not at his best last night). Another mistake he made was to start Kalou instead of Torres. Kalou was terrible last night. He just cannot create anything for the team when he played against O'Shea or Evans. Even with the defeat, I think Ancelotti should still stay at least for one more year. I think it is the time for the Blues to make some big changes. In my opinion, some of the big dogs like Mikel, Kalou, Anelka, Malouda, Bosingwa, Ferreira, Drogba or even Essien should make way for the new blood. Ehm, I can see a long long list of names appear in my head: Neymar, Alexis Sanchez, Tiote, Wesley Sneijder, Carlos Tevez, Gareth Bale, Hulk, Falcao, De Rossi, Marik Hamsik, Mascherano.... 

Preview: ManChester United vs Chelsea FC

The game that every Barclay's Premier League's fans are waiting for. This is it. There are different opinions from football pundits and Premier League's managers. However, all of their comments are not that important at all once the match kicks off tonight. 

When Manchester United lose against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium last week, Chelsea was the favorite to win this game, not until Man Utd proved how great they were against Schalke 04 at the mid-week. So, majority of people go for Man Utd to win this game now, or at least get a draw from it. The pressure is on Chelsea's side. They have to make sure they walk out Old Trafford today with all 3 points in their bag if they want to defend their title. It is uneasy for Chelsea to do so as Man Utd has a fantastic home record this season. They had only drop 2 points so far. It will be a tough challenge for the Blues. Do remember Chelsea lose 1-2 at Old Trafford in Champions League's Quarter Finals last month. If Chelsea really come out with 3 points tonight, it will be a huge boost for them and I will not be surprised if they go on to win the remaining games and win their back2back title. 

Regarding the line-ups tonight, I think Ferguson will go for 4-4-2 instead of 4-5-1(which he likes to use when Man Utd played against big teams). He will still put his money on Rooney-Hernandez combination up front. I can expect Ryan Giggs to play at the middle of the midfield alongside Fletcher or Carrick. Park will be appeared at the right hand side to restrict Ashley Cole from coming forward too often. Either Nani or Valencia will be played at the left hand side against Ivanovic. The defensive line will be lead by Vidic and Ferdinand with Evra and Fabio or Rafael. Of course, their keeper, the one and only, Van der Sar. 

For Ancelotti's side, there is no doubt that he will stick with the 4-3-3 system. The back four will be lead by their skipper, John Terry. David Luiz will play alongside him with Ivanovic and Ashley Cole at both sides. Their keeper will definitely be Petr Cech. I do not expect Ramires to get back to the starting line-ups. That means Essien, Mikel and Lampard will form the middle three. The only question of the starting eleven is, who will be started alongside Drogba and Malouda. Kalou is in such a great form but Torres will provide the quality and one lethal touch may change the game. For me, either Torres or Kalou will be fine for Chelsea. 

This will be the 4th time these two teams play each other this season. Chelsea won the first meeting with 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge; then Man Utd won both home and away at the quarter finals of Champions League. This game tonight will not be an easy one for Man Utd, at least not as easy as the quarter finals of UCL. These are some of the talking points: 

1) Do remember, it was Bosingwa to play during the UCL as David Luiz was unable to play for the Blues. Ivanovic was forced to play at the middle in that two legs. With David Luiz back to the line-ups and Ivanovic plays at the right hand side, it will be tough for either Nani or Valencia. 

2) Ancelotti was playing the 4-3-3 system with Torres, Anelka/Drogba and Malouda at both legs of the UCL. Guess what, the Man Utd defense reacted tremendously against the front trio during the second leg. However, it will be different story tonight as the front trio are now in a great form especially after Drogba picked up his game. He is one of the key reasons the Blues are still in the title race. 

3) The key man for Man Utd will be Ryan Giggs. His passes were excellent at the both legs of UCL. He contributed to all three goals in the 3-1 aggregates win against Chelsea at the UCL. He will be the key man for Man Utd. It is interesting to see how Essien and Mikel cut off the link between Giggs and rest of the Utd team.

4) People are talking about how great Hernandez is. His running, his touches inside the box, his understanding of game. They do not realize how wonderful Wayne Rooney is. Even Rooney is not in the 'scoring mode' like he did last season, he is still great. Football is not only about scoring. Wayne Rooney shows the fans that he is good in creating goals, linking up his teammates and gets them involved in the attack with his passing skill. He is like an engine box for his team.

5) For the Blues, their key man will be Frank Lampard. This Chelsea team is heavily rely on Frank. Frank has to play well tonight, get involve in the attack as much as he can. 

Prediction: 

Chelsea win by one goal margin.

[Semi Finals]

Man Utd 4-1 ( M.U. won 6-1 in aggregate) Schalke 04 

Barcelona 1-1 (BarC won 3-1 in aggregate) Real Madrid

When Barcelona beaten Real Madrid in the first leg away from home by 2-0; Manchester Utd took away a 2-0 victory at Germany against Schalke at the first leg. We know that it will be Man Utd against Barcelona, again. So it will be one of these two to be crown as the European Champions 2011 at the Wembley Stadium at the end of May.

In my opinion, if there is one team that can stop Barcelona, that should be Man Utd. This does not mean that Man Utd is better than Barcelona. It is just because Sir Alex is far more experience to play against the great team. I think Man Utd may go back to 4-5-1 formation which gave them big success over the years especially played against big teams like Arsenal, Chelsea etc. And they will be playing against arguably the best football team in this planet, FC Barcelona. Conclusion, I hope the team with better performance wins in the Final.

Game Over? It still ON

Ramsey scored the only goal of Arsenal's 1-0 victory over United at Emirates Stadium.

After 35 games, the championship race is still on. After the game between ManUtd and Everton last week, I thought that the title race is over. I can hardly imagine that ManUtd will lose the game against Arsenal as United was in such a good form. I thought they will at least grab a point. However, this is football. Title race is still on, at least not over yet. It will be a big boost for Ancelotti's side to see Arsenal got a 1-0 victory over United. Wales' captain, Aaron Ramsey scored a vital goal that may change the fate of Alex Ferguson's side. 

Maybe Sir Alex will now know how important Ryan Giggs is to his team. When Hernandez and Rooney cannot find their way to score at the front, Nani and Park were unable to provide supports for their front duo. Even when he decided to make some changes, not much choices on the bench for him. When Sir Alex needed a pass from the middle that can cut open the defensive line of Arsenal, he cannot find a No.10 player. No Giggs, no Scholes, no miracle. Now u know why there was rumor that United interested to make a bid for Inter Milan No.10, Wesley Snijder. 

Poor goalkeeping from Gomes, again!

In the other side, Chelsea snatched a 2-1 win or precisely, stole it from their rival, Tottenham Hotspur. Two controversial goals from Frank Lampard and Solomon Kalou helped Chelsea to cruise on. However, you have to give credit to Chelsea as they were the better team on the pitch last night. They deserved that three points anyway. Poor goalkeeping from Gomes gave Chelsea the chance to level the score at 1-1 before half time. At the last moment of the game, it was Kalou who stepped out and scored that winning goal. Ehm, the replay showed that he was offside. Whatever.... The win gave Chelsea a chance to defend their title at Old Trafford next week.

For ManUtd, after the 0-1 defeat, next week's game will be decisive one as ManUtd will host Chelsea at Old Trafford. I do not think ManUtd has great advantage over Chelsea next week physically or mentally, even they play at home. This will be a 50/50 game. The only advantage for ManUtd is, they will be the happier side even they draw the game. The remaining fixtures for ManUtd will be against Chelsea at Home, away to Blackburn and Blackpool at Home. First at all, if ManUtd grab a point next week, they should not be over optimistic. They will be playing against two teams that fight to avoid relegation. There is potential to drop points. To be realistic, they won't be losing both of the games. They may draw one of them in the worst situation. At the last, they will still crown champion at the end of this season with 78 points and Chelsea finish second with 77 points (if they win the last 2 games and get a draw at Old Trafford). If Chelsea lose against United next week, that will definitely game over for them. Here is the situation which fans (except ManUtd fans) love to see. If Chelsea beat ManUtd next week, with both team get 73 points each. The remaining fixtures for Chelsea will be Away against ManUtd, Home against Newcastle and Away to Everton. The only team that may cause trouble for Chelsea will be Everton. David Moyes will definitely loves to do a favor for his friend, Sir Alex. However, if Chelsea do beat ManUtd by next weekend, they will climb to the 1st place by goal difference. It will be interesting to see whether the title will be decided by goal difference if both teams win all the remaining 2 fixtures. 

Ancelotti's final season of Chelsea?

If Ancelotti's side lose the title race at the last. He can still keeps his chin up and tells Abramovich, 'Fuck you Roman, forget about Hiddink, Rijkaard, Guardiola! Give me transfer fund this summer, bring me the players I want and see what I can do for you next season.' He still deserves one last chance as he never really get financial support from Roman to build his team until the arrival of Fernando Torres and David Luiz. He needs a chance like his predecessors did.