Watford vs. Leeds
The Championship Play Off Final was another remarkable step in the history of Watford FC and their young manager, Aidy Boothroyd. They beat Leeds 3-0, having overcome Crystal Palace in the semis by the same margin.
Watford were favourites for relegation at the start of last season, and will probably be favourites for the drop at the start of the next Premiership campaign. That was exactly what happened the last time Watford found themselves in the Premiership, when Graham Taylor was in charge. However, don't be surprised if Watford manage to stay up this time!
Barcelona vs. Arsenal
I've taken a long time to recover from the disappointment of the Champions League Final two weeks ago. However, I'm now ready to start writing again, just in time for the World Cup. I will start with my views on the final itself.
One of the beauties of football is that almost anything is possible. A whole game can turn on the smallest of things. Thierry Henry had four good chances to score in this match, and normally he would have put away at least two of them. Perhaps the pressure to succeed on the highest stage got to him. He scores hat-tricks for fun against the likes of Wigan and Aston Villa in the Premiership, but he fluffed another chance to demonstrate his greatness to the world.
Instead, the game was won by Henrik Larsson, a second-half substitute, who set up both Barcelona goals. The first one was off-side, but the assistant referee didn't see the deft touch by Larsson that set up Samuel Eto'o. (Another case for video reviews?) It was the first goal that Arsenal had conceded in almost 1,000 minutes of Champions League action. That goal gave Barcelona a lift just when they were starting to run out of ideas.
The silver lining for us was when Thierry Henry extended his Arsenal contract to 2010 a few days later. Clearly, he was still emotional following the Champions League Final defeat and, as he admitted, decided with his heart rather than with his head. I think he was also angry with the antics of some Barcelona players who kicked him relentlessly and feigned injury at every opportunity. The thought of playing in Spain week in, week out probably left him feeling cold.
Henry is such a talisman for Arsenal fans that he will guarantee sell out attendances at the new Emirates Stadium for years to come. This is probably worth more to Arsenal than the £50 million that Barcelona and Real Madrid had offered.
Middlesbrough vs. Seville
Middlesbrough's luck ran out on Wednesday night in the UEFA Cup Final. Seville dominated the first half and took a deserved lead with an unstoppable header from Luis Fabiano. Middlesbrough responded in the second half and had several chances that Mark Viduka, in particular, failed to convert.
The turning point in the game was the clearest of penalties that was seen but not given by the referee, Herbert Fandel (again). It is a very sad state of affairs when one of Europe's top referees is not brave enough to make such a decision. There are two possible causes: incompetence or interference. I doubt it was just plain incompetence, although I have not watched enough of his matches to be sure.
By interference, I mean that the referee was probably told to do this or not to do that by someone from UEFA. From his performance on the night, it seems very likely that he was told to watch out for diving and not to give free kicks unless there was a clear foul. This type of interference affects people (even referees) at a subconscious level, causing them to doubt their own judgement, and it leads inevitably to poor decisions on the field.
Had Middlesbrough scored, the Seville players would have started to panic about another Middlesbrough comeback and I think the outcome could have been very different.
New England Manager (Part 3)
I have been out of the country for a week or so, which is why I have been silent for a while. I was visiting the USA, so I have been completely out of touch with the Beautiful Game. I even missed the end-of-season drama of Arsenal clinching the last remaining Champions League spot, after ten Tottenham Hotspur players were struck down by a mysterious illness.
Apparently, the only American TV stations to show live games during the last World Cup were Spanish language stations that cater for America's large Latino population. Football is a national obsession for most people from Central and South America. In Brazil, football is almost the only sport that people follow or play. (Motor racing is a very distant second.)
The FA has finally appointed the next England manager, Steve McClaren. Luiz Felipe Scolari was quickly scared off by the over-intrusive English media. As I have already said, McClaren is probably the best qualified Englishman of a poor bunch. I think we will have to wait a while before some good English coaches acquire the experience needed to manage a successful national team. My hot tip for the future is Aidy Boothroyd, the current Watford manager.
New England Manager (Part 2)
I notice that the FA has decided to offer the England job to Luiz Felipe Scolari, an experienced international manager, rather than an Englishman or even an Irishman. Perhaps they read my recent post on the subject. It is more likely, however, that David Dein made them see sense.
What all the English candidates lack is international experience at the highest level. If any of these club managers want to be seriously considered for the England job in the future, they should leave their cosy little world and prove their worth at a top continental club.
