That Bloke In The Big Smoke

Last night I watched what was probably the game of the season and surprisingly, it didn't involve either Real Madrid, Barcelona or both, even though they were also in action together. It's not easy picking one game out of half a dozen humdingers, Arsenal featuring in at least three of them. But last night was special because I watched it in a pub packed with fans from both sides not far from where the game was actually played. And it was a study of contrasts, as one side went into the ascendency followed immediately by the other. The game ebbed and flowed until Spurs came back from a two-goal deficit to secure a draw against the mighty Arsenal. A bad result for both teams but perhaps more damaging for Arsenal as they seek to end their six-year silverware drought. There's a better chance Spurs will qualify for next season's European Cup. And most hope they do.

Meanwhile, Liverpool remain rooted to sixth which will probably deny them any European football next season for the first time since 1999/00. That's thanks to Birmingham City winning the League Cup and only one of the top five clubs making the final of the FA Cup. However there is an outside chance we could sneak through to the Europa League, if Manchester City win the FA Cup but get pipped to fourth place in the league by Spurs and we finish sixth. That would be harsh on Stoke City who have qualified for their first ever FA Cup Final in their 148 year-old history. And if we don't watch out, the Blue Shite are just 2 points behind us. COME ON YOU REDS!

In the other half of the table, the bottom eight clubs are separated by a mere six points. There may only be five or six games left this season, but it's all to play for! A fitting finale to an exciting Premier League campaign!

Forget about English football for just a moment if you will. An awesome duel is entering dizzying heights in Spain's La Liga between two of the world's best players: Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo. Each has scored 24 goals in the league this season with Messi cracking a hat trick against Atletico Madrid this weekend while Ronaldo's brace secured a victory against Real Sociedad. The Argentine has now scored 40 goals in 33 matches in all competitions this season, while the Portuguese striker has 34 goals in 35 matches. And to think February is but a week old. Stretch the stats further and it's 83 goals in 82 games by Messi for Barca in all competitions and 50 goals in 51 games by Ronaldo for Real. Factor in all the requisite club rivalries and you're left with Atletico's manager praising Messi after their game this weekend by declaring him to be a 21st century Alfredo di Stefano - only the most famous player in Real Madrid's history.

Cue Marca, Spain's most widely read paper and the unofficial mouthpiece for Real Madrid, to respond this morning with the front page splash seen above. They think someone else is the 21st century di Stefano and it's not Lionel Messi. And according to their charts, Ronaldo has 25 league goals for the season even though the Spanish football federation and every other newspaper in the country credited Sociedad's Pepe with an own-goal during their previous league encounter in September, when a Ronaldo free-kick was deflected into the net. The whole thing stinks of "my daddy strongest" but it doesn't do any harm to boost the profile of a timely friendly between Argentina and Portugal this Wednesday. It probably won't settle the debate but it will certainly add spice to an already exciting two-horse race between the two clubs in the league. Despite Real having a great season, they've been outpaced by a Barcelona team lording all that they survey and who are now 7 points clear with just 16 games left. The Catalan giants are odds-on to retain their title but don't count Los Blancos out yet.

If he leaves Liverpool FC as I suspect he will do so within forty-eight hours, I will be a very broken football fan. That is all, good night. :(

Thanks to the non-stop Oman Air flight, it took me less than 12 hours door-to-door. Just in time to watch Match of the Day! YNWA

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the ref that it wasn't a booking." -Tom Nycz-Losi

I'm not happy. He's good, but I don't like players who subscribe to the Van Bommel School of Fair Play. Makes Materazzi look like a saint.