Pep Guardiola - The Luckiest Man In Football

Sport is full of stories about people getting lucky breaks, being in the right place at the right time and of people making the most of the opportunities handed to them but in my opinion these phrases sum up one man better than most.  That man is new Bayern Munich Head Coach, Pep Guardiola. 

Guardiola must be one of the luckiest people in world football.  He was a very good player winning six La Liga's, two Copa del Rey's, four Spanish Super Cups, a European Cup, a European Cup Winners Cup, two European Super Cups and an Olympic gold medal but it's since his playing career ended in 2006 that his fortunes have really picked up.

Some ex players go into the media, some go into minor coaching roles and some go into management.  Guardiola was fortunate that he was so highly thought of at Barcelona from his playing days that they decided to hand him the job of manager of their B team in 2007.  After a successful season he was promoted to manage the first team when Frank Rijkaard left the club.  After just one season in charge of a team playing in the third tier of Spanish football, Guardiola now found himself in charge of one of the biggest clubs in world football and a team that had been crowned European Champions just two years before. 

I can't think of many other managers who had such a quick rise to the top and a look at the other modern era managers who have won multiple European Cups shows that the rest of the games top coaches had to earn their places at the top.  Guardiola has to consider himself very fortunate as he inherited a fantastic side with players like Carlos Puyol, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o. 

As much as people like to talk about Barcelona bringing through their own talent it's not entirely true.  Obviously, they have brought some fantastic players through their youth teams but they also backed Guardiola in the transfer market.  In his four seasons at the club they spent hundreds of millions on Dani Alves, Seydou Keita, Gerard Pique, Alexander Hleb, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Dmytro Chygrynskiy, David Villa, Javier Mascherano, Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas.  That's quite a list of talent and whilst they didn't always work out, the point is he was given the best players to do his job from the very beginning. 

Guardiola took advantage of this opportunity and rewarded Barcelona with a very successful period in their history.  In his four year spell he won fourteen trophies; three La Liga titles, two Copa Del Rey's, three Spanish Super Cups, two European Cup's, two European Super Cup's and two Club World Cup's.  Nobody can argue with the trophies he won in his time at Barcelona but I do feel there are questions about how much of a part he played in this success. 

The Barcelona squad he took charge of has been considered by many to have been the greatest club side of all time.  Lionel Messi is one of the best players I've ever saw.  Xavi and Iniesta are legendary figures too and were at the peak of their powers throughout the years that Guardiola managed them.  Those three alone could have pushed any side to the top of Europe but Guardiola also had world class players all over the park to support them.  Time will tell how good Guardiola is but he certainly landed on his feet when he got the Barcelona job. 

After resigning last year Guardiola said he was taking a year out and despite being linked with many top jobs he has stuck to his decision and has taken a year away from the game although he did announce his plans for next season back in January.  Bayern Munich announced that Pep would be taking over the German giants from next season as their current manager, Jupp Heynckes was set to retire. 

Since then, Bayern Munich have secured the Bundesliga title by a huge margin and also set about the Champions League knock out stages in amazing fashion, obliterating Arsenal, Juventus and Barcelona on the way to their third Champions League Final in four years.  Bayern managed to squeeze past their German rivals, Borussia Dortmund in the Final and now have the chance to secure a famous treble when they face Stuttgart in the German Cup Final.  They have already announced that Dortmund star, Mario Gotze will join them next season and it is also expected that his team mate, Robert Lewandowski will join him in Munich next season.  Once again, Guardiola seems to be landing on his feet by taking over a team in a position of strength. 

Guardiola will go to Munich this summer inheriting the best squad in Europe and Bayern have always been one of the biggest spenders in football so he will be well backed.  I do like him but I think he still has a point to prove.  Most managers could make a success of managing Barcelona and if he needs an example of how the grass isn't always greener, he should look at the man he replaced. 

Frank Rijkaard had a successful spell in charge of Barcelona but followed it up with unsuccessful spells at Galatasaray and Saudi Arabia.  Whether Guardiola is a truly elite coach or just another Frank Rijkaard remains to be seen but he has certainly enjoyed a fair share of luck in the fact that he has arrived at two great clubs at just the right time.

Sportzine - Volume 3

SOCCER

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

As expected, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich reached the Champions League Final.  Dortmund had a brief scare after two late Madrid goals but they managed to hang on to win 4-3 on aggregate.  Bayern managed to avoid any scares and ran out 3-0 winners in the Camp Nou, winning 7-0 on aggregate.  Barcelona have been an amazing side in recent years but Bayern Munich taught them a real lesson and Barcelona will have to look at how they can improve for next season. 

Borussia Dortmund have been a revelation in the last few years in Germany but never really brought their domestic form into Europe.  Dortmund's biggest problem is going to be holding onto their star players and manager.  They have already lost Mario Gotze to Bayern Munich for next season and there are strong rumours linking Mats Hummels, Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski with moves away from the club.  If the club sell all their main players then I would think Jurgen Klopp may follow them out and if he does leave Dortmund there looks to be plenty of big job openings across Europe.  Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City could all be looking for new managers and any of those would be a natural progression for Klopp who has worked wonders in his managerial career so far. 

Many people are calling Bayern Munich the perfect team.  I don't buy into that to be honest but they are certainly a very good team, in excellent form at the moment.  Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund have both used pressing in recent seasons to win trophies and Bayern Munich have taken that a step further with their own version of gegenpressing.  As good as they are off the ball, they are equally as good on it and can retain possession as well as anyone.  Barcelona and Bayern Munich play the game in a similar way but the big difference is that Bayern are using athletes.  Barcelona are all quite small and while it doesn't often affect them, Bayern Munich are doing the same things with six footers and the vast majority can move around quickly too.

The Final looks like being a great occasion with two fully deserving teams taking part in one of the best, most modern stadiums in Europe.  Bayern Munich look to be favourites on paper but many a favourite has lost a cup final.  All we can hope for is a good game and that they both come to London to try to win the game rather than the cautious approach we see so often in big games.

I should also mention Chelsea and Benfica who successfully made it through to this seasons Europa League Final in Amsterdam.  It's good to see two sides who started the season in the Champions League reach the Final as while many don't agree with the loop hole that sees teams enter the Europa League after elimination from the Champions League, I think it gives the competition credibility.  In recent seasons we have saw teams play second string sides in the Europa League which has devalued the competition but Chelsea and Benfica have put out solid sides and they have been rewarded with an appearance in the Final.


GENERAL FOOTBALL

Hull City secured promotion back to the Premier League after drawing 2-2 with already promoted Cardiff City on the final day of the season.  Hull needed to match Watford's result and as the games were ending, a Watford goal would have sent them to the Premier League but it wasn't to be and Ross McCormack finished them off with a late winner to send them into the playoffs. 

The Championship playoffs will now see Watford take on Leicester and Crystal Palace take on Brighton.  I usually think the team coming into the playoffs with momentum has a fair chance and for me that's Brighton.  Four wins in their last five and nine games unbeaten is exactly the way you want to finish the season if you are heading towards the playoffs.  It doesn't seem that long ago that Brighton were one game away from exiting the Football League and it would be some what fitting if they could finish off the season with promotion to the Premier League. 

Finally, as much as it pains me to say it, Glentoran also deserve a lot of credit for a fine victory in Saturday's Marie Curie Irish Cup Final.  I was at the game in the Cliftonville end and despite Cliftonville taking a 1-0 lead at half-time, Glentoran weren't to be denied and ran out 3-1 winners after extra time.  Cliftonville hadn't already secured the league title and the League Cup but they were denied their treble by a hungry, hard working Glentoran side.  The Glens were excellent after half-time and were first to every ball and Cliftonville just couldn't live with them.  Cliftonville had a great season but Glentoran had the last laugh but hopefully the players and staff will learn from it and Cliftonville can bounce back and enjoy another successful season next year.   
 

BASKETBALL

NBA

The first round of the playoffs have been completed and there were a few upsets.  Of the eight first round ties, only five were won by the higher seed.  In the Eastern Conference the top three seeds made it through safely with only the fifth seed, Chicago Bulls overcoming a higher seed.  The Bulls managed to win game seven in Brooklyn to set up a repeat of the 2011 Eastern Finals against the Miami Heat.  It will be a big ask for the Bulls as the Heat are overwhelming favourites to defend their title but if they set themselves small targets, and avoid getting swept then you just never know what could happen if they reach game six or seven. 

In the East's other game, the third seeded Indiana Pacers made the perfect start with a fine win in New York over the Knicks to go 1-0 up in the series.  Before the playoffs started I was looking at this game as a New York win in five or six games.  However, things have gone badly wrong for New York in the last week or so.  After they took a 3-0 series lead over the Celtics they lost momentum and had to win game 6 in Boston to avoid the possibility of becoming the first NBA team to lose a series after leading 3-0.  The Knicks will be pleased to have avoided that unwanted piece of history but unless they can sort themselves out fairly quickly it will be Indiana who reach the Eastern Finals.

Out West the top two seeds both made the next round but the third and fourth seeds both dropped out.  San Antonio were the most impressive victors, sweeping the LA Lakers.  Oklahoma are the number one seed but it took them six games to dispose of the Houston Rockets.  In the other games, the Memphis Grizzlies overcame the LA Clippers in six games and Golden State also beat Denver in six. 

In the second round Oklahoma managed to edge out the Grizzlies in Game one of the series.  The Thunder have been rocked by Russell Westbrook's injury and this series looks like being far from easy for them.  In the other game San Antonio and Golden State get things under way tonight.  San Antonio look like favourites to represent the West in the NBA Finals and I expect this series could be theirs in five.

ICE HOCKEY  

NHL

The NHL playoffs are now under way and the majority of the ties are tight but going the way they are expected too.  In the East, Pittsburgh lead the New York Islanders 2-1, Washington lead the New York Rangers 2-0 and Boston and Toronto are tied at 1-1.  The only potential shock at the moment is the seventh seed Ottawa Senators are currently leading the second seeded, Montreal Canadiens 2-1.  There's still a long way to go though and nobody is really out of it as things stand.

In the Western Conference the story is similar.  Chicago, Anaheim and St Louis are all 2-1 up against lower seeded teams.  The biggest shock so far is the San Jose Sharks being 3-0 up on the third seeded, Vancouver Canucks.  Vancouver face an extremely tough task to stay alive but the other three ties are still very much alive.  They are all as they would be if the home team had won each game so every team will be considering themselves very much in with a chance. 

Just a word on my Detroit Red Wings.  We started off losing game one in Anaheim but bounced back well to win game two and take the series back to Detroit at 1-1.  Unfortunately, we were well beaten in game three at the Joe and now need to win tonight to give ourselves a chance of progressing.  It won't be easy as Anaheim are a good side but now that the streak has been kept alive we may as well do what we can to go as far as we can in the playoffs.

FOOTBALL QUIZ

Here's another chance to answer last weeks football quiz.  Send answers to @gjsportsblog on Twitter or alternatively answer them in the comments section.


1. The last Final to take place at Wembley was between Barcelona and Manchester United but who were the beaten semi-finalists?

2. Who are the top three goalscorers in Champions League/European Cup history?

3. Lionel Messi has finished as top goal scorer in the Champions League/European four times. Which other striker has won the title four times?

4. Five different English clubs have won the Champions League/European Cup but how many titles do they have between them?

5. Which European city has the most combined wins?

GJ Sports Blog - Sportzine Volume 2

SOCCER

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

After the first two games last week it looks as though it will be an all German Final but I would be surprised if there wasn't an upset somewhere.

In tonight's semi-final we have Dortmund heading to Madrid to defend a 4-1 lead from the first leg.  That away goal could be massive.  Dortmund have been having a fantastic year but nobody would rule out the possibility of Real Madrid winning 3-0 against anyone.  Whilst it's unlikely that Dortmund will collapse, if Cristiano Ronaldo arrives in the right mood, he could do enough damage to overturn the deficit. 

Similarly, in the other tie, Bayern Munich look to have one foot in the Final but if there's one place in the world I'd not want to be defending a four goal lead it would be the Camp Nou.  Barcelona on their day are simply irresistible.  Xavi, Iniesta and Messi are among the best players in the world and when things click for them there is no limits to what they are capable of.  I seem to remember a few weeks back that the obituaries were being written after Barcelona's 2-0 defeat to AC Milan.  On that occasion they turned it around with a 4-0 win.  Obviously, Bayern are a better side than Milan but Barcelona also have extra gears to go through and I certainly wouldn't rule them out.

Without doubt it looks likely that Dortmund and Bayern will meet at Wembley but they would be very wise not to make any travel arrangements just yet as funny things can happen in the Champions League and with the two best players in the world trying to spoil their plans, there will most likely be a sting in the tail somewhere along the line.


QUIZ

With the Champions League semi-finals taking place this week it seems to be a good time to have a Champions League quiz.  Either comment on this with answers or respond on Twitter, @gjsportsblog.

1. The last Final to take place at Wembley was between Barcelona and Manchester United but who were the beaten semi-finalists?

2. Who are the top three goalscorers in Champions League/European Cup history?

3. Lionel Messi has finished as top goal scorer in the Champions League/European four times. Which other striker has won the title four times?

4. Five different English clubs have won the Champions League/European Cup but how many titles do they have between them?

5. Which European city has the most combined wins?

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

NFL

The big story in the NFL this week was the 2013 Draft in New York.  It wasn't a great draft for the skill positions with just one quarterback and no running backs being selected in the first round.  Instead there were a huge eighteen line men drafted including the first seven picks overall. 

Eric Fisher an OT from Central Michigan went to the Kansas City Chiefs with the first pick of the draft.  In other high profile picks many expected Geno Smith of West Virginia to be the first quarterback drafted but the Buffalo Bills surprised everyone by picking EJ Manuel of Florida State with the 16th pick.  Geno Smith ended up dropping out of the first round completely before being selected by the New York Jets with the 39th pick. 

With the 38th pick the San Diego Chargers made a very clever move in my opinion by selecting Notre Dame's, Manti Te'o.  I was very disappointed that the Eagles passed on him with the 35th pick.  Te'o has obviously suffered because of his off the field issues and a disappointing display in the BCS Championship game against Alabama but if the draft had took place at the start of December he would have been a high first rounder.  He won't be the first or last player to play badly against Alabama and whilst the fake girlfriend story is possibly one of the most bizarre I have ever read these things don't tend to stick around too long in sports.  Sure you will be hot news and everyone will be talking about you for a while but this story has ESPN 30 for 30 series written all over it when Manti wins the Defensive Rookie of the Year award next season. 

Another player who fell a lot lower in the draft than he maybe should have is USC quarterback, Matt Barkley who went to the Philadelphia Eagles as the first pick of the fourth round (98th overall).  Barkley has talent and was listed as one of the favourites for last years Heisman Trophy but he and USC had a disappointing year.  In his first three years he was showing signs of improvement every year and if he can adjust to the NFL then the Eagles could have got themselves an excellent talent.

Meanwhile, in other NFL news, the New York Jets have released Tim Tebow.  Once the Jets drafted Geno Smith it became clear that they would have to move someone on and it's not really a surprise that Tebow pulled the short straw.  My own thoughts on Tebow are that he gets quite a tough time from NFL fans and commentators.  His throwing action isn't perfect but in today's NFL were there is so much emphasis on the mobility of quarterbacks I can't understand why nobody can find a use for him.  The Jets looked like a perfect fit to me.  They were struggling at receiver and with Mark Sanchez having such a bad season, Tebow would have been a perfect fit to give them something different.  Rex Ryan loves confusing offenses with different defensive schemes so I am surprised he didn't try to run more schemes with Tebow confusing defenses.  At time of writing there seems to be a lot of teams linked with Tebow but no concrete offers.  Hopefully, his career will continue in the NFL as while he's not perfect, I think he still has a lot to offer the league.

ICE HOCKEY

NHL

It didn't look likely last week but the Detroit Red Wings have kept "the streak" alive.  The Wings finished the regular season with four consecutive wins and it was enough to secure the Western Conference's seventh seed and extend their playoff streak to 22 seasons in a row.

The Red Wings will obviously be delighted to extend the streak but they will be even happier to secure the seventh seed and therefore avoid a first round match up with the Chicago Blackhawks.  I don't say that to disrespect the Anaheim Ducks as they have done well to secure the second seed but the fact is the Red Wings have a better record against them than they do against the Blackhawks.  In their seven games against the two the Red Wings have picked up two wins and a defeat against Anaheim compared to four defeats against Chicago.  Anaheim will still be expected to progress but in playoff hockey anything can happen.

In other playoff ties are:

WEST
Chicago Blackhawks v Minnesota Wild
Vancouver Canucks v San Jose Sharks
St Louis Blues v LA Kings

EAST
Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Islanders
Montreal Canadiens v Ottawa Senators
Washington Capitals v New York Rangers
Boston Bruins v Toronto Maple Leafs

The regular season records would suggest that the Blackhawks and the Penguins are the favourites for the Stanley Cup but no number one seed has won it since the 2007-08 Red Wings so this years title is still very much up for grabs.

BASKETBALL

NBA

I couldn't possibly do this edition of the Sportzine without giving the Chicago Bulls a mention.  I've been watching basketball for almost twenty years now and Saturday nights game against the Brooklyn Nets was as entertaining as it gets.

The Bulls started well and it looked like they were heading towards a comfortable win in the first half but the Nets finished the first half strongly and then stepped things up a gear in the second half.  With three minutes to go the Nets looked to have tied the series as they led by fourteen.  However, Nate Robinson and the Bulls had other ideas and they rallied superbly to take the game to overtime.

Robinson's fourth quarter performance was outstanding and he single handedly dragged the Bulls back into the game.  He scored 23 points in the fourth quarter which is just one point less than Michael Jordan's franchise record.  He continued to make things on offence until he was eventually fouled out of the game in the second overtime.

Credit to the Nets, once they gave away the fourteen point lead I expected them to collapse but they bounced back and held their nerve well to come from behind in the first two overtimes to keep themselves alive.  Eventually the Bulls secured a memorable win when they left the Nets with too much to do in the third overtime, running out 142-134 winners to take a 3-1 lead in the series.

Since then the series has returned to Brooklyn were the Nets have forced a game six after a comfortable, 110-91 win.

In the other games, Miami and San Antonio have swept the Bucks and the Lakers to secure their passage to the next round.  New York, Golden State and Oklahoma City are just one game away from progression, holding 3-1 leads.  The two series that look to be heading to the wire are Indiana v Atlanta and Memphis v LA Clippers.  Both are locked at 2-2 although if the games go with home court advantage it will be Indiana and LA who progress.

There is much basketball still be be played but I still haven't saw anything that makes me believe anyone can stop the Heat repeating as NBA champions.

GJ Sports Blog - Sportzine Volume 1

Welcome to the new style GJ Sports Blog were I will be doing a twice weekly look at the main stories in the sports world.  I will still be looking to write longer blogs on occasion but this feature will be used mainly as a home for opinions on subjects that I don't want to write a full blog on but that I want to say more about than just random Twitter rants.  If you have any subjects you would like to discuss feel free to contact me on Twitter, @gjsportsblog.

SOCCER

Luis Suarez 

Much has been said on the subject and if I'm honest I don't agree with what seems to have become the common attitude,  that he is being harshly treated.  My own opinion is that ten games is about right for the offence.

 
When I was finished replaying the incident multiple times on Sunday evening my thoughts began to turn to an appropriate punishment.  I knew he had been punished for a similar offence in his time in Holland but couldn't remember exactly how long his ban had been.  A quick Google search showed that he was banned for seven games on that occasion and using that as a precedent and taking into consideration that this was his second offence, I felt a ten game ban would be fair enough although if I'm honest I didn't think the FA would have the balls to give him such a long ban. 

Many Liverpool fans have argued that the ban is too long when compared to some of the bad tackles that have been made this season.  My argument to this is bad tackles are a part of football.  It's very easy for someone to commit themselves to a challenge and with the speed that the top players are playing at in the modern game these challenges can often be mistimed and players can suddenly become public enemy number one simply because an attacker was too quick for them.  I'm not saying that every bad tackle is accidental but I would say that quite a few of them are and it's an impossible task to expect a disciplinary committee to get inside a players mind to be able to judge a players intent when making a challenge. 

The Suarez case is completely different and you don't just bite someone by accident.  For me the two lowest places a man can go are if he bites or spits on another man.  Both are absolutely disgusting and both are extremely cowardly.  Had Suarez stood up to Ivanovic like a man and punched him he would have no doubt got a ban but deep down he would have earned a small bit of respect as he took issue with a bigger man and had the guts to stand up to him.  As it was though Suarez sunk to lowlife, corner boy tactics and as good as he is on the field any bit of respect he was still owed after his other misdemeanour's has been lost. 

Many argue that Suarez is being punished because of who he is and not what he done but why is that wrong?  In any other circumstance he would be judged on his past character whether that be in a court of law or an employment related disciplinary hearing.  When making a judgement people will want to know are the actions out of character for the person and on this occasion they certainly were not. 

Suarez now misses the remainder of this season and roughly the first month or so of next season and that will be a big loss for Liverpool.  What would be an even bigger loss to Liverpool would be if he decides to leave the Premier League due to the "harsh treatment" he receives.  Luis Suarez, the footballer is an asset to Liverpool and the Premier League and it would be bad for everyone if he were to leave.  English football has lost a lot of it's star players in the last few years and the league would be worse off without him but the time is long overdue for Suarez to realise that he isn't being victimised and that his situation is 100% his own making. 

Champions League Shocks

When the draw was made for the Champions League semi finals many fans were licking their lips at the prospect of an El Classico at Wembley to decide who were the best team in Europe.  After the first legs though it's looking highly unlikely.  Barcelona went to Munich to play FC Bayern and got absolutely spanked 4-0.  In the second semi final it was Real Madrid's turn to go to Germany and they too were on the wrong end of a beating, losing 4-1 to FC Bayern.

 

The Bayern v Barca game was something that will live long in the memory.  Barcelona have been the best team in Europe for the past few seasons and when Messi, Xavi and Iniesta click they are simply unstoppable.  Many teams have tried to find the formula to stop Barcelona but nobody had really managed it until now.  Not only did Bayern find a way to stop Barca but they also managed to find their weak spots in defence and in the end were fully deserving winners. 

That result was surprising enough but many fans were even more surprised when Dortmund handed out a similar beating to Jose Mourinho's, Real Madrid.  Most fans expected Madrid to have too much strength for the German's but if I'm honest I was less surprised at this result than I was at the Barcelona one.

 

I think I'm blinded with Barca bias but I have bought into the notion of Barcelona's invincibility and always believe that they can overcome any team in the world.  In the other tie, Dortmund had already got the better of Real in the group stages.  A 2-1 win in Germany and a 2-2 draw in Spain thanks to a late Mesut Ozil equaliser were enough to see Dortmund finish top of Group D with an unbeaten record.  They have managed to maintain that unbeaten record and with Real Madrid's up and down season I always believed they would have a chance.  

As it was Robert Lewandowski produced a master class, scoring four goals to give Dortmund a huge lead and one they are more than capable of defending in the Bernabeu.

With the second legs to look forward to all signs are pointing towards an all German Final but I have watched enough European football over the years to know that it's not quite that straight forward.  At least one of the two are going to get a very tough time of it.  Barcelona and Real Madrid are top class sides and they will throw everything they have at the German sides.  If one of them could get an early lead to get the crowd fired up it could suddenly become a lot harder than it should be to protect three and four goal leads.

BASKETBALL

NBA Playoffs

The NBA Playoffs got under way this week and so far they've went pretty much as expected.  The vast majority of games look like going with the higher seeded team with only the Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors looking like causing an upset.  

The Bulls lead 2-1 over the Brooklyn Nets at present with Game 4 due to take place in Chicago tomorrow.  Golden State are currently tied at 1-1 with the Denver Nuggets after splitting the first two games in Denver.  There's still a long way to go but the Warriors have given themselves a chance of progressing by taking home court advantage from the Nuggets.  

At this stage in the NBA playoffs it's mostly about gathering momentum.  With over half the teams in the league qualifying for the post season there's a lot of teams in there who have no real chance of winning a title and it'll be another round before things start to heat up.

In terms of teams that can win the Championship, it's impossible to look past the Miami Heat.  They won it last year and they look even better this year.  LeBron James is unplayable at times and in the unlikely event that one of their opponents find a way to stop him they can fall back on Dwayne Wade who is also capable of winning games on his own.  To win the title the Heat will most likely have to get past Chicago, New York and Oklahoma City.  Those three are all capable of beating Miami but not in a seven game series.

ICE HOCKEY

NHL

With the Stanley Cup playoffs just around the corner we are reaching a very exciting time in the NHL.  In the Eastern Conference there is little to play for with the eight teams already decided but things are a little more exciting in the West.  

Two of the Detroit Red Wings, the Minnesota Wild and the Nashville Predators will be in the playoffs.  With places in the playoffs up for grabs, the stakes are high enough but for me it's much more than that.  I'm a Detroit Red Wings fan and for me it's not about reaching the 2013 playoffs, it's all about keeping "the streak" alive.  

The Red Wings have reached the playoffs in twenty one seasons in a row which is a remarkable record but there's still room for improvement.  The Red Wings hold the current record for longest active streak by quite some distance but they still have a long way to go to match the Boston Bruins record of twenty nine consecutive playoff appearances throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. 

The Red Wings have given themselves a fighting chance of reaching the playoffs and a win in their final game of the season against the Dallas Stars would see them into the post season.  If they can pass that test then you just don't know how they might do.  Last year the Los Angeles Kings were playing desperation hockey in their last few games which led to them coming into the playoffs with a lot of momentum.  Could the same thing happen to this years Red Wings?  In hockey, you just don't know. 

Finally, thank you for taking the time to read this opening edition of the GJ Sports Blog Sportzine.  As this is my first time doing this I would very much appreciate some feedback.  I have a few ideas for other features to include in future editions such as a quiz and a look at lesser known leagues or clubs around the world.  I'm working with a blank canvas at the moment and would like to know what people enjoy reading, don't enjoy reading and what you would like to see in future editions.  Feel free to add comments here or on my Twitter page, www.twitter.com/gjsportsblog.

Celtic, What Now?

Celtic crashed out of the Champions League last week in Turin, as expected, but there's no reason that it should be all doom and gloom for the Scottish giants.  

It was a great year for Celtic in Europe and it has been a massive improvement on their recent adventures into Europe's top club competitions.  They hadn't reached the knock out stages of the Champions League since 2008 when they lost at the same stage to Barcelona.  In the years between there has been very little to celebrate.  In fact they have only progressed beyond two rounds in the last four seasons and one of those was when FC Sion were kicked out of the Europa League for fielding ineligible players.  It's easy to see why Hoops fans weren't brimming with confidence at the prospect of having to negotiate two qualifiers to earn a place in the group stages and a shot at the big boys.  

The campaign didn't have the best of starts when Celtic stuttered to a 2-1 home win over HJK Helsinki.  The doom and gloom merchants were out in full force talking about Celtic's poor away form and the importance of Helsinki's away goal.  Fortunately neither mattered as Celtic picked up a 2-0 win in Finland to put them into the Final qualifying round. Standing between Celtic and the group stages were Swedish champions,Helsingborgs.  The Hoops made light work of them and after a 2-0 win in Sweden they followed it up with another 2-0 win and Celtic were finally back in the big league for the first time since 2008.  

Celtic were handed a very tough draw in the group stages.  Club World Champions, Barcelona, Portuguese giants, Benfica and big spending Russians, Spartak Moscow.  Barcelona need no introduction, Benfica reached the quarter-finals last year and Spartak Moscow's squad included former Celtic star, Aiden McGeady.  On paper it looked like Celtic would do well to finish third in the group but Neil Lennon's men had other ideas. 

Celtic got off to a bad start drawing 0-0 at home to Benfica which had them on the back foot straight away.  However, a 3-2 win in Moscow got the dream back on track and left Celtic on four points from two games.  Next up was a double header with Barcelona.  Going into stoppage time in Camp Nou Celtic looked like earning an unlikely point but with the last kick of the game Jordi Alba netted from close range to break the hearts of Celtic fans all over the world.  In the home game things went a lot better and although Barcelona scored another goal in the dying minutes, Celtic were already 2-0 up by that stage and hung on for a famous victory.  Celtic travelled to Portugal in their penultimate game knowing a win would secure qualification to the knockout stages.  It wasn't to be though and Benfica ran out 2-1 winners to set up a nail biting finish to the group.  The equation was simple; Celtic needed to better Benfica's result in Barcelona in their home tie against Spartak Moscow. Benfica to their credit picked up a credible draw in Camp Nou but Celtic weren't to be denied and Kris Commons scored a late penalty to send Celtic into the last sixteen. 

The draw was once again tough on Celtic and they were pitted against Italian champions, Juventus.  Unfortunately, Celtic had met their match and Juventus ran out rather flattering winners with an aggregate score of 5-0. It was a tough game for Celtic and despite performing well for the majority of the tie Juventus had too much quality and progressed to the last eight.  

It was a fantastic experience for the team, the coaching staff and the fans. A lot of people will have a lot of happy memories from this year but it's gone now and I'm more interested in what happens next.  

It has become apparent since Neil Lennon has taken charge that the clubs transfer policy has changed.  For years Celtic have had a habit of signing older players with little or no sell on value.  Aside from a few free transfers in his first year in charge, Lennon has concentrated on bringing in younger players playing outside the top leagues with high potential.  This policy has saw players like Joe Ledley, Gary Hooper, Beram Kayal, Emilio Izaguirre,Fraser Forster, Tony Watt, Adam Matthews, Victor Wanyama and Efe Ambrose arrive at the club.  If anyone of those were to leave the club this summer,Celtic would see a handsome profit on their initial investment.

Many Celtic fans would like to see those players stay but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.  Some players will leave and the money generated from their sales will be reinvested into the next generation of young talent and a few of the current players will receive pay rises.  Whilst Celtic are in a solid financial position they are not in the position to throw silly money into transfer fees or players wages.  The majority of the other clubs in the last sixteen are paying individual players annual salaries in the same region as what this entire Celtic team cost to buy.  Teams in England's Premier League earn almost as much from the league's television deal as Celtic's entire annual turnover.  The numbers quite simply don't add up.  

Celtic as a club had to come up with a plan to maximise the clubs potential. Fortunately, they came up with a model similar in style to the one that Lyon used so successfully in the 2000s.  Lyon were in a similar situation, successful domestically but not making an impact on the European stage.  The club began developing young talent and after selling them on at a healthy profit, they reinvested in the next generation of young talent.  Some of this talent included names like Michael Essien, Florent Malouda, Juninho Pernambucano, Éric Abidal,Mahamadou Diarra and Karim Benzema.  Lyon enjoyed a great period of dominance in France as well as reaching three Champions League quarter-finals and a semi-final.  In their first year back in the Champions League, Celtic reached the last sixteen so I see absolutely no reason why reaching the Quarter-Finals in the next few seasons is out of the question.

As well as young talent on the pitch, Celtic also have a young management team. Manager, Neil Lennon is 41 and is assisted by Johan Mjallby (42) and Garry Parker (47).  If I'm completely honest I'm not 100% convinced by Neil Lennon.  I absolutely love the guy and regardless of how his managerial stint at the club turns out he has already earned his place in Celtic folklore but I find myself totally bemused at some of his decisions. In recent weeks he has made some increasingly bizarre decisions that I simply cannot agree with or even begin to understand. 

The biggest and possibly most costly mistake was the decision to play Efe Ambrose in the first leg against Juventus.  In hindsight it turned out to be a terrible decision but I can confirm that I am not simply jumping on the bandwagon.  I wrote a preview of the Juventus game and wrote "Efe Ambrose is a good player but I can't see how Celtic can put a player into the biggest game of the season who has had the lack of preparation that he has."  The Juventus game was the biggest of our season and the team won't have played the Inverness game on the Saturday and then started to prepare for the Juventus game.  They will have been preparing for that game for weeks and for all of that preparation, Ambrose was in South Africa representing his country.  I don't think many other managers would have played Ambrose in those circumstances and it was a gamble that backfired spectacularly. 

Another recent incident also involved Ambrose. He was substituted in the first half against Dundee.  He had made a few mistakes in that game and looked to be low on confidence. Celtic's following game was a top of the table clash with Motherwell.  The game was tight with the score at 1-1 when Lennon decided to bring on an out of form Ambrose.  If you want to build a players confidence the last thing you do is bring him into a big game like that.  Sure enough, Ambrose was at fault for the goal that saw Motherwell take the lead. Lennon still wasn’t finished though. Right after the goal he decided to put Victor Wanyama into defence and moved Ambrose into centre midfield.  At2-1 down Celtic were going to be pushing forward and needed their best players in more advanced positions.  I am completely baffled at what Lennon was thinking by effectively taking the one player who could drive the team forward out of his best position to play defence and replacing him with an out of form player whose confidence was at zero. 

Having said all this, in the European run Lennon did get his tactics spot on in most of the games.  I would argue that the Barcelona win went to his head a little and it led to him fielding a very attacking team against Benfica which led to us getting over ran in midfield which cost us at least a point but in the end it didn't matter.  He is a young manager and I genuinely hope he learns from these mistakes as I don't think there is a Celtic fan on the planet who could take any satisfaction in seeing Neil Lennon struggle as Celtic manager.  Nothing would please me more than in a few years time to be talking about how great a manager Neil Lennon is but as things stand the jury is still out.

Next up for Celtic is trying to secure a domestic double.  The league looks a certainty despite two league defeats in a row.  Celtic are fifteen points ahead of second placed Motherwell with just eight games remaining.  To be honest I would say Celtic have already got enough points to secure the title as the teams from second to eleventh are tightly grouped and have been taking points off each other on a regular basis.  To complete the double Celtic will have to beat Dundee Utd in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final and then the winners of Hibs v Falkirk in the Final. Obviously, Celtic will be hot favourites but there are no guarantees in Scottish football and Hibs in particular will fancy their chances as Celtic are yet to beat them in the SPL this season. 

This summer will inevitably see some players leaving.  I would expect Gary Hooper and Victor Wanyama to leave.  Both are exceptionally talented and in my opinion are ready to make the next step in their careers.  Celtic spent less than £3m to sign them and I would be expecting huge profits on both players.  The profits won't be as big as they may have been with both players contracts due to expire in 2014 but they should still pull in a combined fee in the region of £10-15m.  I would expect a good bit of that money to be reinvested but not necessarily on direct replacements.  Tony Watt looks like a younger version of Hooper and I would expect him to get more time on the pitch.  For Wanyama's place I would expect Beram Kayal to get an increased workload and the young Australian, Tom Rogic also looks to be one for the future.  Before Wanyama's arrival Kayal looked superb and he was being linked with some of the top clubs in the Premier League.  There's no reason why he can't rediscover that form if he gets regular games.

If newspaper reports are to be believed Celtic also face losing Joe Ledley, Fraser Forster and James Forrest in the summer. I don't think any of these players will leave this year.  Ledley's contract is up next year but unlike Hooper, he is already an established international and it's unlikely that he would get a move to one of the Champions League clubs so it’s in his best interests to stay at Celtic and I would expect to see him sign a new deal that will put him among the top earners at the club. Forster only signed for us permanently last summer and I would expect we will keep him for one more year at least. Forrest is still very young and I think his future in the game would benefit from another few years at Celtic. One player I think will leave is Efe Ambrose.  Things have turned into a nightmare for him since his return from international duty and I feel his indiscipline in Turin when he missed the bus to training will have been his last chance and going on his recent performances it's no big loss to Celtic. 

Even if Ambrose stays I think Celtic need to look to strengthen the defence,particular the central area.  Kelvin Wilson has progressed well in that position but other than Charlie Mulgrew, I have little faith in any of the other options. If we can bring in a decent centre-back and build from there, I'd be confident of another successful season among the cream of Europe's footballing giants.

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Manchester United v Real Madrid Preview

Tonight should be a great night for football fans as two of Europe's giants go head to head in the Champions League.  Manchester United and Real Madrid are arguably Europe's biggest clubs but there's only room for one of them in the Quarter-Finals of Europe's elite competition.  They drew 1-1 three weeks ago in Madrid to set up what should be a breathtaking night at Old Trafford. 

The game is packed with some of the best players in the world with players like Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie going head to head with Xabi Alonso, Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo.  It's not just on the pitch that world class competitors will be going head to head.  There will be another heavyweight battle in the dugouts as Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho do battle.  These two are right at the top in the management game and although there is a mutual respect between them, both are ultra competitive and would love to add the others scalp to their already overloaded CV's. 

I am a complete neutral in this one and have no love for either club.  In England and Spain I follow Leeds United and Barcelona so I am used to cheering against both sides.  Having said that, as a football fan I have a lot of respect for the players and coaches on show as there's not many better in the game.  All I can hope for is a good game, played in the right way by two world class sides with two world class coaches. 

My biggest fear is that the two sides will take a cautious approach and cancel each other out.  As much attacking quality as there is between the teams, the two coaches are more than capable of setting up their teams not to lose.  Fortunately, the 1-1 draw in the first leg means that a dull game would benefit Manchester United more and I simply cannot see Sir Alex setting up his team to play defensively against anyone at Old Trafford.  I have no doubt however that Mourinho will have a plan in place to spoil the game if his side score the first goal. 

Tactically, I would expect to see them both line up in the 4-2-3-1 formation.  United are without Phil Jones and I would expect Tom Cleverley to take his place alongside Michael Carrick in midfield.  Kagawa, Rooney and Welbeck should line up across the attacking midfield area supporting Robin Van Persie in attack.  Defensively, I would expect to see De Gea in nets behind a back four of Rafael, Evra and two from Ferdinand, Vidic and Evans.  For Real, I would expect to see Lopez in goal behind Arbeloa, Varane, Ramos and Coentrao.  In midfield Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira should provide the muscle to allow Ronaldo, Ozil and Di Maria to join Benzema in attack. 

I can see this game being one of the classics but as far as predictions go, I'll leave that to someone else.  It's almost impossible to call.  United could simply roll over a Madrid side who have struggled on their travels all year or Madrid could outclass United with their technical superiority.  Equally Ramos could throw the head up and get himself sent off or Ronaldo could once again grace a stage he has many happy memories of and send Madrid into the last eight.  You want a prediction?  Get a coin and flip it.  Heads says United win and tails says Real win.  It really is that tight. 

AC Milan v Barcelona Preview

Tonight sees two of Europe's biggest clubs go head to head in the San Siro in a huge Champions League clash.  AC Milan and Barcelona are two of the biggest names in European football and it promises to be a fantastic spectacle.

Milan have the better history in this competition but Barcelona will be favourites when you consider the two sides current standing in world football.  Milan have been on a downward slide in recent times as their players ages have caught up with them.  They are now bringing in some younger players in an attempt to build another great Milan side but surely it's too much to ask a transitional Milan to beat one of the best club sides of all time. 

This Barcelona team are without doubt the best club side I've ever saw but maybe if I was just a few years older I might consider the great Milan team of the early 90's a rival to them.  I remember that team in flashes and even watched the 1994 Champions League Final as a nine year old when Milan battered Barcelona 4-0.  I was a little too young to truly appreciate that team and the only other rivals to Barcelona in my generation would be the Galactico's.  It is no doubt tight but in my opinion this Barcelona team are better.  Older readers may point to old Ajax, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid teams but I'm too young to consider them. 

Milan and Barcelona met four times last year in this competition after being drawn together in the group stages and the Quarter-Finals.  Barca got the better of the battles last year with two wins and two draws in the four games. Since then Milan have lost Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, Alessandro Nesta, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva.  Gattuso, Seedorf and Nesta were all getting a bit old but Ibrahimovic and Silva are players that are irreplaceable.  If a team that included those five were unable to get one over Barcelona I can't see this current team doing the job either.   

For tonight's game, Milan's new star striker, Mario Balotelli, misses out as he is cup tied.  Barcelona are also without one of their strikers.  David Villa misses out but Barca have plenty of other attacking options and his absence will not be as crucial to Barcelona as Balotelli's is to Milan.  Both sides are in good form however.  Both are unbeaten in six games and after a slow start Milan have lost just one of their last thirteen Serie A games.  Barcelona's league form has been terrific and even at this early stage it looks as though it's just a matter of time before they officially take Real Madrid's league crown off them.   

I am looking forward to this game as I watch Barcelona on a regular basis so know exactly what they are capable of.  I don't watch a lot of Milan so I am eager to get a look at this new team but I would have to say that in the little I have saw of them I don't think they are close to being on the same level as Barcelona.  I think we could see another Champions League mismatch similar to last night's tie between Arsenal and Bayern Munich.  I have no doubt that Barcelona will come out on top in this tie and I would be quite surprised if they don't go home to Spain with a lead.

Celtic v Juventus Preview

The UEFA Champions League returns tonight and it promises to be a fantastic night at Paradise as Scottish champions, Celtic take on Italian giants, Juventus.  It will no doubt be a tough test for Neil Lennon's men but they should have nothing to fear.  They have already beat Barcelona at Celtic Park and came within seconds of a draw at the Nou Camp.  This is a special Celtic team with some special players and I hope they're not done with their European adventure yet. 

History would suggest that this will be a hard game for the Italians.  Celtic have faced two legged ties with Italian clubs on nine occasions and have never lost the home leg at Celtic Park.  Juventus have been to Paradise twice and lost on both occasions, most recently in 2001.  Celtic also have an exceptional record at home in the Champions League.  In 23 home games, they have lost just twice.  Both of those defeats came at the hands of Barcelona.  Neil Lennon spoke about bringing the thunder back to Celtic Park.  Not only has he succeeded in doing that, he has also gave the fans a team that can compete with the very best in Europe.

Juventus will most likely line up in their usual 3-5-2 formation.  They will be very strong throughout their team and will be very good technically.  Their midfield looks especially strong and will most likely include Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal.  The battle between Pogba and Victor Wanyama in the midfield promises to be epic.  Both are young men who are built like heavyweight boxers.  It should be a fantastic watch and the winner of that battle could end up being the difference maker in the eventual result.  Another man Celtic have to be wary of is Pirlo.  Pirlo is thirty-three years old now but he's the sort of player who could play until he's forty.  He's not the quickest player in the world but he doesn't have to be.  All the speed he needs is in his brain.  He has the ability to see things that most players don't see and he also has the technical ability to make the pass.  If Celtic stand back and let Pirlo dictate the pace of the game then they may as well concede the tie before kick off.  Pirlo is the sort of player who warrants special attention and Neil Lennon will need a plan to reduce his impact on the outcome.

Most Celtic fans seem to be favouring a 4-3-3 but I expect to see Celtic line up in the 4-4-1-1 that served us so well in the group stages.  If it was good enough to beat Barcelona then I don't see why we would change things now.  My line up would be as follows:

GK : Fraser Forster - He is a top class goalkeeper and with Joe Hart making mistake after mistake it should only be a matter of time before he is England's number one.

RB : Adam Matthews - Matthews is probably a better attacker than defender but his pace usually gets him out of trouble and he deserves a start.

LB : Emilio Izaguirre - Similar to Matthews in that his pace is his best asset in defending.  He hasn't been as good since his injury but is still the best left-back at the club.

CB : Kelvin Wilson - Wilson has grown into his role at the club and has come a long way since a poor start to his Celtic career.  He is quick too and it's an asset I like in a centre-back.

CB : Mikael Lustig - Realistically, if Nigeria hadn't done so well in the African Cup of Nations he would have been playing right-back but as it is I'd expect him to partner Wilson at the heart of the defence.  Efe Ambrose is a good player but I can't see how Celtic can put a player into the biggest game of the season who has had the lack o preparation that he has.

RM : Scott Brown - The skipper will most likely start on the right but with Juventus playing three in the middle as well as wing-backs, I expect we will see him drift from right to middle when required.  Personally, I'd put him in the middle and play Forrest here but I'd be very surprised if Lennon does that.

LM : Charlie Mulgrew - Mulgrew's set pieces will have a big impact on this game and he can play just about everywhere but for this occasion, I think the left wings the place for him.  Like Brown, I don't think he will be restricted to the wing and will come inside when required but he will start out wide.

CM : Victor Wanyama - What a find he was?  Wanyama cost peanuts when he moved to Celtic from Germinal Beerschot but he has been a fantastic signing and is a massive reason that Celtic are at this stage in the competition.  For anyone who still doubts how good he is, just watch the Barcelona games were he was the best midfielder on show in both games.

CM : Joe Ledley - Ledley's at his best when you don't really notice him.  He just quietly gets on with things but when he's played in centre-midfield he never lets the team down.

AM : Georgios Samaras - Obviously this depends on his fitness test but I would feel a lot better about this game if the big man is playing in this role.  In this position he will have two jobs to do.  Juventus will most likely have a lot of possession and I expect Celtic to be under pressure for large periods of the game.  When he get it, we have to make it count.  Samaras is the best player we have at holding the ball up.  He can carry the ball or just hold it up to allow the midfield to get out.  He needs to be our out ball and when used in this role he has always done well.  His second job and perhaps most important job, is to babysit Andrea Pirlo.  Pirlo is an expert at finding space in the midfield and we need Samaras to shadow him when possible.  If Celtic played a normal 4-4-2 or even 4-3-3, Pirlo would just sit in the gap between the defence and his midfield colleagues and dictate the play.  With Samaras on his tail, hopefully he won't be able to do that. 

CF : Gary Hooper - Hooper is perfect for this role.  He has pace, can play football when required and if presented with an opportunity, I'm backing him to finish it.  With three centre-backs for company it will most likely be a frustrating night for him but he only needs a second to score a goal and there's no better man for the job.

I would expect to see Kris Commons and James Forrest at some stage too.  Both are quality players and if it was up to me they would be in with a shout of starting but Neil Lennon has always favoured the cautious approach and it has got us this far so it's hard to complain.  One thing I would like to see Celtic do is try to force Juventus into a 5-3-2.  By going 4-4-1-1 and having Brown and Mulgrew out wide the Juventus wing-backs will have to be careful when going forward.  If Celtic played 4-3-3, the wing-backs could push forward knowing that there's three defenders to cover Celtic's forwards and Pirlo will be just in front of them to act as a spare man.  With a 4-4-1-1, the wing-backs will know that Celtic have Samaras and Hooper ready to attack as well as two wide men and that would leave the Italians short at the back.  By doing this Celtic will be narrowing the areas they have to defend and when required, Brown and Mulgrew have plenty of experience in central areas and will be more than capable of providing the necessary cover. 

Prediction - It's a hard one to call.  Celtic need to respect Juventus as they are technically superior but we are well capable of causing them problems.  I can't see there being a lot of goals in this one and can see 0-0 or 1-0 to either side.  I'll put my neck on the line and go with a 1-0 win to the bhoys in green and white.     

UEFA Champions League - Celtic v Spartak Moscow Preview

Celtic finish their Champions League group stage campaign tonight and they still have a great chance of qualifying for the knockout stage for the first time since the 2007/08 season.  The equation is simple, Celtic have to get a better result at home to Spartak Moscow than Benfica get away to Barcelona.  Barcelona are already through to the last sixteen and will rest Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Xavi, Andres Iniesta , Cesc Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez.  Having said that, Barcelona will still have a strong squad to choose from and they have a great record against Portuguese teams at home, winning their last ten.

Celtic cannot afford to worry about what happens in Spain and must concentrate on doing their own job.  Spartak Moscow have had a bad campaign but on their day they can cause problems.  Celtic won in Moscow which kick started this campaign and another win should be enough to take the hoops through. 

In the last game I believe Neil Lennon got the tactics wrong.  The win over Barcelona gave him the confidence to think he could go to Portugal and play 4-4-2.  The difference between the Benfica style and the Barcelona style is width.  Benfica play with wingers who have their heels on the touchline.  Barca don't rely on wingers and play a much more narrow style.  Even when they get the ball out wide, nine times out of ten they'll play it back to the edge of the box.  Against Barcelona Celtic played 4-4-1-1 and defended their own half and the width of the penalty box.  The 4-4-1-1 meant for much of the game they had ten men behind the ball, defending a relatively small area.  Against Benfica Celtic had to defend the full width of the pitch and the 4-4-2 meant they only had nine men behind the ball.  With less bodies and a larger area to cover, Celtic found it very difficult to contain Benfica.  Both sides dominated possession against Celtic but Benfica carried a bigger threat in the attacking third as they had more spaces to exploit.

In tonights game I would like to see Lennon return to the 4-4-1-1 that has served us so well in Europe this year.  I know it's a home game but I just don't think 4-4-2 works any more on the European or international stage.  The teams from mainland Europe are all technically better than the teams from UK/Ireland.  We see it in Europe all the time and England and Ireland experienced it in the Euros.  These sides all line up with one thing in common, three central midfielders.  It might be 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 4-5-1 but almost always, they will have three players in that area.  Most games are dominated by whoever wins the midfield and my opinion is if your opponents are technically superior footballers you have to try to win the physical battle.  No matter how physical your two central midfielders are, it's going to be an impossible task to win over three men.  The opposition will always have a spare man and they have the ability to find him.  Your two players are going to be chasing shadows and will quickly become ineffective.  Celtic need to line up with a forward player in a deeper role and they have a perfect player for that job in Georgios Samaras.  Samaras is quick enough to break out from midfield when Celtic win back possession and he is a great option to have as an out ball.  If Celtic use him right, I think Samaras could be the difference between winning and losing. 

The line up I would go with is as follows.  Frazer Forster is an obvious choice in nets and the back four will most likely be Mikael Lustig, Emilio Izaguirre, Efe Ambrose and Kelvin Wilson.  The midfield will pose the biggest problem for Neil Lennon but I would expect him to line up with Scott Brown, Joe Ledley, Beram Kayal and Charlie Mulgrew.  I've already mentioned Samaras in an attacking midfield role and I would play him just behind Gary Hooper who was fantastic in Moscow.  The only other option would be starting Kris Commons ahead of Beram Kayal and playing him on the right wing and putting Brown in the middle but I would expect Kayal to start.  I expect to see Commons come on for Scott Brown at some stage but I prefer him coming off the bench on European nights.  The suspended, Victor Wanyama, will be a huge loss for Celtic and everyone will have to give a little bit extra to compensate for his absence.  Wanyama has been outstanding this season and has been instrumental in getting Celtic to this point.

Win, lose or draw tonight I hope the Celtic fans get behind the team and we don't see a repeat of the criticism Neil Lennon has had to endure from his own support.  People have short memories and a wee bit of success goes to their head.  The league form has been poor but Celtic are most definitely not the first team to struggle to be competitive domestically and in Europe.  Better teams than Celtic have struggled to juggle the two competitions and with our former rivals no longer with us, we can afford to put all our eggs into the European basket for a few months.  Celtic are in a much better position than we were when Neil Lennon was appointed and in my opinion he is doing a fantastic job.  Lennon's team is a work in progress and this Champions League campaign will have made them better players and I can see bright futures in football for quite a few of the squad.      

When the Champions League draw was made I set a target of European football after Christmas.  We have already guaranteed that so let's raise the bar a little and lift the target to Champions League football after Christmas.  Either way Neil Lennon and his team have done themselves proud this year and I for one will never forget the joy and relief when that final whistle blew at Celtic Park on 7th November 2012.