Mounir El Hamdaoui for AZ Alkmaar (v Vitesse Arnhem), 18 April 2009

A huge congratulations today to Louis van Gaal's AZ Alkmaar side who yesterday became the Dutch Eredivisie champions. They suffered a surprising 2-1 defeat to Vitesse on Saturday, but Ajaz's failure to ebat PSV yesterday (they were hammered 6-2) handed AZ only their second ever league title.

They are actually the only team outside the Netherlands' "big three" (PSV, Ajax, Feyenoord) to win the top flight title since 1964 (AZ themselves won it in 1981) although they have been there or thereabouts for three out of the last four seasons.

After an inauspicious start to the 2008/9 season (AZ lost their first two games against NAC Breda and ADO Den Haag) they went on a twenty-eight match unbeaten run and have clinched the title and Champions League football with three matches to spare.

Whilst AZ are worthy champions, their march to the title has been helped by poor seasons for all three of the traditional Dutch heavyweights. Feyenoord have had a dreadful season and currently languish in ninth position. PSV have also been extremely disappointing, as have Marco van Basten's Ajax side who face an uphill struggle to qualify for the Champions League next season as they will likely face Steve McLaren's FC Twente side who have spent the vast majority of the season in second place.

Following a spate of "first time/unusual" league winners in Europe this season - the German and French leagues are still up for grabs - there seems to have been something of a sea change in the balance of power in some of the European leagues which, for me, makes things a lot more interesting.

Federico Macheda for Manchester United (v Sunderland), 11 April 2009

Hello all, it is predictions time again. Not long to go, now.

Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham
Middlesbrough 1-1 Fulham
Portsmouth 2-1 Bolton
Stoke 1-0 Blackburn
Sunderland 2-1 Hull
Man City 1-1 West Brom
Tottenham 2-1 Newcastle

and from the FA Cup (90 min results)

Arsenal 0-1 Chelsea
Everton 1-1 Manchester United

and from a very exciting, close Le Championnat (7 games to go, Marseille 61 pts, Lyon 60 pts, Bordeaux 59 pts....)

Bordeaux 2-1 Lyon
Lorient 0-1 Marseille
PSG 2-0 Le Havre

Neil Eardley for Oldham Athletic (v Carlisle United), 10 April 2009

Oldham Athletic's injury crisis worsened on Good Friday when 7 foot mascot Chaddy the Owl (better known as 34 year old Wayne Hurst) fell off a BMX bicycle when attempting an ill-advised wheelie prior to the League One tie with Carlisle United.

Chaddy ruptured ankle ligaments in the, er "accident" but did bravely maintain the mascot's unwritten rule that "you never remove your head in front of the crowd" by refusing gas and air from the attending St John's Ambulance staff.

He said: “I knew as soon as I hit the ground that I was in trouble. I was shouting to the stewards that I’d hurt myself but they were just laughing.” He was given a standing ovation as he was wheeled off the pitch.

Branoslav Ivanovic for Chelsea (v Liverpool), 8 April 2009

Good day, fellow prediction peeps. Tis that time once more.

Chelsea 2-0 Bolton
Liverpool 2-0 Blackburn
Middlesbrough 2-1 Hull
Portsmouth 3-1 West Brom
Stoke 1-0 Newcastle
Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd
Tottenham 2-1 West Ham
Wigan 1-1 Arsenal
Aston Villa 1-1 Everton
Man City 2-1 Fulham

and wildcards of ex-Premier League teams from Monday's League fixtures:

Norwich 1-0 Watford
Sheffield United 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Leicester 1-1 Leeds United

Florent Malouda for Chelsea (v Newcastle United), 4 April 2009

Newcastle United haven't been short of so-called "messiahs" over the years and the latest local hero to attempt to return the club to some sort of (largely fictional) "former glory" is none other than the man after who this blog was named.

It's hard not to be cynical about the appointment. Eight games remain with a difficult run-in and Shearer has been at pains to maintain he has only taken the job until the end of the season. No doubt the best part of a million quid helped the decision, but the fact that with so little of the season remaining he can either a) keep Newcastle in the Premier League to great acclaim or b) spectacularly fail, pocket the dosh and blame the previous management before hotfooting it back to the safety of the Match of the Day settee.

For a club trying to keep out of the relegation places it's hard to look beyond the senior executives when apportioning the blame. Considering the level of expectation associated with the club, 2008/9's management appointments reading: Keegan, Kinnear, Hughton, Shearer hardly sets the pulses racing. Shearer has himself little of the coaching qualifications expected for a job at this level.

The best Newcastle can hope for is a surge of optimism and belief that leads to them achieveing the wins they need to stay up. Such optimism was all but absent on Saturday though as Chelsea secured a fairly routine 2-0 win at St James Park. Newcastle are at Stoke next, and a failure to win that fixture would see them edge towards becoming odds-on favourite for the drop.

Having apparently resisted the overtures of his boyhood club before I am not surprised that he has made this shrewdly opportunistic move now. Like I say, he has nothing to lose (other than the pain he will supposedly suffer if the team go down. Yeah, right) and everything to gain. Still, if he succeeds in imparting his dirty tactics and constant haranguing of officials to his team, I suppose they have every chance.

Robbie Keane for Republic of Ireland (v Italy), 1 April 2009

You will notice from the sidebar that it's all of a sudden a bit tighter at the top than it was a few weeks ago. With a bonus 15 points available for correctly predicting the bottom 3 at the end of the season, it's all to play for.

And hello if you've googled "Alan Shearer" today (more on that appointment in due course)....

Arsenal 2-0 Man City
Blackburn 1-1 Tottenham
Bolton 2-1 Middlesbrough
Fulham 1-1 Liverpool
Hull 2-1 Portsmouth
Newcastle 0-1 Chelsea
West Brom 2-1 Stoke
West Ham 2-0 Sunderland
Everton 2-1 Wigan
Manchester Utd 1-0 Aston Villa

and some wildcards from the bottom of the Championship:

Barnsley 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Blackpool 3-1 Plymouth
Southampton 2-0 Charlton

Trevor Cherry for Leeds United (v Liverpool), 10 August 1974

The Damned United (15)

8.5 / 10

Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney

There have been a spate of superb football books written over the last few years and three of the best, coincidentally, concern Nottingham and one of its most famous local heroes. Gary Imlach's My Father And Other Working Class Heroes was set in the city, but the other two - one fact and one fiction - were based on one of football's most well-known characters. Duncan Hamilton's Provided You Don't Kiss Me was a personal account of spending twenty years in the company of Brian Howard Clough but it is David Peace's superb The Damned United that has attracted most attention.

A fictional account of the manager's forty-four days in charge of champions Leeds United, The Damned United drew controversy when it was denounced by both members of the Leeds team of that era and by Clough's family. For what it is worth, I thought that the book was terrific, and one of the best things I have read in the last decade or so.

The big-screen adaptation of The Damned United is softer than the book and tries to present more of a biographical look at Clough's early management years. Set in 1974 with flashbacks to his earlier Derby County years, director Hooper manages to successfully re-create the era and the atmosphere of the early 1970s and whilst the football sequences aren't perfect, the tone certainly is.

Clearly the subject matter offers solid gold material. Whatever your opinion of Clough (and I get the impression there is more affection for him now than there ever was at the time) there's no doubt that his outspoken wit and wisdom are much missed in this era of inane footballing platitudes. Michael Sheen does a fabulous job as a young Clough mimicking both his voice and idiosycratic behaviour perfectly. One of the finest character actors of his generation, Sheen brings a huge believability to the role and makes Clough into a more loveable figure than Peace created in his novel.

Supported by terric performances from Timothy Spall as assistant Peter Taylor and Colm Meaney (who is astonishingly good as grumpy Yorkshireman Don Revie), The Damned United is an absolute must-see. Considering my wife thought it was excellent and she knows nothing more of Brian Clough than seeing his name adorn the stand at the City Ground as she goes past on the bus, The Damned United is a triumph for all concerned.

Steven Gerrard for Liverpool (v Aston Villa), 22 March 2009

Oooh, it's "finger in the air" international fixture prediction time again!

Germany 5-0 Liechtenstein
Holland 3-0 Scotland
Israel 1-2 Greece
Lithuania 0-2 France
Montenegro 0-1 Italy
Portugal 1-1 Sweden
Republic of Ireland 2-1 Bulgaria
Spain 2-1 Turkey
Wales 1-0 Finland
England 3-0 Slovakia

and some wildcards from the England game

First goalscorer: Gerrard
England goalkeeper at the final whistle: Ben Foster
Minutes David Beckham plays: 45

Bobby Charlton for Manchester United (v Benfica), 29 May 1968

I have just finished reading the club part of Sir Robert's autobiography, imaginatively titled My Manchester United Years.

Whilst he's never been the most controversial figure in the world, I found it a really interesting read - as you'd hope from one of the finest footballers these shores have ever produced. From his upbringing in the North East (saving his pocket money to go and watch Newcastle United with his elder brother) to captaining United to European Cup success it is an interesting tale as much for the inisght to football in the 1950s and 1960s as it is about his own life.

As expected, the chapters devoted to the disaster at Munich are moving and emotional as he tells the story through the eyes of a survivor, confused as to why he was spared when so many of his talented team-mates perished in the accident. He also shares his all-time Manchester United XI with us (which, to be fair, contains few surprises.)

It's not a controversy laden autobiography lifting the lid on the internal workings of United but it is a charmingly modest and interesting story of one of the game's most famous and well-respected characters.

Fabio Aurelio for Liverpool (v Manchester United), 14 March 2009

It's like the 1980s in reverse. Liverpool would pretty much always win the title but United would occasionally beat them in the league along the way....

Blackburn 2-1 West Ham
Fulham 0-2 Man Utd
Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal
Portsmouth 1-1 Everton
Stoke 1-0 Middlesbrough
Tottenham 0-2 Chelsea
West Brom 2-1 Bolton
Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa
Man City 2-1 Sunderland
Wigan 2-0 Hull

Wildcards from a close Bundesliga title race

Bayern Munich 3-0 Karlsruhe
Hoffenheim 2-1 Hannover
Stuttgart 1-0 Hertha Berlin

Nemanja Vidic for Manchester United (v Inter Milan), 11 March 2009

I know I have said this before but there just seems to me to be something fundamentally wrong about English clubs making up half the quarter-final line up for the European Cup. It's supposed to be about different countries, different styles and yet we're liable to have Arsenal v Liverpool or similar in the quarter-final.

I just don't like it - I'd be much more interested in watching eight different nations going head to head than I am watching games I can see in the Premier League twice a season already....

Arsenal 2-0 Blackburn
Bolton 1-1 Fulham
Everton 2-0 Stoke
Hull 1-1 Newcastle
Man Utd 2-1 Liverpool
Middlesbrough 1-2 Portsmouth
Sunderland 2-1 Wigan
Aston Villa 1-1 Tottenham
Chelsea 2-0 Manchester City
West Ham United 2-0 West Bromwich Albion

wildcards from some random cup thingummies

AFC Telford 1-1 York City
Stevenage 2-1 Ebbsfleet United
Celtic 0-0 Rangers

Peter Lovenkrands for Newcastle Utd (v Manchester Utd), 4 March 2009

Hello all, it's predictions time again. A hotchpotch of league and Cups, this week.

Sunderland 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Coventry 0-2 Chelsea
Fulham 0-1 Manchester United
Arsenal 2-0 Burnley
Everton 2-0 Middlesbrough

Dunfemline 1-1 Aberdeen
Inverness CT 2-1 Falkirk
St Mirren 0-2 Celtic
Rangers 2-0 Hamilton

Wildcards from Austria:

FK Austria Vienna 2-0 LASK Linz
SV Red Bull Salzburg 2-1 SK Sturm Graz
SV Ried 2-0 Austria Karnten

And for five points per correct prediction at the end of the season - who's going down from the Premier League?

West Bromwich Albion
Middlesbrough
Stoke City

Yossi Benayoun for Liverpool (v Real Madrid), 25 February 2009

Nineteen points in it. Come on, chasing pack!

Arsenal 2-0 Fulham
Chelsea 2-0 Wigan
Everton 1-0 West Brom
Middlesbrough 1-1 Liverpool
Aston Villa 2-1 Stoke
Bolton 2-1 Newcastle
Hull 1-2 Blackburn
West Ham 1-1 Man City

and wildcards from the Carling Cup Final:

Manchester Utd 2-1 Tottenham
First goalscorer: Tevez (Man Utd)
First booking: Assou-Ekotto (Spurs)

Wayne Rooney for Manchester United (v Fulham), 18 February 2009

Is it a world record for Edwin van der Sar? Either way, 14 games? Bonkers.

Arsenal 2-0 Sunderland
Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea
Bolton 1-1 West Ham
Man Utd 2-0 Blackburn
Middlesbrough 1-1 Wigan
Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth
Fulham 2-1 West Brom, 13:30
Liverpool 2-0 Man City, 15:00
Newcastle 0-0 Everton, 16:00
Hull 2-2 Tottenham

the Champions League is back!

Inter Milan 1-0 Manchester United
Chelsea 2-1 Juventus
Real Madrid 2-0 Liverpool

John Carew for Aston Villa (v Slavia Prague), 6 November 2008

What is the point of spending an entire season successfully chasing a European place in the league (and in some instances plying six or so games in the Inter-Toto Cup in July) if all you're going to do is play a reserve side in the Cup the following season?

"The league is more important", you see. Important in the sense it qualifies you for European games you're not bothered about playing?

Mad.

David Villa for Spain (v England), 11 February 2009

Mumble, mumble, 2010 World Cup, quarter finals would be a fantastic achievement, Carlton Cole, really? lack of technical ability, Stuart Downing (giggle).....

FA Cup time this week. Anyone interested in watching Watford v Chelsea live on ITV on Saturday teatime? No, me neither.

Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Coventry City
Sheffield United 2-1 Hull
Swansea City 1-1 Fulham
Watford 0-2 Chelsea
West Ham 2-0 Middlesbrough
Derby County 0-2 Manchester United
Everton 1-0 Aston Villa
Arsenal 3-0 Cardiff

Wildcards this week from the Championnat:

PSG 2-0 St Etienne
Lyon 3-1 Le Havre
Monaco 1-2 Marseille

Fernando Torres for Liverpool (v Portsmouth), 7 February 2009

Two more casualties in the Premiership today with the expected sacking of Pompey boss Tony Adams and the unexpected departure of Luiz Felipe Scolari leaving Chelsea searching for their fourth manager in eighteen months.

Both sackings seem to be frankly ridiculous, for similar reasons.

Let's start with Adams. To be quite honest, I don't rate Adams' managerial skills. His reign at Portsmouth has lasted just over three months and he has presided over sixteen league games of which they have won just two. This is after an unimpressive earlier stint at Wycombe Wanderers.

Saying that, though, I really feel for him. The club's financial situation is precarious and the team have been playing resonably well, only losing to Liverpool on Saturday by conceding twice in the last few minutes. It's hardly like he has had the time or opportunity to stamp his mark on the side and if he was the right man for the job three months ago either it's a knee-jerk decision or the people who employed him got it totally wrong and should carry the can.

Scolari is in a similar boat. Expectations at Chelsea have been raised to an unattainable level under Abramovich - take the firing of limited but honourable man Avram Grant despite Chelsea being a whisker and penalty kick away from doing the Premiership/Champions League double last season. Chelsea are a mere seven points behind Manchester United and going well in the FA Cup and Champions League. Performances have dipped of late, but is seems pretty harsh to sack the manager with a team in that position (especially when they have no replacement in mind).

What's going on? The average tenure for a manager these days is, apparently, around 17 months. The financial pressures on promotion and relegation are so great that pretty much all management roles have become something of a poisoned chalice and only (and I mean only) instant and continued success seems to be good enough. Sacking managers with less then two dozen games under their belt seems completely ludicrous and undermines the whole essence of the role. Paul Ince got seventeen games as manager of Blackburn Rovers - Adams one less. Considering the long term success achieved by managers who get a fair crack of the whip (Ferguson and Wenger the two obvious examples, David Moyes a close third) I just wish club would pick a manager and stick with them through thick and thin. It took Sir Alex four years to win a trophy at Manchester United - in this day and age he would have been long gone by that point.

I appreciate that times have changed (financially) and that those pressures on chairmen are more severe than ever. I do think though that enough is enough though before we get to the stage where a manager gets a rolling contract for a game at a time which ends when they lose a match. Or why not get rid of the management role altogether and just let the players decide what to do?

Dan Gosling for Everton (v Liverpool), 4 February 2009

....Apparently. I didn't see it :-)

Ah, hello there. It's predictions time again, innit.

Manchester City 2-0 Middlesbrough
Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Aston Villa
Chelsea 2-0 Hull City
Everton 1-0 Bolton Wanderers
Portsmouth 0-2 Liverpool
Sunderland 2-1 Stoke City
West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Newcastle Utd
Wigan Athletic 2-1 Fulham
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Arsenal
West Ham United 0-1 Manchester United

Wildcards from League Two this week:

Accrington Stanley 2-1 Luton Town
Darlington 2-0 Wycombe
Gillingham 3-1 Bradford

Edwin van der Sar for Ajax (v de Graafschaap), 3 May 1998

Whether you like them or not, congratulations go to Manchester United and specifically their Dutch international goalkeeper who broke a longstanding English record on Saturday.

It has now been an astonishing 1,104 minutes since Edwin van der Sar picked the ball out of his net eclipsing the record set by the fantastically named Steve Death during the 1978-9 season.

It is a particular testament to the veteran keeper that he has done this behind a regularly changing defence, with the back four having variously included Nemanja Vidic, Gary Neville, Rafael da Silva, John O'Shea, Patrice Evra, Wes Brown and Jonny Evans during this run.

If van der Sar keeps West Ham at bay for 75 minutes at Upton Park on Sunday he will beat the current British record (held by Rangers' Chris Woods). A clean sheet against the Hammers will then mean that if the Dutchmen gets to the 65th minute against Fulham next Wednesday night without conceding he will beat the world record (currently held by Atletic Madrid's Abel Renso).

van der Sar has had a terrific career. He is Holland's most capped player and was the first non-Italian to keep goal for Juventus. He is also one of the few players to win the Champions League with two clubs, picking up winners medals with Ajax in 1995 and Manchester United in 2008. He has also won a UEFA Cup winners medal and six league titles with United and Ajax.

Many records have fallen during the Ferguson era, and for a team who have receive regular plaudits over the years for their fine attacking football it must be of great satisfaction to Ferguson that his side are also record-breakers for their defensive achievements. A model professional, I hope van der Sar makes it through the next couple of games with his luck intact as it would be a tremendous crowning achievement to a fantastic career.

Mido for Wigan Athletic (v Liverpool), 28 January 2009

Henry Winter today: "Manchester City failing to sign Kaka but getting Craig Bellamy is a bit like having a ticket for the Rio carnival but ending up at a karaoke night in Cardiff......"

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
Aston Villa 2-1 Wigan
Bolton 0-1 Tottenham
Fulham 2-1 Portsmouth
Hull 1-1 West Brom
Man Utd 1-0 Everton
Middlesbrough 1-2 Blackburn
Stoke 0-0 Man City
Liverpool 1-0 Chelsea
Newcastle 0-0 Sunderland

Wildcards from the Championship

Cardiff 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Preston 1-0 Sheff Utd
QPR 1-1 Reading