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Just over 24 hours to go till the Blue Army meet Cardiff in the FA Cup final, and the nerves are already jangling for me let alone the players and Harry.  The stress levels haven’t been helped by them losing their last four matches on the spin, where it looks as if they have been saving themselves for this weekend.  The problem is that form winning is a habit and once its broken its not that easy to get back.  Just ask Watford!

Harry has already pretty much said its not going to be a spectacle, saying that ten years from now nobody will remember the performance and much as he would love the team to turn it on the result is all that counts.  Honest but it doesn’t exactly whet the appetite for the neutral, although both sets of supporters will go through the wringer whatever happens.  Therefore an early goal might be just what’s required.

David “Calamity” James has admitted that his performances in previous finals has been poor (hence the nick name) but he has promised a good game this time round.  The problem is he has had a fabulous season - even I am forced to admit that - but his decision making in big games has always been an issue.  I think he cracks a bit under pressure, and will no doubt come for a cross or two he shouldn’t and if there is a one on one situation will almost certainly give away a penalty.  But maybe that’s just me be pessimistic….

On the upside, Sol Campbell has a habit of popping up to score in big games (although for England they tend to be ruled out for one reason or another).  So I’m backing him to score from a corner and Pompey to run out 1-0 winners.  Might have to be 2-1 if Calamity gives one away…

A quick word on the play offs before I go.  I was tempted into a bet on Watford to turn around their 2 goal deficit against Hull.  Not through any  affinity for Watford but because they were 10/1 and that looked like a good bet - at least for the first 40 minutes.  However, now that Hull have made the final, I hope they go on to win it, for reasons mentioned earlier in this blog - Mainly because they are just down the road and I might get to watch them play Pompey next year.

Also, a quick word about Leeds who were trailing 2-1 to Carlisle after the first leg.  Having blown £10 on Watford I was tempted to look at the  odds on Leeds to turn the tie around, but bottled it and never even looked at the odds, which I imagine were similar to Watford.  Another error as they duely did just that thanks to a 91st minute goal.  Again. I hope they now go on and win the final and then get back to the Premiership as I really enjoyed going to Elland Road last time and watching Pompey beat them in front of their own supporters!

So after the final day of the Premiership, its time to either lick your wounds or grab the paracetamol for the hangover after the celebrations. As expected the day was not without its drama.

Manchester United could have conceded a penalty and probably should have been playing the last hour with 10 men, but referee Steve Bennett managed to get 3 out of 4 big decisions wrong.

Overall though, Manchester United probably deserved it on the season’s performance and it became irrelevant with Chelsea conceding in injury time to ex-pompey boy Matt Taylor.

At the other end of the table, it panned out as I predicted last week, with Fulham, Birmingham and Reading all winning and as a result Fulham getting out of jail.

Now time for a little gloating - In January I predicted that the order of the top 4 would finish Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, and that Reading, Wigan and Derby would get relegated. Not bad eh?

I also predicted that Chelsea would win the Champions League and the FA Cup. I’m glad to say that I got the FA Cup part wrong, but I am still in the hunt with the Champions League. I just hope that Pompey’s abysmal run of form can be halted and that Harry can get them fired up for the final - I’ll face all manner of abuse if they lose.

Credit has to go to Sir Alex eyt another trophy, and his joy and excitement, made it look like his first - that probably explains why he has been so successful.

His post match interview was interesting - he thought Scoles second tackle was just a push (not the cynical foul that it was) - I’m sure that had it been a Wigan tackle on Ronaldo then he would have seen it differently. Incidentally - what was Ronaldo on? He must have stopped playing at least 3 times to appeal for a foul when he was hardly touched - I suppose its better that throwing himself to the floor, although not by much and no doubt Sir Alex will have a word with him prior to the Champions League final. It’s such a pity that such a great player is such a lightweight - if he had Rooney’s approach he would definitely be the best player in the world - as it is he falls short to Messi in my opinion.

Back to Sir Alex though. He once again showed he is master of the mind games, initially with his pre-match comments about Bolton being out drinking all week and not taking the game seriously. A blatant attempt to fire them up. Then with his “had we lost today it would have been tough to pick ourselves up for the Champions League Final” comment. Designed to stick the knife in to the Chelsea boys obviously. Let’s just hope both teams have a full squad to select from and its a cracking match.

A couple of surprises in the play offs too, with both Hull and Bristol winning away from home. “Come on ‘ull” as they say in East Yorkshire. Another Premiership side in the area can only be good news for us Pompey fans living in Yorkshire, who will only have a short drive to go and watch, and increase the banter with the local yokels.

The Messiah that is Kevin Keegan has been summoned to London for “clear the air talks” with Newcastle club owner Mike Ashley following his post match outburst on Sunday.

Newcastle were outclassed by Chelsea and went down 2-0 at home and Keegan stated that the best Newcastle could hope for was a UEFA Cup place next season, asssuming he is given some money to spend over the summer.  He pointed out that he had been made promises before, which were subsequently not fulfilled and although he was sure that wasn’t the case here, he hadn’t been told what cash was available.

The clear implication was that he wants Ashley to publicy state what he is prepared to spend.  KK is also trying to set expectations at the right level for the Newcastle fans who think they are a “big club”.  Having a lot of fans prepared to spend their hard earned cash on a ticket each week does not unfortunately make you a big club.  Big clubs win trophies and Newcastle haven’t done that for 2 generations.

Even if Ashley backs Keegan this summer it is unlikely that he will be able to find exactly the right blend of stars first time round. It takes a number of years to get the right strength and depth of players, and there will be times within that period where there are slumps - even Manchester United have been there when one or two stars fail to pick up the pace of the Premiership or take a season to settle in and get used to the climate in the North West.  (Maybe Thaksin at Manchester City should bear this in mind).
Therefore Keegan’s comments are sensible - the question is how will Ashley react?  My gut feeling is that Keegan was a sticking plaster brought in to appease the fans who were disillusioned with Big Sam and that he doesn’t hold Keegan in the same esteem.  He clearly wasn’t the first choice.  That, coupled with the strange appointment of Dennis Wise soon after, leads me to believe that Keegan will be lucky to be at the helm come the start of next season, and that a small cockney chap will make the trip downstairs to take over.  I’m sure the legions of Geordies will simply love that.

As predicted last week, Leicester joined Scunthorpe and Colchester in the drop to League 1, when they failed to beat Stoke on Saturday and sadly Southampton made it to safety.

However, all is still to play for in the Premiership, with the top 2 winning comfortably and ensuring a nail biting climax.  You would expect both sides to win, but last day nerves will play a large part and I for one, wouldn’t be surprised if Manchester United struggled against Wigan, while Chelsea have a slightly easier (on paper at least) home tie against Bolton who are now safe.

The bottom end of the table is even closer, with Fulham climbing out of the relegtion zone for the first time in weeks.  I predict that the final weekend will throw up some surprises though.
You would have to back Reading to beat the hapless Derby, which would give them 36 points and potentially save them.  But with Birmingham playing Blackburn and Fulham away to Portsmouth, I can see both teams getting something.

Blackburn are out of the race for Europe and despite the inevitable talk about “being professional”, they will have one eye on the summer holiday, so Birmingham may well turn them over and pick up 3 points, giving them 35 points.

Now normally I would say that Portsmouth at home would beat Fulham hands down. However, Pompey have definitely got one eye on the FA Cup final as their recent results have proved.  With only one week to go they will be even more nervous and therefore could well draw and even lose.

I’m off to see what the odds are on all three teams in the mix for relegation actually winning, which will mean Reading and Birmingham will go down of course.  That will make the last weekend dramatic in the extreme and traumatic for the supporters, who will all be hoping that 3 points will be enough to get them out of trouble.

I’m glad that Pompey are well out of it but can still remember that sick feeling going into the final day - makes fantastic entertainment for the neutral though so bring it on!

With all the drama and excitement of the Premiership it would be easy to forget about the final weekend of the Championship, which is also going down to the wire. I can’t think of any season where there has been so much to play for in both leagues going into the last couple of games and certainly not into the last one.

Tomorrow any one of 5 sides could still be relegated to league one, and only West Brom are definitely promoted, and they may not go up as Champions.

In one of the many ironies that get thrown up on these occasions, Sheffield United may end up helping their local rivals Sheffield Wednesday if they beat Southampton, who currently occupy the final relegation spot.  I’m sure sme of the die hard Blades fans would happily see their side lose if it meant the Owls went down.

Speaking as an impartial Pompey fan, I would of course be gutted to see the Scum (as they are affectionately known down south) sent down to League 1.  Especially as it may well happen in the same season that Pompey go on and win the FA Cup.  Sweet indeed, when you think a few years a go, Pompey almost got relegated to the third tier themselves and Southampton were a mid table Premiership side. Its funny how quickly things can change, as teams such as Leicester, Leeds, Charlton et al will testify.

In truth, I think Leicester are actually the team most likely to go down - at this stage of the season you want a team who has nothing to play for at either end.  Unfortunately for the Foxes they are away to Stoke, who need to win to be sure of making automatic promotion and to be in with  shout of going up as Champions.  Not really a game you want when you need a result.  Coventry and Wednesday, like Southampton have mid table sides and Blackpool who are the other team in the mix will face Watford, who are in a dreadful run of form and could well miss the play-offs having been runaway leaders at one point.

Having said all that, tension will play a major part and history has shown that final days have more than one twist and turn, with the form book being upset.  Whatever happens its sure to make compelling viewing.

So Manchester United and Chelsea fans, will be scrambling for visas, passports thermals and rubles in a bid to watch the first ever all English Champions League final - in Moscow…

At least if nothing else it will give the Chelski fans the chance to see the home of their benefactor, and the Russians to see the face of Capitialism up close and personal - English football fan style!

I was looking forward to both semi-finals but thought they might not live up to the hype.  Indeed, it can be argued that the quality was not really there in either match, but you would struggle to beat them for sheer excitement and drama - even for a neutral such as myself.

Manchester United missing Rooney and Vidic and with Ronaldo played below par really (with the exception of Tevez who was outstanding in my opinion).  However, they never really looked in trouble although with the away goals rule hanging in the air, they were playing on a knife edge right up until the final whistle.

This is the first time I have watched Messi properly by the way. How good is he?  Like Ronaldo only less flambouyant, stronger (i.e. doesn’t dive all over the place) and therefore more effective. The two of them in the same team would be incredible to watch.
It was probably quite fitting too that Paul Scholes  hit the winner, and it should be such a great strike, worthy of winning a game such as this.

I missed the first half of the Chelsea match, but this was probably hyped even more than the Man U v Barca match thanks to the pre-match jousting of Benitez.  I’m not quite sure what his intentions were unless it was to try and sway the referee, but all it did was fire up Drogba, who was already heading for orbit.  His  celebration after the first goal said it all really. “In your face Rafa” was the statement I believe!

Even more fitting than the Scholes goal was the Lampard penalty - if he had missed God only knows what would have happened.  But he didn’t and the rest as they say is history.

Liverpool must have though it was there year again after Essien’s goal had been ruled out just 2 mins earlier (correctly in my opinion - despite what you say Andy Gray).  It all added to the drama of the occasion though.

The only slight fly in the ointment was the incessant talk about taking off Torres and the reasons for it.  He was having a poor game (despite the goal) and Babel scored when he came on but that was never mentioned.  Had Babel’s goal proved decisive I wonder if the decision would have been vaunted as brilliant - I doubt it.  What was funny was the dismissive way Benitez justified the decision - “It was a “hamstring” - end of story.

What is less clear is the future of both Benitez and Grant.  Much as I hate to agree with Glen Hoddle, I think he is right and that even if Chelsea win the Final, Avram Grant will get sacked in the summer.  Abramovich has missed their two biggest games of the season - suggesting he has tired of the club or as Hoddle suggests the style of football.  He might have to make a decision though - does he want silverware or free flowing football in the style of Barcelona and Arsenal.  Both these teams are great to watch, but both notably have finished the season with nothing to show for it.

The worse case for Chelsea is that the Russian Billionaire has tired of the club itself and is about to discard it much the same way as a child might discard a toy.  If that’s the case and he doesn’t put any more money in, and cannot find a suitable buyer, they will be in serious trouble with the overhead they have.  Only time will tell.

I have a feeling that Benitez has had enough of the constant talk about his own job.  I expected a post match interview full of controversy and remarks about the penalty claim they had, which could have changed the last 10 mins considerably.  What we got was a very short “the players thought it was but the referee did not give it.  We have to forget it and move on”.  Is that the statement of a man who has had enough of the club and feels he is going to leave over the summer?

I wouldn’t be surprised if he does go after the way he has been treated and with the clear disagreement there is between co-owners.  Having said that, I would have expected Liverpool to do much better this year in the Premier League, and Benitez may have made a rod for his own back by focussing on the Champions League.

One final point on the treatment of managers.  What on earth is going on at Manchester City????

I have pleasure in saying that I had the joy of watching the Liverpool Chelsea match in the warm climate that is Mallorca on Tuesday night, whilst supping a cold beer or two.  Although not a classic, it had a bit of everything and kept me and a few locals entertained for a couple of hours.  For the life of me though I have no idea what Riise was doing and I’m sure his team mates and manager are wondering the same thing too.

You can say that it was on his right foot and he is left footed.  Two things though.  Firstly, even if he is left footed he only had to stick his right foot out and knock it over the line.  The worst thing that could have have happened is he might have spooned it into his own net….

Secondly, how can a player earning thousands of pounds a week in what is supposed to be the best league in the world, not be able to use both feet - even just a little bit?

Anyway, what the nugget has done is make it an interesting second leg, which I am already looking forward to.

I missed the Manchester United Barcelona match despite the best efforts of our pilot, who got us back 30 mins ahead of schedule and despite or bags being the first out - has that EVER happened before?

However, we were home in time for the highlights and much as I hate to say it Ronaldo/United were robbed.  The penalty he was given was probably the least obvious of the 3 and unfortunately I suspect his reputation preceded him on the other 2 claims.  But you reap what you sow!

Anyway, both sides will now fancy their chances and an early goal from Barca will lead to a great night of football.  Thankfully up to press I am around for both games next week, although sadly will be watching in the living room in Harrogate rather than a bar in Mallorca!

Their is a distinct possibility that County Cricket could have the stuffing knocked out of it by the new and lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL), which starts this year.

The ECB are taking a firm stance, refusing to allow the centrally contracted players to compete and refusing to modify the English County season to allow County players to take part. This could however, backfire on them.

I don’t doubt that the International Players will tow the line as the money on offer won’t merit them losing their England place, ( and I hope the pride of playing their country will play no small part).  However, for County players who have a limited window of opportunity when it comes to earning potential, the temptations may be too great.

This could lead to the better players leaving and thereby reducing the quality of the county leagues and ultimately damage the National side.  Maybe the ECB would do better to follow the New Zealand cricket board example and accommodate the players - they have allowed 5 players including the skipper to miss the start of the England tour so that they can compete.

This might be a solution which prevents the demise of English cricket, although would mean the ECB actually being a little flexible of course and move with the times.  So far only Mascharenhas has signed but the writing is on the wall.

Chelsea have made me out to be a liar by conceding during injury time last night with Wigan and virtually handing the title to Manchester United.

With 4 games left, even if Chelsea beat Man U they have to rely on them losing one or drawing both of the other 3 games - none of which seem likely. I love the quote from Avram Grant though, where he says “we need to win the games against Manchester United and Everton otherwise it will be more difficult”.  Avram you drop either one of those and its not difficult.  It becomes impossible you muppet.

Unfortunately should they fail to win the Premiership and or the Champions League title then they will Grant will probably lose his job over the summer, which is harsh.  I gave him no more than a month when he took over but I think he has done a good job with a team he has inherited (even if they are all “world class”).

Abramovich should give him the summer to put his own stamp on the team and the judge him on next years performance, but I suspect he wants results NOW and will look for a more high profile guy.

On other side of the coin last night was a great result for Wigan and Steve Bruce, who should now be safe. I thought the way he was treated by Birmingham was poor and had the horrible feeling he had made a mistake and was going back to the Championship.  However, he has reversed it and now believes he has the basis for a decent side, assuming he can add to it over the summer.  Overall like Mark Hughes, I see him as a underrated manager, who would probably do very well with a big club and could well be a future candidate for the job at Old Trafford once Sir Alex retires.

Tiger Woods bid for the much talked about Grand Slam failed at the first hurdle when South African Trevor Immelman won the US Masters by 3 strokes, beating Woods into second place, in doing so, he became the first person to wire to wire winner in over 20 years.

In true dramatic Masters style though we could not be sure of the winner until the final putt was sunk, even though the winning margin was so great.  With Augusta set up as tough as ever, the potential for seeing a 3 shot lead disappear in seconds was ever present as the Europeans proved.

Justin Leonard was the first to collapse seeing his lead disappear in the second round and only just making th cut before finishing 7 over parr.  Ian Poulter, having put himself in contention going into Saturday managed to hit 3 double bogeys in 3 holes to ruin his chances and then Paul Casey was unfortunate to move his ball at address, costing him a stroke and hurting him mentally.

The strain was so great that none of the leaders finished below parr on the day, with Immelman himself slipping from 11 under back to 8 under.  Nearly all of the players will be able to look back and say “what if” as if any of them had put together a decent final round they could now be sporting the Green Jacket.  It even looked as if Woods, who by his own standards missed a number of decent chances might force a play off simply by holding parr as all the other competitors pressed the self destruct button.

The sigh of relief was clearly visible when Immelman hit a straight drive on he last hole, but his heart must have sunk when he realised that his ball was in a divot hole.  The only one for yards. However, he kept his nerve and knocked it into the middle of the green and wrapped it up with a safe 2 putts.

So good news all round really.  Not only is all talk of the Tiger Slam now over, but it was wasn’t even another Amercian who beat him!