Newcastle United: Rolling Back the Years

I’ll admit it – my favourite team at the moment is Newcastle United. Who can blame me though? They’ve been sumptuous over the last few weeks and have reminded me of Keegan’s Newcastle of 95-97 and from the same side that was playing Championship football two seasons ago. The arrival of Papiss Cisse has breathed new life into the Premier League and given me a new cult hero to admire (he got a £6 haircut in Newcastle the other day). 11 goals in 10 games for the Toon Army suggests that he’s not too bad either! With Newcastle headed for Europe next season, I’m going to try and compare the key players in the current side to those from the mid 90s Newcastle and while it probably won’t work, we’ll give it a go.

Papiss Cisse/Faustino Asprilla

Like Cisse, Asprilla arrived midway through the season and made an instant impact with a great assist against fierce rivals Middlesbrough but that’s what the similarities end. Asprilla went off the rails a bit and his performances tailed off while Cisse seems to be very professional if slightly overwhelmed by the whole Geordie experience but Pardew appears have to dug up a gem. He’s been on the radar of bigger clubs for a while now but Newcastle have got a coup that could see them into the Champions League next season.

Yohan Cabaye/Rob Lee

Complete contrast of skills here – Cabaye with his continental flair versus Lee’s industrial play in the centre of the park. Cabaye has been a revelation since arriving on Tyneside. With the fans still upset at the loss of Kevin Nolan to West Ham, Cabaye came in and impressed with his superb vision and passing ability. Back in the 90s, Rob Lee was declared the best midfielder in Britain by Keegan and was a lynchpin of the team. He’s no match for Cabaye though as yesterday’s performance against Stoke demonstrates – if Newcastle can hold onto him then they will be a threat for years to come.

Hatem Ben Arfa/David Ginola

Two players who are strikingly similar – except for the hair. Both French, both demons down the wing and both great crossers of the ball. Ben Arfa is the Ginola of today and hopefully will go on to be as influential to the English game as the long-haired wonder was. After suffering a broken leg last season, he’s shown the potential that he always had throughout this campaign. I wouldn’t bet on him starring in a L’Oreal advert though…

Demba Ba/Les Ferdinand

Remember Demba Ba at West Ham? Me neither but at Newcastle he was something of a revelation during the first half of the season, scoring at a similar rate to Big Les. He’s gone off the boil a bit since the arrival of Cisse as he’s been played on the left wing but he’s still an integral part of the team. Ferdinand joined for £6 million in 1995 and went on to form a great partnership with Alan Shearer and Newcastle fans will be hoping the Senegalese duo of Ba and Cisse can do the same.

I’d like to think that the Newcastle of today aren’t too dissimilar to the Keegan team and it’s an exciting time to be a Newcastle fan right now. I’d love to see them finish fourth and get Champions League football but I worry that the fans would want too much of the team if they did that. For neutrals like me, they’re an absolute pleasure to watch and I wish them every success for the rest of the season.

Bahrain Grand Prix Preview

It's back - the Vettel finger makes its 2012 debut

After weeks of debate and controversy, the F1 circus finally roared into action on the Sakhir International Circuit. For Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel it was a return to his form of 2011 as he clinched his 31st pole position of his young career after a stunning lap. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton was edged out by less than one tenth of a second with Mark Webber underlining the leap that Red Bull have made this weekend by lining up third. Interestingly, the pre-qualifying favourite Nico Rosberg saved a set of soft tyres for the race and will line up fifth despite a couple of niggly mistakes on his final lap. Here’s how qualifying went:

Qualifying 1

The front-running teams took the gamble to run the prime tyre in Q1, trying to save the softs for the more competitive second session. It initially looked as though the gamble would pay off as the track was dusty and the softs simply didn’t provide any grip. In the last few minutes though and with the track constantly evolving, the time was right to make the switch onto the quicker tyres and a whole host of drivers including Massa, Webber, Vettel, Perez and Grosjean all chose to do just that. Hamilton, Button, Alonso and Michael Schumacher elected to stay in the garage and try to scrape through on the medium compound tyres. For Schumacher, it was the wrong decision as Heikki Kovalainen put in an absolute stunner of a lap, finding 1.5 seconds to send the 7 times World Champion out in the very first session. Schumacher blamed a broken DRS system but either way, he’s going to have a lot of work to do just to make the points tomorrow afternoon.

Eliminated:

• 18th Michael Schumacher (Mercedes AMG Petronas) 1:34.865
• 19th Jean-Eric Vergne (Scuderia Toro Rosso) 1:35.014
• 20th Vitaly Petrov (Caterham F1) 1:35.823
• 21st Charles Pic (Marussia F1) 1:37.683
• 22nd Pedro de la Rosa (HRT F1) 1:37.883
• 23rd Timo Glock (Marussia F1) 1:37.905
• 24th Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F1) 1:38.314

Qualifying 2

Q2 has become almost as important as Q3 this season with the field separated by virtually nothing and it was no different this time. Less than a second covered top spot down to 15th in Q2 with only Caterham’s Kovalainen further back than that with Pastor Maldonado not setting a time meaning he will start 22nd after a penalty for changing his gearbox. Anyone could have been knocked out here and for a long period of time it seemed as though both Ferrari’s, both Lotus’ and even eventual pole-sitter Vettel could be eliminated. Both Ferrari’s and Romain Grosjean elected to put on a fresh set of options to make the top 10 while a couple of impressive laps from Paul di Resta and Daniel Ricciardo ensured that they outqualified their respective team-mates by a mile. Alonso improved, Massa didn’t while Raikkonen stayed in the garage to save a set of options for the race and he escaped a poor grid slot by ending up 11th. Kamui Kobayashi and Nico Hulkenberg couldn’t match their team-mates but Grosjean could while Senna complained of balance issues as he ended up 15th.

Eliminated:

• 11th Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus F1) 1:33.789
• 12th Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber F1) 1:33.806
• 13th Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India) 1:33.807
• 14th Felipe Massa (Scuderia Ferrari) 1:33.912
• 15th Bruno Senna (Williams F1) 1:34.017
• 16th Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham F1) 1:36.132
• 17th Pastor Maldonado (Williams F1) No time (5 place grid penalty, will start 22nd)

Qualifying 3

All eyes were on Nico Rosberg here. Having been quickest in FP2 and FP3, he was expected to claim a second consecutive pole position but it simply wasn’t to be. He had one timed run, trying to save his tyres as much as possible from Mercedes well documented tyre woes. He also ensured he kept a fresh set for the race tomorrow so he’ll be one to watch. Further back, Daniel Ricciardo sent a huge message to Red Bull by getting into 6th place on the grid with a great lap, 12 places ahead of his team-mate and less than half a second off pole. Alonso and di Resta sat out the session with the latter’s performance lifting the spirits of a team that has had a troubled past few days. For the majority of the session, it seemed as though Hamilton would be in line to secure his third pole of the season but then the Red Bulls decided to show their hand. Webber went fastest before Vettel produced another smooth and controlled lap that so typified his march to the 2011 title. Hamilton managed to split the Red Bulls before Rosberg’s mistakes left him behind Jenson Button. Grosjean and Perez rounded out the top eight and they will be hoping that they can come home with a good haul of points.

Top 10:

1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) 1:32.422
2. Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) 1:32.520
3. Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) 1:32.637
4. Jenson Button (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) 1:32.711
5. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG Petronas) 1:32.821
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Scuderia Toro Rosso) 1:32.912
7. Romain Grosjean (Lotus F1) 1:33.008
8. Sergio Perez (Sauber F1) 1:33.394
9. Fernando Alonso (Scuderia Ferrari) No time
10. Paul di Resta (Sahara Force India) No time

Daniel Ricciardo put in a great lap to end up sixth.

When I started writing these previews I thought I’d get sick of the monotony of putting P1. S.Vettel after every qualifying session but I’m actually quite pleased to see his name on top of the timesheets. It just adds an extra dimension to the long championship battle. Also, 8 tenths between P1 and P15 in Q2? This is the sort of close racing that F1 has been crying out for.

Another thing that F1 has been crying out for is for one of the ‘new’ teams to make the jump to the midfield and Kovalainen’s Q1 lap today is about as close as it’s got; it really was stunning. Special mention to Daniel Ricciardo for an absolutely stellar performance today. He outdrove the car and would love to see him get a few points for his troubles but crucially for him, Red Bull must surely look no further than the young Australian when Webber retires.

What worries me about the race tomorrow is not just the security issues but the fact that the race itself could be a bit of a snorefest. The Sakhir circuit isn’t exactly renowned for its overtaking opportunities and the Red Bull has demonstrated the best race pace on the grid so putting it on pole is giving it a bit of an unfair advantage. I expect Vettel to do what he did throughout last year and control the race from the front. If the different strategies up and down the grid provide some excitement then at least we’ll have some entertainment but I’m not holding my breath for a thriller.

For what it’s worth my predictions are:

1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2. Jenson Button (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes)

With empty grandstands and continued violence in Bahrain, the F1 community has to be questioning whether it was all worth it when the race is said and done.

Nico Rosberg Finally Breaks His Duck in F1

Nico Rosberg tastes success for the first time in F1

Three races into the 2012 Formula 1 season and we’ve seen three different winners. Nico Rosberg became the latest of them as he eased to his first victory in the sport, becoming the 103rd driver in history to win a Grand Prix. Behind him, the McLaren’s made up for a poor pitstop and a poor grid slot respectively to finish on the podium.

The cooler conditions in Shanghai aided Mercedes’ relatively high level of degradation and allowed Rosberg to take a two-stop strategy that the others couldn’t match. For a while it seemed as though it could even be a Silver Arrows 1-2 but a loose wheel nut at the first round of stops cost Michael Schumacher the chance to make the podium. The race then boiled down into a battle of strategy with the field split between two and three stoppers and it wasn’t until the closing laps that the final order started to take shape. Those on a three stop strategy had to take risks when it came to overtaking and that made for fascinating viewing. Button, on a three stop strategy, was Rosberg’s closest threat but we were robbed of the grandstand finish that we had hoped for when a issue getting the left rear tyre off in his third stop cost him valuable seconds.

Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen was second by this point but hanging onto his tyres by the skin of his teeth and once Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was passed he gave up the ghost and dropped down to 14th just two laps later. Vettel then battled to hold back the two McLarens who were on much fresher tyres but had to settle for fifth as both they and his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber got past the reigning World Champion. Behind them, Romain Grosjean impressed on his way to sixth having only completed a total of 7 laps this season. Bruno Senna once again underlined his potential and grabbed a good haul of points in seventh ahead of team-mate Pastor Maldonado. Fernando Alonso couldn’t produce the performance that led him to victory in Malaysia but ensured Ferrari’s damage was limited while Kamui Kobayashi ensured that Sauber have scored at every race so far this season by coming home in 10th. The attention was all on Rosberg though as he reveled in the sweet taste of victory after 111 race starts.

Provisional Classification:

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG Petronas) 1hr36:26.929
2. Jenson Button (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) + 20.626
3. Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) + 26.012
4. Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) + 27.924
5. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) + 30.483
6. Romain Grosjean (Lotus F1) + 31.491
7. Bruno Senna (Williams F1) + 34.597
8. Pastor Maldonado (Williams F1) + 35.643
9. Fernando Alonso (Scuderia Ferrari) + 37.256
10. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber F1) + 38.720
11. Sergio Perez (Sauber F1) + 41.066
12. Paul di Resta (Sahara Force India) + 42.273
13. Felipe Massa (Scuerdia Ferrari) + 42.700
14. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus F1) + 50.500
15. Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India) + 51.200
16. Jean-Eric Vergne (Scuderia Toro Rosso) + 51.700
17. Daniel Ricciardo (Scuderia Toro Rosso) + 1:03.100
18. Vitaly Petrov (Caterham F1) + 1 Lap
19. Timo Glock (Marussia F1) + 1 Lap
20. Charles Pic (Marussia F1) + 1 Lap
21. Pedro de la Rosa (HRT F1) + 1 Lap
22. Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F1) + 2 Laps
23. Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham F1) + 3 Laps

Not Classified:

• Michael Schumacher (Mercedes AMG Petronas) – Loose wheel, Lap 16

Drivers Championship Standings:

1. Lewis Hamilton – 45 Points
2. Jenson Button – 43 Points
3. Fernando Alonso – 37 Points
4. Mark Webber – 36 Points
5. Sebastian Vettel – 28 Points
6.  Nico Rosberg – 25 Points
7. Sergio Perez – 22 Points
8. Kimi Raikkonen – 16 Points
9. Bruno Senna – 14 Points
10. Kamui Kobayashi – 9 Points
11. Romain Grosjean – 8 Points
12. Paul di Resta – 7 Points
13. Jean-Eric Vegne – 4 Points
14. Pastor Maldonado – 4 Points
15. Daniel Ricciardo – 2 Points
16. Nico Hulkenberg – 2 Points
17. Michael Schumacher – 1 Point

Constructors Championship Standings:

1. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes – 88 Points
2. Red Bull Racing – 64 Points
3. Scuderia Ferrari – 37 Points
4. Sauber F1 – 31
5. Mercedes AMG Petronas – 26 Points
6. Lotus F1 – 24 Points
7. Williams F1 – 18 Points
8. Sahara Force India – 9 Points
9. Scuderia Toro Rosso – 6 Points

Analysis and Comment

Well, I suppose we can only start by talking about Nico Rosberg. Boring I know seeing as every other sports news outlet has done the same but it’s great to see him get his first win after being the nearly man for so long. Yes he was helped by the conditions but he still put in a performance that was scarily reminiscent of Vettel last year. It was a shame that we didn’t get to see Rosberg vs Schumacher pan out over the course of the race but hopefully there’ll be more chances for that throughout the season. One negative note regarding Mercedes’ chances in Bahrain is the fact that the track temperature will be over double what it was in China and as we have seen in Australia and in qualifying in Malaysia, the W03 does not handle tyre degradation on warm tracks well at all. It’s a bit weird because when Mercedes were Brawn GP way back when, that is the very area that they had great success with. They actually struggled at tracks like Silverstone and in Germany because they couldn’t get the heat into the tyres but now it seems as though they’ve gone too far the other way and get too much heat in their tyres on the average track. It’s a shame because they’ve probably got the fastest car in qualifying trim but they can’t always utilise that performance on the Sunday.

He might be leading the World Championship but Lewis Hamilton won't be able to win it by settling for third every race.

McLaren will look back on this weekend with some disappointment just like they did in Malaysia. Without Hamilton’s grid penalty he could have challenged Rosberg all the way and if Button hadn’t had that costly pitstop error and then been held up by Raikkonen and Vettel for so long, we might have had a late challenge. Despite that they still outscored their rivals in the Constructors Championship and left China with Hamilton and Button first and second in the Drivers Championship. My biggest concern for McLaren is that they are not taking enough of an advantage of the fact they have the best all-round car on the grid and that when the likes of Red Bull introduce upgrades that they might lose that advantage. Also if we’re going to see tracks that suit different cars (about time too!) then losing a race that they should have won like in Malaysia could come back to haunt them. I also have a problem with Hamilton’s suggestion that he’s targeting points finishes instead of victories. He’s become the Prost to Button’s Senna; one always pushing for the win and one settling for third, fourth, fifth or sixth as long as it guarantees points. How times have changed!

Down at Ferrari, it’s been another bitterly disappointing race weekend. Alonso got home with 2 points but yet again Felipe Massa failed to score leaving him as the only driver from the ‘established teams’ on no points. As you know, there’s been a lot of talk of him being replaced (we’re no exception) and even Felipe looks like his enthusiasm has gone. I’m excited to see what Ferrari are going to bring to Europe after these flyaway races as there’s been talk of a completely re-designed car. If that’s true and more importantly if it works then just how precious will Fernando Alonso’s victory in Malaysia prove to be?

Finally onto the contentious issue of the Bahrain Grand Prix. It’s been in the headlines for a while now and it’s still a sensitive issue about whether the F1 grid should be heading to Manama in the first place. Personally I think that politics and sport should be kept separate except in times of humanitarian crises and I class Bahrain as a brewing humanitarian crisis. I know the teams have an obligation to the FIA who have sanctioned the race because Bahrain pays an extortionate amount to host a Grand Prix. Also the race hasn’t exactly got a track record of being  haven of F1 excitement and you have to question if it is worth all the hassle just to watch a procession of Formula 1 cars. I’d have it scratched off the calendar and a replacement race staged at one of the classic European racetracks instead but Bernie isn’t going to go for that.

UPDATE: I actually held off publishing this blog until it’d been confirmed that we were definitely going racing in Bahrain (and also because of an influx in Uni work). The incident involving four Force India mechanics on Wednesday night has re-affirmed the security fears and pretty much rendered the event a farce with the team sitting out second practice this afternoon. Despite what Bernie and the Crown Prince of Bahrain say, this will be remembered along with Indianapolis in 2005 as a black stain on the sport.

Chinese Grand Prix Preview

Nico Rosberg looks absolutely delighted after claiming his first ever pole position while Schumacher displays his humorous side

Three weeks since the last Grand Prix and on the face of today’s qualifying the pecking order has changed once again this season. The two Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher will line up first and second on the grid after their clever DRS/W-duct device came to fruition in Shanghai. Kamui Kobayashi of Sauber put in an absolute blinder of a lap to seal third position ahead of World Champions Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button. Lewis Hamilton was provisionally second but a five place grid penalty for a changed gearbox relegated him to seventh. The big surprise of the day though was Sebastian Vettel only managing 11th place on the grid as he continues to struggle with his new RB8 machine.

Rosberg’s lap was perfect and no-one would have got near him today anywhere but Schumacher must fancy his chances tomorrow. Mercedes problem will be, as ever, keeping the rear tyres in good shape as their DRS device seems to cause accelerated degradation. If they do that and can build up enough of a gap to the cars behind in the first stint then it should be a Mercedes victory. My personal tip for the race is Raikkonen. The Lotus is nicely balanced, handles its tyres well and has good race pace in any weather; all Raikkonen needs to do is pass Kobayashi into the first couple of corners and get at the Mercs but whether he can do that is a whole different kettle of fish.

Kobayashi is a great talent and has finally been rewarded with a decent grid slot in what appears to be the surprise package of the season. He’s been quick all weekend and if he wasn’t such an average wet weather driver then I’d back him but something just tells me that he’ll fall short. That’s another thing: the weather this weekend. Well for race day there is a 50/50 chance of rain but more importantly it is meant to be cool which should suit the Mercedes and the McLarens who both seem to generate and maintain tyre temperature. It’ll give some hope to Ferrari too who seemingly shred their tyres at an alarming rate. If it does rain though Jenson Button, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton will all be licking their lips.

Sebastian Vettel casts a disappointed figure after he is eliminated from Q2

And what of Sebastian Vettel who dominated last season’s championship? Well, his session came to an abrupt end as he failed to improve on his time at the end of Q2, the Red Bull not looking as strong as its rivals on the softer tyre. Intertestingly, Vettel and Webber are running different exhaust layouts this weekend, Vettel is using the simpler design debuted in the first three pre-season tests while Webber is using the more advanced exhaust that was used in the final Barcelona test and for the first two races. Neither exhaust seems to be providing the  miracle that Red Bull need to recoup their lost qualifying pace. Whether Vettel can put up with finishing lower down the order than he’s used to remains to be seen but his loss is our gain as the racing this year has been faaaaaantastic as Murray would say.

One quick word on the Massa/Perez situation. Massa was again eliminated in Q2 and looks increasingly isolated at Ferrari as the entire team galvanises behind Alonso, trying to make the most of his fortuitous championship lead. Perez is now as certain as anything to make the switch to Ferrari after impressing at Malaysia three weeks back but the question is when? Well, with Sauber wanting to hold onto him and Perez seemingly happy to wait it out until the end of the season when Ferrari can give him a better car, it seems as though Massa has a brief reprieve. He’ll be out at the end of the season but from his side it’s all about negotiating with as big a team as possible – maybe Lotus or Sauber themselves – but he is a man who is resigned to defeat. It seems as though he’s lost all drive to try and oust Alonso as the number one driver and will spend the rest of the year trundling about in the midfield.

Provisional Grid

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG Petronas) 1:35.121
2. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes AMG Petronas) 1:35.691
3. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber F1) 1:35.784
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus F1) 1:35.898
5. Jenson Button (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) 1:36.191
6. Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) 1:36.290
7. Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) 1:35.626 (5 place grid penalty)
8. Sergio Perez (Sauber F1) 1:36.524
9. Fernando Alonso (Scuderia Ferrari) 1:36.622
10. Romain Grosjean (Lotus F1) No Q3 time set Q2: 1:35.903
11. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) 1:36.031
12. Felipe Massa (Scuderia Ferrari) 1:36.255
13. Pastor Maldonado (Williams F1) 1:36.283
14. Bruno Senna (Williams F1) 1:36.289
15. Paul di Resta (Sahara Force India) 1:36.317
16. Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India) 1:36.745
17. Daniel Ricciardo (Scuderia Toro Rosso) 1:36.956
18. Jean-Eric Vergne (Scuderia Toro Rosso) 1:37.714
19. Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham F1) 1:38.463
20. Vitaly Petrov (Caterham F1) 1:38.677
21. Timo Glock (Marussia F1) 1:39.282
22. Charles Pic (Marussia F1) 1:39.717
23. Pedro de la Rosa (HRT F1) 1:40.411
24. Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F1) 1:41.000

Predictions time and after picking the winner in the Grand National earlier, I’m feeling lucky. So I’ll go for:

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus F1)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes)
3. Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from F1 in 2012, it’s that it is almost entirely unpredictable so don’t bombard your bookie with that top three claiming it’s a sure-fire thing.

All that remains to say is to enjoy the race, and the early start for those of you dedicated enough to scrap your Sunday lie-in, and I’ll be back tomorrow night with a review of the action!

The Premier League Can No Longer Lay Claim to Being the Best League in the World

For a long time now there has been an arrogance in English football that the English Premier League is the best league in the world. The clubs, the players, the media and the fans all are entirely convinced that the football they are seeing is better than anything else out there. Yet, with only one English club left in any European competition, can that still be the case?

The logo depicts itself as a beacon to the rest of the footballing world, but just how true is that?

There was a time when that was certainly true. The days of Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney at United and Drogba, Terry and Lampard all in form at Chelsea proved that no-one could touch the Premier League. In addition, there were Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs sides who were improving all the while and a tightness around the mid-table. All this culminated in the 2008 Champions League final in Moscow between, you guessed it, Man United and Chelsea. The tight 1-1 draw followed by United edging the penalty shootout was supposed to reflect the fact that at the pinnacle of English football the defences are rock solid, the midfield is a fountain of creativity and the strikers are capable of the most spectacular goals. Of course what we know now is that Premier League football has a habit of being defensive and at times desperate.

This isn’t a problem confined to the Premier League though. Serie A, once that brilliant and unpredictable league that everyone tucked into their Sunday lunch with, now is a shadow of its former self. Where the best players in the world once roamed, only a few really top class players remain and the game is still trying to forget the unfortunate match-fixing scandal of a few year’s ago. I’m not saying that English clubs are going to get embroiled in anything like that but a look north of the border at what has happened to Rangers might just provide a wake up call to many of the teams. If just one big club goes under and there is an outflow of the foreign owners, what will happen then?

I’ve been banging on to anyone who’ll listen that the Spanish became the home of the best football on the planet as soon as Real Madrid and Barcelona opened their pockets and brought players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Alexis Sanchez, Fabregas and Xabi Alonso over to La Liga. Having the three best players in the world for the last few seasons playing in La Liga has raised the entire standard of Spanish football. Por ejemplo (full of surprises aren’t I?) just look at Atheltic Bilbao’s brutal dismantling of Manchester United a few weeks ago. United, leading the Premier League and supposedly England’s best club, were outplayed and out-thought both at home and away. Bilbao played some scintillating stuff while United very often resorted to long ball tactics – not exactly dynamic is it? Meanwhile, Bilbao have tonight secured their place in the semi-finals of the Europa League with another impressive win over Schalke. This from a team who three years ago played a friendly against my local team, Colchester United and were very much cannon fodder for the bigger clubs in Spain until recently. The real issue though is that we’ve lost quality from the Premier League. People can point to Van Persie,Aguero and Silva but none of them have the impact that Ronaldo did at United or that Henry did at Arsenal. In Ronaldo and Henry, the Premier League had its first two players who could potentially be labelled in the ‘greatest ever’ category but inevitably they had to move on at some point and the Premier League just hasn’t been able to lure a player of that calibre since.

Fernando Torres' lack of form symbolises the plight of the Premier League

That has led to the league becoming tighter and in some people’s eyes better. I think it’s great to see teams like Newcastle and Spurs becoming genuine fourth place contenders but that sort of system has been in place for years in Spain. Valencia, Villareal, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla regularly fought it out for the European places over the past few seasons. I think another issue with the Premier League is that we have a lot of big names over here, on big pay packets but they’re not in their peak like they are over in Spain. Torres, Terry, Ferdinand, Berbatov, Drogba and Gerrard would have been the most desirable collectibles in the Panini sticker album a few seasons ago but now they’re out of form and looking old. I know that most people say that the only reason La Liga is so popular now is down to Messi and Ronaldo. But if you look beyond them, beyond Real Madrid and Barcelona even and you can still see real talent. There’s Iker Muniain at Bilbao, Falcao at Atletico Madrid, Roberto Soldado at Valencia, Jeremy Toulalan, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Julio Baptista at Malaga and Jesus Navas at Sevilla. Almost every team has a talisman who could make the jump over to anywhere in European football and I can’t really see someone like Tim Cahill doing that – sorry Everton fans. The depth of the league isn’t quite up to the level of late 80s/early 90s Serie A but it’s getting there.

Lionel Messi, just one of the many reasons why La Liga is so entertaining

The style of football is also much prettier on the eye over there. I’m very much someone who’d appreciate a 0-0 draw full of attacking, quick passing football instead of a 2-0 win that was claimed through dull passages of play and physical football. People fawn over Barcelona’s style but watch Revista de La Liga and the majority of teams play football like that, it’s just that Barcelona do it better. The closest we have to that here are Arsenal, Swansea and Man City but only when they’re on form. I’ve just lost faith in the English game and am genuinely fearful that if we get far enough to play Spain at Euro 2012 that we’ll be completely slaughtered in front of millions of viewers. I’d dare say Germany would do the same – the Bundesliga is becoming a cracking little league too. Dortmund have a young, brilliant team while Bayern are a match for Barcelona and Madrid for the title of best all-round unit.

I’m not saying that the Premier League is the worst league in European football, far from it actually, but we just need to stop this attitude that just because our league is the richest in the world, it doesn’t make it the best. Chelsea, Man City and United can have all the millions in the world but without a player to match Messi then they might as well have nothing. Coming onto Barcelona I’d like to say that they were an absolute joy to watch the other night against Milan. Messi, Xavi and Iniesta will be remembered as three Gods of the game. It’s also important to remember that they beat a strong Milan side without 20 goal a season man David Villa and without a recognised left-back. Chelsea will give it their best, as they always do, but I fully expect them to be taught a footballing lesson by the Catalan giants. Those four years since Moscow must feel like an awful long time ago….

Masters Preview: Is Tiger Back to His Best?

With the 76th edition of the Masters starting at Augusta later today, it is high time we previewed the competition. After his success in the Bay Hill invitational, all the focus is on Tiger Woods and whether he can get back to his best form and claim a fifth Green Jacket. The likes of Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood will also fancy their chances in Georgia.

Is Tiger really firing on all cylinders heading into the Masters?

Personally, I don’t subscribe to the mainstream media’s view that this is Tiger’s tournament to lose. Yes, he played very well at the Bay Hill but one tournament win doesn’t mean success at the next one – especially when the next tournament is at the devilishly difficult Augusta National. Tiger has definitely seemed more relaxed but I think that is in part due to the fact that he believes the pressure is off his shoulders. The likes of McIlroy, Donald and players such as Jason Day and Keegan Bradley have to prove themselves more than Woods. A relaxed Tiger is a dangerous one and if Woods is anywhere near the top five after the first round then the rest of the field may just be running scared.

How will McIlroy deal with the demons of 12 months ago?

It’ll be fascinating to see how McIlroy fares after his disastrous final round at Augusta last year. He came back to win the next major, the US Open, sublimely but this will be the first time he has been out on the course that tormented him so publicly. I doubt he’ll have a breakdown but one bad shot here and there and the demons could get into his head. McIlroy has all the makings of becoming a truly great golfer but he has to start winning Majors soon if he is going to try and better Jack Nicklaus’ total of 18 victories in the big events. He’s sure to be in the mix but I’m not entirely convinced that his game is in the right position to take the title this week.

Then we come to Luke Donald, world number one but left behind Woods and McIlroy in the media’s coverage. His odds of 12/1 are a touch long for someone who has a knack of putting together four solid rounds when it counts. He has a history of performing well here, finishing fourth last year and third in 20o5. The extra confidence of being world number one might just take him to victory but anything near a bad start would leave him out of the running and if Woods and McIlroy are playing their best golf then I can’t see Donald getting near them.

Away from the European side, you can always rely on Phil Mickelson to go well at Augusta and the man with three Green Jackets is third favourite to win the 2012 iteration. Unfortunately, I see him as a top 6 finisher but not in the top spot. I’d love him to win it though, he deserves it after what he went through with  his wife and you won’t find a more popular golfer amongst the field. There’s also Webb Simpson, who I think could have a big week. He was as high as world number three towards the end of last year and I highly rate him as one for the future. Hunter Mahan is the man in the best form (other than Tiger arguably) heading into the tournament and has been well backed by golfing pundits and on the betting exchanges. He could well spring a surprise but this year’s field is more open than usual meaning that statement could be applied to a lot of people.

Who will win this year's Green Jacket and join an elite group of golfers in the record books at Augusta.

Whatever happens, it’s sure to be a thrilling tournament with many of the players anticipating a flurry of birdies. I’m not going to stick my neck out and make a prediction because let’s face it, that’d be a pretty silly thing to do in a field as open as this. I just hope we see Tiger somewhere near his best, going toe-to-toe with McIlroy. That’s when we’ll know just how good McIlroy really is; if he can stay with Tiger and overcome the difficulties of last year then he deserves the billing of ‘the next great thing in golf’. As for Tiger, well he almost needs a good tournament here. Everyone who’s seen him practice has said that he’s hitting the ball as well as ever and that he has a calm, confident demeanour for the first time in yonks. That said, I think that the eventual winner won’t be a McIlroy, Woods or Mickelson – come Sunday, we’ll know and I’ll probably be left regretting that sentence…