Season 25 Week 16 processing...

Welcome to week 16 of the season, I've just started the weekly reset.

Okay reset finished opening the envelopes now. Normally I do the reset on a Sunday but haven't had time just lately Smile

No orders this week from Newcastle & Birmingham.

It appears that some of you didn't receive midweek cup order sheets, apologies for that, the system is still not working properly and when I get back from holiday I will completely overhaul it.

Huge week for me. Champions Cup semi against Real and Birmingham away. Fingers crossed.

I've started running the reserves and youth games, so we are currently on track for the league matches to kickoff at the normal time of 1000 hours Wednesday.

Prem previews

Birmingham v Man City
Brum have had some huge games recently, away at a rampant Charlton last week and now at home to the Citizens this turn. It's simple, every player must stand up and be counted or City will overwhelm them. The strength of Dzeko, Lampard and Milner combined with a rock solid defence means that they simply over power most teams. Birmingham might just be the exception. Equally strong and with a midfield boasting Fellaini and Wanyama this is sure to be a heavy weight clash. I think this one could be the match of the weekend for the neutral as the immovable object meets the irresistible force. Has 0-0 all over it. Very Happy

Liverpool v Man Utd
The first preview was for an epic match up between 2 fantastic teams. This isn't. Both teams are poor in terms of players and tactics. LVG's TOT is at best amusing and at worst suicidal, they sit in mid table simply because teams like Liverpool are also in the division. Liverpool ......... 7 scored, 33 conceded in 15 games. The one question I have after looking at last week's league table is how they have 4 points as their record is 3 draws and 12 losses. Paul? scratch

Probably also a 0-0 but for completely different reasons. Next season is looking up though for Liverpool as Negredo comes in to add an end product to the subtle and highly skilled Aquilani in midfield.

League 1

Wimbledon v Villa
Villa remain a work in progress with the forward line being the latest to come under scrutiny. Boy wonder and large chin owner Harold Kane has joined the stars at Vicarage Road, coming the other way are man mountain Benteke and Britt Assombalonga. Benteke fills the central role in an all Belgian front line with Chadli and Mirallas while Assombalonga will spend his time in the club shop making sure his name is spelt correctly and bolstering shirt sales.

And the first team to face the best trio to come out of Belgium since Tin Tin, Snowy and Captain Haddock are Wimbledon. Although they sit in the relegation zone the Dons are a force to be reckoned with at home and Scott McDonald sits top of the scorers charts. A porous back line has caused them issues and their defence is currently the worst in the division. If the Belgians click immediately then they'll have a field day and it'll be a happy trip home up the M1. And at the other end it'll be up to everyone's favourite cartoon villain John "I'm sorry Wayne, Rio, Anton ...." Terry to snuff out the potent Wimbledon attack. Up the Villa. And a late addition to the rumour mill says the a Mr W. Bony will be arriving at the end of the season to provide even more power and cutting edge. Bring on The Championship.

The rest of the Prem .........

Chelsea v Blackburn
Chelsea are an enigma. They boast the skills of Oscar and Ramires and the defensive solidity of Cahill and Ivanovic but they can't turn it into goals. In reality the team that Gaz built should be higher than 8th place so it'll be interesting to see how they progress. I suspect they'll prove too strong for Roque Santa Cruz and his Blackburn team who unfortunately look destined for the Championship next season.

Fulham v Plymouth
A very big ask for the inconsistent Cottagers this week as they host Ben's in form Pilgrims. Ever since the loss to City in week 11 Plymouth have been on a roll with Sergio Aguero scoring in each of his last 4 league outings. While Aguero is in hot form a certain Mr Cashley Cole has also scored 4 in his last 3 games. Plymouth are on form and ruthlessly dispatching any team not up to the task. 16 goals in their last 4 games should be a huge concern for Phil. And so on to the hosts, Phil is feeling a bit like Forrest Gump ........ no, not like that. His team are his box of chocolates. One week they turn it on and score 4, the next they grind out a miserable 1-1 with doomed Liverpool. When your main man and most consistent player is Pogrebynak you have some issues. The big man is putting them away but this is a team boasting the finishing skills of Suarez and the delivery of Kolarov!! If Fulham don't man up they could slip into the bottom 3 and face relegation. I predict title challenging Plymouth to continue their good run but I think a good performance from Fulham will show they have want it takes to stay at the top table and they'll be safe before the end of the season.

Charlton v Everton
And at the Valley we have a team who can do Fulham a massive favour by beating Everton. Another team on a good run, Tom's Addicks are firing on all cylinders with Sturridge, Coutinho, Willian, Sterling and co getting the team back to winning ways. Obviously feeling he's short of some small, quick, nimble attackers Tom has brought in Theo and The Ox from Arsenal to add to his array of small, quick ..... oh, wait. It appears Tom has been kidnapped by Arsene Wenger and his love of small, fast attackers. Is this a team that needs a Rickie Lambert? No matter because this week they'll score a bucket load against Everton who can neither score nor defend. 14-0 is the safest bet here but in the post match interview the big question will be how he's going to fit them all in.

If Everton do join Liverpool and Blackburn in relegation it could mean a hugely competitive Premier League next season with Newcastle favourites to go up and they'll be joined automatically by either Leicester or Arsenal, with the other hot favourites for the playoffs. These 3 teams will prove much stiffer competition next year than the teams relegated.

Watford v Spurs
What do you get the man who has everything? Obviously the answer is Gareth Bale. Vicarage Road is bursting at the seams with quality, quantity and a bright yellow kit. Hornets fans are delirious over the big names coming to Hertfordshire and rightly so as Jamie is building a veritable dream team. Like a Panini sticker who's who his team sheets are a joy to behold ..... unless you're Spurs. The good news for Spurs is that the game will only last 90 minutes. It'll be a bit like when your missus decides you need to do some culture, you put your head down and just hope you're home in time for MOTD. It's one thing amassing 673 amazing players like Watford have done it's a different one getting a winning formula. Kudos to Jamie for pulling this off. I think the Hornets are back on track after their blip and I really wouldn't want to play them again before the end of the season. This team will be in the title mix up to the end.

Italian correspondent

Cremonese v Ancona
Last week Cremonese shipped 6 at Inter which takes their total to 21 conceded this season. They have absolutely no chance in this game. Ancona are a slick, well oiled machine with a great manager. Immobile, Cuadrado, Shaquiri, Marchisio and co will fill their boots. At the other end De Gea, Lichtsteiner and the rest of the defence will face an attack that has only scored 3 times in 15 games. Time for a cuppa lads?

The thing to remember is that these are the games where you can't make a mistake. In order to compete in Italy you have to win these games and score 3 or 4 goals doing it. Every one is a potential banana skin and one slip is fatal. Errrrm ........ no pressure Jamie.

Inter v Parma
And so to Inter. Every game that passes the pressure mounts a little more. Milan and Ancona are going strong and when your star man gets crocked it feels like the end of the world. For me it's Dave Silva and the little Spanish magician is out for 2 games. Standing around like Debbie McGhee and 2 startled white rabbits after Paul Daniels has excited stage left the rest of my Inter side look lost. Step up Stephan El Shaarawy, with the features of a hobbit and the hair of John Lydon, will he be the man to take us over the finish line to another league title? Parma are dangerous and will be treated with respect and hopefully a solid and professional performance will see another 3 points for the Serpenti.

There has been a lot of speculation over the future of Andrea Pirlo. After much debate, he has signed a new contract with Pantene who will soon be launching a new range of Andrea inspired beard grooming products. In light of this revelation the Inter management are hoping he will sign a new contract which will take him through to his retirement as he's playing better than ever. After he decides to hang up his boots we'll think about a future role as club hair care ambassador.

Kickoff confirmed for 1000 hours Wednesday morning.

Rob@Inter wrote:: Prem previews

Liverpool v Man Utd
The first preview was for an epic match up between 2 fantastic teams. This isn't. Both teams are poor in terms of players and tactics. LVG's TOT is at best amusing and at worst suicidal, they sit in mid table simply because teams like Liverpool are also in the division. Liverpool ......... 7 scored, 33 conceded in 15 games. The one question I have after looking at last week's league table is how they have 4 points as their record is 3 draws and 12 losses. Paul?

Good question and another brilliant read Rob, thanks a lot.

My observations on games this week...

As Rob says Birmingham against Man City is the big game in the Premiership this week and bad news for the rest of the league is that Fellaini and Nani are both missing for Brum through suspension so the assistant manager has drafted in Fletcher and Januzaj to play alongside Wanyama. And the result of this game was further thrown into doubt when City's teamsheet was announced, no Lampard, no Milner and no Paulinho for them this week, all rested for the other game Man City have this week against Real Madrid.

When asked for a prediction one well known pundit found it incredulous that manager's in this day and age can still have attitude one players on the subs bench. "If Birmingham could sort out their wage structure they'd be a real force".

And more surprising news hit the Champions Cup semi-finals as Real Madrid leave out Lionel Messi with James Rodriguez in at target man and Cristiano Ronaldo in at striker.

Good luck to everybody this week, I'm about to start the midweek games now...

African Champions Cup

Marrakesh 1 Kaiser Chiefs 1 aet pens 3-1
Wydad 0 Mamelodi 2

Confederations Cup with teams from Asia & the North Americas

Shanghai 1 Chicago 0
Galaxy 0 Chivas 1

Copa Libertadores

Santos 1 Bolivar 0
Flamengo 2 Vasco 1

Europa Cup

Celtic 0 Lyon 0 aet pens 3-1
Juventus 2 Nantes 0

Champions Cup

Real Madrid 0 Man City 4
Paris 1 Barcelona 2

No Cosmos or Galaxy in the final of the Confederations Cup is a first, and Man City put four past Real Madrid in the performance of the week, and then we have Santos against Flamengo in South America and Juventus make their first euro final since season 10 where they finished as runners up in the Champions Cup to Paul Good's Coventry side. Just out of interest also in season 10 Flamengo finished as runners up to Palmeiras in the Copa Libertadores and runners up to Mark's Newcastle in the World Club Cup, I'm sure Matt will want to go one better this time around with Flamengo.

And so the Champions Cup will be a repeat of last years final with Barcelona against Man City, that hasn't happened before.

Just looking back over some of the previous Champions Cup final results and Man City last won the trophy back in season 8 when they beat Mark's Newcastle in the final, whilst Matt has lifted the trophy twice with Barcelona, in season 19 against Iain's Real and last season against City.

Disappointing result for the fans in France, makes the league title very important now. The double is still on, both gonna be very tough but the players owe the fans a big trophy this year.

Just a few minutes from kickoff now as teams line up, good luck to everybody...

and we're off...

Charlton 1 Everton 0 Coutinho freekick on 2 minutes.

Massive week for both teams, great result for Barcelona against PSG and now face Man City in what should be a great final. Reals big defeat has surprised me but maybe the big signings are still bedding in.

As for Flamengo I was worried about this week due to losing both Pato and Elias, and also having Muller out injured but they've carried on with the amazing season that they're having! Now just a small matter of a final against Paul's Santos, that's not going to be easy!

Good luck with the league games everyone!

Santos 1 Flamengo 0 Cortez header on 3 minutes.
Nantes 1 Rennes 0 Pastore.
Hearts 1 Falkirk 0 Carrick.

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