There’s plenty of off-pitch action still going on in England. Gareth Barry has finally left Aston Villa, but has gone to Manchester City and not Liverpool, for £12m. The 28-year-old England international signed a five-year contract with City after spending 12 years and playing over 400 matches for Villa. It’s thought that he’ll pull in about £80,000-a-week at his new club.

Barry originally said he wanted to play for a club in the Champions League, so somebody better tell him it’s City he has signed for, not United. Mark Hughes’ squad had a brutal season and finished six spots and a whole 22 points behind this season’s top four. City was so far out of it, they were quite close to the relegation zone at various points of the season.

Over in the capital, Chelsea has signed 32-year-old German international Michael Ballack to a new one-year contract that will keep him at the London club until June 2010. The midfielder moved to Stamford Bridge from German Bundesliga team Bayern Munich in 2006 and has won two FA Cups and a Carling Cup so far with Chelsea. But he’s also missed quite a few games through injury in that time. I think it’s a good move as Ballack still has quite a bit to offer the team. I just wonder if new manager Carlo Ancelotti was consulted on the signing.

Also in London, Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has been questioned by the Old Bill again as “a mere formality.” It seems the police want Redknapp to help them in their ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in English football. It’s reported that the 62-year-old manager was grilled by City of London Police officers and tax investigators.

The cops are looking into several transfers that were made at Redknapp’s former clubs, Portsmouth, and Birmingham. A spokesman for Spurs said it was a mere formality relating to a tax issue. That may be true, but it’s not the first time Harry has been the guest of the police. In May last last year, he and his missus were awarded £1,000 in damages against the City of London Police after High Court judges ruled the police raided their home in an unlawful manner. After the raid, Redknapp said he believed he had only been busted because he was a high-profile figure. Apparently, the police investigation is continuing.

Up in Hull, it looks like manager Phil Brown is cleaning house as he’s unloaded a ton of players including team legend Dean Windass, who’s 40 years old now. Windass scored the goal in the Championship League playoffs that propelled Hull City into the Premier League last year. Hull got off to a good year in the top flight, but Brown wouldn’t play him. Windass wasn’t too happy about it and made it known to the press. He was sent out to Oldham on loan, but things didn’t work out there either and he ended the season in the reserves.

Other players that are being shown the door include midfielder Ryan France, former Sunderland and Leeds striker Michael Bridges, John Welsh, James Bennett, Joe Lamplough, Matthew Plummer and Tom Woodhead. You’re forgiven if you’ve never heard of any of them.

And further north, Blackburn has signed midfielder Elrio van Heerden from Brugge in Belgium on a free transfer. The 25-year-old South African international has signed a two-year contract at Ewood Park. He was signed to help fill the gap left after Aaron Mokoena went to Portsmouth and Tugay retired. Van Heerden started out at FC Copenhagen in Denmark, in 2002 before going to Brugge four years later. He’s been capped 25 times by South Africa. So he could help the Rovers out, provided Sam Allardyce doesn’t leave him on the bench.

The FA Cup final on May 30 may look quite one sided on paper but it is much more likely to be the opposite. Everton and Chelsea will go head to head in a match that seems quite refreshing to the football neutral. Both sides played well in their semi-finals but the fact Everton have emerged as one of the finalists creates a small bit of excitement.

Everton beat Manchester United on penalties in their semi-final in a match, which saw Sir Alex Ferguson field a greatly weakened side. However, this weakened side did play extremely well and Everton needed every bit of David Moyes’ tactical nouse to get them through the match and into the final.

It is always a lottery whenever such an important game goes to a spot kick shoot out, but it was Everton who held their nerve and always looked the more likely to come out of the tie on top. They will use this victory as inspiration and proof that they can beat the best side in the country, Europe and the world. What more do Everton need to know to prove to themselves they can win it.

Chelsea came through a much more gritty semi-final against Arsenal. Although the victory was in the end quite comfortable, it was a very physical encounter, one that showed all of the elements of why the sides and the fans don’t really like each other any more.

The West London side have not been at their best at all in this season’s competition, but they are backed through some harsh heartbreak. It was not too long ago that Andres Iniesta was smashing in a last minute winner for Barcelona, which knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League.

It is also set to be Guus Hiddink’s last game in charge of Chelsea, if they cannot convince him to stay. This could well determine the players to play their hearts out for the manager that came in and steadied a rocking ship, when he also had the small task of keeping an eye on the Russian national side.

Both sides have their reasons for getting their heads down and playing through the match, trying intensely to win it at a canter. Everton to show this is more than just a penalty shoot out bluff and Chelsea to show that they are still good enough to win trophies in England. Hopefully the match will be decided after a thorough performance from one or the other and not from a penalty shoot out, which is the harshest way big matches are decided in the current game.

The fiasco that has surrounded the issue of tickets being on sale for the match has seen both sets of fans for these clubs being offered fewer tickets than the numbers being given to corporate sponsors and other ‘friends of football.’ This could well mean the atmosphere is not as intense as it may be and could place the emphasis right onto the football as the fans will not be as audible as they could be.

This won’t matter one bit to the people going to the game though. Former professionals have often commented that they often were lifted by the noise any amount of fans can create and the factor of having the twelfth man on side could be the difference. It could mean that when both sides are tried and exhausted after playing however many minutes, they lift themselves for that all important moment and stab at glory.

Of course there is football to be played between now and then, so the selection of players available is at this stage unknown. However, both managers will pick their strongest possible elevens, which will see a number of key on field battles break out. These could go a long way in determining who comes out victorious.

Everton are likely to be soaking up a lot of pressure during the match. The likes of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda should all start the match meaning Chelsea are not going to adopt an approach of sitting back and taking the pressure.

Whoever plays at the heart of the Everton defence will have to be on top form to make sure that these individuals can’t get a foothold in the match and give Chelsea an advantage. In recent times teams have adopted the approach of playing workman like wingers in order to peg back the Chelsea full backs, if Everton do this successfully then it will mean all of Chelsea’s play will be through the middle, which is a lot easier for any defence to deal with.

If Chelsea’s midfield controls the game then it could well be a matter of time during the match until one of the strikers gets a chance. Space could also be created if Everton sink too deep meaning that Frank Lampard or Michael Ballack could be free to fire in shots on goal without the threat of being closed down.

Everton’s attacking approach is likely to be simple, the counter attack. The toffees will be hoping that the defence works hard enough to soak up the pressure and draw in the Chelsea midfield. This would allow Tim Cahill to play in the middle of the pitch, pick up the ball and bomb forward with little resistance. However, Everton’s strikers will have to concentre for every single second as the one chance they get could end up being the only chance they get.

Ironically, even though it is Everton and not Manchester United in the final, a similar game could break out. It is unlikely to be an open end-to-end game with a million chances. Both teams will be nervous because this is their only crack at silverware for this season. It could appear a boring game for the neutral but the subtlest of tactics could be the deciding factor.

If you were a betting man you would not place money against Chelsea, but the point is Everton are capable of winning. You can’t back a draw so we are all going to have to pick a side to get behind but for now it is probably easier to get up on that fence and stay there.

Chelsea left back, Ashley Cole, is the reported target of a £20 million bid by Barcelona to replace temperamental defender, Dani Alves. It is thought that the Spanish side will make an offer for Cole as soon as the transfer window opens as they look to regain their dominance of global football.

Cole has had arguably his best season in a Chelsea shirt and due to this he has started to attract the interest of some massive clubs. Cole’s former boss, Jose Mourinho, is also said to be interested in taking Cole away from Chelsea to experience another league and way of life.

If Cole was contracted to Manchester United then you would ask why he would ever contemplate leaving but it is clear that Chelsea’s grip on domestic football is slowly loosening, despite the prominent FA Cup final the weekend after next. However, the big knock back for all those interested in Cole is the fact that Chelsea are already locked in talks with his representatives over a new contract.

He could be offered a deal that would make him one of Chelsea’s highest paid players, joining the likes of Michael Ballack and John Terry in committing their future to the club through very lucrative contracts.

The value of contracts in the modern game however is wavering and a tempting offer made by a club like Barcelona could be an interesting one for Cole. Barca have a lot of aging defenders in their side and will look to replace what they see as the best with the best. Chelsea would not let a deal happen without a fight but the fascination of life in another country as well as the possibility of even better money than at Chelsea could be too hard to say no to.

Cole has become one of the most established defenders in the English game and has held down his position in the international side for a number of years. The logic in breaking such a mould would seem bizarre to some but having experienced relatively recent success at Chelsea it may be time for a new challenge.

There couldn’t be a bigger club to be potentially going to and Cole would be buoyed by the fact that former Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry is already settled in Spain and would help him make the transition. He may well stick with West London, it would be quite a bizarre choice to make until he has been in a Chelsea side that has made a better show of things for a season after the poor displays since they lost their league title.

What will happen remains to be seen but bigger and unexpected moves have happened. Chelsea would do well to tie him down in a new contract quickly before the speculation gets out of hand and plays on the mind of the player. The more he starts to read or hear then the more he may consider Barcelona as an option, especially if Chelsea are not giving him the contract he requires and deserves.

Amongst all the fuss following Chelsea’s furious exit from the Champions League, favourite quote of the week has to be courtesy of Frank Lampard.

“I don’t know what people expect,” he is reported to have commented. “When you have eleven grown men battling to get to the final and at least three penalty decisions don’t go your way, you can’t expect men to walk off quickly.”

But that’s exactly it, Mr Lampard. They are grown men and yes, we would expect them to walk off, perhaps not quickly but certainly with some sort of dignity intact.Chelsea’s reaction on the night was, quite simply, disgraceful.

Lampard also went on to praise Didier Drogba, saying he was an emotional man and “That’s the sort of player I want to play with.”

Does it therefore follow that every Chelsea player who did not make a fuss after their last-minute defeat against Barcelona is in the wrong? By keeping their mouths shut and probably venting their anger in the privacy of the dressing room, does that mean they lack passion for the game or do not care?

Of course not. Footballers have to learn discipline. Lampard says there was no violence “just anger because we had worked so hard.”

So that means a player is entitled to run after the referee, gesticulate with their hands in the air and their body very close provided they do not touch?

The Chelsea-Barcelona match was watched by millions of people around the world and what sort of message does the behaviour of Drogba and Michael Ballack give out to our youngsters? It was obvious that Drogba swore in the direct line of the camera. Are we going to have school-boys and girls emulating his behaviour or perhaps chasing the referee every time a decision doesn’t go their way?

No-one is blaming Chelsea for being passionate about the game. We expect it. Yes, they were probably robbed of at least two clear penalties but sadly that’s the nature of the game. Referees do make mistakes and they can alter football history.

We would all expect managers to back their players up as well but Guus Hiddink could have chosen his words a little better. He told television interviewers that he perfectly understood Ballack and Drogba’s reaction because they were bitterly disappointed and he accepted their passion. What he should have added is: “But I would not condone swearing or running after the referee.”

The backlash from these incidents has been horrendous. Chelsea fans on websites have talked about “killing the referee” and he has taken the threats so seriously that he has gone into hiding.

Why could Chelsea not have waited until after the match to vent their anger in words? Managers spend years trying to calm down hyper-active players and channel their energies into the football instead. In one flash, Ballack and Drogba have given out the message that it’s okay to dismiss everything players are taught and blame it on disappointment.

In every game, there’s always one side which is disappointed. Fans go away disgruntled and complaining. If only the ref had given that penalty, if only the striker had not of been ruled off-side, if only the ref had not given that red card. But all this is in the nature of the game. We are meant to debate, meant to vent our anger, meant to have clash of opinions. But it should be off the field, not on or by it.

At least Didier Drogba had the grace to apologise for his reaction. Whether that saves him, Ballack or Chelsea from sanctions remains to be seen. What they really need is a really good telling off, including from their manager, and warned they will be dropped if they can’t conduct themselves in the professional manner the sport should expect. Would you let your child swear when he comes off the pitch after losing? No. Lampard rightly called them grown men. They should remember that.

Barcelona will travel to West London tonight buoyed by a rampant 6-2 victory over Real Madrid last weekend. However, the Spanish side will need a big team performance if they are going to get past a Chelsea side determined to make up for their loss last year in Moscow.

Chelsea may choose to go with just Didier Drogba up top with Nicolas Anelka looking set to miss out. Ashley Cole is likely to return after being banned for the first leg, which ended in a 0-0 draw, and German, Michael Ballack, could step straight back into the side.

Thierry Henry is a doubt for Barcelona as he hobbled off against Madrid and missed training with a knee injury. Barca also have defensive problems with Carlos Puyol suspended and Rafael Marquez injured. A lot of pressure will be placed on former Manchester United player, Gerrard Pique, who will no doubt have to martial a make shift defence.

Barca go into the tie backed by a big and fearsome performance. It is unlikely that Chelsea will be fazed by this side’s result last weekend but if they go to London with a clear game plan and play any where near like they did against Madrid then it could be a long night for Guus Hiddink’s men.

Chelsea’s home advantage could just see them through. They will be disappointed not to have scored an away goal last week but they are in with a real chance. If they can keep Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi quiet all night then Barca’s main influences will be muted.

Guus Hiddink insists that his side are ready and not afraid. He said: “Their 6-2 win was a respectable performance but every game is different. Having scored six it will give them a tremendous boost, but I think this game will be a lot different.”

Chelsea will be looking to their big players to see them through the tie. Captain, John Terry, must lead from the front and make sure his defence is organised, compact and tight. This will allow Frank Lampard and the other attacking players to flow forwards and create space and time for each other.

However, they must be wary of the counter attack. Manchester United’s third goal against Arsenal showed last night how clinical this piece of play can be with the right momentum and players in the process. If Barca get any foothold in the midfield then they have the players necessary to dominate this area of the pitch all night long.

Ironically it has the pre-match feeling of an English cup-tie and could well end up being that sort of game in terms of play and atmosphere. Chelsea will need the fans to get right behind the team and make Stamford Bridge as intimidating as they can. If Barca are allowed to settle then this could be disastrous.

It is a very hard game to call and for now Manchester United won’t care who wins. Whoever gets their nose in front early could press on and take the match. For neutrals it would be good to see yet again two big English sides in the final but Barca must not be counted out. They could easily produce a display that none of us expect and something that takes our breath away.

Tonight Chelsea face an absolutely massive task in Spain that could see their European ambitions completely destroyed.

Guus Hiddink’s men face up to the favourites for this years competition in what promises to be a mouth-watering occasion. It will take a tremendous amount of team spirit, combined with quality and skill to get the two time Premier League champions through this tie.

The loss of Ashley Cole will mean Jose Bosingwa steps in at left back to try and counter the attacking influence of arguably the best player in the world, Lionel Messi. Otherwise, Chelsea look fully equipped to pack out the midfield and give Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka the best possible chance of scoring an away goal to take back to Stamford Bridge.

Both sides are packed with talent so it is difficult to work out where tonight’s game will be won. Chelsea have only beaten Barca on four occasions, as opposed to the Spanish side’s five victories.

Chelsea will be looking to dominate the midfield battles. The likes of Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Michael Ballack must all dominate Iniesta and Xavi. The Spanish side will clearly look to play a quick passing game to breach the Chelsea defence.

The recent form of Chelsea goalkeeper, Petr Cech, has come under increased scrutiny and as Barcelona will be looking to kill the tie in the first leg, the Czech international will have to be on top of his game.

The basis of Chelsea’s success under Jose Mourinho was Cech leading from the back, allowing the defence the time and movement to deal with attacking problems easily. If Barcelona look to exploit Cech then it could be one of the very few weak points in the West London side’s armour.

Leadership will also be vital. John Terry will still be hurting from the final defeat to Manchester United last season. Terry will need to pull out a big performance to martial his side through their most important game of this year’s campaign. Terry will also be paramount to stemming Barcelona’s attacking influence.

Hiddink will no doubt want to get one over on the club he faced during his time at Real Madrid. It is likely he is to be very shrewd with his tactics and considering the talent Barca will have on display, this is no surprise.

He has to deploy a clever system in order to impose his Chelsea side on the game. Sitting back and consolidating will knock work as it allows Barca to build up pressure and eventually pick off a goal or two.

As for Barcelona, the defence of the Spanish side has come under recent criticism especially the keeper, Victor Valdes, and captain, Carlos Puyol. Both of these players have been going through rough patches, but are likely to play as they are two of the most experienced players in the Spanish side.

The attacking combination that Barcelona go with is unknown, it could be Henry and Messi or it could be Messi and Eto’o, but the one thing that is guaranteed is that whoever plays, they are likey to give Chelsea a few headaches.

Chelsea will get through this one with vocal support from the fans and with a massive team performance. They have to keep Barcelona’s influences quiet, while at the same time imposing themselves on the game. If all of this unfolds then there is no reason why they can’t go back to the Bridge with a one or two goal advantage.