Liverpool face a potentially tricky situation when they take on Unirea Urziceni in a much criticised Europa League.

Many have said that the Europa League is an even worse competition than the UEFA Cup format it has replaced. Many clubs who have dropped out of the Champions League face the problem of motivating their high calibre players for irregular Thursday night games against unknown teams.

For Liverpool the form of European competition is being seen as a way of being able to transform their recent misfortunes. The Merseyside club have not played good football for a very long time and this could well end up being a morale booster as opposed to having the opposite effect.

Liverpool manager, Rafa Benitez, said: “Today the training session was good — it had intensity and everyone was focused. Tomorrow before the game we will see how the atmosphere is, but it depends on us, if we can play well and get everyone behind us. You have to adapt.”

“The problem, and it is a good problem, is that we were always involved in the Champions League since I was here, but now we will try to do well in the Europa League.”

“Clearly I have confidence we will finish in the top four and be in the Champions League again. We have to do our best in every competition. We want to be successful and be in the top four. To play three, maybe four [extra] fixtures when you don’t have time with international football — when will you play, how can you play these games, and what does it mean for the team that finishes fourth?”

“Maybe we can do the same with the teams at the bottom of the table. If you finish fourth maybe you could play the team who finished third from bottom. Then during the whole season we can play 50 games and we don’t have to rest, so that will be fantastic.”

“We are playing too much now. They were talking about a 39th game being played in Asia. If we now play the play-offs, we’ll be playing until the end of the century.”

Benitez quickly needs to get the team playing successful and attacking football. Liverpool have reminded many of the way a Bolton side played a few years ago. Terrible football but winning none the less.

A lot of Liverpool fans always used the team to enjoy and forget about the ownership problems that have plagued the club. Now it has become clear that it will take a catastrophic slump in the club’s fortunes for Benitez to be sacked, he has to get the team playing well again.

Liverpool should be under no illusions that their Europa League tie will be a tough one because there are some very good teams still left in the competition. If they go to sleep for one moment then Unirea will step in and add to the mounting problems.

Alcohol is not going to be top of the agenda when Manchester United meet Barcelona in the Champions League final in Rome.

How refreshing. Perhaps football will take centre-stage rather than how many pints fans can get down their neck before kick-off.

Most people like a drink or two as part of their entertainment but alcohol has played too great a part in crowd trouble over the years and it would be a shame to spoil a potentially fantastic match.

Full marks therefore to the Mayor of Rome who has slapped a ban on the sale of alcohol from 11am on May 26 to 6am on May 28.

No doubt there will be some bottles getting through but Manchester United fans won’t want to tangle with the Spanish police whose numbers have been substantially swelled for the occasion.

More than 67,000 fans are expected in Rome to watch a match being billed as the decider between the best two teams in the world. Barcelona have already done the double this season and Manchester United are riding high after clinching their 11th Premiership title.



Fans are convinced the Red Devils can retain the Champions League cup won in Moscow last year. They believe the team is better than last year and are relying on either Rooney or Ronaldo to slot home a goal or two.

There’s certainly been cheering news on the fitness front. After facing what he described as the toughest fitness battle of his career, it looks as though Rio Ferdinand has recovered from a calf injury. It has ruled him out for the last three weeks, including the final match against Hull, but he has been out training with the squad and Sir Alex Ferguson is confident he will play.

Likewise, Wes Brown and Rafael, both of whom picked up an injury during the end of season match, have recovered and will be available for selection. For Barcelona, Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta also appear to have conquered their fitness problems.

On paper, it should be a great match. Whatever the line-up, there will be 22 fantastic players on the pitch, both advocating attacking play. Will Barcelona’s defence prove the weak point? It remains to be seen but extra time and a penalty decider might well be the only way to split the sides.

The atmosphere in the stadium promises to be electric so Swiss referee Massimo Busacca will need to make his mark early on. He was the man in charge when Barcelona met Manchester United at the Nou Camp in the semi-final last season and also officiated at the 2007 UEFA Cup final.

Hopefully, there will be as much order on the pitch as off it and whatever the result, fans on both sides will remember a great day and a great battle for all the right reasons.

Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa are to be charged by UEFA for the post-match antics in the Champions League semi-final defeat against Barcelona. Drogba was seen leaping off of the Chelsea bench before swearing directly into television cameras and hurling a volley of verbal abuse at referee, Tom Henning Ovrebo.

Bosingwa has also been found guilty of misconduct charges although his efforts were a lot less sensational than Drogba’s. Proceedings have also started against Chelsea as in the same match a number of the club’s supporters were throwing missiles onto the pitch after a last minute winner for Barcelona broke Chelsea hearts.

Manager, Guus Hiddink, and the club as a whole will now want the matter swiftly dealt with so they can focus their energy on the one remaining Premier League game they must play ahead of the FA Cup final at the end of the month. In this respect the news will be met positively but it carries with it both shame and embarrassment.

The club have been given until the day before the FA Cup final to respond and the matter will be finalised during June. It comes after a season of failures for Chelsea. First of all they sacked manager, Phil Scolari, and the Champions League defeat came at the end of a faltering league campaign, which once again saw them way off the pace of eventual champions, Manchester United.

Such incidents are neither welcomed nor needed in a game that constantly attracts attention for the way match officials are treated. The scenes at Chelsea would not have looked out of place on a pitch in a Sunday league somewhere, when referees have to be on their guard at all times as they do not have the benefit of police escorts off the pitch.

It was expected that eventually charges would be brought against Chelsea but the timing of the news has not helped their preparations for the one shot they have of winning something this year. It is unlikely to hinder their chance of winning the FA Cup but the point is that the charges should never have even been contemplation.

If Chelsea were unhappy with the way the game had been refereed against Barcelona then they should have kept quiet after the game and swallowed a bit of pride, then promptly filed a complaint against the referee that UEFA would have been obliged to look at. They did themselves no assistance whatsoever for allowing their players to surround the referee after the final whistle, when the decisions that had been made during the game were at that point unchangeable.

Hopefully this show of discipline on the part of UEFA will be a deterrent to any future possibilities of this kind. At the moment the outcome of the hearings is unknown but UEFA should be harsh and firm and impose punishment on Chelsea that will ensure the club are sorry for what they did and do not just end up with a fine that they could pay every day for about 50 years.

Ukranian club Shakhtar Donetsk made history in more ways than one today as they won the UEFA Cup after beating German side Werder Bremen 2-1 in the final in Istanbul, Turkey.

Shakhtar became the first Ukranian club to win a European trophy and at the same time they became the last team to ever win the cup as UEFA will change the competition’s format next year to the new Europa League.

The game ended 1-1 after 90 minutes and stayed that way until Rodrigues Jadson scored the winner in the 97th minute, in the first half of extra time.

It was a night when Brazilian players shone as Luiz Adriano opened the scoring for the Ukranians in the 25th minute, only to have Naldo even things up for the German club 10 minutes later.

Werder Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese would like to relive the last goal I’m sure as Jadson’s shot was a weak one that he probably would have saved nine times out of 10.

Shakhtar could have opened the scoring as early as the fifth minute when Adriano had all the time and space in the world to turn at the edge of the box, but he hammered his shot just wide of the gaping net.

Bremen then had their chance to get on the scoreboard barely a minute later as Shakhtar couldn’t clear Sebastian Boenisch’s long throw but Bremen’s Frank Baumann fluffed his effort.  Adriano made sure the ball ended up in the net in the 25th minute though, as he jumped on a through-ball that left the Bremen defence helpless and lifted a perfectly placed chip over the onrushing Wiese.

Adriano almost had another one a few minutes later, but his shot from the corner of the penalty box went screaming over the net.

While it looked like Shakhtar was in control and just about to double their lead, Bremen shocked them back to reality as Naldo pounded a free kick at keeper Andrei Pyatov, who couldn’t deal with its power, and it ended up in the back of the net for a 1-1 score line.

Shakhtar didn’t let it deter them and tried to come back quickly, but Wiese made a good save on Mariusz Lewandowski’s powerful shot and the teams went into the dressing rooms on even terms after 45 minutes.

Wiese had to make a couple of more fine saves just after the second half started as he was called upon to punch away Darijo Srna’s free-kick from the right and then a shot by Jadson from the left.

Adriano was on the prowl in the box again in the 65th minute, but his drive was blocked by Naldo. Claudio Pizarro then almost won it for Bremen in the 77th minute when his glancing header was saved at the last second by Pyatov.

After that chance, it looked more and more like extra time would be needed and it was. It seemed like the teams were tiring and it would likely be a mistake that cost somebody. The mistake came, but to everybody’s surprise it was made by Wiese, who had been as solid as a rock up until that point. However, he misjudged Jadson’s weak effort from 12 yards out and it cost Bremen as the ball dribbled by him into the net.

Willian then almost had an insurance goal just before the first half of extra time ended, but his shot went flying over the net. Pizarro then had a late shot ruled out for offside, and Shakhtar hung on for the win and celebrated their historical night after the final whistle.

“When you walk through the storm, hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky and the sweet silver sound of the lark.”

It’s been sung at Anfield thousands of times but the lyrics of Liverpool’s famous football anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone never ceases to provoke tremendous pride and passion. Grown men have been reduced to tears by the Gerry Marsden song which symbolizes everything the club has been built upon. Courage, fortitude, hope, bravery and much much more.

Even one of Liverpool’s most famous of players, Kevin Keegan admits to being moved to breaking point on hearing the Kop burst into song minutes before kick-off and, many a time, he still had tears in his eyes when play began.

One thing is for sure. Liverpool Football Club will never, ever walk alone. Founded in 1892, it has a legion of fans throughout the world, not just around Liverpool, and no other English club can match its roll of honour. League Champions 18 times, FA Cup winners on seven occasions, League Cup winners seven times over (including four years in a row in the 1980s), five-time holders of the European Cup and winners of the UEFA Cup three times. Liverpool FC is a legend and the red shirts of the supporters and the players are recognised and acknowledged wherever they go.

There have been glory years and times of heart-break but guts and determination have always got the club back on track. Perhaps their whole ethos is summed up by Bill Shankly who once famously said: “Football is not just a matter of life and death. I am disappointed by that statement. It is more important than that.”

Liverpool’s closest neighbour and perhaps biggest of rivals are Everton and even close families are known to have divided loyalty. If you come from Liverpool, you are often asked the question: “Are you a red or a blue?”

Ironically, it was Everton, or the Toffees, who helped to shape the future of Liverpool. In 1892, Everton left Anfield following a dispute over rent but club chairman, John Houlding was not to be defeated. The story goes that he stayed behind, along with a handful of supporters and three team players, absolutely determined to keep football at the ground. A new team was formed from scratch and it was named Liverpool. The rest has become history.

There have been so many highs and lows. In 1901, Liverpool secured their first title win, against all the odds. They went from losing eight games and conceding 31 goals to winning nine games and drawing three and ended up topping the league.

In 1950, Liverpool made their first Wembley appearance, losing 2-0 to Arsenal. In 1965, the club won the FA Cup for the first time, with Ian St John scoring the winner against Leeds. Liverpool became Euro Champions for the first time in 1977 and were treble winners under Gerard Houllier in 2001. And who could forget that incredible Champions League final of 2005 when Liverpool trailed AC Milan 3-0 at half-time.

Supporters walked out in their droves and all around the country, fans switched off their televisions in disgust. Many did not even realise their team had made a miraculous come-back, winning on penalties, until they switched on their televisions or radios the next morning.

That fight-back was inspired by Stevie Gerrard and in 2006, the captain did it again. He famously rescued Liverpool in the FA Cup final against West Ham, equalising in the last minute to force extra time and penalties. Liverpool won in a match now regarded as Stevie’s final.

But there have been terrible tragedies too which have left their mark on the club in the most terrible of ways. Fans still weep at the memory of Heysel. On May 29, 1985, at the start of the European Cup final against Juventus at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, rioting fans caused a wall to collapse. Thirty nine Juventus supporters died.

There was even worse to come. In 1989, on April 15, Liverpool’s FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest also ended in disaster. Ninety six fans were killed when the crowd surged through gates. Hillsborough was the worst sporting disaster in British history and led to the creation of all-seater grounds.

The Kop saw the same fate. Where once thousands of fans would stand and chant Liverpool’s name, now they had to sit, although virtually a match goes by without an announcement across the tannoy of “Would fans in the Kop end please refrain from standing up!”

It was in the Kop that the singing began, inspired by the Beatles era of the 1960s. And it was here that fans adopted the anthem of You’ll Never Walk Alone. It’s often said that the Kop End is Liverpool’s 12th man and legend suggests that the Koppite roar has on more than one occasion helped the ball to cross the line!

Just inside the main gates of Anfield stands the statue of Bill Shankly, with the words “He made the people happy.” He did indeed. Shankly, who was manager from 1959 to 1974, used to say: “The very word Anfield means more to me than you can describe.”

Liverpool have had many famous managers, including Bob Paisley from 1974 to 1983, another name synonymous with the club. Manager from 1985 to 1991 was Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness was in charge from 1991 to 1994, Roy Evans from 1994 to 1998, teaming up with Gerard Houllier for the 1998/99 season and then Houllier by himself from 1999 to 2004. Houllier said he used to stand in the Kop in 1969 and the atmosphere and passion on the pitch and terraces was intoxicating, making Liverpool a part of him that day.

Today, the club is managed by Rafael Benitez and is owned by Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett, a very far cry from the Liverpool of 1892. There have been many great names on the pitch since, from Emlyn Hughes, Phil Neal and Bruce Grobbelaar to David James, Steve McManaman and Jamie Rednapp, all of whom became household names. The greats throughout Liverpool’s history would echo Bill Shankly’s declaration: “Liverpool was made for me and I was made for Liverpool.”

Valencia look set to sell their best players this summer as reports have emerged in Spain suggesting the club wants to reshape and address their financial woes. Up to seven first team names have apparently been put up for sale, including start striker, David Villa.

Manchester United, Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool are already sniffing around the Spanish side like a pack of sharks ready to poach the best talent Valencia has to offer. For a long time Liverpool have been linked with Villa but bids from other clubs are likely to fly in for what could be a summer of chaos for all connected with the Spanish club.

It is doubtful that the measure is any thing other than a last resort. With the global economic crisis at its worst point the club are being forced to offload their greatest assets at a time when they should be focused on securing a Champions League spot in La Liga.

Seville and Villarreal are both well positioned to capitalise on the misfortune of Valencia who not too long ago were lifting the UEFA Cup and enjoying glory days that their fans only dreamt of.

The whole affair stinks of a resemblance to the days of Leeds United in the Champions League. At one point Leeds were on the verge of European glory and the next minute they were slumming it out in League One with the likes of Leyton Orient and Southend United.

With the financial sharks ready to close in on the club, Valencia cannot be blamed for what they will ultimately have to do. The decision to sell good players must not be greeted negatively by the fans, it is highly doubtful that they actually want to do it. However, it is something they must do to prevent economic ruin and ensure that the club is still competing in the top flight of Spanish football for a good few years to come.

Valencia are not blessed with the hierarchy or club structure of a Real Madrid or Barcelona. Therefore when times get tough they have to act differently to how other clubs may handle the situation. The security of Champions League football for next season would make sure that no one left the club who didn’t have to, meaning that the large part of the squad could remain in tact and the manager could reorganise the side to make sure that football is all anyone in Valencia is talking about.

The destination of David Villa, Carlos Marchena and David Albelda among others is unknown, but if times are tight then you would not argue against the club selling Villa to Liverpool for a huge sum of money. If they get lucky then they may be able to off load a player to Manchester City for a couple more million than he is actually worth.

The leaders of the club are moving to secure the future, they are not trying to dent it. This is the thing that fans and neutrals alike must bear in mind when thinking about Valencia as a club next term.

West Ham United manager, Gianfranco Zola, looks set to face the same problems this summer that marked the departure of former boss, Alan Curbishley. Zola has had a remarkable first season in top-flight management and will be looking to push on and improve the squad for next year, in order to break into the top six.

The problem is that he does not know if he will have any funding to improve the squad and he also does not know if he will be forced to sell any players in order to get this funding.

West Ham currently sit 7th in the table, just outside the UEFA Cup places for next season. Zola has used all of his skill and intelligence, which he showed in abundance as a player, to use gifted youngsters as well as limited experience to get West Ham to where they are today.

In theory opening up the transfer kitty could result in rapid success. If the Italian can pull strings on a budget and with just a few academy products to put into the side then if he is allowed to approach high calibre signings, West Ham could go on tour for a good few seasons to come.

Speaking today Zola said: “Football is like other things. It’s about knowledge. The more you see, the more you compete with different players, the better you get.”

“It happened to me and I believe it is going to be the same for my players. It is not necessary for big spending. I am sure the club will consider buying some players. Would I get the funding? That’s another question. I would love to answer that. But I’m sure the club is ready to face the challenge.”

The difference in terms of the situation that Curbishley faced is the fact that he did not have a successful season to back himself up and it seemed as though he was causing more problems in the board room than was necessary.

However, this does not paper over the fact that the former manager had limited control over his transfer capability and was forced to let key players leave that he wanted to keep in the squad.

If Zola is forced to do this as well then it is very much a case of West Ham taking one step forwards and two steps backwards. He has to be given free reign as much as is possible in order to take West Ham to that next level.

The Hammers could well finish in the Europa League at the end of this season but this is no good if the club cannot improve for next term. The recent news of new contracts for the manager and his assistant, Steve Clarke, suggest that West Ham are once again showing the face of ambition.

Zola needs to find out what he is allowed and not allowed to do very quickly, otherwise the progress the club has made will be seriously jeopradised. Adequate player acquisitions, accompanied with still the best academy in the country, mean West Ham could find themselves knocking on the top four door in the next two or three seasons.