Sound Of Football Podcast 13

Welcome aboard for another edition of the Sound Of Football Podcast. This week your master of ceremonies Chris Oakley, ably assisted by is ushers Graham Sibley and Terry Duffelen discuss the comings and goings (with the emphasis on the latter) in the world of football.

First up is beleaguered Hull City boss Phil Brown but unlike others the chaps aren't too quick to poke him with sharp sticks until he falls over the precipice. While we're at it, we also take a look at the bottom of the Premier League and wonder is Pompey's win against Wigan is the beginning of the turning of the corner.

After that we look ahead to this week's Champions and Europe League action and wonder if Rafa will survive Liverpool's trip to Lyon.

This week's show is a bit of a long one but does feature some comedy corpsing by Terry near the end plus a few coughs and sniffles. You can listen by clicking here. Or if you right click on that link, you can download the MP3. Alternatively, you can subscribe via the your reader of choice or via our iTunes feed.

Please leave us a comment and let us know what you think. You can do so on the comments section below or on our Facebook Fanpage.

SPAOTP's 1,000th Post

And now, a moment of self-regarding nonsense on our part, if you don't mind.

What you are reading now may seem fairly ordinary by our standards (and indeed it is), but this is in fact a very special post. Put simply, this is Some People Are On The Pitch's 1,000th post.

We appreciate the sentiment and sense of achievement might be lost on most of you but when this humble little football blogsite started out in 2006, it was difficult to believe that one day we might end up with 1,000 articles to our name.

And by jove we've certainly covered a great many subjects in those articles. We've delved into the deepest recesses of football's history (pausing occasionally for a spot of nostalgia), we've written about the present-day goings-on not just in England but also across Europe and in the US and we've written guides and match reports on everything from the World Cup to the African Nations Cup.

Oh and let's not forget the 137 Friday Lists of Little or No Consequence to date, our twice-weekly TV Previews that have appeared on the site since April 2008 and countless other regular features that have led The Guardian and The Telegraph to single us out for a special mention, bless them.

Yes, we've covered a lot of ground in reaching this milestone and we hope you've enjoyed what you've read on this or any prior visit to the site. It goes without saying that we shall go on for at least another 1,000 posts and beyond (health and sanity permitting) so it just remains to say thank you for your continuing support and from me personally, thanks to everyone that's contributed on the writing side over the last two-and-a-half years. You know who you are and be aware that you're loved in a very special way.

Oh well, can't stop. Post 1,001 is waiting to be published and I believe there's another Sound of Football Podcast to tell you about...

Best wishes,
Chris O.

Midweek TV Preview: 2 - 5 November 2009

Monday 2 November

19.45 Sheffield Utd v Newcastle Utd, Championship, Sky Sports 1/HD1
The Blades are in an awful slump that could see them in big trouble if they don't snap out of it quick. A last minute winner from Kevin Nolan ended Newcastle's own winless run last time out but they can go back top with a win here.

Tuesday 3 November

19.45 Bayern Munich v Bordeaux, UEFA Champions League Group A, Sky Sports Red Button (Screen 4)
Bordeaux's win on Matchday 3 was helped in no small part to Bayern having to play the last hour a man down. Bayern's form is improving so Bordeaux will probably have to wait another day to get the three points they need to progress to the next stage.

19.45 Maccabi v Juventus, UEFA Champions League Group A, Sky Sports Red Button (Screen 5)
While imperious in Liget Al, Maccabi have struggled in this group losing all three of their matches so far. Juventus are unpredictable at the moment: beating Sampdoria convincingly midweek only to let a two goal lead slip in Saturday's defeat to Napoli. Juve have won just one of their last eight games in the Champions League.

19.45 Besiktas v Wolfsburg, UEFA Champions League Group B, Sky Sports Red Button (Screen 8)
While bottom of their group, Besiktas have a good home record in this competition and could emerge as surprise qualifiers.

19.45 Manchester Utd v CSKA Moscow, UEFA Champions League Group B, Sky Sports 2/HD2
A win will see United through. They should get it get but don't expect them to bust a gut to get it with two more games to play after this one.

19.45 AC Milan v Real Madrid, UEFA Champions League Group C, Sky Sports Red Button (Screen 3)
If you missed the reverse fixture two weeks ago you missed a comedy show with five of the poorest goals you'll see. Milan's win seems to have really knocked Madrid who have had even more embarrassing results in the meantime. Any result is possible here; definitely game of the day.

19.45 Marseille v FC Zurich, UEFA Champions League Group C, Sky Sports Red Button (Screen 6)
Both sides are just three points behind Milan and Madrid and will hope to take advantage of their unpredictable form.

19.45 APOEL v Porto, UEFA Champions League Group D, Sky Sports Red Button (Screen 7)
APOEL need something from this game if this group isn't to turn into a procession. Porto probably have enough for a point here which will almost certainly guarantee them progression.

19.45 Atletico Madrid v Chelsea, UEFA Champions League Group D, Sky Sports Xtra/HD3
Atletico are having a nightmare season. It won't improve here.

Wednesday 4 November

17.30 Rubin Kazan v Barcelona, UEFA Champions League Group F, Sky Sports 2/HD2
Group F has become the most intriguing after the upsets on Matchday 3. Rubin's victory in Barcelona was probably the most surprising of what isn't now known as 'Bonkers Tuesday', but the two goals they scored were amazing. An early evening treat.

19.45 Fiorentina v Debrecen, UEFA Champions League Group E, Sky Sports Red Button (Screen 5)
The Hungarians showed promise in their 4-3 defeat to the Viola coming straight after their humbling 4-0 defeat against Lyon. Fiorentina are back to winning ways in Serie A and need maximum points here to keep Liverpool out of the picture.

19.45 Lyon v Liverpool, UEFA Champions League Group E, ITV1/HD
The rest Rafa gave Torres at the end of the Fulham match had better be worth it. Anything other than a win here would pretty much seal Europa League football for Liverpool.

19.45 Dynamo Kiev v Inter Milan, UEFA Champions League Group F, Sky Sports Red Button (Screen 3)
Undefeated but bottom of the group, Mourinho's Inter have gone 8 (OTTO) Champions league matches without a win and this really isn't the sort of place to go when you need a win.

19.45 Sevilla v Stuttgart, UEFA Champions League Group G, Sky Sports Red Button (Screen 4)
Sevilla are bossing this group - hard. Stuttgart will be happy to get this one out of the way and concentrate on finishing in second spot

19.45 Unirea v Rangers, UEFA Champions League Group G, Sky Sports Xtra/HD3
Well yes we all had a good laugh at Rangers getting stuffed by Unirea a couple of weeks ago but there are serious concerns for the future of Scottish football. The Scottish League sits precariously on a threshold on the UEFA coefficients. More bad results could easily see them losing a precious Champions League spot.

19.45 Arsenal v Alkmaar, UEFA Champions League Group H, Sky Sports 2/HD2
Top of the table with two home games left to play, Arsenal could easily think they're coasting to the next stage. Mind you, they thought they were coasting to a win against AZ last time out.

19.45 Standard Liege v Olympiakos, UEFA Champions League Group H, Sky Sports Red Button (Screen 6)
Liege have just one point from their first three games but can feel unfortunate not to have got more. A win for them here would see this group blown wide open.

Thursday 5 November

18.00 Hamburg v Celtic, UEFA Europa League Group C, ESPN
Celtic have it all to do, having registered just one point so far in this group. Domestically, Hamburg are shipping goals so this could have quite a few thrills and spills.

18.00 AS Roma v Fulham, UEFA Europa League Group E, ITV4
Fulham got tantalisingly close to taking all three points at Craven Cottage. Having shown Liverpool the door on Saturday they can feel rightly confident going into this tie against Claudio Rainieri's inconsistent Roma side.

20.05 Everton v Benfica, UEFA Europa League, Five
It's advisable for any Everton fan to bring their boots along to games at the moment as the Toffees' treatment room looks like A&E on a Saturday night. The bits and pieces team they took to Benfica were rightly torn apart. Worryingly, it could happen again here.

20.05 Villarreal v Lazio, UEFA Europa League Group G, ESPN
After a shocking start to their domestic season, Villareal have finally started to play - smacking five past Tenerife at the weekend. Lazio are plummeting down Serie A having failed to win since August. Both teams are chasing Salzburg who sit top with a 100% start.

20.05 Toulouse v Shakhtar Donetsk, UEFA Europa League Group J, ITV4
The current holders (of this competition's previous incarnation) are steam-rolling their way through the group stage and were 3-0 up by half time against Toulouse two weeks ago. Expect more dominance from the Ukrainians.

Football Americana Week 32: Regular season finale

Major League Soccer's playoff hopefuls went into the season finale with a whole host of possibilities ahead of them. And without wishing to put too fine a point on it, they all crapped the bed. Here's what happened in a spectacular, surprising and decisive Week 32, the final week of the MLS regular season for 2009.

The first game of the week saw Chivas USA, the only team with two games left and with a chance to take the Supporters Shield from Columbus, travelling to Toyota Park to face Chicago Fire. Eduardo Lillingston headed a Blanco corner into his own net to put the Fire in the playoffs and hand the Supporters Shield to the Crew.

Toronto FC, one of four teams starting the weekend on 39 points, had their playoff hopes ended in stunning fashion by New York Red Bulls. The Red Bulls have been awful all season but said goodbye to Giants Stadium and the retiring Albert Celades with an amazing, rain-soaked 5-0 win.

Macoumba Kandji put them ahead in the second minute and Juan Pablo Angel trebled the lead, rolling back the years with a clever shimmy and finish for two, and slotting home for three. Kandji pounced on a goalkeeping error to get his second, and Matthew Mbuta tucked in a cool penalty in stoppage time to get his first of the season.

After 90 minutes, DC United were in the playoffs. After 93, they were all but out thanks to a heartbreaking equaliser against Kansas City Wizards. Kei Kamara headed the Wizards in front before United turned the game around. Fred was brought down in the 65th minute and Jaime Moreno equalised from the spot, and Julius James headed them into the lead.

But Fred was again involved in stoppage time, handling on the line to get himself sent off and concede the Claudio Lopez penalty that ended DC's season. There was still time to hit the post, but it wasn't United's day.

FC Dallas also failed at the final hurdle, losing out to Seattle Sounders. The Sounders had one disallowed before Atiba Harris put FCD in the lead. Nate Jaqua tapped in the equaliser just after the hour mark, and a late goal from Brad Evans won it for the Sounders.

With the teams around them falling over themselves to fail, Real Salt Lake took advantage, coming from nowhere to earn a playoff berth. They knocked Colorado Rapids out with a 3-0 win at Rio Tinto. Robbie Findley headed in the opener and doubled the lead with a clever solo goal in the 33rd minute. Yura Movsisyan sealed it with a superb late finish to extend his RSL career for at least two more games.

There was little at stake at Home Depot Center on Saturday, where LA Galaxy won 2-0 against San Jose Earthquakes. That bloke with the beard played a lovely pass to Landon Donovan, whose shot clipped defender Bobby Burling and swung over Joe Cannon for 1-0. And the same pair linked once again with 13 minutes left, Beckham finding Donovan with a through ball which the American international confidently tucked in off the post.

Chivas were in action again on Sunday, going head to head with Houston Dynamo for the second spot in the West. Houston led 3-0 thanks to Andrew Hainault's header, Dominic Oduro's rolled finish and Abe Thompson's tap-in, but Chivas weren't going to lay down and be beaten easily. Michael Lahoud pounced to make it 3-1 before Lillingston's penalty kick set up a tense final few minutes. Dynamo held on to close out the regular season with an away victory.

Finally, with all around them falling at the final hurdle, New England Revolution had a golden chance to make the playoffs by beating Columbus Crew, a side with nothing tangible to play for. Jeff Larentowicz scored the only goal, his first of the season, to send the Revs into the post-season.

The playoffs are underway already, beginning in Seattle last Thursday night. Their 0-0 draw with the Dynamo will feature in this column next week. Elsewhere, LA face Chivas, Columbus face Real Salt Lake, and Chicago face New England. This is where it gets really exciting.

Full results and standings here.

For more great writing by Chris Nee, visit TwoFootedTackle.com.