Champions League 'You Bet' - Week 9

So here we are in the Last Eight stage of the Champions League with four English teams remaining. We could talk 'til forever about the whys and wherefores of that particular situation, but we have other fish to fry - namely how we're going to salvage a nice little sum of money for our chosen charity, Little League Football.

In case you're joining us late, SPAOTP has a challenge running throughout this season's Champions League whereby a £1 bet is being put on an outcome of your choice. Any winnings we recover go back into the kitty and whatever we win at the end of the competition goes off to Little League Football as they attempt to develop football for children throughout the UK who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Anyway, the thing is our kitty is now running a little low having seen £1 stake after £1 stake leave our tight clutches, but all is not lost for this week we have another selection of bets for you to peruse. Take a look at these three options and as ever choose the one you think is most likely to happen...

Bet A
Arsenal v Liverpool
Fernando Torres to score first
Potential winnings: £6.00

Bet B
Fenerbahce v Chelsea
Frank Lampard to score first
Potential winnings: £9.00

Bet C
Fenerbahce v Chelsea
Fenerbahce to be leading at half-time and the match to end as a draw
Potential winnings: £15.00

VOTING FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 'YOU BET' WEEK 9 HAS NOW CLOSED.
With 47% of your votes, this week's winning option was Bet A - Fernando Torres to score first in the match between Arsenal and Liverpool. Thanks very much for taking part in 'You Bet' this week - 'You Bet' will return in a fortnight...

The MLS Cometh...

So here's the situation. Today marks the start of the 2008 MLS season over in the US and having caught one or two small and isolated clips of the action on TV in previous years, I figured that it'd be good to follow a season from start to finish if I got the chance. With the new season being about to start, you therefore find me stepping up to the plate to begin my initiation into a largely unknown world for me. If you’re in the same position, feel free to join me on the road to the MLS Cup 2008.

Format
So where to begin? Well first of all, let's assess how the 2008 MLS season will operate. Fundamentally, there are fourteen teams playing in two conferences - Eastern and Western. All teams play every other team (regardless of conference) at least twice, if not three times (depending on how the fixture computer churns the fixtures out).

The Conferences look as follows:

Eastern
Chicago Fire
Columbus Crew
DC United
Kansas City Wizards
New York Red Bull
New England Revolution
Toronto FC

Western
Chivas USA
Colorado Rapids
FC Dallas
Houston Dynamo
LA Galaxy
Real Salt Lake
San Jose Earthquake

Now at this stage you might find it useful to pick a team to support throughout the season as I will be. You don't actually have to select the team you want right now, but now you know the team names and once you're armed with the information to follow, you should be able to make a selection of your own choice.

History
So who have been the most successful teams from the short history of the MLS? Well Washington's DC United were the team to beat in three of the first four years of its existence, winning the end-of-season MLS Cup Final in 1996, 1997 and 1999 before winning a record fourth title in 2004.

Since then, several teams have managed to pick up dual wins in the competition: San Jose Earthquakes won twice in 2001 and 2003, Los Angeles Galaxy won in 2002 and 2005 and more recently Houston Dynamo picked up the titles in 2006 and 2007. Only Chicago Fire in 1998 and Kansas City Wizards in 2000 have managed to add their names to the list in the last twelve years.

Star names
And who should we know about by way of star names in each of the teams? Well the name Cuauhtémoc Blanco is undoubtedly the stand-out of Chicago Fire. He's a distinguished member of the Mexican national team and a regular goal-scoring midfielder who joined Fire in 2007. He's their captain and without doubt the main focus of the team, a bit like Jaime Moreno of DC United. He's a Bolivian international forward who's so far scored 41 goals in 109 appearances for United.

Elsewhere, there's Taylor Twellman of New England Revolution who's fast gaining a reputation as a prolific striker capable of helping his side find a bit of glory now and then. In the Red Bull New York team there's a couple of eyecatchers in the shape of Juan Pablo Angel and Claudio Reyna. Angel transferred from Aston Villa in 2007 and has maintained a reputation as a regular scorer with New York while Reyna is the ageing former US international who these days brings some much-needed experience to the line-up.

Dwayne De Rosario is an attacking midfielder for reigning champions Houston Dynamo that can provide a useful supply of goals and is a former MLS Cup MVP while in the LA Galaxy team, one name stands out above all else - the one and only David Beckham. There's very little that needs to be said about the man who recently notched up his 100th England cap, but to suggest he's the only decent player in the team is to be rather short-sighted.

He's joined by Landon Donovan, an experienced player in the US national team with experience of playing for Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. He currently has a 1-in-2 scoring rate with the Galaxy and is the perfect foil for Beckham as the man charged with taking his passes and converting them into chances.

Those are just some of the names to look out for, but there are many more besides, some of which are emerging talents in the MLS and many of which are likely to have a future in the US national team, the leagues of Europe or maybe both.

So who am I going to support in this new MLS season? Well after much deliberation, I've decided to go for the Colorado Rapids. I've chosen them because they seem to have something in common with my favourite team in England, West Ham, and I'm not just talking about their burgundy-coloured shirts. They seem to be the epitome of a team that has lots of potential which is never realised, one that is well-known yet hasn't really cemented a place at the top of the pile.

I have high hopes for Colorado and I believe that with my support they are destined for greater things. If you've decided to adopt an MLS team for this season and those that follow, let me know who it is and why and perhaps we can lean on each other for support during the 2008 campaign. It's a whole new world out there, but together we can get the most out of the MLS and all its highs and lows.

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #55

Hot Shots
20 Top Scorers In The Premier League For Each Premier League Club

1. Man United: Cristiano Ronaldo (25 goals)
2. Liverpool: Fernando Torres (20 goals)
3. Arsenal: Emmanuel Adebayor (19 goals)
4. Blackburn: Roque Santa Cruz (14 goals)
5. Tottenham: Robbie Keane (14 goals)
6. Everton: Ayegbeni Yakubu (13 goals)
7. Portsmouth: Benjani Mwaruwari (12 goals)
8. Chelsea: Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka (10 goals)
9. Aston Villa: John Carew (9 goals)
10. Reading: Dave Kitson (9 goals)
11. West Ham: Dean Ashton (7 goals)
12. Wigan: Marcus Bent (7 goals)
13. Birmingham: Mikkel Forssell (7 goals)
14. Middlesbrough: Tuncay Sanli and Stewart Downing (6 goals)
15. Newcastle: Michael Owen, Obafemi Martins and Mark Viduka (6 goals)
16. Fulham: Clint Dempsey (6 goals)
17. Manchester City: Blumer Elano (5 goals)
18. Sunderland: Kenwyne Jones (5 goals)
19. Bolton: Kevin Nolan (5 goals)
20. Derby: Kenny Miller and Matt Oakley (3 goals)

We're on a road to nowhere

Oh it was woeful. It was inept. Poor, weak, lacking in value. That's my summary of last night's England performance against the French.

I got the distinct impression that the England players suddenly realised that the team they were playing against would be going to Euro 2008 and they wouldn't. What else could justify a ninety-minutes containing such pitiful amounts of enthusiasm, skill and drive.

On the basis of what I saw last night, England got what it deserved by not qualifying for Austria and Switzerland. The very thought of Fabio Capello's side taking one of those valuable sixteen places at the expense of some worthier country is one that makes me slightly sick, so it's rather gratifying that England's current poor standards were confirmed in last night's match.

Whereas Capello's team played in an unexciting fashion to earn a win in his first match, this time they played in an unexciting fashion with not even a goal to show for it. Perhaps we've quickly reached the level without too much need for prolonged ambiguity.

And yes I know England were playing the world-class French side and perhaps you wouldn't expect too much against them, but this was just a complete non-committal to playing in such a fashion that would earn respect from anyone.

All of which leads me to wonder what Capello must now be thinking. Have you ever seen one of those TV shows where a member of the public hands over a family heirloom to an antiques expert and waits to be told all about it? Well I can imagine Capello taking part in something like that. Think of the conversation that would ensue…

Expert: So what have you brought us today?
Mr. Capello: It's a set of sixteen England football players.
Expert: Ah, interesting. And have you had them long?
Mr. Capello: Just a couple of months.
Expert: I see. They must give you a lot of pleasure?
Mr. Capello: Not really. I was told they'd be a good investment but they seem a bit faulty to me.
Expert: Really? Well I can see that some of them are a bit rough round the edges, but they should be OK fundamentally. Did you get them from a reputable outlet?
Mr. Capello: Not exactly. They were a bunch of men claiming to be Premier League managers. Tell me, are they worth much?
Expert: On the open market, they should easily fetch upwards of £200 million, but you'll find this England packaging will lower their value quite considerably. Probably more like £10 million for the lot.
Mr Capello: I see. Is it worth me hanging on to them?
Expert: I'd advise against it. Try to find a new owner for them that is willing to invest in a lost cause and suggest to them that they may one day be a valuable asset.
Mr Capello: Fine, OK. Thank you for your advice.
Expert: No problem… oh, and better luck with your next acquisition.