For the first time in seven years, there will be no English representation in the last four of the UEFA Champions League.

To say that an era has ended would be excessive, but it is certainly notable that none of the established ‘Big Four’ have reached their usual positioning amongst Europe’s elite.

You only need to look at each side’s individual demises to know that the margins are small in these knockout battles. United go out to on away goals to a wonder strike from Arjen Robben.

Chelsea were guilty of a slight lack of energy and guile in attempting to break down the brick wall that is the Inter defence whereas Arsenal were, wholly reasonably, outclassed by a player who operates on a different planet. Only Liverpool can be seen to have seriously regressed from past endeavours, having been eliminated at the group stages.

If we go looking for wider influences behind a poor year for the English sides, can one be found in the emergence of Manchester City as a spending powerhouse?

In the summer, they swooped to relieve Arsene Wenger of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor; they enticed long-term Liverpool target Gareth Barry to Eastlands; and perhaps most significantly of all, they convinced Carlos Tevez to move from the red to blue side of Manchester.

Most pundits point to Xavi Alonso’s departure as a key influence in Liverpool’s fall from grace. Would Barry have proved a more able replacement than the brittle and under-used Alberto Aquilani?

In the face of a central defensive crisis, Arsene Wenger could have done with Kolo Toure in the Nou Camp in place of the creaking Mikael Silvestre. And surely Adebayor would have proved a more dangerous threat to the Barcelona defence than Nicklas Bendtner?

Lastly, Sir Alex Ferguson took a chance last night on a clearly under-par Wayne Rooney, not least due to the lack of dynamism offered by £30m alternative Dimitar Berbatov. How he would love to have called upon an on-fire Tevez.

As I say, the margins are small. At the business end of a season, squad depth is vital. Thanks to Man City’s mega bucks, their Premier League rivals have been weakened and now exposed by Europe’s best.

Name six players who have played for at least two of the following four English clubs: Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United (The Big Four, you could say…)

AND

Real Madrid or Barcelona

Email us for the answers… contact@footballsup.com

That’s right – we – as everyone else – have written about England’s left back dilemma in the wake of Ashley Cole’s injury. But what about our right back? That’s arguably a bigger issue…

Glen Johnson is the man firmly in possession of the right back berth in Capello’s England side. And there are doubts about him – he has been injured for several weeks, and Liverpool are in horrible form. If they drag down the toilet seat thief, or if he gets injured, or if it proves that he is as bad positionally as many suspect, who do we turn to?

The list… erm….

Wes Brown

He is probably next in line. But he is a centre-back who would be playing out of position, is always liable to make an error, and inevitably is injured. He offers little going forward and does very much look out of position when he plays at full back. Against a genuine left winger I certainly wouldn’t have confidence in him.

Who next? Erm….

Micah Richards

Ability and gift wise he should be challenging Johnson. He is big, quick, and strong, and gets forward well. But again his positional sense is in doubt and he has undoubtedly not progressed in the manner everyone hoped after he burst onto the scene with Man City a couple of years ago.

Gary Neville

Is he knocking on the door? Alex Ferguson, no mean judge of a player, trusted him to track Ronaldinho against Milan and he performed solidly, including a less-than-trademark-but-still-occasional excellent cross for Rooney’s first goal. He has the experience, has been there, done that etc, and probably wouldn’t let anyone down. But he has hardly played for an entire season, and there is a definite feeling that, to employ an old, lazy cliche, his ‘legs have gone’.

Phil Jagielka

A great defender, no question. But again he has been out injured for ages, and again he is a centre back who would be playing out of position. Probably too late to play himself into the side in any case.

Owen Hargreaves

If he is ever fit again, he is arguably England’s best right back. However he is also our best defensive midfielder, and if he is fit he will almost certainly play there.

Luke Young

Has retired from international football. Never thought I would lament that…

James Milner

On great form, and probably wouldn’t let anyone down if shoehorned in at right back. Probably. But he would be out of position as well, and that always raises doubts.

Ummm…. I think that’s it. Have I forgotten anyone?

At left back, after Cole, we have Wayne Bridge (if he hadn’t stepped out), Leighton Baines, and Stephen Warnock. Any of those would probably be better options than all the above (were they right backs) save Hargreaves, who won’t play there.

I never thought I would say this, but Glen Johnson is invaluable to England. Fingers double crossed nothing happens to his form or fitness before South Africa. No doubt Capello echoes those sentiments manifold.

The right back issue is more worrisome than the left back one.

John Terry must be the cornerstone of England’s World Cup 2010 challenge. In light of recent scandals, it cannot be as captain…

Bad boy captains don’t sit well with sporting authorities. Just ask Shane Warne. Aside from being arguably the most skilful bowler in the history of cricket, Warne was blessed with a quite brilliant cricketing brain. Perfect captaincy material…until he stepped off the park. A string of off-the-field indiscretions made Cricket Australia reticent to have Warne in a position of authority.

The England football captaincy is viewed with similar magnitude to leading the baggy greens. It requires a character who is whiter than the white kits with three lions on the chest. When Fabio Capello took over, JT seemed a wholly reasonable choice to lead his side into a World Cup campaign. Inspirational leader, world class centre back, committed husband and even named Father of the Year. How that has changed now.

Terry was already on the ropes after the News of the World broke a story about his unofficial £10,000 stadium tour. Now his alleged affair – with, of all people, the fiancée of an England teammate – surely makes his captaincy position untenable. For the FA to continue with Terry would be tant amount to an endorsement of his alleged antics.

You can argue whether personal affairs (literally!) should affect team matters, but in this case they certainly do.

Assuming he goes, who will fill the embarrassing void?

Rio’s injury problems call his claims into question. Lampard leads by example on the pitch and is seen as a model professional. However, in light of his acrimonious split from Elen Rives, his appointment would surely be butchered by the press. That leaves Steven Gerrard to finally prove that he can inspire his England teammates the way he has for Liverpool for the past decade.

I was going to write another bit about Rooney’s dive this weekend, but I bore myself with the diving dogma so no doubt any regular readers we do have are bored also. And then I saw Patrick Barclay had written a piece, and I like him, so I’ve reprinted that instead. And then I saw he’s also commented on the penalty issue (goalkeepers advancing off their lines) which was going to be my other piece – so I’ve just reprinted that too. This site is rapidly turning into reprint central – but at least the quality of writing is going up…

Patrick Barclay on the cheating Englishmen:

Of all the contributions made by Scouse players to our game, the least attractive is cheating. We saw it nine days ago when Steven Gerrard was booed by Blackburn Rovers supporters for apparently trying to earn Liverpool a penalty with a simulation technique well known to web-surfers and we saw it again on Saturday, when Wayne Rooney was shown the yellow card for diving over a nonexistent tackle during Manchester United’s match against Aston Villa.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the tendency to go over without good reason outweighs all the good things Scouse players have brought to our football. Players such as Gerrard and Rooney have thrilled us with their technique and etched memories of heroic deeds, while Joey Barton is another whose legacy is assured. The Scouse factor adds much to the footballing landscape.

But we have enough problems in the game without the diving accusations that seem to dog Gerrard and Rooney in particular. A stand needs to be taken against such behaviour and it may be that Fifa will have to ban Scousers from the World Cup to preserve the integrity of the fair-play campaign.

By now you will have smelt a rat. Substitute “foreign” for “Scouse” and you have the kind of rubbish we hear every time a non-English player falls. Substitute the names of Eduardo da Silva or, until a few months ago, Cristiano Ronaldo, for those of Gerrard and Rooney and you have the careless xenophobia always liable to embarrass those seeking to do something for England, such as bring it the World Cup in 2018.

To the credit of Jon Champion, commentating for ESPN on the Old Trafford match, he immediately linked Rooney’s attempt to cheat Villa with the furore over the penalty recently awarded at Anfield to David Ngog when the French striker fell after hurdling a tackle by Lee Carsley, of Birmingham City. But Match of the Day did not even discuss the Rooney incident — although it did mention a rumour that a French player, Benoît Assou-Ekotto, had become involved in an altercation with a Tottenham Hotspur fan.

Without meaning to be hypocritical, the British do have a complex attitude towards cheating. The eye of the beholder is extraordinarily selective. Only attackers cheat — never defenders. Every excuse is made for defenders; they “stand their ground”, or “just do enough to put the striker off”, or “ease him off the ball”, or “make minimal contact” with his shirt or trailing ankle.

And when the attacker dives, he is shown no mercy. He must be banned. His sin is so great that when he goes home — this was the most eloquently damning verdict on Ngog, delivered with passion by Carsley — he will be ashamed of facing his family. Such is the hue and cry against anyone suspected of diving that referees, endeavouring to answer it, make ludicrously unjust errors such as Mark Clattenburg’s in giving Craig Bellamy a yellow card — a second one, condemning the Manchester City forward to a suspension — for being the victim of a slightly late tackle by Paul Robinson, of Bolton Wanderers.

Should the Watford-born Robinson, whose career has featured many slightly late tackles, have taken the advice of those who wished Thierry Henry had gone to the referee of the France-Ireland World Cup play-off and confessed to handling?

There was no suggestion of it. Just as the war criminals are always on the losing side, the cheats are always foreigners.

Patrick Barclay on penalties (last bit):

As Thomas Sorensen said: “All goalkeepers do it — it’s up to referees to sort it out.”

There are no prizes for guessing that he meant moving off the line just before a penalty is taken.

The Stoke City and Denmark goalkeeper had done that in denying Hugo Rodallega a winner for Wigan Athletic. In this case, justice was done because (a) Jordi Gómez had been offside before being brought down by Robert Huth and (b) Rodallega had stopped at least once during his run-up, which is not allowed. But the habit is generally irksome.

It turns penalty deciders into cheating contests and, in the match proper, reduces the deterrent. When there is a one-in-three chance of an offence in the penalty area going unpunished by a goal, and when that chance is dependent on the degree of cheating permitted, football is an ass.

Not, though, in South Africa. To be at a match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates that went to penalties in July was to experience refereeing as it should be.

Every movement off the line by the goalkeeper meant a re-take if the kick was unsuccessful — and encroachments by outfield players were just as strictly policed.

If anyone has a video of that shoot-out, it should be sent to Fifa, Uefa and anyone else bearing responsibility for the weakly tolerant handling of the game — not just penalties but shirt-pulling and so many other aspects — in Europe and other parts of the world.

Sometimes, though, referees are right to interpret the law and an excellent example was provided by Mike Dean at Stoke on Saturday. After awarding a free kick against Huth, Dean did not insist that the ball be taken to the precise spot of the foul — and the advantage to the offended team was used by Maynor Figueroa, the Wigan left back, in scoring a strong candidate for goal of the season.

It was good, positive refereeing — almost worthy of being classified as an assist.

Cheers Patrick.

Harsh words indeed. But after his actions this weekend, his previous comments and previous actions, there is no other conclusion to be made. Read on to find out why…

Gerrard pulled off an outrageous (ly bad) dive against Blackburn on Saturday, in a desperate attempt to haul his flailing Liverpool side away from the mediocre parity they were sharing at Ewood Park. Here is it in all its ‘glory’:

Now as the Republik of Mankunia have kindly pointed out with their quotations, Gerrard’s actions are in direct conflict with his previous stance and soundbites. But, I hear you cry, one dive doesn’t make a scumbag! Everyone goes down easily occasionally, perhaps in anticipation of being fouled? Perhaps a genuine slip?

Not Stevie G. To wit:

Now tell me it’s an accident. Clear, solid evidence of repeated Gerrard cheating in several crucial situations. We like to hide it, we like to deny that our lionhearts could ever bend the rules (I don’t think I’ve ever heard Owen’s dive against Argentina called anything but ‘clever’) but England has its cheats just like any other country. And it appears one of the worse is Liverpool’s own Super Stevie G.

But what’s worse, is we (he) pretend to be honest, pretend we disapprove of the dive, castigate the flaunting of the Corinthian spirit and ostensibly abhor the dirty foreign cheats. Yet, when it comes down to it, we (he) won’t hesitate to cheat.

Super Stevie G, hang your head in shame. But, in the last minute of the World Cup semi-final when our game against Brazil is heading to penalties, I beg you, please don’t hesitate to take a tumble.

I’m sure you, the reader (well the English amongst you) wouldn’t complain then.

We’re all hypocrites really.

I think these are our most covered topics. We’ve discussed it here, here, and here, and provided material for Patrick Barclay. If you read those articles (which I don’t suspect for a second you will) you’ll see our position is abundantly clear. There were two incidents this weekend that fulled the debate – one in the United/Chelsea game, and one in the Liverpool/Birmingham game. Here is our take on them…

1. Drogba on Brown, Chelsea v United

We’ll be biased here, as there is no more vitriolic hater of Drogba than us. But he quite clearly fouled Wes Brown, preventing the baked bean from likely clearing John Terry’s header. But that is not our main gripe. Our gripe is the universally cited reason that it wasn’t given. And we’re going to pull Danny Murphy up on this – he’s by no means the only, or most guilty party, but he put it perfectly on ESPN’s pre-match coverage last night. This is paraphrased as I don’t have the actual quote:

You can’t give those. If you gave every single foul like that, the game would be stopped every 5 seconds

That. is. not. a. reason.

If you pulled everyone up who committed a snide, dirty, underhand offence like shirtpulling it wouldn’t make the game stop every five seconds – it would stop people doing it. Admittedly there would be a transition phase while players got used to the fact they could not cheat, and during that period there may be more stoppages than normal, but ultimately it would wipe thos fouls out and would be for the tremendous good of the game.

The problem with this is the referees. As with one of the articles above, referees with the courage to punish these ‘minor’ offences should be lauded – a sly shirt tug or push in the back that sends you off balance as you are about to shoot (or in the case above, clear a goal bound header) is as ‘effective’ as scything the legs away. Referees have to have the balls to give a foul in these situations, else it will never be eradicated.

Furthermore, if players do not get fouls for the not-so-subtle shirt tug or the push in the back, it encourages them to exaggerate – fouls only seem to be given when the victim hits the ground, which has a logical progression – diving. By not penalising offenders, refs are inviting simulation. Another compelling reason to ensure they do.

2. David Ngog, Liverpool v Birmingham

David Ngog, after a poorly timed lunge by Lee Carsley, fell as if fouled – although there was no contact. It was a dive, as Carsley did not touch him. But what was he supposed to do?

After beating the man and inciting a rash scythe, should Ngog have let Carlsley’s studs smash into his ankle, risking serious injury? He did enough to earn the penalty (or pelanty as Chris Waddle repeatedly put it), Carsley’s tackle saw to that. He didn’t get the ball and dived in in the box – the fact he didn’t actually catch Ngog is immaterial.

It’s murder vs attempted murder – yes a less severe offence, but an offence nonetheless. And an offence in the box should be a penalty.

Both Wayne Rooney and Darren Bent have recently pre-meditated lunges by goalkeepers and diluted the effect by starting to go down before contact was actually made – and there was every sympathy for them. Why wait for a full-blooded assault by the keeper when you know the foul is coming. Do your best to self preserve. And Ngog did exactly that.

Again, it comes down to referees. If a rash/dangerous/mis-timed tackle is made, referees should penalise the offender whether or not contact is made.

This would remove the necessity for contact and for injury – if you know you are going to be hammered into by a two-footed studs-up tackle from a brutish defender are you not entitled to try and get out of the way? Does that make the tackle any less dangerous? And therefore any less of a foul?

Perhaps last night’s decision was in fact very good, progressive refereeing.

I doubt it though.

N.B. Any cheating discussed above – or in fact probably ever – pales into comparison with this animal. She should be caged… Thanks to Colin Mercer for the video.

Roughly a quarter of the way into the new season and the Big Four have experiences vastly contrasting fortunes. We have a look at them…

Chelsea

Won five from five, on a great run currently, Drogba firing, Lampard re-finding his goalscoring touch, defence shored up… it all looks good for Carlo Ancelotti. Defeats to Wigan and Aston Villa have blighted their record but they are rightly strong favourites for the title. The return of Joe Cole is a boon, and there is a definite feeling around Stamford Bridge that not only is the Premier League there for the taking, but the Champions’ League too. The fact their transfer embargo has been suspended, allowing them to spend big in January when they lose influential players to the ACN, is significant.

Man United

United have been far from convining this season yet still have 25 points, only two less than Chelsea. They have lacked invention (Rooney aside), their formerly rock solid defence has looked ropey (Evra aside) and they already appear reliant on old timers Giggs and Scholes, who will not last the season. Nani has been nothing short of disastrous, Valencia yet to impress, Owen yet to convince he is not shot… yet they keep winning. Reputation is single handedly dragging them to victories. But how long will that last?

Liverpool

An all round disaster. Neither Gerrard nor Torres are or have been fully fit, and they have lost six of their last seven in all competitions. They have lost five in the league already, from eleven matches – last season they lost only two all season. Carragher looks shot, Alonso has left a gaping void… Benayoun is the only one who has really stepped up. They are in big trouble, Rafa is in big trouble, and Man City, Villa, Spurs et al must be filled with hope.

Arsenal

Outsiders at the start of the season (well, not ours) Arsenal have been playing some cracking football. They set a new Premier League record for goals scored and create reams of chances – but as their draw with West Ham showed (2-0 up with 18 mins to go) they still have a soft core. That will need to be largely eradicated (depending on how much their rivals struggle) for them to last the pace.

Our Prediction

1. Chelsea

2. Arsenal

3. Man United

4. Man City

5. Liverpool

6. Villa

Courtesy of F365:

Arsenal
* The Gunners are scoring an incredible average of 3.37 goals per Premier League game this season.

* If games ended after 45 minutes, Arsenal would be top of the table with 19 points.

* All Arsenal’s points have been won against bottom-half opposition. They have lost both games – against Manchesters United and City – against top-half clubs.

* Cesc Fabregas has been credited with a massive nine assists in seven games.

Aston Villa
* Just three of their 12 goals this season have been scored from open play.

* Villa have the best defensive record in the Premier League this season.

* James Collins’ last Premier League goal came in April 2006 for West Ham…against Chelsea.

Birmingham City
* Lee Bowyer’s 38th-minute goal was the first Birmingham have scored before the 70th minute this season.

* Bowyer is the only player to score more than one goal for the Blues this season.

* The 3-1 defeat to Arsenal was their first of the season by more than a single goal.

* Birmingham have got the same points after nine games (7) as Stoke at the same stage last season.

Blackburn Rovers
* Blackburn have lost only one of their last eight Premier League games at Ewood Park – on the opening day of the season against Manchester City.

* With four goals, David Dunn has already scored more times this season than in any campaign since 2002/03.

* Rovers have come from behind to win twice this season – against Villa and now Burnley.

Bolton Wanderers
* Bolton have exactly the same record after eight games (W2, D2, L4) as last season.

* The Trotters have not kept a clean sheet this season.

* Didier Drogba is the only striker to be credited with more assists than Kevin Davies.

* Bolton have not beaten a team currently in the top half of the Premier League table since January.

Burnley
* Burnley and Blackburn are the only two teams in the 92-strong league without a single point away from home.

* Only Hull have conceded more goals than the Clarets this season.

Chelsea
* Chelsea have not lost two consecutive away games in the Premier League since September 2007.

* Didier Drogba has been directly involved in 13 of 19 Chelsea goals this season.

* They have not failed to score in any Premier League game since April 22 v Everton.

* Six of the eight goals they have conceded this season have come from set-pieces.

Everton
* The draw against Wolves was the first time they have failed to beat them at Goodison Park in seven attempts.

* The Toffees have conceded only six goals in their last seven games after that opening-day drubbing by Arsenal.

* Everton have three points more than at the same juncture last season.

Fulham
* Bobby Zamora’s opener against Hull was their first first-half goal since his strike on the opening day of the season against Portsmouth.

* Zamora has either scored or assisted four of Fulham’s eight goals.

* The Cottagers are two points better off than at the same stage last season.

* Fulham have had the same back four (Pantsil, Hangeland, Hughes, Konchesky) for all but 20 minutes this season.

Hull City
* Hull have won three games in the whole of 2009.

* They managed no shots on target in 90 minutes against Fulham.

* The Tigers’ last away win was at Craven Cottage in March.

Liverpool
* The last time Liverpool failed to score in consecutive Premier League games was September 2007.

* Jamie Carragher is the only outfield player to play every minute for Liverpool in the league this season.

* Liverpool were credited with 69% of the possession against Sunderland.

Manchester City
* For all their attacking talents, City have actually scored fewer goals in their first eight games that at this stage last season.

* City have drawn both games (v Villa and Wigan) they were losing at half-time.

* They have yet to win at Wigan in the Premier League.

Manchester United
* Despite their supposedly poor form, United have four more points from nine games (22) than they had amassed at the same stage last season

* They have not lost a single point from a winning position this season.

* They have benefited from three own goals at Old Trafford this campaign.

Portsmouth
*No striker has scored for Portsmouth in the Premier League since April 18.

* Six of Pompey’s eight defeats this season have been by a single-goal margin.

* Nine of the 15 goals conceded by Pompey this season have come from set-pieces.

Stoke City
* Stoke were credited with just 38% of possession at home to West Ham and had the worst pass completion rate in the division at 63%.

* No midfielder has scored for Stoke this season.

Sunderland
* Victory over Liverpool marked Sunderland’s first victory over Big Four opposition in seven years.

* Darren Bent has scored the first goal in six of Sunderland’s nine games.

* Sunderland are joint bottom of the disciplinary table with Tottenham. Captain Lorik Cana has picked up four of their 18 bookings.

Tottenham Hotspur
* Ledley King became Spurs’ 11th league scorer at Portsmouth.

* Four of Tottenham’s nine games have ended in a 2-1 win for Spurs.

* Jermaine Jenas has been booked four times in five games since his return from injury.

West Ham
* Carlton Cole has committed more fouls than any other player in the Premier League this season.

* West Ham have not started a season this badly since they were last relegated in 2002-03.

* The Hammers enjoyed 65% of the possession against Fulham last week and then 62% against Stoke.

Wigan
* No Wigan game has featured more than one first-half goal this season.

* The Latics have garnered two more points under Roberto Martinez than at the same stage under Steve Bruce last season.

* Wigan’s record against top-half opposition is the fifth best in the Premier League.

Wolves
* No Wolves game has featured more than one first-half goal this season.

* Middlesbrough and West Brom both had more points than this Wolves side at the same stage last season.

All the videos keep being removed from YouTube because of copywright issues – this one is up at time of writing.

Here is the goal in gif format:

And here is the guilty party – the most hated man (boy) in Liverpool:

(Original removed – can only find this one, with Alex Ferguson added…)

As you can see from the last gif, it’s not a balloon at all, but some sort of beach ball thing. Hence the deflection. That chavvy kid must be extremely unpopular right now.