Fortress Wembley

I wholeheartedly agree with David Beckham’s comments regarding Wembley, once again, becoming a fortress for the England team. England seem to be performing better on their travels than at home and need to start proving to their fans that they can handle the pressure on home soil. To play for England is a privilege that thousands dream about and few achieve; every England match at Wembley, be it a World Cup qualifier or a home friendly, is a chance for England players to prove to their country that they are the best players this country has to offer. So come on lads, get stuck in, starting with the Slovakia game at Wembley on Saturday. (Live on Setanta - 5:15pm; this is followed by the impressive looking Holland v Scotland World Cup qualifying game at 7:45pm)

6 pointers galore

It’s come to that part of the season, where to many teams at the top and bottom of the Premier League, every match is a certain 6 pointer. The strain on a managers face is painful to watch as he recognizes that his career might be dependent on the results of a handful of matches. The pressure on Premier League football managers has never been so intense - and the perverse thing is, that this end of season “do or die” pressure, makes the climax of the season all the more fascinating to watch. The Newcastle v Arsenal match (Live on Setanta – this Saturday 5:30pm) is a classic case in point. If Arsenal win they could go a long way to securing their Top 4 Champions League qualification place, whilst if Newcastle loose they suddenly find themselves potentially dropping out of the world’s richest football league competition – Captivating stuff!

Foreign Legions

As I am now one of our great nations more senior citizens, I remember the time when a top flight football club having a foreign player was a rarity. Back in the good old days, the news of a foreign player being signed for your team was treated with excitement, tinged with a hint of scepticism; Would the player have a temperament that didn’t suit the English game? Could the player perform on a cold and bleak mid-winter Saturday afternoon? All these question marks would be raised even before the player had chance to set foot on the park and prove his worth. How things have changed, these days foreign players are ten a penny, and I for one think this is a great thing. Drogba, Robinho, Eduardo, Van Persie, Essien, the list goes on and on. I would much rather watch these players than a team purely consisting of English players, the mix of both foreign and home grown talent is fascinating to see. Over the next few days, I will be watching with great interest the fortunes of the aforementioned talented foreigners when I catch Chelsea v Man City – Sunday 1.30pm and Hull v Arsenal next Tuesday 7.45pm – both games are live and exclusive on Setanta. Muchos Appreciado!

Double Delight

I’ve just checked the weather forecast and Sunday looks like rain – oh well, it makes my decision to watch Sunday's FA Cup double header (Arsenal v Burnley - 1:30pm and Everton v Middlesbrough – 4pm : Both live on Setanta) much easier to justify. I still love the magic of the Cup and will stick my neck out to say that I think Burnley may get something out of their tie with the Gunners; Maybe not a win, but possibly a draw – they have an excellent record this season of beating London Premier League teams. The second match is far harder to call – both teams value the cup – lets face it they are not in the Champions League, nor are they going to finish in the top four, so the FA Cup has real significance. My money is on Boro to snatch a victory – but remember Boro fans – you are only allowed to make some noise when your team scores!!