Drogba to face a whopping five-match ban.

Chelsea will lose the services of striker Didier Drogba, after it is likely to be confirmed that he will be banned for five matches when the Champions League starts next season. Drogba came under a UEFA investigation following his antics after the semi-final loss to Barcelona last season.

Drogba, quite literally, went mad and started swearing and screaming at television cameras as well as the referee for that game, Tom Henning Ovrebo. Drogba had been upset that during the important match against Barca, the referee quite blatantly refused to give the London side a penalty on more than one occasion.

His frustration was shared because some of the appeals were quite obviously justified but the way he dealt with the proceeding situation was not admirable and now means that Chelsea will be without one of their best players when the biggest competition in European football starts up again in a few months time.

There will be a further meeting today to see whether or not a number of other Chelsea players should be fined or banned. Defender, Jose Bosingwa, could also be out for a couple of matches after the referee reported that he had been called a ‘thief’ by the Portuguese star.

Chelsea could also pick up a rather substantial fine for not being able to control their players during a match and even though the frustration was widespread and justified on the part of the players, they still had responsibilities and had they seen out the match it would not have been a problem. However, any financial punishment dealt out to the club is unlikely to be that great and they would be able to pay a fine with little difficulty.

Chelsea will just want the whole matter to be over. It clearly is not something they were proud of and it would have embarrassed a lot of their playing staff and coaches. Furthermore, Carlo Ancelotti will want to start a fresh and create a new regime of discipline and strictness that means Chelsea would be the last side you would associate with such goings on if there was ever a repeat incident in the future.

Drogba did not cover himself in glory on that occasion and should be looking to make amends for his actions when his ban is over or lifted. Chelsea could appeal against the likely decision but it would be pointless. One of the biggest principles that UEFA hold their guidelines on is the respect that is shown to fellow players and referees. On this occasion it was breached in epic proportions and the club should not risk annoying the officials who have the power to make the situation a lot worse than it already is.

That evening was a very strange occasion when the football ended up not being the main talking point. Chelsea have learnt their lesson and everyone should move on from the whole affair. If Drogba wants to eradicate the embarrassment then he should keep his head down and under the radar although this is not in his nature.

English dominance will continue.

English dominance in the Champions League will not end after Manchester United’s bitter final defeat last night. Although it was a Spanish club that eventually won the competition it was still England that produced the most clubs who reached the final stages.

Not one of the other English sides who played in this season’s competition would have got even close to Barcelona last night but the point is that it is English football that creates the opportunities and clearly something is going right in the Premier League.

This final was the fifth year in a row that an English side had made it to the final. It was also about the umpteenth time that Chelsea and Liverpool met each other in European competition and there are no signs why all of the English sides won’t carry on dominating Europe’s biggest prize.

All of the English teams play high quality and good standard football. The difference between them and the Spanish league is that Barcelona are clearly much better than anyone else they currently play against. They beat everyone they play off the park but the English sides are always much closer.

This is why when the Champions League starts each year the English sides fly through the early stages and into the final stages with little more than a trip along the way. Domestically there is little to choose between them and they can all get one over on each other every time they meet. Not many people bear in mind that even though United won the Premier League, they had one of the worst records in recent years for playing the other big teams.

The standard of quality over an extended period of time is so much better. The Premier League is a lot more physical and entertaining and although the Spanish style of play is a lot prettier to watch, we do kind of enjoy seeing teams kick each other up in the air in this country.

If Mr. Platini has his way then English dominance will end and it will be a crying shame that the best sides in Europe on a consistent basis are restricted from playing each other and reaching the later stages just because they have proved they play better football more often than any other country in Europe.

There is nothing quite like a European night when two English sides go up against each other for the prize of going onto play other great teams like Barcelona. If this magic is dispelled then the Champions League will lose a lot of its appeal and glamour and the window for the best league in Europe will be shut because of one man.

English dominance of the Champions League will continue because the Premier League is the highest standard of league in Europe. All of the teams are closer and test each other on a weekly basis, which means that when it is time for mid-week Champions League games they would have already played against a high quality team just days before.

The future of this Portsmouth star is unclear

The future of Portsmouth defender, Glen Johnson, is very unclear, as reports have emerged that Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa have expressed an interest in signing him at the end of the season.

Johnson has secured a starting place in the Pompey side this year and has even impressed Fabio Capello to earn regular call-ups to the international side. However, his future at Fratton Park is uncertain, as the former Chelsea right back has expressed an interest to move on to a bigger club.

Portsmouth have put a price tag of £16 million on Johnson, which seems a little bit too high. However, in the modern climate of world football it would not be a surprise to anyone if any of the clubs interested fork out the amount of cash for a player who is clearly improving every time he plays.

Johnson has made 27 appearances for Portsmouth this season, scoring three times in his 2422 minutes on the pitch. What makes him such a valuable asset to Portsmouth is his endless energy displayed up and down the right flank, he is just as capable of getting forward in the same way that Patrice Evra does at Manchester United and Ashley Cole at Chelsea.

Liverpool would probably be the most likely club to get Johnson’s signature, as they don’t currently have an out and out right back, although Spurs could be a popular choice as the geographical move from Portsmouth would not be too problematic.

This does not even take into account the impressive progress that Villa have made this season under Martin O’Neill and Johnson wouldn’t be blamed by anyone if he chose to join a budding side on the verge of securing a Champions League spot.

If Johnson were allowed to leave then it would be very hard for Portsmouth to replace him. The club have not had the best of seasons and have relied on players like Johnson to save them on regular occasions. Allowing their best assets to leave can surely only end in more problems as opposed to saving them.

Portsmouth lose only 5 per cent of games when Johnson plays and have not lost when he has managed to get to the other end of the pitch and knock in a goal. Although his discipline is still questionable, no amount of enthusiasm and passion can be sacrificed for the greater good of finances and Pompey having greater ability to ease their financial worries.

His international career is still very much in the infancy stages and a move away from Southern England could see this transform into regularity. Chelsea obviously saw something in him when they signed him from West Ham United, but the inconsistency was too much to cope with.

Now that this consistency is settling down, Johnson is starting to show the potential and talent that everyone has known he possesses for a very long time. Whether it’s Liverpool, Spurs, Villa or Pompey he is turning out for nest year, whoever has his services has one of the most gifted right backs in the game.

Manchester United take a slight advantage into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with Arsenal

Manchester United will go into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with a one-goal advantage, following their victory over Arsenal last night.

John O’Shea struck from a Michael Carrick cross to give the current European Football champions the most fragile of first leg leads as Sir Alex Ferguson expressed his disappointment at not killing off the tie last night.

United will be disappointed as they dominated the game from start to finish. Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez both had good chances to score but the brilliance of Arsenal goalkeeper, Manuel Almunia, meant Arsenal are still in with a fighting chance.

Football took the centre stage in this match as opposed to the aggression and passion we saw in Tuesday’s encounter between Barcelona and Chelsea. Both sides looked a little tentative and the match up did not really produce what all of the previews were predicting.

Arsenal’s inexperience in defence was plain and it could have been a different story if Cesc Fabregas had the ability to put the ball into the corner of the goal as opposed to along the ground and into Edwin Van Der Saar’s arms.

Ferguson said in his reaction, as reported in The Times: “We had good chances and their goalkeeper has had some fantastic saves, our performance level was very good and we have given ourselves a very good chance, but the tie is not over, of course.”

Carlos Tevez did himself no harm with a splendid performance. The Argentine never stopped running from the first whistle and shook his head in obvious disappointment when he was replaced in the second half. The Old Trafford crowd shouted consistently the familiar chants of ‘Argentina,’ and Tevez can be pleased.

The only set back for United is an injury to defender, Rio Ferdinand. Ferdinand left the pitch holding his ribs and despite apparent enthusiasm to return to the field of battle he was promptly sent for an x-ray to determine the severity of the damage to his cracked ribs.

For Arsenal the mood must be fairly bouyant. They could easily have left this tie at a three or four goal disadvantage but were able to stay relatively compact and concede just the one.

At the Emirates Arsenal are capable of doing just about anything so it will be interesting to see how they play and risk the chance of an away United goal in going for the win.

Wenger said: “They started stronger than us and in terms of clear-cut chances they were on top. But I am convinced you will see a very different Arsenal team at the Emirates and I am convinced we can reverse this result. We have the quality to do it and we believe at home we can do that.”

It all makes for a mouth watering clash on Tuesday but both teams have important Premier League duties to take care of before hand. These cannot be overlooked as the Champions League story for this season turns one page closer to its ending.

UEFA Champions League

It’s going to be quite a clash when Barcelona visit Stamford Bridge on May 6 for the second and decisive return leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final.

Chelsea’s performance at the Nou Camp has been hailed as “fantastic” and “magnificent” after they became the first team this season to prevent the Spanish league leaders from scoring.

Football pundits, the manager and the players themselves were all giving themselves a pat on the back for frustrating Barcelona into a 0-0 draw which defied all the odds.

But the morning after, Barcelona did not exactly agree. Chelsea were accused of deliberately stagnating play and failing to play the game. It’s now not a question of who was right but who will have the last laugh. Chelsea or Barcelona?

Certainly, if the small Chelsea crowd at the Nou Camp game were intimidated by the stadium’s magnificent atmosphere, Barcelona supporters are in for a similar shock when they come to Stamford Bridge। Some 95,000 fans packed into the incredible Nou Camp arena which really is amongst the very best in the world.The Chelsea fans who made the journey to Spain, about 3,000 of them, were herded into a top corner where they could be seen but not particularly heard. But who was laughing the loudest once the final whistle blew? Certainly, there was not one gloomy face amongst the travelling fans as they waited for the stadium to clear. They were well pleased with the job and deservedly so.

Okay, Chelsea didn’t exactly play flowing football and squandered their best chances, not least Didier Drogba who could have been the hero of the night. But holding Barcelona to a 0-0 draw was a massive achievement which should be under-estimated, no matter what the content of Barcelona taunts.

Playing in yellow, Chelsea’s back four made it impossible for the Barcelona strikers, despite a late flurry of urgency as the clock ticked away in the second half.

Previous clashes between these two teams have always been tight and Chelsea just hung on by their finger-tips. Ballack, Henry, Alves, Hleb, Eto’o – they were all lining up for misses.

Chelsea captain, John Terry revealed afterwards that they had closely studied a video of Barcelona’s play and so had done their homework, achieving full marks. He considered the draw a fantastic result and warned that their fans would be right behind them on May 6 for the return leg. Yes, he conceded, the Nou Camp was an intimidating place but back home at the Bridge, they would have home advantage and a fully fit team again.

“The only thing missing was an away goal,” he said.

Unfortunately, that’s just the point. Upbeat Barcelona feel they can and will score at Stamford Bridge and will take the tie.

Statistics actually say otherwise. In the last three knock-out encounters at this stage of the UEFA Champions’ League, it has been the team playing at home which has taken the honours. Can that record be maintained at Stamford Bridge?
Both sides obviously have the appetite to win and it should be a frantic 90 minutes – plus more, if need be.

Certainly, Chelsea appear to have a secret weapon already armed and waiting to fire. In the recent match against Liverpool, Chelsea goal-keeper Petr Cech came under fire for some interesting goal-keeping. Against Barcelona at the Nou Camp, he was simply magnificent and kept his side in the game on more than one occasion. He had that look about him, standing big and radiating the message: “You can’t beat me!” He was outstanding and back to his best.

It was, however, a huge team effort and no-one should under-estimate the superb tactics of the Chelsea manager। Yes, the visitors rode their luck but the approach worked and Barcelona, who usually put the goals away on home soil, just could not hit the back of the net. Chelsea were focused, positive and determined.

Chelsea manager, Guus Hiddink isn’t convinced that home advantage will count but was pleased with the draw.

“It’s quite an achievement against a team that plays beautiful football which we saw tonight,” he said, picking out Bosingwa and Malouda for special praise but describing Terry as “inspiring” and “an example to the rest of the team”.
Barcelona coach, Pep Guardida was not so complimentary। He accused Chelsea of being unwilling to play football and committing foul after foul just to interrupt play. He believes a very different Chelsea will have to take to the pitch on May 6.

Barcelona will be without two key players for the return leg; Puyol who is suspended following a booking and Rafael Marquez who is out for the rest of the season after being injured. This, says Guardida, will be no excuse for the final and they intend to be the victors.

There’s going to be an awful lot of sparring off the field in the run-up to May 6 but there’s only one place where the action will make any difference – and that’s on the pitch. Let battle commence!