The Premiership looks set to start off in sedate fashion with none of the big clubs having been placed against each other in their opening fixture.

Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea all enjoy home advantage against Aston Villa, Fulham and Manchester City respectively while new boys Sheffield United host Liverpool, Watford travel to Goodison Park to play Everton and Reading host Middlesbrough at the Madejski stadium.

With plenty of transfer activity in store for next month once the World Cup draws to a close it’s hard to tell just how any of the respective sides will line up but with this week’s cruciate ligament injury ruling him out for at least the rest of the year, Michael Owen will play no part in Newcastle’s opeing game at home to Wigan Athletic.

Arsenal v Aston Villa
Bolton v Tottenham
Chelsea v Man City
Everton v Watford
Man Utd v Fulham
Newcastle v Wigan Athletic
Portsmouth v Blackburn
Reading v Middlesbrough
Sheff Utd v Liverpool
West Ham v Charlton

Massive well done to former Southampton and Manchester United winger Danny Wallace who completed the 26 mile London Marathon course yesterday after five and a half days.

Ordinarily most punters wouldn’t think this much of a feat for a former professional footballer in his early 40s but Danny Wallace was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1996 and battles with the symptoms of the debilitating disease every day including fatigue, pins and needles in both hands and feet and severe back pain down his right hand side.

Danny was inspired to take part in the London Marathon by former boxer Michael Watson who took six days to complete the Marathon three years ago after battling back from a life threatening coma he fell into following a world title bout with Chris Eubank in 1991.

While Danny will be nursing sore limbs and muscles for a few days he can take great pride in what he has done and the publicity he is bringing to the fight to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis through the Danny Wallace Foundation he set up in 2005.

All too often we hear stories of professional footballers involved in affairs, loutish behaviour and over indulgence in the “bling” culture their money and fame brings them but for me the real heroes are men like Danny Wallace who have been dealt a difficult hand but get themselves up and won’t let anything stop them from living their lives and trying to help others.

Danny Wallace gets my respect because I know from personal experience the difficulties he faces living with Multiple Sclerosis. When a disease affects your own family then it brings it home to you how lucky the rest of us are.

If you would like to make a donation to the Danny Wallace Foundation or get involved in fundraising please click on this link:

Danny Wallace Foundation Donations and Sponsorship

In recent months story after story has emerged reflecting the struggle for power and money amongst the big men and big clubs of Europe. Appeasement of the G14 over the last decade has been coupled with recent courageous stands against these eighteen clubs who think the purpose of football is not to entertain, but to produce obscene profits.

But UEFA still seems to be missing something in their mission statement:
?UEFA?s core mission is to promote, protect and develop European football at every level of the game, to promote the principles of unity and solidarity, and to deal with all questions relating to European football?

Two stories from the past twelve months seem to illustrate this problem perfectly.

Minimum Stadium ?Standards?

Yes, some stadia in Eastern Europe (and indeed the Irish League) leave much to be desired in terms of comfort and safety, and UEFA has taken steps to prevent these being used, in European competitions at least, through a ground ?licensing? scheme designed to ensure minimum standards. However, the latest suggestions from the UEFA big-wigs have little to do with fans (or their comfort and well-being), and more to do with maintaining the current power-base.

The proposed modifications would see a minimum capacity of 30,000 for any team hoping to compete in the Champions [sic] League. Think about, 30,000 seater stadiums may be two-a-penny amongst the top English, German, French, Italian and Spanish clubs, but not so much elsewhere in Europe.

The biggest ground in the Irish League (here in Northern Ireland) is Windsor Park, home of one-time European Cup quarter-finalists, Linfield, with a capacity of 14,000. South of the border, in the Republic of Ireland, Shelbourne came within a whisker of qualifying for the Champions League group stages just a few seasons ago, playing in a stadium holding about 10,000. They could conceivably (with certain provisos) play at Lansdowne Road or Croke Park (the two largest stadiums in Ireland), but this may be to the detriment of the fans (poor atmosphere in a quarter-full ground), the club (having to rent when they already own a ground) or indeed the team (a-la Arsenal?s Champions League performances at Wembley a few years ago).

Elsewhere, the Scandinavians have come on leaps and bounds in terms of competing with Europe?s Elite; Rosenborg claiming a number of scalps in the late-nineties and Lillestrom continuing where they left-off. Progressive clubs such as these could be limited to the UEFA Cup, putting a severe financial strain on a League which plays on through extremely harsh weather conditions and large amounts of travelling. Where would the likes of Carew and Riise be able to show themselves off to obtain moves to better Leagues? Where would the money lost by removing these revenue streams come from?

And don?t be getting too smug if you follow the Premiership. If, say, Wigan or Bolton had maintained their early season form and pushed into that fourth Champions League spot, they too would be forced to play away from their sub-30,000 (though not sub-standard) grounds. In Scotland, Aberdeen say, would have to relocate their ?home? matches to Glasgow or Edinburgh. Likewise other middling Leagues such as Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and Portugal. Worth it? I think not.

The UEFA Under-21 Championship in its Own Right

The UEFA Under-21 Championship is a valuable competition for every European nation. It allows for the blooding of young (potential) future internationals and it allows smaller nations? players to put themselves in the shop window (affording small clubs a chance to earn valuable transfer cash). It is also a costly business, with the crowds and TV revenue attracted usually far short of covering costs.

Such were the costs involved, that the Irish Football Association did not enter a Northern Ireland Under-21 team into the tournament until 1998. The successes were rapid for the new team, with early victories over Germany and France, and a Presidents Trophy success. The players produced by this new team have included Damien Johnson, Roy Carroll, Steven Davis (all Premiership regulars) and, of course, David Healy.

In 2004 however, the Northern Ireland Under-21 team was put on hiatus due to lack of funds. The IFA scraped together enough money, largely through a favourable World Cup Qualification draw, to reform the team in time for the 2006-2007 UEFA Under-21 Championship. Now, here comes the kick in the teeth.

For previous qualification campaigns, the Full and Under-21 teams have played in parallel tournaments, with the Under-21 match held the day before the ?main event? World Cup/European Championship qualifier. For the 2006-07 series this has been changed completely. Where previously Full and Under-21 teams have been able to share flights, accommodation, coaching-staff and training facilities, and the fans have been able to take in two games in one away trip, now the competitions will run completely separately. Inevitably, attendances (by both home and away fans) at these matches will suffer, fewer resources will be allowed for the young teams to prepare and smaller international associations will have to foot even heftier costs.

What?s even worse still, is that this new format may well limit the number of competitive internationals played by Under-21 teams. The UEFA ?coefficient? forces play-offs amongst the weaker teams before allowing them into the qualification tournament proper. In April/May this year Northern Ireland must face Liechtenstein over two legs, and for one of these teams, their 2006-07 UEFA Under-21 Championship will be over before the previous edition has been completed (the 2006 Finals taking place in Portugal in May-June).

So why have UEFA decided to divide Full and Under-21 tournaments? Well it is to allow the Under-21 Finals to take place in odd years, thus avoiding a clash with the senior European Championship or World Cup, which they believe will aid the Under-21 Finals tournament as a competition. Fine and dandy for an established nation, but a potential nail in the coffin for the likes of Northern Ireland or Liechtenstein?s young player development!

So What Now?

Well, UEFA have made steps in an attempt to stymie the power of the G14 in recent weeks, but it?s what they did/allowed to happen over a decade ago that continues to strangle football below the level of the ?Big 18?. The Champions [sic] League has developed into a competition where there is no romance anymore. Small clubs play small clubs in July preliminaries, only to find their next step blocked by a slightly bigger small club, who in turn finds their way blocked by a club that finished fourth in La Liga. Long gone are the days when Benfica or Roma, Liverpool or Ajax, Arsenal or Borussia Dortmund could be seen running out on an Ulster pitch for a competitive match. In 1967 Linfield qualified for the quarter-finals of the European Cup, in 1974 Glentoran made it to the same stage of the Cup Winners? Cup (another tournament killed-off for money), but this is not likely to happen again under the current format of European Competition.

Put the romance back into European Competitions, make them straight knock-out affairs, for Champions, Cup winners and League runners-up only, without endless qualification and preliminaries. The G14 can break away if they want, they will soon find themselves starved of interest come the time of ?100 into every match or ?20 on pay-per-view TV. Enough players will hopefully have the morals to reject ?150k a week in favour of representing their country? if not, European football, in my opinion, has no future.

NB: For anybody interested in a laugh at the nothingness and management speak of UEFA?s mission statement and the so-called ?Vision Europe? scheme, visit
http://www.uefa.com/uefa/KeyTopics/Kind=8388608/index.html and http://www.uefa.com/uefa/aboutuefa/index.html.

After stopping the game between Levski Sofia and Schalke 04 in the UEFA Cup this week following racist chanting from the Sofia fans, English referee Mike Riley has been branded a “British homosexual” by Levski Sofia president Todor Batkov.

Riley instructed the fourth official to use the tannoy system during the game to ask the home supporters to desist from their racist chants and with the FA asking UEFA to investigate Mr. Batkov’s slur against Riley, Sofia are in line for a double whammy of UEFA punishments.

The FA’s head of refereeing, Neale Barry, told the English governing body’s website: “Mike is to be thoroughly applauded for his actions in informing Uefa and club officials that he had encountered totally unacceptable racist abuse being aimed at Gerald Asamoah.

“Mike is one of this country’s top officials, hence his appointment by Uefa for such a prestigious quarter-final tie, and the subsequent comments by the Levski Sofia president have also been reported by myself to Uefa, as they are deeply offensive.”

Greg Louganis and cohorts can rest easy although players such as Didier Drogba and Joe Cole may face a slight problem if FIFA go ahead with the FA’s proposal to allow retrospective punishments for players found guilty of diving to earn free kicks and penalties.

With the problem currently under the media spotlight again following Didier Drogba’s admittance that he did dive during games (shock horror!) the FA are trying to talk players and managers into a regime of self policing instead of using legislation to end the scourge of the modern game but it has to be said that self policing hasn’t worked in the past and has only allowed the situation to get worse.

Current managers Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes both believe the problem has gotten worse since they played at the highest level and these days it can’t only be blamed on foreign players with such England regulars as Michael Owen and Joe Cole being renowned for going down easily under challenges. If the clubs and managers aren’t willing to stop the practice (who’s to say they don’t actively encourage it?) then it is the responsibility of the FA and FIFA to step in and implement laws worldwide to end the ridiculous spectacle of grown men playacting. I thought football was a man’s game?

Rich clubs’ mouthpiece, the G14, have issued a statement escalating the growing tensions between themselves and UEFA and claiming that they are coming under a “co-ordinated campaign of attack” by European football’s governing body.

Having been left out in the cold for next month’s UEFA consultation on the future of European club competitions, a G14 spokesman said this to the PA Sport:`”What you are seeing is a co-ordinated campaign to attack the G14. The reason for this is because we have had the temerity to ask an independent open tribunal to answer the question: ‘Are FIFA and UEFA’s rules legal?’

“FIFA and UEFA have failed to solve the issue of player release and insurance. The key issues, which are not going to go away, are better protection for clubs against player injuries, better representation, and compensation for player release.”

UEFA on the other hand see the organisation as having no proper mandate within the game with which to be invited into consultations on it’s future and UEFA’s head of communications William Gaillard has went so far as to term the G14 as a “negative influence in football.”

Gaillard said: “If clubs come up with this subject (of the Champions League match schedule), we will of course discuss it, although it is difficult because of the international calendar.”

He added: “We have excellent relationships with all clubs. Things are different with the G14, because we do not recognise it as an organisation. There is no need for such a group.

“There could be a need for a group that does not try to segregate and truly represents the clubs, but it doesn’t do that. It is a negative force in football.

“We believe in the transparent organisation of football. With the support we have I’m sure we will prevail.”

The battle lines have been drawn it seems and it will be a long and bloody war for the right to dictate the future of European football. Can the European game avoid a takeover from it’s richest members or will the old principles of democracy amongst clubs prevail?

What a week for the FA and builders Multiplex when it comes to the new Wembley stadium. According to an unnamed insider speaking to The Sun newspaper, the ground beneath the stadium has moved causing sewer pipes under the stadium to buckle. Fixing the problem could take up to eight months and with the Wembley project already way behind schedule it will be another major headache for all concerned at the top level overseeing the construction.

The buckled pipes would have caused water and sewage to flow back up the pipes and overflow if it wasn’t repaired and as the insider says in The Sun, “On match day, when tens of thousands of people use the toilets at the same time, that just doesn’t bear thinking about.” Quite.

I know Derby County fans used to say that their old Baseball Ground was cursed by gypsys but there must have been a whole family of them cursing Wembley this week, either that or it’s just been plain incompetence from start to finish (whenever that will be!) from the FA and Multiplex. The spiralling costs, the deadlines that are constantly disappearing over the horizon and continued structural problems don’t bode well whatsoever and if Wembley stadium is ready for even next year’s FA Cup Final I will be shocked rather than surprised.

What a shambles.

Just when building contractors Multiplex think that things can’t get any worse in the new Wembley Stadium development, a steel beam in the new roof collapses while being welded resulting in 3500 workers being sent home for the day amid safety concerns.

The roof support beam, measuring 50 metres long by 2 metres wide, was being welded into the roof at the north end of the stadium when it fell and workers all over the development were alerted by an “enormous bang”. Despite some workers being in the area where the support fell there were thankfully no casualties and structural engineers are on site now trying to rectify the problem.

The new Wembley Stadium development has encountered nothing but problems since it began and it’s opening date was recently put back again meaning this season’s FA Cup Final will once again have to travel to it’s temporary home at Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium.

Costs for the planned showpiece stadium of English football have spiralled over the duration of it’s construction to over an estimated ?750 million and the professional reputation of the builders Multiplex has taken a severe dent in light of the continued problems.

The GMB union which includes construction workers in it’s members has already called for a full scale investigation into today’s latest accident.

In another challenge to FIFA and UEFA’s control of the game, the G14 clubs are backing Belgian club Charleroi as they prepare to face FIFA in court in a case that could have as wide ranging effects on the game as the infamous Bosman ruling in 1995.

Charleroi are claiming compensation from FIFA for the injury caused to their player Abdelmajid Oulmers while on international duty for Morocco against Burkina Faso in 2004. Oulmers missed eight months while out injured and Charleroi have claimed that his injury prevented them from winning the domestic Belgian League during this time.

G14 have made their stance on the issue very clear as they have also backed Olympique Lyon in a similar court action over the injury their French defender Eric Abidal suffered in a freidnly for the France national team.

A G14 spokesman outlined their position: “We believe Fifa has the financial muscle to put together an insurance pool to cover players injured while on international duty. This case is not about shifting the cost from the clubs to the national associations.”

FIFA disagree and maintain that the responsibility for players on international duty lies with the national associations and not the world governing body while claiming, in the Charleroi case, that Oulmers injury had no bearing on the club’s eventual failure to win the Belgian League.

Depending on the outcome of the case, the G14 could have the case referred to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, the scene of another Belgian, the aforementioned Jean-Marc Bosman’s, famous victory for player power. Whether the ramifications of this case will have such far reaching effects as that case will be judged over the next few years.

Europe’s top clubs have had a draft report leaked which contains details of plans to try and ensure that the 18 clubs which comprise G14 are ensured entry into the Champion’s League every season, effectively creating an artifical European Superleague.

While G14 general manager Thomas Kurth denies that the group plans to ring fence the Champion’s League in any way it is impossible to view their controversial plans as anything other than an attempt by the richest clubs to secure their own interests at the expense of traditional democratic qualification methods and cup structures.

UEFA have reacted angrily to the leaked report claiming that it would make football as predictable as professional wrestling but in this day and age of the same teams qualifying virtually every season for the Champion’s League and then reinforcing their position with the money they earn by qualifying, it has become somewhat of a closed shop anyway.

UEFA are obviously worried that the G14 will attempt to usurp some of their power and control over the game but by conceding ground to them since the inception of the Champion’s League and pandering to the wishes and financial greed of the richest clubs they have made a rod for their own back while at the same time managing to devalue virtually every cup and league competition in Europe.

The race for more and more money at the expense of the ideals of sporting play and the love of football have tarnished what should have been a golden age for European football but has instead turned into a grubby, murky world of money chasing and lessened values amongst clubs, players and fans.

Maybe a permanent European Superleague between the 18 members of G14 would take this high end, materilaistic value out of the game and while the rich compete to get richer in their own private league, they could let the rest of football try to reclaim the values and level of competition it once held before the money became the prize and not the trophy.