After Manchester United beat Chelsea to the Premier League title, the Londoners hit back by signing Porto’s Jose Bosingwa in the first big transfer of the close season (although he can’t play in next Wednesday’s Champions League final obviously).

Vlog on the pitch regulars Owen Wyatt and Jon Bramley are joined by Tony Donovan to discuss last weekend’s final day of the English league season and look ahead to what could be the main transfers in the summer window.

Berbatov to United or Chelsea? Anelka on the move again? What about David Villa coming to England?

Let us know your thoughts. Leave comments below or make your own video, load it up to youtube or wherever tagged “vlog on the pitch” and if we like it, we’ll put it up here.

AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf has pulled out of the provisional Dutch squad for Euro 2008 after falling out with coach Marco van Basten.

That got me thinking about other top players who won’t be in Austria and Switzerland in June. Mark van Bommel said a while back he wouldn’t play for Holland under Van Basten but Ruud van Nistelrooy is back after patching things up with the coach.

Apart from the England players who will miss the tournament because they didn’t qualify, Raul is looking increasingly unlikely to get into Spain’s squad. It is doubtful that both Filippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Del Piero will make the cut for Italy.

Oliver Kahn meanwhile quit Germany after the 2006 World Cup. Is there anyone else you think we will miss at Euro 2008?

Having won the previous two championships, you wouldn’t have expected Inter Milan to succumb to nerves in this season’s Italian title race.

Roberto Mancini’s side are doing their very best to throw the scudetto away. In February they were 11 points clear of AS Roma but after Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Siena the gap is down to a point with one game to play.

Two weekends ago Inter could have wrapped up the championship against AC Milan. A 2-1 defeat by their city rivals was a nuisance, but Mancini said he always thought they’d be crowned against Siena.

Not so. Siena, who had nothing to play for, fought back from a goal down twice while Marco Materazzi then missed a penalty having argued with Julio Cruz about who should take it.

Inter were so desperate to grab a winner that team mates were getting in the way of each others shots and they nearly conceded at the other end. A group of angry fans waited for the team coach after the match and shouted “Get to work” at the stunned players.

But aren’t the supporters being a little hard on Inter? A closer analysis shows that this is the first proper title race this group of players have been in. Everyone remembers when Inter lost the title in 2002, but the team has changed quite a bit since then.

In 2006 Inter finished third and were awarded the scudetto in a courtroom when table toppers Juventus were demoted for match-fixing and Milan had points deducted.

Last season, Inter had no real challengers at all with Juve in Serie B, Milan docked points and AS Roma not quite title material.

This term, however, Roma have racked up more points and wins than ever before, even with Francesco Totti injured for much of the season.

Suddenly this Inter side are under pressure and it’s all new to them. Will they snap or just stumble over the line?

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: Marco Materazzi leaves the pitch at the end of Inter’s 2-2 Serie A draw with Siena, May 11. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini   

Italian players used to stick to their own league until relatively recently.

Then Gianluca Vialli and Gianfranco Zola wowed Chelsea and the floodgates opened with the likes of Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta and Luca Toni going abroad.

Now AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso has hinted he may want a fresh challenge away from Serie A.

Having already had a short stint at Rangers in the late 90s, Gattuso would appear to be ready made to play in another European league. He is more of an English midfielder than an Italian one, charging around and launching tackles rather than pinging long passes.

He said last week the Premier League appealed to him but rumours in the Italian and German press say Bayern Munich, thrilled by the success of Toni this season, are very interested.

Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti has said Gattuso is the heartbeat of the team and will not be allowed to leave whether he wants to or not. But after signing Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini on Monday, Milan already have a replacement.

Gattuso has had an average season by his standards for a stuttering Milan side but will be keen to remind Europe of his ability in Euro 2008.

Should he stay or go? If he does leave is Bayern or the Premier League his best bet?  

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: Gattuso lies on the pitch during AC Milan’s Serie A match against Genoa, Jan 27. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez said Didier Drogba was a diver ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final, but the Ivorian had the last laugh with two goals in Chelsea’s victory.

Vlogonthepitch regulars Owen Wyatt and Jon Bramley are joined by Tony Donovan to discuss Drogba, Avram Grant’s future, Frank Lampard’s courage and the amazing Stamford Bridge atmosphere.

Leave your comments below or make your own video, load it up to youtube or wherever tagged “vlog on the pitch”, and if we like it we’ll put it up here.

NOTE: We fixed a typo in the headline… see the comments.

On a soggy night at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea finally prevailed against Liverpool in a Champions League semi-final after failures in 2005 and 2007.

Didier Drogba was immense on the muddy surface and bagged two lightning quick goals at the near post as the Londoners triumphed 3-2 after extra time and 4-3 on aggregate. 

Liverpool battled hard with Fernando Torres scoring yet again but ultimately Chelsea were worthy winners, even if they thought a chance had gone when Michael Essien’s strike was ruled out for offside…probably correctly.

After all the boardroom wrangling at Liverpool, it will be interesting to see what Rafa Benitez does next. Chelsea boss Avram Grant is on his way to Moscow to face Manchester United in the first all-English final, and as he sank to his knees at the end Chelsea fans finally saw the emotion they thought was lacking since Jose Mourinho’s departure.

The night, though, belonged to Frank Lampard, who slotted home an extra time penalty to make it 2-1 for Chelsea after Sami Hyypia’s careless foul on Michael Ballack just inside the box.

Days after the death of his mother, Lampard placed the spotkick perfectly and ran to the corner kissing his black armband and holding it to the sky. She would have been proud of you, Frank.

A great European night following the dull first leg last week but did Manchester United deserve to win over all?

They were negative in the 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp and defended deep for long spells on Tuesday after Paul Scholes’ rocket had given them the lead.

That said, Barca failed to really open up United in either leg despite the silky skills of Lionel Messi. Samuel Eto’o was largely anonymous at Old Trafford and Thierry Henry was poor after he came on.

Was this the last European game for Frank Rijkaard as Barcelona coach?

The first all-English Champions League final beckons….in Moscow. I guess it’s too late to switch it to Wembley.

Lets us know your views below

Alex Ferguson left PFA player of the season Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for the start of Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat at title rivals Chelsea at the weekend. The Scot was thinking about the Champions League game with Barcelona, but will he live to regret that decision?

Owen Wyatt and Jon Bramley are joined by vlogonthepitch debutant Mike Davidson to discuss the importance of Chelsea’s victory and look at the run in. Will West Ham and Wigan trouble United? The beauty of the Premier League is that any side on their day can provide an upset.

Our blog after the game on Saturday received loads of comments so keep them coming. If you fancy having a go at a video response, load it up on youtube or wherever, tag it “vlog on the pitch” and if we like it we’ll put it up here.

A Ballack double, a late disputed penalty, other penalties not given, a calamitous Carvalho error, Rooney and Vidic injured, Ronaldo left on the bench, Drogba arguing with team mates, two late Chelsea clearances off the line, United players in a spat with the ground staff well after full time…

What else would you want from the big match between the top two? Well there was Chelsea’s nice touch of holding up a shirt remembering Frank Lampard’s late mother after the first goal.

The pair are now level on points with United holding a far superior goal difference with two games left. What’s going to happen? Did Alex Ferguson think too much about the Barcelona game this week?

As Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich prepare to wrap up their domestic titles, at least the Premier League will go down to the wire. 

It is hard to know when to say goodbye. 

A footballer’s career is short and it can be tempting to play on as long as possible. But soccer is cruel and past achievements mean nothing when clubs plan for the future.

AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini, 39, will soon decide if he will retire at the end of the season following 23 years at the San Siro. The defender had been due to quit in May but is having second thoughts. It may all hinge on whether Milan snatch a Champions League place.

Team mate Cafu, 37, says he wants to play on as he is still motivated. The problem is Milan need fresh blood in defence and might not want him to stick around. Sometimes it is best to decide before the club have to.

Luis Figo, 35, is also pondering the future. He was given a one-year deal by Inter Milan last season after he pulled out of a move to Saudia Arabia. Injuries have robbed the Portuguese of his drive and he now looks a spent force. Inter coach Roberto Mancini has hinted this, but owner Massimo Moratti wants to keep Figo on.

Go out at the top, they always say, but if football is all you have known it can be a huge wrench to suddenly stop. Look at what has happened to poor Paul Gascoigne and others.

So what should this great trio do? Hang up those famous boots or plough on in search of even more success?

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: AC Milan club captain Paolo Maldini speaks to reporters during a news conference in Yokohama during the Club World Cup, Dec 7. REUTERS/Michael Caronna