First they faced administration, then the debate began about a possible UEFA Cup place, now a new row looks set to start about the Welsh national anthem being sung at the FA Cup final. It has been a lively few weeks for Cardiff City, that’s for sure.

With their financial problems on the backburner for a while, Championship (second division) Cardiff reached the FA Cup final for the first time for 81 years when they beat Barnsley in the semi-final on April 6. 

Almost immediately coach Dave Jones said Cardiff, a Welsh club, should be allowed to represent England in the UEFA Cup if they beat Portsmouth in the Cup final — or if Portsmouth qualify for the UEFA Cup through their position in the Premier League.

That issue is being debated by UEFA and the English FA later this month.

Now the Welsh sports minister Rhodri Glyn Thomas says the Welsh national anthem Land of My Fathers should be played alongside British national anthem God Save The Queen before the match at Wembley on May 17.

A similar row started before Cardiff played QPR in a playoff final at Cardiff in 2003 when it was decided that neither Land of My Fathers nor God Save the Queen would be played. The clubs chose their own songs with Cardiff opting for Men of Harlech. QPR picked Pigbag’s 1981 hit Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag.

Well it’s certainly catchier than Abide With Me, the Cup final “anthem” coincidentally played for the first time when Cardiff won the final in 1927.

Most people probably couldn’t care less — by the time the match starts they’re likely to have been defeaned by the ear-shattering decibel level of the pre-match entertainment at Wembley, which completely kills the atmosphere in the stadium anyway.

I think people should be worried about something far more creepy.

Cardiff are going to play in their “lucky” all-black kit because of a colour clash with Portsmouth, who won the toss to play in blue.

But I’m wondering how a Welsh team, even an association football one, can play in an all-black kit which should only ever be worn by the New Zealand rugby union team. Football teams look wrong in all-black kits.

Mike Collett, London   

Liverpool’s rivalry with Arsenal now involves 202 matches dating back to 1893 and Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final will, for the neutral, forever rank among the greatest of them all.

Arsenal fans will never forget Michael Thomas’s last kick of the season goal at Anfield in 1989 which gave them, and not Liverpool, the title.

They’ve never forgotten Charlie George’s blistering shot and celebratory lie-down at Wembley which secured the FA Cup and League double in 1971 either.

Likewise Liverpool fans will always remember Michael Owen’s two late goals that transformed the 2001 FA Cup final and gave Liverpool a 2-1 win over the Gunners at Cardiff when all seemed lost.

But although there was no prize at stake — apart from a place in the Champions League semi-finals of course — I have rarely witnessed such UNRELENTING tension as there was at Anfield for 90 minutes which helped turn Tuesday’s match into an instant classic.

With the teams tied at 1-1 from the first leg — and with Saturday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at the Emirates merely adding to the occasion — there had to be a winner on Tuesday and the away goals rule played a huge part in the agony and ecstacy.

Arsenal set the tone from the kick off playing some brilliantly inspired football which led to three scoring chances inside the first nine minutes — all of which were annulled by the offside flag. That didn’t phase them. They carried on looking for the goal they had to score and once they got it after 13 minutes, the stakes were raised.

Liverpool had to score and did but even when they were 2-1 ahead on the night and 3-2 up on aggregate, they could not relax because another Arsenal goal would put the Londoners ahead on aways goals.

When it came Anfield was silenced. Arsenal were almost through. The Kop was stunned. It took a lot of nerve for Steven Gerrard to take and score the penalty that put Liverpool back in front a minute later … but even then Liverpool were not safe.

Another Arsenal goal meant they would be on top again. At that stage, with more than five minutes still to play, Liverpool fans were literally screaming in agony at Swedish referee Peter Frojdfeldt to blow for time.

It wasn’t until substitute Ryan Babel scored in the 90th minute to end all of Arsenal’s hopes that the issue was beyond doubt. Ninety minutes of unrelenting drama and tension were over. The football wasn’t bad either.

Mike Collett, Reuters soccer correspondent

PHOTO: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger gestures as Liverpool’s Rafa Benitez watches their Champions League quarter-final second leg match. April 8 REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito

Spare a thought for cup-tied Jermain Defoe this weekend, forced to sit on the sidelines when Portsmouth play West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley because of an antiquated rule the authorities should consider changing.

Defoe, who joined Portsmouth from Tottenham Hotspur just before the transfer window closed on January 31, played for his old club against Reading and Manchester United in the third and fourth rounds which ruled him out of the FA Cup for the rest of the season.

He also appeared in 18 Premier League matches for Spurs — but of course is not banned from playing in the same competition for Portsmouth. (One bizarre twist in that move was that because he technically joined Portsmouth from Spurs on a loan deal which was made permanent a few days later, he was not allowed to play against Spurs two weeks ago — but that’s another matter.)

The cup-tied rule was introduced decades ago to stop clubs buying up players who could boost their chances in the later rounds of the competition.

The rule has rarely been waivered, and I can only think of one example when it was. The FA allowed Stan Crowther and Ernie Taylor to play for Manchester United in the FA Cup after the Munich air disaster in 1958 even though both were cup-tied.

But these days, with the transfer window closing at the end of January, clubs are hardly likely to buy players just for the FA Cup. They are buying them for the league.

UEFA also say players who appear for one team in the Champions League or UEFA Cup cannot play for another in the same competition in the same season. Surely though, if you are allowed to play for two clubs in the same league in the same season, logically you should be able to play for two clubs in the same cup competition? (All Things Footie thinks the away goals rule is just as daft.)

I am sure West Brom are delighted Defoe will be on the sidelines at Wembley, but I think he should be leading Pompey’s front line there instead.

Mike Collett, London

PHOTO: Reading’s Nicky Shorey (L) challenges Defoe, then playing for Tottenham, during their FA Cup third round replay, January 15, 2008. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Just how English was the all-English Champions League quarter-final between Arsenal and Liverpool on Wednesday?

As English as bacon and eggs? Or as un-English as a croque monsieur served up by a French chef with a sense of humour working in a Spanish tapas bar somewhere in deepest Essex.      

FIFA and UEFA are wrestling with this very problem right now. In essence they want clubs based in a country to eventually feature a majority of players developed in that country playing for the team.

But Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at the Emirates was more of a Spanish-French battle than an all-English one. The only Englishmen involved were Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher of Liverpool, while Theo Walcott came on as a halftime substitute for Arsenal. Justin Hoyte was on Arsenal’s bench and Peter Crouch on Liverpool’s. 

There were four Spanish players on field at the start: Both goalkeepers (Manuel Almunia of Arsenal and Pepe Reina of Liverpool), as well as Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal and Fernando Torres of Liverpool. Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez is Spanish and Alvaro Arbeloa, an unused Liverpool sub, is also from Spain. 

Arsenal fielded three Frenchmen: William Gallas, Mathieu Flamini and Gael Clichy with Abou Diaby on the bench while coach Arsene Wenger is of course French. Of the rest, two were South Americans, three were from Africa and another seven from other European ports of call including three from the Netherlands. 

Those are just the facts. But the odd thing is this – the match was undeniably English in flavour. Although Liverpool defended like a great Italian team of old, the match was played at the typically high tempo pace seen every week in the Premier League. It had the feel of a classic encounter between two great old English rivals.

So does it matter if hardly any of the players were English? I’ve always thought that once a player pulls on the shirt of the club you support, you almost forget where he comes from and he becomes one of “your players”.      

Should FIFA president Sepp Blatter think again about his 6+5 rule that would eventually mean the majority of players have to be either from the home country or developed there? After watching a superb game of football last night I am wondering whether it actually matters.

Mike Collett, London

PHOTO: Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas and Liverpool’s Lucas tussle during their Champions League quarter-final first leg, April 2. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

One of the greatest things about Subbuteo, besides giving generations of kids endless table-topping fun, was the chance of studying the team colours chart.

Where else could you learn at a glance that your claret and blue squad could be either West Ham, Burnley or Aston Villa, or that Plymouth Argyle were the only team in the Football League to play in green shirts (as did amateur giants Hendon) and that Blackpool were unique for being the only team to play in tangerine.

I thought of that old chart for the first time in years this week as Bolton, Fulham and Derby County edged closer to relegation from the Premier League.

Forget about logos and sponsors names, as far as my generation is concerned all three teams play in identical kits — white shirts and black shorts — and they are on the brink of becoming the subject of a future pub quiz trivia question.

Q: What was unique about the relegation of Bolton, Fulham and Derby in 2008?

A: It was the first time three teams wearing identical colours were relegated together.

Derby are already doomed but if Bolton and Fulham join them — and that is far from certain as yet — it will be because they haven’t played well enough, not because of the colour of their shirts.

But is there anything in a club’s colours that determines its success rate? Bill Shankly certainly thought so, changing Liverpool’s kit from red shirts and white shorts to all-red in the early Sixties. He believed that it made Liverpool look more intimidating and perhaps he had a point, perhaps not.

Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal, the three most successful clubs in English soccer all wear red, but Real Madrid, nine times European champions, play in all-white.

You can argue it until you are blue in the face, of course. Or in the case of Bolton, Fulham and Derby, white with fear as the prospect of Championship football edges closer.

PHOTO: New Derby owners pose with manager Paul Jewell in January 2008. REUTERS/Darren Staples

Paris in the early spring - perfect for a few days’ break, and as long as you are not drowning in credit crunch debt, it is still the most wonderful city to go shopping for the latest fashions.

“You’d like a cap to go with that Armani suit, monsieur? Certainly, I have just the thing. These caps have not gone out of fashion since 1872 … suits you perfectly.”

Of course David Beckham does not have to go shopping for his latest England cap, he will be awarded it in the time honoured fashion of a special delivery from the headquarters of the Football Association.

I think it’s rather fantastic that in this age of the iPod, Xbox and Blackberry, England players still get a cap for playing for their country, just as they have done since the very first international against Scotland in 1872.

The FA tells me the same company that made the caps then still makes them today — but here’s something not too many people know.

David Beckham’s appearance against France means he will have played for England 100 times, making him only the fifth English player to do that, but he will be awarded just his 85th cap.

Players are awarded one cap for every match they play — unless they play in a World Cup or European Championship finals tournament. Then they are given just ONE cap to cover all the matches they play in that competition — with the names of all their opponents stitched into the fabric of the cap itself.

Beckham appeared in 20 of England’s 21 matches at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups and the 2000 and 2004 European championships. One cap was awarded for each of those five tournaments — which actually leaves him 15 short of 100 actual caps. Odd, but true.

Still, he is convinced he can make a valuable contribution for England until the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa as long as England qualify and if he does that he could also be in view of Peter Shilton’s record of 125 appearances.

Now how many caps did HE actually get…

Mike Collett, Reuters Football Correspondent, Paris

PHOTO: Beckham attends a news conference at the team hotel in Watford, March 24, 2008. REUTERS/ Eddie Keogh

For sheer arrogance, the Premier League’s idea to play one round of matches overseas takes some beating.

Not only has it upset almost every single fan in England, it has also annoyed senior soccer officials in Asia, Australia and Europe — as well as furiously angering FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

But I’m surprised the money-mad marketing men have stopped at the Premier League and I think some sharp-suited whiz kid has missed a trick.

I can’t believe that some agents, or agency, fuelled by the idea of increased revenue streams, hasn’t come up with a plan for England to play an exhibition tournament in Austria and Switzerland or elsewhere during Euro 2008 to prove, actually, that England are the best team in Europe, or the world, perhaps even the universe, and not whoever happens to win Euro 2008.

England could play, for example, against other European teams who failed to qualify like Denmark, Ireland, Scotland or Finland. Or they could maybe take on Australia, or the United States or Japan and Brazil in a more global competition.

TV companies, as we are always being told, can’t get enough of English football, so are likely to show all the England matches rather than official Euro 2008 games. Even more money will role in. The revenue streams will not run dry!

If England win, the money men can point to another innovative idea, brilliantly conceived, to show all the talent at England’s disposal. If England lose, well, at least the whole world has been lucky enough to get their fix of English soccer.

Not the Premier League perhaps, but the next best thing.

Someone, somewhere, out there will consider this a serious idea so don’t be surprised if you read about it happening in the next few weeks. I’m just surprised it isn’t happening already.

So in the end it wasn’t the minute’s silence that spoiled the afternoon for Manchester United, but the 90 minutes that followed it.

Manchester City’s fans observed the silence in memory of the victims of the Munich Air disaster 50 years ago, with absolute respect.

The only sound that could be heard inside Old Trafford was the occasional ringing of a mobile phone and eight loud firework bangs from outside the stadium. They were not part of the official commemoration and enquiries to the police afterwards shed no light on who set them off.

Inside the stadium, a city was truly united in paying its respects to the 23 people who lost their lives as a result of the disaster in Munich in February 1958.

From the moment lone piper Terry Carr led out the procession of teams and officials on to the pitch, Old Trafford seemed to shift from being the Theatre of Dreams to a huge Field of Remembrance.

The weather was spring-like, United resplendent in their 1958-style kit without logos, or badges or names on the back — just old-fashioned numbers 1-11.

Old Trafford is an awesome arena, and of course has witnessed many anniversaries of the disaster before. This one was special, however.

The survivors are getting older. Even those young enough to remember the disaster are well into middle-age.

There was apprehension all around Old Trafford before the silence began, especially as a minute’s silence for the victims was cut short at Wembley on Wednesday before England played Switzerland.

But the piper’s tune gave the occasion a sense of solemn dignity. The way United manager Alex Ferguson and City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson laid wreaths in their club colours side by side on the centre-circle was a deeply moving moment.

City fans respected United’s fallen heroes — and then chanted the name of former City goalkeeper Frank Swift who died in the crash too.

Football came together for a moment in the best possible way before kickoff, and after City’s fans had played their part off the pitch, City’s players did theirs on it.

It was a victory for a united Manchester, and for football too.

Mike Collett, Old Trafford

PHOTOS: United and City fans hold scarves during a minute’s silence at Old Trafford, February 10, 2008. Lower down, Ryan Giggs chases the ball. REUTERS/Darren Staples

There are certain things that English football fans just “know”. They know Pele was the greatest player to ever play the game, that Bobby Moore captained England to the World Cup in 1966, and they know that the Busby Babes died in the Munich Air Disaster of 1958.
 
Anyone in England with the vaguest interest in football history grows up absorbing these facts. Your dad has told you, or your mates, or you read it when you were a kid in comics. Or if you’re of a different generation, you’ve Googled it.
 
This week is the 50th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster in which eight Manchester United players died when their plane crashed on takeoff after a refuelling stop on the way home from a European Cup quarter-final in Belgrade.
 
Tens of thousands of words will be written over the next few days about the crash: about the players who died, the ones who survived. How Sir Matt Busby, the manager fought for his life and pulled through. How Duncan Edwards, the 21-year-old star of the team, lost his fight for life.

Sometimes, words trip off the tongue all too easily, and, at a distance of 50 years, the words “Munich Air Crash, Manchester United, Busby Babes died” are not all that shocking simply because they are so familiar.

But two weeks ago, Manchester United organised a very special media day with four survivors of the the crash: Sir Bobby Charlton, Bill Foulkes, Kenny Morgans and Albert Scanlon. Sandy Busby, Sir Matt’s son, and Jimmy Murphy junior, the son of Busby’s assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, also told their tales and their reminiscences were heart-rending.

Spending time in the company of four remarkable men who survived the crash was a humbling experience (click “play video” above to here Charlton and others talk about it).

Charlton, of course, recovered from minor injuries and had a glittering career for United and England. Foulkes too survived, and no one, apart from Charlton and Ryan Giggs has played more times for United.

But the career of Kenny Morgans was blighted by the disaster. He was the youngest of all the Babes at 18. In 1968 when United won the European Cup he was 28 and could have been in the side. Instead, he had retired as a footballer and was running a pub.

Scanlon’s career too was cut short by the crash. Within a few short years of playing for United, he was struggling to find work as a docker.

The disaster was half a century ago now, but the pain and the anguish lives on for so many touched by it. Bobby Charlton and Kenny Morgans said they thought about it every single day of their lives.

Many fans today dislike Manchester United for their successes, their wealth and, perhaps, for what they see as the club’s self-importance. But no fan would ever want their club to go through what United suffered half-a-century ago.

UPDATE: This post was updated at 1745 GMT to add video.

* You can read Mike’s package of interviews and features by visiting our main soccer website. Click here for a look at Duncan Edwards and what might have been and here for Mike’s view on how the accident changed Manchester United. Follow the links for interviews with Kenny Morgans and Bobby Charlton.

The colour red is prominent at Christmas whether its Santa’s red coat, Rudolph’s red nose or this season’s “in” colour - a red card from the referee.

A record-equalling 19 red cards were shown in England’s four top divisions on Boxing Day - the worst number on a single day since 19 were handed out on December 13, 2003.

Wednesday’s number was swollen by the continuing proliferation of two-footed lunges which have appeared from nowhere in the last month to blight the English game.

Chelsea’s Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho was the worst offender on Wednesday for a wild two-footed assault on Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor.

He was forced to apologise to Agbonlahor afterrwards saying: “It was never my intention to hurt Agbonlahor with the tackle. I was going for the ball and I don’t want people to think I tried
to hurt another player. I didn’t see him after the game to apologise but I asked for a message to be passed on to him.”

Reading’s Brynjar Gunnarson also went for a two-footed lunge on West Ham’s Hayden Mullins while in recent weeks Tottenham’s Didier Zokora, Manchester City’s Stephen Ireland and Peter
Crouch of Liverpool have all been sent off for similar rash tackles.

The two-footed lunge is one of the most dangerous in the sport because it can easily result in the victim suffering a broken leg or ankle, and it is a miracle that no-one has ended up in hospital yet.

Footballers have always tended to mimic each other whether its in the type of cars they drive, the clothes they wear or the nightclubs they get drunk in. Now it seems, its in the fouls
they commit.

Last week Portsmouth’s Sol Campbell was complaining that players don’t get enough respect from crowds. When you see them trying to commit full frontal assault on each other, is it any
wonder ?

The two-footed studs-up lunge can end a career. Here’s a way to stop it. Ban the player who committed the foul for at least three months. If the victim is out for nine months with a broken
leg, the purpatrator cannot play until the victim is fit again.

And if the worst comes to the worst and he loses his career — then the perpetrator is banned for life too. I guarantee two-footed jump-tackles would disappear from the game tomorrow.