Reuters Soccer Blog

Soccer Break Thursday – United roll on

Manchester United just keep on winning despite a sluggish season by their usually high standards and will now face Barcelona in the Champions League final on May 28.

Predictions? Hard to see even a full strength United keeping Messi and co at bay, especially as Barca coach Pep Guardiola will be seeking to continue his love affair with Wembley.

Next up for Alex Ferguson’s men is the visit of title rivals Chelsea on Sunday, certain to be a much stiffer test than a disappointingly lacklustre Schalke 04 on Wednesday. Will United’s formidable home record count in their favour?

Staying in Europe, and Thursday is Europa League day. Porto take a 5-1 lead into the second semi-final leg against Villarreal, while compatriots Benfica beat fellow Portuguese club Braga 2-1 at home.

Braga, less fashionable than their illustrious rivals, play their home games at the Quarry. Could be an explosive match.

Taking a look at a wider football issue, are tickets too expensive? Read here for what Arsenal are doing to combat the rise in prices.

And finally, referees have a hard time, especially with the stakes so high in Europe, but read here to find out about a New Zealand official’s ‘empty net’ penalty decision.

Scotland on their way back to London, but England match must wait a while

Scotland’s soccer team return to London for the first time since 1999 at the end of this month — but they won’t be playing England at Wembley.

Instead they will face five-times world champions Brazil in a high profile friendly at the Emirates Stadium which should be filled close to its 60,000 capacity.

If that game goes ahead without trouble — which is the most likely outcome — it could give added impetus to the English FA’s plans to host a one-off “home international” series in 2013 to mark their 150th anniversary.

That could then mark Scotland’s return to Wembley for the first time since the stadium was re-opened four years ago.

The game against Brazil though, and Scotland’s return to London, evoke memories of the days when Scotland were regular visitors to Wembley, playing England there in alternate years in the world’s oldest international series that began in 1872.

The reasons why the matches ended after the short-lived Rous Cup in 1989 following the demise of the Home Championship between the four British nations in 1984, have been well documented down the years.

Questions began to be asked after the 1977 game at Wembley when Scottish fans rioted after a 2-1 victory, demolishing the goalposts and wreaking havoc on the Underground and in central London.

Arsenal fans must keep their faith in Wenger

Mike Collett in London on why Arsenal fans should back their manager

Arsene Wenger is the most successful manager Arsenal have ever had, but unhappy fans have very short memories and incredible as it may seem, some Arsenal supporters were calling for his head on Monday.

Irate listeners to radio phone-ins and message boards posters vented their frustrations at Arsenal’s failure to end their six-year trophy drought after they lost 2-1 to underdogs Birmingham City in the League Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.

The messages said largely the same thing. Why hasn’t Wenger spent money on buying a top class goalkeeper and two reliable centre-backs to provide a stronger foundation for a team brimming with class, talent and invention in midfield and attack?

And, more surprisingly, some said it was time the 61-year-old Frenchman moved on.

That though, would be even more calamitous for Arsenal than the mistake that cost them the final on Sunday. Arsenal still have the chance to win three honours this season — the Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup.

A victory in any one of those would more than make up for this setback, devastating as it clearly was to Arsenal’s prone players at the end, although Sunday’s loss does highlight again well publicised weaknesses in the current squad.

More World Cup questions than answers for England’s Capello

A muted send-off and a manager wanting more perhaps told the true story of England’s 3-1 friendly victory over Mexico at Wembley on Monday in which Fabio Capello was left with more questions than answers over his World Cup squad selection.

On the plus side, goalkeepers Joe Hart and in particular Robert Green would have given the Italian confidence in a position that poses a problem for fans with first-choice stopper David James still susceptible to a clanger.

There was also a good display from Glen Johnson and Ledley King, with both getting on the scoresheet, and King looking fit and healthy.

There were problems, however. England were outplayed and out-passed for much of the match on an albeit dodgy Wembley surface and had two-set pieces to thank for a 2-1 halftime lead.

Midfielder Steven Gerrard admitted that Capello had given them a talking-to at the interval, which appeared to work with a much tighter and organised second-half display.

However, England, with just one friendly to play against Japan before the June 11-July 11 tournament begins, still look like a side not sure of their best formation and more importantly their best starting 11.

With questions still looming over Gareth Barry’s fitness, central midfield is still to be decided and Michael Carrick did little to cement a place after a display littered with misplaced passes. On the right of midfield, Theo Walcott was lively but would perhaps serve better as an impact substitute meaning Aaron Lennon may get the nod.

England sail through, but how are their World Cup chances?

So, once again, England qualify in style. The garages can start stocking up on plastic flags of St George, the breweries can breathe a sigh of relief and the tabloids can start their gradual shift from cautious support to the crescendo of expectation that will accompany Fabio Capello and his squad to South Africa next year.

But is there any evidence that “this time, more than any other time, they’ll do it right“?

Do England really have a team capable of getting beyond the quarter-finals, let alone winning the thing?

Points in favour:

1. The rest of the world aren’t so hot at the moment. Brazil, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands are going along pretty nicely but Argentina, France, Portugal and even Italy have got problems. None of them looks unbeatable.

2. Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. These are players truly deserving the “world class” tag and when fit and on form provide England with a deadly attacking triangle capable of undoing the very best of defences.

3. Capello. The Italian’s calm authority has permeated a squad previously drowning in its own self-satisfaction. There shouldn’t be any idiotic selections and once in South Africa this squad will be focused solely on the task in hand — and that won’t be accompanying their wives on shopping trips to Sandton.

Welcome back to the big time, Burnley

It’s been a while since Burnley last enjoyed top flight success but fans of the Lancashire club can dream once more after winning promotion to the Premier League on Monday, beating Sheffield United 1-0 at Wembley.

Founding members of the Football League in 1888, Burnley, join Wolverhampton Wanderers and Birmingham City as next season’s new boys, replacing relegated West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough and Newcastle United.

Burnley’s success will please more than a few neutrals.

Manager Owen Coyle’s team have received praise all season for their good football and have regularly caught the headlines in the domestic cups, beating no fewer than four Premier League sides including Chelsea and Arsenal and reaching the League Cup semi-finals.

A long time has passed since Burnley’s glory days, the second league championship in 1960 and a place in the European Cup quarter-finals the following year, and it’s probably no surprise that bookmakers hardly gave the players time to enjoy a post-match glass of champagne before slapping them odds-on for relegation next season.

But Coyle need only look at Hull City, who received similar treatment a year ago from the bookies. Not many would have imagined that Middlesbrough and Newcastle’s long stay in the top flight would end thanks to Hull’s outstanding early-season form.

Everton to face Chelsea after Howard heroics see off United

So, it will be an all-Blue FA Cup final this year, after Everton set up a date with Chelsea thanks to the penalty shoot-out heroics of goalkeeper Tim Howard in the semi-final against Manchester United.

Howard, a former United keeper, you may remember, saved the first two penalties from Dimitar Berbatov and Rio Ferdinand and Everton didn’t look back.

I suppose people may criticise Alex Ferguson for his gamble in picking so many youngsters but it was perfectly understandable, given the (more important) games United have coming up.

In any case, let’s concentrate on the achievement of David Moyes in taking Everton through to a major final with a squad built for a fraction of the money spent by Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and the rest.

Not bad for a ‘small club’…

PHOTO: A Manchester United fan uses his scarf to shade his eyes from the sun during their FA Cup semi-final against Everton at Wembley, April 19, 2009. REUTERS/Darren Staples

Ukraine overawed by (lack of) Wembley atmosphere

Ukraine coach Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko said his players had been overawed by the Wembley atmosphere in their 2-1 World Cup defeat by England but their nerves must have been based on the twin-towered mystique of the old stadium rather than the soulless feeling of the new.

At a cost of 800 million pounds ($1.15 billion), the new Wembley undoubtedly looks impressive and there was no hint of the credit crunch as the wine flowed in the packed private dining suites before the game.

Out in the seats, however, any hope of building a rip-roaring atmosphere before the game continues to be undone by the FA’s obsession with deafening announcements.

In the 30 minutes before kick off on Wednesday fans were treated to a spoof comedy show involving the England players, a lengthy film pleading for respect for referees in amateur football — including the chance to receive the FA’s own guide to parental behaviour — and pleas for the fans to respect the national anthems.

There were also the obligatory sales pitches for the new England kit, available now for “just 50 pounds ($72.76).

By the time the players kicked off, the near-90,000 supporters in the stadium appeared to be relishing the peace rather than getting behind their heroes (although Wayne Rooney said he was happy enough with the noise).

What are United’s quintuple chances now?

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson dismissed the suggestion in his usual style.

After beating Spurs on penalties to win the English League Cup final on Sunday he was asked if United could complete a “quintuple” of trophies.

“It’s a media thing,” he shot back. “I’m not getting carried away with it. We’re keeping our feet on the ground.”

But with FIFA’s Club World Cup and the League Cup already in the trophy room and with the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup all realistic targets, it is not just a media thing. It’s a real possibility. Throw in the Community Shield and it becomes a sextuple. Or a “double treble” — which sounds good if you are winning it or even drinking it.

Former United striker Frank Stapleton is among many who think Ferguson has assembled the best squad United have ever had – and although they failed to break Spurs down in 120 goalless minutes at Wembley, they still had the nerve, guile and experience to ease to a 4-1 victory in the shootout.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp believes they can do it too.

Vlog on the pitch — time to put Rooney back centre stage

Join vlogmeister Owen Wyatt as he goes to the London College of Communication to seek opinions on Wayne Rooney’s role for England.

The 2-0 win over the United States was probably England’s best performance under Fabio Capello, and Steven Gerrard certainly had a good game, but there seems to be a common feeling that the Italian is not getting the best out of Rooney.

Should Capello be building his team around Rooney? Is it a case of Rooney trying to do too much for the team when he should be being more selfish? Or do you expect it all to come right again when he recovers from the effects of a long season?