This summer on Shouts From The Stands!

By Tony Alvarez & Laurie Fitzgerald

Hi all!

Many thanks once again for your continued support throughout what has been another incredible season of football, both domestically and in Europe.

We have aimed to try and cover all corners of English football, with our consistent coverage of Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two allowing us to get feedback and reaction from all different types of football fans.

We’ve also dedicated a weekly feature on rugby union as we try to look at what’s important to fans across all types of sport, so all of your responses, likes and feedback (whether positive or negative!) are always welcome as try to improve the site by the day.

With the domestic season now winding down and the footballing community preparing for a summer of relaxing or playing for their country on the other side of the continent, we will be doing a weekly feature on Euro 2012 throughout June and July before we get back to the start of the new season and writing daily features.

However, before that we will be covering three of the biggest matches left in the sporting calendar; the Aviva Premiership Final, plus the Play-Off Finals in League One and League Two.

So many thanks once again, and have a great summer!

 

Champions League final preview: Bayern Munich vs Chelsea

 

By Tony Alvarez
Tonight sees the biggest game in European club Football where one side are just one match away from being crowned the Champions of Europe.
The final is to be contested by FC Bayern Munich of Germany who overcame Jose Mourinho‘s Real Madrid in a tough semi final that went all the way to penalties and English side Chelsea, who overcame all sorts of problems and beat reigning Champions Barcelona against all expectations and odds.
The game unusually will be played at Bayern Munich’s home ground the Allianz Arena. Although the crowd will be split as per any other Champions League final Bayern will have the advantage of having played on the pitch week in week out all season.

Championship Play-Off Final Preview

By Laurie Fitzgerald,

Tomorrow, the richest game in world football takes place as Blackpool and West Ham United prepare to battle it out for an instant return back to the biggest league on the planet.

A packed Wembley stadium will host the 2012 Championship play-off final, and while the Hammers start off as favourites to get back into the Premier League, the Seasiders‘ attacking intent means there is every chance of a tangerine party.

Both teams had rather different passages to the final; West Ham eased past Cardiff 5-0 on aggregate, while Blackpool had to resist a stirring Birmingham fightback to edge the Blues 3-2 over two hard-fought legs and earn a crack at reaching the big time again.

Now they are just 90 minutes away, and going into the match there is certainly a contrast between the levels of pressure that each manager will face.    

Has Hodgson got his squad correct?

By Tony Alvarez
Yesterday new England manager Roy Hodgson announced his first England squad, which is an important one as its also the squad that will represent England in this Summers European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine.
Shortly after his squad was announced at 1pm yesterday his decisions were met with much criticism from the general public as well as some of his decisions being questioned by Football pundits.

Neutral fans, who do you want to win the Champions League?

By Tony Alvarez
Following Tottenham finishing fourth a position which would normally put them in the qualifying rounds of the Uefa Champions League, many fans who are not supporters of the North London side or Roberto Di Matteo‘s Chelsea have been caught in two minds about who they want to win the Champions League.
Of course Chelsea finished the season in a disappointing 6th place but all will be forgotten if they can win in Munich on Saturday and be crowned European Champions for the first time.

Has this been the best Premier League season ever?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

Sergio Aguero’s 95th-minute strike secured the most thrilling of Premier League titles for Manchester City as Roberto Mancini’s side earned the club’s first title in 44 years in truly dramatic fashion.

That 3-2 win over Queen’s Park Rangers served as heartbreak for their Manchester rivals United, as Sir Alex Ferguson‘s men had the title given to them and dashed from them all within a matter of minutes.

It was also a fitting end to a Premier League campaign that has thrown up endless twists and turns, and this in a week when the 2011/12 season was voted the greatest in the league’s history, with each club having their own intriguing story.

City will look upon their triumph as potentially the beginning of a new and successful era, with the incredible financial backing of Sheikh Mansour now reaping the rewards.

United will try and use this moment to inspire their younger players such as Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck to drive them on and continuing the consistent success that’s been in place over the past 20 years.    

What teams will come out on top in the last day drama?

By Tony Alvarez

By midnight tonight the Premier League season will be over, we will know where everyone has finished and more importantly who has grabbed the final important places that are still up for grabs.
It has been the first time in many a year that the final day of the season has seen so much still to play for.

The title is still there to be won with the Manchester clubs, City and United fighting to be crowned Champions.
3rd and 4th are still yet to be decided, really they shouldn’t be important placing but with the money the Champions League brings in they are extremely important, third is also more important that it has ever been before as the side who finish 4th will miss out on Champions League Football should Chelsea triumph over Munich in Munich on May 19th.

Play-off heartache won’t detract from Birmingham’s efforts

By Laurie Fitzgerald

Birmingham City’s quest for promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking came to a disappointing end when they were knocked out of the play-offs by Blackpool.

Despite pulling the aggregate score back from 3-0 down to trailing 3-2 with 20 minutes remaining, the Blues were unable to get the goal needed to take the tie into extra-time as Iain Holloway’s men progressed to Wembley to take on West Ham next Saturday.

However, Birmingham’s fightback was a prime example of the character and the determination to defy the odds that they have developed under manager Chris Hughton over the past 12 months.

When City were relegated on the final day of last season, it began a summer of turmoil that would see major changes from top to bottom of the club.

Owner Carson Yeung was arrested in his native Hong Kong following allegations of money laundering, and with his assets being the subject of a criminal investigation – on top of the huge loss of revenue after falling out of the Premier League – it inevitably lead to asset-stripping at St. Andrews.

Key players in their Carling Cup triumph departed, with the likes of Roger Johnson, Scott Dann, Cameron Jerome, Craig Gardner, Barry Ferguson and Ben Foster all moving on to pastures new.

It was too much for manager Alex McLeish, who decided to resign from his position. To make matters worse for Blues supporters, the Scot would eventually take charge of fiercest rivals Aston Villa.

Hughton was appointed as McLeish’s replacement, left with the task of stabilising the club following a traumatic few months and having to work with a threadbare squad preparing for life in the Championship.    

Pat Rice a fond farewell…

By Tony Alvarez
Despite being well known by Arsenal fans and perhaps fans of a lot of other clubs up and down the country Arsenal yesterday officially announced that Pat Rice the clubs long term assistant manager and even longer servant would step down after Sunday’s clash withWest Brom.

He joined the club as a youth-team player in 1964 before turning professional two years later and went on to make more than 500 appearances for the Gunners, captaining the side to FA Cup victory in 1979.

Rice left Arsenal for a four-year spell withWatford in 1980 before returning to the club as a youth-team coach.

Where does Wigan’s survival rank in recent times?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

Wigan Athletic sealed their Premier League survival on Monday night when they defeated Blackburn Rovers 1-0 at Ewood Park, condemning their Lancashire rivals to the Championship in the process.

Antolin Alcaraz‘s header three minutes from time means that the Latics are now five points clear of third-from-bottom Bolton Wanderers going into their final clash of the season at home to already-relegated Wolves.

The win also ensured that the club sensibly run by long-standing owner Dave Whelan can now look forward to their eighth successive campaign in the biggest league in the world.

But while there have been many wonderful moments along the way, it’s difficult to think of a season where Wigan have had to defy the odds in the run-in more than this one.

In 2007, they famously went to Sheffield United in a do-or-die clash at Bramall Lane, where David Unsworth‘s penalty was enough to seal a 2-1 win and condemn the Blades to the drop.

2010 saw Wigan seal survival in their penultimate match when they came from 2-0 down with 10 minutes to go to stun Arsenal and secure a dramatic 3-2 victory.

While last year, they travelled to Stoke knowing that only a win would guarantee remaining in the top-flight, and Hugo Rodallega‘s header gave Wigan the three points at the Britannia that sparked scenes of wild celebrations with management, players and the travelling supporters.