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.

Will Spurs claim a top-four finish?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

Tottenham Hotspur’s season took another blow last weekend, when their FA Cup dreams were crushed at the hands of a rampant Chelsea at Wembley stadium last Sunday evening.

While Chelsea’s second goal was wrongly adjudged to be over the line and has rightly brought up the never-ending issue of goal-line technology, it doesn’t excuse a Spurs performance that simply didn’t live up to the occassion.

For Tottenham fans it compounded a worrying run of form that has seen the North Londoners go from potential title challengers at the turn of the year to facing a real struggle to achieve a top-four finish come the end of the season.

The first half of the season drew deserved acclaim for Harry Redknapp’s side, as the Lilywhites lit up the Premier League with some dazzling attacking football, as well as developing a consistency that had them breathing down the necks of Manchester giants United and City.    

FA Cup semi final preview: Tottenham vs Chelsea.

By Tony Alvarez

Today sees the 2nd semi final in this seasons FA Cup with the winner looking forward to a Wembley date with Liverpool in just 20 days time.
We are now at the penultimate stage but for Shouts From The Stands the tournament started way back in the first round proper in November 2011.
I started the tournament following Colchester United with the intention of following them until they got beat and then to follow their conquerors.

FA Cup quarter final Preview: Chelsea vs Leicester City

By Tony Alvarez

This weekend sees the FA Cup 6th round fixtures take place with sides hoping to cause upsets up and down the country and reach the semi finals of arguably the Worlds greatest Cup competition.

As regular visitors to the website will know both myself and Laurie chose a side to follow in round one of the competition, should that side lose we follow the side that beat them.

I initially started off with Colchester United who lost out to Swindon who in turn lost to Leicester in round four I followed Leicester through their 5^th round victory vsNorwich and will now look ahead to their real glamour tie away to Champions League quarter finalists, big spending Chelsea.

Is the Champions League the lifeline for Villas-Boas?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

The undoubted growing pressure on Andre Villas-Boas only served to increase at the weekend after they were booed off in a disappointing 1-1 home draw to Championship side Birmingham City in their FA Cup fifth round tie.

It was a result that clearly did not go down well within the Stamford Bridge heirarchy either, with a shake of the head from Chief Executive Ron Gourlay and a stern expression from Chairman Bruce Buck evident at the final whistle.

While Birmingham deserved great credit for an excellent performance that merited a replay at St. Andrews, much was made of the lack of creativity and a cutting edge in the Premier League big boys.

This latest setback for the Blues means it’s no win in their last four matches, and comes during a period where the focus on the manager has never been more scrutinised.  

Are you a fan of the Boxing Day fixtures?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

While most people up and down the country are either working off the Christmas turkey or rushing out for the high street sales, football fans are looking forward to one of the most traditional days in the season’s calendar.

Boxing day football has become a national institution, and this year is no different with several Premier League fixtures and a full programme of matches in the Football League.

But while we prepare to follow our sides across the land, the rest of Europe are taking their annual winter break to allow players and supporters to enjoy the festivities in its entirety.

This always creates the seemingly endless debate of whether we should follow in the footsteps of our continental counterparts and be football-free until the new year.

However, with no immediate plans for change, the festive period will continue to entertain us with the thrills and spills of the beautiful game.

But is a full set of fixtures right on top of Christmas something that appeals to you?

There never seems to be any sympathy for the players themselves, who have their Christmases heavily disrupted year in year out due to Christmas Day training sessions or staying in hotels that night with a game early the next day.

Then again, if you were paid the sort of money that a modern-day footballer receives then you’d be willing to play on the 25th December, let alone the 26th.

Yet this doesn’t exclude how we as supporters feel; we’ll support our clubs any time of the year, and so whether today you have a home game or a long journey for hundreds of miles for an away trip, we’ll make the effort to be there.

But this is usually the time of year to switch off, relax and enjoy time with family and friends. Finding the motivation to gear yourself up for the highs and lows of watching your team play doesn’t usually fit into that ideology.

Although Boxing Day football can split opinions, many of us see it as much of a tradition as turkey and watching The Snowman while falling asleep afterwards.

It’s been around for many years and will continue to be that way – but do you view football on this day as a Christmas cracker?

Is Villas-Boas too inexperienced to topple Alex Ferguson?

By Tony Alvarez

Today sees the meeting of the two biggest clubs in England
over the last few seasons, Manchester United vs Chelsea, there will be many key
battles in this fixture Rooney vs Terry Mata vs Smalling but the biggest will
be Chelsea and Premier League new boy Andre Villas-Boas and the legendary Sir
Alex Ferguson.

This is an intriguing battle as it sees the Premier Leagues
oldest and most experienced manager face off against the League’s youngest and
in terms of English Football the most inexperienced.

Although Villas-Boas is inexperienced in terms of management
in English Football he is by no means a newcomer to the English league, he
worked at Chelsea underneath the special one Jose Mourinho he also has pedigree
in his own right. In his first season as a manager with Porto he won a treble
of domestic league and cup and the Europa League.

Of course Sir Alex Ferguson has a long list of credentials
which speak for themselves, if I were to list them all it would be a whole
article on its own but you cannot forget that his side are the current champions
of the English Premier league and were runners up in the Champions League.

United welcome Chelsea to Old Trafford on the back of
arguable their most impressive ever start to a Premier League season, in the
four games played so far United have achieved maximum points and a stunning
goal difference of +15, what’s more impressive is this feat has been achieved without
their first choice central defence pairing of Vidic and Ferdinand for all but
one half of Football.

Chelsea’s start has been almost as successful but far less
impressive, the season started with a draw at Stoke I personally believe that will
be seen as a good hard earned point as the Brittannia stadium is not an easy
place to go.

Since the opening day draw Chelsea have recorded victories
over West Brom and Norwich at home and Sunderland away, all of this has left
them with a goal difference of +4.

Both clubs come into this fixture on the back of midweek
Champions League fixtures, a much changed United side travelled to Portuguese
side Benfica and came home with a 1-1 draw thanks to a goal from the evergreen
Ryan Giggs.

Chelsea welcomed German side Bayern Leverkusen to Stamford
Bridge and recorded a 2-0 win thanks to goals from David Luiz and summer
signing Juan Mata.

Due to the high level of performance early season from both
Manchester United and their rivals Manchester City many fans pundits and so
called experts have labelled this seasons title race as a two horse race and
have completely discounted Villas-Boas Chelsea side.

This was something United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
dismissed in his pre match press conference and a point Villas-Boas and his
Chelsea side will be eager to prove wrong.

With the return to fitness of Javier Hernandez United are
likely to revert back to the 4-4-2 system which served them so well last term
with man of the moment Wayne Rooney deployed just behind Hernandez.

Chelsea in their last few outings have favoured a 4-3-3
formation with Mata and Daniel Sturridge either side of either Nicolas Anelka
or record signing Fernando Torres. The Spaniard has struggled for form since
his January arrival at the West London side and this will be a tough call for
Villas-Boas.

I think a United win is likely but I do not think it will be
as easy as many predict, Chelsea are never easy to beat and Villas Boas knows
what its like to go into high pressure games and win.

Ii i were a betting man my money would go on a 2-1 or a 2-0
won to Manchester United as both teams are reasonably tight at the back.

What are your
thoughts? Has Villas Boas got what it takes to topple Sir Alex? Who should
Chelsea start up front? What’s your score line prediction? Leave a comment and
let us know your thoughts.

If you are on Twitter please follow us @sfts1

Will Martinez’s philosophy be enough for survival?

Martinezs attacking style will be tested to the full in the Premier League run-in

By Laurie Fitzgerald

Wigan Athletic go into the final weeks of the season propping up the Premier League table as their bid for survival intensifies.

If improvement isn’t found in the coming games then it could complete a harsh lesson in top-flight management for Latics manager Roberto Martinez.

The Spaniard was rightly hailed as one of the best young managers in the Football League when he turned Swansea from a League One side into Championship contenders in the space of two years.

It wasn’t just the results that won Martinez praise, but also the style of football in which the Swans played that made the then 35 year-old gain widespread acclaim, as well as attention.

Martinez had a philosophy of always playing an attractive passing game that would ensure his teams always look to attack and play in the right way.

So when Celtic were looking for a replacement for the departing Gordon Strachan in 2009, the Scottish giants looked to bring Martinez north of the border.

A move to Celtic Park didn’t materialise, but when Dave Whelan, the man that brought Martinez to England, offered him the manager’s position at the DW stadium a few weeks later, he couldn’t resist.

So it was a chance for Martinez to implement his philosophy in the biggest league in the world, and a chance to make a real mark in management with a side that he had a strong emotional bond with.

But his first season in the Premier League produced some harsh lessons. The obvious problem with having one way of playing is that when Plan A isn’t working, there’s no chance of changing it.

While Wigan finished in 16^th, there were some harrowing experiences along the way, including a 9-1 defeat to Tottenham and an 8-0 humiliation at champions-in-waiting Chelsea on the final day of the season.

The summer was an opportunity to instil a harder edge to the team, and despite a couple of early-season hammerings to Blackpool and Chelsea, there has been a greater level of character shown by the current Latics side.

However, while they have generally improved, they’ve lacked a cutting edge; just six wins and only 29 goals tell its own story.

Their recent 0-0 draw at home to Tottenham was a prime example of the campaign. Although any point in a relegation battle is welcome, it was a game that Wigan dominated and had numerous chances to win.

Birmingham City are the only side amongst the relegation candidates to have drawn more games, and despite playing in a style that will impress neutrals, not having enough of an end product in their attacking play has left the fans wondering if their six-year stay in the top-flight is coming to an end.

Last month, Martinez insisted on sticking with his philosophy, telling Sky Sports, “I think the manner we believe football has to be played is quite clear. What is important is you play in that manner well enough to win football games.”

Martinez now has just six games to ensure that sticking to his principles was worth it for Wigan and their fans.

So what do you think? Will Martinez persisting with his philosophy pay off for Wigan? Will the lack of cutting edge in their attacking style cost them come the end of the season? Let us know your thoughts.

Is Mancini too negative to be a trophy winner in England?

By Tony Alvarez

Following Man City’s 2-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday many fans are worried the way their city side play the game and think Mancini’s tenure at City could be ended in the summer.

His negative brand of football which sees three holding midfielders named in the starting 11 weakly no matter who they are paying has not caught the attention of the City fans, it would be tolerated if the club were flying high but a battle to get into the top four ahead and last weeks European exit was not what the fans had planned.

Some will point to the fact that City had played a large portion on a European tie just three days before with 10 men, but City were just as negative if not more so at the Emirates when Europe wasn’t a distraction.

Whilst City do have a Wembley FA Cup semi final against fierce rivals to look forward too which could be Mancini’s saving grace it still looks to be a disappointing season for the Premier Leagues big spenders.

Although City fans wont like to hear this their record this season against the big sides does not give them hope for their semi final, against the teams around them in the league table: Manchester United Arsenal Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur the club have played 7 and picked up only 6 points.

Another problem for Mancini’s future and City’ season will be the fitness of star player Carlos Tevez who missed the defeat at Stamford bridge but all being well will be fully fit after the international break.

I am far from calling City a one man team because that’s not fair too the many players of huge ability that they do have, but City are overly reliant on the little Argentine.

He is responsible for more goals than the rest of the strikers in the squad put together and it was all too clear that the side did not look comfortable without him at Stamford Bridge.

Another factor that will disappoint City fans is that they have not won an away game since Boxing Day for a side who at the time had title ambitions this is an atrocious stat but could just show Mancini’s way of thinking.

It is rumoured that in Italy in recent decades the top sides went with the formula that if you draw every away game and win your home games you will more than likely win the league so when playing away the side went purely for the draw if they won great they had exceeded expectations, this seems to be the approach Mancini is still trying to use unfortunately in England this is highly unlikely to work such is the level of competition.

Personally I would not be surprised if Mancini is not Man City manager next season due to the money he has invested in the squad and his relative lack of success. however I do think City will beat Tottenham to fourth place in the League but cant see them getting a result against United at Wembley.

Will Mancini still be manager at the start of next season? What will you consider as a successful season? Is Mancini’s approach too negative to win the title? Are you overly reliant on Carlos Tevez? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts?

Are things as bright as they appear for Bolton?

By Tony Alvarez

With the club sitting in 8^th place in the league, you would assume everything is all rosey for the Lancashire club.

The club are in absolutely no danger of getting relegated, playing an attractive brand of Football and are only a few points off a place that will guarantee European Football next season.

 However things are not as brilliant as they appear at first glimpse,  for me Bolton have move past the level of a club that is threatened to be relegated so should not be proud of being well clear of the danger zone, this is a point I am sure ambitious manager Owen Coyle would share.

 Recent form has been nothing quite short of awful for a team with the ambitions of Bolton, picking up only two wins in their last 9 league outings is more likely to drag them back towards the drop zone rather than towards a European place.

 Another problem is that Swedish Striker Johan Elmander the clubs leading scorer this season seems to have rediscovered his abysmal goal scoring record of last season and hasn’t hit the back of the net since boxing day, Coyle quickly moved to address is this problem in signing Chelsea youngster Daniel Sturridge on loan in the transfer window, he has scored two in two and looks impressive but further problems lie ahead.

Elmander’s contract is up at the end of the season and a few clubs have shown an interest following his early season form at the moment all the signs point to a free transfer away from the club in the summer. Daniel Sturridge has already stated he sees his future at Chelsea which makes it unlikely he will be at Bolton beyond his current loan spell which is up at the end of the season.

This will leave the club in a tough position with only the ageing Kevin Davies as the only striker in their squad with any Premier League pedigree, although I am personally a big fan of Ivan Klasnic injuries have hampered his time in England and he hasn’t been able to prove he is regularly up to the rigours of the Premier League.

 Although Bolton have never been a club afraid to spend if they feel the need to, it would take big money to get the type of player they need to push on to the next level.

I personally see a finish outside of the European places for Bolton this season, around a 9^th place finish and although I know Coyle is very shrewd in the transfer market I think he will find it hard to attract the calibre of player they need to raise Bolton’s level.

I can see the club settling down as the middle of the road Premier League side never in danger of relegation but just as unlikely to break the top 4/5.

For years Bolton fans would of snapped your hand off if you offered them this position so not many will be too disheartened, however after coming so far I am sure many would love to see a lot more from their side.

What do you think? Where will Bolton finish this season? Will Elmander be gone in the summer? Can you see the club attracting the type of player needed to reach the next level? Are Bolton fans happy to be considered a comfortable mid table side?