Seconds out, round two

Over the past week or so I have read a lot about how all four English teams already have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Columnists and commentators have been falling over each other to sing the respective European praises of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea.

But if anyone thinks these ties are over, they had better take a large swig from a cold cup of reality. Because not one of the ties is a foregone conclusion.

Fair enough, from the four games in the first legs there were three wins for the English teams, one draw and not a single goal conceded. And that's certainly a good start.

But if anyone thinks Real Madrid or any of the three Italian teams are writing off their chances of making it through to the next round, they are greatly mistaken.

I watched, as neutrals tend to, bits and pieces of all the matches. In fact, I think I may have burnt out my remote control in the process.

And the truth is, I didn't see too much between any of those eight teams. Each of them had good and not-quite-so-good spells in the games and, with the possible exception of Manchester United's first half against Inter, there were no one-sided passages of play.

Of the four English teams, I believe Arsenal and Chelsea are the ones who should really be a little cautious in their optimism. Roma and Juventus will be entirely different propositions at home, backed by vociferous and partisan crowds. And a one-goal lead is always a precarious one.

Manchester United, still overall favourites in my book, looked solid in Milan and only wayward finishing stopped them getting the crucial away goal they craved. But even without it, I still believe they will have enough in store to ruin Jose Mourinho's day. And does anyone need a bigger incentive than that?

For me, the performance of the round so far has to be Liverpool's. When they headed to Real Madrid I thought they would be on the end of a spanking. Especially when the rumours about Benitez being fired surfaced pre-kick-off. Yet they won relatively comfortably.

Then, in typical Liverpool fashion they followed that by losing to Middlesborough.

Just what is it about Benitez that makes him so good at navigating his way around Europe while domestically he can barely find his way to the bathroom? Will he ever be able to transfer his Champions League abilities to the Premiership? Or are Liverpool, under him, destined to be as much use in England as a glass hammer?

I stand by my theory that he, as a manager, is only capable of raising his team for single encounters and has little idea how to keep his lads peaking over the course of a long domestic season.

The ultimate one night stand manager.

And that, more than contract disputes, overbearing chief executives or nutty American owners will eventually lead to the Spaniard's downfall at Anfield.

But this coming week isn't about the Premiership, it is about Europe. And you have to say England's quartet are well placed heading into this week's games.

My guess? If I had to put money on the make-up of the quarter-finals I would only put down three Premiership names.

Which one would I leave out? That would be Chelsea.

I could be wrong, of course. And secretly, I hope I am. But I just think Juve will have too much in the tank for Hiddink's boys.

Even though the Russian coach seems to have a bit of a Midas touch at the moment, I don't think it will be enough to overcome the success-hungry Italians on their own patch.

Whatever happens, it should be a fascinating week of football. Going to have to get myself a new remote control...

Time to put safety first

Last week, I was in England watching a couple of matches. A thoroughly enjoyable 48 hours with, surprisingly, victories for both the teams I was supporting.

But throughout my whirlwind visit, one thing kept striking me - the accessibility of the players to the public. Standing outside the ground before one game, I was struck by the lack of anything even resembling security.

As the players got off the coach they had to wade their way through the fans to get into the stadium with only a token police presence around. And they were only keeping an eye on the situation rather than trying to organise it.

Of course, in my heart I believe that is the way it should be. The crowds were mostly made up of young autograph hunters and genuine fans who just wanted to wish the players well or pat them on the back.

But, and this is probably a sad reflection on modern society, I couldn't help but worry that in among the throngs of genuine fans, one or two nutters may be lurking. Idiots looking to make a name for themselves by attacking a famous football star. Or, worse still, some brainwashed maniacs looking to kill and injure in the name of religion.

The horrific and tragic events in Pakistan this week indicated quite clearly that sports stars can be targets for terrorists. And that particular attack took place despite the Sri Lankan cricket team having an armed police escort.

Of course, a similar attack is much less likely to happen in England. But there is always the chance.

Yet football is incredibly relaxed and blasé about the dangers. As a sport it seems to have a 'it won't happen to us' mentality. A belief that nobody would be interested in attacking the players, managers or officials.

Maybe I am wrong. Maybe I am looking for something that isn't there. But I can't shake off this feeling that, unless security is tightened just a little bit, there is a tragedy somewhere waiting to happen.

Football is the people's sport. And I would seriously hate it to become detached from the people as a result of draconian security measures.

And that's why I would like to see slightly tighter controls now rather than the super secure levels it would reach in the wake of any incident.

You watch. The next time there is any potentially troublesome cricket match, security is going to be ridiculous. You will have armed guards, snipers, metal detectors, the works.

I just don't want to see the same happen to football.

Short of Cashley

We've all had nights out where we've spent more than we intended. You know, when you budget €50 but spend €70. That sort of thing. But I don't think anyone has ever gone quite as overboard as Ashley Cole did this week.

The Chelsea player went out to let his hair down after a charity gig, had a nice steak, went to a club, got a bit drunk and then spent the early hours swearing at police in the street outside the club.

Nothing too unusual about his overall behaviour, admittedly. That type of thing happens thousands of times a night all over England. But the financial cost of Cole's big night out was a little different to the norm.

The steak, Japanese apparently, was a whopping £50, his bar bill at the nightclub was £1,000, and the police fine for being drunk and disorderly another £80.

But the real dent in Cole's pocket came from his club who fined him two weeks' wages for his night of naughtiness. That's £160,000. Ouch.

Luckily for Cole his popstar wife Cheryl probably doesn't know about the incident just yet. She is busy climbing Mount Kilamanjaro for Comic Relief.

It would have been a pretty safe bet that if she had been around, the cost to Cole may well have been more than just financial...

Your say

You all just love it when I get a prediction wrong, don't you?

"Just a short note to congratulate you on your fantastic prediction last week. Spurs to win the Carling Cup? Exactly how stupid are you? I am not a Manchester United fan but anyone who bets against them winning at the moment has to be a complete idiot.

"I sincerely hope you didn't put any money on your prediction. Actually, I hope you did. Maybe you will shut up in future."
Ronald Williams, St Paul's Bay

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"I am very happy you predicted Man Utd would lose the Cup, as the opposite happens every time you make one of your predictions. I have supported the Red Devils since I was just a six-year-old boy and I don't think I have ever seen them as good and consistent as they are this season.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they went on to win all five trophies this year because I can't see anybody being able to stop them. The biggest problem they have I think is Inter, but we will see next Wednesday if Mourinho is able to ruin our perfect season. I think not."
Darren Saliba

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com