Thought I'd start a football blog, we might keep this going until 2010.....England doing well....did not see the match or even the goals....I'd like Michael owen back in the squad though....and I think Peter Crouch would make a very good substitute...remember against Argentina in Geneva a few years ago....with Michael Owen and some very good movements on and off the ball...they caused havoc.....did see Scotland's missed chance....that could be very costly losing those 2 points !.

Not such a good end to the European Championship for the under 21's here !....4-0 loss and another 3 goals let in against Sweden...I would not be too happy if I was Stuart Pearce ...7 goals conceded and not 1 scored since going 3-0 up..not so good that...but getting to the final is not so bad.....will have to go 1 step further in 2 years time.....will have to watch the Germans (seniors) in next year's world cup....incredibly they never impress but somehow get through each round in turn...will be a job to knock them out again next year....the Brazilians are great in attack but that defense looks dodgy and any team that has a proper go at them for 90 minutes stands a chance, not just 45mn like the Americans did , that's no good : you have to go at their defense in both halves...all shall be revealed at next year's finals !.

Michael Owen set to join ManU...it's like selling a stock at a high price (Ronaldo) and getting in at a lower one (M.Owen).....with Rooney and Owen both fully fit...(good for the national side that !)...I bet they bump into Real Madrid...possibly as early as the group stages...you never know !?.....I think this year the final order next may in the premiership will be : Liverpool, yep ! the super reds champions at long last...got to come sooner or later.. Chelsea, ManU and Aston villa with Arsenal scraping into the Uefa Europa Cup......I fear that the Gunners are looking like a short at the moment....where are all these wonders that Arsene has tucked away ?... time to unleash them on the world !.

rq..no way man u and real will get drawn in group together..UEFA have always rigged the draws...have a look back at how weak Man U's group has been.

same with the play off for the world cup...turns out the play offs for the second placed teams from the groups will be seeded for the play off draw...unbeliavebale

No play offs in the world cup in the Eurozone..top 2 qualify...strong possiblity of England being one of the upper seeds for that as 7th in the world in Fifa rankings and 8 groups and 2 quarter final appearances and no Sweden (would be a miracle if they qualify now !), and perhaps no Portugal....can't quite believe it myself that !....the world's best player might not be there.....they will have to win all their remaining games to pip Hungary...possible but difficult !, no Ronaldo ???...reminds me of 1966 with no George Best....history to repeat itself ?....why am I being so over optimistic for England's chances next year ?...better go and take a cold shower !....Real have not won the Spanish championship nor been crowned kings of Europe for some time...they might be placed in the second tier of 8 sides in the Euro draws...I might be mistaken though !.

rf...nope top of the group qualify and all of the second place teams (apart form worst placed runner up who goes out) go into a play off which is seeded.

Are you sure of this ?....4 years ago...there were play offs but I'm almost certain that it's the top 2 now...must check this...

yes i am 100% sure

Crikey !, you're right .....logged on to Fifa and all the second best eight bump into each other....you could have Eire against Scotland or Northern Ireland or Croatia - Portugal (if they make the 2nd place)...cheers !......would be better if they had groups with the top 2 going through !.

Argentina are in a real battle with Ecuador breathing down their necks....could be some knock out surprises yet !.

what i just cannot understand in the world cup play offs is why they would be seeded.....top ranked teams cannot draw each other....it is an unbelievable fix from FIFA....

It would be better to do away with the play-offs....(I think that Uefa are considering this), and just have one group less and the top 2 go through.....Fifa probably won't make so much money and they'll say that there will be a fixture problem or such.....I don't like the play-offs at all...!.

Just a quick mention about the tennis...Well Andy Murray didn't win.....a little bit too much optimism from the fans, he still has a lot to do to compete with the likes of Federer....mainly spraying the ball from one side and then to the other side better !,....one day he might be the first Brit to win it for ages.

ManU snapping up unknowns.....a bit different to Real, where I can't help but feel that the previous owners of their new famous players have seen their best days, anyway coming back to the cricket....good first innings by England, shall try to follow it a bit this summer.

The Aussies are at it again...2 centuries.....dear oh dearie me ,....we need to bowl these pom bashers out....perhaps a few strippers at the right moment might do the trick !.

Or simply decent bowling

That's asking a lot...by the way I meant streakers...I think that's what you call them...

The England team pulled off a bit of a miracle getting the draw...that's the equivalent of losing the first test and winning the second...perhaps they can carry the momentum into the second test match..we shall see...Flintoff to retire after the ashes...real Shane...euh sorry shame......he has been terrific at times...back to the soccer...John Terry to move to Man City....I hope not : this is just money talking.....we need a cap on salaries possibly...but you can understand his point of view and pondering such a move : 200000 per week...heavens...what an incredible salary ...!?.

You say you can understand - Unfortunately I can't

Why move to a club that at best is 24 mths away from winning a trophy ?

Why move when you're already on a fair packet ?

Why leave a club that won the FA Cup, should have got to the CL final for the second year in a row (had it not been for the corrupt UEFA/Platini/ref triangle) ?

Why leave when your family has expressed a desire to remain in the south ?

And are City really buying a succesful team - potentially overstocked with strikers with little focus on getting the ball to them ?

Money.

Yes, take away the money aspect, and I would remain at Chelsea....they might win things this year.