Champions League Update

A Gareth Bale second half hat trick almost brought 10 man Tottenham an incredible draw against Inter Milan at the San Siro after early goals from Javier Zanetti, Samuel Eto’o x2 and Dejan Stankovic left Spurs looking embarrassed at half time, but time ran out as the hosts held on to win 4-3. Meanwhile at Old Trafford Nani scored the winner winning a curling shot from outside of the box against a stout Bursapor defence as Manchester United won 1-0 but the match only provides temporary relieve for Sir Alex Ferguson as he meets with chief executive David Gill to discuss the future of Wayne Rooney this morning. Elsewhere, Barcelona overcame a battling FC Copenhagen side with 2 goals from Lionel Messi. For the latest league tables click here

FC Twente 1-1 Werder Bremen

Inter Milan 4-3 Tottenham

Lyon 2-0 Benfica

Schalke 3-1 Hapoel Tel-Aviv

Man Utd 1-0 Bursaspor

Rangers 1-1 Valencia

Barcelona 2-0 FC Copenhagen

Panathinaikos 0-0 FK Rubin Kazan

Messi mob at Marshes halts charity kickabout

Just a day after yet another masterful show guided Barcelona to a 5-1 Champions League victory, the world's greatest player, Lionel Messi, touched down on London's Hackney Marshes.



However, a planned kickabout was cancelled after a 500-strong mob surrounded the player after his helicopter touched down. He also backed out of another 5-a-side event later in East London, causing uproar amongst locals who had waited hours to see their idol. A boot signing at Brick Lane did go ahead as scheduled, though.

Looking at some of the youtube uploads of videos from those at the scene, with the rather, erm, "enthusiastic" crowd, perhaps it's no surprise he was quite keen to fly back to Spain ASAP.

That was turgid

England 0-0 Algeria. Oh dear. Oh deary dear.

We all thought that last Saturday's 1-1 draw with the USA was pretty disappointing, but England didn't lose and the performance would get better. We were playing Algeria next, after all.

How wrong we were.

No passion, no courage, no ideas. And no changes from boss Fabio Capello, who stuck rigidly with an increasingly outdated and static-looking 4-4-2.

I've mentioned this before, and clearly I'm not the only one. The commentators highlighted it, fans are calling for it, and Capello himself said something has to change - England need to try a 4-3-3 formation to get the best out of Lampard, Gerrard and Rooney.

Which brings me nicely to the Manchester United forward. It has long been argued that in the context of "real" world superstars like Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, he is a talented, but not truly great player.

After watching his lacklustre display, a few more people might sign up to that argument. Like the rest of the squad, he lacked any cutting edge. Even more worryingly, the desire and drive that has become such a well-known trait was nowhere to be seen.

Is he tired? Is he under too much pressure? Does he not enjoy playing for England as much as he does for Manchester United? Or, and I don't say this lightly, do the naysayers have a point - and is he just not that good?

His sarcastic reaction to the booing of England's fans after game will have endeared him to nobody - and attacking your own dedicated supporters is one of the big no-no's in any sport.

Luckily, and quite bizarrely, Rooneys, and England's, destiny is still in their own hands. A win over Slovenia and the 2nd round beckons. Even a draw could be enough if Algeria beat the USA.

God forbid if it comes to expecting favours from the Algerians, though. It's not what England expects, and it's certainly not what the FA expects of Capello - especially when they hand him £6 million a year.

So, its time for the Don to earn his crust. Because if things go t*ts up against the Slovenians, not only will Rooney and the team be lampooned - but people may just ask, is Fabio really that good?

Over to you, Mr. Capello. And a happy 64th birthday.