Barclay Talks Sport

So the ludicrous nature of football mangement comes to this. Avram Grant was sacked because John Terry slipped on a muddy piece of turf by a penalty spot. Let's not hide from this truth. Because had Chelsea won the Champs League, Abramovich, running the Thai bloke a close second in daftness, would not have been able to sack him.

And one of the most depressing about this sorry affair is that all the pundits I heard kept on saying. 'well, it was inevitable', shrugged their shoulders and started speculating about whether Ronaldo would go ro Real or not. Not a one mentioned that Grant's sacking is an absolute outrage with no basis in footballing terms whatever. Chelsea feel they have a divine right to win a trophy every season. They do not. What Grant did in his nine months in charge was take a team that was not his, get them to one domestic final, to the final day in the premiership with hope of winning it and to the final of the Champions League (something ego Jose failed to do), the blue riband event of European club football. This is a fantastic achievement and a more solid platform from which to win multiple trophies next season is difficult to build.

Yet he was sacked because of some mud. I note Arsenal won nothing this season. Wisely, they did not sack Wenger. And back in the days of Fergie's early tenure at Man Utd, they stuck with him when to sack him would not have been wholly unreasonable. It doesn't take a footballing genius, nor a statistician to work it out. Keep faith with a boss who is doing a good job and building for success and you will achieve success. Rocket science it ain't.

Sorry, Chelsea fans, but I hope your club has a dreadful, underperforming season next time round, I really do. Man Utd will be better than you. So will Arsenal and I hope both Liverpool and Everton nudge you aside too. How do you fancy the UEFA Cup in 2009/10? Perhaps you'll have to sweat on entry via the fair play league. So, no chance then.

Yesterday's bad news for Paula Radcliffe is far more long-term than Beijing 2012. It doesn't just represent a risk to one of our key medal hopes. Looking ahead, the real sadness here is that a truly great athlete faces ending her career without an Olympic marathon medal of any kind and that is truly unfortunate. The debacle of Greece aside, where all the reasons for her failure seem a little feeble, Paula Radcliffe has been a staggeringly good marathon runner with an almost peerless race record to go along with her world record.

But she has been unable to demonstrate her undeniable greatness on the most important stage of all. We can only hope that her assessment of her chances is more than a pipe-dream. With preparation time running out, pardon the pun, we are left fearing she will either be unable to be competitive or unable to run at all. I find it hard to believe she will still be at the top of her event when the games come to London in 2012 and that means Beijing is her last best chance of Olympic gold.

An athlete of her class needs these opportunities not to feel robbed at the end of their careers. And there will be a big hole in the centre of her trophy cabinet if she fails to make the games this year. My fingers are crossed. So should yours be.

The Champions League Final was a proper football match. Two teams trying to win, not trying to avoid defeat. It was nerveless English league football at its best. Ebb and flow, chances, petulant players, whining managers and some fabulous skill on display. But never mind that. Like so many big finals, this one had to be settled on penalties, reducing a team game to a one-on-one lottery. I find it unacceptable.

Yes, I know it's dramatic and all that but it isn't football. There are no team tactics, and the only skill is in hitting a ball from 12 yards and hoping your standing foot doesn't slide. Because in the end, this final was settled by a patch of mud beneath the boot of John Terry during an artificial ending to an exhilarating match. Shouldn't be this way, if you ask me. John Terry was disconsolate, clearly blaming himself for losing the match. Wrongly. He had a great game but he is now forced to carry the can for events beyond the final whistle.

So what should we do? Well, fundamentally, the game needs to go on until someone scores. But of course, there has to be a conclusion in a reasonable time. So, some artificiality is necessary but it must retain the team ethic and skill of player and manager. Tactics should be evident right until the end. Now this is not a new idea, but at the start of extra time, each team should be reduced to ten men (red cards not withstanding). Every ten minutes, a further player is withdrawn. The decisions on who is withdrawn will win the match for one side or another. They are not arbitrary and they do not leave one man carrying the can for a spot kick failure. Football is played until the game is decided by that single golden goal.

I think what's key to this is that at the outset, every player knows that the game will be settled during play, not by a fairground sideshow. So there is no 'playing for penalties'. This forces endeavour during extra time. Results will come quickly. Defending will win you nothing.

So, debate away... what are the strengths and flaws of this? Can it work?

Read this, laugh and then spare a thought for City fans

If true there can only be one conclusion, which is that the Thai bloke is a complete twat.

No one is going to claim that Rangers played pretty flowing football in their UEFA Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg against Fiorentina. The Italians had all the flair and passing and fleetness of foot you could want. They created many a chance. Trouble is, they didn't stick any of them in the net. Now that's not to say their strikers were inept athough a couple of the missed chances were pretty simple. What really happened was that Walter Smith and Ally McCoist manufactured a tactical masterpiece and their players followed the plan faithfully for every minute of the 120.

The defensive organisation should be studied for years to come. The sheer will not to conceed needs to be understood by psychologists and lectured to other football teams. And the raw energy, belief, heart, grit, determination and all the other words that mean 'precious little flair but plenty of basic football skill allied to desire' was uplifting, frankly.

I hadn't meant to watch this match but it became, as these games do, utterly compelling. And as the minutes ticked by, my desire not to see Rangers concede grew in concert. I love seeing sportspeople put themselves on the line. Really give absolutely everything in pursuit of their goal. I love it when genius is involved and I love it when strength of character is involved. And the bald fact was that Rangers did not want to concede more than Fiorentina wanted to score.

Thence to penalties and the lottery that this is. It was the level playing field Smith had been after. And despite Ferguson's early miss, there was always the knowledge that somehow, Rangers would prevail. And so they did. The Rangers keeper, Alexander (an ex-Ipswich man, by the way whom our Manager, Jim Magilton let go with his blessing to play on a bigger stage though under no pressure to sell) pulled off the one vital save and put enough pressure on Vieri for the once great man to miss over the bar. Nacho Novo finished the job with a coolly taken winning kick.

There may not have been guile and beauty in Rangers' victory but there were the mechanics of an astute plan deployed to perfection. And actually, who's to say that there is no beauty in that?

Well done, Rangers. Well done indeed.

This is, or should be, of deep concern. Sven Goran Erikson's possible departure could easily be the tip of the iceberg. I'm talking about rich owners of football clubs being utterly unable to see the facts in front of their face. The Thai bloke (and I won't quote his name as that might denote some form of respect for him) who owns Man City is demonstrating confounding ignorance. What Sven has done is turn a relegation threatened club into one that plays attractive football and will finish the season comfortably inside the top ten. This is a platform that gives the club real potential to get into Europe next season. Thai bloke apparently expected Europe, or maybe a cup or two, in his first season as owner. Pratt. Rather than applaud the progress, invest a little more and get a club built on strength, belief and respect, he is going to undermine a decent season and start again from scratch. I'd say I hope they fail next season but I don't bear Man City fans, the victims of this, such ill-fortune.

And perhaps as worrying are the rumblings that Avram Grant might be removed from the Chelsea helm if he doesn't win the Champions League. WHAT?? I despair. Into the last two games Chelsea are still in the Premiership race. He made the Carling Cup final and is in the final of the Champs league. How can this not be good enough for a man in his first season in charge? Dear God, save us from stupid club owners. Have neither of these people looked at why it is the Man Utd and Arsenal are so consistently successful? And why it is that Aston Villa are making quietly impressive progress?

It worries me because some are treating clubs like personal play things. Meddling in matters they plainly don't understand and displaying childish impatience that makes them unfit to be owners of our biggest clubs. As more and more clubs are sold to the super rich the problem will only get worse. And what no one wants to think about is what happens when these children tire of their toys and look for something newer and shinier to play with...