Tomo

Found this on twitter so i thought ill share _________________________________________________________________________________________________ CELTIC have struck an exclusive deal to represent Scotland in a new elite European youth league alongside the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. The new tournament will feature 16 of the continent's top clubs but while it will run annually and in parallel with the Champions League, it has not been sanctioned by UEFA. Instead, the project is being bankrolled by an independent investment group backed by money from the Middle East and is due to kick off next season, with the first batch of matches pencilled in for autumn 2011 and the tournament concluding in Abu Dhabi early in 2012. Clubs from all the major European leagues have been invited to join but Celtic have secured a written assurance that they will be the only participants from the SPL, locking Celtic and huns rivals Scotland's Shame out of the new venture. R*ngers, however, are not the only big British club to be left out in the cold, as the involvement of City, who are under Middle Eastern ownership themselves, has also seen Manchester United excluded from the project. Instead, England's four-team quota will comprise of City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid have been invited, while AC Milan, Ajax and Rosenborg are among the other clubs involved. 'We feel fortunate and privileged to have been invited to take part,' said Chris McCart, Celtic's head of youth development. 'The teams involved have a worldwide following, clubs like AC Milan and Bayern Munich, while Real Madrid and Barcelona are also close to signing up. 'The final details have yet to be ironed out but you are talking a minimum period of three years with the age group being Under-19 level. There's a really good mix of teams from across the continent from Scandinavia right down to Italy, Portugal and Spain and they have offered us exclusivity from Scotland.' Commercial concerns will be the prime driver behind this new venture and the Middle East factor is crucial. With City now in the hands of Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour and FIFA having awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, this new youth project is the latest sign of a shift in football's powerbase. The format of the tournament will see the 16 teams divided into four groups of four and play six matches on a home and away basis between August and December, just as they do in the Champions League. The top two teams from each section will then qualify for the tournament's second phase which, in the inaugural year, will be contested in Abu Dhabi over a 10-day period. It is not yet known how Scotland's Shame feel about being omitted from the project, while it's hard to imagine United boss Sir Alex Ferguson being best pleased at the 'noisy neighbours' of City stealing a march on a proposition which features so many of the European game's heavyweight clubs. 'The investment is coming from a European/Middle East Investment company and the tournament itself will have a Middle Eastern element,' explained McCart. 'The top two teams from each section will all fly to Abu Dhabi in the spring to take part in an eight-game tournament played over 10 days. 'That eight-team format will bring in sponsorship and television revenue in itself and, from Celtic's point of view, the issue of brand awareness is important. 'The expenses are all being paid by the organisers -- flights, accommodation, everything -- so it's a nobrainer for us. UEFA aren't involved but they have a knowledge of this and, as I understand it, there is some tie-in with FIFA. 'Television is going to be involved and there will be the prospect of playing matches at the proper stadiums. The commercial departments of each club have a heavy involvement in this, as there are implications beyond the football side of it. 'The people in the Middle East are desperate to get involved and there will be sponsorship and television revenue, especially when the tournament reaches Abu Dhabi. 'Our own Channel 67 and Liverpool TV both had access to the pilot and were delighted by the interest the game generated. Some clubs are keen to work this project into their season-ticket package, so it could generate decent crowds as well.' Last month, a series of pilot matches were held to trial the new tournament, with Ajax hosting Manchester City, Tottenham playing Sporting Lisbon and Chelsea entertaining Bayern Munich on the day the club's former assistant manager Ray Wilkins found out he was to be relieved of his position. Celtic also took part, with former Hoops and Scotland great Kenny Dalglish bringing Liverpool to Glasgow for a closed-door fixture on November 2. Dalglish's young side prepared for the match like the first team would for a big European tie, staying overnight in the city the night before playing at Celtic Park. 'The pilot game was an excellent experience for us and it was great to have Kenny Dalglish to bring the very best of Liverpool's young players with him,' added McCart, whose side triumphed 3-1 in the pilot match. 'Ninety per cent of our youngsters had never played at Celtic Park before, so it was great to give them that opportunity and I think they gained a lot from it. 'What we are trying to do is replicate the first-team experience for our young players. We want to recreate the conditions in which the first team operate in Europe. 'That will help the young players learn about what it takes to play at that level -- the travelling involved and the different demands an away European tie might make on them. 'That might involve operating a more defensive formation or simply trying not to get beaten, so it will be an education. 'From my own point of view it's just a great opportunity to show our youngsters what they should aspire to. They will be treated like firstteam players and the opportunity to play in a Champions League style tournament will ensure it is competitive http://mcfcreservesa...general-issues/ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ This would be good if out U19's enter. Aswell as the FA youth cup will give our youngsters valuble experience and they will get a feel for what the Champions League is like at the top level, will be fantastic if we can get in this competition not just for our current youngsters but for a better chances of attracting others to our club in the future. Thoughts?

If we beat Liverpool and Fulham we could have been sitting here laughing, 4 points behind and 1 game in hand

Good review I said at half time we needed the 2nd goal because i could not for the world see Blackpool failing to score, all in all the team performance werent brilliant but unlike the winter months weve been picking up the result. If Blackpool got another i would have shit myself. A win against City will see us in a glorious position to consolidate 3rd then after that who knows but it wont be easy but hopefully the players will be desperate for revenge after the cafafle at the Bridge against the same opponents last season. KTBFFH

We will need to win all bar maybe 1 off our games so i cant see it. With Arsenal's track record of callapsing 2nd is still do-able.

Petr Cech 7 - done nothing wrong. Jose Bosingwa 4 - So sloppy and so frustrating, his sloppiness nearly got Blackpool a late 2nd. David Luiz 7 - Solid, although was sloppy a couple of times, his least spectacular performance so far. John Terry 8 - Great header from the corner and lead from the back all game. Ashley Cole 6 - Solid but still lacking his form of August/September. Ramires 6 - Strangely quiet tonight, a couple of neat bits of skill. Frank Lampard 8 - Best game for a while, am i the only 1 seeing a late surge to 20 goals? Micheal Essien 7 - Got to grips with the game more and more as it went on. Yuri Zhirkov 4 - very poor, looked completely diffrent to the Yuri that played United. Fernando Torres 5 - cant fault his effort but that price tag is really weiging him down atm. Didier Drogba 4 - awfull in all honesty, if he wants his place back he needs to do better than that. SUBS Florent Malouda 6 Soloman Kalou 8 (thought he was fantastic tbh) Josh McEachran 6

Is it me or is this guy so criminally underrated? Dont get me wrong i cant stand the guy but without him Man.Utd's midfield has got badly over-run at Anfield, it makes me laugh when all these Utd fans go on about how Fletcher is just an ordinary player but the truth his without him in big games they wont be winning many points and if Fergie wants to avoid a potential embarrisment today IMHO he has to get him on sharpish.

Morning blues Our squad in general needs a bit of a makeover in the summer and im all for bringing some quality young players (18-22) to compliment the crop we already have. This to add to the potential departures of key men. This will probably be the last chance we have before the fair play rules come in and Luiz and Torres signings shows that if the right players are available the money is still there. Players we should be looking out for Neymar - This kid is the real deal, i was speaking to one of my old Brazillian team mates (that i use to play football with) the other day and the figure discussed at £30m and he reckons we would be ripping Santos off he is that good and when i saw Santos play myself he was certainly the one of the best ive seen at that age, also add the fact he should click well with Luiz and Ramires. Phil Jones - Homegrown and can play in defense and midfield, that type of versatitlty is key in evrey squad and before his injury before christmas we were apparently front runners to sign him. Romelu Lukaku - the next Drogba, enough said. Jack Rodwell - Surprising choice but if Mikel goes (im hoping not but there has been talk of that) then we should go for him, strong, can play a bit, home grown and a potential leader. Alex Sanchez - Right wing is our weak spot in our squad and he would certainly change that. Youth players we should be looking at promoting in the next few years Dan Sturridge - Dont know if he can be classed as a youngster any more well not ours anyway, but Carlo surely cant ignore prolific premierleague goalscoring. Josh McEachran - Natural talent, so composed goes without saying he should be playing a bigger part next season. Gael Kakuta - Some of the stuff he can prodice with a ball is absolute magic, got the talent in abundance and the next couple of years will be key for him. Bruma and Van Aanholt - Both a bit ruff around the edges and need more time to develop, im 50/50 on Van Aanholt is he imo can go either way but got no doubt that Bruma by the time hes 23/24 will be a class player. Nathaniel Chalaboah - playing in the reserves and captianing an over his age England group at 15 says it all, might be a few years until we see him proper break through but what a player he could be. Billy and Conor Clifford - Billy Clifford is talented and versatile and Conor is a natural leader and will always give 100% evrey time he steps out, which is what evrey squad needs. Matej Delac - Am i the only one who thinks we dont need a new keeper? it will halt this guy back and i think he is more than capable of pushing Cech if not next year defo the year after. Aziz Deen-Conteh - As good as Van Aanholt going forward but so assured in his defending he would be wasted at left midfield, might take a good couple of years before he is ready for 1st team action tho. Feel free to name a few others. With the right guidance we could make quality players out of a lot of these and as we found out to our cost earlier this season its a squad game these days and quality signings plus good youth development will make for a bright future, not to mention the likes or Luiz, Ramires and co that are already in the 1st team. Imagine 5 years down the line if we get it right in the summer, other clubs will be involved in bidding wars for players with prices influxated to £50-60m and we will be sitting preety with the crop we have, would be good wont it? What do you think?

He has actully only been avalible for selection 3 maybe 4 times, due to Fullham playing FA Cup matches and also playing us, it was the same with Sturridge at Bolton he started off on the bench but then came to earn his place in the line-up, same with Bruma, Clifford at Notts was on the bench the 1st 2 times and the same will be the case for Gael. The fact that Fullham thrashed Tottenham in the FA Cup soon after he joined did him no favours. He still has to earn a place, if he just walked straight in i think Duff, Dembele and co will have something to say about it, apparently he was preety good today when he came on which hopefully will give him a chance from the start next time and if he impresses he can force his way in as there are no FA Cup games or games against us to worry about now.

I cant help but notice a smile on his face

The disrespect he has got in some areas since the city game is shocking. Not the best in the world but apart from the City game when has he ever disapointed? Barca and Liverpool he won the game for us and i would not be worried if he has to fill in again in the run in. 1 week after the City game he delt with Stoke's long throws and targeting very well. His contract i believe is up at the end of this season and if thats the case i think he will be leaving but he leaves with full respect and dignity.

Ive always been a fan of Sven, whats happened recently in the England set up makes you realise how good a job he did for England. All of a sudden 3 q/f exit's (twice on pens due to the brilliant Ricardo and once to argubally the greatest international team off all time) actully look a brilliant achievement in comparision to how McClaren did and Cappelo is doing. Also his work at Leicester is second to none.

As we found out to our cost earlier this season it is a squad game these days. For this season use Luiz for the prem games with one of Terry and Alex rotate them in league games to keep the pair fresh when the CL comes along. The 1st choice back line to me has to be Ivan-Luiz-JT-Cole but Alex will get plenty of games all 4 cant stay 100% fit all season.

Cant believe there were people against signing him Could u imagine the sense of regret we would have felt if we saw him put these performances on at the Bernabeu or good for bid Eastlands?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leicester_city/9410062.stm He is out for a month Although i dont think the Leicester fans give a toss there absolutely bashing him.

In decades gone by when Luiz is retired the roaming centre half will be known as "the Luiz role"

Then next year it will be the same shit about how their team are finally coming off age, tbh its getting very boring but the cycle will never stop until they win the league (then there be even worse).

good shout

fair point although it would be nice for him to hit another late surge, similar to last year.

He has got 7 goals so far this season now he scored against the Mancs? Am i the only one that thinks a strong end to the season could see him hit 20 again?

With our hugely succesfull and powerfull spine off the last 6 years entering its twilight years are we slowly seeing the basis of our next spine at Stamford Bridge? Cech-Terry-Carvalho-Makelele-Essien-Lampard-Drogba has been our spine in general over the last 6 years (4 in Maka's case), it has been a brilliant spine for us and saw us finish in the top 2 for 5 of those 6 season's, winning the title on 3 occasions along with 3 FA Cups and 2 league cups, but with Maka and Ricky gone, Lampard and Drogba well and truly in their twilight years, Terry slowly approaching them and Essien inconsistent in comparison with 2/3 years ago, are we seeing a slow transformation in this hugely successful spine? David Luiz and Ramires have been brought in firmly with the next 7/8 years in mind, David Luiz has started like a house on fire and Ramires after a tough start is starting to show us why we parted with £18 million for his signature, if both carry on like this for the next decade they will prove to be bargains, hopefully we will start seeing a lot more of Josh next season and he could be a key part of our next spine. Torres still has a good 5/6 years at the top level. Aswell as Josh we have players in this youth cup team that are impressing and the stand outs for me are Josh (obviously), Chalaboah, B.Clifford and Deen-Conteh with the right training and attitude i think all have a serious chance of being Chelsea 1st team players. Also on Chelsea's raidar seems to be Neymar and i cant help but think Carlo wants a Brazillian spine on the pitch similar to one he attempted to make at Milan (Silva-Kaka-Pato) he signed Silva but left before he officially became a Milan player. Petr Cech still has a good 10 years left and with the likes off Delac and Sebek up and coming we are fine in that area for some time. Looks like work is already starting for our new spine, what do you think it will look like? KTBFFH

Blainitant publicity stunt that was. He is that desperate for attention now hes retired he will probally sit in the kop on sunday.

i was thinking exacly the same. Dont like the sound of doing Arsenal a favour but tbh i dont even think about that, getting back into the top 4 was what we needed to do and thats what we have done, we did it for us not Arsenal. If this wont kick start our season nothing will, all it takes is droped points at Blackpool and were back to square one so lets not let it happen this time. Am i the only 1 that thinks a top 2 place is still up for grabs? We will go above City if we win our game in hand not to mention if we beat them at home and if you look at Arsenal's record at the buisness end of the season its hardly something that will stricke the fear of god into opponents.

While were all seeing how good Ramires is, he is still the scapegoat amounst rival fans, i keep hearing how "bad" he supposedly is Thats Arsenal, Man.Utd and Tottenham games he has dominated now, just a shame he werent playing aganist Liverpool then it might have been different.

Bloomfield road is a tough ole place to go but if we go there, keep our heads and stick to a game plan we should be fine.