Most of Europe would have been stunned by the event taking place at the Camp Nou on Wednesday night. Barcelona was being overrun, outplayed and humiliated by a stronger and much more lethal force. In Manchester, Alex Ferguson would have had a sinking feeling; despite knowing the Premier League title was wrapped up and his side were the kings of England, United are currently far from matching the excellence set by Bayern in the Champions League.

It would be premature to write about this Bayern team as if they were the champions of Europe already. Let’s not take too much away from a fantastic Dortmund side, currently the joint best in Europe and yet one who saw the Bundesliga champions clinch the title with a 20 point gap. United put together a similar feat in England, but the road to glory was nothing like that of Jupp Heyncke’s Bayern.

And that’s what they are. We speak so glowingly of Pep Guardiola and what his Bayern side might achieve in the future, but many are quick to forget that this is Jupp Heyncke’s team. This is a team who have been piecing together something as dominant as this for a number of years. It’s a side in Europe who are unrivalled in terms of depth. It’s a side who look infinitely stronger and more dangerous than the last two Bayern teams who reached the Champions League final. In England, we’re a little way off seeing a team who can match the side who shocked the world by putting Barcelona to the sword, in the Champions League semifinal no less.

For much of this season we’ve looked on at the products in Europe, both as a collective in terms of leagues and of individual clubs. We’ve questioned the merits of English football and whether it is still the undoubted best in the world. Yet at every stage of the Champions League, and notably with every emphatic statement in domestic competition, we’ve been provided with more and more indicators that the Premier League is falling well behind.

It’s already been said that this Manchester United team won the title because they were the best in a distinctly poor season for English football. Manchester City did very little to put together a strong defence of their title and Chelsea haven’t been a regular in the title picture for two seasons. When United stretched their campaign into Europe, they were far from convincing. They were left to rely on Robin van Persie at various points, while the defensive or attacking frailties of their opponents offered United safe passage out of the group stage.

Bayern’s biggest shock of the season in Europe came with a loss away to Bate Borisov. On the night, Heyncke’s men were also guilty of failing to take their chances. The game at home to Arsenal also should have raised some eyebrows; a marker that will stand as Bayern’s only loss so far in 2013.

The importance for United will be to ensure they retain their league title next season, and you can already sense where they’re likely to strengthen this summer. But then what? Bayern Munich have a side who blew away one of the best attacking sides in Europe in Borussia Dortmund, taking back the Bundesliga title in the process and marching thunderously on to the European Cup final. Next season, Guardiola will arrive, as will Mario Goetze and at least two or three others. How much further can you strengthen a side who humiliated Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate?

Sky love to make the point about the balance of power shifting from one place to another, it’s their party line alongside “best league in the world.” But how much disappointment is there that the Premier League isn’t at the head of that topic? We need to stop talking as if the rest of Europe has caught up with English clubs and their consistency in the Champions League. The clear case now is that English clubs have fallen way below while those on the continent have continued to soar.

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Manchester United may be proud of their 20th league title, and rightly so. But come the end of May, it’s possible we could be looking at the makings of another dynasty similar to what we saw in Catalonia. At the moment, the very best in England holds very little in the way of challenging or toppling the next superpower in the modern game.

David Moyes hopes Ryan Giggs’ impending appointment to his coaching team helps Manchester Utd beat Real Madrid to Spurs’ Gareth Bale, according to Clubcall.

Giggs, 39, is set to be confirmed as part of new boss David Moyes’ backroom staff in a player/coach role in the next month after the former Everton manager met him for talks last week.

Moyes wants to bring some key members of his Goodison Park technical staff with him, including head of recruitment Ian Atkins, but United’s top summer transfer target is a player who Sir Alex Ferguson tried but failed to sign in 2007.

Bale’s future at Tottenham is up in the air after his side’s failure to earn Champions League qualification, although many believe it would have been in doubt anyway as the player wants to win trophies and now has his pick of the world’s clubs.

However, only Real Madrid and United are thought to be realistic contenders for the 23-year-old’s signature and the two great euro rivals look set to battle it out for his affections this summer.

Real Madrid will move for Bale if they decide to part company with Cristiano Ronaldo, who has two years left on his Bernabeu contract and is unsure about committing for the long-term.

United do not necessarily need to sell before they can enter the race, but are looking to make room in their top-heavy squad by getting rid of Wayne Rooney.

Spurs may prefer to sell Bale abroad but in the past they have always caved in to United when the money has been right, allowing Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov to follow their hearts north.

If it comes down to a straight choice, Bale’s family and feeling for the club will come into his decision and United hope Giggs – who the Welshman idolised as a teen growing up in Cardiff – could help their cause.

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Bale watched United’s 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid at Old Trafford in March in a private box with permission from Tottenham.

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Tottenham are a team who of late seem to find themselves perpetually on the cusp of something quite special. The club have a frustrating ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, leading many to brand them the great underachievers of our game. But can a return to the two-tier management structure allow the North London club to fulfil their Premier League potential next term?

The appointment of Franco Baldini to the post of Technical Director has been a cause for major optimism among many fans.  A move towards a continental structure of management, as favoured by Levy and Villas-Boas, could see a summer of change at White Hart Lane. With responsibility for player recruitment at both youth and senior levels, the appointment takes the strain away from both Chairman and Head Coach. Levy outlined the role of the new director when speaking to the clubs website:

“Franco is extremely well respected in the industry, possessing an extensive knowledge of players around the world.”

“He will strengthen our football management team, particularly in the field of recruitment, working closely with Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood across all levels on the playing side.”

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Baldini is famed for a particular focus on youth recruitment; the signing of 19-year-old Marquinhos for Roma last year typifies this. However, I believe Baldini must shorten his horizons with Spurs next season to take advantage of the opportunities 2013/14 could bring to the club. With many of the top clubs going through a phase of rebuilding and regime change, there is the potential for a club with relative stability to cease on this and break through. Now I realise Villas-Boas has had only a year in charge, but in footballing terms he isn’t far off creating a dynasty. With the red half of North London showing the continued lack of ambition that has plagued their club of late, can Baldini seize this opportunity?

Advocating wholesale changes to what is already a talent rich squad is totally nonsensical. Instead Baldini needs to act early in capturing a couple of key signing to push the club forward. Acting early doesn’t mean rashly and it is likely that both Baldini and Villas-Boas have already done a lot of the groundwork behind the scenes. The advantage to Spurs over their rivals is that new management invariably means upheaval. Couple a new way of playing, backroom staff and potential signings and you can truly comprehend how hard it will be for the top clubs to gel together their squads at the start of the year. Contrast this to Spurs who will have much the same coaching styles from last year and hopefully much of the same squad and although it seems odd, the sure footing Spurs are on actually heightens the pressure on Baldini as he seeks to capitalise.

There is already evidence that Baldini will have no such time to bed in this summer. Historically Spurs have done their business late, often to the detriment of early season form. The capture of Paulinho early this month signals a total change in tact, and something completely alien to those familiar with the behaviour of Levy during preceding windows. I don’t think you can doubt the ability of the Selecao midfielder, but personally this deal was an oddity. On the list of areas in need of strengthening, most would have placed a left back and striker much higher. One can discern from this that there are indeed further large-scale moves in the pipeline, or that Villas-Boas has developed something of a liking for a certain Togolese frontman. For the sake of Spurs I really hope and genuinely believe the former is more likely.

While I believe Spurs will have an active summer under Baldini, it is still important to maintain a degree of patience. It seems commonplace to assume that a transfer composes of emailing across a bid, meeting up for a drink to discuss terms and then slapping the confirmation on the club’s website. Spurs, like many clubs, are meticulous in their transfer dealings, with Villas-Boas reported to have gone on a South American scouting sabbatical during his unemployment. The Paulinho deal was clearly not something Levy dreamt up in the pub, but because it was not reported heavily in the lead up to the deal it was considered by some quarters a quickly thrashed out deal. Brad Friedel actually mentioned the degrees to which a club like Spurs go to when conducting business while hosting a show on TalkSport. He indirectly tried to allay the constant fear that Levy spends much of a transfer window on a sunbed somewhere in the Caribbean, until someone kindly reminds him in late August that he has a club to run.

If Spurs had the funds to bring in Paulinho then they could surely afford Damiao. The debacle, which has seemed endless, fuelled much of fans’ hatred towards Spurs’ transfer policy. I don’t confess to knowing a lot more about the guy than the average punter, but I am sure that in any case, months of intense scouting by experts outweighs a couple of YouTube clips.

So while this is the most crucial of windows, I expect Spurs to take a well thought out pragmatic approach to the transfer market. Needless to say I expect most Spurs fans would want to avoid the second coming of Darren Bent.

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Will this transfer window finally turn Spurs into title contenders?

Join the debate below!

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Newcastle and Leeds meet in Round 3 of the Capital One Cup and there’s one player who brings these two clubs together – Gary Speed.

The Welsh legend tragically passed away in November 2011, aged just 42, and left behind some fantastic footballing memories for both sets of supporters.

The midfielder started his career at Leeds, making 312 appearances and scoring 57 goals, before bypassing Everton on his way to St. James’ Park, where he made 284 appearances and scored 40 goals.

After 840 appearances in all competitions, Speed will have had plenty of memorable moments in the League Cup, too.

Click on the great man himself to see the FIVE best Gary Speed League Cup moments

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Creating a siege mentality from time to time isn’t a bad idea, especially if your resources dwarf that of your opponent. But ahead of Everton’s clash with Manchester United, Roberto Martinez has urged his side to break away from their underdog mentality and attack rather than keep the score line respectable.

It’s the legacy David Moyes has left at Goodison Park. There was a lot of talk about what Martinez could do with a side who were already very good and well organised at the back. He’s since improved the attack and the balance has worked well in these early stages of his tenure.

Moyes has spoken of wanting to leave places like Old Trafford “alive” while he was in charge at Everton, a mentality that falls in line with the club’s horrible away record under the Scot: zero wins from away games at Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Arguably that mentality of damage limitation followed him when he took over from Alex Ferguson this past summer. The match and result against Chelsea would testify to that. But Everton under Martinez have only lost one game in the league this season, away to the notoriously difficult Manchester City. Despite a blip which saw back-to-back nil-nil draws in November, this new Everton have learnt how to be adventurous and enterprising.

The important factor in this is that Everton play their own game when travelling away to the big clubs. They need to look like they belong if they’re to sustain this challenge on the top four. They looked good going forward in the Merseyside derby, where had it not been for a wasteful Gerard Deulofeu (or a good Simon Mignolet in goal), Everton would have added to their three goals scored.

Make no mistake, Everton have the personnel to get good results away from home. Many of the top clubs in the league will put forward their interest in Romelu Lukaku at the end of the season when he returns to Chelsea; Leighton Baines is regularly linked with a move away, with United consistently leading the chase; Kevin Mirallas was close to signing for Arsenal before he decided on Everton; Gareth Barry is a title winner with Manchester City; and Ross Barkley has the makings of a future star at international level and one who is now a regular in the Everton team. It’s a “mental barrier that needs to be overcome, not a technical one,” as Martinez put it.

And it would be wrong to overlook Martinez’s willingness to play attacking football. Wigan, often terrible at the back, would on occasion cause problems for some of the better teams in the league. Martinez’s Wigan have in the past won away to Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool, and beat Manchester City at Wembley last season to lift the FA Cup. The Spaniard’s teams may have been poor and eventually unable to avoid relegation, but he’s not an advocate of defensive football.

Getting a result from Old Trafford isn’t an insurmountable task. Southampton have shown this season what a well organised side can do, while West Brom took all three points upon their visit in September. It’s not impossible. Bar Everton’s 4-4 draw at Old Trafford two seasons ago, it’s difficult to think of a time where Moyes urged his team to go for a positive result. It speaks of him rather than the club as a whole, especially considering the length of his stay at Everton.

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Martinez has a chance to put that right. Of course, a swing in mentality and a dramatic improvement in results won’t happen overnight. But the Spaniard can announce himself and a new era at the club by ridding the team of the underdog tag and playing this newly-adopted attacking brand of football.

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David Moyes admits that his Manchester United side were ‘terrible’ in their Capital One Cup exit to Sunderland last night, according to the Mirror.

“If we were going to get through, we were going to stumble over the line, not because we played well enough,” Moyes sighed.

United managed to only score one out of their five spot kicks when the game went to penalties after an aggregate 3-3 tie.

Danny Welbeck, Adnan Januzaj and Phil Jones were the culprits before Rafael’s shot was saved by Sunderland’s Vito Manonne to send the Black Cats to their first final in 22 years.

This exit means the Red Devils are now left with only the Champions League to play for, being knocked out of the FA Cup and the Premier League title out of reach.

“We didn’t play well enough to merit going through,” a deflated David Moyes said.

“Sunderland came here and deservedly got themselves in the final.

“In the end, I just don’t think we got the level of performance we needed to get through the game. It went to penalties – and our penalties were terrible. Ideally, it wouldn’t have been the group we had chosen. Javier would have taken a penalty but was injured and people like Michael Carrick would have been involved.”

“But the bigger disappointment was how we played. Of course you would expect a better standard because, don’t forget, there were a lot of internationals out there.

The former Everton chief was also left disappointed by his number one goalkeeper David De Gea, who fumbled a relatively tame shot that rolled into his net in extra time.

“David’s been really good this season,” the Scot said.

“Keepers do make mistakes but it was a costly one, with a minute to go, but that happens in football.”

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Moyes was however quiet on the recent rumors of a bid for Chelsea’s Juan Mata.

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Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has insisted that his side shouldn’t get carried away after the Red’s 2-1 home win over Sunderland last night.

The English midfielder scored a 39th minute free kick to calm the nerves during a tense night at Anfield.

Fellow countryman Daniel Sturridge scored Liverpool’s second, before Korean Ki Sung-yeung pulled one back for the Black Cats to set up a nervous finale to the game.

The win now sees the Merseysiders only one point behind league leaders Chelsea, however third placed Manchester City are still in pole position for the title as they have two games in hand and only trailing the league leaders by three points.

“Credit to Sunderland, they came to shut up shop and made it difficult,” Gerrard told Sky Sports.

“I don’t usually get a go (at free-kicks). Luis Suarez has been magnificent on set-pieces but sometimes you need people to step in and I got it right.

“He let me take one! He wouldn’t let me take one at Cardiff! But it doesn’t matter who gets the goals. We’ve won nothing yet.”

Sturridge has also won plenty of praise, scoring his 20th league goal of the season and only trailing Luis Suarez – who has 27.

“It’s a great feeling but it’s more important for the team,” Sturridge said. “It’s not about personal accolades.”

Manager Brendan Rodgers believed the patience and grit his side showed led to their victory.

“It was always going to be really difficult. There’s a perception that we’re always going to score four or five every game,” he said.

“There was a block of eight which was hard for us to penetrate.

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“We had to be patient and then our quality came through. Our work rate was outstanding and we scored two excellent goals.

“We made the point that we had to show patience.”

When prompted if this results gives them a chance of the title, Rodgers said: “Certainly it’s a win that good teams grind out.

“We’re one point behind and this is it. We will recover for the weekend.”

The direction of Arsenal’s seasons in recent weeks has been one of an uncontrollable, free-wheeling bike ride downhill with disconnected brake cables. Yet when the club found something to be truly happy about bitter fans and media trolls have lambasted both supporters and players for their jubilation.Arsenal’s inexorable season meltdown had threatened to reach a genuine watershed moment as the Gunners found themselves 1-0 down to Wigan in their FA Cup semi-final, only to rally late and win the game on penalties. The celebrations represented a side who not only acknowledged the magnitude of the occasion, but also an outpouring of relief. A loss would have been immeasurably disastrous for their season. But triumph kept dreams alive. If you can be mortified at defeat, you can be jubilant in victory.For many of these, the facts have been overlooked.

The idea that a group of top level professional footballers don’t have the right to celebrate progression into a major cup final is ludicrous. And to criticise a team of not being winners because they celebrate victory is quite frankly embarrassing in itself.

Every single one of these players have reached this level in their profession because they all possess a voracious appetite for victory. The day they no longer enjoy victory is the day they lose their competitive edge. And furthermore, to belittle the Arsenal players for celebrating the victory is to belittle Wigan Athletic; something nobody dared do after their victory over Man City at the Etihad.

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But just to make sure, next time a team wins, make sure to run it by these critical folk before enjoying it.

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Although Group B’s opening fixture was expected to be a close-fought affair, most anticipated that Spain would emerge triumphant over Holland. Having performed so poorly at Euro 2012, expectations of Louis Van Gaal’s young side seemed uncharacteristically low. Even the Dutch media appeared to write off their own team’s chances against the reigning world champions.

So, imagine the surprise when the final whistle eventually rang out in Salvador and condemned the Spaniards to their heaviest defeat in recent times. Even in his wildest dreams, the soon-to-be Manchester United manager would never have expected his side to secure the victory by such a comfortable margin.

At such an early stage of the competition and with every team yet to play, it is impossible to proclaim one nation as clear favourites to lift the trophy in Rio on July 13th. But on the basis of last night’s demolition, here are THREE reasons to suggest that Van Gaal has transformed Holland into the World Cup favourites.

5-3-2

The injury to Kevin Strootman, which seemed so devastating at the same time, may actually prove to have been a blessing in disguise. To compensate for the loss of the Roma midfielder, Van Gaal shuffled his plans to suit his available players and settled on the 5-3-2 formation just four weeks before the competition. The change seems to have brought out the best in his players, with Daryl Janmaat and Daley Blind in particular thriving out wide, and Stefan de Vrij and Bruno Martins Indi benefiting from the experience of Ron Vlaar alongside them. It was a system which outwitted the Spanish and could prove tricky to counter.

Tactical Success

In addition to the structural change, Van Gaal’s tactical instructions were evidently pivotal in the Dutch victory yesterday. It wasn’t a coincidence that Holland’s first two goals came from deep defence splitting passes from that cut through the heart of the Spanish defence. Robben and Van Persie were able to ruthlessly take advantage of the space between Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos that appeared time and time again. If Van Gaal is able to exploit the flaws of a side as strong as Spain, its likely that he has the capacity to identify the weaknesses of most, if not all, sides in the competition.

Robben and Van Persie

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In Robben and Van Persie, Van Gaal has two of the most experienced and potent offensive options in Brazil this summer at his disposal. The 62 year old is believed to enjoy particularly strong relationships with players and judging by last night’s performance, knows how to bring the best out of the pair. Working in  tandem, Robben and Van Persie ripped the Spanish defence to shreds and each secured a brace. If Van Gaal can continue to maintain such fine form from his star players, its difficult to envisage any defence containing the deadly duo.

Manchester City are one of the fastest growing sporting teams over the past ten years and are still going from strength to strength. Ever since their move from Maine Road to the Etihad Stadium, the vision of the club to be considered one of the best in world has worked extremely well.

Like every City fan knows, being a Citizen was, and can still be, a rollercoaster ride. The phrase going ‘one step forward and two steps back’ was perfectly associated with the Sky Blues.

But now with two Premier League titles under their belt aswell as an FA Cup, Capital One Cup and FA Community Shield since Sheikh Mansour took over the Manchester club in 2009 things are looking rosy. Yet one key element missing for Manuel Pellegrini’s side is success in a European competition. However, good they are in the league, when it comes to playing their football across Europe, they seem to crumble.

Nevertheless, for Manchester City to be in the same calibre as the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, a successful European campaign is fundamental for everyone associated with the club. Taking a minor step back in the Premier League could be the answer for them to finally lift their inaugural Champions League trophy. With the quality of players Pellegrini has, rotation in his team selection for both European and League matches is possible and it’s realistic enough to clinch the double this season.

Despite having their Champions League squad selection cut to 21 players due to breaching Financial Fair Play regulations, this could be City’s best chance of clinching their first Champions League title. This year has seen City spend less, but have still brought in important players. Willy Caballero, Eliaquim Mangala, Frank Lampard and Fernando have all been brought in to bolster their chances of more success after their tight title win last year. However, these three players have all played in the Europa League aswell as the Champions League for Malaga, Chelsea and FC Porto respectively. Their experience will be valuable when playing on a Tuesday or Wednesday night.

Last season’s Champions League campaign saw them dumped out in the last 16 against Spanish giants FC Barcelona. One little crumb of comfort for them was an impressive 3-2 away at Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. In the 2012/2013 season, under the management of Roberto Mancini, they failed to get of the first phase and were winless in the ‘group of death’ that contained Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax. After Tottenham Hotspur beat them to fourth spot in the 2012/2011 season, City went into the Europa League, and were dumped out in the last 16 by Dynamo Kiev.

Even before the cash flow started Manchester City’s dominance, in 2003 failed to reach the UEFA Cup group stages, losing a qualifier to Polish side Dyskobolia Grodzisk. It seems that when it comes to the European stage, City’s history has not been glorious and this year won’t be any easier with their group containing FC Bayern Munich, Russian side CSKA Moscow and Italian giants AS Roma. This is Manchester City’s time to show that they can cut it with the best and they have every chance of going all the way in the road to Berlin.

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