Football Filtered #4

Here's an extract from my gust blog over at Football Filter looking at some the week's headlines...

There was plenty of fallout from this week’s Champions League fixtures. The joy that came from the successful passage of all four English clubs into the quarter-finals was quickly tempered by THE MIRROR questioning whether English football has become too powerful to the detriment of the competition.

Jose Mourinho is always in the news and he made headlines again this week. Reports surfaced of an alleged assault by Mourinho on a Manchester United fan following his Inter side’s 2-0 defeat on Wednesday. THE GUARDIAN, among others, said that Inter deny the allegations though they will investigate any complaint. I think this one could run and run.

Another unsavoury aspect of this week’s Champions League encounters was the behaviour of Roma fans before their clash with Arsenal. THE INDEPENDENT reported that a knife wielding group of so called Roma ‘ultras’ stormed a bus containing Arsenal fans. One English fan was stabbed as he tried to keep the Italian fans off the bus. This latest incident again raises doubts as to whether Rome should host the Champions League final in May. UEFA, however, insists the final will not be switched to a different venue.

Elsewhere in the football world, Everton striker Victor Anichebe demanded an apology from the police after being mistaken for a thief, reports THE GUARDIAN. The Nigeria international, who is out injured for the rest of the season, was peering into a Knutsford Jewellers window with a friend and, after being spotted on CCTV, was questioned by police. Anichebe said he was very ‘distressed’ following the incident and wants a full apology from Cheshire Police. The boys in blue maintained they were just following procedure after a spate of jewel thefts in the area but did eventually apologise for a ‘disproportionate’ reaction.

An interesting article in THE MIRROR put the focus on the rapid decline of Charlton, who just a couple of years ago were in the top half of the Premier League. Fans at the time questioned whether.....

Read the rest of my guest blog over at Footballfilter