Channel 5 does seemingly the impossible, in making ITV look professional at sports coverage.



Aye.

Fulham deserve it, mainly for their attitude towards the competition when other English teams have played kids. They started in the qualifiers and they've got to the final, they deserve to win it, especially with some of the football they have played, and some of the teams they have beat.

Hodgson has got to be up there for Coach of the Year this season.

I didn't think European form affected the manager of the year award? I thought it was purely a premier league/domestic thing. Can't remember what I was watching, might have been SSN, but they said Ancelotti is the favourite.

The official manager of the year, without fail, goes to the manager of the champions.

I do think the LMA have a seperate award where some thought goes into the choice though.

Ah, not too sure. Even so, he's done a decent job this season.

I don't think any of the top managers deserve it this season as none of the top teams have played that well. McLeish should be up there too because Birmingham have had a great season. Depending on when votes are cast, O'Neil might have a chance because until March they had had a good season. Avram Grant could be an outsider, because he's done well in impossible circumstances.

Personally, I'd give it to Benitez, because I think he's done a cracking job.



Ah well, I'm sure one of the "lesser" managers will have a chance then.

I think it's a crappy rule as well. But how do you think the ties should be decided?

With home and away ties, it's obviously an advantage to play the second leg at home. Pretty much every side would take that advantage if they could, even with the anomaly of the away side having 30 minutes extra to score an away goal.

If it's even after 90 minutes in two legs, just go straight to penalties. Football's fixture list is a clusterfuck anyway, without the need of another 30 minutes in midweek games. I think if tonight's game went straight to pens, it would have been fairer for both sides instead of either side having another half an hour to score. If they scored, we'd have needed two, if we scored and went through, they'd have had an extra half hour away from home, something they didn't get at home.

If they do persist with extra time and they do persist with the away goal rule, at least rubbish it in extra time.

It's a crappy rule but it's so much better than the League Cup away goals rule.

You're quite right, that every team prefers to play at home in the second leg, which gives an obvious advantage. To make it fairer, if they're going to keep the away goals rule, they should consider scrapping it for extra-time. At least that way, both teams have 90 minutes to get an away goal. Then the tie can be settled in old fashioned extra-time or penalties.

I think that's the way it is in the play-offs now, and I do think it is a fairer system.

Whatever system they use there's going to someone complaining about it. Ties are often dictated by the whole premise of the away goals rule. It's vitally important for sides who are home in the first leg not to concede and that means they are restricted for their home game.

If you go straight to penalties at the end of a drawn two leg tie that will often dictate strategies as well. Smaller sides will be far more inclined to play nothing but defence if they only have to hold out for the 90 minutes.

I personally don't care either way over the away goals rule. I think it's probably the best solution there is to drawn games and sides know how it is. Sides who don't like the system know what the answer is - win your matches and you don't have to worry about the rule.

I'm far more against deciding the final on one 120 minute game with pens at the end. For me when you're talking about European finals, the pinnacle of the game for most players, games should go to replays if the finals are drawn.

Brilliant couple of results. Wanted inter and fulham to go through.

Glad those catalan Kunts went out. They've had a numerous amount of favourable game changing decisions
over the last 5 years in the CL (all against chelsea IIRC) it wasn't just last year it went back further.

Mourinho is a brilliant manager. Look at samuel eto, would he have done that amount of work and tracking back for barca, would he f*ck. But mourinho has that ability, to galvanise and motivate his players. Inter havent won it for 45 years, so it'll be some achievment if they do it.