According to El Sport this year's clasico could be brought forward and played on Friday 21st December - see link here 

However, before you start cancelling flights and rebooking hotels, have a think about the story. The article states that players and clubs would like to gain the extra days holiday and that TV companies would have to agree to the change of date. Well, there we have the first indicator that there is nothing to the story. The TV companies are highly unlikely to agree to such a change, the Friday before christmas is full of office parties and the like, they would almost certainly lose viewers if the date was switched.

Secondly, there are no quote...

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Since the unexpected news on Wednesday night that Jose Mourinho was leaving Chelsea there has been a lot of speculation in the press as to where he will go next. Coupled with the rumours that Frank Rijkaard's job may be on the line, it is hardly surprising that there are some who suggest that Mourinho will be Barça's next coach. So, would "the special one" be the right man to take over at Camp Nou? First, I have to say that I have nothing but respect for Mourinho as a manager, he is a great motivator with a good tactical brain. Two league titles, a Uefa Cup and a Champions League with Porto followed by six trophies in three seasons at Chelsea really is a fantastic curriculum. He seems capable of getting results wherever he goes, and at Barça he would surely build a team with more fighting spirit tha...

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The date and time for next weekend's game against Sevilla have finally been announced by La Liga. The game will take place on Saturday 22nd September with the kick off at 10pm and will be shown live on Spanish TV (La Sexta and TV3). I know I have said it before, but why can't those responsible organize kick off times at an earlier date. Last season, the norm was that times were announced ten days prior to the game, but now we have a case where there are only five days between the announcement and the game. I know there are problems with the TV companies, but how are fans supposed to organize their lives? I find it practically impossible to plan weekends ahead, and my sorry addiction to the beautiful game often causes havoc with my social life.

Another topic in the news the last few days...

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After two league games and an annoying break for international games, Barça now face the big test of seven games in three weeks after which we should have a much clearer idea of how things are going to be this season. The first game is this Sunday at 9pm against Osasuna in the Reyno de Navarra stadium.

Barça then face three games at home starting with the Champions League clash with Lyon on Wednesday 19th. Sevilla then visit Camp Nou the following weekend, the day and kick off time have yet to be confirmed. The following week sees a mid-week league game when Zaragoza are the visitors. You can still win tickets to this game by going to /blogs/FCBnews/posts/win-free-tickets-to-the-barcelona-vs-real-z...

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There has been some criticism in the press of the first two substitutions that Frank Rijkaard made in yesterday's match against Racing. In the 62nd minute Messi was replaced by Henry, and some are suggesting that it would have been better to take off Eto'o or Ronaldinho as they weren't doing anything. It is easy to criticize after the event but at the time, in the bar where I was watching the game, there were no criticism at the time of the substitution. I feel Rijkaard could have taken off any of the front three who between them had done very little, chosing Messi had its logic in that Messi had hardly played in the pre-season. Ronnie and Eto'o will find out soon that they are not untouchables.

The second sub was Deco who came on for Touré after 70 minutes. This has been criticised because Touré was one of ...

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Thierry Daniel Henry today completed his move to Barcelona after passing a medical examination this morning. Henry will wear the number 14 shirt as he did with Arsenal. There have been many reactions to "Titi's" decision, and perhaps the most interesting of these are the ones coming from Arsenal fans. While many are sorry to see him go and wish him all the best, others claim it was the best time for him to leave, and that Arsenal will be better off without him. There are also many questions regarding why Henry decided to leave now.

Last summer Henry turned down a move to Barcelona and signed a four year contract with the gunners, he claimed he would never play in Spain and looked set to finish his career at the Emirates Stadium. It seems that the resignation of David Dein and the uncertainty surrounding th...

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In the last couple of days I've claimed that Deco has been poor at times this season, and I've also stated that I see no reason to sell him. Then in one of the papers today there is a story saying that Deco is on Barça's 'out' list. If the story is true then I feel Barça may well be making a mistake.

Deco was one of the pillars of the team in his first two seasons. His drop in form this season may be due to external factors that can be overcome; it may be due to the poor pre-season, lack of rest after last summer's World Cup; or he could, of course, simply be past his best.

Some will suggest that with Xavi and Iniesta we don't need Deco. However, if Deco was sold how much could Barça expect to get for him? Probably no more than €10M and then you would have to buy a replacement. Looking at the price that Man Utd have paid for Owen Hargreaves (€25M) or Bayern Munich for Franck Ribery (€26M), it would not be cheap, and at the end of the d...

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After last season's triumphs in La Liga and the Champions League, many people thought that this season would see a repeat, with the only difference being that Barça would also win the Club World Cup and a couple of Supercopas to boot. Barça brought in three new players, Zambrotta, Thuram and Gudjohnsen to replace Gabri, Van Bommel and Larsson, and the squad was considered to be stronger than ever. However, from the season's first important game, the European Supercup Final in Monaco which Barça lost 0-3 to Sevilla, it was clear that Barça were not the same as the previous season. So, what went wrong?

First, we have to consider the poor pre-season preparation. After last summer's World Cup in Germany, some players did not have a proper preparation, instead they were expected to play in exhibition matches around the world against players at a much more advanced stage of fitness. Ronaldinho, Deco, Edmilson and Marquez all joined the pre-season late and they al...

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There is certainly a heated debate going on about Messi's handled goal against Espanyol. My article "The Hand Of Messi" was also posted on Soccerlens http://soccerlens.com/the-hand-of-messi/1991/ and has provoked a storm of outrage. Calls for a ban of up to 12 months to teach the little cheat a lesson, claims that what he did was as bad as match-fixing, and even one reply that hoped Messi would end up as "a worthless junkie". Anyone would think he'd knocked England out of the World Cup.

It should be said that football fans are very blinkered in their opinions, you only have to go to a bar where two opposing groups of fans are watching the same game to realise this. I am the first to admit I would not have reacted to Messi's goal in the same way if it had been scored at the other end. However, please note that I did not feel the need to vent any rage on this blog wh...

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Leo Messi continues to emulate the great Diego Maradona. However, unlike his wondergoal in the cup against Getafe, Messi’s effort in scoring his first goal against Espanyol was not so praiseworthy. Messi clearly handled the ball into the net just as Maradona did against England in that memorable World Cup Quarter-Final in Mexico.

No doubt many will now label him a cheat, but in today’s money-spinning world of football t...

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