By Michael Sinnerton

So Real Madrid come again. Or rather for the moment Florentino Perez does. The ‘Galacticos President' has signalled his intentions to Barcelona, Spain and the rest of Europe with the likely capture of Brazilian maestro Kaka. Still touted as the best player in the world by many, Kaka would likely make most people's top five despite a season out of the media spotlight of the Champions' League.

With that deal seemingly in the bag, Perez will look to have his cake and eat it too with David Silva, David Villa, Frank Ribery, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Villa all potential targets. There are many who disagree with his way of business but probably none who would call an attacking four of Ribery, Ronaldo, Kaka and Villa anything other than a massive upgrade from Robben, Guti, Raul and Higuain. I say that with respect given to particularly Arjen Robben (on his day the best player in the world) and Gonzalo Higuain (who was sensational for Real last season). Obviously Perez's transfer system comes at a huge cost to the defensive side of the team but Madrid's re-emergence as a huge spending super-power could well kick-start a huge summer of transfer activity. For the record I think Ribery may well go to Barcelona. Either way with Perez almost certain to make two or three world-class marquee signings, and treble-winners Barcelona keen to add quality to depth to a phenomenal starting XI, next year's La Liga looks set to be a cracker already.

Who do you think Real should sign?

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Quick nod to West Ham who have been new owners having been the beneficiaries of the quietest take-over bid since Marcel Marceau's appearance on Bargain Hunt. Hopefully the new owners will practice what they preach and leave the footballing matters to Nani, Clarke and Zola - I pity the fools who tipped them for relegation at Christmas. I've been a bit anti-West Ham since Tevezgate and Alan Curbishley's continued complaints about an injury-prone squad, having bought Freddie Ljungberg and Kieron Dyer, but the good football they played under Zola has more or less won me over, and it seems slightly absurd to me that Newcastle's potential buy-out has received more media attention than West Ham's actual one.

If the media keeps treating Newcastle like a big club then it will continue to feel like one, some time out of the spotlight could do the club some good, just look at the Hammers.

By Michael Sinnerton

As Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett suffer a £42.6 million loss and Premier League clubs announce a debt of £3.1bn, Students of the Game takes a look at the effect of the recession in football and whether it's causing an even bigger rift between the Premier League and the Football League. In part one I'll be focusing on the Premier League.

First things first, £3.1billion is a ridiculous amount to owe. These range from £1m (Hull), £2.3m (Stoke) and £8.9m (West Brom) to £701m (Chelsea) and £699 (Manchester United). One huge thing stands out from these figures, the three recently promoted clubs have virtually no debt whilst the top four have the four largest levels on debt. Success it seems comes at a cost.

This brings to mind the obvious question of just how unfair it is that clubs are able to go into that much debt and compete in the same league. Rugby League in this country, as well as numerous American sports, has a adopted salary cap system which allows for a much closer league. Admittedly in both cases their remain a number of teams who are stronger, have bigger budgets and are more likely to win (Leeds, St Helens in the case of the former, or Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees in baseball). However there is much more scope for upsets and on the whole the leagues are more competitive but will it ever happen in football?

Probably not, the top clubs have so much power particularly given the possibility of a European Super League which I think is unlikely in the near future but could happen with frightening speed were top clubs to take exception with domestic changes. FIFA and UEFA are attempting to limit the amount of debt a club is about to build up but for now little seems likely to change, so back to the matter at hand.

With the recession hitting Liverpool (refinancing problems) and Arsenal (falling property prices) among others and the ‘average fan' spending less in terms of going to games as well as merchandising these large debts have been brought into clearer focus than ever. Admittedly a lot of the £3.1bn is owed to clubs' chairman in the form of interest free loans (all of Chelsea's debt is in this form from Roman Abramovich and £174 of £197m is owed to Al Fayed) but according to the Guardian's latest figures only 6 of 19 Premier League clubs made profit before tax (Liverpool unknown) with Everton making a mouth-watering 26k.

Clubs are becoming wise to the recession and are beginning to introduce cheaper ticketing policies. Burnley chairman Barry Kilby, for example, has handed out 7,000 free season tickets to fans who bought their tickets before August last year - those fans will struggle to complain if Burnley go down for spending too little though. But the real problem is not the fans, or lack thereof, it's the players. A 23% increase in television money could have led to greater financial stability but exactly the same percentage rise in player wages has seen a lot of it swallowed up immediately, with Chelsea's wage bill totalling £149m.

Looking at wages as a percentage of turnover show perhaps the scariest figures with even Hull's £6.9m wages being 77% of turnover, Newcastle's wage bill of £74.6m was 74% of turnover, much good it did them. With players now the be all and end all in football, given that so much money is tied up in them, it is no wonder that managers who make mistakes in the transfer market are given shorter and shorter shrift. The stakes are just too high.

By Michael Sinnerton

After reporting back on the end of season happenings around Europe, Students of the Game profiles the top scorers around the major leagues.

Diego Forlan - There are of course two Diego Forlan's. There is the quite brilliant striker who has been brilliant in all five of his seasons in La Liga, winning two ‘golden boots' and has scored an average of 20 league goals a season. The other Diego Forlan is a myth - the striker for whom it just didn't work at Manchester United is a million miles away from the player of whom Sid Lowe of the guardian said, "right now he is probably the best striker in Spain." Given the competition from Eto'o, Villa, Aguero, Van Nilstelrooy and Higuain that's not a bad compliment. If your side is linked with him this summer be really hopeful you sign him. Forlan is an absolute superb athlete, he works hard from the team, is decent in the air and really is two-footed. Of his first 27 goals this season, 13 were with his right foot and 13 were with his left. He has only missed 8 matches in four years and his omission from the line-up against Porto may be why Athleti' crashed out of the Champions League.

Andre-Pierre Gignac - Having scored 2 goals in 28 matches last year ‘AP' probably wasn't most people's tip for Ligue 1 top scorer, but the 23 year old Toulouse striker scored 24 goals in an average Toulouse side to confirm at least some of his hype. Excellent form throughout the season resulted in a call-up to the French national squad where his first appearance as a substitute lead to an assist for Frank Ribery's winner. Gignac was also a substitute in Tuesday's 1-0 loss to Nigeria. Gignac is over 6ft, has good strength and has proved to be a top-class finisher in the box. Good in the air and decent at set-pieces, AP has been eyeing a move to his childhood town of Marseille but has also been linked to Aston Villa.

Zlatan Ibrahimvoic - Now maybe Zlatan hasn't quite found his best form in a big European game yet but then it isn't easy with a team as average in Europe as Inter Milan. In Italy though he really is the daddy. Scoring wonderful goals, being truly talismanic in an Inter side that is really still a collection of very good individuals rather than a team and looking like he couldn't give a shit all at the same time. Most English fans don't rate him but anyone who's watched a decent amount of Italian football would have to disagree, mercurial at times he can admittedly be frustrating but a slightly better header at Old Trafford could have seen the world looking at the lanky Swede in a very different night. Another who could potentially be on the move having ‘won all there is to win in Italy.' (In reality the price would probably put all but Man City off and he seems to have a good relationship with Jose)

Grafite - To borrow from Joel: "The 30 year old Brazilian is a rampant beast blessed with great control on the ball, the perfect accomplice to the rangy Džeko. He's the top league scorer this season, with 28 goals in 25 appearances. All the more impressive when you consider he's had his share of injuries this season. He enjoys the big games, having netted decisive braces against Hamburg, Bayern and Leverkusen as well as a hat-trick against Schalke. Powerful and quick, his well-timed runs from deep have made him the ideal figurehead for Wolfsburg's counter-attacks. Also a model professional off the pitch, Grafite will be hot property this summer,"

Mounir El Hamdaoui - AZ Alkmaar's star striker as they romped to the Eredivisie, should perhaps be better known in England having had a year (without a first team appearance) at Spurs. This season he has scored 22 goals in 30 games as well as contributing five assists. Much improved finishing and great technique has seen the 24 year-old linked with Liverpool and Arsenal and whilst from what I have seen that may be a bridge too far a move to the Premiership is not altogether unlikely.

by Joe Walton

Harry Redknapp was yet again arrested by the City of London police in connections with corruption in football. Reknapp was 'helping police with their enquiries' which are thought to include the transfer of African players while 'Arry was at Portsmouth. It has been reported that a dossier of the allegations consisting of thousands of pages is still some months away from completion. Redknapp's current quiet acquiescence is a far cry from the song and dance he made about being arrested whilst he was still managing on the south coast.

Depending on ones viewpoint, it is either encouraging or worrying, that the police are still investigating these allegations after taking a public hammering from many of the accused parties. While some may feel that 'Redknapp in corruption allegation' is nothing new and that I may be only writing this in order to publish my favourite photo of him, it does look like this story has legs.

Joel: 13

Stuart: 13

Joe: 7

Mike: 13

So it's a tie! Who deserves to win? Joel, for his outstanding vision in tipping Burnley and Bordeaux to triumph, getting the FA Cup winners right and being one Wolfsburg away from a clean sweep in Europe? Or Mike, who sort of knows his SPL and spotted Barca's potential, but also tipped West Ham for the drop and Villa for 4th? Think it'll have to go to a public vote.

By Michael Sinnerton

Team of the Season

GK - Shay Given

RB - Glen Johnson

CB - Nemanja Vidic

CB - Brede Hangeland

LB - Ashley Cole

RM - Stephen Ireland

CM - Stephen Gerrard

CM - Frank Lampard

LM - Cristiano Ronaldo

CF - Nicolas Anelka

CF - Fernando Torres

Unsung Heroes of 08/09

GK - Mark Schwarzer/Jussi Jaaskelainen

I don't really rate Schwarzer at all but his performances his season have been one of the reasons Fulham have done so well, and the failure to adequately replace him was one of the major factors in Middlesbrough's demise. Jussi just makes great saves all year long, one of the best signings ever made in the Premier League.

RB - Lucas Neill

Now calling Lucas Neill an unsung hero does seem to be pretty much the reason the word ‘oxymoron' was established. But he's actually been really good this season and, other than his own press, doesn't create much media interest. I really dislike his attitude (money-grabbing) but right back is a weak area in the English game in my opinion, a nod to Alvaro Arbeloa who has been much improved particularly going forward.

CB - Martin Laursen

Injury ruined his season which in turn ruined Villa's. Without their talismanic centre-back Villa are a considerably weaker team even with the admirable Carlos Cuellar. Laursen also chipped in with more than his fair share of goals and it was sad to see him retire through injury before the season end.

CB - Titus Bramble

Sounds ridiculous but can you actually remember him making a key error this season? Wigan's player of the year in a season when many of their players performed near their best (he may admittedly have been aided by the January departure of the excellent Wilson Palacios), Bramble has been solid all season, and let's face it he's not going to get much credit anywhere else.

LB - Herita Illunga                     

A fairly difficult decision with good seasons from Stephen Warnock and Leighton Baines but given that Hammers fans seem to have hardly noticed the departure of the steady George McCartney I'll vote for Illunga, if only so he isn't just remembered for his day of basketball at Anfield.

RM - Dirk Kuyt

Until this season almost everyone who wasn't a Liverpool fan, and some who were, cited Kuyt as a reason Liverpool wouldn't win the league. Basically, Kuyt is fairly poor technically (at least for the level he plays at) but has a ridiculous work ethic, gives his all for team every single game and chips in with important goals.

CM - Danny Murphy

An excellent performance in a hugely improved Fulham side, has led from the ‘front' as captain, a man who's career I thought was probably over has proved that he has both the ability and the adaptability to flourish in a top-half Premier League side.

CM - Geovanni

Now I know Geovanni was lavished with plaudits earlier in the year but have you heard anyone praise him in the last 6 months? This despite Hull being safe by the skin of their teeth, a skin that was earned in the first few months of the season by Geovanni. A free transfer who almost single-handedly won his team a series of games through a series of stunning strikes.

LM - Park Ji-Sung

One of the few Manchester United players generally liked by the majority of neutrals. Park has a great work-rate and keeps the ball at lot better than he has given credit for. In a team full of multi-million pound signings Park probably shouldn't get a start, the fact that he does shows how highly rated he is at Carrington (and let's face it they probably know better than you or me).

CF - Robin Van Persie

A surprise selection perhaps but Van Persie carried the club through some of its toughest months this year, winning 3 consecutive player of the month awards. Has been somewhat outshone by Arshavin since his arrival, but then who hasn't? In my opinion should be one of the first names on the team sheet.

CF - Carlton Cole

Still seems to be lacking a lot of attributes and I cringe every time I hear an England squad announced with his name in. However, he has had a fantastic season, notching a few goals including that pearler against Wigan. Like Bobby Zamora at Fulham he does a lot of the unseen hard work for West Ham and is a handful for any defence.

Who makes your teams?

By Michael Sinnerton

With the Premier League ending in a third consecutive title for Manchester United, Students of the Game takes a look around who’s done what in Europe over the last year.

Spain – The basics will be known here, Barcelona (in a first for a Spanish club) won the domestic double and the Champions League sweeping all before them. Real Madrid came a comfortable second, 9 points behind Barca, 8 ahead of Sevilla with Atletico Madrid completing the top four thanks in large part to the Pichichi Diego Forlan.

The strength of the Spanish league is perhaps best shown by Villarreal and Valencia coming 5^th and 6^th respectively. Atletico Bilbao complete the European contingent through the Copa-del-Rey. With Recreativo and  Numancia having both been relegated a while ago, Real Betis’ 1-1 draw on the final day of the season saw them go down by just 1 goal due to Getafe drawing away and Osasuna beating Real Madrid at home.

France – Lyon didn’t win the League. After 7 titles on the spin Lyon’s poor home form saw them surrender the title surprisingly meekly to Bordeaux, thanks in part to the star in the making (on the European stage at least) that is Yoaan Gourcuff. Lyon were in fact pushed into third by a very decent Marseille side. Toulouse, Lille and a resurgent PSG completed the top 6 all collecting 64 points. Relegation called for Caen, Le Havre and Nantes, the last team to win the title before Lyon.

Italy – Inter Milan won the league at a canter with Juventus pipping AC (Milan) to 2^nd on head-to-head. The same method separated Fiorentina from Genoa, meaning the former return to the Champions League with Genoa joining Roma and cup qualifiers Lazio in the Europa League. Lecce, Regina and Torino were all condemned to the drop, the off-season’s main interest could be brought about by managerial changes with up-to 10 jobs expected to change hands.

Germany – Wolfsburg were the eventual winners in a fascinating title race, with Bayern Munich finishing a disappointing second and Stuttgart coming from nowhere under ex-Kopite Markus Babbel to secure Champions League. Hertha Berlin and Hamburg qualified for the Europa League, along with DFB Pokal winners Werder Bremen. Arminia Bielefield, Karlsruhe and Energie Cottbus were relegated, Cottbus after a relegation play-off.

Holland – AZ under Louis Van Gaal (to Bayern Munich) won the league at a canter with FC Twente under Steve McLaren securing an excellent 2^nd and Champions League football. The big 3 really suffered with Ajax and PSV 4^th and 5^th and Feyenoord finishing 7^th, NAC winning the play-offs for Europe.

Portugal – For the fourth time in as many years Porto beat Sporting Lisbon into second place with Benfica completing a familiar top 3.

By Michael Sinnerton

Don’t listen to the talk about Messi outdueling Ronaldo. Yes the tiny Argentinean scored a very good headed goal but Ronaldo was comfortably United’s biggest threat (one Wayne Rooney cross apart). Yes, Messi was good (silencing the ‘big game’ doubts that didn’t really persist) but this final was all about Andres Iniesta. After two or three years of relatively unnoticed brilliance in a slightly struggling Barcelona team, the man who’s training performances caused Pep Guardiola to tell Xavi “this kid could retire us all” absolutely dominated a Champions League final.

With his wonderful Spanish compatriot Xavi pulling the strings alongside him, Iniesta prods and probes opposition defences. Running with the ball with such ease, pace and strength he doesn’t need the step-overs of a Nani or a Ronaldo, like Lionel Messi he relies on body positioning and wonderful close control to beat men. It is a commentator’s cliché to talk of a collector’s item when Xavi or Iniesta give the ball away but they are nearly that good.

I must confess a slight bias here having picked out Iniesta as a wonderful talent years ago, his rise to the top has given me faith that I may have at least some useful insights into the game we all love. Barcelona’s dominance over United yesterday though requires no bias, with players and fans to a man recognising that on the night the ‘Dream Team 2’ were the ultimate deserved winners.

Having won the league in stunning style, with two comprehensive victories over their nearest rivals, scoring 104 goals (the record of 107 would have surely been broken had Guardiola not played reserve teams in the last two games which led to just one goal) and being absolutely lavished with praise, even in the Madrid press, Barcelona had to prove themselves in Europe to be considered truly great. Especially to the somewhat biased English media who rate Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal considerably higher than Villarreal, Sevilla and Real Madrid (with some vindication admittedly).

This European victory, achieved in truly stunning style, proves the side to be truly great - the first ever to achieve the treble in Spain. Imagine Manchester United winning the game without John O’Shea, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra. Barcelona losing Daniel Alves, Rafael Marquez and Eric Abidal could have been huge, instead it was turned into nothing more than a trivial footnote as Barca’s magic front five, assisted by the hugely promising Busquets and future captain Pique, passed, passed and passed some more until United finally withered. Rarely has such a big game been so one sided, off the top of my head I can only think of Brazil v France in the 1998 World Cup Final, but even that was ultimately settled by two set piece goals.

A final word to Thierry Henry, who suffered the agony of losing both a European Cup and World Cup final in 2006 and finally has a great final to remember. Provided you’re not a Manchester United fan you do too. This was truly the night that beautiful football came home.

by Joel Abraham

Admit it. It's the final you wanted.  Regardless of who you support, Manchester United v Barcelona is surely the purists choice to decide the Champions League. Arguably the best two sides in the world come head to head tonight in a mouthwatering encounter that will see the greatest players on the planet battling for global supremacy.

[/hyperbole] 

It's interesting to note that this is the first time since 1999 that two newly-crowned domestic champions have met in the final. Although this tie looks on paper to be a classic, in reality, I'm expecting a turgid, gritty affair. Chelsea have set the blueprint on how to defend against Barca, having shut them out efficiently for 179 minutes. Defend in numbers, close down, mark tightly, get physical. United have a better defence than Chelsea, so Barcelona may struggle to play their famous free-flowing football. Defending in La Liga is a joke compared to that in the Premier League, so Barca's intimidating goal tally may flatter them. Anybody watching the shambolic defensive display by last year's champions Real Madrid in their 6-2 home defeat to Barca will know that a bottom half Premier League side could have done a better job keeping out the Catalans.

Barca will be looking to dominate possession, so United could find themselves camped inside their own half for much of the game. Xavi and Iniesta can keep the ball better than anyone in the world, so United must be well-organised to cope with the siege. Rooney and Park will have to double up with their respective fullbacks. Park and Evra in particular will face a mighty challenge in keeping out the diminuitive maestro Leo Messi. Anderson replaces Fletcher as the midfield destroyer, and United will likely be defending deep and looking to counter-attack swiftly with the pace of Park and Ronaldo. The latter will be crucial, as always; love him or hate him, Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be ignored as the best footballer in the world right now. The man can score a goal from nothing, and could well be the decider in this match.

Nemanja Vidic's quotes, promising to "win at all costs" in spite of style, is all we need to know. United will drag Barca through the mud and should be lifting their fourth European Cup by the end of the night.

Predicted XIs:

----------------Valdes----------------
Puyol-----Toure--------Pique-----Keita
------Busquets---Xavi---Iniesta-------
----Messi-------Eto'o--------Henry----

----Rooney------Ronaldo-------Park----
-------Giggs----Carrick----Anderson---
Evra-----Ferdinand----Vidic-----O'Shea
--------------van der Sar-------------

By Michael Sinnerton

Oh to hell with it.  I was going to leave the Burnley blog until later in the summer but it’s time to jump on the bandwagon: Owen Coyle is a genius. Having sold what at the time were arguably the clubs two best players, Andy Gray and Kyle Lafferty, Burnley fans could have been forgiven for going into the season with no little trepidation. As it is Coyle formed a close-knit squad who seem to have a great mentality (as Robbie Blake put it “You have to be in the dressing room to believe how much togetherness we have”) as well as plenty of flair and ability.

It is this attacking flair and will to go forward that has endeared Burnley to so many neutrals this season, as well as their notable cup progress. Coyle seems to know only one way to play, players like Blake, Wade Elliott and Chris Eagles forage forward at will to support Martin Paterson and Stephen Thompson but their ethic is such that they work back to win the ball, helping out the evergreen Graham Alexander (7 play-offs, finally 1 victory) and Chris McCann.

Brian Jensen, nicknamed The Beast by the Burnley faithful, has had a fantastic season and Burnley have benefited from a relatively injury free campaign at the back. A campaign that may have been looked back on fondly, had the play-offs been the end, has been transformed into the best in a quarter of a century. Superb cup runs, including victories over West Brom, Fulham, Arsenal and Chelsea culminating in a devastating last-minute semi-final defeat to Spurs but Burnley weren’t to be denied their trip to Wembley.

An average attendance of 13,000 at Turf Moor shows that the club is by no means the biggest but whenever I’ve been to the ground the locals have been pretty boisterous and the team has played football the right way.  61 games is one hell of a season and for it to be done at a club with one of the lowest wage bills in the Championship (now the lowest in the Premiership) and with just 23 players is really a phenomenal achievement.

The realism can come another day, who cares if they stay up, for a season in the sun I think 80,000 inhabitants might just say “Ee i ee i o, up the football league we go!”