Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Good, the Bad and the downright Ugly!

By Paul Frederickson

Football gives the greatest of highs and the lowest of lows but there is always another game to look forward to. Thank goodness there is always another game to look forward to as many of the teams I support and love lost over the weekend! Ces't la vie! Now to this weekend's good, bad and the downright ugly.

THE GOOD

Many people believe that the Bundesliga as opposed to the English Premier League is the best competition in the footballing world. Many of the Bundesliga's tickets are cheaper than their English equivalents, crowds are up and the competition is extremely competitive. After 19 rounds there is 1 point between 4 teams! In addition, this season will definitely go down to the wire. Two teams left in the final 16 of the UEFA Champions League is further testament to the quality of the competition.


THE BAD

Sitting 2nd in their league, reigning La Liga and UEFA Champion's League team Barcelona fired blanks in their game against Villareal at El Madrigal on the weekend. Whilst most teams would be grateful for their success, to trail bitter rivals Real Madrid by 7 points after 20 games is unacceptable for the Catalan giants. To put Real Madrid's lead into perspective, Real Madrid have only dropped 8 points for the entire season to date. Messi or not, Barcelona are in trouble this season.





THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY

Every junior is taught to shake hands with their opponents before and after a game. On the weekend Queen's Park Rangers and Chelsea broke the trend to avoid a potentially ugly confrontation between Chelsea's John Terry and QPR's Anton Ferdinand. An awkward situation has become even more awkward by the FA and both team's inability to take on the spectre of racism head on. An opportunity for reconciliation has gone missing without even getting a chance.


So what do you think? What were your weekend's the Good, the Bad and the downright Ugly?