The Last Word - Sports Blog (Sean Simara)

   I'm glad Swansea won the Capital One Cup Sunday for many reason. One for the good of football, a great footballing side who keep in on the floor are reaping the rewards. They also will represent the Premier League a lot better then Bradford will in the Europa League next season. Also having a League 2 side win one of the major cup competitions in England, how would that look to the rest of Europe? I think they would see it as weak and that any old side can do it in England, it can't be that strong. I respect everything Bradford did to get to the final and their fans were great, but it was just a jolly for them at Wembley and the better team won in the end. It puts Micheal Laudrup right in the spotlight, with Real Madrid and Chelsea being linked to him already he could find his first season in England one that pushes him even higher. The same goes for Michu the signing of the season for me he could find his future away from the Liberty Stadium. I feel however they...

  A full card of Premier League fixtures returns this weekend after the FA Cup break. Manchester United can extend their lead to 15 points on Saturday if they see off bottom of the table QPR. Man City play Chelsea on Sunday and anything but a win will surely see off any small title hopes. QPR could well find themselves adrift even more this weekend. Reading face Wigan so one of them will drop points. Aston Villa are at Arsenal whose confidence will be a major low after their Champions League defeat. On Sunday Newcastle host Southampton, so it’s a big weekend at the bottom of the Premier League.  The top four race will be interesting viewing this weekend. Chelsea who sit in third are at the champions Man City, so Arsenal will look to close the gap on them as they play Aston Villa on Saturday. Tottenham play their east London rivals West Ham on Monday night. Everton go to Carrow Road on Saturday and if their real top four contenders they will have to get all 3 points. ...

 Now we reach the stage of the last 16 for the Champions League who will be the winner come May at Wembley Stadium.  The holders Chelsea find themselves out at the group stage this is the first time this has ever happened. The Premier League champions Manchester City also find themselves out, without even winning a game. So is the Premier League the best league in the world? Arsenal have little chance of winning it & Manchester United I feel will get let down by conceding too many goals and a weak midfield. However that argument is for another day.  From the sides left in the tournament of course Barcelona & Real Madrid are the favourites. However I feel the winners could be not from these two massive clubs. Barcelona have of course the best player in the world but a small issue is their defence. With Puyol & Pique picking up injuries more often and playing Mascherano at centre back may be their down fall. If they were to have brought a centre back...

 After his long term injury Jack Wilshere made his return to the England side with a man of the match display against Brazil last night. The Arsenal midfielder showed his class in which was only his 7th appearance for his country. It's clear he will be a massive part of the England side in the future. He is one of the countries most naturally gifted footballers like Rooney, he is strong, likes a tackle, a good passer of the ball, the only criticism his maybe his lack of goal scoring. This can of course all be worked on & improved. He played in a three man midfield along side Tom Cleverley & Steven Gerrard against Brazil which worked well. Gerrard’s experience with the two youngsters along side him doing most of the running seems to be Hodgson’s plan for the future.    Wilshere is a very talented footballer and his injury did set him back but it looks like he will come out of it an even better player. His determination and passion to succeed show...

 Now Mario Balotelli has left the Premier League for AC Milan, if you look back on his career in England it was over shadowed by his antics off the pitch. From fireworks, to giving money to homeless people, the college & prison visits he done a lot in a short time. He also did ok on the pitch picking up a Premier League winners medal and FA Cup & Community Shield medals. So when you hear Alan Shearer slag him off about what he has done in the game, Balotelli can show him this along with his honours in Italy during his time at Inter Milan, much more then Shearer has even done.  It’s a shame English football probably won’t see the best of Mario. He was a character & I feel a pretty good player when he wanted to be. I think City let him go 6 months too early. Aguero hasn’t been on his firing best as he was last season. Tevez has not done much this year and Dzeko is in fact Man City’s top goalscorer with 11 in all competitions. However he is mainly used as a sub. Keepi...