2009/10 SEASON PREVIEW
Well, it's been a quiet summer in terms of on pitch action but other areas have certainly been interesting. United are reigning Premiership champions and Carling Cup winners. They also won the Club World Cup but won't get to defend it after losing the Champions League final. Defending the Premiership title for a club record fourth time in a row is going to be anything but easy - the question is, what sort of shape are we(and everyone else) in?
First up, the preliminaries of European competition. The Champions League first qualifying round was made up of only two ties. For what it's worth, Malta's Hibernians were beaten 6-0 on aggregate by Montenegro's Mogren with the first leg at the Centenary. San Marino's St Fiori then drew 2-2 on aggregate with Andorra's St Julia with the first leg at the Montecchio before the Andorran side won a penalty shootout to qualify for the next round. It was the battle of the minnows and I suppose Europe's premier club competition has to start somewhere given that UEFA has overhauled the competition so that the majority of teams in the group stages are national champions.
The second qualifying round brought in some British interest, however it proved not to be a positive experience for the teams involved. Welsh Premier League side Rhyl got anhiliated 12-0 on aggregate by Partizan Belgrade with the first leg at Belle Vue. IFA Premiership side Glentoran should have been able to give Maccabi Haifa a match over two legs but instead went down 10-0 on aggregate with the first leg at the Kiryat Eliezer. Not what either side had in mind. However both the WPL and IFAP are small time and non-professional. The serious players from this little island have yet to show their hands and it's only now that the competition will start to get interesting.
The first major players from the British leagues to make their Champions League entrance will be Celtic and in the third preliminary round they'll face Dynamo Moscow with the first leg at Celtic Park. Dynamo finished 3rd in the Russian Premier League last season and this is not the easiest first European tie that new Celts manager Tony Mowbray could have asked for. Alexander Kerzkhov is a pretty sharp assasin for one thing. And yet this Celtic team do have European experience, it's Dynamo's first European campaign since 01/02. It's doable for the Celts but they've been knocked out in European preliminaries by lesser teams before now.
Going down a level, the new Europa League has also been going through it's preliminary stages. This time there was British interest in the first qualifying round with the most curious tie being between Motherwell and Llanelli with the first leg at Fir Park. The SPL team won the tie 3-1 on aggregate. Another WPL team TNS were also put to the sword, falling to Icelandic league side Fram with the first leg at the Laugardalsvollur 4-2 on aggregate. Two IFAP sides were also in action, with Linfield falling to Danish league side Randers 7-0 on aggregate with the 1st leg at Randers Stadium. Lisburn were also caned 11-1 on aggregate by Georgian league side Zestafoni with the first leg at Mourneview Park.
The 2nd qualifying round saw more SPL interest. Falkirk were seen off by Vaduz of all teams, losing 2-1 on aggregate with the first leg at Falkirk Park. Motherwell had better luck, hammering Albanian league side Flamaturi with the first leg at the Flamaturi stadium. Another WPL side Bangor showed their hand but it wasn't up to much, getting seen off 3-0 on aggregate by Honka with the first leg at Tapiolan Urheilupuisto. IFAB side Crusaders did likewise and got whacked by Macedonian league side Rabotnicki 5-3 on aggregate with the 1st leg at Mourneview Park. Again, the minor league teams got wiped out but the SPL sides didn't do so badly.
Next is the 3rd qualifying round and that's where Aberdeen come in. The Dons face Sigma Olomouc with the first leg at Pittodrie. Sigma finished 4th in the Czech Gambrinus Liga. They're certainly a name I know and the Dons could certainly have faced easier sides at this stage. The Dons certainly know how to play and win in Europe from their 07/08 UEFA Cup campaign and the squad hasn't been overhauled that much since then. Still, it won't be a straightforward battle and the Dons will really need a big win at Pittodrie. I wouldn't bet the bank account on the Reds making the next round but I'll still err on the side of optimism that just like last time, it'll take some serious class to put them down and Sigma don't have it.
Elsewhere, Fulham become the first Premiership side to enter European competition and face Lithuanian A Lyga side Vetra with the first leg at the Vetra stadium. Been a while since Fulham were in Europe but this should be a straightforward run for them. Motherwell however are up against Steauea Bucherest with the first leg at the Steaua Stadium. That is not a good draw for the SPL side and I suspect this is the end of the road for them. The winners go into what are called the "playoffs" with more Premiership and one other SPL side lying in wait there. It's still nowhere near Champions League level but should still provide some decent football.
Switching to domestic affairs and the draw for the 1st round of the Carling Cup has already been made and there are two teams, both now in L1 that I'll be keeping an eye on. Exeter face Championship side QPR at St James Park - that'll be a tough one but I wouldn't write off the Grecians. Brentford are also up against Championship opposition, namely Bristol City at Griffin Park. Again, a tough task for the Bees, but I've seen them pull off bigger upsets. The wierd thing about this year's competition is that Newcastle and Middlesborough, now both in the Championship, have been given byes into the 2nd round anyway, apparantly due to there being fewer Premiership teams in the Europa League than expected.
So, what have United been up to? Well, of course, we've lost Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £80m. Bummer but I can't say I'm surprised, let's face it - the guy was a Real fan as a kid and has already won everything he could possibly win at United. I'm more annoyed at Carlos Tevez decided to go to Man City after his United contract expired. You declare your passion for United, you then have the world as your oyster, and you go to City. The club doesn't even have Champions League football to offer. Still, we haven't done too bably with signings. Antonio Valencia proved to have his uses with Wigan. Michael Owen was a jaw dropper but if he can return to form we'll be well sorted. Obertan looks cheap and young and initially looks like he'll be learning the ropes at Old Trafford.
As for our preseason campaign, well the Red Devils were back in Asia. First up was a 3-2 win over the Malaysian Olympic team at the Bukit Jalil Stadium. Then came a 2-0 win over the same opponents at the same stadium. We then beat Seoul 3-2 at the World Cup Stadium with the home side opening the scoring and then retaking the lead just before half time. United turned the game around in the second half but our Asian hosts were certainly giving us a workout. That changed when we beat Chinese side Hangzhou Greentown 8-2 at the Yellow Dragon stadium. Fergie's preseason preparations continue as we head back to Europe to face tougher opponents than this.
North of the border, well the biggest headline for the Dons has been the arrival of Mark McGhee as their new manager - they really couldn't have gotten a better man for the job! Veteran of the 1983 Cup Winners Cup team he's gone on to prove a pretty solid manager, both in the English lower divisions and the SPL with Motherwell. The fact that he was rumoured to be up for the Celtic job says it all - a great blag and best wishes to him and the team. Transfer wise, things haven't got so well. Scott Severin's gone to Watford while Jamie Smith and Lee Mair have gone to St Mirren. New signings are meant to be on the way though, just not in time for the early European action.
Well, let's see what happens.
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