Only one topic of conversation for this week's Sound of Football and it wasn't the contents of Ashley Cole's underpants. Nope, the latest edition of the podcast is focused on the Champions League Qualifying Play-Off currently being proposed by the Premier League.
It's a fascinating topic which gets the chaps all hot and bothered so don't miss the latest episode of the Sound Of Football.
Arguably the headline match of the day was the special play-off match between Algeria and Egypt to decide the final World Cup qualifier from Africa.
Both teams had finished with identical records in Group 3 of the final qualifying round which led to this hastily-arranged one-off match in Sudan to decide the winner.
Sparks were predicted to fly and within a minute of the start they did when Portsmouth's Nadir Belhadj was booked for fouling Ahmed Al-Muhammadi. Three minutes later, Mourad Meghni's challenge on Egypt's captain Ahmed Hassan prompted a huge free-for-all which, fortunately, was quickly dispersed by the referee but led to a yellow card for Hassan.
Eventually the game simmered down somewhat as both teams tried their luck in front of their opponents' goal but just as Egypt were starting to look the more likely to score, Algeria pipped them to it. With five minutes of the first half remaining, Antar Yahia received the ball from a cross into the area and volleyed it in off the crossbar from a very tight angle.
The second half began with more great goalkeeping at either end to deny some fine efforts on goal but the longer the game went on, the nervier both sides looked. Either team could have scored but the Algerians swapped attacking tendencies for defensive ones and eventually held on to secure their first World Cup qualification since 1986.
Egypt, for all their African Nations Cup wins, must wait another four years to confirm their standing on the world stage. The only scant consolation for them must come in the fact that in the end only a single goal stopped them ending their 19-year wait to reach the Finals. Perhaps the thought of playing in Brazil in 2014 will spur them on that little bit more next time around...
Europe
The big news from Europe surrounds France's somewhat dubious qualification for South Africa 2010 following a 2-1 aggregate win over Ireland.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Ireland struck first at the Stade de France last night when Robbie Keane exposed a lapse of concentration in the French defence to slot home after 33 minutes. As in the first leg, both sides looked evenly matched and while France had played the faster, more aesthetically-pleasing football, it was often punctuated by some inaccurate passing. Ireland looked the more industrious but had lacked any real penetration up front until Keane's goal.
During the second half, both sides continued to battle away but the aggregate score remained 1-1 by the final whistle to send the game into extra time. Tired legs were the order of the day and gaps started to appear, one of which saw Nicolas Anelka dribble into the Irish penalty area before apparently being fouled. The referee remained convinced this was not the fact (and the replays showed Anelka had dived) and no penalty was given.
Finally it was William Gallas who broke the deadlock in the 103rd minute but only after Thierry Henry had handled the ball prior to setting up his team mate from close range. The entire Irish defence saw it, we, the television audience saw it, but referee Martin Hansson did not. The goal stood and with it France had avoided a repeat of their Bulgarian nightmare in qualifying for the 1994 World Cup by beating Ireland 2-1 on aggregate. Heartbreak for Trappatoni's men – some soul-searching to be done by Thierry Henry.
Elsewhere, Slovenia made use of their home advantage to overturn a 2-1 first leg defeat in Russia by winning 1-0 in Maribor. Zlatko Dedic, a possible contender for Man of the Match, grabbed the winner just before half time to leave Guus Hiddink's Russian side rueing the goal they conceded two minutes from time in the first leg.
Slovenia enjoyed less possession than their opponents in this second leg, but Russia looked ineffective up front. In the end, frustration and tension crept into their game and they finished the match with only nine men following the dismissal of Alexander Kerzhakov and Yuri Zhirkov.
Slovenia reach only their second World Cup Finals, then – a feat matched by Greece who ended up 1-0 winners over Ukraine last night. Alexei Mikhailichenko's men seemed to lack imagination in their tactics as Greece opted to counter-attack at pace whenever possible, the result of which was a Dimitrios Salpingidis winner in the 31st minute. Greece therefore head off to the Finals next year for only the second time in their history after their only previous encounter in 1994 where Maradona and Co. got in the way of further success.
Finally to Zenica where Bosnia-Herzegovina had it all to do as they attempted to reverse the 1-0 win gained by Portugal in the first leg of their play-off. Like Greece before, Portugal sat back and used the counter-attack as their choice of tactic and it worked well in the face of an ineffective Bosnian side.
The fate of the home side was sealed in the 56th minute when Porto midfielder Raul Meireles received a pass from Nani and calmly shot past Kenan Hasagic in the Bosnian goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. The Portuguese continued to defend solidly after that and when Sejad Salihovic was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 77th minute, the home side knew their chance to make history had effectively ended.
The game ended on a sour note as many of the Bosnian fans reacted aggressively to their team's defeat and the match was stopped for a short time as the officials noted objects being thrown onto the pitch. One of them appeared to have struck Roberto Rosetti, one of the referee's assistants, and for that the Bosnian FA can expect a heavy fine from FIFA.
For the Portuguese, however, their objective of qualifying for their third successive Finals was finally achieved, but who'd have put money on that given their very poor run at the start of their campaign? It's inconsequential to say it, perhaps, as Carlos Queiroz and his men now prepare for the honour of playing at the World Cup next June. South America / North & Central America
The second leg of the tie between Uruguay and Costa Rica looked a formality on paper. Uruguay were returning to the Centenario Stadium with a 1-0 lead gained in Costa Rica and with home support their quest for a second and presumably conclusive goal would be a straight-forward affair.
The first half, however, gave hope to both sides and ended goalless. Junior Diaz saw a spectacular long range shot go just wide for The Ticos while Diego Forlan lost control of the ball with only the keeper to beat just before the interval.
The second half started with Uruguay looking the brighter of the two sides as they enjoyed the best of the early chances, yet it wasn't really until Sebastian Abreu came on as a substitute in the 65th minute that the home side really looked a more dangerous proposition. The 33-year-old striker who plays for Aris Thessaloniki in the Greek Super League almost scored with his first touch of the ball but made certain of it with his second.
'El Loco' (as he's known, like one in every three South American footballers) was in the right place at the right time to head in Andres Scotti's cross in the 70th minute. 'Game Over', so it seemed, but Uruguay's lead was to last only four minutes after Walter Centeno took advantage of some sloppy defending to put the ball in the net.
Sadly for Costa Rica, however, there was nothing left in the tank and Uruguay played out the rest of the match comfortably to qualify for the World Cup as 2-1 aggregate winners. It'll be their 11th appearance in the Finals and their fourth in the last seven attempts.
In America as we speak, the MLS season is entering the final straight. Having seen the Eastern and Western Conference competitions completed, the top eight teams now take part in a play-off series where the MLS Cup is at stake for those who can negotiate their way through the tricky knock-out section.
For those of us living outside the States, an end-of-season contest such as this may seem a little alien. In Europe for instance, the league competition is all there is. Whoever finishes at the top of the table after everyone's played everyone else home and away is the outright winner. It's always been like that and probably always will be.
Yet could a play-off series in the style of that used in the MLS be a success for the Premier League? Don't write off the idea for a moment - let's think this through a little…
First of all, play-offs in general. While some of you may think they're surplus to requirements, they do undoubtedly generate much excitement for the watching masses. Anyone that's seen the Football League play-offs over the past decade or so would find it difficult not to agree.
Next, we know what you're thinking - they'd generate more money for the teams involved, and that, of course, means the teams that are among the best in the country anyway. In England, you might argue that they're not short of money in the first place, so by way of a solution let's suggest that all play-off money goes to charity or something. There - that's that little issue sorted…
If you're still in need of a little persuasion, let's loosely apply the MLS play-off model to last season's Premier League table. Obviously the Premier League isn't split into an East and West Conference (although a North and South one might be interesting - discuss), so let's just take the top eight teams and see how the quarter finals would have looked:
Manchester United (1) v Reading (8) Chelsea (2) v Bolton Wanderers (7) Liverpool (3) v Everton (6) Arsenal (4) v Tottenham Hotspur (5)
* Final positions shown in brackets.
Now who doesn't find the prospect of seeing two derby matches mouth-watering, eh? And before you say the other two games would be one-sided, think again: if you take the aggregate scores from the two meetings last season into consideration, Man United would beat Reading 4-3 and Chelsea would beat Bolton 3-2. Even they'd be potentially close encounters.
Continuing the aggregate score theme, you'd then end up with semi-finals that contained Man United, Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea. Whichever way you serve those four up, you'll get a couple of great games to lead into the grand final.
So there it is, the case for play-offs at the end of a Premier League season. Who's ready to sign the petition?
This weekend sees the climax to the English Football League season as the three divisions below the Premiership hold their play-offs to decide who gets the last available promotion places.
The play-offs have become a valued part of the football season in England. They were first introduced in 1987 when the First Division (as it was then) reduced in size from 22 teams to 20. For the first three years, they were contested between the team that had finished immediately above the automatic relegation places in one division and the three teams from the division below who'd just missed out on automatic promotion. In 1990, the format changed to that which we know today where all four contesting teams were from the same division, aiming for promotion.
The Finals to all three divisional play-offs, as this weekend, are played at Wembley when available, and this undoubtedly adds to the excitement and sheer sense of occasion. The thing is, not everyone's a big fan of the play-offs. That's because technically you could finish third in your division (which in years gone by would have earned you automatic promotion) but see a team that finished sixth take your place in the division above. And if that division happens to be the Premier League with all its financial benefits, it does tend to sting just a little bit.
Anyhow, who are the gladiators that will be battling it out for greatness and glory this weekend? Let's take a look...
League 2 Play-off Bristol Rovers v Shrewsbury Town Saturday 26 May 2007
This looks likely to be the closest of all three games this weekend with barely anything to choose between the two sides. Both Bristol Rovers and Shrewsbury have tight defences – Rovers keeping 22 clean sheets this season – and they both have useful attacking lines too.
If either team look to have some sort of edge, it'll be Rovers whose form towards the end of the season was rather better than their opponents. They'll also be hoping to rely upon the talents of Richard Walker who finished third top goalscorer in League 2 with 13 goals.
Another sign of the closeness between the two teams can be seen in the results of their three meetings this season. At the Memorial Stadium back in August, Rovers ran out 1-0 winners, the score was repeated in their Johnstone's Paint Trophy match last January thanks to a Walker goal, and in the league rematch at Gay Meadow in March, the match ended goalless.
When Rovers were relegated to what is now League 2 back in 2001, they struggled for the first few years, almost ending up relegated again to the Conference, but they rallied to a mid-table finish the next two seasons and 2006/07 sees their best chance to climb out of the bottom tier for quite a while.
They'll be hoping to make the most of the occasion, but promotion may not come as easy to them as Shrewsbury who hauled themselves out of the Conference in 2004 and will want to use the impetus to go up again as Yeovil have done in recent years.
It's going to be too close to call, but if I had to go for either of the two, my money would be on Rovers. Not much money, mind you...
League 1 Play-off Blackpool v Yeovil Town Sunday 27 May 2007
As previously mentioned, Yeovil are undergoing something of a rebirth. Their status as a Football League club only arrived in 2003 when they were Conference champions, but in their second season in League 2 they finished Champions again. So after promotion in 2003 and 2005, will they do the same in 2007?
Well it'll be tough, that's for sure. Blackpool finished third in League 1 this season, two places above Yeovil and the Seasiders form going into the play-offs was excellent – just one defeat in the final quarter of the season. Blackpool were also the highest scorers in the league with 76 goals, but despite a poor end to the league for their opponents, Yeovil redeemed themselves with a five-goal pounding of Nottingham Forest in the play-off semi finals.
When the two teams played each other this season in the league, Blackpool took four of the six points – a 1-0 win away to Yeovil in March following a 1-1 draw at Bloomfield Road last October – but the scores show them both to be closer than they seem.
So with Blackpool taking centre stage at Wembley for the first time in as long as anyone can remember, who's to say the spirit of Sir Stanley Matthews won't play apart in taking them back to the top flight again? The rebuilding work is already underway and the only thing that can stop them is a Yeovil side who are already making their own history with the achievements of the last five seasons.
Championship Play-off Derby County v West Bromwich Albion Monday 28 May 2007
And so to the big one – the right to own the golden ticket to the promised land. Whoever wins out of Derby and West Brom will next season play in the Premier League, earning considerable wealth as they do so.
Derby dropped out of the Premier League in 2002 and have achieved very little ever since, except for an appearance in the play-off semi-finals in 2005. That defeat to Preston didn't throw them off the scent too much, though, as they return once again in 2007 to face a West Brom side that have seen Premier League action as recently as last year.
The Baggies enter the match as favourites despite finishing one place below Derby in fourth this season. The key to their status has undoubtedly been the form of two of their front men – Diomansy Kamara (second top scorer in the Championship with 20 goals) and Kevin Phillips (fourth best with 16 goals) who have made West Brom top scorers in the league overall. Derby have little that can match with that, except possibly for Steve Howard who has also scored 16 this season.
Both teams have been inconsistent during the play-off run-in and in Derby's case it almost cost them their place in the Final. A 4-3 win on penalties over Southampton proved necessary for them to go through while West Brom edged past local rivals Wolves 4-2 on aggregate in a close-fought encounter.
Even their head-to-head results have given few clues to which team is the more superior. Derby won their home match 2-1 in November and West Brom won at The Hawthorns 1-0 a month later.
So who do I think will win? Well, my heart says Derby as I'd like to see them have another try at playing in the Premier League, but my head says West Brom. Albion boss Tony Mowbray has got his side playing some good, exciting football this season, and it'd be a shame not to see that again next year against the big teams.
All in all then, three fascinating matches to look forward to. Victory and jubilation will undoubtedly go to some, while a summer of gloom and doom will sadly await the rest.
Only one topic of conversation for this week's Sound of Football and it wasn't the contents of Ashley Cole's underpants. Nope, the latest edition of the podcast is focused on the Champions League Qualifying Play-Off currently being proposed by the Premier League.