By Myles Palmer
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Can a Premiership team win the 2005 Champions League?
WELL, BENITEZ will make Liverpool stronger than they were under Houllier because they now play, or try to play, good football.
You can’t compare Luis Garcia with Diouf.
Luis Garcia is smart, tasty and scores goals.
Diouf kicks the ball past a defender, grabs him round the waist, and wrestles him to the ground.
SIR ALEX has till February to integrate Rooney into his team, so that they can challenge again for the only trophy that will put him one up on Sir Matt.
Since I don’t rate Tim Howard, Bellion or Djemba-Djemba, and since Roy is playing in pain too often, and since the defence still shows no sign that Carlos Queiroz is back, Man United could have a lean season and it might be Fergie’s last.
It might even prove a bad career move for Rooney to sign for them.We shall see.
United will have to improve a lot to reach the last eight of the Champions League.
MOURINHO has until February to figure out his best team and a more entertaining way of playing.
For now, he is in the results business. And he is on a learning curve.
Drogba is 26 and had eight clubs in France and has only just sussed out what the game is all about, finally fulfilling his potential in a fine season for Marseilles.
He must feel at home in Paris, so it’s an ideal venue for a self-doubting centre forward to play his first Champions League game for his new team after a £24 million transfer.
Against under-achieving PSG, Drogba should score a couple.
After 10 goals for Chelsea, he might become awesome.
That’s my summary, really.
Liverpool, Man United and Chelsea have until February to create seriously competitive teams.
ARSENAL ARE FLYING, so they will start this Champions League campaign with a couple of convincing wins and cruise through to the last 16.
Starting well will make Arsene more confident than last season, when his boys started badly.
So Arsenal should be in better shape, psychologically, for the knock-out stages in early 2005.
In March it will come down to 90 minutes where they have to get everything right.And they can do that.
Nigel Winterburn says their failures in Europe are a mental thing, nothing to do with the way they play.
I don’t agree with that, and my examination of their style of play is one of the themes of The Professor, but it seems that the manager and the players think it’s all in the mind.
As I say, Arsenal are flying and they will fly through this group.
They will NOT be complacent tonight.
But with their fluent early passing, Arsenal will be able to play round and through PSV, and make plenty of chances for their five or six goalscorers.
Kezman says Mark Van Bommel is PSV’s best player and I’m sure that’s true.
Van Bommel is a skilful bruiser who reminds me of Souness, Bruce Rioch and Graham Roberts.
14th September 2004.