Wow after a storming first week it was back to reality in the prediction business however who could’ve foreseen some of the score-lines – even the best ended up with egg on their faces. I bagged four victories for a measly 40% however three bulls-eyes soften that blow.

Season to date: 11/20 = 55% & 4 bulls-eyes

 

Saturday

Arsenal vs. Newcastle

There are tests and then there are true tests – this is the latter.

Question 1: Was last week a slip by the Gunners (losing to Fulham) or are they in more trouble than we thought.

Question 2: Are the Magpies and Michael Owen for real or is it yet another mirage.

Two weeks ago this was a three point home banker for Arsene Wenger but not anymore. Cesc Fabregas will be back but he will be ring rusty and with no one else seemingly prepared to step up Kevin Keegan must fancy his chances.

I’ve lost count of the number of false-dawns at Newcastle but this one does feel different. Defensively they are so much better and if they can keep it tight for 60+ minute they may even feel that they can nick all the points.

Arsenal 1 – 1 Newcastle

Bolton vs. West Brom

After midweek humiliation again in the Carling Cup, Gary Megson better serve up something decent at the Reebok or the punters will be baying for blood. Expect the same kind of performance that they showed against Stoke on the opening day.

West Brom is so impotent they make Viagra look like a dangerous weapon. They’ll surely be up for this one though after their own CC hic-cup and if they can keep it tight they might get a point.

Bolton 1 – 0 West Brom

Everton vs. Portsmouth

David Moyes has finally made some transfer noise, actually noise is too strong-a-word -he’s made a squeak but it’s better than nothing. This club needs a positive result and they need it at Goodison Park where usually they’re excellent.

Pompey is struggling to look coherent and I’m wondering if that money grabbing jaunt to Africa is having a lingering effect. Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe look like strangers – c’mon Harry introduce the lads to each other.

Everton 1 – 0 Portsmouth

Hull vs. Wigan

You can underestimate the power of adrenalin and the Tigers are running at 110% worth of the good stuff. Phil Brown knows that it won’t take long for the division to figure them out and he must take advantage against teams that will be in or around them at seasons end.

Wigan were super against Chelsea last week and have shown a real ability to raise their game against the big boys but Hull aren’t big boys and therein lays the rub. Are they prepared to get more than a little dirty!

Hull 0 – 0 Wigan

Middlesbrough vs. Stoke

Boro know a thing or two about late winners (think UEFA Cup 2006) so to get sucker punched by Stevie G must’ve been extremely galling. I was harsh on Gareth Southgate before the season began but he’s making me a believer along with the Riverside faithful.

The Potters showed big #### as they kept on responding to Villa last weekend and were ultimately rewarded however it’s not so easy on the road. If they can out physical the Boro they might get something.

Middlesbrough 2 – 0 Stoke City

West Ham vs. Blackburn

Alan Curbishley has a collar that is threatening to strangle him. It’s so tight at Upton Park right now and anything other than a convincing performance will have the bookies favorite for the sack heading to the exit door.

The Guv’nor, Paul Ince returns to the ground where he made his name on the back of a decent start to Premiership life. With Roque Santa Cruz signed, sealed and delivered, it’s like a brand new signing.

West Ham 1 – 2 Blackburn

Sunday

Aston Villa vs. Liverpool

Hmmn…Gareth Barry will have something to prove in this one and it’ll be interesting to see how he responds. Villa has so much firepower and will want to banish that loss last week to Stoke ASAP. This is the first big test for Martin O’Neill and if they want to be taken seriously they had better produce.

No Stevie G changes the complexion of Liverpool and from what we’ve seen in the past it doesn’t change them for the better. Rafa Benitez has plenty of work to do as his team has yet to move out of 1st gear and they could be ripe for the taking in the Midlands.

Aston Villa 1 – 1 Liverpool

Chelsea vs. Tottenham

The Blues are unbeaten in 83 league matches at the Bridge and unless a hole the size of Texas swallows them up, it’ll be 84. I really like what Big Phil is doing and even though they didn’t set the world on fire at the JJB, they still had plenty more in the tank.

The only thing going for Juande Ramos right now is his bank balance!!!

The Berbatov saga rolls on and unless it’s sorted by Monday night they’ll be stuck with a malcontent until January. Goals and clean sheets are the keys to football and Tottenham can’t seem to obtain either of them. A pounding today and the knives will surely be glanced at.

Chelsea 2 – 0 Tottenham

 

Sunderland vs. Manchester City

For the last three seasons the Black Cats have been doubled by the Citizens and that most unwanted streak must end today and it will end today. Roy Keane is assembling a squad with serious Premiership ability and you can feel that this campaign is about more than survival.

City are spluttering but winning thanks to refereeing and Danny Califf, their new favorite American player. I’m sure that once the boardroom nonsense is sorted one way or another they can concentrate on the football until then Mark Hughes will look to SWP to recapture the spark.

 

Sunderland 2 -1 Manchester City

 

Until then, I’ll see you at the far post.

Actual Score                                                            My Predictions

 

Arsenal 1 – 0 West Brom                                    Arsenal 3 – 0 West Brom

Bolton 3 – 1 Stoke                                                Bolton 1 – 0 Stoke

Everton 2 -3 Blackburn                                    Everton 1 – 1 Blackburn

Hull City 2 -1 Fulham                                                Hull City 0 -0 Fulham

Middlesbrough 2 -1 Tottenham                        Middlesbrough 2 -1 Tottenham

Sunderland 0 – 1 Liverpool                                    Sunderland 0 – 2 Liverpool

West Ham 2 -1 Wigan                                                West Ham 1 -0 Wigan

Aston Villa 4 – 2 Man City                                    Aston Villa 1 – 0 Man City

Chelsea 4 – 0 Portsmouth                                    Chelsea 3 – 1 Portsmouth

Man Utd 1 – 1 Newcastle                                    Man Utd 2 – 1 Newcastle 

Prediction counter: 7/10 with 1 bulls eye = 70% 

The first weekend is in the books and I hit my target of 70% and to be fair if it hadn’t been for two late winners by Hull and Blackburn it would’ve been 90%.  The ‘B4’ will be good for 100% over the next three days and in all honesty I don’t feel any surprises coming on.

Saturday

Blackburn vs. Hull City

Rovers boss, Paul Ince, has played enough football to know that his side were gifted three points by Everton, however he’ll take pressies all season long. The signs are encouraging for the ‘Guv’nor’ and they should be tied at the top of the Premiership after ninety minutes.

The Tigers will be on cloud nine after their stirring victory over Fulham and Paul Konchesky will never have to buy a drink on Humberside. Ewood Park will be the ‘hello you’re not in Kansas anymore.’ 

Blackburn 2 – 0 Hull City

Fulham vs. Arsenal

This is a big match for the Cottagers after their loss to the Tigers but history does not bode well with only one home win in the last 42 years over their London rivals.  If Roy Hodgson doesn’t get a positive performance, he just might start feeling hot under the collar.

Arsene Wenger will have no fears about this trip and he’ll also be hoping to stuff some crow down the media’s throat. I’d like to see the Gunners move through the gears.

Fulham 0 - 2 Arsenal

Liverpool vs. Middlesbrough

Nothing short of a maximum plus a scintillating performance from Messer’s Torres, Keane and Gerrard will satisfy a league starved Kop - it’s time to lay down the proverbial marker.

Gareth Southgate has got his lads buzzing and there is a feel good factor in the air but that won’t be enough as they’re just short of the required quality to pull off the shock result.  They will run the Reds close though and it’ll be a late winner that’ll be their undoing.

Liverpool 2 - 1 Middlesbrough

Newcastle vs. Bolton

Kevin Keegan would’ve have been ‘over the moon’ with Newcastle’s point against United – now the question is…can they push on? They’ve got pace throughout the team and defensively they looked better than they’ve done in years.

They’ll be no surprises with Gary Megson’s Trotters and they’ll continue to play the Bolton way - no thrills, no frills with an emphasis on set pieces, fitness and organization.

Newcastle 1 - 0 Bolton

Stoke City vs. Aston Villa

Stoke will be pumped up to play their first ever home Premiership match at the Britannia Stadium and that might carry them to half-time…but then it will be ‘hello, you’re not in Kansas anymore.’

With the Gareth Barry saga all but dead, Martin O’Neill can continue to build a functional, well-rounded team, that has flair, experience, youth and vigor – all ingredients for success. I expect Villa to be tied at the top of the table by Sunday evening.

Stoke City 0 - 2 Aston Villa

Tottenham vs. Sunderland

‘Must-win’ is one of the most overused clichés in sports however it sums up this match because both Spurs and Sunderland need points or their off-season expenditures will be questioned.

Juande Ramos has to end the Dimitar Berbatov soap opera immediately – either sell him or make him happy, which seems like an impossibility. He is one bad apple when he wants to be and he’ll sour the squad plus Spurs must buy another striker or this season will begin just like the last campaign.

Regardless of the result, Roy Keane won’t panic but he knows that all eyes are on him after bringing in a host of new signings. He’ll be hoping that ex-Spurs boys, Andy Reid, Pascal Chimbonda, Steed Malbranque and Teemu Tainio all bite the hand that used to feed them.

Tottenham 2 - 1 Sunderland

West Brom vs. Everton

The Baggies will attempt to put the Toffees in the meat grinder. This has huff and puff written all over it.

West Brom lacks firepower however Everton seem to have an increasing fragile psyche. Is there money, will Moyes stay, do the board know what they’re doing. Uncertainty in the offices always works its way down to the pitch eventually.

West Brom 1 - 1 Everton

Sunday

Manchester City vs. West Ham

What wouldn’t Sparky give to turn the clocks back a couple of months? He’s been the biggest victim of false advertising as that posh, slick motor, Man City has turned out to be a rusty old ####er with a dodgy engine. They simply must get a victory or it’ll be off to the knackers yard.

Alan Curbishley began the season as the clear favorite for the sack, he’s now moved to second favorite behind…Mark Hughes! What a brutal sport!

Neither manager can afford to lose.

Manchester City 0 - 0 West Ham

Wigan vs. Chelsea

The Latics usually prove a tough nut to crack for the Blues and they’ll surely make life difficult at the JJB for about 15 minutes – then game over.

Chelsea will know that with three points, they’ll be five points ahead of United and that’s all the motivation Big Phil will need to get a vigorous, aggressive, response out of his ‘redeem team.’

Wigan 0 - 3 Chelsea

Monday

Portsmouth vs. Man Utd

These two teams must be getting sick of each other as they meet for the third time in less than a month. If the previous two meetings are any indicators, this won’t be a classic.

Pompey embarrassed themselves last week and Harry Redknapp will demand improvement while United don’t look themselves yet.

With Fratton Park a notoriously difficult place to play I want to take a draw but something tells me United will just edge it.

Portsmouth 0 – 1 Man Utd

 

Each and every Friday throughout the 2008/09 season, I’m going to attempt to do the impossible and predict the result of the Premiership. I’m hoping to get the victorious team right at least 70% of the time with the odd bulls eye for getting the scores on the doors spot on. 

Saturday

Arsenal vs. West Brom. 

Even a sub par Arsenal will have no problem with the visit of Albion. Individually there is far too much class littered throughout Arsene Wenger’s side. They’ll be buoyed after a fine midweek win and traditionally they do start fast.

Tony Mowbray will be looking for damage limitation and if they can come away from London losing by the odd goal, that’ll be just fine for the traveling hoards. Look for eleven men to park themselves on top of the 18-yard box. 

Arsenal 3 - 0

Bolton vs. Stoke City

Entertainment will be in short supply at the Reebok. It’s a match the Trotters can’t afford to lose and a contest that Stoke will feel that they might get something from.

Bolton on paper has too much quality for the new boys however if the game is dragging and its scoreless after the half, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the home crowd turn. So packing it in has to be the game plan for Tony Pulis.

Bolton 1 – 0 Stoke

Everton vs. Blackburn

I can’t help but think that this match is massive for Everton. There is unrest at Goodison Park and the lack of transfer activity signals that a change could be imminent. Typically Moyes’s side is decent at home while Blackburn have been fragile on the road but – this is the debut of Paul Ince in the Premiership. The Guv’nor will demand a performance from his players and I think he’ll get it.

Everton 1 -1 Blackburn

Hull City vs. Fulham

The Tigers will be running on adrenalin at the KC Stadium and that may just be enough to get them a positive result. The squad looks limited – it is limited – but playing at home in the Premiership debut will be the difference between a tie and a loss.

After last year’s miracle, Roy Hodgson, will have had time to impart his ideas and philosophy. They’ll be a better footballing team than many people give them credit for.

Hull City 0 – 0 Fulham

Middlesbrough vs. Tottenham

Gareth Southgate rashly in my view said that Boro could qualify for the Champions League…”earth to Gareth, come in please.”

To be fair, Boro, have produced at the Riverside over the years and they should be well organized. If Afonso Alves can fulfill the predictions of being the second coming they could catch a Spurs team in transition.

Regardless of who Juande Ramos has bought, there has to be a sense of unrest about Spurs as Robbie Keane has left the coop and will soon be joined in the North-west by Dimitar Berbatov – that’s 48 goals in all competitions down the swanny.

Middlesbrough 2 – 1 Tottenham

Sunderland vs. Liverpool

The home faithful will drive on the Black Cats and they’ll be looking to catch the Reds on an off day. I have no doubt that Roy Keane will have his team prepared and the new signings maybe the difference maker.

With the pressure firmly on Rafa Benitez and the team still getting to know one another this will be a testing 90 minutes. Quality should shine through at the end of the day though.

Sunderland 0 – 2 Liverpool

West Ham vs. Wigan

The last thing Alan Curbishley would wish for is the ‘Wigan banana-skin’. With doubts shrouding Upton Park, the crowd will be the deciding factor. If they like what they see, the Irons will canter to three points – anything else and the Latics will leave London smelling of roses.

West Ham 1 – 0 Wigan

Sunday

Chelsea vs. Portsmouth

The debut of Felipe Scolari is the talking point at Stamford Bridge and the crystal ball screams HOME WIN. The Blues will stroll this one as they attempt to impress their new boss and lay down the all-important marker.

Portsmouth have proven to be a stubborn foe in the past but after last weeks showing at Wembley in the Community Shield it is obvious that they’ll need more creativity if they’re to get positive results. I expect Pompey to pack it in at the back and to and nick a goal on a set piece or breakaway.

Chelsea 3 – 1 Portsmouth

Aston Villa vs. Manchester City

The new look Villains will be showcasing their new stars this afternoon and in the process will be looking to make a statement. The tone of that statement will signal to Martin O’Neill just what kind of season he can expect.

Mark Hughes will be asking that same kind of question however the rumblings regarding the owner, Thaksin Shinawatra, have cast a major cloud and I would love to take my pre-season ranking back (7th). In a way it’s typical City but if they pass this test, then we’ll know that Hughes is a master motivator.

Aston Villa 1 – 0 Manchester City

Manchester United vs. Newcastle United

United always tonk Newcastle at the Theater of Dreams and why should an unfit Ronaldo/Saha/Rooney change that equation. Simply put the Red Devils are too hard to beat at Old Trafford regardless of who they have up front however they have been slow starters recently and the money spinning tour in Africa may have fatigued hem slightly.

If rumors are to be believed and to be honest ‘where there is smoke, there is fire’ King Kev could be heading for the exit. Defensively they’ve been poor over the last few years and I think the Toon Army will be happy to go back to Newcastle losing by the odd goal.

Manchester United 2 – 1 Newcastle United.

Until next week, I’ll see you at the far post.

For the first time since 1996 the annual curtain raiser to the English season, the Community Shield, will welcome an interloper. Usually this showpiece event is the exclusive domain of the ‘B4’ - thankfully that domination has finally ended as we welcome Portsmouth FC back to the scene of their May triumph, Wembley Stadium. So just who will win?

Goalkeepers:

Edwin van der Sar has been at Old Trafford for 2+ seasons. In that time United have won back-to-back Premier League titles and a Champions League…coincidence, I think not! The Dutchman has nothing more to prove having won everything that the domestic game has to offer and without the distraction of international football this season, he can devote everything to what potentially is his last Red Devil campaign. 

If goalkeepers are like fine wine and improve with age, David James must be nearing vintage stage. The 38-year-old had a sensational campaign last term and forced his way back into the England reckoning. In my mind there is not a better shot stopper in the English ranks but he still has these momentary lapses of reason which generally produce howlers.

Advantage: United

Back Line:

Pompey’s regular starting back four is one of the best outside of the ‘B4’. Sol Campbell, Slyvain Distin, Hermann Hreidarsson and Glen Johnson are a fearsome, highly experienced unit that does not ship lots of goals – excellent in the air, rugged in the challenge, they relish a physical battle however they can be outdone by pace and trickery.

Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra along with Rio Ferdinand were the heart, soul and culture of a United back line that was the meanest in the Premiership last term despite not having a steady right back. I can’t see anything changing this year except they might get even better with the addition of young Brazilian, Rafael da Silva or the return of Gary Neville.

Advantage: United

Midfield:

With Anderson away on Olympic duty, Ferguson will be missing his pit bull and heir apparent to Paul Scholes. The ‘Ginger Prince’ has stated that he’ll play two more years with United so expect him to leave everything on the pitch in every single match this season. Michael Carrick will also continue to blossom along with Ji-Sung Park. The one question mark for me is Owen Hargreaves. His versatility could be his undoing as I think he’ll want to make the holding role his own but he’ll be press ganged into other positions frequently.

Other than Niko Kranjcar, no other Pompey midfielder made over 30+ appearances last term and that must be a concern for Redknapp as he strives for consistency. His other options include Pedro Mendes who is wonderfully talented but as brittle as china, Sean Davis who doesn’t have the creativity while Pape Diop has yet to find his best form. The key could be Lassana Diarra who carries on his shoulder the biggest chip in the Premier League.

Advantage: United

Forwards:

Although Portsmouth did not score enough goals last season, I love their new forward line. It’s the classic ‘big man-little man’ partnership – Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe. Crouch knows all about Fratton Park and did well in his first spell on the South coast while Defoe is a proven commodity who scores goals. Once these two begin to understand one another, this could be one of the best partnerships in the Premiership.

No Cristiano Ronaldo, no Wayne Rooney equals no goals right? With Luis Saha easily claiming the ‘sick note’ tag all of the responsibility will fall on Carlos Tevez. I have no doubt he’s up for it but when he looks around he just might feel lonely. Supposedly Ferguson is hot on young Fraizer Campbell who did well at Hull City but he is untested at this level.

Advantage: Portsmouth

Managers:

Sir Alex Ferguson has the longevity, the trophies, the knighthood, the t-shirt plus six Shields and the hunger for seven is certainly not diminished. In fact it’s truly amazing how much stamina the Scotsman possesses as he enters his 22nd season at the helm. It’ll be interesting to see how he copes without his right hand man Carlos Queiroz though as the Portuguese coach wasn’t given enough credit during his time in Manchester.

The crafty cockney, Harry Redknapp must be relishing this challenge as he’s made a habit of beating SAF and United in one-off matches. As the gaffer of Bournemouth, West Ham and now Pompey somehow despite the odds he has raised his team, ridden his luck and come out on top after ninety minutes.

Advantage: Portsmouth

Finally we have to ask what does winning the Community Shield mean: Judging by the last ten years not a lot should be read into the result as Chelsea in ’05 and United in ‘07 are the only teams to have gone on to win the Premiership. That being the case and with Pompey rank outsiders (250-1) to win the Prem, I can’t help but feel Portsmouth could nick this one by the odd goal in three.

Until then, I’ll see you at the far post.

 

There can be no complaints from anyone. The best team of Euro 2008 was Spain and they deservedly become Champions. It's been a great tournament with many positive signs for the sport of football. Next up South Africa in 2010.

Thanks for joining me and posting your comments over the last three weeks. I'll hopefully have some cool pix of Spanish fans celebrating late into the night.

..and the charge is building. The subway to the stadium was packed with every nationality you can think of and it really doesn't matter who you support as long as you're here for a laugh. I've never experienced such a friendly final - I don't think it matters who loses today!

The temperature is rising...it's almost 85 degrees in the shade! The fan zone at the Rathaus is starting to fill out and there are more Germans than Spanish but in the streets it's another story. I think the Spanish fans have figured out UEFA's little racket and decided to boycot $10 beers and snarlers. All the same there is no other place to be on this planet if you're a football fan than Vienna. The place is alive with electricity - you can feel the buzz on your skin, it's in your ears, you can taste it in your mouth.

The buzz around Stephanplatz is fantastic and incredibly friendly. It's almost 8 hours until kick-off and the party is really getting going. There is a 50/50 split between Spanish and German supporters with the word being that the Austrians are for the Spanish!

What day we have in store. A dream final, a packed and rowdy city. Enjoy the day and pictures as I come to you LIVE from Vienna.

There was a gala party for the UEFA family tonight at the Rathaus. Incredibly my invitation seemed to have got lost in the mail and no amount of flashing my accreditation was going to get me in. I was hoping the Kaiser, Franz Beckenbauer, was going to remember me from World Cup 2006 – after all I did say hi amongst a throng of 100 fans - alas the Kaiser already had a date.

I then tagged along with a tour guide briefly as she was guiding some Yanks from Atlanta around the Stephenplatz. They were asking her if it was always like this – Groups of Germans, Spaniards, Austrians and assorted Europeans drinking heavily and singing at the top of their lungs, ‘I have never seen this,’ she said…welcome to football!

I had a chance to take in the sights of Vienna today and I must say it is a beautiful city. I won’t bore you with my snaps because this guy does it much better. I will show you a picture of a #### Schnitzel though. You haven’t been to Vienna unless you’ve had one of these bad boys – it was as big as my outstretched hand and absolutely delicious. No doubt it’s a carb buster being that it’s fried but hey, I’m married!

In the area around Stephanplatz the scalpers are going crazy trying to get hold of tickets for clients. No one, I mean no one seems to be selling and the asking price is as much as 1000 Euros for a 150 Euro face ticket, Cat 3. 

The fans are starting to stream in and no surprise, the Germans are taking over. The atmosphere is superb and I’ll post some video shortly.

Oh – and check out this snap of Petr Cech. This is the biggest wheel in Europe, possibly the world. It was built in the 1800’s and is a Viennese landmark. I bet Cech wishes he had these arms versus Turkey.

 

..finally showed up at 3.30pm!

They did some warm up stuff with the kids and this one youngsters nutmegs Adebayor. It was Team Adebayor versus Team Diego - they played about 12 minutes each way in quite an entertaining game. Adebayor was trying a lot harder than Diego and looked shagged at the end which his team won 12-11.

The two of them then stayed on for 30 odd minutes to sign autographs and pose for some pix. All in all, good stuff from Adidas and both players.

Earlier at the press conference, Adebayor, pulled a Ronaldo when asked about the AC Milan interest saying that he has a contract at Arsenal but we all know they're not even worth the paper they're written on these days. My feeling is that he's going to see if he can squeeze a few more 'bob' out of the Gunners before deciding.

 

Adidas have put together a really cool fan park for the supporters. Of course the store is there to fleece you with wildly overpriced tat but there are loads of free things for the kids to do. England did make it to Vienna courtesy of a poster featuring Steven Gerrard!

In 15 minutes, 2pm supposedly Arsenal's and soon to be Milan's, Adebayor along with Werder Bremmen's, Brazilian star Diego are showing up to do some demos and play a little five-a-side. I'm not holding my breath as they were meant to be there at 1pm and I got soaked waitng for them - ah well, all in a days work. I'll head back there from the cool environs of the press area and see if I can snag some video which I'll post later.

 

 

It's all very strange here in Vienna and I think it's something to do with the weather. We just had a powerful storm roll through with plenty of lightning, thunder and rain - you can still kind of feel the electricity in the air.

At the fan zone down by the Rathaus, the crowd is a lot thinner than I expected. It seems as though there are more Austrians present than Spaniards or Russians - hence the atmosphere is non-existent.

The metro ride to the stadium was a different matter. Two sets of opposing fans had a tremendous 'sing off' and in the cramped, steamy carriage it was brilliant however as we got off the metro and stepped outside the station the atmosphere was weird again.

If you're a scalper at this match...good luck, you're going to lose your shirt. I've no idea where all these tickets are coming from but so many people were selling it was a ticket bazaar. The prices...FACE VALUE! A European semi-final and face value which means they'll drop from this point.

Inside the stadium the Russian support is ace as they all have flags and their end of the stadium just shimmers - the Spanish will do well to out sing them tonight...btw the acoustics in the Earnst-Happel are tremendous. ..Wow the rain is thundering down - can you imagine these two teams playing in the puddles like Turkey/Switzerland!

 

Sorry for the delay in pictures. The Internet connection in the stadium was down because of the storm. So it'll be Spain/Germany on Sunday. Make sure to catch my preview tomorrow where I'll break it all down.

It's just a short hop, skip and a jump by plane to Vienna from Zurich - One hour and fifteen minutes. Some other journos I met last night couldn't get any planes and woill have to suffer 12 hours by train...brutal.

From the airport to the media zone in the Fan Fest took 45 minutes thanks to a cabbie impersonating Lewis Hamilton and I must say this is quite the Fan Fest.

Located smack in the middle of the city on Rathausplatz, UEFA have really outdone themselves. It is incredibly impressive and from the looks of things incredibly efficient in separating fans and their hard earned!

Yes, admission is free and so are the drinking fountains and thankfully the portable loos but there is where it ends. Oh well, I guess that's the world we live in.

Between 50,000 & 70,000 people are expected here tonight - more than will be in the Ernst-Happel Stadion. At the moment hardly anyone is here but check out this LIVE camera later in the day and you'll get a real taste of European football - it would never fly in the States.

I'll be back shortly from the Stadium once I can figure out the metro.