SPREAD

Both are genuine goalscorers with bags of skill. Ibrahimovic would be my pick in terms of skill out of the two. He has been at the forefront of Nike adverts in recent years and has often found a way to duplicate those skills on the field. In no way am I saying that Eto'o can't do that, because he has on several occasions at Barcelona but Ibrahimovic does it with a bigger degree of variety.

In terms of speed and raw pace, I would pick Eto'o by a slim margin. Again neither is slow and are both often found drifting out wide and drifting past defenders with consummate ease. Eto'o' s change of pace is more favourable than Ibrahimovic. Agility wise they are almost inseparable again. The elastic legs of Eto'o have got him out of trouble on numerous occasions, running in and out of players and around goalkeepers. Ibrahimovic can do this also. But he can also do it to score. I beg anyone to look at his goal against Bologna last season which won 'Goal of the Year' in Serie A. Even during his early years at Ajax, he was reaching the unreachable.

He also tends to reach the unreachable when it comes to balls in the air. He is a clear 4 inches taller than Samuel and can be a target man for his comrades. This will certainly add a dimension to Barcelona's style next season, where I assume he will be playing the central role of the front 3. 

Goalscoring abilities seem to be very similar again. Samuel Eto'o is the 4th highest goalscorer in La Liga ever and has become so with a style-range of goals. Whilst Ibrahimovic has a similar range, if not bigger, he can often be found going through barron spells, most notably his two year international drought. And whilst Eto'o is only one of two players to have scored in separate Champions League Finals, Ibrahimovic has had the reputation of going missing in 'big' games. 

Mentality no doubt plays a part, and there have been rumours circulating for years that Eto'o has struggled to get along with some of his FCB couterparts and has previously physically lashed out. Ibrahimovic on the other hand has always lead a slightly quieter playing style, often letting his football do the talking. Both have been known to also have chronic joint injuries over the years, with Eto'o being the more affected.

Day 2 started off with the European Champions Barcelona play the African Champions Al-Ahly. With a half full stadium, the crowd was never going to be loud. However anticipation was growing as Lionel Messi was annouced to be on the bench. Pep Guardiola had guaranteed him 45 minutes on friday. 

The game was a comfortable 4-1 win for Barcelona, although they gave a better perfomance against spurs 48 hours earlier. Al-Ahly also had a fair amount of chances but failed to take all except one of them. Ruben Rochina was troublesome again much like friday and it was his hard work that set up Bojan to tuck away from a narrow angle. Hany El Egezy equalised for the Egyptians soon after only to see Rueda snatch the another goal. The catalan youngster switched the ball onto his left foot and unleashed a 25 yard pile-driver into the top corner. 

Another 2 goals in the 2nd half from Suarez and Pedro saw Barcelona take the game to 4-1 with 3 of their goals coming from narrow angled well placed shots. The introduction of Messi at half-time failed to invigurate the game but did put some fire into a few of the Ahly tackles heading his way. Having just come back to fitness, Guardiola was visibly worried about his prize asset's protection.

The second game saw Celtic against Tottenham and the hoops faithful turned out in their droves. They were in good voice even before the game had begun. Throughout the entire tournament, the vast majority of the press had felt that spurs had underperformed. They didn't have their ideal central defenders for either game and it showed. Compared to a world re-known Barcelona academy and full strength Celtic, the press' judgement was slightly unfair. They leaked two easy goals in the first half. Chris Killen and Georgios Samaras made light work of the defence with their goals. Killen got a free header past Gomes and Samaras drove his own straight line run from the half way line to fire in from the edge of the box. The second half drew out to be keep ball session, as some weak Spurs defending let Celtic through a number of times but it went unpunished.

Celtic lifted the trophy on their first ever visits to Wembley and across both games it was deserved. Bad defending by both oppositions played a part, and definately the Barcelona youngsters left a good account of themselves. The player I most enjoyed this tournament was Ruben Rochina. I was really impressed with his level of skill and his general ability.

Celtic vs Al-Ahly was the first game and the hoops stuck out a familiar team. Despite this Al-Ahly made the better start of the two teams and were knocking the ball about in way that showed why they were African Champions. Celtic took the lead against the run of play earlier on and this caused the crumbling of the Egyptians. The second soon followed from the penalty spot and with half-time approaching it was back to the Hieroglyphics board.

The second half brought no change and saw Ahly leak 3 goals of great finishes. The game died out pretty much soon after and the end of the game was welcomed. Celtic won 5-0 but at least 4 of those goals came from terrible defending. Celtic fans were very loud throughout the game and will have been best pleased by the performance of Mark Antoine Fortun'e. He looks strong and quick. He could prove vital for the hoops this season.

Game 2 - Barcelona against Spurs. Well if there was ever a game run by one man, this was it. YAYA TOURE. What a player. He ran round half the Spurs team like they weren't even there! He spread long range passes over invisible defenders and made Wilson Palacios look extremely weak. It was his weaving run from the half way line that took him to the bring of goalscoring glory until Huddlestone tackled him and the ricashay landed at the feet of Bojan, who duly converted from close range.

The second half saw 11 changes from Pep Guardiola, with what looked like the Barcelona u19's team. Did they get outplayed? No. Spurs were further embarassed in the second half as they got out passed and out pressured all over the pitch. Ruben Rochina is definately a player to watch out for. The young striker showed some great touches and brilliant skill around the pitch. 19 year old Jake Livermore saved spurs blushes with a late header but 1-1 did not do this young unknown Barcelona any justice!

Day 2 should be fun!

The idea of watching the European Champions this weekend is mouth-watering. After the master class that they gave Manchester United in Rome, I'm looking to see how they build on that. With news that the Ibrahimovic/Samuel Eto'o deal is close to completion, things could actually get better at Camp Nou. Messi, Henry, Iniesta, Xavi...the list goes on...and on...and on...

Spurs have been a bit quite in this transfer window but after the way they finished last season, I think continuing the Harry Redknapp way is a work in process. I'm interested to see if David Bentley makes an appearance after Redknapp's call that he may look to sell him. If that is the case, I believe this will be the 'shop-window' opportunity if he gets the chance against the FCB. I've always been an admirer and I wish he went to Newcastle when the opportunity arose!

Celtic and Tony Mowbray. He's stated this morning that he's made some progress with the squad. With several new signings like Mark-Antoine Fortune, this tournament should let him see his ideas in practice for the first time. An assault on the SPL title will be their priority, so tests against sterner opposition is likely to be appreciated.

Al-Ahly. I fancy them to hold their own in this tournament. Being relatively unheard of, the Egyptians are the current African Champions League title holders. I really believe that African football, particularly northern is on the up. Any suspicions that they will be the whipping boys of this tournament will be wide of the mark in my opinion. 

I think most Arsenal fans would agree they have got the deal of transfer window. One can help to think that Roy Keane's comments today weren't a sly shot, saying that 'Ronaldo was cheap at £80m compared to other strikers. Don't tell anyone that Im about to agree with a former Sunderland boss, but he has a point.

The problem I have with Adebayor is the fact that he's been 'potential' for far too many seasons. And with him being one of the only constantly available striker at AFC, it was never enough. Someone of his size and stature, should be competing with likes of Drogba physically but he never did it. 

Now, I'm sure most people will feel I'm pessimistic about anything Manchester City at the moment. I am not. I really hope they do well and break that routine top 4, which is making it a two-tier league. They surely have the fire power to do it. I'd like to see them bring in another CB, which I dont think John Terry will be. He is Mr. Chelsea. But someone who'll have a wealth of experience to bring along the likes of Micah Richards, stabilise Richard Dunne and free up Wayne Bridge. I'm not sure that Mark Hughes is the man for the Job either. However, let him try. I'm not in favour of the quick turnover of managers that seems to be the latest craze. We need some successful young British managers to come through! Bring Aidy Boothroyd back into football!

As for Arsenal, what this transfer window holds remains to be seen. A new striker is now needed. A defensive midfielder to free up the old Fabregas in my opinion is another weak point. A maybe just a few more squad players. I think quality of depth let them down last season.

The large frame of John Hartson, also represented his character. He's been a battler on the pitch for the best of his playing days, out-muscling and out-strengthening anything that came in his way. Let's hope this character can live within him again, during what must be a very difficult time. 

John Hartson, 34 and retired. May you get through this. 

Plagued by injuries towards the latter end of his career, the financial connoisseur made a final transfer into the heart of retail. Whilst Niketown never has its downtimes, he found the time to answer a few questions on his playing days...and he even found a picture for us too....

Fact file:

Name: Nick Welton

Position: Striker

Team (s) played for: Everton Schoolboys, Hull University, Ashville, Vauxhall Motors (2 spells – 2^nd spell reached FA Cup 2^nd round live on Sky vs Macclesfield Town after beating QPR in first round), Total Network Solutions (played in UEFA Cup vs Polonia Warsaw in Poland), Rhyl, Mossley, Altrincham, Sutton United, Dulwich Hamlet

Team Supported: Liverpool

The serious questions…

Spread: Did/do you have a match day superstitions or rituals? 

Nick Welton: I used to polish my boots watching Soccer AM in the morning to get me in the mood!

S: What is a better feeling? Scoring a goal or winning a game?

NW: Winning a big game

S: Who is your favourite all time footballer?

NW: Ian Rush

S: Who is your sporting hero outside of football?

NW: Tiger Woods

S: Who would be your best partner on the playing field? (Current or retired, i.e. Strike partner, Midfielder partner, Supporting right back, etc.) 

NW: Kenny Dalglish

Now some relaxing questions….

S: Do you play FIFA or Pro Evolution?

NW: Neither!

S: Top 3 stadiums, which you have played or would like to play in? 

NW: Played at loads of league grounds including Goodison Park, Molineux, The New Den, Loftus Road, Upton Park, Wrexham, Swansea, Crystal Palace, Chester City, Macclesfield Town, Polonia Warsaw, etc. Desperate to play at Anfield!

S: Favourite all time boot? 

NW: Nike Tiempo

S: Tell us something we wouldn’t know about you… 

NW: I have been a house music DJ since 1991!!!!!

S: Finally, the blog is called ‘Spread’, so we’d like to know, will you spread the word? 

NW: Of course!!!

 

Thank you,

Team Spread 

Finally you can find Nick's DJ work at www.myspace.com/nickwelton

Pardon the phrasing, but there has been an 'insurgence' of interest in Asian talent in the last couple of seasons. West Ham run the 'Asians in the Community scheme' which looks to get the majority population of Boleyn involved at the club in different non-playing capacities. Last season saw Chelsea launch their 'Asian star scheme' talent competition. Whether this is a search into a virtually untapped pool or whether its a way to get more people through the turnstiles remains to be seen. No doubt both will have wanted to have seen their efforts recognised.

My assumption is that parents have a large role to play in this. Not many view football as the holy grail of neither sport nor a long term career as their sons or daughters may now do. With the higher importance of cricket in the region, one only has to look within the boundaries to see the strides made by the likes of Monty Panesar, Ravi Bopara and Adil Rashid have made recently. Not forgetting former England captain Nasser Hussain either (Although he was born in India). So culture does play a part, as one can expect. 

Secondly, Perception and Pride. Not all Indian and Pakistani doctors and lawyers ply those trades by coincidence. Some are spoonfed the idea from a young age, that the professions you choose during later life, will impact EVERYTHING! And to an extent that isn't wrong, but successes can be made outside of these fields. Somehow, 'Doctor' or 'Lawyer' reasonates better than 'footballer' at the big family gatherings. This really is the 'Show and Tell' for the older generations.

So, we've discussed the role of clubs in this situation, the role of parents as a possible reason. But how about the aspiring players? I mean with the expansive network of scouts that operate at each EPL club, surely a vast number would have been approached. There is the possibility that asian players simply are not good enough. We  must remember that compared to the rest of the world, asians are relatively new to the playing side of the game (30 years max.). There is almost an element of giving the culture time to change. Time to learn football. Yes, some are fast, some are skillful but the vast majority lack the positional and technical guile required at the top level. 

One must not forget role models. Cricket will always have its asian turnover due to the successes of Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan. But who have the UK asian footballers got to look up to? 7 in total is probably the answer.

I think it will be around 5-10 years before we see an influx of asians in the EPL, as most of them are currently in the academy assembly line, learning the game to the level which is required. Hopefully one day, we'll see a young man of pakistani origin cause a stir upon their £80million transfer. He might even be moving from Benfica.

Going from seeing nobody in weeks, I have three footballing marvels in one day. The day started 'Brightly', if you'd excuse the pun. Mr Bright came in and has to be one the funniest people I've met. He kindly talked about some work in Barbados he is looking forward to doing. A cool guy overall.

Leanne Sanders has popped in a few times now. Ever friendly as always. Really down to earth.

But then SCOTT PARKER. Legend of a guy. I didn't expect it, but he has to be one of the nicest guys I've ever come across, regardless of being a footballer or not. Really down to earth, chatty and best of all, took the time to fire questions back at me. Really pleasantly surprised and made my day for sure. Being a Newcastle fan as well, it was a pleasure to meet him. Hopefully I'll get to catch up with him soon. :)

Right from the very start it had a mixture of respect, humour, sadness and above all else, the message of peace. I really enjoyed the speeches given by Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy. Two people who I hadn't invested much of time in before but somehow managed to pull me in with their stories of a young Michael Jackson. Both seemed more wanting to talk in a humourous way rather than sadness.

In terms of moving and emotional moments on the night, I'd have to say that the speeches from Brooke Shields and Paris Jackson, as well as the performance of 'Smile' by Jermaine Jackson, really struck the heart strings of the audience. Who knew of the great trusting friendship that MJ shared with Shields to the point that it was a competition to make each other laugh! It was great to hear stories of a true man behind a performer. 

Im curious for the future of the Jackson children. It was almost a moment of unveiling. From the obscurity of not really ever seeing their faces or hearing their voices, we got both as well as the invaluable insight of true emotion from Paris for the closing speech. Jermaine Jackson can still sing. Period. From his eyes welling up at the very start to the almost being unable to finish the song to throwing his rose onto the coffin at the end, he will definately never forget Michael. It was a performance where every word had a memory attached to it.

For some reason, the performance I most anticipated for the night was Shaheen Jaffargholi's. I was surprised to see he had been given the final solo slot. Not that I felt he didn't belong there, more that it should have gone to someone more meaningful (i.e. Jermaine) or someone more well-known (Usher?! Good performance too). That said, I was pleased to hear Berry Gordy's intention to sign the young artist to Motown! I wish him all the best.

Finally, it was nice that the stage was left fitting. A shining spotlight with only the microphone on stage. Just the way the world's greatest ever entertainer would have wanted it. Just how he would have done it himself!

"I hope these players don't win tonight, otherwise they'll be called the Golden Generation!". This was the quip of one public contributor on a sports website during Monday's game. Our unwillingness to completely follow our greatest athletes is obvious. Everyone wanted the U21's to get to the Final, the 'doubters' wanted them to lose the final...well, because they dont like the satisfaction of having winners, perhaps in the fear of arrogance. For all of everyone who supported Murray throughout Wimbledon 2009, there would have been a great amount who would have wished for his failure (Scot or Brit debate?) We love 2nd place in this country! loll...

The press also have an uncanny ability to pressure athletes in thinking they have the right to win or that this year 'is their year!'..it never materialises. The countless 'do you think you can win?' interviews must surely cause unnecessary pressure augmentation on players. And pressure affects performance. It also questions what role the press have to play in the public's perception of the sports outcomes. 

Do we really care that much to begin with that Murray could win or that the U21s are world beaters? Or do the press force it upon you?

Well here's a bit of news I did not expect to be writing about. After 4 below-par seasons at Newcastle, Michael Owen has signed for Manchester United!

I honestly thought that considering his injury proneness and his lack of goals in recent seasons would have meant that he would have needed to have proven himself for at least one more season before any of the big four would be interested. 

Add to the fact that we've already seen one player this transfer window refuse to swap jerseys of the Reds of the North, to see Michael Owen make this transition, albeit a few clubs in between, is a strange one. The once prodigal son of the Kop will be the audience to a chorus of boos during his next visit to Anfield without doubt. If he stays fit.

I really have no idea who thought signing Owen for Man U was a good idea. But I'll keep quiet for now, purely on the fact of not wanting to eat my words at a later date, and definately not when it's being served by Sir Alex...