Comment & analysis round-up

Quote of the day: “I have a feeling that shouting more is somehow more respectable in England, not just from managers but players as well… Sometimes I think in England you admire power more than good thinking… The history of every big club starts with doubts – Arsenal when Wenger came, United at the start under Ferguson.” – Avram Grant.

Runner-up: “Flamini will arrive in Milan and will sign a four-year contract.” - AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani.

Today’s overview: With Chelsea’s visit to Newcastle this afternoon potentially decisive in the title race, the Blues continue to dominate the backpages. The whereabouts of Roman Abramovich and the new found love for Avram Grant are the main threads.

Steven Howard in The Sun analyses the possible reasons for Roman Abramovich’s disappearing act from Chelsea. “Roman, Roman, wherefore art thou, Roman? Enjoying life with his own Juliet home in Russia, no doubt… no one should underestimate the effect of the beautiful Daria ‘Dasha’ Zhukova on Abramovich following his divorce from Irina, the mother of his five children… when will Blues fans next see Abramovich? … Or could it be that Daria has now replaced Chelsea as the love of his life?”

Jeff Powell waxes lyrical over Avram Grant in the Daily Mail. “The average Grant, as he has been lampooned so sneeringly, will still make history of his own. Whether or not Chelsea surrender the Premier League title at Newcastle today — and no mattter what happens when he takes on Sir Alex in the Champions Leage Final — Avram Grant is destined to leave his unexpected footprint on the game.”

Kevin Garside (Daily Telegraph) adds to the chorus of approval for the Israeli manager. “Technically, Grant is not a coach at all, having yet to acquire a Uefa badge. His success in taking Chelsea to the point of Champions League success and possibly the Premier League title is perhaps the argument for the non-coach. What value to a Ballack or a Drogba can a man be who could not have got a game on Hackney Marshes as a kid?”

Martin Samuel continues to laud Frank Lampard in The Game. “Perhaps our Big Brother culture has created a need for pantomime villains and Lampard does the job for football. I do know, though, that after Wednesday I am more convinced than ever that if you hate Lampard, you don’t know what you’re watching.”

James Lawton (Independent) writes of the irony that it is Newcastle and Kevin Keegan who could be the ones to hand Manchester United and Alex Ferguson the title today. “All Ferguson is asking for today is 90 minutes of similar application from the victims of one of his first and most lasting examples of how to work away at both the brain lining and heart-strings of a vulnerable rival.”

Neil Custis in The Sun reveals that “Manchester United’s players will EACH earn a £250,000 bonus if they do the Double. The jackpot for winning the Premier League and Champions League was agreed with the club’s owners, the Glazers, last summer.”

Alan Smith (Daily Telegraph) praises Carlos Tevez. “Irrespective of what United go on to achieve, this has been a highly successful debut season for the man known as ‘El Apache’. Nineteen goals on its own is a highly respectable return but, as mentioned above, it doesn’t tell the whole story of his influence.”

Alan Hansen (Daily Telegraph) analyses the “turmoil” at Manchester City. “When you invite people like Thaksin in, you have to accept that they own the club, it is their money and they can run things as they see fit. And if that means ignoring the obvious signs of progress under Eriksson, then so be it.”

Rob Hughes in the International Herald Tribune writes of Fulham’s battle against the drop.

After a dramatic day in the Championship yesterday, Don Howe (Daily Telegraph) ”considers how the promoted Championship clubs will fare in the Premier League next season.”

Owen Gibson, the media correspondent in the Guardian, predicts ITV and BBC are “braced for complaints from viewers” as Euro 2008 will dominate the tv schedules despite no home nation having qualified for the tournament. (Surely the BBC’s decision to use Steve McClaren as a pundit is a more heinous crime.)

Martin Kelner (Guardian blog) is impressed with Setanta Sports and in particular their coverage of the Blue Square Premier League. “At this level of football, Setanta has undoubtedly carved itself a niche, taking full advantage of the smaller clubs’ desire for just a whiff of the oxygen of publicity. It is Access All Areas football in a way that the Premier League or Champions League will never be.”

Charles Sale (Daily Mail) reports that “There is a strong desire within Soho Square to ensure the high-profile job of FA performance director goes to an Englishman, following Italian Fabio Capello becoming the national team boss and surrounding himself with his compatriots.”

In his match report on Real Madrid’s win at Osasuna, Sid Lowe (Guardian) describes Real Madrid as “prosaic but persistent.” “Last night, Schuster’s side mathematically wrapped up the league, but it was over at Christmas. Madrid may not have been superlative but they have been strikingly superior from start to finish.”

Gabriele Marcotti in The Game looks at possible reasons behind a number of clubs in Europe retaining their domestic titles this season.

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