Comment & analysis round-up

Quote of the day: “We aren’t bothered, but we are baffled, many of the people who have had a go at us should really know better. After all, when you play poker, what do you do? You play the hand you’re dealt. If we’d been dealt a stronger hand we’d have played a different way - and if our opponents had stronger hands, it was their responsibility to beat us. We’ve done what any good team should do. We’ve played to our strengths and worked hard to minimise our weaknesses - how can we be criticised for that?” - Ally McCoist.

Runner-up: “I’m as proud as I can possibly be. This result means a great deal to this football club, We had to come back from adversity. We’re humble in victory but the lads have put in a fantastic performance. To come back and finish as strongly as they did is a credit to them and their season’s work on the training ground. We’ve got to be careful because we’ve still got one massive game to go - it’s not over. We’ll enjoy Wembley, but everyone knows you only enjoy it of you’re the winners.” – Gary Johnson.

Today’s overview: Attentions turn to Manchester and the UEFA Cup final as questions are asked about Rangers’ style of play and the bigots of Zenit St. Petersburg. The other main theme this morning is the future of Didier Drogba.

Scott Murray (Guardian) asks “Will it be a good thing for football if defensive and dull Rangers win the Uefa Cup?” “If Rangers become the worst-ever side to prevail in Europe - and having scored five goals in an eight-game campaign featuring four 0-0s, that isn’t too rude - then by irrefutable definition that victory would automatically become the greatest ever in the history of football.”

In the same paper, Kevin McCarra (Guardian) claims that “Rangers should take great pride in sending out the most humdrum line-up ever to represent a Scottish club in a European final.”

Roddy Forsyth (Daily Telegraph) features quotes from Ally McCoist and Walter Smith who claim they they have not been “troubled by the derision that has been directed at them, especially after their goalless draw and penalty shoot-out win in Florence.”

In the same paper Nicholas Spencer interviews Brian Talbot on the marathon season Rangers are enduring. “Tonight’s Uefa Cup final is Rangers’ 63rd match. The mere thought of it is tiring.”

Nick Harris (Independent) speaks with Rangers centre-back Carlos Cuellar. Money quote: “When you leave from maybe the best league in the world to play somewhere like Scotland, the reaction is the same from everyone, they ask, ‘Are you crazy? Why are you moving? You are in the best league with the best players.’”

Jonathan Wilson (Guardian) writes of the last time Rangers played in a European final. “Five goals, a breathless comeback, pitch invasions, rioting and 36 years of bitterness. If the last time a Russian side met Rangers in a European final is anything to go by, we’re in for an eventful night in Manchester.”

Martin Samuel (The Times) castigates Dick Advocaat (”Not exactly Braveheart, is he?”) for not confronting the bigots at Zenit St. Petersburg. “More worrying, then, is the thought that Advocaat is not bold enough to confront his problem in the way Souness did at Rangers. ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing,’ Edmund Burke wrote, and Advocaat could be accused of not only inertia, but tacit, albeit inadvertent, disregard for the racism in his midst.”

Also in The Times, Phil Gordon writes of the “super-rich backers” behind Zenit St. Petersburg.

According to Jeremy Wilson (Daily Telegraph), “Avram Grant has given a clear indication of the pivotal role that he expects to play at Chelsea next season by revealing that he is working exclusively with Roman Abramovich on finalising the club’s transfer strategy.”

The main story in The Sun today is that Didier Drogba has revealed, “My dream is to play for AC Milan.” (Will he still be “dreaming” of playing for the Rossoneri when they don’t qualify for the Champions League?)

Matt Hughes (The Times) says Chelsea have even started making lists of “likely targets.” “Chelsea are focusing their attentions elsewhere, with Mario Gómez, of VfB Stuttgart, having been identified as a potential leader of the line. Frank Arnesen, the Chelsea director of scouting and youth development, is advocating a move for the 21-year-old Germany player of Spanish descent, but Grant would prefer a more creative striker, such as Dimitar Berbatov.”

Following the signing of Jose Bosingwa, Victor Vago (Daily Telegraph) analyses Portugal’s “impressive production line of talent.”

Jason Burt in the Independent reports that “Arsenal are considering inviting Stan Kroenke, the American sports tycoon who has a 12 per cent stake in the club, to take a place on the board. At the same time the Premier League club have ruled out appointing a director of football to work alongside manager Arsène Wenger… Arsenal are also expected to announce soon, possibly within days, their first major signing following a disappointing end to a season that promised to deliver another League title. The most likely arrival appears to be the France international left-winger Hatem Ben Arfa, who has long been admired by Wenger and who claimed in the French sports newspaper L’Equipe that he is in talks with the Gunners.”

Ian Herbert (Independent) claims that an “an administrative oversight on [George] Gillett’s part” means Tom Hicks will most likely still be in charge of Liverpool in August.

The excellent David Conn takes a deeper look into how Thaksin Shinawatra is running Manchester City in the Guardian. “In Thailand it was a feature of Thaksin’s political regime that he demanded high performance from his senior staff, called for rapid improvements and regularly sacked ministers after short periods in office.”

The Daily Mail ask a fan of every Premier League club, “what was the season like for you?” And the Daily Telegraph also feature the “supporters’ view” of every Premier League club.

One of the stories of the day comes in the Daily Mail who report that James McPike, a Birmingham youth player, was given a £30,000 Mercedes by Olivier Kapo for cleaning his boots.

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