The Latest Football News and Opinions From 90 Minutes Online

UEFA Cup a load of this - Preview & Predictions!

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Created: Tuesday, 17 February 2009 03:00

Written by The Rome

Whilst most people, including the Champions League-centric media, are creaming themselves about the return of Europe's 'elite' competition next week, I'm far more excited about the return of the UEFA Cup over the next couple of days.  

I'm sure the fact that I have a vested interest in it as an Aston Villa fan plays a large part in that, but by and large I find the UEFA cup a more interesting and unpredictable tournament. The CL will generally provide you with the same familiar faces from Western Europe's top leagues, whereas the UEFA cup knock out stage provides a far more diverse range of teams representing countries from all over the continent.  

Now that the grind of the lame group stage phase is over, we have reached the exciting business end of the contest. Here is a preview and some predictions. 

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Lack of footballing drama results in human tragedy

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Created: Tuesday, 17 February 2009 01:15

Written by Ian Shine

The body of Ian Shine was this morning found at the bottom of Lisbon’s Elevador de Santa Justa. A note stuffed into his jacket pocket said that he had been driven to throw himself off the 32 metre tower because of ‘weekly exposure to the shabbiness of Portuguese football’. 

The note went on to say: ‘I can’t stand these depths of despair anymore. For weeks I have been surviving on the knowledge that at least Hélder Postiga was having a worse time of Portuguese football than me. However, his goal and assist on Saturday left me with no way of consoling myself, and his celebrations at the end of the match, as if he were the saviour of the world, just threw me over the edge.’  

Shine’s diaries were later found in his flat. The entries for his final days are published below. 

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FA Cup replays abound but Everton take the thrilla from Villa

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Created: Monday, 16 February 2009 20:08

Written by Darren Douglas

Whilst the rest of Europe and the lower leagues of England continued as normal, last weekend was once again dominated by the FA Cup as the fifth round got underway. Sunday evening brought back fond memories of Channel 4’s Football Italia as BBC3 screened the Milan derby, but there was plenty more on offer leading up to that as the neutrals hoped for a domestic cup upset

The weekend started with the Swansea v Fulham fixture and it was difficult not to be taken in by the nature of Swansea's football. They played wonderfully well and with a panache and style that gives credence to their rise to the upper echelons of the Championship.

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Who's missing who? Arsene knows

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Created: Sunday, 15 February 2009 00:05

Written by Benjamin Cullen

Andrei Arshavin, few would disagree, is an exceptionally talented individual. But many people were bemused that Arsene Wenger chose to sign another attacking player instead of a replacement for the dynamic midfield ball-winner Mattieu Flamini. 

However, if we look more closely at Arsenal’s 2007-8 home fixtures with Man Utd and West Ham and the corrosponding 2008-9 fixtures, we can see that perhaps Arsene Wenger already had in his ranks a ready-made replacement for Flamini. Not Alex Song, as some may have thought, but the young Brazilian midfielder, Denilson. 

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