I know Arsenal fans won’t be too pleased to hear me say that but I just have a feeling Jose’s boys are going to come out fighting for this one. Big time.

Arsenal’s kids have done well to get them this far and I am sure they will give it their all, but I think the fact that Chelsea will be fielding their first team will give them the edge.

What is for certain is that there is no love lost between these two clubs and this should be a fiery and competitive contest with neither team opting to pull any punches.

Essentially, for us neutrals, it should be a cracker. So let’s enjoy.

Sour grape experts

French sour-grape experts Lille filed an official complaint with UEFA over Manchester United’s winning goal on Tuesday night.

They were complaining that they were not ready for the free kick which Ryan Giggs scored by taking quickly.

As far as I know there is nothing in the rules that says you can’t take a quick free kick. The whole point of a free kick is to give the advantage to the team that has just been disadvantaged by the foul, is it not?

Yes it is, so get over it Lille.

Hopefully UEFA, who were due to meet about the incident yesterday, will have said the same and not caved in under this pointless pressure from the French club.

Equally, I hope UEFA haven’t let Lille get away with the poor crowd management that was on display.

Footage clearly shows the United fans climbing over fences to escape a crush and then being tear-gassed for their trouble.

A situation with far too many similarities to the Hillsborough disaster for my liking. Far too many. Doesn’t matter who is to blame: it just shouldn’t happen. And it’s UEFA’s job to make sure it doesn’t.

Wimbledon prize-money

The politically correct amongst us will be overjoyed with the news that Wimbledon is to join the rest of the Grand Slams and offer equal prize money to men and women from this year’s tournament.

The move comes after a host of complaints from, amongst others, some leading female players and the Women’s Tennis Association itself.

Personally I am not so sure this is the right move.

Nothing against women or women’s tennis, but the basic fact is the women’s game is shorter than the men’s and it is therefore logical to me that the men get paid that little bit more for putting in that little bit more effort.

For those of you who don’t follow tennis, the men’s game is played over the best of five sets, while the women’s game is best of three. That means a men’s match takes, on average, an hour more than a women’s match.

The difference in prize money, in my mind, was purely a reflection of this and had nothing to do with so-called discrimination or attempts to make women look inferior. Absolute nonsense.

If a man and woman were doing the same job in a restaurant, for example, would the women expect to get the same pay as the man who worked five hours longer? Absolutely not. Nor vice versa.

It’s got nothing to do with sexism. Just common sense. But the politically correct seem to find that particular commodity in pretty short supply.

Beckham and England recall

A couple of weeks ago I suggested David Beckham was on the verge of an England recall. Although I may have written it with conviction back then, I am not sure I entirely believed it.

But, another couple of man-of-the-match displays further on, and I must say I am actually starting to believe it myself. What a remarkable comeback that would be for the player.

Would almost make up for not being able to find a proper club for next season…

Iain Dowie

Iain Dowie takes over at Coventry. That follows his time at Crystal Palace and Charlton. Hmmm. If he loses this job I guess it will have to be Chelsea, Colchester or Crewe next.

Arsene Wenger

Now Arsene Wenger may not like Jose Mourinho very much. In fact, I think it would be fair to say they don’t like each other at all. Which makes some comments by Arsene this week all the more interesting.

No, he didn’t compliment his Chelsea counterpart. Nothing that obvious. But he did show strange respect for the ‘special one’ by copying his style of speaking – talking almost complete nonsense.

In attempting to talk about his football philosophy and the need to not stifle creativity, he said: “When you are dealing with someone who only has a pair of underpants on, if you take his underpants off, he has nothing left – he is naked. You’re better off trying to find him a pair of trousers to complement him rather than trying to change him,” he said.

Just the sort of top-drawer, first-rate nonsense that Jose himself would have been proud to utter.

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