Football Diary

by Patrick O'Connor

A vision of football in the future emerged last week and although on the face it seemed a miserable prospect, there could be a hidden bonus.

The president of Spanish giants Barcelona Sandro Rosell was quoted as saying that the English Premier League needs to be cut by four teams to help the Champions League.

I don’t think the powers that be who run Europe’s top football clubs have done themselves a favour by declaring that they are opposed to their players taking part in both the European Championships and the London Olympic Games in 2012.  The Olympic football event is for players aged under 23 and gets underway a month after Euro 2012 takes place in Poland and Ukraine.