You can listen by either searching Last Minute, Second Leg on iTunes and subscribing or you can listen/download direct fromhttp://lasminsecleg.podbean.com/2010/06/10/last-minute-second-leg-podcast-episode-15-football-league-and-spl-world-cup-party/

In this episode we are joined by Brent Atema of www.globalfootballtoday.com. Alongside Brent, host Ross Andrew Gallacher will preview the Football League and Scottish Premier League players likely to feature in South Africa.

As ever, feel free to contact us via email at either
msemisch@gmail.com or ross.lmsl@gmail.com, via our
Facebook group (search:Last Minute, Second Leg), on
Twitter (twitter.com/lasminsecleg), or in the comments
sections on our blog at www.lasminsecleg.com.

podcast comes a Football League Review show. Half of

the LMSL first team squad, Ross Andrew Gallacher and

Scot Munroe run through and evaluate the Football

League season in a mere 42 mins.

The two share their thoughts on the League One and

Two playoff finals. They discuss the implications of

promotion and relegation for various Football League

teams coupled with “somewhere in the ball park”

predictions for next season.

As ever, feel free to contact us via email at either

msemisch@gmail.com or ross.lmsl@gmail.com, via our

Facebook group (search: Last Minute, Second Leg), on

Twitter (twitter.com/lasminsecleg), or in the comments

sections on our blog at www.lasminsecleg.com.

In episode 13 of the Last Minute, Second Leg podcast, Ross Andrew Gallacher is joined by David Alun Thomas and John Kelly. David and John are both Brit’s who have lived in Mexico or in the case of John, still living in Mexico.

They bring to the table a rather fascinating iddiot’s guide to Mexican football. Explaining the rather complicated league system, bringing anecdotes and a whistle stop tour of Mexican stadia. The “Little Pork Scratching” (Man Utd newboy Javier Hernandez) is discussed. Discussing whether or not he is one to watch at this years World Cup and if he is actually better than Berbatov?!!!

This pod lands right before the England vs Mexico friendly tonight. So what better way to build up to the game, than listen to Last Minute, Second Leg.

As ever, feel free to contact us via email at either msemisch@gmail.com or ross.lmsl@gmail.com, via our Facebook group (search: Last Minute, Second Leg), on Twitter (twitter.com/lasminsecleg), or in the comments sections on our blog at www.lasminsecleg.com.

Steve Watkins offers us a fascinating background history, on what is likely to be a new edition to The Football League in the coming weeks.

Among the topics discussed are manager Graham Westley, the Lamex stadium and Stevenage players to watch out for in League Two next season. Enjoy the interview and our show.

You can listen to the new podcast by downloading via iTunes just search Last Minute, Second Leg or alternatively you can stream directly or download from:
http://lasminsecleg.podbean.com/2010/04/15/last-minute-second-leg-podcast-episode-12-bbc-3crs-steve-watkins-on-stevenage-borough/

As ever, feel free to contact us via email at either msemisch@gmail.com or ross.lmsl@gmail.com, via our Facebook group (search: Last Minute, Second Leg), on Twitter (twitter.com/lasminsecleg), or in the comments sections on our blog at www.lasminsecleg.com.

The two have been the main force behind Swindon’s charge for promotion, via the playoffs or even through the automatic promotion places. Thanks for your continued support in downloading the podcast as ever. For more of Scott Munroe check out his posts on www.serieaweekly.com and the League 1 and 2 Football Fancast.

As ever, feel free to contact us via email at either msemisch@gmail.com or ross.lmsl@gmail.com, via our Facebook group (search: Last Minute, Second Leg), on Twitter (twitter.com/lasminsecleg), or in the comments sections on our blog at www.lasminsecleg.com. Thanks for your continued support of LMSL despite such a long wait, and enjoy the show!

In Episode 8 of the Last Minute, Second Leg Podcast, Dov Schiavone guest hosts with regular host Matthew Semisch otherwise engaged with teacher training. Joining Dov are LMSL co-founder Ross Andrew Gallacher and once again Kristan Heneage, a freelance journalist that many listeners will know from his correspondence for World Soccer Daily (now World Football Daily) last season.

The show is very much about the financial issues which have dominated the footballing headlines in recent weeks. Four football league clubs who have faced financial difficulties :Crystal Palace, Stockport County, Notts County and Watford are the topics of discussion in this area.

Some of the topics featuring in the discussion are the causes of these four club’s financial problems, the Victor Moses transfer saga and Notts County soap opera.

Some of the non financial based discussions include: Dov give us his two cents on Tom Cleverley and Craig Cathcart, both at Watford on loan from Man Utd.

Kristan reports on Crystal Palace’s recent visit to Newcastle.

The panel discuss the Championship team of the season so far, Forest. In this speaking about on form goalkeeper Lee Camp.

You can catch more of Dov Schiavone on the RedCafe.net and Italian Serie A Football Fancast podcasts respectively. Both are available free from the iTunes store just search for “RedCafe.net or “Italian Serie A Football Fancast”.

As ever, feel free to contact us via email at either msemisch@gmail.com or ross.lmsl@gmail.com, via our Facebook group (search: Last Minute, Second Leg), on Twitter (twitter.com/lasminsecleg), or in the comments sections on our blog at www.lasminsecleg.com. Thanks for your continued support of LMSL despite such a long wait, and enjoy the show!

Photo courtesy Kris Voakes

UEFA Champions League nights in Milan can be enjoyed in very different ways, and Matchday 4 threw up polar opposite experiences for the city’s football fans.

Tuesday’s trip to the San Siro to witness AC Milan’s entertaining 1-1 draw with the Galácticos of Real Madrid provided the glamorous side of calcio, but it was Wednesday night’s nail-biter between Dynamo Kiev and Inter which provided all of the drama, and where better to experience this drama than with lifelong Interista Alessandro Polenghi, owner of Milan’s 442 sports pub, known locally as the first-choice place to watch football from all over the world.

With four screens capable of showing four different games at a time and walls covered by more than 200 scarves from around the world – plus more than 80 sat in the basement awaiting new wallspace from potential future expansion – the Milan pub is second only to the San Siro itself in the list of places to be in the city on Champions League nights.

As for Inter, their season has been very much the ultimate Jekyll-and-Hyde experience. Seven points clear atop Serie A, the Nerazzurri went into Wednesday’s match in Ukraine sitting at the bottom of Group F, more than a year on from their last win in European competition.

It was with this form in mind that landlord Alessandro predicted a long night ahead for his club. “We are not one of the best teams in Europe, and we do not play well in the Champions League, so I expect nothing tonight,” he claimed, expressing pessimism typical of those in blue and black on such nights. All this despite Barcelona’s failure to win at Rubin Kazan earlier in the night, meaning that an Inter win would see the Italian giants top their group with two games to play.

Alessandro’s pessimism seemed well-placed when ex-AC Milan forward Andriy Shevchenko’s deflected shot looped over Júlio César to give Dynamo a deserved half-time lead against a lacklustre Nerazzurri. Time, then, for Alessandro to vent his frustrations.

Or maybe not.

“I am calm because, as I said, I expect nothing from Inter in the Champions League.,” Alessandro said.  “If we go out, I’ll just buy some popcorn and watch everybody else fight it out for the trophy!”

What, though, of Inter manager José Mourinho, whose position has been questioned given the club’s precarious European future? “I wouldn’t sack him now, as it’s not a good idea to change mid-season, but at the end of the season he will be gone,” Alessandro told me.  “But at the end of the day, the manager can be the best or the worst in the world – It’s down to the players, and we don’t have the players for the Champions League.

“We have had only one chance and they have had three or four, but it was the same at home to Dynamo and also against Barcelona. At the end of the day, (those clubs) are just better than us.”

Wednesday’s second half threw up a change of emphasis for the Italian side, though, as a double substitution by Mourinho helped to bring about a more attacking second 45 minutes. Despite a number of chances coming and going, though, Inter still couldn’t break through.

Samuel Eto’o and Mario Balotelli squandered the best opportunities as the 442 customers grew increasingly nervous. A glance to the right told them Fiorentina were steaming past Debrecen, while the screen on the left was showing Liverpool’s late breakthrough in Lyon, but the locals’ own game still was not bringing them the result they craved.

By the time Diego Milito equalised in the 86th minute, Inter had more than deserved something from the game. In 4-4-2, the relief was palpable, but it had nothing on the atmosphere when Inter’s Wesley Sneijder fired home the winner three minutes later.

The scenes in the pub were akin to what you’d see on the Curva Nord inside the stadium.  Alessandro – a season ticket holder for Inter at San Siro – now buried under friends behind the bar as the Interisti celebrated their impending return to winning ways after eight consecutive European failures.

The result – and, more pertinently, the second half performance – suddenly brought new optimism, and Alessandro allowed himself a celebratory drink at full-time. “I think, in the end, Inter deserved it, though Dynamo defended very well. But that second half is as good as we’ve played in the Champions League for ages.

“Maybe Mourinho deserves some credit, but it all happened in the last five minutes. I didn’t expect a finish like that.”

So, could this dramatic win change Inter’s European fortunes?

“Maybe. We now have a great chance to qualify because Barca-Inter is now a kind of final for the group phase and we have the advantage of the draw,” Alessandro said.  “I still say there are better teams than us, but sometimes the winners are not the best team in the competition, like Porto and Liverpool were not.

“The Champions League is won in the last 16, the quarter-finals and the semi-finals… the final is a lottery. Hopefully we can now qualify as group winners and avoid a difficult game in the last 16.”

With that, he was back to work, but the bouncing and strutting that were now part of his demeanour had not been in evidence before kick-off. It typifies the new-found belief about Inter after their late, late show in Kiev. Don’t write them off just yet.

Kris Voakes

Photo courtesy sandro.s's Flickr account

Football fans have for years had to endure the proverbial old chestnut from managers and players about how minnows are playing in ‘their cup final’ when they travel to play against bigger clubs.

Unfortunately for Celtic, which visits Hamburger SV in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, the Hoops’ matchup with their German foe marks one of those instances.

Hamburg’s HSH Nordbank Arena will be the site of the first-ever Europa League final next May, and if the current Group C table is anything to go by, group-leading Hamburg stands a decent chance of making it to the final that it’s hosting.  Die Rothosen currently sit reasonably comfortable atop the group with six points, two ahead of both Hapoel Tel-Aviv of Israel and Rapid Wien of Austria with two games following Thursday’s action.

Bottom of the group, though, is a Celtic side that has only managed to gain a single point in the group so far – a 1-1 draw against Wien at Celtic Park on Oct. 1 – and manager Tony Mowbray’s men know that they need to get a result in northern Germany on Thursday and also get help from Hapoel and Wien if Celtic stands much of a chance of finishing in the top two of the group and qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition.

While Celtic lost to Hamburg in the clubs’ first group meeting on Oct. 22, Hapoel demolished Wien 5-1 in Israel on the same night.  A similar result between those two teams in Austria on Thursday as well as a Celtic loss in Germany would open up an eight-point gap between Hamburg and Hapoel at the top of the group and Celtic at the bottom, thus dashing the Scots’ European dream with two group games still to be played.

Making matters worse, Celtic travels to Germany with a particularly worrisome injury list.  Midfielders Shaun Maloney and Scott Brown are both out with lower-leg injuries, and first-choice goalkeeper Artur Boruc is recovering from a minor knee operation.  Also, midfielder Zheng Zhi will be a no-show, as Celtic signed the captain of the Chinese national team after UEFA’s registration deadline for the Europa League group phase.

Hamburg has its fair share of injuries, too, with first-choice strikers Paolo Guerrero and Milan Petric out, amongst others, for Thursday’s Europa League clash.  Mowbray and his Celtic squad know that they can only worry about their own performance at the venue of this season’s Europa League final – After all, Celtic has no chance of returning to Hamburg again this season if it falters again on Thursday.

Matthew Semisch

Photo courtesy Bornaz Sebastian's Flickr account

Rangers striker Kenny Miller told reporters this week that it’s win-or-bust time for the Scottish champion as it faces Romanian upstart Unirea Urziceni in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening.

He wasn’t wrong in his assessment, of course, but the following would’ve been not only more forthcoming but also more honest: Anything but a win in Bucharest, and it becomes damage-control time for the Scots.

Rangers currently sits bottom of Group G with one point from a possible nine going into the club’s rematch against Unirea, a team that hammered Miller and his teammates, 4-1, at Rangers’s Ibrox ground a fortnight ago.  On top of that, the Teddy Bears’ only point in this season’s Champions League campaign came all the way back on Sept. 16 – a 1-1 stalemate away to VfB Stuttgart – so a loss in Romania on Wednesday would likely kill any remaining hope the Scots might have of advancing into the knockout phase of the competition.

Manager Walter Smith and his personnel at Rangers have known since learning of its Champions League group draw that winning on Wednesday in Romania is going to be a difficult task, though, and it’s being made all the more tricky because of the incentive that an Unirea win would have for the host side.

Unirea’s fans will have to travel about 32 miles down to the Stadionul Steaua in Bucharest for the game – Unirea’s home ground, the 7,000-seat Stadionul Tineretului in Urziceni, seats approximately 20,000 fewer fans than Steaua Bucureşti’s stadium can – but a second win over Rangers in two weeks would be huge for the Romanian minnow, especially as it would open up a six-point gap between the two teams in the Group G table with two matchdays remaining.

The blue half of Glasgow would then have a very big problem on its hands, and it may take some doing to even lock down a third-place finish in what’s been a surprisingly competitive group, thus at least guaranteeing Rangers a place in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League, Europe’s second-tier continental club tournament.  A fourth-place finish in the group, of course, would mean the end of the club’s European campaign for this season altogether.

Stuttgart, Rangers’s closet group rival at present, is away to first-place Sevilla on Wednesday, and a win for the hosts there would essentially wrap up the group for the Andalusians, as they would only have Unirea away and Rangers – whom the Spaniards beat 4-1 in Glasgow on Sept. 29 – at home for Sevilla’s final two group fixtures.  Rangers does get Stuttgart at home in two weeks’ time, but the Scots will have first have to pick up points in a hostile environment in Wednesday if Smith and his players want Nov. 24′s game against their German rivals to matter.

“It probably would be all over if we get beaten (in Bucharest),” Miller told reporters. “We know what’s at stake.

“No matter what the form is going into this game, we’ve got to go and get the three points.”

Truer words have rarely come from anyone within the Rangers camp, but even if the Scots come away with Romania on Wednesday with a win, Miller and his compatriots will need to keep one other thing in mind: Three points from the final three group games might not be enough.

Matthew Semisch

Photo courtesy Andrew Dolan (via Wikimedia Commons)

With his Ipswich Town club holding the dubious title of being the only Coca-Cola Football League team yet to win this season, it’s hard to blame manager Roy Keane for one of the tactics he’s using these days: Prayer.

One reporter had asked the Irishman if the Ipswich boss had tried asking for a favor from a higher power, as captured on film this week by BBC Sport, and Keane gave confirmation that he has indeed given it a go.    “I pray all the time,” the ex-Manchester United and Celtic star said.  “Obviously, the man upstairs is busy at the moment, though, as he’s got bigger issues to deal with than (Ipswich Town’s) problems.

“Listen, I’ve got great faith that things will change for us.  As I’ve said, of course, when you’re not winning games, you analyze, and the danger is (that) you can overanalyze it.”

Indeed, Keane and his charges at Ipswich have been under the microscope all season long, and the further the Championship season goes along without the Tractor Boys picking up a win – they’ve drawn seven and lost six from their first 13 league matches – the heavier the pressure on Keane to turn things around.

The Ipswich faithful will hope that happens this Saturday, though, when the Tractor Boys travels down to Devon to play against Plymouth Argyle, which sits in 23rd place in the Championship – still in the relegation zone, but at least it’s one step above dead last – on account of having won two more games than its visitor this weekend.

Argyle’s only home win of the season came in its previous game at Home Park, a 2-1 win over Scunthorpe United on Oct. 3, but England’s southernmost and westernmost Football League club has lost its last two matches – a 2-0 defeat at Blackpool on Oct. 17, followed by a 3-1 loss at Bristol City on Tuesday -  and Keane will be desperate to get his first win as Ipswich boss and thereby hand the Pilgrims their third consecutive loss.

If nothing else, though, Ipswich does have history on its side as it visits Home Park.  The Tractor Boys are unbeaten in six matches against Plymouth, and the Greens have only won one of twelve league and cup matches against the Suffolkians.

That’s good news for Keane, then, and he’s confident that his players’ hard work will finally pay off on Saturday.

“As a manager, I look at our staff and my players, and I think that we’re doing a lot of good stuff,” he said.  “We’re out on the training pitch (for purposes of) preparation, but you also need a little bit of a break, and hopefully that might come tomorrow.”

For division-by-division analysis of the weekend’s other action in the Football League, keep reading after the jump.

Championship: Graeme Souness is expected to be named as the next Middlesbrough manager after the sacking of Gareth Southgate earlier this week, but before that happens, caretaker coach Colin Cooper will be given a chance to see what he can do with the team as it travels to Deepdale to take on sixth-place Preston North End.  Boro currently sits in fourth place in the Championship, but it’s only one point behind the three-way logjam for the top spot, which is occupied by West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United and Cardiff City.  While Collins and the Smoggies are playing against PNE in the first league meeting between the two teams for 35 years, West Brom will be playing away to Coventry City, Newcastle will host Doncaster Rovers, and will lock proverbials with Sheffield United up in South Yorkshire.

League One: As ever – or so it seems – Leeds United and Charlton Athletic sit one-two in the league table, but both sides would do well to keep a close eye on a Milton Keynes Dons team that is within striking distance of upsetting the hegemony that we’ve seen at the top of the division.  On Saturday, MK Dons is away to second-bottom Southampton, and a win there could put manager Paul Ince’s side ahead of Charlton should the Addicks fall on the road against Gillingham.  Leeds’s lead will stay safe through the weekend regardless of the result of their match on Saturday away to Millwall – oh, goody… – but the Yorkshire club will want to earn all three points from what’s sure to be a heated affair both on and off the pitch, thereby remaining at the top of the League One table.

League Two: Hope Powell, the coach of England’s women’s national team, dismissed rumors this week that she had been approached by someone from Grimbsby Town with designs of her taking over the managerial reigns at the Lincolnshire club, but they could probably use somebody with her recent track record this week as the lowly Mariners travel to first-place Bournemouth.  The homestanding Cherries will certainly want to win, though, considering that Dagenham & Redbridge, Rochdale and Rotherham United are all still within three points of catching the division leader.

Matthew Semisch