EPL and FA Cup: The Reason English Football Is Still the Best

Weekends like the one just gone remind me of why we spend our earnings and travel hundreds of miles every week to watch football.

Even without the extraordinary achievements of Avram Grant’s Portsmouth side, there were enough headline stories to keep the tabloids happy for a week.

However this being the Premier League, we don’t get time to catch our breathe with more big games coming up tomorrow and Wednesday.  But while we’ve all got a moment, lets look back at the magic moments from what was a beautiful April weekend. (Or at least it was by British standards!)

We can’t start anywhere other than at Wembley and the amazing tale of Portsmouth Football Club.

Written off before their semi final encounter with Spurs, what followed was the sort of whole-hearted display that seldom appears in modern football. Having been relegated the previous day by virtue of West Ham’s victory over Sunderland, the Pompey players went out and performed for arguably the worst suffering fans in the country, who still turn up every week and make more noise than most. It was clear they drove on the players, and it helps bring some romance back to what is becoming a cold business rather than a sport.

Two men who deserve to be singled out are Aaron Mokoena and Ricardo Rocha, who were both superb at the back for the south coast side.

Yes, on another day Spurs would’ve taken at least two or three of their chances, and yes David James was fortunate to be given a free kick when referee Alan Wiley judged he’d been fouled by Niko Kranjcar, but we should’ve detract from the spirit shown by Pompey.

Truthfully, if Spurs had steamrollered them yesterday not too many people would’ve battered a eyelid even though its been 20 years since a semi final result that one sided.

That was the scale of Pompey’s task, and as Avram Grant himself put it himself it would’ve taken a “crazy director” to come up with a script containing all the ups and downs of Portsmouth’s season. But hats off to them, and they have one last big day out ahead of them come May 15^th .

Elsewhere Chelsea continued their stampede towards a Double that seems to have appeared from nowhere. A month ago they were a tired, old side out of ideas, and out of the Champions League.

Fast-forward and they are unrecognisable, as is Florent Malouda as he once again was the catalyst for victory. This time sending the FA Cup holders back to the final at the expense of a frustrated Villa, whose second trip to Wembley this season again ended in failure.

There were three big talking points from this game, and none of them were the three goals Chelsea scored. First up was Mikel’s tussle with Agbonlahor early one. The Claret and blue end screamed ‘penalty’, but Howard Webb said no.  On closer inspection I wouldn’t say it was clear-cut; the Vila man has a big handful of Mikel’s shirt and is backing in, but at the same time there is something typically clumsy about the Nigerian’s attempts to win the ball.

One thing that did get worse with each viewing was John Terry’s tackle on James Milner. It’s safe to say the Chelsea skipper should’ve been given his marching orders for his studs up lunge. Initially from my viewpoint in the top tier, it looked as if Milner had made a meal of the challenge, but I’m more than happy to admit having seen it again that I was wrong.

The final big talking point was the state of the playing surface, which was so slippery and cut up that some pundits today have been calling for the national stadium not to host major football games any more. This is a bit of an overreaction, but one thing I don’t agree with is playing semi finals at the ground. I think it de-values the occasion on FA Cup final day when you’ve already been there. The Emirates and Old Trafford are perfect venues, lets put them to use.

Moving on and if Carlo Ancelotti thought his weekend couldn’t have gone any better, I wonder how he felt upon hearing news of the stalemate at Ewood Park at Sunday lunchtime.

United spent much of last season lambasting nearest rivals Liverpool for being a two-man team reliant on Gerrard and Torres, but given the performance of the champions against Chelsea, Bayern and now Rovers, Sir Alex Ferguson would love a second man to step up and fill the boots of Wayne Rooney who seems to have carried them all season.

The happiest man in all this might just be Carlos Tevez, who sat across Manchester smirking as he continues to put them away for fun for Man City as they push for fourth , probably thinking "Told you so."

Speaking of fourth, Rafa Benitez all but admitted defeat in his quest to "guarantee" Champions League football at Anfield next term. Were it not for all the other action over the weekend, Liverpool’s continued failings would’ve surely been more than a back page filler. Or maybe we’re just getting used to it now?

Meanwhile at the foot of the table, two more sides in Claret and Blue made the headlines as Zola’s West Ham and Laws’ Burnley both recorded vital victories in the race to stay up, significantly easing the pressure on both men in process.

Burnley’s demolition of Hull will have them feeling on top of the world after last weeks hammering by Man City and puts them within four points of safety with four games left.

All this has barely scratched the surface of English football this weekend, and it served as a great answer to those who somewhat prematurely questioned the quality and excitement of the league in the wake of the Champions League exits of United Arsenal and Chelsea before the semi finals.

Now just the small matter of settling the title race, the final Champions League spot, and two relegation places in four matches. I’m out of breath again.