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None could have expected that at this stage of the season every English team would have been knocked out of Europe’s elite competition but that’s exactly what’s happened.

From Liverpool’s group stage exit to Arsenal’s all to late flurry against AS Monaco it has been a season to forget for English footballs golden team’s.

Liverpool

A major achievement for a squad not tipped to make it into this seasons Champion’s league let alone to challenge for top place in England’s top division yet this is what Liverpool have done.

Their was an air of expectation around Anfield, with Liverpool’s rich history in this competition putting fire in the Liverpool fan’s heart’s, but their was a hesitation also, with the re-shuffling of the squad over the summer, qualification from the group stages would have been a big achievement and a great way for Liverpool to re-announce themselves in the competition, but it wasn’t to be.

4 of their 5 points came against Champions league new boys Ludogorets with the other of their 5 points coming against Basel, with only 5 goals being scored in their campaign it’s safe to say Liverpool’s return was far from breath-taking.

Chelsea

 Chelsea went into this year’s competition with a much stronger squad then last season with the addition of players such as Matic and Diego Costa giving them a much stronger look overall, and under the stewardship of José Mourinho big things were expected of the blue’s.

In the group stages they displayed everything you would expect of a Mourinho side, Solidity at the back and midfield and a hard working unit with the speed of player such as William the technical skill of players such as Oscar the flair of Eden Hazard and the strength of Drogba and Costa to hurt team’s especially from set piece’s and on the counter attack, Having gained an impressive 14 points out of a potential 18 with 2 draws being the only points dropped it was an easy stroll through the group for Chelsea.

Then came PSG and the return of David Luis all seemed to be going to plan in the first leg with Chelsea taking the lead in a match which finished 1-1 leaving them with an advantage going into the second leg in London.

But they were exposed at set pieces twice on a night in which both PSG centre half’s Luis and Silva both scored to send Chelsea crashing out of the competition, with a group stage won easily and an unfortunate last 16 exit there are definitely positive’s to take into next season’s competition for the current standard bearer’s of English football.

Manchester City

Last season’s premier league champions were expected to put in a good showing in this year’s competition with their record since the Sheik’s gazillions being exemplary in every competition barring the champions league.

With a team filled with star’s like David Silva and Sergio Aguero among many other’s hope’s where high among the sky blue faithful and this time around group stage qualification was a minimum with a good push in the knockout stage’s also expected of Pellegrini’s men.

They were placed in a group alongside CSKA, Bayern Munich and Roma and progression although still expected was going to prove tough and their first 4 fixture’s were a disaster, loss’s against Bayern and CSKA as well as draw with CSKA and Roma left City with just 2 points from 4 games and an early exit was looking the outcome of a disastrous campaign, but if their start was sluggish their finish was a sprint wins against Bayern and Roma saw them edge into second place and progress in a dramatic fashion the fan’s have become used to.

Barcelona now stood in their way, buoyed by their group stage success City played well over both leg’s and gave a good showing of themselves with Joe Hart being the star of the tie and Sergio Aguero being the overall hero of their campaign, but Barcelona proved a step to far and the better side most definitley won out in the end. The brilliance City contain was evident with the win over Bayern and their display’s against Roma and Barcelona and will give them confidence going forward, but they remain far from an established European outfit, this has to be their goal over the next few season’s in order to take the next step on this money fuelled rollercoaster.

Arsenal

 Arsenal once again crashed out in the round of 16, a habit that the fan’s hope will be put right soon, Arsenal were there usual reliable selves playing beautiful expansive football, filled with great pacing and explosive pace, the addition of Alexis Sanchez to the lineup has added a razor edge to the squad but the question always with Arsenal is could they drive on or would they crumble under pressure.

Yet thought’s of winning the competition were never truly on the horizon but with the players at Arsene Wenger’s disposal there was always hope.

The group stage’s went well for Arsenal, they and Dortmund were favored to progress and so it proved with the only blibs coming in the form of draws against Basiktas and Anderlecht.

Having been beaten 2-0 away at Dortmund they returned the favor with a 2-0 win for the gunners at the emirates, this meant that Arsenal still had a chance of nabbing top spot in the group.

Dortmund drew with Anderlecht on the final day and Arsenal emphatically put away Galatasaray 4-0 but it wasn’t enough Dortmund topped the group on goal difference.

To be drawn against AS Monaco it seemed was a godsend for the gunners, the best draw they could have hoped for but when the time came around for the first leg of the match up Arsenal imploded on home soil.

Missed chance’s, sloppy defending and an overall poor display left the gunner’s 2-0 down on the stroke of the 90th minute, but Alex Oxlade Chamberlain’s strike gave Arsenal hope only for Monaco to grab a third at the death.

Arsenal were tenacious on Arsene Wenger’s return to Monaco, fighting with a tenacity that should have been seen in the 1st leg, coming into the last 10 minutes it was a free for all as Monaco attempted to see out the fixture a task they managed, to little to late for Arsenal.

Kilian Jornet a revelation

 

Kilian Jornet has been a revelation, pushing boundary after boundary and establishing himself as not only possibly the greatest trail runner of all time but also as one of the worlds great explorers and history makers.

Trail running is a relatively new form of running it blends long distance cross country running with harsh demanding landscapes, technical skill is a major part of the sport and reactions are vital as the trail is continually changing, from high mountainous trails to wet marshy lowlands, the sport has become more and more firmly established and through all this Jornet is the first super-star to emerge from it.

Born in Sabadell Catalonia Spain in 1987 (27), Jornet was destined to become a great athlete and mountaineer and so it proved, by the age of 5 when most can barely walk confidently Jornet had already reached the summit of the tallest peak in the Pyrenees mountain range.

His passion for the mountains is what drives him according to his bestselling book, run or die, he loves running and testing himself in harsh area’s.

Jornet has won the prestigious Skyrunner world series 3 times in 2007 2008 and 2009 and in doing so became the youngest athlete to do so as well as the first to win it 3 years successively.

His ability  and drive are incredible and have made him the huge success he has become, another aspect to Jornet as an athlete is his record speed attempts on the most dangerous and tallest mountains in the world, these records have grabbed the attentions and imaginations of the world and have worked to turn the already famous Jornet into a star and a super-star in his own right.

The project Killian is working on is titled summits of my life and has to date taken in peaks such as th Matterhorn, Denali, Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro and will be rounded off with a mammoth speed attempt on Mt Everest.

He has broken the records on each of the mountains he has ascended so far and is putting himself in prime position to storm up and down Everest.

He has taken records from many top athletes shedding 20 minutes off an already impressive record set on the Matterhorn by Bruno Brunod and the same on Kilimanjaro. A movie will be released based on Jornets exploits in attempting all these summit records and will hopefully be released within the next year or 2.

Kilian was named adventurer of the year 2014 by the National Geographic an extremely prestigious award given to those who have pushed the barriers in the great outdoors and who have achieved great feats.

One thing is for sure Kilian Jornet will continue to make and break records for many years to come

 

 

The rise, fall and potential rise of Liverpool

There’s no doubt that this season has been a re-building process for Liverpool, having lost arguably the finest striker in Europe in the summer transfer window as well as long serving centre back Daniel Agger it was tough to see them maintain the form that saw them just piped to the post by Manchester City in last season’s title race.

Attentions switched to players such as Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson with the main man now being Daniel Sturridge his time to shine had come.

The changing and re-shuffling which had happened at Anfield was evident in the first few fixtures results such as the 3-1 loss to Manchester City became quiet regular and a push for a champions league spot seemed to be becoming more and more distant with each passing weekend.

With Daniel Sturridge injured and Mario Balotelli being non-existent in front of goal things were starting to look grim around Liverpool.

The reputation the club had re-established for itself last season as serious contenders was being diminished.

Even in the Champions league the greatest achievement of Brendan Rodgers reign to date the club did not excel, in a group with Basel and Ludogorets they failed to advance and looked shaky in all of their fixtures.

The problems within the team where not solely to do with the forwards and the team’s lack of goals it was also in their back line, Dejan Lovren was playing terribly at centre back and Mamadou Sakho was none better, even Martin Skrtel who had re-established himself in Rodgers team last season as not only the club’s top centre back but also as the clubs main goalscoring threat from set pieces, was floundering.

The backs where being left exposed by a lack of domination and cover from Midfield and also through they’re own mistakes goals were being leaked constantly.

The fan’s where doubting Rodgers and also the way in which Fenway sports group where running the club, following the disaster that was Hickes and Gillette the decision-making was veering the club back towards the murky depths they plunged from around 2009-2013.

By January Liverpool where out of the champions League and a place in the top four was not in sights, things where getting worse and worse.

A capital one cup exit was soon to follow but it was in this semi Final that a glimmer of a resurgence began to come to light, Coutinho was electric and so to Sterling who grabbed the equalizer in the first leg. A brilliant performance against the best team in England.

This unfortunately was not the catalyst for a return to form of last season’s runners up but it did give the fans some confidence in the team and also helped to restore some of their confidence in Brendan Rodgers.

Then the turning point came after which things began to fall into place, Manchester United vs Liverpool is historically a very special fixture and draws an eager crowd, but this season was different Liverpool were miles off a champions league place and came into a fixture which they won 3-0 the previous season not as favourites to win and so it proved, a 3-0 reverse to Manchester United and the City went into mourning.

But rather than being the final nail in the coffin that had been the 2014-15 season it acted as a springboard which sent Liverpool rocketing up the table claiming scalp after scalp on a run which has gone over 10 matches so far.

Wins against Manchester City, Tottenham and a host of other clubs has put Liverpool in pole position to maintain their champions league status for next season.

The midfield has clicked with Coutinho and Jordan Henderson being the driving force, Henderson dominating Midfield and chipping in with vital goals and assists as well as crunching tackles while Coutinho has been a mercurial revelation purring around the pitch tormenting teams with his Brazilian flair, while Raheem Sterling has returned to the form which saw him held as the bright light in English footballs future.

At the back Liverpool have become solid as a rock and players like Dejan Lovren and Sakho appear to have settled into the team very well.

While up front the return of Daniel Sturridge to the team and to the score-sheet has given credibility to the attacking line, even Mario Balotelli has begun chipping in with his fair share of goals such as a winner against Tottenham.

With the end of the season drawing closer and closer Liverpool now find themselves in a position where an FA cup win is possible and a place in the Champions league is looking likely a testament to the amazing solidarity and strength of character shown by Rodgers young team.

All eyes go towards Old Trafford for the most vital game of this season’s race for the champions league, and this time Liverpool may just be favourites.