Back from vacation - so much to cover

I just returned from a fabulous 3 week visit to London - Paris - Provence....were it not for this need to work to pay off bills I might still be there. I did get a nice blast of 24 hour coverage of the beautiful game, I was even caught watching Div 2 French league games....I think that Grenoble has a real chance to be promoted to Ligue 1! A few topics to cover:

Champions League: The Champions League is in full swing. Here are some initial observations:

• Chelsea looks less than top form. granted they have collected the maximum of 6 points from two games. A win versus Bremen at home, but one where the German side had many chances none as clear cut as Klose's powerful header that found the post. They rode Drogba's 3 poched goals in Sofia yesterday, not really a power house european club. I think that Morinho might actually have some personel problems. The midfield is gluttonous, can you find a way to play Ballack, Lampard, Essien, Makelele, Robben etc. Right now I think that Lampard and Ballack are too similar and have a difficulty figuring out their roles. Makelele seems to have been dropped in favor of playing Essein alone as the holding/defensive midfielder, which I do think makes sense. But Chelsea have not really figured out how to play the wings, Robben, Mikel, SVP etc where do they go? And has Shevchenko really lived up to the hype yet? I am sure he will show his scoring touch soon, he is too good a player, but there seems to be a less than perfect working relationship with Drogba up front. Their next match is against defending champion Barca, this will show Chelsea's true metal for this tournament.
• Speaking of Barca, fought for a tough draw against Bremen, after destroying Sofia. Their next match should prove pivotal. With Barca at 4 points and Chelsea at 6, the winner will have a clear path to the next round. Assuming Bremen beats Sofia....
• Arsenal - Won their first two games, the team is starting to click. I think the addition of Gallas is HUGE. Gallas might be one of the top 5 defenders in the game of football. He is a rock as a central defender and is world class as either a right or left back...still cannot believe Chelsea send him and 5m pounds to Arsenal for Cole. Arsenal still needs to get Baptista on track to really make themselves world beaters. They still need to find another reliable goal scorer, but the fact that Henry scored two goals with his head in a week is a great sign.
• Real Madrid - Their game agains Lyon shows they still have a way to go, they could have lost 5-0. Granted they thrashed Dynamo Keiv, but that follows form. We will see how Real does on the road against Steaua.
  
• Lyon- Shows again why they are a rising European force. Granted, they need to figure out how to get out of the 1/4 final rounds. But with 6 goals scored in two games and the full completement of points they are a clear favorite heading into the games agains Keiv. If they can get 4 points out of the next two games against the Ukrainian club they should go into their last two games qualified for the knock out rounds. Fred is emerging as one of the most underrated strikers in Europe. The midfield is rock solid, Juninho is a maestro at running the midfield and is a dead ball specialist not seen in France since Platini. Toulalan is showing why he is seen as the next holding French midfielder. The defense is stacked with depth and talent. The one short fall might be lack of depth at striker. Wiltord is reliable but getting old, Carew has all but become invisible. Lyon will go as far as Fred can carry the scoring needs.
• Manchester United - Remain scarey since their offense looks solid, even with Rooney not in top form. Their achilles heal will be that pourous defense.
• Predictions:
• Group A - Chelsea and Barca, the european powerhouses are too powerful for either Sofia or Bremen to really challenge.
  
• Group B - Bayern and Inter, Inter is sitting last but has only given up 3 goals. The next two games will be crucial for Inter, I think they will find a way to defeating Spartak. However this group is still anyones to take.
• Group C- Liverpool and PSV, the PSV win over Bordeaux is huge. Liverpool almost gave the game away to the Turkish side, the return leg of Galatassary - Liverpool should be very interesting, Istanbul is not an easy place to play. I think Bordeaux has the talent but is still trying to get players like Dalmat and Micoud into the fold, it will no be in time to get to the knock out stages.
• Group D - Valencia and Roma, Schaktar and Olyiampiakos are no match for the other clubs.
• Group E - Lyon and Real Madrid. I think Steaua might give Real a run for the second spot, I am not convinced the Spanish giant has really figured out what they need to do, although I think that the defense emphasis is heading in the right direction. Lyon can put this group away the next two game days and needs to do so, this would allow Houllier to rest players etc.
• Group F - Man United and Benefica. Celtic will give Benefica a run for the second spot, but the Scottish giants will fall short. Benefica were unlucky to lose to Manchester United at home.
• Group G - Arsenal and CSKA. The two games between CSKA and Arsenal will be huge, but I think that both clubs will emerge from a difficult group.
• Group H - Milan and Lille. This group is the weakest of all and also up in the air. I think that Milan is the class of the group. Lille will emerge against AEK and Anderlecht. Lille has the experience and will find a way to get the necessary points to get second place in the group.

I think that Lyon can make a real run in this tournament. They were unluckly last year against AC Milan and the previous season versus PSV. This will be the season they break into the Semi finals or beyond. Barca and Arsenal have a great opportunity to get back to the finals. Bayern might be the surprise team....