UEFA Cup draw review....What lies ahead for Spurs, Villa, Pompey & City

Mighty Milan at Fratton, Ajax at Villa Park, and...well, PSG at Eastlands. OK, so the UEFA Cup may not have the immediate glamour and allure of its bigger brother, the Champions League, but yesterday’s group stage draw threw up an exciting array of fixtures to look forward to between now and the end of the year.

In what surely must be the strongest, toughest competition since the induction of the ill-conceived group stage, the UEFA Cup – in its final year before it’s clunkily rebranded as the UEFA Europa League – actually threatens to reclaim the attention of Europe’s football fans. Supporters of the Premier League clubs involved will also be relishing a series of Thursday night treats, despite the almost inevitable consequences (absence of Saturday 3pm kick-offs, slipping league form, etc).

It is possibly Aston Villa, who arrived at this stage via the midsummer slog of Intertoto qualification, that have landed the toughest task of the four English sides.

Group F features three former European Cup winners, including Martin O’Neill’s club. The Irishman’s clash with Marco Van Basten’s Ajax – so far inconsistent in the Eredivisie – should prove a stern test of both coaches’ attacking principles. The Amsterdammers arrive in Birmingham on October 23. Subsequent trips to Martin Jol’s impressive Hamburg and then Prague to face Slavia will mean that progression to the knockout rounds will be far from straightforward for the Villans, who also play host to Slovak club MŠK Žilina.

Likewise for European new boys Portsmouth. They’re an ageing side on the wane and the UEFA Cup is hardly a priority while they continue to struggle domestically; yet Milan’s visit on November 27 is already being eagerly anticipated, and the Italian giants will be welcomed to the South Coast in typically raucous fashion.

Ex-Bayern boss Felix Magath’s Wolfsburg feature the expensively procured Italian defensive duo Andrea Barzagli and Cristian Zaccardo, and will prove obdurate opponents. Heerenveen – despite selling most of their promising talent each year – are also no pushovers.

Harry Redknapp already knows well of the perils of a trip to Portugal, but Sporting Braga are in poor form and must be overcome if Pompey are to make the top three.

Floundering Tottenham probably need UEFA Cup participation like they need a kick in the Comollis, what with their current domestic travails, but still harbour the potential to make a mark on the competition. Their campaign kicks off in Udine, where they will find Pasquale Marino’s team in fine form and hardened by several recent European adventures. Udinese forwards Toto Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella can run ragged the best of defences, while Gokhan Inler is a midfield general much-desired across the continent (particularly by Arsene Wenger).

Fortunately, Spurs have drawn home ties against both Dinamo Zagreb, from whom they recently negotiated the purchase of Luka Modric, and Spartak Moscow; therein avoiding arduous trips to the formidable Maksimir and Luzhniki stadia. Spartak – former home of Spurs’ Roman Pavlyuchenko – have lately been left trailing in the wake of their numerous city rivals and, of course, the emergent Zenit St Petersburg. However, they’ll hope the appointment of ex-Getafe coach and Denmark legend Michael Laudrup will spur them onto greater things. NEC Nijmegen, of the Netherlands, have sold last season’s strike partnership and star defender Jonas Olsson to West Brom, so should be considered there for the taking.

It’s possible that the Abu Dhabi-based ownership of Manchester City may make the competition a priority this year – as a means of re-establishing their new club’s profile in Europe, with the Premier League title only a pipe dream until next season at least. First off, Steve McLaren will be bringing his FC Twente side (and his dodgy Dutch accent) to Eastlands on November 6. The Enschede club overcame Rennes in the first round proper, following their Champions League exit at the hands of Arsenal.

City must then visit Gelsenkirchen to take on Schalke – managed by ex-Twente boss Fred Rutten. The Ruhr team have plenty of recent European experience: departing only in the quarter-finals of the Champions League last year. They also boast the likes of Kevin Kuranyi and Jefferson Farfan among their attacking options.

PSG are only now beginning to regain their footing following years in the doldrums – a humiliating relegation scrap last season was the nadir (they qualified via a League Cup win). Paul Le Guen has managed to lure veterans Claude Makelele and Ludo Guily to aid the cause, but City should still be strong favourites for a win on home turf. Racing Santander – European debutants – shocked La Liga fans with last year’s 6^th place finish and have endured a tough start to the domestic season.

Each club, and many others, will surely be delighted to have swerved Group C – inevitably tagged the Group of Death. La Liga high-flyers Sevilla, 06/07 Bundesliga champions Stuttgart, Sampdoria (featuring the talents of Antonio Cassano), Everton’s skilful conquerors Standard Liège and Serbian champions Partizan Belgrade will battle it out for a place in the last 32.

Meanwhile, illustrious clubs such as Benfica, Valencia, Olympiakos, Galatasaray, Feyenoord and ‘07 UEFA Cup winners CSKA Moskow will each expect to progress to take a shot at the title post-Christmas.

It’s the final UEFA Cup as we know it. It may not be the most desired trophy in football, but it is important to recognise the competition’s distinguished history – and that the Champions League is not the only show in town.

Will Dubai oil billions flood The Valley?

In a week which saw FA Chairman Lord Triesman warn of the perils of barely-regulated foreign investment and an upcoming bust to follow the Premier League boom, many were surprised at the news of a prospective takeover of Charlton Athletic by a Dubai-based investment company.

The Addicks were seen as unlikely candidates for a takeover by the Zabeel Investments group, which was recently rumoured to have shied away from a deal to buy Newcastle United due to Mike Ashley’s inflated valuation of the St James’ Park club.

Instead of bidding for an established Barclays Premier League club, the Zabeel group has followed the lead of Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, who took over QPR for a relatively small £14m investment. It may appear an unconventional choice for an investor worth more than £3bn, but their excellent London location – and the fact that they own the freehold on their stadium and training ground – in fact makes Charlton a very attractive purchase.

Mohammed Al Hashimi, executive chairman of the group, added: "We feel now is the right time to make a strategic, long term investment in Charlton and get them back to the English Premier League where they belong.

"The passion of the fans at Charlton, the heritage of the club and the unique status it enjoys in the community make it an exciting proposition for us."

The Charlton board reciprocated the love-in:

"The board firmly believes that a successful outcome for this transaction would be beneficial to shareholders and employees of Charlton, all fans of the club and the local community as a whole," said a club statement.

It continued: "Should the offer be made formally to shareholders, the board would recommend shareholders to accept it.”

Charlton are currently scrapping for, realistically, a Championship play-off place at best and may not have seemed an obvious attraction for overseas investment when a club such as Portsmouth are reported to be on the market for a similar amount. However, while Pompey club are flying high in the Premier League, they lack the solid foundations of Charlton; who already harbour plans to expand, and have the Thames Gateway and Kent to exploit, in terms of potential fanbase.

Al Hashimi plans to immediately wipe out the club’s current debts of around £20m, pending due diligence formalities, and invest heavily in new players to make a drive for the promised land of the Premier League. Manager Alan Pardew has apparently been reassured by the club's board – and the prospective new owners – that his job is safe and that he will receive funds in the January transfer window. Current chairman Richard Murray will also remain at the club in some capacity.

The news has, understandably, been met with mixed reaction.

In one camp – the delirious fan; dreaming of imminent Premier League glory and subsequent world domination (note to these fans: Messi and Agüero won’t be rocking up at The Valley just yet).

The other, more sceptical camp wonder what the takeover means for the aforementioned reputation of the Addicks as a true ‘community club’ (a status envied by many fans of other clubs which have seemingly deserted their loyal, dyed-in-the-wool fans in the race for copious TV money).

This breed of fan may have found an unlikely ally in Lord Triesman.

“(Fans) feel their clubs are being touted around the marketplace for whoever might want to buy it,” the FA chief said of the growing foreign ownership in English football, earlier this week.

“You want to know what an owner’s values are and if they’ll be recognised over a long period of time. Many of the foreign owners do have those values.

“I’ve talked to a number of them and there’s no doubt in my mind that they share that community perspective on the importance of their club.

“But all I’m saying is that you can’t have owners with a total disregard for people’s passion for their club.

Yet, those urging sobriety from those in charge of the nations’ 92 professional clubs – who were reported this week to be in a collective £3bn pounds of debt – may find their words lost among the flood of investors from the east.

While Western economies crumble, football remains aloof – and why not? If you should find yourself in difficult financial straits, just sell out to the highest oil-rich bidder and retire (dis)gracefully with a trouser-sagging back-pocketful of cash.

The model of responsibility and financial accountability showcased by the scrupulously fair German Bundesliga (which boasts inexpensive ticket prices and packed stadia) is an ideal which we can only admire from afar. While the TV money continues to flow – and forecasters still expect the next deal to increase in value – the gold-paved road to football-as-Monopoly will perpetuate.

The admirable identity of Charlton Athletic – an increasingly rare example of a club which has combined relative success on the pitch with a strong community presence – will hopefully not be lost amid the mayhem.

Huntelaar’s 99 not out can’t quieten De Kuip

Week three of the Eredivisie season heralded the clash of old foes Feyenoord and Ajax; the former’s intimidating De Kuip stadium the venue for the 158^th running of der Klassieker since the rivalry was born in 1921.

Ajax, now under the tutelage of one of their favourite sons, Marco van Basten, travelled to Rotterdam as most bookies’ favourites for the Dutch title – this despite PSV’s four-year-long domestic dominance – and riding high on the back of a thumping 4-1 UEFA Cup victory at Serbia’s FK Borac during midweek. Meanwhile, their opponents had suffered a humbling 0-1home reverse at the hands of Swedish League leaders Kalmar.

Support for the Amsterdammers was severely restricted due to episodic crowd trouble in and outside of previous fixtures between the two clubs, but ‘the Legion’ – Feyenoord’s raucous following – were in fine voice in sun-kissed Rotterdam.

Feyenoord started without midfield star Jonathan de Guzmán, through injury, and their current lack of squad depth was exposed by a benchful of untried youngsters. Van Basten, on the other hand, felt confident enough to leave talented Argentine-Croat forward Darío Cvitanich on the bench, as cover for goal-machine Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Dutch record (£13m) signing Miralem Sulejmani.

The home side enjoyed marginally the better of the tense, hard-fought opening exchanges, while Ajax had to re-adjust after losing Sulejmani to an early injury. Yet it was the visitors that took the lead, following a terrible howler by Feyenoord goalkeeper Henk Timmer.

The ex-AZ stopper badly fluffed an attempted clearance, with Ajax winger Jeffrey Sarpong taking full advantage to clinically fire in left-footed, from the edge of the area.

Just minutes later, Leonardo – Sulejmani’s replacement – pounced on a stray pass and raced clear of the Feyenoord defence. Timmer, clearly rattled by his earlier misdemeanour, raced from his goal; crudely hacking the Brazilian down just outside the box. Only the covering presence of Theo Lucius prevented referee Peter Vink from reaching for the red, and Timmer was justly booked.

With Ajax clearly in the ascendency, Thomas Vermaelen spurned a glorious opportunity to extend their advantage – heading straight at Timmer on the stroke of half time.

Head Coach Gertjan Verbeek’s words were doubtless still ringing in the ears of his players as they made a spirited start to the second period. Following hot on the heels of Roy Makaay’s wayward finish – when he really should have scored from close range – seasoned striker Jon Dahl Tomasson nodded in an equaliser when the ball looped up from the foot of unfortunate ‘keeper Maarten Stekelenberg.

The home crowd energised by the goal of a returning favourite; Feyenoord found themselves firmly on top, and favourites to claim their second win of the season. However, the tide was turned by the 69^th minute endeavours of Ajax’s tricky Uruguayan forward Luis Suárez.

Suárez used all his skill and dexterity to wriggle through Kevin Hofland’s meaty challenge and, inadvertently, tee-up the ball for penalty-box predator Huntelaar to sweep home his 99^th goal in an Ajax shirt.

The arrival of Van Basten as manager has apparently brought with it the requirement for the tall striker to diversify – adding improved team-play to his already formidable goalscoring repertoire (166 goals in 235 games to date). And Huntelaar could hardly have a finer exponent of the centre-forward’s art to learn from than his new boss.

Yet it was far too early for the artisans of Amsterdam to take for granted a victory over their bitter rivals from the industrious port city.

Perhaps more in hope than in expectation, Verbeek threw on veteran forward Michael Mols, now far past his peak, aged 37. Within ten minutes the ex-Rangers man had produced the desired effect.

As a hopeful ball from the left touchline looped into the box, Ajax full-back Urby Emanuelson inexplicably wrapped himself around Mols, bringing the diminutive striker to earth inside the area. Referee Vink – erratic throughout – pointed straight to the spot.

Tomasson stepped forward and confidently struck his penalty over into the net, to register his third success from the spot in three attempts this season and salvage a deserved point for his team.

The impact of either side’s failure to win was somewhat softened by PSV’s Saturday loss to Louis Van Gaal’s AZ, in Alkmaar, yet the smart money would still be on the team from Eindhoven making it five out of five next May.

The return Klassieker, at the Amsterdam ArenA next year, could still prove crucial in deciding the destiny of the title. Marco Van Basten will be aiming that, by that time, his ambitious footballing philosophy has been fully absorbed by his expensively-assembled side, and that they can live up to renewed expectations.