Last week was the best week in the Champions League that I can remember for a long time, particularly as a follower of the Premier League. Tottenham Hotspur put in a highly accomplished performance against AC Milan in the daunting arena that is the San Siro, and then their north London neighbours Arsenal showed an ability to tough it out and overcome arguably the best team in the world in Barcelona, in the first leg at least. But then with all the optimism surrounding the European competition from an English perspective, news emerges that almost defies belief.

Saturday May 28th is the standout European fixture on this year’s football calendar. It’s the date of the Champions League final and should be a great day for English football, what with the match being played at the home of English football – Wembley; and four Premier League teams in Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea all with a realistic chance of being part of the grand occasion. However, while an English club or maybe even two could reach the final, most of us football fans have no realistic chance of going.

Obviously not everyone can go to the Champions League final, but many of those considering applying for tickets will have been put off by the ridiculous prices quoted. The cheapest tickets on general sale will cost £150, with that figure being almost halved for fans of one of the team’s in the final to £80. It that wasn’t bad enough, a further kick in the teeth is the administration fee per pair of tickets, which is a whopping £26. Yep that’s right, £13 per person for admin, which I’m guessing amounts to a couple of minutes filling in details on a computer and then posting the tickets to you – that’s one expensive envelope!

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There has been outrage and widespread disbelief in the media surrounding the price of the tickets, and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has expressed his thoughts. I’m not Fergie’s biggest fan, what with his boycott of the BBC; more someone highly respectful of his achievements in English football, but for once the Scot is right on the money. Fergie said “It’s a killer and a corporate deal. Managers and players can’t do anything about it. I don’t know what you can do.” They could always use a portion of their wages to compensate and bring the prices of tickets down, but that’s another matter.

Now I’m not detached from the capitalist world in which we live and I understand the ticket prices are driven by demand. In fact they could possibly double the price and the 86,000-capacity Wembley Stadium would still be filled, but that’s not really the point. The issue here is that once again football fans are footing the bill for the support of their team, or the support of football in general in the neutral’s case here. UEFA’s director of competitions, Giorgio Marchetti, might well defend the prices and argue that “we don’t think that the Champions League final is overpriced,” but then he’s not paying for tickets, is he?

Champions League finals of course used to take place on Wednesday nights, but FIFA President Sepp Blatter moved it to a Saturday so that more families could go. But in truth, how many families are going to go with the ticket prices set as they are? Very few I’d bet, and while going to a Champions League final contested by two English teams or indeed won by a Premier League club at Wembley would be a priceless experience, £176 isn’t a price I’m willing to pay. Oh well, looks like I’ll be watching it on the telly then!

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Leyton Orient’s hopes of playing at Wembley this season might have ended in pretty emphatic style at the Emirates on Wednesday night, but while Arsenal move on to a quarter-final meeting with Manchester United in a week’s time there might yet be a way for the Os to reach Old Trafford this season too. The venue for the League One and League Two play-off finals at the end of May has been switched from London to Manchester, and although Orient currently lie eight points behind sixth-placed MK Dons they have lost just twice in the league since November and their extended FA Cup run has left them with games in hand over all their rivals.

As a growing number of people are becoming aware, however, Leyton Orient’s most important battles are likely to be fought off the pitch in the coming months.

Hours before their FA Cup fifth round replay against the Gunners it emerged that, pending the bid’s political approval this week, Orient were planning to sue the various bodies involved in the decision-making process involved in West Ham’s proposal to play their home games at the redesigned Olympic Stadium from the beginning of the 2013/14 season. After what must have been a busy day of letter-writing for Orient’s owner, Barry Hearn, he confirmed that West Ham, the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), City Hall, the government, and the Premier League had all been threatened with legal action.

On Thursday West Ham’s wishes were indeed given the formal backing of the government and the London mayor, Boris Johnson, and so the outrage felt by the Premier League club’s east London neighbours at the Olympic Stadium decision looks set to see the matter settled in court.

The severe reservations that Leyton Orient have about West Ham playing in the Stratford area of the city revolve around the Olympic site being only about a mile from Orient’s Brisbane Road ground and the fact that the Hammers are planning to lower their ticket prices once they move in so as to be able to fill as many of the 60,000 seats as possible. Brisbane Road’s average attendance is less than one tenth that which West Ham will be hoping to attract from 2013, but Orient’s big fear is that their already relatively modest support will dwindle by as much as 30 per cent in the face of such close competition.

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The possible outcome is a bit like that Simpsons episode, “Bart of Darkness,” in which Lisa is enjoying the popularity with her classmates that comes from having a swimming pool in her back garden only for Martin Prince to build a bigger and better one down the road. As her pool empties of friends, the water level falls to the floor. The allegory here, for Leyton Orient, seems simple enough: with fewer fans, the life could drain out of the club.

By raising legal objections to West Ham’s move, Orient will be seeking to take the Premier League to task over the body’s own rules regarding club relocations. In section 6.5 of rule 1, the League purports to oppose any ground move that would have a negative effect on any team already playing in the area.

Perhaps some people might claim that Orient are overreacting, as was claimed in this article on FFC last month, because West Ham’s present Upton Park ground is already fairly near to Brisbane Road and the Premier League outfit will only be a couple of miles closer than they currently are. However, given that the proposal for West Ham to move into the Olympic Stadium was actually a joint bid between the club and Newham council – who will also have access to the stadium and in particular its retained athletics track – and the fact that the £95m it will cost to turn the structure into a permanent football stadium after the Games includes £40m of public money in the form of a loan from the council to West Ham to carry out the work, Orient have a right to be curious as to how and why the decision to back the Hammers’ bid was reached.

The distance involved in West Ham’s move might seem small, but a couple of miles can make a huge difference in a conurbation such as London where there are so many clubs competing for support. References abound at the moment to the casual fans that Orient fear they could lose with West Ham right on their doorstep and, while this might be an uncomfortable reminder that many of the 9,000 fans that Orient took to the Emirates on Wednesday were not Brisbane Road regulars, such fair-weather supporters have the potential to become seasoned followers over time should their affection for the club be allowed to blossom.

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The chances of Orient attracting more fans in the future thanks to a season as successful as this one is shaping up to be will be greatly reduced should those living in their particular east London catchment area take their support (and their money) elsewhere. The club’s fortunes – on and off the pitch – would only suffer.

Geographically speaking, West Ham’s relocation might not be in the league of Wimbledon’s switch to Milton Keynes in 2003, or Arsenal’s move from south to north London in 1913, or even the distance involved had Spurs moved to the Olympic Stadium, but the grounds for lending a side public money in order to fund a new home that they will struggle to fill without an aggressive ticketing strategy – all to the clear detriment of another club – need a lot of explaining.

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Australia’s failure to make it past the group stage of the 2010 World Cup has seen them slip to third in the Asian rankings for 2014 qualification.The change in rankings means the Socceroos will likely have a tougher path to the 2014 tournament in Brazil when the groups for the initial qualification stage are announced in July.The rankings differ from the current FIFA rankings, which have Japan on top (17th overall) from Australia (21) and then Korea Republic (32). The path through Asia is exactly the same as it was in 2010 with the top 20 teams grouped into five groups of four. The top two from each group then go through to the final group qualification stage which features two groups of five.Last time Australia were put in a pot which separated them from other top-ranked sides, and were given an initial group featuring Iraq, China and Qatar.This time round, top seed Japan and second seed South Korea, who both made it through to the second round of last year’s World Cup, cannot be in the same group as the Socceroos, nor can fourth-ranked North Korea or fifth-ranked Bahrain. Asia will have 46 countries competing for a spot in the 2014 World Cup. Teams outside the top five have to endure a two-legged knockout stage to determine if they progress to the initial group stage.

Arsene Wenger and Jack Wilshere are on a collision course as the Arsenal youngster is keen to partake in the U21 Euro Championship this summer. Wenger has had his hand burnt before with this tournament before with Theo Walcott and he will be keen that Wilshere will adhere to his hope of turning his back on the U21s for the sake of his club.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Ferguson keen to avoid paranoia; Connor Wickham set to earn his Spurs, while Moyes will quit Everton if supporters want him to.

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Fergie keen to avoid paranoia – Sky Sports

Capello sees England as new Germany – Guardian

£100m Bridge bid bites the dust – Sun

Starlet Wickham all set to earn his Spurs – Mirror

Young leads the charge of the contenders – Guardian

Wilshere and Wenger on collision course – Daily Telegraph

Blooper Mario to be fined again – Sun

Moyes will resign if Everton fans want him to – Mirror

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Spurs seek answers on Olympic Stadium – Guardian

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Brazil giant Internacional have sacked coach Celso Roth.”The deterioration in Celso’s relations with the fans was one of the factors that motivated our decision,” Inter vice-president Roberto Siegmann said on Friday.

Inter, who won the Libertadores Cup for the second time last year, are close to being eliminated at the group stage.

Former Inter, AS Roma and Brazil midfielder Paulo Roberto Falcao, who is working at a TV commentator, is favourite to succeed Roth.

Siegmann, Inter’s vice-president for football, however, told the club’s website, www.internacional.com.br, a decision on a replacement for Roth had not been made.

“It’s still not decided. The names being mentioned are mere speculation,” he said.

“We’ve already had contact with some professionals. In any case, I’m working to get the situation resolved as quickly as possible.”

Roth took over from Uruguayan Jorge Fossati ahead of the semi-finals of last season’s competition and won the trophy but failed in December to steer the club into the final of the Club World Cup, a competition they won in 2006.

Roth, 53, was dismissed two days after Inter lost 1-0 away to Chiapas of Mexico playing poorly and putting their qualification in Group Six of the Libertadores Cup in jeopardy.

A draw would have been enough to secure Inter’s place in the last 16. Instead they face a tough home decider against Emelec of Ecuador in Porto Alegre on April 19.

Inter lead the group with 10 points, one more than Chiapas and two ahead of Emelec.

Roth had been living on borrowed time since December when Inter became the first team from the two big soccer continents, South America and Europe, to fail to reach the final of the Club World Cup and its predecessor, the Intercontinental Cup.

More than 10,000 Inter fans made the long trip to the Middle East, where Roth had once worked, expecting to watch their team contest the final against European champions Inter Milan only to see them upset 2-0 by Congolese African champions TP Mazembe in their semi-final.

Udinese defender Mehdi Benatia believes his side’s 2-1 win at Napoli shows the Italian club is capable of Champions League football.Udinese inflicted a potentially fatal blow to Napoli’s Scudetto hopes on Sunday, handing AC Milan a six-point gap at the top of the Serie A table with five matches to play.

Swiss midfielder Gokhan Inler broke a goal-less deadlock 10 minutes into the second half, and Argentinean striker German Denis – known as ‘El Tanque’ – found the net four minutes later.

Napoli fought mightily to turn around the sudden two-goal deficit but could only manage a penalty to Giuseppe Mascara deep into injury time after Udinese defender Maurizio Domizzi saw red.

Udinese rise to within one point of the Champions League places with the win, and Benatia is eager to see his club displace Lazio in the top four before the season ends.

“We have to focus on one game at a time, but our objective is the Champions League,” the Morocco international said.

“We’re battling to finish fourth and we want to play very well in our last five matches.”

“We have achieved a great result. It isn’t easy to play against Napoli in the San Paolo stadium.”

“We put in a great performance and showed that we are a skilful team, for this reason I am very happy. We played very well in defence and didn’t even concede a penalty.”

“The whole team played very well today. I’m also very happy for Tanque (German Denis) who hasn’t played very often this season. When he plays he always does a good job.”

Walter Mazzarri has stunned Napoli by announcing he may leave the Serie A club at the end of the season.The Naples-based club have had one of their best seasons in recent memory, and look destined to finish third in the Serie A, earning a Champions League berth for next season.

But despite that success, Mazzarri said there was no guarantee he would be at the helm to lead the team in Europe.

“I have alerted the club to the fact I might not stay next season. Besides, I also have a contract, so the club has to give its own say on the matter,” Mazzarri said.

“You’ll know at the end of the campaign what I have to say to Napoli, but as a professional I always give fair warning.”

“I now turn to the fans and tell them not to be led astray by detractors. The respect I have for them and will continue to have while I am here has been proved through my work.”

Speculation has been rife Mazzarri will join Juventus next season as a replacement for Luigi Delneri, but the 49-year-old said nothing had been confirmed.

He said he was determined to be up-front with the public about his future, but hit out at the media for fuelling inaccurate rumours.

“Carlo Ancelotti said the same thing yesterday at Chelsea, because he is in the same situation,” Mazzarri said. “Nothing has changed on a personal level and my rapport with the President is perfect.”

“I hear lies swirling around here and it’s a Kafka-esque situation. In football there is too often an ambiguous way of talking about things, but seeing as I have so much respect for my staff and the fans, I have always been clear.”

“People appreciate someone who works hard here and speaks with actions, especially in a world where it’s often the other way round.”

Napoli are still a chance to overtake second-placed Inter on the table, but must defeat Lecce on Sunday to keep that hope alive.

“I spoke to the players and told them they have been exceptional in achieving the Champions League, but there are still nine points up for grabs, so we can become Vice-Champions of Italy,” Mazzarri said.

“We need to stay concentrated, believe and play like Napoli. We’ve got to give our fans satisfaction to the very end.”

“It’ll be tough against Lecce, especially after they got David Di Michele back by appealing his ban. We must try to match their motivation.”

Roberto Mancini claimed his Manchester City side deserve to finish in the top four this season following their 2-1 win over West Ham.Goals from Nigel De Jong and Pablo Zabaleta inside the first 15 minutes of Sunday’s English Premier League match at Eastlands proved enough for City to collect all three points, with West Ham unable to add to Demba Ba’s 33rd minute effort.

The victory means fourth-placed City are now seven points clear of Liverpool and Tottenham and on course to secure a Champions League qualification berth.

City and Spurs have four matches left this season, while Liverpool have played one game more.

“Everything is in our hands,” Mancini said. “We’ve been between first and fourth position all season. After what we’ve done, we deserve to be in the Champions League.”

“We are not under pressure. We know we have a big chance in this moment. The Champions League was our target at the start of the season and we are in a good position.”

“We’re also in the FA Cup final so we’ve done a good job.”

“We will relax after May 22. We must get the maximum points we can do. We have four games left and so do Tottenham.”

“The next game (against Tottenham) will be very hard for us but it’s important to get a positive result.”

West Ham meanwhile are now bottom of the league, three points from safety with matches against immediate relegation rivals Blackburn and Wigan coming up next.

And West Ham boss Avram Grant knows his team must pick up close to maximum points in the remaining fixtures if they are to avoid the drop.

“Now we play against a team that are in our area, so we have to win this game,” Grant said.

“I thought that other teams would take more points in the last two games, so the gap stays three points.”

“Our target is to take seven points – and we will try to take all nine – but we are playing against teams that also want the points.”

“But we believe if we use character we have shown in past games away against top teams, we can win games.”

Manchester City look close to agreeing a fee with Bolton for England defender Gary Cahill.

The defender played in every league game for the Trotters this year and made his England debut in November. Cahill is thought to be keen on playing Champions League football as he looks to establish himself as a regular in the national side.

Bolton are thought to want £20 million plus Nedum Onuoha in exchange for the 25-year old. Cahill moved to the Reebok in January 2008 and has made 126 appearances for the club.

Manchester City are looking to strengthen their squad in preparation for next season’s Champions League having finished third in the league. With Kolo Toure still waiting for the hearing following his failed drugs test a centre-back is high on Roberto Mancini’s wish list.

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Bolton had also been keen on taking Dedryck Boyata and Craig Bellamy on loan as part of the deal but the Welshman reportedly favours a return to hometown club Cardiff. Onuoha, on the other hand, spent this season on loan at Sunderland and is thought to be keen on a permanent move away from Manchester City.

FIFA Executive Committee member Chuck Blazer insists he has not been sacked from his role as General Secretary of CONCACAF.Lisle Austin, acting president of CONCACAF – the federation of North American, Central American and Caribbean football associations – has twice attempted to dismiss Blazer after he accused senior FIFA figures Jack Warner and Mohamed Bin Hammam of corruption.

Warner has been suspended from his role as CONCACAF President pending an investigation by the FIFA Ethics Committee.

Warner’s deputy, Austin, has attempted to remove Blazer from his role within CONCACAF, but the 66-year-old American insists Austin does not have the authority to dismiss him.

“I still have my job, very much so,” Blazer said.

“The majority of the executive committee has said very clearly that I have a job and they are the only ones who can control it.”

“I have always been comfortable with CONCACAF. There’s an individual who thinks he has more power than he does.”

The farcical row involving Blazer and Austin comes as FIFA President Sepp Blatter was re-elected unopposed on Wednesday.

The English and Scottish FA’s sought to have the election delayed over concerns about Blatter’s integrity.

Blazer acknowledged their right to seek the delay, but believes FIFA are still a force for good in football, despite the recent storm of corruption allegations.

“I feel they have every right to do it, that’s all,” Blazer said, referring to the attempted delays.

“These decisions are for national associations to make for themselves, and they have every right to do that.”

“I think that FIFA is doing a really excellent job of promoting football around the world, if I look back 10 years, 20 years and see the progress we have made, I’m very proud of our accomplishments.”

South African FA Vice-President Danny Jordaan supported Blatter’s re-election to the top job, claiming he had been given a mandate for reform from the FIFA Congress.

“I think the structures have been put in place to deal with the matter so I think the congress has given Sepp Blatter a 91-percent mandate, they have endorsed 100 percent the proposals that he proposed so he has got the institutional structures now to deal with any and every matter,” Jordaan said.

“He was talking about the independence of these enquires, the governance and so on.”

“We are very happy, I think coming from where we’ve come from if these proposals are implemented I think there is a bright future for FIFA.”