Scholes is simply the best English player of his generation

Posted Sunday, September 16, 2012 by Dailymail

Scholes is simply the best English player of his generation
Prize guy: Mourinho knows what it takes to win the Champions League, having done it with Porto and Inter Milan (above)

And I think it’s possible we will see a more concerted revival of the English this season. Certainly I fully expect all four clubs to qualify for the knockout stages, including City, who again have a dog of a group.

In fact, I think we might be in for a good era for English football. With the new TV deal the Premier League signed this summer, worth £1billion a year from next season, with the overseas TV deal being negotiated at the moment, English clubs are well placed to return to their glory years of the late Seventies and early Eighties, when they provided successive winners, or from 2005-09, when they dominated the semi-finals and provided two winners.

This week saw UEFA take prizemoney away from 23 clubs, including Europa League winners Atletico Madrid under their
Financial Fair Play rules, which limit spending to the amount of money you can generate. And though City might suffer under those rules, the new TV deals mean most English clubs will be in a better position than ever.

That money is for the future, though. This season Real Madrid and Barcelona remain the biggest threat, but you sense
Jose Mourinho is the one manager in Europe who almost has to win it. The expectation on him will be immense. But I also believe this will be a vintage year for English clubs in which I fully expect to see all four of our clubs in the quarter-finals and two in the semis.

Put all rivalries to one side

Some events go beyond football and the traditional rivalries we have. Last Wednesday’s report by the Hillsborough Independent Panel was one of those moments.

Whoever you support and wherever your allegiance lies, it was impossible not to be moved by the revelations. What we heard was shocking and disgusting.

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