Considering Liverpool won the competition back in 2005, made it to the final two years ago, and then made it to the semi-final last year, this shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. Most would agree that whilst Rafa Benitez isn’t in his element when it comes to the league, he’s probably the best manager in the world when it comes to Europe’s biggest stage.

UEFA Rankings

1 Liverpool Fc (114.077)
2 Chelsea FC (110.077)
3 Barcelona (109.403)
4 AC Milan (109.306)
5 Arsenal (101.077)
6 Sevilla (100.403)
7 Man Utd (99.077)
8 Bayern Munich (93.664)
9 Lyon (90.576)
10 Inter Milan (87.306)

Whilst Liverpool are the best based on their current ranking, we want to know if there’s another club out there that’s better than Rafa’s men when it comes to European nights? Let us know in the comment box below.

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The new deal means that Setanta have held on to the Saturday evening slot but the Monday night match has returned to Sky.

The Premier League confirmed the overall value of the six packages, which each contains 23 live games, is £1.782 billion, a slight increase on the last deal secured three years ago.

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, said: “The Barclays Premier League is a fantastic competition. The continued investment in playing talent and facilities made by the clubs is largely down to the revenue generated through the sale of our broadcast rights. (Telegraph)

For those of you that don’t have Sky, what do you make of this new deal? Will it force you to finally give in and use their services? Also, what do you make of Setanta going forward? With only one of the five packages, will the smaller start-up company be able to survive the next couple of years?

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The Guardian’s Lawerence Donegan wrote a chilling piece on football’s biggest nemesis going forward. It’s definitely worth the read. The part about Liverpool’s 2005 Champions League title being fixed has to be the most absurd part of all. Whilst nobody would ever believe such a thing; the thought that someone could have that much power and pull to change a match has to make you stand up and take notice.

So what’s your take on match-fixing? Does it have the power to ruin the game?

Studs Up today riffs on Tottenham and the utter lack of cogent communication between Gaffer and Director of Football.

…And believe it or not it isn’t just Tottenham, all over Europe clubs are making an utter pig’s ear of this football lark . Witness Exhibit A, Bayrn Munich’s Bastian Schweinsteiger making himself look like a complete plank, courtesy of The Offside.

Over at The Spoiler, meanwhile, they focus on the motley crew of below par commentators that the BBC has assembled…Their treatise asserts that we deserve better than Shearer’s chuntering on – we couldn’t agree more!

Studs Up takes a look at Aston Villa and Tottenham, two Premier League scamps sticking it to the Big Four by digging their heels in and refusing to let their star players leave without huge vats of cash in compensation. (Studs Up)

Monday’s headline in The Spoiler also sides with the little Davids trying to launch a projectile or two into the eyes of the complacent Big Four Goliaths by publishing six reasons why Man Utd won’t beat Portsmouth tonight. (The Spoiler)

The Offside, meanwhile, looks at little Daniel Sturridge – a whelp of just eighteen who already has a large library of videos showing off his scoring prowess. (The Offside)

And finally there is a shaft of light in the gloomy summer that Evertonians have been having. Blue Kipper reports that they have signed a right back – 1 signing down, 6 to go! (Blue Kipper)

Defender Alex Bruce will have some explaining to do after announcing his intentions to leave Ipswich Town on a social networking website.

The 23-year-old, son of Wigan manager Steve, posted a message on Facebook to a inner circle of close pals that he is ready to quit the Championship club.

But The Mirror reports one friend has confirmed its content which is sure to leave Bruce red-faced when he returns to Portman Road from Republic of Ireland duty in Norway tonight. (Daily Mail)

Bruce now stands to be the second footballer out of a job after making a catastrophic mistake that could haunt him for the rest of his life. It begs the question: Why are so many footballers posting their personal information on social networking sites? Do they honestly believe that it won’t come back to bite them later down the road? Or are they really that stupid?

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Studs Up has a look at fat cat owners and their irresponsible spending ways, pouring huge vats of cash on new signings, and then realising that they aren’t as rich as they think they are. But would we be any better? (Studs Up)

And if you are truly appalling with money, why not fritter it away on ‘David Beckham: The Musical’? Surely as glorious a waste of your hard earned dosh as Andy Johnson was to Mo Al Fayed. (The Spoiler)

The Offside bemoans the fact that this has been one of the most craptastic transfer summers ever, and they feel like a donkey chasing a carrot because of it. (The Offside)

John Terry is a diver. So says Who ate all the pies, who have a picture to prove that JT could easily become a diver of Olympic proportions. (Who ate all the pies)

And finally, going completely off piste, The Spoiler has brought us a very unsettling picture of two female Olympic wrestlers engaging in what looks to be a spot of bum poking. (The Spoiler)