Is it ok for Higuain to cry?

Arsenal may have lost 2-0 to Napoli last night, but they still qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League - where they will have a tough task due to finishing second in the Group (but that's another topic).

But while Arsenal were celebrating, Gonzalo Higuain was having a little cry about the 'injustice' of his team being eliminated from the competition despite winning 4 of their 6 games. It's hard not to have sympathy for the striker, but should he be crying about not reaching the last 16 of a tournament?

Maybe he was dreaming of a game against his old club Real Madrid, maybe he lost some money after betting on himself to get the first goal, or maybe he was just upset not to qualify. But crying because your team went out seems a little too much. Of course he can be upset, show some emotion and be in touch with his feelings, but it's not like they were seconds away from winning it all.

I'm being too harsh, I know. But would he cry if Rafa Benitez subbed him against Inter this weekend? Does Rafa cry everytime one of his old players scores against him or calls him the fat Spanish waiter?

People should be able to express emotions in sport, but crying over not qualifying from a Group in which one of the teams had Nicholas Bentdner in it isn't going to get you far. You should be embarrassed, not upset.

Now go and win the Europa League, get another trophy for Rafa, and then cry about it.

Who the English teams could get in the last 16

The draw for the last 16 is on Monday. This is who the English teams may play:

Manchester United will play either:

Galatasaray, Olympiakos, Schalke, Zenit St Petersburg or Milan

Chelsea will play either:

Bayer Leverkusen, Galatasaray, Olympiakos, Zenit St Petersburg or Milan

Manchester City will play either:

Real Madrid, PSG, Dortmund, Atletico Madrid or Barcelona

Arsenal will play either:

Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid or Barcelona

Shows how much easier it looks when you finish top of the Group.

I'm working on the other possibilities, but the Geezer has been busy!

MLS Cup: League doing fine, thank you

Press coverage grows but still needs sophistication

Not surprised to see a blank look on Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes (above) if he has to field some wild inquiries from a still-young football journalism pool in the U.S. However, the problem is not the small, yet growing world of journalists covering the game here. It's when league supporters have to sift through stories written by clueless correspondents sent by editors solely because it's a championship game, ignoring the, you know, season overall.

Coverage of the game was practically non-existent about 20 years ago and continued to be so even after MLS was formed and launched in the mid-1990s. And although there has been and still is an array of talented, knowledegable writers covering not only the American domestic league but football on a global level, we'll still see some forms of narrow-minded coverage that has fans of the game shaking their heads.

Progressively, the media has adjusted and has slowly accepted the game's stamp on the U.S. sports scene over the years. That part is true. But that's generally speaking. Luckily, we have established writers that are recognized by fans all over the country.

There have been lots of interesting angles provided by reporters and bloggers alike for Saturday's final in Kansas City against Real Salt Lake. But, sadly, they're mostly confined to publications known only to league supporter unless casual fans end up googling MLS Cup itself. Basically, many of the top news organizations may not have a specific beat reporter on the scene for the title match. Truth be told, it's more likely that there may be as many foreign correspondents at the match than U.S. ones. That's not an exaggeration.

But there are lots of stories questioning the validity of the teams, shrugged off as too small-market for a final, or why they're named Sporting and Real. Some even ridicule the league's minuscule ratings, fans and overall ambience. Another even pointed out the ridiculous timeslot MLS decided to go with as college football would surely destroy its ratings.

So is bad press better than no press?

MLS Cup: Two deserving sides in the final

Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake consistency rewarded

They aren't the most glamorous or most expensive teams in the U.S. top-flight division but its respective front offices and experienced managers have built deep, fluid and intelligent squads that have, for the most part, had stable campaigns for several years.

Real Salt Lake has developed a touch-pass possession style led by U.S. national-team Kyle Beckerman and Argentine Javier Morales, both of whom already boast an MLS Cup from 2009 when they topped the Los Angeles Galaxy in penalty kicks.

Sporting Kansas City, ever since being rebranded from the Wizards, have turned into a force with its physical play, especially at home, where Saturday's final will be held. Its netminder, Jimmy Nielsen, a Danish vet, and Frenchman Aurelien Collin have combined to help form a brutal backline that has prevented successful attacks in their box that's only surrendered 30 goals in 34 matches in the regular season.

You can't forget Costa Rican Alvaro Saborio for Salt Lake's attack or their goalie Nick Rimando, whose experience also has led him to serve as backup in the national team pool or Kansas City's Matt Besler and Graham Zusi, two more U.S. national team players.

But, more importantly, both sides have focused on young talent and have done well in the draft system to snap up some important signings. It's complemented their structure successfully. It also doesn't hurt that Kansas City and Salt Lake are managed by two league veterans in Peter Vermes and Jason Kreis.

Adding in the passionate atmosphere in the small, yet loud Sporting Park will only help matters as the on-the-pitch scenarios will surely not disappoint both the hardcore and curious casual fans of the league.

Is it Mido, Robbie Keane, or just Spurs?

Not sure why this made me laugh, probably because it's Mido creeping out.

Sure there's a funny Spurs toilet humour joke here, but need some help with it...

Try it, you might like it (or keep trying until you do!)

The Guardian's World Cup draw simulator is fantastic.

It's worth finding out who your country can play, and how they can avoid Spain and Brazil !

Here's the link.

I'm not bored. Really, I have midweek previews to write.

Some people shouldn't comment after a shock result

Barcelona lost. They are now joint top with Atletico Madrid, with Real Madrid just 3 points behind. The Catalans have won 13 of 15. They lost a game, and it coincided with Lionel Messi not playing. Queue stupid Messi/Ronaldo comparisons, memes, drama, overreaction.

It's the end of the world for Barcelona if you read too much online. Barca are nothing without Messi, Real are still lions even when Cristiano is injured because they now have Gareth Bale.

One loss. All those World Cup winners, European Champions, league winners and some of the best players of their generation are nothing without Messi. Comparing Neymar to Bale? You deserve to be shot.

Twitter, Facebook etc, are great socila media tools, but there is a reason some people don't deserve to be heard. If you don't know anything about football, please don't comment. It just makes you look stupid.

Congrats to the Welshman on his hat-trick. Let's not forget it came against a team in the bottom 3 of La Liga. A great achievement, and hopefully he'll encourage more talent to experience football abroad.

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Liverpool and Manchester United are done, Arsenal are battling Chelsea and Manchester City for the title. This may prove to be true in January of February, but let's just enjoy a team and a player (Mr. Aaron Ramsey) playing some great stuff. City also look good and are scoring loads of goals. Both City and Arsenal are making the others look bad, but no-one in the top 8 is out of it yet - Newcastle and Southampton may not last with the big boys, but there's real competition this year, and that's something to be enjoyed.

Fulham sacked Martin Jol after their shocking display at West Ham. Some managers get a rough deal when they are fired so early in a season, but the Cottagers were awful against the Hammers. Carlton Cole scored. While the criticism around him is harsh, you know you're in trouble when he scores. West Ham could have had 6, and that's saying something for a team that has struggled to score goals all season. Fulham were lucky to get 0 - they didn't have a shot in the game that troubled the keeper.

***

Bayern and PSG are both still unbeaten. I'll take the Germans lasting longer in that competition, but I'll probably enjoy watching PSG more. Zlatan makes me smile. He loves the game, and does things that you should pay money to go and see. Bayern dominate teams and make their superiority show, and they are fun to watch, but Zlatan is worth the entrance fee on his own.