Ebbsfleet United travel to Barrow for an important Blue Square Premier League (National Conference) match on Saturday. The Fleet are currently in 22nd place, having won only once so far in 16 league games. Barrow are in 16th place with 17 points. A win for Ebbsfleet could take them out of the relegation zone depending on results elsewhere.

For American fans of the English Premier League, there will be several quality matches televised, thanks in part to ESPN2's coverage this season.

Saturday, October 17

7:45am - Aston Villa v Chelsea (ESPN2)
10:00am - Sunderland v Liverpool (FSC)

Sunday, October 18

11:00am - Wigan v Manchester City (FSC)

These games will be shown live.

http://www.soccerpro.com/Puma-Liga-XL-IT-White-and-Black-with-Red-p9315/

If there's no soccer field or large grassy area near your residence, then traditional soccer (football) cleats are not of much use, are they? Consider the Puma Liga XL IT soccer shoe as an alternative. These shoes are designed for indoor surfaces, and the rubber sole is non-marking.

http://www.soccerpro.com/KwikGoal-Premier-Referee-Jersey-p8493/

The KwikGoal Premier referee jersey is the perfect shirt for those of you who referee youth, recreational, or local soccer leagues. The shirt is the classic vertical stripe referee jersey design with a collar and two buttons. It comes in five colors: red, yellow, blue, green, and classic black.

http://www.soccerpro.com/Calle-Primero-Street-Ball-p8906/

If you don't live near a soccer field and you don't have a yard big enough to practice your footie skills, then you should consider the Calle Primero Street Soccer Ball. It's perfect for practicing your juggling skills or playing a pick up game of soccer in the street or in a parking lot.

http://www.myfootballclub.co.uk/

For the past two years, I have had the pleasure of being a member of MyFootballClub, the world's first web community owned club. We own Ebbsfleet United Football Club, a professional team in the Blue Square Premier League, the 5th division of English football.

Who would you select as the best starting 11 from all the Premier League clubs? Here's my list, with the stipulation that I can only select one player from a single team (that makes it much harder given that the top clubs have multiple players that I would select otherwise):

GK - Shay Given (Man City)
D - John Painstil (Fulham)
D - Gary Cahill (Bolton)
D - Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City)
D - Leighton Baines (Everton)
M - Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
M - Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
M - Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
M - Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
F - Wayne Rooney (Man United)
F - Jermaine Defoe (Spurs)

Here's a second team:

GK - Robert Green (West Ham)
D - Glen Johnson (Liverpool)
D - Michael Turner (Sunderland)
D - Brede Hangeland (Fulham)
D - Nemanja Vidic (Man United)
M - Aaron Lennon (Spurs)
M - Tim Cahill (Everton)
M - Shawn Wright-Phillips (Man City)
M - Matt Taylor (Bolton)
F - Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
F - Robin van Persie (Arsenal)

And a third:

GK - Brian Jenson (Burnley)
D - Sebastian Bassong (Spurs)
D - Rio Ferdinand (Man United)
D - Gael Givet (Blackburn)
D - Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
M - Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
M - Jordi Gomez (Wigan)
M - Lee Cattermole (Sunderland)
M - Stephen Hunt (Hull City)
F - Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
F - Emanuel Adebayor (Man City)

The one player per team rule really made this a difficult task.

Of the 20 clubs in the English Premier League, only 8 have English managers. Four clubs have Scottish managers, and there are two each from Spain, Italy, and Wales. Here is the complete list of Premier League managers by nationality:

8 - England: Sam Allardyce (Bolton), Gary Megson (Bolton), Roy Hodgson (Fulham), Phil Brown (Hull City), Paul Hart (Portsmouth), Steve Bruce (Sunderland), Harry Redknapp (Spurs), Mick McCarthy* (Wolverhampton)

4 - Scotland: Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United), Alex McLeish (Birmingham), Owen Coyne (Burnley), David Moyes (Everton)

2 - Italy: Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea), Gianfranco Zola (West Ham)

2 - Spain: Rafael Benitez (Liverpool), Roberto Martinez (Wigan)

2 - Wales: Mark Hughes (Manchester City), Tony Pulis (Stoke City)

1 - France: Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)

1 - Northern Ireland: Martin O'Neill (Aston Villa)

*Mick McCarthy was born in England, but played internationally for the Republic of Ireland.

The BBC has a very interesting piece about where the crop of 2009-10 Premier League footballers are from compared to where the 1989-90 class of players were born. What is particularly telling is the percentage of players from outside the UK in today's game. The BBC has a high quality interactive map to illustrate the increasingly global influence on the Premier League.

Premier League Predictions 2009-10
1. Chelsea
2. Arsenal
3. Liverpool
4. Manchester United
5. Manchester City
6. Everton
7. Aston Villa
8. Spurs
9. Sunderland
10. Fulham
11. West Ham
12. Stoke City
13. Bolton
14.

Championship 2009-10 Predictions

1. West Brom
2. Middlesbrough
3. Newcastle
4. Reading
5. Sheffield United
6. Ipswich
7. Derby County
8. Cardiff
9. Crystal Palace
10. Queens Park Rangers
11. Nottingham Forest
12.

League One 2009-10 Predictions

1. Leeds
2. Norwich
3. Charlton
4. Huddersfield
5. MK Dons
6. Millwall
7. Colchester
8. Southampton
9. Southend
10. Oldham
11. Brentford
12. Tranmere
13. Brighton
14.

League Two 2009-10 Predictions

1. Notts County
2. Rotherham
3. Bury
4. Shrewsbury
5. Bradford
6. Grimsby
7. Northampton
8. Barnet
9. Crewe
10. Rochdale
11. Darlington
12. Bournemouth
13. Chesterfield
14.

Blue Square Premier League 2009-10 Predictions
1. Luton Town
2. Oxford
3. Wrexham
4. Stevenage
5. Mansfield
6. Cambridge
7. Rushden & Diamonds
8. Kidderminster
9. York City
10. AFC Wimbledon
11. Kettering
12. Crawley
13.

FA Cup Final: Chelsea 2 - 1 Everton
Chelsea rebounded from the disappointment of their Champions League semi-final loss to Barcelona to lift the FA Cup in manager Guus Hiddink's last match in charge. It was a fitting end to the brief Hiddink era at Stamford Bridge, as the Dutch manager turned around an under-achieving team under former manager Scolari.