It was an exciting game at Lockhart Stadium in Ft Lauderdale last night as Miami FC defeated AC St. Louis 4-2. This result eliminates St Louis from the playoffs.
The highlight of the match was Abe Thompson's hat trick! Abe has been inspired as of late and has undoubtedly found his form becoming the team's scoring leader with 9 goals.

Sir Alex Ferguson may have a policy where he doesn't discuss footballers personally lives away from the pitch, but that certainly doesn't mean that the coach doesn't allow these incidents to affect who he decides to play on the pitch. Wayne Rooney was benched yesterday at Goodison Park and the famous 19 time title winning coach of the Red Devils did admit that it was because of the "terrible abuse" the former Everton man receives at his old home field.

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) were hoping that Madrid boss, Jose Mourinho, would take over their National team during the Euro 2012 qualifiers in October, but this is unlikely to happen. With Mourinho's focus being on Madrid's season, he admitted that he will most likely turn down the opportunity to take the temporary assignment for Portugal.

Over the years, Major League Soccer's blackout policy has mystified fans looking for games on Direct Kick and through the MLS website. Most fans understand that nationally televised games are only available on the MLS partner station, but locating local telecasts on the various platforms can sometimes prove challenging.

"Talent, in the absence of hard work, is worth nothing, but talent with hard work is a dynamite combination"

While Manchester United will understandably be lamenting the absence of Ryan Giggs in Valencia on Wednesday night, one of the most disappointed will be Spain World Cup winner Juan Mata. The Valencia...
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Hours after dragging ourselves from the wreckage of SSN's relentless deadline day howitzer on the senses, all that's left to ask is: what exactly have we ended up with? Well, for the most part, no-one's entirely sure. Still we wait for confirmation on Van der Vaart's arrival.

Following Persib's 6-0 humiliation against Sriwijaya last night in the Inter Island Cup there is much soul searching going on Bandung way.
Management are pointing the finger at new coach Darko Janackovic and refuse to blame the defeat on the absence of many players on international duty pointing out that Sriwijaya were in the same boat.

With my sincerest apologies for the long World Cup absence, this edition of the Major League Soccer Talk Podcast looks towards this weekend's action, with Real Salt Lake and New York taking center stage. But before we do, we talk Bob Bradley, Champions League and U.S. Open Cup with the show's new permanent co-host, Christopher Riordan.

Poor Frank Lampard. While the Chelsea midfielder was busy this weekend stuffing down pork pies and Mars bars (err, I mean, having a hernia operation), the England national team got off to a great start in its Euro qualifying campaign. The Three Lions seemed to thrive in his absence, leaving all of us to wonder: Have we seen the last of Lampard in an England shirt?

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp admits that he feared a lot worse than a six to eight week absence for Michael Dawson when the defender awkwardly fell during his second appearance as an England player.

Dawson, who was starting a competitive international fixture for the first time when England squared off against Bulgaria in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier on Friday, is a player Redknapp has very much been counting on in a long season that involves Champions League football for the first time in the club's history.

After Saturday's big comeback victory against the Seattle Sounders, the New England Revolution were already looking to the big three game road trip ahead. Up first is a flight to Los Angeles where the Revs will take on Chivas USA.

Though the Revs have a pitiful 1-8-1 record on the road this season, playing a Chivas USA side that are only 4-4-2 at home and are at the bottom of the Western Conference may be just what the Revs need to turn their away form around.

The return of David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy lineup looks more and more likely to happen this weekend.

Los Angeles activated the 35-year-old midfielder Thursday, meaning that he will be available for this Saturday's clash with the Columbus Crew in an important match for the Supporters' shield -- both sides are tied for first in MLS, with 44 points apiece.

More photos » Otto Greule Jr - Getty Images

Kasey Keller came up big to stop Robbie Findley on a penalty attempt in the first half.

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Sometimes a tie feels like a win.

By Ollie Irish

Serie A players plan to go on strike on September 25 and 26 because of a dispute over contracts, the Italian footballers' association announced today.

"The association, in perfect symphony with the players of Serie A, has decided not to go on the field for the fifth round of matches of the Serie A championship on Sept.

Henry Winter was quick to blame Wayne Rooney's absence for United's draw against Everton. Sir Alex Ferguson's decision had "back fired" according to him.

Ridiculous, I thought. We scored three goals away from home, so it wasn't our attack that let us down at the weekend.

However, the reaction of Everton players might make you feel differently.

Fans' fun not Roo-ined by absence of their hate figure Firstly, I can only apologise for the pun above the picture. I really should work for the Daily Mail, and that is not a compliment. Anyway, the matter in hand. SAF took out his prize asset from Saturday's game, in the knowledge that he would [...

Fans' fun not Roo-ined by absence of their hate figure Firstly, I can only apologise for the pun above the picture. I really should work for the Daily Mail, and that is not a compliment. Anyway, the matter in hand. SAF took out his prize asset from Saturday's game, in the knowledge that he would [...

Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales is known for his playmaking ability and creativity, but it was his mixed martial arts skills that got him into a bit of trouble.

Morales was issued a one-match suspension on Monday for delivering a knee to the groin of Seattle Sounders midfielder during their match last Thursday.

What's going on in the Chelsea Offside Fantasy League? I'm glad you asked.

The Mighty One, praying for those fighting to catch Cech The Rhyme.

The fourth week of competition saw the founder move back to the top of the table. Yes, Cech The Rhyme rebounded from a porous Week 3 (45 points) to record a league best 110, and regain control of the table for The CO with a total of 333.

By Ollie Irish

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A giant screen displays a message to the fans explaining Tony Pulis' absence - he did appear for the second half

Photos: PA

With Tony Pulis grieving for the loss of his mother, this was a rare occasion when the neutral rooted for Stoke.

Park-Ji-sung, Ryan Giggs, Gabriel Obertan or Bébé may fill in for the injured Ecuadorian, but his absence will be keenly felt.

Dallas loses three men - one by red card, two by injury - but get a point from New York, and the four Major League Soccer teams alive in CONCACAF Champions League resume group play. On this edition of the Major League Soccer Talk podcast, I'm join by Chris Riordan to talk about those stories as well as the weekend's action in MLS, a slate of games that's higlighted by Seattle and coach Sigi Schmid's trip to Columbus.

Serbian Captain Nemanja Vidic will remain Manchester United Captain for the rest of the season confirmed Sir Alex Ferguson.

A fit-again Rio Ferdinand led the side in the absence of the rested Vidic in Tuesday's 0-0 Champions League draw against Rangers at Old Trafford. But United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Vidic, 28, will resume the captaincy for the Premier League visit of Liverpool on Sunday and beyond.

Samir Nasri (26 June 1987) plays attacking midfielder for Arsenal and the French national team.

During Arsenal's 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur, Nasri accounted for two of his club's four goals. Nasri's goals came in the 92nd and 96th minute.

Prior to the 23 year-old playmaker's first goal, the two Premier League squads were level at 1-1.

First of all, I am very sorry for my ridiculously long absence. I have been very busy in my personal life, but I also have been making time for this blog. Apologies all round.
To fully understand the implications of this match you need a little background, which some newcomers will lack.

It's here: 8 p.m. Galaxy-New York Red Bulls at Home Depot Center on ESPN2.

I haven't heard otherwise from the Galaxy, so it sounds like the game isn't quite a sellout for those of you close enough to attend in person. I'm guessing when word of Thierry Henry's absence filtered out, many Eurosnobs soccer fans lost interest.

By Chris Wright

A minor setback in his bid to recover from hernia surgery will see Frank Lampard ruled out until after England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro on October 12th.

Lampard hasn't featured for Chelsea in over a month, and is now also set to miss out on their key European and domestic games with Marseille and Arsenal respectively.

Here we go again! It's time to get back on track, iron out our failings and learn from our mistakes. Simples.

Of course, losing is part of the rich tapestry of football. But losing while seemingly having forgotten the basics is harder to shrug off.

If you fall off a horse, they say, the best thing to do is get straight back in the saddle.

So Champions League tonight and a chance to put a few things right after the weekend.

The most notable piece of team news is that Manuel Almunia is out with an elbow injury meaning Lukasz Fabianski gets another chance. There are those who think Almunia's absence is due to his performance at the weekend.