It's awards time again. Leading up to a Euro 2012-induced hiatus for The Two Unfortunates, we'll be proclaiming our gongs for 2011-12 based on the opinions of our writers; watchers of football in all three divisions of the Football League. It's fitting to note then, that our Best Manager of a year ago was Paul Lambert, now poised to take the next possibly upward step in his coaching career, while Brighton and Hove Albion nabbed our Best Team award and Adel Taarabt won the Best Player Accolade.

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has attributed his far improved performances last season to the additional time he has spent in the gym compared to when he first arrived at the club.

Koscielny's move from Lorient two years ago was met with mixed reaction, with some quickly appreciating his mobility as a center-half and others criticizing his lack of strength.

And so the season finally ended. It was a season filled with drama, with more ups and downs for all clubs than in any previous season. Who would've scripted a more dramatic end to the Premier League title race? The excitement involved is what makes the Barclays Premier League the best league to watch.

Alan Pardew, manager of Newcastle United, has been awarded the EPL's top manager for the 2011-12 season.

Few could have imagined Newcastle would be qualifying for European football after being relegated to the Championship in 2009. The team quickly returned to the EPL and finished 12th place in the 2010-11 season.

Ferguson's Replacement at United: Current Betting Odds - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

When Sir Alex Ferguson finally decides to close the curtains on his long and glorious career there will certainly be more than a few managers in line to replace him. Below are the Sky Bet current favourites:

1.

It takes more than just attitude to take over a game, but combined with team rhythm and smarter tactics, it sure helps. DC United finally put two good halves together to knock off the Red Bulls 4-1 as Chris Pontius charged into the role of instigator and finisher to earn an MLS Player of the Week accolade.

With 4 games of the Premier League season remaining, the race for honours is surging towards a thrilling crescendo, but for 3 individuals there's a race for an accolade of their own taking place that could easily go down to the final minutes of the season. Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero are [.

While the Varsity Boat Race on Saturday afternoon was giving the security staff present a busier afternoon than they might have been expecting, there was another meeting of Oxford and Cambridge courtesy of the humorists at the Southern Football League, who scheduled the match between Oxford City and Cambridge City.

Alan Pardew a no brainer for Premier League Manager of the Season - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

If you had told Alan Pardew this time last year that his side would be within touching distance of a Champions League spot he probably would've told you to turn off Football Manager and go to bed.

szólj hozzá: Arsenal 1-0 Manchester City FT

An old enemy gives Man Utd the gift they crave. Yes, Arsenal untitled for the last seven years bequeaths Utd, their almost certain 13th Premiership accolade. Isaac Newton predicted this many centuries ago. It's also called the law of gravity in minor circles.

Rankings in the press today suggest that this is a close decision between Gareth Bale and Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togolese ultimately scored the two goals that won the game but Bale was behind much of Spurs best play and earned the praise of his manager after the match.
"He's just an amazing talent.

Euro 2012: The Strikers To Watch - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Euro 2012 is only a matter of months away, and excitement is growing in fans and players alike. The tournament in Poland and Ukraine is set to be one of the most open of recent times, with holders Spain sure to be challenged by the likes of Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy and England.

A few January loan deals have come good of late – Ryo Myaichi at Bolton, Royston Drenthe at Everton and Sid the Squirrel at QPR. There is however one loan signing that has quickly earned an especially warm place in OTP's heart. His name? Pavel Pogrebnyak he of 5 goals in his first 3 [...]

A few January loan deals have come good of late – Ryo Myaichi at Bolton, Royston Drenthe at Everton and Sid the Squirrel at QPR. There is however one loan signing that has quickly earned an especially warm place in OTP's heart. His name? Pavel Pogrebnyak he of 5 goals in his first 3 [...]

It's not been the best of weeks for Scott Parker but after his sending off at the weekend, our midfield signing's mood will have been lifted with news of the latest in a long line of awards.

Despite only cementing his place in the national side last season, Scott has picked up the Vauxhall England Player of the Year as voted for by England supporters.

National coach Raddy Avramovic (pictured right) has been pretty quiet of late since he was named as an advisor to the Lions XII team months back.
With the media attention being shifted to focus on other issues such as the "come-and-go of Johan Gouttefangeas", the ongoing fixation on the tournament as the result of the joint-MOU signed last year, everyone seems to have forgotten about the concluding match of the faltering World Cup qualifiers against Iraq in Qatar.

Spurs' official website has announced the results of fans' voting for the goal of the month and player of the month for January and while the announcements may not have been that surprising, were there other, more worthy contenders?

As for the player of the month, fans awarded the accolade to Scott Parker who has now won the award for four out of the five months that he has been at the club.

Benoît Pierre David Assou-Ekotto, or Mr Consistency to a growing number of Spurs fans always scores well in our polls but did his performance last night finally secure our man of the match award?
BAE's most telling influences on the game came in attack with the raking diagonal ball that set up Aaron Lennon and the pile-driving second half strike that doubled his tally in a Spurs shirt.

By Chris Wright

You'll know Kolarov as the Serbian chap who mainly specialises in blasting 30-yard exocets narrowly over and wide for Man City.

Vinny Guadagnino, it says here, is widely regarded to be the least twattish of the creosote-skinned, duck-lipped, herpes-riddled, sun-dried ballsacks on MTV's 'Jersey Shore' abomination.

Together at the summit of the Premier League table, the thought of the last 32 of Europa League, rather than the glamorous knockout stages of the Champions League, provides the stark contrast by which Manchester City and Manchester United must define their seasons.

After winning the FA Cup last season, and qualifying for the Champions League, sky looked to be the limit for Roberto Mancini's side.

Are there any other contenders for this accolade besides the amazing Gareth Bale? After the Welshman's two goals inspired Tottenham's win, manager Harry Redknapp was typically effusive in his praise.
"I played him in a free role," Harry said. Him and Rafa, rather than on the left. He pops up in positions in-between the midfield and defence, it's difficult to pick him up and once he turns and runs, like he did for the second goal, he's unstoppable.

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic believes that former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi will win the Ballon d'Or once again but argues that he feels stronger than all his colleagues without such an accolade.

Ibrahimovic has enjoyed an impressive return to form since moving to Milan from Barca in August 2010.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has voiced his 'huge pride' at emulating former club legends by wearing the number seven jersey at Anfield.
The Uruguay international has followed in the footsteps of Reds heroes such as manager Kenny Dalglish and ex-frontman Kevin Keegan by donning the revered shirt.

The year's award night was held on the following evening after the last three games were completed on the previous night at Grand Copthorne with the usual gala setting for this annual get-together for the local football fraternity.
The night kicked off with the awarding of the "Young Player of the Year" to Albirex Niigata (S)'s Tatsuro Inui beating the likes of Lions stars Hariss Harun and Safuwan Baharudin.

"Keep D.C. United" is a fan founded and volunteer driven movement with aim at keeping DC United in the Washington, DC area. For 16 years, United has been housed at the certainly historic, but ultimately decrepit RFK Stadium. The fans have certainly formed a bond with the stadium that moves, quite literally, with them.

With no Sky Live coverage at Saturday's match, we're left to our own devices in selecting a man of the match.
Newspaper opinion seems to be divided this morning with Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor sharing the accolade while others are putting cases forward for Jermain Defoe and Sandro.

In a gala event Milan were awarded the prestigious award of China's Sport's Team of the Year with Adriano Galliani present to receive the accolade alongside other dignitaries. It is a significiant achievement for the club as Asia, particularly China, represents a real opportunity in economic terms. Successfully marketing the AC Milan brand into Asia [.

The Sky cameras were at White Hart Lane last night and after the game, resident pundit Gary Neville was quick to bestow the man of the match award on Luka Modric.
Spurs were dominant in possession throughout the game and Luka was given credit for holding the ball, keeping possession and finding a white shirt with virtually every pass.

Lionel Messi is the greatest footballer in the world. And he may just be awarded with the 2011 TIME Magazine Person of the Year accolade. Sure, Steve Jobs, the 99% occupying Wall Street, and SEAL Team 6 probably have a ... Continue reading →

Courtesy TribeAthletics.com
Tue, November 08, 2011
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - After helping the William and Mary Tribe women's soccer team claim its 10th CAA conference championship this past weekend, sophomore defender Tara Connors was named to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week.

Written by Double 98

Sir Alex Ferguson choked back the tears when the Manchester United people unveiled a stand in his name. It was a fitting tribute to a legend of the game and so much more pertinent to honour the man while he is still alive and running the club. Club allegiance aside, hats off to the man 25 years at the helm of the biggest club in world football and enjoying unparalleled success in trophies and medals deserves mention and accolade.

Luis Suarez today spoke of his delight after being named the Standard Chartered Player of the Month for an unprecedented third time in succession.
The Uruguay striker scooped October's accolade after tallying an incredible 70 per cent of your vote in a poll on this website.
Jose Enrique was named as runner-up, collecting 13 per cent of the vote, while Andy Carroll came third with four per cent.

By Chris Wright

As a mark of their gratitude, yesterday saw a truly exemplary gesture on Manchester United's part with the club marking Sir Alex Ferguson's 25th anniversary by renaming the North stand at Old Trafford the 'Sir Alex Ferguson Stand' which is quite possibly the highest and most notable accolade a club can give to one of it's legends, and was made all the more poignant by the fact that United kept it schtum until the man himself took to the pitch before yesterday's game against Sunderland.

Welcome to another TGIF, which because of my work commitments is now written between Friday evening and Saturday morning. I still feel that this feature is worth producing. It gives me a chance to round up the issues of the week and comment about anything which is exercising Gooners over their pints of beer.

Overcoming adversity: Three Extraordinary achievements by the modern football players - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Sports Illustrated and Gillette Odor Shield Sweat for Greatness contest is celebrating extraordinary achievements of ordinary men and here on Soccerlens, we are going to look at extraordinary achievements of modern day footballers.

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

All eyes will be on Harrison, N.J., tonight for the New York Red Bulls' critical meeting with the Philadelphia Union.

A Red Bulls win or draw will clinch the final playoff berth for New York and eliminate the Portland Timbers and Chicago Fire.

Head up the Arse-nal

Arsenal were ascendant for about 15 minutes following Alexander Song's brilliant foray down the left flank and equally scintillating cross which led to the Aaron Ramsey equalizer. A commanding midfield performance recycled the attack and the Spurs citadel looked shaky.

Sunderland went down 2-1 when they travelled to Carrow Rd, Norwich on Monday evening, where N.B-52 played the 90 mins. Sunderland are in action in the Barclays Premier League again tomorrow afternoon when they entertain West Bromwich Albion. It could be an interesting game with both sides playing positive football.

Liverpool Football Club is today heading for New York to showcase the Tactics 4 Families initiative after the project was shortlisted for a prestigious Beyond Sport award.
The program has been nominated for the Sport Team of the Year accolade and as a result, Tactics 4 Families project manager Mark Chester will give a presentation at the world famous Yankee Stadium on Tuesday as part of the Beyond Sport United summit.

Luis Suarez has revealed that it was telling Sebastian Coates what happens "behind the scenes" at Liverpool that convinced him to join the Anfield club.
The young defender won the accolade of being named best young player of the tournament as Uruguay won the recent Copa America, and subsequently joined the Reds during the summer transfer window after a fee believed to be in the region of £7 million had been agreed between Liverpool and Nacional.