'The challenge for United is always be to the best in Europe'
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A BEHIND THE SCENES ORAL HISTORY OF SOCCER IN KANSAS CITY

On November 18, 2010, a Major League Soccer team changed its name. One minute they were the Kansas City Wizards. The next, they were Sporting KC. Of course it's never that simple. This is that story.

Greg Cotton
Chief Operating Officer, Sporting Kansas City
I hate the word 'brand' more than anything.

It's normally Sesame Street "that is brought to you by numbers..." but today its the turn of Liverpool FC to introduce their 14, 26, 11 and 20 for the forthcoming 2011/12 season.

It wasn't that long ago that Liverpool's summer purchases were sadly under the control of two muppets, neither as funny as Statler & Waldorf although their promises were certainly laughable.

The 2010/11 season saw Liverpool's new boys Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam collectivley deliver 22 goals in the Premier League for their former sides but will the new season in a Reds shirt bring a higher collective total?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

To make people think about how potentially frightening Chelsea FC will be in future years, I want to start by claiming that Fernando Torres, for me, joins the club as not only the second finest striker in world football but also the second best striker at Chelsea Football Club. Think about it.

Here we go. Back to the Premier League after a busy week in Europe. Wayne Rooney is now suspended for only 2 Euro 2012 matches (not 3 as originally set) but Manchester United are out of the Champions League... I. ... Continue reading →

March 10, 2011 – There are more Manchester United stories published in the media than any other club – some are worth reading, others are absolute garbage! So how can anyone possibly keep up with...
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Transfer stories are a dime a dozen. Very few have genuine substance, we always take them with a huge amount of cynicism yet they cannot be totally ignored in case there's the slightest grain of...
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Two weeks to go. Mini-leagues still to fight for. The Fantasy Premier League is up for grabs. As always, we'll sort it out for you: I. Tottenham @ Liverpool: Wigan and West Ham is just as big of a game, ... Continue reading →

from the outside, in one man's journey to the heart of Calcutta

by Ashwin Warrior

I came to Calcutta on a whim. Time off from school, traveling and volunteering in India—one version of the American collegiate dream. I chose Calcutta, the sprawling metropolis of over fifteen million people, on the recommendation of a friend.

Transfer rumours are a dime a dozen. Very few have genuine substance so they should always be taken with a huge amount of cynicism. Yet they cannot be completely ignored in case there's the slightest...
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As more and more Liverpool players and staff members make their appearance on Twitter, fans continue scramble to see what they have to say about their personal lives, life day to day at the club and maybe even get a personal response to a question.

You can now gain an at a glance overview of what the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Luis Suarez, Dirk Kuyt, Glen Johnson, Lucas Leiva and new recruit Charlie Adam have to say from our current LFC players and staff Twitter Stream.

Charlie Adam has opened his goalscoring account for the Reds, as he struck from a twice taken penalty against a Malaysian XI in the 28th minute.

Thanks to @trevor_fisher for the link.

Image Source: Mirror

You can follow Justin Heron & Kop That on Twitter

All the goals from Liverpool's 3-1 home victory over Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League Saturday August 27th 2011.

Liverpool 1 v 0 Bolton Henderson (15mins)

Liverpool 2 v 0 Bolton - Skrtel (52mins)

Liverpool 3 v 0 Bolton - Adam (54mins)

Liverpool 3 v 1 Bolton - Klasnic (90mins)

Full Match Highlights

Image Source: Daylife
Video Source: matchhighlight.

After his red card against Spurs recently, Charlie Adam came in for a little criticism, with some fans questioning his ability and impact for Liverpool. For me, Adam is a superb player, and as I will show, he has been just as influential creatively in the first part of his career (at his previous clubs) as Steven Gerrard was for Liverpool in his first few years.

Jimmy Case won 4 league titles and 3 European cups with Liverpool during his playing days, and lined up alongside Kenny Dalglish on many occasions. On the eve of the Merseyside derby, he's provided some interesting views on the club's form so far this season; where Charlie Adam needs to improve, and how Liverpool should line up against Everton later today.

One of the great things about Luis Suarez is his ultra-competitive streak and will to win, and it's served Liverpool well since he arrived at Anfield. The Uruguayan's competitive nature is not just reserved for opposition players though, as the following video shows.In the warm-up before the Everton game on Saturday, Suarez positioned the ball in order to practice a free kick; a sprinkler

Charlie Adam has had a great start to his Liverpool career so far, contributing one goal and three assists in 7 games, and emerging as an important cog in the club's creative engine. Adam is also enjoying working with Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, as his enthusiasm for his new manager shone through in a recent interview.

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway believes that Charlie Adam has done a 'great job' for Liverpool so far, and he's excited to see how his former captain performs alongside Steven Gerrard.Holloway is a great character in the game, and refreshing honesty is always guaranteed whenever he talks about football.

Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam has given an honest assessment of the club's season so far, and with the Manchester United game less than 24 hours away, Adam admits that there are 'nerves and excitement' in the squad ahead of the game.Adam, who in my view has been excellent for Liverpool since signing, observed:"I still don't think we've played as well as we know we can, but that happens when

Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam has refuted claims that he dived against Manchester United to win the free kick that led to Steven Gerrard scoring.
In an interview with the Man United TV Channel (which was later censored for being 'inflammatory'), Phil Jones accused Adam of diving. Informed of the comments, Adam responded:
"Everyone has an opinion.

Liverpool legend Kevin Keegan has been running the rule over Liverpool's summer signings, and despite the massive amount of money spent, he believes that Jose Enrique is the only player who has really 'hit the ground running'.
Keegan believes that Kenny Dalglish 'still hasn't found his best combination yet', and the former Newcastle manager urges Carroll, Henderson, Adam and Downing to step it up a bit:
"Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam need to step up.

One of the persistent (and unfair) criticisms of Charlie Adam this season is the alleged 'fact' that he can't tackle, and that he's poor defensively. Lucas is widely accepted to be Liverpool's best defensive midfielder, so I've compared Adam to Lucas in a bid to show that the criticism of the Scot's defensive ability is completely unwarranted.

There has been a significant influx of new players at Anfield over the last year, and competition for places is as strong as ever. However, despite the competition, one thing stays the same, and that is the increasingly welcome presence of Lucas Leiva in Liverpool's midfield.
The Brazilian is happier these days, and takes great confidence from the fact that people seem to be finally acknowledging the qualities he brings to Liverpool:
"I am really enjoying the way I am playing.

Former Liverpool defender Gary Gillespie has added his voice to the growing chorus of dissent over Liverpool's stuttering performance against Swansea at the weekend, and believes that the lack of fluency in midfield played a big part in the team's inability to take charge of the game.
Gillespie, who was analysing the game for LFC TV, described the result as a 'massive disappointment', but was quick to praise the performances put in my Swansea's players:
"Lucas Leiva found it very difficult today, as did Charlie Adam, because they got outnumbered in the middle of the park.

I'm a big fan of Charlie Adam; the Scot is a modern day Jan Molby, and he shares many of the Great Dane's footballing characteristics, such as exquisite passing ability; great close control; a venomous shot, and of course, a distinct lack of pace (!). As we've seen this season, Adam seems to tire early in games, which allows the opposition to exploit the gaps he leaves in midfield.

Former Liverpool right-back Steve Nicol has called on Stewart Downing, Lucas Leiva, Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam to raise their collective games over the next few weeks, arguing that their creative return so far this season has not been good enough.
Nicol acknowledged that Andy Carroll has flattered to deceive in front of goal, but he believes the profligacy of Liverpool's midfielders is a bigger problem:
"For me, the biggest problem is the midfield.

Liverpool's lack of mobility and pace in midfield has been cruelly exposed on several ocaisions this season, most notably against Spurs, Norwich and Swansea. However, against Chelsea last Sunday, there were no such problems, and former Liverpool defender Gary Gillespie believes that Kenny Dalglish has now come up with an effective strategy to address the the midfield mobility issue.

After the 1-1 draw at Anfield yesterday, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini accused Liverpool players of getting Mario Balotelli sent off, and having examined the incident several times - and being completely objective - I have to agree with his view.
Mancini was clearly disappointed with the decision:
"It was not the correct decision.

Charlie Adam has been fantastic for Liverpool since his summer signing, and he's already contributed two goals and seven assists for his new team. The Scot is happy at Anfield, but in a recent interview, he revealed that he has regrets about how things ended at Blackpool.Speaking to the BBC, Adam outlined how he still feels a sense of personal culpability over Blackpool's relegation from the

Charlie Adam has been fantastic for Liverpool this season, and so far he's contributed two goals and seven assists to the cause. Despite this, there are still fans who argue that he was a bad signing (!), which is ridiculous given his Specific, Measurable Creative Contribution (SMCC), without which Liverpool would be floundering near the relegation zone.

Earlier in the season, former Liverpool defender Gary Gillespie argued that Charlie Adam has the potential to be as good as Xabi Alonso, an opinion that was met with derision by many Liverpool fans. Now, Gillespie has gone one further, stating that he believes Adam can be even better than the Spanish midfield maestro.