Football is one of the greatest things in the world but it's not perfect. It used to be perfect. Before money and television and the Bosman ruling and Baby Bentleys and roastings and tattoos and takeovers and no standing and agents and prawn sandwiches and rotation. English newspaper The Times takes a stab at the "50 [.

New York Red Bulls 2 : 3 D.C. UnitedSix Word Novel Recap

Good day for DC in Nuyawk.

Media, Traditional and OtherwiseThe New York Post, Brian Lewis: "The Red Bulls _ and the MetroStars before them _ have specialized in heartbreaking defeats in their history, but few have been as stunning or as maddening as today's collapse"
The Washington Post, Steve Goff: "A 90-degree afternoon on unforgiving artificial turf had taken its toll on mind, body and soul, and considering United's futility on the road the past year, a draw with the New York Red Bulls might have been sufficient.

Football is one of the greatest things in the world but it's not perfect. It used to be perfect. Before money and television and the Bosman ruling and Baby Bentleys and roastings and tattoos and takeovers and no standing and agents and prawn sandwiches and rotation. English newspaper The Times takes a stab at the "50 [.

Sorry for the lack of posts this week; it has been an extremely hectic last five or so days. Anyway.

Chelsea netted twice in the final five minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw with Reading at the Madjeski on Saturday afternoon. Kalou bagged the first I know, shocking with an own goal, set up by the towering Alex, providing the late-game theatrics in added time.

Reuters has this to report on the Group C Gold Cup 2009 matches...
HOUSTON, July 10 — Mexico were held to a 1-1 draw by Panama in an ill-tempered Gold Cup game yesterday, in which three players and the Mexican coach were sent off.

Guadeloupe beat Nicaragua 2-0 in the other Group C match to move top of the pool on a maximum six points from two games, two ahead of a disappointing Mexican side, who failed to build on Miguel Sabah's ninth-minute goal.

Man Utd 4-3 Man City with the winning goal scored in the 6th minute of added time. Even ex red and City Manager Mark Hughes was enraged and after all he knows the play til you win rules and on this occasion those rules must have been exceeded .

For the record:

Referee: Martin Atkinson, Fourth official: Alan Wiley

A debut goal from Emmanuel Adebayor helped big-spending Manchester City to a 2-0 victory at Blackburn Rovers on the opening day of the Premier League season, while Thomas Vermaelen was among the scorers on his Arsenal bow as the Gunners won 6-1 at Everton.

Dream start
Adebayor, a €29m signing from Arsenal last month, gave Mark Hughes's expensively-assembled outfit the perfect start at Ewood Park, firing the visitors in front after three minutes.

So yeah, about that title thing. Before everyone starts cussing the yank owners for their inability to fund an immediate replacement for Alonso, I would like to point out that we should not have to have a huge transfer budget to beat the likes of Tottenham and Aston Villa. Those teams certainly don't.

The fallout of Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Sunderland extended to the dressing room, as reports suggest Alex Ferguson and goalkeeper Ben Foster had a bit of an argument. Foster made a poor decision coming out to catch Andy Reid's chipped ball for Kenwyne Jones, resulting in the Black Cats' second goal.

Last night Man United winger Gabriel Obertan and defender Rafael da Silva finally recovered from injuries and played for United's reserves. Obertan made his debut for United and it his Old Trafford career got off to a great start after United won 3-0.
Rafael has been out with a shoulder injury for what seems like ages but both players got through last nights match unscathed.

... That's the question everyone is asking today.
Machedo's cameo appearance for Man Utd against Villa yesterday, capped off with a quite dazzling winner in added time, has catapulted him from obscurity to instant stardom. As you'd expect, Sir Alex Ferguson will have none of this nonsense.

Andriy Shevchenko is finally ending his time at Chelsea. The Ukranian agreed to return to former club Dynamo Kiev three day ago, the club where it all started for him some 15 years prior.

I, for one, am going to miss him. I have always enjoyed Sheva. Sure his time in London was nothing short of a nightmare.

A look at the winners and losers in this weekend's EPL games.

Winners
Manchester United
It was a tough run of games against Arsenal, Spurs and Man City and United came out of it with maximum points, despite not reaching the levels they have been at in the last two years. With a easier schedule coming up, United don't have a really tough game until they visit Liverpool on October 25.

Football is one of the greatest things in the world but it's not perfect. It used to be perfect. Before money and television and the Bosman ruling and Baby Bentleys and roastings and tattoos and takeovers and no standing and agents and prawn sandwiches and rotation. English newspaper The Times takes a stab at the "50 [.

Football is one of the greatest things in the world but it's not perfect. It used to be perfect. Before money and television and the Bosman ruling and Baby Bentleys and roastings and tattoos and takeovers and no standing and agents and prawn sandwiches and rotation. English newspaper The Times takes a stab at the "50 [.

Steven Gerrard claims Liverpool can still win the Barclays Premier League despite watching his side drop a vital two points at Anfield in last night's 4-4 thriller against Arsenal.
The point lifted Rafa Benitez's side above defending champions Manchester United and into top place on goal difference.

It's ten years tomorrow since one of the biggest games in City's history, even if it sometimes seems like just the other day to the heroes of that remarkable play-off final against Gillingham at Wembley.

Joe Royle's Blues, relegated the previous May to football's third tier for the first time in the club's proud history, were 2-0 down with 89 minutes on the clock and seemingly doomed to miss promotion.

Its that time again to crown the Mad About Fútbol Team Of The Week. In South America, the Copa Libertadores final was set and champions crowned. The MLS continues its season and the CONCACAF Gold Cup is underway. Remember that the Mad About Fútbol Team Of The Week played matches and/or made headlines during the calendar week of June 29-July 5.

Manchester United moved up to third in the Premier League after coming from behind to defeat Arsenal 2-1 at Old Trafford and hand the London side their first defeat of the season. Victory took United up to nine points, three behind Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur who both won to maintain their perfect starts.

Fox Soccer's coverage of the Champions League games is something to behold. No longer are we tied to ESPN's choice of which game we are allowed to watch. 10 of this week's 16 matches are available either live or on a delay. That is unbelievable, and a massive step forward.

It poured rain throughout the game in Marseille on Tuesday, and Milan's white Champions League kits do not have a sponsor.

. The goal scored by Dirk Kuyt during first half stoppage time was enough to give Liverpool a victory on Matchday 1 of the Champions League against Debreceni. The visitors could be let off the hook for the edgy display in the early stages, as they are the first Hungarian side to grace the competition in 14 [.

If there was ever a doubt that the Premier League is the greatest league in the world, then tell the non-believers to watch today's Manchester derby. What a game. What a game!

The match is an instant classic and a brilliant advertisement for football and the Premier League. Played at a blistering pace at times and with plenty of sensational goals, this game had everything.

Sir Alex Ferguson has responded to the issue of the amount of injury time played but says that managers just need to get on with, however frustrating it is when it goes against you.

"I understand the frustration of Mark Hughes as the manager on the receiving end of a very late goal," said Ferguson.

Montreal 3-2 Vancouver

It was a high scoring affair at Swangard Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. While most US soccer fans had en eye on the their National team, hoping they would qualify for the 2010 World Cup, our northern neighbors were watching carefully in an all Canadian USL-1 final.

Rafa Benitez's future at Liverpool has become even more cloudy following Fulham's determined 3-1 win at Craven Cottage. Liverpool picked up two red cards along the way as Erik Nevland's clever goal proved to be enough for Fulham to grab all three points.

Bobby Zamora got things going for the home side in the first half, but his strike was quickly cancelled out by a stunning Fernando Torres goal.

Its that time again to crown the World Cup Buzz Team Of The Week. In South America, the Copa Libertadores final was set and champions crowned. The MLS continues its season and the CONCACAF Gold Cup is underway. Remember that the World Cup Buzz Team Of The Week played matches and/or made headlines during the calendar week of June 29-July 5.

The last round of matches of the 2009 Argentine Clausura featured a "championship" game as 1st place Huracán traveled to 2nd place Vélez Sarsfield for a match the entire Argentine footballing nation would be mesmerized by. The match began as normal but after 20+ minutes the game was delayed due to visible hail slightly smaller than golf balls.

Reuters has this to report on the Group C Gold Cup 2009 matches...
HOUSTON, July 10 — Mexico were held to a 1-1 draw by Panama in an ill-tempered Gold Cup game yesterday, in which three players and the Mexican coach were sent off.

Guadeloupe beat Nicaragua 2-0 in the other Group C match to move top of the pool on a maximum six points from two games, two ahead of a disappointing Mexican side, who failed to build on Miguel Sabah's ninth-minute goal.

If today's opening match fixture was a litmus test for the rest of the premier league season, my bet is on the match officials. As soon as the match kicked off I had that gut feeling of "here we go again". Now I know it's easy to accuse the officials of ruining the game for you, today's match however was no excuse.

A debut goal from Emmanuel Adebayor helped big-spending Manchester City to a 2-0 victory at Blackburn Rovers on the opening day of the Premier League season, while Thomas Vermaelen was among the scorers on his Arsenal bow as the Gunners won 6-1 at Everton.

Dream start
Adebayor, a €29m signing from Arsenal last month, gave Mark Hughes's expensively-assembled outfit the perfect start at Ewood Park, firing the visitors in front after three minutes.

Whether by design or not, Sir Alex Ferguson's rant against referee Alan Wiley's performance during the Manchester United against Sunderland match on Saturday worked to divert attention away from United's poor performance.

Personally, I find it ironic that it was Alan Wiley of all referees especially because he was the fourth official in the Manchester derby, and laughed with Fergie during the added time while Mark Hughes looked on in anger.

Montreal 3-2 Vancouver

It was a high scoring affair at Swangard Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. While most US soccer fans had en eye on the their National team, hoping they would qualify for the 2010 World Cup, our northern neighbors were watching carefully in an all Canadian USL-1 final.

Stevenage will get home this evening and wonder how they didn't end up taking all 3 points after a dominant second half performance. Although Kettering had a couple of opportunities in added time, the second half was mostly at the other end as a host of Boro players missed chances to give the Hertfordshire side the victory.

The first team to reach MLS Cup six times, the Los Angeles Galaxy will take on a team that didn't exist until the season of their last appearance in Major League Soccer's championship game Real Salt Lake in MLS Cup 2009. The Galaxy lost their first three appearances in the league title game before winning their last two, both coming in extra time by 1-0 scorelines against the New England Revolution.

The first team to reach MLS Cup six times, the Los Angeles Galaxy will take on a team that didn't exist until the season of their last appearance in Major League Soccer's championship game Real Salt Lake in MLS Cup 2009. The Galaxy lost their first three appearances in the league title game before winning their last two, both coming in extra time by 1-0 scorelines against the New England Revolution.

The Arsenal captain came off the bench to give the Gunners more conviction and penetration after a blistering early exchange between the two clubs.
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It may have been slightly swept under the rug after the masterful cameo provided by the Arsenal skipper but before Cesc Fábregas' inspirational display, it was Abou Diaby who was the key man.

Fernando Torres struck his 50th League goal in Liverpool colours in the third minute of added time on Tuesday evening, when Rafael Benitez's Reds sealed a much-needed win against top-four rivals Aston Villa.
The swiftness with which Torres accumulated the half ton has impressed team-mate Jamie Carragher, who claimed the Spain international has already paid back the transfer fee that Benitez paid Atletico Madrid in order to secure his services.