Now that Real Madrid has defeated Barcelona parity has been restored to Spain, and maybe all of Europe. Their last game against the Catalans finished 1-1, and Mourinho's team took that draw (which virtually won La Liga for Barcelona) as a victory. But now Real can actually celebrate an El Clasico victory and a trophy.

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So that was how the season ended for Real Madrid. Sadly, it's another bridesmaid finish for us with the eternal rival taking all the plaudits and the bigger one, among the 2 domestic titles that were up for grabs at the start of the season. Nevermind that the Copa Del Rey trophy pre-Sergio Ramos looks far more elegant to the gangly and grotesque-looking La Liga trophy (complete with studs) – winning La Liga is still the ultimate proof that Barcelona this season were the better team.

Not many players leave Arsène Wenger's Arsenal and thrive.

Look at Alex Hleb.

The ‘new George Best' sold his soul for a Mr Whippy with extra sprinkles and quickly went from Barcelona to the heady heights of Birmingham FC.

Now, still owned by Barca but not wanted by anyone, he floats in the footballing ether, dribbling in mazy circles to nowhere and declining clear shooting opportunities to his heart's content.

No matter what Mourinho thinks about Real Madrid needing a striker or not. No matter what the majority of Real Madrid fans believe about Real Madrid needing an extra bench striker. Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid thinks that Real Madrid do not need another striker. Real Madrid has been linked with the like so Adebayor, [.

Emmanuel Adebayor has been presented at Real Madrid. Adebayor is excited
to begin playing, and is looking forward to having a successful loan spell with Real.
Mark van Bommel and Emanuelson debuted for AC Milan in the Coppa Italia.
The two recently joined Milan, and they helped their team to a 2-1 victory.

Some sense has finally prevailed and it has been revealed that Real Madrid are now more close to signing Adebayor than they are to signing Aguero or Neymar. To hell with Aguero, I want no piece of him. Neymar though, I think is one for the future but I am sure Real Madrid have a [...]

27.04.2011 - A los duelos catalán - madridista, Messi - Cristiano, Barcelona - Real Madrid, se suman en primera plana Guardiola - Mourinho.
Pep Guardiola se refirió a los arbitrajes (vídeo), Mourinho salió a la yugular (vídeo) y Pep volvió a contestarle (vídeo).

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Stop shit, if you can!

Dear Manu, (I would love to drop the 'dear', but my sensibilities don't allow me to do so).

I hope this letter finds you in low spirits. You have remained a cry baby and have been crying for long that we (read: Gooners) have betrayed you. So I take this opportunity to show you the mirror.

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If you can watch it...

Many people were shocked when Aston Villa paid such a large transfer fee for Darren Bent last season and perhaps even more shocking was the hefty wage packet offered to Wayne Rooney to stay at Man United, but look at what these forwards have produced since and you start to realise just how important these deals were to both clubs.

The Manchester Derby. Trash your Tevez shirt day. Joe Hart overhead kicks at the training ground. It can't really get too much better than this. Let's preview this 9th Premier League Gameweek... I. Manchester City @ Manchester United: A battle of 1 ... Continue reading →

Aston Villa 1 – 2 Arsenal Match Report

1st half observations from a bad stream

The first 45 minutes were pretty different from what I expected. Aston Villa did not close us down frantically and allowed Arsenal plenty of space. Especially Gervinho and Theo saw plenty of the ball, as Villa sat deep in the beginning, allowing our wingers to attack them from the sides.

Some handbags reported in the Man City training grounds between former Arsenal mates, Adebayor and Kolo Toure.

The reports of Edin Dzeko arriving at the Eastlands has further endangered Adebayor's status at City. The disgruntled striker is probably wishing he had joined AC Milan when he had the opportunity.

Merseyside Derby Lambananas

While most of America will no doubt be focused on the American version of football this weekend, there are plenty of futbol matches for you to watch instead. Here are a bunch of selections; one each from the German Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A, and the Spanish La Liga; a handful from the English Premier League; and an international Copa Centroamerica match, broadcast live from Panama City.

Real Madrid's signing of Emmanuel Adebayor has been as shocking as it is brilliant by Mourinho and co. at The Bernabeu. Since his arrival at the Spanish capital in the summer of 2010, the Portuguese tactician has gone about strengthening areas that needed development bringing in the likes of Angel Di Maria, Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil to name but three players that have arrived in the Spanish capital over the past six months.

Real Madrid vs Sevilla Bernabeu, Madrid- February 2, 2011 Final score:- Real Madrid 2-0 Sevilla ( Mesut Ozil, Emmanuel Adebayor) Late goals from Ozil and Adebayor saw Real Madrid beat Sevilla 2-0 and book their spot in the finals of the Spanish Copa Del Rey. It was also Adebayor's first goal in Real colours since [.

Valentine's Day Irony.
How ironic is it that it had to be the man who has declared Jose Mourinho public enemy no.1 in the Spanish Coaching Community who would gift Mourinho such a lovely pre-Valentine's Day Gift. Marca's cover last Sunday said it all: a gift of 2 La Liga points from Sporting Gijon Coach and Super-Mario lookalike Manuel Preciado to Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho.

Nowadays I am convinced that the most important man in any advanced team, is the coach. His role is far more important than any time in the past. Mourinho used Pepe as his weapon against Barcelona as a defending midfielder, and giving him all the freedom to practice his 'teasing' hobbies vs. Messi, Villa and Xavi.

Cristiano Ronaldo now sits on 36 league goals following his fourth hat-trick of the season as Real Madrid demolished Getafe to keep their faint title hopes alive.

In 1989/90, Hugo Sanchez matched Telmo Zarra's record of 38 league goals in one season; a mark from a different era of football that has yet to be equaled.

In the end, some will be left crying. This, my friends is football and even teams like Deportivo la Coruna had to learn the hard way following their 0-2 loss to the Valencians last night. Los Turcos have been relegated from La Liga, and will face a painful season in second flight with Almeria and Hercules.

I was looking around for the latest news to come out of Chelsea or about the club we all adore and came across this article in The Mirror which I have to admit, made me sit up and take notice. We all know from my blog this week, that it looks like Didier Drogba will be offered a new deal to stay at Chelsea for two years and for our new manager to try and work out how to play Didier and Nando together.

Morning to you,

another week begins with much on the horizon but little concrete info to kick us off. There's the much vaunted signing of Gervinho, a possible defensive arrival, or two, the manager's transfer budget apparently boosted by some property dealing, and the inevitable departures/stayings of one or two.

Have a look at this interview given by Adebayor. Sounds like a love story more than anything else. In summary, Adebayor says that he will do anything to stay at Real Madrid because this is the city he loves and Mourinho is a caring friend not just a coach. This is the interview: I am [...]

Written by London

Clichy to City, I am flabbergasted, why would a club with unlimited funds, a club who could afford any left back in the world want to sign an error prone, erratic crosser? So convinced was I that this wouldn't happen I think I went as far as saying that I would eat my red and white scarf if the deal went ahead (and I like my scarf).

By Chris Wright

We'll admit it, we laughed at the thought of Johnny McNo-Knees, Owen Hargreaves, attempting to flog himself on Youtube in the same way that we laughed at Michael Owen's 'Take A Chance On Me' brochure from a couple of years ago or Arsenal fans attempting to sell Emmaunel Adebayor to Man City by insisting that he was 'Wi-fi enabled' before that but it seems Hargo's little soiree into online advertising has paid off.

Manchester City seem to be on track to signing Sergio Aguero and this could lead many fans to ask the inevitable question – are City building a squad capable of winning the Champions League this season?
The Citizens are preparing for their debut season in the Champions League and have come on leaps-and-bounds since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, due to the money he has splashed since arriving.

I've been catching up with Carnivale, the US series about a carnival travelling through the dustbowl during the Great Depression. It's compelling television but frankly not one to come home to after a bad day, evoking as it does a picture of poverty and suffering that places little value on human life.

A recent blog on the AA website called 'Project Youth-fact or fiction?' (great write Illybongani) got me thinking about the direction that Arsenal has been heading in the last 6 trophyless years and also the grief that Arsène Wenger has had to endure. Fans seem to be divided into 2 opinions.

Marvellous stuff. That certainly elbows its way into the handful of most emphatic performances I've seen from our lot, a 90-minute game of keep-ball. Even when 11 against 11 we seemed to have a one man advantage. Bravo chaps.

Our Central Midfield: Awesome

Scott Parker will presumably have bad days in a Tottenham shirt, but in a potentially tricky encounter against Adam and Henderson he played like a man possessed (albeit, with shirt neatly tucked in and side parting, the most benign-looking possessed chap you'll ever clap eyes upon.

After a mini revival of sorts, a real challenge awaits. It's the first time since I have been watching Arsenal that the Gunners are not clearly superior going into the NLD. To be fair, Redknapp has assembled a strong group that is there or thereabouts as far as the top four is concerned. With the summer that Arsenal have had, coupled with the current injuries, Arsenals' away form, and the appointment of Dean as the ref, it's no surprise that the Tiny Totts are actually favourites according to the pundits and bookies.

Depending on which paper or website you read this morning, Spurs have either rejected a permanent move for Emmanuel Adebayor out of hand or they have told the Togolese forward to accept a pay cut in return for settled, regular football at White Hart Lane.

Ade has been an instant hit at the Lane, scoring three times in his first two games, and while we all know that he is just here for a season long loan, some thoughts have turned to the possibility of a permanent deal.

THFC1882 presents guest writer Ralph Dixon's match report:

Chickens 1 2 Cockerels

The previews for this match, the chat on Twitter and the fan forums were all spot on and the match hardly needs a report from me at all. You Spurs fans know it in your hearts already, even if MOTD manage to edit their highlights to give a different impression.

Picture the scene...

You are a 15-year-old boy making your first Football League start in front of thousands and you score your first senior goal against one of the top sides in the league to draw your side level.

You sprint to celebrate with your family what must be the best feeling ever and it is spoiled once again by the referee, who splays a yellow card in your face.

Harry Redknapp is the quintessential English manager. Working class roots, played football since he was a kid, steeped in the game, worked his way up in management from the lower leagues. Close to his players, he preaches the virtues of hard work and character. He has prospered in the modern era but his teams would look familiar to fans from any era of English football big men at the back, tough tackling midfielders and wingers with another big bloke up front.

Desperately sad news about Gary Speed - RIP

Within a day or two it will inevitably be swallowed within the black hole of wondrous statistics about just how darned good the current crop are (best start to a season since the '61 Double-winners, since you ask), but the win at West Brom has muscled its way into AANP's exalted list of Most Hard-Earned and Pleasing Little Gaggle of Wins This Season, or "MHEPLGWTS" as we like to call it for ease of reference.

THFC1882 welcomes another guest writer on board. This time it's Glen Bocking. Glen is an Essex boy but now lives in Stoke so is handily placed to attend this game. Glen's first Spurs memories are the '91 FA Cup semi and final! Great start to his Spurs watching!

Stoke vs Tottenham 2-1 Highlights 2011 Goals Etherington Kaboul Red Video Chris Foy Referee is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Stoke vs Tottenham 2-1 Highlights 2011 Goals Etherington Kaboul Red Video Chris Foy Referee is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Stoke vs Tottenham 2011 ( Stoke v Spurs video below) Final score and result:- Stoke vs Tottenham 2-1 ( Matthew Etherington*2/ Adebayor penalty) 11-12-2011- December 11, 2011- 16.

Tottenham Hotspur v Sunderland, White Hart Lane, Sunday 18th December, 3pm Kick off

So on Thursday night Spurs European adventure for this season came to an end, despite a 4-0 win at Shamrock. The perceived wisdom is that this is a blessing in disguise and can leave Harry Redknapp and his team to concentrate on getting Spurs back into the Champions League.

2011 might officially be the year of the rabbit, but in truth twenty-eleven it is the year of the bird. By this, I of course mean: Twitter. So with this in mind ITS is going to become a little more 'socially' interactive and we will start by picking out our tweet of the day...

This one comes from Rio Ferdinand's verified account:

These #eggs who sell signatures on ebay that wait at our training ground entrance ruin it for the real supporters.