My friends and I often indulge in extended debate on the club vs. country issue and how so far, it's ‘OK' to support England. We eschew the jingoism, the hooliganism, the sheer repugnance of many of those called on to sport the jersey, the overreaction to defeat and over-anticipation of victory, the arrogance and the aggression, but still wish for a team we can support.

One of the least edifying spectacles in modern football is that of managers attempting to deflect criticism for a defeat by making spurious attacks on the opponents who beat them.

I like to think of myself as a connoisseur of this phenomenon, having watched our own otherwise distinguished coach, a certain Mr Arsène Wenger, pull the very same trick on numerous occasions.

One of the least edifying spectacles in modern football is that of managers attempting to deflect criticism for a defeat by making spurious attacks on the opponents who beat them.

I like to think of myself as a connoisseur of this phenomenon, having watched our own otherwise distinguished coach, a certain Mr Arsène Wenger, pull the very same trick on numerous occasions.

Mexico's World Cup qualifying victory clearly shook the US Women's National Team to their core. On Tuesday night, the US settled the score, reminding Mexico, and the world, that there is still an enormous gap in class between the two sides. Were at not for some shoddy finishing and a whole lot of five-alarm defending, the score line could easily have been doubled as the US controlled the match from the opening whistle and were rarely troubled throughout the 90 minutes.

It's hot! Bloody hot.
Australian summer can be a bit like that, can't it, even this year. My friends are gathered, some want to sit close, others are over dressed, most in green.
Chocolate cake! On a summers day? I went for hot chips!
Move over, it's getting hotter, but there's no space, not in the Canberra stands.

Something has always flummoxed me in sports. It's the propensity of lesser informed fans and a few media blowhards to stand on high, reeking of tough-minded and righteous superiority, and label some professional athletes as "soft."

This is especially bothersome in American football.

Mirror: The Adeyemi incident is what you get when you summon the full forces of tribalism

There is no pleasure in saying this, but Liverpool have begun to reap a little of what they have sown. New Liverpool racism row: Fan's abuse has Oldham player in tears When you defend racist language, when you enter into angry denial and summon the full forces of tribalism, this is what you get.

Diego Simeone says he is unfazed by the prospect of turning around Atletico Madrid's faltering season after being formally unveiled as their new coach.

The former Argentina captain was named as the replacement for the sacked Gregorio Manzano on Friday, signing a contract until the end of the 2012/13 campaign.

I don't think Suarez is inherently racist... but what he said is unacceptable

Let's get one thing clear. Luis Suarez used "insulting words that included a reference to colour". We know this, because he admitted as much himself. In all the anger, outrage and aggression that has poured forth since the FA's startling verdict in their case against the forward, that fact seems to have been somehow forgotten.

Jack Wilshere. A name you should, by now, have heard. Arsenal's youngest ever league debutante and future England great is currently on the sidelines nursing an ankle injury, but here's why I think he will one day be huge.

Movement, aggression, dribbling, vision and passing. Attributes which I think sum Wilshere up brilliantly, on the break and attacking he is a serious threat with his snappy short passes and his ability to put in the defence splitting long ball.

Instead of focusing on his players excellent performance against Valencia last night, Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas ensured the focus was on his war of words with the media.

The Blues managed to defeat their Spanish opponents 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, meaning that not only did they qualify for the next round of the Champions League, but they also topped their group.

(Photo: Paul Rudderow)

Editor's note: At the end of the 2010 season, we posted a series of "Raves" about our favorite Philadelphia players. They need not be the team's best players, but they're guys and gals we like. Over the next two weeks, we continue the series again with some of the PSP writers' and contributors' favorite players of 2011.

By Chris Wright

Back in 1988, when football was a man's game, Real Madrid's Juanito was (perhaps unsurprisingly) banned for five whole years for this brazen double-whammy, back-stamping, cheek-mashing assault on Bayern Munich's Lothar Matthaus as the German midfielder lay pole-axed between the legs of the referee.

By Chris Wright

I don't mind admitting it absolutely galled me that the sycophantic tools on the Match of the Day sofa just flat-out refused to acknowledge and/or call-out Wayne Rooney's petulant slash at a prone Fabricio Coloccini last night, despite watching replay after replay of the United meathead poorly masking his errant boot as an attempt to prise the ball out from underneath the Newcastle centre-half.

By JONATHAN VERA

CARSON, Calif. – The Western Conference final second leg between the Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls certainly lived up to its much-anticipated hype. Aggression was high, tempers flared and drama unfolded after a quick start by the Red Bulls, but in the end, New York took the long plane ride home broken and defeated.

As for a Genk recap, friends, I'm not doing it. Jack's not doing. Jamie's not doing it. Your loyal scribes simply refuse to put words on that performance. Dire, would be as far as I'd go in terms of a description. Beyond that, I've got nothing else to say about the match itself. But, I do have some thoughts on what we've witnessed since the QPR debacle that may well shed a light on some of our misfortunes of late.

Despite their footballing talents, Kaboul quickly realised he wasn't exactly in the company of great beautyWhere this blog is from, three wins on the spin, including two away from home and one against a team being billed as top four elect, is pretty good going. Especially when you consider the depths from where this winning streak has been born from.

When CS Herediano beat the Seattle Sounders on Tuesday night it was not because they dominated play. It was because the team in Electricity acted more like a car battery that was low on charge and couldn't push the starter over. There were only a handful of opportunities for either side and the Costa Rican team's keeper had a brilliant save or two that took a game from a possible draw to a 1-nil win.

Gazzetta dello Sport Cavani, Napoli's Matador Aquilani gives Milan hope, but the Uruguayan unleashes a hat-trick De Laurentiis: 'I'm thinking about the Champions League' Juve celebrate going +5 over the Milanese clubs Conte: "We were good: I saw the right aggression". Matri goal: "Last year we didn't win matches like this" and "I saw the right grit" Matri: 'Last.

QPR boss Neil Warnock has warned Newcastle United that a loud home support awaits their trip to Loftus Road ahead of tonight's clash between the two sides.

Warnock, who signed several experienced top flight stars such Luke Young and Shaun Wright-Phillips before the closing of the summer transfer window, has singled out former Magpies midfielder Joey Barton as the club's most significant acquisition and tipped the presence of the controversial player to light up the atmosphere.

What is the role of the American sports fan supposed to be for U.S. Soccer Men's National Team friendlies? In the perfect scenario, sports fans would come in droves to see the team play, nationalism would see an increase and TV ratings would prove to be invaluable.

The Study of English Football [Part I]: How social and cultural aspects impact the English game is a post from: Just Football

Introducing Part I of a special report on Just Football. Over the coming days our newest contributor Andreas Vou presents a comprehensive four-part study into the state of English football and the national team, encompassing society and culture, the media, youth football and the English approach to playing abroad.

Portland's Setup: Portland set up in a traditional 4-4-2, as compared to their unusual formation that they used Sunday against Houston. Chara and Jewsbury were the two holding midfielders. Both were lacking aggression and energy, and it showed as Zusi and Espinoza especially controlled the flow of the game.

Thats it, once more and you are done sir!
Shaun Botterill/Getty Images (Bleacher Report)The sending off of players is always a hot topic the English Premier League as it is the most physical league in the world according to many different sources.
Pace, aggression and passion are the fuel to the fire of the English game and it is no secret that the physicality of the English leagues as a whole make them the most watched of any league in the world as a whole collective.

The Argentine 5th division, so jealous of the week's happening yonder London, decided to take out their own aggression on The Man and descend into a frenzy. It resulted in lots of good YouTube footage and likely, several lifetime banishments, both on merit, or lack thereof, and also because no one really cares about the fifth division anyway.

FC Dallas' Setup: Dallas set up in a 4-5-1 with newly acquired Maicon Santos up top. Santos was up against Gonzalez most of the night and just could not get by him in 1 on 1 situations. Vilar and Guarda patrolled the middle behind Santos and in front of Hernandez, who played the holding midfield spot.

An interesting spectacle to Saturday night's United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League title match between the Laredo Heat and Kitsap SC Pumas was a padded rugby-style helmet worn by Kitsap player, Kyle Johnson. The helmet was approved by the league for use by Johnson as he recovers from a concussion suffered earlier in the season.

On one hand, it's great some of the best club teams in the world come to the U.S. to play MLS teams as warm-ups for their own leagues. These teams are in their early-season practices getting ready for their respective seasons and U.S. Soccer fans are treated to seeing some of the world's best Soccer players.

The long awaited signing of Gervinho is to be announced this afternoon, with the Ivory Coast striker undergoing a medical at Arsenal. Terms between the player and the between the clubs have been agreed, so unless there is something that crops up in the medical, Gervinho will be our first signing of the summer.

I fell in love with the Super Falcons during the 2008 Olympics, watching them slug out the ultimate group-of-death: Germany, Brazil, Nigeria and North Korea. None of the games in that tournament were as exciting as those Nigeria played in this group.
Nevertheless, Nigeria didn't make it past that stage.

When Kenny Dalglish took over in January, there were many eager to portray him as a footballing dinosaur who had lost touch with the game after a decade out. This was a sentimental choice, we were told, and he would soon be found out.
As Liverpool improved beyond recognition in the following months, those who had been critical slunk away.

New online game Soccer Knockout allows you to wade-in on the, erm, friendly rivalry between Mexico and the USA as the two nations prepare to slog it out at the Gold Cup. CONCACAF's big two meet in the final tomorrow evening, but in case any Mexican fans find themselves with a little excess aggression between [.

"Happiness is not being afraid" says Roy "I don't play football to be famous or a celebrity." Aggression must be met with aggression. His family and friends seem to exist to "make it easier to go to...
Continue to the full story

The Philly Soccer Page " Match report: Union 1-1 Real Salt Lake
The Union ran ragged over a lethargic Real Salt Lake side in the first half but only Keon Daniel put his chance away. It came back to haunt them home team when Fabian Espindola drove home the equalizer in the 53rd minute.

Union's dominant game ends in disappointing draw

CHESTER, Pa.

And again Real Madrid and FC Barcelona provided us with a match full of drama, unexpected turns and top-class moves. Even though it ended with the score of 0-2, I think that everything could have been different, if the teams didn't put so much aggression into their game (that red card had a good influence on the game).

As LeBron James was taking his talents to South Beach, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert said that LeBron quit against the Boston Celtics last year. Yes, seeing as LeBron was leaving his franchise, Gilbert's comments were probably a bad case of sour grapes. However, that said, LeBron has a lot of questions to answer over the next couple weeks as the Miami Heat take on the Boston Celtics.

Less than a week after their hard fought tie in league play, Madrid and Barça met in the final of the King's Cup. Mourinho sent his defensive set into the midfield again, then put in Özil from the start for an added touch of creativity in attack, and sprinkled the whole side with an extra dose of aggression dust.

Jose Reina believes Liverpool must hit the ground running next season if they are to re-establish their top-four status in the Premier League.
The Reds are likely to miss out on UEFA Champions League qualification for the second season running after suffering a disastrous first half to the campaign.

We exchange three questions with Josie Becker of SB Nation Los Angeles in order to get some insider perspective on the Los Angeles Galaxy as the travel to Toyota Park to take on the Chicago Fire this Sunday. Josie's answer to my first question is below and the other five questions in the exchange are after the break.

McCarty was my MOTM. Not only did he slot the great ball through to Pontius for the opener, but he nearly connected on a few others of that same ilk and did reasonably well to serve balls from free kicks (despite a seeming lack of aggression on the part of his teammates in attacking said balls). Particularly impressive, at least to those of us used to the Burch/Quaranta species of cross-field ball, was that he switched the point of attack quickly and with precision, often while under pressure.