Dennis Bergkamp is 40 years old but still can't get enough from football. Here he plays with Old Ajax and scores a beauty of a goal. Watch how he walks back before the ball is in the goal. I'm sure he could still teach Huntelaar and Van Persie a trick or two. Hell,

.Arsenal Transfered In: Thomas Vermaelen (Ajax, £11m), Damian Martinez (Club Athletico Independiente, £1.3m), Jamie Edge (Cheltenham, undisc) Transfered Out: Abu Ogogo (Dag & Red, free), Amaury Bischoff (Academica de Coimbra, free), Emmanuel Adebayor (Man C, £25m), Kolo Toure (Man C, £14m), Jay Simpson (QPR, loan), James Dunne (Exeter, free), Rui Fonte (Lisbon, free), Rene Steer (Oldham, free), [.

In April 2009, Holland coach Marco Van Basten criticised Rafael Benitez's handling of Ryan Babel, noting that the player had taken a step backward since his arrival at Anfield. This week, Babel himself has publicly stated he wants to leave. Has Babel failed or is Rafa Benitez to blame for not giving the player a consistent chance?

Good morning football fans regardless of what time of day it is when I finally get this posted and you actually read it. As I write this post, I am on a train from Munich, Germany to Vienna, Austria and I don't have internet service, so if I miss a fact, I apologize. I think I've downloaded all of the information I need, so let's get started.

A slightly subdued transfer window for the Emirates has seemingly unearthed one very decent acquisition and one very important bit off damage limitation exorcised!

In

Thomas Vermaelen

The former Ajax captain has fitted in just perfectly.

Robin van Persie's new role at the tip of the Arsenal front three is sought to bring more variety to side's attacking play.
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Few would have had Thomas Vermaelen as Arsenal's top scorer in the early stages of the season, not least because he is a defender but the Belgian had also yet to kick a ball in the Premier League before his £10million move from Ajax and who others decided against signing because of his height.

Angry Liverpool winger Ryan Babel is desperate to go out on loan after claiming Rafa Benitez has broken promises made to him.
Babel, 22, has already targeted a move to his former club Ajax in January to salvage his World Cup dream.
The Dutch star has struggled to get any regular first-team football since moving to Anfield two years ago.

I had a dream the other night that I'd forgotten to post a WLG? last week. It actually woke me up. I need a vacation...To start us off, Jermain Defoe hops on his bike to put ManU temporarily behind.Ajax handyman Jan Vertonghen blisters a free kick home to the short side.Bayern Munich's Franck Ribéry, however, prefers to go far corner.

Sneijder was evidently in The Zone back in his Ajax days. By comparison, his best-of reel from Real Madrid are closer in and more on the cheeky side. Yet this is an index of the quality in store for Internazionale.

At Inter now, Mourinho was looking for a trequartista, but Sneijder brings also a discerning nose for goal.

Even non-news is news to the Dutch fans, isn't it :-) ? Anyway, a nice little titbit. In the game against Japan, Van Marwijk used eleven players who all come from different clubs! Normally, it was a bunch of Ajax blokes, paired with some Feyenoord lads. We've seen the AC Milan trio, the Barca

Contrary to rumours, Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has not sustained an injury on international duty with Belgium. The summer signing from Ajax was rumoured to be out of Wednesday's clash with Armenia, but the 23-year-old is actually one of many Belgian stars who is suspended for the game.

Una vergüenza. Una verdadera vergüenza fue la actuación de la Selección Argentina hoy ante Paraguay, en donde el conjunto de Diego Armando Maradona perdió por 1 a 0, con gol de Haedo Valdez.

Vayamos tomando nota: el 14 y el 18 de noviembre se juegan los partidos por el repechaje.

The above chipped beauty by a 40 year old Dennis Bergkamp, while playing for "Ajax Seniors" has been a minor internet revelation. And rightly so. It's a reminder of what an incredible talent Bergkamp was, and also a confirmation of the old motto: "Class is permanent". Bergkamp's bit of genius got me thinking.

Playing in a game with Ajax's senior side, Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp shows he still knows how to "put it in".

Stanley Menzo (45) was the ideal goalie for Ajax. Fast, courageous and with good feet-skills. The former Ajax, PSV and Lierse player did have the bad luck to be born in the Van Breukelen era, and when Menzo finally got a chance on a break, one Edwin van der Sar

Babels latest outburst is that he feels that Rafa has broken promises to give him more playing time, and he now wants to go out on loan to Ajax.
It's disappointing that Babel doesn't realise that he's responsible for his own actions, and that Rafa has been exceptionally patient with him. It's his own fault that he has repeatedly failed to take the opportunities given to him.

Not this again:

• Fabregas to Barcelona move in December?
  
• Chelsea is making Anelka mad.
  
• Babel wants an Ajax return.
  
• Gunners duo sign new deals.
  
• Ashley Cole pens new Blues deal.
  
• No Real Madrid deal, says Ribery.
  
• Zaki not returning to EPL?

Dirk Kuyt believes Ryan Babel is happy at Liverpool and is backing him to become a first-team regular.
The Dutch winger was quoted on Wednesday as being open to the prospect of securing a loan switch to former club Ajax during the January transfer window.
The 22-year-old is said to have grown disillusioned at a lack of opportunities at Anfield, with his World Cup aspirations weighing heavy on his mind.

Futbol muhabbetlerinin en saçma ve en çok sorulan sorusu Arjantin-Brezilya maçı nedeniyle tekrardan akıllara düştü. Maradona mı Pele mi? Bana çok saçma ve içinde haksızlık barındıran bir soru öbeği olarak gelmiştir her zaman! Bana göre bu soru Pele mi Cruyff mu ya da Maradona mı Cruyff mu şeklinde olmalıydı.

How does one go about measuring greatness in football? I mean real, obvious, blatant greatness; that rarest of qualities. Today "greatness" is such a woolly, over-used term that sometimes we lose its meaning and start labeling all sorts of mundane, workaday things as "great". The evolution of language has distilled its meaning, reduced its potency, but we still know greatness when we see it.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has challenged troubled stars Ryan Babel and Albert Riera to prove they have a Liverpool future.
The pair have both expressed a disappointment that they have not had more chances to impress in the first team this season.
Babel has openly questioned the Liverpool manager's selection decisions, and suggested he wants to go on loan to Ajax in January to improve his chances of playing for Holland in the World Cup finals next summer.

Benitez makes it very clear to this pair that they both have plenty to prove.

Babel has revealed he would be interested in a loan move to Ajax when the transfer window reopens in January, while Riera made only his first start of the campaign at Bolton last weekend.

Benitez insists both players will get chances to shine over the coming months and that it will then be down to them to seize the opportunities which come their way.

Ajax coach Martin Jol has taken the time to react to the rumours linking the Amsterdam side with a loan move for Dutch international Ryan Babel from Liverpool in the upcoming winter transfer window.
The 22-year-old recently expressed his desire to play regular first team football and told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that he considers returning to Ajax on a temporary basis.

Martin Jol believes Ryan loan option would be a good one.

AJAX coach Martin Jol has opened the door for a January loan move for Liverpool winger Ryan Babel.

Outspoken Babel has made no secret of his frustration at life on the fringes at Anfield this season.

Yes the USA is very close to qualifying for the 2010 World Cup for next summer and this coming October there will be two more matches remaining for the Nats when they visit Honduras on the 10th & home against Costa Rica on the 14th. Once the official word comes from FIFA that our boys have qualified for South Africa then we can watch the World Cup Draw this coming December 5th.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is to hold talks with Ryan Babel, but maintains that he will not allow the winger to leave on loan.
Babel is disappointed at a lack of first-team opportunities this season and has claimed summer guarantees from his club boss have not been kept.
A loan return to Ajax was hinted as a possibility, and it remains an option for the future, as the Holland ace wants to reinforce his place for the 2010 World Cup.

Hello all, this post is just a follow up to the previous one. It really was a strange game yesterday. Moments when Arsenal are two nil down in a game are rare. And that percentage is further reduced when you throw in the phrase, "two nil down within the first 5 minutes". Obviously like every Gunner out there I was stunned.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed the first time he showed interest in Thomas Vermaelen was when Ajax faced Arsenal in the 2007 Amsterdam Tournament.

On that particular day and on the Belgian International, the Frenchman said:

I loved that. We watched him from that moment on.

A week ago I said that Rafael Benitez will have been looking for more of his side other that Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to join Yossi Benayoun as match-winners but the Liverpool manager will still be delighted with his star striker's two-goal blast at West Ham.
It's not like the Spanish international has been struggling in front of goal so far this season – he netted in three consecutive Premier League games against Stoke, Aston Villa and Bolton last month – but his brace at Upton Park signalled a return to the kind of devastating form he is capable of.

We recommend minute by minute (kind of) updates from the Guardian here. Alternatively you can watch that twat on Sky Sports News who sits there with 10 mobile phones pretending people are calling him and he knows what's going on.

We'll review the major moves come tomorrow - here are those confirmed so far.

It's crunch time for the talented Dutchman.

Liverpool winger Ryan Babel admits he may have to consider a loan move to former club Ajax in January to boost his World Cup hopes.

Babel has struggled to make a sustained impact since joining Liverpool from Ajax two years ago and was recently challenged to take his game up a level by manager Rafa Benitez.

photo: Yiorgos Karahalis | Reuters

Dutch international right back, Johnny Heitinga, has accepted a transfer from Atletico Madrid to Everton, completing a physical just under the transfer window deadline which closed at 5pm yesterday.

It's a loss for Atleti and a serious loss for the Champions League competition (Everton, though, is in the Europa League).

Has there been a more frustrating player at Liverpool in recent years than Ryan Babel? Some may throw another name out there -- but I'm fairly certain most would agree that Babel has been a complete flop since he came over from Ajax as the next great Dutch hope.

With his time on the pitch (and the bench, for that matter) dwindling, Babel spoke out to a local Dutch paper about what he claims to be promises that weren't kept.

Ryan Babel had been touted as one of the most exciting prospects in Europe when he made a switch from Ajax to Liverpool but his career has since taken the wrong turn. The player himself has to take part of the blame for this because he never really repeat the performances from his time at Ajax, but in all fairness I have to say Rafa Benitez never really gave him a real chance to shine.

Big losses to Spurs and Villa are not what Rafa Benitez had in mind when the season began. The pundits were pegging Liverpool to win the Premiership. The stuttering start has taken its toll and there are rumours that the Reds dressing room atmosphere is less salubrious nowadays.

Rafa had gotten into a well publicized spat before with Steven Gerrard who looked like a shadow of himself in the Spurs match but it is Ryan Babel who is getting the business end of the stick and was singled out for the team's pathetic display.

Liverpool's Ryan Babel has thrown his Anfield future into question by claiming Reds boss Rafa Benitez has broken promises made to the Dutchman about increased first-team involvement.
Babel has not started a match since a poor performance in the opening day defeat at Spurs and his most recent comments indicate his hope for a loan move back to his previous club Ajax in January as well as his belief he has been let down by Benitez, saying "There have been a lot of things promised, but they haven't been followed up.

Rafa Benitez has dismissed any talk of Ryan Babel leaving Liverpool in the January transfer window to join Ajax on loan and called on the striker to prove himself at Anfield.
Babel has expressed a desire to return to Holland in order to improve his hopes of making the Dutch World Cup squad but Benitez maintained his international place could be secured while playing for the Reds.

Que orgullo siento escuchar que, el equipo al que le voy es nombrado Equipo del Siglo XX(a pesar del dolor de muchos hinchas contrarios) .

Y es que La Federación Internacional de Historia y Estadística de Futbol nombró al Real Madrid como el mejor club del Siglo XX, dejando por debajo a equipos como Juventus, Barcelona, Milán etc.

Los Blancos. Los Galaticos. Call them whatever you like. Real Madrid was named the best club of the 20th century recently by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).
This based on performances in competitions like the Champions League and the UEFA Cup, as well as some other mysteriously unknown factors.

Preview: Why England Lose by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski
Did you know Arsene Wenger has a master's degree in economics? And what has he learnt from it? Don't buy old players, buy in them their early 20s and sell them as soon as someone offers more than you think they are worth.
Another insightfull take from the Australian Financial Review:

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