Phil Schoen was nice enough to give the Brotherly Game some of his time about a week and a half ago. The GolTV play-by-play announcer discussed plenty of topics with the Brotherly Game, some of which included the Philadelphia Union.

Interview with Phil Schoen of GolTV

Here are some highlights of the chat:

• Schoen's time with GolTV, along with his coverage of Colombian soccer, has enabled him to have a more advanced take on players from South and Central America.

Historically, battles for bridges have often defined the context and eventual outcomes of war. Severing the connectivity between two groups of the opposing army, or preventing further advances over an otherwise insurmountable barrier usually seemed like a good way to gain an advantage for the longer term.

DPM Teo Chee Hean (fifth from left at back row) graced the fixture draw in MBS (Picture credit: FAS)

I'm not mean to dampen the mood of everyone here, but I guess many of you out there must be disappointed by this time of the day when we are only made known of the opening round instead of the FULL fixture list of this season S.

The African Cup of Nations' effect on Arsenal sums up the slightly oddball line-up for this year's tournament. That Alexandre Song could line out against Swansea was a huge boost (at least until his somewhat floundering performance on the day). That Marouane Chamakh could not was... well... a huge boost too.

On Sunday, January 22, 2012, Manchester United will take the pitch against Arsenal at the Emirates. Cognizant of the simple fact that Manchester United handed Arsenal an 8-2 loss that is counted amongst the very worst in a period of 100 years, no one is giving much reason to believe that the Gunners have a chance against the Red Devils.

This really shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but the Seattle Sounders are close to hiring Kasey Keller to be their color commentator for the 2012 MLS season, according to Joshua Mayers. A color commentator spot seemed to be Keller's most likely role with the team ever since he retired and made it clear that he he hoped to remain with the Sounders in some capacity.

We should win.

Aston Villa
League Position: 10th, 16P, 4W, 7D, 5L, 18GF, 21GA, -3GD, 19pts
Home Form: 8W, 3W, 2D, 3L, 10GF, 9GA, +1GD
Last Meeting: Arsenal 1-2 Aston Villa (May, 2011)

Tomorrow we travel to Villa Park, the site of an Aston Villa team that has been mediocre in every sense of the word this season.

Self-confidence, it would seem, is something Alex Ferguson has never lacked. Full of ambition, the Scot declared in his first programme notes as Manchester United manager: "I am not really interested in what has happened here in the past. I don't mean any disrespect to the great achievements of Manchester United over the years.

Self-confidence, it would seem, is something Alex Ferguson has never lacked. Full of ambition, the Scot declared in his first programme notes as Manchester United manager: "I am not really interested in what has happened here in the past. I don't mean any disrespect to the great achievements of Manchester United over the years.

Still battling that PR campaign which involves ridding the public of the idea that Turkish football is an abode of corruption and fan violence and a place where Felipe Melo celebrates things, they've gone one better from the "women and children only as punishment" for crowd misbehavior. So impressed were they by the atmosphere created by a soprano-heavy crowd, they've decided to allow them in for free.

If there is one image that defines the revival that Arsenal are about to embark on, it's this one:

There were many positives to take from our dispatching of Bolton Wanderers on Saturday but, for me, this was the one that really counted.

Robin van Persie, mobbed by a herd of Bolton spongiforms, didn't give an inch.

By Alan Duffy

Sunderland 1-2 Chelsea Premier League September 10 2011

With Ghana star Asamoah Gyan upping sticks for oil money in the Middle East, Sunderland boss Steve Bruce looked to new loan signing Nicklas Bendtner to lead the line against a powerful Chelsea side.

For our very last Non-League Day related story, David Bauckham travelled up to Middlesex for the Ryman League Premier Division match between Wealdstone and Bury Town.

I was once asked by someone to explain this "football pyramid thing" that I kept banging on about and it was only then, as a follower of non-League football for many years, that it dawned on me that there are many football fans out there who have little or no idea that the Pyramid even exists, let alone what it is all about.

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has spoken out about England's failures in major tournaments over the last few years.

Neville himself was involved in many disappointments for the national team and he has revealed that even Sir Alex Ferguson couldn't have helped England win major silverware.

The latest Italian edition of GQ magazine has an extensive article on Eric Abidal and his fight against liver cancer. He has the scar as a reminder to those days in January when he was first diagnosed with the life threatening condition which kept him out of the sport as he underwent surgery and chemotherapy.

I wrote a guest post as part of 80′s month at the Equaliser. My topic of choice? The much-maligned NASL. And its end. While I tried to balance the emotional aspect with the business side, I focused more on accounting practices. Try not to yawn too close to your computer you may hurt its feelings.

Marcos Alonso shocked the Bolton Wanderers world when he returned to not only Twitter but training as well. Many fans believe that in no way should Alonso be allowed to put our white kit back on. I'm here to once again play Devil's Advocate and tell you why we shouldn't yet give up on the young left back.

An early one today as Brainy Joe here foolishly agreed to a 5-a-side tournament at 10am on a Sunday morning. A Sunday morning after being out the night before. Still, this feels like familiar ground for some reason.

Rounding up what's going on this Sunday in breakneck fashion. We'll start with The Mirror and something positive before we head into the 'Christ, they're all gonna leave' stuff.

"No more half measures, Walter." -- Mike "the Cleaner", "Breaking Bad."Is "Breaking Bad" the television equivalent of the Spanish National Team?Does that mean Walter White is the erstwhile Xavi of the idiot box?More importantly, is this another strained pop-culture crossover analogy by your humble author to start off a post about something completely different?

What a goldfish I am. Despite an end of season that spent most of its time reeling from one calamity to another, I appear to be hankering for the new one already. When will I ever learn?

To be fair though, some bits and bobs need to happen before I can get genuinely giddy. Namely a scythe cutting through the chaff of the squad, coupled with the club storing the wheat in a silo where nobody can steal it.

High Ladder To Climb is a feature for the Brotherly Game. Current Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL) defender Tyler Ruthven gives readers insight into the life of a player in America's lower tier leagues. His updates will be about his continued quest to make it to MLS. Follow him as he details his day-to-day trials and tribulations based on the life he is able to live through the constraints of his job - and paycheck.

I wrote a piece for SI.com on the Brian Mullan suspension. It's posted here, complete with opinions from players and coaches, thoughts that can hopefully wrap some context and perspective around the whole unpleasant matter.

My personal thoughts:

Was the 10-game suspension harsh?

By Kirsten Schlewitz / Senior West Coast Beer and Aston Villa Correspondent
You know what? It's Thursday, I've got ten days until law school finals start, and I've been drinking for the past three hours. I have little desire to explore the wide range of matches going on this weekend, but I can tell you, there's a multitude.

Situations involving penalty kicks are often similar to situations involving one night stands. One of the parties is usually thrilled whilst the other is full of self loathing and regret, shocked that something like that could happen to them. The analogy could go on but would risk entering into PG-13 territory.

Tuesday night marked the return of the CONCACAF Champions League, with the Columbus Crew - Real Salt Lake tie being the focus of Major League Soccer fans. Ending in a 0-0 draw, it wasn't the most exciting match, but considering that this was the first competitive match either side has played in months, it could of been much worse.

The legal travails and sporting bans handed down to Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir (10 years, five of which are suspended; 7 years, 2 of which are suspended; and 5 years respectively) for spot-fixing seems lenient although the ICC has no doubt gone for their standard 'justice being seen to be done' template rather than justice actually being done.

Anybody with a rudimentary knowledge of William Golding's excellent novel 'The Lord of the Flies' will know that initially at least the person that holds the conch has the right to speech. It feels like a good analogy, as now Forest have loaned Konchesky for 93 days we have addressed the imbalance in our side since Ryan Bertrand's loan from Chelsea ended [.

One was pushed, one jumped. Both were idiots and their archaic chauvinism wore out a long time ago. Thankfully, that is the end of them.

On the pitch however, Dimitar Berbatov showed just how much he has adapted to his new, adopted home country by going out binging. The Bulgarian obviously likes to wallow around biding his time and then goes crazy, unleashing himself on whoever happens to be there at the time.

Herculez Gomez for Pachuca...

I had the hardest time coming up with angle for our in-depth conversation with Herculez Gomez below and then I chuckled. In the interview, Herculez and I "debate" what player his game is most like. I suggesting Salomon Kalou and that's not really a great one. He suggesting.

If you're like me than occasionally you get jaded by players who don't give their all.

Players will often say, "I'm my worst critic."

And that's true for a player who cares.

Was it ever, "What could have been for RH at Liverpool?"

But for players like let's say Erick Dampier in the NBA or Roque Santa Cruz or Emmanuel Adebayor in the EPL it's easy to see when they jog back in to place after a restart or are seen huffing and puffing in a game played at a high tempo that there is a very big "ME" in their "T-E-A-M.