Andriy Shevchenko and his wifey with the killer pins, Kristen, take a break on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's yacht. Didn't you get an invite?

Top of the flops 1. Massimo Maccarone to Middlesbrough for £8.15m (2002) A Teeside transfer record at the time, 18 goals in four years was by no means a rewarding return for chairman Steve Gibson. Massimo did manage some payback a few years on as he will be remembered largely for the brace he bagged [.

By Chris Wright

In which, after scoring in Dynamo Kiev's 1-1 draw with Metalist last night, Andriy Shevchenko did his bit as a bona fide club legend by saving a pitch-invading Dynamo fan from being carted off by the stadium officials, giving the lad his sweaty shirt in the process.

Liverpool have officially announced an agreement with Andy Carrol for £35m (€41m) plus bonuses. Deep breath.

To put this in perspective, he's now the 18th most expensive outlay in the history of football, just between Ballon d'Or winner Pavel Nedved and World Cup winner David Villa. That's a good place for Carroll's 14 top-flight goals, solitary international cap and the big bread winner, his English birth certificate.

When it was officially announced that Fernando Torres had joined Chelsea on deadline day in January, it was a move that was supposed to improve the stagnating West London club and boost their chances of winning the Champions League. A British record £50m move from Liverpool added to the already high expectations of Roman Abramovich and the Chelsea faithful where the goals were anticipated to flow freely from the Spaniard.

When it was officially announced that Fernando Torres had joined Chelsea on deadline day in January, it was a move that was supposed to improve the stagnating West London club and boost their chances of winning the Champions League. A British record £50m move from Liverpool added to the already high expectations of Roman Abramovich and the Chelsea faithful where the goals were anticipated to flow freely from the Spaniard.

Image: Zimbio.

Footballers' wives and/or girlfriends stole this Bank Holiday/Memorial Day extended weekend show not that you probably weren't already up-to-date on this trend seeing how late we're posting today's Weekend Gossip short list.

"A" for us making an effort in Armani at the office today?

In the aftermath of a very busy transfer dash yesterday and the British Record signing of Fernando Torres from Liverpool to Chelsea, we look at the Top 5 most expensive flops of the EPL, proving to us all that sometimes money can't buy you quality in the transfer market.

As things stand today, Barcelona is the cream of football's crop and Andriy Shevchenko is winding down his career with a whimper in Kiev, remembered more of recent as a cautionary tale than truly great footballer.

But 1997 was a very, very long time ago. Over the course of two weeks in the fall of '97, Dynamo did a double over Barca, first beating them 3-0 in Ukraine, then waltzing into the Nou Camp, where Sheva would mark his arrival with a first half hat trick as they walked out 4-0 winners.

As things stand today, Barcelona is the cream of football's crop and Andriy Shevchenko is winding down his career with a whimper in Kiev, remembered more of recent as a cautionary tale than truly great footballer.

But 1997 was a very, very long time ago. Over the course of two weeks in the fall of '97, Dynamo did a double over Barca, first beating them 3-0 in Ukraine, then waltzing into the Nou Camp, where Sheva would mark his arrival with a first half hat trick as they walked out 4-0 winners.

Andriy Shevchenko and Oleh Gusev struck as Dynamo Kiev established a two-goal advantage against Manchester City in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie.

Shevchenko showed he has lost none of his predatory sharpness by turning in Andriy Yarmolenko's inviting cross on 25 minutes.

Click here to view the embedded video.

via waatp.

Imagine the scene. You're in the stands, watching Dynamo Kiev play Metalist in the first game of the Ukrainian Premier League season (not an auspicious start, but stay with us), when ex-Chelsea forward and all-round hot booty-boy Andriy Shevchenko scores a goal.

Gone are the days when Milan was home to some of the football's most liked and cherished professionals. The likes of Paolo Maldini, Kaka, Cafu, Andriy Shevchenko and Manuel Rui Costa were all highly respected and talented stars of the game when they plied their trade for the red and black of Milan. These players [.

Rumours are rife that Andriy Shevchenko could make a sensational return to Stamford Bridge as part of the coaching staff or backroom team as Roman Abramovich continues to shake things up to freshen things up at the club.
Sheva has strong links with both Abramovich and Carlo Ancelotti and is seen as an ideal person to bring into the club.

Instead of Besiktas, Dynamo Kiev put a foot in the last 16 of the Europa League as they claimed a comfortable 4-1 win in the first leg match.
Andriy Shevchenko setup and goal and then scored one in his 84-minutes appearance as Dynamo Kiev used a powerful second half to beat Besiktas 4-1 in Europa League action on Thursday.

Instead of Besiktas, Dynamo Kiev put a foot in the last 16 of the Europa League as they claimed a comfortable 4-1 win in the first leg match.
Andriy Shevchenko setup and goal and then scored one in his 84-minutes appearance as Dynamo Kiev used a powerful second half to beat Besiktas 4-1 in Europa League action on Thursday.

Instead of Besiktas, Dynamo Kiev put a foot in the last 16 of the Europa League as they claimed a comfortable 4-1 win in the first leg match.
Andriy Shevchenko setup and goal and then scored one in his 84-minutes appearance as Dynamo Kiev used a powerful second half to beat Besiktas 4-1 in Europa League action on Thursday.

As the footballing sphere bids farewell to one of it's greatest ever patrons, legendary Brazilian forward Ronaldo, we good folk at Soccerlens thought it high time to compile a concise list of our top five 'strikers in world football' with the only stipulation being that any nominee must have played 'up top' and have had been in their prime at some point during the last two decades.

As the footballing sphere bids farewell to one of it's greatest ever patrons, legendary Brazilian forward Ronaldo, we good folk at Soccerlens thought it high time to compile a concise list of our top five 'strikers in world football' with the only stipulation being that any nominee must have played 'up top' and have had been in their prime at some point during the last two decades.

Andriy Shevchenko and Oleh Gusev struck as Dynamo Kiev established a two-goal advantage against Manchester City in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie.

Shevchenko showed he has lost none of his predatory sharpness by turning in Andriy Yarmolenko's inviting cross on 25 minutes.

It was not a good night for English sides in the Europa League as both Liverpool and Manchester lost their last-16 first legs. Braga will take a slender one-goal lead into the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie at Anfield next week after an early penalty from Alan proved enough to see off Liverpool.

Another commercial for Leo.

[101gg]

• Revolution Rooney. (Football Further)
• EFW goes Asian. (EFW)
• Inflatable bananas make everything better. (IBWM)
• A rivalry too far. (Philosofooty)
• Sweden gets a sash. (Football Fashion)
• The future of Celtic.

For months we anxiously waited for an excuse to post this throwback Paolo Maldini picture from 2004 (taken at Macy's in NYC's Herald Square). Unfortunately, though, the circumstances surrounding today's archives publishing are far from selfish.

Yesterday, the former AC Milan star was indicted on charges of corruption and illegally accessing information systems (aka 'spying').

Sheva saves the invader from justice.

[101gg]

• Hope Solo has fans. (KCKRS)
• Rules of football can be yours. (BBC)
• The truth comes out. (The DA)
• The J Team sounds superheroish. (Left Back In The Changing Room)
• Ends of the spectrum in 2011.

Every club makes mistakes, some large ones too such as Juan Sebastian Veron, Andriy Shevchenko, and Jose Antonio Reyes just to name a few. As Spurs fans we've also seen some large transfers go wrong over the years. Names that spring to mind are Sergei Rebrov (£10m), Dean Richards (£8m) and more recently David Bentley (£15m).

Este sábado 30 de julio, la FIFA pone sus pies en Río de Janeiro para sortear los grupos de la eliminatoria de la Copa del Mundo Brasil 2014. Serán 166 las selecciones que conocerán su suerte en una ronda preliminar que ya comenzó el 15 de junio y está programada para terminar el 19 de noviembre de 2013.

By Darshan Joshi

Like Martin Luther King Jr., Roman Abramovich has a dream. Or, rather, he had a dream, which really was less a dream than a looming reality. Problem is, it was ever looming, and it now seems to have passed him by. The Champions League trophy was on Abramovich's horizon for years, yet it turned out to be no more than a mirage, a now long-lost memory of hope forgone.

Ryan Giggs has today been named the winner of the Golden Boot award, which is recognition given to players over the age of 29 who are selected by journalists from all over the world and voted for by fans.

The other nominations for the 2011 award were Gianluigi Buffon, Iker Casillas, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o, Carles Puyol, Raul, Xavi and Javier Zanetti.

I think we all can agree that it's a bit too late to do a recap. Lamb to the slaughter it was and all.

What we can do is drop five things we learned from watching the destruction. After the jump and the epic screencap of Toretto and O'Conner you can check my Fast Five, compiled after watching the match a second time.

Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll illustrate perils of a striker's lot | Paul Hayward

Spain and England left out £85m of misfiring striking talent this week but when a centre-forward is on song it lifts the entire team As any Middlesbrough fan will tell you – just mention Afonso Alves or Massimo Maccarone as prompts – buying the wrong striker is a peculiarly calamitous act that invites external derision and internal angst.

By Chris Wright

Just stumbled across this ethereal snapshot this very morn and felt it was worth passing on, in which we see Chelsea full-back Albert Ferrer meeting Milan's Andriy Shevchenko in a clearing as the San Siro is slowly engulfed by ghostly fog and flare smoke during a Champions League group tie in 1999.

It was October 20, 2004, when Milan welcomed FC Barcelona to the San Siro on match-day three of the Champions League. Much like today, both teams were clearly the best two in their group. Much like today Barcelona sat in first position, Milan were in second. And much like will be today, the team that [.

Hi everyone,
It has been clearly seen that Roman Abramovich is starving for titles and does everything possible to dominate England and Europe. However, things have not been going the way he wishes. Unlike some other clubs, finance is one of the least of worries that the owner has, thanks to his outside business which does not make him shy to spend almost unlimited amount of money with the club.