Before the Arsenal-Tottenham game:
Tabloid hack 1: Oi... you heard about this?
Tabloid hack 2: What's that?
1: Robbie Keane. The fool. He's only gone and said that Spurs are better than Arsenal and will definitely take their top four spot this season, hasn't he? Click to continue reading...

This was a blatant dive. The clip above makes it look like a dive and it is the most forgiving angle. From the side one can clearly see Fletcher throwing himself down before any contact is made and the contact that is made is microscopic to say the least. The ref got it spot on and booked Fletcher for his gamesmanship. Click to continue reading...

"I lost sight of the official ball and stayed on the red one. I went for the red ball instinctively as it was the closest to me and the other went past me."
Pepe Reina on THAT beach ball.

"You have to say he was right on the spot and kept up with play well."
Mischievous Mark Hughes praises Alan Wiley's handling of the Wigan-Man City game, following Sir Alex Ferguson's comments that the official was too unfit. Click to continue reading...

On Monday, it was revealed by our sister site EPL Talk that the legendary Martin Tyler of Sky Sports will be joining ESPN for next summer's World Cup as the lead announcer. While I have nothing personally against Tyler (In fact, I like his style, and have seen him present two matches this weekend, since I am currently in India and here the Sky or TWI feed is given for every live match.

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Another away match, another defeat. Overall, in losing to a good Aston Villa side, Chelsea didn't actually put in a bad performance. But errors both in defence and attack, and a worrying lack of leadership from Ancelotti, were enough to get me concerned.
Even in deserved defeat, there were some positives.

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Another away match, another defeat. Overall, in losing to a good Aston Villa side, Chelsea didn't actually put in a bad performance. But errors both in defence and attack, and a worrying lack of leadership from Ancelotti, were enough to get me concerned.
Even in deserved defeat, there were some positives.

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Martin Tyler has joined ESPN's 2010 World Cup team as the main commentator, according to Sports Illustrated.

EPL Talk speculated back in July that ESPN were interested in acquiring Tyler. And now, according to SI, they expect ESPN to make a formal announcement this week.

Without a doubt, Tyler is by far the number one football commentator in the world and it's an incredible achievement for ESPN to acquire his talent.

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American soccer fans looking forward to watching the 2010 World Cup will have a familiar voice calling World Cup matches on ESPN.

Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch is reporting that ESPN is set to hire English broadcaster Martin Tyler as lead play-by-play announcer for the 2010 World Cup.

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American soccer fans looking forward to watching the 2010 World Cup will have a familiar voice calling World Cup matches on ESPN.

Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch is reporting that ESPN is set to hire English broadcaster Martin Tyler as lead play-by-play announcer for American broadcasts of� the 2010 World Cup.

Click to continue reading...

Down the years, in whatever league you care to mention, top flight referees have always been the stuff of thousands of column inches and hours of Andy Gray type post match analysis, giving rise to all kinds of misguided conspiracy theories. In recent weeks, the huge talking points have both directly and indirectly involved dear old [. Click to continue reading...

EA Sports has recently released FIFA 10 in Europe while the American version is set to be released on Tuesday, October 20, 2009. I recently received my review copy from EA and have played it for several hours. For those who played FIFA 09, the newest version is very similiar. Here's the full review of the USA version of FIFA 10 (for the Playstation 3).

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Hi Guys, I'm here with my first post. I'm going to be doing a weekly post on the reasons why I love the beautiful game so much. This week I will be starting, ironically, with last gasp goals.

It doesn't matter how they are scored, whether it's a tap in like Aaron Lennon in last seasons dramatic 4-4 in the North London Derby� and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer winning the treble at the Camp Nou, or beautifully crafted like Beckham lighting up Old Trafford once again to send England to the 2002 World Cup and Gerrard smashing home against Olympiakos in the 86th minute, giving them the 2-goal lead they needed to progress past the group stage of the 2004 Champion's League, a competition they would go on to win.

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from exile he came from the wilderness unto the people; and the saw that he was good!!? really? ok then.

Safe to say that out of our squad of assorted rapscallions and roustabouts; Gareth and Heurelho have been at the frontline of the barrage of media criticism, much to the delight of more lack lustre contributors, (mentioning no names).

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Okay, lets try and be rational here. I'll tell you a little story.
Fifteen months ago, Arsenal also went to play at Old Trafford in a League game. Except this game was even more important. Arsenal lost 2-1 that day and United were champions. The table at the end of the season read United 86, Chelsea 84, Arsenal 82. Click to continue reading...

"He's impossible to reach. It's easier to speak with Barack Obama than with Leo."
Argentina coach Diego Maradona on the difficulty of tracking down Lionel Messi.

"The management are doing well to keep us away from the media."
Manchester City's Gareth Barry....being interviewed on Sky Sports. Click to continue reading...

It should come as no surprise that the expert pundits are divided on who is likely to win the Premier League title this season, however the general consensus is the accepted top four will not change with United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal all finishing in the Champions League positions next May, in fact Sky's Andy Gray is so confident that he'd wager £1,000 on that outcome. Click to continue reading...

Sky Sports pundit Andy Gray revealed he is impressed by the Gunner's offensive power but questions should be asked on the backline ahead of Saturday's Premiership kick-off.

He told Sky Sports:

I know what I am going to see from Arsenal this season. A fantastic brand of football and when they go forward, they are as good as some of the best in the country.

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As a young star-struck kid, like most of my peers, my unswerving ambition was to meet some of my heroes (all footballers needless to say), get an autograph... a photograph even, and become the envy of my football crazy mates.

It never actually happened though! My being in Dublin and my heroes hanging-out in Manchester didn't help and, in truth, I never actually had a cohesive strategy.

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Andy Gray: "For the first time in the last ten years, I think this is the best opportunity Liverpool have of winning it [the Premier League title]. I really mean that."
So that is Reason Number 1...
When a shady talking head with links to a bookmaking organisation tells you to Buy A, contrarian Reality suggests that a Sell of A might be more in your interest. Click to continue reading...

In the midst of transfer rumours and speculation, I decided to have a look back at last season and personal highlights and disappointments.

Best Goal of the Season

This season has seen some memorable goals, some of individual brilliance, others of combination play.

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They Think It's All Over... presents a visual review of Everton's freshly launched home kit for the upcoming '09/'10 season. Click to continue reading...

It's reached the end of the season folks and so I decided to pick my top goals of the season! After much deliberation what follows are ten goals, that I'm my own humble opinion have been the best.

So cue up the Lightning Seeds music (why don't Match of the Day use that song anymore) and sit back and relive some top strikes English and European competition in 2008-09.

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Sky Sports analyst Andy Gray writes a great article about what separated Manchester United from the pack this season, en route to their 3rd straight English Premier League Championship.
Sir Alex Ferguson's ability to maintain a high level of expectations and demands on his players was a key component for their success. Click to continue reading...

Now I don't mean to rip off the idea Dexy, but this whole best XI business somehow got my mind racing. It got me thinking about those past and present who have been our eyes, ears and experts on the game, and just what we think about them. Who do we appreciate (see below) and who are best forgotten (see David Pleat, Mark Lawrenson, John Barnes, etc.

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It became one of Everton football club's most iconic kits thanks to the fantastic achievements of the players who wore it. Now for Everton's new strip for the 2009/10 season the club has decided to re-create their famous shirt from 1983-5 to mark the 25th anniversary of their most successful season.
The kit will be again made by Le Coq Sportif and just like the 1983-85 shirt will feature a distinctive white V-neck. Click to continue reading...

Here's more information about a poll to select the best Arsenal home shirt from the past 30 years. Plus, plenty of other football-related news. Enjoy.

• Vote For The Best Arsenal Home Shirt: 1969-Present. Whether you're a Gunners fan or not, take a couple of minutes and vote for your favorite Arsenal home jersey from the past 30 years.

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After all the fuss has died down

A special place is reserved for people like Tom Henning Ovrebo. Just like Anders Frisk, Graham Poll, Robert Mugabe, and Osama Bin Laden before him, Tom has achieved household name status and established himself on Interpol's top ten most wanted overnight.

The witch hunt began to take shape in the Sky Sports studio last Wednesday night.

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Sky Sports analyst Andy Gray writes in depth about where he thinks both Arsenal and Chelsea go from here after their defeats in the UEFA Champions League this past week.
It certainly seems that Chelsea will be more in flux, as they are in the position where they are going to have to initially address the hiring of a new manager - Guus Hiddink has committed to return to Russia at the end of the season - and look at infusing a youth movement in a team that has aged over the past 5 years. Click to continue reading...

Deary deary me. Did you see Mr Drogba the other night? Screaming and shouting abuse at the poor camera. I thought I'd tuned in to a Gordon Ramsey show!
I have to say I agree with Drogba though, it was a disgrace. It was disgraceful the way he kept rolling around the floor like he had been shot by a sniper. Click to continue reading...

More images of Everton's new home shirt for the 2009-10 season have been revealed. Designed and manufactured by Le Coq Sportif, the new home shirt is a tribute to the famous Le Coq Sportif shirt worn by Everton between 1983-85 when Everton won the FA Cup, First Division title and European Cup Winners Cup trophy.

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Something a bit different today: a guest columnist. Here is Russ and his thoughts:
You may not realise it but these are the groups into which every single winner of the PFA Player of the Year Award can be easily placed. Some actually fall into two camps. Consider Kevin Keegan (winner in 1982) as a clear example. Click to continue reading...

We're not too far away from a European place.� I don't know whether qualifying for Europe would be harmful or not, but I do know that it would be a lot of fun.

Here are teams of similar stature to us who have finished 7th or above in football's Richard Keys and Andy Gray era of utmost importance.

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I'm back! Did you miss me? (don't answer that). Where was I? All over Italy, that's where, on an Easter-themed holiday.
I managed to avoid the beautiful game for most of my week, although I did convince my gf to nip into an Irish theme pub in Roma (sad but true), with the intention of watching Lazio play Roma in the capital's derby. Click to continue reading...

There's no better way to describe Federico Macheda's injury-time winner for Manchester United today than how Andy Gray did.

"Take a bow son."

Feel free to leave your thoughts on today's match by leaving a comment below.

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I'm excited, are you excited? Premier League football is back and we don't have to wait as long as others thanks to Saturdays 12:45 kick-off. I'll be tucking into my breakfast around that time. Mug of tea in one hand and face stuffed with egg, bacon and toast. The good life. Andy Gray commentating would complete me. Click to continue reading...