Harsh words indeed. But after his actions this weekend, his previous comments and previous actions, there is no other conclusion to be made. Read on to find out why...

Gerrard pulled off an outrageous (ly bad) dive against Blackburn on Saturday, in a desperate attempt to haul his flailing Liverpool side away from the mediocre parity they were sharing at Ewood Park.

How long was Didier Drogba on the ball during Chelsea's victory over Arsenal? 50 seconds? And yet he was the most influential player of the match.
Carlo Ancelotti has arrived and we should be impressed.
Searching to close the gap at the top of the table on Chelsea, Arsenal entered Sunday's match versus Chelsea seeking a convincing victory, but they ended as the losing side of a convincing 3-0 victory.

It seems to happen every time, no matter how they do the final draw – there always is a group of death. This is when more big-name contenders are placed in a group than there are places in the knockout rounds.

One Group with Many Favourites

We have seen that previous World Cup draws have almost always thrown up at least one section brimming with pre-tournament favourites, and when after the first phase, is over, one or two of them invariably find themselves packing for home.

By Graig Carbino - ALBANY, NY (Dec 4th, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- Welcome to draw day. I'm on the couch in full-anticipation mode so let's get this thing going already. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is on right now (if you don't like John Hughes then I cant help you), but in about an hour and a half ESPN2 will open up the broadcast window and we'll finally get the groups aligned.

With anticipation building for Friday's World Cup Draw Final Draw, fans of the United States Men's National Team have been handed some bad news in regards to what kind of group the Americans are likely to be drawn into.
FIFA announced the four pots on Tuesday. They are as follows:
Pot 1 - South Africa (hosts), Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain
Pot 2 - Australia, Honduras, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, Mexico, New Zealand, United States
Pot 3 - Algeria, Cameroon, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Paraguay, Uruguay
Pot 4 - Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland
Being paired with the other teams in CONCACAF was no surprise, but by also sharing Pot 2 with the teams from the weaker Asia/Oceania region, this ensures that the U.

The talk of Adem Ljajic has started to gain momentum over the past couple of months, with more videos of his goals floating about the internet, in anticipation for his arrival in January.

"Given all the talk about him and the fact he plays for Serbia's Under 21s even though he's only 18, we hope we will be granted the permit.

Charlize Theron presented the draw that officially started the countdown to South Africa 2010. With 186 days to go until South Africa kick it all off against Mexico on June 11th, the anticipation has started to build as the draw threw up some intriguing groups. Its early days and not ...

The team reports back to Kansas City in six weeks, which amazes me. There truly is no off-season which is great as I know the Wizards are excited to get back on the field after sweating through their rigorous workout packages. In the front office, the biggest difference now than during the season is that here is no set routine, although we are still extremely busy.

By AriesAndrey Arshavin has been speaking about his impressions of the Villa game and as always provided useful insights.He revealed that the only anxiety felt by the Arsenal players prior to the game was not in anticipation of the battle ahead but in trying to find tickets for their friends and relatives!

How long was Didier Drogba on the ball during Chelsea's victory over Arsenal? 50 seconds? And yet he was the most influential player of the match.
Carlo Ancelotti has arrived and we should be impressed.
Searching to close the gap at the top of the table on Chelsea, Arsenal entered Sunday's match versus Chelsea seeking a convincing victory, but they ended as the losing side of a convincing 3-0 victory.

by TRAVIS CLARK

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- While the draw was going on on the other side of town, the true celebration of the 2010 World Cup could be seen at a wild party on Long Street. Set up as part of FIFA's Fan Fest, nothing could match the excitement of more than 100,000 South Africans packed into the Mother City's bar district.

by TRAVIS CLARK

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- While the draw was going on on the other side of town, the true celebration of the 2010 World Cup could be seen at a wild party on Long Street. Set up as part of FIFA's Fan Fest, nothing could match the excitement of more than 100,000 South Africans packed into the Mother City's bar district.

The dust has finally settled on FIFA's World Cup 2010 draw and we now know which teams will play in which groups during the First Round of next year's competition. And it was quite some draw – all of the groups had an interesting angle or a talking point to ignite the excitement and anticipation.
Let's explore that fevered expectancy now as we take a whistle-stop review of the eight groups that will demand our undivided attention in 2010.

I've been avoiding writing about the MLS labor issues as much as I can because, frankly, we've got a long ways to go between now and January 31 and you have to guess that there's one hell of a lot of woofing and huffing that's going to go on before, at 11:59 PM, a deal gets done.
However, yesterday I read an interesting comment from one of BigSoccers' resident pinkos, superdave, which I thought was so eminently germane that I've been mulling it ever since:
Quote: Originally Posted by superdave If we've learned anything in the last year, it's that we don't really punish the risk takers.

Before the Villa game, Chelsea had just drawn 3-3. There was all the motivation for the side to cut their lead from three to zero; separated on goal difference. The anticipation was also high among our lot; after all, we just beat sides by handsome margins with a joke of a defence. Surely the confidence was so high that we might have as well stuck in gardeners and the kitman at the centre of defence and yet manage to squeeze something out of the match.

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has dismissed any claims of a United dip in form, warning his players of a possible backlash from the defending Premier League champions following their defeat at home to Aston Villa.

"People ask is this a good time to catch United on the back of their defeat by Villa," he said.

So I've been at the AYSO thing for a little bit now, and the audience that's been with me from the beginning (see -http://dinamofootball.blogspot.com/2009/04/griffith-park-in-my-car-and-private.html) know's how tough it is to see the team off at the end of the season. This has been my best season - we didn't progress quite as far as the lad's were due, but that's the system - volunteer Dad ref's who know nothing at all about the game, pitching in with guys who played in college, or washed up old never-weres-never-mind-has-beens with a coaching qualification or two :).

I'd like to open up a bit of good old fashioned debate here on EPL Talk concerning the recent exploits of one Mick McCarthy. Tuesday night at Old Trafford saw Manchester United draw level on points with league leaders Chelsea with a 3-0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

You might be thinking, "that doesn't sound out of place".

At this season kicked-off a gale rushed down the M62 all the way to the gates of Old Trafford, causing them to shudder in anticipation. No, it was not an August storm in Manchester but the sharp intake of breath from all Red Devils' fans in the vicinity that caused the disturbance. What would life without Ronaldo amount to and had Fergie taken to big a risk by keeping the £80m in his back-pocket instead of splashing it on a couple of big name replacements?