NSC pal Bryan Zygo was using pretty good logic when he guessed that Stuart Holden's impending New Year's Day appearance on Good Morning America meant that the U.S. midfielder would re-sign with the Houston Dynamo.However, it appears that Holden will be making a different announcement, delaying his decision while he auditions for Burnley manager Owan Coyle.

Hi all! Happy New Year etc etc.
dN
Just 2 things to report, and they are both interesting items:
Stuart Holden has accepted a deal for a tryout at Burnley in England. Curious that he could not just get a straight out deal even on a free transfer. Fox Houston talks to Dynamo COO Chris Canetti who confirms it.

does rafa wants to make sure that adam sandler can play against us?

It's a conspiracy! The voice of a thousand Spurs fans around the country shout at once at the news that Liverpool are moving to postpone Sunday's game because there's a bit of snow around the ground. Whilst it's not necessarily the fact that if we had beat them they'd pretty much be done like a Christmas turkey; there's also the fact that the arrival of Maxi Rodriguez is imminent at Anfield, but maybe not quite in time for the showdown.

Snow may have wiped out football across the Premier League yesterday, but there are still millions in the United States this weekend who will sit back, relax, and watch that other football.
While the NFL has rarely, if ever, made an appearance on this blog - one major distinction that does draw me to the league for a few short weeks in January is the unpredictability of the single knockout playoff format.

John O'Shea hasn't played for United since our 1-0 defeat against Chelsea at the beginning of November.

Sir Alex Ferguson has today confirmed that will probably have been his last appearance of the season.

"He's got a terrible injury at the moment," Ferguson said. "It's one of those sorts of injuries that are unusual.

Stuart Holden was on the New Year's Day edition of Good Morning America today, giving away some World Cup 2010 jackets for the show's coat drive and generally being Stu. This is officially his umpteenth appearance in Manhattan in the past month and I'm guessing he could have sublet an apartment in SoHo for the price of all the hotels he's probably stayed at.

Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy appears to be on his way out of the Santiago Bernabeu after Real Madrid have told the attacker that he will be allowed to leave in the winter transfer window.
The 33-year-old is finding regular first team football hard to come by at Los Merengues and has made only one league appearance for Real Madrid this term, scoring once.

David Beckham was turned down for a appearance on The Simpsons because producers thought he wasn't famous enough......

UPDATE: According to Colin Tattum at the Birmingham Mail, Birmingham are set to hold talks with trialist Giles Barnes, Boss Alex McLeish said,

"Giles is still training with us. We haven't seen him yet in a game.

Although he was in the line-up for Inter's 1-0 win over Chievo earlier today, it seems as though that was to be Patrick Vieira's final appearance in a Nerazzurri shirt. So says Jose Mourinho:

"I don't know where he will go, maybe to England which he likes a lot, but we should thank him for what he has done in these years at Inter.

He's back. Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will make his long-awaited comeback on Sunday, at the Reebok, against Bolton. The Spaniard's last appearance for the Gunners was the wonderful display in the second half against Aston Villa, after ...

He's back. Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will make his long-awaited comeback on Sunday, at the Reebok, against Bolton. The Spaniard's last appearance for the Gunners was the wonderful display in the second half against Aston Villa, after ...

The Australian football shirts are very popular shirt, probably due to a number of their top players playing in the top leagues around the world like the Premiership and Serie A. Football isn't the biggest sport in Australia which probably explains why their appearance at the 2010 World Cup is ...

A Thai Port reserve side we beaten 2-1 at PAT Stadium by Chainat FC of Division 2 North. Port's goal was scored by Pana Karnachansomsak, a recent signing from Thai Air Force.
The Thai Port starting line up was made up of 7 youth team players and 4 fringe players - Jetsada Phulek, Artorn Sai-Ngam, Pana Karnachansomsak and Wallop Saejiu.

When the word longevity is uttered in football conversation, images of Paolo Maldini and Ryan Giggs are probably the first to be conjured. But for 18 top-flight years, Gary Speed plied his trade at the highest level of English football, earning himself a reputation as one of the Premier League's most consistent performers and one of the game's model professionals, as well as setting the goal and appearance benchmarks for Welsh compatriot Giggs to reach.

1. First off, a studio recap
2. A-Hop talks with the Don
3. Sam Dalembert appearance

... appear like they have lost an old friend. Found them again. But found that they have changed to someone almost unrecognisable except for their appearance.
It is somewhat strange to read the forums like the comments pages on Four Four Two to see 5 pages of fans trying to express how they feel about the club and its decision making.

Peter Lovenkrands, whose father died last Friday, is in the starting line-up tonight for Newcastle's crucial encounter with WBA. Lovenkrands partners Shola Ameobi in attack with a midfield four of Danny Guthrie, skipper Alan Smith, top scorer Kevin Nolan and Jonas Gutierrez, and this is probably Newcastle's strongest side on current form.

The Fire announced this afternoon that midfielder Julio Martinez will join the club on loan from Mexican second division side Club Leon FC. Martinez, who played for Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos on the El Salvadoran National Team, for which he has scored two goals in ten appearances.

Skysports.com understands Liverpool starlet Damien Plessis could be set for a move away from Anfield before the close of the transfer window.
A mystery Italian club is thought to be keen on signing the highly-rated 21-year-old.
The French midfielder has found himself well down the pecking order this season, making just one appearance in the Carling Cup against Arsenal.

So here we are, just over half-way through the campaign, and things are spicing up nicely. With the Manchester derby suddenly taking on some meaning and the top four's inconsistency maintaining a wide-open fixture schedule every week. With intriguing races developing for the title, Champions League berths, european places and the relegation spaces, this season is a real treat for the neutral.

So here we are, just over half-way through the campaign, and things are spicing up nicely. With the Manchester derby suddenly taking on some meaning and the top four's inconsistency maintaining a wide-open fixture schedule every week. With intriguing races developing for the title, Champions League berths, european places and the relegation spaces, this season is a real treat for the neutral.

1. Bornstein's goal against Costa Rica will be mentioned a total of seven times. The highlights will be shown in both the pre-game and half time specials.
Although the goal definitely came up, it wasn't the hot topic of conversation I thought it would be. I was counting on this one as a gimme.

The players quake in their boots. It's the half-term report. This weekend was the 19th game of the season, which makes it the official half-way point. Appearance of cast in order of 'surprise' factor.

Man Utd 3 1 Man City (agg 4 3)

Manchester United once again proved that class is permanent with a convincing 3-1 win in a fiercely contested semi-final derby.

Wayne Rooney headed home an injury-time winner which saw the red half of Manchester into the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa after a pulsating second leg at Old Trafford.

Ghana are through to their first Africa Nations Cup final appearance since 1992 following their 1-0 win over Nigeria earlier today. Striker Asamoah Gyan's near-post header put the Black Stars ahead on 21 minutes. Ghana were able to maintain their lead as goalkeeper Richard Kingson and his defence thwarted multiple Nigerian attacks during the second half of [.

The Philadelphia Union has announced the signing of U.S. youth international defender Michael Orozco on loan from San Luis FC of the Mexican first division. In order to make the signing, Philadelphia needed to move up to the #1 spot in the MLS allocation order; they accomplished this by arranging a trade with the team that held the coveted spot, the New York Red Bulls.

Skysports.com understands Liverpool have rejected a new bid from Birmingham for Ryan Babel.
The Blues have been tracking the Reds winger since the opening of the January transfer window but saw a reported £9 million bid rebuffed by the Merseyside giants at the start of the month.
Liverpool chief Rafael Benitez claimed Babel still had an integral to play at Anfield, but the 23-year-old has made just one substitute appearance since City's offer.