While the goalkeeper and the striker might be sorted, the rest could be anybody's guess. AVB
said after the Stevenage game that he likes to play ten behind the striker – a good plan when you
only have one forward at the club.
The full backs also pick themselves but there would be a question in the middle.
Breaking news (well 3 hours ago anyway), as reported on Twitter by a BBC Sports journalist Man
United and Arsenal have agreed a fee for the transfer of Robin Van Persie. Van Persie will join
United subject to passing a medical, with the fee apparently in the £24 million region.
Feedback generally from social sites seem to consist of over-joyed Man United fans, surprised
that they've spent so big and got such a talented striker as RVP when perhaps a central midfielder
is more of a priority.
The international break's half done, which is good. But that still means there's a half left to
go, which is rather less good. As always, you can catch all the week's action on the usual
streaming sites—MyP2P, StopStream, First Row Sports, ATDHE, etc.—if your local television
options don't have the match you want covered.
Manchester United fans won't have to wait long to see Robin Van Persie in a Red Devils
uniform.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson said he is confident Van Persie, signed Wednesday on a transfer from
Arsenal, will be cleared and ready to play when United kick off their English Premier League season
Monday against Everton.
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has criticized Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam for a heavy
challenge on Gareth Bale in their goalless pre-season friendly in the United States.
Spurs and Liverpool played out a 0-0 draw at the M&T Bank Stadium, home of NFL franchise the
Baltimore Ravens.
In a game which marked the Liverpool debut of summer signing Fabio Borini, Villas-Boas was critical
of Adam who has previous history with Bale.
As soon as Gareth Bale took to the field to face LA Galaxy in the early hours of yesterday
morning, collective eyebrows were raised at the Welshman's inclusion. Having pulled out of the Team
GB Olympic squad last month, he wasn't expected to play any part in this US tour and his appearance
in the 1-1 draw sparked a chain of controversy.
Name: Erik Thorstvedt In his 1990s prime for: Tottenham Lowdown: Norwegian goalkeeper Thorstvedt
arrived at Spurs in 1989 from Gothenburg, and played in the Premier League until 1996, when he was
forced to retire with a recurring back injury. He played 97 times for his country, including the
number one jersey at the 1994 World [.
When Thierry Henry scored in Madrid in 2005, the ITV commentator, Peter Drury, I think, called
him "the gunner galactico" and since we have now given our record scorer a statue, it seems a fair
representation of his greatness.
In April 2004 I stood in the lower east stand, just over an hour before kickoff.
Two weeks without club football? Check. The potential for the club's most important players to
pick up injuries? Check. All the time in the world to stew over a bad performance leading into the
break? Check. A fully functioning liver? That might depend on how many Liverpool players go to
sleep Tuesday night without having picked up an injury between now and then.
He would've preferred to have 13 players protecting in front of him
International week. Not the easiest of weeks to get by. Especially not after that last result. A
defeat to your most bitter rival is not something that you want to linger in your thoughts. Usually
we'll just have a day or two before to mull over it before the next game.
Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has dismissed suggestions that Tottenham Hotspur have
become North London's stronger side after winning two of the last three derby clashes.
The Spurs came from two goals down to win 3-2 at the Emirates last year and fought the Gunners
to a 3-3 draw at White Hart Lane later in the season before Sunday's showdown once again ended in
their favor.
If you watch the video it was a garden variety clip by Charlie Adam. Cynical yes, but not
unusually so for this day and age. The history is a bit different. Adam while at Blackpool was the
player who tackled Bale causing ankle ligament damage which led to a three month injury absence in
2011.
Tottenham star Gareth Bale opened the scored for his side against MLS side LA Galaxy last night
despite withdrawing from the Team GB squad with an injury. The Wales international pulled out of
Stuart Pearce's Olympic squad with an injury problem... but has now played a friendly for his club
side before the Olympic [.
For those unaware, it was the first leg of the Amway Canadian Championship Final last night,
with Vancouver Whitecaps pulling one back injury time to salvage a late 1-1 draw against Toronto
FC at the BC Palace that 'one' being this sublime slashed volley from Whitecaps' Eric Hassli, a man
who seems to specialise in this kind of thing.
Apparently Robin van Persie suffered a back injury after last night's 2-1 win over Borussia
Dortmund at the Emirates. You can fill in the 'carrying the team' punchlines yourselves.
The Dutchman scored both Arsenal's goals (Shinji Kagawa netting Dortmund's consolation), taking
his tally for the season to 16 and his tally for the calendar year up to 33 in 30 games.
Apparently Robin van Persie suffered a back injury after last night's 2-1 win over Borussia
Dortmund at the Emirates. You can fill in the 'carrying the team' punchlines yourselves.
The Dutchman scored both Arsenal's goals (Shinji Kagawa netting Dortmund's consolation), taking
his tally for the season to 16 and his tally for the calendar year up to 33 in 30 games.
Gareth Bale, who recently drew the misguided ire of Sepp Blatter for playing on Spurs' preseason
U.S. tour and not for Team GB in the Olympics after making a quicker than expected return from a
back injury, was the victim of a cynical challenge from Liverpool's Charlie Adam during a friendly
in Baltimore.
The Reds trail rivals Everton by a point in the league table and will be hoping for a win in
Wales to avoid finishing behind Everton for only the second time in 25 years.
Earlier, we discussed the Derrick Rose torn ACL injury. Now we have the video. As you can see in
the video, Derrick Rose's knee injury happened with less than 1:30 remaining in the game with the
Chicago Bulls up by 12 points.
While I feel horrible for Derrick Rose, I can't say I'm overly surprised.
Following the announcement of the USA's roster for the friendlies against France and Slovenia
(LINK), U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann answered questions for ussoccer.com:
On his plans for the camp:
"It's going to be busy. The fight will continue for starting spots, and it's important to see how
the players perform in every training session.
Vancouver Whitecaps will debut at the beautifully refurbished BC Place stadium this weekend against
long time rivals Portland Timbers. Should be a skeptical.
VIDEO OF THE DAY
The latest video from the Minnesota Stars follows them south to Cary North Carolina for the final
game of the regular season - a must win.
Tomorrow at Livestrong Sporting Park, Sporting KC compete in what is being called the biggest game
of the early season MLS schedule, when they take on the LA Galaxy in their 5th league game of the
season. KC will look to continue their best start in team history against the Galaxy who are
currently 1-2 after their 3-1 loss to New England last week.
Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has rewarded Shane Long for his strong start to the season
at West Brom with a starting place for tomorrow's vital European Championship qualifier against
Slovakia, with Kevin Doyle the player to miss out.
Kevin Kilbane has failed to recover from a back injury and will return to Derby County this
afternoon.
Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain was understandably delighted after making the most of a rare
recent start against Espanyol on Sunday by scoring a hat-trick in his side's 4-0 win
Since returning from a serious back injury in April, Higuain has been mainly used at a
substitute by Jose Mourinho with Karim Benzema being Mourinho's preferred choice up front.
Jozy Altidore shook off a midweek back injury to earn the start for AZ, setting up the lone goal of
the game as they secured qualification to the Europa League in their final game of the season.
Liam Miller and Jacob Burns are rated "about 90 percent" to make Sunday's Hyundai A-League
semi-final against Melbourne Heartin Western Australia, the Perth Glory coach Ian Ferguson has
claimed (Live soccer betting: PerthGlory evens draw 12/5 Melbourne Heart 11/4 - bet365 90
minutes).
Former Celtic and Manchester United midfielder Miller has missed the last fivegames of the regular
season because of an ongoing back injury but is finallyclosing in on a welcome return.
From the Chicago Fire press release announcing the signing of Arne Friedrich:
The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced today the team has signed German defender Arne Friedrich.
The 32-year-old will be added to the Fire roster upon the receipt of his P1 Visa and International
Transfer Certificate (ITC).
The "2011 in Review" articles for the Philadelphia Union are now up on the MLS website. One
provides decent insight, the other, not so much. In the Q & A cobbled together from the last press
conference of the season, in addition to relating that Freddy Adu was at "60 percent" for much of
the end of the season due to a back injury and the need for defensive additions and competition
within the various positions on the field, Peter Nowak discusses the mindset the team needs to win
a championship:
"I told you guys at the press conferences we've had all year long that we believe in what we're
building, we believe what is the culture around the team.
Took a little while for me to get this post out due to all the stuff that's been going on since
Sporting KC's season ended. But here's a look at my post season grades.
Korede Aiyegbusi - INC - Only played 94 minutes for KC in league play this year, not enough to
warrent a grade.
Davy Arnaud - C+ - Missed quite a bit of time after having hernia surgery, and once back found
himself as a back up to the midfield trio of Cesar, Espinoza, and Zusi.
The University of Wisconsin men's soccer team hardly gave Drake a shot at winning Friday
night.
The Badgers limited the Bulldogs to just four shots in 90 minutes, and sophomores Nick
Janus, Joey Tennyson (Menomonee Falls) and Trevor
Wheeler scored in a 3-1 victory at the Illinois-Chicago Classic.
Remember the internet joke doing the rounds in the summer about a certain Titus Bramble coming
to the Arsenal? If you missed it some mischievous cove used Twitter to spread the rumour that the
bungling Bramble was on his way to the Emirates and that Arsene Wenger was convinced it was he, not
Per Mertersacker, Gary Cahill, Chris Samba or Phil Jagielka, who was the answer to our defensive
woes.
