Clint Dempsey's Europa League goal that beat Juventus in last season's Europa League won him BBC London's 2010 Sporting Moment of the Year award. Dempsey's goal is considered one of the greatest in the club's history.

By Chris Wright

FIFA's resident tactless Luddite Sepp Blatter has sparked a worldwide controversy by cracking an absolute corker of a quip about 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar and the fact that homosexuality is still deemed illegal in their featureless desert atoll.

Chicago Fire's All-Star defender Wilman Conde is leaving MLS for Atlas of the Mexican League. How much did MLS sell this talented and clearly sought-after player for? Nothing, of course. They just waited for his contract to run out and hoped he would re-up. Does anyone in MLS pay attention to the rest of the world of soccer?

And yes, the BBC is on the list, possibly ranked one through three.

Ghosting around the internet today is like stumbling through a scorched earth, and anything with a superfluous u runs the gamut from rage to sorrow to bewilderment to magnanimousness, having been forcibly removed of their inalienable right to win the bid.

There are many reasons as to why England were not chosen to host the 2018 World Cup, but I have picked out 8 which seem to be the most potent....

1. Football hooliganism

England fans, although they have been better in recent years, still hold this stigma as no-good thugs.

The "r" word surfaces again in Scottish football. Not referees. Reconstruction.
The BBC reports that:
Proposals for a two-tier Scottish Premier League of 10 teams each are to be put to clubs next Monday.
As part of the reconstruction, play-offs would be introduced, the season would start earlier and a winter break would be built in.

Sir Alex Ferguson has warned the Daily Press not to twist his words to sell papers or their out. He's already stood up to the BBC Lies!

The commentator mash up of England's World Cup performance.

Here's the links:

• Adam Johnson chat [Manchester Evening News]
• Star man report [Sky Sports]
• 3 Up Front podcast [Soccerlens]
• Sir Alex dishes out punishment [Dirty Tackle]
• Diaby injury blow [BBC]
• Asian Cup squads [World Cup Blog]
• Neil Young tribute [Manchester Evening News]
• Top 10 moments from S.

From the Guardian:

Do blame the messenger?

5.28pm:
BBC's David Bond tweets: Before today's WC vote, Blatter reminded FIFA executive comm members about "certain media" and "recent media coverage."

How Qatar won 2022 vote

4.59pm:
Qatar beat USA 14-8 in the fourth round of voting, but almost claimed it in the first round.

Those are the Press Freedom Index rankings for the two newest World Cup host nations (thanks to Fredorrarci for pointing me to the Guardian World Cup bid live blog, 4:52 PM). The live blog ends with a link to the BBC's David Bond's tweet indicating Sepp Blatter had "reminded

A few hours after FIFA's announcement that Russia will host the 2018 World Cup and Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup, most people I've talked to share the same two feelings -- expectation and surprise. Since Russia had already been considered a strong contender before the BBC's Panorama program severely damaged England's bid, their victory announcement was not preceded by much suspense.

The only thing more surprising than today's decision by FIFA to send the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 version of the tournament to Qatar is the shock and awe I have seen in the English-speaking world. This was never a fair fight it was only about money and greed. I stood at the Newseum in downtown Washington this morning for the announcement at the DC USA Bid event, and you could feel the air go out of the room as Sepp Blatter pulled Qatar's name from the 2022 envelope, choosing a country of roughly 1 million people that holds no footballing tradition over several well-qualified (but less well-funded) bids.

The only thing more surprising than today's decision by FIFA to send the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 version of the tournament to Qatar is the shock and awe I have seen in the English-speaking world. This was never a fair fight it was only about money and greed. I stood at the Newseum in downtown Washington this morning for the announcement at the DC USA Bid event, and you could feel the air go out of the room as Sepp Blatter pulled Qatar's name from the 2022 envelope, choosing a country of roughly 1 million people that holds no footballing tradition over several well-qualified (but less well-funded) bids.

Youth Football Development and the state of the game: An expert's view is a post from: Just Football

In continuation of our intermittent series looking at different aspects of youth football and youth development, we bring you the first part of an in-depth interview with Chris Green, award-winning multimedia journalist, BBC Radio 5 Live broadcaster and author of Every Boy's Dream England's Football Future on the Line.

I've stumbled upon an article on the web that analyses the economics of footballing and more precise the correlation between transfer spending and final results for the teams of the Premier League. The article on the BBC is written because of a book with the title 'Pay As You Play' that I understand [.

By Chris Wright

Those in the know (i.e BBC Sport) are suggesting that West Ham have handed their manager Avram Grant a 'one-game' ultimatum to save his job, meaning that if the Israeli doesn't manage to garner a single victory from his next three games (Blackburn, Fulham and Everton) he will be jettisoned back into the managerial wilderness from whence he came.

The "Qatar Royal Family reportedly plan on a £1.5bn takeover of Manchester United," screams a British tabloid.

The problem is that the newspaper reporting the news, The Mirror, is renowned for printing gossip without a sliver of truth to it. And in this particular case, the article in question is devoid of any sources or any semblance of fact.

Ray Hudson got all "orgiastic" commentating on El Clásico... [The Offside]

The Curious Case of Clint Dempsey by Neil W. Blackmon, with analysis from yours truly [TYAC]

Serie A players are set to go on strike, are being really melodramatic [The Original Winger]

Though well done, the BBC Panorama didn't do the England World Cup Bid any favours [DT]

When José met Ian Holloway [imagined by The Third Kit]

Blackpool are preparing for Manchester United with long walks on the beach [Off The Post]

Peter Crouch is a self-deprecrating c-word (he even said so himself)!

Ray Hudson got all "orgiastic" commentating on El Clásico... [The Offside]

The Curious Case of Clint Dempsey by Neil W. Blackmon, with analysis from yours truly [TYAC]

Serie A players are set to go on strike, are being really melodramatic [The Original Winger]

Though well done, the BBC Panorama didn't do the England World Cup Bid any favours [DT]

When José met Ian Holloway [imagined by The Third Kit]

Blackpool are preparing for Manchester United with long walks on the beach [Off The Post]

Peter Crouch is a self-deprecrating c-word (he even said so himself)!

FIFA President Sepp Blatter. (Credit Image: © Imago/ZUMApress.com) On Monday, much to the chagrin of most on the England World Cup bid committee, the BBC aired a Panorama special over allegations that certain members voting on the hosts of the 2018...
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Europe Back-Scratching With a Global Reach -- from The NY Times' George Vecsey: "He is one of a handful of truly global figures who is highly respected." FIFA's World Cup scramble is also about the future of its presidency -- from SportsFeatures.com's Keir Radnedge: Blatter has been polite and encouraging to everyone.

As confessions go, this one ranks in the all-time pantheon of greats...and those providing too much information.

Discussing the 1990 World Cup on BBC radio, Gary Lineker let the world in on a little secret as to the state of his back end during the Ireland game, and offers a little insight as to why any grown man would drag his ass across a World Cup pitch.

This is it. Quite possibly the most important decisions in the business of football, off of the football pitch, are now surely made and will be announced today. The rights to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups are up for grabs. We'll have the announcements as soon as they are made, and analysis as the day continues, as we get used to the new reality that we will have been presented with.

Russia might have already given up on winning the 2018 World Cup bid if reports emerging from Zurich are anything to go by. When heads of most delegations including figures like heads of governments, royalty, football stars and keen enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the news. Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin will be sitting pretty in his home where he will be watching the proceedings on television.

Prime Minister David Cameron said in an interview to the BBC that he believes in a Wolves win against Blackburn, Saturday. In the video (HERE) he also mentions that he has been at Molineux several times. Is the Prime Minister a secret fan of Wolves (is that a golden tie he's wearing)? His prediction is [.

I wish this were the US bid's logo, but clearly the Qatari's
must have put more money in Sepp Blatter's bank account.As you might have guessed from the title of this post, I'm indignant (at best) at the selections of both Russia for WC2018 and Qatar for WC2022. Ravi Ubha over at ESPN calls the two picks bizarre, and I couldn't agree more.

WASHINGTON, DC — Only minutes after Qatar was announced as FIFA's choice to host the 2022 World Cup, frustrated United States football supporters warned that the rejected US bid could hurt the sport in America. "Gutted", "USA Soccer is set back another 20 years" and "Qatar? Wow. Soccer actually just got less relevant in the [.

By Ollie Irish

BBC Comedy's take on yet another painful defeat for English football (may contain national stereotypes):

We particularly like the branding of Netherlands/Belgium as the 'Bellands'. That should catch on.

The AFR team is sharing its diverse perspectives on the drama that unfolded yesterday in Switzerland in a series of posts throughout the next day or so. The series features perspectives from our writers who call places like Montreal, Paris, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, London, Manilla, Boston, and Lisbon home.

Part two of my eight reasons for England's failure to win the World Cup bid, read part one here...

5. Football is already massively followed

FIFA's motto is: For the Game, For the World – which says a lot about what they want to achieve as a governing body.

This week's Video Of The Week is a very special find from YouTube, the first part of the BBC's 1995 documentary series on the history of European football, "Fussball, Football, Voetbal". Recorded as part of the build-up to the 1996 European Championships, this two-parter, narrated by John Motson, traces the history of European club football, with the first episode coming at the subject from the point of view of British clubs, and the second from the point of view of some of the major continental powers.

As ironies go, this one's pretty good given the full spectrum of their acronym, and all, even if it's no longer surprising.

Everyone knows that the BBC's decision to broadcast their Panorama expose just two days before the vote hurt their chances. It was likely directly responsible for their exit in the first round of voting, even, though it's unlikely they were getting the tournament anyway (FIFA's lost its taste for vanilla, it seems).

As ironies go, this one's pretty good given the full spectrum of their acronym, and all, even if it's no longer surprising.

Everyone knows that the BBC's decision to broadcast their Panorama expose just two days before the vote hurt their chances. It was likely directly responsible for their exit in the first round of voting, even, though it's unlikely they were getting the tournament anyway (FIFA's lost its taste for vanilla, it seems).

It's time for another video, and tonight we return again to the 1985 BBC documentary series "Only A Game The Story Of Scottish Football". For the third part of this series, the focus is upon the player. The development of the player himself is particularly key to the growth of the game in Scotland.

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- New Manager Alec Stock on His First Day! Click For Larger Photo - Introducing QPR's New Manager, Alec Stock! Click for Larger Photo
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In a fortnight of scandal, everywhere from Newcastle to Moscow and Doha, Special 1 TV has plenty of fodder to digest and to find ways to add a twist of humor to it. And that's what they just did with their latest episode released on BBC 3 and now available in the above video.

The usual cast of characters return to this episode entitled "The Leaking.

Finally the weekend is here and we can get back to watching the EPL. Here's a few comments from Ancelotti ahead of the clash with Tottenham.

Here's the links:

• Arsenal young guns [Beyond The Pitch]
• Guess the footballer [Three Match Ban]
• Value of Berbatov [Back Page Football]
• Relegation talk [That's On Point]
• Evra vs.

FIFA's erstwhile despot president Sepp Blatter has branded the English as 'bad losers' in the wake of the recent World Cup auction which saw Russia and Qatar purchase the rights to host the 2018 and 2022 tournaments respectively.

Upon crashing out of the 'ballot' in the first round with a paltry total of two votes (one from themselves, and one from the main butt of BBC Panorama's 'potentially devastating' exposé into the institutionalised corruption within football's governing body Cameroonian ExCo member Issa Hayatou), the England 2018 team reacted with a flurry of frothing self-entitlement and a brief swathe of measly protests, which were all about as half-cocked as the bid attempt itself.

The constraints of time mean that it's time for a video this evening, but what a video it is. Some of you may recall that we showed the first part of the BBC's documentary series from 1995, "Football Fussball Voetbal", earlier this week. That was about the history of British teams in European football, and this part is about European club and national football in a broader sense, focussing on the European Cup, the European Cup Winners Cup and the UEFA Cup, as well as the European Championships.

Graeme McDowell's Video for BBC Sports Personality of the Year.