Simply unacceptable.

Sometimes I would like to crawl into Rafa's head and find out what he is thinking, and last night that urge magnified itself a million fold as our boss made a stream of tactical errors that really confused me, and seemingly every other Liverpool fan.

Forget the fact we could/should have scored at least five goals and concentrate on the fact that the substitutions that were made were both poorly timed and ineffective.

Argentina needs a big win today to have a chance at world cup qualificaiotn and for Maradona to remain as the coach.
As for Maradona's coaching, it is pretty obvoius that the Messi, Aguero & Tevez combinations have not been very productinve in terms of goals. The only good change he has done so far is let Jesus Datolo play as his wingman.

Gameweek 17 is fast approaching, and for the unprepared may cause something of an issue as four teams do not play. And as the four teams represent some of the more popular value players, there is a risk your team may contain several players who earn no points that week. Now is the time to make some strategic use of transfers to plan ahead.

The 2009 edition of the Confederations Cup is now over, and the surprise story from this past month of action has been the United States of America. Bob Bradley's young and talented team shocked the world by progressing from the tournament's group of death, and did one further by upsetting Spain 2-0 in the semifinals.

Just as well he has never played for Rafa With Manchester United coasting to victory against rivals Manchester City, and his name on the scoresheet, and three more league games and a Champions League final to follow, and Wayne Rooney on the bench, Cristiano Ronaldo showed the kind of selflessness and maturity we have come to [.

by CARL ELDRIDGE I've been to a good few Arsenal games over the past four decades but never have I had the pleasure to bump in to a Gunners fan quite as lovely as this buxom babe. More's the bleedin' pity!

So when this rather appealing snap landed at arsenalinsider we thought it only right and proper to share it with our growing army of visitors.

When Nani arrived to Manchester United for the fee thought to be around £15 million he was only 20 years old and looked like the player that in couple of year's time could become a key member of Sir Alex Ferguson's team. He has shown some glimpses of quality during his first two seasons at Old Trafford but the problem is that instead of getting better by the day, the Portuguese winger's performances kept deteriorating and in my opinion it's high time he was shown the door.

I had been waiting and waiting for Rafael Van der Vaart to grace the English Premier League stage but the wait kept getting more and more frustrating. The reason? Well, I wanted to feature Sylvie Van der Vaart, Rafael's wife. She is THE WAG of all WAGs. See for yourself in this video by Vuicy.com.
And she looks real happy in Spain in this video by sporTVyou when Rafael signed for Real Madrid.

Galaxy 1 Chivas USA 0

Chivas ch-ch-chokes (again)

Galaxy advance to play Houston at 8 p.m. Friday in Carson.

Dema Kovalenko made a crude gesture as the final whistle blew toward the Chivas USA bench as if to say, "we screwed you again."

Chivas USA Coach Preki blew his top and tried to get to Kovalenko.

With Manchester United already in the final, we will find out today whether the defending UEFA Champions League titleholders will face FC Barcelona in a dream final, or face Chelsea in a rematch of last year's final.

Chelsea and Barcelona square off today at Stamford Bridge in the second leg of their semifinal series.

A full write-up of last night's 1-0 win over Toronto coming in the next day or so, but I wanted to post this ASAP. Deron White from the Colorado Rapids Examiner told me that he saw National Team winger DaMarcus Beasley walking around the stadium with Cory Gibbs at tonight's game. Beasley is currently riding the bench with Rangers in Scotland.

The love you have for a child is the greatest in the world. There is no feeling in the world like it. From the time you see them in the womb to the time they come out for the first time and every moment thereafter, they are a gift to one's life. You always believe that they are they are going to become a doctor or a lawyer or an astronaut.

One 100% heterosexual ass-tap, administered by Steve Parkin (Hull City's first-team coach), propelled Jozy Altidore into the Premier League arena for the first time. That's how we do things in England. "Get out there lad and score us a bloody goal," Parkin added. Or something like that.
Altidore didn't score a goal on his Prem debut – he replaced Caleb Folan in the 60th minute of Hull's home game v Bolton Wanderers on Saturday – but he did the next best thing in setting up team-mate Kamel Ghilas to bang in the game's only goal.

Fire bench tries to make most out of exhibition vs. Club America
Chicago Fire backup goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra has no clue what the future holds with his current developmental contract situation. Could his stay be extended through the 2009 season? Could his days be numbered?
So like any professional, Dykstra is doing what he needs to do by focusing solely on the job at hand when the situation presents itself.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The U.S. men's national team has reached the CONCACAF Gold Cup final yet again, and has done so with using basically the same lineup for the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Holland coach Marco Van Basten recently criticised Rafael Benitez's handling of Ryan Babel, noting that the player had taken a step backward since his arrival at Anfield. A harsh assessment? Not if you look at the facts; and having examined the facts, Benitez's truly appalling treatment of the player is depressingly clear.

Even though Leo Messi was on the bench for the Sevilla match, we're sure everyone noticed that he's gotten his hair cut short. The man behind Leo's look is Manolo Garcia, the head hairdresser at the Hotel Princesa Sofia in Barcelona, and he's also the one who takes care of Pique's hair.
Well, we can't say we much agree with Señor Garcia on the matter of buzzing Pique's hair; but Messi is just too cute with the short hair like this, and it sure beats the long hair/headband look he was sporting last season.

With plenty of talk about players Liverpool wanted and couldn't afford to sign this summer, it seems strange to me that our squad wasn't bolstered with some proven, experienced players on free transfers. As I will outline, there were quite a few players available who could've provided much needed competition in the squad.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The U.S. men's national team has been missing plenty during the Confederations Cup, but one of the most glaring problems is a lack of attacking creativity.

No big news today on the opening day of the Confederations Cup - other than Torres scoring a hat trick - and those really really loud South African horns...
I have embedded my fantasy Confederations Cup team (Round 1) above. Not pictured, but on my bench, is a very loud Afrcan horn blower.

It's the first clean sheet of our Premiership season and it's a very comfortable win the one registered this afternoon at the Emirates, but unfortunately, there's still a question or two which will be asked in the coming days.

Many will ask how come Fabregas didn't celebrate the fourth goal, is it an injury or something else?

No, you can't choke a teammate. No. doesn't sit well with your club.

Sandro Grande found that out the hard way, as he's been released from the Montreal Impact, a week after this altercation with teammate Mauro Biello.

What's interesting is that the above photo was actually the thing that led to the suspension and, later, the release.

The US did not play particularly well, but three points is three points. After the loss at Azteca, the most important thing the US needed to do was put a W up on the board, and they did that. There passing was poor, their link-up play was stilted, and their defense of the wings was a constant worry, but they got that vital win.

Holland coach Marco Van Basten recently criticised Rafael Benitez's handling of Ryan Babel, noting that the player had taken a step backward since his arrival at Anfield. A harsh assessment? Not if you look at the facts; and having examined the facts, Benitez's truly appalling treatment of the player is depressingly clear.

Very interesting development this afternoon if it is indeed true. According to Steve Goff former MLSer Danny Szetela is set to return to Major League Soccer. Goff said that his sources tell him that the 22-year old midfielder has signed a contract with the league and is awaiting allocation by the front office.

DC United hosts Marathon on Sept 24 at RFK Stadium for CONCACAF Champions League. Last night Marathon took on Toluca. Toluca just helped United have a chance to go further in the Champions League by beating Marathon, by 7 goals! This could be the best opportunity DC has had since competing in the Champions League in the last 2 seasons.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

U.S. men's national team head coach Bob Bradley has had some tough decisions to make regarding his starting lineup during the Confederations Cup, but his decisions heading into Sunday's final can be boiled down to one.

I've carried him long enough get this freaking Limey off my back NOW!
Over in England, the reaction to preview quotes from Grant Wahl's uber-hyped book/hatchet job on Becks, 'The Beckham Experiment', has naturally centred around the following outburst from Landon Donovan, the man Beckham replaced as captain of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

There's been a bit of talk the past week about the number of red cards handed out last Saturday, 7 in 7 games. I don't think it's a big deal, since they were all justified. And lest we forget, there were just as many red cards handed out in a single day as recently as June 7th of last year (and there were only 4 games that day).

It was never a secret that Guardiola preferred Busquets and Keita to Toure when he started his reign at Barca. He entered into compromise with Eto early on the season but convincingly overlooked Toure many times during the start of season. But there are some talents you can't keep on bench, and Toure proved to be one of them.

I was on holiday in a rather remote region when the transfer window closed, so was kept waiting for excited news of frenetic late dealings. And waiting, and waiting, because of course, no one got excited as no remarkable late deals got done.
It leaves me with a real sense of regret, especially where Liverpool are concerned.

No matter what happens from now until the end of the season, and whether we finish in the top 4 or not, there are a number of recent transfer deals that bother me greatly - signings, sales or missed opportunities that could've improved our squad and afforded us more depth than we currently have.
The deals relevant to last season may even have turned some of those nagging draws in wins, maybe giving us enough points to have snatched the title from Man Ure.

Dunga has revealed why he chose to exclude The Dinho from the selection that will compete in South Africa.

"He has a player with quality. I trust him - he's a different athlete. He is going through a bad time but I hope he can overcome that. Seeing a player like Ronaldinho on the bench is not good.

After that surprising run in this past Confederations Cup from the Egypt Match all the way to the final, we all saw what happens when you face a top side like Brazil that has depth from the top players in Europe all the way back home to their parents house kicking the ball around once they start walking.

In 2008, Glen Johnson was voted the best ever Pompey right-back by readers of the Portsmouth News.
But today Johnson featured for his new club Liverpool at left-back.
And according to match reports of the 0-0 pre-season friendly draw, Johnson was very impressive.
With Fabio Aurelio injured (taken out by his own kids in a freak accident in the back-yard) will the former Pompey stud take over at left back, leaving blog favorite Emiliano Insua stuck on the bench?

1. Eddie Johnson will not make the bench.
2. Second-tier leagues are their own worst enemies and will always implode.
3. Freddy Adu will be passed around Europe like a joint at a Phish show.
4. DaMarcus Beasley will be injured regularly as long as he stays with Rangers.
5.

With DC United's comeback 2-1 win over FC Dallas in the books, the Four Fs looks closer...

Forward
While it's hard to quibble too much with two second half goals, that this team ever trailed in this match is troubling. Similar to the New England match, DC United had outplayed its opponent, and still found themselves needing to score to level the match.

Rafael Benitez has spent £171,425,000 on transfers in his five years at the club, an average of £34,285,000 a season.

"When you talk about United you're talking about a side spending big, big money on every player, every season," said Benitez. "For me that is the main difference between the teams.

Serious question: If New York were to win the Atlantic Cup one year, would they know what it looks like? I mean, we could give them used Big Gulp with the remains of a red slushy in it, and would they know it wasn't the real thing?

Immature trash talking aside, this was a nice night where D.C.

I know that I should just suck it up and be happy with our win against Spain, because even if we lose, we'll have gotten second place. But I'm sorry, the Gold Cup squad is pissing me off. Bob Bradley? I am so over you. I've had it with your robot lack of emotion, your bizarre substitutions and your inexplicable urge to bench Torres, even while you're letting shit players KEEP ON PLAYING (I love