Today, a guest post from Abdul Rahman Al Ze'bi, who thinks Our Beloved Valencia needs a lot of stuff, like a new coach.

Agree? Disagree? Think Emery is over-caffeinated?

Have a read and post your opinions!

Take it away, Abdul ...

What Does Valencia CF need?
This has been the question everyone asks.

Mano Menezes appears to be under a lot of pressure these days surely it isn't because he's only the national coach of Brazil, a country with 194 million other talking heads? Earlier this week, Menezes met up with the U-17 'selecao feminina' (you can call them Brasil's futbolitas!

Pedro celebrates goal that moves Barcelona through to next round of Copa (Photo: REUTERS/Albert Gea)

In a battle of titans, Barcelona held on to defeat Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate and eliminate the defending Champions from the Copa del Rey.

It was everything a clasico should be: a high-octane encounter of offensive brilliance and heart-stopping tension.

There were to be no historonics before Barcelona's Copa del Rey tie with Real Madrid after the first leg at the Bernabeu was marred by an intentional or not? stamp on Lionel Messi by Pepe as both Men showed their manliness with a good old customary handshake!

A couple of big-name matchups in 2nd legs of domestic cup competitions coming up later today:

Carling Cup semifinal Manchester City vs Liverpool 8:45pm CET / 2:45pmET / 7:45pm GMT (USA TV: FSC): We didn't see the 1st leg of this semifinal tie earlier this month, which somewhat surprisingly went 1-0 to Liverpool at Anfield.

Liverpool are eyeing Valencia winger Pablo Hernandez according to Madrid-based daily Marca.
Reds boss Kenny Dalglish has kept his powder dry in the current transfer window, despite admitting that he has money to spend if he so chooses.
But his side's recent poor performances are thought to have given the Scot pause for thought.

On the eve of one of the more important matches of the season for Real Madrid, manager Jose Mourinho is making headlines again for all the wrong reasons.

According to reports out of Spain, Mourinho is letting it be known that he wants out of Madrid at the end of this season, which would be two years into his four-year contract with the club.

By Chris Wright

Seems like the apology worked as it's been confirmed by the Spanish FA that Real Madrid bottom-feeder Pepe won't be punished for stamping on Lionel Messi's hand during the most recent El Clasico tie last week not that the Real Madrid fans themselves are quite so ready to forgive and forget.

Iker Casillas played down divisions between the Spanish and Portuguese players in the Real Madrid team after Sunday's win against Athletic Bilbao saying:

"We can't start losing our minds and pointing the finger at each other. Whistles are really aimed at all of us. We must all be united, team and fans alike.

Liverpool is reportedly in talks with Real Madrid ahead of a bid to sign midfielder Esteban Granero. The Anfield side is keen to beef up their central midfield options and have earmarked a move for the adaptable 24 year old this month. The Merseyside club is lining up a bid in the region of £8m for the former Spanish Under-21 international.

22.01.2012 - Con goles de Marcelo (´24), Cristiano Ronaldo (´47 + ´67 penales) y Callejón (´86), Real Madrid venció (4-1) al Athletic de Bilbao (Llorente´12) en el Bernabeu por la (postergada) fecha 1 de la Liga española.
Si algo tiene el fútbol de Bielsa es lógica.

By Chris Wright

In which, during last night's Copa del Rey quarter-final first-leg El Clasico in Madrid, Real Madrid's in-house butcher Pepe indulged in a spot of what he loves to do the bestest stamping on Lionel Messi's hand as the Barca tyke sat on the turf after being barrelled over by Jose Callejon.

Cristiano Ronaldo give's Real Madrid the lead in their Copa del Rey Quarter-Final tie against Barcelona at the Bernabeu.

Two of Spain's oldest rivals square off today in another Clasico in the Spanish Copa del Rey quarterfinals at Bernabeu. FC Barcelona head coach Pep Guardiola recently crowned FIFA 2011... Read more »

COPA DEL RAY
Real Madrid vs Barcelona 22:00

Lo maravilloso!! The Day of Reckoning has arrived. Put away your Vicente Del Bosque Panini stickers right NOW because the first el clasico of the year between Real Madrid and Barcelona will be fought out at the Bernabeu tonight.

Welcome to Offbeat Wednesday, where we cover the wacky side of football! Today, read about the Rooneys' mismatched outfits, Guti's bizarre return to Real Madrid, Mario Balotelli's ride and Irina Shayk's "cam-whoring" tendencies. All in a day's work, it seems!

It's Wayne's World.

So with Real Madrid and Barcelona scheduled to meet tomorrow at the Bernabeu for their first leg Copa Del Rey quarterfinal fixture, attention is already starting to get centred around the Messi Ronaldo debate.

Truth be said, although the debate is starting to get boring, it will be interesting to see how Ronaldo responds to his critics and the world player of the year.

The agent of Real Madrid's out of favour midfielder Esteban Granero has admitted that he would relish a transfer to Liverpool.
Teofilo Lazaro has spoken out about the future of 24-year-old Granero, who has slipped down Real boss Jose Mourinho's pecking order at the Bernabeu this season.
And, he revealed that the £8million-rated midfield man would be happy for a move away to secure regular first-team action elsewhere, namng the Reds as a possible destination.

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho is ready to offer Luis Suarez an escape from his Liverpool nightmare reports the Daily Mail.
According to reports in Spain, the La Liga giants will offer £30million in a bid to bring the Uruguayan international to the Bernabeu this month.
Mourinho is hoping to take advantage of the furore currently surrounding the Liverpool striker, after Suarez was banned for eight games following an alleged race row with Patrice Evra.

Spanish giants Real Madrid are expected to lose a number of key players this month as another of their brightest talents Angel Di Maria said to have welcomed offers from both Manchester United and Chelsea.

Along with Kaka and Esteban Granero, Di Maria is the third player who could possibly leave the Bernabeu this month.

Liverpool target Esteban Granero is available for transfer this month and can be bought for around £8million according to talkSPORT.
The 24-year-old Spanish midfielder has been told he is surplus to requirements at the Bernabeu by Los Blancos boss Jose Mourinho, but is unwilling to let the former Getafe man leave the club on loan.

By Eric Beard

"Pelé doesn't know sh*t."

That was Sid Lowe's response to James Richardson's teasing statement on The Guardian's Football Weekly Podcast. Richardson, of course, was referencing Pelé's opinion that Neymar is better than Lionel Messi.

Jose Callejon scored twice as holders Real Madrid crushed Ponferradina 5-1 in a Copa del Rey last-32 second leg to progress 7-1 on aggregate.

Espanyol, Real Mallorca and Sevilla also booked their places in the last 16 with victories. The rest of the second legs are to be played on Wednesday and Thursday before the start of Spain's two-week winter break.

15.12.2011 - Pasó el derby español (el derby del mundo?). Telespectadores y medios lo retrataron y multiplicaron. Barcelona volvió a superar a Real Madrid (1-3) en el propio Bernabeu, donde posaron sobre el césped un grupo de jugadores cotizados en no menos de € 1000 millones (según algunas cifras publicadas).

Signore e signori, amiche ed amici, mettetevi comodi, non prendete impegni se li avete e se li avete presi rimandateli, stasera c'è Real-Barcellona. A Madrid, nel tempio del Bernabeu va in scena il "Clasico" della Liga spagnola numero 216. Dopo l'uscita anticipata delle cugine di Manchester dalla Champions, Real e Barca si giocano la loroContinua a leggere .

By Chris Wright

If, like me, you consider car (and perfume) adverts to be little more than pretentious audio/visual litter then this may not be your cup of tea.

That said, Audi's pre-El Clasico (I think I'm right in saying they sponsor both Barcelona and Real Madrid in some capacity) viral has a really nice pay-off after a few minutes of obligatory slow motion a huge piece of football artwork that you'd think they'd have made a bit more of, rather than just flashing it up on the screen for a split-second at the end.

FIFA's final 3 man shortlist for the coveted World Player of the year award were announced yesterday and usual suspects Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo made the Cut. Joining the pair is Messi's Barcelona team mate Xavi.

Messi who has won the award on two previous occasions, is looking to make history by wining the award for the third consecutive year at the award gala ceremony in Zurich's Kongresshaus on January 9th.

El Clasico showdown, Old Firm derby and lots of Man City action in December - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

There's only one more month left in 2011, and it looks like the year will go out with a real bang from a football standpoint.

December features several must-see matches, with a few that will have title implications on top of deciding bragging rights between fierce rivals.

By Chris Wright

Real Madrid fans unfurled this almighty casino-themed tifo during their side's 4-1 win in the Madrid derby on Saturday which, call me cynical, may just have been laid on by the club's principle sponsors an online betting firm.

Anyway, corporate tie-ins aside, it was a sight to behold.

After beating Milan 3-2 at the San Siro on Wednesday, i certainly was not expecting Defending European and Spanish League champions Barcelona to lose to Getafe.

If anything, i expected them to reduce the points margin on leaders Real Madrid who were themselves facing a tough opponent in Atletico Madrid at the Bernabeu.

"We are Ajax"

"Ajax was not Ajax anymore". This was the most often heard expression. And it was perfectly symbolised in that one Champions League game. Martin Jol was the head coach and right after the bashing they received in the Bernabeu he told the press that his "boys" weren't [read more]

Liverpool's director of football Damien Comolli has identified Valencia's in form striker Roberto Soldado as a target he feels will give his Anfield side a much needed injection of fire-power.
The 26 year old former Real Madrid man has got his career back on track in the last three years after stagnating at the Bernabeu and is now attracting the attention of many prospective suitors and is fighting his way back to the fringes of the Spanish national team set-up.

Would the Special One have taken his Braun to the mohawk? The president of Brazilian side Santos has revealed he convinced star youngster Neymar to stay at the club by claiming Jose Mourinho was planning to make him cut his distinctive hair once he signed for Real Madrid. The Brazil star was widely tipped to [.

Welcome to Offbeat Wednesday, where we invite both chicas and chicos to enjoy a pedicure on us as you experience the wacky and gossipy side of your footballers. Work it, Diego Forlanites!

Sylvie van der Vaart is fabulous isn't she? Sure, her husband isn't exactly in the English media's good books but as his homies would say, "het Nederlandse volk van je houden, Rafael!

6 games, 6 wins. 20 goals scored, 1 conceded. That was the month of October for Real, very probably the best European team right now.

They beat Lyon in Bernabeu 4-0 two weeks ago, and we haven't changed that much since then: Lisandro is still missing, as are Grenier and Pied.

Karim Benzema: our very own 'Mr. Champions League
As I watched the UEFA officials crack open the balls to show who our Champions League ‘Groupmates' would be during this stage of the competition a few months ago, the sight of Olympique Lyonnais' logo turning up made me groan ‘them again!

Real Madrid played out to a nice 4-0 victory over Lyon in the Champions League last night and our fabulous Spanish Futbolita, Christina Santos was there, soaking in the action. Que Guay! She was treated to a first class show (from the front row of the Bernabeu, no less) as goals from Benzema, Khedira and Ramos fired the Madridistas to the top of their Champions League group table!

Aside from enjoying his wonderful name, Pepe Mel is busy sipping the champagne of a wonderful start to the La Liga season post-promotion...before succumbing to two losses in a row.

But bored with the tranquil life that is top flight/second tier football and the occasionally bout of unemployment, he needed to thrust himself into another field simultaneously to fill his time writing mystery novels.

Albiol will shun Premier League move as he vows to fight for Real Madrid spot

The defender is not interested in leaving the Bernabeu despite a lack of game time

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-10-06 13:49:00 from: Talksport

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brilliant goal against Ajax tonight in the Galacticos 3-0 Champions League win at the Bernabeu, starting the move just on the half way line before playing a couple of one two's and finally finishing off a suberb team goal.