By Alan Duffy

Everton 2-0 Chelsea Premier League 11th February 2012

That much-publicised midweek training ground visit from Roman Abramovich would have done little for Andre Villas-Boas' confidence ahead of Saturday's game against Everton.

By FRANCO PANIZO

Luis Suarez's spell on the sidelines has come to a close.

Having served his eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra and a one-game suspension for a gesture to Fulham fans, Suarez is set to return for Liverpool on Monday in its game against Tottenham.

By Chris Wright

'Twas the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals over the weekend, with Ivory Coast whupping co-hosts Equatorial Guinea 3-0 on Saturday courtesy of a brace from young Didier of Drogbashire and a colossal 32.808399-yard free-kick from Yaya Toure...

Would you just look at the swing on that?

This is veeeeeery interesting:

This paper evaluates the extent to which the performance of English Premier League football club managers can be attributed to skill or luck when measured separately from the characteristics of the team. We first use a specification that models managerial skill as a fixed effect and we examine the relationship between the number of points earned in league matches and the club's wage bill, transfer spending, and the extent to which they were hit by absent players through injuries, suspensions or unavailability.

The U.S. Women celebrate their 2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament title on Sunday.

The U.S. Women's National Team put up some staggering results to win the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament to open 2012: five wins, five shutouts, 38 goals and of course a berth into the 2012 London Olympics.

Okay, you can all relax now. Turns out that our hero, Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, will NOT be sanctioned for allegedly throwing an elbow in the face of defender Carlos Cuéllar, after all. Had the Football Association chosen to sanction him, and there certainly seemed to be justification for doing so, the punishment to both Robin as an individual and Arsenal as a cohesive whole would have been severe enough, considering the awful timing, to virtually end the team's season on quite a sour note.

Okay, you can all relax now. Turns out that our hero, Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, will NOT be sanctioned for allegedly throwing an elbow in the face of defender Carlos Cuéllar, after all. Had the Football Association chosen to sanction him, and there certainly seemed to be justification for doing so, the punishment to both Robin as an individual and Arsenal as a cohesive whole would have been severe enough, considering the awful timing, to virtually end the team's season on quite a sour note.

After qualifying for the 2012 Olympics by defeating Costa Rica in the semifinal, the U.S. WNT has just one more task at hand and it won't be an easy one. The Americans will face Canada in the championship game of the tournament in front of a crowd expected to be more than 20,000 screaming Canadians at BC Place on Sunday evening.

Lauren Sesselmann (Green Bay Notre Dame) is headed to the Olympics this summer.

Sesselmann returned from a knee injury to start and played 63 minutes at left back as Canada beat Mexico 3-1 in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Friday night in Vancouver to earn a berth in the London Games.

Didn't catch the game live, but after watching the highlights, I wish I had. In the 5th minute of stoppage time, Gabon's Bruno-Zita Mbanangoye hit a spectacular free kick (probably a goal of the tourney) that earned the co-hosts a berth in the quaterfinals, knocking out one of the favorites to win it all.

Jack Wilshere has given Arsenal a massive injury blow after suffering a recurrence of the ankle problem which has kept him out this season.

AW said of the midfielder: "Wilshere has pain again in his ankle. He did it running so we stopped it straight away. He's seeing a specialist today.

Assistant Kevin Bond was giving little away in terms of team news yesterday while he did confirm that there were injury doubts over Scott Parker, Younes Kaboul and Gareth Bale,

"Younes missed training on Wednesday, while both Gareth and Scotty had to come out of training early with slight muscle problems," he said.

The U.S. WNT will play a HUGE match early in year on Friday night, Jan. 27, when it faces Costa Rica in the semifinal of the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Women's Qualifying Tournament for a berth to the London Olympics.
A HIGHLY motivated U.S. team will kick-off the clash with the Central Americans at 5 p.

By Chris Wright

"Shhh!!! Don't look at him. If we're quiet, he may go away"

Despite leading 2-1 from the first-leg and going a further two goals ahead by half-time in the second through Pedro and Dani Alves, Barcelona still found themselves fretting at the Camp Nou as Real Madrid staged a late-ish comeback attempt that saw Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema draw Los Merengues level on the night though it was to be in vain, as Barca eventually held out for the aggregate win that sealed them a berth in the Copa del Rey semi-finals.

By Phil Gregory

From early on this season, it became clear that 2011-12 for Arsenal would be a matter of damage limitation: bed in the numerous new recruits, regroup and push on to secure that vital top four berth, with the title realistically not attainable this year.

The great run we went on after our [.

By Phil Gregory

From early on this season, it became clear that 2011-12 for Arsenal would be a matter of damage limitation: bed in the numerous new recruits, regroup and push on to secure that vital top four berth, with the title realistically not attainable this year.

The great run we went on after our [.

By Chris Wright

There were amazing scenes in Spain last night, where third tier part-timers CD Mirandés beat La Liga side Espanyol 2-1 in injury time at the tiny, 6,000-capacity Anduva Stadium to secure themselves a 4-4 aggregate (away goals) win and a berth in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey in the process.

The U.S. team once again practiced indoors at BC Place (with the weather so far in Vancouver, trust us when we say outdoors would not be too much fun), this time in preparation for its final Group B match vs. Mexico. The CONCACAF neighbors will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. PT. Fans can watch the game live on Universal Sports Network, Universalsports.

It looks more and more likely with each passing day that Andrey Arshavin will pack up his boots and leave London during the summer, likely back to Russia with Zenit St Petersburg, where he's still considered a hero. In fact, it seems all of Russia regards Arshavin as some kind of football genius since he was named that nation's athlete of the year again for the fourth time running and is still the captain of his country's team.

Forward-thinking Richards Can Add Attacking Edge To England - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Castrol EDGE performance analysis shows that Manchester City's muscular full-back, Micah Richards, has rediscovered his best form this season, providing his star-studded City side with a potent and creative attacking threat.

Jozy Altidore was a late sub in AZ's rescheduled cup game with Ajax on Thursday, however the team's berth the quarterfinal was already sewn up thanks to a fine attacking display within the first hour.

By Alan Duffy

Hatem Ben Arfa, the Magpies' diminutive young winger is to be sued by rapper and fellow countryman Abd Al Malik after the French international claimed that, many moons ago, the musician had led him into an Islamic sect.

After Vito Mannone moved to Hull on loan there was some suggestion that he had made available a space for non homegrown players to arrive.

Unfortunately this isn't the case. For the 2011/12 season we named five homegrown players over the age of 21, and 17 (the maximum allowed) non homegrown players.

After Vito Mannone moved to Hull on loan there was some suggestion that he had made available a space for non homegrown players to arrive.

Unfortunately this isn't the case. For the 2011/12 season we named five homegrown players over the age of 21, and 17 (the maximum allowed) non homegrown players.

By FRANCO PANIZO

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Most of the positive talk during the 2012 MLS Combine has surrounded the forwards and attacking midfielders, but one player who has performed well and does not play either of those positions is Chris Blais.

The 6-foot-4, 195-pound goalkeeper was one of the more consistent performers through the event, showing good command of his area and making a handful of fine saves in the process in all three of his team's games.

After Vito Mannone moved to Hull on loan there was some suggestion that he had made available a space for non homegrown players to arrive.

Unfortunately this isn't the case. For the 2011/12 season we named five homegrown players over the age of 21, and 17 (the maximum allowed) non homegrown players.

Football on New Years Eve!? Do the FA not give any thought to the bloggers having to write match reports?

Anyhow, QPR were the latest visitors to the Emirates during this crazy Christmas period. With Liverpool already picking up 3 points a day earlier against Newcastle, and with United, Chelsea and Spurs all expected to win against relegation fodder (see what I done!

I did not want to believe it at first, but it seems like the rumours about AC Milan striker Alexander Pato joining French Club PSG are true. I am a big of the 22 year old Brazilian striker and feel that Milan would be making a big mistake if they let him go.

To be honest, i feel that if something is not done immediately about Allegri's coaching tactics, then even more stars will end up leaving the club.

With the Europa League out of the way, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is free to loan some of his fringe players from the squad and Jake Livermore in particular is attracting interest from elsewhere in the Premiership.

"We're not going to let any of the players that we want to keep go in January, but I'm going to let some lads go out on loan," said Redknapp.

In an era of Galácticos, oil ball, and 300,000-a-week wages, it's easy to view football as a revolution. When something is wrong, blow it up and start over. Avram Grant not working out? Try Ancelotti. Ancelotti not the ticket? Go for AVB. If Ronaldo and Kaka aren't enough to be beat Barcelona, maybe Ronaldo, Kaka and The Special One will be.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

When Caleb Porter released his initial roster for the upcoming U.S. Under-23 training camp in Florida, a few omissions raised some eyebrows.

A couple of those players in question are now included, as Borussia Dortmund striker Terrence Boyd and UCLA playmaker Kelyn Rowe were added to the camp, during which Porter will get a look at 30 players eligible for Olympic qualifying.

The field is set for the 2012 CONCACAF Under-17 Women's Championship being held in Guatemala in early May after Karla Riley scored her second goal in four days and led Panama to a 2-1 victory over Costa Rica last Saturday to give her country the final berth in the eight-team tournament.
Riley, who scored in each of Panama's four qualifying victories, tallied the winner in the 80th minute to complete a 3-1 aggregate triumph.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

By ADAM SERRANO

These days, Kelyn Rowe and Enzo Martinez have a great deal in common.

Both are playmakers for their teams with field vision that has pro scouts raving, and both are candidates for Generation adidas deals following this NCAA season.

In the Championship Match of the Pennsylvania Open Cup, to be contested this Sunday, December 11, 2011, 2:00pm, West Chester United will host Salone FC. The Cup winner will represent Eastern Pennsylvania in regional play this spring for a berth in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The match will be contested on the turf field next to the Chester County Government Services Center, 601 Westtown Road, West Chester PA.

Rumours, rumours, every where; nor any drop to drink. Oh, wait, there's some bourbon. Which must mean it's time to dip into the sordid world of transfer rumours to see who's being linked to Liverpool to replace you-know-who, as focus shifts from talk of luxury acquisitions and South American starlets to Liverpool's sudden need for a bit of steel in midfield.

By JOEY SAMUEL

In previous years, many viewed the FIFA Club World Cup as a minor tournament that was inevitably going to be won by the European or South American teams. This time around, that could still happen, but the 2011 edition is shaping up to be the most competitive yet.

By Alan Duffy

Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva is yet another example of a talented player who was unfairly criticised by the kind of dim football fan who has no mind of his or her own. England fans' treatment of Owen Hargreaves followed a similar path to that of Lucas, but sadly it now seems that the Brazilian has something else in common with the injury-plagued Manchester City man.

U.S. U-17 WNT captain Morgan Andrews
As 2011 comes to a close, 2012 will be a big year for the USA's youth women's national teams as both the Under-17s and Under-20s prepare for regional qualifying for their respective FIFA Women's World Cups, which will be held toward the end of the year after the Olympics.

Junior midfielder Andrew Ribeiro (Green Bay Notre Dame) scored his fourth goal of the season – and fourth game-winner – as second-ranked Creighton scored twice in the opening 20 minutes and held off No. 13 UC Santa Barbara 2-1 Sunday in Omaha, Neb., to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament.

Hands on coach Arsene Wenger has always been praised for the revolutionary training regimes he brought to English football, but this is a new one on us. There's no indication of whether the whole squad takes part in this exercise or whether it's Alex Song's special way of securing a starting berth in the Gunners' [.