It isn't just Manchester City fans who are in a total state of shock relating to the amazing events over at Eastlands (or should that be Middle Eastlands?). Chelsea, and in particular Peter Kenyon will be totally gutted after losing out in the battle to sign Robinho, few saw that particular deal coming on what turned out to be a truly remarkable final day of the summer transfer window.

With international matches and club fixtures forcing more and more players to deal with double duty, you are starting to see the ramifications of that work load as more and more players are suffering serious injuries.

Here is a rundown on some major injury news, as well as other soccer stories of the day:

Essien out for the rest of the year

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is set to miss the remainder of the calendar year after suffering a torn ACL while on international duty with Ghana in a match against Libya.

As we approach the one year anniversary of the Top 25, the Soccer Source ranking committee was faced with arguably our toughest task yet: deciding this week's #1. The identity of the top club was of course cast into doubt after last week's #1 was outplayed and outcoached for large portions of yesterday's game, which came against a team that did not even field its best player.

In a match where we were missing Emilio, Moreno, Namoff, Fred, Vide, and Peralta, a loss wasn't necessarily surprising. I guess the bright side is that we escaped without any more injuries! Also, I saw tonight that we've got some young players with a lot of heart, and that's got to count for something, even if it didn't earn us any points.

I was wrong when I suggested earlier that DCU would probably be taking the CCL seriously, since they had rested Emilio and Fred for the Dallas match. Instead we sent out an even weaker team tonight, that included the reappearance of Zach Wells! Goff says it's because Crayton had a sore knee, I'm not so sure.

There was no Shanghai Surprise. The only surprise was that some thought it was going to be any different. It could have been worse though, that was the one consolation for the few South Korean fans who, late Wednesday evening, had sat through a typically turgid Korean Derby. 1-1 was the score between the near neighbors in their 2010 World Cup qualification match in China.

Thanks to an MLSR reader we now have an answer to a burning question we have had since we started..."Where are the Colorado Celebrity Fans???" Of course looking at most games at Dicks Sporting Goods park the question paled in importance to ones like, "When will Fernando Clavijo get the sack?, "Why is Colorado's best player, Christian Gomez riding the bench?

Whilst Carlos Tevez has shown himself as United's best player on the park so far this season, he's having a harder making the same impression on the International stage. It was just last week that Tevez revealed he was determined to cling on to his first team place with Argentina, after seeing the impressive display from [.

A full slate of World Cup qualifying games around the world is scheduled today.

Right now, for instance, Carl Robinson of Toronto FC is leading Wales against Russia and the sensation of Euro 2008, Andrei Arshavin, on Fox Soccer Channel.

Televised games later today include the Netherlands against Macedonia at 11:30 a.

France turned in a woeful performance to open their World Cup qualifying campaign, one they will want to forget. Austria opened the scoring with two very similar free kicks, with France looking like they didn't know what they were doing.
It was a collective failure to defend set pieces, but Mexes, on the first goal was horribly exposed.

The best player of these early days of the calcio season is without a doubt Antonio Di Natale. In the first day of the season Di Natale scored 2 wonderful goals vs. Palermo and yesterday he saved Italy with 2 goals vs Cyprus. (That makes 9 goals in 22 appearances now for the Azzurri)

Di Natale is a late bloomer.

With international matches and club fixtures forcing more and more players to deal with double duty, you are starting to see the ramifications of that work load as more and more players are suffering serious injuries.

Here is a rundown on some major injury news, as well as other soccer stories of the day:

Essien out for the rest of the year

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is set to miss the remainder of the calendar year after suffering a torn ACL while on international duty with Ghana in a match against Libya.

You do have to wonder if ADUG just did an internet search for 'world's best player' after buying Manchester City. After all, the results generally consist of two players, both of whom have been linked with a move to Eastlands in the near future. While the Premier League outfit might ...

It's that time to vote again, and no I don't mean in the presidential election.
No, this concerns US Soccer and the annual Honda Player of the Year award.
Now, our readers have done well in the past to help me fill out my ballot so I wanted to continue that trend. Help me fill out my ballot!

Dimitar Berbatov aims to be Europe's best at Old Trafford
Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov wants to become the best player in Europe with his new club as he aims to rid his 'lazy' tag at Old Trafford.
From Telegraph.co.uk
Click here to read the entire article
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Robinho finally got his Premier League career under way today after what has seemed a life time since he has joined Manchester City. The Brazilian international sensationally joined the Blues on transfer deadline day two weeks ago for a British transfer record fee of £32.5 million and today made his debut against Chelsea, a team whom were also interested in him.

Manchester United star winger Cristiano Ronaldo is back! The 23-year old Portuguese international winger, arguably the best player in the world at the moment, was supposedly out until the beginning of October after having surgery on his right ankle over the summer. But after testing the injury earlier last week, .

Chelsea manager Luis Filipe Scolari has been quoted in several papers today as saying he would love to sign Manchester United midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo.
The pair worked together during Scolari's time as the Portuguese national team manager and supposedly had a great relationship. With the game between Chelsea and United fast approaching, this will certainly add spice to what already is going to be fantastic match.

The Reds Devils take on Chelsea this weekend, the naysayers would have it that if we lose this game it will turn out to be catastrophic for the Champions. Given United's poor start to the new campaign there are reasons to be concerned.
Going into the 'biggest game of the season" so far, Scolari's team are rightly massive favourites.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

With the MLS schedule for September now over, it is time for members of the media to submit their votes for MLS player of the month.

The only problem is that this month, perhaps more than any other month this season, picking the best player for the month is very difficult because there isn't an obvious choice.

On the face of it, a 0-0 draw away at a side with genuine top four ambitions isn't such a bad deal especially if your best two players are out injured. Such justifications may be easy to find yet it is wrong to find comfort in them for the truth is that Liverpool could have won at Villa Park. For all the hype surrounding them, with their hyped up wide players being kept quite Aston Villa didn't show anything special.

This is bad news. Very bad news. Manchester City were today bought out by an UAE consortium, Abu Dhabi United. This lot are worth way more than Abrahmovic. Some say that he ruined football. If he did with his relative poverty, these Arabs will seemingly destroy it. There are so many problems and implications that will go with this takeover.

Slaven Bilic sporting his Mads Mikkelsen look

It is a telling sign that Joe Cole, England's best player has to fight for a starting spot in the squad. What perversity is this? I know Capello is a bit of a martinet and Cole might have ignored his instructions but his goals provided the victory against Andorra.

Much has been made about Liverpool failing to turn in the performances we've been hoping to see so far this season - yet getting away with it.
Seven points from nine in the league, plus coming through a tricky tie against Standard Liege to qualify for the Champions League proper, is not a bad return considering we've failed to hit the heights.

Apparently Polish players don't read this blog (after all, most of them don't speak English) as they didn't listen to my plea voiced in the last note. This game was a very harmful experience. Who would have thought that a goalkeeper can be your best player in a game against San Marino. Everything is possible in football, especially in Polish football.

I'm so damned happy and drunk right now that I don't know where to start. It's not even 9am yet... crap. The best thing that could have happened was the early goal by Tevez. I think that slapped the entire Liverpool squad in the face and said, "You better wake the hell up." And they did.

This was the first match of the season that I can say that the Reds played the way they should.

Portuguese footballing legend, Eusebio, has spoken out in admiration of Cristiano Ronaldo. The man who played against United in our first European Cup win in 1968 claims that whilst Kaka holds the title for the best player in the World, it won't be long until Ronaldo's status as the best will be recognised.