I originally wrote about this on our Liverpool site, but wanted to expand on the story over here.

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner says that Fulham's USA star Clint Dempsey would be a great addition to Kenny Dalglish's Liverpool squad.

Dempsey is having a career year at Fulham, scoring 16 goals in the league for Fulham and obviously catching the eye of Liverpool's US ownership.

"It would be an amazing opportunity to be able to stay here at Rayo."

Freddy Adu has been in Spain for what seems like five minutes, but already he views it as his future if chances open to him. Therein lies the problem with Adu: his ambition to play in Europe will once again be detrimental to both his current team and to his soccer career.

Without a fuss in Sunday's 2-0 win over Swansea City, Wayne Rooney strolled off, looking resigned, and accepted his substitution. Manchester United were bringing on Dimitar Berbatov for the last 10 minutes of a game that had already been won and just as Rooney was coming off, he received a warm ovation.

Biglia Claims Arsenal and Real Madrid's Interest

Belgian Pro League club Anderlecht's defensive midfielder Lucas Biglia has claimed that he is being tracked by both Arsenal FC and Real Madrid. (Goal.

That's how we all feel mate...If i walked into a club, thinking and acting like i was better than everybody else, i'd most probably, within an hour and a half or so, get battered. Which is exactly what happened to Liverpool on Saturday. They walked into Bolton's club, acting like they were better than them, like the three points were theirs before they'd kicked a ball and then, they were battered.

Video: FA Cup: Everton/Fulham

And so it was. In the English matchup of American titans Everton bested Fulhman 2-1, led by the efforts of a Man of the Match-worthy Landon Donovan, who assisted on both goals for his side. Clint Dempsey may have found success where Donovan never could, but in this match, at least, Donovan hushed his frequent teammate.

On the same day as reports that Chelsea players responded to Andre Villas-Boas harsh critique of their recent performance by giving it right back to him, Porto president Pinto da Costa announced that Villas-Boas is being undermined by players who still exchange text messages with Jose Mourinho.

Photo: Earl Gardner

Everyone else has season previews. Why not us?

But this is a Philly site. Forget the Western Conference. We're keeping it simple and focused. And guessing at the order of finish.

1) Sporting Kansas City

In the Eastern Conference, there is Kansas City and everyone else.

There's a general temptation for football observers to pin down players supposedly not in-form. Forwards, for instance, are regularly maligned if they score less than they should (see Fernando Torres) and then others are said to be playing well if they have been scoring at a healthy rate.

Comparing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Version 1.0 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

It was only a few seasons ago that Cristiano Ronaldo was widely considered the best player in the world. Now, it's probably a consensus that Lionel Messi has taken over that position. So, how do these two great players compare?

Sir Alex Ferguson has sung the praises of Antonio Valencia who was arguably our best player on the pitch in the 5-0 win over Wolves.

"He could be very important," said Ferguson. "His form before he got the injury was outstanding. Now he is back we hope he stays back fit. He is such an honest, hardworking player.

Cristiano Ronaldo the second-best player in the world? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th La Liga goal for Real Madrid in the side's 5-1 win over Real Sociedad at the weekend, setting a new club record for the least amount of games to reach his century; 92.

Let us know who you think Newcastle's best player was this afternoon against Liverpool in the Magpies terrific 2-0 victory.

"Manchester United do not look absolutely irresistible," said Wenger. "But they know how to deal with the money time. That means the last 15 minutes when it is 0-0. They have won so many titles because they are not nervous."

This season, our squad has been ravaged with injuries. Our captain and most important defender, Nemanja Vidic, has been ruled out since December.

The Guardian called it a low-rent performance. I'm not one to argue with such a statement. However, thanks to some inept officiating and a micro-flash of brilliance from Fernando Torres, it's three points gained from a match we likely would have lost a month ago.

How tough is that result on Wigan?

It has been a frustrating season for U.S. international midfielder Stuart Holden, who has had to face another long-term injury while trying to build on his early success in the Premier League. That injury has not changed his stature as one of Bolton's more important, personable players, though.

Clint Dempsey says he wants to play in the Champions League before he retires and basically told any club wanting to sign him to put an offer on the table.

in an interview with Sports Illustrated, the best player the US has ever produced reiterated his desire to test himself against the game's best.

By Chris Wright

As I understand it, the salient bullet points are as follows: Chelsea want to buy Gary Cahill for £7 million; Bolton want to sell Gary Cahill for £7 million, Gary Cahill wants to join Chelsea; Gary Cahill's agent asked for £120,000-a-week wages (presumably on the basis he scores more often than Fernando Torres); Chelsea aren't stupid.

By FRANCO PANIZO

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The 2012 MLS Combine has come to a close, but not before several players used the event to help their stock while others did not.

In a class dominated by attacking talent, several forwards and creative midfielders enjoyed strong combines, showcasing their goal-scoring and playmaking abilities.

Who was your sporting hero growing up?

My hero was Denis Law; as a player I loved Denis Law even though he is only a couple of years older than me. He epitomised to me everything about a Scotsman. He could start a row in an empty house, fight his own shadow, unbelievable courage, electric pace, exciting and dynamic to watch – I always loved Denis as a player.

By Alan Duffy

Fresh from signing a contract extension with his one and only club, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has found himself on the end of some lovely praise from his manager.

Kenny Dalglish has claimed that the 32-year-old Gerrard, recetnyl returned from a long-term injury, could play on for another seven years and may go on to be considered the greatest player ever to wear a Liverpool shirt.

By Alan Duffy

Wigan Athletic 0-1 Manchester City Premier League 16th January 2012

An Edin Dzeko header midway through the first-half was enough to give Manchester City a win at the DW Stadium on Monday night, a victory that puts them three points clear of rivals Man United at the top of the table.

For today's introduction we are going back into the mists of time, when men were men and not floppy overcooked strings of spaghetti like Busquets, Nani and Pepe.

England were World Champions and Man Utd had recently won the European Cup. For the younger reader who has grown up in the Sky era, there can be no understanding of the excitement and national pride that both events stirred.

There are many critics who love bickering about the downward spiral of Italian football but at least they have the equivalent of a glamorous Oscar night! Finally, Zlatan Ibrahimovic silenced his entire phone-book of haters last night and won the title of Serie A's 'Best Player in 2011′ while Edison Cavani's Udinese were announced 'Best Club'.

It's been 7 days since the beginning of the Dragon Year – and here we are 7 points ahead of Barca in the league table. Our 3-1 over Zaragoza and Barca's 0-0 (their first scoreless game in 15 matches) made sure of that. In a league where the margins of error between a league title or a bridesmaid finish is a hairline, 7 points is gold – it gives us that all-important precious margin for error: to account for that somewhat inevitable match that will see us drop points against a Levante, Sporting or.

Photo: Earl Gardner

Le Toux talks

It just won't stop.

As suggested by the 130 readers' comments posted on PSP in less then 24 hours since the Le Toux transfer news broke, if the sadness felt by Union fans at the news of Sebastien Le Toux's transfer to Vancouver wasn't enough, subsequent comments from Peter Nowak and Le Toux will, for many, see that sadness turn to anger.

By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (Feb 9, 2012) US Soccer Players -- Tony looks at an innovative marketing plan by the Rapids, asks about Edson Buddle's childhood role models, and sees the Western Conference getting more difficult. Who is the 31st best player in the English Premier League, according to the latest Castrol Rankings?

Player: Mirror mirror on the wall...who's the fairest, sexiest, most skilful of them all?

Agent: Why Player X it is you. It will always be you. You are the one everyone desires....

It was only five minutes ago we were discussing Ravel ‘best player since Paul Scholes' Morrison and his worth to Manchester United.

Scoring five goals against Leverkusen in the Champions League... just another day in the office for Lionel Messi! The question is, who's going mushroom picking with Xavi now? (don't fret, there's no real answer to that question.)

"I am fortunate to have Messi in the team and all I can do is try and create the conditions so that he plays his best football.

Man Utd extends their lead, a preview of Barca v Milan in the Champions League, and much more lead today's top stories. Links for all stories below will open in a new window.

Man Utd scored two late goals to extend EPL lead (ManUtd.com)

Barcelona ready for dangerous Ibrahimovic (Guardian.

Former Deputy Editor of the Official United Magazine, Sam Pilger, has written an excellent book on United's best ever XI. The eleven players are named and reviewed, looking at their qualities and revealing stories you probably haven't heard before.

One of the centre-back positions in our best ever team goes to Duncan Edwards.

After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the New England Revolution players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This Sean Donahue and Ryan Lanigan contributed ratings for the New England Revolution's 1-0 loss at FC Dallas.

Joe Gyau's future at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim is secure.

The U.S. Under-23 winger signed a three-year professional contract with the Bundesliga club on Friday, meaning that he is tied to Hoffneheim through 2015.

Gyau, 19, has begun to emerge as an option for the first team this season after proving his quality for the club's U-23 side.

Last year, Cristiano Ronaldo said that fans of rival teams jeer and envy him because "I am handsome, rich and a great player." But now someone other than Cristiano Ronaldo is echoing that statement.

According to former Chelsea and Portugal manager Phil Scolari all that is true, along with one other key reason he has so many critics: the amount of intercourse he has.

Barcelona's squad contains a number of talented individuals such as Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas as well as the world's best player in recent years Lionel Messi; however, this season the Spanish league title went to a deserving club: Real Madrid.

There are several reasons as to why Los Blancos triumphed in La Liga following Barca's recent domination on both the domestic and European fronts.

Arsenal finished the league season today in 3rd place, which gives the team automatic qualification for next season's Champions League, which is great.
Some of this season's highlights:
1. Getting by Udinese in the Champions League Qualifier
2. Winning the Champions League group, including taking four points against Borussia Dortmund, who just completed the German League and Cup double
3.

Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs has won the award for the Best Player in the English Premier League during its first 20 seasons. Giggs has been a consistent player during the EPL era which saw United won multiple titles as well as trophies in Europe. The Welshman had the following comments about winning the award.

As we like to do, we reached out to our Vancouver Whitecaps blogger Benjamin Massey of 86 Forever. Here are our questions and his answers:

1 - Prior to the season many observers thought that the Whitecaps would be defined by their offense. It's been OK, but not great. What will it take to get better?

Angelina-Jen: A Derby for the Ages I'm staunchly opposed to the Americanization of football. I don't want overtime, shootouts, substitutions on the fly, bigger goals or shorter fields. I don't want instant replay, playoffs or field turf.
There's a lot of don'ts and won'ts in there. There are also exceptions to every rule.

Borussia Dortmund has one of the world's up-and-coming stars in its grasp, and the defending Bundesliga champions aren't planning on letting him go.

Dortmund plans to keep 19-year-old playmaker Mario Goetze for at least another season despite major transfer interest, the club's sporting director said to German media.