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

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?

Let us know who you think our best player was at Ewood Park tonight where Newcastle came away 2-0 winners.

Fine margins

February and all we've collected from 2012 is a solitary point in the league. Unfortunately for a club the size of Arsenal and the ambitions that we harbour, that is not good enough. 7th is where we are right now in terms of the league standings and hopes of staying with the top pack and clinching that vital Champions League position is not mathematically out of grab.

STARTERS
Its just 37 days until the 17th season of MLS begins.
AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS 2012
The African Cup of Nations Quarterfinals are all set for this weekend.
dN
Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian on Equatorial Guinea against Ivory Coast.

Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton has revealed who he thinks the best player in the world is and it's not a former United great. While many Manchester United fans still name Cristiano Ronaldo as the best and most complete player in the world, Charlton has hailed the qualities of Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

Let us know who you think Newcastle's best player was against Aston Villa today.

What. A. Game! If there ever was a marque game for the Premier League it was this one. Great goals, drama, penalties, a wonderful comeback, and horrible refereeing. A lot of people are of the opinion that Howard Webb was Uniteds best player of the day, but the "best referee in the world" had an [...]

The best player for Newcastle on Sunday afternoon against Aston Villa was Danny Guthrie. Danny Guthrie proving he' s very good player for Newcastle Danny got 47% of the vote for Man of the Match, followed by 17% for Tim Krul and 11% for debut boy and scorer of that wonder goal Papiss Cisse - and then James Perch is on [.

Being slightly fearful of numbers, I'm not sure how the old recipe for success of 'win at home and draw away' stands up in modern times, now we have this new-fangled three points for a win, but right now it will do for me. As against Man City, against the Pool we stood up to the considerable pressure exerted by our rivals near the top of the league, emerging with great credit and in this case a point too.

Chesterfield United Football Club in Richmond, VA has had multiple players from their youth teams selected to participate in prestigious international tournaments and an elite women's showcase.
JoJo Taylor and Jackie Zerull invited to participate in the Puma Elite Women's Showcase held in July Puma has informed Chesterfield FC that two of their very talented young women, JoJo Taylor and Jackie Zerull, were selected to participate in the Puma Elite Women's Showcase held in July.

When it comes down to comparing the great players in the NBA today, Kobe Bryant is someone that i've always kept as the gold standard because of his ability to compete, desire to win, and proven track record.
Boston Celtics great Larry Bird saw the Los Angeles Lakers as the enemy during his playing days, but sees Bryant as the one current player he'd like on his side if he were playing today.

Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United Preview, Prediction, TV Listings, Betting Odds EPL 11 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Newcastle United have won four of their last five league matches as they travel to face third place Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League.

We didn't have the heart to put this up yesterday bit let us know who you think the best player was for Newcastle yesterday.

West Virginia head coach Marlon LeBlanc spoke to The Philly Soccer Page about coaching Raymon Gaddis for the past four years. With 2012 Olympic qualifying running from March 22 April 2 and Sheanon Williams in the middle of the national team's plans, there is a good chance Peter Nowak will scratch Gaddis' name on the lineup card sooner rather than later.

Darlington Nagbe's rookie season with the Portland Timbers was one of big ups and downs. His highlights included his goal of the year against Sporting Kansas City, his romantic proposal to his fiancee at Portland's highest point, and his triumphant emergence as a striker late in the season. And he saw more time on the first team than most rookies do, even those with his level of talent.

The Europa League kicked off again this week, and you just knew that Falcao would celebrate with a couple of goals.

Atlético Madrid were impressive in Italy on Thursday as they came from behind in impressive style to establish a convincing advantage over Lazio.

Falcoa, who won the Europa League withPorto last season, scored in each half after Adrián López had cancelled out Miroslav Klose's 19th-minute opener.

Roy Keane, who won more trophies with United than any other captain, has talked about the importance of captains. Looking back to the likes of Pearce, Bruce and Robson, Keane was impressed with how little ego they had about their role and instead their focus on setting a good example to their team mates.

Lionel Messi shone his magic once again as he leads Barcelona in demolishing third place Valencia 5-1 at Camp Nou by scoring four goals and providing an important contribution for Barca's fifth scored by Xavi Hernandez.

The Argentinian's quart-trick also improved his goal scoring tally into 27 already this season in the league, one behind current top scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, staging the set for a potential El Pichichi battle for the two top players by the end of competition.

Following a disastrous week that included a 4-0 Champions League loss to Milan and getting knocked out of the FA Cup by Sunderland, virtually ensuring a seventh straight year without a trophy for Arsenal, manager Arsene Wenger has addressed growing calls for his resignation.

"There has been a lot of conversation about whether I will remain with Arsenal or leave," Wenger told reporters.

Van Persie doesn't deserve to leave Arsenal! by KJ We all can see the Flying Dutchman is Arsenal's best player by a mile, he is practically dragging the rest of the team over the finish line. However one thing has been annoying me over the last few weeks; it's those uneducated worthless fans who continually [.

Not so long ago, in a stadium not so far away....
Arsenal have had a hard season. On the final day of the campaign they've leap-frogged their rivals into fourth spot and secured Champions League qualification. Yet another worry has not quite disappeared. Their captain and best player has still not signed a new contract.

Fabio da Silva has sung the praises of Christian Eriksen ahead of Manchester United's game against Ajax.

Sir Alex Ferguson singled Eriksen out for praise after last week's game against the Dutch club and even suggested we might be interested in buying him.

"Eriksen is a very good player," he told United Review.

Abby Wambach will have a new title at the London Games.

Coach Pia Sundhage recently named the 31-year-old Wambach a co-captain of the U.S. women's soccer team- or essentially the vice-captain to team leader Christie Rampone.

It makes sense, given that the dominant striker was already the team's go-to spokeswoman and vocal locker room leader.

Let us know who you think was Newcastle's best player against Wolves in the disappointing 2-2 draw this afternoon at St. James' Park.

Last night the Rapids had an easy game against the Melbourne youth/reserves squad, controlling the game from end-to-end in a 1-0 win. The starting XI:
Cascio - Amarikwa - MullanLarentowicz - Castrillon - MastroeniZapata - Wynne - Moor - KimuraCeus
Other than Ceus and Amarikwa I wouldn't be shocked to see that same lineup on opening day in two weeks.

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojiech Szczesny has hailed skipper Robin van Persie as the best player in the Barclays Premier League, explaining that the Gunners have gotten used to the Dutchman netting multiple goals in almost every match.

Van Persie's goal in the 5-2 North London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur may have been the best, and also the most important goal in the match, but Szczesny joked that it was surprising to see the league's leading scorer score only once for a change.

Arsenal skipper Robin van Persie has dismissed suggestions that Tottenham have leapfrogged the Gunners as the strongest team in North London, arguing that his side's 5-2 win over the Spurs on Sunday is indicative of reality.

Despite recently losing to Milan and Sunderland in matches that ended their hopes of silverware for yet another season, the Gunners bounced back strongly in the derby, coming from two goals behind to emphatically beat the third-place Spurs.