Here we are on the verge of our 4th round FA Cup tie with Aston Villa, and yet I find myself still thinking about the substitution of Oxlade-Chamberlin in last weeks 2-1 loss to Manchester United.

With the way Wenger was talking it makes me wonder if he is getting his apologies, or should I say his press conference story ready should we lose today against Alex Mc Leish's Aston Villa.

We all have our ghosts. For Steve Zakuani, that ghost is memories of his former self.

As the Seattle Sounders midfielder continues his recovery from a horrific leg injury that cost him the final six months of the 2011 season, the progress he has made is obvious. On Friday, Zakuani was able to participate in full training for the first time since that April 22 tackle broke his right leg.

Elite coaching is an art.

This is my response to reader John, who left an excellent set of comments. The last of which I'll address here.

Specifically:

I'd love to see you talk about specific tactics, Gary. I have no doubt that you are very a bright guy, but I wish you'd share your knowledge with us.

Two weeks. Two weeks until the return fixtures begin. Two weeks until people start making resolutions they won't keep. Two weeks left in 2011. And so the time has arrived to look back on the last calendar year for Liverpool. A year for Kenny Dalglish, returned to lead his club after a lengthy time away.

- Jason Davis
There's a piece of accepted truth in the blogging world, one of those bits of conventional wisdom impossible to verify, that the average blog's lifespan is three years. I'm not sure if this is meant to apply to all blogs, sports blogs, or specifically to soccer blogs, but it's a "fact" I've heard repeated more than a few times during the span of Match Fit USA's existence, and by extension, the time I have been penning my overwrought missives on the state of American soccer.

Finally, we've come to the end of my rather lengthy interview with former Seattle Sounders play-by-play voice Arlo White. In the first two parts, he dealt with some of the big picture stuff both about his time here and what led to his departure. In the final installment of the interview, many of the questions were generated by our readers.

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 20, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Though some in Europe are treating the two-day FIFA executive committee meetings as Blatter's chance to make sure he's seen as a leader rather than a preservationist, that's very Eurocentric thinking. Blatter's legacy was cemented when he pushed for the World Cup to be played in Africa, and that's going to be his big picture moment looking back years from now.

Over the course of the season, there will be a lot of important matches, and in looking at the big picture, there are quite a few that might mean more in terms of Manchester United's ambitions for the season. But in terms of anticipation, excitement, emotion, and the desire to stick to one of your [.

The word "treble" does not get mentioned very often in U.S. soccer circles. It's a term that gets thrown around a bit in European soccer, especially with Porto (2010-11) and Inter Milan (2009-10) accomplishing the feat in recent seasons, but it's something no MLS team has ever accomplished and is therefore relegated to the fringes.

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 21, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Maybe it's no longer worth feigning surprise when the Seattle Sounders opt for a new look lineup in CONCACAF Champions League play. Seattle coach Sigi Schmid has made it clear that stacking his club's schedule with multiple midweek games means his first-choice eleven won't always be available.

Why AVB could regret Roman not going extra mile for Modric

So the dust settled on a frantic transfer deadline day. And while Andre Villas-Boas will doubtless express satisfaction at the outcome of Chelsea's last minute wheeling and dealing, the big question is whether the Blues really have reason for satisfaction.

Minnesota's Tony Sanneh is on the September cover of Experience Life magazine. Experience Life is a publication about healthy living, a magazine that looks at the the big picture of fitness, nutrition and wellness. In the online page there is a brief Q & A with Sanneh about his time as a pro and his Sanneh Foundation [.

09.08.2011 - Vistos los acontecimientos que revolucionan Londres desde hace tres días, los dirigentes de la FA (The Football Association) en reunión con miembros de la Policía Metropolitana, el Gobierno y Consejo de Brent, decidieron cancelar el fútbol inmediato por falta de garantías.

Pavel Pardo -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
The season-long Pavel Pardo rumor mill finally has an MLS tag tied to the luggage. The destination: the Chicago Fire.
The Fire announced Tuesday that they are bringing in the Mexican international on his 35th birthday, coincidentally.

- Jason Davis For the better part of two years, I've been trying to pin down the common thread that runs through so much of my writing on the "big picture" of American soccer. We're a cynical bunch, we American soccer fans, so it would be easy to paint the "problems" we have growing the game as a simple issue of the sport being a poor fit for the country.

On this week's show Boris Aguilar from Toronto joins us to talk about their designated player signings. We're also joined by Dave Clark to talk the big picture surrounding the recent supporter/front office friction and talk to Jeremy Davis, the General Manager of the Fort Active Supporters Trust. CSRN MEDIA PLAYER

- Jason Davis Charlie Davies took a dive last night, and the referee bought it. It wasn't pretty, but not everyone agrees that it wasn't right. Charlie either shamed himself or saved a point for this club, depending on one's view point. I bet you can guess which group of fans make up the majority of those ascribing to the latter.

U.S. Soccer has announced a new team ready to enter the Development Academy for the 2011-12 season and will welcome Georgia United into the Southeast Division. You can read the press release here. We've got more from the new club's executive director, Dave Smith, about bringing the four separate clubs together.

Former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso has lifted the lid on his reasons for leaving Anfield for Real Madrid.
Alonso quit Liverpool for Real Madrid in the summer of 2009 after a difficult final year at Anfield.
The Spaniard's future was the subject of constant speculation 12 months prior to his departure after then Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez confirmed his interest in bringing Gareth Barry to the club as Alonso's replacement.

Today's guest post was written steven. of Paisley Gates fame. Also, today will be a little different as four new polls will be running simultaneously on the four participating blogs. So along with voting here, please head to Oh You Beauty to vote on Worst Loss, Paisley Gates to vote on the Performance of the Season, and Anfield Asylum to vote on the Goal of the Season.

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (May 2, 2011) US Soccer Players -- In big picture terms, FC Dallas did everyone but Los Angeles a favor on Sunday night. After a lengthy lightening delay, Dallas scored. Normally, that sentence would end with "to take all three points." Instead, what Dallas did for the rest of the League was prevent Los Angeles from taking any.

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 22, 2011) US Soccer Players -- In the big picture sense, Real Salt Lake is actually a step closer to the FIFA Club World Cup than their namesake in Madrid. Both play later today, with the UEFA Champions League clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona (2:30pm ET – FX) on more of our fellow Americans' minds than the Champions League final second-leg between Real Salt Lake and Monterrey.

This morning, the DFB announced some excellent news: Jogi Löw and his coaching staff (Hansi Flick, Andreas Köpke, and manager Oliver Bierhoff) have extended their contracts early through July 31, 2014. This takes us under the metro man's wing through the World Cup in Brazil.

The talk surrounding the announcement is all hunky-dory love-in type stuff.

Ange must be tasting the irony in all this like someone putting 'big red' source on the meal his mum slow cooked for hours.
He spent 5 plus years ignored by the A-League. Now just about every club sees him as 'the answer'. Like they just read he won 2 national titles as a player and now 3 as a coach.

The San Antonio Spurs smashed the Miami Heat by 30 points on Friday night. On Sunday night, the Spurs were the ones getting smashed. After leading by as many as 32 points, the Lakers snapped San Antonio's 22-game home winning streak with a 99-83 victory.

The final score doesn't tell the story of how much the Lakers killed the Spurs.

Otto Greule Jr - Getty Images

Seattle Sounders fans should feel good about the 2011 MLS schedule. It really doesn't look like the Sounders have that bad of a road ahead.

By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal

Arsenal fans have been increasingly frustrated with the duo's performances in the recent weeks, especially following their important involvement in the Gunners' two-game cup ties against lower-league clubs Leeds and Ipswich.

Un poco tarde pero aquí vamos de nuevo con lo que es la recopilación de The Big Picture y sus mejores fotos del año deportivo que ya termino, el 2010.
Fotos de todos sabores y colores, de hecho es una recopilación de deportes muy curiosos o escenas fuera de lo común en el deporte, por lo pronto los dejo con solo algunas de las que me han gustado.

Hunter Martin - Getty Images

Philadelphia's Danny Mwanga, the top pick in last year's draft, certainly showed that a top MLS draft pick could be a game-changer in 2010.

Maybe a good way for Newcastle fans to get over yesterday's embarrassment, is to concentrate on the big picture of Newcastle staying in the Premier League this season, and even ending up in a decent position in the league. Alan Pardew one or two players at most in January It was never a priority [.