From Kickette.com

Taken from an interview with Guillem Balague not too long ago, this is what Cesc Fabregas said,

I don't like to give specific instructions, but sometimes you see something clearly, like a teammate who isn't making a pass because he wants to do it on his own.

Today, an interesting comment from 2010 World Cup head organizer Danny Jordaan concerning the selection of Brazil's squad for the tournament.
Jordaan criticized Brazil coach Dunga for leaving AC Milan star Ronaldinho out of Brazil's first-choice squad for the Cup, saying some coaches are "blinded" by a sense of power.

Carlos Mercedes Vasquez was a young Guatemalan footballer that played for Malacateco in Guatemala's first-division football league. The defender was also a member of Guetemala's national team and the twenty seven year old recently was activated for his nation's November 17th friendly against Guyana.

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher feels that he and his team-mates have reacted well to the criticism that came their way earlier on in the season.
The centre-back believes that he worked hard to get his form back after the Reds' well-documented early-season woe.
But he is still surprised by the intensity of some of the criticism that came his and Steven Gerrard's way, with fans' expectations of local stars much higher than for other players.

In one of the blog posts that I read about Alex Chilton after his death, I came upon an excerpted paragraph that simply gave me the chills because it explained pop music in a way I've never realized it before. I was going to post it here, but I had already blogged plenty about Chilton and Big Star and wanted to move on.

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez is poised to become a big star at Manchester United. He scored in the World Cup and had a great pre-season with United in America. Last week he came on for the first time at Old Trafford to a standing ovation. All of this at the ripe old age of 19-years old. The 2011 Manchester United home jersey is a classic already and when you add the name of the club's most exciting player you can't go wrong!

Roberto Martinez believes Ireland U21 international James McCarthy is ready to play a big part for Wigan in the second-half of the season.
The 19-year-old signed from Hamilton in the summer having been tracked by some of Europe's biggest clubs since the age of 16.
However the midfielder has had to remain patient so far this season with just two appearances to his name before the FA Cup clash with Hull City.

James McCarthy has 'scotched' recent tabloid rumours that he may be interested in representing Scotland, rather than Ireland.
McCarthy has represented Ireland at under 18, under 19 & u21 levels.
In a message posted on the Ireland football forum You Boys In Green, McCarthy mentions how it would be a dream to be selected to play in the Ireland senior squad and it would create great pride within his family, should he manage to make it into Giovanni Trapattoni's starting eleven.

Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce has further turned up the heat ahead of the Premier League clash against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has disliked Allardyce's physical approach to the game for some time and went as far as making a DVD on Big Sam's Bolton side to send to the referees' association, highlighting perceived injustices.

OK, it's been a while since I've done one of these, and Alex Chilton's death got me to play a lot of those Big Star songs over the course of the past week. So I figured I'd record one of theirs that I used to perform all the time. Only problem was that I can't sing it in the original key anymore (it was always a bit of a stretch), so I had to drop the capo down from the fifth fret, as it was on the recorded version, down to the second.

My autographed CD booklet of Bach's Bottom

"There ain't no one gonna turn me around." Alex Chilton, "The Ballad Of El Goodo," 1972

"Children by the million scream for Alex Chilton to come around" Paul Westerberg, "Alex Chilton," 1987

Celebrity deaths don't often affect me.

Emirates boss lines up big money bid for Belgian wonderkid.

Win the Club Shirt Of Your Choice Simply by Speaking Your Mind!

Arsenal are readying a bid for Lille playmaker Eden Hazard and are hopeful they can come up with an offer that will be accepted by the Ligue 1 side.

Finally the Emperor has returned. Adriano has gone to AS Roma on a free transfer from Flamengo, the Empreror has arrived in the capital, but will it be a smart move by Roma? Adriano's contract is said to be worth around 5 million euros a season (plus performance-related bonuses) and it will expire on June 30th 2013.

When you think of Glen "Big Baby" Davis, you get the mental picture of a goofy, high-energy reserve for the Boston Celtics. In Game 4 of the 2010 NBA Finals, Big Baby was the Big Star.

When Big Baby wasn't mugging for the crowd, he was letting drool escape from his chubby cheeks. After the final horn sounded, the Celtics had a 96-89 victory and Big Baby had 18 points, five rebounds and two steals in 22 minutes of play.

I know that all footballing focus is currently on the World Cup but for those of you who haven't heard, clubs are already attempting to sign new players for the coming season.

Already Chelsea have released three of their big star players in Michael Ballack, Deco and Joe Cole along with the ex- Barcelona full back Juliano Belletti.

Image via WikipediaRafael Nadal believes a conversation with David Beckham has provided him with the perfect inspiration ahead of his Wimbledon final against Tomas Berdych on Sunday.
Nadal was asked if he wanted to meet David Beckham after his three-set victory over Andy Murray in Friday's semi-final.

Wise words from my friend Garamba: football is, indeed, about the moment, not the commitment. Spain beat Germany today, 1 nill, and will face the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup Final. The World Cup in South Africa will have a virgin World Champion and just that in itself is very exciting.

The Gunners have added another defender to their line-up for the upcoming EPL season. Wenger isn't rushing into the market to sign every big star or latest new hit from the World Cup like other EPL clubs - ManCity. After adding Chamakh Arsenal's defensive could be a very solid and young unit over the next few years.

One of my favorite investigative reporting outlets, Vanguard, recently did a piece on a subject that we have talked a lot about here at The Final Third. The piece was about the thousands of stranded African footballers all over Europe. This short documentary puts faces to the stories of how these players are taken advantage of and more importantly all the lives that are destroyed in the process.

Stevenage take a break from League action this weekend as they travel down to Kingston to face AFC Wimbledon in the 2nd round of the FA Cup. After knocking out the Milton Keynes incarnation of the Dons in the last round, Boro face the supporters version at lunchtime on ITV1 aiming to reach round 3 of the Cup for the first time since 1998.