Mike Williamson made his comeback in the 2-0 win at the Reebok Stadium back on Boxing Day, December 26th, and has been an ever -present in the Newcastle side since then. Mike Williamson in action at Swansea Mike came back from the ankle injury he picked up at the beginning of the season in the Carling Cup tie at Scunthorpe United on August 25th, [.

In my post-match review cum pre-match preview in the aftermath of the 5-0 trashing we handed out to Wigan Athletic on Boxing Day, I had warned that the greatest danger Manchester United faced now...
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Wayne Rooney was a notable absence from Man United's shock 3-2 loss with Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and despite Ferguson stating that he was struggling with an injury, rumours have been circulated that the player was axed following allegations that he, Johnny Evans and Darron Gibson went out following the 5-0 win against Wigan on boxing day.

Llegan las fechas navideñas y el fútbol parece hacer una pausa que nos deja un poco descolocados, nos cortan el suministro. Por suerte, en países como Escocia, Bélgica y sobre todo Inglaterra el fútbol no para, y es que es de sobra conocido el 'Boxing Day' en las islas británicas. Esos partidos en un 26 de Diciembre en el que mientras los pequeños abren sus regalos de Papa Noel la Premier nos hace su regalo especial con una jornada más de la que llevo considerando durante bastantes años la mejor liga del mundo.

Llegan las fechas navideñas y el fútbol parece hacer una pausa que nos deja un poco descolocados, nos cortan el suministro. Por suerte, en países como Escocia, Bélgica y sobre todo Inglaterra el fútbol no para, y es que es de sobra conocido el 'Boxing Day' en las islas británicas. Esos partidos en un 26 de Diciembre en el que mientras los pequeños abren sus regalos de Papa Noel la Premier nos hace su regalo especial con una jornada más de la que llevo considerando durante bastantes años la mejor liga del mundo.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard admits he will be glad to see the end of a year which has seen him sidelined with injuries for long periods.
Last season ended prematurely because of a groin problem in March which required surgery and his comeback in the new campaign was delayed by an infection.

No one man is bigger than the club.
That old adage clearly applies at Manchester United, as Sir Alex Ferguson is renown for never compromising his ideals for the good of the team. That was on display and magnified this week when it was made public that the reason Wayne Rooney was not involved in United's team this past weekend due to disciplinary action as a violation of team rules.

3pm ET, live in the US on espn2.
Last four head-to-head:
1-1 (h) 10.27.11
3-0 Liverpool (h) 04.11.10
0-3 City (a) 08.23.09
0-0 (a) 02.21.10
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 3-1 Newcastle (a); 0-0 Wigan (a); 2-0 Villa (a)
City: 0-1 Sunderland (a); 0-0 West Brom (a); 3-0 Stoke (h)
Goalscorers (league):
Liverpool: Suarez 5; Bellamy 4; Adam, Carroll, Gerrard, Maxi, Skrtel 2; Henderson, Johnson 1
City: Agüero 13; Dzeko 10; Balotelli 8; Johnson, Silva 5; Kompany, Milner, Nasri, Y Toure 2; Barry, Kolarov, Richards, Savic 1
Referee: Mike Jones
Yes, again.

Manchester City and Liverpool need a solution for striking flaws | Richard Williams

Edin Dzeko's ponderous play blunted the creativity of Sergio Agüero and David Silva, while Andy Carroll needs more support Emerging from an unexpected post-Christmas hangover, Manchester City had something to prove on Tuesday night.

TEAM ANALYSIS Newcastle United 1. After starting the season with an 11-match unbeaten streak, Newcastle have struggled for the last month and a half, going 1-2-5 in their last eight matches. They did snap a six-match winless run with a 2-0 win at Bolton on Boxing Day, but they followed that with last Friday's 3-1 [.

Blackburn burnished a memorable win at Old Trafford last week and today it was Newcastle's turn to twist the knife into Sir Alex's men at St James Park. David De Gea was gone replaced by Anders Lindegaard and Wayne Rooney was back £200,000 lighter after his Boxing Day breakout. It did not make a difference as Newcastle pounded them with power, finesse, and a desire to play attacking football.

Keep Clam...and beat a Top-4 London Rival

Hey, remember that time I was freaking out because I was positive that Fulham F.C. were in a tailspin and I said manager Martin Jol was on the verge on getting fired if they didn't do well in their upcoming matches?

It was only two weeks ago.

While watching Liverpool take on Oldham last night, I couldn't help but notice a much bigger deal (footballwise) going on in the media world a leaked copy of tomorrow's front page of the Independent, claiming that Wayne Rooney might be on his way out of Manchester United that had somehow found itself causing a big stir on Twitter.

Mirror: Exclusive: Mystery over this photo of Rooney on his Boxing Day night out

Partygoer says it was taken at 2:12am but United star camp insist he was in bed at 12:30am

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2012-01-07 00:00:56 from: The Mirror

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Mirror: Exclusive: Mystery over this photo of Rooney on his Boxing Day beano

Partygoer says it was taken at 2:12am but United star camp insist he was in bed at 12:30am

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2012-01-07 00:00:56 from: The Mirror

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard put more than two months of frustration behind him to score on his first start since October as his side beat Oldham 5-1 in the third round of the FA Cup.
After three substitute appearances following recovery from an ankle infection the 31-year-old finally reclaimed his place in the team and expertly dispatched the penalty which put his side into a lead they did not surrender despite a valiant effort from their League One opponents.

Wayne Rooney has against reiterated his respect for Sir Alex Ferguson after the manager was presented with FIFA's Presidential Award at the Ballon d'Or ceremony last night.

Following Rooney's Boxing Day meal out, the press have been reporting of a big rift between the player and manager.

Either Rooney and Ferguson are better actors than we thought or the newspapers have been blowing the situation out of proportion this week.

I spent much of the Christmas period in France, and I was delighted to see that there is plenty of TV coverage of the English Premier League. Not only was I able to watch more a less the full round of fixtures on Boxing Day, but also the rescheduled Arsenal v Wolves game the following day. Coverage was pretty good too.

By Alan Duffy

Despite Manchester United's lack of depth in central midfield, Darron "with an 'o' " Gibson has been shipped off to Everton, for a reported fee of £1million. The Irishman's four and a half year deal with the Toffees comes after not long after the Republic of Ireland midfielder was fined by Sir Alex Ferguson, after a Boxing Day night out with team-mates Wayne Rooney and Jonny Evans had left the players unfit for training for the following morning.

Everton have completed the signing of Irish international midfielder Darron Gibson from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee.
The 24-year-old Derry born international joins on a four-and-a-half year deal and will wear the number 4 shirt.
Gibson, whose last appearance for United came in a 5-0 win over Wigan on Boxing Day, will arrive at Finch Farm immediately and could make his debut when the Blues take on Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday.

By Ref Reviewer 04

For the boxing day game at Stamford Bridge we had ref Friend who did the derby between Chelsea and Fulham. Was he anybody's friend after the game?

Min Type Foul from On C/NC Comment points weight

5

OTHER Murphy Torres C Came in with a high foot, ref tried to [.

After another frustrating draw at Anfield, this time against Spurs, Liverpool had to settle for a scoreless draw with the Londoners.
Despite taking the game to 3rd placed Tottenham, Liverpool failed to break down a stubborn defence in which Dawson, King and Parker at times excelled at repelling everything Liverpool threw at them.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has defiantly outlined his confidence in his side's title chances despite a post-Christmas wobble that has seen rivals United go four points clear at the summit.
City do have a game in hand on their near neighbours – against Chelsea at the Etihad on Wednesday – and Mancini believes his side will go on and lift only their third ever top flight title, despite an increasing number of doubters.

Ian Ferguson will tell his Perth Glory players they must enda wretched run in Queensland against basement club Gold Coast United on Sundayto be taken seriously as Grand Final contenders (Live soccer betting: Gold Coast United 11/4 drawSoccer betting tips: 12/5 Perth Glory evens - bet365 90 minutes).

Fulham vs Chelsea 2012 Highlights 1-1 Lampard penalty Dempsey Goal Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Fulham vs Chelsea 2012 Highlights 1-1 Lampard penalty Dempsey Goal Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Fulham vs Chelsea 2012 ( Fulham Chelsea VIDEO BELOW) Final score and result:- Fulham vs Chelsea 1-1 ( Lampard penalty/ Dempsey) Craven Cottage, London- 9 April, 2012- 20.

Man City vs West Brom 2012 Highlights 4-0 Goals Video Aguero Tevez Silva is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Man City vs West Brom 2012 Highlights 4-0 Goals Video Aguero Tevez Silva is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Manchester City vs West Brom 2012 ( Man City WBA 2012 VIDEO BELOW) Final score and result:- Manchester City vs West Brom 4-0 ( Aguero*2, Tevez, Silva) Etihad Stadium- 19.

With the exception of a forced change here or there, it would not be a stretch to say Martin Jol has settled on HIS lineup as of late.

And, its interesting to note the name and age of the lineup. Especially when looking at the players who are not playing.

Below are all the players and their ages that saw at list 1 minute of playing time in the last five matches:

David Stockdale 26 Brede Hangeland 30 Philippe Senderos 26 John Arne Riise 30 Stephen Kelly 27 Danny Murphy 34 Steve Sidwell 28 Damien Duff 32 Simon Davies 31 Clint Dempsey 28 Bryan Ruiz 25 Mark Schwarzer 38 Chris Baird 29 Stephen Kelly 27 Dickson Etuhu 29 Moussa Dembele 24 Marcel Gecov 23 Aaron Hughes 31 Pavel Pogrebnyak 28 Andy Johnson 31 Mahamadou Diarra 30 Kerim Frei 18

When crunching the numbers, our squad age in this span comes out to be:

Average: 28.