I was reluctant at first to write about this, and everyone from my non-soccer life was soliciting opinions on Henry's handball against Ireland, but I do have one or two things to say.
I first want to echo Brian Phillips remark yesterday: "Don't call it a "controversial goal." It was a visibly illegitimate goal. Click to continue reading...

Most of you, or perhaps some of you, or maybe none of you, considering what sort of literary pedigree you'd have to rock to come by here every day looking for something resembling wisdom or insight, have heard of the late American author David Foster Wallace's thousand page plus tome, Infinite Jest. Click to continue reading...

Big Story

The fallout from FIFA's ruling against Chelsea in the Kakuta case continues to dominate the headlines. Of course, it took that case for the British press to notice that several similar cases were also working their way through FIFA, and today it's Manchester City under the poaching spotlight, with French club Rennes accusing them of luring away teenager Jeremy Helan.

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It's Liverpool's turn to be out of the title race this week. Who's next? Arsenal? Tottenham (hah!)?

Let's hope that we won't see more players kicked off the park this week...

Darren Fletcher: Analysed
Elliott Tucker (of FutFanatico.com fame) takes to pen and paper (and actual game-watching) to explain just how good (or not) Darren Fletcher is.

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Note: The following is part two of an excerpt from the bestselling Pro: How a Small-Town Team Defied the Odds and Conquered the World of Soccer, by an unnamed reporter from worldsoccer.com, which was recently published by the Jeeves imprint of Snirp WorldSports. Part one can be read here.

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This thought first came into my head some months ago when I saw The Onion's sarcastic preview of an 'English soccer game', spotted by Brian Phillips over at the excellent Run of Play:English Soccer... Click to continue reading...

Brian Phillips of Run of Play posted a wonderful link a week back to a Guardian piece on the seven deadly sins in football. The one which caught my eye concerned Javier Zanetti, the man who dribbles too much to be a defender and is slow to be a midfielder. Apparently, "Zany', as he is known on this blog, is absolutely obsessed with his hair. Click to continue reading...

Our occasional roundup of what's worth reading on the interwebs about the occasionally beautiful game returns. This week: how one man learned to love the penalty shootout; MLS to Detroit?; and the UEFA Cup meets Lisa Simpson.

Pick of the Week

Brian Phillips of the Run of Play, guesting at Sports is a TV Show, sees the drip drip play of just league battle as occasionally inferior to the random, raw truth of the penalty shootout.

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I just think it's really cool I've been nominated for the same set of awards that includes Brian Phillips, Sport is a TV Show, The Fiver, and Football Weekly, and if they're all allowed to abuse their respective mediums to solicit votes, then, well, so am I.
So vote for "A More Splendid Life" to win EPL's Best Blog award. Click to continue reading...

MOMENT OF TRUTH

Last season marked the first time in nearly a decade that Pro Vercelli failed to improve on its league position from the year before. After a summer of tough questions, Lions manager Brian Phillips sat down with our Riccardo Nicastro to talk about what happens next.

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Language and Contradictions in The Beautiful Game

The Barcelona – Chelsea game tomorrow is one of monumental implications. It might affect our conceptions of the game's aesthetics, morality, and function. Don't believe me? Then check out all the philosophizing, pontificating and aggrandizing going on about the game in columns, soccer-culture blogs, and chat rooms the world over.

Click to continue reading...

Language and Contradictions in The Beautiful Game

The Barcelona – Chelsea game tomorrow is one of monumental implications. It might affect our conceptions of the game's aesthetics, morality, and function. Don't believe me? Check out all the philosophizing, pontificating and aggrandizing going on about the game in columns, soccer-culture blogs, and chat rooms the world over.

Click to continue reading...