It was a pretty productive Tuesday for the Madison 56ers' National Premier Soccer League team.

Nineteen players got a good run-out in a friendly against Chicago-area Bridges FC, with coach Jim Launder using the 2-1 loss at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill., to get a look at some newcomers and experiment a little bit.

Harry Redknapp spoke of the vacant Chelsea managers position after being linked with it yesterday and was quick to distance himself from it after calling it "The dream job - for someone!". Redknapp was quick to point out that he feels that there is only one man for the job and if Chelsea came calling, we would be the ONLY club that could tempt Jose to return.

He's back.
"The fans will appreciate that we're trying to do something different and the players will recognise they've got two guys who want football played."
And if the players don't, the real fitba' men will.
A perfect quote to herald the return of John Hughes. It's taken a while but here is, back in business at Livingston.

Historically, battles for bridges have often defined the context and eventual outcomes of war. Severing the connectivity between two groups of the opposing army, or preventing further advances over an otherwise insurmountable barrier usually seemed like a good way to gain an advantage for the longer term.

Over the past few years Arsenal have had some exceptional players. For all the bemoaning of the lack of trophies, there has remained a bountiful supply of top talent strutting their stuff at the Emirates Cesc Fabregas remains the best young midfielder in Europe, one we kept for seven years, and we have more that could be labelled 'amongst the best in their position, or for their age' the likes of Vermaelen, Van Persie and Wilshere can certainly be counted in those categories, with others knocking on the door.

MLS is good enough, talent-wise, to be more popular with sports fans in the U.S. than the English Premier League and other world leagues.
Even though these other leagues may have superstar players and better overall play from top tier teams, sports fans should be able to have a deeper appreciation for MLS due to the history of outstanding relationships built by American sports teams.

From a Gooners perspective there are many opinions on Marouane Chamakh.
My own thought is that I think there is still a great player there but one that has hardly any confidence these days.
Like Austin Powers his mojo has been stolen.
With Robin van Persie in the form of his life Chamakh knows that he is back-up at best.

It's been a pretty crappy week for the Sounders, with a disappointing 1-0 loss to San Francisco in Panama City followed up by a really disappointing 3-1 loss to the Dynamo in Houston. No one's panicking just yet, but people are definitely concerned. Today we'll talk about those concerns and come to the conclusion that no one should head for any bridges yet, but pinpoint the exact moment when that might be the best course of action.

It's been a pretty crappy week for the Sounders, with a disappointing 1-0 loss to San Francisco in Panama City followed up by a really disappointing 3-1 loss to the Dynamo in Houston. No one's panicking just yet, but people are definitely concerned. Today we'll talk about those concerns and come to the conclusion that no one should head for any bridges yet, but pinpoint the exact moment when that might be the best course of action.

Stevenage entertain Premier League outfit Fulham in their first pre-season friendly of the season at Broadhall Way. We will be providing LIVE text updates throughout the game so you can keep updated with the score and who's playing or not. It's interactive as well, so get involved using the comment section above.

It's that time of year again already. Boro begin their pre-season campaign with a short trip to neighbours Hitchin Town at their Topfield ground. We will be providing LIVE text updates throughout the game so you can keep updated with the score and who's playing or not. It's interactive as well, so get involved using the comment section above.

The arrival of Andre Villas-Boas brings out rumors that some of Chelsea's players future might be in jeopardy, one of that being highly questioned by the media is Michael Essien, who is reportedly being tracked by top clubs such as Ac Milan, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

However, Essien's agent, Fabien Piveteau, simply dismissed the rumors and confirming to the Blues fans that the Ghanaian will still be wearing the London club's jersey next season.

Despite having earned a fortune in recent years, the chances are that Emmanuel Adebayor is a man who almost certainly regrets his actions over the last few years, with the result of those actions leaving him in a state of frustrating limbo and without many clubs in the context of world football that would be particularly keen for him to join them, despite his undoubted talent.

Holroyd: Is on the lookout for a new club

It's been a busy week for the 60 Football League clubs not involved in the end of season playoffs. A lot of clubs have already released their "retained" lists and hundreds of players are coming onto the market as their contracts with their respective clubs expire.

The season isn't over yet of course. We still have 2 league games remaining on our schedule in which we need to secure 1 point to clinch the title. We then have to prep for the massive encounter against Juventus on May 24th for Gary Neville's testimonial. After that, there's the little matter of a Wembley date against some team from Spain.

Do you ever get the feeling that when two people are meant to be, fate will always find a way of putting them together, no matter how convoluted the path may be? It's one of life's eternal questions.

Though Gerard Pique may not be happy, if he can solace himself in a bit of tiki taka waka waka, it's quite clear that Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Cassano were always destined for one another at some point, no matter the Spanish bridges they've burned.

Blackpool 1 Arsenal 3
That was the week that was - a tumultuous week in the history of Arsenal Football Club.
To be frank, the most notable thing in a business-sense about Arsenal was that it hadn't been sold at this point - in a sense, it's the perfect investment, a team which delivers solidity and consistent qualification for the Champions League, together with a club which routinely makes a profit.

Port Vale 1-3 Boro (Griffith og 33, Winn 40, Morsy 56, Bridges 67)
BBC Report | Official Report

After weeks of waiting for an away win, 2 have come in the space of 4 days as Boro continue their push up the League 2 table. The win over Vale puts Boro into the top half of the table on 42 points, level with Crewe in 11th position.

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has gotten a lot of heat from the Toon Army over the years for the way he has run the club. But the news that Newcastle fans can lock in their price at the 2011-12 rate (£15 more than this year) and can maintain this rate until the end of the 2021-22 season.

After clinching the biggest transfer of deadline day, Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has declared himself proud at reaching the "top level." The Spaniard has praised his new employers and has admitted that there may be no next step after reaching the heights of Stamford Bridge.

"I'm so, so happy and so, so proud to be here, finally, after these twelve days of conversations," Torres told Chelsea TV after making a move worth an astonishing £50 million.

When you sign as many players as Manchester City has, at some point there has to be a mass exodus as players get fed up not playing.

Yesterday defender Wayne Bridges moved to West Ham United on loan for the rest of the season and it appears that Shaun Wright-Phillips and Roque Santa Cruz are both look set to leave Eastlands before the end of the month.