Former Chelsea player Gianfranco Zola says he would "be dead" if he got up to some of the antics of compatriot Mario Balotelli. But he says the Manchester City striker can be the star of Euro 2012 if he manages to control himself. Zola, who briefly coached Balotelli during his time with Italy under [.

Firstly I would just like to keep this all in an appropriate context, Gary Lineker's pathetic attempts at mocking Arsene Wenger are not a massive deal, but they are certainly something that should not be ignored and for this reason I just want to ramble on briefly about the aftermath of Lineker's foolish outburst.

The thirty third installment in our Great Teams series sees us remain in the midlands. Nathan Briant has recently blogged on the appointment of Roy Hodgson as England manager but here, he casts his mind back to an entertaining Walsall side from just over a decade ago, one whom one member of the TTU staff remembers with much anguish after an unhappy visit to the Millennium stadium.

Soccer is a blame game. Goals aren't common, so when you give one up, everyone goes looking for someone to blame. But is it that simple?

Long-time PSP readers know I like to dissect goals. (I play center back. What do you expect?) So let's play.

We'll pick out the first San Jose goal, shown in the video below, not just because it's an absolute clinic of good attacking soccer, but also because the defensive breakdown may not be where it seemed to be.

The best moment today came after the game. I was cycling away from the ground when I spied a young lad, blonde hair, maybe 9 or so, proudly presenting the world with a large white shirt: DIARRA 19 it said on it. "Is that from today?" I asked him. "Yep," he beamed back, like he'd just won the lottery.

The best moment today came after the game. I was cycling away from the ground when I spied a young lad, blonde hair, maybe 9 or so, proudly presenting the world with a large white shirt: DIARRA 19 it said on it. "Is that from today?" I asked him. "Yep," he beamed back, like he'd just won the lottery.

After a brief "hiatus" from book reviewing, where I wrote about a lovely evening spent at Toyota Park, I'm back with an interesting one titled "Football Inc.: How Soccer Fans are Losing the Game" by Craig McGill.
In contrast with the other more analytically-minded soccer books I've reviewed so far, Football Inc.

Fabrice Muamba remains in serious condition and in intensive care as attempts to recover from a cardiac arrest, but each day appears to bear improvement.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle spoke with Muamba briefly for the first time since the incident, telling the BBC that "There is still a long way to go, but that is really positive.

The Portland Timbers practiced out in Tualatin today ahead of their season opener against the Philadelphia Union. Today's practice was a short one, incluenced by both the rain and the need to be rested for tomorrow night. Unfortunately, as I had to work this morning, I was unable to actually get there in time to witness any actual practicing.

Monday Night SPANISH FOOTBALL with the last game of Round 26 scheduled & played. Lets race briefly through events, all the scorers & the final result. Levante - Real Betis Match with lots of goals between LEVANTE & REAL BETIS with the home team winning 3 - 1 & thus maintaining themselves in the prized 4th place of the classification table which allows the Club to "dream" of Champions League

In the corner of RFK's crumbling edifice, a small but experienced group of fans have in recent times been making significant shows of support for DC United considerably out of proportion to their actual numbers. They are the District Ultras, founded in 2010. Here's what they did in their first year:

Many of the individual members of District Ultras are not new to DC United, or to DC United's historically active supporters' group scene arguably the consistently strongest throughout much of the league's 16-year history but as a group they are a new addition to a scene traditionally powered by the well-known Barra Brava and Screaming Eagles groups.

Had to laugh on Fox Sports panel last night.
Stuart Houston, former Arsenal defender, is a commentator and discusses all things English football. (Dead boring bit of the show and I normally switch off but last night I stayed for a while.)
So when asked about the merits of Arry I can't write only add up dollars Rednapp for England he basically said Arry was a manager, he can't coach.

I've been banging the drum about the need for new signings for a while now, so I suppose it's time for me to actually come up with a few suggestions. I'm going to stick to players I've actually seen play - a revolutionary concept on the internet, I know.
* Gary Cahill
I suppose this is just worthy mentioning briefly, if nothing else because it's not going to happen.

By Phil Gregory

Before I kick off the preview proper, I thought I'd briefly mention the Commons Inquiry into Football Governance. As long-term readers will know, about a year ago I put together a submission for it, and wrote it up in a series of articles for Untold. What was great though was the recognition [.

It's not a particularly new question but in the light of recent Spurs results it's one that's worth asking once again.

Unless you're lucky enough to remember the great double winning side of 1960/61, you'll probably recall the trophy winning teams of the last forty years: Four league cups, 3 FA Cups and 2 UEFA wins with sadly no league triumphs mixed in.

By Alan Duffy

Ronaldinho having some 'me time' whilst training with the Brazilian national team

One of football's more colourful characters, Brazilian legend Ronaldinho, must be feeling rather embarrassed right now, after an x-rated webcam video of the star erm, giving himself a 'helping hand', was leaked on the internet, in true Dirty Den/Leslie Grantham style.

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish looks certain to draw a close to the protracted transfer saga involving Italian international Alberto Aquilani, who is currently on a temporary loan deal with AC Milan after failing to settle at Anfield.
Aquilani joined the Reds back in 2009 for a fee believed to be in the region of £17 million, after establishing himself as one of the most competent midfielders in Europe with his form at previous club Roma.

That Bantam's a Tiger Here's the Bradford City 2012 calendar: the perfect Christmas present for Bantams supporters. And Hull fans too, it would seem. A lazy designer has created a cover for the calendar that features an array of Bradford player, plus Hull City's Dele Adebola. The mix-up happened because the photo of Adebola [.

Yes, I heard that. It would obviously be a step higher, and that has always been my goal. I did well last season when I was not injured, through many matches for Fulham. So why not step higher?

Why not indeed? You can look at this a couple of ways: one, footballers are too dull and never say anything noteworthy, so Dembele is to be applauded for answering a question (in this case about the very real interest from Spurs) honestly.

By Chris Wright

In which Marcelo Sarmiento of Union de Santa Fe (Southampton fans may recognise the name, Sarmiento briefly didn't play for Saints back in 2006) goes in for a challenge with Newells Old Boy's Fabian Munoz, only to look down and find his foot pointing in what can only be described as 'the wrong direction' if you'll excuse the medical jargon.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his fourth La Liga hat-trick of the season as Real Madrid easily swept aside ten-man Osasuna 7-1 to move three points clear of Barcelona, who drew 2-2 at Athletic Club.

Ángel Di María set up goals for Ronaldo, Pepe and Gonzalo Higuaín in the first half, with Ibrahima briefly levelling the scores at 1-1 for the visitors.

Tamas Kadar captained the Reserves last night in their 32 win at home to Liverpool, and he is now hoping his injury nightmare of this last year is finally over. Tamas Kadar while on loan at Huddersfield briefly last January Tamas was injured while out on loan at Huddersfield Town in January, and when he got fit again, he was injured again early in pre-season.

Now's not a particularly good time to be a Palmeiras fan. Turns out it's not a particularly good time to be a Palmeiras player, either. Combine the two and you get the inevitable: news reports.

Displeased with the current state of affairs in Palmeirasland, some undoubtedly wonderful fans decided to attack a player as he left the official store.

So, a lot has happened since my last post, and not much of it was good.

Before talking briefly about today's match, Ill mention the other two we played this week, even though Id much rather not.

So, PAOK-AEK in Toumba. Of all the derbies we play each season, the PAOK one rarely gives as much trouble as others.

Former Liverpool winger Ryan Babel has criticised the effectiveness of the club's training methods, arguing that game-preparation in the Bundesliga is superior, which he believes had led to him being fitter than he ever was at Anfield.
In an interview with De Telegraaf, Babel observed:
"I think I've had really benefited from the move to the Bundesliga.

Mostly for archival purposes. Good to hear the man speak, albeit briefly here, nevertheless.

Sheanon Williams has come a long way since he signed with the Union in late August of 2010. Williams is in the midst of a stellar year and he's a player Union fans are glad to have. His physicality and prowess going forward have proven to be both threatening and impressive against opposing teams. We spoke to Sheanon briefly about his season so far and his thoughts on the future.

For our very last Non-League Day related story, David Bauckham travelled up to Middlesex for the Ryman League Premier Division match between Wealdstone and Bury Town.

I was once asked by someone to explain this "football pyramid thing" that I kept banging on about and it was only then, as a follower of non-League football for many years, that it dawned on me that there are many football fans out there who have little or no idea that the Pyramid even exists, let alone what it is all about.

The 5-1
Briefly, because I want to dwell on it as much as you do. But I'll give you one reason for each goal conceded, why I think we were so roundly battered on Sunday:
-Not playing defensive midfielders against such a skillful attacking team.
-Playing instead lazy Croatians in the midfield, one of which can't be arsed to assist the defence and one of which has never assisted the defence.

With Jared off identifying the various aromas present in whatever wine he's drinking somewhere in California, Timm Davis (aka Prixfixeonline) steps in to fill the void. Jason and Timm start with Klinsmann's first USMNT roster, talk to Elliott Turner, author of the e-book An Illustrated Guide to Soccer and Spanish, cover a bunch of MLS happpenings while digressing about young American talent, touch briefly on the "return" of the Cosmos, then close out with talk of Kitsap, Jozy, and Josh Gatt.

Bravo taking it on the chin... The latest podcast is up. It is actually in two separate parts this week. We missed three weeks because of games, vacations and not so fun life events but we are back. Part 1 - a little long but we talk about a bunch of games, quickly review the matches since the Portland game up through the Newcastle game.

From the official site:

Liverpool Football Club today announced they have reached agreement with Blackpool for the transfer of Charlie Adam.

The player will now travel to Merseyside for a medical and to discuss personal terms.

And with that, as well as a fee rumored to be in the range of £8 million, it seems that one of the summer's longest running transfer sagas is finally at an end.

The Ivory Coast defender Guy Demel was at Arsenal briefly as a 20 year-old, but couldn't settle in London and was very quickly allowed to move on to Germany, playing for ten years in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund and Hamburg. But now, according to ESPN, he is now available on a free transfer and [.

The Ivory Coast defender Guy Demel was at Arsenal briefly as a 20 year-old, but couldn't settle in London and was very quickly allowed to move on to Germany, playing for ten years in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund and Hamburg. But now, according to ESPN, he is now available on a free transfer and [.

Perhaps the most shocking relegation of this past season in Europe was Sampdoria, which went from the Champions League to Serie B in the snap of a year-long, clear-out-the-best-players finger. Over the past few years? Possibly Corinthians, which bounced rightback with a Real Ronaldo Revolution.

Join the guys after an extend break as they look back at United's unbeaten streak and the dreadful loss to the San Jose Earthquakes in RFK Stadium, Th boys also look at the rest of the MLS and briefly talk about the US Mens national team disappointing performance in the 2011 Gold Cup. Photo: Matt Mathai.

Something that the Seattle Sounders do has been percolating in the background. It is a thing for which I have been quite involved. Democracy in Sports is part of the core of this organization, but has been a very nebulous term. The Alliance Council is looking to change that. Last Saturday we met with many representatives from ownership, briefly discussed the proposed Constitution, ratified both unanimously and now await the club to vet it legally as well as provide some clear direction as to what exactly we can do.

The Ashley Young rumours are gaining more momentum and it looks as though the player could sign today. Last week RoM briefly discussed the pros and cons of signing Young, given that at turning 26, he's hardly set the world alight.

My thinking is that Antonio Valencia had done much less when we brought him in for £16m a couple of summers ago and look how important he's turned out to be.

With Paul Scholes retirement we are invited again to confront the nature of footballing greatness. Over on TiFF someone has made the point that Best and Charlton are legends, not Scholes. But surely this is incorrect.

Footballing history as we know it is based on 120 or so years of competitive play.

via www.chicago-fire.com

Right now, the Fire's hottest position battle is at Center Back. It was widely anticipated that opening day starters Josip Mikulic and Cory Gibbs would start once Gibbs had recovered from a hamstring injury. Instead, Carlos de los Cobos felt that Cuesta had earned a place in the lineup and started him over Mikulic.