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I know in my last blog I said I would sway around the Tackling issue but enough is enough. So much has happened in the last few days and some of it has been over the top.

Sam Allardyce, Owen Coyle, Harry Redknapp and even Steve Bruce have criticized Mr Wenger on his comments about referees.

Arsenal's newly-signed Japanese youngster Ryo Miyachi shows his technical ability in the video below.

The teenager, who was also said to be on the radars of European giants AC Milan and Ajax, will sign for the Gunners after his contract with Chukyo High School expires at the end of September.

Antonio Valencia is likely to miss the rest of the season after suffering from a broken leg and dislocated ankle in Manchester United's weak 0-0 Champions League draw today against Rangers. The 8.2M rated fantasy prospect scored 5 goals last ... Continue reading →

"These figures are stupid," Fabio Capello once said after being asked what formation England were playing after a qualifying game. "In the modern game, the only formation is 9-1." Of course, that is all nonsense. Nonsense, unless you're Rangers however. At times, they reverted to the old 'park the bus' system where they constantly put blue shirts into their own box.

Ryan Shawcross has reacted furiously to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger's claims that along with defensive partner Robert Huth, he had physically ambushed Tottenham's Gomes akin to a rugby tackle in order to help Stoke City find an equalizer in a recent Premier League match.

Although Wenger's comments against a team that was playing the Gunners' bitter city rivals Spurs comes across as a surprise, Shawcross is convinced that Wenger has held a grudge against him ever since his late challenge unintentionally left Aaron Ramsey with a broken leg last season.

If you're going to sell your soul it had better be worth it. Wolves got nothing, deserved less, and hopefully will have much to ponder on what we must hope is a long, slow journey home. If your entire game plan can be summed up by the words 'persistent fouling' then something's missing. There was nothing to admire in anything they did today and I hope they get relegated.

The EPL Talk Podcast's review of the Premier League's fourth weekend will record at 10 p.m. England-time (5 p.m. Eastern, 2p.m. Pacific). This weekend's Match of the Week – Everton's comeback against Manchester United – will be high on the agenda, as will the performances from Chelsea, Arsenal, and the rest of the League.

By Chris Wright

Tottenham have announced that midfielder Luka Modric is likely to travel as part of the squad to face Werder Bremen in the Champions League on Tuesday, after x-rays on a suspected broken leg came back clear.

Modric left the pitch on crutches after a challenge by West Brom's Gonzalo Jara left him prostrate on the turf, but a statement on Spurs' official website confirmed that the injury was not nearly as serious as first thought;

"Luka will travel with the squad for our opening Champions League group match at Werder Bremen on Tuesday after scans of his left fibula came back clear.

Before I started to think about my topic for the day, I was telling myself that I will not talk about the dangerous tackling. But it all changed as soon as I saw the yet another high challenge which lead to another broken leg. This was the Cagliari versus Roma game on Saturday, the highlights of which I saw while doing my customary channel surfing.

Picture of Antonio Valencia's broken leg (not for the faint hearted):

Absolutely gutted. Dull game and on top of that an horrific injury to one of our best lad last season is just heartbreaking.

Wish you a speedy recovery, Antonio.

© Raghav for United Army | Permalink

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Maurice Edu was in the starting lineup for Rangers, who played out a scoreless draw with Manchester United to open Champions League Group C play. Rangers defended in numbers for most of the game, producing only a single shot on goal. They were denied a penalty appeal in the 71st minute that on replay looked like it should have been called.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson not only included Wayne Rooney in the starting lineup today against Rangers, but the legendary boss made 10 changes in the starting eleven from the draw they received last weekend at Everton. The team of mostly reserves could not rise to the challenge against the Scottish club and suffered a 0-0 draw in the process.

Glasgow Rangers's well-deserved draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford Tuesday night is a massive confidence boost for the Scottish club, but the nil-nil draw may end up being a harbinger of what will come in the Premier League for the remainder of the season.

Rangers made it look relatively easy, but you can guarantee that many managers of Premier League clubs were watching Walter Smith's tactics tonight thinking that they can replicate a similar result when they come to visit Old Trafford this season.

The young Aaron Ramsey, whose leg was so cruelly broken last season, is well on the road to recovery now, and thinks that he will come back stronger sooner rather than later. He also feels so confident that he is sure that he won't be worried about going in for strong tackles again when he is [...]

Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal are still the teams to beat, but by now Manchester City have spent enough money to buy a small country. Will we be seeing them in the Champions League next season?

Professional Football Players Observatory (PFPO) and RunningBall developed a new statistics model for football and the model helped predict the probable national champions in Europe's top five leagues in 2011.

Seventy-two hours after Bobby Zamora (S) recorded the first broken leg of the season, Antonio Valencia (RW) found himself owner of the second. Initially feared as missing the remainder of the season, Valencia is now expected back some time in February or March of 2011.

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Referee Doping in EPL

I know in my last blog I said I would sway around the tackling issue but enough is enough. So much has happened in the last few days and some of it has been over the top.

Sam Allardyce, Owen Coyle, Harry Redknapp and even Steve Bruce have criticized Mr Wenger on his comments about referees.