Remember when you were a kid, and you punctured the football you were playing with? I do. In fact I have one very vivid memory of a typically wayward Daryl shot at goal that rolled off the field and into heavy traffic at the bottom of a busy road called Drews Holloway.

Source: Sp Ftball Sprts Blog/Prestigious Financial magazine "Forbes" has published an article about Football – or Soccer in lots of Anglo-Saxon countries – analyising the Top 20 Clubs in Value in the World for 2009. Here is the link if you wish to read the original (World Football- Soccer).The magazine looks at the change from 2008 to 2009 & takes into consideration TV rights, merchandising,

This is the second of a 4-part article looking at the future of Division-2 soccer in North America. Click here for part-1.

Running teams like a small business instead of on their potential profit Balancing the Budget

While USSF is looking at standards to make sure teams are run with fiscal responsibility, Rob Clark, owner of the Rochester Rhinos, feels there's much more that can and must be done.

In short the interview by Rosanno Scotto and Greg Kelly showed absolutely no knowledge about their subject in question, Thierry Henry; the game in question, soccer; and the New York team in question, the Red Bulls. Video >>

Granted it was a morning show and the two interviewers were ingenues when it came to the sport but it is never a good thing when they and their ignorance becomes the talking point - it was brutal and breathtaking.

At least we know there's something that Fergie would envy of Wenger

As the internationals get into full swing tonight, I was very concern on the lack of topics for today's post. Fortunately for me, what I found out from the news today made me even prouder of my beloved Arsenal Football Club (if that is possible).

It was almost two weeks ago that a commenter left an odd remark on Dan Loney's blog about how Soccer United Marketing money gets distributed to MLS teams:

I was shown SUM numbers from 2009 (based on the 2008 season). The distribution was based on a formula that saw the highest revenue generating teams getting the larger amounts.

Editor's note: Can't say I agree with all the findings, but there is lots of interesting stuff in here that is worth discussing on the front page. - Jeremiah

With the announcement a few months ago that Montreal will get the league's 19th team in 2012, the recent activity with the New York Cosmos name rights, and Don Garber saying the league will eventually be larger than 20 teams, I think it's obvious that MLS has no intention of slowing down the rate of expansion.

So, the last week was pretty miserable, right? Or two weekends ago? The USWNT crashed and burned against the worst possible foe, followed by me and the Sounders crashing and burning against the worst possible foe, followed by a lot of stupid in the soccersphere, followed by the closest we've come to confirmation that FC Gold Pride is not coming back.

Posted by Jared Montz

The Jared Montz Soccer Podcast is presented by OnlineSoccerAcademy.com – a Jared Montz Soccer, LLC company. The Online Soccer Academy is your gotta have it, need to train now, want to get better, trying to prepare for Saturday's game, 24/7 coach. It teaches you how to train on your own time outside of team training through easy to learn from online training videos.

Source: Sp Ftball Sprts Blog: /Ever wondered, just because you're a curious person, how much you're Football – Soccer – idols makes a year in money, that is, what they actually earn taking into account salary, bonus, sponsorship deals...etc. ? The prestigious American Financial Magazine "Forbes" continues with its look into the Football – Soccer – World publishing the list of highest earners.

David Gill has claimed that are season ticket sales are in line with every other season, despite calls from organisations like MUST for fans to delay renewal.

"There haven't been any boycotts. Every game at Manchester United has been sold out," said Gill. "Our season ticket sales and renewals for this upcoming season are on track with previous years our executive ticket renewals are on track.

England are out finished, end of story. We did not go out on penalties, nor were we "very unlucky". We were well beaten by a team that were man for man better than us. The Media may cry foul about Lampard's goal, or the fact our pampered players play too much football, but isn't it time we simply faced up to the fact that actually we are not as good as we like to believe?

In short the interview by Rosanno Scotto and Greg Kelly showed absolutely no knowledge about their subject in question, Thierry Henry; the game in question, soccer; and the New York team in question, the Red Bulls. Video >>

Granted it was a morning show and the two interviewers were ingenues when it came to the sport but it is never a good thing when they and their ignorance become the talking points - it was brutal and breathtaking.

If I have learned anything in my first year of reading EPL Talk it is that we are all subject to the whims of our TV providers whether they be cable, FiOS, DSL or satellite. You want Fox Soccer Plus? Well, let me see. "We value the input of all our customers........"

Right. Tell me another one.

Clubs with some money can look to getting any of these players for the Real summer special. Jorge Valdano is looking to trim the squad.

On the block one playmaker and three holding midfielders.

Rafael Van Der Vaart is now surplus with Mesut Oezil joining up this summer and the emergence of Sergio Canales.

For the first time in the modern era, though, attendances are coming under real pressure during this global downturn and with that has come the first challenge to organising bodies to reconsider their approach to pricing.

Some clubs are known for being talent factories. For instance we recently wrote about Arsenal detecting youth talent and helping them turn into great players. But Arsenal is definitely among the most famous clubs in the world. In the shade, less popular clubs have organized their whole business model around player detection, training and sales.

Manchester City today announced they lost £121m for the 12 months ending 31 May this year, up from a loss of £92.5m for the previous year. The £121m is the second largest loss in history for a Premier League team. Chelsea back in 2004-2005 set the record with a £141m loss.

Man City chief executive Garry Cook tried to spin the result somewhat by saying:

"Player acquisitions on the scale we have seen in recent transfer windows will no longer be required.

Manchester City today announced they lost £121m for the 12 months ending 31 May this year, up from a loss of £92.5m for the previous year. The £121m is the second largest loss in history for a Premier League team. Chelsea back in 2004-2005 set the record with a £141m loss.

Man City chief executive Garry Cook tried to spin the result somewhat by saying:

"Player acquisitions on the scale we have seen in recent transfer windows will no longer be required.

Man, what's up with these n----- out here
Mad at us cause we on top
I love to see n----- gettin money
Better get it while the gettin is good
Get it while you can, man
And stop hatin me, fuckin with my shit cuz I got more hustle than you
Get yours, get yours baby
-Too Short, Game Over

Jason Davis took keyboard to USB port today to express his bemusement, jealousy and sense of defeatism after gazing upon my new subscription model.

While the English Premier League is seen as the gold standard, a scenario is unfolding in which the Bundesliga could surpass the EPL to become the world's most popular and successful soccer league.

After only two years, Sounders FC has already become a flourishing brand that raises the bar in Major League Soccer and serves as a model for franchises in all sports. And the best may be ahead.

Chicago soccer legend Peter Wilt will hold a press conference Tuesday, October 26 at 2:00 PM at the Odeum Expo Center to announce the creation of Major Indoor Soccer League's newest team, the Chicago Riot. Peter was gracious enough to cut away from his team building to answer some questions over the phone.

Looks like I might have been wrong about Philadelphia being one of the wavering WPS teams. This statement is one of the best pieces of PR to come out of the WPS cash call crisis:

Our WPS teams are start-up businesses, and in start-ups there is uncertainty and risk. With the economy in the state it is in, the worst we've seen in many years, projected revenue from ticket sales and sponsorships have fallen short of 2009 and 2010 goals.

MANCHESTER, England - The Glazer family, who own Manchester United, are set to pay off £220million of their high-interest PIK loans. The Glazers' holding company Red Football Joint Venture will pay off the entire payment-in-kind debt next week, according to a voluntary free-payment notice seen by Bloomberg.

The Jared Montz Soccer Podcast is a new addition to Virginia Online Soccer News courtesy of Jared Montz Soccer.
Jared Montz is a former pro and the founder of Online Soccer Academy and College Recruiting Website .

A wide ranging discussion on the state of the game, mainly the A-League, was entertaining if depressing viewing last night on PAY TV.
Although given FFA's lack of vision, planning and direction Ben Buckley may well have been scribbling notes prior to FFA's Thursday Board meeting.
While Andy Harper, Bozza, Simon Hill, Mark Rudan and Mike Cockerill all flew through the issues - and there were many - the problem is we are still no clearer about our future.

If I am a club owner, I would not hire Rafael Benitez.

This fat Spaniard is utterly disrespectful to any football club owners or top executives.

Lately, he publicly challenged Inter president Massimo Moratti with his "sack me or back me" line.

Benitez is not new to this despicable behavior.

If there's one thing that Alan Pardew will know like the back of his hand, it's the Newcastle business model that Mike Ashley will have drummed into him before he signed on as Newcastle manager a couple of weeks ago. Alan Pardew Newcastle agenda is good There may be some differences, but it's seems [.