By Ollie Irish

Funny at first, then it goes on too long, but definitely worth watching for Sammy Lee's sinister cameo. Like Arsene Wenger, Sammy would make a splendid Child Catcher.

By Chris Wright

Of course, it's only 'half-time'. Yes, Arsenal have still got to face Barcelona on their own patch and, by jove, they'll only be taking a precarious one-goal advantage to the Camp Nou in a fortnight's time, but until then Cesc Fabregas and his minions can revel to their heart's content in having beaten the 'best side in football's history' at their own soddin' game.

They signed him in Winter transfer window... back in 2009.

Yup him, the little, frustrating, Russian winger who would prefer to play the central free role behind the main striker. With Ryo and Gervinho set to slug it out with Theo to claim the Wingman spots, and with Cesc and Nasri both doing one before the transfer window closes, Arshavin may finally get his chance to claim the role he covets so much.

Liverpool have confirmed that they've accepted a bid from Hoffenheim for Ryan Babel. Media reports put the fee at €7m, or £5.8m, which is almost exactly 50% of what Liverpool paid for the winger/striker/professional Tweeter in the summer of 2007. The deal's not done yet – Babel still has to agree personal terms – but I expect we're past the point of no return.

U.S. national team striker Jozy Altidore was handed a rare start for Spanish power Villarreal, but he couldn't keep his squad from being knocked out of the Copa Del Rey quarterfinals after a 3-0 loss to Sevilla.

Altidore played 62 minutes, and showed some glimpses, but struggled to make an impact as the left forward in a 4-3-3 attack.

It's been a few days since Barcelona thoroughly dismantled Manchester United to capture its second UEFA Champions League crown in three years, but the debate continues: Is the 2010-2011 edition of Barcelona the best club team ever?

There's plenty of evidence to support that notion.

Brazilian legend Ronaldo suited up for the Selecao one final time on Tuesday, making a 15 minute cameo (and missing a couple of golden chances) at the end of the first half of Brazil's 1-0 victory over Romania in a friendly in Sao Paulo (skip to the 4:00 mark for Ronaldo's entrance):

"You're good kid. But can you get caught offside a hundred times in one match like Jermain?"Anyone for a home-spun hero?
The number of youth academy products rising up through the ranks to first team glory may be few and far between these days but it's always good fun to speculate over those who might make the cut.

Danny Murphy's strangely downbeat pre-game comments should be able to be transcribed to his post-game comments as they summed that game up perfectly:

"We played in Europe a few years ago and it became that way. If it was new and the first time I had done it in 10 years then it might be a bit more exciting.

'You see why they talk about him'

Charlie Adam believes Luis Suarez gave a cameo of why he is the talk of the Liverpool dressing room after producing an impressive showing in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Sunderland.

View the full story here: Liverpool FC

A news article on 2011-08-14 07:47:50 from: Liverpool FC

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Forget new signings.

Forget Nasri.

Forget Cesc.

Forget you think Arsenal are not strong enough this season.

Think Ryodinho.

Wenger confirmed in his pre-Liverpool Press conference today that Ryo Miyachi has now got his work permit sorted and is ready to face Liverpool.

Andy Townsend's Boot Room: Sergio Aguero will give Abramovich nightmares

There is one person who will have been seething watching Sergio Aguero's brilliant cameo against Swansea Roman Abramovich.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-08-19 22:57:02 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

We won against Shrewsbury Town! Woooooo...*cough* *cough* erm, yeah. A 3-1 huff-puff win against League Two opposition is hardly the tonic you'd want after the League run Arsenal are having at the moment, but I'd prefer to concentrate on the ‘win' part of things for now.

***

Team Selection.

Academy youngsters Adam Morgan and Joe Rafferty paid a special visit to Speke's Goals Centre on Monday.
The duo dropped by to hand out certificates to 60 local children who had taken part in Liverpool FC's half-term soccer camp at the centre.
LFC Community Coach Dave McParland said: "We have had the facilities off Goals Soccer Centre for free which is fantastic and we'd like to say a big 'thank you' to them.

What do want? A striker.When do we want him? Now. If Harry was trying to finally convince Daniel Levy that we need a striker by starting with Crouch and keeping him on for 90 minutes then I think his cunning plan succeeded. I was convinced several months ago. Sir Alec, Vidic and Ferdinand must have had a group hug when they saw the team-sheet.

Reina
Kelly Skrtel Agger Johnson
Lucas Poulsen
Kuyt Meireles Maxi
Torres
Goals:
Torres 36' 90+1'
Meireles 50'
After four games, performances finally lead to a result. A deservedly comprehensive three-goal away win, for Dalglish's first victory in his second stint as Liverpool's manager.

Mirko Vucinic and Jeremy Menez are so effective coming off the bench that Claudio Ranieri may never start them again. The two creative stars for Roma shone during their cameo into the match against Cagliari, once again providing the attacking creativity to lead Roma to an overwhelming win. A game that was lost 5-1 in the previous fixture this season has been won 3-0 this time around and Claudio.

By Chris Wright

"Yippee!"

The Daily Mirror (plus a couple of other sources) seem fairly sure that Manchester United are about to hand their cameo artiste extraordinaire, Dimitar Berbatov, a whopping new three-year, £175,000-a-week contract at some point during the next few weeks a deal that will eventually be worth around £25 million to the languid Bulgarian in return for his 19-goal haul this season.

This isn't anywhere close to the best cut off of the Cutters' latest record but it's the first video so I feel obliged to acknowledge it. Also this video contains an "easter egg"; if you look closely you'll see what I believe is the MLS model of Jabulani making a cameo at some point.

Defoe was inconsolate after being denied a cameo in The Only Way Is EssexWant to know why we didn't beat Blackpool last night despite firing the most number of shots at the opposition since the sinking of the Belgrano? Here's why:
Jermain Defoe: 13 league games, 0 goals.
Roman Pavlyuchenko: 18 league games, 6 goals.

"Half the teams are Jose team which means that there is more than a 50% change I may be playing with myself."and a subtle reference to David Luis' cameo as Sideshow Bob...Video: Doitchampions
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit TSI for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Photos by Howard C. Smith/ISIPhotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Maurice Edu and Jermaine Jones will be returning to starting roles with their respective club teams this weekend, but as far as the U.S. men's national team goes, neither has locked down a starting spot.

Make no mistake about it: AC Milan put in the kind of performance that usually wins Scudetti. In the Derby Della Madonnina against Inter Milan, the top side in the league notched three goals to extend their lead to five points over Leonardo's side. Pato was exceptional throughout as he scored a brace; his first goal was in the very first minute and put the Nerazzurri under enormous pressure right from the beginning.

Fabio Aurelio is in contention to ease Liverpool's defensive headache ahead of next Monday's clash with Manchester City at Anfield.
The Brazil left-back is on the comeback trail after a month out with a torn hamstring he suffered in the home win against Manchester United.
Aurelio, below, has endured an injury-plagued season and has made just 10 starts in all competitions since re-signing for the Reds last summer.

1pm ET, live in the US on GolTV
Round of 32:
Liverpool: 1-0 Sparta (h); 0-0 Sparta (a)
Braga: 2-0 Lech Poznan (h); 0-1 Lech Poznan (a)
Group Stage Results:
Liverpool: 0-0 Utrecht (h); 1-1 Steaua (a); 3-1 Napoli (a); 0-0 Napoli (a); 0-0 Utrecht (a); 4-1 Steaua (h)
Braga: 0-2 Shakhtar (a); 2-0 Arsenal (h); 1-0 Partizan (a); 2-0 Partizan (h); 0-2 Shakhtar (h); 0-6 Arsenal (a) [Champions League]
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 3-1 United (h); 1-3 West Ham (a); 1-0 Sparta (h)
Braga: 2-1 Benfica (h); 0-0 Naval (a); 2-0 Lech Poznan (h)
Goalscorers (Europe):
Liverpool: Ngog 5; Gerrard 4; Kuyt 2; Cole, Jovanovic, Lucas 1
Braga: Lima 5; Alan 2; Echiejlie, Paulo Cesar 1
Referee: Serge Gumienny (BEL)
Guess at a lineup:
Reina
Carragher Kyrgiakos Skrtel Johnson
Lucas Poulsen
Maxi Meireles Cole
Kuyt
We knew that Shelvey, Kelly, Aurelio, and Agger would definitely be out.

Barca does futsal too.

• Paul gets a forced replacement. Lame. (Guardian)
• The unheard Best. (Back Page Football)
• Releasing Fernando. (The DA)
• Get lost. (Football Venn Diagrams)
• Jose's Camp Nou cameo. (Dirty Tackle)
• Cantona's victim hits the wire.

There was a point not too long ago where we had every reason to worry about United's depth and how far it'd be able to carry us this season.

It can still be said that our depth isn't what we'd like it to be, or what it will hopefully be come the start of next season, but Saturday's 2-0 win over Fulham certainly offered up plenty of reason to feel confident about how our squad can see us through to a successful stretch run.

Hands up if you saw that result coming. Hey. You there are the back... put your hand down, you little fibber!

Well, okay, Arsenal have really gone off the boil as this season has lumbered to its conclusion, but I can't honestly claim to have expected a win today. A draw perhaps. I'd have been delighted with the point that would have finally guaranteed our Premier League survival regardless of other results.

Hands up if you saw that result coming. Hey. You there are the back... put your hand down, you little fibber!

Well, okay, Arsenal have really gone off the boil as this season has lumbered to its conclusion, but I can't honestly claim to have expected a win today. A draw perhaps. I'd have been delighted with the point that would have finally guaranteed our Premier League survival regardless of other results.

Morning all. How about that final day, then? It wasn't enough that the season closer was an outright molestation of the senses for those immersed in all the grisly stuff; they had to try and involve the rest of us, too. Even if, for the average sit-at-home hero, it was just an exercise in making sure the part of our brain usually reserved for processing basic arithmetic, hadn't leaked out of our ears the night before in a syrupy gunk.

There's little to write about regarding the scudetto race of the Serie A now. A commanding 3-0 win by AC Milan over Inter has seemingly decided that this season we will have a new champion. The scudetto is now for Milan to lose, and after the solid display the rossoneri put on for the San Siro, they won't let this five point lead slip.

United spend 50m before July 1st, but who will they sign for central midfield? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Manchester United have taken their spending to 50m in the close season as David De Gea flew in today to undergo his medical, making him the third player to be signed in this transfer window by the 19-time English champions.

I'm assuming that Samir Nasri and Arsene Wenger will be having a chat sometime soon.
A nice face to face talk with hopefully no slimy agents any where near the vicinity. I'm sure a Rottweiler or Martin Keown could guard the door.
We all know that Wenger can be very persuasive when he wants to be.

What will be today's most prevalent discussion in the bars before the game today? Lack of signings and our injury problems. The signings may well arrive but once again we go into an early season game with a long injury list and a threadbare squad. I cannot recall us starting a season with a fully fit squad in many years what is the point of pre-season training and friendlies if we are to lose players with such startling regularity?

Alex Livesey/Getty Images(Bleacher Report)Nearly two months of constant controversy and speculation surrounding Samir Nasri has finally come to a close in the past few days.
With the French International finally getting his move away from London, he has since been in the news for talking poorly of his old clubs' fans, but he has praised Arsene Wenger.

Remember FC Stjarnan, the Icelandic club that came up with the innovative goal celebrations that went viral last year.

Now, it is Hangö IK, a Finnish third division club, part of the Kolmonen that is going places with their after parties. They involve costume changes and burlesque.

This was originally going to be a three-part piece on life, liberty, and the profligacy that once defined the career of Fernando Torres. But then I read the news, and checked Twitter to find that everyone is mouthing off about Fernando supposedly mouthing off in a Spanish paper about his teammates.

Jack Robinson believes Jose Enrique can help mould him into Liverpool's left-back of the future.
The 18-year-old has been impressed by the way the Spaniard has performed since moving to Anfield and is convinced he will continue to develop if he follows the No.3's example.
"Jose is someone I have watched over the last few years and someone who will be a good player for us," Robinson told the Official LFC magazine.

Martin Kelly believes the inclusion of Steven Gerrard on Liverpool's teamsheet gave everybody a boost ahead of Saturday's 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
After making his comeback following a six-month absence with a substitute appearance at Brighton in midweek, the captain was named on the bench for the visit of Mick McCarthy's side before he made a late cameo as the Reds clinched three points.

Borrell hails Morgan cameo

Rodolfo Borrell was full of praise for the contribution of Adam Morgan after the striker came off the bench to score twice during the 3-0 NextGen Series win over Molde on Thursday night.

View the full story here: Liverpool FC

A news article on 2011-09-30 08:38:47 from: Liverpool FC

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.