Some areas of the press are suggesting that it hasn't been such a stellar year for Gareth Bale in comparison with last season. Those reports tend to just point to the winger's hat trick in the San Siro but they conveniently forget that this has been a much more consistent campaign for the Welshman.

Harry Redknapp, who spent most of last week aiming poisonous verbal darts in the direction of Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, last night went on live television to try to get the FA to take retrospective action against Mario Balotelli for an alleged stamp on Scott Parker during City's dramatic win against Spurs.

Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has called on Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini to stop trying to influence referees by waving imaginary cards on the touchline.In recent weeks, Mancini has been caught on camera several times exhorting the referee to take action by waving the imaginary red card.

Sounders launch Season Ticket Holder cards to optionally replace paper tickets

The Sounders are launching season ticket holder cards to replace paper tickets. For their initial launch, you must opt-in by January 26th. A number of questions are answered in their FAQ, but many still remain...

Ghana youth midfielder Mumuni Abubakar is currently in the midst of a two-week trial at Liverpool, but will he make the grade? The player himself seems confident, which could mean a potential move to the Premier League is on the cards.Speaking to Joy Sports, The 18-year old - who was voted 2010 Premier League Player of the Year by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana - enthused:"They

Ghana youth midfielder Mumuni Abubakar is currently in the midst of a two-week trial at Liverpool, but will he make the grade? The player himself seems confident, which could mean a potential move to the Premier League is on the cards.Speaking to Joy Sports, The 18-year old - who was voted 2010 Premier League Player of the Year by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana - enthused:"They

18.01.2012 - En las antípodas de las actuales, efímeras y devaluadas Panini y muy lejos de la colección de figuritas "Crack", las tarjetas vintage de futbolistas reconocidos fueron distintivo de marcas y furor de coleccionistas.
Surgidas en Inglaterra durante las primeras décadas del siglo XX, estas tarjetas (que podían encontrarse en cajillas de cigarrillos) apuntaron a la elevación de marcas y fidelización de clientes.

It's day four of cleaning out my garage (it's looking pretty tidy so far). Today I uncovered a pack of England cards that were issued by Upper Deck in 1998 under the title of "England: The England Card Collection." In ...
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On day three of cleaning out my garage, I found a pleasant surprise in a 1962 collection of 25 cards entitled "Football Clubs and Badges" from a company named Lamberts Of Norwich. The cards were included in packets of tea ...
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I've written a number of times before about youth soccer referees not wanting to use their cards. Initially it seemed to be due to the age of players that I coached. But now that my older girls team is in high school, I haven't seen many more cards, even though I've seen plenty of fouls to warrant them from opponents AND my own players.

Two time champions Muang Thong United sit in 3rd place in the Thai Premier League, a whopping 25 points behind champions Buriram PEA. The gap is so large I needed a calculator to work it out. Of course they were never gonna make it three TPLs in three years, not once Buriram PEA decided they wanted to win it this year.

The Seattle Sounders Academy shows early promise as two Alumni were selected to the United States National Team's U-20 Camp in January. Forward Sean Okoli, currently with Wake Forrest, and rightback Deandre Yedlin, of Akron, will both get to prove themselves to coach Tab Ramos. While the Sounders have a very tight roster for 2012 it is clear that they hold some cards from within their own Academy.

It was always on the cards that Arsenal would suffer an injury to one of their centre-backs as all four have to play in every game to cover for the four injured full-backs, and it finally happened yesterday when Thomas Vermaelen suffered a calf strain during yesterday's win over Queens Park Rangers. Arsene Wenger admitted [.

Dalglish unhappy at cards

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish believes Craig Bellamy is being unfairly treated by referees due to his feisty reputation.

View the full story here: Sky Sports

A news article on 2011-12-26 11:27:24 from: Sky Sports

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

If it isn't Luis Suarez at the top of your footie minds today, who else could it be? Late last night, it was announced that tipo had been rudely slapped with an eight-match ban (time for Christmas Carrolls now, if you get what we mean!) and a £40,000 fine for his part in racially abusing Patrice Evra.

Another player that Chelsea fans are confused about at the moment is Josh McEachran. Having asked to go out on loan back in the summer and being told "No" by AVB and that he is in his plans for the season, we are reading reports yet again this morning of a loan deal on the cards in January.

Roberto Soldado ... need we say more?! If there was a man Valencia needed to serve up the best paellas to it'd be Senor Soldado himself. While the focus has largely been on Real Madrid and Barcelona winning their World Club Cup trophy last weekend, we've decided to devote La Liga Lunes to the Valencian striker who scored twice against Malaga last night.

Barcelona eases past Saudi Arabian club Al Sadd as Adriano scores a brace in the first half taking advantage of some shoddy defending. Seydou Keita and Maxwell rounded off the tally in the second half.

Barca's entry into the finals was not without a price as David Villa broke his leg and could face up to six months off the field making him a serious doubt for the Euro campaign.

By Alan Duffy

Demoralised Manchester United fans had feared the worst after their captain, Nemanja Vidic, was stretchered off during that disastrous Champions League exit in Basel during the week. And now, those fears have been realised, with Sir Alex Ferguson revealing that the Serbian centre-half would miss the rest of the season with knee ligament damage.

Barcelona's Gerard Pique will be eligible to face Real Madrid next week after escaping further punishment for the caution he received against Rayo Vallecano.

Pique was booked for time-wasting in the 83rd minute of Barca's 4-0 win on Tuesday, his fifth caution of the season with the one-match ban ruling him out of this weekend's meeting with Levante.

The swelling went down, the MRI was done, and the news came back confirming the worst fears and least palatable rumours: Lucas Leiva will be out, at best, for the remainder of the season after injuring his ACL. This is, of course, horrible news for the player himself, whose development into one of the best holding midfielders in world football had finally seen a long overdue shift in public and media opinion.

Football fans pay tribute to Gary Speed (pictures)

Supporters have left cards, scarves, shirts and flowers outside his former clubs

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-11-28 12:51:25 from: The Mirror

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

By Sharon Hom
The Kansas Magic started their season with an away-and-home series with the Illinois Piasa and emerged victorious in both games to begin the season on the top of the PASL-Pro's Eastern Division.
In front of 658 at Piasa's home The Sports Academy on Saturday November 5, the Magic scored the last 2 goals to squeak to an 11-9 win in their very first regular season game.

By Sharon Hom
The Kansas Magic started their season with an away-and-home series with the Illinois Piasa and emerged victorious in both games to begin the season on the top of the PASL-Pro's Eastern Division.
In front of 658 at Piasa's home The Sports Academy on Saturday November 5, the Magic scored the last 2 goals to squeak to an 11-9 win in their very first regular season game.

While discussing his future in football, David Beckham has played down reports that he will move back to England to finish his playing career.

Those who bet on soccer will note how the former England captain is out of contract at LA Galaxy this month, meaning that a move to a new club could be on the cards.

When Joe Cole arrived at Anfield, he was heralded by many as the apparent missing link in Liverpool's formation. According to Roy Hodgson, senior players like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher had endorsed the signing, and were excited about what Cole could bring to the team. Alas, it just didn't work out for the former Chelsea player, and looking back now, Cole - who is now at Lille - has regrets about making the decision to come to Anfield.

The Missouri Comets lost their first game of the season tonight at home against the Baltimore Blast 10-8 in overtime. The Blast started the game off getting the first goal, 2:16 into the game. After a wall pass, there was a bit of a scramble in the box. In the end, Max Ferdinand touched the ball to Pfah Myers who was able to poke the ball past Danny Waltman and into the net to give the Blast the early lead.

This may not be one of the most tactful footy-related commercials you've ever seen, but it's probably one of the funniest. Unless you're a City fan. The reverse edition would probably involve a City fan wiping its arse with fake banknotes. Or possibly a Tevez shirt.

Pretty easy to get lost in a few more Komplett ads, like the excellent usage of disciplinary cards in the workplace.

Ajax starlet Danzell Gravenberch is attracting the attention of Manchester United and Liverpool, it has been claimed.
The 17-year-old striker is coming to the end of his contract at the Amsterdam Arena and is reportedly prepared to listen to offers from elsewhere.
According to reports, both Sir Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish have identified Gravenberch as a potential acquisition and a move to United or Liverpool could be on the cards.

Alberto Aquilani's agent Franco Zavaglia has confirmed that a permanent move from Liverpool to AC Milan is still very much on the cards for the Italian midfielder.
Speaking to calciomercato.it, Zavaglia revealed:
"Everything is on schedule. He [Aquilani] has still not proved his value, but he is giving his best, and I am sure that with his attributes and qualities, he will only get better|.

This weekend, the FA Cup reached its final qualifying round and the introduction of the clubs of the Blue Square Premier adds a little extra spice to the competition as well. Everybody that took to the pitch in this competition at the weekend went into their match knowing that a live appearance on ITV and a sizeable pay day could well be on the cards if they could just get over this hurdle, and this evening we have four matches from this round of the competition.

According to FIFA Task Force Football 2014, led by 'Der Kaiser' Beckbauer, the idea of red carding a defender in the box, giving a pk, and the obvious game suspension that goes with the red card is too much for teams to "endure". To reduce this, the Task Force has recommended that cards be given only if they would be cardable offenses anywhere else on the pitch.

Arsène Wenger was indecisive about resting Robin Van Persie for Stoke's visit to the Emirates, eventually deciding that the Dutchman would indeed start on the bench. The fact that a disappointing draw was on the cards until his introduction in the 66th minute – the Arsenal striker slamming-in two excellent goals – does suggest that [.

Criminally I have not been keeping up with the Malaysia Cup over recent days. We're at the semi final stage now with the second legs being played tomorrow. As things stand:
Selangor v Terengganu 0-2T Team v Negeri Sembilan 2-4
Is an all Terengganu final on the cards? NS's home advantage following their 4-2 win over the ever so daftly named (takes a deep breath) Terengganu PBDKT T Team makes it unlikely but this is Malaysian football after all so we'll see.

A couple of swap deals could be on the cards this January with both Roman Pavlyuchenko and Heurelho Gomes being used as potential bait to bring new faces to the Lane.

While Pav has only featured as a fringe player this season, Gomes has been reduced to third choice goalkeeper after some high profile errors towards the end of last season.

See that ugly, hideous, deformed creature over there? No, not Tevez. Beyond that. Moving away into the distance? Yeah. That one. That's the final Interlull of 2011. It's not too late to pick up some stones and throw them at it, calling it names as it departs to its filthy lair, some hibernation on the cards before it resurfaces next year.

Since LA clinched the Supporters' Shield, there's been a lot of chatter about the "Curse of the Shield". Namely, that teams who finish the season with the best record and are poised to take the MLS Cup don't. The stats speak toward this being true:only one third (5/15) of our league's past Shield winners have gone on to win a second piece of hardware in the same season.

By Tony Attwood The highest court in the European Union has ruled that it is legal for individuals within the EU to buy set-top box decoder cards from other EU broadcasters and watch whatever they have to offer. The ruling cannot be appealed. That means that in the UK, for example, we don't suffer the [.

It looked like a massive Europa League could have been on the cards last night when Irish minnows Shamrock Rovers miraculously took the lead against Tottenham at White Hart Lane. The away side took an unexpected lead when Stephen Rice got a touch to a long-range effort from Gary Twigg. Cue pandemonium among the Rovers [.

Recuperating Ron thanks fans

The family of Ronnie Moran have thanked Liverpool supporters for their cards and best wishes after the Anfield legend left hospital.

View the full story here: Liverpool FC

A news article on 2011-09-28 09:51:42 from: Liverpool FC

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