After a few days of intensified speculation and rumors, Didier Drogba brought a relatively swift end to the guessing over his future and announced he will leave Chelsea when his contract ends in June.

As Drogba told ITV, he decided that winning the Champions League was his chance to follow the Seinfeld method and go out on a high note like George Costanza.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Stoke City, 21st March 2012, White Hart Lane, 7.45pm kick off

Stoke travel to North London on Wednesday night with football still in the shadow of the horrific and distressing scenes that occurred at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

It's encouraging news that Fabrice Muamba is stable, his heart is working without the aid of medicine, there has been movement in his arms and legs and he has been coherent and talking to friends and family.

It's time to move on, guys. There's still time to make this season count.

Don't get me wrong, this season has been a failure by any standards. Like the last 6 seasons, no silverware will be brought in. Unlike the last 6 seasons, we never, at any point this season, looked like realistic contenders for any of the trophies we were in contention for.

::: FistedAway welcomes a guest post from Elliott,
editor of the rather lovely Futfanatico :::

The path from the cusp of destruction to redemption has been a long one for Liverpool FC fans. Bad apple Americans owners. The departure of Rafael Benitez. The exodus of star players like Xabi Alonso.

Remember our last FA Cup game? One of the great moments in the history of the Emirates. An average performance completely dismissed by 5 seconds of theatre. Today I would love to see a 90 minute performance which will raise the despair around the ground following 3 defeats.

We have to accept that we are not going to be Champions this year yes, even you Peaches.

Remember our last FA Cup game? One of the great moments in the history of the Emirates. An average performance completely dismissed by 5 seconds of theatre. Today I would love to see a 90 minute performance which will raise the despair around the ground following 3 defeats.

We have to accept that we are not going to be Champions this year yes, even you Peaches.

Manchester City's month of January continued to drop like a lead balloon. Craig Bellamy stuffed home the decisive goal at Anfield with just over 15 minutes remaining, and Liverpool set up a Wembley date with Cardiff City in the Carling ...
This is a content summary. Visit http://www.epltalk.

By Chris Wright

"Carling or Becks? Carling...or Becks? Budweiser!"

FIFA, eh? Watching over us all with ever-loving grace. Fighting the good fight. Tackling the real issues that threaten to undermine our beloved game with feverish haste and ruthless efficiency.

We have qualified top of the group. Well done, lads.

Is this a reason to play a B team tonight? You bet it is.

Olympiakos would like to win this fixture and thus have the chance to progress, Marseilles would like us to win and allow them to go into the knockout rounds.

We have qualified top of the group. Well done, lads.

Is this a reason to play a B team tonight? You bet it is.

Olympiakos would like to win this fixture and thus have the chance to progress, Marseilles would like us to win and allow them to go into the knockout rounds.

Liverpool will play Manchester City in the two legged semi-final of the Carling...

Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni believes the stunning 4-0 win over Estonia in the first leg of the Euro 2012 qualifying play-off last night demonstrated the progress his players have made in recent times.
Ireland stand on the verge of qualifying for the tournament in the Poland and Ukraine after a comprehensive success over their hosts, demonstrating great attacking quality, a feature often lacking under the Italian.

Let's make it the Carling Kop Henderson

Liverpool midfielder eager to end club's five-year trophy drought

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-10-27 21:31:52 from: The Mirror

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

• Kop That: Stoke 1-2 LFC: 7 great videos http://t.co/JEx3jhRS 22:57:09, 2011-10-27
• Kop That: EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool target Toon's Coloccini http://t.co/hoyOfGnc 22:42:35, 2011-10-27
• Kop That: PFA's Evra-Suarez peace plan is blocked http://t.co/Clf5KE72 22:42:32, 2011-10-27
• Kop That: EXCLUSIVE: Fed-up stars may boycott anti-racism campaign http://t.

Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski confirmed that he's not a happy man on the bench but is fully aware of the fact that he is to be patient. Speaking to the Club's official website after the Carling ...

As expected Alan Pardew has fielded an unchanged side for this afternoon's tough game at home to Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham have hit to top form and have won their last four games, but Newcastle are also in decent form, and have yet to taste defeat this season after seven games in the Premier League and two ties in the Carling [.

Carling's 14-year sponsorship of the Football League cup could end next year after the governing body for Championship, League One and Two clubs said it was talking to other brands about taking over.

Robbie Keane scored his 49th goal for the Republic of Ireland.They beat Scotland 1 - 0 to claimd the inaugural Carling Nations Cup.

By Chris Wright

A single Robbie Keane goal was enough to see the Republic of Ireland beat Scotland and get their grubby paws on the inaugural Carling Nations Cup at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin this afternoon.

Photos...

Photos: PA

"Scotland win trophy."
You don't hear that often.
There is a chance you will tonight though.
And perhaps we could even keep the Carling Nations Cup in perpetuity.
Friday night's attendance for the Wales v Northern Ireland game was 529. That leaves the total attendance for the tournament's five games so far hovering around the 60,000 mark.

Ireland captain Robbie Keane has warned players to commit fully to Irelands cause or not play at all.
Keane has been bemused by the high number of players who have pulled out from international duty for the Carling Nations Cup this past week.
Ireland have had plenty of problems with mystery initially surrounding the failure of James McCarthy, Jon Walters and Marc Wilson to report for duty.

Robbie Keane expects his Ireland team-mate Shay Given to be back playing Premiership football next season.
Manchester City goalkeeper Given has endured a frustrating year at Eastlands after losing his place in the team to Joe Hart.
The 34-year-old Donegal born goal stopper is expected to move on in the summer and Keane has underlined the qualities the former Newcastle goalkeeper offers.

Wales v Northern Ireland 2011 Carling Nations Cup- 27 May, 2011 Final score:- Wales v Northern Ireland 2-0 ( Aaron Ramsey, Robert Earnshaw) Wales beat Northern Ireland 2-0 thanks to goals from Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey and forward Robert Earnshaw. The game was played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

"It's a 11 month holiday" was Trapattoni's damning verdict after Anthony Stokes pulled out of Ireland's squad for the Carling Nations Cup. Gio couldn't understand Stokes' reason for not playing and for him 'fatigue' didn't count as a valid reason.

Much the same way, England and more specifically Stuart Pearce couldn't understand that Wilshere playing his first full season as a top flight footballer in the Premiership could also be tired.

Robbie Keane grabbed a double as Ireland destroyed Nigel Worthinton's IFA side 5-0 in the Carling Nations Cup in Dublin.
Already Ireland's all-time record goalscorer, Keane claimed his 47th and 48th goals in his 106th appearance for the national team.
It proved to be a shockingly poor display by the North, who were cheered on by a sparse band of supporters numbering less than 300.

Republic of Ireland vs Northern Ireland Final score:- Ireland vs Northern Ireland 5-0 ( Robbie Keane*2, Stephen Ward, Simon Cox, Cathcart own goal) Dublin- Carling Nations Cup- 24 May, 2011 Robbie Keane scores two goals and Wolves' Stephen Ward and West Bromwich's Simon Cox score on their debuts for the Republic as they thrash Northern [.

Speaking ahead of tonight's Carling Nations Cup game against Nigel Worthington's IFA team, Ireland captain Robbie Keane has waded into the eligibility issue stating that it was "totally up to the players" themselves if young Irish internationals from the North decide to play for Ireland rather than the IFA team.

Another season draws to a close. A season that had begun with the fans believing anything was possible is ending with blatant dissatisfaction among many of the supporters and a vociferous angry minority demanding the departure of Wenger.

As a long-term supporter, it is difficult not to be amused by the appearance of the gathering anger clouds.

Ireland international striker Kevin Doyle has set his sights on playing for Ireland in their three internationals at the end of the season.
Doyle has basically ruled himself out of the remainder of Wolves' battle for Barclays Premier League survival after suffering a knee ligament injury when Ireland beat Macedonia in Dublin last month.

Untold Injury Index – Gameweek 32 By Dale Higginbottom Blackpool away was always going to be a tricky game. Played at a point in the season when their players had played considerably fewer games when taking into account Carling and FA cups, Champions League and International fixtures. With United winning the day before it was [.

A new dawn for an attacking Scotland?
Craig Levein had already been musing a change in emphasis before last night's win in Dublin, dictated by the players at his disposal. This was taken to mean no repeat of the 4-6-0 formation he used against Czech Republic.
But, as guest blogger Craig Cairns argues below, we should be cutting Levein more slack for his willingness to experiment.

The inaugural Carling Nations Cup saw the first round of matches completed this week at Dublin's Aviva Stadium. In the opening match on Tuesday second half goals from Darron Gibson, Damien Duff and Kevin Fahey gave the host nation Republic of Ireland something to cheer against a lacklustre Wales side.

Séamus Coleman admits tasting international football with Ireland has left him wanting more.
Coleman's friends and family from Killybegs and other parts of Donegal were inside the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night to see him make his international debut against Wales in the first game of the Carling Nations Cup which ended in a comfortable 3-0 win for Ireland.

International week and all eyes are on the stadium formerly known as Lansdowne Road as Scotland make their debut in the Carling Nations Cup.
Making their debut and already playing catch-up after Ireland set the early pace with a 3-0 win over Wales last night.
Ewan Murray has more on the background to the tournament on The Guardian sports blog including the travails the Irish FA have been having with ticket sales.

Ciarán Clark and Séamus Coleman will make their Ireland international debuts in tomorrow night's Carling Nations Cup opener against Wales, However Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has lost Robbie Keane, James McCarthy, Keith Treacy, Liam Lawrence and Leon Best to injury.
Despite his hope that the Killybegs born player might develop into an attacking right back over the coming years, Coleman, the Italian said, will start on the right side of midfield for the Wales game while Clark will be used at left back.

Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has confirmed his 22-man squad for the Carling Nations Cup opener against Wales at the Aviva Stadium next Tuesday, February 8.
James McCarthy has been added to the senior squad and alongside the inclusion of Wilson, Coleman and Clarke makes for a very exciting blend of young Premiership talent and more experienced campaigners like Keane, Duff, Dunne and Given.

For the past several seasons, Real Madrid treated the Copa del Rey as a nuisance and a burden rather than a competition worth winning. José Mourinho has changed that mentality. One Taça de Portgual with FC Porto, two Carling Cups and an FA Cup with Chelsea, and a Coppa Italia with Inter Milan signals Mourinho's intentions of taking the domestic cup as seriously as the domestic league and the European competitions.

Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has named his squad for the Carling Nations Cup opening game against Wales which takes place in Aviva stadium on Tuesday February 8.
Included in the squad is Ciarán Clark who will report for duty for the first time having been ruled out of the Norway friendly due to injury.

None of these videos are hosted on Arsenal-Highlights or are connected with our servers in any way. For issues with the content please contact the content host.

Like a Hammer to the groin West Ham forward Victor Obinna saw red during last night's Carling Leg semi-final first-leg victory over Birmingham City. The Nigerian petulantly flicked his foot up behind him to give Sebastian Larsson a swift kick to the crown jewels. Fortunately for the loanee, his side went on to win the [.