Apart from John O'shea, combs , certain other articles which are used  to scratch your back but generally aren't meant to be used that way and Carlton Palmer  there are only very few things that can be termed as multipurpose. One of them is the word "Hello". You receive a call you say "Hello" as a greeting.

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Last week, I asked you to vote for you favourite 20 players of the decade, here in this very post, are the Top 100 players of the last 10 years, voted for by you, the readers and bloggers of the offside. First thing I want to say is thank you, everyone for the absolutely amazing response [...] Click to continue reading...

It's early November and we're still another seventh months until the tournament starts but I must admit that the injuries to Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard are beginning to worry me. According to Radio 5, Gerrard hasn't trained for two weeks and Ferdinand's overall fitness this season may have contributed to some of his indifferent performances when he has appeared for Manchester United.

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What could one possibly say about the 2004-2005 season in a few paragraphs that would really serve its true value? I'll give it a go. First, it must be said that we COMPLETELY overachieved in the Champions League, yet managed to COMPLETELY underachieve in the Premiership. Next, it must be said that Rafael Benitez is [. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal scored 4 in midweek in the Champions League, and are 4 points clear at the top of their group table.
Since losing away to Man City 4-2, Arsenal are unbeaten in 12 matches (League, League Cup, and CL). That includes 10 wins, three matches in which Arsenal have scored 3 goals, two with 4 goals, and one with 6 goals. Click to continue reading...

by CARL ELDRIDGEÂ Manuel Almunia has been told by Arsene Wenger that he will remain Arsenal's No 1 goalkeeper.

But the Daily Mail reports that while the Spaniard prepares to face Wolves today he may be interested in the rave review Wenger has given fellow Frenchman Hugo Lloris, the 22-year-old Lyon keeper who starred in the Champions League midweek frustration of Liverpool.

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Remember, remember, the 6th of November,

Post-Busby, Munich and all,

There's no reason why, including 3 on the trot,

The Alex Fergie era, should ever be forgot.

A bird in hand...

It is slightly disconcerting to think that this man has been on this job for just about 55 days less than the time I've been on this earth.

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Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris (Lyon)

Hugo Lloris showed Liverpool fans why he is France's number one keeper. While the Reds poured on the pressure he stood firm and made some brilliant saves early on against Kuyt, Torres, and Voronin. It took a wonder-strike from Babel to finally beat him.

Centre Back: Lucio (Internazionale)

Lucio showed why he is rated so highly around Europe.

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Seven stories from The Offside and World Cup Blog this week: Nominate your player/manager football ubermen Gigi's Buffon's incredible Champions League save Ballon d'Or or FIFA World Player of the Year: Which is shinier? Norwegian homage to Brazilian airport ad The return of Johan Cruyff. To Catalonia. Click to continue reading...

On this week's podcast we focus on the history of the game and in particular folk football. Damon and I have had to endure a tough week as both Liverpool and Tottenham continue to struggle. All these stories and more feature in this week's podcast. Come along to the site at languagecaster.com to read more.

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Die vergangenen Wochen waren sehr schwere für den VfB Stuttgart – viele Spiele wurden verloren, im DFB-Pokal kam das Aus gegen Fürth und Trainer Markus Babbel wackelte heftig. Doch die Verantwortlichen des VfB trafen eine mutige Entscheidung: Sie hielten an ihrem Trainer Markus Babbel fest. Daraufhin folgte am vergangenen Spieltag in der Bundesliga ein 0:0 gegen den deutschen Rekordmeister FC Bayern München, vorgestern mussten die Schwaben beim FC Sevilla ran in der Champions League.

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So... to review... for Liverpool to qualify for the Champions League round of sixteen one of the following scenarios needs to occur:

1.) Liverpool beat Debrecen AND Lyon beat Fiorentina AND Liverpool beat Fiorentina.

2.) Liverpool beat Debrecen AND Lyon draw with Fiorentina AND Liverpool beat Fiorentina by at least three goals.

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Ligue 1 teams had an amazing week in the Champions League (not so much in the Europa) that somewhat validated my prediction of French teams being real contenders this year. While Bordeaux won with class and Lyon once again upset Liverpool in the same manner they did 2 weeks ago, Marseille destroyed Zurich and are now in a position to make Real and Milan sweat. Click to continue reading...

Aside from the Manchester United scalp, Liverpool are winless since late September - a feat Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish hopes won't be remedied when his side take on Rafael Benitez's Reds on Monday evening.
McLeish, however, empathises with Benitez over the situation that has engulfed Anfield.

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Liverpool defender Daniel Agger is taking heart from the Reds' positive performance against Olympique Lyonnais this week, despite the disappointing result – a 1-1 draw placed the Merseysiders' hopes of progress in the Champions League in severe doubt.
"You get what you deserve in football and you have to look at closing the game down otherwise you get punished in the way we did in Lyon," he told the club's official website.

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Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has said that he does not believe an early European exit for the club would be a complete disaster.
Reina knows that his side must win their two remaining games and hope already-qualified Lyon can do them a favour against Italian side Fiorentina, but maintains that the Reds' rich European history makes up for this season's woes. Click to continue reading...

Ryan Babel's speculative, yet spectacular drive from 30 yards into the top corner on 83 minutes looked to have won the match in France on Matchday 4. All sorts of things were going through my head. "Maybe we can sneak through this group after all," or "FINALLY! We're back on track! We can do it," [.. Click to continue reading...

Bayern Munich fans are certainly not in a particularly good mood at the moment. The situation in the Bundesliga is far from hopeless but still disappointing, while Bayern will need a miracle of sorts to progress in the Champions League. Thus, some fans may be in disbelieve, some may question the coach or the players, others blame the transfer policy and a few probably just desperately hope for Ribery to return and make it all right again.

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Devastated is the word that Steven Gerrard used to describe how he felt when Xabi Alonso left Liverpool. It is a strong word. "Gutted" is trotted out routinely by footballers, but "devastated" cuts far deeper, revealing the kind of pain that has been all too apparent in the turbulent five-week spell that has turned Liverpool's season into something already approaching a write-off. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal eased past Dutch club AZ Alkmaar after their attacking prowess left the visitors little or no chance of securing a result at the Emirates Stadium. Cesc Fabregas bagged a brace with an impressive performance that showcased his skill, intelligence, and goal scoring capabilities as he marshalled the midfield. Click to continue reading...

While Wednesday's heartbreaking draw against Lyon didn't seal Liverpool's place in the Europa League it did put our chances on life support. Aside from needing to defeat Debrecen, Liverpool will also need some help from Lyon to keep the potential miracle alive. But what if Lyon and Fiorentina draw? Click to continue reading...

Between The Lines is concerned with the club's handling of Darren Fletcher's injury.

The Times lets you pick a United/Chelsea XI

F365 talks tactics ahead of Sunday

Dirty Tackle looks at the random musings of Wayne Rooney

Soccerlens predicts which teams will make it in to the final 16 of the Champions League

Caught Offside reckons Nani is moving to La Liga

"RoM Reads" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool will feel that they should have won the game at the Stage Gerland against Olympique Lyonnais, as they dominated for the most part, but crucially lost their concentration towards the end. Ryan Babel scored a scorcher from 25 yards with a little over five minutes to go, giving the Merseysiders a great chance of walking [. Click to continue reading...

The agent of Andrea Dossena has released a statement denying that the player is in talks with Napoli ahead of a potential return to Serie A in the January transfer window.

The Italian international has struggled to settle in the Premier League following his £7m transfer from Udinese in the summer of 2008 and has failed to hold down a regular starting place in a Liverpool shirt.

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Time to get the chequebook out Roman.

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The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has granted Chelsea's request to suspend their transfer ban.

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I don't think we'll win the Champions League this season. I'm sorry to break the news to you. But we're not doing too shabby in the Europa League and you have to start somewhere... Dembele tries... AZ Alkmaar is a club and a team in trouble. Replacing Van Gaal by Ronald Koeman Click to continue reading...

It is Friday morning and Sir Alex Ferguson has finished his pre-match news conference. There is a bit of good news on the injury front ahead of the all important game between Man United and Chelsea this Sunday.
After missing the midweek 3-3 draw against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League, Nemanja Vidic and Dimitar Berbatov are fit to play on Sunday. Click to continue reading...

I'm not quite sure where this week has gone. It's absolutely motored past. However, I suspect I drifted along, basking a bit too much in derby delight, and before I could whistle, the Champions League game had been and gone, and Stan Kroenke had hoovered up yet more shares.

We continued our fine form, albeit against what turned out to be the limited AZ.

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It was just one of those nights. Kind of like the home wins over Sevilla or Slavia Prague match in 2007. Arsenal came off 3-nil win over Spurs at the weekend, in which they had never really hit 3rd gear, and rode that 3rd gear for much of the Champions League match with AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday evening.

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The bald one, Peter Kenyon, set a goal of winning two Champions League crowns within a decade when he took over as Chelsea chief executive in 2004. Our new chief, Ron Gourlay is upping the stakes.

"Over the next five years we've still got to shoot for the stars," Gourlay said. "I'd still like to think we can win the Champions League twice in the next five years.

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This matchday of Champions League and Europa League has provided us with action and entertainment. Anyone who said the group stages are boring is proved wrong big time, with big teams slipping, and small teams fighting, the group stages will be fought to the death.
In the Champions League, Liverpool boss Benitez is risking big with a 1-1 draw against Olympique Lyon, although the reds aren't out of the competition mathematically, they will need many results to go their way so that they can go through to the knockout stages. Click to continue reading...

Former teammates; Alonso and Gerrard

I really can't wait to read the December installment of FourFourTwo Magazine. In this issue Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard finally states what we all know: the departure of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid has undeniably damaged the Merseyside club.

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Kartik Krishnaiyer and Laurence McKenna break down all the midweek Champions League action. Hear Kartik's very sharp opinions on UEFA's seeding process and Laurence's views on Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benetiz. We also preview this weekend's headline top of the table clash between Chelsea and Manchester United.

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These are all from the Champions League and Europa League, and they are all of superb quality...Let's begin with a thunderbolt from Liverpool's Ryan Babel. I'm tellin' ya, Rafa... don't sell this one away on the cheap.Atlético Madrid's Sergio Aguero rescues his side a point against Chelsea with a choice free kick. Click to continue reading...

3 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat for Bundesliga clubs in Europe this week. The good news is that five out of six have it all in their own hands to progress to the next round. The odd club out is of course Hertha B... no wait.

Bayern Munich 0-2 Bordeaux. Bayern wanted a football teacher and got a textbook case of how little possession stats tell you about the outcome of a football match.

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