Where has the filling gone for Home United "sandwich" ??"Two pieces of toasts without fillings in the middle" as what it sums up Home United performance in their season curtain-raiser against defending S.League champions Tampines Rovers in the Charity Shield match at JBS.
The void left by Valery Hiek was clearly illustrated in the goal conceded in less than five minute how the once stout brick-like Protectors' defense was fully exploited by Stags' new signing Davor Piskor with not follow up from Lionel Lewis' narrowing of angle from near distance.

Saturday 4th February 1pm

The Emirates Stadium

This Saturday afternoon we welcome Blackburn Rovers to The Emirates for yet another in the constant list of must win matches.

Rovers were established on 5th November 1875 and became founder members of The Football League in 1888.

When Eric Cantona of Manchester United did his amazing Kung-fu kick on an obnoxious Crystal Palace supporter seventeen years ago this month, I was there. By chance I was also an eye-witness thirty-five years earlier when United's goalkeeper Harry Gregg spectacularly whacked a spectator at Luton Town in April, 1960, knocking him to the ground.

Many folks will be forgiven if they thought the new season of the S.League is going to kick-off a year or so, instead of the official date given the league authority - 9th February 2012.
It's not a laughing matter and consider the fact the unveiling of the CEO of the League was only done weeks ago and on the same occasion the media were only made know in larger content what are to be expected in the much touted "S.

Instead of a preview, I thought I'd look at some classic Arsenal matches against this week's opponents. And when those opponents are Man Utd, there's a lot of games to choose from. So, rather than one game, I thought I'd look at a whole season: 2004-2005. That year, we played United in three games that can genuinely be described as epic (we also opened the season by beating them in the Charity Shield).

11 or 12/2 v Myanmar (A)24/02 v Uzbekistan (H)TPL All Stars (Yuck) v Sunderland (H)
New TPL begins March 17 with a charity shield type thing on March 11 between Buriram PEA now to be called Buriram United playing Chonburi for the King's trophy

Indonesia Super League
PSPS v Mitra Kukar 3-1 (Herman Dzumafo 2, Patrice Nguenheu; Jajang Maulyana) 9,475Persela v Persiram 5-1 (Roman Golian 2, Gery Setia, Jimmy Suparno, Mario Costas; Okta) 10,000Arema v Sriwijaya 1-5 (Arif Ariyanto; Hilton Moreira 3, Keith Kayamba 2) 2,818
Divisi Utama (LI)
Perseru v Persepam 1-0 (Camera) 600PSBS v Barito Putra 1-3 (Dwaramury; Sackie Dou 2, Nnengue) 1,723Persid v PSBK 3-1 (Titus Johnson, Jaya Hartono, Ibnu Suhandak; Gatot Ismawan) 3,500Sumbawa Barat v Persiss 2-0 (Saddam Husain 2) 8,000PSMP v Persigo 2-0 (Abdul Rohkim, Catur Mardiyanto)Persitara v Persiku 2-2 (Patricio Jiminez 2; Indra Lesmana, Joko Purnomo) 2,267Bengkulu v Persis 0-0 3,000Persebaya v Persih 2-0 (Richard Obiora, Muhammed Obora) 3,040Persitema v PSGL 1-0 (Iwan Pratam) 5,167
Indonesia Premier League
Persija v Arema 3-3PSMS v Persiraja 1-0Persebaya v PSM 2-0Bontang v Semen Padang 0-2Persibo v Persijap 5-0
Divisi Utama (LPIS)
Pro Duta v PSSB 0-1Bengkulu v Persikabo 0-0PSBL v PSLS 2-0Persikota v Persitara 1-1PSS v PSIS 0-0Persis v Persik 2-1PPSM v Persikab 2-2Persepar v PSCS 2-1Persipasi v PSIR 2-0Persiwangi v Perseman 1-1Gresik United v Persipro 0-1Persires Bali v Persemalra 1-0Madiun Putra v PSBI 4-2
Thai FA Cup Semi Final
Muang Thong United v Songkla 4-3 (after pens)Buriram PEA v Army United 2-0
Muang Thong meet Buriram PEA in the final next Wednesday with PEA on course for a domestic treble)
Thai Premier League
Bangkok Glass v Si Sa Ket 2-0 Khon Kaen v Thai Port 1-1Osotspa v TTM Phichit 3-0TOT v Police United 1-1
Thai Division One
PTT Rayong v Samut Prakan Customs 2-1Phuket v Bangkok 1-4Raj Pracha v Bangkok United 2-4Air Force United v Saraburi 3-3
Malaysia Charity Shield
Kelantan v Negeri Sembilan 1-2 (Norshahrul Idlan Talaha; Effa Owana 2)

New year, new resolutions! 2011 brought United their long awaited 19th League title, an 8-2 win against Arsenal, a dramatic Charity Shield win versus Manchester City in August, and much, much more. No doubt Sir Alex Ferguson will want to make 2012 an even better year for the club, as the now 70-year old manager [.

Kenny taking the League Cup seriously, like Bob did

BOB PAISLEY was Liverpool's manager for nine seasons and in every single one of those seasons he guided the club to a piece of silverware. The only major trophy to elude him was the FA Cup but that wasn't through lack of trying.

Article by Jon Parker
As many of you, if not all, will have heard, Steve Nicol and the New England Revolution parted ways at the end of October, two years since the Revolution's last appearance in the MLS Playoffs. Jonathan Kraft said in a statement "We all agreed a change of direction was needed to reverse the trend of the past couple of years.

Blue Moon Rising or Another False Dawn? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Following Manchester United's humiliating defeat at the hands of 'noisy neighbours' Manchester City on Sunday, many pundits and journalists are suggesting the balance of power in English football has swung over to the blue side of Manchester.

Laurie Hughes obituary

England centre-half at the 1950 World Cup The tale of the Liverpool footballer Laurie Hughes, who has died aged 87, is one of the game's saddest stories. He was plunged into World Cup football in Brazil in 1950, his debut for England. But during a Charity Shield game a few months later, he was badly injured, ending his international career.

If you've watched or read The Damned United, you'll know that the 1974 Charity Shield between Leeds United and Liverpool plays a pivotal role. It was a real life drama featuring remarkable characters Bill Shankly and Brian Clough. And on ...
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Manchester United are one of the most dominant footballing forces in the world. Since the Premier League began back in the 1992-93 season, The Red Devils have won the prestigious title a total of 12 times – more than any other Premiership club. Another impressive statistic is the fact that they've never finished outside the top-4.

I think we can all agree football is broken. Whilst millions of pounds are being spent on players like Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll, famous clubs like Wrexham are struggling to survive. My ten point plan will not save football in its entirety, but it will help make it a darn sight more enjoyable.

I think we can all agree football is broken. Whilst millions of pounds are being spent on players like Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll, famous clubs like Wrexham are struggling to survive. My ten point plan will not save football in its entirety, but it will help make it a darn sight more enjoyable.

Showing off is generally considered a distasteful trait in life. Right from when we are toddlers, we are schooled not to show of our bright new shoes, because Timmy doesn't have one see? If you have nice shoes, you wear them to school and act as if nothing happened. It's slightly different in sports though, because a lot of the point of a game itself is the other person NOT winning.

Showing off is generally considered a distasteful trait in life. Right from when we are toddlers, we are schooled not to show of our bright new shoes, because Timmy doesn't have one see? If you have nice shoes, you wear them to school and act as if nothing happened. It's slightly different in sports though, because a lot of the point of a game itself is the other person NOT winning.

- Tom Thomas

And without a moment to spare, the new Premier League season is upon us with all the hope and aspirations of millions looking forward to a fresh campaign from their home sides. With a mediocre level of activity in the transfer markets, we pick up many of the same story lines from the EPL where we left them at the beginning of the summer.

There can be few more thrilling experiences than watching Manchester United come from being two goals behind at Wembley to beat 'noisy neighbours' Manchester City 3-2 with a last minute winner in the Community Shield. However much City may now try to dismiss the occasion as simply a 'pre-season warm up' it's still a terrific feeling to see so many United youngsters rising to the occasion in classic Busby Babes' style, all those players like Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck, each giving hope that another generation of 'kids' is coming through at Old Trafford.

Manchester United 3 v Manchester City 2. Isn't life great? Somehow a win like today's Charity Shield comeback of comebacks seems so much sweeter and so much more rewarding than if we had beaten them 4-0. Nothing makes you feel better about your team, it's prospects for the future and it's overall makeup than an outstanding come from [.

The Da Silva hermanos with their Charity Shield! (Image courtesy of Sara Reid - obrigada!)

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For those of you who had a game of your own and missed the Charity Shield here's a snippet of the highlights in a highly charged game for a Charity Shield or Community Shield as it is also known by the younger members of society between Manchester United and their noisy neighbours City.

Manchester City v United, plus six Community Shield derbies

Sunday's match between the Manchester clubs will be the seventh time that neighbourhood rivals have met in the Community (or Charity) Shield. Could this be the start of an era dominated by the Manchester rivals?

Manchester City captain, Carlos Tevez, has repeatedly criticised our city since signing for the blues. He won't be taking part in this weekend's Charity Shield, having been given extended leave by his club.

"There's nothing to do in Manchester," Tevez recently said. "There's two restaurants and everything's small.

Manchester United striker, Javier Hernandez, has been ruled out of competition for the next two weeks.

The Mexican was revealed to have suffered "mild concussion" on the training ground, yesterday, but recent reports indicate that he was hospitalised for much of last night with the condition.

Follow us on Twitter Well what a strange turn events we've seen over the last 48 hours, with Fergie and then David Gill sending out conflicting messages about transfers. First we had Fergie speaking to the press telling us that United were unlikely to make any more signings before the Charity Shield.

Follow us on Twitter Well what a strange turn events we've seen over the last 48 hours, with Fergie and then David Gill sending out conflicting messages about transfers. First we had Fergie speaking to the press telling us that United were unlikely to make any more signings before the Charity Shield.

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QPR in the Charity Shield
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I'm busy celebrating my birthday tonight so this is short. King5.com will be streaming the Sounders season preview tonight, which will include live footage from the Sounders-Rapids Charity Shield match at Qwest. Kickoff is at 8pm MST. I'll have a post about what happens and some possible player news either tomorrow or Friday.

Yes...I was at the Manchester derby this past weekend.
What an amazing game, and Wayne Rooney's bicycle kick goal not only proved to be the game-winner, but he scored the greatest goal I have ever seen live. My brother and I talked later that day about watching Paul Ince score on a bicycle kick in the 1994 Charity Shield between United and Blackburn at Old Wembley (look it up on You Tube), but this goal was greater - it was in a critically important match in regards to the title race, and the timing of the goal made it epic!

Locals' pride was salvaged in the last 10minutes of the game as Tampines Rovers came from behind to snatch a dramatic 2-1 win over the recently-revamped defending champions Etoile FC in the season opener - The Charity Shield at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Things didn't start off too pretty for the Stags as they found themselves with a goal down from a spot-kick from Etoile in less than 20 minutes.

(Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore)
SINGAPORE, 7 February 2011: The 2011 S.League Charity Shield will pit the Great Eastern – YEO'S S.League defending champions Etoile FC and RHB Singapore Cup runners-up Tampines Rovers at the Jalan Besar Stadium this Wednesday, 9 February at 7.

(Doh. Collided with Jeremiah's post. I'll leave the handy schedule table up, but to discuss the Departed Players, head to that thread.)

A couple of updates from the team today. Here's the official preseason schedule:

WhenWhereWho Feb 8, 9:30am Casa Grande, AZ Real Salt Lake Feb 10, 10:00am Phoenix, AZ Columbus Crew Feb 12, 9:00am Casa Grande, AZ Chivas USA Feb 21, 12:30pm Orlando, FL FC Dallas Feb 22, 8:00am Orlando, FL Houston Dynamo Feb 26, 11:00am Bradenton, FL Chicago Fire Mar 4, 7:30pm Starfire Portland Timbers Mar 6, 3:00pm Starfire Vancouver Whitecaps Mar 9, 7:00pm Qwest Colorado Rapids

(I've converted all times to Pacific)

So basically you've got a week of games in Arizona, then a week of games in Florida, then the Official Cascadia Rivalry Preseason Throwdown, then the Community Shield.

Excuse my piss poor French!
But the SLeague champions, with less than two weeks to their Charity Shield game against Tampines Rovers, have done little on the PR front. Their website, for example, has been untouched for yonks.
If they can't be bothered to keep fans up to date with what's going on, and I'm sorry but Facebook and Twitter don't count, then they shouldn't be surprised if fans, and potential fans, lose interest.

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~We're going to the Wembley~

Arsenal go into their Carling Cup semi-final 1-0 down on aggregate against Ipswich, but have home advantage in the second leg as they look to get to the Wembley final.

Gunners manager Arsene Wenger says January's heavy fixture list has left him with "no choice" but to rotate his squad following the 3-0 win over Wigan.

Two Spurs legends have spoken about Sunday's clash against Manchester United and shared their beliefs that Spurs can win the game on go on from strength to strength this season.

Pat Jennings, who took part in many great tussles against United over the years, is well remembered for his unlikely goal against them in the 1967 Charity Shield.