From the Guardian:

The prospects of David Beckham making a return to the Premier League have increased as Harry Redknapp said the player has declared his desire to join Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs are now in talks with Beckham's club, Los Angeles Galaxy, about signing the 35-year-old on loan until the Major League Soccer season resumes in March.

-
Eusebio and Gordon Banks at Loftus Road: Enlarged Photo Eusebio vs Banks: Enlarged Photo
-
For QPR and Football Latest Updates and perspectives throughout the day, visit the QPR Report Messageboard. All QPR and football perspectives welcome...Also Follow: QPR REPORT ON TWITTER ___________________________________________________________________________________
- Audio: Keith Curle Interviewed Today on Talksport (Click to Listen)
- Vaagan Moen on the Official Site
- QPR-India: Two New Youths Coming to Train (Update)
- Three Ex-QPR Birthdays
- News of Ex-QPR Ricky Sappleton: "Lose Weight"
- Three More Managers Axed
- Charlton's New Owner.

We're not there yet, but we certainly are approaching full strength, with the top three leagues in the world all in action this week. The top matches of the week include Wednesday's match between Manchester City and Arsenal and Sunday's matches between Real Madrid/Villarreal and Napoli/Juventus.

As the third round of the FA Cup kicked off yesterday I wondered to myself if it was as special as it used to be. Many people have said over the last 15 years or so that the FA Cup has lost some of the magic it once had and I can't really argue with that. When I was younger, this time of year was as exciting as the final itself, the beginning of what you hope would end with your team at Wembley in the final game of the season lifting the most famous club cup trophy of them all.

As the third round of the FA Cup kicked off yesterday I wondered to myself if it was as special as it used to be. Many people have said over the last 15 years or so that the FA Cup has lost some of the magic it once had and I can't really argue with that. When I was younger, this time of year was as exciting as the final itself, the beginning of what you hope would end with your team at Wembley in the final game of the season lifting the most famous club cup trophy of them all.

I've just got enough time to get a quick preview done before I head off to the ground. Barnet are the visitors to Broadhall Way today, just over 2 months ago since we beat them 3-0 at Underhill. A lot has changed since that Tuesday night in early November. We haven't won a game in the league since, whilst Barnet have now parted company with former Boro boss Mark Stimson.

For our latest guest contribution, we are pleased to present a match report from Yasser11, a keen supporter of the footballing blogosphere, but noteworthy in particular for his insatiable appetite for watching football in the flesh. Following trips to Stamford Bridge and Bedfont F. C.'s ground at The Orchard last week, Yasser made his way to The Valley last night.

According to BBC Sports, the LA Galaxy have bottled it and will give into David Beckham and let him go to Spurs on loan.

The deal, when it goes through will mean that the 35-year old Beckham will be playing football for the next 11 months. Based on his injury history, there is no way that Beckham will come through the next 11 months unscathered, which means that one more Beckham will fail to complete a full season with the Galaxy.

According to BBC Sports, the LA Galaxy have bottled it and will give into David Beckham and let him go to Spurs on loan.

The deal, when it goes through will mean that the 35-year old Beckham will be playing football for the next 11 months. Based on his injury history, there is no way that Beckham will come through the next 11 months unscathered, which means that one more Beckham will fail to complete a full season with the Galaxy.

By Chris Wright

"Hello there old friend"

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has confirmed to BBC Sport that he expects David Beckham to finalise his loan move from LA Galaxy to White Hart Lane at some point over the weekend.

Rotation makes the World go round, the world go round. Which of the following words or phrases is the odd one out? Footballers in fast cars; trips abroad for celebrations; Mexican whiz kids; non English speaking Russians, mud wrestling; raw sewage or rotation. Trick question because they are all dirty words to Harry.

Let's start back in the late 60's and early 70's. The mere mention of Leeds was certain to cause fear in all but the hardest of Gooners. Leeds were as hard as their fans. Bremner, Giles, Charlton, Hunter etc were without question the dirtiest side I have ever seen, but let there be no doubt, that side could play great football before they kicked two colours out of the opposition.

Taking one's time over a post can have its downsides. Having begun piecing together an assessment of Charlton Athletic's situation following the announcement on 31 December that a long-awaited takeover had finally been completed, I didn't expect quite yet to have to rip up (figuratively, of course) and start again.

Just in time for the Charlton deadline comes another quality column from the man from down under, lost in Kent, but found at White Hart Lane. Bravely shrugging off the cricket and the loss to Everton he brings tidings of great joy and hope for the future, well the immediate future anyway.He regards Charlton as a racing certainty and Man.

Mystery surrounds the proposed loan deal for David Beckham with conflicting reports coming out of both camps.

As the Charlton game drew closer, it seemed likely that an announcement confirming the deal would be made to the fans prior to kick off. However a statement from the official Spurs website before the game, declared that Beckham would only be training with the club until his return to MLS side L A Galaxy.

Andros Townsend won't be a familiar name to all Spurs supporters, but his display in the 3-0 win over Charlton suggests that he might just have a big future at the club.

Townsend who is 19, has appeared on the bench for Spurs on occasions but yesterday was his full debut which he marked with a goal and a great all round second half performance.

Tottenham claimed a 3-0 win over Charlton in the FA Cup yesterday 3 with the minimum amount of fuss giving David Beckham a glimpse of what he could be apart of should he join on loan.

The date was Saturday 28th August and we were playing a Wigan side at White Hart Lane who had lost their first two league games 4-0 and 6-0. Instead of compounding their misery we lost the game 1-0 with an abject, uninspiring display that lacked creativeness. Before the game many people were surprised Redknapp had opted for a starting midfield pairing of Palacios and Huddlestone who both like to sit deep.

The date was Saturday 28th August and we were playing a Wigan side at White Hart Lane who had lost their first two league games 4-0 and 6-0. Instead of compounding their misery we lost the game 1-0 with an abject, uninspiring display that lacked creativeness. Before the game many people were surprised Redknapp had opted for a starting midfield pairing of Palacios and Huddlestone who both like to sit deep.

That was just about as straightforward as could have been hoped, just about every box ticked by 3.30pm. Key personnel rested; squad members got 90 minutes; home-grown youngster made Danny Rose-esque impact on debut (fingers crossed the next few months are a bit brighter for him than for the boy Rose); clean sheet; no injuries; no suspensions; opportunity for Defoe to return to sharpness; etc.

Centre forwards across the world are being linked with a move to Spurs but manager Harry Redknapp is looking to an existing member of our strike force to score the goals that will help the team achieve its aims for the rest of the season.

Jermain Defoe kicked off the campaign in sparkling form which culminated in a hat-trick for the national side against Bulgaria in September.

Scary rumour No1. First of a series.Come out Gareth. I'ts all right, he'll be on our side. Against Charlton we avoided an obvious banana skin without too much trouble, although it needed the creativity of Modric to light our path. The pairing of Sandro and Palacios seemed a bit heavy handed for the likes of Charlton but once the little maestro came on for Palacios we scored three within 15

Scary rumour No1. First of a series.Come out Gareth. I'ts all right, he'll be on our side. Against Charlton we avoided an obvious banana skin without too much trouble, although it needed the creativity of Modric to light our path. The pairing of Sandro and Palacios seemed a bit heavy handed for the likes of Charlton but once the little maestro came on for Palacios we scored three within 15

Luka Modric reached his own personal milestone of 100 appearances for Spurs in all competitions in the FA Cup tie against Charlton on Sunday.

It was widely acknowledged that Modric's arrival as a second half substitute turned a game that was in danger of going nowhere, but the midfielder was quick to praise the men around him as he continues to play his best football.

Spur had a great game in a great year beating Charlton 3-0 with 3 nice goals, and a special performance from Defoe
Tottenham Hotspur v Charlton Athletic
Uploaded by trigzmetric. - Basketball, baseball, pro wrestling and more sports videos.

Spur had a great game in a great year beating Charlton 3-0 with 3 nice goals, and a special performance from Defoe Tottenham Hotspur v Charlton Athletic Uploaded by trigzmetric. - Basketball,...
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more!

This blog missed a lot of the FA Cup happenings at the weekend due to illness. But, fear not - the worst of it is over and we're back with a comeback that Lazurus himself would be proud of.
So anyway, it's all been kicking off. Beckham: Will he? Won't he? Will he again? It's all a bit too much hassle for one ageing star if you ask us.

This blog missed a lot of the FA Cup happenings at the weekend due to illness. But, fear not - the worst of it is over and we're back with a comeback that Lazurus himself would be proud of.
So anyway, it's all been kicking off. Beckham: Will he? Won't he? Will he again? It's all a bit too much hassle for one ageing star if you ask us.

The man is an undisputed football legend - not only with Manchester United fans but right throughout the game. The next time Ryan Giggs steps onto the field in a Premier League match will be...
Continue to the full story

By Ollie Irish

Pies delved into the PA archives and came up with this fine selection of black-and-white Lofthouse pictures (very large, high-res versions which you can see – and download – if you right-click on each image), featuring the great man in his considerable prime.

Darren Bent must know something we don't know. The man has requested to be put on the transfer list to force a move from Sunderland to Aston Villa, with the Black Cats ‘reluctantly' accepting a bid of an initial £18m rising to as much as £24m depending on his performance. Why would a player who has had such success with a squad that is knocking on the door to the European spots want to move to a club who have arguably performed the worst of any side in the Premier League this season relative to their stature?

Perhaps the most surprising and definitely most talked about transfer so far is that of Darren Bent to Aston Villa. The big issue seems to be the fact that Sunderand currently sit 6th whilst Villa are languishing in 17th. It is certainly worth noting that their is only a 12 point difference between the two clubs and Villa have played a game less.

Two interesting career moves this week: Darren Bent's £24m ($38m) transfer from Sunderland to Aston Villa and Eric Cantona's appointment as director of soccer for a potential MLS franchise that's currently trading heavily on past reputation rather than present performance. Despite his views to the contrary, Bent's decision makes sense from a financial point of view.

Two interesting career moves this week: Darren Bent's £24m ($38m) transfer from Sunderland to Aston Villa and Eric Cantona's appointment as director of soccer for a potential MLS franchise that's currently trading heavily on past reputation rather than present performance. Despite his views to the contrary, Bent's decision makes sense from a financial point of view.

The club has announced that Andros Townsend has joined Watford on loan until the end of the season, after spending the first part of this campaign at Ipswich. He has previously had loans at Orient, MK Dons & Yeovil.

Townsend impressed during his Spurs debut in the FA Cup third round game against Charlton, scoring our first goal in the 3-0 win.

DEN HAAG, Netherlands ADO Den Haag climbed into seventh in the Eredivisie with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Heerenveen. Danny Buijs gave the hosts a first-half lead before Charlton Vicento doubled their advantage shortly after the break. Bas Dost grabbed a goal back for Heerenveen but Lex Immers struck to seal Den Haag's success.

DEN HAAG, Netherlands ADO Den Haag climbed into seventh in the Eredivisie with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Heerenveen. Danny Buijs gave the hosts a first-half lead before Charlton Vicento doubled their advantage shortly after the break. Bas Dost grabbed a goal back for Heerenveen but Lex Immers struck to seal Den Haag's success.

Darren Bent, return for Liverpool, and a League of Nations 3 Darren Bent has now scored debut goals for three different teams: Charlton, Sunderland and Aston Villa 2 Shots on target in total by Wigan, Stoke and Birmingham 3 Dimitar Berbatov became only the third player to score three hattricks in a [.

By Paul Sorene

In answer to the headline question: yeah, he is now.

So how's Muscat been getting on since he left British shores to play in the Australian league? Adrian Zahra could offer a few words, but he's a bit winded.

This is the same Muscat whose first words to Ashley Young were, allegedly: "Don't go past me or I will break your legs.

Legends simply don't come any bigger than this. Blackpool's Jimmy Armfield and Manchester United all time great Sir Bobby Charlton are just two of England immortals who are World Cup winners. When a...
Continue to the full story