The 2010 World Cup is heading into the knockout stages, and just as the action in South Africa is getting ready to really heat up, so are things on the transfer front.

Manchester United had a relatively quiet summer last year, but it doesn't look like that will be the case this summer, as United look set to strengthen their squad in multiple areas.

By FRANCO PANIZO

Jozy Altidore proved to be a handful for centerback Johnny Heitinga in the U.S. men's national team's friendly vs. the Netherlands, and Altidore will look to replicate that performance this weekend, when he'll likely face the Dutch defender again.

Firstly let me introduce myself. My name is Allan Park and I currently run worldcupfanzone2010 It is a brand new social network for fans of the world cup finals. My aim is to bring the beautiful game and fans together. Fans can discuss all aspects of the up and coming finals.

Our network offers fans to add friends, new and old.

We're going a long long way baby
EFW are delighted to bring you the Fat Boy Slim World Cup Tour Diary which will be written by our new signing - Charlton Athletic fan Stuart Mair. He'll be accompanying Norman and pals to South Africa:
Planet Football is definitely in our orbit.

Liverpool will sign West Ham striker Carlton Cole today after the clubs agreed a £10 million fee for the forward.
Cole began his career at Chelsea in 2001, spending spells out on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa before being transferred to West Ham United in 2006.

After Norwich City's great 1-0 win at Charlton Athletic on Saturday afternoon, the Norwich City manager has hailed the brilliant play of their on-loan goalkeeper from Newcastle United, Fraser Forster. Fraser Forster has been brilliant for Norwich all season It was a close game at Charlton, and it took some goalkeeping heroics from Forster in the [.

Depending on which levels of football you follow, you may not have noticed that we're in the middle of play-off season. The Championship Play-Offs begin tomorrow as Nottingham Forest travel to Bloomfield Road, and the make up of the League One and Two Play-Offs this season will be decided tomorrow afternoon.

There are reports today that Newcastle may be interested in 25 year-old Charlton midfielder Lloyd Sam, with the emphasis on "may". Lloyd Sam - 25 year-old Charlton midfielder According to reports today Burnley FC are said to be looking to sign Charlton Athletic winger Lloyd Sam. Sam will be a free agent at the end of June when his [.

Now that the World Cup is over (and there will be a couple more bits and pieces to tidy it up over the next couple of days), it is time to start looking forward to the new domestic season, which starts in just over four weeks, and what better way could there be to start it all off than with our annual look at the kits that the teams of 2010/11 will be wearing.

Who should be Arsenal's next # 9? And given how Arsenal's recent # 9s have fared, why would anyone event want it?

Let's take a very brief jog down recent history lane and look at the guys who have worn # 9 over the last decade or so:

Paul Merson: Great player (99 goals for the club), but his career was cut short by alcoholism and cocaine addiction.

Luke Young, once of Tottenham Hotspur and Charlton Athletic, currently of Aston Villa, is close to sealing a £2.5 million move to Liverpool. The right back, who has featured for the England national side, is expected to take the place of Phillip Degen in the Liverpool squad, acting as an alternative to Glen Johnson, the first choice right back.

Canadian midfielder Dwayne de Rosario has joined Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic on trial, the club have revealed. De Rosario, 32, is currently contracted to MLS outfit Toronto FC, and has two leaves left on his contract with TFC. Toronto denied reports that De Rosario had left the club on trial, but Celtic manager Neil Lennon [.

I met up with Mr Charlton Athletic again today.
It took about 30 seconds to descend into conversation about the beautiful game.
"Who do you support?", MCA asked our neighbour.
"Manchester United" he said.
MCA and GB exchanged a meaningful look.
But then our new friend told us the tale of how he came to support the ManUre.

By FRANCO PANIZO

The Bundesliga winter break is over, and for Michael Bradley and Borussia Moenchengladbach, that means it's time to pick up where they left off in their continuous battle against relegation.

Moenchengladbach currently sits five points above the drop zone, and will be hoping to build on that advantage as it takes on relegation-threatened VfL Bochum.

By FRANCO PANIZO

Brad Guzan has received most of the starts for Aston Villa in the club's run to the Carling Cup final, but it could be incumbent Brad Friedel who gets the nod against Manchester United.

Friedel has been red hot as of late, and that, coupled with his experience, may be the reason he replaces Guzan in the Villans' Carling Cup lineup.

I am not sure what the Hull City board is thinking these days. With only 9 games to go this season they let go of Phil Brown and replace him with Iain Dowie.

Now I am not a big Phil Brown. I thought that Hull should have gotten rid of him last season when Hull went months without a win and only avoided relegation on the last day of the season.

dispatches from south africa, 6/13/10

hello there. my name is rob colonna from boston, massachusetts. i support the usa, new england revolution, and charlton athletic. in 2006, christian and shourin were kind enough to invite me to write about some of my adventures in germany, and after hearing that i was off to south africa, asked if i could do the same.

Just a few years ago, Charlton Athletic Football Club was an English Premier League regular. However, relegation from the EPL at the end of the 2006/07 season and from the Championship at the end of the 2008/09 season and failure to gain promotion at the end of last season sees the Addicks in League One [.

Early season English Football League One table-toppers Charlton Athletic FC have launched their Macron 2010/11 away kit. This follows the launch of Charlton's 10/11 home kit in July. The Addicks wore their 10/11 away strip for the first time in Friday's 3-1 win at Leyton Orient. According to the club's website: Although they've worn 'seahawk blue and denim' [.

As we cross the cusp from morning to afternoon, it is being widely reported that Newcastle are within hours of appointing Alan Pardew as their new manager, following owner Mike Ashley's seemingly illogical decision to sack Chris Hughton from his post on Monday.

If you would have asked me whether Carlton Cole was good enough for Arsenal 18 months ago I probably would have pissed my Superman pants with laughter.
A player who began his career at Chelsea, spent loan spells at Wolves, Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa before finally signing for West Ham (confused yet?

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QPR Official Site - EXCLUSIVE: KEEPER ARRIVES
Paul Hart has swooped to bring Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Carl Ikeme to Loftus Road.
The 23 year-old stopper, who has already spent time on loan at Charlton Athletic and Sheffield United this season, has penned a loan deal until Sunday 31st January 2010.

Huddersfield Town's Alf Whittingham (left) takes on Charlton Athletic's Jock Campbell at a muddy Valley Stadium, during a Division One fixture in March 1947. Back in the day, the Valley was one of the biggest stadia in Britain, with a capacity of more than 70,000 (!!), thanks mainly to its huge East stand.

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QPR Official Site - CLUB STATEMENT Fri 15 Jan 2010
- The Club can confirm that Manager Paul Hart has decided to leave Queens Park Rangers Football Club with immediate effect.

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England U16 Squad
England squad: Zak Ansah (Arsenal), Tyias Browning (Everton), Jake Caskey (Brighton & Hove Albion), Max Clayton (Crewe Alexandra), Jordan Cousins (Charlton Athletic), Robbie Cotton (Blackburn Rovers), Lewis Fielding (Bolton Wanderers), Alex Henshall (Swindon Town), Hallam Hope (Everton), Louis Hutton (Manchester City), Adam Jackson (Middlesbrough), Sam Magri (Portsmouth), Callum McFadzean (Sheffield United), Jordan Pickford (Sunderland), Ellis Plummer (Manchester City), Nick Powell (Crewe Alexandra), Nathan Redmond (Birmingham City), Raheem Sterling (Queens Park Rangers).

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- On This Day in Football in general and Five Years Ago QPR's Coventry Win Match Report
- One Year Flashback: QPR Interest in Folan and Blackstock Contract Reported
RAHEEM STERLING.

Monday 25th January
15:45 Egypt v Cameroon, Africa Cup of Nations Quarter Final, British Eurosport/HD
Hard to know which Cameroon side will turn up for this match. Inconsistent in their group matches, only Zambia have now got longer odds to win the competition of the six teams remaining (according to the bookies).

I've got a bit of "Eco-warrier" going on at the moment.
I have seen a couple of presentations recently on climate change which have really had an impact.
A light bulb moment.
One delivered by Mr Charlton Athletic in fact.
I've been a bit surprised at how much it has entered my consciousness.

Things go from bad to worse at Selhurst Park.

Buy Crystal Palace Tickets at Fantastic Prices!

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Crystal Palace have been deducted 10 points by the Football League after going into administration on Tuesday.

In the winter of 2006, I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to London to visit my Aunt and Uncle. In short, it was an absolutely fantastic trip. My family and I saw the houses of Parliament, the crown jewels, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and even took a short trip up to Scotland. Truly, it was the trip of a lifetime.

It's easy to think that you've handed over the advantage and are on a hiding to nothing, when you make the long journey for an FA Cup replay, but it's still possible to pull a victory out of the bag.

Ahead of our match at Leeds tonight, I've trawled through the archives to find the last 5 instances of Tottenham winning an away FA Cup replay.

By Ollie Irish

Walsall's Clayton McDonald climbs over Charlton Athletic's Deon Burton. Looks like a foul to me.

Third-placed Athletic failed to beat ten-man Walsall, which gives Norwich and Leeds United some breathing space at the top of the League One table.

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- Best of Luck to Former QPR Chairman Bill Power (BP): A True QPR Mensch
- Lakshmi Mittal/Amit Bhatia Buying Flavio Briatore's Shares; seeking Neil Warnock and Iain Dowie as backup possibility
- Guess The Day Briatore Exits
- What it Takes to Go Down: Championship Relegation Points Total for Past Decade and more
- QPR Stats: Last 17 Games and Past Points Totals
- Next: Watford
- Ex-QPR Youth Liam O'Brien and Dean Parrett Called up by England U-19
- Birthdays for Leighton James and .

What can you say about Mondays?
I manage that "Monday Morning Feeling" by keeping my expectations very low.
Then I won't be disappointed.
But every now and then life deals me a pleasant surprise.
Like today.
An email from Mr Charlton Athletic.

Southend United and the Echo newspaper are at loggerheads ahead of this Friday's game against Charlton Athletic.
The Blues - who currently sit just one place above the relegation zone in League One - are unhappy with the local newspaper and its Blues' reporter Chris Phillips.
The Echo claims it has evidence that players haven't been paid for January, and that captain Adam Barrett and other unnamed players have been "banned" from speaking to the local paper.

By FRANCO PANIZO

Jozy Altidore proved to be a handful for centerback Johnny Heitinga in the U.S. men's national team's friendly vs. the Netherlands, and Altidore will look to replicate that performance this weekend, when he'll likely face the Dutch defender again.

What a great result for the ladies, sticking ten goals passed their local rivals! The win takes them into their fifth consecutive final of the London FA Women's Senior Cup. It was at Spurs as well, so no the win was even sweeter.
The goal scorers were: Lander (3), Littlejohn (3), Bruton (2), Ludlow, Davison.

There is something strangely appealing about a really bad pitch. In an age in which so many aspects of football seem to be so sanitised, there is something quite comforting a pitch with puddles on it or one that is completely and utterly devoid of grass. Colchester United have only been at The Community Stadium for a couple of years, but the pitch there is in a ruinous condition already.

If Iain Dowie is the answer, what is the question?
His was certainly not the first name that sprang to my mind.
Nor, it would seem, the Hull Board's.
Still he might surprise us.
His stats (according to Wikipedia) are probably more impressive as a manger than his predecessor;
Phil Brown;
Team Nat From To Record G W D L Win % Bolton Wanderers (caretaker) 22 September 1999 19 October 1999 &0000000000000005.

The favourites for promotion before the start of the season, Leeds United started 2009/10 as if they were in something of a hurry to finally lay the ghosts of lower division football to rest and get back to something approaching the normality of the Championship. Their credentials seemed to be confirmed by their January FA Cup win at Old Trafford and grabbing a draw at White Hart Lane against Tottenham Hotspur in the next round of the same competition.