After bagging five Premier League goals this season the same amount as the Sergio Aguero, Jermain Defoe and Dimitar Berbatov there are definite rumblings that Kevin Nolan should be considered for a place in the England squad. Banging that particular drum harder than an irate Ringo Starr is West Ham vice-chairman and The [.
Back in the go-go days of August 2008, when Man City had just become the big-spending richest
club in the world and were still four years away from winning the Premier League title, the club
was desperate to buy big-name players who could make an immediate impact. They ended up spending a
British record £32.
After seeing their team flop badly in the Championship play-offs against West Ham, Cardiff
City's Malaysian owners are apparently now considering rebranding the Welsh club by changing their
kit to red and renaming them the 'Red Dragons'.
To say that it's been an exciting week in football on the European stage would be quite
an understatement. Anyone who would have envisaged Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid
crashing out of the Champions League after failing to win their home games and Barcelona manager
Pep Guardiola announcing his temporary retirement at the end of this season could have been accused
of witchcraft, but it all happened, adding belief to the idea that nothing is a surprise in
football.
The Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea yesterday was fixed...
... it was an agreed draw, an outcome that suited both sides.
We were informed by our primary Asian brokers of the fix yesterday morning and the professional
insider money took on the mug money throughout the day.
Brazilian play maker, Ronaldinho has been included in coach Mano Menezes preliminary squad for
the London Olympics games as one of the three senior players who could be given the chance to lead
Brazil to their maiden Olympic honour.
Other players also considered were Barcelona's Dani Alves, Chelsea's David Luiz, FC Porto's
Hulk, AC Milan's Thiago Silva and Inter Milan's Julio Cesar.
Liverpool forward Luis Suarez and manager Kenny Dalglish have both apologized for their actions
during, and after Liverpool's 2-1 loss away to Manchester United on Saturday, despite the FA
claiming that no charges will be issued to anyone involved.
After reportedly telling club officials that he will shake Patrice Evra's hand, Suarez made a
last-minute decision to avoid the handshake, stirring further controversy after a race row
involving him and the United left-back had ended with an eight-match suspension for the
Uruguayan.
CNN reports on the celebration of Alex Ferguson's 25 years at Manchester United.
The Scot is the most successful manager in British football, and his status as the
longest-serving one in United's history was cemented when the English Premier League champions
renamed the biggest stand at Old Trafford in his honor.
Last night Bayern Munich played the Dutch national team in a friendly in Munich. Ironically, the
game was set-up as compensation for Arjen Robben getting injured while playing for Holland.
I say ironically as the Bayern fans vented their frustration at Robben's penalty miss in the
Champions League final against Chelsea on Saturday by repeatedly booing him.
The Belgrade derby has some, shall we say, "behavioral issues" which require constant
considerations. How best to combat a problem of lighting the stands on fire whilst also throwing
Molotov seat cocktails?
Remove the damn seats.
Good in theory, questionable in its successful application.
Following the Divisi Utama game between Persipasi and PSS the ref was attacked by visiting players
and a brawl erupted as the away team's players, angry a dead cert penalty was not given, vented
their feelings on the incompetence officials.
Punches were thrown, plastic chairs were thrown and of course the odd plastic water bottle was
thrown as players and club officials took out their frustration.
Liverpool will seek urgent talks with the Football Association chairman, David Bernstein, to demand
reform of the disciplinary procedures that led to the suspension of Luis Suárez.
Although the Merseyside club has now accepted the eight-game ban, their anger at the guilty verdict
has not diminished and the means by which the punishment was reached remains a matter of dispute.
Arsenal starlet Jack Wilshere is all set to go under the knife once again in
order to rectify a knee setback that he suffered during his rehabilitation from
his long-term ankle injury. (Goal.com)
The 20-year-old midfielder played no part in Arsenal's 2011/12 football season due to his ankle
problem and he will go undergo more surgery in Sweden next week to solve the knee issue, which has
been described as a 'longstanding' one by the club officials.
Arsene Wenger will take the Gunners to China again this summer. Arsenal have announced they will
play Manchester City in a pre-season friendly called the China Cup in the Bird's Nest stadium in
Beijing on July 27.
We had a successful tour to Asia last summer, playing matches in China and Malaysia.
Athletic Bilbao arrived in the Romanian capital of Bucharest for the Europa
League final last night, and in typical Los Leones fashion, there was no 'jet
lag swag' exhibited and they were kind and friendly to everyone. To be fair, it was
really only a four hour flight and it would not make any sense to throw a big fuss.
Guardian: Oldham praise Liverpool and police for handling of Tom Adeyemi
incident
• League One side release statement on website • Follows alleged racist abuse of Oldham
defender Oldham Athletic have praised Liverpool and Merseyside police for their handling of the
alleged incident of racist abuse directed at Tom Adeyemi during Friday's FA Cup tie at Anfield.
Josh Saunders' absence from the Los Angeles Galaxy lineup was sudden and it appears that the
club may be without their number one goalkeeper for the foreseeable future.Â
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Galaxy 'keeper has checked into a substance abuse
treatment program and will be unavailable for the Galaxy until he completes the program.
Michael Ballack could become the latest player in a string of stars who are considering
potential moves to the MLS. The 35 year old German international revealed throughhisagent that
MLS side New York Red Bulls is his preferred destination.
Ballack is currently with Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and although they are riding high in
the league, Ballack's performances for the club have not been very impressive leading to mounting
criticism from the club officials.
While the Seattle Sounders didn't take the MLS Cup or Supporters Shield in his final season the
American Legend has raked in individual awards. After last week being named the starter on the Best
XI, today Kasey Keller is not just recognized, but running away with the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year
Award.
Graphic Courtesy of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer announced the slate of candidates for various year end awards. Players, club
officials, and reporters had a hand in selecting the finalists. Dates in parentheses are when the
winners will be announced. Here's hoping Don Garber doesn't accidentally name-drop this year's MVP
a day early.
He's had this date marked on the calendar ever since the Italian Federation announced the venue for
the Feb. 29 friendly against the United States, and yesterday marked a special occasion for Jurgen
Klinsmann as he returned to Genoa, where he played in 1997 for U.C. Sampdoria. He spent one season
here under legendary Argentine coach Cesar Luis Menotti, who led Argentina to a World Cup title in
1978.
You know you've MADE IT in the Ballers Bitchy Books when even Rafael
van der Vaart can't stop himself from laughing at you! Unfortunately, that's exactly what
happened to Mario Balotelli before the City/Spurs kick-off last weekend he
ignored every single human being on his way out of the players tunnel.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is giving fellow La Liga rival Lionel Messi a run for his
money for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or award as the Portuguese striker capped a fantastic few days his
had with Los Merengues by not only bagging a hat trick in last night's fixture against
Osasuna, but also by winning his second Golden Boot award.
Newcastle striker Nile Ranger's future is once again in jeopardy as club officials are set to
discuss his future after Ranger was arrested for being drunk and disorderly in October. "The press
are a joke" so said a whiter-than-white Nile Ranger on his official twitter page @NilePowerRanger;
let it be added without a hint of [.
Paris Saint-Germain have offered David Beckham an 18 month contract worth $18.7 million.
Club officials on Monday told French sports newspaper L'Equipe that a deal to acquire Beckham is
"95 percent complete." The Galaxy, Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers also reportedly have made
offers to Beckham.
Image via WikipediaDavid Beckham has been named the MLS Comeback Player of the Year after
helping the LA Galaxy into this weekend's title decider against the Houston Dynamos. He got 59.8
per cent of votes cast by media, players and club officials, and won over the other finalists,
Charlie Davies (D.
Though Cologne manager Holger Stanislawski recently pleaded with the club's fans to have sex in
the stands, a group of them has decided they prefer violence instead. Particularly targeted at
23-year-old former Blackburn defender Kevin Pezzoni.
There are interesting situations playing out in Spain and Argentina this week that show the upside
and downside of coaching.
In Spain, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has won 13 out of a possible 16 trophies since taking over
four years ago, but he has yet to decide if he wants to coach the club next season.
A man has been charged with criminal damage after writing graffiti at Newcastle United's ground
just before 2:00 am in the morning. The graffiti before club officials removed it yesterday morning
The famous St. James' Park sign was removed by workmen on Thursday to the anger of Newcastle fans,
and gaudy and cheap looking red [.
During last weekend's Campeonato Pernambucano fifth-round match between Sport and Nautico,
Sport's Marcelinho Paraiba collided with Siloe and had a tooth fly out of his head as a result. So
after Sport won the match 4-3, Marcelinho asked club officials to try and find the tooth. When they
couldn't, he offered a R$1,000 ($572.
MLS has unveiled the finalists for its season awards. Voting was done by players, club officials
and reporters. Ballots were submitted before the playoffs began.
