By Chris Wright

Lassi's back, and this time the production values are higher than ever as he and his UNC Asheville teammate Dan Jackson set about saving Christmas from the evil clutches of David de Grinch...

More of Lassi's freestyle frippery on Pies.

Liverpool has been linked with a somewhat surprising move for Real Madrid winger Royston Drenthe, who is currently on loan with Everton.
The Dutchman joined the Toffees on deadline day and will remain at Goodison Park for the remainder of the season at least.
Everton retain an option to buy Drenthe at the end of his temporary agreement, but Liverpool may reportedly move to scupper any proposed deal.

Manager Craig Levein has revealed Scotland missed the opportunity to persuade Sebastian Coates to play for their national side – but are determined not to miss out on Liverpool FC player Jonjo Shelvey.
Levein says Scottish Football Association officials have already been in contact with Jonjo Shelvey about him changing football allegiance from England.

Ryad Boudebouz is the star of Sochaux's show but can they keep him out of Liverpool's clutches?

For the new season, MirrorFootball is teaming up with some of the blogosphere's best new writers to bring you even more great football reads every single day. Thursday is Ligue 1 day, and here's French Football Weekly's Andrew Gibney with his take on events across the Channel.

Liverpool target Gaston Ramirez is set for a new deal at Bologna to put an end to speculation over his future.
The attacking midfielder is highly sought-after and Liverpool, along with Juventus and Roma, has monitored him in Serie A.
Ramirez, 20, is one of Bologna's most prized assets but is on relatively low terms at the club - and his situation is being closely monitored by Liverpool.

One More Game

Goalkeeper Chase Harrison will remain with the Philadelphia Union for at least one more game, as the emergency back up is still the only active goalkeeper on the team's roster besides current starter Zac MacMath.

Harrison was signed by the Union as a temporary replacement for third string goalkeeper Thorne Holder, who continues to be hampered by symptoms relating to the 25-year-old's second concussion of the year.

Sao Paulo midfielder Lucas is still in the sights of Liverpool and Tottenham, it has been claimed.
According to Corriere dello Sport, the Barclays Premier League duo have been joined in the pursuit of the £20 million-rated 19-year-old by Roma, with the latter considering a January bid.
The Brazil international has also been linked with Manchester United in the past, but Anfield and White Hart Lane have since emerged as more likely destinations.

Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay has revealed the Bluebirds tried in vain to keep Craig Bellamy from the clutches of Liverpool on deadline day.
The 31-year-old spent last season on loan at his hometown club from Manchester City, but was unable to help them secure a passage into the Barclays Premier League.

Hey everybody, I hope things are going well as you scrounge around the ESPN3 replays and ready yourself for international friendlies during the upcoming week and a half. I'm pretty excited about the USMNT friendlies coming up; it's always nice to see what a fresh pair of eyes can do for a team, and I want to see if they can continue to build off of the momentum from the second half against Mexico a few weeks back.

Liverpool's decision to turn down Chelsea's offer of £8 million plus Yossi Benayoun for midfielder Raul Meireles seems to indicate the Portuguese is finally the flavour of the month at Anfield.
Meireles's short Liverpool career has been a strange one.
He arrived at the beginning of last season from FC Porto for £11.

This just in: we did a deal for a highly-touted Spaniard in under four days. What's more? We didn't overpay for his services. Me likey.

Welcome to The Bridge, Juanito.

Let me see if I can track the genesis of this one. On Wednesday of last week, news broke that we were in pole position to get Mata from the clutches of Arsenal and Tottenham.

Video and highlights match report

I guess the two teams used up all the goals and excitement last year because yesterday, the controversial incidents apart, it was a snoozefest of a game, with little in the way of highlights.

All the talk this morning will be of the red card, the red card that should have been and the other red card that should have been.

By Chris Wright

Yep, it's another post-match fisticuffs video in which, after Algeria emerged as 1-0 winners in the Military Games (nope, us neither) final in Brazil at the weekend, irate Egypt forward Ahmed Eid quite literally kick-starts a mass brawl by breaking free of the referee's clutches and planting his studs square into the small of an Algerian player's back with things rapidly escalating from there.

Click here to view the embedded video.

via waatp.

Imagine the scene. You're in the stands, watching Dynamo Kiev play Metalist in the first game of the Ukrainian Premier League season (not an auspicious start, but stay with us), when ex-Chelsea forward and all-round hot booty-boy Andriy Shevchenko scores a goal.

The memory of Liverpool's Luis Suarez-inspired dismantling of Manchester United in March was still fresh and Damien Comolli's mobile phone was trilling incessantly.
"I was getting phone calls from agents telling me that their player would love to come," said Anfield's director of football towards the end of last season.

By CALEB SONNELAND

Manchester United are quickly going about the necessary transfer moves to retain the EPL title.

A week or so after securing up-and-coming English defender Phil Jones and days after Ashley Young's capture, the club has brought Atletico Madrid keeper David de Gea in for a medical at Old Trafford presumably before his signing.

Arsene Wenger has revealed Arsenal is doing everything they can to keep Gael Clichy at the Emirates - and out of the clutches of rivals Liverpool.
The Frenchman's contract runs out next summer and the Gunners are keen to tie up a new deal before the Reds, and fellow potential suitors Roma, can tempt him away.

By Chris Wright

The latest in Pies' 'Fruit of Footballing Loins' series sees Robinho allow his three-year old son, Robson Junior, to tag along with him to Selecao training only to be completely skinned for pace by his wee sprog (0:30), before the little man evades the evil clutches of Elano to round his old man with a burst of acceleration and tucks one away from close range (0:47).

By Chris Wright

The latest in Pies' 'Fruit of Footballing Loins' series sees Robinho allow his three-year old son, Robson Junior, to tag along with him to Selecao training only to be completely skinned for pace by his wee sprog (0:30), before the little man evades the evil clutches of Elano to round his old man with a burst of acceleration and tucks one away from close range (0:47).

The QPR midfielder Adel Taarabt was the undisputed star at Loftus Road last season and was voted Championship Player Of The Year, and Neil Warnock is well aware that he will have trouble keeping Taarabt out of the clutches of a top club, and according to the Star, Arsenal are one of those interested.

Dramatic. Unpredictable. Captivating. The season concluded in exhilarating fashion at the weekend, epitomizing everything that is great about the English game. The day dubbed 'Survival Sunday' certified the Premier League as the world's best, undeniably most competitive. An unprecedented five teams – separated by a single point, goal differences so similar that a play-off was perfectly conceivable – battling to escape the clutches of the two remaining relegation places.

Frank Arnesen's first task this summer will be to try to keep Eljero Elia from Liverpool's clutches - as the Hamburg winger is back on their radar.
Arnesen left Chelsea to take up a consultancy role with the Bundesliga side this summer and he is keen on taking a few Blues youngsters with him to Germany.

Image Credit: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images Europe.

While there's still much for us to discuss re: the Barcelona/Real Madrid CL tie since our last recap, we've elected to keep things short and sweet this time around.

Why? Mainly because we have bigger and better things on our plates. Like photoshopping our new Finest Five together, for example.

The fight.

I haven't gotten a chance to see the match yet was stuck blogging Spurs for The Score but it looks as if we kind of cruised to the points. Good, not great, news.

Better news? We're up to second on goal difference thanks to another Arsenal capitulation.

Fabio Capello is confident Andy Carroll's first international goal will help to ease his transition to the England stage.
The £35million striker's first-half strike looked like earning England a Wembley victory until Sunderland's Asamoah Gyan levelled for Ghana in stoppage time.
It was a fitting conclusion to an evening of immense promise for England, with Capello delighted by Liverpool frontman Carroll's contribution on his second senior international appearance.

Liverpool is ready to hand keeper Pepe Reina a £10,000-a-week pay rise to keep him out of the clutches of Manchester United.
And Dutch star Dirk Kuyt is poised to sign a new deal that will keep him at Anfield for the rest of his career.
It's the clearest sign yet that caretaker boss Kenny Dalglish WILL be handed the role full-time by American owner John Henry, who is delighted with the Scot's impact since he replaced Roy Hodgson.

A forlorn David Moyes described it as the "worst performance" he had ever seen in his 9 years in charge of Everton as his side limped to a 2-0 defeat against Bolton yesterday. The performance in the defeat went someway to explaining the current predicament Everton find themselves in, but it was Moyes, slumped and stony-faced, looking tired and haggard that betrayed the trouble the Merseyside club are in.

New season. New faces. New roles. New tactics. As we move ever closer to the start of the 2011 season, the PSP takes a look possible tactical formations the Union might employ. Today, Eli looks at going for the gusto with a 4-3-3 with two defensive midfielders anchoring a swarming 4-man attack.

Liverpool are believed to be interested in acquiring the services of Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll as a replacement for Fernando Torres, who has been widely reported to be on the verge of joining Chelsea.
According to The Sun, the Reds will move in on the young forward with a £30 million bid and a triple-your-wages offer to prise him away from the clutches of the Tyneside outfit.

Morning all. Throughout January Soccerlens is going to be bringing you a daily round-up of the morning's various goings-on. Be it juicy morsels of spurious transfer gossip or real, actual bona fide news, rest assured, we'll have it covered.

Here's this morning's batch.

Free-Wieling.

"Maybe one day I'll come back and play here, but I've always said it will only be for Manchester United." Barely three weeks after declaring his allegiance to the Red Devils, David Beckham is on the verge of proving himself to be one of the biggest liars in football.

During the past two MLS offseasons, in order to maintain fitness for the following LA Galaxy campaign, David Beckham has signed a short-term loan deal with AC Milan.