When Owen Hargreaves finally returns from injury, in what may be his last chance to achieve his prime, United manager Alex Ferguson can again field his strongest midfield.
But the Englishman, so influential in United's 2008 European double-winning season, is not the only significant addition required to create United's most balanced side. Click to continue reading...

2009, has been a very complicated year for US National Team supporters. We've had the high of our first ever FIFA final combined with the low of a 5-0 loss to arch rival Mexico. We beat World Cup qualifier Honduras four times this year and gave Spain its only loss of the last three years.

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Everyone I have spoken to or who has texted me says the same thing. That Indonesia were crap and that the Uruguay adventure has been a waste of time and money. So there you have it. Everyone says it so it must be true.
But before I jump on that particular bandwagon...
The opening 15 or 20 minutes were as good as anything I've seen from any Indonesian football team since I took up my computer to begin these rambles. Click to continue reading...

As mostly everyone knows by now, Man United lost 1-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge Sunday after John Terry scored a controversial goal in the 76th minute.
Different articles on different sites will all tell you more or less the same thing: United had several major decisions go against them and probably didn't deserve to lose. Click to continue reading...

Two own goals helped Arsenal on their way to an ultimately comfortable victory as Wolves tired from their early pressing to relinquish control.
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Alex Song gave a reminder of what is to be missed in January when he leaves for the African Cup of Nations as his introduction gave Arsenal renewed spark in the midfield.

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Being wary of repeating oneself, I still have to think about how this team in Rave Green plays. When are they at their best, and when do they struggle? The defining moments of this season likely indicate what the needs are, and the previous four matches now against Houston can show us a few trends in how Kinnear and Schmid see the opposition.

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Reina
Carragher Kyrgiakos Agger Insua
Kuyt Lucas Mascherano Benayoun
Voronin
Torres
Goals:
Babel 83'
Lisandro 90'
This season in a nutshell, except it's the first draw in 17 games. Ecstasy and optimism followed by a kick in the teeth. A brilliant Babel opener off the bench, but a sloppy Lopez equalizer in the 90th after Liverpool couldn't completely clear late pressure, ending with a Bastos flick-on to Lisandro, who out-muscled Kyrgiakos to beat Reina. Click to continue reading...

Hassan Sunny was the first player to come out for his warming up
The Lions kept their composure well in the first half (save for that slip when they allowed the Indonesians to level shortly after they took the lead in the 10th minute) to restrict their guests from prowling deep into their half to maintain their 2-1 lead. Click to continue reading...

A playoff win against Chivas USA - and this shot - eluded the Galaxy and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts Sunday at Home Depot Center. (AP Photo)

So Chivas USA Coach Preki walks into the press conference after the game and virtually the first thing out of his mouth are the words:

"I guess it was a fun game for the spectators, not so much for the coaches.

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Chelsea rattled in another four goals yesterday as we beat Bolton 4-0 at the Reebok stadium and let's face it, it could of been so much more. After the display in midweek I predicted that the game yesterday would be a much more difficult game and to Bolton's credit for 43 minutes of the first half it was. Click to continue reading...

By Gareth Freeman

United's Carling Cup win over Barnsley was encouraging in the fact the ‘squad' players came in and gave a decent account of themselves. Michael Owen's goal was vintage Owen, he showed neat skills and a cool composure to send the ball into the net but, with all due respect to Barnsley, he should have registered a goal against the opposition.

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Rio to Spurs
With Rio Ferdinand suffering from poor form and repeated injuries, the papers have pencilled Harry Redknapp in for trying to sign our defender in the summer. Rio seems to be gravitating towards the London lifestyle again and next summer United might be looking to get back some of the £30m they paid out for him eight years previously.

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This weekend I was one of the sponsor's of Mandeville Soccer Club's Midnight Madness tournament. This tournament was a big one and about 200 teams took part. My marketing team and I had a great weekend and really enjoyed the beautiful cool weather and of course great soccer! We met a lot of great people too!

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Following Manchester United's 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow, Alex Ferguson took time to single out the opposition's goalkeeper; remarking that the 23 Russian shot stopper was ‘outstanding'.

I'm not sure if Ferguson saw something I didn't but over the course of the ninety minutes, it seems staggering that the young goalkeeper deserved such high praise.

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Facebook is just weird funny

You really can't argue with the title. Seriously you can't so don't even try.

As Arsenal return from the 2 week break with a good win if not spectacular over Alex McLeish's Birmingham, some opposition fans chose to greet Liam Ridgewell's crunching tackle on Theo Walcott with a distasteful chant of "there's only one Martin Taylor".

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Despite a knee injury suffered by Theo Walcott, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was delighted with their 3-1 win over Birmingham City.
By the time Arsenal lost Walcott, they were already 2-0 ahead through Robin van Persie and Abou Diaby.
However, Lee Bowyer capitalised on a mistake by young keeper Vito Mannone - preferred to fit-again Manuel Almunia - to pull a goal back before half-time. Click to continue reading...

The US is going to another World Cup. (Getty Images)

Editor's Note: Geoff Reid appears at WVHooligan each week. Today he is back to recap the recent World Cup clinching match for the US against Honduras. Feel free to leave Geoff your thoughts below.

It's been a few days since the US national team secured qualification for South Africa next summer so now would be a good time to recap the latest events that took place in San Pedro Sulsa on Saturday night.

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News reports today suggest that Saloman Kalou is about to agree a new deal at Chelsea. It's easy to see why Chelsea might be marshalling him towards putting pen to paper, but there's another side to the coin...
When Kalou joined Chelsea back in 2006, he looked a promising player. Perhaps a little inconsistent – especially in the final third – Kalou was at least dynamic, energetic and positive in possession.

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News reports today suggest that Saloman Kalou is about to agree a new deal at Chelsea. It's easy to see why Chelsea might be marshalling him towards putting pen to paper, but there's another side to the coin...
When Kalou joined Chelsea back in 2006, he looked a promising player. Perhaps a little inconsistent – especially in the final third – Kalou was at least dynamic, energetic and positive in possession.

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That was hard to take.
Matching Chelsea stride for stride all throughout the match, never second best in the game. Yet we end up losing 2-0.
We looked comfortable all the way through this game until Didier Drogba whipped in a ball for Anelka to score and it was 1-0.
Still we never panicked, kept our shape and composure, without really threatening a strong Chelsea defence. Click to continue reading...

The 2009 U-20 World Cup began with high expectations for Team USA. With twelve professional players, and withdrawals and extenuating circumstances elsewhere the US looked a sure bet to make noise.

Now, the US must count on other results to continue in the competition. The US has advanced to the knock out stages of six consecutive U-20 World Cups, but making a seventh is now in severe doubt.

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An understated triumph, I suspect.  It was a ragged game for sure, but Basel are a serious team, and our boys beat them. That's pretty good going, and we're now top of the group.

Hodgson blended possibles and probables, bringing in Kelly, Baird, Smalling, Riise and Greening to supplement a good core of regulars.

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by CARL ELDRIDGE Arsene Wenger might get one or two quizzical gawps if he should take a trolley round the Waitrose near his Barnet home after the Arsenal saw of Olympiacos with a 2-0 Champions League triumph at the Emirates last night.

For AW referred to his local supermarket in his post-match analysis and is quoted this morning in the Daily Mail.

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Listen to some Gooners after the Fulham game and it would seem like Mannone has suddenly become the greatest keeper on earth. Quite an elevation from our number three keeper. I have to congratulate the boy though for his reflex saves during the game at Craven Cottage. I am relieved for him, but I have not changed my view that he scares me and that he lacks what it takes to be a truly great keeper.

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Walcott ready to soar after flying the nest
Full Article

Tattoos by David Beckham's body artist and creating paintings for an exhibition, even a mohawk haircut. The Theo Walcott who has just moved out of his parents' house is not the same wide-eyed teenager who joined Arsenal from Southampton in January 2006 and was then, to everyone's astonishment, part of the World Cup squad five months later.

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Walcott ready to soar after flying the nest
Full Article

Tattoos by David Beckham's body artist and creating paintings for an exhibition, even a mohawk haircut. The Theo Walcott who has just moved out of his parents' house is not the same wide-eyed teenager who joined Arsenal from Southampton in January 2006 and was then, to everyone's astonishment, part of the World Cup squad five months later.

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That's about it then right? Enough now with the endless quest for the playoffs? Toronto had to leave Illinois with three points tonight but could only grab one from a match that saw TFC start with a frenetic energy and end with most players about to collapse. The 2-2 result was probably fair for both teams who both showed a lot more in the way of mistakes rather than skill. Click to continue reading...

The Minnesota Gophers opened their Big 10 season on Thursday evening with a 1-0 win against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The contest seemed to take on a life of it's own with plenty of ebbs and flows and tactical changes. The home team dominated large portions of the contest and the statistics proved that point, but no matter how much the Lady Gophers pressed the Hawkeye defense, it didn't seem they would find the key that would unlock the game and allow Minnesota to score.

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The Minnesota Gophers opened their Big 10 season on Thursday evening with a 1-0 win against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The contest seemed to take on a life of its own with plenty of ebbs and flows and tactical changes. The home team dominated large portions of the contest and the statistics proved that point, but no matter how much the Lady Gophers pressed the Hawkeye defense, it didn't seem they would find the key that would unlock the game and allow Minnesota to score.

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Currently on loan at AEK Athens, 20 year Liverpool striker Krisztián Németh put in an excellent man of the match performance against Atromitos last week.
Németh came on as a substitute in the 29th minute and showed composure, skill, strength and an end product when he provided the assist for Ismael Blanco to score the winning goal. Click to continue reading...

Edin Dzeko is back with a bang! The Bosnia international striker, who spent most of the summer pushing for a dream move to AC Milan, has finally underlined his commitment to Wolfsburg with an outstanding decisive brace away to Schalke 04.

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Mix2nd Half UCL Besiktas V Man Utd 09 15 09 720p HD Skpd Funny bloopers are a click away

Every once in a while, the Wayne Rooney we remember from Everton and his early days at Manchester United reveals himself. The lad with the uncontrollable temper who would lash out at opposing players and be a liability to the team he was playing for.

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Having taken a few weeks off to study Arsenal‘s play, I am now back to discuss the latest game and clarify the recent fear that is tingling inside you.

Following the last two trips to Manchester, I have noticed that many of you have commented on Arsenal's failure but on the contrary; both games showed that we were very unfortunate.

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("How poorly Madrid are defending.")

Espanyol 0-3 Real Madrid
0-1 Granero, 39'
0-2 Guti, 77'
0-3 Ronaldo, 90'

This was a constant refrain from the Spanish language announcers and the theme of most of the match, as the Merengues struggled to hold their nerve at the back, occasionally looking as porous as SpongeBob Square Pants in defense.

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Press release MN Thunder
MONTREAL (Sunday, September 13, 2009)

The Minnesota Thunder finish their last road game with a 1-1 draw against the Montreal Impact. Minnesota played with confidence and took the lead early in the first half, but Montreal dominated in the final minutes.

The Thunder started with an early goal in the sixth minute.

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