1. OTP proposes that to avoid the controversy and time delays of getting a couple of penalties every week, Manchester United should start all matches with a two-goal headstart. 2. Feed the Ox and he will score. 3. Aston Villa will be looking at the fixture list this morning and hoping that they having got [.

Eurosport's international football coverage, as unique as it remains in the field of sports broadcasting and run on a shoestring budget, remains excellent. And this year's ACN coverage has been as comprehensive and well-informed as ever. But, as Groups B and D came to their conclusions, well... oops.

Sir Alex Ferguson, January 31st 2012

"I noticed Alan Hansen was at it again, saying we had not played well for one and a half years. I reckon that comment goes alongside his claim a few years ago that you don't win anything with youngsters, and you know how he finished up with egg on his face after dismissing the Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Gary Neville crop of kids so foolishly.

1. There's not too many Manchester United fans moaning this morning that Darron Gibson is a one-trick pony who only hits piledrivers from the edge of the box. 2. Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart didn't realise that having a man on the post was an occupational hazard rather than a tactical decision at Goodison Park.

1. No, Roberto Mancini, you completely misheard Arsene Wenger. He said a pizza row would help you finish ahead of Manchester United, not Pizarro. 2. Chelsea's deal to send Belgian manboy Kevin De Bruyen back to Genk on-loan includes a break clause that says if the 20-year-old hasn't hit puberty by June then the deal [.

The @BestSoccerShow's Jared Dubois says American soccer went pop when it should have went hip-hop.

If you are lucky to live long enough, you get the scary gift of watching the decades go by before your eyes.

Green Day went saccharin in a hurry...as did US Soccer says Jared DuBois.

1. Mario Balotelli should not have been on the pitch to score the winner against Spurs. He should have been answering questions at the local nick after his stamp on Scott Parker. 2. Everyone said Spurs would miss Emmanuel Adebayor's height, but they can hardly have envisaged Jermain Defoe's little legs unable to stretch far [.

We watched Wednesday's Clásico in its entirety with spirited company at WoodworkBK. We had the sense then that Barcelona slowly took control after the early goal by Cristiano Ronaldo, and that Pepe was terrible. Watch this extended highlight clip, which should reinforce the conclusions that (a) Barcelona completely dominated after about the 25′ mark, and (b) Pepe was a complete embarrassment and not only for the already-infamous Messi hand stamp:

Real Madrid v Barcelona by vynylr

Acting!

1. Paul Scholes: he does, indeed, score goals. 2. Poor old Arsenal come unstuck once again when they have to adapt their game against one of those physical south Wales teams. 3. Bolton keeper Adam Bogdan knows that if you can keep penalties away from Wayne Rooney's magic thatch then you're onto a winner.

I know we shouldn't condone fans pouring abuse onto officials and opposition players but I do hope Mark Clattenberg gets absolute dogs abuse when he referees Everton once again.

That derby was by far the worst display of officiating I've ever seen. Too bad to be laughed off, you looked at the decisions he was making and could only conclude he was biased or corrupt.

1. Poor old Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy probably had another busy Sunday explaining that he's not a referee to irate Manchester City fans. 2. Great to see Paolo Di Canio at the centre of the biggest shock of the weekend as Swindon saw off Wigan. He might be left disappointed by his hopes to [.

Sounder at Heart reacted immediately yesterday to the MLS schedule announcement, posting an analysis of strength of schedule. They did a great job collecting the data, and concluded that "Seattle's getting it about as good as you can get it in the West, but of course the league bends over backwards for the Galaxy once again.

Liverpool and Luis Suárez statements in full

• Liverpool accuse FA of 'highly subjective' case against striker • Uruguayan says he is not guilty of racial abuse towards Evra Liverpool's statement |"It is our strongly held conviction that the Football Association and the panel it selected constructed a highly subjective case against Luis Suárez based on an accusation that was ultimately unsubstantiated.

Liverpool angrily decide not to appeal Suarez ban

Liverpool FC will not be appealing the 8-match ban imposed on Luis Suarez. Their announcement of this decision included further criticism of the FA and its panel but the club said it was for the best that they did not appeal.

So we lost two valuable home-points today against lowly placed Wolves, and now we are all feeling down?

Man City drew against West Brom and Liverpool could not kill off Blackburn yesterday, and neither could Chelsea see-off Fulham. I am as disappointed as anybody for dropping two points against Wolves at home.

szólj hozzá: Incredible Mark Bunn save 1. While you've all been busy stuffing your faces for a few days, Blackburn boss Steve Kean might just have found a Bunn to save his bacon. Young keeper Mark Bunn put in a great performance to earn a point at Liverpool. 2. It definitely wasn't a Blue Christmas.

szólj hozzá: Incredible Mark Bunn save 1. While you've all been busy stuffing your faces for a few days, Blackburn boss Steve Kean might just have found a Bunn to save his bacon. Young keeper Mark Bunn put in a great performance to earn a point at Liverpool. 2. It definitely wasn't a Blue Christmas.

1. It was a great night for goals. There were some stunning efforts from Wayne Rooney, Adam Johnson, Demba Ba and Paul Scharner can all take a bow for starters. 2. Adam Johnson must have thought twice before firing in his long-range effort against Stoke though. He usually gets a rollicking from Manchester City boss [.

1. We were desperately hoping that Steve Kean was going to sit down on the grass during the Stand Up If You Want Kean Out chants. 2. It took seeing how good a hereto hopeless Bolton side to realise precisely how bad Blackburn are at the minute. 3. On a night when the two Lancashire [...]

1. Wayne Rooney's hair transplant was definitely worth it. His new quiff got the ball rolling for Manchester United in their match against QPR. 2. The QPR supporters' "Warnock for England" chants might encourage Blackburn fans to try a change of tactics. Kean for Scotland, anyone? 3. Then again, if Aston Villa keep putting in [.

1. At last, a Sky Sports Super Sunday match that lives up to its sub-heading billing. This really was a Christmas Cracker. 2. Forget gold, frankincense and myrrh, it was all about Silva delivering the goods. 3. The Arsenal crowd are not usually that noisy at home, never mind away. Samir Nasri must be the [.

1. OTP is absolutely delighted with the result. After 90 minutes held captive by Ray Wilkins, we developed Stockholm syndrome and are now fully behind the Chelsea cause. 2. A Chelsea win can rarely have been celebrated so much by Manchester United fans. It was a good result for neutrals too, including the aforementioned Wilkins.

1. Arsenal anniversary celebrations like most Arsenal matches would be a duller place without Robin Van Persie. What a sweet goal. 2. If Martin O'Neill continues to bring that level of luck to Sunderland, Black Cats fans will be delighted to have him around the place. 3. Just imagine what Stoke City could [.

1. Arsenal anniversary celebrations like most Arsenal matches would be a duller place without Robin Van Persie. What a sweet goal. 2. If Martin O'Neill continues to bring that level of luck to Sunderland, Black Cats fans will be delighted to have him around the place. 3. Just imagine what Stoke City could [.

1. The reporter in the video above is probably feeling pleasantly vindicated this morning. 2. It's the same old story for Manchester United: a great team to a certain point, but they always come unstuck against Baselona. 3. A few media storylines about Manchester becoming the hotbed of elite football in England will have to [.

After a long time, Europe's premier competition has thrown up a few surprises and plenty of excitement. At the time of the draw few, if any, would have expected United to bow out. Fewer still would have expected the Gunners to qualify from a tough group before the other three English clubs and with a game to spare.

After a long time, Europe's premier competition has thrown up a few surprises and plenty of excitement. At the time of the draw few, if any, would have expected United to bow out. Fewer still would have expected the Gunners to qualify from a tough group before the other three English clubs and with a game to spare.

Anyone taking a bet at the start of the season would not have been able to predict how this would all end up. Manchester City and Manchester United kissed goodbye to the Champions League this season, and there were few mitigating factors that they could cite as a defence. Manchester United can point to their injury list and Manchester City can invoke their inexperience, but ultimately both clubs have resources that dwarf almost all others in Europe.

1. Mario Balotelli responded to his latest bout of controversy with a typical shrug of the shoulders, but he put it to great effect on this occasion. 2. Feed the Yak some Venky's chicken and he will score. 3. The 'Kean Out' protests are always likely to sound a tad more hollow after a 4-2 [...]

We're all very good at rushing to conclusions about our managers. The tone on the EPL Talk podcast is one of understanding, as we get get to grips with Steve Kean, AVB and MO'N. Transition into December and the critical ...
This is a content summary. Visit http://www.epltalk.com to read the entire article

1. It could definitely have been worse for England. Far, far worse. Yet the caution about our prospects against the likes of the Ukraine and Sweden is reassuring. 2. England v France at the European Championships just won't be the same without a vomiting Zinedine Zidane. 3. Spain, Italy and the Republic of Ireland make [.

At the onset of his tenure, it wouldn't have taken much effort to find predictions about the brand of football Alex McLeish's Aston Villa side were destined to serve up. None were particularly exciting or encouraging.

I prefer a 'wait and see' policy myself, but I think we're far enough into the season now to look at some statistics and draw some conclusions.

1. [A one conclusion silence for Gary Speed. His sad passing and its effect on many of the players on display yesterday put things into perspective.] 2. Rio Ferdinand's defending has been so below par this season in between his injuries that the linesman just assumed he must have mistimed what was actually a fantastic [.

Arlo White has taken a job with NBC Sports to become their national soccer announcer, according to a report from KING5, the Seattle Sounders broadcast partner. This would be a considerable loss for Sounders fans, who have grown to almost universally love the British broadcaster.

@KING5Sports
KING 5 Sports@KING5Sports has learned that #Sounders broadcaster Arlo White is moving on.

1. You can buy and rotate an array of the world's most expensive attackers, but it's more effective to have three who link-up as well as Cavani, Hamsik and Lavezzi do. 2. Sky Sports might have stumbled upon a great late night football format during the match in which Ray Wilkins translates Mario Balotelli's Italian [.

1. You can buy and rotate an array of the world's most expensive attackers, but it's more effective to have three who link-up as well as Cavani, Hamsik and Lavezzi do. 2. Sky Sports might have stumbled upon a great late night football format during the match in which Ray Wilkins translates Mario Balotelli's Italian [.

Andre Marriner, hang your head in shame 1. Blackburn managed to save a late point at Wigan, but in doing so probably meant Steve Kean keeps his job for another week. So the big question for Rovers' fans is would you rather have lost and him go? 2. It showed the lack of quality in [...]

Andre Marriner, hang your head in shame 1. Blackburn managed to save a late point at Wigan, but in doing so probably meant Steve Kean keeps his job for another week. So the big question for Rovers' fans is would you rather have lost and him go? 2. It showed the lack of quality in [...]

No conclusions, because I didn't have time to watch the match live. No conclusions, because based on the highlights I saw and the thoughts of other people I read, there wasn't anything new to learn.

We already knew that Miroslav Klose is, as both Bayern and non-Bayern fans seem to agree, [read more]

1. 1-0 to the Eng-ger-land. Who said the defensive approach was just for the Spain game? Jack Rodwell, Gareth Barry and Phil Jones in midfield. Now if we could just replace Theo Walcott and Stewart Downing with Scott Parker and Lee Cattermole to add a bit more stability. 2. Hopefully the goal will be given [.