Yep, Sunderland are the best team in the league over the last bunch of games. Read Martin's preview for proof.

Kick-off is 3pm London time, 10am New York, 7am Vancouver, and sometime last night in New Zealand. As usual, I'll be here half-an-hour beforehand to provide accompanying drivel and conjecture.

Seventeen years ago today, I fell in love again. My heart had been broken a decade before. So to be seduced again, at last, made me appreciate that much more how precious and fragile such a relationship can be. I don't know what made me take the Tube that morning to buy tickets to Highbury for the derby between the Arsenal and Queen's Park Rangers.

Day five of our SPL Advent. Peace and goodwill to all me. It's a time for stout Hearts.
Somebody suggested that I could fill every day of this SPL Advent writing about Hearts.
And so I could.
The stories just keep coming.
On Thursday we got the news that the club had paid the players their November wages.

I pressed the fire control... and ahead of me rockets blazed through the sky...

No sooner had I popped a decomposed pigeon heart in an envelope and scrawled FAO Chris Foy on the side with my own blood, (actually it was just red biro- I'm not a monster) I'm hearing word that Tottenham are ready to set off a dirty great rocket under their wage ceiling to sign facially challenged frontman, Carlos Tevez.

And so the conjecture continues. No, no, not speculative tittle-tattle focused on which new wunderkind recruits are coming to the Arsenal in the January transfer window, I am talking about where we will tour next summer. Granted, it is still supposition but anything to turn our attentions from the endless stories linking us with the world and his wife (as well as those poor unfortunates heading for the Emirates exit).

And so the conjecture continues. No, no, not speculative tittle-tattle focused on which new wunderkind recruits are coming to the Arsenal in the January transfer window, I am talking about where we will tour next summer. Granted, it is still supposition but anything to turn our attentions from the endless stories linking us with the world and his wife (as well as those poor unfortunates heading for the Emirates exit).

szólj hozzá: Villarreal 0-2 Napoli

City managed to rain on Bayern's parade by beating them 2-0 but it was not enough as Napoli turned on the screws against Villareal to run out 2-0 victors. Bayern and Napoli go through to the Champions League knock out stage.

It's no idle conjecture imagining Napoli going far into the CL maybe even to the finals.

This article is straight up guesswork and pure conjecture on my part. Again I am GUESSING, but I think it is a pretty educated guess. I am basing my article on this the article on Portland's website talking about Gavin's travel and specifically on the following quote.

"I've been following a player from Chico for a while," he hinted.

Is anyone else sick of all the conjecture? Well, got some good news for you. It's finally here. Every time I've been ready to crown LA this week, I keep harkening back to Dallas-Colorado last year. The Hoops were fresh off a beating of the Galaxy while Colorado was the quintessential hot November team.

Fans at the Root of Racism Rows

Let me kick off by saying that racism has absolutely no place in football, nor any other walk of life for that matter. Anyone found guilty of it should be punished with an iron fist to ensure that their irrational intolerance of other races is not allowed to spread like the repugnant plague that it is.

The very definition of "strange alchemy" We've arrived at the doorstep. After weeks of conjecture and jockeying, we're banging on the door. So consider this your MLS playoff primer, where the Grinder will launch you into the postseason stratosphere with an explosive quality that DeRo's boot can't even match.

We're almost, almost there. Until the playoffs come bounding back out of the closet to barrel us over with the kind of dramatic flair only the postseason can mete out, we're entered in the silly season. A week of conjecture, endlessly drab if-then scenarios and all the coach speak you can stomach. (You wanna hear "It is what it is?

It was what I once erroneously called "the swings and roundabouts of outrageous fortune." The Republic of Ireland's international football team were ‘done' by a clear handball from France's Thierry Henry in the 2010 World Cup play-offs two years ago. And in the last group game of Euro 2012 qualifying, Ireland's opponents Armenia were ‘done' by a clear ‘not handball' from their goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky.

Winning, as successful managers are wont to say at moments of extreme hubris, is a habit. If there is anything to this theory and whether we should be taking what managers say during times of success at face value is, of course, a matter for conjecture in itself then we can probably assume that losing can become a habit, and there are few clubs that have developed as much of a habit over the course of 2011 as Lincoln City.

The transfer rumours over a new Spurs striker continue to hot up and as Leandro Damiao's stock continues to rise, so does his alleged transfer fee. With figures of around £15m quoted back in the summer, some stories have emerged suggesting that Internacional will be looking for a figure nearer to £40m when the Brazilian season comes to an end.

According to ESPNsoccernet, an agreement is in place that will see current UEFA head Michel Platini assume control of FIFA when Sepp Blatter's current four-year term as Preseident of FIFA ends. Given the fact that Platini is a self-confessed, remorseless cheat, how does that make him suitable for world football's top job?

I have oft imagined Arsene Wenger in his shorts, and h... erm, this doesn't seem like the right way to start this article, or any article. I wasn't stressing on his shorts, my mind has not been warped to that extent yet. Allow me to rephrase.

I have oft imagined a huge watering hole, and a hesitant Arsene Wenger standing next to it, incidentally clad in shorts (the attire is merely for convenience, it could just as easily be a parka, three-piece suit or tiger outfit) and looking at the watering hole wistfully.

QPR want to sign David Beckham | The Sun |Sport|Football.

Upon reading this article, I couldn't help thinking if their was anything more outlandish that the UK media could spew forth on a relatively slow weekend of soccer news. David Beckham to QPR so he get's a shot at winning a spot on Britain's upcoming 2012 Olympic squad ?

Arsenal have had all summer to buy players. Why they haven't done so until now is very much an area of conjecture. Have we been unwilling to do so or simply unable to get our business done?

For all our frustrations, it's hard to imagine that we've remained as static as we have through choice.

As Bashar Al Assad looks on Mourinho scoops dirt out of Tito Vilanova's eye

There has been much talk of a Jose Mourinho return to the Premiership after his Real Madrid spell. It has been fueled partially by conjecture but mostly by the man himself who has talked of the emotional pull of his days at Chelsea.

It is understood Manchester City are in the final stages of negotiations regarding the proposed signing of Arsenal's Samir Nasri.

City have been chasing Nasri's signature all summer and they are now thought to be close to bringing the France international to the Etihad Stadium.

Talks between both clubs are thought to be at an advanced stage and the North West outfit are hoping to make the talented midfielder their latest summer capture.

All the talk has finally finished and while the conjecture over who may or may not be joining Spurs will go on for another couple of weeks, our season finally gets under way at Tynecastle tonight.
While Spurs may be favourites to win over two legs, former Hearts boss and current Spurs coach Joe Jordan says the team will not underestimate their Scottish opponents.

Some Wednesday bullets. Go:

Cameron, played in the back--or where he belongs--by Backe tonight?

• As if Houston's current plight wasn't sickening enough to it's fanbase...you know at some point, media folks beyond TSG are going to have to give him stick for continuing to play Geoff Cameron in the midfield.

As usual on a Sunday morning there is a lot of Arsenal transfer news in the British tabloids, but how much of it is believable is a matter of conjecture. After the news last week that Arsenal had made a derisory £10m bid for Everton's Phil Jagielka, the Star reckons that Wenger will go back [...]

The best player in women's soccer history shows up against Norway. Her contribution; two goals and an assist. This World Cup is turning out to be a no show for Birgit Prinz and Abby Wambach but Homare Sawa against Mexico and Marta's statement today clearly show we should not write these big names off too early.

Newcastle United secured their second major transfer of the summer as they confirmed that Demba Ba signed a three year contract. Ba will wear the number 19 shirt and speaks fluent English after his stint with West Ham.

There was a clause in Ba's three and a half year contract with West Ham which allowed him to walk away when the hammers were relegated from the Premier League.

I've eschewed writing this post for some time mostly because it it could come across in a misrepresented way but with the absolutely terrific Steve Zakuani tribute on Saturday and positing the question to the audience, well, I'd say it's about time.

And let me comment, that I hope "on-the-minute" soccer tributes live-on, regardless of nation or team or any qualifier.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Alex McLeish's hopes of a 'Freedom of the City of Birmingham' award sailing off into the distance. Image: Getty Images/Zimbio,

Years of vicarious experience has taught us that getting dumped is crap. We feel the need to use the word ‘vicarious' here not just because we like it, but because we're hot bishes who never get dumped.

Arsenal's position vis a vis Samir Nasri is weak. He's obviously after more wages and with a year left in his contract, the club gains nothing for him once he leaves on a Bosman. There are a couple of different options a.) Give him the money he seeks, extend his contract but build in some performance clauses b.

What a goldfish I am. Despite an end of season that spent most of its time reeling from one calamity to another, I appear to be hankering for the new one already. When will I ever learn?

To be fair though, some bits and bobs need to happen before I can get genuinely giddy. Namely a scythe cutting through the chaff of the squad, coupled with the club storing the wheat in a silo where nobody can steal it.

While many Spurs fans might like to see a total clear-out of our strike force this summer, it had been looking increasingly likely that only Roman Pavlyuchenko would depart. Publicly unhappy with his lack of football, it seemed that all parties were content to let him move on.

However, rumours are gathering pace that Jermain Defoe could be first out of the door when the season comes to an end, despite having finally started to contribute with some goals this campaign.

Speculation continues to mount that Arsenal will head to Asia for the first time since 1999. China and Malaysia have been mentioned as has a game in Thailand in Buriram. I would point out that this is all conjecture for the time being and that playing any game against Buriram is fraught with problems the club have no idea about.

Watson deal could happen today

According to Jose de Jesus Ortiz's latest blog entry on Chron.com, the Dynamo and Watson's new agency are close to an agreement, and could finalize paperwork and contract today. Something JJO also points out is the Dynamo are also looking at two other players, who JJO says, would make the Dynamo one of the most dynamic MLS teams.

In the space of just a few fateful days, Manchester City have exited the Europa League and seen their Premiership pipe dream doubted. Relative to the huge investment made by Sheik Mansour, there's inevitable conjecture about Roberto Mancini's Eastlands future, but what does Serie A Weekly make of the Italian's time in England unmitigated failure or not?

In one of the least surprising news stories of the day, Gennaro Gattuso has been charged by UEFA with ‘Gross Unsporting Behaviour' after his clash with Joe Jordan on Tuesday.

After the game, a rash of Joe Jordan stories have cropped up, telling us why Gattuso had picked on the wrong man.

Written by CarlitoII

Fabrication. Bending the truth. Saying that which is not true. Lying. Fantasising. Add to this any number of adjectives that sum up what a football supporter has to put up with in the course of feeding his obsession. It is increasingly difficult to know what to believe.

Following the departure of Roberto Di Matteo, the bookmakers have installed Chris Hughton as the betting favorite to become the next permanent West Brom manager.

A run of 13 defeats in 18 Premier League games forced the hand of those in charge of West Brom and now the search is on for a new manager at the Hawthorns.

The Premiership... the final frontier. These are the voyages of the football club Huddersfield Town. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new stadiums, to seek out new players and new teams, to boldly go where no Terrier has gone before.

Well, it's Huddersfield in the F.A. Cup today. At the Emirates, too.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

By Chris Wright

After several weeks of mounting conjecture, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has finally confirmed that he is indeed interested in striking a deal with Southampton over prodigious 17-year-old forward Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who is currently valued by the League One side at a whopping £10 million.