Man United striker Wayne Rooney has said that United are now ready to go on a long run of winning games. After a 1-0 loss against Chelsea two-weeks ago, United are now five points behind Chelsea.
United can't afford to drop anymore points, so we must carry on winning to challenge Chelsea. Click to continue reading...

Pepe Reina is the "tower of strength" that has already prevented Liverpool's season from heading into oblivion.
That's the verdict of Alan Hansen, who believes the Spain international is now challenging Ray Clemence for the title of the club's greatest-ever goalkeeper.
Liverpool entertain Manchester City on Saturday having suffered a run of just one win in nine games to slip to seventh in the Premier League standings. Click to continue reading...

"I'd love to finish my career here," he declared. "I haven't been here long, but I already feel at home and love the club.

"I grew up a Celtic supporter and they have a big place in my heart, but I really hope I can finish my career here. You can never say never, but I'd like to think I will.

Click to continue reading...

Fabio Aurelio is winning his battle to be fit to return to action on Monday – and to take his place in the Brazil squad for the first time.
Aurelio, who is in the last year of his current contract, has missed Liverpool's last two games against Fulham and Lyon with a calf problem.
His form before that, though, had been good enough to catch the eye of Brazil coach Dunga, who will take Aurelio and Reds midfielder Lucas to Qatar for next Saturday's friendly with England. Click to continue reading...

If you believe what you hear - and what you saw against Fulham - you'll probably believe the wolves are at the door for Señor Benitez. However, I'll try to put things in perspective without using an array of cringe-worthy Halloween puns.
What happened against Fulham was a disaster, and a game we shouldn't have lost going into. Click to continue reading...

Morning all, and greetings from one of the South West's nicest towns ... Dunsborough.
This and Busselton, used to be FP's old stomping ground when he used to be a foot-in-the-door journo for one of the local papers.
Not much has changed to be honest, which is something that doesn't surprise FP one bit. Click to continue reading...

I have to say I'm quite liking Arsenal's current situation; the team is playign really well and everyone off the bench also fits in exceptionally, which is great and the first time I believe this in a while! To add to this the media are not rating us this may be a bit down heartening for the players but there is currently no pressure on them, unlike Chelsea Man Utd and Liverpool.

Click to continue reading...

I understand that FIFA have other priorities, you know, the small matter of the World Cup in June next year. Surely though, they have a dedicated team that watch as many as matches of clubs from around the globe. Looking at the current list of nominees however, leads me to question whether FIFA has actually watched domestic football since 2006.

Click to continue reading...

After a season that saw Home United move to a new stadium in Clementi and struggle to find any kind of consistency they have decided on some changes for next season.
Out goes coach PN Sivaji and with him Syed Fadhil, Fadzuhasny Juraimi, Itimi Dickson, Ham Hyeong Kyu, leading scorer Kengne Ludovick and Prime League player Naruphol Ar-Romsawa. Click to continue reading...

According to The Daily Mail, Roberto Mancini has opened the door on the possibility of succeeding the under-fire Rafael Benitez as Liverpool manager.
The in-demand Italian recently settled his £5.5 million-per-year contract with Serie A giants Inter Milan, having parted ways with the San Siro club in May 2008. Click to continue reading...

For some reason, it feels like Denmark has been one of the world's best footballing teams since the dawn of time. The truth of the matter is they've only ever reached three World Cups (two of them being as recent as 1998 and 2002) while their first (in 1986) was where they finally achieved any real prominence on the global stage. Click to continue reading...

I haven't been able to find highlights but I did find a video of all four goals. The emotionally unstable amongst us may not want to watch it as it's pretty depressing. As my father said the only positive thing to take away from that match is the fact that we can't do any worse on Saturday. Now I must say I didn't really expect a win, I don't think any Wanderer did, but 4-0?

Click to continue reading...

Can the Crew repeat yet again in 2009? (Getty Images)

The four first round series are set for the 2009 edition of the MLS Cup Playoffs. All four series should be really good ones. For the second straight season the wild card positions have benefited one of the conferences over the other as Real Salt Lake got into the playoffs as an eastern conference club.

Click to continue reading...

....and the few after it? Evening Gooners. I hope you are feeling a lot better 24 hours or so later. My disappointment of our Sunday performance was tangible. So much so that I forgot to talk about the goalkeeping issue. However after applying some bonjela , following yesterday's write up, it is time to discuss this.

Click to continue reading...

The regular season is done, over, finished or whatever other adjective you want to use. For the second straight season WVH got to participate in the league's media vote for the season awards. Voting is now over and I felt it was time to share my votes with you all.

I'll have to admit some awards were tougher to vote on than others but I tried to span the entire season's body of work as much as I could for these awards.

Click to continue reading...

Where is the refing consistency? Fox, who have now clearly turned to supporting the Roar after ditching them after game 3, clearly need to write to the FFA that the Refs need to be re-briefed. Well maybe not. But apart from Miller's punch, how was the Roar's treatment of Kruse worse than Sydney's treatment of Oar? Click to continue reading...

The third C-word to consider is choking. Can you have both 'choking' and 'complacency' in one game. I believe you can. Hello, Gooners wherever in the world you are reading this. As promised this is my second preview-ish post to the game against West Ham. Why two posts BEFORE a game? Special games need special focus.

Click to continue reading...

Arsene Wenger believes the criticism levelled at under-fire Liverpool FC boss Rafa Benitez is undeserved and "excessive".
Liverpool FC are in their worst run of form for 22 years, with four defeats in the Premier League already, and face a crunch clash at leaders Manchester United on Sunday lunchtime. Click to continue reading...

At the Euro 2008 Semi Final, I love this picture! Thanks to whoever who took it.

Two of Arsenal's holy trinity have been nominated for this prestigious award. The third component of this trinity, Robin van Persie  curiously has been ignored. Since November 2008, Robin has been the most consistent Gooner full stop.

Click to continue reading...

Everton boss David Moyes has praised his Everton side ahead of their tricky away trip to Portugal to square off against Benfica in the Europa League. Everton are missing ten players for the trip, but Moyes is confident the Toffees have the quality to cope.

Everton knew that they would be without the injured Steven Pienaar, Phil Neville, Phil Jagielka, Mikel Arteta, James Vaughan, and Victor Anichebe.

Click to continue reading...

"There are some good teams in the Premier League this year," the Manchester City boss said. "There is a focus on ourselves because we have the ambition to have a good season.

"But the fact there is a threat to the teams who have had those top four places is adding extra pressure.

Click to continue reading...

Not going to waste anybody's time on a preamble, as we ease back toward club season. Crazy day Thursday left me with little time to write. Let me just say, it would be nice for the Premier League to have some consistency in its scheduling. For example, why no noon-ish game on Saturday? Doesn't make sense. Click to continue reading...

Beyond the nation's borders, Italian football has certainly faded into the background in recent years. A devastating match-fixing scandal in 2006 bitterly overshadowed the country's World Cup triumph that year while the domestic league has clearly become a one-horse race ever since. Reigning champions Inter Milan have shown no signs of a slip up in the Serie A for the last three seasons and that trend continued with their strong start to the current season as well.

Click to continue reading...

A resourceful, gritty victory for the US, which should shut up the critics including myself for the foreseeable future. Again all odds, and an infamous referee known for favoring Latin teams over the US or Caribbean based sides, the Americans rallied for three second half goals in a match the US basically controlled from minute twenty five onward.

Click to continue reading...

I don't want to talk about 'it'.
Just too misery making.
What a shambles.
I didn't see the whole game but for once that feels like a consolation.
There is clearly some serious work to do with the England defence.
The key issue seems to be consistency. Click to continue reading...

Patience is a virtue, and for two of the Premier League's best players, that patience has finally paid off. The crazy thing about it all? These two players are on the same team! And the lucky team is Sunderland.

It was just last season that Sunderland were in the heat of the relegation battle.

Click to continue reading...

Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani has given a stinging assessment of Roma's medical staff, accusing his former club of failing to meet his needs in the treatment room.
The Italian is on the verge of making his debut for Liverpool. He may feature in their next game, which is against Sunderland, after recovering from a long-term ankle injury. Click to continue reading...

With the first quarter of football almost over in most leagues around Europe, now is a good time to measure the current progress of some of the giant clubs on the continent. Actually, analyzing the success or failure of clubs in general won't be nearly as exciting as identifying a more specific object of analysis.

Click to continue reading...

Establishing something comparable to England's Big Four remains a distant dream for last season's top four in the Bundesliga. Wolfsburg are 7th after disappointingly drawing with Bochum. Munich are 8th after disappointingly drawing with Cologne. Stuttgart are 13th after disappointingly losing to Bremen.

Click to continue reading...

Establishing something comparable to England's Big Four remains a distant dream for last season's top four in the Bundesliga. Wolfsburg are 7th after disappointingly drawing with Bochum. Munich are 8th after disappointingly drawing with Cologne. Stuttgart are 13th after disappointingly losing to Bremen.

Click to continue reading...

Rafa Benitez today urged his players to take their Fiorentina misery out on Chelsea and present him with a happy set of problems.
The Liverpool boss is well aware that a victory at Stamford Bridge will result in their odds to win the Premier League being slashed.
But Benitez – who is considering recalling the fit-again Daniel Agger – does not want anybody at Anfield getting carried away. Click to continue reading...

The title to this article might suggest that I am providing some late coverage on Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner's recent car accident while driving to practice in his Aston Martin. In reality, though, this article is written in vehement defense of the player, who has certainly had more than his fair share of critics, to put it bluntly.

Click to continue reading...

AC Milan vs FC Zurich

After the demoralizing loss against Real Madrid, FC Zurich are looking to bounce back against the other struggling side from Milan.

After Sunday's goaless draw Milan coach Leonardo has called for a much better performance:

"We have had a season of ups and downs," he said.

Click to continue reading...

As the Olympiacos team bus got closer and closer to the Finsbury Park area, I am sure veteran goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis began to relive some of the greatest moments of his career at the highest level. From his invaluable contribution in Greece's historic Euro 2004 win to his consistency during his club's league triumph over the last three years, Nikopolidis is no stranger to success at a grand stage.

Click to continue reading...

Ben Foster had a nightmare during the derby and sections of the press claimed he was going to be dropped for our next Premiership game.

Ferguson rightly stuck by Foster though and the keeper picked up a clean sheet in our 2-0 victory over Stoke. Foster didn't have a lot to do but looked more composed and confident than the weekend before.

Click to continue reading...