Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has backed tomorrow's opponents Arsenal to silence their critics, making it clear that the Gunners have sufficient talent to prevail at the Stadium of Light.

Arsene Wenger's men are three points adrift of fourth-place Chelsea and have relied heavily on the incredible form of skipper Robin van Persie, who scored a brilliant hat-trick in last weekend's 7-1 rout of Blackburn.

For much of this season, Spurs number one Brad Friedel has quietly gone about his business and at times, solid performances across the back four have provided him with little to do. When called upon, the American is an uncomplicated keeper who has brought calm between the posts where once there was chaos.

Graham Zusi got his first National Team goal in his second National Team game, putting the United States up eight minutes into Wednesday night's friendly against Panama. Both teams pressed the offense in the first-half, with US goalkeeper Nick Rimando and his counterpart Luis Mejia called into service.

Queens Park Rangers are reportedly keen for defender Anton Ferdinand to shake hands with Chelsea's John Terry in a bid to ease tensions between the pair before Saturday's FA Cup fourth round tie.
All eyes will be on the duo in the clash at Loftus Road this weekend, as they come face-to-face for the first time since England skipper Terry was charged with racially abusing Ferdinand in the Premier League meeting between the two sides in October.

Liverpool have reportedly snubbed Aston Villa's bid to sign striker Andy Carroll with Darren Bent offered in exchange.
Reports in the Sunday Express claim Villa chief Alex McLeish has approached his Reds counterpart Kenny Dalglish with a plan which would see reported Anfield target, Bent, make the move to Merseyside with Carroll going to Villa Park.

Liverpool are reportedly leading the chase for Crystal Palace's highly-rated teenager Wilfried Zaha with the Daily Mail claiming Kenny Dalglish made a personal call to Dougie Freedman.
The newspaper claims the Reds manager contacted his Palace counterpart to express his interest and to discuss the 19-year-old's ability and character.

Demba Ba is reported to be a transfer target for Liverpool, after it was claimed the Newcastle United striker has a £10million release clause in his contract.
The Senegal international has been the signing of the season, having scored 15 Premier League goals since his free transfer from West Ham to Newcastle in the summer.

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish says he has been told by Liverpool counterpart Kenny Dalglish the Reds are not interested in signing Darren Bent.
McLeish was speaking after watching his side reach the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 victory at Bristol Rovers.
England striker Bent, 27, who joined Villa from Sunderland a year ago, has been linked with a move away, with Liverpool reportedly among the favourites, and he played in Saturday night's win at the Memorial Stadium.

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish says he has been told by Liverpool counterpart Kenny Dalglish the Reds are not interested in signing Darren Bent.
McLeish was speaking after watching his side reach the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 victory at Bristol Rovers.
England striker Bent, 27, who joined Villa from Sunderland a year ago, has been linked with a move away, with Liverpool reportedly among the favourites, and he played in Saturday night's win at the Memorial Stadium.

Tim Howard is a class dude. Not only is he a world-class keeper, but seems to be a quality guy.
Yesterday the Everton and US national team keeper scored a goal for the ages. He bombed a 90-yard clearance from his own goal area in a Premier League match against Bolton. A fierce wind turned what should have been a three-quarter pitch reset ball into an historic goal.

Watch video of Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard scoring against Bolton

Everton's Tim Howard has joined an elite group of keepers to have scored goals after strong winds took his goal-kick past his hapless Bolton counterpart Adam Bogdan. Watch video of the incident here:

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2012-01-04 21:39:07 from: The Mirror

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Liverpool boss Dalglish says Man City fixture schedule unreasonable

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish backs Manchester City counterpart Roberto Mancini in his questioning of the fixture planners.

View the full story here: BBC

A news article on 2012-01-02 16:09:26 from: BBC

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Crystal Palace are one of two Championship sides that remain in the 2011/12 League Cup. Out of the two Championship sides, Crystal Palace remain to be the team that have performed at a lower level than their Championship counterpart and League Cup semi-final opposition Cardiff City.
In the Championship Cardiff are in 5th position with 38 points, whereas Palace currently reside in 8th position with 33 points.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has backed Andy Carroll to eventually live up to his record-breaking price tag.
Pardew reluctantly sold the 22-year-old to the Reds, who host the Magpies on Friday evening, on the final day of the last January transfer window when owner Mike Ashley decided a bid of £35million was simply too good to refuse.

Reported Liverpool target Lucas Biglia is being pursued by Arsenal, according to the agent of the Anderlecht midfielder.
The 25-year-old Argentine is also on the radar of Fiorentina and AC Milan, with the former making a concerted effort to seal a January deal for his signature.
Liverpool has been frequently linked with Biglia in recent months, and injury to Lucas Leiva has led to renewed speculation that he could move to Anfield.

It can't just be about playing with Daniel Agger, as in recent weeks he has seemed to outshine even his highly regarded Danish teammate, though perhaps that the partnership allows him to now consistently play on his favoured right side could be part of it.

It isn't entirely a surprise, either, as in his early days at Liverpool he was for many the man who would replace Jamie Carragher; a confident, physical defender set to anchor the defence for years to come.

Juan Mata will be under the spotlight tonight as he takes on Spanish counterpart David Silva. Both ex-teammates, will have the responsibility of creating and dictating the play for both sides tonight and Mata is keen to point out that although we respect Manchester City and the start they have made, we do not fear them.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis believes Liverpool counterpart Kenny Dalglish was right to raise the Football Association's apparent double standards on disciplinary issues.
The Reds boss was unimpressed with the governing body yesterday successfully reducing Wayne Rooney's three-match ban - for a red card picked up in Euro 2012 qualifying - by one game.

Tony Pulis backs Kenny Dalglish in Wayne Rooney ban row

Stoke manager Tony Pulis believes Liverpool counterpart Kenny Dalglish was right to raise the Football Association's apparent double standards on disciplinary issues.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-12-09 11:07:29 from: The Mail

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Ladies and Gentl... The sombre atmosphere at Stoke City ahead of a tribute to Gary Speed before their Europa League clash with Dynamo Kiev was briefly lightened by some PA system comedy. The Potters' stadium announcer was eager to introduce the tribute to Speed to the Britannia Stadium faithful. But every time he attempted to [.

Who next for Sunderland? All the runners and riders for the Stadium of Light job

After Steve Bruce's departure from the Stadium of Light, a number of managers will already have their eye on replacing him as Sunderland boss. Here are the early runners and riders. Martin O'Neill UnemployedFormer Celtic boss O'Neill was a boyhood Sunderland fan and has often been linked with the job.

By JOSE M. ROMERO

CARSON, Calif. -- Make it three MLS championships for 60-year-old Bruce Arena, and no coach in the has more since the inception of the league in 1996.

Just another feather in the cap for the 2011 MLS Coach of the Year, who appeared to letting it all soak in as he sat down to speak with reporters after his Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the Houston Dynamo 1-0 Sunday night for the MLS Cup.

(Photo: Paul Rudderow)

Editor's note: At the end of the 2010 season, we posted a series of raves "Raves" about some of our favorite Philadelphia players. They need not be the team's best players, but they're guys and gals we like. Over the next two weeks, we continue the series again with some of the PSP contributors favorite players of 2011.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson brands Gus Poyet's views on Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez racism row ‘a bit silly'

The veteran manager feels his Brighton counterpart's comments that the defender was "crying like a baby" were inappropriate, but the 44-year-old has since reiterated his stance

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-11-18 15:05:00 from: Goal

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson brands Gus Poyet's views on Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez racism row ‘a bit silly'

The veteran manager feels his Brighton counterpart's comments that the defender was "crying like a baby" were inappropriate, but the 44-year-old has since reiterated his stance

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-11-18 15:05:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson brands Gus Poyet's views on Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez racism row ‘a bit silly'

The veteran manager feels his Brighton counterpart's comments that the defender was "crying like a baby" were inappropriate, but the 44-year-old has since reiterated his stance

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-11-18 15:05:00 from: Goal

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Revealed: The shocking attitude to call-ups that mean England will always be light years behind Spain

The voice at the other end of the phone was disbelieving. "What do you mean about talking to the clubs? And what do you mean by no-shows? I am sorry .... but in Spain that is not an issue.

Pep Guardiola has revealed that despite his incredible success in charge of Barcelona, he is like any other manager in that he is highly apprehensive of getting the sack.

Guardiola, who also once wore the Barca shirt as a player, has tasted both domestic and European glory with the Catalan giants in recent years, becoming one of the most well-respected managers in the world.

Two contrasting emotions depicted in the picture snapped off the television after the game with a grim-looking Cambodian's Korean coach Lee Tae-Hoon (top half of the picture) pondering what could have gone wrong after two straight defeats in Jakarta.
While his counterpart Sloban Pavkovic (below half) breathe a sight of relieve having see the Cubs came back from a goal deficit to beat the Khmers 2-1 in the near-empty Senayan with headers from Khairul Nizam and Nigel Vanu.

That's about the best way I think I can describe my feelings about last night. I'd even tried to prepare myself for it, telling myself it wouldn't happen. Still didn't make me feel any better when the final whistle blew. KC bowed out of the playoffs at home for the first time since 1997 last night to the Houston Dynamo 2-0.

Striker Andy Carroll was the fall-guy for Liverpool after missing a first-half sitter in the goalless draw at home to Swansea.
For the second successive home match against a newly-promoted team Kenny Dalglish's side failed to convert their chances.
Carroll's was the miss everyone will remember, although there were enough opportunities created afterwards to have prevented a third home draw in a row.

Lionel Messi has been compared so many time's to his Argentine counterpart and former Maradona and now I can see why see goal number 19 and 24 both pretty similar to the goals Maradona scored against England in 1986. He's been arguably the most gifted player ever to put on a pair of boots let alone his
Adidas F50 Adizero he currently wears.

Mario Gomez scored three goals by the half, bringing his Champions League tally to 5 goal in 4 games, to go along with its Bundesliga counterpart of 12 in 10. In a few words, he's untouchable right now.

And yet, the most memorable will be the one he didn't score in the final seconds of the game, turning Morgan De Sanctis into a hero just moments before Napoli lost.

"Balance" has been a word tossed around frequently as Liverpool tries to fine-tune its recently-acquired shape. Balance between attack and defense, balance between controlling the game and pushing the tempo, balance between direct football and pass and move football.
On Saturday, Glen Johnson started at right back for only the second time this season, for the first time with summer signing Jordan Henderson ahead of him on the right.

The Axe Factor: Steve Kean catches a break as Roberto Martinez has his odds slashed to leave Wigan

Spanish boss has been cut from 20/1 to 2/1 in the space of a week while his Blackburn counterpart is no longer odds-on to go first.

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-10-31 12:56:00 from: Goal

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Andre Villas-Boas has dismissed suggestions that Chelsea need to reconsider their aggressive playing style and insists that attack will remain the best form of defense at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues have struggled defensively in recent matches and Villas-Boas was criticized for not being able to control the temper of his players during last weekend's 1-0 defeat at QPR.

Liverpool 'totally and utterly' back Luis Suárez, says Kenny Dalglish

• Manager defends striker against racism and diving claims • Manchester United's Patrice Evra claimed he was abused The Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has issued a robust defence of Luis Suárez following allegations of racism made against the striker .

Instead of an in-depth look at a single facet, I thought I'd post multiple chalkboards from Saturday's match, highlighting a couple of predominant themes.
Crosses
That Zonal Marking mentions this in his weekly league-wide roundup demonstrates how glaring a stat it was. 22 attempted crosses, two successful.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish warns Manchester United over Luis Suarez threat

Dalglish is hoping the Uruguayan striker repeats last season's performance against Sir Alex Ferguson's side on Saturday & praised his counterpart for the heights he's reached

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-10-15 00:20:00 from: Goal

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Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish praises Everton counterpart David Moyes ahead of Merseyside derby

The Scot also had strong words for his defence, which has been hit by injuries, warning them that they need to improve if the club are going to keep moving up the table

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-09-30 13:43:00 from: Goal

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