Scotland suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Wales at the weekend to signal the end of George Burley's Scotland career after only 22 months in charge. This was not the first time that Burley's position as Scotland manager had come under scrutiny, however where he had been given more time previously, time had well and truly run out for him this time around.

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Fernando Torres could take another step towards securing his credentials as one of Liverpool's greatest ever scorers by notching the two Premier League goals which would take him to a half-century for the Anfield outfit.
If the Spaniard manages the total in the coming matches he'll have reached the target faster than any player in the Merseyside club's history; a feat which manager Rafael Benitez believes would put him on the path to legendary status. Click to continue reading...

I turn my back for one minute and Creepy Jose Romero turns into a 14-year-old dick. On Houston selling lots of tickets for the weekend:

No Sounders FC practice today, but thanks to the Dynamo press crew that really does a nice job, I've learned that Houston's home field is down to upper level end zone and sideline seats.

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The British Empire fought for this!

The Daily Mail goes patriotic after Jan Moir's homophobic innuendo and their divers perp walk. But it seems a bit fascist in its endeavour. After all, the very people they want to honour fought that scourge in World War II. And yes, it is also true that the British Empire was not welcome in many countries.

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Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has warned the Premier League's top teams not to write off Liverpool in the title race.
The Reds are nine points behind league leaders Chelsea after losing 3-1 at Craven Cottage on Saturday but Hodgson still believes they are challengers.
"If I was Manchester United or Arsenal or Chelsea I don't think I would be writing them off," Hodgson told 5 Live's Sportsweek programme. Click to continue reading...

After last week's World Cup packed podcast, let us return to our own affairs and look back on an eventful weekend in the Premier League.
Chris and Graham reflect on their respective team's performance in the London derby twixt West Ham and Arsenal. Manchester City's credentials are examined further after an unconvincing 2-2 draw with Fulham and we celebrate the Liverpool v Manchester United Super Classico or at least the last half an hour or so. Click to continue reading...

On Tuesday night, Boro sacked Gareth Southgate: cue rejoicing on Teesside. Southgate was the clueless manager who got us relegated for the first time in 12 years. He was the man who took us from the Uefa Cup to the foot of the table. He was the man who sold our best players, and brought in our worst.

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This year's annual Supporters Direct conference found the organisation at something of a crossroads. The high profile failure of Supporters Trusts at Notts County and Stockport County have caused a deal of unwanted attention to be cast upon SD (even though they are obviously not for responsible for the goings on at specific trusts) and, with continuing concerns about the credentials of some of the owners coming into the game, this year's conference was always going to carry an underlying theme about two subjects: foreign ownership and the question of whether supporter ownership of clubs is always a good thing.

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For all the thrills and spills that club football brings us each and every season it doesn't come close to the passion I personally feel when it comes to the World Cup Finals.

Perhaps it's because my background as a professional footballer numbed my feelings and allegiances to one specific club?

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For all the thrills and spills that club football brings us each and every season it doesn't come close to the passion I personally feel when it comes to the World Cup Finals.

Perhaps it's because my background as a professional footballer numbed my feelings and allegiances to one specific club?

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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.

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When Arsenal were drawn alongside Standard Liege, Olympiakos and AZ Alkmaar, fans could be forgiven for expecting easy qualification from Group H. Although still on course for this, the Arsenal players have been shown that they cannot assume the same complacency.

Standard Liege, although they were not a great side, showed that clubs are ready to give their all in the Champions League.

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"Seeing these smiling faces is the greatest pleasure. They have been magnificent all season. They have been our 12th man. I have always said our fans are the best in England. Now I know they are the best in Europe too." (Rafa Benitez)

Yes indeed, Rafa Benitez may be many things but naiive he most definitely is not!

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New post from Richard Whittall this morning that is an altogether better effort than what lead to my takedown yesterday.

I think we can all agree that the bizarre world of North American soccer, from the Hexagonal to the USL Premier Development league, is a niche interest pretty much completely absent in any meaningful way from mainstream print media in North America.

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On Sunday Newcastle flexed its 2018 Host City credentials by hosting the worlds biggest half marathon, the Great North Run. Two of our writers ran the half-marathon with cracking times around the two-hour mark and they are still collecting sponsorship money. So if you are feeling generous do donate, even if its only a small amount its all going to a good cause and your help is appreciated by the pair.

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Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy returned after a long spell on the sidelines to provide an assist and score another in his side's emphatic 5-0 victory over La Liga minnows Xerez. While the focus of the game initially remained on another former Manchester United star, Cristiano Ronaldo who scored twice to make it six goals in his four appearances it was his Dutch teammate who eventually created most of the headlines.

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Welcome to Ask the Oppo! Perry groves' lovechild is till on an extended break so Eldo71 talks to Tony Holmes, a Wigan fan from Warrington who will be at the game today at the Emirates...

Eldo71: First off, what are your opinions of your new manger Roberto Martinez?

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Arsenal's "top four" credentials is questioned once again after a crunching defeat by Manchester City.Should we castigate Arsene Wenger's youth and transfer policy again? Click to continue reading...

This weekend's headlines were stolen by Emmauel Adebayor even before a ball was kicked. Saturday morning, Adebayor finally lashed out at his former club Arsenal, moments before the Gunners kicked-off a challenging visit to the Eastlands.

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The pick of this weekend's Premier League action is without a doubt Manchester City's home tie with Arsenal. Both teams have something to prove, City may have a 100% start but they're yet to come up against a side who will also be competing for honours and the match against Arsenal represents a great chance for them to establish their own top-four credentials.

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With Grays Athletics' Chief Executive Mick Woodward standing down from his role at the club after a 10 year stint, which has seen Woodward taking over as manger twice and splitting fan opinion of his general running of the club. A new regime has been promised to take over the reigns of the Essex side, but with Woodward still having an invested interest, more questions than answers remain at the club with the seemingly revolving door.

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Charles Itandje, 26, formerly of Racing Club de Lens, where he established his first-team credentials, accumulating 170 first-team appearances in the league, has left Liverpool to join Greek side Kavala on loan, according to the BBC.
The move, scheduled to be complete at the end of June 2010, was perhaps cemented in April last season, when various members of Liverpool's congregation during the Hillsborough memorial service complained about inappropriate behaviour from Itandje. Click to continue reading...

The Arjen Robben story continues to gather steam, especially now that Wesley Sneijder has reportedly agreed a five year deal with Inter.

Robben, best known for being a crock aside from being among the few creative outlets in a Chelsea team also shone during his spell in Real Madrid. He is on the right side of 26, in keeping with our policy to sign 'younger players'.

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United banjoed a low on confidence looking Wigan side at the weekend, the five-nil score-line didn't flatter the champions, but Ferguson will know his squad's title winning credentials will be tested to the limit in the next three fixtures with United set to face Arsenal (h), Spurs (a) and then Man City (h). Click to continue reading...

A win against a top-four team; a win away in a potential banana-skin of a game against relegation fodder; now a London derby - one way or another we are certainly having our credentials rigorously tested in these early days.

I desperately hope we win tomorrow. This has nothing to do with the whole issue of enmity with West Ham - as I have previously confessed, I am neither here nor there on that issue.

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Wow! what a season we had? Three trophies (I think "all the trophies", sounds better) after two season where we longed for a piece of silverware. To top it all we played a brand of football which made us everyone's second loved team. With the emergence of English Premier Leageu as the strongest, everyone said beauty and success don't go hand in hand. Click to continue reading...

Jamie Redknapp believes his old club, Liverpool, will win this season's Premier League title and end two decades of hurt on Merseyside.
The Reds have not won the domestic title since the days of Alan Hansen, John Barnes and Peter Beardsley in the 1980's, but Redknapp is convinced his former side have what it takes to usurp rivals Manchester United as champions. Click to continue reading...

Edwin Van der Sar has broken two bones in his left hand, meaning he will be out for around eight weeks. Our keeper has already undergone surgery for the breaks which he sustained in saving Danijel Pranjic's penalty in the Audi Cup last week.

Edwin will likely miss our games against Arsenal and City but should be back in time to face Liverpool in October.

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Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson has died at the age of 76, following a long battle with cancer. Robson will be best remembered on the international stage for leading England to the 1990 World Cup semi-final. At club level, he cut his managerial teeth at Fulham before establishing his credentials at Ipswich where he [. Click to continue reading...

There is no doubting the immeasurable void that's been left in the United side following the departure of one Cristiano Ronaldo. When you remove a player capable of scoring 42 goals in a single season, there's bound to be a gaping hole left behind. While Sir Alex clearly had no choice but to allow the Portuguese the chance to fulfil his dream of playing for Real Madrid, our trusty Scottish manager has undoubtedly had a major say on who potentially joins/has already joined the club this summer.

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"The empty vessel makes the loudest sound."
William Shakespeare
"Well I guess it all started the first time I went through the second grade. I caught my reflection in a spoon while I was eating my cereal, and I remember thinking 'Wow, you're ridiculously good looking, maybe you could do that for a career. Click to continue reading...

It came as little surprise to see Steve Bruce dip his hand into the Americas early as he begins to stamp his authority on the Sunderland team. The addition of Paraguayan centre-back Paulo Da Silva will hopefully add some of the steel required to shore up one of the leakiest defences in last season's Premier League.

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Freddie Ljungberg has again committed his future to Seattle Sounders ahead of the big game against Chelsea. "I am so happy here in Seattle and that is why I want to stay for the years that I am here," he said. "Of course it is nice that the big clubs want me to go back (to Europe) again but it feels nice here in America.

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South Africa failed to qualify for the Confederations Cup finals after the narrow defeat to Brazil but Joel Santana's side matched the high-profile opponents for large periods of the game and they thus once again showed they had the potential to create a few surprises at the World Cup 2010, which they will host.

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Carlos Tevez needs to be patient.

It was Man Utd who fought to get him to Old Trafford. They are now putting up the money to unshackle him from the consortium. Yes, it is a tidy sum of money but after a dithering a bit David Gill has come around.

Frankly, if Man Utd had lost the Premiership with Tevez sitting on the bench, I would have expected him to leave, vindicated.

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