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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Anfield Talk 09 November @ 03:33 PM EST
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.
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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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Soccerblog 05 November @ 09:15 AM EST
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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Anfield Talk 01 November @ 11:01 AM EST
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.
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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.
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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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SoccerLens 15 October @ 10:15 AM EST
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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SoccerLens 15 October @ 10:15 AM EST
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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SoccerLens 28 September @ 03:18 AM EST
"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?
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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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SoccerLens 04 September @ 04:20 PM EST
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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Anfield Talk 31 August @ 12:05 PM EST
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.
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Red Rants 26 August @ 02:23 PM EST
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).
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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.
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Anfield Talk 05 August @ 12:21 PM EST
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.
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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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Gooner Talk 31 July @ 04:43 AM EST
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 [.
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Red Rants 30 July @ 05:29 AM EST
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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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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Soccer Pie 26 June @ 02:58 AM EST
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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Soccerblog 10 June @ 09:21 PM EST
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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