Liverpool full-back Martin Kelly has spoken of his respect for colleague Daniel Ayala, despite the fact that the young Spaniard is in direct competition with him for a place in the team.
Both 19-year-olds have represented their countries at youth level and both have now played for Rafa Benitez's first-team, but Kelly insists that their relationship is positive. Click to continue reading...

Myself and Rich dropped into the Left Lion studios once again to share our vast footballing knowledge and pronunciation skills. Hear us talk about the initiative to sit home and away fans together, Rich getting to know his future in-laws by meeting Luke Chambers' dad, the Forest injury list, and our recent run of form, [. Click to continue reading...

Long term readers of this blog may remember that my dad was very ill a few months ago.
It was a difficult time.
But I kept the faith and he emerged the other side.
Since then he has faced huge challenges, not least of which was that his kidneys failed and he has been on dialysis since. Click to continue reading...

Apparently Fergie isn't the only sore loser at Manchester United.
The new dad Wayne Rooney was warned by the FA for looking at the camera and mouthing "12th man", implying that Chelsea won due to the favor of the referee.
Lame. Click to continue reading...

Darren Ferguson's inconceivable departure from London Road is a sad indictment of the times. Chief among those feeling sympathy for the departed Scot will be another son of famous heritage, Nigel Clough. "A talented Dad doth not a talented son make" will be the mantra and just as Ferguson Junior's sterling work in shepherding Posh through the divisions will now be forgotten, so will those golden Click to continue reading...

CR9 meets Jackson Five Cristiano Ronaldo is preparing to join forces with Michael Jackson's dad, Joe, to flog football barbecues ahead of next summer's World Cup. Jackson reportedly has a stake (or should that be steak) in a company called Game On Products, whose Goalie Grill barbecue is being launched for South Africa 2010. Click to continue reading...

Watch this semi-entertaining viral vid of the new dad.
Speaking of which, Wayne Rooney really needs a nickname. Due to his Shrek resemblance, I'm throwing 'The Big Green' into the mix. Click to continue reading...

"Roo'd" better believe it !
He's a Dad.
Bless 'im!
His ears will be filled with beautiful bird song.
Although he may have the odd one or two of these.
New born babies can be very demanding.
But they make you smile too.
Congratulations to both! Click to continue reading...

In keeping with tradition, BigFourZa wishes the newest addition to the Rooney family a very Happy Birthday! This counts as a birthday right? THE birthday in fact.

No, you're not allowed to photograph the baby within 52 minutes

Though, it's a slight misnomer to name him Kai Wayne Rooney.

Click to continue reading...

I don't know how I hadn't seen this before but a little bit of web-surfing awaiting news of whether Wayne Rooney is a Dad yet brought me to this video. It's a touch of genius! Obviously heavily edited but it's as funny as fcuk! For more like this one check out talkSPORTmagazine for even more like [. Click to continue reading...

It's on, Kickettes!

And by on, we mean: Coleen Rooney is attempting to remove a 9-day-overdue baby from her womb. Let's all wish her well. She has checked into Liverpool Women's Hospital, and hubby Wayne has missed a training session.

We're sending thoughts, good wishes and many prayers for a safe, easy and pain-free birth.

Click to continue reading...

Could Man United star Dimitar Berbatov be hitting some goal scoring form? Last night he scored not one, not two, but three goals for Bulgaria. This coincides with the news that Berbatov has become a dad- congratulations to him and his girlfriend.
The Bulgarian captain and Man United striker helped his team to a comfortable 6-2 win over Georgia at the Vassil Levski stadium in Sofia. Click to continue reading...

Read the column here.

(Sadly the wit and wisdom of Brian Clough - or at least my attempted tribute to it in the last line of that column is apparently lost on the copy editors here; it should read "the top one," singular, not plural).

Check out the trailer.

I had the pleasure of speaking recently with actor Michael Sheen about the film and his role as Brian Clough.

Click to continue reading...

In August we ran a competition with Philsophy Football to win a 'Gaffer Mug' by simply naming the year Sir Alex Ferguson was given the Manchester United job.

Emily, of YouTube fame, was given the mug by her dad, who was one of four winners.

"The Gaffer" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia. Click to continue reading...

Excuses, excuses.

We can talk about Robbie Rogers having a bad ankle.

We can talk about not having Chad Marshall or Frankie Hejduk.

We can talk about not having the right guys in the starting 11.

We can talk about the opposing team turning the penalty spot into a divot.

Click to continue reading...

I'm not going to spend a lot of time discussing a game we should of won big that we did win big. I saw some good things. And here we go...
Good Stuff!
- Christian Gomez. Every time I think that DC should cut ties with Gomez, he'll play like he dad last night. He definitely elevates his game in tournament play, and teams need players that can do that.

Click to continue reading...

Messiah's dad, Jorge Messi, has denied the threats alleging that a futbolista from the Argentinean team wants to break his son's legs... Oh Veron, your time was over. Ok, ok, estamos solo bromeando! We're only joking..

"If a teammate tells you that and continues to be called up to the team, something is wrong," Jorge pointed out, following a radio interview made by the player's lawyer, Marcelo Open.

Click to continue reading...

With Real Madrid sitting atop the table after five matches, Kaka has decided to once again field questions from a group of school children. The following is a transcript of that event.

Kaka: Good morning, boys and girls! I am very happy to be with you here today and I am excited to answer your questions.

Click to continue reading...

Didn't a kid do similar to this to Steven Gerrard back in the day?
Anyways, from the little guy's reaction, I'm guessing the cameraman (dad?) put him up to it. Click to continue reading...

John has been sick. So he has asked me to update his blog.
There are two questions from this game:
1. were Perth prepared to cheat to win?
2. does Chris Beath have the skills to referee in the A-League.
Dad and I watched the replay on tv and it was pretty clear that the Roar, while making some bad defensive mistakes ( is Bob Malcolm good enough to play in the A-League), dominated the game. Click to continue reading...

On Wednesday the home office of OTWT received a shocking call from Endy in Outfield. At first I could not believe what I was hearing, it sounded like something tragic had happened. After talking to him, I try to figure out what was going on.
Endy called me to let me know that my father, who is 60 and home recovering after being sick for two months, watched the first half of the Barcelona/Racing Santander match on ESPN. Click to continue reading...

The United fan who Craig Bellamy hit on Sunday has spoken out about what happened.

"I was flung towards the barrier when Michael Owen scored - the place went mad, everyone was hugging each other and I can't explain why it happened," said Jake Clarke. "I was just loving the moment I guess after all the excitement throughout the match.

Click to continue reading...

Andy Carroll has come back from injury recently, and has been in excellent form over the last two games. Andy Carroll - looking the part at Newcastle And he is not short of the passion and enthusiasm you would expect from a local lad, born and bred in Gateshead. New dad Andy said today: "I suppose I'm going [. Click to continue reading...

Cheer Up Alan Shearer's Top 10 Football Moments
9. Schteeeeeeve McLaren talks jibberish
No-one really blamed Steve McLaren for moving abroad after the wally-brolly failure of England to qualify for Euro 2008. In a path trodden by his one of his predecessors, Bobby Robson, the ex-England boss ran to the relative safety of the Eredivisie after his international experiences to take charge of little known FC Twente. Click to continue reading...

16 months after retiring as the Football League's oldest player at the age of 42, Manchester United and Spurs great Teddy Sheringham is returning to football with Beckenham Town in the Bulmers Cider Kent League the 9th tier of English football. So, unlike many professional athletes, he's definitely not coming out of retirement for the money.

Click to continue reading...

My dad is a big follower of the blog. It's his birthday today.
Any ideas on a good present? Help me out in the comments.
To the links:

• Catching up with Clint Mathis. [SI]
  
• Quotes o' the week. [Sanford's Soccer Net]
  
• Some Luka Modric ad. [Off the Post]
  
• Barca's ESPN ratings.

Click to continue reading...

After Real Madrid's first La Liga match of the season (a 3-2 win over Deportivo La Coruna) Kaka decided to give another group of kids a chance to ask him a few questions about his league debut and life in Madrid. The following is a transcript of that event.

Kaka: Hi, kids!

Click to continue reading...

Collison, Collison Where's your dad? Collison, Collison Where's your dad? Oh, that's right, he's dead! Unlucky Collison A small section of Millwall fans allegedly chanted this to Jack Collison, whose dad had died a couple of days earlier in...

Click to continue reading...

Collison, Collison Where's your dad? Collison, Collison Where's your dad? Oh, that's right, he's dead! Unlucky Collison A section of Millwall fans allegedly chanted this to Jack Collison, whose dad had died a couple of days earlier in a...

Click to continue reading...

Collison, Collison Where's your dad? Collison, Collison Where's your dad? Oh, that's right, he's dead! Unlucky Collison A section of Millwall fans allegedly chanted this to Jack Collison, whose dad had died a couple of days earlier in a...

Click to continue reading...

via AP

Benjie's dad scored a double yesterday to sink Gilberto Silva's Panathinaikos... and with that, Atletico have won the right to compete in the Champions League! Sadly for the Greeks, they will play in the "Europa Cup", formerly known as the UEFA Cup. Yeah.

Click to continue reading...

Darren Ferguson was brought through the ranks at Manchester United with his dad and manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, giving him his first team début when he was eighteen. Filling in for an injured Bryan Robson during the start of the 1992-1993 season, Ferguson made enough appearances to qualify for a league title winners medal.

Click to continue reading...

It all started when Marcello Lippi said he thought Juventus would win Serie A this season. That was the spark that ignited Jose Mourinho's insatiable temper and has led to begin an all-out attack on Lippi that would make your dad cry. Even though Lippi was quick to apologize and say it was just his opinion, mind you, Jose has unloaded with some daggers:

Lippi passed judgment on television the other night," slammed Mourinho.

Click to continue reading...

Not sure why Chelsea's bus didn't make it all the way into the Stadium of Light. Perhaps their driver is Deco's dad and the little Portuguese playmaker was embarrassed: "Drop me off here Dad, I'll walk the rest of...

Click to continue reading...

A few posts from around the Football blogosphere!
Robbie Fowler resorts to Ninja (Dirty Tackle)
Man City fan gets tatoo predicting Champions league 2011 win (Who ate all the pies)
Great slalom goal from Alex Hleb for Stuttgart, this evening (101gg)
Paul Lambert gets Norwich job, after beating them 7-1 in opening game (the guardian)
Top ten football stadiums of the world (Pitch Invasion)
Dani Alves gets plastic surgery (The Spoiler)
Roman Abramovich is gonna be a dad. Click to continue reading...