When the two Manchester clubs were drawn together in the FA Cup third round, it opened the door to other clubs with aspirations of lifting the famous old trophy.

One of the best two sides in England at this present time will be out of the FA Cup and that opens the competition up to the rest.

Former Charlton and West Ham manager Alan Curbishley believes England have failed to utlise the talents of midfielder Scott Parker during his career.
The 31-year-old has only just begun to play for England regular after winning his first four caps while with four different clubs across eight years.

How are you feeling this morning?

Still glowing?

Yeah, me too.

We have kind of forgotten what it's like to enjoy a BIG win; a meaningful win; a surprise win against the odds.

Most of our surprises in the last six months have been nasty ones – the kind Mrs Gary Neville has every morning when she wakes up and sees who's beside her.

By Dario Camacho - MIAMI, FL (Oct 28, 2011) US Soccer Players -- The season is over. The gauntlet's been thrown. The second season begins. The preamble of the last eight months has produced the final ten teams looking for glory in November. We all have our favorites and our dark horses and the teams that will surprise us, and since Wednesday those ten teams will test our predictions.

In early September I ran my top 5 picks for MLS Cup dark horses. Some look promising now (RSL), some not so much (Chicago). Now, with most of MLS taking a break this weekend, we level our gaze on the top five frontrunners. It's all about the big dogs today. With the wild card round almost two weeks away and the picture rapidly crystallizing, here are the top five teams most likely to take home

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Did you know that the 2014 World Cup qualifying rounds have already started? With 'only' just under a thousand days until the big kick-off in Brazil, we take a look at one of the most hotly-contested qualifying groups: South America.

The Carling Cup is not the most glamorous cup competition in the world but it is a great opportunity for some so called 'smaller' Premier League teams to have success and get into Europe.
For years there has been some discussion about the merits of the Carling Cup, with some managers putting out under strength sides, as they see the competition as a burden, have disrespected it to a fair degree.

United 3-0 Tottenham: Analysis and Observations

It is still early days but the manner in which Manchester United conducted themselves in their first home game was most encouraging. And such a result against a team thought to be the ‘dark horses' of the Premier League this season gives all the more reasons to be optimistic.

The first stage of the Women's World cup is over and we are down to the last eight teams and the quarter-final knockout stages. So far, the tournament, being held in Germany, has been a great success, and it looks like the women's game is finally getting the media recognition it deserves.

The wonderful thing about the Bundesliga is its unpredictability. You just never know what is going to happen. Witness the remarkable rises of Mainz, Hannover or Nürnberg last season, while teams expected to challenge at the top of the table – Stuttgart, Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg – spent much of the season desperately fighting against relegation.

Next Stop, Argentina! Copa America 2011 Preview is a post from: Just Football

by Christopher Atkins

The 2011 Copa America kicks off in Argentina this Friday, as South America's top teams compete for continental bragging rights and a spot in the 2013 Confederations Cup.

Abby Wambach will do battle with the North Korean defense

USA vs. Korea DPR
Rudolf-Harbig Stadium, Dresden, Germany

In a few hours, Abby Wambach and company finally get to open their World Cup account after a long hard journey that took them through the playoffs.

Chelsea and Manchester United will clash in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, while Tottenham Hotspur have been drawn against Real Madrid.

Holders Inter Milan will tackle Schalke, while 2009 winners and favourites for this season's tournament Barcelona have been paired with Shakhtar Donetsk.

By Chris Wright

Champions League dark-horses Shakhtar Donetsk beat Roma 3-2 in the Stadio Olimpico last night, but the goal of the game belonged to Giallorossi forward Jeremy Menez, who picked out what pundits like to refer to as the 'postage stamp', i.e. placing a shot about as 'top corner' as it's physically possible to get.

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This week we look at one of the most passionate and exciting leagues in world football, the Primera División in Argentina. Explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) can be found at the foot of the post.

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This week we look at one of the most passionate and exciting leagues in world football, the Primera División in Argentina. Explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) can be found at the foot of the post.

We asked four Soccerphile writers for their picks for the 2011 Asian Cup, which kicks off today.
First Seoul-based K-League cognoscente John Duerden: It's an open competition but I have a feeling for Saudi Arabia.
This is a team that could either do terribly or go all the way.

If I had a pound for the every time I have heard how Man United have won this season without playing well I would be a very rich man. Virtually every time they have won this season it has been from a 'below-par' showing, with Tuesday's 2-1 at Stoke, which put them three points clear at the top the latest example.

If I had a pound for the every time I have heard how Man United have won this season without playing well I would be a very rich man. Virtually every time they have won this season it has been from a 'below-par' showing with Tuesday's 2-1 at Stoke, which put them three points clear at the top, the latest example.