We go back to the days of perms and short shorts to pick our team of the 1980s. That's the best possible XI from the decade fashion forgot, but creative midfielders did not. We also discuss Fabio Capello's shock resignation as England manager. Was Capello right to quit? Did the FA push him too far?

The transfer window report from business advisory firm Deloitte calculates that Premier League clubs spent around £60m, a decline of 70 per cent on the record level of £225m in January 2011 (admittedly something of an aberration).

Dan Jones, a partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, saw Uefa's financial fair play rules as a factor in the comparative restraint of clubs and a more sober level of spending among Premier League clubs.

Historically, battles for bridges have often defined the context and eventual outcomes of war. Severing the connectivity between two groups of the opposing army, or preventing further advances over an otherwise insurmountable barrier usually seemed like a good way to gain an advantage for the longer term.

Man, did I love buying hockey cards as a kid. I'd take my 35 cents, run over to the corner store, and open those bad boys up. After stupid things like inflation and market saturation, my beautiful card collection's value sunk like a stone. I still have them (if interested, inquire within) but some of the cards are, effectively worthless.

On June 3, the U.S. Men's National Team will be making its first trek North of the Border in over a decade as they travel to Toronto's BMO Field to take on Canada in an international Friendly.

Bloated Premier League squads need ballast and amid the burnt ends of Match of the Day episodes, the fleeting few minutes of highlights from the KC, Molineux or DW Stadiums have been notable for their late cameos from players unfamiliar – your Henrik Pedersens, Okelsandr Yevtushoks and Itzhak Zohars – the men you feel yourself reaching for the Rothman's successor volume to run the rule over, or, laptop on knees, Wikipedia.

David Hytner's article hints at Ivan Gazidis's plans to sell the Arsenal brand:

" Gazidis has identified a huge discrepancy between the worldwide reach of the Arsenal brand and the revenue that it generates. He believes that bringing the latter up to speed - the club have sophisticated strategies in place to do so - is the surest way forward.

By Chris Wright

As you may or may not know, 128-year old Blue Square Premier side Darlington FC have had to sack their management team and playing staff and are teetering on the verge of extinction after going into administration for the third time in less than a decade largely thanks to the utterly ridiculous £20-million, 25,000-seater 'Darlington Arena' stadium that former chairman and tax-dodger George Reynolds paid through the nose for a few years previous.

So as Messi basks in the glory of winning a third straight FIFA world player of the year title, attention continues to be centred on the players who missed out.

One such Player is Neymar. According to Brazilian legend Ronaldo, Neymar not only has the potential to win the Ballon d'Or, but he can become better than Messi.

It's easy for casual observers to shrug off or dismiss the Evertonians calls for Bill Kenwright and the rest of the board to get the hell out of the club. It's easy to say, it's just another group of fans whining because times are a little tough, but this situation cannot be easily tossed in to that traditional mold of the displeased football supporter.

Mirror: Simon Bird's FA Cup previews and predictions (Third Round)

For all our love of an FA Cup upset on third round day, the competition rarely end with a fairytale finish. The chances breaking the two decade long dominance of the big five, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Liverpool appears to be just as slim as altering their Premier League hegemony.

* In terms of stupid statistics, the one that was frequently mentioned before the game yesterday - that Arsenal hadn't won a league match against QPR in over a decade - was particularly stupid. They haven't been in the prem for that long, that's why, not because they have some form of hex over us.

I've been working on this sporadically for a few weeks. It's not finished, as Gerrard's career isn't finished, but I thought I'd open the floor for comments. Consider it an early Christmas (or late Hanukkah, very late Diwali or Ramadan, etc) gift.
All stats from the indispensable LFCHistory.

It's official! Liverpool overtake Man United in worst penalty takers of the past 10 years

Use the arrows to see which Premier League team has missed the highest percentage of pens in one season in the past decade

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-12-22 18:17:57 from: Talksport

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

The first part of Sounder at Heart's recent conversation with Darren Sawatzky featured a few players from this year's U-18s. This second section is more about what the Academy is and how Seattle Sounders FC is handling it. The conversation is lengthy, but shows the efforts the team is taking to develop not just future pro players, but men.

How Roberto Mancini has proved me wrong with classy display at City

I thought Manchester City's owner was going crazy when he sacked Mark Hughes. When Sheikh Mansour then ­appointed Roberto Mancini, an ­Italian whose only experience of English football was a handful of games for Leicester a decade ago, I wondered whether he had lost the plot completely.

The FIFA backed "International Federation of Football History & Statistics" (IFFHS) has named Ducth & MALAGA FC player RUUD VAN NISTELROOY the "Highest Goalscorer of the Decade" ( 2001-2010) with 86 goals. The IFFHS took into account all the goals scorered in International matches, Olympic Games, World Cup Championships, Intercontinental SuperCup games in all Confederations etc.

Following our assessment of the Premier League potential of the current Southampton squad back in October, the Saints have opened a three point gap at the top of the Championship table. Just behind them sit the club many tipped to enact a rapid response to relegation in May. West Ham have yo-yoed somewhat over the past decade and it would certainly be no surprise to see them occupy one of the top two slots come the end of the season, especially with a manager as experienced as Sam Allardyce at the helm, as well as a defensive coach of no mean reputation.

[F]ollowing our assessment of the Premier League potential of the current Southampton squadback in October, the Saints have opened a three point gap at the top of the Championship table. Just behind them sit the club many tipped to enact a rapid response to relegation in May. West Ham have yo-yoed somewhat over the past decade and it would certainly be no surprise to see them occupy one of the top two slots come the end of the season, especially with a manager as experienced as Sam Allardyce at the helm, as well as a defensive coach of no mean reputation in.

Following our assessment of the Premier League potential of the current Southampton squad back in October, the Saints have opened a three point gap at the top of the Championship table. Just behind them sit the club many tipped to enact a rapid response to relegation in May. West Ham have yo-yoed somewhat over the past decade and it would certainly be no surprise to see them occupy one of the top

Kenny Dalglish dropping in-form players is the hardest part of his job now that he's back as Liverpool boss.
Since Dalglish last managed at Celtic a decade ago, squad size and quality has increased massively.
And the Scot, whose first stint in charge at Anfield lasted six years until he quit in 1991, says letting down players who are performing well is a nightmare.

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 2, 2011) US Soccer Players -- If the reports describing Martin O'Neill's move to Sunderland a done deal prove to be true, it's an interesting decision from both parties. O'Neill has been the next great manager for over a decade, the media's regular candidate whenever a high profile job comes open.

By Chris Wright

Crystal Palace made it into the semi-finals of the Carling Cup for the first time in a decade after beating Manchester United 2-1 in extra-time at Old Trafford last night.

After a dull first-half, Darren Ambrose put Palace one up in the 65th minute with a 30-yard 'Darren Ambrose Goal™' shortly before Kiko Macheda hauled United back level a few minutes later by both winning and sticking away a penalty.

Henderson wants to end wait

Jordan Henderson is focused on returning Liverpool to Wembley after more than a decade away from the home of English football.

View the full story here: Sky Sports

A news article on 2011-12-01 08:39:24 from: Sky Sports

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Premier League's most dangerous players in the air: Crouch, Drogba, Cahill, Davies and more

Use the arrows to see which players have scored the most headed goals in the past decade

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-12-01 08:15:00 from: Talksport

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

Give Youth a Future, Support Them Today

It can't be easy being an up-and-coming young player at an old, established and successful football club such as our own. The demand for instant accomplishment dictates that there is little room for starlets to be given the time to develop into the red giants we hope they can become.

Perfection?The Galaxy celebrate winning MLS Cup 2011 in Carson Sunday (Photo by Staff Photographer Stephen Carr).

Despite the weather, it was a picture perfect third MLS Cup triumph Sunday for the Galaxy.

It has been a long time coming.

The Galaxy first won MLS Cup in 2002, the year before moving to Home Depot Center, almost a decade ago.

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- Decade Flashback: "The Fall and Fall of QPR"
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- Today: STOKE City- Past Results.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. During his 11-year playing career, Jay Heaps would do whatever it would take to win. Whether it was racing into the final third and firing a sudden shot on frame or getting in the face of an opponent, the Longmeadow, Mass. native never backed down from a challenge.

Recognizing the need to reinvigorate a squad that has stagnated in recent years, the Revolution front office hired the fiery Heaps as their newest head coach on Tuesday, even though the former defender had no MLS coaching experience on his resume.

In a move that baffles me, the New England Revolution have named the color commentator on the team's television broadcasts as their new coach.

I am shocked that with so many good coaches available, hello Garry Smith, that the Revs would hire a coach with no professional coaching experience.

I find these words from our esteemed manager very interesting in the context of the Youth V Experience argument that has raged like a wildfire throughout goonerland over the past 5 years.

Wenger gave us this quote today, speaking to Arsenal Player, when asked about the difference the 5 new players signed in the dying days of the last transfer window had made to the team.

Sigi Schmid feels the current state of Major League Soccer is very strong and is confident that the momentum is starting to shift the way of American players.
The Seattle Sounders coach has been involved with the North American domestic league since the late 1990s and has seen a vast improvement over the past decade or so and he says that things are heading in the right direction with a 19th franchise coming in next season among other factors.

Richard Dunne has confirmed what we already knew; he was heading for the exit door under Gerard Houllier. He's yet another player to lift the lid on a testing atmosphere under the Frenchman last season.
Speaking to ESPNsoccernet ahead of Ireland's vital Euro 2012 play-off match against Estonia the veteran defender said:

Last season was very difficult for me as I was not enjoying coming to work every day at Villa and there were some issues with the Ireland team as well.

Why we'll lose the right to lecture ANYONE one racism if John Terry is picked for England

If any TV producers are reading this can I ask them to persuade Caroline Aherne to bring Mrs Merton out of retirement. Just so she can invite a piece of excrement on to her couch and ask: "what first attracted you to the lovely England football captain, John Terry?

Lampard, Vieira, Gerrard, Parker or Keane: who's our midfield general of the decade?

Click the arrow on the right of the photo to find out who we rate as the Premier League's best midfield general of the last ten years

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-10-31 17:31:26 from: Talksport

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

Andy Mitten has given RoM a copy of his new book, "United! United!", to give away to one of you lot. Following the books he has written about United players in the 80′s and 90′s, Andy has now spoken to a whole host of people associated with our club in the 70′s. Lou Macari, Martin Buchan and Tommy Docherty are amongst the people who give an excellent insight to what went on behind the scenes during that decade.

Joe Paterno seems like he's been coaching forever. In fact, I think he has. But it took until Saturday for him to finally pass Eddie Robinson to become the winningest coach in college football NCAA Division I history. After Penn State beat Illinois, Paterno owned a record 409 wins.

Following the game, Paterno didn't try to play down the meaning of the record.

'You can't win them all' is a saying that has applied to every Premier League team, barring the Invincible's.

Tomorrow we face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and ever since they have had their millions billions pumped in the fixture has become one of the biggest in our season, not only that, there are bragging rights at stake, especially against their fans who don't realise their club wasn't founded in the past decade.

Seven wins, 27 goals, a comeback of the decade and only one nil-nil draw in sight: last week's round of Serie A action was a far cry from the previous week's stalemates. A Kevin-Prince Boateng hattrick helped Milan to a 4-goal turnaround at Lecce, Inter squeezed past Chievo and Lazio crept into second, but the real story came at the Friuli.

Steve Nicol exits New England Revolution role

Former Scotland and Liverpool defender Steve Nicol has left the New England Revolution after over a decade with the Major League Soccer side.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-10-25 17:56:52 from: The Mail

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