Amazingly, Manchester United are still in touching distance with Manchester City at the top of the table, despite our crippling injuries.

Carlos Tevez, who was City's top scorer last season, finally had enough and refused to play for the blues again, having a strop in Munich then fleeing to Argentina.

It may not have been a man of the match-calibre performance, as those honours would have to have gone to one of the defenders—and probably either Glen Johnson or Martin Skrtel. And he likely didn't even have as good a game as his previous two against Wolverhampton and Manchester United. Regardless of that, however, after nearly a full calendar year filled almost entirely by futility as he struggled first with fitness and then with fitting in, it's understandable that on the back of three strong showings on the bounce people would be eager to look for any upside they can find in the 2012 edition of Andy Carroll.

By "The Other 87 Minutes" / Senior Unemployed English Major CorrespondentsFor today's entry, we bring you the top ten things Ricardo Clark's 97th-minute winner against Venezuela made us completely forget. 1. The entire 2010 World Cup, obviously. Welcome back Rico, all is forgiven.

The current injury list of Arsenal consist mainly of our full backs. Sagna, Jenkinson, Gibbs and now our newly purchased Brazilian left back Andre Santos, all are out with rather severe injuries. Out of desperation, Arsenal are now deploying their centre halves to play at the defensive half of the flanks, Vermaelen at left back [.

I don't think anyone who has seen Jack Wilshere play doubts his talent. Even anti-Arsenal hacks and pundits, and purveyors of ignorant, spiteful opinions in the Arsenalsphere rave about the youngster. From football legends like Wenger and Capello to common fans like this blogger, everyone has lavished undiluted praise on the next great English hope ever since he was a schoolboy.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

It's no seceret that the Big Ten has been underperforming in 2011 but the lack of a dominant team should make for an interesting tournament as the Big Ten Tournament kicks off at the University of Michigan.

Indiana is the lone ranked team in the Big Ten but a loss against Wisconsin and draws against Northwestern and Michigan State has relegated the Hoosiers to the No.

Quick Recap:

The Colorado Rapids come out looking strong and ready to defend their championship. The Columbus Crew looked like they were running around trying to put chewing gum on a leaky dike. In the end the better team won, Colorado wins 1-0.

First Half:

Colorado came out and really looked like they were the defending champions for the first time in a while.

Halloween came early to Old Trafford

City fans would like nothing more than Sunday's humiliation of Utd to signal a shift in the balance of power. Pundits are already debating its merits. 6-1 is a historic statement and the margin could have been even larger if Edin Dzeko had been on target in his first few attempts.

Sven-Goran Eriksson sacked by Leicester City Telegraph.

Leicester City today dismissed, or "agreed by mutual consent to part ways" depending on which news source you trust, former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson after 12 months in charge and after something close to $20m of player purchases had been flushed down the sewer.

There are bad days, and there are really bad days. Yesterday was one of those days for United and United supporters, with the embarrassment of embarrassments at Old Trafford.

Losing to City is one thing, but losing 6-1 to City, at home no less, and losing to City in the manner that it all unfolded, makes it even harder to swallow.

Finally, a late goal goes in our favor, we keep a quality opponent from scoring, and we secure a huge win in the Champions League. Aaron Ramsey, who only came on in the 78th minute, coolly fired home in stoppage time after a nice cross from Djourou was deflected by Gervinho, right onto Ramsey's path.

Quick Recap:

Portland plays one of it's best halves and takes it to a team they should beat. On the road to dominance Portland gets goals from both starting forwards and wins 3-0.

First Half:

From the opening whistle the Portland Timbers came out with fire and an urgency. The urgency wasn't one of desperation or so frantic that they were exposed but one that was a determined and focused.

There are certain days on the football calendar when even the most level-headed, tolerant fan allows the throes of passion, anxiety or excitement to send any sense of reason and long term judgement spiralling out of the window to be replaced by an almost Neanderthal desperation, with either joy or fury displayed beyond any normal boundaries [.

Park Chu Young is still awaiting his visa

In his first ever press conference after transfer deadline day, Arsene Wenger disputed the perception the 8-2 thrashing at the hands of Man Utd triggered the desperate last minute signing spree.

Instead the process was more deliberative in the like for like calibration for departing players.

A tale of desperation and the struggle for points and fulfilment in a world where both seem impossible. The game highlights the emotional and physical hothouse effects that bloom for two distressed teams beginning their seasons like rats in a rum barrel: Fulham, behind a placid exterior, hide an untapped intelligence and a yearning for something beyond the emptiness of mid-table safety; Blackburn are arrogant, spoiled and cynical.

They're up for grabs now! Wenger, right at the end. An unbelievable climax to the transfer window

I can safely say I can't recall the like. What began with the low of an abject eight-goal capitulation at Old Trafford has ended with the high of five new faces to bolster the ranks.

It's really frustrating that Newcastle didn't get a top striker in this summer. Leon Best after scoring first goal on Sunday But once we saw Newcastle were in very late last night for FC Twente winger Bryan Ruiz, that smelled of desperation, which we pointed out in our report, and so it turned out [.

Owen Hargreaves given chance to resurrect career at Manchester City | Football | The Guardian.

Upon hearing the news about Owen Hargreaves's potential move across Manchester to United's "noisy neighbors", I felt a sense of relief for the former England midfielder who, in my opinion, was our best player at the 2006 World Cup Finals.

It has now been confirmed that the much rumoured transfer of former Inter Milan full-back Davide Santon to Newcastle United is now completed.

Santon, an Italian International has signed for NUFC on a currently undisclosed fee (thought to be around £5 million). The Italian defender will wear the number 3 shirt and has signed on a five year deal.

By Chris Wright

God bless Manchester City, they're so silly...

For some reason unbeknownst to almost everybody, City have had their corporate buddies over at EA Sports mock up an image of Samir Nasri 'scoring his first City goal' against yep, you guessed it Manchester United.

The takeover at QPR could be good news for Spurs fans looking to trim the deadwood from the squad before the transfer window closes in just seven days' time.

From the first two games of our season, it seems apparent that Peter Crouch is the odd striker out and having not featured thus far, it's suggested that Harry is just waiting to seal the Adebayor deal before letting Crouch go.

The people of Libya are at a crucil point in their history as the rest of the world lookso n praying that the Gaddafi regime doesn't have a sting in the tail.
The rest of the world minus Louise Mensch of course. As the TNC rebels massed outside Tripoli and what's hopefully the endgame played itself out everyone's favourite chick-lit author turned A-List selected MP was busy tweeting like a political groupie and proclaiming it a "Genuine Triumph for David Cameron" whilst bizarrely inventing a paralell universe where Ed Miliband opposed the Libyan intervention.

The legend of Catenaccio is one the most enduring legacies of Calcio. Wildly successful, it has become almost synonymous with Italian Football in certain people's minds. Unfortunately, it has also been miscast as the Ultimate Evil, the monument to Anti-Football so as to speak by certain sections of the media.

Where the game was won | Liverpool FC Vs Arsenal

AnfieldIndex Liverpool FC Stats | Liverpool FC Blog | Liverpool FC Forum For the first time in eleven years Liverpool FC recorded a victory away at Arsenal, whether that be at the Emirates or Highbury. It was the first time ever that Liverpool had won at the Emirates so it was a very sweet moment regardless of quality of side that they were pitted against.

Online.

Sometimes, an internet leave of absence is just what the doctor ordered. I rolled up my trouser legs, knotted my hanky and set off south for ten days, and being too stingy to pay for 3G abroad, I made do without the interwebs entirely.

Well, not entirely. When I encountered unlocked wifi (as I did, rather excitedly, in a Co-op car park) I inhaled it and I inhaled it deep.

Stephane Auvray and Thierry Henry are now teammates. (Getty Images)

In search of some midfield depth, the New York Red Bulls have gone out and made a deal today. The club has sent a 2nd round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft to Sporting Kansas City for Guadeloupe defensive midfielder Stephane Auvray.

Alberto Aquilani insists there is no desperation on his part to leave Liverpool, admitting he would "love to make a mark" at Anfield this season.
Aquilani's big-money switch from Roma to Liverpool has failed to produce rewards so far, with the Italy international making less than 10 starts in his debut season.

More than 60 teams compete in the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League to win a title. Saturday, those championship dreams were realized by a team from the Pacific Northwest. The Kitsap SC Pumas, from nearby Seattle, won its first PDL title. The magic happened for them in front of a national audience watching on Fox Soccer Channel.

Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Game time: Wednesday, 9:00pm ET

TV: Comcast SportsNet

This midweek fixture could not come at a better time for a Union team desperately trying to put a poor showing against Colorado—their first home loss of the season—in the rear view mirror.

Some of the names currently being linked with a move to White Hart Lane are beginning to suggest an air of desperation and it's hard to believe that Mauro Zarate could possibly be the answer to our goal scoring issues.

Reports suggest that the Argentinean could be available for around £14m and while his current side Lazio aren't desperate to sell, Zarate has apparently fallen out of favour with the coaching staff and may be prepared to move on for regular first team action.

Reports coming out of Spain suggest that Real Madrid could provide the answer to Spurs' striking problems, but it will come at a price – and that price is Gareth Bale.

Spurs have been linked with Lassana Diarra at various stages throughout this transfer window and while the player has said that he wants to stay at Real, his employers may not share that view.

I have been trying to get this written for the past 4 weeks but it seemed every week something came up and I got distracted. Watching the Portland Timbers has been rough the past 7 games but for all the rough spots there has been moments of great soccer from the Timbers. The unfortunate thing is that right after the great soccer, or just before, there have been some ugly and horrid soccer.

New Technical Director, Michael Emenalo is featured this morning on Skysports speaking of the Michael Essien injury and has openly admitted that Chelsea may not look to replace him this season and stick with what we have in his position.
When asked about replacing Essien who is out for six months he said:

"The squad is littered with world-class players and the idea of replacing someone or not replacing someone sounds a little bit ludicrous.

How hard it must be for baseball in America right now. Ongoing sagas with the Dodgers and the Clemens trial and then a most unspeakable tragedy of the fan falling headfirst for a foul ball, it really can't get much worse for baseball. There's sadness at every turn, including an all-star game that is not relevant at all.

Perhaps, on a bookshelf in the offices of the Football Association at Wembley Stadium, there is a leather-bound book called "How To Get Knocked Out Of A Major Tournament". It's a well-thumbed tome, of course, and the England team at this year's Women's World Cup couldn't help but crib from its extensive advice in getting themselves eliminated from this year's tournament at the hands of France at the end of a tumultuous match in Leverkusen last night.

Clint Dempsey, via NY Daily News

Entering this 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the United States Men's National Team had it's issues. Most figured they would ultimately be exposed in the late stages of the tournament. Instead, those problems, coupled with a lackluster first-half performance, contributed to a 2-1 defeat to Panama in Group C play.

Tampa, Fla. The United States suffered a humbling defeat to Panama 2-1 at Raymond James Stadium last night. Flat and disorganized for the first 68 minutes the United States could not overcome a slow start losing for the first time ever in the Gold Cup group stage. The US seemed surprised at the level of intensity shown by Panama, something I warned about in my preview of the match.

By Chris Wright

Robin Van Persie (who, if memory serves, has never whined at an official before himself) has lambasted both Chelsea and Barcelona for 'always bitching' to referees in order to co-erce decisions out of them during games, rather than just knuckling down and winning trophies the Arsenal way.

Gazzetta dello Sport Napoli = Champions 21 years after Maradona, the Azzurri return to the European Cup Scudetto gift? Hamsik is the candidate Samp desperation, down to B after eight years. Palombo asks for forgiveness Giovinco stops Juve. Chiellini harsh: "We've never been a team" Corriere dello Sport Napoli triumph!

Gazzetta dello Sport Napoli = Champions 21 years after Maradona, the Azzurri return to the European Cup Scudetto gift? Hamsik is the candidate Samp desperation, down to B after eight years. Palombo asks for forgiveness Giovinco stops Juve. Chiellini harsh: "We've never been a team" Corriere dello Sport Napoli triumph!