England striker Wayne Rooney scored 2 penalties and produced an inspiring second half display as Manchester United fought back from a seemingly hopeless position at Stanford Bridge. Trailing by a single goal at half time, even the most die hard of United supporters must have thought all was lost when a disastrous start to the second half saw early goals from Chelsea playmaker Juan Mata (who buried a stunning volley) and a deflected set piece header from centre back David Luiz treble the home side's advantage in a sequence of events that all Chelsea fan's must surely have believed would put the game to bed as a contest.

Sad weekend for British football as Nottingham Forest Owner Nigel Doughty was found dead in his home yesterday. He was 54. According to a statement released by the club, Doughty was found dead in his gym.

"It is with enormous sadness that Nottingham Forest announce the death of the club's owner Nigel Doughty, Mr Doughty, who was 54, was found dead earlier today in his gym at his home in Skillington, Lincolnshire.

Tonight is the Spanish Copa de Rey semifinal between Valencia and FC Barcelona. FC Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in the semifinal, after which it has been widely proclaimed that FC Barcelona will now win the tournament. Only the most die-hard Valencia fans believe otherwise. I don´t believe otherwise.

Imagine for a minute that you lived in England and that you finally had the chance to watch your favorite Premier League club in person. Like me, if you're such a die-hard supporter of your team, you would definitely look ...
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Sunday's match turned up a lot of heroes and villains for both teams. The match itself went like most people had predicted; a close encounter that could have gone either way... that is until 75 minutes into the game, when what can only be considered a game changing event occurred. But I'll get to that later.

Ducky's Note: Die-hard Manc Prashanth speaks fan-to-fan to the Arsenal fans. We repeat, this is a post by a Manc. So, you know, #justsaying *runs and ducks behind door. Pun may or may not have been intended*.

No, I don't want to tell you that its okay to lose, or its okay to boo your manager when he makes a substitution (gamble) trying to win the game.

While die-hard U.S. men's national team fans probably already have the lowdown on young West Ham United defender Dan Potts, the reaction to some tweets about the 17-year-old left back suggests that not everybody is aware of the story behind the latest promising foreign-born prospect eligible to play for the United States.

For some reason, I had it in my head that the match with Bolton was going to be on Wednesday. So I was going to write a nice little news report today, and then we'd roll out a preview tomorrow. But alas, the schedule is a little different. We apparently have only one day off in between, so I have to do the preview today.

The Rides of MarchTHE BUZZ:
For TFC supporters it felt as if this match was five years in the making. Half a decade of less than mediocre results and high drama off the pitch had the chance to be erased, even if only temporarily, if The Reds could grab a win tonight.

Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish playing down the weekend big match between his team against Manchester United as just like any other matches despite the fact that Sir Alex Ferguson thinking the opposite.

Dalglish, who since managing the Reds have been building a significantly improved squad, revealed that what made the game against Man United a bit different is only because winning would get the Anfield boys closer to the league leader.

This midweek looked to be a tough week for premier league representatives in the Europa League as no teams managed to pick up three points, although the likes of Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspurs can consider the draws they got were pretty positives considering they were playing away.

Meanwhile, the same thing can't really be said for Fulham, as they picked up their one point in front of the club's die hard fans at Craven Cottage.

This midweek looked to be a tough week for premier league representatives in the Europa League as no teams managed to pick up three points, although the likes of Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspurs can consider the draws they got were pretty positives considering they were playing away.

Meanwhile, the same thing can't really be said for Fulham, as they picked up their one point in front of the club's die hard fans at Craven Cottage.

Where do I start with this mess of an event. From the big things to the small things it was an embarrassment. Might as well take it chronologically.
1. I get en email from my ticket rep saying "No parking passes for this game are needed". I write back asking if that's true for the tailgate lot.

Two weeks is a very long time in football. Being a die-hard Ipswich Town fan, I got the train to Bristol on the first day of the season. After a summer with no football, the expectation and excitement of the new campaign kicking off was at an all time high. A Michael Chopra brace and [...] Related posts:

1. Why England and Capello Will Benefit From This Summer's Transfer Window.

When it comes down to it, there are several categories which are splitting the Championship equally. The resurgence of the newly promoted teams is wowing everybody and shows that you do not have to spend large sums to get success. Unlike their Premier League counterparts, they do not have millions to spare and could prove to be tricky.

On Friday, the US national team will play its first match in Southern California under Jurgen Klinsmann. It wasn't Klinsmann's idea to play this match here of course but it is a great chance for the locals to get familiar with their locally-based national team manager.
Klinsmann, who has long resided in nearby Orange County, will trot out a host of new players as the U.

On Friday, the US national team will play its first match in Southern California under Jurgen Klinsmann. It wasn't Klinsmann's idea to play this match here of course but it is a great chance for the locals to get familiar with their locally-based national team manager.
Klinsmann, who has long resided in nearby Orange County, will trot out a host of new players as the U.

We all know about Manchester City's spending power and yesterday they sent out another ominous warning to the rest of the Premier League when taking three points from the Reebok; the 3-2 scoreline flattered Bolton somewhat because Sergio Aguero missed two absolute sitters. After the first two games of the season, City are top of the table and even the most die-hard Red has to admit they are

Somewhere out there, someone is upset over this news. Quite frankly I and probably most of the die-hard LA Galaxy fans are not. Landon Donovan announced over the weekend that he will skip the MLS All-Star Game this week against Manchester United due to a nagging calf injury that has been bothering him lately.

Ah here they are again at last: Real Madrid matches. Nevermind that they're only friendlies. For die-hard Madridistas like myself, there are never enough of them... and though fatherhood has helped a lot with the Real Madrid withdrawal symptoms, they never go away permanently. Last Sunday morning (Saturday evening LA time I think), Real Madrid played their first pre-season match against the LA Galaxy who were in the middle of their season.

Sunday's final vs Japan is going to be verrrryyyy interesting!! 2 completely different teams but with the same die hard attitude! I'm torn over who I want to win, because I'm not totally sold on the US team yet. Their style is...not so attractive, but their chemistry and attitude is immense.

Lauren Cheney will need to control the tempo in midfield if the US are to defeat Japan.

Neal, die-hard United States Men's National Team fan and recent admirer of the Belgian Red Devils is a happy man today. The Belgian Royal Football Association has on its website a friendly between the two countries scheduled for September 6, 2011. <!-- http://twitter.com/#!/nealjthurman/status/86878814822604800 --> .

Paul Marion, who is the community manager for the UK Bingo site online bingo review Bingo HQ, is a regular reader of OTP and a die hard football fan. So he's put together his slightly controversial Top five Greatest Football goals of all time. 5. Roberto Carlos' rocket goal (Real Madrid vs. Barcelona) The distance, [.

If the United States Men's National Team (USMNT) wins against Mexico tomorrow night, one Philadelphia Union fan will have an added bonus to seeing the USA defeat its most hated rival.

Allie Sullivan entered into Nike's #WeAreIndivisible Twitter Contest, which began on June 3, by submitting multiple tweets through the #WeAreIndivisible hashtag.

Call it an episode of Chester Shore.

Shots shots shots-shots-shots. But not much game.

Breaking down the defense

The Union huffed and puffed (and an appearance by Hugh Jackman nearly blew the house down), but Jimmy Nielsen and shooting display worthy of a Die Hard villain left Philadelphia with a single point from two matches against inferior competition.

In a recent Manchester City documentary entitled Blue Moon Rising, which chronicles the Premier League club's 2009-10 season, die-hard City fan Noel Gallagher (yes, of Oasis) prolifically states, "Any football fan just wants to be proud of their team. Whether they win or they lose is really irrelevant.

Let me start off by admitting that I am a die-hard Manchester United fan, but I will try and keep my analysis of our bitter cross-town rivals as objective as possible. Ever since Sheikh Mansour's takeover at Eastlands, money has been pumped into...
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I have to get this off my chest: on my DVR sits the New England Revolution game versus FC Dallas from this Saturday night, and I have no plans to watch it. Ever.

On Soccer Soap Box, I don't attempt to capture news before other blogs. I don't analyze every game and every touch. If you are looking for a scoop or play by play coverage, you are unlikely to get it here.

Pre-amble

. ITV's irrepressible Andy Townsend proffers the sort of arcane wisdom for which he has become so renowned over the years:

'Well, first of all, right, this Barca are a top, top side make no mistake it's not just about your Messis and your Xavis, they've got Puyol in there who's not afraid of gettin' stuck in, Alves the right-back, and Iniesta's a crackin' little player an' all.

Since I've been called out by name on this topic, I might as well respond. For those of you just joining us, this is how I saw the CONCACAF Champions tournament:
Quote: Whoo yeah, life goes on
Long after the thrill of living is gone And this week we come to grips with the harsh reality that we won't be able to live vicariously through a Real Salt Lake re-enactment of "The Bad News Bears Go To Japan.

England are playing today, apparently, although you wouldn't necessarily know this from a trip to Gander Green Lane this afternoon. The intuitive thing to think would be that the pull of sitting (or, on an afternoon like this, more likely standing) in a pub watching England play out their match against Wales would might have had a calamitous effect on non-league attendances this afternoon, but this is certainly not the case at Sutton today.

Old habits die hard. Just ask John McClane...#1 - The Kansas City Star explains why Sporting KC decided to pay for their stadium naming rights. Awesome.And for those KC folks who pay attention to such silly things: The Distracter super-duper approves of this. Despite the Wizards name change, which was upsetting, they remain "her team".

Not going to do pure play-by-play here but just give my thoughts as things develop. The Vancouver Whitecpas are repected around North American soccer for their ability to develop talent. The Sounders have started much more recently, but brought in some of the best that Seattle has to offer.

Sean Okoli, Cox, Peterson, Herman all on the pitch for Seattle.

Fergie was right: The media did try to get Rooney electrocuted - they wanted him hung up by his genitals. Predictably, the BBC Match of the Day pundits did their level best to get Rooney suspended following the events at Wigan on Saturday. Rooney definitely caught McCarthy with his arm and even die-hard Reds fans will find it difficult to defend the United striker.

So from Barca to Leyton Orient...

It would be a massive shock if we started with anything like a full strength team today, and whilst Orient are not world-beaters, the game will be a massive one for a few members of the squad; in particular Marouane Chamakh, Tomas Rosicky and Sebastian Squillaci.

There is, dare I say it, a small part of me that feels a tinge of remorse that, if all goes as it should, Manchester United will be the team that puts an end to Crawley Town's FA Cup run.

Everyone loves, as they say in American sports culture, the Cinderella story, the underdog, the team or player with destiny written on them.

With the announcement of a new broadcast deal between Fox Soccer Channel and Major League Soccer, it's time for another post about balancing television coverage with the accessibility of live matches to local fans.
I completely understand the necessity and importance of having as many MLS matches on some kind of national television channel as possible.

The schedule for the Philadelphia Independence 2011 campaign was released on Thursday.

Widener University's Leslie Quick Stadium, the new home of the club, will be the site of the home opener on Saturday, April 16 at 7pm.

Very affordable season tickets are available. Group tickets and flex plans are also available by calling 1-877-WPS-PHIL (1-877-977-7445).

Now even I am finding it hard to remain upbeat about our title chances. I have remained positive and believe if we could win every game and get on a run which we all know we are capable of, then we could find ourselves right back in the title race. Then we drew at Fulham and that all changed.
Arsene Wenger spoke of Chelsea's chances and even I am finding it hard to agree!

Special EPL Viewing Guide this week. We have 3 make-up EPL matches, 2 FA Cup 4th Round replays, 6 FA Cup 5th Round matches, Liverpool's return to Europe, and United's first-leg visit to Marseille. So 13 matches involving EPL sides: that's good enough for me!

****: Must-see.