Isn't this a case of two plus two equals six here?? Surely the press have something better to do than to carry on with the ridiculous articles about Roman turning up the heat on AVB by attending training every day this week!
The next ridiculous rumour is that AVB is to be replaced by Fabio Capello "sooner rather than later"!

You may or may not have seen this earlier today. I retweeted it via @JoeTweeds a few hours ago.

Either way, it's a very good read and a refreshingly different take on John Terry than the ones we've been force-fed over the past few months. No, he's not a monster. Sorry, media.

Below is an excerpt.

Image: REUTERS/Sergio Moraes.

With our penchant for crap hats and whips, you might say we're the 'Indiana Jones's' of the fluffy football world.

With this in mind, we ventured into the depths of the Copa Libertadores last night and found this photo of Wagner (r) being tackled/molested (depending on how loose your definition on on-pitch discipline is) by the magnificently named Hugo Nervo.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has urged the Stamford Bridge crowd to seek inspiration from the club's traveling support at Loftus Road on Saturday to change the anxious vibe at the Blues' home ground.

The West Londoners were nearly unbeatable at home not too long ago but have appeared extremely vulnerable under Villas-Boas, who is hoping that the recent return to form improves the atmosphere at the Bridge.

Good morning to you and welcome to Thursday. The week is flying by. Must be all the high jinks and fun. Can't think what else it would be.

Let's start this morning with Jack Wilshere. Apparently he's 'stunned' doctors by being ready to make his comeback ... erm ... pretty much on schedule. When he limped out of the Emirates Cup in late July there was no indication he'd be out this long but since the need for surgery we've been told he'd be back in full training by the end of January, ready for a mid-February comeback.

Oldham Athletic manager Paul Dickov has hit out at referee Neil Swarbrick's decision to award a penalty to Liverpool in his side's 5-1 defeat to the Reds at Anfield.
With the game at 1-1 on the stroke of half-time, the referee awarded the hosts a penalty, which was converted by Steven Gerrard, after an apparent push by Tom Adeyemi on Maxi Rodriguez.

Fulham 2 (Sidwell 85, Zamora 90) Arsenal 1 (Koscielny 21)
(Premiership)

It is always difficult to write a match report after a game like this. I was tempted to pen my thoughts in the immediate aftermath, but decided to let the game settle a little and write in the morning.

In the last three games Newcastle have been missing one thing that previously was in good supply in the Newcastle side. Yohan Cabaye returns to the side on Monday And that is discipline, which was sadly missing against West Brom on Wednesday night, as Newcastle gave away three sloppy goals and lost the game 3-2.

Image Credit: AP Photo/Stanley Gontha.

We don't often get to use the terms 'mayhem' and 'drama' when we're talking about the KNVB Beker (Dutch Cup). That's mainly because we rarely bother to cover it, but our attention was drawn specifically to the game between AZ Alkmaar and Ajax last night, when a fan onto the pitch and tried to attack Alkmaar 'keeper Esteban.

Manchester City Coach Roberto Mancini has issued a warning to striker Mario Balotelli to stop his outrageous behaviour if he intends to become one of the game's greats.

Balotelli who's controversial antiques both on and off the pitch have in the past landed him in serious problems with his club's and local authorities.

QPR manager Neil Warnock bemoans lack of options at Loftus Road as injuries mount

The R's boss has lamented his thin squad after confessing substitute DJ Campbell wasn't ready for a return at Anfield, while commending Joey Barton's discipline in the defeat

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-12-10 19:23:00 from: Goal

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

Two years ago it was Rafa Benítez with his folded sheet of paper containing various "facts" about perceived Liverpool grievances. On Thursday in the same room Kenny Dalglish went one better, with a DVD display illustrating why Liverpool were more sinned against than sinning at Fulham on Monday, a match that earned the club a double dose of disciplinary trouble from the Football Association, with Luis Suárez accused of making an offensive gesture to home supporters and Liverpool charged with failure to control their players following the dismissal of Jay Spearing.

Manager's moaning about referee's is nothing new, it has always gone and probably will always go on. But Kenny Dalglish took things to another level by playing a DVD during his weekly press conference to point out examples of where his club were hard done by against Fulham last Monday.
The game, which the Red eventually lost 1-0, also landed Liverpool in trouble with the FA after Luis Suarez was charge after giving the Fulham fans the finger, while the club was charged for failing to control their players after they surrounded referee Kevin Friend following Jay Spearing's dismissal.

Kenny Dalglish uses DVD to show 'truth' about sinned-against Liverpool

• Manager shows videos of flashpoints in Fulham match • Flurry of accusations against Luis Suárez irk Scot Two years ago it was Rafa Benítez with his folded sheet of paper containing various "facts" about perceived Liverpool grievances.

The great Norwegian Merlin sticker album reunion As always on Tuesdays, today will be Random 1990s Football Tuesday on OTP but we really have a bumper edition for you today. We will have the usual column for you later, but in the meantime here are retro Premier League legends Jan Aage Fjortoft, Claus Lundekvam, Lars [.

The Boston Red Sox crumbled in September as rumors ran rampant that manager Terry Francona had let the lockerroom become too wild. Beer drinking and fried chicken eating reportedly took place in the lockerroom. That led to Terry Francona's firing.

With discipline in mind, the Red Sox hired Bobby Valentine.

Welcome to La Liga Lunes, our Monday special on Spanish futbol. Well, today Greaseano finally has something to be happy about because he is now the La Liga's top-scorer with 16 goals, one over Messi!

I always stated that the decline of the Saudi football was never because of lack of talents but because those talents don't get enough attention to develop and polish their skills. Also, because of lack of the team plays and discipline in general.
Here is one new promising star named Salem Al-Dosari from Hilal, he is 19 years old only, and just up to last January he was not playing for any team, he was a player in "Hawari", that is district teams.

This home game against Borussia Dortmund could turn out to be tougher than the away visit to Chelsea. It probably won't have as many goals and will be tighter in the middle, but from a physical and mental point of view the players will have to give at least as much if not more than that celebrated triumph.

A lot will made of Chelsea's lost against Arsenal last weekend. The defensive mistakes that cost the team have been a feature of their season throughout.

Rightly or wrongly much of the blame will be laid at the feet of Andres Villas-Boas. He is in charge of the team and is shaping it in the mould of Porto's offensive play.

Why United should be very afraid of City in the Manchester derby

There are still, quite clearly, troubling issues at Manchester City that have arisen largely as a result of their accelerated rise up the league. A gang of superstars, many with egos even bigger than their pay packets, have been signed with the inevitable corollary of occasional discontent and lack of discipline.

Morning all, and it's into the Interlull we go.

One of the worst things about our form at the moment is that it makes Interlulls seem almost welcome. It's a chance for some re-grouping, for players to go off and clear their heads a bit, and for the manager and his staff to reassess where we are.

The Carlos Tevez debacle seems to be taking new dimensions with every passing hour. It is now emerging that the Argentine could be sacked and even sued after his disrespectful and historic actions on Tuesday night.

According to Tevez, the whole issue was a misunderstanding and has been blown way out of proportion.

Things are starting to look up at Newcastle, especially since Sunderland were defeated 2-1 at Carrow Road tonight, and Newcastle are now a full 7 points ahead of Sunderland after just six games. Alan Pardew - discipline now becomes very important Long may Newcastle's good run continue, but of course it's very early in the season [.

For those that are statistically inclined, there's been a new focus on completed passes in Major League Soccer this season. Part of that is the influence of FC Barcelona, felt from the top clubs in Europe, to national teams, to rec sides that like what they see from Pep Guardiola's Barca style.
J Hutcherson writes of the continued influence of Barcelona - both on the world, and specifically on Major League Soccer.

Dalglish defends discipline

Kenny Dalglish insists there is nothing wrong with Liverpool's discipline, despite seeing two-men sent-off in their Spurs defeat.

View the full story here: Sky Sports

A news article on 2011-09-19 09:25:01 from: Sky Sports

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

Dalglish defends Reds' discipline

Kenny Dalglish insists there is nothing wrong with Liverpool's discipline, despite seeing two-men sent-off in their Spurs defeat.

View the full story here: Sky Sports

A news article on 2011-09-19 09:25:01 from: Sky Sports

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

Save that could have bigger implications later

It's Friday and that means only one more day to Premier League football. We are visiting Ewood Park tomorrow to play Blackburn Rovers. Although this comes directly after the Champions League tie away to Dortmund and this being an early fixture, I believe there's ample time for the players to recover from their midweek exertions.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has no concerns about Craig Bellamy's bad-boy reputation.
The Wales international could make his debut in his second spell with the Anfield club against Stoke on Saturday after returning on deadline day of the summer transfer window.
Bellamy's previous time at Liverpool lasted just one season in 2006/07, when ex-boss Rafa Benitez decided a lack of discipline did not fit into his tactics.

The Study of English Football [Part I]: How social and cultural aspects impact the English game is a post from: Just Football

Introducing Part I of a special report on Just Football. Over the coming days our newest contributor Andreas Vou presents a comprehensive four-part study into the state of English football and the national team, encompassing society and culture, the media, youth football and the English approach to playing abroad.

A week after failing to impress against Valencia, Jordan Henderson again had a poor showing, this time against his former club Sunderland in the first match of the new season. As much as wildly overreacting and proclaiming the campaign an utter failure on the basis of one opening day draw is an unhealthy, reactionary approach, it's also impossible to ignore the fact that not everything went according to plan.

Dominic Oduro (right) and ex-Fire midfielder
John Thorrington (left) -- Getty ImagesBy Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Will the real Chicago Fire please stand up?
A topsy-turvy five-day stretch last week brought out the Fire's best efforts (1-1 draw against the Philadelphia Union) and easily the team's worst performances (4-2 loss to the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps) of the season.

By Chris Wright

Rangers dive-bombed out of the Champions League at the first hurdle last night, drawing 1-1 against Malmo at the Swedbank Arena, thus failing to reverse the 1-0 home defeat inflicted upon them by the Swedes at Ibrox last week.

The ill-tempered affair saw Gers end the game with nine men after having both Steven Whittaker and Madjid Bougherra pick up straight reds for 'hoying the ball around willy-nilly' and 'planting elbows in craniums' respectively.

Oh come on, don't tell us you want to be reading about all these dull and never-ending summer transfer sagas! Let's hop onto the Piqueira Lambo and find out what they've been up to in Miami. As you know, Barca are currently on their US tour and earlier this week, Puyol, Busquets and Pique all turned up to support Shakira's charity, the Pies Descalzos Foundation, in aid of underprivileged children with a focus on Latinos.

When Luka Modric started playing football, it has been claimed that the little Croat had to play with wooden shin pads to protect him from the hustle and bustle of the beautiful game.

Come the 6th August 2011, he'll need more than the two planks of wood to protect him from the reaction of the Tottenham faithful after his failed transfer to Chelsea.

Finally cleared to begin his first season in Denmark's Superliga, Conor O'Brien is confident he and his new SonderjyskE teammates have the talent and discipline to compete at Denmark's highest level.

Just when maturity seems to finally getting into Mario Balotelli's head, the opposite indications happened again as the player gets involved in another problem with his manager at Manchester City, Roberto Mancini, who was very upset with the player's behavior in a friendly game.

Balotelli was immediately sent to the bench by Mancini after ‘fooling around' in front of the goal in the game against LA Galaxy, inflicting a change of words between the two Italians in the sideline.

Not even an opponent scoring three goals can stop the red-hot Seattle Sounders these days.

Behind goals from Alvaro Fernandez, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero and Mauro Rosales, the Sounders knocked off the defending champion Colorado Rapids 4-3 at home on Saturday in a thrilling match. Seattle had to come back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, just as they had against Portland last Sunday.

Not even an opponent scoring three goals can stop the red-hot Seattle Sounders these days.

Behind goals from Alvaro Fernandez, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero and Mauro Rosales, the Sounders knocked off the defending champion Colorado Rapids 4-3 at home on Saturday in a thrilling match. Seattle had to come back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, just as they had against Portland last Sunday.

Alan Pardew has informed us that the lack of discipline that crept in under previous managers such as Chris Hughton and Alan Shearer will no longer be tolerated at the club. Speaking in a rare interview, the tough talking, no nonsense supremo called time on the anarchy in and around the club's Benton training ground.