Zamora and Cissé Can they keep QPR in the Premier League? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Mark Hughes was very active on transfer deadline day, signing ex-Liverpool front man Djibril Cissé from Lazio and re-uniting himself with Bobby Zamora from Fulham. Castrol EDGE Performance analysis shows that with an impressive shooting accuracy of 57% and the ability to create a chance for his teammates every 40 mins, Zamora looks set to play an important role in QPR's battle to avoid relegation.

Fine margins

February and all we've collected from 2012 is a solitary point in the league. Unfortunately for a club the size of Arsenal and the ambitions that we harbour, that is not good enough. 7th is where we are right now in terms of the league standings and hopes of staying with the top pack and clinching that vital Champions League position is not mathematically out of grab.

A common belief is that US youth soccer players suffer from over coaching, and in many cases that is true. But in our helicopter parent society where kids rarely can just go 'play in the park', coaches are in a situation where they have to provide SOME instruction and opportunity to develop. How do you create a fun practice where the kids push themselves vs go through the motions while also correcting mistakes and allowing for self discovery of soccer skill?

Much has been made in recent weeks of the Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey debate. The debate began as a casual conversation while trying to design the perfect US National Team lineup. It seemed at the time, there would be no way to pin down which player was truly better. Donovan plies his trade in Major League Soccer whereas Dempsey produces his magic in the English Premier League.

By Joel Greenwaldt
Baltimore Blast (10-4) vs. Norfolk SharX (3-11)
Game Time: 1/20/2012 7:35 PM
http://www.misllivesoccer.com/
Keys to victory for the Blast:

• Quicker distribution: In their loss to the SharX eight days ago, the Blast tired to get too cute with fancy footwork and trying to take on and dribble through multiple defenders.

Arsenal relying on van Persie and midfield strength to beat Manchester United - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

In August Manchester United and Wayne Rooney inflicted a resounding 8-2 defeat on Arsenal, with Rooney netting a hat-trick. However, since then it is Robin van Persie who has lit up the Premier League.

"I never knew that music like that was possible!"

After watching the second half of yesterday's Clasico, I'm beginning to see Mourinho as Salieri to Guardiola's Mozart. When a team of Madrid's caliber gets schooled and forced into errant passes and frantic individual dribbles on offense and desperate tackles on defense, huffing shadow-chasing and hapless outreached hands pleading for offside calls that won't come, the opposition must be touched by the divine; the divine stringing of passes, la pelota always kept just a fleeting inch away from Madrid's lunging cleats, and importantly, the divine total defense, which at one point saw Özil attempting to dribble into the box only to be surrounded by seven (7!

Some lovely flowing football last night in a game which in all honesty, we completely dominated. I was a bit worried about not having Parker or Sandro as the steel in the midfield, but Livermore was outstanding. As were the two goals that got us the three points that take us level with United in second.

Spanish giants Real Madrid are expected to lose a number of key players this month as another of their brightest talents Angel Di Maria said to have welcomed offers from both Manchester United and Chelsea.

Along with Kaka and Esteban Granero, Di Maria is the third player who could possibly leave the Bernabeu this month.

After reviewing the losses I decided to lump the remaining defenders together. Seattle Sounders FC returns two fullbacks, three centerbacks and Zach Scott man-marker. These ratings add clarity in the various authors' opinions about why Seattle is reinventing it's fullback positions signing Adam Johansson, pursuing Christian Sivebaek and possibly adding more wide defensive talent either through a young international or draftee.

2011 Year of the Neymar is a post from: Just Football

He struts with the cocksure swagger of a born star and not only that, he can play a bit too. 2011 can be seen as the year Neymar truly broke through on the world stage. Just Football's man in Brazil Paulo Freitas looks back at the year of the mohawked one:

Neymar has been hyped since he was a youth player, but he finally established himself as Brazil's new big star in the 2011 season, shining in most competitions.

After dominating the first period at Carrow Road last night, Tottenham had to show great patience in turning that dominance into a vital win. With sides all around dropping points, Spurs read the script for once and sealed the victory that cemented third place – four points ahead of nearest rivals Chelsea and with a game in hand.

Of all Liverpool players, Stewart Downing was perhaps the most influential in Monday's draw with Blackburn Rovers. After the game, LFC supporters had plenty to say about the winger's performance.
To start, please don't mistake "influential" for a glowing review. It's more of a way of saying he was key to the outcome of the game.

Welcome to "The Gents" with Stan Bentley - The Yorkies' regular advice column for our valued readers. Bring your modern day problems and have them answered by the most valued voice - a 1950's journeyman footballer. "Back of the net!"
Hi Stan,
I have to attend a Christmas party this week but I have a problem.

Some would call it robbery, a late Jordi Gomez goal denying Chelsea a fourth consecutive victory on Saturday at the DW Stadium. However, robbery would imply that the visitors actually deserved to win. That, my friends, was hardly the case.

Dejection

What is it with this team?

A competitive drop-ball is a rare pleasure in football these days. It's one of the rare occasions when players can get away with hacking at each other. There's no hacking in this video, but Figueirense under 20 striker Pottker decided that he was going to ignore the fair play convention for returning possession to the [.

With reports emerging about an agreement between Milan and Manchester City outcast Carlos Tevez, there are many who believe the Argentina striker will be a big addition to the star studded Rossoneri squad. However, the Citizens have yet to negotiate with Milan and there is no guarantee the transfer will go through during the January window.

Brazil great Pele has labelled compatriot Neymar a far more complete player than Lionel Messi.

The Barcelona man is almost unanimously regarded as the finest talent in the game today but Pele is of the opinion that the diminutive Argentine is not as rounded as Santos striker Neymar.

"Making an individual comparison, I think Neymar is much better, more complete: [he] hits well with both feet, can dribble off either side, and scores goals," the three-time World Cup winner is quoted as saying by Globoesporte.

The official FIFA website says 925 days to kickoff. This means 925 days of people requesting Pele's opinion. Opinions on such things as Lionel Messi and football and Lionel Messi and Brazil's hosting capabilities and Lionel Messi and quantum mechanics and Lionel Messi.

Posed Leo v Neymar (the Brazilian attacker playing at Santos), Pele offered his thoughts.

Come on Robin be honest, you can't dribble past 4 players can you?

One more match before the return of Samir Na$ri to the Grove. Not as if Arsene Wenger sees Manchester City as any kind of a threat. Such is the confidence of the team at the moment, the manager looks to put his second string side to face the league leader.

Another game for Arsenal, another win, another two goals, and who scored them? Of course our one man team Robin Van Persie, or at least that's what the Fleet Street Scribes, Football Pundits and Broadcast Hacks will have you believe. And judging by the Emirates faithfuls reaction of silence then rapturous applause when Robin at first went down nursing a limb and then got back to his feet dusted himself down and walked back to the head of our attack Arsenal fans also subscribe to the theory.

'What does that even mean?' I hear you ask. It means that Darren Bent and Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan were both handed a five-a-side team to control. Literally. The players were kitted out with some fancy headgear which instructed them to strike, tackle, cross, dribble, slide, pass as directed by Bent and Meighan from their [.

Glen Johnson's winner for Liverpool earns punter over £585,000 as 19-team accumulator pays off

The defender's late dribble made one Maltese gambler very rich indeed after his acca came in at incredible odds

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-11-21 16:56:00 from: Goal

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

A substitution and tactical shift garnered much of the credit for the breakthrough goal scored by Landon Donovan in the 72nd minute by which Los Angeles downed Houston, 1-0, Sunday night in the MLS championship game.
Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America offers a recap of the 2011 MLS Cup.

First of all and believe me I really hate saying this, but credit to Liverpool for their performance yesterday. In the first half they rattled us, pressed high up the pitch, fought for every ball and looked dangerous every time they went forward.
Second half they dug in, rode their luck on occasions but continued to work hard all over the pitch and took all three points with a fantastic goal from a great first touch and dribble in the box from ex-Chelsea man Glen Johnson.

The best of the worst of Blatter 1. "He should say that this is a game. We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we shake hands, and this can happen, because we have worked so hard against racism and discrimination." Yesterday's advice to the victims of on-field racism. 2. "Let [...]

The best of the worst of Blatter 1. "He should say that this is a game. We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we shake hands, and this can happen, because we have worked so hard against racism and discrimination." Yesterday's advice to the victims of on-field racism. 2. "Let [...]

Despite it being an international friendly, no one really expected the US to come out and beat France. Although the US put in a hardworking effort, the same lack of scoring and midfield play again doomed the US to a loss under new-ish boss Jurgen Klinsmann. I still stand by my view of not judging him until World Cup Qualifying begins and we get a look at a full, veteran, "A" side US team.

It took an injury time goal from Lionel Messi to salvage a point for Barca at San Mames. With this draw Barca found themselves trailing leaders Real Madrid by three points. This is the first time Guardiola's team is trailing their arch rivals by more than two points. This result has put the emphasis in the league back to Real madrid as they could aproach the home match against us on December 10 with a bit of ease.

Andy Carroll believes Liverpool have the squad to cope without the likes of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
The club's long-serving duo were absent for Saturday's Premier League clash with West Brom, a game the Reds won 2-0.
Carroll scored Liverpool's second on the stroke of half time and he admitted that it was tough without Carrgher (calf) and Gerrard (ankle).

Carroll Believes Liverpool Have Enough In Reserve

Striker Andy Carroll believe Liverpool now have enough in reserve to cope without the influential duo of skipper Steven Gerrard and vice-captain Jamie Carragher. The Scouse pair were missing on Saturday when Liverpool defeated West Brom 2-0 at the Hawthorns, Carragher is struggling with a calf muscle injury while their is speculation regarding the extent of Gerrard's injury who is suffering from an ankle infection.

Liverpool can cope without Gerrard and Carragher, says Andy Carroll

• Injured duo missed Saturday's win over West Brom • 'We've got lads who can step in when needed and do a job' The Liverpool striker Andy Carroll believes the team have shown they are better placed to cope without the services of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

Andy Carroll believes his double act with Luis Suarez is starting to click as he hailed his Liverpool strike partner as the best in the Premier League.
The Reds' record signing is targeting an extended run in Kenny Dalglish's side after netting his third goal of the season in Saturday's 2-0 victory at West Brom.

Mehdi's Moment of Brilliance Eclipses Brek Shea: Hold the Phone! (Photo by Dan Dickinson)Here's a head-scratcher: by defeating FC Dallas 2-0 last night in a Wild Card playoff in Frisco (my full match report on Once a Metro can be found here), the Red Bulls have arguably ensured themselves of a more "successful" season than they enjoyed in 2010.

Xavi leads Barcelona past Granada (Photo: CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP/Getty Images)

A stunning free-kick from record-setter Xavi Hernandez saw Barcelona return to their winning ways, dispatching undermanned Granada 1-0 in the Estadio Los Carmenes.

After last weekend's draw to Sevilla, manager Pep Guardiola decided to shake things up, making five alterations to his lineup.

This week is rich of wonderful bicycle kicks and dribble solo goals. I really enjoyed seeing the solo ones in specific,
I will start by this wonderful run by Vitor Junior from Brazil
I don't know if I say that this is a wonderful solo, or a wonderful team work, it is an entertaining piece of music
Neymar definitely is one of the next big things in soccer, especially if he managed to employ his talent to the team and not just to himself
This is not a goal, but a wonderful run by Archivan
Messi brilliant control of the ball
But, if you have missed it, you must watch what Messi did in the CL game vs.

FC Barcelona went back to the top of La Liga with a 3-0 victory at home against Racing Santander. Lionel Messi scored twice on the night and Xavi scored once to give Barca a comfortable victory. Earlier on the night Real Madrid went on top with a 4-1 victory against Real Betis. We needed to respond to that and boy, we indeed did that without much sweat.

Quick Recap:

The Portland Timbers never play like it was a must win game but more like it was just another game. The Houston Dynamo bullies Portland and essentially punches their play off ticket. 2-0 loss for Portland.

First Half

Portland really came out flat but the fans came out ready. The Atmosphere was electric but Portland did not come out with the same energy.

By FRANCO PANIZO

HARRISON, N.J. - The U.S. men's national team is still a work in progress under new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. That much was made obvious during the last two friendlies against Honduras and Ecuador.

What may have been just as obvious is how well Clint Dempsey is adapting to a new role in the more attack-oriented system Klinsmann is implementing, even if things aren't perfect yet.

Do you think U.S. Captain Carlos Bocanegra has heard this German philosopher before? (AP Photo).

The friendly kicks off at 3 p.m. on Fox Soccer and Univision.

AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds has the preview:

MIAMI (AP) - Jurgen Klinsmann made his mark in soccer by being one of the most prolific goal scorers the game has ever seen.