Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has backed tomorrow's opponents Arsenal to silence their critics, making it clear that the Gunners have sufficient talent to prevail at the Stadium of Light.

Arsene Wenger's men are three points adrift of fourth-place Chelsea and have relied heavily on the incredible form of skipper Robin van Persie, who scored a brilliant hat-trick in last weekend's 7-1 rout of Blackburn.

Two goals from Didier Drogba and a fine free kick from Yaya Toure gave Ivory Coast a comfortable 3-0 win over Co-host Equatorial Guinea to send the Elephants through to the Semi final where they will face either Gabon or Mali.

In the day's earlier match Zambia beat 10 man Sudan with a scoreline to make it through to the semis for the first time since 1996.

Last November I held the Scottish Football Blog's first - perhaps only - blogathon.
One post an hour for 24 hours with topics chosen on Twitter and by fellow bloggers.
All in aid of two fantastic charities: Alzheimer Scotland and the Homeless World Cup.
24 hours, a few energy drinks, too many cigarettes and 17,000 words later and I was done.

United are 3.5 shots to gain their revenge on City in this weekend's derby clash at the Etihad and claim a place in the fourth fourth round of the FA Cup. Sir Alex Ferguson's side will be keen to banish the memory of their meeting in the league earlier in the season at Old Trafford which saw City register a 6-1 victory.

Often, when push comes to shove in radicalising a group of football supporters, it will take one, symbolic moment to push those that might otherwise have merely got on with the job of watching their team to realise that the time for action is now.

For those that follow the ailing Blue Square Premier club Kettering Town, that moment may have come at any of three or four different occasions over the last month or so, but the tipping point for many may have cone with twin five-goal defeats at the hands of Luton Town over Christmas and the New Year (results which plunged the club back into the thick of the relegation places at the bottom of the table), it with the release of an official club statement which sought, unsurprisingly enough, to place the blame for the club's woes at the foot of everybody but those with the overall responsibility for managing its finances.

As we saw from the second half of the Wolves game, this Arsenal team is more than capable of creating chances and dominating the opposition all over the pitch, but as we saw from the first half at 1-0 against an 'easy' team, they go to sleep.

We've recently seen United win 5-0 twice in a row always hungry for more goals, always wanting to thrash the opposition, something Arsenal have only really managed once this season away to Wigan.

As we saw from the second half of the Wolves game, this Arsenal team is more than capable of creating chances and dominating the opposition all over the pitch, but as we saw from the first half at 1-0 against an 'easy' team, they go to sleep.

We've recently seen United win 5-0 twice in a row always hungry for more goals, always wanting to thrash the opposition, something Arsenal have only really managed once this season away to Wigan.

Day seven of the SPL advent. A trip to the frozen north to see how Inverness are coping this SPL season.
I find Terry Butcher something of an engima. In the past I've - not altogether seriously but not completely in jest - derided him as a bit of an incompetent.
The sort of chap that the Scottish managerial merry-go-round should really jettison for the greater good of the game.

Their Words It's been an incredible journey – full of (mainly) ups and downs, (mainly) highs and lows, but I will long remember how our fans maintained their great support and encouragement for us – thank you so much. outgoing Vancouver Whitecaps CEO Paul Barber. Other Sources Female executive thrust into Caps' front-office breach - from The Province's Marc Weber: "She's been our unsung hero.

Match report Video (via @arsenalist)

Sometimes, like against Manchester City in the Carling Cup, we see a performance from the second string that lifts the spirits and gives us hope and encouragement for the future. And sometimes we get performances like last night which reflect little more than why these players are part of the second string.

I wrote a piece about people leaving our home games early earlier this week, and it looks like I'm not the only one to notice the lack of support shown in the stadium. This week REDaction held a meeting with AFC representatives before the Carling Cup tie versus Manchester City at Emirates.

I wrote a piece about people leaving our home games early earlier this week, and it looks like I'm not the only one to notice the lack of support shown in the stadium. This week REDaction held a meeting with AFC representatives before the Carling Cup tie versus Manchester City at Emirates.

Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City | Premier League match report

Manchester City learn by the day that the reaction to them becomes more intense with each step they take towards the Premier League title. A draw at Anfield, reinstating the five-point lead over Manchester United, must therefore be a highly acceptable outcome, even if they rue the own goal from Joleon Lescott that saw their hosts equalise here.

Reminders of my essential crapness as an organiser are never far away.
It appears I've organised a blogathon for the day after the nation has been subjected to a Wogan-athon. That big, ruddy, irresistible cuddly bear. And don't even get me started on Pudsey.
Anyway, if you've got anything left to give or even just want to spread some kindness by shouting encouragement or abuse from the Twitter and Facebook sidelines please keep an eye out from tomorrow morning.

By Jimmy LaRoue

Norfolk–The Norfolk SharX demonstrated Murphy's Law for first-year franchises Friday night.

The logistics of fielding a team and building a fan base got in the way of each other with the 23-7 loss to the Syracuse SilverKnights before an announced crowd of 2,347 at Norfolk Scope Arena.

By Jimmy LaRoue

Norfolk–The Norfolk SharX demonstrated Murphy's Law for first-year franchises Friday night.

The logistics of fielding a team and building a fan base got in the way of each other with the 23-7 loss to the Syracuse SilverKnights before an announced crowd of 2,347 at Norfolk Scope Arena.

Two Academy youngsters paid a special visit to Four Oaks Primary School earlier this week to help Liverpool Football Club deliver their 'Truth 4 Youth' message.
Matty McGiveron and Craig Roddan dropped by to host a special assembly at the Liverpool school and deliver anti-racism, anti-bullying and positive community messages to pupils in years 3 to 6.

Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann has resigned as the manager of Stockport County after just 4 months in charge.
Hamann, who only recently spoke on LFC TV about how well things were going at Edgeley Park, made the following statement after his resignation:
"Following a meeting this morning between Lord Snape and myself I have tendered my resignation as manager of Stockport County.

It's Monday, which means you probably don't need an excuse to get your drink on. But just in case you do, that's a current picture of Steven Gerrard there on the right. We're pretty sure it's not a Halloween costume. But more on that in a little bit...

* Against West Bromwich Albion, having Henderson tucked into the middle worked at both ends of the pitch.

Kenny Dalglish admitted his frustration after Liverpool failed to turn a succession of chances into goals and were held to a 1-1 draw by Norwich City on Saturday.
Craig Bellamy put the Reds into a deserved lead in first-half stoppage time, but substitute Grant Holt's towering header secured a point for the visitors at Anfield.

Liverpool 1: Gerrard 68′
United 1: Hernandez 81′

In a match that was predictably testy, all the drama came in the last twenty minutes as Liverpool and United shared the points at Anfield. It was the same old story for Liverpool, who had plenty of clear-cut chances go begging.

D'oh! Not again David De Gea has had his knockers since arriving in England, but you cannot call the Manchester United goalkeeper's sense of humour. The Spain international was questioned by a TV reporter in his homeland about his recent doughnut theft episode. The goalkeeper didn't need too much encouragement to grab another free sugary [.

So, anyone care to talk about Tuesday night? I wasn't privy to any of the goings-on or morbidly curious enough to indulge in what you might call highlights, but the gentle murmurings about town seem to murmur thusly: that Gomes was bad, GDS even more so and Pavlyuchenko a poor first-touch away from being publicly lynched.

So, anyone care to talk about Tuesday night? I wasn't privy to any of the goings-on or morbidly curious enough to indulge in what you might call highlights, but the gentle murmurings about town seem to murmur thusly: that Gomes was bad, GDS even more so and Pavlyuchenko a poor first-touch away from being publicly lynched.

Just Play Football - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

If ever there is a time to push football it is when the dark nights draw in and the jackets go on. Push football? I know, we all watch it; comment; log on; and couch surf our way through hundreds of hours of football.

This transfer window has involved extreme amounts of rumors. And Capernicus was apparently wrong, as the whole world revolved and devolved around Cesc.

Now that it's over, we can check the tally and assess the carnage most of which involve Luka Modric's hopes and dreams and his sense of happy, which is unhappy.

Compare and contrast.

Manchester United win the title, immediately go out and buy Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David de Gea. They recall youngsters like Welbeck and Cleverly who have been out on loan and integrate them with the experienced players they already have. They strengthen.

For all the questions regarding the strength in depth of the current Aston Villa squad, there hasn't been a great deal of discussion, so far as I've seen, about the captaincy. In truth, the role of the captain is often overblown, and it has to be said that the other highly paid professional athletes on the pitch shouldn't need any motivation or encouragement from a colleague, but a great leader can still be worth his weight in gold.

Nepal climbed 12 position higher in the new FIFA ranking. Nepal was previously 148 and the newest ranking has taken them to 136. This will certainly be a positive news since last time they were humiliated by Jordan. May be Nepal will take some encouragement from this news along with the support of home fans they can get better results this Friday.

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- Photos from First Day of Italy Training
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- Throughout the day, the QPR Report Messageboard has news updates, comments and perspectives - even links to other board comments of interest re QPR matters (on and off the field) along with football (and ONLY football) topics in general.

Ruben Navarette, Jr., nationally syndicated columnist, has taken time out to mix sports and scolding, exhorting Mexico fans not to boo the United States.
Well, I for one disagree. In fact, I hereby give permission - nay, encouragement - for immigrants everywhere to boo any US team as much as they please.

Image credit: Sport.es/MundoDeportivo.com.

We know that there is an entire world of undiscovered talent and hotness in lower divisions and lesser known leagues. While international competitions like the Euro U21 brought us new pretties like Yann Sommer, we can't help but wonder about all of the other 'ballers who are missing out on our lusty affection.

With the news that Ali Al Habsi has packed up and moved to the pie factory next door comes a bit of encouragement to most Bolton Wanderers fans. It's being widely reported that long time Wanderers servants Ricardo Gardner and Jussi Jaaskelainen have agreed extended deals at the Reebok. Neither are exactly fresh in terms of age but are willing to prove that they still have what it takes.

The winter season can be quiet on the media front. Not this year.
The news from the World Cup has been bad, particularly on corruption at FIFA. However, Ben Buckley and the clubs have followed this up with a truck load of good, OK and other news. So soccer is staying there on the sporting pages, reminding families that it is an entertainment option for next season.

Also file under: Seeing things as they are, not how you want them to be

There is an Irish bar near my house that once fit our area splendidly, a locally owned joint inside an old building in a slightly funky ‘hood. Then new owners who drive fast cars and have backgrounds in nightclubs took over.

The Gunners ended the season with relegation form – 2W,3L,6D – in the final eleven games of the season. The fact that this form came straight after a horror fortnight that saw heartbreak in all the Cup fixtures, including the Carling Cup final, means that even the most positive of Gooners are finding it hard to sustain the faith.

It's widely known that Man Utd have adopted a couple of firm policies when it comes to player dealings.

Firstly, they want to stick to players under 26 years old when it comes to bringing in new faces to retain a potential resale value.

Secondly, they won't allow existing players to enter into the last two years of their contracts if at all possible.

Chivas USA 0 Galaxy 1

Fall guy: Simon Elliott and Chivas USA fell hard to David Beckham and the Galaxy Saturday in Carson (AP Photo).

Game story

The loss wasn't the end of the world for Chivas USA, but Coach Robin Fraser appeared to take the home defeat to their closest rivals to heart.

John Terry has spoken of David Luiz once again. I think it's great timing from our Captain to speak of Luiz who has been heavily criticised for his performance at Old Trafford and subsequently replaced at half time. It will be very interesting to see how Luiz reacts on Sunday and I am glad that Terry has given the lad some encouragement.

Overwhelmed by msgs of support/encouragement. Can't change the past, but I'm gonna control my future by remaining positive! One love!

Steve Zakuani via his Twitter

Continue to give encouragement if you tweet with #11 or #ForZakuani he is @SteveZakuani11