An adage in coaching i used to hear often about any manger who's team began to falter after a good season was "He became dumb over night" Referring to a coach or manager who led a side to great results one year but followed it up with disastrous results the following year. Many may be thinking this about Marco Giampaolo who only a few weeks ago received a ringing endorsement from Don Fabio Cappello. Click to continue reading...

Just in time for the election cycle, interim coach Richie Williams has received a huge endorsement for the vacant head coaching position. And this vote of confidence holds a lot of weight.

Team captain Juan Pablo Angel has clearly recognized the short term successes of the Williams era.

Click to continue reading...

Celtics have been granted a Governing Body Endorsement by the SFA for Zheng Zhi following a hearing today. This allows the procedures to be completed to grant the player formal entry to the UK.

"Zheng Zhi is a player I have tracked for some time," Celtic manager Tony Mowbray said.

Click to continue reading...

Cristiano Ronaldo and superstar sprinter Usain Bolt united in a press conference announcing that they both endorsed a 2016 Madrid Olympic bid. The endorsement comes as a huge bonus for Madrid as Bolt was the star on the track at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

Click to continue reading...

CR9 has unlimited earning potential on and off the pitch according to experts who know this stuff.
Said experts say Beckham is falling out of his endorsement prime (remember all the Pepsi ads?) due to his age and MLS. Apparently the only thing holding Ronny back is a special lady.

Ronaldo however lacks the seemingly stable family life which Beckham, who now plays for Los Angeles Galaxy, enjoys and is often accused of not being a team player, two factors which could decrease his "likeability" factor and appeal to advertisers.

Click to continue reading...

The transfer of Kolo Toure to Manchester City for £14m is of more significance than some might think. While to many it is another endorsement of money running football as City take their summer spending to astronomical levels, it is also more of a symbolic significance, especially if you are an Arsenal Fan. Click to continue reading...

This will be very short because I am not currently disposed to do a long one right now. So I'll share some links with you, mumble a few words under my breath and leave the stage to you.

The well respected Andy Brassell, the European expert on BBC's excellent World Football Phone-in, gives a favourable review of Gabriel Obertan on the official site.

Click to continue reading...

Happy Sunday to you all.

Some interesting stuff going on, particularly in regard to Felipe Melo. As we all know he just signed a new contract extension with Fiorentina which seemed to rule him out of making any kind of move this summer. However, yesterday the Italian club countered rumours in the Italian press that the player was about to sign for Juventus and released a statement on their official website saying Arsenal were the only club to come close to making an offer close to the new buy-out clause.

Click to continue reading...

Link:

"What a magnificent goal this is"

An amazing day at The Confederations Cup in South Africa.Â

First, the Egyptian soccer team say they were burglarized at their hotel. Not a great endorsement of South African security for the hundreds of thousands of fans expected to flock to the World Cup there next year.

Click to continue reading...

"Pellegrini es el Wenger de la Liga española"

There, there, dear doubters. Arsenal's manager is held in such high regard. Why would we even dream of letting him go?

Manuel Pellegini should take this as a ringing endorsement from Jorge Valdano (In Spanish). Even though he might personally hate the comparison.

Click to continue reading...

Amy LePeilbet and Megan Rapinoe showed up at national team camp with remarkable similar haircuts. Amy's has a bit more reddish tint to it, but both are using the classic pre-wrap hairband to keep the wispies in check. Truth be told, it's not only cute, but very functional for a professional soccer player who is in the sun all the time and constantly sweating. Click to continue reading...

Yes. Three weeks after deciding to take a break from football, Adriano is very close to coming back to being a footballer at Flamengo. He seems to be happy in his native town, so playing for Fla should keep him in his surrounding and make him happy. Or not.

I personally wouldn't like Adriano on my team right now.

Click to continue reading...

This one is really coming out of nowhere, but just hear me out. Insua is selected by just 0.1% of fantasy managers. Not one percent. 1/10 of one percent. Basically, no one owns Liverpool's cheapest left back. That's the bad news.Â
The good news? The club has kept a clean sheet all three times that the left back Insua (4. Click to continue reading...

Having been asleep at the switch on the soccer front for awhile, I was pleased to receive a Google Alert about the USWNT's most recent win.  This one coming in Richmond, VA, where South Korea fell to the USWNT.  Vic Dorr, Jr. describes the game in the Times Dispatch.  Sounds like Angela Hucles continues her [. Click to continue reading...

It was a good run, Red Sox ... but now it's up to the Phillies to take the devil out of those Rays, I guess.  A rested Philadelphia team meets the Rays in Florida for game 1 on Wednesday night.  Here's hoping for either a good, exciting, long Series or (my personal favorite) a four [...] Click to continue reading...