5 goals in the second half for Jermain Defoe today in a 9-1 Tottenham win.
9-1.
Roberto Martinez, Wigan manager, welcome to the hot seat.
Jermain Defoe, even if you don't score another goal all season, it looks like you just punched your ticket to South Africa with the England National Team. Click to continue reading...

CaughtOffside contributor considers the ramifications of Fabio Capello considering selecting players born outside the British Isles.

So Fabio Capello's considering selecting some bloke called Aaron Hunt for the England squad. To me, he sounds like a Division One workhorse who's kicking lumps out of people at Colchester.

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Aston Villa 1 (Platt) Bradford City 0. Old Second Division. 1988. This was the first football match I ever watched and I instantly fell in love with Villa's goal scoring hero, a fish shaped man called David Platt. I later came to realise he wasn't that good but the point is that, at the time, I thought he was a footballing god.

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Coming in late last night, a little tipsy, I noticed a friend had emailed me a link to a Youtube clip of Van Persie going off injured after a tackle by Giorgio Chiellini.
If you watch the video, Chiellini does little wrong. Robin bursts into the box and he comes across to cut it out - whilst my original reaction (below) was to blame him, I don't think this is fair. Click to continue reading...

Patrice Evra has confessed that he is on the receiving end of some piss taking after he rinsed his English United team-mates for failing to qualify for Euro 2008.

With Darren Fletcher's Scotland missing out on the World Cup, Evra has revealed how Fletch tells him they will be spending the summer together, after France fail to beat Ireland in the qualifier.

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Glen Johnson has pulled out of the England squad to face Brazil on Saturday in Doha after picking up a slight injury in Liverpool's 2-2 draw against Birmingham City at Anfield on Monday night.
The 25-year-old played the full 90 minutes of the Premier League game before joining up with his England team-mates, where he underwent a routine recovery session while the rest of the squad trained at London Colney. Click to continue reading...

Yesterday's announcement of a breakaway league from USL-1 had a great symbolic significance. It seems after many false starts and false hopes, outdoor soccer may finally be coming home to St Louis.

November 10th, 2009 could very well be remembered for future generations as the day Soccer came home.

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So yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and thusly the reunification of Germany. To mark the occasion I watched the rather brilliant film Goodbye Lenin! (recommended, if you haven't seen it), which basically takes place during the fall of the Berlin Wall, from the East German perspective.

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Darren Fletcher is expected to return to a side beset with absentees to injuries and personal reasons. The manager took time out to shower yet more praise on Fletcher.

"Most people now recognise Darren Fletcher as a big-game player," said Ferguson. "We have been aware of that for quite a while.

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Teenager Fran Merida netted his first Arsenal goal as Arsene Wenger's young Gunners beat Liverpool 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.

Just back from the Under-20 World Cup with Spain, the 19-year-old former Barcelona trainee drilled in a fine first-half strike as Wenger's faith in youth was once again justified.

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Capello should tap this man for ideas

Capello on how other sports can influence football and how he is going to use them to prepare the England team for the World Cup.

"It's important to understand the psychology of all these sports and they've helped me to improve my own style," said Capello.

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After a hectic weekend in European competition which didn't go particularly well for some of the Premiership teams, we're back to the bread and butter (or should that be the champagne and caviar) stuff. No doubt about this weekend's biggest game: Liverpool v Manchester United on Sunday.

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Darren Bent's matchwinning goal for Sunderland this weekend was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that it hit a beach ball on the way in. But the fact is that beach ball deflection or not Darren Bent scored again. Against good opposition. Bent isn't just the highest scoring English player in the Premier League right now with eight goals, he's also the joint highest scoring player in the Premier League alongside Fernando Torres.

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A look at the winners and losers after week nine of the Premier League.

Winners
Manchester United
If the mark of a champion is winning when not playing well then Manchester United are in line to win another Premier title. That United are top of the Premier League while struggling in all but two of their nine league fixtures since August shows that they have the heart of a champion.

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A look at the winners and losers after week nine of the Premier League.

Winners
Manchester United
If the mark of a champion is winning when not playing well then Manchester United are in line to win another Premier title. That United are top of the Premier League while struggling in all but two of their nine league fixtures since August shows that they have the heart of a champion.

Click to continue reading...

Frank Lampard admits England's stars have failed to live up to their ‘golden generation' tag as Fabio Capello's side conclude their World Cup qualifying campaign against Belarus on Wednesday. When Lampard, John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand and David Beckham broke into the England team within a year or . Click to continue reading...

Weirdly, I'm kind of excited for England vs Belarus. Neither team has anything to play for, but with Rooney and Gerrard out injured (or as The Fiver put it yesterday: "Wayne Rooney has pulled out of the game against Belarus at Wembley with a severe case of having his wages paid by Manchester United.

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I'm a literal sort of person, and it annoys me when things are so stupidly wrong, and yet people still fall for it blindly, and repeat it as though it is a fundamental truth. Like the idea that Liverpool are a two man team, which is a theory so widespread, it's become gospel.
For a start, how can any side be a two man team? Click to continue reading...

Don't worry, I'm not advertising any insurance here. Not sure about the odds but you'd be very unlucky to get hurt by a paper aeroplane that's for sure. Seriously though, have you ever been hurt by one? If so, is it as bad as David James makes it out to be? This is what he said,

They were big flares, granted, but you could argue that someone throwing a paper aeroplane on the pitch might take someone's eye out.

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The moment that England's chances of winning the 2010 World Cup ended came in the fifteenth minute in Dnepropetrovsk yesterday.
At that time, for the second occasion this season in England internationals, Rio Ferdinand, already well versed in defensive shenanigans at Old Trafford, did huge favours for David "Calamity" James, Key Sports agents and bookmakers throughout the land. Click to continue reading...

I hate that I do!

Right, it's been a while since my last rant so here goes!

After the recent success of the 3 Lions qualifiers with 2 games to spare, I'm still going to have a grumble. Believe it not children, England are playing the Ukraine on Saturday. It is a WC qualifier and gives Fabio a chance to work with the squad without the pressure of putting points on the board.

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The AEG prez wants the futures of David Beckham and Landon Donovan decided in the next two weeks:

LONDON (AP) -- The Los Angeles Galaxy want David Beckham's expected loan to AC Milan to be completed in the next two weeks so the deal doesn't distract from the team's bid for the MLS Cup.

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The England World Cup winner George Cohen believes Fabio Capello has more or less settled on his defence for South Africa and believes Glen Johnson can make the right-back slot his own.
Cohen, who turns 70 later this month, believes a solid rearguard is key to success at next summer's finals. Click to continue reading...

Turns out that if you do this...

...and then let Kenwyne Jones beat you in the air like this...

... while Fabio Capello watches from the stands ... then you get dropped from the England squad. Fabio Capello has named his England squad to face Ukraine and Belarus, and Ben Foster is not in it.

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Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has admitted playing against Steven Gerrard is the toughest test in football.
The duo lined up against each other on Sunday as Liverpool travel to Stamford Bridge to take on the Blues in the Premier League, and Lampard said games against the Reds always provide a difficult challenge. Click to continue reading...

New England Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston is out for the season with a torn ACL suffered during the Revs' 2-1 win vs. Seattle on Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

Ralston suffered the injury after planting his right leg upon landing following an aerial challenge vs.

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New England Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston is out for the season with a torn ACL suffered during the Revs' 2-1 win vs. Seattle on Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

Ralston suffered the injury after planting his right leg upon landing following an aerial challenge vs.

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Andy Lyons, co-founder of leading fanzie When Saturday Comes joins host Kartik Krishnaiyer to discuss the following topics

- a detailed look at the history of the magazine
- the circumstances around its beginnings
- The impact of 1980s fan movements on football
- The impact of 1980s Thatcherite politics on football
-Â How the 1990 World Cup success for Sir Bobby Robson's England team brought new fans to the game
- The formation of the Premier League and how it affected the magazine and supporters
-Â Content and columnists in When Saturday Comes
- The football magazine industry currently, and the push for more online content.

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The Premier League have introduced a home-grown player rule which will come into effect from next season, alongside a limit on squad sizes.
From the 2010/11 campaign, the 20 Premier League clubs have voted to introduce measures which will see all teams required to have eight home-grown players out of a squad of 25. Click to continue reading...

The Premier League today gave the illusion that they are working their way towards the "6+5" rule. Unfortunately for those of us who believe the rule would better European football, the Premier League does not seem to be taking the issue of domestic talent seriously. Let us look at the new rule:

The rule that was announced today states that from next year on every team must name a squad of 25 players, of which 8 must be home grown.

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The Premier League have introduced a home-grown player rule and a limit on squad sizes – both of which will come into effect from next season.

The 20 Premier League clubs have voted to introduce the measures which will see all teams limited to a squad of 25 of which eight players must be ‘home-grown'.

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‘If in doubt, get it out!' It's a cry heard from many a parent and even coaches every weekend around the country at junior football games.

It's a cry that can sum up in a nutshell the attitude English football has carried for many years. And looking at some of England's attempts to win major championships since 1966, it's a slogan that the national team should have had stitched to their shirts at times.

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We all knew it would happen and it appears as of next season it will!

The Premier League have introduced a home-grown player rule which will come into effect from next season, alongside a limit on squad sizes.

From the 2010/11 campaign, the 20 Premier League clubs have voted to introduce measures which will see all teams required to have eight home-grown players out of a squad of 25.

Click to continue reading...

Nice, I Like
Beginning next season, Premier League teams will be required to have 8 home-grown players out of a squad of 25, according to measures introduced today.
According to the league's chief executive, Richard Scudamore, "one of the benefits will be that it will help the England team," and it will give clubs an extra incentive to invest in youth. Click to continue reading...

Now we hear that the Thai FA are keen to replace outgoing coach Peter Reid with his former England team mate Bryan Robson. Of course, that makes sense. Cos after all Robbo is famous isn't he? He would make a perfect figure head for the national team in Thailand even if he didn't actually take in many games. Click to continue reading...