Firstly credit to Stoke. They work on a shoestring budget in comparison to us and they are consolidating their position as solid Premier League side. Unfortunately, the result did nothing for Spurs chances of consolidating their position in the top 4!

I don't think you can criticise Harry's tactics or the Tottenham performance as a whole.

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it's not entirely his fault.. seriously.

When you're playing against a team like Stoke; who throw every single limb they have at the ball at any given time; a flair(ish) side like ours has to be sure of two things. The first of these is that you're making enough space to force your style of play upon them; rather than allow them to dictate the game through simply clipping your heels and forcing the run of play.

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Pity the lonely referee at the side

With Arsenal only playing on Sunday night, I will not start to preview the game just yet. Today's topic may not impact Arsenal at least for the current season but depending on how it turns out, may have a large bearing for Arsenal. The Europa League was introduced this season to replace the old UEFA Cup.

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MONTREAL, QC – Saturday, October 17, 2009

The Montreal Impact became the third club in league history to win a third league championship, downing the defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps 6-3 on aggregate in the USL First Division Championship series with a 3-1 victory in the second leg at Stade Saputo Saturday before a sold out crowd of over 13,000.

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Montreal Impact defeat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in 2nd leg of USL First Division Championship.

MONTREAL, QC – Saturday, October 17, 2009
USL News Release

The Montreal Impact became the third club in league history to win a third league championship, downing the defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps 6-3 on aggregate in the USL First Division Championship series with a 3-1 victory in the second leg at Stade Saputo Saturday before a sold out crowd of over 13,000.

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Montreal Impact defeat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in 2nd leg of USL First Division Championship.

MONTREAL, QC – Saturday, October 17, 2009
USL News Release

The Montreal Impact became the third club in league history to win a third league championship, downing the defending champion Vancouver Whitecaps 6-3 on aggregate in the USL First Division Championship series with a 3-1 victory in the second leg at Stade Saputo Saturday before a sold out crowd of over 13,000.

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A good performance from United and an even better three points. In all honesty, after beating Arsenal, Spurs and City, I did wonder whether we'd come unstuck against Stoke. They're so robust at the back and I remember how difficult they were to break down last season. Had they not gone down to ten men, I do wonder whether we could have got that very late winner.

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Jonathan Wilson's latest on Chelsea's diamond formation. (thanks to bq)

So, how can the diamond be countered? The lack of width remains the flaw, and the key is to try to shift the battle from the centre to the flanks. Hull rode their luck to an extent on the opening day, but it is no coincidence that it was their 4-5-1 rather than the 4-4-2 of Sunderland and Fulham that came closest to stopping Chelsea.

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Wigan were given a right thrashing in a second half rout which saw first goals of the season for Nani and Berbatov and a debut goal for Owen.

There were plenty of positives to take from a match where we scored 5 goals it is a gross understatement; after all, following the sluggish start, one can only take positives from such a result but the most intriguing thing about the match for me was the absence of Michael Carrick, who didn't even make it to the bench.

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The Brazilian Ronaldinho was at one time regarded as the best footballer in the world, but over the last two or three years his fortunes have changed and he now has a bit of work to do in restoring his reputation. The two-time world-footballer of the year was even left out of Brazil's Confederations Cup squad and is no longer a regular choice for the national side.

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A mix of starters and reserves took the field against New England last night and pulled out a 1-1 draw with the Revolution, leaving the Wizards on 2 points heading into their final group game of this year's SuperLiga. The Wizards can't seem to get away from the red cards either. For the 6th straight game, a red card was issued in a Wizards game. Click to continue reading...

For the 3rd straight game KC opponents went a man down and this time the finally figured out a way to Wizards step on the gas and take advantage of the extra man; they easily controlled the game from that moment on earning a well deserved win; their second one in 8 games.

It was a pretty fast paced game from the beginning with the Wizards midfield pushing forward and giving the NE defense trouble.

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Just in case you had any doubts over where Gary Neville would be playing next season, following the media linking him with a move to Middlesbrough, then his comments today, claiming United means as much to him now as they did when he was a kid, should set your mind at ease.

"I played a good number of games last season and I hope that continues next season because playing for this club is as special to me now as it was when I first pulled on the shirt as a schoolboy," said Neville.

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I'm home, and the match is about to kickoff, so let's do it. Costa Rica 0-0 USA KO Commentary after the jump. 1907: Costa Rica will play 4-4-2. Will the extra man force Donovan to work more in midfield? 1906: USA will be playing a 4-3-3, with Altidore and Torres in the lineup. Good to see Torres there; his experience in situations like these will be important. Click to continue reading...

Ok the match is only half way through, and the Mancs are rueing the missed chances. Had it not been for a bravura performance of Manuel Almunia we would have been already out of this tie. The score should have been 4-nil but we weathered the storm. We rode our luck and with some genuine endeavour clawed our way back.

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The Red Bulls left Robertson Stadium feeling pretty good about taking a point on the road against a team traditionally tough to play on their home field. While the Red Bulls should feel a sense of accomplishment for the result, there were far too many negative signs to call the night a success.

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The Red Bulls left Robertson Stadium feeling pretty good about taking a point on the road against a team traditionally tough to play on their home field. While the Red Bulls should feel a sense of accomplishment for the result, there were far too many negative signs to call the night a success.

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Wenger resorts to underhand tactics to kick-start Gunners' season Arsene Wenger has long been lauded as a great innovator within the English game (most loudly by himself, but he has been lauded nonetheless), but his plan to use a 4-5-2 formation against West Ham at the weekend could be a progression too far. Click to continue reading...