All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award-winning Dirty Tackle...

Varese beat Livorno 3-1 during a snow storm last weekend and both goalkeepers probably cried the whole time. [YouTube]

Barnsley goalkeeper David Preece says it's the media keeping gay footballers in the closet.

Bell & Rogers buy into TFC. Some first impressions on what this might mean for the future of Toronto FC
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It is an unfortunate reality of the game of football, one which dictates that an injury to one player means an opportunity for another. So it will be for Jay Spearing who seems to be the player within Liverpool's squad who can best replicate the job that Lucas Leiva carried out and which someone else will now have to do in the Brazilian's injury forced absence.

A night with Malky Mackay. 1927 Club Q&A Session at Hammersmith Working Men's Club, West London.

It's taken me some time to transcribe much of this Q&A. I think I've represented what was said pretty accurately, however if there are any errors please free to point them out to me.

Date: Friday 18th November 2011, 7:30pm

In attendance:

• Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay (MM)
• Cardiff City director Alan Whiteley (AW)
• The Cardiff City media team Barrie et.

If first impressions matter most, it is hard for New England Revolution fans to take much solace in the recent organizational reorganizational announcements.

The Revolution is viewed as being stuck in MLS 1.0, while the league has largely moved on to MLS 2.0 (or more.) Apparently, Revolution ownership seems to agree, with Robert Kraft suggesting: "Major League Soccer has evolved significantly in the last few years and while we felt we had a structure in place that had worked well earlier and led us to success, the last two years did not live up to our expectations"

However, addressing such fundamental league changes by redrawing lines on an organization chart seems more like this feels more like a reboot than a system upgrade.

The US tied 1-1 with Mexico last night in Jurgen Klinsmann's first game in charge of the national team.

First impressions were not positive as the U.S. were dominated by Mexico in the first half. Klinsmann sent the U.S. out in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but the U.S. could do little offensively in the first half, failing to even get a shot on goal.

Newcastle United new boy Yohan Cabaye talks about his first impressions of the club, how hard it was to leave Lille and life in England in general. This interview appeared on Lille FC's site and all I've done is to transcribe it and do my best to correct some dodgy Franglaise returned by Google Translate.

From the outside, the life of a footballer seems very alluring but for those whose potential is never fulfilled, the riches never compensate for the lingering disappointment. Alan Smith, at 23, had the world at his feet. But his club at the time, Leeds United were relegated. Banished from the top flight.

Branislav Ivanovic is featured on the Official Chelsea Website talking about pre season training so make sure you check out the full article.
It's the part he says about AVB that interest's me most at the moment as I guess all of us are wondering how the players will take to him this week as they work together for the first time.

"Gasperini is the coach who put me in most difficulty. I would change but he would adapt, time and again." Jose Mourinho Hastily made first impressions and endless weary comparisons. Everyone is constantly guilty of them and as football fans and observers become more judgemental than ever before, both are becoming increasingly more frequent.

In 1978 the president of Uganda (or to give him his full title His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor) was Idi Amin, the country was embroiled in a war with neighbours Tanzania and Idi Amin was still twelve months from relinquishing power. It was also the last time that Uganda's national football team (The Cranes) had qualified for an African Cup of Nations.

Torres in Blue First impressions of Fernando is a post from: Just Football

by Joe Steppel

How do you solve a problem like Fernando? The question itself sounds like the foundation upon which a melodramatic Andrew Lloyd Webber reality show would be based. Roman Abramovich sitting on his gilded chair, stroking his white cat as he casts his gaze over Stamford Bridge; his finger hovering over the eject-o-button with Carlo Ancelotti's name emblazoned across it in the colours of il Tricolore.

By Gordon Fleetwood, writing from New York City

It was the 87th minute in Japan's Asian Cup semifinal against South Korea when Shinji Kagawa hobbled off the pitch. With the game balanced on a knife's edge, it was a huge blow to Japan. They were now without one of their most talented players.

LIVERPOOL, England Liverpool forward Ryan Babel has completed his move to Hoffenheim after signing a two-and-a-half-year contract, according to the German club. The Reds accepted a fee for the Holland international, believed to be in the region of £6million, last week but the deal appeared to be off up until late on Monday when [.

Just a couple of quick notes before today's matches start. Yesterday in First Impressions and Second Thoughts, we created the idea of the Berb-o-Meter to predict how our favorite Really Up and Really Down striker might do for fantasy managers in any given outing. Nothing like a little immediate feedback as he and ManYoo travel to Blackpool today to make up a postponed match from earlier in the

They say first impressions always count. Chris Smalling seems to have heeded those words his first months at Old Trafford could hardly have gone any better especially for someone who, only a few years ago, had plied his trade for lowly Maidstone United. Playing non-league football at Homelands, a 3,700 capacity ground in Kent, must seem an age ago now.