This gameweek is a double for a few teams including Fulham, which makes Brede Hangeland a fine pick for the next couple of weeks given Fulham's forthcoming fixtures (Bolton, Sunderland and Burnley after this week's double GW). Hangeland does well every season as a bargain priced defender, and is a key choice for those looking to hone in on Fulham's potential clean sheets. Click to continue reading...

While the injury to Robin van Persie was disturbing news this past weekend, let's try not to go overboard. Posts on message boards and the like have been raging about how our season is over, etc., etc., etc.... That is hardly the case. Yes, he has been in the form of his life with 8 goals and 7 assists in 15 matches.

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Union Home Kit.

Things are coming along very nicely in Chester, PA currently for Major League Soccer's newest expansion club. Since my last update back in September, the stadium has come on leaps and bounds with being close to 50% complete, open tryouts in New Jersey have just taken place, the home kit has just been shown to the public officially with the jerseys making their way to retail stores by the end of this week and the first three opponents of the Union have been announced.

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Lewes 1-0 Hampton and Richmond Borough (07:11:09)
- click on photos to enlarge image -
If you've had the misfortune to have read some of my ramblings on European football, you'll realise by now that most clubs abroad have a 'friendship' with at least one other club. St Etienne are best mates with Bordeaux, Pogoń Szczecin regularly get into bed with Legia Warsaw and last week we discovered that Rot-Weiss Essen are all over Werder Bremen. Click to continue reading...

Are we a club in crisis? While I hate to disappoint the doom-mongers and mischievous press-men, it is a little too hasty to go down that route just yet.

Come the full-time whistle we ought to have a clearer idea of where we stand. Naturally, this being White Hart Lane, moderation is not welcome.

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Portugal will most likely be missing Cristiano Ronaldo when it hosts Bosnia-Herzegovina on 11/14/09 as it looks to build some momentum prior to the return leg in Bosnia on the 18th of November. Unfortunately for the Portuguese the latest report claims Ronaldo will be out for about a month which means he will not feature in both matches for the national team.

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What language is this? The language of beautiful football
Despite his groin problem, Fernando Torres may feel a bit snubbed after Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti and midfielder Frank Lampard both claimed yesterday that Didier Drogba is the best striker in the world. Click to continue reading...

Are you still in a state of shock over another poor result ? Did anyone think we'd follow up the great result against Man Utd with a 3-1 loss to Fulham ? It's becoming increasingly difficult to defend LFC's run of poor results.
Sure there's some perfectly valid arguments like we've been hit by lots of injuries and some of our key players aren't fully fit. Click to continue reading...

Genius or Madness?

Recently, an article by ESPNSoccernet was brought to my attention by one of our faithful readers about the Reserve league in England. The Premier Reserve League is a valuable resource for clubs in the Premiership. Each club in the Premier League is able to play in the top league against the reserve clubs from other members of the top flight.

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Genius or Madness?

The Premier Reserve League is a valuable resource for clubs in the Premiership. Each club in the Premier League is able to play in the top league against the reserve clubs from other members of the top flight. It offers teams a chance to give fringe players a run out and give players returning from injury, a competitive environment in order to integrate them to game shape.

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If the Copa del Rey is played, but hardly anyone cares about it, did it really happen? To say that some of the La Liga teams think of the cup as a nuisance would be quite an understatement. With the overloaded fixture list consisting of European and domestic matches, the Copa del Rey is near the bottom of the top teams' priorities.

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No support for Blatter's re-election, Champions League shock results, impressive individual performances and spectacular goals, all feature on this week's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

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There are, to paraphrase some numpty, few certainties in life. Death of course is one. Stupid people with loud shirts on airplanes another and not forgetting boring soap operas.
But here in Indonesia we have another, uniquelly Indonesia certainty. Changes to the fixture list.
I've not detailed the ones that have happened so far, Persija and Persitara have had games rearranged, but now I will. Click to continue reading...

I already wrote about official world cup 2010 fixtures, but here are some more fixtures:
Bloemfontein (Mangaung)This is the match schedule at Bloemfontein's Free State Stadium.
14 Jun
17 Jun
20 Jun
22 Jun
25 Jun
27 Jun
E3 v E4
B4 v B2
F4 v F2
A4 v A1
H2 v H3
1D v 2C(4)
Cape TownThis is the fixture list at Cape Town Greenpoint stadium:
11 Jun
14 Jun
18 Jun
21 Jun
24 Jun
29 Jun
3 Jul
6 Jul
A3 v A4
F4 v F2
C1 v C3
G4 v G2
E4 v E1
1H v 2G(8)
2 v 4(B)
A v C(1)
DurbanThis is the fixture list at Durban Moses Mabhida Stadium:
13 Jun
16 Jun
19 Jun
22 Jun
25 Jun
28 Jun
7 Jul
D1 v D2
H1 v H2
E1 v E3
B2 v B3
G4 v G1
E1 v 2F(5)
B v D(1)
JohannesburgThis is the match schedule at Soccer City in Johannesburg:
11 Jun
14 Jun
17 Jun
20 Jun
23 Jun
27 Jun
2 Jul
11 Jul
A1 v A2
E1 v E2
B1 v B3
G1 v G3
D4 v D1
1B v 2A(2)
1 v 3(A)
WORLD CUP FINAL
This is the fixture list for World Cup matches at Ellis Park:
12 Jun
15 Jun
18 Jun
21 Jun
23 Jun
24 Jun
28 Jun
3 Jul
B1 v B2
G1 v G2
C4 v C2
H1 v H3
D4 v D1
F4 v F1
1G v 2H(7)
6 v 8(D)
NelspruitThis is the match schedule at Nelspruit's Mbombela Stadium. Click to continue reading...

By Phil Gregory Today, Arsenal welcome Birmingham to the Emirates Stadium for a match that this Gunner had circled on the fixture list from the moment it came out. For many, this match is far, far more than just another chance for three points: it's the memory of Eduardo's leg break, Gallas' meltdown and the moment [. Click to continue reading...

No, it's not about the other teams in the Champions League like Uriea Urigniceni and Rubin Kazan. Though from what I've seen of Rubin Kazan, they could go some distance in Europe, at least through the Europa League (hard luck for them to be in a group with Barca and Inter. If they'd been with Arsenal, they would've fancied their chances).

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Rafael Benitez is confident he has seen signs that both Martin Skrtel and Jamie Carragher are on the verge of recapturing top form.
By their own admission, the Reds duo have not been at their imperious best this season, but the boss is convinced they will soon show what they are made of.
"If you analyse the performance of the centre-backs, it was clear to see they were much better at Chelsea and that was the positive thing to take from the game," said Benitez. Click to continue reading...

Still reeling from the shock revelation that the word "gullible" had been removed from the dictionary, we at AANP Towers were sent scrambling to our official panic stations yesterday as news of ‘Arry's alleged departure spread like wildfire. The panic button was hit, the lights flashed and the stern lady kept announcing "This is not a drill".

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The matches to watch after you realize that calling him "Leonardo No Win" is almost too true and too mean to be funny...almost.

Saturday

Manchester United v Sunderland at Old Trafford United eked out a midweek Champions League win over Wolfsburg and Sunderland have shown they can be dangerous.

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The AFC website is reporting that the Under 19 qualifying round, originally scheduled for Jakarta in November, will now take place in Bandung. Or what they call Bandung City.
Now I'm assuming they mean Siliwangi Stadium in Bandung but I'm not sure if it reaches AFC standards.
Persib used to play there but they have now moved to Soreang where they share Jalak Harupat Stadium with Persikab. Click to continue reading...

One of the good things about not having a crowded fixture list this season is that when we win, there's more time to bask in the warm nourishing glow of victory. It's a great feeling, something which Spurs fans have frankly not been accustomed to over the years. The reservations expressed in my match report [. Click to continue reading...

So we're back in action today with a big match against Olympiakos. At the moment, we are co-group leaders after we had that erm..."interesting" win over Standard and Olympiakos dispatched AZ. A win and 3 points today would put us well and truly in control of the group. As I've discussed before, the last match of the group stage for us is playing Olympiakos in Athens, which is always a tricky fixture, and I'd rather not have our knockout stage qualification depend on getting a result out of that match.

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Two consecutive defeats it may be, but even the most pessimistic amongst us have struggled to make a convincing case for this being a crisis. Man Utd and Chelski are the best two teams in the country, and amongst the best handful in Europe. Losing to them is not exactly to be welcomed, but neither is it a cause for alarm.

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If the Premier League season is a party, consider us (very) fashionably late. But now that we're six games in, the standings are starting to take shape: who would bet against the top four being the same come May? Not yours truly, that's for sure.
After a series of 1-0 wins, Manchester City proved they're for real by tonking Arsenal and giving neighbors United a run for their money. Click to continue reading...

Let's talk Arsenal. They're playing well this season despite a few bumps in the road, and a host of injuries - and more importantly, they have an upcoming fixture list that is just superb: Fulham, Blackburn, Birmingham, and West Ham are the next four. Talk about taking on mid-table mediocrity.
So - if you're looking for some offensive Arsenal investment (and let's leave the injured Arshavin out of the equation for now), and are considering Cesc Fabregas vs Robin van Persie - let's take a look at the pros and cons:
RVP: In February I called RVP the "next Ronaldo," from a fantasy perspective. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool and Leeds are two of the most storied clubs in English football, and tonight, under the lights at Elland Road, the two will renew their rivalry in the third round of the Carling Cup.

As much as we'd all like to say a Carling Cup match gets the juices flowing, I think we'd be kidding ourselves.

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Liverpool and Leeds are two of the most storied clubs in English football, and tonight, under the lights at Elland Road, the two will renew their rivalry in the third round of the Carling Cup.

As much as we'd all like to say a Carling Cup match gets the juices flowing, I think we'd be kidding ourselves.

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Well maybe we are, and maybe we aren't. But this isn't actually about Newcastle fans, it's partly about football fans in general and specifically, following their unenviable and ultimately fruitless journey to the North East, Plymouth Argyle fans. After all, it's the longest trip that can be made in the English fixture list and it's a [. Click to continue reading...

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Much has been made of the demise of Leeds United AFC. We are all familiar with the tale of gross overspending, Ridsdale's goldfish, and a descent into the third tier of English football. Football supporters have little sympathy for a club that reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League in 2001 and are now playing in League One due to its own negligence.

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When Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United over the summer, questions were asked about who would replace the ever-present match winner in Sir Alex Ferguson's side. Wayne Rooney has thus far proven the man to replace the world's greatest player, and Tuesday night against Besiktas he took that to a whole new level.

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This is a reality check week of sorts for Manchester United's opponents three pretenders hoping to emulate the Red Devils' domestic and European success over the years. Spurs have been downed in pretty emphatic fashion; next up is the Turkish champions, followed by the small matter of the Manchester derby.

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So the Scottish FA president reckons that Chris Ilewumo's miss against Norway at Hampden is the reason for Scotland going into their last group match with the Netherlands needing a victory to stand any remotely realistic chance of qualifying for the Play-Offs in November, does he?
Check out our recent post after the reverse Norway game for an outline of some of the Real reasons that the Scots are not going to South Africa (see: http://footballisfixed. Click to continue reading...

Rather pathetically I'm waiting impatiently for the Indonesian Super League fixtures to be released. Sad, innit?
Back in England during the close season I was one of those pathetic saps who used to ring the Arsenal office, 01-226-0304(?!) waiting for news of any pre season friendlies. Then I would ring asking about the fixture list and, if I wasn't near a radio, cup draws and replay dates. Click to continue reading...

I want big teams to miss out, which helps the USA next year. What to watch for:
1) Argentina gets tested. Currently 4th place in CONMEBOL, they'll first face Brazil at home. Given the recent form of both teams, that's not an easy match even though they've won it the previous two qualifying cycles. Click to continue reading...

A rock at the back, what a defender
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce keeps adding quality talent to the squad - bringing in defender Michael Turner (4.5M) today on the last open day of the transfer window.
Turner joins fellow big names Darren Bent and Lee Cattermole at the Stadium of Light, and though the Black Cats lost 1-0 at Stoke this past weekend, things are surely looking up in Tyne and Wear. Click to continue reading...