I thought Daniel Levy was the Tottenham Hotspur Chairman? I was mistaken. It now seems that Mr. Pavlyuchenko is the Chairman of the Board.
"I am prepared to accept any decent offer from Russia", said our new Chairman.
Coming back to reality; it looks as though our Cameron Diaz lookalike is so eager to leave us, he's bypassed all forms of control at White Hart Lane. Click to continue reading...

Portugal is a country that has always produced wingers of the highest class, from old school stars like Luis Figo to the current legends in the making like Cristiano Ronaldo. Everybody in Portugal always said that Quaresma had an extraordinary amount of talent; a player with speed, toughness, and the ability to create something out of nothing.

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For all you football fans out there, Saturday will be an important date to mark on your calendars. Once again it will be a remake of the mouth-watering 2002 world cup quaterfinal match between England and Brazil.

That day Brazil prevailed 2-1 thanks to the ingenuity of Ronaldinho and company.

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With Alex Song in inspired form, it begs the question who will replace him when he leaves for the African Cup of Nations in January?

The obvious candidates are Abou Diaby and Denilson. In my opinion, they are not good enough to play every game for Arsenal. They are great squad players, with lots of potential.

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The US Under-17s are out of the Fifa U-17 World Cup after a tough loss to Italy.  I saw less of their World Cup play than I wanted, but a few thoughts remain hard to shake.

Maturity is over-rated at least in soccer.  The game against the UAE reminded me most why watching the occasional youth game is so refreshing: even in a pressure situation the 'kids' tend to play with an offense-first mindset and a penchant for flair that will very likely (and sadly) be taught out of them in the pro ranks.

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What a difference a week makes. After having romped to victory over bitterest rivals Man Utd at Anfield, somewhat taking the heat off "in-the-firing-line" manager Benitez, Liverpool have themselves imploded in dramatic fashion against a team in the Premier League which, it must be said, don't do much to speed up the process of the paint drying. Click to continue reading...

If you are a connoisseur of Twitter like me, then you've already stumbled upon the terms "twiggers" and "twitches" numerous times and you've undoubtedly already figured out what they really mean. So to pacify the Decency and Morals Subcommittee of World Cup Blog, I will be using those terms (well, actually only one of those terms) liberally during this post in order to avoid getting into twouble.

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Another weekend passes us by and still the big teams are falling over themselves to not take the initiative in the Premiership title race. Of the top 6 teams, only Chelsea won making the league one on the most open in recent history. Over the past few seasons, one or two teams have really stood out come the end of October.

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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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After a painful loss at home to Rubin Kazan in the Champions League, Barca are looking to bounce back into form with tonight's Liga meet with Real Zaragoza. With four days separating last match day from this one, the team's had more time to prepare than usual in this World Cup- affected schedule. What with that, players reterning from injury, and Real Madrid dropping two points last night, tonight's game should be a great one for Barca. Click to continue reading...

Arsene Wenger has his sights set on Sunderland captain Lorik Cana as he aims to bring some bite to Arsenal's lightweight midfield. Reports from the Sunderland Echo suggest that Arsenal will do their best to sign the Albanian midfielder when the transfer window opens.

Cana is a new signing at the Stadium of Light having joined the Black Cats over the summer.

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If you didn't rearrange your life in order to watch the U20 World Cup final yesterday between Ghana and Brazil, you won't get a lot of fansnobbery smack from me.
We can certainly stipulate that, what with the sudden - and delightful - deluge of tasty soccerfootball events we've been favored with since last June 1st, if one or two of them can be allowed to fall by the wayside without putting your reputation as a True Afficionado de Footy, this would probably be one of them. Click to continue reading...

For all the thrills and spills that club football brings us each and every season it doesn't come close to the passion I personally feel when it comes to the World Cup Finals.

Perhaps it's because my background as a professional footballer numbed my feelings and allegiances to one specific club?

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For all the thrills and spills that club football brings us each and every season it doesn't come close to the passion I personally feel when it comes to the World Cup Finals.

Perhaps it's because my background as a professional footballer numbed my feelings and allegiances to one specific club?

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Forget about any other World Cup Qualifier tonight, unless of course it is to see all the highlights, which will all be here on COS straight after their completion, stay up late set your morning alarm an hour or two late (or call in sick). The match to watch starts late and is well worth watching.

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Ready for such a big jump?

Portsmouth Vs Liverpool Tickets Still Available!

Watch Ukraine Vs England Live Online!

Keisuke Honda's agent has admitted the player would be interested in a move to the Premier League.

Merseyside duo Liverpool and Everton have both been credited with an interest in the Japanese international.

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Tom Soehn's tenure as DC United manager has seen the Red and Black win the Supporters Shield, advance to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup and are on the doorstep of making the MLS playoffs and CONCACAF knock out rounds.

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But Soehn's player management have been from my vantage point, the absolute worst in the league since he took over as coach in the beginning of the 2007 season.

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• User comments - City stars in the wars - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

  tags: City

• Off The Post off the post Gareth Barry's homecoming welcome at Aston Villa

  tags: City

• Lescott out of England squad - Manchester City - Football - Sport - Manchester Evening News

  tags: City

• Shay Given condemns 'unfair' Aston Villa fans for baiting Gareth Barry | Football | guardian.

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A 1 Nil loss away to Xanthi on Monday night has brought the AEK players back down to earth after what will be our famous victory over Benfica,by the same scoreline in the Europa League,midweek.My comments are based on play between the 20th and 70th minute due to technical difficulties(no stream),so hopefully Aekbaltimore orAlexaek wiil have a more indepth review.

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Arsenal's greatest ever manager celebrated 13 years in charge of the club yesterday. The Gunners have since evolved from a team built on the traditional English attributes of hard graft, defensive craft and a team spirit forged in snooker halls and bars into a club synonymous with sophistication and breathtaking attacking flair. Click to continue reading...

Mark Hughes reflected following the Fulham victory on the importance of our new found success from set pieces:

"We have not done badly this season - in the early part of last year we did not look a threat from set plays. In games so far we look like a team that can now.
"We have told the players where we want the ball delivered and how they need to be a bit more dynamic in the box and make sure they get first contact.

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The World Cup is not leaving Africa. Not for another six years at least. The only other team that stands a chance of wining the cup is Brazil. Either way, history will be made in South Africa. I say this with no disrespect.

Here's why. Brazil is aiming at getting their sixth title – no other team on the face of the planet comes close to that record.

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After Barcelona won the Champions League it seemed highly possible that they could do it again in no time, but after the transfer market many teams have strengthened and are looking to take another crack at the famed trophy.

Here is a breakdown of all teams that have a good chance of winning the Champions League, starting with the current holders, Barcelona.

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Today I'm reading an article at MLSnet.com about Dallas committing to what the writer called "attacking" soccer. Â I like to call it "Soccer at warp speed".

Let me give you some background. Â Soccer was the only sport I played as a kid and I played like a lunatic. Â We ran hard, we kicked hard, we tackled hard (I even once broke a kid's leg slide tackling him.

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England qualifications are not used to happen this way. Where was the last-gasp heroic goal, the nervous, stuttering qualification that went down to the wire, the sharpening of knives for the manager? Where was the unconvincing qualification, overlooked as assorted players and journalists chest-thumped that, having qualified, England could go onto win it, fooling nobody in the process?

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Football is a cruel mistress. After City's 5-1 victory away to Bishop's Stortford I was really not in the mood to watch City lose to Eastleigh 0-2 last night. Before the match it looked so easy - Eastleigh have so far lost to Braintree, St. Albans, Thurrock and Dover. Not exactly the form of a team you would expect to be making another playoff run. Click to continue reading...

In the 23rd round of the Brasileirao, the race for the title came down to what is promising to be a tight one. Palmeiras (44 points), Inter (43) and Sao Paulo (40) won their matches and offered no chance for each other to relax.

On the match that marked the return of Vagner Love, Palmeiras received Barueri at home.

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In the eye of the storm is one 18 year old Gael Kakuta- He left Lens in 2007 to move to Stamford Bridge, breaking his contract with the club.
FIFA's decision cost him £682,000 and a four-month ban from football.
In his first season,Kakuta helped Chelsea to the final of the FA Youth Cup.

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Well the first week of the Primera Division has wrapped up and now it's time to reflect on the debut matches of the year. Real Madrid was given the honor of kicking off the 2009 season and the club did not disappoint in their first match. The club beat Deportivo La Coruna by less then expected 3-2, but Ronaldo scored his first goal on a penalty and Diarra showed a rare offensive flair by scoring the winning goal in the second half.

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A move that could help stuttering career.

Sky Sports sources understand Portsmouth are close to signing Aston Villa full-back Nicky Shorey on a season-long loan deal. (Sky Sports)

Things have never quite worked out for Nicky Shorey at Villa Park.

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Right now, I envision Arsene Wenger sitting at home in front of his giant monitor watching Theo running to pace, all the while stroking a Persian in his lap and bemoaning the state of the game to the walls. The lack of flair and artistry leading to the all too ugly complacency of anti-football; the [. Click to continue reading...

Usain Bolt continued his "Aren't I wonderful?" tour yesterday at the Santiago Bernabéu, taking the ceremonial first kick ahead of Real Madrid's first game of the La Liga season. Bolt tried to show a little flair before taking his kick, but it's fairly evident that he should probably just stick to being the fastest human in the history of the planet.

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In part four of his season preview, Kais Sabir Jesani looks at Ryan Babel's tactical role in the Liverpool team. Could this be the Dutchman's year or will he flatter to deceive yet again?
In part 3 of this preview, I discussed how Lucas Leiva's career seems to be in the ascendency. In sharp contrast, Ryan Babel is a player whose Liverpool career arc seems to be heading in the opposite direction. Click to continue reading...

The Positives: Man utd. won the game. How exactly? I have no freaking clue. They were outclassed and outplayed. They held possession of the ball at times but did absolutely nothing going forward with it most of the time. They simply lacked the creativity to break down the Arsenal defense. Yet they won. Click to continue reading...

Rafael Benitez has backed Glen Johnson to aid Liverpool's title push by becoming a regular name on the scoresheet.
The Reds boss has been delighted with the attacking flair the right-back has shown since joining the club in the summer and is confident the England man can go close to hitting double figures this season. Click to continue reading...