Firefighters have been battling a huge fire on an industrial estate in Prittlewell near Southend. These are exclusive Longpier.com pictures, taken at the height of the fire around 11pm last night.
Seven fire crews from the area, and three police units were on scene at an electronics factory at the Tickfield Industrial Estate near to Prittlewell Station. Click to continue reading...

Seven fire crews are battling a massive blaze at an industrial estate in Prittlewell, Southend.
Firefighters are tackling the fire at an electronics factory at the Tickfield Industrial Estate. On arrival at the scene, crews reported that 50 per cent of the two-storey building, measuring 100m x 15m, was well alight. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool FC supporters' union Spirit of Shankly has again hit out at Tom Hicks after an impromptu protest following Saturday's win over Bolton forced the Reds' co-owner to leave Anfield via a side exit.
Hicks, whose takeover with George Gillett has seen the club saddled with debts of up to £240m, arrived at Anfield shortly after 1pm on Saturday, and word soon spread of his presence at the ground, with over 200 supporters gathering by the Main Stand car park after the match in freezing conditions to voice their disgust at the Americans' turbulent reign. Click to continue reading...

John Trask was named the sixth coach in the history of the University of Wisconsin men's soccer program today, leaving the same role at Illinois-Chicago to take over the Badgers.

Trask, who grew up in Milwaukee, succeeds Todd Yeagley, who departed UW after one season to take over at Indiana.

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Angola v Malawi Thursday, January 14. Kick-off: 20:30 CET Malawi are already dreaming of a place in the quarter-finals of the African Nations Cup as they meet tournament hosts Angola. A 3-0 victory over World Cup-bound Algeria in their opening match sent the Flames to the top of Group A, with a two-point cushion over their nearest challengers. Click to continue reading...

Well after yesterday's dramatic draw, let's hope today's matches (Malawi v Algeria and Côte d'Ivoire v Burkina Faso) don't fail to live up to the strong start of the tournament.
Malawi boast Chiukepo Msowoya who lead the Flames with six goals from the qualification rounds. 27-year-old Esau Kanyenda also has finishing ability. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has shrugged aside any doubt over the immediate future of Ryan Babel, who has been widely tipped for a winter transfer.
The 22-year-old attacker has found first-team opportunities hard to come by at Anfield, having shown only glimpses of the raw talent that earned him an £11. Click to continue reading...

The code wars surrounding the 2018/2022 bid seem to be gently simmering down, now that Andrew Demetriou's politicking over the use of Etihad stadium has been revealed as an ambit claim of sorts. But the Murdoch football refusers, true to form, have fanned the flames with dire predictions about the effects of hosting the event on Sydney (and Melbourne). Click to continue reading...

The 137th Eternal Derby between Red Star Belgrade and Partizan Belgrade was a scene of overwhelming madness as the fire hoses had to be called in to make an attempt at controlling the blazes in the stands (and the shirtless guy in the bucket hat).

Things weren't any more tame on the pitch, though between what appeared to be an angry makeout session (0:53 into the video below) and players stomping on each other (1:20).

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That Bradford City should be yet again linked with a move away from Valley Parade should come as no surprise. This time, the local council want them to move to a "sports village" at Odsal Stadium, which they will share with local rugby league club Bradford Bulls. Many Bantams supporters, however, are struggling to see what exactly the benefits of moving to Odsal would be to the football club.

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A striking new memorial could be erected in Liverpool at the 21st anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy.
The metal artwork, to be funded by the public, is set to be unveiled in the city next April by the council's Lord Mayor office.
It is expected to be initially stationed in the Town Hall ballroom before being moved to different locations within the city centre. Click to continue reading...

After another thumping win, in which we scored four times and went second, it's been interesting to read some of the reaction in the press.

There's no doubt that some of the sceptics have started to take note. We're now thirteen matches unbeaten, and in those 13 games have scored 37 goals. There's even talk that we might break the 100-goal barrier, though surely that's a) absurdly premature and b) asking for a tumble.

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Another headline that's surely never been written in the history of the English language.
This story takes us to Scotland, where it turns out a bunch of Aberdeen fans were dressed as sheep as they rode the train to an upcoming soccer match against Hibs in Edinburgh.
One unfortunate 24-year-old dude was apparently set alight and ran through the cars with his sheep-suit engulfed in flames. Click to continue reading...

Rumour Mill Spinning: Just Wind?
The rumour mill is starting to spin. It may be imagination, wishful thinking and/or an hallucinatory psychotic episode. Then again there could be a grain of truth in it all. After the drubbing from Crewe something has to keep the flames (embers or just a small faintly warm spot) alive. Click to continue reading...

So much for an American owning a Serie A club. Timothy Barton, the head of an American bid to takeover Serie A club Bari, saw the deal go up in flames yesterday as the current ownership refused to delay the process any longer.

According to ESPN Soccernet, Barton and his organization, JMJ Holdings had to meet a Wednesday deadline of initial payment under terms of an initial agreement to buy the club.

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So much for an American owning a Serie A club. Timothy Barton, the head of an American bid to takeover Serie A club Bari, saw the deal go up in flames yesterday as the current ownership refused to delay the process any longer.

According to ESPN Soccernet, Barton and his organization, JMJ Holdings had to meet a Wednesday deadline of initial payment under terms of an initial agreement to buy the club.

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Colombian football is in deep sorrow as two players from that country's domestic league died early Sunday morning. According to La Nación, Atlético Huila's leading scorer Herman Córdoba as well as teammate Mario Beltrán died incinerated. Teammate Juan Cámilo Restrepo and two other passengers were in grave condition early Sunday morning after the vehicle in which they were traveling collided with a bus and burst into flames. Click to continue reading...

With the war of words/name calling/mind-games that have been prevalent the past forty-eight hours or so, it is a signal that the derby is now very much upon us - and the media has taken an even greater interest in this game than usual.
We have had plenty of comments so far, with particular contributions from Ferguson, Hughes, Toure, de Jong, Ireland and Sylvinho to stoke up the flames ahead of the weekend. Click to continue reading...

The biggest ‘non-story' of this season's transfer window finally seems to be at an end, on the Chelsea Football Club official website today John Terry released a statement regarding his future at the club and a proposed move to Manchester City.

Whilst it cannot be denied that the players head had been turned by the offer of a seemingly endless pot of cash few have ever truly believed that the man dubbed ‘Mr Chelsea' would head to Eastlands in search of a bigger salary.

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This is why I hate the summer in the world of football. It isn't the lack of football itself, though that is an unwelcomed aspect of the summer, but it is the rumors that consistently link my favorite players away from the club. Last summer, the departure of Alonso was an unfortunate rumor that never seemed to go away.

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Official Press Release (Long Island Rough Riders)
Rough Riders Hold outside chance at division title
South Huntington, N.Y. (July 15, 2009) – The Long Island Rough Riders men's team settled for a scoreless draw with the Westchester Flames in front of an excited crowd of 549 fans at Cy Donnelly Stadium on Wednesday night. Click to continue reading...

Official Press Release (Long Island Rough Riders)
Free entry for kids wearing any soccer jersey!
Plainview, NY (July 14, 2009) – The Long Island Rough Riders men's team will host the Westchester Flames on Wednesday, July 15th in their regular season home finale. Kick off will be 8PM (originally scheduled for 7PM) at Cy Donnelly Stadium located at St. Click to continue reading...

Are you scared to make your way to South Africa for next year's 2010 World Cup?Â
I'm not. I'm sure many people aren't.Â
But unfortunately, some people are.Â
The facts remain that crime is a problem in the African nation. Still, I'm sure everything will be done to protect fans and supporters from any harm. Click to continue reading...

Strange as it might seem, for the past three years Liverpool fans have often had to defend Javier Mascherano.
First there were those who questioned the wisdom of buying a player who had failed to make an impact at West Ham. Then came those that saw him as being too much of a defensive minded player; good at winning the ball but not very good at doing anything with it. Click to continue reading...

Let's face it, The Flames are one of the feel good stories of 2009. With a 100+ FIFA ranking, the team is fighting for a chance to compete in the 2010 World Cup as the squad sits in Group 5 with Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Côte d'Ivoire. While a berth in the 2010 WC is unlikely especially with Côte d'Ivoire in the group, the nation still has a great opportunity to qualify for the next African Cup of Nations. Click to continue reading...

My oh my oh my oh my! Looks like somebody finally/wisely realized that there's a great story to tell in the U.S.-Mexico rivalry and based on some of the choice quotes in this extended, 9+ minute trailer it might actually do a fair bit to stoke the flames further.
San Jose-based filmmaker Michael T. Click to continue reading...

Whoever though to combine paper streamers with fireworks should be fired, literally! After winning the Paulista Championship, the Corinthians celebrated by torching their team captain William.

Celebrations go up in flames at Brazillian Paulista Championship.

After forcing a draw between them and Santos on Sunday, May 3, 2009, the Corinthians clenched the coveted Brazilian Cup.

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Oops, we set light to the skipper Corinthians' Paulista championship victory over Santos was overshadowed by the trophy celebration, which saw captain William set on fire. The skipper was on a podium covered in confetti to collect the cup when the array of fireworks sent both confetti and captain up in flames. Click to continue reading...

This is what happened to the trophy of state champions that Corinthians received. The tiny pieces of paper caught on fire with the fireworks used. Another great product of the terrible people from the Paulista Football Federation. Captain Willian had to get rid of the trophy to save himself as his jersey caught on fire as well.

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