It seems there are problems with England's World Cup base which refuse to go away. This clearly has implications for FIFA's plan to name the training bases for the 32 competing nations at a press conference in Sun City this morning. Will England say yes to the Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus or go elsewhere? Click to continue reading...

Though we're still eagerly awaiting the 2010 schedule (due out next Tuesday, per the team blog), the Aztex put season tickets on sale this week:

Season tickets are priced at just $190 for adults and $150 for youth. The new open-ended season ticket allows fans the flexibility of using one ticket at each of the 15 regular season games or using multiple tickets for several games.

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Last week, U.S. defender Heather Mitts invited anyone on the WNT who was interested, to attend a free Yoga session at the Green Yogi in Manhattan Beach. Seems that Mitts made friends with an instructor there (who like Mitts, happens to be from Cincinnati) and she offered to lead the U.S. WNT through a session of vinyasa yoga. Click to continue reading...

Last week, U.S. defender Heather Mitts invited anyone on the WNT who was interested, to attend a free Yoga session at the Green Yogi in Manhattan Beach. Seems that Mitts made friends with an instructor there (who like Mitts, happens to be from Cincinnati) and she offered to lead the U.S. WNT through a session of vinyasa yoga.

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Chelsea smashed their way to the Premier League summit with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Birmingham.

Before the match started, those strange thoughts ran through ‘Birmingham have been in-form... hmm could they? ...Chelsea slip?'

But just as Apple started dishing out information about their latest devise, (the iPad if you've been on some other planet) Chelsea showcased their own magic with a superbly worked cross from J Cole for Malouda to head it in.

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I've been a bit facepalm since I read the NASL press release stating they hired "renowned soccer journalist and blogger" Kartik Krishnaiyer to be their director of communications. My first reaction was, man, I hope he stops blogging and podcasting, and thankfully, that appears to be the case.
Personally, I've read very little of his work, but I wasn't all that impressed with what I did read. Click to continue reading...

Chivas USA forward Eduardo Lillingston will be joining Mexican second division side Club Tijuana on loan until the summer, the team announced this afternoon. He will be eligible to rejoin Chivas upon the opening of the mid-season transfer window on July 15th.
"This move allows us some flexibility with our roster, and will give Eduardo a good opportunity to play games during the offseason and before rejoining our team," said Chivas USA vice president of soccer operations Stephen Hamilton. Click to continue reading...

The boots are hung up, the exit physicals are done and the Colorado Rapids players get some much needed time off to rest up over the holidays before coming back into the rigors of preseason at the end of January. Some people who may not be resting quite as much include Gary Smith and Steve Guppy. Click to continue reading...

I may young but you boys can still learn from me

Good Friday to you. Sorry for the late post as I was doing a bit of traveling today.

Most would've expected Fabianski to keep the keeper's jersey for this tomorrow's North London Derby but unfortunately for the Polish custodian, he is again crocked by injury.

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From the high of last Tuesday's Loko game to the ignominy of our indisciplined loss 5-0 to Avanti on Thursday. Jason's eye wasn't back to normal, Nick Esp and a few of the other lads were out so we just had eleven. But with us 0-0 at half time we were feeling good.
Artur lost it with the ref, Boyley decided that since we're 2-0 down we should drop the 4-1-4-1 since we might as well lose 5-0 as 2-0 and that's precisely what happened. Click to continue reading...

From the high of last Tuesday's Loko game to the ignominy of our indisciplined loss 5-0 to Avanti on Thursday. Jason's eye wasn't back to normal, Nick Esp and a few of the other lads were out so we just had eleven. But with us 0-0 at half time we were feeling good.
Artur lost it with the ref, Boyley decided that since we're 2-0 down we should drop the 4-1-4-1 since we might as well lose 5-0 as 2-0 and that's precisely what happened. Click to continue reading...

A decision that could be said to be an interesting one. The Sports Business Journal is reporting that the league owners have decided to move this year's MLS Cup in Seattle to prime-time TV on November 22nd. The switch also sees the game go from network TV to cable TV for the first time.

The owners are hoping the later start time will enhance the stadium atmosphere which should translate into a better TV viewing experience.

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Before I got sidetracked yesterday, I intended to say a few words about the "soft cap" proposal that Ben and BA Duane keep floating. I briefly touched on Ben's first post here, and of course Bill ranted about how TFC sucks not because of the cap, but because no one associated with that club understands how the league is run. Click to continue reading...

Before beginning the gruesome business of the post-mortem I think it's worth doffing my cap towards Man Utd – they were a quality act yesterday. I demonstrated in my preview that mathematics is hardly the academic subject of choice at AANP Towers, but nevertheless it really did seem that being reduced to 10 men made them play as if they had 12.

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BBC Sports' Lee Dixon writes about the flexibility of Chelsea's tactics, and how they are able to change for home and road matches.
The big thing about Chelsea's midfield is that they have options and in the creative area of the pitch, that is what you want.
It also gives them different ways of playing at home and away and, in a change from the diamond in the middle and the two up front, Chelsea started with a 4-2-3-1 formation in the 2-0 win at Fulham. Click to continue reading...

As Arsenal's football becomes more fluid and pass orientated, the demands become greater especially against the changing nature of the modern game.
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It was only a pre-season friendly but with Arsene Wenger anxiously pacing the touchline during a match against third-place Hungarian outfits Szombathelyi Haladás, it showed just how crucial next season will be.

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Chivas USA have acquired allocation money and a conditional 2010 SuperDraft pick in a trade with the LA Galaxy. In exchange, Chivas USA sent forward Alecko Eskandarian to the Galaxy. "This move allows us greater flexibility in terms of our roster and salary budget," said Chivas USA Head Coach Preki.

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Forward Alecko Eskandarian has changed locker rooms at the Home Depot Center, joining the LA Galaxy from Chivas USA in return for a 2010 SuperDraft pick and allocation money. "This move allows us greater flexibility in terms of our roster and salary budget," Chivas USA coach Preki said. "We would like to thank Alecko for his contributions to our club. Click to continue reading...

The Galaxy are desperate for goals.

Oft-injured Chivas USA forward Alecko Eskandarian, who has scored just six goals in 18 games since joining the club from Real Salt Lake in January 2008, was traded today to intrastadium rivals the Galaxy.

To make room for the 26-year-old forward, the Galaxy waived midfielder Josh Tudela who has played 23 games for the club since being selected in the 2007 SuperDraft.

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Reports in both Poland and Germany suggest Liverpool will launch a fresh £7m bid for Borussia Dortmund winger Jakub Blaszczykowski in the summer after the star has made an impressive return to fitness following a long injury lay-off.
He has been on Rafa Benitez's radar for a while but after an impressive end to the Bundesliga season, Liverpool look set to finally get their man. Click to continue reading...

Soccer is an aerobic based sport, with frequent high intensity anaerobic bouts of speed and power. It requires total body strength and coordination training, as well as flexibility, balance and agility. The most important aspect of soccer fitness training is that it involves using soccer-specific movement patterns, both with and without the ball. Click to continue reading...

In anticipation of the State's payment to counties for partial reimbursement of legal defense services, the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) reaffirms its support for Governor David Paterson's proposal to provide more flexibility with the ILSF.

Governor Paterson has proposed as part of his 2009-10 Executive Budget a provision to provide counties and the City of New York with greater flexibility related to the ILSF.

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