Man City's official YouTube channel has provided a lot of unexpected entertainment over its relatively short existence and has already become a model for other clubs to follow. It does, however, go off the rails from time to time (City kitman Les Chapman's "nature watch" segment where he tracks down a ginger kid in his underpants).

I'll always remember the first game of football I ever went to: I was aged six; the location was Aggborough in Kidderminster as the Harriers took on Aston Villa in Graham Allner's testimonial. It was a few years before I was ever introduced to top flight football at Villa Park or First Division football at Molineux.

"No, we're the underdogs."
Ayr v Kilmarnock. An Ayrshire derby in a league cup semi final and nobody wants to be favourites.
No surprise there. Derby games are different. Derby games in cups carry an extra weight. Make it a semi final and you've got a hell of a game on your hands.

I generally have a very low opinion of the pampered, overpaid ladyboys of modern top-flight football, but if there is one player I despise more than any other, it is Manchester United's disloyal cheating thug, Wayne Rooney. Rooney has proved time and time again that he has no concept of sportsmanship, class, humility or fair play, and he showed this again on Sunday in the FA Cup third round

Named after the entry gate at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge ground, Gate 17 books was established in November 2007 as an imprint of respected publishing house Troubador.
The first title published by this Chelsea themed imprint was a second edition of 'Over Land and Sea' which had achieved cult-classic status amongst Blues fans.

Despite Cristiano Ronaldo's impressive form which is seeing him lead the top scorer's list in the Spanish La Liga, it is looking very likely that Messi will win the FIFA Ballon d'Or for a 3rd consecutive year when the gala takes places on Monday.

Ronaldo's muted celebrations against Granada yesterday are fueling a lot of rumours that the Portuguese star could be on the verge of a break down especially with the constant comparisons to Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Well it's happened again. Not even a full season back in top flight football and the "old dame" Hertha has been embroiled in a soap opera of daytime TV proportions, where nobody ends up looking good. Manager Markus Babbel and Sport Director Michael Preetz were entangled in a war of words where one was trying to paint the other as a liar and claiming who did or did not say what, when.

Today's SPL Advent calendar throws up not a nugget of cheap chocolate but a Stewart's bridie - current SPL basement dwellers Dunfermline.
The road to the SPL is not paved with gold.
On their return to the top flight Dunfermline find themselves bottom of the league. They've taken only four points at home in a miserable run that has seen them fail to win at East End Park.

Carlos Tevez has for the first time spoken out on his future saying that he wishes to return to his old club Boca Juniors. The 27 year old revealed that going back to City was next to impossible and that it did not matter if he took a wage cut to make his dream a reality.

Speaking to Gente, Tevez also said that he was tired of shuttling to and from England.

Sevilla has become the first top-flight football club to sell small squares within each player's number on the back of their shirts featuring a photo of the buyer

Leroy Lita had the chance to cover himself with glory against Villa last week. After superbly turning the Villa defender, he dragged his shot just wide of the post. That sums up Swansea's problem in their first Premiership season. This lack of a cutting edge may eventually drag the Swans back into a relegation dogfight.

Suarez and co to wear DEC bibs

Liverpool Football Club today backed the DEC East Africa crisis appeal as the Barclays Premier League announced a weekend of action at top-flight football clubs across England.

View the full story here: Liverpool FC

A news article on 2011-11-26 09:24:47 from: Liverpool FC

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Kenny Dalglish has revealed that the FA has concluded the Liverpool part of its investigation into the Luis Suarez-Patrice Evra race row, and he has once again called for a swift resolution to the situation.
Last week, Dalglish accused the FA of 'dragging its feet' with the investigation.

Ahead of Saturday's clash...

Top flight football, as many have already found, can be an unforgiving place; one where individuals are left to rue what might have been if not for injuries, intense competition or failure to adapt and/or develop at the necessary rate. A world which is no longer as rosy as it once was, as cold, hard reality hits home and becomes too much to bear.

Top flight football, as many have already found, can be an unforgiving place; one where individuals are left to rue what might have been if not for injuries, intense competition or failure to adapt and/or develop at the necessary rate. A world which is no longer as rosy as it once was, as cold, hard reality hits home and becomes too much to bear.

The FA is currently 'investigating' Patrice Evra's recent allegation against Luis Suarez, but even if the Uruguayan striker is found guilty, what difference will it make? It's highly unlikely he'll be 'convicted' and banned; like every other instance of alleged racist abuse in top-flight football over the last 30 years or more, it will be brushed under the carpet, and the vicious cycle of prejudice will continue.

There is a debate going on on whether the Premier League should scrap relegation and promotion or not. Frankly, i think all those who are proposing the idea are crazy. I tried looking for an appropriate word but the truth is only insanity can define such an idea.

Scrapping relegation would drastically reduce the level of competition in the league not to mention reducing the revenue the league generates every season.

After the international break, top flight football returns to Argentina this weekend with a vengeance. Boca Juniors will be looking to extend their five-point lead at the top of the Torneo Apertura table when they host Belgrano on Sunday; to ... Continue reading →

In less than 72 hours, Anfield will be host to an epic Barclays Premier League battle that has drawn fierce passion from all corners of the globe.

While Sir Alex Ferguson has toppled the Kop off it's perch by clinching Manchester United's nineteenth EPL title, the fire will not burn any less stronger when England's two most successful clubs clash heads at Merseyside.

In their tenth season out of the last eleven playing top flight football, ‘the flying donkeys' were initially punching way above their weight. Generally, with the smallest budget, the smallest squad and the smallest crowds, every season saw the club installed as both the bookies and the critics favourites for a return to Serie B.

Saturday's top flight football action in Argentina was restricted to just two matches, since the bulk of the games will be played on Sunday and Monday for the ninth round of the Torneo Apertura. Olimpo held Arsenal de Sarandí 2-2 ... Continue reading →

It may be a much maligned competition, but all the big clubs in the Premier League saw it important enough to field strong sides and progress through to the last 16 – the question is, who will go all the way?

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson may have made 11 changes from the side that beat Chelsea last Sunday for the game at Leeds, but he could still field the likes of Ryan Giggs, Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia and Dimitar Berbatov.

Ibrahim Afellay, who recently returned from an injury suffered a huge set back with him suffering another serious injury. The official Barcelona site says - "Ibrahim Affellay has torn a crucial ligament in his left knee while training. He will require surgery and may miss upto six months of top flight football.

Another chance for Coquelin to show his stuff, albeit in a less pressure match that his last away trip

Carling Cup returns to action tonight. I have to admit, this is a competition which I do enjoy and look forward to each season. Perhaps the biggest reason is how Arsene Wenger has chose to use this competition.

At first look, West Brom's lone win after their first four Premier League encounters may, to the untrained eye, be symptomatic of the struggles they have endured in past seasons as a "yo-yo" club, shuffling between second-tier triumphs and top-flight relegations.

But the performances put in by Roy Hodgson's side suggest more than the three points out of a possible fourteen, which sees the Baggies lie 13th currently.

Liverpool will expect to make it a perfect 10 wins on the trot over Saturday's opponents Bolton at Anfield.
Not since September 2006 has the Reds dropped points against the Trotters, when Sam Allardyce inflicted a 2-0 defeat upon his then counterpart Rafa Benitez.
Much has changed at both clubs since then, with Liverpool scoring 23 goals to Bolton's four in reply, taking in an impressive sequence of nine victories both home and away.

It is only the opening gambit in Indonesian football's latest new dawn but at a press conference earlier this evening the new look PSSI announced that top flight football would comprise of two divisions of 16 clubs each while the second tier would have four divisions of 12 teams each.
Indonesia can't seem to decide whether it wants to have a single top flight featuring the 18 best teams which makes sense from a purely footballing point of view or a twin division which would feature more dead wood than a lumberjack camp but allows clubs to spend less on travel costs as it would be divided regionally.

ST's annual(-ish) Premier League Predictions
Look, let's be honest about this: predicting the results of the Premier League is a fool's errand. Not that this stops everybody from doing it, of course. In case you hadn't noticed, top flight football is back in England this weekend, and you will already have read in-depth analysis of each of the twenty teams in the league in every single newspaper, most magazines and heard previews all over the radio.

With the season fast approaching and yet another summer passing without the departure of Almunia and without the arrival of the much craved experienced custodian I thought it would be a good time to assess our current goalkeeping line up against the rest of the top four wannabes.

So let's look at our current crop first.

SOURCE: REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU, July 15: Brigade Boys Club on Friday became the last team to be relegated from the Martyrs Memorial Red Bull A Division League Football Tournament after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of already relegated Swayambhu Club at the Dasharath Stadium.
Koilapani Polestar of Nawalparasi and Kalimati based United Youth Club are the other two teams that have already been relegated in the 18-team contest.

SOURCE: REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU, July 14: Koilapani Polestar of Nawalparasi returned home winless after a 4-1 thrashing by Armed Police Force (APF) on Thursday in its last match of the Martyrs Memorial Red Bull A Division League at the Dasharath Stadium.
Koilapani, the first team to be relegated in the league and the only club from outside the Kathmandu Valley in the history of top flight football, conceded two goals in either half as national striker Ganesh Lawati completed a hat-trick.

SOURCE: REPUBLICA KATHMANDU, July 12: Swayambhu Club and United Youth Club were relegated from the Martyrs Memorial Red Bull A Division League on Tuesday while Nepal Army Club became the last team to secure a berth in the National League.
Top flight debutant Swayambhu, established in 2052 BS, became the victim as Mahindra Bansbari FC suffered an unexpected 3-0 defeat at the hands G Five Machhindra Club at the Dasharath Stadium.

SOURCE: REPUBLICAKATHMANDU, July 10: Koilapani Polestar of Nawalparasi, on Sunday became the first team to relegate in the ongoing Martyrs Memorial Red Bull A Division League Football Tournament after it was hammered 7-0 by G Five Machhindra FC at the APF ground, Halchowk.
The result pulled Machhindra out of the relegation zone for the first time since June 8 despite having equal 10 points as that of Brigade Boys Club on the basis of goals superiority.

Brad Rusin

On Sunday Carolina RailHawks captain and defender Brad Rusin was in Cary, N.C., helping his unstoppable NASL RailHawks to another shutout victory. This time his team triumphed over the Montreal Impact with a 2-0 win. It was the team's 13th undefeated game and their 4th shutout this year.

Brad Rusin

On Sunday Carolina RailHawk captain and defender Brad Rusin was in Cary, N.C., helping his unstoppable RailHawks to another shutout victory. This time his team triumphed over the Montreal Impact with a 2-0 win. It was the teams 13 game undefeated game and their 4th shutout this year.

Fee-fi-fo-fum!
I smell the blood of an Englishman?
Hmm, smells like pound sterling....

In a more recent piece for the Financial Times, Simon Kuper informs us that top flight football clubs have rapidly turned the business of player evaluation into a quantifiable pursuit.

Like, properly mental Italian minnows Novara secured an unlikely promotion to Serie A with a play-off victory over Padova at the weekend. Reserve goalkeeper Alberto Fontana absolutely lost the plot after his side secured top-flight football. The shock result seemed to go straight to his head. Firstly, he stood on top of the dugout to [.

Unless you're a keen follower of the Football League or you were watching top flight football back in the late 70's and early 80's, this may be the first time many of you readers are coming across Swansea City. Swansea (pronounced "Swonzee") is...
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- QPR Supposedly Make Move for Italian World Cup Winner (Almost 38-year old Marco Materazzi)
- Two Possible QPR Managers Sticking Around in London!

Long time readers will remember my Weekend Roundup posts on the 4 overseas teams I follow. This past offseason was very busy for the Rapids so I stopped doing the regular updates, but I figured I'd do an end-of-season Roundup on them.
Queen of the South - Scotland Division OneQoS had a rough year due to the bath weather in Scotland.