The big freeze produced one big winner. Germany's winter so far: a mild December was followed by a warm January was followed by a frigging cold February. It's probably some strange global warming phenomenon again, or 2012, or... It meant that matchday 20 took place under arctic circumstances.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has urged his players to get their ailing domestic campaign back on track by recapturing the spirit of their famous invincible side of the 2003-04 season.

On Wednesday, Arsenal played out a 0-0 draw with Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium and although they finally managed to end their point drought after three consecutive defeats, it wasn't a source of joy for the Gunners as they now find themselves at seventh position on the league table, behind the likes of Newcastle United and Liverpool.

Juan Mata has spoken ahead of the United game on Sunday. In the short time he has been here in England, he has made an impact and has become an important player for Chelsea now and in the future.
Speaking of the weekend, Mata reveals that the players aren't happy with the ways things are going but are determined to put things right in every game starting with United.

"Not good enough."

Three words used often by football fans to describe aspects of the club they support. They're used in relation to certain players, performances, the manager, the board, the price of a pint and a pie, how their club handles various communications, pretty much anything they've got the hump with for one reason or another.

Why Senegal failed at Africa Cup of Nations 2012 is a post from: Just Football

My latest African football column for FourFourTwo looks at Senegal, who slumped to bottom of their group and an early trip home despite being one of the pre-tournament favourites. Why did they fail?

By Phil Gregory

Well, 0-0 versus Bolton was a disappointment and a serious blow to attempts to haul in Tottenham. The odds on that front are getting near the stage where it would be irrational to expect us to overhaul our neighbour should we not shrink the gap over the next few games. Fortunately Chelsea [.

Fine margins

February and all we've collected from 2012 is a solitary point in the league. Unfortunately for a club the size of Arsenal and the ambitions that we harbour, that is not good enough. 7th is where we are right now in terms of the league standings and hopes of staying with the top pack and clinching that vital Champions League position is not mathematically out of grab.

The past few days have altered the landscape of MLS, the Western Conference and, specifically, Cascadia. While many of us have always believed that the West was much stronger than the East, the amount of talent that has flooded in during the past week alone has only strengthened that belief.

Let's review: The Portland Timbers have added Kris Boyd, the leading scorer in Scottish Premier League history; the Vancouver Whitecaps traded for Sebastien Le Toux, who's contributed to 45 goals over the past two seasons; and the LA Galaxy brought back Edson Buddle, who scored 19 goals during the 2010 season.

While the emerging transfer stories dominate the headlines there was the small matter of a 3-1 win over a poor Wigan side last night. No prizes for guessing the man of the match although Luka Modric would have run two goal Gareth Bale close with some intricate passing and a stunning goal of his own.

Transfer madness takes a back seat to mid-week matches, as a number of top teams in Europe take to the field on Tuesday.

The top four teams in England are all in action, with Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Everton facing league-leading Manchester City. Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea will all be looking to secure their own results while hoping the American pair can conjure an upset to shorten the gap at the top of the table.

Que triste! It isn't a good week for fans of the US Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league. The board announced it would be "suspending play" this year due to complex legal issues involving a former club owner. This matters because some of the world's best female players ply their trade there including Abby Wambach, Marta, Alex Morgan and Hope Solo.

Arsenal supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated at the club's recent failure to compete for major honours in the past 7 years.

The ‘so near yet so far' statement could not ring more true than it does for the Gunners and the fans are starting to lose patience.

The poisonous atmosphere that has swept across the Emirates Stadium in back-to-back games against Manchester United and Aston Villa must be a worry to both the manager and the board.

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes says that his side cannot afford to drop any more points if they are to successfully defend their La Liga title this season.

Barca were held to a 0-0 draw against Villarreal on Saturday, a result that now leaves them seven points behind league leaders Real Madrid, who recorded a 3-1 win over Real Zaragoza at the weekend.

Even my wife wondered why on earth Spurs were playing football on a Friday. By the end of the match I knew exactly what she meant. As it was ESPN, perhaps Spurs prepared for the Saturday evening game, because they certainly weren't ready for this one.

This was dire, as disorganised as Harry's tax return.

The Seattle Sounders have added a PDL team to their youth development program, partnering with the Tacoma Tide and rebranding the team as Sounders FC U-23. The team will be coached by current Sounders academy director Darren Sawatzky and play somewhere in Pierce County, although a permanent home has not yet been determined.

Mexico's World Cup qualifying victory clearly shook the US Women's National Team to their core. On Tuesday night, the US settled the score, reminding Mexico, and the world, that there is still an enormous gap in class between the two sides. Were at not for some shoddy finishing and a whole lot of five-alarm defending, the score line could easily have been doubled as the US controlled the match from the opening whistle and were rarely troubled throughout the 90 minutes.

Ooh, it's a little early for tongue, Nolan. What kind of girls do you think we are? Image: PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images.

Nature abhors a vacuum, Kickettes. It isn't something we made up as a convenient opening remark for a transfer update post, it's the truth.

Don't believe us? Last week, we told you that Ludovic Obraniak had left Lille for Bordeaux, leaving a massive gap in their pretty player quotient.

Arsene Wenger seldom criticises his players in public.

So this comment about Andrey Arshavin, made to Sky Sports, has massive implications:

"It does look at times that he doesn't want to be in this country and I think the way that the winning goal was set up for Manchester United – you expect a player in that position to have focus and make it hard for the winger.

Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has acknowledged that Manchester City's continued hold on the Premier League's top spot is impressive but warned the Citizens that "funny things can happen" between now and the end of the season.

Scholes, 37, came out of retirement earlier this month and has since played a part in each of United's three victories, the latest being a substitute appearance in the 2-1 win away to Arsenal yesterday.

Terrible defending by Senegal let them down. Bouna Condoul, the former NY Red Bulls goalie should have done better in the opening goal being caught out of position. Then the Zambians were able to beat the offside trap to score their second. The high powered attack led by Demba Ba, Moussa Sow, and Mamadou Niang could do little.

The great irony here being that if it was Peter Crouch, it 100% would have gone inFootball, the great reducing force in all our lives. If Jermain Defoe had stretched for that Bale cross just a millisecond earlier, we'd all be headed to work this morning without that overbearing sense of melancholy that you're probably still feeling.

Harry Redknapp praised his players after yesterday's agonising defeat at Manchester City and at one point, the manager and his bench were convinced that Jermain Defoe had snatched a late winner.

"Gareth rolled the ball square to Jermain and we were all up on our feet ready for the ball to be put into the empty net," Harry said.

szólj hozzá: Man City v Tottenham 3:2 MOTD

The first half was as dull and dragging as the Utd vs Arsenal match. The second half was just the opposite - a high voltage pulsating encounter between 1st placed City and 3rd placed Spurs. Roberto Mancini's squad went ahead in the second half through Samir Nasri and Joleon Lescott, both goals within minutes of each other.

We're off to Carrow Road tomorrow. My suggestion? Take the morning train.

It's a fixture that promises to be kind of fascinating. For one, it wasn't easy at Stamford bridge at the end of August; it sure won't be easy in Norfolk, either, with Norwich undefeated in four and currently in ninth.

It's a simple question but with a difficult answer. With a chance to close the gap on City, United and Spurs, Chelsea travel to Carrow Road in Saturday's lunchtime kick off.
With three players added to the fold and in contention to start the question is who do you think should start this game for Chelsea?

By Chris Wright

This is a mock-up, before anyone gets too excited

Liverpool have announced this morning that, as of next season, their kit suppliers will no longer be Adidas (after eight years of service) and, as of this summer, will be American bods Warrior Sports.

Hockey kit for Liverpool as Adidas puck off Liverpool have announced a £25m-a-year kit deal with little-known American manufacturer Warrior, amid reports that long-term supplier Adidas no longer felt they were getting value for money from the teams on-pitch performances. Boston-based Warrior Sports Inc.

Hockey kit for Liverpool as Adidas puck off Liverpool have announced a £25m-a-year kit deal with little-known American manufacturer Warrior, amid reports that long-term supplier Adidas no longer felt they were getting value for money from the teams on-pitch performances. Boston-based Warrior Sports Inc.

Ahead of their important match up against third place seat, Tottenham Hotspurs this weekend, Manchester City's defender, Joleon Lescott insisted that getting a win over Spurs wouldn't be an attempt to stop Harry Redknapp's team surged in the table but more of staying away from Manchester United's chase.

If you've ever spent a Friday afternoon at work trying to run down the clock by watching Spurs videos on YouTube (come on, you know you have), you may have come across the amazing Spurs Away Day videos by @DanLouw. If you haven't, then this article is filling a gap in your Spurs filled life that you never really realised you had, but somehow always knew was there.

Cause for concern? We got it. Right here in River City. And it's a much bigger problem than a pool table, I fear.

A couple of disclaimers before we get started, because discourse has gotten so terrible that you have to explain yourself because people love to project their own issues with the team onto them.

Cause for concern? We got it. Right here in River City. And it's a much bigger problem than a pool table, I fear.

A couple of disclaimers before we get started, because discourse has gotten so terrible that you have to explain yourself because people love to project their own issues with the team onto them.

Liverpool lost their lucrative partnership with Adidas after demanding too much money for their on-field performance, according to the firm's chief executive.
The Premier League club's current deal with Adidas, the world's second biggest sporting goods manufacturer, expires at the end of the season after talks over an extension collapsed last year.

The most frustrating thing is that, after a disastrous start to the season, we had done the hard bit.

Written off by everyone, we somehow battled back up the table, all the way to the top four.

A team that seemed to have been cobbled together off the back of Steptoe and Son's wagon on the last day of the transfer window was starting to look like it could really do the business.

Yes, you can count on me

Yesterday's round of matches was good wasn't it. Yes, not entirely. Paul Scholes scored in his "comeback" but we all know what happened in the first game of his comeback and how he contributed to City scoring their goal. So no, he doesn't quite do a "Henry". An Emmanuel Frimpong led Wolverhampton Wanderers claimed point at Tottenham and it's dropped points for them (Spers, not Wolves).

This afternoon is a must win game for Chelsea and it really is as simple as that. We cannot afford to drop points over the next few weeks as we need to try and close the gap to the sides above us now in the league.
AVB and his Chelsea players have a job on their hands this afternoon as a rejuvenated Sunderland side under new man-manager Martin O'Neill travel to the Bridge with nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Is Conde Worth the Price?Late yesterday evening, Big Apple Soccer's Michael Lewis broke the news that the Red Bulls had purchased the MLS rights of Wilman Conde from Chicago Fire. Lewis' story, citing an anonymous source, indicated that the Red Bulls would be sending a draft pick Chicago's way in return.

THFC1882 presents another guest writer. This time it's a guy I've known on Twitter for a while and he's always got something to say on our beloved Tottenham Hotspur. It gives me great pleasure to present Kenny Palmer with a preview of this weekend's game:

Wednesday's victory over Everton in the postponed game in hand from the start of the season has left Spurs level on points with Manchester United and 3 off leaders Manchester City.

The Arsenal reserve keeper Lukasz Fabianski has made a few remarks recently about wanting to leave the Gunners if he wasn't given more first team chances, but in a new interview it seems that he is likely to be staying at the Emirates, and he thinks that Arsenal's season is far from over. Tottenham's win [.

Happy Friday the 13th to you.

Of course it's only unlucky if you're in certain parts of the world and if you believe in superstition. And the only superstition I believe in these days is the one Stevie Wonder belts out. Still, I hope your evening is filled with all the beautiful things this day brings: escaped lunatics wearing hockey masks and eviscerating people with a chainsaw.