First off, answers to the first edition of Interlull fun

1)Â Â Â Â Â Gone with the wind

2)Â Â Â Â Â The Good, the bad and the ugly

3)Â Â Â Â Â PSYCHO it is.

4)Â Â Â Â Â Slumdog Millionaire

5)Â Â Â Â Â The Great Escape

6)Â Â Â Â Â There will be blood.

Click to continue reading...

We Will Pull Off Great Escape Says Rafa; We Need A Miracle Now Says Rafa; Rafa Believes In Miracles, Apparently
###################################################################################
#################################################################################
############################################################################
It's FA Cup or nothing now. Click to continue reading...

When the UK woke up to the news that Argentina had pulled off the great escape and qualified for the 2010 World Cup, the collective groan would have shook the European cornflake mountain. Public Enemy Number 1, Diego Maradona, had almost led his country into oblivion but somehow they managed ... Click to continue reading...

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Two of the most hyped teams in Europe after their performances last season - Barcelona and Liverpool - fell to inglorious 1-2 defeats at the hands of Rubin Kazan and Lyon.

What's more - 5 out of 8 home teams lost last night. Only 1 team won (Olympiakos beat Standard Liege 2-2).

Click to continue reading...

Â

Several of the unclaimed World Cup qualifying berths will be locked on Wednesday as qualifying around the world wraps up group play.

There will be plenty of TV viewing options, though some of the more important matches of the day may require some web surfing for video streams. Among those is the winner-take-all match between Argentina and Uruguay, as well as the Honduras-El Salvador qualifier.

Click to continue reading...

Â

Several of the unclaimed World Cup qualifying berths will be locked on Wednesday as qualifying around the world wraps up group play.

There will be plenty of TV viewing options, though some of the more important matches of the day may require some web surfing for video streams. Among those is the winner-take-all match between Argentina and Uruguay, as well as the Honduras-El Salvador qualifier.

Click to continue reading...

Bristol City supremo, Gary Johnson has been speaking on his Robin's side's great escape at St James's Park on Saturday, when bungling referee, Graham Salisbury, made several bizarre, mystifying decisions, culminating in his stout refusal to award Newcastle United an obvious penalty in the 73rd minute. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal scripted a great escape,return from the dead kind of victory against Standard Liege.They were two goals down within the first five minutes.An Eduardo error was responsible for the first one.He made up for that however by scoring a dramatic late winner three minutes from full time after Nicklas Bendtner and Vermaelen had previously made the score equal.

Click to continue reading...

Ryan Babel had been touted as one of the most exciting prospects in Europe when he made a switch from Ajax to Liverpool but his career has since taken the wrong turn. The player himself has to take part of the blame for this because he never really repeat the performances from his time at Ajax, but in all fairness I have to say Rafa Benitez never really gave him a real chance to shine.

Click to continue reading...

More top stuff from Adam Spangler in Mexico. That's our friend Bruce in the header, incidentally.

Adam gets brownie points for this:

Azteca was a let down. It's a big dirty stadium without charm. Walking around the seats is like rock climbing–it is so steep; there is so little room I wanted a harness.

Click to continue reading...

Soccerlens continues its full season preview of the English Football League, as we move up from the Conference to League Two, which promises to be tighter than than Cheryl Cole's pert bottom in a pair of skimpy hotpants.

Can Bury better themselves and go one goal better for promotion?

Click to continue reading...

... that Fulham have renamed their riverside pub for Brian McBride?Says the guide:In honour of Brian McBride, the all-American hero who captained the Club to the dramatic Great Escape of 2008, we are delighted to announce that our SW6 Sports Bar will be renamed McBride's from next season. The American striker, who was twice named Fulham's Player of the Season during his time at Craven Cottage, Click to continue reading...

Thanks for all the pre-orders. I've cleaned out every pound shop in Tooting buying jiffy bags to post them in.

There was a hiccup at the printer's this week so the books will either arrive with me tomorrow, in which case I'll post them Saturday, or Monday, in which case they'll go on Monday.

Click to continue reading...

Ultimate respect to the man that is still the best American forward out there. My 'Make a Wish' would to have him still dominating the air for the USMNT, but that's for another time.
Take a look at this article on the Fulham website (tipped off by a UF link dump).

In honour of Brian McBride, the all-American hero who captained the Club to the dramatic Great Escape of 2008, we are delighted to announce that our SW6 Sports Bar will be renamed McBride's from next season.

Click to continue reading...

The start to the USA's Confederations Cup campaign inspired a torrent of vitriol among American supporters, as well as a fair amount of swearing, including -- the alleged drunken Facebook rants of former US player Eric Wynalda. (Wynalda claims his Facebook account was hacked.)
I enjoyed it when he announced games for ESPN. Click to continue reading...

Let's all laugh at these guys.

Then let's thank Brasil for getting the job done.

After my last post, I called Coach Bradley's coaching decisions into question. I was specifically concerned with his personnel choices. Shortly after that post, my point was validated with an absolutely sad performance against Brasil.

Click to continue reading...

Â

                                                                           Photo by ISIphotos.com

It is the day after one of the U.S. national team's most dramatic victories of the past decade and although a stiff test awaits on Wednesday in World No.

Click to continue reading...

Â

                                                                           Photo by ISIphotos.com

It is the day after one of the U.S. national team's most dramatic victories of the past decade and although a stiff test awaits on Wednesday in World No.

Click to continue reading...

It's finally done!

To use my own explanation from FriendsofFulham.com last night:

For those of you new to the book, we have a match report from every game and a load of essays from fans.  This year's book has 112 pages, up from 96 last year and 80some the year before that.

Click to continue reading...

If you have any doubt that Brian McBride is a legend at SW6, the English zip code if you will of West London where Fulham Football Club resides, there is no longer any doubt after an official announcement on Wednesday. The club is changing the name of the official sports bar of FFC from SW6 to McBride's.

Click to continue reading...

If you have any doubt that Brian McBride is a legend at SW6, the English zip code if you will, of West London where Fulham Football Club resides, there is no longer any doubt after an official announcement on Wednesday. The club is changing the name of the official sports bar of FFC from SW6 to McBride's.

Click to continue reading...

With the Premier League over for another season. Here are some of the things I noticed from the 08/09 campaign:

Like a bat out of Hull

Hull City were everyone's favorite to go straight back down this season. They seemed like a sweet little feel good story, content to have their moment in the big leagues before quickly sinking back to lower level obscurity where they could be patronized by football and non-football people alike for sounding like a thoroughly dull and uninspiring place to live.

Click to continue reading...

With only a handful of games left in the Premier League this season the title, relegation and European spots have yet to be decided. Here is my look at where I think the silverware is going:
The Premier League title
Liverpool have put up a brave fight this year but I can only see one winner in the title race. Click to continue reading...

The battle to avoid the drop is boiling up to a fascinating finale. With just two fixtures remaining, six teams are still fighting to avoid the three relegation places.

Mathematically it is still possible for Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers to go down but both are six points clear of the relegation spots and with a superior goal difference.

Click to continue reading...

Michael Bradley and the Foals took another step towards pulling off their great escape while a close loss leaves the promotion hopes of Luis Robles and Kaiserslautern balanced on the edge of a knife. Click to continue reading...

Michael Bradley and the Foals took another step towards pulling off their great escape while a close loss leaves the promotion hopes of Luis Robles and Kaiserslautern balanced on the edge of a knife. Click to continue reading...

Alan Shearer has rightly called on his team to finish the season with a flourish, and produce two more big performances against Fulham and Aston Villa to seal the great escape. Alan Shearer and Iain Dowie celebrate Lovekrands 3rd Newcastle goal After the 3-1 derby defeat of Middlesbrough at St. James' Park tonight, in a pulsating game [. Click to continue reading...

Boing boing Baggies...........

It seems to be quite apt as far as West Brom are concerned; up and down more times than a yo-yo, they were the favourites early on to be relegated from the Premier League. They have failed to disappoint, having formed a rather strong attachment with 20th place.

Click to continue reading...

It's May, which can only mean one thing. Every single match around the country is important for every single team in the world's greatest league. Today saw the bulk of games, and here are the winners and losers from Saturday's action.

Winners Stoke City

Stoke City weren't just winners on the scoreboard, but they also clinched safety in the English Premier League for at least another year.

Click to continue reading...