Before I go on, let me state for the record that I swore just as much you when Wenger took off The OX last weekend, he messed it up, no doubting that but please don't tell me he done it by purpose or that he just cannot cut it anymore. He made a judgement call and got it hopelessly wrong, that's life.

So many times he's saved us. The forward bursts through, draws back the hammer and pulls the trigger, eyes not on the ball but on the expectant net only to find that in a whirl the object of his desire has disappeared, swept away by the sweetest of tackles. No bone or muscle, it's the timing that has defeated him.

This is a Poem about Kean people and six-pointers and that...yeah. Bolton vs Blackburn, Trotters vs Rovers. It's winner takes all...not a game for pushovers. For the players it's a race against time, for the manager a race against the sack. No doubt any decision with be influenced by some journalist hack.

Another day, another selfish, overpaid footballer publicly displaying disloyalty and naked self-interest. This time, it's Manchester City's new signing Samir Nasri, who has rather classlessly stabbed Arsenal in the back at a time of real turmoil for the club.
As with many players in the world's top leagues, when the going gets tough, the ladyboys of modern football 'bail and bitch'.

Another great episode of this, the newest RBNY-themed podcast. This week, Matt and Ben discuss last weekend's 0-0 @Chivas USA, the embarrassing 4-1 loss @Colorado, roster & lineup decisions, the coming Supporters protest and preview tomorrow's massive, massive home fixture against FC Dallas.

Don't tell me the men and womens game is different.
I've watched the Aussies take on Guinea, Norway and Sweden.
The result is the same - hack De Vanna, hack anything that moves - and not a professional referee to stamp anything out.
The Women's game has sadly come of age!

By Chris Wright

In which former Boca Juniors and Argentina 'keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri sees his youngest son Felipe nab the ball off his toe during a charity match in his homeland, and responds by doling out a merciless, shin-cracking hack to the cheeky little urchin for having the temerity to show his old man up.

While some of the referee calls were questionable, it is no excuse as the US loses it's first group stage match of the Gold Cup... ever... 2-1 with a simply horrific display along the back line. Goodson's goal late doesn't make up for the penalty he caused nor the hack fest he put on display last night.

Nice dive for a big man Until now, Spanish hack Tomás Roncero was best known for being the cheerleader of a pro-Raul campaign that wanted Luis Aragones sacked ahead of Euro 2008 for leaving Raul out of a friendly squad. Now, he will be just as famous for his impression of Barcelona Dani Alves and, [.

Here, in the second piece posted in our evolving Conversations series, Glen Wilson of that gold-standard webzine Viva Rovers tells us where he thinks it went wrong for Doncaster this season and talks about his thoughts in regards to the state of football in South Yorkshire and the way things are going in the Football League blogosphere.

The Chicago Fire set up the Wall of Honor in 2008 to honor the passionate fans that have helped build the traditions of the club. Today on June 4th, 2011, the Wall of Honor will induct another distinguished member, Al Hack.

June 4th Induction - Section 8 Chicago

"I am writing to let everyone know that the Chicago Fire will be honoring our dad/husband this year by inducting him onto their Wall of Honor.

Drawing from an AP story, the FFF "inquiry" is underway.

There have been "claims" that France National Team Manager Laurent Blanc secretly agreed on a quota restricting the number of black and Arab players in national training programs.

The website Mediapart printed a strange, obviously sensationalized account of rampant racism within the FFF, which was immediately followed by an FFF statement that the FFF had been concerned about dual nationals making themselves unavailable for selection for the national team by choosing to play for another country.

Okay, bad usage of English and slang aside, this one isn't for the kiddies. If ever there was a perfect example of how much of a defensive hack league that MLS is, here you go:Straight red for Mullen and hopefully a multi game ban. Zakauni is out for at least 5 months following successful surgery on his leg, in which both fibula and tibia were snapped like matchsticks.

We all have our soccer broadcasting pet peeves. Some are pretty much a game-by-game occurrence, like the old "feeling out" bit.

As in, "Here in the early minutes, we see the teams just feeling each other out."

It's really such a silly thing to say. If you mean that players are apt to be cautious and make safe passes in the game's early minutes, then just say so!

*I relished Liverpool's 3-1 win over Man U as an rip-roaring wormhole back to the '80s English football I grew up on. But what was the point of Alex Ferguson calling a press ban on United before the game, as if he was expecting defeat - it was no loss to the fans anyway.Speaking to the protagonists, preferably exclusively, is the whole point of a hack going to a game, but player quotes remain