The MLS Cup Final is tomorrow at 8:30 on ESPN (nice coverage for Soccer here in the US) and we still don't know if Becks is hurt or not. With Landon Donovan also being named the MVP of the league and RSL chomping at the bit to get this thing on I will still ask the same question. Do you trust L.

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You can tell it is International fortnight can't you, Cesc goes off to join his fellow Spaniards and the gutter press get themselves all excited. They know they can fire silly questions at our captain and Barca players, then add whatever answer they want to the question and then print it, in fact worse than that they ad a few " " either side of the rubbish they write!

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I've written before about how good an interview Stephen Ireland is, always providing a great insight into situations with an honesty rarely offered by footballers.
There are a couple of features today in The Telegraph and The Guardian in which Ireland discusses - on the eve of Ireland's World Cup play-off with France - his continued absence from the international scene, and despite reports that have hinted at a return he firmly closes the door on a potential return:

But while admitting he will watch Giovanni Trapattoni's team tackle the French when he returns to Manchester, Ireland has emphatically ruled out the possibility of an about-turn on his international retirement and insisted that the hate mail does not concern him.

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It has been one of the quieter football revolutions of the last decade Peterborough United have, over the last couple of years, gone from being also-rans in League Two to being back in the Championship for the first time (if we gloss over the various name changes) for the first time since 1994.

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A storm of off-season change is coming. I just have this feeling that this is going to be a real shape shifter as off-seasons go, with more flux than usual in MLS management and personnel.

Today I learned that this season of significant winter movement will begin on Nov. 25, when manager Peter Nowak and his Philadelphia Union will cherry-pick off 15 MLS rosters.

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More than a week has passed since the end of the Toronto FC season and it honestly still hurts. It is heart wrenching to have hope and faith in your team so deeply shaken. To go into a game hoping for the best and to have the all time worst handed to them, I am still recovering from the shock. Click to continue reading...

That could not have gone much better. We may have answered some questions today. For one thing, of our previous 6 wins, they have all been over bottom half of the table clubs. We just beat a club sitting 4th in the table, and we did so convincingly. It was also great, given our recent struggles holding onto leads, to see Arsenal finish off a game instead of sitting on the lead, we grew stronger and more dominant as the game went along.

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By Gareth Freeman

United's Carling Cup win over Barnsley was encouraging in the fact the ‘squad' players came in and gave a decent account of themselves. Michael Owen's goal was vintage Owen, he showed neat skills and a cool composure to send the ball into the net but, with all due respect to Barnsley, he should have registered a goal against the opposition.

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Premiership Talk has released Episode 22 of the Premiership Talk Podcast. Hear Premiership Talk writers Brian Lofrumento, Taylor Fisher, and Zain Alvi dissect all of the weekend's action and hottest topics.

In this episode is a rundown of the Premier League's top clubs' struggles, Kevin Doyle's honesty, and the chances of survival for some of the Premiership's bottom dwellers.

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With the season now over, the Wizards have some questions to ask about the team itself and the front office. One of the most important questions revolves around technical director and interim coach, Peter Vermes. Where, if anywhere in the organization will Vermes be next year? Will he be back in the dual role of technical director and coach? Click to continue reading...

I think it is fair to say that AC Milan's start to the season has been less than impressive to say the least. However, victory over Roma at the weekend propelled them into the top half of the table and then last night the Rossonerri did the unthinkable and beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the Champions League.

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Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson finally lost patience with Gareth Southgate after sacking him following Tuesday night 2-0 victory over Derby County.

"The long term future of the club was a key decision in replacing Southgate. One good result wasn't going to change that decision,"
"We had a strategy for Gareth's replacement.

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I've held off on this post waiting to see if there would be some comment from the front office, but doesn't look like one is coming. Saturday against Seattle, something was up with the Wizards front office staff in response to the Cauldron.
As had become a regular occurrence, the team brought down streamers to be thrown during allowed times during games. Click to continue reading...

Well done, Rafa. No, I really mean it! After Liverpool's defeat to Sunderland, the stage was set for another Rafa rant about the injustices of the game, something that the media would've lapped-up. Instead, Rafa said all the right things, and for that he should be applauded.
According to the rules, the ‘Beach-ball' goal should have been disallowed; Rafa could've seized upon this as an opportunity to paper over the cracks and make excuses for the team. Click to continue reading...

I won't lie to ya, I don't have much tonight for the evening links and thoughts. Tomorrow it will return with hopefully a good look at the playoff scenarios that are out there for this weekend's games.

I think in all honesty I'm just wanting to watch the US-Costa Rica game tonight and not write anything until its over.

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I decided not to comment on our 2-0 loss against Chivas since my arguments are the same as the Houston tie except for the Zoltan goal. This week we didn't even score and it would seem that playing those players in a slump (Wolff, Arnaud, Jewsbury) has brought nothing good.

The game did have a horrible offside non-call on the first Chivas goal, but in all honesty should be blamed on the assistant and not the ref (Mike Kuhn has all the evidence, and the video is clear also).

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What is going on?

Portsmouth Vs Liverpool Tickets Still Available!

Reports surfacing today suggest that Rafa Benitez and Javier Mascherano are going to clash over the Argentine midfielders demands for a new improved contract, something our boss is unlikely to give in to, mainly because the Liverpool boss doesn't believe the former West Ham man deserves an increased offer given his very average start to the season.

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The Game

How to describe a game which was so close to perfection and indeed confirming last Tuesday's performance just as I asked yesterday? I am the first to ask you people not to get carried away after a scintillating display and that's why I wanted to wait for today to see whether Fabregas and co.

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The Game

How to describe a game which was so close to perfection and indeed confirming last Tuesday's performance just as I asked yesterday? I am the first to ask you people not to get carried away after a scintillating display and that's why I wanted to wait for today to see whether Fabregas and co.

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I've been quietly impressed with Carlo Ancelotti since he began managing Chelsea. He has a quiet, unassuming way about him which suggests he takes his football seriously, while avoiding the pretentious nonsense of many other top managers ('mind-games' etc.).

This presentiment was confirmed a little today, after Chelsea's first loss of the season away at Wigan, 3-1.

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A good performance from United and an even better three points. In all honesty, after beating Arsenal, Spurs and City, I did wonder whether we'd come unstuck against Stoke. They're so robust at the back and I remember how difficult they were to break down last season. Had they not gone down to ten men, I do wonder whether we could have got that very late winner.

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Afternoon all,

this was supposed to be written this morning but you know how it goes, you wake up...snooze for another five minutes...wake up again...snooze for another five, then your alarm goes off just as you are comfortably in that dozy warm phase and in a moment of madness you punch your phone as hard as possible and it no longer makes any sound.

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United were rather fortunate to take all three points in the corresponding fixture last season. The Potters had a fantastic record at home, that they look like carrying through to this season, and it took a last minute goal from Carlos Tevez to ensure United emerged victorious that day.

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Galaxy 2 Toronto FC 0

Game story

Toronto's Nick Garcia paid close attention to Edson Buddle. (AP Photo).

Best line of the night goes to Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena explaining why last weekend's debacle and this Saturday's game were so dissimilar:

"In all honesty Dave Sarachen coached the team last week and this week I was fully in charge.

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Last time KC and Dallas faced each other the Wizards took in 6 goals, alot of embarrassment and Curt Onalfo lost his job. Today, KC is looking for payback.

KC will be missing Jack Jewsbury who in all honesty needs a timeout since his level of play, just like Davy Arnaud's has been sub par.

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Jose Mourinho has continued his special ways as he announced his Inter Milan starting eleven an entire day before his side's crucial Champions League fixture against Barcelona. The former Chelsea manager was never afraid to pull this stunt during his time in the Premier League, and his latest display raises the question: is the special one arrogant or intelligent?

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Getting better all the time.

A lot was made about the horrific challenge Robin Van Persie received during Arsenal's defeat at Man City but the Dutchman also put away a very typical finish that illustrated just how instinctive and lethal he can be in front of goal, he then went on to close on two or three more occasions as the game to a close and further showed why, now in his sixth season at the north London club, he may be hitting his best form, the form that could well get the Gunners purring again.

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On Wednesday night Inter Milan take on reigning European champions Barcelona in what is surely the standout fixture in the opening round of the Champions League. To add some extra spice to the occasion Inter Milan welcome Zlatan Ibrahimovic back to the Giuseppe Meazza after his mega-money switch to Barcelona over the summer in a deal which saw fellow striker Samuel Eto'o move in the opposite direction.

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Wayne Rooney has gone on the offensive today, claiming that he is not a diver and is 'honest player'. Well, let's take a look at the evidence, shall we?
In an interview, Rooney said: "Everyone who watches me play knows I am an honest player. I play the game as honestly as I can".
Really? Click to continue reading...

They Think It's All Over... thinks Wayne Rooney's claims of honesty just mark him down as a dishonest cheat. Click to continue reading...

From John Terry's remarks yesterday:

"I can speak about the England lads and I think it is something we don't do," said Terry. "I think we're too honest, sometimes even in the Premier League you see the English lads get a bit of contact and stay on their feet and try and score from the chance they have been given.

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Wazza's memory loss Today's papers are filled with quotes of Wayne Rooney proclaiming his honesty as a player and saying he would never dive to win a penalty. Rooney said: "I have never intentionally tried to dive, there have been times when I have tried to stay on my feet and tried to get the shot off [. Click to continue reading...

Here's a tip: if you ever become president of UEFA and everyone is up in arms about one of the most blatant dives in recent memory that just happened to occur in your top competition, don't say that you would have done the same thing. That's just a no. For reasons that I really shouldn't have to explain.

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So if you didn't get a chance to accompany the Wizards to St. Louis to the game against Atlas, it seems On Goal, who owns the Wizards, will let you use your "Special Game B" ticket to go see the Chivas vs. America Super Clasico game to be held at Arrowhead on September 16.

As you probably remember, to watch the Super Liga game that I argued against having been played in St.

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Sorry for the late post, I've had a busy few days and have only just managed to catch up on the Portsmouth game enough to feel able to pass comment. I'm not going to do a blow-by-blow account of it, by now you all know what happened, but just mention some good and bad bits that stuck out:

First, the good.

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