Juventus will be facing Milan tomorrow in the Coppa Italia and unfortunately for both teams, they will not be getting a taste of the Ibrahimedic. He slapped (or rather 'nudged') Napoli's Salvatore Aronica in the face on Sunday something you shouldn't be surprised about, given Ibra's track record and is expected to serve a three-match ban.

Juventus will be facing Milan tomorrow in the Coppa Italia and unfortunately for both teams, they will not be getting a taste of the Ibrahimedic. He slapped (or rather 'nudged') Napoli's Salvatore Aronica in the face on Sunday something you shouldn't be surprised about, given Ibra's track record and is expected to serve a three-match ban.

If you loved Phil Jackson's last book (who didn't), I have good news for you: The legendary coach is coming out with a new book. Entitled "Eleven Rings," the book will likely give updates since his last book was written in 2004. Since then, Jackson's legacy grew even more as he added a pair of championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.

There were rumors yesterday on twitter suggesting Jack Wilshere had suffered an injury setback. Many (read: All) were hoping they were like every other rumor regarding Arsenal during a transfer rumor that never actually happen, but this one has been proven to be true.

During Wenger's press conference the news revealed the happy news:

He has had a little setback that is under investigation at the moment so I cannot give you how long he will be out for.

Ricardo Clark got a little redemption but that's about it. (Getty Images)

It has been a long time coming for the US Men's National Team. A solid three-game winning streak.

Typically these sorts of things happen around the January friendly time. It certainly isn't the first time this has happened but with Jurgen Klinsmann in as boss, it is.

Some lovely flowing football last night in a game which in all honesty, we completely dominated. I was a bit worried about not having Parker or Sandro as the steel in the midfield, but Livermore was outstanding. As were the two goals that got us the three points that take us level with United in second.

Photo Credit: John Todd / MLSTo say Eric Wynalda is opinionated does do him justice. The man has opinions about opinions! When we caught up with the former Men's National Team player and current Fox Soccer deskman he had just finished recording his podcast, "Sent Off", with fellow Fox man, Christian Miles.

Fernando Torres, Chelsea's No. 10.

The Spaniard again failed to find the score sheet, but provided the necessary creativity that resulted in a late torrent of goals and a largely flattering 4-0 victory over visiting Portsmouth in the third round of the FA Cup. We weren't anywhere near our best, but we'll take it.

QPR have sacked manager Neil Warnock and his backroom staff have also left the club. Malaysian owner Tony Fernandes released this statement:
"This decision has been made in the best interests of the Club and I can assure everyone that this is not a decision that was made lightly."

"Sadly, our recent run of poor form has seen us slip alarmingly down the table and the Board felt it was the right time to make a change.

Neil Warnock has been fired by Queens Park Rangers, after less than two years in charge. Rangers currently sit 17th in the Premier League table with only 17 points from their first 20 matches.

A statement on the club website said:

"This decision has been made in the best interests of the Club and I can assure everyone that this is not a decision that was made lightly," said QPR's owner Tony Fernandes.

In the spirit of honesty, I can let you know that I've been writing the same Revolution-focused blog post for well over a week. It's a long winding tale of where the team stands and what you might do differently from a business and marketing perspective. Goodness knows, I didn't have the heart to also tackle on-field possibilities in the same post.

In a rare moment of transfer speculation honesty. Kenny Dalglish has gone on the record and confirmed one of Liverpool FC's transfer targets.Over the last few days, Liverpool have been strongly linked with a January move for Cliftonville striker Rory Donnelly, and in his press conference earlier, Dalglish confirmed that the club is interested:"I spoke to the chairman.

Players are people. If you prick them, they bleed. Despite a professional existence that involves getting kicked, not all are invincible shoulder-goal-popping memes. They have feelings. If they sit on the bench for not scoring goals, then their confidence dips and they score less goals. It's a brutal cycle.

Last season was a mixed campaign for many Spurs players and Aaron Lennon was one of those who ended the year with his Spurs career seemingly at a crossroads.

The season was punctuated with brief highlights including his winner over Liverpool while the low points seemed to start with his late withdrawal from the side to face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter is facing what could be the toughest phase of his career as football head in the more than 10 years since he took over from Joao Havelange.

The president recently came out to say that England are still bitter at him for their failed attempt to land the hosting rights to the 2018 tournament.

A new US based magazine has been published on stadiums and is based around the website Stadium Journey which gives fans reviews of stadiums and game day experiences. The website was set up a couple of years ago by Paul Swaney who is based is Ann Arbor, Michigan and the following paragraph is taken from the site itself:
"Stadium Journey is a web venture with the goal to become a world-class community resource for sports fans, built around optimizing the experience of attending live sporting events.

Taylor Twellman has had an incredible soccer journey. His scoring accolades served him well in college and led him to what proved to be a remarkable professional career that was cut short due to injury. Soccer fans are now finding him to be a real personality in the world of broadcasting. Putting in time with the Philadelphia Union and finding roles with ESPN has shown the soccer world something that is often lost in broadcasting: a candid, educated approach that brings honesty to the table.

Sunderland have announced they have fired manager Steve Bruce and that assistant manager Eric Black has taken over interim first-team duties.

A statement on the Sunderland web site from Chairman Ellis Short said:

"This has been a difficult time for everyone at Sunderland and is not a situation that any of us envisaged or expected to be in.

Sunderland have announced they have fired manager Steve Bruce and that assistant manager Eric Black has taken over interim first-team duties.

A statement on the Sunderland web site from Chairman Ellis Short said:

"This has been a difficult time for everyone at Sunderland and is not a situation that any of us envisaged or expected to be in.

Liverpool face Manchester City in a much anticipated game at Anfield later today, and Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson has urged Kenny Dalglish to start with the same team that beat Chelsea last Sunday.
"I would pick exactly the same side that played last week. The pace that Dalglish added to the team last week is the way forward.

Pepe Reina can always be relied upon for a bit of honesty (sometimes too much!) and earlier today, he gave his opinion on who he feels are the best and worst performers during Liverpool's training sessions.
Reina's choices may surprise some fans:
"The best trainer for me is Jay Spearing.

In all honesty, it is not often I can look back on a Manchester United draw in satisfaction. However, following a couple of weeks where attacking play seems like a taboo, United fans anticipated a strong offensive performance when Benfica visited Old Trafford for their Champions League crunch match. After the Derby Day slaughtering at [.

Whilst discussing the barrage of abuse new German recruit, Per Mertesecker, has received from all quarters Wenger inadvertently confirmed the back four to start the most important game of the season for Arsenal against Dortmund in the Champions League penultimate group game.

"The criticism in the papers has been very harsh, but when you play for a big team, you have to accept that.

Liverpool legend John Barnes is my favourite footballer of all time. No other player has given me as much joy and excitement over the years, and he always has compelling views on football. However, I have to disagree with Barnesy's recent assessment of Stewart Downing's impact for Liverpool.

He'll be needing the toilet after Liverpool are done with his side on Sunday...Liverpool make the trip down South on Sunday to face Chelsea in the first of two clashes this month with the London side. This game has had enough spice sprinkled over it in the recent weeks, the factors of Torres and Meireles will surely add to the already predictable atmosphere and both clubs could seriously do with a big win.

Goalless Draw At Anfield

Suarez battles his way through... Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw with Swansea at Anfield on Saturday in a match which could have quite easily contained goals for both sides. Vorm and Reina played vital roles in the 90 minutes to keep the scoreline level and despite the Reds getting the ball in the net an offside call from Sian Massey ended the celebrations early.

Suarez battles his way through...Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw with Swansea at Anfield on Saturday in a match which could have quite easily contained goals for both sides. Vorm and Reina played vital roles in the 90 minutes to keep the scoreline level and despite the Reds getting the ball in the net an offside call from Sian Massey ended the celebrations early.

Picture the scene...

You are a 15-year-old boy making your first Football League start in front of thousands and you score your first senior goal against one of the top sides in the league to draw your side level.

You sprint to celebrate with your family what must be the best feeling ever and it is spoiled once again by the referee, who splays a yellow card in your face.

Villa's cutbacks go too far plus wicked whistle and daft quotes of the week

The state of Mark Bosnich's head has been worrying observers for some time. This screengrab (click the full screen button to see the pic properly) from a TV appearance suggests he's finally done something about it.

Of all the people that have come to encircle modern football in recent years, few have received the levels of vituperation that players' agents have. It often feels as if nothing good comes from their involvement in the game, but this hasn't stopped their influence expanding dramatically in recent years and it seems more likely than not that this sphere of influence will continue to grow as contractual matters between players and clubs become more and more complex.

Spurs line-up: Gomes; Walker; Livermore; Bassong; Rose; Lennon (Modric); Sandro(Kaboul); Carroll; Dos Santos(Assou-Ekotto); Defoe: Pavlyuchenko

'From Russia with love'

Roman Pavlyuchenko reclaimed his SuperPav tag, even if only for tonight, with a rocket-like free kick that was enough to claim the win for Spurs.

Divers Need Not Apply

"In fairness" shrugged the pub-goer beside me, "he did graze him". True. Rio Ferdinand grazed the foot of Charlie Adam, thereby earning Steven Gerrard an opportunity, taken exceptionally well, to put Liverpool into a barely deserved lead. Somewhere in the last three sentences there is an appalling absence of reality; in what capacity can diving be fair?

Via a really well written Jason Quick piece. I wish he would write Timbers more often. In addition to this stuff, there's some quality stuff on Paulson himself. Great article. Juicy article.

There has been some fairly scary (to me, anyway) financial talk in the past, but Paulson sounds really ambitious in this article:

"We are already looking at three to four guys who will be big, big additions in this offseason.

Dalglish: Rio Ferdinand deserves great credit for his honesty

Liverpool manager praises Man United defender following tense draw

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-10-15 16:33:12 from: Talksport

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

Kind of a weird week in Seattle Sounders-land. The loss to the Philadelphia Union was definitely disappointing, but it's hard to get too worked up about it. The Sounders, just like us, are still kinda basking in the glow of another piece of silverware.

We spend more time talking about how the rest of the season is shaping up and looking ahead to Saturday's "Date with Sounder at Heart", which also happens to be Kasey Keller's final regular-season home game.

Kind of a weird week in Seattle Sounders-land. The loss to the Philadelphia Union was definitely disappointing, but it's hard to get too worked up about it. The Sounders, just like us, are still kinda basking in the glow of another piece of silverware.

We spend more time talking about how the rest of the season is shaping up and looking ahead to Saturday's "Date with Sounder at Heart", which also happens to be Kasey Keller's final regular-season home game.

It's not often that I agree with a Man United player, but Gary Neville's recent assessment of the England team is pretty spot on in my view, and its refreshing to see such blunt honesty.In his column for the Mail on Sunday, Neville offered the following withering assessment of the England team: "The real issue is that the spine of the team is not good enough, as it stands, to take on Spain, Italy

It's official, Forest cannot conspire to ruin your Saturday this weekend. Admittedly your Sunday might take a turn for the worst, because that's when the game is a 3pm kick off, so don't get caught out. This is, of course, to accommodate Birmingham's participation in the Europa League this season.

Frank Lampard has also spoken about being replaced at half time in our defeat at Old Trafford. Chelsea were 3-0 down at the time and credit to AVB, he made the bold decision to take Lampard off, change our formation and you have to admit we played much, much better.
Lampard is featured in an interview already covered on here this morning, but this time he was asked about the game and the fact he was replaced.

It has taken him 238 games but Robin van Persie has finally become part of the Arsenal 100 club, the question is will he reach 150 goals at the Emirates?

The Dutchman's contract in North London is due to expire in the summer of 2013 and he is refusing to rush into penning an improved deal at the club.