The 2012 SuperDraft has been criticized as being a weak draft, but the positions that the Brotherly Game feels the Philadelphia Union should target have plenty of options from which to choose. Left midfielder or left winger is one of the few positions that this SuperDraft has enough depth to wait until the second round to take a player, but it also has a few intriguing first round prospects.

The 2012 SuperDraft has been criticized as being a weak draft, but the positions that the Brotherly Game feels the Philadelphia Union should target have plenty of options from which to choose. Center back is one of the few positions that this SuperDraft has enough depth to wait until the second round to take a player, but it also has a few intriguing first round prospects.

Good morning, apologies for the slight lateness of this blog but I'm having some spinning colouredy-wheel issues with my computer this morning. And it turns out punching it does nothing. Who knew?

Anyway, a quick round-up of the news for you, starting, of course, with the return of Thierry Henry.

Thiery Henry's short return to Arsenal is pretty much imminent but theres still some question being raised regarding the necessity of the deal as some doesn't really understand what would the Gunners gain with Henry's addition aside from a short stop gap solution.

However, the London outfit's keeper, Wojciech Szczesny, shuts down the doubters by stating that acquiring the club's legend even for only two months is very important indeed.

Mungo McCrackas has been in some scrapes before but now he's wanted by the US government for accidentally assailing the Commander-in-Chief's pods. It's only a matter of time before they bring their huge resources and intelligence to bear and flush him out into the open. However, as we all know, football is more important than life itself and the FA are trying to get to him first.

Jack Wilshere. A name you should, by now, have heard. Arsenal's youngest ever league debutante and future England great is currently on the sidelines nursing an ankle injury, but here's why I think he will one day be huge.

Movement, aggression, dribbling, vision and passing. Attributes which I think sum Wilshere up brilliantly, on the break and attacking he is a serious threat with his snappy short passes and his ability to put in the defence splitting long ball.

Alan Smith: Manchester United must give Phil Jones run of games in central defence

Phil Jones carries the ball forward with intelligence but in central defence he can offer a lot more.

View the full story here: The Telegraph

A news article on 2011-12-09 22:13:21 from: The Telegraph

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

Socceroos won in Bangkok last night.
And wasn't it fantastic. Tense, tight and terrific football - from the Thai's at least. With a packed stadium in downtown flooded Bangkok the Aussies are no longer in Oceania.
And remember this is only the first group stage.
We needed a point - but if Robbie Kruse didnt know which of the Sutkee brothers at the end he played with in Melbourne - Michael Zullo had a fair idea by the end of the night.

Sweet FA intelligence The magic of the FA Cup should ensure that fans of non-league clubs rally round to create an intimidating atmosphere for their opponents, helping to establish the 12th man mentality. However, fans of Newport County did the opposite thing whilst watching their side lose out to Shrewsbury Town yesterday lunchtime.

Ray Houghton knows all about entertaining football; as part of Kenny Dalglish's lat 1980s Liverpool team, he was an integral part of one of the most skilful and entertaining Liverpool sides in history. To be a success at Anfield, the manager has to deliver attractive football, and according to Houghton, Roy Hodgson's inability to produce that meant he was always destined to fail.

Being one of Arsenal's late arrivals this summer, Korean, Park Chu-Young is pretty much the only player who haven't feature in the premier league as just yet, the ex- Monaco player seems close in getting that experience after impressing Arsene Wenger on Tuesday.

Playing in the Carling Cup against Bolton Wanderers, Chu Young not only managed to score the Gunners' winning goal but also looked very lively and linking up well with his teammates.

Ben Schneider of Once A Metro, SB Nation's New York Red Bulls blog, and I exchanged three questions ahead of tonight's Union-Red Bulls game.

tBG: Without Thierry Henry in the line up, due to a red card he picked up against Sporting Kansas City, does Hans Backe choose Juan Agudelo or push Dane Richards up to partner with Luke Rodgers?

...and then calmly shifts it on to Sami Khedira's lack of "sufficient intelligence."
"My player knows about these situations and fell for the trap.That's why I make him partly responsible for the defeat and I don't have a problem doing so. It is also our fault, mine and my players.An important part of the meeting I had with my players today covered similar situations to those of Khedira's red card.

Why Andre Villas-Boas could be Fergie's closest rival yet

Sir Alex Ferguson has counted his rivals in and counted them out. But you get the sense he's as intrigued as anyone about Andre Villas-Boas. There's a gulf in experience, but they share an obsessional attention to detail.

A tale of desperation and the struggle for points and fulfilment in a world where both seem impossible. The game highlights the emotional and physical hothouse effects that bloom for two distressed teams beginning their seasons like rats in a rum barrel: Fulham, behind a placid exterior, hide an untapped intelligence and a yearning for something beyond the emptiness of mid-table safety; Blackburn are arrogant, spoiled and cynical.

Midfielder Joe Cole is looking forward to a fresh challenge after joining French champions Lille on a season-long loan deal from Liverpool.
The England international completed the move on transfer deadline day to end a summer of speculation over his future.
The 29-year-old had failed to establish himself at Anfield since arriving on a free transfer last summer and had fallen well down manager Kenny Dalglish's pecking order.

By Chris Wright

How about that? Some diligent fellow by the name of Tim Long has gone over the entire 2010/11 season, spending 250-ish hours reviewing over 700 incidents across all 380 Premier League games to compile a league table in which every single 'significantly incorrect' refereeing decision has been rectified and accounted for.

Arsenal 1 New York Red Bulls 1: match report Telegraph.

Once again, so-called Gunners fans showered themselves in glory earlier today following a 1-1 draw in The Emirates Cup game against the New York Red Bulls and Thierry Henry. From match reports, it appears that Arsenal's performance was somewhat below par, but to the fickle support that they have to endure, this was another "blown lead".

Sporting Intelligence have released figures for last season's EPL Top 10 replica shirt sales, with Wayne Rooney despite his off field troubles pipping Fernando Torres to the top spot in sales with an reported several hundred thousand of his shirts sold.

Gary Neville has revealed he hopes Wesley Sneijder joins Manchester United this summer.

Reports from Holland this morning suggest that a deal will be thrashed out between United and Inter Milan this summer, whilst the player today claimed he was happy in Italy, but you never knew what would happen in football.

Mistake or P*sstake? Now bear with us. A video helping you get as fit as Owen Hargreaves might seem like a spoof, akin to 'Eat yourself thin with Andy Reid' or 'Watch television for intelligence with the Geordie Shore girls', but this one isn't made up. Owen Hargreaves, presumably fresh after 32 years on the [.

Keith Hackett and Paul Trevillion, You Are the Ref (Lionel Messi, 2010)It was our league's first season and one of our first really competitive matches.
A linesman walked off the field in the middle of play. He threw aside his yellow flag and muttered "Working this game isn't worth risking my life.

Damien Comolli, Director of Football at Liverpool Football Club, on what he looks for in a player-
‘I would say there has been a major change in the last 3 to 4 years whereby I think now we need to look a lot more at the psychological aspect of the player, the attitude of the player, the mentality of the player on the pitch than we used to.

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships." ~ Michael Jordan "Whoever said, ''It's not whether you win or lose that counts,'' probably lost." ~ Martina Navratilova "I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the

Should youths with dual-nationalties go to the back of the queue for academy places? The race row has raised tricky questions for France's authorities.
Since taking over as manager of Les Bleus last August Blanc has advocated concentrating on cultivating technique and intelligence rather than power and speed.

Ronaldo the "Fenomeno" has just announced his retirement from football. The critical question for all those that like to look at football through its historic lenses is who was the best center forward ever? Here is my take:

• N° 1 :Ronaldo "Il Fenomeno".

The other day we had an interesting discussion about why it is that teams find it so hard to identify and bring through young talent.

Ken Arneson has another take, and it's very persuasive.

I've often thought that half the key to successful sport is the ability to not think.

Arsene Wenger has sung the praises of Gary Neville after the announcement of his retirement yesterday, claiming that his motivation sets him apart from others and that players should look to him as a example for what they can achieve.

"A huge career and fantastic achievements, that is what he has done," said Wenger.

Against Ipswich, Arshavin picked up two assists. Here is what he said of his own performance,

It wasn't a supermatch for me. But I'm satisfied with the result. I'm glad that I was useful to the squad.

I don't think he could have said it any better even with the help of the best PR agents in the world.

"It really bugs me", an exasperated Paul Calf once exclaimed. "They say, 'Oh, David Beckham - he's not very clever.' Yeah. They don't say, 'Stephen Hawking — he's a bit shit at football.'" Many a true word is spoken in jest, and Steve Coogan's mulleted Man City fan may have been onto something.While adored and idolised for their abilities on the pitch and for their "intelligence" in terms of

Darren Bent is what I call a stupid English footballer. It's not a reflection on his intelligence per se, though I'm pretty sure he's no educated sophisticate.

Here is a decent player, not exceptional but decent. But he has a small football brain. He hangs on the shoulder of the defender and hopes to get a run in on goal.