SoccerLens 16 November @ 07:34 AM EST
A cheat. An embarrassment. A disgrace.
All words used to describe Liverpool's David N'Gog in the aftermath of last Monday's game
against Birmingham. Other media outlets demanded a 5 game ban. In a matter of seconds an
unremarkable squad player catapulted to being the poster boy for all that's wrong with the modern
game.
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Well all in all it wasn't a bad result. Though I watched the game alone I had a little
liveblogging adventure with Daryl and various commenters. If you missed the game I'll give you a
link to some highlights, and my pity (it was a good game). It was also, despite the fact it was a
loss, was an encouraging result for England.
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(Davy expects African sides to edge traditional Latin and Continental powers, but fancies
England for the Cup. Below he discusses the likely England squad, highlighting what he expects to
be the historic contribution of England's black players.)
To be King in Africa, a useful prerequisite is to be a Black Prince.
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EPL Talk 31 October @ 10:07 AM EST
So yet another installment of the fiery North London derby has passed. Tottenham, missing
Jermaine Defoe through a suspension and Aaron Lennon through injury, looked a shadow of the side
which threatened to take over one of the top 4 spots earlier in the season. Arsenal, on the other
hand, were magnificent.
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The Beauty: When you look up WAG in the dictionary, there should be a picture
of Danielle Lloyd. She epitomizes this new breed of players' attention-seeking wives & girlfriends.
She also has all of the elements of a prototypical WAG: (1) she's a beauty queen (Miss Great
Britain 2004), (2)Â reality star (though not for too long due to some foolish remarks), (3)Â
actress (sort of), and (4) model (of the nude variety).
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FOOTBALLSUP 06 October @ 08:47 AM EST
England take on the Ukraine having already qualified for the World Cup with a 100% record. Read
on for the squad we think Don Fabio should and shouldn't take, and why...
Who should go...
Goalkeepers
David James - Has been first choice for a while now, and we are yet to find a
better alternative
Rob Green - He is the closest we have to a better alternative
Paul Robinson - He is the best option for third choice considering Ben Foster
is actually shit
Defenders
Ashley Cole - Utter prick, arguably one of the best left backs in the world
though
John Terry - Captain spastic
Rio Ferdinand - A world class performer when he isn't being merked by
injuries
Joleon Lescott - Ridiculously overpriced but solid and an option at left
back
Matthew Upson - Shows the paucity of good resources should Terry/Rio get
injured
Glen Johnson - Yes, has defensive frailties.
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Editor's Note: Defoe did play in his match this weekend after allÂ
Jermaine Defoe is the most underrated footballer in all of the Premier League. The Tottenham
Hotspurs star player has quietly scored five goals this year in seven matches and has quite simply
been a tremendous offensive force for the Spurs.
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In what could be the most obvious Wednesday Wonder to date, Robbie Keane is this week's pick
after his stunning performance on Saturday against Burnley. I'll admit that I've overlooked a
hat-trick for the Wednesday Wonder before and picked somebody else, but there is something special
about that fourth goal.
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They Think It's All Over... presents his weekly WDKF Wednesday article which looks at the
remarkable turnaround that Tottenham have experienced since this time last year.
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When Gareth Bale came on as an 86th minute substitute in Tottenham's 5-0 victory over Burnley at
the weekend he broke an incredibly inauspicious record that had seen him go 24 Premier League games
without tasting victory in a Tottenham shirt. He must have been pretty relieved to break that
particular streak, but it's the [.
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Who would you select as the best starting 11 from all the Premier League clubs? Here's my list,
with the stipulation that I can only select one player from a single team (that makes it much
harder given that the top clubs have multiple players that I would select otherwise):
GK - Shay Given (Man City)
D - John Painstil (Fulham)
D - Gary Cahill (Bolton)
D - Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City)
D - Leighton Baines (Everton)
M - Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
M - Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
M - Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
M - Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
F - Wayne Rooney (Man United)
F - Jermaine Defoe (Spurs)
Here's a second team:
GK - Robert Green (West Ham)
D - Glen Johnson (Liverpool)
D - Michael Turner (Sunderland)
D - Brede Hangeland (Fulham)
D - Nemanja Vidic (Man United)
M - Aaron Lennon (Spurs)
M - Tim Cahill (Everton)
M - Shawn Wright-Phillips (Man City)
M - Matt Taylor (Bolton)
F - Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
F - Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
And a third:
GK - Brian Jenson (Burnley)
D - Sebastian Bassong (Spurs)
D - Rio Ferdinand (Man United)
D - Gael Givet (Blackburn)
D - Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
M - Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
M - Jordi Gomez (Wigan)
M - Lee Cattermole (Sunderland)
M - Stephen Hunt (Hull City)
F - Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
F - Emanuel Adebayor (Man City)
The one player per team rule really made this a difficult task.
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The transfer traitors that shocked the fans and football
After all the kerfuffle a certain dread locked bean pole caused this week, I thought I'd
resurrect an old post from a few months back to see who really is the most hated by his ex
fans.
10. Barmby/Beardsly – Merseyside Fanny Magnets
Baby faced Nicky Barmby and Quasimodo faced Peter Beardsley both played for the Red and Blue of
Merseyside in the glory years of their careers.
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By TRAVIS CLARK
Arsenal must be glad to never have to take the trip to Manchester again this season after losing
their second consecutive match. This time it was a 4-2 loss to City, leaving Arsene Wenger happy to
see the Manchester skyline in the rear view mirror.
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By TRAVIS CLARK
Arsenal must be glad to never have to take the trip to Manchester again this season after losing
their second consecutive match. This time it was a 4-2 loss to City, leaving Arsene Wenger happy to
see the Manchester skyline in the rear view mirror.
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Like a lot of reds, I was fairly aprehensive about our trip to White Hart Lane yesterday, given
that they were yet to lose a game and Jermaine Defoe is in great form. Whilst Spurs' opposition
teams before this weekend haven't been world beaters necessarily, they have seen off Liverpool, and
every one knows that this is the year they are going to win the league again.
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Rio Ferdinand came back in to the Manchester United first team after missing the first four
games of the season with a calf injury.
With less than a minute played, Rio was watching Jermaine Defoe score a cracking goal to put us
1-0 behind.
"It was a bit of a wake-up call, it hits home the fact you're back playing in the first team
again," he added.
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Cristiano Ronaldo has taken pretty much every freekick Manchester United have been awarded over
the past few years. Whilst plenty would be rifled straight in to the wall, there were some truly
sublime goals scored from great distances and seemingly impossible angles.
Ryan Giggs scored a great freekick against Tottenham Hotspur to take it to 1-1 after Jermaine
Defoe scored with less than a minute played.
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Manchester United came back to win impressively against Spurs on Saturday after the champions had
conceded a goal in the opening minute of what turned out to be a pulsating game in north London. It
was Jermaine Defoe who opened the scoring with an acrobatic over-head kick following a Peter Crouch
header, the goal came about after United had lost possession in midfield as the visitors tried to
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FOOTBALLSUP 10 September @ 04:27 AM EST
We're back into Premier League football this weekend after the international hiatus. There are
already strong cases for 'must have' players, even after only four games. Here we take a look at
the most compelling...
1. Jermaine Defoe
Back at Spurs after his stint with Portsmouth, Defoe has started the season like a runaway
train.
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Jermaine Defoe
All hail Jermaine Defoe. The burner is among the joint-lead in goals scored with four goals in
four matches and the key Spurs player also has his club at the top of the league table and tied for
the most Premier League goals with eleven.
Wayne Rooney
Many doubted that Rooney could fill the void left behind by Carlos Tevez and Christiano Ronaldo,
but the striker has proved early on in the year that with more touches and attention directed his
way the forward will thrive under his new role (4 goals).
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Attacking 90 02 September @ 02:17 PM EST
Strikers live and die by their goal tallies, so I thought it'd be interesting to take a peak to
see who is doing well as the European season gets under way. Â Here's a snapshot, see the link
below for the goal tallies on an on-going basis.
Top
League in Goals Top
Scorers England 4 Jermaine Defoe, Wayne Rooney France 4 Yoann Gourcuff Germany 4 Paolo Guerrero,
Stefan Kiessling Italy 3 Antonio Di Natale Portugal 3 Oscar Cardozo, Garcia Radamei Spain 3
Roberto Soldado
The players above have scored at an amazing rate over the first league games.
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Last week coach Fabio Capello revealed England's national squad roster for the upcoming
September 6th friendly against Slovenia, followed by the September 9th World Cup Qualifier against
Crotia. There were a few surprises on the roster additions, but what might have been most
surprising was a few of the names left off of the list.
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Wayne Rooney
It would be a very special second week of the 2009/2010 season for Manchester United forward
Wayne Rooney. The key player would overcome a historic loss to new boys Burnley earlier in the
week by making a little bit of history himself. Rooney scored two goals against Wigan in the
second half leading his team to a 5-0 victory.
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Two Premiership games gone, two performances from the boys from White Hart Lane that made the
‘top four' look average. I have to admit, during pre-season I was more than willing to write
Spurs off as challengers to the top six, let alone the top four: Their friendlies were uninspiring,
their starting 11 looked boring on paper, and they had just bought the 7ft beanpole from
Portsmouth.
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Soccerblog 16 August @ 12:05 PM EST
There was a gulf between Javier Mascherano and Steven Gerrard for a vast duration of the game
which got much better when Yossi Benayoun was introduced for Ryan Babel who continues to be
wasteful. The reedy Israeli midfielder got the Reds back into the game with his clever link up play
but one wondered why Rafa Benitez took so long.
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With the Premier League about to spark into life this weekend, reporter Adam Hennessey casts his
eye over the players he feels will have an impact this coming season, but players who readers may
not know much about.
A contentious inclusion in the usual 'Who Are Ya?' feature, is new Portsmouth loanee, Frederic
Piquionne, 30.
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England's substitutes gave head coach Fabio Capello a selection headache last night after inspiring
a rousing fightback in Amsterdam. The Dutch found themselves 2 goals to the good at half time and
seemingly cruising after dominating long periods of possession whilst England were often wasteful,
giving the ball away cheaply on two many occasions.
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EPL Talk 03 August @ 05:32 AM EST
OK, so if you're expecting sarcasm and a general belittling of Burnley, then I suggest you look
for another article somewhere else on the internet. There will be no mention of pets, the diet of
Burnley's population, nor its voting habits. Just a simple look at the side's footballing
credentials and what next season means to the Claret fans.
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The Footie 29 July @ 03:03 PM EST
Tottenham Hotspur defeated the Westham United at the Worker's Stadium 1-0 today July 29th, 2009.
It was a race for the Asia Trophy in Beijing, China and the lone goal was made by none other than
Jermaine Defoe.
Tottenham Hotspur`s Jermain Defoe(L)shots a goal dribbling past Westham United`s Julien Faubert
(R)during the Barclays Asia Trophy soccer match at Worker`s Stadium, Beijing.
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The Barclays Asia Trophy tournament began its 2009 edition on Wednesday with two semifinal
matches. Tottenham Hotspur faced West Ham United while Hull City played against Beijing Guaon.
Here's a recap of both matches along with video highlights.
Tottenham Hotspur edges West Ham 1-0 Video Highlights
Tottenham defeated fellow Premier League club West Ham 1-0 on a Jermaine Defoe goal in the 75th
minute on Wednesday.
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The Tottenham faithful often wonder why their team cannot break into the top four in the Premier
League. Before the Martin Jol era, they were told that they needed a great coach. After the arrival
of Jol, it was believed that the squad needed bolstering. Once that was done, things got going -
until blunders became the norm again at White Hart Lane.
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by GIANFRANCO PANIZO
Seven games. Six shutouts. 22 goals.
Those are just some of the more interesting numbers that describe Wednesday's UEFA World Cup
qualifiers. But the midweek action wasn't just about numbers as some intriguing story-lines
developed, including England getting one step closer to South Africa, Sweden keeping themselves
from the brink of elimination and a former American youth player scoring his first international
goal.
Click to continue reading...
by GIANFRANCO PANIZO
Seven games. Six shutouts. 22 goals.
Those are just some of the more interesting numbers that describe Wednesday's UEFA World Cup
qualifiers. But the midweek action wasn't just about numbers as some intriguing story-lines
developed, including England getting one step closer to South Africa, Sweden keeping themselves
from the brink of elimination and a former American youth player scoring his first international
goal.
Click to continue reading...
