Although this is the final stage of the World Cup 2010 qualifiers and there are no weak teams in the competition, Portugal and Russia were expected to have much easier jobs. They have minimal advantage before the return leg on Wednesday, but while Russia have a reason feel aggrieved, Portugal were more than lucky against Bosnia.

Click to continue reading...

Compilation Fridays are back and this one is for anyone who thought American girls soccer just suddenly turned epically violent in the last two weeks. This video is from one high school team over one season in 2007. There's stuff in there that would make hardened Premier Leaguers take jobs at Hello Kitty shops.

Click to continue reading...

According to reports Peterborough have sacked Darren Ferguson. We all know that managers jobs are hardly safe these days but I think this could be one of the worst football sackings I've seen, unless of course there is more to come out from it but I doubt it. I don't think Barry Fry (Posh's [...] Click to continue reading...

Saudia Arabia's soccer chiefs are head-hunting former Liverpool pair Gerard Houllier and Rick Parry to sort out their football.
The oil-rich government plan to recruit former Kop chief Houllier as their new director of football to oversee the national team and their top sides.
Houllier is in charge of France's football empire and could even be allowed to do both jobs - although the cash in the Middle East may tempt him to go there full-time. Click to continue reading...

You can learn a lot about an organization from the quality of their website. Fair? I for example am not a design oriented person, although I would like to be. The idea of changing this template for something unique and original by screwing around with code or risking the download of someone foreign layout gives me nightmares. Click to continue reading...

One of the world's largest banks, HSBC, is to cut a number of jobs in Southend as part of a cost-cutting exercise.
In total 1,700 jobs will be lost nationwide in the latest round of cuts - an unspecified number of positions will go in the town.

The union Unite said that the cuts would be centred on HSBC sites in Southend, Southampton, Leicester and Sheffield and would bring the total number of job losses at the bank to 4,600 so far this year.

Click to continue reading...

There's little doubt that Ashley's decision to take the Newcastle club off the market last week was very unpopular for Newcastle fans, to say the very least. Chris Hughton hopes Newcastle fans will remain united But Chris Hughton, now in one of the most difficult management jobs in football, whether he likes that or not, or [. Click to continue reading...

Just two clips for today. Some curious bit of stuff from Ferguson.

This year on the FA's proposed England friendly in Qatar:

'All the international managers have their jobs to do and we support that, particularly when it comes to the issue of competitive games like the European Championships or the World Cup.

Click to continue reading...

We can be accused of many things, but trying to keep you employed is not one of them. Tomorrow, as you may have heard, is the yearly D-Day for social lives. Football Manager 2010 is being released (with a fancy new interface, may I say) and jobs will be lost, relationships irrevocably strained, children put up [. Click to continue reading...

Joleon Lescott has called on himself and his Manchester City teammates to improve on their woeful defending. City have conceded eleven goals in their opening nine Premier League fixtures, and Lescott believes that they can improve on that record. With so many new players in City's back four, the club aims to complement its profitable attack with a solid defense.

Click to continue reading...

That's the message from Kansas Governor, Mark Parkinson, to the Wizards and OnGoal in regards to the STAR Bond deal the state offered the team. If the Wizards are going to be building at the location out at the Legends, it'll be using the $230 million package that the state of Kansas has presented. Parkinson announced today that the deal they offered to the Wizards was final. Click to continue reading...

Could the 2010 MLS season be in a little bit of danger next season? It seems like it could be a possibility, as the current collective bargaining agreement is up in January. According to former Wizard, Nick Garcia in the Toronto Sun (yes I know the Sun is a tabloid), players have been told to put money back for this year just in case. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool's dynamic full back Glen Johnson is relishing Sunday's showdown with Manchester United, and insists the regional rivalry as well as the added pressure for Rafael Benitez's Reds, are just two of the reasons why he was determined to join the Anfield outfit.
"This type of game is everything I have worked for," Johnson explained to the club's official website. Click to continue reading...

Manchester United produced an efficient and controlled performance at the Luzhniki Stadium to beak CSKA Moscow 1-0. Injuries, weather and a plastic playing pitch meant that United were always going to play controlled rather than expansive football, but all the players did their jobs well (with Fabio particularly impressing from full-back).

Click to continue reading...

While the Wizards and OnGoal are still working with the state of Kansas on getting the STAR Bonds approved for the Wizards stadium out at the Legends, the local representatives are starting to push the state to approve the STAR Bonds. State Senator Kelly Kultala of Kansas City, KS, and Representative Kevin Yoder of Overland Park along with Wichita Representative Jason Watkins have put pressure on Kansas Commerce Secretary David Kerr about this deal. Click to continue reading...

With a break in league proceedings due to the current round of international fixtures, Mark Hughes has taken the opportunity to reflect on the start the side has made to the season, and is clearly of the belief that the players he has brought to the club have helped create a stronger mentality amongst the squad:

"A lot of questions that were being asked of us before a ball was even kicked.

Click to continue reading...

Turkey hope to sustain their World Cup qualifying hopes in Belgium, but the hosts will just want to avoid another fiasco.
"But the mentality of some of the players is deplorable ... we got fed up with the many intolerable things that made it impossible for us to do our jobs . Click to continue reading...

It was a throwaway line that may yet stick.
Phil Brown, the "beleaguered Hull boss" as he is known in media circles, said the term when questioned about his own future in a press conference last week.
And while there is no finite moment on the football calendar where managers begin to move jobs, it does seem that the axe falls of bosses heads happen when just the leaves begin to fall form the trees. Click to continue reading...

This was clearly a match between two teams going in different directions. Chivas was starting guys like Maicon Santos, Jesus Padilla, and Yamith Cuesta - all who joined the team in August and have already claimed starting jobs. They haven't been afraid to bench their veterans like Razov, Galindo, and Marsch and have instead sought out better players. Click to continue reading...

Did you miss the Champions League group stage action last night? Not to worry: we've compiled a short montage of the key moments.

And by key moments, we mean gratuitous shots of men focused on doing their jobs as professional athletes that we have turned into cheap tawdry moments of objectification for our own entertainment.

Click to continue reading...

Did you miss the Champions League group stage action last night? Not to worry: we've compiled a short montage of the key moments.

And by key moments, we mean gratuitous shots of men focused on doing their jobs as professional athletes that we have turned into cheap, tawdry moments of objectification for our own amusement.

Click to continue reading...

One has seen it all and bought, if not the T-shirt, then at least the freshly tailored shirt. The other is just starting out in one of football's most peculiar jobs. But they have more in common than you might think.It's one of the many odd quirks of being an Old Firm manager that one of the few people ever likely to understand the huge pressure you are under is the person you're expected to beat Click to continue reading...

The Homeless World Cup is a life changing international football tournament. From Argentina to Australia, South Africa to Portugal, Cameroon to Brazil, Germany to England homeless people take a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country and change their lives forever. 77% of players go on to find a home, come off drugs and alcohol, get into education, jobs, training, repair Click to continue reading...

For those of you who were unaware about the big news around the football world over the past week, the 2009 Homeless World Cup kicked off for the seventh year. Lasting from September 6th to the 13th this year, the HWC was a huge success yet again. If you don't know anything about the HWC, then it's about time that you become acquainted with it.

Click to continue reading...

From the KC Star comes word of new discussions regarding the location of a KC Wizards soccer specific stadium

The Kansas Speedway area has emerged as the new choice for a long-sought Wizards soccer stadium in a sweeping proposal that would include at least 4,000 new Cerner Corp. jobs.

The developer working for OnGoal LLC, the owner of the Kansas City Wizards, has prepared a stadium plan for a site owned by Nebraska Furniture Mart.

Click to continue reading...

From the KC Star comes word of new discussions regarding the location of a KC Wizards soccer specific stadium

The Kansas Speedway area has emerged as the new choice for a long-sought Wizards soccer stadium in a sweeping proposal that would include at least 4,000 new Cerner Corp. jobs.

The developer working for OnGoal LLC, the owner of the Kansas City Wizards, has prepared a stadium plan for a site owned by Nebraska Furniture Mart.

Click to continue reading...

Afternoon all,

have any of you ever watched Groundhog Day? You see, for me today kind of feels like yesterday, and the day before that, and maybe even the day before that. Is is the lack of football? Not sure. Is is the ongoing Eduardo divey thingy? Possibly. Is it the ongoing kerfuffle about the Wenger chant?

Click to continue reading...

For the record, I had nothing to do with this story in the Seattle Times. Neither did Creepy Jose.

Here's a predictable tale of woe for you: Last weekend, four men decided to hire three prostitutes from Craigslist. But instead of doing the jobs they were hired to do, the three women made off with about $400.

Click to continue reading...

Want a free ticket to the world's biggest sporting event, the 2010 World Cup?

FIFA has launched a fund to give away 120,000 free tickets to poor South Africans for the 2010 World Cup.
MY POV: Now why didn't I move to South Africa and become a citizen when I had the chance? Click to continue reading...

Shane Supple

Why are we always so shocked when professional footballers quit the game for a similar reason many other people quit their jobs? Shane Supple was the latest to "shock" the football world with his decision to quit Ipswich Town at the age of 22 to pursue another career, rumoured to be in catering.

Click to continue reading...

The FA's Compliance Department has written to Rafa Benitez regarding his comments about Phil Dowd after the opening day defeat to Spurs. Does the FA have a case here, or is it another instance of out of touch, deskbound bureaucrats making a mountain out of a molehill?
When asked after the game whether he expected two penalties as an away team, Benitez responded:
"Everybody could see there was a penalty against Voronin. Click to continue reading...

Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson has passed away at the age of 76, having finally lost a long battle against cancer.
Robson, who distinguished himself first during a lengthy tenure that put Ipswich Town back on the map with FA Cup and UEFA Cup wins in 1978 and 1982 respectively, took on the England job and led them to the semi finals of the World Cup in 1990. Click to continue reading...

-
- For seriously cutting-edge, continually-updated, news about QPR and football - and only QPR and football - Visit the growing QPR Report Messageboard (and quasi blog)! All perspectives genuinely welcomed!
QPR Official Site - EXCLUSIVE: TAARABT DEAL COMPLETED
- The Club is delighted to confirm the season long loan signing of Moroccan international midfielder Adel Taarabt. Click to continue reading...

You are maybe thinking just how does Sven do it?
He departs his previous three jobs with a hefty pay off but he just keeps on bouncing back, landing on his feet in the next highly paid gig.
But when Sven, with his bookish, middle-aged looks and seeming lack of personality has enough of the silver-tongued charmer about him to seduce the likes of Ulrika and Nancy between the sheets, is it any wonder that a succession of Chairman and Chief Executives fall over themselves to appoint him? Click to continue reading...

Monday:
I don't want the job, I'm still bitter about my experience at Sydney.
Tuesday:
Can't wait to get started.
Someone loves you in football land Branko, and not just Les Murray,
There are only 10 A-League jobs in the country and only one position up for grabs this year so far, and yer man the blast from the past. Click to continue reading...