I've always had a soft spot for Gareth Bale. From his time at Southampton where he made quite an impression in the Championship, to his signing by Tottenham Hotspur, where he played brilliantly in his debut season and was explosive down the left wing. Plus whenever he had a chance to take free kicks for Spurs, they often found their way into the back of the net.

Click to continue reading...

After Arsene Wenger, John Toshack and Thomas Vermaelen, Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky added his point of view on the horrible injury suffered by team-mate Aaron Ramsey. Speaking to Sky Sports, the Czech International started by ...

Click to continue reading...

Wales boss John Toshack provided the first good news of the last few days on the injury of 19-year old Aaron Ramsey, revealing how the player is in "decent spirits" despite suffering what is a ...

Click to continue reading...

After all the hype about the impact Sunday's game would have on fourth place it was no great surprise when it didn't live up to expectations.
It was a poor, poor game and neither team deserved to win.
In fact, it looked as if they'd made some kind of pact not to encroach in each other's half. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard wants to add to his medal collection by moving abroad to Spanish giants, Real Madrid in the summer.
The Captain is worried at the direction the club is taking this season and is worried that Liverpool is falling behind Man City, Spurs and even Aston Villa this season. Click to continue reading...

Torres completed 50 goals in 72 matches, beating Albert Stubbins and Sam Raybould by eight games on the 29th of December.This was the goal..
Here's a list of the number of games it took other Liverpool legends to score their own collections of a half century of goals.
72 Fernando Torres
80 Sam Raybould
80 Albert Stubbins
81 Roger Hunt
82 Jack Parkinson
3 John Aldridge
84 Ian Rush
88 Robbie Fowler
90 Gordon Hodgson
98 Harry Chambers
98 Kenny Dalglish
98 Michael Owen
104 Joe Hewitt
105 Ian St John
111 John Barnes
114 Robert Robinson
116 John Toshack
121 David Johnson
125 Dick Forshaw
125 Tom Miller
129 Jimmy Melia
139 Jack Balmer
160 Berry Niewenhuys
162 Alf Hanson
167 Billy Liddell
175 Kevin Keegan
208 Jack Cox
221 Terry McDermott
269 Ray Kennedy
271 Arthur Goddard
280 Alan A'Court
281 Steven Gerrard
302 Steve Heighway
What makes Torres feat even more incredible is that there isn't a single penalty in those 50 goals.

Click to continue reading...

"I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, they have a big telescope to see what happens in other families."
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho opened a war of words with Arsene Wenger, claiming the Arsenal boss was obsessed with Chelsea. Click to continue reading...

Southampton and Wales legend Ron Davies is the latest guest on the EPL Talk Podcast, the daily Premier League interview and analysis show.

To say that Davies is a legend to Southampton supporters is an understatement. In his first season with the Saints, Davies scored an incredible 43 goals.

Click to continue reading...

Wales manager John Toshack believes that Bill Shankly is the reason that Liverpool established themselves as a footballing giant, and that the values instilled into Anfield by the Scot will persist for years to come.
"I suppose he invented Liverpool as the club they are now. You only have to go there now and you see the foundations he laid down 50 years ago are still evident," Toshack said, according to Press Association Sport. Click to continue reading...

by JAMES CURTIS Despite the break from Premier League football this weekend there are still many Arsenal faces in action on the international scene.

Whether this is a good or bad thing remains to be seen. Arsenal are notorious for sending players on international duty in tip-top condition, only for them to be returned chipped, chinked and cracked.

Click to continue reading...

by CARL ELDRIDGE Here's a tall story from the Sun (for a change), which tells us that aspiring midfielder Aaron Ramsey has grown two inches in the last year.

The redtop says Arsenal's 18-year-old whizkid wins his 11th Welsh cap today when Scotland provide the opposition in Cardiff.

Click to continue reading...

Aaron Ramsey's first international goal left John Toshack feeling a little brighter as the veteran Wales boss was spared an embarrassing end to his World Cup qualifying campaign. Andrey Arshavin was also on target, for Russia, ... Click to continue reading...

Aaron Ramsey's first international goal left John Toshack feeling a little brighter as the veteran Wales boss was spared an embarrassing end to his World Cup qualifying campaign. Andrey Arshavin was also on target, for Russia, ...

Click to continue reading...

Laurence McKenna and Kartik Krishnaiyer bat around a variety of topics on today's show including:

• Chelsea's Transfer Ban: Are English clubs being unfairly targeted
• England's 5-1 victory over Croatia
• John Toshack's Wales side gives Russia a game
• Argentina's continued failures
• Liverpool back on track
• Emmanuel Adebayor, victim or villain?

Click to continue reading...

Wales 1 – 3 Russia
World Cup Qualifier 2010, Group #4
Millennium Stadium, Wednesday, 9Â September 2009, 7.45pm

The build up to Wales's most recent and irrelevant World Cup qualifying group game was punctuated by the rather petulant and juvenile civil war of criticism levied by legend Welsh players towards the ineptitude of the current national team.

Click to continue reading...

This is not a joke. England are all but qualified and can book their trip to South Africa with a win over Croatia Wednesday. Northern Ireland can win their group with victories in their last two games and a little help. Their neighbors to the south, the Republic of Ireland, have an outside shot of winning their group but should at least finish second. Click to continue reading...

Welsh legend Mel Charles joins us on the podcast.

Hear about his book "In The Shadow of a Giant"

Also discussed:

- The 1958 Welsh World Cup Team
- Who was the best attacking player Charles faced
- His brother John's career
- The Cardiff City vs Swansea City rivalry
- Thoughts about John Toshack both as a player and a manager

Related posts:

1. EPL Talk Podcast: Questions Please For Mel Charles
2. EPL Talk Podcast: Mikel John Obi
3. Why this Welshman will be Supporting Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final

Click to continue reading...

CITY will not lose Craig Bellamy for Saturday's Premier League opener after they defused a potential row with the Welsh FA.
The Blues failed to notify Wales that the striker - skipper of his national team - had suffered a reaction to a long-standing knee injury during the friendly match with Celtic at the weekend.

Click to continue reading...

Today's important World Cup qualifier between Kazahkstan and England kicks off at 11am ET on Setanta Premium in the United States. You can either watch the match in select pubs nationwide that carry the Setanta pub channel (you may need to pay an admission charge), or you can watch it via pay-per-view through our local cable or satellite provider for $24.

Click to continue reading...

John Toshack is set to add even more youth to his already young team and drop his more experienced players as he looks to get his side back on track after the poor defeat to Finland in March. Wales are set to face Estonia in a friendly on Friday in preparation ... Click to continue reading...

Last weekend Fernando Torres opened the scoring against Tottenham with a header John Toshack would have been proud of, and with it, scored his 50th goal for the club on only his 84th appearance; reaching that landmark in less games than the like of Ian Rush, Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen managed. The great Roger Hunt netting his first 50 goals in 79 games being the only Liverpool player to reach that landmark before him. Click to continue reading...

Barcelona may be set to surpass the record this season, but that shouldn't diminish the achievement of John Toshack's 1989-90 Real Madrid side. Click to continue reading...

I can completely understand Sami Hyypia's decision to carry on playing.
It was one I took myself at the end of my Anfield career and I never regretted it.
In 1978 both myself and Ian Callaghan got a call from John Toshack to come and join Swansea, where he was the manager.
Cally and I had two great years there before I hung up my boots - and we managed to get promoted twice. Click to continue reading...

Highly rated Middlesbrough youngster Rhys Williams is at the center of a battle between Wales and Australia for his long term International future. Williams, who has helped Burnley reach the Championship play-offs during a successful loan spell at Turf Moor, has already played 10 times for Wales' Under-21s, but the fact that he has yet to play a competitive game for the full National side still makes him available for Australia.

Click to continue reading...

Barcelona are on track for a Spanish treble but of late, the euphoria surrounding this scintillating team has fizzled out and they have looked less than invincible. Not to take anything away from the Blaugrana, they remain the most thrilling team in Europe on their day.

However, consistency has suffered from the demanding match fixtures.

Click to continue reading...

Barcelona are on track for a Spanish treble but of late, the euphoria surrounding this scintillating team has fizzled out and they have looked less than invincible. Not to take anything away from the Blaugrana, they remain the most thrilling team in Europe on their day.

However, consistency has suffered from the demanding match fixtures.

Click to continue reading...

Raymond Kennedy, nacido en Seaton Delaval, Northumberland. Para los amigos, simplemente Ray. Nunca mejor puesta esa abreviatura para este histórico futbolista, jugador elegante, dinámico y sobre todo goleador. ``Ray of Hope´´ o Rayo de esperanza sería una frase idónea para simbolizar la vida de un luchador tanto fuera como dentro del campo. Click to continue reading...