It is funny how a game that saw Mark Schwarzer put in a performance of a lifetime, and an Australian squad win in the final minutes while sporting a ten man squad for over 70 can be overshadowed by a firecracker.

One. Lame. Firecracker.

But since we can't get enough of this junk, check out the confusion as the sparks fly in the Australian/Oman Asian Cup qualifier.

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Isn't it just typical, you book yourself a little holiday only to find yourself home one week before the Arsenal head to Alkmaar which is just up the road from where you were and you miss what is for most a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, and that is seeing Arsenal in an away Champions League match. Click to continue reading...

This post is a direct rebuttal to the spurious blind-faith and misrepresentation of the facts displayed in the 'Why Rafa Could Quit' article, posted on ThisIsAnfield yesterday.
Since the article was published, I've had people:
1. Emailing me telling me to read it and respond/slagging me off for not posting stuff along the same lines. Click to continue reading...

Newcastle take on Bristol City this weekend looking to extend their lead at the top of the Coca Cola Championship. City, who have not won an away game all season are in confident mood after recently defeating Blackpool (Newcastle's only league loss of the season).

A name that may be familiar to some long term Toon fans is that of Bradley Orr.

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After a lifetime in love with football, Michael Henderson is appalled by the excesses of the modern game. In the second extract of his highly provocative new book, exclusively serialised in The Times, he names and shames the guilty parties.
Part I Click to continue reading...

Even as a neutral I couldn't fail but be taken in by the Premier League Manchester derby on Sunday. As both City and United gave everything in a match that will no doubt be ‘Sky Classic' before you know it.
Even the build up was entertaining, with Sparky becoming ever more vocal about his nouveau riche teams chances. Click to continue reading...

• Drury Lady Panther's top ranked GLVC squad & 15th nationally. Coach Bilbao podcast also available at link ~ http://bit.ly/ZHjWH #
• Drury Panthers 2nd ranked GLVC squad, 10th nationally , visit Rolla on Friday ~ http://bit.ly/Y0su7 #
• Missouri State Bears head to Dallas this weekend, are 2-11 lifetime against SMU ~ http://bit.

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A single defeat in the season is, of course neither here nor there.� Last season I was at Arsenal 2 IOU 1, and it was one of the very best matches I have ever seen in a lifetime of watching football. Today wasn't remotely a match in that sort of class; we lost by the same [...] Click to continue reading...

A single defeat in the season is, of course neither here nor there.� Last season I was at Arsenal 2 IOU 1, and it was one of the very best matches I have ever seen in a lifetime of watching football. Today wasn't remotely a match in that sort of class; we lost by the same [...] Click to continue reading...

Jamie Trecker recently concluded his three-part series on why the USA needed to become the second� team ever� to win in Mexico City.� Since we failed, US Soccer is obviously doomed.� I'm sorry to keep going at Trecker, but since this is related to the last two I've commented on, it seems logical to discuss the final chapter.

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Jamie Trecker recently concluded his three-part series on why the USA needed to become the second� team ever� to win in Mexico City.� Since we failed, US Soccer is obviously doomed.� I'm sorry to keep going at Trecker, but since this is related to the last two I've commented on, it seems logical to discuss the final chapter.

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A famous RockNRoll band once sang: "You can wait for a lifetime, to spend your days in the sunshine" This applies to both Chelsea and Manchester City In-spite of Chelsea's power in the last few years, reaching the last 4 of the Champions League with almost clockwork precision, they had always been on London's second tier of football [. Click to continue reading...

The last time Newcastle United were relegated from the English first division coincided with the creation of the city's most popular fanzine The Mag. After � the controversial sale of � Paul Gascoigne to Spurs, Mark Jensen, a lifetime Newcastle fan, decided to give the Newcastle fans a voice long before the era of blogs and websites like [. Click to continue reading...

I recently had the opportunity to speak to Ian Cheeseman, who commentates on City for Radio Manchester ahead of the launch of his new book 'Best Job in The World: From Football Specials To The Press Box'.
For anyone who has caught his commentary, it is evident how much of a huge City fan he is (describing himself as a City 'idiot'), but it was only after interviewing him did I get a feel for how deep his passion and commitment for the club is. Click to continue reading...

With the start of the season fast approaching, I thought it time to get another viewpoint on the summer and the campaign ahead, and with United and Liverpool fans for brothers (yes, I know), who better than to kick off this new feature?

This will hopefully be the first in a series of interviews throughout the season, getting the viewpoints of both clubs regarding how their season is going, and how they view Arsenal from the outside.

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You know it's getting serious when the Scottish national team isn't allowed to drink.
(Is it? I dunno, but it sounds like an intriguing lead...)
Coach George Burley wants his team fit as a fiddle for next week's World Cup qualifier against Norway.

The national team boss is desperate to avoid a repeat of the early-hours drinking session indulged in by Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor following March's Group Nine defeat in Holland.

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PanMacmillan.com are to give one lucky person the chance to win the prize of a lifetime, a Manchester United home shirt signed by Eric Cantona! The luck doesn't stop there, though. The winner will also receive a copy of the book signed by the author, Philippe Auclair. Five runners up will also receive a signed� copy of the book.

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Our friends over at Footbo have teamed up with Sony Ericsson (South Africa 2010 sponsors) to bring you a very lucrative offer:

Write an article on any topic in football, and if your article judged as the best by the panel of judges, you will win a FREE Sony Ericsson W995.

In addition, the winner will then be entered into a draw to win a Golden Ticket which entitles the winner to a pair of tickets to every game their country plays – including the final.

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Episode 125 features Alexander Caufield, a Merseyside native and lifetime Liverpool supporter joins us on the show to preview the Premier League Season. Alex writes for Seattle based website Prost Amerika. Hear Caufueld's thoughts about Liverpool's potential title challenge, Manchester City's spending spree, and Burnely's chances to stay up among other topics discussed.

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Like every season, the 2008/2009 season would be a very tight race for the honor or dishonor of being named 2009� LLTO La Liga Dirtiest Player.� Many young defenders tackled and taunted their way to the top of the cards list, but for most their strong effort would come up a little bit short.

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-- The media can't stop writing stories involving Obama and U.S. soccer.
-- The L.A. Riot Squad guy that went after Beckham had his lifetime stadium ban rescinded.
-- In the big surprise league announcement, that many thought would be Montreal getting the next MLS expansion franchise, was awarding next year's all-star game to Houston. Click to continue reading...

Some more done deals today:

• Barcelona unveiled Zlatan.
  
• Eto'o signs too with Inter.
  
• Spurs and Crouch are a done deal.
  
• Bendtner commits to Gunners.
  
• Marseilles gets Morientes.
  
• Totti signs essentially a lifetime Roma deal.
  
• Everton offer snubbed by Pienaar.

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I suppose its only natural for any supporter to feel excited going into the new season. I cant stand it when we have to go two weeks without football because of the poxy Internationals so two months seems like a lifetime...

But I feel really confident going into the new season and it's not down to just excitement.

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Poor married Malaysian man.
He came home late from a once-in-a-lifetime friendly match between Manchester United and a Malaysian XI. His punishment: getting stabbed twice in the chest by his wife.

The man had promised to come back immediately after the match in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday evening, but his wife was "very angry'' when he returned after midnight, district police chief Abdul Jalil Hassan said Tuesday.

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Like a lot of other bloggers out there today, I'm tipping my hat to Santino Qauranta for the goal against Honduras last night at RFK. To score your first international goal in front of your family and home crowd after all the sh*t he's been through has to feel amazing. The only thing that would make it better would be for him to have a vajeen so that the Lifetime Original movie "Pills, Tats and Balls: The Santino Qauranta Story" could be greenlit by Monday. Click to continue reading...

I'm pleased to present my first guest post, and it's by my brother David. He's been playing pickup soccer every night so far this summer and developed the following survival mechanism.
When picking sides in the neighborhood pick up game, spotting the player that will end up hogging the ball, talking inordinate amounts of trash, and eventually storming off the field can be a great advantage. Click to continue reading...

Photo via LatinContent Editorial/ Adhil Rangel

Ah, how typical of Hernanes to break out into a dance halfway during Sao Paulo's training session! It could just be one of� Ricardo Gomes' 'tactics' to loosen things up in the team. You can always count on Hernanes to make everyone feel like they're in the middle of a circus.

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Gazidis says the unspeakable, a salary cap is necessary for European soccer clubs.
Mark this down, a pan-European salary cap (of some variety) will exist in my (born in 1982) lifetime. I really don't think club football is sustainable without it.
Beginning with professionalism and moving on to racial integration of teams, free agency, players unions, modern stadiums, etc. Click to continue reading...

The transfer saga involving Carlos Tevez is set to end on Monday, when the Argentine forward will be officially unveiled at Manchester City. A source close to Tevez revealed that the played had wanted to join Chelsea but his family and agents made him stay in Manchester.

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Even in defeat, I'm the proudest I've ever been of the USMNT. Aside from some strong showings in 1930 and 1950 of which I'm not too familiar, this tournament, and the final week of this tournament in particular, was the first time that the US has ever looked to be among one of the strongest teams in the world.

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"Let's all pitch in and make a movie. We'll call it "The Tallest Midget on Earth: The Kenny Cooper Story" and air it on Lifetime." -Anonymous
From Post: FCD 1, Colorado Rapids 1
"A bit ragged, but nice goal by David!" -Anonymous
"Calm finish by David, it was good to see FCD take the lead but they got outplayed by a good colorado team tonight. Click to continue reading...

Steel yourself, dear readers.

We are about to lay down a WAG quote that is all kinds of life-altering, crazy-making and mind-blowing at the same time. Have some smelling salts and a trusted companion nearby should you faint with delight (or alternatively, explode into a million pieces of white hot rage) after reading.

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Steel yourself, dear readers.

We are about to lay down a WAG quote that is all kinds of life-altering, crazy-making and mind-blowing at the same time. Have some smelling salts and a trusted companion nearby should you faint with delight (or alternatively, explode into a million pieces of white hot rage) after reading.

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I heard about it from a friend. I checked the e-mail from my phone after I got out of the barber shop and couldn't believe what he said. He was walking past the Holocaust Museum after lunch, and 20 seconds later he heard the shots out. Smartly, he took off and didn't look back until he was safe inside his office.

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Adriano had made too many problems for a lifetime while at Inter, let alone for a footballing career but club management always found a way to overlook his misdemeanors on the account of remarkable talent he possessed. He often went partying when his teammates were preparing for the games and seeing Adriano come to training drunk was not such a rare sight.

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