Just weeks to go until the bubbly is uncorked and the drunken masses spill into messy versions of� auld lang syne. We here at Footy Factor are celebrating the decade's end by honouring the� best football teams, figures, matches and moments of the past 10 years.

First up...

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The group stage is now in the books, with a few notable names getting tripped up at the first hurdle as the field narrowed from 32 to 16. Now things start to get really interesting as we move to the single elimination phase of our program. While my... Click to continue reading...

Football's march into the modern era continues apace – whether the game's purists like it or not. Consider a new� aerosol spray� that is being promoted to help referees mark out the correct distance for a� defensive wall� to set up during a free-kick. The spray, which was invented by a company with the very catchy name of 9.

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There are plenty of reasons to be disappointed with Rafa Benitez right about now. Liverpool head into this weekend's match against� Manchester United with the prospect of lodging their fifth defeat on the trot. After such high expectations for this season, Liverpool have been finally exposed as a two-man team.

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Austin "Jack" Warner FIFA

Most Hated Men in Football

Listen up,� England fans:� Jack Warner, FIFA� Vice-President and CONCACAF President,� might be the one man you're going to want to have a quiet chat with when hosting for� World Cup 2018� is decided in 2011.

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Ever since� Roman Abramovich sent him packing from� Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2008, Avram Grant has been on a one-man mission to prove that he was a success during his brief tenure as Chelsea manager. Second place in the league and one inch away from winning the Champions League final� won't earn you any silverware.

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The seven hard working former Chicago Fire executives pictured above averaged about seven years each with the organization. The institutional knowledge and relationships they took with them when they left was significant.

A� key for successful chief executives is to surround themselves with talented, hard working people with good character.

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Once again Jose Mourinho has stated his ambition to manage Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson finally relinquishes the reins.

"I would consider going to Manchester United but United have to consider if they want me to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson" the self proclaimed "Special One" said.

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There's a huge number of changes being made to the Youth Academy this summer. Rafa is making sure that new people with new ideas are being brought into revamp absolutely everything.
It's a masterstroke on the part of Rafa, that he has managed to persuade our greatest ever player to return to LFC. Click to continue reading...

Does anyone remember that FC BARCELONA won "The Big 3" titles– Spanish League, Spanish Cup & Champions League - last year? TodayREAL MADRID presents their first new signing KAKÁ & there is noplace on the World media for anything else, except the newsconference that SAMUEL ETO ´O´s representative has given thismorning to give their version of what some are already calling thefirst pre-season " Click to continue reading...

These guys are both businessmen, and they didn't get to where they are in life by being completely stupid. Gillet is after selling his stake in the NHLs Montreal Canadiens for $440m. Hicks is also looking to sell some of his US assets. What this means is that both of them look set to be cash rich.
Hicks & Gillet should be smart enough to realise that LFC without the new stadium is a severly undervalued asset. Click to continue reading...

SFS posted this (click) a couple of days back explaining theapparent unusual situation at FC BARCELONA were it appearsfrom an outsider's point of view that they are not enjoyingat all their historic three title triumph & are looking as ifeveryday is a problem. SFS put it down to BAD MANAGEMENTof their success, team & Club, added with an irrational nonjustifiable paranoia & negative envy towards Click to continue reading...

It's commonly called "Team Management", or more correctly in thisparticular case "Club Management", something that is not being donetoo well at FC BARCELONA, or at least it seems from this outsideobserver´s point of view. The last couple of weeks have seen FCBarcelona transform itself & its public image from total euphoria toalmost depression,that is, the signals being transmitted outside fromthe Click to continue reading...

The important thing for fans to realise is that we can trust Rafa above the media with their sensationalist speculating. Rafa has made it clear he has the funds available to land the players we need to take our club forward, so we should be content in that knowledge, regardless of what the media claim. Click to continue reading...

In light of the 4-1 demolition of Man Utd being voted best performance of the season (poll on official LFC site), it has evoked all sorts of wonderful memories and emotions about that match.
It also rekindled memories of the whole feud thing which Rafa & Fergie had going on this year. All sorts of theories have been doing the rounds. Click to continue reading...

So there I was, egg on face, after totally misplacing the opening of the transfer window to the tune of one month, but in the end it didn't stop Man City snaffling Barry Gareth and Real Madrid nipping in for a slice of Kaka. Seems people are doing their business early this summer.

I guess, with Barry, that he was free to sign a pre-contract, with just one year left on his current deal?

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I don't have much to say about Ancelotti-to-Chelsea, not because it's uninteresting but because the possibilities it opens are so vast. There's something genuinely dark about it no one involved really wanted it to happen, except maybe Abramovich, who seems to think that Milan's aristocratic cast-offs can help him cleanse his club of its arriviste taint but open your mouth against it and you risk being sheared by lightning.

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There's an interesting post on "Some People Are On The Pitch", which shows a graphical representation (marking some notable events) of the title chase between Liverpool & Man Utd this season. Click here to view the post.
Looking at the graph you'll notice a wee period where Liverpool nearly flatline. Click to continue reading...

There's a neat article on the official LFC site in which Rafa acknowledges the impact which Sammy Lee has had on Liverpool's excellent season. He even describes him as being close to the perfect number 2.
While Rafa is definitely a tactical genius, it's never been much of a secret that Rafa has lacked certain people skills. Click to continue reading...

As a prelude to my preview for tomorrow's match against Dallas, I thought I'd take a moment to ponder the relative merits of squad rotation and what Tommy might do given the May fixture pileup. "What fixture pileup?" I hear you ask. ... Click to continue reading...

Good old Arsene Wenger, you gotta love that guy sometimes, and this time he probably has poor old Fergie spitting feathers thanks to this interview. I can just imagine the scene with Fergie watching an interview with Arsene when Arsene's face breaks into a big grin after it's suggested that Arsenal might prefer to lose to Liverpool tonight. Click to continue reading...

I was reading a respected journalist recently, who was praising the virtues of Fulham manager Roy Hodgson. Indeed, the author in question even went as far as to suggest that if and when Senor Capello decides that the England job is not for him, either when Old Trafford comes calling, he is sacked after [. Click to continue reading...

span style="font-family:verdana;"Despite LFC's announcement that Rafa signed a contract extension until 2014, there was no mention made of whether he got all the things he was asking for. It's no secret that the sticking points in the contract talks concerned the amount of control which he would have over certain affairs at LFC. Click to continue reading...

Power struggles have become the norm at our club over the last year or so, the latest casulty is Rick Parry who has decided 'by mutual consent' to leave the club at the end of this season. Normally when someone leaves LFC, I like to look back on their career and focus on the more positive aspects.
However, for some reason or other, I can't really think of anything positive to say about Rick Parry. Click to continue reading...

The ongoing power struggles at LFC have really become such a bore with it now culminating in Robbie Keane being prematurely sold at a huge loss. Rafa has been trying to throw his weight around LFC for some time now, and was the driving force behind getting rid of Keane. It was highly irresponsible of Rafa to sell him like that without getting any replacement in. Click to continue reading...

The ongoing power struggles at LFC have really become such a bore with it now culminating in Robbie Keane being prematurely sold at a huge loss. Rafa has been trying to throw his weight around LFC for some time now, and was the driving force behind getting rid of Keane. It was highly irresponsible of Rafa to sell him like that without getting any replacement in. Click to continue reading...

Explaining away one or two questionable results is one thing but it's hard to explain away things when a clear pattern emerges. As much as I'd prefer to remain optimistic about our title chances, recent results are making that increasingly difficult.
There's a variety of potential explanations, such as a lack of attacking creativity, tactical blunders, poor team selections, woeful choice of substitutions (especially against Wigan last night), Rafa losing the plot [link], and at times there has been some poor player performances. Click to continue reading...

Explaining away one or two questionable results is one thing but it's hard to explain away things when a clear pattern emerges. As much as I'd prefer to remain optimistic about our title chances, recent results are making that increasingly difficult.
There's a variety of potential explanations, such as a lack of attacking creativity, tactical blunders, poor team selections, woeful choice of substitutions (especially against Wigan last night), Rafa losing the plot [link], and at times there has been some poor player performances. Click to continue reading...

A lot of attention has been given to Rafa rejecting LFCs contract offer. The stumbling block in the negotiations is that Rafa feels he should have more say regarding player transfers and the development of the youth academy.
While he acknowledges that he should have to work responsibly within the financial constraints set by LFC's board, he rightly feels that his football related decisions shouldn't be subject to the whims of a CEO. Click to continue reading...

A lot of attention has been given to Rafa rejecting LFCs contract offer. The stumbling block in the negotiations is that Rafa feels he should have more say regarding player transfers and the development of the youth academy.
While he acknowledges that he should have to work responsibly within the financial constraints set by LFC's board, he rightly feels that his football related decisions shouldn't be subject to the whims of a CEO. Click to continue reading...

A lot of attention has been given to Rafa rejecting LFCs contract offer. The stumbling block in the negotiations is that Rafa feels he should have more say regarding player transfers and the development of the youth academy.
While he acknowledges that he should have to work responsibly within the financial constraints set by LFC's board, he rightly feels that his football related decisions shouldn't be subject to the whims of a CEO. Click to continue reading...

It's standard practice for Ferguson to wind up his opponents each year in the hope of making them crack under the additional pressure and drop points in the league. Rafa should know this only too well, and shouldn't let it bother him. So it was surprising when Rafa took the bait on Friday [youtube link] and launched into a cringeworthy diatribe on Ferguson. Click to continue reading...

It's standard practice for Ferguson to wind up his opponents each year in the hope of making them crack under the additional pressure and drop points in the league. Rafa should know this only too well, and shouldn't let it bother him. So it was surprising when Rafa took the bait on Friday [youtube link] and launched into a cringeworthy diatribe on Ferguson. Click to continue reading...

It's standard practice for Ferguson to wind up his opponents each year in the hope of making them crack under the additional pressure and drop points in the league. Rafa should know this only too well, and shouldn't let it bother him. So it was surprising when Rafa took the bait on Friday [youtube link] and launched into a cringeworthy diatribe on Ferguson. Click to continue reading...

The Mirror is calling it for Sam Allardyce. Related posts:Paul Ince Sacked at Blackburn, Immediately Appointed Manager of Real MadridPaul Ince's Job Is SafeSam Allardyce Finally Catches Up with His Own Down-and-Out Spirit Related posts:

1. Paul Ince Sacked at Blackburn, Immediately Appointed Manager of Real Madrid
2. Paul Ince's Job Is Safe
3. Sam Allardyce Finally Catches Up with His Own Down-and-Out Spirit

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