Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill admits that the Black Cats will have their hands full when they entertain Arsenal at the Stadium of Light today, particularly given the dexterity of Gunners youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The teenage sensation has quickly become a fan favorite at Arsenal, setting up Robin van Persie's equalizer in the 2-1 defeat against Manchester United and then displaying his scoring abilities by netting twice in last weekend's 7-1 destruction of Blackburn.

A genial head-nod to all Arselings out there. Things are usually pretty quiet on the disquiet front after a win, and it has expectedly been all shush-and-silence in the wake of us playing Blackburn like a set of drums last week. But just like the draw at Bolton didn't mean that the team was on a one-way trip to Hades, a rout over ten-man relegation fodder doesn't a summer make.

Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has backed tomorrow's opponents Arsenal to silence their critics, making it clear that the Gunners have sufficient talent to prevail at the Stadium of Light.

Arsene Wenger's men are three points adrift of fourth-place Chelsea and have relied heavily on the incredible form of skipper Robin van Persie, who scored a brilliant hat-trick in last weekend's 7-1 rout of Blackburn.

Featured image: Nicolae Stoian

The next edition of the Philly Soccer Show podcast, scheduled to be recorded tonight, will feature USMNT U-23 coach Caleb Porter and the Philadelphia Union's top pick in Thursday's SuperDraft, Chandler Hoffman.

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Sunderland blog the Roker Report tells fellow SB Nation affiliate the Brotherly Game that team manager Martin O'Neill responded to a reporter's question about rumors of a possible Michael Farfan loan by saying people should not read too much "into these things.

It has indeed happened. We have reached the magical plateau of 40 points, and are thus unlikely to be relegated. Three cheers. As for this fixture, it was a right odd one, with the Chels looking equal parts sterling and benumb, particularly in defense. Chances, there were a fair few for both sides.

Rest up, Ram. We're going to need your services today.

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I think Sunderland signing Martin O'Neill as their new manager is one of the most significant events to happen in the North-East recently. Of course there is massive rivalry between Newcastle and Sunderland, so it takes a lot for a Newcastle fan to say something like that. But rivalry and competition manifest themselves in every [.

A very content Martin O'Neill says he went for the win despite many thinking he wanted his team to close out the game in the final seconds.

Tottenham Hotspur v Sunderland, White Hart Lane, Sunday 18th December, 3pm Kick off

So on Thursday night Spurs European adventure for this season came to an end, despite a 4-0 win at Shamrock. The perceived wisdom is that this is a blessing in disguise and can leave Harry Redknapp and his team to concentrate on getting Spurs back into the Champions League.

Besides the fact that the embedded YouTube video above has amazing background music (absolutely amazing), that's not the only reason we're selecting Sunderland's unheard of striker Ji Dong-Won as our Funny Feeling Friday this weekend. Hear us out... The 20-year-old wiry ... Continue reading →

The MO'N era, Liverpool's third time lucky and the basement boys Liverpool A strange season thus far for Kenny Dalglish's men. Two wins against Chelsea, a point against Manchester City and the same against Manchester United. Defeats against Stoke and Fulham, and home draws against Norwich and Swansea.

Amidst all the hoopla and hilarity of the season's first managerial sacking in the Premiership - Steve Bruce by Sunderland FC - it's easy to lose sight of the fact that it typically doesn't help to sack the manager. To be sure: there often seems to be a bounce-back in results for teams that appoint a new manager; but statistically speaking, the bounce-back is likely to occur in any case, with or without sacking the gaffer.

Sunderland may not be in trophy-winning form this season, but their victory in the always-eventful 'sack race' may prove to be a blessing in disguise.

After looking tame and lacking confidence for much of this campaign under Steve Bruce, with a paltry 11 points from 14 matches their return, new club chairman Ellis Short felt the club needed to go in a new direction.

At the onset of his tenure, it wouldn't have taken much effort to find predictions about the brand of football Alex McLeish's Aston Villa side were destined to serve up. None were particularly exciting or encouraging.

I prefer a 'wait and see' policy myself, but I think we're far enough into the season now to look at some statistics and draw some conclusions.

Leicester City have confirmed the sacking (by mutual consent?) of former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson after the Foxes won just two of their last seven games their latest defeat coming against Millwall 3-0 at the week-end seemingly the result which broke the camels back so to speak. And already former Foxes boss Martin O'Neill is favourite to take up the hotseat he left in 2000 for Celtic, with the Filbert Street Thai owners ready to spend whatever it takes to bring the Foxes to a return to the promised land(Premier League).

LTLF's betting column goes through the possible candidates and finds out where the best odds can be found for each of them respectively.

As you're probably all too aware, the 1-1 draw at QPR on Sunday was our 5th draw of the season. And we've only played six games. And we remain unbeaten. You knew that, right?

Of course you did.
You might not be aware that this means we've drawn 83.33% of the (admittedly limited number of) games so far, or that we'll finish up drawing 31 or 32 games by the end of the season if this pattern continues.

Our resident writer Rolly Pelovangu is an Arsenal fan and understandable he is starting to become disillusioned by the Arsne Wenger regime. As a result he has put together a comprehensive lists of those who could replace the Arsenal great at the helm. It is February 2012. Arsenal have just suffered a painful home defeat [.

We were promised an announcement confirming Alex McLeish's appointment by now*, but that's about as timely as everything else connected to the search for a manager, so I thought I'd share something I was just looking at instead.

For one reason or another, it doesn't matter why, someone put it to me on Twitter that all MON's Villa side did was hoof it up the pitch; the old long ball.

We were promised an announcement confirming Alex McLeish's appointment by now*, but that's about as timely as everything else connected to the search for a manager, so I thought I'd share something I was just looking at instead.

For one reason or another, it doesn't matter why, someone put it to me on Twitter that all MON's Villa side did was hoof it up the pitch; the old long ball.

The LMA has just issued a statement confirming that the dispute between Martin O'Neill and Aston Villa has been amicably resolved during the course of the tribunal.

Martin O'Neill said:

Martin O'Neill
It has taken a long time to deal with this matter but I am pleased that all issues have now been amicably finalised.

The LMA has just issued a statement confirming that the dispute between Martin O'Neill and Aston Villa has been amicably resolved during the course of the tribunal.

Martin O'Neill said:

Martin O'Neill
It has taken a long time to deal with this matter but I am pleased that all issues have now been amicably finalised.

Celtic 6-2 Rangers, August 2000 Your boys took one hell of a beating is a post from: Just Football

by William Heaney

While Martin O'Neill's appointment as Celtic manager was warmly welcomed by the club's fans in July 2000, the general consensus was that he would have a huge task on his hands to build a successful side.

A class apart... 1. However ugly the journey, and however mishandled the situation, the end result is correct. Grant's time has come. By the time you are reading this he will probably already have gone. Grant's winning percentage in the Premier League since leaving Chelsea is just 19%. It's just not good enough.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I've never really drunk the Holloway Kool-Aid. It's not that I necessarily disagree with much that he says, most of it is basic common sense, it's more that I've met a thousand Ian Holloways and they're all the same; entertaining enough, but only in small doses.

Martin O'Neill is still being touted as the man to replace the unlucky Avram Grant at the helm of West Ham United. The former Aston Villa manager is reported to be mulling over the possibility of being the Irons' new manager.
Avram Grant has always been unlucky in the English Premier League.

How badly is Houllier doing at Aston Villa? That is, what should the expectations of the Villa fans be for this season? The club are hovering just above the relegation zone half way through the season after years of UEFA Cup football and just missing out on the Champions League under O'Neill which does constitute [.