How disappointing was that? Made all the worse by the frenzy of expectation that we whipped ourselves into. I'm more stunned than angry, maybe anger will come later but right now I am walking around in a daze.

I reckon no matter what combination of player you hoped to see yesterday, you were catered for; if you were one of those that wanted Nasri in place of Diaby, you got it; if you wanted to see Ramsey given more game time than Denilson, you got it; if you thought that the combination of Fabregas, Arshavin, Nasri, Rosicky would be unstoppable, you got it, if you thought Vela and Walcott would make the difference, you got it; if you thought Song was too important to rest, you got it, if you thought that Silvestre shouldn't be anywhere near the first team, you got it.

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"To be perfectly honest we are a little bit disappointed, because it was a game we felt quite comfortable in. We restricted them to very attempts on goal in the first half and we looked dangerous on the break.
"We got our noses in front but there is a sense of disappointment because there was an opportunity missed here today and I felt that Liverpool were there for the taking.

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Frank Lampard training in October, 2009. Image via Getty

Frank Lampard, one of the standout thigh-masters of our generation, has been injured.

Where?

No, not the groin, which is the current 'baller injury trend de jour. He's done in a thigh. But, really, wasn't this only a matter of time?

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Peter Vermes is now the head coach of the Kansas City Wizards. (Getty Images)

I guess Peter Vermes liked coaching enough after all. Today the Kansas City Wizards are set to remove the interim tag from Vermes title and name him their full time head coach.

The Wizards will formally announce Vermes as the club's head coach at a press conference later today at the Wizards Swope Park Training Complex.

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Afternoon all.

Is it me or is it a bit quiet out there? Perhaps after all the excitement from the weekend anything is going to seem quiet. Speaking of quiet, that's not something Eboue can be accused of as he issues the most unsubtle ‘come and get me' plea to PSG. It's all very strange.

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Pompey mount revival. Following a miserable season start of 7 losses, conceding 13 goals and netting just 3 in the process, the South Coast club, rooted in last place, were everyone's early season pick for relegation. But how quickly things change in football. In the last 4 matches, Portsmouth have scored 10 goals, conceded just 2 and amassed 7 crucial points on the way to Premiership survival.

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With Rangers getting closer and closer to almost becoming Leeds United, maybe its time for both Celtic and Rangers to run away from the Scottish Premier League and head for greener pastures. Rangers 's club's bankers Lloyds are owed £30million by the end of the campaign. With a TV contract that is nothing to celebrate the only way that they maybe be able to meet the payment is to sell half of the first team. Click to continue reading...

Hull club officials had plenty of patience with boss Phil Brown over the last year or so, even though the Tigers kept underachieving, but they have finally decided to sack him if the team remain in the relegation zone after the next two rounds. Those of you who were insightful enough to place a bet on Brown to win the Premiership sack race are probably in for a nice betting bonus, while those of you thinking about doing that now should know the betting is suspended.

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Perhaps trying to dampen some of the criticism aimed at him - particularly in the wake of Sunday's drawagainst Fulham, Mark Hughes has offered support for big money signing Joleon Lescott:

"You have to understand, though, that this is a new back four and the more games Joleon and Kolo [Touré] play together the better they will gel as a pair.

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Notts County's new manager is predictable Notts County have appointed Sven Goran Eriksson's former Manchester City assistant Hans Backe as their new manager. Ex-boss Ian McParland never really stood a chance in the post, and it was only a matter of time before Eriksson took over the managerial power. Click to continue reading...

Sunday marked 361 days since the 29th October 2008. Or in other words Arsenal 4 Sp*rs 4. So a year on from letting a two-goal lead slip in a London derby, we did it again.
Every year Wenger tells us how this team is improving. Yet, year-on-year we can see no change.
Partly, our failure to win was the referee's fault. Click to continue reading...

At Half-time the Orlando Stadium was in the dark , then the the Lamontville Golden Arrows lit up the Soweto night with their 6-0 drubbing of Ajax Cape Town in the MTN8 Wafa Wafa Finals.

The goals were scored by a Njabulo Manqana brace, Richard Henyekane, Thokozani Msheng, Nhlanhla Zothwane and an own goal from unfortunate Ajax defender Deniss Ivanovs.

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Well here we all are again, a little dustier and a trifle older, but here we all are nevertheless.

I did try to get excited about the internationals. But I couldn't. I missed the Ukraine game entirely, and though I did watch the Belarus game, it was so inconsequential that I lost interest faster than I do when I periodically attempt doing some DIY.

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Whilst the FIFPro player of the year award itself has a relativily short history (having only been awarded since 2005), the origins of the awards could feasibly traced back to 1898 and the formation of the Association Football's Union in England. Whilst the AFU turned out to be unsuccessful and ultimately shortlived, shutting up shop in 1901, it was a precursor to the formation of the Professional Footballers Association which officially started in 1907.

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It was a matter of time that the supposed "Witch-Doctor" beginto cash in on the coincidental injury of REAL MADRID starCRISTIANO RONALDO. SEE VIDEO:PEPE - "The Witch" ( now that´s a Hollywood name) claims he has been contracted by a non-European women to cause injury toCristiano Ronaldo. As you may now Ronaldo was diagnosed yesterdaya serious strained ankle that will keep him out of Football for Click to continue reading...

Wenger takes keen interest in up and coming midfielder.

Arsenal are also rumoured to be interested in signing Standard Liège midfielder Steven Defour, even though he's currently laid up with a broken foot. Arsène Wenger has sent scouts to watch the Belgian international, and was clearly impressed by unsurprising reports that he's flaked out on the sofa with his leg in a cast, eating grapes and watching The Jeremy Kyle Show and Loose Women.

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On the 27th round of Brasileirao, Palmeiras gave an important step towards the title by keeping the 5 point lead over Sao Paulo, the second team in the table. And it wasn't a simple victory. It was a clear display of the discipline, power and luck (why not?) against Santos at Vila Belmiro.

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English Premier League is one of the most exciting football leagues in Europe but while Chelsea shouldn't have too many problems taking the title from United, the relegation race promises to be as exciting as ever. Last weekend both Hull City and Portsmouth boosted their survival hopes by beating direct relegation rivals, while Wolves, Birmingham and Blackburn proved they could be involved in the battle to avoid the drop.

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Bolton manager Gary Megson has yet another tough fight on his hands. With Bolton enjoying a shaky start to the season, one of the few shining lights has been the form of defender Gary Cahill. The 23 year old is breaking onto the national scene and it's only a matter of time before he moves on to a bigger club.

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FC Barcelona, defending UEFA Champions League winners, had their second match of the group stage against Dynamo Kiev. Barcelona has looked great in the Spanish La Liga and appears ready to make another deep run in the European competition while Dynamo Kiev is aiming to make the knockout stage.

FC Barcelona beats Dynamo Kiev 2-0 Video Highlights

Barcelona was dominant at home once again against Dynamo Kiev as they had 81% of possession in the first half.

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Given the title of this article, I could be about to tell you about how the strike duo of Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones will be leading Sunderland to new heights in the Premier League this season, but we will save that for a later date. I'd rather make a bold statement and talk about the bottom of the table at the moment.

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The inroads of the English Premier League into broadband culture continue, as highlights from the Premier League are now available on Hulu free of charge, via Fox Soccer Channel. Coinciding with that, highlights from the Champions League are up as well.

With it's own channel, fans can access two minute highlight reels of all premier league matches from that particular weekend and Goals of the Week segments.

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I didn't manage to catch much of the 2-0 victory over West Brom the other night, but regardless of the circumstances, the win was an excellent result with a team that was young even by Carling Cup standards. Make no mistake, West Brom are a decent side, and on top form after dishing out a drubbing to Boro at the weekend.

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Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Prior to today's match there were talks that both Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique were going to be rested against Santander. Messi would receive rest because of a busy week ahead and Pique for a knock he suffered over the weekend against Athletico Madrid. But when the starting lineups were announced both players appeared.

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(Apologies for the lack of a picture...the website I use for photos appears to be down -- at least for my computer) When Peter Lowry netted twice for the Fire in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Columbus, you couldn't blame the midfielder for wanting to soak it all in. After all, it's not too often that the 24-year-old Lowry gets a start, let alone scores two goals.

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Joe Bennett was recently held back from going to the Under-20 World Cup with England by Gareth Southgate, a clear indication that he is in and around the first team squad and could find himself in the first team before too long.

Bennett is an very talented left full back who currently finds himself behind Andrew Taylor and Jon Grounds in the pecking order, but many think it is a matter of time before Bennett makes the breakthrough.

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Rafael Benitez admits Liverpool were hit hard by the two early-season defeats which instantly halted all title talk on Merseyside.
Liverpool were beaten by Tottenham and Aston Villa in the opening three Barclays Premier League games, and Benitez said: "It was hard to take when we lost two games so quickly. Click to continue reading...

This weekend's Premiership fixtures promise to be exciting clashes between some of the world's top talents. Sadly, though, for some fans the weekend will be about coping with injuries. Some of the Premier League's biggest players have been injured in recent weeks, and just to show the talent that is missing out, here are eleven players that every football fan should look forward to see return in the coming weeks:

Manuel Almunia (GK)

Arsenal's number one is suffering from an unfortunate chest infection and isn't expected to be fit for Arsenal's match against Wigan this weekend.

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Eduardo scored the winner in Arsenal's victory.

Arsenal were under the gun early as Belgian side Standard Liege jumped to a 2-0 lead after only five minutes. It was a nightmare start for young Italian keeper Vito Mannone. Not that the goals were his fault but two goals conceded in five minutes is a horrible start for any keeper.

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Reina
Johnson Skrtel Carragher Insua
Gerrard Lucas
Benayoun Kuyt Riera
Torres
Goals:
Kuyt 45+1'
Well, they can't all be 4-0, can they?
That wasn't good enough by any stretch and yet it was. The performance left a lot to be desired, but three points are all you can ask for. Click to continue reading...

Stoke City may be a small club, but that never seems to faze them when they walk out in front of the crowd at The Britannia. Saturday was no different.

Chelsea was visiting, and they brought their undefeated record with them, too. Stoke was ready for a battle, though. It's pretty hard to describe how different Stoke is as a team when they are playing at home.

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Who saw this coming?

RBR is reporting that Red Bull are terminating the loan deal for Alfredo Pacheco effective immediately. In a season full of unbelievable situations, this one proves to be just more frosting on the cake. Pacheco followed the route of other Osorio signings before him, showing displays of brilliance in the middle of mind boggling mistakes.

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There should be an opposite of ESPN Classic. Like, ESPN Horsesh*t. Because Saturday's LA-Dallas game deserves immortality, but calling it a classic would be rank false advertising.
I'm sure in the 130 years or so they've been playing association football that there have been weirder games. Click to continue reading...

DENVER — Now that's how to break in a new stadium.

The University of Denver men's soccer team sent an overflow crowd home happy as Alex Tarnoczi scored 3 minutes, 4 seconds into overtime in a 2-1 victory over Dayton on Saturday.

The game was the first for the men's team at Pioneer Field, built just to the west of the Ritchie Center.

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Let's get Saturday out of the way first with a bit of Q & A:

Was it a boring game? Yes

Was it a Penalty? No.

Was Rooney asking the ref for it? No. I had a good butchers at the replays and to me, Wayne's hands go up and he mouths something to Gerrard, not the ref (something along the lines of, "what kinda **** ball was that soft-lad!

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