Steven Gerrard has urged Liverpool's youngsters that they can't afford to be patient and must prove
themselves worthy of a place in the first-team.
The likes of Raheem Sterling, Jonjo Shelvey and Adam Morgan have impressed while on the club's
pre-season tour and will be hoping that new Reds manager Brendan Rodgers gives them a chance in the
Premier League.
We haven't been too surprised that Davide Santon has been in and out of the Newcastle side
lately. Davide Santon - showing great mental strength and maturity You have to remember that it's
the 21 year-old's first season in the Premier League and he will be learning all the time, and of
course he will be making mistakes, as [.
Tottenham Hotspurs' Dutch star, Rafael Van der Vaart admitted there's bitterness after the
club's heavy defeat against city rival Arsenal on Sunday but the Dutchman believes that his
teammates can immediately bounce back from it.
Van der Vaart also claim that the defeat didn't instantly gave them something to fear about
regarding their position in the table since they are pretty comfortably enough in third place at
the moment.
San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-3) vs. Seattle Sounders FC (7-5-4) Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal
William Schulz: San Jose is in much better form going into this quarterfinal, but I think
Seattle's loss to Portland Sunday jostled the team in a way only a rivalry can.
Last week's victory was a huge feet of mental strength for the Portland Timbers as it showed
that not only could they get over their losing streak, but also that they could beat the league
leaders while recording their first shut out of the 2012 season. Suffice it to say there was a lot
to be happy about especially heading off on a road game against one of the current worst teams in
the league.
A helter-skelter of a game which must have pleased everyone but the aesthetes. England got the
champagne after coming out on top of a five-goal thriller, but the Swedes, backed by phenomenal
support, left Euro 2012 in glory, coming from a goal down to bag two in ten minutes and send
England reeling for a few crazy minutes.
The Netherlands continues their warm-up to the Euro 2012 tournament with a friendly against
Slovakia. The match will take place at De Kuip Stadion in Rotterdam, Netherlands with kickoff
scheduled for 2:30 PM USA Eastern time.
Netherlands player Arjen Robben
"It was a special week (playing in UCL final for Bayern Munich) but I am back here on the
practice field with Holland and the Euros is the new target.
Yes, we finished third. Yes, there was a St. Totteringham's day after all (albeit much delayed).
Yes, we finally displayed some of that oft-referred-to mental strength. But I for one am glad we
have seen the back of 2011-12. I'd rather sit through a Justin Bieber Rebecca Black duet concert
than experience what I experienced last season again.
Signing for Arsenal at the tender age of 9, central midfielder Henri Lansbury came up through
the ranks until he eventually signed a professional contract in  1 July 2008. After a successful
loan spell at Scunthorpe United in League One (which included 4 goals and 5 assists in 16
appearances), Lansbury featured in Arsenal's FA Youth Cup winning team (6-2 over Liverpool,
Lansbury 2 assists).
Signing for Arsenal at the tender age of 9, central midfielder Henri Lansbury came up through
the ranks until he eventually signed a professional contract in  1 July 2008. After a successful
loan spell at Scunthorpe United in League One (which included 4 goals and 5 assists in 16
appearances), Lansbury featured in Arsenal's FA Youth Cup winning team (6-2 over Liverpool,
Lansbury 2 assists).
In 19th century coal mining there were no automated ventilation systems, leaving the pit workers
at risk of perishing from toxic gases.
So they used to bring a caged canary down to the coalface with them. Canaries are especially
sensitive to carbon monoxide and methane and would keel over dead soon after inhaling them.
In 19th century coal mining there were no automated ventilation systems, leaving the pit workers
at risk of perishing from toxic gases.
So they used to bring a caged canary down to the coalface with them. Canaries are especially
sensitive to carbon monoxide and methane and would keel over dead soon after inhaling them.
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has accepted the harsh criticism that has been unleashed at him
ever since Monday's 2-1 defeat at home to Wigan but remains committed to bouncing back from the
setback against the Latics.
Ramsey entered Monday evening's match as an early substitute for Mikel Arteta and with the
Gunners falling two goals behind within the opening eight minutes, there was heavy pressure on the
Welshman to deliver against a relegation-threatened opposition.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hailed the focus of young goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny,
comparing the Pole's rapid progress to the emergence of England number one Joe Hart.
Hart won the Barclays Golden Glove last season and was voted as the Premier League's goalkeeper
of the year for the 2009-10 season and at the age of 24, the Manchester City star was also chosen
as the star-studded club's performer of the year last season.
3rd place has never looked so good, has it? A win at Goodison Park last night continued an
excellent recent run of form to move Arsenal above Spurs for the first time this season.
Although there were many chances for Arsenal, this will go down as a hard-fought, scrappy 1-0
away victory, with a defender, Thomas Vermaelen, the main hero, scoring the winner early on from a
corner and defending like a hero throughout.
It's almost come as shock to some people that Arsenal are kicking into gear and are starting to fly
like R. Kelly believes he can.
It doesn't surprise me though. Not at all. There is too much quality in the squad for us not to
be.
Of course, this current group of players is arguably one of Arsene Wenger's weakest since he joined
the club but that just shows the strength of the previous teams he has had.
There comes a time in every relationship where you have to wonder, "where is this going?".
That's where I am with Arsenal right now. My love for the club is strong, but they're so up and
down I wonder how well I really know them.
I think I'll end the relationship metaphor there, as I'm obviously not going to break up with
Arsenal.
The ‘belief' factor by KJ Recently, I've been analysing Arsenal's mental qualities and presenting
the possibility of a new ‘Invincibles' under Wenger. Although it's very unlikely, it's still a
great possibility to have these types of characters on the field, in the dressing room, on the
training ground.
In a straw text poll before the match last night, I asked 7 people whether it was going to be W, D
or L at the Stadium of Light. Four went for a win, two for a draw (one of which was me) and two for
a defeat. It just goes to show that optimism often triumphs over despair, despite most of the
evidence stacking up against it.
Sunderland v Arsenal Preview, Prediction, TV Listings, Betting Odds EPL 11 February 2012 - The
90th Minute Soccer Blog
The Black Cats have won their last three league matches as they host 6th place Arsenal in the
English Premier League. The match will take place at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, England on
Saturday, February 11, 2012.
For all the crisis talk, it hasn't been a bad fortnight for Arsenal. At half time against Villa,
we were staring down the barrel of a fourth successive defeat, and an early exit from a competition
that was beginning to open up thanks to some high profile ties that we had managed to avoid. Since
then, we have seen actual mental strength (as opposed to the professed type that leaves us
scratching our heads in disbelief) in that comeback win, a match against Bolton which, while
frustrating from a result point of view, was a sharp improvement in performance on those that had
come before, and a thumping seven goal win over a Blackburn side that inflicted perhaps our most
painful defeat of the season back in September (yes, I count that 4-3 loss as worse than the United
hammering).
Predicting results at this stage of the season becomes something of a fool's errand. Easter time
has always thrown up shock results. The only surprise is that we continue to be surprised by it.
There are just so many factors at this stage of the season that make facing Wigan in December, for
instance, a much, much different prospect to facing them in April.
With three games squeezed into seven days and Jamie Carragher having started on Sunday, it was
surprising to see Sebastian Coates begin the game on the bench against QPR. After coming on late in
the first half as a substitute and subsequently being the only Liverpool defender blameless in
Rangers' three late goals, and with not even the most hopeful fan entertaining dreams of a push for
the top four any longer, it would be rather more than surprising were he to find himself once again
starting on the bench against Wigan on the weekend.
Players don't love it. Coaches need it. And the facial expressions are always entertaining after
everyone hear's the words 'beep test'.
A common method of evaluating a player's fitness base, the beep test itself isn't that complicated.
While there are different forms, generally speaking there are two lines spaced approximately 20
meters apart, and players have to reach each line before the beep.
My brain is an arsehole. "Just one gigantic whiskey before you go to bed. Go on!"
I need to stop listening to my brain although I'm not sure who I should listen to in that case.
I guess it's another reason why I've always been a fan of butlers. "Should I have one gigantic
whiskey before I go to bed, Carmichael?
Emmanuel Adebayor did much to restore fans' faith in a top four finish with his two goals in the
3-1 win over Swansea on Sunday. The striker's future at the Lane has been firmly under the
microscope in the last few days but for now, he is clearly focussing on making certain of fourth
place at the very least.
Tottenham's Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart has hit the headlines for two reasons today
in the wake of Spurs' 5-2 defeat at the Emirates on Sunday. Firstly, Rafa ruled his club out of the
title race and at the same time, it was announced that he will miss Holland's friendly
international with England this week due to an ankle injury.
How important is mental strength in modern football? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
There are so many variables that can play their part in deciding whether an individual or team are a success or failure in modern day sport, and football is no exception. With advanced training techniques, sports science and nutrition, performance aiding footwear and everything else that incorporates the game at the highest level these days, the margins between winning and losing are at times very small.
Everybody, kiss your sister For the first time maybe since starting this blog I
didn't watch a Rapids game. I spent the weekend at family events in Seattle and my schedule hasn't
allowed me time to watch the game yet, but I didn't want to leave anyone hanging. ;) I have watched
the goals and read other write-ups but I'm not going to try to do any sort of comprehensive review
of the game.
I'm not much of a betting man really. From time to time I'll get a tip and throw a couple of
quid on it, win a few quid back, then fritter that few quid away betting on stuff I really have no
clue about. But I'm sorry now I didn't have a pop on both Spanish clubs going out of the Champions
League this week.
"What's the stopping distance at 60mph in the rain again?"
Yeah sure, there's a lot more sordid news concerning footballers doing the rounds today, but in
an antidote to all the sleaze and criminality, we bring you an inspirational tale of dedication and
mental strength.
It's a precarious and inexact science is football. The lines are so often wafer thin between
glory and disaster. I'm talking Steve Mcmanaman's forearms thin. A succession of delicious injury
time winners has everyone cock a hoop in the Goonerverse at the time of writing. With Tottenham's
ten point advantage whittled down to one point, fingers are pointing towards our erstwhile
neighbours with accompanying laughter at their premature "mind the gap" assertions.
Well, what to make of that? One of the most exhilarating matches I've watched for a long time. We
came close, but not close enough. Thoughts as follows:
* In my preview, I argued that we could win the game if we got one goal early on, and one before
half-time, which would make the second half anyone's game.
