For just about the last 30 years, English goalkeepers have slipped down the rankings of the world's best despite the legacy that they bring with them from days gone by. There was a time when it didn't matter who played in nets for the national team (as long as it wasn't Peter Bonetti!

First let me kill any hopes you may have for screenshots or comparisons with current or former players. You can safely rule out long-winded analysis as well. There won't be any for this one. Put simply: Alfredo Francisco Martins is a mere sketch of a player in FM. No size, no footedness, roughly a quarter of his stats defined[1].

Philadelphia Union

The Goalkeeper has a transcript of Wednesday's press conference with Peter Nowak. Among the highlights:

On Pajoy: "He's a guy who brings not only character but also a mentality to the game. He's very physical, and very fast as well. He can change the game, because he's a different option.

To anyone who follows the beautiful game, Anelka's move to Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua did not make sense. What is even more interesting is Anelka's recent revelation that he snubbed PSG and a chance to re-unite with former coach Carlo Ancelotti for a little known Chinnese team.

By Greg Evans

Earlier in the week the group stages of this year's Africa Cup of Nations concluded and, before we go any further and the sadly unavoidable 'why cover this pointless tournament?/the quality's terrible' mentality begins to set in, let me just go on record as saying that some of the performances and matches I have seen in the past two weeks have eclipsed anything I have seen in our beloved Premier League for a very long time.

Juan Mata has spoken ahead of the United game on Sunday. In the short time he has been here in England, he has made an impact and has become an important player for Chelsea now and in the future.
Speaking of the weekend, Mata reveals that the players aren't happy with the ways things are going but are determined to put things right in every game starting with United.

The Portland Timbers returned to another closed practice today away from the prying eyes of the media after resting on Wednesday. Sebastian Rincon, known from Tuesday's practice report as the mystery player, continued his trial with the team, while Brent Richards was once again missing from practice.

By DAVE MARTINEZ

As the New York Red Bulls opened their preseason camp two weeks ago, coach Hans Backe surveyed the landscape of his young goalkeeping ranks and assessed the need for an established veteran to take a leadership role.

Despite being heavily rumored to be grasping that role, Venezuelan netminder Renny Vega will not be the one manning the posts at Red Bull Arena this season.

Having left a pretty bad mark in their latest meeting with Manchester United, Liverpool apparently wants their upcoming meeting against Sir Alex Ferguson's side in the FA Cup returns as a memorable fixture in a footballing way.

This wish is being revealed by the Reds' captain, Steven Gerrard, who felt that what happened in both clubs' previous meeting have pretty much gave more negative aspect towards his team which is obviously not related with football.

It's funny how the English media mock the quality of Major League Soccer, but guess where Premier League teams turned to this month to help their sides? Yep, MLS.

First we had the Galaxy's Landon Donovan going back to Everton on loan and then the NYRB's Thierry Henry returned to Arsenal, where he promptly scored the winner in their FA Cup tie against Leeds.

The way we do business is changing fast and in order to keep up, your entire mentality about work has to change just as quickly.
Unfortunately, most people aren't adapting fast enough to this change in the workplace, says marketing guru Seth Godin in an interview with the Canadian talk show "George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight" (via Pragmatic Capitalism).

With the signing of Gary Cahill, it seems to me that slowly but surely, Chelsea are rebuilding the core of our side. For years, the core of the team has been Petr Cech, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba and we have seen them lead the side to the recent successes we have had. We have seen different players come and go as managers have built sides around them.

Ducky's Note: Ratna Prashanth analyzes Cahill's signing and what it means for Chelsea

Finally, after a loooooong discussion of personal terms, Chelsea announced the signing of Bolton Wanderers' English-born central defender Gary Cahill. This is a much needed signing at a low price in January market, considering the fact that Chelsea have been having a torrid time with their defence the whole season.

The Philadelphia Independence coaching staff went into the 2012 WPS Draft with an offensive mentality, picking up three attackers. They rounded out their league high six draft picks by picking up two defenders and a goalkeeper. In a draft that focused heavily on midfield pickups, Paul Riley and his staff were able to capitalize on picks made by other teams.

Charlie Adam is adamant that Liverpool can finally end their long wait for silverware by winning the Carling Cup in February.
The Reds produced a stoic defensive display in the second half as they overcame Premier League leaders Manchester City 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium in the semi-final, first-leg on Wednesday night.

Well Florent Malouda is doing his best to keep in favour with the manager isn't he!. After reports of AVB's cull at the club of the older players coming to the end of their contracts, Florent Malouda has spoken of the situation here and that fact that we should be winning things year in, year out.

Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda has expressed relief at the club's recent back-to-back wins over the Wolves and Portsmouth, and hopes that the Blues can continue to perform well.

A lack of stability has hindered the Blues' prospects of domestic success this season and with Stamford Bridge not being the fortress it has been in recent years, Malouda admits that the team is particularly concerned about the home form.

Italian league action resumed yesterday after a short break with a couple of interesting results. Inter Milan began the year with a resounding 5-0 hammering of Parma at the San Siro while high flyers Lazio were thrashed 4-0 by Siena.

In what he termed as his best display ever with the club, a visibly happy Claudio Ranieri praised his side for their 5 star performance.

Being realistic the FA Cup is the last throw of the dice for Arsenal to win silverware this season.
We have as much chance of winning the league as Frank Lampard trying Diet Coke, are out of the pint of Carling Cup and the way Barcelona are playing UEFA may as well hand them the Champions League trophy now.

Photo courtesy of UCSB Media Relations/Adam Caira

By ADAM SERRANO

It's not hard to recognize the talent of UCSB midfielder Luis Silva.

A dynamic playmaker with a penchant for scoring goals from anywhere on the field, Silva is considered to be a top-10 pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft.

Jermain Defoe Blonde

So, it feels pretty good to be a Spurs fan at the moment right?! Six points off City with a game in hand and possibly even more satisfying, six points in front of Arsenal with that same game in hand. I'm looking forward to the FA Cup this weekend and I'm hoping we will make short work of Cheltenham even if most of the first eleven are given what would be a well overdue rest.

Inter Milan play maker Wesley Sneijder has admitted that this could be his last season with the Italian giants. Sneidjer has been with the Nerrazzuri since 2009 and despite signing a 5 year contract extension last summer tying him to the club until 2015, the Dutch star has lately looked very unsettled with the team.

It's headlines like this we wake up to this morning with The Sun claiming from their so called "Chelsea source" that there is player unrest and AVB has lost the dressing room.
The basis of this information has come about because apparently Nico Anelka was banned from the club's Xmas do by AVB so the players organised a separate one and didn't tell AVB for Anelka.

That Tottenham, can they do it? Contenders? Say no more. The JimmyG2 Column. It's getting deucedly difficult to write about Spurs these days. We've had it easy for years: missed opportunities; failures to close games out; last ditch losses; individual poor performances; lack of winning mentality; Jenas.

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has dismissed suggestions that Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Premier League leaders Manchester City has brought the Gunners closer to another season without winning any silverware.

While Koscielny and his teammates now trail the Citizens by a massive 12 points and also suffered Carling Cup elimination at home to the same outfit a few days ago, they still have the Champions League and the FA Cup to fight for.

New York Red Bulls sporting director Eric Soler may have said Tim Ream is not for sale, but that hasn't stopped Bolton Wanderers from continuing to admit interest in the American center back.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle spoke about Ream on Thursday, admitting that the club is still keen on acquiring him during the winter transfer window.

Real Madrid players have lamented their 3-1 loss to arch rivals Barcelona at the Bernabeu last night with defender Sergio Ramos saying that losing to the Catalans is always more hurtful.

Speaking to the press after the loss, Ramos was also quick to offer his congratulatory remarks to Barca.

File Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Philadelphia Union

In Thursday's press conference, Peter Nowak reiterated a theme that he has stressed since the end of the season: he is looking to create competition among positions within the squad. "The more guys we have in [camp] being involved with the team and the team-mentality is better and will help us to have better results.

Arsenal are visiting Greece for the final group game with top spot secured. Such games can easily become an unwanted, tiresome chore but they can also be an opportunity for the some of the players to show what they are capable of with a chance to perform in a pressure-free environment.

Of course, we don't want the team to be frivolous and roll over but I feel the squad that Wenger has taken to Olympiacos is full of professionals who respect the badge on their shirt and the game/competition.

A quick thought to kick off the work week. Top of the list is Shalrie Joseph. The captain of the New England Revolution is returning to the Revs in 2012. The 33 year old inked a new deal with Revolution president Brian Bilello under new head coach Jay Heaps. After months of speculation we now know that Joseph will not depart the team.

Ireland face a tough group after being drawn against world and European Champions Spain, Italy and Croatia in Kiev on Friday evening.
Giovanni Trapattoni's side, who will play all of their Group C games in Poland, kick off their finals campaign against Croatia in Gdansk on 10 June.
Ireland will remain in the port city for the clash against tournament favourites Spain on 14 June, before travelling to Poznan for the side's final group game against Italy on 18 June.

David Luiz is a player that always divides opinion amongst football fans. You will often hear people discussing where his best position is or if he should even be in the team. Of late, Luiz has featured as a regular in games and you could argue that Luiz had a good game against Liverpool, one of his best this season despite the defeat.

Wimbledon legend and former 'Crazy Gang' member Robbie Earle believes that Liverpool should've beaten Manchester City on Sunday, but he has questioned whether Kenny Dalglish's team have the right mentality and focus to finish in the Premier League's top 4 this season.
Earle, who was appointed an MBE in 1999 for services to football, observed:
"I think Liverpool will look back at the game and think maybe they should've taken all three [points].

Auxerre vs. Olympique Lyonnais,

Matchday 15, Ligue 1

"If you're going to do things differently, you might as well be bad at them. "

This message is what team Lyonnais seems to be reading every morning for the past two months. Of course, nobody would have expected them to continue their fine form of the first twelve games throughout the rest of the season.

After 16 hours without a goal or assist, Liverpool winger Stewart Downing was dropped for the Chelsea game last Sunday, which was his first taste of bench duty this season. Liverpool went on to win at Stamford Bridge, with Craig Bellamy - ostensibly Downing's replacement - having a excellent game, which doesn't bode well for Downing's first team chances over the next few games.

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey believes that the Gunners now possess the needed confidence to approach every game with the right mentality. Speaking to Arsenal Player after the 2-1 win against Borussia Dortmund at the Emirates Stadium, ...

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Man City's amazing unbeaten run finally ended last night after they suffered 2-1 away defeat to Serie A club SS Napoli. The loss now means City will have to beat Bayern Munich at home in the final group game and hope that Villarreal who are yet to pick up a point in the tournament can spring a surprise and beat the Italian club.

Dear Andre,

I get it. This isn't an easy gig. There's plenty of pressure on your Portuguese shoulders. Our owner is fickle, our fans are impatient, the press relentless, and the expectations massive. Trust me, I understand what you're feeling. Well, not really in a literal sense- but I get the jist of it.

Like I said in a previous post, I got out my 2004/5 season DVD last night to cheer myself up and watch a Chelsea side that new how to defend. On the bonus DVD there is an interview with Jose Mourinho at the end of that season, looking back at some of the headlines and comments from the press also.
One particular moment in that interview struck a chord with me when Chelsea TV's Gigi Salmon asked him about the negative press the side was getting for winning games 1-0 and not having a lot of flair.

First of all and believe me I really hate saying this, but credit to Liverpool for their performance yesterday. In the first half they rattled us, pressed high up the pitch, fought for every ball and looked dangerous every time they went forward.
Second half they dug in, rode their luck on occasions but continued to work hard all over the pitch and took all three points with a fantastic goal from a great first touch and dribble in the box from ex-Chelsea man Glen Johnson.