Someone told me the mark of a great program or of a successful coach is how many players come back to visit after their playing careers are over.
That thought is always referenced over the holidays when receiving so many different emails, texts and phone calls from former players and assistant coaches.

Merry Christmas. Happy Boxing Day. Here are your gameweek 18 picks... I. Blackburn @ Liverpool: I select this game as the 'game of the week,' not for it's on-the-field potential, but for the media circus surrounding it off the pitch. ... Continue reading →

• Kop That: Sportsmail review of 2011: June http://t.co/hgOkr87t 21:45:37, 2011-12-24
• Kop That: Kop That: A Day In Tweets... http://t.co/y0kdCj9c 20:00:13, 2011-12-24
• Kop That: Boxing Day Against Blackburn http://t.co/TkGhGZ8Y 19:57:35, 2011-12-24
• The Kop That Daily is out!

Merry Christmas to most of you out there, and a happy Chinese food meal to everyone else. For the next-to-last day of goodie-palooza, let's get everybody up to speed with the curious case of Omar Gonzalez.Of course, he's been reportedly linked to interest from teams on both sides of the Atlantic drink, with some of teams named accurately and others not.

Hello all. I want to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you SBI readers out there. We hope you enjoy some time off, quality family time and a few peeks at SBI in between your unwrapping of presents and celebrating.

We will have a few presents for you in terms of posts today to help quench your thirst for soccer so keep an eye out for those, and feel free to throw some story suggestions our way today as we make our way through a second straight day without soccer to watch (the good news is soccer is on the way on Monday courtesy of the Premier League's Boxing Day schedule).

Hi All Gooners and an very Merry Christmas from us all at www.arsenalinsider.com. As per tradition please leave your Christmas message to all Gooners around the World.

Hi All Gooners and an very Merry Christmas from us all at www.arsenalinsider.com. As per tradition please leave your Christmas message to all Gooners around the World.

Merry Christmas to all from our family at Only Time Will Tell.

In the last year we've been joined by Arsenal supporters from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America only Antarctica to go. Whatever your beliefs, it is a good time to remember and be thankful for what unites us.

We are united by our love of The Arsenal and have forged friendships with people most of whom we are unlikely ever to meet; all made possible by the magic of the internet.

... would like to wish you and yours a very happy Christmas. And I would too.

I hope you have a lovely, peaceful, belly-filling, winetacular day, wherever you.

Merry Christmas, back tomorrow.

... would like to wish you and yours a very happy Christmas. And I would too.

I hope you have a lovely, peaceful, belly-filling, winetacular day, wherever you.

Merry Christmas, back tomorrow.

I've just got in from celebrating Christmas with a friend, on the night of the 24th December as is tradition in Argentina. And as usual, I'd like to wish HEGS readers old and new a very Merry Christmas, if you celebrate ... Continue reading →

I've just got in from celebrating Christmas with a friend, on the night of the 24th December as is tradition in Argentina. And as usual, I'd like to wish HEGS readers old and new a very Merry Christmas, if you celebrate ... Continue reading →

From the boys at FC Santa Claus (yeah, a real Finnish 1st div. team). Enjoy, and have a Merry Christmas.Video: FC Santa Claus
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To all those that took time out of their busy lives to read my blog this past twelve months, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all soccer and football fans and their families across the world a very Merry Christmas. I have readers in all four corners of the globe and is very satisfying to know that at least someone, somewhere is paying attention to what you write.

To all those that took time out of their busy lives to read my blog this past twelve months, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all soccer and football fans and their families across the world a very Merry Christmas. I have readers in all four corners of the globe and is very satisfying to know that at least someone, somewhere is paying attention to what you write.

Our 3rd year with a holiday card in fact, we may actually have two!

(click to enlarge)

This one a popular play on the original "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" was done, superbly, by Robert Kammel of kammel+morgan design group. Great work, Robert. Thank you.

....and, of course, Happy Holidays and and a very Merry Christmas from The Shin Guardian!

From The Archives: Jon Horner's "A Chelsea Christmas Carol"

Click images to make them larger. Yes, this was done by our brilliant Jon Horner last year. Yes, it's still relevant (minus Carlo). Sometimes it's nice to reflect on the past year and see what has changed and what hasn't (even if you're not a Chelsea fan).

Merry Christmas! Enjoy the best of our festive content here

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year! And to celebrate (not to mention buy us some time go and eat our own bodyweight in turkey and pigs in blankets), we've pulled together a sackful of Christmas content to keep you going until the football kicks off again on Boxing Day, which you can see by following the links below.

By Chris Wright

Just a little heads-up to let you know that I'm not going to be around until the New Year as I'm away recharging my batteries for a few days after Christmas.

Therefore, Pies will be slowing down a little bit until early January. That said, Alan's still going to be around to keep the ship afloat with the odd post hither and thither, so we're we're not going to be totally silent over the post-festive phase.

Like to wish all the Spanish Football Sports readers from around the World a Merry Christmas. Enjoy the festive season with your loved ones & friends. Hope you get your presents, & if not, at least lots of human warmth. Look after yourself as we have a packed 2012 coming up with Spanish Football news, Euro Championships & plenty of Sports action.

Like to wish all the Spanish Football Sports readers from around the World a Merry Christmas. Enjoy the festive season with your loved ones & friends. Hope you get your presents, & if not, at least lots of human warmth. Look after yourself as we have a packed 2012 coming up with Spanish Football news, Euro Championships & plenty of Sports action.

Festive Fun: Guess The Liverpool Players

Merry Christmas to all my readers out there! I just thought for a laugh and to get us all into the Christmas spirit i'd make a short and sweet post giving you the chance to have a bit of fun. Below are ten Liverpool players from past and present but Santa, baubles, stars and all sorts of things have got in the way, can you guess who they are?

Merry Christmas to all my readers out there!
I just thought for a laugh and to get us all into the Christmas spirit i'd make a short and sweet post giving you the chance to have a bit of fun.
Below are ten Liverpool players from past and present but Santa, baubles, stars and all sorts of things have got in the way, can you guess who they are?

Yesterday I was rummaging around in Tooting's Oxfam and found a Charles Buchan book from 1955-56. In it was this picture of young Graham Leggat. How about that?

Leggat had just played a key role in Aberdeen's first ever league title (in the 1954-55 season). A few years later he was scoring a super-fast hat-trick on Boxing Day as Fulham destroyed Ipswish 10-1.

Yesterday I was rummaging around in Tooting's Oxfam and found a Charles Buchan book from 1955-56. In it was this picture of young Graham Leggat. How about that?

Leggat had just played a key role in Aberdeen's first ever league title (in the 1954-55 season). A few years later he was scoring a super-fast hat-trick on Boxing Day as Fulham destroyed Ipswish 10-1.

"Torsten played in Bethlehem Bremen"SkyDome is being hung with wreaths, Stan Bentley has put on his festive gentleman's loungewear, The Rumoumeter is frozen this week by TFC's lack of activity and Collin Samuel just ate all the stuffing. With the holidays upon us, we want to take the time to join together with you, our cherished readers, for a classic Christmas carol sing-a-long in the key of "Hark The Herald Angels Sing".

Well, I promised it and here it IS A MERRY CHRISTMAS SHOW for all my listeners!!! Just some LUFC gossip and updates and a much happier part two, for this week's broadcasts! Interviews with the manager (who hasn't been sacked since the first part of this show), about the loan window and Howson's injury.

Our 3rd year with a holiday card in fact, we may actually have two!

(click to enlarge)

This one a popular play on the original "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" was done, superbly, by Robert Kammel of kammel+morgan design group. Great work, Robert. Thank you.

....and, of course, Happy Holidays and and a very Merry Christmas from The Shin Guardian!

Ads with footballers are typically cliched and formulaic. Valencia's Christmas video is anything but, opening as though we're about to embark on a Tim Burton film the soundtrack does wonders. Or maybe it's appropriately Batman's true underground lair.

And all simply to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Images: © obs/AXE Unilever Germany.

Spiked egg nog may boast 'Have A Drunkenly Forgettable Merry Christmas', but nothing says 'Happy Horny Holidays!' quite like Sarah Brandner in a bubble bath.

We're not sure what holidays everyone here celebrates (but are open to hearing more!), but most of our staff grew up believing that Santa was real and Grandma couldn't ever make our favourite homemade cookies because she got run over by a reindeer.