Anfield Talk 07 November @ 12:18 PM EST
Carlo Ancelotti claimed yesterday that Liverpool can no longer win the Barclays Premier League
title, although such a dismissive attitude will not stop him seeking to follow their example when
Chelsea face Manchester United on Sunday.
Chelsea can open a five-point gap at the top of table by beating United at Stamford Bridge and
victory would put them 12 points clear of sixth-placed Liverpool, who host Birmingham City on
Monday night.
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Dirty Tackle 03 November @ 04:12 PM EST
All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award winning Dirty
Tackle...
The derby match between St. Pauli and Hansa Rostock once again brings fire and violence and
police involvement, this time inflamed by St. Pauli's Deniz Naki. [101gg]
Every fan attending the Dynamo Kiev v Inter Champions League match will be given masks to
protect against the terrifying dangers of swine flu.
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New Atletico manager Quique Flores remembers the Blue machine well, Michael Essien all too
well. Furthermore, a win will take us through to the group stages. Oh, and Didier Drogba is back to
terrorize Europe.
I'll have that.
This man may be the fulcrum in 09-10.
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FIFA has announced its 23-man shortlist for World Player of the Year. Lets discuss who we think
should win and why.
Michael Ballack
Gianluigi Buffon
Iker Casillas
Diego
Didier Drogba
Michael Essien
Samuel Eto'o
Steven Gerrard
Thierry Henry
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Andres Iniesta
Kaka
Frank Lampard
Luis Fabiano
Lionel Messi
Carles Puyol
Franck Ribery
Cristiano Ronaldo
Wayne Rooney
John Terry
Fernando Torres
David Villa
Xavi
Club-wise distribution
Chelsea 5
Manchester United 1
Liverpool 2
Valencia 1
Barcelona 6
Real Madrid 3
Sevilla 1
Inter 1
Juventus 2
Bayern Munich 1
Arsenal 0
Oh wait !
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Via the Guardian (of course), following our 5-0 demoltion of Blackburn on the weekend ...
"The oversimplified reading of a diamond formation* suggests that any success is significantly
dependent on the excellence of attacking full-backs. Yet Chelsea were without Ashley Cole and Jose
Bosingwa when they obliterated Blackburn at the weekend.
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Carlo Ancelotti has decided to name his starting 11 way ahead of the game tonight which is unusual
and he has also taken the step of giving complete rest to John Terry, Petr Cech and Nicolas Anelka
whereas Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba will be on the bench. He said before
tonight's game: If I have the possibility to give rest to all the players who also have to play in
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Carlo Ancelotti has decided to name his starting 11 way ahead of the game tonight which is unusual
and he has also taken the step of giving complete rest to John Terry, Petr Cech and Nicolas Anelka
whereas Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba will be on the bench. He said before
tonight's game: If I have the possibility to give rest to all the players who also have to play in
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By TRAVIS CLARK
It was all or nothing for Rafa Benitez and Liverpool on Saturday. While a loss wouldn't quite
knock them out of the title race, it would be the club's fifth loss in a row and put title talk on
the backburner, at least for the time being.
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By TRAVIS CLARK
It was all or nothing for Rafa Benitez and Liverpool on Saturday. While a loss wouldn't
officially knock them out of the title race, it would be the club's fifth loss in a row and
continue to undermine Benitez's job status.
However, Fernando Torres was passed fit, and his presence in the starting lineup was welcome
considering captain Steven Gerrard was injured.
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EPL Talk 26 October @ 10:02 AM EST
Just two months into the 2009-2010 season, the "big four" of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea
and Liverpool have lost 10 matches combined. Compare that with 18 matches lost by the league's
elite combined in the entirety of last season, and it's clear that either the big four are weaker,
or the rest of the league is getting stronger.
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On FIFA's web-site promoting the start of the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria the event is hyped as a
chance to "discover the stars of tomorrow."Â And while there is an impressive list of former
participants (including, for example, Ronaldinho, Michael Essien, and Luis Figo) another look at
the history of the U-17 World Cup offers more cautionary tales than burgeoning stars.
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goalpost.tv 25 October @ 03:37 AM EST
Chelsea continued to hammer their opponents. After a 4-0 triumph over Athletico Madrid, the Blues
annihilated Blackburn Rovers 5-0 at Stamford Bridge. Things started on the wrong foot for the
Rovers, as the home side went into the lead with an own goal from Gael Givet in the 19th minute.
Ever since that, the game took [.
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Evening all.
Apologies for not finishing my preview post/s. However considering the game is on Sunday I
thought delaying it was a reasonable thing to do. Besides fatigue has got the better of me
completely today. It is a strange feeling when one minute there is enough energy within me to
challenge Usain Bolt to a race, but the next minute it feels as if challenging Michael Essien in a
sleep marathon contest was more appropriate.
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One of the highlights of last season was Liverpool's briliant double over Chelsea. Despite the
club's poor overall record at Stamford Bridge - and a frustrating inability to beat the better
teams so far this season - today's game is eminently winnable...but only if the formation and
tactics are right, and that means aces in their place.
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Liverpool's depressing defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge could have (and should have) been
avoided, but as is so often the case, Rafa Benitez's decisions conspired to adversely affect
Liverpool yet again.
The most galling thing about the defeat is that the game was definitely winnable.
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OPTA's latest statistics have revealed some surprising facts about the effectiveness of two of
Liverpool's key midfielders.
According to OPTA, Javier Mascherano is the top passer in the Premiership this season, with 547
completed passes and an accuracy rate of 87%. Chelsea's Michael Essien has the same accuracy rate
but has completed a lot less passes.
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Four more Chelsea players helped their countries qualify for next year's World Cup in South
Africa over the weekend. Michael Ballack captained Germany into the finals. Salomon Kalou and
Didier Drogba propelled Ivory Coast to its second consecutive WC appearance. And Branislav Ivanovic
powered Serbia into the mix.
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Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira is tipped by many to be leaving the Italian giants after
failing to find a regular place in Jose Mourinho's side. Besides Arsenal, his old club, Chelsea
seems to be interested in the 33-year old.
Speaking of this, striker Didier Drogba told RTL:
Patrick Viera will be a good addition to our squad, if we can recruit.
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Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira is tipped by many to be leaving the Italian giants after
failing to find a regular place in Jose Mourinho's side. Besides Arsenal, his old club, Chelsea
seems to be interested in the 33-year old.
Speaking of this, striker Didier Drogba told RTL:
Patrick Viera will be a good addition to our squad, if we can recruit.
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Ancelotti interested in bringing veteran Frenchman?
Portsmouth vs Chelsea Tickets Still Available!
Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira could finally be set to seal his return to London,
but surprisingly with Chelsea, according to reports.
The 33-year-old Frenchman who made more than 250 league appearances and won three Premier League
titles and four FA Cups during his time at Arsenal - was linked with a return to Arsene Wenger's
side along with Tottenham Hotspur earlier this summer.
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Chelsea hosted Liverpool on Sunday, October 4, 2009 in the biggest match of the weekend in the
English Premier League. Were Liverpool able to get points on the road or did Chelsea win to remain
top of the table? Here's a recap and video highlights of the match.
Chelsea defeats Liverpool 2-0 Video Highlights
Recap courtesy of (http://www.
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Today Man United and Arsenal have been linked with a 23-year old midfielder thought to be the next
Michael Essien. Anthony Annan (who currently plays for Rosenborg) had a trial with Blackburn...
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Today
Man United and
Arsenal have been linked with a 23-year old midfielder thought
to be the next
Michael Essien.
Anthony Annan (who currently plays for Rosenborg) had a trial with Blackburn Rovers last season but
the move didn't go through. He was also linked last season with Tottenham Hotspur but it now looks
like he could move to one of the ‘top four' clubs.
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La Liga Talk 24 September @ 11:00 AM EST
If Villarreal continues their poor run of form, El Madrigal will look similar to this on match
nights.
After another underwhelming performance in a 0-2 loss to Real Madrid at El Madrigal on Wednesday
evening, Villarreal currently sits in 18th place with only two points from four La Liga
matches.
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Throughout the history of football, there has always been players that seem impervious to harm,
hurling themselves at all sorts of challenges with no regard for personal safety (or the safety of
the opposition for that matter). This years batch of players are no different. The premiership
being the most physical league in the world (citation?
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Chelsea will line up in a 4-1-2-1-2 formation as follows: 40 Hilario 19 Paulo Ferreira 2 Branislav
Ivanovic 41 Sam Hutchinson 18 Yury Zhirkov 12 John Mikel Obi 35 Juliano Belletti 15 Florent Malouda
10 Joe Cole (c) 45 Fabio Borini 21 Salomon Kalou Substitutes: 22 Ross Turnbull, 41 Jeffrey Bruma,
26 John Terry, 3 Ashley Cole, 24 Nemanja Matic, 5 Michael Essien, 8 Frank Lampard.
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Chelsea will line up in a 4-1-2-1-2 formation as follows: 40 Hilario 19 Paulo Ferreira 2 Branislav
Ivanovic 41 Sam Hutchinson 18 Yury Zhirkov 12 John Mikel Obi 35 Juliano Belletti 15 Florent Malouda
10 Joe Cole (c) 45 Fabio Borini 21 Salomon Kalou Substitutes: 22 Ross Turnbull, 41 Jeffrey Bruma,
26 John Terry, 3 Ashley Cole, 24 Nemanja Matic, 5 Michael Essien, 8 Frank Lampard.
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With 6 matches played and 18 points earned, Chelsea remain the only unbeaten side in the
Premiership. And while one could argue that the Blues haven't been tested by top rated clubs this
season as yet, 3 goals and quality display of football Sunday against Spurs no doubt added to the
confident air surrounding Stamford Bridge.
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With 6 matches played and 18 points earned, Chelsea remain the only unbeaten side in the
Premiership. And while one could argue that the Blues haven't been tested by top rated clubs this
season as yet, 3 goals and quality display of football Sunday against Spurs no doubt added to the
confident air surrounding Stamford Bridge.
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Soccerblog 15 September @ 08:22 PM EST
Richard Scudamore launches more Scuds
The Premier League has brought in protectionism ostensibly in the name of encouraging homegrown
talent but what it actually accomplishes is legalize the sort of predatory Gael Kakuta and Paul
Pogba type of transfers.
Richard Scudamore in one fell swoop has made the UEFA head honchos happy and preserved the EPL's
global brand alive.
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The biggest sporting event in the world (the FiFa World Cup) is for the first and maybe last
time taking place in the beautiful continent of Africa. After missing to host the 2006 event, South
Africa and by extension Africa will look to make 2010 the best tournament ever to have taken place
in a World Cup series.
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These ten never stop running. Mentions go out to Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea,
Tottenham, West Ham, Bolton and Man City players who give their all.
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Yes he does occasionally let his temperament get the better of him, although he has cleaned that
area of his game of late, this Man United striker runs all day.
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The Offside 08 September @ 09:57 AM EST
Yesterday we asked Offside readers to sound off and let us know who the hardest working player in
world football was. We had a great response which helped us define "hard working" a little more
specifically. As well as running around, and putting the hours in at training, concepts like
willingly playing out of position [.
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by GIANFRANCO PANIZO
Brazil and Ghana were the latest teams to book their place in next year's World Cup, posting
wins over the weekend to make the picture of which teams will be in South Africa a little
clearer.
Brazil became the first team from CONMEBOL to secure its place by disposing of arch-rivals
Argentina, 3-1.
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by GIANFRANCO PANIZO
Brazil and Ghana were the latest teams to book their place in next year's World Cup, posting
wins over the weekend to make the picture of which teams will be in South Africa a little
clearer.
Brazil became the first team from CONMEBOL to secure its place by disposing of arch-rivals
Argentina, 3-1.
Click to continue reading...