Clint Dempsey should get the start for Fulham as they will hope to perform a near-miracle and overturn their two-goal deficit to Juventus in Thursday's Europa League second leg in Craven Cottage. Click to continue reading...

Premier League team news - Barclays Premier League - ESPN SoccernetThe big news is that it would take a "miracle" for Cesc to play for Arsenal at the weekend. For all those who have him at a discount and were hoping to keep him through Arsenal's run of pretty easy matches, you're now at a crossroads. Click to continue reading...

Rafael Benitez today revealed how Fernando Torres has been reporting for work on days off to ensure he returns to full fitness as soon as possible.
The Reds' squad were given time off after the midweek round of internationals, in which Torres played the second half for Spain against France in Paris. Click to continue reading...

photo credit: gordonflood.com

Sitting would be a good idea for Rooney right now...

Fabio Capello was on hand to see United win the Carling Cup on Sunday. I suppose it would have been much less interesting if Wayne Rooney hadn't come in as a sub, with an injured knee, and won the Cup for United, but Rooney worked through the pain and played the role of Superman beautifully against Aston Villa.

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By TRAVIS CLARK

Over in England this morning, Portsmouth managed to make the wrong kind of history. They became the first Premier League club to enter administration in the league's history when another buyer wasn't found by Thursday's deadline.

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By TRAVIS CLARK

Over in England this morning, Portsmouth managed to make the wrong kind of history. They became the first Premier League club to enter administration in the league's history when another buyer wasn't found by Thursday's deadline.

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By Ollie Irish

According to Avram Grant, Fulham didn't even deserve a draw, let alone all three points. He has a point (unlike his team) Pompey played bold football, especially in the first half, and made the best chances but failed to beat Mark Schwarzer.

Fulham's sucker punch came via a Jonathan Greening goal in the 74th minute, after new recruit Stefano Okaka had somehow missed with a header from two feet out.

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Atletico Madrid 0 - 2 Malaga(0-1) 3' Duda, (0-2) 70' Javi Lopez
Perhaps they had one eye on their Copa del Rey Semi-final this week, or maybe they took a visit from lowly Malaga too lightly. Either way Atlético Madrid fell to a morale-sapping defeat at the hands of a team that started the day in the relegation zone. Click to continue reading...

News arrived Thursday night that the MLS Players' Union and league were continuing negotiations through February 12 was no surprise. When players headed in to camp, a strike or lockout weren't likely -- both sides are in this to make a deal.

"While we still have areas of disagreement, the talks have been constructive and both parties believe it makes sense to continue to work hard to reach agreement," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber in a press release.

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News arrived Thursday night that the MLS Players' Union and league were continuing negotiations through February 12 was no surprise. When players headed in to camp, a strike or lockout weren't likely -- both sides are in this to make a deal.

"While we still have areas of disagreement, the talks have been constructive and both parties believe it makes sense to continue to work hard to reach agreement," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber in a press release.

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The financial troubles at Portsmouth go from worse to worse as the club's web site has been closed down today due non-payment.

A club spokesman said:

"Our website is down because the club has failed to keep to the payment plan agreed with our service provider."

If Pompey doesn't have the money to pay for a web site, how can it meet its payroll of around £1.

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The financial troubles at Portsmouth go from worse to worse as the club's web site has been closed down today due non-payment.

If Pompey doesn't have the money to pay for a web site, how can it meet its payroll of around £1.8m that is due tomorrow? Pompey has already been late paying its players at least three times this season.

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Yesterday's defeat was a first for a number of different reasons. Chris Hughton can still pull off the Miracle On The Tyne It was the first time we had conceded 4 goals this season, and it was the first time we had been beaten by more than a single goal. It was also the first time we [...]

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I've always considered David James as one of the most reasonable and loyal players in the Premiership. I mean he offers a masterclass in ironing and bedmaking at a Portsmouth center for adults with learning disabilities. This is a good guy. But he's getting up there, he'll be turning 40 this August, and has made the most appearances in the Premiership ever.

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photo credit: ByronF

The Team: I will once again make my bias known right up front: I love the US Nats. Take that into account as you read the optimistic analysis below. I think we all know that no real fanatic can objectively gauge his own squad, but I am going to do the best I can.

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photo credit: Jonathan Gill

1) Liverpool

It has been a turbulent year for Rafa and the Reds. Right when the club wins a few matches and appears to be back to normal they lose a match to a lowly club like Portsmouth. And luck simply has not been on the Reds side this season.

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I'm probably going to take a midfielder. Maybe even a defender. This is Sigi-ball, remember? Besides, I'm not sure if we can get an impact forward at our spot.
Anyway, unless we can swing a trade (unlikely), don't expect a miracle today. Ok?
Check out ProPlayer Pipeline for their final pre-draft rankings. Click to continue reading...

How about a little transfer speculation to start today's blog? The Mail is championing Louis Saha as a potential target and with the Everton man out of contract from the summer a cheap as chips move might just suit Scroogesene Wenger. It probably wouldn't suit Everton though for whom the Frenchman is top scorer.

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So its day twelve in the Big Transfer House, and still nothing – is anyone really surprised? No, me neither, but I'm sick and tired of wondering who we will /won't be buying, checking NewsNow every hour in hope that news will sneak in.

All we get is TV saying we need to tighten up the defence and the Fran Merida saga goes on.

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On the NUST's website today, Tony Stephenson claimed that a source had told the NUST that Ashley has performed the financial miracle of turning a company which lost over £20 million last year, into a company which was now making as much as £7 million per month. This would be the equivalent of approximately £84 [. Click to continue reading...

The news started coming through early on Saturday morning and as the information became clearer, it was soon apparent that the whole African Cup Of Nations would now be tainted. When the dust had settled, 3 members of the Togo party were dead and several were seriously injured. Angolan rebels had attacked the team bus as it drove through the dangerous territory of Cabinda.

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Good morning from Dublin where it's currently -5. This is ridiculous now. The only way this can be deemed in any way acceptable is if we get three months of scorching temperatures in the summer. If we don't, well, someone's going to have to pay.

As we head into the second week of the transfer window with ne'er a penny being spent, Ivan Gazidis has reassured fans we won't be spending much anyway.

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After 4 months in charge, Antonio Conte's first stint as a Serie A manager is already over. This morning the former Juventus and Italy midfielder handed in his resignation after a string of poor results, loads of protests from fans, and sitting second from bottom of the table with only 13 points.

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This is the second in a series of posts entitled Best World Cup Player Of The Decade. Taking each decade in turn, the idea is to critically evaluate the teams and players before honouring one player for his performances during the tournaments.
The 1950s
Three tournaments were held in the fifties, Brazil hosting Uruguay's second win (1950), Switzerland West Germany's first (1954) and Sweden providing the base for our first glimpse of Pele (1958). Click to continue reading...

The return of La Liga after the Christmas break was largely a drab affair – save for Atlético Madrid's fortuitous win over Sevilla.
Atlético conjure a 'miracle' but Madrid and Barcelona fail to sparkle. Click to continue reading...

------------------------The coveted Graham Legatt Trophy
The TFC Media League has come to an end as 2009 draws to a close. For those of you who may not have followed the race, The Yorkies' TFC Media League is a competition to track which of Toronto's main media outlets best covers Toronto FC through the year. Click to continue reading...

According to Ben Collins at Sky Sports News, Burnley are refusing to spend big money this January and go into debt. Boss Owen Coyle said,

"The chairman, at the helm, has made our mind up that we're not going to be a club that goes into debt ... We don't have a bank overdraft and to get into the Premiership without a bank overdraft is quite a miracle in itself.

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I've read each of the following books and suggest them for holiday gifts.

Love and Blood at the World Cup/Jamie Trecker

The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro/ Joe McGinniss

How Soccer Explains the World/Franklin Foer

Soccer in a Football World/David Wangerin

Girls of Summer/Jere Longman

Related posts:

1. 18 Recommended Soccer Books To Read This Summer It's the perfect time of the year to catch.

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Some of you may remember that, back in September, I wrote about the fucktastingly amazing experience of being in the front of the pit at Bruce Springsteen's show in Sunrise, Florida. Well, last night, after goofing around on Twitter with some fellow Springsteen lovers about the idea of achieving YouTube fame by being in a video with him, I went looking for more some videos of that night (this was after I had sent them this link).

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Thirty minutes before the Arsenal Liverpool game, my mate (a Liverpool fan) turned to me and tells me  that we need a miracle to beat them. At the final whistle, he looks at me with a huge frown on his face and says that we had four. I personally don't believe in miracles, so let's try to clear things up.

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Heading into the match against the Swiss and the task was to win in order to ensure qualification. To say that we got the job done is a stretch, if only a small one, for we drew instead of winning. Even though it would have taken almost a miracle for Marseille to beat Real by [...] Click to continue reading...

As if the thought of 8 players out injured wasn't bad enough, 4 other players including Rosicky picked up injures from the match against Stoke. It is now official. Arsene Wenger has now come and said that this "is our worst season for injuries".

You can talk about depth in squads but there isn't a single team that can handle 12 players being out injured.

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In about 24 hours the 2009 Campeonato Brasileiro, one of the best in history, will be over. But the last round reserved lots of emotions. The title can be lifted by 4 sides. Another 3 fight for 1 spot in the Copa Libertadores. And other 4 try to escape the two seats still available in the second division.

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Flamengo on top for the first time this season

Flamengo, Internacional, Palmeiras or São Paulo could take Brazil's national championship when it comes to an end next weekend. Fla now lead the way but with only two points separating the top four, it's anybody's guess where the title will end up.

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Rafa Benitez dismissed fears of a French conspiracy wrecking his Champions League hopes as he chases the miracle that will keep Liverpool alive in the competition.
Liverpool must beat Debrecen here and then bank on Lyon denying Fiorentina a home victory in Group E's other game to ensure there is something riding on the final match with the Italians at Anfield on December 9. Click to continue reading...

Debrecen vs Liverpool

The day of reckoning is nigh for Liverpool and manger Rafa Benitez. With their draw in the last matchday against Lyon qualification for the Round of 16 is now out of their hands.

Benitez remains bullish though, looking yet again to the club's recent history in the competition.

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The Wikimedia Foundation has kicked off their annual fundraising campaign:

Lots of people love Wikipedia, but surprisingly few know it's run by a non-profit, the Wikimedia Foundation. The Wikimedia Foundation has just one purpose: to support the free and open sharing of knowledge. We don't sell information and we don't accept advertising.

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Guus Hiddink's side are favourites to make it through the play-offs to South Africa, but his selection problems give Matjaz Kek hope of masterminding an upset.
Slovenia hoping for another play-off miracle against the might of Russia. Click to continue reading...

The only goal of the game, scored by John Terry on the 76th minute denied United the almost happening miracle of at least leaving Stamford Bridge with 1 point, but the goal was scored in a somewhat controversial manner, which left the United players seeing red and fuming at the officials, while the Blues celebrated. Click to continue reading...

Rafael Benitez has held talks with his Liverpool bosses over the implications if the club fail to reach the last 16 of this season's Champions League.
Discussions were also held on if the club fail to qualify for next season's lucrative European competition.
The Liverpool manager revealed today that the club did not budget this term for anything beyond the group stages. Click to continue reading...