The Portland Timbers wasted no time in beating their first opponent in for their trip down to California as the Timbers came away a with a whipping 4-1 victory over LA. Those of you who were around for last season will remember a similar goal ratio during LA's visit to Portland (3-0).

The goals came from Bright Dike, Jorge Perlaza, James Marcelin and Futty Danso with Franck Songo'o apparently playing a rather large role in the first two goals and in setting up a number of other chances.

Two goals from Didier Drogba and a fine free kick from Yaya Toure gave Ivory Coast a comfortable 3-0 win over Co-host Equatorial Guinea to send the Elephants through to the Semi final where they will face either Gabon or Mali.

In the day's earlier match Zambia beat 10 man Sudan with a scoreline to make it through to the semis for the first time since 1996.

February kicks off for Liverpool on Monday, with Spurs set to visit Anfield in the first match of another important month. Liverpool will look to carry their momentum from the domestic cup triumphs and a comfortable 3-0 win at Wolves into the match, which hopefully signals a turnaround from a disappointing league stretch to open 2012 that had seen them winless until the final day of January.

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Naturally, I'm describing Arsenal's 2011-2012 season. I'm a nice guy, and I don't want to hold Arsene wholly accountable for the team's woes, particularly due to the simple fact that, well, that's what everybody else already does.

When a politician suspends his or her campaign, it effectively means the end of the campaign. Even if it is restarted, all of the momentum generated has been lost and almost impossible to recover. Sports league operations are no different, and especially soccer leagues in the USA. So the news today that Women's Professional Soccer has suspended operations for the 2012 season is very bad.

Even my wife wondered why on earth Spurs were playing football on a Friday. By the end of the match I knew exactly what she meant. As it was ESPN, perhaps Spurs prepared for the Saturday evening game, because they certainly weren't ready for this one.

This was dire, as disorganised as Harry's tax return.

Aston Villa

Position 11th, 6-9-7 (27 points, -3 goal differential)

Away Record: 3-6-2, -1 goal differential

Recent Form: DWLDW

Last Meeting: Aston Villa 1 Arsenal 2 (December 21, 2011)

Back in action tomorrow (remember when we used to play matches on Saturday) as we square off against Aston Villa in the FA Cup 4th round match.

As I mentioned in my earlier Hat Trick post, we will have a gamethread on HTIOT going for the USMNT match tonight. The US will look to carry over the momentum from their win at the death vs. Venezuela into tonight's match. I am pretty excited to see how the USA will look tonight against an up-and-coming Panama side.

The name of Mauro Zarate has featured before in these pages but stories are gathering momentum today over a proposed loan move for the striker who is already playing on loan at Inter after failing to nail down a regular slot at parent club Lazio.

The player's agent is certainly talking up the possibility of a move this month.

Match report Video -

It's interesting that even this morning the focus appears to be on a controversial substitution when the bigger issue is the fact we've just lost our third league game in a row, taking our total of defeats in the league this season to eight.

When Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's number went up in the 74th minute many of the 60,000 at the stadium made it quite clear what they thought of the decision.

Arsenal fans who argue that Arsene Wenger should not be sacked can only come up with one reason "He's our most successful manager ever". Others might also point to his unearthing of talents like Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. The theme here? It's all stuff from an increasingly long time ago.

Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina has urged his team-mates to put thoughts of cup showdowns with the two Manchester clubs to the back of their minds ahead of Saturday's trip to Bolton.
The Reds are just 90 minutes away from their first final in six years - and a first visit to Wembley since 1996 - as they hold a 1-0 lead going into Wednesday's Carling Cup semi-final second leg at home to Manchester City.

Tribe's Abrigo, Smith Earn All-State Honors
Courtesy TribeAthletics.com Thu, January 19, 2012
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - William and Mary Tribe men's soccer players Nicolas Abrigo and Will Smith were honored by the Virginia Associate of Sports Information Directors (VaSID) on Thursday, earning All-State accolades.

The first few months of the Jurgen Klinsmann era certainly had its ups and downs, but that should be expected. When a new coach is brought in, he needs time to see what he has to work with, to implement his philosophies, and to see what works and what doesn't, and as impatient as some are to see instant results, that process is still very much in its infancy for Klinsmann.

Joe Corona appears destined for a big 2012 as he continues to contribute for Club Tijuana while becoming a bigger part of the U.S. national team set-up. All of that is on the heels of what was just recognized as a pretty sharp 2011.

The 21-year-old Corona won the Golden Ball as Mexico's top rookie, beating out finalists Alfonso Luna (Atlante), Armando Zamorano (Jaguares) and Hector Herrera (Pachuca) to take home the award.

Recently we discussed the importance of deceleration in relation to high performance training and injury prevention. We learned about eccentric strength and the role it plays in reducing momentum. We also made reference to dynamic balance and the importance it plays in maintaining control while performing skillful athletic movements.

Glen's in good Kompany terrible tackle by soccermr With a huge degree of inevitability following Vincent Kompany's red card at the weekend, a Manchester City was on the receiving end of a two-footed challenge in last night's match against Liverpool. And it went unpunished. Glen Johnson dived into a challenge with Joleon Lescott.

In truth, there have been relatively few rumours linking Spurs players into or away from the club and this has been a relatively quiet window so far. However, it seems that Harry Redknapp has spent most of his time deflecting attention away from the majority of players already in the squad.

Despite their 1-1 draw with local rivals Espanyol, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has refused to concede the La Liga title to their arch rivals Real Madrid. The Catalans now find themselves 5 points behind their arch rivals Madrid who top the standings with 43 points.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Guardiola was quoted as saying that it was still too early to give up on defending their title.

By Joel Greenwaldt
In a match up that was billed by many as the must see game of the season, the Baltimore Blast and Milwaukee Wave battled fiercely for 60 minutes in a game that lived up to it's billing. Baltimore was able to secure a hard fought 9-4 victory over Milwaukee, and at the same validated their belief that they are the best team in the MISL.

Norwich should not be underestimated, a good team with a good manager and we should have expected a tricky game. In the end we got one, Norwich's assortment of Russells and Bradleys and Wesleys eventually powering their team to a well deserved equaliser in stoppage time. Another late goal?

'Bring it on' Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard insists New Year meeting with Manchester City holds no fear for his side

The Reds' influential talisman claims his side are relishing the prospect of facing the Premier League leaders and hopes they can carry their positive momentum into the New Year

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-12-31 12:16:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

'Bring it on' Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard insists New Year meeting with Manchester City holds no fear for his side

The Reds' influential talisman claims his side are relishing the prospect of facing the Premier League leaders and hopes they can carry their positive momentum into the New Year

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-12-31 12:16:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

'Bring it on' Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard insists New Year meeting with Manchester City holds no fear for his side

The Reds' influential talisman claims his side are relishing the prospect of facing the Premier League leaders and hopes they can carry their positive momentum into the New Year

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-12-31 12:16:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

'Bring it on' Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard insists New Year meeting with Manchester City holds no fear for his side

The Reds' influential talisman claims his side are relishing the prospect of facing the Premier League leaders and hopes they can carry their positive momentum into the New Year

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-12-31 12:16:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

'Bring it on' Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard insists New Year meeting with Manchester City holds no fear for his side

The Reds' influential talisman claims his side are relishing the prospect of facing the Premier League leaders and hopes they can carry their positive momentum into the New Year

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-12-31 12:16:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

'Bring it on' Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard insists New Year meeting with Manchester City holds no fear for his side

The Reds' influential talisman claims his side are relishing the prospect of facing the Premier League leaders and hopes they can carry their positive momentum into the New Year

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-12-31 12:16:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

With as many goals as games, Robin van Persie is at the head of the strikers' list in the English Premier League. The Dutchman has been instrumental in giving the Gunners a fresh momentum.

Football essentially is a game of 11 players, of a team where collective effort is [read more]

With as many goals as games, Robin van Persie is at the head of the strikers' list in the English Premier League. The Dutchman has been instrumental in giving the Gunners a fresh momentum.

Football essentially is a game of 11 players, of a team where collective effort is [read more]

For those of you who haven't been around longer than six months, this treat might well be lost on you. But Martin is still the man, the myth, the legend around here. He pretty much built this website into something really cool and active, and we've merely been trying to keep the momentum going since his departure.

The African Cup of Nations is just a couple of weeks away and Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor is already predicting a tough title challenge for Manchester City.

The Citizens are set to lose their most influential player of the season so far-Yaya Toure. Yaya who was also named as the African player of the Year 2011 has been in scintillating form for City helping them to a first place finish in the league for the first time in 82 years since Christmas 1929.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is hoping Jay Spearing learns from his sending off against Fulham.
The Reds midfielder was dismissed in their 1-0 defeat at Fulham for a sliding challenge on Moussa Dembele.
Dalglish felt Spearing may have been slightly over-zealous, although he does not believe there was any malice in the challenge.

After last night's hectic London Derby ended with honours even, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp reflected on the game and felt that a draw was probably the right result.

After Daniel Sturridge cancelled out Emmanuel Adebayor's opener, both sides had great chances to win the match with Ade going so close in second half injury time.

By Joel Greenwaldt
The Baltimore Blast entered this past weekend desperate for their first home win of the season, while at the same time seeking to regain some momentum as they prepare to head into a vital stretch of their schedule.
The Blast were successful on both fronts as they defeated the Missouri Comets on Friday evening 17-9 in front of 4,081 fans at the First Mariner Arena.

Liverpool have entered the scramble to sign Newcastle's Cheick Tiote in the January transfer window.
Tiote became an instant hit at St James' Park following his £3.5m move from FC Twente in August 2010.
And the Ivory Coast international - valued at £25million - is wanted by Reds boss Kenny Dalglish to inject some momentum in the Anfield club's season.

The congested fixture list over the Christmas period has the ability to make or break a team's season, as everyone wants to take momentum into the second half of the campaign. With important games at both the top and bottom ...
This is a content summary. Visit http://www.epltalk.com to read the entire article

Here! Have some points!

It's easy to sit here and criticise, of course.

So here goes.

Why on earth did we sit back and (seemingly) play for a 0-0 draw against a fragile team who let's face it we match up very well against?

When Swansea scored (a fluke, but a fluke that was absolutelydeserved) Fulham woke up and attacked, and for half an hour gave Swansea a relative pasting.

If he's going to do it, it will have to be announced prior to the Democratic convention, set for September 3, 2012. More than likely, it would get leaked to the press or be part of the campaign by July. So, there's still time for President Obama to think it through.

Reports are gathering momentum of a proposed move for Inter Milan's Argentinean striker Diego Milito and while the stories may go the way of many suggested links, the pieces of the jigsaw do seem to fit at least.

Milito has been at Inter since 2009 and became an instant hero with the home fans in a spectacular debut season that culminated in him scoring both goals in their Champions League final win over Bayern Munich.

Here we go again! Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona in El Clasico (Photo: AP Photo)

The biggest matchup in European football takes place this Saturday when FC Barcelona travel to the Bernebeau to take on Real Madrid in El Clasico.

Real Madrid v Barcelona is live on ESPN Deportes on Saturday, December 10 at 4PM ET.