SoccerBlogs

The transfer market is almost at a standstill across Europe, but nowhere is the economic crisis being felt more than in Spain where big money transfers were a common occurrence.

Not this summer where the biggest transfer has been the €14m that Barcelona paid for Jordi Alba, one the revelations of Euro 2012.

The Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) has revealed that La Liga players will strike for the first two weekends of the season.

Players want a wage guarantee fund for when clubs become insolvent, an all-too frequent problem in Spain, with Levante and Hercules struggling to pay staff members in recent years and Real Zaragoza applying for administration this summer, which is a common occurrence particularly in the Segunda Division.

The Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) has revealed that La Liga players will strike for the first two weekends of the season.

Players want a wage guarantee fund for when clubs become insolvent, an all-too frequent problem in Spain, with Levante and Hercules struggling to pay staff members in recent years and Real Zaragoza applying for administration this summer, which is a common occurrence particularly in the Segunda Division.

As a documented occurrence amongst many facets of western culture, the sophomore slump appears to have nabbed its next victim: our own Portland Timbers. That's not to say that the players, FO and coaching staff aren't responsible for this season, in fact they're the very cause of the these second year woes.

Michael Dawson has missed such a proportion of Spurs' games over the last two seasons that he is in danger of becoming a forgotten man. Several people who have been asked to predict Tottenham's central pairing for next season have mentioned Vertonghen (hopefully), King (occasionally) and the likes of Caulker and Kaboul.

There has been some very bad news for football over the last week. The fact that Glasgow Rangers have been put into administration, by the club's owner, is an indication of the sorry state the Beautiful Game is in both financially and in terms of management.

This latest occurrence has come about as a result of Her Majesties Revenue and Customs (HMRC) demanding up to £50 million in unpaid taxes and National Insurance contributions due on money paid into Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs).

Being played out of position can be a real problem for some players, including Tottenham Hotspurs' Rafael Van Der Vaart, who recently voiced out his disappointment of being continuously placed in a wider positions in recent matches including the London derby against Arsenal.

The Dutchman confessed that he doesn't like being played in a wider position as he felt that his best post is playing from the center.

This past Saturday's match between Milan and Juventus at the San Siro had been billed as the decisive battle for the top spot on the Serie A table; however, the match ended in a 1-1 draw thanks to goals from Antonio Nocerino in the 14th minute for Milan and from Alessandro Matri in the 83rd minute for Juventus.

Ahead of a call with (now) former Philadelphia Union left back Jordan Harvey, the Brotherly Game was able to talk to Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Tom Soehn.

tBG: What interested you enough about Harvey to acquire him, despite already having a starting left back in Alain Rochat?

Soehn: We're in dire need of MLS experienced guys.

The overwhelming issue with FIFA is they suck. Tis the official diagnostic abstract, and undoubtedly accepted by scholars and leading men alike Henry Kissinger too across the globe. In fact, FIFA sucking any more would seem akin to Xavi misplacing a pass just impossible.

And yet, somehow they've found a means through which we can all hate them a little bit more:

Increasing international friendly dates.

AAAAHHHHHHHH I AM ARTUR BORUC AND THIS IS A LIST OF THINGS THAT MADE ME ANGRY THIS WEEK:

1. VIDEO CAMERAS -- IF THERE IS A VIDEO CAMERA BEHIND ME RIGHT NOW THEN I AM NOT GOING TO BE HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF THERE IS NOT A VIDEO CAMERA BEHIND ME RIGHT NOW THEN I AM NOT GOING TO BE HAPPY!

This was arguably our easiest game of the CL group, so of course, everyone was just waiting for us to slip up so they can go back to "Arsenal in crisis" mode. Yep, despite the fact that Man City collapsed to a great Munich side, Man U had to labor to rescue a 3-3 draw in Arsenalesque fashion against Basel, and Chelsea gave up a stupid equalizer against Valencia, all eyes were on us to falter so the bloodhounds press hacks could get their self-righteous column templates up.