Don't just sit there Robin. Get a fourth

That's our first rout of the season. The first of which we won and not the other way around. You can count the Chelsea game as one but then it was not as one sided as this was. Blackburn tormented us the last time we met and this was sweet revenge being exacted.

Africa Cup of Nations 2012 Team of the Round, Matchday 1 is a post from: Just Football

We have seen 15 goals in 8 opening games of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, with some fascinating fixtures and a few hints as to how the tournament might unfold. Only one game was separated by more than one goal, co-hosts Gabon beating Niger 2-0, while there have been no heavy defeats for any of the less-fancied teams, with the likes of Sudan and Botswana, and even Niger to an extent, more than holding their own against continental powerhouses like Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana.

Well it's happened again and at Stamford Bridge. It was good to see Ryan Bertrand, Josh McEachran (who was later replaced injured at the end of the first half), Oriol Romeu get another start and Romelu Lukaku get a run out. Oriol Romeu and David Luiz were the stars of the show as far as Chelsea were concerned but that was about it.

It was rough being a Sounder's fan last night. Amidst discussions of a CONCACAF Champions League curse, playing at altitude and missing one of their best players of the season in Mauro Rosales, the Sounders had a tough playoff matchup against Real Salt Lake. While most fans would have been surprised if the Sounders had come away with a first leg lead, going down 3-0 was a bit of a shock.

Before United take on Chelsea tonight (yes, a mouthwatering clash indeed) here's a video of Wayne Rooney talking about that crucial moment strikers face seconds after they come into contact with a ball. When do you know if your kick will lead to a goal? Does the quality of the kick determine where it'll end up?

Date: Wednesday Jul 27 2011
Ground: Campo Municipal de Juan Cayuela
Comp: Pre-season Friendly
Match: Club Olimpico de Totana 0 FC Cartagena 7 HT: 0-4

ATT: circa 400
Additional: Entrance €10.00 adults €3 children, Programme NONE

Campo Juan Cayuela in pictures

Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 8, Structures/Terracing 8, Hospitality 6, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger stadiums 8
Total 30

Another friendly for Cartagena, in the area (well more or less!

Date: Wednesday Jul 27 2011
Ground: Campo Municipal de Juan Cayuela
Comp: Pre-season Friendly
Match: Club Olimpico de Totana 0 FC Cartagena 7 HT: 0-4

ATT: circa 400
Additional: Entrance €10.00 adults €3 children, Programme NONE

Campo Juan Cayuela in pictures

Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 8, Structures/Terracing 8, Hospitality 6, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger stadiums 8
Total 30

Another friendly for Cartagena, in the area (well more or less!

The pleasure of seeing Spurs play football. White shirts, navy blue shorts, a proper game. That's all I ask. Not so much the victory, not even its emphatic nature, but just to know that our season is under way and a sense of how we are and what's to come.

Monday's cloud of Great Depression, created by an unhealthy combination of high quality mystery drama and an increasing sense of personal anxiety, has blown away.

(Your pardon is requested, señores y señoras; I've been sampling the vino tinto while half-watching the Vinotinto in Copa America as I compose this. Subsequent grammatical and logical failings will inevitably occur. You have been warned...)
...
And that, my fine feathered friends, is why we can't have nice things.

Written by WiganGooner

When we look for markers during the summer to show us where we went wrong I think we should consider the lack of true quality we have shown up front this season.

Playing one up front has stifled our attacking threat to a point that when we do bomb forward to try and press home advantage and nick a goal (because that's all we seem to do now) we leave ourselves open on the counter.

Sean's excellent postgame analysis of Wednesday's tense and memorable Copa del Rey final included the video of Sergio Ramos dropping la Copa under the bus. Here is video from the match itself, followed by some micro-analyses of key sequences in the 1st half. We'll follow up with commentary on the 2nd half and extra time highlights over the next couple days.

I'm all for playing football from the back into the midfield and into the forwards with penetration thorough the middle and boys out wide.

Who said that?

Liverpool are reportedly monitoring Sevilla winger Diego Perotti with great interest, but will face competition from Everton in their pursuit of the Argentine.
According to talkSPORT, scouts from the Merseyside rivals have been to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to watch the 22-year-old in action and have been 'highly impressed' by his performances.

Watching Barcelona v. Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League yesterday, I texted back and forth with friends about what makes Barcelona so unique:
* they defend with the ball - when they can retain the ball for such long stretches of time (70-30 possession advantage in the first half), they make it impossible for opposition to mount an attack.

You would think that a home game against a side that struggles on the road would be seen as an opportunity to chalk up three points in an indifferent season.
You would think that an insipid performance against Pelita Jaya, winning 1-0, would have seen some butts kicked and some improved performances.

It's not every day you get to learn from the 2010 MLS Coach of the Year. But today was my day. The one and only Schellas Hyndman took center stage this morning, and it was awesome.

4-4-2 in the Classroom

The day started in the classroom, where Schellas took us through a tactical breakdown of the 4-4-2 system of play, a shape he knows well as that's what he employs with FC Dallas.