I'll be blunt: I've never been a PSV fan. There you have it. I have admired them in the past, for their management, their finances, the ability to sign Romario, Ronaldo, Kieft, Timmy Simons, Gullit... But to me, they were always the rich football club from PSV where they speak with the Click to continue reading...

Bulgaria's greatest, Georgi Asparuhov, life tragically cut at 28. Rooney misses a sitter. (Studs Up) The incredible new lows of Mike Ashley. (Three Match Ban) Stamford Bridge name TBA; football's name also TBA. (Futfanatico) John Barnes: Savior of Rwanda, not Don Cheadle. (Fisted Away) Adriano: The face of crack. Click to continue reading...

I completely missed every single game of football across the British Isles at the weekend. I was too busy to turn on the radio for the Scottish games, and I fell asleep somewhere during the Arsenal-Spurs highlights on the Saturday evening. I was awake long enough to see van Persie scoring, but the next thing I [. Click to continue reading...

With Rangers getting closer and closer to almost becoming Leeds United, maybe its time for both Celtic and Rangers to run away from the Scottish Premier League and head for greener pastures. Rangers 's club's bankers Lloyds are owed £30million by the end of the campaign. With a TV contract that is nothing to celebrate the only way that they maybe be able to meet the payment is to sell half of the first team. Click to continue reading...

Cuando supe que Lebrija tomaba el mando del Guadalajara no hice otra cosa más que aplaudir la medida, pero no sé donde chingados estuvo metido los últimos años que pareciera que se le atrofio el cerebro.

Primero nos sorprendió con la manera tan ojete con la que le dio gas a Luis Manuel Díaz, tiempo después las declaraciones de que querían que la federación pagara el sueldo de los jugadores que quieren concentrar por sesenta días, cuando de antemano sabes que al contratar jugadores de nivel de selección te atienes a lo que la federación disponga, porque aceptémoslo, le guste o no, la selección es prioridad.

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While the Aughts have been full of speculation/proposal about the Old Firm joining the EPL, the 90's was about the Old Firm joining what was dubbed as the Atlantic League. It was a joint proposal from the big clubs in the Netherlands, Scotland and Portugal. ESPN is reporting that there may be another attempt at this break away league, which would involve the aforementioned clubs along with Belgium and the Scandinavian clubs.

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With Paulo Guerrero and Mladen Petric sustaining long term injuries, Hamburg are facing a forward crisis of epic proportion. The weight of a team that is tied on points for the league falls on the shoulders on young Swede Marcus Berg. No matter who Labbadia might sign, bring up from the reserves or shift, Berg is still the only proven striker the Dinosaurs have.

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First came Toronto FC, then Vancouver Whitecaps got an expansion team and now Montreal L' Beckhams are trying to join MLS. Throw in further interest from Ottawa and Major League Soccer has a sudden influx of Canadiana! Don't tell our friends to the south that a whole list of possible expansion clubs are lining up as we speak. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie declared he's delighted to have defender Thomas Vermaelen on his side, rather than against him. Recalling the spat between the two in the 2007 Amsterdan Tournament and speaking of the Belgian's impact on the Arsenal squad, the Dutch striker said:

He is hard and played very strong on me physically and I was a little bit upset about that.

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Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie declared he's delighted to have defender Thomas Vermaelen on his side, rather than against him. Recalling the spat between the two in the 2007 Amsterdan Tournament and speaking of the Belgian's impact on the Arsenal squad, the Dutch striker said:

He is hard and played very strong on me physically and I was a little bit upset about that.

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At last Feyenoord - PSV is a top game again. And the Rotterdammers hope the Prague game is still in PSV's legs. The second setback this week doesn't ruin Mario Been's optimism. Sekou Cisse is the second starter that is too injured to play. Dani Fernandez, Feyenoord's right back, copped Click to continue reading...

Here at our pick of the fixtures for the weekend coming...

Sheffield United vs Sheffield United Friday Night
The famous steel city derby is sure to be a tense and exciting affair. Wednesday did the double over United last year for the first time in ninety-something years and Kevin Blackwell's boys will be looking to avenge that.

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The Europa League is clearly regarded as much less interesting for Australian broadcasters. Not one game was presented here, so all my views are based on what I heard from mates, read in the media and saw on YouTube. PSV - without Afellay - played a tough away game against the Click to continue reading...

Stanley Menzo (45) was the ideal goalie for Ajax. Fast, courageous and with good feet-skills. The former Ajax, PSV and Lierse player did have the bad luck to be born in the Van Breukelen era, and when Menzo finally got a chance on a break, one Edwin van der Sar Click to continue reading...

Manchester United have confirmed that a new contract has been given to Park Ji-Sung. The South Korean was set to be out of a contract at the end of the season, but this new agreement will keep him at Old Trafford until June 2012.

Sir Alex Ferguson has often stated his respect and appreciation for 28-year-old Park, sentiments which were echoed in an improved deal.

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Done deal.

Hull City have signed former Celtic striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

The Dutchman has signed a two-year deal at the KC Stadium after passing a medical and agreeing personal terms.

Vennegoor of Hesselink is able to join Hull outside the transfer window as he is a free agent after being released by Celtic earlier this summer.

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Bulgarian shot stopper Nikolay Mihaylov almost joined Eredivisie giants PSV on deadline day. The Liverpool goalie, currently on loan at Twente, claims that the Eindhoven side made a last minute approach for him, but that the Tukkers refused to let go of him.
"Liverpool and PSV had already reached an agreement, but Twente coach Steve McClaren refused to let me leave," was Mihaylov quoted as saying by Bulgarian medium 24chasa. Click to continue reading...

Reaching the final of last year's Champions League final means we brought in more cash revenue than any other club, including Barcelona!

1. Manchester United – £38,281,000
2. Bayern Munich – £29,618,000
3. Barcelona – £26,544,000
4. Chelsea – £26,492,000
5.

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Don't laugh. Despite his past failures (2001 and 2005 with Bayer Leverkusen, 2009 with Bayern Munich) Landon Donovan is clearly talented enough to play his football in Europe. Somewhere in Europe anyway. The only question is: Where? Donovan has recently been linked with Livorno in Italy, and with PSG in France. Click to continue reading...

La lista de convocados del Tri para enfrentar a Costa Rica en San Jose este 5 de Septiembre y a Honduras en el Estadio Azteca el 9 del mismo mes, incluye a 20 jugadores donde destaca el llamado del delantero del Toluca, Néstor Calderón y Héctor Moreno del AZ Alkmaar.

Una acertada adición es la del jugador Pablo Barrera de Pumas, finalmente Javier Aguirre entendió que no debe llamar más al Venado Medina.

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La lista de convocados del Tri para enfrentar a Costa Rica en San Jose este 5 de Septiembre y a Honduras en el Estadio Azteca el 9 del mismo mes, incluye a 20 jugadores donde destaca el llamado del delantero del Toluca, Néstor Calderón y Héctor Moreno del AZ Alkmaar.

Una acertada adición es la del jugador Pablo Barrera de Pumas, finalmente Javier Aguirre entendió que no debe llamar más al Venado Medina.

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Time to dig deep!

It has been reported that Real Madrid winger Arjen Robben is a Liverpool target and whether the club can afford to put in a bid for the £18m Dutchman or not, they really need to think long and hard about passing up on such an opportunity.

The former Chelsea man is still very capable of cutting it in the Premier League and the 25 year old would surely jump at the chance of a return to the country he left two years ago.

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Led by Ibrahim Afellay as their guide, PSV has found the door to the group stages of the Europa League. With the 0-1 win in Tel Aviv, the Eindhovenaren achieved their goal in Europa. Afellay was position as holding midfielder next to Timmy Simons, just like he was against Twente and Click to continue reading...

20/08/2009Kosice-AS Roma 3 - 3FK Baku-Basel 1 - 3BATE Borisov-Litex Lovech 0 - 1Teplice-Hapoel Tel Aviv 1 - 2Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv-PSV 0 - 1Guingamp-Hamburger SV 1 - 5Trabzonspor-Toulouse 1 - 3CSKA Sofia-Dinamo Mosca 0 - 0NAC Breda-Villarreal 1 - 3PAOK Saloniki-SC Heerenveen 1 - 1Metalurg Donetsk-Austria Vienna 2 - 2Rapid Vienna-Aston Villa 1 - 0Sturm Graz-Metalist Kharkiv 1 - 1Dinamo Bucarest- Click to continue reading...

Standing left to right: Joop Hiele, John van 't Schip, Frank Rijkaard, John Bosman, Wim Koevermans (?), Ruud Gullit Seated left to right: Marco van Basten, Wilbert Suvrijn, Hendrie Kruzen, Jan Wouters, Adrie van Tiggelen Hendrie Kruzen played five internationals for the Dutch team. The ex Heracles, Den Bosch and PSV player Click to continue reading...

In weekend no. 3 one of the first six classics was programmed: PSV-Ajax in Eindhoven. A defeat at home would have resulted in the first crisis for Fred Rutten. In a memorable match, PSV found it's mojo in the second half and won the game 4-3. Isaksson, the PSV goalie, Click to continue reading...

Now we all know Pim Verbeek is worried about his Aussie boys returning home to the A-League, and probably no-one concerns him more than ever-present Socceroo Jason Culina.
Great player, who Robbie Slater praises before he even plays a pass, but are Culina's standards already slipping?
A few showpony touches with the score at 1-0 in the Fury game on the weekend suggests this whole A-League thing has finally attracted a professional player who finds the games too easy. Click to continue reading...

The ever-high scoring Dutch Eredivisie provided another goalfest this weekend, with PSV beating Ajax 4-3 at Philips Stadion. Things couldn't have started much worse for PSV, as keeper Andreas Isaksson gifted Luis Suarez the opening goal by taking a first touch that went further than many players passes. Click to continue reading...

Japanese international Keisuke Honda is the absolute star player at Eredivisie side VVV at the moment, and his outstanding performances for the Dutch side haven't gone unnoticed by the rest of Europe.
The attacking midfielder is continually being linked with a number of clubs, with Wolfsburg, Liverpool, Ajax and PSV all reportedly interested in signing Honda. Click to continue reading...

With the first of the Big Three kicking open the starting gate, we're that much closer to European football at its fullest. The Premiership opens up tomorrow, and while there will surely be some stutter steps, it's nice to see the end of summer in sight as we steam towards 12 months of football, culminating [. Click to continue reading...

Seems that Romario can't stop playing football. The striker, who graced the likes of PSV, Barcelona and, er, Miami FC during his 23 year career, hung up his boots at the grand old age of 42 last April with an (alleged) total of 1,003 goals. We waved goodbye to the great man on The Offside last [...] Click to continue reading...

Community Shield on Fox Soccer Channel and Setanta: Manchester United - Chelsea at 10am. Real Madrid - DC United is also on Fox Soccer at 2:30pm (3pm on TeleFutura). WPS on Fox Soccer: LA - Boston at 6pm. Bundesliga on GolTV: VfL Bochum - Borussia Moenchengladbach at 10:30am. Eredivisie on ESPN Deportes: PSV VVV Venlo at 10:30am. Click to continue reading...

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. | Answers here

In this week's quiz we feature former England and Ipswich town football manager Sir Bobby Robson who sadly passed away last week. The answers to the quiz below can be found at the foot of the reading post about his life.

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The UEFA Europa League finished up its qualifying round on Thursday with the second legs of each tie. Overall there were several matches and over 30 teams advancing to the next round. Here's a recap of some of the matches including Fulham v Vetra, Hamburg v Randers, Roma v KAA Gent, PSV v Cherno and Athletic Bilbao v Young Boys.

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Bobby Robson's passing was an event charitably marked by the soccer world. He left the world at 76 as one of the major coaches in the world with a CV as impressive as any.
While his two heroic World Cup exits dominated most of the obituaries, his achievements in coaching winning teams in four countries are to my mind his greatest. Click to continue reading...