In which one blogger's wife probes the relationship between players and fans.

Ahead of another match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford this weekend, Alex Ferguson has made his position on the rash of race-related controversies in the game clear. He's surprised by it all and demands firm action.

As Richard Whittall of The Footy Blog points out, the fact that these cases are getting scrutinized and dealt with should be a sign that progress is being made, but Ferguson seems to want more.

Chelsea's manager, Andre Villas-Boas, revealed an interesting statement regarding his current managerial experience at Stamford Bridge, stating that he is actually not really stamping his authority in the dressing room.

Villas-Boas revealed that unlike some manager who can be a sort of dictator with his players, the former Fc Porto tactician admitted that he is having a different path by becoming more of democratic person.

Last night Fernando Torres appeared on Chelsea TV's "Friday Night Live" programme where he answered questions from the fans. Chelsea have kindly uploaded some of the interview to their official channel on YouTube which I will feature for you here.
Torres was asked about how we is settling in at Chelsea and his relation ship with the fans below:
In the full interview featured on the official website, Torres said:

'Since I joined Chelsea it has been amazing.

Peyton Manning wants to keep playing football. Even though he has a neck injury that has required three surgeries, there's no quit in the quarterbacking legend. While the talk regarding whether or not he'll play for the Indianapolis Colts will continue, one thing is for certain: he'll play somewhere.

Carlos Tevez's advisor, Kia Joorabchian is quoted in the English newspapers as saying that Tevez will not be sold in the January transfer window:

"We've been in negotiations with three big clubs but I don't think they have reached the figures Manchester City want. Carlos will remain at Man City until the summer.

Carlos Tevez's advisor, Kia Joorabchian is quoted in the English newspapers as saying that Tevez will not be sold in the January transfer window:

"We've been in negotiations with three big clubs but I don't think they have reached the figures Manchester City want. Carlos will remain at Man City until the summer.

Now don't get me wrong here, I am referring to his style of management. Let me elaborate for you. AVB has given an honest and frank interview to UEFA's The Technician and has opened up about some problems he is faced with here as Chelsea's manager and in his short career in Portugal.
In the interview, he explains some dilemma's he is faced with but also refers to HIS management style and reveals that because of his age and playing experience, he could never be a Manager classed as a Dictator.

Real dissension in the ranks?

The Real Madrid fans are in a barracking mood, just like the fans giving stick to Arsene Wenger. The Barca game blew up in their face because Mou decided to stick 11 men behind the ball and with the exception of an 11th minute of enterprise, played like he was afraid to lose which is exactly what happened.

In our recaps of Seattle Sounders FC's Academy Alumni the focus was primarily on the players within the NCAA system. Players like Sean Okoli (second leading scorer on the U18s in 2010/11), Deandre Yedlin and Nick Palodichuk are following typical American collegiate paths. Yedlin and Okoli even got picked for the recent United States U-20 path.

Iker Casillas played down divisions between the Spanish and Portuguese players in the Real Madrid team after Sunday's win against Athletic Bilbao saying:

"We can't start losing our minds and pointing the finger at each other. Whistles are really aimed at all of us. We must all be united, team and fans alike.

By Chris Wright

Just a few photos of the 'proudest moment' Chris Coleman's career; his official unveiling as the new Wales manager at an FAW press conference at St David's Hotel in Cardiff a couple of hours ago...

Said Coleman on taking the job:

"We're still all shocked by what happened [with Gary Speed] and we're still grieving and the only way we can put smiles on fans' faces again is to continue to win matches but I don't think we'll ever get over the loss of Gary.

Recently Pat McStay of Virginia Online Soccer News was able to catch up with Christian Metzler of Woodbridge, VA. Metzler who is an All-State goalkeeper recently received the first annual Inspirium Soccer Award along with a $7,500 academic scholarship.
Woodbridge Goalkeeper wins Inspireum Soccer Award, Scholarship
Watch his inpirational video!

Wayne Rooney was left out of the squad for our 3-2 defeat to Blackburn. Had we won that game we would now be on the same points as City at the top of the table.

Reports quickly emerged claiming that Rooney had been dropped from the squad after being deemed unfit to train following an evening out with some team mates and their wives and girlfriends.

At Tuesday's Supporters Club Q&A, manager Steve Cotterill and chief executive Mark Arthur sought to address fans' concerns. Peter Blackburn reports. Despite a litany of mediocre questions, and mediocre answers, in amongst the usual discussion about recent performances, relationship between club and fans, and the hope that Forest would beat The Rams in the next [.

Rumor: Offer for Hanyer Mosquera from Colombia as a central defender?

"The central defender had already arranged their relationship with the Blues, but an offer from Portland to the MLS made ​​him change his mind." [Google translates]

Video of said player: http://www.youtube.com/watch?

The Independent has run a story today which claims that Wayne Rooney and Sir Alex Ferguson have fallen out which has lead to the striker looking for a move away from the club, again.

Acting quickly, in a statement issued last night by the club and Rooney's agent, Paul Stretford, it was confirmed that Rooney has no intention of leaving United.

The Independent has run a story today which claims that Wayne Rooney and Sir Alex Ferguson have fallen out which has lead to the striker looking for a move away from the club, again.

Acting quickly, in a statement issued last night by the club and Rooney's agent, Paul Stretford, it was confirmed that Rooney has no intention of leaving United.

Wayne Rooney isn't going anywhere from the swamp

Wayne Rooney on Twitter:

" The independent are talking absolute rubbish my future is with Manchester United and the club and I are totally commited to each other."

This was in response to a James Lawton's article which speculated Rooney's relationship with Sir Alex had suffered a complete breakdown and there was talk he was to be sold this January.

Manchester United and Ireland U21 international winger Robbie Brady will stay at Hull City until the end of the season.
The 19-year-old Dublin born player has scored one goal from 22 appearances since joining Hull on loan at the start of the season.
Tigers caretaker boss Nick Barmby said: "We've got a great platform for him to really kick on now.

It's the eve of Christmas Eve... and um fim de semana de festas para Neymar! We know there are many out there who're close to joining the "Neymarzetes" (the equivalent of Justin Bieber's street team) and for that, we wish you the best of luck.

After the live Q&A session Seattle Sounders FC committed to answering the rest of the questions that were submitted by Alliance members. Many of these passed through my hands at some point, though not all. Several had to be condensed together as they covered similar issues. But in the final versions of the questions as submitted to the club through the Council or through twitter submissions they answered.

The big business news of the day was the announcement that the naming rights deal between FC Dallas and Pizza Hut was coming to an end. The $1.2 million per year deal was a significant milestone when signed, and the loss of the naming rights agreement doesn't bode well for a franchise also struggling to secure a jersey sponsorship.

Preseason tourney @ JWF. 2 MLS sides plus us and AIK (Swedish 1st division). for STHs all games count as exhib.game A. Details today #RCTID

Via @MerrittPaulson.

He goes on to say the Timbers are looking to build a solid relationship with AIK. Very exciting.

The absence of the top five or six clubs from much of the schedule for yesterday's Premier League fixtures may have meant that the eyes of many may have drifted towards the bottom of the table instead. As has been the case for the previous couple of seasons, the bottom half of the Premier League table is starting to look rather congested, with just six points separating the team in tenth place in the table from the relegation places.

Are YOU our Fan of the Month?

There's no other team in world football with a stronger bond with their supporters than Liverpool and now main club sponsors Standard Chartered aim to celebrate this unique relationship with the official Fan of the Month award.

View the full story here: Liverpool FC

A news article on 2011-12-18 09:52:30 from: Liverpool FC

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

By Chris Wright

"Ring the bell Apollo..." "Ding...ding"

One for fans of PR damage control now, with the news that Man City have circulated the photo above of Micah Richards and Mario Balotelli playfully sparring in the City dressing rooms and generally being 'all good' with each other to poke a wee bit of fun at Thursday's little bout of training ground pugilism sparked, if rumours are to be believed, by a misplaced pass.

It's fair to say David Luiz is an entertaining kid, on and, most definitely, off the pitch. If you're not following his Twitter account, you are doing yourself an extreme disservice. The Brazilian let all his followers know yesterday that he was prepping to take his English test on Friday.

About 11 hours ago, Bob let us know that he had passed his test with flying colors.

After one hundred and four years, the end now seems to be nigh for Underhill, the home of Barnet Football Club. An official statement on the clubs website this afternoon confirmed that "The stark reality is that as a consequence of unresolved ground differences with the council, Barnet FC face the prospect of a reduced footprint next season and an end to their 100 plus years residence of their spiritual home", bringing to an end any reasonable doubt over the fact that wherever the club does end up playing in either its short or long term future, it won't be at the place that it has called home since 1907.

The Big Interview Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam

In an in-depth interview with Football Focus, Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam discusses his "dream" summer move to Anfield, his relationship with Reds manager Kenny Dalglish and the club's form this season.

View the full story here: BBC

A news article on 2011-12-10 12:35:57 from: BBC

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

There's something about a good taco - hard shell, or soft; Street cart, sit-down or home; chicken, steak, ground whatever or veggies; corn or flour; authentic or - they have a great appeal. An appeal so large that Erik Friberg has probably the most famous tweet in Seattle Sounders history. It was one word - tacos.

Rumours have been rife that Italian giants Juventus are looking to sign Alex from us. Alex himself talked up a move last summer but no deal could be agreed. As a result he stayed here but has hardly featured and as a result handed in a transfer request last week that has been accepted.
It's now believed that Juventus are looking to offer Chelsea £2m for Alex in January knowing that his contract is due to expire at the end of the season.

"We continue to discuss the pros and cons to running a PDL team," Hanauer says, "and whether it makes most sense to run an amateur version or a professional version. The reason for not running one, has simply been that we haven't calculated the benefits to be worthy of the expense.

US Soccer has given Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) until Monday to find a sixth team. You may recall that the league's Board of Governors recently voted to expel Dan Borislow's Boca Raton-based magicJack from the league. The relationship between Borislow and WPS has been fairly roller-coaster-esque from the start.

When we saw those tweets from Joey Barton earlier in the week, our first question was why he keeps stirring things up from the past again. Alan Pardew waves to Geordie fans after Man City game After all Joey no longer plays for Newcastle, and it was well documented that he dislikes Mike Ashley and Derek LLambias, and that's being kind about how to describe the relationship.

When we saw those tweets from Joey Barton earlier in the week, our first question was why he keeps stirring things up from the past again. Alan Pardew waves to Geordie fans after Man City game After all Joey no longer plays for Newcastle, and it was well documented that he dislikes Mike Ashley and Derek LLambias, and that's being kind about how to describe the relationship.

Arlo White did not come to the Seattle Sounders with expectations of becoming an icon. Surely, he had expectations that he would be successful, but any hopes were far exceeded, as he said in Part 1 of our rather lengthy interview.

In Part 2 of the interview, we delve a little deeper into his relationship with the team and the fans and how that turned a virtual "no-brainer" decision to join NBC into what that required far more thought.

Glenn Davis, the Houston Dynamo's local play-by-play voice, also does a weekly radio show in Houston dedicated to both the Dynamo and the sport of soccer. Last night was his first show since Brian Ching was selected by the Montreal Impact in the Expansion Draft. Dynamo defender Geoff Cameron and head coach Dominic Kinnear were both guest on the show and had some interesting comments concerning the Ching situation.

Much of the focus of Bobby Di Matteo's appearance in front of the press before Liverpool tomorrow is about his future. There has been speculation of late that clubs had been interested in speaking to him with a view to becoming their manager (...and Leicester to mention one).
Di Matteo was keen to emphasise how happy he is here in the club he calls his home.

adidas is all in and why you should be too - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

We may be going into 2012 but with PR agencies it still feels like 2006 at times.

I started Soccerlens.com way back in April 2006 and one of the lasting memories of the last five and a half years has been the treatment of football bloggers by PR agencies promoting their clients.