For just about the last 30 years, English goalkeepers have slipped down the rankings of the world's best despite the legacy that they bring with them from days gone by. There was a time when it didn't matter who played in nets for the national team (as long as it wasn't Peter Bonetti!

Morning all, some interesting quotes from Arsene Wenger appeared in a Belgian newspaper yesterday. For those that wish to cream yourselves on the bits about Eden Hazard, he had this to say:

I like him a lot, and for several reasons. His creativity, his ability to unbalance the opposition, his vision and his consummate art of giving the final ball make him a player coveted by many.

By Chris Wright

Early on Saturday morning Nottingham Forest owner and former chairman Nigel Doughty was found dead, aged 54, in the gym at his home in Lincolnshire.

A Forest fan from birth, Doughty saved the club and I don't use that term flippantly from being reduced to it's component parts and being flogged off to the highest bidders when he bought his football team using nigh-on £11 million of his own personal wealth back in 1999.

The Daily Mirror is reporting that England manager Fabio Capello is said to be furious over the sacking today of his captain John Terry.

According to the report Capello fought for Terry to remain as England captain until the bitter end and only accepted the FA's decision with extreme reluctance.

The long substitution

It's finally confirmed, the news that we did not want to hear. That Jack Wilshere has had a setback and would not be available in the date that we initially had hoped he would be back for. AC Milan's games were touted as his return period but that will now have to be extended.

Good morning to you and welcome to Thursday. The week is flying by. Must be all the high jinks and fun. Can't think what else it would be.

Let's start this morning with Jack Wilshere. Apparently he's 'stunned' doctors by being ready to make his comeback ... erm ... pretty much on schedule. When he limped out of the Emirates Cup in late July there was no indication he'd be out this long but since the need for surgery we've been told he'd be back in full training by the end of January, ready for a mid-February comeback.

It doesn't matter how honourable intentions may be at the Football Association of Singapore they always seem to put their foot in their mouth big time. The latest faux pas comes with the news that their newly appointed SLeague deputy CEO, and former Etoile chairman, is a declared bankrupt back in his home country of France and banned from running a business there for five years.

By Stuart Gilhooly, the solicitor for the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland who was also recently named Journalist of Year at the Irish Magazine Awards.

It seems as though Liverpool and Luis Suarez have finally closed the door on an unsavoury episode in their history and that of the English FA.

Match report Video -

Defeat is generally a painful experience. Defeat in circumstances like yesterday's even more so. It was late, very late, and pretty much self-inflicted.

It came after what was a pretty good opening 45 minutes from us. We were energetic, good going forward and while Fulham had their moments I thought we contained them pretty well defensively.

Tonight's game with Chelsea has unfortunately raised the issue of Luka Modric's future once again but manager Harry Redknapp has been quick to claim that the influential Croatian is going nowhere.

Luka appears to have put an unsettled August behind him and while he hasn't appeared at his best in the club's last two league games, he is generally at the heart of our most creative football.

At the end of Saturday's game, SZCZ fell to his knees and kissed Robin's boot. Whilst it's a manoeuvre many other gooners would probably replicate at the moment, a better one would have been to cover Robin's entire body in cotton wool.
We are not a one-man side. We have one of the best goalkeepers in European football.

Despite admitting his admiration for new manager Martin O'Neill, Asamoah Gyan has outlined his reluctance to return to Sunderland, perhaps even after his loan spell with Middle Eastern outfit Al Ain has finished.
Ghanaian goalscorer Gyan – who has netted 27 times in 54 matches for the Black Stars – is in the United Arab Emirates as a result of a deal struck back in September and, although rumours to the contrary have circulated this week, the 26 year-old ruled out a return to Wearside this January.

This wasn't the kind of game that I wanted to watch at midnight after an immensely enjoyable day with friends and their families who are visiting us for the holidays. And I get no joy in typing this report at quarter past two in the night but writing can also be cathartic at times and that's just what I am hoping to achieve.

Ahead of Saturday's clash...

Top flight football, as many have already found, can be an unforgiving place; one where individuals are left to rue what might have been if not for injuries, intense competition or failure to adapt and/or develop at the necessary rate. A world which is no longer as rosy as it once was, as cold, hard reality hits home and becomes too much to bear.

Top flight football, as many have already found, can be an unforgiving place; one where individuals are left to rue what might have been if not for injuries, intense competition or failure to adapt and/or develop at the necessary rate. A world which is no longer as rosy as it once was, as cold, hard reality hits home and becomes too much to bear.

Good morning from a much wetter than usual, but not as wet as when I went to bed, Dublin. It all got a bit mental here yesterday evening. Heavy rain, rivers bursting their banks, a strange man rounding up two of every animal. Where I live turned from a quiet road into a 2 foot deep river.

Thankfully everything outside seems to be back to normal now, if a little damp, so we can look ahead to tonight's Carling Cup game against Bolton.

Morning all.

We head towards another Sunday kick-off because of Stoke's UEFA Cup, or whatever you call it these days, exploits. The early team news is that we have no right back. Carl Jenkinson is set to miss a couple of weeks by all accounts having injured his knee against Marseille and the manager has to decide who will fill the gip.

If Robin van Persie doesn't sign a new contract at Arsenal in the next few months, the rumours that he is leaving will be off the Richter Scale.
Any theory that made Dinosaurs extinct will have nothing on this.
Robin's reluctance to agree to a new deal is apparently linked to what Arsene Wenger does in the January transfer window.

You'll understand I'm sure my reluctance to get around to writing this, what a disastrous development in the spectacularly underwhelming reign of Steve McClaren [...] Read the original post on Through the seasons before us

Over the past couple of years, Arsenal have been severely criticised for their transfer policy and their reluctance to splash the cash on big name players. The Gunners have been accused of everything from a lack of ambition to manipulating the share price, as their time without a trophy grows longer and longer and Arsene Wenger's men slip further and further down the Premier League pecking order.

Kenny Dalglish has pledged that his commitment to "the Liverpool way" will not falter whatever setbacks the club encounters this season. Since his return to Anfield in January, the Scot has re-embraced all the values of his first spell on Merseyside – whether it is a reluctance to criticize squad members publicly, however shaky their hold on a first-team place, or a commitment to the pass-and-move football that made Liverpool the greatest force in the English game.

Kenny Dalglish has pledged that his commitment to "the Liverpool way" will not falter whatever setbacks the club encounters this season. Since his return to Anfield in January, the Scot has re-embraced all the values of his first spell on Merseyside – whether it is a reluctance to criticize squad members publicly, however shaky their hold on a first-team place, or a commitment to the pass-and-move football that made Liverpool the greatest force in the English game.

Kenny Dalglish continues to echo the old values at Liverpool

• Dalglish pledges to stick with club's traditions • Manager praises veteran defender Carragher Kenny Dalglish has pledged that his commitment to "the Liverpool way" will not falter whatever setbacks the club encounter this season.

After years of failing to achieve success Persib have acted ruthlessly, culling much from last season's squad.
Out have gone Christian Gonzales, Hilton Moreira, Markus Horison, Nova Arianto, Isnan Ali, Siswanto and Rachmat Affandi among others.
In have come Nasuha, Tony Sucipto, M Ilham and Aliyudin; all from bitter rivals Persija.

Golden Generation or Fool's Gold? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Barring an almighty flop, England will qualify for Euro 2012. They'll do so in marginally convincing fashion, maybe even topping a group which while not robust, provided more challenging than first thought. Now, England manager Fabio Capello said he knew Tuesday's performance against Wales would be sub-par from watching the players warm up.

I think I've got post-traumatic stress disorder. I keep getting these weird flashbacks. Like, I'm going along normally, minding my own business and then it's:

MUST BUY LEFT BACK!

Not so good when you're in the supermarket, frantically searching the vegetable section for a suitable candidate.

By the time 90 minutes were up at Old Trafford, the superlatives used to describe Manchester United's 8-2 hammering of Arsenal had all already been worn out. ('Hammering' is also a superlative, well done for pointing that out.) United were relentless, ruthless and quite simply remarkable; and, although they were a bit shaky at the back, they look a side destined to cover themselves in glory come next May.

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola took time away from a highly successful period for his club to defend under-pressure Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, insisting that the Frenchman has helped the club make significant progress during his tenure.

The Catalan giants opened their title defense with an emphatic 5-0 win over Villarreal, which featured goals from recently crowned European Player of the Year Lionel Messi as well as massive summer signings Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas, the former Gunners skipper.

Finally Spurs have addressed their goal scoring problems of last season, with the loan signing of controversial striker Emmanuel Adebayor. Attackers from all over the world have been linked with Spurs this summer, but the club have decided to put their faith in the strong Togolese forward.

A Time for Leaders

The post match analysis of Liverpool's somewhat anti-climatic start to the Premier League season on Radio 5 Live made for depressing listening. There are plenty of rational responses to drawing 1-1 on the opening day to a decent Sunderland team, but few of them were to be heard on dismissive radio call-in programmes.

It's a bid to encourage clubs to take a chance on younger prospects.

Here's more from Associated Press Sports Writer Tim Booth (and will Chivas USA, who took a pass on the likes of Freddy Adu, grab striker Eddie Johnson?):

Major League Soccer is adjusting its designated player rules in the hopes of bringing in more young international talent, an area in which the league has struggled to gain a foothold.

While the stories that have emerged today concerning Bryan Ruiz have stopped short of suggesting that he has issued a ‘come and get me' plea, they do infer that the FC Twente striker may be holding out for a move to Spurs.

Firstly, the Costa Rican dealt with the rumours surrounding a move to Fulham whose manager Martin Jol would have seen plenty of Ruiz during his time with Ajax.

Roy Hodgson doesn't like to bring up his time at Liverpool. He also doesn't like to speculate about taking on the England job once Fabio Capello steps down after next summer's European Championships. Just ask him and he'll tell you, before launching into a discussion about his former job at Liverpool and a potential future one leading England's national side.

A week after failing to impress against Valencia, Jordan Henderson again had a poor showing, this time against his former club Sunderland in the first match of the new season. As much as wildly overreacting and proclaiming the campaign an utter failure on the basis of one opening day draw is an unhealthy, reactionary approach, it's also impossible to ignore the fact that not everything went according to plan.

Gerrard | What a hit son, what a hit!

AnfieldIndex Liverpool FC Stats | Liverpool FC Blog | Liverpool FC Forum New season, new players but hopefully a return to old ways for at least one aspect of our play, that was notably missing last year. This is of course the 25/30/35 yard screamer from one of our players, usually Steven Gerrard.

If you look down Everton's squad it is hard to see why their fans are so restless at present.
They have a team packed full of internationals and promising youngsters with one of the best young managers in the game at the helm.
But look beyond that and you will see the fragile nature of the current side.

Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke is in London today in an attempt to finally sort out the Cesc Fabregas transfer saga. The mail reports that Kroenke came to the capital to attend the members day at the Emirates. But, says the paper, more importantly the American tycoon hopes his trip to England will resolve the long-running uncertainty over Fabregas' protracted switch to Barcelona.

A swap deal may well be Spurs' best chance of getting new blood into the squad for the start of the season, but can there really be any value in exchanging Peter Crouch for Bobby Zamora?

This story started quietly on Saturday morning and gathered predictable momentum as the weekend went on.

While the finances at Spurs don't seem to be an issue, our reluctance to lower asking prices is. You can't sell what people won't buy, so with this in mind, maybe it's time we took a leaf out of the Italian's book and started to think seriously about player swaps.

By adopting this strategy we don't have to spend a fortune on transfer fees, and we don't risk scaring off potential buyers every time we quote a transfer value for one of our players.

Kenny Dalglish will refuse to give up on his pursuit of Stewart Downing, despite Aston Villa's reluctance to sell.
The Liverpool boss has identified England winger Downing as his number one attacking priority in the summer transfer window, and is ready to offer big money to get his man.
New Villa manager Alex McLeish has made keeping the exciting international one of his main priorities, as he looks to head off fan unrest at the club.