Given I only get to the ground about ten minutes before kick-off, I missed the opportunity to buy the latest edition of Red Issue which went on sale today. Why? Because the GMP, without receiving a single complaint, deemed the picture on the back page "potentially offensive" so went about confiscating it and threatening the sellers with arrest.

Yes, I admit that I enjoyed American Football today, Super Bowl Sunday, but in the rest of the world, Association Football was played as usual. Especially in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, co-hosts of the 2012 African Nations Cup.Yesterday, powerful co-favorites Ivory Coast defeated co-host Equatorial Guinea 3-0.

Sydney Leroux (r) and Alex Morgan celebrate one of Leroux's five (!) second half goals. Image: AP Photo/The Canadian Press.

Hearty congrats to the USWNT who are currently storming their way through the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament with so much ease that they're actually attracting criticism.

A WINNER IN BRAZILIAN HEARTS SOCRATES

We were stuck in transit at an airport when the news broke that Brazilian football legend Socrates passed away on Dec 4 and couldn't write a tribute to him in time. Many football-loving fathers, brothers and grandads out there speak highly of this man whose legacy is well-documented by the passion of the Brazilians.

[O]nce in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos Directed by Paul Crowder and John Dower, Miramax, 2006 This remarkably well put together movie conjures up an era when America seemed so much more exciting, so much more dazzling, so much more...ahead than the rest of the world. Its late seventies locus is New York and its subject the Cosmos, five times Soccer Bowl Champions and the club that inspired a famous T-shirt of the time that the sport was ‘just a kick in the grass'.

[O]nce in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos Directed by Paul Crowder and John Dower, Miramax, 2006 This remarkably well put together movie conjures up an era when America seemed so much more exciting, so much more dazzling, so much more...ahead than the rest of the world. Its late seventies locus is New York and its subject the Cosmos, five times Soccer Bowl Champions and the club that inspired a famous T-shirt of the time that the sport was ‘just a kick in the grass'.

Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos Directed by Paul Crowder and John Dower Miramax, 2006 This remarkably well put together movie conjures up an era when America seemed so much more exciting, so much more dazzling, so much more...ahead than the rest of the world. Its late seventies locus is New York and its subject the Cosmos, five times Soccer Bowl Champions and the

If you've been stopping by Aston Villa Central for a while now you would have noticed something amiss this past weekend and may have assumed that I had joined Darren Bent on a quick shopping jaunt.
I had no such luck I'm afraid. I did indeed watch the 2-0 loss at the hands of Liverpool, but for the first time in a few years I hadn't done any preparation before the game.

Luis Suárez racism ban: PFA head Gordon Taylor supports FA's decision

• Taylor backs 'very strong message' over racist abuse • Lord Herman Ouseley urges consistent tough stance Luis Suárez's eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra has been supported by the head of the Professional Footballers' Association as "a very strong message to the rest of the world".

On Sunday morning if you happen to be in Western Europe the champions of world club football will be crowned, as the final of the 2011 Club World Cup is played at the International Stadium in Yokohama between Barcelona, the current champions of Europe, and Santos of Brazil, the current champions of South America.

As the (Acting) President of the Alliance Council, I've heard plenty of skepticism about the Alliance, whether it truly represents "Democracy in Sports" or not, and whether or not it is - or can be - a true voice for fans and a way for them to take some control in the operation of the Sounders.
I share some skepticism.

(Photo: Nicolae Stoian)

Editor's note: Last year, we posted a series of "Raves" about some of our favorite Philadelphia players. They need not be the team's best players, but they're guys and gals we like. Over the next two weeks, we continue the series again with some of the PSP contributors favorite players of 2011.

To recap a game that will probably be ignored by the rest of the world.

• 120 minutes of pulsating football.
• a good referring performance
• a game played in good spirit by both teams
• an estimated 100,000 + fans in the stadium
• thousands more outside watching on big screen TVs
• 2 fans killed in crushes outside
• ticket boxes set on fire
• chaotic organisation
• Malaysia arrive and depart in armoured personnel carriers
• last penalty slips through Indonesia keeper's fingers
• heartbreak for Indonesia
• euphoria for Malaysia winning back to back SEA Games
• and all this for an Under 23 competition

Like I said, all that excitement will probably be ignored by the outside world, except perhaps the deaths, because South East Asia doesn't have its own football in their eyes.

Liverpool fans showed up at Stamford Bridge today wearing "Evra is a liar" t-shirts, which stewards made them remove ahead of kick-off.

Despite Luis Suarez admitting he called Evra a name in Spanish and the FA charging the Liverpool striker with directing racial verbal abuse at Evra, Liverpool fans have predictably rolled out their usual hero worship of their player.

Following on from his attack yesterday, Gus Poyet has dug himself an even bigger hole, by basically claiming that Luis Suarez called Patrice Evra a "negro" but shouldn't be punished as it isn't a racist term in Uruguay.

"I know Luis very well and I will go to court if someone wants to prove he's not racist," he said.

Well I must say I was a little surprised when Ben Buckley called last night to offer me the job of Socceroos' Head Coach, starting immediately.
Of course I know when the time for my national duty has come, and I accepted. But not before I had a long talk with Buckley in which I said I would be making a number of changes, some of them which will shock some people and many fans, and he guaranteed that I would have complete freedom and control over the roster.

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 21, 2011) US Soccer Players -- It must be tough when the rest of the world decides to question an organization like FIFA. There's the expected lack of transparency from an organization that only really answers to a limited electorate. That's those 208 people who get a vote.

Presenting the ideal opportunity to demonstrate whether you have the managerial X-Factor, if you have always fancied yourself as the best Premiership manager around and reckon you can do better than the current crop thanks to The Team of your Dreams you can do exactly that. Best of all, it's absolutely free!

Their Words The big challenge is for MLS overall. How can they stretch that season into a format that is kind of competitive with the rest of the world? Right now it's not competitive. If you have a seven-eight month season, that's not competitive with the rest of the world. US National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, during Monday's public training session.

This is why national team coaches don't run their nation's soccer leagues.

U.S. national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann has made his feelings known about the regrettably insufficient length of Major League Soccer's season. Only through longer seasons and a greater run of matches can MLS properly develop international caliber high achievers, according to Herr Klinsmann.

I'm certain that Jurgen Klinsmann is a smart soccer coach. He's trying to build something that will probably take about 8 years or so to come to fruition with the United States National Team. It involves many layers, not just the current senior team, but a couple Olympics teams, many U20/U17 teams, MLS, the lower divisions, college, Academies, and youth teams.

New U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann says Major League Soccer must have a longer season to become competitive.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday night's friendly against Ecuador, the former Germany striker says MLS players do not get enough games in their season, which lasts from mid-March until late November, including the playoffs.

I want MLS to keep its balanced schedule after Montreal and the 20th team enter. If it does not keep that balanced schedule it should be because of travel and not because playing 38 games is too much. I understand there is US Open Cup and CONCACAF CCL for some clubs but that is why we have larger rosters.

Some 78 clubs currently comprise US Soccer's Development Academy and three of those clubs—FC Delco, PA Classics and Players Development Academy—are part of the Philadelphia Union's Youth Development Affiliate program.

Evaluations of these clubs were first started by US Soccer in 2007 with the founding of the Development Academy.

If you want to waste time and frustrate yourself, start a conversation/debate about soccer-football positions, what you call them, what that means, and what that implies about their roles.

This is probably why there is so little intelligent discussion about these things in the English-speaking world, if for no other reason than the fact that the very people who are purported to have invented the game long ago decided that tactics talk was somehow inherently cynical and have always seemingly been a half-step behind the rest of the world (and explains the rather off-putting nationalism that takes over the English sporting press any time a major international tournament rolls around).

Former Real Madrid director general Jorge Valdano believes that Barcelona and Real Madrid will abandon La Liga for a European league if their dominance of La Liga continues.

The two Spanish giants lost just six games between them last season and third place Valencia finished 25 points behind champions Barcelona.

Former Real Madrid director general Jorge Valdano believes that Barcelona and Real Madrid will abandon La Liga for a European league if their dominance of La Liga continues.

The two Spanish giants lost just six games between them last season and third place Valencia finished 25 points behind champions Barcelona.

I feel I have a responsibility to be completely truthful here. Last season was tough, really tough but as with everything in life, it is now consigned to history, done and dusted and yes whilst it is still fresh in the mind, our boys have this remarkable opportunity once again to embrace the uphill challenge of competing for the title, competing in Europe's most prestigious competition and defying the critics with dazzling displays of quite awesome football.

Well everyone has an opinion and there is always a debate between those who've played professionally and those Coaches who haven't.
Do you need to play professionally to develop young players? I don't think so but then I didn't train professionally - I played in Canberra!!!!
But maybe our Coaches who are full-time, but haven't played professionally have lacked real guidance from the professional side of the game down the years.

Liverpool has today confirmed a team of scouts have been sent to China in an effort to find the best young talent in Asia.
Academy director of recruitment Stuart Webber is leading the party on their six-day trip of the continent, with Liverpool taking a look at two new trialists during an Under 17 tournament on the trip.

Calling off Premier League fixtures would send 'terrible message' Ecclestone

"It gives a terrible message to the rest of the world," says QPR owner

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-08-10 14:32:54 from: The Mirror

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

By Tony Attwood I don't know if Southampton like Arsenal or hate Arsenal, but they are making some money out of Arsenal. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, a winger whom Untold (and the rest of the world) predicted would sign, is undergoing a medical. Arsenal are paying £5m now and the same again later depending on appearances.

With the World Cup Qualifiers a month ahead Indonesia are facing the usual old problem. They can't find opponents! It doesn't matter who runs the game in this country while the rest of the world is busy arranging its international calender 12 months in advance the FA here struggle to book hotels for their players and officials.

I didn't want to go the last rules meeting of the season, but it just worked out that way. I missed the advanced clinics because I was out-of-town on both of them; and missed another because of a snow storm (and I had already been stranded away from home because of one of them this year thankyouverymuch).

At three different points of the year MLS Commissioner Don Garber makes the big time media rounds and talks about the future of Major League Soccer. Tonight's All-Star Game is one of those times. MLS is getting really good, despite all the times they are the brunt of jokes, at getting exposure. This week they've done the traditional morning shows, as well as hosted a series of events throughout Manhattan.

Disclaimer: I'd like to say that I'm not a Harry Potter fan, and I do not know why the title ended up sounding like one of them books. Or movies. But this could become a series... just a thought.

There's a lot to be said for US sports programs and their focus on athletics from a very young age.

Head scratcher: Abby Wambach and the rest of the U.S. women's team were left to rue what could have been after Sunday's World Cup final loss to Japan (AP Photo).

You could talk about the jillion wasted first half chances the U.S. women missed in the first half of a World Cup final they would eventually lose to Japan.

Hot, er, Hope SoloWhat is it with American soccer goalkeepers? Is it because we can catch and the rest of the world cannot? Is it because our kids grow up watching quarterbacks and catchers lead and naturally, the goalie becomes the central figure on the football pitch because they're an equally solitary figure?

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jul 7, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Sorry FIFA, but after reelecting the sitting president unopposed I'm hoping you'll find out the rest of the World doesn't have a lot of stomach for turning the only other candidate into a no-goodnik. That's the scenario currently playing itself out as we await FIFA formally charging suspended Asian Football Confederation and one-time FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam.

So Monday's here and Charlie Adam's not, but he also might be, or at least he's having the world's longest medical at Melwood. Either way it's a continual failure for people who think they know something and don't, and are so content to continue to disregard reality and push back what they thought was happening yesterday but is actually happening tomorrow that they're really gonna show you once he arrives.