Define Irony : A bunch of football players missing Internationals for an injury they got introduced in the previous Internationals.

So finally we get to watch some International action. And boy, don't I love it. England versus Brazil yeah. Does it get better than this.

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I came across a site last week which captured my attention. It's a site not dissimilar to most news aggregator websites like Footballblips, NewsNow and Soccerblogs. However, the nicest thing about CleverFootball.com is that the football news from blogs and/or broadsheets are segregated by teams. So one can read every news available on his/her team at CleverFootball. Click to continue reading...

Elizabeth Lambert. Plays of the University of New Mexico.
She's brutal. Worse than Cantona or Gattuso or Materazzi or anyone you can think of.
Check out the highlights from SportsCenter.
Then check out some links:

• MLS Defender of the Year: Chad Marshall.

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Steven Gerrard believes there are several exciting prospects at the Academy who could one day take the Premier League by storm.
Not since Gerrard broke on to the scene in 1998 has Liverpool produced a world-class star.
The skipper, though, thinks all that could soon change as the new-look Academy led by Frank McParland and Kenny Dalglish looks to get players into Rafa Benitez's first team. Click to continue reading...

Has there been a better team goal in this season's A-League than Wellington's second against Newcastle last night (about two and a half minutes into this)? If Paul Ifill's surging run down the left was typically impressive, Costa Barbarouses' nonchalant flick was sublime. And Chris Greenacre's finish was no less classy. Click to continue reading...

In the (self-dubbed) newbie derby, Gold Coast have been defeated by a rampant North Queensland Fury side. Robbie Fowler lead the team from start to finish, getting on the scoresheet twice. The defeat has added to the horrible week that the Gold Coast have suffered, including a 6-0 whitewash by Wellington, and a huge condemnation by the public over club owner Clive Palmer's (right) decision to cap crowds at 5,000 to save money.

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The good news was Robbie Fowler combining with Dave Williams, and a pen, to get to 8 goals this year.
The transport charges issue for the Gold Coast is a furphy. This type of direct cost - ie it is charged per ticket - is simply included in the ticket pricing model. At the start of the season Gold Coast's accountants - who worked out how to get the best squad in the A-League under the cap - would have assumed that crowds were going to be above 5,000 for every match and popped the $3. Click to continue reading...

Clive Palmer, owner of Gold Coast United

Gold Coast United, an expansion team in Australia's premier A-League, have already generated negative headlines it takes some teams decades to generate: "A-League may hit rock bottom thanks to the Coast," says Adrian Musolino in today's Roar, which also features another piece titled "Gold Coast "United" – How to lose fans and alienate people".

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IT WAS bound to happen sooner or later. North Queensland Fury, with the wily Robbie Fowler, were always going to get a win at home after weeks of impressive fighting football.
But without taking anything away from the Fury, Perth Glory will feel that they let a golden chance for a win away from home went begging. Click to continue reading...

There was always a fair bit of discomfort every time that Michael Owen returned to Liverpool in the past. Those calls asking what he was doing in Istanbul we're initially funny but eventually the feeling was that they gave way to some serious spite in his direction. Some clearly enjoyed his injuries and the way that his career spiralled downwards hitting the low point of relegation with Newcastle last term. Click to continue reading...

They Think It's All Over... is sick of seeing Wellington Phoenix draw - it's time to get the best out of Chris Greenacre. Click to continue reading...

Before Gary Neville got fined £5k for his celebration against Liverpool, what irked me the most about Robbie Fowler's five digit salute a week before was that he had no claim to Liverpool's European success.

Whilst wearing City's blue shirt, he had ten years at Liverpool, 330 appearances to his name, and just five trophies.

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In his second match for the North Queensland Fury, Robbie Fowler showed that even in the twilight of his career, he has not lost a single bit of his agility when it really mattered. What was truly amazing about this ninja kick was that it went unpunished. I checked officially and Fowler did not even get a yellow card. Click to continue reading...

Back in the day, when all I had to worry about was hiding my hickies in a rollneck top, Jolly Ranchers were poisoning us with water melon boiled sweets and a young Take That were barely a twinkle in the eye, a young man was trying to make his way in the hard knock world [...] Click to continue reading...

WELL, wasn't that a disappointing performance. Perth Glory were held to a 1-1 draw by a 10-man North Queensland side which didn't even look like scoring.
In the past couple of weeks, the Glory have claimed the points when, arguably, they didn't deserve a single thing. But there is only so long that a side can benefit from luck until it runs out - just like yesterday. Click to continue reading...

Righto, so today is gameday. At around 3:30pm (WST) Perth Glory take on North Queensland Fury at ME Bank.
And there are signs a pretty decent crowd could turn up for this one.
According to Paul Skuse from the Perth Glory Supporters Association, the Glory has had the biggest ticket pre-sale for a home game since the begining of the A-League. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool's record goalscorer Ian Rush believes Fernando Torres, the man who now wears the number nine shirt the Welshman made famous, is the best striker in the world.
Torres' hat-trick against Hull last weekend took his tally to eight goals in his last six Barclays Premier League matches. Click to continue reading...

Wondering how Robbie Fowler's doing out playing for North Qld Fury? Heres a video of one of his latest matches, a 5-0 loss to Gold Coast United followed by a kung-fu kick...

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Many great strikers have scored hat-tricks for Liverpool down the years but which player has achieved the incredible feat of 17 hat-tricks in nine full seasons?
Between 1926 and 1936, South African striker Gordon Hodgson scored an incredible 17 hat-tricks for Liverpool, including a stunning 4 hat-tricks in a single season (1930-1931). Click to continue reading...

HOPEFULLY this blog finds you all enjoying the public holiday. The sun is somewhat visible through the clouds, but it is still a pleasant day.
Moreover, there are only six days left until Perth Glory take on North Queensland and Robbie Fowler.
There's been no talk of injury to the former Liverpool striker, so FP expects him to make the trip to Perth. Click to continue reading...

The missus and I were in Boston this past Saturday afternoon with some time to kill, so I thought we'd try and find a place to catch the West Ham v Liverpool match. Our journey began in Cambridge, around Harvard Square. Perhaps it's because the kids at that institution are too busy planning winter break ski vacations in Austria or copying MySpace to make millions or splitting the atom or whatnot, but there aren't too many bars in the yard.

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Craig Bellamy
Crime: Slapping a restrained United fan in the face
Punishment: Warning

Shay Given
Crime: Turning to face the Stretford End, fists clenched, jumping up and down, celebrating Bellamy's last minute goal
Punishment: None

Gary Neville
Crime: Celebrating Owen's injury time goal in front of the South Stand, where he was sat, in front of United fans
Punishment: Warning

Yet another example of when the FA have come down hard on United and let another team get away with murder.

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Kartik Krishnaiyer and Laurence McKenna review the weekend that was in the Premier League. Among the topics discussed are:

- Chelsea's continued winning ways
-Â Luck as a factor in the title race
-Â Liverpool's win at West Ham, and Lucas strong play
- Zola looking to leave West Ham?

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They Think It's All Over... presents his latest column for VUW Student Magazine 'Salient', a summary of the Phoenix's A-League season so far. Click to continue reading...

Not a fan of the man the Anfield faithfuls called God, but that strike is pretty sweet. Posted in Videos, World Football Tagged: North Queensland Fury, Robbie Fowler Click to continue reading...

The big names are back in play:

• Juventus going after Guiseppe Rossi.
  
• Lucas Neill signs with Everton.
  
• Chelsea agree to deal with Croatian goalkeeper.
  
• David Silva is flirting with United.
  
• Hands off Robbie Fowler, says his club.
  
• Corinthians and Riquelme.

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Adelaide United vs Melbourne Victory

Hindmarsh Stadium

What will be a very tough encounter, on the basis of revenge. Adelaide losing in the finals of last season hurt, and will be out to challenge for the title this year. Adelaide so far have been underperforming, but only just however their performances are deserving of a better placing.

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The recent Emmanuel Adebayor controversy had me thinking about goal celebrations, which led me to this excellent YouTube video featuring 20 of the best. Plenty of classics in there, including Roger Milla dancing with the corner flag at Italia '90, Gazza's legendary dentist chair celebration at Euro '96, and the insane backflippery of Julius Agahowa. Click to continue reading...

I came across a Fox Sports Australia article about Robbie Fowler scoring goals again in the A-League. That got me thinking about the contrast in the twilight football career of Fowler and Beckham.
Robert Bernard Joseph Fowler, now aged 34, turned professional in 1992 started his football career in Liverpool. Click to continue reading...

As the EPL and the rest of Europe completes the first month of the domestic season, it is interesting to look at the travels of perhaps the EPL's greatest finisher: one Robbie Fowler. Having been discarded by Blackburn amidst the outing of old friend Paul Ince, many wondered what Fowler's next move would be.

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A Robbie Fowler moment of magic secures North Queensland Fury their first ever victory in the Hyundai A-League. Fowler scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Sydney FC at the SFS on saturday night.The former Kop 'Fat God' latched onto a through ball and smashed a brilliant looping shot past Bolton from 25 metres out. Click to continue reading...

TFC (aka Scarborough FC) finally landed the international star that the team's fervent supporters have felt they deserved for a long time. The biggest surprise is that instead of splashing the cash on an aging European striker with two bad knees and former glories, the club went out and got a really good footballer. Click to continue reading...

In January 2001, Gerrard Houllier signed one of Europe's most renowned and exciting creative players. Liverpool fans everywhere rejoiced at the prospect of having such a rare talent in the team, the ideal player to complement Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler. Joy quickly turned to frustration though as Houllier criminally underused the player and inexplicably wasted his considerable talent. Click to continue reading...

In a moment of supreme irony, perpetual diver Wayne Rooney once again proves that he is very far from an 'honest player'.
Earlier in the week, Rooney claimed in an interview that he was an honest player, the second time he has felt the need to justify himself to the press over the diving issue. Click to continue reading...

If there was one element of our new 4-3-3 formation that nobody had predicted at the start of the season it was the use of Robin Van Persie as the central striker and Nicholas Bendtner as a right sided forward. I'm sure that for many gooners, like myself, this was unfathomable; it just literally never crossed my mind that Wenger might play like this.

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