By Greg Evans

So, here we stand. Just one game away from finding out who will win the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations a tournament which stampeded out of the blocks with a thrilling start, but has since turned into something of a pale imitation of itself with a few drab games starting to crop up as the stakes get higher.

Philadelphia Union fans have endured a roller coaster off-season, first with Sebastien LeToux's trial at Bolton, then Monday's sudden departure of goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon. Now it appears that after initially thinking LeToux would wind up staying with the Union, the French striker looks set to depart.

By FRANCO PANIZO

One of the favorites to win this year's Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana opened its tournament with a narrow victory over Botswana that can best be described as a roller coaster for John Mensah.

The Ghana captain endured highs and lows in Ghana's Group D opener, scoring the only goal before receiving a red card and then picking up a hamstring injury.

Everybody knows by now that its like riding on a roller-coaster to be a fan of Wolves, but this game gave me a ride I'll never forget. I was totally exhausted afterwards and it felt like I'd been out there with the lads for 90 minutes. Already against Spurs there were two players that took [...]

"I think even I should go back and play"- Carlton Palmer is now pondering over a comeback after hearing about Scholes and Henry

. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go home and have a heart attack."- Andy Carroll after scoring a goal.

"Oo-Oo-Ah-Ahaaaa" -No, this is not an orgasm, it was Carlos Tevez talking to the press about going to AC Milan

"I want a bottle of strawberry syrup before every match"- Demba Ba asks for a revised deal after kicking Manchester United's arse

The English premier league never ceases to amuse me.

Defending champions in all sports have had down subsequent seasons, but few have imploded quite like Colorado. Despite qualifying for the playoffs, the Rapids' season was a roller coaster. Struggling with injuries and added games the entire season, the team ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.

Right. I'm back. Well not really- I'm still temporarily on hiatus exploring the vast riches that Monaco has to offer at the moment. But, I couldn't resist the urge to get something online after leaving Jack to fend for himself for what seems like an eternity. The basics? Yes, I'm married. Yes, I'm delighted.

Adu's brief reemergence to the international scene during the Gold Cup was one of the most intriguing stories of 2011. (Photo: Chris Aduama/aduama.com)

If 2011 was a roller coaster year of the U.S. Men's National Team, it was a ride that featured more plunges than peaks. A disappointing second place finish in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was followed by the sacking of head coach Bob Bradley after a five-year tenure that included a run to the 2009 Confederations Cup Final and a trip to the 2011 World Cup Round of 16.

For those of you who haven't been around longer than six months, this treat might well be lost on you. But Martin is still the man, the myth, the legend around here. He pretty much built this website into something really cool and active, and we've merely been trying to keep the momentum going since his departure.

Liverpool vs Blackburn Rovers
26 December 2011
15.00 GMT
Anfield

History:
Total Appearances: 139
Liverpool Wins: 60
Blackburn Wins: 38
Draws: 41

Last Premier League Meeting: 5 January 2011 Blackburn 3-1 Liverpool (Gerrard)

Form:
Liverpool: The Reds' season has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster, with the club struggling to find any sort of consistency.

By Charlie Corr
Eclipse Select staff
CHICAGO -- Former Eclipse Select Soccer Club player and coach Leslie Osborne was one of many Women's Professional Soccer players waiting to hear about the league's future this week. And for the past several months, Osborne's WPS franchise, the Boston Breakers, has been trying to secure additional ownership after majority owner Gary Loveman put his share of the organization on the market.

Pundits had been queuing up to say that Manchester City were at the top of a downward spiral. The suggestion was that after going out of the UEFA Champions League, courtesy of Napoli and Bayern Munich, and then losing to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the wheels were starting to come off the great Manchester City roller coaster of 2011.

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.

The past few months have been a roller-coaster for Arsenal fans. After only seven games of the current campaign they had notched a mere two wins and had been on the back of some truly embarrassing results. When you look at the league table and see Arsenal lurking outside the relegation places it is obvious something is wrong and of course the fans look for someone to blame.

It's easy enough to look at Arsenal's recent away form and state that a victory against Norwich City is near enough inevitable. At Stamford Bridge Arsenal defeated Chelsea 5-3 in a roller coaster of a match. Prior to that they had defeated Marseille in the Champions League in France at the Stade Velodrome.

For TSG's USA Slovenia Preview, click here.

World Cup 2010 gave US fans four full games of drama. Group stage game two was of course against the relatively-unknown Slovenia. Charlie Brown put a hurt on the Yanks in the 1st half, but the States would storm back and make more than a game of it.

Canberra United are top of the league. By some margin.
Sally Shipard and Caitlin Munoz are in outstanding form and with Ashleigh Sykes scoring freely now - Michelle Heyman always scores, and US import Taryn Hemmings belting it home on the weekend, the good folk from the Capital are starting to get cocky!

United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann has insisted that out-of-season MLS players do what it takes to stay in game shape in order to maintain their standing with the national team.

For D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid, that means going to England to train with a Premier League side.

If you haven't rode a roller coaster at any point in your life, you likely can't truly appreciate the 2011 Dynamo season. All the thrills and exhilaration has been there, those stomach lurching moments as well, it's been both fun and maddeningly frustrating all at the same time. In the end, the depth of the journey certainly leads to the end result being even more fulfilling.

It will take a week or two to let everything settle in my mind and get a proper season wrap up piece out. However, I have been thinking of a couple of things in restrospect the past couple of days and I felt now would be a good time to discuss those things. The past couple of months have been a roller coaster for Fire fans.

The Old Lady's hot start continues and this time their victims were defending champs AC Milan. Claudio Marchisio with his brace was the hero. The new Juventus Stadium is proving to be a lucky charm as Juve sit on top of the Serie with Udinese. AC are in 15th position and Inter are two places behind.

Manchester United were involved in an error ridden Champions League goal fest at Old Trafford last night. It was a roller-coaster of a game, it finished up 3-3. Basel were two-nil down at half-time, but fought back strongly in the second-half and deservedly led 3-2 thanks to goals by Alexander and Fabien Frei.

Sorry for not getting the link post up yesterday. It was just one of those work days where I was scrambling at every turn. Very frustrating, especially when all I want to do it read and write about the Timbers. You'll notice today's link thread is a little more robust than usual because of it however.

One thing that's become obvious in the early days of the 2011-12 season is that whoever leaves from our remaining front three, it won't be Jermain Defoe.

Before the season began in anger, Harry Redknapp said that he was expecting a big season from the player before declaring this week that he was ‘looking sharp'.

"I want to come to England to win trophies and that's why I accepted Chelsea's offer. It was also a question of sporting achievement, not money. Arsenal and Tottenham were both interested in me but they did not compare with the Blues. I want the Premier League title and this is possible at Chelsea.

Sorry for no United match reaction this weekend; a youth soccer tournament intervened. That said, watching my girls roller-coaster through the tournament was a lot like watching United's uneven 2011 progress. So much so, in fact, that those thirteen girls in red shirts running through the rain were starting to look distinctly like tea leaves in which I could read United's valiant, but ultimately futile, stretch run.

Faryd Mondragon set off a roller coaster of emotions for Philadelphia Union fans on Twitter when the starting goalkeeper tweeted about his "brother," Juan Pablo Angel.

The 40-year-old received a flurry of reactionary tweets from fans, as he said it'd fulfill a dream to play with Angel.

What a dream come true will be to have my "brother" Juan Pablo Angel to play for the Philadelphia Union, he will fit perfectly in our Team!

It was another great soccer weekend. The Seattle Sounders had a roller-coaster 4-3 victory over the Colorado Rapids. It was a game where everyone on the offense contributed to the victory with crisp passes and great runs off the ball. The defense had a couple glaring errors, but at least they can look to the offense to bail them out unlike earlier this season.

Abby Wombach scored in the dying moments. It was almost as though a script was written to bring women's soccer and the U.S. Women's National Team back into the limelight. If there was such a script, then the team played out there roles perfectly.
It was in dramatic fashion that the United States took the lead in the second minute of the match, only to find themselves down a player and two goals into the last minute of the second overtime.

There was no more margin for error in today's WWC quarterfinal game between the US and Brazil. The team that lost goes home, while the winning team books a ticket to the semifinals on Wednesday. Twitter and Facebook blew up as the match progressed and more and more fans logged on to see what was happening.

It was a roller coaster of a match in Dresden, Germany on Sunday July 10, 2011, when the United States and Brazil met in the quarterfinals of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.
It was an own goal, put into the net by Daiane, that gave the United States an early lead:
Then in controversial confluence of events, Rachel Buehler picked up a red card in the 65th minute, but after Hope Solo stopped a penalty kick taken by Cristiane, but, after an encroachment call, the penalty was retaken, and converted, by Marta:
The match stayed tied at 1-1 as regulation came to end.

There was no more margin for error in today's WWC quarterfinal game between the US and Brazil. The team that lost goes home, while the winning team books a ticket to the semifinals on Wednesday. Twitter and Facebook blew up as the match progressed and more and more fans logged on to see what was happening.

Hold on to your valuables, it's time for a ride on the wild speculation roller coaster.

I was reading the latest post on the New York Times Goal Blog that discusses what the future looks like for US Men's National Team coach Bob Bradley. The most interesting part for me was the e-mail response Sunil Gulati gave to the authors when they asked him about Coach Sweatpants' future.

Masterclass

Our look back at the season that was continues with a focus on some of the good times. Key word being some.

Best match. This ain't best performance mind you. We're looking for the best game Chelsea were involved in all season win, lose or draw.

Before we get into the weekend's soccer links, I would also like to say a special thanks to the men and women serving our country in the military and the peace corps. The last decade has been some of the most trying times for our men and women in uniform and their families, we especially note those who have sacrificed their very lives for the well-being of the nation.

As much as I'd like to rant and rant about the fact that referees continue to find ways to screw up nearly every MLS match, what's the point. It's tough as an observer and fan to look at a call that potentially cost your team a point with an objective eye. We're forced to temper frustration with the reality of the difficulty involved with officiating a professional soccer match and remember that in the end, they're only human.

Ok, so I don't know a single word of Portuguese. I haven't had to speak Spanish for at least three years. And I don't know the first thing about Brazil. So....it looks like I'm going to be pretty lost when I go down to the Cup in 2014. Yep, that's right. I'm planning my trip now.

You may ask me things like, "Why plan so early?

Note from nate: This is a guest post from Noel of Liverpool Offside. There will be a few guest posts over the next two weeks, and I'll actually have some guest posts on other blogs. Plus polls. Lots of polls. Everybody loves polls. Noel will explain, in great detail, below.
Liverpool's season ending position may not be mathematically decided quite yet, but with Sunday's loss to Spurs, the club moves into the uncomfortable position of needing to rely on others if they are to have any chance of improving their final standing.

The anti-climax that is the final two matches of the season begins with a visit from our friends up north.

Who: Newcastle United
What: Barclays Premier League, Round 37
When: 14 May 1:30 pm local time (8:30am EST)
Where: Stamford Bridge (42,050)
How: Fox Soccer Channel (DirecTV 619, Dish 149)

Why: Is it over yet?

John Terry has issued a warning to Manchester United by stating that Chelsea are now focussed and determined on winning back their Premier League title next season.
The Blues captain saw his side effectively hand the title to United when they lost at Old Trafford at the weekend, meaning the Red Devils are six points clear with two games to go and need only one point to be crowned Premier League champions.