In August 1992, on the opening day of the inaugural Premier League season, 22 teams took to pitches up and down the country with just 11 players born outside the British Isles named in the starting line-ups. 17 seasons later and with the foreign invasion showing no signs of slowing down, English born players have become a minority in their own top flight.

Click to continue reading...

What's been in Butt's Brain over the past few days...

• Benni McCarthy says he has no future at Blackburn under Sam Allardyce. Pompey seem to be in the running for the South African superstar - he would join compatriot Aaron Mokoena at Fratton Park if the move goes through in January [Times Live]

• Only a few days left for you to participate in our World Cup prediction contest and win some great free soccer gear from Soccer Pro [Butt Buddies WC Contest] and [Soccer Pro]

• Liverpool's injury woes continue.

Click to continue reading...

Worrying news that has come from the weekend is the emergance of Swine Flu within the ranks of the Blackburn Squad and staff. Of course they were at the Bridge on Saturday and some of their players missed the 5-0 thrashing, but Sam Allardyce has warned Chelsea that a Swine Flue outbreak is inevitable at the Bridge! Click to continue reading...

Football Remembers. Commemorating the end of World War I, prior to each of this weekend's fixtures, football fans up and down the country stood unified in a minute's silence to remember the fallen servicemen from wars gone by. It's good to know that football fans can spot the real heroes.

Click to continue reading...

We haven't done this for a while here are our best three picks for this week and the weeks ahead... Although we make no assurances they will be successful.

1. David Dunn

He's fat, he's round, he's only five point seven million pound... David Dunn. By a margin Blackburn's outstanding performer this season, Dunn has already notched four goals, and in only seven appearances.

Click to continue reading...

According to John Cross at MirrorFootball, Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce is preparing a £4million bid for Nacional Madeira midfielder Ruben Micael. Micael's contract expires in 2011 and so far talks between him and the club have stalled.

Click to continue reading...

As the transfer window continues to creep closer many disgruntled players are beginning to air their dirty laundry. One of these upset players is thirty-one year old Benni McCarthy of  the Blackburn Rovers. McCarthy really can't be blamed either. The vet who has been with the squad since 2006 has been allowed only one start all season and Blackburn continues to struggle to seek positive results.

Click to continue reading...

According to the Lancashire Telegraph, despite the fact that Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy wants to leave, the club will not get rid of him. It states that boss Sam Allardyce does not want to sell him as his options are going to be limited up top once Franco Di Santo returns to Chelsea when his loan deal ends.

Click to continue reading...

All four of the Carling Cup quarterfinal fixtures feature all-Premiership ties, with the pick of the bunch being Manchester City taking on Arsenal at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Just across town defending Carling Cup champions Manchester United take on a difficult Tottenham Hotspurs side.

Click to continue reading...

After the effective, if not inspiring, performance of the second string in the Carling Cup earlier in the week, normal service resumes this weekend as United face Blackburn in the Premier League.

Rovers enjoyed a relatively safe passage into the quarter finals of that competition that none of the big guns tend to take very seriously the League Cup themselves on Tuesday night although Saturday should prove a much tougher hurdle for Sam Allardyce and his swine flu-hit charges to negotiate.

Click to continue reading...

Sam Allardyce has responded to reported comments from Wigan boss Roberto Martinez made earlier this week. The Spanish manager made claims that there is a "Sir Alex Ferguson fan club" amongst Premiership manager ranks, and he went on to say that Sam Allardyce is a key member of the fan club as he seeks to replace the Scot at Old Trafford.

Click to continue reading...

By Gareth Freeman

United's Carling Cup win over Barnsley was encouraging in the fact the ‘squad' players came in and gave a decent account of themselves. Michael Owen's goal was vintage Owen, he showed neat skills and a cool composure to send the ball into the net but, with all due respect to Barnsley, he should have registered a goal against the opposition.

Click to continue reading...

Chelsea faces a tricky away trip to the Reebok Stadium to take on Bolton on Saturday. The two sides just clashed this midweek in the Carling Cup with Chelsea running out 4-0 winners. Carlo Ancelotti has been delighted with his side's start to the season, but Bolton has long been a bogey team in the Premier League for the Pensioners.

Click to continue reading...

Roberto Martinez's interview with Spanish sports paper, AS, appeared on their website on Sunday. The interview was in a Q&A format where he was asked questions concerning how Wigan could compete financially, about television revenue in English football and who inspired him. Martinez claimed Liverpool were too reliant on Gerrard on Torres, that Valencia isn't good enough to replace Ronaldo and that Wigan's victory over Chelsea was "magnificent".

Click to continue reading...

In the wake of the controversial anti-spitting campaigns targeting the swine flu, Blackburn assistant manager Neil MacDonald revealed that Rovers boss Sam Allardyce kept his distance from his flu-struck squad. Big Sam himself was not feeling too well, and opted to remain in the stands during Tuesday night's Blackburn match to eliminate the chances of infecting more players.

Click to continue reading...

Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez has said that the football association is favouring Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Martinez has also said that he sympathises with Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez.
After a 2-2 draw with Sunderland, Sir Alex said that the referee wasn't fit enough. Click to continue reading...

For many Premier League outsiders, it's always been a mystery as to how Sir Alex Ferguson assembles his loyal following of top flight managers. Roberto Martinez, a fresh face to the Premier League this season for Wigan, has revealed some of the inner secrets of the manager sanctum.

"Ferguson has his group of loyal fans among other managers.

Click to continue reading...

For many Premier League outsiders, it's always been a mystery as to how Sir Alex Ferguson assembles his loyal following of top flight managers. Roberto Martinez, a fresh face to the Premier League this season for Wigan, has revealed some of the inner secrets of the manager sanctum.

"Ferguson has his group of loyal fans among other managers.

Click to continue reading...

Sam Allardyce was quick to get his excuses in for his side's 5-0 capitulation at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, revealing that two of his players contracted swine flu. Now, ahead of tomorrow's Carling Cup fixture against the league leaders, Bolton manager Gary Megson has revealed that four of his players are now suffering from pig flu.

Click to continue reading...

Sam Allardyce was quick to get his excuses in for his side's 5-0 capitulation at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, revealing that two of his players contracted swine flu. Now, ahead of tomorrow's Carling Cup fixture against the league leaders, Bolton manager Gary Megson has revealed that four of his players are now suffering from pig flu.

Click to continue reading...

Worrying news that has come from the weekend is the emergance of Swine Flu within the ranks of the Blackburn Squad and staff. Of course they were at the Bridge on Saturday and some of their players missed the 5-0 thrashing, but Sam Allardyce has warned Chelsea that a Swine Flue outbreak is inevitable at the Bridge! Click to continue reading...

Worrying news that has come from the weekend is the emergance of Swine Flu within the ranks of the Blackburn Squad and staff. Of course they were at the Bridge on Saturday and some of their players missed the 5-0 thrashing, but Sam Allardyce has warned Chelsea that a Swine Flue outbreak is inevitable at the Bridge! Click to continue reading...

Don't Look at Me, It's Not My Fault!

Join Our Facebook Fan Page for the Latest News/Rumours/Forums/Videos/WAGS/Funny Stuff/Features!

Three Blackburn Rovers players and two members of staff have caught H1N1 swine flu but Tuesday's League Cup Fourth Round match against Peterborough United will go ahead as scheduled, the Premier League club said.

Click to continue reading...

By TRAVIS CLARK

It was all or nothing for Rafa Benitez and Liverpool on Saturday. While a loss wouldn't quite knock them out of the title race, it would be the club's fifth loss in a row and put title talk on the backburner, at least for the time being.

Click to continue reading...

By TRAVIS CLARK

It was all or nothing for Rafa Benitez and Liverpool on Saturday. While a loss wouldn't officially knock them out of the title race, it would be the club's fifth loss in a row and continue to undermine Benitez's job status.

However, Fernando Torres was passed fit, and his presence in the starting lineup was welcome considering captain Steven Gerrard was injured.

Click to continue reading...

Kevin Nolan is nothing if not a great team player who engenders tremendous team spirit in the dressing room. Kevin Nolan - defends the big man today It was no coincidence that Sam Allardyce had him as captain at Bolton when he was still in his early 20s, and the lad has been great for Newcastle so [. Click to continue reading...

Atletico Madrid presented little in the way of resistance during Chelsea's 4-0 Champions League shellacking of young Kun's temporary home in midweek. Saturday's contest against Sam Allardyce's Blackburn Rovers should prove a different prospect all together.

As Wigan, Stoke and Villa have shown, the Blues are lightweight aerially at the moment.

Click to continue reading...

You can watch Chelsea v Blackburn Live online here.

Chelsea v Blackburn
Stamford Bridge, London
Saturday 24 October 2009
Kick-off: 17:30 BST

Chelsea Preview

Chelsea are without injured duo Jose Bosingwa and Yuri Zhirkov while Alex and John Mikel Obi lack match fitness.

Click to continue reading...

No Drogba, no problem. Chelsea did what three other British teams couldn't do this week in the Champions League - comfortably beat clearly inferior opposition.
While Liverpool lost to Lyon, Arsenal could only draw with AZ Alkmaar, and Manchester United could only scrape by Juande Ramos' CSKA Moscow 1-0, Chelsea had absolutely no problem disposing of Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge. Click to continue reading...

"I lost sight of the official ball and stayed on the red one. I went for the red ball instinctively as it was the closest to me and the other went past me."
Pepe Reina on THAT beach ball.

"You have to say he was right on the spot and kept up with play well."
Mischievous Mark Hughes praises Alan Wiley's handling of the Wigan-Man City game, following Sir Alex Ferguson's comments that the official was too unfit. Click to continue reading...

Shay Given came to the rescue of a 10-man Manchester City and helped Mark Hughes' men to secure a point against Wigan at the DW Stadium. Final minutes of the game saw Given made an excellent save, as he didn't allow the home side to win the game, which they deserved from the Kick Off. Charles N'Zogbia [. Click to continue reading...

Sam Allardyce's men came back superbly from a goal down to take all three points in this Premier League encounter.

Join Our Facebook Fan Page for the Latest News/Rumours/Forums/Videos/WAGS/Funny Stuff/Features!

0-1 Blake

1-1 Dunn

2-1 Di Santo

3-1 Chimbonda

3-2 Eagles

Don't forget to check out Online Football Manager!

Click to continue reading...

Newcastle United lost plenty of matches last season and never left you wondering how they did so. However, their recent loss at a Premier League Managers' Arbitration Tribunal to former manager Kevin Keegan is another matter entirely. The media focus has, naturally been on a club which built a complex player recruitment structure, yet signed Uruguayan international Ignacio Gonzalez on the basis of YouTube clips and a "you scratch my back" deal with two South American agents.

Click to continue reading...

After such an emphatic attacking display against Blackburn, the question has come around, are we REAL title contenders? Many people will suddenly sit up and take notice after another Premier League victory in which we scored 6. However, are they getting ahead of themselves? I will look at what we have put right from last season, what attributes might make us plausible title contenders, and what still needs putting right.

Click to continue reading...

After such an emphatic attacking display against Blackburn, the question has come around, are we REAL title contenders? Many people will suddenly sit up and take notice after another Premier League victory in which we scored 6. However, are they getting ahead of themselves?

Click to continue reading...