I have always thought that one (of the many) reasons that I did not become a footballer was because I am too intelligent. In fact, as has often been the case, with some notable exceptions (Jorge Valdano, Socrates, Ruud Gullit....), intelligent footballers seems to be more the exception that the rule, and at a time when the media scrutiny is so intense, the demand on a bit of brains in footballers

Help me, I'm having nightmares. More, after the jump:

Cold as ice

I'm not even sure this match is as important as what's transpiring around the orbit of England's Once Brave (Twice-Removed) John Terry- henceforth known as EOBTRJT. Jack cooked up some brilliance on the matter, as always, which I recommend you all read at once.

Chelsea have completed the signing of 20 year old Kevin De Bruyne from Belgian side FC Genk. A 5 year, £6.7 million deal has been agreed by both parties after which Bruyne will be loaned back to Genk for the rest of the season.

De Bruyne who underwent a medical yesterday at Chelsea's training grounds becomes Chelsea's second signing in this transfer window after Gary Cahill completed his move from Bolton earlier this month.

Liverpool first-team coach Steve Clarke believes the club has collectively accepted the consequences of defeat to Bolton and has already moved on from the misery.
Kenny Dalglish's men were last weekend embarrassed in a dire 3-1 loss at the Reebok Stadium and the manager for the first time turned criticism onto his players.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez is currently serving an 8 match ban, and given the events of the last few weeks, the player will inevitably be under intense pressure and increased media scrutiny when he returns. The FA has basically ensured that Suarez will stigmatised as a racist for the rest of career, and opposing fans will definitely capitalise on that.

At least, we might pause to reflect, they didn't choose to take the matter any further. The small matter of fuss surrounding the charges brought against Luis Suarez finally started to recede this week, after several months of headline-hogging. It passed with a final round of brow-furrowing from two sides of a debate that has become so entrenched as to resemble a First World War battle reconstruction, with the bloodhounds of the press finally being released after Liverpool and Suarez issued public statements themselves.

Morning all,

the good thing about the festive period is that if you stumble you've got a chance to make up for it very quickly. The bad thing is that so much football in such a short period of time means the possibility of stumbling is increased. We now have to wait until Monday to play again, this time in the FA Cup, and it'll be a game in which we'll as many players as possible rested.

Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool | Premier League match report

Manchester City returned to authoritative ways. This may not have been a rout, but it was an efficient win. When Gareth Barry was sent off in the 75th minute after a second bookable offence, for fouling Liverpool's Daniel Agger, the side reacted almost immediately.

Liverpool's Luis Suárez eligible to play against Manchester City

• Liverpool have yet to decide whether to appeal striker's ban • Kenny Dalglish to make a decision on Steven Gerard's fitness Luis Suárez is eligible to face Manchester City on Tuesday night as Liverpool have yet to inform the Football Association whether they accept the striker's eight‑match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra.

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.

Luis Suarez is coping fine, says Charlie Adam

Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam believes team-mate Luis Suarez is coping well with the scrutiny he now finds himself under following his suspension and fine.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-12-22 23:17:27 from: The Mail

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

Mike Marsh says he has no worries about his side's ability to bounce back from their disappointing FA Youth Cup exit.
The Reds Under-18s were much-fancied for this season's competition, but fell at the first hurdle as they were beaten 3-1 by Swansea City last week.
Marsh admits he was left frustrated by his side's early exit, but says there is plenty to look forward to from the Reds' next generation.

I think if I was John Obi Mikel I would be worried. The fact that Oriol Romeu has come to the club, worked hard and has impressed so much to cement a regular start in the Chelsea side week in, week out - it's no wonder really.
Chelsea fans have a divided opinion of Mikel. For me the defensive instincts and qualities he has shouldn't be forgotten.

A quick thought to kick off the work week. Top of the list is Shalrie Joseph. The captain of the New England Revolution is returning to the Revs in 2012. The 33 year old inked a new deal with Revolution president Brian Bilello under new head coach Jay Heaps. After months of speculation we now know that Joseph will not depart the team.

Michael Ballack greeted his former side Chelsea to BayArena by leading Bayer Leverkusen to a shock 2-1 win that heaps tremendous pressure on Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas.

In a day of reunions, Ballack went the Zlatan Ibrahimovic way (the Swede scored in Milan's 3-2 loss to his former club Barca) by getting at the end of many good chances, only to be denied by Petr Cech throughout the night.

Let's be honest when it comes to David Luiz everyone has their own opinion (including Gary Neville!). Some people say he should be playing week in, week out. Some people say he shouldn't. Some people think he should be playing at right back and some others believe he should be playing as a holding midfielder.

Arsenal FC have recently taken on a blogger outreach programme to gain positive PR concerning their medical staff, who have come under huge scrutiny in recent years regarding the amount of injuries their players appear to suffer

Alan Hansen paid £40,000 a show on Match of the Day

The BBC's wage bill has come under renewed scrutiny after it was revealed that Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen nets a staggering £1.5million a year – that's £40,000 for each appearance.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-10-31 11:54:02 from: The Mail

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

FA say HMRC scrutiny of agents payments will help transparency

The Football Association say the taxman's scrutiny of every payment to agents over the last year will help bring further transparency to the game.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-10-26 12:52:04 from: The Mail

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

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has offered his full support to skipper Steven Gerrard as the 31-year old returns to full fitness ahead of Manchester United's visit on Saturday.
Gerrard has not started a game for the Reds since March, when United last visited Anfield, with many feeling that the midfielder has passed his use-by date.

By FRANCO PANIZO

HARRISON, N.J. -- MLS Commissioner Don Garber held an informal press conference at halftime of the U.S. men's national team friendly with Ecuador Tuesday night, and he discussed a bevy of topics, including MLS scheduling and expansion.

The first thing Garber touched on were the comments made recently by U.

Will Rooney crack again in the Anfield cauldron?

Wayne Rooney will be under more scrutiny than ever before when he steps out at Anfield on Saturday lunchtime. After his red card for needlessly kicking out at an opponent in England's 2-2 draw with Montenegro last Friday, Rooney's famously short fuse will be put to the ultimate test once again at the home of Manchester United's fiercest rivals.

Will Rooney boil over again in the Anfield cauldron?

Wayne Rooney will be under more scrutiny than ever when he steps out at Anfield on Saturday lunchtime. After his red card for needlessly kicking out at an opponent in England's 2-2 draw with Montenegro last Friday, Rooney's famously short fuse will be put to the ultimate test once again at the home of Manchester United's fiercest rivals.

Frank Lampard, past-it to some, bags his third Premier League hat-trick.

With so much scrutiny on Frank Lampard by the media, our vice-captain proved he's still got it by bagging three goals against Bolton. Daniel Sturridge also made his mark against the team who truly helped him improve last season, almost getting his own hat-trick.

The Champions League has made for interesting reading in the EPL recently. The disjunction between league form and european woe has pundits scratching their heads, but Kartik sheds light on the hierarchy at Man City which may be under scrutiny...
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After a few days of explaining his stance to the media, Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has slammed their coverage of his tactics as pressure mounts on veteran stars Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba to fight for starting XI places.

Villas-Boas controversially substituted Lampard during the interval at Old Trafford last Sunday and although Chelsea were trailing 3-0 to Manchester United at that point, the 33-year old had been one of the better performers for the Blues.

Hey, hey, hey. Another Major League Soccer club is close to putting shovels in the ground and building a brand new facility to call their own. CenterLineSoccer is reporting that the San Jose Earthquakes' proposed new stadium has gone through the neighborhood scrutiny and could be on their way to getting this facility built.

photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

If things weren't bad enough in New York Red Bulls land, Rafa Marquez has gone and made them worse with his latest public comments.

Speaking through an interpreter after New York's dismal 3-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, Marquez criticized his teammates, saying they were not on his level.

Despite a tumultuous beginning to the Premier League season, Arsenal has no plans to part ways with manager Arsene Wenger.

Former MLS deputy commissioner and current Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis spoke out on behalf of Wenger, who is under even more scrutiny after the club's 4-3 loss to Blackburn over the weekend dropped the team's league record to 1-3-1.

In Defence of Andy Carroll

For a man almost two metres tall, built like a rugby player and capable of putting the fear of God into any defence in England, it seems strange that Andy Carroll would require defending. It is the most recent example of the British media's lazy lapses into boredom that produce stories such as the ones that have emerged this week regarding the striker's drinking habits.

This is an era of Nepalese football where there are abundance of tournaments for players, various prize for the performing players and various media covering from paper to radio, television, mobile and websites. In recent time, it has been seen that players have been awarded with huge sum of money, motorbike, car and even with an apartment.

This is an era of Nepalese football where there are abundance of tournaments for players, various prize for the performing players and various media covering from paper to radio, television, mobile and websites. In recent time, it has been seen that players have been awarded with huge sum of money, motorbike, car and even with an apartment.

Following on from the Frank Lampard debate I posted on here on Saturday (check it out and get involved), John Terry has lept to the defence of our midfielder. Lamps has come until scrutiny for his performances so far in a Chelsea shirt and as a result lost the start for England against Bulgaria the other night.

Much has been made of Arsenal's 8-2 demolition at the hands of Manchester United on Sunday, and rightly so. Being hammered so comprehensively by a team that is not supposed to so emphatically superior (if the purported competitiveness of the Premier League is to be believed) and has, in the not too distant past, been a direct rival displays an embarrassing contrast in fortunes between Arsenal and the teams immediately around them in the top echelon of the English game.

Akron players celebrate their National Championship

We have decided to do some detailed game analysis during the college season this fall. We will do our best to cover a couple of games on a weekly basis live out of Southern California as well as some games we see on TV (FSC game of the week) or online video feed.

Akron players celebrate their National Championship

We have decided to do some detailed game analysis during the college season this fall. We will do our best to cover a couple of games on a weekly basis live out of Southern California as well as some games we see on TV (FSC game of the week) or online video feed.

Sergio Ramos has said that Mourinho can count on his whole squad to back him up. Mourinho has come under heavy scrutiny for his actions against Barcelona few days ago in SuperCup final match at Camp Nou. Real Madrid won against Galatasaray 2-1 last night and won the Bernebeu trophy which Ramos says is very [.

Clemente Lisi previews the US vs. Mexico exhibition on Wednesday.
A new era starts Wednesday when Jurgen Klinsmann makes his debut as United States National Team coach against old rivals Mexico at Lincoln Financial Field. The friendly in Philadelphia will be the first game for the USA since losing to Mexico in the Gold Cup final in June.

What's the collective noun for howlers? In the days before YouTube it is safe to say that the Women's U17 World Cup was not subject to the same level of scrutiny as it is in the digital age we now inhabit. So we can assume that Iceland goalkeeper Arna Lind Kristinsdottir is wishing she lived [...]

What's the collective noun for howlers? In the days before YouTube it is safe to say that the Women's U17 World Cup was not subject to the same level of scrutiny as it is in the digital age we now inhabit. So we can assume that Iceland goalkeeper Arna Lind Kristinsdottir is wishing she lived [...]