Pint-sized midfielder Jay Spearing is aiming to be in peak condition for the big match tomorrow. So much so that he's installed a home gym of sorts. Via @FeintZebra

By Chris Wright

I think I may have an idea why Chelsea are stuttering a bit this season; if this video is anything to go by, their training sessions are utter chaos!

Firstly we see some assorted slapping from everyone present, then Fernando Torres exacts revenge on John Terry for an earlier buffeting by wrestling him to the ground.

The contract talks that Newcastle held with Coloccini's agent last week have not turned out to be successful, so far. Fab Coloccini negotiations are ongoing That's the report in today's Sunday Sun, as the club held talks with Coloccini's Argentine agent last week, but what was expected to be fairly easy negotiating sessions, has [.

The contract talks that Newcastle held with Coloccini's agent last week have not turned out to be successful, so far. Fab Coloccini negotiations are ongoing That's the report in today's Sunday Sun, as the club held talks with Coloccini's Argentine agent last week, but what was expected to be fairly easy negotiating sessions, has [.

Football is a funny game. When you predict like a master pundit (read-Carlton Palmer) every thing goes topsy turvy and it actually ends up even more interesting. The past week was no exception and it had everything, I mean everything. For a guy like me the premier league is the only source of joy in what can be called an uneventful life (Yes, what can you do when you are an engineer with a long and winding road ahead).

Tottenham have invited the six-year-old son of former star striker Steffen Iverson to join their youth set-up. Spurs have asked Joey James Iversen to train at the club, according to his mum. "Joey's tall for his age and muscular," says his mother Anna. "He has the same powerful legs as his father." Although he won't [.

Greetings from sunny and cool Arizona, where I will be spending a few days in Phoenix. I'm here to visit some friends but also to check out some of the MLS training camps that are going on in metro Phoenix, Casa Grande, and Tucson. I believe that New England Revolution, Sporting Kansas City, Seattle Sounders, Real Salt Lake, and San José Earthquakes will be here, so I hope to catch a few glimpses, assuming that their sessions are open to the public, of course.

A common belief is that US youth soccer players suffer from over coaching, and in many cases that is true. But in our helicopter parent society where kids rarely can just go 'play in the park', coaches are in a situation where they have to provide SOME instruction and opportunity to develop. How do you create a fun practice where the kids push themselves vs go through the motions while also correcting mistakes and allowing for self discovery of soccer skill?

Chelsea defender Gary Cahill is already feeling at home with his new teammates, describing the squad as an 'entertaining' group following the club's short training camp in Mallorca.

The Blues returned home earlier today and after spending most of the time in Mallorca training together in the warm weather, Cahill feels that the bonding within the squad got stronger by the day.

Iker Casillas played down divisions between the Spanish and Portuguese players in the Real Madrid team after Sunday's win against Athletic Bilbao saying:

"We can't start losing our minds and pointing the finger at each other. Whistles are really aimed at all of us. We must all be united, team and fans alike.

I read a comment made by Carlo Ancelotti yesterday about possible transfer targets and when Fernando Torres' name came up I immediately thought bollocks!. I thought straight away that the press would make his comments out to be something that they aren't and when I woke up this morning I was proved right.

Elite coaching is an art.

This is my response to reader John, who left an excellent set of comments. The last of which I'll address here.

Specifically:

I'd love to see you talk about specific tactics, Gary. I have no doubt that you are very a bright guy, but I wish you'd share your knowledge with us.

Among the Philadelphia Union's many offseason moves was the acquisition of withdrawn forward, and occasional winger, Josue Martinez. The Costa Rican international striker was expected to help push Danny Mwanga and Jack McInerney for a starting role alongside Sebastien Le Toux. However, according to Soccer By Ives, the Union's addition of Martinez may have made Mwanga surplus to the team's requirements in 2012.

We've received a lot of questions and comments from folks who are wondering what a day in the life is like for the players in January camp here in Phoenix. As Jurgen Klinsmann and the staff work to get this group ready to play two international matches in a short period of time, they have put together a comprehensive program that covers activities both on and off the field.

Paul Scholes made an incredible return to the Manchester United team today after retiring last summer. Despite not playing football for eight months, Scholes was brought on for the last half an hour against City in the FA Cup 3rd round game today.

Incredibly, he made more passes than any City player did all game, with a 97% completion rate.

After a week of unexplainable boat parties, posing awkwardly next to bird statues and unbearable training sessions over New Year's in Dubai, AC Milan finally had enough, screamed 'BASTA!' and took home the Emirates Cup last night.

It's always nice to win something even if it was only 1-0 thanks to Pato's goal.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has piled the praise on Maxi Rodriguez ahead of Friday's Premier League clash with Newcastle.
The Argentinian attacker is expected to play a key role against the Magpies, with striker Luis Suarez missing due to a one-match suspension.
Rodriguez has been prolific at Anfield with 11 goals in his last 12 home starts, including finding the back of the net in their Boxing Day draw with Blackburn.

The Generation Adidas Tour featured young players from across the MLS. They toured Holland and played some of its best reserve teams including Ajax, FC Volendam, and Almere City FC. Upon arriving home from the tour, Pat McStay of Virginia Online Soccer News was able to catch up with Conor Shanosky, current D.

Three notes from the first full day of training:

• Short and sharp - Each of the two sessions lasted about 75 minutes. Both began with warmups, small-side exercises to get their feet moving (4 v. 1, 5 v. 2), passing combinations, and eventually bigger games with goalkeepers.
• Size - It's one thing to look at heights and weights on the roster page; it's another to see them in person.

Meet the players today

Some of Liverpool's first-team stars will be holding signing sessions at the club's official stores today ahead of the start of the Christmas period.

View the full story here: Liverpool FC

A news article on 2011-12-15 08:48:05 from: Liverpool FC

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

Meet the LFC players

Some of Liverpool's first-team stars will be holding signing sessions at the club's official stores this week ahead of the start of the Christmas period.

View the full story here: Liverpool FC

A news article on 2011-12-13 13:00:43 from: Liverpool FC

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

Arseblog has teamed up with Icons.com to offer you this fantastic prize a signed shirt by Arsenal's goal machine skipper Robin van Persie.

It comes with the Icons Certificate of Authenticity which gives details of the signing, the date and location of the signing and, in the vast majority of cases, also an image of the player signing the product.

Out of the blue Chelsea defender Sam Hutchinson has signed a new one-and-a-half year contract at Stamford Bridge despite retiring more than a year ago. The 22-year-old hung up his boots in August 2010 due to a knee injury. He had played four times for the Blues and had been singled out by Jose [...

Pepe Reina can always be relied upon for a bit of honesty (sometimes too much!) and earlier today, he gave his opinion on who he feels are the best and worst performers during Liverpool's training sessions.
Reina's choices may surprise some fans:
"The best trainer for me is Jay Spearing.

By Chris Wright

Nothing more, nothing less just Pies' pick of the 12 finest stills from the various pre-Champions League training sessions taking place across the continent over the past few hours...

◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 12

Javier Hernandez clearly enjoyed Manchester United's training session at Carrington.

CARSON, Calif -- I really do like Bruce Arena.

I mean, I like and appreciate him the way I like and appreciate a really mean dog in my neighborhood. I respect that dog. And over time, I think that dog has come to respect me. Why? Becuase I know what I'm doing around dogs. And I don't take any shit from that dog.

Nicky Butt has today revealed that he has started taking his coaching badges to fulfil his ambition of becoming a manager.

"I've started my badges now and am getting the hours in," Butt said. "I'll get assessed in the next five or six months. I go to Carrington a lot and just watch, I don't really take any of the sessions.

Conor Doyle in Friday's Scrimmage
Forward Conor Doyle made the short trip to Germany from England, where he's currently playing with Derby County. The season has been going well for the Rams so far and they sit near the playoff spots, though there's still a long way to go in the season.

By Alan Duffy

Following in the footsteps of Molde's title-winning boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Paul Scholes looks set to take over the Manchester United reserve team outright as current boss, Warren Joyce, moves back to his former club Hull City.

Luis Suarez explains why he believes his partnership with Andy Carroll is going to work as we have not seen the best of it yet.
"Playing alongside a player of Andy's quality, who's big, skilful, who brings the ball down so well, makes it easy for a striker to play with him," said Suarez.
"What happened though, was that Andy had the bad luck to be injured for several games and when he came back from that, he picked up another injury.

Two sessions down as the U.S. Men's National Team wraps up its first day on the field here in France. In that vein, the theme for today's photos: First Times.
Jermaine Jones takes on U.S. MNT captain Carlos Bocanegra. It's Jermaine's first time in U.S. MNT camp since August.

Speaking of first times, today was Alfredo Morales' first U.

The majority of the players have arrived and the first day is winding down here on the outskirts of Paris. The treatment room is wrapping up for the night as players head to sleep ahead of two sessions tomorrow.
Most of the players were in by the late afternoon. They arrived at the hotel before going on a quick jog to loosen the legs.

The U.S. Men's National Team has begun gathering for the final time in 2011, with 19 of the 22 players on the roster already having made the trip to Paris. Tuesday will see the arrival of Kyle Beckerman and Landon Donovan, who travel together following LA Galaxy's 3-1 win against Real Salt Lake in the MLS Western Conference Championship, as well as DaMarcus Beasley.

Two members of D.C. United, Ethan White and Perry Kitchen, have been named to the roster for the U.S. Under-23 camp.

Men's National Team head coach Caleb Porter has named 31 players to the roster for the upcoming training camp in Duisburg, Germany, which also features several players who are age-eligible for the U.

Could the NBA lockout be coming to an end? At the very least, the two sides are much more cordial with each other right now. The last two bargaining sessions have ended with some optimism. Tonight, the optimism was at its highest level to date.

"I think we're within striking distance of getting a deal," said Billy Hunter.

The bad news is that the NBA lockout seems as dire as ever. The good news is that the two sides are going to talk today. Last week, the two sides held long sessions but didn't get much closer on the issues. After the sessions, things got ugly with both sides spitting venom.

Though it looks more and more likely that there won't be a 2011-12 NBA season, the talks resuming is a good sign.

Academy manager Steve Cooper has heaped praise on the Chinese duo currently enjoying a week-long trial at Liverpool.
Long Chen, 16, and Chen Xiao Mao, 14, have already made their mark on the training pitch and Cooper admits he has been pleasantly surprised by what they have been able to offer.
Cooper told Liverpoolfc.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has admitted to being concerned whether he would return from injury during the "hardest six months of my career".
Gerrard, 31, scored against Manchester United on Saturday in his first start since groin surgery in March.
Asked if he feared for his career, Gerrard said: "I think it's only natural you have doubts and different things do cross your mind.

American basketball player LeBron James has donated $10,000 to the Liverpool FC Foundation during his first visit to the club.
LeBron, who plays for Miami Heat, made the donation at St Margaret's CoE School in Liverpool which is Liverpool FC's Respect 4 All centre, used for football coaching sessions with local children with severe physical or mental disabilities.

Ayre-headed idea is a leaf out of Kenyon's blotted copybook

Liverpool believe they have a sound economic case for breaking up the collective agreement on overseas TV rights. And when your club attracts 40,000 Asians to training sessions you could probably use that as evidence Far East broadcasters aren't paying a fortune to show Blackburn or Bolton.