Liverpool hosted Manchester City in the English Premier League on Saturday, November 21, 2009. The match took place at Anfield as Steven Gerrard returned to the line-up for Liverpool but Fernando Torres was out with an injury. Were Liverpool able to get a much needed win or did Manchester City show they are ready to challenge for a top four finish?

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The appetite for commentary on the farce in Paris still seems strong, and I thought Arsene Wenger had a very wise take on the entire situation today. Wenger is, obviously, a French supporter and very close with Henry. In fairness to the Irish fans, the world football community, and for the sake of Henry, he called for the game to be replayed.

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Morning all, good to see the Thierry Henry stuff has blown over. Erm ... I wouldn't normally bother but I think it's only fair that someone tries to counter the lies and the hysteria. He's not one of ours now but he was and he was one of our best. Plus it's kinda quiet.

The Mirror:

Liam Brady last night branded Thierry Henry "shameful" after launching a bitter attack on FIFA for fixing the outcome.

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Heartbreaking. That's all I can say about this match. Gut-wrenching, soul-wrenching, the very best kind of completely awful.

The pivot point of the match – and for the rest of time nothing else will be discussed – was Henry's unjustly-allowed goal. (Technically it was Gallas', but Henry had more than a hand in it.

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Reuters is reporting today that French captain Thierry Henry has admitted that he handled the ball in the build-up to a controversial goal that sent France to the World Cup at the expense of Ireland on Wednesday.

Ireland's Robbie Keane criticized FIFA and UEFA after the loss, saying the two governing bodies would prefer seeing France in the World Cup.

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Okay okay, I guess I have to write something about this Thierry Henry hand ball or something. Here is the obligatory (and slightly sarcastic) background info already reported: The World Cup playoffs are seeded, seemingly hurting the minnows like Republic of Ireland. Then, Ireland are given an away game in Paris for the second leg, presumably giving them yet another disadvantage.

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Thierry Henry's left forearm makes first contact with the ball but then as the ball bounces off ever so slightly his hand comes up and he steers the ball onto his foot. The first touch was inadvertent but his second touch had clear intent. What is so amazing about this is that the linesman on the opposite side should have seen happened because as far as one can see his vision remains unobstructed with Henry furthest out clear of the Irish defenders and Shay Given.

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Bad Thierry Henry. You cheated and you are the hero of all of France for it. Somewhere Michel Platini is dancing because you did it. Somewhere Sepp Blatter and the rest of FIFA are doing an Arsene Wegner impression. In Ireland your face will end up on dart boards and was the reason that children cried themselves to sleep last night. Click to continue reading...

Thierry Henry does not have many fans in the Republic of Ireland tonight. The best footballer in the world, according to the Castrol Rankings, used his hand to put France through to the World Cup Finals next Summer. While the Boys in Green are red with fury and probably wouldn't object to a Hammurabi-like justice exacted on the former Arsenal ace, it should be kept in mind why France was playing Ireland at all.

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You've got to feel sorry for the Republic of Ireland after last nights match where they were cruelly knocked out of the World Cup 2010 qualifiers thanks to a Thierry Henry handball.

Ireland went into the 2nd leg of the game 1-0 behind from a Nicolas Anelka goal in the first leg played at home last week, and went level in tonights game through Robbie Keane.

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"I'd love to finish my career here," he declared. "I haven't been here long, but I already feel at home and love the club.

"I grew up a Celtic supporter and they have a big place in my heart, but I really hope I can finish my career here. You can never say never, but I'd like to think I will.

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Europe
With four places left to be filled, the eight best runners-up from the group stage took to the field on Saturday to kick-off the first leg of the European play-offs.
In Dublin, Ireland battled tenaciously against the visiting French team but somewhat frustrating played true to form, i. Click to continue reading...

The first legs of the European World Cup play-offs took place yesterday (Saturday) and Russia, Portugal and France all take slender advantages into their second legs.

Portugal managed to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 in Lisbon in their first leg. With Cristiano Ronaldo ruled out of the tie through injury the Portuguese had to rely on the likes of Simao Sabrosa, Liedson and Deco for their creative spark but all three were guilt of below-par performances.

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With the Premier League news slowing down, and the World Cup qualification news speeding up, I figured I'd take the down time that so often comes with international breaks, put the Fantasy Premier League to the side, and focus a bit on predicting the European World Cup qualifiers...
Caveat: While my predicting/gambling skills have been refined over the past ten years through various online and offline channels, I rarely go with deep statistical analyses to back up my predictions. Click to continue reading...

The Republic of Ireland will take on France in the World Cup play-offs which commence next weekend in what will be an intriguing clash between the shrewd Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni and the much-maligned French national team coach Raymond Domenech.

Trapattoni's record speaks for itself with successful spells almost everywhere he coached yet his most notable job prior to taking over Ireland ended in miserable failure with the Azzurri.

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- In addition to this site, try the combination messageboard and quasi-blog QPR Report Messageboard. If your're interested in constantly-updated QPR-related news; QPR nostalgia; and some other broader football-related isssues: QPR Report Messageboard is there for you. All opinions welcome! Click to continue reading...

Steve Harper has been a top player for Newcastle this season, and he's certainly taken the chance offered to him, when Shay Given left Tyneside for Manchester City last January. Steve Harper - in great form this season And of course the other motivating factor for Steve  is certain Ditch youngster, Tim Krul, who will no doubt become [. Click to continue reading...

Image by Getty Images via Daylife In what seems to be becoming a habit, Manchester City drew their fourth successive Premier League match with a goalless encounter with Birmingham City. The hosts played some hard working football an created many chances, the best of them all being the penalty shot from James McFadden early in [. Click to continue reading...

"Put the chequebook away we're just fine!"

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Mark Hughes has warned Manchester City fans against expecting many new arrivals in the January transfer window.

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Are we the only ones who now find it hard to watch somebody like Newcastle legend, Shay Given, when he plays for Manchester City? Shay Given another world class display yesterday Every time we watch the Premier League now we think of how things were. And to see Shay Given give a world class display yesterday against [. Click to continue reading...

Whilst defeats inevitably brings with it the criticism and analysis a side faces, conversely, can draws mask the problems that a side has?
Yet another point yesterday, and in the context of the game with the penalty save (more of a miss?) and wonderful and brave double save at the end of the first half from Shay Given, it can be viewed as a point gained given that we again avoided what could have been a defeat. Click to continue reading...

James McFadden saw his penalty saved by Shay Given but Birmingham City were still good value for this well earned point against Manchester City.

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1st Half Highlights

James McFadden Penalty miss

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The English Premier League had four matches on Sunday, October 25, 2009 including Manchester City v Fulham. The match was a chance for Man City to stay in position for a top 4 finish while Fulham is needing points away from Craven Cottage if they want to repeat a top-1o finish in the EPL table. Here's a recap along with video highlights for the match.

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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...

Shevchenko
Novakovic
Robbie Keane
Dzeko
Hoje pelas 14.00 horas locais, em Zurique, na Fifa House, terá lugar o sorteio para os play-off. Analisando cada um dos adversários e os seus principais jogadores, pode chegar-se à conclusão que a Eslovénia será teoricamente a equipa mais acessível. Click to continue reading...

Speaking about the key presence that Given has become since his signing from Newcastle last January:

"Shay's been more than I could have hoped for in terms of his presence on the field.
"He's got a calming influence on the back four. That's made a marked difference to the way the guys in front of him have been able to defend.

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Supporters of various national teams across the globe are already packing their bags, updating their passports & booking flights to South Africa for next Summer's World Cup Finals. With their beloved nation's automatic qualification secure, they've only the stress-free decision of which player's replica kit their going to wear during their teams opening match left to decide.

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Shay Given will captain Ireland in Wednesday night's final World Cup qualifier against Montenegro as he wins his 100th senior international cap.
Manager Giovanni Trapattoni has handed the 33-year-old Donegal man the captain's armband as he and full-back Kevin Kilbane each complete a century to leave themselves only two adrift of Steve Staunton, Ireland's most-capped player. Click to continue reading...

Late Drama

It was the sort of goal that you would expect the team leading 2-1, rather than those chasing the game at the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline, to get. Catching the opposition out on the break with a swift counter-attack in the 90th minute to put the gloss on a convincing 3-1 triumph.

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By Wednesday night the make up of the automatic UEFA qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup finals will be known and it is at least possible, if not likely, that there will be one or two surprises amongst them. Serbia, for example, only need one win from their two remaining matches against Romania and Austria to condemn France to second place in their group, whilst it is almost certain that, in spite of having two comfortable home matches against Hungary and Malta as their final two fixtures, the "lottery of the play-offs" will be the best that Portugal will be able to manage and they might yet even lose out on second place to one of Denmark, Sweden or even Hungary.

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"I didn't mean to stamp on Carvalho, but I know what it looks like and I do wince when I see it."
Wayne Rooney is still adamant it was an accident.

"In terms of a game where everything just clicked, it has to be Barcelona away in the Champions League. Of all the goals I scored, I always preferred the ones that were brilliant team goals, and the interaction was at its peak.

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Shay Given ,who left Newcastle last January, because he just couldn't stand the stupid antics of owner Mike Ashley is pleased to see his former club of 11 years at the top of the Championship. Shay Given - when at Newcastle Shay talked today about how pleased he is to see Newcastle doing so well [. Click to continue reading...

Brad Friedel was in goal for Aston Villa who had the lead but couldn't hold it in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City. Richard Dunne had Villa up in the 15th minute, but that would be it for Villa's shots on goal. Craig Bellamy brought City level in the 67th, with Friedel needing three saves for the draw. Click to continue reading...

There was one midweek English Premier League match as Aston Villa hosted Manchester City. Both teams are looking to break into the top 4 and earn a UEFA Champions League spot. Here's a recap and video highlights of the match from Monday, October 5, 2009.

Manchester City draws with Aston Villa 1-1 Video Highlights

1st Half

Aston Villa had a good first five minutes as they had most of the early possession and chances.

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So, apparently my choice to keep Shay Given wasn't the greatest ever. Who saw Darren Fletcher scoring a brace coming ahead of time? If it had been Rooney scoring more than the one, I'd have been completely good with Given's performance but it wasn't to be. A very interesting weekend though. It would appear that ManYoo will have trouble defending their title. Click to continue reading...