David Hytner's article hints at Ivan Gazidis's plans to sell the Arsenal brand:

" Gazidis has identified a huge discrepancy between the worldwide reach of the Arsenal brand and the revenue that it generates. He believes that bringing the latter up to speed - the club have sophisticated strategies in place to do so - is the surest way forward.

Yeah, Becks own underwear designs, part of H&M's David Beckham Bodywear collection will feature in a 30 second ad in the second quarter of this years Super Bowl, which will not feature the Green Bay Packers. Will it drive you to encase your goolies in a Becks underwear or will you come up fourth and inches?

Adidas backed out of a renewing LIverpool's kit deal as they weren't overly impressed with the club's performance. No matter. The Reds have reached an agreement with US based Warrior Sports that is worth £25m a year for 6 years, which more than Man Utd's annual £23.5m deal with Nike.

New Balance, the parent company of Warrior Sports, is also the supplier to the Boston Red Sox which is owned by John Henry's Fenway Sporting Group, which also owns Liverpool.

Indians will see Roberto Pires in action next month

Instant cricket, the 20/20 version has found a home in India's Premier league, one of the world's most lucrative sporting brands, till corruption eroded its worth. The success of the IPL is inspiring a new soccer league in India which will see the likes of Roberto Pires, Fabio Cannavaro, Juan Pablo Sorin, and others participating in a soccer competition styled on the IPL format.

Not exactly an Oscar award winning performance from Rooney in an ad about the anticipated arrival of a mysterious new red devil at Manchester United.

Soka Afrika is probably the first documentary that really tackles the problem of trafficking of young footballers from Africa to the European leagues through the story of two aspiring footballers who set out to find their fame and fortune and end up taking very different journeys. It won the best film at the Kicking and Screening film festival in NYC and London this year.

More Hope Solo. Going hermano e mano with Steve Nash in EA Sports Soccer 12 which is due in stores today.

What you need to be wearing this season if you are going to be using the scissor kick.

The 2022 World Cup will set the Qatar government back by $221bn in development and infrastructure costs according to an analyst who does this for a living. Small change for the richest country in the world even as they stand to lose billions without recouping but a small fraction. FIFA by the way will have made out with its billions in TV and merchandising revenue with all its earnings non-taxable because of its non-profit status.

..cos he doesn't want to dirty his Adidas shoes.This is a bit hard to imagine.

England overcame World War II buoyed by the bulldog spirit of Winston Churchill, the perfect choice for a war time leader. Yet, it was Clement Atlee who was voted to rebuild an England recovering from the war's aftermath and the decline of empire. 50 years later these two men rank in the list of greatest leaders.

Steve McMahon is heading a private venture bringing Liverpool's brand to India and opening football academies in five different venues in India by 2012. The academies will bear his name and come under the auspices of the official LFC academy.

India along with China represent the biggest developing markets for football and Liverpool and Man Utd have been in the forefront to realize their potential for expanding their presence and profitability.

And Jesus said, go forth and save Arsenal for a recompense of loaves and fish

Kaka's future in Real is a mystery. The 2007 Golden Ball winner is drifting in a team that signed Mesut Oezil, Nuri Sahin, and Fabio Coentrao to bolster the midfield.

Jose Mourinho played him sparingly in the pre-season fixtures with the LA Galaxy as the only substantial outing.

We waited and waited: Samuel Beckett did write about this though

Man City showed us two ways they could score goals. A clever set piece and an open field piledriver which David De Gea could have stopped.

United showed a dozen ways. The equalizer was initiated by Tom Cleverly and what ensued was an intricate web of passes with preternatural positioning involving Danny Welbeck, Wayne Rooney, and Nani as they wove their way around a tightly packed City defense.

Gerald Pique dressed like one of the quidditch players from Hogwarts gives an old lady some potion to drink which makes her display football skills that are normally beyond the reach of ladies of that age.
Pique does not get on his broom and fly away at the end - which is a bit disappointing.

Former board member Nina Bracewell- Smith says its time to let go of Cesc

The Catalonians come back as anticipated with an improved bid for Cesc Fabregas now seemingly more determined than ever to bring closure to this long ordeal. For their part Arsenal seem to be equal partners in this negotiation process for the first time.

The USA had to wait till the second half to get on the scoreboard and it all began deep in midfield when Carli Lloyd picked out Abby Wambach on the left with a long diagonal pass. The striker cut in winger like manner before lofting a cross towards the far post as Amy Rodriguez and Lauren Cheney waited in the box.

History and tradition are the themes of this ad. Arsene Wenger introducing the 2011-12 kit in a lugubrious overtone invoking the working class roots of the Gunners.

A meeting in coarse cotton,
Sixpence for leather and laces.
Factory hardened arms mix oil and mud.

The Arab broadcasting and news giant broke fresh ground as it snaps up one of the TV lots worth €360m to air French Ligue matches on their Al Jazeera Sports channel in the forthcoming season. The contract is for four years and covers 2012 to 2016.

Nasser al-Khelaifi, the chairman of recently acquired PSG is also the president of Al Jazeera Sports.

Every data point (pass, cross, offside, out of play etc) mapped in these two hemispheres (one for each half) between Man Utd and Barca in the Champions League finals.

Simon Kuper's fascinating article in the FT about how the data revolution is slowly changing the face of soccer. There might be a time when quants will emerge from their gray shadows and take their rightful place on the cover of Four Four Two.

Adidas are modestly calling it ''A boot made for players who can change a game with one touch. Players who control not just the ball with their feet, but the whole match with their vision. This is not about the fame or the flashes. It¹s about earning the ultimate sign of respect inside the four lines.

The world's oldest football competition will be sponsored for the next three years by the "King of Beers". The competition is to be grandiosely re-branded as the FA Cup with Budweiser.

The FA of course gets some serious business. For the more finicky it's a measure of the beer's quality when the Budweiser ads generate more buzz than the taste.

I have to agree this is the worst commentating but it must be parody, right?

Today was Judgment Day according to Harold Camping, the evangelist loon who proclaimed this day the Earth would be "raptured" and only the chosen few would survive.

Which means if you're a Man Utd fan you're safe.

Adidas promote their predator boot with some crazy ideas...
Here are Van Persie and Kaka kicking flouroscent footballs at people running past them dressed in strange white uniforms..
.and here's Berbatov doing a Godfather imitation...!

Interview with the football legend, film actor, political activist, and tangential philosopher waxing on his career, international football and his new role with the New York Cosmos

"When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown in the sea."
~ Eric Cantona

Hopefully this is not what will happens to the NY Cosmos if and when it gets off the ground.