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The pre-season for any sport is an exciting time, full of anxiety and hope.

By Alan Duffy

After watching his side throw away a two-goal in a bizarre seven-minute second-half capitulation at the Emirates, Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish is apparently desperate for some kind of retribution, with Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie firmly in his sights.

On a serious, and I mean se-ri-ous level, I have no idea how Wayne Rooney could have been voted into the FIFA World XI over Robin van Persie.
Apparently over 50,000 professional footballers from across the world submitted their votes for the World XI team. And somehow, Rooney was voted in.

U.S. Soccer released its "Best of" nominee lists for 2011 (link to Facebook voting). Categories from "Male and Female Athletes of the Year", "Best Goal", "Best Fan Moments" and the like are all up for grabs.
The one that concerned us the most was the "Best Twitter" account which featured loads of USMNT and USWNT players and a few big media accounts.

Racism in football has never, and will never, be eradicated.

As social culture has changed, racism in society has become so much rarer, and where it does exist the views are expressed much more privately meaning the rest of society can get on with their lives without having to listen to such pig-ignorant and historic views.

The Rides of MarchTHE BUZZ:
For TFC supporters it felt as if this match was five years in the making. Half a decade of less than mediocre results and high drama off the pitch had the chance to be erased, even if only temporarily, if The Reds could grab a win tonight.

...and if you thought it was going to be anyone speaking out at the Bridge, it would have been someone from the Didier Drogba, John Terry old guard.

Torres, sour grapes on Chelsea

(New content coming shortly today sorry for the delays.)

Following their 0-0 draw at the Brittania on Sunday, Stoke manager Tony Pulis and Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas have been in a war of words. The new Chelsea manager has accused Stoke of being too physical, and Pulis has once again jumped to the defense of his resilient side.

"This big Stoke team was actually outmatched by Chelsea at the end.

Fernando Torres is back at it again,six months after leaving Liverpool in a wave of acrimony, the beleagured Chelsea striker persists in sticking the knife in on his old team;
"Liverpool's future isn't looking bright," he said.
"I always gave them a 100%, but it was a difficult situation.

LONDON, England The English Football Association (FA) is to abstain from voting in the upcoming FIFA presidential election between Sepp Blatter and Mohamed Bin Hammam, it was announced Thursday. FA chairman David Bernstein said in a statement there were a "range of issues" which made it "difficult" to vote for incumbent Blatter or Asian [.

• Honestly, what's left? Sunil Gulati out Monday saying that CONCACAF won't influence how the US votes in the upcoming FIFA presidential election.

Gulati played the game all wrong. (Photo credit: The Villager newspaper)

Our sentiments? Big deal. Why not just vote with CONCACAF? What is gained now?

As LeBron James was taking his talents to South Beach, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert said that LeBron quit against the Boston Celtics last year. Yes, seeing as LeBron was leaving his franchise, Gilbert's comments were probably a bad case of sour grapes. However, that said, LeBron has a lot of questions to answer over the next couple weeks as the Miami Heat take on the Boston Celtics.

FC Dallas has a few so-called "rivalries". There's the Brimstone Cup, between FCD and the Chicago Fire, which has been well documented. There's also the in-state rival Houston Dynamo, which has accounted for more than one off the field skirmish, many of which can be attributed to the trash can that is Robertson Stadium.

The Beckhams are having a girl. Iker Casillas is giving unruly bedhead a run for its money. Jack Rodwell's mobile should be searching for sanitiser. This weekend's gossip lacked clear direction, but made amends with Olaya Villa's first steps forward.

Saturday

- In case you missed our weekend Retweet, David Beckham told folks at an L.

Let the mediocrity continue. That's what I took away from today's twin announcements that Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick have signed new long term contracts with Manchester United. I'm sure some of you who have been following this space for a while will write these comments off to the sour grapes of a Gooner still stinging from the Carling Cup fiasco but I assure you, there is more thought

OTP looks at matches that changed football's laws 1. England 1-0 Argentina (1966) This is the match where Argentina captain Antonio Rattin refused to leave the pitch after being sent-off. Suggestions that his dismissal had been lost in translation might sound like sour grapes, yet England defender Jack Charlton phoned the Wembley press office to [.

Speaking after their loss at Anfield last week, Stoke City manager Tony Pulis was quick to defend his side, stating that the main difference between his team's 2-0 home win back in November and the match he had just witnessed was the venue. Perhaps it was a case of sour grapes, or maybe he was just trying to pick his side up before their game against Sunderland this weekend, but there was clearly a massive gap in quality – not just between the two sides on the pitch, but also the two performances on display from Liverpool.

Whatever Cesc Fabregas did or didn't say in the tunnel at half time during the Everton game, David Moyes's comments on the issue are pathetic.
Clearly he wanted to distract attention away from his team's latest defeat and their lowly position (15th) in the EPL.

Apart from insisting that Cesc should have been given a red card for what he allegedly said in the tunnel, Moyes also claimed that any fair minded observer would have felt his team deserved to come away with something from Tuesday's game.

Cesc Fabregas is currently the victim of a media witch hunt, for accusations fired at him from yet another sore loser of a manager.. David Moyes and his average Everton outfit, were yet another victim of the Arsenal machine that is steam rolling its way through the EPL this season.. For all Moyes' crying and moaning about what he thought happened, Fabregas WAS NOT sent off.