The man who played as big a part as any in making the Philadelphia Union a playoff team is now headed home.

Philadelphia and goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon mutually agreed to the Colombian's release Monday, clearing the way for the 40-year-old to end his career in his native country.

A predictably disappointing result will largely overshadow an effort from the Gunners that was valiant and respectable for most periods of the game. Ultimately, poor defending from Arsenal gifted the win to United after a closely fought battle in which the sides shared spells of domination.

The starting line-up for Arsenal had a couple of pleasant surprises.

One advantage of Peter Ridsdale and Graham Westley being together as chairman and manager respectively of Preston North End is that they may only end up annoying each other and messing around with only one club. I recognise that will not have brightened the day of any Lilywhites fans. And I can only apologise.

One advantage of Peter Ridsdale and Graham Westley being together as chairman and manager respectively of Preston North End is that they may only end up annoying each other and messing around with only one club. I recognise that will not have brightened the day of any Lilywhites fans. And I can only apologise.

At the end of yesterday, Darlington FC remained alive albeit on life support. Today, however, stories started to emerge which threaten to fragment an increasingly fractious fan-base as the matter of this club's survival draws closer and closer to its denouement.
There have been words of encouragement and support funds and fury from many supporters that a situation such as this should be allowed to happen to the same club yet again but, at the time of writing, we are still nowhere near knowing whether the club will saved or, if it will, who by.

So, it's that time of the year again when the MLS superstars come back to the Europe. Last season there was talk of Thierry Henry and David Beckham returning to the Premier League but nothing came of it. As for this season, what a treat we have been given!

This blog was originally going to compare who would have the bigger impact between Robbie Keane and Henry during their two months back, but after Monday night's performance from the latter I don't think there's really much of an argument.

By Alan Duffy

After blaming everyone and everything but himself, king of the passive-aggressive faux-down-to-earth shtick, Neil Warnock, was given the boot at Loftus Road on the back of an appalling run of form which saw QPR take just two points out of a possible 24.

AC Milan defender Alessandro Nesta has no plans to retire soon.The veteran Italian defender who is now 35 made the startling remarks during an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday.

Despite his numerous injuries over the years that have seen him missing lengthy spells of regular playing time, Nesta has no desire of quitting just yet.

A new year may have begun, but familiar problems are already starting to make themselves clear with conflicting stories concerning the well-being of Blue Square Premier club Darlington. A club that has already had two spells in administration in the last decade could well be headed for further trauma following reports in the local press during the break between Christmas and the new year, but upon what were these initial reports based, and can a consortium group which has since announced itself get the assent of the club's current owner to take over a football club that has been shipping money left, right and centre for longer than most people care to remember?

szólj hozzá: l;v1-1mv9[Matchhighlight.com]

An effervescent Swansea side stroking the ball with ease pinned the Hydra headed Spurs attack for lengthy spells. Against the run of play Spurs went up just before the half with Rafael Van Der Vaart's goal after Benoit Assou- Ekotto had done all the spadework down the left flank.

Goals:
Agger (og) 25'
Bellamy 29' 67'
Gerrard 78'
Another tepid, frustrating, harsh 1-1 at Anfield. Until Gerrard came on at the hour mark.
As usual, Liverpool were the better side from the start, but neither keeper had a save to make in the first half. More often than not, Liverpool's possession ended at the edge of the final third, mainly with shots from distance charged down by Newcastle defenders or crosses just too high/far for Carroll.

Striker links with Spurs are set to increase over the next few days as it seems increasingly likely that Roman Pavlyuchenko will be on a Rocket to Russia next month.

With Adebayor's future far from settled, this seems like a sensible time to get involved in the transfer market and at present, there are a number of German based strikers being linked with Premiership clubs.

Diego Simeone says he is unfazed by the prospect of turning around Atletico Madrid's faltering season after being formally unveiled as their new coach.

The former Argentina captain was named as the replacement for the sacked Gregorio Manzano on Friday, signing a contract until the end of the 2012/13 campaign.

Atlético Madrid have named Diego Simeone as their new coach following the dismissal of Gregorio Manzano.

The former Argentina midfielder, 41, scored 23 goals in 134 appearances during two spells at Atlético, winning a domestic double in 1995/96. Simeone moved to Europe to join AC Pisa and then Sevilla FC, signing for Atlético from 1994-97.

Highlights of the game. 11 minute highlights of the match. Swansea were defending very deep in the first half of this game, with Newcastle United keeping the Swans pinned back in and around their own box for quite a few spells. However as the second half rolled on, Swansea did make something of a comeback.

USA international striker Juan Agudelo was left in awe after his trial experience with Liverpool.
The 19-year-old New York Red Bulls striker already has 15-caps to his name for Jürgen Klinsmann's national team, but got his first taste of European football during brief spells with Stuttgart and the Reds in recent weeks.

Former Charlton and West Ham manager Alan Curbishley believes England have failed to utlise the talents of midfielder Scott Parker during his career.
The 31-year-old has only just begun to play for England regular after winning his first four caps while with four different clubs across eight years.

Liverpool 1: Suarez 47′
QPR 0

Liverpool play well for large spells and endure a late QPR surge to get the result they needed at Anfield, using the one chance they finished to get all three points. The result's obviously most important, particularly on the heels of the disappointment at Craven Cottage earlier in the week.

Sunderland have wasted no time finding a replacement for the fired Steve Bruce by targeting the best manager available for hire: Martin O'Neil. By all accounts O'Neil is close to agreeing to take over at the Stadium of Light and could be in the stands for Sunday's away match against Wolverhampton.

Sunderland have wasted no time finding a replacement for the fired Steve Bruce by targeting the best manager available for hire: Martin O'Neil. By all accounts O'Neil is close to agreeing to take over at the Stadium of Light and could be in the stands for Sunday's away match against Wolverhampton.

Craig Bellamy has played alongside some fantastic players in his two spells at Liverpool, and also during his career generally, but who is the best he's ever played with?
Bellamy, who created both of Liverpool's goals last night against Chelsea, enthused:
"Stevie is still special.

File him under journeyman if you will; Paul Thirlwell's career hasn't exactly hit stellar heights anywhere. Decent spells at his hometown club Sunderland, Sheffield United and Derby were flecked by seemingly the only consistency of his career – injury. Ask any fan of his current club Carlisle to define Thirlwell in a single word and the wags will chorus on cue – ‘injured'.

File him under journeyman if you will; Paul Thirlwell's career hasn't exactly hit stellar heights anywhere. Decent spells at his hometown club Sunderland, Sheffield United and Derby were flecked by seemingly the only consistency of his career – injury. Ask any fan of his current club Carlisle to define Thirlwell in a single word and the wags will chorus on cue – ‘injured'.

This home game against Borussia Dortmund could turn out to be tougher than the away visit to Chelsea. It probably won't have as many goals and will be tighter in the middle, but from a physical and mental point of view the players will have to give at least as much if not more than that celebrated triumph.

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- From the Bushman Archives of QPR's 1976/77 Season
- Throughout the day, the QPR Report Messageboard has news updates, comments and perspectives - even links to other board comments of interest re QPR matters (on and off the field) along with football (and ONLY football) topics in general.

Reina: Suarez Trumps Torres

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina beleives Fernando Torres is not missed at Anfield thanks to the impact of his replacement, Luis Suarez. Torres and Reina were and remain good friends off the field, and while the Spanish stopper believes his compatriot is still a quality players, he is of the opinion that Suarez may well be better.

Chelsea v Liverpool: Kenny Dalglish delighted with his players after 2-1 win

Kenny Dalglish extends his remarkable unbeaten record against Chelsea from his two spells in charge at Anfield to 12 games with a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.

View the full story here: The Telegraph

A news article on 2011-11-21 09:13:24 from: The Telegraph

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

On-loan AC Milan midfielder Alberto Aquilani believes that it is highly unlikely that he will return to parent club Liverpool, given the simplicity involved in his release clause.

Italian champions Milan secured a loan deal for Aquilani this summer after Juventus, who had loaned him from the Reds last season, could not reach an agreement regarding the permanent signing of the player.

Jose Reina insists Liverpool have not missed Fernando Torres since his departure to Chelsea due to the impressive form of Luis Suarez.
Torres was snapped up by the west London outfit for a blockbuster fee of £50 million, but has struggled to replicate the form that saw him plunder 81 goals in 141 appearances on Merseyside.

The script stays the same, with Liverpool failing to convert the chances they manage to create, except that for once, it wasn't Kenny Dalglish's side dominating the match. Swansea spent large spells of the match on the front foot, taking it to a Liverpool side that failed to put much of anything together prior to the dying minutes.

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has warned his team they must not take newly promoted Swansea City lightly when the clubs clash on Saturday.
The Scot believes the Reds have squandered too many points against sides promoted from the Championship in recent years and hopes to avoid a repeat against the Welsh team.

It's true indeed. Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi, the third son of dead Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi played football at the highest level having spells with Perugia, Udinese and Sampdoria! Al-Saadi al Gaddafi, perhaps Libya's most and only recognizable footballing 'star' (if that is what we can call him) had spells in Serie A with Perugia in 2003/2004, [.

Rare indeed is there a pre season when Persib Bandung don't link themselves with one Thai player or another. Sinthaweechai Hathairatnakul of course had two spells with the team while Suchao Nutnum's brief time is fondly remembered by the Persib faithful.
Recent days have seen BEC Tero striker Teeratep Winothai linked with the club and now we have this story suggesting Kiatprawut Saiwaeo is interesting them.

By Alan Duffy

Having apparently missed out on another footballing bad boy in the shape of El Hadji Diouf, Doncaster Rovers boss Dean Saunders has now snapped up former Spurs defender Pascal Chimbonda.

The 32-year-old Frenchman, a free agent since leaving QPR in April, was part of Les Bleus' squad at the 2006 World Cup Finals and has also had spells at Wigan, Sunderland and Blackburn.

Hi all.
Welcome to ze blog. In most parts of the world it would just be an ordinary, boring, if not tedious, Monday morning.
But with the boys in blue and yellow getting deconstructed (you could happily substitute that with either smashed, mauled, clawed or demolished) on Saturday, there's this concept of Mad Monday to contend with.

You want me to recant? To say that Wednesday's Reaction Post was a mistake?

Keep waiting.

I suppose if I were going to be really cynical, I'd point out that our first team could absolutely dominate the MLS Reserve League[1]. I'm not going to go there. I'm going to give United credit for finishing chances, for learning their lessons from last time around, and for generally answering the challenge Olsen laid down.

Martin Kelly believes the inclusion of Steven Gerrard on Liverpool's teamsheet gave everybody a boost ahead of Saturday's 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
After making his comeback following a six-month absence with a substitute appearance at Brighton in midweek, the captain was named on the bench for the visit of Mick McCarthy's side before he made a late cameo as the Reds clinched three points.

Arsenal's season reached a new low on Saturday as their 4-3 defeat at Blackburn left them just outside the relegation zone and already out the Barclay's Premier League title race.

In spells, Arsenal did look as though the valuable point picked up against Borussia Dortmund in midweek had marked a revival in the Gunners confidence and play, as for periods in the first half against Blackburn they knocked the ball about with ease and looked to be in total control of the match against Steve Kean's men.

Billy Brown is the new assistant manager at Hibs.
It's going to feel odd typing that for some time to come. Rumours had been swirling all week but it still came as a bit of a shock when the announcement was made.
That shouldn't really be the reaction.
Everything you've heard about Hibs v Aberdeen last Sunday is probably an understatement.

Houston and Columbus look to end their current bad spells tonight. (Getty Images)

Boy today sort of got away from me. I wanted to spend more time on the CCL games and a couple other items going on but just never got to it. Thus, my picks for tonight's MLS game will be kept extremely short.

Houston Dynamo at Columbus Crew: Both team are on terrible form these days but the Dynamo have it rough considering they are still searching for that first road win of the year.