Adopted Frenchman Joey Barton doubts whether former England skipper David Beckham can have the same earth-shattering impact that he has had on Ligue 1. The Marseille midfielder said that if Beckham did manage to play against his side for PSG he would probably not be the "main concern" for their defence.
An own-goal from Andy Webster was all that separated the two sides as Liverpool scraped a narrow
victory over Hearts in the first leg of their Europa League play-off at Tynecastle.
The Edinburgh side impressed for much of the tie before suffering a late blow against their
Barclays Premier League visitors, who made the trip across the border without a number of star
players.
And so we reach the end of the current run of Match Of The Past, our summer series covering some
of the great matches in the history of the clubs that will be making up the coming seasons Premier
League. Our last club and these haven't been done in any particular order, in case you were
wondering is one of the founder members of the Football League in 1888, Aston Villa, and we have
six matches from the years between 1972 and 1994.
Everton boss David Moyes has warned Chelsea and Manchester United that he is determined to
retain star players Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines in a bid to secure Champions League
qualification next season.
Moyes has heard the intense speculation surrounding United's interest in Baines and Fellaini,
with the latter also being a reported Blues target this summer.
England will win against France. Why am I so sure? Well, many disingenuous soccer sites make
predictions based on starting lineups, the form and presence of star players, and a recent results.
Here at Futfanatico, we solidly base our predictions on centuries old naval and cavalry warfare
history. And archers.
There were some interesting things that came out of Ivan Gazidis's meeting with the Arsenal
Supporters Trust earlier this week. Two good write-ups on the meeting are here and here.
While Gazidis has a knack of talking a lot and saying nothing, the fact that he was willing to
meet with Arsenal supporters last night and stayed around afterwards to answer more questions is
really something.
Pimping the players? Its money to Stan the Man and the Arsenal septuagenarians
Is Arsenal breeding a particular type of player mercenary? Those without any loyalty to the
club, constantly on the lookout for the big payoff from the next big club? It's so easy to trash
them when it appears so black and white.
After Bordeaux turned down a return for their prodigal son, Fiorentina rejected Chamakh because
of his high wages, it is the turn of Besiktas. The Turkish club as per Milliyat is looking
at a loan move en route to a permanent deal worth ÂŁ4m.
Don't really see this happening because Beskitas is neck deep in debt with the former chairman
having spent boat loads of money bringing Guti, Simao Sabroso, Hugo Almeida, Ricardo Quaresma, and
Manuel Almeida for a measly return of one league title.
The business of a soccer club is to produce a winning team. At the end of the day sports are a
form of entertainment. Too often, though, actions taken place in the board room or at the
negotiating table take away from the entertainment displayed on the field. At times, the
aggressiveness and sometimes greediness of clubs leads to failure on the field.
Within the past decade, La Liga has evolved (or devolved, depending on who you're talking to)
into a two-horse race between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Between TV contracts, exposure and
merchandise, the Spanish league is divided into distinct categories: the haves (two teams) and the
have-nots (18 clubs).
Real Madrid are reported to be ready to test Manchester City's resolve by making a ÂŁ35million
bid for David Silva.
Silva has give no indication, at least in public, that he is interested in moving back to Spain,
but apparently Jose Mourinho believes he can tempt the former Valencia forward to return to La
Liga.
Lewandowski and Piszczek could go to United and Madrid, says coach - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
According to Poland manager Franciszek Smuda, the Poland striker Robert Lewandowski (who
currently plays for Borrusia Dortmund) is "going to Manchester United". Manchester United recently
signed Lewandowski's Dortmund (former) teammate Shinji Kagawa and were strongly rumoured to be
interested in Lewandowski as well although Dortmund have so far refused to acknowledge that a
transfer might happen.
Welcome to Liverpool, Rodgers – it's Top Four or the Door - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
Top four may not be a divine right for any club in the premier league given the competition has
increased immensely over the past few years. Still the Manchester clubs remain clear favorites,
Blue side with their versatile squad plus cash and Red side with their stability.
Drogba with Champion's Trophy The obvious caveat to this list is whether a player would consider
coming to MLS this season or next season.
Certain star players in the primes of their careers are completely entrenched with their club teams
for contractual and cultural reasons or they can make more money in other leagues.
The Los Angeles Galaxy's opening match of the 2012-2013 CONCACAF Champions League tournament had
just about everything one could ask for.
The Galaxy got goals from its star players, but had to weather some questionable officiating
late in the second half which featured a red card to Robbie Keane and a yellow card right in the
midst of a substitution.
In a match this past weekend that saw a total of eight goals, including four consecutive goals
scored by the Galaxy in a span of nine minutes, the fans at JELD-WEN Field in Portland were treated
to an attacking showcase between Los Angeles and the Timbers.
Ultimately, MLS Cup holders Galaxy prevailed with a dramatic 5-3 win away from home.
It is normally England that are desperately hoping one of their star players are fit for a major
tournament. Whether it be David Beckham, Michael Owen or Wayne Rooney, there has always been
something to worry about.
This year though, those over at http://euro2012onlinebetting.com/spain note how it is reining
European Champions Spain that are sweating on the fitness of their star striker David Villa.
As well as the Newcastle youngsters looking good so far in pre-season it doesn't seem to have
taken long for the senior players at the club to get into the groove again, and we've seen some
good performances already from  some of our star players like Cheick Tiote and Demba Ba. Alan
Pardew happy enough so far in [.
As well as the Newcastle youngsters looking good so far in pre-season it doesn't seem to have
taken long for the senior players at the club to get into the groove again, and we've seen some
good performances already from  some of our star players like Cheick Tiote and Demba Ba. Alan
Pardew happy enough so far in [.
The talk about the "Golden Ball Award" candidates & favourites at this time of the year is
obviously premature. However, it is inevitable after we have been blessed with the recently
finished Euro 2012 tournament along with all the World star players on stage. In recent days,
France Football has done its marketing strategy-tactic aimed at the Spanish Market, announcing that
Spanish Goalkeeper &
So here we are again, another Euro 2012 match with this one pivotal in deciding the fate of the
trophy the second Semi-Final match, with Germany facing Italy. The winner of this match will of
course be heading through to a final against Spain, who overcome a valiant Portugal side last night
eventually winning on penalties.
In the first of 4 Quarter Finals set to take place over the next few days Portugal find
themselves facing a Czech Republic side who are probably still grateful to have progressed past the
group stage after some hairy moments involving Poland, Russia and Greece. The Czech side have
leaked some pretty awful goals at times, with the normally ever-reliable and occasionally
unbeatable Petr Cech looking a different keeper when compared to his brilliant performances in a
Chelsea shirt last season.
Steven Gerrard has worn the England armband on numerous occasions, but he will head into Euro 2012
believing, for the first time, he has the authority of a captain.
I know how thrilled he was to receive the phone call from Roy Hodgson confirming he was the choice
to lead his country. I also know how desperately disappointed he felt when the caretaker manager,
Stuart Pearce, decided he would not be given the captaincy in the England friendly with Holland.
The big news, which I've heretofore ignored as it made my head spin, is Roy Hodgson's
appointment as England manager. Never mind the Redknapp or speech impediment or press idiocy
angles, what does this actually mean for England at Euro 2012?
I'm sure I've mentioned before how Roy's early career directly influenced Sven-Göran Eriksson
so all things being equal I'd expect something similar here.
The big news, which I've heretofore ignored as it made my head spin, is Roy Hodgson's
appointment as England manager. Never mind the Redknapp or speech impediment or press idiocy
angles, what does this actually mean for England at Euro 2012?
I'm sure I've mentioned before how Roy's early career directly influenced Sven-Göran Eriksson
so all things being equal I'd expect something similar here.
An AFR Giveaway x The EURO 2012 shirt collection from Didi
16 nations will be represented in Ukraine and Poland at next month's EURO 2012. Some star
players will shine, while others will undoubtedly fall short of their fans' expectations.
It's been a long, arduous ten match winless stretch, but at long last, it has come to an end.
The New England Revolution got the gorilla off their back last Wednesday night and defeated
Columbus 2-0.
The crazy part of it all? It was done with a few fresh faces, and some unsung heroes. With
players injured, star players in limbo, and an upcoming FIFA International Break, Jay Heaps got
creative, and it paid off in a big way.
"The best game I've ever played" is a remarkable endorsement for any man to
make. But when the man making the claim is Alan Ball four years after lifting the Jules Rimet World
Cup trophy with England you start to sit up and take notice. The game Ball  is promoting is
Soccerama, a board game released in the early 1970s.
Pre season is drawing to a close and many things are undecided still about the team. It's not a
good start to the season when nobody knows if we are able to keep our star players Fletcher and
Jarvis and popular power house Kightly. With those three in the team Wolves will stand a greater
[...]
The PSG has always been my favorite French club. My father used to bring me to the Parc des
Princes since I was age 5 and I have seen countless matches with some great players like Dahleb,
Susic, Weah, Rai, Leonardo, Pauleta along the way. Now with the arrival of the Qatari financial
backup, the PSG has a unique chance of competing amongst the best teams in Europe.
FIFA Ranking: 5 (as of July, 2012) Coach: Jorge Barcellos Number of Olympics Appearances: The US has participated in every Olympics where
women's soccer has been a sport (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012), with two silver medals (2004, 2008)
and two fourth place finishes (1996, 2000).
New Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is confident his vision for the club will persuade his star
players to remain at Anfield.
Despite the Northern Irishman conceding that a lack of Champions League football could mean the
Reds lose players, he felt that the future he had envisioned for the Merseysiders would be enough
to soothe any doubts some may harbour.
Not Household Names: Ibaka, Sefolosha Dynasties are rare. Most fans would agree only the Kobe
Lakers, the Jeter Yankees and Brady Pats have come about over the last 15 years or so.
It takes a lot of skill, timing and luck for a dynasty to gel and materialize.
