News broke yesterday that our current shirt sponsor, AIG, who took over from the contract Vodafone cancelled the season before we won the league, were in trouble. Their stock fell by 61% and it wasn't looking good for the company, whose collapse could have massive effects on the global financial system. Click to continue reading...

You have to be careful when putting much stock in rumors emanating from the U.K. And even though this one is coming from the BBC I'm still skeptical since it's listed in the "other gossip" section, but hey, who knows. It would be a little more believable if they spelled his name right though. Click to continue reading...

Another Premiership manager bit the dust today as Kevin Keegan joined Alan Curbishley on the unemployment line.

The "Geordie Messiah" was supposed to turn Newcastle's fortunes around and make them a top-four contender, if you believe most of the Toon Army, but didn't even last a full season's worth of games after returning to the club midway through the '07-'08 campaign. Click to continue reading...

Some news to read as you stock up on Pop-Tarts to get you through the hurricane: More Kevin Keegan rumors. Is the guy fired or not? (Premier League Offside and Newcastle Offside) Chelsea fans following the money to Citeh? (SoccerLens) Fox Soccer is paying big bucks for Nielsen ratings (EPL Talk) Fun (yes, Fun! Click to continue reading...

International football has its share of Cinderella stories, and the heartbeat of Fulham's midfield, Jimmy Bullard, is no exception.

According to the Guardian article, Bullard may earn his first international cap for England at aged 29 and he's hoping his persistence will serve as inspiration to other aspiring footballers, who may be cut from amateur cloth rather than the typical early academy development stock which makes up most national sides. Click to continue reading...

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Cerny remains in goal; Stewart starts; Ramage returns; Rowlands on the bench; and Agyemand presumably still injured.
QPR Official Site - Today's Teams:
QPR: Cerny, Delaney, Stewart, Mahon, Hall, Leigertwood, Parejo, Blackstock, Ramage, Cook, Ledesma. Subs: Camp, Rowlands, Connolly, Balanta, Di Carmine. Click to continue reading...

To say that Andriy Shevchenko's stock has fallen over the past couple of seasons would be a huge understatement. The Ukrainian striker, who was rumoured to have been signed by Roman Abramovich rather than Jose Mourinho, has struggled to make an impact in a Chelsea shirt since arriving from Milan ... Click to continue reading...

Cains - Robert Cain Brewery Liverpool Why would a Scouser drink anything else?

Worrying times. Slowly watching the stock of Cains dwindle at the local ASDA. No Cains Bitter left and, after I'd finished tonight, there was no Cains Lager and only 4 Cains IPAs. A decent amount of Cains FA, 08 and Liverpool Lager left but that ain't going to last for ever. Click to continue reading...

I saw about a week back that Cardiff was interested in Johnson, but the report was from some tabloid newspaper, so I didn't take much stock in it.  Now however, the BBC is reporting that Johnson is in fact close to a loan move to Cardiff.  If you can't trust the BBC, who can you [...] Click to continue reading...

As Juande Ramos takes stock after a pretty poor display against Middlesbrough, reports have surfaced about a Tottenham bid for a Newcastle star! Why not continue this discussion at the COS forum? Ex-Liverpool striker Michael Owen has been lined up as a shock replacement for Dimitar Berbatov at Tottenham, according to reports. Click to continue reading...

In the course of being engrossed by the game to game mentality and analysis, it is easy for me to lose perspective of an entire season. At times like this, it is useful to look back on previous posts to remind myself of what I was thinking earlier, and to reapply that perspective to where we are now.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

For those of you who missed it, Kenny Cooper kept his stock heading skyward with another two-goal performance, this time in helping FC Dallas topple Toronto FC on Sunday. The brace upped Cooper's tally to 13, tying him for the league lead with Landon Donovan.

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Michael Bradley was one of the hottest young commodities in Europe after a fantastic season for Heerenveen but of late, the transfer talk has cooled.  The young central midfielder was rumored to be heading to eight or nine different premiership teams including Manchester United.  After a less than convincing performance against England, Bradley's stock has [. Click to continue reading...

You can bet on Spain again.

Tis a wonderful thing to have a country oozing skill and technique capable of being considered a worthy contender without the qualifying phrase "but...but...but...it's Spain!". It simply makes tournaments that much more scintillating and victory for the winners (if not Spain) that much more delicious.

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When I first became interested in the European game in the mid-90's, I was delighted to discover the wealth of information each month in World Soccer magazine. Now with everything you need available on the Word Wide Netweb, WS is no longer the essential reading it once was, but I still enjoy picking up the preview and wrap-up issues for reference and posterity. Click to continue reading...

This is a continuously updated post on my experiences with the local Atlanta area soccer supply store scene. This is just a pretty basic list of where you can get soccer stuff in the city.

Soccer USA located off Barrett Parkway in Kennesaw. Directions

A great little store for the serious player - they stock a wide variety of boots in the store - a good selection of kits - and they even have some futsal gear. Click to continue reading...

Spain 0 - 0 Italy (4-2)
Spaniards break shootout jinx
Richard Williams: The hapless Luca Toni is the latest in a long line of ineffective Italian forwards
Spain resolve delights Aragones


Netherlands 1 - 3 Russia
Russia take Huddink's stock yet higher
Arshavin at the zenith at his powers
Dutch fans left counting the cost


Croatia 1 - 1 Turkey (1-3)
Late bloomers Turkey win it at the last -- again
Terim rejoices in Turkey victory Click to continue reading...

The Zenit striker's stock is rising faster than the Mississippi River after leading a pack of talented Russkies to the semi's. Interest is coming from England and Germany but he apparently prefers the warmer climes of Catalan country. Fancy that. Click to continue reading...

It's only taken one game, of course the UEFA Cup didn't hurt, and Andrei Arshavin's stock is shooting through the roof. Previously clubs like Newcastle, Arsenal and Everton were in the hunt, now it's the big spending likes of Milan and Liverpool in for the Russian catalyst. Could it be bad news for the Dutch?

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So here we go, we've had 12 days of blood and thunder football, sublime skills, shock results, new stars and the retirement of legends. Tonight sees the first of the Quarter Finals and what a way to start this section of the competition. There is no doubting over the last 10 years, Portugal's stock has [. Click to continue reading...

Arshavin's stock is soaring now after his latest display of talent in Wednesday's decisive 2-0 victory over Sweden, a win that booked Russia's place in the last eight of Euro 2008. A series of outstanding performances for club and country has made him one of the most sought-after players in Europe this summer, but it would be no surprise at all if he went nowhere and remained with Zenit, a club which barely registered a blip on the European landscape until last season. Click to continue reading...

Sapph, the Belgian purveyors of naughty lingerie, apparently can't keep their line of Oranje Euro 2008 dainties in stock, as the orange bras and panties are being snapped up by female fans (and their men.) The provocative ad campaign features gorgeous Dutch model Dorien Rose. Click to continue reading...

1. New England (7-3-2). As long as Chicago isn't around, New England has the tools for yet another MLS Cup run.
2. Chicago (6-3-1). No truth to the rumor that Fire petitioned league to play rest of schedule on the road.
3. Houston (4-3-5). Suddenly, Houston is at top of Western Conference standings, and all is right in that part of Texas. Click to continue reading...

With only a few weeks left in the season, more and more it is time to talk and update the discussion on the MLS awards. MLSnet launched their discussion yesterday and it has already sparked interest from people. Feel free to discuss below and add your candidates to the awards. I will start off with some of [...] Click to continue reading...