Goals:
Rooney 47' 50'
Suarez 80'
The worst possible result. Not just a loss, a deserved loss – self-inflicted thanks to a feeble 30 minutes after the restart – but continued, probably increased, focus on the Suarez-Evra contretemps thanks to each acting like spoiled children.

For many, there has been a belief that in order to get the most out of Charlie Adam he must be played as part of a three-man midfield, alongside players who will be able to cover for his shortcomings and in doing so allow him to do what he does best—break down tough opponents and create scoring opportunities.

This might be a touch simplistic and naive, but...

Shouldn't DVDs on 'how to tackle' be handed out to the youth teams of Premiership clubs, rather than the guys getting six figures a week to go in at some poor man's ankles?

But the higher ups at the FA in England have deemed it a necessary act.

With increasing confusion in the Premier League over which tackles should or should not be punished, an attempt to teach players what is acceptable is being made in home video form. "How to tackle" DVDs will be sent to clubs next week because if there's one thing professional footballers will pay attention to, it's instructional videos.

Rafael Da Silva has made just three league appearances this season after bad luck with injuries have kept him out of the team. Even when he does get on the pitch, there are plenty of tongue in cheek sweepstakes amongst United fans predicting what time he will be subbed off with an injury.

Rafael has reflected on this bad luck but wonders whether his style of play has an influence on it.

nlike Notts County's kit and Mister, the football term Derby used throughout Italy has largely diverged from its original English etymology. While fans in the Premier League still expect two-footed tackles and rabid commitment when local sides meet, some Italian derbies incur little or in the case of Sunday's meeting between Fiorentina and Siena, no added enthusiasm.

Kompany takes a tumble With all the recent talk around Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany relating to the dangers of two-footed tackles, one of the most perilous aspects of football has been overlooked: running backwards. The Belgian found out the hard way just how difficult it can be to run backwards when he was fouled [.

After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the United States National Team players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This week Brian O'Connell, Julian Cardillo and Sean Donahue contributed ratings for the USA's 1-0 victory over Panama.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

George John has yet to make his debut with West Ham United, but he soon could after putting together a strong showing in his first match since joining the club.

John, on loan from FC Dallas until the beginning of March, starred in his first game for West Ham's developmental squad on Tuesday, putting together a strong defensive outing while scoring a goal in the Hammers' 1-1 draw with Gillingham.

So many times he's saved us. The forward bursts through, draws back the hammer and pulls the trigger, eyes not on the ball but on the expectant net only to find that in a whirl the object of his desire has disappeared, swept away by the sweetest of tackles. No bone or muscle, it's the timing that has defeated him.

After Saturday's capitulation to lowly Bolton at the Reebok 3-1, Kenny Dalglish openly criticised his players for their attitude and performance in the defeat, even claiming that heads will roll after that display.
Well Kenny, it was an abject display by the team, a team you largely assembled yourself.

We watched Wednesday's Clásico in its entirety with spirited company at WoodworkBK. We had the sense then that Barcelona slowly took control after the early goal by Cristiano Ronaldo, and that Pepe was terrible. Watch this extended highlight clip, which should reinforce the conclusions that (a) Barcelona completely dominated after about the 25′ mark, and (b) Pepe was a complete embarrassment and not only for the already-infamous Messi hand stamp:

Real Madrid v Barcelona by vynylr

Acting!

Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson is often reviled by fans for his outspoken views on the club, and when asked about Glen Johnson's recent tackle against Man City, the European Cup winning defender was in typically blunt form.Speaking to The Mirror, Lawrenson, who put in a few crunching tackles during his time at Anfield (!

By the standards used to judge recent red-carded tackles like Vincent Kompany's against Manchester United and Jay Spearing's against Fulham, on Wednesday night Glen Johnson at the very least put himself in a position where seeing red was a very real possibility. Maybe even the most likely possibility.

By Chris Wright

This just appeared on Vincent Kompany's official Facebook page; a personally written note touching on the Manchester City captain's failure to get his red card against Manchester United overturned yesterday...

All-in-all, right or wrong, a very level-headed and considered response from an impressively intelligent footballer.

After watching Fernando Torres' performance yesterday for Chelsea I thought to myself "He's had a good game today". Then I saw the report of Ex-Liverpool Phil Thompson on Skysports "Soccer Saturday" and couldn't believe what I was reading!. Thompson is quoted soon after the game saying:

"He's not anywhere near.

Looking around this morning, it's probably best to start with positive injury news, which unfortunately comes almost exclusively in terms of Villa missing players.
It seems that Bent, Heskey, Herd and possibly also Collins are out for Villa.

It's common knowledge that Chelsea offered ridiculous money to try and sign Luka Modric back in the summer and Spurs stood firm and resisted our advances. You have to hold your hands up to them and say fair play to them really. Levy backed his manager, stood by him and look how well they are doing this season so far.

By Oli Baker

At the time of writing, no side in Europe's top five leagues has made as few tackles per game as Wolves (15.4) or as few interceptions (11.9).

For a team that gained a reputation as being tough and uncompromising last season, these are startling statistics.

Although Wolves do fare quite well in the possession stakes, averaging 50.

By Oli Baker

At the time of writing, no side in Europe's top five leagues has made as few tackles per game as Wolves (15.4) or as few interceptions (11.9).

For a team that gained a reputation as being tough and uncompromising last season, these are startling statistics.

Although Wolves do fare quite well in the possession stakes, averaging 50.

Jonjo Shelvey made his first ever Barclays Premier League start for Liverpool at Villa Park and recorded some impressive figures. Here are a selection of interesting statistics from the game courtesy of Opta.
From 29 passes made the No.33 recorded an accuracy level of 82.8%, had the most shots during his 83 minute outing and also had an assist for the first goal which Craig Bellamy slotted home from a corner.

When Karim Benzema scored the opener for Real Madrid inside the first minute, some assumed it was going to be a long night for Barcelona's players and the club's supporters. However, the Catalans eventually turned the result around in another painful defeat for outspoken coach Jose Mourinho who, as expected, pretended the loss was not damaging.

1. Well that was just the kind of performance we needed following the devastating result in Basel this week. We passed the ball around well and at long last put away a good number of the chances we created. Only Swansea have a worse away record than Wolves though and after playing them, it is obvious why.

Rumours, rumours, every where; nor any drop to drink. Oh, wait, there's some bourbon. Which must mean it's time to dip into the sordid world of transfer rumours to see who's being linked to Liverpool to replace you-know-who, as focus shifts from talk of luxury acquisitions and South American starlets to Liverpool's sudden need for a bit of steel in midfield.

[Editor's note: Another look at the USMNT under-17 team]

This evening's game took place only 2 days after the American's 2-1 victory over Turkey. One of my players to watch, Herber Mejia-Flores had an assist and goal in that game. That same day Brazil drew with France 1-1. In this round robin tournament that meant that Brazil and the US each had 4 points going into this game.

Thank heavens for Wojciech Szczesny.

Well, that was pleasant, wasn't it? A team full of reserves and youngsters faced off against a determined, full-strength Olympiakos side determined to get the win, in any way possible. With a ravenous home crowd egging them on, this game turned out to be a bit of an ugly affair, with studs flying at different times and resulting in some nasty tackles and unsightly scenes.

Took a little while for me to get this post out due to all the stuff that's been going on since Sporting KC's season ended. But here's a look at my post season grades.
Korede Aiyegbusi - INC - Only played 94 minutes for KC in league play this year, not enough to warrent a grade.
Davy Arnaud - C+ - Missed quite a bit of time after having hernia surgery, and once back found himself as a back up to the midfield trio of Cesar, Espinoza, and Zusi.

Martin Skrtel is a star performer in Liverpool's defence at the moment, and he's kept defensive stalwart Jamie Carragher out of the team with his solid, assured performances. However, according to Liverpool legend John Aldridge, Skrtel's form has been a concern in the past, and he has a theory about why the Slovakian is currently playing so well.

Martin Skrtel is a star performer in Liverpool's defence at the moment, and he's kept defensive stalwart Jamie Carragher out of the team with his solid, assured performances. However, according to Liverpool legend John Aldridge, Skrtel's form has been a concern in the past, and he has a theory about why the Slovakian is currently playing so well.

Now that was the performance we wanted after a nervy week at Chelsea. We all knew that the next 9 days could define our season even at this early stage but we desperately needed a win. Newcastle away, especially this season is always a difficult game as I said in my match preview.
We got the win and I have to say, playing better than we have in recent weeks.

Xabi Alonso has revealed that Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo has still not returned to training ahead of Saturday's crucial La Liga clash with Sporting Gijon.

Ronaldo picked up an ankle injury following a strong challenge by Luis Perea during last weekend's ill-tempered derby win over city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Hi everyone,
Having gone through another engaging Premier League weekend, I think that the most talked about incident is the ''penalty that never was'' in the every so interesting game between title holders Manchester United and ''hot runners'' Newcastle. This was bound to be a eye catching for the fans but ever so difficult for everyone involved with the clubs and especially referees.

Lucas tops tackling table

Lucas Leiva has made more tackles than any other Barclays Premier League player this season.

View the full story here: Liverpool FC

A news article on 2011-11-29 12:11:15 from: Liverpool FC

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

His numbers speak for themselves: 69 completed passes on 75 attempts for a 92% success rate, 13 out of 16 challenges won on the ground, four out of four headers won, seven successful tackles on seven attempts, and seven interceptions.

Gael Clichy had 7 interceptions; Joleon Lescott had five successful tackles; Gareth Barry completed 69 passes but misplaced three more of his attempts for an 88% passing rate; and Yaya Toure managed the unlikely feat of also completing 69 passes on 75 attempts—though his three successful challenges to go along with a single header and tackle won pales in comparison to Lucas' numbers.

There seems little point in doing a usual chalkboard review. I'd end up focusing on Lucas Leiva's marvelous performance, and you can just as easily head to the Guardian or Stats Zone app and see them for yourself. Each is a beautiful, unique snowflake worthy of admiration, and I recommend doing so.
I thought I'd display his statistics somewhat differently.

Some follow-up observations:

The team was hell-bent on keeping shape, which gave us some perhaps surprising (but perhaps not) tackling information. Etuhu and Murphy, and the entire back four, really didn't go for many tackles. Instead Dempsey, Dembele, and to a lesser extent, Ruiz, were doing a lot of the actual harrying.

Two things happened yesterday at the Bridge which hopefully will be a sign of things to come for the reason of the season.
I wrote earlier last week that in order to stop the rot and the supposed slump we were now in, AVB had to decide on the best eleven and stick with them and play them week in, week out.

How Lucas keeps Kop defensively solid

Those dark, pre-season days when Liverpool were shipping three goals every game on their summer tour are well and truly over. That rag, tag and bobtail defence has been transformed into the meanest unit in the Premier League. Liverpool have conceded just 11 goals so far this season.

Smooch from Pep Aw, isn't that nice. OTP is not convinced there were too many kisses after a few of the tackles had flown in early in last night's match between AC Milan and Barcelona. We know there must be genuine affection between Pep Guardiola and Massimiliano Allegri because Pep can be quite choosy about [.

Smooch from Pep Aw, isn't that nice. OTP is not convinced there were too many kisses after a few of the tackles had flown in early in last night's match between AC Milan and Barcelona. We know there must be genuine affection between Pep Guardiola and Massimiliano Allegri because Pep can be quite choosy about [.