Have to say the game this afternoon between Ireland and Wales was an absolute classic. It was a joy to watch two brilliant teams go all out for the win
For the record I thought Wales deserved it but the brilliance of the win was tainted somewhat by a really nasty spear-tackle in the second half.

The much-hyped match between Chelsea and Manchester United is over, and it was definitely one of the best matches of the season. Six goals, plenty of talking points and an amazing comeback, this is a game that we won't forget ...
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It's high time again for another hat trick and QOTD. Today's piece will focus a bit more on the USMNT as a couple of big games loom tonight and this weekend. One of the matchups includes two American soccer icons in a clash this weekend, which should make for must watch TV. Also follow after the break to have your say in the QOTD.

A family event at a nearby city took me out of town for the last couple of days and is the cause for the lateness of this post. It really was unavoidable but I don't want to trouble you with the details.

The result of the game, more so the manner in which the goals were conceded, was quite upsetting but after having a day to think it over I find there were a lot of talking points from the game.

Mail: Sam Stapleton agent column on return of January transfer window

Sam Stapleton, an FA licensed players' agent and co-founder of Star Management Signings Ltd (right), has signed up for Sportsmail to give our readers an agent's insight into the transfer window and football's big talking points.

Once again Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo went missing as Jose Mourinho's men were beaten 3-1 by Barcelona in the El Clasico begging the question can he perform in big matches? For many onlookers Barcelona's 3-1 win over Real Madrid in Saturday's El Clasico brought up many talking points typical of such a titanic European [.

Not all the big names have played this weekend but that didn't stop the football from flowing, so what did you find entertaining this weekend? What are the big talking points? Does the referee still frustrate you and your side ...
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Another brilliant weekend in Serie A where two fallen giants must address their continued bad form. Both Inter Milan and Roma were the talking points this weekend as both teams records domestically continue to decay. Inter Milan lost at home to Udinese 1-0 where Roma lost 3-0 away at Fiorentina and had 3 players sent off.

It wasn't exactly a beautiful game, but Manchester United's 1-0 victory against Aston Villa was loaded with talking points.

The biggest storyline from the match wasn't United's victory, but the serious ankle injury suffered by Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, who rolled his ankle and appeared to suffer severe ligament damage.

There are so many talking points from this Premier League weekend that it's going to be tough for Laurence McKenna and the EPL Talk Podcast crew to know where to start. To help drive the discussion, post your questions and ...
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Join in the debate before, during and after today's Chelsea against Liverpool match — the most highly anticipated game of the weekend. There are so many talking points before a ball is even kicked. Luis Suarez, John Terry, Andy Carroll, ...
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Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Union

Wednesday's press conference contained much talk about the future of the club. Here are some talking points, beginning with Peter Nowak on:

Consistent lineups: "It's not that we are saying everything is fine. All we are saying is that having a starting lineup consistent, 11 guys, maybe two substitutions or three guys, you cannot win the championship with 13 guys.

One of the summer's main talking points was "chances created," a fairly new statistic meant to replace assists. Assists take two to tango, reliant on the goal scorer actually scoring the goal. LiverpoolFC.tv clarifies the stat by renaming it "shot assists," a name I actually prefer, although I'll stick with Opta's nomenclature since I'm using FourFourTwo's StatsZone stats throughout this piece.

There were talking points galore on the first legs of the four MLS quarterfinal playoff series. I tried to hit as many as possible in the SI.com review, which should be posted later today.

But I didn't get to one issue that's sitting out there, kind of by itself, like a shy kid at a big, fancy dance.

Arsenal shocked Chelsea 5-3 at Stamford Bridge today as Robin Van Persie scored a hat-trick. It was a massive win for Arsenal at Stamford Bridge today as they twice came from a goal down to beat Chelsea 5-3 and move within 3 points of Chelsea in 3rd place.

Here is the Arsenal perspective on the match from our Arsenal site.

The Premier League had no shortage of talking points this weekend but the only place to start is at Old Trafford. In spite of a formidable recent record against City, United came unstuck in an unprecedented manner. City were so clinical in attack with Silva and Balotelli particularly awesome.

Happy Monday to you. With the MLS season concluded, we now have a clear picture of the playoffs and are able to look back on the season with retrospective eyes. Here are a few things bouncing around my head as we enter the second season of MLS action.
No Wondo, No DeRo: How remarkable is it that the Golden Boot winner and his main competition are done for the season?

In one of the most entertaining weekends in the Premier League this season, there were plenty of talking points for Kartik Krishnaiyer, Jesse Chula and The Gaffer to discuss including Manchester City's thrashing of United, Liverpool's draw against...
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Can't fault the second half effort1. Can't fault the entertainment value. Can't argue we didn't deserve to crash out either. Heroic last-ditch efforts aside, it was over the last four games that the ghost was well and truly given up, not this one match that sealed the deal.

Talking points?

Categories: U.S. Mens National Team

The U.S. mens national team meets Honduras tonight at 6 p.m. ET on Fox Soccer and Univision. This will be the fourth game under new man in charge Jurgen Klinsmann with the United States having tied one and lost two. Here are five talking points heading into the game: New Faces It has been [.

These things are getting seriously tough to write, you guys. But here goes. Here's a double helping of hangover. Chicago Fire and Seattle Sounders. Two games that featured a Revolution team that played pretty decently, even if they really weren't playing for anything at all. I don't have much for you, because honestly I just don't want to beat a dead horse (and trust me, that horse has been flat out abused this season).

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.

These days I have limited blogging to the pre-match and post game pieces. There are a number of reasons for but the most important one has been the shortage of actual talking points. An agitated mental state due to some mind-boggling bloopers didn't help as it prevented me from delving into stats and chalkboards.

Yes sir, the weekly recap is posted over at SBNation.com. In it this week I take a deep look at the playoff picture and how week 27 really changed it. Plenty of good talking points to get the week kick started.

LA Galaxy and the Colorado Rapids battle Friday night. (Getty Images)

Ah, that sound you may here is the sound of a full Major League Soccer slate this weekend. All 18 MLS clubs are involved in Week 26 action with eight of the games being Saturday evening. Most clubs had last weekend off and you can bet they are all geared up for the big playoff push here this weekend.

A lot going on in Butt's Brain in a jam-packed weekend of international qualifiers, friendlies, and quite a few notable injuries. Let's take a quick look at some of the major talking points, in case you missed them: Leighton Baines ... Continue reading →

There is a growing trend amongst MLS teams in which they are taking tournaments more seriously. More and more teams are placing value on trophies outside of the MLS Cup and Supporter's Shield. Publicity and fan awareness is on the rise for both the CONCACAF Champion's League and the US Open Cup. It might be that the US Open Cup is benefiting from the value teams are placing on the CCL.

Listen.

I sat down at the keyboard last night and stared at the screen. Nothing. I just couldn't get jazzed to write a reaction piece. Some of that was because I could copy and paste many of my prior talking points. Some was because the match was pretty dull.

But the main reason was because the result was so infuriatingly predictable.

Last night's El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid was ill-tempered to say the least (as if there's any other sort of El Clasico). There were three red cards and an infinite number of talking points, but once again Jose Mourinho managed to steal the show. During a brawl at the final whistle, the Special [.

Fabian Castillo
This week brought about a plethora of talking points. The new Designated Player rules for 2012 and what that might mean for the league's future, the impending arrival of Robbie Keane and of course what that means for Juan Pablo Angel. Both the Sounders and the Galaxy made statements in the CONCACAF Champion's League as well.

Sunday is a day of rest unless there is money to be made by Sky on broadcasting games. It is also a day of reflection after the traditional Saturday fixture. I always

have the view that sleeping on opinions makes them more likely to be consistent, logical and reasoned. I have chosen to give you all my analysis of the main talking points about Arsenal at the moment.

Sunday is a day of rest unless there is money to be made by Sky on broadcasting games. It is also a day of reflection after the traditional Saturday fixture. I always
have the view that sleeping on opinions makes them more likely to be consistent, logical and reasoned. I have chosen to give you all my analysis of the main talking points about Arsenal at the moment.

Kartik Krishnaiyer and Laurence McKenna sit down to discuss the opening weekend of the 2011-12 Premier League. They go through each of the eight matches played through Sunday — and cover the numerous talking points from the weekend including...
This is a content summary. Visit http://www.

Kartik Krishnaiyer and Laurence McKenna sit down to discuss the opening weekend of the 2011-12 Premier League. They go through each of the eight matches played through Sunday — and cover the numerous talking points from the weekend including...
This is a content summary. Visit http://www.

Fredy Montero and Seattle take on Chivas USA this weekend. (Getty Images)

It is nearly time for another packed weekend in Major League Soccer. Week 22 is on the book and not everyone is involved this weekend. Both LA and Kansas City were scheduled originally to play this weekend but that game was moved to Labor Day (not sure about the reasoning behind the move).

Robbie Rogers scored the goal.
The Klinsmann era began last night and fans were left with as many questions as there were answers. For the first 50 minutes of the game, the United States looked disjointed and broken. There was very little movement going forward and team unity was lacking.
The starting lineup held some interesting talking points as Michael Orozco started at centerback while Edgar Castillo lined up on the left side of the back line.

Los Eternos Rivales, eh?

It certainly started to look like it after about 30 minutes when the Mexico we've come to know and love started asserting is prickish best after looking in a different class for the first half hour. It's been weird lately, watching Mexico play within themselves, so it came as something of a relief when their true colors started bleeding through.

Week 21 of MLS action produced something spectacular. A weekend devoid of the 0-0 tie. Fantastic matches with some impressive goals treated fans to some wonderful talking points. Whether it was Dwayne De Rosario's hat trick, LA's destruction of FC Dallas or Eric Hassli's double. Here is your recap and highlights:
Colorado Rapids 2, Columbus Crew 0
The Colorado and Columbus match-up saw two teams coming off of impressive performances.

Astonishing. I'm not really sure what to think, what sort of coherent narrative I can assemble to summarize the absolute incompetence that defined this match. It was like Christmas in August: both teams (or all three if I include the officials) dishing the gifts left and right. Should I be pleased with a point having played a man down for over 90 minutes (stoppage time included) or disappointed at not beating a side we need to be beating?

Reo-Coker not putting a foot wrong

The preseason started and ended with a murmur. Just like the 1-0 loss to FC Tampa Bay right at the beginning, Bolton lost 1-0 to Levante UD at the Reebok. An uninteresting game that saw the only goal come from Iborra after he tapped in a Ruben free kick that banged off the crossbar.