So now that the passion/disappointment has simmered a bit after a below mediocre season, I figured I's sit and look at the team as a whole and write about what I thought should happen for 2010.

Peter Vermes = Technical Director: After 3 seasons in this position I feel Vermes has done a less than stellar job.

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Mayor Bill White has proclaimed today as Dynamo Day. Are you wearing orange?

Mayor Bill White today proclaimed that Friday, November 6th, will be recognized as "Dynamo Day" in Houston. In observance of the day, the mayor encourages Houstonians to wear orange, the color of the Dynamo.

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Premier League Team News - Barclays Premier League - ESPN SoccernetYou can check either the link above or yesterday's The Week Ahead post for a complete listing of those missing through suspension after the Premier League's refs. As I mentioned yesterday, the interesting opportunities that will result from suspensions are O'Shea being a line-up definite and Frazier Campbell deputizing for Click to continue reading...

Happy Friday to you all,

we should probably start with the news that Stan Kroenke is on threshold of the 30% which would require him to make an offer for all the shares in Arsenal. We've watched him draw ever closer in the last few months, his intentions remain very much a mystery. What you can say though is that with the 100 shares he bought from Peter Hill-Wood what is happening is being done with the full knowledge of the board.

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Columbus loses 4-2 on aggregate to Real Salt Lake. It was a great season, boys. Maybe not Massive, but not anything to be ashamed of.

None of us expected this, no one thought it was possible. The Crew always performs under pressure. Columbus always gets the clutch goal or Jesus-save that it needs to stay alive.

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Andy Williams Seals the Deal for Real in Win

Andy Williams seals the deal for RSL with a late goal in Real's 4-2 aggregate win to advance in the 2009 MLS Playoffs and move on to the Eastern Conference Final. Last week after Real Salt Lake beat Columbus at home in Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, Jason Kreis said something interesting after the game. Click to continue reading...

I have struggled with whether I want to continue writing for The Offside. My recent posts indicate my frustrations, which may appear to be a little acrimonious. The truth isn't as harsh as I make it out to be, honestly.

A few days ago I contacted the powers-that-be and proposed a new page for The Offside.

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Dieter, Dietmar . . . close enough.

Dietmar Beiersdorfer, the new sporting director for worldwide Red Bull soccer operations, has descended upon New York and has brought with him a cloud of speculation. Is he here to hire a new GM? Perhaps weigh in on the coaching situation?

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Some pretty pedestrian stuff so far this week, perhaps everyone still in shock after our thrashing on Saturday. First of all a surprising statistic has been released: Bolton's attendances rose last season by 8%, one of only two clubs to see a rise in attendance. I don't know if you noticed but last season (and more so this current season) the Reebok has been looking strikingly empty.

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As I mentioned earlier, my father was at the Chelsea game this past Saturday. I had him write my a little guest blog, and as promised here it is.
I arrived at the Reebok in gentle late afternoon sunshine. No, that's not a joke. In fact, you can tell that the stadium was not built with sunshine in mind, since for the first half an hour or so I was there, it was shining directly into my eyes (at first I was so surprised by the unaccustomed glow I thought Wigan must be on fire – no such luck, however), making it hard to concentrate on the cheerleaders.

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Valencia fans are nasty fans.

Thats the conclusion that has to be drawn if you read the the chatter this week.

Our Che have lost 1 game all season. 1 Match. We are in 4th and within grasp of the top.

And yet even after a hard win against Malaga the fans complain.

Here are the highlights in case you missed the match.

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Another biggie, huh?

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Right then, football tonight against Alkmaar and I really hope they're just plain old AZ tonight and not the typical Ronald Koeman AZzzzzzzzz.

Every time we play a Koeman side it's inevitably a truly dire spectacle. A tedious, coma inducing draw of some kind and I could really do without that tonight.

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Greetings, Dynamo fans. I haven't written in awhile. It's partly because my internet closes out 90% of the time I try to access the site, but mostly because soccer (or MLS) hasn't held my interest.

I am fairly new to soccer so I was hoping this blog would chronicle my growing appreciation and understanding of the sport.

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TN-Martin Skyhawks, SophieCox (2011)

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. Freshman Kendyl Wilson converted on her team-leading fourth goal of the 2009 season in the 81st minute against Eastern Illinois tonight, leading The University of Tennessee at Martin to a share of its first Ohio Valley Conference championship in program history and a 1-0 win at Memorial Stadium. Click to continue reading...

The football just keeps coming with Champions League action tomorrow night. There'll be a press conference and team news today so we can preview the game properly tomorrow.

A win would assure qualification for the knock-out stage of the competition so there'll be no rest for the main men. Robin van Persie will lead the line again and after two goals against Sp*rs the manager seems to think 25 goals for the season is an achievable target for him.

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It has been a long and sometimes unforgiving decade for the Bulls. They played in the highest of highs (an MLS Cup Appearance) and the lowest of the lows (2009), suffered extreme anguish over injustice (Diallo, Petke is still gunning for you), and extreme ecstasy (Mathis - those 5 goals were a thing of beauty).

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"I don't have to win a trophy."

Maybe a bit sensationalist to leave that excerpt as the lead-in, but the overall thrust of an article from the Times(among other sources) is that Rafa Benitez feels that progress alone is an acceptable indicator of success. Since there's plenty of ammo here, I figured it's best digested quote-by-quote:

"I don't agree with people when they say you have to win trophies.

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It has been dawning on me slowly but surely that supporting Bolton is like being in an abusive relationship. Every weekend they hurt me and then I go through several stages. First I'm angry with them, I question our relationship and whether it's worth it. Then I begin to start qualifying and saying to myself "Well, it wasn't too bad," I convince myself they'll change.

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It's Halloween, and I'm scared.

Not of the hordes of ghosts and goblins floating around as I type this, but rather that the MLS season of my beloved Columbus Crew will come to an end on Thursday night.

Tonight, as they took on Real Salt Lake in the first leg of the home-and-home playoff series, The Massive looked anemic.

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Robbie Findley, MLS's Player of the Week during the last week of the regular season slipped a late goal past the diving Columbus Keeper from a beautiful Yura Movsisyan pass, and delivers the victory to Real Salt Lake in the first leg of the Eastern Conference semis. The score came late in the game, and it became apparent early on that Columbus would have been happy to get out of Rio Tinto with a nil-nil draw, but RSL was just as determined to get a win at home.

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Well here we go again.

Having lost the past two semi-finals, or conference finals, or whatever you're calling them, the Fire are entering the post season yet again with the taste of a lot of post season success, turned disappointment in their mouths.

Two years ago, we rocked DC United's world after they won the Supporter's Shield, and we snuck in -thanks to Thorny's 90′-, by dropping them first round only to be taken out by a Taylor Twellman bicycle kick from hell.

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Guillermo has been here before. He has stood on the battlefield of do-or-die soccer and he has emerged victorious. He will lead our young warriors to a Massive Victory against the barbarians from Utah. He will not falter, he will not fail. He will do what is necessary for the good of the Crew.

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I have been surfing the soccer blogs today and not many people are giving Real Salt lake much of a chance to get past defending MLS Champions, The Columbus Crew. I just want to remind people of three things:

1. Overall, RSL has scored 23 more goals than its opponents in home games this season.

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Little to say after what promises to be one of the most surreal thirty minutes in recent memory.

Chronologically:

-Torres off, Ryan Babel on. Apparently uninjured. Maybe with the midweek Champions League fixture in mind...but after that first half stunner, tough pill to swallow.

-Goal Fulham.

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I was going to open by stating with a certain level of confidence that should Arsenal and Tottenham draw, Liverpool would leapfrog both in the table with a win today at Fulham. Then Arsenal scored two goals in two minutes. So let's focus on Liverpool, shall we?

The Steven Gerrard groin injury saga spirals further and further down the rabbit hole, with worries now that he'll need surgery to repair his injured man zone.

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Yes Kevin dear, you are number 1.

Hello again, it seems as though I've been posting a lot lately, to match the Trotter's busy schedule. Chelsea will be paying us a visit this Saturday, a mere 72 hours after we saw them last. And trust me, I haven't missed them. Here's a link to the BBC's preview of the match.

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So it's Bolton at the Reebok on Saturday.

I think we can safely say we're not going to see a repeat of the midweek thrashing we threw at Wanderers in the Carling Cup. Wednesday's match was the third consecutive demolition at Stamford Bridge 13 goals scored, none conceded. The Blues are in a rich vein, eh?

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Well done to Arsenal on Wednesday, a deserved victory in a game that featured a mixture of first-teamers and youth talent for both sides, as well as the highly anticipated debut of Alberto Aquilani for the Liverpool. Emiliano Insua scored his first for the club, hitting a half-volley from about 25 yards out that left Fabianski with no chance.

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Premier League Team News - Barclays Premier League - ESPN SoccernetSo, what to make of the return of David Bentley - will he finally fit into what Spurs do? Will he be the same unmitigated disaster that made him one of the worst transfer buys of the last 5 years? Will he even start? Or is 'arry just using this as a smoke screen while planning to start Jenas, Kranj, Palacios, and THud in some Click to continue reading...

This Saturday on ESPN2 (for fans in the US), you will be able to witness a clash of Premier League titans. Arsenal and Tottenham will be taking each other on in the North London Derby. For anybody in the United States that would like to watch, the match kicks off at 8:45am EST at the Emirates.

Arsenal

Team News

Things were looking up for Arsenal keeper Lukasz Fabianski in Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the Carling Cup on Wednesday.

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Reports today suggest that both Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand are both doubtful for Saturday's match at home to Blackburn Rovers, presumably meaning we will have to rely on Jonny Evans and Wes Brown to play in the centre of our defence.

Both Vidic and Rio have been criticised for their recent form, particularly in light of the Liverpool game, when Rio was out-muscled and out-run by Fernando Torres, and Vidic was sent off for his third game in the row.

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First, and most importantly, there is some sad news for the Wanderers World. Our dear Jussi is retiring from his international career. His Finnish team failed to make South Africa 2010, and Jaaskelainen announced his retirement earlier today. He was first capped in 1998, and has earned 55 since. Jussi, pure class as ever, came out with this statement:

"I have considered this decision long and hard, and I believe that it is now the right time to give younger Finnish goalkeepers the chance to play on the international stage.

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I haven't been able to find highlights but I did find a video of all four goals. The emotionally unstable amongst us may not want to watch it as it's pretty depressing. As my father said the only positive thing to take away from that match is the fact that we can't do any worse on Saturday. Now I must say I didn't really expect a win, I don't think any Wanderer did, but 4-0?

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