As you people know, I have been right behind AVB as our manager. I have said that it's a hard job trying to regenerate this team and build something new. We have heard the saying a team in transition alot this season but you need a base to build from and that base has to be a good team. As it proved today Chelsea are NOT a good team.

As we showed on Sunday, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has made the transition from kicking teammates to slapping opponents. And to prove his new hobby, Zlatan has allegedly done it again already. After the final whistle in Juventus' 2-1 win over Milan in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semifinal, Ibra argued with Juve keeper Marco Storari and, according to Juve defender Giorgio Chiellini, Ibra also gave him a slap.

Bah. Just as the Odense fiasco represented more than just another defeat, so too did last night's pathetic exit from the FA Cup. Nobody's pretending it's easy to go to Everton and get a result if it was we'd manage to get points there once in a while but there's something horribly wrong about these disjointed farces.

Bah. Just as the Odense fiasco represented more than just another defeat, so too did last night's pathetic exit from the FA Cup. Nobody's pretending it's easy to go to Everton and get a result if it was we'd manage to get points there once in a while but there's something horribly wrong about these disjointed farces.

The Portland Timbers announced another signing today, to the coaching ranks, in Cameron Knowles. Cameron as many of you know played for the Timbers during their USL era from 2007 until 2010. During that time he played in 77 games and was an integral part of the defense.
John Spencer says:

"I'm really pleased we can add Cameron to our staff.

Not entirely sure about the source material, but Chelsea have allegedly re-engaged in talks with Racing Genk over the transfer of the 20-year-old that looks not a day over 12 Kevin De Bruyne.

Young Money

As you may recall, the club inquired about De Bruyne in the summer.

Well Florent Malouda is doing his best to keep in favour with the manager isn't he!. After reports of AVB's cull at the club of the older players coming to the end of their contracts, Florent Malouda has spoken of the situation here and that fact that we should be winning things year in, year out.

Liverpool look poised to open talks with FC Porto for the transfer of defensive midfielder Fernando.
The Reds recently lost Lucas to injury, depriving boss Kenny Dalglish of his favoured holding midfielder.
But Dalglish is looking beyond Lucas' spell on the sidelines – Fernando's potential presence at Anfield would allow the Scot to play two midfield enforcers when required, but at other times the option to play Lucas in a more advanced role would be explored.

[S]o, after some two and a half years and 701 posts, we're calling time on our Blogger platform. Having become frustrated with the anodyne templates and the unreliable comment facility, we've decided to set up a slightly more bespoke shop at http://thetwounfortunates.com/, courtesy of some unbelievably generous philanthropy from web designer Michael Kinlan.

So, after some two and a half years and 701 posts, we're calling time on our Blogger platform. Having become frustrated with the anodyne templates and the unreliable comment facility, we've decided to set up a slightly more bespoke shop at http://thetwounfortunates.com/, courtesy of some unbelievably generous philanthropy from web designer Michael Kinlan.

Picture Credit: 123RF.comIt has come to this part of the year when I would always pen my annual review to summarize my thoughts on what happened in the past twelve months in Singapore Football.
Having said that, I must admit that it's been quite a difficult year for the local football that has been struggling with myriad of procrastinating problems that remain lingering.

The stage is set for what will be an amazing showdown between two of the most talked about players in the game today. In the next couple of hours, Neymar's Santos and Messi's Barcelona will fight it out for the honour of being called the best club in the world.

What i am going to say next might be hard to take for a few, however, it is a fact.

When 2011 started, LA Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter set out to work on his life after soccer. Turns out, the season he spent as a player-assistant coach was the best transition possible.
Berhalter hit the ground running on his post-playing days, as he was named manager of Swedish club Hammarby IF on Monday.

The New England Revolution are a team in transition this offseason. Long-time coach Steve Nicol has been fired and replaced by a man familiar to Revs fans: former player Jay Heaps. The new head man comes in at a time ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

Villa removed from pitch following leg injury (Photo: AP Photo)

Horrible news out of Japan this morning where FC Barcelona defeated Al-Sadd 0-4 in the Club World Cup semi-final and will move on to play Santos in the final.

In the 36th minute of the first half David Villa was injured running down a through ball and when he tried to control the pass twisted is left leg and fell to the ground.

The Philadelphia Union have been linked to Michael Thurk again, this time with the team being listed as one of the German's two front runners for his services. Thurk's agent, Klaus Gerster, said that Thurk will make a decision this week, with both the Union and fellow MLS team the Vancouver Whitecaps as the forward's favored destinations.

We're all very good at rushing to conclusions about our managers. The tone on the EPL Talk podcast is one of understanding, as we get get to grips with Steve Kean, AVB and MO'N. Transition into December and the critical ...
This is a content summary. Visit http://www.epltalk.com to read the entire article

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.

Former Liverpool defender Dominic Matteo has revealed his concern about Andy Carroll's continued inability to stamp his physical authority on games, and he argues that the former Newcastle Striker needs to stop worrying so much and just play his natural game.
Matteo, who made 155 appearances for Liverpool, observed:
"He [Carroll] is too worried about scoring goals.

After 16 hours without a goal or assist, Liverpool winger Stewart Downing was dropped for the Chelsea game last Sunday, which was his first taste of bench duty this season. Liverpool went on to win at Stamford Bridge, with Craig Bellamy - ostensibly Downing's replacement - having a excellent game, which doesn't bode well for Downing's first team chances over the next few games.

Why Abramovich must keep faith with AVB

Andre Villas-Boas can't win. I'm not talking about three shattering defeats to Arsenal, Liverpool and now Bayer Leverkusen but the Catch-22 situation he finds himself in at Chelsea. Roman Abramovich brought him on a mission in to transition out some of the old guard and to play exciting football.

Welcome to our weekly Monday Blind Items, where our hardworking sources put forward a (mysterious) football puzzle for you to guess! Here's one that has still remained unsolved, with more hints. Can you guess who we're talking about?

This rather charming football personality (he's no longer playing, by the way) enjoys the Moet & Chandon bottle of premium champagne in his hotel room more than going out to social events, where he's likely to be mobbed.

Fernando Torres insists Liverpool fans are unaware of the real reasons behind his transfer to Chelsea.
Torres moved from Anfield to Stamford Bridge last January in a move which angered Reds supporters, who vented their disapproval on the Spaniard when the clubs met just days later. But Torres claims there are reasons behind his transfer that have yet to be made public, and also hailed the influence of former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez on his career.

Arsenal skipper Robin van Persie has attributed his emergence as a world class talent to manager Arsene Wenger.

Van Persie recalls a conversation Wenger had with him when the Dutchman first arrived at the club seven-and-a-half years ago and claims that he still looks back to that day to realize just far he has come.

Slovenia is another round of teams better than the United States that Jurgen Klinsmann will test his system and talent evaluation against on a Tuesday morning at 9 AM Pacific on ESPN2. Similar to the USA the Slovenes faded since the World Cup. They weren't as high in the rankings, nor have they fallen as far.

Last weekend's eight goal contest between Chelsea and Arsenal showed London football at its most entertaining. But can London cash in on its position as a world city to also establish itself as the football capital of England?

Conventional wisdom sees this year's title race as a contest between the two Manchester clubs with Chelsea in the frame.

Emmanuel Petit has fond memories of his time at Arsenal, but the former Frenchman is worried about the future and he has been speaking to the French newspaper L'Equipe about the current situation at his former club. He started off by saying, "The defeat in the final of the League Cup has been devastating.

The Liverpool vice-captain, Jamie Carragher, has admitted his playing career could be over in one or two year's time.
The 33-year-old has made 676 appearances for the Reds and is highly regarded at Anfield following 14 years of loyal service.
However, Carragher could soon find himself no longer a first-team regular in defence and claims his future is in the hands of his manager.

The Montreal Impact may be months away from taking the field as a MLS club but manager Jesse Marsch and company are already beginning to make the transition a big one for the club. Today they have announced the signing of Colombian defender and former Inter Milan man, Nelson Rivas.

Rivas will be eligible for MLS games in 2012 pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and work visa.

As the Montral Impact transition from not very good NASL side to expansion MLS team they have invited 25 players to trial and attempt to be on their inaugural roster. Miguel Montano, who the Seattle Sounders had loaned to the Impact, will be staying with them for their trial camp. There are a few other players familar to those that follow the Sounders.

Why Big Eck needs big performances from his strikers to turn Villa around

Alex McLeish is having a tough time at Aston Villa. But it's hard to believe the Villa fans are staying away because it's McLeish, his Birmingham connections or the way they play. It's surely more about the state of the nation.

Dirk Kuyt has been impressed by how quickly Luiz Suarez has adapted to the Barclays Premier League, and expects the Liverpool striker to become even better.
Suarez has scored eight times in 21 appearances since his move to Liverpool from Ajax in January, and Kuyt knows how difficult it can be to make the transition from Dutch to English football.

The ‘next big thing' is no more than a marketing term at Chelsea for a product that, more often than not, fails to live up to its early promise. You may argue that Chelsea would be nothing without John Terry breaking through their youth ranks, but essentially he is the only player to do so [...] Related posts:

1. Didier Drogba, Romelu Lukaku or Fernando Torres Who Will Lead The Chelsea Attack?

Written by FatGingerGooner

So the dust has settled on a couple of dreadful Arsenal away results, and equally dreadful defensive displays. Obviously, I'm talking about the 8-2 and 4-3 defeats. There have been a lot of people coming out of the woodwork in recent days, using these results as ammunition to have a pop at the manager and also to give their opinion on the direction this club needs to go.

If you're reading this, congratulations—it means you can access the blog while many people, including Ed, are instead being redirected to the Offside front page. This is an unintended side effect of the our ongoing move to SBN's software and network as we take baby steps towards becoming the first blog to have their platform dropped on top of the current site instead of the more usual method of migrating to a new home.

That goal by Götze and the following shot of Löw with the crowd in the background sums it all up. But here are some quick post match thoughts nonetheless.

Christian Gratzel had a bad game. Before showering the German team with praise, it should be said that two and a half of Germany's six goals were gifts from the Austrian goalkeeper.

In a recent interview, Liverpool owner John Henry claimed that it could take years for Liverpool to be in a position to challenge rivals like Man United and Chelsea for the title. Clearly, Henry is doing a great job of managing expectations, but is he right about the club's current status?
In his excellent interview, Mr.

Interesting look at Manchester United's approach over the years. Key is the whole 'make stars don't grow them' angle, as well as point about keeping older players around to be good influences.

The more I think about it the more I think Martin Jol's in a difficult position. He realises this and is attempting to transition away from the team that we had.

Hartgill's SeafoodThe HardPortsmouth PO1 3PU Portsmouth seems to have been a city in transition for a few years now. Its stern, concete centre has always been offset by the natural setting of the port and peninsula tip location but, a few years back, developers got tired of the pervading scruffiness and hoisted aloft a huge viewing platform in the shape of a sail - this Spinnaker now bestrides

Hartgill's SeafoodThe HardPortsmouth PO1 3PU Portsmouth seems to have been a city in transition for a few years now. Its stern, concete centre has always been offset by the natural setting of the port and peninsula tip location but, a few years back, developers got tired of the pervading scruffiness and hoisted aloft a huge viewing platform in the shape of a sail - this Spinnaker now bestrides