Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas admitted that as his side prepares to kick-off at Goodison Park this afternoon, damage control is the only ambition for the Blues in a Premier League campaign where they have not been 'very honorable'.

With Tottenham seven points ahead in third and Newcastle, Arsenal, and Liverpool all within striking distance of Chelsea's current fourth position in the table, Villas-Boas acknowledges that it has been a shaky ride for a side that was assembled to chase glory.

It's only mid-February but we're already perilously close to what The Flight of the Concords would call 'Business Time'. By that, I don't mean Arsenal football club are going to wine and dine our opponents, and then take them back to the Emirates for some 'business' - I apologise if this is getting a little weird - I mean that we're coming up to the real make-or-break period of the season.

From Joe Roth to Adrian Hanauer to Sigi Schmid to players like Mike Fucito Seattle Sounders FC has been quite clear about their goals for this year. Another US Open Cup title will not be enough. It is a consistent organizational chorus that started at the End of Year Business Meeting and is hinted at in most conversations about the upcoming season.

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation had their office furniture, trophies, and other items seized on Wednesday after failing to make a scheduled payment to the members of the 2006 World Cup team. Those players won a court case requiring the TTFF to honor an agreement where the players were promised half of T&T's '06 World Cup revenue.

The long, long, long dispute between a group of players from Trinidad & Tobago's 2006 World Cup squad and their national football federation reached a new but not yet final phase today when many of the physical assets of the federation were seized by order of the Trinidadian High Court. (The original article is located here.

After the FA decided to strip John Terry of the England captaincy for the second time in two years over a charge for which he has not yet been tried, Fabio Capello has decided that he's had enough of being disrespected and undermined and resigned from his position. With Euro 2012 mere months away, FA chairman David Bernstein must find a suitable replacement to lead England out of the current cycles of scandals and disappointment.

Juventus will be facing Milan tomorrow in the Coppa Italia and unfortunately for both teams, they will not be getting a taste of the Ibrahimedic. He slapped (or rather 'nudged') Napoli's Salvatore Aronica in the face on Sunday something you shouldn't be surprised about, given Ibra's track record and is expected to serve a three-match ban.

Juventus will be facing Milan tomorrow in the Coppa Italia and unfortunately for both teams, they will not be getting a taste of the Ibrahimedic. He slapped (or rather 'nudged') Napoli's Salvatore Aronica in the face on Sunday something you shouldn't be surprised about, given Ibra's track record and is expected to serve a three-match ban.

This post originally appeared on our Arsenal blog, but I thought it was worth covering here. There are some mind blowing quotes from Arsene Wenger in Tuesday's Daily Mirror.

Arsene Wenger is quoted as talking about how much he likes Lille's £30m-rated Eden Hazard, but he basically says that Hazard is too expensive for Arsenal.

Icy Saturdays are meant to be enjoyed in nice warm houses with pints of lovely beer abd the telly on. Waterloo's home game was cancelled so that left us free to do just that. There are few more beautiful trophies in world sport than the Calcutta Cup, it was great to see a young, inexperienced side lift it although really Scotland were the better side.

With Arsenal currently sitting 7th in the Premier League Table, it's now truly inevitable that Robin van Persie will choose a new club come summertime, barring some miracle. Because it seems so predestined, the notion doesn't trigger anxiety levels of Fabregas proportions in summers past, where you just really didn't know what was going to happen.

I was not happy after Villa Why? Cos minus 2 penalties and a fluke goal, we played average at best. We rarely created any real goalscoring opportunities from open play. I am never over enthused with Arsenal when we don't actually play Wengerball.

When we get those slick passing triangles going, opening up a host of chances.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has dismissed suggestions that the club will part ways with either Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres in the near future, insisting that both will have roles to play at Stamford Bridge.

Torres has struggled for goals since his £50 million move from Liverpool a year ago and his goal return has not been improving while Drogba has been on international duty with Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations.

It seems like anybody who's ever worn an Arsenal shirt is coming out of the woodwork these days to give their opinion on what ails the club. Former Gunners Paul Merson and Stewart Robson are the latest to chime in on the current state of affairs at Emirates Stadium and the performance of the team and manager Arsene Wenger.

It seems like anybody who's ever worn an Arsenal shirt is coming out of the woodwork these days to give their opinion on what ails the club. Former Gunners Paul Merson and Stewart Robson are the latest to chime in on the current state of affairs at Emirates Stadium and the performance of the team and manager Arsene Wenger.

The Arsenal winger Theo Walcott says that the comeback win was needed to cheer up the fans, and he is desperate to win his first trophy with the Gunners this season. He was actually asked if he would prefer that Arsenal ended up in the Top Four or to win the FA Cup. He replied: [...]

So Arsene Wenger will make a signing in the January transfer window after all although it is hardly likely to get moaning fans off his back anytime soon.

For we hear that Borussia Dortmund academy midfielder Thomas Eisfeld is set to join Arsenal pending a successful medical examination.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has hinted that Japanese starlet Ryo Miyaichi could be set for a domestic loan spell as the youngster seeks more playing time to further his development.

The emergence of 18-year old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has provided Wenger with more-than-enough options on the wings, which means that the 19-year old Miyaichi will need to look elsewhere to increase his football activity.

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas made headlines yesterday when he came across as extremely non-committal in discussing prospective signings such as Genk's Kevin De Bruyne and Shakhtar's Willian.

The Portuguese manager has followed up by explaining that his stance stems from the unappealing nature of the January transfer window.

Jose haz a sad. Image via Jasper Juinen/Getty Images Europe; Denis Doyle/Getty Images Europe.

Like a lot of you, we've noticed that The Special One's dress sense has gone from GQMF to WTF. Case and point: to sweat out Wednesday night's El Clasico, Jose wore track pants, a hoodie, and a puffer vest.

Yesterday's Fire news was firmly in the "not good" category. In case you haven't heard, Josip Mikulic is not with the team as he attends to personal issues. He may never return to the club. Combine this with Yamith Cuesta suddenly being gone (loan ended; Fire opted not to buy) the back line is suddenly very, very thin.

Before I go on, let me state for the record that I swore just as much you when Wenger took off The OX last weekend, he messed it up, no doubting that but please don't tell me he done it by purpose or that he just cannot cut it anymore. He made a judgement call and got it hopelessly wrong, that's life.

Pepe Reina feels Liverpool are three years away from challenging for the title, with the keeper claiming they are paying the price for a lack of invention.
The Reds have spent huge sums in the past 12 months in a bid to make up ground on the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.

Ahead of Manchester City's League Cup semi-final against Liverpool, Sergio Aguero has revealed that Michael Owen was his hero when he was younger.

"One of the players who was my idol when I was a boy was Michael Owen," he said. "He was quite small and had an eye for goal, just like me.

I'd hate to be Anrei Arshavin right now. Not even his own players have confidence in him. But then again, with consistent lackluster performances, you really can't blame both the players and the fans for wanting him out of the club.

Arsenal's latest defeat revealed a side of the players that not most people knew about.

Robin Van Persie is acting like a true Arsenal captain by issuing a rallying call to players and fans alike by trying to instil confidence that there are still trophies possible for the Gunners this season. Many Arsenal fans think that they are more likely to win at cash bingo games online than to win [.

After signing on to remain an LA Galaxy player, David Beckham is aiming for more silverware with the reigning MLS Cup Champions.

It was announced Wednesday that Beckham agreed to a two-year contract with the Galaxy after playing a pivotal role during last season's championship run, the club's first triumph since 2005.

Resisting the lure of Paris, David Beckham pledged his future to MLS on Wednesday by signing a new two-year contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
"This was an important decision for me," Beckham said.
"I had many offers from clubs from around the world, however, I'm still passionate about playing in America and winning trophies with the Galaxy.

Uncertainty over England international David Beckham's playing career is over after the 36 year old signed a new 2 year contract with Los Angeles based LA Galaxy that will see him end his career in the MLS.

There was a lot of speculation surrounding Beckham's future after his initial contract expired at the end of last season.

As exciting a name for the future as Joao Teixeira might be, most would agree he isn't going to make a difference when it comes to where Liverpool finishes this season. On the other hand, when it comes to just what the biggest shortcoming of this Liverpool squad is—the biggest thing holding them back—very few seem to agree on anything.

Jose Mourinho, the coach of Real Madrid, performed an interesting psychological ploy after El Clasico. The manager said that the responsibility for the result rests solely with him, stating that "victory has many father but defeat has only one, me". It was an obvious case of reverse psychology, acknowledging the defeat was his but still attempting to get the Real Madrid fans on side before they turn against him.

David Beckham is staying put in LA. (Getty Images)

He's staying put.

The Los Angeles Galaxy announced today that they have reached an agreement with David Beckham on a new two-year deal.

Beckham turned down offers from French club Paris-Saint Germain, now backed by wealthy Qatari owners who dangled a reported 18-month, $17.

Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com

At long last, the David Beckham sweepstakes is officially over, and the Los Angeles Galaxy are the winners.

The league's original Designated Player signed a two-year deal with the Galaxy on Wednesday, putting an end to a long-winded bout of speculation regarding his future.

Thailand are currently hosting the King's Cup, I'm not covering it, featuring teams from Scandinavia and North Korea and not doing particularly well it must be said. Anyway striker Sompong Soleb decided to go out for a few beers, breaking curfew, drove home, smashed up his motor and in fine Thai tradition, fled the scene.

Time to put on your thinking caps, or tinfoil hat if you prefer, and dive into an examination of the Dynamo's current roster and salary cap situation. A few notes before we get started:

1. This is based on the last MLSPA Salary information release from 9/1/11
2. There is some speculation on my part concerning salary levels for new players.

In May of 2011, a sort of palace coup was engineered at the Emirates with the two remaining substantial shareholdings of Danny Fiszman and Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith going to Stan Kroenke and in effect Kroenke was anointed the new "emperor" of Arsenal Football Club. Except the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov refused to play ball and increased his holding in the club too!

Sacrificial lamb?

The fallout from the defeat to Swansea has been dire and depressing. The "Wenger OUT!!" brigade has come out in full force after going into hiding for a good few months now. Granted, they had no reason to voice their concern during that period. What with the wins that we kept racking up and the continual move up the table.

Cause for concern? We got it. Right here in River City. And it's a much bigger problem than a pool table, I fear.

A couple of disclaimers before we get started, because discourse has gotten so terrible that you have to explain yourself because people love to project their own issues with the team onto them.

Cause for concern? We got it. Right here in River City. And it's a much bigger problem than a pool table, I fear.

A couple of disclaimers before we get started, because discourse has gotten so terrible that you have to explain yourself because people love to project their own issues with the team onto them.

Arsene Wenger has welcomed Thierry Henry back to Arsenal on a short term loan, and whilst talking about the Gunners record goalscorer he has admitted that the Frenchman moved to Barcelona as he wanted to win some more trophies before he retired. In a scenario strikingly similar to today's problem with Robin Van Persie, Henry [.