Fernando Torres has been the focus of press and media attention ever since he signed for Chelsea. He scored 81 goals in just 142 games for Liverpool and everyone expected more of the same here but it hasn't happened. Everyone is asking questions, people are beginning to turn and doubt Torres but I am posting this because I for one believe in Torres.

I had the chance to visit with a high school basketball team yesterday, and in their pre-practice meeting, they were referring to an article that I had also once written about a couple of years back. The article had to do with toughness, which ESPN's Jay Bilas has a pretty good reference point about.

Half a bowl of homemade granola, chased down with pink grapefruit juice.

"Lupper of Champions. Hacking again?" asked the Sigibot.

"You could call it that," I said. "It's a big old waste of time."

"I keep telling you that. Find any Katy Perry songs?"

Martin Jol was trying to take the positives from his side's Europa League group stage exit, but the reality is, there are very little.
True, it now means his side are free to concentrate on improving their league position, currently a below par 14th.
But given their participation in the competition began in June and incorporated 14 matches it does seem like a huge waste of time given they are now out of it before Christmas.

Charlie thought eating Luka would prevent him leaving Spurs
Maybe it's the many, many years of crushing disappointment but, a decade or so ago and beyond, the international break seemed far more exciting. England were preparing for tournaments we thought we could actually win by finishing second in competitions like 1995's ‘Umbro Cup' – who could forget Tottenham hero Darren Anderton's stoppage-time-woodwork-pinball-volley against Sweden – or triumphing in ‘Le Tournoi', a trophy made famous largely by Roberto Carlos's other-worldly free-kick against France.

Goal.com poll results: Over 80 per cent of readers believe the League Cup is not a waste of time

A huge majority have argued in favour of the domestic cup competition following article questioning the legitimacy of the tournament in the English football calendar

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-10-27 15:33:00 from: Goal

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

Goldmine or waste of time? The arguments for and against the League Cup

England's third trophy may lack the allure of the Premier League or FA Cup but it still has its merit for punters and clubs who want a shot at silverware

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2011-10-26 09:35:00 from: Goal

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

It is never helpful if, while writing about a situation, one of its main protagonists pipes up just before the proof-reading stage to issue a statement claiming the equivalent of "the earth is flat, the moon is made of cheese, and I'm taking my ball home if anyone argues." So it was that Mark Murphy's latest summary of the latest events at Plymouth Argyle was a bit rushed and disjointed.

After tonight's performance compared to the game against Spurs, the evidence is irrefutable, Andy Carroll is not needed at Liverpool.
Yes he is a good lad and all that but we do not need him in our team, we play abysmal football when he is on the pitch and he was just a panic-buy from Newcastle when Torres left.

So Gary Neville has caused a stir in his new book by stating that playing for England was a waste of time. What is wrong with that? The former England and United defender is quite right: England have been dire since1970. The golden age of English football lasted just four years from 1966 to 1970, but apart from that all too brief period, the England team have consistently failed at the big

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has spoken out about England's failures in major tournaments over the last few years.

Neville himself was involved in many disappointments for the national team and he has revealed that even Sir Alex Ferguson couldn't have helped England win major silverware.

Tuesday evening saw the start of another Carling cup campaign for many Premier League sides, but yet again the relevance of the competition is being called into question.

For the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United this competition has helped clubs to develop their talented youth players over the past decade, but for teams who are battling against relegation come the end of the season it could just prove a hindrance in their fight for survival!

On this week's roundup, Jack Wilshere is out of England's qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales; Gary Neville says England won't win anything for at least 10 years, and that playing for his country was often a ‘waste of time'; the FA try to rearrange the abandoned fixture against Holland. On the only broadcast in the world dedicated to the England football team.

Now then. You don't need us to tell you that the FIFA World Rankings are a load of old toilet. Indeed, we were saying the same thing six years ago (this excellent piece by Swisslet explains how the ranking system works - it is the same today except only four years of results are taken into account, not eight).

G-Nev: England career was a 'massive waste of time'

"I don't see us competing seriously for a major tournament for at least 10 years," says former Three Lions defender

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-08-21 11:50:18 from: The Mirror

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

Gary Neville: England players are terrified and live in fear of failure

There have been times when I reflected on my international career and just thought: Well, that was a massive waste of time.' Gary Neville talks about his time with England.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-08-20 23:09:53 from: The Mail

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

Each of these competitions has its own vested interest and with a limited talent pool, the same girls or boys are training and playing in the same elite competitions across all of these areas, with no co-ordination whatsoever.

Full article here
Raise an issue on a blog and you'll be criticised for simply having a thought - but someone needs to be raising these issues and in Craig Foster we have someone prepared to discuss, argue, and when necessary advocate for change.

Singapore fans may have queued overnight to buy tickets for the World Cup Qualifier against Malaysia this Saturday but they have been lees keen to commit to the second leg.
4,000 tickets were bought within hours of going on sale, though applicants could buy a maximum of four per person which could see a flooded black market and banks of empty seats if scalpers had moved in hoping for a quick killing.

MLS released the fan balloting component of the 2011 All-Star Game voting. Fans have until 11:59pm ET on July 5th, 2011 to vote for their favorite players in hopes they will represent the league against Manchester United on July 27th at Red Bull Arena.

Yay...that's a sarcastic yay since sarcasm tends not to show up well in written form.

Generally when I write a scouting report I go back and watch the last game or two from the team we're up against to get a look at their tendencies. I'll take a look at the projected roster to get an idea of some potential matchups. I might pull up the last match the Sounders played against them.

MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has questioned the use of Twitter as the club considers limiting what players can post on the social networking website. Striker Wayne Rooney this week threatened to put a Twitter user "to sleep in 10 seconds" after being sent abusive messages.

Anyone can forgive Sir Alex's curmudgeon's stance on the modern age and what it has brought to the sporting forefront.

After all, in one week he's to be playing in the club game's biggest game and his star striker is busy having an identity crisis whilst threatening to beat himself up.

To start off I have to say the comments made by Paul Merson are for some reason designed to cause trouble. Take one glance in the papers today and all you will see in big letters is: "MERSON: WENGER INJECTED ME WITH UNKNOWN LIQUID". It is pure attention seeking, an attempt to raise his profile and make a mountain out of an innocent molehill.

Frustrations abound with Capital Football, Canberra football, to achieve competitive football post-15 for our boys.
A boy coming out of 4 or 5 training sessions a week can go and train twice a week at the best Canberra Premier League clubs. Waste of time isn't it if you really want to push on as a player.

There were signs of strength and improvement today at BMO Field. Toronto FC had a sturdy first half. Perhaps sturdy is too strong a description, let's say that sturdy is what they are building towards. Dan Gargan got the job done, but he had his moments. It was sturdy compared to the floundering we had witnessed the Saturday before.

Saturday 23rd April 2011 - Football league 2 (but only just)
This was physically painful to watch. All I could think as the minutes ticked away was " I don't have to do this again". This was the end of the season for me. It could very well be the end of my regular attendance at Whaddon Road and this pointless blog.

Ahead of International friendlies, Sir Alex Ferguson has taken the opportunity to call them pointless again.

"I am all in favour of the competitions. The players should play in the major competitions; the European Championship, the World Cup," Ferguson said. "But friendlies are a waste of time as far as I am concerned.

Ducky's Note: It's that time in the season again. I propose that the next FIFA president should be the person who bans international breaks. At least some teams have to play qualifiers for pseudo-major tournaments like the Euros, so it's ok. However, a Scotland-Brazil 'friendly' at the Emirates just seems like a complete waste of time of people across three countries.

Let the sideshow begin.

NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco begins his tryout with Sporting Kansas City Wednesday morning (11 a.m.), when he'll try to impress coach Peter Vermes and secure a contract with Major League Soccer.

Sporting Kansas City is streaming the tryout live on its Web site, although it is closed to the public in Kansas City.

- Jason Davis
It's lunchtime in America (or was when I started this), and soccer fans everywhere are lining up to support Grant Wahl's newly announced candidacy for FIFA president. It's time for a new voice. An outsider. A guy whose name doesn't rhyme with "splatter" or "pin yuh mom.

Toto Di Natale did something today that is quite rare and difficult to do: he scored 100 goals in Serie A. Some may argue that he deserves an Italy recall. I'd argue that this would be a massive waste of time. [read more]

Here is your chance to ask Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp the question you have always wanted him to answer.

Yahoo are conducting a web interview with Harry and have asked for questions from White Hart Pain readers. Simply submit your questions in the comments section and the best ones will be fired at the Spurs boss on Valentine's Day.

Pfft. The transfer window. Waste of time, if you ask this blog.
31 days to sign a new striker. 31 days to add smoe forward firepower to a side in desperate need of it. A side whose strikers had combined to score a grand total of just five goals in the Premier League this season, injury-permitting.

I know I was uber quiet yesterday. I honestly had nothing worth writing about and the day was hectic for me anyways. Today may not be all that much different but I'll try my hardest to add more than just a cool video clip like the one below.

I'm sure by now you've seen this practice kick from D.

I'm not exactly sure if I'm breaking this story (although I haven't seen it reported on any other site as of now), but Matt Kassel has signed with New York. According to a Facebook status update, Kassel states, "It was fun Maryland but New York Red Bulls it is!!! ..thanks for all the support everyone.

Have you ever been to Blackburn? I have. It's like many old Lancashire mill towns, a little bit grim, a little bit run-down and definitely not like either Milan or the Brazilian resort of Florianopolis and it's certainly not a regular haunt for wealthy Brazilians.

And yet the football club has been insisting this week that they have been ‘in talks' with Ronaldinho as though a deal to bring him to Ewood Park is ever going to happen.

UPDATE: According to Sky Sports News, the deal for midfielder David Beckham appears unlikely but Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is still hopeful. Redknapp said,

"I don't honestly know. That's being done above my head.

The Borussia Dortmund manager, Jürgen Klopp, has played down speculation linking him with the Liverpool job. "There has been no approach and there's no point talking about it," the 43-year-old said.
Dortmund, runaway leaders in the Bundesliga with 14 wins from 17 games, started a six-day training camp in Jerez, Andalucia this afternoon amid reports that their coach has been sounded out as a possible candidate to succeed Roy Hodgson at Anfield.