In an unexpected move, the Galaxy announced today that Brazilian midfielder Juninho, who became a fan favorite for his ferocious shot and high workrate, will return to the club after all for a second loan spell. In addition, the club announced that Brazilian central defender Leonardo will also return to

Being slightly fearful of numbers, I'm not sure how the old recipe for success of 'win at home and draw away' stands up in modern times, now we have this new-fangled three points for a win, but right now it will do for me. As against Man City, against the Pool we stood up to the considerable pressure exerted by our rivals near the top of the league, emerging with great credit and in this case a point too.

As hinted at in last night's post it felt like a good night to be a blue from the word go.
City always seem to fall foul of Everton's superior workrate and commitment. Players like Aguero, Villa and Nasri have added real class to go along with the brawn but where is the steel that side will need to win a title?

Morning all,

and let's start with some good news, for a change. Word is Thomas Vermaelen could be in line to play against United later on. He trained with the first team yesterday and assuming all went well it means he'll start the game at left back. It'll certainly add some solidity to a back four which could really do with it at the moment, but we ought not to forget that our defensive issues aren't simply the domain of that group of players.

Good morning to you and welcome to Thursday. The week is flying by. Must be all the high jinks and fun. Can't think what else it would be.

Let's start this morning with Jack Wilshere. Apparently he's 'stunned' doctors by being ready to make his comeback ... erm ... pretty much on schedule. When he limped out of the Emirates Cup in late July there was no indication he'd be out this long but since the need for surgery we've been told he'd be back in full training by the end of January, ready for a mid-February comeback.

The MLS SuperDraft is Thursday, January 12 at 12pm ET (ESPN2, ESPN3). The Philadelphia Union have the 13th, 32nd and 35th picks this year, and nobody knows what the team will do. PSP runs down some of the options.

Tony Cascio

What: Winger

Why: Some experts believe the Union will look to solidify their wing play by adding a player like UConn's Tony Cascio.

Anxiety? Not needed.

A pulsating showcase, carefully imagined by Andre Villas-Boas and anchored by the irresistible Didier Drogba, sees our beloved Chelsea into the knockout stages of the Champions League once again. As group winners, too, no less. This, my friends, was a night to cherish.

Happiness is a warm brace

What to say, what to say.

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QPR Report Correspondent, Maudesfishnchips Q&A Offering a WBA Fan Perspective.

With Lucas out for the rest of the season and Steven Gerrard out until January at the very earliest, Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish face an extended run with their two best midfielders sidelined. The club reacted by recalling Jonjo Shelvey on Wednesday, though few expect he's returning to regular starting minutes at Liverpool despite his success on loan with Blackpool, and even fewer would see him as a direct replacement for Lucas in any case.

It isn't quite the beloved Buenos Aires Carlos Tevez is so desperate to return to, but the warmer climes and glamorous image of Milan seems a decent back-up option for the Argentine.
His relationship with high-flying Manchester City has been dead for a while, perhaps even before his contretemps in Munich last September.

Liverpool legend Gary Gillespie has hailed the talent of Liverpool reserve-team striker Adam Morgan, comparing him to goal-poacher extraordinaire John Aldridge.
Gillespie played alongside Aldridge in the 1980s, so he's well qualified to make such a lofty comparison:
"I've likened him [Morgan] to John Aldridge more than anyone else I've seen.

An exciting new service from TOMM to you, dear reader! Choose a match report from the two options available! No need to argue or comment, just read the one you agree with and carry on with your day happy in the knowledge that you were right all along!!!

Option 1 Gritty Spurs Rearguard Action Sees Us Through

In the old days, stretching back as far as, oh, 6 or even 7 months ago, Spurs would have let this one slip.

From the title, most people will think I'm going to big up our own Chu Young Park based on his impressive performance in the Carling Cup against Bolton on Tuesday, but actually, I want to take this opportunity to mention an unsung hero from the same game, Yossi Benayoun.

Man United have utilised Ji Sung Park as an attack based defender for the last few years now to great effect.

Don't mention the score

It's back into the Milk Cup saddle this evening as Bolton roll into town. Despite having despatched Shrewsbury Town already, the merest mention of a Carling Cup tie takes me back to memories of filing out of Wembley in February. It's hard to forget, even now.

One of the most prevalent myths to arise from the Rafa Benitez era is the improbable notion that former Liverpool Chief Executive Rick Parry signed Robbie Keane. I have argued repeatedly that this was not the case but many fans refuse to accept the truth. Well, finally, we have irrefutable proof that it was, as a matter of fact, Benitez who wanted Keane and signed Keane.

The month of September saw promising signs from the Blues and some excellent individual performances from certain players. Here's your chance to have a say in our poll and listen to me babble about my choice for September's star player.

First, there is the case for Fernando Torres.

On Sunday, the Union played Chivas USA to a drab draw in front of a sparsely populated Home Depot Center in Carson, California. After a slow-paced first half that yielded few chances, Justin Mapp opened the scoring in the second half before the sensational Juan Pablo Angel drew the home side level at the death.

Good morning from Dublin where, after a few days of nice warm weather, the Gods have punished us with monsoon season. I could have sworn some bloke in a big boat was rounding up two of every animal last night.

Anyway, while we put away the sun-loungers and the tanning oils for another year, we can start to look ahead to the North London derby tomorrow.

It has to be fair game to wonder what happened to the faith Kenny Dalglish showed John Flanagan towards the end of last season; to wonder where it went on the back of a poor performance that owed a great deal to the young fullback being left exposed by the man playing in front of him.

It has to be fair game to wonder about the insistence on playing that man, Jordan Henderson, ahead of the more experienced Dirk Kuyt no matter the circumstances—even when coming up against one of the league's top six club's on the road.

What: Union vs. Crew

Where: PPL Park

When: 7:30pm ET

TV: The Comcast Network

Radio: None

Eight league games without a win. While positivity continues to pour out of the Union locker room, the team—and the fans—need a win soon or hope will turn into anxious fatalism.

Europa League Group A Thursday 16th September 2011

Spurs Team: Cudicini; Walker; Corluka; Bassong; Townsend; Falque (Fredericks 81); Carroll; Livermore; Dos Santos (Parrett 92); Kane; Pavluchenko

'The kids are alright' So sung The Who .

Goals:
Henderson 15'
Skrtel 52'
Adam 53'
Klasnic 90+2'
And it should have been more. Potential in action. The frightening thing is that there's still plenty of room for improvement.
Liverpool's formation looked more like the 4-2-2-2 that faced Sunderland at Anfield rather than the 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 at Arsenal.

A week after failing to impress against Valencia, Jordan Henderson again had a poor showing, this time against his former club Sunderland in the first match of the new season. As much as wildly overreacting and proclaiming the campaign an utter failure on the basis of one opening day draw is an unhealthy, reactionary approach, it's also impossible to ignore the fact that not everything went according to plan.

Union

Kerith Gabriel reports that Carlos Ruiz is headed to Mexican second division side Veracruz, after all. The reason appears to be the simplest one of all: money. A source tells Gabriel that Ruiz stands to make "upwards of $400,000-plus" in the move to Mexico. What remains unknown—and as far as I'm concerned, this is the only thing that truly matters with this news—is what the Union will gain in return.

After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the United States National Team players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This week Brian O'Connell and Sean Donahue contributed ratings for the USA's 2-0 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group C victory over Canada.

Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt believes his burgeoning partnership with Luis Suarez has contributed to their recent good run.
The Holland international has played alongside the £22.8million January signing in the last eight Barclays Premier League matches.
Not all of those occasions have been as a front two as Suarez's fellow transfer deadline day arrival Andy Carroll has also featured, but injury to the England international meant they have been paired together for the last two victories over Birmingham and Newcastle.

The Philadelphia Union traded midfielder Andrew Jacobson to FC Dallas in exchange for a 2nd round draft pick in 2013.

Jacobson started 13 games for the U in 2010, logging 18 shots, 8 on goal. He became extra parts when The Union acquired Brian Carroll as their 18th center midfielder (kidding!

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was full of praise for striker Fernando Torres following the Spaniard's brace against Wolverhampton Wanderers yesterday. Torres scored Liverpool's first goal before netting a second in second half stoppage time, and his overall performance lifted Liverpool to a crucial win.

By Ollie Irish

Back yesterday from a long weekend in Barcelona. Didn't get to see them dismantle Malaga (though I did watch it on the tellybox, and could only marvel at a) Barca's imperious ball control, not to mention their workrate, which is often underrated, and b) the Sky Sports commentators' relentless stream of Barca sycophancy – in the light of a), this is understandable I suppose.