Anyone else spot the pitchside hoardings imploring you to "Search Facebook for 'Football Mash Up'" during England vs Brazil? Well, this is what it was all about. The FA and Vauxhall have launched a new viral campaign aimed at stopping 14-17 year-olds dropping out of football. The idea is that you can fit football around [.
Last minute goals, red cards, and near-misses: these all make for fun games if they result in a
win for your team. Alas, for the Union, this was not meant to be. There was a swarm of black and
yellow that flew in from Columbus and left PPL desolate. Even when the swarm was made smaller by
one player, it didn't seem to matter.
Reviewing this week's Champions League away trip to Galatasaray is a bit tricky for two reasons. Number one: the result is irrelevant to progression (already done). Number two: Utd kept most of the senior players at home, leaving a very young squad to deal with the affair. But let's begin anyway with the first point.
Fernando Torres has given another interview while away with Spain and this time with Spanish daily
newspaper La Razon. In the most revealing interview I think we have heard from Torres, he
opens up about the success Chelsea had last season but, from HIS point of view.
Arsene Wenger is very happy with the German players he has already got in the Arsenal team, and the two youngsters knocking on the door of the first team. The Frenchman may soon have some more teutonic talent as Arsenal are keen to get their scouts to find more up and coming players in Germany.
Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski have been two of Arsenal's best and most consistent performers this season, while Serge Gnabry and Thomas Eisfeld have been very impressive for the under-21s and look like being the next youngsters to break through into the first team.
Newcastle have today been linked along with Arsenal and Manchester City with 16 year old Dutch youngster Riechedly Bazoer, who is considering whether to sign a three year professional contract at PSV Eindhoven, but he may choose to sign for one of the three English clubs who are interested. The report is in [.
In the past the club have used the youngsters in a blooding experiment, but with the current composition of the squad and the Next Gen Competition, Arsenal have got to be firm favourites to life the Carling Cup this season.
Why?
Well our decent youngsters have all come through to claim 1st team/just behind 1st team spots:
Chezney, Gibbs, Frimpong, Coquelin, Wilshere, OX
The second rate youngsters and the 1st teamers who could not cut it have been shipped out:
Lansbury, Bendter etc
Now with the really good up and coming youngsters competing regularly in the Next Gen series, coupled with an immensely deep 1st team squad with maybe 7 or 8 top midfielders competing for just 3 midfield starting spots, our Carling cup side this year could be a midfield of Jack, Coq, and Rambo.
Arsenal to take on Olympiacos in the NextGen series tonight by AM Arsenal's youngsters have travelled to Greece to take on Olympiacos in their next group game of the NextGen series. This the second group match this season for the Gunners after they Marseille in the opening round. The Gunners cruised to a 3-0 victory [.
The Champions League draw will be happening tomorrow and we'll find out who's in our group. We
will definitely be one of the top 8 seeds and that should ensure a much easier task than say,
Manchester City. On one hand, it would be better if we get weaker teams which should make our
qualification to the next stage more comfortable.
Arsenal used to be criticised by the English media for having too many foreign players and not
giving enough chances to the few English players who were in the squad, especially the youngsters.
Arsene Wenger has spoken about his plans for the future and revealed that, ideally, he would like
to have a squad made [.
There comes a time in every footballer's life when they need to play regularly if they hope to
develop or retain their skills. But in reality this isn't always possible to do, especially for
youngsters because there are so many more players than positions available. This is why we see
players loaned out to other teams on a regular basis.
Hello there. Start of another week. A start that has been made better/worse for you depending on
where you stand after our first game of the season. I have no authority for speak for you but
personally, I'm can't be in better mood. Arsenal is back, win or lose is part of the game, what is
there not to enjoy?
Continuing our look at the team for the upcoming season, it's the turn of the full backs.
First choice on the right should be none other than Bacary Sagna. The French defender took to
English football like a duck to water, ever since he joined us and has gone from strength to
strength.
The earlier pre-season friendlies didn't quite excite me as much. Maybe it was the fact that
many first choice players were missing that necessitated the inclusion of many youngsters who
clearly weren't going to play a major part in Arsenal's season. These issues also made is pointless
to look at the tactics of the team or indulge in any sort of detailed discussion of the events of
the games.
When the club finally confirmed on Tuesday after weeks of rumours the signing of Malaga
midfielder Santi Cazorla, it brought about an excitement in me, and seemingly Arsenal fans
everywhere, that hasn't been felt for a long time.
Perhaps it is simply because he joins other exciting players, Podolski and Giroud, and because
we have not yet sold a big player (emphasis on the 'yet'), in what has been a refreshingly
enjoyable summer transfer window.
Miyaichi to Wigan on loan. by KJ The latest Arsenal rumours going about at the moment are that our
young Japanese sensation, Ryo Miyaichi is going on loan to Wigan for the season. He's one of the
youngsters that Arsene has signed quite recently (more specifically, during the winter transfer
window of the 2010/2011 season).
Good news this morning about one of our youngsters out on loan defender Paul Dummett who is at St. Mirren in the Scottish Premier League. Paul Dummmett at St. Mirren on loan Paul won the Man of the Match award for the second week in a row, in St. Mirren's home loss [...]
Alan Pardew has aid today that two of Newcastle's top youngsters Shane Ferguson and Sammy Ameobi will both start tomorrow night against Club Brugge, who are currently at the top of the Belgian league. Sammy Ameobi will start tomorrow night The Northern Ireland International and England U21 International are two of Newcastle's top [.
It's very true that if you're good enough you're old enough at Newcastle these days, and there are various good examples of how a youngster can come through the Academy and into the first team, and one recent example of this is 21 year-old Northern Ireland International Shane Ferguson. A baby looking Shane Ferguson in [.
It's always very difficult to know which youngsters are going to make it at Newcastle, and some who we thought would be almost certainties to become first team players at Newcastle like Tamas Kadar as one example just didn't make it, and the Hungarian International left Newcastle in the summer, when his contract [.
Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to rest many key players and give some of Manchester United's youngsters a chance to impress against Newcastle. Alexander Buttner and Nick Powell, scorers against Wigan in the recent Premier League meeting, are likely to start. Nemanja Vidic (knee) missed United's clash with Liverpool and faces 8 weeks out.
Alan Pardew  will not play his first team in the Europa League this season, and he has been
interviewed in today's Sunday Sun by Mark Douglas, and Alan says he will give a chance to his top
youngsters, and he thinks it's an unprecedented opportunity for them at Newcastle this season,Â
and they should take their opportunity with both feet.
Haris Vuckic is one of Newcastle's top youngsters but he was  carrying a knock last week and
did not travel for the first leg tie against Atromitos in Athens, Greece. Haris Vuckic in action
against ADO Den Haag in pre-season But it looks like the Slovenian International i now fit and
ready to go and we expect him to be in [.
Alan Pardew was true to his word when he said he would not make eleven changes for the side to
play against Atromitos tonight he made only nine. It's hard what to expect tonight, but the
positive thing is that the youngsters have not let the side down and they were very impressive in
the 4-1 [...
United take on Newcastle in the League Cup tonight with the expectation of giving some of our youngsters a go whilst also ensuring we progress to the next round. Whilst the League Cup is regarded as our last priority, we've won it more than any other club in recent years and historically only Liverpool and Aston Villa have won it more times than us.
I remember when I was in school, maybe about 10 years of age, we were told one day that under no
circumstances were we to watch a film called 'The Day After' which was going to be shown on the BBC
that night.
It was about nuclear war and of course the fact that we were told not to watch it meant every
single one of us watched it.
Manager Brendan Rodgers admits he is looking forward giving a first team run for some of
Liverpool's younger squad member after failing to add to his squad on deadline day.
Liverpool sold Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy during the recently concluded transfer window, while
Andy Carroll joined West Ham on a season-long loan deal.
Andy Carroll has finally been loaned out to West Ham United, with reports indicating that the
striker did not feature in Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers' immediate plans.
Carroll, 23, may return to Anfield as a Liverpool player next summer but many believe that his
journey would likely mirror that of Alberto Aquilani, who was sent out on loan to Juventus and AC
Milan before being sold to Fiorentina earlier this summer.
Skrtel celebrates...
Image: LinkLiverpool put in a fantastic performance on Sunday at Anfield and should have
collected all three points, unfortunately for the Reds a Skrtel mistake late on allowed Man City to
find an equaliser.
Brendan Rodgers proved that he had faith in his youngsters as he started Martin Kelly and Raheem
Sterling.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers wants his team to embrace the challenge of breaking back into the
top four.
The Reds have not qualified for the UEFA Champions League since 2009 but after several
disappointing seasons new boss Rodgers is confident they can make a better attempt at rejoining
Europe's elite.
John McGlynn does not want Hearts to make the same mistakes against Liverpool as were made in the
Europa League qualifying rounds last season in a thrashing by Tottenham Hotspur.
The SPL club has drawn English opponents in the play-offs for the second year running, with the
first leg at Tynecastle on 30th August and return at Anfield seven days later.
Something that flew somewhat under the radar this past week was the announcement that Marcello
Trotta has signed a new contract with the club. For those that reacted to news, the response was
pretty muted, with many expressing a mild surprise that the club had seen sufficient talent and
upside to offer new terms.
Something that flew somewhat under the radar this past week was the announcement that Marcello
Trotta has signed a new contract with the club. For those that reacted to news, the response was
pretty muted, with many expressing a mild surprise that the club had seen sufficient talent and
upside to offer new terms.
On Friday I popped along to the u21 game being played at Craven Cottage with the Whites taking on Chelsea's youngsters. These games always strike me as a bit odd – the new u21 and u18 league set up is designed to give youngsters a more competitive edge but the game still had a bit of a sense of a friendly match about it, particularly with several first team players included to aid their return to full fitness.
"We have to create a great squad based on the youngsters. That's what Barça did. I remember the stellar Milan team started like that: with Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi and Billy Costacurta", were the words of Silvio Berlusconi at the end of that most trying month of July that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva [.
There's football tonight though as we play Coventry in the Poetic Anal Cup, and the manager is set to ring the changes as you'd expect. As well as giving some youngsters a chance of first team action, there'll be some senior, experienced players in there who haven't yet featured this season.
Every soccer-crazy kid has the same dream – you're on holiday kicking the ball around and a
scout from a big club scouts you. For for ten-year-old Aisha Saini of Scotland, that dream came
true while she was in Spain on a summer vacation with her family.
Now it isn't that rare to sign a very young player on the chance they blossom into the next
Messi, who was signed at the ripe age of 13 by Barcelona after years of playing in Argentina.
It's an overcast day here at Starfire Sports Stadium, as we get ready to see Mario Martinez'
first game action in Rave Green. Steve Zakuani is also expected to go a full 90. With Jeremiah and
Likkit over in another corner of the Sounders press box recording another episode of Nos Audietis,
the SAH crew is well represented today.
Poor Aston Villa. After assembling a half decent squad with some top youngsters ready to make
their way through, they only go and employ the hapless manager who relegated their biggest rivals,
plays dull football and dragged them down the table.
Damian Dugdale, from The Villa Blog, has looked ahead to the coming season.
