January 2012 Archives

szólj hozzá: Everton v Man City 1:0 MOTD

Darron Gibson, did his former club Man Utd a huge favour by striking the one lethal blow last evening. Landon Donovan continuing his great assist work. City were undone before one could say Denis Stracqualursi.

Goodison Park is not exactly happy hunting grounds for City, winning only two of their last 15 encounters in that venue. The result leaves City on top edging out Man Utd on goal differential even as they draw level on points.

There was some fond hope that the man handcuffed to the goalpost was making a grandiose statement about the unholy sums of money destroying football (read City). Or maybe he had tried handcuffing himself to a badger the previous evening with unsatisfying results and wanted something different.

It turned out he was protesting Ryanair unfairly terminating his daughter in 2010. John Foley is his name and he had staged other such protests around this issue, just not as bizarre as this.

Anyway, it made for good theatre, but it got Roberto Mancini in a tizzy and he made a sending off gesture which got Wayne Rooney all mad. He later twittered about Mancini being against working class men. The last part is all rubbish. But it could be true.

A few months ago, everything was going swimmingly for City. All they seemingly had to do was to show up for win after lopsided win. But then there was a gradual slide in theor fortunes. At the end of January their season is but a litany of thwarted ambitions. Out of the Champions League in December and by last week, the Carling Cup and the FA Cup, their accelerated program to win the Premiership title seems to have hit a wall and in danger of being snatched by those other pesky Mancunians and the upstart Spurs.

To add insult to injury, today's loss to Everton was at the hands of Darron Gibson, a former Man Utd midfielder, at a reported £2 million providing with one swing of his leg, a lot more value for money than Edin Dzeko, Samir Nasri, David Silva, and Sergio Aguero combined at £115 million. Roberto Mancini's future now rests on the narrow case of winning the Premiership but the momentum has all but gone, stalled by inconsistency and patchy performances.

City's intransigence saw Carlos Tevez priced out of this transfer market. The earliest, he could move out would be this summer. The transfer negotiations with Milan which proved to the most promising fell apart because City balked at a loan deal and when the Serie club came with an improved deal it was deemed short. In the meantime, Tevez has lost £9.3m in wages, bonuses and fines. A tidy sum of money. He has served his two week suspension and is training with the reserves which is where Mancini envisions him staying till he leaves. That is being disputed by Tevez's man Friday, his agent, Kia Joorabchian who say's he should be integrated with the senior team.

Mancini has said Tevez will never wear the team's colours and the only way he would consider him for first team training is if he apologizes. However, Mancini is also confronted by the fact that his high priced transfers haven't materialized the way they should have. And there is no indication that they will.

The hugely talented Mario Balotelli provides cameos of what he's capable of but more often that not, is overshadowed by his on and off pitch implosions. Both Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero have cooled off their hot streak, Samir Nasri has been disappointing, and with David Silva, the only consistent creative spark, City is leaving a lot of loose ends. The attack needs a proven and consistent goalscorer which Carlos Tevez always has been which ever club he's joined. Plus, he's always been that clutch player who digs his club out of trouble.

Last season, he was the top scorer and in his 63 league appearances he scored 44 goals, better than anyone else. From Tevez's perspective, the longer he remains away from the pitch, the more he takes himself off the market. And deny he might but Tevez is losing a lot of good money he could squirrel away for a nice retirement nest egg. It is in the interest of both to start a dialogue and with a third of the season still remaining there is still plenty of time for Tevez to be productive and help put those creeping doubts away for good. The more Mancini and City make heavy weather, the louder the calls for kiss and make up. That sounds better than the axe, leaving City to pursue Jose Mourinho. Now that would be galling.

Sudan's chances in Group B resting on slim hopes were realized yesterday as they beat Burkina Faso through Mutahdir's brace and an underwhelming Angola lost to Cote D'Ivoire, 0-2. Former Arsenal full back Emmanuel Eboue gave the Ivoirians the lead and the second goal was a comedy of errors.

Sudan squeak through on goal difference to the second round even as both teams tied on points.

Arsenal have signed this guy to partner RVP. Alive and kicking?

If you are an Arsenal fan, your level of excitement should be deader than a dodo.

Wayne Bridge goes to Sunderland and Arsenal can heave a sigh of relief. Ravel Morrison, the Man Utd teenager with a self destructive streak but the skills of a young Paul Scholes, goes to West Ham.

Louis Saha is set to join Spurs as per the buzz if he can get out of bed. Peter Odemwingie, out of favour at West Brom maybe on his way to Fulham to replace Bobby Zamora who is being courted by QPR. Zamora is demanding £90,000 per week which will only happen if they're are bought out by City and PSG together or Mitt Romney, who will want to cement QPR's evangelical vote in time for today's Florida primary.

The chicken farmers at Blackburn are copying Wenger's moves on transfer deadline for those bargain basement deals and have signed Bradley Orr and Marcus Olsson, who they hope will bring them the Champions League.

Andy Carroll, skulking in the basement of his mother's house, has been told he's not wanted at Liverpool but he's also not wanted at City, who are developing a Stockholm Syndrome vis a vis Carlos Tevez. They are set to unveil him as their new signing after consulting with Wenger who reassures Mancini, a player out through injuries or suspension for four or more matches, counts as a new signing. However, they might have to fight Inter who have a sprung a big leak after being dinged badly by Lecce. No, sorry it is the other city club as per Sky Sports who are re-opening talks with City over Tevez.

Hot prospect Wilfried Zaha might not be leaving for Bolton. He obviously does not relish playing for another Championship side. Ryo Miyaichi, the Arsenal teenager will however be joining the Reebok. If he does not break a nose or suffer a facial fracture which is the current craze amongst these Arsenal loaners. Anzhi Makachkala is reportedly in hot pursuit of Andrey Arshavin which should be easy enough. He gets the ball, dashes down the sideline, cuts in to goal, loses ball and interest .... repeat.

For more Jelavic, De Bruyne, and a day that should lighten some purses and add to others, the Guardian has the skinny. They also are having lots of fun dinging Sky Sports.

Dan Borislaw hijacking the magic out of women's professional soccer

What a blow to women's soccer after that magnificent exposition by the US national team at the CONCACAF Olympics qualifiers. The WPS has decided to cancel the 2012 season after running into a retaliatory lawsuit bought by the former owner of the magicJack, Dan Borislow. From Philly.com:

" The Board voted on Monday morning to suspend the 2012 season. Over the last year the league has faced significant challenges, including a lengthy and expensive legal battle with a former owner. The litigation has diverted resources from investment in the league and has forced the Board to take action, suspending the 2012 season in order to address the legal issues head-on before moving forward with competition."

During Borislaw's tenure as magicJack owner, the franchise earned the dubious distinction of being named as the worst run franchise in pro-sports. He ran it like a sweat shop without any adherence to rules or regulations. Borislaw fired coach Mike Lyons after three games and took over coaching duties with the help of Christine Rampone.

The franchise ran afoul of the WPS players union and magicJack team members who filed a grievance with the league that accused Borislaw of a number of charges, most seriously a " clear failure to behave in a dignified manner. They also demonstrate his practice of bullying and threatening players, and his creation of a hostile, oppressive, and intimidating work environment which adversely affects players' ability to perform."

The WPS decided to dock the franchise a point and a draft pick for not meeting league standards. On October 28th, 2011, the WPS decided to terminate the magicJack for a whole host of violations ranging from, "unprofessional and disparaging treatment of his players to failure to pay his bills."

The WPS has said that they are determined to be back for the 2013 season.

" WPS has established its plans to return to play in 2013, and all five owners of the League's existing teams - Atlanta Beat, Boston Breakers, Philadelphia Independence, Sky Blue FC and Western New York Flash - will remain active with the CEO, Jennifer O'Sullivan, in the governance of WPS throughout the current year."

A year could be out of sight, out of mind. Unless Borislaw changes his mind. If not, many of the US players could relocate to the European leagues which would welcome their talent and offer lucrative contracts. This would also keep them match fit for the Olympics and beyond. But once again, the question remains, does women's professional soccer have a future in this country? It's a strange conundrum to see the WPS filled with some of the best contemporary talent in the world shrink, while the MLS attracting the second tier and the reinvented, adds franchises year after year.

Novak Djokovic beat Rafal Nadal in a herculean Australian Open finals that lasted 6 hours. The same day Arsenal had to summon every fibre to overcome a two goal deficit to overcome Aston Villa and prevent a FA Cup exit.

And then there is the US Women's team that blanked Canada, 4-0, en route to winning the CONCACAF qualifiers to the London Olympics. In five matches the US poured in 38 unanswered goals. It was Armageddon. Yesterday's match saw Abby Wambach collect her 130th and 131st goal to go past Kristine Lilly and become second to Mia Hamm on the all time goalscorer list. And in Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux you see the next generation who could overtake Wambach, eventually. And we haven't gotten to the midfield that score a ton of goals. The US is also blessed by one of the best defenses and goalkeeping talent.

The depth in this women's team is stunning. The danger of course is to become so caught up in this game of inflated expectations as demonstrated in last year's World Cup finals. But one doesn't see it in the players. Each one of them shows up to play and play hard.

Style maven Djibril Cisse famous for his hair landscaping, goatees, and tattoos returns

QPR created the most buzz this transfer window completing the transfer of Nancy's highly rated midfielder Samba Diakite for a reported £3.36m. They added Nedum Onuoha from City and Taye Taiwo on loan from Milan to bolster the defense. Earlier, Federico Macheda was brought on loan from Man Utd to bolster the attack.

Now, they are on the verge of landing Djibril Cisse from Lazio for a reported £4m. The striker who started his Premiership career at LIverpool in 2004 with a bang scoring 14 goals in his first 23 games then saw his career take a turn for the worse after a horrific leg break. He was loaned to Marseilles and Sunderland before moving permanently to Panathinaikos in 2009. He then joined Lazio but struggled to find a starting place. Mark Hughes initially wanted a loan move but Lazio were keen to jettison him and QPR finally relented.

Here over the years, is a clip of Cisse's protean looks >>

The evidence suggests that Gary Speed could have accidentally ended his life. Which of course makes it even more tragic. The Football Association of Wales announced his memorial match will be played against Costa Rica on Feb 29th. Speed began his international career playing that Central American country.

Lowly Lecce knock of Inter leaving it reeling. Here is the reaction to their loss. Great commedia dell'arte! No milk of human kindness from Massimiliano Benassi who was immense in goal for Lecce. Here is a clip of the match >>

Fabio Cannavaro will begin his Indian journey this February

This Monday, the six franchises of the new IPL styled soccer league put down bids for the marquee players. Fabio Cannavaro, the 38 year old former Ballon D'Or defender drew the highest bid of $830,000 and was sold to Siliguri. Roberto Pires, the former Arsenal winger most recently seen at the Emirates in yesterday's FA Cup fixture against Villa went for $800,000 to Howrah.

Hernan Crespo, the former Chelsea striker touted as the player who would draw the highest bid was accepted by Barasat after receiving no bids. Jay Jay Okocha, familiar to the Premiership while at Bolton also received no bids was snapped up by Haldia, while Robbie Fowler of Liverpool and Cardiff was taken by Durgapur.

There were a number of coaches on the auction block, chief amongst them Peter Reid, the former City and Sunderland manager who was sacked by his most recent club Plymouth Argyle in League 2 after helping pay the club's heating bill and salaries of some of the staff from his own pocket. Samson Siasia, the former coach of the Super Eagles, the Nigerian national team as well as Marco Etcheverry, the Bolivian midfielder and long time staple of DC United, were part of the group.

The most eye popping figure. Barasat franchise which was listed at a base price of approximately $162,000 was bought by Uro Infra Reality India Ltd for $50 million. That is an indication of the bustling Indian economy.

Each franchise will have one icon players, one icon coach, two overseas players, and one overseas player of Asian origin. The rest of the squad will comprise of six Indians from the U21 squads, and six 'catchment' (local) players and nine to 14 top Indian players. The auction for the top Indian players begins on Thursday.

What about monikers like the Haldia Oilers, Howrah Breezers, or the Durgapur Steelers? To jazz up the names and to bolster the franchise's identity with the place.

For more details >>

Alessandro Matri gives the Bianconeri the lead but Udinese answer through Antonio Floro Flores. However, Matri would not be denied the winner. Would it be hyperbolic to say Claudio Marchisio is the preeminent midfielder in the Serie nowadays? Juventus sit on top of the Serie in a dogfight with Milan. Udinese and Lazio follow making it an interesting race to the top.

szólj hozzá: a3-2av

Today was a must win for Arsenal. Not just to reverse the perception of a club descending into a familiar and vicious cycle of self inflicted wounds and low self esteem. But to resurrect the career of a manager under fire.

A defeat would have tipped the scales between the two camps, the AKB and the ASG (Arsene Should Go) resting at a precarious 50-50 irrevocably in favour of the latter. The first half saw an Arsenal bolt out of the gates in the first 15 minutes but as the game went on, Villa came on strongly, with a corresponding sense of trepidation at the other end. With Fabianski in goal, opposing teams always look to exploit his history of self immolation and early on there was plenty of signs that would happen.

Arsene Wenger mercifully did not take the is "Arshavin better off playing in center midfield" debate seriously, preferring to start Tomas Rosicky who can protect the ball a lot better than the Russian. All that movement and recycling of the ball did not pay off as Arsenal succumbed to a familiar failing, the set piece killer, this time Villa going short as Robbie Keane collected Stilian Petrov's back heel and floated the ball to Richard Dunne, who just like Antonio Valencia a week ago, rose above an Arsenal defense which went asleep at the right moment to put them on the board. It was their first set piece as Arsenal at the other end poured in corner after corner and free kick after another in a familiar pattern of futility.

This aspect of the game consistently eludes this club even though they win so many. Why? It would take the pressure of RVP immensely. Rosicky in particular was guilty of swinging in a number of ineffectual corners. That Swede who analyzed how many refereeing decisions go against Arsenal would be better off doing a more useful study as to why Arsenal are just useless when it comes to delivering on set pieces.

It got a lot worse as Darren Bent broke loose in a counterattack started by Keane and just before half time unleashed a shot that Fabianski was able to parry but only straight back to the striker who did better with his acute angle. Arsenal down two and the boo birds descended on the Emirates. It was not as if they had lacked ambition at the attacking end but it was familiar shortcomings resurfacing. The headlines were writing themselves. Arsenal on a death spiral. Wenger admitted to a safehouse in a strait jacket.

What happened in the locker room at half time is anyone's guess but Wenger might have questioned the legitimacy of their births. The first 15 minutes of the second half were all Arsenal and in a now famous (yes, even it is just a couple of hours old) turnaround starting with Alex Song's amazingly prescient pass which led to Aaron Ramsey brought down by Dunne.

The foul led to RVP's spot kick sparking Arsenal's revival. A few minutes later, in a huge lucky break, Theo Walcott breaking down the right had his shot parried by Shay Given but the ball rebounded off him into goal as he remained blissfully unaware of it all. Arsenal went ahead finally as Koscielny in an immense charge galloped down the left and was brought down by Bent. RVP collected his second PK and in a span of 7 minutes, Arsenal had swung the game around a 180 degrees.

Would this mean Wenger would take off Ox and introduce Arshavin? The thought did cross many a mind. But in an indication that the Frenchman might not have given into the voices in his head, opted for Arteta, a safer choice to replace Rosicky. Arsenal gradually took the foot of the accelerator allowing Villa to give them a few anxious moments. The last few minutes saw both Thierry Henry and Bakary Sagna being introduced, the latter to a standing ovation after months of injury. Welcome back, Bac!!

These are the sort of soul searching wins where teams who finds themselves at the doorstep of the devil, reeled in by glossy brochures of an indulgent life, check themselves, and then do the right thing, climbing back to ugly and imperfect reality. This is not a win as much as it is back to square one. But we reset to start February to take on Bolton, Blackburn, and Sunderland in our upcoming fixtures before traveling on the road to Milan for the CL knock out round with some wind on our back. Wenger on the win:

" I was very impressed because I felt that when you come out of a bad period like we are, and you are 2-0 down, you can feel sorry for yourself or you can show you have the mental qualities to play for this club. I was very proud that the team came out and showed they are not ready to lie down. "

Rosicky was industrious and sharp although his passing could do with more incisiveness, Song showed his eye for a telling outlet while continuing his disruptive presence, Koscielny in that third goal was immense along with some stellar defending, and the Ox continues to grown in strength. Walcott was far more assertive although his performance was still a bewildering mix of the sublime and the ridiculous. Fabianski was shaky but had an improved second half.

Group D at the ACN is at a knife's edge as it heads to the last group match with Ghana, Guinea, and Mali in contention for the two spots to the knock off stage. The only one out is Botswana. Yesterday, the Black Stars got the better of Mali as Asamoah Gyan (Sunderland could have done with his finishing skills today against Boro) scored his first goal and Anthony Ayew added another.

Guinea punished Botswana, 6-1 and it all could come down to goal difference on the last day, as Ghana take on Guinea and Mali take on Botswana.

The Ox in the box will be quick as a fox to knock of Villa's socks

Jack Wilshere was set for a return mid February setting the medical world abuzz with his miraculous return. Then he suffered a stress fracture in the same ankle during training and now the story is he's lost for the rest of the season or at least a good portion of it. This is so quintessential Arsenal we have come to expect it. Waiting for Godot.

With Aaron Ramsey showing battle fatigue and a loss of edge, the debate has shifted to whether the midfield will be better served with Andrey Arshavin at center rather than out on the wings where he frankly looks lost. Playing in the hole requires some holding capabilities to reset and recycle the attack and so far Arshavin has looked incapable of protecting the ball. At this point Tomas Rosicky and Mikel Arteta make for better options.

Which brings us to the good news part. The Spaniard will be available for today's FA Cup tie against Villa. The better news is we could see both Bakary Sagna and Francis Coquelin back from injury, providing sorely needed coverage on both flanks which is great news because we can shift Thomas Vermaelen to his normal centre back pairing with Laurent Koscielny. Just in time to stop the dangerous Darren Bent.

Aston Villa also went the Thierry Henry route to get Robbie Keane on a two month loan from the MLS. The former Premiership journeyman provided an instant impact scoring a brace in their win against Wolves. The Villans also have Gabby Agbanlahor with the
winger scoring goals at a steady clip testing both channels. In general, consistent goalscoring has been a problem for them but they meet Arsenal at a very low point going through a protracted goal scoring drought themselves. Thierry Henry has also been declared fit and could come off the bench should Arsenal need a Leeds type of boost. And of course, Wenger also has the Ox who could build on his growing reputation.

By the way, what does it say when Jermaine Pennant looks better than Theo Walcott? Here is an insight into how underwhelming Arsenal are nowadays. Consider the team that won the 2005 FA Cup.

Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Senderos, Cole, Gilberto, Vieira, Fabregas, Pires, Bergkamp, Reyes.

Not bad. Today's squad should in likelihood be Szcz- Sagna- Vermaelen- Kosicielny- Coquelin - Song- Arteta- Ramsey- Walcott- Ox- RVP.

The US WNT overcame early match nerves and a very game Costa Rican team through goals scored by Tobin Heath, Carli Lloyd, and Alex Morgan. This win qualifies them for the London Olympics. In the other semi-finals, Canada held off Mexico, 3-1, to also book their spot. The final will be played tomorrow and pits two of the most potent goalscorers in the game. Both Abby Wambach and Christine Sinclair are tied at 129 goals apiece, joint third in the goalscoring charts, one behind Kristine Lilly. Mia Hamm holds the record with 158 goals.

One of the nail biting moments came when Los Ticas's Carol Sanchez drove in a 30 yard shot that struck the upright and with Hope Solo sprawled helplessly on the ground, Rachel Buehler had to tussle with Fernanda Barrantes, to prevent her from scoring into an empty net.

Abby Wambach paid due diligence to their 41st ranked opponents.

''There were moments where I think Costa Rica were outplaying us, and it just shows you how important it was to all of us,'' forward Abby Wambach said. ''Nobody wanted to make that mistake. And luckily we didn't.''

The US women are looking to win the 2012 Olympics which will make it a hat trick of wins and erase memories of that bitter loss to the Nadeshiko in the last World Cup.

In a showdown between two of the USA's best attackers, Landon Donovan prevailed providing both the crosses that resulted in two perfect strikes as Everton beat Clint Dempsey and Fulham. The man from Nacogdoches had a quieter evening.

Donovan has had an instant impact on Everton making the best of his two month loan and Dempsey is on par to repeat last season's success, most recently scoring a hat trick against Newcastle. It is great to see both make waves and equally tempting to frame this as a contest to decide who is the USA's best attacking player. All this of course benefits a nascent sport with an increased visibility in the big European leagues.

The smart money is on Donovan making a permanent move to the EPL once his contract with the LA Galaxy enters its final year in 2013.

szólj hozzá: BRIGHTON v NEWCASTLE 1:0 GOAL

Gareth Bale, sorry, Will Buckley hares down the left showing gut busting pace and plenty of footy skills to elude Danny Simpson and Yoann Cabaye. He then unleashes a left footed shot which deflects of Mark Williamson and past Tim Krul for a famous Brighton and Hove Albion victory. Good news after a pretty sordid last week when five Brighton players were arrested on sexual assault charges.

Buckley, growing up was a Newcastle fan and Gus Poyet, the Brighton coach was something of a Toon killer as a Chelsea player scoring six goals in 8 matches including a pair in the 2000 FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley.

szólj hozzá: q0-1c

The other match with a potentially explosive racial overtones was effectively nipped in the bud as the FA decided to do away with handshakes pre-empting Anton Ferdinand's contemplated threat not to shake John Terry's hand. The Chelsea captain begins his legal challenge on Feb 1st defending against charges of a racist verbal assault on Ferdinand in their last match on Oct 23rd.

QPR lost the match after Daniel Sturridge sold Mike Dean his theatrical dive to a pretty trifling tackle by Clint Hill. The decision infuriated the QPR fans but Juan Mata made no mistake with the spot kick. The other notable event was the bad knee injury sustained by Ramires that could keep him out for a month.

szólj hozzá: l2-1mu

The subtext was Luis Suarez watching from the stand with Patrice Evra getting booed by the Anfield crowd and all the lovely chanting between the two sets of fans about the existence of racism. At the end, the Reds had the greater satisfaction of beating Utd, the second Manchester club to suffer at their hands in three days. Andy Carroll, the subject of a transfer deal that would see him relocate to City in exchange for Carlos Tevez, created both goals. The first time effectively cornering David De Gea (Yes, he was back. No, he wasn't much better) with his physical strength for the leaping Daniel Agger to head from a corner.

Utd answered through Park Ji Sung's first time shot from Rafael's cross after the Brazilian blistered down the right channel. Utd dominated possession with Valencia continuing his impressive form after he jinked his way muscularly for a golden opportunity to possibly end the match but his smashed shot hit the upright. The script said Liverpool would run out late winners and so it happened as Pepe Reina's goalkick was flicked beautifully forward by Carroll through a seam and Dirk Kuyt running free to the left of De Gea was able to finish well. The good vibes returned to the Kop after victories over City and now Utd.

Liverpool march onto the 5th round while Utd crash out of yet another competition and now only have the Premiership left to possibly add to their Community Shield silverware.

Is Jose Mourinho putting out feelers for a return to England at the end of the season?

According to a report in The Sunday Times (subscription required), an unnamed source close to Mourinho intimated that the Real coach could leave. "He was sick and tired of this situation at Madrid. It doesn't matter if he wins this season or not. It's not about the money. He's decided to come back to England and he will go in the summer."

Mourinho didn't particularly look like he was in a funk on the sidelines as Real eased past Zaragoza today, 3-1. The body language looked good and the players seemed in good spirits. In fact, the remedy to this artificially created situation was discovered at the Camp Nou in the Copa Del Rey second leg, as a Real team outplayed Barca with attacking and creative football creating a whole host of chances and even matching possession. There was wholehearted praise from all quarters including their bitterest rivals even though they went out on aggregate.

The tangle of bitter feelings left in the wake of the first leg defeat was noticeably lifted. Mourinho also made peace with Sergio Ramos following their infamous training session verbal spat went viral. After the right back was sent off against Barca, the Real coach was observed to pat him on the shoulder and whisper into his ear, reportedly these words "You played a great match, you did not deserve your sending off, thank you."

As coach of the most storied club in the world, there is undeniable pressure and with Mourinho the expectations for instantaneous results naturally skyrocketed. In reality, his stay has been quite conflict free. He has been accommodated enough by Florentino Perez, who got rid of Jorge Valdano, after the Real legend voiced his displeasure at Mourinho's negative tactics. This week Perez also played the role of conciliator after his coach conveyed his anger at the training session leak. He's promised a thorough investigation and instituted a gag order.

There is another reading. Mourinho, of course is a master of messaging. One wouldn't put it past him to use a foreign outlet to threaten his resignation as a way of getting the Spanish media, one of the most predatory in the world, to back off. The good vibes generated by the Barca second leg was continued today as Real went 7 points clear of their nemesis.

What happened to the Taranga Lions? They went out with a whimper. One of the ACN's most formidable teams on paper boasting names like Demba Ba, Moussa Sow, Mamadou Niang, and Papiss Cisse, were unceremoniously dumped out by co-hosts Equatorial Guinea. The Lions lost their first encounter, 1-2 to the unfancied Zambians. This was a must win.

The Nzalang Nacionals were given the lead by Iban Randy Iyanga in the second half after which the Senegalese mounted a desperate rearguard action and a minute before close substitute Moussa Sow scored the equalizer. But there was added time heartbreak for his team when David Alvarez scored a 25 metre thunderbolt. Where was the defense?

The silver lining is the Toons get back Ba and new recruit Papiss Cisse ahead of schedule.

Kenny Dalglish feeling the heat after a series of underwhelming displays by Liverpool in the Premiership was able to get a satisfying consolation in today's Carling Cup match pipping City to the Wembley finals.

Nigel De Jong gave City the lead to level the aggregate. Phil Dowd then generously gave Liverpool a PK after deciding Daniel Agger's shot had deflected off Micah Richards onto his arm. Steven Gerrard rarely makes a mistake from the spot and this was no exception. City again went up through Dzeko with Kolarov providing the assist before the heavily tattooed Craig Bellamy riding an indefatigable motor was able to hurt his former club fatally, rifling a neat one- two with Glen Johnson, past Joe Hart.

Liverpool drew the match but because of their 1-0 away win at the Etihad in the first leg booked their spot in the Carling Cup finals on aggregate and their first visit to Wembley since 1996. They meet Cardiff City, another club familiar to the well traveled Bellamy.

Today, Real Madrid played as it should have in the first leg. The first half began so brightly for Real with Gonzalo Higuain the main culprit for not finishing those chances. Gerard Pique was caught napping and the Argentinian striker should have done much, much better. Minutes later, Pinto was barely able to foil Higuain whose timing was less than impeccable.

One wonders why Mourinho kept Oezil out in the first leg because the German was the catalyst for all the good things happening on the pitch. His cannonball shot hit the upright and Pinto was able to get to the rebound before Higuain could do more damage. Minutes later, the Barca goalie under pressure gave the ball away to Higuain but managed to kick save it.

Barca's goal came against the run of play as Leo Messi sailing upstream and his uncanny vision found the seam between two defenders to slip Pedro the ball on the left and the striker made no mistake. More damage was done just before the half when Dani Alves let loose a superlative shot which caught a thermal to crash past Casillas after a rebound from a free kick found the Brazilian.

How was Lass Diarra not sent off for his industrial charge on Messi? Casillas took one for the team there by distracting the referee.

Real came back in the second half as Barca became complacent with the aggregate now swelling to 4-1. The key substitution was Karim Benzema, a more direct striker than Higuain. The tide turned when Oezil was able to slip the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo lurking to the right catching Puyol off balance and Ronaldo was able to skip past Pinto to swing the ball into an empty net. The equalizer came after a tardy clearance found Benzema, and the former Lyon man controlled the ball after Puyol slipped and slammed the ball past Pinto. Now it was 4-3 on aggregate and Barca were suddenly looking vulnerable, their deft touch on the ball gone. The atmosphere in the Camp Nou just got more hushed and Pep Guardiola sported a worried look. But they managed to pull through the last 10 minutes with Messi and Pedro coming close to regaining Barca a lead.

Sergio Ramos was guilty of two acts of stupidity. His goal from a corner was called off after he thoughtlessly pulled down Dani Alves, resulting in a yellow. He was then sent off in the 87th minute after a touchy feely foul on Busqets. Sometimes one wonders what Mou sees in Pepe and Ramos, two of the worst offenders.

Madrid were guilty of being wasteful while Barca with far fewer chances were more clinical. The key to Barca's success was finding other goalscorers. Abidal and Puyol in the first leg and Pedro and Alves in the second. Real had to go through Ronaldo and then Benzema which made them quite predictable. Plus, Messi confirmed when he's not scoring amazing goals is busy pulling off the most superlative assists.

PSG has already pulled the plug, and it appears Inter is doing the same.

"Inter have recovered their champions and there is no need to have him or another, even if Tevez remains a great champion."

City does not want Milan's loan deal. For now it appears Argentinian want-away will remain at the Etihad where with each passing day of not playing having already cost him £9.3m in salary, bonuses and fines.

Should Roberto Mancini kiss and make up with Tevez? He may need him with Mario Balotelli, a fuse short of a complete meltdown, Edin Dzeko's frequent vanishing acts, and Sergio Aguero, burdened by the mantle of the only consistent goal scoring threat.

Looks like the the effect of those UEFA financial fair play rules are having at best a marginal effect as losses rose to €1.6bn for the 2010-11 FY, up from the previous year's €1.2bn loss racked up by Europe's soccer leagues.

The only exception is the Bundesliga which managed to turn around losses into a healthy profit of €52.5 million last season. A swing of €130.5 million.

Carli Lloyd scores a hat trick, Heather O' Reilly chips in with another as USA easily beat Mexico, 4-0, to secure a semi-final spot against Costa Rica in the Olympics qualifiers. This result reversed their shocking loss to Mexico in the World Cup qualifiers which forced them into a playoff match. The US poured 31 unanswered goals in three thoroughly dominating performances in this tournament.

Canada plays Mexico to decide the two berths to the 2012 Olympics from the CONCACAF region. The two matches will be played Friday.

The US dedicated the match to injured defender Ali Krieger, out with two torn knee ligaments, who will most likely miss the Olympics, should the US qualify.

Match report >>

Real dissension in the ranks?

The Real Madrid fans are in a barracking mood, just like the fans giving stick to Arsene Wenger. The Barca game blew up in their face because Mou decided to stick 11 men behind the ball and with the exception of an 11th minute of enterprise, played like he was afraid to lose which is exactly what happened.

There is a souring of relationship between the fans, the media on one side and the manager. What set off Mou off the deep end is a dust up with Sergio Ramos in a training session, the details with the full exchange was leaked to Marca, who promptly put it out as front cover material. Who ratted out the manager, reputed as the best in the business being one step ahead of the press? Sid Lowe has more on that verbal slugging between Mou and Ramos with a nice cameo from Casillas.

The feeling of being upended has upset Mou so much he could barely savour the victory over Athletic Bilbao, a match that saw Real return to its previous attacking intensity as he stacked his side with Kaka, Oezil, Marcelo, Varane, Arbeloa, and Granero, players who he had left out against Barca.

Rumours are swirling that he is contemplating leaving in June, two years in breach of his contract which would mean paying €20m out of pocket or get the club hiring him to buy out his contract. The other solution would be an amicable parting of ways without enforcing the €20m payback. However the most recent reports suggest after a meeting that Florentino Perez was able to calm him down.

Leo Messi scores his hat trick over the weekend. But this is not so much about his skills as sublime as they are but Ray Hudson's orgasmic Gol TV commentary that accompanies those goals. "Nothing less than the equivalent of a footballing bird of paradise. He is like Dr Spock, out off his Vulcan mind" .

"I'm higher than a hippie at Woodstock" or "He's as competitive as a hungry tiger, yet he's got the sensibility of a village priest" or "We all know Valderrama's big hair is covering the eyes in the back of his head."

Here are more Hudsonianisms >>

Ghana 1-0 Botswana by goalsarena2012

Ghana made a jittery start to their ACN campaign overcoming a plucky Botswana through John Mensah's 25th minute goal. The Black Stars then had to endure without Mensah who was sent off in the 66th minute for his foul on Jerome Ramatlhakwane.

Goran Stevanovic's squad were at full strength minus Kevin Prince Boateng with World Cup standouts Asamoah Gyan, Andrew Ayew, and Sulley Muntari present.

Anthony Gardner's own goal gave Cardiff the best possible start as the Bluebirds drew level on aggregate after losing in the first leg to a goal, ironically, scored by the aforementioned Gardner. Cardiff had five very good looks at goal (three by Kenny Miller) but could not convert those chances. The match went to PKs where Tom Heaton, Cardiff's custodian pulled off two remarkable saves. Jonathan Parr then pulled his attempt wide and the Bluebirds were through where they meet either Liverpool or Man City.

Palace were reduced to 10 men in the 78th minute after captain Paddy McCarthy was sent off for fouling Miller twice.

Rosie gets an offshore bank account. What's in it for Buster?

Harry Redknapp maintained an bank account in Monaco into which Portsmouth's then owner, Milan Mandaric kept sending him secret payments or "bungs" to the tune of £187,000 as commissions from transfers. This was in lieu of bonuses promised to Redknapp when he was at Portsmouth, as director of football, and then manager. The Crown's case alleges he did not pay taxes on them.

The payments made were over Peter Crouch's sale to Aston Villa in 2002. This is a new development as Redknapp was investigated a few years later for profiting from Rio Ferdinand's West Ham transfer in 2000. He was arrested by the London Police in 2007 and later released as part of an ongoing series of football related corruption charges which also looked into Sam Allardyce's dealings amongst others.

Mario Balotelli's Scott Parker head stamp in all its gory

City as it did in Vincent Kompany's case is also unlikely to contest Mario Balotelli's violent conduct charge which also suspends him for 4 matches. The image shows Balotelli really putting some extra mustard in that head rake. Reminds one of Emmanuel Adebayor's equally disgusting stamp on RVP a couple of seasons ago.

Joleon Lescott's forearm love tap on Kaboul

City caught a break with Joleon Lescott though. The City vs Spurs match also saw Lescott catch Younes Kaboul with his forearm for which he will go unpunished.

David Hytner's article hints at Ivan Gazidis's plans to sell the Arsenal brand:

" Gazidis has identified a huge discrepancy between the worldwide reach of the Arsenal brand and the revenue that it generates. He believes that bringing the latter up to speed - the club have sophisticated strategies in place to do so - is the surest way forward. It is simply not possible to play the sheikhs and the oligarchs at their own game."

The problem is if Arsenal continue to fail then there won't be a brand to market. This season has seen a number of teams playing attractive, free flowing football, surpassing Arsenal's increasingly bowdlerized version. Flogging a brand that was at its peak more than half a decade ago by dressing it up is not going to win any new customers. It won't matter a whit if the fan sits in Kuala Lumpur, Djibouti, or Anchorage, if your own London base is increasingly alienated with the club and the direction its taking. Nostalgia only puts familiar bums on the seats, the rest of the remote world wants new silverware. Falling out of the Champions League is a surefire way to guarantee that this has no hope of success.

Another thing, these "sophisticated strategies" cost money with no guarantee of returns. The monies would be better spent in transfers, uncovering basic truths why Arsenal suffer so many injuries, restructuring wages in tune with actual performances rather than mere experience. The more hardwired aspects of the club need to work before it can go to the made for TV audience.

Terrible defending by Senegal let them down. Bouna Condoul, the former NY Red Bulls goalie should have done better in the opening goal being caught out of position. Then the Zambians were able to beat the offside trap to score their second. The high powered attack led by Demba Ba, Moussa Sow, and Mamadou Niang could do little.

The second half saw Senegal close the gap as Dame N'Doye scored from close range. But it was not enough as the Chipolopolos (The Copper Bullets) pulled off a famous victory over the Taranga Lions, one of the tournament favourites.

Two Chelsea team mates conspire for Cote D'Ivoire's winning start to their 2012 ACN campaign. Salomon Kalou floats the ball from the left as Didier Drobga soars up to power his header. Looks like 34 year old Drobga still has plenty of oomph - is he really leaving for the Chinese Super League? C'mon Arsenal, get him.

Manchester City VS Tottenham Hotspur 22012012 by Forzamediadivision

The first half was as dull and dragging as the Utd vs Arsenal match. The second half was just the opposite - a high voltage pulsating encounter between 1st placed City and 3rd placed Spurs. Roberto Mancini's squad went ahead in the second half through Samir Nasri and Joleon Lescott, both goals within minutes of each other. City let Spurs back in through some dreadful defending from Stefan Savic as Jermaine Defoe narrowed the gap. Gareth Bale scored an exquisitely cultured equalizer. The introduction of Mario Balotelli was not very auspicious as the striker was booked for a foul on Benoit Assou Ekotto.

Minutes later came the controversial moment when Balotelli looked to have stamped on Scott Parker's head after both players got tangled up with the Spurs midfielder falling to the ground. Howard Webb missed the incident and Balotelli was lucky to remain on the pitch. Spurs missed a glorious chance to finish as winners as Defoe was unable to turn the ball into goal after Bale's touch with the pass proved a bit too heavy. The last laugh belonged to City as Balotelli was brought down by Ledley King. The Italian calmly converted the PK.

There is now a chance that Balotelli could face a four match ban with the FA taking retrospective action. A very unhappy Harry Redknapp seems to think the "kicking" was intentional.

Have at the highlights before they are taken down.

Arsenal VS Manchester United 22012012 by Forzamediadivision

It was the 74th minute when Arsene Wenger went from mere arrogance to sheer incompetence. Replacing Alex Oxlade Chamberlain with Andrey Arshavin. The Ox had been Arsenal's best player on the pitch providing the side with desperately needed speed, ambition, and some quality skills. Just a few minutes before, he had provided a superlative touch to set up RVP's electric finish which gave Arsenal its equalizer. The substitution led RVP to mouth a disbelieving "No" as thousands of fans at the Emirates and in the world reacted the same way.

What was Wenger thinking? Arshavin who has been a defensive liability his entire Arsenal career proved to be a disaster as Antonio Valencia slalomed around him with ease to enter the box with the Russian trying to dispossess him. His ridiculous attempts ended gifting the ball to Danny Welbeck who gratefully accepted the offering to slam the ball for Utd's winner. To be fair, it wasn't all Arshavin's fault because Vermaelen was not there in support to stop Valencia. It could have happened with the Ox around too. But unlike the teenager, his subsequent contributions to the attack were equally poor.

The change happened when Arsenal was clearly in the ascendancy with the Ox and RVP within sniffing distance of another goal. Arshavin's entry was a momentum killer.

The first half was dire as Arsenal could not get anything going playing with a bewildering timorousness and lack of ball control as Utd established a chokehold. The absence of full backs was thoroughly exposed as Nani, Giggs, and Valencia ran at will down the flanks. Johan Djourou was completely at sea. It was a matter of time, the citadel was going to fall, and it happened just before halftime as Giggs running down the left unchallenged floated the ball with no one marking Valencia providing him a clear path to goal.

Djourou was gone in the second half as Nico Yennaris made his Premiership debut. The Gunners picked themselves up in the second half with RVP missing an absolute sitter right after Utd lost the ball to Tomas Rosicky who ran into the box and squared to the striker. It was a bright spell for Arsenal with the Ox troubling the Utd defense with his pace and coming close to scoring himself. Ramsey and Rosicky also came close. They had to wait till the 70th minute for the equalizer which started with Laurent Koscielny who had an immense match robbing the ball from Welbeck in the Arsenal box and then issuing a long relay to Rosicky to set up the beautiful 1-2 with Ox and RVP. Arsenal notched it up another gear till Wenger had his mental fart.

After the match, Wenger had to reach into his grab bag of ready to make rationalizations. He's got plenty of them.

"Oxlade-Chamberlain had started to fatigue, started to stretch his calf, and was not used to the intensity."

Did the Ox look tired to anyone? Because he looked quite capable of playing another 90 minutes.

" Let's be serious. I have to stand up for the substitutions I made. I've been 30 years in this job and have made 50,000 substitutions and I have to justify every time I make a decision? I do not have to explain to you every single decision I make."

" That's part of United being dangerous on the flanks. But people pay for their tickets and are free to express their emotions. We cannot dictate what behaviour people should have. That doesn't mean they're right always."

United were dangerous down the flanks for a reason. Wenger had no full backs to stop them and refused to get any replacements. Johan Djourou was incapable of stopping Nani or Giggs. Arshavin was exposed against Valencia. We have been insisting for a while that this would prove counterproductive. But once again this manager shows his contempt for such justified criticism.

The result is another loss, the third in a row. Arsenal were helped by some helpful results as Bolton beat Liverpool, Fulham thumped Newcastle, and Norwich stopped Chelsea. They are still in fifth but their season is turning to tatters.

This club has no conviction, it is failing to respond to a manager who seems to have no answers, is unwilling to provide them with help, and blames everyone else for its predicament. Meanwhile, we have a pusillanimous board, that trots out Stan Kroenke, who does not know his football from his arse, for an occasional session where he mouths empty platitudes. Peter Hill-Wood, a long time crony who fills a seat but little else. Ivan Gazidis whose prattle is all about Arsenal being a model of self sustenance. It appears there will be 40 million less reasons to tout such an achievement at the end of the season.

The highlights - have at them till they last.

Arsene Wenger in his press conference asked about his somnolent transfer activity in the January window:

" You cannot buy a player every time you have an injury: where do you finish? England is bankrupt, the whole of Europe is bankrupt and everyone continues to spend like nothing happened."

If injuries were a one time occurrence, his statement would make a lot of sense. If it involved two or three players, there would be no problems, we could take that. But to have eleven players out, some who have not played a lick of football for months, is to deny a larger, more serious issue. Why do Arsenal suffer so many injuries at crucial moments every season?

One harkens back to last season when Thomas Vermaelen was out with an ankle injury which just kept getting prolonged even as Wenger said he would not need cover as the Verminator would be back in mid January. This was not a mealy mouthed prediction, it was stated as bald fact. But the centre back only got his start a month before the end and later Wenger revealed he had known all along that Vermaelen's return was going to be delayed. By that time it was too late to do anything, Arsenal's psyche shredded multiple times with the loss to Barca, to Birmingham, and sapping stalemates with Liverpool and Spurs, limping to fourth in the Premiership.

What have injuries done to Arsenal's squad this time around? We have been playing with four centre backs for the last 6 weeks and the last two matches have highlighted the paucity of movement and coverage on set pieces two healthy full backs could have provided. Aaron Ramsey looked jaded in the Swansea match trying to combine Mikel Arteta's and Jack Wilshere's work in one body. This squad is overstretched with injuries with few healthy players and within that subset is a subset that actually performs to expectations.

Wenger is also using a narrow economic perspective to promote Arsenal's transfer philosophy. Yes, clubs like City, Liverpool, and Spurs have spent money like drunken sailors on players but the inescapable fact is Arsenal's wage bill is the fourth largest in the league. The club that prides itself in a self sustaining model, spends millions in wages on players who aren't performing to standards or are injured repeatedly for prolonged periods of time. For such a model, trimming the fat must be a priority, which if we use Wenger's European analogy is what the most endangered economies have been advised to do.

The problem as pointed by observers far more astute than I, is that this proves a great barrier to offloading players who want the same wages from their prospective employers. Last summer was eclipsed by the Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri saga but smaller ones like the sale of Nicklas Bendtner, Emmanuel Eboue, and Denilson carried on as clubs balked at their wage demands. Bendtner finally went on loan to Sunderland but it is most likely Arsenal is probably bearing part of his wage bill. Abou Diaby has missed about 20 months through injury in his Arsenal career, a sequelae to the horrendous ankle fracture suffered through Dan Smith's tackle in 2006 but despite his repeated absences from the pitch continues to draw at least £30,000 or more in weekly wages. We have to be more astute in tamping down on wages by not just imposing an artificial upper limit but the many middle tiered salaries that eat into the club's revenues without any expectation or justified reward.

In the same press conference, Wenger also repeated what he said was a litany of refereeing decisions that went against Arsenal. It was a Swedish guy who proved that we are a wronged club.

"Well, yes, but still we want the right decisions to be made. There are some people who made a study of last season and we were second in the league considering the decisions of the referees and yet we finished fourth. It [the study] showed we were two points behind the leaders."

Last season, as per this person's analysis Arsenal should have been runners up, two points behind Utd. At this point we can bring anybody, pay them good money, roll tape, and come up with wrong decisions which would make Sunderland, five time Premiership winners. Wenger's statements assign blame on external factors, when his focus should be on why Arsenal keep getting so many injuries, give up so many goals through set pieces, the lack of focus and alacrity that seems to be a club staple, and getting every player on the pitch to play to their standards.

I will say this, Wenger is a man of tremendous courage and principles, and he has taken the bullet for many a player and the club's board not once, but repeatedly. However, in this instance he has to introspect differently. The enemy is not them all the times, it is us, and one has to recognize when we're shooting ourselves in the foot.

szólj hozzá: Fulham v Newcastle 5:2 GOALS

Clint Dempsey's 50th, 51st, and 52nd goal for Fulham lifted the Cottagers over Newcastle.

The first half was all Newcastle and just before halftime they went ahead through Danny Guthrie's superlative left footed strike. Martin Jol must have mixed chili powder in his half time pep talk as he effected two very important changes, taking Bryan Ruiz from central midfield, bringing on Chris Baird, and introducing Andy Johnson as Fulham turned the game a 180 degrees in the second half

The former Crystal Palace man made an immediate impact troubling the Newcastle defense with his zip. He went scoreless but had a hand in three goals including earning a PK for being brought down by Tim Krul which Bobby Zamora duly converted. Dempsey's cool finishes were the highlights of the match. The Texan is on pace to match last season's record of 12 goals scored (a record for a US player in the Premiership) with 6 already in 21 matches.

Hatem Ben Arfa made it marginally interesting showing a deft touch on the ball to close the gap, 4-2, before Fulham slammed the door shut with Dempsey's third goal.

Fulham do a huge favour to Arsenal who were being pushed hard by Newcastle and earlier Norwich City earned a tough draw against Chelsea, pegging the Blues back in their charge for fourth and better.

Forewarning: Not the best quality video but have at it before it is taken down.

Here are the highlights of the USA vs Dominican Republic CONCACAF Olympics match played in Vancouver, BC. Abby Wambach and Co., made mincemeat of 88th seeded Dominican Republic. Amy Rodriguez scored five, Heather O' Reilly poured in another three as the US Women scored a record 14 goals to nil.

The only sour note struck was the knee injury to Ali Krieger after she was tackled which saw her stretchered off just before half time. Pia Sundhage was preparing for the worst.

"It's probably a serious injury," U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said. "By tomorrow we'll know exactly what it is."

The USA play Guatemala next before preparing for the big showdown with Mexico on January 24th. Two teams qualify from the CONCACAF region for the 2012 London Olympics soccer tournament to be held in late summer.

Carlos Tevez's potential transfer to PSG has been compromised with the two parties not seeing eye to eye on the way forward in his footballing career rather than any financial reasons. Tevez's demands as per his agent, Kia Joorabchian, included:

1) Limiting Carlo Ancelotti on the number of training sessions he has per day and making conditional his participation in them.
2) Returning to Argentina to be with his kids even if its on the day PSG play the Champions League final for the first time in club history.
3) Reserving the right to refuse to enter the pitch if he believes Ancelotti should have started him.
4) After every goal, celebrating with a 5 minute dance where he would hug, kiss, and make out his shin guard called Flopy.
5) PSG erecting a statue in honour of his arrival at the Parc des Princes. Tevez said he was already a living legend and if Thierry Henry could have one, why not him?

The two clubs left making overtures are Milan and Inter, and it is believed that Tevez's demands there include the two clubs conduct their business in Lunfardo and a live feed of every Boca Juniors match so he's not culturally isolated.

Abou Diaby: Permanently crocked and drawing tens of thousands in weekly wages

The eternal question is does Arsenal have a "war chest" to buy players? And if so, why don't they? This post which I discovered via Arseblog lays it out very nicely. In summation, we don't because of huge overheads and a wage bill that continues to grow contributing to a less than salubrious situation. One word. Deadwood.

Arsenal come to their match with United battered and listing badly

Thomas Vermaelen is a last minute decision, Thierry Henry has a "calf" problem, and Mikel Arteta will definitely sit out the match. A full starting squad is out with injuries, yes, there are eleven out. The most in the Premiership. Utd have their injury concerns too with Danny Welbeck and Ashley Young out apart from the longer absence of Nemanja Vidic.

The intervening months since that Old Trafford Massacre (TM) has seen both clubs struggle with form and injuries. United were bullied by Blackburn and then Newcastle before they righted the ship against Bolton. Despite these losses Utd are still in second and challenging for the title. Arsenal on the other hand surged to fourth in the old year before their self congratulatory shine wore off in losses to Fulham and Swansea. Nothing they have done dispels the trope of Arsenal as a fragile club.

The two results have opened up a slew of questions. Some old, some new. Who will take up the scoring slack if RVP fails to deliver? Will the defense without Vermaelen and the full backs manage to stop Utd? Aaron Ramsey looked jaded and weary without Arteta's organizational skills at the back. Theo Walcott remains an enigma and Arshavin shows little appetite to assume a central role. In a manner of speaking, Arsenal look the same side before the Old Trafford Massacre (TM) with Wenger throwing in his second side because of injuries and suspensions. This time too, injuries and Gervinho's absence contribute to a makeshift look.

The only saving grace is that Utd look vulnerable. Bringing back Paul Scholes is a bold move but it means Sir Alex finds his midfield in dire circumstances. Rio Ferdinand has to contend with revolving partners at centre back. The goalkeeper situation is also spotty with starter David De Gea confined to the bench and now apparently needing eye surgery.

There are big questions marks on both sides. But one hopes for Arsenal's sake they are resolved at least for this match. Maybe they need to regroup and analyze what they did effectively to climb out of the bottom rung. A 1-0 win like last season's encounter at the Emirates will do very nicely.

The buzz is Didier Drogba will be joining his Chelsea compatriot Nicholas Anelka in the Chinese Super League this summer for a whopping £270,000 a week. That kind of money for three years will amount to a nice retirement nest egg. Drogba has become an after thought with Roman Abramovich rooting for Fernando Torres to succeed so he can justify spending an £50m giveaway, the largest in sporting history. Considering all of this would Drogba be willing to consider a switch to Chelsea's northeastern rivals if an offer was forthcoming?

Drogba is a stately 33 years of age as critics will undoubtedly point out. But Arsene Wenger has been willing to jettison the U21 argument for a while now, inducting Sol Campbell, Jens Lehmann, Thierry Henry, and Mikel Arteta, to try and give the Gunners an experienced glow. The Cote D'Ivoirian from most accounts is still hungry and capable of many more goals. Just two years ago, he topped the league in goalscoring as he led Chelsea to the title. He has also single handedly destroyed Arsenal having scored 13 goals in their last 13 encounters.

Wenger has said of Drogba, "If you look at the statistics, defending against Drogba is one of the keys - if not the biggest key - of the game." That was in December 2010, before Arsenal managed to reverse a losing streak.

The most visible assets, a physical player, excellent with his back to goal, great aerial ability (even Cesc Fabergas seems to have found his heading touch at Barca), and a lethal finish who can dominate in the box. And he is an excellent set piece taker. All in all it has accounted for 150 goals in 323 matches for Chelsea putting him level with club greats Peter Osgood and Roy Bentley.

Arsenal will never even come close to matching the £270,000 per week that Shanghai Shenhua have reportedly offered to Drogba. But it can give him the allure of Premiership and Championship (the jury is out this season) football that the relative anonymity of the Chinese League can never give him. And the combination of RVP and Gervinho with the passing fluidity of the midfield (with Swansea in mind of course) can provide fertile ground for more goals which Drogba loves to score (that tantrum thrown in the Wigan match after Frank Lampard was chosen to take the PK was priceless).

This video explains clearly the damage SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) can do to the free flowing nature of the Internet. Contact your legislators to vote to stop SOPA and PIPA. You can find them here >>

Jose Mourinho's intentions were perfectly telegraphed as he consigned Mesut Oezil and Esteban Granero to anonymity. He started three holding midfielders with Lassana Diarra, Xabi Alonso, and Pepe in a deliberate park the bus tactics. The last mentioned was relocated to midfield from his usual centre back position with Sergio Ramos partnering Ricardo Carvalho.

Mourinho's switch resulted in Pepe committing:
1) A vicious foul on Sergio Busqets which resulted in a yellow card.
2) Going down theatrically after minimal contact with Fabregas complete with face clutching.
3) The now infamous foot stomp on Leo Messi's hand.

We might blame Pepe but Jose Mourinho is just manipulating his psychopathic streak to intimidate Barca. Basically, what you see is a manager who has run out of ideas and gifted the shop to the thugs to unleash mayhem. Reminds one of the droogies in Clockwork Orange or the Joker in The Dark Knight.

For the first time, Real fans are deploring Mourinho's actions in large numbers. The wool has been ripped off and they see the coach and the club as the problem, not Barca. Sid Lowe has a sampling of the reactions of the Spanish (read Madrid) media and it does not make for pretty reading. This by Santiago Segurlo of Marca really sums it up.

"Mourinho's latest pirouette was his worst. Spanish football has seen many teams with far fewer resources who have made life more difficult for Barça. And with greater nobility."

Whatever we may say, Real is a storied club, the most decorated in the world. Their fans want them to play hard. But they also want their club to play with skill and honour in keeping with their club's traditions. They are getting neither under Mourinho.

Yeah, Becks own underwear designs, part of H&M's David Beckham Bodywear collection will feature in a 30 second ad in the second quarter of this years Super Bowl, which will not feature the Green Bay Packers. Will it drive you to encase your goolies in a Becks underwear or will you come up fourth and inches? Tats optional.

By the way, he did sign a two year deal to continue with the LA Galaxy, and every MLS bigwig is happy because he's the saviour of the league after all. The deal allows him the freedom to participate in the 2012 London Olympics. And sell lots of T shirts.

Adidas backed out of a renewing LIverpool's kit deal as they weren't overly impressed with the club's performance. No matter. The Reds have reached an agreement with US based Warrior Sports that is worth £25m a year for 6 years, which more than Man Utd's annual £23.5m deal with Nike.

New Balance, the parent company of Warrior Sports, is also the supplier to the Boston Red Sox which is owned by John Henry's Fenway Sporting Group, which also owns Liverpool. Connections do matter. Which means if Arsenal fails to qualify for Europe are their kits going to be provided by Dick's Sporting Goods owned by Stan Kroenke?

I don't think they come lower than Pepe. Even animals have a sense of fair play. This man if you can call him that should be banned from the sport for life. Leo Messi goes down after colliding with Callejon and while he's down, Pepe strolls casually over and deliberately plants his studs on Messi's hand. The usually stoic Argentinian writhes in pain as the referee misses the incident altogether and fishes out a yellow for Callejon. Pepe has the gall to confront the referee and protest the card. This of course, is the latest in a series of psychopathic events.

Wayne Rooney, not the brightest of lights, twittered: "Pepe. What an idiot!"

Even Marca, a reliable mouthpiece for Real, wrote, "Pepe cannot continue staining the shirt." The publication has asked Florentino Perez to get rid of the defender as he does not measure up to the club's storied history, his peers, and the sport of football.

Pepe was the most egregious offender this evening but he was not the only Real player who played dirty. Ricardo Carvalho should have been sent off for trying to take out the legs of a full tilt Alexis Sanchez. And Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso, Lassana Diarra also cut it close. Fabio Coentrao pushed Messi's head down after they clashed. It was ugly Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo put Real up in the 11th minute as he took advantage of the gaping hole between Jose Pinto's legs to swing the ball through after Karim Benzema sprang him free from midfield. That was it for Real's endeavours. Barca momentarily stunned took over the match keeping Iker Casillas busy.

The resumption of the second half bought immediate dividends for Barca as Carles Puyol who is a human cannonball in real life hurled himself at the ball after Pique whiffed at a corner and his header seared past Casillas for the equalizer in the 49th minute. Captain Fantastic had done it again. The man is ageless. He's also something of a lucky charm as Barca have won six of these encounters with him and the only one lost was the Copa Del Rey final last year when he was out with an injury.

Things got worse in the 77th minute as Leo Messi, harried, pulled down, stamped on, pulled off a sublime chip over the Madrid defense and Jean Abidal hurrying down the left controlled the ball and toe poked it past Casillas. I couldn't have said it better than the over the top, "Abidal is as cool as a killer, he's onto this like Dracula onto a plate of liver." All hail Messi, all hail Abidal, especially Abidal, who dodged a life threatening condition and only returned last summer.

The celebrations between Alves and Abidal looked like a cross between Wyatt Earp and a samba dance. For Real it was a familiar theme. They simply cannot solve Barca and especially at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Copa Del Rey semi-finals, second leg, now goes to the Camp Nou with Barca in pole position to take the series.

Put this miss down as one for the season. 2 metres out in front of goal and Robbie Findley makes a complete mess after Leicester City's goalie fails to hold onto a cross. Findley's club, Nottingham Forest were humbled by City letting in four goals without scoring any in their FA Cup third round tie. Findley's critics and there were many while in the USMNT must be nodding their heads sagely, " I told you so."

Freiburg's Papiss Demba Cisse joins the Magpies for a reported £10m. Newcastle now sports a Senegalese flavour to their team. The new no 9 joins countrymen Demba Ba and Cheikh Tiote, both enjoying outstanding Premiership seasons. All three are at the ACN, so fans will get to see him next month depending on how Senegal do in that competition.

With Hatem Ben Arfa, who if he can keep away from rappers with a grudge, adding his prodigious talent to the mix, the Toons have one of the most exciting sides in years since David Ginola, Peter Beardsley, and Alan Shearer in the mid 90s.

Cisse is speedy, a muscular presence in the box with a nose for goals, and as one of the goals shows, shows good improvisational skills. At Freiburg, he was the best thing in a relegation bound side scoring 9 goals. He joins Newcastle to reclaim that extremely bright start to their season. They lie in sixth place breathing hard on Arsenal and just four points from fourth placed Chelsea.

The battle between the two GQs resumes

Transfer windows are always silly season but they pale in comparison to the sort of collective psychosis and paranoia engendered by El Clasico.

The hysteria before tomorrow's Copa De Rey semi-final first leg has gems like if Mourinho plays Pepe in the midfield then Real has a winning record in the Clasicos. Barca counters with Puyol as being a lucky charm with the Catalan defender participating in five of their winning encounters and the only time they lost he was out with an injury. The big question is whether Guardiola is going to shake hands with Jose Mourinho? If Mourinho wears white with rhinestones then the handshake is on, if he wears a black trenchcoat and devil's mask then it is eternal bitterness and rancour between the two men.

Barca are now jumping on the referees. Yesterday, Xavi got into the act, accusing the referees of harming them with adverse calls. Iniesta and Valdes also climbed on the blame the referees bandwagon. A blatant hand ball by Raul Rodriguez ignored by the referee in the Espanyol derby which could have resulted in a Barca penalty has triggered outrage. More dismay ensued as Iniesta was booked for diving in the Real Betis match while the midfielder felt he had been fouled.

All sorts of fouls that have not been called has left Barca questioning this season's refereeing. Last year it was good, this year they are being victimized. Accordingly, a complaint has been lodged with the Liga's technical committee.

All of this is perfectly timed just before El Clasico at the Bernabeu tomorrow. We all know what happened in the first encounter last season when all hell broke loose with Real going all industrial and Barca diving like narcoleptics.

Guardiola, the consummate diplomat refused to be drawn into the refereeing controversy (its amazing how Barca manages to get players to shill for them) saying in his four years he had never made it an issue. In fact, he had no idea who would be officiating the match.

Jose Manuel Pinto is starting as goalie for the Blaugrana. Pinto is famous as the goalie who simulated a referee's whistle in a Champions League match in 2010. The Merengues may not have the services of Angel Di Maria who was knocked out in yesterday's training session.

"I may look like Herbert Lom but I'm not mad - Torres could be at PSG. Why not?"

When you have been offered millions of euros to play in the transfer market what is not there to like in your job? PSG driven by bottomless money (well, until the world turns completely to green sources of energy which won't happen for the next 25 years) is now the black hole of football's existence.

Carlo Ancelotti has re-emerged at PSG after being shunted out from Chelsea unceremoniously and is being associated with all the big names in the sport. Carlos Tevez very obviously being wooed by PSG. But according to Ancelotti, they have also been offered Fernando Torres, Edinson Cavani, Fernando Llorente, and Dimitar Berbatov.

The most intriguing is Torres, whose three goals since he joined Chelsea has cost them about £17 million per goal. He has shown some signs of life as the Blues beat Sunderland although his endeavors resulted in Frank Lampard cornering all the glory. He was linked heavily to Ancelotti's failure to produce any titles in his second Chelsea season. Unfairly, of course. But if you work for Roman Abramovich then these preconceptions of fair play need to be thrown out.

Personally, Torres needs a change of scene to a league that is less physically and mentally demanding to rejuvenate and capture that self confidence. It might not happen this January because with Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou gone, Chelsea is short handed in attack. However, the window for proving he can really step up in their absence is short, with both returning from ACN duty early next month. Roman Abramovich's vanity project might be gone to the more welcoming climes of the Parc de Princes in the summer. PSG might be the club that can help Chelsea cut their losses substantially.

Arsene Wenger might consider his namesake Andrew Wenger in his search for a full back. Wenger, a Duke University standout shows why he is the top pick in this year's MLS SuperDraft. He is listed as a defender/forward and you can see why. He has impressive ball skills, attacks down the flanks with speed, and finishes impressively.

Wenger grabbed the spotlight at Duke playing center back his first two seasons but moved up front in his final year out of necessity. He provided an instant impact, scoring 17 goals, and contributing to 8 more playing in an unfamiliar spot. He led the ACC in points and goals scored and was fourth overall in the nation in points earning him the Hermann trophy. He has national ambitions participating in the U23 national camp ahead of the 2012 Olympics qualification.

He joins the expansion Montreal Impact. Here are the rest of the picks in the draft. Today, the MLS concludes the supplemental draft. Watch out for Kohei Yamada, Jason Banton, Gienir Garcia, Arthur Ivo, and Evans Frimpong.

Inter has tabled a £20.7m bid for the serial wantaway but Claudio Ranieri's statements show he remains unconvinced of Tevez's value to the team.

"There is balance now and the team has become solid. So we need to understand how much this lad can give and how much he can take away."

The win against Milan was a huge boost to Inter and Ranieri was especially heartened by Diego Milito's re-emergence as a striking force. He singled out Javier Zanetti's work ethic and said the Argentinian was the first to arrive at the training ground and the last to leave. As a team they have re-discovered their self esteem and sense of balance.

Ranieri also warns he has other priorities.

"Balance for me is sacred. I hope that the players who have been out through injury can manage to integrate themselves into the team."

" Snejider? He's working hard. He's had some injuries from old scars, but the way he's training you can see his great desire."

Which means Tevez's reputation as a high maintenance personality could prove to be a major drag on a team rediscovering its groove after a long time. Personally, Tevez would be better off at PSG where the rich owners can indulge his abrupt departures, mood swings, and his crooked agent and his myriad demands.

Looks like 5 year old Shaqueel Van Persie is a chip of the old block. And Arsenal is interested in signing the young talent but RVP says the Gunners can wait. His son likes the team he currently plays for because the coaching is good.

Meanwhile the subtext to this feel good stuff is Arsenal's worry that RVP is going to cut loose from the club and head off to City or more likely Barca. This is seen as a move to induce the striker to stay put. If this is true, then chalk this down to Wenger's swing to short termism, once again. Last day transfers, re-signing players, shorter apprenticeships, and sops like captaincies. Meanwhile, Arseblog has sounded the alarm. Investments are needed urgently.

szólj hozzá: Wigan 0-1 Manchester City

Edin Dzeko sighting once again. This time he flew high over the Wigan defense to head the ball home of a David Silva free kick. The 1-0 win established a three point lead over Utd at the top of the table.

Roberto Mancini reignited his feud with Wayne Rooney as he brandished an imaginary red card against Maynor Figueroa for a handball. These two should settle this by challenging each other to a red card waving duel and see whose arm falls off first. Or both can do a synchronized version.

Wigan are now right at the bottom. Bolton, QPR, and Blackburn are keeping them company.

The FC Ingolstadt striker and former LA Galaxy team mate of Landon Donovan is currently on trial at Everton for a week. David Moyes is looking to inject more firepower in his ranks as goals have been hard to come by for the Toffees. Donovan is already at Everton on loan till March before the MLS season begins.

Buddle has been in decent form scoring 6 goals in 17 appearances for second division Ingolstadt. He was a regular scoring threat while at the Galaxy, scoring 42 goals in 87 appearances.

We can now officially take off all those Arsenal linked to Gary Cahill reports. The Bolton Wanderers centre back is finally installed at Stamford Bridge for a reported £7m. There were some rumblings with personal terms and it is thought Cahill pockets £20,000 less than expected in weekly wages. No matter he is now playing for a winning club.

Barca beat Real Betis as midfield maestro Xavi making his 400th appearance for the Catalunyans scored the opening goal. Leo Messi fresh of his third Ballon D'Or scored two. Betis made it a game but Barca's victory means they are within five points of league leaders Real Madrid. Keeping fingers crossed.

Indians will see Roberto Pires in action next month

Instant cricket, the 20/20 version has found a home in India's Premier league, one of the world's most lucrative sporting brands, till corruption eroded its worth. The success of the IPL is inspiring a new soccer league in India which will see the likes of Roberto Pires, Fabio Cannavaro, Juan Pablo Sorin, and others participating in a soccer competition styled on the IPL format.

30 players and six coaches from overseas will be auctioned off in Kolkata for the month and half long tournament that begins Feb 25th and ends April 8th. There will be six teams and each team will get an "icon" player with a $600,000 salary cap counting towards a maximum of $2.5 million spending money the first year. The league initially will be confined to West Bengal, home of the most soccer crazy fans in India, but the Celebrity Management Group, the brain trust behind this project envisions an expansion to other states in due course. Accordingly, CMG has signed onto a 30 year contract with the Indian Football Association.

To encourage local talent there will be a cap of four foreign players and the rest of them will be picked up from the U21 Indian teams. This component cannot be overstated because India is one of the most dismal nations, if not the most dismal, when it comes to playing soccer with a FIFA ranking of 162. Any exposure to the sort of quality that players like Pires, Cannavaro, or Sorin provide will be good for the development of the sport.

Other players tapped for this league include a number of names in the twilight of their careers. Familiar names like Jay Jay Okocha, Hernan Crespo, Robbie Fowler, Fernando Morientes, and Maniche will get an opportunity to make some pretty easy money while entertaining Indian audiences.

Former Arsenal player and legend Pires is pretty excited about coming to India.

"I am proud to be the first Frenchman to go and play there. And eight weeks is nothing."

He maybe the first Frenchman to play there but India has a long history of French colonialism since the 17th century. Does he know the French used to have a colony near Kolkata called Chandernagore, now renamed Chandannagar? It was part of French India till the 1950s.

CMG was also behind bringing Diego Maradona to Kolkata back in 2008 which brought the city to a standstill. The Argentinian great kickstarted a project called Mission 2020 which envisions India qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. The last time India went to a World Cup was in 1954 but they withdrew because FIFA refused to accede to their demands to play barefoot. More recently, Bayern Munich came calling playing an Indian XI as part of Baichung Bhutia's testimonial which ended rather badly for the home side losing 4-0. Which gives an idea of how uphill India's climb is for World Cup qualification.

India maybe in the soccer doldrums but 60 million fans represents a huge market for clubs hoping to get new business. Bayern and Liverpool have ambitions in India which includes setting up soccer academies. Positive developments like this soccer league which actually helps India improve the quality of its soccer can only be welcome.

Here is some insight into why Rovers fans hate Steve Kean. They actually hate the owners just as much for their bewildering decision to sack the hugely popular Sam Allardyce installing Kean in his place. The reason was never fully explained. But this seems to be par for the course for an ownership whose intention is to marginalize the board right from the inception.

While Kean might have won some bragging rights with wins against Arsenal, Utd, and most recently Fulham, the inescapable fact is he's won just four games which keeps Blackburn squarely in the relegation zone. Venky's has not just shown its ignorance of how football ought to be run but in doing so revealed a provincialism that is very disturbing and not good for business.

AC Milan were the better attacking team and should have been deserving winners but the crossbar came to Inter's rescue. Soccer is cruel. Javier Zanetti proving at the age of 38 years he has a full tank of gas busts down the right and then diagonals all the way towards the direction of Diego Milito. What should have a simple collection for Ignazio Abate turns into a comedic air ball with Milito plundering the unexpected offering to finish perfectly as his slanted shot hits the far post past Christian Abbiati to nestle in the net.

Wesley Sneijder's career is on the wane. The Argentinian Ricardo Alvarez was a starter ahead of him. At the other end Alexandre Pato looked like he was just happy being in Milan after escaping the PSG transfer scare as he did nothing really to justify his presence. Inter turned in a fine defensive performance; if not in the same calibre as the immense performance against Barca a few years ago, good enough to stop whatever Milan had to throw at them including a very good Stephen Al Shaarawy.

A word of warning to Arsenal. Kevin Prince Boateng will be an immense player in their Champions League encounter. He has a wicked long range shot and plenty of movement in midfield to pose a myriad of problems. Boateng's ascension to trequartista is a story of dreams with his career rescued from the wreckage of Portsmouth's fiery descent to bankruptcy.

Can we say Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the most over rated striker in the world? Pretty please.

I love this clip. The frenzy associated with the Milan derby is captured perfectly. Part real passion, part theatrics. Tiziano Crudeli is a legend in AC Milan circles. He was not happy with the result obviously. And the female announcer is the cutest ever in that sea of testosterone.

szólj hozzá: Swansea City 3-2 Arsenal

Arsenal's bright start through who else but Robin Van Persie was dashed within minutes as Aaron Ramsey brought down Nathan Dyer, an absolute pest to the Gunners, and Scott Sinclair converted the penalty. The foul looked pretty soft. Andrey Arshavin who had threaded the pass through for RVP's goal was guilty of less precision in the second half as Ramsey could not latch onto his errant service gifting the ball to Joe Allen. The midfielder quickly sprang free Dyer and the winger taking a touch swept his shot past Szczesny.

In a match of fluctuating fortunes, Walcott relatively anonymous so far was fed a beautiful ball by Johan Djourou, and with his pace was able to get past Williams for the equalizer. But we have seen it before against Stoke, Blackburn, Spurs, and just about anyone, Arsenal's concentration is at its most vulnerable just after it scores. Somehow they have trouble gathering their wits and so it was with Swansea as Danny Graham took advantage of some soft marking to sweep to the right of Laurent Koscielny and unleash a majestic finish from a tight angle for the winning goal.

Thierry Henry's much anticipated return to the Premiership did not yield the same result as the FA Cup match. Which of course begs the question, after how many appearances does expectancy wear off and the fumes of hope extinguish themselves? Did Wenger ever prepare for that possibility? We can live washed up on a beach head of nostalgia but to expect 34 year old Henry to provide the answers everytime he sets foot on the pitch is to believe in the alchemists stone.

So where does this defeat leave Arsenal? In fifth position, four points behind Chelsea with a far more adverse goal differential. More ominously, with two defeats in a row, Arsenal are now level on point terms with Newcastle and just a point ahead of Liverpool. Which means they are now competing for a Europa spot. In term of quality of play, Arsenal were dire with their passing game which led to Swansea capturing much of the ball. In truth, this was never going to be an easy match as the Swans have made a point of showcasing their own considerable skills in communication.

Ramsey had a particularly forgettable day in his return to Wales. Arshavin was at his infuriating best, setting up RVP's goal but also providing a number of pointless passes, one which led to Dyer's goal. The lack of full backs pressing down the flanks ever since Sagna and Andre Santos left us leaves us with most of the thrust generated centrally which is easier to bottle by putting more bodies which is what Swansea was able to do.

Wenger also made a mistake putting in Per Mertesacker who clearly has not yet recovered from his flu like symptoms as the big German looked even more ponderous. His miss off a corner when a toe poke would have scored the elusive equalizer was emblematic of his slowed senses. Instead he whiffed on a ball that landed invitingly at his feet in front of goal with Henry telegraphing his frustrated reaction. More bizarrely, was the cross that Ignasi Miquel lifted finding Mertesacker in the box which led to an major embarrassment of ungainly moves and a foul. What was Mertesacker doing there in the first place?

The answer is quite troubling. We have no center forward. Chamakh has failed. RVP is a slot striker and Henry is actually a winger with incredible shooting skills. Passing crosses has become a redundancy. The subbing of Mertesacker with Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and relocating Song to central defender should have taken place at least a half ago.

Here is what the last 7 matches look like ever since that distant 4-0 drubbing of Wigan early in December. Three wins, 3 losses, and a draw to drop 14 points. The loss of Bakary Sagna and Andre Santos has proven immensely damaging. We have rejiggered with Vermaelen, Ignasi Miquel and Francis Coquelin on the left and on the right with Djourou and Miquel but really this is just plugging a leaking dam with putty. Next up, Utd and if they were to miraculously turn into three toed sloths, would still find a way to beat us.

This is Wenger's reaction to the match. Spot what is wrong with it.

" Coincidences are always against us and it is difficult to understand what is going on. I don't know, I feel we are a bit too nervous. We cannot panic every time they have the ball in the final third of the pitch. We have to show more composure and ambition. I think we panicked a bit too quickly today. "

First, this is a manager who says he doesn't know what's going on. To blithely say coincidences is to deny a systematic pattern. Second, to equate Swansea to City or United invoking a panic attack every time they camp out in our final third is a huge problem. Why? For the umpteenth time, Wenger finds himself behind the coaching curve. We have done well to get to fifth but like last season we are heading to a swoon that could leave us with more rationalizations and denials. This time spinning fifth as the new fourth will not do.

Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton: The NFL's youth brigade are invigorating the sport

Watching the San Francisco 49ers and New Orlean Saints putting together one of the NFL's classics last night, one was struck by the relative youth of the two opposing head coaches, patrolling the sidelines as an armada of assistant coaches and players milled around behind them. Both 48 years of age, animated, in control, challenging referees, haranguing players to do better. A 49ers team managed to stop Drew Brees and the Saints inexorable scoring machine by forcing five turnovers and scoring two sensational touchdowns in an unforgettable last quarter comeback. Vernon Davis caught Alex Smith's throw in the last minute for the winning touchdown. At the end an emotionally overcome Davis rushes to Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers head coach and embraces him.

Age apparently had nothing to do with Harbaugh being considered a leader of men. All over the NFL, a wave of young, bright minded coaches, is changing the look of the league, evidence of the continued revitalization of America's most watched sport. A sport buoyed by the financial success through revenue sharing and costs brought under control by salary cups is taking risks with coaches who have new ideas and leadership qualities rather than just the requisite experience.

The elixir of youth animates this year's playoffs. Harbaugh, a first year head coach led the 49ers to their first NFC Championship title game in 13 years. Payton, the Saints coach for five years already has a Super Bowl ring won in 2010. If this script is being written as planned there is a good chance the 49ers will advance to the Super Bowl where they could meet the Baltimore Ravens, whose head coach John Harbaugh is Jim's younger brother, by a year. The Ravens have gone 12-4 and will play today against the Texans in their divisional playoff game.

The Steelers, a playoff perennial under Mike Tomlin, who at 39 years of age, has already tasted success becoming the youngest coach to win the Super Bowl in 2009. Tomlin was on the vanguard of the NFL's youth revolution when he was hired by Dan Rooney in an open call to became Steelers head coach in 2007 at the age of 34 years, the third youngest in the American sports. The road to this year's Super Bowl will pass through Lambeau Field, where the current NFL champions, the Green Bay Packers and their 48 year old head coach Mike McCarthy await the NY Giants. At 65 years, Tom Coughlin, the Giants coach bucks the trend but he remains with 59 years old Bill Belichik, of the New England Patriots, the senior citizens of the crop of NFL coaches.

Lets track back to the Premiership, the most capitalistic of sporting endeavours, where the laissez faire of high priced transfers, is not matched by the moribund coaching hierarchy at the top. Sir Alex Ferguson just celebrated his 70th year of existence and his 16th year as Man Utd's head coach. Look for no change any time soon because Sir Alex has stated his desire to coach for the next three years.

The streak of longevity is preserved by arch rivals Liverpool, who turned to 60 year old Kenny Dalglish, last summer in his second return to reverse their sliding fortunes. Arsenal despite all the divided fans last summer refused to even second guess 62 year old Arsene Wenger who in his 14th year stubbornly clings to power and will probably retire from that club. Before Chelsea reposed faith in 34 year old Andre Villas- Boas, the club had gone through Carlo Ancelotti, Guus Hiddink, Phil Scolari and Avram Grant, a pantheon of greybeards. City has done better turning to Roberto Mancini since their Abu Dhabi takeover. However, this cannot be construed as some injection of risk taking. The influx of international talent opened up by paying top prices would have to be matched by a top coach.

Mike Tomlin embodies the Steelers penchant for hiring 30s something coaches as well as the progressive values of their owners, the Rooneys, who instituted the Rooney Rule. The Steelers have maintained their status as one of the most consistent performers in league history over the years.

That however was not the case with Payton and Harbaugh, brought on board to rejuvenate two struggling franchises. Payton, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback coach, not exactly in their glory years, was hired by the Saints in 2006. He was able to reverse a 3-13 record the year and led them to the playoffs. The 49ers gave their vote of confidence to Harbaugh, who spent 7 years coaching varsity teams, first at University of California, San Diego, and then Stanford. Success at college level is no prognosticator of a successful transition to the NFL with Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban as leading examples. The Lions, long held as the poster boys of sporting futility turned to 45 year old Jim Schwartz, who spent many years as the Titans defensive coordinator and under him made steady improvement capping this season with a playoff appearance, their first since 1999. Their future looks quite bullish.

There are of course exceptions to the ageism in soccer. La Liga is consumed by the presence of two young, two very successful coaches who have earned every title under the sun but in the process created neither the animation nor the resurgence in the rest of the league which lives in a existential void created by Real and Barcelona. Jose Mourinho has never created a team and Pep Guardiola has no experience playing in a system that was not Barca. These are not exactly risk takers.

In the Premiership when there is a vacancy the usual roster of names are circulated. Sunderland turned to Martin O' Neill who has had a long track record with Celtic and Aston Villa. And QPR snapped up Mark Hughes, the former Blackburn and City coach. Today, a bright refreshing Swans side under Brendan Rogers beat Arsenal. But do not look to City or United to snap up the 38 year old should Mancini fail to get them the Premiership or Sir Alex retire tomorrow. The bottom line remains with all the money in professional soccer increasing the mountains of debt, there is less chances of clubs thinking outside the box when it comes to hiring new coaching talent.

Glen Johnson's two footed lunge on Joleon Lescott

Now tell me why Vincent Kompany was sent off for his tackle on Nani and Johnson wasn't?

Tevez's 52 goals in 91 City appearances may again prove appealing to Mancini

Alexandre Pato put the spokes on a PSG move as he came out with a statement.

" Milan is my home. I did not want to interrupt my career with the Rossoneri after winning my first two trophies with this shirt. I want to contribute to the history of Milan and the future success of this club with happiness and in perfect harmony with everyone here."

The club website had this to say:

"Alexandre Pato will remain in Milan. The striker has decided to continue his young, splendid, and already successful career with Rossoneri."

The development occurred when Adriano Galliani was poised in what appeared to be meaningful negotiations to bring Carlos Tevez to Milan on the assumption that Pato was PSG bound. Galliani was in London meeting with City officials thrashing out a possible deal. Pato's move to the Paris club would have financed Tevez's transfer on a repurchase option after a free loan move for €25 million + €3 million in bonus. With Pato's refusal to leave, the talks collapsed and the end result Tevez is still at City leaving Inter in the strongest position to bring him on board.

The other choice is and it is a convoluted one, is to keep Tevez at City, where there appears to be a thawing in the once frozen relationship between the Argentinian and Roberto Mancini. City's once unstoppable attack is stuttering with Sergio Aguero as the only viable striker left. Edin Dzeko is going through a lean spell and Mario Balotelli has an ankle injury with no return date available. The last eight matches have resulted in 4 losses, a draw, and three wins. Only 10 goals have been scored in that streak which is a steep decline from the three averaged per match.

In Milan, there was a sense of overwhelming relief. Not many are sold on Tevez, who's reputation as a serial wantaway had many worried. Especially since it meant Pato leaving the club and even with his injuries, a far greater talent than Tevez. In fact, Galliani seemed quite content to throw the ball in Inter's court.

"I must say that I'm happy, it will be a good omen. I believe that players have the right and opportunity to choose their lives."

PSG is splashing some serious cash this transfer window. They are on the verge of signing Alexandre Pato for €35 million from Milan for a three year deal. Leonardo is also milking his popularity with Brazilian players to bring Kaka on board and is offering €25 million for the services of the Real midfielder. Maxwell is already on the way for €3.5 million and in the pipeline Maicon and Thiago Motta who also might be Paris bound.

Adriano Galliani is confident of landing Carlos Tevez and is at the moment meeting with City officials in London to thrash out an agreement. The Rossoneri are willing to go to €25 million with a €3m bonus while City want €10m more. However, according to the Gazzetta, these negotiations might be resolved in favour of Milan who are competing with Inter in wooing Tevez to the Serie.

Man City move over. PSG owned by the Qatar Investment Authority is putting together a bottomless pit that will make it the most hated club in the world.

szólj hozzá: Tottenham H. 2-0 Everton

Benoit Assou Ekotto's spectacular 30 yard strike continued a tradition of Spurs long range bombs in recent times - Danny Rose, Rafael Van Der Vaart, Tom Huddlestone, Kyle Walker, come to mind. The first goal came from Aaron Lennon, cutting past Leighton Baines, after the left back completely missed clearing a long diagonal ball from Ekotto, and then shooting past the diving Tim Howard.

With the win, Spurs are level on points with Utd but a smaller goal differential puts them in third. They now await Wolves before traveling to City in a much awaited encounter which will be a litmus test for "are they for real" challengers to the Premiership title.

For Everton, the big question is who's going to score the goals? 20 in 20 matches is not good enough. Leighton Baines and Leon Osman have scored three each and they are not even strikers.

szólj hozzá: City v Liverpool 0:1 EXTENDED

Have at the 20 minutes highlights before it is taken down. Stefan Savic brings down Daniel Agger and Steven Gerrard converts the PK in the 12th minute. Liverpool were much the better team for large parts of the match in the first half. In the second they played good hard defensive ball to deny City at the Etihad.

The match ended in controversy as Roberto Mancini and Gerrard exchanged words in the tunnel over a tackle made by Glen Johnson against Joleon Lescott that the Italian felt should have led to his ejection. An aggrieved Mancini pointing out Kompany was ejected for a lesser foul which led Gerrard to come surprisingly to the defense of Rooney. Nice bit of theatrics.

Without Vincent Kompany, serving the first of his four match ban for his tackle against Nani in the FA Cup third round encounter, City looked shaky in defense. This is their second loss in title competition in a row and there is undoubtedly a sense of frustration creeping in.

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Christopher Medley's video clip on Soccer and the Mechanics of Sport on TV looks at how soccer could be made more attractive in the USA by making it more analytical and information based just like the 3 big sports that dominate viewership. Much of what happens in a soccer match is never really analyzed the same way as an NBA, MLB, or an NFL match. The "how did he do it" never gets deconstructed in the same exhaustive way in the big 3 which makes them attractive to viewers. Thus, soccer is lampooned as 22 grown men chasing a ball futilely for hours to no end.

Medley's got some great insights and his argument has much merit but this analysis will never be easy in a sport played in a continuum. To be able to give the sort of on the spot meaningful breakdown one needs to have the stretched out time frame of an NFL match or the pitch by pitch quality of MLB. I also believe the technologically advanced states of the big 3 sports plays a big part in helping that superior analysis. The rigorous playbooks NFL players memorize by rote and then execute as "plays" are therefore easier to decipher on the ground. The introduction of the 24 second shot clock in the NBA not only boosted sagging scorelines but also led to the insightful commentary that we take for granted now.

At its heart, soccer is a low tech sport which has remained obdurately unchanged over the decades. The unsophisticated nature of the sport is reflected in the accompanying commentary. The Europeans are much more knowledgeable than the Christopher Sullivans of ESPN but they remain Luddites compared to the specifics offered by a John Madden analysis of a touchdown. That is not their fault. The sport of soccer has been enjoyed in some form or shape since the Middle Ages. The big 3 are New World sports inextricably linked to the American character and the evolving history of this country. Soccer here lacks the Gipper and the Curse of the Bambino, stories that are found plentifully elsewhere in the world.

However, Medley's point is very good. We do need to change our thinking, actually; lack of thinking, and look at soccer more critically in the three areas he has highlighted in this very compelling and entertaining video. Yes, saying Messi Magic really explains nothing. It's like pixie dust. Are ESPN and Fox Soccer commentators going to take up Medley's challenge? Or do they need to get him on board?

In case anyone wants to revisit Espanyol's 1-1 draw over Barcelona this past weekend here are the highlights. Barca's fierce crosstown rivals did Real Madrid a huge favour by playing spoilers moving them five points clear on top of the table. Barca went ahead through Cesc Fabregas. Who knew he could head the ball with such venom, a phenomenon previously unknown to Arsenal fans. It was his 9th goal in 17 matches, 13th in all competitions.

But the bigger story was Alvaro Vasquez's 86th minute equalizer that brought the Cornella El Prat to its feet. There was drama to follow as Raul Rodriguez blocked Pedro's shot with his hand after Gerard Pique's rebound off the crossbar fell to the Barca striker. No penalty was called and with that Espanyol might have buried Barca's Liga hopes.

Disaster for Malaga's goalie as Karim Benzema's speculative shot results in the ball squeezing past his arms and legs and trickles into goal. A case of the willies? It was actually the only blemish in an otherwise fine performance by Willy Caballero to keep Real at bay.

The 1-0 victory in the second leg gave Real a winning aggregate of 4-2 advancing them to the Copa Del Rey quarterfinals where they are almost sure to meet Barca, 4-0 winners against Osasuna in their first leg. Some fine theatrical performances are guaranteed.

Analyze. Do not analyze. It does not matter. Just lay back and enjoy the King's return. Time melted away with this goal.

There is a big laundry list of things new manager Mark Hughes needs to get QPR off and running. The London side have scored just 19 goals, one more than Wigan's output, the worst in the Premiership. Apart from the scoring woes, one of Hughes's biggest priorities will be to get Barton to act like the senior citizen he should be at 29 years of age. Not a Twitter fiend, cavorting with the EDL, or getting red carded for bone headed reasons.

The loss of Alejandro Faurlin to an ACL injury that will keep him out till the end of the season has robbed QPR of their one genuine creative hub. Time for Adel Taraabt to step up to the plate. Tony Fernandes has been quite generous with his check book so Mark Hughes will have the option to go to the transfer market to find a replacement. With Hughes's higher name recognition, overseas prospects become more feasible.

Well, what do you know? Barton is taking a sabbatical from his endless Twitter yakking. This after his jibe at English born Irish origin players who choose to play for Ireland.

The latest L'Uomo Vogue has Mario Balotelli featured on the cover and a candid and revealing interview with the City star that doesn't quite give the lie to a grumpy, immature, prankster. Yes, he did total his £100,000 Audi the next day, set off firecrackers in his bathroom causing major damage, got into a training ground spat with Micah Richards, and earned Mancini's disapproval smoking cigarettes. And that is just a partial list of his transgressions.

He does nothing to dispel that image but there are moments of introspection which paint a more complex picture. Some of it comes from growing up as an adopted child of Ghanian origin in Italy and his experiences moulded from the more overt racism seen in that country's football grounds.

The Daily Mirror has excerpted some of that interview. If you must know he's dating a Sophia Loren look alike.

The quintessential damned if you do, damned if you don't quandary of a man who is constantly misunderstood summed up by:

"If I buy a Fiat Uno, I'll read that for a man like me a Ferrari was more suitable. If instead I buy a Ferrari, they'll write that I should have kept my feet on the ground and bought a Fiat."

Maybe that enigmatic quality and his undoubted genius is what keeps it all ticking. And he has many peers who seek him out. David Beckham asked Balotelli to sign a Man City jersey for his son although what he did after seems to be more noseworthy.

Despite many reports of Balotelli being unsettled at City and linked with Milan, the club he's grown up admiring, the striker came up with his strongest statement that he intends to stay put. If his knee holds up, he could make City fans a very happy lot.

Looks like the 23 year old Argentinian striker/ winger has committed himself to remaining at Anderlecht to help them win the Jupiter League. He has been strongly linked with Arsenal with Wenger tracking him for months since the Europa Cup began. Suarez has scored 14 goals for the Belgian first division side.

"I want to help the club achieve their goals this season. Things have been going pretty well, and we can achieve some great things. I don't want to let the club down now. If I leave Anderlecht, it won't be during the winter break."

Meanwhile, Sky Sports is linking us to Eric Abidal, Barca's left back who will be out of contract by the end of this season. Arsenal of course have a crisis of sorts with their full backs out with injuries. Bakary Sagna along with Kieran Gibbs are expected back at the end of the month. Andre Dos Santos is said to follow a month later and there is no expected date of return for Carl Jenkinson.

This is a rumour that might have some legs because Francis Coquelin who was doing a yeoman's job as makeshift left back fell to the injury blight and is out for the next two weeks. Abidal is approaching the end of his contract with Maxwell competing for his position, so he's not exactly in a strong position to negotiate. Barca might fancy doing us a favour now that the Fabregas transfer has gone swimmingly well for them.

He is back. The look in his eyes says it all.

Arseblog:

" His reaction is raw, visceral. From sheer delight to chest thumping, from crowd waving to an embrace with Arsene Wenger, it's a moment that nobody will forget."

A Cultured Left Foot:

" the years rolled away as Song slid the ball through the line of defenders, the left edge of the penalty melted as Henry's body shape dictated where the shot was going and inevitably ended. This was Arsenal's Sex Pistols at Manchester Free Trade Hall moment."

Gunnerblog:

" The first touch was immaculate, the body shape breathtakingly familiar. The giant clock suspended from the Emirates canopy seemed to stop, dead. Time wound back to 2004 and, briefly, Thierry Henry was invincible again."

Goodplaya:

" And he is different. But in that vintage finish and the run at the end, he was there again. Perhaps, in my case as I'll miss the next two home games, for one night only. But he was undoubtedly there. It was unmistakable."

Goodplaya was at the Emirates when it happened in front of him. He saw history in the making.

The former Arsenal defender now commentating for ESPN gets smacked by a ball kicked during the Leeds warm up before the FA Cup third round match against Arsenal. Robbie Savage reacted as if it was meant for him. Kudos to Keown for making a fast recovery. One of the toughest defenders in club history.

Here is a link to a Sky Sports reporter getting beaned at the back of the head. Ouch! Part of the dangers of sideline football reporting.

At this point only World Cup success eludes him. But Leo Messi has done enough to earn himself a place in the pantheon of the greats. He was awarded the trophy by O Fenomeno looking none the worse for wear for someone recently recovering from dengue fever.

Messi beat out Cristiano Ronaldo, the Liga's top scorer last season, and his Barca team mate Xavi. He joins Michel Platini as the only player to have won three consecutive Ballon D'Or awards although the Frenchman won his when only European players were eligible.

The bar is set high. By a fellow countryman. Diego Maradona is still the best. He won Napoli their first scudetto in 1986-87 almost single handedly and then won Argentina its 1986 World Cup. Maradona did not have the luxury of a stellar cast of characters who surround Messi at Barca who improve his game perceptibly. But Messi is just 24 years. There are potentially two more World Cup to go. Plenty of time to emerge as the world's best footballer.

The FiFPro XI were players chosen from just three clubs: Barca, Real Madrid, and Man Utd:

Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Gerard Piqué (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester Utd), Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Xavi (Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd).

szólj hozzá: Arsenal v Leeds 1:0 HIGHLIGHTS

The stage was set after 68 minutes of frustrating football with Arsenal brought to a standstill by a Leeds Utd team that parked the bus. The moment everyone was waiting for with bated breath. Number 12 strode in to a standing ovation - Thierry Henry had arrived home to a flood of good time memories. And it could not have been written better. In a seamless series of moves, he moved inside as Song released the ball perfectly, controlled it deftly, and curled it into the far corner. Vintage Henry. And he knew and everyone knew how special this was. Tremendous goalscorers have a way of making it look so simple. After the match Henry stood soaking in the Emirates adulation as thousands transmitted their love to a favourite son.

The script was made familiar by an Arsenal side that dominated the match but just could not come up with the finished product. Wenger went with Sebastien Squillaci and Laurent Koscielny at center with Ignasi Miquel and Francis Coquelin at left and right back, respectively. Disaster struck in the 29th minute as Coquelin exited after pulling his hamstring. The makeshift defense already stretched thin was forced to induct Nico Yennaris making only his second appearance in the senior squad. Arsenal's attacking thrust came from Andrey Arshavin who was a handful all evening and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, always a threat with his pace.

There were too many chances to enumerate and there was continued set piece futility from a dozen corners. But as they say, it was all written in the hand, scripted perfectly for Henry to score on his return. His 227th goal for Arsenal, the 12th against Leeds, and the first goal for the club since his header in a 2-0 win against Utd in 2007.

As heartwarming as this moment was, as dream like the finish, the inescapable fact is Arsenal before Henry came on, did not have anyone capable of finishing off a chance. Mikel Arteta in the starting XI had the distinction of topscorer with 3 goals. And Chamakh at this stage is just poor. He looks enervated.

But more on Henry because this was his evening:

"It's all kind of weird," Henry said. "When I came back from holiday in Mexico, 15 days ago, I never thought I'd play for Arsenal again, let alone score the winner. I don't know what to say, to be honest. The feeling I had when I scored was amazing."

His return makes Wenger look like a genius who said he was impressed with what he saw in training.

"He's sharp, physically. I'd seen that in training and I wouldn't have used him if he wasn't ready. But he was already a legend here. Now he's added just a bit more to the whole story."

Henry's current contract has him at Arsenal for six weeks extendable to eight weeks which will see him do duty in a mouthwatering encounter with Spurs as well as AC Milan in the Champions League round of 16. But with his instant impact there is all kinds of talk that Arsenal could find a way to keep him till the end of the season. Which of course is not fair to the Red Bulls and more seriously does not solve the need for a long term partner to RVP up front.

With this result, Arsenal are spared a trip to Elland Road, and through to the 4th round where they will meet Aston Villa. Today, Arsenal fans can sleep well after an evening written in the stars.

The Bedfordshire regiment play soccer with the Germans, Christmas Day 1914

Truth is stranger than fiction. Liverpool are to host Man Utd in the FA Cup 4th round at the end of the month in a potentially explosive match that could see many sources of conflagration from fans, players, and even the managers all centered around the Luis Suarez vs Patrice Evra racism row. Matters need to be resolved before Suarez travels to Old Trafford in his first league match back from suspension.

The Merseysiders are yet to apologize or even acknowledge wrongdoing, having closed ranks around Suarez. Their stance has dismayed the chief of the anti-racism group Fare who accused Liverpool of whipping up "tribal fervour" in the fans.

An element of that fervour was visible in the racial abuse a particular fan or fans subjected Tom Adayemi to in the Oldham FA Cup fixture. But the fact that Liverpool have not acknowledged any wrongdoing makes these peace talks difficult. The first step in the reconciliation process is the acknowledgment that there is a problem. The right way to start would be to unequivocally condemn racism as having no place in a tolerant, open society. To be followed by acknowledging Suarez could have overstepped the players code of conduct. Abandoning the albatross of cultural relativism would be another when there is well documented evidence Suarez knew exactly what he was saying could be considered inflammatory. The word "negro" used systematically by Suarez to target Evra was not used in the same way as a sort of offhand pejorative used in South America or Spain.

The person responsible for changing the tone is none other than Kenny Dalglish because it was his responses to questions in the press conference that revealed the depth of denial by Liverpool. King Kenny is directly responsible for the behaviour of his players and because of his cult status, he wields enormous clout with fans. If he climbs down from his pedestal the peace talks will have meaning and result in tangible detente. Otherwise, these talks will be empty words. The unfortunate part will be the expensive and dampening presence of police and health personnel boosted to overwhelming levels to manage any fallout.

The Serie began its second half with a shocker. Fourth placed Lazio was pounded by 17th placed Siena into submission. Emanuele Calaiò converted two penalties and fellow striker Mattia Destro poured in another brace.

szólj hozzá: 8v,[Matchhighlight.com]

Vincent Kompany should never have been sent off. It wasn't a blind lunging two foot tackle which could have harmed Nani. He actually goes low to corral the ball with his right instep and gets it very cleanly. There was little contact.

Chris Foy really made a royal mess. He got sold by Rooney who made the red card gesture. It was actually a fantastic tackle by one of the best centre backs in football. Between Rooney's fabulous header and Kompany's sending off, City had to endure the most horrendous two minutes, completely changing the match from a very early stage.

szólj hozzá: Swindon v Wigan 2:1 (FA Cup)

Paolo Di Canio's Swindon, in League 2, shocked Wigan three levels above them. Callum McManaman got the ball rolling for Wigan seizing the rebound after Ben Watson's penalty struck the post. But Swindon playing some really good football staged a comeback through Alan Connell and Paul Benson.

After the match the controversial Di Canio wanted to commemorate the match with a plaque with the names of all the players who pulled off this stunning victory. He also said he fancied meeting Man United next. Di Canio has fond memories of scoring West Ham's winner at Old Trafford 11 years ago. It was Swindon's first entry into the FA Cup fourth round in 16 years.

Paul Scholes is back to Utd

Man Utd is making Rob Smyth eat his words. Wayne Rooney has scored two including a penalty and Danny Welbeck's wondrous volley rounds of the tally.

Vincent Kompany was sent off in the 12th minute for a two footed tackle on Nani which got the ball but not the man however Chris Foy, who else (memories of the Spurs vs Stoke match linger on) thought differently. And in a season of comebacks Paul Scholes renounces his retirement. Why not?

Update: Kolarov just pulled one back for City with a beautifully taken free kick. Utd 3 City 1. City will have to throw the kitchen sink.

Demba Ba savouring his strike against Man Utd

A lot of clubs would love to get their hands on Demba Ba, riding one of the hottest streaks in the Premiership. His fifteen goals is second only to Robin Van Persie. So it wasn't surprising when Harry Redknapp set off alarm bells when he said Ba had a "release clause" in his Newcastle contract. The result is the club is rushing to offer Ba a new contract to keep him at St James Park.

Redknapp is absolutely right when he says, "Anybody could have had him a year ago. Full credit to Alan Pardew, he took him."

We could do with someone like Ba at the Emirates, couldn't we? The downside to Ba is that he is off to the ACN next week as part of Senegal's squad. The Toons have to deal with the loss of their top scorer and their star holding midfielder Cheikh Tiote.

Liverpool's failure to come down on Luis Suarez's well documented racial abuse of Patrice Evra seems to have emboldened a LFC fan or a few fans to heap the same on Oldham's Tom Adayemi in their FA Cup fixture. The right back was visibly upset and had to be calmed down by Steven Gerrard, his team mates, and the referee. Maybe the mindless morons were thinking doing so would somehow bring back Luis Suarez from his eight match ban. The police are now investigating the incident and Liverpool has promised its co-operation.

Even apparently reasonable people seem to have lost their moral compass. Here the author of this article seems to be using cultural relativism as an argument. It is apparent he couldn't be bothered to read the FA commission's report. There is no relativism when Suarez tells Evra," I don't talk to negroes." And then draws attention to his skin by pinching it and mockingly calls him negro three more times. It is racial abuse whether you are in the UK or Uruguay or any other part of the world.

16 year old Romarinho, the son of one of the most prolific goalscorers in history, Romario, scores a vital winning goal for Vasco's youth team in their opener against Sao Francisco.

Romarinho begins his career at Vasco, like his father, before he moved onto PSV and thereafter Barcelona cementing his place as one of the world's most feared poachers. Undoubtedly scouts are already tracking his progress and if he is inherited his father's nose for goals, a big European club will surely come knocking.

Wayne Rooney isn't going anywhere from the swamp

Wayne Rooney on Twitter:

" The independent are talking absolute rubbish my future is with Manchester United and the club and I are totally commited to each other."

This was in response to a James Lawton's article which speculated Rooney's relationship with Sir Alex had suffered a complete breakdown and there was talk he was to be sold this January. Read the article and it just absolute bunkum. After what transpired in 2010 a seasoned manager like Sir Alex would never jettison his club's talisman specially now when the club needs him even more.

The January transfers haven't exactly caught fire, so Lawton decides to make a mountain out of a molehill. This is beyond silly season.

Roberto, ditch Sheikh Mansour for Mitt Romney. He's got cash to give away.

The Italian is complaining that he's down to two central midfielders and one striker. James Milner and Nigel De Jong will start in the middle and Sergio Aguero patrols up front.

The Ivory Coast has refused his demand to release Yaya and Kolo Toure till after the Man Utd FA Cup showdown for their ACN campaign. Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko have been ruled out with injuries. Gareth Barry is serving a suspension.

Tsk! Tsk! He only has David Silva, Samir Nasri, and Adam Johnson left. They never pass and they never score. Plus, City meet United who only have about 9 players sidelined with injuries, concentrated mostly in the back and in central midfield.

Now is the time to open up the bottomless money pit and spend more on players. But Mancini is not being heard by the bigwigs in City who are getting worried by the club's burgeoning deficit. Apparently, oil and gas rich sheikhs are no longer interested in writing blank checks.

The deed is done. The legend has signed on and is cleared to play against Leeds in the FA Cup tie on Monday. Whet your appetite with the top 25 goals while at Arsenal, each goal more delectable than the last.

What stands out apart from his outstanding physical attributes is extreme self confidence. Henry was so sure about what he wanted to do with the ball. He also believed in Arsenal's passing system up to a point which he used in enlightened self interest to score goals. Lets face it, a Henry operating at a third from his peak will be infinitely better than what we have in Chamakh, the incredible vanishing man or Park who no one has seen since he was signed on last summer.

It's been five years since the fleet footed winger arrived from Southampton on the promise of energizing the wide areas of the pitch and fulfilling what a homesick Jose Antonio Reyes failed to deliver. At 22 years of age, Walcott is now an exasperating muddle of intuition and speed spliced with dollops of bad choices and lack of composure.

He's been having a decent season assisting RVP to his record setting Arsenal record of 35 goals but he's been off form with his goals scoring just two in 19 appearances. In the match against QPR, Walcott put through with a nice ball used his pace to sprint free and with just the goalie to beat pulled the trigger early. The ball trickled away from goal in a mortifying moment. The next match against Fulham, Walcott completely disappeared in the second half. These are not isolated snapshots but vignettes of his career so far. Last year's Champions League second leg at Barcelona led to a much anticipated match up between Walcott against Maxwell which ended in his pink shoes getting all the publicity.

Much has been written of Walcott's speed and his ability to outpace his opponents is an undeniable asset but he seems to lack the ability to make the sort of measured service into the box consistently which threatens goals. More promisingly, as a second striker, he can use a more direct approach with his speed causing backpedaling defenders to fall to the wayside. But in this role he lacks a physical presence and the composure to finish chances.

Wenger in 2008 praised him for his "great body power" and predicted he would be a regular 10-15 goalscorer. The 2010 season saw him doing that but it followed some very lean years. The combination of England duty in both senior and the U21 squad coupled with the rigours of the Premier League has also exacted a physical toll and Walcott sat out many matches through injuries. The result is a career that has failed to sustain momentum and seems to have stalled.

Now, Arsenal is reportedly negotiating a new contract with Walcott well ahead of the timeline with the club desperate to avoid the last minute pitfalls that dogged them last summer. But this is the time Wenger needs to hold him to some sort of performance benchmark to justify the improved wages that he will surely demand. It also leaves Wenger with a quandary. When does one start drawing the line and supplanting Walcott with Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, who has impressed in his few match appearances and seems to actually possess the "great body power" used by Wenger to describe Chamberlain's Southampton peer.

On a day, when a jury found Stephen Lawrence's perpetrators guilty of murder in a hate crime committed 18 years ago following a long convoluted saga which saw landmark reforms of the Metropolitan Police and the legal process, the stance taken by Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool disavowing Luis Suarez's undeniable racial abuse towards Patrice Evra stood in stark contrast.

Much of the Lawrence case exposed a lock step bias in the police force which was guilty of failing to follow leads and evidence suppression leading the five murder suspects to go free. The thorough manner with which the FA's independent commission investigated the Suarez vs Evra flashpoint casts Liverpool in a very poor light.

As one of the storied English franchises and a global sporting institution followed by millions, the club is in a unique position to lead by example. This was a golden opportunity but Liverpool did not do any justice to itself by choosing to close ranks around Suarez thus washing out the larger message of racism.

szólj hozzá: Howard amazing goal

Bolton's Bogdan could do little but look stunned after Tim Howard booted the ball upfield and it took a bounce that evaded him altogether. The wind played a huge part probably carrying it a good 10-15 yards further than expected. Howard refused to celebrate mindful of goalkeeper union rules. The stunning goal hogged the headlines obscuring the equally stunning comeback by Bolton for an exceedingly rare win. David Ngog equalized and minutes later Gary Cahill signed off his Bolton career in fine style scoring the winner. He will probably leave for Chelsea seeking an antidote to their center back conundrum.

Howard's goal shares company with Charlie Williams, Pat Jennings, Peter Shilton, and most recently Paul Robinson. The MLS last year produced this beauty by David Bingham of the San Jose Earthquakes. The goalie at the receiving end was West Brom's Boaz Myhill.

What you lookin' at, boy?

Liverpool continue to defend Luis Suarez saying he did nothing wrong in the face of overwhelming evidence showing systematic and targeted racial abuse directed at Patrice Evra.

For his part Suarez finally did issue a sort of half hearted apology of sorts not to Evra but in general for having inadvertently caused offense for using the word "negro" which he said he only used once. Its clear Liverpool's head in the sand stance has emboldened Suarez. Somewhere down the line, the club have conflated "hate the message" with "hate the messenger".

A club that is indelibly etched into one of football's most tragic events and through that pain purged the scourge of hooliganism should be in the forefront to kick out racism. Even if it means taking one of their own players to task.

Blackburn burnished a memorable win at Old Trafford last week and today it was Newcastle's turn to twist the knife into Sir Alex's men at St James Park. David De Gea was gone replaced by Anders Lindegaard and Wayne Rooney was back £200,000 lighter after his Boxing Day breakout. It did not make a difference as Newcastle pounded them with power, finesse, and a desire to play attacking football.

Demba Ba has a simple plan. To score goals. And he does it bloody effectively as we saw with his curling volley of Shola Ameobi's header. If we get him to Arsenal there will be no stopping them. Newcastle has Yoann Cabaye who has already treated us to some marvelous goals and this time it was his free kick which had Lindegaard twitching nary a muscle. Phil Jones capped a miserable outing for Utd with an own goal.

It could have been worse as Rio Ferdinand brought down Ba for a sure penalty but the ref thought otherwise. Rooney was dogged by the excellent Cheikh Tiote into no man's land. Gunners know Tiote very well from the 4 daggers that Newcastle struck Arsenal in that still unbelievable match.

Yes, it was that kind of a day and Sir Alex cut a chastened figure. The Newcastle uppercut leaves Utd looking woozy for their big FA Cup showdown with City. It also leaves Spurs fancying their chances now more than before for a title challenge.

An image used by Gold Flake cigarettes warning of the dangers of smoking bears the likeness of John Terry. The Chelsea captain is not amused and is planning legal action. There is no suggestion that Terry has a pack a day smoking habit other than that he appears winded in some of the recent games. The alternate explanation is smoking Gold Flake cigarettes makes you attractive to your best friend's girlfriend and hence leads to much wanted extra-curricular activities with her. Which in turn generates much angst, a rejected handshake, and endless negative tabloid coverage. And that is a powerful antidote to craving a smoke. Or something like that.

David Beckham's MLS fans will be delighted by the news that he will not leave for PSG. They have many more years to look forward to new tattoos being added to his various body parts and then orifices. Oh! yes, and a few sublime deliveries. Forgot about that.

Kenny Dalglish buries his head in the sand defending Luis Suarez and his racist diatribe using a twisted form of cultural equivalence. Through his press conference Dalglish never once said that racism is unacceptable despite the comprehensive report compiled by the FA. That was mildly put, quite shocking. Transcript here >>

szólj hozzá: City vs Liverpool 3:0 GOALS

Pepe Reina flubbed what should have been a fairly simple stop off a Sergio Aguero drive. Liverpool dominated possession thereafter but it was City once again going up through Yaya Toure's header at the half an hour mark.

Gerrard and Craig Bellamy were introduced by Kenny Dalglish after an hour and Liverpool looked more mobile going forward although they failed to look threatening in the final third once again. Gareth Barry was sent off for two quick fouls on Spearing and Agger. But City shrugged off being a man down as Toure was brought down in the box after one of his characteristic surging move. James Milner, a picture of industry, converted flawlessly.

City's response was exactly what they needed after their bitter Sunderland loss. They were more efficient than dominant. Liverpool on the other hand do not score enough goals and lack that creative edge. Charlie Adams hits a wall and Stewart Downing's 20m price tag appears too extravagant at this stage for someone who has materially not helped his team in scoring or creating assists. In one of the rare instances Jordan Henderson produced a Fabregas like pass in the initial minutes which Downing should have done better.

On a side note. Vincent Kompany should make the first Premier League XI. He's been a rock at the back.

szólj hozzá: Wolwes 1-2 Chelsea Highlights

Frank Lampard should have been sent off for his dangerous tackle. The Blues did enough for a must win against Wolves who made it very interesting. Ramires put AVB's boys up but Wolves answered back through Stephen Ward. It was left to Lampard, an increasingly likely transfer prospect to score the winner.

Sebastien Squillaci: Flumm-oxed

1. There are no free passes in the Premiership: Even the so called lesser teams have their moments under the sun. You underestimate them at your own peril. Teams that got bitten badly this past weekend: United, City, Chelsea, and Spurs. Two days later, Arsenal got burned after going unscathed against QPR.

2. RVP proves Arsenal is a one man team: The proof is to show otherwise. When Theo Walcott, Gervinho, Aaron Ramsey, and Arteta have ample opportunities to score but defer to the man, we have a problem. With Wenger reposing no great faith in Chamakh and Park, we have a problem.

3. Arsenal needs its full backs: Fulham's pressure on Arsenal in the second period could have been relieved if we had some speed down the wings to peg them back. Zamora's second goal should have never been if we had a specialist left back on patrol as Arseblog so astutely points out.

4. Wenger's pat on the back backfires all the time: On New Year's ever after the QPR match, Wenger praised the team for its grit and character (all very true) pointing to the team's rise from 17th to fourth (absolutely stellar). History has shown when he opens his mouth to praise, the team does its damndest to prove him otherwise usually by the next match.

5. Sebastien Squillaci? What was Wenger thinking?: Squillaci is breathing proof of Wenger's blind spot in his transfer decisions. Yesterday, he did nothing to dispel it.

szólj hozzá: FulArs www.megafutboltv.com

Depressing. Very depressing. As bright and incandescent as Arsenal were the first half, the second half was an absolute blight. The Gunners looked drained, bereft of ideas, and they let Fulham walk all over them. It was an reversion to many a game last season where Arsenal showed distinctly no ambition other than to run out 90 minutes.

Why, oh why do Gervinho and Theo Walcott have no self confidence when it comes to taking shots? The Cote D'Ivoirian had at least three close looks but he spurned them all by passing to players who were not open. It leaves Van Persie with the enormous task of having to come up with goals. And he being only human has his off days. The last five matches have seen only 4 goals with the scoring tailing off perceptibly. It was left to Laurent Koscielny to break the scoring drought with his header, his first goal of the season.

These painful displays are not made easier when decisions go against you. Lee Probert did rob Arsenal of a clear penalty when Phillippe Senderos brought down Gervinho. Even worse, Johan Djourou was sent off for his second "offense", a very soft foul on Bobby Zamora.

That opened up the door for Senderos and Steve Sidwell, two Arsenal alums to collaborate with each other on a set piece and come up with the equalizer. With Sebastian Squillaci coming on you knew this would end badly.

And lo and behold Squillaci's botched clearance of a cross saw Zamora letting loose a volley home for a 90th minute winner. It was Jol's first victory over Wenger in eight attempts. Yet another record set against this Arsenal side in a season that has been good to their opposition. Full marks to a Fulham side that showed up to fight in the second half. And might I say, Brian Ruiz looks awfully good. He was a constant thorn in the side of the Gunners.

Wenger in his press conference chose to rage against Probert but the bigger story really should be Arsenal's inability to add further to their tally which led them to this embarrassing defeat. Thierry Henry can of course score but clue me skeptical. Wenger needs to find someone who is in his prime of his career.

Mike McCarthy wastes no time getting Arsenal loaner Emmanuel Frimpong into the starting XI as they take on a swooning Chelsea.

That match followed by Arsenal's outing against Fulham later on will set the tone for the second half of the season's challenge to remain in the top four.

Arsenal's competition comes from Galatasaray and Lazio who also desire the FC Koln striker in top form this season. However, Poldi has singled out Arsenal for attention saying they are a top club.

"Arsenal are a top club. They are a good team and play in England at the top with ... "

His departure could be hastened as he's also reportedly fallen out with Volker Finke, the club's sporting director.

Poldi has about a year and a half left in his contract but these recent developments could see Koln willing to sell him. Reports on his valuation range from £10m to £19m but with the striker exerting pressure on his club to sell him they might be forced to negotiate the transfer fee for less which will suit Arsene Wenger just fine.

The German has scored 14 goals in 16 Bundesliga matches. Pairing him up with RVP up front will give ease the pressure on the Dutchman considerably to produce goals. Gervinho and Walcott have the ability to get into the box but as the last match against QPR showed, lack that composure in front of goal to be steady contributors.

Racism reared its ugly head

An exhaustive and extraordinary 115 page dossier compiled by the FA's independent commission investigating the Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez flashpoint details the racial abuse the Uruguayan striker heaped on the Man Utd defender back in October. The excerpts make for ugly reading. One wonders what possessed Suarez who spent years in Ajax and as part of Los Charruas where he experienced playing alongside black players to react in this reprehensible manner.

Liverpool will be well advised not to challenge the commission's findings which is by all accounts watertight. Suarez has been banned for eight matches and fined £40,000. As fans we should not tolerate any form of racism or discrimination. In Suarez's case he tries to mitigate the situation by framing the use of the word "negro" in some sort of cultural context to make it acceptable but it is very clear by repeating the word so many times and drawing attention to the colour of Evra's skin that he was being deliberate in its use to inflict pain.

Just yesterday, Krys Barch, a Florida Panthers defenseman was ejected from an NHL game after for allegedly using a racial slur against PK Subban, a black Canadian player for the Montreal Canadiens. The NHL is investigating the issue.

John Terry's BFF, Wayne Bridge rumoured to be on Wenger's radar

A bridge to nowhere. With Thomas Vermaelen out with a calf strain, there is officially no left back specialist left on the Arsenal senior roster. In the match Wenger subbed off Vermaelen replacing him with Francis Coquelin who looked a bit suspect when tracking back but looked in his element pushing up the channel. This of course opens up a debate whether Arsene needs to dip into the market to get a full back.

Vermaelen maybe out for about three weeks with a calf strain and he's been quite outstanding although the wide game has suffered as he's rather more stationary than Kieran Gibbs and Andre Dos Santos. The former is expected to return at the end of the month and the latter is due back in March.

The buzz is that Wayne Bridge maybe on the short loan list to tide over Vermaelen's absence. If that is the thinking, we're better off with an incontinent one toed sloth drugged on valium and fattened on Cheetos. Plus, do we really need the locker room distraction of someone who reminds us of John Terry's peccadilloes? The real issue is Bridge will give us nothing in terms of going forward or tracking back. He has not played competitively a single minute this whole season with Kolarov and Clichy ahead of him. Plus, he's kept himself fit motoring on the greens in a golf cart on Saturday afternoons.

Another reason is that by this weekend, Gervinho will have left for the ACN which means if Thierry Henry deputizes for him, the left flank stands to be exposed for its lack of mobility, if Bridge is picked up. No knocks on Henry but at 34 years, he's lost a yard or two of pace and although he is a better finisher than Gervinho, tracking back will be hard on him.

A better option would be to retain Coquelin for the Premiership matches against Fulham and Swansea as well as the FA Cup showdown against Leeds. By the time Man Utd roll into the Emirates, we should have Vermaelen back. At the end of the month Gibbs will be back and then Wenger will have a few more options whether to reunite Vermaelen with Koscielny in central defense or to keep him going at left back.

szólj hozzá: SunMC www.megafutboltv.com

Sunderland continued the theme of the underdogs upsetting the favourites this weekend as they stunned City at the Stadium of Light with as Ji Dong-won's last second goal. Clearly offside. But the Black Cats won't be complaining. And it was a lovely bit of skill by the South Korean as he slalomed around Joe Hart to caress the ball into an open goal.

The Black Cats have spent about $140m in the last four years compared to City's stratospheric $560m over the same period of time. But you would never know from the scoreline. Arsenal are better off without Samir Nasri who continues his underwhelming form. Mancini replaced him with David Silva and the midfield improved considerably but City's finishing was poor with Edin Dzeko particularly woeful.

The result is the latest in a series of stutter steps by Roberto Mancini's squad who have now lost two and drawn two in their last seven outings. They still are atop the league standings on goal difference over Utd but with Spurs also pushing hard they no longer look sure shots for the title.

szólj hozzá: l;v1-1mv9[Matchhighlight.com]

An effervescent Swansea side stroking the ball with ease pinned the Hydra headed Spurs attack for lengthy spells. Against the run of play Spurs went up just before the half with Rafael Van Der Vaart's goal after Benoit Assou- Ekotto had done all the spadework down the left flank.

Brenden Rogers's men are out Arsenalising Arsenal in the way they seem to be on the same page in midfield. Cohesive moves on and off the ball by everyone from Nathan Dyer to Joe Allen established a stranglehold Spurs found hard to break. Unfortunately, Swansea also seem to have imbibed Arsenal's inability to finish. It was an uncharacteristic Brad Friedel mistake that led to Scott Sinclair pouncing on the ball for Swansea's equalizer.

The draw was not the sort of swansong Harry Redknapp had in mind to see off the old year. The constantly motoring Scott Parker and Gareth Bale looked pretty leggy with the former limping off in the second half to be replaced. It was an uncharacteristically sluggish performance from a club who have lost only once in the last 16 matches.

With both Manchester clubs losing, Spurs could have closed to 4 points with a game in hand. But this is now a three way race to the top. The way Spurs are playing it is not out of the realm of possibility that they might achieve their first ever Premiership title come May.

szólj hozzá: Chelsea v A.Villa 1:3 MOTD

David Luiz was AWOL as Villa took advantage of Chelsea's non-existent central defense to first slip in Steve Ireland, then Stilyan Petrov, and finally Darren Bent. The last two came within minutes of each other towards the end of the match. Stamford Bridge erupted in boos. This after Chelsea got off to a perfect start with Didier Drogba's 150th goal through a penalty kick.

After the loss, Andre Villas-Boas practically wrote off Chelsea's title hopes. A prospect which endangers his job security as Roman Abramovich breathes down his neck. An impoverished Premier League performance will leave him under enormous pressure to do well in the Champions League.

Is this the end of Drogba's Chelsea career? Will this be his last match in the Premiership? One only has to look at his gaudy stats as an Arsenal killer to realize he was a wrecking ball in his prime. Already there is chatter that he might be the perfect fit for the Galaxy with Beckham rumoured to be leaving for PSG.

Flying high: A toast to RVP and hoping he continues his stellar form in 2012

Soccerblog readers, thanks for being with us. We ring in a new year full of soccer. The battle for European supremacy this summer will be the signature theme and we hope we can bring it to your doorstep in a manner of speaking. Our goal will be to work our socks of us although we have been somewhat tardy of late. Thanks for being so patient. Here is wishing you and your family a wonderful 2012.

szólj hozzá: Manchester U. - Blackburn 2-3

David De Gea's horrendous flapping at a corner led to Grant Hanley following up on his header by bulling through to the ball again for Blackburn's winner and his debut Premier League goal. It was a shocking win for the cellar dwellers and it completely knocked the sails off the celebratory mood enveloping Old Trafford before the game on the occasion of Sir Alex's 70th birthday.

Ayegbeni Yakubu is having a breakout year. The Nigerian whose undoubted talent has been previously undermined by lack of application scored twice. The first was through a penalty as Dimitar Berbatov brought down Chris Samba and soon after Utd went down two as the Yak showing his trademark strength burst through maintaining his balance and slotted the ball past De Gea's legs.

A shellshocked Utd responded through two Berbatov goals but only after Anderson was brought in for the disappointing Javier Hernandez. The move freed up Antonio Valencia who was a handful down the right and it was his endeavours that led to the equalizing goals. The decision to bench Wayne Rooney, Darron Gibson, and Jonny Evans, for their Boxing Day indiscipline left Utd second guessing the lack of experience on the pitch. It also saw Michael Carrick playing makeshift center back. And the Yak made him pay as he caught him flatfooted as he surged ahead for his second goal.

For Blackburn and their beleaguered manager Steve Kean, this was the perfect New Year's gift. Who would have thought this possible 90 minutes before? Chris Samba and young Adam Henley were there at the right time and place to nullify Utd's efforts. And second string goalie Mark Bunn brought off some outstanding saves. Full marks to them for a courageous display transforming the theatre of dreams to a nightmare. 12/31/11 will be a day remembered for many a year to come.