Tottenham Hotspur's downfall this season is befuddling. On paper this summer, the team seemed stacked with a wealth of talent. But by the way the team has played so far this season, something is seriously lacking. It's the desire to win. Watching Spurs play, they look like a team of losers. Not by the results they achieve, [. Click to continue reading...

Grahame Jones of the LA Times was another English-speaking reporter out at Tuesday's presser. Jones talked about Eriksson's Spanish-speaking ability and started his story about a bit of a misunderstanding between Eriksson and a reporter, who asked Eriksson if he now eats chiles. As an aside, it's sort of a badge of honor for a foreigner to eat a heaping pile of jalapenos or drizzle of some spicy salsa over a plate of food. Click to continue reading...

The buzz words also included "belief" and "desire" while one of the recurrent themes was the need to push oneself to the limit and never settle for second best. Click to continue reading...

Ok, so here's the report that I got down to pen. Let me cut to it right away without much fuss. Read on after the jump. Manchester United went to Stamford Bridge with far greater desire than they could muster at Anfield the week before. All the pre-match prattle, Fergie's mood etc, pointed towards a desire to [. Click to continue reading...

San Luis FC - a club in the Mexican Primera Division - is admitting their plans to launch a coup in hopes of landing Cuauhtemoc Blanco from the Chicago Fire by the start of next year's Clausura tournament.

"We'll try to sign Blanco with the help of several sponsors and persuade him to come to San Luis," said Payan Latuff, owner of the team's stadium, Estadio Alfonso Lastras Ramirez in San Luis Potosi. Click to continue reading...

Because normal life isn't quite frustrating enough for me, a buddy and I spend 3-4 days a week coaching ten year olds in the fine art of how-not-to-fall-over-while-dribbling-a-ball (AKA – developmental youth soccer). Besides the occasional burst blood vessel and constant migraines, one of the more intriguing things to watch is the way that naturally talented players adapt to the game.

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Arsene Wenger showed why he is a force to be reckoned with by the 4-nil demolition of Blackburn Rovers. From start to finish the team showed desire, and absolute professionalism. Theo Walcott who had survived the media exposure of his England hat trick midweek was vibrant, his runs struck fear into the hearts of the [. Click to continue reading...

Cesc Fabregas has reiterated his desire to remain at Arsenal after hearing of Manchester City's interest in him. City's new owners, Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited, have armed Mark Hughes with an infinite transfer warchest that has already seen the signing of Real Madrid star Robinho for £32. Click to continue reading...

Having switched off from football for two weeks (hey, we all need a break from time to time), I return to find Real Madrid has, in that time:

• - won the season's first title in contention (the Spanish supercup against Valencia)
• - lost the league opener away to Deportivo
• - sold Robinho to Manchester City for a club record €40 million

Which of these is the most surprising news item? Click to continue reading...

Joseph-Desire Job has moved to Qatari club Al Kharaitiyat from Nice on a three-year contract! Click to continue reading...

Well, the window's over, and I've little desire to write about how Manchester City is going to take over the world and has signed Pele, Garrincha, Cruyff and Beckenbauer or how Hicks and Gillett are furiously rubbing two pennies together in the hopes they'll multiply.

But I do want to make sure everyone's aware Carragher has an autobiography coming out (ghost-written by the excellent Brian Reade), and parts are being serialed in the Daily Mirror. Click to continue reading...

Jamie Carragher says defeat while playing for England, even in the World Cup, hurt less than a loss with Liverpool.

Carragher turned his back on international football last year after being constantly overlooked by then manager Steve McClaren.

The 30-year-old won 34 caps, the last of which saw him miss a penalty as England went out of the 2006 World Cup against Portugal in a shootout. Click to continue reading...

Two players and lots of money changed sides Monday as Robinho moved to Manchester City, and Dimitar Berbatov became a member of Manchester United. For Robinho, his move to Manchester City set the England transfer record, with his move costing a reported 32 million pounds.  Robinho leaving Madrid was not a surprise, as he has expressed his desire to leave the club since the beginning of Click to continue reading...

Robinho wants out at Real Madrid. If you didn't think he was serious before, you should now.

The Brazilian held his own new conference seriously? today to publicly reveal his desire to join Chelsea.

"The situation has not changed," Robinho said. "I want to leave Real and play for Chelsea.

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Serie A Talk readers have probably noticed the headline change but I've changed more than that. After some deliberation I trashed the first post on 'Shevchenko's Triumphant Return' as Andriy hasn't been triumphant since leaving Milan and it looked likely he wasn't going to find an opening to return or showed a desire to do so [. Click to continue reading...

Heerenveen and US international midfielder Michael Bradley has spoken out about his desire to one day play in the English Premier League, with Middlesbrough looking ready to pounce. Click to continue reading...

The future of Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin still remains uncertain despite Zenit St Petersburg's signing of Portuguese midfielder Danny from rivals Dynamo Moscow. Zenit have paid a national record fee for a player in the Russian Premier League and Danny was expected to see the departure of Arshavin to Tottenham Hotspur. Click to continue reading...

This one-time Wenger target has stated that it would be his dream to move the Emirates - and the reports from this source suggests that it could well become a reality! Why not join the debate at the COS forum? Le Mans starlet Gervinho has reiterated his desire to secure a transfer ... Click to continue reading...

Spurs boss Juande Ramos was given a simple piece of advice by Roy Keane on how best to deal with striker Dimitar Berbatov and his desire to move to Manchester United – drive him there yourself! The Bulgarian scored twice for his country in their midweek 2-1 win over Bosnia- Herzegovina, but was not included in [. Click to continue reading...

I have a lot I want to say, but really no desire to actually say it. Which is really lucky, because I'm sure none of you want to read it. Let's recap everything that I haven't posted about: USWNT won! It was fantastic, I'm grateful I didn't have to work Thursday morning so that I could watch it.USMNT won! Click to continue reading...

By 1970's Gooner Arsene Wenger's interest in signing another midfielder has been well documented and so has his desire to sign Turkish origin Swiss midfielder Gokhan Inler. His agent Dino Lambertini had already said only three weeks ago that he was travelling to London to begin talks with Arsene Wenger on Inler's possible transfer to Arsenal. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger criticised his players for lacking desire following the 1-0 defeat at Fulham yesterday. An off-colour Gunners performance was punished by Brede Hangeland's first half effort, the giant defender stabbing home from Jimmy Bullard's corner. Emmanuel Adebayor headed against a post and Robin Van Persie went close in the opening period, but Arsenal needed [. Click to continue reading...

Pocognoli is definitely interesting Newcastle United. There are various reports that came out of Belgium over the last couple of days, that suggest a transfer to Newcastle could be unfolding, but we can never be sure. But the 21 year-old expressed his desire to play in England or Spain earlier this week, when he talked about his [. Click to continue reading...

Ryan Giggs, the stand out of last Sunday's Manchester United match against a very plucky Newcastle in spite of his advancing years (in football terms of course), has set off the alarm for the rest of his Red Devil mates.

According to a report in the Guardian, Giggs told his team mates that they must match Chelsea's hunger if they are to successfully defend their Premier League title. Click to continue reading...

I've already heard about Chelsea desire to move Shevchenko out of London but it seems that negotiations are now being made and the move will be made by the end of the week.  I read this story about what Chelsea is willing to do to get Shevchenko to Milan.  The offer, cash! One of the most storied goal scorers at Milan came over to Chelsea about 2 years ago and has been a complete bust. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool gaffer Rafa B is a big Gareth Barry fan, that much is evident. The Spaniard has been stalking his quarry for the whole summer now, and such was his desire to nab Gareth that he offered Steve Finnan as a potential makeweight. Unfortunately, Martin O'Neill didn't take the ... Click to continue reading...

After a summer of postulating, mostly on the part of his agent, after a summer of rumours, links and frustration, Adebayor has put pen to paper and signed a new improved contract.  At no point did Adebayor ask to leave, instead he re-iterated his desire to stay at Arsenal, only to be told by his [.. Click to continue reading...

It's one game people. I was as disappointed as anyone to lose the first game of the season but let's keep things in perspective.

Middlesbrough are a decent side at home and probably the biggest positive of all is the fact they often turn over the top four at the Riverside, it must be a sign! Click to continue reading...

Tottenham's move for Russian striker Andrei Arshavin could be completed as early as tonight after Zenit St Petersburg lowered their asking price. Spurs boss Juande Ramos has been after Arshavin ever since his superb displays for Russia in the European Championships last June. (Setanta)

It was understood that Spurs were only willing to cough up £16 million for the 27-year old, however Zenit were demanding at least £20 million. Click to continue reading...

Gareth Barry'S proposed move to Liverpool edged nearer to collapse after the midfielder appeared for Aston Villa in the Uefa Cup last night.

Barry started and scored in his team's win in their qualifying first leg tie against FH Hafnarfjordur in Iceland.

The England international's selection means he will be cup tied and unable to play for another side in Europe until the knockout stages in February. Click to continue reading...

Surprise, surprise...the LA Galaxy are still shopping Guatemalan striker Carlos Ruiz. The main reason why The Fish is back on the trading block (was he really ever off?) is due to LA's desire to claim Eddie Lewis through the allocation system. They would need to free up some space and dump Ruiz as we all [. Click to continue reading...

Tottenham manager Juande Ramos has reiterated his desire to hold onto striker Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian international has been heavily linked with a £30 million move to Premier League champions Manchester United all summer but as yet nothing has been agreed.

Having lost Robbie Keane last month, Ramos is keen to hang onto the former Bayern Leverkusen star. Click to continue reading...

So obviously everyone's thrilled that ‘Super' Frank is going to be staying at Chelsea for the rest of his career, getting paid £130,000 a week or whatever to stroll around looking generally non-plussed, rather than showing some actual ambition and desire to test his abilities by going abroad.

Anyway, those resourceful chaps over at The Spoiler have somehow managed to ‘acquire' a copy of Mr Lampard's new contract and it makes for some interesting reading.

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Last week Soccerlens asked readers who they blamed for the torturous summer-long United-Ronaldo-Madrid saga. The results are detailed below: Out of a poll of 636 readers, 49% (309 readers) laid the responsibility at Cristiano Ronaldo's feet, with his refusal to 'clarify his position' (or rather, his desire to move and initial refusal to accept United's position) [. Click to continue reading...

Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea are to miss out on Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o after the Spanish giants confirmed he is staying at the club. The Cameroon international had been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League after Barca boss Pep Guardiola told Eto'o he was surplus to requirements at the club. Click to continue reading...