Stuff to read while you listen to Emmanuel Adebayor mimic a wounded cow in labor..... The regression of the Roman derby. (Football Italiano) You're a lot more like Thierry Henry than you think. Probably. (Reuters Soccer Blog) A gilded blueprint in Ukraine for 2012. (Guardian Unlimited) More proof playing isn't a prerequisite for a proper WAG. Click to continue reading...

Watching Manchester City yesterday left me in no doubt as to the scale of the issues currently affecting Mark Hughes team and the dreadful run of form they currently find themselves in. With 4 wins, 1 draw and 7 defeats so far in the Premier League, the optimism that greeted the signing of Robinho on [. Click to continue reading...

As we arrive at the quarter mark for the current Premier League season the standings are starting to take shape, although who would have ever thought we would see Tottenham rock bottom or Hull City in the Champions League places. As such it is another big weekend of fixtures coming up and about [. Click to continue reading...

MANCHESTER, England (AFP) - Robinho produced another captivating display to inspire Manchester City to a thumping 6-0 win over Portsmouth here Sunday.

This crushing win left his new club fifth in the Premier League table while Portsmouth dropped down into 12th place.

Robinho, making his second league appearance since joining from Real Madrid for a British record 32. Click to continue reading...

NICOSIA (AFP) - Cash-rich Manchester City needed a brace from Brazilian striker Jo to overcome Cypriot minnows Omonia Nicosia 2-1 in this UEFA Cup first round, first leg tie here on Thursday.

Omonia surprisingly went ahead from Klodian Duro's direct free kick on the edge of the area after 49 minutes but Jo grabbed the headlines with two second-half goals to clinch victory. Click to continue reading...

In less than three weeks, my wife and I have a new arrival planned for our household: our first baby boy. So while my wife was enjoying her baby shower yesterday, I ended up watching our three other children. Needless to say, I didn't get a chance to watch as much live football as I [...] Click to continue reading...

Did Manchester City really sign Robinho? I still don't believe that it happened. Weren't Chelsea supposed to sign him? Did Roman Abramovich really get out bid... by Manchester City? It has to go down as one of the most amazing days in English Football history. First, Man City trumped Man U as they signed Dimitar Berbatov, but then they didn't so they go and trump Chelsea to sign Robinho, who Real Madrid had refused to part with. Click to continue reading...

Premier League trio Anderson, Lucas and Jo have all been named in Brazil's 18-man Olympic squad.All three - of Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City - are named as regular Under-23 players and therefore clubs cannot refuse to release them.

Something to keep in mind when the season starts as these players won't have been with their teams in pre-season. Click to continue reading...

The Independent reports that new Man City boss Mark Hughes reckons that he can get Ronaldinho's mind away from bars and women and back to football. The Brazilian's fall from grace at Barca has left the Camp Nou High Command with no option but to let him go. "People are questioning Ronaldinho's situation at [. Click to continue reading...

The summer isn't all about transfer rumours you know. Sometimes there are actual signings too. And to prove it here are some photos of famous footballers smiling and holding up shirts with their names on... - The big transfer saga of the French summer is over, with talented but bratty midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa(above) swapping [. Click to continue reading...

Manchester City have officially had a 19 million pound offer accepted for CSKA Moscow's Brazilian striker Jo. 44 goals in 77 appearances for Moscow was the impressive haul which alerted The Citizens to his talents, and Mark Hughes deftly swooped to make Jo his first City signing. It appears that Hughes' days of wheeling and dealing [. Click to continue reading...

AFP/Getty Images

• Elmander makes Bolton move
• City agree Jo fee
• Spurs agree Gomes fee with PSV
• Reds Set To Confirm Dossena Move

Good couple of days in the transfer market for next season's fantasy teams. Click to continue reading...

With Scolari at Chelsea now chasing Ronaldinho, and possibly Deco from Barca, Manchester City still feels confident in their chances at bringing the superstar to the Eastlands. "We are still trying to convince him to join the club every day," "The new manager is courting new players for the team. The football is going well. Click to continue reading...

With Manchester City slowing things down just a tad in their pursuit of CSKA's Brazilian Jo, AC Milan and a mysterious unnamed Spanish club are having a sniff around the striker.... "Manchester City's desire to slow down negotiations for the £18m-rated Brazilian striker Jo to give their new manager, Mark Hughes, a proper sight of him, [. Click to continue reading...

Manchester City is getting much closer to realizing the possibility of bringing Ronaldinho to Eastlands, with executive chairman Garry Cook saying FC Barcelona had granted permission for the club to open negotiations with the jaw-dropping Brazil playmaker. Rhonaldino is not the only Brazilian Manchester City is after since they also expect to sign another Brazilian - [. Click to continue reading...

In a story normally reserved for the usual tabloid purveyors of transfer tripe and doggerel, The Times is reporting that Thaksin Shinawatra is set to double his efforts in his pursuit of Ronaldinho. Mark Hughes has given his backing to Manchester City's ambitious attempts to sign Ronaldinho, the Barcelona and Brazil playmaker, after being [. Click to continue reading...

With everyone's favourite manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson, currently hanging by a thread at Manchester City, owner Thaksin Shinawatra has decided that the only way to get a bunch of rightly-brassed-off supporters off his back is to pacify the masses. That means breaking the transfer record by purchasing a shifty Brazilian, while also adding a highly-touted Mexican [. Click to continue reading...

As I wrote previously, it looks like Manchester City are going to sack Sven-Goran Eriksson after just one season in charge. In that article, I outlined my reasoning for stating that this was a bad move. Pat Doyle of The Guardian has his say on the matter, The Telegraph ponders the candidates to replace Sven, while [. Click to continue reading...

What a thrilling match. Fantastic. As a soccer fan, I am thoroughly enjoying myself. With this win, the US is one of the strongest contenders for U-20 World Cup glory. I predict an amazing run towards the final.

Let's get right into it. In no particular order:

Outstanding players in the first half
(US)

-Sal Zizzo did a great job at right wing and his drives toward goal were one of the US' most consistently dangerous threats throughout the match. Click to continue reading...