TORONTO - Defensive duo Rocco and Luch Picheca have re-signed with Pistolas FC for the 2009 season and bring back the firm wall on defence.

Rocco, now entering his third year with the club, has been the general on defence sweeping the line with his powerful voice and play. He has been the "Rock" of the defence for sure, and his return is a definite relief and a boost of confidence for the entire 2009 team. Click to continue reading...

WE NEEDED THAT. Big time.

Props to Terry Cooke on his service on that corner; he did a good job spotting the coverage lapses. It was probably more of a Dallas error than a Rapids play that scored, but a big part of soccer is capitalizing on errors. And Mike did just that.

Tight road games might be the best example of why the Rapids need Pablo so badly, so I'm glad he didn't go down to Cuba as a Rapids fan (although it's always a bit of a let down as an American.

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Johan Djourou is the fourth candidate for the holding midfield spot at Arsenal. Born in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast 21 years ago, Djourou grew up in the Swiss city of Geneva. Djourou was only seventeen months old when he was adopted by his father's first wife Daniele, a Siwss woman, leaving his mother, younger [. Click to continue reading...

So Moreno is hanging out with Butch and Sundance, and Emilio's hurt, and I'm thinking, "Well, with Crayton in goal and the steadying presence of Bryan Namoff, Peralta and the new infusion of energy from Joe Vide, perhaps we can eek out a goal on a counter while keeping San Jose at nil." Except, of course, we have neither Namoff nor Vide nor Peralta, and Martinez was clearly watching his "Best of Facundo Erpen" highlight reel.

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Wake Med Soccer Park is one of the finest venues in the United States to watch soccer, if you have a car. The total absence of public transportation to the stadium would be more noticeable if anyone seemed to mind.
A light crowd came out to see the last place Hawks roll the dice in their bid to reach the post-season. Click to continue reading...

In a match where we were missing Emilio, Moreno, Namoff, Fred, Vide, and Peralta, a loss wasn't necessarily surprising. I guess the bright side is that we escaped without any more injuries! Also, I saw tonight that we've got some young players with a lot of heart, and that's got to count for something, even if it didn't earn us any points. Click to continue reading...

There is no doubt that Emmanuel Eboue isn't the most popular of Arsenal players amongst Gooners.

He doesn't endear himself to the Gooner faithful with his sometimes infuriating antics. The play-acting and diving has to stop before he can begin to build bridges with the Arsenal crowd.

However, speak to members of the Arsenal squad and they absolutely love the bloke and say that he is great for team morale. Click to continue reading...

Wayne Rooney has been accused of many things, the latest of which, "arrogant". Andorra midfield, Oscar Sonejee, obviously wants to make a name for himself. Maybe the salesman by day isn't make enough commission, so he thought he'd get a name for himself as the man slagging off Rooney. Asked if Rooney swore at him, he [. Click to continue reading...

Andre Rocha was just beginning to find his place in the FC Dallas midfield. On loan from FCD's partner club Atletico Paranaense, Rocha had stepped up and notched six assists on the season, leading the team in that category.

Then FC Dallas made a coaching switch.

Schellas Hyndman took over for Steve Morrow in late May, and since then the Brazilian playmaker has found himself on the field less and less, with the lack of playing time starting to get to Rocha. Click to continue reading...

With the trade today for former FCD striker Abe Thompson, we added our second attacking player in the last two days. Add the trade for Herculez Gomez into the mix, and we've acquired two 26-year-old forwards who are very different but exciting players. Combined, they have 36 goals and 19 assists in just over six total seasons. Click to continue reading...

A 3-0 win against Newcastle seems to have restored the confidence of Arsenal fans in their team. The previous week, the Gunners had lost 1-0 at Fulham, prompting supporters to question why Arsene Wenger hadn't plugged the gaps in midfield that had been left by Alexander Hleb and Mathieu Flamini, ... Click to continue reading...

Morning all. International breaks are simply awful. The good news is the Jaguars and the Seminoles start this weekend, and the Under 8's I coach start this weekend as well. So that will attempt to keep my mind off of the lack of a game this weekend for Arsenal.


If you haven't heard, former Fenerbache midfielder Stephen Appiah is a free agent. Click to continue reading...

The Colorado Rapids have traded forward Herculez Gomez to the Kansas City Wizards in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, as well as a first-round pick in the '09 Supplemental Draft and an undisclosed sum of allocation money.Gomez, 26, was once one of the brightest young stars in the league when he was with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Click to continue reading...

Alan Curbishley is no longer manager of West Ham United. Reports claim that he has resigned although it's just as likely that he was politely shown the door. Possible reasons for resignation include the failure to bring in a midfield enforcer, the sale of Ferdinand and McCartney (presumably without Curbishley having a say) and maybe even [. Click to continue reading...

At some point yesterday morning, just as hopes of a last-minute midfield reinforcement were fading, an article with the title 'Wenger - Eboue is becoming a pass master' appeared on the official site. In it, Wenger explained how "Since the start of the season, Eboue has played well".

Slick timing: our last-minute bid for Alonso fails so it's time to big up one of our new central midfielders - Emmanuel Eboue.

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I don't really know too much about either player that Liverpool and Everton signed on the transfer deadline day, but I'll give my comments based upon what I've read.

Liverpool seemed to get the player they wanted in Albert Riera, a left winger who should provide a lot of ammunition for Fernando Torres, Robbie Keane, and the rest of Liverpool's goal scorers. 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...

Southend United crashed out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy with a humiliating home defeat to one of their biggest rivals.

Orient capitalised on gaps all over the park, especially in the second half, and Blues were made to pay for their lack of man-marking on several occasions.

Steve Tilson has a big job on his hands sealing up the massive space Blues allowed the visitors to enjoy. Click to continue reading...

International football has its share of Cinderella stories, and the heartbeat of Fulham's midfield, Jimmy Bullard, is no exception.

According to the Guardian article, Bullard may earn his first international cap for England at aged 29 and he's hoping his persistence will serve as inspiration to other aspiring footballers, who may be cut from amateur cloth rather than the typical early academy development stock which makes up most national sides. Click to continue reading...

Albert Riera did not consider joining another club after discovering he was a target of Liverpool.

The former Espanyol winger moved to Anfield on Monday as Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez paid an undisclosed fee ahead of the transfer window deadline.

And having completed his move to Merseyside, Reira, who had a loan spell at Manchester City in 2006, is looking forward to the challenge. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal are reported to have had an eleventh hour offer of £14million rejected by Liverpool for Spanish International Xabi Alonso.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had been heavily linked with a move for the EURO 2008 winner all summer, along with the man the Anfield club had identified as the Spaniards replacement at the Reds, Gareth Barry of Aston Villa. Click to continue reading...

Image via Wikipedia saturday night saw the new york red bulls take on dc united. to be honest, it was a pretty ugly game on our part. we were lucky to walk out of there with a 0-0 draw.

but then again, a road tie against dc united is never something to scoff at. i think the real tragedy comes when you look at our play compared to our three-game winning streak. Click to continue reading...

Hello all. I'm still alive if anyone was wondering, I just haven't had a good chance to write in ages. Since I last posted we won 3-0 against Newcastle which was a great result, and the transfer window closed last night. I waited up watching the news tickers on and off all day hoping for Xabi Alonso, or anyone else for that matter, and it just never happened. Click to continue reading...

The transfer window has now come and gone. And to a bit of surprise, Wenger signed no one, although reports indicate he did make an effort to go after Xabi Alonso. In fact, the biggest signings for us yesterday were the youngsters Kieran Gibbs and Mark Randall agreeing to contract extensions.

The Alonso signing would be hard to pull off, because Rafa Benitez would be a bit off his rocker to agree a transfer fee to a direct rival without getting much more than the player is actually worth.

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While Manchester City and Man United are in the headlines today, following on from their £30 million plus signings on Monday night, Everton have also broken the bank to land what they describe as an exciting prospect. They certainly need more clout in midfield and he looks sure to provide ... Click to continue reading...