It's what the game is missing My mum says she can always tell when Im lying. She spoke these child-crumpling words as I tried to blame the cat for knocking over a priceless vase from the Ming dynasty, or possibly BHS (so hard to tell the difference now a days). My reaction? Of course I did the honourable thing and went red and blamed the rabbit (Ive acquired one of those now). Click to continue reading...

Completing the Italian "Triangolare" August bonanza, the Trofeo Birra Moretti took place on Thursday evening, featuring past and present Serie A contenders such as Juventus, AC Milan, and Napoli. Following the Trofeo TIM, this was the last "big" pre-season tournament before the beginning (finally!) of Serie A. Click to continue reading...

Sunday was a sad day for Italian soccer, as one of the most charismatic club presidents of Serie A passed away. In things of this nature there is no club distinction: we are all bound by the same love for the beautiful game, and when one of us leaves the family it's always a sad [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "AC Milan 4-1 Juventus: Rossoneri Win Trofeo Berlusconi 2008", url: "http://www. Click to continue reading...

I can't help feeling that the current media reports on our beloved Berbatov are the final sign that he's on his way.

Ramos has said today he'd love Berbatov to stay. For this read: "I know he's off, but I want the fans to know I did my best to keep him and always rated him as a player, so it's not my fault! Click to continue reading...

It's pretty rare in soccer (or any other sport for that matter) for a scoreless draw to be a very entertaining match, but that is exactly what Wednesday's Manchester United vs. Juventus ended up being. And I'm not saying this because I'm a Juve supporter (ok, maybe just a little) but genuinely, the prestige friendly [. Click to continue reading...

Ahead of the Community Shield against Portsmouth, United have been involved in a nice relaxing training session. Nani and Campbell took on the Da Silva twins, whilst Gary Neville is a match for Brown and O'Shea. Rooney was also seen in training after a few weeks off following a virus. "PICTURES: United Head Tennis Training Ahead [. Click to continue reading...

There are two ways to look at Tuesday night's Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan match. The first is to say this was a pretty boring game (because in all honesty, it was). It seemed as if neither team was sufficiently inspired to get the win, and this despite the prestigious nature of the fixture (it [.. Click to continue reading...

Today is the "Premier League Curtain Raiser", in other words, it is the Community Shield match between Manchester United and Portsmouth. I am really looking forward to todays match, it is when I... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Click to continue reading...

Before the match United fans got to see the two trophies that Manchester United won last season. So after seeing the Champion's League and Premier League trophies, we were looking forward to a good... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] Click to continue reading...

At the start of the summer I decided to enter into a little pact with a friend. It wasnt some cultish wedding day sect but rather a wager designed to see the light of day around about 1030pm on Saturday 16th August. Click to continue reading...

It was just over 3 weeks ago that we played our first pre-season game down at Gillingham. It seems like a lot longer than that. In that time Boro have played 11 games, winning 6, losing 3 and drawing 2. They have scored 30 goals, but have conceded 15. It has been a very intensive time for the players with [. Click to continue reading...

Manchester United won 2-0 in a friendly against Peterborough on Monday, in a game which saw promising débuts, familiar faces, and Reserve team action. The match was reported on here and here. "VIDEO: Highlights Of Peterborough vs United" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia. Click to continue reading...

After the initial survival kit for pre-season friendlies, it's time for some more helpful advice as the season countdown continues. Click to continue reading...

TheChelseaBlog.org was at United's victory over Peterborough last night and gave an insight from the stands. The usual disorganised farce followed by a fifteen minute delay signalled the start of a big game for Peterborough United. Despite plenty of advanced warning to prepare, the local constabulary aka half a dozen or so officers (while the rest [. Click to continue reading...

It was the battle of Fergie vs Fergie, with Senior edging it with a 2-0 win. The opener was an own goal, but Darron Gibson scored a blinder a minute after coming on the field. The midfielder has had an unimpressive pre-season so far, but he will have certainly caught the boss' attention with this! "VIDEO: Gibson's [. Click to continue reading...

Manchester United travelled down to face Sir Alex's Ferguson's son's team, Peterborough, winning with a rather generous 2-0 scoreline. Whilst this was another good opportunity for our lads to get to match fitness, the main talk revolved around the appearance of our Brazilian twins, who we've been hearing trickles of news about every 6 months or [. Click to continue reading...

The Emirates Cup, an annual two-day pre-season football tournament held at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium in London (where each team plays two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and a point for every goal scored), was an interesting test for Juventus especially in light of their upcoming UEFA Champions [. Click to continue reading...

Saturday was a great day out at Old Trafford, watching Ole Gunnar Solskjaer play on our pitch for the last time. He walked on to the pitch with two of his kids, carrying the European Cup. The applause and cheering was deafening. Peter Schmeichel spoke to the crowd about what a magnificent footballer and person Solskjaer was, [. Click to continue reading...

Lokomotiv Moscow 1, Chelsea 1 (Lokomotiv 5-4 on penalties)

Moscow was a nightmare once again for the Blues. So, too, were penalty shoots for one Andriy Shevchenko. Sheva's penalty miss cost us the match, one we largely dominated. Michael Essien continued his strong preseason, handing us the lead in the 27th minute.

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  Or in other words: ouch. With this year's Russian Railways Cup (an annual pre-season football tournament held in the Russian capital and hosted by FC Lokomotiv Moscow) featuring prestigious teams such as Sevilla, Chelsea, and AC Milan, this was the perfect opportunity for the Rossoneri to test their European pre-season form. Click to continue reading...

I was fortunate enough to be one the 68,000 at Old Trafford yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed getting to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer off. Of course, with Ole now working with the Reserves, there was no need for a tearful farewell. For me, Carlos Tevez was easily the best player on the park. Whilst Solskjaer showed some [. Click to continue reading...

Cavalieri
Arbeloa Carragher Skrtel Dossena
Kuyt Gerrard Plessis Benayoun
Torres Keane

Subs:
Agger for Skrtel 46'
Hyypia for Carragher 46'
Ngog for Torres 46'
Darby for Arbeloa 46'
Alonso for Plessis 46'
Nemeth for Keane 59'
Insua for Dossena 59'
Spearing for Gerrard 59'
Reina for Cavalieri
Pennant for Benayoun 72'

Goals:
Torres 23'
Ngog 56'
Benayoun 60'
Alonso 70' (pen)

I didn't end up seeing the whole game until late last evening, so once again this is a bit late. Click to continue reading...

Stevenage were held 1-1 in their final home game of pre-season after an impressive performance against League 1 side Leyton Orient. Graham Westley fielded a strong team as it was their last test before the new season kicks off next Saturday. Steve Morison was partnered up front by Mitchell Cole who plays in that position [. Click to continue reading...

Well, so much for our predictions. We sincerely hope you didn't bet the house on our score lines and there's not a lot we can say except to take a leaf from Dundee manager Alex Rae and just apologize for our embarrassing performance. A new rule then for Inside Left: no more predictions. Ever. [... Click to continue reading...

You just gotta love the month of August in Italy, and the regular occurrence of triple-team tournaments. The "Triangolare" format (as they call it down in the Old Boot) seems to be an Italian specialty because I have yet to see it appear regularly elsewhere in Europe (feel free to prove me wrong in the [. Click to continue reading...

Stevenage continued their impressive form against lower league opposition with a 3-1 win away at Northwood. Graham Westley fielded a relatively weaker 11 to the team that played on Tuesday night against Boreham Wood choosing to keep his "first team" fresh for the visit of Leyton Orient on Saturday. Click to continue reading...

It's been a day of ex-players, as Arsenal traveled up to Germany to help VfB Stuttgart celebrate the renaming of their stadium (to the Mercedes-Benz Arena- Stuttgart is the home of the company, after all). Stuttgart, of course, is the new home of former Arsenal goalkeeper/entertaining character Jens Lehmann.

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Burgenland- the easternmost and least populous of all of Austria's states. It's right up against the border with Hungary and was the subject of only mildly interesting territorial debates in the 13th century, and not so much since. It was also the provider of Arsenal's most recent friendly opponents.

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A strong looking Stevenage squad travelled down the A1 this evening to face Ryman Premier side Boreham Wood at Meadow Park. Boro won the game easily 6-0 in their most convincing victory of pre-season so far. A brace from Mitchell Cole, who started up front, as well as goals from Eddie Anaclet, Steve Morison, Michael Bostwick and Lee Boylan, from the [. Click to continue reading...

Milan have Ronaldinho, Inter have Mourinho, Roma have squat (for now at least), and Juve have pre-season form. That and Amauri, the tall & skilled Brazilian (soon-to-be Italian, hopefully) some Juventini did not even want back in May. I hope JuveAlessio is eating his words now, because the ex-Palermo striker has been absolutely on fire in July pre-season matches. Click to continue reading...

Boro went 2-0 up in their latest pre-season friendly down at Bognor Regis, but goals from Duncan Jupp and ex Yeovil winger Gavin McCullum levelled things at Nyewood Lane. More to follow.... Click to continue reading...

Boro lost their third home game in a row against league opposition after tonight's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Peter Taylor's Wycombe Wanderers. Boro welcomed back Ashley Bayes in goal, while Steve Morison returned to partner Anthony Thomas up front. Wycombe started in a 4-3-3 formation, but Taylor opted to leave former Boro loanee Gavin [. Click to continue reading...

The Blues set off the preseason in fine fashion Wednesday, blanking Guangzhou Pharmaceutical 4-0 in China. Peep the photos below. Looks like Deco is already finding form.

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A new era in Chelsea football begins tomorrow. Uncle Phil, Deco, The Bos Jose Bosingwa if you must make their Blues debuts, along with the rest of the crew, in the club's first preseason match, against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical.

What a crazy club name. Anyway, it'll give us fans at least those with Chelsea TV a chance to see how the club is being shaped under the new regime.

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What can you say about pre-season friendlies? Other than nothing, really. It's hard to interpret them as anything. I remember reading someone's opinion on the German team's friendlies before the Euro- if they'd won their game easily, that would be a cause for worry because it means they're not working hard enough in training.

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