There has been no shortage of shocking tackles so far this season, we had Faye's two footed shocker a couple of weeks back, and now Cattermole's pair and Guthrie's leg breaker this weekend. This has coincided with the hot air surrounding the FA's rather vacuous 'respect' campaign, of note there was no shortage of players surrounding referees last weekend, Manu and Chelsea players being yet Click to continue reading...

IT'S no wonder players are going round saying losing with England never hurts as much as it does with their own club. You'd probably feel the same if you'd been messed about as much as Jamie Carragher has by his country.
Mark Lawrenson in a pro Liverpool comment shocker

"They didn't want me to move elsewhere, so that's why I was told the news of having been left out, just after the transfer window had closed,'
Sami Hyppia and how not to treat a club legend

So keen were they to jump into bed with the first "billionaires" to come along with a sackful of promises, that they found themselves landed with Gillett & Hicks. Click to continue reading...

So far, no surprises in the CONCACAF qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. After two games the usual 'Big Three' lead their respective groups and the teams behind them aren't really a shocker either. Two teams we thought would do better this time around in qualifying have a combine two points. Those two I'm talking about [. Click to continue reading...

A short-handed United club took the field in San Jose with a defined line-up and specific instructions from bench boss Tommy Soehn. The club responded with a huge effort. The team kept its shape. They counter-attacked effectively and created chances. Subs came off the bench and made a difference in the game.

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Just when you think TV coverage might be geting a bit better for soccer in this country comes the shocker that Sportsnet may not be carrying the Mexico-Canada WCQ on Wednesday from Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiappa. The V's boards are lighting up with responses from Sportsent to their emails reagrding coverage. Click to continue reading...

I'm not as blind as the ref from yesterday's Champions League shocker between Steaua Bucharest and Galatasary. I can clearly see that Banel Nicolita is completely offside. I can also see that the little hairy fellow who assisted on the controversial, tournament-ending goal for Galatasaray was none other than for former FC Dallas rockstar Juan Toja. Click to continue reading...

After England had a disappointing 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic, the Portsmouth manager has the answers for Capello.

Play a 4-5-1.

The defense and 'keeper stay the same. Gareth Barry stays the same as a holding mid.

Play Joe Cole on the left. Shocker alert with Wayne Rooney on at right mid! Click to continue reading...

Alright I'm back. Went to Tampa for the past like five days for the girlfriend's 21st birthday, and I've come back to quite a shocker...Arsenal have signed Mikael Silvestre from Manchester United. Yes, I'm serious. And I'm frankly astonished. Yes, I've been saying we need a new defender all summer, but this wasn't what I had in mind. Click to continue reading...

Those golden boots are leaving town. FC Dallas forward Ricardinho has returned home to Brazil to play with his club and Dallas partner Atletico Paranaense today after clearing MLS waivers. He joined FCD in July 2007 as the first player exchanged between the two partner clubs. Honestly, this move isn't a total shocker to me. Click to continue reading...

Fernando Clavijo is resigning as coach of the Rapids effective immediately, according to the Denver Post this morning. No real shocker here as Clavijo left the club earlier last week to be with his family in his native Uruguay. He mentions that he wants to help the club but needs to be with his family [. Click to continue reading...

It's back! Thank fuck! The Championship and SPL are in full flow already, while the Premiership kicks off in earnest today after 97 painful football-less days. It hasn't been the most explosive offseason in recent memory, dominated by the tedious Ronaldo saga and a mildly enjoyable European Championships devoid of any UK interests, but full of beer. Click to continue reading...

The Olympians training in the rain... The Dutch Olympic football team may have played a shocker of a game against the USA, the return to the hotel suggests they just won gold. Dozens of smiling school girls cheered the team when they got out of the bus after another training. The rain Click to continue reading...

This isn't exactly a shocker, but today Ruud Van Nistelrooy retired from the Dutch national team. Its a bit of a shame that Ruud wasn't able to achieve more with the national team during his time there. His goal scoring record of 33 goals with 64 caps is very good, but never was able to achieve the same sort of success as his predecessors. Click to continue reading...

This is a bit of a shocker. According to goal.com (A warning: knowing this site, this story could've been made up entirely), Lippi may use Cassano as his first choice striker during WC 2010 qualifying and beyond. Now, as Italian soccer fans, you may be sitting there thinking "This Julian guy's nuts.

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Don't sleep on tonight's rematch of last year's Superliga shocker (2-0 to Houston at home) and CONCACAF CHAMPIONS CUP rock n' rollercoaster (5-2 to Pachuca at home). It's all kicking off at Telefutura 10pm EST. Can't wait. Click to continue reading...

Did you know David Beckham is interested in working with the women's league WPS? Or that he didn't even realize he had been given an option for an ownership stake in a race horse? Read today's story, which includes much of an exclusive USA TODAY interview. Yes, I had leftovers, but most of those are in the photo gallery.

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A certain Spanish left winger has made it known that he wants to 'grow as a footballer,' and what do you know...Spurs are the name of the club he's currently being linked with! A Spanish footballer being linked with Juande Ramos at the North London club? Talk about a shocker! ... Click to continue reading...

Valencia 4-0 Gimnastic de Tarragona (30:09:06)

Manolo, el del bombo joins the European Football Weekends team.

Manolo's Bar - every drum a winner!

La Mestalla home to Valencia CF.

Why I thought you supported Atletico!? Yeah - whatever!

A marching band, La Mestalla and I. Click to continue reading...

....Of the gridiron variety.

This comes to us courtesy of our friends at DynamoPlanet.com and WTOP.


It was another Friday with a politician making news on the Politics program with Mark Plotkin on WTOP. This time it was D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty letting us know that a proposal for a new stadium for the Redskins in the city is on the way. Click to continue reading...

I think it's safe to say that the signing of Diego Cavalieri for about £3 million, finally signals the end of Scott Carsons career with Liverpool. I also think it's safe to say, that Cavalieri will likely play second fiddle to Reina. If he somehow manages to displace Reina, then I reckon we'll have ourselves the best keeper in the world. Click to continue reading...

I cannot offer as comprehensive a write-up as Rob did for last night's game, as I was refereeing two rep games and only got home on time for the second half. What I saw in those 45 minutes (and postgame highlights) is exactly the same as what Rob wrote: It was a good game, with a fair amount of offense.

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While most people will gawk at Sepp Blatter putting his foot in his mouth yet again, the head cheese at FIFA actually said something yesterday which was interesting but didn't offend entire demographics. Massive shocker any way you look at it. Of course, his stupidity will force this under the radar, so keep the credit [. Click to continue reading...

Two MLS teams advanced, two USL-1 teams advanced, two games went to penalty kicks. Home teams listed first:

- New England (MLS) 1, Crystal Palace Baltimore (USL-2) 1; New England advances on penalty kicks 5-3. The Revs fielded few starters but slipped through.

- D.

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As pre-season training starts there are still several fairly large question marks hanging over a couple of big names in our squad. The Sun has decided to try to stir things up even more by turning a few meaningless Hleb quotes into a 'Gunners blast shocker'. The Sun claims that the following quote is Hleb having a 'pop' at Fabregas: "When we get scoring opportunities, Fabregas is much more Click to continue reading...

From today's matches:

Saturn Mosk Oblast 7 - 0 FC Etzella Ettelbrück
FK Teplice 1 - 3 Budapest Honvéd FC
SK Sturm Graz 2 - 0 Shakhtyor Soligorsk
Grasshopper Club Zürich 2 - 1 Besa Kavaje
Grbalj Radanovici 2 - 2 Sivasspor
Chernomorets 919 Burgas 1 - 1 ND Gorica
FC Tiraspol 0 - 0 SC Tavriya Simferopol
KFC Germinal Beerschot 1 - 1 Neftchi Baku

You read that right; Russian Premier League side Saturn Mosk Oblast dropped seven on FC Etzella Ettelbruck. Click to continue reading...

Morning all,

it's another Adebayor focussed morning as reports from various sources (or perhaps one report repeated across various outlets) say that Barcelona have made a final 'take it or leave it' offer of £30m for Emmanuel Adebayor.

Take it!

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The see-sawing saga of Adebayor continues. And against my better judgement, I'm bringing it up again. There are other things to comment on. But first, the Togan international looks more and more like he will remain at Ashburton Grove for the 2008/09 season. Why do I think that? Because it seems like Arsenal simply won't sell him, having reportedly turned down a £25m offer from Barcelona, and requesting £35.

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Who had a shocker at the Euros? 1. Luca Toni (Italy) Came into the tournament as one of the favourites to win the Golden Shoe; left the tournament without finding the net, despite having 12 shots on goal and even... Click to continue reading...

...take it off to Milan. Possibly. The man himself has been making statements that the media are interpreting as either he's staying or he's going, depending on which quotes from his most recent interview is taken. He says somewhat different things to the BBC and the the Independent, which combined give an impression that he isn't sure what he wants to do.

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I'm blaming Slavan Bilic for this one. What was he doing jumping around like the players after Croatia scored the goal in the 119th minute of the match? He's no longer on the team, he's the coach! You have to maintain your composure and continue coaching, making sure that your team is organized to defend the final 2 minutes or so that are left in the game. Click to continue reading...

I'm blaming Slavan Bilic for this one. What was he doing jumping around like the players after Croatia scored the goal in the 119th minute of the match? He's no longer on the team, he's the coach! You have to maintain your composure and continue coaching, making sure that your team is organized to defend the final 2 minutes or so that are left in the game. Click to continue reading...

Good Monday to you all. It's that day. That special day that we all look forward to in the summer. I call it 'The day of nothing'.

This is the day in the summer when there is nothing happening. Perhaps something might happen later on but at the moment the only something is nothing.

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Barbados 0, USMNT 400 Ok, the final score was only 8-0 Only watched the first five minutes before heading off to work, but that was enough. Clint Dempsey scored inside the first minute when he was totally unmarked, and that was basically that. Actually, it was enough when I didn't see Eddie Johnson standing in the XI for the National Anthem. Click to continue reading...

It was extremely pleasing to read the news today that Evra will be our left back for the next few seasons he's been a revelation since his debut, when he was substituted at half time against Man City for having an absolute shocker.

I particularly liked this quote of his:

"It's a privilege to play in front of our fantastic fans and I'm sure the success we've earned in the last two seasons confirms the history of this club and will be the start of something even more special.

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Greece JUNE 04. Greece Fifa ranking. 61 JUNE 08. Greece Fifa ranking. 10. That says it all really. Greece's 2004 victory was simply the biggest shocker in the history of the game and they are the most improved team in Europe over the past 5 years. No one expects them to win this again, especially after we spanked them 4-0 in Gingernuts 1st game. Click to continue reading...