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Ultimate Soccer Pipe
– Pipes Output

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Wigan Athletic 1-2 Aston Villa Premier League Highlights (Video)
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:43:48 PDT]

Aston Villa kept up their hopes of a Champions League finish with this tough win away at the DW Stadium.

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Wigan Athetic 0-1 Aston Villa (McCarthy Own Goal)

Chelsea 0-1 Inter Milan (Eto’o)

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Sevilla 1-2 CSKA Moscow Champions League Highlights (Video)
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:35:27 PDT]

Keisuke Honda scored the all important goal in this Champions League tie as he put Russian side CSKA Moscow into an overall lead with his free kick early in the second half to secure an impressive win over La Liga side Sevilla.

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Sevilla 0-1 CSKA Moscow (Necid)

Sevilla 1-1 CSKA Moscow (Perotti)

Sevilla 1-2 CSKA Moscow (Honda)

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St Johnstone 1-0 Aberdeen: Sheridan sinks Dons
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:01:50 PDT]
St Johnstone 1-0 Aberdeen: Sheridan sinks Dons

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Jubilant Mourinho toasts “superior” Inter troops
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:58:23 PDT]
A triumphant Jose Mourinho insisted the best team had won after Inter broke Chelsea’s heart at Stamford Bridge.

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Chelsea 0-1 Inter: Eto’o fires Jose through
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:57:19 PDT]
Jose Mourinho made a triumphant return to Stamford Bridge to dump his former club out of the Champions League and remind Roman Abramovich of the mistake he made by kicking him out of the club.

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Wigan 1-2 Aston Villa: Milner makes the difference
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:57:04 PDT]
Wigan 1-2 Aston Villa: Milner makes the difference

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Beckham “feeling positive” after surgery in Finland
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:52:19 PDT]
David Beckham says he is “feeling positive” following surgery on his Achilles tendon.

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Championship: Baggies beat Swans, Forest crash
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:46:11 PDT]
West Brom moved within a point of the Championship summit and opened up an eight-point cushion over third-placed Nottingham Forest after contrasting results for the two teams.

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Big Ben has yet to meet with police in sexual assault case
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:34:01 PDT]
An attorney for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
says the two-time Super Bowl winner has yet to meet with Georgia
authorities who are investigating a sexual assault allegation made
against him by a 20-year-old college student.

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Sevilla FC 1-2 CSKA Moscow: Honda hits top gear
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:53:50 PDT]
Sevilla FC 1-2 CSKA Moscow: Honda hits top gear

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The 10 Most Magnificent Footballers/Pop Stars EVER! [Soccer]
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:00:35 PDT]

 It’s sometimes easy to forget that footballers are also human beings. Frighteningly gifted human beings, who can turn their hand to pretty much anything. Some ooze seamlessly into management or punditry, others open shops or decide to do office jobs. More »

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Sources: Oregon firing Kent
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:45:17 PDT]

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Tyson to star in Animal Planet pigeon racing show
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:23:52 PDT]
Former world heavyweight champ Mike Tyson will take flight on
Animal Planet with a new sport — pigeon racing.

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Revealed: Liverpool Boss Job Application Form
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:46:15 PDT]

COS contributor takes a light hearted look at what it takes to fulfill the requirements needed to take Anfield post.

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Liverpool Football Club

Founded in 1892, Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. Which plays in the Premier League and is one of the most successful in the history of English football, winning more trophies than any other English club. Liverpool has won a joint-record eighteen league titles, seven FA Cups, seven League Cups, three UEFA Cups and five European Cups, an English record.

Manager

Responsibilities:

• Report to Incompetent American owners who will in time(roughly 6 months after they have fought it out amongst themselves) give you an answer to the most simplistic questions.

• Responsible for the football team management.

• Supervise and ensure a quality youth setup.

• Player transfers (In & Out).

• Win The Premier League, Carling Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA European Super Cup, UEFA Europa League, World Club Cup and The Charity Shield in the first time of asking.

Requirements:

• A degree in Motivational skills – Tactical knowledge is not necessary. A bad first half is no problem, as long as the team plays better in the second half, it shows you are bound for greatness.

• You must have a Masters or be a Master magician when it comes to finance, funds are not available. Club policy is sell to buy, however, re-signing contracts is calculated into the transfer budgets.

• Knowledge of Continental football and English Football

• Mind reader – Able to read the minds of a small group of supporters who think they are the next “Jose Mourinho”. Injuries are not taken into account.

• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and Internet applications – This is necessary to search up your next team selection… If you don’t, the consequences are that you will be forced out of the club and will have to settle with Managing Juventus or Real Madrid.

• Must win all competitions that you should participate in… Winning 4 Trophies, 6 finals and 3 runners up awards is not good enough… For further information please contact Rafael Benitez at Rafa@Liverpool,Madrid,Turin?.com

• You must obtain a +60% win ratio. For example, If you obtain 58%, the small group of supporters will be calling for your head like in the witch hunt era, 60% is legendary status… For further explanation please contact Rafael Benitez and Kenny Dalglish.

• You must be a trained physician – Star Trek style – Some fans think that footballers are bionic, government weapons… This will avoid too much internet browsing.

• You must play youth players even if they are injured or not ready for first team football – This will become evident when you browse the internet for your team selection.

Salary:
• Preferably volunteer work – Sacking the current manager will cost us 14 million pounds. When the new stadium is built you can ask for a pay rise… Completion is supposed to be in June 2011, but works still haven’t begun.

Preference:
• Martin O’neil – Must take lessons in how to handle foreign, world class players and learn to win in the Month of March… Also how to build a football club without spending nearly 100 million on average English players.. Yes Martin, some of us know.

• Marco Van Basten – Steve Mclaren can do a good job in Holland, why couldn’t you? Don’t worry I won’t tell many people that you are so incompetent that you make our “umbrella” former National Coach look pretty damn good.

• Guus Hiddink – Must seek approval from Ivory Coast and Chelsea before applying. And no, this isn’t a “damage limitation” job, we expect you to take the club forward… Back to school before you apply.

• Jurgen Klinsmann – Must take football management course, what you did with Germany during a world cup was half impressive, if the tournament would have been held outside of Germany it would have been a success, unfortunately that wasn’t the case… Don’t worry we won’t be calling Bayern Munich for your managerial profile, you’re safe.

• Roberto Mancini – Please note before you apply that in England your main competitors will not be banned or receive point deductions, enabling you to win everything you have ever won in their absence.

• Jose Mourinho – If you ask Real Madrid really, really, really nicely to pay us compensation for our manager, we could maybe work something out.

*applicants please forward your CV Tom & Gerry, shortlisted applicants will be contacted hopefully before 2012*

Don’t forget to check out Online Football Manager!

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Inter eliminates Chelsea in Champions League
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:43:47 PDT]

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Despite layoff, Tiger still the favorite to win the Masters
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:38:07 PDT]
Despite not competing since his car crash in November, Tiger Woods
is still the favorite to win the Masters.

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David Beckham’s Injury Woes Could be Blessing In Disguise for England’s World Cup Hopes
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:00:11 PDT]

COS contributor Sean Quinn wonders what all the fuss is about?!

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When the dust settles on the news of David Beckham’s unfortunate injury, his absence is unlikely to be seen as significantly affecting England’s World Cup prospects. In fact it could even prove to be some kind of blessing.

His experience and deadball skills may well be missed. But the certainty of Beckham’s absence (in contrast to the metatarsal saga of 2002) will now enable Fabio Capello to plan for the tournament without the complication of having to very publicly assess the potential merits of a high profile player who is reduced at the age of 34 to an uncharacteristically peripheral role. Beckham’s absence also offers a schoolboy-dream opportunity for someone to finally make that position on the right side of midfield his own, and in a World Cup too. There has been much debate about the inability of Lennon, Walcott, Wright-Phillips and Bentley to nail that position, and I suspect that Beckham’s enduring presence in the England squad has been a contributory factor. For good-natured as Beckham seems, you don’t play 115 times for England without being ultra competitive. Whether it is by expressing his superior talent in training, or stirring the crowd every time he leaves the substitute’s bench to warm up, Beckham will have cast a long shadow over his rivals. And his absence from the squad could be as liberating to his successor as Roy Keane’s departure from Manchester United seems to have been for the likes of Darren Fletcher.

Curiously enough, as loyal and distinguished a career as he has had with England, Beckham’s three previous World Cup tournament appearances were as notable for his extraordinary ability to attract headlines as for the quality of his play: dropped by Hoddle for the opening game with Tunisia before being sent off against Argentina in 1998; jumping out of the tackle to protect that metatarsal in the buildup to Brazil’s equalizer in the 2002 quarter final; a prominent influence in the WAG culture that threatened to undermine England’s 2006 campaign, amid rumours that he was indulged – to the irritation of other squad members – by a starstruck Sven. If at the peak of his powers his contribution was not what it might have been, we cannot realistically have expected the man now employed by LA Galaxy to have made the critical difference. Nor is it a bad thing for one so synonymous with previous doomed World Cup campaigns – and regimes – to have moved on. World Cup history is made by those who see their chance and take it, many of whom, like Martin Peters, Peter Beardsley and David Platt, were obscure players before the tournament began. David Beckham has had a wonderful career and had his chances, but his time has finally come. The King is dead, long live the king, whoever he may be.

Don’t forget to check out Online Football Manager!

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Manchester United Closing In On Impressive £20m Starlet Duo
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:37:28 PDT]

Old Trafford supremo looks to Premier League side to nab a couple of top notch youngsters.

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According to the News of the World, Manchester United will make a £20million bid for the double signing of Everton youngsters Jack Rodwell and Dan Gosling .

Both Rodwell and Gosling scored against Manchester United in Everton’s recent 3-1 victory at Goodison Park. Now, Sir Alex Ferguson wants to capture the youngsters and unveil them alongside centre-back Chris Smalling as the new generation of stars at Old Trafford.

19 year-old defender Rodwell is apparently the priority for Ferguson and although Everton boss David Moyes would be reluctant to lose the youngster, he could be tempted by a reported £8million from Manchester United up front. This would be followed by a series of further payments. Rodwell has scored 4 goals in 26 games for Everton this season.

Meanwhile midfielder Gosling is also becoming an important player for Moyes and has scored 2 goals in 16 games this season, having burst onto the scene last term by scoring the winner to knock Liverpool out of the FA Cup.

Should Rodwell and Gosling move to Old Trafford, they would of course be following in the footsteps of Wayne Rooney who left Everton for Manchester United in 2004. (IMScouting)

Sir Alex Ferguson is reportedly a big admirer of combative midfielder Jack Rodwell who many believe would be the natural long term replacement for Old Trafford veteran Paul Scholes and you can see the raw potential the Everton teenager has but David Moyes has consistently stated that he will not allow such a talented individual leave the club, but then the same was said about a certain Wayne Rooney.

Manchester United’s interest in adaptable youngster Dan Gosling is however a new bit of speculation that may or may not have any basis in truth. There is no doubt that Sir Alex is looking to add more up and coming talent to his ranks and given the fact that new ‘homegrown’ regulations will kick in soon enough the fact that both these youngsters are Englishman would certainly help their cause.

The Toffees will of course be keen to avoid losing any of their up and coming players but when a team the size of United comes calling it becomes very hard to prevent your players from having their heads turned.

Don’t forget to check out Online Football Manager!

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NHL MVP Ovechkin ‘disappointed’ by two-game suspension
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:27:42 PDT]
Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin was surprised and says he
was “disappointed” by the NHL’s decision to suspend him for his hit
on Chicago’s Brian Campbell.

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Stuttgart await “game of our lives” against Barca
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:24:41 PDT]
Stuttgart director of sport Horst Heldt admits his team must play “the game of our lives” if they are to knock holders Barcelona out of the Champions League on Wednesday night.

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Landon Donovan Returns to MLS After Successful Everton Adventure
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:21:17 PDT]

American star says his goodbyes to Goodison Park.

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Everton have confirmed Landon Donovan’s loan spell has officially ended and he is returning to Los Angeles Galaxy.
The Toffees had hoped the prospect of a Major League Soccer players’ strike could enable him to stay for longer.
But a statement on Everton’s website on Sunday said: “Landon has returned to LA Galaxy following his 10-week loan.
“Despite attempts to extend his loan at Everton, LA Galaxy have now recalled him to their squad ahead of the start of the MLS season on 27 March.”
Donovan, who played in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Birmingham City, paid tribute to Everton’s fans on his departure.
“I’m 28 years old now and I’ve played over 100 times for my country, I’ve also played a lot of league games in different parts of the world,” he told EvertonTV.
“But I’ve never met a fan base like this, either playing for them or as an away player. Forget about football for a moment, this is a experience I’ll never forget.”
It remains unclear whether the MLS season will kick off on time as the strike threat remains.

On Friday, Toffees boss David Moyes was still holding out hope that Donovan’s loan might be extended.
He said: “Landon has done really well. He settled in very quickly and he has had an impact on the club.”
Moyes added he would like Donovan back next year in any event, during the MLS off-season.
“If Landon was available again next January, I would probably try to bring him back here,” he said.
Donovan told BBC Sport recently that he would “jump” at the chance to return to Everton.
“I give a lot of credit to the manager for believing in me and giving me chances and I hope that I’ve given a lot to the club as well,” he added. (BBC Sport)

No doubt Landon will be hoping that the MLS season is canceled as a result of the players strike that is about to hit the American Football (not soccer!) League. The LA Galaxy man was a great success at Goodison Park and the attacker clearly felt at home on Merseyside and I have a sneaky suspicion he will be back sooner or later.

Donovan gave Everton more creative options going forward and proved himself more than capable of making the jump from the MLS to the Premier League.

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No. 2 for No. 24: Jeff Gordon’s wife expecting a boy
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:46:10 PDT]
Jeff Gordon says his wife is expecting a baby boy.

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Chelsea Vs Inter Milan Champions League Team News, Bet of the Day and Predictions
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:07:00 PDT]

A former Stamford Bridge hero set for a hard time?

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Chelsea are boosted by the return of Ricardo Carvalho as they look to turn around a 2-1 deficit to Inter Milan in their Champions League last-16 tie.
The Portuguese defender has not played since the Blues’ 4-2 loss to Manchester City on 27 February but has shaken off a hamstring strain and will start.
Third-choice goalkeeper Ross Turnbull will continue in goal for the hosts.
Inter look set to be without Thiago Motta (thigh), Marko Arnautovic (flu) and Mario Balotelli (knee).
And the Italians go into the game on the back of a 3-1 league defeat to Calcio Catania on Friday, though manager Jose Mourinho made four changes to his side for that match, partly with Tuesday’s second-leg tie in mind.
The match will be Mourinho’s first at Stamford Bridge since he was sacked in September 2007 and the Portuguese is sure to receive a hero’s welcome.
In his time at Chelsea, he led them to successive Premier League titles and FA Cup and Carling Cup triumphs – but current Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, who is rumoured to have fallen out with Mourinho during his time as AC Milan coach, is not worried that the fans’ loyalty will be divided.
“It won’t be difficult for the fans,” said Ancelotti. “Before the game Mourinho will have a very good reception but after that Chelsea fans are Chelsea fans.”

And the Italian is determined Tuesday’s match is not billed as him against Mourinho, saying: “I don’t have a problem with Mourinho. I have never had a problem with him.
“It’s a game between Chelsea and Inter, not me against Mourinho.
“It’s a game that will be a fantastic one. We want to show our best. I think if Chelsea play at their best we win.

Chelsea (from): Turnbull, Taylor, Ivanovic, Kalou, Alex, Drogba, Malouda, Terry, Carvalho, Borini, Lampard, Obi, Deco, Anelka, Zhirkov, J Cole, Belletti, Ballack, Kakuta, Sturridge. (BBC Sport)

Inter Milan fell to a surprise defeat at Catania on the weekend and watched as AC Milan pegged back their lead so this couldn’t be a better time for Carlo Ancelotti to take on Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge in what will surely be an emotional occasion for the former Blues boss.

Chelsea will be favourites in my mind and with fair reason and I can see the west London club preventing the visitors from scoring and then the game is very much in their reach. With an on fire Didier Drogba to call upon, the Ivorian’s heroics almost forgotten outside Stamford Bridge as everyone notices Wayne Rooney’s scoring record. Drogba has managed 26 goals from 31 starts against Rooney’s 32 goals from 36 starts.

Man United proved when they annihilated AC Milan that the gulf between the Premier League and Serie A is still a large one and that is why I am confident that Ancelotti will taste victory tonight.

My Bet of the Day would be on Chelsea to win 2-0 at 11/2. Then as an outside bit of fun bet on the game getting a little tasty when it becomes clear that the Italians will be knocked out you get 11/10 on there being six or more cards shown.

My Prediction: 2-0 to Chelsea

Don’t forget to check out Online Football Manager!

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Samaras: Hoops won’t give up on title charge
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:54:49 PDT]
Georgios Samaras insists Celtic will not give up on the Scottish Premier League title until it is mathematically impossible to topple Rangers.

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MATCHDAY LIVE: Latest updates and chat
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:37:31 PDT]
MatchDay Live – March 16

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Agassi apologizes for poking fun at Sampras
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:11:05 PDT]
Andre Agassi said he was “out of line” and apologized for poking
fun at Pete Sampras during a charity match last week.

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Three-time defending champ leads Iditarod at final checkpoint
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:05:14 PDT]
Three-time defending champion Lance Mackey is in the driver’s seat
and headed for the finish line in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

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David Beckham Has Successful Operation But Won’t Be Able to Run for Five Months!
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:54:29 PDT]

Mr. Beckham we have some good news and bad news, which would you like first?

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The surgeon who operated on David Beckham’s ruptured Achilles tendon has deemed the procedure as “a success”.
The severity of the injury means Beckham could be out for up to six months, said surgeon Sakari Orava, ending his 2010 World Cup hopes.
The 34-year-old was aiming to represent England in a fourth World Cup but was injured playing for AC Milan on Sunday.
Beckham’s spokesman said the midfielder was expected to make a full recovery from the 50-minute procedure.
The former England captain, who is in his second loan stint with AC Milan from LA Galaxy, suffered the injury in the final minute of Milan’s win over Chievo.
“Following a scan, David Beckham’s left Achilles was found to be ruptured,” said the player’s spokesman.
“Professor Sakari Orava performed a successful operation today, repairing the tendon completely.

“David is expected to make a full recovery. Professor Sakari Orava will conduct a further examination on Tuesday, when a programme for rehabilitation will be finalised.
“David wants to thank everyone who has given him messages of support – it meant a lot to him.”
Orava, who carried out the 50-minute procedure, said: “The operation went smoothly and nicely.”
Asked whether Beckham would be able to play in the World Cup that starts on 11 June, Orava replied: “No, I don’t think so… healing takes a long time.
“It is difficult to say how long the recovery period will be but I would guess it will be three or four months and for example for running it usually takes four or five months until one can do it properly.” (BBC Sport)

So there you have it, there really is no chance David Beckham will make it to the World Cup. His surgeon stating that “it takes four of five months to be able to run” kind of ends the speculation given that at the very least a footballer should be able to make it from point a to point b by the process known by many as walking (or running). So its hard to know by what standards the operation was a success and it does appear that the former Man United man may have kicked his last professional football.

I don’t think England fans need to feel that any chance of a World Cup success is in any way harmed by the loss of David Beckham, after all he would at the very best be an option to bring on towards the end of games and certainly not a starter.

LA Galaxy will of course be very hopeful that Becks will return to MLS duty at some stage but no doubt they will have insured against the possibility of an injury such as this, if not they could have a problem on their hands.

Don’t forget to check out Online Football Manager!

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Nerlinger eyes new superstar at Bayern
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:39:29 PDT]
Bayern Munich director of sport Christian Nerlinger has told his club’s fans they can look forward to seeing a new big name in their squad next season, regardless of whether Franck Ribery stays.

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Tiger Woods confirms he’ll return for the Masters
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:23:00 PDT]
Tiger to return at Masters, just like we said he would.

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Gerrard to escape FA punishment over ‘elbow’
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:00:43 PDT]
The FA have confirmed they will take no action against Steven Gerrard following his clash with Portsmouth’s Michael Brown during Liverpool’s victory at Anfield on Monday night.

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Hull working through hit-list
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:25:44 PDT]
Hull City chairman Adam Pearson claims to have read some “pretty reasonable” speculation over the identity of the club’s next manager but insists there are more candidates.

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Chat LIVE with Soccernet’s Robin Hackett
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:14:13 PDT]
Join us at 1500 GMT for a LIVE chat with Robin Hackett.

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Lippi backs Balotelli but plays down Italy hopes
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:04:33 PDT]
Inter Milan outcast Mario Balotelli has received the backing of Italy coach Marcelo Lippi.

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Blackburn ‘keeper Robinson ruled out for a month
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:52:40 PDT]
Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson has been ruled out for up to four weeks with a calf injury, the club have confirmed.

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Buffon “very annoyed” by Man City speculation
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:48:56 PDT]
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is not interested in joining Manchester City at the end of the season and is becoming “very annoyed” with the constant speculation.

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Capello hopeful over Cole and Bridge return
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:15:58 PDT]
Fabio Capello is a playing a patient, waiting game, but is still convinced he will have both his first choice left-backs, Ashley Cole and Wayne Bridge, in his 23-man World Cup squad.

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Pienaar plays down English World Cup chances
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:25:24 PDT]
South African midfielder Steven Pienaar has claimed that England will struggle against top opposition at the World Cup and thinks Argentina are the team to watch.

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Culina to train with PSV ahead of World Cup
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:25:10 PDT]
Gold Coast United captain Jason Culina will prepare for Australia’s World Cup campaign by training with former club PSV Eindhoven for five weeks.

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Tigers to name new manager
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:52:03 PDT]
Hull City are to move swiftly in appointing a new manager, with chairman Adam Pearson saying he expects to have Phil Brown’s replacement installed by Wednesday morning.

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Liverpool 4-1 Portsmouth Premier League Highlights (Video)
[Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:38:49 PDT]

Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool side romped home past doomed Portsmouth at Anfield. Goals from Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel and Alberto Aquilani’s first for the club put the home side 3-0 up inside the first thirty minutes and looked like they would go on a scoring spree.

Luckily for Pompey Liverpool took their foot of the gas and only managed one more goal, Torres scoring his second. Belhadj scored a consolation goal in the dying minutes.

The win puts Liverpool back in the Champions League hunt and Rafa will hope that the convincing nature of the win will appease the fans and stifle speculation about his future as Anfield boss.

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Highlights

Don’t forget to check out Online Football Manager!

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Nakamura gets culture shock in J-League return
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:31:04 PDT]
Shunsuke Nakamura admits that being back with Yokohama F Marinos in the Japanese League has caused him a reverse culture-shock in his homeland.

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Pompey deadline over points penalty
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:12:40 PDT]
Portsmouth’s Administrator Andrew Andronikou has revealed to ESPNsoccernet that the club face an astonishing 19-point deduction and the threat of relegation down two divisions.

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Moratti hails Mourinho return ahead of Blues tie
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:50:44 PDT]
Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti is confident Jose Mourinho’s presence on the bench will inspire his team to victory at Chelsea on Tuesday.

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Mourinho reiterates desire to return to England
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:50:36 PDT]
Jose Mourinho has again stated he wants to one day return to English football on the eve of his trip to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea in the Champions League.

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Orange you glad Bendtner scored that goal?
[Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:22:40 PDT]

If there’s anything sweeter than a last minute winner I don’t know what it is. Oh, hang on. I do. It’s a last minute winner which brings about the demise of a manager who sanctions thuggery and is one of the most annoying, dislikable and citrusy ever to have set foot in the Premier League.

Nicklas Bendtner may or may not go on to become an Arsenal great, it’s too early to say, but his winner against Hull not only won us three vital points, it was the final straw for the board of Hull City who decided Phil Brown’s time was up. If he was a sadsuma on Saturday, this latest piece of inclementine news will have done nothing for his mood. And Nick’s goal will always have done two great things.

Another Allardyce accolyte gone and that’s no bad thing for football. He did give us some comedy moments, in fairness. The team talk on the pitch will go down in history as one of the most risible, cringeworthy episodes of all time. There was his toe curling interview with 5Live after the Spitgate affair when he claimed Arsene Wenger would not shake his hand, claims disproven by easily available video and pictorial evidence – and then this week’s hilarious ‘Oh shit, we’ve just let in a last minute winner’ face which I will always cherish. Cheerio Tango, not singing now, are ya?

Moving on, as Arsene Wenger declares us the Kings of the Late Goal, Nicklas Bendtner says, like Journey, we won’t stop believing:

If you give up after 80 minutes then you cannot be a player. I always believe until the last minute that we can do it because I have seen it so many times.

It’s a fantastic ability to have because when games are tight it work for you. The opposition know they’re playing a team who are capable of scoring at any moment and perhaps it puts them on the back foot a bit. Still, as much as I love last minute winners, and as much as I leapt about my sitting room like a second rate Goodplaya, I’d quite happily swap each last minute goal for about four not last minute goals. Or even three first half goals. I know it’s all part of the excitement but sometimes I prefer my excitement a little less exciting. 

Sol Campbell has spoken about our run in saying it’s not easy despite everyone saying it’s easy. I have to admit, I find Sol a bit hard to listen to. He’s been in football a long time so when he speaks to the media or even the old Arsenal TV, he’s a bit too savvy to say anything really interesting. It’s football platitudes, for the most part. We’ve got to keep on working hard, focus on the next game etc etc. It’s a good point about the run in though. It’s no harm him keeping some of them on their toes. Perhaps with younger players there’s a temptation to look at the fixtures, see none of the other title contenders and think we just have to turn up to win the games. That kind of attitude cost us dearly in the past, we have to ensure it doesn’t happen again, especially given the position we find ourselves in right now.

Meanwhile Sol has done a deal with Portsmouth over the money he’s owed by them. I wonder if there’s been any advice from Arsenal over that, knowing that anything that might force them closer to going under completely would be a very bad thing for us. Whatever happens to them in the longer term if the went out of business completely this season the points we won against them would have been lost.

I saw an article pop up on NewsNow late last night from the official Andrei Arshavin website. ‘Hurrah’, I thought to myself, which is usually who I think to, ‘another surreal question and answer session’. Sadly, it was just news of a car accident he was involved in. No real harm done, a bit of bumper damage and off he went. Maybe it’s just me but when I think of Andrei Arshavin driving I picture him leaving his house and deciding which from the vast fleet of Matchbox cars he’s going to take out. And the horn on his car sounds like Roadrunner. Maybe I’m thinking about this too much.

In which case I had better go get some breakfast and eagerly await fresh news and the like to bring you tomorrow morning. Till then.

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Hull 1 – 2 Arsenal: Goodbye Phil Brown, Hello Title Race
[Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:27:48 PDT]

Hull 1 – 2 Arsenal (Arshavin , Bullard (pen) , Bendtner 90+3)
Highlights | Arsene’s reaction

All the great players have an arrogance about them, but not all arrogant players are great. Nicklas Bendtner’s ability may never meet his own estimation of his worth, but if he continues to score goals at this rate during our run-in he’ll be forever fondly remembered regardless.

His 93rd minute winner at Hull brought two joys: not only did it keep us firmly in the title race, but it accelerated the sacking of Phil Brown. Brown has now been placed on ‘gardening leave’, which is a terrible shame for him – any green fingers acquired will clash horribly with his orange face.

Hull did nothing in this game to ease our troubled relationship with them. The conduct of George Boateng exemplified their approach: he escaped a red card for poking Nicklas Bendtner in the eye, then rightly received one for a second booking for a knee-high stamp on Bacary Sagna. He’s lucky it’ll only be a one game ban rather than the warranted three. Fortunately these Tigers have something in common with their feline counterparts: they’re highly endangered. Whoever replaces Brown has a hell of a job on their hands to keep them in the Premier League. By May, we could be rid of them.

We took the lead early on through Andrey Arshavin, who is playing with more spark since his return from injury. Whilst his aim isn’t fully calibrated yet – he missed one excellent chance on Saturday, blasting a Walcott cut-back over the bar – his goal saw him show a typical combination of quick feet and determination to burst between two defenders and finish sumptuously with the outside of his foot.

Hull’s equaliser came from a penalty that should never have been. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink was offside when he latched on to a flick-on. Sol Campbell’s challenge was clumsy and was always going to result in a penalty, but the fact the commentators and Brown then insisted he should have been sent off rather than recognising that the penalty ought to have been invalid was absurd. Nevertheless, Bullard tucked it away with aplomb, and from that point on Hull acquitted themselves well – even when down to ten men.

It looked for all the world like we’d drop two vital points, but then Myhill palmed Denilson’s longshot out to Bendtner, and the Dane side-footed home. It wasn’t an easy chance – the ball arrived at a difficult height, but Bendtner dealt well with it to net a crucial goal. That’s 6 in 5 for him, if I’ve added up right (which I probably haven’t).

A huge win, and one with two very obvious prizes. Goodbye Phil Brown, Hello title race.

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Dear Arsene. Please keep Vermaelen fit, somehow.
[Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:42:27 PDT]

In the principle of my fuzzy mind, I consider Sundays to be prime territory for blogging, bacon & eggs, papers and general loafing. In the practise of my actual life, however, I have small children: this means that somewhere ranging between one and all of the above Sunday activities falls by the wayside.

Experiencing the game on Saturday was interesting though, as I found myself ticking off various football-experiencing mediums as the game progressed. I managed to sneak out to the big screen in the pub for the first 45 minutes, before switching to a web stream (which broke), then onto the radio, before finishing the last few of the 95 minutes on Twitter on my phone. It was there that I learned of Bendtner’s winner, just as I was penning something miserable and bitter at having dropped two crucial points.

Things are going pretty well and it’s come to something that I started getting excited about going to the West Ham game this afternoon. It’s far too soon.

No better way to calm down then than to start worrying about hypothetical scenarios.

The scenario that got me sweating was the one that involves Thomas Vermaelen getting injured. I’m sure most fans of the teams that most want us to fail, if they could nobble anyone, would pick him at the moment. Of course, it goes without saying that Fabregas is a one-man assist machine, top scorer and general dynamo, but with Nasri and Diaby playing well we can just about survive without him.

Not so Thomas Vermaelen. With Gallas already out for a month and with no timeframe for his return, it’s now down to Campbell and Silvestre to partner Vermaelen. With both being older than they used to be (that’s the diplomatic way of putting it in Silvestre’s case), there really is no option but to play the Belgian in every single game between now and the end of the season – he is the glue that binds the defence together. He’s played 40 games this season – more than any other Arsenal player, and he’ll need to play a minimum of ten more.

Campbell has been an inspired signing, a fantastic influence off the pitch and an experienced hand on it, but he can’t be expected to play more than once a week and at 35 I think it’s safe to say that he’s creaking a touch.

Silvestre will need to step in to do his share – and he’s our fourth-choice centre-half for a good reason.

Now, if I was still in possession of my vivid green moth-eaten jumper, which as well as making me visible on the north bank to the naked eye from all corners of Highbury was an unbeaten, lucky jumper, then the solution would be to hand – I’d simply wear it between now and the end of the season and all would be well.

But my mum threw it away in 1987.

So now I just worry and hope.