Man United and Spurs Fans Prepare For A Face Off

Here are some of my favorite football stories from the day that you may have missed:

• “Your Chants To Help Charity” (Man United Official Website). In addition to Carling allowing fans to create their own banners for the pitch-side advertising for this Sunday’s final, Carling has now come up a new, unique idea. Along with Sky Sports, Carling will have sound meters set up at both ends of Wembley. If the decibel level hits 110 dB, Carling will donate £20,000 to the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK. TV viewers will be able to see the “Fan-O-Meter” on live TV to see what the decibel levels are for the Man United and Spurs fans. What an excellent idea.
• “Cigarette Cards” (Some People Are On The Pitch). If you’re a collector of soccer memorabilia, one area that is often overlooked is cigarette cards. Panini stickers get so much attention but, long before there were stickers, there were cigarette cards. SPAOTP go through the history of cigarette cards as well as highlighting a few special cards.

In other news from around the leagues in the world via our new-and-improved sister sites:

• “Streit Declares ‘To Hell With Jens, I Am The Biggest Douche Nozzle In The League'” (Bundesliga Talk). Albert Streit, the Hamburger SV midfielder, is giving Jens Lehman a run for his money in Germany, according to writer Double Pivot.
• “Champions League Mythbusters: The 5 Minute Rule” (Champions League Talk). How often are goals scored during the five minute rule? i.e. five minutes into a half, five minutes left in a half, and five minutes after a goal is scored. You may be very surprised after you read Scott Bennett’s research.
• “Can Guzan Get The Job Done?” (Major League Soccer Talk). Kartik Krishnaiyer, who has been in the news quite often recently due to his uncensored opinions about David Beckham, tackles the topic of Brad Guzan and whether he will be able to successfully step in for the suspended Tim Howard in the next game for the US national team.
• “Serie A Teams Disappoint In Champions League” (Serie A Talk). It wasn’t a good week for Italian sides. Roma lost to Arsenal. Juventus lost to Chelsea. Inter Milan were outplayed at home, but got a 0-0 draw against Man United. George Metellus examines the carnage.
• “2009 Copa Libertadores Weekly Roundup” (World Cup Buzz). George Metellus tackles the topic of the latest games in the 2009 Copa Libertadores tournament on their way to earning a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.

If you’re new to EPL Talk, I highly recommend that you subscribe to EPL Talk’s Shared Items from Google Reader. Each day we pick out some of the stories of interest. It’s impossible for us to cover all of the stories on EPL Talk, so the Shared Items are a perfect complement to ensure you’re able to stay on top of the news.