Rory Marsden

I work with a man from Edinburgh. He's a Hearts supporter. More importantly to me: he's the one guy at work who will talk football. He'll talk about any aspect any match any controversy any player you like. He keeps up with the English Premier League and though he's never shown allegiance to any English […]

The Independent reported today that  documents have been revealed "which suggest Liverpool's net summer spending will be locked at £20m until 2014". This is slated to include player pay raises and not just transfer fees. This story has also appeared on Sport.co.uk and in the Daily Mirror. While this might explain why Liverpool weren't particularly […]

I don't really hate anybody in my immediate world (except, of course, my old landlord, Dick Dumont – yeah: he knows what he did). But it's easy enough to drop the word hate into conversation. "Oh, I hate that" and "Don't you just hate him/her?" We do it all the time, but do we truly hate […]

Going into the West Ham match I asked for a brace (minimum) from Fernando Torres and boy did he deliver. This calls for some pondifercating on The Football Genius. Well, maybe Torres isn't at Genius Status yet. But of all the players playing in England he's got to be among the biggest contenders. But before […]

Another busy week has seen West Bromwich Albion take over from Newcastle United at the top of the Championship table. The Baggies have enjoyed a fine week, picking up six points and scoring eight goals in their two matches. In mid-week they battled back from a goal down to beat Doncaster Rovers 3-1, courtesy of […]

Before yesterday I knew about as much about Debreceni VSC as I know about the Faint Object Spectograph on the Hubble Telescope. They are among the "new kids" in the Champions League and not knowing anything about their club (or their league) forced me to underestimate them greatly. I assumed this would be an easy […]

Eduardo's two match ban for diving has been quashed after UEFA accepted an appeal from Arsenal. The striker was given the punishment after appearing to deceive the referee during a Champions League qualifying match with Celtic. The incident generated a huge amount of media attention and many believed that it would open the door to […]

Before the season started, I knew little about this Burnley side. I like to see former top-flight stalwarts come up and Burnley – one of the orginal 12 sides in the Football League – haven't been up in 33 years. But apart from that, I knew no reason why they shouldn't be on track to […]

I have a big problem with Liverpool's new sponsor. While I'm glad to see a deal that will provide the club with £80m over the next four years, and while the hope that new stadium plans and healthier transfer budgets will emerge gets me giddy... it's Standard Chartered Bank... I can't drink it during matchtime. […]

I was a little concerned coming into the last fixture. It wasn't because Burnley has already beaten United and Everton. It wasn't because Burnley aren't afraid to attack. I saw these things as healthy signs for Liverpool.  Liverpool usually do well against attacking sides. And Liverpool have a habit of playing to the level of […]

Lennon's cross arcs over the box. It hones in on Steven Gerrard who waits just outside the crowd. He jumps, coils his neck and smashes the ball toward goal. His header flies down into the net. 2-0 to England. I'm an American, but I still get chills when Gerrard scores for his country. His header […]

In 2005, Michael Shields was convicted by a Bulgarian court for the attempted murder of a barman after Liverpool's Champions League victory in Istanbul. Between a jail in Bulgaria and Thorn Cross prison in Chesire, England, Shields, now 22, has spent the last four years behind bars. But, today, his 15 year sentance has been […]

Admiral Capello strides onto the bridge. "Status report, Lieutenant Rooney!" he shouts. Rooney is grim. "The Croatians have boarded the ship, Sir," he says. "They've already scored two goals." "I see," says Capello. He turns to his chief defensive officer. "Mr Neville raise all shields in the back. I don't want anything else getting through. […]

Before Saturday, I remained undecided on whether or not FIFA should add two more officials to the mix. But since England won the surreal penalty against Slovenia, I find myself tipping in the direction of adding the extra officials. In one of the more eye-popping Did-That-Really-Just-Happen moments I've seen in a while, Wayne Rooney managed […]

I've said elsewhere: there's something about old top flight stalwarts. I'm excited to see Wolves and Burnley up in the top flight again. (Birmingham have come up every other season since I've been watching so that seems too routine to be thrilling.) I'd love to see a club like Nottingham Forest or Crystal Palace or […]