Karl Sears

Real Salt Lake became the first Major League Soccer team to reach the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals, set to take on Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa after each time won mid-week. For RSL, their success comes at the expense of fellow MLS team Columbus Crew, losing 4-1 on Tuesday at Rio Tinto, dropping out of […]

Some of us expected it, some of us didn’t and some of us saw it as an unfortunate inevitability. But with March now upon us the moment has come – Blackpool are in trouble. Of course, having a weary new competitor enter the already crowded boxing ring will be a welcome addition for the battle-hardened […]

If we learned anything in the wake of the Carling Cup Final, it's that six weeks is a long time. At least, that's what's implied every time Arsenal's silverware drought is evoked. But if six years really is so long in Premier League years, how long is nine, because that's how long it's been since […]

Arsenal's six year drought without silverware persists while a 48-year dry spell ends for Birmingham City on what announcers called the biggest day in the club's history. On Sunday, Brum got an 89th minute goal from Obafemi Martins en route to a 2-1 win over the Gunners and the Carling Cup. Arsenal, on the other […]

The first piece of silverware handed out in 2011 goes to Birmingham City, the Blues pulling the upset of Arsenal on Sunday, defeating the Gunners 2-1 in the League Cup final. For the Blues, it's only the second major trophy in the club's history. For the Gunners, it's a bitter end to a competition Arsene […]

Having seen two very different instances of what the FA would describe as ‘violent conduct’ on Saturday, I started thinking. I touched on both of these moments in my ‘Saturday Review’ piece, but after some reflection I thought that the subject required further analysis. The two moments that I’m talking about are DJ Campbell’s push […]

Four was the magic number this Saturday in the English Premier League. Aston Villa, Manchester United and those Wanderers from Wolverhampton all hit the net four times in the process of recording important wins. So, without any four-ther ado (the last ‘four’ pun, I promise) here is a rundown of the Saturday action. Manchester United’s […]

Major League Soccer is still a few weeks off, but Major League Soccer's teams have started. Real Salt Lake got a result in Columbus against the Crew, but how much of an advantage do they have, taking a 0-0 back to Rio Tinto? On this episode of the Major League Soccer Talk podcast, myself and […]

Is anyone else starting to get a little bored of the supposed Carlos Tevez transfer saga? He’s staying, he’s leaving, he’s unhappy, he’s committed – barely a month goes by without an update from the Carlos Camp. And now Roberto Mancini admits uncertainty over Carlos Tevez's future at Manchester City. As ever, at the centre […]

Which side of a nil-nil would you rather be on? It's a serious question, because in Champions League, after one leg, it matters. Taking a 0-0 on the road has entirely different implications than coming back home with one. Yet there's still debate as to which situation is preferred. José Mourinho has said that he […]

It is the tentative dawn of Spring that so often exposes the true resolve of a football team. It is the time when trophies are won and lost, January signings can be truly evaluated and squads are tested to their fullest. With the season taking its toll on players’ fitness I wouldn’t imagine that there […]

One of the virtues of being a league-focused show is being able to use the FA Cup weekends as a time to reset, take inventory of what's happening around the league, and focus on topics we normally don't have time to address. On this weekend's edition of the show, Kartik Krishnaiyer and myself talk about […]

This weekend, much like old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard, the Premier League larder looks bare. That is, until you search a little harder. For if you look behind the FA Cup Fifth Round and the excitement of glamour ties such as Crawley’s giant killing mission against Manchester United, you will discover a solitary top flight encounter […]

West Bromwich Albion seemed to be turning a corner during the first few months of this Premier League season. In previous top flight years they’d been known as entertainers who had been punished for trying to play the right way and as a team whose attacking style left them too open at the back. But […]

It may have been unplanned and unexpected, but Jonathan Woodgate’s introduction to the fray on Tuesday night was a welcome sight. Despite being on the sidelines for 15 months, the former Leeds United and Newcastle man put in an assured, confident performance and repelled everything that AC Milan threw at him. But any thoughts that […]