Was Thierry Henry lazy? Is Florent Malouda the most valuable player in the English Premier League? Are NBA analytical models being used in the EPL? All were questions and discussion points during the “Soccer Analytics” panel held Saturday at the 5th annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston. The conference, which has grown rapidly over […]

Team: Real Salt Lake Coach: Jason Kreis Last Year's Finish: 15-11-4, 56 points. Western Conference: 2nd In a sense, RSL's season has already begun with a 4-1 aggregate victory over Columbus in the CONCACAF Champions League. In the second of those two matches, we've seen a team that looks like it's picking up where it […]

Allow me start with some nuts and bolts. When I first embarked on writing tactics-flavored match reports, I planned to focus on mid-to-lower table clubs, like my initial report on Wigan v. WBA. This was because Michael Cox of Zonal Marking (a participant in a tactics interview accessed with a subscription to EPL Talk Pro) already […]

Liverpool has snapped a three derby losing streak to Manchester United, with strong performances from Dirk Kuyt, Luis Suárez and Raúl Meireles leading the Reds to a 3-1 victory over their rivals. On this edition of the EPL Talk Podcast, myself, Kartik Krishnaiyer and Laurence McKenna talk about the Red Devils disappointing performance, what it […]

The moment Obafemi Martins tapped home Birmingham's League Cup winner last Sunday, something strange and mysterious happened. Down at City rivals Aston Villa, it triggered the start of a horrific week. First Villa revealed losses of up to £37 million. Then Gerard Houllier took the first team to Eastlands (well half of the first team. No, two […]

In Sunday's massive match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield, Jamie Carragher committed a high tackle against Nani in the 44th minute that resulted in the Portugese player going to ground and Carragher being awarded a yellow card. But in images published in the last hour, we can now take a closer look at […]

Manchester United has their first losing streak of the year, failing to show against Liverpool after their mid-week loss to Chelsea. But don't disparage the Reds' performances, particularly those of Luis Suárez, Raul Meireles, and hat-trick hero Dirk Kuyt. Liverpool snaps a three-match losing streak to United, beating the Red Devils 3-1. At 10 p.m. […]

Sunday's match between Liverpool and Manchester United was a perfect example of why the Premier League is the most exciting league in the world. You had everything from an incredible dribble by Luis Suarez to beat four players and help create the first goal to the surreal antics of Nani. But most importantly, the action-packed […]

PL Player Bite: Kuyt's Hat-Trick Luis Suarez twisted and turned past four Manchester United defenders Sunday and then nutmegged Edwin van der Sar, which led to Dirk Kuyt tapping the ball into the net for an incredible opening goal for Liverpool. The goal will be long remembered by Liverpool supporters as one of the best […]

Don't listen to the others, but today there are actually two massive Premier League matches that will be played before our eyes. The first one, of course, is the battle between Liverpool and Manchester United from Anfield (8:30am ET, Fox Soccer Channel). This is a crucial match for so many different reasons. Most of all […]

ESPN's feature match in America looked wearisome and sloppy after 45 minutes. West Bromwich responded though, by wresting the match away from a Birmingham City side that looked wistful at times. There were several changes for the Blues from the Carling Cup winning eleven. McLeish did lead off with the 4-4-2 formation that yielded the […]

Fifteen years ago, MLS launched with teams in downright psychedelic uniforms playing on football fields; some of MLS's earliest highlights look like the two teams are playing on a lacrosse field. In 2011, the situation has vastly changed, as most MLS franchises have their own soccer specific fields or compounds with only a few still […]

PL Highlights: Arsenal/Sunderland Two critical calls by officials in Saturday's Arsenal against Sunderland match unfairly went against the Gunners in a match that may have a massive impact on the 2010-11 Premier League title race. In an evenly matched game between Arsenal and Sunderland, where the Mackems had their chances to win the game too, […]

TUESDAY, MARCH 8TH 8:00PM EST – 5:00PM PST 2011 MLS PREVIEW SHOW #2 LOS ANGELES: Dave Denholm Formerly of 710AM ESPN Radio LA SAN JOSE: Adam Serrano of Soccer By Ives PHILADELPHIA: Geoff Reid Union Supporter CHICAGO: Ben Burton Fire Supporter HOUSTON: Warren Jones Dynamo Supporter TORONTO: Duane Rollins of the 24th Minute Blog, It's […]

Seven is such a lovely number. We have 7 Premier League matches on deck today beginning with the Birmingham against West Brom derby at 7:30am ET (ESPN2 for our U.S. readers). Whatever you do, don't underestimate this match. Both teams have survival to play for. Carlos Vela has been an inspiration for West Brom and […]