A "dream" semi-final was setup yesterday when both Manchester United and Barcelona advanced to the semi-finals on the back of 1-0 home wins. Much has been made of the fact that United fielded a "B" team last night as Sir Alex Ferguson gave Cristiano Ronaldo the evening off and restricted Wayne Rooney to a 16-minute […]

Marco Etcheverry was the symbol of United's early dominance of MLS No offense to our readers who support MLS' other thirteen and soon to be fifteen teams. These franchises are developing the persona to be considered a "club" by international standards as we speak. In some cases like Houston the process is quicker than in […]

I'm On Setanta Sports has returned with a new episode featuring the trio of The Special One, Sven and Rooney. The new episode is another great one and features a smart way of showing off Rooney's talents. The question is how long can they keep the United star from not speaking and whether they'll be […]

What does it say about English dominance in Europe when Alex Ferguson picks practically a B side to play Roma to ensure qualification for the semi-finals of the Champions League? And, after all that, his team still wins? Is this how far English clubs have progressed where even their B-sides are better than one of […]

I have probably among the supporters of American soccer been most critical in the last week of MLS' recent failures in international competitions. But tonight, despite the final scoreline DC United did MLS proud and fought valiantly until the final whistle sounded, a whistle that came two to three minutes too early. Luciano Emilio's finishing […]

First off, I want to let everyone know that I'm going to make a bit of a change in this Premiership "Manager of the Year" award procedure. Instead of naming my personal winner on Friday as previously planned, I'm going to wait and do it on the 21st. Two more rounds of games will have […]

For the third time in four seasons, Liverpool and Chelsea will contest a Champions League semi-final to see who will be in Moscow for the final. The previous two semi-final clashes were extremely tight ties and were more a display of defensive and tactical negation than a reflection of the offensive talent that both squads […]

Amidst all the Champions League hype yesterday, Portsmouth's 1-0 away victory at West Ham, keeping their hopes of finishing in 5th place alive, more than sailed under the radar and I would be remiss to not talk about it and its ramifications a little bit. England killer Niko Kranjcar scored on a terrific effort from […]

The Houston Dynamo under Dominic Kinnear, perhaps the best American soccer coach anywhere have been wildly successful since re-locating from San Jose two years ago. They've won two MLS Cups, gone deep in two CONCACAF Champions Cup, made the final of the inaugural Pan Pacific Cup and were oh so close to getting to finals […]

Take a break for two minutes and watch this hilarious video featuring Fabio Capello in "The Italian Job" from a new British show called "Headcases." Thanks to TT for leading me down this path. [display_podcast]

While most of the furor on the internet and in the newspapers Tuesday night and Wednesday has been laser focused on the highs and lows of the classic encounter between Liverpool against Arsenal, Avram Grant and his Chelsea side quietly flew under the radar last night and dispatched Fenerbahce to qualify for the Champions League […]

Oh, to be a Londoner or to live near its vicinity. On April 30th, a lecture is being held at Birkbeck College on a topic that would be perfect for most EPL Talk readers. "A Tale of Two Audiences: Gate Attendance and Broadcast Demand in European Football" will be the topic of discussion. Two professors […]

Sometimes it's refreshing to get an outside opinion to see what the rest of the world thinks. So, his the view from the Spanish newspaper, Marca, regarding the win by Liverpool against Arsenal: "Everything that a fan could demand was at the legendary stadium, home to the 'Reds'. These meetings are the ones that make […]

The Kids, they're alright. But alright does not win you a title. Yes, Arsenal got hosed. Theo Walcott's coming out party was spoiled by a pathetic penalty decision, a putrid product of the Kop End. Stevie G got to grin and smile like he had won the match, though he did everything in his power […]

The sensational match between Liverpool and Arsenal was a wonderful advertisement for English football. The Gunners absolutely dominated Liverpool for the first 30 minutes, running circles around the Reds with their one-touch passing movements which were mesmerizing to watch. After Diaby scored the opening goal, it seemed that Arsenal was unstoppable. The turning point in […]