The second qualifying round brought two big upsets as Rangers and Anderlecht became two of the biggest clubs to be knocked out at this stage. A 2-1 win (video highlights here) in Lithuania saw FBK Kaunas (pictured celebrating at the right) take full advantage of the 0-0 draw they earned at Ibrox to send the […]

The UEFA Cup (perhaps soon to be known as the Europa League as we covered a while back) is in some ways more interesting to me as the diversity of nations represented is much higher. If Michel Platini is successful with his reforms, we may see more diversity soon in the Champions League but for […]

On Sunday, when Manchester United take on Portsmouth in the annual Community Shield fixture at Wembley, a marker may have been set for the future of our game and the respect that referees rightfully receive in times to come.We may look back in ten years time and say that that was the day when football […]

When TechCrunch announced in June that a new social network for football fans was being launched in beta, football aficionados flocked to the site to see what all of the fuss was about. A couple of months later, EPL Talk has followed up the co-founder of Footbo.com to see how the site has evolved since […]

Well the US gets three valuable points today. A few observations: For the third major tournament in a row (2006 World Cup, 2007 U-20 World Cup, 2008 Olympics) the US has come out in a 4-5-1. The fact that this has been done under three different coaches tells me its is the ideal formation for […]

Manchester City's new third shirt for the 2008/2009 season is orange, or is it? The new shirt has been uncovered on the Internet and published by our friends at Football Shirts. However, it's quite possible that the shirt design is fake. The design and creases are exactly the same as the ones featured in this […]

By Ian Cahir The Spanish Supercopa, which matches the winner of La Liga against the winner of the Copa del Rey in a home and home series, is heading to FSC for the first time. The matchup pits Real Madrid against Valencia on Aug. 17 and 24 at 4 p.m. EDT. The first leg is […]

Ok... with the premiership all ready to kick off, here are my picks for the best young stars that have made a transfer this summer who are going to keep us glued to the TV and YouTube and all the football boards including this one. Carlos VelaNot quite the finished article yet, but under the […]

Greetings from the sister site! Over at Soccer on Dish, we're back from a summer holiday, and we're ready and raring to wake up at 5:45 to watch the Community Shield. But there are a few items you might want to know about: — Aside from dropping GolTV, Dish Network has added the NBC Olympics […]

As some of you might recall, I decided that for the upcoming season that I was going to leave Manchester United behind (the club I have followed since 1997-98) and find a new club to follow this year. I solicited ideas from the EPL Talk community and the reactions were fascinating. Some expressed utter outrage […]

As much as Everton fans may not want to admit it, their club will always operate under arch-nemesis and cross-town rival Liverpool. There's no way around it; Liverpool is statistically the most successful team in English history, having won more league titles (18), Carling Cups (7), and European Cups/Champions League trophies (5) than any other […]

The elite group that is the big four – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, have dominated the top four places in the Premiership for the past six year with the exception of Everton three seasons ago. But can this season be different and a club outside of this elite group break into a Champions […]

We are less than 24 hours away from Team USA's Olympic opener versus Japan tomorrow. What lineup would you like to see? I know I'm dreaming but I'd like to see a 4-5-1 where Jozy Altidore becomes a reserve and We utilize our width to push the ball up the flanks. Here is my ideal […]

Rafael van der Vaart was officially unveiled as Real Madrid's newest player yesterday in a presentation the Santiago Bernabéu. As pictured above (photo courtesy of Real Madrid's official website), he was introduced by Real's President Ramón Calderón and President of Honor Alfredo Di Stéfano.Rafael van der Vaart is only 25-years old but has been playing […]

I think it would come as a surprise to many to know that West Ham, not Middlesbrough, not Aston Villa, not any of the promoted clubs, had the highest average of English players in their starting lineups (6.61/11) in the 2007-2008 Premiership season. That surprise symbolizes a commonly-held feeling towards West Ham from outside those […]