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Is there anything Tim Cahill can’t do?
Tim Cahill’s week defines the word jet lag. From Liverpool to Japan for a World Cup Qualifier. His performance for Australia wasn’t exactly great, then again neither was Australia’s. Cahill had to be thankful Everton’s FA Cup tie against Aston Villa was on Sunday, I don’t think he would have played had the game been Saturday.
Despite the fatigue Cahill obviously had, he willed Everton into the Quarterfinals with a 3-1 thrashing of Aston Villa. It wasn’t his best day, but it was a day we are all too use to from Cahill. He set up the first goal with a header that Stiliyan Petrov should have been sent off for, only for Jack Rodwell to finish. You could almost not blame Cahill for the yellow he received in the first half, knowing there is a UEFA Cup game midweek, he could use the rest against Newcastle United. However with Steve Bennett’s allegations last week, one could wonder if he intended to get booked on purpose.
Everton’s third goal was a typical Cahill goal, right place at the right time. You would think teams would know to find him at the far post. But the way he ghosts onto said far post, he’s easily forgotten. His finishing though isn’t.
Manchester United finished off Derby County by halftime, enough said.
So that leads us into the <a href="http:\/\/www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACup/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/FACup_6RoundDraw_details.htm" target="_blank">quarterfinal draw</a>. With a fourth round replay to be had, and a fifth round tie still to be played along with four replays, fourteen teams are still alive for those four spots at Wembley. Not one tie is set in stone either, which adds to the uncertainty of this draw. I can only go with draws I hope for. I think Chris Coleman’s Coventry City hosting Chelsea would make an interesting tie. What would Roberto Martinez’s Swansea City do at home against Manchester United? Could Burnley’s wait for the fifth round pay off with a home tie against Sheffield United, or could we see Hull City back at the Emirates? Does Everton really mind which Premier League side they get?
And now the rest of the news. 
In something I said last week, Luiz Felipe Scolri has come out and hinted that <a href="http:\/\/www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1765_4921612,00.html" target="_blank">John Terry</a> did not have full support in the dressing room at Chelsea. Color me shocked.
In further Scolari post Chelsea backstabbing, Nicolas Anelka has attacked Scolari for not trying to forge the ‘dream’ partnership between Anelka and Drogba up front. That goes to show Scolari didn’t have a plan b, but I also wonder if had Scolari partnered the two up front if it would have worked out…I don’t think it would have because the two had already tuned Scolari out.
And in one last bit of Scolari news, could <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1145902/Manchester-City-line-axed-Chelsea-boss-Scolari-replace-Hughes-bid-lure-Kaka-Eastlands.html?ITO=1490" target="_blank">Manchester City</a> be his next employer? I guess they really are that desparate for Kaka.
I wonder how much <a href="http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/chelsea/4629304/Jose-Mourinho-wants-Chelsea-return.html" target="_blank">Jose Mourinho</a> is enjoying what is going on at Chelsea?
<a href="http:\/\/www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1765_4925528,00.html" target="_blank">Avram Grant</a> is eying up the Portsmouth job. It just seems the only way he’ll get it is if Portsmouth can’t come to terms in order to get <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1145570/EXCLUSIVE-Pompey-close-deal-Sven-Goran-Eriksson-Mexico-dream-collapses.html?ITO=1490" target="_blank">Sven</a>.
Speaking of Portsmouth, executive chairman Peter Storrie has been rearrested with regards to the bung scandal. I guess that would leave massive <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1145402/Pompey-chief-Peter-Storrie-questioned-tax-issue.html?ITO=1490" target="_blank">tax issues</a>.
Add <a href="http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1145722/Neville-follow-Giggs-agree-new-year-deal-United.html?ITO=1490" target="_blank">Gary Neville</a> to the list of those who have signed another year contract at Old Trafford.
And finally, <a href="http:\/\/www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_4925204,00.html" target="_blank">Dean Ashton</a> admits his season is over.

Cahill Does It Again, FA Cup Draw Thoughts, And Other Premier League News - World Soccer Talk

Cahill Does It Again, FA Cup Draw Thoughts, And Other Premier League News

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Well they’ll be dancing in the red half of Manchester this morning after the fantastic day December 29th turned out to be for the Red Devils. Firstly, I awoke to discover that Steven Gerrard had been arrested after a night out in the Liverpudlian Rivera, or Southport as it’s really known, apparently after having an altercation with a DJ who wouldn’t play the music he liked, but no word if Gerrard wanted his favourites from Phil Collins or Coldplay on the decks: Note to self, never, ever book Steven Gerrard to DJ at a party. As I write this, Gerrard has been charged with assault and affray and has been bailed to return to the Magistrates on January 23rd. Ironically, as is the way with such things, Liverpool have to entertain Everton in the Merseyside derby on the 19th, so Everton fans will no doubt be composing suitable ditties as we speak. Can Gerrard maintain his excellent Christmas form after this?
<div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" border="0" align="right" width="280" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20081230_WST_4001_Alex_Ferguson_405017a.webp&amp;width=280&amp;height=390" height="390"></figure></div>Secondly, United won 1-0 in the evening kick off against Middlesborough in a laboured performance that only seemed to settle down when Gary Neville and Paul Scholes joined the fray seconds after Tuncay had missed a glorious chance to put Boro ahead. United had plenty of chances and possession but Middlesborough stuck to their task manfully and made United work to get the three points through Berbatov’s smashing volley under pressure. The post Christmas fixture list is usually when Manchester United begin to grind down the leaders, slowly, methodically, patiently, knowing that 10 Premiership Trophies shows exactly what their rivals fear the most, they’ve been here so many times and even misfiring up front, keep garnering the points to move them upwards.
Even though they’re struggling for goals, only scoring&nbsp;9 in the last&nbsp;7 matches, they’ve still collected 17 points, four more than Liverpool and seven more than Chelsea over the same period as well as winning the World Club Championship and moving into the Semi-Finals of the League Cup. Now that’s ominous form and with Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all yet to go to Old Trafford, Ferguson knows that the Premiership is in his own hands, win all three of those games and United will be Champions again.&nbsp;Forget Chelsea pushing Liverpool, they’re all over the place at the moment, simply showing what an important and under-rated player Michael Essien really is to the Blues. Normally, with the transfer window opening, you’d expect them to go out and sign 2 or 3 players, but probably not this year, apparently all they need is a striker. Peter Kenyon has&nbsp;said so, so it must be true.
Manchester United’s next&nbsp;home game is crucial to Chelsea’s faltering title challenge as the Blues continue to struggle with absences, enforced and self induced, to keep pace with Liverpool and hold off United as well as battling on three fronts and the Red Devils will be waiting for them a week on Sunday, hoping that&nbsp;New Year will seem&nbsp;so&nbsp;familiar to Manchester United. I can’t see anything other than the Red Devils turning the screw on the the top two and it will finally show us if Liverpool and Chelsea do have the stomach for a title fight, because United certainly do.

Only Manchester United Can Stop Liverpool Winning The Premier League - World Soccer Talk

Only Manchester United Can Stop Liverpool Winning The Premier League

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>On Tuesday afternoon, the Premier League rolled out a massive new program entitled “Get On With The Game” that brought players, managers, chairmen and referees together to agree on common goals for the new season: to bring order back to the league and get on with the game.
The Premier League’s PR machine was in high gear as three separate events in England launched the campaign, which were also televised live on Sky Sports. Quite comical were proclamations by John Terry and Gary Neville that they would bring order back to the league and their clubs. Both of these captains have had notable fiery skirmishes with referees in the past.
Despite the good intentions of the campaign, the event is no more than a horse and pony show. Once the league kicks off and the pressure of winning matches boils, the “Get On With The Game” pledges made by clubs and players will be thrown out the window.
Let’s see how long it takes before we see players and managers overstep their boundaries and direct their rage at referees and opposing players.
You have to wonder how much of the “Get On With The Game” campaign is simply a PR exercise to show what the Premier League is doing to repair the tarnished image of what goes on the pitch. The campaign makes the Premier League look good and paints the picture that the league is actually doing something to fix the problems.
If you were in charge of the Premier League, what would you have done differently to ensure that disgraceful incidents on the pitch don’t happen again this season?
To learn more about the “Get On With The Game” campaign, visit the <a href="http:\/\/www.premierleague.com/page/Headlines/0,,12306~1364324,00.html" target="_blank">Premier League’s website</a>.

Nothing Will Change With Premier League&#039;s Get On With The Game Campaign - World Soccer Talk

Nothing Will Change With Premier League's Get On With The Game Campaign

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This week, two Manchester United players made their debut for the club in quiet circumstances during a 2-0 friendly win against League One side Peterborough United. The match was noteworthy because of the debut for two of United’s rising stars, Rafael and Fabio Da Silva.
The two 18-year old Brazilian twins agreed to join Alex Ferguson’s side in February 2007 but due to FIFA regulations, they had to wait until they turned eighteen before they could sign professional contracts. But now that they’re authorized to play, keep an eye out for the twins during this upcoming season.
Right back Rafael and left back Fabio joined Man United from Fluminense in Brazil. The twins also played in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea.
After the Peterborough friendly, Ferguson said this about the two Brazilian defenders:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>“The young players were fantastic and young Rafael the right-back was a sensation for me.
I thought it was a real eye opener for us. He hadn’t played for a year but he’s played a full 90 minutes today. His brother Fabio has played 45 minutes and he’s also done well so we’re really pleased by their contribution.
You know what football’s like. Sometimes it turns up some star, some little nugget maybe. On the evidence of tonight I think we have got a good player here.”</blockquote>
</blockquote>
In the recent history of English football, there have been some notable brothers who have played together on the same team. Best known are Gary and Phil Neville. While brothers are not uncommon, what is rare is to see two twins playing together on the same side. Examples from Holland include Ronald and Frank de Boer, and Rene and Willy Van der Kerkhof. In England, the only twins I can remember are Dean and David Holdsworth who played for Watford in the late eighties.
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ALL POSTS TAGGED "gary neville" - Page 2

General

Cahill Does It Again, FA Cup Draw Thoughts, And Other Premier League News

General

Only Manchester United Can Stop Liverpool Winning The Premier League

General

Nothing Will Change With Premier League's Get On With The Game Campaign

General

Rafael and Fabio Da Silva: Players To Watch