Juan Mata believes Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney deserves respect rather than the scrutiny and scorn of late. The 30-year-old has enjoyed a record-breaking start to the season, but becoming England's all-time top scorer has not failed to take attention away from a clutch of underwhelming displays. SEE MORE: Memphis needs United's patience, not supporters' ridicule. […]

Mark Hughes is hoping Jack Butland's England recognition can pave the way for Ryan Shawcross to join him in the national set-up. Stoke boss Hughes has consistently pushed Shawcross' international cause, but so far Roy Hodgson has overlooked the Potters defender. Shawcross has made only one appearance for England, which came three years ago when he […]

Everton's best starting XI of all time allows us to choose from a number of names. This is our XI of the Merseyside club's best players. Everton's best starting XI of all time (GK) Neville Southall Undisputedly, the finest man to ever don the goalkeeper’s jersey for Everton, Neville Southall’s career with the club spanned […]

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has withdrawn from the Belgium squad for their friendlies against Italy and Spain. The 29-year-old, who was not involved in full training with his country on Tuesday or Wednesday, was the subject of a club-versus-country row during the previous international break when he played in a Euro 2016 qualifier against Israel […]

The life of a soccer manager is precarious at the best of times, but taking on the senior role at a Major League Soccer expansion club is clearly a triumph of hope over the experience of others. The dismissal last week of Jason Kreis by New York City FC only adds to the already dismal […]

As their fans never fail to remind us, Liverpool are the most successful club in English soccer, if you add up league and European titles (the European caveat would be completely unnecessary if not for a certain Scot and American capitalism, but that’s another story). So it stands to reason that the club can put […]

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas insists manager Jose Mourinho has the full backing of his players despite the Blues' dismal start to their Barclays Premier League title defense. Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Stoke was Chelsea's seventh league loss and saw the London club head into the international break 16th in the standings, with just 11 points […]

Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony has been ruled out of Ivory Coast's World Cup qualifying doubleheader against Liberia. Bony limped off in City's 0-0 Barclays Premier League draw at Aston Villa on Sunday because of a hamstring injury, with Blues boss Manuel Pellegrini saying afterwards he did not think the 26-year-old would be able to […]

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has chosen to endure the pain of a shoulder injury — with the assistance of cortisone injections into the damaged area — in an effort to enhance his side's title charge both domestically and in Europe. The 29-year-old's shoulder problem dates back to Sept. 15, when the defender suffered the injury during a Champions […]

The public’s awareness of soccer’s concussion crisis has improved dramatically over the past year. With episodes such as Christoph Kramer’s during the World Cup final, Hugo Lloris against Everton two seasons ago and many others, the tide has turned in concussion awareness – an important and necessary step. Now, with the settlement of a lawsuit […]

The first two seasons of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) championship has been a smashing success. The well-promoted league is essentially a 60-day mini-tournament that is meant to keep the attention of those in a nation not accustomed to following high-level club soccer on the local level. Both the Indian Premier League (IPL) competition in […]

NGSN, the relatively new legal soccer streaming service in the United States, has added the Indian Super League to its growing portfolio of soccer leagues and competitions. The league is now accessible to soccer fans in the United States who want to watch live and on-demand games from the league that features an array of […]

Everton defender Leighton Baines is set to take another step towards a first-team recall but admits he does not yet know when he will be ready to return. The 30-year-old left-back has not featured at all this season after sustaining an ankle injury just before the campaign kicked off. He will play in a behind-closed-doors […]

The conventional wisdom in recent years around Major League Soccer has been to employ head coaches with some kind of North American soccer experience. Whether that's as a former player or college coach, clubs have preferred to appoint candidates with some familiarity with the league. The thinking has been that these coaches can get the best from their […]

Choosing an all-time Arsenal starting XI is a fairly lengthy task. The north London outfit is one of the most successful English clubs in history and have had an extensive list of outstanding players feature for the team. Arsenal have collected 13 first division/Premier League titles and a dozen FA Cup trophies, more than any […]