Wigan against Blackburn on a cold November afternoon. Normally not a game that would catch my imagination and certainly not one that prior to this weekend I imagined myself writing about come the start of the week. But one incident has really got me thinking about the way that we treat footballers and what we […]

CL Highlights: Napoli/Man City Commentators Martin Tyler and Ray Wilkins summed it up perfectly before the game kicked off. The atmosphere at Napoli's decrepit stadium in Italy was absolutely spectacular. This was a game that the fans and players were up for against a Manchester City side that seemed unstoppable. For those of you who […]

After returning to the Tottenham bench Monday night, Harry Redknapp now believes Tottenham Hotspur can win the Premier League this season, if they keep their form up. Spurs have dropped only two points in their last nine games and they were scintillating at times Monday as they dismissed Aston Villa 2-0. It is very hard […]

Shane Long went on air after West Brom’s victory this week to say “I didn't receive any apology over the [Alan Hutton] tackle.” To me this is disgraceful. Shane Long has been out for a month. And after that particular tackle from Hutton, surely he deserved an apology. The Hutton tackle was an outrage. It […]

Chelsea’s defeat by Liverpool has left them 12 points off the pace after just 12 matches, and this is their worst start to a Premier League season since 1995-6. Many are actually rather surprised that Abramovich hasn't had enough of Andre Villas-Boas already. The problem with Chelsea this season has been that they simply haven’t […]

As our long-time readers know, MLS Talk likes to provide serious, well-thought out news analysis mixed with offbeat and laughable soccer-related thoughts. This is the latter type of post. Prior to First Kick 2011, the MLS Talk writers got together to give some predictions for the upcoming season. At the time, we promised we'd resurrect […]

Yesterday afternoon, before I set off for work, I saw Emmanuel Eboue trending on Twitter, so I just had to click. I’ve always had a soft spot for Eboue, whether it’s because of his bizarre warm ups or when he is pretending that he is fluent in Korean. Unfortunately this time, there wasn’t an opportunity […]

Here’s a look back at the good, the bad, and the ugly from week twelve of the Premier League. Note: Readers can follow Matt @thehackreport Cheers 1. Micah Richards: Richards continued his season long campaign to be called the best right back in the league. 2. Rio Ferdinand: The veteran defender put in a resurgent […]

Manchester City has once again proven that they are the team to beat in England. With a comfortable 3-1 win over Newcastle Saturday they have also became the only unbeaten team in the Barclay's Premier League. As if that weren't impressive enough, after twelve games they have still only dropped points once in their campaign. […]

Considering that the NBA season is locked out while the owners and players fight over money, many Americans may already have a backup plan. The NFL season is in full swing, the NHL season is about a month old and the MLB has ended. Even still, some who are hoops fans may even gravitate to […]

In a move that releases a collective, "Hoorah!" from most American soccer fans I know, Grant Wahl reports over at SI.com that ESPN will not bring back John Harkes for color commentary in 2012. Harkes has been a consistent lightning rod for viewer angst during ESPN's coverage of the domestic game, and has learned of his […]

FOX's taped broadcast of Chelsea against Liverpool drew an overnight TV rating that nearly doubled the rating for ESPN's primetime MLS Cup on Sunday, according to a USA Today report. Chelsea against Liverpool got a 1.5 overnight, which translates to 1.5% of households while LA Galaxy against Houston earned a 0.8 overnight rating (much improved […]

Southampton and West Ham United brought their solid early season form into the first month of winter as fans got to grips with the battle that lies ahead for each of their clubs. While the race for the play-off places will take countless twists and turns this season, the stragglers can immediately be identified as […]

If ever there was a performance to reinforce exactly why Wolves fans should not have got carried away by the masquerade victory against Wigan Athletic two weeks ago, it came at Goodison Park on Saturday. Over the years, Everton was always a notorious place to visit. Lead by a top manager whose team plays a […]

The second try turned out to be the charm for Bruce Arena and his Los Angeles Galaxy. Landon Donovan's outside right-foot finish past Tally Hall in the 72nd minute put the Galaxy on top for good. Keane picked up the ball outside the area, used some slick moves to beat Bobby Boswell, and then slipped […]