It seems like this is all coming out of nowhere. Any fan of the game knows that the "tapping-up" allegations have always been prominent but rarely has it been so harshly punished. From United's perspective, they were accused of tapping up Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney in the recent past and accused Real Madrid of […]

In the short time since Chelsea were found guilty of inducing Gael Kakuta to breach his contract at RC Lens, and banned from the registration of new players until 1st Sept 2010 – i.e. two transfer windows away – a lot has been written, blogged, said and alleged – some fact, some fiction. Let's separate […]

UEFA handed Arsenal's Eduardo a two-match ban for diving against Celtic, a simulation that won the Gunners a penalty. FIFA have now banned Chelsea FC from signing any new players until January 2011 since it's been revealed Chelsea induced Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Lens in 2007. Kakuta now plays for Chelsea's youth […]

One of the major complains that many have against the MLS is that it is a developmental league. No American dreams of playing for the San Jose Earthquakes or the Kansas City Wizards – they imagine themselves playing in Italy, Spain or England. The best MLS players are always eyeing their European opportunities. Their agents […]

Welsh legend Mel Charles joins us on the latest episode of the EPL Talk Podcast, the only Premier League interview show on the Internet. Charles is a legend in Welsh football and the brother of John Charles. Mel played for Arsenal during the late 1950's and early 1960's — as well as playing for Wales […]

It’s funny how karma works. Chelsea took an inhumanely stern line with Adrian Mutu, and now FIFA has taken a stern line with them. The Blues have been found guilty of “inducing” French midfielder Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Lens in 2007. FIFA has forbid them to participate in the next two transfer […]

Raise your hand if any of the following criteria apply to you: have you been a football supporter for ten years or less? have you "picked" a top European club to follow? do you currently reside in one of the 50 States that make up this fine country? If you answered Yes to any or […]

With two relatively straight forward fixtures this week, the United States National Team is almost guaranteed to be leading the Hexagonal after this international break. But this will guarantee nothing, as the one time magic 15 point mark for World Cup qualification from CONCACAF is almost sure to be exceeded by four nations this cycle. […]

Almost twenty years ago England went to Poland knowing that a draw would qualify them for Italia 90. A backs-to-the wall performance and the magnificence of Peter Shilton ensured they had their point and the team then went onto reach the semi-finals of the tournament that arguably saved English football from itself and ultimately elevated […]

The Guardian reported last night that the Premier League have been dealt a massive legal blow in its fight against online piracy when an Israeli court threw out an attempt to shut down a pirate website that was showing live matches free of charge. Some of the observations made by the Israeli court include: it […]

ESPN kicked off its English language coverage of the 2009/2010 La Liga season with impressive TV ratings this past Monday when it featured Barcelona's first game of the season versus Sporting Gijon. The current La Liga and Champions League trophy winners were featured on the flagship ESPN network for a 4pm ET kickoff against Sporting […]

So far this Premier League season, what would you say have been the biggest surprises? We're only four matches in and there are plenty of talking points. I tend not to get too over-excited during the beginning of the season especially because there's a long way to go. But for me the biggest surprises have […]

Sneijder (the 'j' is silent) was evidently in The Zone back in his Ajax days. By comparison, his best-of reel from Real Madrid are closer in and more on the cheeky side. Yet this is an index of the quality in store for Internazionale. At Inter now, Mourinho was looking for a trequartista, but Sneijder […]

The inexplicable is often the standard in football. The £14 million pounds Man City paid for Wayne Bridge is inexplicable. Florent Malouda's protean hairstyles are inexplicable. Arsene Wenger's ability to see zero penalties against Arsenal is inexplicable. Yet even bearing this in mind, I could not help but rubbing my eyes to make sure I […]

All the hype & all the bantering between Kevin Payne of DC United & Adrian Hanauer of the Sounders was definitely worth the price of admission for this ticket as the up & comers in the Seattle Sounders took on the plentiful DC United at RFK Stadium. Many of you are well aware of the […]