US Soccer President Sunil Gulati met the media this afternoon to discuss the potential venues for the 2018/2022 World Cups. 70 venues are currently under consideration Some notes from the press conference: The World Cup bid will based out of MLS Headquarters in New York. Geographic clustering of venues may be necessary given FIFA's requirements […]

Earlier this morning, our friend The Gaffer lamented that ESPN's loss of the UEFA Champions League TV rights would be bad for soccer in America. After all, ESPN remains the primary vehicle for sporting culture in this country, and if the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" suddenly doesn't care enough to keep this planet's biggest club […]

It's been a while since I've had a chance to thank you, the readers, for remaining loyal to EPL Talk all these years. Some of you may have found us more recently. Others may have been with us since our launch in November, 2005. The reason for the note of thanks is two-fold. First, EPL […]

Rogers Sportsnet and Setanta Sports have announced that they will share the TV rights to the Champions League shown on Canadian TV for the next three seasons. Sportsnet's and Setanta's combined coverage will feature 146 Champions League matches each season. In addition, Sportsnet.ca and Setanta.com/ca will simulcast a selection of matches online. "We are thrilled […]

It's a glorious time of the year for fans of English football. The race in the Premier League is heating up and we've seen some amazing matches during the past few weeks showing why the league can be, at times, miles ahead of its competitors. Then we had this week's Champions League quarter-final matches which […]

It's probably the least of Middlesbrough's worries right now especially given their fight to escape relegation, but a photograph has been leaked that shows the alleged Middlesbrough shirt for the 2009-10 season. Designed and manufactured by Adidas, the new Middlesbrough shirt is designed in Adidas's new template — the same one that will resemble Chelsea's […]

This is the time where I have to take off my Red Bull NY hat and start looking at Major League Soccer as a whole. You have heard me discuss and report that all levels of US Pro Soccer clubs need their own stadiums to help with that particular discussion on Pro/Rel and to stop […]

We love a good midweek match now and then and Liverpool v. Chelsea was the record put on repeat as the Reds met up with the Blues for their requisite Champions League match for the season. While not a league game, it may as well have been, if not for the evening kickoff and painfully […]

Men's Soccer in the US Tidbit: Unless I missed something...(entirely possible) 20 states have no MLS, USL-1, USL-2 or PDL team, representing 15% of the 2007 US population. California has the most combined teams with 11, followed by Texas with 10. They're the 2 most populous states. The most populous states without a team are […]

The 4-2-3-1 has been selected by Klinsmann. The big news is that Altintop will be starting after a lengthy absence. A couple of notes on this. Mark Van Bommel is a disgrace and should be banned from football. I have never seen a player more scared than Christian Lell. Franck Ribery has been schooled by […]

Taking a 2-0 lead back to Mexico for an MLS or USL side in a Continental competition should never be permitted. For third time in three years a team from one of North America's leagues has blown a two goal aggregate lead heading into the second leg. Ironically, however the result ended up being affected […]

When Manchester United scored two late goals on Sunday to secure a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Aston Villa, the result seemed to sweep under the rug the idea that United were a team in serious danger of relinquishing their Premier League lead heading into the home stretch. After Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at home to FC […]

Towards the end of this month, the Premiership team of the year will be announced along with the PFA players’ player of the year. In anticipation of this, I have decided to select my own best eleven of the season and invite you to do likewise. So here goes: Goalkeeper: Edwin Van Der Sar It’s […]

Times are hard if you are a football fan in the north-east of England with all three major clubs based in that area of the country currently fighting for survival. The league table doesn’t lie, all three sides are in major trouble but the one team that already looks doomed is Middlesbrough. I am not […]

Week 3 in the MLS was graced with good matches that were played in less than desirable conditions. High winds plagued several venues while cold and wet put the damper on others. If not for that I think attendance would have been better, but all in all attendance wasn't that terrible. This week's eight matches […]