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Liverpool Strolls to 3-0 Victory Against Newcastle
2007-11-24 19:33:49
Liverpool’s title challenge is back on track after an easy 3-0 victory at Newcastle . There were happy faces all round as they extended their unbeaten run but Newcastle have slumped deeper into a crisis. From Sam Allardyce’s dour expression, the pressure from consecutive setbacks (one point in four matches) is starting to pile up on him. The Reds stamped their authority in this game and skipper Steven Gerrard gave a sterling performance in the wake of England’s embarrassing European Championships failure. Out to prove his detractors wrong, he cleared all doubts regarding his use-by date with a dominant show filled with energy, drive and inspiration. Suffering the brunt of insults from Newcastle fans who were clearly disenchanted by his inept performance for England, Gerrard gave the proper response on the pitch. The fans eventually decided that the jeers should be reserved for the feeble display by their own players. Stevie was in the thick of action for all three goal
Read more: Liverpool , Victory

England’s Loss to Croatia - Afterthoughts
2007-11-23 07:18:02
Before England ’s downfall to Croatia , the thought of McClaren sneaking off to the toilet crossed my mind. It certainly works for the Israelis. Wouldn’t it be great if we can replay the entire scene, with the game tied at 2-2, and McClaren excused himself to visit the gents, it may be an inspired England who miraculously scored the winning goal, and he comes out to receive a hero’s ovation… Yes, I know it is the stuff made of fantasies, but what else is there that England fans can hanker for? Israel threw them a lifeline and put them in the driver seat, needing only a draw against Croatia (with home advantage) to ensure qualification, yet this “simple” hurdle proves too much for McClaren and company. At Wembley, England were dumped out of Euro 2008 finals unceremoniously when they lost 3-2 to Croatia after pulling level from conceding two early goals. This is the first time since 1984 that England miss out on the European Championship finals. Frank L


Thai Politics in Premier League
2007-11-21 10:07:11
The Premier League has unknowingly become the playing field of Thailand politics. A definite sign that the election battles are heating up is the plan by the Democrat Party for Everton to coach young Thai players. The announcement follows hotly on the heels of Sven Erikkson’s recent signings of three Thai players. Suree, a 25-year-old attacking fullback, who earns just $300 a week in the domestic league, will become the first Thai to sign for a top-flight European club. Along with fellow countrymen Kiatprawut Saiwaeo and Teerasil Dangda, they made up a strong Thai presence and certainly made the recent debate about foreign players irrelevant. Is it a soccer decision? We have to ask Sven. In an interview, Eriksson had a diplomatic answer to whether the club would have chosen to sign on Thai players had the club’s chairman not been a Thai. He said: “Before he became chairman, we wanted to acquire so many players from different countries but we didn’t have the mone
Read more: Premier League

Scotland Robbed of Euro 08 Glory
2007-11-19 18:57:28
With Euro 2008 qualification at stake, Italy showed the rest of European football why they were the reigning world champions. Right at the death, they snatched a 2-1 victory from Scotland , thanks to a header from Christian Panucci. The Azzurri made it through, along with France, and normal order is restored for a competition in danger of losing viewerships due to the absence of prestigious teams. After booking their ticket to next summer’s footballing extravaganza in Switzerland and Austria, Italy manager Roberto Donadoni fired the first salvo at his counterparts with an affirmation that his team has grown even stronger since their World Cup glory. He said: “This team can go head-to-head with any team in the world and not fear them. The Scotland game was an excellent match. Every game this Italy team play we add more and get stronger.” Italy took the lead in the second minute of play. A quick throw-in caught the Scottish defence off-gurad, allowing Luca Toni to toe-poke from


Botched Experiment For McClaren
2007-11-18 02:56:33
I had meant to tone down the criticism of Steve McClaren after Croatia coach, Steve Bilic, had his two cents about the difficulties in managing a national team. He said: “As a club manager you need a couple of years to make or build a team. In a national team you need three or four years because you do not have the players every day. It’s not McClaren’s fault. I feel for him and hope he is going to continue.” Watching the match against Austria, I concur with Bilic. Of course, we should let McClaren carry on. England will be the shining beacon of mediocrity and any national coach just need to hold up his report card against McClaren’s and chances are, he will be exonerated. Now that Israel has defeated Russia 2-1, the stage is set for McClaren to win over his critics but I have a nagging suspicion he will falter. The exhibition match against Austria (co-host of Euro 08) ended with a 1-0 win for England. From David Beckham’s corner kick, Peter Crouch headed in the goal in the
Read more: Botched , Experiment

Walt Disney Comes to Premier League
2007-11-16 10:39:27
The kids will love this. Walt Disney is coming to town. They are in discussions to take over Derby - a team barely surviving in the Premier League and in need of fresh blood cum finances. Is this a value investment? Not really, the poor returns for football clubs are notorious. Unless you love the sport, it will be unbearable to bankroll a club and realize that is akin to flushing money down the drain when the team is consistently poor, as before. How we all love to have a Arsene Wenger as manager, achieving results with minimal financial outlay. But to the new entrant, who happens to be the second largest media and entertainment conglomerate, money is not much of an issue. In 2006, Disney reported revenues of $34.3 billion. Splashing out a few million dollars to revive a club should be small change. If the deal is successful, Derby will become the “Mickey Mouse club.” Do not mention the term to Adam Pearson (new Derby chairman), though. He finds it “cheap and potenti
Read more: Premier League , Walt Disney

Chelsea Ready to Snap Up Ronaldinho
2007-11-15 18:27:53
Chelsea want to emulate the fluent attacking football of Manchester United and Arsenal, and they figure that Ronaldinho will be a key ingredient to that vision. If the Catalan sports daily, Sport, is to believed, Chelsea are ready to offer Barcelona 60 million euros for its Brazilian star midfielder Ronaldinho. The paper pointed out that Roman Abramovich is “convinced that the signing of Ronaldinho would be magnificent from all points of view” and has made it a top priority for the next season. Peter Kenyon has already held discussions with Barcelona officials on the sidelines of the G14 meetings. The paper further confirmed: “The decision has already been taken.” The bid will include Michael Ballack, who was a firm target of Barcelona while he was at Bayern Munich. This season, Ronaldinho has been lambasted in in the Spanish press for dismal performances and unprofessional behavior off the pitch. But Barcelona is sticking with him, at least officially. Just las
Read more: Chelsea

Steve McClaren Prepares For His Last Stand
2007-11-14 17:22:27
Despite facing vehement calls to resign, McClaren is putting up a brave front and insisted he is confident of reaching next summer’s finals and that he is the right man to lead England through qualifying campaign for the World Cup. Audacious statements from a man secure about his own talent but it appears to be misplaced. England’s hopes depend on both Russia and Croatia dropping points to rescue his skin. If Russia demolish Israel this Saturday, it will condemn England to the humiliation of playing Croatia in a friendly match. I had hoped that the argument over McClaren’s England job can be put to rest after this week. Whether England will be on the plane to Euro 2008 is immaterial, there is no escaping the fact that McClaren is not the right person for this role. Now, I do not expect McClaren to resign on his own accord (thus his defiant attitude), that will be foolish and being uneasy on his own wallet. Rather he is looking forward to being sacked by the FA. The severance
Read more: Steve , Stand

Death In Italy Prompt Relook at Soccer Violence
2007-11-13 08:52:55
Match results pale in comparison to what happened in Italy the last couple of days. To be frank, I did not raise an eyebrow, knowing what to expect from the Italians when it comes to soccer. You see, in this soccer-mad country, a lot of unorthodox stuff can happen. Conspiracy, bribery, corruption, underground betting, scandals, and fan violence no longer shock the nation. When the owner of one of the most successful clubs can be elected as Primer Minister (despite an eminent lack of qualifications), there is no doubting the influence soccer has on Italians - it is almost a religion here. Speaking of corruptions, it was only last year when the biggest match-fixing fiasco, dubbed Calciopoli, discredited Serie A and caused an exodus of top players as well as financial losses to major teams. But Italians have not seen the worst yet. In February this year, a policeman was killed by rioting soccer fans in Sicily. Italian authorities suspended all soccer matches and barred spectators from sta
Read more: Prompt , Soccer , Violence

Ferguson Goes One Up Over Hughes
2007-11-12 09:57:59
Alex Ferguson is not ready to hand over the reins. At age 65, he is revitalized by the youth and energy in his team. Gushing at the attacking prowess of his players, he hailed the current squad as the strongest ever in over two decades of his tenure. His 21st anniversary at United barely over, and his proteges reward him with another convincing victory to savor. This time it is Blackburn Rovers who were brought to their knees and United leapfrogged over Arsenal (at least for a few hours) to the top of the Premiership. United started the match without the inspirational Rooney who will miss the actions for four weeks due to a freak ankle injury. Including Paul Scholes, that is two attacking lynchpins down already. Fortunately, two first half goals from Cristiano Ronaldo made light of the issue. The compelling victory underlined the depth of the squad Ferguson has assembled. He is confident more trophies are headed their way. He said: “This is a good young team, they want to win som
Read more: Hughes

Beckham Fever In New Zealand
2007-11-30 19:34:54
David Beckham may not have done much to prop up the fortunes of LA Galaxy on the pitch but when it comes to selling of merchandise and increasing profile of the club, he has no peers. Golden Balls, as he is affectionately known, is a marketing phenomenon, even today. After leaving glamorous clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid, becoming more injury prone with age at LA Galaxy, losing his England captaincy and a regular England spot; it is a surprise that his charisma is not blunted. New Zealand , a rugby nation, became the latest “victim” to be caught in Beckham-mania, after Australia. On Tuesday, Beckham and the Galaxy stopped by Australia and attracted 80,000 spectators to a match against Sydney FC. The England midfielder played all 90 minutes at the Olympic stadium, scoring a trademark goal from a free kick, an uplifting moment in an otherwise forgettable 5-3 loss by the Galaxy. Beckham and his entourage continued on their whirlwind excursion by touching down in N
Read more: Fever , New Zealand

Chelsea Crush Rosenborg 4-0
2007-11-29 18:23:41
There are no easy matches in the Champions League but once in a while, we come up with oddballs who are determined to discredit the claim - as in the case of Rosenborg. After thrashing Rosenborg 4-0 away for their sixth straight win, Chelsea are safely through to the knock out stage. They are top of Group B with 11 points and one game in hand. Rosenborg came in second with seven, Schalke 04 with five and Valencia last on four points. The Norwegians did not expect the shit to hit the fan in this manner, after all their previous encounter at Stamford Bridge was a respectable 1-1 draw. If readers remember, that was also the final straw in a poor run of results that ended Jose Mourinho’s reign. Boosted by back-to-back victories over Valencia, Rosenborg may have taken this return match lightly since Chelsea have to weather plunging temperatures, hostile fans and Avram Grant is now in charge, somebody of lesser stature than the Special One. Indeed, the home fans packed the 21,600-seat


Arsenal’s Unbeaten Run Halted by Sevilla
2007-11-28 12:07:46
Sevilla are alive and kicking, contrary to popular belief that the departure of manager Juande Ramos to Tottenham will leave them in disarray. Arsenal found, much to their dismay, that the Spanish team can match them in quality attacking football. It is fair to say the masters were outclassed at their own game, especially in the second half. In the first half hour, it certainly looked like another day in the office for the Gunners when they took the lead with a slick opener, featuring a neat back-heeled pass from the Emmanuel Eboue, a floating cross from Nicklas Bendtner and an opportunistic finish from Eduardo da Silva. But Sevilla did not cave in. They held on for their dear lives when Arsenal threatened to overwhelm. The turning point came when new signing Seydou Keita produced a stunning shot from the edge of the area after Gilberto got careless with a clearance. Sevilla proceeded to take charge of the game as the shock of conceding the first goal in 384 unbeaten minutes in the Cha
Read more: Halted , Sevilla

England Clash With Croatia Again in World Cup
2007-11-27 07:42:33
And then there were two… The ink has barely dried from the discussions of England ’s European Championships debacle, courtesy of Croatia who cruelly drove the final stake into the coffin, and fate has brought them together again. Last Sunday, the results from the preliminary 2010 World Cup draw revealed that both teams are now in Group 6, together with Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Andorra. The draw, attended by South African president Thabo Mbeki and other soccer dignitaries, was beamed live to more than 170 countries worldwide. Europe were assigned 13 spots, Africa six (including the hosts), Asia and South America four, and CONCACAF three. It is automatic qualification for winners of the nine European groups while the other four spots are left to the eight best runners-up to compete in a playoff. When the England-Croatia pairing was announced, there was an audible gasp from the audience. Not too sure if it came from the England camp but definitely the mention of Croati
Read more: Clash , Again , World Cup

Everton’s Troubled Plans for Kirkby Stadium
2007-12-06 18:45:34
Getting a shiny, new stadium seem to be the fad in the Premier League these days, most clubs have plans in the pipeline (if not already announced), but not all enjoy the same degree of success in garnering support. Everton chairman Bill Kenwright found out the hard way, from the moment his plan saw the light of day, he has been standing in front of the firing squad. At the club’s annual meeting, he was pillored by fans and shareholders who objected vehemently to his proposal of uprooting their Liverpool home to a new 55,000 seat stadium in Kirkby. Some Toffees have even labeled him as “the man who has murdered the soul of the club.” Tesco (Britian’s largest grocery retailer) is Everton’s main partner for this deal. A traffic of 50,000 fans per match day will bring in the moolah for Tesco’s superstore located in the immediate vicinity of the stadium. The die-hard fans believe that Tesco is doing it for their bottom line and not because of any affectio
Read more: Stadium

Manchester United 2-0 Fulham
2007-12-04 09:03:43
In danger of scraping the barrel after Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool had toasted heartily for strong performances over the weekend, Manchester United came into the match against Fulham with only one thing in mind: to win. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as United beat Fulham 2-0 at home on Monday to restore some respectability to their league standing. Arsenal still lead the pack with 36 points with a game in hand while Manchester United have 33, Chelsea 31, Liverpool and Manchester City 30. The victory was United’s seventh in a row at home in all competitions. In the 10th minute, Ronaldo scored the opener, volleying the ball into the top corner from Vidic’s header. It was his 12th goal and seventh in the league. Barring any injuries, I believe he is on course to score at least 20 goals this season, an impressive achievement by most standards, especially for a midfielder. Coming in as runner up to Kaka in the Ballon d’Or has turned out to be a strong motivating factor


Liverpool Whipped Bolton Wanderers 4-0
2007-12-03 18:18:23
In recent weeks, Liverpool have been unstoppable - winning matches and with goals galore. An uncertain future for their manager, Rafael Benitez, had no bearing on their resurgence. Without much fanfare, Liverpool sneaked up behind the leaders with their fifth successive Premier League win. Bolton Wanderers were whipped 4-0 on Sunday with captain Steven Gerrard scoring one goal and contributed to the other three. This result elevated Liverpool to third spot on 30 points, behind Chelsea and Arsenal but level with Manchester United, who host Fulham on Monday, and Manchester City, who drew 1-1 at Wigan Athletic on Saturday. It is getting crowded at the top, dropping a match can make an immediate difference as the team tumbles several ranks down the table. Sami Hyypia headed in the opener from a Gerrard cross after 18 minutes and the midfielder supplied the second with a through ball for Fernando Torres who scored with a deft chip on the stroke of the half time. Gerrard got the third from
Read more: Bolton Wanderers

Villa Fails To Test Arsenal’s Character
2007-12-02 08:41:05
Smarting from a midweek defeat against Sevilla, Arsenal returned to their favorite hunting ground determined to begin another unbeaten run. They stretched their lead in the Premier League to five points by defeating Aston Villa 2-1 on Saturday. In another match, Chelsea beat West Ham United 1-0 to overhaul Manchester United in second spot. The Gunners hardly suffer a dent to their momentum as their first half display was a lesson in fluent passing football, which left the Villa players in no doubt who are the real McCoy. However, they will have felt fortunate to bag three points after Martin O’Neill’s side dominated the second half. Villa actually started the game well with Craig Gardner’s neat half-volley giving them hope, but Mathieu Flamini equalized with a searing low left-foot shot into the net nine minutes later. Emmanuel Adebayor headed in the winner in the 36th minute from a Bacary Sagna cross. Flamini said: “We worked very hard for it. It was a bit diff
Read more: Character

AC Milan Win Club World Cup
2007-12-17 09:59:04
AC Milan thrashed Boca Juniors 4-2 in the Club World Cup final in Toyko on Sunday. This sets a new record of four intercontinental crowns for AC Milan. “We have obtained everything we should as a team,” said Kaka after the Italians added the Club World Cup to the European Champions League and Super Cup titles they have already won this year. Both the Serie-A side and Argentina’s most crowned club won the Intercontinental Cup three times before the traditional Europe-South America contest was merged into this acclaimed world club championship in 2005. The Club World Cup features champions from Europe (Champions League), South America (Libertadores Cup), Oceania (OFC Club Championship), Asia (Asian Champions League), Africa (CAF Champions League) and Central and North America (CONCACAF Champions Cup) who will compete along with the Japanese J-League champions. There was little chance of upsets - the European and North American champions are expected to clear the hurdles


New Dawn For England With Capello?
2007-12-14 20:31:38
Fabio Capello has been confirmed as England ’s new messiah until 2012, on a contract reportedly worth 6.5 million pounds a year by the Football Association on Friday. It is not all cheer in England though. A great debate has ensued: will Capello usher in a new dawn for England’s football or will he fail terribly like so many of his predecessors? On paper, Capello is outstanding and he has won a league title at every club he has ever managed. For the record, it is nine league titles in Italy and Spain (although the two he achieved with Juventus in 2005 and 2006 were stripped off in an Italian match-fixing scandal), Capello also took AC Milan to Champions League glory in 1994. As a player, he did credibly too, winning 32 caps for his country and scored for Italy against England at the old Wembley in 1973 to secure the Azzurri’s first win over the Three Lions. Whichever way you cut it, he fits the requirements of a “world class” manager but the outcry emanati


Chelsea Unbeaten In 50 Home Matches
2007-12-12 18:29:09
Chelsea clashed with Valencia in a meaningless Champions League match on Tuesday. The Blues, deprived of Didier Drogba who was out after a knee operation, had already qualified for the next round (courtesy of a 4-0 win against Rosenborg). Valencia, on the other hand, went through the motions and was a pale shadow of their past brilliance. Ronald Koeman needs to inject a new vitality into Valencia as his team has not scored in their last five matches. He has plenty of time though, now that their attention has turned solely to domestic issues after missing out on a Champions League and UEFA Cup place. Yes, even that was snatched away with Schalke 04’s 3-1 win over Rosenborg and Valencia end up finishing bottom of the group. Some of the fans will be missing the guidance of Benitez; if he loses his job at Liverpool, I believe the door is open here. A near-capacity home crowd filled Stamford Bridge, happy to support their team or at least to assess their chances ahead of Sunday&rsquo
Read more: Chelsea

Liverpool Fancy Their Chances Against Marseille
2007-12-11 11:22:03
To say the least, Rafael Benitez was a huge letdown in the defeat to Reading. Fortunately, Arsenal’s inept performance against Middlesbrough (boy, was that a mighty fall for the juggernaut), has given him space to maneuver. Bill Shankly, arguably Liverpool ’s most successful manager, will have turned in his grave if he knew his beloved Reds had handed three points on a silver platter to Reading. It is not a travesty to lose if the team has gone down fighting, but at 2-1, with every chance of pegging the marauding Reading players back in their place, Liverpool raised the white flag… Where is the never-say-die passion which Shankly indoctrinated in his team? Symbolized succinctly in his quotes for generations of Scousers to follow: "Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more important than that" If you have a healthy dose of Shankly’s fervor, it will mean fighting for all the available points. Obviously, Benit
Read more: Fancy

Will Arsenal Stumble In the Christmas Period?
2007-12-08 20:02:41
This time of the year, pull on an extra vest and remember to keep warm, but for the Big Four, the freezing temperatures will be the last thing on their mind as they plot to stay ahead of the red-hot competition in the busy Christmas period. Before Arsenal ’s match with Newcastle, Ferguson began another round of mind games, in a bid to unnerve his arch rival. He said: “Arsenal are playing well, but it is a long season and they know that too. They will drop points, there is no doubt about that.” Talk about turning on the heat; true to his words, the chinks showed up in Arsenal’s impregnable armour. Even though Arsenal suffered the loss of three first choice midfielders: Flamini, Fabregas and Hleb, it was widely assumed that Arsenal will walkover the Toons. Newcastle wasn’t in the best of shape. The fans are one loss away from performing the last rites for Sam Allardyce. Adding to the turmoil are rumors of a player revolt and Alan Shearer coming in as manager.
Read more: Period

AC Milan Second Best In Derby
2007-12-24 08:30:14
Inter Milan notched a 2-1 derby victory at the San Siro over their counterpart, AC Milan. It is no wonder that a single goal separates both teams. Inter top the Serie A table with the best defense,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Read more: Second

Sol Campbell Rally Against Crowd Abuse
2007-12-23 07:15:09
Sol Campbell has molded himself into a crusader against crowd abuse towards footballers and managers. Indignant that their human rights are being breached by fans who hurl verbal abuse, he is seeking... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Read more: Rally

El Clasico: Barcelona vs Real Madrid
2007-12-22 04:09:24
The mother of all football clashes: Barcelona against Real Madrid . El Clasico, as it is known in the Spanish press. Adding to the significance of this sold-out match at the Nou Camp is the fact that... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Read more: Real Madrid

Avram Grant Losing Grip On Championship Hopes
2007-12-20 19:01:19
Chelsea’s championship hopes may bite the dust before January as an injury crisis thrusts Avram Grant ’s management finesse and tactical astuteness into the spotlight. The Blues progress... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]


What Happened to SoccerNet Live?
2007-12-20 04:51:33
Some of you must be wondering what happened to this blog over the last couple of days. Long story.. anyway, just to let you in on the hair pulling 36 hours which I had to endure with my hosting... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]


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