tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45313986029631180732024-03-13T16:32:19.561-04:00the flag is upThis is a site created by two diehard football fans. One supporting Chelsea (with a side of burnley) and the other Manchester United! We are here to opine on all that's going on in the world of football but don't be surprised if it's done so with a bias to the aforementioned clubs. Read on and enjoy the beautiful game!t wilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08248797027892407787noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-25315808827046286952018-06-30T09:31:00.000-04:002018-06-30T09:31:30.289-04:00What happened to Africa this World Cup?<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">By just about every account, African soccer has never been better. Egyptian Mohamed Salah, reigning African footballer of the year, is fresh off one of the best club seasons for a player from any continent in recent memory. He grabbed 44 goals and 16 assists in all competitions in 2017-18 as he guided Liverpool to their first Champions League final in 11 seasons. And in doing so, he broke stereotypes surrounding who an African soccer star typically is - with so many of the continent's greats historically coming from West Africa (George Weah, Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, Roger Milla, Samuel Eto'o). </span><br />
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But Salah missed Egypt's first game at the World Cup and his subsequent 2 goals in their final group stage matches weren't enough to get the Pharoahs a single point, despite a good amount of dark horse buzz surrounding the team pre-tournament. Elsewhere Tunisia won a game against maybe the cup's worst team, Panama, but didn't advance. Senegal, another dark horse favorite, fell victim to the first fair play tiebreak in World Cup history and went home despite being level with Japan on points and goal difference. Morocco looked good in all three games but a stoppage time own goal gave them a loss versus Iran and Iago Aspas equalized in the 91st minute for Spain to force a draw, giving the Atlas Lions just a point. Elsewhere, Nigeria probably should have worn their sexy kits more than once, since their lone win came when wearing them. </div>
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All this is to say there won't be a single African team in the last 16 for the first time since 1982. The past few cups have been particularly lucrative for Africa, with quarterfinalists in 2002 (Senegal) and 2010 (Ghana), the latter of which was a Luis Suarez handball on the goal line away from making the last 4 on African soil. </div>
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So what happened this time around? Is this as big a step back for African football as it seems? Bad luck has a lot to do with it. I guess getting knocked out of your first cup in 16 years on yellow cards (Senegal) is better than getting knocked out on a coin flip but huge emphasis on "I guess." Morocco deserved 6 points despite getting drawn into a group with Spain and Portugal and Nigeria will wonder if Marcos Rojo got away with a late handball in match 3. But in addition to Morocco's brutal draw, Africa once again suffered thanks to FIFA's World Cup seeding system, which put Egypt, Tunisia, and Senegal in Pot 3 and Morocco and Nigeria in Pot 4. FIFA world rankings still determine who gets put in which pot and they're as flawed as most of FIFA's infrastructure (Poland is the 6th best team in the world amirite). </div>
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Additionally, African qualifying is tougher than it's ever been and as a result, tends to cannibalize itself. Nigeria, Cameroon, and Algeria were all in the same group in the final qualifying round. That's three teams from the 2014 World Cup, two of which made the knockout rounds. Morocco won a group with Ivory Coast, Gabon, and Mali. Egypt was in the same group as Ghana. This meant no Cameroon, no Ivory Coast, no Ghana, no Algeria. Togo and Angola, participants at the 2006 World Cup, didn't even make it to the final round. That's not to say any of the African teams that made it were bad. They fully deserved to be there. But like the argument defending Premier League teams' failures in the Champions League, it's sometimes better to fly through an easier route a la Mexico and CONCACAF than it is to grind through a brutal qualifying tournament. And for sure, CAF would have preferred to have, say, battle-tested Ghana in Russia. </div>
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Regardless, the performances were there. Only Egypt looked legitimately bad. And there's a healthy dose of African stars playing across Europe. But the continent may need to find a new golden generation. Senegal played well, has an identity, and is young enough to see a future. But it's unclear if the golden generations for Ivory Coast and Ghana can be replaced. Lots of really good soccer across Africa isn't the same as world class footy at the top. An expanded field in 2026 may help, but who can think that far ahead? Here's to hoping for brighter days ahead. </div>
t wilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08248797027892407787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-2153398027196635042012-12-08T13:35:00.001-05:002012-12-08T13:35:54.231-05:00Top Transfer Rumors: Where to for Beckham? / Kaká to LA Galaxy? / CR7 & Mourinho want out? & more!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiYAhvnehofSL5AA_Nwupta-XmpO-HV0DOS38MestY1WaEsIr3m8hvrsOxuh4g-pNNWxRRnHm_NCHT_oZ1HSqs7uKe5kHKvb2e25d71Bm49Vl76iiQPHQxOjhBeOXiivmaRF1vpOV0xRY/s1600/Becks,+CR,+Kaka,+Juninho,+LD,+Mourinho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiYAhvnehofSL5AA_Nwupta-XmpO-HV0DOS38MestY1WaEsIr3m8hvrsOxuh4g-pNNWxRRnHm_NCHT_oZ1HSqs7uKe5kHKvb2e25d71Bm49Vl76iiQPHQxOjhBeOXiivmaRF1vpOV0xRY/s400/Becks,+CR,+Kaka,+Juninho,+LD,+Mourinho.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">David
Beckham has left the LA Galaxy after announcing that the 2012 MLS Cup
Final would be his last match. The Galaxy conquered Houston 3-1,
after conceding the first goal. Calen Carr opened up scoring
following a headed goal from Omar Gonzalez and two penalties, scored
by Landon Donovan & Robbie Keane. Beckham put on a great
performance and was able to lift the cup afterwards. After announcing
that he will be leaving LA short term for 'One Last Challenge'.
Managers like Harry Redknapp (QPR), Carlo Ancelotti (PSG), Sam
Allardyce (West Ham,) Claudio Ranieri (AS Monaco), Ian Ferguson
(Perth Glory) and other have been linked with rumors to try and sign
Becks. Nothing is really clear yet but rumors are definitely floating
around. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has urged Beckham to make the PSG switch
over QPR if he wants to continue winning trophies. The Swedish
striker claims that the French side win the Champions League in the
next few years. </span></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GxyE73nn8aLLH13AnwKQ6E-kE4EBWYJ7xzJe7f0bum4032o2a7T9IEFgWK-IKKIJtGzTd-3bNNT0GBbnHp2VGrMC6QvGlo3Bc93nhiRmeJ4vn3rukPQ2JvgGvdsWR7imM2TrMLdDLLg/s1600/Beckham+X+QPR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GxyE73nn8aLLH13AnwKQ6E-kE4EBWYJ7xzJe7f0bum4032o2a7T9IEFgWK-IKKIJtGzTd-3bNNT0GBbnHp2VGrMC6QvGlo3Bc93nhiRmeJ4vn3rukPQ2JvgGvdsWR7imM2TrMLdDLLg/s400/Beckham+X+QPR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcsi0RmM3_DQAxExUOagm-tZ_0TB_JA9w6EzPfQnMSDgYNrrEwsy6wdY4nBdl2aS7AJuPG-_0vId9eKDuGoCBHc6mjWsl9YJQYHmkeiieUvkezQOsJuyHvusDXRWwB9BSM2IJF94lQKY/s1600/Beckham+X+PSG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcsi0RmM3_DQAxExUOagm-tZ_0TB_JA9w6EzPfQnMSDgYNrrEwsy6wdY4nBdl2aS7AJuPG-_0vId9eKDuGoCBHc6mjWsl9YJQYHmkeiieUvkezQOsJuyHvusDXRWwB9BSM2IJF94lQKY/s400/Beckham+X+PSG.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBhO_2TDSsjEvfQiN6H8fTrl4hr4F3oEia1546Fg-0Ug_FsDzxDsjOd-T1ytW2rFrA5RQGnmEfek6XjHP3fT2FF0zplnR1nnyGLY_IcPA0COIf3c830TrGkaDwyRwS2-WeKa3AR0aApg/s1600/Beckham+X+West+Ham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBhO_2TDSsjEvfQiN6H8fTrl4hr4F3oEia1546Fg-0Ug_FsDzxDsjOd-T1ytW2rFrA5RQGnmEfek6XjHP3fT2FF0zplnR1nnyGLY_IcPA0COIf3c830TrGkaDwyRwS2-WeKa3AR0aApg/s400/Beckham+X+West+Ham.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before
moving on, let's look into the details of his career at LA:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1z2yIhq-kITHmpqBrfEUdzoPS__GXtKrHnBByQKU05N0SY-I764LfquueRkYUcVlC0eSAmKSqQZhItnCktgY9904_i-oMMwOc9NBGFo8QK_H-cqAIdJq6sj2yrE6anEJLMPCqveF_BG0/s1600/beckham+effect2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1z2yIhq-kITHmpqBrfEUdzoPS__GXtKrHnBByQKU05N0SY-I764LfquueRkYUcVlC0eSAmKSqQZhItnCktgY9904_i-oMMwOc9NBGFo8QK_H-cqAIdJq6sj2yrE6anEJLMPCqveF_BG0/s400/beckham+effect2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Becks
might not be the only one leaving the Galaxy. Landon Donovan has been
rumored to leave the MLS as well. Rumors state that the LA captain is
set for the EPL. We have previously seen LD on loan to Everton and
was quite successful both times. Once again, nothing is certain and
he might not even be leaving, but those are the rumors. </span></span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">LA's
midfielder, Juninho, who finished is loan spell from São Paulo, is
rumored to be permanently signed by the Galaxy. Losing two, possibly
three top players isn't something Bruce Arena will want to do, so the
transfer looks quite possible.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
last LA related transfer I'm going to talk about is who Beckham's
replacement will be. At first, we heard a lot about Frank Lampard
heading to the US, but in recent news, DB has stated that he paved
the way for his good friend, Kaká to make a transfer over to LA,
after being unsatisfied with the amount of playing time at Real
Madrid. A rumor stating that Kaká has already agreed to a transfer
was made a few days ago, but within a couple of hours, they were
cleared up to only be rumors. </span></span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">More
on all of these stories when they all develop. </span></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3l9zKO95rvBoKEEsbfqiFxwU0meBPEuZUoVZNF00BtOGbqDK6H2n_SP3krtCMiyXWoqE53OUOyVJoL2kiXh4wzOWo1rG51xjXhav360BMAJHHz0Z0y9BY1guiKHYdNRiEBa2WDpZbzT8/s1600/Kaka+X+LA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3l9zKO95rvBoKEEsbfqiFxwU0meBPEuZUoVZNF00BtOGbqDK6H2n_SP3krtCMiyXWoqE53OUOyVJoL2kiXh4wzOWo1rG51xjXhav360BMAJHHz0Z0y9BY1guiKHYdNRiEBa2WDpZbzT8/s400/Kaka+X+LA.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another
point I want to touch upon in this post is Jose Mourinho leaving Real
Madrid at the end of the season. Word is out that Mourinho has come
to an agreement with his club to leave. While where he is planning on
going is uncertain he might have a few possibilities. Chelsea is
constantly changing managers and their current situation with Rafa
Benitez taking over after the sacking of Roberto DiMatteo really
doesn't seem permanent. Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken on the matter
and said 'he can manage anywhere' after saying it is obvious he won't
be at Manchester United forever. There hasn't been an official word
about it yet, but I really wouldn't be surprised if the job at
Arsenal opened up. </span></span></span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Madrid's
manager might not leave the club alone. 'Unhappy' Cristiano Ronaldo
has been linked with a possible PSG switch. Rumor has it that CR
texted his agent about making a move at the end of the season. It
wouldn't be surprising if the Portuguese superstar followed his
manager and left as well. What I find to be surprising is they aren't
linked to the same club. Though PSG are believed to be favorites to
sign Ronaldo, I think it's safe to say, so is the club that gets
Mourinho, so that could consist of a return to Chelsea for Jose and a
move there by Cristiano, or a return to Manchester United for CR and
Jose becoming SAF's successor.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCQXtk4VreiT6hZRrscZ8YC3I-3mIf8V8FSHU9mw1k3HENKhT8ejrnLAsvMlW3I05N8uYAtQvSvxqWMZJMsEcm41KlJwHKmVAOR9ACN4bhct7ZiIiyvMqnKHYJrvgy2PQdDuU9HzFWoI/s1600/Cristiano+Ronaldo+X+PSG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCQXtk4VreiT6hZRrscZ8YC3I-3mIf8V8FSHU9mw1k3HENKhT8ejrnLAsvMlW3I05N8uYAtQvSvxqWMZJMsEcm41KlJwHKmVAOR9ACN4bhct7ZiIiyvMqnKHYJrvgy2PQdDuU9HzFWoI/s400/Cristiano+Ronaldo+X+PSG.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>I do want to remind y'all not to quote me on any of this as I'm just adding to the snowball effect of the rumors I've heard. Also, make sure to keep checking The Flag Is Up for updates on all the previously stated, as well as all footy related topics.</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>-JoeyB</i></span></span></span></div>
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<br />JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-41185399754579011552012-11-08T19:48:00.005-05:002012-11-08T19:50:08.189-05:00Joey Barton Scores From a Corner! (Video)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWEFNIKAgWFpUJ-LkRUuSpJTgzClGTEqALPJSW-jPxSeUnGVP7BA6X0VGe-TAYvCya4HpDgjzcREBKABqXf39jhZxlfR9MUdAuvnSCK13gduRWfT6O5xRf_3nRKH6nifZKLrDV0IopgE/s1600/Barton+corner+goal+cele.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWEFNIKAgWFpUJ-LkRUuSpJTgzClGTEqALPJSW-jPxSeUnGVP7BA6X0VGe-TAYvCya4HpDgjzcREBKABqXf39jhZxlfR9MUdAuvnSCK13gduRWfT6O5xRf_3nRKH6nifZKLrDV0IopgE/s320/Barton+corner+goal+cele.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We've posted a few times about players scoring from a Corner Kick and we are adding one to the list. Joey Barton and Marseille took on Borussia Monnchengladbach in a Europa League match on Thursday night. The QPR man who is out on loan scored from the corner to equalize the match, at the time, 1-1. The match continued to a 2-2 draw.
Also, keep in mind that this was Barton's first goal for Marseille...
Below is the link for Barton's goal, as well a few other recent and famous corner goals:
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Joey Barton v Borussia Monchengladbach: Nov. 8, 2012:
<iframe frameborder="0" height="255" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xuy8t7" width="480"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xuy8t7_om1bor1-spherachannel_sport" target="_blank">OM1Bor1 @SpheraChannel</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/SpheraChannel" target="_blank">SpheraChannel</a></i><br />
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Thierry Henry v Columbus Crew: Sept. 15, 2012<br />
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David Beckham v Chicago Fire: July 9, 2011<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bn71IqxE5A4" width="560"></iframe><br />
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David Beckham v Metapan: Aug. 23, 2012
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1oouDvYNRrw" width="560"></iframe><br />
-JoeyB</div>
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JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-647208656417445812012-11-06T18:52:00.001-05:002012-11-08T19:49:18.389-05:00Mark Your Calenders: CR7 releases his new Mercurial colorway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPeXQqVk7KmTnb5796eQvPUl37gx9R3XENBBsxp6hw8eQAzLCTctNoe0rGnXVbCxl1ryijsGbYfdiNPWR4w5H7ETNzV5dgqM_bFCoINg-Dw4ac_A1kKoWly8AzGvsRojUJO4SnXMGWHMo/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPeXQqVk7KmTnb5796eQvPUl37gx9R3XENBBsxp6hw8eQAzLCTctNoe0rGnXVbCxl1ryijsGbYfdiNPWR4w5H7ETNzV5dgqM_bFCoINg-Dw4ac_A1kKoWly8AzGvsRojUJO4SnXMGWHMo/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
More info and pictures after the jump!<br />
Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII ACC CR - Black / White / Pink / Blue<br />
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The highly anticipated colorway of
Cristiano Ronaldo and Nike's Mercurial is out and will be launched
tomorrow as well as be available for pre-sale. The cleats will
officially be available on December 1<sup>st</sup>. This colorway is
rumored to be the last of this generation of the Mercurial (8<sup>th</sup>)
as a new generation is expected to be released early 2013. Ronaldo
will be wearing these black/blue/pink fade boots for the first time
tonight, as Real Madrid take on Borussia Dortmund in the group stage
of the Champions League. Ronaldo has had a few previous colorways in
the previous Mercurial and they are pictured below along with one
being released tomorrow.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaf5weTApQEPbUSvKlHjciUc9BcWtn4H00YnkjXH1X14cRYucuVD3Obl0oZnMrkF_CGFMjNB60_e7QSrp6vpKZvfjQhlrjY3kj-2YST415-tVDxkn1Itg7YSFM1RipHCdEOEYdSPEkawY/s1600/photo+copy+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaf5weTApQEPbUSvKlHjciUc9BcWtn4H00YnkjXH1X14cRYucuVD3Obl0oZnMrkF_CGFMjNB60_e7QSrp6vpKZvfjQhlrjY3kj-2YST415-tVDxkn1Itg7YSFM1RipHCdEOEYdSPEkawY/s320/photo+copy+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgddT2bAvVd8fsNLMAmPuDbf7vILWScZHJKL7umARgEqRkxhKwxWsiMmQmogbkZI64WgcN9-4rYPPpAtyPHyQ5BqXCPMkBomjaX_x-avqlouBcabbfidsUbq-87Glgbl6QLMK7e5B7fDlM/s1600/nike-mercurial-vapor-8-cr-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgddT2bAvVd8fsNLMAmPuDbf7vILWScZHJKL7umARgEqRkxhKwxWsiMmQmogbkZI64WgcN9-4rYPPpAtyPHyQ5BqXCPMkBomjaX_x-avqlouBcabbfidsUbq-87Glgbl6QLMK7e5B7fDlM/s320/nike-mercurial-vapor-8-cr-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGASNM-k7vPuux4PxoffHkVTc46ZZnJMfaBip1ezWwfQmadD12c9DOKDVNZIuau2MlsRO7kdtp9cN4IiEOMw1sD0vgJWoOG09wXMfMECCirZ3CZJB2cRS5NtupUwRPKGeephXAvotyzQ/s1600/nike-mercurial-vapor-8-cr-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGASNM-k7vPuux4PxoffHkVTc46ZZnJMfaBip1ezWwfQmadD12c9DOKDVNZIuau2MlsRO7kdtp9cN4IiEOMw1sD0vgJWoOG09wXMfMECCirZ3CZJB2cRS5NtupUwRPKGeephXAvotyzQ/s320/nike-mercurial-vapor-8-cr-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DdW5C3hTaJGgdyn3zScSQMGNDYh0uVym1FvwDyu2K7D9OGECX0t5UL50d3JmJGT_HGBxNbOezN1CdZ45dCAsh2_rA-m3qtyPtVVWjsj9YLAisVR3w77IUPSaXdnS0DmMbFqvwlIX9Jw/s1600/Mercurial_Safari_04_Black.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DdW5C3hTaJGgdyn3zScSQMGNDYh0uVym1FvwDyu2K7D9OGECX0t5UL50d3JmJGT_HGBxNbOezN1CdZ45dCAsh2_rA-m3qtyPtVVWjsj9YLAisVR3w77IUPSaXdnS0DmMbFqvwlIX9Jw/s320/Mercurial_Safari_04_Black.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Above is the 1st CR color way - Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly II CR - Safari (White / Orange / Black)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThHRx44zpS6UqbRGdGSPBdAcDBBehyphenhyphenZboU3B7pVhGuwZnwiMuTEH3WEFEaVYFPHch1tcBpYxQci7hg7DfwMrRxBG7iAm32OaKIystrF_E41A7XoHrEjPYGfEr-5mRkXy64FBfyRotMEE/s1600/cristiano-ronaldo-nike-cr-mercurial-vapor-superfly-iii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThHRx44zpS6UqbRGdGSPBdAcDBBehyphenhyphenZboU3B7pVhGuwZnwiMuTEH3WEFEaVYFPHch1tcBpYxQci7hg7DfwMrRxBG7iAm32OaKIystrF_E41A7XoHrEjPYGfEr-5mRkXy64FBfyRotMEE/s320/cristiano-ronaldo-nike-cr-mercurial-vapor-superfly-iii.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Above is the 2nd CR color way - Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly III CR - Black / Volt / Dark Sahdow</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZCfwWUz7fj7KVHDuHtzvV-txiENKB4S0ph6jtUpUimpkpQGj-dr0OSn5ar7Y0aBhWI8nzk6aZrTDpTfj8q5h0Hwsp40nls12lYLm89BYu_tyRnqiIUg1Cr-skLbGPp9r1CaAVEhffpSQ/s1600/CR7-Boot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZCfwWUz7fj7KVHDuHtzvV-txiENKB4S0ph6jtUpUimpkpQGj-dr0OSn5ar7Y0aBhWI8nzk6aZrTDpTfj8q5h0Hwsp40nls12lYLm89BYu_tyRnqiIUg1Cr-skLbGPp9r1CaAVEhffpSQ/s320/CR7-Boot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Above is the 3rd CR color way - Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly CR7 - Blue / Red / Obsidian</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9irQQXfkh_p2hojmXQCHz_69lAvpY7i7b9jQZ-EwFDhDa1xV0wIgqB5RAkOOBgUz0JdkDa27exy2d3Ao1Z0y5o-MuexIXXzRGtwkFN0H9oDBo_XTLKaIRbqnVUYTfc2XGg78IBjSD_k/s1600/photo+copy+7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9irQQXfkh_p2hojmXQCHz_69lAvpY7i7b9jQZ-EwFDhDa1xV0wIgqB5RAkOOBgUz0JdkDa27exy2d3Ao1Z0y5o-MuexIXXzRGtwkFN0H9oDBo_XTLKaIRbqnVUYTfc2XGg78IBjSD_k/s320/photo+copy+7.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
What are your thoughts on the boots? They are flashy but classy at the same time. Would you wear them?<br />
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-JoeyBJoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-54890341726027637722012-11-06T17:57:00.000-05:002012-11-06T18:04:28.349-05:00Random Thought: Why does Robin van Persie opt to wearing the Adidas Adipower over the Predator LZ?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifSXBXFxnJa9_kVKYRH3PtjTQYFalj7h5tkHojqj5W0iGl5ahAf6xDw7kUeKZ3nfoV7WsbpxZw8BdBj3rLgChtNhtY3vIT_XG1vPIVXLdyApNtPR4ssyXTFkTvN7AuROEM4fVpMZbRiWY/s1600/Predator+adipower+van+persie+ManUtd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifSXBXFxnJa9_kVKYRH3PtjTQYFalj7h5tkHojqj5W0iGl5ahAf6xDw7kUeKZ3nfoV7WsbpxZw8BdBj3rLgChtNhtY3vIT_XG1vPIVXLdyApNtPR4ssyXTFkTvN7AuROEM4fVpMZbRiWY/s320/Predator+adipower+van+persie+ManUtd.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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In recent matches (okay more like
'since the Predator LZ was released') Robin van Persie has decided to
wear the previous version on the Predator, the adipower. During the
ad campaigns of the LZ, RvP, along with players like Kaka, Nani and
Xavi were all involved. The only way we will know for sure is if we
ask him (which we might on twitter...), but I have a few idea to why
he switched back to his Slime / Dark Indigo adipowers. In recent
versions of the prolific football boot, weight was never an issue. I
mean adidas even added weighted soles to the Absolute and Powerswerve
editions. This time around, however, adidas made it goal to make a
lighter predator. I think that the Man Utd & Dutch forward didn't
like wearing a light weight boot or he probably would have chose the
F50.
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It's surprising that adidas has allowed
this to happen. In the past, when a cover player for a cleats was
unhappy with the current model, they changed the boot up for him. For
example, when the Predator X was released, many boot enthusiasts
noticed that the Predator man himself, David Beckham wore the
Predator X with the sole plate of the Powerserve, allowing him to
have his favorite stud configuration as well as the tungsten powder
filled insole. How long will Van Persie last in his current choice of
boots? Will they last until the release of the next generation, or
will he search the internet for a pair of the older model? Either way, the current boots do seem to be working for him with 8 goals in 10 appearances for Manchester United...</div>
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Check out RvP in ads for the LZ and the Adipower below:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhheXt_DMzLTOS7FUm_9wzWRp85KKq8mkrRHr8TossToePWRQ4QLSMb53CG2CDzqMqd1244lSMfdOcos_UAGOIndshBp9L9qi3RRQPAEpbrtas8RkvwI2ehHdYTCPN99MwdsM3TV0rNVgY/s1600/Predator+Adipower+van+Persie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhheXt_DMzLTOS7FUm_9wzWRp85KKq8mkrRHr8TossToePWRQ4QLSMb53CG2CDzqMqd1244lSMfdOcos_UAGOIndshBp9L9qi3RRQPAEpbrtas8RkvwI2ehHdYTCPN99MwdsM3TV0rNVgY/s320/Predator+Adipower+van+Persie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Above in RvP in the launch color way of the Adipower - Sharp Blue Metallic / Electricity / Black<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRe0S3jf40EKAHP4TA6YkBspCydfhEdina-U0B92MYQmL5Vnej1NMcAjkzO_HwWlmgcv_kvyDIGpufQC3nlvb2r6xiO5-mUwxQ3gJl9Q_gZahmFZLELOcgct5pC-VE1QorqstRxNdXUp8/s1600/Predator+LZ+Van+Persie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRe0S3jf40EKAHP4TA6YkBspCydfhEdina-U0B92MYQmL5Vnej1NMcAjkzO_HwWlmgcv_kvyDIGpufQC3nlvb2r6xiO5-mUwxQ3gJl9Q_gZahmFZLELOcgct5pC-VE1QorqstRxNdXUp8/s320/Predator+LZ+Van+Persie.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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And this is RvP in the launch color way of the L<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Z - Bright Blue / Infrared / Collegiate Navy / White</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-JoeyB</span></div>
<br />JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-49612125012257877402012-11-03T13:41:00.002-04:002012-11-03T13:42:32.626-04:00Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal Highlights (Video)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiycixKiJNK5hNbe1zk60ScmPNOzOfGP-f9MFvb2QzNROrBUlGVXJG79f_qVyzaIj3z8z2QBMGWSWXeY9y5Ls-pmv7Ndg_hLP2Scnxr7K9_9QqGuMvFG2pvAq7XVG2dyZvl-ITj7HlO1ZE/s1600/man+u+2-1+arsenal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiycixKiJNK5hNbe1zk60ScmPNOzOfGP-f9MFvb2QzNROrBUlGVXJG79f_qVyzaIj3z8z2QBMGWSWXeY9y5Ls-pmv7Ndg_hLP2Scnxr7K9_9QqGuMvFG2pvAq7XVG2dyZvl-ITj7HlO1ZE/s320/man+u+2-1+arsenal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Goals:</div>
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Robin Van Persie (3') – MUFC 1-0
Arsenal</div>
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Patrice Evra (67') – MUFC 2-1
Arsenal</div>
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Santi Cazorla (90' + 5') – MUFC 2-1
Arsenal</div>
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It wasn't the best performance from
either side, but MUFC showing their current EPL dominance by taking
the top spot in the EPL table. Check out the Highlights below:</div>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xutals" width="480"></iframe><br />
<i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/MediaMasrTv" target="_blank">MediaMasrTv</a></i>
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-JoeyB</div>
JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-55667991532124023842012-11-03T00:05:00.002-04:002012-11-03T00:07:10.467-04:00Nike Maxim Premier League Official Match Ball <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRPI_FSzkVx94sl0W7g2WJa4PoMs3UYZFFajRgEXaK_b5hl1yxhGq9SZXQ9CnuXkCOdI73sg_GY7vapdOzP3X9NGPbP_dpmosgpC2W2nLSH65Ne042g865nwkjeMh84xpovmBfVIY-EdQ/s1600/IMG_7819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRPI_FSzkVx94sl0W7g2WJa4PoMs3UYZFFajRgEXaK_b5hl1yxhGq9SZXQ9CnuXkCOdI73sg_GY7vapdOzP3X9NGPbP_dpmosgpC2W2nLSH65Ne042g865nwkjeMh84xpovmBfVIY-EdQ/s320/IMG_7819.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Just a quick note of a future TFIU
Product review. I just recently received the new Nike Maxim Preimer
League Official Match Ball. Below are a few pictures I took quickly
(excuse the lower quality as I was in a rush).<br />
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Once I break in the ball and get some good touches with it, I will get a product review going. In the mean time take in this great looking football paired up with some old school Nike Tiempo boots in the classic black/white color way from 2002. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFr3PPY-fOKJfp_DUh0OW_llYIMRpGCNkuOZR93uR4kdAtFFmgcoijXfeWiT1V_h604qOX_qAlI9wwEYHmgpgl_vbm-7u-I0EfjPudROYelXuXK86RaCSbhptJiWeMIBAIvaZBLgF-QY/s1600/IMG_7820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFr3PPY-fOKJfp_DUh0OW_llYIMRpGCNkuOZR93uR4kdAtFFmgcoijXfeWiT1V_h604qOX_qAlI9wwEYHmgpgl_vbm-7u-I0EfjPudROYelXuXK86RaCSbhptJiWeMIBAIvaZBLgF-QY/s320/IMG_7820.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jk3Kt5RYxNTv5bTeViWdATsgskqPaWlRVj4u3pLmiXORfT84INNm9S9E11a7IVBaDhjUhyhg-HBIwPJnG3Rb8oleLZdo6x0uET1adbBOkqEnDYKK-RqzyKV0glXNvOiYPUU1PfchLSw/s1600/IMG_7821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jk3Kt5RYxNTv5bTeViWdATsgskqPaWlRVj4u3pLmiXORfT84INNm9S9E11a7IVBaDhjUhyhg-HBIwPJnG3Rb8oleLZdo6x0uET1adbBOkqEnDYKK-RqzyKV0glXNvOiYPUU1PfchLSw/s320/IMG_7821.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhLzcEjs91wL9zZTj9L8fEZJEz2Hti4a78KG4Xl_z7T6GAnhpmm-NSP9vOfowI0QfoWT-SSEO4z86025HVzhfV2rnh-91ZPqERCPnqXRvR5PniJgsItavez9fA1K4f_kc5EmT9YpmeQI/s1600/IMG_7822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhLzcEjs91wL9zZTj9L8fEZJEz2Hti4a78KG4Xl_z7T6GAnhpmm-NSP9vOfowI0QfoWT-SSEO4z86025HVzhfV2rnh-91ZPqERCPnqXRvR5PniJgsItavez9fA1K4f_kc5EmT9YpmeQI/s320/IMG_7822.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9jKwlTcMNPPZXP0Ks7SgsAYoT4CCKcvNzNT4qW9NI2OxSVwtJSXk2c12lxupOzIqTDlGBRmzjoHFMJNPgXvvthyphenhyphen7yC-Z2I4HqHetkRbEIEc6CbV361H1gx0W1dNmb2aduHE45XzI94w/s1600/IMG_7823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9jKwlTcMNPPZXP0Ks7SgsAYoT4CCKcvNzNT4qW9NI2OxSVwtJSXk2c12lxupOzIqTDlGBRmzjoHFMJNPgXvvthyphenhyphen7yC-Z2I4HqHetkRbEIEc6CbV361H1gx0W1dNmb2aduHE45XzI94w/s320/IMG_7823.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
-JoeyB</div>
JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-89742652577583205812012-11-02T22:49:00.001-04:002012-11-03T00:08:42.799-04:00Chelsea vs Manchester United XI (EPL & Capital One Cup Matches)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlb7bK_BDEc1SVX32VdMAZnHJMBmO4N1kbyYpqAr4LQ7c7gsYFBxyUydSzWFpey-T2NooQ_emp5mX7lpJA-QnRAHDORPN2J9WcV0KFAfILfbrIA4wIRm6iYmCuGch7_iYQRFOqnsiVlHU/s1600/Chelsea+v+Man+Utd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlb7bK_BDEc1SVX32VdMAZnHJMBmO4N1kbyYpqAr4LQ7c7gsYFBxyUydSzWFpey-T2NooQ_emp5mX7lpJA-QnRAHDORPN2J9WcV0KFAfILfbrIA4wIRm6iYmCuGch7_iYQRFOqnsiVlHU/s320/Chelsea+v+Man+Utd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
Instead of a full review on the two matches, I figured I would try and mix things up by choosing my XI of the games. Here they are:
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://this11.com/"><img alt="football formations" border="0" src="http://this11.com/boards/abDEDQOahY.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<br />
This was especially hard as I had to consider two sets of eleven players for each side including substitutes. Keep in mind, this is just my XI, and feel free to disagree. Also Twil didn’t have a say in this :). Don't blame him if you disagree.<br />
<br />
Which players do you agree/disagree with?<br />
-JoeyBJoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-86741739632343417962012-10-16T02:44:00.001-04:002012-10-16T02:47:58.370-04:00Roger Espinoza: Sporting KC to Wigan Athletic?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizstOH1LAnReTKQcntcIXOHWdhWW5O2_9BZi_TTebwPA76EP1lyqU7aBC-IswBXZCM_JmgMNV4BsshodmnuG4YZCjFbUPIWyCfjxLuTurlA0j8WeOMfbsUMhoo5XOch4d9s0SD1vsMejk/s1600/Espinoza+to+wigan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizstOH1LAnReTKQcntcIXOHWdhWW5O2_9BZi_TTebwPA76EP1lyqU7aBC-IswBXZCM_JmgMNV4BsshodmnuG4YZCjFbUPIWyCfjxLuTurlA0j8WeOMfbsUMhoo5XOch4d9s0SD1vsMejk/s400/Espinoza+to+wigan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Being a great supporter of the
beautiful game here in the United States, it does always warm my
heart when the MLS is linked with the great leagues around the world.</div>
<a name='more'></a><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
As the title reads, Sporting KC's Roger
Espinoza has been rumored to sign for Wigan Athletic. The MLS season
ends next month and the 25-year-old Honduran becomes a free agent.
Apparently he has already agreed to signing for the English side once
his contract runs up. Not a bad move for the SKC midfield star.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This link between MLS and other big
footy leagues around the world has happened a handful of times, with
big names like Beckham, Henry and Cahill joining the MLS, but it
isn't common when a player leaves MLS to join a top league. Now
everyone has their own views on the MLS, but I see it as a growing
league and these sorts of communications with the rest of the world
will only benefit the league.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-30061775668613031142012-10-08T16:34:00.002-04:002012-10-08T16:34:59.131-04:00
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Jurgen Klinsmann has
finalized his roster for the U.S. men's national team's upcoming World Cup
qualifiers.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2cFmN-EVy3b5gY8fv88ZG-OFtHbBgtXt0HhSb6izTxWmMiwhH9YohFjKIFLomNkF4sEobxth9baZijlCxlRvUh9g8nzqlGeOS-dmR2tNTcR9vjLwgZ7JGJc3gae0EPV0lsLqqEQ8M54/s1600/usa+flag.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2cFmN-EVy3b5gY8fv88ZG-OFtHbBgtXt0HhSb6izTxWmMiwhH9YohFjKIFLomNkF4sEobxth9baZijlCxlRvUh9g8nzqlGeOS-dmR2tNTcR9vjLwgZ7JGJc3gae0EPV0lsLqqEQ8M54/s320/usa+flag.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Goalkeepers: </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt;">Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton),
Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Thoughts:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Rimando has been fearless in goal for RSL this year but don't be surprised to see the captain of the old guard Howard lead the Yanks to victory.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Defenders: </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt;">Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander), Geoff Cameron
(Stoke City), Edgar Castillo (Tijuana), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Maurice
Edu (Stoke City), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim),
Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Thoughts:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">It's incredible how
international this squad is and that holds especially true for the backs. With
just one player displaying his trade on this side of the pond, expect emphasis
on stylistically European defending. This is an old group with an average age
of over 28 but that experience could be crucial for a pair of vastly important
fixtures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Midfielders: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley
(Roma), Joe Corona (Tijuana), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Sacha Kljestan
(Anderlecht), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi
(Sporting KC)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Thoughts:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">No real surprises
here. Beckerman has been a driving force in RSL's climb to second in the
western conference, while others like Kljestan and Williams have been powering
their way through northern Europe. The biggest surprise comes in the form of
Graham Zusi, with just 4 caps but his inclusion is more than warranted after a monster season
with Sporting KC thus far (5 goals and an MLS-leading 15 assists).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Forwards: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur), Landon Donovan
(LA Galaxy), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Alan Gordon (San Jose Earthquakes), Eddie
Johnson (Seattle Sounders)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #151d26; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;">Ah the
strikers! The ongoing question remains for the U.S. as to where they can find
goals. In the opinion of Klinsmann, it's not with Jozy Altidore (at least not
right now). Altidore will have to watch from afar as the likes of Eddie
Johnson and Herculez Gomez take his place. Johnson, by the way, rejoins the
national team for the first time in over two years. Elsewhere, San Jose
Earthquakes star Steve Wondolowski, who leads MLS in goals with an ungodly 25
is also omitted. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #151d26; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The
U.S. plays at Antigua and Barbuda on Friday at 7 E.T. (BeIN Sport) and in Kansas
City next Tuesday against Guatamala (7 P.M. ET ESPN2)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->t wilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08248797027892407787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-51149311098123929402012-10-03T21:40:00.004-04:002012-10-03T21:50:09.659-04:002012/13 UCL Group Stage: Week 2 (Scores & Review)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKf315GZexuwKFwxaK93vVIuG7G3Zv7xpL9mnuK-mQxownHzHHUOyYbyzfWMwHIwB8hyphenhyphencrvTP0D899aFAxnk5RLUbfl84kKLIeDqhC73dvq9VjHWwEYwXNMeX8o2Lp0rSHiYqAdwZATIk/s1600/201213+UCL+Group+stage+week+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKf315GZexuwKFwxaK93vVIuG7G3Zv7xpL9mnuK-mQxownHzHHUOyYbyzfWMwHIwB8hyphenhyphencrvTP0D899aFAxnk5RLUbfl84kKLIeDqhC73dvq9VjHWwEYwXNMeX8o2Lp0rSHiYqAdwZATIk/s320/201213+UCL+Group+stage+week+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There were a lot of exciting Champions
League matches this week, so without a long intro, I'm just going to
jump into it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In Tuesday's games, groups E, F, G and
H competed. First up is Juventus vs. Shakhtar Donestsk. After a
quarter of the match was gone, Alex Teixeira of Shakhtar put one past
the World Class Buffon. As Juve fans became nervous, Leonardo
Bonnucci gave the Ukrainians a piece of their<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
own medicine by equalizing just two minutes later. The game ended a
1-1 tie. Also in Group E, FC Nordsj</span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">ælland
hosted champions of Europe, Chelsea FC. Most assumed the blues would
conquer this match but no one expected their Danish counter parts to
put up such a fight. Juan Mata scored the first of the match after
receiving the pass from Frank Lampard in the 33</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">rd</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute. Up until the end of the match it really was anyone's game as
the Danish side were only down by one. That is until the 79</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute when David Luiz smashed a free kick to the near post resulting
in it bouncing across goal and in. Then just a few minutes later,
Juan Mata grabbed his second, once again with the assist going to
Franky Lampard. Ramires topped of the score sheet making it 4-0 to
Chelsea with the assist going to the fellow Brazilian, Oscar. In
Group F, Valencia hosted French side Lille and put them to rest with
their Brazilian number 7, Jonas. Late in the first half (38 min)
Roberto Soldado fed him the pass which Jonas converted. 30 minutes
into the second half, Jonas put away his second and the Spanish side
went on to take the three points. Also in Group F, BATE Borisov
hosted Bayern Munich in Belarus. Munich being a very dominant squad
in Germany as well as the rest of Europe, it looked like it was gonna
be an easy 3 points. Nobody expected to see Borisov go up after just
23 minutes. They waited until the 78</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute to score yet again. Then in the 90</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute, they made it 3-0. Franck Ribéry then got a consolation goal
in stoppage time and the match ended 3-1 in favor of the Belarus
giants. Spartak Moscow hosted Celtic in group G and the Scottish side
took the lead through Gary Hooper after just 13 minutes. Waiting for
halftime to come as fast as possible, the Scots let up their defense
and the team hailing from Moscow equalized through Emmanuel Emenike.
3 minutes into the second half, Emenike scored again stealing the
lead once 1-0 lead from Celtic. In the 63</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">rd</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute, Juan Manuel Insaurralde of Moscow was sent off with a red
card. 8 minutes later, Kombarov put in and own goal and equalized the
score line at 2-2. Celtic weren't finished though, in the dieing
seconds, Samaras scored a dream winner and once again Spartak Moscow
were crushed like when Messi had two late goals in Gameweek 1.
Speaking of Messi & Barcelona, they visited Benfica in Portugal.
It only took 6 minutes for Messi to work his magic and produce the
assist for Alexis Sanchez. In the 55</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute, Messi did it again, this time for Cesc Fabregas. Other than
that, Sergio Busquests was red carded in the 88</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute. In the last group, H, Romanian side CFR Cluj hosted
Manchester United and after a poor last season, United couldn't let
any points slip. It only took 14 minutes to break the nil-nil
scoreline and it went to Pantelis Kapetanos of Cluj. With this
reality check United turned things around with a free kick from Wayne
Rooney. He sent in a cross and Robin van Persie put it in with a
header. Its true that the header was a bit lucky, but you could see
that they were bound to score soon if not at that moment. As for the
second half, it was debatably the best performance United put on all
season. The Flying Dutch put away his second and the match ended 2-1
in United's favor. The last Tuesday match up was Galatasaray vs
Braga. After only losing 1-0 to Man Utd, many thought Galatasaray
would take the points, but this wasn’t the case. With goals from
Ruben Mical and Alan, Braga took the points in a 2-0 win. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As
for Wednesday’s matches, Groups A, B, C and D battled it out.
Dynamo Kiev took on Dinamo Zagreb. In just 3 minutes, Oleg Gusev put
Kiev in front. Jump forward 30 minutes and Josip Pivaric put in an
own goal and Kiev took the 3 points. Next was Porto hosting PSG.
Pretty action-less game until the 83</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">rd</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute, when James Rodriguez scored for Porto and sent PSG home.
Schalke 04 and Montpellier. The French side opened scoring in just 13
minutes. Double that time and Schalke equalized. In the 52</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">nd</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute, Garry Bocaly got the red and Schalke got the Penalty. Klass
Jan Huntelaar. As the match was coming to a close, the German side
were feeling like they were taking the points, but Souleymane Camara
equalized in the 90</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute, ending the match in a 2-2 tie. Also in group B, Arsenal
hosted Olympiakos. A slow start to the first half led to an very
interesting end to it. 42</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">nd</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute, Gervinho put the gunners in front with the help of Mikel
Arteta. 3 minutes later, Konstantinos Mitroglou equalized right
before halftime. Early in the second halftime, Lukas Podolski blasted
the gooners back in front and to top it off, Aaron Ramsey scored in
the last minute. The early match of the day was Zenit St. Petersburg
vs. AC Milan. After just 16 minute, Milan was up 2-0. Zenit looked
defeated until Hulk scored one in the last minute of the first half.
4 minutes into the second Roman Shirokov equalized and the Rossoneri
didn't look like themselves. In the 75</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute, AC Milan lucked out when Tomas Hubocan put it into his own
net. The Italian giants stole the three points. The other Group C
match up was Anderlecht and Malaga. The spanish side completely
dominated the scoreline but not the match. Eliseu scored in the last
minute of the first half and shortly after the second half started,
Joaquin put home a penalty. In the 64</span></span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><sup><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">th</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
minute, Eliseu finished off scored but tucking away his second.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
last group of the day, D, deserves a paragraph for itself. The Group
of Death had Manchester City against Borussia Dortmund and Real
Madrid against Ajax. The Manchester/dortmund match was scoreless for
a long time but wasn't a boring match. It took 61 minutes for a
breakthrough and it went to Marco Reus of Dortmund. The match was
coming to an end and in the dieing moments, Sergio Aguero was sliced
down in the box and the PK was given. Mario Balotelli would be the
only one to take it. Slow and cool, he tucked the close range dead
ball into the bottom corner and chased the ball into the goal to pick
it up. On his way out he told the GK to keep talking with a lovely
hand gesture. The other matchup started just as slow taking 42
minutes for a breakthrough. Even though it took so long, Madrid was
very dominant. The only thing keeping Ajax in the game was Kenneth
Vermeer, their goalkeeper. The goal started with Karim Benzema
cutting the ball in and sending in a low cross. Taking a deflection,
Kenneth Vermeer was left laying on the ground and the ball was left
for Cristiano Ronaldo to pounce, and that he did. It was one of
Kaka's first appearances and he put on one of his best performances
for Madrid. Three minutes into the second half, Karim Benzema scored
a brilliant scissor kick. It looked like there was no was back for
the Dutch side, but when Christian Eriksen sent in a corner, Niklas
Moisander beat Iker Casillas and made it 2-1. Ronaldo would not have
this, working with Benzema on the left wing the duo traveled towards
goal and the Frenchman set up Ronaldo for the shot at the top of the
box. Who thought you could blast the ball and still have accuracy?
Ronaldo did, and broke down Ajax's comeback, especially because two
minutes later he completed his hat-trick. The game ended 4-1 in Los
Blancos' favor. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Player of the week goes to Ronaldo, putting on a fantastic
performance, but two of his Madrid teammates were close behind him,
Kaka and Benzema. This was Ronaldo's second hat-trick in two games
and now has completed 18 career hat-tricks, this being his first in
the Champions League. The Portuguese superstar has racked up 158
goals in 154 Real Madrid games. Well that is all I have for y'all.
Until next time...</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-JoeyB</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-32719351942733408312012-09-16T05:28:00.004-04:002012-09-16T05:30:14.964-04:00Thierry Henry scores off a corner! (Videos)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgY9uvzcu-uWnwgkjCTSm3MGIXNY0mGEhWj-o-cH7L2eQloCYXSHoobLhHey04o_oiXRnTeLBElhmzBP03wp4bvh5ec-d4SQ6PS_LGW1q95f1wAhnlUh859Kiu23M7jd7DZVqp9Ty4Ts/s1600/NY+Red+Bulls+3-1+Columbus+Crew+9.16.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgY9uvzcu-uWnwgkjCTSm3MGIXNY0mGEhWj-o-cH7L2eQloCYXSHoobLhHey04o_oiXRnTeLBElhmzBP03wp4bvh5ec-d4SQ6PS_LGW1q95f1wAhnlUh859Kiu23M7jd7DZVqp9Ty4Ts/s400/NY+Red+Bulls+3-1+Columbus+Crew+9.16.12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Beckham did it (twice), so why
shouldn't Thierry Henry? NY Red Bulls defeated Columbus Crew 3-1 and
while scoring two of the goals, the former Arsenal striker scored
from the corner. Check out the video below.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JiNW5Ctu66c" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Here are Beckham's goals from the corner
while we are at it.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
The first one being a 2-1 winner over Chicago Fire:<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bn71IqxE5A4" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
And the second being against Metapan:<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1oouDvYNRrw" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Which EPL Legend will be next to score
off a corner in the MLS?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
-JoeyB</div>
</div>
</div>
JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-84304579104662040262012-09-13T01:44:00.004-04:002012-09-16T05:33:16.794-04:00Your European Qualifying Tuesday RoundupIt was another busy night in European world cup qualifying. Couldn't catch the matches? We have all the latest on a topsy-turvy night of football.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilahxKCmLcUeprOzvhshTsB79MDam_WV5EyrcpWnOb8duevvWN4DAvD0QmOuJEegVAkM__6yw8R4lMZ3uOE-1sbDC-0BKeWiR3H4L6unKOz7cbQrofO_1Ohq3eKq6dRpfpFaiug05Nzzc/s1600/UEFA.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilahxKCmLcUeprOzvhshTsB79MDam_WV5EyrcpWnOb8duevvWN4DAvD0QmOuJEegVAkM__6yw8R4lMZ3uOE-1sbDC-0BKeWiR3H4L6unKOz7cbQrofO_1Ohq3eKq6dRpfpFaiug05Nzzc/s1600/UEFA.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Results:</span><br />
<br />
<b>Group A:</b><br />
<br />
Serbia 6-1 Wales<br />
<br />
Belgium 1-1 Croatia<br />
<br />
Scotland 1-1 Macedonia<br />
<br />
<b>Group B:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Bulgaria 1-0 Armenia<br />
<br />
Italy 2-0 Malta<br />
<br />
<b>Group C:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Sweden 2-0 Kazahkstan<br />
<br />
Austria 1-2 Germany<br />
<br />
<b>Group D:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Romania 4-0 Armenia<br />
<br />
Turkey 3-0 Estonia<br />
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Hungary 1-4 Netherlands<br />
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<b>Group E:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Cyprus 1-0 Iceland<br />
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Norway 2-1 Slovenia<br />
<br />
Switzerland 2-0 Albania<br />
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<b>Group F:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Israel 0-4 Russia<br />
<br />
Northern Ireland 1-1 Luxembourg<br />
<br />
Portugal 3-0 Azerbaijan<br />
<br />
<b>Group G:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-1 Latvia<br />
<br />
Slovakia 2-0 Liechtenstein<br />
<br />
Greece 2-0 Lithuania<br />
<br />
<b>Group H:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
San Marino 0-6 Montenegro<br />
<br />
Poland 2-0 Moldova<br />
<br />
England 1-1 Ukraine<br />
<br />
<b>Group I:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Georgia 0-1 Spain<br />
<br />
France 3-1 Belarus<br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Surprises</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><br /></b>
The biggest outlier in the day's results comes to us from London, where the England national team fell victim to a resurgent Ukraine, resulting in a 1-1 draw.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Player of the day:</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On a day with little fanfare in the way of high personal goalscoring, the player that stood out the most was Ukraine's<span style="line-height: 22px;"> Yevhen Konoplyanka. Just 22, Konoplyanka has spent the entirety of his young career playing for domestic side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. On Tuesday, he bent a sizzling 25 yarder past Joe Hart giving Ukraine its initial 1-0 lead. Despite the fact that the Lions came back to grab an equalizer, Konoplyanka proved the young brilliance of a Ukrainian side that is working to return to the World Cup for the first time since 2006.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 22px;"><b>Team to watch:</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 22px;">Group G is arguably the easiest of UEFA's sections. It's made up of Greece, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Latvia, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Liechtenstein. One would think that the group is probably a toss up between the Greeks and the Slovakians. However, it's been the goal-laden Bosnians who have impressed so far. They won their first two games by a combined score of 12-2, putting them atop the the Group G table. They don't seem keen on stopping any time soon, with stars Eden Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic at the top of their respective careers. Look for Bosnia to win the group and qualify for their first ever FIFA World Cup.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZhQdaKodcwq-pfGfeKKCy9oEM_YtLOIBmzZ7aCYroDspsVFLhQ07hz_RVaJVzho7KDLF7Xz6tcqKPYhPZ1zfQQWzYcrVPgHbu8XXYZKhM3Ven6jfpYsu-ykJHA8KAOiUKrNqJAGyRS0/s1600/Bosnia+flag.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZhQdaKodcwq-pfGfeKKCy9oEM_YtLOIBmzZ7aCYroDspsVFLhQ07hz_RVaJVzho7KDLF7Xz6tcqKPYhPZ1zfQQWzYcrVPgHbu8XXYZKhM3Ven6jfpYsu-ykJHA8KAOiUKrNqJAGyRS0/s320/Bosnia+flag.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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t wilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08248797027892407787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-66188544483907305512012-08-25T01:01:00.002-04:002012-08-25T01:10:27.784-04:00CONCACAF Champions League: LA Galaxy 5-2 Metapan<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Beckham
scores CCL's 1000<sup>th</sup> goal in 5-2 Victory over Metp<span style="color: #262626;">án. (Video Highlights)</span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRd5K9pqQYcg4pSUQwW-CnTZDUpJHXsYiNmKhPvtcTJ6N0PlbSz7nEnLgwKfHD9F7v8apsLc34v3Y85q4HF46nw0l6BFqTGI3QgI_kwbUoTWWB2dcbVP62BiUmOzifRpuB5OciKFtgtLg/s1600/Beckham+100th+CCL+Goal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRd5K9pqQYcg4pSUQwW-CnTZDUpJHXsYiNmKhPvtcTJ6N0PlbSz7nEnLgwKfHD9F7v8apsLc34v3Y85q4HF46nw0l6BFqTGI3QgI_kwbUoTWWB2dcbVP62BiUmOzifRpuB5OciKFtgtLg/s400/Beckham+100th+CCL+Goal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;"></span></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;">
</span></span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;">LA
Galaxy took on Metpán, Thursday night in a CONCACAF Champions League
match up in front on 10,574 fans at the Home Depot Center. The team
visiting the states from El Salvador took the early lead after only
just 17 minutes through Nicolas Munoz. It didn't take the Galaxy long
to tun things around as two of David Beckham's crosses were converted
3 and 5 minutes later. In the 20</span><span style="color: #262626;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="color: #262626;">
minute, Jose Alvarado put in an own goal for DB's cross. Two minutes
later, Becks sent in a similar cross and Robbie Keane finished it off
with a downwards header and made it 2-1. With play going back and
fourth neither side could net another, at least until the Galaxy won
a corner right before halftime. Beckham curled one in and as
goalkeeper Fidel Mondragón tried to punch the shot out, it slipped
off his fist into the side netting and LA were up 3-1heading in the
locker rooms. A bit slower start to the second half, but in the 70</span><span style="color: #262626;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="color: #262626;">
minute, Robbie Keane was sent off. Now the exact reason of the Red
Card was unclear, but after being tripped right outside of the box,
Keane jumped up and was warned with a yellow card. After continuing
his protest and asking to be subbed off, Mexican referee Alfredo
Peñaloza pulled the red card. I'm not exactly on the ref's side
here. A yellow card would have been enough and it was a very
unnecessary call. This didn't stop the Galaxy from widening the gap.
Vitor Gomes Pereira Junior Juninho (or just Juninho for short) made
it 4-1 with a easy tap-in in the 82</span><span style="color: #262626;"><sup>nd</sup></span><span style="color: #262626;">
minute. Nicolas Munoz netted a second after being awarded a penalty
making it 4-2. Juninho topped it off with another goal in stoppage
time bringing the final score to be 5-2. </span></span></span>
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;">
</span></span></span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;">
</span></span></span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;">LA
Galaxy (1-0-0) top group five of the CCL with Metpán (1-1-0) in
second and Puerto Rico Islanders (0-1-0) in third. Beckham's goal
ended up being the 1000</span><span style="color: #262626;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="color: #262626;">
goal scored in CCL history which is quite the prize aside from
winning the match. </span></span></span>
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;">
</span></span></span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;">(Win-Loss-Draw)</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;">TFIU's
Man of the Match goes to David Beckham. He set up an own goal in
benefit of Galaxy, sent in the assist to Robbie Keane and scored from
the corner, which ended up being a landmark goal. It was definitely
his night. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;">Here
are video highlights:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #262626;"> </span></span></span>
</div>
</span></span></span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Lrhh385uQm4" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
Reminder:<br />
Follow us on Twitter (@flagisup) and like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/theflagisup.TFIU).<br />
<br />
-JoeyBJoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-71231438191170318392012-08-24T19:28:00.000-04:002012-08-25T01:10:41.188-04:00EPL Returns/Gameweek 1: Game of the Week<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
EPL Week 1: Game of The Week (With Video Highlights)<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The EPL is back and so are Twil and I
and we will start TFIU back up again. We wanted to kick off our first
post of the season with our pick fr the game of the week. After
Sunday, it really seemed like it was going to go to the match between
Manchester City and Southampton, but Monday's match changed that up.
Everton hosted Manchester United at Goodison Park in a cracking match
where the action was in constant motion from goal to goal. The first
half ended as a 0-0 draw but only took Fellaini 12 minutes in the
second half to convert the cross from a corner. The Belgian had been
fantastic the entire match along with team mates Leon Osman and
Steven Pienaar who, if not for David De Gea, would have all scored a
nice set of opening week goals. The young Spaniard made up for
United's sloppy defense, though conceding a goal. Valencia &
Carrick were two midfielders that teamed up with Vidic and Evra to
complete United's back four, so this is where the problems started.
United/s attacking half got close a few times but couldn't break
through Everton's on form defense. Phil Jagielka was easily the best
defender on the pitch and New signing Shinji Kagawa helped
orchestrate the midfield but it wasn't enough. The other big signing,
Robin van Persie, started on the bench. He subbed on for Danny
Welbeck with 22 minuted left on the clock. He still seemed like a
very new signing which is why he didn't start. He still hadn't fell
into the motion of United. United start off the season with zero
points and Everton start with a well deserved 3 points.
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<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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Even though De Gea was spectacular in
goal, he would have needed a clean sheet to win Man of The Match.
TFIU's Man of the Match goes Fellaini</div>
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Here are some video highlights:</div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://hub.video.msn.com/embed/95d72601-3364-43e7-a939-a3d9f3ffc847/?vars=Y29uZmlnQ3NpZD1NU05WaWRlbyZicmFuZD12NSU1RTU0NHgzMDYmZnI9c2hhcmVlbWJlZC1zeW5kaWNhdGlvbiZjb25maWdOYW1lPXN5bmRpY2F0aW9ucGxheWVyJnN5bmRpY2F0aW9uPXRhZyZsaW5rb3ZlcnJpZGUyPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuYmluZy5jb20lMkZ2aWRlb3MlMkZicm93c2UlM0Zta3QlM0Rlbi11cyUyNnZpZCUzRCU3QjAlN0QmbGlua2JhY2s9aHR0cCUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy5iaW5nLmNvbSUyRnZpZGVvcyUyRmJyb3dzZSZta3Q9ZW4tdXM%3D" width="480">
<a href="http://www.bing.com/videos/browse?mkt=en-us&vid=95d72601-3364-43e7-a939-a3d9f3ffc847&src=v5:embed:syndication:&from=shareembed-syndication" target="_new" title="Everton vs. Manchester United Premier League Highlights 8/20/12">Video: Everton vs. Manchester United Premier League Highlights 8/20/12</A>
</iframe>
<br />
Also, just a reminder to follow us on Twitter (@flagisup) and like on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/theflagisup.TFIU)<br />
<br />
-JoeyBJoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-85417765966115875262012-06-08T10:38:00.001-04:002012-06-08T10:38:41.417-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgym1ysM-FgVAqzZfdSgauAKiZ2DEZsZ1YwqIrEJvzH3UTDgk5_bf_4B9VZWbLn58XGSasulPgYjllYHFDo6mUlXD2Yrr90DrV5iHwjU8ox6u1OdN80cP6YP5BiPV30c9VcpBb51GYHpzY/s1600/soccerhead.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgym1ysM-FgVAqzZfdSgauAKiZ2DEZsZ1YwqIrEJvzH3UTDgk5_bf_4B9VZWbLn58XGSasulPgYjllYHFDo6mUlXD2Yrr90DrV5iHwjU8ox6u1OdN80cP6YP5BiPV30c9VcpBb51GYHpzY/s1600/soccerhead.jpeg" /></a></div>
It's been four years since Spain took out Germany to win their first European crown. Can they do it again? Listen below for our Euro 2012 preview!<br /><br /><br />
<a name='more'></a><iframe frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://archive.org/embed/TheFlagIsUpPodcastEuro2012" width="640"></iframe>t wilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08248797027892407787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-6029214142509688812012-02-29T17:55:00.005-05:002012-02-29T17:58:40.090-05:00International Friendly: Italy 0-1 USA<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihAzaPfZcqNB2f-Etk7rCGeYXXmIj9OKHypD4ou7Ha5LTvBAOlOF44vM-WjborYhtG8W2bHe6aCL7gIYomQT_cGlili4xXqb_JWnBtZorOJ8awBu4iM8450k3LK2hP1pzt2BBwvsqtQGQ/s1600/Italy+0-1+USA.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 218px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714695137895635394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihAzaPfZcqNB2f-Etk7rCGeYXXmIj9OKHypD4ou7Ha5LTvBAOlOF44vM-WjborYhtG8W2bHe6aCL7gIYomQT_cGlili4xXqb_JWnBtZorOJ8awBu4iM8450k3LK2hP1pzt2BBwvsqtQGQ/s400/Italy+0-1+USA.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Fulham’s number 23, lead USA to their first ever victory over Italy today!<br /><a name='more'></a><br />The United States Men’s National Team, managed under Jurgen Kilnsmann, has won away at Italy for the first time ever. Italy has never lost in Genoa, except for today. At first, Italy started off with shots, with shaking defense from the US. Halftime ended 0-0, just what the States wanted. Early in the second half, Carlos Bocanegra chipped the ball to Jozy Altidore, who laid it off for USMNT’s #10. Not Landon Donovan, but Clint Dempsey, who’s shot went past Buffon to give USA the lead. The Deuce’s lone goal would stick till the final whistle. After USA took the lead, Italy had some chances, but the US played the offside trap, which worked for them a few times. Check out the goal below!<br />-JoeyB<br /><br /><iframe height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dWiR5miwZzo" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-52199213260659468182012-02-27T23:34:00.003-05:002012-02-27T23:42:54.182-05:00Manchester United 2-1 Norwich: Ryan Giggs grabs a late winner on his 900th appearance<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lqW46HpTo1nhfpJLAU58WunfYqgi3u-VP78wHE1K-nmkmPir8KNe4rkPYrrBg2OnbWuV9XEtZ_0wAtmjBfi4NuNOERGiTNMmft7BMZ1y9V4HAh_Po4d-XvBbzYBvXix4Q5C6X36ebNU/s1600/Norwich+1-2+Man+Utd.jpg"><span style="color:#000000;"></span><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 249px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714040532204472818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lqW46HpTo1nhfpJLAU58WunfYqgi3u-VP78wHE1K-nmkmPir8KNe4rkPYrrBg2OnbWuV9XEtZ_0wAtmjBfi4NuNOERGiTNMmft7BMZ1y9V4HAh_Po4d-XvBbzYBvXix4Q5C6X36ebNU/s400/Norwich+1-2+Man+Utd.jpg" /></a>Manchester United took on Norwich on Sunday and it was Giggs' 900th appearance. Check out how it went down. Video highlights included!<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Manchester United took on Norwich City on Sunday, February 26th, still in pursuit of the noisy neighbors, Manchester City. City won this weekend, so United really didn't want to let them slip away. It was quick start for United as a cross from the wing, fed in by Nani, met Paul Scholes' head as the canaries were caught napping. For most of the match after that both terms were on the attack and David De Gea was really put to the test. He was make save after save, and great ones at that. At the same time, you couldn't say Utd's defense was playing that badly. Soon enough, after playing so well, Norwich had their breakthrough. It came late in the match from Hoyt. Immediately United was under pressure to get a late winner.<br /><div>Celebrating his 900th appearance, Ryan Giggs really has completed yet another milestone wearing the number 11 shirt for United. All eyes were on him as he had hit the cross bar at one point, made dashing runs down the middle playing the ball thought the legs of defenders like he was 20, and fed the ball to Danny Welbeck who just missed a possible game winning<br />header. Substitute Ashley Young and been sending in crosses, and in the last few minutes of the match, one me the feet of Giggs who tapped it into the corner of the goal. Truly a legendary player. Most probably viewed it that Norwich deserved a point, and they did, but nothin beats these legendary finishes to matches, especially when they happen for such a great player celebrating a milestone in his career. Manchester will face Tottenham this upcoming weekend and Norwich take on Stoke City.<br /></div>-JoeyB<br /><iframe height="270" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xp2dv3_norwich-1-2-man-utd-highlights-26-02-2012_sport" frameborder="0" width="480"></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xp2dv3_norwich-1-2-man-utd-highlights-26-02-2012_sport" target="_blank">Norwich 1-2 Man Utd Highlights 26.02.2012</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/vik2003" target="_blank">vik2003</a></i>JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-31698991613517922282012-02-26T18:02:00.003-05:002012-02-26T18:10:27.165-05:00North London Derby: Arsenal save top performance for Tottenham<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FEakZCE8YeoryAO5ERwp-A4hkpr6DVZoJ9sSPoXZjy1xm7jvGAaaMcVzG8qnM84IrL_VEnbfWtoqESkckx7JHtuDtOWtCSz_IHL_VKtS_uBt5wjBztaMv0GTwnViqmZIDi9uqpCqY2c/s1600/Arsenal+5-2+Tottenham.jpg"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 397px; height: 400px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713584595726236274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FEakZCE8YeoryAO5ERwp-A4hkpr6DVZoJ9sSPoXZjy1xm7jvGAaaMcVzG8qnM84IrL_VEnbfWtoqESkckx7JHtuDtOWtCSz_IHL_VKtS_uBt5wjBztaMv0GTwnViqmZIDi9uqpCqY2c/s400/Arsenal+5-2+Tottenham.jpg" /></a>Today, February 26, 2012, was a great day in football history as some of the most remarkable events happened. We will provide full coverage on everything but for now let’s start off with Arsenal’s 5-2 win over rivals and third place Tottenham. Arsenal’sperformance has been questionable this season and if it didn’t change, many believed it would lead to the<br />departure of the clubs top striker and captain, Robin Van Persie. The Gunners looked like a completely different squad today.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />It didn’t start off so bright though, as Spurs took the lead 4 minutes into the match through the strike of Louis Saha. Only 30 minutes after that Gareth Bale helped double that lead as he was taken down in the box and Spurs were awarded the penalty. Adebayor stepped up and netted it from 11 yards out. It was only until the 40th minute that the gunners started to heat up. Bacary Sagna tucked home his first goal of the season followed by an equalizer from Van Persie.<br /><br />Early in the second half the gunners continued their streak with a goal from Rosicky. Then the goners went up two from a very unlikely man, Theo Walcott in the 65th & 68th minutes. Theo Walcott has been lacking all the skill we’ve once seen from him this season. Poor passing, losing possession after a few good skill moves and poor finishing are all we’ve seen from Walcott. Today he put all that behind himself and set two to the back of the net. Arsenal are now in fourth and Tottenham remain in third. Arsene Wenger might have now regained the support from fans after losing it with poor performances. Video Highlights are included below.<br /><br /><iframe height="270" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xp2dmg_arsenal-5-2_sport" frameborder="0" width="480"></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xp2dmg_arsenal-5-2_sport" target="_blank">arsenal 5-2</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/Futbol2101" target="_blank">Futbol2101</a></i><br /><br />-JoeyBJoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-17847977123800924792012-02-09T21:37:00.000-05:002012-02-09T21:37:43.648-05:00the future of the England national teamOn Wednesday, Fabio Capello resigned from his duties as England national team manager, posing the question, 'What's next'?<br />
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With England's opening match of the European Championships just four months away, the FA has to act quickly in order to ensure their pride and joy doesn't become the laughing stock of the continent come Poland/Ukraine. How to do so? First up, hire a new manager. Below are a few potential options.<br />
<br />
<b>Harry Redknapp</b><br />
I hear a lot of the pundits continue to exalt HR as an obvious choice. I can't say I disagree that he would be an awesome pick. However, one of the main things hindering him in the selection process is that he has never managed a national side before. There are loads of differences between club and country. The club level requires a more hands-on approach day-to-day preparing for 1-2 games a week. Nationally, a manager's daily duties fall more on scouting and deciding which players to utilise for a particular tournament. Once said tourny comes around, so too does the climax of the job offering all the pressures and stresses of world football. Redknapp has managed clubs from Bournemouth to Spurs and consistently done well relative to expectations. However, the next question is could he do the same with all of England watching?<br />
<br />
<b>Stuart Pearce</b><br />
Could the man currently in charge of the U-21 team get a chance to lead the senior side? His tenure at Man City wasn't great but he's done well with the under 21's and will coach the senior squad against Holland on the 29th. The fact that he's already been in the English national system for some time gives him a huge advantage in my opinion.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Guus Hiddink</b><br />
Hiddink made his way into the hearts of Chelsea fans in 2009. But what he's really known for is his phenomenal work on the international level. In 2002, Hiddink brought South Korea to the semi finals of the world cup in which they co-hosted. They remain the only Asian team to have ever advanced as far in the world's greatest sporting event. He followed this feat with a round of 16 showing for Australia and a Euro semis berth for the Russians, both beyond expectations. But can he match the ungodly bar set by the fine folks of St. George's cross?<br />
<br />
other viable options include Jose Mourinho (restrain from schoolgirl excitement), Roy Hodgson, and David Moyes. What's everyone think?<br />
-twilt wilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08248797027892407787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-88750554353804656722012-02-07T22:18:00.004-05:002012-02-07T22:25:16.436-05:00John Terry adds to his Extensive list of Controversies<img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 310px; height: 415px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" border="0" alt="" src="http://s1.jrnl.ie/media/2011/10/Terry-310x415.jpg" /><br />There have been ongoing rumors of Chelsea skipper, John Terry allegedly racially abusing QPR defender, Anton Ferdinand. This has led to the FA stripping JT of his England captaincy. He remains captain of Chelsea, but missed the match against Manchester United this past weekend because of injury. If you really look into it, you can see that Terry is much different from the wild ManCity striker, Mario Balotelli. Let’s take a closer look at some of the stunts Terry has pulled in the past.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><div>1. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Terry mocked some American tourists in Heathrow Airport while he was drunk. He was fined two weeks salary for this.<br /></div><div>2. In January of 2002, Terry was carhed with assault and affray for a confrontation between himself and a nightclub bouncer. Terry was suspended from his England duties, and therefore missed the 2002 World Cup. He was later cleared of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, unlawful wounding, possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon and affray.<br /></div><div>3. In February, only a month later, Terry was caught urinating into an empty beer bottle. Then dropping it on the floor in Essex nightclub. He was caught on CCTV.<br /></div><div>4. He has been fined for parking his Bentley in the wrong places.<br /></div><div>5. Terry was sent off in November of 2006 at White Hart Lane. He was accused of racially abusing Tottenham defender, Ledley King. He was fined £10,000 for inappropriate conduct.<br /></div><div>6. Before he married Toni Poole in 2007, he confessed cheating on her up to eight times before. Jen Barker, who was 17 at the time said that Terry cheated on his partner in a parked car in public.<br /></div><div>7. He apparently accepted a £10,000 bribe to show a reporter around Chelsea’s training ground in 2009. He obviously didn’t have permission and therefore the club, along with the FA investigated the matter.<br /></div><div>8. His family also doesn’t have the best reputation, as his mother, and mother-in-law were caught shoplifting. Months later, his father was filmed allegedly selling cocaine to an undercover reporter. This was in 2009 as well.<br /></div><div>9. Terry had his captaincy stripped once before. In January 2010 Terry was alleged to have had an affair with Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel. The captain armband was handed to Rio Ferdinand.<br /></div><div>10. In October 2011, Terry was once again accused of racially abusing someone. This time it was Anton Ferdinand, brother of Terry’s England center back partner, Rio Ferdinand. He was accused after Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to QPR at Loftus Road. The FA and the police have investigated the matter and Terry will stand trial later this year in July. He had once again been stripped of his country’s captaincy. </div><div> </div><div>Fabio Capello doesn’t agree with the matter, but with this accusation, Terry might be banned from playing in the Euro2012. Even if he did play, it would surely be his last international tournament as England have been producing some great talent in defense. England’s captaincy was once again handed to Rio Ferdinand, but he didn’t accept it, probably because it was his brother who was the victim.<br /></div><div><br />Any ideas about who should captain England through the Euro2012?<br />-JoeyB</div>JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-24440533473738627572012-02-07T20:25:00.007-05:002012-02-07T20:44:13.559-05:00@CatAnfield: Feline interrupts Liverpool/Spurs match<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysmgzPh3DOhBonehzSOtYaMmZMSlELoM1YVmehpZyRx37uBD2tvF-L2_LIJXNRzQKj9g5EmPCycXuZsnw_OAu5Sr6ObEaHAawcl8zC6RzxRggbgaWjNMImtFIt1wCKnU-41QM0KzTjCo/s1600/CatAnfield+Running.PNG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 225px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706570542734477218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysmgzPh3DOhBonehzSOtYaMmZMSlELoM1YVmehpZyRx37uBD2tvF-L2_LIJXNRzQKj9g5EmPCycXuZsnw_OAu5Sr6ObEaHAawcl8zC6RzxRggbgaWjNMImtFIt1wCKnU-41QM0KzTjCo/s400/CatAnfield+Running.PNG" /></a>Photo Courtesy: @CatAnfield twitter</div><div align="left"><br />While everyone was enjoying some Monday EPL action, the match was intruded by a cat that ran onto the field. It was around the 11th minute when it happened.</div><div align="left"><a name='more'></a><br /><!-- more --><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 300px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706570355115558866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnNG6WBQjqQMVJK9PzQfTK-2ETnAhKR5I8fM7Q-F3F6Hi_ybwSnGMdhnmlhh4OPA-wfNrqD7wLWC2DVfJst-f_R0cSrnIbRLhxU3_VJbpBRR7CtIuNt71AqFC3yrNvfj8PoTr2C44tcY4/s400/CatAnfield+Sitting+Edit.JPG" /><br />Only minutes after the cat ran off the field by itself, there was a twitter account made for the feline. Its @CatAnfield. They were instantly tweeting things like:<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><em>"Andy Carroll just tried to stroke me and missed #SellHim</em></div><div align="center"><em></em> </div><div align="center"><em>"Almost a catfight between Agger and Bale #LFC #THFC"</em><br /></div><div align="center">"The felinesman has had a good game #meow"<br /></div><div align="left">And as the creator is a Liverpool fan;<br /></div><div align="center"><em>"At this rate we will miss out on 4th by a whisker.."</em><br /></div>This was probably the most interesting thing from the match as it ended in a scoreless draw. Luis Suárez made his return after his 8 match and picked up an instant yellow card for kicking Scott Parker in the stomach after the Spurs man had already headed the ball away. He easily could have been sent of but I think the referee saw Suárez’ concern for Parker and only gave him a yellow. Personally I think it was nice to see Suarez wait until Parker said he was okay instead of storming of like he used to before his ban.<br /><br />Anyways, Liverpool owners might want to consider putting in a bid for @CatAnfield. I mean, did you see the way he got past Friedel?<br /><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 300px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706570360713323058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBIGmb_p4KZ3fcYb8bnatRe-oGUtL_77hpdlNtUN35bJQXij9D9Q7jtpzdl5fq6fDO4xPTWVJk5yxJr06xwfIfreoILhkpruuTVhwGgnqTOcw7xr1ZYqTj8ry-2rXGSSSOlOAR6vWYV8/s400/CatAnfield+vs+Friedel+Edit.JPG" /><div><div>-JoeyB</div></div>JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-35639612797088143662012-02-03T12:08:00.005-05:002012-02-04T19:24:18.886-05:00Manchester Vs Manchester: Top of the Table Derby<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2cl1aEC_Hi45H8-1nTft8yQwv-zfcFwPz-N-aOXopyzFS7oCYezfPXUyBf0ypyPJfcz7mwPSQXjYCHExTg5I1pWOKuOKgwb51DQmNuOVMT2uZI7UA9-Wul91XmAbrUyKvmImp55U64eX/s1600/Manchester+City+Vs+Manchester+United.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 457px; height: 230px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh2cl1aEC_Hi45H8-1nTft8yQwv-zfcFwPz-N-aOXopyzFS7oCYezfPXUyBf0ypyPJfcz7mwPSQXjYCHExTg5I1pWOKuOKgwb51DQmNuOVMT2uZI7UA9-Wul91XmAbrUyKvmImp55U64eX/s1600/Manchester+City+Vs+Manchester+United.jpg" /></a><span></span><span>Manchester City started the season amazingly and everyone even United fans were forced to admit their amazing playing style, especially when they won the Manchester derby, 6-1. But a few slip ups from City led to United coming of within only a six goal difference between the two clubs. </span><br /><span></span><a name='more'></a><br /><span>United has been winning trophies since Sir Alex Ferguson has taken over but this season, United have been knocked out of the Carling and FA Cup and as surprising as it is, the Champions League group stage. Now SAF is determined to win the Europa League but will be putting all fire power to win the EPL to bounce back from a poor start to the season. </span><br /><span></span><br /><span>The following analysis is solely based on my opinion:</span><br /><span></span><br /><span>As far as the other top clubs go, I think Man City are only focused on the EPL, putting a lot of pressure on United. I think Tottenham are just focused on getting a Champions League spot for next year. Winning the league is probably their second priority, only because of the point difference. As for fourth place Chelsea, they are still in the Champions League and have yet to win one. Juan Mata has been an amazing influence on the club and really could lead them into the far stages of the tournament. Liverpool want a spot back in the CL, but I just don't see it. Arsenal have had some trouble even though they have arguably the best striker in the world. I think QPR will avoid relegation. They looked like they were headed for it but with a managerial change and a couple of great transfers I think their future will be in the top tier. I'm not entirely sure how long they will still be there after the season though. Newcastle have been doing very well, even now when their top striker, Demba Ba is playing in the African Cup of Nations. I think that even though Blackburn have had a few good matches, they will most likely be relegated, as I predicted at the start of the season. </span><br /><span></span><br />Okay, I'm done rambling about the Premier League, let me get to my point. I think that Manchester United will keep it cool we the pressure hits City and will over take the top spot in he league. If they catch form, they could also do really well in the Europa League. All I'm saying is that Man United are back and easily have a grasp on the league title. In my opinion, Man City will crack under pressure as they are new to being so successful. United has a history in winning and I believe they will take the first place spot and make the record 20 premier league titles.<div>Any opinions?</div><div>-JoeyB</div>JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-52578233331966525332012-02-01T17:17:00.009-05:002012-09-16T05:43:45.491-04:00Jan. 2012 Transfers<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9K9Dcu-ep6NUeYO7TA-5Y6V8Ra15OBEfhMaC5kpsHX_x3s1Vq-6Vp_wUPNvrjeH_ZsoIdTZRG1s3mDZ8Nko5FGd3NqFdQ04JUGdWAC_sBJOlLQ6sP-BxfYDMWkBbyK2xpswIlliE8G4/s1600/Jan2012+transfers.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704300159177351346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9K9Dcu-ep6NUeYO7TA-5Y6V8Ra15OBEfhMaC5kpsHX_x3s1Vq-6Vp_wUPNvrjeH_ZsoIdTZRG1s3mDZ8Nko5FGd3NqFdQ04JUGdWAC_sBJOlLQ6sP-BxfYDMWkBbyK2xpswIlliE8G4/s400/Jan2012+transfers.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 200px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>January transfer windows normally are pretty slow, but after last season when the mid season market produced £150+ million, we were all expecting this one to be big as well. Well that's no exactly what we got. Deadline day had some good transfers and definitely was better than we expected after a quiet month.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The first club I want to talk about is QPR. They rece fly sacked Neil Warnock and brought in Mark Hughes. They needed a change as they were doing pretty poorly. The managerial switch was introduced in order to re-shape the team and bring in someone who was capable of keeping the club in the EPL. They picked up Federico Macheda from Manchester United, Taye Taiwo from AC Milan and Samba Diakite from Nancy all on loan. Then they got Djibril Cisse from Lazio and Bobby Zamora from Fulham on deadline day, yesterday. These two strikers were clearly brought in with short term intentions considering they are good players, but their age isn’t a benefit. Lastly, they signed Nedum Onuoha from Manchester City. He will probably get a lot more playing time than with City. This is the only signing that is more long term, considering the others were loans, or the players aren’t exactly that young. But you must look at what QPR’s goals are.(No Pun intended) They are really focused on staying in the EPL and I think these moves should keep them out of the bottom three.<br />
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As for Everton, they made some great moves this month, some mentioned in out transfer post from a few days ago.(See link at bottom) Yesterday, they snatched up Nikica Jelavic, Rangers’ top scorer. They also signed one for the fans. They brought back the legendary South African, Steven Pienaar on loan from Spurs. He hasn’t had the best spell at White Hart Lane as he never was going to get the starting position on the wing. Now he has some time to get playing time for the toffees and show Redknapp he should get be playing a lot more. The best transfer they made, by far goes to Landon Donovan, who has had a huge affect on Everton as a whole. David Moyes is a fool if he doesn’t want to permanently sign him. He may want to but he has already ruled it out as LA Galaxy have already spokr to the American International about his return. I can imagine LA are a tough team to deal with, and I don’t blame them. They have spent a lot of tim improving their squad, but that is an entirely different post to write.</div>
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Next, Tottenham have made some good choices as well. They signed Louis Saha from Everton, for FREE. That is a great move, and it is obviously to prepare for Adebayor heading back to Man City at the end of the season. They also brought in former DC United and Blackburn defender, Ryan Nelsen, also a free transfer. Because they brought in the defender, they were able to fulfill Sebastian Bassong’s request to go out on loan. He has gone to Wolverhampton and should get playing time there, just like Frimpong.</div>
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Sunderland got two player on loan; Wayne Bridge from Manchester City and form Liverpool man, Sotirios Kyrgiakos from Wolfsburg. Manchester United signed Swiss youngster Frederic Veseli from Rivals Manchester City but had to sell Ravel Morrison to West Ham as he couldn’t find his place in United’s line up. Chelsea sign Kevin De Bruyne, who they have been watching for quite some time. Bolton brought in Tim Ream from NY Red Bulls, Ryo Miyaichi on loan from Arsenal and Marvin Sordell from Watford.</div>
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That Sums up most of the bigger transfers, but check out the full list below:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Player<br />
To<br />
From<br />
Price (€)</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Thierry Henry<br />
Arsenal<br />
NY Red Bulls<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Thomas Eisfeld<br />
Arsenal<br />
Borussia Cortmund<br />
500,000</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Robbie Keane<br />
Aston Villa<br />
LA Galaxy<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Anthony Modeste<br />
Blackburn<br />
Bordeaux<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Bradley Orr<br />
Blackburn<br />
QPR<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Marcus Olsson<br />
Blackburn<br />
Halmstads<br />
Free<br />
<br />
Tom Payne<br />
Blackburn<br />
Waitakere United<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Tim Ream<br />
Bolton<br />
NY Red Bulls<br />
3million<br />
<br />
Ryo Miyaichi<br />
Bolton<br />
Arsenal<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Marvin Sordell<br />
Bolton<br />
Watford<br />
3.6million<br />
<br />
Gary Cahill<br />
Chelsea<br />
Bolton<br />
9million<br />
<br />
Kevin De Bruyne<br />
Chelsea<br />
Genk<br />
8million<br />
<br />
Patrick Bamford<br />
Chelsea<br />
Nottingham Forest<br />
2million<br />
<br />
Steven Pienaar<br />
Everton<br />
Tottenham<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Nikica Jelavic<br />
Everton<br />
Rangers<br />
6.6million<br />
<br />
Landon Donovan<br />
Everton<br />
LA Galaxy<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Darron Gibson<br />
Everton<br />
Manchester United<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Lasse Christensen<br />
Fulham<br />
FC Midtjylland<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Jack Grimmer<br />
Fulham<br />
Aberdeen<br />
260,000<br />
<br />
Ryan Williams<br />
Fulham<br />
Portsmouth<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Pavel Pogrebnyak<br />
Fulham<br />
Stuttgart<br />
3.6million<br />
<br />
Joao Carlos<br />
Liverpool<br />
Sporting Lisbon<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
David Pizarro<br />
Manchester City<br />
Roma<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Paul Scholes<br />
Manchester United<br />
Retirement<br />
Free<br />
<br />
Frederic Veseli<br />
Manchester United<br />
Manchester City<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Papiss Cisse<br />
Newcastle<br />
Freiberg<br />
12million<br />
<br />
Ryan Bennett<br />
Norwich<br />
Peterborough<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Jonny Howson<br />
Norwich<br />
Leeds<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Taye Taiwo<br />
QPR<br />
AC Milan<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Federico Macheda<br />
QPR<br />
Manchester United<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Djibril Cisse<br />
QPR<br />
Lazio<br />
5million<br />
<br />
Bobby Zamora<br />
QPR<br />
Fulham<br />
4.8<br />
<br />
Samba Diakite<br />
QPR<br />
Nancy<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Nedum Onuoha<br />
QPR<br />
Manchester City<br />
3million<br />
<br />
Sotirios Kyrgiakos<br />
Sunderland<br />
Wolfsburg<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Wayne Bridge<br />
Sunderland<br />
Manchester City<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Josh McEachran<br />
Swansea City<br />
Chelsea<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Curtis Obeng<br />
Swansea City<br />
Wrexam<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Gylfi Sigurdsson<br />
Swansea City<br />
Hoffenheim<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Rory Donnelly<br />
Swansea City<br />
Cliftonville<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Ryan Nelsen<br />
Tottenham<br />
Blackburn<br />
Free<br />
<br />
Louis Saha<br />
Tottenham<br />
Everton<br />
Free</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
Keith Andrews<br />
West Brom<br />
Blackburn<br />
Free<br />
<br />
Scott Allan<br />
West Brom<br />
Dundee Utd<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Liam Ridgewell<br />
West Brom<br />
Birmingham<br />
3million<br />
<br />
Jean Beausejour<br />
Wigan<br />
Birmingham<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Emmanuel Frimpong<br />
Wolverhampton<br />
Arsenal<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Eggert Jonsson<br />
Wolverhampton<br />
Hearts<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Sebastien Bassong<br />
Wolverhampton<br />
Tottenham<br />
Loan<br />
<br />
Ravel Morrison<br />
West Ham<br />
Manchester United<br />
Undisclosed<br />
<br />
Tansfer Post from January 28th: <a href="http://flagisup.blogspot.com/2012/01/january-2012-transfer-window.html">http://flagisup.blogspot.com/2012/01/january-2012-transfer-window.html</a> </div>
</div>
</div>
JoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4531398602963118073.post-64225195470731788372012-01-28T17:46:00.006-05:002012-01-28T17:55:02.949-05:00January 2012 Transfer Window<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijbDPwRIEWIvoy6HKyCzJNcwklJeQfYzAn-NztZkT5IbEhjoBpr-TihcxyvP5XnPW6SAOu0Qq3B-XlxZOGplx-sW8WNk9joO5kBmnRYW-3exRyhXJXVAeiuLxjNLQivGA8EGOrLiKJao/s1600/Tevez+bidders.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijbDPwRIEWIvoy6HKyCzJNcwklJeQfYzAn-NztZkT5IbEhjoBpr-TihcxyvP5XnPW6SAOu0Qq3B-XlxZOGplx-sW8WNk9joO5kBmnRYW-3exRyhXJXVAeiuLxjNLQivGA8EGOrLiKJao/s320/Tevez+bidders.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5702818698935849282" /></a><br />So it’s January 28th and we have not yet written anything on the Transfer window. Our twitter feed has been full of rumors but not much has happened. So this will be a quick run though of the transfers that have happened and the rest of the rumors that people have been talking about. <br /><a name='more'></a><br />First let’s talk about the biggest transfer in the talks. Carlos Tevez. He has been wanting out of Manchester City for some time now. Inter Milan, AC Milan & PSG have all been in the race to sign the Argentine, but in the last few days Inter and PSG have apparently dropped out. I do have a feeling Inter will still be in it, they just might not make it priority. AC Milan say they are out of the race after signing Maxi Lopez. Now a new contender who is apparently close to completing a deal has appeared. This would mark the return of Tevez to the Hammers, the club he played or before Man United. If Tevez gets an offer you know he is going to leave because lately we haven’t seen pictures of him on the pitch, only some of him enjoying his time on the beach and on the golf green. <br /><br />Next, I just want to run through the transfers that have happened. Obviously, as we’ve talked about before, EPL clubs have really shopped in the US market this month. Thierry Henry, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane all have accepted 2 month loans to the EPL, until the MLS season starts, Henry to Arsenal, Donovan to Everton and Keane to Villa. Omar Gonzalez took a loan from LA Galaxy to FC Nuremberg, but got a quick injury and was sent back to LA as the injury is supposed to last till the end of this year. New York Red Bulls defender Tim Ream has finally accepted a transfer to Bolton after heading their train until the MLS season start. They needed a new centre-back after selling Gary Cahill. Chelsea signed Gary Cahill from Bolton for a nice 8.5 million. Should be a good fit next to John Terry and much better than Romeu. Chelsea sold Alex to PSG, probably a good move since AVB barely used him/ Arsenal on the other hand have been talking about buying a whole list of top strikers to pair with Robin Van Persie, but instead they signed Van Persie’s 5 year old son...<br /><br />Manchester United has been pretty busy compared to other clubs this transfer window, but mainly dealing with players leaving. Federico Macheda has taken a loan to QPR for the rest of the season. Should be a good move, giving the first team time he doesn’t get at United. They also sold Darron Gibson to Everton to make room for Paul Scholes returning from retirement. Their not-so-popular striker Mame Biram Diouf was actually being looked at by quite a few clubs. It turns out, he completed a transfer to Hannover 96 today. Good move for both Diouf and ManUtd, mainly because he never really got playing time. <br /><br />QPR have been doing anything to stay in the EPL and not getting relegated. First they sacked Neil Warnock and brought in Mark Hughes. Now, they have reached an agreement with AC Milan to take Taye Taiwo on a loan. Another loan that has happened in Emmanuel Frimpong from Arsenal to Wolverhampton. It’s a tough move because he has already picked up a pretty bad injury by being kicked in the face, but this stuff happens. <br /><br />That’s pretty much it so far and that’s mainly because it’s January. Why would a top player leave thei team half way into the season. This is normally a good time for loans and we’ve seen that with the MLS and EPL making some loan deals. <br /><br />What do you guys think deadline day will look like?<br />-JoeyBJoeyBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16326124765014785425noreply@blogger.com0