SSN is a digest of the day's soccer/football/futbol articles with a focus on the top European leagues and the United States National Team. Below, you’ll find links to articles and video, as well as additional features and commentary. We locate the top news of the day so you can stay updated with ease.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Fa Cup Fourth-Round Draw: Non-league Havant in possible trip to Liverpool
Non-leaguers Havant and Waterlooville might have a trip to Anfield against Liverpool should both win their FA Cup third round replays, following the fourth round draw on Monday. Havant are the lowest-ranked team left in the competition and held English League One leaders Swansea 1-1 at the weekend and are at home to the Welsh side in a replay next week, while Rafael Benitez's side must overcome Luton to reach the last 32.FA Cup 4th Rd Draw:
Arsenal v Stoke, Newcastle/Coventry v Walsall/ Millwall, Oldham v Huddersfield, Swindon/ Barnet v Fulham/ Bristol Rovers, Wigan v Chelsea, Luton/ Liverpool v Swansea/ Havant & W, Southend v Barnsley Southampton v Norwich/ Bury, Manchester United v Tottenham/ Reading Portsmouth v Plymouth, Derby/ Sheffield Wednesday v Preston, Watford v Wolverhampton, Peterborough v Charlton/ West Brom, Sheffield United v West Ham/ Man City, Mansfield v Middlesbrough, Tranmere/ Hereford v Cardiff
FA Cup Reports
Sunday: Derby, Fulham Held; Arsenal Through
Luton 1 - 1 Liverpool
Saturday:
Aston Villa 0 - 2 Manchester United
Rooney the new super-sub
Everton 0 - 1 Oldham
Oldham's reward for dumping Everton? £75 each
Blackburn 1 - 4 Coventry City
Alarmingly poor Rovers
Chelsea 1 - 0 Queen's Park Rangers
Own-goal settles it
West Ham 0 - 0 Manchester City
Keepers impress
Figo move doesn't make sense for Galaxy
We have heard about Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham (the only one to come true) and now we have Luis Figo as the latest alumnus of Real Madrid's failed "Galacticos" experiment to be tied to a move to the United States.
Friday, January 04, 2008
FA Cup Third Round Preview – Mud, Myths & Magic
There is still an aura of magic about the first Saturday in January, when the Third Round of the FA Cup is staged, even though the world’s oldest knockout competition has lost a little of its lustre in recent years under a succession of small but cumulatively significant cuts.
And the BBC's Match of the Day editor looks forward to the Third Round.
La Liga Weekend Preview: Round 18
Round 18 kicks off with Barcelona playing catch-up on Saturday evening, and concludes with a double header of Madrid-Zaragoza and, above all, Sevilla-Betis...La Liga Returns
Saturday 5 January 2008 (all times local)
20:00 Mallorca - Barcelona
22:00 Espanyol - Villarreal
Sunday 6 January
17:00 Deportivo - Atletico Madrid
17:00 Getafe - Valladolid
17:00 Murcia - Osasuna
17:00 Racing - Athletic
17:00 Recreativo - Almeria
17:00 Valencia - Levante
19:00 Real Madrid - Zaragoza
21:00 Sevilla - Betis
Hutton spurns Spurs to stick with Rangers
The Rangers manager Walter Smith today confirmed that defender Alan Hutton has turned down a potential move to Tottenham Hotspur.
True -- not if they keep leaking goals and can't sign a defender.
Time is running out for Liverpool - and Benítez too
It was once unthinkable that Liverpool would surpass Manchester United's 26 years without a title win. Now it looks almost inevitable.
...nobody seriously thought English football's most successful institution would ever embark on the kind of barren domestic run Old Trafford suffered between 1967 and 1993.
John Barnes and his short shorts celebrate Liverpool's last title in 1990.
The 3-5-2: Questions and Inquiries
Goal.com USA's Greg Lalas has several questions, including those surrounding Tottenham's prolific striker Dimitar Berbatov, the lack of anyone crushing on Avram Grant and the choices made by U.S. National Team head coach Bob Bradley for his January training camp.
That's a smile...sort of...
Beane brings "Moneyball" approach to MLS
"If you get the data, what you're trying to ultimately achieve is: What is the intrinsic value of this player's performance?" Beane said. "What is he paid, and what should he be paid?"
Ernst Bouwes in Holland: What was hot and what was not
The halcyon days of wine and roses may be over in Dutch football, but suspense has made up for a lack of quality and success on the European stage. The last day of the 2006-07 league season was the most spectacular finale in national history as three clubs headed the virtual leaderboard at some point during the afternoon and, in the end, just one goal decided the title race eventually. The year 2007 had several of these ups and downs:
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Silent majority claim Old Trafford has been ‘turned into police state’
The man was threatened with ejection and, by half-time, with his efforts to sing and shout having met calls to sit down and shut up, his enthusiasm had gone. He will know what one United supporter was talking about yesterday when he likened Old Trafford to “a police state”.
Galarcep: The Top 10 Story Lines of 2007
What is the best way to measure how good 2007 was for American soccer fans? Consider how easy it has been to forget the disaster that was 2006.
The U.S. national team crashed out of the World Cup, longtime stars Claudio Reyna, Brian McBride and Eddie Pope retired, and the subsequent search to replace departed head coach Bruce Arena turned into a fiasco. American fans were understandably concerned about what 2007 would bring.
Top 50 Transfer Targets
The reasons players switch clubs are many. They might be unwanted, wanted by a bigger fish, or it may be down to their contractual situation. Gabriele Marcotti identifies 50 who could be packing their bags either in this transfer window or in the summer.
From Ronaldinho to Ronaldo, they're in no particular order.
Wednesday's EPL Reports + Table
Toon Army calls for the sack
Bolton 1 - 0 Derby County
Stelios strike in injury time a brutal blow for Rams
Blackburn 1 - 0 Sunderland
Keane's crew in trouble
The table -- Played and Points:
| Arsenal | 21 | 50 |
| Man Utd | 21 | 48 |
| Chelsea | 21 | 44 |
| Man City | 21 | 39 |
| Liverpool | 20 | 38 |
| Everton | 21 | 36 |
| Aston Villa | 21 | 36 |
| Portsmouth | 21 | 34 |
| Blackburn | 21 | 33 |
| West Ham Utd | 20 | 29 |
| Newcastle | 21 | 26 |
| Tottenham | 21 | 24 |
| Reading | 21 | 22 |
| Bolton | 21 | 20 |
| Middlesbrough | 21 | 20 |
| Birmingham | 21 | 19 |
| Wigan Athletic | 21 | 17 |
| Sunderland | 21 | 17 |
| Fulham | 21 | 15 |
| Derby County | 21 | 7 |
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
China players make million-dollar World Cup pledge
"I pledge to advance to the World Cup, which is the professional goal that we strive for," the players recited on Tuesday, according to the paper.
"We swear by death to kill along the bloody road of defending the honour of the motherland and realise our youthful dreams."
United's silent fans blasted by angry Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson described Old Trafford as having the atmosphere of a "funeral" when he spoke after Manchester United's 1-0 win over Birmingham City. Carlos Tevez's goal means the champions have won 10 league games in a row on their own ground but Ferguson was distinctly unimpressed with United's supporters, accusing them of letting down the team.
Five things we learned over the festive football period
Arsenal are in it for the long haul, Tottenham still can't defend and Roy Hodgson needs to think up a decent half-time team talk fast.
Martin Rogers: Soccer's people to watch in 2008
Juan Carlos Osorio. The Red Bull company is not interested in being a middle-of-the-road organization and is determined to establish its MLS team as one of the league's leading lights. Enter Osorio – the man in charge of turning around the underperforming New York Red Bulls after walking out on the Chicago Fire. Osorio did a solid job in Chicago, and his tactical style should suit main scoring threat Juan Pablo Angel. However, expectations will be high and Osorio will need a deep run in the playoffs to keep his paymasters happy.
EPL Wrap: Arsenal & United Win, Maintain Status Quo
Arsenal and Manchester United both won at home - 2-0 against West Ham and 1-0 against Birmingham, respectively - to maintain the order at te top of the Premier League. Everton got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory at Middlesbrough, while Portsmouth bounced back with a 2-0 win at Reading.
Status Quo
Premier League Team Of The Season So Far
Green (West Ham)
Mellberg (Aston Villa) Dunne (Manchester City) Vidic (Manchester United) Clichy (Arsenal)
Ronaldo (Manchester United) Fabregas (Arsenal) Cahill (Everton) Elano (Manchester City)
Richard Jolly at Old Trafford
Manchester United 1 - 0 BirminghamMANCHESTER UNITED VERDICT: In his absence - for the majority of the match, anyway - United displayed why Owen Hargreaves is essential to add steel in the centre of the pitch. The more encouraging contributions were provided by Ji-sung Park and Nani, lively on either flank, though United could have benefited from either displaying a cutting edge. Ronaldo, prolific on the wing, failed to score as a striker.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Richard Williams on Newcastle
The trouble with Newcastle is not Allardyce - it's Newcastle
The Newcastle faithful's neediness is the problem on Tyneside, not Sam Allardyce's tactics.
Who's Going to the African Nations Cup?
Around 40 Premier League players could leave the domestic season in England to link up with their national team. Portsmouth could be most affected with five of Harry Redknapp's squad likely to be called up for national duty.Chelsea: John Obi Mikel (Nigeria), Didier Drogba and Saloman Kalou (Ivory Coast), Michael Essien (Ghana)
EPL Wednesday Previews + Table
Fasteddy's Tips
Your Guide to Today's Matches
Freddie Makes "Emotional" Return to Arsenal
The Table
| P | GD | PTS | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Arsenal | 20 | 24 | 47 | ||||||||||
| 2 | Man Utd | 20 | 26 | 45 | ||||||||||
| 3 | Chelsea | 20 | 16 | 41 | ||||||||||
| 4 | Liverpool | 19 | 21 | 37 | ||||||||||
| 5 | Man City | 20 | 5 | 36 | ||||||||||
| 6 | Everton | 20 | 13 | 33 | ||||||||||
| 7 | Aston Villa | 20 | 9 | 33 | ||||||||||
| 8 | Portsmouth | 20 | 9 | 31 | ||||||||||
| 9 | Blackburn | 20 | -1 | 30 | ||||||||||
| 10 | West Ham | 19 | 8 | 29 | ||||||||||
| 11 | Newcastle | 20 | -4 | 26 | ||||||||||
| 12 | Tottenham | 20 | 5 | 24 | ||||||||||
| 13 | Reading | 20 | -13 | 22 | ||||||||||
| 14 | Middlesbrough | 20 | -15 | 20 | ||||||||||
| 15 | Birmingham | 20 | -9 | 19 | ||||||||||
| 16 | Bolton | 20 | -10 | 17 | ||||||||||
| 17 | Sunderland | 20 | -19 | 17 | ||||||||||
| 18 | Wigan | 20 | -16 | 16 | ||||||||||
| 19 | Fulham | 20 | -14 | 15 | ||||||||||
| 20 | Derby | 20 | -35 | 7 | ||||||||||
Twenty six players picked for U.S. national team camp
The Yanks play a friendly against Sweden in L.A. on January 19.
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Will Hesmer (Columbus), Matt Pickens (Chicago), Zach Wells (D.C.)
Defenders: Dan Califf (Aalborg, Denmark), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City), Ramiro Corrales (Brann, Norway), Todd Dunivant (Toronto), Clarence Goodson (San Jose), Drew Moor (Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New England), Eddie Robinson (Houston), Marvell Wynne (Toronto)
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Salt Lake), Ricardo Clark (Houston), Brad Davis (Houston), Maurice Edu (Toronto), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Justin Mapp (Chicago), Pat Noonan (New England)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (New York), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City), Chris Rolfe (Chicago), Taylor Twellman (New England), Jeremiah White (Aarhus, Denmark)