Friday, September 25, 2015

Blatter Questioned, Tottenham vs. Manchester City, Inter vs. Fiorentina, Sid Lowe in Spain, Napoli vs. Juventus, Basque Derby, Hamburg

Dick Advocaat and Louis van Gaal in 1995...

There goes another one, folks! The week is done and dusted (it was fun!) and we've a weekend of fantastic footie to look forward to. Before we focus on the pitch, let's take a gander at SPECTRE FIFA and Sepp Blatter. The Swiss are on him like white on rice. Nice! Now, then...


There's a Joy of Six today! It's Short-Lived Football Rule Changes. How about that?

Due to the mid-week action, there is a bit of a Scribes Special on offer today. Raphael Honigstein looks back on what happened and what's on deck for the Bundesliga, and Sid Lowe simply has to revisit the asswupping Celta Vigo put on Barcelona. Not to be left out, James Horncastle wants to report from Italy. No problem, James!

In terms of this weekend, Serie A features a clash in Milan of the top two in the table: Inter vs. Fiorentina. Here's your Weekend Preview for Italy.


Down in Spain, the Basque Derby dominates as Athletic Bilbao head up the highway to face Real Sociedad in San Sebastián. Here's your Weekend Preview for Spain. Oh, look! Here's your Major League Soccer Weekend Preview, too.

Hamburg. Great city. Two teams. Very different. Go.

And finally...it looks like Mike Dean's refereeing will most likely be debated in Parliament.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:30 AM 1 comments

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Arsenal Top Spurs Thanks to Flamini Brace, Celta Vigo Brutalize Barcelona, Liverpool Edge Carlisle on Penalties, Frosinone Hold Juventus, Livorno Serie A Alternative Club Guide

That ain't right...

Don't you love weeks like this? The matches come Fast and Furious and the action is fantastic. We had another thriller at White Hart Lane, a shock to the system for Barcelona, and a first-ever point in Serie A for Frosinone. Against the champions, no less. Let's get going, beginning in England, where the pressure is mounting on Brendan Rodgers...

Tottenham 1 - 2 Arsenal: David Hytner at White Hart Lane
Tottenham 1 - 2 Arsenal: Sachin Nakrani at White Hart Lane
Tottenham 1 - 2 Arsenal: Flamini's Winner
Liverpool 1 - 1 Carlisle United (3 - 2 Pens): Andy Hunter at Anfield
Newcastle 0 - 1 Sheffield Wednesday: Michael Walker at St. James' Park

As mentioned, big results in Spain, where the tricky trip to Vigo proved just that for Barcelona. They lost 4 - 1. Ouch! Meanwhile, Real Madrid toughed it out in Bilbao to go top of the table. Here's a review of yesterday's fun.

Stadio Armando Picchi, Livorno, Italia

There were games in Italy, too. Thankfully, ace Serie A Scribe Paolo Bandini is on hand with a wrap of the excellent mid-week fare from The Boot. Woo Hoo! Sticking with Italy, we've got another Serie A Alternative Guide. We love these things. This time it's...Livorno.

And here's a mid-week roundup for both Serie A and La Liga.

Oh, dear...
The 1995-1996 Premier League season was a big one for The Editor. The opportunity to watch loads of matches was a glorious (and lucky) thing. Glorious, too, was the Newcastle side from that season. Martin Hardy looks back at the 1995 Newcastle entertainers.


Ooooo! In light of Lewandowski's antics on Tuesday, Jonathan Wilson has his five most dominant performances of all time.

See you on Friday!

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 10:37 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Lewandowski Insanity, Tottenham vs. Arsenal, Costa Ban, Stevie G Book, Real Madrid at Bilbao


Happy Hump Day! Nowhere else to begin other than Munich where Bobby Lewandowski came off the bench to start the second half against Wolfsburg and scored FIVE GOALS in just a few minutes. Here's your access to all the fun. Spoiler alert: The fifth is the best.

Right. League Cup action continues this afternoon and the North London Derby is the main event. Elsewhere, Liverpool host Carlisle United, Ipswich go to Manchester United, and Walsall host Chelsea. Yesterday, Villa beat rivals Birmingham and Man City had little trouble at Sunderland. Here are some previews for today's action:

Tottenham vs. Arsenal: Preview
Wenger's League Cup Debutants: Vela to Van Persie, Sunu to Cesc

Diego Costa's been banned for three matches. Paul Wilson isn't having it, and a lot of other pundits think it might be just what Chelsea need to get going.


Oh, boy. Steven Gerrard has a book out. Here are Ten Things We Learned from said book.

In Spain yesterday, Atlético Madrid won to go top to the table (for the moment). And Moe's Real Sociedad also got the much needed three points. Today, Barcelona and Real Madrid both go on the road and face Celta Vigo and Athletic Bilbao, respectively.

Meanwhile, in Italy, Balotelli scored as Milan won at Udinese. All the other matches are today. Here's a Preview that we also linked to yesterday.

We've not done a Grant Wahl Mailbag in a while. Time to to remedy that. Here.

And finally...how about some MLS salary info?

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:15 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

League Cup, Scribes, Midweek Euro Action


We say! A very fine day to you. It's Tuesday and that means it's time to go IN DEPTH and get to the heart of the matter. It's...Scribes!



Where? France. Who? Julien Laurens. What? Ibrahimovic is not in decline; he's evolving

Where? South America. Who? Tim Vickery. What? Positive World Cup legacy, but not everyone is happy

Where? Italy. Who? Paolo Bandini. What? Napoli blow away Lazio but Serie A title talk is premature

Where? Spain. Who? Graham Hunter. What? Griezmann could grow even stronger

Speaking of Europe, there are mid-week matches in Spain and Italy to enjoy. Here's your Serie A Preview and here's your La Liga Preview. Things are not going well for Moe over in San Sebastian.

What the bloody hell is going wrong at Liverpool? Let's ask a Liverpool expert. Andy Hunter has Five Key Questions about the crisis at Anfield.


Podcast! Today's Football Weekly features James Richardson officiating between Michael Cox and Owen Gibson with Barry Glendenning acting as peacekeeper. Or something like that. We begin the brouhaha at the Bridge, where Chelsea beat and riled Arsenal for the umpteenth time, and the record books will show that Diego Costa didn't commit a single foul. Arsenal head to Tottenham in the League Cup next - how long until it turns ugly for Arsène Wenger again? Next, we discuss West Ham's victory against Manchester City and Liverpool's insipid display at home to Norwich, before moving onto the plights of Newcastle and Sunderland, who look set to be fighting over the wooden spoon for the rest of the season. Finally, we hear from Ewan Murray about the team that's made the best start to a season anywhere in Europe - yes, it's everything you ever wanted to know about Aberdeen!
Major League Soccer. We need some Thoughts, Top XI, and Power Rankings. Please. Thank you.

What's in Your Wallet? League Cup matches, that's what. It's the Third Round, so the Bog Boys are getting involved. Here's a wee preview.

That's all, folks!

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 1:28 PM 0 comments

Monday, September 21, 2015

Costa's Dark Arts Sink Arsenal, Martial's Arts Lift United, Napoli Hit Five, Pressure On Rodgers, More Messi Magic, Mayhem In Marseille, Son Sinks Palace, Hammers Shock City, Totti Scores Number 300


Hey now! How about that? A couple of red cards in the Chelsea/Arsenal clash, Napoli are firing on all cylinders, Martial is already paying off his massive fee, Totti scored his 300th goal, two goals from Messi and Barcelona are still perfect, both Milan teams are winning again, Real Madrid could only edge Granada at home, and Juventus finally won. Woof! Let's begin with the tons and tons of fallout in the Premier League, shall we?

Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal: Phil McNulty at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal: Daniel Taylor at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal: Barney Ronay at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal: Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
Manchester City 1 - 2 West Ham: Paul Wilson at the Etihad Stadium
Manchester City: 1 - 2 West Ham: Three Observations
Southampton 2 - 3 Manchester United: Paul Doyle at St. Mary's
Southampton 2 - 3 Manchester United: Jonathan Wilson at St. Mary's
Liverpool 1 - 1 Norwich City: Three Quick Thoughts

Valbuena effigy...

Meanwhile, down in France, Mathieu Valbuena returned to his old stadium in Marseille with Lyon for the first time since leaving a few years back. The Marseille fans were none too pleased. Here's a European Wrap that includes the suspension of the Marseille/Lyon fixture.

Sticking with Europe, let's check in with Guillem Balague and his take on the situation in Spain. Fernando Torres is kicking ass again, for one thing. Here's your Weekend Review for La Liga, along with a Hangover. More tomorrow with the Scribes.

Up in Italy, as mentioned, Juventus finally won a match. Here's your Weekend Review for Serie A. More tomorrow with the Scribes.


Uh, oh. Stevie G is upsetting the assGalaxy's rhythm, apparently. Here are Five Things We Learned in Major League Soccer over the weekend.

Top Tenner, people! What else but Top Windup Merchants? Fancy a bit of Pepe, Suarez, Gazza, Dennis Wise, Adebayor, and Robbie Savage? Do it.

That's more than enough to get the week rolling, we think!

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:07 AM 0 comments
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