Friday, January 30, 2015

Costa Banned, Chelsea vs. Manchester City, Bundesliga is Back, Congolese Derby?, Transfer Nuttiness


Welcome to Friday, friends! We've somehow reached the end of another week. As noted above, Diego Costa has been rightfully banned from participating in The Beautiful Game by making it decidedly not beautiful thanks to his propensity for going postal and stamping Liverpool players. The ban certainly adds a twist to the TOP OF THE TABLE CLASH that will take place tomorrow at Stamford Bridge (12:30 p.m. EST on NBC). Let's get to all the previews and see what the hell else is going on in the wonderful world of The Foot.

Chelsea vs. Manchester City: Key Battles

Yet another Yank Abroad is no longer a Yank Abroad. Juan Agudelo has failed in Europe and he will now be based in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Er...welcome back?

Down in Africa, they're blessing the rains with the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations. 

Saturday – Congo vs. Congo DR 
Saturday – Tunisia vs. Equitorial 
Sunday – Ghana vs. Guinea 
Sunday – Ivory Coast vs. Algeria 


Over in Asia, they've reached the final. Looks like it'll be South Korea vs. Australia. Apparently, there is a fairytale in the making with a certain Korean striker. Here's your preview for the match itself.

Goodness gracious, they do hibernate for a long time in Germany, do they not? The long sleep is finally over and there will be top-flight football in Germany this weekend. Here's your Preview. More? Sure, why not?

Spain? They'll be rocking, too. Real Madrid in particular. Here's your Preview. 

Italy? You know it. Milan and Parma are in trouble (crisis!!) and face each other on Sunday at the San Siro. Here's your Preview.


Richard Williams is a favorite scribe around SSN Headquarters. Today, his headline reads, "Euro 2012 left little mark on Ukraine, still haunted by its history." And then, there's this: "Few major tournaments can have felt so irrelevant to their time and place as the last European Championship and the potential fault lines in Ukraine were apparent to those who cared to look." Dig in.


That will be all, folks. Get to it.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:51 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Costa's Dark Arts Defeat Liverpool, Scribes, Copa del Rey, Abu Dhabi Bernabéu, USA vs. Chile



Apologies. We lost our key to the new SSN Headquarters and failed to deliver a post yesterday. Really. We're sorry. 

Right! Diego Costa is a dirty player. Do we all agree? Good. Let's roll...

Chelsea 1 - 0 Liverpool (aet, agg. 2 - 1): Phil McNulty at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea 1 - 0 Liverpool (aet, agg. 2 - 1): Five Talking Points
Chelsea 1 - 0 Liverpool (aet, agg. 2 - 1): Five Questions

So, Chelsea will face the winner of the Sheffield United/Tottenham semifinal. That match is at Bramall Lane and United need to overturn a 0 - 1 deficit. Here's a preview.

African Cup of Nations? African Nations Cup? Whatever you want to call it, Algeria are through. As are Ghana. Today is the last matchday of the group stage and it features Cameroon vs. Ivory Coast and Guinea vs. Mali. Oddly enough, each team has an identical record, which could mean (gasp!) the drawing of lots! Here's more on all of that with Kirsten.

This afternoon brings us more fun from Spain, where second leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final between Atlético Madrid and Barcelona goes down at the Estadio Vicente Calderón. Barca are up 1 - 0. Here's your preview. Hit beIN Sports at 3:00 p.m. EST to view.

We were hoping she'd do it and she has. Our favorite Argentine scribe, Marcela Mora y Araujo, has written about Juan Ramon Riquelme now that he's hung up his boots. Excellent. Enjoy.

Speaking of scribes, we missed them yesterday. Let's go back in time and make things right:



Where? South America. Who? Tim Vickery. What? Juan Roman Riquelme: The master of his art will be missed by Argentina

Where? Italy. Who? Paolo Bandini. What? Parma's shrinking violets facing a sour future in Serie A

Where? Germany. Who? Uli Hesse. What? Ten memorable Bundesliga post-winter-break match-days

Where? Spain. Who? Graham Hunter. What? Cristiano Ronaldo, red card hysteria needs to calm down

Abu Dhabi Bernabéu. Get used to it, people.

Kaká is in Orlando. Pardon us, but we forgot. Grant Wahl is on hand to remind us, thankfully.






Onward!!

-SSN

nbcsoccer.com
Posted by The Editor at 11:26 AM 0 comments

Monday, January 26, 2015

The Romance of the Cup, Ronny Sees Red, African Cup of Nations, Barca Hit for Six, Mexes Gets Mad, Riquelme Retires, Good Times in Belgium

The Bantams in Dreamland...

Whew! How about that for a weekend of footie, eh? Chelsea? Up two-nil at The Bridge and lose to Bradford City. Manchester City? Failed to score upon return from a mid-week Middle Eastern jaunt and were ousted at the Etihad by Boro. Southampton? Also lost at home. Palace knocked them out thanks to goals from Chamakh and Sanogo. Yes, you read that right. Tottenham? You guessed it. They lost at home to Leicester. Elsewhere, Cambridge United held Manchester United, Arsenal managed to hold on to win at Brighton, and Liverpool and Bolton couldn't score. Let's roll right into the FA Cup Fourth Round fallout and then head to the Continent...

Cambridge United 0 - 0 Manchester United: Phil McNulty at Abbey Stadium
Cambridge United 0 - 0 Manchester United: Daniel Taylor at Abbey Stadium
Chelsea 2 - 4 Bradford City: Russell Kempson at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea 2 - 4 Bradford City: Three Thoughts
Tottenham 1 - 2 Leicester City: Alan Smith at White Hart Lane
Tottenham 1 - 2 Leicester City: Three Thoughts
Manchester City 0 - 2 Middlesbrough: Paul Wilson at the Etihad Stadium
Southampton 2 - 3 Crystal Palace: Jacob Steinberg at St. Mary's Stadium
Liverpool 0 - 0 Bolton: Andy Hunter at Anfield
Brighton & Hove Albion 2 - 3 Arsenal: Barney Ronay at the Amex Stadium

Over in Italy, Inter lost at home to Torino, AC Milan lost in Rome to Lazio, and Juventus cruised past Chievo. Here's a wrap. Mexes? Yeah, he went a little nuts. Paul Pogba? He went a little nuts, too. But, in a good way...


Want more of Paul against Chievo? Check it.

Speaking of nuts, the Anderlecht/Standard Liege match provided plenty. Steven Defour got all (understandably) riled up by the Liege fans and their grotesque banner, and the fans got all pissed and threw chairs, and it was a good 'ol time! Check it out here. What's the deal, anyway? Learn more here.

Good grief. Spain? Ronaldo lost his marbles, too! It didn't matter, though. Gareth Bale saved the day with a penalty. Elsewhere, Messi and Neymar had a little fun in their 6 - 0 demolition of Elche.


Seems a bit excessive, no?
Juan Roman Riquelme has retired.  A classic Number 10 in the Pirlo mold, Riquelme always had his critics but was one of the few players we've seen who could single-handedly dictate the pace of a match. Suerte, Juan!

There is so much going on in the African Cup of Nations it's difficult to focus. Click here to begin your journey. The Group Stage continues through Wednesday. Hosts Equatorial Guinea have progressed to the Quarters, along with Congo. Today you've got Cape Verde Islands vs. Zambia and Tunisia vs. Democratic Republic of Congo.

Also today? Rochdale vs. Stoke City in another Fourth Round FA Cup tie. Head over to Fox Sports 2 at 3:00 p.m. EST to check out the action at Spotland. Will there be another upset?

Right! That'll have to do for this Monday!

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 12:15 PM 0 comments

Friday, January 23, 2015

FA Cup, Asian Cup, African Nations Cup, Hope Solo

Bloody Hell. Sorry for the absence. Hopefully your hearts have grown fonder. We had no idea how much stuff had accumulated at SSN Headquarters and it simply overwhelmed us. We're (kind of) settled in a temporary facility so we're going to attempt to get a post done while we have a minute. Some of our staff remain on unpaid leave, but we'll do the best we can.



Right! Where to begin? We suppose the FA Cup would be appropriate. We've reached the Fourth Round, friends, and matches such as Rochdale vs. Stoke, Derby vs. Chesterfield, and Aston Villa vs. Bournemouth are poised to ignite! Here are 10 Things To Look Out For. Here are Lawro's and Dion Dublin's predictions. Here's a Preview of the Round Four, which begins this afternoon with Manchester United's trip to Cambridge.

David Trezeguet has retired. Michael Cox takes a look back at the prolific Frenchman's career here.

Over in Asia, the United Arab Emirates stunned defending champs Japan to advance to a semi-final clash with the Aussies (see Cahill's bicycle above). Meanwhile, Iraq beat Iran on penalties. The Iraqis will play South Korea in the other Semi. Here's a wrap. And look! Iranian women can actually attend a match! Fancy that!


Has it really been 20 years since Eric Cantona went all Kung-Fu at Crystal Palace? We are getting old. Here's a look back at that shocking affair.


Barney Ronay's got a good piece out today. He's talking about the financial benefits enjoyed by the London clubs. Here are a nice couple of lines: "The fact is, and I write as someone who has lived here all his life, these days it feels as though nobody really loves or even likes London that much. Not least because London doesn’t actually want to be liked, but presents itself instead as a beautiful, frightening, frictionless economic machine."

The next Freddy Adu is here. His name is Martin Odegaard. He's signed at Real Madrid. Here's all you need to know about the kid.


Serie A? Yes. Lazio/AC Milan and Fiorentina/Roma look good. Here's a Preview of the weekend's schedule.

Das Bundesliga is still hibernating, but Raphael Honigstein is on hand to remind us that Borussia Dortmund are in big trouble. Could they actually go down?

La Liga? Yes. Here are Six Storylines to watch over the next few days in Spain.

Over at the African Nations Cup, Jonathan Wilson's talking about Ghana and their must-win match with Algeria this morning. Their manager is Avram Grant. Oh, dear. That competition is still in the group stage. Kirsten Schlewitz breaks down today's action here.

And finally...more bad news for Hope Solo. It looks like the end for her career. Hopefully she can get some help.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:17 AM 2 comments

Monday, January 12, 2015

Headquarters Relocation

Happy Monday! 




SSN is relocating to a new facility, and posting will be sporadic in the meantime. We hope to be fully moved in by one week from today.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 1:04 PM 0 comments

Friday, January 09, 2015

Lampard Lunacy, Derby della Capitale, Barcelona vs. Atlético Madrid, Napoli vs. Juventus, Manchester United vs. Southampton

Wait. What?

Hey...OH! There goes another one. We've arrived at Friday, and Frank Lampard is sick and tired of the lies and nonsense regarding his FC Bayer New York City Athletic Football Club. You see, it's all really just a "commitment" to play and there's no "loan" and it's just some training thing so he can stay fit for the MLS season. Right? Good Grief.

Let's try and distance ourselves from all of that nonsense with some previews. Here's your lot for the Premier League. 



Over in Italy there are a couple of tasty dishes getting prepared for Sunday. Fancy some Roma vs. Lazio? Hmmm? Or, perhaps you'd prefer a little Napoli vs. Juventus? Yummy!

Back in Spain the biggie is Atlético Madrid at Barcelona. That should be a good one. Here's a Weekend Preview for La Liga.


Ronald Koeman has done a fabulous job of keeping Southampton in the wins despite the loss of key personnel. Daniel Taylor takes a closer look at the Dutch gaffer.

Predictions! Who will finish where in the Premier League? Let's look at the numbers.

Guillem Balague has a piece on just how far Atlético Madrid have come. You should read it.

Have you guys checked out Felipe Anderson? Dude plays for Lazio and he's tearing shit up. Check it.

Hey! That's it. Enjoy the weekend of football.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:13 AM 0 comments

Thursday, January 08, 2015

Atlético Defeat Real, Transfer Rumors, Harry Kane, Shaq to Inter

El Niño returns.

Right! Off and running today. The Atléticos defeated the Reals in the latest battle for Madrileño supremacy yesterday. The side from the Vicente Calderón walked out 2-0 winners of the Copa del Rey Round of 16 First-Leg clash. As you might hope and expect, Sid Lowe was there and he filed this report. Torres played but didn't do much. Here are Three Points. Here are Three Things We Learned.

Harry Kane. What's the deal with this guy? He's having quite the season for Spurs, is he not? Richard Jolly wants to know why and he wants to tell us about it. Excellent. Conveniently, James Riach has a look at Ridgeway Rovers, the youth club where it all began for Kane. And a certain Golden Balled-one...

As noted yesterday, Serie A returned to action with aplomb. Paolo Bandini is over there and is ready to bring us up to speed on this week's slate of matches. Grazie, Paolo.

If you read the transfer guff above you'll see that Xherdan Shaqiri has left Bayern Munich to sign with Inter Milan. Why?

Bloody Hell. Barcelona in Crisis!!!!!! The BBC's Lee Roden investigates the Catalan Calamity. Rik Sharma wonders what it all means, and Sid Lowe says it's all about Messi and Enrique. Enough? Good.

That's really about it for this Thursday. See you tomorrow for all the weekend previews.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 12:14 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid, Sid Lowe in Spain, Philippe Auclair in France, Juve and Inter Draw, Adebayo Akinfenwa, Barcelona Crisis?!

Adebayo Akinfenwa
Goodness Gracious. Hump Day already. SSN Headquarters suffered an infestation of locusts yesterday and we were forced to shut down operations. But! We are back. Let's roll...

The FA Cup Third Round plodded on yesterday as Everton struck late to claim a 1-1 draw with West Ham. Andy Hunter was at Goodison Park and filed this report. Richard Jolly was also there and has Three Points.

The SSN Staff took in the Wimbledon/Liverpool match the other day. It was fun. Watching Adebayo Akinfenwa made it especially fun. Here's more about that guy. And here's your FA Cup Fourth Round Draw:

Southampton or Ipswich Town v Crystal Palace
Cambridge United v Manchester United
Blackburn Rovers v Swansea City
Chelsea v Millwall or Bradford City
Derby County v Scunthorpe or Chesterfield
Preston NE v Sheffield United
Birmingham City v West Brom
Aston Villa v AFC Bournemouth
Cardiff City v Reading
Liverpool v Bolton Wanderers
Burnley or Tottenham v Leicester City
Brighton & HA v Arsenal
Rochdale v Stoke City
Sunderland v Fulham or Wolves
Doncaster or Bristol City v Everton or West Ham
Manchester City v Middlesbrough

Before we leave the FA Cup, Michael Cox has his tactics on and says we should all stop expecting upsets. Thanks, Debbie Downer!

There were a slew of matches in Italy yesterday as Serie A got back up and running. Here are Five Things We Learned, including the fact that Juventus' killer instinct is dulled. And here's a wee wrap of all the action over there in the big boot.

Bah. We missed our usual Tuesday scribe run so let's play some catch-up. These pieces are too good to miss. Most of the action is in Spain:









There's a big match this afternoon. It The Madrid Derby, this time in the Copa del Rey. Here's a 50/50 Challenge and here's a preview. Hit the telly at 3:00 p.m. EST on beIN Sports USA. Word is Torres is set to start! Oh, the drama! Will The Curse continue?

Woop! We out.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:04 AM 0 comments

Monday, January 05, 2015

Wimbledon vs. Liverpool, Moyes Beats Barcelona, Real Madrid Lose, Serie A Returns, FA Cup Reviews

A very pleasant Monday to you and yours. Let's get started in Spain, shall we? The acción resumed after the winter break and what acción it was! Real Madrid lost! That's their first defeat in 22 matches. Valencia took them down at the Mestalla. What else? How about this? David Moyes enjoyed his best moment (by far) since his arrival in Spain because his Real Sociedad side beat Barcelona! Well done, Moe. Of course, it probably helped that Messi and Neymar didn't play in the first half, but still, how did he do it?

Elsewhere, 40,000 fans showed up to welcome Fernando Torres back to Atlético Madrid. Here are Five Things We Learned in La Liga. More tomorrow with El Sid.


Vinny Jones and Dennis Wise enjoy some cards on the way to Wembley.

Back in England, the league took a break in order for the FA Cup to get a round in. The Third Round, to be precise. No big surprises. Here are 15 Talking Points from the round. Here are the Heroes & Villains. What else? Amy Lawrence has dubbed Arsenal's Alexis Sánchez as a "bionic mosquito." Nice. We approve. Oh, and Richard Jolly has Three Points from Manchester City's narrow win over Sheffield Wednesday. And here's a wrap is you want more.

The round isn't over, though. There are two matches today. Burnley host Spurs (Burnley fans don't seem terribly excited), and it's a rematch of the 1988 final between Wimbledon and Liverpool. The BBC has a nice rewind to that epic and shocking final, here is a preview, and here are 11 Things You Need To Know.

No.

Look who's back. Back again. Serie A. Lazio and Samp clash today and everyone else joins the party domani. We really enjoy it when those lazy continental leagues decide to end their holidays and get back on the pitch...

Oh, look at this. What a surprise. Stevie G will join the assGalaxy. Shocking. Grant Wahl's got the exclusive from Commish Garber. Wonder what Bobbie BS thinks about that? We love us some MLS here at SSN Headquarters! Yes, yes we do...

Daniel Taylor has a solid piece on Margaret Thatcher and her government's attempt to address hooliganism and racism in football. Oh, dear.


That just might do it for this first day of the week. Keep it tite.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:25 AM 0 comments

Friday, January 02, 2015

Spurs Spank Chelsea, Gerrard to Leave Liverpool, More on Zelalem, FA Cup Previews, La Liga Returns, Andy Carroll's House



Happy New Year and Happy Friday!

There's nothing like a New Year's Day of footie to get things rolling around SSN Headquarters. The Big Result from yesterday was this: Tottenham 5 - 3 Chelsea. Elsewhere, Lamps lifted City to victory over Sunderland, United and Stoke drew, Southampton and Szczęsny defeated Arsenal, Liverpool and Leicester drew, and Everton lost again. Let's examine...

Tottenham 5 - 3 Chelsea: Dominic Fifield at White Hart Lane
Tottenham 5 - 3 Chelsea: Barney Ronay at White Hart Lane
Stoke City 1 - 1 Manchester United: Stuart James at the Britannia Stadium
Manchester City 3 - 2 Sunderland: Five Talking Points
Southampton 2 - 0 Arsenal: David Hytner at St. Mary's

As noted in the subject line, Stevie G has decided it's time to leave the club he's been with since 1934 so he can spend more time listening to Phil Collins. The Liverpool icon will depart at the end of the season. Daniel Taylor thinks it's the right move. As do we. Here are his Five Best Moments as Liverpool player. The "United Piledriver" sticks out for the Editor because he saw the shot on a big screen in a pub in Highbury. An odd memory...

It was reported earlier in the week that Gedion Zelalem is an American citizen and will likely join the U.S. Men's National Team. Let's take a closer look at this lad with Nick Ames, shall we?

No surprise here: Andy Carroll has no taste.

Nice use of LinkedIn...

It was also reported earlier in the week that Fernando Torres is returning to Atlético Madrid. Top scribe Richard Williams looks at Torres' "strange journey from storm-force striker to bargaining chip." Meanwhile, Top scribe Sid Lowe says that getting Torres back together with his old captain Diego Simeone could result in something special.

Sticking with La Liga, here's a Preview for the weekend. Their winter break is over!


It's FA Cup time as the Third Round gets underway tomorrow. Here are Ten Things to Look Out For. And a Preview. And...another Preview.

Grant Wahl says City keeping Lampard from NYC ain't right. Agreed.

And finally, Ronaldhino won New Year's Eve.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 12:18 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Gedion Zelalem is an American, Liverpool Swamp Swansea, The Mill Returns, Pardew Back to Palace, Torres Back to Atlético Madrid, West Brom Sack Irvine

Danny Rose gets in the spirit...
Right! We gave all the SSN Staff plenty of days off for Christmas, including those who do not celebrate the holiday. It didn't seem fair to exclude them, frankly. Anyway, we're back (at least for a day or so) to get caught up on things. Last night, Liverpool cruised past Swansea thanks to Adam Lallallalanna's two goals, one of which was assisted nicely by Lukasz Fabianski. Poor Pole. Andy Hunter was at Anfield and filed this report. Richard Jolly was also present and left with Three Points.

Alan Pardew has left Newcastle, but not in the manner most expected a few months ago. He's about to take the job at Palace now that Neil Warnock is no longer the gaffer at Selhurst Park. Pardew played at Palace from 1987-1991. So who's next in line to hang with Mike Ashley at St. James', then? Not a terribly enticing post, is it? No. It's not. Meanwhile, West Brom have sacked Alan Irvine after just seven months, and Tony Pubis and Tim Sherwood are on the shortlist to take over at The Hawthorns.

Another guy who's going back to his old club is Fernando Torres. He's is going back to Atlético Madrid. Will it re-start his career? There's nowhere to go but up, sadly. Spanish expert Sid Lowe thinks it might actually head that way for El Niño. We sure hope so. 

Southampton fans get in the spirit...

We've reached the midpoint of the Premier League campaign. Thanks to Phil McNulty as he offers his team-by-team analysis on how it's all gone thus far. And to Ian Darke, as well.

Also looking back is Jonathan Wilson. He's got some tactical reviews. First: Three at the back is back in fashion. Second: Tiki-taka’s exile and counter-counters.

Where Are They Now? Stars of the 2014 World Cup and how they are doing with their clubs. It's all very interesting...

Regular readers of the blog will know that Uli Hesse is in Germany. Uli claims that there are issues looming for Germany's footballing landscape. Sounds ominous!

There's no avoiding it, folks. The Transfer Window opens once again in a few days. With said window ajar, the flood of rumors will cascade unabated. Here we go:


Ronaldo gets in the spirit...
One team having an unusually tough time of it lately is Everton. Nick Miller takes a closer look at the problems at Goodison Park. 

Good news for the Yanks. Gedion Zelalem is now an American citizen. This dude has potential, people!

We're going to cut it off there. We'll see who makes it into SSN Headquarters tomorrow. 

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:12 AM 0 comments

Friday, December 19, 2014

Liverpool vs. Arsenal, The Parkers, Roma vs. Milan



There goes another week, folks. Let's jump right in and prep for another few days of footie insanity, shall we? As is customary, we'll begin in the UK...

Liverpool vs. Arsenal: 50-50 Challenge


It's not just this weekend in the Premier League, peeps. It's the next two weeks that'll bring us fixture insanity as the only major European league to NOT take a winter break kicks into high gear. Who is best suited to take advantage of all the matches?

There's a Big Interview to enjoy this Friday. Why, look at that! It's Hot Carl Jenkinson. Take it away, Carl.

It's the end of the year and that means it's time for The Parkers! What the hell are The Parkers, you ask? Graham Parker's end of the year MLS awards. Duh.

Speaking of MLS, it looks like Brek Shea's forgettable time in England will end. He's heading to Orlando. Hope he likes purple...

Spain? Leaders Real Madrid won't play because they're off at that stupid World Cup Championship thingy. It looks like Barcelona host Córdoba, though.  Here's a Weekend Preview.

Over in Italy, Roberto Mancini has to deal with the club that gave him his glory years as Inter face Lazio. James Horncastle takes a closer look here. We posted the Weekend Preview yesterday because there was a match. Juventus won said match to move four points ahead of Roma, who welcome Milan to the Stadio Olimpico domani. Meanwhile, Paolo Bandini is wondering who (after Juve and Roma) will claim that last Champions League spot.

Tim Vickery has a column. How nice. Tim's been silent of late so let's see what's on his radar: Tim Vickery explains why the Club World Cup - barely noticed in Europe - is the highlight of the South American football calendar. Looks great! We're in.

And now...we're out! See youz next week.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:56 AM 0 comments

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Liverpool to Meet Chelsea in League Cup Semi, Martin Odegaard, D.C. to get a Stadium, Serie A

Now pay up!
The Capital One Cup Semifinals are set. It'll be Chelsea vs. Liverpool and Sheffield United vs. Tottenham. This after Spurs spanked Newcastle (David Hytner was at White Hart Lane) and Liverpool avoided further embarrassment by winning at Bournemouth (Dominic Fifield was at Dean Court). The two ties will take place during the weeks of January 18 and 25. Raheem Sterling's play prompted Liverpool Gaffer Brendan Rodgers to compare him to Alexis Suarez, but Adam Bate thinks it's the Suarez-like qualities that are lacking at Anfield this season.

In the Bundesliga yesterday, Borussia Dortmund couldn't manage to defeat Wolfsburg at home and thus remain in the relegation zone. It's incredible, really. How can a group-winning Champions League side with so much talent be such shit in the league? Michael Cox says it's because they have problems at both ends. Hmmm. Anyway, here's a wrap of yesterday's action in Germany. And here's an article attempting to articulate why The Bundesliga is the most exciting league in the world. Bam! The World!

Great news for footie fans in The District of Columbia: The City Council voted unanimously to allow D.C. United to move forward with a new ground and leave RFK. About time.

Hey! This is fun! Some Premier League clubs charge up to £600 for children to be mascots! Some don't charge anything. How exactly does that all work, anyway?


Things are suddenly going swimmingly for Manchester United, are they not? LVG has the Reds winning again. Here are Five Players he's turned around and made decent again.

Martin Odegaard has got all the big clubs hot and bothered. He's the newest kid phenom. He's from Norway. He's probably going to Bayern Munich. Jonathan Wilson has more.

Geez, Louise. Serie A's weekend begins today! Here's a preview of what's going to happen. Mainly, AC Milan will play Roma and Inter Milan will play Lazio. It's Milan vs. Rome, people!

That'll do it for today. Thank you.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 10:31 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Sheffield United Stun Southampton, Chelsea Cruise, Bayern Buoyant, Gold Cup

It's Hump Day already? Geez. In the Capital One Cup yesterday, Sheffield United pulled a surprise and are headed to the semi-finals after dispatching of slumping Southampton. Richard Gibson was at Bramall Lane and filed this report. In the night's other fixture, Chelsea brushed aside Derby County. Jamie Jackson was at Pride Park and filed this report.

Today? You've got a shaky Liverpool at Bournemouth and Newcastle at Tottenham.

More Thierry Henry? No worries - Jonathan Wilson has you covered.

It's almost 2015 and you know what that means. Time to look back at what the sport gave us over the past year. Truth is, it was quite a lot. Paul Wilson has his 10 Memorable Moments right here.

Midweek matches in the Bundesliga yesterday: Bayern Munich won. Again. They've not lost. Yawn.

Quickie today. We'll finish with the Gold Cup. It's coming this summer to a town near you, including Frisco, Glendale, and Charlotte.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:30 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Thierry Henry Retires from Football, DaMarcus Beasley Retires from the USMNT, Scribes, Capital One Cup



Hello, Hello, Hello. Thierry Henry has retired from playing out favorite sport. Long Live The King, as they say. He certainly brought a lot of joy to several SSN Staff over the years. Here are some facts and remembrances...

So, Thierry Henry got all. We all get old. Even DaMarcus Beasley gets old. The Editor had the pleasure of taking in The Kid's first professional soccer game for the Chicago Fire back in 1974. And...he's decided to terminated his tenure with the National Team. We love you, Kid! Keep playing in MLS until you're 45, please.

What the hell happened in La Liga this weekend? At least Five Things, you can be sure of that!

Capital One Cup, people! The Final Eight! Derby County vs. Chelsea! Sheffield United vs. Southampton! There is also midweek action in the Bundesliga. Kirsten tells us what to watch here.

Scribe time, yo! On Tuesday we travel the world to bring you the best insight from foreign dudes and dudettes. Check it:

Where? Spain. Who? Sid Lowe. What? Spanish football has become fragmented and flat.

Where? Italy. Who? James Horncastle. What? Jeremy Menez is finally fulfilling his potential at new club AC Milan.

Where? Germany. Who? Raphael Honigstein. What? Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund the centrepiece of ‘Englische woche’.

Everton expectedly eased past QPR yesterday. Ross Barkley was particularly impressive. Richard Jolly has Three Points from Goodison Park.

Podcast! This week...AC Jimbo is joined by Barry Glendenning, Raphael Honigstein and Barney Ronay to round up the weekend's football action. After Manchester United comfortably beat Liverpool at Old Trafford, the pod debate whether United are now in the title race, and ask: where next for Brendan Rodgers? They also look at the rest of the Premier League news, including the diving at Chelsea and another win for Burnley. There's full reaction to the Champions League draw, which throws up a rematch of Manchester City v Barcelona and PSG v Chelsea. Plus there's your posts, World's Strongest Man chat and Barney's strange hotel experience in Ukraine.

Another Tuesday tradition is Marcotti's Musings. This week, Gabriele is gabbing about Man Utd-Liverpool reflections, Barca's blip, Bayern march on, Juve slip again.

What's up with Liverpool? Phil McNulty looks at how the club has gone "from ruthless to toothless in nine months."

Speaking of Liverpool, how are things going for Suarez since his move away? Graham Hunter says The Cannibal s the latest Barcelona forward signing to settle slowly.

And finally...we'll finish with a Top Tenner. Thierry Henry Moments.

Onward!!

-SSN
Posted by The Editor at 1:30 PM 0 comments

Monday, December 15, 2014

Champions League Draw, Manchester United Defeat Liverpool, Monday Night Football

A very pleasant Monday to you! The Champions League Final 16 Draw was this morning. Here's how it ended up:


You'd have to say that Chelsea/PSG is the most alluring on paper. And City/Barcelona could excite if City can get their act together. Also, cue all those funny photos/videos of Wenger from his Monaco days. Michael Cox is on hand to let us know where the ties will be won and lost. Cheers, Michael.

Back to the action on the pitch over the weekend and we've got to go directly to Manchester United's victory over Liverpool. United were not particularly good; it was more that Liverpool were so poor. Sterling in particular should have scored a few, and Super Mario was not super. To be fair, De Gea had another fine afternoon, but none of his saves were particularly astounding. He was always where he needed to be. Let's get to the EPL action!

Manchester United 3 - 0 Liverpool: Daniel Taylor at Old Trafford
Manchester United 3 - 0 Liverpool: Phil McNulty at Old Trafford
Manchester United 3 - 0 Liverpool: Paul Wilson at Old Trafford
Manchester United 3 - 0 Liverpool: Three Points
Manchester United 3 - 0 Liverpool: Five Talking Points

Chelsea 2 - 0 Hull City: 'Swan Lake', 'disgraceful' or not a dive?
Chelsea 2 - 0 Hull City: Three Points
Arsenal 4 - 1 Newcastle: Barney Ronay at the Emirates Stadium

So, a bunch of diving incidents this weekend. It's the foreigners, right? Wrong.

Over in Spain, Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao drew in a Basque Derby (Sid Lowe was at The Anoeta and filed this report), Real Madrid cruised, but Barcelona couldn't score and drew 0 - 0 at Getafe, and Atletico Madrid suffered their first home league defeat in 28 matches!  Here's a review courtesy of a Nigerian newspaper. More mañana with Sid.

In Italy, Roma moved within a point of Juventus at the top thanks to a road win in Genoa and a draw by Juve against Samp. Here's a Weekend Review. More domani with Paolo.


There is more action to take in today if you are so inclined. 'Arry and QPR head up to Liverpool to face Everton. Here's a preview. Go to NBCSN at 3:00 p.m. EST to enjoy.

Football on Friday? It's a rarity but that's set to change. Money, Money Money.

That'll get us up to speed. More insight and focus tomorrow.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:20 AM 1 comments
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