Manchester United's Alex Ferguson has firepower to trump rivals

Six games into the domestic season with a couple of Champions League ties under their belts, it’s worth taking a look at England’s big four clubs in relation to the strikers at their disposal.

Let's hear it for the Arsenal

All fans think their football club is special but it may be time to acknowledge that, to bastardise George Orwell, one club is more special than all the others. In these difficult economic times only one Premier League club is resisting – indeed actively fighting off – the rush to embrace a rich foreign businessman in the hope that they can buy success, and more importantly provide a massive dividend for the existing owners. Let’s hear it for the Arsenal.

Spain: La Liga Weekend Preview

Barcelona and Messi face Kun and Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid host Espanol, Valencia go to Valladolid...

Preview

Henry On Guardiola, Ronaldinho And LIfe At Barça

Thierry Henry has stated that he believes Pep Guardiola will bring success back to Barcelona and that the club's fans will now be able to see the best of him again.

"If you could see my iPod you would find Guns‘n’Roses, Nirvana, Jay-Z, Lionel Ritchie, Michael Jackson, 50 Cent, Public Enemy, Wu Tang Clan, Das EFX," he concluded.





TH goes for the Lionel look...

Tony Cascarino Column

Spare a thought for Wes Brown, the forgotten man of Manchester United.






Brown relaxes with his family after a hard day's work at Old Trafford...

England: Premier League Weekend Previews & Predictions

Manchester United go to Ewood Park to see their old boy Paul Ince, Chelsea host Villa, West Ham welcome Bolton, Sunderland host Arsenal, Liverpool go to Manchester City, Tottenham host Hull and Everton and Newcastle play at Goodison Park in the Clash of the Crisis Clubs...

Preview One

Preview Two

Preview Three

Lawro's Predictions

Germany: Bundesliga Weekend Preview

Once again, due to the European fixtures this week involving German sides, the Bundesliga sees just five games on Saturday with three being played on Sunday. Bayern Munich are at home to VfL Bochum, while league leaders Hamburg face Cottbus.

Goal.com previews all the weekend action……

Italy: Serie A Weekend Preview

Inter host Bologna, Juventus welcome Palermo, Lecce go to Lazio, Chievo host Fiorentina and Milan are on Sardinia to play Cagliari...

Preview

UEFA Cup: Gloom deepens for Moyes as Everton crash

Standard Liege 2 - 1 Everton
"I want to stay" says Moyes despite unsigned contract

Manchester City 2 -1 Omonia Nicosia
Wright-Phillips sparkles as Hughes' men ease through

A Manchester City fan shows his appreciation for the traveling Nicosia supporters...


Wisla Krakow 1 - 1 Tottenham
Turgid Tottenham scrape through

Also: Milan and Aston Villa advance, Dortmund do not...WRAP

Joe Kinnear swears an amazing 52 times in a five-minute rant at the Daily Mirror

This is spectacular. Who knew Joe Kinnear sounds so much like Ricky Gervais?

JK Which one is Simon Bird [Daily Mirror's north-east football writer]?

SB Me.

JK You're a cunt.

SB Thank you.

JK Which one is Hickman [Niall, football writer for the Express]? You are out of order. Absolutely fucking out of order. If you do it again, I am telling you you can fuck off and go to another ground. I will not come and stand for that fucking crap. No fucking way, lies. Fuck, you're saying I turned up and they [Newcastle's players] fucked off.

SB No Joe, have you read it, it doesn't actually say that. Have you read it?

JK I've fucking read it, I've read it.

SB It doesn't say that. Have you read it?

Transcript

Product Test and Review: Nike Arsenal Property Tee - Gray

I wasn't having the best day a few weeks ago, but then I received an email that turned my frown upside down. The fine folks at soccerpro.com invited me to test one of their products. Not only would I receive an item and get to try it out, I would be allowed to pontificate to my heart's content about said piece of merchandise. I decided that the product to test and review would be the Nike Arsenal Property Tee - Gray.

Keep it simple and easy, right? And those of you who know me know that t-shirts are my favorite articles of clothing, hands down. So it was really a no-brainer.

The shirt arrived in a friendly little bag wedged into the mailbox amongst The Wife’s New England Journal of Medicine and US Weekly. Frank came running as I ripped open the bag, searching in vain for food. First impressions were solid. I had in my hands a soft, gray, 100% Cotton Made-in-Mexico masterpiece. As eager as I was to get the testing underway, I first had to head to the washing machine to rid the garment of any lingering manufacturing toxins. Once the cycle was complete, the shirt went into the dryer to shrink to the proper size.

Here’s where I can begin the review. I’m a fairly large dude (6’3”/210) and I like my t-shirts to be size Large. I don’t want the wear an XL sail, but I don’t want to show off too much of my, er, figure by going Medium. So here’s the deal. This shirt is too big. I mean, I wore it and loved it, but it fits more like an XL. Keep this in mind when you buy yours. I’d suggest going a size lower than usual. I rarely choose Medium, but in this case that would have been the better move.

Aesthetically, the thing is a gem. As an Arsenal Man, I’ve got more than my fair share of gear, most of it red. This is nice because it is primarily a soft gray, and the red lettering doesn’t stand out too much. The addition of the swoosh and cannon in gold is inspired as well, and creates a nice contrast. Finally, the crest on the sleeve is a classy touch. I’m pleased with my choice, and glad to have a non-bright red Arsenal clothing option.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. The weight. The weight of a t-shirt is critical for me. Too heavy and the thing feels like a blanket, especially when you start to sweat. Too light and it doesn’t give you enough support. The Nike Arsenal Property Tee splits the difference expertly. It performed quite well on my walk/jog with Frank over to Dave's house for the Arsenal vs. Porto Champions League match on Tuesday. And since the lads won, the shirt gets extra points.

It’s funny, because the Property Tee seems a very U.S. thing. I don't recall seeing this type of shirt before, and it’s odd to have a “Property Of…” t-shirt from an English football club. Which makes me like it even more. I'll give it four SSNs out of five. It would have been perfect but for the sizing issue. -Sanford

Europe's Surprise Trio

Europe’s premier club competition is now well underway and 32 of the continent’s finest teams are all still in the running to reach the knockout phase next year. Mark Pickering assesses the credentials of three of the more noteworthy teams in this year's edition of the Champions League...

It's make or break time, admits Moyes

Everton manager hopes that victory in Belgium tonight can kick-start their season.



He's upset...

The Joy of Six: Manager/Media Spats

A selection of the most volcanic managerial funks, featuring Big Ron, Fergie and Baron Greenback's sibling.

Norman Hubbard on Arsenal

Anyone who predicted Hull City's victory at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday can congratulate themselves on their foresight, safe in the knowledge few others thought such an upset was possible. Yet there is a way of defeating Arsenal, and from that perspective Daniel Cousin's winner, headed in from a corner, was predictable. Sometimes the result can surprise, but the manner of it is all too obvious.

Zenit deny UEFA Cup semi-final fixing claim

Zenit St Petersburg manager Dick Advocaat has joined his club in expressing his dismay at allegations that the Russian club won the UEFA Cup by virtue of match-fixing.

Calcio Debate: Ibrahimovic – A Square Peg In A Round Hole?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic still doesn’t seem completely comfortable playing in Jose Mourinho’s 4-3-3 formation. Carlo Garganese asks whether the Swede can produce his best in the Special One’s system…

Champions League Wrap: Magical Messi rescues Barca as Cluj defy Chelsea

Liverpool win (see Richard Jolley's report in the previous post), Chelsea held in Romania, Inter and Werder Bremen draw, Messi strikes twice late to give Barcelona a win and Atletico Madrid beat Marseilles...

Wrap


Suspected knee ligament damage will put Drogba out six weeks...


CFR Cluj 0 - 0 Chelsea
Drogba injury leaves Chelsea reeling

Inter Milan 1 - 1 Werder Bremen
Pizarro haunts Jose

Shakhtar Donetsk 1 - 2 Barcelona
Super Sub Messi save the day yet again

Bordeaux 1 - 3 Roma
Baptista scores twice!

Anorthosis Famagusta 3 - 1 Panathinaikos
First win for Cypriots

Richard Jolley at Anfield

Liverpool 3 - 1 PSV Eindhoven
Understudies upstage Anfield star









The worst goal celebration in football?

Top 10 Worst Premier League Haircuts

No. 8: David Seaman

While the secret to Samson’s strength was his hair, the longer Seaman’s locks grew, the more dodgy he became. The Arsenal keeper’s ponytail sunk to its lowest depth at the 2002 World Cup – dangling behind him as he desperately failed to claw out Ronaldinho’s freak free-kick that knocked England out.

The Other Nine