The Insider at Emirates Stadium

Arsenal 1 - 0 Wigan
Arsenal stumble over finish line

A Bitter End for Keane

Over six years ago Niall Quinn sat in a news conference explaining why Roy Keane had left the Republic of Ireland's squad for the 2002 World Cup. On Thursday, Quinn found himself explaining a second Keane exit, this time announcing the 37-year-old's reign as manager of the north-east club was over after less than two-and-a-half years.

Thierry Henry 'pays wife £8m divorce settlement'

The footballer Thierry Henry has reached a divorce settlement with his ex-wife reported to be worth £8million.


The pair, who have a two-year-old daughter called Tea, met while appearing in television adverts for Renault cars.

Ronaldo admits he was 'within an inch' of signing for Arsenal

Ronaldo also defended himself against accusations of diving. "You know Hercules? He was hefty and muscular but sometimes he fell," he said.






Hercules protects his face from being hit by a soccer ball...

The Joy of Six: Hot Football Funks

From Diego Maradona gaining revenge on the Butcher of Bilbao to Franny Lee KO'ing Norman Hunter, Scott Murray looks at the footballers and managers who lost it big time.

The Mill + ++

Friday's Rumours



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Spain: La Liga Preview

A pretty juicy clash this weekend as Barcelona host Valencia. Elsewhere, struggling Real Madrid have a tough match at home against Sevilla while Jozy Altidore and Villarreal host Getafe...



Preview

England: Weekend Previews & Predictions

Chelsea go to Bolton, Liverpool are at Ewood Park, Keaneless Sunderland head to Old Trafford, Fulham host Manchester City, Arsenal welcome Wigan, Hull host Boro, Stoke are at St. James' Park, Everton welcome Villa, West Brom welcome Portsmouth, and Spurs head to East London to face West Ham.

Preview

The Full English: Refried Beans

Lawro's Predictions

Nick Webster's Predictions

Italy: Serie A Weekend Preview

Sampdoria’s Antonio Cassano and Genoa striker Diego Milito can each claim to be the revelations of Serie A this season even if their clubs have been more inconsistent. The in-form pair will be on opposing sides on Sunday (1930 GMT) in the hotly-contested Genoa derby, a rare occasion for the two famous Italian clubs to snatch back some of the limelight from the dominant trio of Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus.

Squad News

UEFA Cup: Hamburg, Villa, Ajax Qualify From Same Group

Former European Cup winners Hamburg, Aston Villa and Ajax qualified for the knockout round of the UEFA Cup from the same group Thursday— although one of them lost and another didn’t play.





James clanger puts Pompey out of UEFA Cup

Germany: Bundesliga Weekend Preview

With two rounds left until the winter break, the Bundesliga witnesses a David and Goliath clash this week as the mighty Bayern Munich take on minnows - yet league leaders - 1899 Hoffenheim. Elsewhere the teams at the bottom are looking for three points to give themselves some early Christmas cheer.




Goal.com previews all the weekend action...

Work to start on Philly area MLS stadium

Workers are scheduled to break ground on a $115 million soccer stadium just outside Philadelphia.






The current site...seriously.

A Dubai apartment block is to be named . . . Steven Gerrard Tower

Liverpool skipper Gerrard, 28, said: “I am truly privileged.”







Stevie's is the one on the left...

More important than life and death: the escalating violence in Argentine football

Estimates suggest more than 200 people have died in football- related murders in Argentina -
but why, and what can be done?

Top 10: Worst Premier League Summer Transfers

3. Heurelho Gomes (PSV Eindhoven – Tottenham, £7.8 million)

Gomes has become the latest custodian to fall foul of the goalkeeping graveyard that is White Hart Lane. A regular in the Champions League with former club PSV Eindhoven, Gomes was seen as the experienced, reliable answer to the problem of Paul Robinson, but instead has turned out to be a comedy turn whose fear of crosses is more pronounced than Dracula's. His errors are too numerous mention here but the goal he gifted to Fulham stands out as the worst.

The Other Nine

Mido fury at FA over repeat of racist taunts at Tyne-Tees clash

Chants were directed against the Egyptian striker as he came on as subsitute at the Riverside in Saturday's goalless draw. The FA wrote to the Tyne and Tees clubs last August after a similar outburst from the stands and issued Newcastle with a final warning. But no banning orders have been handed out and the FA has simply promised a new investigation into the repeat incident.

Quotes & Chants of the Week

"I think I still have a couple of his studs in my ankle I can give back to him."
West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola has an early Christmas gift for Keano. He could do with some cheering up.

"Are you Bournemouth in disguise?"
Portsmouth fans while 2-0 up against AC Milan.

"You got your stand from Ikea."
Millwall fans singing to Leyton Orient about their shoddy stand.

Portsmouth Announcer: "Number 22 - Kaka!"
Crowd: "Who?"
Announcer: "Number 80 - Ronaldinho!"
Crowd: "Who?"
At Pompey-AC Milan.

All The Rest

The Mill + ++

Thursday's Rumours


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Carling Cup: Holders Spurs and United into Semis

Tottenham maintained its League Cup defense Wednesday by rallying to beat Watford 2-1, while Carlos Tevez scored four times to put Manchester United into the semifinals with a 5-3 victory over Blackburn.


Blackburn fans demand Ince's head

Wednesday's UEFA Cup Round-up

Crowd trouble overshadowed Udinese's passage into the UEFA Cup knockout phase alongside Galatasaray, Standard Liege, FC Twente and Metalist Kharkiv on Wednesday. Udinese became the first Group D team to qualify by beating Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 in a match that was temporarily suspended when visiting Croatian fans launched flares onto the Italian pitch. NEC Nijmegen stopped Spartak Moscow from going through for now by defeating the Russian club 2-1.

Gooch scored for Standard Liege...