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It’s a slower week in the world of football, but the EPL is still running full throttle with another weekend of fixtures. That being said, here’s another installment of “Chris Picks”.

Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City: City is unbeaten at Eastland’s, where the home fans have been singing their beloved “Blue Moon”, on a regular basis. Liverpool play well against City, but this is a different City side, and I expect both teams to split the points. Look for some changes from Liverpool, but the same squad from Sven and the City side.

Derby 1-2 Blackburn: Derby was desperately unlucky on Boxing Day not to walk away with a point against Liverpool, while Blackburn was lucky to have gained a point against Man City. Derby finally played Benny Feilhaber in the second half, and it dramatically changed the way the team played. Paul Jewell will be “forced” to play him again, which will help them, although it isn’t enough against Blackburn.

Wigan 1-2 Aston Villa: Villa played very well against Chelsea, and was unlucky to have gone a man down right before half time against Chelsea, which changed the match. Wigan played well against Newcastle, but Wigan’s depth, or lack of depth, will be on display against a fast Villa side. Speed kills Wigan, and Villa has plenty of it.

West Ham 0-3 Manchester United: Carlos Tevez’s awaited return to Upton Park, where last year he single handily kept the Hammers from being relegated. This year, West Ham has struggled putting the ball in the back of the net, while Manchester United has not had any problems finding it. I fancy Tevez scoring, but not celebrating, as he was recently quoted saying he wouldn't. Hopefully the Hammer's supporters will extend him some respect as well.

Tottenham 2-1 Reading: Spurs rebounded on Boxing Day, by putting five past poor Fulham at White Hart Lane, but welcome a better side in Reading. After Bobby Convey has been put back in the starting eleven, Reading have looked better. But Keane, Berbatov and the wingers have looked better, and that’s why Spurs nick the winner.

Sunderland 2-1 Bolton: After a heavy defeat to Roy Keane’s former team on Boxing Day, Sunderland bounce back and beat an improving Bolton side. Anelka looks to be departing probably to Chelsea in the January transfer window, and the uncertainty of his move will unsettle Bolton. Sunderland defends set pieces well, where Bolton still score most of their goals from, thus giving Sunderland the upper hand.

Portsmouth 1-0 Middlesbrough: Pompey has been in a bit of poor form at the moment, and hasn’t been putting the ball in net. Enter the cure…Middlesbrough. Although Pompey will barely win, they’ll get back on their winning ways because Middlesbourgh has been terrible on their travels, and this is the most southern team against the most northern team in the Premiership, which can’t bold well for Middlesbourgh.

Everton 2-2 Arsenal: Probably the most entertaining of the matches all weekend long. Everton has been the most inform side in the Premiership besides Manchester United. Arsenal on the other hand played quite poorly at Pompey. I expect both sides to attack, and the midfield battle between Flamini and Fabregas of Arsenal, against Cahill, Arteta, and Carsley, of Everton, should be very intriguing to watch.

Chelsea 3-1 Newcastle: Newcastle is in a tail spin at the moment, with Barton being arrested and their manager about to be sacked. Chelsea, although only getting a point against Villa, can feel better after Shevchenko played his best match for the club. While Chelsea has deep pockets, they are struggling with injuries and suspensions, Newcastle haven’t even had a shot on goal in over two hours of play. Chelsea wins.

Birmingham 2-1 Fulham: Fulham have just signed new coach Roy Hodgson today, but are still in a spot of bother. Their defense has been very poor, while their offense has purely come from Clint Dempsey. Birmingham has played much better football since the appointment of Alex McLeish, especially in scoring goals and in their build up play. A spirited performance by Fulham, but once again will concede a late winner.

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Sam Allardyce will be waking up this morning with a bigger headache than anyone will have on New Years day. Not only is he under ever-increasing pressure after a deserved defeat at Wigan, following a home draw with bottom club Derby, Joey Barton is again in trouble after being arrested on suspicion of assault in his home town of Liverpool.

Joey Barton in Trouble Again

This isn’t the first incident with Joey Barton, who had a very checkered past while with Manchester City. In 2005, Barton was sent home from a pre-season tournament in Thailand, after assaulting a fifteen year old Everton supporter who had provoked Barton by kicking and verbally abusing him. Then after recently signing his new contract at City, he put a cigar out in a youth player’s eye, after Barton caught him trying to set his shirt alight. These two incidents fining him around 400,000 dollars and anger management therapy, although, those actions haven’t proven effective.

It’s a shame about Joey Barton because he is a quality footballer when he keeps his emotions in check. Barton does many things well on the pitch, including scoring many goals, and goals of vital importance, that either earn a point or three points. He has a gift to grab the game by the “scruff of the neck”, and dominate a match with his skill and drive.

It’s sad, but if the charges are true, Newcastle might have to get rid of a talented and important player, whilst on the brink of losing their manager as well.

By: Christopher Chantland

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Boxing Day, despite its name, Boxing Day, which is celebrated on December twenty-sixth in Great Britain, has nothing to do with a boxing competition. Nor is it a day for people to return awful Christmas presents. While the exact origins of the holiday are not fully known, it is likely that Boxing Day began in England during the Middle Ages.

Many historians say the holiday developed because servants were required to work on Christmas Day but took the following day off. As servants prepared to leave to visit their families, their employers would present them with gift boxes. As time went by, Boxing Day gift giving expanded to include those who had rendered a service during the previous year. This tradition survives today as people give presents to tradesmen, mail carriers, doormen, porters, and others who have helped them.

Zat Knight dismissed in
Four all draw with Chelsea

For English football fans, Boxing Day is a feast of matches that entertain and provide a great conclusion to Christmas. Most of the leagues in the world take some sort of a break during the Christmas period, but the English Premier League increases their match load. The teams in the Premiership will play four matches in the time period of ten days, between this past weekend and the New Year. In today’s matches, twenty-nine goals have been scored, and five red cards have provided dramatic theatre in nine matches. It’s a second Christmas day for fans of football, the presents are the matches, and the family is the lads watching the matches with you.

It’s not an official holiday in the states, but it sure feels like one for football fans.

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Wow, an exciting weekend of great matches and great theatre that lived up to the hype.

Tottenham had a chance to take the lead in the north London derby against their bitter rivals Arsenal. Robbie Keane, one of the most reliable spot kick takers in the Premiership, was blocked by Almunia in the Arsenal net, allowing substitute Nicklas Bendtner to score on his first touch. Yids all over the world again are on the wrong side of the result, against their north London neighbors. At Old Trafford, Everton deserved a point, and were a mere five minutes away from full time when Ryan Giggs was brought down in the box, after a wayward attempt at a tackle by Steven Pienaar. Ronaldo then put his second in the back of the net, to take all three points from a very entertaining match. In a side note, Arteta did not play for Everton in the midfield, which was very apparent in the match.

Baptista Celebrates His Goal

In La Liga, El Clasico took place at the Nou Camp, with many surprised spectators surprised to see Ronaldihno in the starting eleven. The match, although not as enthralling as the last installment which ended in a three all draw, was captivated by brilliant skill and ball movement. The best movement of the game was the movement which provided the only goal of the match. Baptista and Van Nistelrooy provided a sweeping one two move that opened up the Barca defense, and ended with a blast from Baptista. The second half of the match displayed some of the best football of the year, with Raul and Deco playing some eye-catching stuff at the end of the match.

Inter Milan Glory

At the San Siro on Sunday, Inter Milan beat their city rivals AC Milan, with Dida giving Inter an early Christmas present. Andrea Pirlo scored a magnificent free kick to open the scoring in a goal that was against the run of play. Shortly after Pirlo’s brilliant effort, Cambiasso played a ball into Cruz who beat several Milan defenders, and scored a great goal, beating Dida at his near post. Kaka was always a threat, although drifting in and out of the game, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic, terrorized the back line of Milan. The quality of the interlinking play and possession was evident throughout the match, but Cambaisso’s effort on goal, although struck hard, should have been saved by the hapless Dida. Other than the goalkeeper for Milan, the football on the pitch was magnificent and a display of class.

While the football on the pitch was quality, again, my picks were terrible, and although I was closer this week, I still have work to do.

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Great article previewing the Barca-Real match.

The highly anticipated Barcelona-Real Madrid encounter started with a foosball game between Messi and Raúl. Adidas brought them togeteher for a duel that unfortunately won't take place on the pitch because of the Argentine's injury..

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This weekend in football has many appealing and exciting matches in each of the three top leagues.

Three Great Games in the EPL

In the English Premier League, Tottenham visit the Emirates to play against their North London rivals, Arsenal. Tottenham have played very well of late, but have struggled for the last ten years against their bitter rivals. Arsenal beat Spurs two nil, against the Yid’s and rule North London once again. Manchester United welcome Everton to Old Trafford, with both teams on a great run of form, but something has to give. Look for the matchup in the midfield between Cahill and Arteta of Everton against Hargreaves and Anderson from United, whoever wins this battle, could nick the winner. All this being said, the midfield will be bogged down and the match ends in one all draw. The under the radar match this weekend is Blackburn hosting Chelsea. Blackburn have had a terrible run of form, but at Ewood Park, I fancy a hard fought match in the midfield, with a great finish. Chelsea leave it late, but beat Blackburn two too one on the road.

A Key in this Match

In La Liga, Barcelona host Real Madrid at the Nou Camp, in another installment of “El Classico”. Lionel Messi will be missing from the match for Barcelona, and Ronaldihno has been rumored to been having disputes with manager Frank Riijkaard. Real Madrid is fully fit, and ready to get it done against Barca. Real Madrid beats their Catalan counterparts two too one.

Kaka, A Derby Veteran
In Serie A this weekend, Inter Milan again battle against their rivals AC Milan on Sunday morning. Inter have been playing the best football in Europe, whilst their counterparts have been underachieving, and have a worse home record than poor Derby in the Premiership. AC Milan is so poor at home in fact they do not possess a win at the San Siro, in the Serie A. Although both teams play at the San Siro, and Inter is the home team in this match, AC Milan will still lose this two nil, with Crespo coming off the bench to score against his old team.

By: Christopher Chantland

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This Holiday season GolTV fans will have more than one reason to celebrate. The week of the 23rd of December, GolTV will be the only place in the U.S where fans can tune-in to observe two of the most aggressive rivals battle it out.

The 79th edition of the much awaited Clasico will be played at the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona, Spain and will feature some of the most amazing and skillful players on the planet such as: Ronaldhino, Van Nisterooy, Messi, Raul, Henry, Casillas, Rafael Marquez, Cannavaro and many others.

The last edition of El Clasico in March 2007 was a draw between these two titans. Will History repeat itself??? Or as some speculate, will The Catalan league-leaders settle for nothing less than victory by front lining Messi, Eto'o and Ronaldihno as was done in the Champions League….

History on the on the other hand would wager on the side of the Real Madrid with 66 wins vs. the 58 of Barca.

Tune in to see what happens. Do not miss the 79th Derby, exclusively on GolTV.

It is without a doubt the most eagerly anticipated soccer event of the season.

From Spain: Barcelona vs. real Madrid – December 23rd at 1 p.m. (ET)

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Here’s a great idea that we have came across at Objectivo.

Her City Wants a Soccer Franchise

New Yorker’s want a soccer team in the Big Apple, and why not, they are the largest city in the United States. So Emilio got the bright idea to start a petition, but not just any petition. He has given the reader eleven ways to help in getting enough names on the petition to go after the potential owners of the club, whom could bring the dream of a soccer team to fruition. Check the article out, and sign “Bring Soccer to New York City”.

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It’s the most, wonderful time, of the year! No, not because it’s the holiday season, it’s the first knockout Round of the Champions League! The draw was earlier today; very early on the west coast and here are the matchups.

Champions League Draw

This is my favorite Round of the Champions League because it is the most bargain for you dollar, with eight games per leg, and the best football teams in the world, playing for the "trophy with the big ears”. With all of these tasty fixtures, it’s hard to pick which matches will produce the great football and drama that each possesses.

Arsenal playing Milan could produce the most eye-catching football of the ties, with a little added flavor of Gattuso, Fabregas and Flamini and Kaka in a midfield clash. The Inter Milan and Liverpool tie is very intriguing because I believe Inter Milan are the best team in Europe at the moment, while Liverpool is the best team in Europe over two legs. Roma against Madrid should be a tie of beautiful football, combined with some awesome individual skill, with the likes of Totti, Mancinni, Robinho, and Reyes on the pitch. Last, but not least, the tie between Barcelona and Celtic, for no other reason than the atmosphere of the stadiums and the clash of styles on the pitch. Almost the complete opposites of the spectrum in how they both play football, and whoever manages to play their way, has the better chance in winning.

Who will be your eight teams through to the next round?

My picks to go through are, Schalke, Man Utd., Chelsea, Sevilla, Roma, Arsenal, Inter, and Barca.

By: Christopher Chantland

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The latest installment of drunken footballers and alleged rape charges has come out of the Manchester United Christmas Party. Footballer Jonny Evans was kept under custody for more than fifteen hours before being bailed out. Regardless, whether Jonny Evans did in fact rape this woman, or she is “stitching him up” for money, when are clubs going to learn to have their parties within the organization and not at a hotel, masked as a bordello?

Manchester's Bad Boys

Most Christmas or Holiday parties are held within the confines of the organization or are limited to family members or one guest. But for the United players, the “WAGS”, or wives and girlfriends, were not invited to attend their Christmas party. Instead, a 15-hour session on Monday began at lunchtime and ended at the Great John Street Hotel with a group of 100 “hand-picked” women in a bar and reception area, and 30 bedrooms booked and available for private use. The player’s intentions couldn’t be clearer in this situation, which leads to more problems for Jonny Evans.

Regardless of the findings of the inquiry into the rape allegations, this is a “no win” situation for both the players and the ladies. If the findings come out that Jonny Evans did in fact rape this woman, it reflects poorly on the players and the organization. On the other hand, if the woman is lying, in hopes of getting some sort of monetary reward, it puts doubt in the minds of the public in believing more rape allegations in the future. The lesson isn’t difficult to understand, keep these parties in the confines of the club, and make it a family affair of sorts, instead of a drunken night of debauchery in the public arena.

By: Christopher Chantland

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There's a lot of stuff written about Toronto and how they have real fans, not ones who complain about buying tickets for superstars who then don't show up to play. Well, there may be substantial truth in that if a recent snippet or two of information is anything to go by.

For a start, all season tickets have been sold for 2008. And, the club had to limit such tickets to 16,000, up from 14,000 in the inaugural season this year. Just goes to show you don't necessarily need a team to be playing well to create demand. You just need fans who will support the team through thick and thin. As I never tire of saying, well maybe after having to explain to Americans where it is, I am a fan of Gillingham FC and I will be till the day I die. And we never win anything. You also need, of course, a club who recognizes the importance of such fans.

Mo Johnston and Jim Brennan at the Pub Crawl

The other brilliant piece of information about Toronto FC is that the club recently organized a major pub crawl in the city for fans to mingle with players. Fantastic. Talk about team and fan bonding. This is surely a lesson for all clubs. Hats off to Toronto FC. I hope they have a better season next year on the pitch because their fans, the players and the club certainly deserve it. I, for one, would love to make it to Toronto next year for an away game. Any Rapids fans agree?

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Fram Scandia forward and LA Galaxy ticket salesman Chris Wode lead MLS ticket sales revenue in 2007. Check out the Press Release.

If interested in buying LA Galaxy tickets from Chris, click here.

Objectivo Cup is seeking one more team to particpate in our annual tournament in March. Teams intersted in participating should email the tournament comittee.

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Romario recently has tested positive for a banned substance, but unlike the baseball players of the United States, Romario has tested positive for the substance, finasteride, not “HGH”.

Finasteride, while used as a masking agent to cause false negative steroid tests, is the leading component in the hair-growth product Propecia. Romario started using Propecia, because he had started too bald on the back of his head, causing him to look somewhat like the Brazilian “Friar Tuck”. After all, Romario needs to look good for the women around Vasco de Gama for he most famously stated that all footballers should have sex on the days of their matches, because it makes their legs “feel more nimble”.

Romario appealed the decision for suspension, but yesterday it was voted 3-2, that Romario was to serve a 120 game ban. The footballer could look at the bright side, because with this ban he can try to re-grow some more hair while on the sidelines. Romario now forty one, is the (player-) manager for Vasco de Gama, and isn’t banned from managing on the touchline. Amazingly, if his contract is extended, the forty one year old might play again. He better be careful though, pretty soon he might have to use "other pills", for male enhancement, that could cause another ban?

By: Christopher Chantland

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Hi All,

I'd like to invite you to sign-up for our Weekly Show E-Newsletter. The email has upcoming radio show information:
Special Guests
Topics
Soccer Tirvia
Soccer Poll
Give-Away Information

Click here to sign-up.

Chelo

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MLS Rule Changes

Major League Soccer teams each will be granted one more roster spot to acquire another foreign player next season. The distinction between a senior and youth international has been abolished, thus any foreign player can be replaced in that spot. This move also allows the teams to trade those spots, and actually field an entire team without an American.

The level of non-resident Americans that can play in the MLS is just under thirty percent. Using the International market is the key for the MLS, with the likes of Becks and Angel, the quality is better and it attracts more people. Landon Donovan also now can stay on the LA Galaxy legitimately, but not because Becks took up the “Designated Foreign Player” spot. But Becks being a non-resident isn’t a problem because he, Carlos Ruiz, and Eddie Johnson were allowed to keep their bulky salary. Otherwise, Landon might have left the MLS entirely, and then the marquee American, wouldn’t be playing in the United States. That exception isn’t fair to the other teams, but is necessary to maintain the quality of the league.

While the MLS continues to grow, and many Americans go abroad to Europe, the clubs need quality players to fill those spots. Thus, the increase in foreign players is needed in the league for exposure as well as filling spots with decent players to fill a roster.

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Poll Results are in:
Yes- 60.71%
No- 39.29%

This is an interesting result, to a very interesting poll.

If the MLS was to compete during the European calendar, it would be more cohesive to the world's game. Player transfers would be during the same time period, it wouldn't be as hot, and most importantly, the MLS wouldn't be playing during the World Cup every four years. Teams then wouldn't lose their best players to the National Teams which takes away points to be earned and from the quality of play on the pitch for the MLS.

On the other hand, the MLS in the United States would be competing with the NFL, College football, NBA, College basketball, and Hockey. Some people I know watch the MLS because it’s better than baseball in the summer, which is the only sport that the MLS competes with in that time period. If the MLS were to play in the fall, could it be found on television during the weekend? Would some of the teams have a stadium to compete in? Would the people who truly love soccer, miss an EPL, Spanish, or Italian match, to go watch an MLS match? I wouldn’t go to an MLS match, and miss a top league match on television.

It's a great debate, thank you for your participation.

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Perkins on His Way to Norway

Troy Perkins move from the MLS is a tough one. A lot of players will leave MLS because they want the opportunity to play in a really professional environment. What I mean by this is that in other leagues around the world, every game means something. They are playing to make sure their team does not get relegated at the end of the year. The pressure to have to get results day in and day out is much greater than it is in the MLS.

As well, do you know how nice it is when the President of a club walks into the locker room and offers the boys a cash bonus for winning the game they are getting ready to go play? With salary caps and the pay structure of the league, this kind of thing doesn't happen in the MLS.

When a goal keeper like Perkins is making around $90,000 and a team like Vålerenga IF from Norway comes in and offers him somewhere around $200,000+ how does a young kid say no? A soccer player's career is not as long as you think. So when an opportunity like this comes up, you have to take it. I had an opportunity to interview Nat Borchers, who plays for Odd Greland in Norway, a few weeks back. He told us that he thought by going to play in Norway it would give him a better chance of being looked at by an EPL team.

There's my take!

Marcelo Balboa

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Tuesday Dec 11 , 2007.
6-8 PM
AM 1060

Tuesday night's guests include:

* John Doyle: San Jose Earthquakes General Manager of soccer operations

* Vis Lombardi: Channel 4 sports anchor

*Heath Pearce: Hansa Rostock Defender

Topics of Discussion:

- Men's NCAA Championship game

- England finds their new boss

- MLS Players Salary Information

- Email us your question at MarceloBalboa@yahoo.com

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Troy Perkins Transfer from DC United to Norwegian Club Valerenga IF is almost fully finalized. I am among the group of believers that going abroad is the right way to further your career in football.

Valerengra IF Badge

Perkins, playing the only position in which American’s have thrived in abroad, is getting closer to those bigger clubs by playing in Norway. True, it’s not in England, Italy, Spain, or even Germany, but he can learn what it’s like to play in another country, and assimilate into a different culture. Perkin's soon-to-be new club finished the 2007 Eliteserien season in seventh place. The Bohemians have also added Norwegian midfielders Martin Andresen and Lars Iver Strand from Brann and Troms respectively in the offseason.

This year was an off year for Valerenga, where the last few years, they have finished in a Champions League position, thus, the offseason moves. This is another aspect to take into consideration by moving to a smaller club, but a top club in the country. This gives him a chance to play against some of the best talent in the world, and in the best football environments in the entire world. Perkins then can be seen first hand by many of the big clubs, and if he performs well, he could find himself moving into top flight leagues.

From the perspective of the MLS, their losing another young player to a league that is probably not as competitive as the MLS. For the season ticket holders of DC United, they have lost another young talent, after recently losing Freddy Adu, and missing out on Juan Sebastian Veron. The club has now lost three of their top prospects, and will be harder to draw in more fans to the matches. Yet, the MLS and its fans must understand this is the same predicament the French League and Dutch league have. They have very good young talent as well, but once the young player is presented with going to an Italian, Spanish, or English club, they jump at it. Troy Perkins is just an example that the league has a lot of growing to do, if it wants to keep all of its homegrown talent.

All in all, I believe his move will do him well, and keep the young goalkeepers who might compete for the USA, in top form. I appreciate the fact that he is eager to get over to Europe, and compete on another level. What is your opinion on his move to the Norwegian Club?

By: Christopher Chantland

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Another weekend of EPL football has passed, while another weekend of my winners and score lines were again shambolic and awful. Here’s the results.

Liverpool 0-1 Man Utd: After a match that saw Liverpool dominate possession, but used it to barely threaten Man Utd., it is obvious who the front runner to win the title is. Hargreaves was a massive player in bogging down the midfield, and United played ten men behind the ball for most of the match.

Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea: Petr Cech, the goat of the match, and Shaun Wright-Phillips, missed a sitter to equalize. This said, the injuries to Chelsea were painfully evident, while Arsenal got Fabregas, Hleb, and Van Persie back. Chelsea isn’t the team it once was, and Arsenal is developing into a great team.

Fulham 0-1 Newcastle: I thought this game would have been entertaining and free flowing, yet instead it was the worst match of the weekend! Absolute crap! Fulham didn’t deserve anything from the match, nor did Newcastle, until Alan Smith was brought down in the box in stoppage time, and Barton converted the spot kick.

Birmingham 1-1 Reading: In a hotly contested match, Reading grabbed a point at St. Andrews stadium. Both goalkeepers were busy, and the defenders were at “six’s and seven’s” at certain points in the match, which gave great theatre.

Sunderland 1-1 Aston Villa: Sunderland had a point stolen by the referee in injury time. In a back and forth match, Roy Keane’s side looked too had done enough to take all three points, but referee Steve Bennett, blew the whistle. Roy Keane and his players were absolutely robbed.

Derby 0-1 Middlesbrough: Derby once again looked bad from the start, letting Middlesbrough maintain most of the possession, and scoring before half time. Kenny Miller almost stole a point for Derby, but Paul Jewell looks to be a Championship level coach next year.

West Ham 0-2 Everton: Everton look to be threatening Liverpool and Chelsea for the fourth spot in the Premier League table. After beating West Ham in the midweek in the Carling Cup, Everton dominated West Ham at Upton Park. Arteta and Cahill, if you haven’t watched that partnership, your missing out.

Man City 4-2 Bolton: In an up and down game, Man City was able to get the win at home against an improving Bolton side. Bolton came back from one nil to take the lead, but Man City displayed class and scored three straight goals, in a good display from the citizens.

Wigan 5-3 Blackburn: WOW! I didn’t see Wigan scoring five against Blackburn, nor did I see Blackburn coming back from three nil down, and Roque Santa Cruz, netting a hat trick. Brett Emerton then is sent off, on a soft second yellow card, allowing Marcus Bent to net his own hat trick and finish of f the game on a controversial offside non-call, which ended the match. Again, I will say, WOW!

Pompey 0-1 Tottenham: Spurs were able to get all the points, in a hostile Fraton Park. Aaron Lennon ran ragged the left and right fullbacks of Pompey, and provided the inch perfect cross to Berbatov whom netted the winner. Good open flowing match.

By: Christopher Chantland

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Our men's EL TRI shirt is a distressed print oversized eagle on front crest, OBJECTIVO & EL TRI below back collar and ball on the lower back corner.

Garment is made with the softest 100% fine jersey cotton; combed for softness, smoothness & comfort. Shirt is pre-shrunk, washed & is a “fitted fashion t-shirt” (American Apparel #2001). Soccer Inspired Artwork is water-base “eco-friendly”, ink.

Objetivo Apparel, Attractive Football
EL TRI, Mexican Eagle: $28.00

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Ruud Gullit, current LA Galaxy Manager, demonstates the art of scoring for club & country in this video.

Gullit has signed up to play for Objectivo Cup's Hollywood United Soccer Club. Check back for updates on Objectivo Cup 2008 schedule.

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The world's worst kept secret is now totally out in the open. Fabio Capello will be the next England manager with a four and a half year contract and an option to quit after 2010. So, he can take the team to World Cup victory in South Africa and then say arriverderci.

A great choice. Not Jose Mourinho but a manager with a more than impressive CV. We can easily discuss the league titles at Juventus, Real Madrid etc. but let's not forget he took Roma to its first scudetto in 18 years in 2001. His leadership of AC Milan when they absolutely thrashed Barcelona in the 1994 European Cup should also be highlighted. Remember the European Cup? The pinnacle of achievement for any European club prior to some of the nonsense that is today's Champions' League tournament.

The predictable moans about him not being English have emerged. Tony Adams, Gareth Southgate, Paul Ince and others. I understand the frustration but Paul Ince really takes the biscuit. He actually says there are plenty of English managers with similar records to Capello. Really? Exactly where? He also lambasted the fact that the FA had to go to "Europe" to find the new coach. Where does he think England and the UK are? Asia? Great player, up and coming manager but a little short on the open-mindedness.

The backroom staff will be interesting. Capello looks to be bringing a number of Italian support that he trusts. I would love to see Stuart Pearce in there for the English contingent. A hero for England, a progressive coach and a possible future England manager. David Platt, managerial experience aside, would also be a key asset given his experience of playing in Italy for three years. Former Chelsea superstar Gianfranco Zola would also be a great appointment. Nobody seems to mention Zola's former teammate Gianluca Vialli but his extensive knowledge of both the Italian and English games would be more than useful.

But we have a manager installed who gives us hope. Maybe not the messianic hope of Mourinho but a superb manager who will take no BS from the players and whose record is so impressive. It's time to get behind him 100 per cent.

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