As the guys at nufc.com said, what have we done to deserve this? Meanwhile, if the English team keeps defending like this, they're not going to go very far. Both goals were as awful as the two English goals were brilliant. But without Owen, if Rooney can't go all 90, Sven will have to rely on Gerrard and Lampard to score the goals. So why exactly was Theo Walcott brought to Germany if Sven would rather go with 5 midfielders than bring the kid on. And I'm still not tremendously sold on Peter Crouch... Speaking of Crouch, how about the odd couple next year at Liverpool of 6'7" Crouch and five-foot-nothing Craig Bellamy? Sky Sports said it could happen this week. So when is Newcastle going to bring in some players? Lots of talent coming into the Premiership so far but none of it the St. James'. It's seriously annoying... Above post was written by Bruce Gottesman, a Newcastle United supporter who lives in Margate, Florida.

I just finished an interview with Sean Wheelock, World Cup commentator and soccer analyst for the BBC. The interview was conducted live via phone from Germany, and Wheelock shared a number of interesting insights into the US and England teams.

In addition to Wheelock, EPL Talk has interviewed several other soccer celebrities including Steven Cohen from World Soccer Daily, Nick Webster and Max Bretos from Fox Soccer Channel, Bobby McMahon from Fox Sports World Report, Ray Hudson and Phil Schoen from GolTV, Allen Hopkins from ESPN, Richard Beresh from EA Sports, The Treble and Graham Bell from Champions Soccer Radio Network, and Phil McThomas from the Soccer Shout podcast.

Listen to the podcasts at http://epltalk.libsyn.com

Here we go again. It's another World Cup in America, but a lot of the mainstream media don't seem to get it. Here's another example: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/mplayer/m/3894 It's like clockwork. Every four years, reporters come out from the woodwork and blast soccer for stupid, stereotypical reasons. However, this time, we have technology to help us (so we can all stick together) and ignore ignorant people such as the one above from my local TV station in Palm Beach County, Florida.

The US draw against Italy was just what soccer needed in the US. A loss would have sent millions of Americans switching off their TV sets for the rest of the tournament. But the win raises the profile of the game and team in this country, thereby encouraging non-soccer fans to watch. Sure, it wasn't pretty, but the draw showed that the US team can play with heart. If the USA can beat Ghana on Thursday (and that's a BIG if) and Italy beats the Czech Republic, World Cup fever may actually affect mainstream America. Kudos to the US for a fantastic performance. We were proud of you tonight! For more coverage and thoughts, read my other blog here.

With six hours of World Cup matches on per day, what TV shows are you watching to stay on top of the news and analysis? The three shows i"m watching religiously are "Ticket To Germany" on Fox Soccer Channel, "Germany 2006" on GolTV and Sky Sports News. Fox Soccer Channel's "Ticket To Germany" is hosted by Max Bretos and features daily analysis along with Bobby McMahon and guests. 8pm ET. "Germany 2006" from GolTV is quite different. The first 15 minutes are dubbed in English with analysis from GolTV's Spanish commentators. It's quite interesting, but the best part of the show is the analysis from Lindsey Dean and Ray Hudson. 100% from the heart with no censorship. A nice touch, too, is the footage and interviews with the fans before and after the matches. 8pm ET. "Sky Sports News," on Fox Soccer Channel from 7-8pm ET, is interesting to watch meanwhile to see how the England and World Cup news is being spun from the motherland. What shows are you watching? Cheers, The Gaffer www.EPLTalk.com