Daniel Finkelstein shows how unlikely it is that Chelsea can achieve the quadruple as well as who the stats say is Manchester United’s most valuable player – it may surprise you.
Alan Hansen with an early preview of England’s task in Israel.
Rob Hughes contends that it is the middle years of a player’s career that provide pain and sel####oubt.
The Hawk-Eye system used to judge line calls in tennis looks like it will become the system of choice to decide whether or not the ball has crossed the line - in football that is.
Rob Hughes on the next Argentine superstar – this one is only eleven years old!
Paul Gardner on the marked absence of star signings post-Beckham.
David Conn on the paradox of Manchester City and Premiership riches.
Robert Philip on former Ipswich great Kevin Beattie.
Trevor Brocking bemoans the lack of investment by Premiership clubs in English youngsters.
Gabriele Marcotti sees similarities between Helen Mirren and Milan – honestly! You read it right - Helen Mirren not St. Mirren.
And Marcotti again, this time on Ivan Klasnic’s need for a second kidney transplant.
The youtube goal - Yuri Zhirkov’s goal for CSKA Moscow against Hamburg wasn’t bad.
The blog was fizzing last week – thank you Flashman!! It was however, getting a bit personal at times and if we can keep it to opinions it would be appreciated.
And seeing that we have the Champions League this week here is something to consider. Since the second group stage was scrapped and replaced by a knock out round only 6 out of 24 ties have been won by the team playing at home first.
The first two are a couple of articles from earlier this week.
Kevin Eason describes how the new Premiership television deal that kicks in next year will see the “richest-clubs” list being dominated by English teams.
Another insightful piece by Daniel Finkelstein – this time on Arsenal’s up and down season.
Rob Hughes on last weeks international friendlies.
This weekend I was thinking how difficult it is to come up with greatr trivia questions in the age of the internet and goggle. I would interested to see if anyone has a trivia question that can go unanswered for 24 hours - soccer related of course.
A great piece by Jonathan Wilson on legendary coach Bela Guttmann and how Mourinho may be just like him. A wonderful description by Wilson - “What happens with Mourinho in the summer could be just as significant. He may speak of his love for Chelsea, but the su####ion is that it is dwarfed by his love for himself.”
Gary Lineker on what Andriy Shevchenko needs to do to re-discover his form. From what I have seen Michael Ballack is more of a problem to Chelsea than Shevchenko. What has thappened to the runnining and shutting down of midfield space that was a mark of Chelsea's game the last two seasons?
Alan Smith on Cesc Fabregas. Is there a better young player in the world than Fabregas?
Rob Hughes takes a look at the trails and tribulations of Chelsea.
Meanwhile it looks as if the Liverpool buy-out by the Dubai group may be hijacked by another American buyer - George Gillett.
It is official - Newcastle are the winners of the Intertoto Cup.
Neil Warnock the manager of one of the Premiership’s hottest clubs Sheffield United, has been writing a regular column for the Independent.
Stewart Robson on the pros and cons of Chelsea’s current midfield set-up.
Daniel Finkelstein and “The Fink Tank” takes a look at the Champions League draw.
Another clear indication that UEFA is willing – or must – align with the European Union in order to control the G-14. The article may point to Chelsea, but this is only because they are an easy target.
Rob Hughes provides more details on the FIFA-Mastercard-Visa court case. The article includes the following comment from the Judge on Jack Warner’s right-hand man Chuck Blazer. “Mr. Blazer’s testimony was generally without credibility based on his attitude and evasive answers on cross examination.”
After this week Speakers’ Corner will be taking a break over the holiday season. However, I will continue to post during that time and create open forums for discussion over the next few weeks.
Thank you to all the regular blog readers and contributors and a happy holiday season to you all and a guid New Year.
Jack “get your tickets here” Warner is in front of the FIFA Executive committee this week as he attempts to slither his way out of another in a long line of “misconduct” allegations. The November edition of “World Soccer” has an article by Lasana Liburd that details at length the ethically challenged Warner’s exploits over the years. Liburd points out that despite Warner’s initial threat to sue FIFA General Secretary Urs Linsi and Ernst & Young – whose leaked report set off the investigation – no action has ever been taken.
It seems that threatening to sue is all part of the Warner act. He threatened to do the same to Andrew Jennings but nothing came of that either. No doubt Warner prefers to take his chances in front of stacked FIFA committees rather than a court of law.
Rob Hughes looks at the imminent arrival at Old Trafford of Henrik Larsson and the current problems of Thierry Henry.
With SAF’s loan capture of Henrik Larsson and the transfer window just around the corner I’m interested in finding out how you would go about strengthening your favourite team. What kind of player (just one) does your team need and who would it be?
The first mention that I have come across about a suggested expansion of the European Championship from the present sixteen teams to possibly twenty-four.
Here goes with week #2. There was no shortage of topics last week and it does not look as if the pace will slacken anytime soon. This is the place to post your questions or thoughts on any subject – except why isn’t your team on FSC – and I will do my best to respond later in the week.
I am also including links to a couple of articles I read over the weekend which you might find interesting.
The Sunday Times ran a story over the weekend about Premiership players storing their children’s stem cells as a potential source of treatment for their own career ending injuries.
In light of the Ben Thatcher attack on Pedro Mendez last week Rob Hughes takes a look at the “Rise of the Elbow” in the game.
Roy Keane’s dramatic return was the inspiration for this article which was written by Simon Barnes last Friday.
You can also enter the FSC Talent Challenge over at http://fantasy.foxsoccer.com . I understand that we provide the FSC and challenge parts and you provide the talent.
Once you have logged in and entered your team, click on the 'My Leagues' link you can find on the left of the page. Then enter the code 24-176 to join the FSC Talent Challenge League.
Later this week I should have a preview of the next round of the FA Cup so you can check on the next opponents of Jarrow Roofing Boldon Coomunity Association after their Extra Preliminary Round win over Billingham Synthonia a couple of weeks ago.
I am also planning a preview of the qualifying groups for Euro 2008 which really gets underway this coming weekend.
And once again thanks to all of you who take the time to visit and post.
Andy Gray comments on passion in a manager and refers to Jim McLean who I was fortunate enough to know some years ago. I have never known anyone who more passionate about winning and playing well than Jim McLean. He once fined each of his players after they had won 6-1 because he thought they could have done better. And for those of you who are beginning to worry about post-World Cup withdrawal don’t panic – the Champions League draw for round 1 and 2 will be made on Friday.
Gabriele Marcotti takes a look at Jose Pekerman, Coach of Argentina, and the play of Javier Mascherano. Mascherano shone at the 2004 Copa America and it looks as if he has only improved.
Michael Grant looks at England's progress so far and includes a comment from former England star Trevor Steven on ####mp;T's Chris Birchall outplaying Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
A piece on Guus Hiddink and his Australian charges.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
Thank you to all who take time to visit this blog and especially to those of you who post your comments and thoughts.
PS - If you have questions please post them on the regular Monday blog. I am unable to answer e mails posted to the inbox on this site.
And one more thing. If you have questions or complaints or compliments about programming please contact Fox Soccer Channel or Fox Sports World Canada directly. I have no control over what the stations televise.
