“No sooner is Three to See back for the season on Just-Football.com than we are rudely interrupted by the distraction of an international break in the fixture calendar. Well, not to worry; there are some intriguing fixtures lined up this weekend nevertheless as the road to the 2010 World Cup heats up. Here are 3 games we recommend tuning in for…” (Just-Football)

“Chelsea, one of the richest clubs in world soccer, was barred Thursday from registering any new player between now and January 2011. This judgment, if it sticks, will critically damage Chelsea’s ability to compete in the sport. It means that Carlo Ancelotti, who two months ago left A.C. Milan to become the new Chelsea coach, will not be able to shape the team. And it puts an unprecedented obstacle in the way of the London team, whose Russian owner, Roman Abramovich, has spent a billion dollars trying, so far in vain, to win the Champions League.” (NYT)

FIFA Gives Chelsea 1-Year Transfer Ban
“Chelsea was banned from signing any new players for a year because it encouraged a teenager to break his contract with a French team and sign with the English soccer power.” (NYT)

“I said yesterday (checks: no, make that earlier today) ‘whatever happened to Scottish football started happening in the mid-to-late seventies.’ Here’s this to bear me out, from Harry Reid’s marvellous The Final Whistle?” (More Than Mind Games)

“It’s a cruel twist of scheduling fate that after two weeks or so of club soccer (or only one week, if you’re a fan of La Liga) everybody decides to take the weekend off for an international break. Nevertheless, the interlull still represents something we’d have killed for only a month ago: competitive soccer matches that actually matter. The fact that they aren’t the competitive matches we were hoping for is unfortunate, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make the best of a bad situation.” (Avoiding the Drop)

“Deadly, lethal, prolific — just a few adjectives often used to describe Team Limey’s nightclub performances on a Saturday night. Back in the real world, these are apt descriptions of the elite goal-scorers discussed in this week’s column. More specifically, we’re looking at who we think will be donning the Golden Boot as the English Premier League’s top scorer this season.” (SI)

“Amongst the other internationals, one fixture stands out in the footballing world this Saturday. Just after nine in the evening local time, Argentina host Brazil in a match Diego Maradona’s home side can’t afford to lose if they’re to avoid – at the very least – giving fans palpitations over their qualification prospects.” (ESPN)

“The last week has been a revelation for Arsenal fans, the ugly side of football baring its teeth. Conventional wisdom suggests that you should never under-estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers. The media and the football establishment have succeeded in justifying this theory.” (A Cultured Left Foot)