“The cold spell which has reduced parts of England to a virtual standstill in the past month has hit a number of sporting fixtures, with the almost inevitable moans from football managers about fixture congestion as postponed matches are crammed into an already tight schedule. However, compared to events in the winter of 1962-63, the last few weeks have been a stroll in the park.” (ESPN)

St Mary of Egypt
“1:00 p.m. On Tuesday, Egypt scored three unanswered goals to defeat Nigeria, 3-1, in each team’s opening match in the African Cup of Nations, which was played in Benguela. Egypt opens its African Cup of Nations title defense against Nigeria on Tuesday in Angola, but you will have to forgive the Pharoahs’ supporters back home if, after a failed bid to make their first World Cup in two decades, their minds are still on South Africa. Lined up against them will be the erratic Super Eagles, a team — like many of the African sides headed to the World Cup — still building toward the finals in June.” (NYT)

Egypt 3-1 Nigeria
“Defending champions Egypt came from behind to seal a fine victory over Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations. Chinedu Obasi put Nigeria in front in the 12th minute with a clinical finish. Egypt levelled when a goalkeeping error let Emad Moteab slip the ball into an empty net, before a deflected effort from Ahmed Hassan put them ahead.” (BBC)

“Not the standard 4-4-2 formation is it? That’s the corporate and financing structure of Manchester United FC. The diagram comes from the prospectus to the £500m senior secured notes offering launched on Monday morning. The document provides a fascinating peak into the structure of the English Premier League champions, acquired by the Glazer family in a £790m leveraged buy-out in 2005, both in terms of its finances and the club’s recent performance on the pitch.” (FI)

“During my brief six months working in Angola between 2002 and 2003, a favorite pastime of mine when driving around Luanda was to try to identify the replica team shirts worn by ubiquitous street soccer teams playing in any available space. Brazil’s canary yellow was the most popular, but the range was impressive; I saw complete teams kitted out in the reds of Manchester United, the burgundy of Portugal, the green stripes of Sporting Lisbon, the yellow/orange/black on white design of Germany, even the all whites of Real Madrid—a hopelessly futile choice in the face of the city’s red dirt and grimy haze. I never could quite figure out how Angolan street teams, of both children and adults, managed to procure so many dazzling kits. But it was clearly important—a small, symbolic, daily attempt to claim membership in the community of a global game.” (Pitch Invasion)

“The press coverage of last weekend’s FA Cup third round ties made much of falling attendances. Reports pointed to the rows of empty seats at the DW Stadium, Hillsborough and the Riverside as proof of the hallowed old competition’s waning powers and its increasingly devalued status as an unloved irritant for clubs who prize the Premier League above all else. Is the FA Cup doomed then to go the way of its continental counterparts, the Coppa Italia and Copa del Rey?” (WSC)

 “Saturday afternoon in Islington and Everton’s Steven Pienaar is scooping the ball expertly, delicately over Arsenal’s goalkeeper, Manuel Almunia, and into the net. A thousand miles away, a slight, pale teenager in a black tracksuit with green trim, RACING emblazoned across his chest, watches it on Televisión Española from his hotel room at the NH Convenciones in Seville. The commentator takes a deep breath and emits a long, drawn-out ¡gooooooool! He pauses. ¡Gol! ¡Gol! ¡Gol! ¡Gol! It is, he says, a golazo, a great goal. ‘Brilliant,’ says his co-commentator. And the teenager agrees; it is. But he can’t help thinking that he could do better.” (Guardian)

“The horrifying attack on Togo’s football team in Angola has sparked a flurry of alarmist stories in newspapers around the world questioning South Africa’s ability to stage the World Cup. Officials organising the South Africa tournament have moved quickly to dismiss those claims.” (BBC)

“Underdogs Malawi shocked fancied Algeria, thumping them 3-0 in a poorly-attended game in Luanda. Russel Mwafulirwa capitalised on a defensive mix-up on 17 minutes, lashing home from a tight angle. Elvis Kafoteka then powered in a header to finish off a smart move from the Malawians on the left.” (BBC)

Who Pays When a Football Player Is Hurt?
“The opening ceremony of the African Cup of Nations in Angola was supposed to launch a year of celebration for football in Africa. Instead, the tournament began in sombre mood Sunday as the hosts played Mali in the inaugural match. A heavy shadow hangs over the biennial competition following Friday’s deadly ambush of the Togo team bus that left three people dead and nine more injured. Five months before South Africa hosts the Fifa World Cup for the first time in the continent’s history, the atmosphere of jubilation has soured.” (WSJ)

Angola ‘arrests’ after Togo football team attack
“Angolan authorities have arrested two people over a deadly attack on Togo’s football team at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, state media say. Angola’s National Radio reported that two suspects were arrested in the northern province of Cabinda – where Togo’s team bus was attacked on Friday. Cabinda has seen a low-level insurgency for many years.” (BBC)

A Big Part of Life, and Now Death
“World sports, and not simply African soccer, now have to face up to the reality that they can no longer presume they are immune from terrorism. On Sunday, even as the African Cup of Nations was set to kick off in Angola, there was rank confusion among the Togo players who survived the attack on their bus on Friday after it entered the volatile province of Cabinda. Three corpses and eight people reported wounded — including two in intensive care — yet the team was being pressured to play on.” (NYT)

Football retakes centre stage in Angola
“Angola had promised a glitzy opening ceremony to officially kick off the 2010 African Nations Cup and it certainly did not disappoint. Luanda’s 11 November Stadium was lit up by a colourful show of fireworks and music, which accompanied displays of traditional and contemporary dancing performed by people in elaborate costumes.” (BBC)

Angola Stunned in Draw with Mali
“It was a game that came within one goal of matching a 47-year-old record, but for all the excitement of a thrilling opening match at the African Nations Cup finals, the gloom over Angola only turned a shade darker. Hoping to set aside the grisly images of the Cabinda bus attack that left two members of the Togo delegation dead and the West Africans heading for home, Angola’s ‘Palancas Negras’ team looked set for some positive headlines when their side stormed into a four-goal lead against Mali in Sunday’s first game of the tournament.” (allAfrican)

Africa Cup of Nations results
(BBC)

“The lack of English managers at the very top level has been well and truly noticed now: last night, Radio 5 devoted ninety minutes to discussing the situation with the likes of Tony Adams, Steve McClaren, Terry Venables and Sam Allardyce. The programme went out live, it’s not clear how much any of the participants had prepared, and the comments rarely went beyond the obvious and the hackneyed. Top clubs won’t give an English coach a chance; clubs don’t give managers long enough; there’s no realistic career path in which to gain experience; chairmen think top players turn into top managers.” (More Than Mind Games)

“Host Kartik Krishnaiyer had the opportunity to sit down with acclaimed author and Financial Times columnist Simon Kuper in Miami this week and discussed among other things – The integration of the Dutch National Team with racial minorities – The future of Serie A – the legacy of World War II in Dutch Football – The financial stability of relegated clubs…” (EPL Talk)

“Brazil met Argentina in the second round of the 1990 World Cup, pummelled them for 80 minutes without scoring, and then fell to the sucker punch as Diego Maradona produced one of his turn and burst specials, drew the defence and slipped a pass for Claudio Caniggia to round the keeper and score the only goal of the game. Galvao Bueno, commentating on Brazil’s TV Globo, was not impressed at all. His post-mortem on the goal was along the lines of ‘why didn’t someone take Maradona out, come across and kick him?'” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

“When the players of Blue Square South club Lewes take the pitch at Aggborough against Blue Square Premier club Kidderminster Harriers in the Second Round of this year’s FA Trophy, they will do so with the knowledge that the match could be their last. The club faces a third winding up order at the High Court on Wednesday morning over an outstanding tax debt of £48,000, and the very fact that this is their third appearance at the court doesn’t bode particularly well. There is no finite number of occasions that insolvency proceedings heard at court can be deferred, but the likelihood that they will be able to persuade a judge of the merits of allowing them to continue to trade drops with every case.” (twohundredpercent)

Triumph of Death – Pieter Bruegel the Elder
“The Angolan government chose to use the northern enclave of Cabinda as a venue for the African Cup of Nations to improve the province’s war-torn image and drive investment. But its plan has turned out to be a tragic own goal, with reports of three dead, Togo set to pull out of the tournament and Angola in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The Togolese team – which includes Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Aston Villa midfielder Moustapha Salifou – were shot at by a group of gunmen as they travelled by bus from the Republic of Congo into Cabinda, which is separated from Angola by a strip of the Democratic Republic of Congo.” (BBC)

“For the first time, a major international tournament begins without anyone knowing for sure how many teams will be taking part. Such is the case with the 2010 African Cup of Nations in the wake of the tragedy that befell the Togo squad on their journey to Angola. Three people died when the Togolese team bus was fired upon as it travelled through Cabinda, a province of Angola where a separatist movement has been involved in armed conflict with the central authorities.” (WSC)

“The cold air that is whistling through football isn’t solely as a result of the recent wintry weather. HMRC are on the move, and their aim is to recoup taxpayers’ money from football clubs that haven’t been paying their bills. They have been busy since the start of the season, having already extinguished Kings Lynn, agreeing a last minute payment plan with Rochdale and forcing a change of ownership at Accrington Stanley, where over £300,000 had to be found – new owner Ilyas Khan, at the last minute, paid £110,000 and stood as guarantor for the remainder. HMRC have also been after a number of non-league clubs, although Kings Lynn were the only terminal casualties.” (twohundredpercent)

“Sometimes I’m not surprised that online piracy is so rampant when it comes to soccer. Trying to find out who has the rights to a game or tournament is very difficult, and even when you find a stream, you’re not sure whether it’s an official one or not. Take, for example, the African Nations Cup which kicks off in a few hours from Angola. As far as I can tell, there’s no English-speaking television station in the United States that is broadcasting the game.” (EPL Talk)

“Football was never simply a game in Africa. It arrived in the mid 19th Century across the coast of the continent as a by-product of empire building. British, French, Portuguese priests, sailors, soldiers and missionaries brought a game unseen and not played by any in Africa. Traditional sports abounded but there is no record of anyone kicking a ball until the brutal transformation of the continent.” (BBC)

“One of the things I actually get paid to do in my office is run radiant heat load calculations for one of the product lines I represent. See, in my day-to-day work, I’m a sales representative for about ten different hydronic heating product lines, one of which is a radiant tubing company. Typically, we do heat loads for residential houses and driveways; however, one of the product lines I represent has been involved in some major projects. Projects like sports field turf conditioning. With all the weather postponements over the weekend, I figured I’d take a look at what, exactly, goes into a turf conditioning system and what they’re supposed to do.” (Avoiding the Drop)

Angola
“Togo’s footballers are being recalled from the Africa Cup of Nations by their government following a deadly attack on the team’s bus in Angola. An assistant coach, press officer and driver were killed. Two players were shot and injured in Friday’s attack. The Angolan government and tournament officials had been pressing Togo to stay for their group games in Cabinda. Togo government minister Pascal Bodjona said the team was coming home because the players were in a state of shock.” (BBC)

Togo Bus Attack in Angola ahead of African Cup of Nations: Reaction & Some Serious Questions
“So on the eve of the African Cup of Nations 2010, African football’s jewel in the crown, tragedy strikes. As was reported earlier, the Togo national team bus was ambushed by gunmen and shot at on it’s way from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the team’s base in Cabinda, where they were due to play their Group B Cup of Nations matches. Reports are coming in all the time, but it is thought that the team bus driver was killed on the spot. Additionally, 4 players are thought to have been shot and team doctors are also seriously injured. Nantes forward Thomas Dossevi spoke to RMC, a French radio station after the attack.” (Just Football)

No concerns over South African security, insists World Cup chief
“Danny Jordaan, the head of the 2010 South Africa World Cup, has told Observer Sport there should be no concern over safety at the tournament following the gun attack in Angola on Togo’s team bus, which killed four people and wounded eight others on Friday. Yet while Jordaan was insistent that ‘terrorists cannot be allowed to win’, he did admit “even more stringent” security measures would be taken ahead of the finals, the first to be held in Africa.” (Guardian)

Clubs want African players back after Togo attack
“Hull boss Phil Brown has led calls for Premier League players at the Africa Cup of Nations to return to the UK after the Togo bus came under gunfire. The assistant coach, press officer and driver were killed. Two players were shot and injured in Friday’s attack. Hull’s Gabon striker Daniel Cousin and Nigerian midfielder Seyi Olofinjana are among 31 Premier League players in Africa for the tournament.” (BBC)

Togo withdraw from Africa Cup of Nations after deadly gun attack
“Togo have withdrawn from the Africa Cup of Nations following the gun attack on the team bus that is understood to have killed one player, two staff members and the driver yesterday as it crossed the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo into the Angolan enclave of Cabinda.” (Guardian)

Togo withdraw from ANC as death toll increases
“Togo have withdrawn from the African Nations Cup in Angola following the machine gun attack on their team bus on Friday, with the death toll now understood to have risen to three. The team bus was attacked by rebels after crossing the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo into the Angolan enclave of Cabinda ahead of the tournament. There have been conflicting reports about the identity of those shot, but Togo assistant coach Abalo Amelete and a spokesperson, Stanislas Ocloo, have died along the bus driver; while the condition of goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale, who was reported dead earlier, is unclear.” (ESPN)

Tragic Togo attack has done irreparable damage
“Once again, the world of sport has been dragged into the news spotlight with tragic consequences. And, with the World Cup looming on the horizon, it could not have come at a worse time for the continent of Africa. There have been fears about the showpiece event in June, but Friday night’s shocking gun attack on the Togo team bus, which left four dead and many more injured, has now raised questions over the future of this year’s African Nations Cup as well.” (ESPN)

“If this year’s African Cup of Nations in Angola has entered the psyche of English football fans at all, it is because of the cataclysmic effect on Chelsea’s Premier League title hopes of a month without Didier Drogba. Hull, Sunderland and Burnley, it seems, will be too good for Daniel Sturridge. The 2008 tournament ought to have been the breakthrough for its standing in Britain, with less talk of the damage done by holding the competition at an inconvenient time for the Premier League (how dare they?) and more talk about the… y’know… football.” (twohundredpercent)

Group A: African Cup of Nations 2010 Preview (Algeria, Angola, Malawi, Mali)
“The tournament preview is up, you’ve seen the African Cup of Nations 2010 match schedule, now let’s crack onto the group previews. Here is our team-by-team guide to the competition, which kicks off in Angola this weekend.” (Just Football), Group B: African Cup of Nations 2010 Preview (Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo), Group C: African Cup of Nations 2010 Preview (Benin, Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria), Group D: African Cup of Nations 2010 Preview (Cameroon, Gabon, Tunisia, Zambia)

African Cup of Nations Guide: Angola 2010

Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait (2006)
“The relationship between football and the box in the corner of your living room is a somewhat complex one. On both the big screen, the game hasn’t particularly well served, in no small part because even all of the drama that can be mustered with the aid of a script, hundreds of actors, a bunch of actors and all the muscle that Hollywood can muster seldom matches the sheer, visceral, unscripted thrill of the match itself. Television does better. The structure and length of the television programme seems better suited to the stories that the game has to tell, and the traditional strengths of strong factual programming – well chosen archive material and outstanding research – are obviously perfect for documentary-style stories from the game’s past.” (twohundredpercent)

“Quick, who finished second at the 1990 World Cup? Who was third in 1982? Chances are you don’t know. And if you do, congratulations — only a select few would recognize such as a laudable feat. World Cups are staged to crown a champion, to determine who is the world’s best — over the span of a given month, anyway. Tournaments come and go. The winners are forever heralded, their jerseys embroidered with a star above the crest to mark the occasion. Everyone else is forgotten. Yet some of the losers are memorable for just that: losing.” (ESPN)

“Football’s January transfer window, which opened Friday, has fast come to resemble an annual shopping frenzy for Europe’s leading clubs. First implemented in the 2002/03 season, the transfer window system gives teams 12 weeks in the summer and the month of January to recruit reinforcements for their rosters. Outside of those two periods, transactions are banned.” (WSJ)

“The European winter transfer window was flung open with a flourish last Saturday with Roma putting on display their newly acquired Italian international striker Luca Toni. Everybody seemed happy with the 18-month loan deal from Bayern Munich, not least the free-spirited Toni, whose chances of being part of Marcello Lippi’s squad going to South Africa next summer will doubtless improve thanks to the likelihood of playing regularly and being back on Italian soil.” (BBC)

“James is joined by Raphael Honigstein, Barry Glendenning and John Ashdown to discuss what little football news there is, as bad weather stops most of the midweek action. Stoke City need more than a bit of snow and ice to put them off, and the pod enthuse about their entertaining win over Fulham. But should Arsenal’s game have gone ahead? And why do other countries manage to play despite having worse conditions?” (Guardian – James Richardson)

“There are no cup holders in this competition, as the Europa League is brand new, but de-facto Holders are Shakhtar Donetsk, of Ukraine, who won the final UEFA Cup title last May. The Europa League Knockout stage will begin in the third week of February, on the 16th and 18th. To avoid a Merseyside fixture congestion, the round will kick off two days before the rest of the matches in the leg. So it’s Everton v. Sporting Clube de Portugal on 16 February, and the other 15 matches on 18 February, including Liverpool v. Unirea Urziceni.” (billsportsmaps)

“Last month Marta was awarded the World Footballer of the Year trophy for the forth time. I have said it before: Marta is a great player. But in ten years, only three women have been given this award (Mia Hamm got it twice, & Birgit Prinz three times). Since 2001 (the year FIFA started awarding this trophy to female players), 9 men received the award with Ronaldinho winning it twice. I suspect Marta herself doesn’t think she deserves to have won this honor four years in a row.” (From A Left Wing)

“And so we come to the first posting of 2010. Only a few weeks ago, as I was stuck at an airport somewhere in southern Belgium staring out at an empty tarmac, waiting for an airplane that would never come, and facing another long drive home, I was thinking that with the Xmas holiday effectively cancelled, at least I wouldn’t have to miss my recommended daily allowance of Scottish football.” (Inside Left)

Washerwomen, Hubert Robert
“Barcelona have a mountain to climb to retain their Copa del Rey title after slumping to a 2-1 home defeat in the first leg of their last-16 tie with Sevilla. Barca’s Copa del Rey success of last year was the first of a record-breaking six trophies they won in 2009 but Pep Guardiola’s men need to do it the hard way if they are to claim a 26th cup title this season after a much-changed side went down to a similarly weakened Sevilla on Tuesday.” (ESPN)

Barca Humbled by Sevilla; FC Barcelona – 1, Sevilla – 2
“FC Barcelona surpirisingly lost the first leg of Copa Del Rey quarterfinals at home to an under strength Sevilla side. FC Barcelona now face a near impossible task of winning the second leg away from home with atleast two goals clear to proceed to the next game. Two matches into the new year, Barca is still looking for their first win of the year. Diego Capel always has been a head-ache for Barca and he opened the scoring for Sevilla.” (All About FC Barcelona)

FC Barcelona vs Sevilla , Copa Del Rey First Leg Highlights
(All About FC Barcelona)

“The tragedy of the 100+ Mitchell and Kenyon films is in their length, or lack of it. Getting a real idea of what an Edwardian soccer match was like from any one of them or all of them is next to impossible. This example, Newcastle United v Liverpool at St James’s Park in 1901, is about the best of the bunch.” (More Than Mind Games)

“When Barcelona whirled through Almería’s defence from kick-off and just missed with their first shot, you could see Almería’s players thinking: ‘Whew, only 89 minutes left.’ The match, earlier this season, was never a match. Little Almería’s annual revenues are just €21m ($31m, £19m), 5 per cent of Barcelona’s, and if they had brought any supporters along I could not see them. Almería got away lightly that night, losing only 1-0. However, the Spanish league is out of whack.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

Oman Biyik
“Lots of South American eyes will be aimed at Angola this month as the African Cup of Nations gets underway. Argentina will have a chance to study Nigeria, its opening World Cup opponent, while Brazil can look at Ivory Coast, the team it will face second in the so-called ‘Group of Death.’ The other clash between the two continents in the group phase of the World Cup is Uruguay against the hosts, but here the South Americans are out of luck — South Africa didn’t qualify for Angola. But Uruguay might meet Nigeria in the second round, just as Paraguay might be up against Cameroon and Chile could find itself taking on Ivory Coast. So from the South American point of view, some important reconnaissance work will be taking place over the next few weeks. (SI – Tim Vickery)

“The new year arrives in midseason for Europe’s soccer leagues, but the sense of renewal is none the less challenging. Put yourself into the shoes of Josep Guardiola, the coach of Barcelona. You had already warned your players that there might be a period of darkness after the team won the unprecedented six out of six competitions that it entered in 2009 — and now you are standing, ill clad in your gray suit in the constant downpour, as those cups are paraded at the Camp Nou stadium before Saturday evening’s match against Villarreal.” (NYT)

“Check out this preview for Stevan Lofgren’s documentary-in-progress on football in Africa. It looks like it will be a wonderful film, which should be ready sometime this Spring in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup.” (Soccer Politics)

“Afternoon all, hope you had a good Christmas and New Year. Mine was relatively quiet and stress-free. A pity the same can’t be said about Notts County, as in the fifth day of this new decade, the club has been issued with yet another winding up order.” (The Great Footballing Circus)

“If the auto industry can do it, why shouldn’t football? Germany and the Netherlands have been waiting for a big trophy for 16 and 24 years respectively. Both will travel to South Africa with ambitious and quality teams. Both teams have to deal with a few understrength positions too, though. So I decided to follow Uli Hoeness’ and Louis van Gaal’s example at Bayern Munich and see what a Dutch-German hybrid national team could look like and what it could achieve.” (World Cup Blog)

“In his first game after rejoining Flamengo, Adriano’s presence put an extra 50,000 on the gate. “The emperor has returned,” they chanted – and the 27-year-old striker was looking imperious from day one. His 19 goals – making him the competition’s joint-top scorer – and his all-round attacking play were vital to the Rio de Janeiro giants ending a 17-year wait to win the Brazilian Championship.” (World Soccer – Tim Vickery)

“My football team, Burridge AFC, occupy the 13th tier of the pyramid system, playing their home games a punted clearance away from the River Hamble in the senior division of the Drew Smith Group Southampton League. The consistent absence of spectators leaves referees to tolerate various degrees of abuse alone. I haven’t always been nice to them myself. I followed one off the pitch after the final whistle of a game with Ordnance Survey Reserves, to continue remonstrating about his decision to give Survey a late penalty, but a brisk step suggested his main concern was getting to the sanctuary of his dressing room rather than repeat the answer he’d given me several minutes earlier.” (WSC)

“With the World Cup nearing, 2010 will be South Africa’s year. The self-proclaimed Rainbow Nation will receive a rainbow crowd of visitors, the largest and most diverse group of tourists in its history. The spotlight on the country’s progress since apartheid will be more intense than ever. The World Cup host, President Jacob Zuma, will bring Britain his message of success with a state visit here in March. Eight months in office, he has surprised his critics. He is more accessible to ordinary South Africans than his aloof predecessor, Thabo Mbeki. He is more willing to listen to colleagues than Nelson Mandela who, according to former ministers, could be brutal in cabinet, shutting speakers up by saying he had already taken his decision.” (Guardian)

“When Arsene Wenger was appointed Arsenal manager back in 1996, the London Evening Standard ran a headline that said ‘Arsene Who?’ ‘Right away they told me I would never win anything, not just because I was unknown, but because I was a foreigner,’ Mr. Wenger later recalled. ‘The papers were full of articles illustrating exactly why a foreigner would never win the Premiership.'” (WSJ)

“Financial and football journalism have long been distant cousins. And since the formation of the Premier League in 1992, that has largely not mattered. This year, however, it has. Give or take a Norman Lamont-inspired week or two during its inaugural season, the Premier League has lived through economic boom times allied with a bottomless pit of broadcast revenue from that bottomless pit of broadcast evil, Rupert Murdoch. The burning monetary question for most fans has been ‘what comes after billion?’” (twohundredpercent)

Orazio Gentileschi, St Francis and the Angel
“Steven Gerrard rescued Liverpool again with an equaliser at the Madejski Stadium to earn an FA Cup third-round replay against Reading and avoid an embarrassing defeat. It was hardly the most influential performance from Gerrard but the Liverpool skipper produced a goal when his side needed it most, as he does so often, meaning the two clubs will meet again at Anfield. Simon Church had bundled in an opener to give the hosts the scent of an upset but Gerrard levelled before the break for Rafael Benitez’s men.” (ESPN)

The hunger that could drive Steven Gerrard away from Liverpool
“Another year, another transfer window. Time to wonder, do I dare? Roberto Mancini was probably only joking when he suggested Liverpool might like to make Manchester City a belated Christmas present of Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres, though for one member of that talented trio his humour must have touched a nerve.” (Guardian)

Liverpool frustrated by resurgent Reading
“STRANGE to think that four months ago Liverpool were favoured by many to win the league. A solitary game into 2010 and their domestic season has been reduced to a frantic attempt to cling onto a Champions League place and a hopeful tilt at the FA Cup.” (TimesOnline)

Reading 1 Liverpool 1 – Match Reaction
“In a season packed with dire performances, this may just be the worst yet. We didn’t lose, but we were outplayed for long spells by a team fighting relegation from the Championship. A team without their two best players. This was fucking terrible, especially considering the ’strength’ of the side we put out. Reading wanted it more, they were first to most loose balls and they passed the ball far better than we did. How can that happen? We’re not getting any better are we?” (Liverpool Way)

Reading 1 – 1 Liverpool
“Championship strugglers Reading deservedly forced a replay against Liverpool after an entertaining and finely balanced FA Cup third-round tie at the Madejski Stadium. Reading have won only five of their 24 Championship fixtures and are 20th in the table after a disappointing season that saw them recently part company with manager Brendan Rodgers. But the Royals, thrashed 4-1 at Plymouth on Monday, had spells when they were the superior side against a Liverpool team determined to prosper in the competition after their elimination from the Champions League and travails in the Premier League.” (BBC)

Reading 1 Liverpool 1: match report
“The FA Cup is supposed to be Liverpool’s chance at redemption, the competition that helps them salvage something from this spiralling season. With Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres in harness the intent was there to deliver a performance full of New Year’s resolve. Instead they delivered their season in microcosm – occasional hints of the team that this was supposed to be, subsumed in a mire of mediocrity.” (Telegraph)

“For the second time in as much as visit, Villareal maged to take a point away from Nou Camp. Villareal’s away form has been very poor this season, but that didn’t stop them drawing and almost winnin g the match in the end. With this win Barca has moved clear of Real Madrid by three points, but the Madrid based side can equal Barca in points if they manage to win tonight at Osasuna. When Pedro put Barca in the lead in the 7th minute , we all expected to have a dominant match, but Villareal equalised through David Fuster in the start of second half.” (All About FC Barcelona)

Liga: Barca drop points, Atletico beat Sevilla
“Barcelona dropped points at Camp Nou for the first time in the campaign as they began 2010 with a 1-1 draw against Villarreal.” (ESPN)

FC Barcelona vs Villareal Highlights on 02/01/2010
(All About FC Barcelona)

“We’ve seen some great soccer jersey releases in 2009. The tight-fitting retro look made a strong comeback as the oversized kits of the early to mid 2000s made way for team wear that more closely reflected today’s contemporary fashion. In celebration of the year that was in the world of footie kits, we’ve made a list of our favorite jerseys released in 2009 and checked it twice. Here are the Football Fashion Top 10 Soccer Jerseys of 2009.” (Football Fashion)

Station Name: CONNAUGHT ROAD
“With the transfer window now officially open, English football’s top-flight clubs can begin a month-long spending spree as they get their last opportunity to wheel and deal before the end of the season. Last season’s January window was dominated by Manchester City’s astonishing £100m bid for Brazilian superstar Kaka. And with new manager Roberto Mancini arriving at the club there could well be similar activity at Eastlands this time around.” (BBC)

“It’s been a decade of excitement and intrigue and a lot has changed over the past ten years. Here, ESPN Soccernet’s columnists relive their best memories from the world of football.” (ESPN)

“FA Cup Holders Chelsea will host Watford on Sunday, 3rd January. This match-up is among those in the round with the closest distance between grounds. It’s about 25 kilometers, or 16 miles, between Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge and Watford’s Vicarage Road. The closest distanced clubs that are matched up in the FA Cup Third Round are Arsenal and West Ham United. Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and West Ham’s Boleyn Ground (aka Upton Park) are 15 kilometers (9 miles) apart. West Ham hosts Arsenal on Sunday. In 1980, West Ham won their third and most recent FA Cup title over Arsenal 3-0, with a 13th minute goal by Trevor Brooking. It was the last time a club from outside the top flight won the FA Cup. On the FA site, you can see a look back at that final and a preview of the match this weekend {click here, and go to ‘Hammers waiting for…’ which is halfway down and center in the videos section}.” (billsportsmaps)

“From Arsenal’s striker shortage to Wolves’ budget buys we take a look at the Premier League shopping lists” (Guardian)

“Financial and football journalism have long been distant cousins. And since the formation of the Premier League in 1992, that has largely not mattered. This year, however, it has. Give or take a Norman Lamont-inspired week or two during its inaugural season, the Premier League has lived through economic boom times allied with a bottomless pit of broadcast revenue from that bottomless pit of broadcast evil, Rupert Murdoch. The burning monetary question for most fans has been ‘what comes after billion?’” (twohundredpercent)

“The fast-approaching New Year tends to bring a bit of nostalgia — and indeed, soccer fans in the U.S. had a lot to commemorate in 2009. Whether you’re a follower of the U.S. national team, Major League Soccer, the UEFA Champions League or all of the above, this past year provided a collection of drama that proved more boards are surfing the soccer wave than ever before. Here are 10 moments, in no particular order…” (SI)

“End of decade lists are a tricky business. I mostly enjoy them, but am somewhat skeptical of anything that tries to boil a decade down to a list of the ten best. Mostly because someone always gets left out, the one to ten rankings are somewhat arbitrary, and the resulting debate is an apples to oranges “how can Messi be above Maldini” free for all. No thank you.” (The Offside)

“With half a season or so now completed in the Championship, my fellow blogger Lloyd and I have taken the opportunity to assess events thus far, in the wake of a bracing walk along Plymouth Hoe. Here are the results…” (thetwounfortunates)

“When the soccer historians look back at this past year, 2009 undoubtedly will go down as the year of FC Barcelona. The Spanish giants won an unprecedented six titles — winning every tournament in which they participated — and became the most successful squad in history. While Barça has arguably the most depth of any squad in the world, with quality players at every position, its domination wouldn’t have been possible without the inspiration of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi.” (SI)