“We’ve got our first ever football map of Scotland this month by sports map guru Bill Turianski. The simple and obvious fact of Scottish football, known to most if not all of you, is the overwhelming dominance of Glasgow’s Old Firm duo Celtic and Rangers. And it shines right through on the map and attendance table.” (albion road)

“Diego Maradona’s Argentina booked their place at next summer’s World Cup finals as substitute Mario Bolatti hit a late winner to end Uruguay’s hopes of snatching automatic qualification for South Africa. Huracan midfielder Bolatti, winning just his third cap, fired home with six minutes remaining after the home defence failed to deal with Juan Sebastian Veron’s drilled effort from a free-kick.” (ESPN)

Just because Maradona’s paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get him
“‘You lot take it up the arse,’ were Diego Maradona’s words to the press immediately after his team secured a place at next year’s World Cup finals. It was almost adding injury to the insult when he scanned the room and added, ‘if the ladies will pardon the expression’. Looking increasingly Botox-ridden, the angry yet victorious Argentina coach was somehow able to raise a nervous chuckle from those on the receiving end of the abuse.” (Guardian)

Diego Maradona hits out at critics after Argentina qualify for 2010 World Cup
“Diego Maradona hit out at critics of his coaching and said he had issues to discuss with his boss after Argentina qualified for the World Cup. ‘For those who didn’t believe in this national team, for those who treated me like garbage [I say] today we are in the World Cup with all the honours, beating a team like Uruguay,’ said Maradona. Argentina secured their berth at next year’s tournament in South Africa with a 1-0 away win over arch-rivals Uruguay at the Centenario, scene of the first World Cup final in 1930.” (Guardian)

Argentina defeats Uruguay 1-0; qualifies for 2010 World Cup – Recap and Video Highlights – Wednesday, October 14, 2009
“In CONMEBOL (South America), Argentina needed a good result against Uruguay to guarantee a spot in the FIFA 2010 World Cup Finals. Did Argentina qualify or did they struggle? Here’s a recap of the match along with video highlights.” (The 90th Minute)

World Cup Qualifying – CONMEBOL
(ESPN)

“Hungary’s progress to the Under-20s World Cup semi-finals in Egypt has brought to the spotlight the country’s close links with Liverpool Football Club. Three of Hungary’s best performers during the tournament are currently on the books at Anfield as part of a tie-up between Liverpool and MTK Hungaria. And with Liverpool recently bringing Oldham Athletic into the partnership to act as a sort of halfway house between Budapest and Merseyside for young Hungarian players, the links look set to strengthen in the medium to long-term future.” (Just Football)

“Edward Fischman is an occasional commenter on the Goal blog under the handle fischy. He was in the stands in Florence, Italy, on June 10, 1990 when the United States returned to World Cup play after a 40-year absence. As the 2010 World Cup qualifiers wind down, he provides his selections for an Ultimate XI of players who have never competed in a World Cup tournament game.” (NYT)

“American players wanted to win for Charlie. They didn’t, but it sure felt like a victory when the United States scored with just seconds remaining in its final World Cup qualifier. After Jonathan Bornstein’s goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time gave the United States a 2-2 tie against Costa Rica on Wednesday night, players took a victory lap. They carried a banner with the No. 9, the jersey number of Charlie Davies, their teammate who is hospitalized with serious injuries from an automobile accident.” (ESPN)

Freedman’s Throw-Ins
“Let’s just say we all owe Jonathan Bornstein a beer. Had the much-maligned left back not scored that dramatic equalizing header in extra time Wednesday night, the U.S. would be staring at an extremely depressing home loss to Costa Rica. The game was meaningless from a competitive standpoint, save for the “Hexagonal champion” bragging rights at stake (and the emotions involved, as Grant Wahl writes). But that performance, combined with the other plot twists, would have been a real downer on which to wrap up the Hexagonal.” (SI)

Bornstein’s stoppage-time header gives U.S. draw against Costa Rica
“American players wanted to win for Charlie. They didn’t, but it sure felt like a victory when the United States scored with just seconds remaining in its final World Cup qualifier.” (SI)

United States draws with Costa Rica 2-2 – Recap and Video Highlights – Wednesday, October 14, 2009
“The United States faced Costa Rica in the last match for both teams in the CONCACAF hexagonal stage. Costa Rica could clinch a spot with a win or Honduras loss while the USA have already qualified. The Americans will try to focus as after the car accident to striker Charlie Davies who remains in a hospital and likely out for next summer’s World Cup. Here’s a recap of the Wednesday, October 14, 2009 match along with video highlights.” (The 90th Minute)

During a Week of Highs and Lows, U.S. Fights for a Tie
“The U.S. national team has experienced disturbingly little synchronicity this week. Days after the high of clinching a spot in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the team suffered a devastating low on Tuesday when forward Charlie Davies was seriously injured in a car crash that killed one person.” (NYT)

The Penitent Magdalen in a Landscape, Annibale Carracci
“The closing minutes of the World Cup qualification campaign is a time of great joy for those who have booked their places, and a time of sadness for those who have missed out. With its collection of great players from all over the planet, Europe’s Champions League is the place to be week in, week out. But the World Cup has its special magic precisely because it comes around once every four years.” (SI – Tim Vickery)

“Lincoln City supporter Keith Duncombe stepped into the murky world of the football internet forum in 1997 and, in spite of warnings from his doctor about the ill-effects that it is all having on his blood pressure, he is still there.” (twohundredpercent)

“The World Cup 2010 picture is getting clearer and clearer. Right now 19 of the 32 available spots are booked. Qualified teams are: South Africa, Japan, Australia, S. Korea, Netherlands, N. Korea, Brazil, Ghana, England, Spain, Paraguay, Cote d’Ivoire, Germany, Denmark, Serbia, Italy, Chile, Mexico, USA.” (WorldCupBlog)

“The German national team can breathe a little easier after their win against Russia secured their spot in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. One goal from Miroslav Klose was all it took, but it was Mesut Oezil who got the ball to Klose’s foot. After fielding a pass from Lukas Podolski, Oezil approached the goal from the left and drew the keeper out. He faked a shot, which the keeper fell to the ground to block. With the keeper out of the picture, Oezil quickly snapped a pass to Klose in front of the goal who completed the play for the score.” (DW-World)

UEFA – ESPN Soccernet – Oct. 10, Oct. 11, Oct. 14
CONCACAF
CONMEBOL

“Winning is for losers. Many of life’s more interesting stories focus on those who didn’t quite make it; who didn’t get the girl or the job or the epiphany or even the Jules Rimet trophy. Johan Cruyff said his Holland side of the 70s were immortalised by their failure to win the World Cup and, when World Soccer invited a group of experts to select the greatest teams of all time a couple of years ago, three of the top five sides won nothing: Hungary 1953, Holland 1974 and Brazil 1982. Lying 16th on the list – above any side from Argentina, Spain, Germany, Liverpool, Manchester United or Internazionale – was the Danish team of the mid-80s.” (Guardian)

“As all married men out there know, apologizing is a bit of an art form. As the Harvard Business School points out: ‘Done right, an apology can enhance both reputations and relationships. Done wrong, an apology can compound the original mistake, sometimes to disastrous consequences.’ Which brings us to our first apology of the day: Sir Alex Ferguson’s apology to referee Alan Wiley.” (Avoiding the Drop), (Avoiding the Drop – The Art of the Apology, Part II)

“In the 1970´s, a simmering movement left the film industry perplexed and forever changed. The concept was simple: black pride. Yet from this basic concept sprang a world of parody, action, and humor. The era´s name? Blaxploitation. The US National team has similarly entered a new era of early goals but late comebacks, known simply as Bradleyextrapolation. The US went down 1-0, but a 3 goal explosion and a missed penalty resulted in an away victory and a ticket to South Africa. And now, the carefully calculated player grades.” (futfanatico)

“Yet again the issue of The Old Firm moving to the English league has raised it’s rather gnarled and ugly head. I am torn on the issue – that is I can see both sides. That said, Paul Hayward in the Observer lays out five questions. I attempt to answer them below.” (Left Back In The Changing Room)

“In the latest Football Weekly, internet sensation James Richardson is joined by Sean Ingle, Barry Glendenning and Jonathan Wilson to look back on – let’s be honest – a surprisingly dramatic weekend of World Cup qualifiers. We kick off with England’s defeat in Ukraine. Is it time to bed in an alternative to Rio Ferdinand at the back? Did David James do enough to cement his position as the country’s top goalkeeper? And who’ll lead the line against Belarus in the absence of Wayne Rooney?” (Guardian)

“Yes, it may be childish, it may even be downright mean, but what the hell, here are the best of your nominations for the game’s ugliest characters and your reasons for their inclusion… ” (midfielddynamo)

Van Basten
“Everyone laughs at Argentina, but the point is to understand how they got themselves into this mess. Their football team, coached by Diego Maradona, a peculiar former cocaine addict with no previous successful coaching experiences, might fail to qualify for the World Cup. To get there, the Selección must beat Peru at home on Saturday and probably at least draw in Uruguay on Wednesday.” (FT)

Apparently Argentina Asked Peru to Roll Over. But Peru Didn’t.
“Late late 2-1 win over Peru for Diego Maradona’s Argentina on Saturday night, with Martin Palermo scoring the all-important goal in the 93rd minute (and drawing a magnificent Klinsmann-esque diving celebration from his coach, see the very end of the above video.)” (WorldCupBlog)

Palermo Scores, Maradona ‘Flops’, Argentina Wins
“The hero of Argentina’s sputtering World Cup campaign owns an ignominious place in the Guiness Book of World Records. And now, Martín Palermo, a guy known as el Loco (the crazy one), has staked his place in Argentine soccer history. Few will soon forgot the final five minutes or so of Saturday night’s tumultuous South American World Cup qualifying match between a desperate Argentina and a desolate Peru at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.” (NYT)

“The US is going to South Africa. As I followed Grant Wahl’s twitter feed of Saturday’s game from San Pedro Sula, an odd experience of using a 2009 technology to get around the 1980 closed circuit, I was surprised, impressed, and pleased with the fortitude Bob Bradley’s men showed in Honduras. Having not been able to watch, I imagine the game to have played much like the Confederation’s Cup this summer: the US offering just enough tactical and technical savvy to complement their most distinctive quality of sheer determination. There are still many questions as to how far that combination can take the US at the World Cup finals, and I’m sure much will be written on that topic between now and next June. But for me the US victory, along with the crystallizing of all the nations that will be at the finals next summer, raises a more difficult question: will I be in South Africa with them?” (Pitch Invasion)

“Heck of a game here on Saturday night: Ireland 2, Italy 2. Italy qualified for the World Cup and the Republic of Ireland was guaranteed a play-off spot. Some of the younger Irish players — guys who toil for Championship clubs in England — played the game of their lives. The odd thing is that even before the thrilling, fast-paced game began, Ireland knew it was certain of a playoff spot. Earlier in the day, Bulgaria had collapsed against Cyprus, losing 1-4, and the hierarchy in Group 8 of European qualifying was solidified.” (NYT)

“The town of Pavia, half an hour from Milan, is famous for several reasons. It has a 14th century university, some famous wines and extreme weather with humidity and mosquitos in the summer followed by thick fog in the winter. The local football team, AC Pavia, is much less well-known – they have never played at the top level and their most recent season in Serie B was in 1954-55. The club gets some media attention these days, however, because of a 38-year-old midfielder called Benito Carbone, widely regarded in Italy as one of the potentially great players who never quite made it” (WSC)

Luciano Spalletti had to call it quits
“No one can ever suggest that the 2009-2010 Italian season got off to a quiet start. Within two rounds of matches, Internazionale had already stuffed cousins Milan 4-0 in the first Milanese derby of the season, while consecutive defeats against Genoa and Juventus had prompted Roma coach Luciano Spalletti to resign.” (WorldSoccer)

“Rio Ferdinand is perhaps one of the more unlikely of digital ambassadors. Before yesterday’s online-only broadcast of Ukraine v England, the defender offered his opinion on the unique way the game would be broadcast to the nation. ‘I’m sure it’ll be the way forward and in the future it’ll probably be the reality. I think it’s a good way to gauge how many people are interested,’ Ferdinand told BBC Sport. The Manchester United man’s view was one shared by many online who breathlessly predicted it would change the face of sports broadcasting. Perhaps the digital question was still playing in his head, judging by his performance in the game. (SoccerLens)

“The latest qualifiers came from the Americas, where Chile, the USA and Mexico made sure of places with victories early yesterday. With the five qualifiers from Saturday and 11 other countries, including hosts South Africa, which had qualified earlier, the total is now 19. In all, 32 teams will play in the 2010 World Cup. Yesterday’s qualifiers followed Ivory Coast, Germany, Denmark, Serbia and Italy, who won spots on Saturday.” (Timeslive)

“By Wednesday night the make up of the automatic UEFA qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup finals will be known and it is at least possible, if not likely, that there will be one or two surprises amongst them. Serbia, for example, only need one win from their two remaining matches against Romania and Austria to condemn France to second place in their group, whilst it is almost certain that, in spite of having two comfortable home matches against Hungary and Malta as their final two fixtures, the “lottery of the play-offs” will be the best that Portugal will be able to manage and they might yet even lose out on second place to one of Denmark, Sweden or even Hungary. Even Germany may only finish in second place in their group, a scenario which will become considerably more likely should they lose to Russia today.” (twohundredpercent)

“The CONCACAF region is still very close and all six remaining teams were in action on Saturday, October 10, 2009. The United States could clinch a spot with a win while Honduras and Costa Rica are in 3rd and 4th. Mexico will all but clinch a spot with a win as they have a better goal differential than Honduras and Costa Rica. Here’s a recap of all the matches in CONCACAF 2010 World Cup Qualifying along with video highlights.” (The 90th Minute)

U.S. Advances to 2010 World Cup
“Conor Casey plays soccer with the blunt, straight ahead resolve of a punch. His shaved head lends to that fistic impression. There is no need to go around others in his path when he can go right through them. His knees have often failed him, as has his touch with the United States national team. In 14 previous appearances, he had not scored a goal. His breakout performance Saturday night amounted to perfect timing, as did Coach Bob Bradley’s decision to put Casey into the starting lineup. The 6-foot-1 forward scored twice in a frantic, mesmerizing game that gave the United States a 3-2 victory over Honduras and a berth in the 2010 World Cup, which opens next June in South Africa.” (NYT)

Player Ratings: U.S. vs. Honduras
“It is this simple: the United States has qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa — 10s for everybody! Easy. Saturday night’s 3-2 win over Honduras in San Pedro Sula means the U.S. and Mexico have claimed two of the three automatic berths from the Concacaf region. The win, powered by two goals from Conor Casey, rendered Wednesday’s game against Costa Rica superfluous … for the United States.” (NYT)

Mexico 4 – 1 El Salvador
“Mexico became the first nation in North and Central America and the Caribbean to clinch a World Cup berth, beating El Salvador 4-1 Saturday to eliminate the visitors. Marvin Gonzalez’s own goal put the hosts ahead in the 25th minute at Azteca Stadium, and Cuauhtemoc Blanco (71st minute), Francisco Palencia (84th minute) and Carlos Vega (90th) added goals.” (ESPN)

“Substitute Martin Palermo struck two minutes into stoppage time to give Argentina a 2-1 victory over Peru in a dramatic finale to their World Cup qualifier on Saturday. The victory keeps alive Argentina’s hopes of reaching the 2010 finals as they climbed into fourth place in the South American group before their last qualifier away to Uruguay on Wednesday. The top four go through to South Africa.” (ESPN)

Forlan keeps Uruguay hopes alive
“Uruguay claimed a crucial victory away to Ecuador to keep their hopes of World Cup qualification alive going into the final round of fixtures in the South America zone. An injury-time penalty from Diego Forlan gave the Charruas victory at the Olimpico Atahualpa and they now need a win over Argentina on Wednesday to achieve automatic qualification.” (ESPN)

Madness reigns in South America
“Madness. That’s the only word to describe Saturday’s action in the South American zone as the qualifying competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ entered its penultimate round. Making the headlines were two Argentinians who share the same nickname of El Loco (The Madman); Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa, who saw his team win a thrilling encounter in Medellin to return to the world elite for the first time since France 1998, and Albiceleste striker Martin Palermo, who came off the bench to secure the most dramatic of winners for against Peru.” (FIFA)

Maradona’s redemption?
“It’s been a long and interesting life in football for Diego Armando Maradona. Outrageous talent, uncontrollable egotism, and a tendency towards controversy matched by few others (check out his crazy, stream-of-consciousness autobiography for all the gory details). Since he first laced up his boots as a jinking juvenile at Argentinos Juniors all those years ago, the Argentine icon has played a central role in quite some number of memorable matches. Sadly, the content of Maradona’s managerial career to date has proven rather less memorable. Until the events of Saturday night in Buenos Aires.” (Footballing World)

“Spain remained on course to complete a perfect record in qualifying as they made it nine wins from nine with victory over Armenia in a rain-drenched Yerevan today. In a clash between a Spanish side who had already secured their spot in next year’s World Cup finals and an Armenia team whose outside hopes of going to South Africa had vanished long ago, it was the European champions who came out on top thanks to Juan Mata’s second-half penalty.” (ESPN)

Gilardino secures Italy’s spot
“Giovanni Trapattoni came within three minutes of a famous FIFA World Cup™ victory over his native Italy as the reigning champions got out of jail at the death to ensure qualification for South Africa 2010. Substitute Alberto Gilardino snatched a 2-2 draw with a 90th-minute strike just three minutes after Sean St Ledger thought he had blown the race for automatic qualification from Group 8 wide open.” (FIFA)

Rep of Ireland 2-2 Italy
“The Republic sealed a World Cup play-off spot while Italy confirmed their place in South Africa as group winners after a dramatic draw in Dublin. Stoke City’s Glenn Whelan gave the hosts the perfect start with a superb 20-yard strike after eight minutes. The Italians levelled on 23 minutes through Mauro Camoranesi’s header.” (BBC)

“Back in May, before I knew that academic statisticians were eavesdropping on my thoughts, I mused on Sport Is a TV Show that “judging the footballing abilities of two football teams is so difficult that football itself is often a bad way to do it.” I was writing about matches that end in penalty shootouts, but the thought applies just as well to matches in which one team plays better than the other team but loses anyway. As we all know, that’s not an uncommon occurrence—it happens much more in soccer than in any other sport I follow—which is one reason the soccer punditry is so zealous in proclaiming after every whether the winning team really deserved to win. Scoring in soccer is so much more difficult than scoring in other sports, and matches are so much more likely to come down to two or three individual moments, that there will always be an interesting gap between results and merit.” (Run of Play)

The Rape of the Sabine Women, Poussin Nicolas
“Robert Green became the first England goalkeeper to be sent off as Fabio Capello saw his 100% World Cup record smashed to pieces by the Ukraine. Green was dismissed for a professional foul just 15 minutes into what turned out to be one of the worst defensive performances in Capello’s time in charge. Wayne Rooney is exempt from criticism after a towering display which he nearly capped with a last-minute equaliser. But at the back, it was a collective nightmare.” (ESPN)

Robert Green sees red as Ukraine catch England off guard
“England lost their unbeaten record, a goalkeeper and both their starting wingers in the Ukrainian city of rocket science, and though Fabio Capello will have been pleased enough by the spirit and determination shown by his 10 men in an inconsequential fixture, some old flaws were exposed that the Italian appeared to have corrected.” (Guardian- Paul Wilson)

Ukraine launch a late bid for second in space-race city
“The obvious pronunciation challenges are not the only reason why Dnipropetrovsk has failed to feature much on the map of world football. The city’s role in the former Soviet – now Ukrainian – space programme made it one of the Soviet Union’s most closed cities until the early 1990s. Correspondence was often via mail boxes located in other places.” (Independent)

Ukraine 1 England 0: match report
“Perhaps it was best this was not shown on television: some of this wasn’t fit for watching before the watershed. With flares thrown from the crowd, threats of abandoning the game, sporadic racist chanting directed at England’s black players, terrible defensive mistakes, a red card and Fabio Capello’s first defeat in a competitive game this was not a game for the faint-hearted England fan.” (Telegraph)

England’s perfect record goes up in smoke
“Ten-man England saw their 100 per cent record in their World Cup qualifying group disappear after Serhiy Nazarenko’s deflected shot gave Ukraine a vital win in Dnipro. Nazarenko’s shot hit Ashley Cole and flew past David James for the 30th-minute opener. James had come off the bench after Robert Green was sent off for bringing down Artem Milevskiy in the 13th minute, but Andriy Shevchenko’s spot-kick hit the post. The foul came after Rio Ferdinand had let a long ball go through and allowed Milevskiy on goal.” (TimesOnline)

UEFA – ESPN Soccernet – Oct. 10, Oct. 11, Oct. 14
CAF
CONCACAF
CONMEBOL

“For all the jitters about security ahead of Saturday’s match, the scene appears to be pretty much normal. While there were military when the team’s flight arrived Thursday at Ramon Villeda Morales International Airport, it was only a fraction of the security force that blanketed the team at the last two World Cups in South Korea and Germany.” (Telegraph)

“As regular readers of Just Football will know, Argentina are in real danger of not making it to the 2010 World Cup. Their last 2 qualifiers yielded exactly nil points, and as they teeter dangerously on the brink of elimination we want to know whether you think Diego Maradona and co will make it to South Africa. Cast your vote in our poll on the right hand side of this page. First though, the lowdown on how Argentina got into this mess in the first place…” (Just Football)

“If you read our post on the subject earlier on in the week, you may have noted that the price of watching this weekend’s World Cup qualifier between Ukraine and England was listed as £4.99. As hopes of a last minute highlights package fade fast with rights holders Kentaro stating that they feel that the coverage should be “all about the internet”, it is worth pointing out to potential viewers that this price has already been raised to £9.99 (as of midnight last night), and that it will be hiked up again to £11.99 at midnight tonight.” (twohundredpercent)

“After UEFA’s spectacular cock-up regarding the whole Eduardo diving affair recently, it looks like FIFA’s vice-prez Jack Warner wants in on the action. Warner suggested today that referees need to toughen up on players who dive or overact on the pitch and that in next year’s World Cup in South Africa, those judged to be attempting to con the referee could be sin-binned for five minutes.” (They think its all over)

“If a soccer game falls down in the woods does it make a sound? As outlined earlier in the week, when the U.S. travels to hostile Honduras Saturday night’s for the penultimate 2010 CONCACAF World Cup qualifier it will have a nice 1982 vibe to it for the fact that it’s only available in select closed circuit establishments. (And if it were 1982, a U.S. soccer match wouldn’t be televised and the computer you’re reading this on would be engaging the Russians in a game of nuclear chess.)” (That’s On Point)

“Where have all the English goalkeepers gone? Why is Fabio Capello’s choice so limited? Here we look at the great men between the Three Lion’s posts over the years – and the limited choices available now. ” (Telegraph)

“Saturday is the pivotal day in Group One, with the top four playing each other. Regardless of the result in Denmark, Portugal or Hungary will be out of the running for an automatic spot as they play each other and a draw at the Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa would leave both all but out of the tournament; otherwise the losing team will be eliminated.” (ESPN)

“From France blowing it against Bulgaria to England holding out in Rome, we look at half a dozen classic qualifying deciders” (Guardian)

“When Giovanni Trapattoni took the surprising decision to extend his remarkable managerial career and become Republic of Ireland boss last year, the date of October 10, 2009 would have been instantly circled in his diary. In the ambitious mind of this ceaselessly passionate 70-year-old, the visit of his native Italy to Dublin in the penultimate round of World Cup qualifiers was always likely to represent his date with destiny and, to an extent, that seemingly unlikely scenario has come to pass.” (ESPN)

“The interlull is the bane of the club soccer fan; it’s like an early bye week, a rained out game, and a west coast road trip all rolled into one. The potential for player injury is still there, the benefit for the club that’s actually paying the player is not, and international managers still need players in order to get results. On top of that, many of the matches are lopsided. Take Malta in Group 1 of the UEFA qualifiers; nine games in, they still have yet to score a goal, their goal differential is -22, and their best result is a scoreless draw with Albania. This is not always riveting stuff.” (Avoiding the Drop)

“Ok, so we didn’t quite break our eye socket blowing our noses but I bet it hurts just as much. As befitting a site the critics prefer above all others, Inside Left injured itself while out doing a wonderfully middle-class pursuit, namely skiing. On a green slope. On the last run. On the last day. Two years ago. Yes, as the evenings draw in and the weather gets colder, Inside Left’s old skiing injury is flaring up again. A particularly hard fall on the last day of our holiday has taken care of our tendons, leaving them inflamed and very, very sore. We’ve not slept for two weeks and we’re in constant pain, making typing a very painful and unpleasant experience. There’s no action in the SPL this weekend, so over at The Scottish Football Blog they have a very good ‘report card‘ on the season so far, thankfully – given our injury – saving us the effort of having to write it.” (Inside Left)

“It might not live up to the halcyon days of the 1980s but the Merseyside derby still has the ability captivate a wider audience. The recent triple bill ending with Everton�s dramatic, late victory in the cup demonstrated this despite the efforts of ITV technicians. The sides first met in the League in 1894 with Liverpool triumphing 3-0 at Goodison Park. There have been 206 matches between the sides with Liverpool leading 79-65 in victories. The derby also holds the record as the most played FA Cup tie (22). The derby was at its greatest during the 1980s.” (midfielddynamo)

“Brian Clough was one of British football’s most controversial characters. Brash, outspoken, and fiercely ambitious, the former Forest, Derby, and Leeds manager is one of the game’s great cult figures. Loved by fans but loathed by the football authorities, Clough was one of the biggest stars in seventies and eighties Britain. One of the first people to realize the link between football and celebrity, the opinionated North-easterner quickly became the television face of football, never missing an opportunity to pontificate, or even better, to needle his enemies.” (First Touch)

Actor Michael Sheen Talks English Football and “The Damned United”
“Michael Sheen is building a film career out of playing characters from British popular culture. First it was Tony Blair in ‘The Queen.’ Then came David Frost in ‘Frost/Nixon.’ Now in ‘The Damned United,’ which opens tomorrow in new York and Los Angeles, he’s taken on the role of one of the most charismatic characters in English soccer history: Brian Clough, the legendary coach at Derby County, Nottingham Forest, and briefly, Leeds United, where his tumultuous tenure forms the premise for the film.” (WSJ)

In ‘The Damned United,’ A Cocky Coach Is Doomed
“The bloody, bruising, take-no-prisoners world of English soccer in the 1960s and early 1970s is the backdrop for the new feature film The Damned United. But viewers don’t need to know a thing about soccer — or like it — to appreciate the remarkable man at the center of the movie: Brian Clough. Clough was the manager of a terrible team from Derby County in the basement of England’s professional soccer league. But Clough did two miraculous things.” (NPR)

“The timing was definitely odd. Usually in professional sport, the norm is that you have the rules of the competition laid out for everybody before it begins. That way all involved know exactly where they stand and any room for misunderstandings is minimised. Pretty basic stuff, right? Well, if you are FIFA apparently not. Because, rather than get all the rules and criteria for World Cup qualification established early, Sepp Blatter and co waited until only two games of the European World Cup qualification group stages were left to announce that they will be using a seeding system for the European play-offs.” (Just Football)

“I find myself asking it all the time: how old is that player? My last such quandary was over Arshavin (older than I would have guessed). Before that it was over Jovetic (younger than I would have guessed). When I’ m looking up a player’s age for an article or to settle a bet or for the hell of it and a date before 1980 pops up, my initial reaction is: ‘Wow, he’s getting old…’ But wait… I was born before 1980 (by nine months). I’m not getting old. Am I??” (EPL Talk)

“For my money, the lesser of the great ’60s tranche of managers, but the better man of the lot of them. He reminds me of my Uncle John RIP.” (James Hamilton)

“With the final set of World Cup 2010 qualifying fixtures coming up for many teams, David Scullion takes a closer look at which teams are on the brink of qualification. (SoccerLens)

“I thought about just posting the screenshot of the match report with no commentary, under the theory that what you fill in with your own imagination would be more intense than anything I could describe. But that isn’t really true, and besides, you don’t need this one to be made more intense. Even buffered in prose, this one is intense enough. Off we go.” (The Run of Play)

“Can it be only two weeks since West Brom’s stunning 5-0 win at co-promotion favourites Middlesbrough? For since that game, which left many pundits regarding Albion as automatic promotion shoe-ins, an autumnal chill has descended on the Hawthorns, blowing away the sunny late-summer optimism.” (thetwounfortunates)

“With the Italian Serie A campaign not yet two months old, Roberto Donadoni is out of a job. The former Italy boss was fired as the coach of Napoli on Tuesday, days after a 2-1 loss to AS Roma. Donadoni, who was hired in March, was 2-1-4 in his brief stint in charge of Napoli, which is 15th in Serie A.” (NYT)

“Arsene Wenger might think the Scots are still influential in Europe, but he’s about the only person left who does. It being October, it must be just about time for Scottish football pundits to do their usual soul-searching, surveying the wreckage of another failed qualification campaign for the national team, while both the Old Firm sit bottom of the European groups and all the various other qualifying round defeats are already forgotten along with most of the names of the East European teams who inflicted them. Plus ça change, as the French might put it.” (twohundredpercent)

“Are you and England or USA fan? Planning to watch this weekend’s World Cup qualifiers on television? You better start making new plans then. Team USA is playing away to Honduras, and needs to keep picking up points in order to book a spot in South Africa.” (World Cup Blog)

“It’s South America’s newest force against the oldest when Ecuador meet Uruguay this Saturday in a crunch World Cup qualifier. It is a match with much to teach about the geography of the continent and the history of the game in this part of the world. Introduced mainly by the British, football first caught on in the South Cone, in Montevideo and Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo – a region that was going through large scale immigration and rapid urbanisation.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

“Attendance in the Conference is up 10.5%. Last season, the final average attendance for the entire league as a whole was 1,857. This season, as of 4th October, 2009, the average is 2,051. The main reason is the huge gates, in Non-League terms, of Luton Town and Oxford United (in the 5,00o-6,000 range). The Oxford v. Luton match of 8th September (a Tuesday) drew 10,613. (!) Also, Mansfield Town, another former Football League club, is seeing a big upswing at the turnstiles, with a 40% increase from last season, to 3,392 per game. And one of the newly promoted clubs is AFC Wimbledon, who are seeing a 20% increase to 3,844 per game. Two more clubs in the Conference are drawing above 3,000 per game: Wrexham (3,734) and Cambridge United (3,032).” (billsportsmaps)

“The Damned United debuts in American movie theaters this Friday, October 9th and, courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics, they’ve suppled the readers of EPL Talk with an exclusive clip from the film which features — without a doubt — the best line from the film.” (EPL Talk)

“At San Siro in Milan on a Saturday night, the game is three-quarters done, the team is not playing well, and the home crowd needs a focal point for its discontent. When Inter’s coach withdraws a player, he becomes the butt of their discontent. He is Sulley Muntari, and as his number is illuminated, the tifosi whistle and bay at him. Muntari’s tears are visible on the big screen. Sometimes we must ask, why must soccer be such a bear pit?” (NYT)

“Henry Winter is one of Britain’s most respected football journalists and currently works for the Daily Telegraph. His career started at the Independent and he moved to The Telegraph in 1994. A familiar face on Sky’s Sunday Supplement, Henry was been kind enough to have a quick chat with us about himself and football.” (EPL Talk)

“Liverpool, by any measure, have had a stuttering start to the season. Three losses in the league(more than last season already we are consistently told – although it wasn’t Liverpool’s losses last year that caused them to come 2nd in the league… rather the number of draws against weak opposition. Liverpool, after all, came top of the top four table by quite some margin. It did not matter a jot) and a poor, poor performance against Fiorentina can at best be called stuttering, at worst a crisis but is probably a shade closer to the former than the latter.” (Left Back in the Changing Room)

“Scotland’s clubs have had many glory nights in European football history. To mark Rangers reaching the quarter final of the UEFA Cup in 2008 we’ve put together a Top 10 of the best of them. The dates perhaps reflect the waning influence, not just of Scottish clubs in Europe, but of all small nations. The behemoth that is the Champions League has seen to that. All the notable, recent achievements by Scottish sides have been completed by the Big 2 in Glasgow. Indeed, Celtic’s 2003 UEFA Cup campaign, knocking Barcelona and Liverpool out en route, came very close to inclusion.” (midfielddynamo)

“Apologies for the relative silence here. The book – 2-3 years away at best – is taking up most of my erstwhile blogging time. Congratulations are in order to Tiberius for this, which is long overdue.” (James Hamilton)

“While Honduras finds itself increasingly isolated after its president was deposed in a coup d’état, the poor Central American nation is gaining respect in another area of consuming international interest — soccer. A home victory against the United States on Saturday would virtually assure Honduras of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1982. Barring a dramatic incident, the country’s 7.8 million residents will — for two hours at least — be largely focused not on the continuing political crisis but on perhaps the most anticipated sporting event ever held in Honduras.” (NYT)