Monday, March 30, 2009

Heskey to Miss Ukraine Qualifier

England target man Emile Heskey has revealed that he is set to miss Wednesday night's European qualifying match against Eastern Europeans Ukraine due to injury. The Aston Villa striker sustained a hamstring injury early in Saturdays 4 - 0 friendly win over Slovakia, having opened the scoring from close range only minutes earlier. Heskey will no doubt be a loss to Capello's England team, with his power and aerial strength proving an important outlet for the national side in recent months. There is little argument that the much maligned Heskey has consistently turned out strong performances for England over the past few months, proving an excellent foil for Wayne Rooney and proving a constant handful for opposing defenders.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Liverpool Shock United to Re-ignite Title Hopes

Liverpool re-ignited their slim title hopes with a thumping victory against the Premier League leaders at Old Trafford. United had taken the lead inside 20 minutes when Liverpool keeper Jose Reina had rashly rushed out from his line to meet the advancing Ji Sung Park - but only succeeded in felling the South Korean inside the area. United's Christiano Ronaldo smashed home the resulting spot kick and the title race was beginning to look dead and buried. But the visitors bounced back later in the first half when the lively Fernando Torres seized on a dreadful error from the usually solid Nemanja Vidic, before calmly placing the ball into the corner of the net beyond Van Der Sar. Torres was then involved in Liverpool's second just before half time. The Spanish striker slid the ball behind the united backline looking for Steven Gerrard but as the Liverpool captain bombed forward he was clearly taken down by United's Patrice Evra. Gerrard then dispatched the penalty to give the visitors a shock lead. Alex Ferguson tried to shake things up after the break, unleashing Berbatov, Scholes and Giggs with around 20 minutes to go but not long after their arrival Liverpool scored their third. Nemanja Vidic dragged down Gerrard on the edge of the box and being the last line of defense was duly shown a straight red card. Fabio Aurelio curled in the resulting free kick to send the traveling fans into raptures. United continued to chase the game but looked shell shocked - particularly when substitute Andrea Dossena lifted in Liverpool's 4th late in the game.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Famous Football Quotes

In the weird and wonderful world of football, players, managers and commentators alike are often renowned for their amusing quotes and sayings – which can frequently form a key part of their public persona. From the outspoken ramblings of the late Brian Clough to slips of the tongue by leading famous commentators such as John Motson - every fan across the world will have a favourite quote or 2 that sticks in their mind, and these are also often tied to their own personal recollections and memories of sporting events. Here are some of the best soccer quotes that I love, attributed to such greats of the game as Bill Shankly, Alex Ferguson and Brazillian superstar Pele. There are more famous football sayings and quotes by other famous figures from a number of other fields available to view online – see if you can recognise any connected to your club.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

United Claim Carling Cup After Penalty Drama

Manchester United remained on course for an incredible quintuple with a penalty shoot out victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley. With the world club championship safely in the trophy cabinet and the Premiership title all but secured after Liverpools defeat at Middlesborough, the Red Devils held their nerve to beat the current holders Spurs after a goalless draw at Wembley. United put out a weakened line up but kept their composure in the shoot out after misses from Jamie O' Hara and David Bentley wrapped up yet another trophy for the Champions elect. United scored all four of their penalties to claim a 4 - 1 victory in the shoot out.