World Football Stars Out in Force to Raise Money for Haiti

Over 50,000 spectators turned out to watch the Match for Poverty that took place last night in Lisbon, Portugal. International football stars donned their football kits to raise money for the people of Haiti after the recent earthquake devastated the area in recent weeks. This is the seventh year running that football has reached out to people in need.

The match commenced after the players lined up in their football kits for a one minute silence in memory of the lives lost in the Haiti earthquake and resulted in a 3-3 draw between the Friends of Ronaldo and Zidane and the Benfica All Stars team. Two of Haiti’s own football players, Joseph Peterson and Jean Sony also took part in the game representing and supporting their nation. Unfortunately Ronaldo could not make it due to his current sport commitments but his side was represented by Brazilian player Kaka.

The star studded game included other players from around the world including Nuno Gomez for Portugal and Fernando Hierro for Spain. Together these stars and their contributions represent the world game's hope that poverty will be halved over the next five years.

Football Clubs Turn To Artificial Sports Pitches to Beat the Big Freeze

It has been well publicised in the English sporting press over the past month or so that the recent cold spell here in the UK has wreaked havoc for the football fixture list – with the lower leagues in particular falling foul of the heavy snow fall, frozen pitches and treacherous conditions in and around the grounds. While not every club in the English football league has the financial luxury of installing under soil heating to their grounds in order to ease the pressure brought on by the cold, the vast majority of clubs are now turning to all weather surfaces such as rubber crumb sports pitches at their training grounds so their players can at least train and maintain their match fitness in between games. Such facilities have proved critical when the usual grass training areas have been inaccessible through snow, or have been deemed unsafe for professional players to train due to the risk of any injuries they may sustain on the frozen surfaces. The recent advances in technology in this field have allowed artificial surfaces to provide an excellent simulation of the usual playing surfaces used throughout the football league – thereby proving an ample alternative for the leagues top players to keep sharp during the packed winter fixture timetable.

Premier League Refs Prove Fitness With Heart Rate Monitors

As many fans will know, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has never been one to shy away from sharing his opinions on the match officials, but his comments during 2009 outraged referees - and indeed many football fans - across the country with his claims that Premier League referee Alan Wiley was “was not fit enough for a game of that standard” following his sides failure to beat Sunderland at Old Trafford earlier this season. His claim was particularly infuriating for the men in black as there personal fitness is under constant scrutiny from the Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) and the Premier League itself. Like many of the top players in England today, referees at the highest level are now using heart rate monitors to measure their fitness on a match to match basis, with one of the countries leading suppliers Polar apparently offering trade rate prices to encourage there uptake amongst the English game’s top football referees. Following Ferguson's comments to the media, the fitness of Premier League refs has been under even more scrutiny in the public eye, but the signs are that through such ongoing measurements of individual fitness performance, it seems the standard of fitness amongst the games top refs is set to remain high.

Pressure Mounts on Tigers as Brown Fights For Hull Future

Hull City face another critical game this afternoon in the Premier League as they welcome Tony Pulis' tough tackling Stoke City to the KC stadium. Hull manager Phil Brown is under immense pressure to deliver 3 points following the recent boardroom shake up which has left the Tigers boss with a highly uncertain future at the North East club. Hull lie 19th in the Premier League table with only 3 league victories in 2009 - but a win today would see them climb out of the Premiership relegation zone and ease the pressure on the manager under who's reign the club have experienced top flight football for the first time in their history. The Tigers are however sure to be inspired by the return of record purchase Jimmy Bullard from a catalogue of injuries that have limited his first team appearances for his new club. This afternoon will in fact be the battling midfielder's first start for the Hull City.

Chelsea Send Warning To Tital Rivals Ahead Of Sunday Showdown At Anfield

Chelsea sent a major warning to title rivals Liverpool and Manchester United ahead of today's massive clash at Anfield by demolishing a poor Blackburn Rovers side at The Bridge. The Blues never moved out of third gear in their 5 - 0 victory over Rovers who saw their dreadful away form continue. A dominant performance from Chelsea hitman Didier Drogba and a continuation of England midfield star Frank Lampard's return to form swept aside a Blackburn outfit that must now face a further daunting away trip to Old Trafford next weekend. Ghana international Michael Essien also fired in from long range on an afternoon of total Chelsea domination, where The Blues could have racked up a cricket score. The 5 nil rout was in fact Chelsea's biggest ever win against the Lancastrians and sent them back to the Premier League summit ahead of Man United's visit to Anfield this afternoon. United can however go back to the top of the Premier League if they beat Rafa Benitez' struggling Reds this afternoon.

Young Non European Footballers Still Struggle For Work Permits

This may come as very surprising news for fans of English football in the 21st century - particularly with so many foreign names flooding our professional leagues from the Premiership all the way down to League 2 - but it seems that even today, many young non European footballers are still encountering serious difficulties in settling in at their new clubs here in the UK. With the numerous top names earning big, big money in the English Premier League, it is easy to forget the problems that a young player may face when uprooting themselves and their young families to start a new life in English football.
Simple day to day things that we often take for granted can often be problematic in themselves, and barriers such as learning a new language, adjusting to the English culture and way of life, and the potential intimidation felt by “standing out” in what may often be predominantly English ethnic areas of the country can making settling into a new club very difficult. Add to this the problems of constant pressure from the English sporting press (particularly at the top level of the English game) and the possible difficulties with immigration and acquiring a work visa (which has proved problematic in recent years even for top established international players - such as Chelsea’s Alex) and you can understand that there are many factors that often go unconsidered by the average English football fan and the UK sports media.
While English clubs do have internal measures in place to try to help young players acclimatize to such conditions they can't account for every outcome, and naturally it will take time for foreign players to properly settle into their clubs. So please, before you start laying into your latest expensive foreign import on the terraces this weekend, put yourself in their position and spare some thought for the problems they may have encountered just to be able to pull on your team’s shirt.

England Qualify For South Africa In Style - But Race For Tickets Is Yet To Begin

England last night completed their World Cup qualifying campaign with a fairly routine 3 - 0 win over Belarus at Wembley, thanks to a brace from giant England striker Peter Crouch and a goal from diminutive winger Shaun Wright-Phillips. An Excellent campaign - in which England have won nine of their 10 qualifying games - has seen the squad reach the World Cup finals in some style. However, as the England squad look forward to packing their bags for South Africa, the rush for fans to make their way to the finals has just begun. Tickets world cup 2010 are sure to be in high demand amongst English fans, as supporters once again dream of lifting what is arguably the biggest prize in international team sport for the first time since 1966. Much to the annoyance of the English public, South Africa 2010 tickets will be once again be in short supply through the English FA – certainly in comparison to the demand generated amongst supporters - and with many fans desperate to see their team in action during the tournament they are instead more likely to be set to seek South Africa 2010 packages elsewhere.

Barnes and Taylor Out At Tranmere

Manager John Barnes and his assistant Jason McAteer have been sacked by Tranmere. Former England legend Barnes and ex Liverpool star McAteer have been told that they were to have their contracts terminated by the club earlier this morning. Tranmere are currently sat in the League One relegation zone - and after a string of poor results in the league and their recent defeat in the Johnstone's paint Trophy earlier in the week, it seems that the Tranmere board have finally lost patience with Barnes and his regime. The decision brings to an end another turbulent period in the short but eventful managerial career of John Barnes - after an equally brief and difficult spell with Scottish giants Celtic resulting in his dismissal in February 2000. The club have taken the decision to put Physio Les Parry in as a caretaker manager to take temporary charge of Tranmere as they welcome Stockport this Monday night.

Blackburn Hit For Six By Rampant Gunners

Arshavin and Fabregas were once again in imperious form for their club as The Gunners dismantled Blackburn Rovers at The Emirates Stadium this afternoon. Arsenal ran riot in the second half against a Blackburn side low in confidence and suffering inconsistent form in the league this season. The home team once again produced some spells of incredibly stylish flowing football that can only be associated with this Arsenal side - who have become widely recognised as the most easy on the eye team in English football today. Arsenals attacking style proved too much for Rovers this afternoon, and the Lancashire battlers may well find themselves in the relegation mire come the end of the season. Arsenal however, will have much more lofty ambitions, as Arsene Wenger seeks to add a much needed trophy to all the accolades and qualities his young team clearly possess - and you may feel that with performances like this, who can stop them?

Pressure Mounts on Winless Keane While Tykes Resurgence Continues

Barnsley continued their battling bright start under new manager Mark Robins by beating Ipswich with a late winner at Oakwell in this weekends big Championship relegation six pointer. The former Rotherham boss has already started to turn the Reds' fortunes this season after taking the helm following the departure of Simon Davey earlier this season. John Macken scored a 96th minute goal for the Tykes after Town had earlier pulled level- but the Blues were ultimately destined to leave Oakwell with nothing folowing this crushing late defeat against their relegation rivals. Ipswich manager Roy Keane now faces ever increasing pressure from Towns supporters, who have yet to be treated to a single win in their eleven attempts in the Championship this season. Ipswich also therefore remain worryingly rooted to the bottom of the table with just 5 points on the board this season.