Premier League

Nani has been rewarded for a good season in redemption of his original deal that brought him to Old Trafford in 2007.  His new contract will keep him with United through 2014 and will likely give him the chance to finish his career with United.

What does this say about ManU?  For me it says 3 things:

1.  They know they can do just as well in-house as they can do on the open-market.

2.  They chased and landed someone who WANTS to be at Manchester United–not someone who wants to be in Manchester for the money.  Read more... (272 words, 4 images, estimated 1:05 mins reading time)

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photo credit: Crystian Cruz

John Terry is the captain of the Chelsea club.  And he wants everyone in the world to know why his side lost in the UEFA Champions League to Inter.

The Blues lost in the tournament to an inferior team not because they choked under all the pressure, and not because their star keeper was injured in the first leg, and not because they couldn’t manage to score a goal at home. 

The real reason why they lost was because of poor officiating?  Here are a few of the wonderful outtakes from Terry’s most recent rant blaming everyone for the disappointing result other then, well, himself:  Read more... (770 words, 5 images, estimated 3:05 mins reading time)

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photo credit: Kieran Lynam

A couple years ago Arsene Wenger witnessed a brutal tackle in which Martin Taylor broke Eduardo’s leg and dislocated his ankle.  Wenger even said about it:  Read more... (332 words, 4 images, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

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The Premier League has just landed a new overseas TV deal worth £1.2Billion over the next three years. Each Premier League Club will receive £20m a season from the deal starting in the 2010/11 season.

The current deal was worth only £625m, and shows the draw of the Premier League that they are able to get such an increase in today’s financial climate.

After the financial debacle at Portsmouth this season, the Premier League has decided that instead of paying clubs a lump-sum payment as they have in the past, Premier League clubs will instead receive close to £1.7m per month, starting in August, for the next 36 months.  Read more... (171 words, 3 images, estimated 41 secs reading time)

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photo credit: Vincent Teeuwen

The Pick: Patrick Kluivert scored more than 200 goals in professional matches, mainly for Barcelona. He also scored 40 goals for Clockwork Orange, the Netherlands, which is still a national record. To understand just how dangerous he was though, you would have to know that he set that last mark in a mere 79 games. Now that his career is over, he is doing what many other guys on this Top 100 list are doing – looking to make a name as a coach.  Read more... (214 words, 4 images, estimated 51 secs reading time)

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photo credit: gordonflood.com

Sitting is a good plan for Wayne right now.

This is what I was talking about when I was blasting Fabio Capello for relying on a scan to see if Wayne Rooney could have played England’s friendly with Egypt a few weeks back.  THIS is why you ask the player how they feel, then you work them out, then you ask an outside Doctor and THEN you decide who plays and who doesn’t.

Rooney limped off the pitch on Sunday after United defeated Liverpool at Old Trafford.  It appears that he has an inflamed tendon and he’ll have to sit for United’s upcoming match with Bolton on Saturday.  Read more... (315 words, 3 images, estimated 1:16 mins reading time)

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England

The Keeper

Who will the starter be?  Hart, James, Foster, Green or somebody else.  Anyway you break it down it’s never a good thing when you don’t really know which one will be the best on any given day.  I think Hart should get the first shot at it, but this might be the biggest factor costing England a chance at winning.  None of these guys are considered elite keepers and England needs one to hoist the Cup.

Grade: B-

The Defense  Read more... (512 words, 3 images, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

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Liverpool have been drawn against Benfica in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Goals from Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres (2) gave the Reds a 3-0 victory against Lille at Anfield on Thursday night, having lost the first leg in France.

Portuguese league leaders Benfica have happy memories of facing Merseyside opposition in the Europa League this season with two wins against Everton in the group phase. The first leg will be played at the Estadio da Luz on April 1 with the return game in England a week later on April 8.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez on the Benfica game:  Read more... (307 words, 2 images, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)

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Manchester United will evoke memories of their 1999 triumph after drawing Bayern Munich in the last eight. Should they progress the Red Devils will face the winners of the all French tie between Lyon and Bordeaux. Manchester United fans must fancy their chances of making their third consecutive Champions League final after this draw.

The 1999 final has gone down in folklore. Bayern were destined to be crowned European champions for a fourth time, Mario Basler’s free-kick seemingly enough, when in added time substitute Teddy Sheringham equalised. The crowd looked at the clock, and were bracing for the extra half-hour when Ole Gunnar Solskjær, another striker brought on late by Sir Alex, prodded in the most dramatic of winners.  Read more... (325 words, 2 images, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)

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