Football Fantasy

By: DJ | July 31st, 2010 http://vodpod.com/watch/4138590-leeds-3-wolves-1 World Soccer News | Video | Podcast | Gallery | Live Streaming

Hearts have been hit with a record 60,000 fine by the Scottish Football Association after a sixth successive season of poor discipline.The Tynecastle club have been ordered to pay 50,000 within 30 days, with 10,000 suspended until January.An SFA spokesman has confirmed that the Tynecastle club have been informed of the punishment.The SFA have penalised Hearts every year since the 2004-05 campaign.The Gorgie club were again the worst offenders in the Scottish Premier League last term, with 10 red cards and 89 cautions. Aberdeen have been fined 5000 for poor discipline during the previous campaign. Dons players were shown 10 red cards and 74 yellows. Watch Free Live Soccer Football Matches Online Here

This was the one and only match of Tour 2010 that I didnt watch live, and (because the Baltimore Ravens apparently arent utilizing a wireless provider affiliated with ESPN) I am currently unable to watch the replay on ESPN3. So, Ill have to wait and upload my ramblings on that match later. For now, enjoy the above and below highlights (did anyone know that Chicharito is good at scoring goals)? Im currently sitting in the press box awaiting the start of the Manchester City v Inter Milan match. The plan is to spy as much as possible, pester Stephen Ireland with pleas to sign for United, and (if possible) ask Rafa Benitez how Jose Mourinhos leftovers taste. Chivas 1 United 0 (Javier Hernandez) Chivas 1 United 1 (Chris Smalling) Chivas 2 United 1 (Adolfo Bautista) Chivas 3 United 1 (Hector Reynoso) Chivas 3 United 2 (Nani) International Soccer Clubs & Leagues News | Video | Commentary

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has called on Barcelona target Cesc Fabregas to end speculation over his future once and for all. Fabregas' future at Arsenal has been the subject of intense speculation all summer with Barcelona openly coveting the signature of the Spain international.The 23-year-old is thought to have told Wenger he wants to rejoin his boyhood club before heading off to the World Cup with Spain.Arsenal have already rejected one bid from Barcelona for the midfield schemer and it has been suggested Fabregas will reiterate his desire to leave when he returns to the club next week.Wenger has remained adamant throughout the summer that Fabregas would stay at Emirates Stadium as he is under contract for another five seasons.The Frenchman refused to confirm or deny reports he met face to face with his captain on Friday, but stressed now it was down to Fabregas to put the record straight."In the last six months, this story has made our lives difficult," said Wenger....

Can James lead The Robins to the top flight? He may turn 40 tomorrow, but that hasn't stopped Bristol City from snapping up England goalkeeper David James on a free transfer, after the player was unable to agree a deal with former employers Portsmouth. James had bigger offers from the Premiership and Celtic in Scotland, but Neil Lennon told reporters that James had no desire to move up north due to family reasons. Now with Steve Coppell at the helm and a big name like James who kept goal for his country at this summer's World Cup, Bristol City fans may feel that the club really can make a charge towards the Premier League. Coppell is certainly keen to leave his mark on the team and as well as James, the likes of Nicky Hunt and Damion Stewart have came in to sure up the defence, whereas players like Bradley Orr and Paul Hartley have left to play for QPR and Aberdeen respectively. Coppell has also decided to rekindle his relationship with Kalifa Cisse, who he managed while in ch...

Ipswich Town boss Roy Keane is hoping to complete the capture of Sunderland goalkeeper Marton Fulop in the next 24 hours. Hungary international Fulop has been a target of Keane's for some time, but the deal appeared unlikely to materialise earlier this week as Town wanted the keeper on loan, while the Black Cats were only prepared to agree a permanent deal. Reports also surfaced that 27-year-old Fulop, who has been at Sunderland since 2007, had failed to agree personal terms at Portman Road. However, the move is set to go ahead after Ipswich agreed to sign Fulop on a permanent basis, and talks are ongoing between Town and the player's agent. Deal "We originally wanted to do the deal on loan, but then it moved on a bit and it became talk of a permanent signing," Keane told the Chronicle. "We've talked a lot about a number of things - in fact I've spoken to (Sunderland manager) Steve Bruce more in the last month than I've spoken to my wife! "He...

Real Madrid have announced the signing of Stuttgart midfielder Sami Khedira.Khedira has agreed a five-year deal and joins for an undisclosed fee." Real Madrid C. F. and VfB Stuttgart have agreed to the transfer of Sami Khedira, who will sign a 5-year contract with Real Madrid ," the club said in a statement.The 23-year-old Germany international had spent his entire career with the Swabians, coming through the youth ranks from the age of eight to make his first-team debut in October 2006, the season in which Stuttgart last won the Bundesliga .Khedira became a regular in Armin Veh's team that season and penned his first professional contract just after the winter break, a deal he extended in 2008 until 2011."Obviously you don't gladly let such a leading player and figure like Sami Khedira leave, but on the other hand, we could understand Sami's desire to continue his career with Real," explained Stuttgart ...

While Juve's main concern this season isn't the Europa league, the European competition is helping Delneri build his team. So now that Juventus has played and won their first competitive match against Shamrock Rovers in Europa League qualification, Delneri will have a lot of positivies to look at. But Juventus hasn't qualified yet, they'll need to play the return leg at Modena, and all they need to do is not lose by more than one goal. Juventus started well right away, in the third minute Amauri combines with Diego to complete a give and go which penetrates the frozen Irish defence leaving Amauri to finish with his left for the first goal. A perfect example of how Delneri wants Diego to work as a "trequartista", or number 10. Every opportunity Juventus created was filtered through Diego, just like Delneri did with Cassano at Sampdoria and Doni at Atlanta. Amauri was a dangerous presence up front and the wingers, Martinez and Lanzafame, constantly changed side...

Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti is planning to hold further talks with Manchester City on Monday regarding a deal for Mario Balotelli. City are trying to add the teenage striker to their squad, but have yet to come to an agreement with both Inter and the player.According to reports in Italy, City have lowered their offer for Balotelli from an initial 30million (25m) to 27m (22.5m) and they are also yet to meet the 19-year-old's personal demands.Balotelli's agent has revealed that the player is becoming 'anxious' regarding the failure to finalise a move and discussions now appear to be on hold until after the weekend.Moratti confirmed that no agreement is yet in place, but he remains prepared to let Balotelli leave Inter for the right price."For Balotelli to go to Man City, we are still missing an agreement with the club," Moratti told Sky Italia."We will probably talk about this on Monday to try and find a definite agreement with the English side....

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is urging skipper Cesc Fabregas to lead the Gunners to Premiership glory next season.Before he departed to South Africa, the Spain midfielder is understood to have told Wenger of his desire to leave and rejoin boyhood club Barcelona .The Catalan club continued a very public pursuit of their former trainee all summer, but Arsenal insist the midfielder is not for sale and have already rejected a 30million offer."I always said Cesc Fabregas will be our captain next year and that we want to keep him. Despite all the speculation last season and the whole summer, nothing has changed," declared the Gunners boss."Cesc has always said he is committed to the club and he has always shown it."The best way to show you are committed is that you give your best when you walk on the football pitch and he has always done that."Look at the length of his contract and you will see he has five or six years ...

Not quite as idealistic as Akira Kurosowas Seven Samurai and not quite as stylish as John Sturges Magnificent Seven, Manchester Uniteds Super Seven are the ones expected to employ new methods to restore traditional ways. Dynamic, fluid, classy, clinical and with a point to prove the seven strikers on Manchester Uniteds first team books have been assembled by Sir Alex Ferguson, are expected to score goals and lead the club back to glory. The seven are Michael Owen, Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Mame Biram Diouf, Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda. A trio of Englishmen, a Bulgarian, a Mexican, a Senegalese and an Italian. There is diversity, experience and promise. Michael Owen, a thirty year old England international, is a proven goalscorer trying to find a way back into the team. He will be expected to offer guidance to some of the younger strikers and display the efficacy in front of goal for which he became renowned. Dimitar Berbatov, the twenty nine year old Bul...

As a post I wrote on Monday suggests, last weeks issue of the New Yorker was particularly edifying. Alongside the fine piece about the Rod Blagojevich trial there was an fascinating story by Kalefa Sanneh about Mays Shane Mosley/Floyd Mayweather bout and the current state of pro-boxing (its subscription only now, so youll have to trust me). A particularly memorable character in the piece, was Mosleys 45 year old coach, Naazim Richardson (pictured), a beefy oracle from Philadelphia who delivers parables and observations in a low fuzzy voice. Richardsons finest moment comes after a sparring session with Mosley when he starts explaining his theory of boxing, which mystical but not at all sentimental. Attempting to suggest that power isnt the most important aspect in boxing, he comes up with the following glorious analogy: The gorilla is the strongest motherfucker in the zoo, but you aint never seen that bitch walk by with the keys Forget Ali and Clough, and indeed Maradona, this is defin...

It probably doesnt matter that Clint Dempseys now-famous daisy-cutter turned poor, hapless Robert Green into the best football punchline since Titus Bramble. See, even in the wake of the U.S.s 1-1 draw vs. England at the 2010 World Cup, one of the few solaces English fans probably still have is looking down their noses at the Colonies and sneering at the Yankee approach to the game. English fans in need of a pick-me-up can just dial up three letters MLS and console themselves. For all their insecurities and self-doubt produced by the continued failures of the Three Lions at big tournaments, English fans will always have Americans to kick around. At least for the time being. One easy way for Americans to get even with the English cut them down to the core, in fact is to call out their decades long quest toward producing the first major trophy for England since 1966. The latest cure-all for Englands international woes is youth development as if this blanket term will lead England to...

Rarely have I seen a player make such an impressive debut for a club than the one I saw Wednesday night when Javier Hernandez came on as a second half substitute for Manchester United against the MLS All Star team. Ive seen him play for Mexico before, but all of his skills were crystalized before my eyes in an incredible 30 minutes of action. Simply said: This. Man. Is. Amazing. Hernandez (aka Chicharito) possesses pace and skill that is far beyond the average Premier League footballer. He is a gifted two-footed player who is a natural goalscorer. And on top of that, he can launch blistering attacks that will definitely rip apart weaker defenses. This is, by far, the player Im most looking forward to watching this upcoming Premier League season. The prospect of seeing him lining up alongside Wayne Rooney and seeing them create a goalscoring partnership is mouthwatering and Im not even a Manchester United supporter. The last time I saw a player make such an impression on me was when Wa...

Mario Balotelli is 'anxious' to complete his protracted switch from Inter Milan to Manchester City, according to his agent. Talks continue over a reported 25million move as City boss Roberto Mancini looks to be reunited with the temperamental forward.Balotelli's agent, Mino Raiola, flew back to Italy from Manchester on Thursday and conceded the deal is still some way from being rubber-stamped."As long as there's hope there's life," Raiola told Sky Italia, amid reports that the sticking point is the 19-year-old's wage demands."He's calm but anxious to come to an agreement, that's normal for a lad of 19."We're working and we're hoping." Football Betting Tips, Odds, Asian Handicap, Oicks, Preview & Prediction

An inexperienced Liverpool side defeated Rabotnicki, 2-0, in their Europa League third qualifying round first leg.David Ngog's double strike, a goal in each half, proved decisive and earned new Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson his first competitive victory.Overall the Reds always looked in control starting when Ngog lofted over the keeper after a defensive mix up.Ngog's second was a six-yard volley from Martin Kelly's cross.Europa League Qualifying tieRabotnicki Skopje 0-2 Liverpool Scorers (Liv) Ngog 17 Ngog 59RABOTNICKI SKOPJE 01 Bogatinov 03 Sekulovski (Adem 43) 05 Dimovski 02 Belica 13 Todorovski 16 Gligorov 19 Tuneski (Petkovski 77) 07 Fernando Lopes 10 Filho (Mojsov 57) 15 Da Silva 23 Dos Santos Substitutes 25 Kandikijan, 14 Adem, 18 Roberto Carlos, 09 Marcio, 11 Mojsov, 20 Petkovski, 24 Sinkovic LIVERPOOL 01 Cavalieri 05 Agger (Darby 72) 16 Kyrgiakos 34 Kelly 37 Skrtel 04 Aquilani (Dalla Valle 83) 21 Lucas 26 Spearing 14 J...

The Serie A calendar has been revealed, and like many the first matchday I wanted to check was the one between Inter Milan and Roma. If you're interested in seeing the entire calendar, you can check it out here. Here are the so called "big matches": Roma - Inter Milan 5th matchday Inter Milan - Juventus 6th matchday AC Milan - Juventus 9th matchday Inter Milan - AC Milan 12th matchday Juventus - Roma 12th matchday AC Milan - Roma 17th matchday It's especially important to note that the title race will take a definitive turn after Inter Milan play Roma and Juventus back to back during the 5th and 6th matchdays, and there will be plenty of excitement on the 12th matchday with the Milan derby and Juventus playing Roma. Here's the ten matches which will take place the first matchday which officially starts August 28th: Bari-Juventus Bologna-Inter Chievo-Catania Fiorentina-Napoli Milan-Lecce Palermo-Cagliari Parma-Brescia Roma-Cesena Sampdoria-Lazio Udinese-Genoa Shar...

Skysports.com understands Liverpool defender Emiliano Insua's move to Fiorentina is edging ever closer. Reports earlier this week claimed the deal was in danger of falling through because of Insua's personal demands.Fiorentina have agreed an undisclosed fee with Liverpool for the Argentina international as they look to bolster their defensive options.Liverpool are willing to sell Insua despite their lack of left-back options as Roy Hodgson looks to raise funds for his own signings.Fiorentina are determined to push through the move and it is believed both parties are now close to completing the transfer.Insua is expected seal his switch to Italy next week to end his three-year spell at Anfield. Barclays Prem Winner 10/11 Win Outright: Liverpool 12/1 International Soccer Clubs & Leagues News | Video | Commentary

Robhino Recalled To Manchester City It looks like the tumultous tenure of Robhino at Manchester City will continue into the 2010-11 season as the Brazilian striker was recalled to England. The 26-year-old had been on loan to the Brazilian club Santos since January. Robhino returns to Eastlands reluctantly after his discontent made headlines last winter. City manager Roberto Mancini has told Sky Sports that he had no issue welcoming Robhino back into the side. But it depends on him, he said. Robhino has one week left on his loan deal with Santos and then a friendly against the USA on Aug. 10 before he returns. Given Saves Two Penalties In City Win Over Club America Shay Given emphatically made his claim for the starting goalkeeper job by saving two penalties in Manchester Citys shootout victory over Club America in Atlanta. Given, playing in his first match since dislocating his shoulder in April, replaced Joe Hart at halftime. The Republic of Ireland international is facing strong com...

Can Davies Handle The Pressure? It's a bit of a mystery what is going on inside the offices of Nottingham Forest at the moment. The side that at one point sat at the top of the Championship last season with an impressive unbeaten record narrowly missed out on promotion after defeat in the play offs, but this still left Forest fan's with hope that their team was heading back in the right direction after a number of years in the wilderness. So far the club has made one signing, Radoslow Majewski and when you consider that he was on loan at the club last season, it is understandable to think the Forest fans are a bit confused and troubled as to why their side is not capitalising on last season by strengthening the team. Manager Billy Davies has acknowledged that signings must be made, but fans are becoming impatient, particularly one supporter who needed to be controlled by security at a recent audience with the manager for fans. Davies remained tight lipped in the audience episo...

Sochaux youngster Yven Moyo is back in the sights of Manchester United .The News of the World says the midfield prospect crossed the Red Devils' radar last year and French sources claim Sir Alex Ferguson has ordered fresh checks on the eve of the new season.Although Moyo has yet to make his Ligue 1 debut, the 18-year-old has a reputation as an up-and-coming talent.His father intimated last year that he wanted Moyo to stay with Sochaux and learn his trade before opting for a move abroad."A scout from Manchester United called me to say that the club was interested in Yven," said Jean-Eudes Moyo at the time. "They've monitored him since last year."At his age, I prefer that he stays here and matures before going elsewhere." Need your Manchester United news fix? Click here for all United news and transfer rumours. International Soccer Clubs & Leagues News | Video | Commentary

Sky+HD customers will soon have a new way to enjoy Premier League matches in the UKfrom the comfort of their own homes when the television giant launches Sky 3D in a few months. It was announced today that the previously-only-available-in-pubs 3D channel will launch at the beginning of October with the Ryder Cup as Europes first 3D channel. Unveiled in some 1,500 pubs in early 2010 to mixed results, Premier League football through Sky 3D will now have the chance to win over more fans this season as the convenience and comfort of staying in should lead to more viewers. The service will be available to homes who already subscribe to Sky+HD and have purchased a 3D-ready television. Hollywood studios have also announced theyll provide Sky with some of the biggest names in 3D movies for customers to enjoy including Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince and Monsters vs. Aliens. For the customers who are ready with the correct equipment and service packages, theyll be delighted that Sky w...