Football Fantasy

Blackburn 3 - Liverpool 1 LIVERPOOL boss Roy Hodgsons job was left hanging by a thread last light after this bashing at Blackburn. Blackburn heaped the pressure on former manager Hodgson as they raced into a deserved 2-0 half-time lead. Speculation has been rife about the 63-year-olds future for weeks and goals from Martin Olsson and a double from Benjani did little to help. Steven Gerrard scored what proved to be just a late consolation with nine minutes to go when he fired in from the edge of the box. But the Liverpool skipper blazed a penalty over the bar fi ve minutes from time after he had been clipped in the area by Michel Salgado. Liverpool midfi elder Joe Cole made his

The manager has risen from club secretary to official face of the club since the creation of football teams worldwide. He has moved from the man that kept the record books to man that is larger than the football team he manages. Commentators and pundits refer to Fergusons United or Wengers beautiful, passing football. He even has books written about him. The Manager by Barney Ronay, an excellent book that discusses the rise of the manager into the modern game, unearths some of the origins of the managers image and attempts todiscuss what kind of person the manager really is. While the book wasnt ever intended to be an academic study of the merits of various tactical thoughts of managers, it does address some of the often listed character traits ofsuccessfulmanagers. When all these traits are put together, to many the manager appears to be a father figure, a scary headmaster, a politician youd like to have a beer with, or somecombination. Yet despite all this popularity, he is little mo

Video: PL Highlights: Blackburn/Liverpool Watching Steven Gerrard walk up to the spot to take the penalty late in the game against Blackburn Rovers, I was confident he would score for Liverpool. When faced with adversity, Gerrard often rises to the occasion. Earlier in the season, Gerrard cooly slotted home a penalty against fiercest rivals Manchester United even though the vast majority at Old Trafford was begging him to miss. Except Gerrards penalty against Blackburn didnt go according to script. After Gerrard pulled one back for Liverpool and then won a penalty, the Reds had a chance with five minutes left to find an equalizer. That is, if Gerrard could first slot the penalty away. But he didnt and the ball sailed over the bar. Usually I dont question a players character, but in this particular instance with a chance to put Liverpool in the ascendency, Gerrard flubbed his shot. Now whether he did this on purpose or not, well probably never know. I respect the man as a footballer,

At least from Uniteds perspective anyway. After a less than convincing win against Stoke yesterday, our position at the top was further solidified by the results from todays games. Arsenal and City battled it out to a 0-0 draw at the Emirates while Chelsea and Spurs were defeated away from home. After this round of games, the table stands as below: (plus we still have our game in hand) Watch Free Live Soccer Football Matches Online Here

Winning the 1987 FA Cup is one of the most illustrious achievements in Coventry City's history, however just eighteen months later they were the victim's of one of the greatest upsets in the competitions history. At the time Coventry were an entrenched top flight side and despite an away draw the Midlands side would have expected a relatively passage into the next round when they drew Conference side Sutton in the FA Cup 3rd Round. The game itself was played at Gander Green Lane in Sutton, Surrey and was full to capacity for the clubs game against top flight opposition. As is now customary rather than give a blow by blow account of the game I will allow some vintage footage that shows the twist, turns and emotion of one of the most memorable results in FA Cup history. ChampionshipTalk would love to hear the experiences of any Coventry or Sutton fans who were at the game that day, so if you remember the game please comment or let me know on Twitter . Related posts: FA Cup Upsets

Hi all EPL Talk readers, Join me at 2:30 PM ET for a live blog of the seven matches being played this afternoon, highlighted by the Arsenal v Manchester City match on ESPN2. Other matches include: Aston Villa v Sunderland Newcastle v West Ham Wolves v Chelsea Blackburn v Liverpool Bolton v Wigan Everton v Spurs EPL January 5 Live! Related posts: Live Blog: Premier League December 28 Fantasy League Tips: Gameweek 14 Live Blog: Man City v Man Utd and 7 Other Gameweek 12 Matches Watch Free Live Soccer Football Matches Online Here

Alastair Cook is now averaging 127 from his seven innings Down Under. Sir Jack Hobbs, Wally Hammond, Herbert Sutcliffe; these names are the elite of English cricketing legends and Alastair Cook (189) is undoubtedly writing himself into Wisdens history books.Unfazed by who was sending down the next delivery, the opener went about his business in sublime fashion, almost as if the ball was magnetised to his bat as he tore in to a bewildered bowling attack. Until he fell after another lengthy stay at the crease, the 26-year-old barely put a foot wrong to give him a total of 766 runs Down Under, a feat that leaves only Wally Hammond (905 in 1928-29) ahead of him for total runs scored by an Englishman in any Test series. The mind boggles at how a his average of 21.76 in six summer Tests could produce such a return that even the bravest of punters wouldnt have had money on. He never allowed a bowler to settle, eventually forcing Michael Clarke to turn to Mike Hussey, a man with only two Test