Football Fantasy

ROY HODGSON is ready to gamble with his Liverpool future by resting the clubs two biggest stars. Hodgsons job at Anfield is hanging by a thread and he knows an upturn in results is the only thing that will spare him the axe. But the Kop boss is willing to put hisposition on the line by leaving out big guns Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres this month. Liverpool face a possible nine games in January and Hodgson admits he will have to wrap the pair in cotton wool. Anfield skipper Gerrard returned from a five-week lay-off with hamstring trouble to play a starring role as substitute in the New Years Day win over Bolton. Striker Torres, meanwhile, runs the risk of aggravating a knee injury if he is over-used in a busy fixture pile-up. ...

There was another full programme of Championship football today in the New Year bank holiday fixtures that signal the end of football's busiest time of the year. At the top of the table Queens Park Rangers were held by an injury time equaliser at home to Bristol City, but with Swansea losing away to Leicester and Norwich drawing away to Middlesbrough they extended their lead at the top of the table to five points. Ever since I looked at Watford and how they were struggling towards the bottom of the table the Hornets have gone on to win their last five games. Now sitting in the final play off place, Malky Mackay's side are showing how a good run of form over Christmas can allow a side to surge up the table. Another theme of the last few summaries is the seemingly weekly occurence of a side in the Championship coming back from a two goal deficit with new Sheffield United the comeback kids this week recovering from a Billy Sharp double with goals from Daniel Bogdanovic and Robert ...

SiriusXM (SIRI) today announced an agreement to broadcast all Premier League games featuring Manchester United via its radio, online and web apps. The first Manchester United match available to SiriusXM subscribers kicks off on January 4, 2011 when the Red Devils play home against Stoke City on Sirius channel 113 and XM channel 244 beginning at3pm ET. In addition to the official Manchester United radio commentary of all United matches in the Premier League, SiriusXM also broadcasts all Chelsea matches (Wednesdays Wolverhampton versus Chelsea match will air on Sirius 113 and XM 244)plus select games from Arsenal, Everton and other clubs. Premier League matches will air on Sirius channels 125 and 113 and XM channels 241 and 244. SiriusXM also featuresThe Football Show, a daily talk program hosted by Giorgio Chinaglia and Charlie Stillitano that broadcasts every weekday morning (7-9am ET on Sirius channel 125 and XM channel 241). Manchester United is delighted to announce this arrangement...

Figured Id ring in the new year by showing the goalkeepers some love. They deserve it once in a while right? Check out some of the top saves in this video. Heres the links: Cole backs Hodgson [FSC] Clubs waiting on Beckham [BBC] United to Wrigley Field [Hot Time In Old Town] Podcast [Opta Joke] Why EPL is so great [That's On Point] David OLeary fury with video [Daily Mail] Macheda loan thoughts [The Footy Blog] Ameobi return [The Shields] Thoughts on United [This Is Futbol] Feel free to follow me on Twitter and let me know if youd like to suggest an article, video or photo for inclusion on the Premier League Links Of The Day. Related posts: Premier League Links Of The Day: December 31, 2010 Premier League Links Of The Day: December 29, 2010 Premier League Links Of The Day: December 20, 2010 Football Betting Tips, Odds, Asian Handicap, Picks, Preview & Prediction

Usman Khawaja stamped his presence on Test cricket with a superb display of confidence and determination on debut The difference a touch of equanimity can achieve certainly paid dividends for the respective teams and finally there is a day where we can say that neither England nor Australia dominated proceedings. But it was the tourists who emerged on top after taking the Aussies from 105-1 to 134-4 as the weather, which resembled that of Scarborough rather than Sydney, took a heavy toll on proceedings. It was a strange decision to bat first on a pitch that had retained heavy green tinges whilst remaining fairly damp under overcast skies, but history has favoured batting sides and initially this was no exception. Andrew Strauss, slightly taken aback, welcomed the decision with open arms with his seamers ready to utilise the swing-friendly conditions. Instead of coming out guns blazing as they did in the disastrous first innings at Melbourne, Australia displayed far more restraint in an...

It was 2004 when I cut the cord from Bellsouth, my local phone company. I got rid of the landline and Internet access, and signed up with Comcast for my Internet access and Vonage for my VOIP phone line. Then a few years later, I cut the virtual cord and dropped Vonage so that my mobile phone through AT&T Wireless became my home and work phone. Now for me, and millions of americans, its time to consider cutting another cord but this one is a lot more tricky. Ill explain why. The cord Im talking about is the TV or satellite provider. In my case, its Comcast who is both my ISP and provider of sports channels such as Fox Soccer Channel, GolTV, ESPN2 and a few hundred other networks that I hardly ever watch. And the fact that Im only watching a few of the hundreds of channels is key. Why should I pay for channels I never watch, Im not interested in and that simply clog up bandwidth? During 2010 I watched most of my programming on either a computer or mobile phone. Before Setanta US clo...

CARLO ANCELOTTI last night pleaded with owner Roman Abramovich: I desperately need new players. The Italian spoke out yesterday after Chelseas dismal league form continued with a home draw against struggling Aston Villa. Ancelotti has told the Russian he needs at least a centre-back and a striker. But Starsport can reveal his request to sign David Luiz from Benfi ca has fallen on deaf ears, with Abramovich unwilling to pay the Portuguese clubs 26m asking price. He is adamant the highest he will go is 17.5m. Ancelottis need for a boost in this months transfer window was illustrated yesterday after the champions made it just seven points collected out of the last 24. Frank Lampards penalty put them ahead but Villa hit back with Ashley Youngs...