There will be few of a Timbers persuasion who will look back on the the first few months of the 2012 season with anything other than a grimace/rueful shake of the head depending on how the year turns out. It has not been good. At all. Midway through May the performances and results have been...

Tomorrow evening, Chelsea take to the Allianz Arena to contest the Champions League final against Bayern Munich. Chelsea have endured a turbulent season, and have reached tomorrow’s final in spite of the lack of stability at the club. After a 6th place finish in the Premier League...

With the domestic season reaching its finale, attention begins to turn to this summer’s European Championship in Poland and the Ukraine. Earlier today, new England manager Roy Hodgson selected his squad of 23 for the tournament, which as always with England squads, has provoked debate...

The Timbers made their first visit to Houston Dynamo’s swanky new stadium, their second visit to Texas this year, and left the Lone Star State with another hard-earned point in their second goalless draw on the bounce. John Spencer saw little to change in the line-up after the draw with...

It’s long been accepted wisdom, in the UK at least, that Americans don’t get football, and most likely won’t ever get it. They’d much rather watch hillbillies drive round in circles for hours on end, or padded freaks of nature crash into each other than enjoy the sport...

For regular football viewers, the hard-sell we have to endure from television companies borders on the maddening side of tedious. The amount of times we hear the word “best” misused in the name of trying to convince the public that the next match of football is...

They would say that Jose Mourinho or Fabio Capello had merely to enter the changing room for a team to play better. The manager is viewed as a manifestation of almost godlike authority. His eyes observe the whole team. Every player feels that the manager sees him personally and, still more HE...

The name Juan Román Riquelme ignites a debate about the way football should be played; Riquelme’s poetic pace is a rarity in today’s vertiginous football, where foot speed, strength, and goals are the measure of quality. Against Union Española Riquelme played an inspired match that...

This is a funny old time of year for any team in the Championship. Depending on how you’ve fared, you could be singing, crying, or just plain tearing your hair out. Any team from the Championship can be sorted into one of these categories: 1) Promoted – this is the holy grail of...

Fiorentina sacked their manager Delio Rossi after these extraordinary scenes in the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Losing to Novara, Rossi substituted midfielder, Adam Ljajic. Clearly annoyed at being withdrawn, Ljajic sarcastically applauded Rossi as he walked to the bench, and in the...

The appointment of Roy Hodgson as the manager of the England team was met with as much enthusiasm as the England team are these days. The pervasive sense of ennui that surrounds the squad, combined with the shambolic co-ordination of the hiring process, means that Hodgson is immediately...

As January rolled into February, one thing looked certain in the English Premier League – Wigan Athletic were going down. They had lost 14 or their 23 matches, and were stuck on a paltry 15 points. They lost every match in September and October in a 8 match losing streak (9 if you...