O Neill

A complete non story then. Perhaps they could put up a similar one for Babayaro. Give us all a little more hope.

I was hoping it would be Van Persie against Charton. The ball was that high he should never have been able to volley it, never mind loop it into the back of the net with so much pace on it.

Well they will include some leaflet or other in the actual season ticket pack that explains how to use the card to gain entry into the ground. Whether the system works or not is a different issue.

Celtic are likely to be in with the new clubs. Fairly high UEFA coeff considering they are in the Scottish league. Big stadium. On top of that they are one of those sides that would be desperate to get into a breakaway league where they actually have to play a bit to win.

Imagine Carr won't be first choice next season. Big Sam will be looking to bring in new fullbacks. Either big men or the run all day types. Carr doesn't tick either box. Parker will improve quite simply because he'll no longer be trying to do everything in the middle of the park. Last season he ran around trying to kick everyone and did nothing on the ball. Prozone will pick that up quick and Sam should be able to stabilise his on pitch role.

I saw those hockey style shootouts and I'm glad they opted to ditch them. I'm hoping they can get the team count up to 16 and then look to pursue to the option of a single league. It may be more familiar to Americans but to some of us the division/playoff thing just seems like an unrequired complication of something that should be kept simple. I've also noticed that Adidas seem to have a huge stranglehold over the whole of the MLS. I had a quick look at the kits for this season and noticed that they've done the lot. Would be interesting if other companies got a bit more involved there and to be honest I'm surprised that Nike haven't jumped on the bandwagon. Is there some sort of deal with Adidas preventing that? I'm backing New England Revolution btw

I'm impressed by how quickly the MLS is expanding and gaining in popularity. Like several other American sports though I just can't understand why they have to make the league and fixtures so complicated. From what I understand: The MLS contains 2 actual leagues/conferences. Eastern has 7 sides and Western has 6. Yet the teams from both leagues play each other home and away anyway. On top of that all the teams in the same league play each other again but only once and to make up for the odd number of teams in the Eastern conference, the sides in the Western league have a local derby to ensure everyone plays the same amount of games. Then you have playoffs and a final to decide the winner. I figure the league is working towards introducing more teams etc but I can't see why they don't just play a straight league of 13 teams. Have each team play each other 4 times (2 at home and 2 away being the fairest way to do it) and the team that finishes on top of the pile wins.

Thankfully it seems the idiots have been chased out of town.

It's even more interesting that they are getting a corner.

Yes I can understand that you have to play out the full duration of the game but they were gifted an overly generous 6 minutes of injury time from what I heard. If the game is abandoned at this stage I'd find it difficult to call the game anything other than a draw anyway.

Seems a completely stupid idea to bring the teams out for what is likely to be less than 2 minutes and risk another pitch invasion from the local idiots.

Not likely this season. They went up last season but not the year before. Prices should be frozen on season tickets but that may not stop £2 going on the individual match tickets.

I'm sure Reading would rather not sell another 1,000 tickets next year for something as trivial as standing.

You tend to find with league games that there is much less of a chav element than for cup ties or friendlies. From experience of being in the SE corner the audience is mostly older. Doesn't mean there aren't kids or teens with season tickets but it does restrict them grouping together. Most of the younger folks where I sit are at the game with parents. Most because they've sat with their folks in previous years. If you steer clear of level 7 of the leazes end, where the ultras sit, then you should be alright.

Bound to be a waiting list for family enclosure? Pretty safe where I sit in the SE corner with regards to swearing and such but you always get one or two who are a little vocal. I'm sure the same applies to the whole ground though and it is to be expected at a football match...

Yıldıray Baştürk plays with Hertha but I think he may be out of contract at the end of the season.

The way it's going you'd hardly have to worry about being shifted to level 7. There'll be plenty of spaces elsewhere in the ground.

The shirt looks very similar to the new design that Paraguay have adopted since switching to Adidas.

Misprint surely?

That tends to be the best way to beat Arsenal as is now being shown.

In the case of T27 it is lack of consideration for the tactical side of the game and therefore thinking that switching the playing staff is the only way to make a difference.

Being serious I think Kanu was the best bit of business but he was a complete gamble. For knowing what you were buying, Andy Johnson has been a good deal for Everton.

Sibierski...

I'm guessing this is to go with the new numbers they have proposed for the back of shirts. Looks like a complete graphics overhaul for the league.

I'm sure it won't be hard for Oba to be on fire if Martins is...