This is serious. This is BIG. A clash of the titans. The greatest show on earth. Star wars. The Battle Of Britain. The Day Of The Triffids. It's the quarter finals of the European Cup, and it's all back to Anfield after last week's underwhelming draw between Liverpool and Arsenal.  read more »

Liverpool at the crossroads: will it be greatness or disaster?  read more »

There is a sense of dj vu at the Betis camp with the way they have started this 08/09 campaign. Just like last term, and even perhaps the one before, there was a lot of promise and hope of success throughout the pre-season simply because of the team that they had managed to assemble during the summer months. But once the real competition gets underway, the team underperforms horribly. They have started this season in almost exactly the same fashion as they did the last: drawing two and losing two in their first four games. The Andalucians didnt register a win until Matchweek Six last year and the parallels could continue this campaign as they take on a rampaging Real Madrid on Saturday for Round Five.  read more »

The gap at the top of the table has been closed once again as Barca won 4-1 against Valladolid in the Nou Camp. Valencia, who recently knocked Barcelona out of the Copa del Rey in the semi final continued their impressive form as they beat Real Madrid by three goals to two. The difference now between the two sides is just four points. A shaky first half for Barca After a poor couple of results - a 2-2 draw with Almeria and a 3-2 defeat by Valencia, Barcelona needed to lift their heads and shift all their focus towards their La Liga campaign. The Blaugrana started the match the better side as within in the first five minutes; Bojan Krkic had two clear chances.  read more »

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BBC - We tore Chelsea to shreds" - By David McIntyre
John Byrne knows a thing or two about beating Chelsea, so how can his former club QPR somehow overcome them in their FA Cup third-round encounter?
"Pick me and Gary Bannister!" he jokingly told BBC Sport.
"'Banno' and I probably couldn't run for a bus now. But we loved playing against Chelsea, that's for sure."
They certainly did.
Bannister netted two hat-tricks against them for QPR, one of them in a 6-0 mauling of the Blues at Loftus Road in 1986, in which Byrne scored twice.
It will remain QPR's greatest victory over their neighbours unless the current team achieves the unthinkable on Saturday.
Weeks before the six-goal demolition of a title-chasing Chelsea side, Byrne also hit the net in a League Cup quarter-final tussle with them, which Rangers won in a replay on their way to the final.  read more »

Robbie Keane scored his second Champions League goal as Liverpool drew 1-1 with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night. But Simao’s late goal for the hosts gave them a share of the spoils and leaves the two sides with identical records after three group matches.
SkySports Match Report
Liverpool surrendered their 100 per cent start to this season’s [...]

Ursusarctos - Since the '80s, I believe only First Division/ PL teams have won the FA Cup, even though several finals in that time featured one lower division team. In the '70s (most recently), several teams from the old Second Division won it by beating First Division opposition. But I have no idea whether two lower division sides have ever met in the final. When were the last FA Cup finals featuring two lower division teams (if ever)? And (to pull a craigy!) what FA Cup finals do you remember as the most exciting, and why? What was the worst (by any measure)? What two teams would you like to see meet in a "dream" Cup final (from any division)?  read more »

There have been more than a few articles written after Arsenals recent slump in the Premiership and their exit from the Champions League to Liverpool. The themes are common, Arsene Wenger should have strengthened the squad during the January transfer window (as if signing players comes with any sort of success guarantee); Arsenal needs to rebuild; too young; too old in the case of Gilberto; poor me ala Jens Lehmann. But how many of these writers, pundits and bloggers picked Arsenal to win the Premiership this season or even to finish in the top three?  read more »

Fans aim to take control as Share Liverpool FC launched The Share Liverpool FC initiative aimed at taking over Liverpool Football Clubs was launched yesterday, as it's website was unveiled and details of the proposed scheme were released to the media. Essentially, the group is proposing 100,000 Liverpool fans put in 5,000 pounds each, to raise 500 million to acquire the club and finance a new stadium.  read more »