Let’s get this party started right.
As in summer, there will soon be a transfer deadline ticker over at MLSS, which I'll be stocking with as much scene-setting and deal-clinching as we can find.Since that won't begin for an hour or so, let's kick off the day with a couple bits. First off...
England announce Euro 2012 warm-up games against Norway and Belgium
• England play in Oslo on 26 May then at Wembley on 2 June• Fabio Capello likens opponents' styles to France and SwedenEngland will meet Norway and Belgium in their final two friendlies before Euro 2012, and will not, as had been suggested, play th...
Post-Christmas cheer in Oslo for out-of-contract players
Tomi Maanoja used to play for AIK Stockholm before a broken leg ruined his career. With two young children, but no contract, the FIFPro Winter Tournament in Oslo may just provide the Finn with the little bit of luck he deserves.
Your friendly neighborhood UEFA NextGen report
The fat lady has yet to sing, but it's all but over, or just plain over, in three of the four groups in this year's NextGen Series. From the top ... Celtic needed a serious dose of luck to keep their European adventure going. A group-dominating giant ...
Your friendly neighborhood UEFA NextGen report
The NextGen Series seeks to feature the premier youth teams of Europe. In effect, it showcases the next generation - get it? - of European talent.If Rosenborg and Aston Villa's do-or-die Group 3 clash at Lerkendal Stadium is any indication, we have...
‘I wouldn’t have got into this Wales team,’ says manager Gary Speed
• Craig Bellamy shines after swapping wings with Gareth Bale• Wales eager for World Cup after 4-1 win over NorwayThe expression on Gary Speed's face changed when laughter greeted his suggestion that he would have struggled to get into the Wales sid...
Wales 4-1 Norway | International friendly match report
• Wales 4 (Bale 11, Bellamy 16, Vokes 88, 89) • Norway 1 (Huseklepp 61)An afternoon that got off to an inauspicious start, when stewards confiscated a banner protesting against Welsh involvement in Team GB at the Olympic Games, ended on a much happ...
Your friendly neighborhood UEFA NextGen report
If one is the loneliest number, what does that make zero? After Ajax drew away to Fenerbahce they joined the imperfect mass that constitutes this year's NextGen field. Sporting and Tottenham remain unbeaten, but perfection is now a thing of the past fo...
That’s one on the abacus.
Though he is injured and did not play in Sunday's clinching draw, let us not forget to throw up a salute to Josh Gatt's Molde FK, winners of the first Tippeligan crown in club history.While they play a summer schedule like MLS, let's count him as the first American Abroad champion of this general "season"...
Your friendly neighborhood UEFA NextGen report
The four groups of the NextGen Series are getting serious. Everybody's still alive just past the midway point of the competition. Well, almost everybody. Manchester City and Celtic met knowing their match was a do-or-die affair unless they played ...
Gatt Gab
[Photo: Trygve Strand Joakimsen/Tidens Krav]As you may know, Molde's Josh Gatt was lifted with a knock during this weekend's scoreless draw with Odd Grenland. At first, the Tippeligaen leaders seemed confident that it was nothing major - but when I spo...
Your friendly neighborhood UEFA NextGen report
The best keep getting better, or so the saying goes. Unilaterally applying that logic to Europe's premier youth club competition tells us that the worst, in theory, keep getting worse. Nothing supports such a conviction more than the latest events in t...
