Profiles of the Great and Good: Robin Friday, the Greatest Player You Never Saw

Robin Friday's career lasted only four years. He never played for England and he never played in the top tier of English football. But for those who saw him play he was the greatest player ever to walk the Earth. Unfortunately he also had a wild side that even made even George Best look tame...

Profiles of the Great and Good: Francis Benali

Every team has a "water carrier". The phrase was made famous when Eric Cantona described French team mate Didier Deschamps. A water carrier, for those who don't know, is the player who does the insignificant—but extremely important—things on the pitch.

He makes little tackles, takes the easy pass, covers for others when they go forward. To the general public he doesn't do a lot. To the manager he's priceless. Every team needs a water carrier.

Francis Benali was almost certainly one of the least gifted players ever to play top level football in England. He made his debut for Southampton in 1988 and went on to play 389 times for the Saints over 16 years.

Juande or Another Tottenham Hotspur Will Get it Right...Maybe

Tottenham Hotspur have had their worst start to a league campaign in 34 years. They sit at the bottom of the table. And the only domestic match that Spurs have won this season was against a dismal Newcastle in the Carling Cup on Wednesday.

Surprisingly, the only club in a worse off state than Spurs are Newcastle. And over the last 10 years the clubs have a remarkably similar record...

Can Rafael Benitez Lead Liverpool To This Seasons EPL Title?

Liverpool beat Everton 2-0 to give them 14pts from six games and their best ever start to a Premier League season. But does this good run make Liverpool serious contenders for Manchester United's crown?

We wrote this version when Jol was manager, but it's still apt...



We've been coming out of our cage

And we've been doing just fine.

Gotta get in the top four

Because we want it all.

Kevin Nash Signs a New Deal at TNA

Kevin Nash, who had been telling anyone who would listen that he was going to WWE for one last hurrah, has reportedly signed a new deal keeping him at TNA for the next few years...

Stephane Mbia Issues a Come and Get Me and Other Quotes From EPL Week 5

We've all read come and get me pleas at one stage or another. But Rennes midfielder Stephane Mbia takes the biscuit.

Some Of The Best Sports Books Ever Written

Well September is almost over. And if where you live is anything like where I live, then Christmas ad's on radio and tv have started already. Actually the first ad I heard for Christmas was back in July so I guess the Christmas market never really goes, or is that just my little corner of the world.

TNA's Biggest Enemy Is Themselves

I've watched TNA for some time now. Alot of what it does is great, no doubt about it. The six-sided ring was a novelty when I first saw it. Now I really like it. It's quite conducive for fast high flying matches and The X-Division has been a revelation.

The Ryder Cup: Fairways, Fans and Greens Oh My! Why This Should Be USA's Year

The Ryder Cup is upon us once more. Over the last decade the competition has really captured the public imagination, and is now firmly entrenched as one of the greatest team competitions in the world.

What makes the Ryder Cup so special?

Blind Paralympian Wins 100m & 200m Double, In Soccer Malone Stays Expelled...

Jason Smyth pulled of a remarkable double at the Paralympic Games in Beijing today. After winning gold in the 100m, Smyth completed his double by winning the 200m in a new world record time of 21.43 seconds.

You Got Robinho, Pool Beat Man Utd and Other Stories From Matchday 4 of the EPL

Matchday 4 of the 2008/09 EPL season produced a great stories up and down the league this weekend. From Chelsea trumping City in Manchester to Liverpool getting one over Manchester United at Anfield.

Match Of The Day: Liverpool Vs Man Utd and Spirit Of Shankly Vs Gillett & Hicks

Before Liverpool take on Manchester United at 12.30 tomorrow a battle will take place at the famed Shankly Gates.

The Spirit of Shankly (SOS) are staging a protest against American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks. The American's inability to raise cash for a new stadium and with Manchester City taken over by Sheikh Mansour recently, the fans wish to vent their frustrations at DIC (Dubai International Corporation) not being allowed to buy the club.

Irish Paralympian Told He's Not Disabled Enough for Paralympic Games

Derek Malone spoke last night of his "bitter disappointment" after being told he would not be allowed to compete at the Beijing Paralympic Games because he was not sufficiently disabled to compete.

WWE: A Star is Bourne?

For WWE wrestling fans, something great happened on Monday night's RAW. It wasn't seeing Chris Jericho as champion, nor was it Batista's two-on-one confrontation with JBL and Jericho. And it wasn't the beginning of a "Young Guns" style stable for Orton, Dibiase, and Rhodes.

No, look away and you would have missed it. If you didn't pay attention, and it would have seemed like a nothing bout, but last Monday night marked the debut of Evan Bourne on RAW.

Evan who?

Quotes of the Week That Was: Manchester City, West Ham, Newcastle, Ireland

Heres a few quotes from the world of football from the last week....



It'll be nice to know that every gallon of petrol a Man Yoo fan puts in his car is going straight into our kitty!-Noel Gallagher self confessed Man City fan.

The Death Match: Dynamo Kiev vs. The Nazis

This is a true story that I was told by my father. It has inspired athletes, filmmakers, children, and sports fans around the world—but most of all it inspired a nation.

The All-Ireland Hurling Final, The Most Important Fixture in the World This Week

In Croke Park tomorrow, Kilkenny will take on Waterford, in what is perhaps the most important sporting fixture in the world.

For those who don't know what hurling is, and let's face it, that's just about everybody who's not Irish, hurling is the fastest field sport in the world. It's faster than soccer, faster than rugby, and even faster than ice hockey...

Ireland vs. Georgia : Game Preview For Trappatoni's Debut

After seven months and three friendlies the Giovanni Trappatoni regime finally get to savour a competitive match.

Ireland take on Georgia tonight in FSV Mainz's stadium in Germany tonight. The match originally due to take place in Georgia was moved after the Football Association of Ireland and FIFA had reservations about the Ireland side travelling to the war torn region.

Fabio Capello Won't Succeed Until the English Footballing Culture Changes

Fabio Capello's England team began their World Cup Qualifying campaign against Andorra with a 2-0 victory, and will then take on Croatia in Zagreb on Wednesday night in what already looks like being a crucial match.

But Capello faces a difficult task to bring this team to the World Cup. At the moment there is a split between the England manager and the club managers, a split between the fans and the players, and with some players still questioning the manager's methods this qualifying campaign is already set up to be a hard one—and a ball hasn't been kicked yet...

Kevin Keegan Resigns: A Brief History To Understand Why He Left

The transfer deadline closed last night at midnight, with possibly Newcastle's chances of ever reaching the top four closing too.

The big losers in the amazing sale of Manchester City weren't Liverpool or even Chelsea. No, the big losers were Spurs, Aston Villa, Everton, and Newcastle.

How the managers, chairmen, and supporters of these clubs feel after the revelation that now City are a power to be reckoned with will only be seen in the next few weeks, as the slow realisation dawns on them that not only are the top four positions out of reach, but now the fifth position is gone too.

Kevin Keegan awoke this morning...

Manchester City and Spurs Dominate Transfer Deadline Day, Robinho to City, Berbatov to Utd

As the transfer deadline came to a close, the biggest transfer of the day took place at The City of Manchester Stadium. In an age where the media have sources in every corner, Manchester City pulled off perhaps the biggest move of the day.

It wasn't for a player of course, it was for the club!

Thaksin Shinawatra, ex-President of Thailand, relinquished control of the club to Saudi Arabian group, Abu Dhabi United Group. And with the new chairman Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim soon declaring that he will turn City into a top four side within three seasons, the City fans were reported to be dancing in the streets of Manchester.

To further the Man City's fans enjoyment, the club put in bids for Dimitar Berbatov, Mario Gomez, David Villa, and reportedly Robinho—for £32 million...