FOOTBALLMONKEY

The Five Infamous Dressing Room Revolt

2012-02-27T14:37:00.000+01:00

Frank Lampard is unhappy at being benched, Ashley Cole is fed up with being treated like a robot, Gary Cahill wants to know why he's not playing more games. Chelsea has won just three games in 11, it teeters on the brink of Champions League elimination and the dressing room appears to be in perpetual and open revolt. With Andre-Villas Boas staring rebellion in the face, a look back at five

EPL: The Losers Will Always Be in Red

2012-02-11T03:00:00.000+01:00

Manchester United and Liverpool will likely play a very high-quality football match on Saturday, and that match is important in the Premier League standings. Liverpool need a series of fantastic results to get themselves back in the chase for fourth place, while Manchester United need points to keep pace with Manchester City and keep a gap on Tottenham Hotspur. However, this game has a lot of

The Troubled Rooney-Ferguson Relationship

2012-01-02T07:30:00.000+01:00

Sir Alex Ferguson remembers being summoned by Manchester United’s American owners, the Glazer family, the day after he had kicked club captain Roy Keane out of Old Trafford in 2005 following an increasingly acrimonious breakdown in their relationship. "I was a bit nervous as to what they might say. But when I spoke to them, all they said was they were surprised it had taken me so long,"

Happy New Year! Top 10 Stories To Look For

2012-01-01T17:06:00.000+01:00

1. Germany could be the new Spain. The average age of the Germany team that started in a 3-0 win over Holland last month, playing a fast-paced and flexible style more reminiscent of the Dutch team of the 1970s, was 24.5. By the time the game ended, it was down to 23.4. Forward Miroslav Klose is the only player over 30 in the squad and there is young talent waiting in the wings wherever you

The 2011 Football Year In Review: Big Stories

2011-12-30T17:57:00.000+01:00

As a sport that spans the globe, association football provides compelling stories in a number of different countries. We pick one story from each major leagues around the globe. This review will feature just one story from different countries. Football is played, thought about and covered by journalists in a mind-blowing number of different ways. Only the most ethnocentric and xenophobic of

Merry Christmas Man City! First Since 1929!

2011-12-22T06:20:00.000+01:00

Manchester United managed the rare feat this season of outshining Manchester City's goal-scoring prowess on Wednesday to keep the heat on its neighbor in the Premier League title race. While City maintained its two-point lead over United with a 3-0 victory over Stoke, its second-place rivals routed Fulham 5-0 at Craven Cottage. Such emphatic victories have been the norm for big-spending City

Hand Of God: Diego Maradona And Peter Reid

2011-12-16T12:42:00.000+01:00

Former England midfielder Peter Reid had said he would never forgive Diego Maradona for the ‘Hand of God’ goal which helped knock England out of the 1986 World Cup finals. But when Reid bumped into Maradona while filming at the Argentina legend’s new club in Dubai, they literally kissed and made up. Reid is filmed laughing and joking with Maradona, whose two goals put Sir Bobby Robson’s

Shangai Shenhua Signs Nicolas Anelka

2011-12-13T12:34:00.000+01:00

Nicolas Anelka poses with the Shanghai Shenhua shirt after becoming the first big casualty of Andre Villas-Boas' reign. And Shenhua now hope to convince Didier Drogba to join Anelka in quitting Chelsea for China. A Chelsea statement read, "Chelsea Football Club and Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua have agreed terms for the permanent transfer of Nicolas Anelka in the January transfer window."

El Clasico 2011/12: Real Madrid 1 Barcelona 3

2011-12-11T13:38:00.001+01:00

Barcelona overcame conceding one of the fastest goals in El Clasico history to win 3-1 at Real Madrid on Saturday, ending its arch rival's 15-match winning run and moving ahead in the Spanish league title race. Barcelona was behind after just 21 seconds, but recovered to move above Madrid on goal difference atop the Spanish league standings. "We've been faithful to our philosophy, keeping

El Clásico Will Definitely Decide El Campeón

2011-12-09T15:38:00.000+01:00

The first cut is the deepest. In the last seven years, the team that has won the first match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona - and there has yet to be a draw - has gone on to win the Spanish league. Barcelona won five of them, Real Madrid two. This season, the cut could prove even deeper still. Exaggerated though it may sound, it's hard to avoid the feeling that Saturday's clasico is

Basel Knocked Man United Off Their Perch

2011-12-08T11:13:00.000+01:00

Beaten finalists last May, Manchester United won't be gracing the glamorous Champions League again this season after being upstaged and ousted by FC Basel on Wednesday. The three-time European champion slumped to a 2-1 loss against the unheralded Swiss champion when needing just a draw to advance from its group to the knockout rounds. "We're disappointed, there's no other way you can feel.

UCL: Europa League Places Are Up For Grab

2011-12-07T08:43:00.001+01:00

Manchester City vs Bayern Munich Bayern Munich may want to field as strong a team as possible against Manchester City in order to knock their potentially-dangerous opponents out at the first hurdle, but that team won't be quite as strong as Jupp Heynckes would like - both Toni Kroos and Arjen Robben have been sent back to Germany after catching flu, leaving the Bundesliga leaders significantly

Martin O'Neill Is Back In The Business

2011-12-04T00:30:00.000+01:00

Martin O'Neill signed a three-year contract to become manager of Sunderland. The Black Cats turned to the Northern Irishman after parting company with Steve Bruce earlier this week following a poor start to the Premier League season. O'Neill, who will officially start work on Monday, told the club's official website: "It's a very nice feeling to be back in football and to be the manager of

Boca Juniors On The Brink Of Title And Record

2011-12-03T08:56:00.000+01:00

There is a certain reflective quality about Boca Juniors' 2-1 win over Godoy Cruz this past weekend, one which left them on the cusp of a 24th national championship. Coach Julio Cesar Falcioni's first game in charge had been a 4-1 loss at home to Godoy Cruz this February, but just nine months later they had beaten the same opposition, and with this win were effectively put them on the brink of

Euro 2012: Group B Is Beautiful And Deadly

2011-12-03T08:00:00.001+01:00

As ever, with the draw for the European Championship, the first thought is how many exciting ties there are in prospect in the group stage. Holland vs Germany, Spain vs Italy, France vs England, Portugal's games against the Dutch and the Germans ... this is how tournament soccer ought to be; big games at every turn. The World Cup, ludicrously bloated as it now is, doesn't offer that sense of

Liverpool, Man City And Cardiff Reach Semis

2011-11-30T04:47:00.000+01:00

Manchester City edged past Arsenal and Liverpool beat Chelsea to reach the League Cup semifinals on Tuesday while Cardiff City also made the last four on an emotional night in south Wales. Premier League leaders City won at Arsenal for the first in 36 years with a late goal by Sergio Aguero earning a 1-0 victory against a much-changed home side in front of a 60,000 crowd. Maxi Rodriguez and

Football Mourns The Loss Of Gary Speed

2011-11-28T18:24:00.001+01:00

An inquest will open on Tuesday into the death of the Wales football manager Gary Speed at his home in Cheshire. A spokeswoman for the coroner, Nicholas Rheinberg, confirmed her office had been informed of the death by police. The inquest will be opened at the coroner's court at Warrington town hall before a full hearing takes place at a later date. Speed, 42, was found by his wife, Louise,

UCL: The Facts And Figures After Round 5

2011-11-24T19:58:00.001+01:00

Some thoughts on 2011/12 UEFA Champions League (after Round 5 of the Group Stage): Real Madrid's dominance. If Real wins its final game against Ajax, it will break Spartak Moscow's record: six wins out of six and an insane goal difference (Real is up to +14, Spartak got as high as +11). Jose Mourinho could probably care less about that record, and if he doesn't win the Champions League it will

UCL: Misery For Manchester, Worst To Come

2011-11-23T09:31:00.000+01:00

A finalist in three of the last four years, Manchester United is struggling to even get out of its group in this season's Champions League. Barcelona, Real Madrid and AC Milan were joined on Tuesday by two more of Europe's footballing elite, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, in the knockout stage of the game's biggest club competition. There is still one glaring omission from this list of the

UCL 2011/12: The Biggest Match On Tuesday

2011-11-22T08:57:00.000+01:00

Real Madrid, AC Milan and FC Barcelona are already certain of their place in the round of 16 draw, to be staged in Nyon on 16 December 2011, and fellow European heavyweights Arsenal, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan can all confirm their places on matchday five. However, footballing romantics will be hoping that the likes of APOEL and Trabzonspor can hang on to their dreams, too

Chelsea's Defensive Woes Give 'Em The Blues

2011-11-21T08:04:00.000+01:00

When, oh when, will Chelsea's defensive woes end? At what point will Andre Villas-Boas decide to make changes to his backline? Or, worse, when will Roman Abramovich lose patience, and sack the Premier League's most expensive manager? AVB certainly doesn't deserve to be forced out, not this early, but with defensive lapses leading to both Liverpool goals, he'd do well to have a plan in place to

Bundesliga 2011/12 Match Week 13 Preview

2011-11-18T08:25:00.000+01:00

The biggest match of the season to date takes place on Saturday in the Bundesliga. If you aren't watching Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund this weekend then maybe you're not enjoying football. Friday, 18 November 2011 Kaiserslautern vs Bayer Leverkusen This is a huge match for Leverkusen. They currently sit in 8th place in the table a whole 10 points behind leaders Bayern Munich. With

Euro 2012 Playoffs: Bosnia Or Potugal?

2011-11-15T09:24:00.001+01:00

Summing up the state of affairs as we enter the second leg of the 2012 Euro playoffs: Turkey 0 Croatia 3 The Republic of Ireland may have won by a larger margin, but there was no doubting the performance of the first leg of the playoffs for Euro 2012 qualification: Croatia's 3-0 win away to Turkey. Last month in Greece, Croatia looked flat, its defending of set plays was poor, and the general

Germany Will Dominate European Football

2011-11-14T05:36:00.001+01:00

Just four places are still up for grabs at the European Championships next summer with the final play-offs being decided on Tuesday. Germany are one of the favourites to win the competition in Poland and Ukraine and they cruised during qualification with 10 wins from 10 games. Joachim Low's ‘New Germany' is structured around the likes of Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil who have

Fade To Black: Stars Are No Longer Shining

2011-11-09T09:50:00.000+01:00

While the newest campaigns of the football season continue to click on there have been some standout performers from both the individual and club level. However, many of with those that were tearing it up have now seen their results come to a screeching halt. Although goals in the beginning of the season can make you feel good, without consistency during the continued games a great start can take